The Old Chariot
Barnwell Spaceport, Planet Cambridge
The Old Chariot was about as typical as a spaceport bar could be. The low lighting and smoke-filled air were a stark contrast to the bright spring afternoon outside, and the music was not quite loud enough to drown out conversations, but just loud enough to keep conversations private. If you needed someone to get you off-planet quickly and with few questions, it was the place to go.
Vanko Beowulf was well-acclimated to the spaceport bar. For an experienced trader like him, the bar wasn't really a place to relax, but a place to meet potential clients, trade rumors, and settle disputes. If anyone needed the Fortunate Sun's services, this was where they'd be. Vanko was a large man in his 30s, with short, light brown hair and an unexpectedly lighthearted demeanour. Following him was Jack Barrett, a dark-skinned, middle-aged Bretonian wearing a worn BAF jacket over his coveralls.
"The usual?" asked Barrett.
"Sure," said Vanko.
Barrett broke formation and walked up to the bar while Vanko searched for a booth, exchanging brief pleasantries with a few familiar faces along the way. Barrett wasn't far behind, with a pint glass full of cheap lager in each hand and a young blonde woman in tow.
"Who's this?" asked Vanko, indicating the woman. Barrett put the glasses on the table and motioned the woman to talk.
"Oh, erm... My name is Angela Alford, I need to get..." She paused for a moment, thinking about what she should say, and finished: "away from here."
"How far away?" asked Vanko, as Barrett and Angela sat down. "We're moving food and medical supplies up to Freeport 1 at first, but from there I don't know."
Angela mouthed something about Zoners, then replied "Freeport 1 should be OK."
"Taking anything with you?" asked Barrett.
"Yes, there's a crate of research specimens. It needs a pressurised hold and, ideally, mains power."
The two spacers glanced at each other. "Shouldn't be a problem," said Vanko. "Now: How much?"
Angela was confused for a moment, before it hit her. "Oh, how much, right..." She picked a leather purse out of her inside pocket and fished around for a stack of credits, and then said; "Twenty thousand now, and fifty when we get there... Is that okay?"
Barrett's curiosity piqued. "That's a lot..." he began to mumble.
Vanko smiled and held out his hand. "We'll do it," he said.
Angela awkwardly shook it, sealing the deal. "So, uh, when do we leave?"she asked.
"Our ship's at the mooring fixture being loaded right now. Our shuttle's in bay 12, and we'll be dusting off around 6 o'clock."
"Bay 12, 6 o'clock... Thanks, I'll be there on the dot." Angela got up out of her seat and headed out of the bar.
"There's something fishy about her," said Barrett. "70 grand is a lot of credits to drop on a ship to the next system."
"So? She's either naive or desperate. Maybe both. Ain't no shortage of folk like that, and ain't never gonna be one."
"Did you see the ID card in her purse?"
"Don't think so, why?"
"She's from the Cambridge Medical Institute. Even the juniors there are among the highest-paid doctors in the colonies. Someone like that only leaves for a very good reason."
"Barrett."Vanko glared at him.
"Yeah?"
"Didn't I say 'no questions'?"
"This is just between us!"
"I learned a long time ago that even asking them in your head ain't safe." He noticed someone coming towards him, and diverted his attention. "And what can the Fortunate Sun do for you?"
That evening, when the sun was just starting to set, Vanko and Barrett were loading some small things they'd acquired into the shuttle when their passengers arrived. Angela had a stuffed pack on her back, a large suitcase in one hand, and a grav-sled following at her side. On the sled was a large metal crate with various gauges and indicator lights on the side.
Vanko looked up from loading a cool box and said, sarcastically, "You sure you brought everything?"
Angela patted down her jacket and jerked her pack around a couple of times before replying. "Yes, it's all there."
"Right," sighed Vanko, "Just leave your stuff here and climb in, get in one of the seats behind the cockpit.
Angela did as such, strapping herself into a seat by the window. She was just getting comfortable when another passenger came up and occupied the opposite window seat. He was a small, mousey man in an ill-fitting business suit.
"Oh, hello there," he said. "You stopping at the Freeport, or going further out?"
"I don't know yet," said Angela. "Wherever the wind takes me, I guess."
"Oh, one of those. I'm with Bowex," he said, handing Angela a business card that read 'Richard Webber - Border World Exports - Base Supply Division'. "I'm negotiating an agreement to supply a new mining base on the planet." He sighed, and became somewhat dejected. "I had to arrange my own transport this time. Budget cuts, you see. Obviously not something you worry about a lot, is it?"
