Smuggler's Luck

by S. W. Gunn

  As soon as he stood he could hear a voice, which he recognized as the man who had hired them, “Excellent, you are awake.”

  He moved into sight on the other side of the energy shield.

  “I am glad to see you have recovered since we have a lot of work ahead of us.” He continued.

  Jarron frowned. The way the man spoke led him to believe that he was about to be tortured or experimented on.

  The man must have read his face because he quickly said, “You need not worry because you are too precious to ever hurt. What is your name pilot?”

  Jarron knew that lying would not do him much good. The man could easily scan his vitals on the public database to find out his name.

  “It’s Jarron Moynihan.” Jarron curtly replied.

  “Excellent Jarron, my name is Tiberius.”

  “Tiberius James.”

  The man shook his head and said, “Close. That is a false name that I fed for the purposes of my hidden agenda.”

  “And what would that be?”

  The man clucked his tongue before saying, “I wager you would wish to know. I think instead that we should get to work first, maybe I will tell you later.”

  Jarron sighed heavily. He had no idea what the man meant by saying that he was too precious to hurt. After all, he was just one of many human smugglers throughout the galaxy. He was however, very desperate to see Elyse again.

  “What did you do with Elyse?” Jarron asked.

  “The half breed girl?” He asked.

  “Yes.”

  “She is close by since she will be part of the later phases of our work. I had her captured just to draw you back here. My spies had told me that you two were very affectionate with each other so I knew that if I captured either of you, I would eventually get both.” He stated with an evil grin.

  Jarron wanted nothing more than to beat the man senseless. However he was quite unable to do much of anything in his current position. His whole being cried out for Elyse and it was maddening for him to be so helpless. The man approached the energy shield.

  “Alright here is the deal Jarron. I am going to be performing many medical tests on you in order to find out what makes you so special, nothing more harmful than drawing blood. I have about twenty armed men ready to beat you down and get me the blood and my scans the hard way. I would prefer to simply have my assistant walk into your cell and perform the tests. Do not waste your time trying to harm her because she is expendable and if you try I will just send in my men to beat you down no matter her condition. So basically you have two choices, cooperate and remain unharmed or do not cooperate and get beaten senseless before I get what I want. Which option would you prefer?”

  Jarron sighed. The man had a very serious look on his face and Jarron know he had many more than twenty men available. He had no choice but to cooperate until either he could find an escape or the man finished whatever he had planned for him. Jarron had no idea what made him special.

  “Since I have no options then I agree to the first option but I don’t understand why you think I’m anything more than a normal smuggler.” Jarron told him.

  The man laughed, which he did for some time before he finally spoke, “You really do not know? Did you not sense something between you and the girl?”

  Jarron nodded. The man laughed again, this time even heartier.

  After he calmed down he spoke, “Of course you did and I bet you both mistook it for mere attraction.”

  Jarron was very confused. He knew it was much more than mere attraction since he could feel that there was something very significant about the bond between them. He just did not know what it was.

  “Of course you did, a handsome young man and a very attractive young woman. I bet the sparks flew like two teenaged lovers.” He said with a chuckle.

  He waved off to someone on his right and then ordered, “Take a seat.”

  Jarron complied by sitting on the bed. The man reached out and disabled the energy shield. A woman approached with a small tray. She was human and looked to be in her late twenties. She had brown hair, which was tied into a bun, and dark brown eyes. Her outfit looked like a typical medical personnel’s with a simple white smock and white trousers. She cautiously entered and set the tray on the bed next to Jarron. He could see the tray had several scanning devices, a half dozen vials for holding blood and a needle with a catheter.

  She said. “Please sit still and we can complete this quickly.”

  Jarron nodded at her, it was not like he had another choice in the matter. She picked up one of the scanning devices and attached it to the skin along his right temple. It whirred slightly as she clicked a button on it.

  “What is that?” Jarron asked.

  “It is a neural scanner. It will allow us to scan and interpret your neural patterns.”

  She picked up a needle and catheter before saying, “Roll up your sleeve.”

  Jarron complied and she slowly pushed the needle through his skin. She used it to extract blood to fill each vial. She removed the catheter and applied bandage over the spot.

  She then said, “Please remove your jacket and shirt.”

  He sighed heavily and then slowly removed his jacket and then his shirt. She attached another sensor on his chest directly over his heart. She collected the tray with the blood samples and then left. The energy shield flickered on behind her. The man reappeared.

  “See that was harmless,” He said, “Now our first test will be to expose you to a woman who has the Gift.”

  “Elyse?” Jarron said hopefully.

  The man laughed before saying, “Maybe later, right now I just want to see your neural reaction when exposed to any other one. The reaction you had when we exposed you to the half breed was very enlightening, although very unexpected because you are the only one I have found so I had no idea what to expect.”

  “One what?” Jarron asked.

