 
## **Contents**

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Extinction is the rule. Survival is the...

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Credit Rush

Outpost Krone

Simon E Bond

Copyright © 2015 Simon E Bond

All rights reserved.

ISBN:

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to say a big heart warm thanks to my wife Katie, and my lovely five children for giving me confidence in each project.

INTRODUCTION

Charlie works as a Kromtic digger by day and a hacker by night on Outpost Krone. He has no commitments apart from a devotion to his beloved Android Richard, but their latest digging assignment takes a turn for the worse.

Charlie's life is about to change.

The despicable corporate weasel, Volax Stout, catches Charlie trying to hack into his credit account and decides to hunt him and Richard down.

For Stout's pleasure, he is going to blackmail Charlie into carrying out survival tasks.

A journey from the mining wasteland of Outpost Krone takes Charlie into space, and from there he becomes Stout's personal pet. Charlie must make the right choice in order to survive or pay with his life...
"Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception".

Carl Sagan

Chapter One

The twin moons shone upon the harsh surface of Outpost Krone, their light glistened across the rocky lunar landscape. Connected together like veins, craters covered the harsh surface, rivers and lakes. In the distance, four huge towers illuminated the skyline of the city and separated it from the barren landscape.

Outpost Krone was awakening to a new dawn. Above the horizon, the odd spaceship could be seen disappearing over the lunar hills. Within every crater was a rich substance called Kromtic, a life sustaining mineral used to power the atmosphere on certain planets that sold for a high price. The outskirt of the city was where the digging occurred. A great number of diggers made their living off the lucrative trade.

Drilling was the only way to retrieve it and although a low risk method, accidents could occur if excessive high pressure was involved. It didn't happen often but if the pressure was not calculated correctly, Kromtic could easily splinter into thousands of fragmented pieces.

Mining was the main line of work for Charlie Bosak and as luck would have it, he had not experienced a Kromtic splinter. He considered himself a happy man even when the time for his next dig had arrived yet again.

"Wake up... wake up, Charlie," spoke the naked woman at his side.

Charlie slowly rose up in his bed, dreary eyed and exhausted.

Holding his head in both hands, he then rubbed his eyes and looked upwards to face the dim lit ceiling. His hair was overgrown and needed a cut, he thought as he scratched his beard and yawned

"Ugh, shit my head hurts. Jesus... how much did I have last night?" he grumbled, pulling the bed sheet over him to leave the naked body of the woman silhouetted against the wall from the moonlight outside.

"You had quite a lot of drink, but you did win your prize and your credits were transferred," replied the woman with a sly grin.

Charlie returned the gesture and laughed. Punching his fist into the air with excitement, he quickly pressed his hands to his head to cover his migraine, when the woman rolled over to kiss his bare chest.

"What's wrong? You still have me for a little while yet; you paid up front if you remember?" said the woman with a harsh tone.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Charlie placed the palm of his hand against a scanner. A blue light emitted from two tiny holes underneath and slowly moved from left to right, then repeated the action again.

When a holographic screen appeared just above him, Charlie began to log into his account.

"Please, Charlie, this again? Why don't you believe anyone when they say credits have been paid to you?" asked the frustrated woman.

Not bothering to reply, Charlie just kept on staring at the credit counter on the bottom of the screen. He had to make sure he was paid in full; his obsession for credits took over everything. After a couple of minutes, the counter had stopped and the credit balance displayed, Charlie was more than pleased with the final amount he had incurred.

"Well, that was one hell of a poker game. I must have placed a hard bet to begin with," he scoffed and then stood up next to the bed causing the holographic screen to disappear.

Walking over to the nearby table, he decided to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He was dehydrated and he drank fast before taking a quick break to swallow some painkillers.

"You drink too much, Charlie. How you manage to dig out there with no energy and focus at the same time I'll never understand," said the woman.

"Don't you worry about that, I've been doing it long enough. Besides, there are only a few of us in the same job on this barren planet," replied Charlie.

He turned his back to her and grabbed the water bottle, taking in another drink to quench his thirst.

"Orlan? That's your name is it... well, your human name?" he asked, as the water dribbled down his chin.

"You don't remember from last time? You really do need to quit drinking," she replied as she placed her evening dress back on.

"Oh, I remember alright," Charlie replied.

He walked to Orlan, reached for the zip at the back of her dress, and slowly fastened it. His hand touched her soft skin, and he rubbed his fingertips around each soft spot between her shoulders.

"Stop it, please..." she gasped as he tilted his head letting his lips work their way along the surface on her skin.

"Now this is what I love about your alien kind; you have more soft spots then any human woman I know," said Charlie, pausing for a brief second.

Turning around to face him and laughing, she moved her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer when they were interrupted by a buzzing noise from the side of the kitchen table. Charlie turned around, grabbed his boxer shorts and shirt from the end of the bed, and quickly put them on.

"Who is it, Charlie?" said Orlan.

Charlie picked up the pager and studied it; it was his work. New areas of Kromtic had been detected on the north western side of the planet and they had a new contract ready for him,

"New job for me; it looks like I should be in the credits yet again," Charlie said.

"It's time for me to get going to my job too. I have to meet a client later and it's nearly dawn," replied Orlan as she made her way towards the door of Charlie's apartment.

"Come on; don't be like that. We can still have some fun; I got a couple more hours to kill," Charlie replied, leaning back against the wall.

"I don't care. You won me the second time round and that's enough. You have your credits so we can call it quits," Orlan replied. Her eyes flashed from blue to a dark green colour in a split second as she shot him a look.

Grabbing her high heels from the floor she then made her way out the door and left.

"Well... okay, that was quick; I suppose Flecs are more honest than humans," Charlie said referring to Orlan's race. Flecs were illegal immigrants on Outpost Krone; the planet was heaving with the pale skinned foreigners. Flecs were a unique kind of shape-shifter—the physical build of the body did not change, but eye and hair colour could change in appearance many times over. Charlie didn't care as long as they were the female kind. To him, the shape-shifting female Flecs were better in bed than human females.

Some more pain killers were needed as the headache still buried itself deep inside his head. Charlie emptied the last of the painkillers into his mouth before throwing the bottle onto the kitchen floor. Outside, the two suns were starting to rise over the lunar horizon, daylight slowly making its presence known.

"That's one good thing about living on this rock, the sunset is always welcome," said Charlie as he slid his canopy door open.

The warm breeze from outside hit him in the face, each of the sun's in the skyline glowed upon the rocky craters below to give the surface a glistening warm orange colour.

"Still lots of fortune out there to keep me going; hell, I could retire early if I hit the dig big time," he said, leaning over the balcony. Below him, the lunar traffic passed by.

"Suckers," shouted Charlie as he looked on. The usual transporters could be seen carrying people to work; the majority of them were working under slave labour contracts for the big corporations. The workers under those contracts were less fortunate; they didn't start off with any credits at all. Even if they did, once they ran out that was it.

The contract workers spent most of the day keeping the furnaces burning in exchange for living space in the slums on Krone. Most of them had been transported to the planet as an alternative to spending their final days living as outcasts, or being deprived of oxygen within the ever thinning atmosphere back on Earth.

Only powerful wealthy citizens now inhabited the once blue planet; Old Earth was almost gone and along with it, the once seemingly normal civilization. The higher classes lived in domes in remote areas away from the harm of the elements and human dangers.

"Shit, this heat is building up early today," said Charlie as he glanced at the temperature gauge fixed on the wall.

It was already pushing past 37 degrees Celsius and rising fast every couple of minutes. A booming sound could be heard in the distant hills on the lunar surface as the temperature warning system activated.

The atmosphere had sprung to life early and with the rising temperature it was far better to be inside. Charlie slid the patio doors shut behind him and went to get dressed before he read his work brief. He could en The twin moons shone upon the harsh surface of Outpost Krone, their light glistened across the rocky lunar landscape. Connected together like veins, craters covered the harsh surface, rivers and lakes. In the distance, four huge towers illuminated the skyline of the city and separated it from the barren landscape.

Outpost Krone was awakening to a new dawn. Above the horizon, the odd spaceship could be seen disappearing over the lunar hills. Within every crater was a rich substance called Kromtic, a life sustaining mineral used to power the atmosphere on certain planets that sold for a high price. The outskirt of the city was where the digging occurred. A great number of diggers made their living off the lucrative trade.

Drilling was the only way to retrieve it and although a low risk method, accidents could occur if excessive high pressure was involved. It didn't happen often but if the pressure was not calculated correctly, Kromtic could easily splinter into thousands of fragmented pieces.

Mining was the main line of work for Charlie Bosak and as luck would have it, he had not experienced a Kromtic splinter. He considered himself a happy man even when the time for his next dig had arrived yet again.

"Wake up... wake up, Charlie," spoke the naked woman at his side.

Charlie slowly rose up in his bed, dreary eyed and exhausted.

Holding his head in both hands, he then rubbed his eyes and looked upwards to face the dim lit ceiling. His hair was overgrown and needed a cut, he thought as he scratched his beard and yawned

"Ugh, shit my head hurts. Jesus... how much did I have last night?" he grumbled, pulling the bed sheet over him to leave the naked body of the woman silhouetted against the wall from the moonlight outside.

"You had quite a lot of drink, but you did win your prize and your credits were transferred," replied the woman with a sly grin.

Charlie returned the gesture and laughed. Punching his fist into the air with excitement, he quickly pressed his hands to his head to cover his migraine, when the woman rolled over to kiss his bare chest.

"What's wrong? You still have me for a little while yet; you paid up front if you remember?" said the woman with a harsh tone.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Charlie placed the palm of his hand against a scanner. A blue light emitted from two tiny holes underneath and slowly moved from left to right, then repeated the action again.

When a holographic screen appeared just above him, Charlie began to log into his account.

"Please, Charlie, this again? Why don't you believe anyone when they say credits have been paid to you?" asked the frustrated woman.

Not bothering to reply, Charlie just kept on staring at the credit counter on the bottom of the screen. He had to make sure he was paid in full; his obsession for credits took over everything. After a couple of minutes, the counter had stopped and the credit balance displayed, Charlie was more than pleased with the final amount he had incurred.

"Well, that was one hell of a poker game. I must have placed a hard bet to begin with," he scoffed and then stood up next to the bed causing the holographic screen to disappear.

Walking over to the nearby table, he decided to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He was dehydrated and he drank fast before taking a quick break to swallow some painkillers.

"You drink too much, Charlie. How you manage to dig out there with no energy and focus at the same time I'll never understand," said the woman.

"Don't you worry about that, I've been doing it long enough. Besides, there are only a few of us in the same job on this barren planet," replied Charlie.

He turned his back to her and grabbed the water bottle, taking in another drink to quench his thirst.

"Orlan? That's your name is it... well, your human name?" he asked, as the water dribbled down his chin.

"You don't remember from last time? You really do need to quit drinking," she replied as she placed her evening dress back on.

"Oh, I remember alright," Charlie replied.

He walked to Orlan, reached for the zip at the back of her dress, and slowly fastened it. His hand touched her soft skin, and he rubbed his fingertips around each soft spot between her shoulders.

"Stop it, please..." she gasped as he tilted his head letting his lips work their way along the surface on her skin.

"Now this is what I love about your alien kind; you have more soft spots then any human woman I know," said Charlie, pausing for a brief second.

Turning around to face him and laughing, she moved her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer when they were interrupted by a buzzing noise from the side of the kitchen table. Charlie turned around, grabbed his boxer shorts and shirt from the end of the bed, and quickly put them on.

"Who is it, Charlie?" said Orlan.

Charlie picked up the pager and studied it; it was his work. New areas of Kromtic had been detected on the north western side of the planet and they had a new contract ready for him,

"New job for me; it looks like I should be in the credits yet again," Charlie said.

"It's time for me to get going to my job too. I have to meet a client later and it's nearly dawn," replied Orlan as she made her way towards the door of Charlie's apartment.

"Come on; don't be like that. We can still have some fun; I got a couple more hours to kill," Charlie replied, leaning back against the wall.

"I don't care. You won me the second time round and that's enough. You have your credits so we can call it quits," Orlan replied. Her eyes flashed from blue to a dark green colour in a split second as she shot him a look.

Grabbing her high heels from the floor she then made her way out the door and left.

"Well... okay, that was quick; I suppose Flecs are more honest than humans," Charlie said referring to Orlan's race. Flecs were illegal immigrants on Outpost Krone; the planet was heaving with the pale skinned foreigners. Flecs were a unique kind of shape-shifter—the physical build of the body did not change, but eye and hair colour could change in appearance many times over. Charlie didn't care as long as they were the female kind. To him, the shape-shifting female Flecs were better in bed than human females.

Some more pain killers were needed as the headache still buried itself deep inside his head. Charlie emptied the last of the painkillers into his mouth before throwing the bottle onto the kitchen floor. Outside, the two suns were starting to rise over the lunar horizon, daylight slowly making its presence known.

"That's one good thing about living on this rock, the sunset is always welcome," said Charlie as he slid his canopy door open.

The warm breeze from outside hit him in the face, each of the sun's in the skyline glowed upon the rocky craters below to give the surface a glistening warm orange colour.

"Still lots of fortune out there to keep me going; hell, I could retire early if I hit the dig big time," he said, leaning over the balcony. Below him, the lunar traffic passed by.

"Suckers," shouted Charlie as he looked on. The usual transporters could be seen carrying people to work; the majority of them were working under slave labour contracts for the big corporations. The workers under those contracts were less fortunate; they didn't start off with any credits at all. Even if they did, once they ran out that was it.

The contract workers spent most of the day keeping the furnaces burning in exchange for living space in the slums on Krone. Most of them had been transported to the planet as an alternative to spending their final days living as outcasts, or being deprived of oxygen within the ever thinning atmosphere back on Earth.

Only powerful wealthy citizens now inhabited the once blue planet; Old Earth was almost gone and along with it, the once seemingly normal civilization. The higher classes lived in domes in remote areas away from the harm of the elements and human dangers.

"Shit, this heat is building up early today," said Charlie as he glanced at the temperature gauge fixed on the wall.

It was already pushing past 37 degrees Celsius and rising fast every couple of minutes. A booming sound could be heard in the distant hills on the lunar surface as the temperature warning system activated.

The atmosphere had sprung to life early and with the rising temperature it was far better to be inside. Charlie slid the patio doors shut behind him and went to get dressed before he read his work brief. He could enjoy time outside after his work was done and it cooled off, but now it was time for business.

Opening one of the four lockers he had in his apartment, he decided on which clothes to wear. He chose a dark blue coverall with the mining logo stitched onto the left shoulder and his name sown in red below it-Charlie, Digger 24. The coverall was comfortable as always which was good for him. The amount of alcohol and junk food he had consumed over the years did him no favours yet he still managed to get away with looking good because of the loose coveralls.

Charlie flicked a button on the side of his pager and sat down on the sofa. A holographic screen appeared in the middle of the room and, adjusting the pager with his hands, he enlarged the corners of the screen to get a better view. Charlie tapped the button again and an image of a man appeared on the screen. He was dressed in a business suit, the corporate boss of Kromtic division—not just on Krone, but on other systems also.

"I hope you are well, Charlie, and you received the message fine," replied the voice on the screen.

Charlie rested back with his arms stretching while watching the screen and listening to the message. He had heard all the corporate banter before and just wanted to get on with the job. After a couple of minutes of verbal junk echoing around the room, he skipped over to the last couple of minutes of the message as he always did.

"The credit reward for this work is twenty thousand. We have sent scout machines across to the north-western part of the surface and are certain there is a good area of Kromtic there to be found," concluded the corporate male with a smug smile as the message ended and the screen shut down.

Charlie was not too impressed. The credit reward was lower than his last digging job, but he had to remain focused; he needed his reward.

The two suns outside bore down onto the towers and sometimes it was too dangerous to even venture out of the complex at this time because of the extreme heat. Charlie sat down to eat his breakfast at the kitchen counter, flicking his fingers against a mini holographic screen. He was shifting through graphs of data to plan the density of the ground where he would be digging. An alert appeared in the right hand corner, it warned of extreme heat on the eastern side of the planet today and the cancer rate was at least eighty percent.

"Damn I hate percentages, they're getting higher every time," he muttered between mouthfuls.

"Well, they better work harder on those furnaces; this atmosphere must be thinning," said Charlie as he emptied the remaining contents of his bowl into a nearby waste compactor.

The android had awoken from his slumber and the electrodes wired into the back of his metal skull started to light up to send pulses into the android's body.

The half metal/half organic android, Richard, was chosen by Charlie when he first started digging as a full time occupation.

Richard's eyelids started to flicker then opened fully as his crystal blue eyes came to life while the data feed from Charlie's apartment came through the network interface.

"Sir, thank you for considering me again this time round," said Richard sitting upright in his chair at the controls.

"Hello again, Richard; did you have a happy downtime?" replied Charlie flicking the comms switch.

"As you know, sir, I hardly notice any difference apart from my wake up call. The battery re-charge appears to have gone fine this time," Richard replied.

"Nine months work this time my friend. The corporation has advised me there's a fresh dig on the north-western side," said Charlie.

He was punching the last piece of the information through to his android via the data feed.

Richard acknowledged this and pressed some buttons on top of the control panel.

"That's it, the last of it coming through now," said Charlie through the intercom. Before shutting off the audio switch, he finished with, "Careful you don't mess those plot coordinates up, there's a bag of major credits riding on this one."

"Sir... Sir...?" said Richard after he had lost the signal for the apartment.

"Charming; I take it we will see each other tomorrow." Richard frowned as he slowly detached the data tubes from the back of his skull. Looking up towards the screen in front of him, the countdown had reached zero to indicate that the download was complete so he shut down Until Charlie would call on him again.

Charlie was finished with what he needed to do in his apartment. All the data had been transferred so he still had a bit of time to sit around and do nothing until it was time to leave. Scratching his head, he decided there was some hacking that had to be done—his favourite hobby.

The amount he had gained over the years would have surely bought him a way out of his crummy apartment, but he had debts to pay off. He owed money to various gangs back on Earth; they had been his ticket to survival. .

