Chapter 41

The pirate ship, the Peregrine, was loitering around in the sector known as the Abandoned Frontier. So far, the ship had run silent, staying off the radar of any ships in the system, and they were blessedly few. Taking a brief flyby some of these picket ships, it was easy to tell that they had seen better days. Most of the ships, if not all of them, were little more than an intimidation tactic.

With ships that bad, it was a risky gamble to be sure, but there was enough flying around the system to make it work. What they lacked in firepower and skill, they made up for in sheer numbers. Now, if these ships were in the hands of proper pilots and crew, and in good repair, that would be a different story. The captain sighed as he sat there with his ship mucking about in stealth mode.

“Sir?” his communications officer questioned, getting his attention.

“What is it, Rack?” the captain queried, turning to look at the reedy man.

“The latest comms intercepts, sir. I thought you might be interested in reading them,” the man told him.

This perked the captain up, and he took the datapad from his subordinate eagerly. With the little they had to do in this sector, reading through the reports and intercepts was a welcome break in the monotony. He sat there, going over the transmissions they had managed to intercept from Prodosia.

The captain and the rest of his crew were keeping tabs on the situation developing down there. They had caught most of the unencrypted communications going back and forth down there. From what they had deduced, things were tense on the planet’s surface, and all it needed was a single spark to set things off. It was like a powder keg ready to blow, and this latest intercept confirmed what he already suspected.

“Have you read this?” the captain asked Rack.

“Yes, sir! It’s why I brought it to you, to get your thoughts before giving you my recommendation that we call command,” the man stated nervously.

“Damn straight, we need to call in! Open a channel to them, immediately!!!” the captain barked, and the communications hopped to, carrying out the order.

“Channel is encrypted, sir! Just waiting on them to pick up!” the communication officer stated.

“Very good!” the captain told him. He waited on the signal to be picked up, so he could report in about his findings. The call picked up on the third ring and was answered by someone he did not expect.

“Captain ... Telaeus? Of the Peregrine?” the woman on screen questioned.

“Aye ... ma’am?” the man replied. “To whom am I addressing?”

“Jolena Sortani. I’m certain you and yours are aware of who I am?” the Rondathan woman asked.

“Yes, my lady!!” Captain Telaeus responded, saluting the woman instantly. The rest of the bridge crew stopped lazing about and hopped to their duties. They did not wish to displease Lady Zarkazh’s envoy and the Voice of the Pirate Lords.

“What news do you have? I assume that’s why you called in?” she questioned.

“Yes, my lady! There is a serious matter that needs to be brought to your attention!” the captain told her.

He read out the communiques and intercepts they’d recently picked up. Commander Sortani sat there and listened, seemingly impassive, like a monolith. The only indication to show that she was even interested was how her eyes would shift. At some points, her eyes would narrow, whereas at others, they would widen. She paid close attention to everything, listening and absorbing every detail of what she learned.

“So, the Confeds are making plays for the Abandoned Frontier? Interesting! Are there any other major players that are fighting back against the Confeds?” Jolena questioned.

“No, ma’am. So far, it appears to be just the locals and the crew of the Darkstrider that is involved in resisting their plans,” Captain Telaeus replied.

“Hmm. For the moment, stay the course and continue monitoring all incoming and outgoing transmissions. I will require daily updates on everything that goes on, no matter how small,” she stated to the man on the other side of the transmission.

“Aye aye, ma’am! Will there be anything else?” the captain of the Peregrine questioned.

“No, that will be all. You have your orders. Carry them out,” Commander Sortani told him before she killed the line.

“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a proper job to do, boys! Get to your posts and let’s see about getting closer to Prodosia! The more information we have to present to the new commander, the better our lives will be!” the captain told his men.

Nodding, the group of men got to work as they carried out their captain’s order. While it was work they weren’t too fond of, currying favor with the Voice of the Pirate Lords would go over well for all of them! They only hoped that they would find information that was of value to the woman and that they would see some reward or benefit to their work.

