As much as Seb wanted to take the lead on splitting them up, he couldn’t do it. Too much emotion riding on it. Another glance at SA, he then looked at Sparks, who seemed to read his silent request.
“Okay,” Sparks said. “Reyes will be brand new in the next few minutes, so she can fly one of the ships. I’ll fly the other.” The smaller of the two cerise beings handed Sparks her computer back, and she looked at it for a second before continuing. “One of the destinations is a mountainous planet,”—a swipe of her fingers on the screen—“and the other one is under water. I’m guessing with your fists, Seb, you want to go to the mountainous one?”
It went against every instinct he had, but Seb still shook his head and said, “No.”
Even SA gasped at his response.
“I have an idea,” Seb said. “Send Reyes, Bruke, and SA to the mountains. Sparks, I want you to come with me.”
Bruke this time: “Are you sure?”
“Certain.” The medi-port now at eighty percent, Seb turned to SA. I want to honour your wishes. I think if we’re apart, it will make it easier.
Other than a narrowing of her bright eyes, she didn’t respond to him.
“Sparks,” Seb said, “can you send the information to Reyes’ ship so she knows where to go?”
A look from Seb to SA, Sparks clearly sensed the tension and nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Good, we’ll communicate through SA to save speaking on the airwaves. Is that okay with you, SA?”
SA nodded.
“Good. Speak to you soon.”
When Seb got to the door of the shipping container, he turned to see Sparks still by Reyes’ medi-port. She had her hand on the glass and stared in at her for a second.
The door handle clicked when Seb opened it, which seemed to break Sparks’ focus. With a shake of her head, she turned to face him. “Thank you,” she then said to the two creatures. “It was close, but she’s going to be okay.” She touched SA’s arm and patted Bruke’s shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything. Good luck.”
Seb didn’t wait to see what their reactions would be. Instead, he stepped out of the container back into the square. It looked to be getting busier again now the infected Reyes had been removed.
Chapter 20
“So, do you want to talk about it?” Sparks said as they walked through the square.
Seb kept his focus in front of him, swerving through the bodies travelling in every direction. The place had grown busier again already. Maybe hindsight had showed Bruke’s hoax for what it was. The hysteria had certainly gone. He could feel Sparks still staring at him. “Talk about what?”
“You and SA.”
A deep frown clouded Seb’s view, but he still didn’t look at his small friend. “What’s there to talk about?”
“Uh … I dunno, like what’s going on with you two, maybe?”
It took a great effort to get the words out. “She said she couldn’t be close to me.”
“Why not?”
No matter how many times Seb swallowed, he couldn’t force the sadness down. He turned to his small friend and blinked against the sting in his eyes. “Can we not talk about it, please? It’s too distracting when we’ve got so much shit ahead of us.”
Although Sparks didn’t answer immediately, she finally said, “Sure. So what are we going to do now? You said you have an idea.”
“Can you get me through to Moses?”
“Sure,” Sparks said again, pulled her computer from her pocket, and passed it to Seb. “If you want to be certain it’s encrypted, press the envelope and type him a message. Radio waves are far too easy to intercept.”
Seb pressed the envelope icon and moved to the side of the square, where he stopped. As he typed, he kept Sparks’ computer high enough so she couldn’t see the message. No need to talk about it yet, especially with so many listening ears around them. They had to assume Enigma heard everything. Sparks would find out soon enough.
A clear sign of her frustration at watching Seb type slowly, Sparks said, “You want me to do it?”
Seb shook his head and continued typing with the index finger on his right hand.
Although he felt the eyes of the passing creatures on him, Seb didn’t look up. News might only have lasted a few days on Aloo on account of the high turnover of beings, but it travelled fast and stuck for those few days. Most creatures probably understood that he operated with Moses’ backing now.
When Seb had finished, he handed Sparks her computer back.
The device in her hand, Sparks continued to look at Seb, a frustrated scowl pushing down on her purple glare. “What? That’s it?”
