The bleeding guard pushed his partner from off him. Rene could see the lower jaw hanging limply from the reptiloid’s upper face. Renee did not spare any sympathy for the creature that had helped enslave him and his people for the corporation. As the creature stood and began to charge, Rene lowered the baton and prepared his strike. He shoved the charged stick into the eye socket of the guard as it came close, taking advantage of his longer reach. Green energy flared around the reptile’s head. It screamed a cry that reminded Rene of a slaughtered bull. He pushed the baton in farther, feeling the guard losing his balance and falling.
The other guard was preparing to leap even as Rene pushed the dying animal to the ground. Using the baton handle for balance, he kicked out hard towards the attacking creature. The kick caught the guard in the forehead, just below the helmet’s upraised visor. The guard came to a sudden halt as its neck was snapped backwards. Rene felt the impact through his spine, and stumbled back and fell, scraping his elbow on the hard pavement. He looked for any signs the guard would rise and come again, but saw nothing. He didn’t know if the creature was dead or just stunned, but was prepared for anything.
It took several long moments before Rene could push himself to his side. There was still a third guard out there in the dark, and he wanted to be sure he could fight. His arm was bleeding and hurt as he levered himself to a seated position. Everything hurt. Not wanting to be seated when the other guard attacked, Rene pushed up and stood on shaky feet. He listened to the night. There was only a faint sound of someone in the distance stepping along the concrete sidewalk.
A hiss came from the night. The final guard was hiding in the same darkness Rene had used before. Despite the heavy breathing and pain, the human spirit Rene had kept smoldering for the last few years kept him ready. The hiss became deeper. The guard had watched from the darkness and studied Rene as he fought the other two. Rene realized the guard was angry, but not like the others. It had not ignited the green baton favored by the others. This one wanted to face the prisoner barehanded. It was a greater threat to Rene than either of its comrades, and Rene knew he didn’t have a chance.
A roar, and the gray-green skin of the monster flashed from the darkness. Rene tried to brace for the attack, but was pushed back by the force of the charging creature. He felt the armor on his back scrape the ground even as the reptiloid slammed its clawed hands into his chest. He tried to press back, but the guard was faster. Padded armor designed to keep the guards safe came apart under the attack as Rene’s attempts at fighting were pushed aside by the furious creature. He brought his left leg up only to have the guard flick it down with its short tail. The creature held its head high and smiled at Rene.
The image of the reptile’s sharp teeth would be the last thing Rene would see if he could not find a way up. The creature’s arms held him down as effectively as any bindings he had felt. They were like iron weights around his wrists. Trying to bring his legs up resulted in more pain from the tail. The creature snarled at Rene as it looked straight into his eyes.
Gray-green blood blossomed from the creature’s head even as it came down for a biting attack. Rene turned his head to avoid the teeth as the dead guard fell against him. Even though he was smaller than Rene, the guard was much denser. Rene wanted to push the creature away, but lacked any more energy. It took a few more seconds before he heard the sound of approaching boots.
“You looked like you could use some help.”
A long leg pushed the body of the guard from Rene. The leg was covered in a full-body jumpsuit of dark green. The fabric covered the woman completely, but still showed her athletic body in a way Rene had never thought he would see again. The woman knelt down and took a close look at him.
“Are you alright?”
Rene tried to speak, but he was still too out of breath for anything more than a mumbling acknowledgement. She leaned close enough for him to see the details of her face, made of hard angles that made her look older than he assumed she was. She smiled at him and he felt a stab of hope in his chest. She had light hair, trimmed close over her right ear and long in the front, where it cascaded over one hazel eye.
“My name is Bonnie,” the woman said. “I’ll take you back to my ship and see what the captain wants to do with you.”
Rene couldn’t remember the trip to the woman’s ship. All he could remember was the hazel eye and her smile.
2
“Humans are intrinsically selfish creatures. If they agree to do something for you, it is likely as not they are wondering what they can get out of it for themselves. I hope, upon reflection, that my actions will be seen as simply human nature.”
Banu Rao
The Life of a Hero (Unpublished Autobiography)
Dawn pushed back the darkness over Eridu City’s capitol minarets. Golden-topped buildings reflected the breaking day, drenching the air over the central square with light. Tourists, still wiping sleep from their eyes, eye stalks and other visual receptors, watched the glory of the morning from the manicured lawn stretching between the capitol minaret and the spaceport. The light fell across the green space, revealing the classical amalgam of Earth and alien architecture of the city.
Melaina Petros slid her hand into Connor Jakes’ as they strolled along the pebbled path to either side of the verge. She was smiling wider than she could remember since the fall of Earth. She had been in a swamp, a prison, a spaceship, and more swamps, but never could she recall a time the environment was closer to her native Greece. A warm summer wind blew in from the bay and the smell of growing things filled her lungs. She tried to search her mind for words to describe it but kept coming back to the same thing.
“It’s really … beautiful,” Melaina said to Connor.
The rogue captain smiled at her from the side of his mouth. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt over his usual black trousers. Melaina had begged him to wear something that made him look less like a pirate. He had finally resolved to wear the shirt, a leftover from the previous owner of his ship, and left his utility vest behind. He had pulled his long black hair back into a neat tail, and shaved.
