Chapter 3
Bob stopped and began speaking to the Ferengi. It didn't take long, though, for the conversation to become animated. Bob did his best to appear highly annoyed with the interruption, and Timan could imagine him threatening to report them for interrupting him in his duties. But it didn't seem to be working, because the rifles never wavered from the centre of his chest.
Timan watched Bob slowly move away from the sled. It was slow and if you weren't watching for it then you'd swear it wasn't purposeful. Timan hadn't known Bob for long, but he thought he knew him well enough to know he realised the jig was up and was quickly making plans on how to get out of it.
All of a sudden, Bob dived to one side and rolled; the Ferengis', taken by surprised, fired at him and missed. He came up with his Ferengi phaser out and immediately shot one Ferengi. Timan watched him crumple to the ground, and began to think maybe they'd get out of it after all.
He saw Bob alter his phaser and realised that it must have only been on stun; it was almost certainly now on maximum kill.
Timan was completely helpless to defend himself and felt horribly exposed. Phaser fire whizzed over and around him as the combatants dived and ran, constantly trading shots with each other. Bob was obviously highly skilled, but the Ferengi clearly was no slouch, either.
Just then, the Ferengi shot at Bob and hit his phaser. He quickly dropped it as it began sending out sparks. It didn't vaporise, though, so the rifle obviously wasn't on maximum; it was all the evidence Timan needed that Bob's cover had been blown and they'd had orders to return him alive.
Bob quickly recovered from loosing his phaser, though, and immediately dived for cover. The Ferengi, who had been completely ignoring Timan lying on the sled, now moved to stand beside him, with his rifle actually pointing over the top of his prone body. Timan saw an opportunity to even up the scores and kicked up with his still-shackled legs, kicking the rifle out of his hands and sending it flying.
Bob immediately leapt out of his hiding place and charged the Ferengi. Just as he crashed into him, the Ferengi had taken out a dagger. Their bodies collided and they rolled around on the ground. Timan turned his head to watch them as best he could, as they apparently fought for control of the dagger.
After several minutes of savage fighting, they both suddenly went still, Bob lying on top of the Ferengi. Timan's first thought was that they'd killed each other, and he'd be trapped right where he was until more Ferengi came to take him back into custody, or maybe even execute him. He was about to scream in frustration when Bob slid off the dead body of the Ferengi and laid down beside him, panting heavily. It was only then that Timan saw the growing red mark on Bob's chest, staining his tunic; he'd been stabbed in the chest.
"Bob? Bob! Are you okay?" asked Timan anxiously.
"Do I look okay to you?" he replied sarcastically, before coughing up blood, which splashed on his face and ran down his cheek and neck.
"Bob, tell me the combination to the restraints so I can help you!"
Bob tried to laugh but coughed up more blood instead. "You just want to escape," he finally managed to say.
True enough, thought Timan, but he'd still try and help him. Before he could speak, though, Bob gave him the combination. He quickly took off the restraints and threw them aside. The thought to just make a run for the shuttle crossed his mind. He could do it; Bob was clearly in no shape to follow. But whatever he might be, he wasn't a killer. He also realised the shuttle would probably be locked. So he hurried over to his side.
"Come on, Bob, I'll help you up. We've only got another kilometre or two to go."
"Forget it, son. I'm not going to make it and I'd only slow you down," he said, coughing up yet more blood before giving him the combination to unlock the shuttle when he got to it, confirming Timan's suspicion of if being locked.
"Rubbish. I'll put you on the sled and we'll be there in no time, you'll see." And with his mind made up, he dragged him over to the sled and put him on it. With him in place, he was just about to leave when he saw the Ferengi's phaser rifle lying nearby, so he hurriedly picked it up, slung it over his shoulder, grabbed the handle of the anti-grav sled and began to run. But the sled wasn't designed to move quickly, and the resistance it provided was more than he'd expected.
After only a couple of hundred metres of ducking in and out of alleyways, hoping he wouldn't get lost, he slumped to the ground against a wall, panting heavily.
