Farscape Black Ghost (4)
Traynor made his way to the bay where the Takayi was docked. He knew this was a gamble but one he was willing to take. He looked around and saw several cargo containers stacked four and five high. He didn’t see any ground crew but he did notice a figure near the back of the freighter. He thought the figure might be scavengers that try to pry apart a ship’s hull then melting it down and selling the metal and they sometimes manage to sneak on board ships taking their cargo and ripping out anything of value. Part of the ground crew’s job was to keep them away as well as to attend to the ship’s needs. As he approached the rear the figure grew closer and it looked familiar to him. Suddenly the figure turned around. It was a tavlek. Traynor drew both of his pulse pistols and began to fire. The tavlek fired his gauntlet and missed instead hitting the side of the freighter, Traynor dove to his left behind some containers. He got up from the ground and pressed his back up against a container with his pistols still drawn, he stood there for several microts trying to figure out what the tavlek was going to do next. He poked his head around the container, the tavlek fired again this time hitting the container forcing Traynor to dive and roll to his right to avoid the second consecutive blast that the tavlek fired. The freighter’s landing ramp began to retract and the engines came on. "NO… WAIT! … STOP!" the tavlek shouted as he ran towards the landing ramp in the hopes that he would be able to grab it before it was fully retracted. When Traynor came out of the roll he was on one knee and fired both pulse pistols at his enemy hitting him in the back. The tavlek went down after the seventh shot. The freighter’s engines powered up to full and he could feel the heat as well seeing the bluish-green light that the engines emanated. "Wonderful." Traynor ran over to where the tavlek lay, picked him up, and flung his limp body over cargo containers. He ran trying to find cover leaping over containers just in time landing hard on his left arm. The engines roared as it lifted off spewing debris in the air, throwing empty containers in all directions. He could feel the heat as the Takayi left the docking bay, lying on his stomach he looked over his shoulder but quickly shut his eyes the intense light hurting him that was coming from the ship’s engines. Once he felt the air cool around him, he opened his eyes and looked up and saw the Takayi was some 500 metras away. He stood up and moved towards the tavlek and drew his pistol and began shouting at him, "…WHO’S ON THAT FREIGHTER? WHO SENT YOU?" But it was no use the tavlek was dead. He picked up the gauntlet that had fallen off his arm and threw it screaming in frustration. He looked at the body briefly then dragged it over to an empty container and dumped it inside and closed it. He grabbed his left arm and let out a small grunt obviously in pain and headed back to his ship. A member of the ground crew demanding payment greeted Traynor. He quickly paid and proceeded to the landing ramp. He stopped and turned around, "HEY YOU," he shouted back. Traynor walked over to him and said something. He took out some money and paid him. The crewmember nodded his head and left. He turned around and walked to the landing ramp. As he walked up the ramp it began to retract. Once inside he made his way to the command deck. He signaled the control port for permission to leave and waited for their acknowledgement. "Sperian transport, permission granted. Thank you for visiting Siecom and we hope that your stay was enjoyable. We look forward to seeing you again," The engines turned on and she lifted off and proceeded to leave the planet. Once the ship left orbit, Traynor sat back and grabbed his left hand and began to massage it trying to stop the pain. He looked out the cockpit window and wondered where she was and how long it was going to take to find her. He entered the coordinates and waited for the ship’s computer to confirm them still rubbing his hand. After a few microts they were confirmed. He headed for the Uncharted Territories. "But he insists that you are the only person he can give it to sir," the slave said. "FINE!" said U’ave upset that he had to get up from his dinner. "Who from the other houses would send me something here?" nearly spitting his food out of his mouth. "I don’t think it’s from any of the other houses," the slave replied. He got to the front door of his home muttering, "…they know better than to send things here. I don’t conduct business in my home." He opened the door and saw the large cargo container. He threw some coins at the courier, "Quickly GO!" He opened the container and jumped back and gasped at what he saw was inside. It was a body of a tavlek. He closed the container and tried to regain his composure. "Melluk!" he shouted at the slave. "Yes sir?" "Get rid of this!" pointing at the container his hand visibly shaking. "Of course," Melluk replied. He went back inside and sat down to continue his meal. He refilled his glass of ocono and took a sip. He sat back in his chair staring blankly at the plate in front of him. He lost his appetite.
Copyright © 2001 Rick Mantilla |