Hollow Space Book 1: Venture (Xantoverse)

by T. F. Grant

  “Yeah,” Kina said. “I suppose it will.”

  Tai guided the Mary-May away from the station and toward the Venture.

  ***

  “Boss,” Jones called over the comms. The wires were strung across the bridge of the Venture, connecting Linus’s team but making their movement awkward.

  “What?” Linus snapped off a shot with his carbine. A vul’s head jerked back, the faceplate of its helmet red with blood.

  “The Mary-May has left Haven.” Jones sat in the cockpit of the Spacewolf with a high-powered telescope. “And nobody else is leaving with her.”

  “Miriam frecking Cauder has cut a deal,” Linus snarled. “Okay. Splin and Nilp, take up holding positions.” The dalgefs grunted their affirmatives.

  “Evangeline, you, me and Whiack are gonna do some looting.”

  “With pleasure,” she said in that sexy, husky voice of hers.

  “How long we got, Jones?” Linus asked.

  “He’s coming hot, but he’s taking the scenic route. Damn, that Tai can fly. Say about thirty, maybe forty minutes.”

  “Okay.” Linus scooted back from his position, and one of the dalgefs crawled forward to relieve him. He never could tell them apart. All he knew was that they were on the payroll and would do what he asked. Who they were didn’t really matter in the grand scheme; they were too dumb to give anything away.

  They all unhooked from the comms. They all knew who was coming. They all knew their jobs.

  They had to hold back the vul, steal whatever they could, and then get the merry freck out of there. It’d be tight but worth it for the payoff.

  ***

  Sara gripped the overhead handles as Tai spun the ship through the field of debris and pieces of dead ships. The guy had the reactions of a mongoose. Shame he had the personality of a snake. Every mention of the debt and the deal made her wince. She knew DeLaney had frecked up the negotiations, lumbered them with so much debt that even if they could sell parts of the Venture, they’d likely still be in thrall to that Cauder bitch.

  And to top it off, there he was barfing on his shoes, unable to deal with the flight of the ship. She doubted he’d be of any use once they got to the Venture. But that was okay, she thought. Tai was the main beneficiary of this deal. If he wanted to make bank, he’d have to make sure the Venture stayed free of other claimants.

  “You okay over there, Bookworm?” Sara said. Bookworm just held the shotgun, staring off literally into space. He often did that, she thought, when things got rough. Always escaped to some story world he’d recently read. One day she hoped all that reading would come in handy.

  This was the first time he had to actually do some ‘security’ as per his role of security officer. With the AIs dead, he and the rest of the crew had to finally live up to their roles. That separated the skilled from the useless.

  DeLaney barfed again, making the kronacs whistle with displeasure and move away from him. The one with the frill on her back threw a towel at him and whistled what Sara thought was an insult.

  The ship banked hard, sending her skidding across her seat and banging her head against a metal panel. “Jesus,” she said, rubbing the pain from her temple. “Could you at least take a clear route?”

  Kina looked back from her seat and gave her a smile. “We’re nearly there. You okay?”

  “Yeah, kinda, probably. Not really.”

  “I know it can be overwhelming. It always is for newcomers. But I think you’ll make it through okay.”

  “Thanks. Right now all I want to do is survive the cycle and then go get my people.” She looked out the window and saw the stasis units floating between the hulks, some bouncing off and taking a wild, spinning trajectory, and others getting stuck between ships.

  “They’ll be safe for now,” Kina said, noticing Sara’s gaze. “The Red Cauder has got the claim. No one will touch them for now.”

  “It’s the for now I’m worried about.”

  “Take it one cycle at a time. You’ll do fine. Hold on!”

  Tai pulled the ship up, taking it over a particularly massive, damaged ship, and on his way down, barrel-rolled until they were straight.

  “You didn’t need to do that,” Sara said, clenching her stomach muscles against the G-force.

  “I know,” Tai said, flashing her a grin. “But it’s damned fun to see your captain turn green.”

