Sci-Fi-Rag (Shoot the Moon


	CHAPTER 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Keetrix, I'm not going... I'm not going back." Mandro said. "Relax, I'll think of something" Keetrix replied, facing the wall as he examined their new cell. "What? No!.. no. You will not 'think' of anything.!" Mandro stood up, his arms gesturing wildly. "You are forbidden to 'think' of anything. You're 'thinking' is the problem! If you hadn't 'thought' up your ludicrous plan to march into a dining hall wearing a Genovian clown suit, walk up to Brockworth Silvanus and spit in his eye, we'd still be in the safety of our room!" Mandro pounded his fist on the sides of the cell. "You are forbidden from this day forward to use the word 'think', 'plan','hunch' or 'instinct' in my presence!" "You don't have to get nasty about it." Keetrix shrugged. "You want nasty? I'll show you nasty!" Mandro tried to roll the sleeves of his robe over his forearms. "Wait!" Keetrix held up his hand. "Someone's coming!" He held his head near the door. "Let's jump the guard!" Mandro blurted out. "Oh please, like they're going to fall for that one." Keetrix smirked. "We've got to do something!" Mandro said over clenched teeth. Flattening himself on the wall by the door. Keetrix leapt across the room, his arms pinned Mandro against the wall. "Now you listen to me!" Keetrix whispered hoarsely. "You are not going to get us killed! As long as we're alive, we can get out of this. We're going to stay alive and we're not going to do anything stupid!" The door swung open, the two men looked toward the open door. "Well I certainly hope not!" came a familiar voice. "Shianna!" Keetrix said, dumbfounded. "What's this? Speechless again? I seem to have this effect on you." She said, striding into the room. "Okay guys, time to level with me. What's your scam?" "Huh?" Keetrix asked. "Out with it, right now." She persisted. "Well," Mandro sighed, "we're not ..uh.. exactly who we said we were." He explained carefully. Searching her eyes as he spoke. "That much is obvious." She said. "What I mean is, why in the galaxy do two recently escaped slave miners, and I know that's what you are, draw as much attention to themselves as possible? What's your gig? Is this an assassination attempt? Are you government agents? Are you after the money shipment? " Mandro motioned toward Keetrix, "That was this genius's idea." Keetrix smiled weakly. "You've got to be kidding me! You two are dumb as rocks! You didn't think anyone actually fell for that 'wandering adventurer' story do you? You could see through that from across the room!" She stared at them. Keetrix looked at the ground. Finally, after several moments, he looked up. "So what are you going to do?" He asked. She continued to stare at them, as if making up her mind. Finally she sighed, her look softened. "Well listen, my husband is a good man. He has nothing to do with any of the slaving activity. I know he believes his miners are well treated and reasonably compensated. The security chief has him completely hoodwinked, but Brockworth refuses to believe anything bad about his Security Chief." "So what are you going to do?" Keetrix repeated. She crossed her arms. "I'm not going to let him send you back there. I guess I have to help you escape." Mandro felt relief flush over him. But then he asked." How can you help us escape? Everythings under total lockdown?" "That's easy, just come with me." She said, walking out the door. The two men nervously looked out the door of their cell. "Don't worry, they're not here. Brockworth has them helping the captain" She called out from ahead. Soon they arrived at an elevator. She held her transceiver over the keypad and the elevator slid open. They climbed in silently. She held her transciever again over a metalic pad on the side of the elevator. The pad silently slid open revealing a row of buttons. She pressed the large button on the top, briefly illuminating it. The panel closed silently after she withdrew her hand. Finally the elevator came to a stop, the doors slid open. Shianna motioned for the men to stay still. "I'm going to stick my head out and look first." She said. "Not everyone on this floor may be following the lockdown procedure." She stuck her head out, then stepped out into the hallway. "Come on." She said. "It's not far." Turning several corners, they came to an ornately decorated arched doorway. Sliding her transciever she opened the door. "This is our suite." She said. Gesturing with her arm. She walked into the large space. The hallway emptied into a large sitting area facing an enormous window. The vastness of space filled the window, thousands of tiny dots of light. She touched a panel on the wall, bringing up the light levels in the room. "This looks just like my room!" Keetrix voice came from behind them. "Do you have a plan?" Mandro asked, staring out over the expansive view. "I've got more then a plan!" She said, turning to walk toward the far wall. The wall was covered with decorative panels that stretched from floor to