The Leghk Sector
Vern Rota was hanging from a transfer conduit, his neck sliced across in three different places, leaving flaps of skin that looked like a shark�s gills. He was soaked in his own blood and the only seeming mercy � an oversight perhaps � was that his eyes were closed.
�We�re in trouble,� said Arella, staring at the dead body. �They might has well have left a calling card.�
�Thynn?� said Hal. Arella nodded. The old chill that came to the human spine at the thought of reptilian carnivores hadn�t changed much in twelve thousand years. �This just keeps getting better.�
�Let�s get to the bridge,� said Ux. The trio headed forward, weapons at the ready. Hal kept his eye to the rear.
Further aft, and two decks below, Nickel was running silent. Less than a minute ago, he�d watched his long time cohort, Dime, get blasted to slag. Nickel was a low-end robot and his emotion matrix was rudimentary, but he knew he his latest mission overrode his normal maintenance programming. The small floating robot turned a corner and caught a glimpse of two Thrynn headed toward the stern of the caravel. He sent the images to the main computer and routed them to the bridge. A moment later, Nickel followed in the path of the two intruders.
The hatch to the bridge opened and Grix spun around. It was Hal, Arella and Ux. �What took you so long? I lowered the cargo ramp ten minutes ago,� said the Veloxi navigator.
�Thank God you�re not hurt,� said Arella. �What happened?�
�I don�t know much,� said Grix, �but Vern is on their side.�
�Not any more,� said Hal. �Vern�s gone. Who are the bad guys?� Grix called up the images Nickel had just sent from below decks. It was obviously a pair of Thrynn. �We guessed as much. Where are they headed?�
�Nowhere good. Probably the engine wells,� said Grix. �They�ll probably try to scuttle the ship.�
�Why?� said Ux.
�I don�t think they want to sell the map key,� said Grix.
�No,� said Arella, seeing the point. �They want to make sure nobody ever finds that planet. This is about pride. Not money.�
�We don�t have much time,� said Hal. The crew reloaded their weapons and left the bridge.
Windward Passage
The air was warm and wet, and the room, dimly lit, was full of plants. It was a luxury suite for moneyed travelers waiting to catch a flight off world, but this one seemed more like an arboretum. From the round, vine-trimmed window, the gray expanse of the landing platform was visible. It was covered with starships and service vehicles and blinking lights.
The door to the suite slid open and a Thrynn stepped inside. He moved with gliding elegance, each motion measured, nothing wasted. With a slender reptilian hand, he pushed a broad, transparent button. In the corner of the room, an orange lamp heated to a warm, hot glow over an unpolished granite slab.
The Thrynn dropped his robe, ready to bask in the delicious heat. All at once his body tensed and he stopped to sniff at the air. It took him a moment to place the scent.
A Human.
�How�s life, Resp?�
Stepping from behind a rice paper screen, it was Biggs Hilsfar. He held an automatic pistol in his hand. The Thrynn smiled, pleased at this new twist.
�Commander Hilsfar, I wasn�t expecting you,� said Resp. The hissing sound was heavy in his speech. His tongue flickered.
�I didn�t call ahead,� said Biggs. �But I�ve got something for you to look at.�
�Yes, of course,� said Resp. �I knew your sense for business would win out. I�m prepared to reward you handsomely.�
Biggs set a small projector cube on a table in the middle of the room. After a moment a recording appeared on the wall. As Resp watched the soundless images, the composed affability melted from his face.
�You might recognize Senator HvHuss,� said Biggs. The projection showed the exiled senator lecturing to a group of young Thrynn. Resp said nothing. �Imagine the havoc it would cause on Thoss if everyone knew HvHuss had escaped off world. What if word got out that your rogue senator wasn�t hiding out in some swamp on Thoss?� Biggs looked at the Thrynn, who was transfixed by the images. �What if the citizens of Thoss found out he was fomenting revolution from a safe haven outside your confederacy?�
�The elite guard is well aware of Senator HvHuss and his activities,� said Resp. �We will find and kill him in due time.�
�Maybe,� said Biggs. �But that won�t do any good if this footage makes its way to Thoss.� Resp said nothing. �Ever heard the phrase �heads will roll,� Resp?� Biggs turned off the projector, letting the question hang in the air for a long moment.
