Starbourne, page 26
“I’m saying take the credits, everything we have saved, we get off Mars and go somewhere to start over,” Jaeden said, looking at Teagen.
“Where would we go?” Teagen asked, brows raised with curiosity.
“Anywhere; the frontier maybe?” Jaeden said, “Maybe we find some startup community on one of the frontier worlds and build something for ourselves there?”
“I am so tired of this place,” Teagen said head bowed down. “I would be happy to escape.”
“Hoss?” Jaeden asked.
Hoss sat for a moment, with his arms crossed across his chest. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes distant. Jaeden examined his friend for any indication of his thoughts but could discern nothing.
“Alright,” Hoss said, nodding slowly. “Okay, that’s the deal then. We do this job, we settle up, then we move on.”
Teagen looked up excitedly to Hoss, “To the frontier?”
“To the flippin’ frontier,” Hoss said, a smirk forming in the corner of his mouth. “Maybe I can be a Marshall. Get me a badge and run the town.”
“You’re more likely to be in the jail cell than running the jail.” Jaeden said, “But I guess that’s why we’re starting fresh. Anything’s possible.”
“Damn straight.” Hoss said, “Anything’s possible with the three of us together.”
“So, let’s vote. All in favor of one last, high-stakes run at taking down a RusaCorp shuttle?” Jaeden asked.
“You already know where I stand,” Hoss said, a big toothy grin setting in on his face.
Teagen looked at Hoss with a tight-lipped smile, “You won’t get far without me, so I suppose I have no choice but to join you.”
Hoss smiled at Teagen and pressed his forehead into her shoulder. She closed her eyes and pressed her head against his. Jaeden crossed one arm over his chest and brought his free hand to his mouth. He bit his fingernail and contemplated his options.
When he left New Parora in the first place, it was to get away from the slum lifestyle. Pickpocketing and stealing to survive one day to the next. The job at Fairfex was Jaeden’s only hope of turning everything around, and he messed that up just like everything else. Of course, he fell right back into the same lifestyle he had when he left. Just like nothing had changed.
But then again maybe this was his chance. Maybe this is why he failed at Fairfex. Coming back here to reunite with his friends, getting this job, so that all three of them could escape. Together.
A life in the frontier, working an honest job, and contributing to a community. He had heard that it was a hard but fulfilling life. In the end, isn’t that all he wanted? To be able to wake up in the morning and respect the man in the reflection?
What would Joanna say?
The thought of his friend broke into his mind without apology. What would she say about any of what Jaeden and his friends were doing? Would he even ever see her again? He would have to try–
“The final vote rests with you,” Hoss said, looking up at Jaeden. “What’s our move, governor?”
Jaeden broke free from his thoughts and looked at Hoss, huddled against Teagen. His two friends here and now needed him. He would have time later for thoughts of Joanna. And how to connect with her again.
“I better not regret this, man,” Jaeden said, sighing deeply. He shook his head and took a breath before continuing. “I’m in.”
“Hot shaz!” Hoss exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “You won’t regret it, I promise. We’ve got it all figured out. Like taking candy from an old man.”
“From a baby.” Jaeden corrected, sliding back into the booth across from Hoss.
Teagen glanced towards Jaeden as he settled into his seat. He saw relief in her wide eyes, and a tight-lipped smile on her face. Jaeden shot a sad smile back towards her.
“Just as easy, I’m sure,” Hoss said, waving his hand from side to side. “Let me tell you guys how it’ll play out.” Leaning over the table, Hoss looked into Jaeden’s eyes closely. Jaeden watched as Hoss’ brow furrowed and his nose wrinkled. “Hang on, what’s with your eyes?”
“Stealing someone’s identity details is easy. Good thing installing Data Protector Premium is too. Take control of your systems today. Warning, Data Protector is not liable for any theft that occurs while using our products.”
(Marc Darby, CEO of Data Protector)
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
After days of meticulous planning and rehearsing, the day of the transfer had finally come. Jaeden, Hoss, and Teagen had spent the day at The Wishing Well preparing themselves for the mission. Once night had fallen over the city, the three set off to execute their plan.
