by Project Kyle
Crimson was not impressed with Drake’s get-to-the-point attitude. His face went completely emotionless, and it was clear that he was very much bored with his new ally, which was often the kiss of death for anyone cursed enough to know the twisted doctor. Nevertheless, Crimson still had use for Drake; he knew he had to keep it together if he wanted his prize back again.
“Yes,” he acknowledged. “The girl named Sophia Nelson. She is…important to me, and to my research. Bring her to me alive. If you kill her, I swear I will hunt you down! But if you bring her back alive, I will make you and your little band of bounty hunters the richest men in the galaxy; this I promise you.”
“Where will we find her?” Drake asked. “Any leads on where she could be?”
Dr. Crimson slowly leaned back in his chair and smiled. He closed his eyes and spoke with a voice even softer and more bone chilling than before.
“Have you ever heard of the legend known as…Nerd?” Crimson asked.
“That little bloke who teamed up with the most wanted man in the galaxy to overthrow your operation? Yeah, I’ve heard of him. Don’t know why he picked such a weak name…but I must admit, his intelligence is indeed legendary.”
“He is the one that took her from me, and knowing Sophia, she has nowhere else to go. She will stay with him for a while, given her current circumstances. As for finding Nerd, he has a weak heart that cares deeply for others. Use his compassion to lure him in.”
Drake gave a rare smile and nodded his head.
“It would be my honor to hunt down such a worthy opponent. I…take it you have nothing special in mind for him?”
“No, he’s been a fun little rival for me, but I know his type. I will get bored with him soon. You may do with him as you wish; all I want is Sophia. Honestly, a day doesn’t go by when I don’t think about her. I long to gaze upon the sight of life slowly fading from her helpless eyes and to witness her pain-stricken cry burn within the rhythm of her last breath. Nerd took that away from me, and I need that feeling back. I need her to be released from this life! It’s the only way I can redeem myself for what happened.”
Drake slowly started walking backward. He was beginning to have second thoughts about bringing this poor girl to such a horrid and monstrous human being. Assuming he even qualified to be called a human anymore. But Drake’s crew had not been paid in well over a year, and he needed to reward them for their patience and loyalty. Loyalty was profitable to Drake, so it was a principle he was willing to pay for.
“I will bring her back in one piece,” Drake said. “Don’t worry about that. Just make sure you pay us what you promised when we hold up our end of the deal. I respect you, but I will not hesitate to make you my next prisoner if you try to stab us in the back.”
“Amusing, but pointless considering I have no plans to betray you. Bring me the girl, and I will see to it that you get paid. You have my word.”
Crimson was about to dismiss the three men when suddenly the sound of what seemed to be an animal moving through the station’s air vents could be heard. Dr. Crimson opened his desk drawer, swiftly pulled out a laser gun, and aimed it at the vent where the sound was coming from.
The mad doctor broke out in a sweat, his eyes became focused, and the hand that was holding the gun trembled violently. Drake was confused, as it was reported that Dr. Crimson was incapable of experiencing fear. But somehow, someway, the dreaded psychopath was clearly disturbed by this apparently trivial issue.
“You all right, mate?” Drake asked.
“Its…him,” Dr. Crimson replied in a very intense voice.
“Him? What do you mean, him?”
Dr. Crimson slowly lowered his gun. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and regained his composure.
“It’s nothing, just a little job for pest control to take care of. You may leave. I have said all I need to say to you.”
The three men saw no reason to argue. They left the room and returned to the elevator. As soon as the door closed, Manic instantly voiced his concern.
“This doesn’t feel right, boss,” he whispered into Drake’s ear, hoping that the staff wouldn’t overhear him. “This man clearly has no honor. What makes you think that he will follow through with his end of the deal?”
“Not now, Manic,” Drake whispered back. “I have it all figured out. I just need you to trust me. If Crimson attempts to stab us in the back, I swear it will be him who lives in fear of me. Even a psychopath will have nightmares of the great Drake Robinson; this I swear…”
Chapter 7 Deceived
“David. Why are you so sad?”
“…I’m just having a bad day. That’s all.”
“Are you sure? I have seen you have bad days before…this is different.”
“…Yes…yes, it is…”
“David. I know I’m only nine years old. Maybe I can’t handle your adult problems. But…I want you to know, I’m always here for you. Always!”
“…I have been such a jerk to you. Why, Amelia, why are you being so…nice to me?”
“Because I don’t think you’re a grumpy old man. I think you’re a nice man who is scared to be nice because someone hurt him. Not because you want to be mean. I know you will learn to be nice, David. I have always known. Because under the grumpiness, you have a soft, loving heart that will always move you to do the right thing.”
“…That’s deep for a nine-year-old.”
“I have my gifts.”
“Gifts… Oh, that reminds me! Here, I want you to have this. It’s a music box that I found in the abandoned labs.”
“Aww! Thank you, David. See, you’re not such a bad guy after all. Here, let me wind it up.”
“…On second thought, why don’t I give you something else?”
“No! I love this. Thank you so much.”
