Poor Man's Fight Read Free

Bunch of doctors and such, too. Splitting up the loot from this one’s gonna be like Christmas morning.”
    “Christmas with a couple hundred psychos under the tree,” Casey snorted, glancing at Turtle.
    “ That’s a good point, actually,” said Lauren. “I’ve seen a pirate crew get too lucky on a strike before. That was a luxury liner, too, only half this one’s size. After two years of nothing but hits on bulk freighters and mining camps, everyone got crazy. Whole ship cracked under the weight of their own success before we even made it to a friendly port. Half of the crew didn’t live to spend their loot.”
    Casey nodded thoughtfully. Lauren was easily the most experienced among the crew. She was also easily one of the deadliest. “Anyone starts getting too starry-eyed, you take ‘em aside and have a talk with ‘em. The real money’s gonna come from the ship itself, though, assuming we didn’t fuck her up to bad. How’s the outlook on that?” he asked Jerry.
    “We can keep her. Wilson and the other snipes say the FTL generator will be back up in half an hour, maybe less. We can get a short jump out of her to at least get out of this system before a patrol finds us.”
    “ Well, I’m not gonna fret too much about system patrols. How’s her armament?”
    “That’s a kicker. Armaments are solid. She could’ve put up one hell of a fight if the captain hadn’t buckled like he did. Maybe he figured his crew wasn’t up to it. Sturdy ship, though.”
    The door opened again. Carl entered, grinn ing from ear to ear. “Is that good news you’re gonna give me? We got some takers from the crew?”
    “Seventeen,” answered Carl. “Bunch of non-rates, couple electronics techs, a machinist and the junior astrogator. A couple of them are ex-Union fleet or system militia vets, too.”
    Casey shot a triumphant look at him. “Fuck your mixed metaphors bullshit,” he grinned. “Okay, grab a couple of solid guys and take ‘em to their quarters to get whatever of their shit they still want. Make sure they get grilled one at a time by whoever’s with ‘em on any ship’s secrets we might not know yet. VIP passengers, ship’s security, all that shit.”
    “You want us to hold the rest?” Carl asked.
    “Just until we get the rest of our shit sorted. But make sure somebody from the guard detail knows the way down to the lifeboat decks so you can load ‘em up without it turning into a clusterfuck.”
    “Jesus, Casey, you want to waste lifeboats on these sops?” sneered Lauren.
    “Only a couple boats,” Casey shrugged defensively. “I’m sure we can squeeze ‘em into two. Three at the most. They’ll just have to be friendly. Anyway, I said we’d leave them alive.”
    “What about the rest of the passengers?” Carl asked.
    Casey waved a dismissive hand. “Just make sure the ones we plan on ransoming don’t get too broken. Who gives a shit about the rest? It’s not like they’re gonna be able to tell anyone what happened to ‘em.”

One: The Test
     
     
    Tanner ’s desperate run ended outside NorthStar’s district headquarters as he came to the mob of teenagers standing in a line. He nearly collapsed from fatigue, but his arrival brought him no relief from his stress. “Oh God,” Tanner he shuddered, his despair evident as he caught his breath, “they’re actually holding The Test on time this year.”
    “Wow, did you run all the way her e from the depot or something?” asked the classmate standing ahead of him in the line. Tanner bent over with his hands on his thighs dripping with sweat as he tried to slow down his breath. “You could’ve just called me. We’ve been waiting out here for ten minutes for them to let us in.”
    “I would’ve asked,” Tanner groaned, “but my test section started two spots ahead of yours. I’m supposed to be in there already. If you’re out here now, I’m at least fifty minutes late!”
    Nathan blinked. That wasn’t like Tanner at all. The