by Ryk Brown
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Frontiers Saga Part 2: Rogue Castes
Episode #5: Balance
Copyright © 2017 by Ryk Brown All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
CHAPTER ONE
Nathan sat patiently in the transaction office next to Jessica and Deliza. It was the sixth financial institution they had visited on just as many worlds, in their effort to move Ranni Enterprise’s wealth further away from the Pentaurus cluster. It was tedious work, but critical to the future of the new Karuzari rebellion. Without the funds, the rebellion against the Dusahn Empire would die before it gained any momentum.
Jessica and General Telles had assured Nathan that there were better things for him to do with his time than chauffeur Deliza from place to place as she traded large sums of currency from one world’s denomination to another. Nathan, however, had felt otherwise. Although Jessica had accompanied Deliza to provide security while on the surface, the Seiiki was still his ship and he felt the need to be on her whenever she flew.
Although the Seiiki was still wanted by the Dusahn, she was the least likely ship to draw undue attention at civilian spaceports. It was not uncommon for ships of her ilk to be chartered by corporate types for multi-system hops. And Connor Tuplo was the Seiiki’s captain of record, throughout the Pentaurus sector and all the sectors surrounding it. More than a few eyebrows would be raised if the ship arrived without her captain, and there was no time to go through the complex process of changing the ship’s registration in dozens of ports.
At least, that had been Nathan’s argument. The truth was, Nathan had little interest in the logistics of creating the Karuzari fleet. The recent addition of three more cargo ships, two propellant tankers, and the luxury liner Mystic Empress brought had their numbers up to eight ships; plus four of the cargo pod haulers commonly referred to as boxcars. The coordination of communications, propellant conservation, jump plotting, and the distribution of consumables among all of the ships was currently in disarray, but it was a task at which both Cameron and her executive officer, Commander Kaplan, not only excelled, but thoroughly enjoyed. Nathan was just relieved that no one had asked him to do the job.
As captain of the Seiiki, Connor Tuplo had left such tasks to Marcus and Neli, which they had managed nicely. In fact, once Captain Taylor and Commander Kaplan completed their list, Marcus and Neli would be called upon to help them acquire what they needed. It seemed an unlikely priority, considering the circumstances, but they needed to stock up on the essentials of life now, before the Dusahn’s influence spread beyond the Pentaurus cluster and made acquisition of the basics even more difficult. The further out they needed to go, the more time and resources the act of acquisition required. They needed a buffer to protect themselves against future difficulties, and all of that required funding.
That had been a strong enough argument to convince General Telles that Nathan should be in charge of this mission. Not that the general would have stopped him from coming, but it was preferable that it did not come to that.
So, here they sat, waiting while yet another functionary in a well-tailored suit, basking in his own self-importance, came up with reasons to delay their transaction, hoping to keep Ranni Enterprises’ funds in their little institution for just a few minutes longer. It was all Nathan could do to resist grabbing the little man by the collar and giving him a good shake as he told him the truth about what they were doing and what was at stake.
Of course, the man would likely only ponder the many ways that his institution might profit from all the doom and gloom which his world, and the rest of the Pentaurus sector, was facing. That alone was enough to keep Nathan’s impulses at bay.
Nathan sighed as he leaned closer to Jessica. “This guy is taking longer than the rest,” he whispered.
“I know,” Jessica whispered back. “Good thing we aren’t armed. I would’ve shot him by now.”
Nathan caught the disapproving glance from Deliza, who was supposed to be his employer in the eyes of the silver-haired financial officer sitting across the table from them, and sat up straighter.
“I trust there are no problems with the requested transaction?” Deliza asked the man.
“None that I can see,” he assured her. “However, it is a rather sizable transfer and it must pass through several interstellar exchange intermediaries, all of which require the use of jump comm-drones to verify the details of the transaction prior to final execution.”
“Of course.”
“If you’d prefer, I can have verification sent to your hotel and we can complete the transaction later if it’s more convenient.”
“That will not be necessary,” Deliza insisted in a businesslike manner. “However, I should remind you we are pressed for time, as we have one more stop to make today.”
“Of course. I’m sure it will not be much longer,” the man promised.
Jessica’s eyes darted to her left, looking through the clear partitions separating the transaction office from the institution’s main floor. A new guard came and joined the one already on duty at the west door, as if to relieve him. However, the original guard did not leave. Instead, he began to look about the room, his eyes finally fixating on the very office in which they sat. Although the guard could not see through the one-way glass, Jessica felt as if he were staring right at her.
