Kill Shot: A Remnant of the Commonwealth, Book Two (15 page)

Chapter
18

Susan stood at the base of the cargo ramp watching the customs officials exit the
Long Shot’s
landing bay. Their inspection had gone both smoothly and quickly. They had arrived without a cargo and an open hold always tended to speed up inspections.

She had been immensely relieved to hear that there would not be an outgoing inspection. It seemed that the officials inspected everything brought into the spaceport and assumed that all cargos that made it to a ship were cleared for launch. That suited Susan just fine. It wasn’t her crew
’s responsibility to get the PG; it was their contact’s responsibility to deliver it to the ship. If their contact got pinched trying to deliver contraband, well, there was no way for the officials to implicate the crew in any drug smuggling—at least that was what she hoped anyway.

They made the trip from Redamor to
Fort Wade in just over three days. There was plenty of time to get the cargo loaded and get back to Redamor. In fact, it was looking like they would need to intentionally slow down on the way back. They wanted to land the day of the wedding, pick Aaron up, and take off. They did not want to be sitting in the spaceport a day or two early. The last thing they wanted was to raise any suspicions.

“How soon till they’re here?” Russell asked.

Susan glanced over at him, pleased to have him so close. He was playing the part of second-in-command, and he was doing a good job. She’d known that Aaron always felt a reassurance when she was around and she was beginning to appreciate it all the more.

“I don’t know,” she said in answer. “Richard said they would get in touch once we landed.”
She hated this part of the deal. They were expected to sit here and wait for Bailey’s drug contacts to deliver the cargo. It made her nervous placing her trust in drug smugglers. She had to suppress a chuckle at the thought that her entire crew was now drug smugglers.

“I hope they don’t wait too long,” Russell replied, “seeing how we’re on such a tight schedule and all.”

He still didn’t know about Aaron’s mission, but she knew he suspected something. He’d asked her a couple of times, but she’d refused to give him the details. As far as she was concerned, it was up to Aaron to tell him.

“I don’t want anyone to leave the ship,” she said. “I want to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
She paused and then added, “And close up the cargo ramp. I don’t want anyone sneaking up on us.”

Russell nodded. “I’ll pass the word
about staying on the ship. Anything else?”

Susan didn’t answer right away.
She had started this trip thinking it was going to be easy, but now she was getting worried. Drug smugglers were not known for their honesty and trustworthiness. After a moment, she said, “Yeah, pass out the Logans. I want everyone carrying one of the handguns when our contact arrives.”

Two hours passed and Susan was beginning to think their contact wouldn’t show up after all. Perhaps they had been pinched by security trying to get into the spaceport, or maybe they were just planning on coming the next day. She so dearly wished she had a firmer schedule. They would have to wait at least a day before they took off, just to make sure that their contact wasn’t just playing it safe. She wasn’t worried about the lost day of waiting, although it would stress her out to no end. What she was really worried about was returning without their cargo. Bailey wouldn’t care; he’d just given them the smuggling run to appease Aaron. Without the cargo, they had no legitimate reason for returning to Redamor. If Aaron successfully assassinated Woodson, any ships landing and taking off on the same day would draw intense scrutiny. That scrutiny was what really bothered her if they left without a cargo.

She was brooding in the mess
hall, wondering how Aaron ever stayed sane. It felt like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. She would be immensely pleased once Aaron returned to take back command.
If he ever returns,
she thought, and that worried her. If anything happened to him, what would she do? She’d never realized how much she depended on him. It was more than that though, more than just wondering where she would live and what she would do.

Without him, I’d be lost
.

That thought nearly shook her to her core. She had never been very emotional. In fact, she had quite the reputation as being cold and distant.

Her career in the Commonwealth military had always been her first love. Her career had always come first and she’d never regretted it. She’d never needed a man to make her feel complete or fulfilled. She had taken lovers in the past, but she couldn’t honestly say that she had ever loved any of them. And while she and Aaron were not lovers, she couldn’t imagine living without him.

Maybe it’s because he’s one of the last links I have to home,
she thought, but that didn’t sound right to her. Adam, Jessica, and Russell were all links to the Commonwealth, but it was different with them. She frowned and tried to discern the difference.

Why do I feel this attachment to Aaron?

