Galactic Frontiers: A Collection of Space Opera and Military Science Fiction Stories Read online

  “You okay?” Zhang asked.

  Kirya spoke before the young man could finish gasping.

  “We don’t have much time. Neither does the crew. I’ve seen what these animals can do, and trust me. They’ll kill every last person on this ship until they get what they want.”

  “So…what now?” Weston asked.

  “We run, and we keep going until we get to the crew.”

  Zhang nodded in agreement, and without further conversation, the three made their way back through the ship. The passages were short towards the rear, but the heat rather than space really made life difficult for them. The passage ran past the primary storage deck, and Kirya made a mental note of the place. It was stacked floor to ceiling with sealed containers filled with foodstuffs. Once passed the large service doors, they came to sealed doorway leading to a slowly rotating shaft.

  “The crew habitation ring,” said Kirya, “We made it back quicker than I expected.”

  Weston grinned.

  “I told you we knew the ship.”

  Kirya didn’t seem overly impressed. Zhang Wei nodded towards the doors, and then looked back behind them, perhaps expecting the pirates to appear.

  “Where to now? We need to get the crew freed.”

  Kirya’s brow tightened as she considered their predicament.

  “And then what? There’ll be more of us, and we’ll be unarmed. You heard what their boss was saying. They clearly had people on the inside. They could be waiting for us at any corner.”

  “The Navy!”

  Zhang shrugged. “What about them?”

  Weston licked his lips as he explained.

  “We’re on a main shipping route, aren’t we? We get to comms and activate the main distress relay.”

  Kirya seemed interested.

  “How long until they can reach us?”

  Weston sighed before answering.

  “Normally at least a week. Sometimes a lot longer.”

  Zhang and Kirya shook their heads and looked away from him.

  “But…and this is a big but. I know there are military exercises going on near Agora. That’s why we’ve taken this wider course to get there.”

  “Wait. So you’re saying if we can alter our course, we…”

  The young man shook his head and pointed to the floor.

  “We’re travelling along this arc to finally reach Agora as planned, right? The gravity of the planet helps pull us in this direction.”

  Both women nodded slowly.

  “Well, these pirates, mercs, whatever. They’re running the engines hot. They want to adjust the arc around the planet. We’ll end up much farther away, and wherever they plan on taking us. But that’s not going to happen, is it?”

  Kirya looked confused, but suddenly Zhang Wei’s face lit up.

  “Wait. The engines will fail, and the gravity of Agora will pull us in closer to the planet…”

  “And?”

  Both turned to look at Kirya.

  “And take us right through the military exercise. The slower we go, the faster we will travel to Agora.”

  Kirya shook her head while smiling.

  “Of course. Perfect. How long?”

  Weston’s eyebrows rose with amusement.

  “Based on our failing orbit, I estimate we’ll be within primary scanner range in six hours. If we’re lucky, we might be close enough to one or more ships to help.”

  Kirya liked the sound of that.

  “So, how do we get to comms?”

  That instantly deflated Weston.

  “Well?”

  He looked away, as though embarrassed about what he was going to say.

  “We need to get back to the bridge.”

  To his surprise, Kirya didn’t appear angry and merely nodded in a matter of fact way.

  “I see. Okay, can you get there without being seen?”

  “Of course, but what about the crew? Ours and theirs? The place will be guarded, and I’m not a soldier.”

  Kirya winked at him.

  “Well, luckily, I am.”

  She turned to Zhang Wei.

  “Take me to the brig. We’ll free the crew, arm them somehow, and then kick up one hell of a stink.”

  She glanced over to Weston.

  “That should get you the time you need. Right?”

  The ship vibrated violently, and a loud bang echoed through every single section. The feeling of weight vanished instantly, and Kirya was drifting once more. She grabbed onto the nearest handrail.

  “You did it. The engines are offline.”

  He almost laughed with relief.

  “Worse than offline. They’re overheated on the main couplings. It will take hours, maybe days before they can fire again.”

  Weston looked into Kirya’s eyes. She could see he was nervous, and he had absolutely every reason to be. Unlike him, she knew what was coming, and she knew their chances.

  “Yeah, should do.”

  Kirya moved closer to his and reached out to grasp his arm.

  “Wait until they’re distracted. Then get in and do your job fast. I can’t guarantee how long we can hold them off for.”

  Weston began to move away but turned back.

  “I may be able to use the reverse thrusters, if I can make it to the bridge. It could shave up to another twenty percent off our time.”

  Kirya placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Do what you can, but keep your head down.”

  He turned his focus to Zhang Wei.

  “We’ll be waiting for you. Be safe, my friend.”

  “I will.”

  Without further fuss, he moved through the doors and to the right. In seconds, he was gone, leaving the two women alone. Kirya took in a long, slow breath.

  “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Interplanetary Liner ‘Starlighter’

  Branko Gregor marched along the corridor to the brig with six of his best-armed men. Every one of them wore heavy body armour and carried all manner of strange and exotic weapons. Two had shotguns; the rest used equipment from multiple army surplus traders. Branko moved quickly, beads of sweat dripping down his face. His datapad beeped, and he picked up the unit from the lanyard on his flank. Before him was the partially corrupted videostream from another ship.

