Renegade Fleet

by J. N. Chaney

  “Come on, Athena, get your shit together,” I muttered.

  “She’ll find us,” whispered Abigail. She was taking heavier breaths, almost like gasps.

  I brought her closer to me, so I could see her face, and then held her with both my arms. “Easy. Save your breath. Don’t talk.”

  She tried to smile, but I could see the energy draining from her face. She was getting tired. It wouldn’t be long before she passed out from oxygen deprivation. There wasn’t much time.

  “Hey, don’t fall asleep,” I told her. “You pass out and you might not wake up. You hear me, Abby?”

  “Uh huh,” she said, licking her lips.

  I had to do something. I had to keep her alive so that Athena could get to us in time.

  I reached behind me and twisted the oxygen tube, snapping it free of my suit.

  “What are you doing?” asked Abby, the energy in her voice beginning to fade.

  “Hold still,” I said, turning her around and removing her tube. I snapped mine into her suit, locking it in place.

  My display flashed an emergency light, informing me that my oxygen reserves had suddenly fallen to 2%, which meant I had about three minutes of breathing time.

  “W-Wait,” said Abby. She took a slow gasp of fresh air. “You need it.”

  “I’ve got the reserves,” I told her. “We’ll keep swapping the tank. As long as we keep the reserve compartment full, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “But the tank will…” She paused. “…the tank will run out faster.”

  She was right, of course. Every time I disconnected that thing, it meant losing a little more oxygen. At best, we had half an hour. “We’ll just have to hope Athena gets here soon. Now, shut up and stop talking so you don’t waste our oxygen.”

  She took another breath, squeezing my hand again as we drifted through the dark.

  Seven

  “Who the fuck are you?” asked the man with the cane. He stared down at me from his raised seat, sitting between two large, burly guards. His name was Fratley Oxanos, a man I’d traveled six star systems to meet. From what I knew of him, he was supposed to be one of the most prolific loan sharks in the Deadlands. He was also the man who could make me a Renegade, the gatekeeper between me and my goal.

  And that made him valuable.

  “Jace Hughes from Epsy,” I answered.

  There were half a dozen armed guards behind me, each of them burning a hole in the back of my head with their eyes, waiting for me to make the wrong move. Waiting for a reason to kill.

  I barely moved as I stood there, waiting for the crime lord in front of me to give me an answer.

  “That’s a bit far to fly, ain’t it?” he asked.

  “It is,” I said, giving him a slight nod.

  He leaned forward, thumbing his cane. “And you want a loan, I hear.”

  “I do,” I answered.

  He chuckled. “Straight and to the point. Smart kid. I hate the talkers. You know what I’m saying?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Sure, you do,” he continued. “Ain’t a place in the galaxy where you won’t find someone with too much to say. You’d run out of bullets, just trying to shut them all up.”

  The guard to his left chuckled. I imagined he probably laughed at all of Fratley’s jokes, regardless of how funny they actually were.

  Fratley twirled his cane in his hand as he stared at me. “So, you’re here for a ship. The boys say you wanna be a Renegade, ain’t that right?”

  I nodded.

  “That’s a fine dream, kid. A fine, fine dream,” he said. “But ain’t a lot of people who can handle the job.”

  “I can handle it,” I said.

  “Yeah?” he asked, laughing. He looked at the guard beside him. “Kid thinks he can handle it. Can you believe that? He doesn’t even know what I’m talking about.”

  The guard chuckled again.

  Fratley shook his head at me. “What do you know about Renegades? Probably ain’t even met one before now, have you? Do you even know what they do?”

  “Whatever it takes to get the job done,” I answered, staring back at him.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said. “Whatever it takes. But that can mean a whole lotta shit, depending on the job. Maybe you gotta kill a guy who done someone wrong. Maybe a woman. You think you can do that? Do you even know how to fire a gun? What if you’re on a job and someone tries to run you through? What happens to my investment when they find you dead in a ditch?” His eyes drifted away from me, focusing on something else, behind me. He gave a quick nod to someone. One of the guards.

