Gunship

by J. J. Snow

  “I’m sure he’s here somewhere. Maybe he decided to take a walk and didn’t tell anybody.” Zain’s brow was furrowed as he frowned, thinking back over the last few hours. The kid had given no indication that anything was wrong. In fact, he had seemed completely dedicated to the upcoming mission. There was no reason for him to go anywhere, Zain reassured himself.

  He grabbed a passing Lieutenant and ordered him to check all the security camera feeds, then continued on to the medical wing.

  “Sir. No sign of him. We are checking the feeds now,” the lieutenant informed him as he entered the wing.

  “Lieutenant!” One of the sergeants waved them over. “Security has him exiting the wing a half hour ago, alone.”

  The man pointed to a holoscreen with a loop of security feed showing Seth walking out of the wing towards the city. At the last instant, he looked up at the camera, his face dark. That look was meant for one person. Zain knew it instantly.

  “Get me the rest of the feeds. I need those damn feeds yesterday!” he roared as people scattered to obey his orders. He directed security to lock down the port and then requested any additional feeds that picked up Seth be routed at once to his location. In a few minutes, it was all clear. The kid hadn’t been asleep at all.

  He must have heard my conversation with Callum, Zain realized.

  Zain stepped back and leaned heavily on the counter. There was only one answer for what had happened. The doctors had warned him. It had seemed like a positive way to motivate him. Instead it had become the driving force, and now the kid was on a mission to save his father. A suicide mission at best.

  The situation was critical. Not only had Zain lost his single most important operative, the key to his plan, but he had also lost one of his newer gunships to the kid, along with weapons and gear. If the kid had left the station, it could already be too late, unless…

  “I need Captain Callum right now! Get me a line to his ship and tell him that he and his crew are now on emergency recall!”

  Seconds later, Trace Callum appeared on the Commander’s handheld.

  “I have a Dark Angel gunship that was just stolen by an operative who has gone rogue. He has already cleared the tunnels and is headed out. I need you to get it and him back, preferably in one piece. If you have to destroy the gunship, fine, but I need him alive and uninjured. He may be violent, so don’t hesitate to use dopers if you need to.”

  Callum looked at the Commander suspiciously and then replied, “Roger, sir, we’ll head out now and catch up to him.”

  “And Callum, when you return with him, head for the new base. I’m starting evacuation procedures immediately. This base has now been compromised.”

  Trace raised an eyebrow and then nodded. “Understood, sir. Out here.”

  He turned to his pilot. “Think you can catch him, Nado?”

  Pilot Colin Dornado, AKA “Nado,” winked at his captain. “Sir, does a darnak shit in the woods?” He grinned as they hit the tunnels. “We’ll catch up and in be back in time to find you a beer and a lady friend for the evening!”

  “Yeah, well, let’s just focus on the mission. You can worry about the ladies when we’re done!” Trace sat down as they cleared the tunnels and began their first journey after the rogue gunship. He was not too happy with pulling this mission, or with the Commander’s erratic behavior. Something didn’t feel right about this rogue operative, and he was determined to find out what.

  —————

  The corridor outside the detainment wing bustled as a security team rushed to secure the area. Their boots beat loudly over the raised flooring, drowning out the growing droning noise as they passed the nearest air vent. The vent gave a quick shiver and then shot into the hall as the rearmost team members turned at the noise. They brought their weapons up, waiting to see if their fugitives were about to emerge.

  Instead, two metallic insects about the size of coffee cans popped out, a strange light emanating from their undersides as they scanned the corridor. Immediately they began to match the faces of the men nearest them to their most wanted database. When neither was confirmed as a positive match, the bots promptly stunned them, knocking them to the floor as they continued on, attempting to identify their prey. In moments they were joined by the rest of the swarm as the corridor flooded with the grinding buzzing of bronzed wings and the alarmed cries and thumps of stunned personnel.

  In seconds, the corridor was clear of the bots. Only a trail of stunned bodies left behind gave any indication of their presence. Welch watched furiously on his handheld from the lead drone as the swarm rushed through the corridors, stunning and seeking, with no sign of Campbell or Ty.

