by Huw Powell
“It’s going to take us a couple of days to reach the sixth solar system and find Baden Scott,” said the captain. “I want you to use that time wisely, because we don’t know what will be waiting for us. The word on the stars is that Admiral Vantard is on the move and searching for something.”
“Us?” guessed Jake.
“Aye, probably.”
“I could contact my parents,” said Kella. “I’m sure they could tell us what’s happening in the sixth solar system.”
Granny Leatherhead scratched her crusty leather eyepatch. “A nice idea, but it’s not worth the risk.”
“I—”
“No arguments,” said the captain. “I know you miss your family, but the Interstellar Navy will have been monitoring any communications with your parents ever since the space mafia kidnapped you. It wouldn’t surprise me if Papa Don had told Admiral Vantard that you’re now aboard the Dark Horse.”
“So what are we going to do?” asked Jake.
“We need a rear weapon,” said Granny Leatherhead. “Old Lizzy and the side cannon are of no use when we’re attacked from behind. If it hadn’t been for the Divine Wind, we would all be dead by now.”
“But where we find new laser cannon in space?” asked Nanoo.
“You see that?” Granny Leatherhead pointed to a narrow ladder between the portholes. “It leads up to a hidden turret above the exhausts, but the laser cannon has been broken for years. Nanoo, I want you to fix it before taking over Jake’s responsibilities in the engine room.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Kella, I want you to keep up your good work as the ship’s medic. I never thanked you properly for healing me. You have an amazing gift, and I meant what I said about owing you.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Jake, I want you to train as a gunner.”
“Aye . . . what?”
“A gunner, lad, I want you to train as a gunner,” she said. “Once Nanoo has fixed the rear laser cannon, we’ll need someone to operate it. Who else is there? I need Kella to heal the crew and Nanoo to heal the ship. You’re useful in the engine room, but not essential. I want to see if you’re as fast with a laser cannon as you are with a sword.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Jake could hardly believe it. He had never been allowed to clean a laser cannon, let alone fire one, and now he was going to be trained as a gunner. No more sweating in the engine room and making pirate tea. He had enemy ships to blast.
“Good,” said Granny Leatherhead. “I want the cannon fixed and ready for action by the time we reach the sixth solar system. Nanoo, fetch your tools and start work. Jake, your first lesson begins in two minutes. Maaka is waiting for you on the gun deck. Kella, stay here to check my blood pressure. Kella?”
Jake turned to find Kella examining a model spaceship tucked behind a wall strap, which she carefully picked up and sniffed.
“Rum,” she said, unscrewing the cockpit.
“You leave that alone,” croaked Granny Leatherhead. “It was a present.”
“I’m confiscating it,” said Kella. “It’s for your own good.”
Granny Leatherhead looked furious. “Get out of my room, you condescending crystal doctor, before I do something my body regrets.”
The three of them hastened out of the captain’s quarters with the ship-shaped flask. Jake made his way to the gun deck as instructed, where he found Maaka Metal Head standing next to a sawed-off laser cannon. It was a modest weapon, but still the size of a hover-bike and powerful enough to destroy a shuttlecraft with one shot. In total, the Dark Horse had six sawed-off laser cannon, three on each side, but only two shipmates to operate them.
“Hello, Jake,” said Maaka. “Have you ever fired one of these before?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve never even fired a laser pistol.”
“All you need is a sharp eye and a steady hand.” Maaka patted the faded leather saddle at the rear of the cannon. “Here, take a seat.”
Jake slid into position, his legs straddling the huge weapon. He’d seen the crew practicing and it had looked simple enough. How hard could it be?
“What’s the first thing you need to do?” asked Maaka.
“Turn on the laser cannon?”
“Correct. We power them up before rolling them out.”
Maaka flipped a large green switch and the cannon activated. Jake felt the saddle vibrate as a small display screen lit up and lights flashed on his control panel.
