by JN Chaney
“Sir, Union fighters are approaching,” informed Sigmond.
“I see them, pal,” I said, spotting what appeared to be fifteen dots blinking their way to our location.
I searched the system for cover, but there wasn’t much to use. The cloak clearly wasn’t an option, which meant I’d have to play this the old-fashioned way.
I pointed The Star at the nearby asteroid cluster. “Time for a game of hide-and-find.”
Abigail snapped a look at me. “Wait a second, we can’t just go into that!”
I grinned. “Have a little faith, Abigail. You’re a nun, after all.”
“Former nun!” she yelled.
A dozen fighters were gaining on us as we arrived at the asteroid cluster. As we neared the first set of rocks, an alarm sounded on the dash. “Enemy ships are within firing distance, sir.”
The cockpit shook rapidly as we took a blast in our ass. “In we go!” I shouted, gripping the controls with both my hands, bringing us between two moon-sized boulders.
The ships at our rear followed closely, moving quickly to keep up. The shield around The Star deflected some light debris as we dove beneath one of the rocks.
The others continued their pursuit, maintaining their speed.
I spotted a denser section of the field. “Hold on tight,” I told Abigail. “Siggy, release the mines on my mark.”
“Understood.”
Three rocks were so close they nearly created a tunnel between them, so I took it, entering through the gap. “Now!” I barked.
Six small mines deployed from the base of our ship, activating three seconds afterwards, hovering in the empty space between the stones.
The strike ships followed, going into the gap. As they did, the mine activated, creating an explosion that disintegrated the first, but sent the next five into the rocks.
We escaped the narrow opening a second later, flying back into the open asteroid field. “Six ships down,” informed Siggy.
The remaining ships continued their pursuit, firing and blasting The Star’s rear shield. I felt the burst when it landed, shaking the entire cockpit and sending the little Foxy Stardust bobblehead into the air. “Hot fucking hell!” I snapped.
“What is it?!” asked Abigail, no doubt sensing my panic. “Do they have us?”
“My Foxy bobble almost bit the dust,” I growled, reaching for the toy and planting it back on my dash. “There. We’re good now.”
“Goddammit, Jace!” snapped the former nun.
Another shot hit us and a red warning light came on, informing me that if I didn’t lose these guys soon, I’d be in some serious shit.
I steered The Star toward one of the larger asteroids, cutting so close to the rock that it penetrated my shield and set off a proximity alarm.
The other ships followed, trying to keep up. “Get ready to take the flight controls, Siggy,” I said as we came around the asteroid at a perpendicular angle.
“I shall set a direct course for the slip tunnel,” he responded.
Three ships were hot on our tail. “Okay, then,” I muttered, spotting a large cluster of rocks ahead of us. I squeezed the control stick and glanced at Abigail. “Hold on to your trousers!”
Abigail’s eyes widened as she saw what was coming. “What the—”
I pulled the stick back, spinning the ship to angle us perfectly between the initial wall of floating stones. As soon as we were through the first layer, I took the ship straight up with a hard turn, taking the cleanest path out of the field.
The other ships tried to stay close and avoid the asteroids, but all it took was a single mistake, made by the first pilot as he nicked one of the rocks with his wing. The collision destabilized his flightpath and sent him spiraling out of control, creating a chain effect with the other ships, knocking each of them off course. Only one managed to pull through, despite some slight damage to its forward compartment.
I checked the scanner to find a shitload of dots still after us, but they were far enough behind that they’d never reach us. Only the one remaining fighter was close enough to warrant concern. Now that we were clear of the asteroids, I’d have no choice but to take him out myself.
“Are we nearly there?” asked Abigail, gripping the seat handles.
I gave her a wink, then cut the engines, turning us around in a complete 180. We continued flying, only now we were backwards, facing the enemy ship as it quickly closed the gap on us.
With my thumbs on the quad-cannon triggers, I watched the Union strike ship come within firing distance.
“Warning,” announced Sigmond. “Enemy vessel is closing.”
The ship fired a quick spread on us, mostly missing, but still managing to graze the hull. I felt my seat tremble. Almost there, I thought as I waited, hoping to make this count.
Finally, the holo gave me the green, lining up the best possible shot, and I squeezed the trigger.
The blast struck the strike ship directly in the cabin, tearing through its hull like a knife through paper, and it exploded from the inside out.
“There it is!” I barked, feeling the adrenaline as it coursed through my veins.
An indicator light blinked, letting me know that another wave was fast approaching. “If you’re finished having fun,” said Abigail, motioning to the radar.
“Right,” I said, then turned the ship and lit the engines. “Siggy, start the slipspace sequence and get that tunnel open!”
“Already processing,” said the A.I. “Opening slip tunnel in five seconds.”
“Captain Jace Hughes,” said a deep voice over the com. “This is General Brigham. I know you’re receiving this message. I implore you to respond.”
