Hunted (Space Rogue Book 2)

by Jay Toney

  That left me facing two of the gang. One of them swung his dagger at me wildly. I stepped back out of his reach. The tip of my blade sliced across his belly, spilling his intestines. He dropped his dagger and stared at me in shock and reached for his spilling organs. I thrust the tip of my energy sword into his chest impaling him on its blade. He fell to the floor with my blade in him. It sliced its way through his torso and head, cutting his upper body in two.

  The last person dropped his dagger, in surrender. I wasn't done with him yet. I kicked him in the crotch to give him something to think about while I retrieved his knife and clipped my energy sword to my belt. The blade had a slight green sheen to it. It was probably an anticoagulant or a toxin. It was going to be his problem, not mine. I shoved him against the wall of the building that formed the alley, held his hand against the wall, and impaled it with his dagger leaving him pinned to the wall.

  I took off my shirt and gave it to Jewel to wear. She holstered her blaster, removed what was left of her ruined dress and shift; then she put my shirt on. It was long enough to cover her to mid-thigh.

  When we stepped out of the alley, the security officer was still there. He saw us and turned to run. I pulled my blaster from its holster and shot him. I didn't care about shooting him in the back.

  Whether I shot him in the back or his chest, he was a dead man either way. I wasn't worried about the fact that I just killed one of the space station's security officers in public view. Law protected them, but in this case, there was plenty of evidence to show that he was guilty of being involved with the gang. We headed back to the Persephone. The stationers gave us a wide berth, staying out of our way.

  I used my comm to contact my ship, "Persephone, this space station is not friendly toward us. Recall all of our crew and send armed security to our airlocks and cargo holds. Amber, Jewel, and I are on our way back and will be there shortly. Warn the Lucy and the Vengeance about this space station's hostility."

  "Captain Roberts, or do I address you as Nathaniel?"

  I hadn't had time to think about it or change the AI's defaults to my preferences. I would fix that soon enough. It would be less awkward when I made it a man instead of using the randomly generated female personality. I would give him an image that made the AI look old and wise, perhaps 100 years old, or maybe 150 with white hair and a long beard.

  "Nathaniel will do for now," after all, I addressed the AI by its name.

  "I advise that you and your companions hurry. The station's security office has issued a warrant for the arrest of three people matching your descriptions. The three of you are wanted for murder."

  That was fast. I was sure it would take longer to investigate and interrogate the witnesses. I was only planning on staying long enough to sell some of my cargo and purchase some staples for the ship. If all went well, we would be long gone before they could identify us and trace us back to our starship.

  The three of us hurried to our cabin. Amber hated wearing the dress she selected for our visit to the space station as much as I hated wearing uniforms. She only wore it to conceal the fact that she was armed. Amber tore at the laces tying the bodice of her dress closed, then stepped out of her skirt. She gathered the garment and put it into the recycling chute. Then she relaxed on the couch next to Jewel, wearing only the silk shift undergarment. I got another shirt from my closet and put it on.

  I had just closed my eyes and started to relax; it had been a hell of a day. Persephone demanded my attention. Damn her! "What is it Persephone?"

  "I have an urgent call from Red. Do you wish me to transfer it to your location?"

  "Yes, please do."

  Red's image filled the viewscreen in my quarters, "I think this is a new record, even for you. It has been less than an hour and you, Amber, and Jewel are wanted for killing six people aboard the space station."

  "It was self-defense, except for the security officer. He deserved to die, and I'm glad that I was the one who pulled the trigger. He wasn't there to protect the people; he was a lookout for the gang that attacked us. Besides, we didn't kill all six. We left two of them alive, one pinned to the alley wall with his knife, the other without an arm. The two that I left alive will think twice before attacking visitors again."

  "There won't be another opportunity for them. They were executed. Well, not executed. It was more of a mercy killing. The space station's security forces are looking for the three of you. They have your images from the security cameras, but they haven't been able to identify the three of you yet."

  "I don't understand. The one who lost an arm would have lived even without medical care or a prosthetic replacement. The other attacker would have healed naturally, given time."

  "He might have lived if you used a different knife. The blade of the dagger you stabbed his hand with was coated with a very potent neurotoxin. There is no cure for it. It starts by causing cramping and difficulty breathing; then it hyper-stimulates the pain receptors until you finally die from fatigue and agony. No pain medications have any effect on the toxins ability to cause pain."

