by Marc Stevens
Klutch went across first followed by Coonts. They both disappeared into the airlock only to return several minutes later with two Zaen battle suits in tow. That was an indication we might have just netted a couple more of Eiger’s clan. They went back into the shuttle and were gone for several minutes. I was wondering why we were not getting a video feed when I heard Klutch call to Justice.
“Justice, can you move in closer to the shuttle and center the airlock on the hangar door.”
“Affirmative Troop Master, maneuvering now.”
Justice put the Legacy alongside the shuttle and about fifteen feet from the hangar door. Tria and I stood just inside the atmospheric retention field trying to figure out what the hell our crewmates were up to.
Klutch commed me a warning. “Commander, could you and Tria please step away from the hangar door.”
Tria and I shared a frown and stepped back away from the huge door. I was just getting ready to tell them to quit messing around when the airlock on the shuttle explosively decompressed. Two Murlak and two Scrun were violently propelled across the short distance between the shuttle and the Legacy. The aliens flew through the retention field and when the artificial gravity grabbed ahold it deposited them in a heap on the deck. All were groaning loudly, and evidently, the two Murlak without pressure suits were still alive.
My ears were assaulted by Klutch’s loud, croaking laughter and I heard him tell Coonts he owed him a thousand credits. Coonts response was accompanied by several profane words and him yelling out, “YOU CHEATED!”
I wanted very much to be pissed at the two of them, but damn, that was some funny shit. I could tell Tria was trying her best to keep from laughing as well. I called to the two clowns dicking around on the shuttle.
“If you are done screwing around, we need to go meet the Operative.”
Coonts and Klutch jumped across from the shuttle and you could hear the heated argument going on between the two. Coonts was carrying what looked like a small briefcase. It was apparent he was going to hit Klutch with it.
“HEY! Knock it off and put that scat in the brig, we need to get moving.”
Coonts walked up and gave me the case, then turned back to Klutch grumbling under his breath. I could see Tria give the two Murlak a close look before Coonts and Klutch jerked them off the deck and headed for the security lockup.
“Do they look familiar?”
Tria shook her head no. They got to keep their lives, for now. Justice closed the hangar doors and called out we were going to make a standard transition to the Operative’s location. Our ETA was only a few minutes more than the time it would have taken to charge the energy matrix. I felt the small discomfort in my stomach when we jumped to hyperspace. I held the case out to Tria and she opened it. Inside was a considerable stack of credit vouchers and some small cubes that were data chips. Now I knew why Coonts and Klutch let them live: they must have been the reigning leadership until we came along. The credit vouchers were probably once owned by the occupants of the outpost.
As Tria and I walked past the science lab, I placed the data cubes on one of the tables. Tria did the same with the case containing the credit vouchers.
“Looks like the planetary protection fund just got a boost in revenue.”
My comment wiped the grim look from Tria’s face and replaced it with a smile. Mission accomplished on my part because such a pretty face should not be flawed by a frown. She grabbed my arm and, with another hint at her new strength, pulled me toward her. Before I could say anything witty she planted a kiss on me that let me know there was no longer any room for improvement on the Earth sign of affection. She let go of me when we heard Coonts and Klutch come out of the ready room arguing. As they passed by the lab they noticed us and the argument ceased. Tria’s kiss made me forget all about asking the two what they had wagered on.
We had just stepped off the lift tube on the bridge level when Justice called to us. “Commander, one of the data cubes is Scrun and heavily encrypted. The other one is the navigation chip set for the shuttle. I find it very interesting that it has coordinates known to us. The shuttle was recently at the location divulged to us by Tam Lin and identified as the Scrun strike team training base. The other is the slave distribution center hidden on the volcanic planet in the Delta One system. There appears to be access codes attached to both destinations. It would be extremely foolhardy to leave such codes attached to their coordinates.”
“It sounds awful convenient, doesn’t it?”
