Incursio (Oolite Saga Part 3) Read online

  ‘1.7 billion Thargoids?’ Rebecca whispered.

  ‘Nice,’ Derik whistled.

  ‘Genetically speaking, yes,’ Garew said airily. ‘Though they don’t share the intelligence or the warlike tendencies of our insectoid friends. Ideal test material. We’ve been conducting experiments on them for decades, trying to engineer weapons that are capable of eradicating them in one fell swoop.’

  ‘For ‘we’ read ‘I’,’ Udian interjected.

  ‘Quite,’ Garew said. ‘Highly illegal and morally questionable. Yet, as it turns out, utterly essential.’

  ‘So why haven’t you tested the weapon?’ Coyote asked.

  ‘The weapon was developed at Ermaso and remains there,’ Udian replied smoothly. ‘Fortunately the Ermasians have a rather more liberal attitude to research…’

  ‘You mean they’re happy as long as they get a cut,’ Derik replied.

  ‘They are an enlightened culture,’ Udian answered, unruffled.

  ‘Sure, if you like grubs and ants.’

  ‘Only one problem with that,’ Rebecca interjected. ‘Moving bio-weapons is illegal and you couldn’t do it openly, the bugs would be all over you.’

  ‘Correct,’ Garew replied. ‘This mission must therefore main clandestine.’

  ‘So,’ Coyote said. ‘You’re asking us to smuggle a priceless illegal cargo, three quarters of the way across the chart, without being taken out by the Thargs, police or pirates.’

  ‘You’re the best smuggler in the business, so rumour has it. Time to prove it,’ Garew said.

  ‘Won’t be easy…’ Coyote mused, looking at the chart holofac. ‘You’ll need to travel through the most problematic systems in the chart. You couldn’t have chosen a more difficult place to get to.’

  ‘Why thank you,’ Udian said.

  ‘Derik and Udian will carry the weapons, you’ll act as guide,’ Garew acknowledged.

  ‘And what do we do when we get there?’ Derik asked.

  ‘I would have thought that was obvious,’ Udian replied with a coarse chuckle. ‘We test the weapon.’

  ‘Pick a few subjects to ensure it works? Stick some dumb bugs in a ship and shoot it down? How exactly?’ the reptiloid glared back.

  ‘Much more simple,’ Udian replied. ‘We deploy the weapon from orbit and ensure that the entire population of Thargoids and their hives are eradicated. Wipe the planet clean of their filth.’

  ‘Mass extermination?’ Coyote growled, under his breath. ‘1.7 Billion of them?’

  ‘They’re Thargoids. Call it pest control. We’ve got to be sure it works,’ Garew said, ‘…before we use it on the Lave system.’

  Coyote, Derik and Rebecca gasped simultaneously. Only Udian remained unmoved.

  ‘Say that again,’ Coyote said in a whisper.

  ‘We’re going to allow them to take Lave,’ Garew said. ‘Oh, we’ll make it look convincing of course. Put on a good show. But the Thargoids will be allowed to take the system. We probably have no choice. Whatever they want there they can have it. Once they’re in, we’ll cordon it. Witch-space jammers will lock them in. Then Lave goes down in history as the final solution to the Thargoid menace.’

  ‘You’re mad…’ Rebecca said, her face ashen.

  ‘It’s us or them. We’re losing. They can penetrate our defences at any time they choose. Tionisla was a close call. Without your intervention all the stations would have been taken out. The same story will be repeated all over the Chart unless we stop them. Time to choose which side you’re on.’

  Coyote and Derik exchanged a look; they appeared distinctly ill at ease.

  ‘And what about me?’ Rebecca demanded, ‘What’s my part in this crazy plan?’

  Garew smiled. ‘Ah yes. Rebecca Weston. Perhaps you’d like to explain how the Thargoids came to be in possession of the plasma accelerator that nearly killed these good gentlemen?’

  Rebecca looked around. Coyote, Derik and Udian were eyeing her speculatively.

  ‘I don’t know how the Thargoids got the weapon,’ she said cautiously.

  ‘Come, come.’ Garew said. ‘You know who last had control of it.’

  ‘No I don’t…’

  ‘Zerz Furvell’s secrets didn’t die with him you know,’ Garew said.

  How much does he know?

  Rebecca stared at him. ‘But… he’s dead. His ship was destroyed. Ten years ago. I saw it!’