ceiling. Walking toward a large wall panel, she slid her transciever over the panel and then pressed a tiny hidden catch on the edge of the panel. The entire panel slid up noislessly to reveal a circular walkway around a small space craft. "I've got ...THIS!" "Brockworth insisted our suite be equipped with an escape pod. This convoy has been attacked with pirates before, he's incessantly worried about being kidnapped." She walked out to the circular walkway and set her hand on the rail. "What is this convoy?" Mandro asked. "Something isn't right about it. Who's interGal holdings?" "There is no interGal holdings. Or at least no real interGal holdings. It's a cover. Much of the trading that goes on in this sector goes on outside the official government channels." She explained. "Smuggling" Mandro offered. "Exactly." She continued. "The government knows about it, but won't, or can't stop it. Government officials turn a blind eye if they can get cut in on the profits. That way the government doesn't have to take the risks. They let the smugglers do the dirty work. If someone complains or goofs up, they find themselves lugging rocks on a mining colony." She stepped further down the walkway to the control panel of the escape pod. "Anyway, once a year, the smugglers need to transfer their cash holdings from these outer sectors to their galactic accounts. Rather than trying to move their money in a thousand little trips, they move it all at once, using the cover and protection of the government. Government officials, military officers and merchants who have been helpful are invited on this golden convoy to be wined and dined and given their share of the wealth. It's an annual hommage to graft and corruption." She quipped. "They call it the 'Golden Convoy." "So, I guess the pirates want to get cut in as well." Keetrix mused. "Usually the pirates are strictly small time, but Brockworth says this timed they're organized and well-armed. But they don't know which freight container the money is in." She responded. "Look, do you guys know how to pilot a pod?" she asked. Keetrix nodded. "It's a stealth pod, so you should be able to get out undetected." She continued. "You need to begin the launch sequence as soon as possible, so the engines can fully charge. I'm going to go find my husband and make sure he stays out of the room. As soon as this thing is charged, you need to get as far from this sector as possible." She approached the launch console, again passing her transceiver over it. She punched a code into the console, activating the ships computer. "Won't you get in trouble?" Mandro asked. "Well, it seems that one of you two must have swiped my transciever at the dinner table, and used it to locate my room, steal some jewelry, and commandeer the stealth pod." She turned to face them. "What about your room's security logs?" Mandro asked. "Those will can be called up and viewed by anyone, including the Security Chief." "Brockworth made sure that this rooms logs are only recorded and saved here, he's a bit of a nut on security." She explained. "I've erased the rooms logs." She reached up and unlatched her necklace and took off her earrings, handing them to Keetrix. "Here, you go." "Oh we can't take this." Mandro shook his head. "Oh, give it a rest. I've got lots more." She replied "Besides, consider it back wages. Now, I've got to go. Remember, as soon as it's charged, get as far away from here as you can." "Don't worry about that." Mandro said, still staring at the jewelry. She turned and walked down the walkway back into the room. Stopping at the door, she turned, her face lighting up in a smile, "Good luck fellas!...Oh, and this time...try to keep a lower profile." CHAPTER 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------- The two men climbed into the stealth pod and strapped in themselves in. "This day can not get any wilder!" Mandro said, pouring the jewelry into the pocket of his robe. "Charge it up and let's get off this crazy space train!" Keetrix said, having recovered some of his bluster. "It's too bad we don't know which car has all the loot in it." "She logged us into the stealth pod's computer, but I can access the flagship's computer under that access code." Mandro said, watching his screen. "It must be Mr. Silvanus' personal code." "What can you find out?" Keetrix asked. "Well, there's no freight container that lists 'umpteen billion credits of galactic gold' if that's what you're wondering." Mandro paged through the data screens. "I do see that one of the containers is being accessed now." "I wonder why?" Keetrix asked. "Not sure, but it looks like this one has a triple security access" "Sounds like our treasure chest to me." Keetrix said, buckling himself in. "I'm not sure what they're doing inside it. Motion sensors are going off. They must be physically entering the storage compartment now." Mandro explained. "Probably unloading some of that money." Keetrix replied. "Looks like they've closed it up again." Mandro said. "Probably nearly empty." said Keetrix. "Actually, there's