  “Yeah?”

  “Branko. We’ve made the course changes you requested. We’ll be with you in six hours. I don’t like this.”

  “And?”

  “We had a deal, Branko. The rendezvous is nearly two days from here. You were supposed to boost the ship into high orbit to meet us. You know…somewhere quiet. Not right into the middle of Confederate patrols.”

  “Space is a big place, my friend. They won’t even detect us…if we’re smart. Our transponder is off and comms have been disconnected. We’re just another ship travelling through.”

  “So what? Flying Dragon is an armed merchant ship, not a destroyer. There are Confederate cruisers in the area. Screw this up, and they’ll be on us like wolves.”

  Branko shook his head with barely concealed frustration.

  “By the time we’ve offloaded the cargo from the ship, it will be too late for them. My men have already planned for this. Just be there, as arranged.”

  Branko cut the connection and looked back to Zena.

  “I want control of this ship. Find those stowaways, and…”

  “Kill them?”

  Branko shook his head.

  “No, bring them to me.”

  He tapped his datapad once more.

  “Armando. How long until your charges are ready?”

  The reply was instant.

  “Already installed. Where do you want the control system? I assume you’d rather keep it off the grid, after your…problems.”

  Branko snarled as he listened to Armando.

  “Set up a remote control unit in the bridge. We’ll meet you back there in thirty minutes.”

  * * *

  Kirya
and Zhang Wei looked through the door of the brig in astonishment. The doors were all open, but nothing had prepared them for the massacre before them. The place looked more like an abattoir than a holding area for troublesome guests, or maybe even the odd pickpocket or petty criminal.

  “The animals,” Zhang hissed through her teeth, “They brought the crew here and killed them like cattle.”

  Kirya could feel a rage building deep inside her. It was one of those emotions that the Army had isolated, and then worked on to bring to the surface. She didn’t snap very often, but when she did, it was a sight to behold. She took multiple deep breaths, but nothing seemed to calm her.

  “They had absolutely no intention of keeping a single soul alive on this ship. And if they find us, they’ll do exactly the same.”

  “We have to stick to the plan. It’s our only option.”

  Kirya shook her head.

  “No. We have another option. We hunt down and kill them instead.”

  Zhang Wei looked at her in surprise. She’d suspected the newcomer was a little dangerous, but this was more than she expected.

  “Come with me. I know where we can find weapons.”

  Kirya lifted her shotgun and showed Zhang the empty chamber.

  “We need something, because right now all I’ve got is a metal club.”

  They left the scene of carnage and went inside the main crew habitation ring. The first thing Kirya noticed and appreciated was the return of artificial gravity. They could move quickly, but also with much more control. Floor by floor they passed more store rooms, the kitchen and food preparation area, and another pair of crew quarters. As they reached the third, both stopped and moved to the sides of the narrow passage. Before them was a body, and blood running along the walls where it must have bumped about during the shifts in gravity. Zhang looked to Kirya who signalled for her to be quiet. They inched closer, and Zhang bent down to check for signs of life. Kirya, meanwhile, lifted her thermal shotgun and aimed it off along the passageway.

  “He’s dead. Knife slash to the throat. They let him bleed out.”

  Kirya was doing her best to control her growing rage.

  “We need the others, and fast. This is going to get messy.”

  Kirya could have laughed as she listened.

  “Others? You’re serious?”

  Zhang checked the body for anything useful and pulled out a battered datapad. She tapped the unit, and it sprung to life. Unfortunately, the screen blinked with a security lockdown indicator.

  “No good, they’ve locked us out.”

  Kirya lifted a hand to signal to Zhang.

  “Get back.”

  Zhang stepped through the open door and into the dark, empty crew area. Kirya had nowhere to go other than behind the bulkhead that extended out half a metre on one side. There were emergency lamps and first aid equipment behind the glass. None of this was of much use to her at this moment, but it did provide her with the modicum of cover.

  Stay still. They won’t see you, even if you’re right in front of them if you’re still.

  It was an old lesson taught to her by her instructors, but it was also true. She could see them as they came towards her. They were dressed differently to the others, confirming her suspicion that there must be more than one group. The two at the front wore cut down pants, with military style flak jackets, and civilian thermal shotguns in their hands. Behind them was a man in the Starlighter crew uniform. He was unarmed but carried a datapad. They came nearer and nearer until Kirya knew they must surely see her.

  “Maybe somebody should move the old fool?” said the man in the crew uniform.

  One of the mercenaries laughed.

  “Why? They’re all gonna freeze soon enough. You heard the Captain. He wants no witnesses. There’s a reason we screwed with all the lifeboats.”

  “Yeah,” said the second mercenary. He pointed to the body as they approached to within a metre of it, “Nobody gets off this ship and lives. Not today.”

  He looked to his friends and sniggered. Kirya felt her whole body shaking. She’d seen the terror of those in the lifeboats. She could easily have been one of them, and now all of them were dead. Hundreds of people killed for the greed of these mercenaries and pirates.

  “If the Captain’s right, we can retire with what this ship’s carrying. You know what today is, right?”