"You�d better hope my crew gets back here in one piece. If they don�t, I�ll make sure the story of this little insurrection you�re trying to keep quiet gets blown wide open.�
�I see,� said Resp. There was cold murder in his eyes.
�I figured you would,� said Biggs, returning the look in kind. �You ever mess with me and my crew again, and you�ll see even better. Because this tape,� he said, picking up the projector cube and putting it in his pocket, �will wind up on all the wrong screens on Thoss. And I�ll make sure your enemies know who to thank.�
�I will, of course, remember this,� said Resp, no longer attempting to conceal his rage. �You have made an enemy today.�
�Sure,� said Biggs. He plucked a berry from the vine and popped it in his mouth. �Have a good one,� he said, chomping away.
The door slid open and Biggs Hilsfar walked out.
Leghk Sector
Folia-4
ISS The Moor of Venice
Arth
Holian Star City
Folia-4
ISS The Moor of Venice
Arella, Ux and Hal had cleared and sealed the starboard engine well. Nobody was getting inside without making noise. Arella looked at her handheld. �There�s nothing new from Nickel � he lost them at the lift junction a few minutes ago. I guess that leaves the port well,� she said.
Ux spoke into his communications link. �Grix, do you see anything?�
�Nothing,� said the navigator.
�Let�s go,� said Hal. They headed for the port engine well entry hatch, covering each other and moving in bounds. It didn�t take long to get there. The trio stacked up around the entrance, carbines at the ready. At the count of three, Ux hit the switch.
The door opened and Hal tossed in a concussion grenade, which hit the metal deck, rolled and detonated with deafening effect. The team poured through the hatchway and into the well. Ux guarded the hatch while Hal and Arella cleared the remainder of the well.
�Nothing,� said Arella, returning to the hatch. Hal was right behind her. �Could they have left the ship?�
Grix�s voice came over the communications link. �Ux, Bridge � I�m showing an intruder alert. Computer core, first deck.�
�Damn,� said Hal. �They�re not going for the engines. They�re going to knock out the core and we�ll be � � He stopped in mid sentence, his eyes catching a flicker of motion. He dove.
From the lift, a series of shots from a reverb weapon smashed into the bulkhead, missing Hal�s head by no more than an arm�s length. Instinctively, he dropped to the deck and crawled for cover behind a stack of shipping crates. Arella and Ux were right behind him.
�Grix, Hal,� said the engineer. �We�re pinned outside the port well.� He thought for a minute. �Can Nickel vector on the weapon discharge?�
�Wait,� said Grix over the net. There was a long pause. Hal was amazed at the Thrynn. This one had found the perfect vantage point � maybe the only one on the ship � from which he could pin down his three pursuers. He could keep them there all day while his friend went to work on the computer core.
�We�re out of time,� said Hal, calling the bridge. For good measure, the Thrynn on the lift fired a shot just over the crates. Hal hunched lower. �We need some slack down here, Grix.� The navigator came back over the net.
�Listen,� said Grix,� �time is tight. In eight seconds, you�re going to have a break. On my mark, you�ll have a clean shot,� said Grix. He began to count down from six. Hal looked to Arella.
�What�s the play, Skip?�
�Trust,� said Arella.
Grix finished his count down. All three of the crew jumped up in time to see a small trash can-shaped droid slam into the Thrynn�s head. Ux, then Hal and Arella, loosed a flurry of fire at the lift. Three shots caught the reptilian. The green figure slumped to the deck, smoke rising lazily from the burn holes in his torso.
Nickel buzzed through the gunfire unharmed and zipped down to the crew. They were already running for the lift. They climbed aboard and Hal hit the button for the first deck. He pointed his carbine at the Thrynn�s head and fired.
�Safe side,� he said, changing magazines. Nobody objected.
The lift halted and Arella bolted for the computer core, Hal and Ux behind her. Once again, they stacked at the hatch. Once again, a three count. The hatch flew open.
The saboteur spun around, his work incomplete. It wasn�t often you got a look of surprise on a Thrynn face. It was an eerie, surreal sight. Ux raised his weapon and sighted in.
Arella exhaled, because it was already over.
Point-blank range, a Veloxi shooter and a reverb carbine added up to a direct hit.
It was a chest shot.
�Dead the door nail,� said Ux.
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