  He brought his head up as Crazy Ray sighed contentedly then pointed at one of the cameras. “There. She has recovered one of them.”

  Welch smirked as he watched the bounty hunter walking Campbell past the camera, blaster held viciously against her head. He would make sure he personally saw to Campbell this time. She wouldn’t fool him again. He wasn’t about to let her out of his sight. Crazy Ray slung his blasters and began to walk towards the door.

  “Where might you be headed, Raymond?” Welch asked suspiciously.

  Crazy Ray grinned as he nodded towards the camera again. “I’m going to take a walk. If Joby Ty knows Campbell is caught, he’ll come looking. I’ll be there waiting for him. And I need to let her know how much I appreciate…her efforts…” He looked hungrily at the dark-haired bounty hunter and imagined what the evening could still hold, his eyes smoldering, torn between his love of torture and his lust for this dangerous woman. And if I get there first, maybe I can have both, he thought.

  He hummed a reserved tune as he entered the lift, imagining torturing Campbell in some dark corner while his mystery woman watched. Or maybe he would see if she wanted to show off some of her knife skills for him, and he could watch. He felt his heartbeat quicken at the thought as he stepped off of the lift and headed in her direction. Or maybe they could do it together. Too bad they would have to hide from the cameras; it would make for a wonderful memento of their first night together. And Welch would be furious when he found out. Crazy Ray couldn’t wait to get started. He idly wondered if his new friend would want to leave the body once they were done to continue their evening together. He hoped not, at least not right away.

  —————

  Tiny and Reilly made the corridor above the cargo bay. They could see the fire damage below from the Tether ship Marek had blown up earlier. The remaining ships appeared to be loading up to leave in a hurry, which was not a good sign. Tiny halted suddenly. She signaled Reilly to hold as she went forward to ensure the side halls were clear. Something didn’t feel right, and that intuition had saved her plenty of times before. She crept forward slowly, then turned the corner and disappeared. Reilly took a knee and looked at the blackened deck where the fire had fused some of the metal debris to the floor from the intensity of the heat. Pieces of the Tether vessel were jammed into the walls from the explosion like spines on a cactus. The smell of burnt flesh, fuel, and chemicals permeated the air, making her gag slightly. She reminded herself to breathe through her mouth, wishing she had something to put over her face to block the lingering scent of death.

  As Reilly crouched, waiting, she felt a sudden nudge from behind her, then another more forceful nudge. She turned slowly, coming face to face with Crazy Ray, his gold-plated blasters pointed directly in her face and his head tilted at that characteristic killing angle.

  “Captain Campbell! Tired of my hospitality so soon?” He grinned as she dropped her weapon and reluctantly raised her hands.

  Tiny chose that exact moment to reappear. As soon as Crazy Ray saw her, his eyes took on a longing expression. Reilly slowly turned to see what he was looking at as Tiny walked up.

  “So very good to see you, my dear,” Crazy Ray purred at Tiny while Reilly stared on in disbelief.

  Tiny stepped up close to him, holstering her blaste
r. “She got away from me briefly, but I would’ve had her in another minute. I tracked her down here. When she couldn’t escape, she must have decided to try to wait for me.” Tiny looked at Reilly darkly. “It’s probably good that you found her first. I’m not sure that I could’ve controlled my response. I did not want to ruin your birthday celebration, but I was very…agitated…by your guest.”

  “Yes, he tends to have that effect on me as well.” Crazy Ray smiled at Tiny, almost adoringly, as if Reilly weren’t even there. He lowered one of his blasters and reached out to stroke a finger along Tiny’s jaw.

  Reilly was dumbfounded. Tiny had actually done it. This psychopath had fallen for her. As unbelievable as it might seem and as disturbing an idea as that was, Reilly realized she could use this. She slowly swayed a bit forward as if she were still having balance issues as Tiny stepped two more steps closer to Crazy Ray, looking at him with a weird, intense stare that he seemed intent on returning.

  In a second, she was on the Gaiden, pulling a knife from her back and jabbing it sharply into Tiny’s throat. Crazy Ray went livid with rage, his eyes locked on her every move. Reilly began to walk backwards down the hall with Tiny, the knife digging in enough to draw blood, which ran down the Gaiden’s neck.