Angela flinched, wondering if 'Webber' knew more about her than he was letting on. Her thoughts were interrupted by Vanko and Barrett climbing into the cockpit and the engines spinning up.
Vanko's voice came over the shuttle's PA. "This is your captain speaking. Everything's ready to go, just waiting for clearence from the tower."
Webber fumbled around with his belt, muttering something about Freelancers, before getting it properly secured.
Vanko chimed in again. "We have clearence, launching in three... two... one... Go!"
The two passengers were thrown back into their seats as the shuttle's engines engaged. Outside, the orange sunset sky slowly shifted to black, and not long after a few nearby stars became visible. The acceleration relaxed as they reached orbit and began to approach the mooring fixture.
The shuttle yawed to starboard for a course correction, giving Angela a view of the destination. Fortunate Sun was an ugly duckling of a ship, featuring not-quite-modern technology bolted onto whatever old hull the shipyard had to hand, with a set of cargo pods trailing behind her and what looked like smoke emitting from a vent on the top.
The shuttle floated for a few moments before attaching itself to the ship with a 'ka-CHONK' followed by several smaller 'CHONK' sounds.
"Alright," said Vanko, "We have docked with the Fortunate Sun. Just wait a moment for us to unload some stuff, and we'll show you to your rooms."
"Did he say 'rooms'?" scoffed Webber. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."
There was some moving of objects behind them, and Barrett called "You can come out now."
Webber and Angela got out of their seats and stepped onto the deck of the ship. The halls were grey and not particularly well-lit, but the coloured stripes painted on the floor looked helpful for navigation. The passengers grabbed their gear and followed Barrett down the blue line to a row of doors.
"Alright, this is where you'll be staying." Barrett indicated a pair of rooms next to each other. "The common room is a bit further down, but there's a fridge in each room. If everything goes well, we'll be at Freeport 1 by tomorrow at noon."
"Okay, thanks," said Angela.
"Right. I need to go get us moving," said Barrett, turning around and heading back the way they had came.
Angela was just about to get ready for bed when she heard a knock at the door. She went over to answer it and she saw Webber, pointing a compact pistol right at her.
"Don't say a word," he hissed. "That 'crate' you brought aboard. Where is it?"
"I- I don't know," said Angela, "I saw someone taking it down to the cargo hold after we docked, but I haven't seen it since."
"Then we're going to have to find it." Webber stepped aside, keeping the gun trained on her.
Angela stepped out, keeping her hands up.
"I've been asked to take you alive, but that's only going to happen if you do exactly as I say." He waved the gun, indicating that she should start moving.
They walked down the corridor, following the green lines to a cargo lift. Without saying a word, Webber pushed the button to summon it. The doors opened a couple of seconds later, and inside was an imposing red-haired woman.
"What the hell is going on?" she demanded. She spoke with a distinct Dublin accent.
"Did you see a large crate being taken down to the hold?" asked Webber, pointing the gun at her.
She held her hands up. "Aye, I took it down to C deck."
Webber grabbed the collar of Angela's jacket, pushing her into the lift. "Take us down there."
The red-haired woman pressed the button for C deck, and surreptitiously pressed a hidden button on the side of the panel. The lift took them down, and after a tense couple of minutes, the doors opened up onto C deck. Angela and the other woman left first, with Webber not far behind. It was only a short walk to the hold, where they found Angela's crate between pallets of food rations.
"Right," said Webber, "Time to call it in." He got out a small communicator from his pockets. Seeing him momentarily distracted, the red-haired woman grabbed his shoulder and kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground.
"Grab that comm!" she shouted. Anglina picked it up and handed it to her. "Now," she said, standing over Webber, "What's going on here?"
"You're making a mistake," said Webber, seemingly ufazed. "That crate is property of the Bretonian government!"
"That's my sister, you creep!" shouted Angela.
Just then, Vanko and Barrett arrived, followed by a Kusarian woman wearing an upturned welding mask. "We heard the alarm, what happened?" asked Vanko.
"Why don't you ask Dr. Alford?" said Webber, as Barrett dragged him to his feet.
Angela swallowed and spoke up. "A few months ago, my sister Alexandra was recruited by some government agency. They didn't give us any names or addresses, just a promise that it would help end the war early. I didn't hear from her again until I got a coded message, saying she was in trouble and needed to get out of there."