Jolena Sortani sat in the office that had belonged to Joseph Briggs as she mulled over what she had learned. Things were certainly heating up in the Abandoned Frontier and she knew that the situation was bound to blow. Normally, they could swoop in and seize the advantage with the coming chaos, but things were delicate at the moment.

From what she had learned, the crew of the Darkstrider had put themselves square in the sights of the Confeds. How that had happened Jolena had no idea, but she knew that they had to act fast if they were to control the outcome of the situation. Then there was the matter of Dagan Min. The man had been elusive, evading their most skilled hunters for several years now, which stumped her and the lady she served.

The moment she thought about her boss, the quicker she remembered that she would want to hear about this. Finding that man was pretty high on Lady Zarkazh’s list, but no one really knew why. There were rumors swirling about why she sought the man out, but it stayed at rumors only. The last person to make any suggestions about the Pirate Lady’s relationship to the man, vanished.

Not wanting to suffer a similar fate, anyone who speculated about Dagan Min and Lady Zarkazh kept it to themselves. Such thoughts raced through her head as she set up the link to reach her mistress. Her mind went back to when she had initially swept the office and found several monitoring bugs. They had all been placed strategically around the space to ensure that nothing went unheard.

Jolena had taken the time to go over the entire office with a fine tooth comb, twice. With the amount of bugs she’d found, it was a wonder that Briggs hadn’t been disposed of. Either the person in question was waiting for the opportune moment, or hadn’t collected enough information yet. Regardless, they’d have nothing from her or her lady, as she waited on Lady Zarkazh to pick up the call.

“I assume you have a good reason for calling me at this hour, Jolena?” came the smooth, yet menacing, voice of Lady Zarkazh.

“I do, my lady. I have a report from the Peregrine over in the Abandoned Frontier that you will be pleased to hear about!” Jolena informed her. The commander told her everything from the reports, leaving out no detail. While the screen was black, Jolena could hear some shuffling in the background, which told her she had her lady’s attention.

“Well done, Jolena! You did well to think I’d be interested in this information! Especially with finding Dagan! He and I have ... unfinished business,” Lady Zarkazh stated, her voice as deadly as a steel edge.

“You are welcome, my lady! Do you have any additional orders to be passed along to the men stationed here?” the Rondathan woman queried.

“I do, but the orders are not for them. They are for you and the women you trust the most!” she stated.

“What are your orders?” Jolena questioned, eager to see them done.

“Select the women you trust the most and send them to the Abandoned Frontier. They are to take a small ship, nothing larger than a frigate. Their mission is to monitor the planet and everything going on there. There will be additional objectives for them to complete, but they will learn of them once they arrive. Not before,” Lady Zarkazh stated.

“It will be done, my lady!” Jolena responded before the line went dead. The woman smiled to herself, as she had the perfect team in mind to send on this operation. She knew her lady would approve, as this group had a reputation for getting things done. It was time to call upon the Daughters of Hel.

Lady Zarkazh sat there in her personal office, talking a few beats to soothe her nerves. She couldn’t help but be excited, as the one quarry she had sought for many years now was finally within reach! Smiling to herself, which in itself was a rare event, the woman stood up and walked out of her office and into her personal quarters.

The room was a lavish affair, with many comforts that were afforded to someone of her station. The bed, which dominated a good portion of the space, was the fanciest and most expensive thing she owned. Lady Zarkazh almost giggled at the trio of sleeping forms that occupied the space. One was a human man, the other two were women, one of which was a human futa, while the other was a Khontaran.

All three of them had pleased her earlier, the trio of them living up to the rumors she had heard. The futa had once been a highly paid call girl who had opted out of that life recently. The man had been a galactic athlete who had fallen from grace some years ago, but had kept himself in shape. The Khontaran woman was little more than a drifter, but the words spoken about how voracious her race was were not exaggerated!

While the Khontaran woman, Tulatha by name, didn’t have a place at the moment, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have one. Lady Zarkazh had every intention of seeing this woman in action before she made her offer. The offer being to become one of her personal bodyguards and attendants. Tulatha had done a lot already to prove herself to the crews of Zarkazh’s fleets, and such hard work often required an ample reward.

