“We about ready to go?” Jakes asked the two men sitting at the navigation console. “We got a long road ahead and I don’t wanna just sit here all day.”
“Aye, Sir,” relied the lead navigator. “Course laid in and ready.”
“Engines powering up, Captain,” announced a man seated to the right. “We’ll have jump point in three minutes.”
“Scanners at full,” said a woman in a short red skirt seated to their left. “We are fully operational, Sir.”
Henry marveled at the efficiency of the crew of the small ship. He had always assumed by Jakes’ attitude that the ship was run at a casual, haphazard pace. What he was seeing, however, was a model of military precision on the bridge of the ship. He made a mental note to check out the crew files that he had brought along with him to see who these people really were.
“Take us out,” ordered the Captain. “Full thrusters and head for our jump coordinate.”
“Captain Jakes,” Melaina said. “I am surprised to see women on your crew. I thought the Corsairs were all men.”
“We were,” replied the captain. “Until just a few months ago; Bonnie here is formerly of the good ship Iwo Jima. She and one of her friends joined us after your Captain Pearce brought them home.”
Henry remembered the mission that had brought the women back to the station. Lee and his Demons had used the same tactic as they tried on Alzerack, but the mission had turned into a disaster. As they tried to escape, many of the refugees had been killed by Ch’Tauk foot soldiers as they tried to run to the shuttle. After the mission, Pearce had decided to use a mixed race team to avoid suspicion on Alzerack.
The crew and passengers on the bridge watched as the image on the view screen as the ship pulled away from the station and turned the nose of the ship towards the planet. Although originally meant to be a colony world, the planet had proved too difficult to terraform after a rogue planetoid had shattered the moon of the planet, creating a deadly storm of meteors that pummeled the planet regularly. The station had been abandoned and the colony evacuated. After that event, the entire system had been forgotten and ignored until Captain Chang had stumbled on it while fleeing from the Ch’Tauk.
“Captain Jakes,” Melaina asked suddenly. “Where exactly are you planning to go?”
Instead of answering, Jakes stared out the view screen at the rapidly approaching planet. Henry saw the ship accelerate past the assault cruiser, Mars, and evade one of the larger asteroids that orbited the planet. Henry gripped the back of the captain’s chair as the ship seemed to fall into the planet.
“Captain,” Henry called to the man. “I think you need to pull up.”
The privateer just smiled as he monitored the two pilots before him. Henry saw wisps of fire begin to lick the nose of the ship as they entered the upper atmosphere. The lead pilot’s hand hovered over the control as the flames increased. The whole ship began to shake as the buffeting from the atmospheric friction increased. Jakes seemed to be waiting for something as Henry’s hands dug into the back of the chair.
“Jakes,” Henry cried. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Now,” said Jakes, ordering the lead pilot into motion.
The nose of the small ship angled up fast, causing the inertial dampeners to strain and whine as they shot back out into space. Henry could feel the pull of gravity increase as the ship accelerated back out into the void. The maneuver had caused the ship to travel at incredible speeds, but otherwise didn’t seem to accomplish much more than to rattle Henry’s nerves.
“You son of a bitch,” Melaina yelled at Jakes. “How dare you endanger this mission with a foolish stunt like that? We could have been killed!”
“Calm down, precious,” Jakes replied, turning to Melaina, who was gripping Tuxor’s lowest arm for support. “Sweet Liberty has handled a lot worse. I just like to feel the wind at our backs as we leave this place.”
On the view screen, the faint blue-brown echo of a vortex began to form. The Liberty did not have an annular ring like the Terran Hope had, but was equipped with retractable wings that produced the M-space entry points. The little ship pierced the edges of the jump point at high speeds, causing a blow back from the whirlpool in a hazy cloud. The screen glowed with the liquid cloud of M-space as the ship raced into the membranous space.
“Now that we are underway,” Jakes said, rising from where he had been leaning against the pilot console. “I will be happy to show you all to your cabins.”
“You still haven’t answered my question, Captain,” said Melaina. “Where are we going?”
