Eventually she broke off the embrace and red faced with embarrassment she took a few steps back. She finally, barely whispering, said “Thank you for listening.” For my part I didn’t know what to say, and yet I knew something needed to be said. What finally came out was, “I’m so sorry for what happened to you, and I know nothing I can say can help to relieve the pain. What I can promise is that once this mission is over I will work with you, and with all the power of Shadow to destroy these bastards wherever and whenever we can. Apparently this is what we have both been trying to do, but I imagine teamed up as real partners we could really do some damage.”
“You will actually take me on as a real partner, even after the way I’ve been treating you?”
“Without a doubt!”
“Thank you. Just know that I’ve never told anyone my story before. I just bottled it up and moved into my new life at S.F.I. So I beg you to keep my secret. Although I must say it is a relief to finally have told someone. Why you, I don’t really know. Maybe it’s the ship or the cabin but the reality is I think it was just you. I don’t even know you. Yet I believe you would lose your life to save me, just as I now promise to protect you with mine.”
“I guess this makes us friends now, doesn’t it?” was my response.
“Yes, Mr. Ryder, I do believe it does.”
For my part I was just confused, the ice princess had melted right in my arms. Her story had shaken me to the bone.
“Would you care to hear my story, not the official one but the real one?” I asked Sara as we sat on the soft leather sofa in my cabin.
“Yes, I very much would.” Sara replied.
“Ok, well here goes, just remember that only you and Commander Rosen know this; although I expect Max does too.”
“My family was murdered right in front of me too, but no one other than myself had been kept alive. No, I was ransom. Being an S.F. captain they thought I was worth money. Of course they were wrong; S.F. did not negotiate with terrorists. As they led me towards their ship I realized there would not be many inside. It was too small and the band outside only numbered eight men. Within thirty seconds they numbered eight dead men as I quickly overcame the leader. Then using him as a human shield I used the man’s own disruptor array and slaughtered the other pirates. But I was far from out of the woods, this was just a small transport. I quickly entered the ship and found it unoccupied. I tied the navigation computer to the one on my S.F. transport. Once tied in, I downloaded the info I needed. The navigation computer on the pirate’s transport was now tied to my S.F. transport. Then leaving the pirates to rot, I remotely lifted the pirate transport and sent it straight back on a collision course with the mother ship, praying the blast would destroy both. I waited until I saw the flash then at top speed I headed in their direction. When I got within visual range I saw the gaping hole where the docking mechanism used to be, within seconds I was fired upon and realized I hadn’t taken out the ship or the real culprits as I had hoped. I immediately engaged the maximum escape power that this little ship had, but the big pirate vessel also began to move quickly starting to close the gap. When a secondary explosion on the pirate ship suddenly erupted in one of the subspace drives and my lead quickly increased I reached the jump point well ahead of the cruiser and without even setting coordinates, I jumped in emergency mode. When I dropped back into regular space I was in the Altra Six system for a brief second. I rejoiced at my good luck... then I remembered my cargo... it was the last thing I would remember for a long time.
The little transport was brought into the massive Macdill complex by tractor beam and was met by Ed Rosen himself. There had been no transmission from the tiny ship since she had emerged from hyperspace, but Ed knew who was on board. As the doors opened the scene that greeted him was one of pure horror. His friend Jon was sitting with his back against a bulkhead, the mutilated bodies of his family cradled in his arms. I was staring at the opposite wall a completely blank.
One look told Ed that my wife and baby girls, the literal lights of my life, were dead. They had been hit numerous times but he yelled for medics anyway. Their arrival just confirmed Ed’s position. Yet, as they tried to remove the bodies they couldn’t pry them from my arms, I wasn’t fighting I just had my arms locked around them so hard. Finally Ed ordered the medics to give me a shot to knock me out. In the end I was told, it took four shots before my arms finally relaxed.
My wife and two daughters were taken to the morgue and me to sick bay where the doctors decided there was nothing physically wrong with me. It was all psychological.
“How long?” Ed asked.
“There’s no way to know.” Dr. Racicot replied. “It could be a week, a month, a year, or maybe never. An event like this can destroy the human brain.”
“Not his brain, not ever.” was Ed’s reply.
“I just don’t have the same confidence, but I do hope you’re right.” The doctor answered.
“I am.” Ed replied as he left sick bay and headed for the bridge of the flagship. Her name was Constitution and was the newest of the Federation's Battleships, the first of eight planned. They would eventually replace the quasar class ships. They were both incredibly fast as well as extremely maneuverable. At 2700 meters she was the largest ship in space but also one of the most heavily armed, and for sure the most sophisticated ship ever built. She was at Macdill for a brief shore leave.
He headed straight for Admiral Worthington’s cabin where after a brief knock he was admitted. Without any preamble he got straight to the point. After finishing the story of how he had found me, he laid out his plan to avenge the dead... when the Admiral cut him off.
“I know where this is going Ed, and SFI cannot get involved.”
“I don’t understand, our best mission commander and his family were attacked in cold blood, and we can’t get involved!”
