Unlikely Hero

by Sian B. Claven

  Contents

  Unlikely Hero

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgement

  Prologue

  Escape Route

  Setting Sail

  The Thalian Sity

  Crash Landing

  Terms & Conditions

  Caught

  About the Author

  Review a Book

  Unlikely Hero

  By

  Sian B. Claven

  COPYRIGHT 2019 Sian B. Claven

  All characters; events and establishments in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author.

  Cover Design by Southern Stiles

  Edited by Redwing Productions

  This one is dedicated to Toni

  Thank you for believing in me.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to everyone who has helped shape me into the author I am, but a very big thank you needs to go out to the following friends and family.

  To Toni, my best friend. Thank you for believing in me. This one is for you.

  To Darren, thank you for always being willing to listen to me rant and rave about books.

  To Jackie, my darling and my everything. Thank you for being my number one supporter and fan, and the best big sister a little sister can ask for.

  To Elaina, thank you for standing by me during this transition as I become a fantasy author along with a horror author.

  To Poppet, thank you for always designing the most amazing covers.

  To you my Beta team - thank you Lorrie & Ona for standing by me and being the first to enter my new world.

  To my fantasy fans - I hope you enjoy this short story.

  Prologue

  The cargo hold was anything but silent. This close to the spaceship’s engines there was a constant thrum that seemed to echo in the dark space. Not that it bothered Jasy; she didn’t much care for any sort of conversation. She preferred to be on her own, preferred to be left to her thoughts, which mainly revolved around figuring out where she was going to spend the night and what she was going to eat.

  At least she had a few gold coins left over from her old job. She spent a great portion of that on getting the captain to allow her to space-hike across the galaxy on his ship. It was illegal, it was costly, but it was all Jasy had known since she was fifteen years old.

  He promised to port on a space station that orbited the capital planet, and Jasy was unperturbed. It didn’t matter where she went. It was her ritual. Find a spot, find a job, work it a couple of months, find a ship, and space-hike to the next place, wherever that was.

  The tight control the Capital had over the transportation routes made it costly and almost impossible to leave a home planet unless you were employed to work on a ship, and getting those kinds of permits were almost impossible. Thus the riff-raff stayed with the riff-raff and the upper class travelled wherever their hearts desired. Then there were space-hikers, like Jasy, who cared little that the penalty for space-hiking was death by space-jump - launched into the vacuum with enough oxygen to last a week, so you just floated around, watching objects and craft pass you by, marked as a criminal, slowly starving and going mad, until you either took your helmet off and let space suck your entrails out through your eye sockets or you simply passed out and died.

  It was worth the risk to Jasy and to a lot of others she had seen. Every trip, there were at least twenty to thirty hiking their way to a better life, to achieve something, or to run from something.

  “You’re on the run, ain’t you?”

  The sound of the voice, and the proximity of it, startled her and she looked over at an elderly man sitting on an upturned bucket rolling a cigarette.

  “Those things will kill you, old man,” she said, and ignored the flash of anger that crossed his face.

  “You’d do well to respect your elders, little girl,” was the retort she got back.

  She wasn’t looking for a fight and simply shrugged and rested her back against the metal wall, her legs stretched out in front of her.

  “I mean you no harm; you just look too young to be this far from home,” he added.

  “I don’t have a home.”

  “So you are running.” He was satisfied that he was right, but the annoyed look on Jasy’s face told him he wasn’t about to pry anything else out of her. He turned away to smoke his cigarette.

  Not far from them was a young couple, the woman heavily pregnant. They were Thalian, humanoid snake-like people who birthed up to six babies at once. They would be tiny little beings. Jasy knew this from her time on Thalia, and for other reasons she preferred not to think about.

  We are docking in ten minutes, prepare to disembark.

  The sound of the captain’s friendly voice made the hairs on the back of Jasy’s neck stand up. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Jasy shifted off her worn sleeping bag and rolled it up. All her meagre belongings were in her backpack and she strapped it on before the ship docked.

  The doors were not even properly open when Jasy slipped between them and moved down the side of the dock before anyone noticed she had exited the ship.

  It was a good thing too; from under the dock she heard chaos erupt as guards boarded the ship and started to arrest all the space-hikers who were in the cargo hold. The old man screamed for help, saying they missed one, that he would give a description if they let him go. She sat and waited, but the guards didn’t take him seriously and soon everyone was marched towards holding quarters. They would be shipped to Antonian, the capital planet they were in the orbit of, to face their punishment.

  *~*~*~*

  Jasy delayed until nightfall before making her way to a quiet and dingy-looking bar. She sat at the counter and waited to be served.

  To her right was a mandroid, a human who had opted for cheap machinery instead of cloned parts to replace vital organs in his body. They became mandroids once they were more machine than human. He sipped on a dark substance. Oil Whiskey. Jasy could smell it from where she sat. It was disgusting, but it would warm him up.