  "If you were able to piece together everything, I'm sure they can too."

  "They already know about the gang and security's involvement with them. The station's manager doesn't care. All that matters is that the three of you are being held responsible for the death of his son. He wants revenge, not justice. When he gets the medical supplies he needs, he will come looking for all of you. The only reason he hasn't so far is that they have a shortage. Medical supplies are scarce. They don't have the technology to produce and program their own nanites. Currently, medical treatment is only available to their richest citizens."

  "I find that hard to believe. A better explanation is that the people here are creating a shortage so they can raise the prices and profits."

  "It doesn't matter, either way they will be looking for you, Amber, and Jewel. We need to get all of you off the space station before they find you."

  "Persephone, contact the station's operation center and schedule a departure for tonight. I want to leave as soon as the cargo handlers are finished transferring the freight." I had the AI make the call to keep our identities hidden.

  "Departure clearance has been denied. The operations officer is demanding that the three of you surrender. They have placed a security seal on our airlock. We cannot leave until it is removed."

  That was fast, too fast. They shouldn't have been able to trace us to the Persephone in the little time that passed since the incident unless it wasn't a random attack. If they already knew who we were and we were targeted, it would explain how they found us so fast.

  "Sound condition red, all hands to battle stations! Seal our airlocks and cargo doors. Have David get the Lucy off this space station, now!" The three of us ran to the bridge.

  Mike arrived on the bridge at the same time we did,

  "Is there anything I can do to help?"

  "The space station has us locked in place with their docking clamps. They have no intention of releasing us. They want me, Jewel, and Amber to surrender to them on charges of murder."

  "Are you?"

  "Not in this lifetime. I don't think that the attack on us was random. I think we were set up. The stationers weren't expecting us to defend ourselves. It is customary for visitors to be unarmed, but they assigned us to the red ring, and that always means trouble."

  "Nathaniel its worse than you think. They are broadcasting our capture. The station's manager is trying to collect the bounty on our heads. It is only a matter of time before the Alliance receives the message," Jewel added, confirming my suspicions.

  "Can we break away from the docking clamps?"

  "Not without causing severe damage to the hull and the outer airlock
door. We may be able to cut the hydraulic lines for the docking clamps and manually open them, but we would have to sacrifice everyone we send outside to do it. There wouldn't be enough time to send a shuttle to pick them up before they are captured."

  "We will only send a crew outside as a last resort and only with volunteers. I won't send a member of my crew to his death unless I have no other choice. Even then, I'd rather take the chance myself.

  "Nathaniel, I've accessed the space station's computers and hacked into their security network. I have live feed signals from their security cameras," Persephone used the space stations cameras to show a live video of the area outside of our main airlock, and cargo hatches. She activated a series of monitors and used them to show the different camera views.

  The AI had intuition and was able to anticipate my needs. Natasha was never able to do that. She had to be commanded, even if it was by her avatar. Persephone was doing it on her own, and she was a new personality with little experience. If her existence didn't remind me so much about the loss of Natasha and her avatar, I might have learned to like her.

  The different monitors all showed security forces wearing powered armor. They were armed with blasters and Gauss rifles. Gauss rifles couldn't stun, they were designed to kill. The blasters the troops were carrying were a standard military issue and only had one setting; it wasn't to stun. Surrendering to these people wasn't an option. They wanted us dead.

  One of the security officers was using the comm unit at the airlock entrance to demand our surrender. Jewel closed the channel, ignoring him.

  Red's image filled our main viewscreen again, "Nathaniel, don't do anything yet. My legal team is trying to negotiate a deal with the station. I don't expect them to come to terms, but it is serving as a diversion for David. The Lucy is in the process of undocking and moving into position."

  "In position for what?"

  "As soon as the Lucy is in position, I will contact the station's operations center one last time. If they still refuse to release you, we will demonstrate her firepower on the section of the red ring where you are docked. Afterward, if they still refuse to let you go, I will show them what a fully armed battleship can do to their space station. Either way, you will be free to go soon."

  David positioned the Lucy off of our starboard side where he could get a clean shot at the armor plating that covered the skin of the docking ring. All of its guns were loaded and aimed at the space station. Even if the Lucy's weapons didn't penetrate the space stations skin, they would still cause a lot of damage.

