DarkStar Running (Living on the Run Book 2) (8 page)

With the core planets left far behind,
Stan
and Lilia skirted the Dalvus Nebula,
a major obstacle to get around.

This morning Stan sat at the helm studying the scanner, or
trying to, anyway. He wanted to get Lilia off his mind by focusing on other
things, but when she joined him, she ignored the co-pilot’s seat, insisting on
seeing
his
scanner by leaning over his shoulder. This made his ability
to focus . . .

. . . unattainable.

Didn’t she realize that her long, soft curls caressed his
cheek, or that her fresh, just bathed scent drew his attention closer?

Or maybe she was well aware.

He inhaled deeply to enjoy the moment, then mentally shook
himself and spoke to break the spell that was rapidly overcoming him.

He tapped the screen. “If we cut through here, through the
Straits of Andus we could shave weeks of travel time from our schedule.”

Lilia eased back. “Dangerous move isn’t it, um, Swift? Don’t
pirates control the Straits?”

His call sign certainly sounded sweet on her lips, and
brought a smile to his. He refocused. “Taking the long way around will extend
our trip, but it’s safer by far.”

“Okay, then—”

“Wait a minute.” Stan leaned forward and zoomed in on an
area directly ahead. “Long-range scanners are picking up something.”

Lilia slid into the other chair.

“Looks like a Brigantine and Corsair are chasing a small
yacht, Lilia.” Stan turned to face her. “The pursuers are closing to gun range
and will catch the yacht soon.”

“No time to lose, Stan. Guns or helm?”

“Take the helm,” he said, transferring control to her. “
DarkStar
,
we need to get a message to that yacht and not alert the pirates chasing him.
How do we do that?”

“I suggest a narrow communication beam directed at the
yacht’s scanner.”

“Yes, do it. Get his attention; tell him to come to heading
29-16, and we’ll help.”

“And tell them,” Lilia added, “
Do not
reply to this
message.”

With that, the small ship altered course toward
DarkStar
.

“I’m loading the rack with class 1 rockets,” Stan said, “and
targeting the Brigantine.”

“Sir,” responded
DarkStar
, “class 1’s will not
penetrate the Brigantine’s shields.”

“That’s the idea,
DarkStar
. Watch and learn.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Apply ‘
Prize
’ color scheme,” Lilia said.

“Aye, Captain Slone,
Prize
it is.”

Stan’s favorite color scheme, that of a large, luxurious
yacht, was the perfect pirate lure.

As
DarkStar
came at the other three ships head-on, Stan
armed three rockets. Launching them in succession, the rockets shot ahead of
DarkStar
,
veered up and over the yacht, passed the Corsair, and one after the other lit
up the bow shields of the Brigantine.

“Sir, we are being hailed.”

Stan cocked his head. “By whom?”

“The Brigantine
Val Hilliard
, sir.”

He glanced up as though the ceiling were the source of his
ship’s voice, but caught himself. That annoying habit would take effort to
break.

“
DarkStar
,” he said, “create internal overlay persona
‘
Stan-Lilia 3
,’ please.”

“Aye, sir.”

He glanced at Lilia. “Remember, we want to appear incredibly
arrogant, right?”

Sober and focused, she nodded her approval.

He launched three more rockets. “Okay
DarkStar
, open
communications.”

On the big screen, the Brigantine Captain appeared. He was a
tall, well-tanned man in a uniform of a sort. “
Prize,
I am Capt. Andrews
of
Val Hilliard
. This is not your affair. Please stand down.” Right then
the three rockets connected with
Val Hilliard
, rattling it a bit.
Andrews grimaced and set his jaw.

If the holo-image ‘
Stan-Lilia 3
’ worked correctly,
from
Val Hilliard’s
bridge Andrews would see Stan and Lilia relaxing in
a posh living area. Lilia wore a beautiful Etherian-silk evening dress while Stan
was dressed in a fine Sharminia suit. In this guise, they looked well heeled.

With his nose held just a little higher, Stan acted as
though he and she were above it all. Arrogance personified, he spoke as if his
every word was glaringly important. “I am Headley Farnsworth, sir, of the
Parandine Farnsworths. Capt. Andrews, I must tell you that I will not have you
harassing fellow yachtsmen; I simply will not have it. Now heave to immediately
or suffer another volley of my best.”

