Hard Vacuum 1 by Simon Cantan Read Free Book Online Page A

are gaps, but the human mind will always fill them with something."
    "This is just a trick."
    "Of course it is," Baltasar said. "A horrible trick WeaverCorp has played on you. I'm here to open your eyes, Kyra. To help you find the truth."
    "You tried to kill me," Kyra spat.
    Baltasar nodded and grinned. "I did. I hoped you would survive. I had to test you. You see, I need you, Kyra. You're one in a million. You survive when no-one else can. There's great evil back on Earth, and we need to fight it. With my mind and your body, we can do that. We might even make a lot of money in the process."
    "Fuck you, Kemke."
    Baltasar sighed. "The ship is leaving in five minutes. If you're on it, I'll take that as a yes. If not, your shuttle will be here in a few hours to take you back to WeaverCorp. Before you make your mind up, though, call Manik."
    Baltasar vanished.
    Kyra stared at his chair. He was gone. She poked the chair with her rifle and it rocked backwards and forwards.
    She opened up a connection to Manik.
    He answered in seconds, smiling at her with a gun in his hand. "Hello, Kyra."
    "Manik, what's going on?" Kyra asked.
    "We're nearly done," Manik said. "Look, Kyra."
    Manik spread his video feed out to display the entire room. He was standing in a boardroom. Darshan Kant was sitting at the table with a sheaf of paper in front of him and a pen in his hand. Manana was standing behind him, her gun pressed to Darshan's head.
    "I won't sign it," Darshan said.
    Manik grinned and sat on the table, waving his gun at Darshan. "Mister Kant, turn and look at Manana."
    Darshan swivelled around and stared at Manana standing behind him. Manana took her gun and raised it to her temple, pulling the trigger and sending an arc of brains and blood onto the wall. Manana's body crumpled to the ground.
    "What the fuck? Why did she do that?" Darshan spluttered.
    "Now that you know we're serious, you should sign the papers, Mister Kant," Manik said.
    "This won't hold up in court. I'm under duress," Darshan said.
    Manik shrugged. "Just sign them."
    Darshan licked his lips and clutched the pen. With a shaky hand, he signed the bottom of the papers.
    "Good." Manik shot Darshan in the head.
    Manik closed the video off again, until Kyra could only see him. "Kyra, Baltasar is a great man. He's going to do incredible things, and he needs your help to accomplish them. Please join him."
    Manik raised his own gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The ReadyNet connection vanished.
    Kyra stared into the space Manik had occupied. None of it made any sense. The whole thing had been to get a signature on a piece of paper.
    She walked to the chair in front of the monitors and sat, her mind whirring. The station takeover had forced Darshan Kant out of hiding. The papers had to be something devastating. Otherwise, people wouldn't commit suicide over it. It had to be something about the war. Kyra knew firsthand that they weren't winning, but maybe people back on Earth didn't know that yet. A triple suicide with a long note might convince them, though. Convince them it was only a matter of time until the Xenomigrants would kill everyone.
    Kyra shook her head. Conspiracy theories weren't getting her anywhere. She got to her feet and walked to her combat suit.
    ***
    Kyra sat in her chair in the cockpit, watching the retreating station on her ReadyNet. Ten missiles spurted from the side of the station and rocketed out into space. They flew out a few kilometres, and then arced back towards the station. Her display turned white as they hit. When her vision cleared, she could only find whirling debris.
    Kyra closed her ReadyNet and levelled her gun at the pilot. "If I'd waited for the shuttle..."
    The pilot looked at her, sweat streaming down his brow. "Well, erm, it's kind of good you didn't. Can I pull my trousers up now?"
    "Nope," Kyra said. "Take me to Kemke."

AUTHOR'S NOTE
    I love eighties movies. I love how dumb they are. I love the endless over-the-top violence.