On The Run, pt. 2

Part One of the story can be read here.
Alex leaned over the railing to look down at the sprawling plaza below. Streams of Banu flowed in and around the stalls and shops that crowded the marketplace. The near deafening noise was a constant presence. Sellers shouted proudly about their wares, shrewd traders loudly haggled over sips of sloma, while young runners darted about trying to lure potential customers back to their Souli’s Merchantman where the finest fuel cyclers or crog berries or whatever it was they happened to be selling was waiting for just the right buyer.

And even over all that noise Alex could still hear her stomach rumble.

It seemed the one thing that wasn’t for sale on the Bacchus flotilla was a decent breakfast. After a harrowing experience with a ‘Human Breakfast Special’ that had resulted in a shallow dish filled with sliced hot dogs and popcorn covered in what she could only describe as very thick orange juice, Alex had sworn off eating till she could get back to the few ready meals still safely tucked away inside the Belligerent Duck’s stores.

That would have to wait though. Pushing her hunger aside, Alex searched the crowds below for anything suspicious. Which, when you’re inside a Banu flotilla, is sort of like looking for uptight swegs when on Earth. More specifically, she was looking for any undercover Advocacy Agents or bounty hunters who had the gall to follow them into Banu territory.

Typically, the Advocacy would pursue a thief for a system, maybe two, before they called back their resources and left it to the Bounty Hunting Guild to chase the culprit down. It wasn’t that the Advocacy weren’t eager to see justice done, they just had more important things to spend their time and efforts on (like vicious outlaw gangs and crazed serial killers). It was why the Empire relied so heavily on the bounty system in the first place. Doubly so when the jurisdiction crossed into the Banu Protectorate. With a high enough price, you could have hundreds of bounty hunters searching for free and only have to pay the person who collected. It saved time and credits.

The Advocacy’s focus was on big fish, and Alex had worked hard at staying a medium fish at best.

Yet, her and Mas’ escape from Terra had proven to be anything but typical. Instead of having to deal with the normal gaggle of cocksure guilders fumbling all over themselves to get paid, the Advocacy had mobilized dozens of Agents across multiple systems in one of the biggest dragnets she had ever seen. Every jump point had been swarming. Plus, there had been the daily dispatches encouraging citizens to share information with the authorities. Why was it that law-abiding types were always so bored they couldn’t just mind their own damn business?

The Duck could barely stop to refuel without some good Samaritan recognizing them from the wanted posters plastered all over the spec. Mas had to work overtime blocking or delaying comms until they were away, and even then, they still had to fight their way free more times than was healthy. They had always pulled through, but only by the slimmest of margins. Their Mercury had the scars to prove it.

On top of that, Alex had been forced to call in just about every outstanding favor she had. In Pyro, a crew that owed them for a records wipe had agreed to tangle with the bounty hunters who had cornered them there. Though, to be honest, she suspected they would have done it for free with the amount of joy they seemed to take in the fight. In Tram, Alex not only had to wipe Old Mac’s debt clear to get him to help distract the Advos tailing them, but now they owed him a favor. And knowing the gummer, he was likely to milk it for all its worth. A problem for another day.

All in all, they had been pursued across seven systems and hadn’t been able to rest for a moment. Well, Mas barely slept on a good day so he seemed relatively unperturbed by the whole experience. In fact, having the chance to coordinate an intrusion on the Meridian Transit network in Garron had the hacker humming louder than she had ever heard him. And admittingly, Alex had laughed herself watching the hacked starliner routes stymy their pursuers. But that had been days ago. Now, here she was in Bacchus, tired, hungry, surrounded by a hive of Banu, and she could tell that her brain was far from firing with all thrusters.

Something about this job wasn’t adding up. Being paid to delete files at Behring instead of stealing them was strange enough, but now with the way the law had been after them? Even with a big player like Behring involved the response had been above and beyond. Alex felt like she was staring at a big red warning sign, but she was so exhausted she couldn’t read it.

What she really needed was about a month on Cassel with nothing to do but float, drink, flirt with Navy, and spend all her hard-earned credits.

Speaking of which, Alex brought up her mobi to check the time. Only a half hour until they met with Mr. Grouse and received the rest of their payment. Pushing herself up from the rail, she turned and headed towards the docking tube that connected Donosi Souli to the rest of the flotilla structure. Hopefully, Mas had been able to make progress on untangling the project data they had secretly downloaded from the lab.

A few steps behind, Mr. Grouse quietly followed.

To say that Donosi was Mas’ old Souli was a bit misleading, but it was easier for Alex to think of it that way. A programming guild, Donosi had been formed when the previous guild leader, Essosouli Olosso has died. Mas had used the turnover to buy his freedom, while most of the other guild members had joined Olosso’s heir Donosi when she established her ‘new’ Souli. So basically, all the same people working out of the same place, doing the same thing.

Fortunately, while Mas was no longer considered family, Essosouli Donosi was inclined to temporarily hire them both whenever they needed a place to lay low for a while. In exchange for Mas doing some work for them, he and Alex received the protection that being part of a powerful Souli brought, keeping would-be Bounty Hunters at bay thanks to the intricacies of Banu politics.

Alex arrived through the old airlock that marked where the Donosi’s ship connected to the flotilla. Not that it was much of a ship anymore. The thing hadn’t flown in decades and was so hemmed in on all side by other structures it was unclear if it could take off even if it had wanted to. Carefully stepping over thick cable bundles, she made her way inside. It was cluttered for sure, but compared to some of the other Souli she had visited, Donosi was neat and organized. Rather than the usual overflowing collection of odds and ends that most Banu seemed drawn to, the computer guild’s wealth was all in data. Racks and racks of drives of various makes and models lined the walls, some of them older than her. In the center of the room, several Banu half-reclined at terminals pouring over lines of code. Over the sound of typing, she could hear Mas happily humming to himself.

“Any luck, Mas?” asked Alex.

“Oh, yes. Much,” replied Mas with a wide smile. “We have confirmed that Project Stargazer is particularly worthless.”

Alex turned to see Essouli Donosi enter the room. You could always tell when Donosi was approaching because the dozens of mobiGlas that she wore clacked together as she walked. “Oh, yes,” said Donosi. “Complete garbage.”

That red warning sign in Alex’s head started flashing a little faster. “What do you mean? We got paid a fortune to wipe this stuff.”

Mas walked over to Alex with a datapad and gestured to the screen. “This is Project Stargazer.”

“Looks like a targeting reticule.”

