Deadly Cargo (Jake Mudd Adventures Book 1)

by Hal Archer

  His trusted companion since he found her among the first wave of laborers he brought to Daedalon, she had always been the exception to his contempt for the Waudure. Her body tipped the scales toward beauty sufficiently, but it was her unusual look that drew him to her among others with superior forms and curves. Her slightly larger than normal eyes, full lips, and elongated neck was rare if not completely absent in their race.

  Eliana wasted no time maneuvering herself into his heart. The first time he had her brought to him for a private audience, a week after her arrival, she fed his interest in her. By instinct, she teased his appetites with a delicate and disorienting balance between submission and feigned dissatisfaction. Such play had worked on many a man by women with similar understanding of their gifts, but Kharn, for all his vision, fervor, and will to dominate, was particularly susceptible to such things. Eliana, forced from her home world like thousands of other Waudure, merely wanted to survive.

  "We haven't had time together like this for quite a while," she said, still massaging his neck. Her hair hung down across her cheeks, and the tips of it danced on his head.

  "I've been preoccupied, I admit." Kharn closed his eyes as she continued to work on him. "But all is coming together now."

  "You always manage to accomplish what you set out to do," she said.

  "Rekla," he opened his eyes, glancing up at her and gesturing with an arm, "the man we have near Halcion Station, he will arrive soon with something I need."

  Eliana lowered her face down to his and kissed him just in front of his ear. "To continue your great work?"

  "That is right."

  "And the ones that have been causing your trouble?"

  Kharn reached up and took hold of her wrists. "My power and influence extends well beyond these walls. We know where they are. I've seen to it that their interference will end soon, including that off-worlder. He's served his purpose."

  Eliana slid her arms from his and then wrapped them around his shoulders and chest, leaning down and placing her head against his. "How did you persuade them?"

  He reached up and stroked her hair.

  "I've left that task to the creature of the caves."

  CHAPTER 16

  T he tunnel became cavernous, as the ceiling rose sharply to a height of at least fifty feet. The path took on an upward slope and the moisture in the air diminished, but those weren’t the most interesting details Jake noticed as they walked. He stopped next to an inscription carved into the rock of the wall.

  “Do you know what this means?” He sidestepped to allow Nadira an unobstructed view of the marking.

  She moved closer. “No. Not entirely.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, it looks Cracian, but not exactly. The lines are similar, but I don’t recognize it.”

  Jake ran his fingers across the cuts in the rock. “How well do you know Cracian? Maybe you never learned this version.”

  “All our people know the language.” She cast her gaze down, shaking her head slightly. “They fed their language into us during our transit to the planet. Said it was to foster better understanding between our peoples. Turns out it was to make it easier to command us as we served them as slaves.”

  “And this means nothing?”

  “It looks older, maybe. If I’m reading it right, it’s some kind of warning or closure notice.”

  “That’s encouraging. But, as you said, it’s old. I wouldn’t worry about it.” He stepped back from the marking. “Let’s keep going. There must be something up ahead.”

  “Wait. I recognize this here.” She pointed to a few curved lines on the right side of the markings. “Death.”

  “Great warning sign. Come on.” Jake took a few steps down the way between the larger rocks on the ground, then waited for her.

  “What’s that smell?” she said as she joined him.

  “Don’t know. But it’s foul.”

  They continued up the sloping path. More gouges marred the walls. This time they ran in sets, three cuts into the rock on each side of the great rocky hollow. They arced downward, tracing a ten-foot expanse on each side of the cave.

  Jake and Nadira stopped in their tracks.

  “Death,” she said.

  Piled up on one side of the extended cave, bones. They looked humanoid but it was hard to tell. Broken and splintered and hundreds of them as they were.

  But the worst of it. Not all the bones were old. Remnants of flesh. Some rotting. Some fresh. Blackening blood caked but not yet fully dried. Skin and sinew hanging from the shattered frames in bits and strands.

