Cool Pursuit: Chaos Core Book 2

by Lalonde, Randolph

  Free from his grip, she tossed his weapon, kept the restraints and drew her weapon. “Down with the Masters!” she shouted, blasting the air and breaking into a run. The chaos was enough cover to get her to the crossroads, where the shuttle was setting down, the side hatch opening. “Our ride!” she shouted at Nigel and Leland from behind. “That’s our ride!”

  Bolts of white energy sizzled past her, and she peered over her shoulder to see three United Core Authority soldiers taking aim at her and the shuttle. Spin turned towards them, and fired at the one that didn’t have several innocent civilians in the way. She had time to take several shots, missing but driving him back under cover behind a ramshackle public bathroom. With a turn and a roll, she was back on her feet, lurching towards the shuttle and finally diving at the hatch.

  Sharon blasted off from the ground before the hatch was closed, leaving the chaos behind. “They were just shopping, guys. The whole unit was just buying things for their girlfriends and picking up souvenirs,” she told Nigel.

  “How could we know?” Nigel said with a shrug.

  “Why was that one after you?” Leland asked.

  “He wanted to buy me from my masters, and when I wouldn’t tell him who my owners were, he started scanning me. Couldn’t take the risk that we’re wanted, and even if we’re not wanted yet, that he’d see I’m far from home and mark me as an escaped slave. That’s probably happening right now anyway.”

  Spin settled into her seat and looked through the forward viewport. Their pilot was guiding them on a smooth, low course through a high mountain range barely above the trees. “We’re going to our original destination, the Fleet Feather. Sorry about the detour and trouble.”

  “No worries, I haven’t had that much fun in weeks,” Sharon replied over her shoulder.

  “Nigel, can you fly the type of ship Spin just bought? What was it, the Convoy King?”

  “Barely, that’s huge, I’ve never been allowed near the controls of something like that,” he replied.

  “Spin?”

  “I know how, I’ve just never done it for real,” Spin replied.

  Leland nodded at the pilot seat in front of him. “I wonder?”

  “Hey, Sharon,” Spin said, moving to the co-pilot’s seat. “Have you ever flown-”

  “A rig like you just got the slip for?” she finished. “All the time. You don’t have a pilot, do you?”

  “I can pay you,” Spin said.

  “You’d have to buy me,” she replied. “That’s why I had so much fun back there, I loved watching you kick that officer and get away.”

  “Would you like to fly us to British Alliance territory and get freed by the government there?”

  “Don’t play with me here, even if you can afford me, the sale wouldn’t be official, you’re escaped slaves too, from the sound of it,” Sharon replied.

  “Let me worry about that, I’m just wondering if you’d like to come with us.”

  “To British territory? Yes.”

  “Then give me your master’s ident. I’ll contact him.”

  “Sure, but I’m not getting my hopes up. His name is Derek Menor. He’s the only one in the system.”

  Spin looked him up and found that he was part owner of the dealership she bought her ships from, then checked the slave market to see what registered pilots were worth. She was surprised to find that the average was only twenty-five thousand platinum, and that there were thousands on the market. “This is an interested buyer, I’m interested in purchasing your slave, Sharon’s freedom. This will be a black market exchange. Contact me immediately, you know who I am and what my money is worth to your company already,” Spin said into her communicator.

  “That’ll get his attention,” Sharon said. “He’s one of the greediest people I’ve ever met. So, the deal is you pay for my freedom and I fly you over the British territorial line.”

  “Yes, we need a pilot and I have a feeling about you.”

  “I’ll do it then, but Derek will probably just ignore-”

  Spin’s arm display lit up with a reply in text: MAKE AN OFFER. She replied: TWICE THE AVERAGE, FIFTY THOUSAND.

  The reply came back only seconds later through voice communication. “She’s worth five times that much, I’ve put a lot of time and training into her, made her a great pilot and a better late night companion, if you know what I mean. That took a lot of time, and a lot of patience.”

