Colt tapped the intercom. “Security, this is Colt, the captain. To the bridge at once.” He made sure to keep the com on.
The words were like climax. A quick tumble and then the finale. At this point, watching the Cap take the long walk would be anticlimactic.
Course, he couldn’t help but rub it in. He had the right. Right? Colt used both hands to press himself into the seat, wiggled his back to readjust the dimples and folds to his own body, stretched like a cat settling in for the long haul.
“You see fat-man, you got to see other possibilities. Treasure hunting comes in many forms and you don’t always need to rape something to make money off it.” Those beady eyes stared back at him (they’d lost their power now!), but the man had enough guts to not say a thing. Not to babble. He’d sent enough of us on the walk, he better not show any wobbling knees or red eyes now.
Colt gave him a single nod for that—least he could do. Stretched his neck, continued.
“You see, we actually get to obey the law and make more money than we’ve taken in the last three years. See, what we got here is an archeological find. Yeah, say it with me, cause I’m sure you can’t: archeological. That ship you heard rumors about. That ship no one seemed to be able to find? Well, it’s not just an old JumpShip. It’s ancient. One of the first. You probably never opened a damn history book, but I have. You see, according to the captain’s log, that ship out there,” he paused for dramatic effect. “That ship is the Liberator, lost for almost a thousand years. Can’t remember the date off the top of my head, but some time in the twenty-second century went missing. Twenty-second century!”
He looked around at the rest of the crew and saw some understanding. Many blank faces. Didn’t matter. They’d all know soon enough. And he’d walk away with the ship, stronger loyalty from the crew than Cap could ever dream of, and the biggest haul they’d likely ever get.
He glanced back at the Cap, but couldn’t tell whether he understood or not. Still that wall of flesh. No problem. He’d hammer it in.
“Fat-man, we put that ship up to auction and every House in the Inner Sphere will be frothing at the mouth to buy it. Heck, even rich nobles and mega-biz will get in on the action.” He barked a laugh. “Hey, might even get to meet ol’ Rhonda Snord, cause you know how hot-to-trot the Irregulars are about shit like this. Hear she hot too, even if she’s over the hill.” Several chuckles rumbled and he knew the job was done. Just then, security moved onto the bridge.
With a gesture he’d practiced in his dreams for too long, he waved towards the fat man. “Take him.”
There were no brigs on this ship.
Before the man had even been taken off the bridge, Colt forgot him. Turned his attention towards the task of organizing his crew. Got to maximum the information taken from the Liberator without bothering it; too much contact would drop the premium price.
For a moment, he cocked his head, as though listening for laughter in the void. A pirate actually doing legitimate work? Could those mummies have a clue what would become of them? Did they know after a thousand years since their death in the black cold, he’d make a pile of cash so rich bastards could snap holophotos of their sandpaper faces?
He shook his head and laughed at his own thoughts. Philosophy from him?
Why not? He was now the Cap, after all.
THE LONGEST ROAD
The Untold Story of Archer Christifori and Archer’s Avengers
by Blaine Lee Pardoe
Prologue
DropShip Colonel Crockett, Landing Approach
New Avalon, Crucis March
Federated Suns
29 December 3066
The Crockett quaked slightly as it punched through a pocket of clear air turbulence. For a moment, everyone’s heart skipped a beat. If it wasn’t turbulence, it could be an attack. Captain Fuller, an old friend from years past, cast General Archer Christifori an unshaken nod. Archer remembered when Fuller used to react to every bump that the ship took. That was before the war, before he became a seasoned veteran.
The heavy almost sweaty air seemed to get more stagnant as everyone else wondered if they had been fired upon. Archer didn’t worry. If Fuller wasn’t worried, then he wasn’t. This was not normal landing. This was the big one, the big show, the one that they had all been waiting for. This was New Avalon. This was the end of a tyrant.
We aren’t going to be shot down, not after all we’ve been through. God wouldn’t let that happen. That’s why we’re here, now… for the end.
“We’ve got final clearance,” came the voice of the comm officer.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Colonel Chaffee asked from his side. Archer turned to her quickly, absent-mindedly. He had forgotten that she was there. He had been so focused on their approach, he had not paid much attention to his surroundings. When he saw her face he wanted to kick himself. Only an idiot would forget someone like her.
“Me?” he replied coyly. “Just about a hundred or so thoughts. How secure is the LZ? What about our decoy force on Graceland—how are they doing? What is the current status of operations on New Avalon? Are we too late, if so, is that bad? What if her side has the upper hand? How’s that for starters?”
“I guess shouldn’t be surprised that you had a few things on your mind,” she said giving him a smile in rebuttal. “Par for the course.”
He wanted to
