liked, and admired, about her.
“I do,” he replied, with the faintest of smiles spreading across his face. “You remember when I went to get the sticks a couple of days ago?” Nods all round. “Well, I overheard one person near a stall. He was discussing a shipment of food that was due to arrive tomorrow. I think he was discussing plans with a colleague, but whatever, he mentioned that it would be stored in that warehouse over in Section 110...”
“When you say ‘person’, Nero, do you mean...?” Talyah interjected.
“Nostra, yes.” This elicited a frown in Talyah, and downright shock in the other two. “But hear me out. They were planning to go in tomorrow night, I think. I say we break in early evening, after the shipment’s arrived and everyone’s left, but before the Nostra move in. We take what we can, but there’ll still be enough left that the Nostra will never know we were there. It’s perfect.”
“And these Nostra people didn’t notice you snooping around?” Talyah asked.
“No. I was discreet, they didn’t see me behind them. Don’t worry Tal, I’m not new at this sort of thing.”
She sat there thinking about the idea, whilst Jerad and Col just ate their protein sticks. Nero watched them, confident that they’d go along with the plan. They had all come from lives that saw them barely surviving on the streets, and none of them wanted to go back to that. This brief reminder had been enough. And besides, Nero knew the idea was a good one. The warehouse the food was in was one that Nero, Mal, and Talyah had broken into about a year ago. Unless the security had been vastly increased, it should be quite easy to get into again.
“Alright, Nero,” came the eventual reply from Talyah.
With Tal and Nero going, Jerad and Col both agreed that it was a good idea too. For the time being, however, they went back to finishing the meal Nero and Col had obtained. Tomorrow, though, tomorrow they would get back to doing what they did best. Nero smiled faintly to himself at the thought, pleased to be back to his calling in life.
CHAPTER THREE
NINETEEN
Five years later
The wind howled around the ship, driving the pouring rain hard into the window. Beneath it, the last of the city lights could just be seen flying by, and then darkness enveloped everything. The only reference points now came from the AI computer that assisted with flying, which projected a bearing onto the window. Next to that was the estimated arrival time, in a little over two minutes.
Far above the small shuttle, as yet undetected by the ship’s sensors, was an even larger ship. This was built to travel vast distances in space, and to carry cargo all around the galaxy. The small shuttle would be able to fit into the cargo bay of the behemoth hundreds of times over, still with room to spare. As it slowed down after its descent into the planet’s atmosphere, the giant ship fired up its antigrav thrusters.
The roar from these engines was powerful enough to be heard for hundreds of miles in any direction, and easily overcame the drumming of the rain on the little shuttle’s bodywork. Inside that shuttle, Nero looked up, leaning forward over the console to get a look at the sky. The behemoth was directly overhead, still miles above, but the thrust from the engines was enough to rattle the shuttle, setting warning lights flashing inside.
Nero watched as the other ship slowed its descent even more, and then began circling around over the city to reach the far side. Ships that large rarely visited planets this far from the centre of the galaxy, but it wasn’t unheard of. Nero knew there was only one place a ship like that would go, and that was to the spaceport on the far side of the city. There, it would jettison the supplies bound for this planet, and whatever supplies that were loaded back onto it would be flown up to the ship. It all happened so quickly, and efficiently, that the giant ship didn’t even need to touch
“I do,” he replied, with the faintest of smiles spreading across his face. “You remember when I went to get the sticks a couple of days ago?” Nods all round. “Well, I overheard one person near a stall. He was discussing a shipment of food that was due to arrive tomorrow. I think he was discussing plans with a colleague, but whatever, he mentioned that it would be stored in that warehouse over in Section 110...”
“When you say ‘person’, Nero, do you mean...?” Talyah interjected.
“Nostra, yes.” This elicited a frown in Talyah, and downright shock in the other two. “But hear me out. They were planning to go in tomorrow night, I think. I say we break in early evening, after the shipment’s arrived and everyone’s left, but before the Nostra move in. We take what we can, but there’ll still be enough left that the Nostra will never know we were there. It’s perfect.”
“And these Nostra people didn’t notice you snooping around?” Talyah asked.
“No. I was discreet, they didn’t see me behind them. Don’t worry Tal, I’m not new at this sort of thing.”
She sat there thinking about the idea, whilst Jerad and Col just ate their protein sticks. Nero watched them, confident that they’d go along with the plan. They had all come from lives that saw them barely surviving on the streets, and none of them wanted to go back to that. This brief reminder had been enough. And besides, Nero knew the idea was a good one. The warehouse the food was in was one that Nero, Mal, and Talyah had broken into about a year ago. Unless the security had been vastly increased, it should be quite easy to get into again.
“Alright, Nero,” came the eventual reply from Talyah.
With Tal and Nero going, Jerad and Col both agreed that it was a good idea too. For the time being, however, they went back to finishing the meal Nero and Col had obtained. Tomorrow, though, tomorrow they would get back to doing what they did best. Nero smiled faintly to himself at the thought, pleased to be back to his calling in life.
CHAPTER THREE
NINETEEN
Five years later
The wind howled around the ship, driving the pouring rain hard into the window. Beneath it, the last of the city lights could just be seen flying by, and then darkness enveloped everything. The only reference points now came from the AI computer that assisted with flying, which projected a bearing onto the window. Next to that was the estimated arrival time, in a little over two minutes.
Far above the small shuttle, as yet undetected by the ship’s sensors, was an even larger ship. This was built to travel vast distances in space, and to carry cargo all around the galaxy. The small shuttle would be able to fit into the cargo bay of the behemoth hundreds of times over, still with room to spare. As it slowed down after its descent into the planet’s atmosphere, the giant ship fired up its antigrav thrusters.
The roar from these engines was powerful enough to be heard for hundreds of miles in any direction, and easily overcame the drumming of the rain on the little shuttle’s bodywork. Inside that shuttle, Nero looked up, leaning forward over the console to get a look at the sky. The behemoth was directly overhead, still miles above, but the thrust from the engines was enough to rattle the shuttle, setting warning lights flashing inside.
Nero watched as the other ship slowed its descent even more, and then began circling around over the city to reach the far side. Ships that large rarely visited planets this far from the centre of the galaxy, but it wasn’t unheard of. Nero knew there was only one place a ship like that would go, and that was to the spaceport on the far side of the city. There, it would jettison the supplies bound for this planet, and whatever supplies that were loaded back onto it would be flown up to the ship. It all happened so quickly, and efficiently, that the giant ship didn’t even need to touch
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