Justice (3 page)

The silver mass was President
Geron’s creation; the base of operations for the terraforming
project. The silver dome normally housed the workers and their
families, but tonight it played host to far wealthier occupants.
The terra-forming project was still in its early stages as the
atmosphere had yet to be converted, and so on any other day the
complex would be swarming with workers.

As Crusader
got closer to the silver dome and its attached landing bay, the
green mass resolved itself into trees and plants. The green leaves
stretched out and the foliage was so thick it would be impossible
for a person to walk through it without taking hours to hack away
at the branches and vines.

“
How did the original plant life come to be here?” Nova
asked.

“
Exact source is unknown,” Crusader responded. “Most likely
source is debris from passing crafts.”

Nova nodded
and continued to stare down at the planet. Coming from the desert
planet of Tabryn she was amazed by the rampant plant life of
Drigoon.

“
Are you planning to sign up for security wearing your
pyjamas?” Cal enquired from a few feet back.

Nova’s eyes
narrowed as she turned to look at the hovering robot. She said
nothing as she deliberately put her bowl down on the control unit
and stomped to her sleeping quarters.

By the time
Nova pulled on her long black trousers, simple singlet, and thick
boots, Crusader had flown through the double doors and into the
dome’s landing bay. She grabbed up her signature trench-coat and
pulled her arms through the sleeves. She reached the outer door
just as a sharp knock came from the other side. She glanced at the
video display and saw two large men standing outside her ship.

“
Drigoon security,” the bigger man barked through the
intercom.

Nova rolled
her eyes at their posturing and took the time to shove a large gun
into the holster at her waist.

“
Open her up,” she called out. Crusader obeyed.

The silver
door slid open with a hiss. Nova stood in front and above the two
men with her hands on her hips. They looked up at her with sour
expressions.

“
Planet’s closed to tourists,” the first man said.

“
I should think so,” Nova said, jumping down from Crusader to
the metal floor below. The two men had to step backwards to avoid
her leap. She took her time to take in the air-tight landing bay
and the other ships.

“
Look, you and your trash heap of a ship are going to have to
turn around and go back to whatever backwater planet you came
from.”

The big man
crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Nova. He had a
square jaw with black stubble shading his chin that matched his
short black hair and dark eyes. The second man stood a head shorter
and took his cues from his bigger companion.

“
Nova. I’m here for security,” she said, rolling her eyes at
the men and holding out her arm for scanning.

The larger man
scowled at her and pulled a scanner from his belt. He held the
device over Nova’s arm and it beeped once. The man lifted the
device up to stare at the display and his scowl deepened.

“
I don’t know why the President has called in you bloody lot.
More likely to cause problems than stop them.”

“
Either way I’m here. And you are?” Nova asked, her own tone
becoming terse.

“
Head of security. Bruce,” the man said through clenched
teeth.

“
Excellent. Now if you could tell me which way to go, I’ll be
on my way,” she said, utterly tired of the two men.

“
Down the corridor you’ll find the sign-in desk. One hint of
trouble and you’ll be off this planet before you can blink,” Bruce
said.

Nova brought
her hand up and saluted Bruce as she walked away.

The landing
bay already had a number of ships; most of them the high-end type.
Nova took her time walking towards the corridor, admiring the ships
as she went. Sure, Crusader was good but imagine having a ship that
could leap twice the distance in warp? Or contained a space vacuum
so it that it was bigger on the inside than the outside?

She left the
landing bay down a metal corridor. It could hold three people
walking side by side and the ceiling was out of Nova’s reach. The
simple silver walls lacked decoration except for the occasional
numbered door.

She ignored
the side passages for now and came to a stop at a chest high
counter behind which stood two young women. Their eyes glistened
with inserted silver flakes (all the rage in some galaxies) and
their wide smiles seemed almost pinned on.

“
Hello there, how may we help you?”

Nova leant her
elbows on the counter and measured the two before her. Deciding
they were no threat, she held out her arm.

“
I’m here for security detail,” she said.

“
Well, isn’t that just wonderful?” one woman said. She was
dressed from head to toe in a pink so bright it made Nova’s eyes
water.

Nova said
nothing and continued to hold out her arm. The woman behind the
counter pulled out a scanner very much like Bruce’s and held it
over Nova’s arm. With a quick nod the woman pressed a green button
on the side of the scanner. There was a whirring noise and a moment
later a simple plastic card slid out of the bottom of the
device.

The woman
pulled it out and looked from the card to Nova and back again.
“That all seems to be in order.”

“
You use hard-cards?” Nova asked with her eyebrows raised, she
hadn’t seen one in years.

“
Oh, yes. President Geron likes to remind people where we’ve
come from.” The woman’s smile hadn’t moved throughout the whole
conversation.

“
Cool,” Nova said, although she didn’t really mean
it.

“
Now you just need one of these. Make sure that’s pinned where
people can see it at all times or you may just find yourself shot,”
said the woman, smiling.

Nova frowned
but took hold of the plastic card and the simple clipping device.
Nova’s photograph took up one side of the card, next to large
letters that read ‘Security’.

“
The event starts tomorrow, after sundown, but you may want to
admire the dome first,” the woman finished with a smile so wide and
so white that Nova had to look away.

Nova did as
the woman had suggested. She walked down corridor after corridor
and checked each unlocked door. The dome was filled with rooms, and
seemed impossibly large on the inside. It would easily be able to
hold ten thousand people, more than enough to start Drigoon off on
its way to a fully-fledged planet.

Amongst the
sleeping quarters sat a tasteful viewing platform with glass
windows that looked out over Drigoon. Set into one side was a thick
metal door that was covered in warning signs in a myriad of
languages: “Do not open door without clearance and safety
gear”.

