Hark, a new chapter for some science fiction horror comes! A sneak peek lies below, and the full chapter at the link above. Enjoy!
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Obsidian Shard was running hot. He didn’t know what systems the gatekeeper had online. Some of them would be the modifications Ming-na Diaz and their other data raids had hinted at. Some of them might be more conventional defences. Ultimately, the answer was irrelevant. Shard might get surprised, but she wouldn’t be caught flat-footed.
“She’s sitting on the edge of the field,” Alexei noted, experience overriding instinct. “We can probably get the transports,” Glittering Geode and Henry Buckler by their IFFs, “but Shard…” he was running the numbers in his head and odds of taking out the strike cruiser before it could get away. They weren’t good. “She needs to come closer if we want a confirmed kill, but I’m not even sure we can risk that.”
“Sir?”
“I think you’re right. Those ships came from the High Castle, and that means they’re headed for Proctor’s Gamble or the Keep. If we neutralize them, they’ll be reported overdue long before we get to DROP 47. Someone will come looking for them, and they’ll start here.” He shook his head. “Tell me that won’t end up with someone like Razorback hot on our asses.”
“Then what do we do?” Gregory persisted, his eyes darting from the icons denoting the Imperial arrivals to the dormant minefield. “They’re here for system diagnostics and transit clearance. We can’t get away with a congenial wave and a ‘go right ahead’.”
“They don’t know Position 32 is compromised,” Ragnikov replied. “We let them in and give them their inspection.”
The commander let out a long breath. “You’re talking about letting Imperials walk onto a station while we’re still scrubbing their comrades’ blood off the bulkheads.”
“Not quite, but we can’t leave them out there waiting for a response and we can’t guarantee a kill on all three ships. Scramble a staff. Get them in costume for front-facing work. Trips speaks Imperial,” it wasn’t so much a language as a way of speaking it. The intel officer could slip into character a lot easier than anyone else on the crew. “Get her in makeup.” Albinos and Diamonds were probably rare enough that the presence of one would arouse questions. “We’ll say there’s been an outbreak of plague and we need to limit contact to prevent transmission. That should buy us the breathing room we need. No shore leave, no feet on the station. We go to them.”
“It’s still a hell of a risk, captain.” Phillips was silent for a moment. “What happens if they don’t buy it?”
Alexei’s fingernails dug deeper into his palms. “Then I suppose we’ll find out very, very soon.”
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