  ***

  Vekan used a crowbar to rip open an overhead conduit. Gold, plenty of gold on this ship. All the electronics, all the circuits, all covered in gold. Enough gold to buy her a place at the table when next the vul had a feast. Enough gold to allow her to mate with Brec and have issue from the mating.

  The chyros had strung their explosive cords and blown a hole in the back of the ship, far away from the bridge and any possible danger. The vuls had charged into the airless ship. It still had gravity. Solid-state gravity generators. No need for electronics or power. Very valuable stuff, gravity generators that worked in Hollow Space, like the gravity generators on Haven.

  Not much of that stuff about.

  The chyros had started checking the panels, working out how to lift them without breaking the seals and destroying their usefulness. They didn’t bother with comms to the vuls. One of them had touched helmets with Vekan, the only way to communicate in vacuum without a comm line. The sound conducted through the material of the touching helmets, through the air inside, and into the ears of the wearer.

  “You vuls will tear up the ship for gold, silver, and other precious metals,” Shegra said. “While walking on plates that would buy double their own weight in precious metals.”

  “Gold is gold,” Vekan said.

  “Fools are fools,” Shegra replied and scampered away.

  The vul scouts had been attacked near the bridge, making it obvious someone else was aboard, just as Vekan had assumed. That Cauder pup would not leave the hulk undefended. Pride puffed her up at her sensible decision to start at the back of the ship.

  The corridors were weird, spiraling inward and outward, doors everywhere, cross-corridors connecting at weird angles, stairways and drop-shafts cutting through the space. And so many rooms. Too much to search in the time available.

  Vekan sent half her force, ten blooded vul, forward, under the command of Brec, to keep the people on the bridge back; then she and the rest set about harvesting the gold from the hulk.

  ***

  “Pick a spot,” Tai said.

  “Excuse me,” DeLaney said, wiping the sweat from his face with one hand while holding onto a grip with the other. Now that the Mary-May was not under acceleration, there was no induced G on the ship.

  “We need a way in. There’s a ship plugged into the bridge.” The Spacewolf no less. Linus had not been slow to see the chance. Tai shrugged. “And another has cut into the back. What is that place, by the way?”

  DeLaney hesitated.

  “Engineering,” Sara said. “That’s the engineering deck.”

  “Yes,” DeLaney said. “I was just about to say that.”

  “Sure you were,” Kina said. “A captain knows every inch of his own ship, after all.”

  “You intend to cut a hole, not knowing who is on the other side?” Bookworm asked.

  “Not exactly, Dylan, my man.” Tai pointed at the console. “See those four big red levers under the key cover?”

  “Yes.”

  “Rockets. Expensive. But they make a lovely hole. Pick a spot.”

  “You’re going to use rockets?” DeLaney gasped. “I won’t allow it.”

  “Not your call.” Hela floated over and braked with one foot. “Bloody Crowners, always think they rule the Goddamn world.” She poked her finger into DeLaney’s chest, her muscles tensing to hold her in place as DeLaney was pushed backward under the force of the finger. “This is our world now, Crowner, our place. We make the rules. And the rules are that we’ve been hired, by you, to get your ship back. You don’t tell us how to do our jobs, and we don’t tell you how
to get up off your knees. Frecking Crown Republic, do you even know what the word republic means?”

  DeLaney bounced from the bulkhead and flushed bright red. Tai thought he was going to explode. The man opened his mouth, lifted his finger—as if he was about to poke Hela with it, which would very probably be the last thing he would ever do—and then looked into Hela’s eyes.

  And stopped.

  Wise man. DeLaney kicked against the bulkhead and floated away from the flight deck, muttering to himself. Tai dismissed him. He’d be lucky to last a twelve-cycle.

  Sara pointed to a spot on the hull. “There, that should do it.”

  “No,” Bookworm snapped. “Not there.”

  “Why not?” Sara asked.

  “Make your minds up.” Kina shook her head.

