Espero by S. H. Jucha

Author:S. H. Jucha
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: S. H. Jucha
Published: 2016-10-01T18:30:00+00:00

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After receiving Lisa Sparing’s warning of his impending betrayal, Toyo was torn between loading every shuttle he possessed to go after Kadmir and remaining in place, wondering what his adversaries intended as their true end game. He envisioned landing at Kadmir’s domes, while O’Brien’s men took over his establishment, leaving him stuck aboard shuttles and isolated to a pair of freighters.

In the end, and despite not knowing how the forces were arrayed against him, it was Toyo’s decision to attack Kadmir with a single shuttle. The strategy left his domes defended, and while accompanied by the experienced veterans, it gave him the best chance of taking on Kadmir’s security forces. Armed with the new stunners, his people would be a difficult force to repel.

Toyo’s young pilot, with his enthusiastic mannerisms, was a charmer and had the reservationist and the bay landing controller eating out of his hands. It cleared the biggest hurdle, gaining entrance to Kadmir’s landing bay.

Toyo saw three possible outcomes to his chosen course of action. He could kill Kadmir and claim he was rescuing the girls or, just as easy, if he located the girls first, he could take them, clear out, and claim the same thing. The last possibility was that he would be killed, in which case, his troubles would be over.

The shuttle eased into the bay, and lights on the deck guided the ship to its assigned position. The pilot glanced at Toyo for instructions.

“Land where you’re directed, pilot. It’s not a bad place, and no need to show our hand yet,” Toyo said.

After the shuttle touched down, Toyo ordered his people to line up at the hatch with weapons drawn. Then he ordered the pilot to comm bay control that the shuttle’s ramp extenders weren’t responding. It was a common problem with older shuttles, maintenance not being a priority for most moon-based shuttles.

The bay controller sent a tech party of five over with a small repair vehicle. They hooked a chain from the vehicle to the tongue of the ramp to pull it from under the shuttle’s belly.

The moment the pilot reported the ramp fully extended, Toyo yelled, “Now.” The hatch slid open, and the first of Toyo’s people out on the ramp promptly shot the five crew. Flooding out of the shuttle, Toyo’s red-uniformed, security personnel cut a swath through the bay.

Kadmir’s brown-and-gold uniformed, security personnel fought back, but they were quickly overwhelmed. For every one of Toyo’s people they stunned, three of their number went down. The landing bay controller managed to sound the alarm that a shuttle full of intruders had landed in the bay before three of Toyo’s people crashed through his door. He stunned a single, red uniform before the invaders killed him.

Toyo was soon at the forefront of his people’s charge across the bay. He lived for moments like this — the rush of open warfare. It was how his reputation was made. Toyo was despised even as a teenager for his refusal to deal, to compromise. He made one offer to his enemies and only one offer.

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