“Not nearly as beautiful as you, darlin’,” Jakes replied. “Besides, the gravity’s all wrong.”
“Bonnie told me the gravity was only about one percent heavier than Earth,” Melaina replied, stabbing his shoulder with a finger. “You just don’t like being off the ship.”
“The ship I understand. This place…”
“What do you have against planets, Connor?”
“It ain’t the planets, precious,” Jakes said, pulling his hand away from hers. “It’s the people on ‘em. On the ship I know who to trust and who not to. Out here, I don’t trust anyone.”
“You’re still fuming about Holcombe, aren’t you?”
“I ain’t fumin’, precious. I just want that man off my boat,” Jakes said, stopping and stretching in the early morning sun. “I still don’t believe his story.”
“Let it go, Connor,” Melaina said, crossing around to face her lover directly. “He’ll be off the ship in a few hours and we’ll never have to see him again.”
“Better be that way,” Jakes said, looking into her brown eyes. “We’re gonna need the bunk space anyways if we intend to recruit some new Corsairs.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Melaina said, turning her back on him and stepping away. Jakes moved to join her, still feeling the cracked ribs under the silk shirt. “Maybe we shouldn’t be trying to recruit the whole team.”
“Whaddya mean?”
“I mean, when we were running missions for Chang during the war, we needed a whole strike team,” Melaina explained. “Maybe all we need is a medic and maybe a few people with skills.”
“We already got skilled people, darlin’,” Jakes said, putting his hand back into hers.
“Parker is a psychotic firebug and Mendel is in love with his guns,” Melaina replied with a sly grin. “The only stable person on board is Bonnie.”
“H
ey,” Jakes said, turning to look at her. “I’m stable.”
“And I’m as crazy as you are for staying on the Liberty,” Melaina said. “Just think about it, okay?”
“Fine,” Jakes said.
A faint signal drew Connor’s attention. He reached into his pocket and pulled the comm out. It was a small gray box with a golden-backed antenna. Jakes tapped the front and the image of the ship’s pilot flickered into view.
“Captain?” Bonnie asked. “We need you back here right away.”
“What’s happenin’, Bonnie?” Jakes asked, worry creasing his forehead. “Is there somethin’ wrong with the ship?”
“Liberty’s fine, Captain. I found a … well, you’d better get back here. I don’t want to say anything over an open comm.”
“We’re on our way,” Jakes said, closing the line and reaching for Melaina’s hand. “We gotta go, darlin’. Somethin’s up back home. Whatever it is, it’s got Bonnie spooked.”
Melaina fell into step with Jakes as he stepped quickly to the moving walkway beside the stone path. The thought of the woman who piloted their home being upset by anything was disturbing. Bonnie Estevez had once been a slave herself after her Confederacy ship had been shot out from under her. Once rescued, she had foregone military service to the Alliance to join up with Jakes and his crew. She always displayed an icy coolness during stressful situations. If she had been upset by something at the spaceport, it must have been serious.
“Connor, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Melaina said, growing breathless in the rush to get back to the ship. “You told me this was one of the most criminal places in the galaxy. It seems so lovely, I can’t imagine anything being wrong here.”
“You’ll see, darlin’. It’s comin’ up here quick.”
The two traveled fast along the moving walkway. As they passed travelers from all over the galaxy, Melaina marveled at the variety of alien life on the planet. She had seen so many species in her life she had become jaded at the different ways life existed, and now she was faced with even more variety. Connor needed to push past a few of the slower-moving creatures as they closed in on a small concrete building. Compared to the grand constructions of the city she had seen, Melaina wondered why more time hadn’t been spent to make the tunnel entrance to the spaceport more attractive.
Entering the low building, Connor grabbed her hand as they stepped off the walkway. There was a small line exiting the gate, but no line for entering. A guard dressed in the standard black police uniform of the Eridu City police force raised a thick tentacle to stop them. Connor held up his arms for the customary search and urged Melaina to do the same. Tiny cilia along the rounded edge of the tentacle gently ran along the edges of her body, both feeling and smelling her for illicit devices.
“You have been found guilty of section two point five of the Eridu City motorized walkway penal code. Your sentence will begin immediately to the term of seventy-two local hours,” the creature explained, giving the two humans a strange look as he stared at their clothing and shoes. “Please disrobe and step into the disinfectant shower.”
“I’m not disrobing for anyone,” Melaina began. “Especially not for some—”
Connor held an arm up to silence her. The creature remained still as he stepped closer to the guard. The creature withdrew two of the long tentacles and held them closer to its leathery body. Jakes spoke quietly to the creature, offering his credit chip. The creature made motions to push the chip away before Jakes made another offer. This time, the officer seemed to consider her carefully. Deep suspicion nagged at Melaina’s mind as the guard looked back at Connor and made a final suggestion. Connor looked her way again and then back to the alien. The credit chip was carefully cupped by the tentacle for a moment. When it came back out, Connor had a sour expression on his face. He stepped back over and took Melaina by the hand.