The pirate lady only hoped that this woman was just as good with combat as she was with fucking! Sighing in how well satisfied she had been, Lady Zarkazh ambled over to where a nightstand sat on the left side of the bed. She sat down on the bed, making sure not to disturb her recent lovers, as she required them being asleep to do this. Placing her hand on the table, a hidden palm reader quickly activated, recognizing her handprint.

A holoprojector, hidden within the nightstand, turned on, displaying a singular image meant for her eyes only. The image was a three-dimensional rendering of her in a gorgeous white dress. Lady Zarkazh was smiling beautifully, as she had done more often all those years ago. Next to her stood a man dressed in a well-tailored suit, which showed off his attributes in ways that would make any woman drool.

They were both young and hopelessly in love back then, as they both wore gold rings on their left hands. Until a great many events would happen, which she would blame him for. Lady Zarkazh sought him out to pry answers out of the man for his role in these events. The man in question was none other than Dagan Min.

In the bowels of the pirate station, in a disused storage closet, was a small gathering of men. They were all part of the various crews that had built this operation from the ground up. Many of them were at a loss about what to do with their current situation, as they disliked being upstaged as they had. This stung these men more than most, as they had taken what was happening to the station personally.

The leader of their little group was none other than Rat Faced Mike, as he had been the one to call this little gathering. There were a couple dozen men there, excluding any officers or women. The mindset of these men was far more regressed than most others, mainly because they believed others to be inferior to them.

“What are we gonna do about Sortani?” one of the men grumbled.

“That bitch is ruining the shit we had planned!” another man called out.

“Gentlemen! Calm down! I don’t like this either, but don’t fret so much! There is opportunity here, if we are so inclined to take it!”

“What opportunity?!? That cast iron bitch is locking shit down to where this is almost as bad as the military!” a third man complained.

“The opportunity in question is for us to have our own ship, so we can go about the galaxy, picking off whatever juicy targets we want!” Mike told them.

“What ship?” asked the first man, intrigued.

“One of the ships that was involved in the failed attack at Veldhern!” Mike told them.

“Those ships are on the docket for repairs! No way will we be able to just take one out!” the second man groused.

“As it so turns out, one of those ships, the Reaper’s Bounty, is nearly finished with the repairs!” Mike informed his group.

“How are we going to get aboard??” the third man questioned, his curiosity piqued at this knowledge.

“I have a few people who owe me some favors. You boys want to live your lives as you want, answering to no one? Follow me and you’ll not only have it, but the only skirts that’ll be around are the ones that do as we say! Do any of you guys want to answer to those skirts?” Mike asked.

There was a murmur of appreciation at this sentiment, as these men had joined up with this crew as a means of getting some booty. Both kinds. They did so, as it was a way of doing things on their terms and only answering to those who they thought were worth following. They listened to Mike, as he had the best plan they had heard so far.

Once he had convinced the men of the veracity of his plan, they all disbanded before the women of Lady Zarkazh’s fleet came looking for them. While he had convinced the men, Mike wasn’t overly convinced of the plan he had himself. Sure, it was a great plan, but he was no longer as well informed as he wanted to be.

The bugs he had planted in Briggs’ office were no longer functioning, so he had to assume they had been found. With any luck, Jolena Sortani wouldn’t know it was him who had bugged the man’s office. Mike knew that if this plan was to succeed, he had to move fast. He only had a limited window to secure that ship before Zarkazh’s crew locked it down. The man prayed that what time he had was enough.

In the dank sewers beneath the town of Tanith’s Gully, Sargol ran through the muck, keeping his lead over his pursuers. He continued to run, eventually finding the spot he was looking for. Gasping in triumph, he hurried over to the wall and pushed at a cluster of bricks that seemed out of place. The bricks were nothing more than a cleverly disguised door that hid a palm scanner, which Sargol pressed his hand to.

The scanner lit up in a green color as it registered his hand and allowed him to make entry to this hidden spot. A small alcove then opened, showing the secret door that the man quickly ran through. Once he was inside, Sargol closed the door behind him and reset the panel that hid the scanner. Breathing a sigh of relief, he headed into the large room that contained his surveillance system.

