Hailey's Comet Anthology

by Selma J Lewis

  “It’s not like a depression-kind of useless. It’s more like… Lucky, help me out here.”

  “It’s looking around wherever you are and knowing you have no authority or mandate to solve the problems you see in society. For example, I was only out for three weeks when I came across a man breaking into someone’s business late at night. I hauled the guy to Sector Security to turn him in, but he claimed I had committed assault and battery against him when he was just minding his own business.”

  “Lucky,” Hailey said with a knowing smile. “Did you handle him roughly? Tsk.”

  “No permanent damage,” she said, smiling back at Hailey. “Anyway, I had no SWORD ID anymore, so they didn’t know me from Elon. My word against his, and they let him go.”

  “That sounds more like frustration,” Hailey replied.

  “Frustration that I was powerless, legally, to do anything. I was useless.”

  “For me,” Carter added, “I had that problem, but on top of that I had guilt.”

  “Why?” Hailey asked.

  “Maybe it was sorrow more than guilt. Lots of time to remember all the things I did and didn’t do for all those years. I wanted to atone for the mistakes and the deaths, so I tried to help people, you know, get involved in the community and do what normal people do: clothing drives, work parties, things like that. But it was hard not to take charge, and even harder to control my emotions when others said things that triggered a memory, or they complained about their first-world problems.”

  “But Sam has a limbic monitor. He shouldn’t have that difficulty,” Laura pointed out. “But I understand about the memory triggers. Even though I don’t have emotional reactions to them, some are not pleasant memories, and I needed something to concentrate on full-time.”

  “Let’s assume Sam needed something full-time to concentrate on. Why would he turn to hired killing as a viable pastime? There’s no moral service in it.”

  “It’s a challenge not to get caught,” Carter offered. “Maybe it’s the most thrilling challenge he could come up with.”

  “How can a Wraith, of all people, go so hideously against the laws and accepted morals of the Empire?”

  “Maybe he figured he had such a large tally of deaths already, what’s the difference?” Lucky suggested.

  “One thing’s for sure: he enjoys what he’s doing to me. That, I don’t understand. He’s hurt three Wraiths and a SWORD engineer. We are his people. What the hell?” Hailey asked. Carter and Laura didn’t have an answer for her.

  The doctor re-entered the room and informed Hailey that her father was awake. She followed him to Ram’s recovery room and entered behind the doctor. “Ronald, I have a visitor for you,” the doctor said. Ram fought to open his eyes. When his gaze fell upon his daughter, he spoke softly.

  “Hailey,” he whispered. The doctor left them alone.

  Hailey approached her father and took his hand. She squeezed it. “Hi, Papa. How are you feeling? Any pain?”

  “No,” he said tiredly. “Just… weak.”

  “Well, you know how it is. They’ll fix you up so fast you won’t even get any decent R&R before they put you back to work.”

  “Why are you here?” Ram asked.

  “’Cause you’re my dad,” Hailey answered.

  Ram closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again. “I mean, why are you on the Scabbard?”

  “I brought Agent Flynn here for medical care.”

  “Flynn is retired.”

  “Yes, but he was injured because of me, so I felt SWORD could patch him up for his troubles.”

  “What’s happening?” Ram asked.

  “You know Agent Minutio, codename Raven?”

  “Of course,” Ram said, closing his eyes again. He left them closed as he listened to his daughter explain.

  “He’s responsible for my transport blowing up on Dacara, and for the attack on Carter Flynn. Lucky spent a day in the hospital after Dacara, and now you’re the third person who knows me and has been targeted.”

  Ram’s eyes opened. “What’s this about?”

  “He’s out to kill me, but he keeps attacking my friends instead. It’s a sick game he seems to take pleasure in.” Hailey anticipated Ram’s next question, allowing him to rest. “We think he’s accepted a contract to kill me. Who? We don’t know. Why? Probably payback for putting someone in jail.”

  “Have you reviewed…”

  “Yes. I’ve narrowed it down to six people whom I put away who have the resources to pay for a thing like that.”

