Lost In Space (Space Rogue Book 5)

by Jay Toney

  Nugget laughed. The others looked confused. I ended the meeting. We will be coming out of hyperspace soon, and I wanted to get at least get a nap in. I hadn't slept for nearly two days.

  Jewel was already asleep when Persephone and I got there. We quietly slid under the covers with Jewel. She didn't even stir as I settled down next to her. Persephone said she wasn't tired but started snoring before her head even hit the pillow.

  It seemed like I just closed my eyes when I hit the floor. Damn Tanya for showing Jewel and Amber this method of waking me. Persephone laughed at my attempts to untangle myself from the blanket. Jewel, Amber, and Persephone helped me to my feet and led me to the dining room where breakfast and coffee were waiting.

  Persephone must have been the one who made breakfast. There were four platters of pancakes and every topping, including ice-cream, that could be put on pancakes.

  "Who is watching the children?"

  "A couple of wood nymphs, Tammy and Daphne. They enjoy caring for the twins and Demi. They all seem to like feeding from the nymphs more than us," Amber replied.

  "Their milk is very sweet. You both will need to eat a lot more pancakes if you want your milk as sweet as theirs," Persephone advised. "Make sure you use a lot of syrup."

  We all had our fill but hadn't eaten half of the pancakes. Pancakes were not something that Persephone was going to let go to waste. It was the one food item that was too good for our niffids. I don't know how but she managed to finish every pancake.

  I needed Jewel, more than Amber on the bridge, so I let Amber stay below to watch our children. Jewel, Persephone, and I headed up to the bridge. We had only minutes to spare before we came out of hyperspace.

  "You're late! You almost missed our transition back to normal space." Nugget swiped the touchscreen with his hand, and we came out of hyperspace in the Gamma Aquarii system.

  This was a binary star system with orange stars orbiting each other and seven planets orbiting the twin suns. Our objective was on the moon of the second planet.

  We slowed the fleet to 500kps and lined up in single file. Except for the Valkyrie, the Sequoia, and the Persephone, the fleet ran dark by minimizing drive emissions, turning off formation lights, anti-collision lights, and restricting communications to the line of sight.

  When we were within the orbit of the fifth planet, the fleet stopped, except for the Persephone, and the Valkyrie. We continued our course to the second planet. We broadcast communications between out two ships and occasionally the Sequoia on an open frequency, hoping we would be monitored.

  The communications were part of a distraction. We intended to show that we had nothing to hide and to hint that we had nobility from the Keshian Empire aboard our ship. We waited patiently to be contacted by the Drax.

  When we crossed the orbit of the third planet, the Drax made contact. "Intruders, come no closer. This is a restricted area."

  "No response, let them hear static." We waited, listening to their continued demands. Half an hour passed before they raised their shields and energized their weapons. We waited another half hour, listening to their threats. "Now, Jewel."

  The ship's video and audio focused on Nugget and Astrea. Both were wearing matching white regal gowns and platinum crowns. Astrea's tiara was a simple circlet with a single diamond in the center. Nugget's had a band of emeralds circling near the base and rubies at each of the twelve points atop it.

  "I am Nugget Chancellor of Edam. I am next in line to rule the Great Empire of Kesh. With me is my consort, Astrea. We hear tell of the security of your depository. I would like to examine it myself. If it meets our empires requirements, we would like to contract its services."

  "Our depository is for the Drax only. We have no interest in outsiders."

  "That is too bad." The camera panned to Nuggets left, focusing on a stack of 100 gold bars, 100 platinum bars, and a small chest of gemstones before returning to Nugget and Astrea. "Our empire is in need of a secure place to store our valuables in this quadrant. We are generous and will pay handsomely for the right services." Jewel cut the transmission.

  Persephone changed course, heading away from the 2nd planet, reducing our speed to 100kps. We waited. I was counting on their greed. The value of gold was worth over twice the amount in Drax space than it was in our home system. What they saw was a fortune. I was sure they wouldn't be able to resist the bait.