I clenched my teeth. “Siggy, open the channel.”
“Ready when you are, sir.”
“Brigham, this is Captain Hughes of The Renegade Star. You’d best turn your ass around and head home, because you’ll never get what you’re after.”
There was a short pause. “Captain Hughes, I see you’ve finally decided to talk back,” said the General.
“I’ve done more than talked, haven’t I?”
“That you have, Captain. It seems the reports I’ve read about you are true.”
“Glad I was able to satisfy. It’s probably been a while since you had a good fuck,” I said.
He laughed, but it sounded more forced than genuine. “Hughes, why don’t you cut your engines and hand over the girl? You have my word that I’ll let you go.”
“That’s a generous offer,” I said, glancing at Abigail, who was waiting beside me with a tense expression. “What about the rest of my crew?”
“They can go as well, sir. Your entire crew, even the woman who stole her, can walk away from this. All we want is the girl. The rest is negotiable.”
I paused, staring at the holo of the Galactic Dawn. It was so big, so majestic, like a god compared to me and mine. I was nothing to this man, just a piece of shit who had what he wanted. Any other day, he would have walked over my corpse and never thought a thing about it. Not that I could blame him.
“There’s an issue I take with that, if you don’t mind me saying, General.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure we can—”
“The little girl you want, the one with the tattoos and the stupid questions…she’s as much a part of this crew as me, and I ain’t letting her go. Not with the Union. Not with the Sarkonians—” A crack in space opened and a green swirling light appeared before us. “—and especially not with you.”
I clicked the com off. “The slipspace tunnel is open. Please proceed forward,” said Sigmond.
I eased the ship into the tunnel, disappearing inside.
“Wait a second,” said Abigail. “Where does this passage come out at?”
Sigmond’s answer came immediately. “According to the star chart, the next slip gap point along this path is…” The holo transformed into a map of the star cluster, zooming in on the destination in question. “The center of Sarkon
ian space, approximately six million kilometers from Sarkon, their capital planet.”
Abigail and I looked at one another right as we entered the rift. “Shit,” we each said, turning back to the green light as it continued to surround our ship.
SEVENTEEN
“Dammit, Siggy!” I barked, slamming my fist on the console in front of me. “Why didn’t you tell me where this thing went before we got inside?”
“Apologies, sir, but you didn’t ask,” responded Sigmond.
I went to yell at him a second time, but stopped, choosing instead to count to ten. “One. Two. Three.”
“What are you doing?” asked Abigail.
“Trying my best not to shoot my own ship, if I’m being honest.”
“Well, don’t. I need you to keep your head on straight if we’re going to make it out of this.”
“I won’t murder Siggy today, but not because you told me not to.”
Heading deeper into Sarkonian space, especially their homeworld, was not something I was eager to do. Not only was it dangerous for someone with fake papers like me, but we’d already encountered their military, and somehow they’d known all about the bounties on our heads, despite the fact that the Union and the Sarkonian Empire never worked together on anything before. For them to discard decades of rivalry, distrust, and animosity just to turn in a few bounties seemed more than unrealistic. It was just plain ridiculous.
No, there had to be more to it than that. Something bigger that I couldn’t see. I had to figure this shit out.
“Where are you going?” Abigail asked as I was getting to my feet.
“To interrogate our prisoners about what to expect when we arrive,” I explained. “We know the Union and the Sarkonians are working together, but we need to find out why. Since we can’t access the gal-net inside slipspace, those two jackasses are our only leads.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, stay here and help Siggy monitor the tunnel,” I ordered, opening the door. I stepped out into the lounge.
“Isn’t that something he does on his own?” she asked, right as the door slid shut.
“It sure is,” I said in a low voice as I continued through the ship.
I’d never been in the heart of Sarkonian space. Like the Union, it was a region I generally ignored, if I could help it.
I’d only encountered the Sarkonians a handful of times, although those instances had spiked in recent weeks, thanks to the blunder back in Spiketown.
I entered the cargo bay and took the stairs. “Open the wall, Siggy,” I said, unholstering my pistol.
The door slid up, revealing the two prisoners. Alphonse sat with his legs crossed on the floor, while Docker remained in the far corner, sitting much further away, arms tied and the gag back around his mouth. The light from the bay hit them both, but only Docker flinched.
“Back already?” asked Alphonse.
“Take your friend’s gag off,” I ordered, motioning at Docker with my gun.
“Yes, Captain,” said the young man, politely. He unwrapped the cloth from Docker’s mouth, but it was tightly bound, making it difficult to remove. After some yanking, which I could tell was unpleasant, based on Docker’s expression, Alphonse managed to get it free, discarding the gag on the floor.
