Opening scene – Drarkghon’s Hoard

THEY’D FOLLOWED HIM, DAMN IT. The dot on the nav panel had come out of shift space at about the same place he had. How the hell had they managed that? He’d have to think about that later. He wasn’t going to be able to outrun them. His heart thudded. All this way to get caught at the last hurdle.

The nav system displayed a star with four outer gas giants, all surrounded by moons and rings. The smallest and furthest of them, a sapphire blue planet, glowed a microjump away. It had several moons and an asteroid cluster currently on the far side of the planet. Maybe he could hide.

“Take us to that asteroid cluster. Find the biggest one.”

While the AI worked, he put on his exosuit. Not bad, thirty seconds. For what it was worth, out here in an unknown system.

“I have found a suitable asteroid, Dru.” Astra showed him the asteroid, silhouetted against the spooky light of its blue primary.

“Great. Get us over there and put the ship into synchronous orbit.” The ship would be just another rock dancing a tango with a bright blue world. Maybe he had a chance.

Dru tried to relax, unknotting his forearms and his shoulders. His seat harness tightened around him and for a few mind-numbing seconds the universe went gray, then the blue world filled his vision.

“Can you see the patrol ships?”

“One has stopped at the largest planet. But the other… has just appeared from its microjump to this world.”

Dru’s heart hammered. Damn and blast. They were smarter than he’d hoped. He watched the dot on the screen that was the patrol ship approaching until it disappeared.

“The patrol ship is on the opposite side of the planet,” Astra announced. “I cannot see it, but it cannot see us.”

Yeah, thanks, Astra, he’d worked that out.

Javelin’s shields flared as they vaporized debris. There was plenty of that out there. His ship maneuvered, slaloming between the larger moonlets as it kept the planet between it and the attacker. This was a helluva risk but he was out of ordnance. At least it was only two patrol ships out there. He’d taken out one of them and that had given the other two some pause to think. If he was really lucky the ship’s captain wouldn’t bother looking too far, give up and go back to his post. If he was lucky.

He sucked a mouthful of water from his suit’s system.

The largest asteroid appeared, a slowly tumbling mountain. Javelin decelerated, almost grazing the asteroid’s surface as it matched the space rock’s motion.

He wished he could see where the patrol was. It could be anywhere, weapons hot and ready to fire. If it found him, he’d be dead.

“The ship approaches.” Astra almost whispered the words. “It is coming around the asteroid, searching.” She showed an estimation of the patrol’s track as she moved Javelin, keeping the asteroid between them.

Dru wished he still had a missile. But he didn’t.

“The ship is moving on,” Astra said.

Dru blew out a breath as the dot moved to the next big asteroid and circled it. He might just have survived. Again.

It seemed like hours before the patrol craft moved off. Dru stayed where he was until Astra could show him the disturbance where a ship had entered shift space, outward bound. He sat back in his seat and let the tension drain away. He’d been lucky. Next time he was at Nambor Station he’d get a cloaking device. It would be worth the expense.

“Dru, I have detected another ship on the asteroid.”

Dru’s heart went into overdrive. “What ship?”

Astra zeroed in on the location, showing an alien craft, its battered carcass harshly lit by the blue glow of the planet. His heart rate slowed to normal. “It’s a wreck.”

“Yes. It is hard to estimate its age at this distance.”

A wreck. Maybe his trip out here wouldn’t be a complete waste of time. Wrecks could have salvageable items, stuff he could sell. Especially if it was an old wreck. His spirits soared. “Okay. Let’s take a look. How far away is it?”

“I will place the ship above it. From there, you can use your propulsion jets.”

The AI moved Javelin until the ship hovered above the wreck site. Dru went down to the cargo bay and exited through the airlock. He landed on the asteroid’s surface and examined the wreck in his helmet’s light. The craft was essentially oval with a cockpit at the front. It had ploughed into the rocky surface, its nose and side coated in dust. He’d guess the gaping hole in the ship’s side was done by a missile, not a collision with the asteroid. Pieces of metal and debris broken off by the impact surrounded the site. The transparasteel had survived the crash, although he noted some pockmarks and scratches. The ship had a tail, so he figured it would have been atmosphere capable. He didn’t recognize the design, but Astra would probably be able to shine some light on that. His guess would be a light transport.

“What do you make of it, Astra?”

“Working…”

“I have no current records of a ship of this kind. It most closely resembles a Zaarv, an Yrmak light courier. The design on the tail resembles one said to belong to a legendary Yrmak pirate clan led by Drarkghon.”

An Yrmak pirate, eh? There might well be something to find in this ship. It would make up for missing out on the Gherbar treasure.

“When did she operate?”

“According to stories, nine hundred and thirty standard years ago.”

Dru grinned. An antique, then. Even better. He reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a spybot, a smooth, palm-sized sphere. With a flick of his wrist, he activated it, and the drone lifted from his hand in a silent glide. A small screen on his wrist display came to life, feeding him images as it drifted into the ship. No signs of life, considerable damage. He’d have to be careful. Dru eased into the ship through the hole in its side. He stood in what was left of a lounge. One of the tables and its benches were still bolted to the floor but the other, closer to the hole, had been wrenched away. A green-suited figure was spread-eagled on the floor, lying on his back. His heart jolting, Dru reached for his pistol. Steady. This warrior was long dead.

Dru stood staring down at the remains, a hole where its chest should have been. You poor bastard. Seems whoever found him wasn’t taking prisoners. He hated Yrmaks with every atom of his body. Murderous, merciless assholes. Images hammered on the edges of memory, clamoring to flood his mind. He forced them back.

Dru stepped over a second body slumped in an open hatch and made his way into the battered cockpit. It had survived the impact fairly well, the console and controls still recognizable. He couldn’t read the Yrmak labels but it was easy enough to work out which were the navigation, environmentals, and engine controls. Why had they been out here in this god forsaken system? Then again, did he care?

He retraced his steps. The open hatch on the other side of the room had to lead to the living quarters and the freight compartment. He stepped through into a corridor still as pristine as it had been before the crash. Funny to think nobody had been here for hundreds of years. Ignoring the crew quarters, he floated down to the cargo bay. The hatch was ajar, clearly wrenched open.

All four compartments were empty, their lids raised.

Whatever had been in them was gone, no doubt taken by whoever attacked the ship. How disappointing. Then again, the Yrmaks’ handguns would be worth something in the antiques market. He put them both in his carry sack and glanced around. Some academic might find this wreck interesting but it held no appeal to him. He took a clear image of the symbol on the tail, a circular swirl around the head of a fearsome beast.

“Dru, I have found a reference to Drarkghon. The story goes that she had a vast treasure. Despite many attempts, it has never been found. But please understand that most authorities believe she never existed.”

“Huh. Myths and legends don’t buy fuel rods.”

He climbed carefully out of the hole in the ship’s hull and drifted over the wreck toward Javelin.

Something in the dust glinted. And another.

Probably more debris. But he stopped and landed anyway. It would only take a moment.

Coins. He picked one up and examined it, turning it in his fingers. He’d bet this was gold, bearing the likeness of a Human profile. The other two were the same. It wasn’t an Imperial coin.

Was this treasure taken in a raid? Surely it had to be.

He gazed at the ancient wreck.

A vast treasure, huh? He’d never looked for Yrmak treasure before. But there was a first time for everything.