been a slight weight increase." "Huh? Maybe they put a guard detail in there. I wouldn't want that job", Keetrix laughed. "Here's something else." Mandro looked up from the computer terminal, a puzzled look on his face. "Yeah?" "Radiation sensors are going off the chart." Mandro brought up a screen of data. "What?" Keetrix asked. "They're going to blow it up?" Mandro wondered aloud. "Impossible!" Keetrix frowned, "No one would blow up all that money." "Maybe it's a decoy, let the pirates chase it, then detonate it" Mandro suggested. "Why the triple security lock?" Keetrix asked. "I don't know, but it looks like the transport is being separated from the convoy." "That's it! There's a bomb on board" Keetrix insisted. He thought for a moment. "Do any other containers have the triple lock?" "No." said Mandro. "It's got to be the money!" Keetrix said again. "But then why would they blow it up?" Mandro lifted his hands. "Maybe they'd rather lose it then let the pirates have it." "Not this crowd." Keetrix mused. "They wouldn't let it go with out a major fight." Keetrix’ eyes suddenly widened. "Uhhh, Mandro..." "Yes?" Mandro looked up from his console. "I know you don't exactly like the way my last 'plan' turned out, but I've got another one." "No!" Mandro shouted. "You haven't heard it yet." Keetrix said. "No." Mandro repeated. "Just let me say it." He pleaded. "If it doesn't involve me heading full speed to safety, I'm not interested." quipped Mandro. "Oh, it takes us to safety, alright, the question is whether we get there with a few million galactic credits or not." Mandro sighed..."We can't." "Mandro, there are somethings you just can't walk away from. People who can just show a little bit of creativity at just the right instant can reap enormous rewards." "Whoa, you're timing and creativity have left a little to be desired lately." Mandro grinned. "Yes, but we always come out of it. I tell you, something likes us. Shianna showed up out of nowhere and drug us from our cell to a stealth pod. Now how can you deny that kind of luck? I tell you, we were meant to be here, meant to do something BIG " "That kind of luck will never happen twice. That's exactly why we need to forget any crazy schemes and just get out of here. Haven't you ever heard 'don't push your luck'? That means if you've had sensational luck, it's time to quit, time to stop taking undue risks, before the law of averages catches up with you. " Mandro explained. "Do you have any idea how much money is in that transport? If we could just grab the tiniest fraction of that money, we would be set for life. All the cash holdings from all the smuggling in this sector for a year? Are you kidding me?" Keetrix voice began to raise. "It must be stored in pure dilactium for it to even fit in one transport." "No." Mandro said, simply. "There are times when the stakes are so high that you HAVE to try. Only a few people in the history of the galaxy will ever even see this much money in one place, let alone have the chance to gleen some off of it. We can skim 1 crate or 2 crates and be set for life." "What about the bomb?" Mandro reminded him. "There not going to set that off for at least 200 parsecs, not with this crowd of stuffed shirts on board." Keetrix reasoned. "They'll vaporize us before we even get near the ship." Mandro argued. "Well, it's not without risk, but with a stealth pod, if we run below the transports, and come up on the dark side, we can probably get in undetected. We can magnetically dock to the magnaseal underneath and get in. You've got access to the triple security sequence right? That's our ace in the hole! You can disable the security!" "Yes, but once we enter it, they'll trace the link and know exactly what happened." "But they can't come all the way back to the transport, because they're worried about the bomb. Plus by the time they get there we'll be long gone!" Keetrix' excitement was beginning to overflow. "This is it! I can feel it!" "These kind of things never work, not in real life." Mandro said. Staunchly refusing to allow himself to be swayed. "This is it. This is the big one. We got to try it. We've got to shoot the moon." Mandro said, his voice rising. CHAPTER 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mandro remained silent. The green light appeared on the dash. Indicating all systems ready for launch. Mandro closed his eyes. Minutes ago he'd seen Keetrix legendary luck all fall apart. Minutes ago he'd regretted ever meeting Keetrix and begged for another chance. And yet here he was. How could he even consider risking his freedom again? Sensing his struggle, Keetrix continued. "Look, Mandro, you've got to make a choice. I can't get in there without you. You need to make a choice. I know you don't want to hear this, but I am telling you, THIS IS THE ONE! I can feel it. I swear, Mandro, do this and I'll never ask you to lift a finger for me again. We won't have to, we'll be the rich beyond our dreams. Mandro sighed. "Trust me." Keetrix said. "You got ONE shot!" Mandro said, pressing