Itch: Nine Tales of Fantastic Worlds by Kris Austen Radcliffe Page B
Authors: Kris Austen Radcliffe
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leave, us in tow . They believe their security bots can crack the Frost before they’re out of range of the station .”
Tal could disable their ship in less than two minutes, but the Corp would become aware of her presence. They rode the edges of human existence patrolling for rogue Constructs, an excuse that netted them great profit. That, and stealing from Traders.
Best to end this quickly. Sabastia’s corneal implants blazed on and augmented information overlaid reality. The little room brightened. Every crate, box, and nook glowed in full relief. The ceiling’s surface popped and the floor’s uneven edges danced. Sabastia saw the world in the fullness of its three dimensions.
She knew every handhold, every weakness, every single spot where they’d trip or slip.
“She’s got telemetry!” the augmented one yelled.
The other two dropped to a crouch, hands reaching for concealed weapons.
“ One projectile weapon with smart bullets . Three knives .”
The weapon’s positions highlighted in her vision.
“ Gun disabled .” Tal skated dangerously close to revealing herself.
“My leathers do not concern you.” Sabastia pointed at the fingers constricting her wrist. “Let go. Now.”
His grip tightened. Anger bobbed his swollen nose. “No one’s going to notice if a whelp with a derelict ship disappears. Then we pull as many minutes as we want.”
“The other Traders will not tolerate you stealing the Frost .” But they might not retaliate. Or catch his frigate before it entered the Asteroid Belt. Trader ships didn’t access the positioning data in the StormCloud Net, limiting their navigation capabilities. Only a few of her crazier colleagues were willing to enter the Belt.
Sabastia needed to do this on her own, and now.
Captain Ugly bared his teeth. “We kill your kind every day. Central Earth doesn’t approve of pirates.”
But they did approve of hired killers.
Her free hand swiped for the dagger’s handle. Fast, but slower than her capacity. All four of the scumbags watched her fingers, their systems focused on assessing her threat potential.
Sabastia twisted the wrist grasped by the captain. Momentarily confused, his gaze dropped to her hand. Sabastia thrust her palm into the underside of his jaw.
A gurgle erupted from his throat.
A second dagger whipped toward her head and she pulled right and caught the hilt. Straightening, she flipped the blade in her hand and jammed it into the captain’s retreating wrist. He shrieked like a wounded pig, his porky features blanching. Free of the bastard’s grip, she lunged for the diamond hilt.
A minion slammed shut the case and Sabastia rolled left as his mate pulled the gun. The augmented man grinned as he stepped to the side.
“ Blocking their network .”
All four winced, but the one with the gun fought through it. Sabastia’s display flashed red around his hands—if the gun’s onboard systems compensated for Tal’s signals, pistol-boy would put a hole in her head.
Case-boy twisted across the table, avoiding his injured boss by a hair’s breadth. Sabastia’s feet pushed up as her palms flattened. She flipped into a handstand and lifted the arm directly in his path. He swung the case at her back as he slid across the table, but she dropped hard onto his gut.
All his breath exited in a loud, decay-filled grunt.
“Brush your damned teeth!” Sabastia retched, instinctively covering her face.
Behind her, the gun clicked. Pistol-boy stared at it, swearing in a language Sabastia didn’t understand. He shook his hand and the gun fired a bullet into his foot.
“ He does not carry intelligence augmentations .”
Idiots, the lot of them. One down and—
Case-boy swung. Sabastia caught the container, yanking hard, but the bastard was stronger than he looked. The case bounced off the edge of the table, his arm wrenching. More rotting meat smell blasted into the air as he yelled, and Sabastia punched his nose.
Another dagger flew,
Tal could disable their ship in less than two minutes, but the Corp would become aware of her presence. They rode the edges of human existence patrolling for rogue Constructs, an excuse that netted them great profit. That, and stealing from Traders.
Best to end this quickly. Sabastia’s corneal implants blazed on and augmented information overlaid reality. The little room brightened. Every crate, box, and nook glowed in full relief. The ceiling’s surface popped and the floor’s uneven edges danced. Sabastia saw the world in the fullness of its three dimensions.
She knew every handhold, every weakness, every single spot where they’d trip or slip.
“She’s got telemetry!” the augmented one yelled.
The other two dropped to a crouch, hands reaching for concealed weapons.
“ One projectile weapon with smart bullets . Three knives .”
The weapon’s positions highlighted in her vision.
“ Gun disabled .” Tal skated dangerously close to revealing herself.
“My leathers do not concern you.” Sabastia pointed at the fingers constricting her wrist. “Let go. Now.”
His grip tightened. Anger bobbed his swollen nose. “No one’s going to notice if a whelp with a derelict ship disappears. Then we pull as many minutes as we want.”
“The other Traders will not tolerate you stealing the Frost .” But they might not retaliate. Or catch his frigate before it entered the Asteroid Belt. Trader ships didn’t access the positioning data in the StormCloud Net, limiting their navigation capabilities. Only a few of her crazier colleagues were willing to enter the Belt.
Sabastia needed to do this on her own, and now.
Captain Ugly bared his teeth. “We kill your kind every day. Central Earth doesn’t approve of pirates.”
But they did approve of hired killers.
Her free hand swiped for the dagger’s handle. Fast, but slower than her capacity. All four of the scumbags watched her fingers, their systems focused on assessing her threat potential.
Sabastia twisted the wrist grasped by the captain. Momentarily confused, his gaze dropped to her hand. Sabastia thrust her palm into the underside of his jaw.
A gurgle erupted from his throat.
A second dagger whipped toward her head and she pulled right and caught the hilt. Straightening, she flipped the blade in her hand and jammed it into the captain’s retreating wrist. He shrieked like a wounded pig, his porky features blanching. Free of the bastard’s grip, she lunged for the diamond hilt.
A minion slammed shut the case and Sabastia rolled left as his mate pulled the gun. The augmented man grinned as he stepped to the side.
“ Blocking their network .”
All four winced, but the one with the gun fought through it. Sabastia’s display flashed red around his hands—if the gun’s onboard systems compensated for Tal’s signals, pistol-boy would put a hole in her head.
Case-boy twisted across the table, avoiding his injured boss by a hair’s breadth. Sabastia’s feet pushed up as her palms flattened. She flipped into a handstand and lifted the arm directly in his path. He swung the case at her back as he slid across the table, but she dropped hard onto his gut.
All his breath exited in a loud, decay-filled grunt.
“Brush your damned teeth!” Sabastia retched, instinctively covering her face.
Behind her, the gun clicked. Pistol-boy stared at it, swearing in a language Sabastia didn’t understand. He shook his hand and the gun fired a bullet into his foot.
“ He does not carry intelligence augmentations .”
Idiots, the lot of them. One down and—
Case-boy swung. Sabastia caught the container, yanking hard, but the bastard was stronger than he looked. The case bounced off the edge of the table, his arm wrenching. More rotting meat smell blasted into the air as he yelled, and Sabastia punched his nose.
Another dagger flew,
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