  Nadira covered her mouth. “Oh. What kind of. . .”

  “We don’t have any choice but to go forward,” Jake said as he drew his blaster. “If we’re lucky, whatever creature did this isn’t coming back anytime soon.”

  Nadira seemed shaken still. “I hope you’re right.”

  Jake headed down the path first, mumbling to himself, “So do I.”

  After several minutes, the smell from the pile of bones faded. It was far behind them now, and they’d seen no other signs of the creature. Jake put his weapon away.

  The slope of the cave continued upward. Jake felt the air warm.

  He held his hand out in front of her. “Hold on.”

  She stopped. Then he switched off the light in his hand, but the subterranean world didn’t completely darken.

  “I thought so.”

  Forty or fifty feet ahead of them, the cavern turned sharply to the left. They could see the turn because of the soft glow of light coming in from around the bend.

  “It must be the way out,” Nadira said. She hurried past him, running to the light at the end of rocky expanse.

  “Wait!”

  He rushed to catch her. She was too far ahead. As they ran, each of their footsteps echoed off the rock walls.

  When Nadira reached the turn, he saw a large shadow block the light that had shone on the wall from around the corner. Still speeding toward her, he watched her stumble as she halted her run. She fell, sliding on the loose rock on the ground. Her scream echoed all around him.

  Then a thunderous roar drowned out her cry. A coarse howl declaring death to all. The shadow stretched across the wall, then disappeared as the monster itself came into view. Five times taller than a man.

  Lit from the side by the daylight promise of escape coming into the cave, the monster cast a visage of ungodly horror. Untamed, for surely no one could harness such a beast, it's two large black eyes bore a look of primitive malice.

  Jake shot the creature. The blast deflected off its scaled hide and struck the rock above it. A few pieces of stone began to fall.

  Nadira scrambled away from the beast. She pushed with her feet and hands against the slippery gravel beneath her until her back touched the cave wall. It wasn't enough. The monster stepped toward her. It settled its feet on the rubble, until the loose rocks shattered beneath the creature's weight. The ground shook.

  Jake shot repeatedly, while he moved to help Nadira to her feet. The blasts did nothing to the creature's impenetrable hide.

  More rocks fell from the ceiling where the energy bolts from his weapon deflected. Most of the falling debris was no bigger than a fist, but a fissure in the ceiling had appeared from where the pieces dropped.

  Jake and Nadira moved back from the huge beast, retreating several yards deeper into the cavern. The escape, so close by, still guarded by the monster.

  "It's going to kill us," she said.

  He aimed his weapon to shoot the fissure in the ceiling above the creature.

  The creature turned to them. Jake glanced at its legs. Massive, but clumsy.

  "Get ready to run for the opening behind it," he said.

  "What?"

  He put three shots from his blaster directly into the crack in the rock above the monster. It was enough. The stone gave way and a large piece of rock cleaved off, striking the creature, then falling to the floor of the cave.

  "Re
ady," he said.

  The beast drooped its shoulders and its body swayed. Then it shook its head and raised its gaze back toward Jake.

  A roar. Hot putrid breath blew against Jake and Nadira. Wet.

  Jake's ears rung.

  The monster raised its leg to charge the two of them. With its first step, the creature planted its weight down on the edge of the large misshapen stone that had fallen. The rock tipped. The beast lost its footing.

  As the creature fell forward, Jake grabbed Nadira's hand. "Now!" He pulled her as he jumped out of the way of the falling monster. They ran around the side of the creature.

  A few steps from the opening to the cavern, the prone beast turned.

  Jake pulled Nadira forward, and shoved her out of the cave ahead of him. He leapt over a pile of rubble as the creature struck him from behind.

  Jake flew out of the cave, coming down in a skid beside Nadira. He barely noticed his rough landing. The pain running across his back overwhelmed him. Heat. Throbbing.

  His mind drifted for a moment. He thought how the pain was worse than the lashing he'd been subjected to on the planet Farias, when he'd been made a slave for three months before escaping.

