Ep.#1 - Escalation (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes) Read online

  Jessica gave the knife a twist, opening up the wound to ensure a rapid death. She paused a moment, then released her grip on the knife and stood. She turned and looked down at the man. “I don’t dance, asshole.”

  Sergeant Todd came running up to her, as the sound of the jump shuttle’s engines grew closer. “Damn, Jess. That was a nice move.”

  “Grab the case,” she instructed as she reached down and pulled the knife out of the dead man’s chest. “Thanks for the knife,” she told his corpse as she wiped the blade off on his sleeve.

  Sergeant Todd picked up the case as the jump shuttle descended into a hover over the intersection and dropped its rescue line. He moved over to Jessica as she slipped one of the two rescue harnesses over her head and under her arms. The sergeant did the same, and seconds later they were hauled inside the open door of the combat jump shuttle by the smiling face of its crew chief, Sergeant Torwell.

  Jessica took her seat as Sergeant Todd handed the briefcase to her. Jessica pulled the electronic key card out of her pocket and inserted it into the locking mechanism of the case as the shuttle began to climb out. A small orange status light on the key card flashed several times, then turned green, and the latches on the metal briefcase popped open. She waited for a moment while Sergeant Torwell closed the side door, then opened the case. Inside were several title documents. “Stocks, bonds, titles, letters of authenticity… It’s all here.” Jessica smiled broadly. “Let’s go get paid, boys.”

  * * *

  “You are using the close personal friendship between your late father, and the owner of the Glendanon, to force this deal upon us,” Mister Angus argued.

  Deliza sat quietly for a moment, pretending to ponder the elder businessman’s charges. “And if I am?”

  “You know very well that the Pentaurus Trade Commission does not care for such arrangements,” Mister Angus reminded her, growing more furious at the young woman’s failure to acquiesce to his position and level of respect within the interstellar trade community.

  “Except when such arrangements work in their favor,” Deliza continued calmly. “Or when it is between well-established businessmen such as yourself.”

  “You have…”

  “Did you not use nepotism to steal a competing contract out from under us in the Devi system two years ago?” Deliza wondered aloud. “And then again last year to land the contract with the Hawson Company? And wasn’t the Allen deal the result of your relationship with their transportation director, Paulo Asadin?”

  “In business, young lady, it’s often about who you know. It’s about people preferring to do business with those whom they know, and trust…”

  “As I am quickly learning, Mister Angus. Hence my desire to maintain my working relationship with the owners of the Glendanon. However, if you believe that it is fair for you to use your connections to land contracts, but it is unfair when I do the same, then feel free to file a complaint with the commission.” Deliza smiled politely. “In the meantime, our offer stands. You can either accept it now, and enjoy a fair and equitable arrangement for both our companies, or you can stew on it for a few days, at which point you will have no choice but to accept my offer. Of course, by that time, since you will be stuck, I will most likely raise our per-pound shipping rates.”

  “You would do that, just to spite me?”

  Deliza continued smiling. “Wouldn’t you?”

  Mister Angus stared at her for a moment. “Yes, I suppose I would.” He sighed. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-seven Earth years, thirty-two by Haven’s calendar, twenty-six on Corinair, and I believe twenty-five and a half by your world’s standards. Is that important?”

  Mister Angus sighed again. “Send the contracts to my attorney,” he agreed as he rose. “I’ll have them back to you by the next comm-drone.”

  Deliza sat quietly as Mister Angus and his staff left the conference room. Biarra, her new assistant, quickly packed up the briefcase and prepared to leave. Finally, once they were alone in the room, she could no longer control herself. “That was incredible,” Biarra gushed, barely able to contain her excitement. “You had him backed into a corner with no way out. How did you do that?”

  “He put himself into that corner,” Deliza replied simply. “I just let him do it and then made sure he was aware that he had done so, once I was sure he had no way out.”

