Author: Johannes "Jergen[K]" Cruz			Viewing: Chapter 23

“Get up Ban, we have a problem!” Johannes called as he stormed into the small room the men had rented the night before. Ban jumped up, striking his head solidly on one of the support bars of the bed above his own. “Dammit,” he cursed, touching his wounded forehead and bringing his fingers away to check them for blood. “What is it Jergen?” “It’s the Doctor, she’s missing.” Ban looked at him, then lowered his eyes and shook his head. “Dammit if we aren’t fools for letting her out of our sight.” He stood and immediately began to dress into his uniform. Johannes had been up for quite some time, and not being able to sleep, had run the perimeter of the station several times in an attempt to tire himself enough to catch at least a nap. An hour and half into his revolutions he had tried to stop by Evelyn’s chambers and had found the door broken in and the quarters in shambles, the Doctor missing. “We have to check the ship,” Johannes began, “and then we are going to find that bastard of a Pirate and skin him alive until he tells us what he’s done with her.” Ban simply nodded as they both left their chamber and headed to port 47 where Shadow Dragon was docked. *** “We have the target and are closing to the safe house,” Raven said into his comlink. “Understood,” said the soft voice on the other end of the line. “The cargo has been secured as well. Execute plan charlie when you have reached the safe house and have secured your target. When you have completed the objective rendezvous back at the center.” “Roger,” he shifted his weight, keeping his package secure across his shoulders. “Raven out.” A smile broke across the man’s face as he moved away from the woman’s quarters and approached his side of town. It had been a while since he had been this close to a woman, and even though she was concealed in a large sack, he could still smell the perfume she wore. This was the easiest mark he had ever taken, and without a doubt the most beautiful. Absently he wondered if he could manage to make it to the house a few minutes late, but the orders had been very clear about damaged goods, and he had no intentions of ruining his share for a quick push with the woman. Oh well, there would be another time, of that he was sure. *** Johannes stalked through the ship like a caged animal. The moment both of them had gotten here they had combed her and found a grim scene. The bridge was covered in the blood from the two hands of Knight’s crew that had been loaned to Mekhazzio for the trip. The engine room was a gory mess as well, as the techs down there had both been executed neatly, but had been left to bleed. The worst news came, however, when they had entered the aft hold and found it empty. The four guards that had been stationed here were mysteriously not present, and there wasn’t a single sign of struggle anywhere in the hold. “This could be very bad,” Johannes said, looking at Ban. “How long do you think we have before that thing gets out and destroys this station?” Ban said, the seriousness of the situation painted across his features in dread. Johannes shook his head. “She’s probably already gotten out.” Ban nodded solemnly, “yea.” “We need leads as to who has them,” Ban said as he stood. “You know those Divine Right fanatics better than I do, and they are pretty much based here.” Johannes smiled as he nodded. “Looks like it’s time for a social call Sergeant.” “Looks like,” Ban responded as they both left the ship via the atmospheric ventilation systems attached to her hull to replenish air and water while the ship lay in dock. *** “What the hell are we supposed to do with this thing?” One of the men called out as his loader paused near a junction in the service passageways. “I mean, look at it Jimmy, it’s friggin’ huge!” “I don’t know,” came the reply from the other loader as it thumped along next to it’s twin. “All I care about is the money and the bonus. I might just be able to pay the man back and get out of here.” “Yea,” the other said, shifting forward and resuming his slow march. Between the two loaders hung an immense stasis pod. Inside it lay the dark form of it’s sleeping cargo. Neither man had any idea what it was they were transporting, nor the importance it signified. They had simply been charged with raiding the ship, securing what was in the hold and delivering it to a family controlled dock in the bowels of Solstice. When they were done they were going to make a score bigger than any they had previously thought possible. Given the nature of both men’s IQ’s it was no surprise they had not thought of a number this high, but now they were each very excited. It never dawned on them that the money was a little too good, a little too much for any simple operation. A soft voice echoed out of the darkness followed by blinding floodlights being trained on both men’s faces. “Release the cargo and dismount your loaders.” Both men slowed their progress, squinting into the light. “Our boss isn’t going to like this,” Jimmy said into the painful illumination. “That is not a concern of yours, disembark the cargo and dismount your loaders.” The voice was soft, yet it echoed well in the large passage, and was filled with menace. “To hell with that, call the boss Eddie,” the thug in the left loader said. Not a second later his head exploded from the impact of a 7mm round penetrating his left eye and exiting near the right of his spine. Eddie froze, his bowels began to twitch as urine spread warmly through his overalls. He might have tried to scream, but the explosion of a second