Over the years overdue payments to gangs back on Earth started to add up, if he had not escaped he would be with the others out there, powering the furnaces day and night or even worse.

Charlie was smuggled on board a ship with others carrying atmospheric equipment. It had stopped for refuelling on a tanker rig; he had paid someone off to get him on-board their ship and a passage to the Krone system and was lucky to get away with it.

"Right; let's make some money," said Charlie as he brought the holographic screen back to life.

"Anyone got some tidy accounts around here? There must be some rich pickings," said Charlie, growing impatient—it was his greatest weakness.

After a couple of minutes he noticed a weak security connection on the screen. It was not coming from this planet, but the signal emitting somewhere from up in space. The connection became weaker as Charlie struggled to lock onto it.

"Come on, you should be an easy target," said Charlie confidently.

After a couple of minutes he had finally located his prize and the information was feeding through onto the screen fast. Charlie was not in for much luck today, there was not that much data traffic floating about with a decent credit balance apart from this one. He leaned forward as he tapped the keys in front of him. After a few moments he finally got to where he wanted to be—the victim's credit balance.

"Bingo, gotcha," Charlie said excitedly.

"Yes, fifty thousand credits in that balance; that should do just fine."

The account did not belong to your average space pilot, or even a rogue, but someone with a much higher income take. Tapping away at more keys with his fingertips he locked onto some more dialogue and Charlie decided to take a closer look.

Doctor S Johnson,

Chief Medical Personnel,

HMS Liverpool

"A doctor... and British," said Charlie laughing. Charlie had been born in the UK and had lived there for a couple of years but then moved overseas before leaving Earth.

Moving the cursor up and down, Charlie started to break the pieces of information so he could pinpoint the exact position for the hack. Whoever this doctor was, the security at the other end was poor. It could well be a medical frigate up there but Charlie had no need for drugs, just credits.

Charlie began to tap in the code and found it easier than he thought it would be.

"Easy does it. I should be fine, got a three minute window of no security before his firewall kicks in again," said Charlie; his thumb hovering eagerly over a key and ready to strike.

He went for it. It took less than a minute to drain the credit account of an unknowing victim and transfer the funds to his own account. Charlie had to lose the connection fast and send a dummy decoy to a location that was not his. Quickly tapping his fingers onto the keyboard he punched in some coordinates. The signal had disappeared from his location. However, the local security police at the other end had been alerted by the breach as the star system was known for fraudulent activity and there was a clamp down on it at the moment. The security police quickly located the fake signal attached to a random person on an unnamed planet and they would soon pay a visit.

"Suckers, someone will be getting a nasty surprise in a couple of days," thought Charlie, delighting in his work.

Filling up his travel bag, he got ready for the nine month outing. He had to leave and make his way to the docking bay. Richard would be waiting for him there and his downtime would be over. Walking over to the balcony windows, Charlie tapped on the glass and an atmospheric neon notice appeared in front of him. It stated the cancer risk had been lowered from high to medium, but Charlie did not want to take any chances. So he decided to get undressed, pack his coverall away into his travel bag and grab his protective atmospheric suit.

The suit was a marvel in modern design. It had integrated food sensors built in it; one tap of the arm and you could digest almost any meal you wanted. The protective suit cradled Charlie from the elements of extreme skin damage caused from outside with the burning heat. When the suns set on Krone, the extreme freezing temperatures would hit the planet's surface and the suit did its job with the cold element as well.

All dressed and ready to go, Charlie packed the last bits he needed—including protective night vision goggles—into his travel bag. He approached the door to his apartment, and tapped some keys into a console on the wall to set the alarm. The paint die canisters were activated also; as a hacker, he could not take any chance of someone breaking into his apartment—the evidence would need to be destroyed if it ever came to that.

Closing the door behind him, he swiped his card into the lock and pulled it away quickly. The door sealed shut and air tight. The corridor outside was long and narrow, the sun shining through from outside lit up the area. Charlie decided to take the quickest route towards the docking bay and opened an emergency door at the end of the corridor then slammed it shut behind him.

The steel staircase attached to the side of the high rise unit seemed to carry on forever, he thought as he looked down. He must have been at least ten storeys up and, lucky for him, he had a head for heights.

Walking with the bag over his shoulder, he was blinded by the red sun shining onto the side of the building. The grey dunes outside in the distance did nothing to diminish the glare of the light; Charlie decided it was best to put on his goggles as his eyes may begin to suffer from the blinding rays. He decided it was best to walk down the east side of the building as it would get him to the docking bay a lot quicker. He had to get a head start on this job, as there would be other diggers out there on the hunt for Kromtic as well. He prided himself on being the best digger in the trade, and that was something he would often boast about. Some diggers had been known to go missing whilst searching amongst the dunes for their prize, sometimes a body and vacant ship may be found by robotic scouts, other times they would become victim to the storms and all trace was gone.

"Morning, how are you today?" said Charlie as he gave a nod and a salute as he passed an apartment window. A woman freshly showered was wrapped in a towel and stood staring straight at Charlie shaking her head. Charlie carried on walking; she must have thought he was mad risking himself in the sun but Charlie would be okay he was wearing the protective gear.

Finally he reached the bottom of the stairs.. As he looked up towards the sky, he could see various low clouds forming above the high-rises. A black dust storm was starting to build in the distance, the various holographic warning signs started to spring to life over the lunar space highway intersections. This outpost was a raw unforgiving environment. Charlie continued walking until he reached the first of the various checkpoints he would encounter..

"Can I see your credentials please?" asked a border guard and Charlie stopped dead in his tracks.

"Here you go," replied Charlie handing the documents over.

Shifting through them, the guard was in no mood to be talkative. The wind was really starting to pick up as Charlie stood at the front of a queue waiting to enter the docking bay area. Huge metal gates towered above him; security was tight here as smuggling in and out of the outpost was also a big problem.

After a couple of minutes the guard handed the documentation back to Charlie, a buzzer sounded on the gate, and Charlie started to make his way through the turnstile.

"Nine months, what are you expecting to find out there?" asked the guard.

Having been given the all clear, Charlie stopped and turned around to just smile to the guard as he carried on his way through the entrance of the spaceport.

The area inside was huge; rows and rows of space ships and lunar vehicles were scattered around inside the hanger. Some in no fit condition to operate and most were being worked on by mechanics.

The spacecraft were a mix of corporate transporters, cargo ships, and the odd lone craft. Charlie was looking to see where Richard had parked their digger transportation unit but there was still no sign of him. For an android, he was seldom on time.. The hanger was busy, people moving back and forth, the sound of ships taking off in the distance, and the general rumble of trucks transporting goods to their craft.

"I am over here," shouted a voice behind Charlie; he looked over his shoulder and could see the small frame of Richard walking down the ramp of their digger transporter. The transporter was large. It was comprised of four engines attached to each wing, large tracks underneath the actual rover itself, and could withstand most elements.

Richard walked down the ramp and stopped at the feet of his master.

"Miss me?" he asked.

joy time outside after his work was done and it cooled off, but now it was time for business.

Opening one of the four lockers he had in his apartment, he decided on which clothes to wear. He chose a dark blue coverall with the mining logo stitched onto the left shoulder and his name sown in red below it-Charlie, Digger 24. The coverall was comfortable as always which was good for him. The amount of alcohol and junk food he had consumed over the years did him no favours yet he still managed to get away with looking good because of the loose coveralls.

Charlie flicked a button on the side of his pager and sat down on the sofa. A holographic screen appeared in the middle of the room and, adjusting the pager with his hands, he enlarged the corners of the screen to get a better view. Charlie tapped the button again and an image of a man appeared on the screen. He was dressed in a business suit, the corporate boss of Kromtic division—not just on Krone, but on other systems also.

"I hope you are well, Charlie, and you received the message fine," replied the voice on the screen.

Charlie rested back with his arms stretching while watching the screen and listening to the message. He had heard all the corporate banter before and just wanted to get on with the job. After a couple of minutes of verbal junk echoing around the room, he skipped over to the last couple of minutes of the message as he always did.

"The credit reward for this work is twenty thousand. We have sent scout machines across to the north-western part of the surface and are certain there is a good area of Kromtic there to be found," concluded the corporate male with a smug smile as the message ended and the screen shut down.

Charlie was not too impressed. The credit reward was lower than his last digging job, but he had to remain focused; he needed his reward.

The two suns outside bore down onto the towers and sometimes it was too dangerous to even venture out of the complex at this time because of the extreme heat. Charlie sat down to eat his breakfast at the kitchen counter, flicking his fingers against a mini holographic screen. He was shifting through graphs of data to plan the density of the ground where he would be digging. An alert appeared in the right hand corner, it warned of extreme heat on the eastern side of the planet today and the cancer rate was at least eighty percent.

"Damn I hate percentages, they're getting higher every time," he muttered between mouthfuls.

"Well, they better work harder on those furnaces; this atmosphere must be thinning," said Charlie as he emptied the remaining contents of his bowl into a nearby waste compactor.

The android had awoken from his slumber and the electrodes wired into the back of his metal skull started to light up to send pulses into the android's body.

The half metal/half organic android, Richard, was chosen by Charlie when he first started digging as a full time occupation.

Richard's eyelids started to flicker then opened fully as his crystal blue eyes came to life while the data feed from Charlie's apartment came through the network interface.

"Sir, thank you for considering me again this time round," said Richard sitting upright in his chair at the controls.

"Hello again, Richard; did you have a happy downtime?" replied Charlie flicking the comms switch.

"As you know, sir, I hardly notice any difference apart from my wake up call. The battery re-charge appears to have gone fine this time," Richard replied.

"Nine months work this time my friend. The corporation has advised me there's a fresh dig on the north-western side," said Charlie.

He was punching the last piece of the information through to his android via the data feed.

Richard acknowledged this and pressed some buttons on top of the control panel.

"That's it, the last of it coming through now," said Charlie through the intercom. Before shutting off the audio switch, he finished with, "Careful you don't mess those plot coordinates up, there's a bag of major credits riding on this one."

"Sir... Sir...?" said Richard after he had lost the signal for the apartment.

"Charming; I take it we will see each other tomorrow." Richard frowned as he slowly detached the data tubes from the back of his skull. Looking up towards the screen in front of him, the countdown had reached zero to indicate that the download was complete so he shut down Until Charlie would call on him again.

Charlie was finished with what he needed to do in his apartment. All the data had been transferred so he still had a bit of time to sit around and do nothing until it was time to leave. Scratching his head, he decided there was some hacking that had to be done—his favourite hobby.

The amount he had gained over the years would have surely bought him a way out of his crummy apartment, but he had debts to pay off. He owed money to various gangs back on Earth; they had been his ticket to survival. .

Over the years overdue payments to gangs back on Earth started to add up, if he had not escaped he would be with the others out there, powering the furnaces day and night or even worse.

Charlie was smuggled on board a ship with others carrying atmospheric equipment. It had stopped for refuelling on a tanker rig; he had paid someone off to get him on-board their ship and a passage to the Krone system and was lucky to get away with it.

"Right; let's make some money," said Charlie as he brought the holographic screen back to life.

"Anyone got some tidy accounts around here? There must be some rich pickings," said Charlie, growing impatient—it was his greatest weakness.

After a couple of minutes he noticed a weak security connection on the screen. It was not coming from this planet, but the signal emitting somewhere from up in space. The connection became weaker as Charlie struggled to lock onto it.

"Come on, you should be an easy target," said Charlie confidently.

After a couple of minutes he had finally located his prize and the information was feeding through onto the screen fast. Charlie was not in for much luck today, there was not that much data traffic floating about with a decent credit balance apart from this one. He leaned forward as he tapped the keys in front of him. After a few moments he finally got to where he wanted to be—the victim's credit balance.

"Bingo, gotcha," Charlie said excitedly.

"Yes, fifty thousand credits in that balance; that should do just fine."

The account did not belong to your average space pilot, or even a rogue, but someone with a much higher income take. Tapping away at more keys with his fingertips he locked onto some more dialogue and Charlie decided to take a closer look.

Doctor S Johnson,

Chief Medical Personnel,

HMS Liverpool

"A doctor... and British," said Charlie laughing. Charlie had been born in the UK and had lived there for a couple of years but then moved overseas before leaving Earth.

Moving the cursor up and down, Charlie started to break the pieces of information so he could pinpoint the exact position for the hack. Whoever this doctor was, the security at the other end was poor. It could well be a medical frigate up there but Charlie had no need for drugs, just credits.

Charlie began to tap in the code and found it easier than he thought it would be.

"Easy does it. I should be fine, got a three minute window of no security before his firewall kicks in again," said Charlie; his thumb hovering eagerly over a key and ready to strike.

He went for it. It took less than a minute to drain the credit account of an unknowing victim and transfer the funds to his own account. Charlie had to lose the connection fast and send a dummy decoy to a location that was not his. Quickly tapping his fingers onto the keyboard he punched in some coordinates. The signal had disappeared from his location. However, the local security police at the other end had been alerted by the breach as the star system was known for fraudulent activity and there was a clamp down on it at the moment. The security police quickly located the fake signal attached to a random person on an unnamed planet and they would soon pay a visit.

"Suckers, someone will be getting a nasty surprise in a couple of days," thought Charlie, delighting in his work.

Filling up his travel bag, he got ready for the nine month outing. He had to leave and make his way to the docking bay. Richard would be waiting for him there and his downtime would be over. Walking over to the balcony windows, Charlie tapped on the glass and an atmospheric neon notice appeared in front of him. It stated the cancer risk had been lowered from high to medium, but Charlie did not want to take any chances. So he decided to get undressed, pack his coverall away into his travel bag and grab his protective atmospheric suit.

The suit was a marvel in modern design. It had integrated food sensors built in it; one tap of the arm and you could digest almost any meal you wanted. The protective suit cradled Charlie from the elements of extreme skin damage caused from outside with the burning heat. When the suns set on Krone, the extreme freezing temperatures would hit the planet's surface and the suit did its job with the cold element as well.

All dressed and ready to go, Charlie packed the last bits he needed—including protective night vision goggles—into his travel bag. He approached the door to his apartment, and tapped some keys into a console on the wall to set the alarm. The paint die canisters were activated also; as a hacker, he could not take any chance of someone breaking into his apartment—the evidence would need to be destroyed if it ever came to that.

Closing the door behind him, he swiped his card into the lock and pulled it away quickly. The door sealed shut and air tight. The corridor outside was long and narrow, the sun shining through from outside lit up the area. Charlie decided to take the quickest route towards the docking bay and opened an emergency door at the end of the corridor then slammed it shut behind him.

The steel staircase attached to the side of the high rise unit seemed to carry on forever, he thought as he looked down. He must have been at least ten storeys up and, lucky for him, he had a head for heights.

Walking with the bag over his shoulder, he was blinded by the red sun shining onto the side of the building. The grey dunes outside in the distance did nothing to diminish the glare of the light; Charlie decided it was best to put on his goggles as his eyes may begin to suffer from the blinding rays. He decided it was best to walk down the east side of the building as it would get him to the docking bay a lot quicker. He had to get a head start on this job, as there would be other diggers out there on the hunt for Kromtic as well. He prided himself on being the best digger in the trade, and that was something he would often boast about. Some diggers had been known to go missing whilst searching amongst the dunes for their prize, sometimes a body and vacant ship may be found by robotic scouts, other times they would become victim to the storms and all trace was gone.

"Morning, how are you today?" said Charlie as he gave a nod and a salute as he passed an apartment window. A woman freshly showered was wrapped in a towel and stood staring straight at Charlie shaking her head. Charlie carried on walking; she must have thought he was mad risking himself in the sun but Charlie would be okay he was wearing the protective gear.

Finally he reached the bottom of the stairs.. As he looked up towards the sky, he could see various low clouds forming above the high-rises. A black dust storm was starting to build in the distance, the various holographic warning signs started to spring to life over the lunar space highway intersections. This outpost was a raw unforgiving environment. Charlie continued walking until he reached the first of the various checkpoints he would encounter..

"Can I see your credentials please?" asked a border guard and Charlie stopped dead in his tracks.

"Here you go," replied Charlie handing the documents over.

Shifting through them, the guard was in no mood to be talkative. The wind was really starting to pick up as Charlie stood at the front of a queue waiting to enter the docking bay area. Huge metal gates towered above him; security was tight here as smuggling in and out of the outpost was also a big problem.

After a couple of minutes the guard handed the documentation back to Charlie, a buzzer sounded on the gate, and Charlie started to make his way through the turnstile.

"Nine months, what are you expecting to find out there?" asked the guard.

Having been given the all clear, Charlie stopped and turned around to just smile to the guard as he carried on his way through the entrance of the spaceport.

The area inside was huge; rows and rows of space ships and lunar vehicles were scattered around inside the hanger. Some in no fit condition to operate and most were being worked on by mechanics.

The spacecraft were a mix of corporate transporters, cargo ships, and the odd lone craft. Charlie was looking to see where Richard had parked their digger transportation unit but there was still no sign of him. For an android, he was seldom on time.. The hanger was busy, people moving back and forth, the sound of ships taking off in the distance, and the general rumble of trucks transporting goods to their craft.

"I am over here," shouted a voice behind Charlie; he looked over his shoulder and could see the small frame of Richard walking down the ramp of their digger transporter. The transporter was large. It was comprised of four engines attached to each wing, large tracks underneath the actual rover itself, and could withstand most elements.

Richard walked down the ramp and stopped at the feet of his master.

"Miss me?" he asked.

Chapter Two

The heavy industrial tires of the rover rumbled over the razor sharp rocks and trailed huge marks on the surface. The rover was heading due west at full speed and a dust storm had already started to pick up around them. It was night time and darkness had fallen quickly, coating the landscape in a black blanket. The two moons shone bright so they had good visibility, but the view was becoming diminished by the dust being kicked up from the surface of the planet.

Razor sharp bits of grit hit the wind screen of the control room as Richard pressed a button beneath his chair to give him a better view from the inside.

"Seems like an under estimation on my part," he thought looking on with concern before he turned to glance at the rovers sensor screen. He ran a quick report to check for any damage and when the readings started to print out the data; Richard got out of his chair and looked at the report.