"So you got her out in a stasis pod, and having nowhere else to go, you found your way to us." concluded Vanko. He turned his attention to Webber, and whispered to him; "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you out the airlock right now."
At first, Webber said nothing. He knew full well that the crew had no reason to let him live, but they didn't know that. "I'm the only one who can keep you out of prison. If they find my body floating down a trade lane, they'll know that something's up. If you let me go, then I can tell my superiors that you co-operated with my investigation, and helped me apprehend Dr. Alford at Freeport 1. It'll be the last you see of either of us."
Vanko and Barrett turned around.
"Don't listen to him," urged Angela. "The kids at that facility were being tortured. Cut open, probed, exposed to- I can't imagine what. If she goes back-" Her voice faltered, and she began sobbing.
"If there's any truth to what she's saying, we can't let this guy take her," said the Kusarian. "I don't want that on my conscience."
"I know, Kat, but is it worth the trouble?" asked Vanko. "Having secret police after us ain't great for business."
"Webber's lying," said Barrett. "I've ran into people like him before. We already know too much, and none of us had anywhere else to go when we signed on here. I say we space him."
"Can't we just keep him in the brig?" suggested Kat.
"Not an option," said Vanko, "He could have trackers and comms hidden anywhere on him."
Their decision made, Barrett turned around and grabbed Webber, taking him away. That was the last they saw of him.
"Is... that it?" asked Angela, somewhat worriedly. "You're just going to space him?"
"We may not always be the good guys," said Vanko, "But we ain't the bad guys, and we're a long damn way from the worst guys out there."
"That's hardly reassuring."
"Maybe not," agreed Vanko, "But it's the best we got."
When Barrett came back, it was time to open up the stasis pod. Angela tapped at the control panel, inputting the access codes and setting the procedure in motion. There was a hiss of water vapour as the airtight seal disengaged, and a whirring sound as the motorised lid opened. Lying inside was a pale young woman, about 17 years old, wearing pale green medical scrubs. Various needles and life sign monitors were attached all over her body, and she had long, messy, blonde hair.
Angela held her sister's hand as she blinked awake. "Wha... Where... Angie?" she moaned, still disoriented.
"It's okay, Alex," said Angela. "You're safe now."
Transport Ship Fortunate Sun
On approach to Cambridge-Nottingham Jump Gate
It was morning when Fortunate Sun dropped out of the trade lane. Outside was nothing but the featureless grey of a Barrier ice cloud, only broken by the occasional discharge of lightning or chunk of ice floating by. Angela had made breakfast for her and Alex. It had surprised her how much there was to pick from; Vanko clearly kept the fridge well-stocked. Alex wasn't interested in the food, instead just staring into the nebula.
Angela held her hand. "Alex, you need to eat. I don't think you've had a proper meal since you first left home."
Alex kept staring. "I can still hear them."
"Who?" asked Angela. "The others from the project?"
"There are voices beyond. The doctors wanted to hear those voices, but didn't understand what they were trying to do."
"Beyond? You mean like-"
Before Angela should finish, Vanko spoke to them over the intercom. "Hey, I need y'all up on the bridge. We might have some trouble."
"We'll be on our way," said Angela.
The two women found the bridge was full. Barrett was at the main console talking into the microphone. Tania, the red-haired woman, was at the defence console. Kat was monitoring the situation in Engineering, and looked half ready to bolt out of the room. Looking over everything was Vanko.
"What's going on?" asked Angela.
"There's a Bretonian battlecruiser watching the jump gate, and they're asking to come aboard. Barrett's stalling them, but we haven't got long," said Vanko.
"Did they say anything that might be about us?"
"Nothing specific, but they seem mighty keen on boarding every ship coming through."
"Oh for-" Angela huffed and leaned against a wall. "I'm sorry I had to drag you into this."
"You did what you had to do to save your sister. That ain't nothing to apologise for."
"We have to do something," said Tania, looking up from her console. "This ship isn't safe for them."
"This ship..." Vanko paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Great idea! Tania, take them down to the airlock and put them in vacc suits. They won't think to look for them on the outer hull!"
"What?" exclaimed Angela. Before she could say anything else, Tania was already standing up and walking quickly out of the room. Angela followed, almost dragging her sister behind her.
"Either of you's ever wear a vacc suit before?" asked Tania.
