Space Invaders

by Amber Kell

  “Can you really trust the man?”

  “I shouldn’t, but I do. Se and Kain were injured. Se seems to be fine, but Kain hasn’t woken since the incident. I want to get to the bottom of this so I can move forward with my life.”

  Rock snorted. “And what life would that be? All you do is run cargo.”

  Rock was right. His life consisted of work. Now that Kain seemed to be back in his life, maybe for good, he would have to make some changes. Life didn’t have to be work alone.

  “Are you done with the questions? We need to get some medical attention for my crew before I take off.”

  “You’re not going to do something stupid, are you?”

  He might be crazy, but he wasn’t stupid. Until the Alliance was taken care of, he couldn’t move on and neither could Kain. He had to go after the ship that fired on them.

  Rave gave him a wide-eyed look and raise his eyebrow. “Who? Me?”

  “You can cut that innocent shit with me. I know you better.”

  Rave changed the topic. “Where’s my sister?”

  “My place. We can take Se and Kain there.”

  They both turned to the ship. When they reached the bed, they stopped. Rave really wanted to hold Kain, but there was no way he could carry the man all the way to Rock’s. The adrenaline rush from the escape had long since been lost. Rock was waiting to see what the plan was, letting Rave take the lead in what to do about the injured parties.

  “Rock—” He didn’t have to say anything else.

  “I got him. You take care of Se.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  A fog clouded Kain’s mind. Something didn’t feel right. He couldn’t place a finger on it, but nothing looked as it should. Wait, his eyes were closed. He tried to open them, but they wouldn’t cooperate.

  He thought back to what had happened, and immediately, finding out where he was became his top priority. Someone spoke to his left. He turned his head and a shooting pain raced over his body.

  “You shouldn’t move your head.”

  “Mel? Is that you? Where are we? Rave, where’s Rave.” He finally managed to open his eyes and tried to scramble off the bed, but Mel pushed him back down.

  “Se’s here. I’ll let her tell you what happened.” Mel gave his shoulder a squeeze and left the room.

  “Se?” He opened his hand and waited for her to take it. “What happened?”

  Where they still on the ship? No, they couldn’t be. Mel was there. Where were they?

  The bed dipped as Se settled beside him, and Kain curled his fingers around hers.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “Coming to see you on the bridge.”

  “What about the attack?”

  He closed his eyes, but his brain wasn’t working.

  “We were attacked? Why?”

  “I’m not sure. The Alliance started firing. You hit your head and have been out for hours. We were starting to worry.”

  “It isn’t supposed to happen this way.”

  “You keep saying that, but it keeps happening.”

  “We’re being set up, Se, and I don’t know why. None of it makes any sense. Where’s Rave, here?” He opened his eyes to look around the room in hopes of seeing Rave there, but if he was in the room, wouldn’t he have said something?

  “He left.”

  “What do you mean?” Shit, this couldn’t be good.

  “What do you think I mean. He’s gone.”

  “He can’t do this alone,” Kain whispered.

  The old Rave might be at his side, but he had a feeling the new Rave had gone off half cocked to take care of the problem himself.

  “You think I didn’t argue that with him? I’m fucking pissed. He had the brute, Rock, hold me back. I had to watch him fly away.”

  Damn it. Why couldn’t he have waited?

  “Let’s go.”

  “Back down, Kain. You can’t go anywhere in your condition.”

  “I’m not leaving him alone again. We both know that. So give me something for the headache, and let’s get out of here. We’re the only backup he has.”

  Mel returned with something in her hands.

  “Here, take these.” She handed him a couple of pills.

  “What is it?” Se asked.

  “Something for his head. Rock has a transport ready for us,” Mel answered.

  Kain looked at her, but all he saw was Rave. They needed to leave. He tossed back the pills, ready to go. His heart would shatter if anything else happened to Rave. This time, he would be there when Rave needed him. He had to.

  “You coming too, Mel?” Se asked.

  His words flowed over hers, “No.”

  “Yes.” Mel looked at him. “I’m a doctor. If one of you gets hurt, I can help. Plus, it’s my brother out there. I’m done sitting by the sidelines. I’m going.”

  “You can start helping now. If you and Se can help me to the transport, we can get going. How long ago did he leave?”

  A new voice he didn’t recognise entered the conversation. “An hour ago.”

  Kain turned to the voice. “You must be Rock.”

  The man was massive and intimidating. It wasn’t just the tattoos and the hair, the very aura around him screamed back off.

  “That would be me. If you ladies head to the ship, Kain and I will be right behind you.”

  The two women looked at each other before leaving. Kain shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

  “Why did you let him leave?” he asked. Rock was a big man. He could have stopped Rave if he’d really wanted to.

  “You have met the man, right?”

  Kain laughed at that. “He is stubborn.”

  “That’s the understatement of the year. I talked to him before he left, told him it was a bad idea. He told me he had a score to settle. I couldn’t keep him from that. A man has a right to take his retribution.”

  “We need to get to him. He can’t do this by himself.”

  “My ship is fast. Faster than the pod he’s in. We should catch up before he reaches Seid II.”