“It is a targeting reticule. Part of a design that was supposed to help gunners recalibrate their weapons if the sighting was off during combat. The project was shelved last year when it was proven in tests to only be slightly more efficient than not using it.”

“The datapod you stored it on is worth more than this terrible information,” said Donosi. “Total refuse. Utter trash. No one would ever pay anything for such a thing as what you have brought.”

Alex’s stomach sank when she realized that Donosi was repeating herself. A sure sign that the Essosouli was negotiating. Part of the agreed upon price for the Souli’s protection had been the info they’d stolen and now it seemed that Donosi was no longer satisfied with that deal. This was not good news considering that both her and Mas were technically indentured to the guild currently.

“You can keep the datapod then,” replied Alex. “Let’s go, Mas.” She pulled on his arm, trying to get him to follow her.

“Mas, stay where you are,” said Donosi in a firm voice. “Your debt has not been cleared.”

Mas stopped and Alex found herself uselessly pulling on what might as well have been a brick wall.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“I am sorry, Alex,” said Mas. “I cannot leave until Essosouli Donosi approves.”

“Are you serious?”

“I will not break a given bond. I am not like a Human.” With that, Mas winked at her.

Alex had been the one to teach Mas to wink and it had quickly proven to be a terrible idea. More than a few deals had gone south thanks to him winking when Alex was attempting to stretch the truth a bit. However, since none of the other Banu knew what winking meant, the skill might finally have payed off. Mas wanted her to find a way out of this.

“And what do you think our debt is?” asked Alex.

“A month of labor. Mas will gain access to some difficult locked drives we have acquired and you will clean.”

Even if they hadn’t needed to make their rendezvous, there was no universe that existed where Alex would have taken those terms. A headache began to grow behind her eyes. Like she didn’t have enough on her plate without becoming a Banu slave for a month. Actually, Alex thought, why am I having to deal with this?

“And I say there is no debt. You agreed to take the info on the datapod and that’s what you got. A deal’s a deal.”

“Information that is worthless.”

“Yeah, that sucks for you. Next time negotiate better.”

A smile broke across Donosi’s face. “Very well. You are free to go.”

“Oh,” Alex responded a bit taken aback by the sudden shift. Even though she lived with a Banu, she still could be surprised by how alien the aliens sometimes felt. “Thanks.”

“Come on, Alex,” said Mas, getting up from the terminal. “We don’t want to be late.”

Mas worked the star runner’s scanner as Alex guided the ship towards the rendezvous coordinates the courier had delivered to her a few days earlier.

The relative quiet of the Duck proved to be unnerving rather than the relief she had expected. And even though she should have been able to take a break from looking over her shoulder now that she was back aboard her own ship, Alex still felt on edge. Nothing about this job was sitting right. Why would Grouse want them to purge useless data? Why would the Advocacy be treating them like the Empire’s most wanted? Why did Grouse want to meet again rather than just sending the credits. Why couldn’t she figure out what the hell was going on?

“This is a trap, yes?” asked Mas, having similar thoughts.

“Yeah,” agreed Alex. “You want to forget the credits and bail?”

“It is a lot of credits.”

“It is so many credits.”

Mas thought for a beat. “We can always get more credits. I am a very good hacker and you are also good at things.”

“Yeah.” Though she was sad to be losing the money, a huge sense of relief came over her now that the decision had been made. “Where do you want to go? Spider? Maybe finally check out Kayfa?”

“Neither, I’m afraid,” said Mr. Grouse from behind them, the energy pistol in his hand trained at Mas’ head. “You will maintain your current course.”

Alex, cursing herself, swore that from now on she and Mas were going to search all the berths for stowaways before taking off.

“Let me guess, Advocacy are waiting for us at the rendezvous?” asked Alex.

“Correct, Ms. Dougan. You will be arrested, tried and convicted. Of course, there is a chance I will be forced to kill you both before then, but I would prefer not to.”

“You know we’ll tell them about you, right?”

“That has always been the plan. The only surprise was you managing to evade capture this long. I was certain they had you at the Davien jump point. It was most impressive when your Mercury gave them the slip once again.”

“Wait,” said Mas. “If you wanted the thieves arrested, then why did you hire us? Why not hire bad thieves?”

“The job needed to be successful. A lesser team would have been caught before deleting the project.”

“But the files were worthless!” protested Alex.

“Enough, Ms. Dougan. We should be arriving at the ambush any moment now.”

“What about Prairie Lightning Delta?

“What?”

A moment after she had uttered the phrase-key, the EMP rigged under the main console went off.

With a sickening lurch, the ship powered completely down.

Mr. Grouse, unprepared, tripped forward off balance. Mas, very prepared, slipped his knife from its sheath and slashed at their captor’s arm. The pistol dropped to the floor and Alex dove, recovering the weapon before Grouse could.

“An EMP. Clever,” said Grouse, breathing hard, the deep gouge on his arm dripping blood onto the floor.

“Mas’ gets full credit,” said Alex. “Now, if you don’t mind, why don’t you start explaining what in hell it is you’re up to.”

Before Grouse could respond, bright headlights suddenly shone into the cockpit. An Advocacy Vanguard flanked by two Banu Defenders was quickly approaching their ship. The Agents must have negotiated their way in with the Security Souli in this sector.

“I am afraid it’s too late,” said Grouse.

“Comm them and tell them we’ll kill you if you don’t stand down.”

“Why would they care about a corpse?” asked Grouse, reaching his fingers inside the wound on his arm.

“Mas! Stop him!” shouted Alex.

Mas reached out, but not fast enough.

“Your Empire thanks you for your service,” said Grouse as he used his fingers to sever his brachial artery. The trickle of blood turned into a gushing flood. Grouse collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Alex was certain that the memory of what Grouse had just done would hold the top spot for the most terrifying thing she’s ever seen for a long time to come. “Crap! Do you know first aid?”

“No.” said Mas, looking down at the body and its widening pool of blood. “Did we ever buy more medpens?”

“Crap. Crap. Crap. Help me get some pressure on him or something.”

It was then that the ship’s power kicked back on.

“—gent Duck. This is the UEE Advocacy. Prepare to be boarded.”

It seemed Alex and Mas had a choice. Either tend to Grouse before he died, or try to avoid capture. It was a very easy choice. “Mas, dump his body in the lock and strap in!”

Alex threw herself into the pilot seat and opened up the throttles to max. The Mercury burst to life and hurtled towards the Vanguard, rolling to bring their port side to the Advocacy’s ventral. The shields flared as the twin Sawbucks on the Vanguard’s turret scored a direct hit. They held for now, but a few more hits like that and the Duck would be done for.

