Jak Phoenix

by Matt D. Williams

Chapter Ten - Inherited Problems

  The smell of some kind of fruit blossom told Jak what he needed to know, although he could not calculate any reasoning behind it. She must have completely lost her mind.

  Jak stayed facing forward. “What the hell are you doing?” He decided not to smooth over his communication with her. He was done with this girl.

  “I’m here to make sure you two don’t screw this up,” said Cyan.

  Jak caught a slight tone of panic in her voice. Not overwhelmingly clear, but it was definitely there. He knew her mind was racing nervously while it reviewed all the details she might have taken for granted before making such a rash decision.

  “And this is helping?”

  “There is a much bigger issue here than you two idiots know about and there’s no way you can handle it alone,” said Cyan.

  “Here, then,” said Jak with a rare hint of anger. “You fly the ship.” He threw the flight controls forward, tossing the ship into a crooked dive and destabilizing the one unwelcome passenger who wasn’t sitting down.

  Jak swivelled around and grabbed Cyan’s wrist with one hand, applying pressure as he seized her small silver-chromed pistol with his other hand. Baxter had turned in his chair at the same moment and snatched her second gun clear from her hand. Like a well oiled machine, they knocked her to the floor of the cramped cockpit and quickly regained their ground.

  On her back, Cyan propped herself up by her elbows as Jak stood over her with one foot on her stomach, pinning her down to the metal deck. Cyan looked up to see the open barrels of the two guns she had supplied, turned on her.

  “Are you okay?” asked Jak. He really should not have asked the question, but he felt bad because he had just scuffled with a girl. Even if it was a girl who had just tried to kill him.

  “You need to hear me out.”

  “Well, I know it sounds strange, but I generally listen a lot better when I’m not being attacked.”

  She shuffled uncomfortably. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into. Honestly, I didn’t think you two would be able to handle it. So I was just testing you to see if you were really as good as Rusty says. To see how you’d react.”

  “Testing? With the old ‘guns to the heads’ routine? Please, this is amateur stuff, honey. Me and Baxter have been in far more dangerous situations than this, and we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t know what we’re doing. At least most of the time anyway.”

  Jak flicked the safety catch on the little pistol, turned and tossed it up onto the dash. He lifted his foot off of her and turned back to face the controls. With a note of ignorance toward her, he set about changing their heading and aligning the ship back on its course. He hoped it was clear to her that her little attack meant nothing to him and he was sure it bothered her.

  “We aren’t as dumb as it may appear,” said Baxter.

  Cyan brought herself back to her feet and dusted herself off.

  “Give her that gun back,” said Jak as he worked on the console and paid no attention to her. “If she tries anything like that again, shoot her and throw her out the airlock.”

  “Sounds about right,” replied Baxter.

  Baxter tossed the dainty gun back to her. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the top of his chair. He wasn’t sure if he felt comfortable turning his back on her just yet.

  Jak leisurely finished playing with the ship’s settings and slowly turned his chair around to face her.

  “Got it?” he asked.

  “Look, I’m sorry, Jak.”

  It was the first time she had said his name.

  “Baxter, lay in a course back to Rusty’s.”

  “Done,” answered Baxter. He jumped back into his seat and started plotting in the course on the star charts.

  “You can’t go back,” said Cyan. Her defeat had not removed her confidence and her attitude was creeping back as well. Aside from the odd behaviour, Jak had to respect her determination. “Look, I know you are under a strict time limit. I know you’re mad, but you can’t bluff me.”

  “Hit it, Bax.”

  “Wait!”

  Jak was happy he had pulled some emotion from the girl at last.

  “I didn’t mean to surprise you two like that.”

  “Who’s surprised?” asked Jak. “Were you, Bax?”

  “Saw her reflection in the window.” Whether it was true or not, Baxter figured it would help Jak’s case.

  “Put the ship back on course and let’s talk for a bit. Somewhere we can all sit down so I can explain everything.”

  “Hey, hold on,” said Jak. “I’m the captain and you’re the stowaway. I give the orders around here.”

  “Then hurry up and make the call.”

  “Here’s an idea. You go and wait for us in the back. We need to discuss a few things alone first. Sound good?”

  “I—”

  “Good.”

  Cyan was smart enough to know when she should step down to prevent herself from going overboard. With a huff, she turned and stormed out of the cockpit.

  “Go back to the original course and set maximum speed.”

  Baxter looked at Jak in astonishment. “That’s our discussion?”

  “She’s right,” explained Jak. “Not about trying to shoot us, but about the fact that we have to keep moving. If we turn back now, we’re gonna miss our chance at Murdock. And, we have to get out there and find Dodge before it’s too late.”

  “She’s a nut,” said Baxter.

  “I know. But you have to admit she looked sexy holding those two guns.”

  “Sorry, I was busy trying to not die. Didn’t exactly have a lot of time to check her out.”

  Jak looked toward the back of the ship.

  “You know, if she wanted to kill us, she would have shot us right away and not bothered to wait. I honestly think she means well.”

