Miranda's War

by Eric S. Brown

  Joe woke up screaming. Miranda was kneeling over him. She was saying something, but Joe couldn’t hear a single word that came out of his mouth. He just stared up at her in shock. Miranda grabbed him, yanking him up from where he had fallen. As he stood there with her supporting the bulk of his weight, Joe saw Flynn covering Robbie’s body with a tablecloth. It had been badly mutilated.

  Fear like he’d never felt in all his years as a hunter clawed at Joe’s soul. His heart pounded inside his chest, thrashing against his ribs. He found it hard to breathe.

  Miranda hauled off and smacked him. Her armored hand connected with his jaw, knocking his head to the side with a loud crack. He knew she had meant for it to wake him up, but he was experiencing things as if through the senses of someone else. His ears began to ring sharply. The pain of the noise brought tears to his eyes. At least he wasn’t deaf, Joe told himself, thankful to be hearing anything at all. Miranda dragged him along with her through the door of the saloon and out into the snow, as Flynn covered their exit before following after them. Joe felt his consciousness slipping again as he realized Miranda was taking him to Strider. Halfway up the ship’s ramp, Joe passed out in Miranda’s arms.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 13

  Miranda passed Joe off to Flynn and Rachel as Strider’s rear bay door clanged into place, sealing the ship.

  “Help me get him to medical,” Rachel ordered Flynn before he could protest.

  Miranda dashed forward through the ship toward its pilot’s compartment. As she ran, she shouted over the comm of her helmet, “Brook! Get us out of here!”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Brook answered, and Miranda felt her punch it. Strider’s thrusters roared as the ship rose upward from the streets of Brickson and soared toward the stars. It left the planet’s atmosphere at close to its maximum sub-void space speed. The inertial dampening system couldn’t keep up with the ship’s rapid and sudden ascent, and Miranda lost her footing as she ran. She bounced against a corridor wall, but her armor saved her from being injured.

  Brook looked around as Miranda came storming into Strider’s pilot compartment. It was a small space, meant for no more than four people, with only two seats at the ship’s controls. Brook’s expression was a worried one.

  “Is Joe okay?” Brook asked.

  “He’s fine,” Miranda told her. “Robbie’s dead, though. We were forced to leave his body behind.”

  “Holy…” Brook muttered running the fingers of her right hand through her short-cropped, dark hair. “What happened?”

  “We don’t know,” Miranda admitted. “Run a scan for other ships in the area.”

  “On it,” Brook said, reaching to flick a series of switches on the control panel in front of her. “I’m guessing it wasn’t those bug things that got Robbie, then.”

  “No.” Miranda shook her head. “It wasn’t. Whoever, or whatever got Robbie was a lot more cunning and intelligent than those bugs. The power had been cut to the saloon they were in. Whatever killed them knew exactly what it was doing, and how best to do it. It waited until we were all split up and picked the perfect time to make a move.”

  “So, what…you think it could have been a rival crew of hunters, maybe an Earth Gov operative?” Brook looked over at Miranda as she slid into the copilot seat.

  “There’s no way it was Earth Gov. We’re not important enough for them to send an operative after,” Miranda said.

  “I don’t know, Boss.” Brook shrugged. “You’re a lot more famous than you think you are.”

  “That scan done yet?” Miranda growled.

  “This system’s clear,” Brook told her. “If there’s anything out there, it’s got some serious cloaking tech and really doesn’t want to be seen.”

  Miranda sighed heavily and leaned back into her seat.

  Lee appeared in the doorway of the pilot compartment. “What the fragging devil is going on?” he yelled. “I nearly broke my neck in that takeoff.”

  “Not now.” Miranda glared at him. “I need a minute to think.”

  “Yeah, well, I need some answers,” Lee shot back at her. “First you waste missiles we can barely afford in a fight you could have won without them, and now we’re running like the whole Earth Gov fleet is after us. What the frag is going on with you, girl?”