A head to head fight wasn’t an option here. They were outclassed. Emergency escape maneuvers were the order of the day.

Gaining a bit of distance from the pursuers as they rushed to turn around and give chase, Alex quickly opened up the rear ramp and turned off the cargo grid.

“Mas, special delivery!”

Alex pulled hard on the controls and Mercury flew straight up, leaving the ten crates in their hold floating behind them. She grabbed the blackout helmet she kept nearby for just this moment and quickly slipped it on, giving all new meaning to the phrase ‘flying blind.’

Mas began counting down, “Three… two… one… “

Alex heart skipped a beat before she remembered that Banu counted down to zero.

“Zero!”

Behind them, a small new sun burst to life as the crates exploded. Or at least that’s what it looked like. Or would have looked like if Alex could see anything.

Each of the crates had contained the equivalent of a hundred flares. The ten crates combined was enough to overload any nearby sensors long enough for them to clear range. And forget trying to track them visually. Those poor pilots would be lucky if they got their vision back any time soon.

Alex pulled off the helmet and lined up a QT towards the Bacchus asteroid belt.

“If we are going to be on the run again,” said Mas. “I think I would like to go visit Leir.”

“Sure, Mas.” said Alex. “It’s your turn to pick anyway.”

Alex let out a deep sigh and for the moment tried to ignore the pool of blood at her feet by concentrating on flying.

No answers. No money. But for now at least, they had their freedom.

THE END.

Teil Eins der Geschichte kann hier nachgelesen werden.
Alex lehnte sich über das Geländer, um auf den weitläufigen Platz darunter zu schauen. Ströme von Banu flossen in und um die Stände und Geschäfte, die den Marktplatz überfüllten. Der fast ohrenbetäubende Lärm war eine ständige Präsenz. Verkäufer schrien stolz über ihre Waren, kluge Händler feilten lautstark über Schlucke von Sloma, während junge Läufer versuchten, potenzielle Kunden zu ihrem Souli's Merchantman zu locken, wo die besten Benzinradfahrer oder Crogbeeren oder was auch immer sie verkauften, auf genau den richtigen Käufer warteten.

Und selbst bei all dem Lärm konnte Alex immer noch ihr Magengeräusch hören.

Es schien, dass das Einzige, was auf der Bacchus-Flottille nicht zum Verkauf stand, ein anständiges Frühstück war. Nach einer erschütternden Erfahrung mit einem "Human Breakfast Special", das zu einer flachen Schüssel mit geschnittenen Hot Dogs und Popcorn geführt hatte, die mit etwas bedeckt war, was sie nur als sehr dicker Orangensaft bezeichnen konnte, hatte Alex das Essen geschworen, bis sie zu den wenigen Fertiggerichten zurückkehren konnte, die noch sicher in den Geschäften der Belligerent Duck versteckt waren.

Das müsste allerdings warten. Alex schob ihren Hunger beiseite und suchte in der Menge unten nach etwas Verdächtigem. Was, wenn man sich in einer Banu-Flottille befindet, so ist, als würde man auf der Erde nach verkrampften Swegs suchen. Genauer gesagt, suchte sie nach irgendwelchen verdeckten Advocacy-Agenten oder Kopfgeldjägern, die die Ehre hatten, ihnen in das Gebiet von Banu zu folgen.

Typischerweise würde die Advocacy einen Dieb für ein System verfolgen, vielleicht zwei, bevor sie ihre Ressourcen zurückfordern und es der Kopfgeldjäger-Gilde überlassen, den Täter zu verfolgen. Es war nicht so, dass die Advocacy nicht begierig darauf waren, Gerechtigkeit zu sehen, sie hatten einfach wichtigere Dinge, mit denen sie ihre Zeit und Mühe verbringen konnten (wie bösartige Verbrecherbanden und verrückte Serienmörder). Deshalb verließ sich das Imperium überhaupt erst so sehr auf das Kopfgeld-System. Zweifellos, als die Gerichtsbarkeit in das Banu Protektorat eindrang. Mit einem hohen genug Preis, könnten Sie Hunderte von Kopfgeldjägern haben, die kostenlos suchen und nur die Person bezahlen müssen, die gesammelt hat. Es sparte Zeit und Kredite.

Der Fokus der Advocacy lag auf großen Fischen, und Alex hatte hart daran gearbeitet, bestenfalls einen mittleren Fisch zu behalten.

Doch ihre und Mas' Flucht aus Terra hatte sich als alles andere als typisch erwiesen. Anstatt sich mit der normalen Schar von selbstbewussten Gulden herumtasten zu müssen, um bezahlt zu werden, hatte die Advocacy Dutzende von Agenten über mehrere Systeme hinweg in einem der größten Dragnetze mobilisiert, die sie je gesehen hatte. Jeder Sprungpunkt war voller Schwärme. Außerdem gab es die täglichen Botschaften, die die Bürger ermutigten, Informationen mit den Behörden auszutauschen. Warum waren die gesetzestreuen Typen immer so gelangweilt, dass sie sich nicht einfach um ihre eigenen verdammten Angelegenheiten kümmern konnten?

Die Ente konnte kaum anhalten, um zu tanken, ohne dass ein guter Samariter sie von den gesuchten Postern erkannte, die überall auf der Spezifikation verputzt waren. Mas musste Überstunden blockieren oder die Kommunikation verzögern, bis sie weg war, und selbst dann mussten sie sich noch öfter frei kämpfen, als es gesund war. Sie hatten sich immer durchgesetzt, aber nur mit den kleinsten Rändern. Ihr Merkur hatte die Narben, um es zu beweisen.

Darüber hinaus war Alex gezwungen gewesen, so gut wie jeden ausstehenden Gefallen, den sie hatte, einzuholen. In Pyro hatte eine Crew, die ihnen ein Plattenwischtuch schuldete, zugestimmt, sich mit den Kopfgeldjägern anzulegen, die sie dort in die Enge getrieben hatten. Aber um ehrlich zu sein, vermutete sie, dass sie es mit der Freude, die sie im Kampf zu haben schienen, umsonst getan hätten. In Tram musste Alex nicht nur die Schulden von Old Mac löschen, um ihn dazu zu bringen, die Advos abzulenken, die sie verfolgen, sondern jetzt schulden sie ihm einen Gefallen. Und da er den Gummer kannte, war es wahrscheinlich, dass er ihn für all seinen Wert melken würde. Ein Problem für einen weiteren Tag.