“The claim is, they were in New Dubai airspace having just left the resorts there. We have no extradition policy with new Dubai. So let it go and help tend to Captain Ryder. “
“Since when have we worried about extradition when it comes to pirates?”
“Since, we just received a formal complaint from New Dubai. In it they state that a ship of their line was sabotaged by a vessel with the same markings as your dear captain’s ship. So the orders from our “brave” President are to do nothing, and nothing is what we will do.”
“But Sir...”
“Dismissed.”
“Yes Sir.”
And so was born my secret job and the mother of all ships, Shadow. Of course no-one knew who would fill the job as I was still a comatose zombie.
Eventually I was transferred to a psychiatric wing in the Reid Medical Center on board Macdill and there I stayed. I just let people do whatever. I still fed myself and bathed, I still hadn't said a word to anyone since the disaster, and I guess I figured I would never talk again. My life was a shambles until one day good old Ed dragged me out of the unit and onto a luxury yacht. Even I had to admit she was unbelievable; he showed me to the master cabin, onto the phenomenal bridge. This was a bridge that belonged on a military ship, not a luxury yacht
“Well, it sure is nice.” was all I said. But at least I had spoken my first words in what I later found out was over five months.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, her power system is straight off the drawing board. She can outmaneuver just about anything in space, but the biggest advantage is she can be operated by a single person, including someone bent on revenge.” I still didn’t get what this had to do with me. It actually didn’t take me long to figure out that I was being offered Shadow, and a perfect cover, as well as permission to terrorize the pirates as they were terrorizing us. The more I found out about Shadow's capabilities, the more excited I became.”
“Oh my God Jon, how have you found the strength to continue to live?” Sara asked as I finished my story.
“I do believe you already know the answer to that question. I carry on just like you, alon
e in a galaxy that is mean, corrupt, and cruel, but carry on we do, for what alternative is there for us?”
I led her back to her cabin, and with a small kiss on her cheek and a slight hug I bid her goodnight.
“What about our roles?”
“Goodnight Sara, I’ll see you on the bridge a half hour before we land on New Libya, and we will practice.”
“Ok Captain, your orders are my command.” She said with a playful giggle just as her door slid shut.
Once alone in her room she later told me, she sat at the end of the bed wondering what she had just done, and with Jon Ryder bounty hunter extraordinaire, of all people. Yet what really got her was that I had opened up to her, that and then the fact that I hadn’t been judgmental, hadn’t attempted to take advantage of her. Even though she had felt so vulnerable at that moment she would not have taken much convincing. But most of all I hadn’t shown pity, just an offer to help. Pity was an emotion she couldn’t stand. That was one of the reasons she had been silent all these years. Besides, she had hardly been able to take her eyes off me since our first encounter (what a revelation that was), which had been the true story of her hostility, she finally realized. Not once since her rescue had she been with a man nor had she wanted to be. She had fully expected to be single for the rest of her life. Now suddenly she thought she might actually be attracted to a man, and it scared the shit out of her.
But the thought of finally being able to take on these bastards with the almost, it would seem, unlimited budget that I had at my command was what kept her from sleep that night.
Exactly at six am ship's time Shadow announced the approach to New Libya. The three of us gathered on the bridge dressed as our roles demanded. By the time we taxied into the prearranged and fully enclosed hangar we were entirely ready to assume our roles. A good thing, for as the lock mechanism cycled open we were greeted by a tall thin man who introduced himself as Rashid, along with a small entourage of barely disguised muscle.
Chapter Three
We had landed at the spaceport on the outskirts of the resort city Tripoli, the largest and most luxurious on the planet of New Libya. It was well known throughout the sector that you could get anything here “for the right price” and we would be well able to afford the best of everything. As I said, awaiting us at the terminal gate was Rashid, the manager of the aforementioned resort known as Jumerirah, the first in a large series of resorts planned for the arid planet. All the water was being supplied from a huge lake named Laya which was manmade and of enormous proportions. It was fed by over a million deeply drilled wells that tapped into the enormous underground aquifer. He motioned us to a waiting limousine which whisked us away from the spaceport towards the towering buildings off in the distance, all the while, describing his plans for different areas, some already under construction, others just bare ground. He was determined to turn this into a playground for the rich and famous, a place without rules, as we would commonly think of, but it was the gaming that would pay for all the glitz he was planning, he mentioned with pride.
A planet without rules, this did seem like a good place to start, I thought. My cerebral link with Shadow was still in place as I thought the order for the ship to record through my eyes all that I would see.
We arrived at the resort a short time later, and were personally introduced to our assigned hostess by Rashid. The woman that was introduced to us was named Isabella. She was striking, with raven colored hair and cobalt blue eyes which I noticed were locked onto Max’s. There was certainly a connection there, what it was I didn’t know. Still I would have to find out as soon as possible.
