“Okay, which direction you think those shots came from?”

  “Not exactly sure but somewhere over on that east ridge. Can’t say I saw anything cos of all that shadow.”

  “Good call,” she said and meant it. An experienced sniper would always pick a spot with the sun coming over their shoulder, if they could, which suggested that Barnes was about right in his estimation. “Okay, now work with me on this. If this canyon was a clockface with us at the centre and the head of that riverbed marking twelve o’clock, where would you put them then?”

  “I’m thinking maybe ten past the hour. Twelve at most. That help you any?”

  “Perfect. Now for the hard part. I need you to stand up and let go a burst in that general direction. See if you can’t get in a lucky shot – save me the trouble.”

  There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the link.

  Then Barnes said, “You know he’s shot me once already? You do know that?”

  “And missed you once, as well. Come on, let’s give it a go.”

  “Don’t seem like I have much of a choice,” he grumbled. “Alright. Five seconds do it for you?”

  “Five seconds is fine.”

  Barnes counted down from five and when he reached zero launched himself into an upright position, rinsing the eastern rim of the canyon with automatic fire. LaCruz lifted herself above the tree trunk just as he was dropping down again but before she could complete the move, the tell-tale crack of a supersonic round cut through the air.

  She tensed as a bank of shingle exploded to her left.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “Got a new centre parting but other than that, I’m fine.”

  Barnes was getting funnier, which meant his meds had to be kicking in.

  They didn’t have much time.

  LaCruz pulled back in order to relocate herself, finding shelter against the eroded bank. It wouldn’t do to make it too easy for her opponent. She activated her HUD and then took a moment to review the information they’d just gathered.

  After some initial problems, she managed to review the footage she’d just shot. Despite the brevity of what she’d filmed, the suit provided her with a wide range of viewing options. Nothing on the first two versions – straightforward video feed and an infra-red version of the self-same footage. But then, on the ultraviolet spectrum she did get something. The explosive gases given off by the gun a microsecond before the projectile exited the barrel of the weapon had left a clear signature trace.

  It wasn’t much but it was enough. Supposing that the sniper hadn’t moved, it gave her a concrete fix on his current position. Of course, if he’d relocated after the shot, as she would have done, then the whole exercise had just been a complete waste of time.

  She cross referenced the footage with a grainy shot she had of the explosion caused by the round striking the opposite bank. She wasn’t sure how her suit’s telemetrics managed it but it was able to bring up the precise angle and elevation of the round.

  All that from just two points of reference. Not bad, but she’d have been happier with three.

  Perhaps Barnes’ suit had picked up something?

  While she was considering how she might best access this, Barnes stood up.

  “Barnes! Get down! They can see you.”

  “Don’t care!” he wobbled slightly as he stepped down onto the riverbed. “I’ve had enough. I’m heading for home.”

  Shit, his meds really had kicked in.

  He was making no attempt to use the cover provided by the terrain and started trying to clamber up the incline on the other side of the wash but he was struggling to find traction on the soft shingle.

  LaCruz staggered to her feet just as a second bullet tore past Barnes’ head, throwing up a long line of dirt of the far bank. She switched to semi-automatic mode, frustrated that she didn’t have access to her old Kopperburg rifle and brought up a magnified image of the eastern rim, a yellow carat highlighting the estimated position of where the sniper was firing from.

  She cranked it up to maximum magnification and stood her ground, waiting for some slight movement which might give her something to at least aim at. But nothing was forthcoming.

  A split second later, a third shot rang out.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Barnes go down. An incredibly slow fall starting from the knees, the angle of the bank tipping him forward. He landed smack in the centre of the riverbed.

  And still she didn’t have a target and had to stand there while the rifle’s report echoed off the canyon walls, the reverberations lasting for several seconds.

  Still no movement.

  She raised her head slightly, scanning the air for any tell-tale signs which might give her a lead. Gun smoke preferably, but it turned out to be a forlorn hope. Whoever she was up against was far too shrewd to make such a simple error.

  But then she did see something interesting. An ugly looking black bird which must have flown off when the shooting had started swooped down now, intent on returning to its nest. But it wasn’t the bird which interested her. It was where the nest was located.

  It had been built into a solid swell of rock which jutted out from the far wall of the canyon. Hundreds of tons of solid rock.

  She checked to her left. Barnes had fallen face down in the riverbed and was struggling to right himself.

  “Stay down,” she said.

  “Not until I’m done. That sonovabitch shot me when I wasn’t looking?”

  LaCruz switched off the magnification and very deliberately brought up the asset library on the HUD. She swapped out the semi-automatic, switching instead to the missile pod mounted on her right shoulder.

  Only two missiles left.

  That would have to be enough.

  Using her laser sighting she painted two ‘hot spots’ on the base of the boulder. One to the left and one to the right, five metres below the blackbird’s nest.

  Then it was just a matter of pressing ‘fire.’

  The two missiles streaked away from her leaving two thin contrails in their wake. If the sniper was looking for an accurate aiming point she’d just given him two. At least that might be enough to take the pressure off Barnes.

