The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (10 page)

Corporal Evans
fired steadily, and then a loud explosion rang out from the top of the Humvee
as an explosive rocket slammed into the turret, disabling it. Corporal Evans
tumbled out and collapsed to the floor.

One of the
other Marine privates checked him and then turned toward Sergeant Jones. “He’s
only unconscious.”

“Crap!”
muttered the sergeant, flipping the safety off his assault rifle. We’re
defenseless now. The other Humvee can’t cover our rear.”

Kurt could
hear noises at the large hatch at the end of the vehicle. Letting out a deep
breath, he knew they were in a precarious situation. He wondered if he would
make it back to Keera. Looking at Andrew, Kurt wished the captain had stayed on
board the
Star Cross
. It had been a mistake for both of them to come down
to the planet.

A sudden explosion
shook the back of the Humvee violently as the hatch was blown off, and smoke
came billowing in. The Marines fired through the door at the smoke-shrouded
targets. One of the Marines cried out and fell, blood spreading across his
chest.

“Damn,”
muttered Andrew, glancing at a red stain on his own uniform. He leaned up against
the wall of the vehicle and slowly slid to the floor.

Kurt glanced
at the captain, seeing he had been hit in the side. A cold feeling came over
Kurt as he realized they might not get out of this.

The firing
outside seemed to increase dramatically, then it subsided and finally came to a
stop.

“Our other
Humvees must have gotten here,” Kurt said, stepping to Andrew’s limp form. He was
still breathing, though a pool of blood grew next to him. “I need a first aid kit.
We must stop the flow of blood.”

“I’ll take
care of it,” one of the Marine privates said, grabbing a nearby first aid kit. “I’ve
been trained in field medicine.”

Kurt stepped
back as the private treated Andrew. Kurt didn’t know how he could face Andrew’s
wife and daughter if the captain died from his injuries.

“It’s too
early for it to be our other Humvees,” Sergeant Jones said, confused. He held
his rifle pointed at the rear of the vehicle.

A figure
suddenly appeared in the shattered hatch. “You should have called on me for an
escort,” said Avery Dolman, holding a smoking pistol in his right hand. “You’re
lucky I was in the neighborhood.”

“How?” asked Kurt,
stunned to see the black marketeer.

Avery pointed
toward Grantz, hunkered down in a corner of the Humvee. “Our mutual friend here
called me and said you were in a slight bit of trouble.”

Grantz stood
up and pointed to a small communications device in his left hand. “I knew as
soon as I heard about the bounty that we would be hit. I called Avery and
requested immediate assistance. I was sure you wouldn’t mind paying the extra
protection fee.”

“The Enforcers
are here,” Sergeant Jones reported. “Our other vehicle is reporting a large
number of them just showed up.”

“I’ll handle
them,” Dolman said with a grimace. “I’m pretty sure I can ensure you won’t be
fined or suffer any repercussions from this little fracas. I have a few
connections with the Enforcers.”

“Captain
Randson is stable,” reported the Marine treating him. “We should get him to a
medical center as soon as possible.”

“I’ll take him
in one of our other Humvees as soon as it arrives,” Sergeant Jones said. “Captain
Briar should be here momentarily.”

Kurt nodded.
This whole incident just reminded him of how dangerous Kubitz was. He found it
hard to believe Keera had lived here for a number of years. Someday he would
have to ask her how she had survived.

-

Jarls shook
his head in frustration. He had just received word a few mercenaries along with
a small Profiteer clan had tried to ambush Fleet Admiral Vickers. Unfortunately
the attempt failed, and the Kubitz government had just issued a strong warning
about attempting to collect the bounty on Vickers. As with most warnings from
the planet’s government, this one cautioned anyone attempting to collect the
bounty with the use of illegal weapons on Kubitz. The use of such weapons would
see the offenders heavily fined with other stiff penalties.

“Well, that
tears it,” muttered Salas, frowning in disgust. “The Enforcers will be on the
watch now, and Vickers knows he’s being hunted. He’ll board the
Star Cross
,
where we can’t get to him.”