The rover's roof was starting to get cut up a little with the debris from the ground outside when suddenly; Richard was knocked to the floor as a gust of wind hit the side of the ship. "Oh dear, I better get back to work then," he said dusting himself off and showing no concern for his own welfare.

Charlie had been relaxing in the cleaning facilities at the rear of the ship when the rover lurched. He grabbed hold of the shower curtain tightly just as the force of a second knock from outside had hit hard.

"Richard! What's going on up there?" shouted Charlie into the intercom, the soap stinging both of his eyes.

"You okay sir? Just a little dust storm, we should be fine. We will need to deviate from our course a little," replied Richard, his fragile body now strapped into his seat.

"Bullshit, we can't lose time; we're not changing any damn course," Charlie snapped.

Quickly grabbing the controls, Richard noticed the wind had picked up even more; causing the rover to rock from left to right.

"Jesus, Richard," shouted Charlie as he turned the water flow off in the shower head above him. "Are we running on full speed through this wind shear?"Richard decided it was best to punch the damage report through to Charlie so he could see it for himself, Richard would not say too much as he loathed confrontations with his master.

Pushing the keys on the ship's main control panel, the report started to trickle through. Charlie started to dry himself off with a towel as it came through and he started to read it.

"Okay you win, change course a little. Two hours behind, damn it," said Charlie throwing a bar of soap out of frustration with the whole episode.

Closing the door behind him, he entered into another room, quickly dressed himself, and then unlocked the door to the mess hall. The rover was still being knocked around from the severe weather outside. Dirty cutlery Charlie had left after his meals today were moving all over the place on a nearby table.

"Damn shit hole," said Charlie holding onto a wall to steady his balance but was it futile as he started to lose his footing.

Glad to be out of the kitchen, Charlie sat down into the co-pilot seat.

"Struggling a little, sir, but I have slowed the speed down somewhat. The ship was taking a beating and I could not risk anymore damage," replied Richard.

Charlie looked a little concerned and decided to grab the controls.

"You okay, sir?" said Richard looking at his struggling master.

"What do you think? Should we lower the speed some more?" asked Charlie.

"Erm, okay sir," said Richard. Richard reached for the controls when one of the sensors started to flash and the alarm sounded—one of the battery stacks was damaged and the power was draining fast. It was a huge issue; if the engine died they would be stranded and if the dust storm kept up, it could be days before a search scout may come looking for them.

"Plug me in, sir, I'll need to keep the battery going until we can get some cover," said Richard.

"We can't risk it; remember last time? You were off line for nearly a week and I thought I would never get you back," replied Charlie.

Richard looked up at him and gave a disconcerting shake of the head; it had to be done and there was no time for arguing.

"Right you are then," replied Charlie. He unbuckled himself and walked around the back of Richard. Unzipping Richard's coverall he opened up the switches on his metallic skin. Two mini compartments flicked open and Charlie removed the tubes inside. The battery was underneath the main control panel so Charlie extended the tubes and slotted them into the battery slots.

"Well done, sir. We should be fine; the power should feed the panels outside. They will hold out," said Richard, still struggling to keep the rover level.

After a little while, they had started on the new course they had plotted. The wind outside had calmed down somewhat, both had made the right decisions and the damage to their vehicle was minimal.

Another week had passed and another storm was forming outside. They had been stuck on the same course for longer than they had wished and Richard had been on downtime for just over a week, his battery situation taking its toll just like Charlie thought it would.

The mess hall was a lot cleaner now, the last couple of days left Charlie with not much to do apart from cleaning and checking the auto-pilot. Standing in the mess room feeling annoyed, Charlie had missed the bulls-eye on the dartboard after clocking up a good score. He looked around and noticed the metallic body of Richard walking slowly towards him.

"It's amazing what a good old oiling can do; these joints feel a lot better," said Richard looking revived.

"Rough down time then?" replied Charlie.

"Yes; pretty bad. Hooking up to those batteries has never brought out the best in me," replied Richard.

"Well, we're miles behind schedule and we are not even heading north-west anymore; I lost track a few days ago," said Charlie.

"We will get back on track, sir; I can promise that. This is only a temporary measure, the course will revert back to the original soon," replied Richard confidently.

Charlie walked straight past him and stopped to look out through the window facing the moving landscape. It was daylight and the sky was a dark blue. The surface below the rover felt smoother than it had the last couple of days. There was not many craters outside, the change in direction had given them a smoother surface to drive on, it was a good move. Charlie stood with both hands pressed firmly against the glass and his head bowed towards the floor, unsure where to go next. He felt the touch of a gentle steel hand tap his side, looking around Richard gave out a weary smile.

"I am sorry, mate, it's not your fault. I have debts to pay, that's all, and it stresses me out," said Charlie tapping Richard on the shoulder.

"Let's watch a movie," said Richard after a brief pause.

"Yeah, what the hell," replied Charlie in agreement.

They both walked out of the mess hall, and the lights dimmed behind them as the door slammed shut. The corridor was small and most of the lights were turned off; they had to preserve the power supplies due to the change in course. The heat outside was at least fifty degrees and climbing.

Charlie and Richard sat down in their seats as the lights dimmed around them in the small theatre. Charlie had done a makeover in the spare recreation area and turned it into a home theatre and was proud of his little achievement. He wasted a lot of credits on past projects, but this was where he and Richard could relax together.

"So a thriller or Kung Fu flick?" asked Charlie.

"I do not mind, sir; something to distract from the setback I suppose," replied Richard.

Charlie flicked the controls on the side of his chair after inserting the mini disk into a small opening and the movie started to play as they both sat back into their reclining chairs to escape for a little while.

Chapter Three

Slowly moving in orbit above the planet, the large ship slowed down to a sudden halt, inside the dimly lit interior of the main bridge area a door slid open.

Volax Stout entered the room in his wheelchair and moved past the unmanned control hubs. He turned the wheelchair to face the main window overlooking space and viewed the planet below. Deep in thought he slumped forward in his chair and the fat rolls of his stomach spilled out from underneath his black vest. The sweat was pouring from his bald head while his grubby hands wiped saliva from his rotten mouth. Next to him, metal shelving stood in rows with glass tanks displayed all along. Within each tank contained various small reptiles and venomous insects that Stout had collected over the years from various planets and systems.

This was his ship. He also owned one of the biggest corporate companies in space; it was a mining company although he lived the lifestyle of a gangster with a cartel to go with it. Outpost Krone was his latest target and he had sent two diggers to the surface a couple of days ago to hunt for Kromtic; Charlie was not the only one.

"Get up, wake up!" shouted Stout as he looked across to the steel staircase that rose upwards in the corner.

Curled up in the corner of the cage lay a female in her late twenties; she was dressed in a silky black nightgown and needle marks covered one of her arms. She flinched and her body shook in fear as Stout's voice echoed around the room.

"Now let me see who needs feeding, it's been a while since you had a good meal," said Stout moving his chair past a couple of tanks.

The female rose to her feet and clasped onto the steel bars with both hands as she looked down at him; her head had been shaved, gashes could be seen where the cuts had been made, and her hands were covered with dried blood.

"Oh that... well these creatures like their prey to be smooth. Can't have silly bits of hair getting in the way of a good meal now can we?" said Stout, grinning as he tapped the glass tanks one by one. He then grabbed his artificial steel legs and laid them onto the foot of the wheelchair.

"Help! Someone help me!" screamed the woman, terror edged all around her face as she shook the metal bars.

"Shut up, bitch. You thought you would try and get one over on me did you? People will never learn," said Stout shaking his head as his face was filled up with anger and hate.

The woman was one of Stout's prostitutes who had tried to steal from him. He had let her in too close but she made the mistake of crossing the line and would now pay the ultimate price.

"You will do my lovely's," chuckled Stout as he removed the lid from one of the tanks.

Inside, two black and yellow striped menacing scorpions were trying to sting Stout's arm but he had moved away just in time.

"Meet your new playmates, bitch. I'm sure your time with them will be short lived," he said looking up at her.

"No, please, Volax; it was just an honest mistake, I'll do anything I'm sorry I..."

Stout just ignored her pleas and moved his chair to a control panel. He started to flick the controls and the machine hummed as it came to life. It would take no longer than five seconds for the extractor to lock onto the woman and start the transfer.

"You got the wrong person; it was one of your diggers who stole the data not me I..." but before she managed to finish her sentence Stout slammed his fist onto the button.

A blinding white flash hit the cage above and a blue beam then started to flow. After a few seconds the light and the noise had stopped altogether, Stout took great pleasure in what he had just done. Stout moved over to a row of test tubes that stood neatly in a rack on a nearby table and was pleased to see the woman inside one of the tubes—the transfer had been successful. Stout lifted the tube and licked the side of it with his tongue against the glass, the woman's eyes bulging outward looking at him with sheer terror.

"Ah... there we go, must be feeding time then, if only you had been a good girl things would have worked out better," he said grinning as he held the tube against the light above him. The woman inside was screaming for her life but would go unanswered as he tilted the tube over the tank. With a shake of his hand, she fell in.

The scorpions pounced on their prey and hammered blow after blow of venomous stings on the victim. They tore their prey apart within seconds before each vanished into the undergrowth with their meal.

"How's the search going down there,Vestle?" said Stout as he activated his intercom to speak to his digger.

A screen flickered then came to life and a rover similar to Charlie's but a lot smaller in size appeared. It was racing at full speed towards the northern part of the wasteland and had dodged the storm ahead of Charlie.

The difference was the person controlling the rover was not human; instead it was a high class android. One of many Stout had in his possession; he had a fleet of them as part of the mini empire he was trying to construct. Stout's androids made Richard look very simple in appearance and strength.

"Nearing the area now, Volax," replied Vestle.

"Good, I want to see what pickings there are in that nothingness of a planet," replied Stout whilst rubbing his prosthetic leg.

The report flashed up on the screen, there was a two ton Kromtic chamber buried underground. It was two hours away from the rover's position but within easy reach for Stout's android. Relaying the information through, Stout grinned with a sly smirk; he would be a rich man yet again.

"Yes, Volax; understood. I'm signing off," replied the android after confirming more details. The android cut the feed and activated his dark metallic space suit which covered all of his body with air tight seals. He had to be ready for digging when and where required.

"Lovely, just perfect," said Stout as he turned his wheelchair around to look over towards the reptile tanks once more.

"My you are a beautiful one," he said as he reached with his hand into one of the tanks and pulled out a lizard type species. Gently lifting the fragile blue skinned creature with one hand he stroked its rough skin; his fingertips bumping over the spikes arched up on its back. He admired the creature like a child looking at its favourite toy, but that feeling of warmth for it would soon disappear as the creature became hostile with him.

It started to dig its razor claws deep into Stout's hand, ripping the skin and causing black blood to run down towards his elbow. Stout felt no pain; his body was almost unrecognizable since his accident and the DNA he had in him was built to withstand any type of pain. Looking down at the creature before him, the warmth shown earlier had changed. Immense anger now drew upwards from his stomach and he was holding an object that was no more than a threat.

Biting down hard with his jaw, he ripped the head off the creature and tossed the body over his shoulder then moved the wheelchair forward a little to grab a large dish from a steel tray. The cold red blood dribbled from his chin as he spat the contents out from his mouth and onto the dish.

"Why can't things just be nice?" said Stout as he wiped away the blood.

A meal had been prepared for him on the table already; he grabbed some pork joints and placed them onto the dish. He decided to pour himself a glass of red wine to complete his feast. After eating the meal, he positioned the chair so he was facing the screen again. He could see the rover was still on course; a very big chunk of Kromtic would be his very soon. Who could possibly get in the way?

On a nearby vehicle Richard whispered,"Charlie... sir? Wake up!. The film had long since finished and Charlie was still asleep.

"Er... Richard? What time is it?" asked Charlie.

"It is late in the afternoon, sir; you have been asleep for quite a while."

Rubbing his eyes and sitting up straight, Charlie was aware the film they were watching was just playing in a loop. Dim lights still shone from the ceiling, the power was still on so at least that was something. The solar roof tiles were damaged in various places from the wind, and they were running very low on batteries now. Charlie rose out of his seat and made his way towards his android friend.

"Back on course, Charlie," said Richard sitting in his chair in the comms room.

"What time should we get there then?" asked Charlie.

"Within an hour at most," replied Richard.

"Looks like that storm is starting to dissipate," said Charlie checking the radar screen above his head.

"It is good news then at last," thought Charlie.

"Have you charged your suit? Is the programme ready for input?" asked Richard concerned.

"I did it all yesterday, it's better out of the way before we get to the digging site and we had plenty of time to spare," replied Charlie.

Stout's android had started to power down the rover as it approached the main crater. The air was calm and made for the best conditions for digging in ages. As the tyres came to a grinding halt, a group of small locusts scurried on the surface, departing separate ways from their burrows. The planet's surface could not yield any plantation or crops, but did host its share of insect inhabitants and microorganisms.

The door to the rear of the rover opened; the hydraulics made a loud hissing noise as the ramp started to lower itself onto the ground. The android appeared from inside holding some digging equipment. He had a large industrial drill with a long tube attached to the end of it where the Kromtic would be fed into the holding tank at the back of the rover.

Dust from the surface blew up towards the android. Kneeling down, he placed the drill against a large rock and pulled the visor down on his helmet. The drill came to life and as the android fired it up, razor sharp bits of rock flew past him and hit his amour.

"How are we doing down there?" said Stout, speaking into his comm switch.

"Starting to dig now, should be hitting a good batch of Kromtic pretty soon," replied the android.

"Good let me know any updates; I hope to be hitting some big credits here," replied Stout smiling.

After ten minutes or so, the sensors on the drill started to flash the android had hit Kromtic within the rock. Acting quickly, he flicked the switch on the attached tube and the pressure pump started to collect the substance. The android could tell immediately that it was a big find as the tank started to fill up fast.

"How long now Richard?" asked Charlie as he bent down to fasten the laces on his protective boots.

"Ten minutes, sir," replied Richard looking around.

"Good, let's get to work then," said Charlie standing to his feet.

"Hold tight, some of these craters are a little rough," replied Richard. Charlie held onto the rail above him as the rover lurched to the right and dipped forward steeply.

"Jesus Richard, take it easy; I want to get there in one piece."

Richard slammed on the brakes and the rover came to a stop within a crater. Charlie stood by the door, gear strapped to him and holding the drill. The tanks attached to the back of the rover were ready; all he had to do was position the hose and start the feed when needed.

"Opening it now, Charlie; remember the conditions are still a bit rough out there, thirty minutes then you will need a break," said Richard, hoping he had the calculation and timings just right.

Charlie placed the goggles over his face, adjusted his helmet, and gave thumbs up in Richard's direction. The door opened and Charlie started to walk down the ramp. The dust was hitting his face as he placed the protective breathing mask over his mouth.

"Damn wind; what is it with this shit hole planet?" said Charlie, his voice muffled against the breeze.

Flicking the sensor button on the side of his drill, the blue lights lit up in a row. Moving the drill in all directions, Charlie began his search to see if he could lock onto a Kromtic substance within the rock bed in front of him. With no signal being located, Charlie looked at the instrument before him and saw he still had twenty minutes or so left outside. He turned around to see Richard at the window of the rover manning the controls and keeping a hawk eye on him.

"Looking rather cosy in there", thought Charlie as grit gathered around his goggles and started to obstruct his view. He decided to take a rest for a little while and sat down on a nearby rock to wipe the lenses on his goggles with his hand. The temperature outside was starting to climb higher; so much so that Charlie decided to tap the bar coded digits on the side of his arm to initiate the cooling system of his suit. Water started to trickle then became a steady flow as it moved underneath his clothing into his skin. It was just enough to keep him from dehydrating as he continued on with his dig. There was still no sign of Kromtic at all and it was making him frustrated. Becoming desperate, he started to punch holes in the rocks around him with the end of the drill.

"Richard, are you sure you got this right? Still no sign of anything worth getting my credits for in this spot," said Charlie, the frustration becoming apparent in his voice.

"This is the prime spot, I'm sure of it; the calculations work out correct," replied Richard discounting the concerns.

"Well, something is off, I'm giving it ten more minutes and then I'm coming back on board," said Charlie holding the drill in both arms.

The drill started to shimmy off the rock and he could not maintain a good position despite holding the drill down with force. He looked behind him and saw that the tube was starting to fill up with bits of rock and dust; he was not pumping Kromtic just the crap from underneath the surface.

"Fuck!" shouted Charlie turning off the drill and throwing it to the ground.

"This has got to be the right place Richard never gets it wrong," he thought.

The dust storms were starting to pick up again and the heat in the atmosphere was rising even further.

"You okay, sir?" Richard asked over the intercom as he climbed up on his seat to peer through the window onto the landscape below. He could see Charlie resting in the distance. The sun was blinding outside, so Richard flicked a switch and the windows in front of him started to darken as the protective blinds slid across.

"You're going over your time, Charlie; you need to get inside quick," said Richard.

The door slid open and he started to walk down the ramp to meet Charlie, the wind hitting Richard hard as he stumbled onto the ground. Getting back to his feet again, Richard gained ground battling against the wind with every step.

"Charlie! Charlie, let's go. We need to move!" shouted Richard against the ever forceful wind.

Charlie sat slumped over a rock tapping his arm, and trying to circulate the rest of the water into the pores of his skin but of no use, he was dehydrating fast. He had miscalculated with the data he used for the suit and it could cost him his life.

"I got you, Charlie. Just hold onto me. I will get you back to the rover in no time."

The sweat was pouring from Charlie's forehead as he struggled to focus and replied, "Cheers, mate; get me out of here."

Richard grabbed him and managed to hold his weight, the blinding dust blowing fiercely at the both of them. Reaching for his pocket, Charlie quickly grabbed his goggles, wiped away the grit from the lenses again, and placed them firmly onto his face. The stinging in his eyes was still raging but he was determined to carry on.

Once they both had finally arrived at the foot of the ramp again, Richard said, "Get in quick, Charlie; the heat will start to burn every living thing outside soon."

