Progeny (The Progenitor Trilogy, Book Three) (35 page)

‘That won’t end well,’ commented Steven.  ‘Mr Csokas owns this place.  He doesn’t like troublemakers.’

‘Oh?’

‘He’s Sirius Syndicate.  A lot of the places on this station are owned by them.  Rumour has it that they own the whole thing.’

‘Shit,’ said Isaacs.  ‘You know those guys are probably still after me...’

‘I doubt it,’ said Steven and noticing that Isaacs was about to interject added.  ‘I heard about the whole thing with Bennett.  Chen’s people sent me a full copy of their files on both of you so I’d know who I was working with.  You know Bennett was being paid by Admiral Morgan to do his dirty work?’

‘Yeah we knew that,’ said Anna.

‘Okay well, turns out that the Sirius Syndicate found out too and have also uncovered Shaper agents in their midst.  It seems like the enemy was trying to infiltrate them.  An interstellar criminal organisation could be a powerful tool in the right hands, yes?  Anyway, the Sirius Syndicate came down hard on Bennett’s people and some have actually started feeding us information if you can believe that.  The enemy of the enemy is my friend, and so on.’

‘Huh.  I never thought that those guys had a conscience,’ said Isaacs.

‘I wouldn’t call it that,’ said Steven.  ‘But they don’t wish to be enslaved by the Shapers any more than you or I do.’

‘Is that what brought you out here?’ said Anna.

‘Yeah it is.  They’d passed us a few reports of phantom ships out here that matched the description of Shaper vessels and there had been a few mysterious figures around the system all asking questions about the abandoned anti-matter collection arrays around the brown dwarf in the outer system.  They seem to have melted away by the time I got here though.  So...’ Steven lowered his voice and leaned closer.  ‘We need to get into Achernar and Chen tells me that you two are the best freelance crew that she’s ever seen.’

Isaacs laughed, a little embarrassed.

‘No, I’m serious.  She wouldn’t have picked you for this if she didn’t think that statement were true.  Your various escapades speak for themselves.  I take it that you have some thoughts on how to sneak into Achernar without getting picked up?’

‘Yeah we do.  When we left, the system was swarming with Shaper ships, but we gather that things are starting to return to normal.  Trade has resumed with other systems that are rebelling.’

‘That’s what I was told also.’

‘Right.  The thing is: what are the chances that many of those ships are still there?  We need to get a good look at the system before we go in.  We also wanted to find out what happened to the people that we left in Achernar on a base in the outer system that has sensors capable of detecting Shaper ships.’

‘You want to pay them a visit?’

‘Yes.  The
Profit Margin
has a stealth module attached to its jump drive.  We sneak in, dock, get the info we need and then loop back out of the system and re-enter without using the stealth module and pose as just another trader.  We land at a regular spaceport and go about our business.  What we do then is up to you.’

‘It’s risky,’ said Steven.  ‘But what isn’t?  The hardest part will be getting down onto Orinoco.  Unfortunately, we have little to go on as to Haines’ location except that he’s somewhere on the surface on the moon.  Needle in a haystack time.  This isn’t going to be easy.’

‘We need a cargo too,’ said Anna.  ‘Something that explains why we’d come out here if anyone has spotted us, but nothing illegal that would give the authorities an excuse to stop us.’

Steven looked thoughtful and scratched his unkempt beard.

‘That is a problem, all the usual stuff that people come here for is out of bounds.  There is one thing we could buy a load of:  the Vreeth cultivate gas giant flora in giant floating enclosures deeper in the atmosphere here.  Some of the stuff that they grow is suitable for human consumption without the aid of digestive supplements.  One crop in particular, Barrachak Cloudfrond, is much in demand.  Apparently it’s this year’s must have ingredient and sells for some ridiculous price in the core systems.  We could buy a load of that.  Do you have enough credit?’

‘We do, I think,’ said Anna, looking at Isaacs who nodded.

‘Okay, well we’ll have to wait until the morning, local time until the traders open up for business.  It’s an unavoidable delay, but there you are.  Once we’ve purchased our cargo and your ship has been loaded I’d like to get moving as soon as possible.  I’ll swing by your hotel first thing.’

‘Do you know where...’ said Isaacs.

‘Of course he knows where it is,’ said Anna, pointing at Steven.  ‘He’s been following us.  Am I right?’

‘You are.  Come on.  Let’s get some rest.  It may the last that we get for a while.’