“The Carlton
Profiteer Clan will be slapped with a substantial fine for using explosive
rockets inside the capital, particularly inside the environmental dome. It will
make everyone else much more cautious about attempting to collect the bounty on
Vickers’s head.” Jarls knew the chances of his mercenaries getting to Vickers
had been greatly decreased.

Salas studied
one of the large viewscreens in the Command Center, which was focused on the
Star
Cross
. “I doubt if Vickers will leave the Newton embassy compound again
until he’s ready to board his ship.”

Jarls nodded
his agreement. “He would be a fool to risk his life on the streets of the
capital. And Vickers is no fool.”

“What about
our teams on the planet?”

“Have them
watch the Newton embassy compound discreetly. I don’t think we have a realistic
shot at getting him on the planet now.”

Jarls folded
his powerful arms across his chest. He would have to take out Vickers and the
Star
Cross
in a space battle. He had summoned several more battleships as he
wanted to ensure his targets were eliminated. If all went as planned, he would
annihilate Fleet Admiral Vickers and his entire fleet.

-

Keera paced
nervously in her quarters. Kurt had arrived at the compound an hour earlier and
gone straight into a meeting with Marvin Tenner, Captain Briar, Grantz, and
Avery Dolman. She had heard about the ambush and how close she had come to
losing Kurt. She felt intense anger at the type of world Kubitz could be at
times.

Keera had also
called the medical center, where Captain Randson had been taken under heavy guard
and had been assured he was receiving the best treatment possible. Fortunately
Keera knew several of the doctors and had spoken briefly to one who owed her a
few favors. He had promised to look in on Andrew and ensure he made a full and
speedy recovery.

There was a
knock at her door, and she walked over and opened it. Her brother stood there,
and, much to her surprise, a young woman was with him.

“Hi,” Dalen
said a little hesitantly. “I’m sorry we’re late, but we had to do a little
packing. This is Meesa, and she’ll be coming with us. We’ve been together for
over a year, and I don’t want to leave her behind.”

Keera frowned,
not sure how Kurt would take this. “Come on in. I’m waiting for Kurt to get
back from a meeting.”

Dalen nodded
as he and Meesa entered the room. “I heard about the attack. Was anyone hurt?”

“Three Marines
were killed and two others injured,” Keera answered. “Also Captain Andrew
Randson was shot. He’s been taken to the Hatheen Medical Facility for treatment
and should make a full recovery.”

“The Hatheen
Medical Facility,” Dalen said, his brow wrinkling in thought. “Didn’t you work
there for a few years right after we moved to Kubitz?”

“Yes,”
answered Keera, recalling those early days. Many nights she’d come home only to
get into a fight with Dalen over his involvement with the Profiteers. “Sit down
and make yourself comfortable. Kurt should be here shortly, and then we can
decide when we’ll board the
Newton Princess
.”

“That’s the
passenger liner from Newton?” asked Meesa timidly.

“Yes, and it’s
very comfortable. So, Meesa, tell me how you met my brother.”

-

“You were damn
lucky,” said Dolman, gazing across the conference table at Kurt. “My sources
tell me two Dacroni strike teams are currently in the city searching for you.
If you step outside this compound again, you could very well end up dead.”

“Dacroni,”
muttered Grantz unhappily. “They’re not someone to be trifled with.”

Dolman shook
his head. “No, I strongly suspect High Profiteer Creed has offered the Dacroni clan
leader a substantial number of credits if he can eliminate you or your ships.”

Kurt turned
pale at this comment. They would be leaving in a few more days, and Keera would
be on board the
Newton Princess
. “How many Dacroni ships are currently
in orbit?” The last he had heard, four were in close proximity to his small
fleet.

“It’s
unchanged,” Captain Briar responded. “I’ve been checking every few hours.”

“But that
could change at any time,” warned Marvin Tenner, with concern in his eyes.
“Perhaps it would be best if you summoned more ships from Newton.”

“No,” answered
Kurt, shaking his head. “I don’t want to risk any more of our fleet,
particularly if these rumors about the black ships are true.”

Avery Dolman
was silent for a long moment. “There may be a way to get you safely away from
Kubitz,” he said slowly. “I know of a piece of technology that will mislead the
Dacroni as to the dropout point of your first hyperspace jump. The technology
is illegal on Kubitz as it’s from a Protector World.”