The door opened and they both stepped inside, Charlie collapsed onto a bed near the door. Richard, keeping a close eye on his condition, rushed to open the medical cabinet. In front of him were bottles containing various types of medications Richard grabbed a bottle in one hand and a syringe in the other. Turning around, he could see that Charlie was starting to have a fit on the bed.

"Charlie, sir, stay calm; you need to keep still," said Richard.

Charlie's body was becoming difficult to pin down, Richard had to give him the injection fast— his heart was racing and would soon stop. He had no choice, reaching over for the stun injector Richard forced it into the side of Charlie's neck; Charlie's body juddered like a ship landing in a wind shear. Then fell silent.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you," said Richard, relieved.

Peering over Charlie's body, Richard rolled up his master's sleeve, the wetsuit was tight but after a struggle he managed to place the needle into his arm. Charlie had been exposed to the rising temperature when the elements were stacked against him and the miscalculation with his suit could prove costly. The liquid from the needle flowed fast into Charlie's vein to hydrate him and flush out the harmful bacteria that had entered the skin.

"Next time I'll sort your suit out, if only you had a bit more faith in me," said Richard shaking his head as he pulled away the needle.

"All done; time to let you rest."

Placing a long thin white sheet over Charlie he knew he had saved his friend and master, Charlie was more comfortable now. Richard wrote Charlie's medical stats into the ships computer so they were saved on file.

Everything looked normal once again. Retiring to the main control room, Richard powered down the rover to the minimum amount required and took time to weigh up the situation at hand.

Chapter Four

The rover was starting to pick up speed; its shadow flickering against the ground. Stout's android had adjusted the ships settings perfectly. Another plot had been detected in the far north. Since the last dig had been a great success, half of the tank was full. The temperature was changing fast though and the instruments and equipment were at risk of overheating.

"We have a slight problem, sir," said the android through the comm switch.

Stout slouched back in his chair looking up at a holographic screen.

"What seems to be the issue?" said Stout looking sleepy, as he lit a cigarette.

One of the two scantly dressed prostitutes that lay in his bed sat up reaching for a needle on the nearby table. She was desperate to get high and was injecting herself with some drugs that were readily available from Stout. He had subjected her to years of abuse. The blue drug he supplied was her only escape from his harsh reality. She pushed the small needle deep into a vein in one of her arms, piercing her tissue as the liquid started to pump underneath.

"The temperature is dropping fast sir dusk is approaching, I'm almost at the new dig area but we may need to abort the..."

Stout did not let the android finish his sentence, he spat at the paused image in front of him, then dragged the second woman from the bed by her hair and threw her onto ground in a fit of anger.

"Get to it; those credits are mine!" screamed Stout as he moved his chair to the other side of the room.

The woman cowered and crouched in the corner, her head tucked in-between her knees, she was crying.

Stout positioned his chair to face her, looking at her as though she was a weak creature. Stout had no time for weak things.

"Bastard, let me go. You have me for only two hours, I want out of this. I can cut you a deal, charge you half credits," said the woman, fear sounding from her voice.

Stout said nothing and just stared straight into open space.

"I am getting the fuck out of here, you freak," shouted the prostitute at Stout's face.

Brushing past him, the woman reached for the door, she'd had enough.

"So, no rush before you go onto the next client? I have lots of blue, call it even and I won't even charge you," said Stout pulling a small glass tube from an opening in his chair.

The woman started to sweat; she was addicted to the drug.

"Give me your arm before I change my mind," said Stout grinning.

"Stout, listen, just, please..." said the woman. As she walked towards him, he grabbed her arm with a tight grip.

"You're hurting me, just give me the hit quick," she whined as he pulled her close.

"Always be careful what you wish for," laughed Stout flicking the cap from the end of the tube.

Laughing at her, he let go of her arm and grabbed her neck tight with his mechanical arm, slowly squeezing the air from her lungs.

"Stupid bitch!" spat Stout as he thrust the needle with his other hand into her neck and the poison started to act quickly.

She dropped to her knees in front of him. He looked down at her head as he ran his fingers through her long black hair; everything was a toy to him and he would play with it any way he wanted.

The woman's eyes started to bulge and look bloodshot while her face started to turn blue; a feeble struggle ensued as she struggled to hold onto life, before she collapsed on the floor and rolled over onto her side.

The nanobots within the poison started to crawl underneath her skin, consuming each cell of her body. Looking up, she reached her hand out towards Stout but he just looked away in disgust.

Half of her body by now was a black mass of nanobots, covering her like a swarm of bees. After a few minutes no trace of her was left, the nanobots had dissolved into nothing and left the woman as a scattered pile of dust.

"Your friend is gone; I always ask for manners on board my ship. "That is all," said Stout. He moved his wheelchair towards the other prostitute who sat cowering next to a window.

He stopped beside her and glanced at the view outside, his android would be at work on the surface following his orders. The other woman knew that the drug had taken care of her own body. It showed in how she could not move; she was awake but not quite, her mind however was distant from any kind of reality.

"Relax... that's it my girl, plenty more drugs if you need them."

Charlie's vehicle was still on the move back on the planet below.

Richard had been searching the surface for a few hours and knew there was Kromtic twenty minutes away according to the radar. Charlie sat down in the medical bay changing his top to a white vest.

"Did you get plenty of rest, sir?"

"Plenty," replied Charlie as he paused for a brief second scratching his head. "Listen, I just wanted to say... well, thank you for saving my life out there."

Richard returned the gesture with a smile. "I have a duty to follow Charlie. After all, this was part of the programme you installed when you purchased me to serve you."

Charlie grinned and looked out at the barren landscape ahead of them.

After a few minutes, they had reached their destination. Charlie needed time for the both of them to reprogram the suit; it had to be right this time around.

"I say we park in that large crater on the left," suggested Richard rising out of his seat.

"Sounds good to me, I'll get suited up," replied Charlie.

"Will be two minutes and the programme will be ready," said Richard.

The rover stopped in the centre of the crater and the engine shuddered then fell silent. A dust storm had started yet again but nothing to cause any major issues.

"Is that a better fit? Do you feel comfortable?" asked Richard, pressing his hand on Richard's upper body.

"Stop stressing; that's one thing I should have put in your programming at the point of purchase," replied Charlie.

After Charlie injected the body replenishment microchip into the back of the suit, Richard walked over to a console in the mess room. The screen came to life and Richard downloaded the programme he had designed. A blue holographic beam emitted from the screen, passed by Richard, and shone onto his master's back.

"Will this take long? We are behind as it is; I need to make up for lost credits," said Charlie frustrated.

"Don't move, sir, I need to make sure there is no glitch in the signal," replied Richard.

Charlie stood with his arms at his side and looked ahead. He felt it was taking too long, but his wellbeing was the main factor of Richard's role.

The programme had finished and, walking back around his master, Richard unplugged the small beacon attached to Charlie's back.

"All done then?" asked Charlie turning around.

"Yes, sorry that took longer but I can't risk any more chances," replied Richard.

Charlie grabbed his helmet, but then stopped in his tracks to look at the console; his addiction had reared its ugly head yet again. Memories, painful memories of the gangs he fought so hard to escape from crowded his attention. But he couldn't help himself. He sat down and took control of the keyboard. Richard looked on and shook his head knowing what was about to happen.

"This is my issue, not yours," said Charlie as he began his hack attack.

"Charlie..." said Richard.

"What!!"

Lowering his head Richard fell silent, he knew better than to mess with Charlie's affairs.

Charlie paused then carried on searching for a connection to tap into. He had locked onto something but the security was tricky.

"This will take a while; maybe all evening," thought Richard. He turned his chair around away from Charlie as a beeping noise sounded on the speaker to coincide with an object detected in the distance on the radar screen.

"Someone else?" thought Richard as he looked out. He stood up and noticed something in the distance behind the glass. He thought to himself, If there was someone else out there it could only mean one thing, another digger...

Stout retired to his master bedroom on board the ship, while the other prostitute stood beneath a hot shower. Face upward. Swallowing water. Wishing she could wash away the drugs inside her.

"Still going to plan," thought Stout as he flicked through the stock charts on the screen. Kromtic was hitting an all-time high on the market.

Lying on his bed, his wheelchair beside him, Stout turned to face the bathroom door.

"Hurry up, you're taking too much time in there," he said.

The woman was crouched in the corner of the shower from drug withdrawal. As the drug was starting to slowly fade, the burning sensation was leaving her and being replaced by the cold water that flowed from the shower head as each stream of droplets soaked into her skin..

Back inside Stout's room he appeared to be resting now in his bed, alone with his thoughts to keep him company.

All of a sudden, a flashing red light caught Stout's eye and he slowly rose from the bed like a snake hidden from sight. He knew it was a hacker and he had to act fast. To his benefit, his on-board computer systems were far superior to what Charlie had.

"Fucking parasites!" shouted Stout.

His eyes turned red with anger as he scanned for any coordinates he could lock on to; he needed to get a fix on the signal fast.

"Charlie, we're running out of time. I can only programme your suit for so long," said Richard, becoming more restless.

Charlie ignored Richard's concerns and carried on with his quest to gain access to the account, but there was one problem, he had chosen the wrong person.

An alert started to flash on his screen that read location detected; his cover was blown. He had to act fast and decided to shut down knowing it might be worthless as his connection was already revealed. In a blind panic, he pulled the connection cable out from the back of his server—there would be a zero success rate of getting away with it.

"Shit... Shit," said Charlie, unsure if it had worked and thinking the game was over this time around.

"Right, let me get to the dig. I need to get as much as I can, then we leave the area. I don't think it's safe," said Charlie quickly trying to get his mind off the subject that had him spooked.

Charlie stepped out of the rover door. The dust still churning outside but Charlie fired up the drill and placed the tip of it into the ground, turning the power to maximum on the dial. Richard, unaware of what was going on in Charlie's mind, looked out from the comms window. He did not want a repeat of the emergency that occurred earlier.

"Come on, show me some credits," said Charlie lowering his goggles over his eyes.

He held the drill firm as sparks and sharp pieces of rock started to fly and he turned at the usual angle to avoid anything hitting his face. After a minute, he had locked onto a supply of Kromtic buried deep under a large boulder. Charlie started the vacuum pump and the Kromtic began to flow at a steady pace through the tube. Charlie smiled with relief, he knew this was a good catch.

Stout took one look on his monitor, and ordered

"Send two security teams down to the surface," said Stout.

He had located the signal on the planet and whoever was trying to hack into his account would be dealt with by his thugs.

Three scout vehicles sat stationary in the hanger as three tall well-built males made their way towards the craft from a nearby lift. Dressed in black armoured suits, they hurriedly ran towards the vehicles, each one climbing aboard. The hanger doors opened and an open view of deep space awaited them as one by one the vehicles thrusters came to life and they took off, leaving the hanger behind them.

"Locking onto the target area sir; should not take long," said one of the pilots.

"Good; take care of whoever is responsible for this. There will only be a short window for us before they escape," replied Stout with a sharp tone.

He noticed the prostitute standing in the bathroom doorway. She was wearing a white silky dressing gown; her hair was wet and tied back.

"Come here, you need to take care of me," Stout replied smirking clicking his fingertips and gesturing the woman to come closer.

The woman walked the remaining effects of virtual bliss still circulated.

"Now it's our play time, go easy on me," said Stout as he pulled back the bed covers.

He was naked from the waist down; his deformed legs twisted within the sheets, leaving badly deformed skin visible. The woman gently kissed his chest as she slowly disappeared underneath his shirt, Stout grinned with pleasure.

The scouts had hit the atmosphere of the planet but it would be a bumpy ride because the turbulence was pretty severe at their current attitude.

"Damn it, this is rough," said one of the pilots in the Scout craft.

"Hang on in there, this isn't half as bad as what Stout has in mind for whoever he's after," replied a voice from the second ship.

As the three craft descended further, the wings deployed underneath each to help control the turbulence while the thrusters made things a little easier against the wind shear.

"Target locked; we got it," sounded a voice communicating from one of the ships.

The pilot looked down onto his radar screen; the blip being displayed was Charlie's Rover. All of the ships started to slow down in line with each other, each wing expanding upwards as they neared the surface. Reversed thrust was activated making it easier to hover over the target below.

"Charlie, can you read me?" asked Richard.

Charlie was still pumping the Kromtic through his drill. Taking a breather, he paused for a brief moment and adjusted his helmet.

"I hear you, Richard; everything okay back there?" replied Charlie.

"No... I'm not sure what it is. It could be other rovers but I have detected three incomings on the comm system; we have to move from this area," he replied.

Charlie switched off the drill, the dust kicking up around him as he threw the equipment onto the floor. It could be other rovers homing in on the area. He had encountered it before but only with the odd distant craft, nothing that would be of any concern. Charlie had a hunch this was nothing to do with any digging, but rather being caught out earlier with his hacking.

"I'm on my way back, let's get out of here. I'm detaching the feed, we can leave that here," said Charlie holding his ear piece on the side of his helmet to cover the noise as the engines from his rover started to fire up.

"We do have spares, Charlie," replied Richard as he left the rover's control room.

The side door of the vehicle opened to one side and he stepped onto the ramp. His fragile figure struggled once again to reach Charlie, but he did fair better than last time as the elements outside were not as extreme.

"Charlie!" shouted Richard straining his robotic voice over the blustery wind around him.

"Stay there, just get the rover ready!" replied Charlie.

Richard turned around but as he started to walk back up the ramp he heard the sound of thrusters growing closer from above in the sky. Looking up, he saw the three ships lined up together, and descending fast from just over two hundred meters away.

"We have to get out of here!" shouted Richard in Charlie's direction.

Charlie took his goggles off and starting to shake the dust from them before he heard the sound above. Spotlights shone from beneath the three ships as they hit the surface in a straight line. He dropped the goggles and started to make a run for the rover. Inside, Richard flicked the controls and the rest of the engines started to power up. As he hit the button on the door to let Charlie in, a gust of wind crept in, knocked him sideways and he landed in a heap on the floor near the ramp.

"Richard!" shouted Charlie as hard as he could, but the howling wind outside was deafening.

Slowly trying to crawl down the ramp on his hands and knees, Richard turned around and looked up; the three ships had already landed in the distance. Charlie kept shouting as his android friend lay on the floor. Richard slowly edged forward to him at a snail's pace.

"Come on, grab hold of me and let's get back on board," said Charlie as he finally reached his friend.

He lifted Richard up and cradled him in his arms like a child, the fall had seized the androids legs up and he would need maintenance but they both knew there was no time for that now.

"I'll get us out of here; just get comfortable and rest," said Charlie.

Strapped tight in the co-pilots chair, Richard did not move as Charlie sat next to him and took over the console. The exit door was now sealed shut and he set the throttle to maximum on the rover's thrusters. The game was up and they could no longer outrun what had caught up with them on the surface—they needed to leave quickly...

"Sir, they're trying to escape. Can you advise the next plan of action?" asked a pilot from inside one of the landing scouts.

"Stop them you fucking idiot. I want one of them alive; the one who tried to steal from me," replied Stout, his anger emitting through the intercom into the pilot's ear.

Stout had no time for idle conversation; he quickly cut the connection once again. The pilot ordered the other two ships to lock onto Charlie's craft as it was getting away and gaining altitude fast.

Suddenly a blinding flash emitted from one of the wings; a missile had locked on to Charlie's rover and was approaching fast.

"Shit, hold onto something Richard" said Charlie after he had spotted the incoming threat on his radar screen.

Richard closed his eyes to be ready to bear some of the brunt of what would soon hit them; his hands grasped the chair firmly by his sides.

"Come on..., come on..., deflect, work dammit!" shouted Charlie frantically trying to activate the anti-missile system.

But it was too late; another blinding flash hit the side of the rover, followed by a loud bang.

Flames covered the outside of the rover as twisted metal started to defragment and fall to the surface below while they went into free fall and out of control.

Looking up at Charlie, Richard asked, "Sir, how bad is the damage?"

Charlie was losing control. Sensors flashed widely across the controls and alert noises started to sound all around from the inside of the rover.

The pilot from one of Stout's scout ships watched as a long black streak of smoke and flames came from the belly of the helpless rover.

"Nice shot! Now get your gear so we can go outside and grab our catch," said the lead pilot.

"TEN SECONDS TO IMPACT" replied a voice from the intercom.

"You holding on okay?" shouted Charlie looking at Richard.

The android said nothing; his hands continued to grasp tightly to the chair. He closed his eyes knowing the rover was badly damaged from the missile.

Flames started to penetrate the cockpit; the main controls were damaged and blue sparks started to emit as the console became unstable. The damage..was far more severe: pieces of metal started to flying off the right wing as the entire structure weakened. They would likely explode before they hit the ground below.

"Got it, we can ditch over there," said Charlie wiping the sweat from his brow as he tried to hold the ship steady. Looking ahead he noticed a rocky mountain and just behind it the surface was smooth with no craters at all; it was their only chance at ditching.

"WARNING—PULL UP, LOW ALTITUDE" repeated the ship's computer over and over,

"WARNING—PULL UP... PULL UP,"

"Brace for impact; hold on!" screamed Charlie.

A loud bang echoed throughout their rover as the left wing clipped the top of the mountain; tipping the ship over on its side.

"I am so sorry," thought Charlie as he closed his eyes.

The screen in front of him shattered, debris blew inwards, and then darkness...

The three men stood together silent; they heard the dense thud as the stricken rover disappeared over the other side of the mountain. A large dark plume of smoke started to rise in the distance. It was time to contact Stout, but they knew there would be hell to pay if the occupants on-board the crashed rover were dead.

The temperature was dropping well below freezing again as the sun started to set; one of the men inflated his suit slightly before switching the visor and his helmet turned a dark black.

The other two men repeated the same action; it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Let's take a closer look; he wanted one alive so it's worth a try at least," said the leader of the group.

They started to walk towards the foot of the mountain, the rocky surface becoming steeper with each step as they started their approach upwards.

"What if they're dead? Stout will make sure we are too," said one of the pilots.

Zed—the leader of the group—stopped in his tracks, turned around, and walked over to Carter.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" shouted Zed squaring up to him.