"Not since we were young," admitted Angela, "Our father was in the Royal Marines, and he insisted that we learn how to wear them."
"Ah, that's a start," said Tania, reassuredly.
They reached the airlock, and Tania opened the locker next to it, quickly picking out a pair of suitable vacc suits. They were bulky and awkward, having been cobbled together from spare parts over the years.
Alex did nothing with hers, just staring at it.
"Remember what Dad told us?" said Angela, encouragingly.
"Yes... Of course." Alex smiled and started putting the suit on. Tania helped, checking the seals and ensuring the air tanks were full. When they were finished, she had to head back to the bridge.
Angela and Alex stepped into the doorway, and the elder sister started the cycle. There was a loud hiss, which faded over the course of a few seconds as the air turned to vacuum. The door opened and they stepped out into the void, finding a place to hide on the outside of the ship.
When Tania returned to the bridge, Vanko gave the go-ahead to Barrett.
"Battlecruiser Jedburgh, this is Fortunate Sun. Everything's clear our end, you're welcome to come aboard," said Barrett, into the headset. The sensor screen showed the Jedburgh pulling up to the starboard side and extending the docking tube.
"I suppose we'd better go greet them. Wouldn't want to be rude, now would we?" said Vanko.
The docking port opened, and men and women wearing uniforms and carrying guns flooded onto the ship. Fortunate Sun's crew were there waiting for them.
"Is that really necessary?" asked Vanko. "You already scanned us, no doubt."
"My apologies, Captain," said a regal-looking woman in her fifties as she stepped out of the shadows, "but we have our orders." Her rank insignia identified her as the Jedburgh's commanding officer.
Vanko remained silent as the marines spread out over the ship.
"Is this the whole crew?" asked the commander, looking over Vanko's soldier.
"Yep, that's them," said Vanko.
"Did you take on any passengers when you left Cambridge?"
"We have no passengers on board," said Vanko, smugly.
The commander looked at him quizzically. She didn't appreciate word games, and Vanko almost immediately regretted his choice of words. "Bring them aboard for questioning," the commander said. A squad of marines surrounded Forutnate Sun's crew and marched them onto the Jedburgh.
As the rest were directed into a holding cell, Vanko was led into an interrogation room. The room was bare, with nothing but a metal table with two chairs at opposite ends. The commander sat at the far end and propped a datapad up on the table, bringing up a set of files. "Please, take a seat," she said, indicating the other end of the table. Vanko did as such.
The commander leafed through a couple of files. "Now, Captain Beowulf, is it?"
"That's correct," said Vanko.
"Most of what we know about you comes from your ship's registration. Your birthplace is listed as Beaumont Base in the Texas system. A Junker installation." The last sentence carried a sting of contempt. "There is no record of any criminal activity, but that said, we don't have access to the Liberty Police database."
Vanko remained silent.
"The Fortunate Sun is listed as a Retrofit Transport. Presumably you were responsible for making her spaceworthy again?"
"That's right," answered Vanko, a note of pride escaping into his voice.
"That must have been quite an undertaking for one man. You must have been quite dedicated, or perhaps desperate?"
"I just didn't want to spend the rest of my days sorting through scrap. Between Xenos trying to blow my head off and Rogues holding me up for 'protection' money, I wouldn't wish that kinda life on nobody."
"I see." The commander tapped on her datapad, processing Vanko's response. She turned her head up to the guard and ordered, "Bring in the next one."
Barrett was the next to be questioned. He sat down without being prompted, and the commander began.
"Lieutenant Commander Jack Barrett, retired. I thought I recognised the jacket," she said ruefully. "You signed up straight out of school, just before the war with Kusari started. As part of 276 Squadron, you served with distinction and gained over a hundred confirmed kills, and participated in a number of classified operations." The commander's interest was piqued by the latter point.
"I can't tell you anything about those, even if you arrest me," put in Barrett, before she could probe further.
"Of course." She tactfully changed the subject. "Near the conclusion of the Gallic War, 276 Squadron was part of the final assault on Leeds. You had just engaged the enemy when the Gallic forces began..." She trailed off, sensing Barrett's discomfort.
"We all knew it was possible," snapped Barrett. "But nobody took it seriously until-" He stopped. Retired or not, such outbursts were unbecoming of an officer.
"Until what?" asked the commander.
Barrett remained silent.