If she had been unemotional before the scientists had experimented on her, she was downright antisocial now. She communicated with the crew and was friendly enough, but it lacked any real warmth.

She sighed, uncomfortable with
all this introspection. Exploring her feelings had never been a hobby of hers, she so preferred a gunfight to soul-searching.

As if on cue, a chime sound
ed off—two long, deep bursts.

Susan sat frozen for a heartbeat, wondering if she’d really heard the chime or if it had been her own wishful thinking.

Her hesitation disappeared and she bolted to her feet, heading for the corridor. Two things happened simultaneously; the door to the corridor opened and Russell stuck his head through, and the door to the galley opened showing Eve framed in the doorway.

“Is it them?” Russell asked.

Susan didn’t answer. She was telepathic, but there were limits. “Tell Adam to stay on the bridge,” she snapped in Russell’s direction.

“What about us?” Eve asked.

Susan glanced in the direction of the galley and noticed Molly standing in the doorway, just behind Eve.

“Go find Grady and the three of you stay out of the cargo hold. Only come in if there’s trouble.”
If their contacts tried anything, then she could easily imagine Grady coming in and scaring the holy shit out of them.

Eve nodded, looking determined. Behind her Molly just looked scared.

It took a couple of minutes for Susan to reach the cargo bay. Terry, Kyle, and Jessica were already there, and Russell followed Susan through the door.

“Who is it?” Susan asked.

It was Terry who answered. “I think it’s our cargo. Bunch of men with a lot of crates.”

Susan nodded. “Open it.”

Terry was leaning against the bulkhead next to a row of buttons. He pressed one and the large cargo bay door slowly descended.

The late afternoon sun showed a large g
rouping of men—easily twenty to twenty-five—and a line of flatbed cargo trucks. The trucks were small, one-man cargo transports that each had a small compartment for a single driver, and each truck carried a single pallet of crates.

Susan glanced over the assembled men. They looked like countless others she’d seen working as cargo loaders in spaceports. They were broad and tanned, several of them tending more to fat than muscular.

One of the men stood out. He was tall and thin, lacking the muscles and broad shoulders of the others. His clothes were much nicer and his hair was long and scraggly. He had the look of a man who spent a good deal of time in front of a mirror. He smiled up at them as the cargo bay door came to rest against the ground. He walked halfway up the ramp and said, “I’m looking for Captain Ingram.”

Susan stepped forward and stopped at the top of the ramp. “I’m the captain.” Her eyes looked out over the line of trucks and she counted them quickly. “I only see twenty,” she said. “I thought I was getting twenty-two.”

The man on the ramp blinked at her, his mood suddenly going nervous. “No,” he said, still smiling, “only twenty.”

Susan knew the man’s smile was forced and she could sense that he was worried. She motioned for him to step closer. She could feel his relief as he moved up
nearer and stopped just short. “Explain,” she said simply. The man’s worry turned to anger. It would seem he didn’t like being bossed by a woman; Susan couldn’t care less.

The man smiled, despite his anger. “My name is Peter and we’re just delivering the fish.”

Peter moved a bit closer, and Susan resisted the urge to take a step backward. Peter reeked of onion and body odor.

“These men are just cargo handlers,” he
whispered. “They know nothing of the second cargo.”

“And when do I get that cargo?”
she asked, also in a whisper.

“Later,” Peter said, his smile slipping.

Susan could tell that Peter wasn’t happy having to answer her questions so she reluctantly agreed. “All right,” she said, “get it loaded.”

“Well,” Peter said quickly, “there’s still the small issue of payment. I was told that you would have a credit voucher for me.”

Now it was Susan’s turn to smile. “Oh, I do, but you won’t get it until I have both cargos in the hold.”

Peter blinked, whether in surprise or anger Susan couldn’t tell. All s
emblance of a smile disappeared from his face.

“Now wait just a goddamn minute,” he began.

“No, and that’s final,” she said.

“And what if I take the fish and leave?” he demanded, his voice rising.

“Take the fucking fish,” Susan said, shrugging. “I’ll just go back and describe the situation to Bailey. Do you think he’d prefer I hand his money over without the full cargo?”

Some of the bravado fell away from Peter at the mention of Bailey’s name. His eyes narrowed and Susan could sense his anger swelling.

