The Blackstar Gambit

by Jan Domagala

  9

  20.00 s.e.t.

  Kurt and Zara went from the C and C to the landing pad on the base where they had left the Silver Dart they had arrived in. A few moments after boarding they were airborne once more heading for the upper atmosphere.

  The flight attendant appeared in the doorway to the passenger section and asked, “Where to sirs?”

  “Canto,” Kurt told her. The flight crew had already received their flight plan from General Sinclair but it was protocol to ask the passengers just to confirm their orders were legit.

  “We’ll try and get you as close to the summit meeting venue as possible sirs,” replied the young woman.

  Within moments, they were entering another hyperspace window heading across their known territory.

  20.10 s.e.t.

  Matt Hawk looked across the lunarscape from the observation platform. His ice-cold blue eyes took in the bleak view and he marvelled at the contrast between the brightness of the lunarscape, lit by the Sun’s rays and the inky black of space surrounding it.

  This station had been fully operational for a while now but it was still new to him and he truly enjoyed his visits there.

  A familiar tingle warned him of a call being routed through his NI.

  He didn’t need to glance around; he already knew he was alone. “Go ahead,” he said.

  “I have a job for you Matt,” Sinclair told him, his voice sounding as clear as if he was standing in the room with him.

  “At last,” he smiled, the recent weeks of inactivity had filled him with boredom; he was ready for some action.

  “I want you to get to Celeron and investigate a recent attack on Kurt and Zara; I’ll forward all the details we have at present to your NI. Concentrate on video footage from cameras placed along the road where the attack took place and find out everything you can about who the attackers were,” Sinclair told him.

  “I’ll get right on it, sir. I’ll let you know what I find,” Matt enthused.

  “Tread carefully Matt. These attackers were well-armed and well trained. They showed particular determination so this threat may not yet be over,” Sinclair elaborated.

  “Copy that, sir,” Matt said. He knew Kurt and Zara extremely well, he knew their capabilities as did Sinclair, so for the general to be this guarded about this meant it was a credible threat.

  “This is a time sensitive mission Matt. It may or may not have anything to do with the upcoming security summit on Canto. I’d rather find out before it starts what all this means so keep me informed,” Sinclair urged before signing off.

  Matt took a deep breath, closed his eyes and waited for the data package to arrive with all the details of the attack. He felt the tingle as the signal hit his NI and he knew the data was downloading. Soon his brain would have the signal assimilated into something he could understand, almost like a memory unfolding into his mind.

  He opened his eyes and muttered, “Wow, you two never do anything by halves do you? Now let’s see if I can’t find out who these buggers are.”

  With a determined stride, he left the observation platform heading for the landing pad. He would make a quick stop off at his quarters to grab his ‘go bag’ then he would board the Silver Dart for Celeron and a mystery to unfold.

  10

  Day 2

  02.00 s.e.t.

  The Silver Dart carrying Kurt and Zara landed at New Palermo Spaceport. It was one of the largest cities on the planet, which had a large Italian heritage in the settlements.

  Canto was an ‘E’ class planet that had several large cities, but was also popular for its vacation areas such as the Forests of Canto. This was a huge wooded area that sat at the base of the Quad, a range of four mountains popular with hikers, climbers and campers.

  The security summit was to be held away from the cities in a secluded lodge near the edge of the Forest.

  A Champion ATV was waiting for Kurt and Zara at the spaceport when they arrived. They quickly boarded the vehicle and drove away heading out of the city.

  02.05 s.e.t.

  The dark-eyed man watched the ATV drive off the car park as it left the spaceport. He had captured the occupants’ images on video as they arrived and stored it on his NI ready for transfer.

  He turned away from the window at his vantage point above the landing areas and looked to see if anyone was within earshot. Convinced what he was about to say would not be heard, he accessed a secure comm channel.

