“Jolo Vargas, the synth, has come home at last,” the BG yelled into the comm. He was laughing, garbled electric wails, between words. “I have what you desire most of all,” the worm screamed.
“You have nothing I want,” said Jolo. Where is Katy?
Jolo looked over at Koba. He spun his finger around in the air. Bring out the guns.
“Oh, I think I do,” his voice now calm, his victory at hand. “I have this little thing.” And he held up Katy. He had her between his big alacyte fingers, her head tilted down. Jolo’s heart jumped and he didn’t know if he could speak. His whole body was in pain. But he couldn’t take his eyes off Katy. Her hair was down over her face and she was like a rag doll, limp and unmoving.
“I’m a synth. I don’t care about humans.” I love Katy.
“How about the little humans at the hovel 32 km west?”
“Bastard’s talkin’ about Bertha’s place,” yelled Greeley.
“Here’s your choice, Captain Vargas, come down and face me and save the girl, or go and save the little roaches. But you can’t have both. You decide. If you go there I’ll kill everyone here. If you come here that wooden cage full of mice will burn to the ground.”
It’s not enough to kill us, Jolo thought. He wants to make a game of it. I want Katy.
“Hurry now, Captain. This ugly rock will be dust soon. Come fight for the girl or save the little humans.” The big mech disappeared for a moment offscreen and then Koba changed the view to the upper deck. The warrior appeared a few minutes later on the surface up top near the dead boy. He held Katy in his metal arms. The Argossy got close enough to kick up some dust, the fire atop the black transport angling away from the thruster blast, Katy’s hair whipping around.
“Koba, can you take out the mech clean?” said Jolo.
“Not without killing Katy, too,” he said.
Jolo couldn’t take his eyes off Katy. Just then she moved her head a little, and looked up. There was a cut over her forehead and little lines of dried blood running down her face. But she looked up, right at the Argossy and shook her head ever so slightly side to side. No.
“Koba, ease us up,” said Jolo off comm. Then to the warrior. “The humans are worthless to me.” I love Katy. And then he cut the comm.
“Koba, take us out,” said Jolo.
Koba didn’t move.
He looked at the skinny-armed man. “Please, Koba,” he said. “Trust me.”
“We gotta go to Jaxxon,” said Koba.
“We’re gonna save Bertha and the kids,” said Jolo. “But we’re gonna save Katy, too.”
Koba engaged the engines and took them up. Before the video cut off the BG warrior was waving, a black, metal, three-fingered goodbye. The audio dropped off to the sound of wheezing, digital laughter, the screen flashing white and orange as the Argossy burned straight up into the clouds.
Love Tap
Astid > Callen
1 day left
“Uh, Boss,” said Greeley. “I ain’t one to second guess your captainly wisdom and all but seeing how we are headed off-planet I cain’t quite figure out—.”
But Jolo cut him off. “Go gear up. Heavy armor. Make sure the suit is charged and ready.”
Greeley paused, a question forming in his head, but then Jolo grabbed him by the arm and looked him in the eye. “You know I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us. You’re a good man.” Jolo patted him on the shoulder. If this was it, Jolo was glad to have Greeley and the rest of the crew there to stand with him.
That caught the big marine off guard. “Are we gonna have to hug it out, Cap’n?” Greely gave Jolo a bear hug and Jolo stood there like a tree. The two men separated, but Greeley was still holding onto Jolo’s arms.
“You know we’re all probably gonna die today?” said Jolo.
“Kinda killin’ our happy little moment here, Captain.” He paused. “Do I get to take out some worms in the process?”
“Go suit up.”
Greeley ran off and Jolo put his hand on Koba’s shoulder. “I appreciate all you’ve done, too, Koba. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye but—”
“Captain, you’re kinda freakin’ me out.”
Jolo smiled. “Plot a course straight to Callen, and I want us to pop up right inside the fleet.”
“That’s suicide, not to mention breaks every Federation law on record. What if… what if there’s a, you know, an intersection?”
The first recorded intersection happened when jump technology was in its infancy. An old Earth boat with a crew of eight accidentally jumped into a space station in orbit over Mars. The ship merged with the station on one of the upper levels crowded with civilians. 143 people died, hundreds were injured or maimed. Some died instantly when suddenly a chunk of space ship reanimated inside their bodies. The lucky ones only lost a
