Free On Guard by Kynan Waterford Page A

much at all. Helmsken were supposedly responsible for piloting the Coalition’s energy sumps through Jupiter’s treacherous atmosphere and the most persistent rumour had them upgraded in ways so advanced that they didn’t look human anymore.
    Vick gave him another condescending look and shook his head.
    “You really are dense, aren’t you, rookie?”
    “Spit it out, Vick,” Raj said, letting his frustration show. “I clearly don’t know what you’re taking about.”
    Vick’s sour expression became smug for a moment then he spoke again.
    “You take any time out from crushing cans to watch the news?”
    “News?” Raj said with a grimace. “Why would I waste time on that depressing drivel? I get enough propaganda at home, thanks.”
    “It’s not all propaganda,” Vick said with a raised eyebrow. “And if you had, you might be aware of the current situation regarding Lyquis terrorists.”
    “Hah! Those losers? They couldn’t steal a used tea bag from my dear old granny.”
    Vick looked at Raj like he’d just grown a second head.
    “Please tell me you know who Garen Maertikye is.”
    “Yeah,” Raj replied in a defensive tone. “I’ve heard of him. He’s the one they call ‘the most dangerous man in the solar system’, right? What a load of bull shit.”
    “Bull shit?” Vick said, shaking his head again. “You know what, rookie? I’m going to do you a favour and let you believe whatever bull shit you think you know. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.”
    Raj frowned. He’d heard a little about Garen, but assumed most of it was a beat up meant to scare motivation into security teams.
    He opened his mouth to push Vick for more information, but was interrupted when the ship’s silent alarm was tripped.
    He knew this not because the alarm’s location was now flashing red within the holographic representation of the drop ship beside them. He knew because an implant in his neck had just activated, dumping a large dose of adrenalin and class A stimulants into his blood stream.
    As his brain activity spiked, Raj’s perception of time slowed and he could feel the adrenalin increasing his heart rate and blood pressure. He breathed deeper as the passages in his lungs expanded and the muscles in his legs and torso grew warm as they flushed with blood. Even his new cybernetic arms seemed to respond, although Raj knew it was probably just a side effect of the increase in mental acuity.
    When the sudden change of perception had run its course, Raj focussed on the holographic map of the drop ship.
    The other security officers were indicated as glowing blue icons with a tiny Coalition logo rotating above them, but they were no longer alone. At the aft of the drop ship, a much smaller ship had attached itself to the hull and a single yellow icon had just entered through a small breach.
    “They’re boarding us,” he said incredulously, staring at the bright yellow icon in disbelief. “How the hell did they get so close without us knowing?”
    “The storm’s electrical activity makes it nearly impossible to detect anything out there,” Vick said gruffly.
    Raj heard the serious edge to his partner’s voice and, for the first time, began to feel unsure of himself.
    “There’s only one of them,” he said firmly. “They’ll never reach us.”
    But Vick didn’t say anything this time and it only made Raj’s fears worse.
    “ Is it Garen Maertikye? ” he thought with a chill.
    As his super-charged brain reminded him of all the gruesome tales he’d heard about Garen’s previous attacks, Raj watched the exchange being simulated on the holographic display.
    It didn’t make any sense. The lone terrorist had picked an inconvenient location to breach the hull that effectively split their defences in two, but there still should have been enough of them to fight back one attacker.
    But faster than should have been possible, parts of each blue Coalition icon were flickering orange and red, indicating serious