Omega Force 3: The Enemy Within

by Joshua Dalzelle

  “It’s a little fuzzy thanks to the drugs they kept trying on me. Well, that and them constantly beating the shit out of me,” Jason began. “I remember following the scrawny one away from that auxiliary spaceport we identified. He took me right to Corenntal himself, which surprised me … apparently these guys are as amateurish as we were told.

  “Anyway, they milled around the warehouse district right outside the port before a bunch of freight haulers pulled up and looked like they were getting ready to stage up near one of the landing pads. I went to get a closer look and I was hit with some sort of stunner. When I woke up, I was chained to that chair and the festivities began.”

  “Amateur or not, they still captured you with relative ease,” Twingo said as he leaned back. “We’ve got to start being more careful and establish some hard operational rules before one of us gets killed.”

  “A week ago I would have laughed in your face,” Jason said as he laid back on the pillow. “But I have to admit, you may have a point.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that,” Twingo said. “I was thinking—”

  The soft snores from Jason indicated an end to the conversation. Twingo smiled slightly, tremendously relieved that the captain was on the mend. He left quietly to go inform the others that Jason had woken up and appeared to have suffered no permanent damage to his brain.

  *****

  Another full day after he had come back around, Doc cleared Jason to leave the infirmary. He was unbelievably stiff at first and the unusually high concentration of medical nanobots in his body was causing some interesting side-effects, but it was good to be up and about. The first thing he did was tackle the climb up the stairs to get to the command deck so he could sit in the pilot’s seat of the Phoenix again and re-establish that bond, running his hands over the controls. It was a very human thing to do, and for once the others didn’t laugh at his expense. He saw that they were still a little over five days away from their destination and that the ship was purring along at peak efficiency. He was impressed that Twingo had managed not only to sit constantly by his side in the infirmary, but had also kept the engines tuned during the long flight. He’d never actually tell him that, of course.

  “So how’s our guest?” Jason said to no one in particular.

  “Still breathing, thanks to these guys,” Crusher rumbled, folding his arms over his massive chest. Seeing the warning signs, Jason held up a hand to cut him off.

  “I know you have some words for me,” he said quickly. “But can it wait until I’ve recovered a bit more? Or maybe we can just skip it altogether?”

  “It can wait,” Crusher said ominously. Jason shuddered inwardly before turning to the others.

  “So how did you guys end up finding me?”

  “They had put you in a shielded location that blanked out your tracker’s signal,” Kage said from where he lounged in the copilot’s seat. “But they didn’t know that your neural implant tries to keep tabs on the ship, even if it needs to access outside networks to do it. I was able to track your query signature through the public band and see which node you were pinging first. It was intermittent since it only happened when they opened the hangar door, but it gave us a general location.”

  “After that we circled the area with the ship until we found that hidden facility. Turns out it was a staging point for a lot of the arms they were running, so we waited until nightfall and picked a logical breaching point,” Doc finished.

  “Yeah, that was a lucky shot,” Jason said. “Any closer and it would have been a body recovery and not a rescue. Thanks for that, by the way. It was an interesting experience being on the other end of it.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Kage said distractedly.

  “Well, it seems you have things well in hand up here,” Jason said as he climbed stiffly out of his seat. “I’m going to go enjoy some solid food.”

  *****

  It was some time later, during the nightshift, when Jason walked through the dim corridor and out into the cargo bay. He walked silently down the steps from the mezzanine to the cargo bay deck and looked over at the large, modular prison cell that was secured to the deck. Padding up to it, he gazed in through the hardened, transparent alloy barrier.

  “I know you’re there,” Corenntal bubbled without opening his eyes. “You may be silent, but your stench can reach even through this box.”

  “Nice to see confinement hasn’t noticeably improved your personality,” Jason said. “Consistency is a virtue, even when it means you’re an asshole to the very end.”

