Credit Rush OutPost Krone (11 page)

"Hope you got my size,” replied Charlie with a wry smile.

Carter did not respond and continued unpacking. The weapon was something Charlie was not used to; he had never fired a one in his life. That was not to say he had never got into dangerous issues whilst digging or gambling but they were usually resolved by a fist fight or making a quick getaway in his craft.

"Listen up,” said Carter in a serious tone. Placing a large rifle in Charlie's hand along with a magazine, he said, "You have this equipment, take a hold of it,"

Carter walked around behind Charlie and placed a grenade belt around his waist. He started tightening it until it was digging into Charlie's skin, he said, try not to mess around with these too much; you’ll need to be well out of the area when one goes off,”

"What do you mean?" replied Charlie.

"Let's just say it packs the extra punch."

Looking up at the craft, Charlie noticed that it looked like it had been refitted with a large steel tank at the back just for this mission.

"Yeah, I got it refitted to look like a fuel tanker; well… that was the idea,” replied Carter as he walked around checking each part of the craft.

Charlie had to get on-board the cargo vessel but needed some kind of cover in order to succeed in the mission. It wasn’t standard cargo on-board so no mistakes could be made; Charlie's life depended on it.

"You ready? We have to get going,” said Carter while pointing his thumb towards the cockpit window.

"You’re coming with me?" replied Charlie.

"Damn straight. I fly this ship and no one else besides me has the skills when it comes to this job,” said Carter as he walked up the ramp with Charlie quickly following behind.

The ship was small inside; hardly any room to breathe and barely big enough to fit two people.

"Get yourself strapped in while I link the comms with Stout. Remember; you listen to me, no fuckups,” said Carter.

"Okay,” replied Charlie in agreement.

The two of them strapped themselves into their seats and Carter grabbed the controls.

"Booster's set to maximum; fuel check okay,” said Carter, adjusting his headset while going through the pre-flight check.

Charlie wanted some answers and turned to face Carter.

"You don't seem too concerned about losing Zed. Does that not bother you; the way that Stout murdered him?" said Charlie.

Carter quickly turned the comm switch off to make sure Stout wasn’t listening in.

"My feelings don't come into it. Zed was an asshole most of the time and the things he has done…" Carter paused for a second. "Let's just say I am glad the bastard is dead, it could have just as easily been me."

"Did he owe a debt to Stout? Was it a revenge killing maybe?” speculated Charlie, looking confused.

The tension between the two of them grew; both were nervous and just wanted to get the mission over with.

"Tazar One, you are cleared to disembark,” a voice announced through the intercom.

"Like I said, just shut the fuck up and listen to my orders,” said Carter, squaring up against Charlie.

"Tazar One, do you copy?" repeated the voice.

Reaching for his headset again, Carter responded quickly.

"Yes, this is Tazar One; we are ready for go,” he replied.

"Good; be advised, Stout will be monitoring this broadcast."

"Understood," replied Carter before he pressed the mute button and threw the headset onto the dashboard.

The ships thrusters began to come to life; a blue light flickered within each one followed by bright orange flames. Carter lifted the control stick back slightly and the ship started to hover a few meters above the ground.

"Hanger bay door’s opening; let's take her nice and easy,” said Carter as he increased the throttle.

The ship lurched forward and the nose tilted towards the ground while gaining speed at a steady pace.

"Hold on to your lunch," said Carter.

He then rammed the throttle suddenly to maximum, pinning him and Charlie back into their seats.

Within a split second, they were out in the vastness of deep space and Stout's ship was fading fast behind them in the distance as they increased speed.

"Auto pilot set; all is good,” said Carter as he adjusted the controls with his left hand.

"You are on course to rendezvous with the cargo. ETA, thirty minutes,” advised a voice through the intercom.

Carter knew the drill; he had been on pirate raids countless times. It was what made him one of Stout's best scout pilots but this one was different. Knowing Stout could easily replace him, he had to be on his toes and get it right.

