“Come on,” Ledbetter roared, yanking him back to his feet and kicking him in the ass all in one smooth motion.

  When we finally reached the passageway near the bridge, we found the main door had been slammed shut and sealed. I pounded on the metal surface, frustrated. “Captain Hansen, this is Sergeant Starn! We’re locked out here!”

  The captain’s voice came through the intercom. “Sergeant, we’re sealing off critical sections to prevent possible boarding. Hold your position and stay on alert.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I replied, before turning to my squad. “All right, you heard the captain. We’re camping out right here in case we get any uninvited guests.”

  Welks hefted his flamethrower, his eyes scanning the corridor for potential threats. “Where do you want me, Sergeant?”

  “First off, put away that fucking torch before you kill us all,” I instructed, and he nodded in understanding, pulling out his rifle instead. “Stay close to the door. If anyone tries to breach it, you’ll be our last line of defense.”

  Ledbetter and Marek took positions on opposite sides of the passageway, laser carbines at the ready. Marek’s hands trembled slightly, and I really hoped he didn’t shoot me in the butt.

  Every creak and groan of the ship had us on edge, but so far, no boarders appeared. We remained on high alert, prepared to face whatever threat might come our way.

  After ten minutes or so, the ship steadied. The sound of the bridge door hissing open grabbed our attention. Captain Hansen stepped out, followed closely by Commander Kaine. He looked agitated and was urging her not to go somewhere.

  “Captain, it’s too risky!” Kaine insisted. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Boarding the Teklution ship is a mistake!”

  A Teklution ship? What the fuck was going on? That was how it felt to be a marine, sometimes. The brass didn’t always feel like telling us what was happening. I waved for my men to stand down and flip their safeties on again. It didn’t look like any baddies were tearing their way into our airlocks—at least, not just yet.

  Captain Hansen stopped in the middle of my squad, where we lined the walls on both sides of her. She didn’t even look at us. She was eyeballing Kaine and whatever was happening outside the ship.

  We all remained silent, watching the exchange between the two officers.

  “Commander,” she said, “we have our orders. We’re supposed to help these people, even if they’re frequently our rivals. Our contracts demand it.”

  “But Captain,” Kaine countered, “we don’t know their intentions. What if it’s a trap? We could put the entire crew in danger!”

  At that moment, I was kind of in Kaine’s camp. Sure, he was a first-class asshole who should never have been born most of the time, but no one aboard Borag would ever trust a Teklution crew. They were just one step from being pirates themselves.

  Hansen appeared unmoved. She faced Kaine squarely. “That’s why I’m going myself, Commander.”

  “What if they take you hostage?”

  “Then blow up their ship. Borag outguns them.”

  Kaine seemed to consider this option seriously. I had no doubt he would like to take over our mining rig in such a manner.

  “Well…” he said. “If you’re dead-set on this, you should at least take along a few bodyguards.”

  Captain Hansen nodded thoughtfully.

  Commander Kaine turned his attention to us. “Sergeant Starn, choose one of your men to accompany Captain Hansen. Choose wisely—but don’t send that idiot, Marek. The captain needs someone experienced for this mission.”

  Marek hung his head in shame. I couldn’t feel bad for him. Maybe shame would improve his performance.

  Thinking over this order, I blinked twice. Usually, I was just ordered to follow her around like a watchdog on a chain. But today, the officers were asking who I should send. Was that because I was a sergeant now? I thought that it probably was.

  I looked over my squad of greenies. Sure, I could send any idiot to follow her around. That one guy, Yilmaz, he was a big ugly bastard. He wasn’t as tough as he looked, but the Teklution losers wouldn’t know that.

  Still, I didn’t want to leave the captain in incapable hands. If I did, Kaine would be next in line as the ship’s XO. I pretty much hated Kaine, and he pretty much hated me.

  Sucking in a breath, I made my decision and turned to Ledbetter.

  “Corporal, you’ll take command of 3rd Squad. I’m going to accompany the captain.”

  Ledbetter shot me a knowing look. He, like a number of others in Red Company, was more or less convinced the captain was my side-piece—or I was hers. Whatever, I didn’t care.