  Miranda threw herself out of the copilot seat, lunging in Lee’s direction. “We’ll continue this in my quarters,” she said in a voice that held a warning for him to shut up, then she looked back at Brook. “Set a course to rendezvous with Senator Lindsey’s ship at the coordinates she sent us. Inform her that we’re on the way with what’s left of her brother.”

  “Don’t you dare tell her that,” Lee raged. “Keep that last bit to yourself.”

  “Come on!” Miranda shoved Lee out of the pilot compartment and into the corridor beyond it. “Old man, you’re really pushing me right now.”

  “I could say the same about you, girl.” Lee stared at her.

  She saw that he was about to start yelling again and stopped him by saying, “In my quarters, old man.”

  They headed there together and tore into each other as soon as the door closed itself behind them.

  “Seriously, what the hell has got you so upset, girl? We’ve lost people before. Robbie’s no different, is he?” Lee snarled.

  “What does that even mean, he’s no different? Are you implying that Robbie and I were intimate?” Miranda shouted.

  “Intimate, knocking boots, getting it on, whatever you want to call it. Sure. Were you? Is that what this is about?” Lee pressed her.

  “Hell no we weren’t!” Miranda snapped, red-faced and ready to deck him. “I didn’t even like the jerk! But ya know what, he did his job, and he did it well. Everyone on this ship does, or they wouldn’t be here.”

  “Robbie knew the risks of monster hunting when he signed on, Girl,” Lee argued. “We all know the risks and face them every day. People die in this line of work. It’s a given.”

  “Not on my watch,” Miranda screamed at Lee. “Not anymore.”

  “You can’t save everyone, every time, and still be effective at this job,” Lee told her. “That’s the truth, and you know it.”

  Miranda plopped down on the edge of her bed, and stared up at the old man. She took a moment before she spoke again, forcing herself to calm down. “It wasn’t the job that killed him, Lee. This was a calculated hit. Someone or something out there wanted to hurt us, maybe send us a message, and they did it.”

  “Oh…” Lee said. His anger had cooled some, and Miranda got her temper under control.

  “‘Oh,’ is right,” Miranda said, clasping her hands between her legs. “You have any idea who might be out there that would come at us like this?”

  Lee shrugged. “Earth Gov?”

  “No way,” Miranda told him. “This wasn’t their style. Earth Gov always likes to either do things out in the open where everyone can see how powerful and vengeful they are, or at least leave a private calling card to scare the Hades out of whoever they left alive.”

  “I got nothing, then.” Lee frowned.

  “Neither do I, and that’s the problem, Lee,” Miranda admitted. “Whoever did this, whoever killed Robbie, is still out there, and I can guarantee they’ll be coming at us again.”

  “Ain’t much we can do about that except be ready.” Lee reached out to place a hand on one of her armored shoulders. “You know I have your back, kid. I always have.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter 14

  This time when Joe woke up, he found himself in Strider’s medical section. Rachel was injecting him with something. Jerking his arm away from her, Joe’s eyes went wide.

  “Calm down,” Rachel told him. “You’re safe now. This is just a shot to make sure you didn’t pick up any nasty surprises back in Brickson.”

  “Sorry,” Joe muttered. “Is Robbie really dead, or did I dream that?”

  “Robbie’s dead,” Rachel confirmed. “I don’t blame you for
asking. When they found you, blood was pouring out of your ears. Whoever you two went up against hit you with a sonic weapon so powerful it nearly blew your brain apart. If they hadn’t brought you in when they did, I might not have been able to act quickly enough to save you. Strider’s auto-doc and I had a hell of a time patching you up.”

  Joe tried to shrug but found his muscles wouldn’t respond.

  “It’s gonna take some time for you get back on your feet, Joe,” Rachel told him. “At least a day or two.”

  “Did we lose anyone else?” Joe asked.