  “Did you come here to gloat?” Corenntal asked as he seemed to ooze off the shelf that served as a bed before his limbs regained rigidity and he stood upright. His species’ unique system of support necessitated the specialized holding cell. It was a bizarre combination of segmented bone sections coupled with bladders he could fill or evacuate that would allow him to squeeze out between the widely spaced bars that were in the Phoenix’s brig.

  Corenntal stood and his eyes seemed to extend up slightly on their stalks so he could look down on Jason. The human knew this was meant to be a sign of contempt and intimidate him, but the thick shielding negated that effect.

  “That would imply I have some sort of emotional connection to your capture. Don’t flatter yourself … I could care less who you are. We were paid to snatch you and that’s that. It does help me sleep better to know that you’re an arms-smuggling sack of slime that deserves what’s coming to him,” Jason said calmly.

  “Oh, but I think you do,” Corenntal chortled, a singularly disgusting sound. “We both know it was just dumb luck your crew arrived when they did, and we also know that you were very close to dying at our hands.” There was another bout of wet noises that Jason couldn’t identify before the grotesque being continued. “Imagine my surprise when you weren’t a ConFed agent, but just some bottom-feeding bounty hunter. I don’t know exactly who is paying for my delivery, but you better hope I don’t find my way out of wherever they stick me. I’m still most unhappy about the animal on your crew killing my brother.”

  “You know … with all of the head trauma from our time together, you’d probably better just tell him yourself. It’s not likely I’ll remember and I’m sure he’d be fascinated by your point of view,” Jason said as he pushed himself off the transparent shield where he’d been leaning. “Be sure to use those exact words. Crusher prides himself on being completely reasonable when slimy pus-sacks make melodramatic threats and insults. Anyway … enjoy the rest of the flight.” Jason walked off and headed for the stairs without looking back. He wasn’t sure why he had come down to look in on his prisoner, but he had to admit Corenntal may have been more right than he’d realized. The capture and subsequent torture session had rattled his nerves pretty badly and it was just dumb luck that the crew had found him at all, much less in time. He shook his head to clear those unhelpful thoughts as he reached the crew hatch and made his way back to his quarters.

  He sat on his rack, staring off into space for a moment before slipping his boots off and lying down. “Computer, dim the lights and set a wake up for five hours from now,” Jason said. “Oh … and drop the ambient temperature of the cargo bay fifteen degrees.” With a humorless half-smile, he drifted off to sleep.

  *****

  Crusher was walking through the common area on his way to the galley when he heard loud cheering coming from the lounge. He looked over and saw Jason sitting alone with a cooler of beer watching some sort of contest between brightly colored opponents wearing some sort of armor. He drifted over and stood in front of the couch Jason lounged on and watched for a moment in silence.

  “What is this?” he asked finally.

  “It’s a sport from Earth,” Jason answered. “It’s called football. I’m catching up on the season so far.” Crusher stared at the screen for a moment as a tight end came underneath on a crossing route and was demolished by a free safety just before he could secure the ball. At the horrendous impact, a huge cheer
went up from the crowd and Crusher sat instantly on the couch, his eyes never leaving the screen. Without a word he reached over to Jason’s cooler and plucked a cold bottle, thumbing off the cap.

  “Help yourself,” Jason said sourly.

  “Thank you,” Crusher said absently. “Who are the combatants?”

  “That’s not really the right term,” Jason corrected, “but this is the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Denver Broncos. Each team has an offense and a defense. The offense is trying to get the ball into the opposing end zone, the defense is trying to stop them. You’ll pick up the rest as it goes along.”

  “I take it Jacksonville and Denver are the locations from which these units are based?” Crusher asked as he leaned back. The shifting of the couch caused Jason to wince as his still-healing ribs were jostled.

  “Think teams and sport, not units and combat,” Jason corrected.

  “What’s the difference?”

  “No intentional bloodshed.”

  “Ah,” Crusher said as the game continued. They watched in silence for most of the third quarter before they were interrupted.

  “What’s this?” Twingo asked as he walked up from Engineering.

