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Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Adventures of the Ice Lancer

Chapter Two

Delivery Route

by RedFox6

The rest of the trip to Draugluin went quietly. Erik took the time to do a deep dive of the Vang family, going through everything that they had in the data banks. Using the BAD to help him analyze the data, he searched for anything that could cause them trouble.

At the end, he went to McCarthy with his conclusions.

After the usual pleasantries he began. "Captain, I done completed my analysis. As long as they ain't already ID'd us, we should be safe. Near as I c'n tell, as long as she's not been harmed too much, I don' think they'll spend too much time tryin' to find us. We'll probably have to avoid Lorgar for a while, maybe as long as a year or two, but it don' look like they'll send anyone offplanet to get us.

"Course, if'n she ain't released or winds up dead, they'll spend whatever they have to to delete us, no matter how long it takes."

"That won't be any problem," Mathias replied. "I figure we'll drop her off at an upscale hotel somewhere on Lorgar. Use a fake ID to check her into a nice luxury suite while the drugs wear off. When she's recovered, she'll be able to call daddy. And the hotel will be able to keep her safe until her kin get there. I'm sure the Vang's will be willing to pay the room charges while she waits; don't see that as straining their budget any.

"And a week or so of being pampered in a luxury suite should help her recover from the ordeal. She'll even be able to turn it into some kind of grand, romantic adventure too. Especially if they assign some smexy bodyguards to her."

After a few moments thought, he finished with "So that sounds like a workable plan. Soon as we drop out at Draugluin, we can start setting it up."

Soon enough, they reached the Draugluin system. The Draugluin Defense Grid, such as it was, challenged the Ice Lancer as soon as it came out of hyperspace. After completing the security handshake, the ship moved into the orbital course they were given, heading for the only spaceport available. As they circled the planet, the crew looked down with differing amounts of distaste on their faces. The sight that met their eyes was less than inviting.

The dingy gray planet presented a depressing sight; slightly larger than Earth standard, with barren flat lands bordered by smallish mountain ranges, surrounded by shallow seas filled with a sluggish, sullen liquid that resembled a dense oil more than water. An ever present fog shrouded the planet, sometimes thick enough to almost totally blot out the sun.

There was little plant life visible, the atmosphere not being conducive to carbon based life forms. The atmosphere was not breathable by most beings, necessitating self contained breathing equipment whenever one left the sealed habitats that were scattered across the surface.

The only thing that made Draugluin worth visiting was an abundance of easily mined resources, mainly exotic metals and monopole magnets, both important components in hyperdrive engines. However, the inhospitable surface and relative isolation of the planet necessitated extensive life support systems, and higher pay to attract workers. The several mining settlements presented a drab, uniform appearance, having been built from the same generic template. They were all low, squat buildings, at least partially underground for better protection from the harsh climate, with thick airlock doors sheltered by overhanging arches extending out from the buildings' exteriors. The interlocked D, M and C of the Draugluin Mining Consortium corporate logo was prominently displayed on all the buildings, helping drive home the point that everything belonged to the corporation.

This was reinforced by the company town system the Consortium had instituted that helped them claw back most of the high wages they paid their workers. To make ends meet, the workers were often forced to take short term, high interest loans from the company bank to make it to the end of the month, setting up a debt bondage system that guaranteed that few of the workers were ever able to leave Draugluin.

Reggie brought the ship down gracefully on the indicated landing pad, then taxied it into the cavernous hanger, where red flashing lights warned of the toxic atmosphere filling the bay. The massive doors rolled shut behind them, then powerful pumps began the process of evacuating the outside air. The resulting vacuum was left in place for five minutes, insuring that any harmful organisms that were present were eliminated. At the end of the safety period, the pumps began filling the area with breathable air.

Once the bay air was safe to breathe, they exited their ship, where they were met by Korrigan LeSueur, one of the two owners of the planet. A tough looking individual with the squat, muscular body of a heavy worlder, he sported a wide smile that never seemed to reach his eyes.

"Captain," he began. "as always, a pleasure to see you and your crew. I trust everything went well?"

"Everything went well," Mathias replied. "We were able to get all your requested items without any real difficulty. We have enough Red Boost to keep all your employees operating at peak efficiency for at least a month. And enough Blue Moon to keep them happy for at least that long.

