The Prisoner of Eldaron: Crimson Worlds Successors II (20 page)

“No answer?” The Tyrant’s voice was closer, but the prisoner still looked down, unmoving. He would not give his target the slightest warning. He was stay as he was, the battered, destroyed hulk of a man…until it was time.

“I know you have grown weak. But perhaps you have a bit of energy left for me, no? We have known each other for a long time now…who if not I can you call your closest companion?” The Tyrant’s voice was loud, yet almost friendly, just a twinge of mockery slipping through.

Stay. Don’t move, don’t look up. No matter what he says. Make him come closer…

“Still no response? Come now, are you truly so broken? So weak you sit there, incapable of even looking at me?”

The prisoner could feel his tormentor approaching. Closer…but not close enough. Not yet.

“So, after so long, we have finally broken your will. Now you sit there, like a worm, your mind gone, the defiance you so proudly displayed blown away on the wind.” His voice was becoming more taunting as he continued.

Not yet…

“I had even come to find some meager respect for you, my old friend…so much so it pains me to see you like this, crushed, defeated.”

The prisoner could feel the Tyrant, hear he was close. But not close enough.

“But in the end, you are just like the others. Your strength was a lie, that indomitable will a pathetic façade.”

Footsteps again…coming closer…

“I am disappointed. I thought you were a man, but now I see you are merely a worm, just like all the others.”

Take a deep breath…then focus. You’ll only get one chance, a second or two perhaps, maybe less…

“I would punish you for your failure, for your pointless attempts to pretend you had a spine. I despise weakness, but a fraud is even worse. I would have you fed to the fangworms right now…but despite your failing, you are still useful. For a short while. And then, I myself will cast you into the…”

The prisoner lunged, his mind focused on his moves, his will, not broken as the Tyrant believed but channeling for an instant the warrior he had been, forcing his atrophied muscles to exert the last bit of force that remained to them, to launch his withered body at his target.

His head snapped up, and his eyes focused on the Tyrant’s. In an instant, he saw the gloating, mocking expression vanish, replaced by a look of fear, of outright terror. He savored the image, and his hands pushed out in front of him, reaching for the Tyrant’s neck. One thought dominated his consciousness. This is your last battle…do not fail.

The Tyrant reacted, too late to avoid the blow. The prisoner was on him, striking hard, his hand slamming into the Tyrant’s face. It was a killing blow, one of many the prisoner had learned in his years of combat, and he executed it perfectly. But his strength failed him, his rapid strike a bit too slow. The Tyrant dodged to the side, changing the impact point of the blow…just enough.

The Tyrant fell to the side, screaming in pain as the prisoner’s hand moved past his stricken head. Blood poured from his mouth, and he dropped…first to his knees and then to the ground.

The prisoner knew he had failed, that his strike had not been a lethal one. He tried to swing his body around, to move in for another attempt, but then he heard the sounds, distant, muffled. He felt the impacts, slamming into him. His arm, his chest. But there was no pain, just a vague awareness. His attack had used the last of his strength, and now he felt himself falling, the impact on the ground, hard, but also without pain.

He had failed…fate had denied him his vengeance. But his ordeal was over, and he could feel himself slipping away, the blackness taking him. He heard a voice, pained, forced. “No…we still need him alive…” Then even that was gone, and he heard nothing but the sounds of waves crashing against the rocky coast.

Chapter 14

APS Zephyr

Zed-4 System

1,200,000 Meters from Gamma-Hydra Warp Gate

Earthdate: 2319 AD (34 Years After the Fall)

“Battlestations!” Jamie Wheaton’s voice was calm, but that didn’t lessen its imperious nature one bit. She was
Zephyr’s
commander, and her ship was facing an oncoming enemy. Battle was almost upon her, but she was cool and focused. She had seen combat before, against an enemy more fearsome that a group of pirates, and she knew what to do.

Her mostly-rookie crew was another matter, and all the more reason for her to stay cool and under control. One hint of fear in her tone would undermine the morale of the entire crew. No, they had to see their captain completely unconcerned about the vessel now accelerating toward them at 3g. She was the source of the strength they would need to get through what would be, for most of them, their first battle.

