CHAPTER SIX: DESCENT (2/5)

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Lysan was the smallest and oldest of the inhabited planets in the Primi system at nearly two thirds the size of Holgar. Still, it was twice the size of Chantos. Lysan's only moon, Polo, had been terraformed decades before, though due to its low gravity and lack of valuable resources, it was kept mainly as a service station for travellers. Its mother planet, however, was teeming with life and was a great deal more interesting than Kas's humble mining home.

Despite its size, Lysan was the most populated world in the solar system, due mainly to the fact that it was the origin of intelligent life in Primi. The vast majority of Primian residents could trace their lineage back to Lysan within a handful of generations, while a tiny minority were beings like Jedd - immigrants from other solar systems.

Lysan had been Kas's first stop when she joined the ICE program, and so she'd always cast it in a slightly brighter light than it deserved for it was also littered with the bodies of organised crime. Because of this, the C.A.P. headquarters for Primi were established on Lysan in the hope that doing so might clean it up, but the roots of corruption were planted too deep and the two sides were locked in a perpetual grapple for domination over many of its cities. Still, without Lysan, the solar system would be an awful lot less violent and Kas wouldn't have so much work to do. Swings and roundabouts, she supposed.

As the Calista decelerated towards Lysan's atmosphere, the glittering black curtain of space pulled back to reveal a similar scene to that which had greeted Kas on Chantos. Thousands of ships had swarmed around the planet as if getting ready to attack, many more than on Chantos, though due to Lysan's larger atmosphere there was actually more room. As with Chantos, many of the ships had formed dock-chains, giving the strange appearance of an arthropod assault.

Attack of the Centipedes from Outer Space, Kas thought with a smile.

But the smile wouldn't last long. It was nearly action hour.

The Calista cruised silently into the crowded orbit of ships and merged amongst them. The sun was on the other side of the planet, just as Kas had planned, giving her plenty of shade with which to glide by, largely unnoticed. She figured her plan would go much more smoothly under cover of darkness.

As she crept towards the planet's atmosphere, it occurred to Kas, not for the first time, just how silly it was that Chantos, a moon barely half the size of this planet, should have a bigger and more advanced port. But that seemed to be the way with terraformed worlds. Everything was brand new and purpose built - not like pre-existing worlds like Lysan which had been inhabited long before the Federation had discovered Primi. Building an underground port would have been devastating to the world's infrastructure, so instead, it had opted for a seaport - a massive artificial island deep in the heart of the Messanic ocean. The port's surface was huge enough - as it had to be in order to receive giant spacecraft like industrial transporters - but below the water, it was truly gargantuan. Locals had dubbed it 'The Berg' since it was the mother of all icebergs. Someone had even worked out that if the entire population of Lysan, that's just over nine billion, stood shoulder to shoulder, they would fit snugly inside its base. Whether it would float or not was still up for debate, but they would fit.

Anyway, it was down there that all these thousands of ships were waiting to dock.

But not the Calista.

Kas scanned the horizon as she went but couldn't find what she was looking for. Before long, the Calista had navigated to the innermost layer of ships and was skimming the atmosphere's limit. If she went much further, she'd feel the tug of gravity pull her in and be in serious violation of planetary law. They scrolled the limits of Lysan's atmosphere for many minutes before finding what Kas wanted.

'There,' she said at last. She was looking at the blinking light of a ship twenty-miles away.

A cap cruiser.

Her comms-relay display showed over three thousand of the federal crafts in orbit, but spread that number out over an atmosphere twenty-thousand miles in circumference and suddenly the distance between them becomes quite large.

Kas teased the Calista towards the cruiser slowly until they were within five miles of it.

'C.A.P. cruiser is within range,' Hik said. Kas pressed forwards on the throttle until they were soaring towards the cruiser like a guided missile.

'Have you disabled their comms?'

'Comms are disabled.'

When they were within half-a-mile of it, Kas eased off the throttle and turned to the comms-relay. The cap cruiser was already at the top of the list, so she selected it and cleared her throat. She only had to wait a few seconds before a woman answered.

'This is flight lieutenant Ryers, what's your emergency?'

'Flight lieutenant Ryers,' Kas replied. 'I'm contacting you because I have information pertaining to the attack on Selva and I need to get it to a Federal representative immediately.'

There was a short pause before Ryers responded. 'Please state your name and profession.'

'Kas Balera. Bounty hunter.'

'You say you've got information to do with Selva?'

'That's right.'

'What kind of information?'

'A recording. I arrived at Selva shortly after it was destroyed and I believe I captured something on my C-Ram which may provide some answers.'

'I see. And what's on this recording, exactly?'

Kas gritted her teeth. She could already tell that Ryers didn't believe her. 'A noise. Some kind of signal, maybe. That's why I need to get to surface, so I can have it analysed.'

'Ah, there it is. You need to get to surface, huh?'

'I'll play it for you if you don't believe me.'

'You can play anything you want, but you're not the first person to try and come up with an excuse to jump the queue.'

'I'm not trying to jump any queue, I'm trying to--'

'Give it up, bounty hunter. You get top marks for effort, but you're just going to have to wait in line like everyone else.'

Kas ran her fingers through her mohawk. 'Flight lieutenant Ryers, I am a Federally licensed bounty hunter who has information concerning the destruction of a Federal space station. I am trying to get this information to representatives on Lysan, and I am asking for your help. Are you seriously telling me you are refusing?'

'What I'm telling you is to get back in line and wait your turn. But if you prefer, I don't mind taking your details and flagging you for obstruction of duty.'

'Obstruction of duty? What the hell are you talking about?'

'For wasting an officer's time.'

Kas clenched her fists. She'd been expecting some resistance but not the kind Ryers was giving her.

'Thanks for your help, flight lieutenant, you're a real hero.'

'Anytime, bounty hunter.'

Kas disabled the comms and turned to Hik and Worm.

'Looks like it's plan B.'

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