"Thirty minutes? Damn, how fast is this cargo ship going?" asked Charlie.

"Trust me; it’s a slow moving bastard but nothing we can’t handle—speed wise that is," replied Carter.

Their ship continued on its course and moved fast through space; they would reach their target in no time…

The cigar shaped N class cargo ship, HMS Bravo, was over a mile long and was accompanied by one fighter scout flying alongside. The ship was destined for one of the moon bases in the Theros system, home to many trade markets. The crew on-board the N class mainly consisted of military types and standard crew.

It started to slow down and when the booster vapour left a trail the captain on-board said, "Let's take it easy around this sector and be on the watch out for any other vessels; it's a haven for would-be pirates,”

The scout fighter alongside them pulled in closer and was in the captain’s view. He gave a simple salute to the person inside who was flying his first mission in a fighter ship.

"Did you check out his record? Damn rookie assigned; why do they insist on sending rookies?” said the disgruntled co-pilot.

"Hell if I know, but he better be on the ball. What we’re carrying will make someone very rich, replied the captain”.

A blip appeared on the radar on Carter’s ship; they were closing in fast and needed to slow down to retain enough fuel to make it back.

"Okay, we have it locked on target; should be there pretty soon,” said Carter informing Stout.

"If there are any problems, you better take care of it,” Stout replied as he stroked one of his venomous creatures with his steel hand.

"Understood; over and out,” replied Carter.

"Well? Don't just sit there staring; go and get your weapons ready and get belted up next to the ramp bay,” said Carter with impatience.

Charlie unstrapped his seat harness and walked around Carter on his way to the weapon containers.

"Everything I need is here, right?" called Charlie. He thought to himself, “I can't go through with this; I just can't”.

But he knew opting out wasn’t a choice; Stout would trigger the switch and he would be dead.

He loaded up the heavy rifle with a magazine first, then pulled out several other magazines from the container, and secured them in his gear. Two hand guns were remaining which he attached to straps on both his legs.

"You forgot one thing, idiot," said Carter.

Charlie turned around to face him; he did not like his tone.

"Your bullet proof vest. Christ, do I have to spell everything out for you?" said Carter, exasperated.

Charlie bent down and lifted the vest attached near the ramp door; it was light considering what it was made of.

"Best material around, you’ll be able to handle numerous shots if you get hit," said Carter before turning around again to face the controls.

" I don't plan on getting shot,” replied Charlie as he strapped himself back into his seat.

"Shit!" grumbled Carter.

His eyes glanced across the radar screen when he saw two blips instead of one. He knew they had protection with them, more than likely a fighter scout.

"What's wrong?" asked Charlie.

"We got company—it's a fighter scout," he replied.

“We’re still going through with this?" said Charlie.

Carter did not respond as he focused on the radar.

"You have another vessel in your sector; you will need to take it out,” ordered Stout's android.

"I am fully aware of that," Carter said coldly and thought Fucking robot.

Carter decided to change the ships mode to stealth so they would not be visible but the option only had a short window.

"Take out the target,” ordered the android.

Carter could see the cargo ship and the scout fighter come into view; he clicked the stealth switch and powered some of the systems down.

"Engine off, minimum lights,” said Carter when he decided to glide the rest of the way.

The ship’s engines came to a sudden halt as the boosters flared a white flash, emitting nothing.

“Easy does it”, thought Carter as he held the controls steady.

The fighter scout was in his sight so he activated the laser cannon switch. He knew someone inside that craft would meet their death, but it would be quick because they would be incinerated.

"No problems… looks like smooth sailing from here, not a ship in sight,” said the captain at the helm.

Then suddenly a blinding white flash appeared to the side of him and covered his view. His eyes turned to see small fragments and debris floating past his window.

"Sound it!" he shouted.

Quickly pressing the alarm siren, the co-pilot took the controls and made the ship turn to a sharp right.

