Smuggler Ship

by Lindsay Buroker

  “Maybe,” he said neutrally. “What made them think Dustor would be the best place to purchase a ship? There would be more of a selection, and more ships that weren’t likely stolen to start with, in Alliance space.”

  “Technically, they just said we could start the search here.”

  Erick squinted at her. “Meaning they’d prefer the ship come from Alliance space?”

  “Meaning that I don’t have to buy something here if I don’t find anything. But the sooner I find something, the sooner I can fly off on my own. And help my parents expand their shipping business and make more money.”

  His squint deepened. He believed Jelena cared about her parents but doubted their financial future was foremost in her mind here.

  “They want to make sure they’ve saved enough money to send Nika and Maya to a university when they’re old enough,” Jelena added.

  “This is private turf,” a man grumbled from the shadows of an open cargo hatch on a blocky freighter with the aesthetic appeal of a rectangle. A rectangle covered with rust and dents.

  “Isn’t this a lot full of ships for sale?” Jelena asked before Erick could open his mouth. “We’re interested buyers.” She smiled and waved at the surly man.

  Erick might have called the smile flirtatious on another woman, but Jelena always struck him more like an enthusiastic puppy wanting to spread good cheer to everyone rather than someone trying to manipulate a situation.

  “You kids don’t have no two hundred thousand tindarks,” the man growled, not sounding like he was interested in flirtatious women or good cheer.

  Jelena lifted her netdisc. “We have—”

  “Funds sufficient for purchasing a slightly used ship,” Erick interrupted, not wanting her to announce their financial fortunes with so many ears listening. At the least, the drug dealers were still watching them. Judging by the moans coming from the other side of the ship, the other couple had found something else to do. But with his Starseer senses, Erick detected more people around, inside and outside of the ships.

  “Sure you do, kid.”

  Erick bristled. Jelena might be young, but he’d just turned twenty-four. He was a university graduate and had solid job prospects. He was hardly a kid.

  “We work for someone who’s providing the funds,” he said, forcing himself to remain civil, especially since the rusty brick of a freighter was the most promising ship parked in the lot. “I’m the chief engineer.”

  “You don’t look old enough to build an engine out of Zizblocks.” The surly man looked Jelena up and down. Her pony shirt wasn’t exactly sexy and revealing, but his gaze still lingered on her chest. “But you can send your girl in to talk business with me, and maybe I’ll listen to offers.”

  Erick’s grip tightened on his staff. Stanislav always preached that it was important for Starseers to keep their calm and that one shouldn’t lash out in anger, or mete out justice when one wasn’t qualified to pass judgment, but he longed to knock this brute on his ass.

  “What about that one, Erick?” Jelena was looking at another ship and seemed oblivious to the leering. “It looks like a pterodactyl from Old Earth, doesn’t it?” She sounded approving, as if a dinosaur-shaped ship was desirable.

  “It has wings and a big head, but look at the body. How much room could there be in there for cargo?”

  “It could be bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside. We should take a look.”

  “A simple volume equation assures it isn’t. You’re just interested because it’s shaped like an animal. Sort of.”

  The man in the shadows stirred, jumping out of his hatchway. “That ugly clunker couldn’t even carry your makeup bag, little lady.”

  He strolled toward Jelena, a thumb hooked into his belt, a belt with two blazer pistols in holsters on either hip. The graying man gave her another once over, an open leer on his pale spacer face.

  “Little?” Jelena protested, frowning back at him. “I’m five-eight. That’s not little.”

  “Next to your friend, you’re not too tall. Or next to me.” He lifted his chin—he was a few inches shorter than Erick, but that still made him well over six feet. And he was much broader, too, with a muscled build. He probably hurled weights around during the long hauls between planets. “I’m quite tall, you see. And long.” He winked at her. “You can see that too if you want.”

  Jelena’s face wrinkled in distaste. She wasn’t so oblivious that she could miss an innuendo with the subtlety of an air hammer on a bombing run.

