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The twin shuttles had landed at the same city I had desired to sneak into just a day ago, our cargo had been divided up into the two shuttles. Supposedly it would help the deck crews from asking too many questions or reporting about extra and unregistered cargo. Here was where even more cargo was to be placed on, the real haul our Captain had come to pick up. The pad was rectangular and could house both our ships. In fact, there were a lot of the same shaped pads forming a circle around a building. All were full or were immediately taken up once a shuttle lifted off. It was inevitable that once that Absalom had excused himself to a large administration building at the center of the ring is pads that his Cheif of Security approaches Norma and I.
He motioned to a corner of the shuttle's interior shielded by the containers carrying most of my brood and another with the Hybrids. "Great Carrier, I am Shem Shuel, honored to be able to bask in one as blessed as you." He bowed steeply and I smiled politely in kind. It was the only way I could think to respond with really.
"You're Chief of security for Absalom's ship, what are the full defenses of the ship, and how many gee members do we have that have... seeing the holiness of the Gods above." I didn't know if it was truly necessary to pay off to their brainwashing but it's better safe than sorry.
"It is a cargo freighter intended for moving goods across a sub-sector. Only about one point five kilometers from prow to stern, so there are only about six thousand crew members and a thousand of which are Armsmen."
My eyes widened at that, I had hoped this would be an extremely small vessel with a minor crew but I supposed that was fairly realistic, with that many people though... Especially the amount of armed and trained guards.
"Less than a hundred have joined the brood, but many of which are technicians. I can easily maneuver Armsmen to areas of the ship and seal them off or vent them into the void. The Captain has his utmost faith in me and has granted me full autonomy aboard the ship."
"So dividing up Guards and sealing them away can go without Absalom realizing what's going on..." I added catching on fast. We wouldn't be spacing anybody, I'd make sure of that, knocking them would and tying up who we could and trapping those we couldn't was our best bet. We'd even had access to the armory so getting all the guns and forcing the Captain and Crew into submission would be fairly simple, unless...
"If anyone calls for help we'd be screwed..."
"Some of the technicians work on the communication array, they can easily jam it and prevent an SOS going out. The ship also has no astorpaths so there is little need to worry Great Carrier." Shem explained eagerly.
"Why doesn't it have an astorpath?" Those guys are pretty necessary for ships to communicate over vast distances, why not have one?
"The vessel is only intended for transporting goods across the sub-sector, there isn't any need for the Imperium to spend any on trillions of local goods haulers around the galaxy." Shem explained.
"So we'll just cut their communications, isolated and lock up guards, then use the forces we have to threaten the Captain into docking with a Hive Ship." There would be no casualties in a perfect universe but I wasn't in one... Didn't mean I wasn't about to do everything in my power to limit deaths. "That's as good as any plan we can make here..." I said barely able to hide my nervousness. One wrong move and a lot of people would die, Shem would make this a lot easier though. He'd know the capabilities and locations of all the guards and weapons. I held the strap for my lasgun tightly, hoping to God I'd never have a need to use it on someone personally. So maybe this would be fine, no infestations or mass death needed to occur.
When paused for a moment and tapped his helmet, likely a comm-bead and his eyes widen slightly. I knew this probably wasn't going to be good as he turned towards me.
"...The Captain wishes to speak with you Great Carrier."
I was led across the air pad to a large building, everything was metallic of course. I even peered out and saw the city, we weren't that high up but I could see one massive spire that lead up and into the atmosphere. It wasn't a hive city more the kind you'd see in images and descriptions of civilized worlds. There was a lot of shuttles going up and landing, likely filled with lumber or taking goods away or down.
"This is definitely a commercial hub." I thought as the dimly lit city that was radiated from the waning sun from behind fell out of view. The interior of the administrative building was grey, brown, and made of metal. Shem led me to an open door with two of the same uniformed guards Absalom had before.
