Without hesitation, Goboble’s troops turned toward Intrepid, where the blast had come from, and opened fire. The APC’s twin turrets rapidly returned fire.
“Stop!” I yelled, but Goboble had already scrambled for cover and there was no slowing the assault by his team.
A second turret on Intrepid synced up with the first and twin bolts ripped through the air. Only one of the bolts struck the APC, but the force was enough to cause the vehicle to jump to the side. As the APC’s wheels caught in the road, it bounced and teetered precariously, as if it might tip completely over. The action stopped the operator inside from continuing to fire.
Two more rounds from Intrepid plowed a furrow in front of Goboble’s troops, pelting them with rocks and debris.
Another blast from Intrepid ripped a chunk from the back end of the heavy APC, causing it to tip precariously again. The vehicle finally bounced back onto all four wheels as smoke rolled out of its rear hatch.
"Goboble, tell your men to stop firing!” I yelled again over the chaos.
"Cease fire!" Goboble responded immediately. He looked at me, tipping his head to the side and waited as weapons were dropped on the ground. “I understood the ship was a burned-out hulk. You have been busy, Liam Hoffen.”
Fortunately, I’ve played enough cards and talked to enough psychopaths that I wasn’t about to let him know I had no idea what he was talking about. As far as I knew, Intrepid's turrets were nonfunctional, having just been returned a few days before by the Abasi. Moreover, the collective inside Jonathan were all pacifists.
“We finish this,” I said, ignoring his implied question. “I will trade you Fleet Afoot for our bond debt. You will return our grav-suits and we will dissolve our partnership."
“You make an enemy today, Liam Hoffen,” Goboble said.
“There’s an old Earth saying I think you should learn.”
“What is that?”
“’That ship has sailed.’ You made us your enemy when you decided to coerce us into unfavorable conditions.”
“As did your ship sail when you turned over our compatriot to Abasi,” he said. “Do not let your victory today give you false security.”
“Do you want your ship or not?” Anger started to cloud my thinking. “If we’re going to be enemies, maybe I’d be better off burying the lot of you and keeping your cool trucks.”
Goboble glared. It was the first indication of emotion I’d seen from the alien. I had him. He knew it and I knew it. “I accept your deal, but I will not forget this day.”
"Nick, write that up, please?" I asked.
A moment later my AI chimed as a contract arrived.
Goboble reviewed the contract, signed it and narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. "I look forward to our next meeting.”
Chapter 2
Patriot's Call
“Hail from Silver Hoffen,” my AI intoned.
Goboble must have heard something as he turned back to me after stepping into the damaged APC. Hate simmered behind his eyes and he stared me down for a long minute before ordering the hatch closed.
“Mom?” I asked, confused, turning away from the angry little golem. “Are you on Zuri?”
A sonic boom announced the arrival of a fast approaching ship.
“Sorry we couldn’t make it more quickly,” she said. “We received an urgent message from Nicholas, but it looks like you have things cleaned up.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Long story,” she said. “Everything okay down there?”
“Bad guys are just leaving. Maybe you could follow them out and make sure they don’t stop in that little town back over the hill,” I said.
“Copy that,” she answered as I finally caught a glimpse of the ship she’d arrived in. My AI identified it as a stealth-armored small sloop made by Renaissance Airframes.
"Ada, we need med kits," I said as Tabby and I rushed to help the injured Roby and Sempre.
Ada Chen was the fifth member of our crew. While she'd been quiet up to this point, I knew she'd been following the encounter. She still bore the scars of our last battle with the Kroerak, an injury which had taken one of her eyes.
"They really tuned him up," Tabby said, gently rolling Roby onto his back. The ebony skin of his face was covered with purple bruises and his eyes were swollen shut.
"Help Sempre," Roby gurgled.
"We have her, Roby." Jonathan had already exited Intrepid and was helping the unconscious young Felio female. “You’re safe,” they said, helping her into a more comfortable position. My HUD displayed the initial diagnosis, indicating broken bones in her face and left arm.
