Smuggler's Luck

by S. W. Gunn

  She removed his guitar case from the closet that held his jackets and asked, “What is this?”

  “It’s the case for my guitar.”

  “Oh good, once I finish with this I’ll need to rest and some entertainment.” She replied with a grin on her face.

  Jarron was impressed with her efficiency and planning. She seemed to plan how she was going to organize the room on the fly and yet maintained order as she went. Once everything was out of the cabinets she slowly began folding and replacing things. He was once again impressed by how she was able to merge all of his things neatly into half the amount of space that he had used. She used the other half for her own items. Everything was neatly split into half, with her receiving some cabinets and him getting the rest. The drawers were evenly divided to allow for items that did not hang. She moved into the restroom and after a few minutes returned. In her hand was a rag, which she used to wipe down the shelves and every other surface that needed cleaning. Jarron had to admit that he did not clean his quarters in a very long time. He was certain that she would have said something but she did not say a word about it. After she finished cleaning she went back into the restroom and he could hear her working in there. Half an hour later she returned with a smile on her face.

  “Much better.” She said happily before grabbing him by the collar and playfully ordering, “Don’t mess it up mister.”

  Giving a chuckle he replied, “Yes ma’am.”

  She pointed to the corner of the bed that was against the wall, with his collar still in hand, and commanded, “Sit over there and play for me.”

  He gave her a crisp salute before snarkily saying to her, “Yes ma’am!”

  Elyse laughed at him. He climbed onto the bed and then moved to the spot that she pointed to. He removed his guitar from the case and rested it on his lap. She then climbed on the bed and sat next to him.

  She said, “I hope you don’t mind me reorganizing.”

  “It probably needed it.”

  With a chuckle she stated, “Badly, I suspect that we’re going to have to work on your husband skills a bit.”

  He laughed loudly before replying, “Since they don’t exist I guess so.”

  “Alright let’s hear this thing.”

  “Lemme tune it first. I haven’t gotten to play it for anyone in some time.”

  She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. Jarron slowly worked each string of his acoustic guitar, turning the tuning knobs as he went. It took him several minutes before he was ready.

  Jarron announced, “Alright after I warm up a tiny bit and then we’ll be ready.”

  She nodded. Jarron slowly plucked a little tune just to warm up.

  Once he was ready he said, “I’m gonna start with a little classical piece.”

  Working rapidly through the song Jarron strummed his favorite tune to play on the guitar. He glanced at her and could see that she was enjoying his effort much more than either Hain or Feligrin ever did. Once he finished she clapped.

  “What is it called?” She asked.

  “It is called ‘Enter Sandman’. The original version is much more rock than the acoustic version that I just played, also the words are pretty dark but if you heard it played you would be impressed. It is my favorite song to play due to the complexity. Unfortunately much of the musical history of Terra was lost from the asteroid strike, especially the music for the late 20th century, which is my favorite.”

  “Can you sing it?” She asked.

  With a chuckled Jarron replied, “Oh no, I wouldn’t do that. You’d probably want to leave me right then and there, my voice is horrid.”

  She laughed at him.

  Suddenly a serious look crossed her face as she commented, “You know, we got married and honestly we don’t even know a lot about each other.”

  “I know, I was surprised when you corrected Tiberius on that quote.”

  Elyse giggled as she declared, “It was so much fun to put that arrogant man in his place. He talked down to us like he was so much better than we are and to be able to correct him was almost worth everything we went through.”

  Jarron nodded solemnly before asking, “Still, how many books have you read?”

  She answered cheekily, “More than should ever be considered proper.”

  Jarron laughed heartily at her reply because she was picking on him. He quickly reached his hand out and tickled her side, which she responded to by laughing and then jerking away quickly.

  “Ooooh, somebody in this marriage appears to be ticklish.” He said eagerly.

  She scurried off the bed and away from him as she emphatically said, “Don’t you do it!”

  He set his guitar down and slowly slid off the bed.

  “I don’t think that I’ve got a choice. Wives who make sneaky comments about their husbands usually need a good tickling.” He replied coyly.

  She pleaded, “Please, I am super ticklish. I even peed myself one time when Ramona tricked me and pinned me down.”

  Jarron laughed loudly.

  With an wicked grin he declared, “Alright, I’ll relent... for now. But be warned my beautiful wife, I reserve the right to come back to this issue later.”

  He slid back to his spot on the bed, which she cautiously followed behind him and then snuggled against him.

  “What else would you like to know about me?” He asked.

  “Well I know you have a father and mother back on Terra. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Yes. I have an older brother named Jacob, who is named after my father, and a fraternal twin sister named Jasmine.”

  Excitedly Elyse said, “A twin! Is she anything like you?”

  Jarron laughed as he answered, “Heck no, she is nothing like me. She is smart, talented and most of all highly successful. I haven’t spoke to her in a few months but she had become one of the top Galactic Union scientists in the field of neurosurgery. My father is as proud of her as he is disappointed in me.”