  “Yes, Sergeant,” was all he said.

  As Captain Hansen moved to leave, Kaine shot me a stern look. “Keep an eye on her, Starn. I don’t want to lose our captain to some bullshit Teklution trick.”

  “Understood, sir,” I replied.

  I tagged behind Captain Hansen. We made our way toward the airlock, preparing to board Sarasvati. The vessel had pulled near us, cruising through space on the same course and at the same speed. That’s what all the maneuvering had been about—our pilot had been fighting to match up with another vessel and rendezvous with her in space.

  At the docking tubes, we grabbed our spacesuits and began suiting up. Once fully suited, we entered the airlock, and the door sealed behind us with a hiss. We stood in the airlock, our breaths echoing in our helmets, waiting for the computer’s signal. The moment finally came, and the airlock door opened, revealing the dark expanse of space and the Teklution ship looming before us. The two ships were connected with a tube of what amounted to thick, clear plastic.

  After reflexively taking a deep breath, we stepped out of Borag and began our slow, careful journey through the docking tube toward the unknown.

  Captain Hansen led the way as we crossed. Our magnetic boots secured us to a rail that ran along the bottom of the transparent polymer tunnel.

  Sarasvati loomed before us, a massive mining rig that was just as big, but with less armament than Borag. As we slowly made our way through the tube, Captain Hansen turned to me. She touched her helmet to mine, so we could talk without using radio. Her tone was serious.

  “Starn, I want you to be on high alert. Something about this situation doesn’t feel right, and I don’t trust the Teklution people.”

  “Right, sir. Why aren’t they coming aboard our ship?”

  She shrugged. “We’ll find out soon enough. Just be on guard.”

  “Understood, Captain,” I replied, my gaze fixed on the approaching airlock that led into the guts of the Teklution ship.

  She was a massive vessel with a sleek, angular design that conveyed both efficiency and power. Her hull was painted in shades of blue and white, with a prominent emblem on her tail: a computer with a single eye that seemed to watch you—to watch everyone. It was supposed to symbolize the company’s commitment to innovation and scientific advancement—but to me, it was kind of freaky. The emblem was encircled by a stylized gear, representing the machinery and technology at the heart of their mining operations—that didn’t make it any more inviting.

  “Remember,” Captain Hansen was saying, “I want you to stay quiet unless absolutely necessary. Just show off that big creepy arm of yours.”

  “Got it, Captain.”

  As we reached the airlock of the Teklution ship, Captain Hansen opened a channel to request entry. “This is Captain Elsa Hansen of the mining rig Borag, requesting permission to board your vessel.”

  A moment of silence passed before a voice crackled through our helmet speakers. “Permission granted, Captain Hansen. Welcome aboard Sarasvati.”

  The airlock door hissed open, and we stepped inside. My senses were heightened, and my laser carbine was held at the ready. I was prepared for the worst.

  As we boarded Sarasvati, it became clear that the majority of the crew was Indian, a reflection of the company’s origin and cultural roots. The ship’s interior was awash with vibrant colors and intricate patterns. That was totally different when compared to the cold, utilitarian design of Borag.

  Despite its aesthetic appeal, Sarasvati was a tight ship. She was equipped with state-of-the-art drilling and extraction technology. That kind of worried me, as I felt like this ship would be stiff competition in the race for riches among the various floating rocks we all hunted.

  Moving deeper into the ship, we found the Teklution Corporation had spared no expense on the upper decks—but the lower decks were a different story. Sarasvati provided truly crappy living conditions for the contracts that worked down here. This was a ship designed for productivity first, with comfort only for the important people. Overall, I thought the deal most people got aboard Borag was better.

  Captain Hansen eventually stepped onto Sarasvati’s bridge, her boots clicking against the metal floor. I followed closely behind, my senses on high alert. I didn’t trust these guys half as far as I could throw them.

  The Teklution captain turned out to be a sour-faced Indian man with graying hair. He greeted us with a terse nod. “Captain Hansen, I presume?” he said, his voice tinged with a heavy accent. “I am Captain Arvind Rajan. Welcome aboard my vessel.”