“Sorry,” Seb said. “Thank you for lending me your computer.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him.
Before she could say anything else, Seb said, “Now let’s go.”
As Seb walked off, he heard Sparks first sigh at him, tut, and then run a couple of paces to catch up.
Seb led the way through the narrow pass where the creatures had bottlenecked while escaping Bruke’s fictional virus. It led them out into the spaceport. As busy as the square, most of the beings in the dense crowd looked at him as if trying to understand what he’d done to get special privileges in the lawless port.
“So?” Sparks said as she walked beside him. “Where are we going?”
A ship in front of them had three mandulus at the cargo bay doors. As good as any other one, Seb walked straight for it, knocking shoulders with some of the creatures he passed.
After a few paces, their trajectory must have become clear to the mandulus, who grabbed their blasters with both hands. But they didn’t raise them. They’d clearly heard about Seb and his team.
Sparks said, “What are we doing, Seb?”
“Just trust me, yeah?”
“I’m finding that hard with you being so secretive. And with them clearly wanting an excuse to shoot us.”
Seb didn’t try to reassure her. Instead, he stepped out of the busy walkway and approached the three armed brutes. It looked like it took all of their strength to keep their weapons lowered. He laughed at their clear struggle, produced the black card Owsk had given him, and said, “Take me to your leader.”
Chapter 21
“When are you going to tell me what’s going on, Seb?” Sparks said as she walked beside him along the busy spaceport’s main street.
“Soon.”
“You’ve been saying that for the past hour and a half now. I even let you leave me behind while you boarded a strange ship to talk to their captain.”
“We’re nearly there.”
Seb watched Sparks peer through the narrow walkway leading to the square as they passed it again. She shook her head. “We’ve walked past this place six times now.”
Although strange, it felt good to be able to stroll around Aloo without having to worry about trouble. Looking down at his small friend, he nodded at her computer. “How long have we been walking for?”
The screen lit up at Sparks’ touch. “An hour and forty-five minutes.”
“That’ll do.” A sharp left turn, Seb led Sparks towards a large ship.
Even the cargo bay guards left him alone. Hard not to smile at them when Seb saw all seven tense at his approach. A wink as he passed them, their frowns deepened in unison.
An open expanse of concrete on the other side of the ship led all the way to the choppy sea. Just looking at the churning mess raised Seb’s heart rate, but he drew a breath to pull it down. They were going to an underwater planet. If they wanted to get to Buster, they couldn’t avoid it. Besides, whether he sank like a rock or not, when they went in search of their target, they’d probably be too far underwater for it to make any difference. Even if he could swim to freedom if they crashed, he wouldn’t be able to make it to the surface before his lungs burst, metal fists or not.
But Seb hadn’t come here to get comfortable staring at the choppy sea. He’d only noticed it for a short moment before his attention fell on him,
waiting there, as he said he would be.
The being stood with his back to them. When Sparks tensed next to Seb at the sight of the creature, he put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine. He’s supposed to be here.”
“He doesn’t look very friendly.”
“Trust me, Sparks, this will all work out.” Seb’s words did little for her taut frame.
It took for Seb to clear his throat before the wide rock troll turned to face him. Seeing the craggy scowl on his granite face, Sparks tensed up again.
“I said it’s fine,” Seb said from the side of his mouth, then to the rock troll, “Owsk! How goes it?”
But the creature didn’t reply, his entire rocky frame emanating hostility.
“Another one of the many friends you’ve made in the galaxy?” Sparks asked.
“Something like that.” Just a few metres between them, Seb tried again, “How’s tricks? Are you busy?”
“I’ve not come here for small talk. But since you ask, yes, I am busy. Very. I had to stop a delivery for this. It’d best be important.”
Seb couldn’t help but smile at the cantankerous beast. “I’ve missed you, man.”