  “Do lines like that ever work for you?” she asked.

  “If the woman is drunk enough, maybe,” Erick muttered.

  He took a step forward, not liking the way the man was coming closer to them—to Jelena. He shifted his staff, both to block advances and in the hope the twit might notice the runes and realize what he was dealing with. He sent a tendril of his mental power into the weapon, and those runes flared to life, glowing silver. Unfortunately, in the bright sunlight, it wasn’t that noticeable.

  I don’t need you to guard me, Jelena spoke telepathically into his mind, her words coming across as dry. I only asked you along to look at engines.

  Leonidas would wring my neck if I let this lecherous baboon lay a finger on you, he responded in kind, not taking his gaze from the ship owner.

  That is true, but he’d also be terribly disappointed in me, if I couldn’t keep groping baboon fingers away.

  I won’t argue with that.

  “My lines work just fine, little lady. Women have a hard time resisting a man with his own ship, a man who can forge his own destiny and show them the stars.”

  “Why are you selling such a ship?” Erick asked. “And how much are you asking?”

  “I’ve got an upgrade lined up. How much you looking to spend?”

  “I’d need to see navigation and the engine room before making an offer.”

  “That can be arranged.”

  Just when Erick was feeling relieved that the thug seemed willing to talk shop and stop leering at Jelena, the man leaned around him to look at her again.

  “She coming in for the tour?”

  “No,” Erick said at the same time as Jelena said, “Yes.”

  “No,” Erick repeated.

  “Yes.” Jelena stepped up beside him and smiled. Telepathically, she added, You don’t really want me waiting out here by myself, do you? Do you know that two people are mating in the shadows over there?

  Mating? Jelena, humans have sex. You’ve spent too much time reading books about horses.

  Are you sure you’d consider those two human?

  Well, maybe not.

  There are also sand snakes nearby. Big ones. Anyone loitering out here might get eaten.

  The snakes aren’t allowed close to the cities. There are electrified perimeter fences that extend well into the ground. He was surprised she could actually sense any sand snakes—the massive twenty-foot-long creatures would be at least five miles out, if they were around at all. But then, she was better at sensing animals than she was people or anything else, so it shouldn’t surprise him.

  What if the fences are broken? Like most of the things in the city?

  “Which one of you is actually in charge?” the man asked, smirking.

  Erick focused on him and didn’t answer Jelena’s questions. He doubted the city law enforcers would let snakes get close. They were known for eating everything from pets and people to hovercraft full of androids. That was bad for tourism.

  “We’re both representatives for our employers,” Erick said. “We’re on equal footing.”

  The ship owner lifted a hand to scratch the side of his head. No, wait, he’d bumped the earstar he wore—his shaggy hair nearly hid it from view. Had he just turned it on for some reason? To record them, perhaps?

  Erick stretched out with his senses, looking for more people inside the ship.

  He stiffened. There were five, and they were all heading toward the open hatchway. He brushed the mind o
f the thug outside with them, something he should have done earlier. His thoughts bubbled on the surface and were easy to pick up. He planned to shove Erick aside—or kill him—grab Jelena, and take her inside so he and his crew could have their way with her.

  Growling, Erick hurled a telekinetic blast at the ship owner.

  The man’s eyes flew open as he was thrown backward. His back slammed into the hull of his ship ten feet up, and he cried out in pain before sliding down to land in the dirt.

  Jelena turned toward Erick, her eyebrows raised. “Are we not going in for a tour?”

  She raised an invisible barrier around them, clearly expecting retaliation, though her expression remained calm, and there wasn’t any judgment on her face. Maybe she had also caught the gist of what the man planned.

  “You don’t want to see what they were going to show you,” Erick said. “Trust me.”

  She opened her mouth to reply, but weapons fired, orange and crimson blazer bolts streaking toward them. Instinctively, Erick stepped in front of Jelena and started to raise a protective barrier of his own, but there was no need. The energy bolts ricocheted off hers, some sailing back toward the ship.

