HAWK

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: NEST (2/7)

The man had once been handsome, though time had long since had its way with him and spat him back out. Kas guessed he was in his late fifties, though she was accounting for the age acceleration that always seemed to befall those in the military because he looked ten years older. His grey hair was cropped close to his scalp and extended down into a full but well-trimmed beard. The beard was mostly charcoal grey, though the area covering his chin was as white as snow. Kas looked into his eyes and thought he was about as easy to read as Hik. She wondered if this was the face she could put to the voice back on the landing pad.

'I can see you're itching to talk,' he said, 'but this will go a lot quicker for both of us if you simply answer the questions I ask of you. Do you understand?'

'Yes,' she said, confident now that it was indeed the same man.

'Please state your name.'

'Kas Balera.'

'Why are you here?'

'You brought me here.'

The man didn't smile. 'Please don't make me ask twice.'

Kas shrugged. 'I told you. I was attacked in transit by a group of booters. I put up a fight and they hit me with some kind of plasma missile. Sent me into a spin and took out most of my ship's stabilisers. I was--'

'Stop lying.'

Kas met the man's eyes and knew he wasn't guessing. 'What makes you say that?'

'You're being monitored by biometric scanners.'

Kas dropped her act. Biometric scanners - often referred to as BS detectors - would know straight away if she was lying. The grey-haired man was probably wearing an earpiece that would inform him when she did.

'So,' he continued. 'Would you care to revise your statement?'

'Not really.'

'Refusing to talk doesn't go down too well here.'

'And where is 'here', exactly?'

'How did you come to be in possession of a melted X1?'

'I might be a little more open with you if you could at least tell me who it is I'm speaking with.'

The man sighed. 'My name is Captain Mack. That is all I am prepared to tell you at this time. Who are you, Kas Balera?'

Kas returned a half smile. 'I'm a bounty hunter.'

Captain Mack paused, perhaps waiting for the voice in his ear to tell him she was lying. When they didn't, he continued.

'Alright, bounty hunter. Tell me about the X1. Where did you get it?'

'I took it from a group of criminals known as the Black Chains. It was already rogue, so I hacked it and used it to capture them.'

The captain angled his head to one side like a curious bird of prey. 'You captured the Black Chains?'

Kas nodded.

'Please answer out loud,' he said.

'Yes. I captured the Black Chains.'

The captain couldn't help but show a look of respect. 'Well good for you. Good for you. How long ago was this?'

'A few weeks.'

'So before Selva?'

'That's right. I was on my way there to return the X1 and claim my reward when Selva was destroyed. Been stuck with it ever since.'

'It's in quite the state. It looks like it's taken a meteor shower. What happened?'

'It started a fight with another X1.'

'And?'

'It lost.'

'Must've been quite the battle.'

'Deadly.' Kas was doing her best not to lie, but she wanted to get off the topic of Hik sooner rather than later. If they discovered his true origin, that would only prompt further questioning, and the last thing Kas needed next was to become implicated in Sae-quin Lor's death. She needed to bump the captain off course. 'So what is this place? You're kinda keeping me in the dark here.'

'I'm asking the questions if you don't mind.'

'Sure.'

'Your ship is very badly damaged. Our chief engineer seems to think you've come under fire from federal weaponry - maybe even X1's. I told him, if that were true, you'd be dead. So what happened?'

Kas kept her mouth shut this time.

'You not talking now?'

'Might be a good idea until I know what's going on here.'

The captain shrugged. 'You know, all we have to do is access your ship's C-Ram and we can find out what happened for ourselves.'

'Now who's lying, Captain? You can't access my C-Ram unless I either give you my access codes or you get federal clearance, and the Federation's kinda busy at the moment, aren't they?'

The captain hid a smile. 'You're a long way from home, Balera. A long way. No-one travels this far without a real good reason, so what's yours?'

'Sorry, Captain, but I'm not saying another word without legal representation.' She fixed the captain with a hard stare that told him she wouldn't back down, and she didn't intend to. If these guys really were feds, they were obliged to follow the law and offer her counsel.

Captain Mack opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it. He looked up and to the side and Kas guessed he was receiving instructions through his earpiece. He suddenly stood from his chair and began pacing around the room. Kas heard him talking in a low voice but couldn't make out what he was saying. The only word she heard was, 'OK,' before he turned back to her.

'Get up,' he said.

'Why?' Kas asked, surprised the interrogation was over so quickly. The captain walked towards her and offered his hand. Kas hesitated but took it and let him pull her to her feet. She looked into his eyes, and something in them suddenly worried her. 'Where are we going?'

'The governor wants to meet you.'