Pirate Assassin

Page 59

Once the longboat was secured in the ship, it went in hot pursuit of a ship similar to theirs which was what the pirates were on. Zack thanked the stars that they had the hindsight to fully charge the solar cells before setting off. "It's a good thing you warped here with Kelv," Zack told Fletcher gratefully. Kelv was now being seen to by the medic. Zack had described all that he had seen in the temple. The medic was an old hand, and he listened carefully before he started to try repair the damage the captain had done. Fletcher grinned. "All part of the job. C'mon, let's.go catch some pirates."

The chase was quick but intense. Without their captain and their first mate (who was the one who held Genais hostage), they were in complete chaos. Genais was on the deck with Zack; her injuries were minor and she wanted to witness the end of her would-be captors. They drew alongside the pirate ship and the port side cannons opened fire. The result was devastating. Zack saw chunks of metal rocketing away and the thirty remaining pirates were scurrying about the deck, aimless. One of them caught sight of Genais standing on the prow and with a few quick orders, the pirates abandoned their ship and swung on cables to Zack's ship in one last desperate assault to kill Genais. The marines had expected them to concentrate on getting away and so were initially caught off guard. However, their marine training kicked in and they began to fire consistent shots, compared to their panicked and wild shots in the beginning. Nonetheless, the pirates were not an easy foe, and there is a saying that a cornered rat will fight back with ferocity. Unfortunately, they forgot to account for one factor: Zack Ying. Marines on that ship would report to their superiors that he was absolutely glorious in battle. He would weave in between pirates, entangling them in razor sharp threads of a blood red substance which cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Seeing Zack in action and the solid defense, some tried to escape, only to be gunned down. And so ended the attempt on the life of one of the United Galactic Government's prized spokespersons and to those that had been killed, they were buried in honour as faithful soldiers who did their duty to the very end.

Zack was watching as the few pirates they managed to arrest were escorted in chains to the hold. Fletcher whispered to him, "How's that for your first mission? The chief totally picked the right person for it."

"I just did what I was supposed to do."

"And you sure did it to the letter." Fletcher looked around conspiratorially, "Keep this low, kay? This mission was actually high priority. You and I are the one of the only initiates to take on a first class mission.....which we nailed!" and he and Zack fist bumped. Zack grew serious. "It isn't over yet. There's still one more thing to wrap up before we can safely say that this job is done."

"Thanks for everything, Zack," Genais said sincerely. Kelv and Fint were grinning behind her. Zack replied, "No problem, Genais. Just doing my job. And on a random note, you got your voice back!"

"About time. Because of you, I have to continue my tour on Juetan IV and V so I have to have my voice!" she said genially. There was a bout of laughter but Genais sobered. "That's it, right? You've done your job and I'll never see you again."

"How melodramatic!" Zack exclaimed, grinning slightly. "I obviously can't stay, but we might see each other again. After all," he lowered his voice, "You're a very important person to the UGG."

"Still, I'll miss your skulking presence," she replied, sticking her tongue out teasingly.

"If it wasn't for that skulking presence, you'd be dead."

Genais smiled fondly at him. "Yes, I probably would be," and she hugged him briefly. "They always said actions speak louder than words," and they all laughed again.

"So when are you leaving?" Fint asked.

"Not just yet. There's still one last thing I have to see to."

Jist walked up to the group of five. Fletcher saw him and whispered to Zack. They all turned to him. "Everything alright, Miss Genais?" She smiled. "Yep. Thanks to you and your brave marines."

"I'm sure they'd be grateful to hear that," Jist said sadly.

"Yes, they were brave. Just like Pelv. I'm sorry for being the cause of all this, Jist."

Jist shook his head. "No, you're innocent. It's those damned pirates." There was a flash in Zack's eye but it was only for a brief second. "They were ordered by another pirate. We checked their transmission logs. They had been in contact with someone in the Outside plands and they referred to him as boss." Kelv and Fint looked at each other grimly. Jist nodded. "Yes, that means that there mighy be more attempts on your life in the near future. So," he smiled and he gestured at his colleagues with a dramatic wave of his hand, "we'll continue to protect you."

"That's news to me," Zack said casually, "but good luck to your men, Jist." Jist chuckled. "Yes, indeed. I wanted to apologise to you, mercenary. I trust you now and if you want, you could stay and help us. I would gladly include you in our ranks." Zack laughed, but this time, it was harsh and Genais, Fint, Kelv and Jist were a little taken aback. "Sorry, Jist. My contract has ended. I'm no longer a mercenary under Miss Harfet's employ." He drew his plaslock from its holster and drew it level to Jist's face. Everyone froze in shock. "I now return to my post as a Spectre of the Government, and you, Jist, are under arrest for treason."

There was a stunned silence. Then, Jist's marines rose their rifles and trained them on Zack. He didn't flinch, but kept his eyes locked on Jist's. His face was twisted in fury. "After all the pains I took to make amends to you, you still refuse. And now, you accuse me of treason. How dare you! You, a Spectre??" He scoffed. "A child mercenary, I've heard, but a child Spectre, rubbish!" Zack waited silently as his tirade continued. Once he couldn't stand it anymore, he said briskly, "Shut up Jist." Jists jaw dropped and before he could say anything Zack continued, "I don't care that you don't give a damn that I am a Spectre but as for your treason," he grinned. It wasn't friendly. "I have a lot of evidence against you. I knew there was a traitor; there was a lot to prove that, but I didn't know the identity of the traitor until Kelv said something totally unexpected which linked it all together." Jist sputtered in outrage while his men were looking at each other, confused. "It was quite obvious there was a traitor. Even Kelv and probably some of your men had mumbled to one another. But who? The stage sabotage and the attack on the cruise liner all pointed to someone in our group because only we knew Genais' schedule. The fact that they caught us after the last minute change in transport was proof enough."

"Next, I had to find out who and how. Genais, Fint and Kelv knew that I burst an SEMP everytime I entered the room. So how did they know? I told them that Government devices were exempted, but actually they weren't. As Fletcher can verify with you, SEMPs short all kinds of LISTENING equipment. I thought we were safe, then I realised when Kelv made another statement about Government signals being hacked that I remembered. The Government had another piece of expensive equipment. A holoACT." The muttering began, and this time it was louder.

"When the spy equipment was shorted out the first time, the pirate 'boss' had evidently realised. He sent Jist a barrel containing cameras and a holoACT. I had a chat with the equipment people backstage of Juetan III and they told me that a hologram was intense light, which accounts for a circular decolourised spot in the barrel. Thus, I knew how they were spying on us."