by Huw Powell
Chapter 5
Stir-Crazy
The exhausts of the Dark Horse roared like angry gods, as the old cargo hauler pulled away from the steel jetty and dragged itself into the sky. Jake was unable to move, pinned to his mattress by the force of acceleration. His whole body shook and swayed with the ship, its hull buffeted by Remota’s fierce winds.
The Dark Horse climbed steadily through the planet’s turbulent atmosphere, higher and higher, until it finally eased into the calmness of space. The exhausts fell silent, leaving only the mechanical growl of the engine. Jake shivered as the temperature dropped sharply. He felt a strange sensation as the pressure of acceleration was replaced by weightlessness. It was as though his entire body had become as light as a feather, and only his bed straps were stopping him from floating away.
Jake checked on the others. Capio had turned pale and looked as though he might throw up. He blamed it on the bumpy take-off and refused to open his eyes. Callidus was much more relaxed. Jake couldn’t help but feel thrilled to be in space; he just wished it had been for happier reasons.
Callidus released his straps and drifted from his bunk, wanting to see what was happening outside. He used his hands to move around the room, pushing himself off surfaces until he reached the porthole window. Jake waited for him to report back.
‘Can you see the pirate ship?’ asked Capio. ‘Is it a big one?’
‘No pirate ships, but there is a naval warship.’
‘The Interstellar Navy?’ Capio released his chest strap and sat up. ‘What are they doing here?’
‘They must be hunting the space pirates,’ said Jake, wrestling with his own buckles.
‘I’ve never seen a warship that size.’ Callidus pushed himself away from the window. ‘It must be some kind of super-destroyer.’
‘We should contact them.’ Jake threw off his straps and rolled into the air. ‘I’m sure they would protect me.’
‘I have a feeling that our friends aboard the Dark Horse would like to avoid the authorities,’ said Callidus, catching hold of Jake and guiding him to the porthole window. ‘I’m not sure what sort of cargo they’re hauling, but I doubt they have a licence to carry passengers.’
Jake’s mouth fell open at the sight of the naval warship suspended over Remota. It looked brand new and unlike anything he had ever seen in the space docks. The midnight blue design was similar to the warships on the Interstellar News, only it was twice the size with double the laser cannon. If that ship was after the space pirates, they were in serious trouble.
The Dark Horse moved further away from Remota. Jake noticed how small and grey the planet looked from space. He was leaving behind the only home he could remember. It had been his dream to escape Remota and explore the stars, but not like this, not with people dying. The thrill of the launch drained away and was replaced once more by the horror of the monastery attack. Images of flaming skull-shaped helmets flared in his mind and the screams of cyber-monks echoed in his ears. His stomach wrenched at the thought of never seeing the brothers again. Never talking with them, or eating with them, or studying with them, or even being told off by them . . . ever again.
‘I want to go back,’ he said.
‘Are you mad?’ Callidus hoisted himself back into his bed. ‘There is no going back.’
‘But –’
‘Cal is right,’ said Capio. ‘It’s no longer safe for you on Remota.’
Jake watched the planet shrink into the distance, until it had completely disappeared. Whether he liked it or not, that part of his life had gone forever.
‘Happy birthday,’ he muttered to himself.
For three days, Jake, Callidus and Capio remained in their quarters with nothing to do, except talk and watch the stars. It was like being trapped in the monastery, only with less room. The meals consisted of pots of green mush and tubes of brown paste. Jake didn’t know what he was eating most of the time, but he was convinced that one breakfast was beef and custard flavour. He longed for a fresh crisp apple.
There didn’t seem much point in continuing his cyber-studies, now the monastery had been destroyed. Instead, Jake used the handheld computer to research space pirates and Altus over the stellar-net. It made him feel as though he was doing something, other than sitting around and mourning the cyber-monks. Callidus had taken a while to accept that Jake knew nothing about his home planet.
‘I’ve read a load of articles and not one of them proves that Altus exists,’ said Jake, lowering the device. ‘There isn’t a single clue to its location, so how do we know if we’re heading in the right direction?’
