Broken & Hunted

by Charissa Dufour

  Strangely, Bit blushed crimson. “I don’t have a bag.”

  “Oh! … Um…” Jack glanced around, suddenly realizing her predicament. “Let me find something for you.”

  Jack dashed back into his cabin and scrounged around in his various drawers, finally tearing the pillowcase off his pillow out of desperation.

  “I know it’s not much,” he said upon reappearing in the central corridor, “but it will get the job done.”

  He tossed it to her before descending the steps on his way to the mess hall.

  “Thanks,” he heard her call in a subdued voice.

  Jack waved back at her and jogged into the mess hall, grabbing a quick breakfast before he was needed on the bridge. By the sound emanating from the engines, they would be beginning docking procedures in the next few minutes. Jack grabbed a plate, piled food onto it, and slid into a seat. He noticed Blaine across the table from him, glaring down at his food.

  “That’s a sour look for so early in the day,” Jack said to the security officer.

  Blaine grunted before taking another bite.

  Technically speaking, Blaine didn’t answer to Jack. He was part of Randal’s security team and not part of Jack’s crew. Any of Jack’s crew would have known better than to respond like that to him. Jack let it slide, but considered taking the matter to Randal.

  Just another example of why a woman on board is trouble, Jack thought to himself as he shoveled more food into mouth.

  “Is that any way to speak to your captain?” Randal asked from the doorway.

  Blaine looked up at his commander, a grimace spreading across his features. He turned to Jack. “Sorry, sir. Just a little upset.”

  Jack nodded. “Just remember, Blaine, some of what she’s dealing with we can’t even see, much less understand.”

  Blaine stared at him. Jack could see the other man consider a polite lie before dismissing it. “Thank you, sir. I’ll try to remember that.”

  Jack nodded again before rising and dumping his cleared plate into the tub with soapy water. “I’ll be on the bridge if you need me.”

  “Right behind you, Cap,” Oden said as he dashed down the steps and charged into the mess hall, actively buttoning up his official crimson pilot’s jacket.

  Jack rolled his eyes. His crew was getting extremely negligent, and he couldn’t decide if it was the prospect of Colony Day or Bit’s presence or both that caused the sudden decline in discipline. Jack made a mental note to come down hard on the entire crew, Bit included, when they began their next run. Speaking of Bit, he needed to assign her a specific job on the ship. Having a defined job would help her find stability in her new life.

  As he expected, she was outside her room, placing her pathetic-looking pillowcase next to the growing pile of luggage near the hatch.

  “Bit, I have a favor to ask you, and I confess it’s not a very pleasant one.”

  “What can I do for you, sir?” she asked, her expression unchanged from when he first saw her upon waking.

  “Well, we need to box up Derek’s personal possessions so that I can take them to his family when we are next on Earth, and we need the XO’s cabin cleaned for whoever I hire on. Would you mind doing that for me? Don’t worry, I won’t normally ask you to clean house… I just…”

  “It’s fine, sir,” she said, cutting him off before he could ramble on too long.

  Jack gave her another smile and patted her on the shoulder. She winced, ducking slightly.

  “Have you let someone look at those bruises?” he demanded, reaching out to do the job himself.

  She took a step back. “They’re fine, sir.”

  Jack pulled his hand back, realizing his mistake. “Okay, but my girlfriend on Mars is a nurse. I want you to let her check you over when we get to the surface. Agreed?”

  She hesitated a moment before nodding.

  “Good. Now, you can get empty boxes from Vance. Oh. On second thought, why don’t you let me do that?”

  “I can do it, sir.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have to,” he said as he spotted Oden jogging up the stairs behind her, the last sausage link of his breakfast still in his hand, another bite of food being chewed.

  “I can do it, sir,” she insisted, drawing his attention back to their conversation.

  Jack felt a smile tug on his lips, which he forced back. Vance’s assistant had attacked her, but even that wouldn’t stop her from doing the job he had asked of her.

  “Okay, but just so you know, Nolan is off this ship for good once we land. He’s lost his job because of what he did to you.”

