Chapter 3: The Blue Phoenix | page 2

Coldhand shrugged. He was still watching Xia and Duaal, attentive but not at all afraid. They stood to either side of the airlock, hands on or near weapons should the bounty hunter so much as twitch towards his Talon-9.

Tiberius drummed his fingers on the stubby stock of the gun rigged under his arm. It was a heavy, old-fashioned null-inertia gun, operating on much the same principles as ancient gun designs but helped along by an NI field. Decades ago, such guns had been the height of efficiency and modern weaponry. But then producers like Starwind had perfected the laser. The new guns were smaller, lighter, more accurate and could fire hundreds of shots before requiring a recharge. Lasers had turned the NI gun into an antique.

Old and outdated. Just like me, Tiberius thought. He was too old for this rambunctious young crew and their riot of conflicts and problems.

What now? Maeve was supposed to be good at keeping things running smoothly! For two years now, the Arcadian had been his first mate. She had never shown much interest in discussing her own history, but Tiberius managed to pry enough out of her to learn that somewhere in her shadowy life, she had held at least one command position on her homeworld and been passing fair at it. Besides, Maeve knew the alien rim worlds, a boast precious few others could make. Even the most widely traveled coreworlders had not traveled to all three of the rim kingdoms, not that Tiberius knew of. Maeve had. A century of life in the CWA gave her a passable understanding of the inner worlds of the galaxy, as well. She certainly seemed a smart enough choice for first mate.

But Maeve wasn’t the wise second in command that Tiberius had hoped for. From day one, she had brought little good fortune and a lot of trouble. Today was no exception. Not only the bounty hunter that had tracked her like a hunting hawk, but a pregnant girl, as well. So much for a quiet trip and an easy getaway. Tiberius ceased his irritated tapping and pointed at Maeve.

“Whoever this girl is, I’m willing to bet good colour that there’s going to be trouble for having her on board. We’re not waiting around to see,” he snapped. “You brought her, princess, so you get her strapped down. We’re getting this bird in the black and then, when we’re safe, you’re going to tell me what in the worlds you were thinking.”

“No one has followed us. Your beloved ship is safe,” said Maeve, but Tiberius wasn’t listening.

“And you,” he continued, turning to point at Coldhand. “You’re staying with us until I figure out what’s going on. Xia, search him and get him disarmed. Then take him to one of the extra rooms and lock him in. We’re taking off in five minutes.”

“Disarm him?” Xia exclaimed incredulously.

“My Raptor’s…” Coldhand began at the same time. He fell silent, unwilling to reveal anything to his enemies.

Tiberius regarded him without pity. Bloody, shirtless and reeking of drugs. God above, what did the galaxy need with his sort? Bounty hunters were no better than the criminals they hunted. Worse, sometimes. They could all fall dead, for all Tiberius cared.

“Duaal!” he called, turning away.

“Already on it, captain!”