As tension began building in the air, the third pilot—Blake—just stood and watched from not far behind.

"The last thing we're going to do is let that fat fucking freak get the best of us," shouted Zed.

Carter just shrugged his shoulders and bowed his head in response.

"Right, so now that we got that out of our system, I suggest we keep walking and check to see if there are any survivors," replied Zed. He may have been a rogue, but was a born leader.

"And if there are no survivors?" asked Carter.

"Then that's something we will think about if it happens," Zed replied.

Climbing the mountain was tricky but the spikes underneath the men's boots dug firmly into the surface, making the ascent less difficult then what it may have been. The wind picked up again and slowed all three down, but they kept moving as fast as they could. The outpost police would have been alerted once the crash had occurred and a search party would already be on the way.

Eventually the three of them reached the top of the mountain and beneath them lay the scattered wreckage of Charlie's rover strewn over a wide area. Flames flickered from various spots on the ground along with rising smoke. As the three of them descended into the crash site, Zed activated the life sensor within his helmet. He picked up two life forms, but only one which read of any active bodily functions.

"You two go check over there; it must be the main piece," said Zed pointing to a large piece of cockpit structure half buried underneath a rock.

"I'll check around the craters; whoever they are, they must be around here somewhere," replied Carter.

"There will just be one human; no signs of life from the other so it's most likely an android, this planet is filled with them," said Zed, gathering his pace as he pointed his weapon towards the cockpit.

The other two men slowly walked between the wreckage kicking whatever they came across with the soles of their feet.

"Nothing here, Zed; just going to check out this big piece here," said Carter.

The other two men walked on some more until they had also reached the cockpit. The front part was buried deep underneath the rock and soil but there was an opening at the rear and they decided to take a look inside.

"Bingo," laughed Carter.

Inside lay the body of a human and alongside him were the scattered parts of an android...

Chapter Five

As Charlie started to wake and his vision cleared, he became aware of a dull light around him and machines covering most of the room he was in.

Various figures walked by. They looked like engine room operators, walking back and forth across the room.

Charlie's head ached with pain; it felt like a needle was slowly digging into the side of his skull.

He tried to stand up but couldn't move his legs or arms and found he was tied to a chair. His hands were secured firmly behind his back—someone wanted him here for a reason.

"Charlie... sir, it's me," echoed a familiar voice from the corner of the room.

It was Richard, except this time he sounded slightly different; almost as if he was damaged.

"Richard? Is that you?" replied Charlie, his voice gravelly from being unconscious.

"For your own protection, don't say too much," replied Richard.

"How bad are you hurt?" asked Charlie, struggling to keep his head straight as his vision slowly returned to normal.

"I am very bad, sir; a rebuild will be needed."

Charlie looked at the ground and did not reply—the unthinkable could happen; he may lose his best friend. They had crossed paths in the past. It only sometimes seemed it was often, but Richard was his only true companion.

"Finished have we?" echoed a man's voice from the corner of the room as he shone a spotlight onto Richards broken frame. Charlie realized it must be the men who shot his ship down.

"Wake that other piece of shit up. I can't stand his mumbling," said Zed, still holding the spotlight firm.

Carter filled a bucket with cold water from a hose attached to the wall then threw the contents onto Charlie's face before he grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.

"You are in some serious shit," Carter said forcefully.

The double doors of the engine room opened up and Stout appeared from the darkness. The noise of his wheelchair in full motion became louder as he approached Charlie.

"So I take it you were the one who stole from me?" asked Stout.

A pause hung in the air while Charlie's vision became clear.

"No response then?" Stout questioned mockingly.

When Charlie looked around and focused his eyes on Richard, his stomach sank. The android's body consisted of only his upper torso damaged beyond repair and the head which lay untouched.

"What the hell happened? What have you done to him?" Charlie burst out.

But his anger was cut short as Stout approached him and forced a metal rod into Charlie's neck; the electric current surging through his body.

"The one thing that I insist that all humans or any other being learn is manners when I grace them with my company," said Stout, laughing sadistically.

He pulled away the rod to leave Charlie foaming at the mouth and unable to speak.

"I have not introduced myself, have I? How rude...," said Stout, "I am Stout—you do not need to know my surname—and you are aboard the engine room of my ship."

Charlie tried to reply but his body was still shaking from the trauma.

"And these gentlemen are my dear scouts, a small band of merry men if you like; they work for me. Meet Zed, Carter, and Blake; they located the both of you today back on that waste hole."

Stout reached out with his metal hand as a gesture to the three henchmen behind him and then he moved towards the crippled Richard.

"And what is this heap of junk?" asked Stout, his wheel poised just over Richard's head.

"You leave him alo..." Charlie struggled to say as Zed grabbed him by his throat.

"What was that? Let me cut you a deal, give me the codes for the credits you stole and I will let you go," said Stout looking at Charlie; his eyes filled with intent.

"No, Charlie, please; you don't understand his motives," begged Richard, his voice gradually becoming weaker with each passing moment.

"I give you ten seconds. Zed, give him a wakeup call," instructed Stout.

Zed walked over to Stout and pulled out a small tube from the side of his chair. Zed flicked the cover off the tip with his thumb and a small needle glistened in the light. He forced the end into Charlie's mouth and depressed the syringe to allow the liquid to quickly flow down his throat.

Taking a huge breath, Charlie was able speak normally once again.

"What are you going to do?" he replied to Stout with fear.

"Maybe get rid of your friend here, use him for spare parts for my chair, who knows?" replied Stout.

"Leave him fucking alone, you sick bastard!" growled Charlie as he tried to break free from captivity.

"So be it then," said Stout.

Stout pushed the controls on his chair and the wheel started to roll over Richard's head, crushing the metal below. Pieces started to shatter and fly off as Stout completed his destruction and forced the wheel completely over the androids skull.

"No... you bastard!" screamed Charlie.

Stout repeated the manoeuvre again with his chair, each crushing blow sending a shiver throughout Charlie's entire body. The anger inside Charlie started to build as he rocked his chair from side to side in an attempt to break free until he quickly became exasperated.

"What the fuck are you doing?" shouted Zed and landed a punch across Charlie's cheekbone.

"Well? Come on, Charlie; don't be shy, answer the man," Stout sniggered.

"Why? He did nothing to you," sobbed Charlie as tears and blood trickled down his face. He wanted to rip Stout's head off for murdering his best friend.

Spitting the contents from his mouth onto the floor, Charlie looked straight ahead with rage beginning to boil in his eyes.

"Get him out of that damn chair," said Stout.

The three men walked over, loosened the rope, released Charlie, and threw him face first onto the floor. Pushing himself up with his hands, he turned around only to be knocked down once again by Zed's hammer-like fist.

"Take care of him; the medical bay will take care of his injuries, and then he is mine," said Stout as he disappeared through the doorway.

Zed raised his fist again and dealt Charlie blow after blow as blood continued spraying onto the floor.

"You want to have a go, guys?" said Zed taking a step back. Charlie was lying on his back and his face was motionless.

Carter and Blake joined in, kicking and stamping on Charlie's body until they almost killed him. Zed gave the order to back off and called the medical bay for Charlie to be collected.

The door opened and two robotic droids entered. They hovered over the body in front of them, scanning it; his pulse was weak but he was alive.

"This bastard would be luckier we did kill him; god knows what Stout will have in store for him, probably feed him to one of his pets," said Carter as he lit up a cigar.

The body was lifted onto a stretcher by the two droids and an oxygen tube was inserted into Charlie's mouth. He was quickly wheeled out of the room and down a corridor, en route to the medical bay.

Stout's android was finishing off the work on the planet's surface and had just finished the last dig of Kromtic before the rover took off to return to Stout's ship.

There was just enough fuel to reach the atmosphere and board the ship as the android's rover climbed at a steady pace away from the surface and left Krone behind.

"Will be docking soon, sir," reported Stout's android.

"Good, unload the cargo for me; I need a confirmed count of Kromtic," replied Stout.

Stout sat back in his chair in his main quarters surrounded by the vicious insects and reptiles behind the glass. They were his family and they were hungry for their next feed but Stout dismissed their needs this time round.

Looking through a database of female portfolios he searched for a decent replacement for his late in-house escort girl. This time it had to be someone he could trust, letting his guard down cost him dearly and he had already learned that mistake.

"Various skills and a great body; you will do," said Stout rubbing his fingers over the screen. The image displayed in front of him was a brunette who had the perfect CV for the job.

The buzzer sounded at the entrance to his quarters and interrupted his escort shopping so Stout moved his chair towards the door.

"Who is it," he said.

"Medical complete, sir; major tissue damage repaired," replied the voice of a medical droid.

"Let him in then," replied Stout.

The door opened to allow Charlie, handcuffed and wearing a plain all in one grey coverall, enter the room looking like the prisoner he was.

"I hope they patched you up well Charlie," said Stout patronizingly; he was in the mood for playing games with him. Stout was a sadistic killer first and foremost, but playing with people's emotions was his favourite past time.

"What did you do to me; I don't feel any more pain," said Charlie, giving his captor a confused look.

"Well of course you don't; my medical team are the best in this system. You had fractures and a badly beaten face, but you're better now," Stout said.

"And what about Richard?" replied Charlie.

"What him? His parts were melted down," said Stout with a sly grin on his face.

"You fuckin..." Charlie lurched forward towards for him and the sound of a gun being loaded rang out behind Charlie. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at a stairwell where an android stood guard aiming his weapon straight at him.

"Step back from him," said the guard.

Charlie took a few steps back away from Stout. He wanted to get even, but knew in this moment he would not be the one standing if he did.

"Are you okay, sir?" asked the android.

"I'm fine," replied Stout then turned his attention back to Charlie, "You see, I am untouchable and you have crossed the wrong person. You tried to hack my account; no one gets away with that."

"I have debts to pay, besides my last dig did not go as it should," replied Charlie, the handcuffs starting to dig into his wrists.

"I should feed you to them right now," said Stout gesturing towards his tanks. "But I have something more; shall we say... enduring."

The guard started to make his way down the staircase towards them, his gun was still aimed at Charlie; Stout was taking no chances with the situation.

"Take him over there," said Stout as he pointed to what looked like an operating table with a red light glowing above it.

Grabbing Charlie's arm, the guard dragged him across to the table. He removed the handcuffs as Charlie winced in pain, then the guard stunned him in the back with his weapon.

As Charlie fell to his knees the guard grabbed him by the scruff of his hair and pulled his body across the floor.

"Get him on the table!" shouted Stout.

Charlie fought desperately to break free but the android's strength was too much. He quickly forced Charlie down on his back before strapping his feet and arms to the table.

"Now... I'll give you a choice," said Stout as he rubbed his hands over Charlie's overall in a perverted way.

Charlie became frantic and couldn't move.

"Shut him up will you," said Stout to his guard.

"Yes, sir," replied the android. He grabbed a mouthpiece from the table and quickly forced it around Charlie's mouth.

"Good, that will keep him quiet for a while," replied Stout. He was sweating badly and needed his injection.

"Let's get this over with quickly I make you a deal Charlie, this chip will be implanted into your skull," said Stout. "You will complete different tasks for me from now on and if you do not; then I trigger the chip and you will be dead."

The guard loaded the chip into a sharp instrument and then tucked the end of it underneath Charlie's hair ready to release the insertion.

"You need a haircut my friend and a shave too. Working for me, you have to look the part and your appearance is displeasing to me at this moment," said Stout.

Spit shot upwards from Charlie's mouth and his eyes bulging with fear. He was desperately trying to speak and break free but the mouth piece was proving difficult.

"Implant to be inserted now," said the android.

Charlie heard a small crunch was by the side of his head as the instrument pierced his skull.

Charlie clenching his fist and shook his head in pain.

"Take it, you weak bastard," shouted Stout spitefully.

Charlie continued to struggle with the pain but after a couple of minutes it subsided and he calmed down.

"Would you like me to give the sedative shot now, sir?" asked the android while holding out another needle.

"Do it quickly, I want him out for a good while; his tasks will soon begin," replied Stout.

Charlie's vision began to blur as the contents of the needle pumped into his blood stream.

Chapter Six

The baking hot sun bore down onto Charlie's body. The sand beneath him was coarse and the breeze in the air hardly noticeable as it blew over him. Mountains of sand dunes were scattered all around—he was alone.

"Where am I?" he muttered. He spat bits of sand out from his mouth from laying on his front with his head dug into a bed of sand.

Sitting up, he looked at the bright blue sky that shone above; no space crafts in the distance or any towering skyline, nothing.

"Hello....Hello... what is this place?" shouted Charlie, but all he heard was his voice echo around him.

"You're awake then?" sounded a voice within his ear.

"Stout? What could he be doing here?" thought Charlie; he could not see a living soul around him.

"Hello, did your beating make you deaf?" said Stout.

"Where the fuck are you? You sick bastard!" screamed Charlie.

"Let me explain; you are on the surface of a distant planet, one of the Stelt moons," replied Stout, savouring the moment. "You have a chip in your head, I control it, do anything other than the tasks I have for you and you die with one flick of a switch,"

As he wiped the sweat from his brow, Stout took pleasure watching his subject take it all in while he sat and watched Charlie through the screen.

Charlie stood up but his knees started to buckle beneath him from lack of strength with the extreme heat. The sensation of dryness was getting to him and the thirst started to become more uncomfortable. He started to lick his lips, then placing his hands into both pockets for a false hope there may be some kind of liquid but the pockets lay bare.

"Shit... this heat, it's too much," said Charlie panting as he removed the top half of the coverall that was soaked with sweat.

"I take it you need some water; that will be part of your task," said Stout.

"This is no game; I need water now, damn it," demanded Charlie as he kicked his boot into the ground and the sand blew back at him.

"Work for it; but remember, fail and it's lights out," replied Stout. His hand hovered over the kill switch at his control panel but activating the chip would be too easy, killing Charlie now would make him look like a bad sport.

"You can't do this to me. Please, I can give you more credits if that is what makes you tick," said Charlie in desperation.

Silence followed and Charlie called out again, "Are you listening to me?" Stout had him were he wanted—in the middle of desolate place, in a desert, on a nearby moon, with a harsh environment for company.

Charlie began to move. His feet trudged one step after the other with the sand almost up to his knees as he sank further and made the job of gaining distance even harder.

The sweat and heat was becoming more unbearable with every stride but he knew he had to keep moving towards the mountains in the distance.

"He is struggling, sir," the android said over Stout's shoulder.

"Let him; he'll be fine, besides he'll come across the first set of containers soon," Stout replied.

Stout could see Charlie's view through his control panel; the microchip sent back any information Stout required—Charlie's body stats; heartbeat; pulse; everything was easily accessible.

After what seemed like an age, he had reached the foot of the first mountain; sharp rocks covered the bottom.

"So he wants me to climb this?" thought Charlie with despair.

"Do not let me down; this is endurance test one, which you do not want to fail," said Stout watching Charlie's view closely.

Charlie took deep breaths as he reached for the first set of rocks with hands and pulled himself up. The sharpness of the rocks cut into each of his sweaty palms; he nearly lost his grip but managed to cling on as he started his ascent.

"Fuck, keep going; don't look down", thought Charlie as he pressed on with his climb.

He turned his head all he could see was nothing but sand below him and the breeze was still doing nothing to change the humid air all around him.

"What do you want next? What is going on?" said Charlie.

"Keep climbing to the top; there will be two containers awaiting you," replied Stout.

"You leaving gifts for me now?" replied Charlie sarcastically as he continued to climb.

He reached a ledge on the mountain face and climbed onto it to catch his breath and gain some energy back.

His trousers were sodden with sweat; so much so he decided to remove them and continue in his boxer shorts.

Stout touched the screen in front of him with his finger moving it across the image of Charlie's body, a cold shiver shot up Stout's spine as perverted thoughts ran through his head.

"Everything okay, sir?" asked the android next to him.

"Yes," replied Stout, wiping his brow, "Just looking at the subject's skin and build; it's very attractive, he must have good DNA,"

"He needs to keep moving; the two containers are waiting for him but time is running short for the woman," replied the android. He tapped the screen and an image appeared of Stout's drug addicted whore.

The cage was held with a steel cable between two cliff tops and dangled over a large cavern. The cage itself was filled with water and the woman inside had an oxygen mask attached to her face. A small oxygen bottle was attached on the outside of the cage and the gage on the meter was almost reading zero.

Becoming aware of her surroundings, she looked around and tried to scream, but the water was flowing around her and muffled her voice. The woman was becoming frantic as she hit her fists against the glass in a feeble attempt and made very little impact. Being submerged was the least of her problems, if the cable snapped it would mean certain death from the fall.

But Stout did not like the easy option; he played with his victims, ensuring that they had as much prolonged mental and physical suffering as possible.

"Move; you're wasting time, move now!" demanded Stout through the intercom.

"Fuck you!" replied Charlie.

"Now, sir?" asked the android.

Stout flicked a switch against his control panel and Charlie grabbed his head, pain instantly pounding against his skull. As the pressure started to build, Charlie fell to the floor and curled up inside the corner of the ledge, screaming in pain. A few more minutes and the chip would explode; this was Stout's first lesson to him. Charlie had to listen to his advice and instructions, Richard was dead Charlie was on his own with no one to turn to for comfort or help.

"Please... stop the pain... I can't take it," screamed Charlie as his vision became blurred and the pain unbearable, like hot pokers ripping into his head.

Stout kept his finger firmly pressed; he took great pleasure looking at different cameras and seeing Charlie suffer.

"Sir, I suggest we release the pain; looking at his sensors, he could go into arrest at any moment," said the android.

The android was right and Stout knew it; he reluctantly took his finger off the button.

"Jesus, you nearly killed me! Let me get my breath back, I'll carry on; just give me time," replied Charlie. His body was shaking and he struggled to catch his breath before he succumbed to Stout's orders.

"That was a lesson my friend; any more delays and you will feel the pain again and again," replied Stout.

Charlie stood up and removed his soaked boots, leaving him barefoot for the rest of the climb. The rocks became sharper with each step and the cuts more frequent on Charlie's feet and palms. To make matters worse, sand had started to seep into the wounds.