"We were able to get those parts you wanted as well," he added. "We know a guy, so it wasn't hard to get the paperwork that show they passed all the safety tests either. So you're good to hook for the next inspection tour."

As this was going on, Erik and Jekka were hauling out several containers on grav pallets. Reggie followed with the drug containers, fresh from the cooler.

They waited patiently while Korrigan and his aides checked everything out. Once the quality was confirmed, Korrigan handed over a credstick. Erik ran it through a reader, then nodded that all the money was there.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Captain," Korrigan said, shaking Mathias' hand. "Will you be staying for a while?"

"Sorry, I wish we could," was the reply. "But, the schedule calls. As soon as we've finished refueling, we'll have to take off."

"A pity," Korrigan answered. "Danial is off inspecting one of our mines in the southern hemisphere, but was looking forward to having dinner with you when he got back. He even had some special entertainment laid on.

"Still," he went on. "Profit calls. Good trading Captain. And looking forward to our next transaction."

"The same, Director," was the response.

While Korrigan and his workers exited the bay, the crew reentered their ship, and waited while the atmosphere was vented and they could launch.

They left orbit and entered hyperspace, heading to their next stop on New Theia.

They quickly fell into their regular routine for hyperspace travel, except for breaking up the monotony by frequently taking Laura out of her cell for random abuse, physical, sexual and mental. She was learning many new things, but the N'penthe was working well so she couldn't remember them and thus each encounter was new and fresh, enabling her to experience the terror and humiliation anew every time. Even Heyboi was given his turn, as long as he didn't cause any permanent physical damage.

These interludes made the time pass quickly, and almost before they knew it, they were coming out over New Theia.

New Theia was one of the most earth like planets that humanity had ever come across. It was almost exactly the same size as Earth, and had a generally pleasant environment, with only a few areas near the poles that saw extreme cold. The land was fairly fertile, and the original settlers had gone to great lengths to keep everything sustainable and not harm the environment.

It's natural beauty had attracted many rich and powerful people who wanted a second home. It was in the government's interest to keep the planet pristine, so most of its heavy industry was kept off-planet, either on orbiting space stations, or on the surface of one of its two moons. What industry existed on the planet itself was heavily regulated to keep the environment as untouched and unspoiled as possible.

Determined to keep New Theia as a luxury planet and a destination for offworld nobles and veeps, and especially their money, the government had enacted strict laws regarding pollution and the exploitation of the planet's natural resources. Building was strictly regulated, and even the largest bribes couldn't override the zoning codes.

Their current ID passed the security checks easily, and the defense grid let them swing into orbit around the planet. Blue oceans and clear skies greeted them as they traveled on to the spaceport of Sarc City, capitol of New Theia.

The capitol had been named after the explorer who had first discovered the planet, Josiah 'Marker' Sarc, a rather dubious individual who was rumored to have taken to space exploration to escape his marriage. He had spent his time flitting from one unknown planet to the next, usually only one step ahead of the trackers that his wife had sent to bring him back home. He had eventually disappeared in a sector of space that bordered the Varen Conglomerate, leading to many different and usually fantastic stories about what had finally happened to him.

Like all the other habitable planets he had found, he had quickly sold the location to a third party for the funds necessary to keep running. The company in this case was Solarbreaker LLC. Despite the rather ominous name, they were a very conservation minded group, who were dedicated to preserving the planet as best they could. When this sector of space was organized and they were looking for a capital, New Theia's pristine nature helped it win out over its competitors. Even after the fall of the Hegemony, it kept its importance and influence mostly intact, acting as a trade hub for the sector, and gradually becoming a diplomatic hub as well, with a well earned reputation for neutrality.

Sitting next to majestic Carledown Bay off the Hamprath ocean, the central part of Sarc City, consisting of the planetary government complex, was a totally planned city. Designed by the great architect Scydhath Grambish, it was laid out along a grid pattern with broad streets connecting everything. Interspersed apparently at random between the government buildings were parks and memorials celebrating the history of New Theia for all to see.

Outside the central part of the city a heterogeneous collection of buildings had been constructed over the years to accommodate the overflow of the government's ever growing needs, especially affordable housing for their employees. Much less planned than the central city, it was still fairly well organized and orderly.

