“You’ll have to excuse me,” Sal said, standing. “I need to… er… have a shower. Then get some sleep. I’ve been controlling the mining all night. I’ll catch you later.”
Jess nibbled at some toast as she left the room, glancing at Ali several times. He caught her eye the last time and a stupid grin spread over his face. She smiled back and tried to hide it behind her cup of coffee.
“Young love!” Elizabeth said.
Jess could tell she was grinning even though he couldn’t make himself look her way.
“Right kids,” she continued. “I told you I was a straight talker so… yes, we know that you two spent the night together. Yes, we have a fair idea what you were doing, believe it or not you haven’t just invented sex. And yes, I can’t think of anything worse for you right at this moment than having two oldies grinning at you. But you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. So how about actually looking at me when I’m talking to you.”
Jess glanced at Ali, who nodded reluctantly. They both turned towards Elizabeth. As he’d expected she had a big grin on her face. He felt his cheeks burning, but reached out for Ali’s hand and stared back defiantly. Somehow he didn’t feel so young any more. It wasn’t what they had done, or mostly not, it was knowing Ali felt the same way he did, that she was going to be there for him no matter what. He felt like he could take on the whole galaxy right then. He stared Elizabeth in the eye, not trusting himself to speak, but not willing to back down.
She glanced between the two of them, her grin settling down into a smile. She nodded to herself.
“It’s done you good, both of you. Given you a bit of fire, a bit of confidence. Good. We’re gonna need that. Word of advice though, tread carefully around Sal for a while.”
That completely threw Jess.
“Why?” he asked.
Elizabeth sighed deeply, a sad look settling onto her face.
“I may be getting older than I like to admit, but I do remember how you feel. Finding someone who will stand beside you forever, or so you think at the time. Sal never had that. We were talking before you two finally made an appearance. She fell in love when she was younger, of course, but she always knew it wouldn’t last, that sooner or later they’d be split up. In her case it was only a few weeks after she’d first fallen in love that the prisoners were moved around. Markus she said his name was. She never saw him again. She doesn’t know if he’s still alive even. Don’t get me wrong, she’s happy for you both, but it brings back some painful memories.”
“I should have thought,” Jess said. “I knew what it was like. I lived that life too.”
“Bollocks! If you’d been thinking of another woman in any way last night Ali should have cut your balls off! I sure as hell would have.”
Jess stared at her, shocked, while Ali collapsed in giggles. Her laughter was infectious, soon Jess was laughing too. Elizabeth made her excuses and left them to their breakfast, though she threw in a warning about not shagging on the breakfast table which had Jess and Ali blushing furiously.
* * *
Much as he would have loved to take Ali back to her cabin, Jess forced himself to enter the flight deck and resume the mining operation. Ali joined him and soon they were deep in communication via the ship, guiding the mining drones as they depleted another asteroid. For a short while, at least. Jess found his mind wandering back to the previous night and flashes of the sights and feelings he remembered leaked over to Ali, who responded in kind. Very quickly all thoughts of mining were forgotten as they realised the opportunity their mental link offered. Jess only just retained enough control to lock the door of the flight deck before they were pulling each other’s clothes off. The sex the night before had been an amazing experience, but doing it while their thoughts and emotions were so closely linked was simply mind blowing.
* * *
The next couple of days seemed to fly past for Jess. He and Ali found it easier to face Elizabeth and Sal. Work on restructuring the ship went rapidly. Despite the dangers they’d soon face he felt on top of the world. The only damper was Sal. As Elizabeth had said, his relationship with Ali had stirred up some unpleasant memories for Sal. He and Ali were careful not to work at the same time she did, to avoid bleeding any of their daydreams over to her, and worked on bringing their minds more fully under control.
Suddenly work on the ship was completed, at least that’s how it felt to Jess. The reality of their situation hit home. It didn’t dull his intense feelings for Ali, but it did add an element of melancholy. The knowledge that one or both of them could be killed in the next few days weighed on his heart and his thoughts.
Chapter 25
Jess nervously drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, trying to ease the knot in his stomach. Strapped in beside him Elizabeth seemed calm, quietly studying the station their shuttle was approaching.
“One last time, tell me the rules,” Elizabeth asked.
“Again?”
“Yes, again. You’re wound up like a spring. I want to be sure you’ve not forgotten them.”
“All right.” Jess sighed before continuing. “One, you’re in charge. You do all the talking. Two, I don’t call you by name, but I don’t call you mum or mother either.”
“That’s critical. It won’t sound natural. What’s three?”
“Three, no communicating with the Wanderer. They might pick up that my attention is elsewhere and wonder why.”
“Good. And four?”
Jess stared at her in panic, his mind blank.
“What? I don’t know!”
She smiled at him.
“Relax, there is no four. Seriously, take it easy. Just remember to keep your mouth shut and everything will be fine.”
Jess wasn’t convinced. Quite apart from his nerves over the coming encounter he still didn’t completely trust Elizabeth. On top of all that, the situation felt uncomfortably close to the disaster when they’d tried to purchase the robots. That thought made him glance over his shoulder. The sight of the two robots standing behind him was reassuring, especially when the one controlled by Ali winked at him. Despite everything, he grinned back.
