by G J Ogden
Cutler nodded, his expression still flat and devoid of emotion.
Griff looked to Tory, “I need both of you to swear it.”
“I speak for Tory also,” Cutler cut in. “Her discretion and obedience are assured.”
Tory’s eyes flicked momentarily to Cutler, like a switchblade springing out of its handle. Her eyes narrowed a fraction, but then she returned her gaze to Griff. Her stare was so intense that Griff found himself needing to look away again.
“Fair enough, but what I tell you mustn’t leave this room,” Griff continued, lowering his voice to barely more than a whisper. Cutler nodded, and Griff continued, “RGF believes the crystal is the key to detecting undiscovered portals.” For the first time since entering the officer’s mess, Cutler’s expression revealed a faint glimmer of interest. “If you retrieve this crystal intact, the RGF will compensate you one quarter of a percent of all taxes collected on any new worlds that it claims.”
Cutler’s eye’s narrowed slightly, “On any new worlds that who claims?”
Griff sniffed, then wiped the corners of his mouth, while cautiously checking that no-one else in the mess was listening in. When he was satisfied they weren’t being eavesdropped on, he leant in closer, again keeping his voice hushed and low. “The RGF intends to claim the new portal worlds under its own banner,” said Griff, and this time Cutler’s expression did give something away. He looked genuinely surprised. “That means all of the profits from the wrecks goes straight to the RGF, minus your cut, of course.” Griff then rested back in the chair, feeling confident that he’d sold his proposition well. Even so, he wanted to make it as unambiguous as possible. “And I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that we’re talking about a considerable sum of credits here. Maybe even billions…”
Cutler took a sip of his water, before glancing across to Tory. However, unlike Cutler, her expression had not altered during the entire exchange. If Tory had played poker, she would have been unreadable. Cutler then placed his glass down on the table, and nodded, “Then we are in agreement, Inspector Griff.”
Griff smiled and then raised his coffee to his lips, before tasting ash and spitting the liquid back into the cup. Cutler’s expression remained unchanged, but Tory’s lips had curled into a serpentine smile. It seemed that talk of billions of credits wasn’t enough to get a reaction from her, but seeing Griff make a fool of himself was. Griff placed the cup back on the table and angrily pushed it away. If it had been anyone other than Tory mocking him – even Cutler – he would have hit back. However, Tory was simply too unpredictable.
“So, what next?” asked Cutler, now appearing anxious to make a start on his new mission.
“We follow Hudson Powell and wait for him to uncover a new portal,” Griff said, using the paper tissue that came with his coffee to dab ash from his tongue. “Then we follow him through. There will be a scramble for the wreck, with maybe a dozen hunters and a couple of RGF and MP ships. In the bustle and confusion, we will have an opportunity to grab Powell, and his pissant partner, and force them to tell us how the crystal works.”
Cutler nodded again, but Griff could tell the question of Hudson Powell’s fate had not slipped his mind. “And once we have this crystal, and an understanding of how it functions, I assume our original agreement stands?” asked Cutler.
“As soon as we have it, Powell is yours,” replied Griff without delay. “But I want that piece of shit to know it was us that took him down.”
“Dead is dead, Inspector,” said Cutler. “But Hudson Powell has become a personal matter. You can be assured he will suffer.”
Tory drank the remainder of her whiskey like it was water, and then pushed her chair back and stood up. “I’ll get the ship ready for launch,” she said to Cutler. Then without waiting for a response, she turned to Griff, and smiled. “Enjoy the rest of your coffee, Inspector…”
Griff watched as Tory walked away, this time free to check her out without fear of reprisal. Once she had gone, Griff turned back to Cutler. “Are you sure you can trust her?” he asked. As much as he enjoyed looking at Tory’s ass, she was a closed book to him, and that made him nervous.
“I question many things about Tory Bellona, but not her loyalty,” Cutler replied, taking another sip of his water.