Alles in allem waren sie über sieben Systeme hinweg verfolgt worden und hatten sich nicht einen Moment lang ausruhen können. Nun, Mas schlief an einem guten Tag kaum, also schien er von der ganzen Erfahrung relativ unbeeindruckt. Tatsächlich ließ der Hacker bei der Gelegenheit, einen Einbruch in das Meridian Transit-Netzwerk in Garron zu koordinieren, lauter summen, als sie ihn je gehört hatte. Und Alex hatte sich zugegebenermaßen ausgelacht, als sie zusah, wie die gehackten Starliner-Routen ihre Verfolger behinderten. Aber das war schon vor Tagen. Nun, hier war sie in Bacchus, müde, hungrig, umgeben von einem Bienenstock von Banu, und sie konnte erkennen, dass ihr Gehirn noch lange nicht mit allen Triebwerken geschossen hatte.

Irgendwas an diesem Job stimmte nicht. Bezahlt zu werden, um Dateien bei Behring zu löschen, anstatt sie zu stehlen, war schon seltsam genug, aber jetzt, so wie das Gesetz hinter ihnen her war? Selbst mit einem Big Player wie Behring war die Resonanz mehr als ausreichend. Alex fühlte sich, als würde sie auf ein großes rotes Warnschild starren, aber sie war so erschöpft, dass sie es nicht lesen konnte.

Was sie wirklich brauchte, war etwa einen Monat auf Cassel, wo sie nichts anderes zu tun hatte, als zu schweben, zu trinken, mit der Marine zu flirten und all ihre hart erarbeiteten Credits auszugeben.

Wo wir gerade davon sprechen, Alex hat ihre Mobi angesprochen, um die Zeit zu überprüfen. Nur eine halbe Stunde, bis sie sich mit Herrn Grouse trafen und den Rest ihrer Zahlung erhielten. Sie drückte sich von der Schiene nach oben, drehte sich um und ging auf die Andockröhre zu, die Donosi Souli mit dem Rest der Flottillenstruktur verband. Hoffentlich konnte Mas Fortschritte bei der Entwirrung der Projektdaten machen, die sie heimlich aus dem Labor heruntergeladen hatten.

Ein paar Schritte zurück folgte Herr Grouse leise.

Zu sagen, dass Donosi Mas' alter Souli war, war ein wenig irreführend, aber es war für Alex einfacher, es so zu sehen. Donosi, eine Programmiergilde, war gegründet worden, als der frühere Gildenführer Essosouli Olosso gestorben ist. Mas hatte den Umsatz genutzt, um sich seine Freiheit zu erkaufen, während die meisten anderen Gildenmitglieder sich Olosso's Erben Donosi angeschlossen hatten, als sie ihre "neue" Souli gründete. Also im Grunde genommen, alle gleichen Leute, die von demselben Ort aus arbeiten und das Gleiche tun.

Glücklicherweise, während Mas nicht mehr als Familie galt, neigte Essosouli Donosi dazu, sie beide vorübergehend einzustellen, wann immer sie einen Platz brauchten, um sich für eine Weile zurückzuziehen. Im Gegenzug dafür, dass Mas für sie etwas Arbeit verrichtete, erhielten er und Alex den Schutz, den sie als Teil eines mächtigen Souli mitbrachten, und hielten angebliche Kopfgeldjäger dank der Komplexität der Banu-Politik in Schach.

Alex kam durch die alte Luftschleuse, die markierte, wo das Schiff der Donosi mit der Flottille verbunden war. Nicht, dass es noch ein großes Schiff war. Das Ding war seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr geflogen und war so von anderen Konstruktionen auf der ganzen Seite eingekesselt, dass unklar war, ob es abheben konnte, auch wenn es es wollte. Vorsichtig über dicke Kabelbäume gehend, machte sie sich auf den Weg nach innen. Es war sicher überladen, aber im Vergleich zu einigen der anderen Souli, die sie besucht hatte, war Donosi ordentlich und organisiert. Anstatt der üblichen überquellenden Sammlung von Kleinkram, zu der die meisten Banu angezogen zu sein schienen, befand sich der Reichtum der Computergilde in Daten. Regale und Regale mit Antrieben verschiedener Marken und Modelle säumten die Wände, einige von ihnen waren älter als sie. In der Mitte des Raumes befinden sich mehrere Banu, die sich an den Terminals, die über Codezeilen fließen, halb geneigt befinden. Bei dem Geräusch des Tippens konnte sie Mas hören, wie er glücklich vor sich hin summte.

"Glück gehabt, Mas?" fragte Alex.

"Oh, ja. Vieles", antwortete Mas mit einem breiten Lächeln. "Wir haben bestätigt, dass das Projekt Stargazer besonders wertlos ist."

Alex drehte sich um und sah Essouli Donosi den Raum betreten. Man konnte immer erkennen, wann Donosi sich näherte, weil die Dutzende von MobiGlas, die sie trug, beim Gehen zusammenklackerten. "Oh, ja", sagte Donosi. "Vollständiger Müll."

Das rote Warnschild in Alex' Kopf begann etwas schneller zu blinken. "Was meinst du damit? Wir bekamen ein Vermögen, um dieses Zeug zu vernichten."

Mas ging mit einem Datenadaption zu Alex hinüber und gestikulierte auf den Bildschirm. "Hier ist Project Stargazer."

"Sieht aus wie ein Zielraster."

"Es ist ein Fadenkreuz, das auf das Ziel gerichtet ist. Teil eines Designs, das den Schützen helfen sollte, ihre Waffen neu zu kalibrieren, wenn das Visier während des Kampfes ausgeschaltet war. Das Projekt wurde letztes Jahr zurückgestellt, als es in Tests als nur geringfügig effizienter erwiesen wurde, als es nicht zu nutzen."

"Der Datenpod, auf dem du ihn gespeichert hast, ist mehr wert als diese schrecklichen Informationen", sagte Donosi. "Totaler Müll. Utter Müll. Niemand würde jemals etwas für so etwas wie das bezahlen, was du mitgebracht hast."

Alex' Magen sank, als sie merkte, dass Donosi sich wiederholte. Ein sicheres Zeichen dafür, dass die Essosouli verhandelt haben. Ein Teil des vereinbarten Preises für den Schutz der Souli war die Information, die sie gestohlen hatten, und nun schien es, dass Donosi mit diesem Deal nicht mehr zufrieden war. Das war keine gute Nachricht, wenn man bedenkt, dass sowohl sie als auch Mas technisch an die Gilde gebunden waren.

