Chapter Four

Sunrise dawned over Chancai, another cycle for the inhabitants of the lush forests that surrounded the trade city.  Inside it was just another hour, another opportunity for commerce and deception.  Little changed on Chancai from hour to hour.  Not even the rising of the sun affected things, and if it ever did then nobody let on.

Down the supply tunnel sunlight was a rare visitor and only squeezed its way this far south when the top hatches were being serviced.  Today wasn’t one of those days and Paige woke to the grey and greasy fog that had hung around her window the night before.  I couldn’t live in a place like this, she thought.  I need sunlight and fresh air, not engine fumes and starship smog.  Terrie was already up and about, which was of no surprise to Paige.  Terrie brought in two plates of Shleven rashers, which were Paige's favourite breakfast food.  She accepted the sizzling rashers eagerly.

   “Thanks.  Sleep well?” 

Paige began to chew on the tough but succulent meat and swigged a mouthful of chav.

   “I slept fine thanks.  How about you?”

Terrie eyed Paige closely. She had worried about her young companion throughout the night.  She wasn’t sure she would have slept so well if she had learned what Paige had about Jan the night previously.  Then again Paige was a survivor, that much was obvious.

   “Fine.  Couple of service swoops woke me up but nothing serious.  What’s the plan for today?” 

Terrie shrugged as she chewed her way through a mouthful of Shleven.

   “I’m not sure.  I do know that we’re going to have to leave this room soon.  Varee Koors might keep a safe house but there are some things even he can’t keep secret.  We’ll finish this off and make a move, head for the docking bays again.  I’ll be very surprised if there are still gunmen hanging around today.  Besides, we don’t know what Jan and Frans have got up to.  They might have sorted this mess out.” 

Paige raised her eyebrows hopefully.

   “Do you think so?  It sounded to me like this was becoming a bigger mess than any of us could handle.”

   “Ahh, so you’re going to help us clear this all up are you?” 

Paige nodded.

   “You bet.  How else am I going to convince Jan that he’s my Father?”

   “It’s an idea I suppose. I’m sure he’s had to think quickly in his time.” 

Paige got up out of her bed and took the plate to the sink.

   “Seems to me that my Dad makes a lot of decisions quickly.” 

Terrie frowned inwardly.  This could become a problem. If Paige made the wrong conclusions about her Father and prejudiced her view of him then the long-term repercussions could be...messy.

   “He’s had to think on his feet.”

   “Well he sure doesn’t think on his back.” 

Uh-oh, time to go thought Terrie.

   “Clear up the plates and start packing.  I’ll pay Koors now and when I get back I expect you to have cleaned up.  Got it?” 

Paige mock saluted.

   “Yes Ma’am.” 

Terrie grabbed her shoulder bag and left the room.  Paige placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the room.  It was tidy already; the bed only needed straightening and the plates washing.  She got to it immediately and two minutes later the task was done.  Satisfied she pulled out a clean T-shirt from her holdall and pulled on her new flight jeans she had acquired on Tantum V.  Checking that the pale blue T-shirt and the royal blue jeans matched sufficiently she began to brush her long hair in the mirror.  As she finished her strokes the door chimed.

   “Forget your key-code Terrie?  That’s not what I’d expect from you.” 

Which was unsurprising, as it wasn’t Terrie at all.  The masked intruder hand-heeled Paige in the centre of the chest, winding her and sending her tumbling back into the room.  Gasping for breath she rolled over the bed towards the window and looked for options.  There were few, the room was sparsely furnished.  Her only option was attack, and even though she was a full head taller than the intruder she was under no illusions about the outcome.

   “Who are you?  What do you want?”  she yelled, hoping to attract attention from outside the door.  But no one was about, and even if they were they were unlikely to assist.  Her foe wordlessly advanced, hands held up in a defensive posture ready for attack.  This was looking to be a hopeless situation but she’d decided to have a go for it.  The intruder warily circled her, and she was beginning to feel quite confident until the attacker pulled out a hypodermic needle.  Having drawn her in so near for close quarters combat it was a simple matter of grabbing her by the right arm and swiftly injecting her in the stomach.  With a yelp of horror she looked down, and the world stopped turning before she’d even begun to fall….