  Kain’s head started to feel a little better. The time had come. He would have his man back by his side, but first he had a call to make to get things set right. Time to bring in the big guns. Fritz had to be behind this, and who knew Davidson’s reason?

  “I need to get out a transmission before we go. A call I should have made a long time ago.”

  “I have great communications onboard. You can make the call while we fly.”

  Rock offered him a hand up, and Kain took it. He pulled back his hand, but Rock held firm and tugged him closer. Kain looked into the man’s eyes and waited for him to speak.

  “I’m not helping you. This is for Rave. I don’t like you.”

  “You don’t need to like me. As long as you’re in this for Rave, we’re good.”

  “As long as we’re clear. Can you walk?”

  Kain nodded and reclaimed his hand. He gestured for the man to lead the way.

  “Why didn’t you let Se go with Rave?”

  “He didn’t want her there. I figured it would be quicker to let him go alone. We were leaving, with or without you, in about five minutes.”

  He liked Rock’s no-nonsense attitude. The two men made their way to where Rock’s ship was docked. The women were already loading the cargo when they got there.

  “Look at all these guns. Where did they come from?” Kain asked.

  “Rave didn’t tell you?” Rock asked as he moved to help Se with a box.

  “Tell me what?”

  “I’m in the transport business, too. It’s how we met. Only difference is I run guns and do some mercenary work on the side. I have connections, and if needs be, I’ll call in a few favours.”

  Kain stopped his forward motion and shook his head. He didn’t have time to worry about Rock’s career, but the conversation wasn’t over. He saw the way Se looked at Rock.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary
. Get me to your coms, and I’ll have backup ready and waiting,” Kain requested.

  “Are you sure? If you had backup, why didn’t you call it in before now?”

  “I didn’t think I would need it and that’s a long story that should wait for another day.”

  Rock looked at him for a moment, as if he could see right through him.

  “Okay. For some reason, Rave trusts you, so I guess, for now, I will, too. Let me get this last box inside and get us airborne.”

  Kain felt helpless. He couldn’t help with the guns. His head hurt, and when he bent down, it throbbed.

  It didn’t take long for the big man to finish loading the cargo. The four of them boarded and were in the sky faster than Kain would have thought possible.

  When Rock finished inputting the course, Kain reminded him of the call.

  “I need to call the Alliance headquarters. Can you patch me through?”

  Rock pushed a few buttons and turned to Kain. “Go ahead. The computer is hooking up with their mainframe. It should take a couple seconds.”

  They waited until the computer told them the Alliance was on line.

  “Computer, I need to speak with Commander Corbin.”

  “Corbin, here. Who is this?”

  “This is Commander Kain Sims.”

  “Borden’s boy?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “He’s looking for you. You’ve been off the grid for two years. What’s going on, and why aren’t you calling him?”

  “I was told he was aware of my situation and Commander General Fritz would be in charge of the case.”

  “Fritz? This doesn’t sound good.”

  “It isn’t. I think he set me and my partner up. Why, I’m not sure. I need help. He tried to blow up a ship he knew I was on. My partner, Rave Anders, has gone after him. Alone.”

  “I heard about the Anders boy. Wasn’t he court-martialled?”

  What was Corbin saying? Kain’s heart sank, his faith shattered. He had to get clarification.

  “Wait, you don’t know? I was told it was faked so Rave could go undercover.”

  “No, son. That wasn’t faked. We found contraband.”

  Kain’s heart sank, his faith shattered. Damn the Alliance. Kain pounded a fist on his thigh.

  What the fuck! “What does Fritz have to gain from setting up Rave and keeping me away?”

  “I think we need to contact your father. I’ll patch him in with us.”

  Why hadn’t he figured out Fritz had lied to him? He should have known his father wouldn’t sign up for what they’d put both him and Rave through. Kain had been grieving and too shocked to think about it. Once Fritz had him under his control, all his thoughts had been of escape and Rave.

  “Sims, here. What can I do for you, Corbin?”

  “Your son needs help,” Corbin responded.

  “My son? You’ve heard from Kain?” Borden’s voice held hope.

  “I’m here, dad.” Kain turned to Rock. “Can we get a visual?”

  Rock pushed a few buttons, and Kain’s father appeared on screen. He looked older.

  “Kain! Where the hell have you been?”

  “We don’t have time for me to go into everything, dad. Rave is in trouble.”

  “I think that’s an understatement. The wire says he kidnapped you.”

  “We’re being set up. Do the names Commander General Rynol Fritz and Commander Seth Davidson ring any bells?”

  “Fritz has been on our radar for some time now. We think he’s doing some drug trafficking, but so far, we have no proof. I haven’t done much work on the case because we’ve been searching for you. I’ve never heard of this Davidson character.”

  “Here’s the short version and why I need your help. Fritz told me Rave’s court-martial was faked in order to put him undercover. He proceeded to threaten me with Rave’s death unless I cooperated. I was told you were under orders not to contact me, and I had better not contact you. When I rebelled, they showed me pictures of what happened to Rave on DI. This undercover thing has to do with Seid II and a T-15K Laser. The Royalists hired Rave to pick it up. We, Rave and I, were to pick it up as scheduled, but the Alliance would swoop in and take the laser. After all was said and done, Rave would be exonerated. Something went wrong. Davidson is behind it somehow. Now that I know you have Fritz under watch, it makes sense that he and Davidson are in this together.”

