Gunship Read Free

handheld device, the other resting on the grip of a black-and-tan blaster holstered on her thigh. Beside her, barely visible in the grass, was her former platoon sergeant, Joby Ty. He sat unmoving, patiently waiting, like a mountain lion anticipating its prey. His muscled frame strained under the armor plates he wore strapped to his chest. Over the body armor, he sported a tactical harness with several magazine pouches and a largish handgun. In his hands, he held an even bigger weapon that looked like something out of a video game Reilly had played as a kid.
    The team had been doing well since departing their previous life with the ISUs. Civil war had erupted and then ended, but they had been mostly unaffected, sticking to the regions of space that had jobs but not too much in the way of fighting. Their military contacts helped keep them employed, earning them enough credits to get by on. The work varied from specialty jobs to cargo transport. It wasn’t always sexy, but they had the freedom to choose the jobs they wanted, which was a big improvement over their time with the units. Now they could move about as they pleased without the government locking them down for one-way missions that had the best possibility of getting them killed. They picked the jobs, limited the risk and focused on the payoff, taking in the sights between gigs and trying to make up for lost time.
    Today’s mission was a simple retrieval. Their employer had requested that they break into a compound on Vervian 813, a small, vegetated moon in the Argos solar system, to retrieve a family heirloom that his brother had interned there to spite the rest of the family. The pay was exceptionally good, with 60% up front in digital credits to their accounts, the balance to be paid upon return of the item along with a new Bofors laser turret to replace the ship’s aging laser pod launchers and rail gun. Reilly had thought the job sounded a bit too good until the credits showed up. Their employer swore that the item was of great value to the family, irreplaceable and of a religious nature. Only with its safe return would the family finally get some closure. This wasn’t the first time sentiment over some object and family strife combined into a fantastic opportunity for the crew to make some credits.
    The problem was, now that they were on mission, Reilly was beginning to wonder and not for the first time if something didn’t stink about this job. She thought back to the trouble that had started almost four hours earlier when they arrived in orbit and headed for the surface.
    “Coming up on Vervian 813, Captain!” Duv flipped a few switches and turned the gunship slightly as he began to descend. Reilly stepped through the hatch and onto the deck to look at their destination.
    “Anything?” she asked quietly as she manipulated a touch screen on the console in front of her.
    Duv turned a trained eye to his scopes and gauges, then swung back around. “Nope, I’m not picking up any emissions, so looks like low security, if any at all. Should be an easy payday!”
    Reilly smiled. “Good, that’s what I like to hear. Head on in and put us down within walking range of the compound. I’ll grab Ty, and we’ll get this knocked out.”
    “Maybe even in time to be back for dinner?” Duv grinned evilly as Reilly shot him a look and walked out the hatch.
    “I’ll take that as a no!” he called after her.
    Reilly kept walking as she pulled on her chest plates and tactical rig. Her former gunnery sergeant and longtime mentor, Forlan Chang, had been on one of his rare superstitious kicks again. She shifted the harness, tightening it down as an uneasy feeling swept over her. Chang was a hell of a fighter and had taught her everything she knew from her days as a new lieutenant. He wasn’t one to back down easily, but every now and again he would go off. After listening to him spout a bunch of prophetic bullshit followed by dire predictions of some kind of dark