Greco gave him a dubious look. “It’s one thing bending objects and matter to your will. They have constant states. Humans have too many variables to gauge correctly.”
“I’d agree that luck comes in handy.”
Greco eyed him. “Do you consider yourself lucky?”
“Most of the time,” Tanner said.
“Now?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t believe I care to hear that,” Greco said. “It implies you’re about to engage in risky behavior.”
“Why should we quit now?” Tanner asked.
“Because the odds continue to lengthen against us,” Greco said.
Tanner opened intra-ship communications, telling everyone to buckle in tight. Afterward, he applied hard thrust, as he slowed down the raider’s velocity.
***
As the hours lengthened, the Dark Star moved around the asteroid belt’s outer curvature. It wasn’t like going around a planet’s horizon, giving protection from a chasing enemy. A laser or missile could conceivably pass through the asteroid belt without hitting any debris. The likelihood of that happening, however, was very small. Through the middle areas of the asteroid belt that would be all but impossible. The belt was thicker with debris in the middle than on the edges, but even on the edges, there were clusters of denser areas. Ottokar’s asteroid was one among millions of larger bodies. There were trillions of smaller pieces and even more pebble-sized particles and dust motes.
If the Dark Star attempted to turn into the asteroid belt at its present speed, the outer hull wouldn’t last long. Dust motes and pebbles would pepper and critically pierce the hull long before a boulder ever destroyed the craft. Tanner took a risk flying this near the belt—thirty thousand kilometers from the so-called edge, as there would be more debris out here than in normal space.
The comm light came on later. Greco had left for some sack time. Tanner was alone, sipping coffee, working to stay awake.
He tapped the screen as much out of boredom as anything else. The sub-superior appeared.
“You have won this round, Centurion,” she told him. “But you will lose the final contest.”
“You could be right,” he said.
“I have recorded your smugness. Special Intelligence will have a field day with you once you’re captured.”
“They’ll never catch me,” Tanner said.
The sub-superior studied him. As she did, the image became fuzzier.
Tanner decided this was a good time to cut the link.
He finished the coffee, thought about Ursa and found his eyelids drooping. Finally, his eyes shut and his head fell forward. He slept in his seat for six and half hours.
“Boss,” Greco said, shaking him. “Boss, wake up.”
Tanner started awake. He lurched up, only to have his buckles catch him and slam him back down.
“You fell asleep,” Greco said.
Tanner rubbed his eyes. His neck was sore.
“You should go lie down in your bed,” the apeman said.
“I’m not sleepy anymore.” Tanner sat up as he checked the situation on the sensors.
The Dark Star had lost more velocity as the raider continued to brake at 0.75 G’s. In another three hours, he could think about entering the asteroid belt. That would mean—
A klaxon began to blare. It surprised Tanner, making him twitch, which yanked at his sore neck. He groaned, rubbing the spot.
“What’s the klaxon blaring about?” he asked.
Greco slapped off the switch. He studied the controls and finally pointed at the scanner. “Look, boss, isn’t that a Stealth Five Missile?”
“Where?”
“There, coming out at us from the asteroid belt.”
Tanner saw it. The sub-superior had shot a torpedo through the edge of the asteroid belt. It must have gone fast to reach them now. And it hadn’t struck any pebbles or dust motes. Talk about getting lucky.
“Emergency, emergency,” Tanner said through the ship comm. “A stealth missile is approaching detonation range. Everyone head for the insulation room. Don the suits and lie in the cubicles. I will attempt to destroy the missile before it can detonate near enough to kill us.”
“You can’t hit the torpedo in time,” Greco said. “Remember last time?”
On the sensor board, a flare of heat showed off the torpedo’s nosecone.
The apeman glanced at Tanner. “You just got your chance, boss. A stone must have struck it. The cone is heating up from friction. It has a bigger signature than before.”
“Start up the accelerator!” Tanner shouted. “We have to do this now.”