Varee Koors had never looked so surprised as he did when he read the amount of credits Terrie had just deposited into his personal Bank of Zelon account.  In fact, Varee didn’t think there were that many zeros in common usage.  With a short and knowing nod he placed a slimy kiss onto the back of her hand and with a final admiring leer closed the door to his office and pulled out a bottle of something cheap and very alcoholic.  Terrie began her way back to their room.  She’d told Koors in no uncertain terms that if he ever told anyone she had stayed there last night that not only would she extract the greatest of pleasures in forcibly removing all of his required appendages with a force pike, she would also let her employers know where he lived.  Koors didn’t know who her employer currently was but was smart enough to swear his compliance.  It was probably overkill anyway.  He had a spotless reputation for honouring customer’s privacy but you could never be too careful, especially during missions like this.  She had him eating out of her hand but she also had no doubt that he’d like to have her eating out of his, and a few credits thrown onto her expense account would keep matters even. 

Making her way up the staircase to the elevator shaft she noticed how utterly silent it was.  There wasn’t a hint of sound, no echoes or shouts in the distance, no swoop engines buzzing away outside in the shaft.  Nothing.  It was damn irregular and it put her on alert as soon as she stepped into the lift.  Standing in the open doorway she checked left and right, then inside the lift itself before hitting the button for her floor.

As she exited the lift the corridor was the same - silent and empty.  If she didn’t know better she’d think there had been a major evacuation of the hotel.  Easing her blaster from its hip holster she glided smoothly down the corridor to her room.  The door was open, and the smell of engine fumes was apparent.  What could cause that apart from the window being opened?  Feeling fate take a stance against her she reached the doorway and spun into the room…just as the masked intruder was bundling Paige out of the window and preparing to exit the room himself.

   “Hold it creep!  Don’t even breathe!”  she shouted forcefully.  She could make out the unconscious form of Paige vaguely in the bobbing swoop, its pilot trying to hold it steady in the buffeting winds and thermal uplifts the supply tunnel produced.  No swoop should be able to fly this high, she reasoned. Unless the swoops used magnetic attraction from the sheerfaces of the supply shafts to maintain their altitude.  There was no sign of injury on Paige apart from a small smidgen of blood in the centre of her shirt.  The intruder spun as he put his leg onto the window to leave.  Without giving him a chance to prepare himself she sprung over the bed, bringing her legs right around so they kicked the man square in the chest.  The intruder was an expert, that much was apparent.  He blocked the move with a deft twist of his upper body and deflected Terrie onto the bed.  Swiftly she rolled and stood, facing her opponent.  Nodding he beckoned her forward into an attack but she stayed back.  Better for him to make the first move and then gauge his fighting style. It was a basic fighting stance, much less flamboyant than Terries style but no less efficient.  They circled each other, feinting their attacks until Terrie lashed out with a sharp fist, perfectly timed.  It caught him square on the chin and put him onto the floor.  Pressing the advantage she rushed toward him but he was playing possum - the fall was a lure to draw her in closer.  With a flash he pulled out another hypodermic needle and lunged for her leg.  Terrie lifted her leg swiftly and hopped, bringing her full weight down onto the arm.  With a loud snap the arm broke and the man yelped in anguish.  Pushing himself into an upright position against the wall he attempted to make his escape through the window.  No chance thought Terrie, and she launched a flying kick at the man with such sudden force he didn’t even have the time to yell as he was forcibly ejected from the room.  Tumbling wildly he somehow managed to snag hold of the edge of the swoop, tipping it precariously over onto its side and throwing out the pilot with a terrified scream.  Running to the window Terrie looked down at the swoop and the dizzying plummet below it.  The weight of the man was pulling the swoop downwards and causing it tilt over at an even more precarious angle.  There was little chance that a heavy swoop like this would ever roll over completely, but there was the very real chance that Paige could roll out of it.  Shaking her head in disbelief at what she was about to attempt Terrie threw Paige's waiting bag down onto the swoop floor and braced herself on the window frame.  It was now three metres below her and swaying as the masked man tried to gain purchase with his good arm and re-enter it. 