"It's no good, Bob," he said through puffs of breath. "It'll be quicker if I carry you." But Bob didn't reply. He looked down at him and could no longer see his chest moving. Timan checked his pulse and breathing and found nothing; he was dead.
He waited a few more moments, catching his breath and feeling ... he wasn't sure what he felt. Bob was only going to take him back home to prison, after all. And he didn't even know his real name. But this man had died trying to get him off this godforsaken planet. He hadn't known Timan and didn't care; he was just doing his duty.
He placed a hand on his forehead. "You were an amazing man, Bob. A true hero." He knew he couldn't risk waiting any longer, though, so he stood, ready to leave. He'd been contemplating taking his body back with him anyway, but a siren suddenly went up over the city. The siren could have been for anything, but Timan knew it was because of him. Having no time to loose, he turned and ran, leaving Bob behind.
Timan continued weaving in and out of alleyways and only managed to get momentarily lost a couple of times. He made sure he stayed close to the main road leading to the markets, though, because he knew if he strayed too deeply into the maze of back alleys then he'd be lost in them for days.
Finally, Timan ran from an alley and saw the tables of the market area in front of him. They were closed at this time of night, but he now knew exactly where the shuttle pad was.
But before he could go any further, he heard running footsteps and Ferengi voices behind him. He ran into the darkened markets just as a shot flew over his shoulder. Timan hid behind a table and looked around to see two Ferengi soldiers running towards him. Timan took a shot and hit one and watched him fall to the ground, stunned unconscious. The other took cover and returned fire, forcing Timan to abandon his position and move deeper into the markets.
The Ferengi followed him into the markets and they began trading shots, firing over the covered and secured stalls. Several times Timan actually felt the heat off the blast as it only just missed his head. Timan hit the floor as another shot just missed him. He stayed there and kept watch, looking under the stalls. Just then, the Ferengi's legs came into view and Timan immediately took a shot. The first shot missed, but the second one didn't. The body of the Ferengi crumpled up and lay still on the cold floor. Timan immediately got up and ran from the markets.
He hurried to the other side of them and ran down a partially lit road. The road quickly reached a T intersection and Timan turned right, then left. Off to the right was the small landing pad, with a Ferengi shuttle taking up much of the available space.
With the sound of the siren still in his ears - and listening for more footsteps or voices - he ran over to the shuttle and placed his hands lovingly on the cold metal of the hull. He quickly moved to the hatch ... and stopped cold, forgetting the combination to gain access. He racked his brain, urging himself to remember, banging his hand on the hull as if that would some how shake the combination loose from his memory.
He punched in two different combinations, both failing. He only had one chance left before the shuttle wouldn't accept any combination - even the correct one - for half an hour. His hand hovered over the pad as he cast his mind back to when Bob had told it to him. Closing his eyes, he tried to relive the moment, going through it moment by moment. Suddenly, the combination popped into his head. With a shaking hand, he carefully punched in each digit, not wanting to make an accidental mistake. Finally, as he hit the last digit, the hatch hissed open.
Scrambling inside, he hurriedly started the shuttle, swearing at it as each second ticked by, urging it to hurry up. Finally, the shuttle was ready, and he quickly lifted up and took off.
As he neared the edge of the planet's atmosphere, a warning beep alerted him to a ship approaching. Three modified shuttles were closing in, one taking a shot at him just as his shuttle broke free of the atmosphere. Another warning beep drew his attention to a Ferengi Marauder, already in orbit, rapidly approaching. With the other shuttles right behind him and still firing at him, he told the computer to head for the nearest piece of Federation space.
He knew he wouldn't be able to remain in Federation space, not if he wanted to stay out of prison, but the least he could do was to send a report to Starfleet, telling them about 'Bob'.
As the shuttle entered warp and left behind his pursuers, Timan decided to pick another career, something more legal this time. Well, mostly legal. Not something he would get caught at, anyway. Or maybe he would just do a bit more smuggling, just until he recouped his losses. And then he would definitely stop, no doubt about it. Unless he saw an opportunity too good to miss, then he'd be mad to pass it up!