“What the heck is going on, Connor?” Melaina asked. “What did we do?”
“Nothin’ much, precious. We just got caught speedin’ on the walkway.”
“Are you serious? We were just—”
“Come on, we gotta go now,” Jakes said. “Don’t make eye contact as we pass. He’ll take it the wrong way.”
Melaina lowered her gaze as the two passed the gate and entered the tube leading to the monorail below. The spaceport was not far, but the tube was the only way to gain entry from the underground facility. They would be traveling under the bay about another two kilometers to the station where Liberty was parked. Two more quick stops by guards and another set of exchanges of Connor’s credit chip and they were on the monorail.
“What the heck was that all about?” Melaina asked, settling into her seat.
“Don’t ask me that,” Jakes replied with a grin. “Melaina, promise me one thing. If you ever see that … thing again, don’t look it in the eye or raise your head.”
“Why not, Connor? What did you do?”
“Nothin’ much,” the pirate replied. “It’s just he recognizes retinal patterns and not faces. He might think he just bought you for his cousin.”
“You’re joking, right?” Melaina said, looking into Jakes’ eyes. “Right?”
“Our stop is comin’ up. Better get ready.”
Melaina stood and reached up to Jakes, wanting to pursue the question, but he turned away and moved closer to the door. When the panels opened and they moved onto the platform, Connor rushed away to the nearest spaceport entrance. Again, there was a quick exchange of credits, and the two moved up the escalator to the row of hangars. Sweet Liberty was parked three bays down on the left. There was no walkway and Connor was almost running to get there. Melaina had to hurry to keep up. She hoped the ship was undamaged. Any fool who tried to do damage to that ship would have to bear the wrath of Connor Jakes, and Melaina did not want to see what that mess would look like.
The bay was quiet as Melaina followed Connor into the hanger. Sweet Liberty was not a large vessel, meant as a pleasure yacht for an extremely wealthy human family; it was capable of atmospheric flight and landing. She rested on three skid extending from the underside. A long gangplank fell from the belly of the ship, allowing access to the central decks and docking bays. Connor moved up the ramp at a run while Melaina slowed her pace to look at the ship.
Four decks plus a bridge tower, the ship had long, elegant lines. Before she had taken up with Connor, he had painted the ship flat black to evade visual searches. The finish practically absorbed light, so that when she looked her eyes wanted to slide off the ship and look for light beyond. It was an effective camouflage and had served them well the last two years. She noticed a few new scratches which would need repairing before they left, but the ship seemed to be holding up despite the firefights and explosions of the last few years. Modifications from an extra-dimensional alien species had protected the ship during the war and beyond.
Melaina moved towards the bow of the ship, assuming Bonnie would have stayed on the bridge. Before she reached the lift to the tower, though, noises caught her attention and made her move down a cross corridor to an unoccupied suite. She heard Connor in a heated argument with Bonnie, so she hurried to the room.
“What the hell were you thinkin’?” Connor was saying to his pilot. “I mean, I understand what you did, but why did you bring him here?”
“Should I have rescued him and left him in the street to die?” Estevez replied, confronting Connor with a slender finger. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.”
“It don’t matter what I would’ve done, Bonnie,” Jakes replied, pushing the finger away. “I’m an idiot. You should’ve known better. They’ll be all over us now.”
“Let them come. I’ll warm up the cannons.”
“You can’t take on the whole planet again, Bonnie,” Jakes said, stepping over to the nearby bed. “We ain’t at full strength like last time.”
Melaina moved around Connor while the argument went on. She finally got a look at the man lying under a thin sheet. He
had dark skin, with hair badly in need of cutting, and a patchy beard with thick, curly hair. Gaunt to the point of emaciation, the man looked as if he had not eaten a good meal in months, if not longer. There was a black bruise under his right eye and blood still smeared from his chin. It looked as if Bonnie had tried to clean the man, but had given up after the task grew too large to handle. Melaina leaned close to listen for breath. She heard wet but steady sounds from the man’s chest. He was alive, but dead to the argument raging around him.
“Who is he?” Melaina asked, stopping the argument.
“I don’t know,” Bonnie replied after a long pause. “He was being attacked by some lizards. That’s pretty much how I found him. I tried to—”
“I know, Bonnie. You did fine,” Melaina said, stepping to the taller woman and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I just don’t know how you got him back to the ship. It cost us a fortune in bribes and … other things.”
“These spaceports always have back ways out for the crews. Show them a union card and they’ll let you in and out pretty quick,” Bonnie explained. “Tell them what you’re going to do to each other and they’ll help you in your ship.”
“Where did you get a union card?” Connor asked.
“Same place you got your credit chip,” Bonnie replied flatly. “It doesn’t matter. He hasn’t said a word since I scraped him from the pavement.”
“What were you doin’ away from my ship anyways?” Jakes asked.
“Holcombe. He disappeared just after you two left. I waited, but he didn’t come back. I thought it would be safer if I went out to look for him. I got Tuxor up to the bridge and plugged the twins in before I left to find the fat pig.”
The Adventures of Connor Jakes: Masks (The War for Terra Book 1) Page 10