"God damn it," said Charlie, wincing with pain.

His efforts finally paid off when, with relief, he saw that he had reached the top. Looking over, he saw two small black containers. Charlie knelt down but was clueless what to do next.

"Don't worry, they're not explosives," emitted a voice in his ear.

"It may help you carry on, water perhaps?" said Stout.

"Thank Christ," replied Charlie as he pulled the handle from the first container towards him. It would not budge and appeared to be jammed.

"Come on, damn it; I'm sick of these fucking games," shouted Charlie as he kicked the handle.

Still nothing; he was desperate for water and his body was becoming severely dehydrated. Reaching down, he grabbed a jagged rock from the ground hoping it would do the trick.

"You trying to make me lose, Stout?" said Charlie.

Stout looked closer at the screen, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair.

"Well, what do you think? He needs to make it through this, I need his..." Stout said then paused.

"His body stats are beginning to decline; I think we need to end this task as soon as we can," replied the Android.

After a couple of hammer blows, the rock shattered into tiny pieces and made a deep cut into Charlie's hand.

"Damn it," said Charlie and he pulled at the handle. The container opened up but he was not greeted with water. Instead, sand started to flow out from the inside of an opening.

"Fuck! Come on...!" shouted Charlie in desperation, picking up the container and throwing it against the cliff face. A cloud of sand and metal exploded into the air.

"Don't give up, you're doing well; just keep up with the pace better," said Stout.

Charlie ignored the voice inside his head as he walked over to the second container. This time there was no issue with the handle, it seemed to open easily. Charlie lifted it up and looked inside—no water but sand again. His rage washed over him as he threw it over the ledge and it went crashing into the cavern below.

"I need water now, damn it!"

"Keep moving. You're nearly there. You'll need to climb to the top of this mountain, then you will see another—start that one," replied Stout.

It seemed like an age but Charlie had started to climb the second mountain. He lost his grip a few times, almost killing himself, but he carried on.

"When you reach the summit there will be another two containers, I assure you they do not contain sand this time," said Stout.

The woman was still panicking as she attempted to force her way out of the cage, the oxygen virtually gone. The straps on the mask attached to her face dug deep into her skin.

She knew this would be the work of Stout; he had grown tired of her just like a child with an old toy.

"She appears to be struggling as well," said the android as he walked over to another set of screens similar to the ones that Stout was watching.

Turning in his wheelchair to face the android, Stout started to look concerned; maybe he had got the timing wrong after all, Charlie was starting to lag behind in the task.

"Increase the oxygen level by two per cent," replied Stout; he wanted this game to carry on so he had to make exceptions just this once.

"Levels adjusted, sir," replied the android, moving his robotic hands over the controls.

The woman's eyes started to sting; she had been in the underwater for a while. Her screams went unanswered behind the mask as each moment passed.

"He should be near her any moment now, sir," said the android.

Pulling himself up with his hands, Charlie was making headway. He had passed the worse of the pain now. His feet were cut and blistered but they had almost become numb with discomfort.

"Come on, not long; you can make this", thought Charlie". His mind automatically thought of how much easier it would be if he still had Richard.

After struggling with his demons, he reached the top and with gasping breaths he pulled his body onto yet another ledge. It was a wonder he had managed to get this far.

"Well done my friend; you made it," said Stout, sounding surprised.

"Look over to the boulder to your left, there is a container; open it," he demanded.

"Why should I trust you? It could be explosives for all I know," replied Charlie.

Collapsing, Charlie had no choice but to open it; he would die without any liquid in his body and this was his only chance at survival.

He could only crawl at a slow pace as the sand rubbed underneath his body each time he moved a little closer to the container.

The sun glistened off the surface as he reached his prize, the rays almost blinding Charlie.

Rising to his feet, he started to feel dizzy because the exhaustion was too much. Although he would love to kill Stout on the spot, he had to keep going; Charlie's choices were spent.

The handle opened with hardly any force. Looking down, a warm feeling washed over him, like he had just acquired all the credits in the universe, as the cold water shone in the bright sunlight.

"Jesus, thank god," wept Charlie as he lifted the container up to his lips, drinking the contents as fast as he could. The rest he poured over his body. Every drop dried up as it hit the ground, quickly being consumed by the heat.

"Well, he has surprised us, sir; his hydration levels are getting back to an acceptable level," said the android.

"He will need the energy for the next task; the woman needs his immediate help," replied Stout with a grin.

After a couple of minutes rest sitting down, Charlie noticed the next container edged in between two large rocks. He rose to his feet and decided to investigate after looking around and seeing that the sun was starting to set.

"So boss, what am I supposed to do next?" said Charlie, but he heard nothing.

"Give up on me already, arsehole?" said Charlie, shaking his head.

"Smaller than the other one; that's a bit different," said Charlie as he reached for the handle.

The container opened, no water was inside but it contained a sensor and a note. Charlie opened up the note up and started to read it.

Like you, everyone wants to be a hero but your heroic actions involve stealing. Well, let's see if you can up the mark this time in a different way.

Regards,

Stout

"So sorry to disappoint you," spoke Stout in Charlie's ear.

Following the order located on the other side of the letter, Charlie flicked the sensor with his thumb and it started to blink a blue colour. Moving forward, a beeping sound grew louder.

Charlie walked around another ledge and stopped dead in his tracks.

Just in front of him he saw the woman struggling inside the tank.

The sensor stopped and fell silent. Charlie was confused as to why the woman was suspended between the two cliffs.

"You don't have much time, get to her quickly. She has oxygen pumping into her body at the moment but that will soon change," said Stout.

"What are you going to do?" asked Charlie.

"You ask too many questions; your time starts now," replied Stout.

Charlie walked towards the edge of the cliff. Looking down, he felt dizzy with the sheer scale of the drop and took a few steps back.

"You're testing my patience," said Stout.

"Hold on one minute; let me think," replied Charlie.

His only choice was to attempt to try to rescue the woman inside. But he had no time to think; he needed to act fast. The woman started to bang on the glass again after she had noticed him and saw he was her only chance of escape.

Charlie decided to take the risk; he reached forward and wrapped his hands around the hard steel wire of the cable. He then pushed himself backwards and quickly wrapped both of his legs around the cable.

"Don't look down, don't be a stupid bastard", thought Charlie.

Every movement he made seemed to take forever. Tilting his head to his side, he looked and could make out the woman's face; she was scared.

"Bastard, what the hell did she do? No one deserves this!" shouted Charlie.

Charlie's hands were starting to lose their grip a little, but his sheer determination kept them held firm.

"Do it, I've waited long enough," Stout said, rubbing his hand over his chin.

"Yes, sir," replied the android as he pushed a set of buttons on the console.

A second tube attached to the cage started to feed in liquid; it slowly entered the chamber and then the glass tank.

"Hold on, I'm nearly there," shouted Charlie as he looked over at the woman.

The woman was kicking her legs and scratching at the glass; something was wrong, she was in pain.

"Increasing the feed," said the android.

The liquid began pumping in fast and the water started to become discoloured with tinge of red as the liquid ate away at the woman's flesh.

Charlie had reached his goal, but slipped yet again and was holding onto the cable with one hand; his body hanging precariously above the void below.

"No, stop this, you sick bastard!" screamed Charlie as he watched the woman struggle.

The woman's adrenaline took over and as she fought for her life, she somehow managed to remove the mask. In doing so, she had torn a piece of flesh from the side of her cheek.

Charlie tried to kick at the glass with his feet, but just slipped off with each attempt.

The skin on the woman's legs started to dissolve and her bones became visible. The liquid was doing its job and Stout was enjoying every minute of it.

"Please god, no!" screamed Charlie.

The woman, however, was already dead and all that remained inside the tank was her mushy bloodied remains.

Charlie closed his eyes, unable to bear witness to what was he was seeing any longer. He managed to latch his other arm onto the cable and started to make his way back to the ledge where he started. The cable started to sag slightly because of the weight, but he knew he could still make it in time.

He made it back to the ledge, but suddenly two small explosions could be heard behind him. Charlie tilted his head around and watched the cage become detached from the wire and fall into the void below; a dense thud followed as it hit the bottom.

"I shall delete her file now, sir," said the android.

Stout nodded and turned his chair around to face the vastness of space before him. The planet below glowed brightly; Charlie was alone down there and Stout would create the next move for his subject.

Pulling his body onto the ledge, Charlie looked below and could see nothing but dust rising from the abyss.

"Shit... Shit..." panted Charlie as he struggled to get his breath back.

The sun had almost set over the horizon and the heat had subsided, much to Charlie's relief, but the cold air was starting to creep up on him and keeping warm was his main priority now.

The covering offered by the ledge was giving him some comfort but he was still out in the open and alone. Strange insect noises in the background could be heard and Charlie had no idea what they could be or if he would come to any harm from them.

The temperature had started to drop even further and he had to keep warm. He quickly grabbed one of the empty containers, hopeful that he could make some kind of makeshift fire inside it.

"It's something at least; I have no choice," said Charlie.

After a couple of minutes of searching, he came across some discarded clothing that had belonged to the woman..

Charlie started to tear at the soft material with the end of a sharp rock, quickly he started to gather some strips together ready for a fire.

"Richard, I could sure do with your help now my friend", thought Charlie.

Placing the bits of clothing into the container, he grabbed two rocks, but he needed something else. Searching through what was left of the inside of the clothing, Charlie found some bits of paper and a ship ID card. He glanced at it; the woman in the picture was pretty and she belonged to Stout as per the employer reference.

"A waste of a life," said Charlie in a humble tone.

But he could not let his thoughts take over his task; goose bumps had started to appear all over his body as he struggled to hold the rocks together with his hands shaking.

"Right, get to it", he thought.

Throwing the bits of paper and contents from the coat into the container, Charlie struck the two rocks together. Nothing; he repeated the action a couple of times, but still nothing.

It was quickly becoming frustrating to Charlie, but he could not give up and had to keep going.

Suddenly, a spark shot out from between the rocks and onto the paper.

"Yes!" Charlie shouted.

With no wind, it was perfect. He noticed two small plumes of smoke slowly rise up. He quickly let out two gentle puffs of breath and flames started to flicker; he had warmth at last.

Carefully picking up the container, Charlie took cover. The stars shone bright in the sky and the moon was hanging over the horizon. His body was drained and he was becoming hungry, but with no other living thing in the desolate place, he would have to think about food another day.

The fire started to burn fiercely and Charlie decided to get some rest. Barely clothed, he curled up in a corner and closed his eyes...

"We are closing in on him now, sir. We should have a fixed position soon," replied the pilot in the scout craft.

"Good; hopefully he survived the night. Get him back to me quickly," said Stout.

Stout was wrapped in his dressing gown as he sat on the foot of his bed; alone this time with no female for company. Stirring a cold cup of tea, he wiped the sleep from his eyes as he watched and listened to the communications come in from the scout pilot.

"I see him... on the edge of that cliff," said the pilot.

"Like a rat, a dirty animal," thought Stout.

The fire had slowly burned out and only glowing red cinders remained when Charlie moved his body onto his side.

Charlie slowly started to awaken; he could hear the sound of a craft in the distant above growing ever closer.

"What the..." mumbled Charlie as he opened his eyes. It was morning; the heat had returned and the sun was blinding once again.

The scout craft slowed down as it approached Charlie and started to hover over him. A ladder was thrown from the door and landed by his side.

"Get me closer, I am not breaking my neck on a damn fall," said Zed as he attached his gun to his back.

"No problem; just have to take it slow. This planet is a real bitch of the elements," replied the pilot, turning around to face Zed.

"That don't mean shit to me as long as we get paid," Zed replied.

The pilot agreed, laughing, and grabbing his controls, he edged closer to the ledge as Charlie stood up.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Charlie shouted, his voice being drowned out by the roar of the engines.

Zed appeared at the door and slowly climbed down the ladder. Adjusting his goggles to get a better view of Charlie, he aimed his gun right at him.

"We have our target, sir," said the pilot relaying the message back to Stout.

"Good; get him back here, clothed, and fed. He needs rest to be ready for his next task," Stout replied.

Charlie wiped the dust being kicked up by the craft from his eyes but it was pointless as each time he did, more would hit him in the face like small needles piercing his skin.

"Get your hands up; don't try to be clever mate," shouted Zed, aiming his gun.

"Did you have any part in this sick torture game?" asked Charlie with his hands clasped firmly behind his head.

"Stout always has time for games; if you are considered expendable, then you meet your end any way he chooses," replied Zed, holding his finger over the trigger. "Now don't say a fucking word!"

Charlie followed the order and moved forward towards his captor, not knowing what it would lead to.

The scout ship above descended lower and the dust blowing around became more extreme. They both had to board quickly.

Moving around behind Charlie, Zed urged him to quickly grab the base of the ladder by digging the gun into his back.

"Come on, move up there," ordered Zed.

Charlie climbed aboard the scout with Zed following closely behind; within seconds, the door slid shut and the craft started to climb.

An android sat facing Charlie, so he stared straight back at him. Charlie flinched when the android reached over with a blanket and wrapped it around him.

"Your body temperature will reach normal readings soon," said the android.

Charlie had been dehydrating while lying in the morning sun; this would cool him down significantly.

"Thank you," replied Charlie as he looked sheepishly towards the android.

"You're welcome. You will be made to feel at home on-board Stout's ship," replied the android.

Charlie only had one thing he wanted—to bring death to Stout, something he had no hope of achieving at present.

"We will be on-board in thirty minutes," said the android.

The scout craft was moving through the atmosphere at high speed, leaving the landmarks of the surface behind like nothing more than a distant memory.

Suddenly, Charlie reached out for Zed; he wrapped his hands around his throat trying to chock him.

"You and your boss are fucking scum," shouted Charlie straight into Zed's face.

Struggling for air, Zed gasped as he tried to break free of the tight grip.

Charlie jerked forward as a loud crack hit him on the back of the head. Falling onto the deck, he looked up and saw the android staring down at him holding a gun in its arms just as he blacked out...

Chapter Seven

Waking up was a slow process for Charlie. A set of lights shone down onto him from the ceiling above. As he sat in a chair with his arms tied behind his back, Charlie heard movement and looked up. Something felt different; looking straight ahead, he viewed a mirror in front of him attached to the wall and saw that his overgrown facial hair was gone.

"Hello?" Charlie called out.

The room was small and square; it was almost as if he was in some kind of cell. A camera started to track him from the ceiling and watched his every move.

"Stout?" said Charlie.

But there was no response.

Charlie's eyes became fully focused and as he glanced over to the mirror again, he also noticed his head was shaven. His scruffy mound of hair now gone—even though it was an improvement by anyone's standards, it startled him.

"Glad we could meet again," a voice from inside the camera crooned.

Lurching forward, Charlie tried to stand up but was quickly forced back down into the chair. It was bolted firmly into the floor; he was going nowhere.

"Save your strength, you will need it as we progress," replied Stout.

"This game is over!" Charlie shouted at the camera. "Over... you hear me? I'm not going through that hell again."

The door slid open and Zed walked in accompanied by Carter who was pointing a gun straight at Charlie.

"Here, let's make you comfortable so you can stretch your legs," Zed said, grinning.

He reached down and unbolted the metal studs attached to the legs of the chair then cut the cable loose from Charlie's wrists and feet.

"Fucking scum," shouted Zed as he sent a hammer blow across Charlie's face with his fist, knocking him against the wall.

Zed was preparing for another shot when Stout said, "Now, now children, plenty of time for that."

Zed's fist was curled up ready and waiting but his master had spoken; he had to calm down.

"Let's get this piece of shit to Stout; he has something else planned," said Zed. He and Carter grabbed Charlie and all three left the room.

The corridor was straight and narrow and lead away from the cell bay area where most of Stout's subjects were locked up waiting for a death sentence or just abandoned.

"You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut," said Carter as he grabbed hold of Charlie's arm with a firm grip.

"You're not worth it at the moment," replied Charlie, blood splattered across his face.

Carter did not answer and neither did Zed as they approached the entrance to a lift.

Pressing the button for the top floor after all three got inside, they stood in silence. Stout's ship was huge and it seemed like an age until they finally made their way to his chamber. After they arrived and the doors slid open, Zed shoved Charlie inside while Carter placed his weapon firmly onto Charlie's back.

"Stout must be planning his next move", thought Charlie knowing he had to escape the nightmare.

"You're back! Hope you are on your way to recovery," said Stout.

The two men behind him bellowed with laughter at Charlie's expense.

"Enough," Stout said firmly as he adjusted his view, "Bring him up here to me,"

Next to Stout was a large metal dish with a covering over it, steam was rolling out from underneath.

As Zed and Carter walked Charlie up the steps, he struggled to break free.

"Open his shirt," said Stout.

"Hey, what the fuck are you going to do now?" screeched Charlie.

Stout opened the cover; inside the dish laid a pile of hot ashes burning bright red. Stout grabbed a hot poker from beside him and placed it into the dish.

"Let go of me, I am going to kill you once I get out of this," shouted Charlie while being forced to his knees.

When Carter opened Charlie's shirt as instructed, he looked a little nervous and unsure about what his boss was planning next, but he dare not argue.

"Zed," said Stout, gesturing for him to come closer before he started to whisper something.

"What was that, Stout?" he replied.

Gesturing for him again, Zed walked closer to Stout; the stench was almost unbearable as Zed leaned over him.

"What was what? Well, it's this...," said Stout. Grabbing Zed's head, he plunged the tip of the poker into Zed's eye. It made a sickening pop as he let out a blood curdling scream.

"Shit, what the..." shouted Carter as he watched the member of his team being butchered.

Charlie closed his eyes; he couldn't watch. He tried to blank everything out and almost vomited.

Then, without hesitation, Stout forced the rest of the poker into Zed's skull, and penetrated his brain.

No more screams could be heard as Zed hit the floor with a thud; he was dead.

"Now we have a vacancy which I hope you will soon fill. Zed did not follow orders too well and when that happens a person is of no further use to me," said Stout, wiping the blood from the poker with a rag.

"You killed him; he was one of yours," replied Charlie, shaking with fear.

