Page 62 of A Redemption for Ulrek

Ulrek swore. No one had expected a tiny craft to fly out from the wilderness. The vessel wasn’t built for long-haul space travel but could most likely make it far enough to meet up with a larger space-faring vessel with a longer range.

The chances of the craft still being behind the moon were low, but just in case, Ulrek said, “Tell it not to engage. Our females might be aboard.”

“Noted.”

Gritarr could have abandoned the females when he found out the docks were locked down, but chances were he hadn’t, and Delaney and Tahra were still with him on the ship.

He wouldn’t hesitate to request help from any of the mercenary groups in the area. While some mercenary groups here refused to work with the Dominion, there were still plenty to choose from. Pirates, too, though he’d have to be very desperate to ask for help from them, especially if they had even the slightest inkling Gritarr was after Ulrek’s bounty. They’d want the bounty for themselves.

But with two warships near, no mercenary group who knew what they were doing would dare take the job, no matter how much Gritarr offered.

When the ship got behind the moon, there was nothing there, just as he’d expected.

He got Emil to pull up the star charts and find the closest habitable moon or planet.

If a mercenary vessel had come close enough to Vosthea to pick up the shuttle, they would all have noticed unless there was some remarkable new cloaking technology no one knew about. That was highly unlikely, which meant Gritarr was still nearby. Hiding, biding his time.

Had he gone down to the planet on his own after his ship dropped him off? Was he lying in wait for that ship now?

Doubtful. That wasn’t how Gritarr operated. He liked to have soldiers with him for protection. Most likely, his ship was still on Vosthea, and he had flown out in his shuttle to hide himself and the females, waiting quietly with the cloak on.

“There is no way he went down to a place like Vosthea on his own with only a handful of guards,” Tuhror agreed. He knew Gritarr just as well as Ulrek did. “You’re right. His ship is still in one of the ports. He’s waiting for the lockdown to lift.”

“How long can a ship like that spend out in space?” Emil asked.

“Using no fuel, with just the life support and cloak on? Days,” Tuhror said.

Damn. They didn’t have days.

Ulrek commed Kean. “Lift the lockdowns; we’re going to force him to make a move.”

The first ship to leave Vosthea was not the one they were after. The second ship appeared on the surface to be a merchant vessel. Ulrek knew better.

They watched it disappear behind the moon, taking the same trajectory the first craft had. They’d found their target.

“Force them to land on the next habitable planet. Then we end this.”

Delaney

Delaney rattled the bars again, even though she knew it was useless.

After being picked up by the ship, they’d shoved her and Tahra into a cell. Now they were on their way to Aton Station, where Gritarr would have the upper hand.

Next to her, Tahra tugged at the thick padded shield they had wrapped around her leg to block the signals coming from her tracker. They’d taped it on with something industrial strength, and no amount of pulling could get it off. All she was doing was tearing off bits of her skin. She was already bleeding.

Delaney put a hand on Tahra’s shoulder. “Stop it. It’s not going to come off. You’re just hurting yourself.”

The last time Gritarr saw her pulling at it, he’d threatened to cut her leg off to get rid of it, and Delaney didn’t want to find out if he was bluffing.

Suddenly, the floor under them shuddered, and the ship’s lights blinked. Delaney put her hand out to steady herself. Tahra tensed.

They waited, but nothing else happened.

Delaney sighed. For a moment there, she’d had visions of Ulrek storming the ship to rescue her. But that would be a ridiculously dangerous thing to do, especially since Gritarr was after his bounty.

Then it happened again, except this time, the ship jerked to one side and flung her on the floor, and there were soldiers running outside in the corridors now.

There was more shuddering, and for a moment, the ship’s gravity disappeared. The weightless feeling was unnerving, and she grabbed onto the bars so that when the gravity system came back on, she wouldn’t fall. Suddenly there was a whoosh, and she landed on her feet.

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