Although Captain Andrews’ tone was firm and measured,
tempered with civility, his brow was knit with amused dismay. “Mr. Farnsworth,
this does not concern you. If I were a pirate, I would prefer your craft to the
one I pursue, would I not? Now please stand down.”

Stan turned and spoke as if to someone off-screen. “Captain,
it seems this man will not listen to reason. Close communications.” With that
the screen went black.
DarkStar
shot past the two pursuit ships and
turned to follow them.

“Well . . . that was different,” Lilia said.

“Hmm, that’s an understatement.” Stan hunched over his
screen to make sense of what he saw. “Not pirates, then what’s their game?”

“What says they’re not pirates, Stan? Even if it’s not
apparent, to them that little yacht carries something far more valuable than
Prize
.”

Stan drew a firm hand down his face. Trying to understand
this confusing mess wasn’t going to be easy. “Our first instinct was to take
the side of the smaller craft. Do you think we may have been wrong in that?”

Deep in thought, Lilia didn’t reply.

“Let’s try something else.” Stan turned back to his console.
“
DarkStar
, open a channel to the yacht.”

The screen came to life. On it, with a face thick with
sweat, a trembling, pudgy, but well-dressed man screamed into the monitor.
“Help me! They’re going to kill me!”

Stan scowled. “My good man, what do these brigands want with
you?”

“What? Are you deaf?” he shouted. “They want to kill me.”

“Yes, yes,” Stan said, still playing the part of an
unruffled aristocrat, “but
why
do they want to kill you?”

“I am the Governor of Praxis, and they are instigating a
coup.” His eyes darted as if frantic for an idea. “Help me elude them, and I’ll
pay you 25 denalli.”

“Humph! More money indeed.” Stan said. “I suppose to a few
that pittance would seem like a small fortune. But I find your presumption that
I lack for money insulting.” He turned away. “Close the connection.”

“Something’s not right,” Lilia said. “I can’t say why, but I
don’t trust that man.”

Stan glanced at her. “Andrews seems no better. What say we
not involve ourselves?”

DarkStar
sounded an alarm. “Warning, danger! Ambush
ahead: two Galleasses, one Xebec, and three Corsairs, all lying in wait.”

Lilia swiveled her chair to Stan. “Now what?”

Before Stan could think,
DarkStar
answered Lilia.
“The yacht’s pilot knows the other ships are there, ma’am. The yacht turned
toward them as if this was his original and intended course heading.”

“Looks like a side has been chosen for us,” Stan said. “
DarkStar
,
raise
Val Hilliard
.”

Andrews appeared on the screen. “I’m rather busy, Mr.
Farnsworth. What do you want?”

“Captain, it’s a trap.” Stan said with an urgency that
surprised even himself. “In the nebula dead ahead are two Galleasses.”

Andrews’ eyes flared in surprise. “How do you know that,
Farnsworth?”

“Long-range scanners, sir. You should see them on yours any
second now.”

Capt. Andrews looked away to study something off screen,
nodded to someone, then turned back to Farnsworth.

“All right, ship’s signatures are detected. But how do you
know
exactly
what they are,
unless
you, sir, are a party to
them?”

“My good man, I assure you, my scanners are the latest our
technology has to offer. Now tell me truthfully, what’s that yacht to you?”

Andrews’ square jaw tensed visibly. “I have little reason to
trust you, Farnsworth.”

Stan threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine, take ’em on by
yourselves. This isn’t my fight after all, Andrews. Once you’re enslaved and
your ships are picked clean by space vultures ask yourself if, against those
ships, you could’ve used another gun. If nothing else, sir,
Prize
could’ve served as bait.”

“Bait, huh? Bait for whom: them or me?” Hesitant, Andrews
leaned forward as if to dissect Farnsworth’s true intentions. “Okay,
Farnsworth, it seems I have little choice.”

“That would seem to be the case, Capt. Andrews. What’s going
on?”

Gathering his thoughts, Andrews leaned back. “Governor Chact
is aboard that yacht. He taxed us well beyond his government’s needs, then
embezzled the money and ran. Without his return, Praxis is bankrupt. Our aim,
Capt. Boyd of
Star Sword
and I, is to restore what he took and bring him
to justice.”