the buttons on the dashboard. "YES!" Keetrix whooped, pumped his fists. "You won't regret it." "I thought I was dead once today already, since this is borrowed time, I figure I might as well take a shot at the big time." Mandro quipped. "Yes!" Keetrix elation filled the small craft. "But if I see one alarm go off, we're out of there!" Mandro jabbed his finger at Keetrix. Trying to regain control of the situation. "Absolutely!" Keetrix said, nodding his head. The pod rotated nose down, the craft slowly backing up the release chute. The lights of the release chute began to slip by with rythmic regularity. The lights pulsed faster as the escape pod reached exit velocity. All at once the escape pod emerged from the ship, the two men found themselves staring at the side of the ship moving away from them. Soundlessly the craft began to reposition itself. "Entering target coordinates" Mandro said, targetting the carefully monitored transport. Keetrix steered nose of the craft down as the ship reversed thrust and began to descend toward the underside of the ship. Hugging the bottom of the ship, the escape pod slid silently toward the back of the craft. The two men could see the military frigates in the distance trying to position themselves to fend off the attacking ships. Two trails of freight transports trailed off after the flagship, like two long tails. The firefight seemed to be concentrated above and beside one of the long trails of transports. The transports were close together, with less than half a transport length between them. Keetrix rode as close to the transports as he could, travelling just under them. Mandro reflexively held his breath each time the craft emerged out from under one of the transports. Finally his readout indicated the treasured transport should be within their visual range. "There it is!" Mandro pointed at the screen. "Which one?" Keetrix asked. "There! It's beginning to turn off, breaking away from the convoy!" Mandro gestured at the monitor. "Come to papa!" Keetrix rubbed his hands in expectation. "What about those fighter ships? You didn't say anything about fighter ships?" Mandro's eyebrows raised. "Don't worry, they can't stay out there, they'll be sitting ducks if they don't keep moving." Keetrix explained. Hoping it was true. The stealth pod slid closer to the diverging transport. Keetrix centered it in the viewport when suddenly, to the utter shock of the two men, the transport vanished. "Huh? Where did it go?" Keetrix asked. "No sign of it on the sensors." Mandro looked at Keetrix. "The bomb must have disintegrated it" "I would have shown a massive energy field for that big of a target to disappear" Keetrix said anxiously. "Let's get closer" "Let's get out of here! The shows over." Mandro looked at Keetrix. "No. It doesn't feel right." Keetrix rubbed his brow. "Look, Keetrix, you've got to admit it when your plan flops. Now let's get out of here." Mandro replied. "I don't know why I ever let you talk me into this fool plan anyway." Suddenly Keetrix sat upright. "Look for a subspace beacon!" He shouted. "Huh? What's that got to do with anything?" Mandro asked. "Just look for a subspace beacon!" Keetrix repeated. Mandro sifted through subspace data. Screens rapidly scrolled down his monitor. "I'm sifting for anything resembling a pattern. There would be a few hundred data streams that you could call a repeating pattern." "See when they started." Keetrix blurted. "Huh?" Mandro asked, still stunned from the missing ship. "Did any of them start about 30 seconds ago?" Keetrix began to get more excited. "Hey...what are you getting at?" Mandro asked. "What is all this about a subspace beacon?" "Just find one that started when the ship disappared." "I've got it." Mandro replied looking up quizzicaly. "Now, what do I do with it?" "Now, I'm willing to bet you a million galactic credits that if you triangulate it's source, it's moving, and it's probably not very far in front of us." "That's right...How?" Mandro's face was confused. "Will you tell me what's going on?" "Don't you see? They didn't blow it up. They dropped it to pick it up later! That wasn't a bomb they put on the transport, it was a cloaking device! That's why the radiation levels went through the roof!" Keetrix' mouth fell open. "It's got to be cloaked! It's totally untraceable to everyone." Suddenly a look of fear crossed Keetrix' face. "Tell me you can follow that homing beacon!" He rasped. "Yeah, I got it" Mandro said. "Mandro, do you have any idea what this means?" Keetrix said, his voice gleeful. "We're going to be able to get some of that galactium anyway?" Mandro asked. "Mandro, you know what your problem is?" "What?" he shrugged. "You think too small!" Keetrix patted him on the back. "How so?" he responded. "What happens if we get onto that cloaked transport, disable the beacon, and then change it's course?" Mandro stared at Keetrix, a smile slowly formed on his face. "You know what else this means?" Mandro asked. "What ?" "I've got to take back everything I said about you!"