MAYDAY, MAYDAY, SHIP UNDER ATTACK, ALL PERSONNEL PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS the main computer echoed throughout the cargo ship.

The crew in the control room quickly abandoned their standard checks and assumed positions.

"What the hell was that?" said the co-pilot to his captain.

"Not sure, but we need backup fast and radio the nearest convoy ship!" he commanded with a steady voice.

Trying to evade, the ship lurched again to the right but that was the only option the captain had.

Crew rushed around the various levels as red warning lights flashed and alert noises wailed. The cargo containers began to go on lockdown as a first priority because the contents had to be protected no matter what.

"You better be ready for this, Charlie,” said Carter. As he pushed his controls down, the nose of the scout ship started to dip and the speed increased they glided even closer.

Charlie was holding onto a strap above his head; they were traveling so fast that he needed to stabilize himself.

"Jesus, Carter, could you go any faster?" shouted Charlie, the adrenalin pumping around his body.

"Contact in two minutes, arm your guns like I showed you,” said Carter.

Carter was aiming towards a small hanger bay just underneath the belly of the cargo ship; he was traveling fast because he knew they would soon lock the cargo doors.

As they approached the belly of the cargo vessel and began losing speed, he pulled back gently on the throttles and vapour trails started to shoot out of the back of their ship. They were slowly approaching the hanger doors with the landing gear deployed but it wasn’t going to be easy, laser cannon fire started to appear from the entrance. Carter could make out two figures that stood firing at him and Charlie.

“Bastards”, thought Carter as he activated the shields.

"Are you crazy? They’re firing at us, let's abort,” said Charlie.

"Too late, dickhead," replied Carter as he started to fire rounds from the left wing. The shots hit the two figures; killing them instantly.

“Nice shot”,
Carter thought, to himself.

They entered the hanger doors that led into the cargo bay area and the ships landing pads touched down onto the floor.

"Move it! Stay with me,” shouted Carter. He hit the controls in front of him, the door opened, and the ramp crashed to the ground.

The two of them made a quick break for it and as they did, they passed the burning bodies of two guards that Carter had killed.

The smell of burning flesh was all too much for Charlie as he ran to keep up with the pace. They had to take cover fast, other guards would come looking for them. Crouching down, they both hid out of sight behind some cargo containers to buy them some time.

"Stay quiet; we don't want our position to be given away,” whispered Carter.

Charlie started to listen to his orders with a new respect; he knew any failure would more likely see the both of them killed or subjected to another of Stout's horrors.

Unzipping the pack attached to his back, Carter pulled out a piece of sensor equipment and quickly activated it. The screen looked like everything had been pre-programmed and displayed a map of the whole of the ship.

"This is what we need, the main cargo bay. It’s three floors down,” said Carter as he ran his fingers across the screen.

"The only way we can get to it undetected would be to go through the ships main engine room."

Charlie glanced at the screen with him and wondered if it was a sensible option. They would soon find out…

Chapter Eight

The lockdown had already started in the main cargo area and steel barriers started to click into place. Each container contained rare diamonds and gold; their destination marked with various drop off points that would soon change.

Lorna stood at a control panel finishing the shutdown procedure; she had taken up the post of a guard a few months prior and fit the role well.

She was a slim brunette, and fell victim to the usual butt of sexist jokes among the males in her brigade. But she was tough and could easily hold her own if she needed to. Earth was once her home but, just like Charlie, she had managed to escape the hostile environment that it had become.

"We have no time; we need this space sealed shut within in the next few minutes. Have the company get their gear and saddle up,” shouted the sergeant over the ships alarms ringing out all around.

"Yes, Sergeant, closing down now,” replied Lorna as the final barrier protecting the cargo locked into place.

She quickly reached for her protective armour along with a gun and ammo belt.

"You keeping up with us?" replied a guard grinning.

"Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied.

She placed her helmet on and shut off the controls hurriedly before joining a line of other guards making their way towards an exit.