‘We don’t.’ Callidus was cleaning his laser pistol. ‘My first priority was to get you away from danger, and then come up with a plan to get you home.’
‘OK, we’re out of danger,’ said Jake. ‘What’s the plan?’
‘We’ll take your pendant to a crystal dealer in the next solar system and see what they can tell us.’
‘Is that it?’ Jake was hoping for something more inspired.
‘It’s the only plan we have, unless you can calculate a better one on your little gadget. I had hoped you would know something about Altus.’
Jake tossed the handheld computer across the room in frustration and watched it bounce off the opposite wall.
He left his bunk and drifted over to the porthole window to check out the view. It turned out that space was far less exciting than he had expected. Most of it looked the same, like a night sky passing by the ship. Capio had pointed out bright star clusters and colourful nebula clouds, but Jake had no pens and paper to draw them.
No, it wasn’t much fun being shut in a small room with two adults and a single window. Jake had to get out of there or he would go stir-crazy. So what was stopping him? OK, they weren’t supposed to leave their quarters, but if he waited until the others were asleep, he could explore the ship without them ever knowing. As long as no one saw him, he couldn’t get into trouble, right?
‘Why are you suddenly so happy?’ asked Capio suspiciously.
Jake realised that he was smiling at the idea of leaving the room.
‘I saw a shooting star,’ he lied. ‘And wished for some proper food.’
‘If you see another one,’ said Capio, ‘order me a steak.’
A few hours later, when the lights were low, Jake lay in his bunk waiting for the others to doze off. It seemed to take them forever to settle, but eventually he heard the reassuring sounds of slumber. Capio snored like a hover-bike and Callidus talked in his sleep, mumbling something about Altus.
Jake carefully released his bed straps and floated free from his bunk. After a few days in space, he had become used to moving in zero gravity and was able to manoeuvre himself quietly to the hatch door. Any sounds he made were disguised by the rumbling of the engine and Capio’s snores.
With thief-like stealth, Jake located the control panel and pressed the button marked ‘release’. During the day the sound of the hatch opening was hardly noticeable; it gently slid open as the crew delivered their meals. But at night it seemed much louder, creaking and hissing like a mechanical monster. Jake winced with each noise, expecting the others to stir at any moment.
‘Abandon ship,’ shouted Callidus, tugging at his straps.
Jake held his breath and waited for the fortune seeker to see him, but Callidus just rolled on to his side, muttering in his sleep. With a sigh of relief, Jake pulled himself through the hatch and into the corridor, floating like a ghost in the night. The air was no fresher in the rest of the ship, but it felt good to escape from the room. He made sure there was nobody coming before gliding along the corridor, using the extra space to experiment with the zero gravity.
Was this what it felt like to fly?
‘Give us a kiss,’ said a voice.
Jake jerked around to see who had spoken, but nobody was there. Had he imagined it? Then he noticed the engine-room door. He pressed his ear against the cold metal and listened. For a moment all he could hear was
the engine thumping away in the background, before the same voice spoke again.
‘Give us a kiss.’
‘In your dreams,’ said another voice.
Jake continued up the corridor. He wanted to see more of the ship and had no time to eavesdrop. Next to the cargo-hold door, a metal staircase provided access to the upper levels. Jake used his hands to climb up to a hatch on the first deck. He peered through a small window, taking care not to be seen, to find a deserted dining area lit by glowing wall panels, and beyond that, storage units and a small kitchen.
Jake’s breath misted on the cold glass. He spotted some discarded food tubes and rum flasks floating in the air. His stomach rumbled at the thought of eating, but he resisted the temptation to have a midnight snack, in case someone noticed the supplies were missing. Jake continued up the levels until he reached the top deck. He knew the bridge would be located at the highest point.
Voices echoed in the darkness, leading him to an open hatch near the front of the ship. He approached the doorway with care, edging closer until he was just outside the room. His heart was beating so fast, it threatened to burst through his ribcage. There was a good chance he would be caught if he went any further, but it would be worth it to get a glimpse of a real life bridge. Unable to resist, he peeked inside.