  “Is Karen all right?” Ram asked unexpectedly. He had not shown any care or concern about Hailey’s mother since the implanted prototype limbic monitor killed the emotional center of his brain.

  “Mama? I assume so. Why?”

  “She’s part of your inner circle of friends and relations,” Ram explained.

  “She’s not part of SWORD. How would Raven even know about her? She’s not in the database, is she?”

  “I believe she is only mentioned in the secure files you discovered ten-point-seven years ago: the paper records in the ancient library.”

  “That’s a longshot, then. But I’ll comm her anyway and make sure.”

  “Good.”

  Hailey looked at her father, wondering if there was still a shred of feeling left for his wife, the woman he left SWORD for, the woman with whom he had a child. “I’ll let you rest, Papa.”

  “Thank you for visiting,” Ram said, knowing the social script, even if he had no feelings of gratitude to go along with the statement. Hailey squeezed his hand once more, then let go and left the room.

  Karen

  Hailey sent a comm message to Karen Ramirez, asking if everything was all right. Comms out to the colonies were sometimes slow, so she went to the Basement geeks and asked if they had a faster way to contact her.

  “Well, there’s the ultranet that everyone uses. It gets crowded sometimes, so the more relays your message has to go through, the slower it is. Light One, that’s – let’s see – four relays – ”

  “Five,” Hailey interrupted.

  “OK, five relays from here.”

  “What about the way you sent me a comm in compressed space? I thought that wasn’t possible.”

  Agent Chan smiled. “That’s the dark ultranet – a SWORD exclusive,” he said, nearly giggling.

  “Why don’t the field agents know about it? That would be hella useful on missions,” Hailey asserted.

  “We’re still in testing. Hopefully we can roll it out in a month or two.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s good. I look forward to using it. What else can you do with the dark ultranet? Can we get through to Light One faster?”

  “Well, on a planet, and with a civilian, it might be a while before you get a reply. The civilian might be asleep, or the comm might be off or out of charge. They might be in a meeting…”

  “What time is it on Light One?” Hailey asked.

  Agent Chan snickered. “It’s all times, Agent! It’s a planet!”

  Hailey rolled her eyes. “What time is it in Tercero City on Light One?”

  Chan inquired on his tablet and answered, “10:14.”

  “Mid-morning. She should be at work,” Hailey muttered. “Any way to check if her comm is working?”

  Just then, Hailey’s comm pinged. A chill ran down Hailey’s spine – an altogether new experience for her. “It’s from Raven, but from Karen’s comm,” she said to Agent Chan.

  “What does he say?” Chan asked.

  “’You thought I wouldn’t find her.’” Hailey looked up at Chan. “He’s got my mother’s comm. He’s got my mother.”

  “Not necessarily. It’s an easy thing to hack a civilian comm. He might have found her comm code and sent a message to you via hers.”

  “That makes more sense. I saw him earlier today. There’s no way he’s gotten all the way to Light One.” She looked at the message again. “Could he be blocking Karen’s outgoing comms to me, so I’ll believ
e he’s controlling her?”

  “What do you mean by ‘controlling her’?”

  “Watching her. Restricting her movements. Holding her hostage. I don’t know which.”

  “To answer your question, yes. He could block comms between you and her. He may leave all other communications untouched so she doesn’t suspect her device is malfunctioning. She may not know she’s missing comms from you.”

  “How do we find out if that’s what he’s doing?” Hailey asked.

  “Unfortunately, it will take a while to backtrack this message and see where it originated. I’ll get Agent Sims to work on it right away. Mohammed!” Chan called across the room. A geek who was hunched over one of several devices on his work table straightened up. “I need you to trace a comm.”

  “Oh, good. I haven’t done a trace in, oh, seven minutes!” Sims complained as Chan and Hailey approached him.

  “Quit griping. This one’s really important,” Chan said.

  “They’re all important,” Sims muttered.

  “This Wraith needs a trace now,” Chan said, acting like a big shot because he represented a Wraith.

