“Hey, let me out of here! I can’t be in a cage it gives me claustrophobia!” the man yelled.
“Speaking of which, I’ll go check on him,” Ax answered. She tromped back to the cage, where the man continued to make racket. He looked up at his capture.
“What do you want?” the man sneered.
“I want the bounty on your head. If I bring you in alive, you’re worth twice than if I bring you in dead. I’d cooperate if I were you,” Ax peered at the man; he was in a tattered pull over and rugged jeans.
“They won’t keep me alive. They want me dead. I did too much.” the man answered.
“Daren Nevil, I think you are trying to play me, to ignore the Galaxy Force and take you to an off-world where you can escape,” Ax smiled underneath her chrome-helmet.
“You won’t make it to Arkon, the terrorist group I belong to will hunt you down,” Daren spat.
“I’ll take my chances. Besides, we’re closing in on Arkon, thanks to our hidden star-drive.”
“What’s that? I’ve never even heard of it,” Daren asked in surprise.
“I picked it up on a world you’ve never been to. Shut up, it’ll all be over soon. I can move on to better contracts than you. Stay comfortable,” Ax walked away from the pitiful terrorist. She entered the cockpit and looked at their estimated time for arrival to Arkon. Refueling was one of the goals she had for this trip, as well.
“Did he chat much?” B4D6 asked.
“He wouldn’t quit begging for his life. A little of his threats seemed plausible, but we’ll deal with it as it comes,”
“Our entry-point is coming up. I’m cutting the star-drive engines,” B4 replied. The Risk Taker slowed down to normal space. They arrived at Arkon in less time than through the wormhole.
“Have we been identified yet?” Ax asked. She adjusted their heading toward the dark brown planet below. Spatial-lights and city lights could be seen through the thin cloud layers. A loud beep came through the intercom system.
“They have detected us. Should I wait to reply?” B4 asked.
“I’ll answer them,” she got on the comm. and cleared her throat. “This is Risk Taker requesting permission to land at the spaceport,” Ax waited for a reply from the space traffic control. A minute passed by and no answer. ‘Maybe they were bogged down with traffic?’ Ax thought. Another minute passed, she was about to call out again, when a voice came over.
“This is Percy Machintosh, Space Traffic Control; proceed on approach vector to Konnis City. Do not deviate from path. The local authorities will meet you at the spaceport,” he disconnected his transmission.
“Friendly sort aren’t they?” Ax smirked. B4D6 made no comment. She turned the ship and pressed the button to retract the star-drive tubes from under the ship. Her landing gear came down in solid metal blocks, reinforced with Dura-steel.
To Be Continued...
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