Chapter Ten

Belisa Doryan was certain this was the right ship. Her informants are very accurate. Once docked, she sent over an advanced greeting party to make the appropriate first impression. When they reported that they had no contact upon initial boarding she had decided on her next move. She had familiarized herself with the ship's schematics. She also knew that the ship was most likely heavily modified. 

"Pogg, take two men and secure the engine room. Doni, take the others and check the cargo and passenger areas. Sidha and Avery come with me to the bridge." She readied her sidearm and stepped across into the other ship. 

In spite of her reputation and her occupation she preferred to remain civil. Only when did someone adversarially went out of their way to hinder her did she make things personal. And when that happened she took great pains to make sure the individual learned the error of their ways. 

In this case her target was Otis Barkut. He had overzealously short changed a business partner who now contracted Belisa and her crew to seek recompense. He had eluded her grasp once before and she had no plans to repeat that a second time. When she discovered that he had boarded this ship she had researched the crew. The captain had an odd reputation but one that she could exploit under the right conditions. 

She entered what appeared to be a mess hall and common area. From here she could round the corner and head down to the living quarters or cross the space and step up into what should be a corridor leading passed the access to the skiff and ending with the entrance into the bridge. She left her two accomplices to suss out any threats as she moved forward. 

"Clear." Avery called out. 

"That's fine. It's what's ahead that concerns me." The route to the bridge is quite defensible. "Let's just hold out until the others report."

The men nodded silently and took up positions with cover from the entrances. Belisa remained central to the space. She bowed her head and listened. She heard her own shallow breathing. She heard the rasping sighs of her companions as they settled. She listened to the distant humming of the ship as the idling generators resonated throughout the quiet structure. She tilted her head as her augmented hearing picked up some movement from the bridge. 

She picked out slow careful bulkiness of the captain. He seemed ready. Other movements were sporadic and lighter. She figured two there were with him and they were much lighter and probably youths. That was congruent with his infamy. 

Doryan stepped towards the corridor and faced it squarely. She cleared her throat and activated her vocal projectors. 

"Dear Captain. I'm sure you are well aware that you've been boarded. I was… quite aggressive. If you've incurred any serious injury or long term damage, I may apologize." She paused for a moment before continuing. Her voice echoed down the corridor with eerie clarity "However, if I don't acquire what I've set out to obtain then I shall not apologize. Nor will I show mercy."

She waited for his response. She waited for it because she knew it would come. They always responded to her. 

"What is your objective here?"

Good. A decent vocabulary. 

"Otis Barkut."

"Sorry, wrong ship."

"Surely, you of all people, realize all of your passengers use aliases. He is on this ship and I will have him."

"You can have anyone you want as long as I'm not currently engaged in a business transaction that would otherwise be disrupted by your...acquisition."

Belisa laughed. A hearty chuckle even for her. "Thank you Black Dog. This will be most fun!"