  ‘The wreckage of an Imperial Courier was found in the Oresrati asteroid belt,’ Garew informed her. ‘Stripped clean by the Thargoids. The ident was confirmed as the Falchion, Zerz Furvell last known to be in command. Research records indicated he was working on plasma weaponry shortly beforehand. The Thargoids deploy plasma accelerators on their vessels immediately afterwards. Seems a pretty obvious connection.’

  ‘So? That’s got nothing to do with me!’

  How could the Falchion have ended up back at Oresrati?

  Garew flicked his fingers at the holofac and a grainy video image appeared.

  ‘Investigators found this footage in what remained of the memory core of the Falchion.’ he said, matter-of-fact.

  From the video vantage point they could see a tall lean man holding a young woman in his grasp. His right hand was clenched around her throat, her hands scrambling, trying to free herself. Blood was flowing from a knife wound in her cheek.

  Rebecca looked at Garew in fear and surprise. He stared back, his face stiff and grim, his gaze intense.

  Does he know? Surely he’s not going to tell them about…

  Coyote and Derik leaned forward. The woman’s face was unmistakeable.

  It’s her! But she looks exactly the same then as now…

  As they watched Rebecca was flung to the floor, lying prone and stunned.

  'You can’t goad me into killing you, I know that’s what you want,' the man wiped blood from his fingers with a small piece of fabric. 'I’ll give you credit, you are cleverer than you appear.'

  On the holo-fac Rebecca tried and failed to stand up, clearly injured. She touched her face, smearing blood across it.

  'With you gone, Jim would have no reason to co-operate with me, would he?' the man continued. 'He’d probably sacrifice himself in a vain attempt at being noble too.'

  'Leave him alone… ' the holo-fac Rebecca cried, in distress.

  'You were trying to protect him. Nice try; it was very convincing. Unfortunately for you, I am not the fool that Jim is… '

  'You won’t get to use the plasma accelerator!'

  The video crashed with static and stopped. Rebecca schooled her expression, suppressing her surprise and confusion.

  But that’s not what happened! What’s happening here? Jim always told me to deny everything about…

  ‘More than ten years ago,’ Garew commented. ‘Perhaps you’d care to let us know what you were doing there?’

  Rebecca’s thoughts were racing. Garew’s eyes were locked on hers, his gaze intense. She looked into them and frowned.

  ‘I was on an undercover Galcop mission… to track down Zerz Furvell,’ she managed. ‘He was Galcop’s chief technician. A design genius with a speciality in high performance weaponry.’

  ‘You killed him?’ Udian interjected in surprise. ‘Rather a waste. He had an admirable talent. I met him once, though he didn’t approve of bio-weapons. He was a directed energy bigot with a rather narrow focus.’

  ‘He’d faked his own demise at Diso in order to pursue the manufacture of this plasma weapon in secret,’ Rebecca continued. ‘I tracked him to a base on Oresrati after a long chase across the charts. He was better equipped than I anticipated. This portable shield generator was his – it stopped me from being able to apprehend him.’

  Rebecca unhooked the small unit from her belt and placed it on a nearby table.

  ‘I was caught but I’d already sabotaged Zerz’ witchdrive. He dumped me on Oresrati to die, unaware I’d arrived in a cloaked ship – Galcop had given me a specially equipped ship called the Constrictor. B
y the time he tried to witch out I’d managed to get back to my own ship. I confronted him in space. We fought, he lost. I thought the Falchion had been destroyed. Apparently not…’

  ‘And the Thargoids?’ Garew prompted.

  ‘If they found the Falchion they found the remains of the accelerator. I guess they must have reverse engineered it somehow,’ Rebecca said, looking at him carefully. ‘If they found that vidclip, they also know about me, which…’

  Her eyes widened.

  ‘Explains why they’re after you now,’ Derik added. ‘Presumably they think you’ve got more information or more tech.’

  ‘And have you?’ Coyote said, looking at her thoughtfully.

  ‘No,’ Rebecca said. ‘I don’t even know how the accelerator works. I’ve only worked out some tactics to counter it. I’ve fought it twice now and survived. That shield generator is the only other thing I have.’

  ‘Pretty effective tactics,’ Derik said. ‘We’d have been spaced without your tricks.’

  Coyote picked up the small unit and turned it around in his hand, before tossing it to Derik. The reptiloid stared closely at the device before passing it to Shulth.

  ‘Ingenious,’ Udian declared after a moment. ‘Even more impressive considering it was created a decade ago.’

