CHAPTER SIX: DESCENT (4/5)

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Kas set the Calista down in a remote and featureless patch of ocean, thousands of miles from the nearest landmass. Thanks to Hik, the hijacked cap cruiser had also landed peacefully on the water and was now taking a well-deserved rest from its short but traumatic journey.

Kas, Worm and Hik had assembled in the cargo hold, the former two gleaming with sweat, though the size of Worm's grin suggested she was having a ball.

'Good work everyone,' Kas said, not sure why she was including Hik in the congratulations. 'We're on Lysan but we're not out of trouble yet. We don't know for sure if anyone else saw us come down, but we're going to operate as if they did. That means we're going to work fast. I'm giving us five minutes, then we're outta here, understand?'

Worm nodded while Hik gave a strange little bow.

Where does he pick this stuff up...?

Kas led the way to the rear doors and pulled down on the big red lever that opened them. As the ship's tail split open, the overpowering smell of the sea hit Kas like a wet slap; she'd been locked inside the Calista for two weeks and the sensory neurons in her nose were responding like a person dying of thirst, lapping up the bitter ocean scent like it was sweet mountain water. The loading ramp extended down into the water and stopped. Kas stepped onto it and saw the cap cruiser floating idly in the waters some fifty feet away.

'Bring her in,' Kas said, and with barely a delay, the harpoon cable connecting the two crafts began to shorten. Hik watched the scene over Kas's shoulder, his visor awash with green symbols while Worm sat her little frame down on the ramp and wrapped her arms around herself. The cable clunked to a halt, leaving the ships only a few feet apart.

'Knock knock,' Kas whispered, and the rear door of the cruiser yawned open, releasing a warm glow of light from within. When its ramp was all the way down and the two platforms were touching, Kas raised her chin and projected her voice across the short expanse of water to the cruiser's hollow belly.

'Flight lieutenant Ryers. You can come on out. We're not going to hurt you.'

Silence. She was about to try again when Ryers spoke back from the ship's hidden heart.

'How did you take control of my ship?'

'I'm travelling with an X1. He's the one who commandeered your ship.'

A long silence followed, too long for Kas who decided to shorten it.

'Listen, flight lieutenant, I'm gonna need you to come out now otherwise I'm going to have to send my big metal friend in there to pull you out.'

A gust of wind carried across the ramp and ruffled Kas's hair. She stared long and hard into the warm amber light of the cruiser, willing Ryers to appear.

Don't make me wait, lady...

The wind slowed to a breath and sighed. Kas was about to give Hik the nod when a dark shape emerged from the ship's guts and stepped onto the opposing ramp.

Flight lieutenant Ryers was only a young woman, perhaps even younger than Kas. She cut a slender figure in her silver and black cap uniform, a custom moulded artifibre skin-suit with carbachrome plating on the joints and a vest to match. The circle emblazoned on her left sleeve with three lines through it confirmed her rank as flight lieutenant. But these were the last things Kas noticed - the first was the gun held high in Ryers hands.

Moxi pistol...

Moxi pistols were only meant to pacify, though at this range, Kas suspected it would still hurt like hell.

'Put that down, Ryers.'

'You just committed a major crime, bounty hunter.'

'I'm just trying to get information to the Federation. If you want to explain to them that you tried to prevent me, you'll get your chance soon enough. For now, though, I'm gonna need you to step off your ship.'

'I'm not going anywhere.'

Kas sighed. 'Hik. Show the flight lieutenant your particle shredder.'

Hik raised his right arm and the underside split open, revealing a wide, slim muzzle that jutted out underneath. Ryers tightened her grip on the pistol.

'You wouldn't dare,' she said, her voice tainted with nerves. 'I'm a federal officer. They'd kill you if you so much as scratched me.'

'Put your weapon down, Ryers... this is your last chance.'

But Ryers kept it high.

Kas shouted her next command. 'Hik, if flight lieutenant Ryers doesn't lower her weapon in five seconds, I command you to turn her into confetti.'

Ryers swayed on the spot. She tried to mutter something, but the words came out as a string of vowels.

'Five,' Kas started. 'Four... three... two...'

Ryers didn't just lower her weapon, she dropped it on the ramp and let it tumble into the sea.

'Good girl,' Kas said. 'Now please step aboard my ship. I'm afraid you'll have to get your feet wet.'

By the time Ryers was on board and Kas was convinced she was no longer a threat, Kas sat her down in the cargo hold and laid down the house rules.

'You've got plenty of food and water, and you have full access to the entertainment module. The cockpit and engine room, however, are locked down. Do not try to access them. If you so much as flush the toilet a suspicious number of times, I swear, this ship will begin self-destruct procedure.'

'You need to let me go,' Ryers said.

'Can't do that, Ryers. I tried asking for your help. This is the way things will have to be.'

'You know they'll find you once all this is over. You won't be able to run from this.'

Kas smiled. 'I don't run from anything.' With that, Kas turned and walked back towards the rear doors where Worm and Hik were waiting. 'Let's go.'

The last thing Ryers saw before being left alone on a locked ship was her trio of kidnappers walking onto her federally assigned cruiser.

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