  “I’m only interested in making her free,” Spin said.

  “Oh, you’re a woman and you’re not looking to own her? Then she’s wasted on you, don’t call again, bitch.” The call ended.

  “I’m sorry,” Spin said quietly. “Any chance you’d run?”

  “Work and patience, my ass,” Sharon said, furious. Regardless of her state, she still set the shuttle down beside the Fleet Feather smoothly. Half a dozen bots moved from the back of the Feather carrying bins to a bulk transport shuttle as Mirra, Della, Mitchel, and Joren loaded them with everything they could. “I learned everything – and I mean everything – myself or with experienced friends. The only reason why I don’t run is because he has a tracker on me.”

  “I could deactivate that for you,” Leland said. “Most likely.”

  “I don’t even care anymore. I’ll go with you if you’ll take on another escaped slave, it seems like that’s what you do, anyway.”

  “You’re more than welcome, we’re beating a hasty retreat anyway,” Spin replied.

  “Okay, there will be a tracker on your new ship, by the way. I’ll help you disable them as soon as we get into our first wormhole. You have a pilot,” Sharon said, shaking Spin’s hand. “I’m not even going back for the few things he lets me keep under my bed.”

  “You know, that’s the only reason why I feel bad about leaving the Cool Angel, leaving my toolbox behind,” Nigel said. “Anyway, welcome to the crew, see you up there.”

  “Thanks, guys. I’m still pissed that Derek took credit for, well, me, so I might seem a little ungrateful, but it’ll wear off.”

  “So, how does this go?” Spin asked.

  “I wait here, pretend you’re keeping me with you until it’s time to go to your new ship, then when you’re ready to go, I fly you up there, send my shuttle back on autopilot – the long way – and take off with you. Your ship is being prepped right now, so other than moving your stuff from your old ship here, it’s already good to go.”

  “One minute,” Spin said. “Mirra, do we have all the essentials on that cargo shuttle?”

  “We did what you said, all our favourite stuff, the bedding, mattresses, anything we can sell at another port, supplies and cash stores. All we have left are the clothes and the non-essential luxuries, like rare soaps. The last of the medical supplies just got loaded, we were about to move on to the last stuff.”

  “God, that’s fast,” Leland said.

  “Okay, tell them they can close the doors and go. We’re going up to the ship, get aboard my shuttle.”

  “But there’s thousands of credits’ worth in luxury stuff here,” Mira replied. “Are you sure? Maybe fifty thousand or so.”

  “Leave it, we have to go,” Spin replied.

  “Don’t forget Dorian!” Leland added from the back seat.

  24

  The Long Runner, the moving shuttle and the Dealership’s shuttle each fit in the Convoy King’s launch bays. There were four on either side of the segment of the ship right behind the forward section. The hologram that Spin saw did not reflect how big the ship actually was. She was about to say that she wished she got something more compact to her crew, but then she noticed that every one of them were looking through the broad window of the shuttle, gawking at their new ship. So she asked; “What do you think?” instead.

  “I’m still processing,” Nigel said as the door to the launch bay they landed in closed, clamps secured their shuttle, and the air pressure outside increased.

  “It’s a little, um, square?” Della said.

  “I think sh
e means industrial,” Mirra added.

  “Right, industrial. It looks like something you’d haul metal in.”

  “You could,” Jorin added. “I mean, I used to help my dad find haulers for big mining corporations all the time, there was a lot of money in that.”

  “But dirty, right?” Della said.

  “Well, for a couple guys, but most of the crew never touched the ore. For them it was all about living aboard and making the run without any trouble then getting paid.”

  “Oh,” Della replied.