  “Just Robbie,” Rachel said. “I didn’t get to see his body, but from what I’ve heard, it was a pretty gruesome sight.”

  “It was,” Joe confirmed. “Everything is so hard to remember. It’s all foggy, but something like that…you just don’t forget.”

  “Brook’s been by to check on you, more than once.” Rachel smiled. “When are you two finally going to hook up?”

  “Not you, too.” Joe sighed. “Does everyone on this ship know about us?”

  “It’s pretty obvious, Joe.” Rachel smirked.

  The door to medical opened, and Miranda and Lee walked in. Their expressions were grim. Miranda was no longer wearing her armor. She was dressed in a loose shirt and baggy pants.

  “How you doing, Joe?” Lee asked as they approached the bed.

  “I’ve had better days,” Joe said. “Thankful to still be breathing.”

  “About that…” Miranda slipped into the chair next to his bed, settling in there. “What the frag happened in Brickson, Joe?”

  “He’s having a hard time remembering much,” Rachel said.

  “I didn’t ask you,” Miranda told Rachel in a carefully controlled voice.

  Nonetheless, Rachel got the hint. “I’ll be back to check on you in a bit,” the medic promised, then scurried away to make herself busy elsewhere.

  “Well?” Miranda stared at him.

  “Robbie and I were checking out the buildings on our side of the street like you ordered us to. We went into that saloon and it seemed to be clear…no sign of those bug creatures or the guy we were looking for. The next thing we knew, something killed the power to the building and came in after us,” Joe related. “Robbie tore up the place trying to kill whatever it was.”

  “Whatever?” Miranda frowned. “Not whoever?”

  “For sure.” Joe nodded. “Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t human. I never got a good look at it, but it was too large and too fast to be anything close to human.”

  “You said Robbie tore up the place,” Miranda pressed him.

  “Yeah. He emptied an entire mag at the thing,” Joe said. “If he hit it, the rounds he was firing didn’t do squat to it.”

  “And you didn’t get a shot at it yourself?” Lee chimed in.

  Joe shook his head. “No. Like I said, the thing was fast. And…it seemed to blend into the darkness in the saloon like it was a part of it. I don’t know how to really explain that any better.”

  “What happened after Robbie took his shot at it?” Miranda leaned forward in the chair.

  “Robbie was spooked as hell.” Joe frowned. “I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t. I knew we needed to get out of there, and that if the thing did come after us, at least it would have to show itself. Robbie wouldn’t move, though, and I wasn’t going to leave without him. As we were arguing, the thing started wailing. It was like some sort of sonic weapon. I thought my brain was melting from the sound of it. The next thing I remember, you were there, Boss, yanking me to my feet.”

  “You’re sure this thing wasn’t just a person with some fancy gear?” Lee asked.

  “I’m sure.” Joe shuddered as if he was freezing despite the blankets that covered him. “I’ve never felt anything like what I felt in that saloon before. That thing had a presence about it, cold and utterly evil. I know that sounds crazy, but I swear it’s true.”

  “And that’s all you remember?” Miranda stared at him.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Joe answered.

  “Thank you, Joe,” Miranda said, rising from the chair she sat in. “If you remember anything else…anything at all, you let Lee and I know at once, no matter how trivial it may seem.”

  “You guys didn’t run into that thing when you came after us?” Joe asked in disbelief.

  “Whatever it was, it was gone when we got there.” Miranda shrugged. “All we found was you unconscious on the floor and what was left of Robbie.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Joe commented. “If it was after us, why didn’t that thing stick around to finish me off or go after the rest of you guys, too?”

  “I don’t have any answers, Joe,” Miranda answered. “I think it’s safe to assume, though, that whatever that thing was, it wasn’t indigenous to the planet. It came there just for us, and we’ll almost certainly be running into it again. The things it did to Robbie…I think they were a message…a warning of what it intends to do to us all.”

  “But why?” Joe stammered.