"Jonathan, you fired at Goboble," I said. "You're pacifists."
"Not strictly true, Liam. We strongly desire peaceful outcomes. Firing on inanimate vehicles seemed a reasonable compromise."
"I'd like to think I'm rubbing off on you," I said.
"Indeed you have, Liam," Jonathan said. "As we have on you."
“Hug it out, already," Tabby said. "Did you know your mom was in-system?”
“No, and I think Nick has some explaining to do.”
“What a brute,” Ada complained as she knelt next to Tabby and placed two med-scanner patches on Sempre’s bloodied fur. My AI connected to the med-scanner and confirmed multiple fractures of her cheek bones and considerable swelling in her cranium. We'd programmed a Felio specific set of patches into our replicator and made them part of our standard emergency kit, so my HUD outlined the small squares as I reached into the bag. Ada and I worked together quickly to activate and apply them to the soft orange and white fur of Sempre’s bloodied face.
It would take a few days to repair the bone damage, but the most critical issue was the brain swelling. For a human, our technology easily dealt with concussions, but our understanding of Felio physiology wasn’t nearly as advanced. I’d already transmitted Sempre’s scan data for review to a medical center in Manetra, an Abasi city twenty-two hundred kilometers away.
“You kids doing okay over here?” Hog Hagarson interrupted, jumping from the electric vehicle the townsfolk called a carriage. Hog was the barrel-chested, bigger-than-life mayor of the York settlement.
"Roby?" From the other side of Hog's carriage, Bish, Roby's pot-bellied father rushed toward us. "I told you all not to get involved with that gangster. This is what I was talking about. You're endangering us all by going against Goboble."
"Now, Bish," Hog defended. "You can't be blaming Hoffen for Goboble. And, darn it! I'm done cowering. We can't just keep living hand-to-mouth. We finally have hope for the future prosperity of York and our people."
"Is this the hope you're looking for?" Bish gestured to Roby.
"Stop it, Dad," Roby grunted.
"Well, I don't like it," Bish said.
"You're right not to like it, Mr. Bishop," I said. "We can't underestimate Goboble. Our crew has run into his kind before. He will be trouble.”
“And you’re okay with our young being hurt or killed, Hog?” Bish asked as he and others transferred Roby and Sempre to a flat-bed carriage.
The body language of several of the gathered men and women of York clearly indicated that Bish wasn’t the only one having concerns about the confrontation with Goboble.
“We can’t take losses, Hagarson. We’re barely holding on as it is. We don’t need a new war.” The speaker was a farmer we’d met before, Curtis Long. The tall, thin man was plain-speaking, hardworking and always pessimistic.
“We have to stick together,” Hog said. “If we’ve learned anything, it’s that.”
“There’s an alternative,” Nick said. It wasn’t like Nick to step into the middle of a heated conversation.
“What’s that?” Long stepped toward Nick, still angry.
The action got Marny’s attention and before Nick could respond, she’d stepped in next to him and placed a shoulder between the two men.
“It’s okay, Marny. Curtis is scared. We know what that feels like.�
� Nick rested his hand on her thickly muscled bicep and moved around her. “The alternative is that you ask us to leave. We’ve learned that Bakira is rejecting our parts. If ever there was a time for us to move on, this is it.”
As he considered Nick’s words, a range of emotions played across the normally stoic man’s face.
Hog, on the other hand, had no conflict and wasn’t about to let either Bish or Long speak for the community. “Hold on there. Hoffen, James, and all of you are part of York now. We’ll not be asking anyone to leave. Long, weren’t you just saying the other day how much you appreciated these young-bloods pumping energy and credits into our community? Bish, weren’t you going on about how James’ anti-grav technology could revolutionize industry? We’re ready to drop all that because of one angry Golenti?”
“Goboble is more than that and you know it,” Bish said, standing up to his life-long friend.
“And the citizens of York once stood against a tide of Kroerak when they invaded. Are you really suggesting Goboble is worse than that?”