"Dann kannst du den Datenpod behalten", antwortete Alex. "Los geht's, Mas." Sie zog an seinem Arm und versuchte, ihn dazu zu bringen, ihr zu folgen.

"Mas, bleib, wo du bist", sagte Donosi mit fester Stimme. "Deine Schulden wurden nicht beglichen."

Mas blieb stehen und Alex fand sich nutzlos dabei, an einer Mauer zu ziehen, die genauso gut eine Ziegelmauer gewesen sein könnte.

"Was machst du da? Lass uns gehen."

"Es tut mir leid, Alex", sagte Mas. "Ich kann nicht gehen, bis Essosouli Donosi es genehmigt hat."

"Ist das dein Ernst?"

"Ich werde eine bestimmte Bindung nicht brechen. Ich bin nicht wie ein Mensch." Damit blinzelte Mas ihr zu.

Alex war derjenige gewesen, der Mas das Blinzeln beigebracht hatte, und es hatte sich schnell als eine schreckliche Idee erwiesen. Mehr als ein paar Deals waren dank seines Zwinkerns nach Süden gegangen, als Alex versuchte, die Wahrheit ein wenig zu dehnen. Da jedoch keiner der anderen Banu wusste, was ein Zwinkern bedeutete, hätte sich die Fähigkeit schließlich ausgezahlt. Mas wollte, dass sie einen Ausweg findet.

"Und was denkst du, was unsere Schuld ist?" fragte Alex.

"Ein Monat der Wehen. Mas wird Zugang zu einigen schwierigen gesperrten Laufwerken erhalten, die wir erworben haben, und du wirst sie reinigen."

Selbst wenn sie ihr Rendezvous nicht hätte machen müssen, gab es kein Universum, das existierte, in dem Alex diese Bedingungen angenommen hätte. Hinter ihren Augen begannen Kopfschmerzen zu wachsen. Als ob sie nicht genug auf dem Teller hätte, ohne einen Monat lang Banu-Sklavin zu werden. Eigentlich dachte Alex, warum muss ich mich damit befassen?

"Und ich sage, es gibt keine Schulden. Du hast zugestimmt, die Informationen auf dem Datenpod zu nehmen und das ist es, was du bekommen hast. Ein Deal ist ein Deal."

"Informationen, die wertlos sind."

"Ja, das ist scheiße für dich. Nächstes Mal verhandelst du besser."

Ein Lächeln brach über Donosis Gesicht. "In Ordnung. Ihr seid frei zu gehen."

"Oh," antwortete Alex etwas verblüfft über die plötzliche Veränderung. Obwohl sie mit einem Banu lebte, konnte sie immer noch überrascht sein, wie fremd sich die Außerirdischen manchmal fühlten. " Danke."

"Komm schon, Alex", sagte Mas und stand vom Terminal auf. "Wir wollen nicht zu spät kommen."

Mas arbeitete mit dem Scanner des Starrunners, als Alex das Schiff zu den Rendezvous-Koordinaten führte, die der Kurier einige Tage zuvor an sie geliefert hatte.

Die relative Ruhe der Ente erwies sich eher als beunruhigend als die Erleichterung, die sie erwartet hatte. Und obwohl sie jetzt, da sie wieder an Bord ihres eigenen Schiffes war, eine Pause vom Schauen über ihre Schulter machen hätte können, fühlte sich Alex immer noch nervös. Nichts an diesem Job stand richtig. Warum sollte Grouse wollen, dass sie nutzlose Daten bereinigen? Warum sollte die Advocacy sie wie die Meistgesuchten des Imperiums behandeln? Warum wollte Grouse sich wieder treffen, anstatt nur die Credits zu schicken? Warum konnte sie nicht herausfinden, was zum Teufel los war?

"Das ist eine Falle, ja?" fragte Mas und hatte ähnliche Gedanken.

"Ja", stimmte Alex zu. "Du willst die Kredite und die Kaution vergessen?"

"Es sind eine Menge Credits."

"Es sind so viele Credits."

Mas dachte an einen Beat. "Wir können immer mehr Credits bekommen. Ich bin ein sehr guter Hacker und du bist auch gut in Sachen."

" Ja." Obwohl sie traurig war, das Geld zu verlieren, kam ein großes Gefühl der Erleichterung über sie, nachdem die Entscheidung gefallen war. "Wohin willst du gehen? Spinne? Vielleicht endlich mal Kayfa ausprobieren?"

"Ich fürchte, auch nicht", sagte Herr Grouse von hinten, die Energiepistole in seiner Hand trainierte auf Mas' Kopf. "Du wirst deinen derzeitigen Kurs beibehalten."

Alex, die sich selbst verfluchte, schwor, dass sie und Mas von nun an alle Liegeplätze nach blinden Passagieren durchsuchen würden, bevor sie abflogen.

"Lass mich raten, Advocacy wartet auf uns beim Rendezvous?" fragte Alex.

"Richtig, Ms. Dougan. Du wirst verhaftet, vor Gericht gestellt und verurteilt. Natürlich besteht die Möglichkeit, dass ich gezwungen werde, euch beide vorher zu töten, aber ich würde es lieber nicht tun."

"Du weißt, dass wir ihnen von dir erzählen werden, oder?"

"Das war schon immer der Plan. Die einzige Überraschung war, dass du es geschafft hast, der Gefangennahme so lange auszuweichen. Ich war mir sicher, dass sie dich am Daviener Sprungplatz hatten. Es war sehr beeindruckend, als dein Merkur sie noch einmal vertrieb."

"Warte", sagte Mas. "Wenn Sie wollten, dass die Diebe verhaftet werden, warum haben Sie uns dann beauftragt? Warum stellen Sie nicht böse Diebe ein?"

"Der Job musste erfolgreich sein. Ein kleineres Team wäre erwischt worden, bevor man das Projekt gelöscht hätte."

"Aber die Akten waren wertlos!" protestierte Alex.

"Genug, Ms. Dougan. Wir sollten jeden Moment beim Hinterhalt ankommen."

"Was ist mit dem Prärie-Blitzdelta?

" Was?"

Einen Moment, nachdem sie den Phrasenschlüssel ausgesprochen hatte, ging das EMP unter der Hauptkonsole los.

Mit einem ekelhaften Ruck fuhr das Schiff komplett herunter.

Herr Grouse, unvorbereitet, stolperte aus dem Gleichgewicht. Mas, sehr vorbereitet, schob sein Messer aus der Scheide und schlug auf den Arm ihres Entführers. Die Pistole fiel auf den Boden und Alex tauchte auf und holte die Waffe zurück, bevor Grouse es konnte.