The bridge was a circular room with a curved ceiling and low lighting. Its iron walls were covered with computer displays and star charts. The first thing Jake noticed was a wide glass window that provided a spectacular spacescape. His eyes then feasted on an array of scanners and navigation equipment. He wished he could take a closer look.
Jake recognised Farid standing nearest, holding his hands behind his back. Next to him fidgeted a stout silver-haired woman with a hooked nose and long chin, who wore a brown leather coat and chunky gravity boots. Jake guessed this was the captain of the ship, Granny Leatherhead. A young woman with dark blue hair sat at the controls, most likely the pilot. Her bucket seat was cracked and leaking stuffing. None of them noticed the thirteen-year-old boy hovering in the doorway.
‘I don’t like the idea of this job,’ croaked Granny Leatherhead. ‘It sounds like trouble to me.’
‘I’m not sure we can turn it down,’ said Farid. ‘We owe this guy a favour and he doesn’t like to be disappointed. In the message he promised to make it worth our while.’
‘How long will it take, Nichelle?’ asked Granny Leatherhead.
‘A couple of days at the most,’ said the young woman, tying her blue hair in a tight ponytail. ‘I’m not happy about it either, captain, but I agree with Farid. We don’t have much choice.’
Jake wondered what they were discussing and hoped it didn’t mean being stuck in the guest quarters any longer than necessary. As he listened, a pile of clothes and space helmets caught his eye on a nearby shelf. There was something familiar about them, especially the silver helmets, which were shaped like skulls . . .
This was no ordinary cargo hauler. The crew of the Dark Horse were space pirates!
Jake gasped in surprise and immediately regretted it. He pulled himself clear of the door and scrambled back down the passage, knocking a fire extinguisher off its hook in his haste. He had to get back to the room and warn the others.
At the end of the passage, Jake threw himself down the stairwell, tumbling in slow motion until he reached the bottom. He landed with a bump and quickly righted himself. The engine-room door was visible down the corridor. Jake ignored the voices coming from the upper levels and launched his body towards the guest quarters. He slipped through the open hatch and collided with someone in the darkness.
A huge arm reached out and switched on the lights. Jake shielded his eyes and squinted at the figure in front of him. There was no mistaking that wolf-like stare. He had crashed into the one person he had most hoped to avoid: the master-at-arms, Kodan, who must have discovered the open hatch door. Jake turned in the air, attempting to swim back to the hatch, but Kodan reached out and grabbed his leg.
‘Hey,’ shouted Jake, unable to break the grip. ‘Let me go.’
‘What’s going on?’ demanded Callidus.
Capio also stirred, but Kodan simply grinned at them and tightened his hold. Granny Leatherhead stormed through the hatch, flanked by several shipmates armed with laser pistols and cutlasses. The captain scowled at her guests with a single grey eye, the other was hidden behind a crusty leather eyepatch.
Kodan held Jake up and dangled him by his leg.
‘So, it was you wandering about my ship,’ croaked Granny Leatherhead, stomping across the room. ‘Fancied an evening stroll, did you, boy?’
‘I was only looking.’ Jake tried to wriggle free.
‘Then why did you run away? Perhaps you heard something interesting on the bridge, eh?’ she said. ‘Maybe a dip in space will sort out your curiosity. Kodan, prepare the airlock.’
‘Jake?’ exclaimed Callidus. ‘Did you leave this room?’
‘Yes, but –’
‘What were you thinking? We agreed to stay in our quarters until the next port.’
‘No wonder the crew is angry with you,’ said Capio, yawning.
‘Angry, yes, but why are they armed?’ wondered Callidus, reaching for his own pistol.
‘Hands in the air, chisel chin,’ snapped Granny Leatherhead, pointing her gun at him.
‘Do as she says,’ urged Jake. ‘This is a pirate ship.’
Chapter 6
Space Dogs
Callidus raised his arms in surrender and encouraged Capio to do the same. Farid pushed past them and searched their bunks, stripping the beds and turning over the mattresses. He confiscated a laser pistol, a hunting knife and a box of palm grenades.
‘I was saving those,’ muttered Capio under his breath.