  Two men had jumped out of the hatchway, but others still inside the cargo hold ducked down. One of the orange blazer bolts zipped right back through the hatchway over their heads.

  I’ll defend, Jelena told Erick. You attack. Or should we just run?

  The ship owner snarled and jumped to his feet. He yanked out both blazer pistols and fired at her barrier as he strode toward them.

  “Get out here, you cowards,” he yelled to his crew still in the hatchway. “Get them.”

  “They’re Starseers!” one blurted from his belly on the deck inside.

  “They’ve just got a personal forcefield. We’ll drain it, no problem.” The owner sneered and fired both weapons again, holding down the triggers for a sustained blast.

  Jelena grimaced. A Starseer barrier didn’t run out of battery power like a personal forcefield, but it did drain the energy of the one creating it.

  Erick growled and hurled another attack, this one at the man’s mind. His target dropped his weapons and crumpled to his knees on the ground. He gripped his head with both hands.

  Erick held up his staff and glowered at the other men. Two of the crew ran back into their ship, but three others jumped out and toward him, continuing to fire.

  “Starseers,” the one who had blurted it before yelled. This time, his voice carried across the lot to everyone nearby. “Starseers,” he repeated. “They’ll kill us all!”

  “Uh, no,” Erick said. “We’re only defending—”

  Shouts came from all around as people raced toward them, raised voices and weapons fire drowning out his words.

  We may want to get out of here, Jelena spoke into Erick’s mind.

  He drew on his power, using the staff as a tool to focus his mind in the chaos, to knock more of the original crew members backward. All he wanted to do was convince them to leave him and Jelena alone, but seeing people hurled around, seemingly by wind or raw power, riled up the other ones. They kept firing and shouting, and soon, more men appeared, jumping out of the other ships to help.

  Blazers squealed, blasts striking Jelena’s barrier. Old-fashioned guns fired bullets too. People who didn’t have weapons threw rocks.

  Jelena should have been able to keep the barrier up against the onslaught for some time—her face was a mask of concentration as she, too, gripped her staff—but Erick realized that nothing good would come from attacking these people. Even if they won, they would lose something.

  You’re right, he told Jelena. Time to run. This way.

  Erick backed away from the center of the lot, careful to stay within the influence of her barrier. He tried to pick out leaders and put thoughts into their minds, suggesting that nothing good would come from attacking Starseers, but their blood was too hot, and he had no luck in manipulating them. Instead, the mix of raw hatred and fear that emanated from them made him falter. Erick had known Starseers were feared and mistrusted throughout the system, but he hadn’t quite realized how much. That was what he got for studying underneath one man, far from the rest of the Starseer community and the usual schools created for promising children.

  He and Jelena raced back to the steps leading up to the docking platform. Since Erick didn’t want to take this trouble back to the Star Nomad, even if Leonidas might relish putting on his combat armor and dealing with it, he sprinted under the docks instead of up the stairs. Jelena ran at his side, not questioning his choice. She kept her barrier around them, and a few more shots bounced off it to the rear.

  Erick led the way around pilings supporting the docks, avoiding the holes where sunlight slashed down from above, and he angled toward the bottoms of ships visible on the far side. Footsteps, voices, and the rumble of wheeled vehicles came down from above, the people up there oblivious to the weapons fire underneath the docks. Not that they would care if they knew about it.

  Jelena and Erick ran out between two ships, skidding around the corner of one, and Erick raised a hand as he slowed to a stop. He reached back with his senses to check for pursuit. But whatever righteous indignation those people had felt at the appearance of Starseers apparently hadn’t been enough to convince them to run into dark places after them.

  “They stopped chasing us,” he said, leaning against the hull to catch his breath. “But I’m guessing we won’t be welcome back there to shop for other ships.”

  “Other? We didn’t even shop for one.” Jelena propped her fist on her hip.