The End.
Bob stopped and began speaking to the Ferengi. It didn't take long, though, for the conversation to become animated. Bob did his best to appear highly annoyed with the interruption, and Timan could imagine him threatening to report them for interrupting him in his duties. But it didn't seem to be working, because the rifles never wavered from the centre of his chest.
Timan watched Bob slowly move away from the sled. It was slow and if you weren't watching for it then you'd swear it wasn't purposeful. Timan hadn't known Bob for long, but he thought he knew him well enough to know he realised the jig was up and was quickly making plans on how to get out of it.
All of a sudden, Bob dived to one side and rolled; the Ferengis', taken by surprised, fired at him and missed. He came up with his Ferengi phaser out and immediately shot one Ferengi. Timan watched him crumple to the ground, and began to think maybe they'd get out of it after all.
He saw Bob alter his phaser and realised that it must have only been on stun; it was almost certainly now on maximum kill.
Timan was completely helpless to defend himself and felt horribly exposed. Phaser fire whizzed over and around him as the combatants dived and ran, constantly trading shots with each other. Bob was obviously highly skilled, but the Ferengi clearly was no slouch, either.
Just then, the Ferengi shot at Bob and hit his phaser. He quickly dropped it as it began sending out sparks. It didn't vaporise, though, so the rifle obviously wasn't on maximum; it was all the evidence Timan needed that Bob's cover had been blown and they'd had orders to return him alive.
Bob quickly recovered from loosing his phaser, though, and immediately dived for cover. The Ferengi, who had been completely ignoring Timan lying on the sled, now moved to stand beside him, with his rifle actually pointing over the top of his prone body. Timan saw an opportunity to even up the scores and kicked up with his still-shackled legs, kicking the rifle out of his hands and sending it flying.
Bob immediately leapt out of his hiding place and charged the Ferengi. Just as he crashed into him, the Ferengi had taken out a dagger. Their bodies collided and they rolled around on the ground. Timan turned his head to watch them as best he could, as they apparently fought for control of the dagger.
After several minutes of savage fighting, they both suddenly went still, Bob lying on top of the Ferengi. Timan's first thought was that they'd killed each other, and he'd be trapped right where he was until more Ferengi came to take him back into custody, or maybe even execute him. He was about to scream in frustration when Bob slid off the dead body of the Ferengi and laid down beside him, panting heavily. It was only then that Timan saw the growing red mark on Bob's chest, staining his tunic; he'd been stabbed in the chest.
"Bob? Bob! Are you okay?" asked Timan anxiously.
"Do I look okay to you?" he replied sarcastically, before coughing up blood, which splashed on his face and ran down his cheek and neck.
"Bob, tell me the combination to the restraints so I can help you!"
Bob tried to laugh but coughed up more blood instead. "You just want to escape," he finally managed to say.
True enough, thought Timan, but he'd still try and help him. Before he could speak, though, Bob gave him the combination. He quickly took off the restraints and threw them aside. The thought to just make a run for the shuttle crossed his mind. He could do it; Bob was clearly in no shape to follow. But whatever he might be, he wasn't a killer. He also realised the shuttle would probably be locked. So he hurried over to his side.
"Come on, Bob, I'll help you up. We've only got another kilometre or two to go."
"Forget it, son. I'm not going to make it and I'd only slow you down," he said, coughing up yet more blood before giving him the combination to unlock the shuttle when he got to it, confirming Timan's suspicion of if being locked.
"Rubbish. I'll put you on the sled and we'll be there in no time, you'll see." And with his mind made up, he dragged him over to the sled and put him on it. With him in place, he was just about to leave when he saw the Ferengi's phaser rifle lying nearby, so he hurriedly picked it up, slung it over his shoulder, grabbed the handle of the anti-grav sled and began to run. But the sled wasn't designed to move quickly, and the resistance it provided was more than he'd expected.
After only a couple of hundred metres of ducking in and out of alleyways, hoping he wouldn't get lost, he slumped to the ground against a wall, panting heavily.