  ‘Zerz was no fool,’ Rebecca confirmed.

  ‘Rebecca here has the most experience with the plasma weapon,’ Garew said. ‘And we can use that.’

  Derik looked enthusiastic but Coyote and Udian appeared unmoved.

  ‘She’s not Elite,’ Coyote said, dismissively. ‘We can handle it now.’

  ‘Perhaps not in kill count,’ Garew said, seeing Rebecca bristle immediately. ‘But experience counts. The Thargoids will be wise to the last set of tactics…’

  ‘I’ll take you on any day,’ Rebecca interrupted, glaring at Coyote.

  Coyote smiled wryly. ‘And you would lose.’

  ‘In your dreams,’ Rebecca said aggressively, stepping forward.

  ‘Enough!’ Garew snapped impatiently. Rebecca glared but subsided.

  ‘With her ship destroyed you need more firepower,’ Garew continued. ‘Which is where Blaze comes in.’

  Garew gestured to the brain-sphere, which jumped onto the table and spun around on its manipulators. The holofac of the chart faded and was replaced with the Isis Interstellar logo.

  ‘Thargoid incursions were a high priority when we designed the latest Isis mainstream vessel, our celebrated Diamondback Purgatori Fighter. You’re doubtless familiar with the Vampire Mk4,’ Blaze O’ Glory spoke with a snappy, quick and enthusiastic sales-y tone. ‘But Isis never stands still. We’re always searching for more power, more speed, more elan.’

  A deep chord sounded from the audio system, the holofac dimmed and then flashed up a phrase.

  ISIS Interstellar Presents…

  ‘How do you counter top speed, high manoeuvrability and omni-directional weapons? You make yourself impossible to hit and ensure your every strike has devastating consequences.’

  The Legend…

  ‘Boasting power-reinforced hull integrity and high compression gravity-plating, we can afford to divert increasing power to roll, yaw and bow thrusters.

  The Original…

  Manoeuvrability that ups the game to the next level…’

  Updated…

  ‘Enhanced power-plant, engines based on captured Thargoid technology, intercooled and double-fluxed weapons design…’

  Vampire Mk5. The bite… is back. Impress space, Commander!

  A ship appeared on the screen, slowly rotating. A dark and aggressive looking vessel, sleek and menacing.

  Rebecca stared at it, taking in the stats. Her mouth dropping open in astonishment.

  ‘Three lasers?’ she said, in disbelief. ‘But how do you cool…’

  ‘Military of course. Cooling is routed throughout the entire hull. The serrated design and conductive materials make the entire exterior hull a cooling panel.’

  ‘Missiles?’ Derik inquired.

  ‘Eight mounted. Option of twenty two if you forego cargo and use rotating load assemblies. Or you can have supplementary fuel tanks. Customer choice.’

  ‘Twenty two!’ the lizard exclaimed. ‘Frak! It’s one ship armada!’

  ‘Curve factor?’ Rebecca had pushed back to the front, looking at the screen in detail

  ‘Twice that of the original Mk1. Vectored thrust nozzles allow the talented pilot to switch to Newtonian flight and back again at will,’ Blaze was unfazed by Rebecca’s rapid-fire questioning. Clearly he was used to demanding customers.

  ‘Top speed?’

  ‘We’ve clocked it at .47 Light-mach off boost. I reckon we can get a little more.’

  ‘How’s it fly in battle?’

  Blaze spun around on the spot, almost priapic with excitement. ‘That’s the question!’

  ‘I thought you were the test pilot?’ Rebecca asked.

  ‘Not this time.’

  Rebecca stared at Blaze. ‘You haven’t actually flown it yet?’

  ‘Not in anger,’ Blaze replied. ‘Hope you’ll take up that challenge.’

  ‘Challenge?’ Rebecca demanded. ‘You want me to fly an untested prototype into a briar patch with a bunch of Thargs?’

  ‘You got your own ship?’ Garew interjected, with a wry grin.

  Rebecca glared at him, feeling a renewed sense of loss as the image of her shattered ship passed through her mind.

  ‘I can buy one…’ She began.

  ‘Yes. A base Cobra or a mildly tweaked Asp. There’s no time. You need this ship,’ Garew said. ‘And it’s not untested. It’s perfectly flight worthy. Blaze here just wants you to shake it down. You want this ship, trust me.’

  Rebecca looked back at the ship, torn between desire and frustration.