  The man waved his hand as if to slap Jarron’s question away. He motioned to his left. Two men slowly wheeled one of those stasis boxes. The man picked up a small hand held computer and watched it intently. Jarron felt nothing different. The man frowned.

  “It seems as though nothing is different,” He said, “Let us open it and see if anything happens then.”

  He moved to the main terminal and began punching in some commands. The seals of the box popped as it opened. Jarron still felt no different, unlike the time that the man had opened the box that held Elyse. The man turned back to his computer and watched it intently. After some more intense watching he frowned yet again. He turned to the box and fully opened the lid. Jarron could see an elderly Kalan woman lying in it. Her eyes were closed. She had long red hair that was loosely lying flat. All she wore was a white robe like the one Elyse wore when they freed her. The man began pushing the buttons of the terminal. Her eyes fluttered open and she groggily awoke.

  “Who are you and where am I?” She said in a confused tone.

  Jarron again still felt nothing. The man was watching his computer intensely and he seemed very disappointed.

  “Why is nothing happening, do you feel anything Jarron?” He asked.

  Jarron shook his head. The man frowned again and then worked the terminal of the box. The Kalan woman flopped sideways as he worked the terminal. The man nodded at one of the men who brought her in. He shifted the Kalan woman’s body so she was lying flat in the box and then closed the lid.

  “Seal it and lock her back in stasis.” The man ordered.

  Jarron could read disappointment in his face. Jarron was very unsure of what the man wanted even, all of these tests seemed pointless to him.

  The woman who took his blood approached, “Sir his neural scan has finished. It has some very interesting results.”

  The man turned to her and said, “Which are?”

  She replied, “It would seem that the neural pathways in his brain function differently than a normal person’s. He also seems to have almost four times the pathways of a normal human. Fro
m what the computer can tell it allows him supernatural abilities in certain ways, although the computer could not postulate how.”

  The man laughed and said, “If you saw him fly a spaceship you’d know. He defeated five elite Grokmal combat fighters in space as though he was swatting away gnats.”

  He turned to Jarron and stated, “That was quite impressive by the way, I doubt there is a pilot in the whole galaxy who could match your skill.”

  Jarron shrugged at him.

  He continued speaking, “I bet you did not even need anyone to teach you. You probably climbed into a spaceship as a child and had a deep desire to fly it so you just knew how. It is part of what makes you so special,” He turned to the woman and said, “Continue your report.”

  She nodded and said, “Well according to the computer it would be impossible to clone him because of his neural functions.”

  The man nodded before saying, “That was to be expected. Our pilot friend here is truly special, just as the Eal’tain told me he would be. There is only a handful of his kind in the whole galaxy. Make sure he is brought breakfast soon, I want him well cared for.”

  The man turned and walked away. Jarron sighed heavily. He had no idea what the man was rambling on about. It made sense but did not at the same time. His neural pathways were different, but how would being able to fly a spaceship be of much use. Elyse was the one with the Gift. After a brief wait the woman returned with another tray, this one had food. She deactivated the shield and placed the tray down next to Jarron. She removed both sensors from him.

  “You can put your shirt back on.” She said and then left, making sure to reactivate the shield behind her.

  Jarron stiffly put his shirt on. He noticed his shoulder was slightly bruised where he landed on it. He then picked up the tray of food. It was a simple breakfast consisting of ham, eggs and some juice. He quietly ate his meal and then set the tray down on the floor by the small bed. After flopping backwards onto the bed he closed his eyes. He had not realized how tired he was because as he rested his head against the pillow he faded off to sleep.

  * * * * *

  His mind wandered to flying aboard the Keg, only to have the dream end suddenly and Jarron then find himself again trapped in the same box from the dream before. He knew it was Elyse, except this time the dream not only had a feeling of dread but also despair. Jarron knew that she had given up hope of escape. He fought with every fiber in his being to try and escape the box but his body in the dream would not budge. Jarron could feel the sweat on his body as he struggled. A soft hand pushed against him, which caused him to lurch forward and awake from his dream. Jarron looked up and saw the woman who was the man’s assistant next to him. She had a look of concern on her face.

  “Are you well?” She asked.

  “Yes, I just had a nightmare.”

  The voice of the man came from outside the cell, “What was it about?”

  Jarron was damned if he was going to give the man any more than he was forced to. He sat quietly without responding.

  “You will not tell me?” The man said, “Well we have ways to get you to talk.”

  He signaled to someone off on the man’s right. After a brief wait another of the stasis boxes appeared. Jarron knew immediately that Elyse was within it, he could feel it.

  “You know that the half breed is in here,” The man said evilly, “Well if you keep anything from me, I can kill her with only a few keystrokes, so you will tell me everything.”

  Jarron frowned. He had no choice but to cooperate, he could not let the man kill her.

  “At times I can sense her emotions and at other times while dreaming she can project those emotions in my dreams.” He said begrudgingly.

