Nemesis 1: Revenge Is Best Served Hot (9 page)

“How do I do that?”

“I think knowing the problem exists is the best way to start. You’re going to have to select a target, remove it, and then run. Keep the plan in the center of your mind and follow it.”

“And if I can’t?”

“Then you better lay a lot of eggs.”

Slick looked at Iggy and didn’t like what he was hearing.

Whippet said, “Tell me what happened when you saw me.”

Iggy looked at Whippet, “I’m not sure. I just felt my emotions go to instant rage.”

“I’m going back up in the air. Once I’m above you, go to your full size and see if you can control yourself.” Whippet moved above the forest as Grant and Cinny moved away from Iggy. Iggy went to full size and started a roar that was suddenly cut off. Grant yelled, “What happened?”

“I knew it was coming and I closed my eyes and forced my heart to slow. I think I can control this. Let’s do this again.”

Slick and Iggy spent the rest of the afternoon shrinking and growing until they learned how to control the programmed rage inside them. At the end of the day, Whippet could approach them even when they were at their full size.

Grant looked at them, “Both of you need to prepare your hatchlings and get them ready for your departure. How long do you think that is going to take?”

Slick moved up on his legs, “Give me three weeks.”

Iggy looked at Slick and said, “I’m going to need six weeks.”

Slick looked at Iggy and turned back to Grant, “Truth be told, I could use the additional time as well.”

“We’ll be back in seven weeks. Be ready to leave.”

• • •

Iggy and Slick watched the three scooters move into the evening sky and Slick said, “Do you really want to do this?”

Iggy’s jaws formed a huge smile, “Oh yes.”

Slick looked up as the scooters disappeared, “Me, too.”

“T
he High Priest has contacted us and said the operation is underway.”

“Did he send any information with his message?”

“No, he did not.”

“I’ve never liked depending on them. Is there any way to determine what he knows?”

“Not without real danger of discovery.”

After a few long moments, “Start the process.”

“Are you certain about this?”

“Who can be certain about anything? I know the High Priest saw something to generate his contact. I’m not going to risk seeing if he’s right. Start the process!”

• • •

Cinny walked down the street on Gildabond with a scarf around her head covering her mouth and nose. She entered the dark grey building and saw the bronze colored creature behind the front counter. It looked up at her and said, “Why are you here?”

“I’ve been told you have access to crylium.”

The being’s three eyes blinked and it looked behind her outside the front of the building, “Everyone knows that possession of crylium is a high crime. No one in their right mind would come near it.”

Cinny pulled a small bag out of her pocket and dumped four silver colored discs on the counter. The discs hit and a high frequency tone rose from them. The being’s eyes opened wide and he shook his head, “This is highly illegal.”

Cinny pulled the discs back into the small bag and said, “Suit yourself,” and turned toward the entrance.

“Wait a minute, don’t be so hasty.”

Cinny turned around, “Do you have it or not?”

“Not here.”

“Good-bye.”

“Will you please wait?” The being looked out the entrance again and said, “I can meet you somewhere to make the swap.”

“I’ll have my ship in orbit above your shop for ten hours. Send a ship with the crylium and we’ll do business. If I don’t detect it on board your vessel, I’ll go to someone else.”

“Wait!” But the being was talking to an empty room. Cinny walked out and disappeared. The shopkeeper knew he didn’t have time to call in the heavies to relieve her of the discs. He lifted his communicator and punched a number. “I have an interesting customer for you to contact.”

“Go on.” The shopkeeper told him and the huge creature smiled and ended the call. He looked overhead and punched a number on his communicator, “Get the shuttle ready. I want the Grudge Team on board.” The creature listened and said, “Of course I’ll be going. Now get moving and meet me on top of the building.”

• • •

The shuttle lifted from the top of the building and began a long spiral climb into orbit. The Boss looked at his pilot, “Do you see the ship?”

“No…but there is a small return directly ahead of us.”

