Honor's Reserve (Galaxy Mavericks Book 1)

by Michael La Ronn

  Hmm.

  The Arguses were refueling. The fuel door on the side of the ship was still open, and the gauge flashed orange.

  He snuck onto the ship, and some of the passengers struggled. The ship stunk like rotten ham.

  “Help us,” someone whispered.

  “I’m doing what I can,” Grayson said. “Where are y’all from?”

  “All over,” a woman whispered.

  “Let’s see if we can’t figure out a way to get you folks home,” he said. “I’ll be back. And stay quiet, will you?”

  His suit beeped at him.

  Oxygen levels at thirty percent.

  “As if this couldn’t get any worse.”

  He saw two pig-shaped spacesuits hanging on the wall.

  Full oxygen levels.

  He connected his suit to one of them and siphoned off the oxygen until his levels reached one hundred. Then he took the suits, ripped the sleeves and threw the helmets on the ground, cracking them.

  He followed a dark corridor to the cockpit. An instrument panel lay in the darkness, its lights pulsing blood red.

  He didn’t understand the controls.

  He cursed.

  But the ship had to have a radio. Arguses normally used radios to hail ships just before destroying them.

  He found one, but it had multiple buttons and he wasn’t sure how to work it.

  He pressed a few buttons.

  Nothing.

  No luck.

  “If I’m stuck on this planet, they’re going to be, too.”

  He exited the ship and looked at the fuel gauge, then picked up the gas canisters and carried them outside. He hopped down onto the soil and hid them under the platform. He was about to hop back up when he heard footsteps on the platform.

  Gen.

  And an Argus.

  They were no longer arguing. The Argus had its guns lowered, and Gen had a saddened look on his face.

  Behind, the other Argus followed with Rina in tow.

  She was in ropes.

  “What the hell—” Grayson whispered.

  “You betrayed me!” she screamed.

  Gen waved a hand dismissively.

  The Arguses snorted, apparently satisfied.

  “I helped you!” Rina cried. “All of my sacrifice was for nothing?”

  Gen whipped around. “I gotta save my family, too, you know!”

  “I should have never trusted you,” Rina said. “I should have—”

  The Argus hit her over the head and knocked her onto the platform. She lay there, crying.

  “Bok bok,” one of the Arguses said.

  “All right, all right,” Gen said. “Let’s get this over with and you can have her, as long as you let me out of here.”

  They disappeared outside the dome.

  Grayson climbed onto the walkway and rushed for Rina. The woman’s eyes widened as Grayson grabbed her, pulled her up and jammed his handcoil against her temple.

  “Quiet,” he said.

  “Please,” Rina said.

  Grayson jerked her. “No talking.”

  “Listen—”

  He forced the handcoil harder onto her temple. “I don’t negotiate with slave traders.”

  He jumped, and they both bounded into the air and landed near the ship. Rina whimpered as Grayson pulled her within the confines of the ship’s airlock, out of sight.

  “I’m going to ask you questions, and you’re going to answer,” Grayson said, trying to sound as menacing as he could.

  Rina nodded slowly.

  “What in the hell is going on here?”

  “It’s a drop.”

  “And what is a ‘drop,’ Rina?”

  “W-We made a deal with the Arguses. We told them we’d bring them more people in exchange for our freedom.”

  “Your freedom?” Grayson asked. “You look free enough to me.”

  Rina ran a hand gingerly down her arm, across her burned skin. “I am, but my planet’s not.”

  “Seeing as you’re doing deals with Arguses, why should I feel sorry for you and your planet?”

  “Because your galaxy is next.”

  She went silent. Something about her words disturbed him.

  “What galaxy are you from?” Grayson asked. “You’re not from the Orion after all, are you?”

  Rina shook her head. “The Arguses need slaves. I don’t know why. But they promised they wouldn’t enslave me or my family—until Gen just sold me.”

  “And you trust the Arguses? Gen?”

  “Not anymore.”

  Grayson dragged her into the cockpit and threw her into the pilot seat.

  “Sounds like poetic justice to me.”

  “Please, don’t shoot me.” Rina looked up at him with pleading eyes. “If you knew where I’ve come from, you wouldn’t judge me.”

  “Let’s see,” Grayson said. “You lied to the Galactic Guard. You smuggled. You violated every human right possible. You’re a slave trader. Why wouldn’t I judge you? Why is there not a chair in Hell reserved just for you?”

  He scowled. “And let me guess, you’re not pregnant, either.”

  Rina looked away.

  Grayson pointed to the instrument panel.

  “We don’t have much time, so maybe you can redeem yourself. I need you to operate the radio. We’re going to send a message.”

  “The radio won’t work. The star’s radiation is too strong.”

  Grayson touched her forehead with the handcoil.

  “It’s the truth!” she cried. “Not even we have radio communications. It’s part of the plan. Do you think the Galactic Guard wouldn’t sniff around if we used radios to broadcast our plans?”

  Grayson frowned. She was probably right.

  Rina grabbed his arm. “But we’re on the same side now. Let’s get out of here, and I promise I’ll work with the Guard and tell them whatever they want to know.”