CHAPTER 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------

"Keetrix, I'm not going... I'm not going back." Mandro said.

"Relax, I'll think of something" Keetrix replied, facing the wall as he examined their new cell.

"What? No!.. no. You will not 'think' of anything.!" Mandro stood up, his arms gesturing wildly.

"You are forbidden to 'think' of anything. You're 'thinking' is the problem! If you hadn't 'thought' up your ludicrous plan to march into a dining hall wearing a Genovian clown suit, walk up to Brockworth Silvanus and spit in his eye, we'd still be in the safety of our room!" Mandro pounded his fist on the sides of the cell. "You are forbidden from this day forward to use the word 'think', 'plan','hunch' or 'instinct' in my presence!"

"You don't have to get nasty about it." Keetrix shrugged.

"You want nasty? I'll show you nasty!" Mandro tried to roll the sleeves of his robe over his forearms.

"Wait!" Keetrix held up his hand. "Someone's coming!" He held his head near the door.

"Let's jump the guard!" Mandro blurted out.

"Oh please, like they're going to fall for that one." Keetrix smirked.

"We've got to do something!" Mandro said over clenched teeth. Flattening himself on the wall by the door. Keetrix leapt across the room, his arms pinned Mandro against the wall.

"Now you listen to me!" Keetrix whispered hoarsely. "You are not going to get us killed! As long as we're alive, we can get out of this. We're going to stay alive and we're not going to do anything stupid!"

The door swung open, the two men looked toward the open door.

"Well I certainly hope not!" came a familiar voice.

"Shianna!" Keetrix said, dumbfounded.

"What's this? Speechless again? I seem to have this effect on you." She said, striding into the room.

"Okay guys, time to level with me. What's your scam?"

"Huh?" Keetrix asked.

"Out with it, right now." She persisted.

"Well," Mandro sighed, "we're not ..uh.. exactly who we said we were." He explained carefully. Searching her eyes as he spoke.

"That much is obvious." She said. "What I mean is, why in the galaxy do two recently escaped slave miners, and I know that's what you are, draw as much attention to themselves as possible? What's your gig? Is this an assassination attempt? Are you government agents? Are you after the money shipment? "

Mandro motioned toward Keetrix, "That was this genius's idea." Keetrix smiled weakly.

"You've got to be kidding me! You two are dumb as rocks! You didn't think anyone actually fell for that 'wandering adventurer' story do you? You could see through that from across the room!"

She stared at them. Keetrix looked at the ground. Finally, after several moments, he looked up. "So what are you going to do?" He asked.

She continued to stare at them, as if making up her mind. Finally she sighed, her look softened. "Well listen, my husband is a good man. He has nothing to do with any of the slaving activity. I know he believes his miners are well treated and reasonably compensated. The security chief has him completely hoodwinked, but Brockworth refuses to believe anything bad about his Security Chief."

"So what are you going to do?" Keetrix repeated.

She crossed her arms. "I'm not going to let him send you back there. I guess I have to help you escape."

Mandro felt relief flush over him. But then he asked." How can you help us escape? Everythings under total lockdown?"

"That's easy, just come with me." She said, walking out the door.

The two men nervously looked out the door of their cell.

"Don't worry, they're not here. Brockworth has them helping the captain" She called out from ahead.

Soon they arrived at an elevator. She held her transceiver over the keypad and the elevator slid open. They climbed in silently. She held her transciever again over a metalic pad on the side of the elevator. The pad silently slid open revealing a row of buttons. She pressed the large button on the top, briefly illuminating it. The panel closed silently after she withdrew her hand.

Finally the elevator came to a stop, the doors slid open. Shianna motioned for the men to stay still. "I'm going to stick my head out and look first." She said. "Not everyone on this floor may be following the lockdown procedure." She stuck her head out, then stepped out into the hallway. "Come on." She said. "It's not far."

Turning several corners, they came to an ornately decorated arched doorway. Sliding her transciever she opened the door.

"This is our suite." She said. Gesturing with her arm. She walked into the large space. The hallway emptied into a large sitting area facing an enormous window. The vastness of space filled the window, thousands of tiny dots of light. She touched a panel on the wall, bringing up the light levels in the room.

"This looks just like my room!" Keetrix voice came from behind them.

"Do you have a plan?" Mandro asked, staring out over the expansive view.

"I've got more then a plan!" She said, turning to walk toward the far wall. The wall was covered with decorative panels that stretched from floor to ceiling. Walking toward a large wall panel, she slid her transciever over the panel and then pressed a tiny hidden catch on the edge of the panel. The entire panel slid up noislessly to reveal a circular walkway around a small space craft. "I've got ...THIS!"