  It seemed to take forever for the missiles to cover the distance to the far wall of the canyon but when they hit they punched two solid holes straight into the rock face. For a second, nothing happened.

  Finally, there was movement in the undergrowth as the sniper, realising what LaCruz had initiated, stumbled to his feet, the long black barrel of his rifle grasped in one hand.

  He was fast. She had to give him that and if he’d come away from the wall, instead of moving parallel with it, he might have stood a chance but, as the boulder let out an earth shattering ‘crack’ and began to collapse, so did the entire wall which supported it.

  The wall didn’t so much collapse as fold forward as if on a giant hinge, the enormous weight of rock crashing to the ground. It would have crushed the sniper completely, there was no way of escaping it. A billowing cloud of dust rose up in its wake, cloaking the far end of the canyon.

  LaCruz turned as she heard the unmistakeable whine of hydraulics. Barnes had somehow managed to stagger to his feet.

  “Wow, LaCruz!” he marvelled. “That’s pretty amazing. Why didn’t you do that the first time?”

  She quickly covered the ground between them in the hope of steadying him but she was too late and he tumbled forward with the inevitability of a door without its frame.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Ardent remained on the bridge far longer than she’d anticipated. The Botany Bay had long since left Laxx behind and was due to draw level with the flotilla in the next three hours. Now all eyes had shifted to The Galaxian and Bud Selig’s picture had replaced Darnell’s in the top corner of the screen. He seemed an affable enough individual with Polynesian good looks.

  The initial sense of tension had been replaced by a more moderate working atmosphere as the relief of having one ship successfully depart began to take effect. It was only to be expected, though. There was no way that the crew could maintain that level of anxious endeavour indefinitely. You were bound to get peaks and troughs of emotion in a situation like this and Ardent could see now why Meyer had refrained from ratcheting up their level of alertness earlier.

  The more she saw him operating up close, the more she felt that she might have underestimated him. For all his shortcomings - his irascible nature, his pickiness, his assumption that he was always right - there was something about his tiresome, unflappable demeanour which she found reassuring.

  But her real reason for remaining on deck for quite so long was that she was looking for a chance to speak with Farnese. So, when she saw him moving towards the elevator, she cast aside any sense of propriety and followed him.

  He didn’t say anything when he stepped into the elevator, just turned his back against the rail and watched her as she entered. Instantly, she regretted it, she didn’t like pursuing men at the best of times, but she felt that if she didn’t take the opportunity to say something then she might well regret it later. She’d thought she’d be able to walk away from the relationship with her dignity intact, but she’d been wrong.

  She edged herself over into one of the corners as the doors closed.

  “What do you want?” he said wearily.

  “Oh, er, I…”

  “Which deck?”

  “Oh! Which deck? Er, the mess hall.”

  The elevator began to descend then and she was relieved when they had passed deck four, where his cabin was situated.

  When they arrived at her floor, she had no choice but to step out but then as she turned to say something he followed her out.

  The mess hall itself was virtually deserted due in no small part to their current high state of alert. Most people would either be at their duty stations or resting up in their bunks, she supposed. Those off duty had to make the most of whatever ‘down time’ they had available as the likelihood was that they wouldn’t get another opportunity anytime soon.

  They went to get themselves a drink, she went with an iced coffee while he went for a flat white. They carried their drinks over towards a quiet table situated at the back.

  “I don’t know how you can stand it up there – hour after hour.”

  “What do you mean – the tension? You get used to it.”

  “I’m not sure I would.”

  “Good job you didn’t go into the military then.”

  “I suppose.”

  She watched him over the top of her cup. He seemed preoccupied with his coffee, keeping his eyes averted. In the background, a group from the engine room appeared and started helping themselves to trays. No doubt getting their dinner in before everything escalated and they were required down below.

  “Is everything okay between us?” she asked.

  He looked up, suddenly sober.

  “Why shouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking. We don’t seem to be able to make time for one another lately.”

  “Why do you think that is?” Farnese swept a hand around the room. “What with everything that’s been going on.”

  “I know. I know. But, what I suppose I’m getting at is whether we’re going to be able to find time for one another once this is all over.”

  “Of course,” he tried to hold her gaze but couldn’t. “Once this is all over.”

  She put her glass down. She was suddenly hungry and regretted not getting anything when they’d been at the counter.

  “Do you think anything’s going to happen?”

  “Between us?” his tone softened. “Don’t worry. Everything’ll be fine.”

  “I’m not talking about us,” she lowered her voice. “I’m talking about all those people boarding The Galaxian. They didn’t ask for any part of this.”

  Farnese took a sip of his coffee. “Like I said: everything’s going to be fine. We’ve got at least another couple of hours before everyone’s aboard.”

  “But what happens then?”

  “I’ve been talking it over with the captain. We’re of the mind that nothing major’s going to happen.”

  “You seem very sure of yourself.”

  “As far as the Da’al are concerned, this is a fishing trip. They’re trying to see what they can get away with but it won’t be much. You heard what Meyer said: they’re outnumbered and they know it. Worst case scenario? They’ll fire off a few missiles before making a run for it. They’re just trying to force us into making a mistake – which they’re not going to do.”

