Too Old To Die, page 20
She left the cockpit, hurrying through the vessel to get her armor. Zed looked nervous as she went by him. He hurried to catch up. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Are we okay? Should I be doing something?”
“Break into their defenses,” Lyra shouted, “and get me an accurate number of forces on that ship. Anything you can do at all. Our lives depend on it.”
“Why? I thought they were military.”
“Even if they were,” Lyra replied, “that doesn’t make their our allies. But I’m thinking pirates. So get to work. Prove yourself. In the next half hour, we might all be dead. Do everything you can to make that not happen.” And I’ll do the same. She carried on, meeting up with Barty in the cargo area.
The two of us have this under control. I don’t care how good these guys are, they aren’t expecting us. If they were, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Ultimately, we don’t have a choice. Might as well make the best of it.
***
Nila felt weightless. Warmth surrounded her, pressing in tight as if she might be floating on water. Something sloshed near her feet, a living thing moving swiftly in her direction. She tried to look, to open her eyes or gaze in that direction. But she seemed to be frozen, held fast by invisible hands.
“Wake up!” Bryce’s voice brought her around. She sucked in several deep breaths, wiping sweat from her eyes. “You okay? You were out hard.”
Nila nodded.
“The FTL drive’s about to cut off. We’ll be at sub light in about five minutes. I thought you’d like to come up to talk to the folks at the depot. I’m not the best at that sort of thing.” Bryce touched her cheek. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Just a weird dream.” Nila took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll be up there in just a second. Thanks for letting me know.”
Bryce seemed reluctant to leave. He lingered for a good minute before heading out abruptly.
I haven’t been the most affectionate person lately. Nila regretted it. They had plenty of time to talk, to figure things out while they traveled. Instead, she went to sleep. I would’ve been useless without some rest. She still felt terrible. A headache clung just behind her eyes. She sucked down some water then headed for the bridge.
Bryce sat at the controls. He stared at the scanner screen. His posture stiffened when she came into the room. “There are two ships in the sector,” he said. “One is docked and the other will be in a minute.” He turned to her. “Nothing else. I can’t pick up their defenses. The turrets they should have positioned throughout the sector.”
“How odd is that?”
“Hm. I don’t know.” Bryce sighed. “I haven’t been to a lot of these places. Those that I did were defended by automated emplacements as well as at least one military ship.”
“The one docked?”
“That wouldn’t do much good in a pinch,” Bryce said, “and no, it’s not a military vessel anyway. Seems to be a long-range freighter. Human, at least. But not a warship. And the other one is similar. Smaller though. Less cargo.” He turned to her. “I’m not sure what to make of this situation.”
“Do we have the fuel to leave?”
Bryce shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
“So we have to deal with whatever situation we’ve found ourselves in. That’s… not ideal.” Nila took a seat then strapped herself in. “I’ll reach out.” She engaged the communications module. “Fuel depot, this is Nila Chance. I’m reaching out on an open frequency. We need assistance, over.”
“Uh huh,” a woman replied, “this is Ethyl. What kinda assistance do you think you need?”
Nila lifted her brows. She looked at Bryce but he shrugged. She cleared her throat before continuing. “I’m sure you know what’s going on with the Veldon at this point. We are refugees from the border world where they started this nonsense. This ship is nearly out of fuel and we need to speak with the military ASAP.”
“I see.” Ethyl clicked her tongue. “Not sure how much we can do for refugees.”
“Are you serious?” Nila bit back a snide comment. “My name is Ambassador Nila Chance. I’m a high-ranking member of the diplomatic corps and I demand you grant us immediate access to your facility so we can stage ourselves, refuel, and communicate with high command.”
Bryce winced. He reached over to mute the line then said, “Probably shouldn’t tell people who you are on an open line. In case anyone’s looking for us. We know there are traitors.”
“Surely, not all the way out here. That can’t reach so far!” But it could. Nila knew it. She didn’t want to believe it. That didn’t matter at all. Shit.
“In that case,” Ethyl said, “you are more than welcome. Sorry for the confusion, Ms. Ambassador. I’m clearing you for… the designated docking ring. Follow your course, get there as quickly as you can, and we’ll get you everything you need. Welcome. You’ll be safe here. I promise.”
The line went dead. A waypoint appeared on the scanner. Bryce tapped his console, staring at it intently.
“I made a big mistake,” Nila said, “didn’t I?”
Bryce shrugged. “You got us a chance to board the thing. That’s important.” He leaned back, tilting his head to stare at the ceiling. “I don’t know what their game is, if they have an angle. That’s bothering me. They didn’t answer with much in the way of military protocol. And that lady sounds seriously casual.”
“And she didn’t name the docking ring,” Nila said. “Just gave us a waypoint.”
“Valid points.” Bryce checked his console, running a couple diagnostic programs.
“What’re you doing?”
“Checking to see how far our current fuel reserve would get us if we didn’t dock here. Unfortunately, we’d strand ourselves in some other system without any chance of getting help.” Bryce cursed. “We have to risk it. There’s no other choice. I’m totally against it… but I guess that won’t matter.”
