"Alocur said this body was meant to be an infiltration type," Kage said. "It was specialized for intelligence and counter-intelligence. Maybe some subroutine kicked in when his sensors picked up this asshole's equipment."
"Plausible," Jason agreed. "Kage, you're really very good at this. Why didn't you step up before with all of these useful skills and good ideas?"
"The three of you seemed to really enjoy just smashing into things like every problem could be solved with brute force," Kage said. "Once you weren't around, I had to figure out a different way of doing things that played to my own strengths."
"You did good," Crusher rumbled. "I'm proud of you."
Kage looked completely stunned by the random compliment and seemed to be waiting for the punchline when all of their com units starting buzzing at once.
"You better start heading back this way," Doc's voice came over all the units simultaneously. "A ConFed taskforce just popped into the system and the port is clearing out."
"Interesting timing," Jason said. "We're on our way."
"What should we do with him?" Crusher asked eagerly.
"I'd advise against killing him," Kage said. "His gear tells me that he's working for some governmental service. Roughing him up is one thing, leaving a corpse is another."
"We don't have time to be creative," Jason said. "Just leave him."
Rather than try to flee with the rest of the rats, Jason had opted for a leisurely trip back to the spaceport and then remained on the tarmac until the initial rush died down. Once the ConFed taskforce was mired down with the impossible task of tracking all the outbound traffic and cataloging slip-space signatures of departing ships, he discreetly took off and moved the Phoenix to the opposite side of the system. They were in a slow, powerless drift that would continue to take them further away from Niceen-3 and towards the mesh-out point that would take them deeper into the Reaches.
During the long outbound flight, Kage had time to carefully analyze all of the gear they'd swiped off the chula down on the planet. The battlesynth had still not given any indication as to how—or if—it had known the alien was tracking them. In the end, Jason had stopped trying to pull information out it, not wanting to become frustrated or negative while trying to coax something from the machine, be that Lucky or another emergent personality.
"This guy was a pro… nothing in any of his crap to point back to whom he might be working for," Kage said when Jason poked his head into the com room.
"Worth a shot, but I expected as much," he said. "How about the stuff Zadra gave us?"
"We've got a destination: Nott."
"Excuse me?" Jason asked.
"Nott. It's the name of the planet we need to go to next." Kage brought up a screen and showed him the buck sheet on the planet giving all the details like mass, gravity, and atmosphere. "According to Zadra's information, our target was heading there as his ultimate destination."
"That's still an entire planet to search, Kage," Jason complained.
"We know we have to go there, it's a seven-day flight at least, by the time we get there I'll have a better idea where we're going," Kage said slowly as if he was talking to a simpleton.
Jason decided to swallow his retort and headed for the bridge to get them moving towards mesh-out.
"So when did this 'new Kage' start?" he asked Twingo after sliding into the pilot's seat.
"What do you mean?"
"He's still the same insufferable smartass, but now he's actually good at his job," Jason said. "It's unnerving. Correction… he's always been good at his job, but now he seems to be taking it seriously."
"We all grow up," Twingo said. "Eventually you and Crusher will as well. As to your question, you know the answer. Kage was just as hurt by Lucky's death as you were, and when he was given the opportunity to do something about it, he jumped at the chance. Somewhere along the way our high-strung little code slicer found that he could be a bit of a badass when he needed to be."
"It's unnatural," Jason grunted.
The flight to Nott could be done in three days, but it would mean flogging the Phoenix the entire way and drawing a hell of a lot of attention when their slip-drive signature lit up the sky. He opted instead for a course that would put them seven days out and better blend in with all the junkers and scows plodding along through the Reaches. Now that they were leaving the Niceen system they would need to be on their toes, doubly so now that they knew someone was tracking them.
On a whim, he opened up a com window on his multifunction display and composed a quick message to Mok regarding the status of Alocur that would go out with the next batch transmission. It may have been something that the pru had told him and he ignored or missed, but something about Zadra's insistence that he wasn't an active agent in Kheprian Intelligence bothered him. If he wasn't working for the government, and wasn't empowered to hire Omega Force for a search mission, then just who the hell was Jason really working for right now? He'd learned the hard way that just being ignorant of something didn't shield you from the consequences, and he'd prefer not to be doing business with someone that had powerful enemies with vengeful streaks.
"I'll be down in Engineering." Twingo climbed out of his seat after the Phoenix had meshed-out of the Niceen system. "I've still got a lot of work to undo all the months of neglect and abuse from your joyride out to the frontier."
"Glad I can give you something to do," Jason said absently, still fretting over his letter to Mok. It had to have enough detail that the old windbag would take an interest and actually answer him, but not so much that it would sacrifice the advantage he currently had. Right now they were working for Alocur on something that could have massive ramifications for the entire quadrant, and Mok was completely boxed out. Jason figured he could play out the line a bit at a time and use the details from what they learned on the mission to pay Mok back for all the damn favors he was doing them.
"I don't suppose you'd like to talk to me right now, would you?" he asked the battlesynth that was standing behind him. He wasn't actually expecting an answer and wasn't disappointed when he didn't get one. "If you're in there, Lucky, I hope you'll figure out a way to let me know. I'm not giving up until either I die or you let me know unequivocally that the mind in control of that body isn't my friend."