“But the melody… It’s so creepy. I should’ve thought to test it out before I gave it to you.”
“It’s not creepy, it’s just a little different. Kind of like you.”
“Are you sure you want it?”
“I see light where many are scared to look, and given time, David, I know you will learn to do the same. You just need time.”
“…Amelia…”
#
David Bell was awoken by the sound of the ship’s alarm system and the stench of burnt pancakes. He opened his dusty eyes, looked at the time, and groaned in irritation. The space time was 480, which was equivalent to 8:00 AM, at least three hours before he was used to waking up.
He turned his head to face the commotion and noticed Sophia franticly trying to control the mess she had created by the stove. He realized that it was a mistake to place his bed on the main deck, considering the kitchen was located on the same level. But alas, David had never planned for anyone to join him on his spacecraft. As it was, there were no other rooms designed for individuals. The only one that was even close was the small fourth level that he gave to Sophia, which had previously been used as David’s personal man cave.
David was not used to waking up early unless he had to, but Sophia was on a different sleep schedule than him. It was going to take some time to get used to…unless of course he moved his room onto the bridge, in which case he could shut the door and lock Sophia out anytime he wanted. He chuckled at the thought but kept it as nothing more than a thought, as David was genuinely grateful to have her around.
He got out of bed and put a ball cap over his hair, which looked like it had just been struck by lightning. He pulled on a flannel coat and walked over to Sophia, who had managed to set the stove on fire. He grabbed an extinguisher and put out the flames.
“Well then!” he said to her. “At least I was not the only one who destroyed everything the first time I tried to cook.”
“I have to learn!” Sophia replied. “I like bacon and eggs…just not every morning.”
David laughed at Sophia’s response. He knew he was very limited in his cooking. But up until this point, he had no reason to try anything new. Dav
id was used to routine, and up until now, he saw no reason to change. He walked over to the table located in the center of the room and sat down, coffee in his hand. It was the one thing Sophia had managed to perfect.
“I have been working on recruiting some new people,” David said. “But it’s difficult given that my true identity is a wanted criminal…so I’ve actually been looking at the escaped convict list. Turns out there are a few I think we could go after!”
Sophia at first laughed at David’s response, then went silent after she realized that he wasn’t kidding.
“David…” she ventured, “…no. No, no, a thousand times no!”
“These are desperate times, Sophia,” David stated. “We need to think outside the box.”
“David! I am not staying on the same spacecraft as a wanted criminal!”
“I’m a wanted criminal, and you’ve done just fine.”
“You’re different. You didn’t actually commit the crime that you were convicted of. That kind of makes me feel a little less terrified than if we invited someone who did.”
“I’m not gonna take in a murderer or anything. I was thinking more a thief, or a thug, or both!”
“David! I’m not—”
Suddenly their little disagreement was interrupted by an alert. David lost focus on what Sophia was telling him and quickly ran to the bridge. There was a red light flashing by the intercom. He activated it, and a transmission began to play.
“This is a distress call to all nearby ships. Please help us! We were attacked by a Kelson fleet. Most of our crew is dead; the rest of us are injured and need medical assistance.”
Sophia walked onto the bridge with an irritated look on her face. David was too distracted to notice it. However, her punch in the shoulder was a lot harder than usual. That he did notice as he grabbed his shoulder in pain.
Sophia listened to the transmission as it repeated the same words. She was very concerned and knew that they were in trouble.
“What do we do?” Sophia asked.
“We do our job,” David responded. “I’m a doctor; that comes before my responsibility as an agent. We must help these people.”
“Are we able to respond to them, to let them know help is on the way?”
“I can send a long-range message, but it will take time to reach them. As it is, it will take us a few hours to arrive at hyper-speed. Normally, at this distance, I would call in another ship. However, I know the location their ship is at. It is on the very edge of Kelson territory. Not many non-hostile ships in that area would be willing to help them.”
David set the coordinates and activated the hyperdrive. The ship took off and entered hyperspace. Sophia was ready and eager to take on her first mission. She waited, waited, and…her eagerness fled from her.
“In the movies,” she said to David, “they always cut this part and go straight to the next scene. It’s so epic and in the moment. This feels more like a long family vacation car ride.”
“Isn’t it boring!” David said as he opened a bag of cheese puffs as a substitution for his breakfast. “If you have anything you want to do to pass the time, go right ahead! We’ve only been in hyperspace for 30 minutes. We have at least two and a half hours more to go.”
Sophia left the room and David was left to eat his cheese puffs by himself, just like old times. About 40 minutes later, Sophia returned. She had done her makeup and dressed in the attire she had worn when the two had met. Her red hair was braided into a ponytail, which was common for a woman in the V.T.C. Her attire, on the other hand, was very unique, telling him that she was from one of the western tribes of Zecarah. Sophia wore a black tank top, which was complemented by a strip of blue fabric resting on her right shoulder. She had a dark blue battle skirt with leggings underneath, and for reasons unknown to David, she always wore high heels when she was in her favored attire. She was obsessed with them, and she even ran in them when David introduced her to the virtual reality room. She was fast, and very agile, but she never removed her high heels. It was like they were part of her, a part she couldn’t live without.