Izzy showed us all the bells and whistles of the palatial resort and there were many, from show halls to restaurants and nightclubs, not to mention the four full floors of gaming tables and machines. Eventually we arrived at our suite on the top floor. There were three bedrooms all with private baths as well as a well-equipped lounge area with a full size holo projector and audio outputs creating a complete surround visual and sound experience.
We each entered our respective rooms to find our luggage unpacked and hung in the palatial closets or in the drawers. Each room also contained a holo projector and a desk as well as a lounge overlooking the burgeoning city. As I exited my room I caught Max giving Izzy a kiss on the lips that was a lot more than friendly, but for the moment I ignored it as we had more important things to deal with, such as where did we go from here, the subject I immediately brought up after Izzy left.
“How do we make contact with the underground people we are looking for?” I asked Max.
“We already have. I gave Izzy our cover story and you can be sure she will relay that to Rashid promptly. I imagine they will offer us some low level, low risk job just to check us out.’’
“What kind of job?” Sara asked.
“I don’t know. Perhaps a highjacking, or something along those lines.”
“What do we know about highjacking?”
“The question should be what don’t we know about it, here’s one of the other tidbits about Shadow you don’t know. The memory banks have recorded all the aggressive criminal acts both Jon and I have ever encountered. So pretty much we let Shadow handle the show.”
“You mean our little baby Shadow is a bird of prey?”
“Exactly, and she can outmaneuver anything else we know about in space. All items I installed before she was delivered to SFI and there are many more, as she was originally designed to be my war ship, I excluded nothing.”
“Max, I caught you kissing Izzy. What was that all about?” I asked to Sara’s surprised expression.
“You caught that, did you?” Max asked dismayed.
‘Yes, I did and it confused me unless she is privy to our plans.”
“She is, and for now will it be good enough for me to tell you that I trust her with my life?”
“If you trust her, then so will I.” Sara said, “How about you Jon?”
“For now.” I said, still being the super sleuth that I fancied myself as, I knew I would have to get the real story sooner or later, or it would drive me crazy.
There was a knock on the door. It was Izzy, inviting us for dinner with Rashid and some friends. This was hopefully the opportunity that we had been waiting for.
Sara asked Izzy to come to her room supposedly to pick out an outfit but I knew she would try to get an answer to the question at hand. Max didn’t look the slightest bit troubled.
“Why the mystery?” I asked.
“It’s for her safety, so that if we were to be questioned you would not know the answer.”
“Yes, but you would.”
“Yes, but that section of my brain is not excisable by normal means of interrogation, a gift from my days as a spy.”
“Ok. I’ll leave it at that for now.” I then had Shadow print copies of the known felons that he had recorded from my eyes as we walked through the casino. To say the number was high would be an understatement. There were hundreds of wanted men, yet no known pirates.
The girls came back out and Sara was dressed in the same gown I had seen her in on board Shadow and she looked just as beautiful. I even saw the approval from Max yet his eyes were all for Izzy just as hers were focused on him. Oh yeah, there was a mystery here and I would solve it soon, of that I was sure.
We were escorted to a private dining room where Rashid and a small group of gentlemen were already seated. There were four others whom Rashid introduced as his associates, no names. They were serious looking individuals with jet black eyes and hair to match. The first to speak was also the biggest of the four and we were informed we could call him Jamal, when he spoke he did so with a heavy accent.
“We hear you would like some action, maybe more than you get at the tables here.”
“We’ve tried all the tables yet they’re no different than the hundreds we’ve tried before. We are looking for some real action, yet we can’t seem to find any.” Max said.
“Well, what we have in
mind is a little different than playing the tables. You have a ship that is unknown in our sphere of influence. Now that is the first plus in our plan. The second is that you are unrecognizable; the mission we propose is the highjacking of two canisters of Carliteume from Barlow’s world. We have already paid an enormous price for this commodity but they are demanding more and we have to set an example. We are not to be toyed with, make no mistake. The product is well guarded and your chances of success are minimal. Is that enough action for you?”
“It sounds like just what we have been looking for. How do we start?”
“It’s a little premature to talk like that. First we have to look over your ship to see if it will meet our needs, and get to know you all a little better. Why don’t you meet us at the Kadar power station tomorrow afternoon? We will be touring the new facility that will be supplying all the power for Rashid’s dream of paradise of vice.”
“That sounds wonderful.” I said, while thinking about the opportunity to learn a little something about them also. So it was arranged that we would meet at the power station at three pm local time. The station itself, we had as a matter of course scanned on the way in. It was located on the opposite side of the lake from the resort areas. Curiously enough Shadow had reported that there was a lot more power going in than coming out. Now granted the station was supposed to still be under construction, yet that fact still stood out.
After dinner we went down to the casino floor where Max with Izzy in tow hit the tables, while Sara and I walked around and explored, finally ending up at a lounge and having been seated ordered some drinks and discussed the day’s events.
“So what do you think is up with Max and Izzy? His holographic disguise is quite good so she couldn’t have recognized him, could she?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t think so, although she certainly has recognized him. Maybe he used the same disguise here before?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, but it is driving me crazy.”
Shadow Force 1: the Garden Planet Page 3