  “Football,” Crusher answered for Jason. “Currently the Broncos of Denver are about to defeat the Jaguars of Jacksonville. It’s good, grab a beer and sit for a while.” Twingo came around the couch, grabbed one of Jason’s dwindling supply of beers, and flopped down on the other side of Jason with gusto. The sudden movement elicited a sharp grunt from the injured human that the others ignored.

  It wasn’t long before the cheering, both from the display and the non-human spectators, caught the attention of others.

  “What’s this?” Kage asked as he grabbed the last beer and hopped backwards into the large, padded chair off to the side. He didn’t get an answer as Denver’s quarterback threw a long bomb into the end zone for a sixty-four yard touchdown strike. Crusher cheered loudly while Twingo slapped Jason’s chest good-naturedly during his own celebration of the game’s end. Jason doubled over in agony and missed the point-after kick while he was bent over. He did, however, get a good view of his now-empty beer cooler. Sighing in resignation, he painfully hoisted himself off the couch and slowly made his way back to the quarters. He could hear them selecting the next game in the series and yelling at Lucky to bring them more beer as his door slid closed and he lay down flat on his rack.

  Chapter 3

  Six days after they yanked Corenntal out of his frontier compound the Phoenix slid into orbit over Kirialee, the seat of power of the Kirialan Sector and the origin of the contract on Corenntal’s gun-running operation. They loitered for the better part of the day in a holding orbit before being given clearance to land and were directed to an airport near one of the planet’s logistical hubs.

  “An airport?” Jason asked in disbelief. “You sure you read that right? Why aren’t we being directed down to a spaceport?”

  “I know what I read,” Kage answered indignantly. “It clearly says airport and the nav data they sent matches up.”

  “OK … don’t get huffy. Can this airport even fit the Phoenix?”

  “That’s a good question,” Kage admitted. “I’ll find out. They didn’t give us a specific landing pad so I can’t be sure.”

  Jason left him alone and began their entry according to the navigational data provided by Kirialee’s landing control. The planet’s land mass was fairly uninteresting as far as it went, and was covered with the expected urban sprawl and industrial areas. The airport they were heading to turned out to be a military post, not a commercial facility, and looked like it based large atmospheric cargo aircraft. They were given exact planetary coordinates for their landing site and told to remain with the ship until contacted.

  Jason touched down easily and leveled the ship on its landing gear. He left the grav-drive active to keep the full weight of the ship off the wheels since he wasn’t sure the tarmac would be thick or solid enough to bear the full weight of an interstellar ship. Although she wasn’t the biggest ship in the sky, the Phoenix most certainly weighed many times more than the lightly-built cargo aircraft Jason saw flitting about the base.

  They waited for another forty-five minutes before a secure call came in over the com instructing them to secure the prisoner and move him to the tarmac and wait for Kirialee Security to sentence him.

  “What do you think they meant by sentencing him?” Twingo asked from the engineering station. “Maybe just a translation glitch and they mean take him into custody?”

  “I guess it means whatever they want it to mean, so long as we get paid,” Jason said, hopping out of the pilot’s seat. “Crusher, Lucky, Doc … you’re with me. Twingo and Kage, keep the engines running and be ready to get us the hell out of here if it goes south on us.”

  “So, the usual,” Twingo said as he slid into the pilot’s seat, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

  “More or less,” Jason agreed. “Although I think this should be one of the more uneventful handoffs since we’re dealing with a legit government this time.”

  “I’ve heard that before,” Crusher muttered as he walked off the bridge after Lucky.

  “Why is it so cold in here?” Doc asked, an involuntary shiver running through him as the stepped into the cargo bay.

  “Hmm? Oh. I have no idea,” Jason said unconvincingly. “I’ll have Twingo check the environmental controls later. Let’s just get him moving.” As Doc moved to the cell anchored to the middle of the cargo bay deck, Crusher just looked at Jason and shook his head with a silent chuckle, not at all fooled by his horrible acting.

  Given Corenntal’s body chemistry, the cooler temperatures had forced him to huddle miserably in the corner of his cell. He was still moving slowly and stiffly as Lucky walked in to grab him.