"Why would he have guards outside his office?" I noted with naked concern, body language Shem picked up on and tried to telepathic soothe my mind. He was going to be right there in case anything went wrong, but something going awry was what I feared. My rifle had to be confiscated by one of the guards, I was already pretty anxious before and now without a weapon that just amplified.
Absalom was inside sitting straight and important looking, he set down the pad he was held face down and made a gesture towards the door. Shem closed it a second later and took up position in front of it.
"Michael is it? Take a seat please" He asked with a smile and I didn't recall ever telling him my name before. Perhaps he asked Shem.
"Um yes, that's me." I nodded carefully, I didn't know what this was about or what to say. So I decided to keep my sentences short and simple. The chair wasn't exactly fancy but it was built with cushions and meant for comfort so I was able to relax on it.
"Oh, would you like a drink?" He jerked a hand to point at a bottle with some clear liquid inside and I shook my head. Nevertheless, he still poured out two small glasses and kept the second within arm's length for me. A strong sent cane off it and I assumed it was amasec.
We were in pure silence for a couple of seconds as he slowly drank down the liquid. Draining the whole glass in one go, I figured this was some kind of information tactic. It was certainly making me anxious. Eventually, Absalom finished the glass and let out a cough he regained his composure fast though, and never lost his smile. "Do you know how long I've been hauling cargo for?"
"Not a clue no."
"Forty years and my father did it for over a century before he died..." Absalom had refilled his glass but didn't so much as sip it. "This job isn't easy even before the aliens arrived, a lot of competition for work means employers have a lot of options and can dictate much. It means making an honest living transporting registered cargo is nearly impossible..."
He stared at me as if expecting me to say or do something and continued on when I didn't. "Smuggling the odd commodity and people is a must-do for Captains like me you understand. Norma has been a good recurring customer but now..." His smile strained a bit. "She's just leaving... That with these various Xenos invasions killing a lot of my contract holders has left me losing a lot of thrones..."
His hand left the glass and turned over the pad. "So you can imagine that I'm in a situation where I need to find any source of income just to pay for fuel and food for my ship and crew..." He pushed the pad and glass over the desk and my eyes widen at the image.
It was some kind of a bounty listing for Typhon and there was a sketch... of my face not very similar to me actually but it was just close enough to worry me. Even more so was the bounty listing attached below it for my capture...
"Imagine my glee at finding out one of these gangers I've been aiding actually has a bounty behind them?" My panic grew and so did his toothy grin. If he had any doubts as to his suspicion of me being on this picture it was dispelled my reaction to it.
I silently cursed my wide-eyed stare as Absalom just looked smug now. He knew that was me and now... Well something bad was obviously going to happen, I wasn't about to take any guesses for the future beyond that...
I was glimpsed by one officer, one Blood Raven, and one Guardsman. Only in two of their instances was I spotted fleeing the scene with Tyranids. Or perhaps when that Hormagaunt had formed its synaptic connection to me it was spotted dragging me away from the fighting...
"Could a few instances of me hanging around Tyranids really elicited this response though?!" It could just be officials just persuing any lead on Genesteals and Tyranid sights though, even if that was the case it didn't make my situation better. To make my current situation worse my open reaction and poor skills hiding my emotions all but verbally confirmed Absalom's suspicions so there was no lying my way out of his now...
"Things have been getting quite hectic due to the alien invasions. While it has been crushed I have lost a lot of business and nearly my ship and crew." He explained without any real concern behind his voice. It felt more like a shark smelling blood in the water. "Had to make some serious repairs and refits, now I'm in a bit of debt."
"That... doesn't look like a lot of money..." I said without confidence, I had no clue how much a thousand of the local currency was even worth. Although to my surprise the Captain nodded.
"No, it really isn't, but it got me thinking." He tapped his chin just to punctuate the wording further. "You lot have three containers stocked with illegal goods, I've got contacts on Meridian that can sell then. While this bounty report is for your capture dead always gets me a good price."
Absalom smiled viciously, and I shrank further into my chair. "What exactly can you offer me to not just follow up on that plan?"