  “You asked to be informed of any newcomers who looked suspiciously like security. Well I’ve sent you an image of two new arrivals, a man and a woman. Normally I wouldn’t bother with them but they arrived on a private shuttle at a secure pad and were met with an ATV which they drove off in,” he muttered, still conscious of being overheard.

  There was a pause before he heard the other say, “Thank you, you will be rewarded as usual.”

  With a guarded smile, the man returned to his duties pondering what he would spend his new bonus on.

  02.53 s.e.t.

  Inside the Champion, conversation had been sparse during their journey.

  Neither of them liked the idea of being taken off the investigation. To them it was a personal thing, how could it not be, they were the ones after all, who had been targeted.

  Zara glanced across from the passenger seat to look at Kurt. “What is it?” she asked when she saw the concerned look in his eyes.

  “We picked up a tail about three miles back,” he informed her calmly.

  She knew better than to make it obvious by turning around in her seat to take a look. Instead, she lowered her visor and checked in the mirror. “Hard not to spot it on these roads,” she noted.

  “Yep, I wasn’t sure while we were within the city limits but since we left it behind they don’t seem bothered about hiding their presence,” Kurt agreed.

  “Has this Champion the same defence capabilities as yours back on Celeron?” she asked.

  “Yes, it’s a Col Sec vehicle. They sometimes use these for covert ops,” he assured her.

  “Right then let’s do this and find out what they want,” she said pulling her harness tighter around her.

  The road they were on was a double lane highway, brightly lit by street lamps positioned evenly down its length. Beyond that, there was nothing except fields of green grass that stretched out as far as the horizon, which were shielded now by the deep black of night. It was early morning and they were the only ones on the road.

  Kurt stamped hard on the accelerator boosting power to the engine. The ATV’s speed increased leaving the pursuing vehicle behind momentarily.

  When he was sure they had enough room he grabbed the emergency brake and spun the wheel sending them into a sideways slide. The Champion ended up across the lane acting as a roadblock.

  Kurt and Zara were out of the ATV fast, weapons drawn. They went around the side away from the following vehicle, their arms on the roof of the ATV as they aimed their Sigs ready to fire.

  “Here they come,” Kurt confirmed.

  As the other ATV neared Kurt’s enhanced vision noticed something, even through the dark surrounding them, that the passenger of the vehicle was holding something out of the window. He concentrated on the object, and when they got within a few hundred feet, he saw clearly what it was.

  Zara had seen it too.

  They looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed, “Shit!”

  Before they had time to move, the Champion exploded.

  The blast from the hand held rocket launcher they had both seen, sent the Champion flying into the air. Flaming debris flew in every direction as the concussive shockwave threw Kurt and Zara back like rag dolls.

  Their bodies were ravaged by the blast; lacerations covered their arms and legs, their torso’s rent by gashes that covered them with blood.

  As they lay on the floor, stunned, but feeling their bodies rapidly heal they saw figures casually walking towards them.

  Kurt tried to stand but he was still too we
ak from the blast. He saw Zara get to her feet and stumble.

  His head was clearing and he too finally managed to stand.

  A man in black combat gear walked up to Zara with a pistol. He placed it to her head and fired. There was no blast, just a simple buzzing sound.

  Zara collapsed like a puppet having had its strings cut.

  Rage filled Kurt as he thought that somehow they had managed to kill her. He couldn’t face losing her again and he turned to the nearest figure and struck out.

  His blow was filled with all the rage he could muster. It crushed the man’s face, sending him flying back fifty feet.

  The next man to him raised a pistol, pointed it at Kurt and fired.

  He felt a sharp jolt, like being hit with a million volts of electricity. All his muscles contracted in agonising pain as his body stiffened and then, unable to stand, he collapsed to the ground.

  For a few seconds he couldn’t breathe, as if his muscles wouldn’t allow him to.

  When he finally could draw a breath, he began to rise.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice told him.