  “So what’s the point in that? What would they have achieved?”

  Farnese put his cup down and leaned forward. “Their prime objective. Don’t you see? By getting us to commit ourselves to this they’ve succeeded in dividing our main fleet, sending Winterson off in another direction while we’re pinned down here. That’s a real result right there.”

  “Okay!” Ardent blew out a long breath and pushed her glass away from her. “I wish I’d known that earlier.”

  “I understand. Might have taken the pressure off a little.”

  He was cut off by the sound of the P.A. system bursting into life.

  “Now hear this: Battle Stations. Battle Stations.”

  “Shit!” Farnese was quickly on his feet. “What’s that old fool up to now?”

  *

  “What’s going on?” Farnese asked one of the junior officers as soon as they entered the bridge.

  The Renheim was already under way. The gravity suppressors were adept at disguising the sense of movement but there was no mistaking the rumble of the engines coming up through the ship.

  “It’s the Loki, sir,” the officer said. “She started advancing approximately seven minutes ago.”

  Advancing? A word full of possibilities.

  “Heading?”

  “Far as we can make out, she’s gunning for The Galaxian.”

  “Thank you, lieutenant,” Farnese turned to Ardent. “I’m not sure it’s wise for you to be up here, right now.”

  “No. I’m staying. I need to know what’s going on.”

  Farnese looked around, trying to make sense of all the commotion. “Alright, but you’d best make yourself scarce. God knows what they’re up to.”

  Over by his lectern, Meyer seemed untouched by all the commotion, the calm at the centre of the storm. He had his head down, fixated by what he saw on his console.

  “Captain Meyer,” it was Bud Selig, captain of The Galaxian on the screen. His hair was sticking up all over the place and he had the air of someone who’d been trapped in an elevator overnight. “Do you have any intel you’d care to share with me?”

  “Nothing that your own equipment isn’t already telling you. The Loki is making good progress towards your general vicinity but I wouldn’t read too much into that. I think it’s a feint.”

  “Well, you’ll have to pardon me there, captain, because I’m currently reading a lot into it.”

  “Which is clearly their intention. They’re trying to raise the stakes by putting you under pressure but I must ask that you remain calm.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Selig wasn’t speaking directly into the camera. He seemed to have a variety of jobs, all of which were currently demanding his attention. “With respect, you’re not the one sitting out here with his trousers round his ankles.”

  “Understood, Captain Selig, but you must understand that this is typical harrying behaviour. It doesn’t mean anything – it certainly doesn’t mean he intends to mount an attack. He’s trying to provoke a reaction. He knows you’re in a highly vulnerable position right now and that we have to try and protect you. He wants to force us into doing something stupid, which is why we have to remain calm.”

  “Yeah, but I’d feel a lot calmer if you lot were here.”

  “Don’t worry, we’re currently accelerating to precisely match the Loki’s speed, but we don’t want to do anything rash. We intend to move to within a million kilometres of your current position in order to set up an overwatch mode. I don’t want to panic him into doing something we might all regret.”

  “What? Like opening fire on a cruise ship full of civilians? And what if he does, heay? What then?”

  Meyer shot Farnese a look before replying.

  “In the very unlikely case of that happening, be assured that we are more than a match for the Loki.”

  “Well, that’s nice to know. But what am I meant to do in the meantime? Stop them coming aboard? See if we can try again later?”

  “No, I strongly urge you to carry on with the boarding process, captain. This is exactly what they want to do: slow down our operations. If you break off now you’ll only have to come back later at which point, they’ll try exactly the same thing again.”

  Farnese went over and spoke privately to Meyer. Ardent edged close enough to hear.

  “And what if you’re wrong?” Meyer was saying.

  “Then, I’m wrong. But under no circumstances must you cross that threshold.”

  When Meyer looked at his first officer, it was with thinly disguised contempt. Farnese stepped away first, pointing at Meyer before giving him a knowing look.

  Meyer turned his attention back to the screen.

  “Captain Selig, what’s your best estimate as to when you might be finished boarding?”

  “I’m looking into that now. The way things are going, ninety minutes - minimum.”

  “Very well. I can see that you’ve got your hands full, so I’ll let you get on with it.”

  “Thank you, captain. If you could keep me up-dated, I’d appreciate it.”

  Ardent stared at Farnese but he avoided looking back at her.

  Then she turned towards Meyer as she tried to assimilate all that she’d heard.

  The tone of it had been all wrong, as if Farnese was the captain and not the other way around.

  And what did Farnese mean about not crossing the threshold?

  What exactly was the threshold and why should Meyer avoid crossing it?

  It didn’t make any sense.

  She shook her head numbly and went to stand beside the workstation of the tactical officer, Katherine Schwartz. She liked Schwartz. Had even contemplated confiding in her about her relationship with Farnese but in the end, she hadn’t. She didn’t want to put her in an awkward position but also she didn’t want to hear about his other conquests. Ardent was sure that there’d be a long list of those.