Justice Read Free

next shot blasted into the creature’s head.
    “ What the hell, Cal!” Nova said. “This is my ship.”
    The soldier
wavered on its feet, hands reaching for its head. It groaned as its
knees collapsed and it fell to the ground, sending up a wave of
dust.
    “ Target neutralised,” Cal said.
    “ What?” Nova’s mouth dropped and she turned to stare at the
robot. “Cal, I love you.”
    Cal hovered
away from her. “I’m afraid humans aren’t my type,” he said, voice
wavering.
    Nova groaned.
“Damn robot. Right Crusader, get us out of here!”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER TWO
    The planet
disappeared below, the black surface glowing with intermittent
fires.
    Nova’s black
hair reflected the red glow of the burning planet and her violet
eyes took in the carnage. She sighed as she saw the Hunter ships
that wouldn’t leave the planet’s surface; they had been good
people, mostly.
    “ That was unexpected,” a new voice came over Crusader’s secure
communication channel.
    The front
screen showed the blackness of space as her small ship careened
through the openness. Usually the video display would have shown
Aart’s face. She wasn’t surprised to see that he had turned it off
in favour of a simple call-sign avatar. She didn’t much feel like
being seen either.
    “ Hey Aart,” she said. Her stomach released some of its
tension; at least Aart had survived.
    “ Nice save on Gus and Orion.”
    “ I seem to remember saving your arse too,” she said, running a
hand through her matted hair.
    “ Yeah, but that just makes us even for me saving you from
those slug things on Taive.”
    Nova groaned.
She couldn’t face another competition with Aart, not when every
breath burned her lungs like fire.
    “ What was that thing?” she asked, changing the
subject.
    “ No idea. One tough son of a bitch though.”
    “ Got that right,” another voice joined them on the intercom.
Nova recognised Gus’s call sign. “I’ve heard rumours of new
super-soldiers popping up. Guess we just met one.”
    “ But where did the Confederacy get it from?” Nova said,
leaning forward in her chair and staring intently at the dark of
space in front of her.
    “ Looked human enough,” said Aart.
    “ Yeah. I’m just glad we made it out. Dent and Harvey didn’t
make it,” Gus said and a silence filled the intercom.
    “ What a trip, right?” said Aart after a few moments. His tone
was upbeat, although he always did seem to be immune to
tragedy.
    “ Yeah.” Nova rubbed her tired eyes and only then noticed the
ache pervading her muscles.
    Aart, also
known as Artemis Goldson was the quintessential go-getter. His hand
was always the first to go up for dangerous missions and his
foolhardiness was beaten only by his bravery. Aart rarely talked
about his past, before joining the Hunters, but Nova knew he’d had
it tough; as much as he might try and hide it. He and Nova had a
long history; they protected each other like siblings, but they
fought like siblings too.
    Their most
recent disagreement regarded Aart’s sudden desire to take up a
rebellion against the Confederacy. For the moment, the giant
soldier had wiped the argument from both their minds.
    “ Woohoo! Live to see another day!” Aart cheered through the
intercom.
    Nova rolled
her eyes and terminated the connection.
    “ Shall we return to The Jagged Maw?” Crusader asked. Like most
ships, Crusader’s voice was soft, designed to instil calm into
passengers. Nova had tried to modify it once before but it was more
work than it was worth and Crusader’s voice had grown on her over
the years.
    “ No, I don’t think I can face it there right now. Besides,
we’ve got another job to go to.”
    “ To Drigoon then?”
    “ Set the course,” Nova said, standing up from the
controls.
    All she wanted
at that moment was a warm shower. It felt as if every inch of her
was covered with dirt and blood. Her thick trousers had held up
against the rocky ground and her