"Brockworth insisted our suite be equipped with an escape pod. This convoy has been attacked with pirates before, he's incessantly worried about being kidnapped." She walked out to the circular walkway and set her hand on the rail.

"What is this convoy?" Mandro asked. "Something isn't right about it. Who's interGal holdings?"

"There is no interGal holdings. Or at least no real interGal holdings. It's a cover. Much of the trading that goes on in this sector goes on outside the official government channels." She explained.

"Smuggling" Mandro offered.

"Exactly." She continued. "The government knows about it, but won't, or can't stop it. Government officials turn a blind eye if they can get cut in on the profits. That way the government doesn't have to take the risks. They let the smugglers do the dirty work. If someone complains or goofs up, they find themselves lugging rocks on a mining colony."

She stepped further down the walkway to the control panel of the escape pod. "Anyway, once a year, the smugglers need to transfer their cash holdings from these outer sectors to their galactic accounts. Rather than trying to move their money in a thousand little trips, they move it all at once, using the cover and protection of the government. Government officials, military officers and merchants who have been helpful are invited on this golden convoy to be wined and dined and given their share of the wealth. It's an annual hommage to graft and corruption." She quipped. "They call it the 'Golden Convoy."

"So, I guess the pirates want to get cut in as well." Keetrix mused.

"Usually the pirates are strictly small time, but Brockworth says this timed they're organized and well-armed. But they don't know which freight container the money is in." She responded.

"Look, do you guys know how to pilot a pod?" she asked. Keetrix nodded.

"It's a stealth pod, so you should be able to get out undetected." She continued. "You need to begin the launch sequence as soon as possible, so the engines can fully charge. I'm going to go find my husband and make sure he stays out of the room. As soon as this thing is charged, you need to get as far from this sector as possible."

She approached the launch console, again passing her transceiver over it. She punched a code into the console, activating the ships computer.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Mandro asked.

"Well, it seems that one of you two must have swiped my transciever at the dinner table, and used it to locate my room, steal some jewelry, and commandeer the stealth pod." She turned to face them.

"What about your room's security logs?" Mandro asked. "Those will can be called up and viewed by anyone, including the Security Chief."

"Brockworth made sure that this rooms logs are only recorded and saved here, he's a bit of a nut on security." She explained. "I've erased the rooms logs."

She reached up and unlatched her necklace and took off her earrings, handing them to Keetrix. "Here, you go."

"Oh we can't take this." Mandro shook his head.

"Oh, give it a rest. I've got lots more." She replied "Besides, consider it back wages. Now, I've got to go. Remember, as soon as it's charged, get as far away from here as you can."

"Don't worry about that." Mandro said, still staring at the jewelry.

She turned and walked down the walkway back into the room. Stopping at the door, she turned, her face lighting up in a smile, "Good luck fellas!...Oh, and this time...try to keep a lower profile."

CHAPTER 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------

The two men climbed into the stealth pod and strapped in themselves in.

"This day can not get any wilder!" Mandro said, pouring the jewelry into the pocket of his robe.

"Charge it up and let's get off this crazy space train!" Keetrix said, having recovered some of his bluster. "It's too bad we don't know which car has all the loot in it."

"She logged us into the stealth pod's computer, but I can access the flagship's computer under that access code." Mandro said, watching his screen. "It must be Mr. Silvanus' personal code."

"What can you find out?" Keetrix asked.

"Well, there's no freight container that lists 'umpteen billion credits of galactic gold' if that's what you're wondering." Mandro paged through the data screens. "I do see that one of the containers is being accessed now."

"I wonder why?" Keetrix asked.

"Not sure, but it looks like this one has a triple security access"

"Sounds like our treasure chest to me." Keetrix said, buckling himself in.

"I'm not sure what they're doing inside it. Motion sensors are going off. They must be physically entering the storage compartment now." Mandro explained.

"Probably unloading some of that money." Keetrix replied.

"Looks like they've closed it up again." Mandro said.

"Probably nearly empty." said Keetrix.

"Actually, there's been a slight weight increase."

"Huh? Maybe they put a guard detail in there. I wouldn't want that job", Keetrix laughed.

"Here's something else." Mandro looked up from the computer terminal, a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Radiation sensors are going off the chart." Mandro brought up a screen of data.

"What?" Keetrix asked.

"They're going to blow it up?" Mandro wondered aloud.

