LotS/The Story/Tales of The Void/The Saboteur
"Just one more room," Susie said.
"What if we don't find anything?" Remmler asked.
"Then we keep tossing the rest of the ship until we do."
"Great..."
The bunks were neat, their sheets tucked under the mattresses with military exactness. There were no loose clothes scattered around here. Even the pair of datapads were in perfect parallel with the edges of the table they rested on. Susie explored the bathroom and found it no less fastidious. Toiletries stood in precise order, as though ready for parade inspection. A black makeup bag sat on the shelf beside them. She picked it up and pulled back the zip.
The mess hall's floor shuddered.
"That sounded like-" Hornung said.
Astrid pressed her fingers against her earpiece.
"Susie! Remmler! What happened?" The communicator was silent. "Casp, stay here. I'm going-"
"You'll remain where you are, Captain Jaeger. You all will."
Mrs. Bassingthwaighte stood on the other side of the table. She was holding her arm out, palm forward, as though trying to stop traffic. It was absurd and surreal. Until Astrid's gaze focused on the black hole in the heel of her hand.
The woman spun round, first one way, then the other -- pushing her palm towards each of the other passengers in turn.
"Stay back, all of you. I'll kill anyone who moves!"
Josh Bassingthwaighte grinned.
"By order of the Centurian Collective," she continued, "you're all under arrest!"
"For what?" Salim asked.
"Conspiracy to smuggle goods into Collective controlled space." She turned back to the captain, aiming the black circle at her once more. "I haven't found your hiding place yet, but I know the weapons are onboard. Tell me where they are before our reinforcements arrive and I'll inform my superiors of your cooperation."
"I don't know what you're talking about. There aren't any-"
"The Dark Delight is carrying arms that you intended to deliver to Sian rebels on an occupied world. Lying won't protect you or your crew. Those booby traps transmitted a signal, informing the nearest Centurian vessels that we require immediate assistance. They'll tear this ship apart until they find the evidence. Save them the trouble!"
"Those are ne being smuggled! They're for... for... Remmler's birthday! The man loves his-"
"Rush the cow!" Ayesha said. "She can't shoot us all!"
"Aye, that's bloody good advice, lassie!"
The room erupted in motion. Hornung stepped towards Mrs. Bassingthwaighte, and she whirled round to cover him with her cybernetic weapon. Casper dashed at the dining table. Josh sprang into it in the same instant, a laser-edged switchblade in his hand, and slashed at the Scotsman.
"Oh, ye cannae be serious!"
Casper stumbled backwards. Blood spurted from the stumps on his left hand.
Astrid reached for her sidearm. But Josh leapt again, hurling himself through the air like a pouncing cat. He slammed into her -- impossibly heavy -- and the two of them went down in a heap.
The boy sat atop her, giggling like a child. But the murderous expression on his face was far older. Small but powerful muscles bulged in her grasp. The silver-blue blade drove at her neck.
A blast rang through the mess hall.
"Try again, my dear!" Horning said.
Another bolt of crimson energy flew from Mrs. Bassingthwaighte's palm. And once again Maurice Hornung slipped aside, leaving it to sear the bulkhead behind him. Salim Khan pulled Ayesha to the floor and shielded her with his body.
"Cut off your face!" Josh's voice was a high hiss, like a snake's.
His strong, augmented body pressed down on Astrid. His forearm strained against her fingers -- hand poised to deliver the fatal blow. But he wasn't the only one with cybernetic enhancements.
Captain Jaeger's digits tightened, hard as steel. Her forearms flexed and tensed. The boy's eyes widened, then narrowed. A metallic vise crushed his forearm. It compressed the strengthened flesh and internal systems, grinding them against a hardened radius and ulna. Josh's left hand darted over to support his right or perhaps take the knife.
Astrid grabbed the boy's skull. The same fingers that had once ripped a man's testicles off exerted every pascal of pressure on the child-sized cranium. They fractured bone. Josh Bassingthwaighte screamed.
On the other side of the room, Maurice Hornung spun past another shot like the universe's greatest dodgeball player, Mrs. Bassingthwaighte swore like a hooker from Drekchester, and Marshal Roth drew a revolver from the recesses of his duster.
The Centurian agent started to turn, perhaps alerted by instinct. But Roth had lived his life by the speed of his hands. She didn't stand a chance.
His gun boomed. Her brains sprayed from the exit wound in chunks, and not even Maurice Hornung was swift enough to evade them all. The dapper gentleman sighed.
"Casp, are you-" Astrid said.
"I'm fine, captain!" The Scot was wrapping a towel around his injured hand. "Dinna worry about me!"
She got up, pushing Josh's corpse aside, and activated her communicator.
"Susie, Rem-"
"I'm with them, ma'am," Frank Toyotomi said.
"Are they-"
"There's less of them than there used to be. Remmler's missing an arm at the shoulder. Susie's lost both hers from the elbow down. But I've closed the wounds, and it's nothing good cybernetics or regrowth won't fix."
"Is the engine working?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then get us the hell out of here before the Centurians show up!" She closed the connection, glanced at the female agent's corpse, and looked to Marshal Roth. "You were supposed to surrender all weapons when you boarded the ship."
"I'm sorry for the deception, ma'am, but I never could sleep comfortable without a gun about me. And under the circumstances..."
"Ye can put the wee thing away now, Mr. Roth."
"I'm afraid it has one more bit of business first." He aimed the weapon at Maurice Hornung.
"What're you doing?" Salim asked.
"Our friend 'Maurice' here is a wanted man. He's committed more crimes than most folk could count. That's why I came on this here ship in the first place. To bring him in."
Maurice Hornung grinned.
"There's really no need for the gun," he said. "After all, it's not even loaded."
"That lady with the hole in her head begs to differ, friend."
Hornung opened his hand. Five bullets lay in his palm. Roth blinked, and stared at his revolver's cylinder.
"I let you keep one, dear boy. I thought it might come in handy."
Marshal grunted and stowed his gun.
"You're a quick one, all right. Just like they said. And I suppose you may have helped save these folk's lives. Just one question... What's a man like you doing on a ship like this? After the things they're smuggling?"
"Weapons? Oh, no. Those are hardly suitable sport for a gentleman thief. I came onboard because of our young lady friend here."
"Me?" Ayesha stared at him.
"Forgive me, my dear, but I fear you haven't been entirely honest with us. Though I did rather enjoy the way you depicted things in your story."
She sighed.
"You know?"
"I do."
"I don't understand," Salim said. "Who is she?"
"I'm the Empress of Jacara."
"And those mementos she absconded with are the crown jewels," Hornung said. "I'd intended to purloin them."
Astrid spluttered.
"There were transmissions about her!" she said. "But... The pictures..."
"Green hair and a nose full of metal? Duh!" The girl rolled her eyes. "Like anyone'd look for an empress under this stuff."
Astrid Jaeger grimaced.
"Your orders, captain?" Casper asked.
"We'll sort this mess out when we're far away from the Centurians." She sighed. "Break out more of that bourbon. I think we could all use a drink."