Read Online The Bounty Hunter: Soldier's Wrath by Joseph Anderson - Free Book Online

matter of days. Prime, the star system they were currently in, had
six gates in total, one of which led to the Sol system and Earth. The one they
approached led to the Tali system.
    The number of jump carriers coupled
to a gate varied, usually determined by how often ships traveled through the
gate. Tali was a well populated system and its gate had a minimum of four jump
carriers operating at any given time: one on each side of the gate and two in
transit. Each gate was constructed specifically for the required jump and the
sizes of them varied; however, even the smallest of them dwarfed most space
stations. Small ships docked inside of the jump carriers while large ones
latched onto the carrier’s outer hull. The massive carriers would circle the
gate over a span of twenty hours between each jump.
    The interior of each gate was a
beautiful contortion of light and energy, pulsing as it communicated with the
rest of the system and its partnered gate on the other side of the jump. The
gates doubled as a relay for all communication between systems and was how the
internet persevered over the vast distances between each system. Information
could be sent instantaneously but physical ships took longer. The Brisbane
would be docked within the carrier for three days while it made the journey.
    “Is Cass available yet?” Burke
asked.
    Natalie stood in the command room
behind him. She was looking over the diagnostic data on Cass’s systems floating
above the central podium in the room. Rylan was seated in the front chair. The
pilot had little to do. The ship’s autopilot took over whenever they approached
a jump carrier. The carriers were too expensive to risk any accidents. The
computers of each vessel took over everything.
    “No,” Natalie replied. “Another
hour. Maybe two. She was successful with Lumen, though. There’s nothing to
worry about.”
    Burke nodded. He turned to the
screen. A communication from the carrier appeared over the window, explaining
that payment for the jump was to be withdrawn from the ship owner’s account if
they did not request to turn around within the next minute. When they continued
to approach, an identification scan commenced over the ship and all of the
occupants. Every human and alien contained an identity implant that was tied to
credit accounts, criminal history, and other social records. Wanted criminals
were unauthorized to use jump gates and could be arrested in the attempt.
    Despite how many jumps Burke had
done since he acquired his new identity, he still tensed up as he stared at the
screen.
     
    SCANNING.
    THREE HUMANOID LIFEFORMS DETECTED.
    CONFIRMED AS RYLAN SCOTT.
    CONFIRMED AS NATALIE AMBROSE.
    CONFIRMED AS JACK PORTER.
    JACK PORTER CONFIRMED AS REGISTERED
OWNER OF SHIP.
    PAYMENT WILL BE WITHDRAWN UPON
DOCKING.
    THANK YOU.
     
    Burke relaxed. He stared at his
false name on the main screen. He saw Rylan’s eyes meet his in the reflection.
Burke gave a short nod to the pilot. He nodded back.
    “Call me Burke from now on,” he
said. “Jack when we’re around strangers.”
    “Yes Captain.”
    “They must have removed whichever
limb contained Lumen’s identity,” Natalie said. “The augmentations must be more
than even the scanner is used to.”
    “What do you mean?” Burke asked.
    “It didn’t even detect her as a
lifeform,” Natalie explained. “I was worried we might have to turn around and
wait for Cass to scramble Lumen’s signal. I’ve never seen the scanner fail to
register someone like that before.”
    “They butchered her,” Burke said
lowly.
    “You told me what happened,”
Natalie replied. “They thought she was dead.”
    Cass came back online shortly after
they completed docking into the carrier. She appeared unsteady and distorted
over the podium for a second until the holographic projectors settled. She
looked around the room, resting her eyes on Burke at the end.
    “How did it go?” he asked.
    “I didn’t do much,” she answered.
“It was