Heat Seeker

by Scot C Morgan

  Heat Seeker

  Jake Mudd Adventures Book Two

  Scot C. Morgan

  Copyright © 2019 by Scot C. Morgan

  All rights reserved.

  Hero Street Press

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To you, dear reader, for whom I write.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Thank you for reading

  Acknowledgments

  The Jake Mudd Books

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Jake held his grip with all his might and leaned back, pulling with every ounce of strength he had. Sweat dripped from his brow, landing on the gash on his wrist. But still, he kept up the struggle. Finally, after nearly a minute, the bolt loosened and the wrench came back toward him.

  He wasn't prepared for it to give way so quickly. He toppled back onto his brown leather jacket on the floor, striking his head on the wall behind him. He'd been meaning to deal with the breakdown in the air filtration system of the secondary cargo hold for a while.

  "Are you okay, Jake?" Sarah asked.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, pushing himself back up and taking hold of the second bolt with the heavy two-foot wrench. "You know, for an advanced ship, some of this system's design has a lot of room for improvement."

  "You talk like I made it," Sarah said.

  "Don't get me wrong," Jake said. "I didn't mean anything by it, other than it looks like the designers could have done a better job on some of these basic elements."

  "There's always upgrades," Sarah said.

  Jake tipped his head up at the camera on the ceiling through which he knew Sarah was watching him. "We barely pull in enough to keep things going the way they are. Unless we can land another decent job, I think upgrades are going to stay at the bottom of the list for the time being."

  "Suit yourself," Sarah said. "You're the one banging your head down there."

  "Appreciate the sympathy," Jake said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this finished. Why don't you check on our guests?"

  "You mean your new crew, Tiffin and Dewey?"

  "Don't get carried away," Jake said. "I still haven't decided how permanent this arrangement is going to be."

  "Well, Tiffin seems to think the matter is settled."

  "What does she know?" Jake said. "She's just a kid."

  "Maybe, but she managed to save your tail on Eon."

  "I had things under control."

  "Is that what you call it?" Sarah said. "That's not the way I heard it."

  Jake was giving another pull on the wrench, working to loosen the second bolt. The ring of the wrench slipped off and struck his knee which was bent up in front of him. "Son of a—"

  "I'll check on the others now," Sarah said.

  Jake nodded without looking up at the camera, and set to work again on opening the casing of the air filtration system.

  Chapter 2

  The lounge of the ship was designed for a cozy feel. The ceilings were low with light wood slats. The room had five seating areas, all opened up to one another, but made clearly distinct by the arrangement of furniture—soft couches and chairs with rounded edges and corners. Each cluster held together as if its own island by a large decorative rug beneath. The rest of the floor was green tile marbled with thin twisting random bands of white among the several shades of green. There was no harsh overhead light, but rather soft glow illuminating each seating area by a single light suspended from a thin steel cable attached to the ceiling. The side of the room farthest from the entrance was a sweeping semicircle of reinforced crystal glass, providing a view of the changing space-scape of stars and nebulae, and occasionally planets.

  Tiffin and Dewey sat nearest the curved wall of windows. Dewey had traded in his Eon officer uniform for some clothes Jake had pulled for him from one of the cargo bays. Unclaimed freight, he'd told him. The clothes he now wore were a dull dark blue shirt and a pair of beige work pants. The shirt made his blue skin look a hue lighter by comparison. Tiffin had turned down Jake's offer for new clothes, saying she was comfortable the way she was with her long green shorts and their useful cargo pockets, and the vest she wore over her shirt.

  Seated on the couch across from Dewey, Tiffin had her clunky brown boots propped up on the ottoman between them. Dewey sat in a chair, maintaining a more disciplined posture—something Tiffin guessed was the result of his years of work in the city administration on Eon.

  "What do you think about it?" Tiffin asked.

  "About what?" Dewey said.

  Tiffin raised her hands and looked around the room. She nodded at the wall of windows providing the view into the vastness of space. "This! Isn't it just awesome?"

  "It's something." Dewey looked around less enthusiastically. "Different."

  "Well, I just think it's the coolest thing ever." Her face was beaming with excitement. "Where do you think we're going?" Her eyes widened at the thought of the possibilities.

  "That's a good question," Dewey said. "Mr. Mudd's not exactly the most forthcoming about his plans. Though, he did promise to find some place suitable. I suppose I should be thankful. If seeing the future didn't come in uncontrollable and unexpected spurts for me, I would've known sooner Eon wasn't the place for me."

  "So, it's true. You see the future?"

  "All of my people do. Though not clearly enough to do ourselves or anyone else much good."

  "Maybe the future isn't always there yet for you to see," Tiffin said. "I mean, until people decide what to do, how could anyone know the future? Did you know you were going to leave Eon, for example?"

