While the pirate commander might appear old and frail, his voice boomed with the authority of command. "Stop where you are, Ms. Novak! Move away from the terminal. We have your friends in custody. Make even the slightest move and, I assure you, I will have them
all
killed."
Unarmed, and equally undressed, Sigrid raised her arms.
"You," Lai commanded the sailor next to him, "give her your coat."
The crewwoman did so, sliding her coat off and handing it to Sigrid.
"Modesty, Mr. Lai?" Sigrid slipped the coat on. "I didn't take you for a puritan."
"I prefer my people to stay focused. Temptations of the flesh can prove all too distracting. Even in these circumstances."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Casually, Sigrid leaned against the control console. Her hand drifted toward the controls.
"Back!" Thuan Lai strode toward her with a purposefulness that belied his aging bones. He waved the muzzle of a heavy recoilless at her, one so large she was surprised he could hold it up. "Step aside, Ms. Novak. You," he said to one of the sailors, "check the console. See what she's done."
With her hands held high over her head, Sigrid backed away, making room for the sailor. The screen came alive as his hands flew over the keys, though the color drained quickly from his face.
Thuan Lai saw it too. He stepped forward, shoving the crewman aside only to stare horrified at the screen. Slowly, the pirate commander turned to face her.
"What have you done?"
"Your engines might be useless, Mr. Lai, but the reactor core is in good order—despite your lack of maintenance. I've set it on a delay overload.
Wait!
" she said, cautioning him as he reached for the controls. "I wouldn't try to stop it."
"Why? What do you mean?"
"Doing that…" Sigrid pointed to his finger hovering over the master switch. "That will only make it angrier. Believe me, Mr. Lai, you don't want to make it angry."
Lai pounded his thin fist on the console housing. "One hour and thirty-seven minutes! You set the ship to explode in one hour and thirty-seven minutes?"
"Um, thirty-six," Sigrid corrected. "Look, it just ticked over."
"You're mad. And you're a fool if you think we will let you out of here. Those slaves are worth a lot to me. And you, Ms. Novak, are worth a great deal more."
Despite the cluster of guns leveled at her, Sigrid sat down on the edge of the control console, crossing her legs demurely. "The way I see it, Mr. Lai, you don't have any choice. You
are
going to let us go. All of us. And if you don't…"
She balled her hands together, then spread her fingers out, fanning them wide. "Boom."
~ - ~
Standing outside the freighter, Sigrid waited until the last of the indentured crew was allowed to disembark. They were a sorry lot. Thirty-four crew and seven of the comfort girls. The comfort girls remained clustered together, huddled and shivering, though more from the drugs than the cold. Their journey would be the most difficult of all.
Thuan Lai was standing on the cargo ramp, overseeing the exodus.
"Those people won't make it three kilometers let alone three hundred. I won't need to stop you, Ms. Novak, the terrain will take care of that."
Sigrid had to agree, but she was hardly going to abandon these people to the Merchantmen.
"Just worry about your ship, Thuan. I'll worry about the rest."
"And how do I know you'll keep your end of the bargain? That you'll transmit the termination codes?"
"You don't. Sorry, Mr. Lai, but you'll just have to trust me. Once we're safely away, I'll transmit the codes and shut down the countdown. If we're safe, then your ship will be safe."
"Those people are of value to me.
You
, Ms. Novak, are of value. You can't think I will let you walk out of here.
"Yes, Mr. Lai, that's exactly what I think. Kill me, and you lose your ship. Without your ship, what are you? Just another aging grifter looking for the next mark."
"You think you'll find safe haven out there? Word has already spread about you. The Merchantmen aren't the only ones who know you're working for the Consortium. They'll come for you, Ms. Novak. For a chance at one-point-eight-five billion, they'll
all
come for you."
"Then I suppose I better get moving." Sigrid turned, ready to march into the forest.
"We're not done, Ms. Novak!" Lai shouted after her. He was red in the face and shaking his thin fist. "You've not seen the last of the Merchantmen."
Sigrid glanced back over her shoulder. "For your sake, you best hope you're wrong. Goodbye, Mr. Lai."
