Ancient trees made up a small forest, a hundred yards wide, that made a pool of green in the glaring desert. They were taller than any Nova had ever seen, taller than the biggest ships. Their thick branches and twisting roots blocked any view of the inside of the forest, like an impenetrable wall.
Confederacy officers lounged at intervals around the area with their guns slung over their backs. Their eyes flicked over the workers; they looked bored. The workers chattered excitedly as they hauled machinery and tools from the ships toward the trees.
Nova stared down at the Confederacy soldiers, in their navy blue uniforms, and a shiver went up her spine. There was something unnerving about the militant methods of the Confederacy. Just the sight of the soldiers made her want to retreat to Crusader. She couldn't though. She had no choice but to complete the job and get paid, otherwise Crusader was likely to break down somewhere in the middle of unchartered space, never to be found again.
She straightened her back and strode down the other side of the hill. Sand skittered in front of yet and yelling voices erupted from below. She looked up to see Confederacy soldiers sprinting at her.
Nova laid her hand on her pistol and waited for them to reach her. She clenched her fingers around the gun and took a deep breath. She had to keep her temper; if she lost control here all she'd get was dead.
The Confederacy soldiers were breathing hard by the time they climbed the hill to her side. Sweat poured down their strained faces and they clutched plasma pistols in white-knuckled grips.
"What do you want, hunter?" the female soldier said.
"Who said I was a hunter?" Nova said.
"Who else would come sniffing around Confederacy business uninvited?" the soldier said. "Search her."
The other two soldiers stepped forward. The first took hold of her arms and pinned them behind her back while the other snatched her pistol and handed it to the woman in charge. He went to work tapping his hands over Nova's arms and legs. He spent some time patting her chest while smirking at her.
Nova clenched her teeth and her face flushed. She bared her teeth at the man and strained against the guard holding her arms. If she had thought she could get away with it, without ending up on a prison asteroid, she would have smashed her knee into the man's face. Instead, she tensed her jaw and waited in silence.
He pulled out seven silver daggers and a nine millimeter plasma pistol before he was satisfied and signaled to his companion to let her go.
Nova glared at the soldiers. "I want to talk to whichever Confederacy puppet is in charge."
"I doubt he wants to speak with you," the female guard said.
"Oh really, then I suppose you can all be blown to a cosmic crap hole then," Nova said. She folded her arms across her chest.
The soldiers looked at each other, frowning.
"What's that supposed to mean, hunter? Are you threatening us?"
The female guard stepped forward and pressed her gun against Nova's sternum. The hard metal dug into Nova's face but she kept her face steady.
"Just a concerned citizen."
"Start talking, or start walking."
"Trust me, it's above your pay grade," Nova said. She narrowed her eyes at the woman and shoved the gun away from her chest.
The woman clenched her teeth and a menacing growl echoed from the back of her throat. Nova tensed, ready to duck the fist that was inevitably about to fly at her face.
It was obvious to Nova from their hesitation that these were grunts, not qualified to make any decisions. The fact that they were hesitating over whether to take her to the commander said there was a fallible command structure at best. Usually there would be at least four layers of superiors above these gun-jockeys.
The female guard shrugged.
The man on Nova's left looked up. "Alaina. Do you really think he should be the one talking to her?"
The woman glanced at him and responded in another language. It was Confederacian, which was supposed to be a secret language, an inside code. Of course, it had taken less than a week for the translation files to leak to the bounty hunter networks.
"The General put him in charge before he left. What choice do we have?" Alaina said.
"Worst thing the General's ever done," the man replied.
She shrugged. "It's an exploratory mission, and not our job to question."
"Maybe not, but there was no point taking the bitch's weapons off her. She's a hunter, she could probably break the old-man's neck with her little finger."
"That's his problem," Alaina said. She pulled a black communicator the size of her palm from her leather utility belt.
Nova watched the ground through the whole conversation, pretending she couldn't understand what they were saying. Their words only proved what she already knew; there was dissent in this Confederacy project.
Alaina spoke into her communicator, switching back to common tongue. "Sir, we've got a hunter on the planet surface. Says she's got some information and wants to see you,"
"Oh um, okay."
"I'm bringing her up," Alaina said. She gestured for Nova to follow and strode down the dune. The other two soldiers fell into step beside Nova.
She kept her lips pursed and her eyes straight ahead. At least these Confederacy soldiers seemed like the law-abiding kind. There were many who would have tried to kill her and save themselves the hassle.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nova and the soldiers marched past the ships and away from the oasis of green trees. The scurrying workers kept their heads down and stayed well clear of the soldiers.
A silver monstrosity the likes of which Nova had never seen rose above the rest of the single-person ships. The command ship took up a huge section of the horizon, bigger than some asteroids and shaped like a sleek bullet. The silver metal of its outer hull gleamed in the sunlight and its streamlined sides defied the harsh desert.
The shadow of the command ship engulfed them as they drew closer. Nova craned her neck to see it all. How such a thing got into space was a miracle in itself.