“What’s next?” asked Maaka, once the gunsights appeared.
“We fire?”
“That would be a bad idea,” said Maaka. “You need to open the gun ports first.”
“No problem.” Jake reached up and pulled a red handle labeled Ports. Metal hatches lifted on both sides of the ship with an unpleasant scraping sound, letting starlight pour onto the gun deck. The cannon jerked beneath him and rolled forward until the display screen almost touched the wall.
“It’s okay, there’s no one around to see us,” said Maaka. “What now?”
“We fire?”
“Good luck, with the safety catch on.”
Jake looked at his control panel and saw a flashing orange button under the word Lock. He pressed it, and the cannon hummed ominously.
“Now you can fire,” said Maaka. “Take the handlebars, aim at one of those asteroids out there, hold on tight, and squeeze the trigger.”
Jake did as he was told, seizing the rubber handlebars and using his weight to swing the laser cannon, which felt effortless in zero gravity. He concentrated on the display screen, trying to catch an asteroid in his gunsights.
“Keep still,” he muttered.
“It’s a good thing they’re not firing back,” said Maaka, laughing.
Jake ignored him. It wasn’t as easy as it looked. He swung the cannon toward the largest asteroid and pulled the trigger. It fired with such force that he was thrown off his seat and into the air.
“Missed,” said Maaka, checking the window. “But not bad for your first attempt.”
“I let go of the handlebars,” moaned Jake, his ears ringing from the blast.
“Aye, but you’re fast,” said Maaka. “With a bit of practice, you’ll make a good gunner. Give it another try, only this time hold on tighter.”
Jake limped back to the lower deck, holding his backside with both hands. He had been practicing on the laser cannon for over two hours, and he was now saddle sore. It had taken him several attempts to hit something, and the laser cannon had almost overheated twice. Maaka had assured him that it was a good start and he would improve with practice.
When Jake had watched his first asteroid explode into a thousand fragments, it had both excited and frightened him. He had never before appreciated the power possessed by gunners. What if that asteroid had been another ship? Was he ready to kill with the squeeze of the trigger? It was bad enough that space pirates had to steal to survive, but taking someone’s life was far more serious.
On his way back to the guest quarters, Jake stopped by the engine room to see Scargus and Manik. He had only been gone a few hours, but he was already missing them. As he opened the door, he realized how strange it was going to be not doing his usual chores each morning: cleaning tools, greasing the pistons, and making pots of pirate tea.
“Hello, shipmates,” said Jake. “How’s it going down here? Where’s Squawk?”
“Hopefully in the oven,” grumped Scargus, standing with a tangle of wires in his hand next to an intercom panel. “Or on a shuttle to Zerost.”
“Squawk escaped from the engine room,” explained Manik. “I expect he’s hiding in the cargo hold or dining area. Nanoo’s gone to find him.”
Jake looked around the engine room. It felt as though he was walking out on Scargus and Manik, after they had been so kind to him.
“Has Nanoo told you that he’s taking over my duties?”
“Aye,” said Scargus, unraveling a long blue wire and cutting it. “We hear the captain want
s to train you as a gunner.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Congratulations,” said Manik, holding up a robotic thumb. “That sounds exciting.”
“Thanks.” Jake leaned against the orange corrugated wall. “I’m going to miss working down here.”
“Yeah, right,” snorted Scargus. “How’s the captain?”
“Cranky,” said Jake.
“Ha! It sounds as though she’s back to her old self.”
There was something that Jake had been meaning to ask the chief engineer. “When we were in the captain’s quarters, I saw something, a photo of a young woman holding a baby. Was that her daughter, Jenny?”
Scargus scratched his bushy gray beard. “Aye, I expect that was Jenny Leatherhead, or whatever her name is now.”
“You mean she’s still alive?”
“Who, Jenny?” Scargus stuffed the wires back into the panel and replaced the cover. “As far as I know.”
“So what happened to her?”
