by JN Chaney
“Perfect,” I said, securing my waist. “Establish shields as soon as possible, then drop them on my mark.”
“As you wish, sir.”
I locked my helmet into place, then activated my oxygen tank. The cool taste of air entered my helmet, and I heard the echo of my own breathing. I was suddenly much more aware of how fast my heart was pounding. “Goddammit,” I muttered. “The trouble I find.”
* * *
Once the shield was established, I was out the lift, using my boots to magnetically grip the hull as I moved, one slow step at a time, toward the bomb.
The bomb, which as it happened, was snug and secure inside the section just above my fucking bedroom. If this thing ended up damaging my quarters, I was going to be royally pissed.
“Abigail, do you hear me?” I asked, activating my com.
“I do!” she responded, with hardly any static overlaying her voice.
I took another step, letting the magnet in my boot fully grab the hull before moving again. “I’m almost at the bomb. Stay focused on getting us to the tunnel.”
“We’ll be there in…six minutes,” she said.
“We might have to sit there for a few while I get this detached, but we’ll make it,” I said, taking another step.
I could already see the lump in my hull, resting several meters near the center of The Renegade Star. It looked like a piece of cancer, a foreign hunk of poison that didn’t belong.
I edged my way forward, increasingly more aware of the danger I was putting myself in. Every step brought me closer to a fucking bomb.
I stepped across the airlock, careful not to touch the glass window, since it wasn’t metal and the last thing I needed was to lose my footing.
“Sir, a more thorough examination of the device has revealed a small problem,” said Sigmond.
“What is it now?” I asked. The bomb was only two meters away. I was nearly there.
“The casing itself is standard Sarkonian polymetal, while the locking mechanism and panel is Neutronium-plated, making it difficult to open. It may be best to dislodge the device manually, rather than disarm it.”
“You’re saying I can’t open it?” I asked.
“That is correct.”
I made an audible growl. “You’re killing me, Siggy.”
“Apologies, sir. That is the opposite of my intention.”
I sighed, taking the last step, then bent down so I was half-a-meter beside the bomb. I retrieved a small pack that I’d attached to my side, removing the thermal saw from inside. “Time for some last-minute surgery.”
* * *
Three minutes into this and I was already pretty sure I was going to accidentally blow my fucking ship up.
I used the thermal saw to heat the hull and slowly soften the areas around the bomb.
Sweat dripped down off my forehead, landing inside my suit. It was like a sauna, all of the sudden. Was I seriously this nervous?
My hands kept shaking, so I figured I must be. Still, I didn’t let it stop me from doing the job. It’s not like anyone else was going to come along and save us. It was up to me.
I smirked at the thought. I’d told Camilla the same thing, not that long ago. The universe was a shitstorm, and the only person you can rely on is yourself. Maybe that was true, but Abigail was inside at this very minute, handling the controls. She didn’t have to be here with me on this idiotic mission. She’d chosen to come along with me…to put herself out on the front line.
I rolled my eyes. All that means is that we’re both idiots, I thought, a slight grin on my face. But still, better to be fools together than dead and alone.
I continued to melt the metal around the bottom of the bomb, edging it away from the hull, one centimeter at a time.
“Jace, we’re almost at the tunnel,” said Abigail over the com. “How long before you’re back inside?”
“I’m still dealing with it. Hold on,” I said.
“Understood,” she answered.
I grabbed the side of the bomb and pulled it, trying to yank the back of it free of the ship. One of the blinking lights changed from green to orange, a first since I’d come up here. “What the—”
“The bomb is charging, sir,” said Sigmond. “Please, be advised. The bomb is—”
“Fuck!” I snapped, pulling it off the last of the melted hull. “Siggy, get ready to drop the shield as soon as I tell you!”
“Yes, sir,” he answered.
I gripped the explosive with both hands, pulling it off the hull. It refused to come up all the way, since it was still attached by a thin piece of soft metal. I squatted, pushing against the ship, and pulled the device with every ounce of strength I could muster. The resistance I felt suddenly ended, and I nearly fell backwards.
I twisted where I stood, lifting the bomb to my chest and aiming it toward the rear of The Renegade Star. “Now, Siggy! Drop the shields!”
The area around the ship flickered. “Shields are down, sir,” said Sigmond.
“Here we go!” I shouted, throwing the megaton bomb away from me. It floated away, still headed in the same direction we were currently flying, but slightly off course, thanks to my push.
“Excellent work, sir,” said Sigmond.
“Thanks, Siggy,” I said, letting myself breathe. “Raise the shields as soon as that thing is out of our—”
The bomb exploded before I could finish. The ship tossed instantly, and I felt the force of the blast as it knocked me free of the hull. I went spiraling into the void, away from The Star, unable to right my angle.
I tried to say something…to call Abby and ask if she was okay…to ask Siggy if the ship was still intact.
Most of all, I just tried to keep my eyes open.
