The Blackstar Gambit

by Jan Domagala

Matt smiled; it was the answer he’d been hoping for.

  07.35 s.e.t.

  Zara was in the companionway on her way below decks when the yacht lifted off the sea.

  She looked out the porthole next to her and her eyes went wide with surprise when she saw the water below disappearing.

  She had to do something.

  Spinning around she closed the gap between her and the two minders in the companionway. Lashing out with her right leg, she kicked the nearest one in the chest sending him crashing into the wall. The other dodged around his flailing comrade as he tried to tackle Zara.

  She sidestepped out of his way and clotheslined him across the chest.

  Two down.

  She left the two unconscious minders on the deck and made her way along the companionway towards what she hoped would be her destination.

  “What do you want?” asked the engineer as she entered the Engine Room.

  “Never mind me boys, just go on about your business,” Zara replied with a smile as she stalked towards them. There were three men in the small room all tending to the reconfiguration of the yacht’s engines from sea craft to spacecraft.

  “We haven’t got time to give you a tour lady,” another told her as he turned to stare at her.

  She punched him in the side of the face knocking him clean out. The other two heard the crash as his body hit the deck and they turned to see what had happened, but by that time Zara was close enough to strike.

  In a flurry of motion, she quickly dispatched the two of them then set about what she came to do.

  07.40 s.e.t.

  On the bridge, Visjic stood looking out the forward viewscreen when a light began flashing on the control panel, claiming his attention.

  “What’s that?” he asked. Then he looked closer and before the Captain could reply, he knew exactly what it was.

  Turning away from the windscreen he pointed at three men standing at the rear of the bridge, “You’re with me.”

  He stormed off the bridge followed by the three guards. Time to teach someone a valuable lesson, he thought as he headed for the Engine Room.

  07.45 s.e.t.

  Kurt and Matt left the promenade behind as they raced back to the spaceport in their separate roadsters.

  “Where do you think they’re going?” Matt gripped the steering wheel tightly. Kurt was racing through the streets at breakneck speed his only thought was to catch that boat.

  “I have no idea. I’m trying to contact flight control to see if they can get a fix on them. If they can it’ll give us an idea where they’re heading,” Kurt said through gritted teeth.

  “What do you want me to do?” Matt asked, communicating through their NIs using a secure comm channel.

  “Get over to Canto and keep an eye on Sinclair. He was going to cancel the summit, but if he does, we may never find out when they plan to strike. At least now we know where all the targets are,” Kurt advised.

  “How are they going to strike, any ideas?”

  “They want me to kill Sinclair; if I do they’ll release Zara.”

  “Well that makes no sense at all. They obviously know you’re here, they watched you arrive; in fact they didn’t move until they were certain you’d arrived.”

  Kurt thought about that for a second, trying to find holes in his logic. There were none.

  “They wanted me here, why?” he said, deep in thought as he drove on, his mind racing, trying to come up with a theory that would fit.

  Matt said, “Why go to all this trouble, if they wanted to nab you both why not do it on Celeron instead of all this half assed stuff? It’s almost like they’re testing your abilities.”

  “Well whatever it is we need to make sure Sinclair is safe.”

  “I’m on it,” Matt told him.

  07.46 s.e.t.

  Zara cleared the Engine Room closing the door behind her just as Visjic came into view at the far end.

  He paused when he saw her, and she smiled.

  “I see you decided to forego my advice young lady,” he admonished. His hard eyes assessed her.

  “What can I say, I’m a bad girl,” she admitted with a smirk.

  Three of the crew appeared around him, all burly types.

  “Take her, be as rough as you like,” Visjic ordered.

  Zara anticipated the fight with a smile, glad for the opportunity to stretch her muscles a while and test herself against the opposition. She wanted to see what this man had, she had waited long enough, she needed to know and now.

  The three came at her tentatively. She knew they thought they had the upper hand and were trying to stretch out the agony to come.

  They were mistaken.

  She didn’t wait for them to reach her; she came at them. She saw their expressions alter as she stepped forward. Her fierce glare made them falter a step. It was unexpected, they thought they had her scared and ready to run but her eyes told a different story.

  “Okay guys, let’s do this,” she snarled at them.

  The first man attacked swinging a right fist at her head. She ducked beneath the wild swing and buried her fist into his groin dropping him like a stone.

  She faced the next one head on.

  A straight right fist aimed at her face sailed past as she deftly moved out of the way. Her right arm blocked the attacker’s arm from returning then she delivered a rapid series of blows to his kidneys before sweeping his feet from under him. As he landed hard on his back she delivered the coup de grâce, a knockout blow to the face. Blood and teeth exploded across his face as the punch landed.

  Zara got up to defend against a salvo of punches aimed at her from the last guard. Blocking and dodging she handled the attack until she saw an opening. She knocked one arm wide then blocked an incoming punch from the other freeing up her target. She stepped into her attacker delivering a short-range punch to his chest, winding him. As his head came forward she grabbed it with both hands and brought her knee up into his face. She heard a satisfying crunch as his nose collapsed. She released his head and allowed him to fall.

