Bad Cargo (Marathon Book 1) by Daniel Young

Author:Daniel Young [Young, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

15

“Are they gone yet?” Bing asked.

“Yeah. They’re gone.”

“Good. My appetite might have gotten the better of me if they’d stuck around any longer.”

Dallas laughed, and Eckhart launched the ship. “Now we just have to drop off the crystal, pick up our Datrium, and we’re clear.”

“How long do we have to hang around on the bridge?” Dallas asked.

“We’ll keep the façade in place until we offload the crystal—just to be safe.”

Eckhart ignored Bing and Dallas chatting in the background. He kept a sharp eye out for any other ships—gang-related, Regiment, or otherwise.

Plenty of Regiment gunships crossed the Marathon’s path. They came and went in droves from the station, but they paid no attention to the Marathon, now that the ship had gotten clearance.

Even when the tactical web was clear, he didn’t relax.

It wasn’t until they finally set down on Drao outside Helvall’s headquarters that he at last entertained the thought that everything was going to work out.

A bunch of low hovels dotted a village cast in perpetual shadow. Mist and fog hung over the sloping rooves. Every building in the village looked like it was sinking into the bog.

“You can lift the façade,” Eckhart told Rixby. “The Marathon will be more welcome here than a Keisuke.”

“Finally!” Alice gasped.

“Now I can finally get something to eat.” Bing headed for the exit. “Having those two snacks around has made me hungry.”

He and Dallas both laughed, but Dallas didn’t leave when Bing headed for the galley. He and Alice shadowed Eckhart out of the bridge, down the stairs, and to the ramp at the ship’s rear.

Alice selected a heavy-duty plasma rifle from the ship’s weapons vault. “You won’t need that,” Eckhart told her. “We’re passing the crystal to Helvall and walking out with our money. Helvall is harmless. You know that.”

“I’m not worried about Helvall. It’s the rest of the bastards in his establishment who’ll shoot us in the backs as soon as we get paid.”

Dallas slotted his assault guns out of their compartments in his armor, inspecting the weapons with care. “How much Datrium do you have left?” Eckhart asked him.

“About half my fuel complement.” Dallas cocked his head to one side. “Rixby is sending me a message through my helmet. She says she’s requesting Helvall’s quartermaster to resupply the Marathon. The quartermaster is sending out Datrium stocks now.”

“Good. Let’s get this over with.”

Eckhart took a gas mask from a locker by the ramp and pulled it over his face. The dusty smell of compressed gas entered his nostrils as the mask started to function.

Alice’s mask and Dallas’ helmet both filtered the atmosphere for them. They didn’t have to worry about the planet’s toxic environment poisoning them when they stepped outside. A human would last about a minute in this soup before their lungs were damaged beyond repair.

Eckhart popped the ramp and took off running through the murk, with Alice on one side and Dallas on the other. The fog stung Eckhart’s skin, but the next instant, he burst into the nearest hovel and slammed the door behind them.

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