The frown I had successfully removed from Tria’s face a few moments ago returned. “If the access codes are indeed a plant, it would be a very good way to identify friend from foe.”
“Really makes me wonder what is on the encrypted cube.”
I turned around and went back to the down tube. The data cube was probably a plant and meant as a trap for any hapless fool. It irked me to no end thinking it might have been left for me in particular. If this was the case, then the Scrun were convinced I was a sucker and a fool. The beast inside of me was laughing at my new titles. I would prove the Scrun wrong on both counts. Tria was following me then abruptly stopped. She must have sensed my inner demon. She was capable of pushing the Oolaran monster aside and clearing my thoughts of its deadly intentions; she instead chose to turn and walk away.
29
When I exited the down tube, Coonts and Klutch were approaching. Coonts immediately picked up on my dark mood.
“Commander, is there a problem?”
It was all I could do to grind out that I was going to interrogate the prisoners. Coonts hastily stepped aside, but Klutch turned to follow me. I thought I had done well on the outpost and was capable of controlling the Oolaran soldier. Right at the moment my desire to bring death and destruction down on the heads of my enemies was all I could think about. I went to the ready room and dumped my smart cloth uniform on the floor in front of my locker and slipped on my recon armor. As I turned for the door I saw Klutch was doing the same thing. The short, wide lout had a sinister smile on his face. Coonts was nowhere to be seen, and I suspected he was looking for Tria.
I entered the brig and cleared the cell doors so the prisoners could see each other. In reality, it was so they could see what was going to happen if I did not get the answers I was looking for. The first cell had a Murlak casually lying on a bunk and his companion pacing the cell in front of the door. The other had the two Scrun in it, and they were standing by the cell door looking surprised and staring wide-eyed at us.
Klutch quickly pushed past me and the cell door with the Murlak opened. The Murlak that had been pacing the floor jumped back and screamed “NO!” Klutch stalked past him and grabbed mister-calm-and-cool from his bunk. He threw him out of the cell with such ferocity he bounced off the wall, leaving a bloody face print from the impact. Klutch leaped off the floor and landed on the Murlak’s legs. The sound of the bones snapping was loud and sickening. The other prisoners pushed back into the corners of their cells and stared on in horror. They were used to doling it out to others and were completely shocked by the concept of it happening to them. I was pleasantly surprised how little Klutch was stinking the place up while he went about his business. He was relentless, and I could feel the beast in me applauding his actions. The unconscious Murlak was awoken to Klutch stomping his hand flat. His screams had the other yelling out, “I WILL TELL YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT TO KNOW!”
Klutch yelled back, “I KNOW YOU WILL.”
He gave the Murlak he had been beating a kick to the head that once again put him out cold. He left him bleeding on the floor and stomped into the cell for his squalling partner. He grabbed the alien by the fur on his head and pulled him down within an inch of his face.
“Where is Eiger?”
“He has taken refuge on one of our home worlds.”
Klutch balled up his fist and drew back to deliver a punishing blow. “Wrong answer! That is not the information that we have uncovered!”
The Murlak covered his
face and yelled out, “YOU ARE HEARING WHAT WE WANT YOU TO HEAR!”
The outburst put a halt to Klutch’s blow — it also had my attention. The Murlak slowly lowered his hands from his face.
“Eiger and the Scrun are conspiring to kill you and your crew. They have planted the information they want you to hear long ago. There is a large number of Eiger’s fleet and several Scrun warships hidden in an asteroid field on the fringe. You are to be lured there by the Warbringer Solar Wind. Once you are in the asteroid field, you will be swarmed and destroyed.”
Klutch looked at me and raised an eyebrow. He turned back to the Murlak. “So, you are saying Eiger is not with the fleet?”
“No. He is on the Murlak home world of Jurlaw. He claims to be wounded and is recuperating in his compound in the Crisbarry mountains.”