  “Did you see the look on his face, though?” Biarra continued. She stopped a moment, a realization dawning on her. “Is that why you had me look up all his old contracts?”

  “It’s all about the research,” Deliza said as she rose. “Call Loki and tell him we will be departing in thirty minutes. I’d like to get back to Corinair before dinner.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  * * *

  “Where are we going, Cap?” Josh asked as he walked up the Seiiki’s aft cargo ramp.

  “Paradar, Rama, and back here again,” Marcus told him as he lashed down the last stack of cargo pods.

  “I thought we were done for the day?” Josh wondered. He looked around. “Where’s our wheels?”

  “Dalen took them into town to get some provisions,” Marcus said.

  “I thought provisions were Neli’s job,” Josh pointed out to the captain, who still hadn’t spoken.

  “She was busy hunting you down,” Captain Tuplo explained, casting a disapproving glance at his copilot.

  “You said we were done for the day, Captain,” Josh defended, “otherwise I would’ve stayed in port.”

  “Relax, Josh,” Captain Tuplo replied. “I’m kidding. The Borabay went down with a bad thruster, so we got tossed this run at the last minute.”

  Josh moved over to help the captain lash down some loose gear. “I thought we weren’t taking runs so close to Takara?”

  “That’s what I told Marcus,” Captain Tuplo agreed.

  “I’m just trying to keep up good relations with the port officer,” Marcus explained. “Besides, it’s a cake run, Captain. All the cargo is legit, and the passengers all have proper ID and travel papers. I checked them myself.”

  “You know I don’t like going into ports controlled by nobles,” Captain Tuplo reminded him. “They charge way too much for port fees, and we’ve been on a tight budget ever since our thousand-jump overhaul.”

  “Which we’re not going to recover from if we don’t take every run offered to us,” Marcus argued. “I ran the numbers on this one, Connor, we’ll still make a profit on the run. Not much, but still a profit.”

  “Did you factor in the overhaul cost of each jump?” Captain Tuplo wondered as he finished stowing the last of the loose gear.

  “Yes, sir, I did it just like you showed me,” Marcus grumbled as he climbed down off the stack of cargo pods. “How many times are you going to rake me about that one, Captain?”

  “Until I’m sure you’ll never forget,” Captain Tuplo replied. “Josh, go forward and check the passenger cabins are ready.”

  “But that’s Neli’s job,” Josh complained.

  “Everyone does what they can, when they can,” Captain Tuplo said sternly. “Besides, Neli’s changing out of her wet clothes after tracking you down. Now go.”

  Josh rolled his eyes and headed up the ladder at the front of the cargo deck, disappearing through the hatch a moment later.

  “When are those two going to make peace?” Captain Tuplo asked Marcus.

  “She’s tryin’, Cap, honest she is,” Marcus promised. “He just doesn’t like her.”

  Captain Tuplo paused a moment, stroking his thick beard as he examined the state of their cargo bay. “See if you can find some more pods going to Rama or Paradar. Some strays that got left behind, or something.”

  “Where are we going to put them?” Marcus wondered. “There’s barely enough room for the vehicle as it is.”

  “We’ll be back here in a few hours, right? Leave it behind. Pay the cargo captain to store it for us until we get back. We’ll make more than enough to cover the s
torage fee by hauling the extra pods.”

  “And if we don’t get back as scheduled?” Marcus asked.

  “That only happened the one time,” Captain Tuplo said. “How many times are you gonna rake me over that one?”

  “You’re not the one who had to carry rations for five kilometers,” Marcus replied.

  “Go and rustle up some more cargo,” Captain Tuplo suggested. “We start loading passengers in one hour.”

  * * *

  Jessica and Sergeant Todd walked into the client’s office and up to his desk. “Here’s your case,” she said, placing the metal briefcase in front of him on the desk. “Pay up.”

  The client opened the case and pulled out the documents, carefully inspecting each one. “Was it really necessary to kill all those people?” the client asked as he examined the documents. “They were only carrying stunners, after all.”