For a moment he just stared at her and she didn’t need to be a telepath to sense his hate. His jaw clinched a few times and then he looked away. He turned toward the men standing with the pallets and waved them forward. “Bring it up,” he called.

It took Peter’s men about an hour to get all twenty pallets loaded. They brought them on one at a time and secured them to the deck with metal cables. The men seemed friendly enough and on occasion asked Susan where she wanted the next pallet to go. She answered them quick and they complied without any issue.

Susan and her crew remain
ed standing alongside the cargo bay walls. They watched the cargo loaders intently but said nothing to each other.

Peter remained at the bottom of the ramp during the loading procedure. He didn’t speak to anyone and he didn’t look at Susan or her crew either.

When the last pallet was secured, the men formed a small line in front of Peter and he began handing out credit vouchers. The men took their vouchers, climbed into the now-empty cargo trucks, and drove away.

Peter waited until the last one drove through the landing bay’s gate and then he climbed the ramp. He paused, looking around at the secured pallets; he still didn’t meet Susan’s eyes.

“Twenty tons of Brazziouri, as promised.”

“And when does the rest of my cargo arrive?” Susan asked.

Peter glanced her way briefly and then looked away. “Can’t get it to you on Fort Wade. You’ll have to meet us on Caval to get the rest.”

“Caval?” Susan repeated, confused. “What’s Caval?”

“It’s a small moon around a gas giant planet. Actually, the planet’s called Caval, but most people refer to the moon that way.”

“Where is Caval?” Russell asked. He flicked a glance Susan’s way.

“Don’t worry,” Peter said, some of his earlier oiliness having returned. “Your astrogation system will have it listed. It’s between here and Redamor.”

“Populated?” Susan asked.

Peter shook his head. “No. There used to be a mine there, but it’s been closed for decades. The atmosphere is breathable, but it’s cold.” He grinned at them. “We’ve used it to transfer cargos before.”

“This wasn’t part of the deal,” Susan said. She could sense the enjoyment that Peter was getting out of this.

Peter shrugged. “Don’t care. If you want the second cargo, go to Caval. If not, then you can go tell Bailey. I don’t much care.” He stood there for a moment, smiling at them. “We’ll be on Caval in about twenty-eight hours. Don’t be late.” Still grinning, he turned and walked down the ramp.

Chapter
19

As soon as Peter was clear of the ramp, Terry hit the button and the cargo hold closed up tight.

Susan moved over and punched a button on the wall.

“Bridge,” Adam’s voice called out.

“
Call Port Control and get us cleared for launch; take off as soon as we can,” Susan said. She didn’t wait for a reply before releasing the button.

She turned and the crew were watching her.

“We’re going to this Caval?” Jessica asked. “I got the feeling Peter wasn’t too pleased with you.”

Susan nodded. She briefly considered the idea of just going t
o Redamor with the first cargo of fish, but she dismissed that idea. Undoubtedly, Bailey would not pay them for just the fish and the crew needed paying.

There was a second reason she was determined to go to Caval. This was the life they had chosen and they would be dealin
g with lowlifes frequently—they couldn’t run every time they were threatened, but that didn’t mean they had to be foolish.

“I,” she paused searching for the right words. “I think we need to prepare in case Peter’s people try something.”

“You think they will?” Terry asked.

She considered how best to answer
, and then decided the truth was the only way to go. “Possibly.” It was the honest answer, but probably wasn’t what the crew wanted to hear. She looked around. “We got a day to get ready, but first things first. Russell, come with me. I want to find out about this moon we’re going to.”

Susan led Russell to
a small room on B deck just below the bridge. It was small, but they had been using it as a conference room. A small table was pushed up against the wall with chairs around the other three sides. There was a large computer monitor on the wall above the table.

Susan sat down at the head of the table and Russell sat down in a chair at the long side of the table that faced the computer screen. Even though she hadn’t been invited, Jessica followed them into the room and
leaned against the wall.

“Computer, give us information on the planet Caval.”

“The planet Caval is the third planet in the Nericron system,” the computer’s voice said. The voice sounded both female and metallic—there was an echo like the speaker was in some sort of tunnel. “The atmosphere is eighty-nine percent hydrogen and nine percent . . .”

“Stop,” Susan called out. “Tell us about the mine on the moon of Caval.”

