The Star Cross Read Free

and coarse white hair. His face, while humanoid, had larger-than-normal
eyes. The last few days had been quiet, while he awaited the return of the rest
of his ships, plus the others he had sent for: a large fleet of detainee ships
and a number of heavy cargo ships.
    The Gothan
Empire, with planet Marsten as its capital, was a loose federation of 118 star
systems that routinely raided many of the civilized races of the galaxy. It was
a dangerous living, but the huge rewards from the bounty collected more than
offset the danger.
    “We’ll make
huge profits from this planet,” gloated Second Profiteer Lantz, as he gazed at
the main viewscreen on the front wall of the Command Center, depicting the
blue-white planet beneath them. “Their people will sell well in the slave
markets on Kubitz.”
    “Their world
is rich in many things that will bring good profits on the black markets,”
added Creed, recalling his last trip to the bustling black market world. “Gold,
platinum, jewels, and even some of their art will add much to our coffers.”
    Hundreds of
alien races could be found on the planet Kubitz, either selling or buying, some
of it openly and some done in the back rooms of the pleasure houses. It was
also a very dangerous place for someone unfamiliar with the workings of the
black market system. People were known to vanish quite routinely, and the local
authorities always seemed to look the other way.
    “We were
fortunate to find this world in this backwater system,” Lantz said. “Few ships
have ventured into this area where the stars are so far apart.”
    “We can thank
the Kreel for that,” Creed said. “Several of their cargo ships have reported unknown
ships detected by their satellite marker buoys in a number of systems they have
claimed. It wasn’t difficult for the computers on Marsten to correlate the data
and extrapolate the most likely location of those ships’ home world.”
    Lantz nodded
in agreement.
    Though it
hadn’t been quite that simple, as the computers had given them an area of space
nearly thirty light-years across, which had contained quite a few stars, even
in this sparse region. The Profiteer fleet had searched for two weeks before finally
pinning down the system they sought.
    “It is well
that we found this system when we did,” Lantz said with greed showing in his eyes.
“They had a sizable fleet and, in a few more years, would have been too
powerful to overwhelm without major losses. They still remain hesitant to obey
our demands, even after we destroyed their cities. More examples might need to
be made.”
    Before Creed
could reply, warning klaxons sounded, and red lights flashed in the Command Center. His eyes instantly went to the sensor operator. “What’s with the alarms?”
he demanded.
    “We have ships
exiting hyperspace,” reported Third Profiteer Bixt, as red threat icons appeared
on the sensor screen before him. Then, after a moment, he looked at First
Profiteer Creed with astonishment on his face. “They’re human!”
    “We didn’t get
them all,” muttered Lantz.
    -
    Admiral
Vickers felt the familiar gut-wrenching sensation as the Star Cross dropped from hyperspace within close proximity to its intended target. The
tactical screen quickly updated, showing the alien ships in orbit around Earth.
    “Energy shield
is coming online,” reported Captain Randson.
    “Target lock!”
called out Lieutenant Evelyn Mays, as green lights flashed on her console.
“Firing particle beam cannon.” She reached forward and pressed several buttons,
activating the deadly weapon. Beside her, two ensigns entered targeting
information for the ship’s heavy KEW batteries and prepared to fire the ship’s
missiles.
    -
    From the Star
Cross , a deep blue beam flashed across space, smashing into the targeted enemy
battlecruiser. Its defensive energy screen was operating at a low level, which
failed to stop the beam. A massive explosion tore into the cruiser, leaving a
gaping hole