"Ein EMP. Clever", sagte Grouse und atmete schwer, die tiefe Kerbe auf seinem Arm tropfte Blut auf den Boden.

"Mas' bekommt volle Anerkennung", sagte Alex. "Nun, wenn es dir nichts ausmacht, warum fängst du nicht an zu erklären, was zum Teufel du vorhast."

Bevor Grouse reagieren konnte, leuchteten plötzlich helle Scheinwerfer in das Cockpit. Eine Advocacy Vanguard, flankiert von zwei Banu Defenders, näherte sich schnell ihrem Schiff. Die Agenten müssen sich mit den Sicherheits-Souli in diesem Sektor ausgehandelt haben.

"Ich fürchte, es ist zu spät", sagte Grouse.

"Befehlen Sie es ihnen und sagen Sie ihnen, dass wir Sie töten werden, wenn Sie sich nicht zurückhalten."

"Warum sollten sie sich um eine Leiche kümmern?" fragte Grouse und erreichte seine Finger in der Wunde an seinem Arm.

"Mas! Haltet ihn auf!" rief Alex.

Mas hat sich gemeldet, aber nicht schnell genug.

"Dein Reich dankt dir für deinen Dienst", sagte Grouse, als er mit den Fingern seine Oberarmarterie durchtrennte. Der Blutstropfen verwandelte sich in eine rauschende Flut. Das Schneehuhn stürzte bewusstlos zu Boden.

Alex war sich sicher, dass die Erinnerung an das, was Grouse gerade getan hatte, den ersten Platz für das Schrecklichste, was sie je gesehen hat, für lange Zeit einnehmen würde. "Mist! Kennst du Erste Hilfe?"

"Nein." sagte Mas und blickte auf den Körper und seinen sich erweiternden Blutkreislauf herab. "Haben wir jemals mehr Medpen gekauft?"

"Mist. Mist. Mist. Hilf mir, etwas Druck auf ihn auszuüben oder so."

Dann setzte die Energie des Schiffes wieder ein.

"-gent Duck. Dies ist die UEE Advocacy. Bereiten Sie sich darauf vor, geentert zu werden."

Es schien, als hätten Alex und Mas eine Wahl. Entweder neigen Sie dazu, vor seinem Tod zu jammern, oder versuchen Sie, eine Gefangennahme zu vermeiden. Es war eine sehr einfache Wahl. "Mas, wirf seinen Körper in das Schloss und schnall dich an!"

Alex stürzte sich auf den Pilotsitz und öffnete die Drosseln bis max. Der Merkur erwachte zum Leben und raste auf die Vorhut zu, rollte, um ihre Backbordseite in den Bauch der Advocacy zu bringen. Die Schilde flammten auf, als die Zwillinge Sawbucks auf dem Turm der Vanguard einen direkten Treffer erzielten. Sie hielten vorerst, aber ein paar weitere Hits wie diese und die Ente wäre erledigt.

Ein Kopf-an-Kopf-Kampf war hier keine Option. Sie wurden übertroffen. Notfallmanöver waren an der Tagesordnung.

Alex gewann ein wenig Abstand zu den Verfolgern, als sie sich beeilten, um sich umzudrehen und die Verfolgung aufzunehmen, und öffnete schnell die hintere Rampe und drehte das Laderaster ab.

"Mas, Sonderlieferung!"

Alex zog hart an den Steuerungen und Mercury flog geradewegs nach oben und ließ die zehn Kisten in ihrem Frachtraum schwebend hinter sich. Sie packte den Verdunkelungshelm, den sie für diesen Moment in der Nähe hielt, und schob ihn schnell auf und gab dem Ausdruck "blind fliegen" eine ganz neue Bedeutung.

Mas begann zu zählen, "Drei... zwei... zwei... eins...".

Alex Herz ließ einen Schlag aus, bevor sie sich erinnerte, dass Banu auf Null herunterzählte.

" Null!"

Hinter ihnen erwachte eine kleine neue Sonne zum Leben, als die Kisten explodierten. Oder zumindest sah es so aus. Oder hätte so ausgesehen, als ob Alex etwas sehen könnte.

Jede der Kisten hatte das Äquivalent von hundert Fackeln enthalten. Die zehn Kisten zusammen reichten aus, um alle Sensoren in der Nähe so lange zu überlasten, bis sie die Reichweite verließen. Und vergiss den Versuch, sie visuell zu verfolgen. Diese armen Piloten hätten Glück, wenn sie ihre Sicht bald wiedererlangen würden.

Alex zog den Helm ab und richtete ein QT zum Asteroidengürtel von Bacchus aus.

"Wenn wir wieder auf der Flucht sein wollen", sagte Mas. "Ich glaube, ich würde gerne Leir besuchen gehen."

"Sicher, Mas." sagte Alex. "Du bist an der Reihe, trotzdem zu wählen."

Alex seufzte tief und versuchte im Moment, den Blutkreislauf zu ihren Füßen zu ignorieren, indem sie sich auf das Fliegen konzentrierte.

Keine Antworten. Kein Geld. Aber zumindest für den Moment hatten sie ihre Freiheit.

DAS ENDE.

Part One of the story can be read here.
Alex leaned over the railing to look down at the sprawling plaza below. Streams of Banu flowed in and around the stalls and shops that crowded the marketplace. The near deafening noise was a constant presence. Sellers shouted proudly about their wares, shrewd traders loudly haggled over sips of sloma, while young runners darted about trying to lure potential customers back to their Souli’s Merchantman where the finest fuel cyclers or crog berries or whatever it was they happened to be selling was waiting for just the right buyer.

And even over all that noise Alex could still hear her stomach rumble.

It seemed the one thing that wasn’t for sale on the Bacchus flotilla was a decent breakfast. After a harrowing experience with a ‘Human Breakfast Special’ that had resulted in a shallow dish filled with sliced hot dogs and popcorn covered in what she could only describe as very thick orange juice, Alex had sworn off eating till she could get back to the few ready meals still safely tucked away inside the Belligerent Duck’s stores.

That would have to wait though. Pushing her hunger aside, Alex searched the crowds below for anything suspicious. Which, when you’re inside a Banu flotilla, is sort of like looking for uptight swegs when on Earth. More specifically, she was looking for any undercover Advocacy Agents or bounty hunters who had the gall to follow them into Banu territory.