Bish looked down and then back at Hog. “No. Damn it. Don’t make me the bad guy here. We’re getting pulled into this thing and we don’t have anything to say about it.”
“Incoming comm, Silver Hoffen.”
“Go ahead, Mom.” I touched my ear and stepped away from the conversation.
“I noticed a landing pad outside that little town we passed. Do they have fuel?” Mom asked.
“That’s York,” I said. “Go ahead and set down there; we’ll meet you. And you are so busted for not telling me you were coming.”
“We have a lot to talk about,” Mom said. “See you in a few minutes. Hoffen out.”
“Did she hang up on you?” Tabby asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. Only my family would do that.”
“At least your family talks to you,” Tabby said.
I turned to the group that had congregated around Nick just as Bish climbed into the vehicle that carried Sempre and Roby.
Ada had positioned herself on the flatbed between the two injured youths. “Let’s go, Bish,” she said.
“Where are you taking them?” I asked.
“Bish will take ‘em home,” Hog said. “And don’t you all be worrying about Curtis and Bish. They’re nervous nellies. The good folk of York know a good thing when it comes along. We hope you’ll stay with us, warts and all.”
“You sure about that, Hog?” Nick asked. “My read was that most of that group was very nervous.”
“They have a right to be. Goboble has a reputation. Thing is, worry don’t get you nowhere,” Hog replied. I flinched as I attempted to unwind his grammar. “Now, did I get it right? Your mom was sailing that sleek looking ship?”
“That was Mom.” I turned to Nick. “And … you had to know Mom was coming. What gives? You holding that back from me?”
“Think I could get a ride to town?” Hog asked, interrupting. “Patty said a ship just set down on the pad and people are getting nervous. Apparently, there’s a whole load who’ve disembarked.”
“A whole load of people?” I looked back to Nick with a raised eyebrow. Something more than a visit from Mom was up. “What do you know about this?”
Nick, anticipating the question, was already jogging toward the bungalow he’d turned into his workshop. “Don’t ask me,” he called over his shoulder. “Ask your Mom.”
“Chicken,” I called after him. “Marny, you know anything about this?”
“I might,” she said, smiling. “Not that I’m going to spill the beans, though. Hog, why don’t you tell Patty we’re coming over to the diner and we’re going to need a lot of tables.”
A moment later, Nick emerged from the workshop in the four-wheeled hauler he used to ferry parts and equipment. As there was only room for three in the cab, Tabby and I hopped into the bed as he pulled up.
“What’s going on?” Tabby asked.
“I don’t know how much more I can take today,” I said. “I feel like I need a score card.”
“Your mom wouldn’t come out this far just for a social visit. She knows there's a short timeframe before TransLoc is shut down for good,” Tabby said. “She’d be risking a lot if she got caught on this side.”
Once we crested the hill, Tabby and I stood to look over the top of the hauler’s cab. As we wound down the hill, York and the landing pad came into view.
“Something is seriously up,” Tabby said. “That’s Merrie, Amon, Sendrei Buhari, and Ortel Licht. Is that Priloe? That kid has really grown and Milenette has too.”
“Who are all those military types?” I asked.
“Commander Munay is one of them,” Tabby said.
There had been a rumor that Mom and Munay had some interest in each other. She denied it, but hearing that he was aboard made me wonder if there might be truth to the story.
I waved as the red-haired Ortel Licht tapped Mom on the shoulder and pointed up the hill at us. A few moments later, we arrived and Nick pulled to a stop. When Tabby and I jumped out we were drawn into hugs, handshakes and introductions.
“Mom, I’d like to introduce you to Hog Hagarson,” I said. “Hog, Silver Hoffen.” In turn, I introduced Hog to each of those I knew.
"Hog?" Mom asked.
"Pleasure to meet you," Hog said, smiling broadly. "Jackson Hagarson — but your boy is right. People around here call me Hog."
"Liam said there were good people on Zuri," she said. "I can see he wasn't exaggerating."