  "I'd been wanting to leave Eon for a long time. Trouble was I never knew exactly where it was I'd go or what I'd do if I got the chance to leave. I think that's the reason I never tried before."

  "Well, I'm glad you did," Tiffin said. "I think we all are going to make a great team."

  "I'm not cut out for wandering around in space," Dewey said. "I'm looking for safe passage to somewhere, well, somewhere safe. But not like Eon. Adventure's never been my thing."

  "You could've fooled me," Tiffin said.

  "What do you mean?"

  "The way you raced in to find us. Well, to find Jake." Tiffin averted her eyes upon realizing the implication of what she'd said.

  "Oh, that."

  "Yes, oh that. That was brave."

  Dewey seemed to shrink into his seat. "I think you're confusing desperation for bravery."

  "No," Tiffin said. "I don't think so. Pretty brave." She slapped her hand on Dewey's knee.

  He appeared significantly more uncomfortable.

  "I hope I'm not interrupting," Sarah said through the s
peaker on the ceiling in the center of the room.

  "Not at all," Tiffin said. "How are you, Sarah?"

  "I'm fine. Thank you," Sarah said. "I wanted to see how you two are getting settled in. I know Jake is not the best when it comes to making people feel right at home. He's not used to having anyone around."

  "Except you, you mean," Tiffin said. "You're great company."

  "Thank you, Tiffin," Sarah said. I appreciate that. We get along, Jake and I. And you, Dewey? We are glad to have you aboard, as well."

  "Thank you," he said and paused. "Sarah." He said her name awkwardly.

  It was clear to Tiffin Dewey wasn't as used to the idea of talking to an AI as she was. Tiffin chimed in to pull the conversation back. "What is he up to, anyway?"

  "Jake?" Sarah said. "Oh, he's fumbling around with some maintenance. We've had a few areas of the ship in need of repair for a while. I've been asking him to look into them for weeks, but honestly I think he's chosen to do that now to avoid—well, to avoid too much conversation."

  "It must be hard on you both sometimes," Tiffin said, "flying from one place to the next, not having any place to call home. Oh, I'm sorry. That was stupid of me. This ship—you, I mean. This is home for you and Jake. Isn't it?"

  "For as long as I can remember," Sarah said.

  "How long has that been?" Dewey asked.

  "Jake and I have been together as far back as my memories go," Sarah said.

  Tiffin noticed Sarah's voice changed as she spoke her recollection. Tiffin glared at Dewey.

  "What?" he said.

  "Oh. I just talked to Jake," Sarah said. "He wants you two to meet him in the dining hall. Do you remember the way?"

  "I… I think so," Dewey said.

  "Oh, I do," Tiffin said. "Tell him we'll be there in ten minutes."

  "I will," Sarah said. "If you don't mind, I'm going to leave you two now. I have a few other things to attend to."

  "Sure. No problem," Tiffin said.

  Tiffin and Dewey sat in silence for a few moments.

  "What?" Tiffin asked, finally.

  Dewey glanced up at the speaker. "I don't know if I can get used to having her around always."

  "Why?" Tiffin asked. "Sarah's great."

  "She seems fine. I don't mean anything by it. It's just that… Well, working on Eon—it was…"

  Tiffin interrupted. "Don't worry. She's not like that. Now, come on. I'll show you the way to the dining hall."

  She stood up, as did Dewey.

  "And how do you know this, already?" Dewey asked.

  "Easy. While you were in the med bay, I've been wondering around the ship. This place is so cool! Come on." She headed for the door.

  Dewey followed her.

  Chapter 3

  Jake girded himself mentally as he came down the hall to meet Dewey and Tiffin. Flashes of briefings he'd given or received back in his mercenary days played in his head—hard words spat out without sugar coating, always with the understanding the talk was potentially a preemptive eulogy as well as a mission tasking.

  He felt his adrenaline build as the hall faintly echoed from the footfalls of his boots, bringing him closer to his… crew.

  "Ugh," he said to himself.

  He walked into the dining hall, looking a mess. His right wrist had a piece of black electrical tape wrapped around it. It covered nearly all of the long cut he suffered wrestling with the bolts and metal casing of the secondary cargo hold's air filtration system he'd been working on. His hair was a mess and pasted down on the left side with a smear of black grease, which he was oblivious to.

  "Good," he said. "You two are here."

  Tiffin and Dewey were seated opposite one another near the closest end of the long metal table, which was made to seat twenty-two—the ship's maximum crew accommodations. The ship could hold hundreds more people, but most of the space was taken up with cargo and the massive system used to fold space for long-haul travel.

  "What did you want to see us about?" Tiffin asked. Her head rose only three quarters of the height above the table that Dewey's did. With her elbows and forearms on the table, her shoulders were elevated above their normal position.