Typically, the Advocacy would pursue a thief for a system, maybe two, before they called back their resources and left it to the Bounty Hunting Guild to chase the culprit down. It wasn’t that the Advocacy weren’t eager to see justice done, they just had more important things to spend their time and efforts on (like vicious outlaw gangs and crazed serial killers). It was why the Empire relied so heavily on the bounty system in the first place. Doubly so when the jurisdiction crossed into the Banu Protectorate. With a high enough price, you could have hundreds of bounty hunters searching for free and only have to pay the person who collected. It saved time and credits.

The Advocacy’s focus was on big fish, and Alex had worked hard at staying a medium fish at best.

Yet, her and Mas’ escape from Terra had proven to be anything but typical. Instead of having to deal with the normal gaggle of cocksure guilders fumbling all over themselves to get paid, the Advocacy had mobilized dozens of Agents across multiple systems in one of the biggest dragnets she had ever seen. Every jump point had been swarming. Plus, there had been the daily dispatches encouraging citizens to share information with the authorities. Why was it that law-abiding types were always so bored they couldn’t just mind their own damn business?

The Duck could barely stop to refuel without some good Samaritan recognizing them from the wanted posters plastered all over the spec. Mas had to work overtime blocking or delaying comms until they were away, and even then, they still had to fight their way free more times than was healthy. They had always pulled through, but only by the slimmest of margins. Their Mercury had the scars to prove it.

On top of that, Alex had been forced to call in just about every outstanding favor she had. In Pyro, a crew that owed them for a records wipe had agreed to tangle with the bounty hunters who had cornered them there. Though, to be honest, she suspected they would have done it for free with the amount of joy they seemed to take in the fight. In Tram, Alex not only had to wipe Old Mac’s debt clear to get him to help distract the Advos tailing them, but now they owed him a favor. And knowing the gummer, he was likely to milk it for all its worth. A problem for another day.

All in all, they had been pursued across seven systems and hadn’t been able to rest for a moment. Well, Mas barely slept on a good day so he seemed relatively unperturbed by the whole experience. In fact, having the chance to coordinate an intrusion on the Meridian Transit network in Garron had the hacker humming louder than she had ever heard him. And admittingly, Alex had laughed herself watching the hacked starliner routes stymy their pursuers. But that had been days ago. Now, here she was in Bacchus, tired, hungry, surrounded by a hive of Banu, and she could tell that her brain was far from firing with all thrusters.

Something about this job wasn’t adding up. Being paid to delete files at Behring instead of stealing them was strange enough, but now with the way the law had been after them? Even with a big player like Behring involved the response had been above and beyond. Alex felt like she was staring at a big red warning sign, but she was so exhausted she couldn’t read it.

What she really needed was about a month on Cassel with nothing to do but float, drink, flirt with Navy, and spend all her hard-earned credits.

Speaking of which, Alex brought up her mobi to check the time. Only a half hour until they met with Mr. Grouse and received the rest of their payment. Pushing herself up from the rail, she turned and headed towards the docking tube that connected Donosi Souli to the rest of the flotilla structure. Hopefully, Mas had been able to make progress on untangling the project data they had secretly downloaded from the lab.

A few steps behind, Mr. Grouse quietly followed.

To say that Donosi was Mas’ old Souli was a bit misleading, but it was easier for Alex to think of it that way. A programming guild, Donosi had been formed when the previous guild leader, Essosouli Olosso has died. Mas had used the turnover to buy his freedom, while most of the other guild members had joined Olosso’s heir Donosi when she established her ‘new’ Souli. So basically, all the same people working out of the same place, doing the same thing.

Fortunately, while Mas was no longer considered family, Essosouli Donosi was inclined to temporarily hire them both whenever they needed a place to lay low for a while. In exchange for Mas doing some work for them, he and Alex received the protection that being part of a powerful Souli brought, keeping would-be Bounty Hunters at bay thanks to the intricacies of Banu politics.

Alex arrived through the old airlock that marked where the Donosi’s ship connected to the flotilla. Not that it was much of a ship anymore. The thing hadn’t flown in decades and was so hemmed in on all side by other structures it was unclear if it could take off even if it had wanted to. Carefully stepping over thick cable bundles, she made her way inside. It was cluttered for sure, but compared to some of the other Souli she had visited, Donosi was neat and organized. Rather than the usual overflowing collection of odds and ends that most Banu seemed drawn to, the computer guild’s wealth was all in data. Racks and racks of drives of various makes and models lined the walls, some of them older than her. In the center of the room, several Banu half-reclined at terminals pouring over lines of code. Over the sound of typing, she could hear Mas happily humming to himself.

“Any luck, Mas?” asked Alex.

“Oh, yes. Much,” replied Mas with a wide smile. “We have confirmed that Project Stargazer is particularly worthless.”

Alex turned to see Essouli Donosi enter the room. You could always tell when Donosi was approaching because the dozens of mobiGlas that she wore clacked together as she walked. “Oh, yes,” said Donosi. “Complete garbage.”

That red warning sign in Alex’s head started flashing a little faster. “What do you mean? We got paid a fortune to wipe this stuff.”

Mas walked over to Alex with a datapad and gestured to the screen. “This is Project Stargazer.”

“Looks like a targeting reticule.”

“It is a targeting reticule. Part of a design that was supposed to help gunners recalibrate their weapons if the sighting was off during combat. The project was shelved last year when it was proven in tests to only be slightly more efficient than not using it.”

“The datapod you stored it on is worth more than this terrible information,” said Donosi. “Total refuse. Utter trash. No one would ever pay anything for such a thing as what you have brought.”

Alex’s stomach sank when she realized that Donosi was repeating herself. A sure sign that the Essosouli was negotiating. Part of the agreed upon price for the Souli’s protection had been the info they’d stolen and now it seemed that Donosi was no longer satisfied with that deal. This was not good news considering that both her and Mas were technically indentured to the guild currently.

“You can keep the datapod then,” replied Alex. “Let’s go, Mas.” She pulled on his arm, trying to get him to follow her.

“Mas, stay where you are,” said Donosi in a firm voice. “Your debt has not been cleared.”

Mas stopped and Alex found herself uselessly pulling on what might as well have been a brick wall.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“I am sorry, Alex,” said Mas. “I cannot leave until Essosouli Donosi approves.”

“Are you serious?”

“I will not break a given bond. I am not like a Human.” With that, Mas winked at her.

Alex had been the one to teach Mas to wink and it had quickly proven to be a terrible idea. More than a few deals had gone south thanks to him winking when Alex was attempting to stretch the truth a bit. However, since none of the other Banu knew what winking meant, the skill might finally have payed off. Mas wanted her to find a way out of this.

“And what do you think our debt is?” asked Alex.

