Omega Force 3: The Enemy Within Read Free Page A

“But they didn’t know that your neural implant tries to keep tabs on the ship, even if it needs to access outside networks to do it. I was able to track your query signature through the public band and see which node you were pinging first. It was intermittent since it only happened when they opened the hangar door, but it gave us a general location.”
    “ After that we circled the area with the ship until we found that hidden facility. Turns out it was a staging point for a lot of the arms they were running, so we waited until nightfall and picked a logical breaching point,” Doc finished.
    “ Yeah, that was a lucky shot,” Jason said. “Any closer and it would have been a body recovery and not a rescue. Thanks for that, by the way. It was an interesting experience being on the other end of it.”
    “ Don’t mention it,” Kage said distractedly.
    “ Well, it seems you have things well in hand up here,” Jason said as he climbed stiffly out of his seat. “I’m going to go enjoy some solid food.”
    *****
    It was some time later, during the nightshift, when Jason walked through the dim corridor and out into the cargo bay. He walked silently down the steps from the mezzanine to the cargo bay deck and looked over at the large, modular prison cell that was secured to the deck. Padding up to it, he gazed in through the hardened, transparent alloy barrier.
    “ I know you’re there,” Corenntal bubbled without opening his eyes. “You may be silent, but your stench can reach even through this box.”
    “ Nice to see confinement hasn’t noticeably improved your personality,” Jason said. “Consistency is a virtue, even when it means you’re an asshole to the very end.”
    “ Did you come here to gloat?” Corenntal asked as he seemed to ooze off the shelf that served as a bed before his limbs regained rigidity and he stood upright. His species’ unique system of support necessitated the specialized holding cell. It was a bizarre combination of segmented bone sections coupled with bladders he could fill or evacuate that would allow him to squeeze out between the widely spaced bars that were in the Phoenix’s brig.
    Corenntal stood and his eyes seemed to extend up slightly on their stalks so he could look down on Jason. The human knew this was meant to be a sign of contempt and intimidate him, but the thick shielding negated that effect.
    “That would imply I have some sort of emotional connection to your capture. Don’t flatter yourself … I could care less who you are. We were paid to snatch you and that’s that. It does help me sleep better to know that you’re an arms-smuggling sack of slime that deserves what’s coming to him,” Jason said calmly.
    “ Oh, but I think you do,” Corenntal chortled, a singularly disgusting sound. “We both know it was just dumb luck your crew arrived when they did, and we also know that you were very close to dying at our hands.” There was another bout of wet noises that Jason couldn’t identify before the grotesque being continued. “Imagine my surprise when you weren’t a ConFed agent, but just some bottom-feeding bounty hunter. I don’t know exactly who is paying for my delivery, but you better hope I don’t find my way out of wherever they stick me. I’m still most unhappy about the animal on your crew killing my brother.”
    “ You know … with all of the head trauma from our time together, you’d probably better just tell him yourself. It’s not likely I’ll remember and I’m sure he’d be fascinated by your point of view,” Jason said as he pushed himself off the transparent shield where he’d been leaning. “Be sure to use those exact words. Crusher prides himself on being completely reasonable when slimy pus-sacks make melodramatic threats and insults. Anyway … enjoy the rest of the flight.” Jason walked off and headed for the stairs without looking back. He wasn’t sure why he had come down to look in on his prisoner, but he had to