“I’ve about run out of patience with you, Seb. Also, don’t call me man. If you don’t start saying something useful soon, I’m out of here. What do you want?”
Owsk then looked down at Sparks, who put her hand on her blaster.
“It’s fine, Sparks,” Seb said. “No one’s going to lose their head here.”
She might only have been small, but Sparks posed enough of a threat when she stepped forward and spoke at Owsk through clenched teeth. “Looks to me like someone’s already lost it.”
The wind battered Seb as he shrugged away Sparks’ comment. No point in trying to mediate between them. “You’ve heard about what happened to Buster?”
It hadn’t looked possible until that moment, but Owsk’s scowl deepened. “What is it about you? It seems to me that every time a being gets involved with you, they end up worse off.”
“Tell me about it,” Sparks said, lowering her gun.
Seb nudged her and she stumbled to the side.
The comment seemed to break through Owsk’s aggression too. He shrugged. “Of course I’ve heard about Buster. I have no idea what’s happened to him, but I swear, if he ends up hurt because of you, I’ll make you pay.”
At that moment, something moved in Seb’s peripheral vision. An open expanse of concrete and water, he’d assumed the place to be clear. But when three submarines burst from the sea, the tops of them breaking through the surface at the same time with a loud splash, he snapped tense.
Sparks raised her blaster again.
As Seb looked at the small subs, he said, “What’s all this about?”
“I don’t trust you. I don’t know what your game is.”
“No game. I just wanted to—” But before he could finish, the sound of a ship heading their way rode the wind. All of them looked in the direction of the noise. It started as a dot on the horizon and took just seconds before it loomed over them.
The beings in the subs all stared up at the ship above them. Owsk looked from it to Seb. “It appears I’m not the only one with backup.”
“You started it!”
Three clicks sounded. When Seb looked at the subs, he saw their glass roofs pull back and the creatures inside aim their weapons up at Moses’ ship. For what good it would do.
Seb stepped closer to Owsk, and the creatures in the subs turned their blasters on him. He moved himself so he blocked Sparks’ sight of the rock troll. It would stop her from pulling the trigger first.
His hands raised so they could see he didn’t have a weapon, Seb said, “Look, I get that you’re pissed off with me. But we think we know where Buster is, and we need your help rescuing him. You said you’d do what was needed for the prophecy.”
“That was before Buster went missing. Before I got a proper understanding of what working with you really means.”
“Well, do it for your friend, then. This is our best chance of saving him.”
“Why do you need me?”
At that moment, Seb looked at the Shadow Order’s ship. It hovered above the submarines, the jets that held it in place kicking up a spray of saline mist. The taste of salt stronger than ever, Seb nodded at the pilot.
The ship’s engines roared as it moved back a few metres. A loud thunk signalled the opening of hatch doors on the bottom of it. The creatures in Owsk’s subs refocused their aim on the large vehicle.
A small vessel then fell from the ship. It crashed into the water with a splash.
For a second, the sub vanished completely beneath the surface, but when the Piscents bobbed back up again, Seb saw Owsk smile, his eyes wide with surprise. “You got it back?”
“Moses got it back. The tracker allowed him to retrieve and restore it.”
What had been bare hostility now melted away. “Oh my. I can’t thank you enough, Seb.”
Sparks finally lowered her blaster.
“The thing is,” Seb said, “where we’re going is underwater. I was always planning on getting the Piscents back to you, but my main priority was to help Buster first. It looks like both causes have aligned.”
“So you need me to take you to that planet?” The joy remained on Owsk’s face, although slightly muted now he knew Seb wanted something.
“We can get to the planet on our own, and if we need to, we can go underwater without you, but I figured you’d want the opportunity to help. Also, you’re my first choice for piloting the submarine to get us down there. There’s no being I’d trust with the job more.”
As he looked at his crew, Owsk shook his head. “I can’t leave them again. They all ran out of credits the last time I was in prison. My business nearly went under.”