Nathan also noticed the addition of the second guard and turned his head casually to his right as another guard joined the one at the east door. A shared glance between him and Jessica confirmed that she too was aware of the additional guards.
“Perhaps it would be best if we were to continue on to our next destination,” Jessica suggested to Deliza. “Assuming you can forward confirmation of the transaction details to Miss Ta’Akar there?” she asked the transaction agent.
“Uh, yes, but I’m afraid Miss Ta’Akar needs to be present at the moment of execution,” the transaction agent replied.
“How much longer do you expect it to take?” Jessica asked, appearing slightly annoyed at the delay.
“These things are often hard to estimate…”
“It takes a dedicated jump comm-drone one and a half hours to complete a full cycle, system to system,” Nathan commented. “We have been here nearly two hours and an institution this size surely has its own personal jump comm-drone at its disposal for such transactions, does it not?”
“Of course, we have several of them, in fact,” the transaction agent replied defensively. “But there is no way
of knowing what delays are taking place at each of the institutions involved and the final destination is outside of the Pentaurus sector…”
“Who did you notify about our presence here?” Jessica asked.
“Pardon?” The agent’s hands moved from the desk to his lap.
“It was an easy question,” Nathan added.
The agent began to move his right hand forward under the desktop.
“Move that hand another millimeter and I’ll make you wish you hadn’t,” Jessica warned.
The agent looked at her, unsure if she was serious. He then looked at Nathan.
“No, she’s not kidding,” Nathan assured him.
The agent looked at Deliza. “Miss Ta’Akar, I’m not sure what…”
“Do you really think the Dusahn will honor whatever agreement they made with you?” Deliza asked.
“Withdraw your right hand…now,” Jessica instructed with just the slightest hint of malice. “Slowly.”
“I assure you all… I am only following company policies…”
“How many guards and where are they located?” Jessica asked.
There was a determination in her voice, a confidence, and it made the transaction agent quite nervous. “Please…”
“I will not ask again,” Jessica assured him.
“Two at the main doors; two at the back,” the transaction agent confessed. “Palee security is undoubtedly on their way, as well.” He tried to muster confidence of his own. “It would be best if you simply surrendered.”
A menacing smile came across Jessica’s face. “Well, at least there’s finally a reason for us to be riding shotgun on this trip,” she said as she rose from her seat and moved toward the transaction agent.
“What are you doing?” the agent asked, his eyes widening as he rolled back from his desk in a vain attempt to keep his distance from Jessica.
“I’m checking to see if these partitions are really one-way only,” she replied as she moved quickly around the desk toward the agent. “Get up!”
A guard from each of the doors began moving hastily toward the transaction office.
“They can see us,” Nathan reported, also rising to his feet. “Time to go.”
“Please don’t hurt me,” the agent begged as Jessica grabbed him by the collar.
“Just a little something to remember us by,” she said, after which she punched him in the nose and dropped him to the floor.
“Guns are out!” Nathan warned, grabbing Deliza and pushing her around the desk toward Jessica.
Jessica picked up the agent’s chair and tossed it through the clear partition, shattering it. A look of surprise came over her. “I didn’t actually expect that to work,” she said.
Customers on the main floor of the institution screamed as the clear partition shattered, and began running toward the exits.
“I’ll take care of the guards!” Jessica shouted. “Get Deliza back to the ship!”
“What about you?” Nathan asked.
“Pick me up on the run!” Jessica yelled back as she ran out across the main floor.
“Let’s move!” Nathan urged Deliza.
Jessica stepped quickly, the assistive bodysuit under her business attire aiding in her movements. She dodged from side to side as she charged toward the nearest approaching guard in case he tried to open fire, which was unlikely since the room was full of panicking customers. Within a few steps, she launched herself in a diving tackle toward the approaching guard, taking him down and disarming him in one fluid motion. In the blink of an eye, she was back on her feet, standing over him and firing at the other three guards. First the second guard coming toward her, then the two at the doors; her shots timed perfectly to pass between fleeing customers without hitting them. She then spun to her left, dropping down and driving her right knee into the throat of the guard she had just disarmed, removing him as an immediate threat as she took aim on the two guards approaching rapidly from the back of the main floor.
Nathan and Deliza mixed in with the fleeing customers and headed out the east door. As they passed through the exit and onto the concourse, Nathan pulled his comm-unit from his pocket and activated it.
“Nathan?” Vladimir’s voice inquired over his comm-unit. “What’s all that noise?”
