ship. He
had gotten used to the augmented limb but sometimes it gnawed at him. The skin
where the flesh and circuitry connected sometimes itched or would swell. For
most purposes it was as good as his previous leg and, for some, it was better.
Still, it served as a reminder of what the mistakes of the last year had cost
him.
The
blue screen flickered for a moment and then Geoff was displayed on it. He was
an older man and had been the only person, aside from Cass, that had helped Burke
after Adam betrayed him. He had spent the year repaying that trust and they had
settled back into a comfortable working friendship. He got most of his private
contracts and equipment through Geoff.
“Jack,
it’s good to see you,” Geoff said. Burke recognized the fake name as an
indicator that he wasn’t alone. He would have to keep it brief.
“Just
calling to say we’ll be back a week earlier than planned. If you’re still
selling what we discussed before, I’ll have the money sooner.”
Geoff’s
eyes narrowed as if he was angry but he also gave the smallest of nods. Burke
knew the rest was an act. Geoff had to keep up the appearance of a mundane bar
owner and not a middle man of the criminal underworld.
“Did
you have to fucking call just for that?” he growled. Burke grinned. “It’s
evening here. We’re busy. These people, man,” he said as the connection was
cut.
The
screen faded back to displaying the outside of the ship. The distant stars
stayed seemingly stationary as the space station, and the planet it was orbiting,
shrunk out of view as the ship left it behind. Burke stayed at the helm until
they reached the edge of the star system and the jump gate that was situated
there.
The
gates connected systems and occupied planets, shortening journeys to three days
that would otherwise take months. Gates were built to link only select systems,
noteworthy enough in population or resources to warrant frequent
transportation. Jumps were done once every twenty hours. Massive carrier ships
allowed smaller ones to either dock inside them, or latch onto the outside of
their hull. The jumps were expensive for most people but bounties paid well
enough to factor in those costs.
The
next jump was scheduled in eight hours. The gate itself was massive, among the
largest structures ever built by man: a blocky mass of components and arrays,
producing whatever energy that it couldn’t absorb from the nearby star. A blue
light constantly emanated from the gate’s center, constantly pulsing as it sent
nonstop information to the network made by the other gates. It was how Burke
had been able to talk to Geoff.
“Get
ready, Cass,” Burke said as they neared the jump ship. There was always one of
the gargantuan ships in a sluggish orbit around the gate, allowing ships easy
access as it lumbered around for another jump. Each time a ship approached it
would be checked for both payment and the identities of the occupants.
Criminals were not permitted to use the gates, even if they were in a jail cell
on a bounty hunter’s ship.
The
ship’s display changed to a warning: a red screen and white letters. They were
all in capitals:
SCANNING.
TWO
HUMANOID LIFEFORMS DETECTED.
CONFIRMING.
“Should
I turn us around?” Burke asked.
“Shush!”
Cass hissed.
The
words flashed on the screen once more before the “TWO” became a scrambled mess
of jumbled letters. The words faded away and then came again, displaying
Burke’s false identity:
SCANNING.
ONE
HUMANOID LIFEFORM DETECTED.
CONFIRMED
AS JACK PORTER.
PAYMENT
WILL BE WITHDRAWN UPON DOCKING.
“Very
good. You’re getting better at that,” Burke said and grinned.
“The
hardware you bought could falsify the report on its own, but I want to learn in
case we lose it. You never know what might happen after, well,” her voice
trailed off.
She
was talking about his old partner turning on him and he knew it. He gave a
short nod and then got to his feet. They had a
had gotten used to the augmented limb but sometimes it gnawed at him. The skin
where the flesh and circuitry connected sometimes itched or would swell. For
most purposes it was as good as his previous leg and, for some, it was better.
Still, it served as a reminder of what the mistakes of the last year had cost
him.
The
blue screen flickered for a moment and then Geoff was displayed on it. He was
an older man and had been the only person, aside from Cass, that had helped Burke
after Adam betrayed him. He had spent the year repaying that trust and they had
settled back into a comfortable working friendship. He got most of his private
contracts and equipment through Geoff.
“Jack,
it’s good to see you,” Geoff said. Burke recognized the fake name as an
indicator that he wasn’t alone. He would have to keep it brief.
“Just
calling to say we’ll be back a week earlier than planned. If you’re still
selling what we discussed before, I’ll have the money sooner.”
Geoff’s
eyes narrowed as if he was angry but he also gave the smallest of nods. Burke
knew the rest was an act. Geoff had to keep up the appearance of a mundane bar
owner and not a middle man of the criminal underworld.
“Did
you have to fucking call just for that?” he growled. Burke grinned. “It’s
evening here. We’re busy. These people, man,” he said as the connection was
cut.
The
screen faded back to displaying the outside of the ship. The distant stars
stayed seemingly stationary as the space station, and the planet it was orbiting,
shrunk out of view as the ship left it behind. Burke stayed at the helm until
they reached the edge of the star system and the jump gate that was situated
there.
The
gates connected systems and occupied planets, shortening journeys to three days
that would otherwise take months. Gates were built to link only select systems,
noteworthy enough in population or resources to warrant frequent
transportation. Jumps were done once every twenty hours. Massive carrier ships
allowed smaller ones to either dock inside them, or latch onto the outside of
their hull. The jumps were expensive for most people but bounties paid well
enough to factor in those costs.
The
next jump was scheduled in eight hours. The gate itself was massive, among the
largest structures ever built by man: a blocky mass of components and arrays,
producing whatever energy that it couldn’t absorb from the nearby star. A blue
light constantly emanated from the gate’s center, constantly pulsing as it sent
nonstop information to the network made by the other gates. It was how Burke
had been able to talk to Geoff.
“Get
ready, Cass,” Burke said as they neared the jump ship. There was always one of
the gargantuan ships in a sluggish orbit around the gate, allowing ships easy
access as it lumbered around for another jump. Each time a ship approached it
would be checked for both payment and the identities of the occupants.
Criminals were not permitted to use the gates, even if they were in a jail cell
on a bounty hunter’s ship.
The
ship’s display changed to a warning: a red screen and white letters. They were
all in capitals:
SCANNING.
TWO
HUMANOID LIFEFORMS DETECTED.
CONFIRMING.
“Should
I turn us around?” Burke asked.
“Shush!”
Cass hissed.
The
words flashed on the screen once more before the “TWO” became a scrambled mess
of jumbled letters. The words faded away and then came again, displaying
Burke’s false identity:
SCANNING.
ONE
HUMANOID LIFEFORM DETECTED.
CONFIRMED
AS JACK PORTER.
PAYMENT
WILL BE WITHDRAWN UPON DOCKING.
“Very
good. You’re getting better at that,” Burke said and grinned.
“The
hardware you bought could falsify the report on its own, but I want to learn in
case we lose it. You never know what might happen after, well,” her voice
trailed off.
She
was talking about his old partner turning on him and he knew it. He gave a
short nod and then got to his feet. They had a
Similar Books