Docker stretched his jaw and licked his chapped lips, squinting at me as he drew close enough for more outer light to touch him. He let out an exasperated groan. “Thank you for finally—”
“Shut up,” I demanded. “Tell me why the Sarkonians know about the bounties on me and my crew. They’re on a separate network. They don’t use the gal-net. Why would they bother looking us up and turning us in?”
He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know a lot about that.”
“Sure, you do,” I countered. “I bet you both know plenty.”
“The only thing I’ve seen is the Sarkonians are working with the Union to find this ship, but that’s all,” he insisted.
“You don’t know why they agreed to it?”
He shook his head. “Wish I did. Really!”
“Is that really all you know, Docker?” I cocked the hammer on the pistol, and it echoed through the bay. “Are you sure there’s not something you’re leaving out?”
“I-I told you the truth a second ago, I swear! There’s nothing else really at all, I swear to all the gods!” he was talking so fast I thought he might pass out. The crippling anxiety in his voice told me everything I needed to know.
“Fine.” I couldn’t tell if there was any other information in that idiot worth pulling out. For now, I’d have to assume he’d given me everything and rely on Alphonse for the rest. I turned and pointed the gun at him. “Your turn, kid.”
He eyed the barrel. “I see.”
“Start talking. This gun is getting heavy, and I’d sooner shoot you both than keep it raised.”
“You might not like what I have to say, Captain. How do I know you won’t shoot me just because you’re angry?”
“I need you to keep my people alive. If you help me do that, I won’t hurt you,” I said. “But, if I find out you’re bullshitting me, I’ll kill every last piece of you.”
He stared at me for a few seconds, a cold, emotionless look on his face. I couldn’t tell if he was planning a surprise attack, plotting an escape, or recounting his favorite soap opera, his face was so empty. “All right, Captain Hughes. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
This fucking guy, I thought, staring into those strange eyes.
He cleared his throat. “Docker is correct. The Sarkonians are working with the Union, but what he didn’t say is that they aren’t in this for the bounty on your head.”
“How’s that, now?” I asked.
“The Union offered the Sarkonian government a truce, allowing them direct access to 50% of Deadland space without having to worry about Union interference.”
I considered this for a moment, laying out the star map in my head. The Deadlands made up a large chunk of space, with dozens of systems in it, all of it between the borders of the Union and Sarkonian Empire. Most of the region was utterly lawless, which made it easy for folk like me to come and go. The Union and the Sarkonians remained content to leave the uncivilized region to itself for the better part of two centuries. Until recently, of course, as I’d witnessed firsthand. “You mean the Union and the Sarkonians are planning to take over the Deadlands?”
“I don’t know if the Union means to conquer their side of the Deadlands adjacent to their border. The dominant view right now in Ambrosia is that it’s too much work to police it all. There’s also not enough resources there to make the expansion worthwhile.” He crossed his arms. “But the Sarkonians are different. They’re restricted to half a dozen sectors and a handful of systems within their own territory. They have no other choice but to expand, which means they need the Deadlands, even if the worlds are remote, chaotic, and disorganized.”
“Wait a second here,” I said, waving my pistol. “Are you saying the Union’s going to let them expand their borders just for capturing us?”
He grinned. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Captain.”
“But that’s crazy. The Sarkonians are violent and stupid. The Union hates them. Why would they make a deal like that?”
With his arms still crossed, Alphonse opened his palm and leaned forward, like he was inviting me to connect the dots. “What do you have that they want?”
“Wait, you’re saying it’s because of Lex?”
He nodded. “The one and only.”
“But, why go through all that trouble for just one kid?”
“Ah, now that’s the real question, isn’t it?” asked Alphonse with a slight smirk. “Why risk your very security, all to procure a single child? I must admit, Captain, I’m also in the dark, but I’m oh-so fascinated to learn the truth.”
I scoffed at the idea of it all. The Union was willing to risk their own security, their own borders, just to find my ship and the little
albino.
“You know too much to be some shitty ensign,” I said, looking at his rank insignia. A single yellow bar on his collar.
“Do I?” he asked, not hiding his amusement. “I suppose that’s true.”
I took a step back and lowered the gun. Tapping my ear, I said, “Drop the door. I’m done here.”
“Yes, sir,” said Sigmond, and the wall began to slide down.
“Until next time, Captain Hughes,” called Alphonse. “Please, do try not to die.”
* * *
I gathered everyone in the lounge. Freddie, Abigail, Hitchens, and Octavia. Meanwhile, Siggy managed to distract Lex with a game in her room. She didn’t need to hear any of this.
“Please tell me you have a plan,” said Abigail.
“Did the prisoners give you any information?” asked Octavia.
I nodded. “It’s not good news, in case you’re wondering.”
“Of course it’s not,” said Abigail. “Why should we expect otherwise?”
“Basically,” I continued, ignoring the nun’s sass. “The Union made a deal with the Sarkonians for our heads. If they deliver us to Brigham, they get to invade the Deadlands, uncontested.”