  “This is barbaric!” Corenntal was barely able to get the words out. “I could have died in here at this temperature!”

  “Pity,” Crusher deadpanned. “Now turn around.” When the prisoner spun Crusher yanked his arms around behind him, causing the shivering alien to yowl in pain. The big warrior slapped a set of stun shackles on him, wrists and ankles, before giving him a brisk shove towards the back of the cargo bay where Jason was already lowering the ramp.

  “It’s warm outside, dirt bag,” Jason said. “You’ll enjoy it. At least until Kirialee Security shows up to collect your sorry ass.”

  “Move!” Crusher barked as he marched the captive down the ramp and stopped him ten meters past the edge to stand on the tarmac. Jason stood on the edge of the ramp and Lucky covered them from the lip of the cargo bay. The low, sub-sonic hum of the Phoenix still under power drowned out most of the sounds of the bustling airbase.

  They didn’t have to wait long before a black ground vehicle barreled around one of the buildings and came speeding straight for the parked gunship. Why is every governmental vehicle in the galaxy black? “Heads up guys, it’s show time,” Jason called out unnecessarily, causing both Lucky and Crusher looked at him in mild annoyance. Stating the obvious had been a nervous habit of Jason’s, but now it was more in the nature of a long-running joke between the three. The car slowed to a smooth stop and three officious-looking kireleans climbed out. Although not indigenous to the planet, they had colonized it over two millennia prior and now claimed it as their homeworld. Jason walked out to meet them.

  “Gentlemen! Thank you for your punctuality. As you can see … one low-life arms smuggler in mint condition, just as we agreed. If you’d like to transfer him to—”

  Jason was cut off by one of the kireleans pulling a sidearm and shooting Corenntal in the forehead at near point-blank range.

  “—Or … you could just shoot him in the head. That’s cool too.” The shooter tossed a generic credit chit at Jason before he turned and walked back towards the waiting vehicle. Catching the chit with one hand, Jason turned it over and squeezed it once. Sure enough, their full fee, plus an additional twenty percent, flashed on the ch
it’s small display. Pocketing the small, black disk, he looked up in time to see the other two kireleans grab Corenntal’s body and toss it unceremoniously into the cargo boot of the vehicle before climbing into the passenger cabin and speeding off.

  “What the hell?!” Crusher complained loudly. “We could have just shot him in the head. It would have saved us a trip all the way out to this planet.”

  “Crusher,” Jason began, “we can’t assume to know the intricacies of every planet’s legal system we encounter—”

  “Captain, Kirialee Ground Control has just informed me we have ten minutes to launch or we’ll be arrested and the Phoenix will be confiscated,” Kage broke in over the com. Crusher was just looking at him with one eyebrow raised expectantly.

  “You were saying?”

  “No accounting for manners I suppose,” Jason muttered. “Let’s get in the air. We’ve got the cash and the galaxy is short one more low- to mid-level criminal.”

  The Phoenix climbed easily through the upper atmosphere and into their first transfer orbit as Ground Control handed them off to Orbital Departure Control. The layers of bureaucracy reminded Jason why he preferred frontier planets. Once the orbital controller felt they had spent enough time circling Kirialee to be suitably impressed with her authority, they were given clearance to push out towards the outer system

  “So where to?” Kage asked.

  “We’re on a loose schedule,” Jason said, “nothing really all that pressing to do. I could use a little more downtime to heal up, is there anything good around here?”

  Kage tore into the navigational data for the local area with renewed interest at Jason’s mention of downtime.

  “Oh! O’rethal Platform is just under two parsecs from our current location,” Kage said, practically buzzing in his seat. “We should go there!” Jason did the math in his head. Whatever had Kage so excited was around six light-years away, just a short hop for the Phoenix.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s a casino, for lack of a better term,” Doc said, looking at Kage with concern. “O’rethal Platform is an enormous orbital resort that flies around a class one gas giant. I don’t think it’s a good idea to take our resident slicer, with a known gambling problem, into a high-tech casino, Captain.”