"You think you have reason to hold the BAF in some way responsible for the glassing of Leeds," the commander surmised, "but you can't say so out loud. I can't imagine what seeing that was like for you, and I can't judge you for thinking what you may." She indicated the jacket. "Clearly, some part of you is still loyal to Bretonia. If you had seen anything suspicious since leaving Cambridge, you would have told me already."
"Of course," replied Barrett.
The commander nodded. "That will be all."
Tania was brought in next, and had to be told to sit down. She paid little attention to the commander, instead chewing a piece of gum.
"Tania Riley, born on Graves Station. Your parents still work there for BMM," said the commander, trying to get something from her.
Tania kept chewing.
"You started formally working for them at age 18, but that only lasted a couple of months. Your supervisor, Thomas Scott, was found dead after a dispute over your share of a valuable ore find. Nothing was proven, but in your statement to the police you expressed a number of anti-corporate sentiments, which contributed to your dismissal two weeks later."
Tania kept chewing.
"Is Captain Beowulf aware of your history?"
Tania stopped chewing. "He doesn't like to ask questions."
"I see. Did you take on any unusual passengers or small cargoes on Cambridge?"
"I never went down to the planet. I stayed with the ship and made sure it got loaded properly."
The commander tapped and scrolled on her datapad. "I think we're done here."
For Kat's questioning, there was an extra guard brought in, and she was handcuffed to the chair.
"Please understand the precautions. Given your history, it seemed appropriate," said the commander.
Kat said nothing, but from her face the commander knew she agreed.
"Katsuko Moritaka, born on Planet New Tokyo. Born to a somewhat wealthy family, you studied mechanical engineering at the Von Rohe Institute on New Berlin. That's quite a long way to go, through the Sigma systems."
"None of the unversities in Kusari had what I was looking for," said Kat.
The commander continued. "After completing your studies, you applied for a job at Kishiro Technologies. You worked there for two years, seemingly achieving little of note."
"Most of the credit went to the section chief," Katsuko was quick to clarify.
"As I imagine it would. Now, my access to the details is limited, but you disappeared for a week following a terrorist attack on Shinagawa Station. The attack wiped over a billion credits from Kishiro's stock value, and the Golden Chrysanthemums claimed responsibility. A leaked memo from Kishiro's security team implicated you in the attack, but nothing was proven, and you resurfaced on Planet Manhattan seemingly unharmed."
"That's 'limited'?" said Kat, surprised.
"Compared to what we have on some of your associates," responded the commander. "But that's not important right now. Far-off lands fighting yesterday's battles are not the reason I'm here."
"You haven't been to Kusari, have you? 'Yesterday's battles' they are not."
"My apologies." The commander suppressed a smile, as Kat walked right into her trap. "You're clearly someone who knows injustice when you see it. Suppose someone came to you, desperate to get out of Bretonia, what would you do?"
"That's the Captain's department," said Kat. "I haven't left the ship in weeks; When we stopped at Cambridge, I was just maintaining the engines."
"I see." The commander leaned back in her chair. "Take her back to the cell."
Back in the cell, the atmosphere was tense. Nobody was talking. Kat was marched in and told to sit down on the bench. After a few minutes of waiting, a burly marine came to let them go.
"We didn't find anything," the marine said, his voice compressed by his air mask. "You're free to go."
The crew of the Fortunate Sun were led back onto the deck of their ship. When the Jedburgh had undocked and carried on her way, Vanko radioed Angela to tell her to come back aboard.
Angela and Alex came up to the bridge, just in time for the ship to move through the jump gate. Fortunate Sun's hull rattled and groaned under the strain of jump travel, but made it safely to the other side. From there it was a smooth journey to Freeport 1.
At the docking port, Vanko was talking to Angela.
"I think I've changed my mind," said Angela.
"Oh?" asked Vanko.
"I've talked over it with Alex, and we'd rather stay with you than get off here. I wasn't sure whether to trust you at first, but after you got rid of Webber, or whatever his name was, and got us past the BAF, I realised that you're a good man."
"Really? I never really thought about it that way. I'm not really looking for new crew, but-"
"I'm a doctor, remember? I can help out if someone gets injured or sick, and there are places that need doctors all over the borderworlds. And if there is someone out there that can help Alex, I'm not going to find them cowering in the bowels of a freeport."
Vanko considered this for a moment. "I guess you're right," he said. "I think the others all like you, you'll probably do well here."
Angela smiled, and spotted Tania and Kat heading for the bar. She decided to follow them, and with that the deal was done.
