Taking The Hit
2001 short story by Jonathan Hicks Eight years after Episode IV – A New Hope “It’s very simple,” Jan gasped between draws of breath. “We’ve got to stop him before he kills the informant.” “I don’t get it,” Ryath shook his head, feeling a little out of sorts as he was on a mission without any form of protective armour. “Glann told Goah to kill this guy… and now we’ve got to stop him?” “That’s not the only problem,” the tall smuggler added as he stood straight and arched his back, the running having stretched his under-used muscles to aching. “Tarr Ranth has been told to stop Goah, too.” There were a few moments of silence as the two men caught their breaths. They had been running for the past several minutes, traversing the rocky surface of Noscage as they headed to where they thought Goah and the informant to be. They eyed each other with a slight hint of humour. “Who do you put your money on?” Jan asked with forced seriousness. Ryath didn’t share the whole joke but he shook his head. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” With a nod they agreed on who would be the victor and began to run again. The reddening sky grew a darker shade of crimson as they continued the trek. Ryath knew of both Goah and Ranth’s capabilities and did not want to risk approaching the area in a vessel or a speeder in case of detection. Jan, also knowing the risk but also knowing that long exposure to this area of Noscage’s surface, was slightly more worried than his friend but didn’t show it. They crested the top of a small slate hill and looked down at the huge ridged canyon that confronted them. “There’s a small comm building down there,” Ryath said, pulling an orienteering holo-disc from his belt and checking their position. Jan looked at the small projection of the exact area they were in and checked the pulsating red location dots with their actual surroundings. He also noticed that his vision was slightly blurred. “This spice vein under our feet is making my head swim,” Jan said. “I’d be fine usually but this is unrefined…. Ryath, are you listening?” Ryath’s head snapped up with a visage of annoyance but the expression passed quickly. “I’m… just trying to get a fix on the comm building.” Jan nodded and fell silent. The faint traces of unrefined spice that permeated the air were starting to take effect. Disorientation followed by a form of anger, like a man being separated from his vice for too long. He decided to keep quiet and concentrate on his own state of mind, as he didn’t want to provoke Ryath into an argument about nothing. Ryath wiped his eyes hard with this forefinger and thumb and pointed to a narrow track that wound down the side of the canyon. “That way, I think,” he said, “and the comm building should be hidden under a pile of slate. The informant uses it to transmit his information to passing ships and is pretty well protected by the canyon and the spice vein.” The two men looked down the width of the track and Jan whistled through his teeth. “That’s narrow.” “And it’s the only way down,” Ryath said as he put the holo-disc back into his belt pouch. He pulled his blaster and started to prime it. “Is there any need for that?” Jan asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing slightly at the weapon. His voice was deep and tinged with concern, which Ryath heard as reprisal. “This spice dust is making me jumpy. Think what it’s done to Goah and he’s been out here longer. Ranth will be fine, hiding behind his suit and helmet, but I’m damned if I’m going down there unprepared.” “My thoughts exactly,” Jan replied, “but I’m not sure popping our heads up with weapons in hand is going to improve the situation.” With a hiss and a curse, Ryath jammed his weapon into his holster. “Freck it, Jan, let me do this my own way!” “And your way is gonna get us fried!” Jan snapped back, his arms out wide in exaggerated helplessness. “What ideas do you have, hotshot!” came Ryath’s answer, louder than he intended and sharper than he realised. Jan held up his hands. “Enough!” He felt his head becoming lighter with the increased tension and he placed a hand to his temple and pushed hard. Ryath took a step back, sucking in deep breaths through pursed lips and closing his eyes, trying to calm himself down. “It’s not us,” Ryath said quietly, “It’s the spice vein. Let’s just loosen our collars and calm down.” Jan agreed and rubbed the back of his neck. “We’d better get this done before we flip out totally.” “Agreed. Now, give me a situation layout because I’ve dived into this without intelligence.” Jan felt a remark rising in his throat regarding Ryath and intelligence and he had to concentrate hard to stop himself from saying it. “This is the problem. This informant has been sending details of Noscage spice shipments via his comm building to passing freighter captains and pirates so they know what veins to hit or where the transport ships are. This has cut into Glann’s trafficking operation so he says to Goah ‘find him and fry him.’ After Goah is despatched, Glann realises he can make some money out of this guy if he puts him on the books, so he rescinded the hit. By this time Goah has already gone into hunter/killer mode and can’t be contacted. So Glann asks Ranth to get him back.” Ryath cocked his head to one side. “So what the freck are we doing here?” he asked in confusion. Jan shrugged. “Because Ranth hasn’t reported in three days. This was the last place he mentioned in his last report. We’ve got to make sure that nothing untoward happens. Keep an eye out for Ranth.” There was a pause for contemplation until Ryath said, “Do you think Goah would…?” “Oh, yeah, he’d kill Ranth if he got in the way. He hasn’t had any orders otherwise. And if he’s been breathing in this stuff there’s no telling what kind of mood he’s in.” Ryath smiled sardonically and shook his head, although the smile was tinged with suppressed anger. “This is unbelievable. Why the hell does Glann choose us for missions like this?” “Its all part of Glann’s little game, Ryath,” Jan answered with gritted teeth. His own temper was starting to boil again. “Throw us all into the fray and see who comes out smiling. Sometimes I think he does it on purpose.” “Great. So Glann wants to play his game and we’ve had to come out here to stop two children squabbling. This isn’t worth five thousand creds.” “Then get lost, then!” Jan shouted, his thumb jabbing back the way they had come. “What, am I not entitled to an opinion?” Ryath snarled back and then realised they had both started to lose control again. He lowered his head and screwed his eyes shut. Jan spun his back on his friend and took a step away, swallowing hard and breathing through his nose . “We should have bought masks with us.” “Didn’t think to,” Ryath said darkly, his first thought to respond with ‘don’t be so frecking obvious’ but managing to force the words back. He squared his shoulders and started down the narrow path. As Jan began to follow he noticed that Ryath had suddenly stopped and gone into a half-crouch. Jan, usually wary but knowing that the spice dust had addled both his and Ryath’s minds somewhat, even remembering this made him feel angry, stopped also and pressed himself up against the rock face. Below them was a drop of roughly a hundred metres to the jagged slate canyon floor. It would not do to be surprised in such a vulnerable spot. Of course, if the spice wasn’t coursing through their systems and causing them to experience the extreme ends of emotions, then they would not have allowed themselves to get into such a spot in the first place. All they could do was make a decision and then get angry about how bad a decision it had been. Jan stepped forward, his hands hovering over the two blasters at his belt. He was unconscious of the strange angular position he was standing in; he appeared to be bent slightly forward with his hands at his hips. He cocked his ear to listen, and strained his eyes to see what it had been that had caused Ryath to become cautious. After a few moments, Jan decided that Ryath was being too cautious. He straightened his position and stormed forward, leaning over his companion and trying to get an idea on what the problem was. Ryath’s wariness became fact as Jan saw, further down the path in the side of the canyon wall, a figure lying across a widened part of the track. He immediately recognised the figure as Goah Galletti and, as they watched, Goah started to break down a rifle and then he slid the separate components into his long padded coat. “We’re too late,” Ryath hissed and started to run towards the prone figure. Jan followed suit, his long strides taking him past the shorter mercenary. Goah looked up at the approaching footsteps and a scowl crossed his face. He slowly climbed to his feet and was fully erect as the two men came near. “I don’t remember calling for back-up,” Goah snarled, his lips curling back like an animal as he glared at them both. “What are you doing here?” Ryath looked down towards the bottom of the canyon and saw a partially hidden building under an angled roof of slate. Smoke curled from an open window and dissipated in the gentle wind. As he opened his mouth to speak, or shout, as the expression on his face indicated, a fourth figure joined the group. Tar Ranth dropped from an upper ledge, his jet pack whining as the unit slowed his decent. With bended legs he hit the ground hard and dust rose from the pack back-blast and the intensity of his impact. His black armour was filthy from trekking through the Noscage wilderness and as he approached the group he wiped the dust from his visor. “I see I’m not the only one here to stop Galletti,” Ranth said with an almost dismissive air. He stood so that he made the fourth corner to the square the four men made as they regarded each other. Goah glared at Ranth. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “Looking for you,” Ranth replied. The helmet turned to face Jan and Ryath. “What are you both doing here?” “Looking for you,” the two men said in unison. Jan pointed a finger at Ranth. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, running silent for three days? Glann wants reports!” “That’s not how I operate,” Ranth uncharacteristically snapped, a tremor in his voice. Ryath frowned, thinking of the fact that he had a fully sealed suit of armour himself. If the armour he wore protected Ranth then how could the spice dust affect him? Ryath took over the conversation. “Who gives a freck how you operate? If Glann wants reports, Glann gets reports. He’s the employer – that’s how he does things!” “It’s not my fault,” Ranth said with a deep, intimidating voice, “Glann said any means necessary and it was necessary to track him silent. Do you know how difficult it is to find Goah when he’s on a hunt?” “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Goah growled. “If the hit was cancelled then why didn’t you just tell me instead of following me?” “Yeah,” Jan agreed, although he didn’t like to agree with the assassin. “How long have you been watching us?” “I was watching out for Galletti,” Ranth said. “Just one of my usual babysitting jobs.” “I don’t require babysitting,” Goah snarled. His hand flickered towards his blaster. “Don’t threaten me,” Ranth murmured. