Severed Squadron by PC Nottingham

Author:PC Nottingham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc.
Published: 2023-08-11T16:33:20+00:00

Twenty-Six

(RICK)

Aboard an unmarked civilian cargo ship. Orbit of Palaios planet, Uperaygos System, Collective space

Confirmation came to Rick ahead of schedule. Blekk pirates hid a detachment of raider ships near New Lodestone, ready to flank and pounce on any surprise attacks from the Collective fleet against his base.

If successful, this mission would result in another warhive or two. If it didn’t, he’d need to find another soft target for the Blekk pirates to hit since their patience only extended so far. Rival Blekker factions all liked Rick for eliminating the self-proclaimed “pirate king” during the business with the archaeologist and Ten-trom, but they didn’t yearn for living in a society the way Humans did. Their goals only aligned for the moment.

Getting Makawe rebels’ assistance was another matter entirely. Monsieur Tecton forbade it, of course, but Rick was gaining clout. He had these victories behind him. The only leverage the other commanders had on Rick was higher body counts on missions. Slaughter did not equal success.

Rawltz interrupted Rick’s plotting. “Sir? We only have a few minutes before that patrol will notice us.”

Rick observed his strike crew, polishing their Equalizer guns and fitting their patchwork armor over their chests.

The women from Symphora’s gang arose in his mind. They must’ve been part of whatever double-cross Ten-trom prepared. If the thief knew what was good for him, he would’ve told the women to run back to Symphora and stay the hell out of Rick’s way.

Even if Rick couldn’t snag that flight suit prototype, he knew it worked and what it looked like. That would be enough for some of his more clever engineers, at least as a starting point.

For a brief second, Rick considered inviting Symphora and her gang to join in Rick’s growing coalition. If the legends about her were true, she couldn’t be happy with how the Collective treated its lowest members. He clenched his fist, knowing why she wouldn’t help. Unsubstantiated rumors circulated that some of the other leaders in Earthquake had deals with drug dealers and manufacturers. Tecton denied it, of course, and Rick couldn’t verify without diverting resources from more important projects. But knowing the wild stories of what Symphora did to drug dealers was enough to give him pause.

If he could replace Tecton, that wouldn’t be a concern.

He unclenched and huffed a tight sigh. This wasn’t the time for any ambitious ladder scrambling. Enough eyes were on him now—he couldn’t delay his orders any longer.

“As some of you know, I led a team that hit an archaeological dig site on Palaios in the recent past. Since then, the Collective fleet has kept a small force in orbit, just in case we would try hitting here again.”

A few of the crew peered into the hull’s viewscreen, observing the pink-hued rock below them. Two lone dots hovered above it. Warhives.

“They won’t expect us to attack them without the warhive we captured.”

Rawltz fidgeted.

“Speak,” Rick commanded.

“How do you know?”

“They’re haughty and conceited. They’re telling themselves our success over New Lodestone was an isolated freak stroke of luck.

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