Transport Ship Fortunate Sun
Pygar orbit, Omicron Theta
It had been about a month since Angela and Alex had joined Fortunate Sun. Running cargo up and down the border worlds wasn't what Angela had expected to be doing, but in her years of medical school and working at one of Sirius' busiest hospitals, she had almost forgotten how good it felt to have time to herself. Still, there was the matter of what had happened to Alex. Fortunate Sun didn't have the sophisticated facilities needed for a proper examination, and her attempts to get in contact with someone who did hadn't come through yet. Angela wasn't much of a psychologist, but she knew that there was some kind of block in Alex's mind; Something was stopping her from explaining what had happened beyond cryptic statements about 'voices' and 'spirits'. Fortunate Sun's current job had brought them out to the Omicrons, moving various supplies to Pygar. The ship was attached to the mooring fixture, and a number of shuttles were moving cargo down to the planet. Angela was idly watching them from her room when the buzzer sounded.
"Come in," she answered, reflexively. It was Vanko, with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
"We're about to head down," said Vanko. "You might want to join us, it's been a while since you went planetside."
Angela stood up. "Sounds like a good idea."
"You should probably tell Alex, too. She could use some shore leave."
Angela sighed. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but she couldn't bring herself to argue with Vanko; they were still stressed from the journey out to the Omicrons, and nobody wanted to risk lighting that powder keg.
The shuttle rattled and groaned in the intense winds of Pygar's upper atmosphere, but things settled as they descended. They ducked and weaved through a canyon before flying into a large cave mouth. The spaceport was in a vaulted cavern, illuminated by large floodlights, with sensors and communications equipment drilled into the walls alongside crystal growths and glowing fungi.
Barrett brought the shuttle down on a metal landing pad, and the crew filed out. Angela and Alex marvelled at the cavern; They had never seen anything like this back in Bretonia.
"Hoo," exclaimed Vanko, "Sure is different from where we normally pull in, right Jack?"
Barrett nodded. "People can live pretty much anywhere, with a little bit of thought."
Just as the crew were about to go there separate ways, an official-looking middle-aged man approached them. "Captain Beowulf?" he asked.
"That's me," replied Vanko.
"There's been a complication with the shipment you brought in. We're short on people here, so you might want to bring a couple of your crew."
Vanko looked over his shoulder. "Jack, Tania, you're with me. Everyone else, just don't go too far, okay? Don't take off before I come back, OK?"
"Sure thing, Cap," said Kat. She gave Tania a quick hug, and the rest of the crew went to follow the official.
"So what's the issue?" asked Barrett.
"There was a load of consumer goods bound for Grahamstown, about 60 kilometres east of here," said the offical, indicating it on a map on his datapad. "We sent word that the shipment arrived, but we've heard nothing back, and we think the communication line's been cut."
"Let me guess," said Vanko, "You need us to go into the caves and find out what happened to the communication lines."
"That's about the size of it," said the official. "The cable runs parallel to a railway, so you'll be taking the shipment as well."
"Any idea what's caused it?"
"We're still not sure," admitted the official. "There'll be a kit to patch up the cable, but if it's a cave-in, you'll need to come back so we can send a demolition team."
"I can handle explosives," put in Tania. Barrett glared at her, like she'd said something wrong.
The official's eyes widened, then he sighed and tapped on his datapad. "I suppose I can give you a couple of charges."
Tania turned to Barrett. "What's that look for?"
They came to the train station to find a train waiting to leave. There was an open-cab fuel cell-driven locomotive with four seats, followed by four shipping containers loaded onto flat-bed cars.
"Looks fairly standard," said Barrett. "I remember similar things back home."
"Ah! So I can just leave you to it?" said the official.
"Well-" started Barrett.
"Very good. I have business to attend to elsewhere." He turned around and ran off.
"Prick," muttered Barrett.
"Oi!" shouted a dock worker to Vanko. "Bossman said to give you this." She handed over a large black carrying case. "Be careful, spaceman. Them's mining charges."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Vanko, gently handing the case to Tania. The crew piled into the cab, and Barrett took the controls. A few button presses later, the train was on its way down the tunnel.
Back at the spaceport, Kat, Angela, and Alex were hanging out in a bar.
"So how did you meet Vanko?" asked Angela.