round in his chest stopped all efforts at sound or locomotion. Both men slumped forward in their harnesses, dead and bleeding before any of their attackers stepped into the light. Two men, both of them very tall and dressed in similar clothing approached the bodies. After looking at them for a moment they faced the cargo. One of them held up a picture, compared it to what was held in the loader’s lifts at the moment, then nodded. “This is the target.” The second man nodded then removed a small phone from his jacket, “Mr. Smith here, the target is neutralized.” Without awaiting a response he thumbed the link dead and replaced the phone. Two more men joined the first. “Mr. Brown and Mr. White, take the cargo to the designated area.” The two men nodded, entered the loaders, and headed off into the darkness. Soon, the only sound of their passage was the dull thump of the loader’s feet as they moved away. Mr. Smith and his counterpart moved the bodies to the side of the passageway, opened conveniently unlocked ventilation grates, and deposited them inside. Mr. Smith nodded to his silent partner, then moved back towards the source of the floodlights. With a loud click the lights went dead, leaving the passageway as empty as if no one had ever been there. *** Johannes and Ban sat in a small room. Both men were blind folded and gagged with their hands bound behind the small of their backs and their ankles tied to the chairs in which they sat. After locating a contact for Divine Right they had been led to an alleyway and blindfolded. Then, after being bound at the wrists, they had been loaded onto some sort of vehicle and driven about the city for nearly two hours. At first, Johannes had tried to memorize the route, but had given up when he realized such an effort was completely futile. These men knew what they were doing, and had no doubts in how to accomplish their goal. Once they had gotten to the room they were in now they had been given water, then left in silence after being tied to their seats. In the background they could hear soft speech and music, and thus Johannes surmised this to be some sort of meeting place or safe house. Both men had known Divine Right was a mercenary outfit, but the treatment they were receiving now bordered on criminal, and set them on edge. Tensions had always been high this far out on the Rim, and it was no surprise that militant groups would be paranoid in their approach towards true earth military. It wasn’t that long ago when these men had been at war with one another, and with the current state of trade tariffs and UEG control of the starways, it might not be too far in the future before they were at war again. Abruptly, both men were untied and their blindfolds were removed. Diehard smiled slightly at the two of them as he and Doc lead them into a small office. Sitting behind the desk was the serene figure of the Preacher. Both Ban and Jergen had fought alongside and against this particular marine on several instances, and the end result was an intense level of respect. “It is good to see you brothers.” Preacher sat forward, the white collar of his Priest’s habit shone eerily bright in the dim room as he did so. “How can I be of service?” Sergeant Ban stepped forward and laid a picture of the doctor on the desk, “This woman has been taken and we wish to know why.” Ban continued, recounting the tale of how he, the Doctor and Jergen had arrived with a man named Mekhazzio, and were set to leave in less than three days. Fingering the printout for Doctor Stewart, Preacher leaned back in his chair. “I see.” He swiveled the chair to the side and pivoted back some, the joints of his seat creaked from strain as he did so. “I remember this woman, she was with you at the bar.” Ban nodded. “Yet,” he faced the two men again. “I cannot escape the feeling that this in not the entire story, that certain events are being left out of the equation that may be of vast importance.” “It’s a sensitive matter,” Ban began. Preacher cut him off with a wave of his hand. “This is a matter of importance, and being that it is occurring on my station, and involves my brothers and sisters, there is nothing more sensitive to me.” He spat the word sensitive to show his disgust. “For three years the UEG has been conducting experiments with a particularly dangerous xenomorph. My marines and I have had to deal with them on several occasions, and on each operation I have lost personnel. We are fighting a war on the rim, a war started by the UEG and their sensitive issues!” Ban stepped back and fell silent. Johannes whispered, “they don’t tell us anything either Sir.” Preacher looked at Jergen, his eyes smoldering. For a long moment no words were spoken from either side, and then the Preacher nodded. “I can live with that. I remember how it was before the Rimwars.” Stepping out from behind his desk he sat on the edge of it, near the two outsiders. “I know your Colonial Marine Corps have been raiding planets to rid them of this infestation just as readily as my Divine Right has been hired to deal with them.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a cigarette. “I also know that the vessel you arrived on is a pirate ship, and that the cargo was so classified that it was never manifested.” Ban looked straight at the man as he spoke, “It’s a Queen Preacher.” “Dammit,” Preacher said in a whisper, looking down. He lighted his cigarette and took a long pull from it. Tapping the ashes into an empty shell casing on his desk he looked at the two marines in front of him and smiled humorlessly. “This could be very bad.”