Zephyr
had come through the warp gate as planned, and Wheaton had done her best to try and hide her ship. But there were no asteroids nearby, and no particulate clouds heavy enough to provide cover…at least none close enough to the gate. So she maneuvered to the best spot she could find and powered down, with only scanners and basic life support operating.

Then nothing happened. Hours went by…then a day. She’d been almost ready to give up, to suggest to Elias that they had made an error, that Gamma-Hydra III had been the pirate’s true course. But then, finally,
Zephyr
picked up the unique energy readings caused by a warp gate transit.

The pirate vessel slipped slowly and cautiously into the system, crawling out from the warp gate, clearly searching for
Zephyr
. Wheaton felt a wave of disappointment. This pirate captain knew what he was doing. He was cautious, and he wouldn’t be easily fooled. Still, she kept
Zephyr
on minimal power, hoping to get lucky, waiting to see what happened. If the pirate was going to find her ship, he would have to do it on his own. She wasn’t about to help him.

The pirate accelerated slowly into the system, its thrust barely 1g. Then suddenly it fired its engines hard, blasting at 3g. Wheaton knew immediately, and a few seconds later she got her confirmation. The AI announced that the pirate’s thrust vector was consistent with a course directly toward
Zephyr
.

She was surprised, not so much that the pirate located her ship but that he was closing for a fight.
Zephyr
wasn’t a battleship by any measure, but Wheaton was sure her vessel was more than a match for any pirate ship.

Maybe he figures we’re all rookies here. Close, but not close enough...

Zephyr’s
crew might not be battletested, but her captain was…and Wheaton was determined to bring her people through their first fight, whatever it took.

“So, no dice, eh?” Elias bolted through the hatch onto
Zephyr’s
small bridge. “I figured they’d find us. There really wasn’t much to work with as far as hiding places.

“Yeah,” Wheaton replied. “Still we had to try.” She sighed. “Now we’re back at a dead end…and we’ve got to explain this when we get home.”

“Dead end?” Elias shook his head. “No, we can’t lose this trail. Not now.”

“What can we do? They’re coming at us hard. We’re going to have to destroy them.”

“No.”

“What are you talking about, Elias? What do you suggest we do? Run? Let them attack us and don’t fight back?” There was confusion in her voice, and a little resentment. She was fond of Elias Cain, too fond perhaps. But
Zephyr
was her ship, and she didn’t react well to anyone stepping onto her turf.

“We disable her. We fight like pirates ourselves…and then my people board her.”

Wheaton stared back, a look of shock in her eyes. “That’s insane, Elias. We don’t fight like pirates. They have needlers for that…we don’t. Our laser cannons aren’t precision weapons for targeting specific systems.” She started shaking her head. “No, it’s not possible. And how would your people even get there? We don’t have assault craft. You’d have to go in the regular shuttle, no armor, no breaching gear. You’d have to find an access port…and hope like hell you can dock with it. Or jury-rig something to breach the hull.”

“It’s all doable,” he said simply, calmly.

“Since when are you the expert in naval tactics?” she snapped back. “And even if we could manage it, you’ve only got twenty agents. We have no idea how many pirates are on that vessel…and they’re experienced at fighting aboard ships. Your people aren’t.”

“We know they took heavy losses in the fight on
Carlyle
. There can’t be too many of them left, especially in fighting condition.”

“According to Captain Marne,” she answered sharply. “Who was half crazed out of his wits when we picked him up…and who’s been in sickbay ever since, unconscious most of the time.”

“That doesn’t mean what he told us wasn’t true. If the ship’s captain ended up in the cargo hold with time to blow the doors, you can bet there was one hell of a fight on that ship. I’m willing to bet on what Marne told us.”

“But you want
me
to bet my ship to give you that chance.”

“We started this to find out what happened, Jamie. If we don’t at least get some prisoners…” He stared at her, and she saw something in his eyes. Pleading? Desperation?