"I wandered a bit after leaving Kishiro," said Kat, leaning back in her seat. "I ran out of money on Manhattan, and the only way I could get away was taking a job on a ship. I guess it was a mix of good luck and bad luck that brought me to the Fortunate Sun."
"That's what everyone says," said Alex. "Except Vanko."
"Nobody really knows anything about him before he got the Sun," said Kat. "From his accent, I figured he was from somewhere in Liberty, but what the hell kind of name is 'Vanko Beowulf'?"
Angela's face scrunched as she remembered something. "I remember seeing a film called Beowulf once. It was about Vikings or something."
"Vikings?" Kat didn't understand the reference.
"From Old Earth, you know? Horned helmets, mead, gods of thunder?"
"So that's what that's called. I remember that stuff was everywhere in Rheinland; my first roommate at university was part of some group that worshipped the 'Old Gods'."
Alex's smiled nonchalantly. "They're still around. Someone had to bring them to Sirius."
"Huh?" Kat was confused.
Angela sighed deeply. This was exactly why she didn't want to bring Alex planetside.
Vanko sighed deeply. This was exactly why he didn't want to come down here.
The train came to a halt next to a break in the cable. It looked like it had been chewed by an animal; the hole was jagged, and inside the wiring was frayed and split.
"The hell could have done that?" said Vanko, drawing his pistol. "Did an animal get loose?"
Tania jumped down and went up to the cable. "The cable's wrapped in reinforced polymer. No animal I know of could've done this."
She sniffed something, and looked further down the tunnel. Switching on the flashlight, she stepped forward, readying her shotgun. There were a pair of bodies, wearing civilian clothing, slumped at the side of the tracks. Their chests had been ripped open, and on close examination it looked like several internal organs were missing.
"Dammit," she said under her breath. She turned around and headed back to the train. "We need to leave. Now."
Vanko turned around, and quickly fired off a shot. A winged insect the size of a Labrador landed in the cab and twitched a couple of times, its head caved in by Vanko's shot. Tania picked up the pace, scrambling into the cab as Barrett re-engaged the engine.
"The hell did these things come from?" shouted Tania.
"Don't care, just move!" yelled Vanko, as more came from down the tracks.
Vanko and Tania shot at the insects while Barrett pushed the train to its top speed. When everything was done, he joined in, pulling out a heavy magnum revolver.
"I'm out!" shouted Tania. Barrett took out a couple of bugs that were threatening her as she reloaded, the magnum rounds ripping them apart.
"This is bad," said Barrett. "We don't have enough bullets!"
"Keep shooting as long as you can!" yelled Vanko.
The train was quickly becoming overrun. The bugs weren't interested in the cargo, only in the fresh meat standing in the cab. As Vanko's second magazine emptied, he realised he didn't have a replacement, so he grabbed the pistol by the barrel, and was just about to start hitting the insects with it when a voice from further down the tunnel shouted "Get down!"
Vanko pulled Tania and Barrett down to the ground, and machine gun fire rained from the front. The bugs were mowed down and started to retreat. The gunfire stopped, and the voice said "All clear!"
"All clear!" chimed the announcer. Alex was idly playing a game on her datapad when Angela noticed something.
"Isn't that the guy from earlier?" she said, indicating a man sitting in the corner drinking deeply from a bottle of vodka.
"Probably just finished work," said Kat.
At the bar, a young man showed something to the bartender, who pointed towards the three women.
"I think someone's looking for us," said Angela.
Kat turned her head quickly. "You're right," she said. The three of them got up and circled round to the exit.
"Where are we going?" asked Alex.
"I don't know," said Kat, quietly. "We need to lose him before we can go back to the shuttle."
Following Kat's lead, they walked quickly onto the street, taking care to blend into the crowd and look over their shoulders as they went. When they were mostly sure they had lost him, they circled back around and ducked into the alleyway.
"Was that someone you know?" whispered Angela.
"No," said Kat.
Alex shook her head.
Their lingering concerns were answered when the man from the bar appeared behind them, pointing a gun.
"Hand over the girl," he said, cocking the hammer of his pistol, "and nobody gets hurt."
"People have already been hurt," sputtered Angela.
"I don't really care who she is," said the man, dramatically shrugging. "I'm just here for-"
The bartender turned the corner into the alleyway, kicking the bounty hunter in the back of the knee and binding his arms with cable ties. He was a man in his fifties or sixties, with short centre-parted hair that might once have been blond and wearing a brown leather jacket. "Stay put," he said, picking up the gun and stuffing it in an inside pocket.