  “Pay day!” Kirya yelled.

  She stepped out and jumped into the group. At this range, they panicked, two mercenaries opening fire without thinking. The thermal shells bit into the metal of the ship’s walls, but went no further. The second blast struck the traitorous crewmember in the chest. The impact was heavy, sending his lifeless body metres down the passage before coming to a stop.

  “What the hell!”

  Kirya swept her leg low, sending one mercenary to the ground in an ungraceful heap. The second twisted about and pulled the trigger. Kirya slammed the butt of her own empty shotgun into his, beating it aside and sending the shell into the ceiling. Without pausing, she dropped her weapon and yanked his shotgun from his surprised hands. With it reversed, Kirya slammed the stock into his face, breaking his nose in a puff of blood. As he staggered about, she spun the weapon around, pulled back on the pump action, and squeezed the trigger.

  “No!” Zhang shouted.

  It was too late. The shell struck the man in the face, killing him instantly. Before the body hit the ground, Zhang turned to her and shook her head.

  “What?” Kirya asked defiantly, “He had it coming.”

  Zhang slid down to the wounded man on the ground and punched him once, twice, and then lifted her hand a third time. He lifted his hands in submission before she glanced back at Kirya.

  “I need one of them to talk.”

  “Too late,” said Kirya.

  They looked down to see white fluid bubbling from the man’s mouth. Kirya’s eyes opened wide with incredulity.

  “These mercenaries are not just here for some stray coin. There’s something valuable on this ship, and they’ll kill everybody to keep it.”

  She shook her head as she rose back up to full height, but not before stripping the weapons and ammunition from the fallen.

  “Any news from Weston?”

  Zhang checked the datapad.

  “It’s working now, and his last message said he was three compartments away and waiting for his moment.”

  “Then we need to do our job. What’s the quickest way to the main galley?”

  “The galley that leads directly back to the bridge?”

  “Yeah.”

  “This way.”

  They inched their way carefully through the narrow passages, doing their best to avoid the frequent pools of blood and bodies littering the place. Kirya started to lose count of the amount of death, and with each new discovery her anger increased. Finally, they almost ran into the main galley, but both paused.

  “This is it,” said Zhang, “the direct path cuts through the habitation ring. That way is to the bridge, and back that way to engineering, and the junction connecting to the passenger ring.”

  Kirya examined both directions carefully. The floor was gently curved as it extended out into a long tube that rotated back on itself inside the ring. Indentations along the walls marked the positon of side rooms and other passages. More important, the place was very well lit and easy to spot people in either direction.

  “Can you hear that?”

  They waited in silence, but the sound of footsteps was obvious.

  “Okay. And how do we get out of here?”

  Zhang pointed to a pair of doors in the direction of the bridge.

  “The left one attaches to the ring assembly and access to the passenger ring. The one on the right loops back to the officers’ kitchen.”

  “Okay. Don’t kill them, not yet. Injure them and then fall back.”

  Kirya continued to drag out wheeled trolleys from the brackets along the walls. Zhang quickly realised what she was doing and
did the same. Soon there were obstructions in three different places. Finally, Kirya stopped and looked back to admire the place.

  “Good. I’ll dig in here, at the front. You’ll cover me when I fall back. Can you do this?”

  Zhang seemed to find that amusing.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve been in worse. We give ground and wear them down. Got it.”

  “Exactly. If they hit us hard, we withdraw to the bridge and barricade our way inside until help arrives.”

  “What about the guards at the bridge?”

  Kirya almost laughed.

  “Trust me, once we get started, they’ll come. And that will give Weston the chance he needs.”

  The woman intrigued Kirya, but there was no time to waste thinking on it any further. Something about the woman appealed to her, perhaps her feisty nature that matched her own. She smiled to herself and then checked her weapon. The modified thermal shotgun was little different to the one she’d used earlier. What it lacked in range and accuracy, it more than made up for in power. The footsteps became louder, followed by low voices. She signalled to Zhang who ducked down behind a pair of steel trollies. Two men appeared first, followed by a group of arguing men. Kirya didn’t recognise their faces, but they looked little different to any of the others she’d seen so far. Her gut made her want to open fire right now, but her mind told her to wait. She glanced back and checked on Zhang.

  She’s a cool customer. I like her.

  They settled into position, one each side of the galley, and waited. More and more mercenaries entered the place, and they could both see at least six of them. Kirya remained still until they were just five metres away. Then she leapt up and pulled the trigger. The thermal shotgun barked once, twice, and kept on going before she dropped back down. Six shots, and every one struck a target. Three men went down, howling in pain from the super-heated thermal pellets.

  “Open fire!” shouted a man from further back.

  Pistols and shotguns fired, but Kirya had already gone and was racing back to the next position. The mercenaries advanced past their wounded comrades only to take more fire from Zhang Wei. Kirya ran right past her to the next partial barricade five metres further back. She slid into position while still reloading the shotgun. The mercenaries were stuck behind her first position and using the cover to return fire. Shots glanced along the walls, but Kirya could see they’d done the job. They were pinned down, too nervous to move closer for fear of being hit by the shotguns.