  Bit swallowed before nodding. “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you again for helping me with this. If you have any questions, I’ll be on the bridge.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jack stopped himself at the last second from patting her on the shoulder again before jogging up the stairs. He entered the bridge feeling guilty for assigning her the tasking of boxing up his own uncle’s belongings, but it had to be done before they all left for the surface.

  “Captain,” said Oden upon his entrance, “I was just going to call for you.”

  “Sorry. Got hung up. Where are we at?”

  “Just beginning docking procedures. Word from Ward Port is they have us at dock fifty-two, around on the far side. I’m adjusting navigation now.”

  Jack nodded, watching his pilot work. Like any freighter captain, Jack could pilot his ship, but he had nothing on Calen and Oden. They were gods compared to his meager attempts, and Oden had especially earned his keep on this journey. If the bank account allowed for it, he would have been writing Oden a large bonus check for the work he had done at the helm. Oden’s maneuvers had saved the main cargo from destruction and most of the crew from death at the hands of pirates. Sadly, two of the security team had died while flying the ship’s small defensive skiffs. As it was, Jack would have to replace the skiffs and put a pretty-penny into the repairs on the Lenore. There was no money to be spent on bonus checks.

  If he wasn’t careful, he was going to lose Oden to the government. He knew for a fact Oden had been approached by at least one government head-hunter as the various militaries scrambled to expand into space along with the merchant marines and the pirates. So far Oden had turned them down, but Jack couldn’t fathom why the talented pilot had chosen to stay on with his motley crew flying an out-of-date cargo freighter.

  Jack let out a quiet sigh and turned his attention back on the displays.

  A sudden wave of static washed over the comm., followed by a gruff voice.

  “This is Ward Port, calling the Lenore Freighter designation 2517. Come in 2517.”

  Oden snatched up the comm. and squeezed the hand-held mouth piece. “This is Lenore Freighter 2517. Go ahead.”

  “Change of plans, Freighter 2517. Change course for dock thirteen.”

  Oden glanced up at Jack, a frown pulling his brows together before he squeezed the comm. and spoke into the receiver. “Understood. Rerouting to dock thirteen.”

  The pilot went to work adjusting his course while Jack examined the display showing the schematics for the enormous port orbiting Mars. It would take them at least half an hour to navigate to dock thirteen. With this change, they would need to race through unloading the cargo to make their flight down to the surface, but they would make it.

  Oden guided the ship around the labyrinth of docks with expert ease and began the careful approach into dock thirteen when the comm. hissed again.

  “This is Ward Port, calling the Lenore Freighter designation 2517. Come in 2517.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Oden grumbled as he reached for the comm. unit. “This is the Lenore Freighter 2517. Go ahead.”

  “Sorry for the inconvenience, but we need you to reroute to dock sixty-nine.”

  Jack cursed under his breath. “What is this all about?” he asked no one in particular before reaching for this comm. unit. “This is Captain Jack Macleef of the Lenore Freighter 2517. Is there
a problem?”

  “No problem, Captain. Just a little issue here in the office. We’ll have you sorted out in no time. If you can just tell your pilot to reroute to dock sixty-nine.”

  “And this will be our last reroute?” asked Jack, his voice coming out in a growl.

  There was a long pause before the comm. clicked again. “Yes, sir. Dock sixty-nine.”

  Jack tossed the comm. back onto the controls of his battered freighter, nearly striking Oden. “Better do what he says.”

  Oden paused to examine the schematics before pointing out the port in question. It was at the far end of the docks, as far away from his buyer’s port as he could get and equally as far away from the port-to-land transportation dock. Jack took a deep breath, trying to will away the stress building in his shoulders and neck.

  What was happening? This was supposed to be a smooth day.

  Oden went to work adjusting the navigation once again, his brow creased with the stress of a third bypass maneuver. Beads of sweat formed around his hairline and began to roll down his neck into the collar of his official Macleef Cargo uniform. Like Jack, the crew only wore their official uniforms when they arrived at port and, occasionally, when they left one.