  Grayson pushed her away. “That’s how you go through life, huh? You just flip-flop whichever way the wind blows. And you leave a trail of innocent people along the way.”

  He grabbed her. His heart raced but he had no choice.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as he dragged her off the ship.

  “I’m not letting you off like this, Rina. We’re going to pay your friends a little visit.”

  Chapter 9

  Rina struggled all the way to the dome doors, but Grayson wouldn’t let her go.

  He wouldn’t listen to her begging, either.

  As the sliding doors parted, Grayson stepped through just in time to see the Arguses shoot Gen in the back. Coil bullets ripped through him and he stumbled forward, close enough to touch Grayson.

  The Arguses squealed.

  Then they saw Grayson.

  He used the confusion. Letting go of Rina, drew his handcoil, then fired at both Arguses, hitting them.

  The pigs screamed, and Grayson fired two more shots, toppling them. Then he kicked their guns away and emptied his bullets into them.

  Rina slid to Gen’s side. He mouthed something to her, but blood bloomed in his mouth and he stopped moving. She kicked off one of the Arguses’ helmets and cut herself free on the Argus’s tusks, then screamed and started to run.

  Grayson caught her. “Stop.”

  “Let me go!”

  She kicked him, knocking him into the sliding door.

  He bounded after her, but she grabbed one of the AK coils and pointed it at him.

  Grayson landed, almost falling over. He held up his hands.

  “You going to enslave me now?” he asked.

  “You’ve caused enough trouble,” she said.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  She backed toward the Argus ship, gripping the gun so hard her knuckles turned white. “I’m not going to let my family down.”

  Grayson nodded to the ship. “I made a promise to those people in there that I wasn’t going to let them down. In the cosmic scheme of things, I win. So kill me now if you want to come out of
this alive.”

  “You’re out of bullets!” Rina cried. “You make me out like I’m some heartless bitch!”

  Grayson didn’t reply.

  “I’m not!” she cried.

  “Then put the gun down,” Grayson said. “Put it down and show everybody in that ship.

  Rina’s eyes watered. Her fingers trembled around the gun as she backed toward the airlock.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  She jumped backward into the ship and engaged the airlock button. The doors quickly shut.

  “Hey!” Grayson cried. He jumped forward and landed in front of the bay doors. “You’re just a coward!”

  He punched the bay doors. Then he took a nearby gallon of water and hurled it at the cockpit window. The container bounced off and smashed against the dock, sending water everywhere.

  The thrusters gathered energy…

  Overhead, a long skylight slid open, revealing the darkness above.

  Grayson ran as fire erupted from the ship’s thrusters.

  The ship lifted into the air. Grayson watched, his fists balled.

  Then the thrusters cut off. The ship beeped and slammed back onto the ground.

  Grayson smiled. He slid across the ground and scooped up the last remaining AK coil.

  When the ship’s bay doors opened and Rina ran out, Grayson pointed his gun at her, whistling.

  Rina dropped hers.

  “You idiot!” she said. “How are we going to get off this planet now that we don’t have enough fuel?”

  “Easy,” Grayson said. He poked her on the back with the coil. “Start walking.”

  Chapter 10

  Rina cursed as she siphoned the last remaining fuel from the Argus ship into a gas canister.

  Grayson directed her to the bottom of the recessed pit, where she descended and climbed up a long ladder with dented canisters.

  The smell of gas was heavy in the air, but it didn’t bother Grayson. He felt a strange enjoyment watching Rina work, watching her sweat as she climbed up and down the ladder.

  “You’re not better than me, you know,” she said, dragging canisters toward the private passenger ship.

  “How so?” Grayson asked.

  “You’re feeling all righteous,” she said. “But you’re treating me like a slave.”

  “Is that right?”

  “You’re damn right it’s right!”

  “You’re forgetting one key difference,” Grayson said. “At the end of the day, you’re going to jail. If you’d sold those people into slavery, they’d be working for the rest of their lives. Maybe generations. And for what?”

  Rina opened the fuel door on the side of the ship and lifted a canister inside. She covered her nose with a rag as she fed the ship’s engine.

  “I grew up on Grazorios,” she said. “My mom and dad were miners. It was a dusty planet and there wasn’t much sunlight, but we got by.”

  She was a mining kid.

  He’d heard of entire mining planets in distant galaxies, where companies mined ore and other precious metals. They even mined asteroids. Just like the old days on Earth, miners had a reputation for being brusque. It explained a lot about her: how she moved, how she spoke, and how she knew so much about spaceships and how to fuel them.

  “Where are you from?” she asked.

  “I’m not here to make small talk,” Grayson said. “How is the fuel?”

  “It’s done now,” Rina said, unloading the last canister. She ripped the rag off her mouth and slammed the fuel door.

  “Now we can redeem you,” Grayson said.

  They walked back to the Argus ship. One by one, Rina unlocked each of the passengers.

  The hostages fell to the floor, rubbing their arms and legs.

  “Thank you very much,” a man said to Grayson. “You kept your promise.”

  “I wish I had food and water to give you,” Grayson said. “But we’ll find the nearest planet.”

