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.but they’d rigged a series of charges to blow the entire complex, once the shit hit the fan.All evidence of their visit would be destroyed.“And signal for a customs ship.”“Understood,” Stewart said.“There’s one only an hour away.”Jasmine nodded, then worked on the laser link to Passing Water until the customs ship finally approached.She was identical to the previous ship, apart from carrying a missile pod underneath her hull that would give her some additional firepower.Jasmine puzzled over it for a long moment - adding extra mass would only make the ship less mobile - then reasoned that the missiles were probably intended to destroy any threat to the shipyard.Pity we don’t have any ourselves, she thought, as she eyed the ship and issued orders for the boarding party to prepare to move.But we couldn’t pack enough missiles to get through the shipyard’s defences.“Here she comes,” Stewart said.“She’s ordering us to cut engines and prepare to be boarded.”“Good,” Jasmine said.“You have the bridge.”She walked into the next compartment, where the airlock was already opening to admit the boarding party.They didn’t look particularly suspicious, just bored, although she had to admit they looked more competent than the last one.Their leader, a grim-faced woman with a pinched expression, eyed Jasmine in some surprise.The light spacesuit she was wearing had to be unexpected.“Captain,” she said.Her accent reminded Jasmine of Stubbins.“Why are you wearing a suit?”“There was a hull leak four days ago,” Jasmine said, as the hatch cycled closed behind the team.“I ordered spacesuits to be worn at all times.”“Good,” the woman said.“Papers?”Jasmine reached for her belt, then drew her stunner and pulled the trigger, aiming at their faces in hopes of ensuring they all fell before one of them could trigger an alert.It was a risk, but one she had to embrace.They stumbled and collapsed to the deck; Jasmine checked them quickly, then signalled her boarding party.God alone knew if anyone on the ship was monitoring the away team, but if someone was the entire mission was about to fail.She motioned them into the tube as she removed the key-card from the team’s commander, then followed them into the customs ship.“Shoot to stun, if possible,” she ordered quietly.“But they mustn’t get a change to scream for help.”She opened the hatch, then led the way into the customs ship.The crew clearly weren't expecting trouble; the soldiers ran through the corridors, stunning everyone they encountered, and made their way towards the bridge.Jasmine forced herself to run faster than she’d ever run in her life, then threw a stun grenade into the bridge as the hatch opened.The crew were knocked out by blue-white flashes of light.“The ship is secure,” Cheney said, through her wristcom.“I get nineteen crewmen, all stunned.”“There’s four more here,” Jasmine said.“Thomas, bring everyone else onto the customs ship and then reprogram the ore freighter.”“Understood,” Stewart said.“We’re on our way.”Jasmine rapidly secured the bridge crew, then dumped everyone but the captain out into the corridor.The customs ship was larger on the inside than she’d expected - she made a mental note to try to copy any engineering files before they left - but the bridge wasn’t particularly large.Stewart arrived and took control of the helm, then steered the ship back towards the shipyard.Jasmine watched, then took an injector from her belt and pressed it against the captain’s neck.Moments later, he jerked awake and glanced around blearily.“I need the codes that will get us into the shipyard,” Jasmine growled, producing a sharp knife from her belt and holding it against his throat.One advantage of using stun grenades was that the victims tended to be badly disorientated for some time, even after they recovered.However, she didn't dare rely on it for long.“Give us the codes or I’ll slit your fucking throat.”The captain shuddered, then gasped out a series of numbers.Jasmine nodded to Stewart, who fed them into the navigational system.If the Wolves had copied the Empire’s procedures, the first set of codes should get them into the shipyard, but not allow them to dock anywhere without special permission.It was quite possible that they would be expected to dock at the security complex, once they passed through the defences.Pete had made it clear that the custom ships often took bribes, then hurried back to share them with their superiors.Fucking idiots, Jasmine thought.She knew precisely what Colonel Stalker would have done to someone who had accepted a bribe and it wouldn't have been pretty.On the other hand, guard duty was always boring.unless the shit hit the fan.They’re probably so used to being away from danger that their reflexes have faded.“I’ve told them that the ore freighter has been ordered to go to the refinery facility instead,” Stewart said.“She won’t be coming into the shipyard.”“Good,” Jasmine said.She hadn't been able to come up with a workable plan to get the ore freighter into the shipyard without raising red flags.“If we can keep them from realising there’s a connection between the ore freighter and us, it might work in our favour
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