The Alpha Protocol: Alpha Protocol Book 1 by Duncan Hamilton (read more books .txt) 📕

The one benefit of being in the Bounty was that there was nothing about her to indicate she was in naval service. The target ship was in no hurry as it idled its way to orbit around Holmwood. If she was even aware of the Bounty, those on board would have seen nothing more than a trading vessel in a hurry. Samson allowed himself a wry smile as his ship clawed away the distance between them—they were going to get one hell of a surprise.

The main problem with stop-and-search operations in space was the amount of time they took. Their quarry had dropped out of the Nexus very close to the planet, while the Bounty was stationed roughly halfway between the Nexus portal and the planet. Running their power plant and engines hard, Samson had no doubt they would catch up to their quarry, but with such great distances involved, it would take time. A full day, as it happened.

He took several breaks to make sure he was rested when the time came, but checked in regularly to see what progress they were making or if there was any response from the target vessel. There was none, which made his life easier but also gave him pause for thought—why weren’t they reacting? It was never a good approach to assume you’d gotten the jump on your opponent, but in this case he couldn’t see any reason for them to be suspicious. Again, there was nothing to identify the Bounty as a Navy ship, and she had been a familiar sight in that part of space. It was the perfect cover for this type of operation, although he knew word of what they were up to would spread quickly enough.

It was with building excitement that Samson returned to the bridge for the watch on which he expected to interdict the ship.

‘She’s an Excelsior Bay,’ Harper said, as soon as he walked onto the bridge. Their sensors were finally within range for more detailed scans. He had been curious what they would reveal, but he hadn’t expected this.

‘Seriously?’ Samson said. Excelsior Bay was a prestige manufacturer of luxury space yachts. They were eye-wateringly expensive, and certainly not the type of ship one encountered out on the Frontier. ‘Stolen?’

Harper shrugged. ‘I’ve never even seen an Excelsior Bay for real. And out here?’

For a vessel that cost more than most could earn in a lifetime, it was certainly a valuable target, not even taking into account what it might contain. His heart started to speed up as he considered the possibilities—might it be the abduction of a wealthy patrician? The Frontier was as good a place as any to hide out while you awaited the payment of a ransom. Equally, it was the perfect place to stash a stolen ship until the heat died down and you’d had a chance to strip and replace all the registration and serial numbers. Either way, it was going to be a good catch but possibly a very dangerous one.

Samson felt the gentle drag on the ship as the navigation computer switched from forward to reverse thrust to bring them to a halt within range of their target. The process would take several hours more, but they were close enough for Samson’s impatience to threaten his mood. A boarding operation without the aid of a launch was a complicated proposal, but the Bounty wasn’t so large as to make it impossible.

Samson hit the intercom. ‘Sergeant Price, prepare your people for a boarding action. High likelihood of resistance.’

‘Aye, sir,’ came the steely reply. If the prospect of boarding a ship under a hail of weapons fire bothered Price, he’d certainly become very adept at concealing the fact.

They had hailed the Excelsior Bay, which bore the uninspiring name of Maggie—not at all what Samson thought a ship of that calibre deserved. She had replied quickly and politely, and hove to as soon as Samson ordered them to do so. It was all going so smoothly he was beginning to worry. It seemed a little hard to believe that it might simply be a wealthy dilettante on a jolly to see the wild Frontier.

Samson set the Bounty on a slow approach to mate their respective airlocks. If the Maggie’s crew were going to try something, that was the time it was most likely to happen. They had a detachable boarding apparatus now, so there would be no issues with explosive decompression and the loss of the ship with all hands. He continued to watch the distance between them, and monitor the sensor reports for any indication the Maggie might be powering something up.

As he watched, Samson wondered what type of person named a space yacht worth millions of credits ‘Maggie.’ She should be called something far more majestic, as that was the only word to describe her—sleek lines and design features harkening back to classic racing ships. She was painted a rich metallic blue that reflected Capsilan’s light like a sapphire, while sleekly designed exhaust ports hinted at the thrust she was capable of if called upon—certainly far more than the Bounty would ever have, with any amount of upgrades.

There could be plenty of reasons that she hadn’t tried to run when the Bounty broadcast her naval interdiction signal—the possibility that they’d purchased their reaction matter from the same supplier as Arlen being one. Everything about their behaviour said they had nothing to hide, which to Samson screamed that they definitely had something to hide. Either that, or being boarded and searched by the Navy was all part of the authentic Frontier experience the Maggie’s passengers were looking for. He didn’t like the idea of being a tourist attraction, but that wasn’t going to stop him from doing his job.

There was a gentle bump as the boarding apparatus clamped onto the Maggie’s airlock, and Samson turned up the volume on his datapad so he could hear everything that was going on with Price and the