FOURTEEN
I felt a hand around my wrist, pulling me from the bed. I wasn’t surprised, because I could hear my father coming, stomping on the old wood floors as he marched to get me. Even before he was there, I could already smell the liquor.
“Up and at ‘em, Jacey,” said the old man. “I got somethin’ I wanna show ya.”
I hopped on one foot as he dragged me through my bedroom, towards the door and into the main sitting room.
I already knew what this was about. I’d heard him yelling at my mom a few hours ago, before he went to the bar. He wanted to leave and head out to join Uncle Teddy, up on Talos, the nearest colony to Epsy. There were prospects, he had told her. My dad was always talking about prospects.
He stumbled before we reached the couch, his foot catching on the dislodged plank in the floor. “Goddammit!” he shouted. “I forgot to fix that shit. Why didn’t you remind me about the fucking plank?”
He’d been meaning to fix that for three months now, but still hadn’t found the time.
I sat down on the couch, while my dad slammed his big ass down on the stool in front of me. I could see his pistol on his hip, the same one he’d carried at his side since he was sixteen. The same one that, as he’d told me, killed over forty men. “Your momma says I ain’t got what it takes, Jacey,” said the overweight dust miner. “She says there ain’t no more upward momentum for folks like us. Wattayou think about that?”
“Why would momma say that?” I asked, believing him instantly.
“She don’t know nuthin’ about nuthin’, Jacey. That woman is small-time.” He coughed into his fist, gray spit hitting his fingers. “You and me, we got better stuff in us, don’t we? We’re gonna be Renegades and get ourselves a hot life!”
“Yeah!” I exclaimed, excited at the sound of the word. My father had recently started telling me about Renegades and how wonderful their lives were. He said they all had ships and traveled all over the galaxy, doing whatever they wanted. If you were a Renegade, my father would always say, you can have it all.
“Damn planet’s going to shit and I’m smart enough to see which way the wind is headed. You know what I’m saying, Jacey?” he asked.
I nodded. “It stinks!”
He laug
hed. “Your momma, she’s a simple one. She don’t see it. You do, though, don’t you, Jacey?”
I nodded again. “Yeah, Pop! It stinks bad!” I plugged my nose, trying to demonstrate.
He stared at me, a stupid expression on his face, like he was lost for a moment, but then smirked. “That’s right. You get it. Of course, my kid gets it.” He smacked my knee with his burly hand. My father gave me a grin, his lips crooked and red. “Guess what I got in my pocket, Jacey,” he said, reaching to show me before I could even give him an answer. I heard a rustle of something, then he pulled out a small piece of paper, dangling it in my face. “You know what this is?” he asked. “It’s a ticket. A special ticket, like the kind we always talked about.”
My eyes widened. “You got a ticket to space?” I asked, dropping my jaw. “No way!”
He shoved it in my face, clumsily hitting me in the forehead, although I didn’t care. I was too busy trying to see what the ticket said on it.
CLASS – STD
TICKET TIME – 3PM DAY
ADULT – ONE
FROM – VERNIN, EPSY
TO – ARENSDALE, TALOS
“See it?” he asked, trying to hold it steady. “Now, we can do what we always wanted, Jacey.”
“Whoa!” I exclaimed.
He smiled. “Our times in this shithole are over. Won’t be long before everyone from the Union to Sarkonia is talkin’ ‘bout the Hughes boys. Ain’t that right?”
“Ain’t no one better than a Hughes!” I shouted, reciting the phrase my father would often say when comparing our family.
He began to laugh, but coughed instead. “You’re funny,” he said, clearing his throat and wheezing. All those years in the mines had done my father no favors.
“When can we go?” I asked, smiling. “How long before we get to be Renegades?”
He snickered. “You’re funny, Jacey. I can’t take no kid with me to Talos. I need to get up there on my own so I can get a good job.”
I frowned, but knew I shouldn’t. My father would never leave me behind if he didn’t have to. I knew that.
“Don’t worry, Jacey. You’ll just wait around here for a while. I gotta get a good job first, but then it won’t take me long to get you a ticket too.” He paused for a second. “And your momma. She don’t get our dream now, but she will. Just you wait.”
“Okay, Pop. I’ll wait here and be good,” I said, trying to act tough.
He grinned. “Won’t take me more than a month, I bet! Maybe less if I can work those big wigs on the shuttle.” He tried to wink at me, but blinked both eyes instead. “Gonna be tough, but just you wait, Jacey. I’m gonna make it big out there!”
I heard a knock at the front door, and my father flinched, startled by the sound. “That must be…” He looked at me. “Uh…sorry, kid, but I gotta get going now if I’m gonna make the flight tomorrow. Gotta travel all the way to Vernin City. Remember when we went there a few years ago?”
Another bang on the door. “Hello?” called a man. “Someone call about a ride?”
My father got to his feet. “Be right there!” he barked, and in a softer voice he said, “Sorry to go like this, Jacey, but I’ll see you real soon, got it?”
“Got it,” I echoed, trying to keep my smile.