  They responded almost immediately, demanding to speak to Nugget. We made them wait an hour and a half before letting them talk to Nugget. They were furious.

  "Damn that fool woman for not allowing us to talk to you sooner. We will have her head!"

  "My servant was doing as ordered. I was having lunch with my consort. I take my private time very seriously and am not to be disturbed for any reason."

  "We have considered your need of security for your valuables and wish to come to terms."

  "No terms will be discussed until I have had a chance to inspect your facilities and review your procedures."

  "It is an unusual request, our reputation proceeds us. No one has breached our security since this depository was established."

  "It is an order from the queen. It cannot be ignored."

  "Very well. We will make an exception for you. Come alone. We will give you a tour of our vaults, at your earliest convenience."

  We changed course again, heading back to the 2nd planet and its moon where the Drax held their empire's treasury. We maintained our leisurely speed of 100 KPS. It took two more days to reach orbit.

  Persephone and I dressed in power armor and met Nugget on my private launch. We were to pose as his bodyguards. Nugget sat in the pilot's seat, and Persephone and I strapped ourselves into passenger seats. He keyed in the startup sequence, and the shuttle did nothing.

  "What the hell is going on? Why isn't this shuttle working?" He was obviously frustrated.

  My marauder and my launch wouldn't work for anyone other than me. The first time I piloted the ships my cybernetics reprogrammed the ships to accept my enhanced input. The controls would work manually, but it took extra effort on my part to override the lockout in my limbs after connecting with the shuttle. The shuttle wouldn't work at all if I wasn't connected.

  "I'm sure you had something to do with it."

  "I forgot, my cybernetics reprogram any shuttle I fly to make it more efficient for my use. It requires that I am linked up with the shuttle to fly it."

  "I need this ship to show how rich I am. The Drax won't believe us if we show up in a cargo shuttle."

  "I'll fly us over," I said unbuckling and moving to the cockpit.

  "No funny stuff or I'll have Astrea transform you into a spider." He learned that I hate spiders. I dislike bugs of all sorts but hate arachnids the most. In this case, it was no idle threat. Astrea had the power to do it. She was a goddess. I would have to convince Persephone to change me back or stay that way until I figured out how to transform myself back to my body.

  Persephone sat in the copilot's seat next to me. "Don't worry, I will make sure Nathaniel behaves."

  I willed the connection with the ship's computer. Filaments extended from my right wrist and made the connection with the shuttle's computer. I started its engines and quickly cycled through the preflight checklist. Persephone placed her hand on mine and merged her consciousness with mine. Together we willed the shuttle to launch.

  We both felt the exhilaration of flight. I felt the need to race and soar, spreading my wings to fly free. Persephone felt it too. She put a stop to my fun. I was about to fly like I never had before. Each time I flew, I felt the ever increasing desire to push the ship to its limits and enjoy myself.

  "We have a mission. You can have fun later," Persephone reminded me.

  I headed to the small moon orbiting the second planet. Instead of being made to wait, we were given priority clearance. Their desire to cheat us out of our gold outweighed any desire to humiliate, or at the least make us feel unwelcome.

  I landed my pri
vate launch in the shuttle bay I was directed to and shut down its engines. The pressure read equal and the atmosphere breathable. I unsealed and opened the shuttles boarding hatch. This time the air didn't stink.

  The three of us exited the launch. It was bigger and more luxurious than a regular transport shuttle and had the advantage of being able to enter hyperspace. Nugget took the lead, Persephone and I followed from a discrete distance, staying to his rear.

  A Drax was waiting to greet him. "Who are these people? You were supposed to come alone!"

  "These are not people. They are my shadow and are here for my protection. Ignore them, but you should know they have sworn to die, if need be, to protect me from harm. They have trained to be my shadow since birth."

  "Very well. We have weapons trained on them, If they should prove to be a nuisance, they will be eliminated."