  Zara looked up at Visjic, who had watched the entire battle, which had lasted less than two minutes, with intense concentration. She knew he had been gauging her ability and techniques before committing himself to the fight.

  “Seen enough?” she goaded.

  “Plenty, thanks for the demonstration. It won’t get you anywhere though my dear, I am not impressed,”

  Zara raised an eyebrow. “Really?” she asked.

  Visjic crossed his arms over his broad chest and leant casually against the bulkhead. “Quite frankly, I’m a bit disappointed, I thought you’d be better,” he confessed.

  “Then let’s see if I can’t change your mind,” she warned.

  She approached the smaller figure and watched as he pushed himself off the wall to greet her.

  She began by throwing a series of punches at his head. Visjic dodged, swaying from side to side or beneath each blow.

  She stepped back assessing his performance. He was fast, almost as fast as she was, but how strong was he? She had never fully tested herself, she had an idea of what she was capable of but as yet, she had never had the opportunity to stretch herself. Perhaps this was that opportunity to let go.

  “Not bad, a bit lacking in technique though,” Visjic goaded, a smile crossing his lips briefly.

  Zara attacked once more this time following a flurry of punches with a series of kicks.

  Visjic blocked the last kick and swiftly moved inside her range to deliver a powerful blow to her face, which rocked her back on her heels.

  Almost falling over from the force of the blow she looked up at him from her crouched position and sensed he was holding back too.

  She went after him then throwing punch after punch, which he blocked then trapped her arm in a two-handed block, pushed her against the wall and kicked her knees from behind causing her legs to buckle.

  Zara found herself on her knees pressed up against the wall with her arm
pinned in a grip of steel.

  She elbowed him in the gut then rolled to the side breaking free before he could capitalise on his attack.

  She came at him again, and again he blocked her attack. She pushed him off her then spun into a spinning back kick.

  Visjic moved into the kick catching the leg in both hands then he swung her off her feet to throw her down the companionway.

  Zara flew through the air and collided with the end of the corridor in a bone-jarring impact that left her stunned.

  She was shocked by his strength. She had called it correctly when she thought he was holding back.

  That last move had seemed effortless to him. He wasn’t even breathing hard.

  “Let’s end this,” she snarled and rushed him once more.

  She ran at him all attempts at subtlety vanished; her attack was pure primal force.

  Visjic side-stepped and buried a roundhouse kick into her midriff doubling her up then smashed a hammer blow on the back of her head.

  Zara collapsed on the deck. Visjic straddled her grabbing her head and lifted it up.

  “I could snap your neck like a twig. If you try anything like this again nothing will prevent me from carrying out this threat, do I make myself clear?” he hissed into her ear.

  “Yes,” Zara croaked. All fight vanished from her; she was done.

  Visjic dropped her head and calmly walked off leaving her on the deck to stew over what had just happened.

  18

  08.50 s.e.t.

  Kurt boarded the Silver Dart he’d arrived on and it took off as soon as he was strapped in.

  Once they reached orbit around Celeron he accessed a viewscreen on the bulkhead at the side of his seat. He panned the view around until he had what he wanted.

  “There you are. What are waiting for?” he muttered.

  The view he settled on was that of the freighter Zara had been brought there on. It was still in orbit too.

  “What are you up to?” Kurt asked silently as he operated the shuttle’s sensors remotely.

  08.53 s.e.t.

  “Sir, the shuttle has reached orbit and is scanning us,” the captain of the freighter informed Visjic who was still on his yacht in the hold of the larger vessel.

  “Good, you may make the jump now, Captain,” Visjic replied with a smug smile. Everything was falling into place just as he had predicted.

  08.55 s.e.t.

  Kurt saw the hyperspace window open.

  “Captain, follow that freighter, don’t lose it,” he ordered through the intership comm’s unit.

  “Copy that sir,” replied the pilot of the shuttle.

  Kurt hoped the range of the freighter wasn’t greater than that of the Silver Dart. Although it had FTL capability it was still only a shuttle and best suited to short-range flights. A freighter by its very nature was built for longer hauls through space.

  He had a feeling they would be able to keep pace with them though.

  He sat back as the shuttle headed for the other hyperspace window that had opened close to the first. As they moved closer, he couldn’t help but feel that he was missing something.

  09.00 s.e.t.

  Matt sat in the comfortable seat in his Silver Dart as they left Celeron orbit. His destination was different from that of his friend Kurt but none the less important.

  He reviewed their recent actions.

  Kurt and Zara had been attacked on several occasions. Now Zara had been taken hostage to force Kurt to do something against his will yet they knew he wasn’t following their instructions. They had even waited for him to arrive at his last location so he could follow them.

  Why?

  None of this made any sense. There were too many unanswered questions and most of them surrounded the actions of the mysterious Goran Visjic.

  Acquiring intel on an enemy was crucial in any confrontation and he hated to admit in this instance they were severely lacking.

  Until they had some sorely needed answers to these and other questions all they could do was react to their actions.

  They were playing catch up here and that was something Matt hated. He much preferred to be proactive rather than reactive but at the moment there wasn’t much he could do about it.