“What is it with you two, anyway?” Griff went on, feeling emboldened to dig deeper, now the intimidating presence of Tory was absent. However, Cutler appeared unwilling to engage in a conversation about his menacing partner. “Come on, Cutler,” Griff pressed, “I trusted you with a whole lot of confidential shit just now, so you can repay in kind.”
Cutler pushed his chair back and stood up; his monochrome expression had returned. Then, to Griff’s surprise, he actually answered the question. “I freed her.”
Griff’s eyes widened, “She was indentured?”
Cutler nodded, “She was sold to the owner of a corporation in the Outer Portal Worlds when she was nine. Soon, her talents drew the attention of the Council, which is where I ran into her, many years ago.”
Griff blew out a long low whistle. The Council was the largest crime syndicate in the Outer Portal Worlds. If Tory had been indentured into their service, it explained a lot about her proficiency for violence, as well as her constant foul temper. And it also made Griff even more glad that she’d not caught him gawking at her.
Griff had personally spent very little time in the OPW territories. Despite the many opportunities that these more lawless worlds presented to a man like Griff, the risks were also far greater. However, he knew how certain organizations would indenture people, often children, into what was essentially a life of servitude. These indenturees would perform a variety of roles, almost none of which were legal. They were never permitted to leave, and were often fitted with explosive or toxic implants to ensure obedience. It was a profitable business, assuming you didn’t get caught. A business, he realized, that his new status might open up to him. As an RGF Inspector, especially one from the ambiguous ‘special investigations branch’, he would be able to move freely inside the facilities these criminal organizations operated in, with a prisoner in tow. A prisoner that he could then sell to the Council for a hefty profit. The spark of an idea germinated in his mind, but he parked it for the time being. Griff wanted to get as much information out of Cutler as he could, while he was still in a compliant mood.
“How did you get her out?” asked Griff. Few people ever escaped a life of indentured service, especially to the Council. And especially when the individual’s talents were so perfectly suited to the Council’s often savage methods.
“The cost was high, in credits and in lives,” answered Cutler, before turning to leave. Then he paused and glanced at Griff one last time. “But she has proven to be worth every penny. She will do whatever is required, of that you can be assured.”
Cutler left and Griff called over the mess manager to settle the bill. While he was waiting, his eyes fell on Tory’s whiskey glass, and he reached over to pick it up. He could see her lip mark on the rim of the glass, and then pictured the curve of Tory’s mouth in his mind.
“Will that be everything, sir?” asked the mess manager, startling Griff by his sudden appearance.
“Yes, that’s everything.” Griff replied, lazily pressing his thumb to the credit scanner. He then lifted Tory’s glass to his mouth, tipping the dregs of the whiskey onto his tongue, before licking his lips, and leaving.
CHAPTER 5
Afriendly-sounding chirrup emanated from the navigation scanner, notifying Hudson that another ship had closed to within a kilometer of the Orion. He glanced down and saw that the total count was now fourteen. This included, inevitably, Cutler Wendell and Tory Bellona, plus two RGF Patrol Crafts and an MP Cruiser. While he didn’t expect any protection from the RGF, Hudson actually felt relieved to see the powerful MP Cruiser on the scanner. He doubted even Cutler Wendell would be brazen enough to attempt anything with such a formidable military vessel close by. Hudson knew that
Martians may have been stuck up, but they were also – for the most part – sticklers for rules and laws.
“It seems that we’ve gathered quite a following,” said Hudson, glancing over to Liberty. “It’s almost as if they’re expecting something big to happen…”
Liberty smiled, “Well, pretty soon they might get their wish,” she replied, while fine-tuning the settings on the scendar device.
The scendar, or Shaak Crystal Energy Detection And Ranging device, was a home-made contraption of Liberty’s that was able to locate new portals. It used the alien crystal to detect the unique Shaak radiation signatures of the undiscovered gateways, and then open them, like a key. To their surprise, they had discovered that the nearest purple blip, indicating a new portal, had turned out to be next to Phobos, the sister moon to Deimos. This was a relatively short journey from Deimos Station, certainly compared to the fifty million kilometers they’d had to travel from Brahms Three to uncover the last portal. And it accounted for the relatively large cohort of eager hunters, all looking to plunder the potentially untouched alien wreck that everyone expected to find on the other side of the portal.