Granny Leatherhead caught Jake frowning at her.
‘What are you gawking at, boy?’
‘Are you the pirates who attacked the monastery and murdered the cyber-monks?’
‘Those web-worshipping wimps?’ Granny Leatherhead glared at him. ‘What if we were? What are you going to do about it?’
Jake let his eyes fall to the floor.
‘No? I didn’t think so,’ she said. ‘Well, for your information, that raid was nothing to do with us. We prefer to keep our business in the stars.’
‘If it wasn’t you, who was it?’ asked Callidus.
‘We don’t know.’ Farid shrugged. ‘But we figured it best to leave Remota before people started asking questions.’
‘We’re quite famous, you know,’ cackled Granny Leatherhead. ‘We’ve been plundering these trade routes for twenty years, and you don’t achieve that by hanging around with a hold full of stolen cargo.’
Jake doubted that anyone famous would be flying around in such a rusty old ship. There were just a handful of crews who had evaded capture for that long and only one of them was led by a woman.
‘That’s where I’ve heard those names scratched on the cargo-hold wall,’ he said. ‘You’re the Space Dogs.’
‘Well, aren’t you the smart one?’ Granny Leatherhead regarded him with a curious eye. ‘You know a bit about pirates, do you? Yes, I admit it, that’s us. We’re the infamous Space Dogs.’
‘We put the fear into stratosphere,’ boasted one of the shipmates.
Callidus wasn’t convinced. ‘How do we know you weren’t involved in the attack?’
‘You’ll just have to take our word for it,’ insisted Farid. ‘Not that you can trust a space pirate.’
‘I believe them,’ said Jake. ‘The clothes on the bridge were faded and black, but the pirates on Remota wore scarlet outfits.’
‘You see, you lily-livered losers, we’re not guilty.’ Granny Leatherhead lowered her weapon. ‘But what I’m wondering is why someone would want to attack a bunch of boring cyber-skunks. Is that why you folks were in such a hurry to leave? Were they looking for you?’
‘What if they were?’ said Jake, unable to help himself. ‘What are you going to do abou
t it?’
Granny Leatherhead raised her pistol and pointed it at his forehead.
‘Don’t push me, boy,’ she warned, prodding him with the barrel. ‘I’m not a nice person, so if you know something, you had better start talking. Who are you and why are you running?’
‘We don’t want any trouble,’ said Callidus. ‘Whatever we’re paying you for this trip, I’ll double it once we reach port.’
The captain scratched her eyepatch. ‘That’s a tempting offer, handsome, but it won’t satisfy my thirst for knowledge. Nobody’s leaving this room until I get some answers. We can take your money later.’
‘OK,’ said Callidus. ‘You’re right. We’re refugees fleeing from murderous space pirates. You saw the raiding party – they launched an unprovoked attack on us. What else can we say?’
Granny Leatherhead could tell he was withholding something.
‘Talk to me, lad,’ she said to Jake. ‘I want to know who you are and what your friends are up to, or I’ll get Kodan here to rip off their arms and legs.’
Kodan rubbed his hands and grinned. Callidus went to protest, but Farid held a cutlass to his chest. Jake regarded the captain for a moment, wishing he could remember more about the Space Dogs. Granny Leatherhead was easily the most frightening person he had ever met and she made a lot of threats, but surely no one was cruel enough to tear off the limbs of their own passengers. It had to be a bluff.
‘Do your worst,’ he dared her.
Granny Leatherhead stiffened, her eye twitching with anger. ‘Why, you cocky little . . . Fine, have it your way.’
Had he guessed wrong? Kodan let go of Jake’s leg and turned to the others.
‘Wait, I’ll talk,’ wailed Capio. ‘His name is Jake Cutler and he was raised on Remota, but Callidus reckons he’s from Altus.’
‘Altus?’ snorted Farid. ‘Do you take us for fools? Altus is a myth.’
‘Is it now?’ croaked Granny Leatherhead. ‘I’ve heard of more incredible things over the years. Haven’t you ever wondered where the stories come from? If there’s that much smoke, maybe there’s a little fire as well.’