He stayed up on the bridge alone with the machine for a time, contemplating what else he could do to coax out a response from it. If too much time passed and things didn't improve, he didn't think they'd have much choice but to leave it back on S'Tora. The moral and ethical questions about what to do with it after that were things he'd rather not contemplate stone sober, if ever.
Chapter 12
"Wow… what a shithole."
Nott was a planet that lived up to the hype surrounding the Kaspian Reaches. It was on the very outer edge of what Jason understood to be the "Goldilocks Zone" of its tiny M-Class dwarf star. The planet was dim, unbearably cold, and small, so the gravity was less than he was used to. In his opinion it was taking gross liberties with the word "habitable" to apply it to Nott. After consulting with the ship's nav computer, he and Kage concluded that it may very well be the worst place to live in the galaxy except for the lower levels of Colton Hub or Crusher's house on S'Tora.
"Yeah, it doesn't have a lot going for it," Jason said. "I thought living on a moon would be intolerable, but this is a whole new level of suffering."
"You think maybe this officer we're after is a masochist?" Kage asked. "Lots of other bolt holes that aren't quite as obvious as this place."
"It actually makes perfect sense," Doc said. "Think about it… we know a place like this isn't as good as hiding in plain sight, but a scared, pampered fleet officer who likely got his job through political favors? He's going to try to find a hole to crawl into and pull the ground over him. He'll think the more remote the better, when in reality the low population density and lack of ship traffic make it a horrible hiding spot."
"What the hell?" Crusher barked. "Has everyone su
ddenly become an expert in tactics and counter-intelligence? We were only gone for a little less than a year! Before that half this crew couldn't fight their way out of an erugan."
"What's an—"
"You don't want to know," Jason cut Kage off. "Look up the Earth reference for Roman orgies and then apply Galvetic… enthusiasm. That should give you an idea."
"I think I'll pass."
"You get the point." Crusher waved them away dismissively.
After the awkward exchange, the conversation hit a lull as the Phoenix began to brush up against the edges of Nott's disgusting atmosphere. The big gunship wobbled and bucked slightly as if she too was less than enthusiastic about touching this world. There was no orbital control or landing authority. Jason just picked an entry lane, broadcast his intent, and then dared anybody to stop him on the way down.
He found a spot along the perimeter of the disorganized landing area and set the Phoenix down with a firm jolt, set the engines to standby mode and kept the gunship's formidable arsenal primed and ready. If they needed to make a quick escape from this hellhole, he didn't want to be sitting around waiting for grav emitters to charge up.
"Uh, oh," Kage said and pointed out in front of the ship. "Look who else is here."
"Shit," Jason muttered when he saw the ship Kage was pointing at. "No mistaking that ship if you know what to look for. If Chenyx Six is here, someone is about to have a really bad day."
"Who is Chenyx Six?" Doc asked.
"Not who, what," Crusher corrected. "They're a badass top tier merc team. The kind that gives people nightmares."
"Why do they call themselves that?"
"The term roughly translates to 'solitary warrior' in their captain's native tongue," Crusher said. "And there are six of them."
"But if the term means—"
"I said they were badasses, I didn't say they were bright."
"They specialize in political assassinations, high-profile abductions, and sometimes destabilization if the price is right," Jason said. "They're ruthless and highly effective. The real question is what the hell they're doing on Nott. There can't be anything here worth the price they would charge to come all the way out here."
"Maybe they're hiding from someone," Twingo said.
"If that's true, I really don't want to run across whatever would send that pack of psychopaths to ground," Jason said.
The ship across the tarmac was unique, a fully custom craft designed to be a chameleon. Many of the protuberances and stabilizers along the fuselage didn't serve any purpose other than to be reconfigured to change the ship's profile and make identifying it damn near impossible. There were even hull panels that would move to hide or expose other features on the ship to further confuse things. He'd never heard how formidable it was in combat, but he doubted Chenyx Six would fly around in anything that wasn't armed to the teeth.
"How do you want to handle them?" Kage asked.
"We avoid them," Jason said firmly. "I don't know why they're here, and I don't care. Let's just do our job and get out of here as quickly as possible."
After agreeing that Doc and Twingo would remain on the ship, and trying in vain to get the battlesynth to stay, the rest of the crew walked out into the bitter cold of Nott's midday sun. The rest of the settlement they'd arrived at was as chaotic and unorganized as the spaceport, so Jason had to stop a few strangers to get directions to their destination. It was a tricky proposition since he couldn't guarantee that they weren't giving him directions to some secluded back alley where their friends were waiting to jump him. After more than a few wrong turns, they finally arrived in front of a rundown building, its walls lined with strata that were indicative that it was made with a low-quality robotic duracrete constructor. Most industrialized worlds utilized the technology to quickly and cheaply "print" buildings. Even the moderately priced models were so good you couldn't tell their work from the more labor-intensive molded walls.
"Of course it's another seedy bar," Crusher sighed. "Can this be any more of a cliché?"