  “Tell that to the one who wanted me to dance with his knife,” Jessica replied flatly. “Now pay us, so we can get off this crummy rock of yours.”

  “Yes, I imagine that you would like to jump out before the authorities catch up to you, wouldn’t you?”

  “Or, I could go to them directly, and show them the contents there, and let them sort it all out,” Jessica suggested. “It should only take them a few months, right? That won’t interfere with your client’s plans, will it? Wait, those are transfer documents, right? Don’t they expire in less than a day?”

  The man on the other side of the desk looked up from the documents. “Everything appears to be in order. See my assistant in the outer office, the one you so rudely ignored on your way in here, and she will transfer the agreed-upon funds to your credit chip. You did bring your credit chip with you?”

  Jessica held up her credit chip. “Tell me, Beekman, are all you insurance guys such assholes, or is it just you?”

  “Nature of the business, I’m afraid.” The agent shrugged and turned his attention back to the documents. “Until next time, Miss Nash. Safe travels.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes, then turned and headed back out into the outer office. “We’ve got to stop taking these bullshit security gigs,” she mumbled to Sergeant Todd on their way out of the office.

  “They pay well,” the sergeant reminded her. “And we need the extra funds to repair the boxcar.”

  “I’d much rather be in a straight-up shooting war,” Jessica said, “with someone worth killing.”

  “I hear you, Lieutenant,” the sergeant agreed.

  Jessica handed the credit chip to the girl in the outer office.

  “Preferred currency?” the girl asked as she inserted the credit chip into the reader on her desk.

  “PEUs, please,” Jessica replied.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Jessica tapped her comm-set. “We’ll be out in a few minutes,” she called. “How long do you need?”

  “We’ll be topped off in five,” Sergeant Torwell replied. “We’ll be there to pick you up in ten minutes.”

  “Here you are,” the girl said as she handed the credit chip back to Jessica.

  Jessica pressed the chip between her thumb and forefinger. The chip recognized her prints and displayed a balance sheet in the air directly in front of her. Jessica smiled. “Pleasure doing business with you.” She placed the chip back in her pocket and headed out the door, with Sergeant Todd close behind.

  “It’s still not enough,” the sergeant mentioned as they left the office and headed down the hallway.

  “It’s a start,” Jessica said.

  “Hey, I saw a glopsy cart on the corner when we came in. Can we stop and get something to eat? I’m starving.”

  “You like that shit?”

  “Are you kidding? Have you tried it with the sweet and sour sauce?”

  “Fine, as long as we’re off this world and jumping our way back to Sherma in ten minutes.”

  * * *

  The limousine rolled across the tarmac, passing by several private shuttles before finally arriving at its destination. It pulled up next to a shuttle that was not the largest on the line at the spaceport, but was impressive nonetheless. It had clean lines, a black hull with gold trim, and the logo for Ranni Enterprises next to the boarding hatch. Unlike most of the other corporate shuttles, this ship was not a conversion. She was built from the ground up as a corporate jump shuttle.

  Loki stood proudly at the boarding hatch. He had been serving as the sole pilot for this shuttle since it began its service life five years ago, and he loved every minute of it. The ship was a joy to operate, with more automation and safety features than one could imagine. For something to go wrong with this ship, you had to make it go wrong.

  The ship was small, with a passenger capacity of only four, plus the two seats in the cockpit. Although it was comfortable, it was still cramped inside. However, their trips were always short, lasting no more than thirty minutes to an hour at the most. All in all, it was an easy, low-stress job that paid well, and allowed him to be home every night with his wife and daughter. It wasn’t exciting by any stretch of the imagination, but it was safe. And he was doing what he loved to do. He was a pilot.

  The limousine door opened, and Deliza and her assistant Biarra stepped out.

  “Miss Ta’Akar,” Loki greeted.

