Free The Last Horizon by Anthony Hartig

tune-up the Zephyr for the trip back, it usually takes about two days depending on how much particle damage there is on the hull.”
    “Are you going to need help with that?”
    “Nah, it’s not that big a deal most of the time, and I can usually hire a mechanic for the heavier work if one of the larger panels needs to be replaced.”
    “Let me know if you want to share the repair costs.”
    “Thanks, Scotty.” I smiled warmly as I glanced at him. I was really starting to like this guy. “When I’m done, I’d like to hang back for a few days to rest before we start back to Earth. You know, poke around Nexus and get a feel for the culture.”
    “When do you want to leave ?”
    “ We arrive in Fluture on Tuesday morning at 0530. Meet me back at the Inter-port on Sunday the 29 th at the same time, I want to get an early start home. Will that give you enough time to take care of your business?”
    “ Perfect, you’ve got a deal.”
    “Get some rest, Scotty.”
    “What about you?”
    “I’ve got a ship to fly. No sleep for the wicked.”

    T he hours stretched out in ragged strands coiled with apprehension. I was worried about Seinz, I’ve encountered hijackers before, but they’ve never been able to put the fear in me like this guy--even without knowing what he looked like, he frightened me. Yes, his threats were barbaric and unsettling, but it wasn’t limited to what he said, it was in how he said it. Call it a woman’s intuition, but there was just something in his voice that set my internal alarm off and terrified me. It seemed to change the energy that surrounded us--it was dark, soulless, and reptilian. I had a feeling that vaporizing me wouldn’t satisfy Seinz. No, he struck me as a sadist that wanted more from his victims. He wants to see them suffer, writhe, and beg.
    Another cause for concern was t he Moria’s speed, she looked like a formidable ship, and I’ve never seen a vessel that size move so fast; and last but not least, the missile he fired at us; judging from the burst, it had to be a military grade warhead. God only knows how and where he got ordnance like that and what else he had in his arsenal.
    I edged the Zephyr closer to her maximum speed and held her there for a couple of hours then backed-off the drives before they squelched. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I couldn’t remember ever being so tired on any journey.
    As we neared the Ceres Vesta ast eroid belt, the instrument panel twittered three times. “Damn!” I cussed raptly as I shot a look at the vector scanner.
       “What’s wrong?” Scotty snapped awake and clutched the armrests of his chair.
       “As if we didn’t have enough problems,” I pointed at the monitor, “see those four red dots blipping ahead of us?”
       “What are they?”
       “I can’t tell yet, give the scanner a minute to get us a profile. They may be harmless navigation buoys based on their spacing. They’re just in our path for now.”
       I exhaled as the computer began constructing a model of the crafts ahead, then turned my attention on tracker to see where the Moria was positioned.
       “Eighty miles and closing.” I clenched my teeth hard and frowned. “Seinz is on our trajectory.”
       “Nikki, what the hell are those things in front of us?” Scotty scowled as he stared at the monitor at the rotating 3D images. The VDU revealed four unmanned crafts, each with armored dome fuselages twenty feet in diameter and six segmented tentacles trailing forty feet behind them.
       “ Oh that’s just great, Serenian terminus drones. Seekers.”
       “How far are they?”
       “Hundred and twenty miles out, but I’m going to draw them in.”
       “WHAT?”
       “You heard me. Look, Seinz is gaining on us and we’re less than two hours away from Ceres Vesta. I don’t think we’re going to be able to outrun him.” I pointed at the vector scanner and the VDU.  “I’ve got a plan, we get those Seekers and the