  ‘Uber, overpowered and gauche,’ Coyote commented from the rear of the room. ‘But even a ham-fisted amateur could be Elite with a ship like that…’

  Rebecca’s hands balled into fists and she stepped towards him again.

  Derik pulled her back. ‘Easy tiger…’

  Garew nodded to Blaze. ‘Thank you. That will be all.’

  The brain-sphere jumped back onto its trolley and then quickly rolled out of the room. At some unspoken signal the attendants in the bar also left, leaving the four combateers and Garew alone.

  Coyote pushed his way to the front of the group as the doors snapped closed again.

  ‘All very impressive… ’ he said. ‘Now, let’s talk payment. What’s in this for us?’

  Garew eyeballed him back. ‘Apart from the satisfaction of defeating the Thargoids and the eternal gratitude of Galcop and the aligned worlds?’

  ‘Yeah, apart from that.’

  ‘Rebecca keeps the new ship…’

  ‘Oh yes…’ Rebecca said, lust in her eyes. Garew smiled.

  ‘…plus any enhancements she sees fit to recommend. Derik gets a seat on the Tionislan Senate. Udian gets certain freedoms and absolution for previous altercations with Galcop and you…’

  Coyote raised an eyebrow.

  ‘…Get to name your price.’

  ‘Really? And what is it you think I want?’

  ‘Money, Influence. You name it, I’ll make it happen.’

  Coyote grinned. ‘Then I’ll take a case of vintage four-leaf smoked and irradiated Zaquessian Evil-Juice… a brace of Japatian Colitas… and you will personally polish all the brass-work on my ship.’

  Derik suppressed a laugh and managed a truncated snort instead.

  Garew’s eyes narrowed. ‘Jesting with me is not advisable… ’

  ‘Then I’ve an alternative plan…’ Coyote said, dismissively. ‘By my reckoning Lave and most of Chart one is doomed, that’s clear enough… So why don’t my compadres and I load up with a few tonnes of Tionislan flapjacks while there’s still a market, grab a galactic jump overcharge, get the hell out of here and flip you the bird from the station egress?’

  ‘Sounds li
ke a plan to me,’ Derik agreed, with a snigger.

  ‘You won’t do this?’ Garew asked, glaring at Coyote.

  ‘You’ve got the wrong man, Garew,’ Coyote snapped. ‘You must have done your homework. I may be a smuggler but I have rules. I don’t touch slaves… or firearms.’

  Garew smiled faintly and looked across at Udian. The hulking form of the bio-mechanical creature seemed to tense.

  ‘As I predicted…’ Garew said, quietly.

  ‘This is not necessary, Garew,’ Udian’s said. ‘We have alternatives.’

  ‘I disagree,’ Garew replied. ‘Coyote is the man for the job.’

  ‘No, he isn’t…’ Coyote snapped back.

  Rebecca flinched, her eyes felt suddenly scratchy. She brushed and rubbed at them. The feeling refused to go away. Instead it got worse. Her head throbbed, a headache flashing painfully across her temple. Colours flashed and her vision tunnelled in around her.

  ‘I can’t see!’ Derik yowled next to her. ‘What is this? Frak!’

  Rebecca panicked and flung out her arms to steady herself, her vision totally gone. She stumbled backwards, crashing into Coyote, who was likewise incapacitated.

  ‘Since you arrived, you’ve all been infected with an airborne strain of obedient Galcop modified nano-bots,’ Garew’s voice said. ‘We mostly use them for crowd control but they’re as effective for coercion, even at a distance. Right now they are merely jamming your optic nerves. By direction, they can repair, revitalise and rebuild damaged tissue. Of course, they can also impair the proper functioning of organic material or, if instructed, disassemble them entirely.’

  ‘Damn you, Shulth!’ Derik hissed. ‘I recognise your hand in this!’

  ‘Galcop has put much of my work to use without my permission,’ Udian’s voice rumbled back. ‘I cannot control everything. You would be wise to obey.’

  Derik’s reply was a flamboyant string of wide ranging obscure profanities.

  Suddenly Rebecca could see again. She caught her breath, looking at both Derik and Coyote. Both of them appeared to be still blinded.

  ‘Now I have your full attention,’ Garew continued, ‘Let me be absolutely clear. My job is to ensure Galcop’s survival. I have the means and you now know I have the will. Defy me and you will die rather unpleasantly at my whim. Obey and you can have whatever you desire. You will comply with me, one way or the other.’