"Fuck," Mick said. "Follow Bastard, Tomi. Get us out of here."
Far behind them, the wrecks of Fox Company smoldered in the night. The winds blew off the ridge, and the corpses disappeared. Then the ridge was quiet. The Emflife didn't follow. Behind it all, a storm rose on the horizon.
#
Chapter Nineteen
Planet New Horizon, Star’s Edge System
Stargate Transit Facility
Four days later, they came to the edge of human space.
It had been an uneventful trip. They were on edge at first because of the Emflife attack. The strike on Terra was news that would spread fast, but they all wanted to be gone before the anger spread.
The crew was busy unshipping the ugly white containers. After being grappled by cargo systems over and over, the whole thing looked shabby. They transferred what they could to rolling carts and carried the rest to a heavily defended stargate.
The soldiers there watched the gate idly. Arrayed around the gate were pivot-mounted weapons with bores that looked large enough to choke a goat. The soldiers spoke in a language that Umi didn't know; for that matter, Umi didn't know where he was.
The days traveling had all melded together. Day turned into night, then back to day, then into a tunnel. Each planet was different. The gravity was always a bit off, the temperature different, as well as the smells, the peoples, the tastes. The further they went, the odder things seemed.
The only thing that hadn't changed was Captain Toro. The good captain was always thoroughly drunk. On one planet, they bailed him out for getting into a fight with a cleaning robot. On another, he finally passed out. They lugged him into a handicap transport and pushed him through a few planets before he woke again.
Then he had another drink.
Umi's biological clock was thoroughly broken, and he just wanted a nice, calm nap. He had that jet-lagged, adrenaline-overdosed, bad-sushi kind of feel. But at least they were close.
Vaughn walked over with a woman who wore an altogether too-large smile. She was petite, her eyes sparkled, and she almost bubbled with happiness.
Umi didn't want to talk to her, but he did anyway.
"Cap, this is Raziz Amishi. She's one of the recovery specialists," Vaughn said.
"Pleasure," Umi said.
"I'm so excited to work with you guys! The Sigg are really one of my favorite cultural subgroups from the Vasilov area!" Her teeth gleamed when she smiled.
Umi frowned back at her.
"So we normally do a full drone scan along with grid mapping once we get to a site, but this time we're headed in first. I'm so excited! To actually be in a functional starship!" Her eyes glittered, and she seemed ready to burst.
"Wait, you haven't done this before?" Umi said. He sat up straighter and listened close. He wasn't a fan of amateur hour.
Raziz seemed taken aback by the question. "Yes, in fact we have. Just not on a complete ship, or one in space, or one with potentially functioning defenses. That's usually the Lokeen's thing."
"Ah, you picked through that dump on Caleb?"
Raziz cracked half a smile. "Yes, actually. You've been there?"
"Yes," Umi said. He didn't feel like explaining the Boben incident.
She continued. "So we're kind of, you know, making it up as we go along."
"Uh-huh."
"Now, we'd like your team to go in first. But we'll be right behind!"
"Uh-huh."
"But you know, if there's any defenses active, or if the crawlers are still active, you'll handle that."
"Crawlers?"
Raziz bobbed her head a few times and her smile drifted away. "Yah, so, they have integrated maintenance systems that also double as shipboard defense. We don't think they were designed for defense, but they're not fond of intruders."
"Do they shoot things? Lasers? Grenades? You've seen them? How fast are they?"
Vik and Kelly peppered her as well. "Armor? Blunt force? Do they stalk and hunt?"
Raziz stumbled on her words. "I, uh, well, the Lokeen normally take care of them."
Vaughn spoke next. "What do they look like after the Lokeen are done with them?"
She thought for a second. "Broken."
Captain Toro stumbled out into the middle of the room and rubbed his chest. He belched loudly. "Let's go, people!"
Rachel came out a second later and shook her head. "Gate fire in twenty." She walked over to Umi. "Once we transit, your team is with me. We're going to meet the Vek."
"Loadout?" Umi asked.
Rachel glanced at the weapons cases. "Professionally casual."
"Oof," Toro burped again. "I think I ate something that was bad."