"Come now, personal feelings should not get involved in anything."

"Get rid of it," Stout said into his intercom.

"Yes, sir," replied an android as the door opened and one entered the room.

Grabbing hold of Zed's arms, it dragged the body towards a door. The android disappeared through the door with the body trailing a dark pool of blood behind it.

"Carter, get one of the scout ships ready; Charlie will be needing it," said Stout.

"I will, sir. I'll be in the docking bay waiting," replied Carter and quickly left Stout's chamber.

Charlie stood up. Buttoning his shirt up again, he looked closely at Stout sitting upright in his chair.

"Now do I have your full attention?"

"You do," Charlie replied hesitantly.

"I have a little mission lined up for you and it involves bringing something back for me," said Stout.

Unsure what it would lead to, Charlie went ahead with the conversation anyway.

"We will be leaving shortly; to be honest, the view out there has become something of a boredom for me," said Stout, adjusting himself in his seat. "There is an N class cargo ship we have locked on to and we will be setting off on a new course soon."

"N class? But that is prime cargo; diamonds and that kind of thing," replied Charlie.

"Exactly and I want what is on-board. You will have all the weapons you need and a good scout ship to bring the supplies back to me," said Stout.

"Not a chance," Charlie replied. Not wanting to be a part of it, he turned his back on his enemy.

Charlie knew it may involve taking a human life; that type of cargo would be heavily guarded inside and any attempt would me met with force. Charlie decided to leave and made his way to the chamber door when a shooting pain pulsated all around Charlie's head. He dropped to the floor and saw Stout had his finger firmly on the switch that would end Charlie's life.

"Like I said, I have full control over you. I can end your life within seconds if I want," Stout coughed, clearing his throat nonchalantly.

Releasing the button from underneath his finger tip, Stout allowed Charlie to stand up; he was a little dizzy but he was okay.

"Take him to the docking bay; Carter will be prepping Charlie's craft," said Stout to another android.

"Yes, sir," it replied.

He grabbed Charlie by the arm and proceeded to walk him out the door.

"One more thing; your new look—shaven head, no beard; you need to be menacing to your enemy. You have to be in control," said Stout.

Charlie was grinding his teeth with anger as he left with the android to undertake the mission. He had no idea if he would even make it out alive.

The docking area was filled with the odd ship; they all had Stout's company logo attached to them. Huge steel beams made their way up in straight lines towards the ceiling and cargo was being unloaded all around.

"Don't question this; just follow orders. We are on course with the vessel Stout wants," said the android.

Stout's ship was moving fast and had already left outpost Krone and the ship's thrusters burned brightly as it edged its way towards the outer rim of space.

"Leave him here with me; I'll get him geared up," said Carter.

The android nodded then left. Carter had open containers laid out at the foot of the ramp ready for Charlie.

"Put this amour on; it's the best we have on board so you will be well protected," said Carter while unpacking various types of ammunition.

"Hope you got my size," replied Charlie with a wry smile.

Carter did not respond and continued unpacking. The weapon was something Charlie was not used to; he had never fired a one in his life. That was not to say he had never got into dangerous issues whilst digging or gambling but they were usually resolved by a fist fight or making a quick getaway in his craft.

"Listen up," said Carter in a serious tone. Placing a large rifle in Charlie's hand along with a magazine, he said, "You have this equipment, take a hold of it,"

Carter walked around behind Charlie and placed a grenade belt around his waist. He started tightening it until it was digging into Charlie's skin, he said, try not to mess around with these too much; you'll need to be well out of the area when one goes off,"

"What do you mean?" replied Charlie.

"Let's just say it packs the extra punch."

Looking up at the craft, Charlie noticed that it looked like it had been refitted with a large steel tank at the back just for this mission.

"Yeah, I got it refitted to look like a fuel tanker; well... that was the idea," replied Carter as he walked around checking each part of the craft.

Charlie had to get on-board the cargo vessel but needed some kind of cover in order to succeed in the mission. It wasn't standard cargo on-board so no mistakes could be made; Charlie's life depended on it.

"You ready? We have to get going," said Carter while pointing his thumb towards the cockpit window.

"You're coming with me?" replied Charlie.

"Damn straight. I fly this ship and no one else besides me has the skills when it comes to this job," said Carter as he walked up the ramp with Charlie quickly following behind.

The ship was small inside; hardly any room to breathe and barely big enough to fit two people.

"Get yourself strapped in while I link the comms with Stout. Remember; you listen to me, no fuckups," said Carter.

"Okay," replied Charlie in agreement.

The two of them strapped themselves into their seats and Carter grabbed the controls.

"Booster's set to maximum; fuel check okay," said Carter, adjusting his headset while going through the pre-flight check.

Charlie wanted some answers and turned to face Carter.

"You don't seem too concerned about losing Zed. Does that not bother you; the way that Stout murdered him?" said Charlie.

Carter quickly turned the comm switch off to make sure Stout wasn't listening in.

"My feelings don't come into it. Zed was an asshole most of the time and the things he has done..." Carter paused for a second. "Let's just say I am glad the bastard is dead, it could have just as easily been me."

"Did he owe a debt to Stout? Was it a revenge killing maybe?" speculated Charlie, looking confused.

The tension between the two of them grew; both were nervous and just wanted to get the mission over with.

"Tazar One, you are cleared to disembark," a voice announced through the intercom.

"Like I said, just shut the fuck up and listen to my orders," said Carter, squaring up against Charlie.

"Tazar One, do you copy?" repeated the voice.

Reaching for his headset again, Carter responded quickly.

"Yes, this is Tazar One; we are ready for go," he replied.

"Good; be advised, Stout will be monitoring this broadcast."

"Understood," replied Carter before he pressed the mute button and threw the headset onto the dashboard.

The ships thrusters began to come to life; a blue light flickered within each one followed by bright orange flames. Carter lifted the control stick back slightly and the ship started to hover a few meters above the ground.

"Hanger bay door's opening; let's take her nice and easy," said Carter as he increased the throttle.

The ship lurched forward and the nose tilted towards the ground while gaining speed at a steady pace.

"Hold on to your lunch," said Carter.

He then rammed the throttle suddenly to maximum, pinning him and Charlie back into their seats.

Within a split second, they were out in the vastness of deep space and Stout's ship was fading fast behind them in the distance as they increased speed.

"Auto pilot set; all is good," said Carter as he adjusted the controls with his left hand.

"You are on course to rendezvous with the cargo. ETA, thirty minutes," advised a voice through the intercom.

Carter knew the drill; he had been on pirate raids countless times. It was what made him one of Stout's best scout pilots but this one was different. Knowing Stout could easily replace him, he had to be on his toes and get it right.

"Thirty minutes? Damn, how fast is this cargo ship going?" asked Charlie.

"Trust me; it's a slow moving bastard but nothing we can't handle—speed wise that is," replied Carter.

Their ship continued on its course and moved fast through space; they would reach their target in no time...

The cigar shaped N class cargo ship, HMS Bravo, was over a mile long and was accompanied by one fighter scout flying alongside. The ship was destined for one of the moon bases in the Theros system, home to many trade markets. The crew on-board the N class mainly consisted of military types and standard crew.

It started to slow down and when the booster vapour left a trail the captain on-board said, "Let's take it easy around this sector and be on the watch out for any other vessels; it's a haven for would-be pirates,"

The scout fighter alongside them pulled in closer and was in the captain's view. He gave a simple salute to the person inside who was flying his first mission in a fighter ship.

"Did you check out his record? Damn rookie assigned; why do they insist on sending rookies?" said the disgruntled co-pilot.

"Hell if I know, but he better be on the ball. What we're carrying will make someone very rich, replied the captain".

A blip appeared on the radar on Carter's ship; they were closing in fast and needed to slow down to retain enough fuel to make it back.

"Okay, we have it locked on target; should be there pretty soon," said Carter informing Stout.

"If there are any problems, you better take care of it," Stout replied as he stroked one of his venomous creatures with his steel hand.

"Understood; over and out," replied Carter.

"Well? Don't just sit there staring; go and get your weapons ready and get belted up next to the ramp bay," said Carter with impatience.

Charlie unstrapped his seat harness and walked around Carter on his way to the weapon containers.

"Everything I need is here, right?" called Charlie. He thought to himself, "I can't go through with this; I just can't".

But he knew opting out wasn't a choice; Stout would trigger the switch and he would be dead.

He loaded up the heavy rifle with a magazine first, then pulled out several other magazines from the container, and secured them in his gear. Two hand guns were remaining which he attached to straps on both his legs.

"You forgot one thing, idiot," said Carter.

Charlie turned around to face him; he did not like his tone.

"Your bullet proof vest. Christ, do I have to spell everything out for you?" said Carter, exasperated.

Charlie bent down and lifted the vest attached near the ramp door; it was light considering what it was made of.

"Best material around, you'll be able to handle numerous shots if you get hit," said Carter before turning around again to face the controls.

" I don't plan on getting shot," replied Charlie as he strapped himself back into his seat.

"Shit!" grumbled Carter.

His eyes glanced across the radar screen when he saw two blips instead of one. He knew they had protection with them, more than likely a fighter scout.

"What's wrong?" asked Charlie.

"We got company—it's a fighter scout," he replied.

"We're still going through with this?" said Charlie.

Carter did not respond as he focused on the radar.

"You have another vessel in your sector; you will need to take it out," ordered Stout's android.

"I am fully aware of that," Carter said coldly and thought Fucking robot.

Carter decided to change the ships mode to stealth so they would not be visible but the option only had a short window.

"Take out the target," ordered the android.

Carter could see the cargo ship and the scout fighter come into view; he clicked the stealth switch and powered some of the systems down.

"Engine off, minimum lights," said Carter when he decided to glide the rest of the way.

The ship's engines came to a sudden halt as the boosters flared a white flash, emitting nothing.

"Easy does it", thought Carter as he held the controls steady.

The fighter scout was in his sight so he activated the laser cannon switch. He knew someone inside that craft would meet their death, but it would be quick because they would be incinerated.

"No problems... looks like smooth sailing from here, not a ship in sight," said the captain at the helm.

Then suddenly a blinding white flash appeared to the side of him and covered his view. His eyes turned to see small fragments and debris floating past his window.

"Sound it!" he shouted.

Quickly pressing the alarm siren, the co-pilot took the controls and made the ship turn to a sharp right.

MAYDAY, MAYDAY, SHIP UNDER ATTACK, ALL PERSONNEL PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS the main computer echoed throughout the cargo ship.

The crew in the control room quickly abandoned their standard checks and assumed positions.

"What the hell was that?" said the co-pilot to his captain.

"Not sure, but we need backup fast and radio the nearest convoy ship!" he commanded with a steady voice.

Trying to evade, the ship lurched again to the right but that was the only option the captain had.

Crew rushed around the various levels as red warning lights flashed and alert noises wailed. The cargo containers began to go on lockdown as a first priority because the contents had to be protected no matter what.

"You better be ready for this, Charlie," said Carter. As he pushed his controls down, the nose of the scout ship started to dip and the speed increased they glided even closer.

Charlie was holding onto a strap above his head; they were traveling so fast that he needed to stabilize himself.

"Jesus, Carter, could you go any faster?" shouted Charlie, the adrenalin pumping around his body.

"Contact in two minutes, arm your guns like I showed you," said Carter.

Carter was aiming towards a small hanger bay just underneath the belly of the cargo ship; he was traveling fast because he knew they would soon lock the cargo doors.

As they approached the belly of the cargo vessel and began losing speed, he pulled back gently on the throttles and vapour trails started to shoot out of the back of their ship. They were slowly approaching the hanger doors with the landing gear deployed but it wasn't going to be easy, laser cannon fire started to appear from the entrance. Carter could make out two figures that stood firing at him and Charlie.

"Bastards", thought Carter as he activated the shields.

"Are you crazy? They're firing at us, let's abort," said Charlie.

"Too late, dickhead," replied Carter as he started to fire rounds from the left wing. The shots hit the two figures; killing them instantly.

"Nice shot", Carter thought, to himself.

They entered the hanger doors that led into the cargo bay area and the ships landing pads touched down onto the floor.

"Move it! Stay with me," shouted Carter. He hit the controls in front of him, the door opened, and the ramp crashed to the ground.

The two of them made a quick break for it and as they did, they passed the burning bodies of two guards that Carter had killed.

The smell of burning flesh was all too much for Charlie as he ran to keep up with the pace. They had to take cover fast, other guards would come looking for them. Crouching down, they both hid out of sight behind some cargo containers to buy them some time.

"Stay quiet; we don't want our position to be given away," whispered Carter.

Charlie started to listen to his orders with a new respect; he knew any failure would more likely see the both of them killed or subjected to another of Stout's horrors.

Unzipping the pack attached to his back, Carter pulled out a piece of sensor equipment and quickly activated it. The screen looked like everything had been pre-programmed and displayed a map of the whole of the ship.

"This is what we need, the main cargo bay. It's three floors down," said Carter as he ran his fingers across the screen.

"The only way we can get to it undetected would be to go through the ships main engine room."

Charlie glanced at the screen with him and wondered if it was a sensible option. They would soon find out...

Chapter Eight

The lockdown had already started in the main cargo area and steel barriers started to click into place. Each container contained rare diamonds and gold; their destination marked with various drop off points that would soon change.

Lorna stood at a control panel finishing the shutdown procedure; she had taken up the post of a guard a few months prior and fit the role well.

She was a slim brunette, and fell victim to the usual butt of sexist jokes among the males in her brigade. But she was tough and could easily hold her own if she needed to. Earth was once her home but, just like Charlie, she had managed to escape the hostile environment that it had become.

"We have no time; we need this space sealed shut within in the next few minutes. Have the company get their gear and saddle up," shouted the sergeant over the ships alarms ringing out all around.

"Yes, Sergeant, closing down now," replied Lorna as the final barrier protecting the cargo locked into place.

She quickly reached for her protective armour along with a gun and ammo belt.

"You keeping up with us?" replied a guard grinning.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world," she replied.

She placed her helmet on and shut off the controls hurriedly before joining a line of other guards making their way towards an exit.

"Listen up; get into position and guard this load at all costs. Nothing gets through—nothing," shouted the sergeant, barking the order to his guards as they took to their positions.

The blurring sirens had come to an end, much to everyone's relief.

"You okay?" replied a guard crouching next to Lorna.

She gave thumbs up and started to grab some ammo rounds out from her belt. Locking a magazine into place and chambering a round, her weapon was now armed and ready.

"Keep moving," whispered Carter.

Charlie was panting as he tried to keep up as they ducked and crouch-walked their way past containers. They had not been noticed but already they could hear the sound of footsteps of guards patrolling the area nearby.

"We could be seen at any moment," said Charlie in a blind panic.

"Well we will be if you don't keep up," replied Carter.

Charlie didn't say anything and they carried on making their way to the belly of the ship. After a few minutes Carter stopped in his tracks; they had reached a dead end.

"Damn it, we need to find another way," he said, frustrated.

He moved his fingers across the sensor screen again and, finding no more cover left in their current location, locked onto the air vents as the only option.

"That's our route," said Carter.

The two of them made it to a nearby vent where they carefully lifted the grid off of the wall and quietly placed it onto the floor. The number of guards had increased, so they had to act quickly. Carter crawled in the vent first; followed by Charlie who lifted the grid back into place behind them.

"Stay low, and follow my lead," said Carter.

He activated the much needed light beacon at the end of his weapon—the area in front of them was pitch black.

"These vents are going to get shorter as we make our way towards the bottom," he said, holding his weapon with one hand and the sensor in the other.

Charlie crawled forward with him, his head just touching the ceiling. Turning around, he could see nothing but darkness and heard the distance voices of guards.

"They appear to be moving in a vent, sir," said Stout's android.

"Trust Carter, he's dedicated to my cause," replied Stout.

"He is, sir. Hopefully the new subject will turn out the same," replied the android.

Stout once again moved his finger over the button which would end Charlie's life; he was unsure if he wanted to carry on with this task or call it a day. But the sick fantasies that swirled around in Stout's head stopped him and he moved his hand away from the control panel to rest it gently by his side.

Looking in the direction of his android Stout asked, "Are they at risk of being detected?"

"They are but it appears that has diminished somewhat; the air vents should provide adequate cover for them both."

"Shh," whispered Carter and stopped dead in his tracks.

Small skittering sounds at the end of the tunnel had caught his attention.

"What the hell is that?" asked Charlie, switching on his beacon light.

They scanned the area in front of them with their weapons, but nothing showed in the empty space.

The noises started again; rather than confined to one area, it was all around them just meters away.

"What the...?" said Carter.

He shone his light again and when Charlie followed suit, they spotted something. It was a swarm of nanobots that the ship had activated as a self defence system—they would both be dead men in a matter of minutes.

"Bastards! They've activated the shutdown system in self-defence," said Carter. "We need to move it or there will be nothing left of us."

"Here take this; it could buy us some time," said Charlie as he removed one of his weapon's bags from his back.

"You emptied that thing first?" replied Carter.

"Of course I did. Quick, we need to think of something fast"

The nanobots started to move in their direction and the noise created vibrations all around.

"Throw it!" shouted Charlie.

Carter grabbed the bag and threw down the air vent and the bots started to consume the material, each piece dissolving into nothing in the blink of an eye.

"I didn't want to do this but... Fuck; what choice have we got? Stand back," shouted Carter.

He aimed the weapon towards the side wall in front of him and pulled the trigger; the sound of gunfire echoed around them. Charlie covered his ears and hid his head in between his knees. The walls were solid and the shots had done enough to penetrate some cracks in the metal wall.

"Get ready we are getting out of here," said Carter as he started to kick his boot into a small opening.

"Come on!" he snarled, frustrated by Charlie's hesitation.

He turned around and could see that the bots had nearly consumed the bag and some had started to spill over to make their way towards Charlie and him.

"Nearly there; keep going!" shouted Charlie.

Carter was making progress; large chunks had started to break away from the wall.

"Did you here that?" said Lorna.

"Take it easy, it's your adrenalin pumping; remember, this is your first taste of action," replied one of the guards.