  I heard a footstep, the shuffling of leather boots against the wooden floor.

  Here we go.

  A fist came at me, aimed at my side. I sidestepped the blow, avoiding having my ribs broken. The man’s fist still hit my abdomen, stifling me, but I’d taken worse before.

  I responded with a blow to his throat. Before he could try again, I drew his pistol from his holster and took a step back, aiming at his forehead with the hammer cocked.

  Fratley laughed. “Oh, boy!” he exclaimed, tapping his cane on the floor beside him. He pushed himself up to his feet. “That’s what I like to see!”

  I was breathing quickly, frantically. My heart raced with the pain in my gut from where the guard had hit me. If Fratley wanted to, he could order all these other men to fire on me. I was screwed, despite the gun in my hand. These bastards had me surrounded.

  Fratley walked down the stairs and stood behind me, tapping his cane on the floor again. “Okay, kid. You can drop it now. Won’t no one kill you. Not unless you do something stupid.”

  I stared at the guard in front of me, who was holding his throat and trying to breathe. He stared back with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

  I slowly brought my hand down, uncocking the gun and putting the safety on, then turned to face Fratley. He was smiling at me, giving me the sort of look an owner might give an obedient dog.

  He reached out and I handed him the gun. He tossed the weapon behind him. “Now,” he continued, giving me a thin smile, “let’s see about getting you that ship.”

  * * *

  Fratley and I talked for over an hour about Renegades. He kept asking why I wanted to get into the business, what drove me to leave Epsy, and where my family lived.

  I decided to be vague with my answers. I wasn’t stupid. Fratley was probing for leverage. I’d been an enforcer recently, so I knew full well how to manipulate someone into giving up information. As far as Fratley would ever know, I was alone in this galaxy, with no connections or family to tie me down. That was true, for the most part. If he ever looked into my past, he’d find an orphanage, a criminal record, and a string of loose affiliations.

  “So, you ain’t got any parents or siblings?” he asked, handing me a glass of wine.

  I shook my head. “Parents are dead. I was an only child.”

  “That’s some shit,” he said, taking a drink. “You know, I was the same way.”

  I expected a tragic story to follow, but nothing came. Only a brief and somber look in Fratley’s eyes, followed by a light chuckle. “Just the same, though. Boys like us don’t need the dead links. You understand what I’m saying?”

  “Sure,” I answered. “You’re better off alone.”

  “Right,” he said, grinning and taking another drink. He placed his hand around my neck. “First thing we’ll need to do is get you set up with a broker,” said Fratley, who was by now, beginning to feel his wine. “I’ve got just the guy to get you something special.” He leaned forward, raising his finger. “There’s just one thing you gotta do for me, Jace. One little thing.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, knowing that every good gesture came with a catch.

  “Do some work for me—part-time, of course—while you get yourself set up. I’ll send you a few jobs, maybe every couple of months. You do them, no questions asked. I’ll pay you well enough, but more money will come when you learn to
deliver.”

  I got the impression that this offer didn’t come with options. Guys like Fratley didn’t let you decline, which meant I was stuck. “I can do that,” I told him. “Did you have something in mind to start?”

  “Oh, I’ve got a whole list, but that can wait until you’ve got yourself a ship.”

  I was about to ask about what kind of ship he had in mind when a young woman came over and sat on his lap. She was beautiful, of course, with fine curves and beautiful eyes. Her wavy hair danced along her back and neck as she slid into place on Fratley’s waist. He smacked her ass with a loud hoot, throwing his face into her breasts and then letting out an exaggerated gasp, like he’d nearly suffocated. “That’s the shit!” he snapped, pulling the woman’s head to his neck, where she began to kiss. After only a few more seconds, he looked at me and grinned, then booted her from his lap like a discarded toy.

  I watched the woman leave, her head down, only to have one of the nearby Ravager guards take her by the wrist and lead her away, off to do gods-knew-what.