  “That’s… um… that’s a connecting corridor, dead-end one way, T-junction the other; only one way out and—”

  “No, it’s not,” Sara interrupted him.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Kina rolled her eyes. “Civilized people. They think this is a damned debating society.”

  Sara pointed again. “I’m pointing at that bit there, main through-corridor there, no bottlenecks.”

  “No, see, that’s the problem. I can’t see where you’re pointing, so how do you know that our famously careful captain here”—Bookworm jerked a thumb at Tai—“will even hit the right spot.”

  “You wanna get out and paint a freaking X on the side of the hull, then?” Kina asked. “And your captain here is one of the best pilots on Haven and has got me out of more scrapes than your mama bit pillows.” She grinned. “Mostly because he got me into them in the first place.”

  “There is that,” Tai said. He sighed. “Where do we aim the flaming rocket? That’s all I need to know.”

  Bookworm grabbed hold of the back of Tai’s chair and leaned over his shoulder. “See the V? The mosaic?”

  “I see it.”

  “Hit the point of the V.” Bookworm drew a quick diagram in the dust of the console. “That bit. That’s a main hub. Six corridors, four stairways, even two drop-shafts.”

  Sara nodded. “Good call, Bookworm. Yeah, that’ll be a good spot to hit. But the drop-shafts won’t be working.”

  Tai glanced at the kronacs. “That won’t matter.”

  ***

  Lofreal dumped a box of gear into a web netting on the ship’s deck and whistled something or other. Sara looked at Kina.

  Kina grinned. “She says, ‘Pick your stuff and get ready.’ Lofreal is not one for long speeches.”

  “She?” Humphrey asked.

  “See the frill?” Kina said. “That means she’s female.”

  “Good to know,” Sara said and floated over to inspect the box. She had never been gladder of the minimal G instruction she received during her basic training. Inside the box were old, tatty, and singed spacesuits. She ignored those; their own suits were better, they just needed the air tanks. “Everyone grab a tank,” she said. “And a weapon.”

  Bookworm was already organizing his ammo, with one foot hooked under a seat to keep him in place as he attached the insulated pouches to a webbing belt. Sara lifted one of the shotguns. The others did the same. DeLaney held the weapon as if it were a snake ready to bite his hand off and gave Sara the stink eye. But she didn’t care; someone needed to take charge of this rabble.

  Prescott floated across the ship toward Bookworm. He looked down the barrel of his shotgun. “It’s not loaded.”

  “That’s a shame,” Bookworm said. Grabbing the gun from the young aristo’s hand, he worked the lever. “It is now. Why don’t you check it again?”

  Sara snapped, “Bookworm, don’t.”

  Bookworm sighed and set about teaching the aristo about firearm safety.

  Kina nodded to DeLaney. “He’s not much of a captain, is he? Is that what the Crown’s been putting out lately?”

  “Yeah, well, we’ve had AIs do most of the work. Since the Crown’s gone, though, he’s all that’s left.”

  DeLaney realized he was being talked about and looked up, lifting the shotgun up with him, pointing it at Kina. Sara kicked off, flew across the ship, and knocked the gun to the side. The force of her blow made her spin, but she grabbed a stanchion and stopped the movement.

  Margo and Murlowe flew away from DeLaney to the rear of the ship.

  “Jesus, DeLaney,” Sara snapped. “Watch where you’re pointing that damn thing. Haven’t you ever fired a gun?”

  “I trained as a captain, not a bounty hunter.”

  “Well, sunshine,” Kina said, “you better forget your training and learn real quick. Everyone is bounty here. Your survival relies on you being a better hunter.”

  Sara smirked as DeLaney flushed red with embarrassment. Kina took his gun and placed it tight into her shoulder. Regarding all of them, apart from Bookworm, who was practicing loading his weapon, Kina said, “You have to hold it tight to your shoulder. It’s got a real mean kick to it, and it recoils like a kronac.” Kina handed the gun back to DeLaney and returned to her position next to Tai, who was flicking switches and levers to stabilize the ship.

