Page 54 of Journey to the Forbidden Zone

“No sign of theAntillesin the primary docking arrays, Captain,” Brask reported, pulling Corso from his pleasantreverie. “Scanning secondary bays and maintenance sectors now.”

“Keep looking,” Corso growled. “She’s coming.” He glanced at James. “Prep the ambush coordinates. We do this just like we would a fat, luxury liner – incapacitate her but keep the passengers alive for looting.”

“Coordinates locked, Captain,” James confirmed. “As soon as Brask finishes scanning forAntilles, we’ll move into position and wait like a spider.”

Corso nodded, satisfaction tightening his jaw. Everything was falling into place. Díaz was walking right into his trap. He could almost taste her humiliation.

Deep in the sensor-shadowed lee of a massive ore freighter, the vessel designatedSilent Bladehung motionless. Its matte-black hull drank the ambient light, rendering it nearly invisible against the backdrop of stars and the distant curve of Babcinq.

Inside the cramped, dimly lit bridge, Julear K’Shaa sat perfectly still in the command chair, his pale-orange skin seeming to absorb the faint glow of the instrument panels. His eyes, large and tourmaline, scanned the tactical overlay projected before him. Patience was not merely a virtue; it was the bedrock of his existence. The Xena would come. The President’s intelligence was absolute. And when she came, theSilent Bladewould be waiting.

“Status?” K’Shaa’s voice was a dry whisper, barely audible over the low thrum of the ship’s life support.

“Perimeter patrol continues, Commander,” Comms Officer Davidson, a human female with close-cropped gray hair and eyes devoid of warmth, responded. “No anomalous contacts.Traffic patterns nominal for Babcinq’s current operational cycle.”

She paused, her fingers hovering over her console.

“Passive scanners detect multiple vessels matching the profile parameters, but none triggering the specific transponder signature associated with the target shipment.”

K’Shaa acknowledged the report with a minute tilt of his head. The target vessel – the independent freighter contracted for the initial, botched delivery – was cunning. It would likely attempt to blend in, using the station’s chaotic traffic as cover.

But it couldn’t hide its core identity. Every UPA-manufactured ship, down to the smallest shuttle, carried an embedded recognizer chip – a unique electronic fingerprint broadcast on a secure, low-power frequency. TheSilent Blade’s sensors were specifically tuned to isolate and identify those signatures, cutting through the noise of standard transponders and IFF signals. The smugglers couldn’t mask their ship’s birthright.

And even if they had changed ships, even if the “lost merchandise” was in possession of someone else, they would have to send a signal. They couldn’t dock at Babcinq with a package like that. The president had made other arrangements.

Minutes stretched into a quarter-hour. The bridge remained silent, the tension a physical weight. K’Shaa didn’t fidget. He breathed slowly, evenly, conserving energy, his focus absolute.

The Xena was too valuable, the president’s orders too explicit. Every individual who had knowledge of her existence, every hand that had touched her container, represented a loose end. Loose ends were unacceptable. They frayed. They snapped. They compromised the integrity of the whole.

Erasure was the only solution. Clean. Complete.

A subtle chime sounded at the comms station. Davidson leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she processed the data stream.

“Commander,” she said, a new edge in her flat tone. “Passive sensor grid has isolated a recognizer signature. Designation:Star Shrike. Notorious pirate vessel. Usually operates in the Belt but has been known to prey on passenger ships in outer destinations. Registered to one Nicholas Corso. Cross-referencing with mission parameters.”

K’Shaa waited ever patiently. If this was the moment, it would not do to rush. Precision demanded a clear mind, not one excited by unnecessary emotion.

“Confirmed.Star Shrikewas the primary courier contracted for the initial delivery run from Waystation Alora.”

K’Shaa’s brown eyes fixed on the tactical overlay. A new icon pulsed – a red diamond representing theStar Shrike, orbiting lazily just beyond the station’s official control boundary. Had this Corso intercepted the Xena? Recovered the asset after the waystation debacle? Or was he, too, lying in wait?

The motive was irrelevant. The President’s orders were clear: recover the asset and eliminate all involved parties. Corso qualified. Spectacularly so. His presence, his ship’s recognizer chip broadcasting its identity like a beacon, was an opportunity. A chance to excise a significant portion of the infection in one swift cut.

“Target acquired,” K’Shaa whispered, the words carrying finality. “All hands, combat stations. Prepare for silent intercept and immediate engagement. Weapons free. Disable engines and primary systems. We’re within range of Babcinq’s outer scanners, so make this look like an internal meltdown. And make it quick. Boarding protocols authorized upon successful disablement.”

A series of soft, affirmative clicks echoed across the bridge as the crew moved with silent efficiency. The low whisper of theSilent Blade’s engines deepened almost imperceptibly as thrusters fired, nudging the black vessel out of the sensor shadow of the ore freighter. It slid forward, a phantom moving against the starfield, its course set unerringly for the unsuspecting pirate ship orbiting ahead.

Nick was reviewing the finalized ambush coordinates James had laid in when Brask’s voice cut through the bridge’s focused quiet.

“Negative on theAntilles, Captain,” he reported. “Scanned every accessible bay, every registered slip. No sign of her signature. She’s not here.”

Nick smiled. Perfect. Just as he’d anticipated,Antilleslimping through hyperspace had been no match for theShrike’s speed.

“James, move us to the ambush point.”

“Aye, Captain,” his faithful first mate responded, her fingers already moving. “Adjusting thrusters. Coming about to?—”

The universe exploded.