  The man rubbed his chin and said, “Interesting, the Eal’tain made no mention of this. What was this dream about?”

  Jarron responded, “I was trapped in one of those boxes, fully awake but trapped and unable to move in it.”

  The man looked contemplative as he said, “I was told that people within stasis could not sense anything.”

  “Whoever told you that was wrong.” Jarron said.

  The man shrugged. He signaled to the same man, who wheeled Elyse away. Jarron became saddened as she was moved away from him. He knew that he must find a way to escape this cell and be with her.

  Jarron stood and said, “What is the end goal of all of this? What would keep you from killing me or Elyse? Why should I continue to cooperate if I’ve got no way of knowing you haven’t planned something foul for either of us?”

  The man grinned as he said, “A pragmatic series of questions. I have to be honest when I say that I do not care what the end result for your half breed friend is, she is but one of many with the Gift. You my friend are too valuable to harm permanently.”

  Jarron shook his head and then sat back down.

  “I’ll not continue to help in any way if I don’t believe that both Elyse and I will be free to leave at some point. Otherwise you might as well call your goons in here because they’ll have to fight me every step of the way, threats or not.” He said firmly.

  “Ahhh, so then it has become love between the two of you. Very well I might as well tell you my goals with you so that you can receive your assurances.” The man replied.

  “Which are?” Jarron asked.

  “I need to know what makes you so special so I can replicate it. My intent is to gain control over the same powers that your half breed friend showed when you made your escape.” He answered.

  “And what if these tests you perform do not give you the results you want, what would stop you from simply chopping me into tiny pieces to get your way?” Jarron asked.

  The man laughed vigorously at Jarron’s question.

  After some time he finally spoke, “You really have no idea just how special you are, do you?”

  “I guess not.” Jarron replied curtly.

  “Well how many humans, Kalan, Brumkin, Magial, Eal’tain, and Grokmal do you think currently exist in the galaxy?” He asked Jarron.

  Jarron shrugged as he answered, “Several trillion I guess.”

  The man chuckled before saying, “Over twelve trillion spread out over dozens of planets, now of those twelve trillion how many do you think have the Gift?”

  Jarron had no idea.

  The man said, “I will take your response as not knowing. The answer is about five thousand, give or take a couple of hundred. Now my next question, how many of those with the Gift have the ability to toss around boulders and rip trees from the ground?”

  “Just Elyse.”

  “That you know of, but for our purpose that is a sufficient answer, now what does your half breed friend possess that no others with the Gift have?”

  Jarron did not know the answer to this question either.

  The man pointed at Jarron and said, “She has you, you are the missing component that others with the Gift do not have. Your half breed friend is no more special than any other person with the Gift. It is you that is special.”

  Jarron was shocked by his words. How was he special? He had no idea.

  “Well when I say you are special, I am talking about your kind.” He said.

  “My kind? I’m just a human.”

  The man shook his head again before saying, “Well your race is human, but what makes you special is the number of people like you. For every five thousand people with the Gift, whom are all women, there are even less of you. My Eal’tain friend stated that there is approximately only about twenty of you in the whole galaxy. Twenty of twelve trillion people are like you, special.”

  Jarron still did not understand what he was saying so he asked, “I still don’t understand what’s so special about me.”

  The man laughed and said, “Think of yourself as a supercharged battery. When someone with the Gift is near you they can tap you for extraordinary powers. Each person with the Gift is a super powerful weapon that did not include the battery.”

  The man pointed a
t Jarron and said, “Someone just needs to find a battery and they could have untapped potential available to them. The Eal’tain call people like you focal points.”

  The man paused to let his words sink in before continuing, “So you see Jarron Moynihan, pilot extraordinaire from Terra, you are special because you are a super rare living battery. You are the rarest thing in the entire galaxy so causing you permanent damage that might affect your ability to be that rare living battery would be the dumbest thing that I could ever do. I could not ‘chop you into tiny pieces’ as it would be idiotic since I could not with one hundred percent certainty know that the end result would work. Even if the percentage was ninety nine point nine nine percent I could not risk it, you are rarer than the rarest element in the entire galaxy. However, your half breed friend that you care so much about is much more replaceable to me. I know you know this because you saw my storage area filled with people whom have the Gift. So I can guarantee that I won’t hurt you but I cannot make such a guarantee about your half breed friend. It is in your best interest to cooperate in order to ensure her safety.”

  “And if you harm her, I can guarantee that you won’t receive any cooperation from me.” Jarron said flatly.

  “Of course but once I get what I want I will gladly release the both of you.” The man said.

  “How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Jarron asked.

  “You do not but what other purpose would I need you for once I have what I need?”

  “None, which means I’ll be just as expendable as you say Elyse is.”

  “Fair enough, I guess you will just have to take my word that I will release you both once I have what I want.” The man stated.