Friends and Family
Part two: What price love?

"If hope is the engine of the soul, then duty is the navigator and love is the fuel."
--Sani Nax Rifati, High Guard Supreme Commander
Persuasions and Exhortations
CY 4279

"The one and only." The Nightsider smiled, "It has been a very long time.

"Not long enough." Harper sat up, "Where are they Generntex?"

"They are somewhere safe, for now. And don't try tracing the call: I've routed it through every exchange on this planet, so by the time you do track it, I'll be long gone."

"What do you want?"

"I want what I've always wanted: wealth, power and prestige. But for now I'll take a Nova-bomb."

"I don't have one."

"Come now Mr Harper: I know that you've been building them for that High Guard fossil Hunt. You bring one to me within the next 72 hours; your fiancé and child will be returned to you, unharmed. If you fail, or tell anyone, then they will be handed over to the Drago-Kazov, who I believe have an interest in Kodiak DNA…"

"You hurt even one hair on their heads…"

"Well, Miss McCoy was knocked out during the raid on her apartment, but she did take down two of the mercenaries I sent in after her, so she shouldn't be ashamed. Take the Nova Bomb to Winnipeg Drift and await further instructions." The Nightsider cut the link.

The Andromeda was all but deserted as Harper slowly made his way along the corridors, pushing the antigravity-trolley before him. He's managed to blind the ships internal sensors to his actions; tricking the AI into thinking he'd fallen asleep in his machine shop after drinking too much beer.

The hanger deck that contained the cruisers Slipfighter's was deserted, the few dock workers who had been tasked with repairing the damage having long since left for the night. Harper pushed the antigravity-trolley under the slipfighter and entered the code that activated the bomb-bay doors. There was a loud click as the weapons bay opened and the universal pylon lowered itself.

Harper pulled the sheet off the Nova Bomb and attached it to the pylon, then hit the control to retract the weapon back into the slipfighter. The doors closed, leaving only a thin line in the frictionless armor. Grabbing a flight-suit from the rack against the wall, Harper got dressed and popped the canopy.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Tyr asked, leaning back in the pilots seat, his eyes closed.

"Tyr!" Harper jumped, "Um, just popping back down to the planet…"

"Don't play games with me, boy." The Nietzschean pulled himself out of the cockpit, towering over the human, "Where are they?"

"Who?"

"Commander McCoy and your child."

"Um, gee, I don't know Tyr: they've been kidnapped…"

"I told you not to play games." Tyr lifted Harper up by his shit collar and looked him straight in the eye, "Although she may not like me, Mary is the closet thing I have in this universe to family, and you will tell me where she is!"

"I don't know: Generntex has her!" Harper protested, "He said that if I don't give him a Nova Bomb he'll hand her and Travis over to the Drago's. Something about them wanting Kodiak DNA."

"Yes, they'd probably hope to use her against me." Tyr let the engineer down, "There is no way the four of us can fit in a slipfighter, so I suggest we find alternate transport."

Andromeda's main hanger deck was deserted, the low lighting casting long shadows across the deck and the Eureka Maru. Tyr poked his head through the airlock, gauss gun at the ready: Beka had talked about installing some new security systems, but he wasn't sure if she'd gotten round to it yet.

The ship looked empty.

"Harper." The Nietzschean whispered, motioning the young human to follow, "Hurry up!"

"Ok! Ok!" Harper pushed the trolley into the cargo ship and closed the door; "Beka is going to kill us for this!"

"I'm sure Captain Valentine will understand." The pilots chair span round, revealing Orion, his eyes narrow, "Going somewhere?"

There was the sound of a forcelance powering up, and Tyr and Harper looked round to see Mark standing behind them, weapon at the ready.

"Guys, this isn't what it looks like…" Harper raised his hands in surrender.

"It looks like you're on your way to trade a Nova Bomb for something, or someone." Orion stood, folding his arms across his chest, "Where are they and who has them?"

"I don't know where they are: I was told to take a Nova Bomb to Winnipeg Drift and await further instructions." Harper sighed, giving up, "A Nightsider we used to work for named Generntex has them: he said he'd hand them over to the Drago-Kazov if I told anyone."

"Then what are we standing around waiting for?" Mark asked, collapsing his forcelance as he made his way to the pilot's chair, "Orion, the doors."

"I'm on it." The Avatar took the operations station; "Sorry to do this to you old friend, but needs must when the devil drives." The Andromeda's inner airlock doors opened with the sound of metal scratching against metal, "We'd better get moving: it won't take her long to work out what's going on and stop us." He smiled, "Old friend and confidant or not, she will report me for doing this."

"Let's just hope she considers your friendship worth a few extra seconds." Tyr commented as the Maru passed through the outer airlock and into free-space, "We still have to get past the picket."

"Yes, well, I have one more trick up my sleeve…" Orion's fingers blurred as they typed commands into the communications system, "This should give us the time we need to get to slipstream." He hit the last key and all the com-links filled with music, almost deafening everyone in the Maru's cockpit.

"Wagner?" Tyr asked.

"Die Walkure." Orion nodded, "It seemed appropriate."

"And for those who don't speak dead languages?" Harper asked.

"The Ride of the Valkyries Mr Harper." Tyr laughed, "Our friend has a sense of humour."

"10-seconds. Mark reported, gripping the controls tightly, "Grab hold of something."

Everyone braced as the cargo ship transited to slipstream.

To Be Continued…