“A month of labor. Mas will gain access to some difficult locked drives we have acquired and you will clean.”

Even if they hadn’t needed to make their rendezvous, there was no universe that existed where Alex would have taken those terms. A headache began to grow behind her eyes. Like she didn’t have enough on her plate without becoming a Banu slave for a month. Actually, Alex thought, why am I having to deal with this?

“And I say there is no debt. You agreed to take the info on the datapod and that’s what you got. A deal’s a deal.”

“Information that is worthless.”

“Yeah, that sucks for you. Next time negotiate better.”

A smile broke across Donosi’s face. “Very well. You are free to go.”

“Oh,” Alex responded a bit taken aback by the sudden shift. Even though she lived with a Banu, she still could be surprised by how alien the aliens sometimes felt. “Thanks.”

“Come on, Alex,” said Mas, getting up from the terminal. “We don’t want to be late.”

Mas worked the star runner’s scanner as Alex guided the ship towards the rendezvous coordinates the courier had delivered to her a few days earlier.

The relative quiet of the Duck proved to be unnerving rather than the relief she had expected. And even though she should have been able to take a break from looking over her shoulder now that she was back aboard her own ship, Alex still felt on edge. Nothing about this job was sitting right. Why would Grouse want them to purge useless data? Why would the Advocacy be treating them like the Empire’s most wanted? Why did Grouse want to meet again rather than just sending the credits. Why couldn’t she figure out what the hell was going on?

“This is a trap, yes?” asked Mas, having similar thoughts.

“Yeah,” agreed Alex. “You want to forget the credits and bail?”

“It is a lot of credits.”

“It is so many credits.”

Mas thought for a beat. “We can always get more credits. I am a very good hacker and you are also good at things.”

“Yeah.” Though she was sad to be losing the money, a huge sense of relief came over her now that the decision had been made. “Where do you want to go? Spider? Maybe finally check out Kayfa?”

“Neither, I’m afraid,” said Mr. Grouse from behind them, the energy pistol in his hand trained at Mas’ head. “You will maintain your current course.”

Alex, cursing herself, swore that from now on she and Mas were going to search all the berths for stowaways before taking off.

“Let me guess, Advocacy are waiting for us at the rendezvous?” asked Alex.

“Correct, Ms. Dougan. You will be arrested, tried and convicted. Of course, there is a chance I will be forced to kill you both before then, but I would prefer not to.”

“You know we’ll tell them about you, right?”

“That has always been the plan. The only surprise was you managing to evade capture this long. I was certain they had you at the Davien jump point. It was most impressive when your Mercury gave them the slip once again.”

“Wait,” said Mas. “If you wanted the thieves arrested, then why did you hire us? Why not hire bad thieves?”

“The job needed to be successful. A lesser team would have been caught before deleting the project.”

“But the files were worthless!” protested Alex.

“Enough, Ms. Dougan. We should be arriving at the ambush any moment now.”

“What about Prairie Lightning Delta?

“What?”

A moment after she had uttered the phrase-key, the EMP rigged under the main console went off.

With a sickening lurch, the ship powered completely down.

Mr. Grouse, unprepared, tripped forward off balance. Mas, very prepared, slipped his knife from its sheath and slashed at their captor’s arm. The pistol dropped to the floor and Alex dove, recovering the weapon before Grouse could.

“An EMP. Clever,” said Grouse, breathing hard, the deep gouge on his arm dripping blood onto the floor.

“Mas’ gets full credit,” said Alex. “Now, if you don’t mind, why don’t you start explaining what in hell it is you’re up to.”

Before Grouse could respond, bright headlights suddenly shone into the cockpit. An Advocacy Vanguard flanked by two Banu Defenders was quickly approaching their ship. The Agents must have negotiated their way in with the Security Souli in this sector.

“I am afraid it’s too late,” said Grouse.

“Comm them and tell them we’ll kill you if you don’t stand down.”

“Why would they care about a corpse?” asked Grouse, reaching his fingers inside the wound on his arm.

“Mas! Stop him!” shouted Alex.

Mas reached out, but not fast enough.

“Your Empire thanks you for your service,” said Grouse as he used his fingers to sever his brachial artery. The trickle of blood turned into a gushing flood. Grouse collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Alex was certain that the memory of what Grouse had just done would hold the top spot for the most terrifying thing she’s ever seen for a long time to come. “Crap! Do you know first aid?”

“No.” said Mas, looking down at the body and its widening pool of blood. “Did we ever buy more medpens?”

“Crap. Crap. Crap. Help me get some pressure on him or something.”

It was then that the ship’s power kicked back on.

“—gent Duck. This is the UEE Advocacy. Prepare to be boarded.”

It seemed Alex and Mas had a choice. Either tend to Grouse before he died, or try to avoid capture. It was a very easy choice. “Mas, dump his body in the lock and strap in!”

Alex threw herself into the pilot seat and opened up the throttles to max. The Mercury burst to life and hurtled towards the Vanguard, rolling to bring their port side to the Advocacy’s ventral. The shields flared as the twin Sawbucks on the Vanguard’s turret scored a direct hit. They held for now, but a few more hits like that and the Duck would be done for.

A head to head fight wasn’t an option here. They were outclassed. Emergency escape maneuvers were the order of the day.

Gaining a bit of distance from the pursuers as they rushed to turn around and give chase, Alex quickly opened up the rear ramp and turned off the cargo grid.

“Mas, special delivery!”

Alex pulled hard on the controls and Mercury flew straight up, leaving the ten crates in their hold floating behind them. She grabbed the blackout helmet she kept nearby for just this moment and quickly slipped it on, giving all new meaning to the phrase ‘flying blind.’

Mas began counting down, “Three… two… one… “

Alex heart skipped a beat before she remembered that Banu counted down to zero.

“Zero!”

Behind them, a small new sun burst to life as the crates exploded. Or at least that’s what it looked like. Or would have looked like if Alex could see anything.

Each of the crates had contained the equivalent of a hundred flares. The ten crates combined was enough to overload any nearby sensors long enough for them to clear range. And forget trying to track them visually. Those poor pilots would be lucky if they got their vision back any time soon.

Alex pulled off the helmet and lined up a QT towards the Bacchus asteroid belt.

“If we are going to be on the run again,” said Mas. “I think I would like to go visit Leir.”

“Sure, Mas.” said Alex. “It’s your turn to pick anyway.”

Alex let out a deep sigh and for the moment tried to ignore the pool of blood at her feet by concentrating on flying.

No answers. No money. But for now at least, they had their freedom.

THE END.