  His father and Corbin looked at him, and he waited for their response.

  “You should have contacted me. Do you have any proof?” his father asked.

  “I thought I was following orders. I told you I tried to rebel then was shown how easy it would be to hurt Rave. I couldn’t let that be done, not to the man I love. I figured I had to obey orders. It wasn’t only him. They threatened Se, too. I played the party line until they were ready to use me again. We don’t have proof, but if we get to Seid II before Rave does something stupid, we might be able to find it.”

  “I’m still confused as to why Fritz would have you help the Alliance if he was in this for himself. Something is missing,” Corbin responded this time.

  “If I had to guess, he wanted to look like a hero to get you guys off his back. What better way than to make it appear as if he rescued me from a kidnapper and saved the world from the Royalists plot to blow up a planet,” Kain speculated.

  “What about this Davidson character?” his father asked.

  “Neither Rave nor I can figure out his part in this. Can you help?”

  “I can’t go under the guise of an Alliance commander, but I’ll be there,” Borden said.

  “Count me in, Sims. I’ll work on getting this official. Borden, you get to your son and help.” Corbin clicked off.

  “I’m sorry, dad. I should have known. I should have contacted you.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over something you couldn’t control.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ll let your mother know you’re alive then I’ll contact you when I get to Seid II.”

  His father’s image disappeared from the screen, and Kain bowed his head. He looked out into space. He hoped he wasn’t too late to save Rave.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Logically, Rave knew he should have waited for backup, but he couldn’t sit still while Kain lay there unconscious. He had to take care of this, once and for all. First, he’d confront Seth Davidson to see why he’d changed the plans Kain had told him about, then he’d find out if Fritz stood behind it all.

  He thought about contacting Rock to see if Kain had woken yet, but he had to focus. He would arrive on Seid II in about fifteen minutes.

  Rave didn’t plan a sneak attack. He would knock on their front door.

  “Fleet Ship Delta Bravo, this is Rescue Pod I of the Retribution requesting emergency asylum.”

  “Retribution, this is Fleet Ship Delta Bravo. What is your emergency?”

  He went with the truth. “My ship was fired upon. The rescue pod will only last for for twenty-four hours. Permission to dock.”

  “Permission to dock granted. What is your ETA?”

  “About ten minutes. Give or take.”

  “The bay will be ready for your landing.”

  Rave wondered at the reception he would get. If Davidson didn’t yet know about Rave’s call, he would by the time Rave arrived at his ship.

  Rave had had time to think on the journey back to Seid II. Rave still had no idea what Fritz or Davidson’s beef with them was.

  When all this had started, Rave had been a decorated officer with a brilliant career ahead of him. Every time he’d thought of his life, it had included the Alliance. When he’d met Kain, his future had been that much brighter. He’d figured the two of them would retire from the Alliance and spend the rest of their years on some quiet planet. Never had he thought he’d be a wanted criminal who had spent time on DI.

  Now, if he wanted a future with Kain, he had to give up the past. Could he forget what had happened to him on DI? If anyone
could help him through it, it would be Kain. Rave didn’t have any doubts about the man’s love. It was evident in his actions, but could Rave trust him?

  Rave didn’t even argue the point with himself. He loved and trusted Kain. If he made it out of this alive, they were going away. Together.

  The Alliance ship loomed before him. He readied himself for what was about to happen. He’d loaded up with equipment before leaving Rock—a couple of small items that should escape the detection of Alliance scans. There was no way would he’d go in cold. Not after what he’d been through.

  “Retribution pod, prepare for tractor cable.”

  It didn’t take long for him to dock in the belly of the beast. He stepped out of the pod to greet his welcoming committee.

  “Here to turn yourself in, Anders?”

  Rave shifted so he could see the speaker.

  “Why would I do that? I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “I have a warrant that says differently.”

  “I don’t care what a piece of paper says. I do care about what your problem is, Seth Davidson.”

  “Ahh, so you do know who I am. I wondered if you would remember me. Why don’t we go to my quarters and discuss your options.” Davidson turned to the soldier who stood at his side. “You’re dismissed. I’ll take it from here.” The man turned and left the room. “Please follow me.”

  Rave followed Davison to a room close to the loading bays.

  “Why are you doing this, Davison? What do you have to gain?”

  “Pretty direct, aren’t you, Anders?”

  “I’ve learned it’s better that way. Now, what’s this about? How are you involved?

  “I wanted Kain to be here when we spoke, but I guess I’ll take what I can get.”

  The man waved his hand towards a chair in the room, and Rave walked by him and sat down. No use being uncomfortable.

  Davidson walked to a desk and sat down facing Rave.

  “Talk,” Rave demanded.

  “You always did like to be in charge, but not here. We’ll do this my way.”

  Rave didn’t say anything, just nodded and waited for Davidson to continue.

  “I think the question was ‘what is this about’, yes?” Seth didn’t wait for a response. “It’s about you kidnapping an Alliance Commander.”