The Boss looked out of the forward viewport and didn’t see anything. “Move toward it.” The shuttle turned slightly and after ten minutes they saw a small machine hanging in space. A small creature was sitting on it. “Now this is interesting.” The boss looked over his shoulder and saw the six members of his team move out into the landing bay. “Open the bay door.” The door opened and the Boss left the pilot’s cabin and moved out into the center of the bay. The six enforcers were against the front wall where they couldn’t be seen from outside the ship. The weak force field held the bay’s atmosphere in and he watched the small machine turn and move toward him. “Don’t fire until I give the order.” The six all nodded and waited for the visitor to arrive.

The small machine came through the force field and settled on the floor of the landing bay. The small being stepped off the machine and looked at him and then looked around the bay at the six henchmen pointing blasters at her. The Boss saw the being was wearing armor and it appeared to be quite functional. He then noticed the small force field surrounding the machine. How could a machine that small produce a force field? The being raised her faceplate and looked at the huge red colored being confronting her, “It appears you didn’t come here to play fairly. Tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll allow you to transact our trade fairly or I’ll blast you and your shuttle to dust and take what I want. What’s it going to be?”

The Boss lowered his eyes, “Do you think you and that small machine can handle my shuttle? This is a military grade vessel.”

The Pilot stuck his head out of the front cabin and said, “A ship has appeared just outside the landing bay.”

The Boss walked over to the still open door and saw a ship that dwarfed his shuttle. One of the Enforcers said, “Boss. She’s one of the ones the Raiders are looking for.”

The Boss jerked his head back and realized that the Raiders said the two creatures they were seeking were incredibly dangerous. He looked at the female and she smiled, “I really do hope you act stupidly. My scanners tell me that you did bring the crylium with you, otherwise I would have just blasted your shuttle to vapor for wasting my time.”

Suddenly, another of the small machines entered the landing bay and another being clad in armor stepped off it. He raised his faceplate and now the Boss knew his Enforcer was right. This was the two the Raiders were seeking. “I’ll trade you the crylium for the discs you showed my business associate.”

Cinny smiled, “Now was that so hard. How much crylium did you bring?”

The Boss was shaken and was thankful he had brought the crylium with him. He had worried that the marks would have fled if they didn’t detect the crylium on board his shuttle. “I have three pounds.”

Cinny raised her eyebrows, “I wonder how you keep that much hidden from the local authorities; however, that is not my concern.” Cinny reached into her pocket and pulled out a disc and flipped it to the large red being. He caught it and tossed it to the pilot. The pilot took it inside the front cabin and after a few moments stepped back into the landing bay.

“It’s pure.”

“WHAT?”

“It’s absolutely pure. I’ve never seen any like it.”

Cinny smiled, “I’ll give you thirty discs for the three pounds.”

The Boss shook his head, “It will cost at least fifty discs.”

Cinny shrugged, “Ok, have it your way. We’ll go see another source.”

The two beings stepped on their machines and the Boss said, “Wait. What about thirty five discs?”

Cinny shook her head, “One thing you should know about us, we don’t waste time on trivial issues. You know as well as I do that twenty discs are a huge profit for you. I’m giving you thirty in hopes that you’ll want to do business with us in the future without all the drama of this first meeting.”

The Boss knew she was right and he began nodding, “I accept your offer. If you want to do business in the future just contact my associate again and you can make the exchange at the building.”

One of the henchmen brought a metal box over to the two machines and the male said, “Scan the box.”

He waited a moment and they heard, “There are three pounds of crylium in the box.” The Boss was shocked. How could the crylium be scanned through the shielded box?

The female took a bag out of her pocket and tossed it to the Boss, “There are twenty nine discs in the bag. We scanned your shuttle and knew you had three pounds before you arrived. We’ll be in touch.”

The Boss watched the two beings mount their small machines and exit the landing bay. He stared at their ship and knew he had never seen anything like it. He knew every inch of that vessel was designed for a deadly purpose. It suddenly disappeared and he looked at the Pilot, “Close it up and get us back to the planet.” He knew he had made a huge profit but had mixed feelings about future business with them. If the Raiders found out he was working with them…it would have to be a secret. When the ship landed, he pulled his blaster and shot all six of the enforcers. He saw the shock on the pilot’s face and he smiled, “Can you keep a secret?” The pilot nodded so hard he sprained his neck. The Boss knew he should shoot the pilot but his wife would never forgive him for killing her sister’s mate. Oh well. He guessed he was getting soft.