“That’s a long story, Jakey-boy.”
“In that case,” said Manik, picking up three empty cups, “I’ll make some tea.”
Jake and Scargus strapped themselves into the collapsed sofa in the corner of the engine room while Manik brewed some pirate tea.
“Jenny Leatherhead was part of the crew,” said Scargus. “A proud Space Dog and a fine pilot. It broke the captain’s heart when she left.”
“Did they have a fight?”
“You could say that.” Scargus did an impression of a bomb exploding. “Jenny fell in love with the first mate, Machete Morgan. He was older than her and rougher than razor wire.”
“I’m guessing the captain didn’t approve,” said Jake.
“No. She didn’t want her daughter to get hurt, but Jenny was as stubborn as her mother and she continued to see Machete Morgan. It created a terrible tension on the Dark Horse and mistakes started to happen.”
“That’s what happens when you let your personal life interfere with your work,” said Manik, appearing with three steaming cups.
“Spacejackers shouldn’t have personal lives,” grumbled Scargus. “There’s no room for romance aboard a pirate ship.”
Manik rolled her eyes and handed out the pirate tea before nestling between Jake and Scargus on the sofa.
“Did Jenny run away with Machete Morgan?” asked Jake.
“No,” said Scargus, blowing into his cup. “Machete Morgan was killed in the Mega Mall Massacre.”
Manik sipped her tea. “Was that the mission that took out half of the crew and cost the captain her eye?”
“Aye, that’s the one,” said Scargus. “Machete Morgan was showing off to Jenny by spacejacking a new designer trading station called the Mega Mall, but he forgot to check the long-range scanner. The boarding party was still inside when a naval warship arrived. Troops stormed the Mega Mall and shot the place up. The captain lost her eye in a palm grenade explosion. I had to drag her back to the ship, though she was still cursing and firing her laser pistol.”
“And Machete Morgan?” asked Jake.
“He found a spacesuit and slipped outside the trading station. But before the Dark Horse could pick him up, the warship opened fire and Machete Morgan caught a laser bolt in the chest.”
“Holy technology,” gasped Jake.
“You said it,” said Scargus. “Jenny was devastated and locked herself in her quarters for three days without food. When she finally came out, she had a huge row with the captain and quit the crew. The last I heard, Jenny had moved to Reus and turned respectable. Apparently she married a crystal dealer and they have a daughter of their own.”
“So that’s what the captain meant when she said that not every buccaneer makes it to retirement.”
Scargus nodded. “Most shipmates either die or give up. The captain has missed Jenny over the years, but she’s too stubborn to follow her. Too stubborn and too afraid.”
“Granny Leatherhead, afraid?”
“Aye, afraid of making an honest living,” said Scargus. “The captain only knows how to be a spacejacker. It was the family business, before Jenny left. That’s why the captain was so upset about losing her gold, because she’s been trying to save up enough to retire on Reus and see her daughter again.”
“And the fine dresses?” asked Jake.
“It was all part of her plan to become a respectable granny who doesn’t bring shame on her family.” Scargus slurped his tea and squinted at Jake. “Her granddaughter would be about your age now, which is probably why the captain let you kids stay on this ship. Lizzy never used to be that soft.”
“If Jenny is Granny Leatherhead’s daughter,” said Jake, “who’s the father?”
Scargus stared into his cup. “No one that matters.”
Before Jake could inquire further, the hatch door opened and Nanoo entered with Squawk perched on his head.
“That the last time I chase parrot around ship,” said Nanoo, folding his arms.
Chapter 9
Baden’s Story
Jake sat alone in the dining area on the first deck, chewing a freeze-dried biscuit and checking his handheld computer to see if Baden had left the sixth solar system. Maaka had postponed their next laser cannon lesson and Jake was bored. Across the room, the Interstellar News kept showing images of naval warships surrounding Vantos.