As he ambled inside, the system came to life, as did the various hidden cameras in the surrounding tunnels. Sargol sat down at the terminal and ran the programs he needed to activate the defense protocols. He had such things placed in these hidey holes as a means of shaking and scaring anyone who might think to look for him. The moment he finished entering the commands, a prompt then came up, which he was not prepared to see.

No defenses connected to this terminal. Programs cannot run at this time. Try again when defenses are installed.

“What?” Sargol gasped in disbelief. “How is it ... oh fuck!!!”

Sargol then remembered that only two of his hidey holes were equipped with such countermeasures. This one was a fairly new one that he had built just recently. He hadn’t had the time to install any defenses, as he had his hands full with stirring shit up topside. The Confed spy cursed his luck as he watched Inari, her friends, and the deputies show up in the surveillance feeds.

“Just my fucking luck!!” he grumbled as he slammed his fists on the desk he sat at.

The people who pursued him had finally caught up to his position, but with enough time, they would keep moving on. That was the hope anyway, as with the number of them mucking around in the tunnels, was too many for him to simply slip past them. Sargol was going to need a distraction, and he’d have to come up with one soon!

Inari was directing everyone around in the tunnels, ensuring they checked everything they saw. The man growled in annoyance, as this woman was obviously no fool, having everyone take their time and be thorough before moving forward. He was going to have to fabricate something in the hopes he could lose them and bolt to one of his deadlier hidey holes.

Denny, one of Dagan’s men, kept glancing around, as though he was looking for something. In truth, he knew that he was being watched by several cameras in the tunnel. He had spotted them fairly quickly, but kept walking and glancing around, so as not to let on that he knew.

The man was a tracker, one of Dagan’s best, and he had proven as much multiple times. The drone he was using to pick up Sargol’s trail had gone cold abruptly, and to him, that meant only one thing. Sargol was hiding close by. While he knew he was being watched, he didn’t know if he was being listened to.

Not one for taking chances, Denny switched his comms to a private channel, which was heavily encrypted. He then sent out a signal on the private channel, hoping that Inari would pick up on it. It took a few signal sends, but he soon heard Inari’s voice on the other end of the line.

“I’m here, Denny. What’s up?” the woman queried.

“Our quarry is close by. There’re cameras all over these tunnels. I advise we spread out and block all avenues of possible escape. I’ll try to find out where the slippery bastard is hiding,” he informed her.

“Very good! Let us know when you have narrowed down the location. I want to be there to see that fucker’s face when I catch him!” Inari growled.

“Copy that,” Denny replied as the line went silent.

Denny then tasked his drone to go to scan mode, to look form places where the wall was thinner than what it ought to be. If Sargol had bolt holes down here in the sewers, then it made sense as to why he had eluded capture for years on end. Not to mention some of the toys he was rumored to have on hand when he needed to vanish into thin air. Sure, most of it was rumor and hearsay, but there was always a grain of truth to some things.

A ping on his wrist computer alerted the man to a find that his drone had made. It seemed like an irregularity, one that he normally would have brushed off. It presented itself like some sort of decay, almost like there was a part of the wall missing in some spots. He would have brushed it off until he took a closer look. There were indeed some spots missing brick and mortar, but they were far too neat for natural decay.

The scans from the drone came back, showing the hidden panels and thinner walls. The man smiled inwardly, not wanting to tip his hand to any cameras that could be watching him. Scans showed the hidden door, which he could gain entry to the hideout the man was in. Denny prepped another drone to go to demolition mode, so they could take the bastard, but had it hovering in standby.

“OK, everyone. I’ve found out where the bastard went! Going to blow the door, but everyone needs to hold their position while I blow it,” Denny sub-vocalized.

“Stand fast! I’m coming to you! I want to catch that fucker myself!” Inari told him over the comms.

“Going to blow it as you get here. Don’t want to let on to anything more than we may have already!” Denny stated.

“If you’re going to blow anything, do it now!” Inari said as she neared his position.