The spaceport was set several kilometers away from the city itself, with broad freeways bordered by trees connecting the two. The spaceport itself was fairly well spread out, and large enough to handle anything up to Whale class ships. Each landing pad was surrounded by blast walls, while the perimeter's high walls and towers kept the spaceport itself secure and controlled access to the facilities inside.

After a routine landing, the crew started loading their Orion Amalgamated Industries Wanderlust SUV for the trip to the Archbishop's residence in the middle of the city. The various illicit drugs they supplied him went into the concealed compartments, while the special package he'd requested was loaded into the cage that took up the back part of the vehicle.

After weapons checks, they heavily tinted the windows and, with Heyboi behind the wheel, drove off the ship heading for the cathedral.

The drive went quickly, and an hour later they were entering the suburbs of Sarc City.

Maneuvering through the mid afternoon traffic, a half hour later they were approaching the extensive grounds of the cathedral. The area was roughly ten hectares in size, with a four meter tall wrought iron fence surrounding it. Discreet guard towers stood at the corners and at intervals along the fence, while the entrance gate was flanked by two gun towers, their weapons concealed behind armored shutters. Over the gate was a holographic sign proclaiming, Cathedral by the Sea, followed with Sarc City Prefecture of the Universal Church of the Pancreator. Archbishop Harold Holmes presiding.

The grass inside was lush and green, and there were well tended trees and bushes scattered about, apparently at random, with broad paths meandering across the lawn.

In the center stood the massive cathedral, ten stories tall, while the bell towers added another ten stories to its height.

As they came around the corner and drove towards the main gate Heyboi was the first to notice something was wrong.

"Master," Heyboi said, looking up at the corner guard tower. "Those are not the archbishop's Convocation troops."

It was true. Instead of the blue and gold uniforms of the archbishop's personal troops, the area was being patrolled by women clad in black body armor and carrying assault rifles and SAWs, while tanks and IFV's covered all approaches to the cathedral. The main entrance was guarded by a squad of heavy infantry, along with several figures in the distinctive powered armor of the Church's Warrior Adepts, with their iconic vibro swords at their hips and nasty looking plasma rifles in their arms. Above, armed drones and LARCs patrolled the sky.

Instantly, everyone became more alert and and each focused on their assigned sector. Mathias loosened the carbine holstered under the dashboard while watching the front. Jekka, in the middle of the back seat, twisted around to watch the rear, while Reggie covered the left flank. Erik took a quick photo and fed it into his PPC. A few seconds later, the results came in.

"They're from the Little Sisters of Perpetual Vigilance," he announced. "A martial religious order affiliated with the government. Heavy mechanized troops; their primary goal is to prevent the violent overthrow of the government. They have a base several klicks outside the city.

"The Warrior Adepts I'm not sure of," he went on. "They seem to be wearin' some kinda household livery, but I haven't been able to ID it yet."

"Not all the Convocation troops gave up without a fight, Master," Heyboi said. "I can see battle damage here and there. The fence has been breached in several places, probably by the armored vehicles, and I can see holes blasted in the walls by heavy weapons. Also, it looks like the gun towers covering the main gate have been shot up by autocannon fire."

"Yeah, I see it too," Mathias said grimly. "Just keep going, Heyboi. We're just innocent civilians passing by."

"Got it," Erik said a few seconds later. "That household livery belon's to the Lady Justine, a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Looks like the Inquisition finally tumbled to Holmes' proclivities. I imagine they know about the drugs and the harem and ever'thin' else."

"Looks like we done lost a good customer, Captain," he finished.

"Well, Sheol," Jekka exclaimed. "then what are we going to do with that?" jerking her thumb at the cage in the back of the vehicle.

Mathias looked back to where their newest acquisition for the archbishop lay, naked, gagged, hooded and hogtied, with his genitals prominently displayed by the chastity cage they'd locked him into. Just the way the archbishop preferred. It was a young upper class Freyan male, as close to a pure blood as they could find, tall and slender, with long brown hair falling below his shoulders, along with the dark red skin, frilled ears and the bright blue within blue eyes that were a distinguishing feature of his species. The only alien species so far found that could interbreed with humans without genetic manipulation, they were reputedly the most sensual of lovers, making them highly prized on the open market.