  The whole group made their way off the shuttle and started through the dim hallways. They were utilitarian, but most of the pipes and cables were only visible through intermittent transparent panels on the walls. Spin could tell the thin metal panelling could be removed easily, and remembered that the main hallway ran the whole length of the ship, offering easy access to all the core systems. “There are two decks in most of the segments, three in the fore segment with the bridge, the primary emitter and communication systems. Oh, and the crew quarters are in the forward segment too. About half of our cargo space was converted for long term passengers, but that’s back there, in the segment behind us. I was told there are no beds or other creature comforts there, so we have a place to put all the stuff we took from the Fleet Feather.”

  “If that space is nicer than the crew quarters, can I move in?” Della asked, earning a sharp elbowing from Mirra.

  “You said you wouldn’t complain,” Mirra whispered harshly.

  “I’m just asking.”

  “You can,” Spin said, nodding with a smile. “Since you won’t be critical to the bridge, that’s not a problem. You’ll have to visit us in segment one though.”

  “I’ll keep it nice and clean and cook at least two hot meals,” Della replied.

  “All right, can you, Mirra and Leland make sure the unpacking happens fast. Just have them offload our stuff to the landing bay across from the one they’re in, we’ll have to settle for that. Take this,” Spin said, handing her old sidearm to Mirra. “It should stun any of the bots for at least a few seconds. If we have to get out of here before they’re finished and they freak out because we’re leaving before they can return to base.”

  “So, I shoot the bots if they start freaking out or running for an airlock, then hit their power switches,” Mirra said.

  “What do we do if the bots freak out?” Della asked.

  “We hide,” Leland said. “Unless you have another of those blasters.”

  “There should be a couple somewhere in our stuff, but I don’t know where,” Spin replied.

  “I’ll watch for it,” Leland replied as the trio started down the hallway towards the landing bay behind them.

  “Okay, time for most of us to get to the bridge,” Spin said. “Nigel, head aft to the main power plant and tell me how things look back there.”

  “On my way,” Nigel said excitedly before she finished telling him.

  The bridge was extremely well organized in the centre. It wasn’t like the Cool Angel’s, where the captain sat in the middle on a raised seat that was more like a throne. The captain’s seat was more well-padded than the others aboard her new ship, but it was set in the middle of a large control console that had two comfortable looking but less grand seats to either side.

  “Pilot’s station,” Sharon said. “Just like I remember when I moved this ship in. The security umbilical has already been released, and we are in standby, holding station.” She slipped into the seat to the right of the captain’s chair, gesturing towards it. “Take your place, Captain.”

  Spin hesitated a moment, looking at all the status panels in front of the padded chair. She looked behind her at the four stations that looked different, newer and less complicated. They were set against either side of the rear half of the modest bridge in pairs. “What are those?”

  “That’s the weapon’s package. Only two of those stations are running, the other ones are waiting for more cannons to be installed.” Sharon replied. “This ship used to be a lot more dangerous, it could be again if you find a good weapons’ dealer.”

  “So no one can fire weapons from the main stations?” Spin asked as she slipped into the comfortable captain’s seat. It adjusted to her size, pushing the back forward. The cushions didn’t adjust, they didn’t have to, they were wonderfully plush.

  “We can fire two turrets and the missile banks, but the controls up here are wave panels, they track your hands as you follow targets, so they take concentration. It’s not what you want people at these stations doing, since we control things like shields, power distribution, flying the ship, you know, that stuff.”

  Jorin dropped into the seat to Spin’s left and activated the main screen. “Status of bays, crew reports, maintenance records, life support status, panel sensors for our armour, shield controls, communications and our Navnet profile.”

  “You know how to work with that?” Spin asked, surprised. Jorin had been helpful in support of any basic work since he decided to stay, but she hadn’t seen him take charge of anything.

  “Everything but the shield controls. I have no idea what any of that stuff means. Besides, I think it’s more to raise and lower sections of the shields so people can come and go from our little landing bays, rather than managing defence.”

  Spin looked at the control panel and nodded. “You’re right. You couldn’t screw us up with anything there, shield wise. I’m surprised it looks so well set up.”