   “Oh stang!!” she cried as she let go and fell the short distance.  Landing roughly she rolled on the floor and rested against Paige who was still out cold. 

   “Paige?  Paige, can you hear me?” 

No reply.  Whatever the man had used to subdue her was effective.  Terrie was so preoccupied with her young companion that she didn’t hear the man clamber back into the swoop, or notice him grab the crow bar that was lying on the deck.  What she did hear was the squeak of his leather outfit as he raised his arm back to strike and it was enough of a give-away for her to turn and lash out a leg from the seated position she was in.  Catching the man on the knee he over balanced and tumbled headfirst out of the vehicle.  Terrie leaned over and watched him recede silently into the distance until he was no more than a tiny dot.  And he would still have well over a kilometre to fall even then.  Nodding in satisfaction she took the controls of the swoop and headed upwards to the docking bays on Level 12 and the Berone Sunrise.

   “Paige, are you still with me back there?” 

She still didn’t answer.  Worried, Terrie glanced over her shoulder to look at Paige who had rolled onto her back and was thankfully breathing steadily, taking her eye off the space in front…

And directly into the path of an oncoming service shuttle.

With a shocked gasp she swung their swoop hard to the left, almost banking it completely over, the windows and shop exits blurring past at impossible speeds.  Just when she thought she had corrected it and yanked them to safety, it all went horribly wrong…

   “Let me get this straight Boba.  Glann put you here to be the liaison for Chancai so when you’re needed you can collect and pass on information.  Am I right?” 

Boba nodded.  Obviously, why else would I be here? 

Lomona continued. 

   “But Grin here has travelled all the way from Amagad to give you the information to give to me?  Except he never gave it to you at all, he gave it to the patrons of the Struggling Lobo Liquor Bar?  And you expect me to be cool with that?”  Jan shook his head in exasperation and sat back in his pilot’s chair. 

Boba frowned and leaned forward.

   “Jan, you’ve got to understand.  There’s a lot more going on here than any of us know about.  Now I know why Glann got Grin to do what he did.”

   “And why’s that then?  Cause more trouble?  As if we don’t have enough?”

   “No, he wants to lure some of these people out into the open.  The more groups’ act on the information, the more leads there are to trace back to the source.  Except I think there are turning out to be too many leads for comfort.” 

Frans agreed.

   “So you disagree with Grabby then?  You think the information was sold on the open market?” 

Boba shrugged.

   “It’s a strong possibility isn’t it?  I mean how else would all these groups know about your whereabouts?” 

   “Hate to say it but it makes sense.” added Jan, scratching his chin. “If someone really has it in for Glann, enough to risk stealing that disk from his Fortress, then there’s no telling what they might do with the information once they have their hands on it.”

   “Don’t forget, the information is decoded.”  Grin spoke up.  He’d been silent on the subject since they’d got back to the Sunrise, and had only spoken to thank Frans for the hot meal and shower.  “If more than one group has the disk it’s possible that one might decode it before another.  And that’s just down to who has the best hackers and slicers.”

   “And who does?  Who hires the best slicers?  Come to think of it, who are the prime suspects? No one I’ve come across has been familiar?”  Jan gulped down the remainder of his Duarga and poured another. 

Boba scratched his chin.

   “Well, there’s the obvious people.  Dressel, Spyte, Wessen, Formoon, Geon Tasar, Predd Jason.”  He paused.  “Jabba, Ploovoo, Jomobol Pocock, could be any one of those. The list is endless, but you know that as well as anybody.” 

