taking Dollier’s deal, at least then you’d have a bit of money.”
“Assuming it is Dollier’s men on that ship, not that I think it likely it is anyone else, you’re right, I would have been better off taking the deal. It’s too late for that now though. And I’m not planning on just letting them take the package.” Jay looked at him questioningly. “Based on these specs I would say there are at most four people on board that ship.
“One of those guys will most likely stay on board in case we do anything unexpected, like try and make a break for it. That leaves no more than three guys coming across to get the package.”
“You’re thinking we can make a fight of it.”
Step gave a smile. “You made the deal to come with me, and you did say you were after some excitement.
“Depending on how good the guy on the stick is over there it will take at least half an hour for them to dock, and I reckon I can make it take a little longer without them getting suspicious. So we’ve got that long to come up with a plan for dealing with the guys that board us, non-fatally preferably.”
“It won’t be enough for us to just deal with the boarding party,” Jay pointed out. “We’ll have to deal with the pilot as well. If we don’t he’ll just cripple us and then put a hole in our hull the moment we separate. At that point he just has to wait for the ship to depressurize, which will take almost no time at all, then he can come over in a suit and do whatever he wants.
“I’m surprised they haven’t done that already actually. It would be a lot simpler for them, and I’m pretty certain they plan on destroying the ship anyway, they won’t want to leave any witnesses.”
“Let’s hope that idea doesn’t occur to them. But since I agree with you that they are likely to kill us whether we co-operate or not, I see no reason for us not to plan a surprise or two for them.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Step used every ounce of his skill as a pilot to delay the docking procedure, while making it seem as if he was complying with his instructions. He couldn’t delay it forever however, and after almost three quarters of an hour the two ships matched velocities and a docking tunnel was extended from the smaller craft.
When the lights across the boards in front of him announced the ships were locked together Step took his hands from the controls. There was no longer any point in him trying to do anything, unless he wanted to risk tearing a hole in his ship. He left the bridge and made his way along to the companionway, descending the stairs when he reached them to wait for the boarding party in front of the access door the docking tunnel had clamped onto.
As he stood there his mind ran over the plan he and Jay had come up with. It wasn’t much of a plan, but given the limited options available to them it was the best they could come up with. All he could do was hope it worked, or at the least didn’t get them too badly injured.
He didn’t have to wait long for the access door to slide open, revealing three men in space suits standing in the docking tunnel, each of them holding a laser pistol. None of the pistols were all that impressive, in respect to size or firepower, but given Step didn’t have one, and as far as he was aware there wasn’t one on board Gambler’s Luck, they were enough.
“Velkin.” Step recognised the thug who had run from the fight with Jay and him earlier that day when he stepped forward into the ship and took off his helmet; his two companions close behind him. “Mr Dollier has sent us to retrieve the package you are carrying. I would recommend you don’t try anything as foolish as this afternoon’s stupidity.”
“I’d hardly call it foolishness, or stupidity, I came out of it almost unscathed, the same can’t be said for your companions of the time,” Step remarked.
“You won’t be so lucky if you try it again. Where’s your friend?” The thug wanted to
“Assuming it is Dollier’s men on that ship, not that I think it likely it is anyone else, you’re right, I would have been better off taking the deal. It’s too late for that now though. And I’m not planning on just letting them take the package.” Jay looked at him questioningly. “Based on these specs I would say there are at most four people on board that ship.
“One of those guys will most likely stay on board in case we do anything unexpected, like try and make a break for it. That leaves no more than three guys coming across to get the package.”
“You’re thinking we can make a fight of it.”
Step gave a smile. “You made the deal to come with me, and you did say you were after some excitement.
“Depending on how good the guy on the stick is over there it will take at least half an hour for them to dock, and I reckon I can make it take a little longer without them getting suspicious. So we’ve got that long to come up with a plan for dealing with the guys that board us, non-fatally preferably.”
“It won’t be enough for us to just deal with the boarding party,” Jay pointed out. “We’ll have to deal with the pilot as well. If we don’t he’ll just cripple us and then put a hole in our hull the moment we separate. At that point he just has to wait for the ship to depressurize, which will take almost no time at all, then he can come over in a suit and do whatever he wants.
“I’m surprised they haven’t done that already actually. It would be a lot simpler for them, and I’m pretty certain they plan on destroying the ship anyway, they won’t want to leave any witnesses.”
“Let’s hope that idea doesn’t occur to them. But since I agree with you that they are likely to kill us whether we co-operate or not, I see no reason for us not to plan a surprise or two for them.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Step used every ounce of his skill as a pilot to delay the docking procedure, while making it seem as if he was complying with his instructions. He couldn’t delay it forever however, and after almost three quarters of an hour the two ships matched velocities and a docking tunnel was extended from the smaller craft.
When the lights across the boards in front of him announced the ships were locked together Step took his hands from the controls. There was no longer any point in him trying to do anything, unless he wanted to risk tearing a hole in his ship. He left the bridge and made his way along to the companionway, descending the stairs when he reached them to wait for the boarding party in front of the access door the docking tunnel had clamped onto.
As he stood there his mind ran over the plan he and Jay had come up with. It wasn’t much of a plan, but given the limited options available to them it was the best they could come up with. All he could do was hope it worked, or at the least didn’t get them too badly injured.
He didn’t have to wait long for the access door to slide open, revealing three men in space suits standing in the docking tunnel, each of them holding a laser pistol. None of the pistols were all that impressive, in respect to size or firepower, but given Step didn’t have one, and as far as he was aware there wasn’t one on board Gambler’s Luck, they were enough.
“Velkin.” Step recognised the thug who had run from the fight with Jay and him earlier that day when he stepped forward into the ship and took off his helmet; his two companions close behind him. “Mr Dollier has sent us to retrieve the package you are carrying. I would recommend you don’t try anything as foolish as this afternoon’s stupidity.”
“I’d hardly call it foolishness, or stupidity, I came out of it almost unscathed, the same can’t be said for your companions of the time,” Step remarked.
“You won’t be so lucky if you try it again. Where’s your friend?” The thug wanted to
Similar Books