  Fratley glanced back at me, taking another sip of wine, and said, “Let me ask you something, Jace. You ever had yourself a girl? I mean a real good girl. You know what I’m saying?”

  “Good girl?” I asked, watching as the woman disappeared back inside the nearby door with the guard. “Not like that one. No.”

  He fanned his hand at me. “Nah, I mean like the proper kind. Someone you wanted to marry down with.”

  Even though I knew this was just another probe, I figured I could answer honestly. Truth was, I’d never grown that close with anyone, not since I was a kid and decided I wanted to leave Epsy. The closest thing I’d ever had to a relationship was with Eliza, my former employer, back on Bordo. We’d been together for a while, but we meant nothing to each other. From what I’d heard, I wasn’t even the only guy she’d been seeing. “No, I’ve never met anyone worth sticking around for,” I finally said.

  Fratley laughed. “Smart. You keep to that way of thinking, if you know what’s good for you. You’re young. You can get any girl you want. A Renegade flies into town and they’ve got every skirt in the city after them. That’s the good life. There’s no reason to muddy yourself with a wife or a kid, not until you’re ready to drop dead. You get me?”

  I took a drink of wine, finding myself in agreement with Fratley. I had nothing against settling down, but I figured it probably wasn’t for me. Not in this line of work and especially not at this age. “Sure,” I told him. “I get you.”

  He leaned in close to me, suddenly serious. “Good, because distractions like that only gets in the way of business, and business is the only thing you ought to be caring about. I can help you, Jace. I can take you far. Get you a ship, a license, all the right connections you need. Fuck, you stick around and do right by me, I might even hook you up with some of the good tech to really give you an edge.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “But if you fuck this up, I’ll kill you dead, Jace.”

  I nodded, slowly, but otherwise stayed still, keeping my eyes on his. “I won’t fuck it up, Fratley.”

  He paused, then pulled back and smiled. “Good!” he shouted, going right back to his former, happy expression. “Seems like you’ll be a good boy to have around. A rich boy, so long as you do as you’re told.”

  Rich? I thought, liking the sound of that. Now he was speaking my language. “As long as the money’s flowing, I’ll do any job you give me.”

  He wrapped his hand around my shoulder. “I think you’ll make a fine Renegade, kid,” said Fratley with a wide, devilish grin. “And more than that, I think the two of us are going to make a hell of a lot of money together. Just you wait and see.”

  Eight

  I cracked my eyes open and immediately felt the pain of the overhead lights.

  “Easy,” said a voice from beside me. “Give yourself a moment to reorient yourself.”

  I blinked, trying to stop the room from blurring together.

  My head was spinning as I tried to orient myself. Where was I and who turned up the lights? I groaned as I fidgeted inside the pod, only to have a blurred figure lean closer to me. “I think he’s ready to get up, Athena. Can you open the pod?”

  “Stand back,” said Athena, her voice sounding like it was all around me.

  The pod hatch cracked open, letting in the air from the room as well as the scent of…

  Something familiar…sweet, relaxing.

  Abigail reached down to me, touching my cheek with her palm. It was her, I quickly realized. That familiar smell.

  “Welcome back,” she said, a gentle smile across her face. She looked relieved, which only worried me.

  “How did I get here?” I asked, but then coughed at the itch in my dry throat.

  Abigail pulled back and grabbed a glass of water. “Here,” she said, giving it to me.

  I took the glass and chugged. It was delicious, and I finished it in seconds.

  She laughed at me, taking the glass and setting it down on the nearby table.

  I took a deep breath and blinked a few times, letting my eyes continue to adjust. “I feel like I’ve got the worst hangover of my life,” I muttered, tasting my chapped lips as I spoke. I let out another groan. “What the hell happened?”

  “You passed out from oxygen deprivation,” she said, shaking her head. “Idiot.”