"He's so gross," Kelly said.
Rachel sighed. "He was one hell of an officer once."
Umi wasn't sure he believed that. "What happened?"
"We paid an astronomical sum for a starship, bought it off the Vek, who bought if off some species we'd never heard of. We fixed it up, or tried to, then sent it out for maneuvers." She glanced over at Toro. "They didn't show up on schedule, so we asked the Lokeen to go out and find it. They did. There was a fire, only a few survivors."
"And Toro?"
"He was the captain."
"Ah," Umi said.
More soldiers streamed in, and they loaded the pivot guns. Shortly after, the engineers came, and the gate was primed. Heavy blast doors dropped down on the exits, and the gate fired.
They went through quickly and tossed all the gear across. On the opposite side, the receiving gate was manned by a team of aliens called the Q'Daq. They were almost chameleonlike, with shimmering, wet skin and wide mouths. They didn't bother to help the humans.
The gate closed with a pop. Rachel walked up to one of the Q'Daq and handed it a tablet. The alien studied it and then walked away. He returned a while later with transport vehicles.
Once again, they loaded everything up and departed the complex. Outside there was a pair of suns, but they were so close that they seemed to be one. The air had a touch of methane stink, and their voices sounded funny. Raziz told them it was helium.
An hour later, they were loading up their supplies, again, onto a cargo platform at the base of a space elevator. Rachel explained that the planet was Q'Daq, but the orbital platform was held by a corporate conglomerate of aliens. "Completely neutral. That's our launch point." She added, a second later, "You can load your weapons on the elevator. Pistols should be fine."
Umi handed out the slender handguns and tucked his into a chest holster. He closed up his synthweave jacket. "Is this cowboy land up top?"
"Pardon?"
"What can we expect? Law enforcement? Police? Military?"
"Don't expect trouble. If you cause it, they boot you off. Depending on what sort of trouble, they boot you out into vacuum."
"So we can shoot if fired upon?"
Rachel nodded. "I will be."
Umi glanced at his team. "Questions?"
There were none.
The elevator ride took about an hour. There was an odd point in the middle where it began to decelerate and everyone had to scramble up the walls to become seated on the other side. Umi had wondered why the crates were all bolted down.
They arrived in a crowded cargo area. There were containers, crates, barrels, drums, and dunnage of all sorts. Hundreds of aliens, men, women, and machines watched the expedition unload. Watched them unload painfully slowly.
"They're waiting to bring trade goods down so they can transit them to the human worlds," Raziz said.
Umi tugged at a crate of something; lead, he thought it must be. "Why don't they just, you know, use their starships?"
"Trade regulations."
"Ah."
Captain Toro bellowed orders. The only thing he carried was his own suitcase and a flask of liquor. This didn't keep him from yelling at everyone else, though. The rest of the crew glared but kept their mouths shut.
"Why we putting up with this idiot?" Kelly said. "Can't we just hit him on
the head?"
"As much as we'd like to...no," Rachel replied. "He has the data cube."
"You didn't have much problem sneaking us away from the cops," Kelly added.
"Come on," Vaughn said, "you don't have an expedition like this without some sort of plan. Not just, 'Let's follow the drunk!'"
"He has something," Umi said. "And he's not sharing."
Rachel didn't say anything.
"Coordinates, right?"
"That's right."
"So what do we do if something happens to him?" Kelly said.
"I have the encryption key as well. As long as we have the cube, we're fine," Rachel said.
Captain Toro stumbled across the room and made a wave to the watching crowd every time he didn't fall. He stopped a meter from Rachel. "Bring your cowboys," he said. "We're headed to the Three Brothers."
Rachel rolled her eyes and nodded to Umi. "That's you."
Kelly grinned and nudged Vaughn. "Let's go...pardner."
The Three Brothers Bar was owned by a genius who'd left society to take care of his two idiot brothers. Originally he'd hoped to give them a place that they could enjoy, but instead it turned into the rowdiest, drunkest, most ridiculous bar within a few stargates. People took vacations just to get smashed drunk with the three brothers.