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have had us travel this far. There were other places, other stations we might have…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bryce said, “we needed to get as far away from the situation as we could. This qualifies. I only hope we’re overreacting and these people are insanely casual. Whatever the case, let’s make this happen.” He took her hand. “We’ll get out of here as soon as we can.”
“Sounds good.” Nila turned her attention to the distant fuel depot. Nothing can be simple, she thought. Now we’ve got strangeness on a different frontier. If the place turned out to be legitimate, she intended to speak with Ethyl’s commanding officer. That woman needs a refresher on protocol.
If only it would turn out to be quirky rather than a problem.
***
Chelsea dropped into the system on the border, well away from conventional scanners. Anyone near the fuel depot would need to employ long-range sensors to detect her vessel. She respected Lyra enough to proceed with caution, ensuring her quarry hadn’t drummed up a few friends out in the middle of nowhere.
Fortune favored her. Lyra’s ship was in the system, moving toward the fuel depot along with another vessel. A quick ID check revealed it to be an emergency dispatch from the diplomatic corps. One of the vessels used to evacuate an ambassador from a dangerous situation.
I wonder if they have information about what happened to Earth. Both ships approaching the depot seemed to be low on fuel. Aha. So this may be a necessary stop rather than anything nefarious or even intentional. Chelsea bobbed her head in thought. How do I proceed?
The military personnel on the fuel depot carried an obligation to assist Lyra’s ship. They couldn’t deny them fuel, though if they found warrants on the people as they departed the vessel, they’d place them under arrest. The diplomatic ship, on the other hand, probably needed assistance.
They were looking for a safe port. Somewhere they might regroup from whatever pushed them out of their embassy. It may not even be the ambassador aboard. I should reach out to them. Chelsea hesitated. I don’t know the score here. None of these people may be who I think they are. Except the pirate.
Lyra still may have been responsible for bringing them together. So maybe I should wait. See what happens next. At full burn, she could reach the depot in less than seven minutes. Wait. Where the hell are all the defensive platforms? The turrets. And there should at least be one ship. Beside that docked freighter.
The commanding office aboard the depot faced serious repercussions.
I kind of doubt this depot is still under military control. One pirate heading in, a possibly stolen ship following, no weapons to defend the place. I should call for backup. But would it get here in time? She worried her commanding officer may call her back to the JTF headquarters. I’ve got a chance to stop a parasite.
Chelsea had no doubt people like Lyra would take advantage of the turmoil surrounding the attack on Earth. Regardless of what happened with the war, taking the pirate down meant keeping civilians and shipping safe, both of which would become vital in the days and weeks to come.
I’ll bring her in with me when I have to return. Chelsea sunk into her seat. For now, I’m going to watch and wait. Once that ship docks, she won’t have anywhere to go. And without turrets, they can’t exactly stop me from forcing them to turn her over. Soon, your crime spree ends, lady.
Just a few more minutes of patience, and the one that kept getting away would finally be collared.
***
Docking seals secured the ship to the station. Lyra bolted from the pilot’s chair, rushing through the ship to the airlock. Barty stood by in his full armor, carrying the rifle. He nodded to her as she approached, keeping his weapon aimed low. Once they set foot outside the ship, she felt certain they’d be in a fight.
“How many are there?” Barty asked.
“Dunno.” Lyra shrugged. “More than a few. But they can’t all be at the end of this ramp. Whoever we’re dealing with won’t commit a massive crew to taking two people down. Zed, you on comms yet?”
“Yep, I’m in the cargo bay hidden compartment. If you get that transmitter inside the base, I can gain access to everything. Security, defenses, and internal scans. Closest to the center possible would be good.”
“Probably not going to happen,” Barty said. “You’ll be lucky if we survive the walk to get aboard this thing.”
That’s realism.
Lyra tapped the panel by the door. It slid open, revealing a short hallway to the station airlock. No one’s shooting at us already. That’s a good sign. She wanted to know who they were dealing with, what criminal thug had the balls to take over a military fuel depot. And why hasn’t the military come back for it?
“This is strange,” Lyra said. She started down the hallway. “We know there’s plenty of fuel here.”
“Yeah?” Barty asked. He took up the rear behind her. “What’s your point?”
“The military doesn’t play with people like this. They storm in, take shit back, and kill the perpetrators. I heard those stories all the time when I still served.”
“I participated in those,” Barty replied, “but that doesn’t mean this area isn’t remote enough to not be noticed.”
No way. Someone in the military knows. They used to account for bullets back in the old days. Some logistics officer would be shitting his pants if he knew a fuel depot fell into criminal hands.
“I’ve got nothing on scans that’ll help,” Zed said, “just… you know…”
“No,” Barty said, “I don’t know. What was the point of that?”
“Trying to break up the silence. The mood.”
“Leave the mood alone,” Lyra replied, “and stay off the comm until you’ve got something important to add to the conversation.” She shook her head. That guy will be the death of me. Spiritually speaking.
They arrived at the door. Barty tapped the panel with his elbow. As it slid open, air hissed into their tunnel. They stepped into the chamber. They were closed in for a good twenty seconds with the space normalized with the station proper. A window over the entrance provided a reasonable view of the hallway beyond.