In affirmation, Stan nodded. “Understood, Captain. After you
reclaim him, head home with all due speed. You’ll have two Galleasses and a
Xebec hot on your tail.”

Andrews’ expression changed to one of startled puzzlement.
“What—”

Stan closed the channel and turned to Lilia. “Shall we,
Luv
?”
he said with a voice dripping with arrogance.

“Let’s,” she replied as snooty as he. Increasing speed, she
passed both ships to catch the small yacht.

Full throttle, six ships shot from the nebula to ambush
Val
Hilliard
,
Star Sword
, and
Prize
.

Stan locked a gun onto the yacht and fired. Instantly, the
little ship lost all power and dropped to sub-light speed. As
Prize
flew
passed it, Stan aimed at the lead Corsair and fired all guns at once, then
loaded class three rockets.

Andrews’ Brigantine scooped up the yacht and turned back
toward Praxis.
Star Sword
followed
Prize
to assist.

The two Galleasses and Xebec ran after Andrews’ ship, and as
they passed
Prize
, Stan fired a spread of rockets at each ship, to
severely damage their shields.
Star Sword
fired all guns at the Xebec to
wreck its shields further, and then turned hard and fired again as it passed.

The Galleasses raced on ahead as the crippled Xebec dropped
to sub light.

Unable to catch the Galleasses,
Star Sword
, turned to
the other Corsairs.

Prize
had one smoking, which limped away. The other
two Corsairs pounded
Prize
hard before
Star Sword
reached them to
fire a torrent of plasma cannon. This drew the enemy ships away from
Prize,
but otherwise did little damage.

Stan launched a swell of rockets to take out one Corsair’s
sensor array and shields.

It moved off.

The remaining pirate traded hits with the smaller
Star
Sword
until both began to jet smoke.

Lilia brought
Prize
closer. With rockets and cannon, Stan
hammered the pirate until it broke off its attack, but not in time;
Star
Sword
was badly hurt.

Stan opened communications.

In a smoke filled bridge, slumped in
Star Sword’s
command chair, a uniformed woman motioned with a feeble hand. “Go. Help
Andrews. His Brigantine doesn’t have a chance against those Galleasses.” She
coughed from the smoke.

“Warning!”
DarkStar
said.

The blip on the scanner troubled Lilia. “I see it.” Although
wounded, the returning Xebec still posed a huge problem.

“First things first, Captain Boyd. We’ve got company coming,
and our sensors indicate your ship can’t hold together much longer. Launch all
of your escape pods ASAP, and we’ll return for them after we’ve taken care of this
pressing business.”

“Roger,
Prize
,” said Boyd before the screen went
black. Within minutes, escape pods jettisoned from Star Sword to rocket away to
safety.

Lilia eased
Prize
away to engage the
Slip-band
drive, but the ship shuddered and failed to jump to light speed.

“Warning. Slipdrive is offline. Sub-light thrusters are
functioning at ninety percent.”

“
DarkStar
, what can you give me? We need speed, and
we need it now.”

“Effecting repairs, Captain Slone. One moment please.”
DarkStar
picked up speed, but was sluggish and struggled in the effort.

Ahead, the Xebec accelerated toward them, but hadn’t yet
jumped to lightspeed. Stan ordered
DarkStar
to ready all weapons, and
then, in warning, turned to his partner. “Lilia, Xebecs are a pirate’s dream
ship—”

“It is a heavily armed, extremely fast predator ship,” Lilia
cut him off, “that once having locked onto its prey can scarcely be shaken.
Xebecs have been known to ring the death knell for ships as large as Confederate
Destroyers, and, even while wounded, they are quite formidable. This one no
doubt returns to focus on
Star Sword
.” Keeping her eyes on the console
she mechanically rattled off the information without skipping a beat.

Stan’s eyebrows practically touched his hairline. “Okaaay,
this genetic memory thing still takes some getting used too.”

Lilia looked his way. “It’s realistic to believe that a man
out for revenge captains this Xebec.
Star Sword’s
escape pods are at
risk. If we can’t severely disable the renegade, we’ll have to destroy it.”

Hearing the note of regret in her voice, Stan saw distress
and sorrow mingled with resolve written in Lilia’s face.