“The atmosphere is incredibly tense here,” said the reporter. “The standoff is entering its third day and the Interstellar Navy is refusing to move its fleet. Neighboring independent colonies, Abbere and Torbana, have sent ships to assist Vantos, but this has been condemned by the United Worlds as an aggressive act.”
“Is it true what we’re hearing about the Gorks?” asked the newsreader.
“There have been reports of Gork vessels attacking civilian ships throughout the seven solar systems, but these have not been confirmed or denied by the Interstellar Government.”
Jake had heard enough. It was obvious that the Interstellar Navy was deploying its ships across the galaxy, looking for an excuse to start a war. Time was running out to warn the independent colonies, and the Dark Horse was still a day away from the service port in the sixth solar system where Baden Scott’s salvage trawler was docked, according to the spacefaring register.
Jake turned off the Interstellar News and left the dining area. It was still too early for his laser cannon lesson, but he made his way up to the gun deck and climbed onto one of the laser cannon saddles. While he waited for Maaka, he tried to imagine what it would be like to be a gunner in a space battle. It was hard enough to hit a slow-moving asteroid, let alone a swarm of enemy fighter craft.
Why had Maaka postponed their lesson? Jake needed all the practice he could get before the Dark Horse encountered another naval warship. He looked at the tempting green switch in front of him and tried to think of a reason not to flip it. Would old Metal Head be mad if Jake started without him, or would he expect Jake to behave like a proper spacejacker and break the rules?
“A few asteroids won’t hurt,” he said, flicking the switch.
The saddle vibrated and the small display lit up. Jake waited until the gunsights appeared and then pulled the red handle to open the gun ports. He knew the crew would hear the scraping noise, but at least they wouldn’t be surprised when the laser cannon fired. The weapon rolled forward and Jake gripped the rubber handlebars. When it stopped, he scanned the area for asteroids and found a large cluster coated in space barnacles. He carefully took aim, held on tight, and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Was it broken? Jake sat back and stared at the controls. What had he forgotten?
“The safety catch,” he groaned.
Jake pushed the flashing orange button and went to pull the trigger when Maaka and Woorak burst onto the gun deck, half dressed and bleary-eyed.
“What’s going on?” asked Maaka. “What are you doing on that cannon?”
“It’s okay,” said Jake. “I started witho
ut you.”
“But you’re n-n-not allowed up here on y-y-your own,” stuttered Woorak.
“I’m not an idiot,” said Jake. “I know what I’m doing.”
Eager to prove himself, he checked his gunsights and squeezed the trigger. A laser bolt burst from the sawed-off cannon and shot straight into the cluster of asteroids . . . except they weren’t asteroids.
Boom!
The Dark Horse rocked violently and Jake was thrown off his saddle, but he managed to keep hold of the laser cannon handlebars. An alarm sounded and the lights switched to red. Jake could hear shouting on the bridge above them.
“You idiot!” yelled Maaka, holding on to the wall. “Those were space mines from a past conflict between two colonies. We’re passing through an old war zone. Why do you think I postponed our lesson?”
Jake pulled himself back onto his saddle and turned off the laser cannon.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know.”
The intercom was now fixed and working properly—however, Granny Leatherhead still sounded like a deranged, raging beast.
“Which of you mindless morons fired that cannon?” she screeched from her quarters. “If you’ve damaged my ship, I’ll have your eyes for earrings.”
Jake wished that he could take back the laser bolt and stop himself from pulling the trigger. How could he have been so stupid? The intercom crackled again, but this time it was Farid.
“Medical emergency,” said the first mate. “Kella, we need you on the bridge.”
Maaka and Woorak turned and left the gun deck. Jake dismounted his laser cannon and hurried after them. He sprinted up the metal staircase and along the top deck, wanting to know who was hurt. What would the crew do to him if the ship was damaged?
“It’s Kodan,” Jake heard Farid say as he entered the bridge. “He was cleaning Old Lizzy when the explosion hit. I think he’s busted his shoulder.”