  “Thank you, Captain Rajan,” Hansen replied. “We received your distress call. What seems to be the nature of your emergency?”

  Rajan hesitated for a moment, his gaze flicking around the room. “Well, Captain, that’s a delicate matter. You see, we’ve discovered a group of pirates on the wandering asteroid known as 944 Hidalgo.”

  “Yes…? Have they attacked you?”

  “No.”

  “Have they threatened you in any way?”

  Captain Rajan shook his head. “No… they have inconvenienced us. They’ve set up a base here under a false claim. We need help evicting them.”

  Hansen’s eyebrows furrowed as she considered his words. “Pirates, you say? But they haven’t attacked your ship or posed any immediate threat?”

  “No, not as such,” Rajan admitted. “Perhaps you don’t understand. Their presence poses a significant risk to our operations, and we cannot afford any delays. We need your help in removing them from the area.”

  Hansen continued to squint at the man. I got the feeling she wasn’t liking what she was hearing. She was probably having trouble believing Interplanetary Excavations had sent our ship all the way out here to do Teklutions’ dirty work for them. As for me, I was having trouble buying this bucket of crap myself.

  But I remained silent—that was my job. My instincts told me something was off, of course. This didn’t sound like any kind of emergency I’d ever heard of—it sounded more like greed. Hansen seemed to share my skepticism as she continued her questioning.

  “Captain Rajan, what do you expect us to do? Engage them in combat? How can we be sure they’re truly pirates?”

  Rajan shifted uncomfortably under Hansen’s scrutiny. “We have gathered intelligence that indicates their hostile intentions. They have been siphoning off resources from 944 with diligence. We’ve told them to move on—but they’ve refused.”

  “What about my ship? Is Borag going to share in these… rewards?”

  Rajan smiled. “That is the nature of this arrangement. I’m surprised that your controller—Malkin, I believe his name is—didn’t make that clear.”

  I wasn’t surprised. Malkin knew that Captain Hansen liked fair play. These third-party miners might just be true independents. If they didn’t break the law, and they held the rightful claim to mine this remote rock, we shouldn’t pester them. Doing so would transform us into pirates.

  Of course, all that was just legal nonsense. Out here in the dark, far from the sun, what happened was often less than perfectly fair-and-square.

  “We feel,” Rajan went on, “that it’s only a matter of time before they target our operations.”

  Hansen crossed her arms. “You feel that way, huh? Very well. We’ll investigate the situation and take appropriate action. But I must remind you that our primary mission is to protect our own ship and crew. If we determine that there is no immediate threat, we will not engage in any conflict.”

  Rajan’s expression soured, but he nodded. “Understood, Captain. We appreciate your assistance.”

  After that, we left Sarasvati and made our way back to Borag. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being drawn into something that was more about profit than safety.

  Chapter 6: The Pirate Trap

  As Captain Hansen and I made our way back to Borag, she turned to me with a curious expression. “Sergeant, what did you think of the Teklution people?” she asked.

  I frowned, thinking about it for a moment. “To be honest, Captain, I’m not too fond of them. And I don’t quite understand why Borag is helping a Teklution ship. Aren’t we supposed to be rivals?”

  Captain Hansen sighed. Her gaze was fixed on the dark hulk of Borag as we crossed over to our own ship. “Yes, we are, but sometimes the two companies work out deals concerning various claims, and they… support one another.”

  “So… someone worked out an arrangement? Like they get this rock to mine, and we get another one someplace else?”

  “That’s roughly how it works.”

  I raised an eyebrow, surprised by her revelation. “That sounds like it goes against competition laws, Captain. Isn’t that illegal?”

  She glanced at me, a wry smile on her lips. “It’s… questionable, Starn. But sometimes, out here in the vastness of space, the rules bend a little. It’s not ideal, but it’s the reality we live in. Working together can be more beneficial than tearing each other apart.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t like it, Captain. It seems wrong, like we’re betraying our own charter.”