Jaeden and Hoss left the city limits of New Parora in Hoss’ hovercar and flew deep into the badlands surrounding the city. Teagen, riding her hovercycle, had gone on ahead to her planned position. From there, she would act as a backup should the crash trajectory change.
Hoss had acted as the main liaison between the group of friends and Desmond Harrington’s team. Largely in part due to both Teagen and Jaeden’s misgivings towards Nyx. If they had to cooperate with that dubious character to complete their contract, Jaeden was more than happy to let Hoss be the point man.
To his credit, Desmond had put together a very thorough plan of attack. Jaeden was impressed with the level of professionalism that the broker operated at.
Desmond knew the path the shuttle would take to reach the spaceport. They then calculated the optimal position to strike out at the shuttle. From there, they ran dozens of crash trajectory simulations to determine where the shuttle was most likely to crash.
Desmond also provided the weapon needed to disable the shuttle. A simple lock and guided missile system that would disable the shuttle; not destroy it. The shuttle would undoubtedly be equipped with a distress signal, but once more Desmond had that covered. Nyx would be accompanying the team to block the signal.
Firing on the shuttle, the team would have to act quickly to complete their task. Distress signal or not, after a long enough delay the company would send out a recovery team to the shuttle’s last known position. Getting into a firefight with RusaCorp’s private military force was not something on Jaeden’s to-do list.
That just left the security force and defenses on the shuttle itself. As a low orbit, low priority shuttle transfer, the vehicle would be unmanned and only have minimal security defenses. Standard protocols would call for up to two robotic sentries aboard the shuttle to act as guards.
Once the shuttle had been downed, the distress signal blocked, and the sentries, and security systems disabled all that was left was locating the objective. Their target was a large metallic case, presumably located in the cargo bay.
Finally, the escape plan. Once more, Jaeden had to give credit to Desmond. Utilizing a stolen gang marked vehicle, the team would stage a scene using fresh cadavers stolen from a morgue. Scattering the bodies dressed as gang members around the crash site, and shooting up the vehicle would make it appear that the Rebel Kings had tried to take down the convoy, only to be stopped by the security systems.
RusaCorp would never publicly announce their convoy had been hit, or anything had been stolen. And the Rebel Kings would never think anything of it, as the story of gang members hitting a convoy tracked with their record.
Sitting in the passenger seat of Hoss’ hover car, Jaeden marveled at the landscape around them. He wouldn’t have expected to see such a barren wasteland surrounding New Parora, but that was the case for every city on Mars.
Terraforming efforts had been made for centuries, but for whatever reason, much of the countryside never coalesced into anything more than a dry barren land, largely devoid of any vegetation. Some isolated areas of Mars had better luck such as Nexarion, the next closest population center on Mars.
“There he is,” Hoss called out, calling attention to a shadowed vehicle parked on a bluff in the distance.
Jaeden snapped from his daydreaming to look ahead. Just as they planned, Desmond’s agent secured a marked shuttle and had it ready to go. Focusing on the parked vehicle, Jaeden saw Nyx casually leaning against the ship.
Nyx looked relaxed and had been smoking from his vape pen while he waited for Hoss and Jaeden to arrive. As the hovercar grew closer, Jaeden also saw a few crates scattered outside of the vehicle, each marked with military company logos on them.
Hoss pulled the hovercar into position and engaged the parking sequence. The vehicle hit the ground with a thud. Both Hoss and Jaeden stepped out of the vehicle, stretching their arms and legs as they stood on solid ground. The drive from the city had taken a bit longer than they were expecting.
Nyx eyed both with something akin to contempt, and Jaeden got the feeling that he didn’t exactly want to be here with them.
“You guys stop at Cosmic’s on your way over?” Nyx jibbed, blowing a huge puff of smoke.
“Give us a break, dude. It’s like a two-hour flight out here.” Jaeden responded, pulling a bag free from the trunk of the hovercar.
Nyx nodded aggressively, taking a deep breath of his vape. “You’re right, it is. Almost like you guys should have left thirty minutes earlier, or something, right?”