“Caval has twenty-nine moons, three of them have been the site of a mine in the past, although none of the mines are currently active.”

Susan sighed.
It’s never easy.
“Are any of the moons habitable?” she asked.

“Caval VII has a breathable atmosphere.”

“And was Caval VII ever the site of a mine?”

“Yes,” the comp
uter answered. “From 647 to 701 post empire dating, precious metals were mined. The mine was closed once the supply of metals was exhausted.”

“
Show Caval VII to me,” Susan said.

The computer screen lit up w
ith a rough-looking picture of the moon. It wasn’t overly detailed and appeared to be a very old picture. To the side of the image, data about the moon began scrolling across the screen. It wasn’t encouraging. The average temperature during the day was below freezing, and the moon was constantly covered in a thick layer of snow and ice. There were no permanent residents, and the old mining base was the only evidence that civilization had ever visited the moon. The mining base had been built mostly underground and had been listed as abandoned nearly a hundred years ago.

“If they’ve been using this place as a base,” Russell said, “they could very easily shoot us out of the sky as we come in for a landing.”

“I doubt it,” Susan replied. “They want their money, and I really don’t think they want to make enemies of Bailey.”

Russell appeared to consider. “I hope you’re right,” he said after a moment. “I hope you’re right.”

The trip from
Fort Wade to Caval passed quickly, too quickly in fact. There was an undercurrent of anxiety in the crew as they neared the Nericron system. Despite Susan’s assurances that the smugglers would not be so foolish as to start a firefight that would surely cost them a payday, every crewmember was a bit nervous. Even though it was nearly twenty-six hours from Fort Wade to the Nericron system, the crew got little, if any, sleep.

The Nericron system was a typical system.
The star was a yellow dwarf star like so many others in the galaxy. Orbiting around the star were six planets. The innermost two were small with a minimal atmosphere, completely incapable of supporting human life. The remaining four planets were all gas giants. Caval was the largest of these. All four gas giants were surrounded by ring systems and scores of moons.

Susan stood at her post on the bridge, leaning over the sensor station. By all rights, she could have sat in the captain’s chair, but she was more useful running the sensors.

They were on the edge of the Nericron system and their sensors would take time to generate a complete report. It was time she didn’t have. They had to get to Caval, get their cargo, and then get back to Redamor.

“Well,” Russell asked from just behind her.

Technically, he should have been at the weapons station, but it hadn’t taken long to realize they weren’t flying into a fight—well, at least not immediately. He had stayed at his position upon emerging from the wormhole, just long for the all-clear to be sounded. Since then he had been pacing the deck of the bridge. It was beginning to bother Susan a bit.

“So far everything looks as it should,” she said, not bothering to look up at him. She could feel the others watching her as well. Adam sat in the pilot’s chair, Kyle sat in front of the engineering console, and Jessica stood near the stairs. They were all a bit tense and she couldn’t blame them.

“Course?” Adam asked.

Susan straightened up, stretching h
er sore back. “Set course for Caval VII.”

They had emerged from the wormhole on the o
utskirts of the solar system. It was farther out than was truly necessary, but it was unwise to trust the old and possibly unreliable data from the nav system. The data for out-of-the-way worlds was rarely updated and was always viewed with suspicion. In this case, their caution had been unnecessary, but space travel was dangerous enough without taking undue risks.

The trip to the moon took them just under three hours
, and Susan stood at the sensor post the whole time. She hadn’t picked up the first life sign or any signs of other ships either, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

Adam kept adjusting their course as they drew near. The planetary system around C
aval consisted of twenty-nine moons, but there also were enough small rocks and asteroids to cause countless small course corrections.

At long last they entered the orbit of C
aval VII. It was a shockingly white world, looking like an immense moon or perhaps a small planet.

Her scanners confirmed the habitable atmosphere and also the freezing temperatures. It took another several moments to find
the abandoned mining facility—it would have been quicker, but all signs of life were gone. Most of the facility was underground and the small portion that remained above the surface was nearly completely buried by snow. In addition, there weren’t any power signatures emanating from the base.

They circled the moon three times and Susan was considering remaining in orbit until their contacts arrived when a beacon began pulsing from the old facility. All at once, several sensors erupted in squeals and lights
.

“What is it?” Russell asked from right behind Susan.