They reached a set of stairs which led up into the hull and Alaina took the lead, her boots clinking on the metal. Nova and the second guard followed behind. The third stayed at the base of the stairs.
Nova laid her hand on the railing. The silver metal was cool to the touch even in the harsh afternoon sun.
Alaina called out as soon as she reached the top of the stairs. "Sir, the hunter is here to see you."
A second voice replied from deeper inside the ship. "What the hell is a hunter doing here?"
"She's talking about an explosion."
The door at the top of the stairs swung open to reveal a room full of bright lights that shone down on plush lounges that looked like fluffy, blue clouds. A statue of a Confederacy soldier rose out of the floor in the center of the room and massive bolts held everything in place. The metal walls were clean and smooth where Crusader's were covered in rust and scrapes. The life-support systems purred, keeping the temperature at a smooth twenty-five degrees and there wasn't one broken bulb.
A red-faced man appeared in front of the stairs and distracted Nova from admiring the ship. He wore a stained shirt with a laboratory coat thrown over the top. Cuts and scars ran up his arms and a slice of white, raised flesh marked his left cheek.
"What's your name, hunter?"
"Nova," she said through clenched teeth. "And you are?"
The man's chest puffed out as he spoke. "I am Doctor Codon, science officer of the Ninth Confederacy Fleet. I would suggest you tell me exactly what you're doing snooping around our site."
"I'm looking for two fugitives." She held out a small screen which displayed photos of the two criminals.
"And what exactly does that have to do with me?" Codon asked.
"They're terrorists known to target the Confederacy. I figured you might be interested." She snapped the screen back onto her belt.
"I'm sure you'll get a healthy pay out of it," Codon said.
"True. B
ut I sure as hell don't have to be here listening to you. There are plenty of other jobs I'd rather be doing. I only came here because of the workers who might die, I sure as hell don't give a damn about you or your soldiers."
She pushed her chin forward and stared at him. It was at least partly true; she didn't care one bit for the Confederacy soldiers. If they'd wanted to make an honest living they wouldn't be working for the Confederacy.
"Well – I-"
Nova cautioned herself. He was intimidated now but for some reason he was in control of this whole Confederacy operation, which meant he had power. She didn't want to push him too far, just a little nudge to keep him on his toes. She was counting on the military's apparent lack of respect for the doctor; if she'd spoken like that to one of their generals she would have been beaten to a bloody pulp.
"Take my word for it, Codon. If you don't let me find those fugitives you and your men are walking corpses. What would the Confederacy do if this mission went to hell because you didn't check it out?"
Codon's eyes flew open and he twisted his hand around the loose material of his coat.
Nova kept her face emotionless, playing on the man's insecurities. Without her gun all she had was her intellect. Codon could just as easily shoot her here and dispose of her body as listen to her. She doubted that would happen. The man was too green in his chair. He'd listen to her. It wouldn't be the first time that brash confidence had beaten a Confederacy puppet.
"Thank you for your information," Codon said. His eyes flicked around the room, perhaps hoping for a solution to appear on the wall. "I'll have my soldiers look into it."
Nova tensed but she kept her face smooth. She needed this job for the reward, it was no good if Codon went and found the fugitives himself.
"While I'm sure your soldiers would do their best," she said, glancing over her shoulder at Alaina. "This is a job for someone with more experience."
"What do you mean?"
"You're a scientist. I wouldn't expect you to march to war."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"You can't expect simple soldiers to understand the intricacies of such a delicate political situation. These kinds of fugitives are volatile and could break at any moment. If you send one of your soldiers in to handle something like this it would blow up in your face. Literally."
Alaina's knuckles whitened on the grip of her gun and she stepped closer to Nova. "I'm sure we can—"
"And you've dealt with this before?" Codon said, ignoring Alaina.
Nova grinned. Honesty had no place in matters of life and death. "You could say it's my specialty."
"You're not to go to the dig site. You're not to interrupt my soldiers. Your purpose here begins and ends with those men. You can't jeopardize this dig. It's too important."
"Of course."
"Well, yes. Good. Just sort out the criminal problem and everyone walks away happy. I should warn you; if I so much as think you're thinking about interrupting my project, you'll be locked on a prison asteroid faster than you can say 'not guilty'."
She raised two fingers to her head in mock salute. "Yes, sir. And what exactly are you digging for? The Cloud has no mention of sentient life on this planet."
"I don't see how that's of any concern to you," Codon said.
"If I'm going to find these men, I need to know what's going on here," she said. She cursed fate again for getting her stranded on a desert planet run by the Confederacy.
"Let's just say the door promises 'enter and you will have the power to control the universe'."
"That's a big promise," Nova said.
"It's just what we need to bring the outer planets and you damn bounty hunters into line," Alaina said.
"Exactly," Codon said. "Remember the rules."
"You've got it," Nova said.
She turned but Alaina snatched her upper arm and dragged her down the stairs back into the bright sun.
"Your project sounds great," Nova said.
"Careful, hunter. It's an outer planet; accidents happen."
"Not to me."