  He looked around and saw Zara being shoved into the ATV down the road from him. Another vehicle had pulled up alongside it. When they had her inside, the driver turned the vehicle around and it was off in a scream of burning rubber.

  “We know what you’re capable of Captain Stryder, so don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” the shooter advised.

  Kurt looked at him, his eyes blazing with rage. He kept it contained for now. He had to learn what they wanted.

  “That’s better,” the voice continued.

  “You want me to do something, and you think taking her captive will force me to do it?” Kurt asked.

  “Very astute of you. They told me you are a fast learner. It’s nice to see, for her sake and yours, that they weren’t wrong.”

  Kurt racked his brain to see if he could come up with a reason for these attacks. They had admitted they wanted him to do something, something they thought only he could do, possibly because of his security clearance or because of his abilities, or maybe both.

  Did his presence on Canto have anything to do with it he wondered?

  “Is it something to do with what’s taking place here tomorrow?” he asked as he watched the ATV disappear back down the road he and Zara had just travelled on.

  “You are smart, I’m impressed,” the man smiled confidently. “We want you to get close to General Sinclair and kill him. Do it at the summit and we will free your friend,” he added.

  “You can’t hurt her you know,” Kurt told him.

  “You are in no position to bargain or make threats Kurt,” the man said looking straight at him.

  “Really?” Kurt smiled as he spoke.

  “Really, you will do as we say, right?”

  Kurt stood straight then, his face calm. He had assessed the situation, took in where all the players were and was ready to move.

  “Wrong,” he said and reached for his K-Bar. His movement was a blur. Before the man in front of him knew what was happening Kurt had drawn his knife from his sheath and thrown it. The blade struck him in the forehead burying itself up to the hilt in a splash of gore.

  Continuing his move, he reached for the fallen man’s pistol and shot all three remaining men before any of them had time to blink.

  It was the fastest Kurt had ever moved but then again he was motivated.

  He ran to their ATV and got in. He was inside the vehicle as the last man hit the ground.

  Slamming his foot down on the accelerator, he turned the wheel spinning the ATV around so he could go after the others.

  When he got down to where he’d last seen the fleeing vehicle the road was empty. They were nowhere to be seen. They had disappeared with Zara and he had no idea how to find them.

  11

  03.05 s.e.t.

  Matt Hawk had landed on Celeron shortly after getting the op from General Sinclair. On arrival he had wasted no time in contacting the Constabulary about accessing the video feed from the attack site.

  For the past few hours, he had pored over every inch of road through the video feed looking for any sign of who these people might be.

  All he had learned was that whoever they were they had known about the cameras and how to avoid being seen. Again, this went to prove just how professional they were.

  As frustration was building and the Constabulary had nothing further to add that would help, Matt turned to an unusual, but a nonetheless reliable source – Abraham Bane.

  Matt had heard Kurt talk about how Bane had helped in the past with his knowledge of the local underworld. Perhaps he could help in this instance.

  Matt knew where to find him; he would be where he always was, at his pride and joy, the Golden Palace.

  He parked his vehicle on the car park opposite the building. It was garishly lit with neon lights adorning the front and the sign. It was nothing even close to subtle, just as Kurt had described it.

  It was early in the morning Standard Earth Time but here on Celeron it was mid-afternoon. Working on different time zones like this always screwed up his internal clock. He should be in bed fast asleep but here he was working his ass off on a case.

  The Golden Palace was a club and was open throughout the day and as he walked to the main entrance he noticed that trade was light. It was early, the lunchtime trade was just picking up.

  The entrance was straddled by two behemoths in black suits guarding it from undesirables who, in Bane’s career, he must have come across on more than a few occasions.

  They gave him a once over and stood in his way. Clearly, they sensed he could pose a threat, he was six feet six tall with an imposing physique. The two of them would be hard pressed to subdue him even as big as they were. What they didn’t know was that he had grown up on a heavy gravity world so they would not have stood a chance anyway.