  Sims crumpled as he took a good look at the steady, staring eyes of the Wraith. “Yes, ma’am. Right away.” She handed the analyst her comm. “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Chan tried to hide a smile.

  Lucky showed up in the analytics labs looking for Hailey. “There you are. You’re not answering your comm.”

  “Agent Sims has my comm.” Hailey brought Laura up to speed on the latest message from Raven.

  “It must be a ruse. He couldn’t have gotten to Light One,” Laura stated.

  “Accomplices?” Hailey asked. “Apparently, he can compel anyone to do anything.” She started pacing. “He’s trying to get me to go to Light One. But where is he, really?”

  “Agent Ramirez,” Sims spoke up sheepishly, “I have the trace on that comm message. It originated on Smástirni.”

  “When was it sent?” Hailey asked.

  “Seven hours ago, approximately. It was sent low-priority through fifty-three relays, out to the edge of the Reach and back.”

  “That was before I saw him on that roof,” Hailey said, looking at Laura.

  “Um, excuse me, Agent Ramirez. There’s another comm from the Karen Ramirez address.” He handed the comm back to Hailey.

  “’Just like old times, poor orphan girl.’” The chill Hailey experienced before returned ten-fold. “He thinks Ram is dead. Now he’s going to kill Karen.”

  “He’s playing mind games with you, Comet. Let Agent Sims trace that one and see where he is now.”

  Hailey nodded and handed the comm back to Sims. “If you will…” she said.

  “Of course, Agent Ramirez. Right away.”

  “Agent Ramirez,” Mohammed Sims called. “I’ve got a result for you.”

  “Where is he?” Hailey demanded.

  “The last one originated on Permeesh, one hour ago, approximately.” Hailey took the comm from Sims. In her mind she studied a map of the Empire, highlighting Smástirni, Permeesh, and Light One.

  “Permeesh is not on the way to Light One,” Hailey informed Laura, who had the same knowledge already.

  “I don’t think he’s going after Karen. He’s just trying to make you think so.”

  “Why?” Hailey asked, throwing a hand into the air and letting it fall helplessly at her side. “Or maybe he grabbed Karen earlier and stashed her on Permeesh. We don’t know how long this guy has been making his plans and arranging his accomplices.” Hailey went back to Agent Chan. “Can you check on the status and location of Karen Ramirez?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll contact Sector Security and have them make a physical check.”

  Laura threw in another conspiratorial idea. “He might have a Sector Security officer on his payroll. We won’t know Karen is all right unless we speak to her or see her personally.”

  “OK,” Hailey said, trying to sort out the tangle of what ifs, “I say we go to Light One. Even if he doesn’t have Karen, he knows about her and could get to her. Eventually, he’ll come after me, right? On Light One I can protect Karen and face Raven and get this whole stupid thing resolved.”

  “I agree. Going to Permeesh is a wild goose chase. He’ll move before you get there. You won’t catch him; you have to wait for him to come to you.”

  “To Light One then?” Hailey asked.

  “I’ll make arrangements,” Laura answered.

  Karen was not home. Hailey entered anyway and found the dwelling to be in good shape. Her mother’s toothbrush and other daily essentials were there, so she was not on a planned trip. “Maybe she’s still at work.”

  “Where does she work? I can go check it out for you,” Lucky offered. Comet gave her all the information she knew.

  A trek around town to all of Karen’s favorite places convinced Hailey that something was definitely wrong. Laura’s message that Karen had not shown up for work that morning, even though she was expected, confirmed her conclusion. They met up in front of Karen’s house.

  “I can’t find any clues, but then, I wouldn’t really expect any because he’s a Wraith.” Hailey had an idea. She sent a return comm to Raven saying, I’m waiting for you.

  A minute later, Hailey’s comm pinged. It was a reply. I know. She looked all around but didn’t see him.

  Just get out here. Let’s get this over with. She stared at the comm, waiting for his answer.

  Griffith Park. Hailey checked her mental map of Tercero City. “This way,” she said to her handler.