  “You not using one?” Sara asked, pointing at the smaller pistol hanging from a hip holster.

  “Nah, too heavy. I prefer to be more agile.”

  “Then why are we using them? Aren’t they expensive?”

  “Those are. Tai won them off a rogue Drift. Came from his personal collection. Only been fired once.”

  “And I assume we’re being billed for their use?”

  “You catch on quick, girl. Shame you let that fool negotiate for you. The Red Cauder would have still crushed you, but at least you would have known it.”

  “This is bullshit,” Sara said. “That deal is going to change.”

  “No can do, girl,” Tai said over his shoulder. “It’s in the Book of Trades. Only one way to renege on a deal like this.”

  “Kill your mother?” Sara said.

  “Whoa, girl, you got some stones,” Tai said with a laugh. “My mum’s a grade-A bitch, I’ll give you that, but you’re barking up the wrong Drift if you think it’d be as easy as that.”

  “So how do I change the deal, then?”

  Kina shook her head and grinned. “No one’s going to tell you that, darling. That’s something for you to work out. All I’d say is in future, you better know how to haggle, and you better know your own position first.”

  ***

  Tai lined the Mary-May up with the target area, squinting at the reticule that snapped up when he unlocked the rocket triggers. No electronics in the rockets, dumb missiles, but he would hit what he was aiming at. Tooize had crawled into the forward turret.

  “Ready,” the kronac whistled over the intercom. He had already suited up and had his helmet on.

  “Okay,” Tai called. “Everybody suit up. We’re going airless in a minute.” He grinned. “You might want to check your tank seals are okay. They haven’t been used in a while.” He checked the aim of the rockets one last time and unstrapped from his seat. Reaching upward, with his feet braced under the console, he pulled his armor down from the locker above his head.

  He sealed up his suit and pulled the ballistic material over his head, squirming a bit to get the hood fitted correctly over his helmet. The jacket hung to just above his knees, protecting his vital organs, but it had no sleeves. His limbs were uncovered, clad in just the pressure suit, not ideal, but full armor cost a fortune and restricted movement too much, and anyway, the material was insurance, it was still best to take cover behind something solid.

  Once the armor was on, he checked Kina’s, adjusting the straps, making sure it fitted snugly. Then she checked him.

  They helped each other into their battle harnesses, webbing straps hung about with weapons designed for vacuum combat.

  “Done,” she said through her open faceplate.

  “And dusted,” Tai replied the same way. He turned, a little awkwardly, to look at the others. Hela was a
rmored and ready, her pump-action shotgun slung barrel-down over her right shoulder, a backup heavy revolver on her right hip and a long graceful sword strapped to her back. She also had a variety of daggers and other weapons dangling off her harness.

  The kronac spacesuits and armor were a triumph of engineering, allowing them full use of their six limbs but protecting everything vital.

  “We don’t get armor?” Sara asked.

  “It has to be made to measure,” Kina replied. “Or adjusted to fit if you buy it second hand. And it’s very expensive.”

  “You’re going to throw us in there in these?” Bookworm gestured to his nanoweave spacesuits. “We’ll be killed.”

  “Oh, I hope not,” Tai said. “Those suits will fetch a pretty penny undamaged. So try not to get them filled full of holes.”

  “We go first,” Hela said. “You come in with Tai. Tooize will guard the ship. This is what you’re paying us for.”

  “So why do we have to go at all?” DeLaney asked.

  “Because we have to be there to lay claim to the ship,” Sara said tiredly.

  Tai caught the glance between her and Kina, and the slight smile. Brilliant, he thought, another freaking stray I have to look after, Ki. Just brilliant.

  “Give them patch kits, Lofreal,” he said.

  “Already done,” she whistled.

  “That’s nice,” Tai said. “Kina, show them how to use the patch kits. We go in five minutes.” He sank back into the pilot’s seat, pulled the lap strap across to hold him in place, and adjusted the Mary-May’s position slightly to factor in the drift.