"Not sure," he replied at last. "It cost us a lot of crowns and effort to get a virgin, would hate to see it go to waste. But we won't be able to sell it here."

"Can I do it then?" Jekka asked, anticipation in her voice. "Never had a Freyan to play with before."

"We'll try and get it back on the ship," he finally answered. "Viky will probably take it. She won't pay as much as the archbishop, but at least it wouldn't be a total loss.

"And if she doesn't want it, I'm sure the Swine Prince will; he likes exotics.

"And as a last resort," he went on, "I'm sure the Slitch Queen would be interested, if only to see how much torture it can take.

"In fact," he added thoughtfully, "with the advance we got from Holmes, we might even break even."

With a pointed look at Jekka, he went on, "And being unseasoned will add to the price.

"Plus," he continued, "we won't have enough time for cane marks to heal."

Jekka settled back in her seat, pouting. "Aw," she said. "you never let me have any fun."

"Alright, Heyboi," Mathias said. "take us back to the ship. Inconspicuously."

"Yes, Master," came the response. Heyboi immediately began maneuvering through the traffic, taking a circuitous route back to the spaceport.

Erik looked up from his PPC, remarking, "I wonder what they'll do with Holmes' harem. That randy ol' bastard has collected a lotta kids over the years. Either gonna be a lot o' work for the social workers, or some more cash for the church if'n they sell 'em."

"Maybe they'll be inducted into the church as acolytes or something," Reggie offered. "Rescue 'em, then treat 'em well as wards of the church. Good way to indoctrinate loyalty into 'em."

"Doesn't really matter," Mathias answered,cutting to the chase. "Not our problem. Our main problem is getting off planet before Holmes sells us out as his suppliers. The Inquisition won't look kindly at that."

He looked back at the others. "We need a launch window ASAP. Erik?"

"On it," he grunted, working his PPC.

"Busy damn' place," he muttered under his breath. Then, "Got it.

"Earliest launch is 22 hours TS from now," he said. "There are a few earlier launch windows, but without the money we expected from Holmes, we can't afford the bribes for them."

"Alright," Mathias said, one of his matched Valkur Mark 7 laser pistols in his hand. "Buy it. We'll just have to hope for the best."

"Any chance Holmes wiped his files then self deleted?" Jekka asked hopefully. She was holding her carbine below window level and scanning the streets behind them for trouble.

Reggie had pulled a nasty little burp gun out from under her duster. She considered the question, then answered. "Depends on what kind of dead man's switch he had on his files, and how good any slicer the Inquisition has with them.

"I'd bet they have a first class slicer, so, unless he was able to manually wipe them, the files will still be there. Just depends on how long it takes the slicer to get into them.

"And as far as taking him alive," she continued. "in my experience, Warrior Adepts are some of the best SF troops around. They probably infiltrated and captured him almost before the attack started. Pretty much zero chance he had an opportunity to self delete."

"He won' last long," Erik added. He had replaced his PPC with his rocket rifle and was watching their right side. "He ain' that tough. After a few hours in a cell, thinkin' 'bout what's comin' up, he'll start sellin' out ever'one jus' ta make a deal. We might not have 22 hours."

"Depends on what they got him for," Reggie said thoughtfully. "Rumors goin' around last time we were here was that he was maybe gonna attempt a coup d'etat against the government. If'n that's what they were after, they might not get around to the rest of his crimes for some time. Then there'd be the jurisdictional issues between the Inquisition and the government. Best we can hope for is that bureaucracy gets in the way long enough for us to escape."

It was a tense drive back to the ship, with everyone on edge, expecting to be stopped by the police at any moment. Erik monitored the police bands while also helping the others keep a watch on the streets.

Reaching the spaceport, they watched in shock as several armed police LARCs flew over the security wall into the port itself.

"Erik," Mathias snapped out. "What's going on?"

"Don't know, sir," he responded. He quickly switched over to the encoded police frequencies, activating a decoding program at the same time. He began listening intensely as they approached the nearest gate.

Erik kept quiet until they were through the gates and heading for their landing slot.

"All I c'n get so far is that it's a raid on a landin' berth," he said. "Haven't cracked the code for which one yet, but they're sendin' in a tactical force to back up the port security troops.