The door was a stout, wooden affair reminiscent of an old Irish bar. Inside though, it was completely and totally thrashed. The walls had been torn down to the structural supports. Someone long ago had punched holes in the walls to the bathrooms—men, women, and alien. The bar was the only thing that looked intact, but that was because it was a beam of stainless steel.
One brother manned the bar in a half-cocked bow tie. The other two brothers sat at the end and watched canned video broadcasts.
Toro waded through the crowd. The space was a mishmash of tables, chairs, benches, and groups who just stood. He halted at the bar.
Umi followed closely. Luckily, Toro cleared a wide path. Unfortunately, half the reason was the smell.
"Don, how are your brothers?" Toro said.
Don, the bartender, smiled softly. "They're well, Horace. What do you need?"
"Double under, touch of cinnamon."
Don didn't move. "What else?"
"Vek. I need a ship. Transport out to..." He leaned close to Don and said something.
Umi caught a word. Popov, maybe. He wasn't sure.
Don nodded and mixed up a drink in a stainless-steel cup. He handed it to Toro but didn't release the cup.
Toro grinned and slapped down a credit stick. Don tapped it and still didn't release his hand. The grin melted off Toro's face, and he put down two more. Only then did Don release the cup. He turned away, called up a commset, and then turned back.
"They'll be here in an hour."
Toro grinned. "Then get me another drink! I've got some heartburn to wash away."
Umi groaned. An hour. He caught Rachel's eye and nodded her over.
She pushed a drunk away and slipped out of the reach of a woman who tried to dance with her.
"An hour." Umi looked around and tried to pick a defensible spot. There was none. Instead he decided on a spot near the door. He pointed it out to her.
"No, no. By the bar. No honest business is done by the door. That's proper etiquette," Toro said.
Umi stood with his back against the cool, stainless-steel bar and watched the crowd. Two men got into a fight in the bathroom. A bit later, an alien with a face like a pug was tossed into a waste shaft but got stuck halfway. He kicked for a while until one of the idiots helped him out. Someone was stabbed in the arm, but remained to finish his drink.
The Vek entered, and the music stopped. A man scrambled out of the way and collapsed in a heap. The Vek, in full body armor, stepped over and on him. They paid no attention to the rest of the bar. The smallest Vek stood next to Toro.
"We have no debts."
"Nor do I," Toro responded.
The Vek turned to him. Its face was tight, vaguely reptilian. "I'm Koric. Is the service illegal?"
"No."
"Is it dangerous?"
"No."
"What is the purpose?"
Rachel stepped in, but Toro pushed her away. "I'm getting my starship back."
The Vek leaned in close. "Salvage split is customary."
Toro pulled away from the bar. He swayed where he stood. "You can get fucked! There's nothing to salvage! Thieves, you're thieves!"
The Vek guards suddenly looked much more alert.
Koric waved a hand sideways, and the guards calmed. "I am no thief."
Toro kicked back his glass. He held one hand to his chest. Sweat rolled down his brow. "I was a starship captain once! You steal from me? Oh boy, you best kill me!"
Rachel stepped past Toro, but the big man pushed her away again.
"You two-bit aliens, stealing, thieving—we don't need you," Toro yelled. One arm was straight in the air with a balled fist.
Don looked up from the bar with mild amusement. The two idiot brothers on the other end of the bar grinned. The Vek guards raised weapons.
Umi stepped away from Toro. He pulled Rachel back and waved his team away.
"I was a starship captain once! I, I, I..." Toro suddenly stopped and had an odd look on his face. Then he collapsed, face-first, into the bar.
The idiot brothers broke out in hysterical laughter. Don turned, pulled something from beneath the bar, and scanned Toro.
Umi rushed past Koric and searched for a pulse. Nothing. Toro's skin felt clammy, cold, and wet. Just when he was about to drop Toro onto the floor and do CPR, Don spoke.
"Massive coronary," Don said idly. "Don't waste your time."
Umi stared across the bar and slowly released Toro. Rachel stared down at the dead body with her mouth half open.
Koric looked down at Toro and then turned to Rachel. "We have no debts. Do you negotiate in his stead?"