Greco tapped controls while Tanner targeted the approaching stealth drone. The stealth five model was bigger than Coalition destroyers normally carried.
The engine thrummed, the accelerator roared. “It’s all yours, boss.”
“I’ve got you,” Tanner whispered. He pressed the firing tab as he watched the targeting scope.
The charged electrons traveled at near-light speeds. The target was thirty thousand kilometers away. The torpedo had good electronic warfare systems. It might jink now—
A white flare showed on the targeting screen.
“Direct hit,” Greco said.
Tanner’s muscles seemed to melt away. He sagged against the seat. That had been too close. If the pebble hadn’t hit the nosecone… He didn’t want to dwell on it.
“What do we do now, boss?”
Tanner forced his sluggish might to engage. “Now, I think it’s time we headed into the asteroid belt. We want to reach the hideaway fast and get out fast.”
“What’s your reasoning? You believe the destroyer headed out system to go get reinforcements?”
Tanner shook his head. “I have no guesses as to that. Maybe the sub-superior is back there. Maybe she’s trying to slice through the edge of the belt right now in order to get to us. Maybe she’s headed out for reinforcements. I think we have to move before everyone thinks out every angle, and that includes the pirates and the Coalition.”
“We’re gambling, in other words,” Greco said.
“Likely, we always have been,” Tanner said. He clicked on the intercom to tell the others the good news. Then, he began the calculations for the precise instant they should head into the mass of asteroidal debris.
-29-
The Dark Star slowly negotiated the dense asteroid belt. The raider had shed most of its velocity by now and had answered three different robot challenges. Ottokar called once.
“Have you forgotten our bargain?” the pirate demanded over the comm.
“You want triton,” Tanner said. He’d slept in his bed for twelve solid hours. He felt much better and more upbeat, although the problem with Ursa nagged at his conscience.
“I want all your triton, bounty hunter. How much do you carry?”
“You want me to broadcast that?” Tanner asked.
Ottokar laughed, showing he had several metal teeth. “You’re a sly young devil, aren’t you?”
“Just a man making a living,” Tanner said.
Ottokar spat at his feet. “I give you that for your making a living. You’re a wage slave.”
“Hardly that,” Tanner said.
“A grubber like the others,” Ottokar said. “Only we pirates are free.”
Free to rob and pillage, Tanner wanted to say. He had learned to despise their kind, but he doubted it would be good form to let the pirate know that.
“Do you doubt me?” Ottokar demanded.
Tanner shook his head.
“You be a fearing us, bounty hunter?”
“No, I just fear you, Ottokar,” Tanner said.
The pirate smirked. “All I demand is that you don’t forget what you owe me. I’ll be there to greet you, bounty hunter. If you play me false, everyone gets to know who you are.”
“I’m surprised they don’t already,” Greco said, once the pirate had signed off. The apemen gave Tanner a shrewd appraisal. “It’s possi
ble you’re dead if we dock at the hideaway. They hate bounty hunters with a passion.”
Tanner stood up. “That’s why I have plan.”
“What plan, boss?”
Without answering, Tanner headed down the corridor.
***
Tanner found Acton inside one of the cargo holds. That made him angry. The Shand didn’t have a key code. That meant the alien had broken into the hold.
“What are you doing in here?” Tanner said. He strode into the hold, and noticed a shadow move a second too late.
From behind, a Lithian grabbed him by the arms, effortlessly hoisting him so his head lightly bumped against the ceiling.
“Easy, my pet,” Acton said. “We don’t want to harm the captain too soon.”
The Lithian grunted, lowering Tanner a few centimeters.
Tanner glared at Acton. The Shand wore his fancy black suit with tails. He held his cane and wore a black top hat. Somehow, it all fit, although it should have seemed ridiculous.
“You can be so troublesome at times,” Acton said. “Do you realize that?”
“We’re heading for the hideaway,” Tanner said.
“I already know this.”