  Jack turned away. He didn’t want to watch his pilot suffer under the strain of having to do a job three times over thanks to the ineptitude of the dock manager. Jack frowned again, the beginnings of a headache plaguing him. It didn’t make sense. Ward Port was one of the best in the galaxy. He had never seen any port make a ship reroute three times over, much less the very best port.

  The captain brushed his suspicions aside. He refused to be paranoid. They had made it to Mars where security, both private and public, abounded. No pirates or smugglers would dare try to do anything aboard Ward Port. Whatever was causing the re-routes had nothing to do with their previous pirates attacks or the embryos safely locked in cold-storage. He was sure of it.

  “What’s the word, Jack? Why haven’t we docked?” Calen asked as he stumbled onto the bridge.

  His hair was wet from a shower and he was still tucking in the shirt of his own uniform, his jacket slung over his arm. Dark circles lined his eyes from having stayed up all night manning the pilot’s seat. Landing day was always hard on the pilot with the night shift, but Calen would live.

  “While on board you will address me as Captain,” Jack said, letting his frustration get the best of him.

  Calen skidded to a stop, eyeing his brother and Oden. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught Oden giving Calen a minute nod.

  “Of course, Captain. Sorry.”

  Jack jerked his head down. He hadn’t needed to be so rough, but the truth was his crew was growing too careless around him. Who better to start with than his own brother? If Calen started showing him the proper respect and towing the line the others would follow his example.

  “The docks have been having some confusion as to where we will be docking. Oden is rerouting us, hopefully for the last time. Once we dock, we will need everyone on hand to unload the cargo as quickly as possible. As it is, I doubt we will make it to our transport in time.”

  “Damn,” cursed Calen, his eyes still on the duroglass and the labyrinth of docks jutting out from the central hub of the port spread out before them.

  “Please go warn the others and make sure they are ready to work the moment we are attached.”

  “Yes, sir,” Calen replied, sounding as though he were in the military.

  Jack cringed as he watched his brother march away. He didn’t want to ruin the camaraderie of his crew. He would have to find the right balance, he just didn’t know where that balance lay. Jack moved to the walkway outside the bridge and listened to the scurry of men as they obeyed Calen. At least Calen was spreading the “fear of God” throughout the crew.

  “Captain?” came Oden’s voice from within the bridge a moment later.

  Jack scurried back onto the bridge. The ship was making its final approach on the dock space and Oden was earning his keep as he eased the antiquated machine into the narrow space. Dock sixty-nine was barely big enough for the freighter. It would be a challenge unloading the cargo in the tiny space around the enormous freighter.

  Oden switched on the primary thrusters before easing off the main engines. Jack adjusted his footing as the ship’s speed decreased dramatically. The ship let out a ghastly groan as its speed dropped. Using the thrusters, Oden sidled the ship up against the dock, just under the enormous crane that would be used to unload the large cargo crates. As the ship leveled off, the docking arms snaked out and attached themselves to the ship, moving with the soft purr of modern technology.

  Jack felt himself grind his teeth as he listened to the various groans and clicks of his ship adjusting to being stationary. The ancient freighter had been the pride of space back when his grandfather had commissioned it from an earth ship builder, some seventy-odd years ago. But in the ensuing years, newer, faster, and better technologies had outstripped the old Lenore until she was barely serviceable. When Dirk finally decided to retire, he doubted he would be able to get another Chief Engineer to work on her. No one wanted to work on antiques.

  The truth was, she was so slow their small family business was having trouble competing with the faster freighters who could transport goods from the various locations around the galaxy in half the time it took them. The result was Jack was having to cut their prices to compete.

  Jack glanced down at his pilot, suddenly aware that he had an audience. He hadn’t told anyone that the company was struggling, and he wasn’t about to start now.

  “Good flying, Oden,” he said, trying to look relaxed and calm. “Let’s get this stuff unloaded so we can start our holiday.”

  Oden gave him a smile and turned back to the console to start the lengthy shut-down procedures.