I knew it was a legitimate question because he bothered to bring me up here and lay it out. It did confuse me as to why he brought me up though. Until I remembered I was the one with the bounty and Norma did specify me as someone who needed to be smuggled out. Likely making him think I was more important than I was, I mean it is true but not in the way he probably thought.
"We can pay triple...?" An amount we wouldn't need to pay but I had an unsettling feeling that money wasn't what he was after. Absalom said as much.
"I was thinking more on what you have within those crates. What kind of narcotics do you have? Got many lasguns stored?"
I wondered for a moment why he was asking me and not Norma this, sure it was my bounty but surely he would think she had more authority. It could have been because he thought I was a weak link and easier to manipulate. That combined with the fact I spoke out and made the double price offer during our meeting he might be assuming I have some power here. The bodyguards I had probably reinforced that...
"Uh..." I could not let him look into those crates, we weren't even in orbit yet. Trying to take the vessel through force would be so much harder.
I eyed Shem and with him being my only ally here tried conveying a message. Even without synaptic control over Hybrid I still had a connection as evident by the Genestealer and me sending me messages to one another. So I focus my mind towards transmitting a message to the Cheif of security that I needed his intervention, I needed him to act and do... anything really.
"Why don't we go down and check for ourselves, Captain?" Shem said and I shot him a pleading look, all I got back was a calming telepathic retort. It did make me relax, the man clearly thought he knew what to do here. I had no plan so I decided to place my faith in this Hybrid, I took solace in knowing he was pretty much incapable of deceiving or betraying me.
With that, I calmed and interjected as much reluctance as I could into the idea. Which was not difficult considering I was already on edge. Absalom held onto his smile and I wondered just how we were getting out of this mess and having a flyable ship.
The journey down gained us four more Armsmen, after checking I found one of which I could feel was another Hybrid but we were still outnumbered here. If it came to violence I'd need my brood out of the steel container, a simple telepathic command and they all readied themselves for a fight hoped to any deity that would listen wouldn't occur.
"It would be a massacre, plain and simple." My only hope here was that Shem did have a plan.
Another thing was Norma, I could feel her presence and we managed to communicate the situation. It wasn't as one expected, no words were spoken but feelings and memories of the conversation with the Captain was sent. She knew what was going on and that I needed her to remain calm and not tell all the other Hybrids to arm up. Shem helped me on that front, he didn't think pure violence would be the best option here either, although I still didn't know what the man's plan even was. Just that there would be limited shooting, of what made me queasy though. I didn't want anybody to die, getting hurt seems inevitable though and Shem radioed, or I supposed voxed is the more apt term, ahead to clear the landing day of all the ship's work crews.
Explaining it to his Captain to retain the secrecy of the exact contents of the containers. A precaution Absalom accepted wordlessly, it reminded me of the threat Hybrids posed to the Imperium. Shem looked and acted human but he was definitely not a friend of the Captian. At least not for a while that is...
Hybrids always frightened and sadden me in the books, their minds are warped and make them willing to allow planets to be consumed by Tyranids. They didn't even see it that way, just a desire to feed the Hive Fleet that they didn't understand. Nor ever could...
We made it down to the cargo containers just sitting in the shuttles, other containers with good were also laying about. The work crews from Absalom's ship were thankfully gone. Norma was there of course but no one else.
"Captain Absalom, to what do I owe to this sudden arrival?" She bowed her head respectfully and maintained an air of calm. Whether that was the Hive Mind of the Genestealer imposing its will or just having a heads up helped her prepare, it was a question for later.
"The deal has taken a sudden turn, instead of double my usual pay I will be taking something from one of your containers." The tone he took said there would be no room for arguing here.
Norma eyed Shem who gave a slight motion with his head, there was a telepathic conversation there. "Very well, do as you please." She let out a sigh that looked to be intentionally exacerbated and motioned to the cargo holding our Tyranids.
