Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [173]
Roberto swallowed hard. Without a doubt, Lanyan meant his threat. He signaled to his docking bay crew. “Disarm all hatches. Let the thugs in.”
Another delivery ship streaked away, trying to escape, but patrol Remoras swept in and surrounded it, fired enough blasts to cripple its engines, then attached grappling beams. The captain of the delivery ship shot his weapons, but it was a useless gesture. Within moments the Eddies had taken over the ship and arrested its crew.
Roberto groaned. The Mantas had already docked, and uniformed Eddy soldiers had begun to flood into the facility, accompanied by imposing Soldier compies. Overhead, the second half of the planetoid orbited, casting its shadow onto the observation dome. He heard bootsteps marching down the corridors; the EDF had already found the control center.
Within moments, General Lanyan himself stood at the doorway. “Let’s not make this any more difficult than it needs to be.”
Chapter 87 — NIKKO CHAN TYLAR
On time at Hurricane Depot…well, at least within an hour. That was a record, as far as Nikko was concerned. He had already delivered wental water to two uninhabited planets and now felt exhilarated at having done such a good job. He looked forward to relaxing for a night in guest quarters and eating good food in the cafés, exotic recipes cooked by families that remembered their ethnic heritage from Earth.
He’d been to Hurricane Depot dozens of times, usually piloting a cargo escort for ekti tanks or ferrying food from the Chan greenhouse domes. Nikko did better when he could see his destination and fly by the seat of his pants rather than relying on complex navigational systems. By now he knew the approach through the rocky obstacle course like the back of his hand.
This time, as Aquarius approached the orbiting planetoids, he saw two EDF Juggernauts circling the outer perimeter beyond the binary rocks. The Eddy ships had blasted away much of the boundary field to clear a safe path; dust and rubble drifted in unpredictable orbits, heated and accelerated by numerous explosions.
Three clan cargo ships streaked away, pursued by fast Remoras. The clans had modified many of their craft with “sprint” engines for superior acceleration, and now the fleeing ships scattered in all directions, faster than the infringing military vessels could follow.
“Shizz, what the hell is going on here?” He reached for the comm system to call Hurricane Depot’s control center, but realized it might be smart to keep quiet. The Aquarius was a small ship coming in on a high polar vector; he was sure the EDF hadn’t seen him yet.
Nikko intercepted a warning broadcast. “This is Roberto Clarin. The EDF has seized control of Hurricane Depot! They’re confiscating all our supplies. No doubt they’ll kill everyone here.” The message was a standard EM signal, blasted out into space. It would take years to reach the nearest inhabited system, but incoming Roamer vessels—like Nikko’s—might also intercept it.
He sat in his cockpit white-knuckled and angry, not knowing what he could do. The stored vials of powerful wentals in the Aquarius thrummed and vibrated with questions and concerned curiosity. He growled aloud, “Remember what I told you about our stupid reasons for wars? You’re witnessing one of them here.”
Below him, EDF workers efficiently stripped Hurricane Depot of all food crates, all ekti tanks, all cargo, all personal possessions. Nikko eavesdropped on conversations transmitted over the EDF frequencies. The Eddies were joking and sneering, amused at the Roamers’ attempts at resistance. “They’re robbing us blind!”
As he watched in horror, Nikko felt the wentals’ deep disquiet. It is like a hydrogue attack…only these soldiers have betrayed their own people.
All the inhabitants of Hurricane Depot were being taken into custody and loaded aboard Manta cruisers. The station chief Roberto Clarin had apparently been seized as a prisoner of war, though no formal war had been declared. Nikko feared that the military would simply make all those people from Hurricane Depot “disappear.