It took Susan a moment and she choose not to waste time trying to answer Russell. She pushed buttons and viewed scanner output.

“Looks like we’re being invited down,” she said finally.

“Huh?” Russell asked, looking bewildered.

Susan grinned at Russell’s look. “A beacon just fired up
, and then I got a reading on power generators coming online. It appears that someone had kept the landing complex operational. I’m getting what appears to be a modern beacon and I think that power generator is heating the landing pads.”

“Heating it?” Kyle asked.

Susan nodded. “Yeah, melting the mounds of snow. I think we’re being invited down.”

The
Long Shot
broke through the cloud cover and made a slow, cautious descent. Susan remained standing at the console station, constantly scanning for anything out of the ordinary. She shouldn’t have bothered. The only signs of life were the beacon and the power generators.

The ship set down and Susan looked around at the crew.
My crew,
she thought. It still didn’t feel right. This wasn’t her ship or her crew—it felt wrong without Aaron there to call the shots.

“Keep the ship powered up,” she said to Adam. “I want to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”

Adam only nodded.

She turned to Russell. “Ready?”

He nodded. “Let’s double check with the crew, but I think we’re good.”

Their contacts didn’t arrive for nearly another two hours and the waiting was beginning to piss Susan off. It was true that she was now dealing with smugglers and not the military anymore, but still time was money and she didn’t like having hers wasted. She doubted they would have waited for two hours for her to show up.

The whole crew waited in the hangar with the exception of Adam. He remained on the bridge, ready to take off at a moment’s notice.

Susan was sitting against the wall with her legs stretched out when Adam’s voice came over the loudspeaker.

“Got another ship coming in!”

Susan bounded to her feet and made for the intercom, but Adam spoke again before she reached it.

“Scanner readings suggest it’s a freighter. It’s small and very fast but still only a freighter.”

Susan reached the intercom and pushed the button. “Any communication from them?” she asked.

“No, but they are heading straight for us. There’s no way they could have already picked us up on their scanners. They had to know we were here.” He paused and then added, “Want me to come down there?”

“No,” Susan said quickly. “Stay there in case they try and contact us. Once the ship sets down then come to the hold on the double.”

“Roger that,” Adam said and clicked off.

Susan turned to face the rest of the crew. It was a rather sorry lot that looked back.

Kyle, Molly, and Eve all held Keppano carbines, although the guns did look out of place in their hands. They had all passed minimum certification with the guns, but that just meant they knew enough not to shoot themselves in the foot. Well, Susan hoped
that they knew better than to accidentally shoot themselves—it wasn’t a guarantee.

She could sense Kyle and Molly’s fear, but they were doing a good job of hiding it. The only clue was
that Molly was breathing fast—shallow but fast.

Eve was the only one of the three
who seemed calm. Perhaps her calmness was due to her being nearly sixty. Susan imagined that she had seen a lot in her days. Her son had died in front of her several months back when the Miram Union had arrested her. After seeing something like that, how bad could this be?

Susan
nodded to the three of them. “To your places,” she said simply, then added, “and put your jackets on. It’s about to get very cold in here.”

They nodded and disappeared into the hold.

She and Terry were armed with two Logan handguns each. Terry was to stand near the cargo bay door and operate it as needed. That placed him on the left side of the cargo bay, which would also put him behind any of the smugglers that came aboard. If this turned into a fight, then Susan wanted to catch the men in a crossfire. Terry didn’t wait to be told, but instead turned and headed toward the cargo bay ramp.

Susan was impressed with the engineer. He wasn’t s
howing any signs of nervousness; rather he appeared determined.

Russell and Jessica each had a Logan handgun, but they had also stashed one of the Keppano carbines within reach. Russell was to remain near Susan, but Jessica had taken up position to the right along the far wall of the cargo hold.

Grady was also here, but Susan had ordered him to
remain farther back in the hold behind one of the pallets of fish they had taken aboard on Fort Wade. He was not armed . . . well, except for the wicked-looking claws and fangs.

Susan and Russell moved up closer to the
cargo bay door and stood waiting patiently. Susan slipped a thick jacket on, pleased to see that Russell was already wearing his. She sensed the group of men outside just before the buzzer rang. The buzzer was loud and jarring, but Susan didn’t jump—she had been expecting it.

There was a noise of running footsteps and Susan glanced to her left.