No one seemed to be out there. That struck her as odd. Even if they weren’t criminals, someone should’ve shown up to act as a liaison, a person ready to show them around the facility or at least take their financial information. Two armed individuals at the doorstep… and not a single guard standing by to challenge them.
We might get that transmitter deeper into the facility than I thought.
“You don’t like this, right?” Barty muttered. “It feels weird?”
“Of course.” Lyra looked up as the alarm went off, letting everyone know the door was about to open. “This all feels… automated.” What a twist. Ethyl turns out to be a computer. And those life signs were faked. But if that was possible, then the fuel source might not be there either.
“I have an update,” Zed said, “a real one.”
“Just out with it,” Barty snapped. “Hurry up!”
“Another ship is about to dock with the station. They’re flying an embassy code too. Fancy. Oh. Earth ship, by the way. If I didn’t make that clear. Humans onboard. Two, to be precise. Anyway, I thought you’d like to know. A bigwig is about to join the party. What that means… I don’t know.”
“That’s why there’s no one here,” Lyra said. The door opened. She stepped inside. “Because they have something better to catch.”
Barty snorted. “Wow. And they figure we ain’t going anywhere without that gas so why bother to mess with us?”
“Yep. Zed, I’m getting this thing as deep into the facility as I can. But we need data fast.” Lyra looked around. The hallway stretched a good fifty yards in both directions before turning inward, away from their current location. “This way.” She picked the left. “Best if we hurry.”
Overhead lights remained dim as they moved. Grime covered the walls and floor, obscuring what probably had been pristine white or light gray before. The place probably smelled terrible. Life support must be struggling. It’s probably not functioning properly. I’m guessing we’re lucky this place is operational.
“Zed,” Lyra muttered, “when I put this thing down, I want you to gain access to the computer. I want all traffic leaving this place. They should log all destinations for the past year. I doubt the people occupying the facility bothered to delete anything. In particular, you’re looking for military vessels. Or research types.”
“But,” Barty interrupted, “before you start that shit, make sure you get us an accurate count of the people on this thing. And equipment.” He looked at Lyra. “Priorities, you know?” He held up his hand as they reached the corner. “Let me check this out. Watch our backs, please.”
Barty stopped at the edge of the wall, peering around. He waved at her to follow as he rushed out with his weapon raised. They made it another hundred yards before the corridor split into a T intersection.
We’re not in the middle, but we need data. Lyra placed the transmitter low to the ground, in the thickest bunch of gunk she could find. I guess this will suffice. At least it’ll be hard to see without actively looking for it. “Get going, Zed. Make it fast. You’ve got as much access as we can manage right now.”
“Um… okay.” Zed sighed. “Love that everything is always about hurrying. Rush, rush, rush. Could we once just be like whatever, man. Make it happen at your pace. Just don’t take too long? No, we can’t. Because you guys are some impatient ass people who get us into the worst situations.”
Barty said, “I’m going to hastily beat the shit out of you if you don’t shut up and do your job. Come on!”
Lyra paced, peering down the different halls. Someone’s got to be available. Why haven’t they even tried to give us a hard time yet? She chewed her lip, impatience working on her nerves. If he doesn’t figure it out soon, we just have to go. Keep moving until we get lucky and find what we’re after.
“Eyes up,” Barty said. “Incoming.”
Lyra lifted her weapon as she turned in the direction he faced. Figures advanced on them, at least three. “Hold your fire,” she muttered, “just in case this can be handled in a civilized manner.”
“Behind us,” Barty replied, “three to five more.”
They had movement from the final direction too. “Well… shit.”
“Guys!” Zed shouted, “you’ve got movement! Several forces coming in on you right now! They’re really close so be ready!”
“Thanks,” Barty said, “you’re as useful as tits on a cruise ship. Dumbass.”
“Things are okay,” Lyra added, “just stay cool.”
The people advancing all held weapons, keeping them trained. They stopped a good ten yards away, each wearing body armor with opaque helmets. None of them matched, making it clear this was not a military operation at all. As expected, criminals had taken the facility.
“Lyra Vahst!” A familiar voice shouted from somewhere off to the left. She turned to look. An unarmed, big man advanced with his arms held out. “I never thought I’d see you all the way out here. What an amazing surprise! I’m sure you remember me well enough, right? Your old friend?”
“Who is this asshole?” Barty asked.
“Alfy Toombs,” Lyra replied. “Smuggler, pirate, thief…”
“Friend!” Alfy interrupted. “That’s the title I most prefer. The one I worked hardest at, don’t you think?”
“If you consider leaving someone to be captured by the JTF, then yeah. I guess you do deserve that title.” Lyra lowered her weapon. “I guess since we’re pals, you can have these bozos put their weapons down so we can talk like civilized people, right?”
“I don’t know. It depends on you. For instance…” Alfy stepped closer. “Your companion there didn’t lower his gun. And I have no idea why you’d come all the way out here if not to deal with some past… indiscretion. Or grudge. I never get the words right. So maybe you need to start the dialogue.”
“I need gas,” Lyra replied. “That’s it. Then I’ll be on my way. Whatever you’ve got going on is all you.”