“We’re here now,” Hoss chimed in. “And we’re ahead of the ship’s schedule anyway.”
“You sure are. Who’s gonna’ fire the rocket?” Nyx asked, kicking one of the marked boxes.
Hoss immediately put his hand up. “My guy, you know I’m up for it.”
Nyx sarcastically nodded to the side. “Yeah sure, my guy. But with you being late, how are you going to know how to fire this thing? The shuttle will be here any minute.”
“It’s cool, I got it!” Hoss reaffirmed, jogging over to the crate and sliding open the lid.
The top of the crate clattered onto the ground. Hoss peered inside and let out a sound of pure exhilaration, as if he was receiving a present for his birthday. Jaeden made his way over to the gang marked shuttle and offloaded some of their gear into the vehicle. Hoss pulled the launcher out of the crate, and after a moment of studying the side of the weapon, engaged the power. The weapon gave off a labored humming sound and beeped a confirmation.
“Dude, Jaeden, check this thing out,” Hoss said, hefting the weapon on his shoulder. “How badass is this flipping thing?”
“Heads up, nerds,” Nyx called out, pointing towards the New Parora silhouette.
In the distance, a shuttle in the sky could be made out. Jaeden focused on the shape in the distance which was flying towards the group assembled in the badlands. Several blinking lights on the ship identified it as a space faring vessel that was keeping to low orbit for the transfer. Nyx, Jaeden, and Hoss stood together, watching the shuttle, just a tiny spec in the distance, float across the skyline.
“Something’s wrong,” Jaeden said, examining the silhouette of the ship.
“What?” Hoss asked, still hefting the weapon.
“That’s not a shuttle. Are we positive this is our mark?” Jaeden asked the group. He looked down at his wrist jockey and connected a call with Teagen to loop her into the conversation.
Nyx accessed his own wrist jockey, humming to himself. After a moment of scanning through files, he looked up towards the ship. “Yup, that’s the big ape we’re after.”
“But that’s a star freighter,” Jaeden said, turning towards Hoss.
“So what?” Nyx asked dryly. He turned and pointed towards the weapon on Hoss’ shoulder and added, “That thing will knock any low orbit ship out of the sky. It’s fine.”
Jaeden felt uncomfortable with the response. The mission hadn’t even started yet, and already there was a deviation from the plan.
Teagen’s voice came through the private commlink, speaking directly to Jaeden. “A freighter means a larger crew. Likely a larger security team.”
“Hence the million-credit payout,” Jaeden contributed to Teagen’s assessment. He turned and looked over his shoulder towards Hoss, who was fumbling with the controls of the rocket launcher. “Think Hoss knew? About the ship I mean.”
“It does not matter at the moment.” Teagen’s voice said over the commlink. “We’re here now. Let’s proceed with the plan. Just keep your guard up. Especially with Nyx.”
“You’re up, comrade,” Nyx said casually, gesturing towards the rapidly approaching freighter. “You sure you got this? I swear, if you voxx this up, Desmond will be furious.”
“Have some faith,” Hoss replied.
Hoss hoisted the massive weapon onto his shoulder once again and peered through the eye scope mounted on the side. Jaeden pursed his lips together as he took in the scene in front of him. To see his friend Alexander handle what closely resembled a gigantic cannon that should be attached to a vehicle of some sort, was almost comical. Jaeden raised his hand to the back of his head, running his hands through his hair nervously.
With ear shattering explosions and fiery ferocity, three missiles launched out of the heavy weapon and took flight. Jaeden took a step back from Hoss, raising a hand to his ear to muffle at least some of the noise. The rockets screeched across the night sky towards their intended target, leaving blazing orange trails rippling behind them.
Hoss let the rocket launcher fall to the ground beside him as he cheered a victorious cry and pumped his fist into the air. He excitedly looked towards his companions to join in his enthusiasm.
Nyx remained casual, leaning against one of the crates, flicking debris off his jacket. Even at a distance, Jaeden could feel his friend’s ego bruise, and in an effort to appease him, nodded his approval to Hoss and flashed him a thumbs up.