  “Jak, normal people who mean well don’t threaten to fire off two guns on a space ship.”

  “Let’s just find out what she needs to tell us before we condemn her.”

  “You’re unbelievable.” Baxter shook his head. “You have a thing for her already, don’t you?”

  “You know me, Bax. I have a thing for every hot girl.”

  “True. You just need to find one that has a thing for you too.”

  “Funny.”

  They punched the required info into the system and put the ship into the automated flight mode. They headed down the hall to the all purpose room to find Cyan already seated in one of their couches, with her legs crossed and her feet resting on a low table.

  Jak swept the junk from either side of her slender legs off the table and onto the floor.

  “Sorry about the mess,” said Jak. “As you know, the ship’s been through a lot. Let me get you something to drink.”

  Jak walked behind his bar and opened the clear plexus door to the unwelcome noise of glass shattering on the floor. Their abuse of the ship in the last while had not been kind to the fragile contents of the cupboards. He located an undamaged bottle of something he was pretty sure was classified as ‘fine’ and searched the counter for a few intact glasses. He picked two cups out of a pile of broken junk and blew them out.

  He filled the two cups, slipped the bottle under his arm, picked up the two drinks, and headed back to the table. He handed Cyan a glass and gave Baxter the bottle. Baxter accepted it with confusion, which turned into the realization that he really did need a drink.

  Jak and Baxter sat down on opposite couches perpendicular to her, but close enough that Jak thought a friendly atmosphere was at last created.

  “What is that?” asked Cyan. She nodded toward the center of the room.

  “Oh that,” answered Jak. “It’s a thermal-jet relaxation pool.”

  “You fill it with garbage?” asked Cyan.

  Jak wasn’t sure if she was serious or if she was mocking him.

  “No, water is supposed to go in it. You know, for kicking back and relaxing. Good fo
r stress relief.”

  “And you two use it?” she asked. “Splash around a bit?”

  He had confirmed that she was indeed mocking him. She had the ability to remain totally straight faced while making sarcastic comments.

  Jak answered with a ‘go-to-hell grin.’

  “Actually, it doesn’t work,” added Baxter, not realizing he had missed the point of her comment. “It has a water fusion system that is supposed to create its own water, but we haven’t been able to get it to do anything. We might have fried the circuit loop when we connected it to the ship’s power.”

  “Thanks for the lesson, Bax,” said Jak. “But it’s our guest’s turn to talk now.” He was finding it easy to get sidetracked by this girl. Five minutes ago she had a gun to his head and now they were having casual conversation. Another problem with beautiful women. They got away with murder. Or at least attempted murder.

  “In all seriousness, I am sorry,” said Cyan, with a voice of sincerity. “But I couldn’t take the chance on losing those artifacts. They are worth far more than you think.”

  “So you want a split of the profits?”

  “Wake up, Jak. It isn’t all about money. These aren’t just relics you can trade off to buy supplies. These artifacts you’ve been chasing are objects that are sacred to my people. And they have the potential to be dangerous to others.”

  “So what are they exactly?” asked Baxter.

  “It’s a long story. Are you guys up for it?”

  “It’s a long trip,” said Jak.

  “I’d rather listen to this than listen to him,” said Baxter, motioning toward Jak with his head and eyes. Cyan gave a slight smile.

  “A long time ago — now I’m talking at least two thousand years ago — my people settled on several planets. For whatever reasons, they ended up on planets that were considered uninhabitable by most standards.” She backed up to make sure things were clear. “I’m a Balarian, in case you’re wondering.” She quickly jumped back into the story. “They brought several precious stone tablets with them, which are the items we’re chasing. The tablets have the ability to bring a delicate balance to the worlds inhabited by my people. Balarians have an extra powerful sense of their surroundings and a harmonious relationship to their environment, which is amplified by the power of the tablets. It didn’t happen overnight, but over time the climates and stability of the planets improved to near perfection. Through our people, the tablets formed these worlds into beautiful utopias, which unlike most planets, continued to improve and become more fertile and supportive to life the longer our people were there.”

  “So it basically worked the opposite as a normal ecosystem does,” interrupted Baxter. A quasi-scientific factoid would always get him going. “Where normal planets often deteriorate as life takes them over and uses up the resources, the Balarian tablets actually made the system stronger.”

  “Exactly,” said Cyan.

  Jak was a bit bored. He wondered if it would be rude to head back up to the cockpit. And what was Baxter going on about?

  “How does the tablet relay the power from your people?” asked Baxter.

  “Sorry, I really can’t explain that. I’m not even sure if anyone really knows. It only works when our people are together in large concentrations. Some say the tablets spread our positive energy to the planet and they allow the planet’s energy to pass back through us, creating a natural equilibrium.”

  “Positive energy, you say,” said Jak. “That sure sounds a lot like you.” He was happy with his sarcastic comment and looked over to Baxter who didn’t seem to hear him. Two minutes ago Baxter was afraid of getting killed by her and now he was absorbed into her fables like a kid listening to a bedtime story.

  “For your information, I haven’t even been near one of my people in years. I left a very long time ago.”