Leaving the merchantmen behind, Sigrid approached the cluster of freed slaves. Most of them were quite thin and suffering from malnutrition. This was probably the first time they'd been outside in months. Perhaps years. How on Earth was she going to get them to safety?
"Where will we go?" Nuria asked. She was dressed now in pants and boots stolen from the pirate traders. She still had the eSMG in her hands, and Sigrid thought she looked quite brave, standing there and watching over the escapees, like a shepherd overlooking her flock.
"We'll make for the Crossroads," Sigrid said. "It's our best hope."
"How far is it?" Nuria said, and then she looked about her. "And
where
is it?"
Sigrid pointed south, beyond the hills. The terrain looked rough and heavily treed. "There, Nuria. A little less than three hundred kilometers."
"Three hundred…?"
"Don't worry, Nuria. We'll make it."
They had to.
~ - ~
They had only covered eight of the three hundred kilometers back to the Crossroads when Sigrid called a stop to rest. Their third already. In four more minutes the reactor core of the Merchantman freighter would implode. It was time for Sigrid to decide. Send the code, halting the countdown, or let the Merchantmen blow themselves to bits.
"You should let them blow up," Nuria said. "That's what they deserve."
"I'd like nothing better," Sigrid said, "but unfortunately, at this distance, a freighter's drive core exploding will wipe out much of this valley—with us in it." Sigrid turned back the way they had come. "Besides, I'm not detecting any sign of pursuit. It looks like the Merchantmen have kept their part of the bargain. I won't kill them for spite."
"But if they should come after us—?"
"She's right," Niklos said. "The Merchantmen won't let this many slaves go. It wouldn't look right. Bad for business. You can bet they'll come after us."
"Well," Sigrid said, contemplating the conundrum and giving her head a good scratch, "if they do, then I
will
kill them. I promise. Unfortunately—" Sigrid let her eyes drift back to the forested hills before them "—right now, the Merchantmen are the least of our concerns."
"They'll make it," Nuria said, gesturing to the cluster of escapees. They were a tired lot, exhausted and drained.
"It's not them I'm worried about, Nuria. There's something else. There's something out there."
"Something—?"
Sigrid hushed her, then lowered her voice so that only Niklos and Nuria might hear. "I've been scanning this whole valley. We're not alone."
Nuria gasped, and Sigrid had to hush her quickly. "I-I thought you said the Merchantmen weren't following us."
"They're not. And that's precisely what has me worried. I didn't call this halt just so we could rest. For the past hour I've been monitoring a new group of signals just beyond that ridge. I'm counting at least forty men. And machines. I've also detected several coded transmissions to orbit."
"
Mierda.
"
"My thoughts exactly."
"Who?" Niklos said. "Who's out there?"
Sigrid shook her head. "I don't know. Could be CTF. Could be mercenaries. Or it could be a farmer working her automated soy harvesters for all I know. But we can't go any further. Not until I'm sure."
"We could go back," Niklos said. "We could try to take the ship."
"No," Sigrid said. "I don't think this lot is up to a fight. The plan stands. We'll make for the Crossroads. But I want to investigate those signals first."
Nuria handed her the eSMG, but Sigrid shook her head. "Thanks, but I don't think that will do much good—not against the force I'm scanning. Best you keep it. If I don't come back, it's up to you to lead these people to safety."
"Then you
best
come back," Nuria said.
"What do you want us to tell the others?" Niklos said.
Sigrid shrugged. "They're so tired I don't think they'll notice. Tell them I've gone to relieve myself. Don't worry. I'll be right back."
~ - ~
While the signals were cause for concern, Sigrid found herself more intrigued than alarmed as she moved out into the forest. Whoever was waiting for her out there, it wasn't the Merchantmen. And it wasn't the CTF either. Niklos had told her the Council forces were due in eight hours. If those were Council troops, then they would have moved in directly. Any delay would mean risking losing her. No, this was something else.