Jan nodded in agreement. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to make a play on Glann’s operation, and all of them would love to discredit Cipple in some way.  Perhaps it wasn’t even a smuggler; maybe it was one of Glann’s political opponents. Grand Moff Treece is no fan of Glann’s, or Commander Volonov.  Governor Dlock Quisk Ersk has had a number of high profile run-ins with Cipple in recent times, although Glann somehow pulled through on every occasion.  And Judge Bicerion Larkin has been a constant thorn in Glann’s side for the past twenty years.  But none of them would really need to remove Glann from the field that much.  To Jan’s mind, going to these lengths to try and discredit Cipple seemed pointless.  These men lost nothing through their dealings with Glann, in fact many of them gained immensely.  No, it had to be something personal and Jan would have to figure out who.  And why.  Grin leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

   “Where’s your chaperones?  Glann said you had some women along for a ride.”  Grin couldn’t resist a smile when he noticed the look on Frans’ face at the suggestion of Terrie.  But Jans face was another picture altogether.  He looked concerned and the image wasn’t lost on Frans.  She only hoped the concern was for young Paige and not the beautiful and experienced field agent.

   “We don’t know.  We lost them yesterday and haven’t seen them since.  It was pointless trawling through the streets looking for them so we came back to the ship and took things from here.  I thought about comming them but I didn’t know if our comm numbers were stolen along with the other information.” 

Boba nodded thoughtfully.

   “Good call.  Hadn’t thought of that.   This whole thing has moved so quickly. It’s only been a couple of days since Glann got the message from D’Staan.”  He stood up from the rear chair, tapping Grin on the foot where he sat in the high chair.  “Come on Grin.  We’d better leave these guys to it.”  He turned to Jan.   “You’re due to leave later on this evening for the co-ordinates on this disk.”  He pulled another disk from his pocket and handed it to Jan.  “It contains all the information you’ll need.  Saffra already has this on her master disk but this is your copy of the co-ordinates for the trip to the next stop. I’ve been told to tell you to wait for Saffra as long as you can before leaving.  But Jan,” 

Lomona knotted his eyebrows in interest and Boba led him to the ramp door so they could speak in private. 

Boba whispered. 

   “Look, I know this is harsh given the situation, but if Saffra comes back without the girl then you’re to carry on with the mission.  Regardless of the circumstances.  If that happens I’ll look for her myself but this job has got to be completed.”  Boba Dallagra had known Jan for a long time and knew his moods as well as anyone could.  He read from his face a troubled and worried man whose problems just seemed to magnify a hundred fold.  He smiled resignedly at his friend.

   “I’ll do what needs to be done.  Tell Glann that I’ll be at the next stop on time.   And Boba?” 

Dallagra turned to Jan as the ramp lowered and Grin sidled up beside him. 

   “Thanks for the assist.  I’ll make sure Glann knows you’re doing a good job here.” 

Before Boba could reply the moment was broken by the hurried sound of scurried footsteps, the thudding crunch of metal colliding with metal and the deafening blare of warning klaxons.  Jan, Grin, Boba and Frans all ran down the ramp to find lying about thirty metres away and smouldering dangerously the wreckage of a heavy swoop.  It must have come blasting in at a tremendous rate of knots from one of the lower levels, judging from the dent in the ceiling overhead. From amidst the black smoke, a figure dressed in black carrying a long slim and unconscious body staggered towards them.

   “What the hell happened to you two?” yelled Jan as he sprinted over and took Paige from Terrie, running with her back to the Sunrise.  Terrie almost collapsed from the exertion of their forced landing but Frans swiftly took her arm and helped her back towards the ship. The appreciation on Terrie’s face was apparent.

   “It’s a long story.  Get us the hell out of here and I might just tell you.”

   “Has there been any news on their progress?”  Glann asked with thinly veiled annoyance as Melm entered his office.  His white-haired lieutenant shook his head wordlessly and took station standing next to Glann’s chair, sharing the view of the Amagad sunset.  No ships had left the city for over a day, except for Grins ride, which had surreptitiously slipped out through the mountains and away on a different vector.  Glann had locked his city down good and tight and no one was going to enter or exit without his express permission.  As he desired.  Glancing up he looked at Melm.