Rachel blinked twice and then nodded. "We have no debts. Yes, I negotiate in his stead."
"Two mil, payable in resource chits. A quarter now, a quarter on departure, and half on completion," Koric said. He held out a calloused hand.
Rachel pulled out a stack of credit chips and laid them in Koric's hand.
"Bay Twelve. We leave in four hours."
Koric turned and walked out with his bodyguards close behind.
"Shit, what do we do now?" Kelly said.
Don leaned over the bar. "You can't leave the body here."
"Thanks," Umi said to Don.
Rachel stood for a moment and didn't say anything. She looked down at the bulk of Captain Toro. It wasn't sadness on her face, but maybe regret. "All right, let's get back. We've got an expedition to finish." She keyed up her commset. "Start moving gear to Bay Twelve. We'll meet you there."
Umi, Vaughn, and Vik each grabbed onto Captain Toro's body. Vaughn had one arm, Vik had the other, and Umi grasped underneath his armpits. Kelly steered his legs, which seemed to catch on every chair and table, until they were finally out.
Rachel held open the wooden door, and they just barely dragged the body through.
"Captain Umi Matsuo?" a voice said behind them.
Umi's heart slammed in his chest, adrenaline peaked. He knew the voice—not by name, but by species. He let go of Captain Toro's body and it fell to the floor with a thud. He turned slowly and stared into the barrel of an assault shotgun.
A Boben stood in full body armor with a wide grin on its face. "I see the reports of your demise have been greatly exaggerated."
Umi took in every detail and instead of running, diving, or drawing his weapon, he just smiled back. "You got the wrong guy."
"I think not," the Boben said. "Now move."
#
Chapter Twenty
Planet Squire, Kalivostok System
Vasilov-Kvinsk Xeno-Archaeology Research Camp
The dust storm struck with an amazing intensity. Within an hour, the wind grew to hurricane level. The dust and sand la
shed the tanks and blasted clean the sharp edges of the armor. One moment they were furiously struggling to seal the main cannon and turrets, and the next everyone was buttoned down.
They all knew it was just the beginning. Before they'd departed for Squire, they were briefed on the storms; they weren't rare, though a truly epic one was. Now they sat inside the tanks and listened to the wind. A good gust would shake and shudder the tank.
The dust was the worst part. Even with the systems fully sealed, it seeped into every gap. A gust would blow, and a million motes would float into the air. They almost glowed in the lighting.
Everything was dust. Food tasted like it. Water was gritty in their mouths. It was in their clothing, weapons, armor, and sleeping bags. The infantry had finally settled on stowing weapons in garbage bags, double-wrapping them, and taping them shut. It was the only way to keep them clean.
Every hour or so the tanks had to move, if only a meter or two. The dust drifted on the edges of the vehicles, and if they waited too long the units would get stuck. Or worse, they could burn up the final drive. Parts were impossible to source now. But even more worrying were the tanks that never had a chance to top off the reactors. Power was running thin.
Colonel Clarke listened to the comms chatter. Status reports. Maintenance requests. Scout units who reported nothing but dust and isolation. Should the Emflife synthetics come in now, they'd be nearly helpless.
A gust blasted Apex once more. In one corner, Auroch and Cunningham argued about meals. Auroch preferred his mother's cooking, while Cunningham espoused the beauties of fresh seafood prepared lovingly by a Sigg chef. Auroch stared at Cunningham like he was an idiot.
"Are they ready?" Clarke asked Bresov.
Major Bresov wiped the dust off her console and nodded. "They're all here."
Colonel Clarke sighed. He tasted dust and felt it grind on his teeth. "This is Clarke. Alpha on down, give me an update."
The COs of each company reported about the same. The dust was an issue, no one could see a damn thing, and they were all worried about what would happen after the storm. Janke called it right—was this the calm before the real storm? Were the Emflife waiting to attack?
Clarke listened and jotted notes onto his console. It all boiled down to the same thing: they had no idea what they faced. With all of the recon they'd done, none of it told them much other than the hostiles weren't rushing the outgate in force.
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