Star Trader Update .009

009.01

“3su,” Cassie whispered.

“What is it, Cassie.” I sat up in bed and beamed the light up to low. I glanced at the bedside clock. It was 2:00 a.m. It wasn’t like Cassie to wake me in the middle of the night.

“It’s Jake,” she whispered. “He’s on the bridge.”

“He’s very agitated,” Ma-rye-a piped in. “He just broke a mug.”

I guess I was just too sleepy. I didn’t understand what they were saying. “He dropped a mug?”

“No, it was a violent act,” Ma-rye-a corrected. “He is upset about something.”

“I think you should have a look,” Cassie continued. “He might do damage to us.”

Jake must really be upset if he had my A.I.’s running scared.

I got up and slid me feet into my slippers. I never wore a robe. I wear shorts and a tank top to bed. I am always cautious about being prepared.

“Do you think you should take your blaster?” Cassie asked.

“He’s an old friend, Cassie. I don’t need my blaster.” At least I hoped I didn’t.

I walked out in the dimly lit hallway. Ma-rye-a sets the lights low during the evening hours. If I get up unexpectedly to a full-on light I have one hell of a time getting back to sleep.

I could see Kayo halfway down the hall sitting against the wall. I hoped he wouldn’t challenge my approaching Jake. I didn’t notice Arr crouched on the other side of him until I got up close. Arr had his arm thrown around the Dar-dolf. His cat eyes were huge black onyx looking disks, dilated to their full size in order to catch everything in the darkened area. He looked small and fragile beside the Dar-dolf.

 I squatted down in front of them.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“He’s really mad. He won’t talk to me. He told me to go back to bed,” Arr confided.

“Maybe that’s a good idea.” I reached over and put my hand on Arr’s shoulder. Kayo growled threateningly deep in his throat. Even the animal was confused.

“Nixs!” Arr said and Kayo stopped his growl mid-throat. Arr took a ragged breath like he was on the verge of sobbing.

“I’ll have Ma-rye-a call you when Jake is calmed down.” I gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Take Kayo with you, okay? I don’t want to have to deal with two nasty beasts at once.” I smiled and Arr returned it with a weak one of his own.

“Don’t hurt him,” he said.

“Me? Hurt Jake? Never.” I was flabbergasted. First Cassie wanting me to take my blaster, now Arr asking me not to hurt him – what kind of rage was he in?

Arr rose effortlessly, whereas my knees cracked as I stood back up. I watched until he and Kayo padded down the hall and went back in their room.

Now into the lion’s den.

Jake was pacing the bridge. His foot falls were so heavy that there should have been a dented trough in the metal where he was treading.

“Jake? What’s wrong?”

“Go back to bed,” he growled and turned his back on me to look out the front view port. His hand hit another mug sitting on the control panel and it went crashing to the floor. He must have thought better about his order; after all I am the Captain of my ship. “Sorry.”

“That will teach me to leave dirty dishes around after an evening of viewing with guests,” I replied dryly.

“I just need a little time alone,” Jake explained. He stood balling and un-balling his fists at his side.

Something had him really worked up. If it would have been anyone other than a mercenary this is where I would have gone up behind him and placed a consoling hand on his back, but I was afraid in the case of Jake, I might lose that hand with an instinctive reaction.

“Tell me what happened? Was it a dream?” I had been around mercenaries most of my adult life. The good ones all had their ghosts to deal with if they had any heart at all, and Jake had more heart than most.

“Yeah,” he conceded. He turned around and dropped into the nearest chair as though finally admitting it to someone took all the energy out of his rage.

“Want to talk about it?” I asked, sitting down in my chair across from him.

Jake ran his hand through his hair in agitation. It was a habit he had. His hair always looked sexually mussy.

“I guess it was talking about Daily this evening that brought it on.” His hand raked through his hair again, but he sat quiet so long that I thought he had changed his mind about telling me. He sat looking at his hands. “I tracked Sarah to one of the Hydra dump sites. You know, they don’t live in very big groups.”

I nodded. I had heard that about the Hydra. They are vicious lizard type aliens that walk upright and have such volatile tempers that they can’t even stand each other half the time.