Nova's hand flicked to her belt and she pulled a tiny blade out of the lining. It was razor sharp and so thin that it curved with her belt. She pressed the knife against Alaina's jugular. "Keep your threats to yourself and we'll get along just fine."
Alaina's gaze flicked between Nova's face and the knife. "Let go of me now or my soldiers will shoot you where you stand."
Nova glanced at the two soldiers who stood with their guns half-raised. "I don't think so. Something tells me they're not quite good enough shots. They might hit you instead."
"I'll have Codon—"
Nova shoved Alaina away and returned the knife to her belt. "Just stay out of my way."
Alaina gripped her gun but didn't shoot. She wouldn't dare kill Nova here. Later, definitely, but not right here.
Nova glared at the soldier by the stairs. He scowled at her but handed over her weapons. Nova returned each to its rightful place and then turned and strode away from the soldiers.
"Just remember, go snooping and you'll end up on a prison asteroid," Alaina called after her.
Nova raised one hand but didn't bother to turn around.
CHAPTER FIVE
"Cal, did you get all that?" Nova said.
"Confirmed. The Confederacy is spending more money on a quest to control the outer planets and the fugitives may or may not be here."
"You've got that right. I don't know if the fugitives would waste their time on something as fruitless as this. Although I suppose there are a lot of Confederacy soldiers to wipe out."
"What's your next step?" Cal said.
"I'll ask around, see if anyone's seen these guys. I'm going to try and blend in, get my info from the inside. Don't wait up."
She entered a brown, canvas tent where over twenty men and women in dust and sweat-stained clothes gathered around flimsy tables. Small silver bowls of brown gruel congealed in front of them, and they shoveled it into their mouths.
She glanced down at her worn jacket. It was already so covered in dirt and sand that she could have spent the morning working down in the tunnels. She strode to the serving table, grabbed a bowl, and sat down at a long table. She squeezed in between two large men who were intent on their meals.
She spooned two mouthfuls and let the slimy paste slide down her throat. There was no flavor to the gruel, just the texture, like chewing on glue. It coated her mouth with a smooth layer of gunk. She forced herself to swallow and the glue went down her throat, leaving a slimy trail.
"You'd think with food generators they could give us something better than this," she said under her breath.
The men on her left and right grunted and continued to eat while opposite her a woman nodded her head.
"Still too expensive," the man on her right said. "Trust me, we've asked."
"Damned Confederacy," Nova said. "So how'd you get stuck working for 'em?"
The man shrugged, still eating. "Same as you, I'd warrant. Need the money and there's nowhere else to go."
"Ain't that the truth," she said. "I was working out in the Resources District. Came out this way looking for some friends of mine."
"Oh yeah?" the big man said.
She studied his face out of the corner of her eye. His large body threatened to break the table where his elbows leaned against it.
"Yeah. Maybe you've seen them around?" she said.
The man's back stiffened and he lowered the spoon from his mouth. He laid his forearms on the table and turned slowly to stare at Nova. His bushy brows drew together and the corners of his mouth turned down.
"Maybe I have and maybe I haven't," he said. "What was your name again?"
"Lara," she said. Her heart fluttered. It was all very well to make small talk but these weren't simple peasants. The scars across each of their arms and necks were proof enough that they'd seen their share. She had no doubt that the big man would see her dead if he thought she was some kind of Confe
deracy spy.
"I know what you're thinking," Nova said and held up her hands. "I just want to find my friends."
"Maybe they ran off."
"I heard they came here. I'll show you the pictures and if you haven't seen them then that's that."
The man's eyes remained fixed on Nova. His tongue worked at one of his yellowed teeth. "Show me the pictures."
Nova drew out the screen. The two figures projected up out of it and sneered at the man; lifelike, unnerving.
The man glanced at the two criminals. His hand clenched tight around his metal spoon. "Never seen 'em."
There was something in his eyes, a flicker of recognition.
"Are you sure?"
He turned back to his gruel. "Sure."
Nova sighed and looked at the pictures of the two men. They had probably had their faces completely redesigned since these images were taken. If she was on the run from the Confederacy that's what she'd do.
"Aren't they Doyle and Pete?" the woman across the table said, her eyes squinted.
"You recognize them?" Nova said.
"I might. They've got the same look as Doyle and Pete. Can't quite say what it is though."
The big man on Nova's right looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Wouldn't you know their names?"
Nova returned his hard stare. "My friends may have had reason to change their names."
He grunted.
"Well if they're not the same boys then they're some kind of relative," the woman said.
"Where are Doyle and Pete?"
"Oh they're on digging. It's kind of their thing you see, they like working in the dark. Weird if you ask me, but each to their own."
"So they're down in the tunnels?" Nova asked.
"Yep that's right. I seen 'em a couple of times. They're quiet, keep to themselves."
"That sounds about right," Nova said.
"Times like these, I'd want to find my friends too."
Nova tucked the small screen into her pocket and rose from the table. She glanced around at the other faces but none of them seemed interested in her.
"Aren't you going to finish your food?" the big man asked.
Survivor Page 3