“Now that’s a question that I have put a lot of thought into, little lady,” replied Jakes with a rakish grin. “Where do you start looking for a lone human in this great big universe?”
“Alright,” said Henry after Jakes paused for a long moment. “Where do we start?”
“If you wanna look for someone who don’t wanna be found,” replied Jakes, losing his grin and looking to Henry. “You go where nobody wants to be found.”
“And where is that, Captain Jakes?” Melaina asked, becoming perturbed at the man’s evasiveness.
“Ya’ll ever hear of Brylcon 2?” Jakes asked his guests.
7
Captain Connor Jakes smiled as he glanced at the dodecahedrons in his left hand. Each of the twenty sided objects sides were etched with a symbol that denoted a value in local currency. As he closed his hand over the gaming dice, he looked across the six-sided table at his only remaining opponent. “So tell me again,” he said to the creature opposite him. “How many of the little squiggles make me a winner?”
“Mister Jakes,” the one eyed alien said with a note of exasperation. “Are all you humans so forgetful? The current bid is twelve, seven and seven. You will need to roll at least a fourteen and three eights to win.”
“Sorry, Iagon,” replied the captain of the Sweet Liberty. “We humans ain’t too bright, ya’ see and I ain’t exactly what ya might call an honor student myself. And it’s Captain Jakes, if you don’t mind.”
Jakes opened his hand and blew across the dice, causing his opponent to grimace in disgust. Since the creature had a horizontal slit for a mouth, Jakes found the expression particularly horrific to watch. He knew that the man had a deep fear of alien germs and so each time that Jakes played, the man would have to change dice before continuing. The captain had devised the plan to keep the other creature from cheating with loaded dice.
Jakes tossed the dice with a practiced flip of his wrist. He looked away from the table as the dice bounced and rolled towards Iagon. As he glanced around, he tried to see if anyone had taken an interest in either him or the game, but did not see anything odd other than Henry Moore standing in a corner, surveying the bar with a policeman’s eye. The bar patrons were keeping an eye on him as well and staying far away from the man.
“Unbelievable,” cried the alien across the table. “You have thrown six eights. I have never seen such a run of luck from one of your kind, Captain Jakes.”
Jakes looked back at the table and confirmed the results of his throw. Iagon’s normally white skin had darkened to a deep magenta in his excitement. Jakes stood and reached across the table to pull his winnings closer. He tried to smile with an innocent expression, but he also knew that it never looked right on his bearded face. Iagon’s long-fingered hand clamped down over Jakes’ wrist as he tried to pull back.
“You cheated, Jakes,” accused Iagon. “You have to have cheated. Humans aren’t smart enough to have figured out this game so quickly.”
“Now that’s just rude, Mister Iagon,” replied Jakes, yanking his hand free of the three fingered hand. “If you don’t take that back, I may have to get insulted.”
Iagon’s face scowled sideways as he glared at Jakes. His skin began to return to the pale white color he had previously exhibited as he calmed himself down. He raised his hand and waved to his aide, another creature of the same race as he was, and had the dice returned.
“J
ust roll again, Captain Jakes,” replied Iagon. “And know that I will be watching you carefully this time.”
Jakes nodded as he retrieved the dice. Both players tossed their tokens into the large bowl that sat onto the right of Jakes, setting the bet very high. The table boss, a large, eight armed insect who hung passively from the ceiling, quivered as it pressed the seal on to the pot. He primed the release on the bottom and waved to Jakes with two of his arms.
Jakes curled his hand under his wrist and tossed the dice across the table again. The dice landed with a disappointing set of symbols. Iagon’s grisly smile beamed at Jakes from beneath the large single eye. The gambler waved again to the aide and the creature retrieved the dice and replaced them with a new set that it pulled from beneath his loose-fitting tunic. Iagon closed fingers over the dice and prepared to throw. As he raised his hand to throw, Jakes interrupted, throwing off his toss and making him keep his hand closed.