"Impossible!" Keetrix frowned, "No one would blow up all that money."

"Maybe it's a decoy, let the pirates chase it, then detonate it" Mandro suggested.

"Why the triple security lock?" Keetrix asked.

"I don't know, but it looks like the transport is being separated from the convoy."

"That's it! There's a bomb on board" Keetrix insisted. He thought for a moment. "Do any other containers have the triple lock?"

"No." said Mandro.

"It's got to be the money!" Keetrix said again.

"But then why would they blow it up?" Mandro lifted his hands. "Maybe they'd rather lose it then let the pirates have it."

"Not this crowd." Keetrix mused. "They wouldn't let it go with out a major fight."

Keetrix’ eyes suddenly widened. "Uhhh, Mandro..."

"Yes?" Mandro looked up from his console.

"I know you don't exactly like the way my last 'plan' turned out, but I've got another one."

"No!" Mandro shouted.

"You haven't heard it yet." Keetrix said.

"No." Mandro repeated.

"Just let me say it." He pleaded.

"If it doesn't involve me heading full speed to safety, I'm not interested." quipped Mandro.

"Oh, it takes us to safety, alright, the question is whether we get there with a few million galactic credits or not."

Mandro sighed..."We can't."

"Mandro, there are somethings you just can't walk away from. People who can just show a little bit of creativity at just the right instant can reap enormous rewards."

"Whoa, you're timing and creativity have left a little to be desired lately." Mandro grinned.

"Yes, but we always come out of it. I tell you, something likes us. Shianna showed up out of nowhere and drug us from our cell to a stealth pod. Now how can you deny that kind of luck? I tell you, we were meant to be here, meant to do something BIG "

"That kind of luck will never happen twice. That's exactly why we need to forget any crazy schemes and just get out of here. Haven't you ever heard 'don't push your luck'? That means if you've had sensational luck, it's time to quit, time to stop taking undue risks, before the law of averages catches up with you. " Mandro explained.

"Do you have any idea how much money is in that transport? If we could just grab the tiniest fraction of that money, we would be set for life. All the cash holdings from all the smuggling in this sector for a year? Are you kidding me?" Keetrix voice began to raise. "It must be stored in pure dilactium for it to even fit in one transport."

"No." Mandro said, simply.

"There are times when the stakes are so high that you HAVE to try. Only a few people in the history of the galaxy will ever even see this much money in one place, let alone have the chance to gleen some off of it. We can skim 1 crate or 2 crates and be set for life."

"What about the bomb?" Mandro reminded him.

"There not going to set that off for at least 200 parsecs, not with this crowd of stuffed shirts on board." Keetrix reasoned.

"They'll vaporize us before we even get near the ship." Mandro argued.

"Well, it's not without risk, but with a stealth pod, if we run below the transports, and come up on the dark side, we can probably get in undetected. We can magnetically dock to the magnaseal underneath and get in. You've got access to the triple security sequence right? That's our ace in the hole! You can disable the security!"

"Yes, but once we enter it, they'll trace the link and know exactly what happened."

"But they can't come all the way back to the transport, because they're worried about the bomb. Plus by the time they get there we'll be long gone!" Keetrix' excitement was beginning to overflow. "This is it! I can feel it!"

"These kind of things never work, not in real life." Mandro said. Staunchly refusing to allow himself to be swayed.

"This is it. This is the big one. We got to try it. We've got to shoot the moon." Mandro said, his voice rising.

CHAPTER 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandro remained silent.

The green light appeared on the dash. Indicating all systems ready for launch.

Mandro closed his eyes. Minutes ago he'd seen Keetrix legendary luck all fall apart. Minutes ago he'd regretted ever meeting Keetrix and begged for another chance. And yet here he was. How could he even consider risking his freedom again?

Sensing his struggle, Keetrix continued. "Look, Mandro, you've got to make a choice. I can't get in there without you. You need to make a choice. I know you don't want to hear this, but I am telling you, THIS IS THE ONE! I can feel it. I swear, Mandro, do this and I'll never ask you to lift a finger for me again. We won't have to, we'll be the rich beyond our dreams.

Mandro sighed.

"Trust me." Keetrix said.

"You got ONE shot!" Mandro said, pressing the buttons on the dashboard.

"YES!" Keetrix whooped, pumped his fists. "You won't regret it."

"I thought I was dead once today already, since this is borrowed time, I figure I might as well take a shot at the big time." Mandro quipped.