  Deliza smiled. After all these years, Loki still insisted on playing the role of a polite, corporate shuttle pilot. She had told him time and again that he didn’t need to be so formal, as they had been friends for nearly a decade, ever since Loki and Josh had rescued her and her family from Haven. But Loki insisted on the formalities, at least in public. “Everything ready to go?” she asked as she approached.

  “Yes, ma’am. We already have our departure clearance, and can be wheels up in five minutes.”

  “Excellent. I’m starving.”

  “We should be on the ground at Aitkenna in thirty minutes,” Loki assured her. “I trust your negotiations went well?”

  “Well enough,” Deliza replied as she stepped up into the shuttle, and disappeared through the hatch.

  “She was amazing,” Biarra whispered as she followed Deliza.

  Loki smiled as he followed them inside and closed the hatch. Biarra had only been serving as Deliza’s personal assistant for a few months now, and this was her fourth business trip with her. Yet she was still amazed by everything Deliza Ta’Akar did.

  Loki turned aft to make sure that the ladies were in their seats, then stepped forward between the seats, and slid down into the pilot’s seat on the left of the cockpit. He tapped the auto-start button and watched the primary display screen on his console as the ship’s computers cycled through all the pre-start checks. Thirty seconds later, the shuttle’s engines began to spin up, and thirty seconds after that, the ship’s flight control computer showed they were ready for departure.

  “Dobson Control, Ranni One,” Loki called over his comm-set. “At pad one four, with India. Ready for departure.”

  “Ranni One, Dobson Control. Cleared for liftoff. On wheels up, fly heading one four five to one zero thousand, then proceed as filed and jump at two zero thousand to transition Alpha Sierra seven four.”

  “Cleared for liftoff on one four, heading one four five to one zero thousand, as filed and jump to Alpha Sierra seven four at two zero thousand, for Ranni One.”

  “Ranni One, read back correct. Safe flight.”

  Loki pressed the intercom button. “Prepare for liftoff,” he announced. He double-checked the flight profile in the auto-flight computer one last time, and then pressed the execute button. The whine of the shuttle’s engines increased in pitch and intensity, and a few seconds later, the shuttle rose smoothly from the pad, climbing at a slow, yet constant rate as its nose rotated around to its first course heading.

  The landing gear lights switched from green to red, then went out as the gear door lights lit up green. The ship began to accelerate forward, and its climb rate increased as its engines went to full power. In a few minutes, they would reach the
ir assigned jump point and the ship would auto-jump to the assigned transition zone well beyond the standard orbits of Dobson. All Loki had to do was sit back and monitor the shuttle’s progress.

  Yup, Josh would hate this, Loki mused.

  * * *

  Captain Tuplo walked across the tarmac toward his ship, only protected from the pouring Palean rain by his long, black trench coat and its oversized hood.

  Marcus stood at the top of the ramp, just inside the Seiiki’s cargo bay, watching as his employer approached. Most people ran from cover to cover when it was raining this hard, but not his captain. Connor Tuplo walked, unaffected by the downpour. Marcus had often wondered if there was some special tech installed in the captain’s jacket, something that reduced or negated the bitter cold that the storms of this world carried. In the five years that Marcus and Josh had been in Captain Tuplo’s employ, he could not remember ever seeing the captain leave the Seiiki without that coat. And when he wasn’t wearing it, it was locked away in his cabin.

  “Captain,” Marcus greeted as Captain Tuplo walked up the boarding ramp.

  Captain Tuplo pushed back his hood and looked around the tightly packed cargo bay. “Looks like you squeezed in everything you could. Nicely done, Marcus.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I trust we’re about ready?” the captain asked as he continued forward, making his way to the aft, portside ladder.

  “Last of the passengers are boarding now, Cap’n.”

  “Let’s close her up then,” the captain instructed as he climbed the ladder. “Tell Josh to start the departure prep. I’ll be up after I dry off and change.”

  “Yes, sir,” Marcus replied, twisting the cargo ramp control lever to retract the ramp and close the cargo bay doors.