“Iagon,” said Jakes. “How ‘bout we make this throw interesting?”
“Captain Jakes,” replied the frustrated Iagon. “You have a very bad gambling etiquette.”
“Well sorry,” Jakes said with a grin. “I am still learning this game and all.”
“What is your proposition,” said Iagon, frustrated but intrigued. Gamblers always looked for new wagers and Iagon was never one to pass up a large profit.
“I’m looking for a man,” replied Jakes, his expression now turning serious, “another human like me.”
“There are too many of your kind in the galaxy if you ask me,” replied Iagon. “Why this particular man, Captain?”
“Do you have a sister, Iagon?” Jakes asked.
“Our species has only one sex, Captain,” replied Iagon. “But I understand what you mean. What does this have to do with our wager?”
“Well imagine that you found out that this human had spoiled the honor of your, uh… sibling,” explained Jakes. “Now wouldn’t you want to go looking for that man?”
Iagon laughed. The sound was like a loud hiccup coming from the vertical slitted mouth. Turning to the aide, Iagon said something in his native language. The aide also began to hiccup loudly, disturbing several of the nearby gamblers who sat at the gaming machines. Jakes saw Henry step away from the wall and towards him. He stopped when he saw Jakes’ glare of disapproval.
“Captain Jakes,” said Iagon, returning to the magenta color from earlier. “For a human to have sex with my kind is impossible and frankly obscene. Now let me get back to the dice and stop telling pornographic stories.”
“Iagon,” interrupted Jakes. “Just humor me. This human raped my sister when she was being held in a slave camp. If you can’t understand revenge as a motivation, then we might as well stop playing this game now.”
“I understand revenge, Captain Jakes,” said Iagon, his color darkening in a threat response. “I understand you want to find this vermin and kill him, right?”
“Something like that,” Jakes replied with a deadly tone. “I was hoping you might have heard something about this man, as you seem to have had dealings with a few slavers over the years.”
“I don’t know why you would say something like that,” said Iagon cautiously. “I am a respectable businessman in the asset management industry.”
“Right,” replied Jakes with a sarcastic tone. “And I’m a battleship captain. Let’s stop shoveling manure at each other and talk business.”
Iagon placed his hand back on the table with the dice still enclosed. The change in the human’s tone had intrigued him as well as the tale of human illicit sexuality. The man had displayed a naive understanding of the dice game, but still had played a good game and he seemed like the type who would not risk his earnings on a bad bet.
“What is the bet?” Iagon asked, staring at Jakes intently.
“You win this throw and you get it all,” Jakes said, indicating the tokens in the pot. “Not just that; but everything on the table.”
“And if I lose?” Iagon asked. “What do you win?”
“I get the answer to my question,” Jakes said, “and my own portion of the winnings, of course. It takes money to track down humans, you know.”
“Of course, Captain,” said the hermaphroditic alien. “It seems I cannot lose this hand.”
“Well then why don’t you throw them bones and see what happens?” replied Jakes with a wide grin.
Iagon returned the smile as he raised his hand once again. He tossed the dice across the table towards Jakes with an expert throw. The dice rolled to a stop just in front of the man’s hands. The symbols showing indicated a loss. Iagon grunted with displeasure as he saw Jakes reach for the winnings that had spilled out of the release valve of the pot. The alien waved his aide to step away as he leaned in closer to the table.
“Alright Captain Jakes,” said Iagon in a whisper. “A bet is a bet. What is this human’s name?”
“Erik Heyerdahl,” replied Jakes, raising his voice slightly to let Moore know what was happening. “He had been kept at the Harpy Station about a year ago, but then he was moved out.”
Iagon’s eye widened as he looked at Jakes. His skin, which had finally returned to its pale coloring, darkened to almost brown when he heard the name. Jakes grinned as the man’s tell gave away what he wanted to know. He saw Henry move a little closer out of the corner of his eye. The table boss climbed up his web a few meters, not wanting to be a part of the business.