  They trudged back to the passenger ship and piled onboard, and Rina shut the airlock.

  “Are you a good pilot?” she asked.

  Grayson laughed. “Who said anything about me? You’re in the pilot seat, Rina.”

  She growled as he pushed her toward the cockpit and told everyone else to find something to hold on to.

  When they reached the cockpit, Grayson slid into the co-pilot seat. He pointed at the pilot seat with his gun and Rina sat down reluctantly.

  “Fly,” he said.

  She started the ship.

  “Pull any crap and we’re going to have a problem,” Grayson said.

  He hated bossing her around. It was taking everything out of him. But he couldn’t rest. He had to get these people to safety. He’d rest only when Rina was behind bars and the passengers were in Rah custody.

  Rina put on her headset.

  “There’s no spacesuit for me,” she said.

  “Then you better hope we don’t need one.”

  She guided the ship toward the glass airlock, and it opened. Then she hit the auto-exit button and the ship roared to life, speeding into the sky.

  In the salon, the passengers cheered. Grayson suppressed a smile.

  He watched the skies as the ship rose, keeping one eye on the instrument panel and another on Rina.

  “Where are we headed, Your Majesty?” she asked.

  “Provenance.”

  He told her the coordinates and she plugged them in.

  The ship ripped out of the planet’s orbit—a bumpy, rocky ride. Then the flight turned smooth as the gravity and radiation rings activated.

  Grayson pressed a button and opened the ship’s intercom. “We’re successfully out of orbit. You folks need anything, just come and knock on the cockpit door, all right?”

  He settled in his chair. “It’s about a two-hour journey to Provenance from here.”

  “Great,” Rina said, rolling her eyes. Then her mouth dropped open.

  “That’s a weird response,” Grayson said.

  Then he looked outside as a shadow loomed over the ship.

  Two Argus ships were flying directly for them.

  Chapter 11

  The Argus ships slid through space, like paper airplanes in flight. Their pointed, spear-tipped noses glowed red—the sign of attack mode.

  Grayson recognized it from drills. If the noses turn red, attack or be killed.

  “Congratulations,” Rina said. “You just managed to get all of us killed.”

  “We’re not dead yet,” he said.

  “They monitor the drops,” Rina said. “If something goes wrong, they have more ships standing by.”

  “Awfully convenient that you waited until now to tell me that,” Grayson said.

  “I thought I could escape.”

  “Well, we can.” He put on a headset, swiveled in his chair and wrapped his hands around a red joystick. Pressing a button, he activated a camera sight on the instrument panel.

  Below them, machine guns descended from the bottom of the ship.

  “Your guns full?” he asked.

  “Never used,” Rina said.

  All private passenger ships had a small amount of artillery on board to account for hostile encounters. It had been a while since Grayson had fired from a civilian ship, but his days as a gunner returned instantly.

  He monitored the camera and put one of the ships in the crosshairs.

  Waiting for the right moment, he fired, spraying the cockpit of the ship with machine gun fire.

  Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

  The ship retreated and flew over the rocky planet, out of range.

  Rina fanned away in the opposite direction.

  “What are you doing?” Grayson asked. “Chase him!”

  An explosion rattled the ship.

  Rina had just dodged an attack.

  “Whew,” Grayson said.

  “I’ll handle the flying,” Rina said. “You handle the shooting.”

  Grayson locked the second Argus ship in his sights and fired.


  Success!

  He hit the windshield of the ship, and it too retreated.

  “Get into hyperspace, now!” Grayson said.

  The ships circled back, regrouped, and flew toward them again, their red noses glowing.

  Grayson checked his ammunition. He did not have many rounds left. A few more shots, and he might be able to break the windshields of one of the ships, but not both of them.

  Rina slapped the instrument panel. The computer chimed.

  Please enter hyperspace coordinates.

  Rina punched in the coordinates to Provenance.

  Are you sure you wish to enter hyperspace?

  “Yes!” Rina cried, hitting the hyperspace button.

  By entering hyperspace, you acknowledge the risks…

  She slammed the button again.

  Something rocked the ship.

  “No!” she screamed.

  Grayson’s heart sank.

  The lights on the ship went out.

  It slowed to a stop.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “They just hit us with a pulse. Our power is gone.”

  Grayson rested his head against his chair. “Damn.”

  Weightlessness began, and he floated out of his seat. The straps gently held him in place.

  “Why don’t you shoot me,” Rina said, closing her eyes. “Because what’s next is worse than death.”

  The shadows of the Argus ships descended upon them.

  Chapter 12

  Grayson and Rina braced for impact as one of the ships slammed into them.

  An alarm sounded, and Grayson held on to his seat.

  The people in the salon were screaming.

  Grayson unbuckled his straps and made his way to the door. Then he pushed off one of the walls and twirled as he entered the salon.

  People were sprawled out across the interior of the ship, groaning.

  “Everyone okay?” Grayson asked.

  A little boy grabbed his arm. “We’re going back, aren’t we?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You promised you would save us!”

  “I’m doing the best I can, little man. It’s not over yet, believe?”

  The child’s eyes brightened, and he smiled nervously to a woman on a couch who appeared to be his mother.