• • •

“Grant, that red colored being just blasted all six of the ones that were with him in the landing bay.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed and Cinny shrugged, “One of them recognized us. He’s making sure no one informs the Raiders of what happened.”

Grant looked at her, “Do you condone what he did?”

“Absolutely. The thugs that work with him know the hazards of lying in bed with a viper. There is no honor among thieves. The one that recognized us would tell the Raiders and collect the bounty for valid information. If he didn’t, one of the others would. I’m surprised he didn’t kill the pilot.”

Grant stared at Cinny and wondered if he really knew her. Then he thought about it and determined that she was right. They would have killed everyone on the shuttle without second thought if they tried to spring a trap. At least this left the door open for future trades. Whippet walked on the bridge and Grant raised his eyebrows, “The blaster reactors are now at full power. Whoever built this ship deliberately starved them.”

Cinny looked up, “Ana, is he right?”

“Yes he is.”

“Does this change the time we can withstand the blasters from that large yellow warship?”

“It increases it from a minute to two minutes. But the math holds for the number of attackers. Four of them cuts the time down to thirty seconds. Twelve cuts it down to ten seconds.”

Whippet smiled, “We’ll just have to make sure we don’t stay in one place long enough for that many to attack us.”

“What about the time it takes to defeat their defenses?”

“With the added crylium, we should be able to take one out in five seconds. Throw in three missiles and I suspect we’ll have instant success.”

“That’s all I can ask for, Ana.”

Whippet shook his head, “Grant, there were a hundred ships above that planet. How long do you think it would take them to jump in on your jump signature and catch us in a cross fire?”

Grant stared at Whippet and Ana said, “They would be on us initially in ten seconds. After that they would instantly appear wherever we went around the planet.”

Grant smiled, “Like Whippet said, we just have to avoid staying in one place too long.”

Cinny shook her head, “Actually, it means we can’t fight a space battle with those large battleships. We’re going to have to depend on Iggy and Slick to do the real damage to them.”

Whippet looked at the two humans, “I’ve not asked you before, but why are you so determined to attack the Raiders? It won’t bring back your planet or the ones killed. What purpose does it serve?”

Grant looked at Cinny and then said, “Do you have any family, Whippet?”

“I do.”

“What if someone murdered them? Would you just let it go? They’re gone and nothing is going to bring them back.”

Whippet stared at them and after a few moments he blew out a breath, “I guess I would go after the murderers to stop them from doing it to anyone else.” Grant and Cinny nodded. “The way they blasted that city told me more about them than anything I’ve seen so far. They appear to have no heart.”

Cinny turned to her control panel, “And that is why we’re determined to make them pay for their actions. It might give them pause in the future.”

Whippet sighed, “What do we do now?”

Grant smiled, “Ana, didn’t you say that you have some training programs installed in the ship’s landing bay?”

“I do.”

“Well, it looks like we have time to work on them while Iggy and Slick are getting ready.”

“You’ll need to wear your armor and change out your blasters for training guns.”

“On our way.”

Whippet watched them leave and wondered what lay ahead. He decided to go and watch the training exercises. He might learn something.

• • •

Grant and Cinny took the new combat helmets out of the locker and put them on. “Whoa…this is messed up.”

Ana’s voice said, “No it’s not; the helmet gives you a three hundred and sixty degree view of everything around you.”

“It’s making me dizzy.”

“Just stand still, Cinnamon and close your eyes.”

Cinny closed her eyes and still saw everything in her mind. She remained perfectly still and after a few minutes things started to come into focus. “I think I’m starting to make sense of what I’m seeing, Ana. I guess I need to keep my eyes closed while using this helmet.”

“No you don’t, Cinny. You’ll use your eyes to see the tactical display on your helmet’s faceplate along with the threat status module at the bottom.”