Chronicles of a Space Mercenary 0: Tanya by Ronald Wintrick Page A
Authors: Ronald Wintrick
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Tanya let the memories slip away again as she ran on through the entire night. She ran at a sprint when she could, but the forest had thickened again and it was almost impossible to move at that pace. Still, she was moving a lot faster than she had coming in, and by midday had drawn near to where she had left her little ship.
She had not detected pursuit, but that would be nearly impossible considering the geography. She wouldn't know they were behind her until they were on top of her. Or it was very possible they were simply waiting for her, already knowing everything about her. She had to consider every possibility. That was the reason she had been so successful. If anyone should be aware of what treachery human beings were capable of, it was Tanya.
She did not immediately think that Handler had done this on purpose. She could imagine no reason why he would. But the fact that she could not imagine a reason why he would turn on her didn’t mean that he had not. Maybe he even had a good reason. Tanya wasn’t sure that Handler had turned on her, although that was her first impression, the ver y first thought which had risen , and it was usually the first intuitive thought that came to mind that was always the correct one.
The fact that she could think of no reason why he would turn on her was the only reason she had not fully come to believe it was Handler's treachery behind the failure of the field-nullifier. She suppos ed that such things did occur on occasion. The fact that one had never failed before didn't necessarily mean that they couldn't fail. Still, the first thought that had come to her mind had been that it was Handler. She could hardly forget that, even if it made no sense to her at the moment.
The safest course was that she operate on the presumption that her initial intuition had been correct. That meant he knew where her ship was. That meant that if he really was behind it, someone would be waiting near her ship and she would not detect them as she approached because they wouldn’t move. Not until it was too late. They wouldn't send an amateur.
Although she had covered most of the distance to her ship, she now turned away from it with a heavy heart. There was nothing in this Universe she wanted more than to go directly to that ship and flee with every kilogram of thrust it could provide, but she simply could no longer take that risk. Trying to reclaim her ship was the fastest route off this planet, but it could also be a trap. It could mean her death. Though Tanya was an assassin and regularly risked her life, Tanya never handed it over to chance.
Chapter 15
Tanya had decided that if there were going to be risks then the payoff should be commensurate. It was two we eks since she had been back . She had been very busy during this time. She had committed numerous thefts and given everything to the children. Most of her stash as well, but not the drugs. Those she had dumped. She was no longer trying to hide from the children how she was doing her providing, because she was more afraid of what would happen if she didn't return. One day she probably wouldn't return for one reason or another.
Her shoulder tote was full again; hard-tack, rice, hard beans, and other hard to come by staples. The children now had enough staples to last several years, and plenty of money for when that ran out. Tanya had come to the inescapable conclusion that they were now on the lookout for her anywhere she might surface . The only reason her recent thefts had been successful at all was because of her return to stealing food instead of valuables. After this string of recent thefts Tanya knew she would no longer be able to steal anything with any assurance that she wouldn't soon walk into a trap that she couldn't escape.
She had discovered through eavesdropping that others, emboldened by her success, were copycatting her. If the people she was stealing from hadn't been on guard before, they were now. Everyone
Tanya let the memories slip away again as she ran on through the entire night. She ran at a sprint when she could, but the forest had thickened again and it was almost impossible to move at that pace. Still, she was moving a lot faster than she had coming in, and by midday had drawn near to where she had left her little ship.
She had not detected pursuit, but that would be nearly impossible considering the geography. She wouldn't know they were behind her until they were on top of her. Or it was very possible they were simply waiting for her, already knowing everything about her. She had to consider every possibility. That was the reason she had been so successful. If anyone should be aware of what treachery human beings were capable of, it was Tanya.
She did not immediately think that Handler had done this on purpose. She could imagine no reason why he would. But the fact that she could not imagine a reason why he would turn on her didn’t mean that he had not. Maybe he even had a good reason. Tanya wasn’t sure that Handler had turned on her, although that was her first impression, the ver y first thought which had risen , and it was usually the first intuitive thought that came to mind that was always the correct one.
The fact that she could think of no reason why he would turn on her was the only reason she had not fully come to believe it was Handler's treachery behind the failure of the field-nullifier. She suppos ed that such things did occur on occasion. The fact that one had never failed before didn't necessarily mean that they couldn't fail. Still, the first thought that had come to her mind had been that it was Handler. She could hardly forget that, even if it made no sense to her at the moment.
The safest course was that she operate on the presumption that her initial intuition had been correct. That meant he knew where her ship was. That meant that if he really was behind it, someone would be waiting near her ship and she would not detect them as she approached because they wouldn’t move. Not until it was too late. They wouldn't send an amateur.
Although she had covered most of the distance to her ship, she now turned away from it with a heavy heart. There was nothing in this Universe she wanted more than to go directly to that ship and flee with every kilogram of thrust it could provide, but she simply could no longer take that risk. Trying to reclaim her ship was the fastest route off this planet, but it could also be a trap. It could mean her death. Though Tanya was an assassin and regularly risked her life, Tanya never handed it over to chance.
Chapter 15
Tanya had decided that if there were going to be risks then the payoff should be commensurate. It was two we eks since she had been back . She had been very busy during this time. She had committed numerous thefts and given everything to the children. Most of her stash as well, but not the drugs. Those she had dumped. She was no longer trying to hide from the children how she was doing her providing, because she was more afraid of what would happen if she didn't return. One day she probably wouldn't return for one reason or another.
Her shoulder tote was full again; hard-tack, rice, hard beans, and other hard to come by staples. The children now had enough staples to last several years, and plenty of money for when that ran out. Tanya had come to the inescapable conclusion that they were now on the lookout for her anywhere she might surface . The only reason her recent thefts had been successful at all was because of her return to stealing food instead of valuables. After this string of recent thefts Tanya knew she would no longer be able to steal anything with any assurance that she wouldn't soon walk into a trap that she couldn't escape.
She had discovered through eavesdropping that others, emboldened by her success, were copycatting her. If the people she was stealing from hadn't been on guard before, they were now. Everyone
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