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.” A wicked, cruel smile flashed across Goah’s lips. “I don’t care.” “Shut it!” Ryath shouted. “We’re here to stop a mistake, let’s not add to it!” “That’s right,” Jan agreed again, wondering why he was suddenly starting to feel a little less angry. Ryath also appeared calmer and more at ease. Had they finally gotten way from the spice vein? A quick look at his feet confirmed it – they were off the vein and onto the slate of the canyon. He sighed, although he still felt a little stressed. Ranth turned to face Goah. “So where’s the informant?” “He’s in the building down there,” Goah said simply. Ranth nodded and turned to walk down the narrow path to the canyon floor. “With a big hole in his face,” Goah added matter-of-factly. Ranth stopped mid-stride and turned to face him. “You didn’t…” “Of course I did. If you’d done your job properly he’d have survived. You had a whole three days to get to me.” Goah shrugged with disinterest. As far as he was concerned he had fulfilled his contract. Ranth clenched a fist and his helmet cocked to one side. “I wasn’t too sure where to find you. I was given little intelligence.” “Who by?” Goah asked with an innocent air. “Glann? Or your parents?” Ranth’s blaster flashed from his holster but Goah had already drawn his own. They had their guns up and ready and although they appeared to draw at the same speed it was difficult to tell who had gotten the upper hand. “Come on!” Goah shouted. His voice then dropped to a snarl. “Take me! Take me!” “You’re not even entitled to be called a human being,” Ranth growled deeply, the anger in his voice evident. “As tactless as a child.” “I’ll show you who’s the frecking child, you freak…” And Goah flicked off his blaster’s safety catch. Jan’s arm flicked out and batted Goah’s blaster away. The shot screamed away into the heavens with a flash, the weapon clattering to the ground. Ryath dived forward, his arms encircling Goah’s waist as he tackled him. Both men, with Jan joining them to keep Goah’s arms pinned as he thrashed violently, bought him down. Ranth stood and watched impassively. “You’ve really got to learn to watch your mouth, Ranth,” Jan said with a shake of his head. He had hold of Goah’s arms and was finding it difficult to keep a grip. “You heard what he said to me,” Ranth answered. “You learn to let remarks like that go where Goah’s concerned,” Ryath added, his voice muffled as he tried to hold Goah back from getting to his feet. After a few moments Goah calmed down. His breaths were deep and regular and he stared wide-eyed at the sky to focus his emotion of the moment. “Let go of me,” he said grimly, “I’m okay now.” Ryath looked at Goah directly and nodded, seeing that the fire in his eyes had diminished. Jan and Ryath exchanged glances, and then sudden realisation crossed Jan’s face. “Oh, no!” The other three men looked at him with confusion. “What?” Goah said with a hint of consternation. He was still waiting to be released by the huge smuggler. After another curse from Jan he finally managed to worm his way free and stand to his full height. “You shouldn’t have killed him,” Jan pointed to Goah. “You should have stopped him,” he then pointed to Ranth. “And we should have stopped both of you,” he pointed to himself and then to Ryath. Still he was watched expectantly. “None of us will get paid!” Jan shouted with frustration. How could they have not realised? “Call for you, Glann. Channel eight.” Melm’s voice sounded tinny from the tabletop speaker in Glann Cipple’s office but the lightness in it was still evident. Glann smiled, knowing full well why his bodyguard’s voice had been tinged with humour, and activated a wall of monitors to his right. “Thank you, Melm.” A face appeared on the monitors. Jomobol Pocock turned as if suddenly realising he was on the comm unit and he smiled at Glann. “Jomobol,” Glann said with a small smile. “You’re looking well.” “I feel well, thank you, Glann. At least, I do now.” Glann nodded and leaned back in his chair. “You have the reports, then?” “Oh, yes. It appears that Goah got to the informant first. I’m surprised you sent Jan and Ryath as well as Ranth. When we agreed three people to go after Goah I didn’t think you’d use them.” “They all know each other,” Glann shrugged. “Keeps the casualties down.” Jomobol nodded on screen. “It was a good game, this time. And as Goah actually killed the target…?” “I know,” Glann said with a deep, exaggerated sigh. “I owe you five thousand.” Taking The Hit
2001 short story by Jonathan Hicks Eight years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – Placed just
prior to the cataclysmic events that surrounded Glann Cipples departure from
Amagad this shows the foursome of Galletti, Centaur, Ranth and
Lomona in action out in the field. By
Jonathan Hicks, this also goes to show the depths to which Cipple would plumb to
get a thrill – betting with Pocock on the games outcome. Cast of Characters Ryath Centaur Jan Lomona Goah Galletti Tarr Ranth Glann Cipple Melm Jomobol Pocock |