"Must be expectin' a lot of trouble," he finished.

"Drek," Jekka said quietly, articulating the others reactions. They watched as the craft flew towards the part of the port where their ship was docked. Unspoken was what they could do if the police were after the Ice Lancer and them. The drugs alone would net them long prison sentences, not to mention the captives, smuggled weapons and unregistered cargoes they carried.

"That bastard cracked already," Reggie said in disgust.

"Master?" Heyboi asked.

"Just keep driving, Heyboi," Mathias answered grimly, holstering his pistol and slipping the carbine out of its scabbard. "Until we know for sure, we can't make any real plans."

With a sardonic smile, he went on, "Guess we may be finding out just how good our armor really is."

Further down the road, Erik said, "Got it. Near as I c'n tell, they're after a different ship, a couple'a landin' slots away from ours.

"They're broadcastin' to the crew, telling 'em to surrender 'cause their boss has been arrested on treason charges. I think maybe they're after the archbishop's personal ship."

About that time they came across a roadblock stopping all access to the area. They watched while the LARCs circled overhead.

Suddenly, a plasma burst streaked out, clipping one of the rotors on a LARC. The blades shattered, sending the craft spiraling into the ground and exploding into a fireball. The other craft immediately began strafing the ship with missiles and guns. They could also hear shots from troops on the ground, including heavy weapons. They watched as the LARCs launched dozens of suicide drones that dropped towards the ship.

The ship's PDWs took out many of the drones, as well as two more LARCs, but the rest managed to get through, exploding against the shields, wearing them down. The fight went on for almost twenty minutes, but the end result was a foregone conclusion. There was a large explosion, then thick black smoke began pouring into the sky while the firing died down.

"Humph," Mathias began. "Apparently Holmes' Convocation of the Faithful troops are more faithful than I expected."

"Pretty stupid though," Jekka remarked. "They have to know Holmes' been arrested by now. Their best bet would have been to surrender and plead ignorance of his activities."

"Unless they were more deeply involved in the archbishop's affairs," Reggie said thoughtfully. "Probably his top advisors and inner guard. If so, they may have been trying to escape New Theia when the authorities caught up with them. Mighta figured that going down fighting was better than execution for treason. I hear they use piano wire for hanging traitors here. They don't give 'em the drop, just let 'em strangle."

"Again, not our problem," Mathias stated. "We just need to get back to our ship and get off this planet as soon as possible."

About that time the roadblock was removed, and traffic resumed, allowing them to head for their ship.

Once back on board, they quickly locked down their SUV in its slot and sealed the ship. Then they headed for their stations on the bridge. In their hurry, they completely forgot about their captive, leaving him restrained in the cage.

Reaching the bridge, they began their prelaunch preparations. Erik headed back to Operations, activating the external proximity alarms as he went. Reaching Operations he began monitoring the local police bands again. He started a program to hack spaceport security, then sat back and began analyzing the data flowing in.

Twenty minutes later, Jekka came in. When she saw how intensely Eric was watching the screens, she smiled, then silently deposited the energy drinks and go pills she'd brought on his console. Given the situation, she knew that he wouldn't be leaving his station until they were safely in hyperspace. His single mindedness and devotion to duty were some of the things that had attracted her in the first place.

He looked up. "Thank you," he said, followed by, "So far, nothin'."

"All right, I'll tell the captain," she responded. Then "Don't take too many of those, you know they're not good for you."

"Aye, aye, ma'am" he answered with a grin, before going back to analyzing the incoming data.

An hour later, Eric reported to the captain over the intercom.

"Captain," he began. "been studyin' all the data comin' in. So far, ever' report's stressin' how the archbishop has been plannin' some kinda action against the government. Nothin' about anythin' else he mighta been doin'. An' there's no indications that anyone is interested in us at all. So far, looks like we're free an' clear.

"Nevertheless," he went on. "it might be a good idea to avoid New Theia for a while, an' maybe dx this ID."

After eight hours of sitting in their seats listening to Erik's updates, Mathias finally said, "All right. It looks like they're not looking for us right now. I think it's safe to go on shifts. I know Erik won't leave his station, so Reggie and Jekka, you're off for the next four hours. Relax, get some food and sleep. Just don't get too comfortable."

