down.
He turned his attention back to flying his own shuttle, thinking about when he’d last seen one of the giant intergalactic ships arrive. It must have been a couple of months after Mal, Ryate and the rest of his old gang had been killed. He smiled as he remembered how different his life had been back then, compared to now. Now, he was running his own operation, much larger than Ryate’s had ever been, and had a base outside the city, far out in the desert that covered most of the planet. And he had his own shuttle, taken from an old Scraper resident.
“We’ve arrived, Nero,” came the artificial voice from his ship, breaking into his train of thought. He relinquished control to the computer, and felt the ship decelerate rapidly as they came in to land. There was still nothing visible outside the window, but with the sudden cessation of the rain, Nero knew they were now undercover. Not ten seconds later, the ship turned its external lights on, illuminating the inside of the cave in which they’d settled down.
“I hope you had a pleasant journey,” the computer said, as it powered down the engines.
“Indeed I did,” Nero absently replied as he put his jacket on. He left the cockpit and walked down the shuttle’s boarding ramp, emerging from the rear of the ship into a cave.
It was actually very large, with enough space for four shuttles at a push, but Nero didn’t pay any attention to it, instead walking purposefully towards the rear. He followed the discrete lighting in the ground that lit the way there, and came up to a small passage leading deeper into the mountain. With his steps betraying a growing sense of urgency, Nero entered the passage and walked quickly along it.
He had received a message from Talyah whilst he was in the city, which said nothing more than ‘We need to meet soon Nero.’ If anyone else had sent the message, Nero would have thought nothing of it, but not when it was from Talyah. She sent messages rarely, preferring to speak face to face if at all possible, and when she did send a message, it was usually important. The fact that she hadn’t even said what the issue was was even more worrying. Hence Nero had flown straight to his base, hidden in the mountains, to talk to Tal.
“Freeze,” came an authoritative voice from the passage in front of Nero.
“It’s me, Jez,” Nero replied.
“Oh, sorry boss. Carry on.”
Nero walked past the man, who had now lowered the laser rifle, and emerged into the second cave in the mountain complex. Nearly as large as the first, this one served a variety of purposes. Mostly, it was a storage area, used to keep items they obtained before being moved on, but Nero and his men often planned their jobs there, and sometimes they slept in the cavern when they weren’t in the city. It was a sort of second home, and they’d even installed some rooms along the sides of the cave, if they needed privacy.
“Jez, you know where Tal is?” Nero asked, turning back around to speak to the guard.
“No, sorry boss. She might be in one of the rooms at the back. I saw her round there earlier.”
Nodding, Nero made his way over, passing a few guys sat around a table, gambling on a game that Nero didn’t recognise. Making a mental note to socialize a bit more in the future, he looked in some of the rooms, eventually finding Talyah sat at work behind a desk.
“Tal,” Nero said in greeting.
“Nero. You came quickly.”
“I’m at your service Tal. What was your message in aid of?”
“Have a seat, Nero,” Talyah said, standing up herself, and beginning to pace behind the desk. Nero deferred, preferring to remain standing. Something had obviously got Talyah in a fluster, which was very unusual for her.
“As you know, I have had suspicions about the Nostra infiltrating our group,” she started to explain. “Well, I’ve been talking individually to our guys recently.”
“Sure,” Nero said, aware that when Talyah said she was talking to
He turned his attention back to flying his own shuttle, thinking about when he’d last seen one of the giant intergalactic ships arrive. It must have been a couple of months after Mal, Ryate and the rest of his old gang had been killed. He smiled as he remembered how different his life had been back then, compared to now. Now, he was running his own operation, much larger than Ryate’s had ever been, and had a base outside the city, far out in the desert that covered most of the planet. And he had his own shuttle, taken from an old Scraper resident.
“We’ve arrived, Nero,” came the artificial voice from his ship, breaking into his train of thought. He relinquished control to the computer, and felt the ship decelerate rapidly as they came in to land. There was still nothing visible outside the window, but with the sudden cessation of the rain, Nero knew they were now undercover. Not ten seconds later, the ship turned its external lights on, illuminating the inside of the cave in which they’d settled down.
“I hope you had a pleasant journey,” the computer said, as it powered down the engines.
“Indeed I did,” Nero absently replied as he put his jacket on. He left the cockpit and walked down the shuttle’s boarding ramp, emerging from the rear of the ship into a cave.
It was actually very large, with enough space for four shuttles at a push, but Nero didn’t pay any attention to it, instead walking purposefully towards the rear. He followed the discrete lighting in the ground that lit the way there, and came up to a small passage leading deeper into the mountain. With his steps betraying a growing sense of urgency, Nero entered the passage and walked quickly along it.
He had received a message from Talyah whilst he was in the city, which said nothing more than ‘We need to meet soon Nero.’ If anyone else had sent the message, Nero would have thought nothing of it, but not when it was from Talyah. She sent messages rarely, preferring to speak face to face if at all possible, and when she did send a message, it was usually important. The fact that she hadn’t even said what the issue was was even more worrying. Hence Nero had flown straight to his base, hidden in the mountains, to talk to Tal.
“Freeze,” came an authoritative voice from the passage in front of Nero.
“It’s me, Jez,” Nero replied.
“Oh, sorry boss. Carry on.”
Nero walked past the man, who had now lowered the laser rifle, and emerged into the second cave in the mountain complex. Nearly as large as the first, this one served a variety of purposes. Mostly, it was a storage area, used to keep items they obtained before being moved on, but Nero and his men often planned their jobs there, and sometimes they slept in the cavern when they weren’t in the city. It was a sort of second home, and they’d even installed some rooms along the sides of the cave, if they needed privacy.
“Jez, you know where Tal is?” Nero asked, turning back around to speak to the guard.
“No, sorry boss. She might be in one of the rooms at the back. I saw her round there earlier.”
Nodding, Nero made his way over, passing a few guys sat around a table, gambling on a game that Nero didn’t recognise. Making a mental note to socialize a bit more in the future, he looked in some of the rooms, eventually finding Talyah sat at work behind a desk.
“Tal,” Nero said in greeting.
“Nero. You came quickly.”
“I’m at your service Tal. What was your message in aid of?”
“Have a seat, Nero,” Talyah said, standing up herself, and beginning to pace behind the desk. Nero deferred, preferring to remain standing. Something had obviously got Talyah in a fluster, which was very unusual for her.
“As you know, I have had suspicions about the Nostra infiltrating our group,” she started to explain. “Well, I’ve been talking individually to our guys recently.”
“Sure,” Nero said, aware that when Talyah said she was talking to
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