  The creature's roar bellowed out of the cave. The ground shook.

  "Jake!" Nadira knelt beside him, grabbing his shoulder. Touching him to make sure he could still respond.

  He groaned.

  The ground shook again.

  "It's coming." She pulled at his shoulder, but couldn't move him.

  His brown leather jacket, ripped across his back at a diagonal from belt to shoulder blade. His flesh bore the same gash, but the creature's claw only drew a shallow path. It bled, but enough skin remained to forestall death, at least for a while. His pack, gone. It had been ripped from his back and flung somewhere inside the cave.

  Still face down, he slid his hands on the ground, bringing them beside his chest. Another groan, then he pushed against the dirt. He lifted himself up a couple of inches before the pain across his back caused his body to disobey his will. He collapsed again. His face hit the ground before he could turn his head to the side.

  He mumbled something.

  Nadira leaned over to discern his words.

  He turned his head to bring his mouth out of the dirt. He breathed out a few shallow words. "Shoot the rock."

  The ground shook again.

  Nadira picked up Jake's weapon from the ground beside him and shot the rock at the top of the cave entrance. Pieces shattered and flew off. She continued to shoot, walking toward the opening. The creature, still inside the cave, moved toward her. She took a position a few feet from the entrance and kept shooting. The repeated blasts combined with the thunderous steps of the monster as it moved closer shook loose the stone over the hole. A couple of large slabs broke off and dropped to form a small barrier.

  Nadira stepped back and continued blasting.

  The creature moved within a step of leaving the cave. It let out a howl and the hot breath and heavy smell enveloped her and Jake. The stone above the opening collapsed, piling down before the creature's path. Another roar, this time muffled behind the massive pile of rock. Thuds. Small tumbles of dirt and grit cascaded down the newly formed mound of stone. After a few moments, the beast quieted.

  Nadira returned to Jake's side.

  He half opened his one eye that wasn't resting on the dirt. Nadira stood over him. He noticed a glint at the corner of one of her eyes. Then his eyelid drooped. She spoke, but he couldn't make out her words.

  He heard her say something again, but it didn't sound like her voice. Then there were two voices, then more. He willed some strength into his arms and shoulders, trying to lift himself off the ground. His body ignored him.

  He directed all his effort instead to open his eye once more. Three men stood before Nadira. He couldn't see her hidden behind them. They were large, strong, like himself. Well, like he was up until a minute ago.

  Kharn's men, he thought.

  He wanted to save her.

  But he couldn't.

  His eyelid gave in and shut.

  Then everything faded. He felt cold. Dark.

  CHAPTER 17

  "J ust be sure to keep your mouth shut."

  "Come on, Rekla," Jafir said, "you know I don't even like being in the same room with him, let alone drawing more attention to myself."

  The two of them stood outside the door to Crassus Kharn's audience chamber. It was as close to his inner sanctum as they had ever been.

  Jafir looked himself over. He straightened his jacket, and buttoned the lapel flap. He licked his left hand before wiping it against the hair on either side of his head. He glanced down at his boots, trying to decide how they might be judged by Kharn. He reached down and wiped a spot from his left one with his thumb. None of his efforts, however, gave him the presence Rekla had.

  Rekla, dark blue jack hanging open, exhibited no concern for his appearance. He was accustomed to being in charge. Sure, he stood before Kharn's domain, but he cut a deal with Kharn because it suited him. Long ago, he abandoned the fleeing Waudure that became the resistance, in favor of making his own way. This favor for Kharn was just part of him doing that, part of him doing things for himself.

  He held the case Kharn asked him to deliver.

  Keeping Jafir close by fed into Rekla's inflated sense of self, though he always told himself that he did it to look after Jafir.

  "Are you sure you aren't trying to get noticed?" Rekla asked.

  Jafir didn't have time to answer before the metal door to Kharn's audience chamber slid open, disappearing into the wall.