We heard a gurgling grunt and the Murlak lying on the deck yelled out. “SILENCE, YOU COWARDLY FOOL!”
I walked over and jerked the Murlak off the floor. He spat blood on my armor and yelled out. “YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!”
For reasons unknown his comment seemed to calm the beast in me. I turned and walked out of the brig. The Murlak’s eyes grew wider and he attempted to break free of my grasp. I rewarded his efforts with an open hand slap that had his head lolling from side to side. When we arrived in front of the hangar doors, they slid open revealing the shimmering gray of hyperspace. The Murlak’s eyes refocused on me and it looked like he might have additional taunts to unleash on me. I cut him off with a final terse remark.
“I actually respect that you are not the coward your partner turned out to be. If it is any consolation, he will die as well.”
The Murlak snapped his mouth shut and closed his eyes as I threw him into hyperspace. I called to Justice.
“Do you think there is any truth to what the Murlak is telling us?”
“The Murlak claims the Scrun have proof he is telling the truth.”
“It would be hard for me to take anything those slaver pieces of shit said seriously.”
“The Murlak says the proof is on the encrypted data cube one of the Scrun attempted to barter his freedom with.”
“Have you been able to hack the encryption yet?”
“Negative. I lack a proper primer to help me unlock the algorithms necessary to decode the device.”
“One or both of them might have access to the information. I guess I will just have to ask nicely and see if that will work.”
I walked back into the brig. Klutch was standing in front of the Murlak’s cell. I guess he was waiting for me to decide what to do with him. The Murlak called out to me.
“The information I have given you has surely saved your lives — all I ask in return is for you to drop me off at any outpost and you will never see me again.”
I sat down on the bench across from the cell. Klutch had a look of expectation on his face that turned to ugliness with my next statement.
“OK, I guess I am good with that.”
Now Klutch’s face had shock, anger and disbelief all rolled up into one horrible stare. I cringed when the atmosphere in the brig turned to an eye watering toxicity. I hastily closed my helmet and started a purge cycle. He started to protest but I interjected my next comment.
“As long as you can convince the Troop Master to do the same.”
The Murlak got an instant look of terror on his face; Klutch’s turned to an evil sneer. He grabbed the alien by his furry head and started dragging him out of the brig. I stood up and walked to the Scrun’s holding cell. They both backed up several steps when I used my implants to open the door. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Both of the grotesque, harelipped aliens stared at me with their large cyclops eyeballs.
“I want the access code for the data cube.”
If I had to guess, I would say the arms and legs of a Scrun are of equal length. One of the despised aliens appeared to be slightly taller than the other. I pegged the taller one’s reach at about six feet. That meant the shorter of the two’s attempt to punch me came from a shorter distance. That being said, the strike still had to come from a long way off. I caught his wrist with my right hand and reached out and grabbed his elbow. I used my body weight to push his forearm down and toward his back while pulling the elbow sharply back over my head as I stepped under the swing. The arm could not negotiate the opposing thrusts and the shoulder made the strangest popping noise.
I instinctively ducked when I saw motion out of the corner of my helmet. A metallic boot glanced off my shoulder, making me let go of the shorter Scrun’s now useless appendage. I could feel the Oolaran soldier taking over and a big rush of adrenaline sweeping through me. The loud grunting noises I was hearing did not translate, so I assumed they were some wonderful new Scrun curse words.
I shoved the short one aside and saw the momentum from the other’s kick had him facing away from me. I brought my armored boot up with as much force as I could generate. The act lifted me several inches off the floor. I made a punter’s contact right at the junction of the Scrun’s legs. While I did manage to drive my foe up and off his feet, I did not get the reaction I would have garnered from the same blow to a human male.