  “It’s not my fault.” He started to tell her why he had attacked, but if she hadn’t already figured it out, he didn’t want her to. She didn’t need to know about the ugly thoughts of lecherous freighter captains. “I mean, I know I attacked first, but, uhm, there were reasons.”

  “I know. He was beyond nadir. I’m glad you kicked his asteroid into the sun.” Jelena lowered her arm. “I’m just frustrated with the whole situation.”

  “It’ll be better to wait until you’re in a more reputable space port to shop for a ship.”

  “Wait.” Jelena’s nose wrinkled as if this were akin to being tortured and sold into slavery.

  “You’ll survive. Look, why don’t we get out of the area and find an Asteroid Icy? If we go back to the ship so soon, we’ll get stuck helping your parents unload their cargo.”

  “An Asteroid Icy? Erick, I’m not ten. You can’t make me forget my disappointment by giving me sweets.”

  “Actually, I was craving one.” Erick wiped sweat from his brow. “Flinging people around is hot work.” Not to mention that they were out of the shade now, with the intense suns beating down on them.

  She snorted. “All right. Thanks for coming with me. You’ll look at ships with me again at our next stop, right?”

  “Uhm.” Erick thought of the employment offer. If he didn’t accept it soon, his friend’s company would have to give the job to someone else. “I can—”

  The roar of an engine sounded overhead, the noise rapidly rising to deafening status. Jelena grimaced and covered her ears. Erick stepped away from the ship and peered into the red sky.

  A big, boxy freighter with thrusters at each corner was heading straight for the docks. It wobbled on its course, black smoke pouring from one of the rear thrusters. Make that both of them.

  Erick glanced back toward the dark area under the docks. Should they hide? That ship looked like it would crash down right in the middle of everything.

  Screams came from the top of the docks as people ran into ships or toward the city.

  But the pilot got the freighter’s bulbous nose up slightly. The smoking craft cruised over the docks, almost taking a tower off one of the private yachts berthed at the far side. It sailed out over the used-ship lot and toward the desert beyond the city.

  “Look!” Jelena pointed in the direction it had come from.

  Three old imperial bombers were givin
g chase, the four-seat canopied craft loaded with weapons. They probably belonged to private owners now, maybe pirates or mafia, but the way they were flying in such a perfect formation made Erick uneasy. He had only been thirteen when the empire fell, but he still remembered the squadrons of fighters that had flown over the skies of his home world, of the way the humorless, stone-faced soldiers had patrolled the streets of town, and how they had once visited his family’s electrical fittings manufacturing plant, coming out in person to collect the draconian taxes his father hadn’t been able to pay that year. Dad had been dragged away to spend two years in a mining prison.

  These ships weren’t firing, not with the city sprawling right underneath them, but there was no question that they were after the freighter. They might have already done enough damage to crash it. It wobbled out of sight over the dunes, leaving a trail of black smoke behind it.

  “That freighter needs help,” Jelena said, her gaze locked to the sky. She frowned as the imperial bombers soared past.

  “I don’t think we’re going to want to buy that one,” Erick said.

  One of the bombers did a barrel roll, some kind of smug victory maneuver. Erick had the urge to reach out with his mind and fling the pilot against a bulkhead.

  Jelena ran and jumped onto the docks, then climbed an exterior ladder on the ship they’d been hiding behind.

  What are you doing? Erick followed behind closely enough to keep her in sight.

  Seeing where the freighter crashes.

  Why? he asked warily. He felt bad for the pilot, but he didn’t want to go on a trek in the desert or face the crews of three bombers. Whatever that was about, it wasn’t their battle. They had battles enough of their own.

  To help them.

  Them who? Erick hadn’t used his senses to investigate the crew of the freighter, and it was too far away now. He was fairly certain it had already crashed in the dunes out there.

  The owner. And his dog.

  There was a dog on board? Erick groaned, knowing where this was going.

  Yes, and we can’t let the imperials get him. They might shoot him. Only slightly belatedly, Jelena added, And the freighter captain.