Certain of what she had just heard, Lorna scanned the area in front with her weapon.

The sound of chatter came through his headset and the sergeant reached his hand towards as he listened to the captain's reports. He placed his fingers to his lips to quiet the rest of his troops.

"Yes, Sir; understood," replied the sergeant before turning back to his troops and saying, "We need to split up; the Captain wants a guard assigned to each shipment of cargo in this bay."

Lorna smiled like a kid; she knew she was right and the gunfire had not been her imagination.

"Sergeant?" said Lorna.

"Yes, Private," replied the Sergeant.

"The gunfire I heard, it sounded like it was coming from the vents; should we check it out?" replied Lorna.

"Okay, maybe you're right. Tablo; you and Issac go and check—be cautious, we don't know who we're dealing with here," commanded the sergeant while facing his two men.

"Yes, Sergeant. About time we seen some action," replied Tablo.

They placed a step ladder on the floor and Tablo opened a vent before turning on his infra-red heat sensor. Immediately, he could see the figures of two men on his equipment.

"Sarge, I would say they are thirty meters down this vent," said Tablo.

"Lock and load; remember, short bursts okay?" replied the sergeant.

The two men nodded and climbed up inside the shaft then switched their beacon lights on.

"Come on, Charlie; what are you fucking around for?" yelled Carter.

Carter was on the other side of the wall away from the bots; Charlie on the other hand, only had half of his body through the opening.

"Arrh, my leg is stuck!" Charlie cried in pain.

"Come on, loosen your clothing. We need to get out of here," replied Carter.

Charlie's leg was bleeding badly; he had to dislodge his foot quickly. Suddenly, he noticed two figures creeping towards them from the end of the shaft and the bots were spreading fast.

"Shit Carter, they're eating away at my fucking boot," said Charlie, panicking.

"Freeze!" sounded a guard's voice.

"Stay right there; you are under arrest," replied the second guard.

Charlie had to make a split second decision, if he waiting any longer he would be losing his foot and maybe the rest of him.

"Freeze!" repeated the guard.

"Shit", we're fucked thought Carter as he armed his weapon.

All of a sudden Charlie fired a couple of shots down the shaft; the blinding flashes shone all around and the sound of gun fire exploding in a rage.

"Issac?" said Tablo.

His friend fell backwards and landed hard on the floor, blood pouring out of his skull with his brains scattered all around.

"No!" shouted Tablo.

He started to move towards Charlie and Carter until a bullet hit him in his kneecap and he landed in a heap.

"Nice shot, partner. Now hurry, we have to get out of here," said Carter, grabbing Charlie by his arm.

Both of them had broken free and started to move to safety. Charlie managed to turn around and look back at Tablo.

"I am so sorry; please forgive me," he said when their eyes met.

The bots covered Tablo's eyes and body devoured his skin, moving over him like a rolling carpet. A muffled scream was quickly followed by an eerie silence.

"Wait up, stop," said Charlie panting.

"Okay bitch, what is it this time," replied Carter as he stood still.

"I killed a man; he did nothing to me. I..."

"Listen, Charlie, it was us or them; he was going to blow you away and me too. Either way, you're dead man at the moment unless we get that cargo," he replied checking the area ahead.

With nothing left to say, they carried on their way although Charlie was still physically shaking. Guilt washed over him; he was a digger and now had become a murderer.

The air shaft they were in started to widen and the temperature was increasing; a stagnant stench filled the air around them.

"Jesus, what is that," said Charlie, covering his nose.

"We are getting near the ships engine area; that smell is just engine fumes," replied Carter.

He reached into his pack and threw an oxygen mask at Charlie.

"Put that on, I don't want to take any risks," said Carter as he placed another mask over his own face. Charlie was quick to repeat the same action.

"It's been a while, sir; should we go look for them?" asked Lorna.

"Where the hell are they?" the sergeant said as he paced back and forth thinking about his next move.

"What exactly are we dealing with here?" Lorna asked no one in particular as she waited for action.

The sergeant turned around to face the rest of his crew; he had picked up their last position and knew where the intruders would be headed.

"They'll be making their way to the engine room; the shaft leads in that direction. We'll have to start a search for Tablo and Issac later; we are running out of time," said the sergeant.

He had to steady his feet as the ship made yet another turn; they would be heading out of the system soon.

"There goes our captain again," said a guard standing next to Lorna.

"He's trying to save his cargo; it's not his job to worry about us grunts," she replied with a shake of her head.

They moved towards the engine room and followed a staircase to reach the belly of the ship. The lights were dim but the odd crew member was seen running past them after having been ordered to make their way to the deck.

They had reached the entrance to the engine room; the ships engines could be heard behind the door.

The sergeant then ordered the crew to assume their positions before he reached forward to place his hand carefully against the switch on the door. Pushing the switch, the door slid open to reveal that the area inside was pretty much empty. It was more or less open space with a few engines scattered around next to abandoned crew stations.

"Shh, quiet; they know we're in here; keep still," whispered Carter as he crouched.

Charlie was hiding just behind a workstation next to him. With his gun in hand, he was still shaking while thinking about the life he had ended earlier.

Carter stood up slightly and aimed his gun. He was looking into the crosshairs and could see guards starting to enter as they took their positions ready for a fight.

"Must be at least eight of them, we have no choice but to stand our ground", he thought.

Looking around at Charlie, he hoped he was ready but knew his nerves may not hold out.

"Get some good cover; we'll weed them out," said the sergeant.

He spotted the heat coming off two figures hiding in the corner and reasoned that the fire fight would be over quickly.

"Ready, Charlie?" said Carter, pulling a grenade from his belt.

"What the fuck are you doing? Are you crazy?" whispered Charlie.

He pulled the pin out from the grenade and threw it towards the guards while he and Charlie quickly lay on the floor to take cover.

One of the guards felt something fly past his head but was unsure of what it was until the object hit the side of the wall and came to a stop right next to his feet. The light on the grenade was flashing red—it was too late.

"Grenade get..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence as a bright orange blast filled the area, smoke bellowed upwards, and shrapnel flew in all directions. Two guards were killed instantly as pieces hit them in the face, blood sprayed onto the walls and floor as bits of bodies scattered around.

"Let's roll!" shouted Lorna. Adjusting her weapon, she started to fire when she saw where Charlie and Carter were hiding.

"Over there, Sergeant; there are two of them!" she shouted over the gunfire exploding all around her.

The sergeant turned his rifle and fired in the direction Lorna was aiming for; with two men already down, he wanted this over fast.

"Shit, Carter, what are we going to do? We're sitting ducks here," shouted Charlie.

"You could start firing back," he replied.

Charlie had no choice; he had to follow Carter's order. He was in his first true fire fight and bullets were flying all around him.

"Watch yourself; get down," screamed Carter.

"I can't get a good shot at this angle," replied Charlie.

A guard started to run in Charlie's direction and he tried to fire but his gun was jammed.

Charlie took advantage of the situation and fired rounds back repeatedly. The guard spun around as the bullets hit him before he landed in a heap on the floor, dead.

"Nice one, Charlie, you killed him," said Carter grinning.

"Shut up, just shut up!" Charlie squealed.

He was starting to lose it; this was not him, he never wanted to be in this situation. It made him more than ever want to kill Stout.

More guards entered the area than the two of them could handle. They both moved away from the crates that were holding their cover while Carter provided covering fire for them both.

"He's wasting ammo" thought Charlie as he placed a fresh magazine into his own weapon.

The lights above them in the ships corridor started to flash red; the distress call sounded up again.

"Come on, keep moving," shouted Carter anxiously.

Huddled close together, they carried on through another corridor. They were losing their bearings as they turned many corners but then came to a stop at a pair of double doors.

"Hold it right there," said a guard firmly, his gun aimed at the both of them.

They had reached a dead end at the bottom of the corridor. A sign behind the guard read Main Engine Core Room—the guard was not going anywhere. He could easily have chosen to abandon his post with what was going on, but decided against it.

"Drop your weapons!" shouted the guard, holding his weapon with a firm grip.

"We don't want any trouble, we just need to take what we came for and get out of here," said Charlie nervously.

"Too late for that now, we are past it", thought Carter trying to access the situation.

"I am not going to play games. For the last time, drop... your... weapons!" ordered the guard.

He placed his finger over the trigger and aimed for the two of them then suddenly became distracted by the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Shit, they reached us" thought Charlie as he closed his eyes and awaited death.

Reaching for his belt and unclipping a stun grenade, Carter threw it over the guard; the guard did not even have time to flinch before a loud bang echoed all around the three of them. A blinding white flash filled the small open space and the guard held both hands to his face, screaming in pain. Carter wasted no time with the opportunity and released a small burst of fire. The shots ripped holes into the guard's chest and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Jesus, Carter, that was close but thanks," said Charlie reluctantly. Although hostile with each other, Charlie did have to give him credit.

"It's got to be here somewhere," said Carter. Kneeling down next to the dead guard, he searched through his clothing and the man's blood was pumping out all over.

"What a fucking mess," said Carter.

The sound of footsteps stopped and voices could be heard down the other end of the corridor. It was Lorna and her crew; trying to catch them off guard, the sound of running was replaced with walking that would eventually reach their target.

"Got it, damn it," said Carter as he wiped the blood from the guard's key card onto his trouser leg. "Hate other people's blood, the precautions I take when disposing of Stout's prey is unbelievable."

Looking away, Charlie turned his attention towards the approaching footsteps; he wanted to get the hell off this ship.

"Let's move and get out of here," said Charlie.

"Well we are both fucking dead if we go back empty handed to Stout," said Carter sliding the key card against the door slot.

The door quickly slid open. After they entered and it closed behind them, Carter left the key card in the slot then snapped it in half.

"Should buy us some time while I try to figure out our next move," said Carter.

The room they had entered vibrated with a constant humming noise.

Large glass tanks covered each corner, and inside were glass tubes. Below the tanks were holes cut into the floor for each tube.

"Listen, don't be firing any kind of weapon in here; if one of those tubes or tanks catches a bullet we're fucked," said Carter.

"How do you mean?" Charlie asked; he was out of his depth on this one.

"How do I mean?" repeated Carter. "I've raided these types of ships before; any damage to those things and the ship starts to shut down and go into self-destruct mode."

Charlie rolled his eyes away from Carter and thought, "Shit", we are so fucked.

He didn't have time to ponder their dilemma; they were trapped and thinking too much would get them both killed.

A loud thud at the door caused the two of them to back away slightly. The thud was followed by the muffled voices of the guards.

"There is no point trying to run; you are cornered. Surrender your weapons and you can make it both out of there alive," said the sergeant sending a blow to the door with the butt of his gun.

"He's fucking lying; can't trust these guards," whispered Carter.

He and Charlie made the decision to take cover where best they could. With the blue ultra violet light that shone from the tanks lighting up the area, there wasn't any darkness to hide under within the room.

Lorna crouched down next to the sergeant as she tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge.

"They've snapped the key card; there's no way in manually," she said.

"Always a way into anything," replied the sergeant as he gestured to two guards beside him.

"Get that thing open quickly; we're running out of time," he said and stepped aside.

One of the guards opened a bag attached to him, pulled out a blowtorch and said, "They won't be able to hide for much longer."

An insertion was quickly made at the bottom of the doors and the guard began slowly working his way up as sparks began to fly.

"Start to make a few blows," said the guard when he had finished cutting into part of the door.

A second guard took a huge swing with his gun, pieces of metal broke away landing onto the floor.

"Shit, they're breaking through," said Charlie from where he was hiding.

"Just take it easy and be careful; remember, one shot at those tanks and this ship will blow," replied Carter. He was desperate for Charlie to understand the seriousness of the situation.

The sparks at the door had stopped and guards could be seen breaking through. They had been ordered to suppress fire because it was too risky. Carter was less than ten feet away to the left of Charlie and had run out of ideas; it was Charlie's turn to think of something.

Turning to face Carter, Charlie said, "There must be a way out of here!".

Carter just shook his head. He was unsure; there were no air vents for them to crawl into this time.

"Come on Carter, get the hell up. We have to find a way out," said Charlie, grabbing Carter's arm.

They started to run towards the other end of the long and narrow room. The guards were screaming at them to surrender, but they kept moving. As soon as they had moved a few paces, Carter's belt caught and snagged onto the side of the wall and one of the pins shot out from his stun grenade. He quickly removed it and threw it in the direction of the guards.

"Get down," he shouted and they took cover just as a loud bang and a blinding flash exploded.

A rookie guard ran through the battered door and in a blind panic started to shoot off some rounds. It was a costly mistake as the white light from the grenade blinded his vision.

"Stupid bastard!" screamed the sergeant as he kicked the rookie's gun away from his hand. "You're here to follow fucking orders!"

The blinding light started to slowly fade away, but bullet holes had already penetrated two of the tanks. The lights on the side of each tank flicked on one by one and the chain reaction had started as the cylinders slowly descended into the holes beneath them. "WARNING,WARNING, SHUTDOWN COMMENCING" sounded the ship's main computer.

Lorna was the first to regain her vision from the light; she could make out the figures of Carter and Charlie.

"Stay behind me," she said as she led the way with the sergeant right behind her.

The ship's computer repeated the message once again causing some of the guards to start to fall back and leave the area.

"Abort this; we need to abandon ship. I can't risk my men," the sergeant said turning to face Lorna.

"But, sir, they can't get away with it. We have..."

She was cut short when suddenly the sergeant's head snapped backwards and blood hit Lorna in the face. Her body froze with shock as the sergeant's body hit the ground, blood spurting out from the side of his skull while his body twitched.

"What the hell did you do?" said Charlie.

"Bingo! Always wanted to take out a rank," replied Carter with a sadistic laugh.

Charlie was left reeling inside as some guards started to make a run towards them.

Gunfire exploded next to Charlie's ear; lucky it hit the steel beside him.

"Don't just stand there! Kill them," said Carter as he ran past Charlie like a mad man firing in all directions.

One of the guards was hit in the face with bullets, spraying pieces of bone and flesh into the air. Another guard was also killed in the fight, leaving just Lorna and a remaining guard.

Another series of shots rang out and Charlie pressed himself against the wall for cover As soon as there was a pause in the attack, he slipped to one side and got a look at the shooter. The guard dropped an empty magazine and slammed a new one into the bottom of his assault rifle. By the time he had his gun loaded and ready, Charlie was sending one round after the next through his chest. The guard crumpled and fell, sprawling out over the floor.

"Carter!" he hissed, keeping an eye out for any more guards.

Charlie dove to where the man was hiding and grabbed him by the shoulder, only to have Carter's body slump to one side and crash to the floor. Blood pooled from the man's ear and Charlie's chest suddenly felt tight. He pulled Carter onto his back and looked him in the eye. "Son of a bitch," he moaned as Carter's hollow eyes stared off into the ceiling.

In the distance he could hear the sound of boots and shouting voices. Charlie took the extra ammunition off Carter's belt then slipped the equipment and his bag up and around Carter's limp head. He then squeezed the dead man's arm and made a run from the area when he noticed that he had found an exit after all. There was no time to waste with Lorna fast approaching.

Charlie worked his way down a hall, digging the map out and checking his position. As luck would have it, the screen said he was right on top of a hanger bay. A quick scan showed several doors and Charlie tried one after another until he reached the third door.

As Charlie moved to the third door, hot metal pressed against the back of his head and he froze.

"You," Lorna growled. "Of all the pieces of shit in the world, you had to be the one to survive? Drop your weapon,"

Charlie let his rifle slip from his hand and clatter to the floor. "Now turn around," she ordered. "I want to see your face as the life seeps from your body," Charlie turned slowly, hands raised to shoulder height. "I want to watch your eyes as..."

Charlie knew it was time to move or die. He slapped Lorna's hand away and landed a punch across her cheek. His hand burned after crashing bone against bone, but he still snatched her by the wrist and drove his shoulder into her chest. Lorna grunted and fell, Charlie falling down on top of her. Her pistol fired once and she twisted to get the barrel pointed at Charlie's head.

"No!" Charlie screamed. "You shoot and we both die."

"You lie," Lorna grunted before socking Charlie in the side of the head. She rolled clear and levelled her gun at him.

"The chip," Charlie quickly explained, rising to his feet. "If you kill me it may detonate and we both die," He could be bluffing but Charlie didn't really know himself.

An announcement rang through the ship declaring that the vessel would self-destruct in thirty seconds.

We can run together, but you have to let me go now. Shoot me or wait and we both die."

Lorna frowned and kept her gun trained on Charlie's head. He saw no other choice though; Charlie spun and moved to the third door.

Locked.

Furious and running out of time, Charlie ordered Lorna to shoot out the lock.

"We are going to die if you don't!" Charlie screamed.

The woman let out a roar, and blasted the lock away. Charlie kicked in the door and pressed himself inside the secured bay before he noticed something and screamed to Lorna, "Escape pods!"

She shook her head in frustration and turned off running to the far end of the bay. Charlie followed and the pair slipped into a pod as the ten-second countdown began.

"How can I trust you?" Lorna demanded.

"You can't," Charlie admitted. "You either choose to save us both, or you leave me here to die."

Lorna looked long and hard at him, and then closed the hatch behind Charlie. "Buckle up," she ordered.

Depressurization hissed and rushed as the hull cracked and the ship rocked and tilted as it came apart. Lorna began the starting sequence of the pod. "Come on," Charlie called. "Come on!"

The countdown hit the three-second mark and Charlie closed his eyes. The craft detached as the explosion rang. Fire surrounded the craft as Lorna and Charlie screamed for their lives. The launch engine of the craft ignited as the ship detonated around them and they ejected out into the safety of space. They had escaped... but for how long? 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simon Bond is a father to five children, three boys - two of which are twins and two girls. He lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and rock Katie. She has given him the confidence to start writing, something which he is enjoying.

Simon is a massive Star Wars fan, with the aim of hopefully making his children understand the ways of the force. He also loves sci-fi, horror, and comedy along with other interest's.

Connect with Simon, and view more available titles on his website below.

Smashwords :http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/simonb007

Twitter: http://twitter.com/writingstation7

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