Seeing that there was nothing else for it, Denny flicked the switch and set the drone off. It was a small explosion, and he was far enough away to avoid the blast. Inari reached the man just as the drone went off, then drew her weapons and hurried forward. Denny was right behind her, with a trio of his drones tagging along, having them ready for whatever they might find.

The drone had done a good job, busting open both the hidden door and the heavy security door behind it. Inari rushed into the room, hoping to find Sargol, cowering or knocked out. Instead, she found the surveillance equipment and a chair that moved, like the man had just been in it. On the chair was an explosive device that had a readout on it, showing that there was twenty seconds left before detonation.

“The fucking bastard!!” Inari griped as she started backpedaling out of the room as Denny walked in.

“Damn! Lucky I got something for this!” the man stated as he tapped his wrist and sent a drone in.

The drone expanded and opened up a hidden alcove of some sort, which swallowed up the bomb. It then sealed itself off, holding the explosive within it as the last seconds ticked by. Inari and Denny cleared the alcove and were back in the sewers when they heard a small bumping sound. Denny then checked his wrist computer and sighed in relief.

“The drone managed to contain the explosion! Wasn’t a high level explosive by the looks of it,” Denny told the woman as they headed back to the hidey hole.

“If it wasn’t a high grade one, then maybe he wasn’t as prepared as we thought?” Inari questioned as they headed back into the room. They saw the drone sitting on the chair, as it had been when Denny had set it to absorb the bomb. The biggest difference was that the drone was smoking and some parts of it had fallen off.

“Fuck!! Looks like your drone is in need of a rebuild!” Inari chuckled as she surveyed the rest of the room, as it was miraculously intact.

“I will, but I have several more of these handy, in case we need them,” Denny responded.

“Glad we dodged that bullet! But the fucker got away!” Inari growled.

“Consolation prize?” Denny asked as he gestured at the computer terminals there, which were up and running.

“I’ll take it. Though I really wanted that asshole!” Inari huffed, as she set up a link to the Darkstrider as something else for Taal’ani to go through.

“Well, we might still get him!” Denny said as he looked at the one console that security cameras in the tunnels outside of the room.

“Here’s hoping!”

Sargol had indeed gotten away, but only just. He was in the tunnels, headed towards one of his more secure hidey holes, with proper defenses in place. Sargol was using the one route that didn’t have cameras in it, as it was a hidden passage that was hard to see and find. The man was smiling to himself for being so clever until he saw a deputy step out of the murk.

“Reach and keep your hands where I can see ‘em!” Willem called out, keeping his weapon trained on the Confed spy.

“You really think you can hold my ass, boy? I doubt you’re even old enough to be off your ma’s apron strings! How about you put that thing away and let a real man pass?” Sargol laughed, slyly reaching for his gun.

“I said keep ‘em where I can see ‘em!” Willem threatened, firing a warning shot at Sargol. The spy sidestepped the round, spun and drew his weapon, unloading the entire clip at Willem. Every shot hit center mass, and a few hit the boy’s head, but none of them got through. Willem staggered from the shots and was a little dazed, but he shook it off and stared down at the Confed, supremely pissed off.

Sargol tried to reload his weapon, but Willem closed the distance before he had a chance and decked the man as hard as he could. The spy grunted in pain, as he hadn’t expected the boy to hit him quite that hard! Willem hit the man again, which left the man staggering somewhat. He shook off the second blow and blocked the third, before launching a counterpunch, which left Willem reeling.

“Not so tough now, are you, boy?” Sargol taunted.

“Please! My mother hits harder than your weak ass!” Willem shot back.

“But your mother won’t kill your ass at the end of it!” Sargol laughed as he launched a flurry of punches at Willem. The kid blocked half the incoming hits, but the other half went through. Willem sucked up those hits, then went at Sargol hard, putting all his strength behind each shot.

“Is that all you got, boy? C’mon! Hit me, if you can! Snotty little bitch! C’mon!!” Sargol laughed as he continued to taunt the boy.