"Roger that, captain," Reggie said while Jekka nodded in agreement. They left their stations on the bridge and headed for the crew quarters.

After quickly heating some ration packs, they wolfed them down before heading to their quarters for some much needed rest.

Reggie had just removed her boots preparatory to taking a quick nap when she suddenly remembered their captive.

"Aw, drek," she exclaimed. "forgot all about it."

She was so worn out from a long and stressful day that she considered just leaving him in the cage until later.

Finally, she got up and put her boots back on. "Slitch cost too much, can't risk damaging it," she muttered while going to the cargo bay.

Reaching the SUV, she opened the rear. The Freyan was where they had left him, hogtied inside the cage.

Unlocking the cage door, she reached in, unlocked the chain between his leg shackles and handcuffs, then dragged him out by the strap on the top of his hood. "C'mon slitch," she growled, forcing him to his feet. "You're lucky I'm a soft touch, otherwise you'd be spending the rest of the day in there."

She held him bent over as she hurried across the bay to the cylinders, the short length of the shackles snubbing painfully against his ankles as he moved. One hand holding his head at waist level, she used the other to unlock the cell door. She pulled off the hood and gag, then roughly threw him into the cell. Ignoring the pleading look on his face, she sealed the door. Yawning widely while cursing the delay, she returned to her cabin. Pulling off her boots again, and with her burp gun handy, she lay down fully clothed on the bed and fell instantly asleep, without even a moment's thought about the other captives in their cells.

Four hours later, she and Jekka were taking their stations on the bridge. The captain gave them a quick briefing, which consisted mostly of 'nothing's changed,' then he and Heyboi headed off for their own break.

The hours dragged by. The two kept up a desultory conversation with each other and Erik. In between, Erik kept them updated on what was going on. There was little data about the raid, mostly speculations and rumors about what was happening. The only video was from long range, and there were no press conferences scheduled. It was obvious that the government had placed D notices on the media in an effort to control the narrative.

A little over three hours later, Erik broke in, saying, "Managed to get a slice in, so we got us a window in twenty minutes. I'm callin' the captain, but go ahead and start the prelaunch. Should be jus' about enough time to make the window before they c'n figure what's goin' on."

Asking no questions, Reggie and Jekka began bringing the systems fully online, and requested their launch instructions from traffic control.

A few minutes later the captain came in, hair mussed and uniform rumpled, and sat down in his command chair. Heyboi was right behind him, quickly taking his seat behind the weapons control station.

"Do we have launch instructions from Traffic Control yet?" he asked.

"Just came in, Captain," Jekka answered. "We should be able to go to hyper within a half hour of launch.

"So far the route is clear, and Erik hasn't detected any special interest in us, so we should be good to hook."

"All right," was the response. Outwardly calm, those who were familiar with Mathias could see the subtle signs showing that he was as nervous as everyone else.

Despite the increased military and police flights over the capital, the launch was unimpeded, and thirty minutes later the Ice Lancer entered the safety of hyperspace.

Mathias leaned back in his chair, tension draining out of him, and remarked, "Well, I guess we can remove one stop from our itinerary now."

Into the intercom he said, "Alright Erik. We're safe. Log off and get some sleep. That's an order.

"Jekka," he continued. "make sure he gets to bed, alright?"

She just smiled, set her board to automatic, and left the bridge.

With their course set for Thieves' World, the three remaining set their boards for hyperspace, then left the bridge, having made another successful escape from trouble.

Yawning widely, the captain headed back to his cabin, Heyboi right behind him. He was already thinking ahead, recalibrating how the recent events would affect their fortunes. "A lot's going to depend on that slitch from Lorgar," he thought. "If those funds come through, we should be okay. Otherwise it'll get tricky."

Undressing and laying down on his double sized bed, Mathias quickly fell asleep, still figuring the best way to profit from the situation.

After double checking that the door was sealed, Heyboi spent some time setting out his master's clothing for the next day, ensuring that the uniform was pressed and clean and the boots were well polished. He tidied up the room, making sure everything was properly stowed away. His duties done, he settled himself on his pallet at the foot of the bed, revolver close to hand, and went to sleep himself. Like a good Little Shadow, even while asleep, he was alert to any changes in his surroundings, ready to awake and serve his master in any way needed, including giving up his life if necessary.