"Yes!" Keetrix elation filled the small craft.

"But if I see one alarm go off, we're out of there!" Mandro jabbed his finger at Keetrix. Trying to regain control of the situation.

"Absolutely!" Keetrix said, nodding his head.

The pod rotated nose down, the craft slowly backing up the release chute. The lights of the release chute began to slip by with rythmic regularity. The lights pulsed faster as the escape pod reached exit velocity. All at once the escape pod emerged from the ship, the two men found themselves staring at the side of the ship moving away from them. Soundlessly the craft began to reposition itself.

"Entering target coordinates" Mandro said, targetting the carefully monitored transport.

Keetrix steered nose of the craft down as the ship reversed thrust and began to descend toward the underside of the ship. Hugging the bottom of the ship, the escape pod slid silently toward the back of the craft. The two men could see the military frigates in the distance trying to position themselves to fend off the attacking ships. Two trails of freight transports trailed off after the flagship, like two long tails. The firefight seemed to be concentrated above and beside one of the long trails of transports.

The transports were close together, with less than half a transport length between them. Keetrix rode as close to the transports as he could, travelling just under them. Mandro reflexively held his breath each time the craft emerged out from under one of the transports. Finally his readout indicated the treasured transport should be within their visual range.

"There it is!" Mandro pointed at the screen.

"Which one?" Keetrix asked.

"There! It's beginning to turn off, breaking away from the convoy!" Mandro gestured at the monitor.

"Come to papa!" Keetrix rubbed his hands in expectation.

"What about those fighter ships? You didn't say anything about fighter ships?" Mandro's eyebrows raised.

"Don't worry, they can't stay out there, they'll be sitting ducks if they don't keep moving." Keetrix explained. Hoping it was true.

The stealth pod slid closer to the diverging transport. Keetrix centered it in the viewport when suddenly, to the utter shock of the two men, the transport vanished.

"Huh? Where did it go?" Keetrix asked.

"No sign of it on the sensors." Mandro looked at Keetrix. "The bomb must have disintegrated it"

"I would have shown a massive energy field for that big of a target to disappear" Keetrix said anxiously. "Let's get closer"

"Let's get out of here! The shows over." Mandro looked at Keetrix.

"No. It doesn't feel right." Keetrix rubbed his brow.

"Look, Keetrix, you've got to admit it when your plan flops. Now let's get out of here." Mandro replied. "I don't know why I ever let you talk me into this fool plan anyway."

Suddenly Keetrix sat upright. "Look for a subspace beacon!" He shouted.

"Huh? What's that got to do with anything?" Mandro asked.

"Just look for a subspace beacon!" Keetrix repeated.

Mandro sifted through subspace data. Screens rapidly scrolled down his monitor.

"I'm sifting for anything resembling a pattern. There would be a few hundred data streams that you could call a repeating pattern."

"See when they started." Keetrix blurted.

"Huh?" Mandro asked, still stunned from the missing ship.

"Did any of them start about 30 seconds ago?" Keetrix began to get more excited.

"Hey...what are you getting at?" Mandro asked. "What is all this about a subspace beacon?"

"Just find one that started when the ship disappared."

"I've got it." Mandro replied looking up quizzicaly. "Now, what do I do with it?"

"Now, I'm willing to bet you a million galactic credits that if you triangulate it's source, it's moving, and it's probably not very far in front of us."

"That's right...How?" Mandro's face was confused. "Will you tell me what's going on?"

"Don't you see? They didn't blow it up. They dropped it to pick it up later! That wasn't a bomb they put on the transport, it was a cloaking device! That's why the radiation levels went through the roof!" Keetrix' mouth fell open.

"It's got to be cloaked! It's totally untraceable to everyone." Suddenly a look of fear crossed Keetrix' face. "Tell me you can follow that homing beacon!" He rasped.

"Yeah, I got it" Mandro said.

"Mandro, do you have any idea what this means?" Keetrix said, his voice gleeful.

"We're going to be able to get some of that galactium anyway?" Mandro asked.

"Mandro, you know what your problem is?"

"What?" he shrugged.

"You think too small!" Keetrix patted him on the back.

"How so?" he responded.

"What happens if we get onto that cloaked transport, disable the beacon, and then change it's course?"

Mandro stared at Keetrix, a smile slowly formed on his face.

"You know what else this means?" Mandro asked.

"What ?"

"I've got to take back everything I said about you!"