  In the middle of the park, Sam stood in his black clothes, waiting. Hailey spotted him and made her way to where he stood. The park was not terribly crowded. He had chosen a fairly open space with few civilians in the vicinity. “What are we doing? A shootout at twenty paces?” Hailey asked facetiously.

  “We’ll both be dead in such a battle. I propose a fair competition where there will be a clear winner.”

  “What do I win?” Hailey asked.

  “What you want most: the location of your mother.”

  “She’s unhurt?”

  “She’s alive, last time I saw her, anyway. If I win, I will fulfill my contract. But your buddy has to stay out of it,” Sam added, seeing that Laura had pulled out her gun, just in case. “I’m going to need your word on that, Comet. If I win, she doesn’t get to shoot me.”

  “What can I do about it if I’m dead?” Hailey asked.

  “You give your word. She gives hers. I trust you two to be honorable.”

  Hailey looked at Laura. “You don’t get to shoot him.” Laura didn’t like it, but she nodded her agreement. Still, she did not holster her weapon.

  “And no helmets. I don’t have one, and that wouldn’t be fair.”

  “It’s not my fault you didn’t bring a helmet,” Hailey asserted.

  Raven sighed. “They don’t let you keep the suit when you retire, Comet. And they can’t be bought anywhere. Believe me: I’ve looked.”

  “OK, OK. I don’t need my helmet to take care of you.” She handed her helmet to Laura.

  “Comet,” Laura whispered. “You’re taking a big chance here.”

  “It’s either this or he hits me with a sniper rifle some day when I’m not looking.”

  Laura nodded unhappily. “You can beat him,” she encouraged softly. “You’re indestructible,” she added with a weak smile. Hailey turned to face her assassin.

  They didn’t circle. They didn’t size each other up. They just attacked – both with a singular goal in mind: win. Hailey dropped to her knees as Raven’s attack reached its apex, jutting an arm out to catch his knee. He buckled, falling into a roll, and was on his feet the moment Hailey was on hers.

  They both threw right hooks, both meaning to follow with a series of quick strikes. Comet saw the attack coming and altered the path her fist took through the air, but so did Raven. He opened his hand at the last moment and caught Comet’s balled fist, grabbing her by the arm with th
e other hand and flinging her away. She took it in stride, using her newfound momentum to carry her halfway up one of the few trees that dotted the park and gaining substantial altitude over Raven. It gave him plenty of time to move out of the way.

  Landing lightly in the dirt, Hailey tucked into a somersault that carried her past Raven. She sprang back to her feet with a carefully aimed kick to his back. It connected, but only just. He staggered slightly and raised a fist in defense against her follow-up strike. Hailey moved in close, exchanging a furious flurry of blows with him. Neither tried to block the other – they only wanted to inflict as much damage as possible on the other.

  After a solid ten seconds of slugging each other, they backed off, both taking a moment to recover their strength for another attack. Subtly, Hailey shifted her feet into position for a right-hand feint – standard Wraith combat stance 4E. She could see Raven moving into stance 3B.

  Comet realized suddenly that Raven fought perfectly by the rules of Wraith training. Every attack, every defense, every move was the same as what she had learned from Crash and her other teachers at the Scabbard. All this time, she was under the assumption that Raven was working outside the Wraith honor code. But, with the exception of vowing to kill a fellow Wraith, he had not killed anyone. All the injuries he caused were recoverable, even the bullet wound in Ram’s back. “Time out!” she called. Even that, Raven honored.

  “Time limit,” he said in response, giving her fair warning that he would resume the battle at any time of his choosing.

  “Will you answer questions?” Comet asked, keeping her distance from her opponent.

  “Depends. Try me.”

  “You programmed the explosive to blow when Lucky stepped off the ship, so she wouldn’t be killed.”

  “That’s not a question,” Raven replied with amusement.

  Comet was not amused. “Right?” she asked.

  “Right.”

  “And you knew I’d get Slam out of the way of the truck in time.”

  “Of course.”

  “And you instructed Engineer Um’am to shoot Ram’s shoulder, not his heart. That was a risky one. She was not weapons-trained. Besides, she nearly died before she accomplished her task.”