Why is this so important to him? It can’t just be the attack on Carlyle, as costly as that was. Is he really in
that
much trouble back home? Does he see this as a way to put himself back in the good graces of his superiors?

“Why?”

He stared back at her, a confused look on his face. “Why what? Why do I want to catch this pirate?”

“No. What are you really after?” Her voice was serious. “I know it’s more than capturing a pirate.”

Elias paused, his eyes flashing toward Megan Berry and the other two officers on
Zephyr’s
bridge. Then he leaned in close and whispered, “I believe there is a major crime ring, one spanning a vast area, perhaps even all of Occupied Space.” He paused, looking at the others again before continuing, his voice even softer. “And I believe it extends into the Atlantian government in some way. Corruption…more than any of us have imagined. And possibly worse. And this pirate ship is my only lead to learn more about what is truly going on.”

She listened to his words, felt his breath on her ear. What he was telling her was extraordinary…and dangerous. But she realized at once she believed him. Whether that was rational judgment or something else was a question she couldn’t answer. Still, if she was going to act on Elias’ suspicions, she wanted to know more. She
needed
to know more.

“Ensign Berry…time to engagement range?”

“Twenty-one minutes, Captain. Based on target’s current velocity and acceleration.” Berry sound nervous, her voice a little shaky.

Wheaton had done everything she could to bolster the morale of her crew, but they were about to go into battle. It was natural for her people to be on edge.

And watching me whisper up here with Elias isn’t helping
.
I’ve got to take this off the bridge
.

She leaned even closer. “Let’s go into my office. If you want me to risk my ship to try to take prisoners, I need to know what you know. Everything you know.”

Elias looked like he might argue, but he kept silent and just nodded his head. Then he followed her through the hatch into the small compartment she used as an office.

*  *  *  *  *

“Captain, we’ve got full scanner data in. That’s an Atlantian Patrol ship. She’s got ten thousand tons displacement on us…and she outguns us too. We’ve got to reverse course and make a run for it.” Treven was edgy, and Yulich could hear the fear in his first mate’s voice.

Black Viper’s
captain sighed. Running from a Patrol ship was a dicey proposition. The Atlantian vessel not only outgunned his vessel, she probably had more thrust as well. But that wasn’t what was truly troubling him. He’d have put his navigational skills up against some random Atlantian Patrol commander’s. But even if he could outrun this enemy ship and stay out of weapons range, he knew he had no chance of evading it entirely. If he made a run for it, the Atlantian ship would follow. And with its damaged engines firing at full power,
Black Viper
would leave a trail leading right back to base. That was not an option, at least not one Yulich was likely to survive.

He was already in trouble, he knew that much. If he knowingly led an enemy ship back to base, he’d lose whatever chance he had of keeping his head. The Black Flag was not a forgiving organization, and maintaining the secrecy of its pirate bases was sacrosanct. So that left only one option. Fight it out.

“Run where?” he finally said. “She’s as fast as us, Lars, or damned close. We might outmaneuver her for a while, but we can’t outrun her, not in the long run. And if we can’t shake that vessel, we can’t go back to base.”

Yulich stared at the plot.
Black Vipe
r would be in weapons range soon. He figured the Patrol ship had the same sized laser cannons as his vessel, though he knew the enemy had more of them. But if he was right, at least the Atlantian didn’t outrange him. His guns might even be a surprise to them. Few pirates bothered with the expense of such heavy weapons. If his people could shoot well enough, maybe they could make up the difference in turrets. It was a chance, at least.

“You think we can take her? But we’re outgunned and we’ve got damage.” Treven was trying to hide the fear in his voice, with only marginal success.

“You know the rules as well as I do. What do you think will happen if we run to base with a bogey on our tail?”

Treven’s face twisted into a frown, and he stared back at Yulich. Finally, he just nodded his understanding.

“At least this way, we’ve got some chance to win the laser duel. If we can damage her engines we can slip back out of range and really outrun her. Then we can get through one of the other warp gates and work our way back to base by some roundabout route.”