“I thought we could handle it,” Jake went on. “We went into the caves together. When the tunnel split I took Kayo, and Arr went alone down the other tunnel. I should have sent Kayo with the kid.”

“I can see why you didn’t. Arr has great hearing and better night vision than you any day. It would have been the logical thing to keep Kayo’s nose with you. I understand the Hydra are smelly beasts,” I consoled Jake.

Jake took a deep breath and went on. “I found Sarah and others. I got them out. She saw Arr captured. I went back in with Kayo. The Hydra had beaten the shit out of him and strung him up by shackles from the ceiling. He hates to be bound.” His hand raked through his hair again. A strand fell over his eye. He pushed it back and kept talking. It was like he needed to get it out so it wouldn’t fester any longer in his gut, or his heart as the case might be.

“The head lizard wanted to make a deal, but since I don’t speak Hydra and Arr was unconscious at this point he showed me in action what he wanted. He had a stinger. He cranked up the voltage and hit the kid with it.” Jake paused. His hands worked into fists again. “It’s his scream that woke me up tonight in my dream,” he confessed.

“But, you got him out,” I reminded him. I hadn’t heard this level of detail about the incident when we brushed on it earlier this evening, but Arr looked healthy to me. As good as the last time I saw him.

“Yeah, I killed the lizard and got him out,” Jake agreed. “It’s just…” He paused and sat again looking at his hands. “I just wonder if I have the right to take him into situations like that. What if he gets killed? He’s the last of his race. It’s not like if I died. No one would miss me. The human race would go on without a blink. Arr dies and his race, all his knowledge, his inherited talents of language, they all die with him.”

I did lean over and place my hand on his arm this time. “First off, I can name at least three people that would miss you terribly if you died, Tim, Arr and me. Secondly, I don’t think you could stop him going with you now. I see how he reacts around you. He considers you somewhere between a father, brother, best friend and mentor. I don’t think you could beat him off with a stick.” I reached over and lifted Jake’s chin in my other hand so I could look into his eyes. “You’ve been through your own share of beatings. It comes with the job. You’ll keep him safe as only you and your experience can. And, if he dies in the end, which I pray he doesn’t for a very long time, he will die happily following you.”

Tears welled up in Jake’s eyes, but he blinked them back.

“He’s bound to you; as close or closer, than Kayo because he has understanding in his gene pool. You shouldn’t ever leave him behind. He needs you as much, or more, than you need him. You’re his family now – his world.”

Jake leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “Thanks. I needed that.”

I would have liked to take that kiss a step further. Jake was one hunk of man, but now was not the time. I stood up and gave him my own peck on the cheek.

“You need to go back to bed and see if you can catch some peaceful Zs. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He nodded and followed me back down the hall. I caught a glimpse of Arr sitting on the edge of his bed waiting with Kayo lying at his feet. Jake reached over and squeezed his shoulder before he fell into bed. Arr looked up at me, smiled and nodded a thank you.

I headed back to my own bed.

I knew it wouldn’t be dull with them aboard.

*****

009.02

“I don’t speak Ukhta, but they sounded really happy to hear from you,” I said. Arr had just spoken to the mayor of a small town on Ukhta to announce our arrival and to obtain landing coordinates.

“Me neither,” Jake said. “Arr picked it up from Clint’s new partner, Luza, a couple of jobs back. She’s from Ukhta, though not from this area of the planet. She hails from the capital.”

Jake and Arr had told me about their mission here. It really was an emissary job rather than a mercenary gig. The Ukhta has some unwanted immigrants that had moved into this town from the planet Pajala. None of the Ukhta knew the Pajalain language, so there was no way to explain to them that this was not like their planet.

The Pajalain live communally. They share everything. Want a bucket? And you don’t have one? Go next door and pick up your neighbor’s. Don’t bother to ask to borrow it. Just take it. If he wants it back, he’ll come and get it, or if he can’t find it, he’ll take some other neighbor’s bucket. This system did not go over well with the materialistic Ukhta. They needed an interpreter to set boundaries for the Pajalain if they intended to stay on Ukhta.

