02. Back to square one
06 Jun 2020Archived
Near Crook ProspectChambo 6b, Chambo system
Federal space
White laser beam hit left side of his Eagle, causing the ship to yaw violently. Blue ripples marked the point of impact as shields dissipated the energy. Vadim throttled up and turned away from the small planetary outpost, violently descending towards the icy surface. His steely eyes scanned onboard systems and displays. Everything was in order. Small fighter levelled off few a meters above the ground, extended the landing gear and touched down.
Kerensky pulled up the communications console.
“This is Vadim. I can see the target”.
“Excellent. Hack the hub access terminal and download the schedule of our object as agreed. Send it directly to us once you reach the orbit.”
“Uh-huh” - he terminated the connection, got up from the pilot’s chair and went to the next compartment, where the SRV was parked. As he was strapping in, he marvelled at how easy it was to find this job at Farkas Dock in AY Indi. Throughout the galaxy there were dark places where shady characters were waiting for pilots like himself to show up and do business. Most often illegal or downright criminal. It was the same this time. He met a guy who needed a pilot to do some wet work for him and his group. Hack a station, download itinerary of some local politician, then locate the target - and eliminate him.
Kerensky agreed to do it for mere 19 000 and a new Eagle Mk II, the one he was sitting in right now. He left the stolen Sidewinder in the hangar bay, physically destroying the mainframe and black box beforehand. It felt good to be free again. It felt good to be flying. And sure as hell it felt good to feel the adrenaline rushing through his body again.
Crook Prospect was pretty well guarded against incoming starships, but almost defenceless against ground incursion. Itd turrets had a very limited angle of fire and were quickly destroyed. The rest was easy: download data from the terminal, while he was at it also from the comms relay, and then back to the waiting fighter.
When he got to planet’s orbit, he transmitted the information to his contract givers back in AY Indi. Few minutes later new message arrived.
“Target location: Hollatja. Asp Explorer, ID: MI-06A. Good luck”.
Vadim frowned. Luck. Superstitions. There was no such thing as luck. Only skills and competences. No luck.
Vicinity of Nav Beacon
Hollatja system
Federal space
Kerensky was just about to scan the beacon when he saw him. White Asp was hanging in space, engines at idle. Vadim cursed - there probably was a dozen of other ships around. He came closer, watching his prey.
Finally, he brought up the comms panel and hailed the vessel. Its pilot responded almost immediately.
“This is MIke India Oh-six Alpha. What is it that you need, commander?”
“I wanted to say how I.. um, admire Mister Square and what he does for the people. I have some.. information I’d like to share with him should he be interested.”
“What kind of information?”
Vadim hesitated for a second.
“I wouldn’t want to discuss it over open comms here, in the open. But it is directly linked with Mr Square’s security. I have evidence that certain organisation may be... plotting to kill him”.
“Standby”
Kerensky grinned. It always worked. Then he heard another voice, harsh and demanding.
“Victor Alpha zero three Echo, this is Federal Security, standby for routine checks”.
Vadim cursed. He was clean in this system, but his ship now surely was in the Federal database after his attack on Crook Prospect. Plus he himself figured as “suspended” in Pilot Federation logs, which meant trouble. Still, this was his only shot at this - he could take out Square now or never have another chance. He acted upon instincts, deploying his weapons and opening up on the Asp Explorer.
Shields started dropping, but ever so slowly. Two basic pulse cannons were too weak to chew through the defences of the larger vessel. Red triangles appeared on his scanner. Police. He kept shooting, staying on his target’s tail, but now his own shields got plummeted by lasers, dwindling almost instantly. Sparks erupted from several systems in his cockpit. Kerensky clenched his jaws. He was not going back to jail.
His hand shot to ejection system manual override and disabled it. He flew glued to the Explorer, but its hull was still intact. Smoke erupted from behind and blurred Vadim’s vision and he sealed his space suit. Suddenly, the world started spinning madly after one of Eagle’s thrusters exploded in a fireball. His cockpit went dark as the power got cut and emergency systems failed to kick in.
Vadim Kerensky, on his second day of freedom, helplessly watched as his life turned into a desperate merry-go-around, as he sat in deep space in a mortally wounded ship...