  His priority now was to ensure the safety of General Sinclair and everyone else at the security summit. Everything else would have to take care of itself.

  10.50 s.e.t.

  “Sir, I don’t understand this,” the pilot of the Silver Dart said through the intership comm. unit. His voice sounded strained so Kurt asked, “What don’t you understand Captain?”

  “Sir, we’ve followed that freighter now through three jumps and each time it’s been like they’ve waited for us to catch up before moving on,” the pilot explained.

  “I’m not one to overlook an opportunity when one presents itself Captain but I take your point. This is too easy,” Kurt agreed. “And where the hell are they taking us?” he wondered.

  “Sir, we’re being hailed, it’s the freighter.”

  Kurt’s eyes narrowed, “It was just a matter of time Captain. Put them through please,” he said.

  “You must be wondering where we are going Captain Stryder. Well all I can say is that all will be revealed after our next jump. I’ve sent you the co-ordinates so there will be no chance of you getting lost. We can’t have that now, can we? Visjic’s voice played out through the integral speakers in the passenger cabin, calm and calculating.

  “What do you want with Zara?” Kurt asked unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

  “Patience, you’ll find out soon enough.”

  The connection was broken and the cabin was silent once more.

  “Okay Captain, take us to where those co-ordinates are. We might as well see what his game is,” Kurt said finally.

  He looked at the viewscreen near him as a hyperspace window opened and the freighter disappeared through it.

  Here we go.

  As the hyperspace window opened for them to enter, Kurt suddenly had a feeling of dread wash over him like a tidal surge. He looked towards the pilot’s cabin to warn them when he realised something.

  It was too late.

  The feeling of dread exploded within him as he wondered what was happening to him. He’d never before experienced anything like this. He knew Zara had, and after this new experience, he no longer envied her this ability.

  He tried to get his feelings back under control as the Silver Dart exited the hyperspace window. As soon as the window closed behind them, he knew his feeling had been right on the money.

  He was almost thrown from his seat as the shuttle was suddenly gripped by the gravity of a huge planet.

  He could hear the engines straining to maintain their position as they approached, but the gravity was such that they were in an approach vector much sooner than expected.

  The pilot struggled to maintain the proper approach vector. If he messed this up, didn’t get the shuttle on the right approach angle, then they would end up in a tailspin and would burn up on re-entry.

  “What is this place?” Kurt asked.

  “Bit busy now,” the pilot shouted, his voice was plainly heard through the doors to the cockpit.

  Kurt saw the flight attendant struggle through from her station just inside the cockpit. Her face was ashen and she pulled herself into the seat opposite Kurt. She gave a wan smile, “We don’t know for sure where we are, this section is supposed to be empty, sir,” she confided.

  The shuttle shuddered as the gravity of the huge planet tried its best to tear her from the sky.

  A loud crack echoed around the interior of the shuttle as the structural integrity was pushed to its limit.

  “Hang on,” shouted the pilot through the open doorway, “We’re goin’ in.”

  Kurt looked at the young woman sat across from him and saw the abject fear in her eyes.

  19

  11.00 s.e.t.

  Matt raced to the Forests of Canto from the spaceport. />
  He knew General Sinclair would be waiting for word of what had happened on Celeron so he had uploaded his report to the onboard computer via a secure link through his NI. That would then be sent via another secure link to the computer at the Lodge for Sinclair to access.

  His mind was still racing over what had happened there. He could not quite get a handle on what Visjic’s plan was. He had an endgame but he couldn’t see it, not yet.

  As he approached the Lodge he had called ahead to warn the general of his arrival, so when he pulled onto the parking lot he was expected. The security was lifted allowing him to park freely and enter the building. The Lodge was situated on the edge of the Forest and able to accommodate parties of up to thirty people. There were fifteen bedrooms, all en suite and a large communal living room, or lounge with a kitchen just off to the side.

  Once inside he made his way to the Lounge where he knew Sinclair would be. The Lounge had a large table in the middle with comfortable seats dotted around the room and at the far end a log fire that was unlit when he entered.

  Sinclair was standing in front of the fire with his back to the room while three security guards were situated around the room.

  “How was your trip?” Sinclair asked as he saw Matt enter.

  “Eventful would be an understatement,” Matt replied.

  “I read your report. Interesting to say the least,” Sinclair admitted. He noticed Matt’s concerned expression and asked, “What else is bothering you?”

  Matt shrugged his shoulders and said, “Everything really. None of it adds up. Why take Zara and tell Kurt they want him to do something yet expect him to turn up where they were? Then they wait for him to arrive so he can follow them when they leave, it contradicts their earlier claims that they want you dead.”

  Sinclair thought about it. “Have you ever heard of the illusionist’s mantra?” he offered.

  “You mean ‘get the audience watching what one hand is doing while the real trick is being performed by the other’,” Matt replied.

  “Precisely, maybe that’s what is being done here.”

  Matt’s eyes went wide with realisation. “We have to get you to safety, sir. If what you suggest is true then the kidnap could be nothing more than a diversion to get our focus away from the real threat, here,” he blurted.