"It's no good, Bob," he said through puffs of breath. "It'll be quicker if I carry you." But Bob didn't reply. He looked down at him and could no longer see his chest moving. Timan checked his pulse and breathing and found nothing; he was dead.
He waited a few more moments, catching his breath and feeling ... he wasn't sure what he felt. Bob was only going to take him back home to prison, after all. And he didn't even know his real name. But this man had died trying to get him off this godforsaken planet. He hadn't known Timan and didn't care; he was just doing his duty.
He placed a hand on his forehead. "You were an amazing man, Bob. A true hero." He knew he couldn't risk waiting any longer, though, so he stood, ready to leave. He'd been contemplating taking his body back with him anyway, but a siren suddenly went up over the city. The siren could have been for anything, but Timan knew it was because of him. Having no time to loose, he turned and ran, leaving Bob behind.
Timan continued weaving in and out of alleyways and only managed to get momentarily lost a couple of times. He made sure he stayed close to the main road leading to the markets, though, because he knew if he strayed too deeply into the maze of back alleys then he'd be lost in them for days.
Finally, Timan ran from an alley and saw the tables of the market area in front of him. They were closed at this time of night, but he now knew exactly where the shuttle pad was.
But before he could go any further, he heard running footsteps and Ferengi voices behind him. He ran into the darkened markets just as a shot flew over his shoulder. Timan hid behind a table and looked around to see two Ferengi soldiers running towards him. Timan took a shot and hit one and watched him fall to the ground, stunned unconscious. The other took cover and returned fire, forcing Timan to abandon his position and move deeper into the markets.
The Ferengi followed him into the markets and they began trading shots, firing over the covered and secured stalls. Several times Timan actually felt the heat off the blast as it only just missed his head. Timan hit the floor as another shot just missed him. He stayed there and kept watch, looking under the stalls. Just then, the Ferengi's legs came into view and Timan immediately took a shot. The first shot missed, but the second one didn't. The body of the Ferengi crumpled up and lay still on the cold floor. Timan immediately got up and ran from the markets.
He hurried to the other side of them and ran down a partially lit road. The road quickly reached a T intersection and Timan turned right, then left. Off to the right was the small landing pad, with a Ferengi shuttle taking up much of the available space.
With the sound of the siren still in his ears - and listening for more footsteps or voices - he ran over to the shuttle and placed his hands lovingly on the cold metal of the hull. He quickly moved to the hatch ... and stopped cold, forgetting the combination to gain access. He racked his brain, urging himself to remember, banging his hand on the hull as if that would some how shake the combination loose from his memory.
He punched in two different combinations, both failing. He only had one chance left before the shuttle wouldn't accept any combination - even the correct one - for half an hour. His hand hovered over the pad as he cast his mind back to when Bob had told it to him. Closing his eyes, he tried to relive the moment, going through it moment by moment. Suddenly, the combination popped into his head. With a shaking hand, he carefully punched in each digit, not wanting to make an accidental mistake. Finally, as he hit the last digit, the hatch hissed open.
Scrambling inside, he hurriedly started the shuttle, swearing at it as each second ticked by, urging it to hurry up. Finally, the shuttle was ready, and he quickly lifted up and took off.
As he neared the edge of the planet's atmosphere, a warning beep alerted him to a ship approaching. Three modified shuttles were closing in, one taking a shot at him just as his shuttle broke free of the atmosphere. Another warning beep drew his attention to a Ferengi Marauder, already in orbit, rapidly approaching. With the other shuttles right behind him and still firing at him, he told the computer to head for the nearest piece of Federation space.
He knew he wouldn't be able to remain in Federation space, not if he wanted to stay out of prison, but the least he could do was to send a report to Starfleet, telling them about 'Bob'.
As the shuttle entered warp and left behind his pursuers, Timan decided to pick another career, something more legal this time. Well, mostly legal. Not something he would get caught at, anyway. Or maybe he would just do a bit more smuggling, just until he recouped his losses. And then he would definitely stop, no doubt about it. Unless he saw an opportunity too good to miss, then he'd be mad to pass it up!
The End.