   “What are your thoughts on this matter?  I rarely ask your opinion on such matters but I find that a new perspective occasionally helps ones clarity of thought.  Do you believe there is a better way of handling this matter?  Or do you concur with my judgement?” 

Melm’s mouth twitched at the edges.

   “You’ve made your decision.  You’ve made the first move.  Now you must wait and see if anyone acts upon it.” 

Glann almost smiled.  Melm had been a loyal servant for many years and the corps of warriors he had trained were Glann’s fiercest protectors.  They had yet to let him down, and yet in what could be his most precarious hour he had turned to a smuggler, his fiancée, an unfamiliar young woman seen entering the ship before take-off and an almost forgotten field agent.  Here was his most highly trained and trusted soldier with an elite army prepared to do anything at his command….

And he’d sent Jan Lomona.

Could Bella have been right?  Had it been a miscalculation after all?  Surely there would have been some word from Zelon by now, some indication of what was going on?  Could Lomona have really messed up so bad that his spy’s on Chancai had been compromised?  A report was due any time now, a hand written report passed to him through a connection he had on Chancai.  Much to his relief the door knocked and in came his secretary Jezzren with a sealed metal envelope.  Handing it to his boss the small and wiry man exited the room leaving Glann alone with Melm. Cipple opened the seal with palpable haste and slid out the flim within.

   “This is a flim-copy of the original on Zelon.  I had it sent to a neutral location, untraceable to my Fortress and then bought here by courier.  With luck it will be good news.”  Glann read the letter to himself silently, frowning as he did so and then spun his chair to face Melm again, reading from the flim.  “`From Boba Dallagra to Glann Cipple.  Regarding the mission you have asked me to undertake, the pilot arrived here this afternoon with three female companions.  I met them in the usual location,’ The local inn?” 

Melm nodded. 

   “`Where I arranged to meet them at a safer and more convenient location.  There I passed on the relevant information concerning the mission.  Soon after however the youngest member of the party and the experienced female were separated from their group.  Our pilot friend could not locate them before the day’s end.  Next progress report will follow shortly`” Glann shook his head in resigned amazement. He had done it.  Lomona had managed to make things more difficult after all.  And who was this young woman anyway?  Certainly Lomona had a reputation for being one with the ladies, but three?  Had even A-desandians got that kind of stamina? 

He dreaded to think.

   “Melm, I want you to contact all field agents. Tell them to be on the highest alert, to report any unusual sightings to their relevant field commanders and have the information filtered up here to the Fortress.  On hard copies.  I’ve got enough trouble with one spy in the house, I don’t want to tempt fate by delivering vital information into the hands of another.” 

Melm raised his eyebrows at this.

   “You believe there’s another?”  It was a slur on the good reputation of the Shadow Warriors that a disk had ever made it out of the Fortress in the first place.  For Glann to think there might be another spy within the walls…. That was an affront Melm couldn’t, wouldn’t live with. 

Glann however blankly turned back to the view of dusk lying lightly over his city.

   “These days, nothing would surprise me.”

Frans had secured Paige in the med-bay area and left Aurran tending to her wounds.  The young girl had a few bumps and scrapes from their swoop crash but nothing the old droid couldn’t patch up.  Frans was more concerned with the fact that they couldn’t identify the sedative the masked intruder had used to knock the young A-desandian out.  It would either be a short-term sedative or one that required a serum to reverse its effects.  Aurran was a proficient chemist, having mixed up engine formulas for Jan many times over the past nineteen years but he was less than confident about his success with the girl.  Terrie was standing next to the bed that Paige occupied nursing a badly grazed arm and leg.  Her face had a mass of small cuts and bruises and her clothes were in tatters.  She didn’t seem to really notice this, her focus being almost entirely on Paige.  Frans quietly stood behind her.