  Jake noticed the striking contrast between Dewey's and Tiffin's expressions. Tiffin was excited. He hadn't seen her look any other way since she came aboard. Dewey looked nervous, bordering on nauseated. Jake thought he'd be generous and call Dewey's expression unsettled. He didn't blame Dewey. In fact, he respected him for taking the leap into the unknown. He decided Tiffin's leap was as much naiveté as it was bravery. That's not fair. She did get me out of the arena on Eon.

  "Jake?" Tiffin said.

  Jake realized his mind had wondered. He hadn't slept well since Tiffin and Dewey came aboard a few days earlier.

  "Sorry," he said. "There's a few things we need to discuss." He walked to the end of the table and sat, placing his hands on the brushed metal surface in front of him.

  Dewey leaned into the side of the table. He looked eager. Jake knew Dewey wanted news of their destination. He'd asked Jake for an update on more than one occasion.

  "You two may have noticed I've been busy the last couple days," Jake said.

  "That's okay," Tiffin said. "This place is huge. I'm sure you've had a lot to do."

  "Sarah mostly runs herself," Jake said, "but I've been doing a few repairs."

  Tiffin nodded toward the black tape wrapped around Jake's wrist. "I can see that." She grinned.

  Jake glanced at the makeshift bandage over the cut. He felt the sting from the gash again as his attention was brought to it. He shrugged slightly. "Yeah, well. I seem to be better at breaking things than fixing them."

  Tiffin sat up straight. "I can help."

  Jake stared at her for a few seconds and then began nodding. "Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you two about."

  Dewey shifted in his seat and fidgeted his fingers. "It's not that I don't want to help, but I have no experience working on a ship… or doing any kind of repair work."

  Jake lifted the palm and fingers of his left hand off the table, gesturing toward Dewey. "Don't worry, Dewey. I didn't have you figured for the mechanical type." He looked at Tiffin. "You, on the other hand."

  Tiffin smiled… big.

  "I don't know where we're headed yet," Jake said. "It may be a few days before we get wherever it is we end up. I don't want you two sitting around with nothing to do."

  Dewey's face relaxed. "Very considerate of you, Mr. Mudd."

  Jake looked less relaxed than Dewey, by far. "It's been my experience that men without a job or orders to keep them occupied eventually cause a heap of trouble."

  Jake stared at Dewey, waiting to read his reaction. Sure, Dewey helped him out when they were leaving Eon, and he was a decent enough guy before Jake went into the arena battle, but what did he really know about Dewey, Jake thought.

  "So, it's only men that cause trouble?" Tiffin said, raising her eyebrows and restraining all but the smallest corner of one side of her grin.

  Jake looked at her. He noticed the tension present in his shoulders. He exhaled and willed some of it away, as much as he could, but not all of it. He shook his head.

  What did I get myself into?

  He reminded himself he wasn't running a mercenary crew.

  "I'm sure you can be just as much trouble as anyone." He smiled.

  "I'm only kidding," Tiffin said. "I won't be any trouble at all. But," she glanced at Jake's bandaged arm, "I think you could use some help fixing things around here."

  Jake glanced at his wrist and saw the reddish brown tinge which had crept out from under the black electrical tape. He chuckled. "Yes. Probably a good idea. Like I said, that's why I came to talk to you two. I'm assigning you jobs, at least for now. Tiffin—"

  "Yes?" She looked ready to burst with enthusiasm.

  Jake braced himself. "You are the ship's new mechanic."

  "Yes!" Tiffin stood up and shot her arm in the air, knocking her chair back with her rea
r as she did, causing the chair to teeter for a couple of seconds before it settled. "Oh. Sorry." She retrieved her chair and sat down.

  Jake exhaled, in an attempt to drain the tension he thought he'd let go of a few moments ago, but evidently hadn't.

  He turned to Dewey. "As for you—"

  "If you think I can be of use there," Dewey said.

  "What?" Jake said. "I didn't finish."

  Dewey glanced down at the table, then his eyes darted around for a few seconds. "I'm sorry. I lost track of the moment. You were walking me into the ship's bridge. I got mixed up. Sometimes, when I see the glimpses in my mind, I forget where I am."

  "Yes," Jake said. "I was going to suggest you join me on the bridge. I can see your glimpses of the near future are going to take some getting used to."

  "I apologize," Dewey said.

  "No need." Jake stood up. "That's one of the reasons I think you could be useful on the bridge. Especially if things get…"

  "Get what?" Dewey asked.

  Jake glanced at the two of them. "Messy."

  He gestured for Dewey and Tiffin to stand. "Come on. I know I've had you confined to your quarters, the lounge, and here so far. Sorry about that. I'll give you a quick tour of the rest of the ship." He stepped to the door before glancing back to them. "Well, most of the ship. There's a few areas that are off limits. Not that they're interesting. More for your safety and for cargo security. You understand."

  "Tiffin," Dewey said, "I thought you said you'd been all over this ship."