  “I’m not,” Sharon said. “This ship is made so a few crewmembers can take care of the whole ship, just like any hauler. The difference is that it’s also a tug, so we’ve got hard lines we can launch at other ships and energy fields that take someone who knows what they’re doing.”

  “Hey, I’ve got someone coming in a four-man planet hopper,” Jorin said. “Transmission incoming.”

  “Hey, Spin,” said an image of Sun as it appeared at the front of the bridge. “Listen, I’m sorry about everything. The truth is already coming out, and I jumped to conclusions. I was getting ready to fend off competition for the Captain’s chair on the Angel, and I turned on you without thinking.”

  Spin took a breath, looked at the captain’s station in front of her. It was populated with status displays summarizing the condition and all activity on the ship, as well as readouts and controls for all the core systems. Aside from that, there were plenty of icons and features she didn’t know anything about. She was still angry with Sun, but her head had cleared enough for her to know that she’d regret leaving things the way she did. “We had a communication breakdown in a few ways, it’s cost us enough already.”

  “Should I clear her to dock?” Jorin asked, looking pleased at having a job already.

  “Yes,” Spin said.

  “Bay seven,” Jorin told her.

  “I’ll meet you,” Spin said, leaving the Captain’s seat. Sun’s image disappeared, leaving the large transparent metal window that wrapped around three quarters of the bridge.

  “Captain? Who’s in charge while you’re off the bridge?” Sharon asked.

  “Him,” she said passing the Governor as he walked through the door. “Think you can make a few decisions if something comes up?”

  “I served in the British Alliance for five years, so I might manage,” he replied.

  Spin arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Don’t get excited, I was in logistics, mostly serving from an office,” he said. “How do you think I found politics?”

  “Spin, Spin!” she heard through her communicator, it was Nigel.

  “Yes?”

  “This ship is awesome! I’m standing beside a purring X Four Twenty reactor and its seven brothers. The service tags say these things were checked and worked on last week. We’re good to go, and man, are we ever going to go!”

  “Good, do you have to stay back there while we’re under way, or are you better being on the bridge?”

  “I’m going to set myself up here. There are bunks
for engineering staff too, so I’ll stay close to these babies,” he replied. “You picked a good one.”

  Spin watched as Sun emerged from her tiny shuttle. It looked like it was dug out of a mud pit, and Spin couldn’t count the dents on the thin hull panels. “I bought the cheapest shuttle I could find,” Sun explained as she came through the door carrying five bags. Spin took two. “I was able to get Nigel, Boro and Trevor’s most important stuff from the Angel before I left. They let me do that much.”

  “What happened?” Spin asked.

  “They already had the vote, Keith didn’t want to wait, and since he was still effectively First Officer, he got his way. The crew heard me, Hugo and him out, then Lieutenant Newson said her piece remotely since she was still on her way. The crew voted her up to the Captain’s chair, so she’s taking the Angel. It’s not as good as Hugo, not as bad as Keith moving up, but it’s not good either. Her first act was to order Keith’s execution, and then hold a vote about keeping escaped slaves off the crew.”

  “Seriously?” Spin asked, surprised.

  “She argued that escaped slaves would always bring trouble to our door, and the Cool Angel couldn’t pretend to be a legitimate trade ship while one or more of us were aboard. The vote passed, I can’t even start over as an able crewmember.”

  Spin resisted the urge to tell her; ‘so that’s why you’re here.’ Instead she told her; “You’re welcome here. I’m going to need you to teach me a few things as my First Officer though. I can’t serve as captain if I don’t know what half my command display is trying to tell me.”

  “You have a deal,” Sun said.

  “Problem, I have a blinking ship heading towards us, it’s yellow, and uh…” Jorin announced over the ship intercom.

  “Something’s coming at us with weapons and shields charged,” Sun said. She dropped the bags and followed Spin as she ran for the bridge.

  Mitchell turned the captain’s seat towards her, and Spin dropped into it. “Where do you want me?” he asked.

  “Man the guns, Governor,” she replied.