  "There is no need to worry about them."

  He began the tour. "After your deposit arrives it will be scanned for explosives and eavesdropping devices. You would be surprised at the number of people who attempt to get past our security." He showed us to the scanning equipment. Several crates were waiting in line to be scanned. The scanners were able to quickly match the contents against the inventories to ensure accuracy, as well as search for contraband. One of the crates was pulled to the side and placed into a secure room. Then it was exposed to an EMP to destroy the devices that the scanners detected.

  "Very efficient," Nugget commented. We followed the crates to the next section. Thousands of vaults lined a circular section extending above us and well below the moon's surface. I was expecting someplace large, but not on this scale. There was no way we could hold even a small percentage of the valuables contained inside the vault. This place was massive.

  Next, we were shown to the control room. Technicians were at all stations monitoring the depositories shields and defensive weapons. They, in turn, were being closely watched by guards.

  "Our control center is manned at all times. We have three reactors to supply our power. Our weapons, shields, and basic operations are each powered by their own reactor. Our depository can withstand an attack by even the largest known fleet. To even have a chance of success, the reactors powering our shields and weapons would have to be destroyed. They are well protected, thirty floors below the moon's surface."

  "Very impressive. Your security certainly exceeds what we were expecting. I will prepare our first, of many, deposits on my return. Would tomorrow be too soon?"

  "Any time tomorrow will be sufficient."

  "I find myself short on the local currency. Can credit be extended for my spending? Our deposit will, of course, serve as collateral against any credit."

  "Of course. I was hoping you would ask. You're not from around. Credit would be difficult to establish without our service. I can offer you 5000 credits per ounce against your gold and platinum. The gems would each have to be evaluated individually to ensure proper credit."

  It sounded like a lot and was twice what our gold was originally worth. What he was offering was less than half of the market value. They couldn't resist cheating us. I was sure other charges would be applied to our account to relieve us of our hard-won treasure.

  "That sounds like a reasonable exchange rate." Nugget agreed. The Drax produced a contract ready for Nugget's signature. Nugget didn't even bother reading it or asking about what was contained within it. He eagerly signed the contract.

  We were led back to our launch, and soon we were on our way back to the Persephone. The Drax had given me all the information I needed to come up with a plan. Not only did they volunteer what was needed. They bragged about it.

  ****

  The plan was simple. Persephone and I would sneak into the depository, disable the reactors, and shut down the environmental controls. With the weapons and shields down we could move in and steal their treasure. Their security forces would be too busy trying to survive to mount any real defense against us.

  Tammy and Daphne knew everything about wood. They could shape it any way that they wanted with just their touch. Jewel and Amber's bed no longer sported modern carvings on its footboard. Now the likeness of the two nymphs were embossed on it. They had made the footboard their new, temporary, home while they were here helping with the children.

  They used their skill with wood to make two elaborately designed chests for our gold and platinum. There were small vent holes, integrated into the design that we could use for our escape. They would never harm any wood by carving it. The wood simply changed shape with their touch.

  The chests were loaded onto a gravsled then filled with gold and platinum bars. There was only a slight gap between the bars of gold and the walls and lid of the chest. It would be enough. I should bite Nugget for making the suggestion, I thought, while climbing onto his open hand with Persephone at my side.

  "The two of you only have a short time to spin your web. Persephone, try not to eat Nathaniel if he tries mating with you."

  That did it. I bit him. Nugget didn't seem to notice. He set us down gently on top of the gold and closed the lid of the trunk, sealing us inside. Persephone and I began spinning the web that would serve as our acceleration couch and harness.

  Making a web is much harder than it looks. It wasn't just a matter of pulling a thread from our spinnerets. It took careful coordination to pull and stretch the thread while pulling the web taught before connecting the thread at its thread junction. All of this had to be done without tangling myself in my own thread. Persephone was much better and faster at it than I was.