“Get ready for immediate launch,” Nathan ordered into his comm-unit.
“What’s wrong?”
“No time to explain, just get ready to go!”
“Shall I file a departure request now, then?”
“Screw procedure!” Nathan insisted. “Josh knows what to do!”
“Will you be coming here?”
“I’ll let you know,” Nathan replied.
Jessica picked up one of the downed guard’s weapons as she exited, meeting Nathan and Deliza outside. “Here,” she said, handing Nathan one of the weapons. “They’re only short-term stunners, but they’re better than nothing.”
“I’ve got the Seiiki on standby,” Nathan told her.
Jessica quickly scanned the area, noting that the overhead trams were not moving. “Transit is locked down which means local security is in on this.”
“How are we going to get back to the ship?” Deliza wondered.
“Since security will be the only ones with working transports, we’ll have to borrow one of theirs,” Jessica replied. “Keep that gun under wraps and follow the crowds. Try to blend in, and keep moving in the direction of the spaceport.”
“What are you going to do?” Nathan asked.
“I’ll draw them away,” she replied. “If I’m lucky, I can pick up transpo in the process.”
“The spaceport is at least ten clicks, Jess,” Nathan reminded her. “We’ll never make it before security catches us.”
“Then tell the Seiiki to liftoff now and pick us up on the fly, before they send fighters!” Jessica insisted, turning to run the opposite direction.
“Shit,” Nathan muttered.
“Where is she going?” Deliza wondered.
“Don’t worry about her,” Nathan urged. “Just run!”
Jessica charged down the pedestrian boulevard between the tall buildings of the Palean financial district. In the distance, she could hear warning sirens blaring as security forces approached.
Paleans stepped aside as she ran past, not wanting to get involved in whatever was going on.
Jessica ran around the corner and into one of the many transit plazas where overhead trams met to allow transfers between lines. She came to a stop, looking around as the sirens neared. She turned in the direction of the sirens and spotted several small dots in the distant sky, coming toward her between the rows of buildings.
Jessica charged up the escalator to the nearest tram platform. Once at the top, she turned toward the crowds below and opened fire with her stunner, felling innocent people left and right. Two men on the platform charged toward her, but she turned quickly and paralyzed them with her stunner. She continued down the platform, firing in all directions, making sure to draw the attention of everyone around her and in turn, the approaching security forces.
Nathan pulled Deliza along by the hand, weaving through the surging crowds now running away from the repeated stunner fire in the distance behind them. He could only imagine what Jessica was doing back there.
“I thought we were supposed to blend in!” Deliza reminded him.
“You’re right,” Nathan admitted, slowing his pace to only slightly exceed those around them. He looked around as they moved, pausing occasionally to peer over the heads of others. “We need to find a place where the Seiiki can pick us up. Someplace open.”
“We’re in the middle of the financial district,” Deliza reminded him. “There are no open spaces.”
“Then we need to ge
t the hell out of this district,” Nathan decided. He pulled out his comm-unit as they made their way through the crowds of people. By now, they were clear of the panicked customers who had fled the financial institution and were among those merely making their way around the district as they went about their day. Sirens were not uncommon and drew little attention.
Nathan and Deliza glanced skyward as several security officers on small personal flying platforms streaked over them at high speed.
“They’re going after Jessica.” Deliza realized.
“Jessica can take care of herself,” Nathan assured her. “We just have to keep moving.”
“To where?”
“There’s a park around here somewhere. I remember seeing it on the terrain-following sensors on the way in. Somewhere over there,” Nathan said, pointing to his right.
Jessica finished dealing with the last of the would-be good samaritans on the transit platform, then spun around to face the approaching security forces. Four uniformed officers riding small flying platforms, controlled by tiny handlebars sprouting from their centers, were speeding toward her, descending between the rows of buildings. They swooped in low over the promenade, dividing into pairs, approaching on both sides and a few meters above the transit platform on which she stood. Jessica fired at them, intentionally missing. One officer from each pair began to decelerate, falling slightly behind the others while their partners continued to charge forward. The two leading officers returned fire, the pale-blue beams from their stunners streaking toward her. Jessica dodged from side to side as she turned and started running toward the far stairs. She felt one of the stunner beams graze and numb her left shoulder as she dodged right. She returned fire over her shoulder, looking back to gauge their rate of approach. Finally, just as they neared the platform, she leapt up onto the railing and launched herself several meters into the air just as the lead officer on her right caught up to her. She collided with the officer, sending him and his hover scooter tumbling toward the promenade below.