  A rowdy bunch of humans were playing pool and yelling over each other. The only other patrons were two Thalians waiting to be served down the other side of the bar.

  “What can I get you?”

  A human was bartending, and her name tag read ‘Sally’. She was a larger than life woman, Jasy could see that instantly, and her skin was aged like leather. She had light make up on and thick curly red hair framed her face and flowed down her back.

  “A job, if you have one?” Jasy asked, taking out some coin.

  “There are no vacancies here, kid,” she said. “I don’t need no one to help me run my bar. Now, do you want something to drink?”

  “A Nightjuice,” Jasy said, putting a coin down.

  Sally took it and brought the luminescent drink, setting it in front of Jasy before moving to serve the Thalians.

  The mandroid watched Sally closely and, as soon as she had her back to him, he reached over the bar for the Oil Whiskey.

  Seeing an opportunity not to be missed, Jasy hopped over the expanse, moved the bottle out of his reach while simultaneously grabbing his outstretched arm and slamming it onto the counter.

  “No stealing,” she said calmly.

  Sally turned around at the commotion. The bar had gone quiet and the mandroid glared at Jasy.

  “You got no business interfering, girl,” he gro
wled, bringing up his other arm to grab her.

  Jasy set the oil whiskey on the floor as she ducked his reach, one hand still holding his other arm. As he missed her, she came up and grabbed his head, slamming it into the solid top several times before throwing him back to lay on the floor out cold.

  “Back over you go,” Sally said, reaching for her gun and pointing it at the mandroid, “and you, C9, get the hell out of my bar.”

  Jasy quickly moved back to her seat and sipped her drink, ignoring Sally.

  “I’d thank you if I wasn’t mad at you. You don’t interfere in my business, girl,” she said as the other patrons went back to what they were doing.

  “I don’t need much,” Jasy said, looking up. “Just a place to stay and my tips and I’ll be out your hair.”

  “You can sleep in the bar after closing time,” Sally said, throwing an apron her way. “And you’re damn right, only your tips. Also, you’ll do whatever I tell you, you hear?”

  Jasy nodded and downed her drink. She wrapped the apron around her waist and took the basin Sally held out.

  “Start with clearing up the bar right now.”

  Jasy smiled and moved off, trying not to smirk too much.

  *~*~*~*

  Escape Route

  The Antonian princess was not one to take her duties lightly, or to run away from a problem, but now she was forced to do both, and Mark wasn’t happy about it. After what she told him, though, he knew he had to get her to dark space no matter what happened.

  It was better than her plan, which had been suicide.

  The trick was to get to dark space without the Legion or the Body Corporate - the rulers of the Capital - finding out. That was especially difficult since the very reason they were the Body Corporate was because they controlled all travel throughout the civilized universe.

  Mark managed to arrange passage to his mother on an orbiting space station. He was hoping she would provide advice on how he could get to dark space before anyone realised the princess was missing.

  Princess. He scoffed over them calling her that. There was no king anymore. Her family were figureheads, for show and to give the people something to be preoccupied with. She explained all this to him when he was assigned to her as the head of the Royal Guard. He then developed such a soft spot for her; after all, they spent every single day together, she the figurehead, he the protector.

  The night was dark as he motioned for her to move ahead of him, walking silently through the palace where she lived. There were no guards where they were, Mark had made sure of that. He had resources at his disposal and had been sure to use it. They slipped out a secret door on the north-west edge of the Rose Gardens, a garden that had long ago died from the pollution of the city.

  As they made their way through the busy streets nobody paid them any attention. No one in Anotonian cared about anybody else, everyone was self-absorbed. That was how it was with every wealthy city.

  Normally Mark hated it, but tonight it served them well. He moved the princess to the docking station and to his friend’s transporter without any incident and soon they were on their way to the spaceport.

  His friend Lee didn’t ask any questions about where they were going or why, or who Mark was taking there. They simply travelled in silence and, once they arrived, Mark paid him and they parted ways without another word.

  It didn’t take them long to find his mother’s bar. Mark gave the princess a reassuring smile before leading her towards the door.

  *~*~*~*

  His mother had a new barmaid; that was the least surprising fact about the place. He hadn’t been there in a few years, he only came when he needed help, and that wasn’t often, but the bar looked much better than it had in the past. The jukebox was working and music filled the room. There were more customers than he had ever seen. Tables and chairs were now put out and some patrons got to sit and eat, which was also something new. Serving food again was not something he expected his mother to do. People were dancing, drinking, playing drinking games and having a good time, just as his mother had always wanted.

  He approached the counter and the barmaid came to assist him.