  “I’ll be overseeing the unload. Call down if you need me,” Jack said before leaving the bridge.

  He hated leaving the pilot alone, but since he didn’t have an XO, he had no choice. Jack felt another strain of stress wind its way up his back as he considered his dead second cousin, currently being stored in the ship’s freezers. He needed a new XO but, like everything else, that would cost money.

  “Captain,” Vance called from the main hatch where he was depositing his luggage, a pad tucked under his arm.

  “What’s up?” Jack asked the head steward, his eyes drifting to where Nolan stood by the hatch, his own gear in hand.

  Jack had no doubt the under steward was ready to get off the ship the moment the dock crew finished attaching the portal and sealing the airlock. Having been fired for his attack on Bit, he wasn’t exactly welcome on board. Jack was equally ready to see him go. Vance glanced at the unwanted man before turning toward the stairs and guiding his captain away from the other man.

  “Before we take off again after the holiday, I need to restock a few things, and I wanted to ask you about Nolan’s replacement,” Vance said as he tapped a few buttons on the pad, pulling up a long shopping list.

  Jack scratched the back of his head, more stress settling in on his shoulders. The two men pressed themselves against the wall as two crew members raced down the steps and passed them at light speed. Jack grumbled to himself.

  It’s times like these that accidents happened, he thought, trying to turn his mind to what Vance was saying.

  “Buy what you need, but try to keep it cheap,” he replied. “As to a replacement, you think you could do without for a trip or two? Maybe Bit could help you out some. After all, unless something changes, we’re down four crew members.”

  “You’re not planning on replacing any of them?”

  Jack glanced away as he shrugged.

  “I see,” Vance replied, his wise eyes boring into Jack.

  “Keep this to yourself.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’re a good man, Vance,” Jack said as he clapped Vance on the shoulder and returned to the airlock.

  Jack found Bit emer
ging from the XO’s quarters, two boxes in her arms, nearly blocking her line of sight. Nolan still stood by the hatch, eyeing her with disdain. Blaine was just appearing from the crew’s quarters and came to her aid, taking the top box and setting it aside.

  “This everything?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, sir. Everything is cleared out, and I cleaned the room. I was just going to take the cleaning supplies down to Vance.”

  “Thank you, Bit.”

  “What can I do to help after?”

  “Mind helping Vance down in the galley? Until you’re properly trained, I don’t want you trying to help unload cargo. Too dangerous, especially when we’re in a hurry.”

  To his surprise, Bit flinched, much like she had on her first day aboard the Lenore.

  “Yes, sir,” she said in a soft whisper before ducking back into the cabin.

  She emerged with the bucket of cleaning supplies and scurried down to the lower level where the galley and Vance waited.

  “What’s up with her?” Jack asked, eyeing the empty staircase.

  “You think Mars has her freaked out?” Blaine suggested.

  “Maybe. I’ll see what Oden thinks when he’s done shutting the ship down.”

  “Why him?”

  “Whether you like it or not, Blaine, Oden gets her in a way you and I don’t. You’d be wise to listen to him.”

  The glare on Blaine’s face would have set a soldier’s knees shaking. Jack smiled at his security officer before turning to the other men appearing.

  In short order, Jack had his crew working to shift the enormous crates along the dock to where his buyer’s transport waited to load the crates down to the surface. It was a long, tedious job, especially with the small security team hovering as guards. Jack didn’t want to have them just loitering, but their presence did more than just scare away potential threats. They showed his competition that he was in the big games, even if he wasn’t.

  Jack pushed his worries to the back of his mind and focused on the task at hand. His finances would just have to wait.

  Chapter Three

  Bit looked down at her fist holding the pillowcase closed, all her worldly possessions confined in the soft fabric of the case. Guilt washed over her as she resented the captain for loaning her his pillowcase. She had no right to envy the crew their matching duffel bags embroidered with their rank. After all, she wasn’t actually part of the crew. She didn’t have an official job title or a place in the pecking order, other than at the very bottom. When there was an important job to be done, the captain just wanted her out of the way.