  Captain Hansen shrugged. “These agreements have saved lives and resources in the past. We can’t let our personal feelings get in the way of the bigger picture. Just remember, Starn, out here in the void, the lines between friend and foe can be blurred.”

  I nodded, understanding the difficult position we were in, but still feeling the weight of the decision. I also thought it was unfair to independents—those who hadn’t yet gone outlaw, that is. Small organizations that weren’t owned by some bigger outfit had to survive too, didn’t they? No wonder things became violent out here in deep space at times. As we reached our home airlock and boarded Borag, I couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets and alliances lurked in the shadows of the Solar System.

  As we stepped onto Borag’s command deck, Captain Hansen took her position in the captain’s chair while I stood by the entrance with 3rd Squad, who was still on duty. The crew members worked at their stations while the marines tried not to look bored.

  Ensign Freya Carter caught my eye. She was diligently monitoring our ship’s course—and pretending not to notice me as I haunted the doorway.

  “Status report,” Captain Hansen ordered, her voice ringing with the tone of someone who was accustomed to immediate responses.

  “Captain,” replied Ensign Carter, her fingers dancing over the controls, “we’re on course for 944 Hidalgo, and the Teklution ship Sarasvati is following us as planned.”

  Hansen nodded in approval. “Good. Check all the landing gear deployment machinery. There was a problem the last I looked. See if Engineering has it fixed. I want this to go smoothly—we’ll have an audience, this time.”

  “An audience?” Freya asked. “Oh, the crew of Sarasvati… Aye, Captain.”

  Commander Kaine, ever vigilant, approached Captain Hansen. “Captain, are we certain we can trust the Teklution crew to uphold their end of the deal?”

  Hansen’s eyes flicked toward Kaine for a moment before returning to the viewscreen. “We’ll have to, Commander. This operation depends on cooperation between our two ships.”

  Kaine’s jaw clenched, but he nodded and resumed his post.

  As Borag drew closer to 944 Hidalgo, the bridge crew grew ever more serious. Landings were always more dangerous than take-offs—especially on enemy-held rocks like this one.

  Captain Hansen issued orders, ensuring that everyone was prepared. “Ensign Carter, what’s our ETA?” she asked.

  “We’re on our final approach now, Captain,” Ensign Carter replied. As the ship’s computers shifted our trajectory, she highlighted a region of flat rock in green. “The landing site is right there, on our scopes now. We’ve got a visual.”

  “Steady as she goes,” said Captain Hansen. “Let’s make this landing smooth and show the Teklution crew that Borag isn’t a rust-bucket.”

  Borag descended toward 944 Hidalgo, with Sarasvati following closely behind. The two ships began their final approach, and I could now see the asteroid’s rocky and uneven surface through the viewscreen. It was an inhospitable landscape with jagged peaks and deep valleys, bathed in the dim light of distant stars.

  Borag’s powerful thrusters fired in bursts, expertly maneuvering the ship closer to our designated landing site. A short distance away, the Teklution ship Sarasvati was following suit.

  Sarasvati’s sleek and streamlined design contrasted with the rugged appearance of Borag. The Teklution ship’s hull gleamed with an iridescent sheen, and her thrusters emitted a steady blue glow. Borag’s jets were more uneven. They occasionally flared orange, farting a dirty blast of plasma. I’d never thought about it before, but in comparison, our ship seemed kind of old and poorly maintained.

  Captain Hansen’s steady voice rang out on the bridge. “Ensign Carter, maintain communication with Sarasvati. We need to coordinate our landings.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Ensign Carter replied, opening a channel directly between our two ships’ guidance computers.

  Borag’s landing gear extended with a mechanical whir, and we could feel the ship shudder slightly when she made contact with the asteroid’s surface. The thrusters fired one last time, slowing our descent, and we finally came to a complete stop. I could hear the faint echo of the ship’s struts settling on the rocky ground.

  Meanwhile, Sarasvati gracefully touched down not far from our position. Her landing gear seemed to almost caress the asteroid’s surface, barely disturbing the dust and debris. As the blue glow of the Teklution ship’s thrusters faded, the ship’s hatch opened, revealing a small group of crew members. They looked anxious to disembark.