  “What can I get you?” She had to shout to be heard over the noise in the room.

  “Can I speak to Sally?”

  “No drinky, no talky,” she teased, grinning and wiping the top clean in front of him.

  “Now,” he said, his irritation evident in his voice.

  She caught sight of his expression and shook her head. “Fine,” she conceded. “Sal,” she called, “cocky asshole at twelve o’ clock for you.”

  “That cocky asshole is MARK!” Sal shrieked the last word and Mark couldn’t help but give her his signature charming smile.

  She walked around the counter and out the little side door, throwing her arms around him and pulling him against her, hugging him tightly.

  The princess watched them with a soft smile, and Mark blushed as he pulled away.

  “Hello, mother,” he said formally, “I’m sorry to show up unannounced …”

  He didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Sally butted in, “… but you’re in trouble and you need your mama to bail you out again.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at the princess and then back at Mark. “Jasy,” she said, and the barmaid came back to their side of the bar.

  “Yeah, Sal?”

  “Can you please pour us two hydrations and one whiskey and bring it to booth four?”

  “Of course, Sal,” the barmaid said obediently, before going off.

  “Come now, my son, tell your mother your woes.”

  She led them over to a booth and Mark couldn’t help but smile when he realised it was the one furthest from the crowd. They would have privacy. His mother knew best when problems needed confidentiality; it was why he knew he could come to her. She could get anything done in any section of the civilized universe. Everyone knew her and everyone had a ‘That one time with Sally’ story.

  Jasy brought their drinks over and, while they waited for her to arrive, Mark glanced at his mother. “I didn’t think you’d hire help.”

  The comment was meant to be cheeky and she swatted at him playfully.

  “Jasy is a godsend,” Sal said fondly, which surprised Mark.

  His mother was sweet at times, and made friends easily, but she seldom trusted people. She managed a bar, after all, and had her fair share of trouble makers and advantage takers in her life.

  “She fixed the jukebox for me, because you’re never around to help anymore. You know I’m useless with shit like that.” She paused to sip her whiskey and then plonked it down on the table. “And she managed to sand down the tables and clean out the booths. This one here is normally empty because it’s where she sleeps at night, so I don’t like it being a mess, but she doesn’t mind us using it.’’

  “Course not, Sal,” came Jasy’s response with what seemed like a genuine smile as she placed their drinks on the table, “but it’s not mine for much longer.”

  “I’ll convince you to stay one way or another,” Sal rebuked.

  Jasy left again, giggling to herself.

  Mark watched as she gathered up the empties and managed simultaneously to keep an eye on the bar itself. It was moderately impressive for a girl.

  “So how bad is the trouble?”

  “Really bad,” Mark commented, sipping on his hydration.

  A bluish synthetic liquid with the purpose of quenching thirst and hydrating the body, it had no taste. It was cheap. It was so like his mother to only give him that free. He didn’t blame her, though; he only came here when he needed help.

  “I need to get to dark space.”

  “Take a transport,” Sally said, finishing off her whiskey.

  “I need to get her there.” Mark nodded in the direction of the princess. “I can’t take normal transport.”

  “Ah, so the problem is that you need to space-hike to dark space and you want my help. Mark, when have I ever space-hiked anywh
ere?”

  Mark finished his hydration and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “You know people.” It was a fact. “And I need to leave as soon as possible. I don’t know when they will notice our absence, but rest assured, once they do, they’ll stop at nothing to find us.”

  Mark could see the effect his words had on his mother; the worry lines appeared. “I know one person who space-hikes.”

  “Will he help us?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask her.”

  “Her?” Mark frowned.

  “You want to be picky now?” Sally retorted. “This girl has space-hiked for the last six years of her life and has never been caught, not even when she got here during that raid a couple of months ago.”

  Mark had been at that raid. He knew exactly which one his mother was referring to, because they seldom did raids and that one had been massive. No one had gotten away.

  “Where is she now?”

  Sally smiled sadly. “Jasy!” she yelled. “Last round. Then lock up, pour yourself a drink and come sit your butt down.”

  *~*~*~*

  “You have got to be kidding!” Mark was on his feet and pacing. “I can’t trust our lives to a barmaid.” He gave Jasy a dirty look and shook his head. “No way.”

  “Hey, hey,” she said, frowning and standing up. “Who the hell said I’d help you anyway?” she asked, looking at Sally. “I’m moving on, Sal. I have places to be and things to do.”

  “Squalor to live in, no doubt.”

  He knew he sounded pompous, but he couldn’t believe that the only space-hiker his mother knew was this skinny little girl who looked like the worst part of a day shift on a mine dump. Okay, she was clean, he had to admit that, but her clothes were patched and everything she owned had clearly seen better days. There were one or two items that looked new and somehow he knew his mother had something to do with it.