“What cargo do you have at the moment?”
“Exotic fruit again. Why?”
“Sparks,” Seb said, “can you get Moses on the line for me?”
After a couple of taps on the screen, Sparks handed Seb her device. “It’s not encrypted, remember that.”
The gruff voice of Moses answered a second later. “What do you need, Seb?”
Seb looked at Owsk as he said, “I have the captain of a ship that needs to sell their haul of exotic fruit.”
“Fine, I’ll send someone over to pay for it.”
Owsk gasped.
“Also,” Seb said, winking at Owsk, “they need to know they can pass through Aloo any time they want, tariff free.”
The deep-voiced Moses said, “But I never do that.”
“Which is why you can afford to make an exception.”
“I’m not a charity, Seb.”
“No, you’re someone who runs a business. And as one business owner to another, Owsk understands now is the time to ask for such a deal.”
A few seconds of silence, Moses then said, “Fine.”
Owsk’s grin stretched almost as wide as the one he’d had when he saw the Piscents.
After winking at the troll, Seb said to Moses, “Thank you.”
Moses didn’t reply, the line going dead from where he cut it off.
Genuine excitement lit up the granite creature in front of Seb. “My goodness, how did you manage to get him to do that?”
“It’s a long story, which I’ll fill you in on. More importantly, will you come with us?”
Already nodding before he’d said anything, Owsk finally said, “Yes! Of course. Just let me tell the others what’s happening.”
As Owsk walked over to his crew in the three submarines, Seb turned to Sparks. “That went better than I expected. Sorry I didn’t tell you much about it; I wasn’t sure how it would pan out.”
Sparks shrugged. “It’s okay. At least we’re ready to go now, eh? I wonder how the others are doing.”
“Me too,” Seb said. A flutter of anxiety ran through his stomach to speak to her, but he couldn’t let it get in the way of the mission. Besides, he should have checke
d in on Reyes much sooner than he had. SA, it’s Seb. How are you getting on?
Chapter 22
Reyes’ eyes hurt from how hard she had to squint in an attempt to see. Even then, the snow came down so heavily she couldn’t tell where the sky ended and the white-tipped mountains began. Had she not witnessed the deteriorating view as they closed in on the place, she would have assumed the ship’s windscreen had been covered in a white sheet. With SA on one side of her and Bruke on the other, none of them spoke, clearly recognising her need to focus.
It had taken a while for the other Shadow Order members to accept Reyes. Her first meeting with Seb had hardly been an icebreaker.
I’ve just spoken to Seb, SA said.
Reyes jumped, still not accustomed to the visitor in her mind.
He wanted to know how we’re getting on.
An ironic smirk, Reyes shook her head, frowning even harder than before. What did you tell him?
That we were fine.
Reyes laughed. I’m glad you’re confident.
It took for Bruke to whine next to her to realise he’d been brought into the conversation too. He then leaned closer to the windscreen. “Where are you going to land?”
Sparks had made sure Moses fitted Reyes’ ship with a small computer similar to the one she used. It currently sat on the dashboard, a pulsing red dot showing their destination. “We’re getting closer to where we need to be. I’m not quite sure where the best place is to touch down, but I think we should do it soon. Best not get too close; otherwise they might twig that we’re coming.”
When Bruke didn’t reply, she added, “One good thing about this weather is it hides our approach. Hopefully it messes with their scanners t—whoa!”
The large black outcropping of rock appeared as if from nowhere. Reyes yanked the ship hard to the right to avoid it. Bruke flew across the cockpit in the opposite direction.
Although the thickset lizard creature now lay sprawled on the floor, SA maintained her stance as if nothing had happened. She hadn’t even clung onto anything.
Her heart galloping, her palms sweating, Reyes looked back at Bruke for a second before returning her attention to where they were heading. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m going to land us now. I think we’ll be safer going the rest of the way by foot.”
The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera Page 105