“Ottokar Akko is expecting all our triton in payment for his services.”
Acton’s eyes glittered. It wasn’t just an expression; they truly sparkled for just a moment.
“Just how much triton do we have on board anyway?” Tanner asked. “Ottokar wants to know.”
“You can’t have planned it like this,” Acton said quietly, as if to himself.
Tanner tested the Lithian’s strength. It was iron-like, unbreakable. Finally, he ceased his struggles.
“Did you plan this?” Acton asked.
“Have you ever played poker?” Tanner asked.
“Answer my question.”
“I am, although in my own way.”
Acton tapped the end of the cane against the deck. “Very well, continue.”
“In poker,” Tanner explained, “each player is randomly given a hand of cards of various values. The player combines the cards into various suits or hands of precise but different values, each outranking the other.”
“I understand the concept,” Acton said.
“The interesting thing is betting. The poker players each wager that his hand is the strongest.”
“Why would anyone do something so foolish?” Acton asked. “They can surely see the cards before them.”
“Oh. I forgot to tell you. Each player keeps his cards hidden from everyone else.”
Acton tapped the deck once more. “Yes, I perceive the game. It is one of blind chance.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Tanner said. “There is also human psychology involved. We call it bluffing.”
“Explain the concept to me.”
“Bluffing is when a player possesses a weak hand but acts as if it’s a strong one.”
“How does this help him?” Acton asked.
“The other players might fear his act enough to fold, to throw in their cards and accept defeat. They do this so they don’t have to bet higher still and possibly lose more money.”
Acton raised the cane, scratching his chin with the lion head. “I see. Yes. It is a game of wits as well as chance. How does this answer my original question?”
“I’ve had to play the hand I’m dealt, not the one I’d like.”
“This is an idiom?” Acton said.
“No, it is an analogy. The cards represent my situation. I’m bluffing Ottokar Akko.”
“I don’t see why the pirate should fold. He will have the stronger hand all the way down the line.”
“Maybe not,” Tanner said.
“What could you possibly do to change his mind?”
“Me?” Tanner asked. “I can’t do a thing.”
“Then…” Acton became still. “This is why you have sought me just now, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Lord,” Tanner said.
“I wondered how you happened to stumble upon me at this precise moment. It is merely stupid simian luck on your part.”
“Then you agree to help me?” Tanner asked.
Acton shook his head, turning away. “Put him down, my pet,” the Shand told the Lithian.
Tanner felt his feet touch down. The vast warm hands let go of his flesh. He stumbled, and had to fight to keep from drawing his gun and shooting the Shand. He no longer believed the creature was on the same side as the Varus twins and him. What did he hope to gain from all this?
Acton regarded him. “You think yourself clever but in reality you are easy to read and predict. That is why I’m willing to keep you. The others are even more predictable and useful to me. This surprise—it was chance, nothing more.”
“It must be nice being so smart,” Tanner said.
“Like everything else, it has its advantages and drawbacks.”
“What drawbacks are there to great intellect?” Tanner asked.
Acton smiled in a strange way. “I understand that you seek to probe for a weakness in me. I have none that you can use. The drawback concerns knowing too much, in seeing the futility in so many events. That doesn’t concern you. You are too elemental and emotive, too driven by your urges and surface desires. Still, you can fight, and therein lies your true use.”
“At least I can do something,” Tanner said. “I was beginning to wonder if I was any use at all.”
“I had not thought to detect self-pity in you.” Acton cocked his head. “That diminishes you. I urge you to scrub self-pity from your mind.”
“Why not grease me and make me do it.”
“That would harm your utility to the project. I cannot have that.”
“Not after hearing about Ottokar Akko, in any regard.”
“Well said. In a small way, you have forced my hand. Yet, I already sense that this is for the better. I hadn’t wanted to…never mind about that. We shall proceed. Go, Captain, complete your rounds. We will be at the hideaway soon enough.”