The man looked confident with five of his heavily armored and likely well-trained Armsmen. Shem included, the Captain moved towards the seemingly innocent-looking containers and at his friend's behest moved to open one very specific cargo.
I almost panicked as Absalom placed both hands on either handle to open it, I could feel what was on the other end. Knew it was ready to strike the moment he opened the door.
"Uh, um," I stepped forwards to stop him, halting then the rifles of three of the guards drew up slightly to deter me. "I wouldn't open this one if I were you..."
"Why not?" He paused to look at me and I hesitated because Shem kept trying to covey that this was the perfect action. I decided the Hybridization had made him retarded, this would only lose us a Captain and start a battle.
Norma just stared on as the handles were pulled and the doors were pulled open but shoved aside as the Genestealer within pinned Absalom down. In a flash, its long pointed tongue shot out and embedded into his left shoulder, easily piercing flesh.
Shem moved the moment the doors did, a knife slide under the point where the helmet was separated from the shoulder armor of one of not infected Armsman. It cut through the man's throat and the only hybrid Armsman beside Shem grabbed another from behind follower by the Cheif who knocks the rifle away.
Norma for her part shot her foot out to impact against the remaining guard's back knee. Out of the container poured two more Hybrids, their many masculine arms and synchronicity allowed them to overpower and pin him to the floor as well. The helmets came off as well. All this occurs in a matter of seconds and my mind mainly filled in the blanks due to the sudden surprise of the situation.
Absalom flailed for a moment, convulsing his body to get the Genestealer off, it was too strong for that though. He would have screamed but it only came out as a muffled sound as one of the creature's clawed hands covered his mouth. Eventually, he stilled and his eyes became dilated, the Genestealer kiss made people woozy and forgetful after it happened.
The Genestealer got off the Captain and moved towards the two remaining Armsmen. Suddenly I realized why they weren't killed like the others and stepped in the stealer's way to block it.
"Wait, wait!" I paused not knowing what to say or do here, the Genestealer was confused and I could sense the same thing from all the Hybrids in and out of the container.
"Great Carrier," Shem began slowly, his perfection seeping into every word. "We cannot kill all of them, if too many go missing someone is bound to notice and question it..."
"We are not going to kill anyone else!" I cried then added more quietly. "Or give them the kiss, leave them alive..."
"We can't free them," Norm didn't sound combative more trying to ascertain why I was being so adamant about this. "Great carrier, please, what do would you have us do with them...?"
It was a hard choice, either kill the guards or infect them, warping their minds to my benefit. That was not going to happen. Neither of those two options were not going to happen and I said as much to the further surprise and confusion of even the pinned guards.
"Then what should we do with them Great Carrier?" Norma asked confused, even the Genestealer hissed disapprovingly. "If we free them they will inform the crew and bring the authorities of this planet to bear against us..."
A good point, if I had any intention of just letting them go that is. "We tie them up and gag them, with the Captain on our side getting to the Hive ship will be simple. It was always the plan to leave this ship behind." I explained and she and Shem nodded still confused, they accepted the addendum and had someone go to find some biding for the guards. No one Tyranid could understand why I was against this but they just agreed and the Genestealer even backed off, dragging Absalom into the dark container.
The dead body would have to be taken care of and the wounded one treated but no one else would die today. I looked to the Captain who was still laying unconscious on the floor, the wound over their right shoulder swelling as the foreign material invaded his body. I didn't know how long it took before the Genestealer kiss took full effect but I know that with the Captain on our side this whole ride would be a lot easier...
"Someone was still infected... right in front of me and now I am going to take advantage of that fact." I thought gravely, there was nothing else for me to do but roll with the hand I was dealt. That still just felt like an excuse. Then there was my bounty to consider, the authorities most likely found a guy riding on and standing near Tyranids as being extremely interesting. The capture part could be for interrogation for the location of cults or experimentation, perhaps even both.
"As if I needed any more reason to get out of this sub-sector..."