* * *
As they walked out of the shuttle’s airlock they were met by five guards, all decked out in heavy black armour and toting powerful rifles. One stepped forward, asked them to follow and set off towards a corridor at the back of the docking bay. Jess and Elizabeth followed, the robots shadowing them. The remaining guards fell in behind.
They followed the corridor for several minutes, passing numerous doorways and side corridors. Jess was pretty certain they were heading deep into the heart of the station, something which Sal confirmed to him. Despite Elizabeth’s rules he was staying in close contact with Sal and Ali, ready for any treachery by either Elizabeth or the arms dealers. To avoid arousing suspicion they were sticking to short, plain messages.
Detecting heavy electronic interference. Sal sent. Normal communication would be lost by now.
OK, thanks. He replied, grateful yet again for the Wanderer’s exceptional abilities.
They left the corridor soon after, taking a bewildering series of turns which Jess was sure had them covering the same ground several times. Then they reached an imposing blast door. Their guide stopped and turned to speak to them.
“Just through there. Your robots must stay here.”
Jess tensed inside, glancing nervously at Elizabeth. If she agreed could he argue? Would it risk blowing their cover? But would it also be a sign that she couldn’t be trusted?
“That wasn’t the deal,” she said firmly. “They go where we go. We’re in the middle of your station, what’re we going to do? Start a fight? Not bloody likely. They stay with us, otherwise the deal’s off and we go back to our ship.”
The guard studied her for a moment then shrugged and turned back to the blast door which softly hissed open. They followed him into the room beyond.
Jess couldn’t have said what he expected to
see, but a small room dominated by a conference table complete with a man dressed in a smart suit certainly wasn’t it. The man was middle-aged but still fit looking, with a full head of dark hair neatly gelled down. Almost the perfect image of an honest businessman. The eyes let him down, piercing and cruel they were the eyes of a predator. He sat behind the table, gesturing for Jess and Elizabeth to sit the other side.
Careful, the room has a large number of concealed weapons, all trained on the two of you.
Jess sent a quick acknowledgement as he took his seat, trying not to look for the weapons. The sound of the door closing behind made him turn. Both robots were standing close behind him and two guards were just inside the door. The others waited outside.
“We have your requirements and you have our prices.” The man launched straight in, not bothering to introduce himself. His voice matched his appearance, cultured and gentle but with a hint of steel. “We can supply what you asked for from our stores. I have to meet you face to face and ask you what you need them for. It is part of our duty as responsible traders.” The last was said with heavy irony.
“We’re branching out into hunting trips,” Elizabeth answered. “Big game hunting, only on planets where it’s allowed, of course.”
“Of course. All is in order. I can authorise delivery as soon as we receive payment then, as I’m sure you will use the items… responsibly.”
Even having been warned of this by Elizabeth Jess found the brief exchange shocking. She’d explained that the arms dealers wanted to keep a respectable image, to claim they only supplied weapons responsibly. A complete sham, but one that prevented the authorities from looking at their business too closely, provided those authorities were suitably bribed.
“The payment is in our shuttle,” Elizabeth replied. “We’ll unload it for you before leaving.”
“Excellent. Now, would you care to join me for a drink?”
Without waiting for an answer he pressed a button set into the table. A small side door opened and… something… walked in, carrying a tray with three shot glasses on it. Jess stared at the creature. Covered in short, dark fur its main body was horizontal, supported by four short legs on each side. Its body was rectangular. Maybe two metres long and half that wide it almost looked like a walking, furry table. A long, flexible neck and two equally flexible arms rose from the front of its body. The arms ended in many sucker-tipped appendages, the neck was topped by a narrow head with a small mouth and two sets of eyes – one pair close together like a hunting animal, the other pair set wide on its head giving excellent peripheral vision. A large silver band circled its neck. With a start Jess recognised it as a form of control collar.
The creature reached the table and set the tray down with a slight bump, spilling a little of the contents. It cowered back immediately as the arms dealer scowled at it.
“Useless creature!” he shouted at it. Reaching out, he pushed another button on the table. Immediately the creature collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony. Jess stared in horror, his life as a prisoner meant he could recognise a control collar in action, even on such an amazing creature.
“Stop it!” he shouted. “You’re hurting it!”
He went to stand but Elizabeth grabbed his arm, glaring at him. The arms dealer grinned at Jess, keeping his finger on the button for several more seconds before relenting. The creature remained on the floor, whimpering in a deep tone.
“Do you like my pet?” the man asked. “It is amazingly rare. I found it in a damaged ship, nearly thirty years ago now. It may not be the best servant, but it is the most unusual.”
“I want to buy it,” Jess said. “How much do you want?”
The man laughed. “It’s not for sale, not that you could possibly afford the price if it was.”
“How much?” Jess demanded, standing. “I want it. How much will it cost? We can pay!”