  Baxter and Cyan gave Jak a cold look as if to tell him not to say anything else unless it was well thought out and important.

  “Would you like me to continue?”

  Jak waved his hand. “Why not.”

  “My people prospered on these worlds for a thousand years,” continued Cyan. “Until the day when the attacks started and the tablets were taken. The Velsar, an ancient race of horrible war creatures, arrived at our worlds and forcibly took the stones from us. Over time, our planets decayed and lost their delicate balance. Today, you would not know upon first glance that the Balarians had ever settled on these worlds. If you visit these systems now, you’ll find they are deserted and dead, with ancient ruins buried in the remnants of environmental disasters. My home world, Larian, is the only one which has survived to this day and it will be a short lived success. The planet falls a little further into ruin each day. It is little more than a desert itself now. Hot and dry with violent sand storms that send the people underground.”

  “Why don’t they just leave?” asked Jak.

  “Would your world welcome a planet’s worth of citizens to it?” said Cyan. “It is easy to say something like that in theory. But in reality, no world has the room for another entire race to move in. Aside from that, my people would rather die, than burden and negatively affect another civilization. They know far too well, how it feels to have everything changed in an instant and your world stolen from you.”

  “So how did these tablets get into that freighter on Scoparia?” asked Baxter.

  “The Velsar armies stopped on the moon of my planet and a final battle was fought against them. The result was the complete destruction of the moon, the Velsar army and apparently, the tablets as well. The Balarians would have rather seen the stones destroyed than given over to a band of murderers. But years later, a rumour began to grow that said the tablets had actually survived and were stolen away at the last moment and hidden. They apparently ended up on Scoparia, where you two fought with the dragon. Unfortunately, we’ll never know the full details of what happened after they were believed to be destroyed.”

  “What will happen if Cartrite gets a hold of the tablets?” asked Baxter. “Does he know about this or does he just think they’re expensive ornaments?”

  “He likely knows the story,” said Cyan, “and with his fondness for the corruption of technology, he probably has some dangerous goal in mind. No one ever really knew what the Velsar invaders wanted the stones for. We thought they provided life and happiness, but it’s clear that their power can be corrupted for some kind of evil purpose as well.”

  “It already has.” Jak was excited to say something profound. “It looks like these stones have caused the death of god knows how many people, so I’d say they aren’t as good a thing as you make out.”

  “Do you not fight for what you believe in?” asked Cyan.

  “Yes I do, but the things I believe in are generally a lot simpler and involve less death and destruction.”

  “Then it seems like you’ve never truly believed in anything,” said Cyan. Her intense tone had returned and was coupled with frustration.

  “Jak,” said Baxter, “I trust her. She may need a few lessons in socializing, but I do trust her and I think we should help her.”

  “I promise you my only intention is to return the stones back to my people so that we can begin the long process of rebuilding our world.”

  Really, what choice did he have at this point?

  “Alright,” said Jak. “We head out and make sure Dodge is okay. Then we are gonna try to knock out Murdock and take back the tablets before he even gets a chance to get near Cartrite.”

  Cyan looked relieved at last. “Thank you, Jak.”

  “So we’re also going to have to steal every last item off Murdock’s ship. Rusty is expecting a payback for this and to be honest, so am I. I’m not running a charity, so I’m gonna need your help on that too.”

  “No problem.”

  “Welcome aboard,” said Jak as he put his hand out toward Cyan. She hesitated for a second then reached out and shook Jak’s hand with a smile. Jak quickly analyzed her soft small h
and. It was very strong, but she had the warmest and smoothest skin. He let go in the appropriate amount of time and gave her a smile. She looked away.

  “So where am I going to stay?” she asked while pretending to look around the ship.

  “We’ve got a few small rooms,” said Baxter. They’re full of Jak’s junk, but we could probably empty one.”

  Jak narrowed his eyes toward Baxter. “Or you could just give her your room.”

  “No, I think this one’s fine,” said Cyan.

  “What’s that now?” said Jak, snapping into concentration mode.

  “This will do nicely,” said Cyan, looking around their precious enjoyment room. Jak could tell she was already mentally reorganizing it.

  “Oh no, I don’t think so.”

  “The place is a disaster anyway. It really could use a woman’s touch,” said Baxter.

  “Is that supposed to sell it to me?” asked Jak. “Now the answer is for sure no. We’ve got our best stuff in here. The bar, the couches, the hot-tub.”

  “You mean the garbage bin,” said Cyan.

  “You see that’s the attitude that makes the answer much easier,” said Jak.

  “Come on, Jak,” said Cyan in the kindest tone Jak had ever heard from her at the same time as she casually reached out and touched his knee. “A girl needs her space. You don’t really want me stuck in some parts closet, do you?”

  Her negative demeanour had been replaced with a glowing and friendly exterior. Jak sensed the slightest tingle in his knee. He saw again how amazing her body was and how silky her deep blue hair looked. Her complexion was flawless and her eyes were begging him. This was another problem with beautiful women. They could get anything they wanted.