“Aren't you just the sweetest little thing. No sense standing around,” Hog said. “Your ship’ll be plenty safe on the pad there. My sweet little gal is throwing together a spread as we speak.”
“Lieutenant.” Munay turned to one of the Mars Protectorate Naval officers he’d brought along. “I want this bird in the air, first sign of those armored vehicles.”
“Aye, aye, Commander.” A uniformed lieutenant snapped to attention.
I gave Mom an inquisitive look. Munay was obviously here in an official capacity.
"Walk with me," she said, holding out her hand.
As we walked toward the open main gates, we laughed as Ortel and Priloe ran ahead, chased by Priloe’s sister Milenette and a dark-haired girl named Demetria that I had only met once.
“Sendrei is huge,” I observed, smiling as we passed several York citizens I either knew or at least recognized.
I’d first met Sendrei Buhari on the Kroerak controlled planet called The Cradle. He’d been mute, leading me to believe he was just a simple Kroerak-raised human slave. As it turned out, after being captured by Kroerak scouts, they’d removed his tongue. At the time, he’d been a sizeable man, four centimeters taller than Marny and leanly muscled. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that with proper nutrition, he’d filled out significantly. I had trouble taking my eyes off his impressive, heavy earther body with thickly muscled arms and shoulders.
“He’s gorgeous,” Mom said. I found her admission a little embarrassing.
“That’s Flaer, right?” I asked.
Sendrei walked next to a petite, frail looking woman with short-cropped red hair. I knew her looks to be deceiving. She had strength in that small body and would use it in the defense of her friends.
Mom nodded. “They married a few months back. Sendrei has been helping with security on Petersburg Station. Flaer runs our commissary.”
“You’re killing me, Mrs. H.,” Tabby said, using the title Mom had earned as our secondary school teacher. The term took me back to when we’d grown up on Colony 40. “What’s this all about?”
“Not completely mine to say,” Mom said. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk.”
“We're here,” I said. “This is Patty’s restaurant.” The glass-fronted restaurant occupied a single building that was basically a rectangle, twenty meters across and ten deep. “She makes all the dishes from scratch and gets her produce from local farmers. York is almost completely self-sufficient.”
“It is a pretty town,”
Mom said just a little louder than was necessary. It didn’t escape me that Patty had just pushed the front door open as we’d arrived and Mom was speaking in a stage whisper.
“Welcome, welcome,” Patty said as we filed in. “Sit anywhere at the big table in the middle.”
“Thank you, Patty,” I said as we passed.
She gave me a warm smile. “Nonsense. A full house is my pleasure.”
For the next forty minutes, we were distracted by the business of the meal and greeting York citizens who were both curious and bold enough to find us.
“Where's Ada?” Mom asked about halfway through.
“She was tending to a couple of our friends who were hurt,” I said. “I’ll send her a message. I’m sure she won’t want to miss talking with you.”
“I’ll send someone over,” Hog said, overhearing the exchange.
“I was thinking, Hog. How about we see if Bish wants to join us? I feel like we’re going to be working through some issues here and I think having both of you at the table might be a good idea.”
“You sure?” Hog asked. “Seems like this is your party.”
“This,” I gestured to the assembled group, “is more than a party. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but I’m positive you’ll want to be here.”
“I would see to the injured,” Flaer said, standing. "Such is my gift."
Hog looked at me, perplexed.
“Flaer is a doctor.” I was stretching the truth as Flaer had no formal training. She did, however, have a long history of healing people under horrible conditions and I’d seen firsthand how quickly she’d adapted to new technologies.
“I’ll take you,” Hog said.
Sendrei stood with Flaer, who placed her hand on his chest to stop him. “Drei, you will sit and make plans. Such is your gift. I will remain safe in this community.”
“As you wish.” The sound of his voice reminded me of the first time I’d heard his soft baritone after his tongue had been restored in the med-tank on Intrepid.
Fifteen minutes later Ada, Bish and Hog arrived.
Corsair Menace (Privateer Tales Book 12) Page 4