Not entirely what he was looking for, Hoss nevertheless accepted Jaeden’s effort and let out another cheer before looking back up to the rockets. Jaeden too turned his attention to the missiles and took a deep breath.
Here we go, he thought.
In the distance, the three rockets looked no larger than bright specs as they closed in on the ship. The wait for results was nerve wracking.
A sudden pop of fiery oranges and reds burst in the distance as the first rocket connected with the freighter. The burning explosion was soon doubled and then tripled as the other rockets collided into their target. There was a moment of separation from the sight of the explosion to the accompanying noise that followed, denoting just how far the ship was from the group when it was struck. A fact of nature that Jaeden had always found interesting.
“Three for three!” Hoss exclaimed. “Is that accuracy or what?”
“You sure pull a mean trigger, kid,” Nyx responded dryly.
“Kid? What are we, like a year or two apart?” Hoss asked, slightly deflated.
“Those rockets were pre-programmed to the freighter’s ID. It would have been more impressive if you had missed any of those shots.” Nyx continued.
Hoss opened his mouth to counter Nyx’s remarks, but Jaeden stepped in front of him. He needed everyone focused on the task at hand. When Hoss was put out, he was no use to anybody. He had a tendency to focus in on small slights and would let them get the better of him. It couldn’t be allowed to happen today, not on a job like this.
“The freighter is descending rapidly. We had better get moving. No doubt they’ve activated their distress call by now.” Teagen said through the commlink.
Knowing the others couldn’t hear her, Jaeden echoed Teagen’s concern. “We should probably get out there. Their distress call will kick in quick.”
“Don’t worry about the call; we’ve got that covered,” Nyx said with a shrug. “But let’s get this show on the road.”
“You cool?” Jaeden asked, passing by Hoss on his way to the shuttle, attempting to feel out his partner.
“You know me,” Hoss responded. “Cool as Nester the Gnat.”
“I don’t get that reference,” Jaeden replied, turning to join Nyx boarding the shuttle.
“Seriously?” Hoss flapped his arms at his side. “You know those cheese snacks? Nesters Bites?”
“Yeah, no clue.” Jaeden laughed, before waving his friend to join him.
Hoss was the last to board the shuttle. When all three men were aboard, Jaeden slid the side door shut. Hoss moved to the driver’s seat and settled into the chair. The vehicle’s engine roared to life, and the machine lifted into the air. After steadying for a moment, it rocked forward, and the three were on their way towards their target which was already plummeting towards the planets surface.
“Hey Nyx,” Hoss started as he glanced around the shuttle, “You got any snacks in here? Like Nesters Bites?”
The freighter had crashed far out of the city limits, and even further from watching eyes. As Jaeden, Hoss, and Nyx came upon the scene, the severity of the crash became very apparent. The ship had struck the ground hard and skated across the rocky surface for several hundred yards, leaving a ripple of stone, dirt, and debris in its wake. The downed freighter now lay in a heap, tipped to the side, with the front-end half buried in the ground.
If it were not for blinking red and orange lights and the half a dozen electrical fires that had broken out, the crash would have been completely enveloped in darkness. Despite the crash, one of the propulsion engines continued to whirl with activity. Not aware that it had crashed, the mechanism tried in vain to keep the craft airborne, but its effort only pushed it further into the ground.
Hoss maneuvered their shuttle towards the downed ship. He maintained a high elevation while circling the site from above. Jaeden watched as Hoss flipped several toggles in the cockpit, engaging the shuttles precautionary stealth features. The vehicles loud engines dampened, replaced by a soft humming.
“We should be invisible to any of their trackers now,” Hoss said, flipping the last switch.
“If there are any still online,” Jaeden added, moving from the front of the shuttle to the back.
While their shuttle circled from above, Nyx had been hard at work utilizing his Technologist skillsets to intercept and redirect the ship’s distress signal. By doing so, it allowed the group time to get what they needed before the security forces arrived. Using a camera mounted on the exterior of their ship, Jaeden scanned over the freighter to watch for anyone exiting the crashed ship. Through the monitors, Jaeden could see much more of the damage the vessel sustained in the crash.