Only a couple of hours later and Isaacs and Anna were awoken by a frantic knocking at their hotel room door.  Pulling on some clothes and opening it, they found Steven outside, clutching a travel bag.  He looked agitated.

‘Agent Harris.  What the hell’s going on?  It isn’t time already, is it?’ said Isaacs still groggy from sleep.

‘No it isn’t.  Change of plan I’m afraid.  Grab your stuff.  We need to leave right now.’

‘Okay...’ said Isaacs running a hand through his tousled hair and began grabbing the rest of his clothes that still lay in a crumpled heap on one of the chairs.

‘My little friend in traffic control contacted me.  Warships are entering the system,’ said Steven, closing the door behind him.  ‘Two destroyers and a couple of flak cruisers are headed for the abandoned anti-matter collection facilities in the outer system, whilst another couple of destroyers are headed this way.  They’re still in hyperspace, but the locals have been tracking them for a while.  It looks like they came from the renegade systems.’

‘Shit, have they sent all that firepower after us?’ said Anna, hurriedly stuffing things into her bag.

‘Doubt it,’ Steven replied.  ‘I think it’s the antimatter production that they’re after:  The abandoned facilities are further out, and there have long been rumours that illicit arrays exist hidden in the ring system of this planet.  They may not be interested in us, but we need to slip away before they try to send down a landing party and the station goes into lockdown.  You got everything?’  Isaacs nodded.  ‘Okay, let’s make a move.’

The streets of Gagat’s Colony were quiet now.  The internal day/night cycle was coming around to its simulated dawn.  The last of the night’s revellers were staggering back to their abodes in the pale morning light as Isaacs, Anna and Steven picked their way quickly through streets strewn with litter, broken glass and the occasional patch of vomit as they headed for the docking bay containing the
Profit Margin
.

Eventually, sweating and out of breath, they arrived back at the bay and found the ship exactly as Isaacs and Anna had left it, with the addition of a large AG pallet holding a small shipping crate that had been parked in front of the craft.  The Hyrdian that had checked their documents upon arrival ambled over as they entered.

‘Ah, I took the liberty of acquiring a small shipment of Cloudfrond for us,’ said Steven.  ‘It’s all I could get at such short notice and at this hour, but it’s the good stuff, so you should be able to get a good price for it.  It’s certainly enough to convince anyone as to the purpose of our journey.  I called in a favour or two around here to get it.’

‘From who?’

‘Like I said, I have a few friends around here.’

The Hyrdian security guard handed Steven an electronic key to the crate in exchange for a look at his ID and then, once Isaacs had lowered the
Profit Margin’s
cargo ramp, helped them load the crate onto the ship.  His task complete, the burly alien looked at the three humans and folded his arms across his chest.

‘Hope you have pleasant stay here.  Go so soon?’

‘Yeah, we’ve got urgent business elsewhere,’ said Isaacs.  ‘Thanks for your help.’

‘Hmm.  Anything to do with those warships heading this way?’

‘Let’s just say we’d rather avoid their attentions.’

‘You and everybody else here.  But you only ones awake, I think.  Always trouble here... I go now.’  He sighed and stomped off down the ramp.

With the cargo aboard and the ship secured they made ready for departure.  Isaacs was already on the comm. to traffic control requesting clearance as Anna spun up the main engines and Steven went aft to man the turrets.  With clearance granted, Isaacs began manoeuvring the ship around within the cramped confines of the docking bay and its esoteric collection of ships.  All the while, time was ticking away and the renegade warships were coming ever closer.

With the ship lined up with the bay doors for departure, Isaacs gripped the controls tightly, preparing himself for the storm force winds outside that would toss the ship around as soon as they exited Gagat’s Colony.  The seconds ticked away before he received the go signal and the bay doors began to open with agonising slowness.

‘I forgot to ask,’ said Isaacs to Steven over the comm.  ‘What do you think the Shapers want with anti-matter.  You think they’re building warheads?’

‘Could be,’ Steven replied.  ‘Perhaps they want to take revenge on Earth or on Admiral Chen for what happened to them.  We have to report this.’

‘That isn’t exactly a comforting thought,’ Isaacs replied. The bay doors were now fully open and he gunned the engines, powering the
Profit Margin
out of the docking bay and into the storm clouds outside.  Immediately a down draft caught the craft, pushing her into a dive.  Isaacs recovered the ship and brought the nose upwards, angling it towards the sky and bringing the engines to full power.  It was then that he saw it; a long, pale, jagged shape formed from interlocking shards that hung above the swirling clouds like a tear in the sky.