Liberty relayed the updated co-ordinates to Hudson, and then relaxed back in her seat. “I’ve just sent you a minor course correction, but we’re almost on top of it now,” she added, watching as the purple blip on the scanner crept ever closer.
“Got it,” said Hudson, altering his heading to the new coordinates. All of the ships to their rear soon followed suit, as if they were tethered to the Orion via long tow-ropes. “Once we light up this portal, there’s going to be a crazy rush to follow us through, so strap yourself in tight.”
“I’m more worried about the chaos on the other side,” said Liberty, ominously. “Fourteen ships, including that beast of a cruiser, all suddenly losing main drive… It will be like a day at the dodgems.”
“Shit, I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted Hudson, as he pulsed the thrusters to kill their forward momentum. “We’re going to need your tech genius to restart our engines again in double-quick time.”
Liberty nodded and unclipped her harness. “I’ll transfer to engineering, so I’m in place and ready as soon as we transit.”
“You’ll miss the pretty light show…” said Hudson, but Liberty just shrugged.
“Meh, you’ve seen one mysterious alien portal opening, you’ve seen ‘em all.” Then she stepped beside Hudson’s seat and pointed to a program that was set up to run on the scendar. “Just hit that button when I’m in position and give you the signal. The scendar will then scan for the portal’s resonant frequency and transmit the pulse. After that, we run like hell…”
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” replied Hudson, before placing his hand on the thruster lever and letting out a long breath. “I feel like we’re a worm, surrounded by hungry crows.”
Liberty jabbed him on the arm, “Hey, the Orion is an eagle not a worm,” she said, and then headed for the exit. She hung back at the threshold and added, “So, get ready to soar.”
Hudson threw up a casual salute as Liberty headed out of the cockpit. His eyes flicked to the navigation scanner again, noting that the fourteen other ships had begun to huddle around the Orion. Then the cockpit went dark, and Hudson looked up through the glass to see the imposing form of the MP Cruiser. It was so large that it had cast the Orion into shadow, though even this powerful military vessel was pint-sized compared to the alien hulks. Proximity alerts began to sound on his panel, and Hudson started to feel his pulse climb. The other ships were jostling for position, like soccer players awaiting a corner kick.
Come on, Liberty, any time now would be nice… Hudson urged, starting to feel like a sardine in the center of the tin. Then there was a sudden flash of light that lit up the cockpit and forced Hudson to shield his eyes. He looked left and saw that two relic hunter vessels had collided, and that one of them was on fire. “Shit!” he said out loud, and flipped open a communications channel to the engineering deck. “Whenever you’re ready, Liberty,” he called into his headset mic, “or there will be nothing left out here but burning debris.”
“Give me ten seconds,” came the crackly reply.
Hudson looked up again to see the flaming relic hunter ship slowly drifting towards him. A collision alert sounded and his grip on the controls tightened further. “Any more than ten seconds, and we won’t be here…” he answered, trying to remain calm, but his voice had already climbed half an octave.
“Okay, run the scendar program, now!” Liberty called out.
Hudson hit the button on the panel so hard that he almost punctured it with his forefinger. The scendar device, fixed into a bay below the flight deck systems, then began to glow. Liberty’s program started to rapidly cycle through Shaak radiation frequencies, until it found the resonant frequency of the portal. Hudson’s eyes widened as the burning ship drifted closer, but he couldn’t move without giving up his lead spot to another relic hunter. He had to hold his position, and his nerve.
Come on, open already! urged Hudson, as a reverberant thrum started to pulse through the deck plating. Then, as with the first time they’d activated a dormant portal, the lights dimmed as power was sucked from the ship’s reactor and diverted into the crystal, causing it to glow like a lightbulb. Then there was a vivid purple flash of light.