I was getting ready to go for another field goal when the Scrun behind me grabbed me around the face plate with his good arm. It was strange how the adrenalin rush I experienced made me feel calm and carefree. A smile formed on my lips. The other soldier got to his feet and whipped around with his boot to deliver another roundhouse kick. I grabbed the Scrun’s arm that was holding me and kicked my legs out, dropping me to my butt on the floor. The Scrun bent forward from my weight. He caught his partners kick square in the faceplate knocking him back into the corner of the bunk behind me.
I looked up to see Klutch with his face pressed to the transparent cell wall laughing his big ass off. I could not help but laugh myself. That was dumb-shit funny. I swept my attacker’s other foot before he could regain his balance. He went crashing to the floor and I lunged forward grabbing the boot the slaver was going to feed me. Pulling his leg out straight, I rolled over and locked my legs around it, pulling backwards against the knee. The joint let go and the Scrun’s leg took on a very unnatural appearance. The slaver squalled out in pain and pushed away from me, dragging his damaged leg. He retreated to the corner of the cell and sat upright against the wall. The beast in me was not finished and I drove several heavy blows into his sides. Klutch caught my attention, he was frantically pointing behind me. I leaped to the side just as the other Scrun came barreling in, leading with a knee, he hit the edge of his buddy’s face plate with such force, they both lay in a heap on the floor.
Klutch’s croaking laugh was becoming annoying. I looked out and the Tibor was bent over slapping his knees and roaring with laughter. Shaking my head, I turned back to the Scrun lying on the deck.
“The festivities are over. Tell me the access code or I will cut you up a piece at a time.”
There was a possibility they were both going to tell me to jump out the airlock — until they saw me extend my climbing hooks. The shorter of the two blurted out a string of alpha numeric code.
“Justice?”
“I have access, Commander.”
I opened the cell door to a still laughing Tibor. I rapped him on the helmet as I walked by. “Klutch, can that crap and get these slaver Throggs off of my ship!”
Klutch’s guffawing ceased long enough for him to say, “Commander, I have not been that entertained since my days at the training academy!”
I rolled my eyes and went to the ready room. As I stripped off my recon armor, I called to Justice. “I need a secure IST link to the Operative.”
“Link active, Commander.”
“Senior Operative, what is your current status?”
It did not take but a few seconds for Sael to come back on, and she did not sound happy. Then again, I doubt that she would ever be completely happy knowing I did not have to take orders from her unless I chose to do so.
; “My current status is needlessly holding in the void waiting for a primate to learn how to pilot his ship to my location.”
“I love you too, Mother, but I really don’t have time to exchange pleasantries. We have interrogated some Murlak and Scrun prisoners. They say there is an ambush waiting for us somewhere near your location.”
“I thought I had eradicated all of that sewage. How can you be sure what they tell you is the truth?”
“We have a data cube Justice is currently deciphering, and it should verify the information we have collected. We will be entering your area of operation shortly. Stay cloaked, and whatever you do, do not follow or engage any Murlak warships you detect in the area.”
“Hah! If you think I am going to sit idly by until you show up to take down Eiger, you would be mistaken!”
“Sael, if the information I have is proven to be correct, Eiger is nowhere near your location. He is on one of the Murlak home worlds claiming to be injured and recuperating. Please hold at your location and I promise you will receive a full debrief on our findings.”
The IST link promptly ended. I wondered if Sael had parents on her home world and how they handled her impatience. Thinking about it a little longer, I smiled — she was a lot like me.
“Commander, I have disabled the malicious security on the data cube and have recovered noteworthy information. First of all, there are communication buoy recordings from a relay in orbit above the Murlak world of Jurlaw. I cannot verify they came from Eiger, but it does give some credibility to the Scrun’s statements. There are numerous communications that originate from the location that has been identified as the Scrun strike team training base. I now have its exact location on the small planetoid it occupies. The information also suggests that the Scrun ships that came to the aid of the outpost were stationed at that location until summoned by the comm buoys that were launched from the outpost. The final entries are communications to the Murlak Warbringer Solar Wind they alert the ship to begin Operation Retribution.”