  “I’m here to see Mister Bane, I’m a friend of Kurt,” he told them.

  At the mention of Kurt’s name, they smiled with relief and allowed him access.

  Matt walked through the inner access area through a door to the main bar. The room opened out before him with a long mahogany bar counter to his right and tables arrayed on the floor to his left. In front of the tables was a small dance floor before a stage big enough for a small band to play. Directly in front, at the far end of the large room, was a row of discrete cubicles against the wall. These provided privacy for those customers who wanted a quiet night.

  Abraham Bane was seated in one of these guarded by a man mountain equally as large as Matt.

  “You must be Tony,” Matt said by way of greeting as he reached them. “Kurt’s told me a lot about you,” he added which relaxed the big man slightly. Matt could see in his eyes he was still wary of him but the mention of Kurt’s name gave him pause.

  “Mister Bane I’m a friend of Kurt Stryder. He’s told me you’ve helped him in the past and I was hoping you could help me out now,” Matt announced as he peered around Tony.

  As Bane looked up from his meal Matt took in every detail he could. Bane was a big man, impressive in his youth but now as he reached his late fifties, his age was beginning to show.

  “What’s your name son?” Bane asked as he looked up at him.

  “Matt Hawk sir, I work with Kurt Stryder,” he told him.

  “Am I going to have the same trouble with you as I always have with Kurt?” Bane queried with a deadpan face.

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” Matt stalled; he was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea after all. What kind of trouble had Kurt brought here he wondered.

  “Every time he comes here there’s trouble. Last time he had a fight with three Rover5s from OMEGA, the first time he had a brawl with some local thugs. They were actually an old enemy of mine, but that’s not the point,” Bane explained, “Are you gonna cause me more trouble son?”

  “No sir, nothing like that,” Matt laughed as he
relaxed a little.

  “You think me having trouble is somehow funny?” Bane asked getting to his feet.

  “No sir, quite the opposite. I was just thinking how Kurt seems to be a magnet for trouble, that’s all,” confessed Matt.

  Bane smiled and sat back down. “He sure is,” he agreed then offered Matt a seat opposite him. “What can I do for you?” he asked as Matt sat.

  “This does concern Kurt, believe it or not. Earlier on he and Zara were attacked near here. A group of well-armed and well-trained mercenaries attacked them near his home and then later at a Col Sec safe house. They escaped, but when the Constabulary went to investigate there was no trace of the attack having ever taken place,” explained Matt.

  Bane looked at him for several seconds, eyes squinting, “What does any of this have to do with me?” he asked.

  “Do you know of anyone who could put that kind of muscle together?” Matt asked.

  Bane relaxed. “A guy named Thomas Patten was sniffing around here a few days ago. We had an incident involving your friend; I mentioned it earlier. He was attacked by those Rover5 types; well it was seen by some of the customers. I’d bet that someone in the crowd watching had recorded the brawl. I think Patten found out about it and probably made a grab for him,” he offered.

  “There’s quite a bit of conjecture in that statement. Do you know any of it for a fact?”

  “Well I know that Patten put together a crew led by Tyler Sosa. That crew hasn’t been seen since, neither has Sosa. Patten turned up dead not too long ago, his neck broken. He was found washed up on the shore near Haven along with three of his minders.”

  Matt thought about that for a second as he pondered the timeline for events.

  “There was a gunfight involving two ATVs on the highway leading to Jacksonville followed by a pile up. How soon to that did Sosa go missing, was it before or after do you think?” he asked.

  “I’d say before.”

  Matt smiled; things were falling nicely into place for him.

  “I’d say what happened was that if Patten got hold of the recording he might’ve seen something that made him think Kurt could be valuable to certain people. He’d put together a crew to nab him, but that didn’t work obviously. I think that someone else got wind of it, possibly the customer and decided to cut out the middleman. They could’ve learned from Sosa who the target was before killing him then went after Kurt and Zara themselves,” he theorised.