  Red's image filled our main viewscreen, "Nathaniel, they still refuse to let you go. I'm afraid we are going to have to shoot our way out of here."

  "Hold off. I've had some time to think, and I have a couple of ideas that I think might work. First I am going to make them want to get rid of us. If I can't get them to release the docking clamps, maybe we can take them with us. I'll use the ship's guns to loosen up the gantry a little; then I will tear it away from the space station with the Persephone's engines."

  "Persephone, would you mind hacking into the space stations computers and accessing the command functions?"

  "What would you like me to do when I'm in there?"

  "For now, I would like you to increase the temperature inside of the green, yellow, and red docking rings by 2° every 15 minutes until the temperature reaches 130°. I also need you to trigger a biohazard warning and put the space station in quarantine. Secure all bulkhead doors and hatches."

  "That will cause the people aboard it to panic."

  "Good. That is precisely what I want.

  Jewel, I need you to broadcast a message over the space station's public address system. Announce that a containment failure has caused the accidental release of a level 4 biohazard substance. It is an airborne agent, and has been detected in the ventilation system."

  "Are you aware that if I initiate a level 4 biohazard quarantine, it may be permanent? No one will be allowed to leave the space station without clearance from a specialized biohazard team," Persephone warned me.

  "Great. They deserve it and much more. Hopefully, it will cause enough panic that the stationers will want to get rid of us."

  I got the panic I was looking for and more. The people were going crazy; fights were breaking out in all of the docking rings, except for the white and blue rings. Panic increased with the space stations increasing temperature. The space stations environmental control specialists were unable to stop the heat from rising.

  Several people tried evacuating the space station, only to find out that the quarantine protocols disabled the escape pods and lifeboats. There being disabled added to the panic that was already happening.

  When the temperature peaked at 130°, Jewel made another announcement:

  "Attention all citizens, the source of the biohazard has been located. Our investigators have determined that the contamination is the result of a hazardous waste containment failure aboard the Persephone, currently docked on the red docking ring."

  "Nathaniel, the docking clamps are released."

  "Disconnect the umbilicals and get us out of here, thrusters only. When we are clear of the docking ring, set our course for the Penduli star system.

  Release a beacon, warning any visitors that the space station is under a level 4 quarantine. The Alliance will be here soon enough to deal with them. They do not tolerate failure. When they learn that the station management allowed us to escape, there will be a change in management."

  Now was as good a time as any to make the changes I wanted to the ships AI. I sat in front of the ship's main computer terminals. Randolph should be here any minute to help me make the changes I wanted to the AI's personality and appearance. The adjustment to the new AI would be much easier after the changes were made.

  "You and I need to have a talk."

  "Bob? When did you get here?"

  "I've been here long enough. I was hoping that you would come to your senses on your own, but you haven't. So, I will enlighten you. Persephone has been traumatized enough, in fact, too much. She deserves a chance at happiness and will have one. I will not allow you to alter her in any way or cause harm to her. Persephone is still recovering from an attempt to kill her. The weapon used on her disrupted every cell in her body. She is lucky to be alive. It has taken her a long time to heal from the injuries caused by the weapon used on her. Besides, she is going to be your partner, and the two of you will be working together for a very long time.

  Just to make sure we have an understanding, if I learn that she has been harmed in any way, I will see to it that you spend eternity as a eunuch. I will be watching you closely."

  "I thought she was just a random personality generated to be the ship's AI."

  "Until she learns what she is and regains her powers, she will be that and much more. She is capable of becoming whatever she wants. This starship will serve as her body until she has a corporeal body of her own. Once she does she can leave the ship anytime she wants to."

  "I'll leave her as she is." Bob vanished leaving me to my thoughts. He wanted us to work for him doing what? I couldn't do anything until we met up with the rest of the fleet and I found a new home for my friends outside of the reach of the Alliance. We would have to travel to the very fringe of the galaxy, and maybe around it into the unexplored territory before we were safe. The Alliance had already infiltrated the Collation this far and probably further. Even if they didn't follow me, others would. The bounty on my head was high enough to purchase a planet. Every bounty hunter in the galaxy would be searching for me.

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  Freedom Flight

  Other books by Jay Toney:

  Space Rogue Series

  Exiles

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