“Did they give us landing coordinates?” Jake asked.

“Uploading now,” Arr answered.

“You comin’ down with us?” Jake asked, as he pulled his cap out of his back pocket and placed it on his head? “While Arr is working, we can do some shopping. I’ll buy you something for hanging out long enough to take us back to the refitting station,” Jake offered.

He had already given me enough money to wait for him on board until he and Arr returned. But hey, what girl would pass up a shopping spree?

“You sure you can afford me?” I asked. “I have very good taste.”

Jake threw his arm over my shoulders. “For you babe anything.”

“I’ll get my boots and meet you at the pod.” I slipped out from under his arm and headed for my cabin.

“Wear the red,” Cassie suggested as I stood in front of my closet picking through my selection of spacer suits. “It looks nice with your dark hair.”

I took it off the hanger and pulled it on. I stepped into my boots and started to snap the buckles shut as Cassie continued to chat.

“I think Jake likes you,” she said.

“Cassie, I am twenty years older than him. I could be his mother,” I pooh-poohed her.

“He doesn’t look at you like a mother,” Cassie said. “And you don’t look your age. You could be his sister.”

“Cassie, you are a sweetheart. You just keep thinking like that. It helps keep me young.” I grabbed my hat and headed for the bay.

When I met the guys, Jake looked me up and down. “You two look like Titan Twins.”

Sure enough, Arr was wearing a red suit too. Usually you don’t run into a guy wearing the red, just too flashy. However, Arr looked good in his, maybe even better than me. Oh well, so much for Cassie’s strategy.

I climbed on board and took the pilot’s seat. As soon as Ma-rye-a detected my powering up the pod she downloaded the coordinates for the landing. “Thanks Ma-rye-a,” I said. “You’re in charge while I’m gone. Sam, locker her down,” I ordered.

“Will do, Cap.”

Once the guys were seated, I started to maneuver out of the bay. Ukhta here we come.

*****

009.03

Since I am writing this it should be obvious to you that I made it back, but let me assure you Jake and Arr’s mission was the closest I ever came to coming home in a body bag.

*****

009.04

“By the Gods what was that?” I yelled. Someone from the ground was firing on us. It had just missed my wing tip as I took evasive action.

“Arr?” Jake shouted.

Arr flicked on his com link and hailed the ground contact. I listened for an answer, but didn’t hear one. Instead, we caught the second missile in the left thruster. That engine went dead and the ship listed heavily to the left. I fought the controls to compensate.

Arr was dialing the com link to another frequency when the third shell struck our tail.

“Forget that Arr,” I ordered. “Strap in – we’re going down!” I pressed the button on my lap belt and the safety harness came down over my shoulders. “I’ve lost it!” I yelled. “We’re going in hard.”

There wasn’t any clear ground to land on.

“Over there,” Jake pointed to our left. It was a small patch of land. No more than a meadow. Not long enough for a landing and too far away for a glide. I’d lose too much momentum in the turn.

“This is a pod, not a fighter,” I shouted in frustration. “If I could make a turn like that I’d be able to land it rather than crashing. This is like driving a disabled freight loader.”

When I heard the belly of the pod catch the tops of the trees I cut what was left of the engines. We slammed into the trees and were cutting a swath through them when we hit something really hard. I felt the control panel in front of me crush back into my chest and saw something coming through the glass toward my eyes before everything went black.

*****

009.05

“Protect,” I heard Jake order Kayo, as I was coming around. I could hear the Dar-dolfs nails on the extended ramp from the pod as he left.

“I don’t know what happened,” Arr was saying. “I couldn’t raise them,” he apologized.

“Are you sure about what you heard onboard ship?” Jake asked in an angry voice that was almost a shout. He sounded very close. I felt someone ease my head back. It felt like it was going to come off in their hands. “Whoever they were, they were expecting us? They knew who we were?”

“Absolutely,” Arr confirmed. “There wasn’t anything unusual about any of it,” Arr assured his partner. “It was supposed to be an easy gig. What happened?” Arr asked.