“Where would we go?” Teagen asked, brows raised with curiosity.
“Anywhere; the frontier maybe?” Jaeden said, “Maybe we find some startup community on one of the frontier worlds and build something for ourselves there?”
“I am so tired of this place,” Teagen said head bowed down. “I would be happy to escape.”
“Hoss?” Jaeden asked.
Hoss sat for a moment, with his arms crossed across his chest. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes distant. Jaeden examined his friend for any indication of his thoughts but could discern nothing.
“Alright,” Hoss said, nodding slowly. “Okay, that’s the deal then. We do this job, we settle up, then we move on.”
Teagen looked up excitedly to Hoss, “To the frontier?”
“To the flippin’ frontier,” Hoss said, a smirk forming in the corner of his mouth. “Maybe I can be a Marshall. Get me a badge and run the town.”
“You’re more likely to be in the jail cell than running the jail.” Jaeden said, “But I guess that’s why we’re starting fresh. Anything’s possible.”
“Damn straight.” Hoss said, “Anything’s possible with the three of us together.”
“So, let’s vote. All in favor of one last, high-stakes run at taking down a RusaCorp shuttle?” Jaeden asked.
“You already know where I stand,” Hoss said, a big toothy grin setting in on his face.
Teagen looked at Hoss with a tight-lipped smile, “You won’t get far without me, so I suppose I have no choice but to join you.”
Hoss smiled at Teagen and pressed his forehead into her shoulder. She closed her eyes and pressed her head against his. Jaeden crossed one arm over his chest and brought his free hand to his mouth. He bit his fingernail and contemplated his options.
When he left New Parora in the first place, it was to get away from the slum lifestyle. Pickpocketing and stealing to survive one day to the next. The job at Fairfex was Jaeden’s only hope of turning everything around, and he messed that up just like everything else. Of course, he fell right back into the same lifestyle he had when he left. Just like nothing had changed.
But then again maybe this was his chance. Maybe this is why he failed at Fairfex. Coming back here to reunite with his friends, getting this job, so that all three of them could escape. Together.
A life in the frontier, working an honest job, and contributing to a community. He had heard that it was a hard but fulfilling life. In the end, isn’t that all he wanted? To be able to wake up in the morning and respect the man in the reflection?
What would Joanna say?
The thought of his friend broke into his mind without apology. What would she say about any of what Jaeden and his friends were doing? Would he even ever see her again? He would have to try–
“The final vote rests with you,” Hoss said, looking up at Jaeden. “What’s our move, governor?”
Jaeden broke free from his thoughts and looked at Hoss, huddled against Teagen. His two friends here and now needed him. He would have time later for thoughts of Joanna. And how to connect with her again.
“I better not regret this, man,” Jaeden said, sighing deeply. He shook his head and took a breath before continuing. “I’m in.”
“Hot shaz!” Hoss exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “You won’t regret it, I promise. We’ve got it all figured out. Like taking candy from an old man.”
“From a baby.” Jaeden corrected, sliding back into the booth across from Hoss.
Teagen glanced towards Jaeden as he settled into his seat. He saw relief in her wide eyes, and a tight-lipped smile on her face. Jaeden shot a sad smile back towards her.
“Just as easy, I’m sure,” Hoss said, waving his hand from side to side. “Let me tell you guys how it’ll play out.” Leaning over the table, Hoss looked into Jaeden’s eyes closely. Jaeden watched as Hoss’ brow furrowed and his nose wrinkled. “Hang on, what’s with your eyes?”
“Stealing someone’s identity details is easy. Good thing installing Data Protector Premium is too. Take control of your systems today. Warning, Data Protector is not liable for any theft that occurs while using our products.”
(Marc Darby, CEO of Data Protector)
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
After days of meticulous planning and rehearsing, the day of the transfer had finally come. Jaeden, Hoss, and Teagen had spent the day at The Wishing Well preparing themselves for the mission. Once night had fallen over the city, the three set off to execute their plan.