Since the moment Nuria had cut through her bonds, Sigrid felt like she was bursting with renewed energy. Here, out here on her own, Sigrid allowed herself access to all of her energy reserves, unleashing her full potential. All of her senses were heightened and on alert, giving her a renewed sense of focus. She was a blur, a shadow moving amongst the brush, never once making a sound. Not a leaf was rustled, and no twigs snapped beneath her feet. She was a wraith. A ghost.
Perhaps I am this Night Witch?
Sigrid thought with a smile.
There was something invigorating, rejuvenating about being out here on her own. She hadn't felt like this since she was a young girl at the Academy, rushing through the forests of Alcyone with Suko close at her side. Yet she knew this wasn't one of Rosa's devious training exercises. This was real, and the lives of those people she'd left behind remained in her hands. They were depending on her, and she wasn't about to let them down.
The signals were stronger now, coming from less than a kilometer away. She didn't run straight toward them. Instead, she performed a wide loop, coming around to their rear. The signals were clustered in a large gully. The foliage here was dense and thick. Without her sensors, Sigrid and her band of escapees might have stumbled directly into their midst.
Clambering up a hillock on the far side, Sigrid had a perfect view of what lay in waiting for them below. Forty men and women moved about. They were armed and uniformed. Five of them were officers, and they wore the uniforms of Cheung-Yoshida Multi-Planetary.
But it wasn't the sight of the officers from the facility that sent icy tendrils coursing down her spine. It was the other thirty-five men and women. Their simple olive-drab fatigues bore no markings or insignia, but Sigrid had seen them before. First on Earth, the night she'd broken into the CTF towers. Then on Scorpii. And, of course, on Bellatrix.
It was the Independents, and they had come for her.
"Mierda,"
Sigrid said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Nemesis
"Independents," Sigrid said again. "Blast it."
Sigrid scrambled back into the brush. She was already lying as flat as she could, yet she couldn't help but press herself down even more into the cold ground. She scanned the soldiers again, just to be sure. Those officers were definitely Cheung-Yoshida, and there was no disguising the Independents. As if to add to the evidence, two hulking mechs lumbered into view. These walking tanks were the favored weapon of the Independents. They'd used them to great effect on Alcyone. Their metal feet shook the ground with each of their great strides. An entire platoon of soldiers walked at their sides, clad in their mechanized armor, their identities hidden behind the mirrored faceplates.
With her heart pounding in her chest, Sigrid rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky.
Why they were here wasn't a mystery: they were here for her. They had to know the Merchantmen had taken her, but if they did, then why weren't they attacking?
Sigrid lay there, waiting for the inevitable, yet no alarms sounded, no call to arms came, and no one moved her way. They might not have detected her. They might still think she was aboard the freighter. There might still be time—she could still run.
Out of the question. Sigrid dismissed the idea straight away. She wasn't about to abandon Nuria nor the refugees.
Rising and keeping low, Sigrid started to make her way back to them. She would run, yes, but they were all getting out of here.
All of us. Or none of us.
The heady excitement she'd felt on her way out was gone, replaced by a new sense of urgency, and she headed back with even greater speed. She took great care to make certain she wasn't detected or followed, using every ounce of her energy and training to maintain her stealth. She was good, and she knew it. It was for that reason that she was most distressed to see the alert flash in her HUD: a new signal appeared before her.
Sigrid slowed, dropping to a knee. Scanning ahead with her optical module, she zoomed in. The heat signature was unmistakable. Someone was out there, waiting for her. Sigrid froze, waiting, scanning. But the signal neither moved nor made a sound. It might be a sentry—perhaps someone she'd missed on her way out?
Taking great care, Sigrid moved slowly to flank the person. There was something familiar about that signal, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was almost as if they knew they were being scanned, blocking her. She needed line of sight.
She closed to within twenty-five meters, coming around behind them, and still the signal didn't move.
It's a guard, Sigrid. Just a sentry. That's all,
she told herself, though she didn't believe it for a second.
She paused behind one of the large ombu trees; the giant roots thrusting out of the ground granted her the perfect cover. Careful to engage her cloak first, Sigrid peered over the edge.