"Talk to Kage about it," Jason said. "He's the one planning this op."
"The information we got from Mok's broker indicated that the shuttle our target ran off in was sold by a mid-level fence here on Nott," Kage said. "The seller works almost exclusively with one of the bigger smuggling cartels that operates within the Reaches, and the dirt bag that runs the cartel also owns this bar. He'll be in here most days."
"And likely surrounded by heavily armed guards," Jason said. "Isn't there someone lower on the roster we could grab?"
"We only have confirmation that this guy was involved," Kage said. "If we start grabbing his lieutenants and squeezing them, we'll only likely get a couple of them before word gets out and we're dealing with his hired muscle anyway. We're just here looking for information, not trying to shut him down or edge into his territory. Since there wouldn't be any profit in killing us, we'll probably be fine."
"So what's the plan?" Crusher asked.
"We'll just hang out for a bit," Jason said. "This is a bar near the spaceport, or at least that bit of pavement they call a spaceport, so they'll be used to transients. It shouldn't take us long to get eyes on the objective and begin to form a plan."
"You might want to tell him that," Crusher said, pointing to the retreating back of the battlesynth as it strode off towards the bar.
"Damnit! Come back here!"
As usual, it ignored him. They took off running after it but were unable to catch it before it made it to the door and went inside.
Instead of making a discreet entrance and being able to survey the room before making any moves, the three of them barged in to see nearly everyone in the place turned and staring at the battlesynth. When Jason looked over he could see its head twitching back and forth as it scanned the place. He assumed it was either actively looking for threats or something had gone wrong and it was about to freeze up.
"Hey! I know that kawkfa!!" a voice shouted out above the din. Jason looked over and saw a hulking Taukkir leap off his stool and point at him. "He killed five of my friends!"
"This could have gone better," Jason muttered as everyone now focused their attention on him. Crusher and Kage eased back away from him and he wasn't sure if it was to more easily escape when the mob came at him or to better cover him. Either was possible with those two. Soon Jason could hear his name, or a description of the Phoenix, circulating through an increasingly agitated crowd. Apparently not everyone in the establishment was a fan of his methods.
"Hey everyone!" he shouted, trying to get ahead of a situation that was quickly spiraling out of control. "Let's all just calm down and grab a drink… this doesn't have to get stupid. Deal?"
No deal.
The first thing thrown at Jason was a cup, then a bottle, then a chair. It all went downhill from there. He moved to his right and lashed out at the patron closest to him, smashing his fist into the side of the alien's head. He wasn't actually sure if the being he hit was involved in the growing mob, but he was trying to cut a path to the wall with a door in it. Crusher saw what he intended and moved to his left, helping to keep people from getting in behind him as well as shielding Kage.
As a general unspoken rule in these sorts of things, no weapons were drawn by either side. It was just good policy that when a fight broke out between armed criminal factions that they not escalate things to the level of tearing a building down or getting a heavy-handed law enforcement response. Even on a lawless lump of rock like Nott, the rules appeared to still be honored… at least by most participants.
Jason heard the telltale pop/whine before he saw the battlesynth's eyes shift to a glowing crimson. "Oh, shit," he whispered as everyone froze and stared at what they had all assumed to be some type of expensive service bot.
The moment was broken when the battlesynth leapt into the air, firing its repulsors and hovering in the middle of the room near the high ceiling. It spun and opened fire on the crowd and Jason could see each arm held two plasm
a cannons capable of a much higher rate of fire than the older battlesynths could manage. The crowd shifted from angry mob to terrified stampede as they rushed the exits trying to escape the unexpected assault from something none of them could identify.
"He's picking targets!" Crusher shouted and pointed. Sure enough, the only people being blown apart by powerful plasma bolts were those that had participated in the initial assault on Jason. He shook his head at the unexpected development and looked back out at the crowd.
There!
A fat Selubal was being dragged out to a back exit by five bodyguards that looked like they knew how to handle themselves. One was a Korkaran so Jason knew a ton of credits had been spent on that security detail. Since the battlesynth had changed the dynamics of the brawl by opening fire with energy weapons, Jason figured it was officially a free-for-all and pulled both his plasma pistols before taking off around the edge of the crowd to pursue their objective. If he could just get outside and get his attention before any of the other patrons held him up, he might be able to salvage the situation. All he needed was a few minutes to talk. Hopefully his bodyguards wouldn't shoot him on sight.
Ignoring Crusher's shout to hold up, Jason charged between a cluster of satellite fights that had broken off from the main brawl and plowed his way through the door the objective had just left through. When he emerged outside, he was so focused on the fleeing target that he failed to do the basics and check his blind spots to the left and right.
He barely felt the impact of the stun dart, the discharge of current overloading his nerves and locking his muscles up almost immediately. Jason could only stare at the ground while he was immobilized, raging inside at his own stupidity. When a boot roughly turned him over, the face peering down at him wore a sadistic look that held just a hint of satisfaction.
"Captain Burke… imagine running into you here."
Jason recognized Jurg, the feared captain of the Chenyx Six crew. What the hell was going on? Jurg seemed to read his mind.
Omega Force: Legends Never Die (OF10) Page 11