   “I really think you should sit down for a while, take the weight off your feet.  You’ll be no good to the mission if you have no energy.” 

Terrie smiled weakly.  It was the first time that Frans had acknowledged her presence on the mission.  That statement almost condoned it, and Terrie silently appreciated that.  She took the chair opposite the med-bay and groaned as the painkillers began to wear off. 

Frans stood next to her. 

   “So.  What the hell happened?  You managed to almost kill yourself and an innocent girl in a stolen swoop, alerted the entire city to our presence and could well have blown our cover.  I think you owe us an explanation.” 

You just couldn’t wait to shoot that one out, thought Terrie.  So much for a cessation of hostilities.

   “I owe you nothing lady,” Terrie growled through gritted teeth. “Tell Captain Lomona to fire this ship up and haul us out of here immediately.  We can’t wait much longer, even if Glann doesn’t want us to leave for another five hours.” 

Frans’ back straightened and she began to leave, but just as she did she turned and thrust her face right into Terries.

   “I’ll say this once.  If I find out that Paige is Jans daughter and you’ve hurt her in any way then you’re going to wish you’d never made it out of the wreckage.”

   “Thanks for the warning.”

   “Pleasure.”  Frans steamed off towards the cockpit to find Jan, but instead found him at the top of the extended ramp with Grin and Boba, the three of them talking animatedly with the Portmaster.  The Portmaster who had still been asleep when they re-entered the bay from the Struggling Lobo, and who had still been asleep when the swoop had made its explosive entry.

   “No, absolutely not.  There is no way this ship is leaving this docking bay, not until the authorities have done a full and proper search of the vehicle.” 

Jan thumped his hand angrily against the doorframe.  Why is it that every Portmaster I come across is either an officious, stuffy bureaucrat with delusions of grandeur? Or dead?  I’m pretty sure I prefer the dead ones.  At least they let you leave without having to bribe them.

   “Look pal, we all know you were asleep when it happened - ”

   “ - I certainly was not! - ”

   “ - and I accept that these things happen.  Of course, if you’d been awake this never would have happened because you would obviously have activated the safety systems and the ship would have been brought in for a safe landing.” 

The Portmaster began to alter shades. 

Jan pressed on. 

   “Now, if you were to allow the ship to leave then I would probably decide to not show the nearest Stormtrooper detachment the Holo-snap I took of you in your booth.  Asleep.” 

The Portmasters mouth dropped open an alarming degree and almost swallowed his clipboard.

   “You have a Holo-clip of me?  Asleep?  In my booth?  That’s outrageous! It’s illegal to take images of officials due to the delicate nature of the work they undertake!  Illegal!”

   “Want me to submit the picture as evidence?”  Jan threw the Portmaster his most infuriating smirk, which was backed up ably by Boba, Frans and Grin.  Seeing he had been out-manoeuvred by a smoother operator than himself the official huffed in indignation and spun on his heel to the nearby booth.  Moments later he raised his arm to signify his compliance and disappeared from sight.

   “Okay guys.  Once again it’s time to go.  Be sure to tell our Portmaster friend that the Holo-photo will be kept safe and sound.” 

Jan shook Boba and Grins hands again as they stepped off the ramp of the Sunrise. They stood well away from the freighter, which was rapidly warming its engines up.  Jan gave the thumbs up as the hatch sealed into place and he hurriedly took his place in the cockpit.  Beside him Frans gave him a knowing wink and leaned back in the chair.

   “That played out okay.”

   “I’ve had better trips to Chancai but I can’t complain.  You ready?” 

Frans nodded enthusiastically.

   “As I’ll ever be.” 

Jan focused on the controls to his ship and began the take-off manoeuvres, deftly taking her into the heavy stream of traffic making its way back up the vehicle shaft and out of Chancai's lower levels.  Traffic control gave him no problems as he departed, which was of no surprise.  Thinning winds buffeted the starship as she reached the edges of Zelon's atmosphere and soon she was just another speck of stardust in the velvet-black night.