I watched him head to the door, then pause to look at me. His eyes lingered on me for a moment, a distant expression in his face—one I didn’t recognize. Then, he smiled at me with the same charming grin he always had. “Someday you’re gonna learn, Jacey…what it means to be a man. Someday, you’re gonna know what it feels like to be me.”
He smacked his chest and closed the door.
Off to better prospects.
* * *
“Jace,” a faint voice called.
I stirred in my suit.
“Jace!”
My eyes broke open, and I was suddenly gasping. “Fuck!” I snapped, instantly confused about where I was and how I’d gotten there. “Holy goddamn fucking shit!”
“Jace, are you okay?!” shouted a woman in my ear.
It took me a second to realize who the hell this person was. “Abby?” I said, trying to get my bearings. I turned my head as much as I could, only to realize that I was trapped inside a goddamn spacesuit. Oh, right, I thought, remembering the thing about the bomb.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring the ship back around to you,” said Abby.
“I’m afraid that may prove difficult,” interjected Sigmond.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Our thrusters were damaged in the blast,” he explained. “We are only operating at 30%. It will take several minutes to retrieve you. I do apologize, sir.”
“I’m not going anywhere, but you’d better move your asses,” I said.
I was still spinning from the blast, so I reached for my arm control panel and activated my suit’s stabilizers, attached on the left and right shoulders. Each compartment only contained a small amount of compressed nitrogen to correct my velocity, which meant it was only for emergencies. I supposed this counted, then tapped the command to activate the unit.
The gas released in spurts, a little at a time, gradually killing my momentum until I was mostly immobilized. No more spinning, no more spiraling in a random direction. I still had enough gas to help me turn around or send me flying in another direction, should I need it.
I couldn’t see The Renegade Star yet, but I didn’t expect to in so much darkness. Space was vast and empty, with only stars to guide your path. I wouldn’t be able to spot my own ship until it was right up on me. Titan might have been a different story, but that ship was long gone now, completely out of reach.
“Sir, I am detecting multiple incoming vessels, breaking off from the fleet,” said Sigmond.
“Strike ships? How many?” I asked, staring in the direction of the fleet. I couldn’t see anything, not even the bigger ships, but that didn’t keep me from trying.
“Eight, sir,” he responded.
“Fuck,” I muttered. The Renegade Star could handle two, maybe three strike ships, but eight? Not a goddamn chance. “How long until they get here?”
“Two minutes,” said the A.I.
“And how long before you pick me up?” I asked.
“Three minutes,” he answered.
I bit the inside of my mouth, twisting my lip as I continued to watch the void in front of me, towards the system’s sun, which shone with an intensity I was only just noticing. A white glow, much like one on Epsy. “Siggy,” I said, after a moment. “Open a tunnel. I want you to take Abigail to the coordinates Athena gave you.”
Abigail answered before the A.I. could respond. “Jace, what are you talking about? We’re not leaving you behind. Don’t be an idiot!”
I ignored her. “Siggy, you do as I say. Understand? Captain’s orders. Don’t make me use the goddamn command password on you.”
“Siggy, don’t listen to that fool! We’re not leaving him here,” insisted Abigail.
“Sir, are you certain?” asked Sigmond. “A quick analysis concludes that there is still an 8% chance of success, should we continue on our present course to procure you.”
I smirked. “I appreciate the optimism, Siggy, but get that fat ass of yours in gear and go. Your priority now is to protect the nun. You got it?”
“Jace!” shouted Abigail. “You can’t just order me to leave you behind! Don’t be such a—”
I cut the com off. She was probably screaming at the console right now, but oh well. It was for her own good.
* * *
The Union squadron of strike ships arrived shortly after I gave the order to leave. The came to a quick halt right in front of me, so close I could see them and they could see me.
I knew they wouldn’t shoot me, not without first dragging me into a prison cell and interrogating me for information. I wasn’t stupid enough to think otherwise.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t kill as many of these fools as possible in the process, though. If they
wanted to take me in alive, it was going to cost them. That was for damn sure.
The nearest strike ship moved in, closing the gap between us, until it was hovering a hundred yards away. It could have been less or more. Hard to tell in space.
The side hatch of the ship opened, its door sliding up to reveal two men, each wearing a spacesuit. One of them pointed toward me, then pointed at the ship. I guessed he was trying to tell me to come inside, but I wasn’t about to make this easy for them. That asshole would have to come and get me first.
After a few fruitless attempts to communicate, he seemed to say something to the person beside him, and the two leapt free of the ship and headed in my direction.
When they were about halfway to me, I reached for my wrist and tabbed the thruster controls, turning myself around. With my back at them, I burst forward, floating away. With my momentum set, I used the last of my nitrogen to twist myself around so I could see them, and then waved.
The two men stopped where they were, doubling back to their ship. “That’s right, you little fuck nuggets,” I muttered. “You want me, you’re gonna have to work for it.”
Three of the ships came closer, gaining quickly on me. Each of their doors opened this time, rather than just one, and I saw several suited individuals emerge, each ready to take me in.