  “I would advise you to let her go, Captain Campbell.” Crazy Ray spit the words out as he stalked after them down the hall, blasters raised. “You have nowhere you can go, and all of the ships have already left the bay. You’re at a dead end.” As if emphasizing his point, the last ship blasted off of the station, flying past them just meters away before breaking into the asteroid field.

  “If you don’t back off, you crazy bastard, I’m going to slit her throat right here and you can watch your girlfriend die.” Reilly grinned as Crazy Ray cursed at her but slowed slightly. “I’m sure it’s pretty hard for you to get a date anyway, you fraggin’ psycho!”

  Crazy Ray paused, considering her words. Then he shrugged.

  “Go ahead. Do it, then. I’ll enjoy the show and you’ll die anyway, a bit faster than I planned, but dead is dead.” He stepped back towards her as she pushed a little harder with the knife.

  Tiny put her head down slightly and whispered, “If you push any harder, you really are going to slit my windpipe.”

  Reilly grimaced and eased up a touch as she grasped for something else to buy time. She had reached the end of the corridor and backed up into a glass wall overlooking the bay. There really was nowhere else for her to go. She had just played chicken with a psychopath and was about to lose.

  A blinding flash suddenly ripped through the glass wall and into the far side of the corridor as a laser round blew apart the wall. Reilly found herself dangling by her fingertips as Tiny slowly looked around, her face covered in black soot and debris from the blast. Crazy Ray lay motionless on the floor, covered in pieces of wall that had blown out.

  Reilly looked down. She was about two stories above the floor of the cargo bay, and her hands were beginning to slip. Outside, it was evident that some sort of battle was underway as more stray laser blasts whipped by the station. She glanced back up in time to see Tiny reach over and grab her wrist. As she prepared to pull Reilly up, she paused suddenly.

  “What?” Reilly asked, worried by the look on Tiny’s face.

  “Sorry, Captain. I’ve been meaning to ask you a question, but I need an honest answer. I have a feeling this may be my best chance to get it. How long have you known?”

  Reilly knew what she was asking.

  “Known what?” she responded. Tiny released her wrist and stepped back, her arms folded. “Okay, okay, I get it, you got me! Before the crucible.”

  “How?”

  “Chang knows you, he remembered you from a mission.”

  “Who else knows? Sergeant Ty?”

  Reilly sighed. “No, just me and Chang. We didn’t tell Ty. He has a bad history with assassins. If he knew you were a Gaiden, one of you would probably be dead right now.”

  Tiny nodded, satisfied. It bothered her that she had to resort to this method, but she also knew Reilly wouldn’t have given up that information any other way. She reached over and began to pull Reilly up. Once she was back on solid ground, Reilly rolled over on the floor to catch her breath, just as a second laser round impacted the area just past Crazy Ray’s body. This time it was Tiny who went flying over the side.

  “Shit.” Tiny looked up to see Reilly peering over at her with a wicked grin.

  “My turn.” Reilly propped up her face on an elbow as Tiny tried to raise herself up without success.

  “Do you want to try again, or do I get to ask my questions now?”

  Tiny resigned herself to the fact that there was nothing else she could do and looked up at Reilly. “Shoot.”

  “Why did Zain send you to us? What is your purpose on my ship? And how did you know Welch might be here? And what were the ledgers for?”

  Tiny shook her head slowly. These were not questions she wanted to answer for the Captain while hanging by her fingertips two stories up, especially not the ones about Seth. She realized she’d have to answer some of them, though. Like it or not, Reilly was as deadly serious as she had been.

  “I’m not a spy. And I’m not here to kill anybody, although I know that’s what you initially thought. I have access to a number of Zain’s databases. Before we left, something felt wrong, so I downloaded copies of his folders. Two of them had intelligence that indicated Welch was working with Alton, but I had no idea that he would be here. I used the ledgers to drive a wedge in between Welch and Alton, to create more distrust, use it as a diversion along with the explosion, and it worked. Not that there’s a whole lot of trust between those two anyway.” Tiny indicated for Reilly to help her up.