  “What was the last time you spoke to your father?”

  “Not since he kicked me out.” Jarron replied uncomfortably.

  The subject of his father was probably the only subject in his life that was a touchy one for him. He still felt the sting of being kicked out and made homeless by his own father. Elyse frowned. Jarron realized that his response had let her know immediately how he felt about the subject.

  She asked, “Would you be willing to go see him?”

  Jarron frowned at the idea. He knew how his father felt about him and had a hard time imagining any reason to see him. He shook his head.

  “Even if I asked you to?” She asked.

  He knew in his heart that he could not say no to Elyse, even if it meant swallowing his own pride and going to see his father.

  “For you I’d go.” He said solemnly.

  “I think it’s as important that you patch things up with your father as you said it was for me to see mine.” She said softly.

  He realized that she was right and he suspected that his mother would love to meet Elyse.

  Begrudgingly he surrendered by saying, “Alright, for you I’ll go see him but only if you will come too. I couldn’t face him without something positive in my life and you’re the most positive thing I’ve ever had.”

  She beamed a smile as she said, “Of course I’ll come. I want to meet your family badly. Jarron, I have a serious question for you about our future.”

  He shifted to look directly at her and then asked, “Which is?”

  “How long did you plan to do the smuggler thing before you’d be ready to settle down with me somewhere? I’d love to have children, not right now but in the future.”

  Jarron had known that she would wonder about this subject sooner or later. It was a more than valid point. Living the life of a smuggler was probably not the best lifestyle for a family, not by a long shot.

  He answered, “Well I was thinking once we resolved the issue with Tiberius that we could look into finding
a place to settle. I love to fly, it’s the only thing I’m really good at and I was thinking that I could probably find a more stable transport job with some company or another on either Terra or with the Lunar colony. With my flight experience and skills it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “That seems fair enough. We definitely need to find some sort of resolution with that man. Also I was wondering if you think that I could go to a university. I’m well-read and know quite a bit but I don’t have a degree or an employable skill.”

  “Of course, my mother works for the University of Terra. They tried to get me to go there but that didn’t work out so well. My mother is very sweet and I know as soon as she meets you she’ll immediately want to help us. I don’t know about my father but the rest of my family had offered many times to help me. No doubt they would all pitch in to help us settle.”

  Elyse hugged him tightly. He applied a soft kiss on her forehead. The first thought that crossed his mind was the hope that his father would not interfere. His mother could easily get Elyse into university and with her intellect he had no doubt she would excel at whatever she would want to do.

  He was curious what she would study so he asked, “What would you study?”

  “Medicine, I can heal with the Gift but I want to do so much more than broken bones and deep cuts.”

  He nodded at her. It made sense that she would be interested in medicine. She seemed to greatly enjoy healing others, especially when Jarron was there to make healing much easier.

  “That reminds me, it’s probably best that we don’t let too many know your abilities. People with the Gift tend to draw a crowd.” He told her.

  “Especially with you around, people would come from all over the galaxy to see us. It would make living normal lives impossible for us and our children. No doubt there are many more men like that man who kidnapped us.”

  “No doubt. Wasn’t it funny how he said he wouldn’t send someone after us for a week as our wedding gift?”

  She nodded at him.

  As she started to speak the comm buzzed and Feligrin’s voice came through, “We are approaching our destination.”

  “Guess we better get to the cockpit.” Jarron said.

  Chapter 15

  Jarron entered the cockpit and took the pilot’s seat. He was impressed with himself since he actually spent several hours with Elyse just talking. Of course she used most of the time to clean and organize but it was a break from their usual sexual escapades when alone. She was very pleasant to be around, which only aided in his belief that marrying her was the right choice. Although he knew for certain that he had no choice in the matter, his whole being begged to be around her for some reason. The only issue that caused him concern was employment and settling down. He was unsure what kind of jobs he could get that would allow him to be around her enough for his liking. He said that he would get a job piloting but the prospect of being away from her for long periods of time was even more unappealing than not flying a spaceship. It was causing him significant conflict but he did not tell her since he did not want to upset her. Whatever he decided to do, he knew that it would not involve groveling back to his father for help. The ship lurched as it came out of the fold. Jarron was glad to see a Galactic Union fleet was birthed there. He had become tired of having half of their stops be swarmed by Grokmal.

  The comm crackled and a voice said, “Attention unknown cargo ship, please identify yourself.”

  Pushing the comm button he declared, “This is the cargo ship, the Keg. We wish to make birth with the station for refueling.”

  “Confirmed, please lock with port Alpha-three.”

  Jarron slowly guided the ship to the port that the man stated and then guided the Keg safely. Once they connected with the station Jarron could hear the airlocks pop as they fully docked onto the space station. They all stood up and headed towards the exit of the ship that was connected to the station. Because of the wide variety of stations and planets they would visit Hain had multiple airlocks and exit points added to the Keg. As soon as they opened the hatch of the airlock Jarron was hit with the stale air of the spaceport. He glanced at Elyse and saw her cute nose crinkle at the smell.