"Who wha-" Kat was confused.
"I knew something was up when you left in a hurry," said the bartender. "Someone you know?"
"No," said Angela, "just a bounty hunter."
"Any idea why he's after you?"
"I don't wanna know," said the hunter. "The people who hired me were freakin' scary, man. If they thought I knew anything, they'd kill me!"
The bartender kicked him in the side. "Shut up!"
"He's got a point," said Kat, "It's not safe to talk here."
"I've got a back room at the bar," said the bartender. "We'll talk there."
"So you want us to go blow their nest," Vanko said, leaning on the wall. "Surprisingly, not the most disgusting thing I've done for credits."
The leader of Grahamstown, a middle-aged woman named Kay Hadley, ignored the last remark and focused on business. "Our scans have indicated that their nest is around here." She was pointing to a hologram map of the local cave network. "It should only be about an hour on foot, but once you're in there you'll have to move fast. If you plant the charges here and here-" a pair of red dots appeared in the chamber with the bus' nest- "it should collapse the nest and cut us off from them."
"They'res still a problem," put in Barrett. "We've only got pistols and shotguns. We'll run out of bullets long before they run out of bugs."
"You're in luck," said Hadley, bringing what looked like a rotten peach out of a plastic container. "Reynolds found these this morning. They're eggs that weren't properly fertilised."
"They don't bloody smell unfertilised!" exclaimed Tania, pinching her nose shut at the smell.
"Best we can tell, they give off some kind of pheromone that'll make them leave you alone. That's how Reynolds managed to get them back." She tossed it to Tania, then got another one out of the box. "We've got enough for three, so you'll have to do this alone."
After equipping themselves with the eggs and some more bullets, the crew left Grahamstown and wandered into the tunnels, following Hadley's map. They had a few tense moments when bugs stopped to sniff them, but to their relief the deception worked.
True to Hadley's word, they had walked for about an hour when they came into a large chamber. In the centre was a huge mass, crawling inside and out with insects and stinking of death and feculence.
"Yikes," retched Vanko. "Should'a brought a mask."
"Wouldn't help," said Barrett, defeatedly. "Trust me."
Tania got the charges out of her backpack, and handed one to Barrett. "Over there, remember?" she said, pointing to what looked like a load-bearing pillar.
"Got it," said Barrett, taking the charge over.
Vanko stayed on watch, keeping an eye on his companions. He locked eyes with one of the bugs, wondering for a moment if it recognised him as a threat.
He was about to draw his gun and shoot it when they came back to him, unharmed.
"Bombs are set, let's go," said Tania breathlessly.
"Agreed," said Vanko, "This place stinks."
The three of them quickly went into the tunnel leading back to Grahamstown.
Tania got out the remote detonator and flipped up the switch cover. "Blowing in three, two one-"
BOOM. There was an explosion at the bases of the two pillars, and the walls around them started to crack. The cave rumbled around them and the roof began to collapse.
The bartender made sure they weren't followed and that the door was locked, and offered the three women a cup of coffee.
"So why are people after you?" he asked.
Angela was about to answer when Kat interrupted her. "Are we sure we can trust this guy?"
"Well, I did save you from that bounty hunter," he said.
Kat let Angela continue. "Alex- my sister- was 'recruited' by some top-secret agency in the Bretonian government, and I had to break her out after a few months. I don't know what they did to her, but she's been talking about voices and..." She trailed off.
"Voices? What kind of voices?"
Alex perked up. "The voices that were here long before us, and that awoke when we breached their sanctuary."
The bartender and Kat backed away, disturbed. Angela was surprised; "That's... the most you've said so far," she said, then looked up to the bartender. "You know something about this?"
The bartender stood still for a moment, still processing what he had heard. It looked like he was going to reach for a weapon, but then he calmed down. "I don't think there's much I can do, but I can point you in the right direction."
Vanko, Barrett, and Tania rolled back into the spaceport station, tired and weary. They said nothing as they went to the bar to pick up the others. They found them at a booth, drinking coffee.
"You look rough," said Angela. "Something happen?"
"I don't wanna talk about it," said Vanko forlonly. "By the way, did you ever see that guy again?"
"Yeah," said Kat, "He was around here somewhere."
"Good," said Vanko, cracking his knuckles. "Because I am going to punch him very hard in the face."
![[Image: rPQpZ1j.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/rPQpZ1j.jpg)