“Hang on, I’m going in!” Hudson cried out into the microphone. The collision warning alarm rose to a shriek. Hudson pushed the throttle fully forward, accelerating the ship away from the burning mass, and into the new portal. There was another bright purple flash as the Orion passed the threshold, followed by a swirling pattern of dancing light and energy. Then within a matter of seconds, he was back in deep space again.
“Liberty, we’re through!” Hudson called out again, “The race is on, so we need those engines…”
“Whatever you say, skipper” came the surprisingly calm reply, and then the channel clicked off.
Hudson tested the thrusters, which were still working, and pulsed the Orion away from the portal mouth. Suddenly there came a succession of bright purple flashes, as the first of the pursuing ships made the portal transition. Collision warnings again screeched out in the cockpit, as vessel after vessel appeared on the navigation scanner, some as close as twenty meters away.
“This is worse than being shot at!” Hudson called out, as he pushed the thrusters harder in order to steer the ship away from the emerging dangers. Then there was a brighter flash and the MP Cruiser emerged from the portal, directly into the midst of the throng of relic hunters. Its main drive engines blinked and then flashed out unevenly, kicking out the aft section like a shark’s tail. It collided with a relic hunter freighter, crushing it’s forward section like an egg. The energy of the impact propelled the stricken vessel towards a second hunter, like a baseball struck by a bat. With only thrusters to fall back on, the unfortunate courier runner was unable to evade the speeding projectile, and was hit head on. Seconds later, both ships exploded in a fiery blaze, sending burning debris in all directions. Hudson reacted on pure instinct, turning the Orion on its axis and pushing it away from one of the burning projectiles. There were dull thuds and scrapes as the metal skimmed off the Orion’s hull, but the damage warning lights all stayed clear.
“What the hell was that?!” came the voice of a far less calm Liberty Devan over the communication channel.
“It’s raining ships out here, so whatever you’re doing, do it more quickly…” Hudson replied, making another adjustment to avoid a second hunk of debris.
Suddenly, the turret cannons on the MP Cruiser sprang into action, firing shells at the remaining fragments in a desperate attempt to destroy them. However, it was unable to prevent one of the larger hulks of metal from impacting a mid-sized shuttle. Compared to the bigger relic hunter freighters, this smaller ship didn’t stand a chance. Its hull was smashed open, and its two occupants were blown out into space.
Liberty darted back into the cockpit and practically
threw herself into her seat. “What the hell is going on out there?” she said, before spotting the burning ships.
“It’s like the fourth of July, except the fireworks are relic hunters,” replied Hudson. “Did you get the engines sorted?”
Liberty nodded, “They’ll cycle back online in about a minute. Do we have a destination yet?”
With all the commotion, Hudson hadn’t even checked the scans of the new system. He pulsed the thrusters to face the nearest planet, while still keeping a careful eye out for more debris. “There it is, though I can’t tell you anything about it.”
Liberty was already busy reading the scan results. “It’s habitable, like all the other portal worlds. About fifty percent of the surface is covered in oceans, though it’s a pretty barren-looking place overall.”
Hudson’s console chimed while Liberty was giving her analysis. He checked it, noting that there was a build-up of energy readings nearby. “Looks like some of the other ships out there are getting pretty adept at drive system re-starts too,” he called over to Liberty. “We may not get as much of a head start as we thought.” As soon as Hudson finished the sentence, the Orion’s twin engines whirred back into life. He tested the engine pods and they responded. “We have power, I’m setting a course for the planet now.”
“Wait…” Liberty called out, and Hudson’s hand froze on the main throttle lever. “I’m detecting Shaak radiation from the planet, consistent with a wreck, though at curiously lower levels, but there’s a second signature too.”
Hudson frowned, “A second Shaak radiation signature? You mean there are two wrecks in this system?”
There was a momentary pause while Liberty continued to work at her console, before she clarified, “No, not a second ship.” She threw up an image, overlaid on the cockpit glass in front of them. Liberty then looked at Hudson and the sparkle in her eyes was almost electric. “It’s a space station.”