  Ramona announced huffily, “This place stinks.”

  Hain chuckled, which both Jarron and Feligrin laughed in response to. The three of them had been used to the wide variety of smells from space stations, colonies and different planets. It was all part of their employment. Hain stomped out the airlock first, which brought the remaining members of their group behind them. Jarron exited last and made sure to secure the ship.

  Hain announced, “Lad, I’m gonna take Feligrin an Ramona here to find a job to do while ya an the lass here go an talk to those damned Eal’tain. I’ve got my comm unit if ya need me.”

  Jarron nodded at Hain. The three of them immediately left. He had not noticed initially but Ramona was wearing some of the clothing that he had bought for Elyse. It made sense since poor orphans at a church on an isolated far flung planet probably did not own much of their own things. Jarron extended his hand to Elyse, who took it, and then escorted her through the station. He had not been at this station since they met Feligrin. When Father Lapella mentioned that there was an embassy here Jarron was confused because he did not remember even seeing an Eal’tain embassy when he had been there. Finding it should make for a challenge since he had been there plenty of times without ever even hearing about it. They walked throughout the station stopping and asking everyone that they could find. It was not until they found a security guard and asked him that they were able to find out where it was. He was told that the Eal’tain had bought out the entire top domed layer of the station and converted it into a massive garden of some kind. The guard also said that visitors were not allowed past the elevator entryway of the level. Jarron figured if what Father Lapella had told them was accurate then they might be allowed to enter. No doubt having someone who was half Eal’tain with them could only help. He slowly guided Elyse to the elevator and they pushed the button to take them to the level it was on. Once they made it to the top level they were met by a large metal door. Jarron was surprised to see such a huge door because it had to be as wide as about three normal doors. He walked with Elyse to the small slit that he spotted on the right side of the door. Knocking on the slit he took a step back. The slit opened and Jarron could see a pair of eyes peer through. They were obviously the eyes of an Eal’tain.

  A voice spoke through the slit, “We do not take visitors here so go away.”

  Jarron replied, “We were sent here to find a man named Iaeth.”

  “What business do you have with him?” The voice replied through the slit.

  Jarron gestured to Elyse and said, “She is his daughter and he had instructed her to come here in order to arrange a meeting with him.”

  “She does not look like an Eal’tain, more like one of you humans.”

  Elyse spoke, “I am half. My mother was human and I was told my father is Iaeth.”

  Jarron could see the eyes through the slit slowly examine her.

  After a moment’s pause the voice stated, “Very well. I must send a communique to him. I will not receive a response until tomorrow. How may I contact you once I receive instructions? Also are you be willing to travel?”

  She shook her head and said, “I’m willing to travel but I won’t do so without my husband.”

  “Very well I shall include that information in the communique.” The voice replied, “How will I contact you?”

  Jarron replied, “We’ll be aboard the cargo ship the Keg, located at port Alpha-three.”

  The voice replied, “Very well, I shall contact you then. Good bye.”

  The slit closed quickly behind him. Jarron turned to Elyse and shrugged.

  “I guess we wait now?” She asked.

  “We might as well explore the station.”

  She grinned at him. He took her hand and guided her back to the elevator. Jarron had forgotten just how boring a
nd ugly the station was. Originally designed as a science station for deep space research, Deep Space Station Whitmire 5 now served as a way point for any explorers going out into the outer edges of the arm of the Milky Way that they were on. Jarron was amazed how little of their own galaxy had been explored and yet scientists wanted to look outward past the galaxy. It had befuddled him at times to think about the lack of forethought that they had in many ways. If there were more races like the Magial and the Grokmal then they could end up in serious trouble down the road. Jarron shrugged it off. For now he just was trying to survive day to day.

  “This place is very different.” Elyse stated.

  “It used to be a science station.

  She seemed to enjoy the flat grays and basic steel of the station, although Jarron suspected it was more about experiencing something new than the station itself. Like all Deep Space Stations, this one was built with ten levels. The top level of the station usually was where the scientists would work, although this one had been taken over by some Eal’tain. The next two levels were storage and laboratories, from what Jarron heard they had been turned into a barracks for the permanently stationed GDF personnel here. After that was housing for the regular inhabitants, one level was the marketplace area and the last few rings served as docking and engineering. Jarron had thought little to actually explore the whole thing but Elyse had insisted so he took her to every level they could go to. They received very odd looks by the GDF people as they walked through the barracks level. After a long day of exploring they finally returned to the Keg. Jarron’s poor feet were letting him know that he needed to sit. He found it odd that Elyse seemed just fine. Maybe she spent much more time on her feet, or it was her unique heritage? As they entered the small dining area of the Keg they were greeted by Hain, Feligrin and Ramona.

  “What’s the news lass?” Hain asked Elyse.

  Giving him a kind smile she answered, “We went to the embassy and they said they’d pass the message. We won’t know until tomorrow.”