‘Shaper vessel, dead ahead!’ cried Anna.

‘Oh, fuck me! How come nobody saw that before we launched!?’ cried Isaacs, pulling the
Profit Margin’s
nose away from pointing at the looming enemy ship and back down to level.

‘It must have just emerged from hyperspace as we undocked!’ cried Anna.  ‘There was nothing on sensors until a second ago.  God, look at the size of that thing!  How the hell is it managing to fly inside the atmosphere?  How did it manage to jump in so close to the planet?’

‘Beats me,’ replied Isaacs, fighting with the ship to maintain a steady course.  ‘But I don’t think that the usual rules apply to Shaper ships, do they?  Where are the renegade human ships?’

‘Still a few minutes out from the planet and closing fast,’ Anna replied.

‘Then we need to make a rapid exit, don’t we?’ Isaacs replied, and pushed the throttles to full.

They began to streak away across the cloud tops, the ship’s speed building constantly as she bounced between updrafts, downdrafts and crosswinds in a now supersonic rollercoaster ride.  Isaacs held the ship’s controls in a death grip as the view outside shook violently and the crew’s stomachs also lurched accordingly.  A faint glow was beginning to build around the limits of the shield envelope as the ship’s speed increased from the resulting atmospheric friction.  Isaacs was trying to keep the nose pointing vaguely upwards, so that they could escape the planet’s atmosphere.

‘The enemy ship’s descending!’ cried Anna.  ‘It looks like she’s heading toward Gagat’s Colony!’

‘Those poor bastards...’ muttered Isaacs, staring straight ahead as he fought with the controls in order keep the ship straight.  Something broke loose and clanged down in the cargo bay.

‘I knew it,’ commented Steven.  ‘I knew that those idiots in the Syndicate had an anti-matter containment unit hidden on the station somewhere.  They must be trying to seize it.’

‘Well they’re gonna pay for it now!’ cried Isaacs.  ‘Believe me, you do not want to be there when the Shapers attack!  They don’t stand a chance...’  He had a flashback to the desperate defence of Port Royal: hordes of enslaved monsters spilling from the Shaper ship that had rammed the pirate base.  Anita disappearing under a wave of flesh and snarling, leaping forms.

The Shaper vessel was descending almost vertically through the atmosphere now, its massive armoured nose pointing straight down towards Gagat’s Colony.  Anna could see it magnified through the aft cameras, shrouded in layers of cloud.  It looked like a vast sea creature descending to nibble at the tips of the spires that rose from the main plate structure of the Colony.  She pictured all the people she had seen aboard last night, all the late night drinkers still blissfully asleep in their beds, unaware that a tide of mutilated, enslaved beings was about to be unleashed upon them, and she suppressed a shudder.  Lost within her vision of the nightmare unfolding she failed to register the weapon lock-on warning for a few seconds, until its warbling tone finally roused her.  The Shaper ship had decided to deal with them too, decided to swat them out of the sky like a troublesome fly.

‘Shaper vessel is locked on and powering weapons!’ she heard herself cry.

‘For God’s sake, jump!’ cried Steven.

‘We’re too low!’ cried Isaacs.  ‘The planet’s gravity well is still too steep!’

‘Jump, or we’re all dead!’ Steven barked back. ‘Do it!

‘Don’t fucking well give
me
orders!’ snarled Isaacs and hit the jump drive controls.  The ship lurched.  There was a teeth jarring jolt, and the
Profit Margin
vanished in a collapsing vortex of atmosphere.

Chapter 22

              The perpetual dusk of the sky above the holy city of Marantis, on the planet Maranos in the Fulan system was scattered with moving points of light.  In streets below, the native Dendratha paused in their daily chores and looked upwards, fearfully, at this ominous occurrence.  For over two years they had laboured to rebuild their shattered city, cruelly levelled as two interstellar superpowers had fought over the morsel of their world, eager to seize the technological wonders concealed beneath its crust.  The Dendratha understood little of galactic politics and war and knew little of the galaxy outside of their own world.  They were a peaceful, technologically primitive people who had been slowly eking out a largely agrarian civilisation for tens of thousands of years before the wider galactic community, in the shape of the Commonwealth and the K’Soth, had made themselves known, with disastrous results.  The humans had come and had brought technology and trade and unwanted interference.  The K’Soth had come and had brought death.