Jaeden and Hoss left the city limits of New Parora in Hoss’ hovercar and flew deep into the badlands surrounding the city. Teagen, riding her hovercycle, had gone on ahead to her planned position. From there, she would act as a backup should the crash trajectory change.
Hoss had acted as the main liaison between the group of friends and Desmond Harrington’s team. Largely in part due to both Teagen and Jaeden’s misgivings towards Nyx. If they had to cooperate with that dubious character to complete their contract, Jaeden was more than happy to let Hoss be the point man.
To his credit, Desmond had put together a very thorough plan of attack. Jaeden was impressed with the level of professionalism that the broker operated at.
Desmond knew the path the shuttle would take to reach the spaceport. They then calculated the optimal position to strike out at the shuttle. From there, they ran dozens of crash trajectory simulations to determine where the shuttle was most likely to crash.
Desmond also provided the weapon needed to disable the shuttle. A simple lock and guided missile system that would disable the shuttle; not destroy it. The shuttle would undoubtedly be equipped with a distress signal, but once more Desmond had that covered. Nyx would be accompanying the team to block the signal.
Firing on the shuttle, the team would have to act quickly to complete their task. Distress signal or not, after a long enough delay the company would send out a recovery team to the shuttle’s last known position. Getting into a firefight with RusaCorp’s private military force was not something on Jaeden’s to-do list.
That just left the security force and defenses on the shuttle itself. As a low orbit, low priority shuttle transfer, the vehicle would be unmanned and only have minimal security defenses. Standard protocols would call for up to two robotic sentries aboard the shuttle to act as guards.
Once the shuttle had been downed, the distress signal blocked, and the sentries, and security systems disabled all that was left was locating the objective. Their target was a large metallic case, presumably located in the cargo bay.
Finally, the escape plan. Once more, Jaeden had to give credit to Desmond. Utilizing a stolen gang marked vehicle, the team would stage a scene using fresh cadavers stolen from a morgue. Scattering the bodies dressed as gang members around the crash site, and shooting up the vehicle would make it appear that the Rebel Kings had tried to take down the convoy, only to be stopped by the security systems.
RusaCorp would never publicly announce their convoy had been hit, or anything had been stolen. And the Rebel Kings would never think anything of it, as the story of gang members hitting a convoy tracked with their record.
Sitting in the passenger seat of Hoss’ hover car, Jaeden marveled at the landscape around them. He wouldn’t have expected to see such a barren wasteland surrounding New Parora, but that was the case for every city on Mars.
Terraforming efforts had been made for centuries, but for whatever reason, much of the countryside never coalesced into anything more than a dry barren land, largely devoid of any vegetation. Some isolated areas of Mars had better luck such as Nexarion, the next closest population center on Mars.
“There he is,” Hoss called out, calling attention to a shadowed vehicle parked on a bluff in the distance.
Jaeden snapped from his daydreaming to look ahead. Just as they planned, Desmond’s agent secured a marked shuttle and had it ready to go. Focusing on the parked vehicle, Jaeden saw Nyx casually leaning against the ship.
Nyx looked relaxed and had been smoking from his vape pen while he waited for Hoss and Jaeden to arrive. As the hovercar grew closer, Jaeden also saw a few crates scattered outside of the vehicle, each marked with military company logos on them.
Hoss pulled the hovercar into position and engaged the parking sequence. The vehicle hit the ground with a thud. Both Hoss and Jaeden stepped out of the vehicle, stretching their arms and legs as they stood on solid ground. The drive from the city had taken a bit longer than they were expecting.
Nyx eyed both with something akin to contempt, and Jaeden got the feeling that he didn’t exactly want to be here with them.
“You guys stop at Cosmic’s on your way over?” Nyx jibbed, blowing a huge puff of smoke.
“Give us a break, dude. It’s like a two-hour flight out here.” Jaeden responded, pulling a bag free from the trunk of the hovercar.
Nyx nodded aggressively, taking a deep breath of his vape. “You’re right, it is. Almost like you guys should have left thirty minutes earlier, or something, right?”
“We’re here now,” Hoss chimed in. “And we’re ahead of the ship’s schedule anyway.”