“I thought
everything was for sale on Kubitz,” responded Kurt, wondering why this
technology would be prohibited.

Doman shook
his head. “No, not everything. There’s a level of technology that’s forbidden
to sell as it might create an imbalance in the power structure of the Gothan
Empire. Great care is taken to ensure certain technologies from the Enlightened
Worlds and the Protector Worlds are not sold on Kubitz or anywhere else in the empire.”

“How do you
have access to this forbidden technology?” Kurt suspected who else might be
involved, but he wanted to hear it from Dolman.

“Lomatz,”
Dolman answered in a softer voice. “I can speak to him and make some
arrangements. If this technology is installed on your ships, you can never tell
anyone where it came from.”

Kurt slowly
nodded his head. If they could make the first jump without encountering Dacroni
warships, then each proceeding jump would make the likelihood of detection less
likely.

“Why can’t
this technology be used on more than one jump?”

“It takes too
long to recharge. By the time the system is ready to cloak your second hyperspace
jump, the Dacroni will have found you.”

Kurt was
silent as he weighed his options. This system sounded all well and good, but he
knew it would carry a hefty cost. Fortunately they had a large credit account
already on Kubitz and a very large quantity of gold in the secret vault beneath
the embassy compound.

“If I agree to
this, how quickly can Lomatz have it done, and how much will it cost me?”

Dolman grinned
and then answered. “Nothing, not one single credit.”

“What?”
uttered Grantz, his eyes widening in shock. “A system like that should run at
least two to four million per ship. It would give the Profiteer who possessed
it a tremendous advantage in raiding ships and getting away undetected.”

Staring
intently at Dolman, Kurt asked the obvious question. “Lomatz must want something.
What is it?”

Dolman nodded.
“A favor. He will come to the Newton System in a few weeks to deliver some things
that recently came into his possession.”

“What?” asked
Marvin Tenner suspiciously. He had been on Kubitz long enough to know nothing
was free or didn’t come without strings attached. Some of those strings could
be quite expensive.

“I can’t say,
other than you’re the only one he’s willing to trust with this.”

“Does this
have to do with the black ships?”

“I can’t say,”
answered Dolman evenly. “Just trust me. You won’t regret it.”

Kurt was
backed into a corner. “Okay, I agree. If Lomatz is coming to Newton, we need some
items. I’ll want him to bring them too.”

Kurt intended
for Lomatz to bring Keera’s medical equipment as well as the new building
equipment Governor Spalding wanted. Kurt would also ask Lomatz for more fifty-megaton
antimatter missiles. If these mysterious black ships were a real threat, Kurt
wanted the most powerful weapons at his disposal. He needed to make the
arrangements for the automated factories too. The business people on board the
Newton
Princess
were probably growing impatient.

“One more
thing,” Dolman added. “I did some checking and the ships that were detected on
the outskirts of your home system were not the black ships. They are currently
not interested in such a backwater area of our galaxy.”

“Then who were
they?” asked Kurt, growing suspicious.

“They were
Profiteer ships.” Dolman replied. “The word on the street is that High
Profiteer Creed is keeping a close watch on your home system.”

Kurt let out a
deep breath. He didn’t like the sound of that as it indicted the High Profiteer
wasn’t finished with Earth. It was just one more problem he would have to worry
about.

-

Four days
later Kurt was back on board the
Star Cross
, sitting in his command
chair, looking calmly about the Command Center. How strange to be here and for Captain
Randson to be absent. Kurt had decided Andrew was better off on the
Newton
Princess
under Keera’s expert care. The passenger liner had a modern
medical facility, much of it designed by Keera. She had informed Kurt there
would be no problems in caring for Andrew, and he was well on his way to a full
recovery. Even Dr. Willis had agreed that Andrew was better off on the
passenger liner.

“All ships
report ready to activate their subspace drives,” reported Lieutenant Brenda
Pierce as she listened to the messages over the comm.

“We can leave
at your command,” added Lieutenant Styles. He had already programmed a course
into the navigation computer.