The laughter was supposed to throw the kid off, but Willem didn’t even flinch. He just kept coming at Sargol with a grim look and strikes like steel. Sargol was blocking a good portion of them, but he felt each one like it was a pipe striking him! The spy knew that if this kid kept going, then he was in deep shit, as he couldn’t block or deflect such powerful strikes indefinitely!

Sargol went for one of his knives, but Willem blocked his attack, then clutched the hand holding the knife, before snapping it at the wrist. The Confed spy howled in pain and lost all sense of the fight. Willem capitalized on this and went straight for Sargol’s face, landing blows that was pulping it!

Sargol tried to defend himself, but couldn’t, as Willem’s onslaught was too much for him to block. The pain of his broken wrist stopped him from putting up a fight. Sargol reasoned that he had no other choice but to run. He tried to turn and do just that, but only found himself staring at other deputies and Sentries with their weapons drawn.

“Willem, stop!” Inari’s voice called out as she arrived on the scene.

“Why?!? The bastard tried to kill me!” Willem shouted back as he continued beating on the spy. His next blow hit Sargol square in the face and his nose exploded in a shower of blood and snot. Some of the deputies and men who were part of Dagan’s crew were inclined to let the boy continue to pound the man into oblivion.

“That’s enough!!” Inari shouted at Willem, as she raced in and held his arm back from hitting the man any further.

“Let me go!!” Willem growled.

“Be mindful of who you’re talking to, boy!! As much as I want to see this piece of rat shit get beaten into a bloody pulp, we need him alive! While I would be all for sitting down with popcorn and a beer and watching you render him into a pile of bloodied meat, he is too valuable to allow you to kill him. Besides, I don’t think he’s up for fighting back in this state,” Inari told him.

Willem then looked over to Sargol and saw that he had indeed beaten the man stupid. Not only was he a ragged and bloody mess, but he literally looked like all the intelligence had been beaten out of him. Willem then backed off, allowing the other deputies to close in and detain the man. Just as they cuffed him, Sargol started laughing at the lot of them, catching everyone’s attention with his laughter.

“It took you dumbshits long enough to figure out what I was! But it’s too late for you! Soon, I’ll be the one in charge here and you are the ones who will be in chains!” the man laughed.

“You fucking asshole! When I get through with you...” Willem threatened.

“You can’t do shit to me anymore, boy! Not anymore! This bitch here just put you in your place! So, be a good little shit and listen to your...” Sargol taunted, before he squealed so loud that he sounded like a stuck pig, as Inari had just given him a brutal cockshot!

The man crumpled like old paper, collapsing to the ground as he clutched his groin in agony. He writhed as the power of the hit was enough to have him nearly black out from the pain. Sargol focused his eyes and when he looked up, it was to see Inari squatting down in front of him, with a smile on her face. The laughter of the deputies and crew members echoed off the walls as she spoke.

“That punch was one of the many that you so rightfully deserve! I’m sure you are aware that I’m not the only one that has an axe to grind with you. I truly look forward to introducing you to the others whose lives you have ruined. They will all wish to see you, one by one, and I will enjoy making the experience a ... memorable one,” Inari said to him, her voice soft, yet full of malice and hatred.

Sargol looked up at the woman and knew that she wasn’t lying about that. He knew she would see him punished in every way possible for all the crimes he had committed. At that point, Sargol truly knew fear as he was unceremoniously dragged to his feet and was led out of the sewer. Willem chuckled continuously as they walked, and Sargol thought to rebuke him, but was shut down with one simple sentence.

“Who’s the snotty little bitch now?”

“It is confirmed?” Daved asked over the comms.

“It is, sir. We got the son of a bitch!!” Denny replied, telling Daved the news.

“Dear ... God...” Daved sighed, scarcely believing it to be true. “How many years ... have we wanted to bring this bastard in?!?”

“At least nine, sir. We have him in handcuffs, and we’re bringing him topside. We also checked him for any odd bits of tech and have found nothing,” Denny told him.

“Good! Keep him contained and give the bastard no quarter! He’s slipped away from us too many times to risk us fucking up!” Daved stated.