“You sure are. Who’s gonna’ fire the rocket?” Nyx asked, kicking one of the marked boxes.
Hoss immediately put his hand up. “My guy, you know I’m up for it.”
Nyx sarcastically nodded to the side. “Yeah sure, my guy. But with you being late, how are you going to know how to fire this thing? The shuttle will be here any minute.”
“It’s cool, I got it!” Hoss reaffirmed, jogging over to the crate and sliding open the lid.
The top of the crate clattered onto the ground. Hoss peered inside and let out a sound of pure exhilaration, as if he was receiving a present for his birthday. Jaeden made his way over to the gang marked shuttle and offloaded some of their gear into the vehicle. Hoss pulled the launcher out of the crate, and after a moment of studying the side of the weapon, engaged the power. The weapon gave off a labored humming sound and beeped a confirmation.
“Dude, Jaeden, check this thing out,” Hoss said, hefting the weapon on his shoulder. “How badass is this flipping thing?”
“Heads up, nerds,” Nyx called out, pointing towards the New Parora silhouette.
In the distance, a shuttle in the sky could be made out. Jaeden focused on the shape in the distance which was flying towards the group assembled in the badlands. Several blinking lights on the ship identified it as a space faring vessel that was keeping to low orbit for the transfer. Nyx, Jaeden, and Hoss stood together, watching the shuttle, just a tiny spec in the distance, float across the skyline.
“Something’s wrong,” Jaeden said, examining the silhouette of the ship.
“What?” Hoss asked, still hefting the weapon.
“That’s not a shuttle. Are we positive this is our mark?” Jaeden asked the group. He looked down at his wrist jockey and connected a call with Teagen to loop her into the conversation.
Nyx accessed his own wrist jockey, humming to himself. After a moment of scanning through files, he looked up towards the ship. “Yup, that’s the big ape we’re after.”
“But that’s a star freighter,” Jaeden said, turning towards Hoss.
“So what?” Nyx asked dryly. He turned and pointed towards the weapon on Hoss’ shoulder and added, “That thing will knock any low orbit ship out of the sky. It’s fine.”
Jaeden felt uncomfortable with the response. The mission hadn’t even started yet, and already there was a deviation from the plan.
Teagen’s voice came through the private commlink, speaking directly to Jaeden. “A freighter means a larger crew. Likely a larger security team.”
“Hence the million-credit payout,” Jaeden contributed to Teagen’s assessment. He turned and looked over his shoulder towards Hoss, who was fumbling with the controls of the rocket launcher. “Think Hoss knew? About the ship I mean.”
“It does not matter at the moment.” Teagen’s voice said over the commlink. “We’re here now. Let’s proceed with the plan. Just keep your guard up. Especially with Nyx.”
“You’re up, comrade,” Nyx said casually, gesturing towards the rapidly approaching freighter. “You sure you got this? I swear, if you voxx this up, Desmond will be furious.”
“Have some faith,” Hoss replied.
Hoss hoisted the massive weapon onto his shoulder once again and peered through the eye scope mounted on the side. Jaeden pursed his lips together as he took in the scene in front of him. To see his friend Alexander handle what closely resembled a gigantic cannon that should be attached to a vehicle of some sort, was almost comical. Jaeden raised his hand to the back of his head, running his hands through his hair nervously.
With ear shattering explosions and fiery ferocity, three missiles launched out of the heavy weapon and took flight. Jaeden took a step back from Hoss, raising a hand to his ear to muffle at least some of the noise. The rockets screeched across the night sky towards their intended target, leaving blazing orange trails rippling behind them.
Hoss let the rocket launcher fall to the ground beside him as he cheered a victorious cry and pumped his fist into the air. He excitedly looked towards his companions to join in his enthusiasm.
Nyx remained casual, leaning against one of the crates, flicking debris off his jacket. Even at a distance, Jaeden could feel his friend’s ego bruise, and in an effort to appease him, nodded his approval to Hoss and flashed him a thumbs up.
