Taarkhul Prime, Mokk City. The Kelshran
The trip had been long and uneventful.
The docking process even more so. The dozen or so workers seated at the
far end of the
cargo-ferry finally gathered to their feet and lined
up to exit a side door.
Trek watched the Shiamiite and
Golem workers leave one by one, then grimaced slightly as the muzzle of
his own gun dug into his ribs.
The Ghoiite thug next to him leaned in and whispered.
"No tricks, Archaen. Get up and exit first, followed by me."
The Trek nodded his understanding
with well acted fear. Rising to his full six foot, nine height, the Ghoiite
stepped into the center isle, turned
and watched his prisoner. With his hands still placed
on his knees, Trek scooted over to the spot just occupied by the gunman
before standing up.
Making eye contact with the gunman, Trek raised his hands.
Almost instantly the half dozen Palomac coins he had been concealing under
his right
hand fell to the floor in a cascade of noise. The sound
of falling change; a universal noise. The Ghoiite's eyes locked to the
floor in a searching gaze.
His mistake.
Instantly Trek slammed the edge
of his hand on to the bony base of the Ghoiite's thumb and wrist. Pain
lanced up the man's arm causing him to
drop the lawyer's gun. Before the weapon hit the floor,
the Archaen steeped in and smashed the elbow of his chopping arm into the
underside of the
Ghoiites nose with all his might. Cartilage, cracked
and split, was drive deep into the man's soft brain, killing him instantly.
The thug's eyes went wide
as he dropped to the floor with spasmodic kicks. He was
dead in three seconds.
"Told ya I'd kill you." said
Trek as he picked up his blaster. He glanced up, and instantly dropped
into an expert shooting stance.
The conductor was looking at him.
"You going to give me any problems, pops?" asked the lawyer in a serious tone. The older man simply shook his head with a neutral expression.
Trek relaxed.
"Sorry about the mess. Keep the change."
He nodded to the scattered Palomacs
on the floor. The Archaen holstered his gun, put on his Sensor-glove, and
walked outside the ferry door.
The elder Shiamiite shuffled forward shaking his head
with 'tisking' sounds. He picked up the loose change and looked at the
chilling body of the
Ghoiite with his dead eyes opened. Another body would
find its grave in the reservoir.
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Trek scanned the area of Docking
Bay 21 with his Sensor-glove, this time with better results. A form was
picked up on the edge of his range.
A heart beat, a quick breathing pattern, and the sound
of light footsteps. Someone was approaching, though oddly enough, he wasn't
picking up
any infra-red readings.
*Probably a Thermal-cloak,* he thought to himself.
Trek stood up behind the bails of raw Ul'ek he'd been hiding behind to get a better look.
Yes, there, a silhouetted form in a dark robe.
Trek waited until the figure
was about in the middle of the docking bay before stepping out from behind
his cover. The bay itself was an enormous
structure with ceilings well over a hundred feet in height.
Surprisingly, it was nearly empty. A thousand crate prints covered the
floor created by the
thick outline layer of sand dust. Whatever had been here
had just recently been moved.
The figure stopped and looked
around now. Trek drew his blaster with his right hand, and while scanning
the surrounding area with his left Sensor-
glove he walked forward. He made it with in twenty feet
of the figure before he was noticed.
"Come no further, I'm armed." said a weary voice. Trek stopped, the figure had a small pistol. "Are you Vestis Trek?"
The lawyer shook his head. "I'm not with the Omnet. I'm Archaen."
"A 'Sin-Guardian!?" and this time Cameron could tell the voice was feminine, with a K'tan accent.
"Um, no, I'm an Interstellar-lawyer actually."
"WHAT!"
The figure cast her hood down. She was definitely Human, and quite attractive. Trek nodded.
"My firm's Mastersons, Ra'Jah and Trek out of DW6."
The woman stared at him with dark blue eyes for several moments.
"That lying, screwin' BASTARD!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Hey, keep it down," said the
lawyer as he scanned the area again with his glove in a full circle. For
a brief second he thought he caught
something on the scans outer edge.
"I take it you're referring to Waf'fic?" He said over his shoulder.
"Yes," said the woman with a clenched jaw and a venomous tone.
"Then I also take it that you're Kern?"
"Canessa Kern." and she began to look nervously around as well. "Look, I'm... I'm sorry to fly off the handle, it's just..."
"You don't have to apologize
to me about Waf'fic, I know the
little bastard better than anybody.
But if it will make you feel
any better, I'm not exactly
chopped kidney, Miss Kern. I'm a
former Imperial Marine, and
I've done some field work from
time to time."
"Wet work, Mr. Trek?" asked the K'tan using the covert slang for blood shed. She stepped closer, giving the lawyer a good hard look.
Trek stopped his scan and looked directly at her.
"Had to kill someone just to get here," he said with no pride in his voice.
"Ishtar! Then you've been followed!" and the woman, turned and raced back in the direction she came.
"Hey, wait!" Trek followed.
She stopped by a small hatch
panel in the floor and knelt to a knee. Withdrawing a small device from
within her robe, she began inputting
on a series of buttons. The hatchway opened.
"Mind telling me what this is all about?" said the lawyer as he came to her side.
"Pray you never find out, Archaen," said a sinister voice behind them.
The two whirled with guns pointed.
Suddenly, the chamber lights were powered up in a near blinding light.
Trek's Sensor Glove picked up
a room filled with forms, but it was several seconds
before his eyes could adjust. The source of the voice moved closer.
"You lead me on a most satisfying chase Mrs. Kern, but I'm afraid it is over now."
The speaker stopped, and Trek's blood
temperature dropped. There was no mistaking the black and silver robed
form of a Kelshran Assassin
of the K'tan Empire. Behind him stood twenty Ghoiite
warriors. Their Ul'ek robes were formed into body armor and bladed weapons.
"Kill them," said the assassin in a cold voice.
The warriors charged.
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