Tanner paused before leaving.
“Is something wrong?” Acton asked.
“Did the Coalition destroyer stay or head for hyperspace territory?”
“Why do you think I know?”
“Because your equipment has proven superior each time,” Tanner said. “I’d be more surprised if you didn’t know.”
“The destroyer launched the stealth drone and headed for deep space.”
“You didn’t think to tell me about the drone beforehand?”
Acton’s eyes widened minutely. It made him seem more human, more likeable. He pulled out the slate, tucked the cane under his arm and tapped the technological device. After a time, he lowered the slate and stared at Tanner.
“You figured the drone would never make it through the dust and debris, right?” Tanner asked.
“The odds seemed low,” Acton admitted.
“It almost ended your mission.”
Acton’s lips drew back as if making a silent hiss. He tapped the slate further. Finally, he put it away and gripped his cane.
“Go,” Acton said, pointing at the cargo-hold hatch.
Tanner massaged one of his arms where the Lithian had held him too tightly. He walked around the giant creature, heading for the hatch.
He was more certain than ever that Acton had a hand in Lupus’s death. The Shand played a deep game. The grimace just now had signified something. Tanner would love to know what it had meant. He didn’t think it was anything good for his mission. What was Acton’s mission? Tanner was convinced it was different from theirs and the cyborgs’. What would an alien want on Planet Zero?
As Tanner hurried for Greco’s quarters, he decided the better question was how Acton planned to handle the pirate leader. Because if the Shand didn’t have something up his sleeve, the rest of them were likely toast in a most gruesome and prolonged manner once they reached the hideaway.
-30-
The hideaway was the largest piece of the ancient shattered p
lanet.
“I should be taking notes,” Greco said at one point.
“Notes?” Tanner asked.
“About the pieces, to see if I can understand what shattered the planet.”
“Why?” asked Tanner.
“Because of my koholmany,” Greco said. “Every Avernite has a task, a life goal that gives him a sense of purpose. I seek to understand vibrations, everything about them. I would like to succeed with Tesla’s boast.”
Tanner had grown bored of the topic, although he did find the asteroid belt interesting. Throughout the years, various enterprising people had maneuvered large asteroids, adding them to the biggest ones that made up the hideaway.
The extra chunks made for a conglomerate of asteroids, most of them hollowed out and rebuilt with living quarters or industrial sites. No individual or group ruled here. Instead, powerful individuals or groups of people owned certain parts of the whole. The Dog Nobles were among the most powerful, a group of pirates that raided hundreds of light-years away. Keg the Slaver had headquartered on one of the smaller asteroids, although he’d only been a small time crime lord.
Any perversion, delight or vice could be found in the hideaway. The protective asteroids, the trillions upon trillions of drifting pebbles and vast dust fields meant any enemy battlefleet would have a dangerous time maneuvering close to the hideaway. This protection came at a cost, though. Each year, a number of pirate vessels met a grim end due to debris collisions.
The hideaway’s benefits outweighed these disasters, though. The hideaway didn’t possess a normal, restrictive government. Instead, the strongest or most cunning imposed their whims by fist, club or raygun. The jungle law of tooth and claw reigned throughout the hideaway.
Tanner guided the Dark Star toward the main asteroid. The tiny raider would have to pass underneath siege guns and particle beam emitters.
“Look at this,” Greco said, indicating himself. “My fur is on end.”
Tanner was too busy and too worried to look at the apeman. He guided the raider following the precise instructions Ottokar Akko gave them to ensure the particle beams and siege guns remained silent.
“Bring her to an all stop,” Ottokar said over the comm.
Tanner used maneuver thrusters. He’d already had to turn off the fusion engine. That wasn’t something he did often. The lords and ladies of the hideaway did not want suicide bombers taking out any of their fortresses. A madman had exploded his fusion engine once. Now, the underworld had a new law in the hideaway regarding docking procedures. It was one of the few rules everyone enforced.
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