  Rekla stepped forward without hesitation. Jafir followed less boldly.

  Kharn wasn't in sight. The room, an expansive rectangular one with heavy green drapes covering most of every wall, had five oversized curved couches arranged in a broken circle in the middle of the space. The floor was jet black, some sort of stone. Several lights, noticeably dim, hung from the ceiling mostly between each of the couches, but also in each corner of the room.

  A long cabinet lined the wall to the right. Rekla spotted an arrangement of bottles and glasses on it. The opposite wall displayed a series of five paintings, each graphically depicting a scene of destruction or war. He glanced at them from where he stood, but knew better than to wander over to them while he awaited Kharn's entrance. He then realized the similar style of the massive painting directly in front of him, hung from the ceiling several feet out from the wall opposite the door through which he and Jafir entered. That one, however, did not depict a scene of conflict.

  The painting was of a man, a Cracian, standing on a mountain. His right arm held forth, fist clenched. Trailing the main, a mass of Cracians seemed to be climbing the summit to follow him. At the base, they were climbing out of darkness. What most disturbed Rekla was the bottom of the painting, which took a moment to make out in the dim light of the room. Scattered all around the mountain, barely visible in the heavy shadow, were countless bodies, naked and mangled. They were many assorted colors and with varied facial features, but none of them had the gray skin of the Cracians.

  "Do you believe that?" Jafir said, also taking in the large painting.

  Kharn walked out from behind the painting, which hid a doorway.

  Rekla waited for Kharn to speak.

  Kharn walked half the distance from the painting to where Rekla and Jafir stood, then he paused before looking back at the image.

  "Striking, isn't it?"

  Rekla waited longer than he meant to before answering. "It's an impressive work of art."

  Jafir audibly swallowed.

  Kharn waved his right arm toward the other paintings. "They tell a story."

  "Quite a story," Rekla said. "I didn't get to take a closer look at those," he looked at the five smaller paintings Kharn gestured toward, "but I think I understand the idea."

  Kharn turned his attention back to Rekla. He walked up to him, stopping only a foot in front of him. Then h
e tilted his own head from one side to the other, as if assessing him. "Do you?"

  Rekla struggled to maintain his composure. Kharn stood several inches taller than he, but that wasn't the issue. Something about Kharn made him unsettled. His stomach churned and his brow grew warm. He opened his mouth to respond, but said nothing. He became acutely aware of the bead of sweat that was running down his forehead.

  Kharn stepped back and extended his hand, then he raised his eyebrows and looked at the case Rekla held.

  Rekla stood still.

  After a moment too long, Jafir nudged him with his shoulder. Rekla then managed to speak. "What you asked for." He handed the case to Kharn, who accepted it and turned away from the two men.

  Kharn took a few steps. Then, his back still toward Rekla and Jafir, he began to laugh.

  Rekla didn't know if they were to leave Kharn to relish his acquisition in private or stay there until he decided to address them. He opted to stay. Another bead of sweat rolled down the reddish skin of his forehead.

  Kharn turned to face them once more. He held the package up in front of him. "You two have played a part in something far bigger than you will ever know."

  Rekla glanced at Jafir, but he didn't allow himself to turn his head fully away from Kharn's gaze.

  "I came to this world with a purpose. For too long the full potential of the Cracian people has sat dormant. We will once again draw the elements from across this world that we need to transform our people to the next stage in our development. I have led the way, but soon the rest will follow in my footsteps. We will bring a new order to the galaxy, and all will benefit from our rule."

  He caressed the top of the case. "My work will continue. The disloyal activities and irritations that have delayed this heroic effort are about to end. It is for this, that I thank you."

  CHAPTER 18

  J ake felt his body cool. Then he realized the coolness was on his back. He moved slightly and felt the stone underneath him. He was lying down. He breathed in deeply. The air was damp. He smelled minerals, dirt. He couldn't quite place it.