  “Get some rest, Joe,” Miranda ordered him, ignoring his question. “I need you back on your feet as soon as you’re able. We’re a man down and en route to meet up with the senator who hired us.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter 15

  “Time to transition?” Miranda asked Brook as she stood in the pilot compartment. Lee had taken the copilot seat this time. He was better at flying than she was, and if they ran into trouble and the deal went south, Brook was going to need all the help she could get.

  “Two minutes,” Brook answered, checking one of the small screens on the helm.

  “You still think taking a contract from an Earth Gov senator was a good idea?” Miranda asked Lee.

  “I don’t recall you disagreeing, my dear.” Lee snorted. “We needed the money so badly, there wasn’t really any way we could say no. What the good senator is paying will not only replace those missiles you used in Brickson, but help get this ship back to the state she should be in, too.”

  Miranda knew the old man was right. She hadn’t protested much about taking the contract. Frag, she had agreed to take it. Family was a big deal to her, and the senator’s plea for help in finding out what had happened to her brother had touched her on a personal level. Now, looking back, though, Miranda was realizing more and more just how dangerous dealing with a high-ranking Earth Gov senator was.

  “Nothing for it now, anyway,” Lee commented. “We just hand over what we have of her brother, get our credits, and get the hell out of Dodge before Senator Lindsey has second thoughts herself about dealing with fringe scum like us.”

  “Let’s hope it’s that easy.” Miranda frowned.

  Strider seemed to shake as she exited Void Space and dropped into the black. The coordinates they had agreed to meet the senator at were in a neutral area between the fringe worlds and the core planets under Earth Gov control. The senator’s ship was there waiting on them, just as they had been promised it would be. Senator Lindsey’s ship was a destroyer-class vessel. It wasn’t a large as a true ship of the line, but in comparison to Strider, the warship was massive. It dwarfed the small Deathbird and, unlike Strider, its hull was shiny and new, bristling with weapons, and filled with top-of-the-line tech. If things went south, there would be no fighting it. Their only option would be to run and hope for the best.

  “There she is,” Brook said, nodding her head forward at the sight of the huge destroyer. “That’s the Clarion. And she’s alone, too, just like the senator said she would be.”

  “Well, we’re off to a good start,” Miranda commented.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Lee corrected her. “The Clarion has a squadron of her fighters deployed. They’re hanging back, hiding in the distant black, but they’re out there, unless our scanners are on the fritz, too, like half the other systems on this ship.”

  “They’re there,” Brook confirmed, double checking the scan the old man had run.

  “Let’s hope they�
��re just a precaution on Senator Lindsey’s part, then,” Miranda said. “In her place, I’d likely do the same, if I thought I could get away with it without overplaying my hand.”

  “The Clarion is hailing us,” Brook said.

  “Put on, audio only,” Lee ordered.

  Miranda shot him a glance.

  “Just being careful,” Lee told her. “No need for her to see us yet. She may not approve of an old piece of scum like me.”

  “You handled the deal with her!” Miranda laughed.

  “Doesn’t mean we need to remind her of that.” Lee smirked.

  “On speakers now,” Brook said.

  “Strider, this is the Earth Gov vessel Clarion,” a harsh, stern voice boomed. “You’ve been cleared to come aboard. Approach the bay on our starboard side. If we so much as see a hint of you getting up to anything you shouldn’t be, we’ll blow you out of the black.”

  Lee shook his head at Miranda and whispered, “We ain’t going into that bay.”

  Miranda understood what he meant. If Strider went into the bay, they would be at the mercy of the senator and her men. There would be no running if there was trouble.

  “Negative,” Miranda answered the Clarion. “We’re not coming aboard. That wasn’t part of the arrangement. We have no shuttle, so you’re going to have to send one over to pick us up if you want to do business.”

  There was a long pause before the Clarion replied. “Understood. A shuttle will be arriving in five minutes. Clarion out.”

  “They’ve cut the transmission,” Brook said.