“Harpy Station was destroyed by pirates,” Iagon said, a nervous quiver in his voice. “There were no survivors. The man you are looking for is dead. Now I think our game is finished, Captain Jakes, thank you and I hope to never see you again.”
Iagon stood and waved for his aide to return. The aliens started to gather up their tokens and prepare to leave the bar. Jakes also stood, but did not reach for his earnings. Instead, he turned slightly and pulled a short bladed knife from a sheath in the small of his back. As Iagon reached for his winnings, Jakes threw the knife and impaled Iagon’s hand through to the table. The alien let out a loud cry, attracting the attention of several of the bars patrons, a few of whom left before they could get involved.
“Jakes, What the hell are you doing?” Henry Moore hissed at his side. “That’s not how we do things here.”
“I don’t know where you are from, Sarge,” replied Jakes, walking around the table to confront Iagon. “But on Brylcon 2, that’s exactly how we do things, right?”
The aide had stepped away from Jakes as he approached, leaving its boss to howl in pain and tug at the knife that trapped his hand to the table. His vertical mouth was opened wide in a grimace of pain and agony. Jakes reached for the hilt of the knife and held it tight; pushing away Iagon’s other hand.
“Now Mister Iagon,” Jakes said. “We had a deal and you ain’t paid up. Now before I have to get physical with you and show you just how savage we humans can be, you should think about telling me what you know about Heyerdahl.”
“I told you,” Iagon screamed. “He’s dead.”
Jakes twisted the knife, tearing up the wood in the table and gouging a deeper hole in the alien’s hand. Another tortured howl erupted from the gambler’s mouth as the table dug splinters into its hand. Iagon’s eye began to tear as the alien sway on its feet.
“Somehow,” Jakes said in a calm voice. “I just don’t believe you.”
“Alright you win,” yelled Iagon. “I have heard something about the human. Let me go and I will tell you.”
“Now that’s more like it,” Jakes said as he tugged the knife from the table and through Iagon’s hand. “If you had just said yes when I asked, then you would still be able to hold dice in that hand without’em falling through the hole.”
Iagon pulled its injured hand in close, covering the wound with his other hand and glaring at Jakes. The aide stepped in closer and pulled out a sheaf of towels from inside its tunic. Iagon allowed the other creature wrap its hand as tears rolled down and dripped onto the gambling table.
> “I heard that name on Roalay, near Ch’Tauk space,” said Iagon in a whimper. “He was being taken somewhere special. A colleague of mine, Weit Bolf from Yearik did the deal. That’s all I know.”
“Well I thank you, Mister Iagon,” said Jakes in mock sympathy. “And I think I would have that hand looked at. It looks like it might get infected. I ain’t washed this knife for a while.”
Iagon wailed as he looked at Jakes. It pulled its hand from the aide and stared at the wound in terror. The gambler turned and ran for the door, crying out for a medical center on the outpost. The aide followed closely, trailing magenta stained towels in its wake.
“That was completely uncalled for, Jakes,” said Henry, stepping close to the other man. “You didn’t have to stab that guy to get information.”
“It worked, Sarge,” replied Jakes, turning back to the table. “The motherless bastard left without its money.”
8
Battleship Resolute
The Silver Eagle rocked as it was hit by a fierce plasma bolt hurled from the pursuing Ch’Tauk fighters. The ship spun on its axis as the pilot attempted to evade the super-hot blasts. In a wild maneuver, the Eagle twisted backwards as it flew, firing off its own plasma bolts in response. The modified cannons tore through the lead enemy fighter, causing it to erupt in an orange-red glow of debris. The ship continued its rotation; ending up with its nose pointed back in the direction it was pointed.
The remaining three Ch’Tauk fighters split off and attempted to box the Terran ship in between them in a classic pincer maneuver. The Eagle fired off plasma from its rear-mounted cannon, peppering the nearest fighter with orange-red fire. The ship wobbled as its port section began to break off. In a final burst of explosive gasses, the insect-like craft shattered into speeding debris.
Resolute Omnibus (The War for Terra) Page 29