Sophia was definitely a lovely woman, and David was at times mesmerized by her appearance, but he knew he had to keep his heart in check. Sophia was a beautiful girl, but she needed him to be her friend right now, nothing more. She couldn’t handle anything more, not after all she had just been through.
David was so busy processing Sophia’s wellbeing that he hadn’t noticed she had brought his notepad with her and was lifting it in front of David’s face.
“Smile!” she said as she took a picture. David was quite concerned when she showed him the pic.
“…I’m not usually the one saying this,” he said nervously, “but please don’t post that…”
David’s response gave Sophia an idea. She became drawn in to her notepad and was obviously up to something. David felt his communicator vibrate. He quickly reached into his pocket and noticed he had a friend request on Spacetime. He turned to Sophia with a concerned look. Sophia laughed at David’s expression.
“I promise I didn’t post your picture!” she said while still laughing. “But I figured I would create an account.”
David breathed a sigh of relief. He accepted Sophia’s friend request and then left the room himself to change into his lab coat. He returned with his glasses in his hands, obviously needing them to disguise himself as Nerd. He sat back down in his chair and watched the energy of hyperspace flow by his starship.
“How much longer now?” Sophia asked.
“At least two hours,” David responded. Sophia groaned, clearly bored out of her mind.
“Do you mind if I watch a romantic comedy on your notepad?” she asked.
“Go ahead!” David invited.
Sophia walked up to David, sat on the floor next to him, and made him watch it with her. David’s face became mortified as the images of a low-budget, brainless film flashed before his eyes.
As soon as the movie was done, David breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was the longest two hours he had ever spent in his life. However, it put Sophia in a good mood, and that almost made the agonizing torment and pain worth it.
David looked at his dash monitor and was thrilled to see that they were only a few minutes away.
“We’re almost there,” David said. “Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready!” Sophia responded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
David deactivated the hyperdrive, and the ship reentered normal space. An old cargo ship was visible in front of them. It was huge and had a very boxy look to it. There were two hyperdrive engines on the right and left side of it, and a massive cargo bay door in the front that could easily swallow the Iron Heart whole. The ship was ugly and evidently damaged from battle.
David attempted to hail the ship, but there was no response. So, he then decided to scan the ship, and he breathed a sigh of relief when a few weak life signs were detected. That was the good news; the bad news was that no transporter pads were showing up on his scans, meaning there was no way to beam to the ship. David groaned, obviously frustrated at the news.
“What do we do now?” Sophia asked.
“Something I really don’t want to do,” David grumbled.
He activated the thrusters and navigated the Iron Heart into the ship’s cargo bay. Sophia was not liking this idea at all, but she understood that it was the only way to get inside the massive spacecraft.
David activated the landing procedure and slowly managed to land the Iron Heart inside the cargo bay. A harmless beam of energy hit them as they entered the main door, and Sophia was at first very confused about what had happened.
“We just passed through an air bubble,” David told her as he landed the ship. “It keeps a breathable atmosphere inside so that oxygen doesn’t escape. But it’s a weak force field that allows ships to pass through. That means we will not need environmental suits as we enter.”
David left the bridge and headed to the main bay. H
e gathered all the medical devices he needed and stuffed them in his lab coat pockets. He then grabbed a Rubik’s cube and stuffed it in his pocket as well. Sophia was a little concerned about David’s priorities upon seeing this.
“Is that really necessary?” she asked.
“We may need it,” David explained. “Trust me.” David then slipped on the black laboratory gloves that he always wore outside his ship, put on his big round glasses, and smiled. “Remember! My name is Nerd, supreme human intelligence. You can’t call me David while we’re outside the Iron Heart. If anyone else finds out, I’m finished.” Sophia nodded her head. “Sweet! Then let’s go find us some patients.”
Nerd gave Sophia a thumbs-up and activated the ship’s docking bay door. The door slowly opened, and the gloomy interior of the freighter was revealed. Sophia was a little hesitant to walk out, as the interior of the ship reminded her of the basement where Dr. Crimson had attempted to take her life. Nerd, however, had no negative memory on the matter. He ran out without giving it a second thought before quickly turning to Sophia, signaling her to come out. Sophia took a breath, pushing past her fear and making her way outside. She kept her eyes fixed on Nerd to block out the triggering sight that surrounded her.
Nerd pulled out his communication device and activated the scanner mode. The remaining life signs were all in the same room, making their job a whole lot easier. He turned to Sophia and smiled.
“Follow me!” he said to her.
He then darted ahead, and Sophia did her best to keep up. Despite her training, Nerd was a little faster than her, which took her off guard, given the fact that all he seemed to do to stay in shape was sit in a chair and eat junk food all day. Still, it had been a long time since her speed had been challenged like this, which was feeding the competitive side of her she’d lost after leaving the V.T.C. It felt good, and she was hoping that after this mission, maybe, just maybe, she could become the warrior she used to be long ago.