Not entirely what he was looking for, Hoss nevertheless accepted Jaeden’s effort and let out another cheer before looking back up to the rockets. Jaeden too turned his attention to the missiles and took a deep breath.
Here we go, he thought.
In the distance, the three rockets looked no larger than bright specs as they closed in on the ship. The wait for results was nerve wracking.
A sudden pop of fiery oranges and reds burst in the distance as the first rocket connected with the freighter. The burning explosion was soon doubled and then tripled as the other rockets collided into their target. There was a moment of separation from the sight of the explosion to the accompanying noise that followed, denoting just how far the ship was from the group when it was struck. A fact of nature that Jaeden had always found interesting.
“Three for three!” Hoss exclaimed. “Is that accuracy or what?”
“You sure pull a mean trigger, kid,” Nyx responded dryly.
“Kid? What are we, like a year or two apart?” Hoss asked, slightly deflated.
“Those rockets were pre-programmed to the freighter’s ID. It would have been more impressive if you had missed any of those shots.” Nyx continued.
Hoss opened his mouth to counter Nyx’s remarks, but Jaeden stepped in front of him. He needed everyone focused on the task at hand. When Hoss was put out, he was no use to anybody. He had a tendency to focus in on small slights and would let them get the better of him. It couldn’t be allowed to happen today, not on a job like this.
“The freighter is descending rapidly. We had better get moving. No doubt they’ve activated their distress call by now.” Teagen said through the commlink.
Knowing the others couldn’t hear her, Jaeden echoed Teagen’s concern. “We should probably get out there. Their distress call will kick in quick.”
“Don’t worry about the call; we’ve got that covered,” Nyx said with a shrug. “But let’s get this show on the road.”
“You cool?” Jaeden asked, passing by Hoss on his way to the shuttle, attempting to feel out his partner.
“You know me,” Hoss responded. “Cool as Nester the Gnat.”
“I don’t get that reference,” Jaeden replied, turning to join Nyx boarding the shuttle.
“Seriously?” Hoss flapped his arms at his side. “You know those cheese snacks? Nesters Bites?”
“Yeah, no clue.” Jaeden laughed, before waving his friend to join him.
Hoss was the last to board the shuttle. When all three men were aboard, Jaeden slid the side door shut. Hoss moved to the driver’s seat and settled into the chair. The vehicle’s engine roared to life, and the machine lifted into the air. After steadying for a moment, it rocked forward, and the three were on their way towards their target which was already plummeting towards the planets surface.
“Hey Nyx,” Hoss started as he glanced around the shuttle, “You got any snacks in here? Like Nesters Bites?”
The freighter had crashed far out of the city limits, and even further from watching eyes. As Jaeden, Hoss, and Nyx came upon the scene, the severity of the crash became very apparent. The ship had struck the ground hard and skated across the rocky surface for several hundred yards, leaving a ripple of stone, dirt, and debris in its wake. The downed freighter now lay in a heap, tipped to the side, with the front-end half buried in the ground.
If it were not for blinking red and orange lights and the half a dozen electrical fires that had broken out, the crash would have been completely enveloped in darkness. Despite the crash, one of the propulsion engines continued to whirl with activity. Not aware that it had crashed, the mechanism tried in vain to keep the craft airborne, but its effort only pushed it further into the ground.
Hoss maneuvered their shuttle towards the downed ship. He maintained a high elevation while circling the site from above. Jaeden watched as Hoss flipped several toggles in the cockpit, engaging the shuttles precautionary stealth features. The vehicles loud engines dampened, replaced by a soft humming.
“We should be invisible to any of their trackers now,” Hoss said, flipping the last switch.
“If there are any still online,” Jaeden added, moving from the front of the shuttle to the back.
While their shuttle circled from above, Nyx had been hard at work utilizing his Technologist skillsets to intercept and redirect the ship’s distress signal. By doing so, it allowed the group time to get what they needed before the security forces arrived. Using a camera mounted on the exterior of their ship, Jaeden scanned over the freighter to watch for anyone exiting the crashed ship. Through the monitors, Jaeden could see much more of the damage the vessel sustained in the crash.