The arms dealer’s face twitched, annoyance showing through his façade of reasonableness. Elizabeth stood and grabbed Jess by the arm, forcing him to sit again.
“Jess! I won’t have you showing me up like this. I brought you on this trip to see how I do business, to start to learn, not to cause a scene and embarrass me. Now sit down and shut up!”
Jess, calm down. It’s too risky. Get hold of yourself.
Jess forced himself to take deep breaths, the message from Sal having far more of an effect than Elizabeth’s words.
“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said, turning back to the arms dealer. “It’s my own fault. He’s my only child and I’ve spoilt him, always let him have anything he wanted. He needs to learn there are things in life he can’t have. Something we’ll be having a long discussion about as soon as we get back on my ship.”
The arms dealer visibly relaxed, a smile that was more like a sneer on his face.
“We were all young once,” he said. “We all had lessons to learn. If we lived long enough.” The last statement carried a clear threat. Jess stared at the table sullenly, not trusting himself to look up. He was still incredibly angry and felt helpless, desperate to help the poor creature but unable to.
“Get out of my sight!” the arms dealer ordered the creature. It quickly slunk out through the side door. “Now, please join me in a drink.”
He took one shot glass, pushing the tray with the other two towards Elizabeth and Jess. Elizabeth took one and pointedly set it down in front of Jess, then took her own. She knocked hers back in one hit, as did the arms dealer. Reluctantly Jess followed suit, coughing as the strong spirits burned his throat – much to the arms dealers enjoyment. For a moment Jess worried what might be in the drink but his implants quickly confirmed it was simply alcohol, though particularly strong. The implants were already working on neutralising it.
The arms dealer stood. “Thank you for your business. You will be escorted back to your shuttle. Please unload the payment and we will arrange for the containers to be delivered near to your ship, ready for your shuttles to collect. As agreed.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said. “And I apologise once again for my son’s outburst. Come on, Jess.”
They stood and followed the guards out of the room, robots once again following close behind. Still seething inside, Jess played the part of a petulant teenager without any need to act.
I’m sorry. You couldn’t save that creature. I know it’s hard.
The message from Sal didn’t make him feel any better. He trudged along the warren of passages before they finally entered the main corridor. Elizabeth didn’t try to speak to him and he had no desire to talk. They reached the shuttle in silence. Elizabeth walked to the shuttle and entered a code on the control panel by the cargo door, one that wasn’t connected to anything. Jess sent a pulsed command to the shuttle and the door opened. To the guards it appeared to be a normal shuttle with a security lock.
“Unload the cargo,” Elizabeth ordered the robots.
Again this was just for show. The robots were under Sal and Ali’s control. They marched in and started unloading the contents. Large bars of gold and other precious metals were carried out and then scanned by the guards. Jess had no idea of the value, other than that it was far above a reasonable rate for their supplies. They were paying a huge premium to get the items with no questions asked.
The guards confirmed the payment was valid, that the bars were pure all the way through. Elizabeth sealed the cargo hatch, then she, Jess and the robots entered the shuttle’s flight deck via its airlock. Sal sent a message to confirm that the containers were being delivered. Everything had gone completely according to plan, yet Jess’s mouth tasted of ashes and he had a heavy lump in his chest. He couldn’t get the image of the poor enslaved creature out of his head.
They lifted off without issues and flew out of the station’s docking bay. As they cleared the structure Elizabeth let out a huge sigh and visibly sank into her seat.
“My god Jess, what the bloody hell were you thinking? You bloody idiot! They coulda killed us both!” As always w
hen she was stressed or angry her speech became clipped.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. You saw what they did to that creature.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry, shoulda known how it’d affect you. Bloody hell, though. That was too feckin close.”
She paused for a moment, took several breaths to calm herself down. It must have worked as her speech became less clipped.
“Sorry, I wish we could’ve helped it too. We couldn’t though. At best we’d have blown the deal. At worst they’d have started shooting, even with the robots I didn’t want that. You OK?”
“Yeah, I’m OK. Really.” Jess replied, smiling.
She studied him closely. “Why the sudden change? I thought you wanted to save it? Now suddenly you don’t care that we left it behind?”
“We didn’t. I just checked the shuttle’s sensors. It’s standing behind you, against the wall.”
Elizabeth span round, staring at the wall. Jess knew she couldn’t see the creature, nor could he with his own eyes. It was showing up clearly on the shuttle’s internal sensors, though.
“There’s nothing there!” Elizabeth said.
“Actually, there is.” Sal’s voice sounded strange coming from the robot’s speaker grill. “Now Jess has pointed it out the robot can just about detect it, not easily though.”
“Try scanning for electrical discharge,” Jess said.
“Wow… yep, it’s glowing away there. Amazing. It’s standing on the rear two sets of legs, the front half of its body is tilted up by ninety degrees and it’s front two pairs of legs are just hanging down.”
Suddenly a chunk of the shuttle’s back wall seemed to flicker and they could see the creature. Flexing its long neck, it faced Jess.
Wanderer's Odyssey - Books 1 to 3: The Epic Space Opera Series Begins Page 21