“I don’t know,” Jake confessed. “But, if they wanted us that bad, they won’t stop until they get to the ship and make sure we’re dead. Get out there and keep watch with Kayo. Signal if you see or hear anything.”

I thought I heard Arr leave, but my head was throbbing so hard it may have been the beat of the throb rather than the sound of footsteps.

“3su? Can you hear me?” Jake asked softly.

I slowly opened my eyes. It actually hurt to do it. Jake was standing over me with a bloody shop rag in his hand. “Are you hurt?” I asked, looking at the rag.

“No babe, you are,” Jake answered. His eyes drifted over to the huge branch sticking threw the window right in front of me. “Iron wood,” he said. “Good thing we didn’t slide any further or it would have taken your hear off.”

“It didn’t?” I asked sarcastically.

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Jake asked.

“Under the NAV chair,” I closed my eyes, leaned by head back against the headrest and tried to will the room to stop spinning.

I heard Jake unbuckle the straps on the kit and felt him apply a pad to my brow. He lifted my head up and wrapped a stretch bandage around it to hold the pad in place. It hurt worse than the time I was kicked by the malfit calf when I was a kid.

Jake was rummaging around in the kit. “Here,” he said. “Have a chew of this.”

I opened my eyes. He had found the pain stick and broken off one measured dosage. He held it between his fingers. I reached up to take it and wished I hadn’t. My chest felt like that same malfit calf had used it for a trampoline.

“Oh SHIT!” I said.

Jake pressed the piece of pain medication against my clinched teeth. “Chew this,” he repeated.

I took it and chewed, but it was going to take a lot more than a simple piece of pain sticks to ease this ache. I looked down at my lap. An action that did nothing for my aching head except make it feel like it might explode on my shoulders. The control panel that had been sitting a good foot away from my lap was sitting on my chest. The kill engine lever was crushed into my left side.

“We can’t wait for the pain meds to take effect,” Jake explained. “We need to get out of here. Whoever shot us down is going to come checking up on their accuracy.”

“Can you get me out of here?” I asked.

“I think so, but it’s going to hurt like hell,” Jake apologized in advance.

I nodded in agreement. “Well, let’s get it over with.”

Jake reached under the panel to unlock my shoulder harness. As it retracted it hit my left side. I’m afraid I let out a scream before I could clinch my teeth shut again.

“I’m going to puke,” I warned Jake.

He had just enough time to pull a bag from behind my chair and hold it under my chin before I lost my breakfast. It felt like I was ripping my left side apart when I was retching. I closed my eyes and laid my head back against the seat again. I wanted to take a deep breath, but that hurt too much.

“There’s some water pouches in the storage panel to the right of the door,” I told him. “I sure could use a drink.”

Jake retrieved a pouch. He stuck the straw in and offered it to me. I swished it around in my mouth and spat it out on the floor to the other side of my chair. Jake gave me another swig and then wet down a cloth for my face. I rubbed it around a bit with my right hand. I couldn’t raise my left.

“Let’s see how bad this is,” Jake said. He unzipped my suit down to my belly button and reached his hand in to feel my left side.

“You know, if you wanted to feel me up, you could have just asked,” I said with as much of a smile as I could muster. “You didn’t have to get us shot down.”

Jake smiled back and withdrew his hand. No blood, thank the Gods. “Feels like they’re cracked, but not through the skin anyway. I’m going to recline your chair back and slip you out of there,” Jake said.

“Let her down easy or you may have me puking on your shoes again,” I warned.

Jake released the seat back and eased it down slowly. I really did think that I was going to throw up again, but I held it in.

“Don’t pass out, 3su. I’ll need your legs pushing to get you out from under there,” Jake said. He grabbed hold of the fabric of my suit on either side of my hips. “On three you push and I’ll pull.”

“Wait,” I said and grabbed his arm with my right hand. “If I pass out, my emergency kit is in the panel with the water by the door. It has enough food and supplies for us for maybe three days. Always thought I would get marooned by myself. Didn’t plan on three and a Dar-dolf.” I smiled up at him.

He nodded. “On three. One – two – three.”

I pushed hard with my feet against the bulkhead and then promptly passed out.