  We had no sooner finished our web when we began moving. We were jostled about worse than any combat flight I ever flew in. The hooks on our rear legs and forelegs held us in place but not without us becoming caught in our own sticky thread. There was a heavy jolt that felt like it was going to pull the legs from my body, then all movement stopped.

  We were in the shuttle, getting ready for launch. I didn't have any idea who the pilot would be. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be Nugget, but I didn't have a clue as to who would be piloting. Neither Persephone or I could see from within the treasure chest. I tried using the neurochip inside my brain. I was surprised to find that it still worked after my transformation but disappointed to find that the ship had no information either. I guess I could have just asked Persephone.

  The engines started, and we started moving. Persephone and I braced ourselves in our web, and we spun additional silk to use as a safety net. We were forced back in our web. The g-force flattened us against the web. The strands of the thread made groaning noises, and a couple of the web junctions snapped, breaking away. The shuttle did a complete roll, then banked hard to the right, still accelerating. Only a half a dozen pilots flew like that. I could narrow it down to two. Jewel and Amber were at the controls. It was a good thing we spun the extra silk. We were going to need it.

  After being jostled about for what seemed an eternity, the flight smoothed out. Jewel must be on final approach for landing. I spun another thread to use as a safety line and attached it to the lid of the chest. Persephone did the same. I hooked the web with my rear legs and pulled the web as taught as I could before hooking the web with my forelegs.

  I wasn't disappointed. Jewel rolled the ship twice over the runway before touching down, reversing her thrust, and braking hard. We were thrown forward. The web pulled free from its anchor points, tangling both Persephone and me in its mess. Fortunately, our draglines held, braking our flight to the opposite chest wall. Had we been between the gold bars and the chest we would have been crushed.

  "That crazy human ought to have her license revoked. She's dangerous!" one of the ground crew commented, several others agreed. Drax workers moved our chests, not very gently to the scanning room.

  "The craftsmanship on these chests is exquisite. I can't see any joinery and the lines in the wood flow together all the way around. It's as if the chest was grown like this," the Drax worker said admiring the work.

  "Eve
rything the Keshian deposited will soon be ours. The fool didn't even look at the contract. Half of his gold is ours already. The rest will be ours soon. You can keep the chests if you want them; sell them if you don't."

  "The credits I will make selling these chests will make a nice bonus."

  Our chests were dropped on the floor. A series of sensors scanned our chests. "I am picking up biological readings in the last chest."

  "It's just bugs, I'll take care of it."

  "Be careful not to damage the wood!"

  The lock hasp was forced open with a pry-bar. We were blinded by the light after being in complete darkness for hours. "It's just a couple of spiders." An aerosol spray covered us. It burned. My muscles felt like cramping, and my legs twitched uncontrollably. "That will take care of them. The chests can be moved to the vault now."

  The lid was closed, and we were underway again. My legs twitched, and I rolled over onto my back. "Quit acting like a baby. It wasn't that bad. You need to stop relying on your nanites and learn how to heal yourself. Persephone touched my legs with hers, and they stopped twitching. I felt much better.

  It was a tight squeeze for me to get through the small vent holes. It was even tighter for Persephone. Female spiders tended to be larger than their male counterparts. As soon as we were clear of the chest, she transformed us into our human forms.

  "I will never let Nugget convince me to be transformed into a spider again. If anyone needs to become a spider, it will be him."

  "It wasn't that bad, just imagine the fun we could have in that form."

  "What? A few minutes of pleasure, only to be eaten afterward."

  "Maybe I wouldn't eat you, as long as you pleased me."

  I still didn't think it was worth becoming my nemesis. "We need to take a look outside to make sure the area is clear."

  "I told you, I am not going to merge with a wall or door again. It freaks me out. You do it!"

  "How?"

  "I'll guide you." She put her hands on my head and just barely touched my consciousness with hers. "Imagine your self as if you were a spirit, able to pass through anything." I tried. I felt silly doing it. "Now put your face against the door and will yourself through it."