  “Oh,” I said, the memory of the drone suddenly coming back to me. I recalled floating with Abigail beside me, holding onto her so we didn’t separate. Her oxygen was nearly gone, so I hooked my tube up to her suit, promising to switch it back-and-forth, but instead I gave her all the air I had. What happened next was a blur, but I could probably figure it out, based on my current situation.

  “I can’t believe you, Jace,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Of all the stupid things you could have done.”

  “It all worked out,” I said, leaning forward, out of the pod. I scratched the back of my neck and coughed.

  “You could have died, you idiot,” she said, but there was no sternness or anger in her voice.

  “But I didn’t,” I said, getting to my feet. I felt lightheaded as soon as I was up, but the feeling quickly passed.

  “Welcome back, Captain Hughes,” said Athena’s disembodied voice.

  “Thanks,” I said, twisting by torso and cracking my back.

  “You were unconscious for two days. We are approximately thirty-two hours from Abaddon Station.”

  “Two days?” I asked. “Shit.”

  “The medical pod had to perform reconstruction on some of your blood vessels, as well as minor cellular repair to the brain and lungs. You also had a mild heart attack,” explained Athena.

  “I had a heart attack?” I asked, glancing down at my chest.

  Abigail got up from her stool and walked closer to me, giving me a glare I wouldn’t soon forget. “That’s what happens when you nearly get yourself killed.”

  I fanned my hand at her. “You’re welcome.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, but only scoffed instead, resigning herself. “Forget it.”

  I laughed. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

  She eased her way over to me, wrapping her arms through mine, embracing me. I wagered I smelled something awful, but Abigail didn’t complain. We kissed, briefly, before she pulled back a little and gave me another glare. “You’re just lucky you lived, idiot. Otherwise, I would’ve killed you a second time.”

  I smiled. “Out of everything you’ve said in the last five minutes, I think I believe that part the most.”

  * * *

  Upon leaving the pod, my priorities were to shower, shit, and eat. In that order.

  I made my way to The Renegade Star, leaving Abigail to pick up Lex from Hitchens’ classroom and get her fed for the evening. We’d meet up again later, once I felt like myself again. For now, my head was foggy and my body a mess.

  “Welcome back, sir,” said Sigmond, the second I entered the ship.

  “Glad to be home,�
� I told him. Despite being asleep for two days, it felt like a long time since I was last here. Maybe part of me had been aware during my time in the pod.

  “Is there anything I can assist you with?” asked the A.I.

  “Coffee, shower, food,” I said, quick and to the point.

  “Understood, sir,” he answered.

  By the time I walked into the lounge, the coffee was already brewing, the shower was running, and a ready-made meal was being cooked in the quick-oven.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” I said as I made my way to my room.

  I stripped down, letting my clothes sit wherever they happened to fall. I stepped into the shower and cranked the heat up, filling the bathroom with steam in seconds.

  I stayed in there for nearly twenty minutes, letting the stream beat against my neck and upper back. It was so relaxing, I thought I might fall asleep.

  After a short while, I decided that was enough and grabbed a nearby towel, drying myself and throwing on a fresh set of clothes. I felt clean and relaxed, ready to fill my belly with a slab of meat and a cup of coffee.

  The ship had already filled with the scent of both, and the pain in my stomach reminded me that I needed to eat right this damn second.

  I inhaled the ready-to-eat meal, ignoring the coffee for now. The food was gone in only a minute, and I was surprised when I looked down and found the plate totally empty.

  “Would you like some more, sir?” asked Siggy, apparently noticing how quickly I’d ripped through that food.

  “Maybe in a few,” I said, taking my cup and sipping on the coffee. It was delicious, more than the last time, which surprised me. Everything was like that when you were thirsty or starving. It all tasted better than it should.

  I leaned back on the couch and let myself relax, trying to collect my thoughts. A thought occurred to me, now that I finally had a moment, and I quickly sat up.

  “Siggy,” I said.

  “Yes, sir?” answered the A.I.

  “Did Athena do anything to you while I was gone?” I asked him.