  “You still haven’t explained why you’re on my ship. I’m waiting.” Reilly drummed her fingers in mock anticipation as the rest of the wall behind her blew out and flames licked the ceiling.

  “My purpose on your ship is not something I can just explain in a few seconds.” Tiny sighed and looked back up at Reilly. “Pull me up and you’ll have your explanation when we get back to the ship. Your pilot should hear it too, since it involves his son. My word, I swear on my life.”

  Reilly looked hard at the Gaiden as she processed what Tiny had said. Seth was involved? That didn’t make sense. But if Seth was involved, then the Gaiden was right. Duv deserved to hear what she had to say as well. Tiny had given her word, and Reilly knew she wouldn’t go back on it. She reached over and pulled the woman up next to her on the platform. They both lay there for a moment resting on the metal floor, surround by debris and smoking metal. The station shuttered again.

  “Captain, we need to go. I’m not sure who is shooting at the space station, but I’d rather not stick around and find out.”

  They both stood and turned to head down the nearest corridor. Tiny glanced back at Crazy Ray. His body lay motionless, his head circled by a growing pool of blood under the rubble on the metal walkway. Tiny pulled her gun to put another round in him just to be sure, just as the space station tilted to one side with a violent heave. Reilly gripped the railing and pulled herself up the hallway as Tiny cursed, then did the same. She hoped she wouldn’t regret that unspent round, but right now, her priority had to be getting off the station alive. Another laser round sizzled through the air on the far side of the bay as the two women began to run.

  “If we can make it to the next corridor, we can access the cruiser. They should have some ships we can borrow!” Reilly yelled over the explosions. They moved faster as more explosions echoed behind them.

  They hit the cruiser’s main corridor at a flat sprint. Tiny winged two of her knives at the nearest security guards, clearing a path for them to the flight deck as Reilly blasted another couple who tried to get in her way.

  “So I just got to ask,” Reilly panted as she caught up to Tiny, “That stuff with Crazy Ray—you didn’t have to…you know…”

&nb
sp; “No. He bought off on the trophy chain and my act.” Tiny scowled again. “Though at one point the bastard almost kissed me. Psycho puppy love, I guess. Just thinking about it makes me want to shower!”

  Reilly nodded. The thought of Crazy Ray even looking at her like he had looked at Tiny made her want to vomit. They passed a few more halls and then gained access to the flight deck.

  “There! Go for the fighters!” Tiny pointed to two star fighters in the corner that were set to launch. She and Reilly vaulted up the steps by the launch tunnels and jumped into the birds, locking down the cockpits as Welch’s security detail blasted away at them. Reilly jammed on the ignition and gunned the bird out the tunnel. She and Tiny raced off of the cruiser’s deck as another huge fireball erupted from the listing space station. They barely had time to register this event as the AOC fleet bore down on them and they found themselves joined in a major space battle. Reilly could see two gunships battling it out as they broke free of the station.

  Shit! When did this happen? So much for operational planning! Reilly pulled up, taking in the battlefield around her.

  “I think they could use a hand,” Reilly noted as Tiny swung into position on her wing.

  “Well, let’s go bring them some rain, then. The fiery kind!”

  “Copy that. Weapons free and lots of targets to choose from. Let’s go!”

  Reilly pulled her fighter hard and flipped it, engaging two other nearby fighters and destroying them as Tiny watched her six and then cleared a path around them by running her bird in a spinning figure-eight, mowing down several more of the AOC birds.

  Reilly flipped her channels and punched in Duv’s frequency. The comms channel scanned and then hit.

  “Duv, can you hear me? We’re coming to you, two fighters off your starboard side.”

  “Captain! Good to hear your voice!” Duv responded at once as he whipped the gunship towards her. “We need to get beyond those ships so we can jump; they set up some jammers, too much interference in here. Looks like Zain sent some backup, but they are just jumping in and out from some outside point. We’re having comms issues, too, because I can’t seem to hear them on our freqs, although they have been responding to some of what we’ve passed for targets.”