Trade

DATE: Year 308-B, Sol 525

LOCATION: Quarantine Strut 4 (Sagan City 1 - External)

Phoenix stood on the metal grating of the Quarantine Strut, magnetized boots locked to the deck. The wind rattled the shielding.

He checked his oxygen gauge. Two hours left.

Above him, the Mighty Sparrow groaned.

The airlock of the main City cycled open.

Victoria and Poteau stepped out. Poteau carried the lead-lined case containing the Black Box.

His Black Box. He’d picked it up, all the way back in the Halo, and it had led him to all the trouble that led to this. His first trip to Jupiter. But they’d just taken the device, as if that were the payment.

The Markets looked up.

The clouds above them parted.

A ship descended, displacing the air.

A HAK Courier.

It hovered over the strut, defying the hurricane-force winds. A ramp lowered.

A figure walked down. It was tall, humanoid, and made of the same silver material as the ship. It had a smooth surface for the face that reflected Victoria’s mask.

A HAK Android.

Phoenix instinctively put a hand on his holster.

Victoria stepped forward. She motioned for Poteau to present the case.

The android took the case.

-TRANSACTION ACCEPTED, the android said mechanically. FUEL TRANSFER COMPLETE.

The android turned back to the ramp.

-UNIT 77-B DISENGAGED, the Android stated. TRANSFERRING CONTROL CODES.

A second, larger HAK vessel descended silently from the cloud layer above, swallowed the Android in a beam of light, and vanished back into the storm.

The silver needle ship, the Stardust, as it were, remained on the pad.

-That’s it? Phoenix shouted. A used HAK ship? It wasn’t even yours to trade. That ship’s mine.

Victoria turned to him.

-You’ve got the Sparrow, she said. Should we initiate clamp release protocols?

Phoenix stiffened. He needed to get inside, fire the main reactor, and break orbit before they cut him loose.

Then a beeping sound throughout the strut.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A proximity alarm.

They all stopped. They looked out at the storm.

A shadow tore through the clouds.

The Company Man roared out of the mist, engines burning dirty red. The turret on its belly swiveled and it aimed at the strut.

A line of depleted uranium shells walked across the gantry. Sparks showered like fireworks.

The first shell hit the Stardust, deflecting off its shields.

The second shell hit the mag-lock holding the Sparrow.

The clamp shattered.

The Sparrow lurched. The nose dipped. The weight of the heavy hauler sheared the second clamp.

-No! Phoenix screamed.

He dove for the airlock of his ship, his boots sliding on the icy grate. He grabbed the external handle just as the third clamp gave way.

The Mighty Sparrow fell.

Phoenix held on, his legs dangling in the vacuum, as the ship tumbled backward into the crushing vastness of the Great Red Spot.