Nova turned
from the door to the green planet spread out before her. The sign’s
intention became immediately clear. Directly outside the glass
began the jungles of Drigoon, but these trees weren’t all harmless.
As Nova watched, she saw green trunks moving across the ground.

Her eyes
narrowed as she watched them, but it wasn’t an illusion. These
plants crept across the planet’s surface on their roots; moving
from one spot to another to find water or sunlight. The excess
carbon dioxide had given these plants a level of intelligence that
Nova had never seen in plant life before. A part of her wondered
what would happen to them when the terraforming project started to
convert the atmosphere.

One particular
plant sidled right up to the glass and seemed to look through at
Nova, although of course that would be impossible; the thing had no
eyes. Still, it sent a tingle down her spine which was in no way
helped when the thing opened its leaves to reveal a gaping hole
surrounded by sticky teeth.

Nova was sure
the display couldn’t get any stranger when the creature leant back
and whipped forward, spitting a globule of green mucous from its
mouth onto the glass. The blob dripped down the glass as the plant
walked away, bored.

Nova strolled
up to the glass and laid a hand on one side. The surface was warm
from the green bile sliding down the other side. When the stuff hit
the earth at the bottom of the glass it hissed and smoked as it
burned a hole into the grass.

She shook her
head at the sight. Who would choose to live in a place like
this?

Only parts of
the dome were open, and as well as the viewing platform and many
sleeping quarters, Nova came across a gym, five restaurants and
common rooms, and finally a very large bar. She walked inside and
let her eyes run over the room. She was just taking in the fake
wooden bar-top and surrounding tables when a large hand slapped
down on her back.

She turned,
her hand already reaching for her gun belt.

“
Whoa, Nova; chill out.” A young man stood smiling at her and
Nova’s guard dropped.

“
Jack.”

“
I didn’t think this would be your sort of gig, running
security for a tycoon?”

Nova shrugged
as she looked at the patrons scattered throughout the room. “Just a
bit of a change.”

“
A big change, not many of your er- calibre here. I guess that
puts you in charge of the Hunters.” Jack winked.

Nova groaned
and rolled her eyes. She and Jack had run missions together when
they were younger, before she joined The Jagged Maw and he moved to
the Inner Galaxies to do personal security. He’d been a good friend
and mentor when she was first finding her feet and there weren’t
many people she’d rather work with, especially after her recent
experience with the super-soldier.

“
I heard about your recent run-in,” Jack’s voice dropped.
“Poor Dent and Harvey.”

Nova nodded
but refused to say more about the failed mission.

“
Oh, heads up for the newbie,” Jack said, jutting his chin
towards the figure just entering the bar.

The thin boy
had a round, young face. Nova frowned at him, her eyes opening wide
when she saw his name tag: Security.

“
He’s a Hunter?” she asked. She watched the boy walk through
the room with stiff steps and sit down in a rigid-backed
chair.

“
Just off the runaway train,” Jack said, referencing the many
children who entered bounty hunting after running away from
home.

“
Look at him,” Nova said. The boy sat with hunched shoulders
and wide eyes as he looked around. Many eyes looked back at him;
mostly other Hunters.

“
Obviously hasn’t made it into The Jagged Maw yet,” Jack
said.

Nova nodded,
and with the inexperienced way he looked around the room it would
be some time before he was accepted into that particular club. It
wasn’t the richest or the most glamourous of the bounty hunter
guilds, but there was a tough entry bar. The Jagged Maw Hunters
were known for their metal, their rock-hard spines and daring.

A part of Nova
wanted to go over and point out the gaping blindside to his back
right. Or how the way he sat impeded access to his gun. But of
course, she wouldn’t say a thing; it was up to him to either make
it as a Hunter or not.

“
There are a few of us here,” Jack said.

Nova nodded.
It was good pay for what would no doubt be a routine mission. She
had already nodded her head to other Hunters she recognised from
The Jagged Maw.

“
Want a drink?” Jack said.

Nova nodded
again. There was nothing better to do now that she’d scoped out the
rest of the dome. They shuffled through the crowded bar to the main
bench where bright red stools were scattered around, some of them
occupied. Nova headed straight for the empty end of the bar and
slumped down into a red stool, gesturing to the barman.

Jack took a
seat next to Nova and nodded at the bartender for a drink.

The bartender
placed two cold glasses on the bar and nodded as Nova slid her
credstick towards him.

“
To rich guys who need protecting,” Nova said, clinking her
glass against his.

“
I’ve been listening to the radios. There’s a real blow up
over that
mission
you were just on. I knew we lost a few but what’s this I’m
hearing about monsters?” Jack asked. His brows drew together and he
looked at Nova with a frown.

Nova sighed
and scraped her fingernail along the wooden bar. The new bench had
a smooth polish that reflected the lights overhead. The bar smelled
like almost any other; alcohol, sweat, perfume, and a faint tinge
of smoke. A mellow noise pervaded the air; this was a bar made more
for conversation than raucous fights.

“
I don’t know what it was,” Nova said, still not lifting her
eyes from the spotless bar.

“
What did it look like?” Jack asked. His tone was hushed and
his eyes ran over the room.

“
Human mostly. But it was massive. You have no idea. And it
was rabid; unstoppable almost.”

“
Could it have evolved on an outer planet like
Zeaton?”

“
No way. That place is pretty much a wasteland now, but even
when it was populated, humans were the biggest predator. Plus, this
thing was man-made; no doubt.”

“
Someone put it there?”

“
Confederacy. The trail of damage led straight out of their
ship,” said Nova.