by Hal Archer
"I know."
"You're a good man, Jake Mudd."
"Just a man." He would have shrugged but it hurt too much.
She leaned against him, and he wrapped his one good arm around her.
They stood for a moment, lost to everything going on around them.
Behind them, someone spoke. "It's here, sir."
Jake and Nadira turned around. The woman was pointing to a ship landing not far away. Hundreds of Waudure gathered around it.
"Follow me," she said. "It's a Cracian ship, but I don't think they need it any more. We have a pilot ready to take you where you need to go."
Jake and Nadira walked toward the ship as it touched down. Upon their approach the large crowd of Waudure fighters erupted into cheers and applause.
"What's this?" Jake asked.
"You're their hero," Nadira said.
He looked at her.
She took his hand again. "I'll miss you, Jake."
"We weren't bad, were we?"
He stepped up to the front of the crowd. Hanlan and Brun were there to greet him.
"Not too shabby," Brun said.
Jake smiled. "Couldn't have done it without you." He looked at Hanlan. "And you."
"We made a good team," Nadira said.
"I wish you could stay," Brun said. "Keep things interesting around here."
Jake looked up at the brown cloud high above the Cracian base. "I wish I could, but if that does what Kharn claimed, there's no place for me here."
"Yes," Brun said. "Just wish it weren't so."
"Besides," Jake said, "I need to get back to my ship. There's something I need to do. Something Kharn said that I need to follow up on."
"I'm not sure I understand," Brun said, "but if you ever can come back, when it's safe, you'll always have a place with us."
The door to the ship opened. The crowd of Waudure parted to make a path for Jake.
He turned to Nadira. "This is goodbye, then."
"No," she said. "This is goodbye." She reached up and put her hand on the side of his neck, gazing up at him. He leaned in and they shared a long kiss.
"That's a proper goodbye," Brun said.
The crowd roared.
"Now save yourself, Jake Mudd," Nadira said. "I'll be here if you ever want to come looking for trouble again."
He gave the three of them one last glance, then he made his way through the crowd and boarded the ship.
CHAPTER 41
J ake took a seat beside the Waudure pilot, a young man who seemed pleased with the task of ferrying the day's hero to his destination. He and Jake exchanged brief pleasantries before Jake turned his attention to the window beside him. He could see the large crowd below, and among them, his three new friends. He wondered if he'd ever see them again.
He tipped his chair back as the craft took off in a steady climb. "Did they tell you where we're going?"
"Yes, sir," the pilot answered, while staying focused on the controls and screens in front of him.
"Does this thing have a comm link?"
"One second, sir." The pilot pressed a switch on the panel in front of him. "The channel is open to your ship."
Jake swiveled in his chair. "Hey, darlin'. You there?"
"Jake?" Sarah sounded both exasperated and relieved at the same time.
"Miss me?"
"I expected to hear from you a long time ago. You're OK?" Her voice dipped into a tender tone.
"A little worse for wear, but I'll make it. Sounds like you've been worried."
Nothing came through the comm speakers for a few seconds.
"Sarah?"
"I was just trying to decide whether to cancel the request I put out for your replacement."
"You're hilarious," Jake said.
"How did the delivery go?"
Jake turned his chair and looked at the pilot. The young man raised his eyebrows while tilting his head and shrugging.
"There were a few hiccups," Jake said, "I'm not going to lie to you."
The pilot chuckled.
"What was that?" Sarah asked.
"Never mind," Jake said. "There's something I want you to do."
"Did you get the payment?"
"That was one of the hiccups," Jake said. "But listen, I need you to fire up the drives. We're going to need to fold out of here as soon as I'm on board."
"What? Why the hurry?"
"Just do it. Open the bay door when you see us coming."
"I see you now," she said. "Jake."
"Yes."
"My sensors are picking up several ships folding into our space. They're coming in not too far from me."
Hyde.
"Get the drives ready to go!"
"What's going on?"
"I don't think we want to be there when those ships come in," Jake said. "As soon as I'm on board and my escort is clear from you, we need to go."
"You're the boss." Sarah laced her response with sarcasm.
Jake opened his mouth to respond, but then let it slide, and instead shook his head.
"Trouble?" the pilot asked.
"Just don't hang around after you drop me off. I don't think they're interested in Daedalon."
The pilot nodded then returned to his controls to guide the craft through Sarah's bay door.
CHAPTER 42
J ake waved to the pilot from the door leading out of the landing bay, as the commandeered Cracian ship turned and headed back out through the energized field that guarded the interior from the cold vacuum of space. With a noticeable stagger, he made his way down the hall and into the lift that rose to the captain's deck.
With the camera in the elevator, Sarah saw him — cuts, blood, and bandages. She had to comment. "Hiccups?"
He looked up at the camera. "Nice to see you too."
"You look like —"
The door opened with a swoosh.
He went to his captain's chair and dropped into it. "Can we fold space yet?"
"I'll need another minute," she said. "I didn't know you were coming until a short while ago. I had the drives shut down to conserve energy."
"As soon as we can."
"You sure you don't want to head down to the med bay?"
Jake repositioned himself in his chair, although he still remained obviously uncomfortable. "Believe me. That sounds like a great idea, but not until we're safe."
"Safe?"
Jake pressed a few buttons on the arm of his captain's chair to bring up the approaching ships on the large display in front of him.
"Jake, whose ships are those?"
"People we don't want to talk to."
"They're hailing us on the comm link," Sarah said. "Should I open the channel."
"Are the drives ready yet?"
"No."
Jake exhaled with a groan. "Put them on."
The distant view of the approaching fleet of ships flickered before being replaced by a closeup of a man seated in a chair like Jake's.
"Not the video link," Jake said under his breath.
The man on the screen wore a black and gray uniform that was ripped in a few places and anything but crisp and clean. Dark green skinned, he churned his jaw and licked his lips with a forked crimson tongue before speaking. "Mudd. All the places in the galaxy to hide, and somehow, I run into you here."
Jake leaned in slightly and to the side of his chair. "Hyde. I've been looking all over for you."
"I'll bet you have."
"And I see you brought your friends." Jake smiled.
"More the merrier, right?"
"You don't have friends, Hyde," Jake said, losing the pleasant pretense.
"Aren't you curious how I knew where to find you?" Hyde asked.
"Seems you were in on a black-market deal," Jake said. "Serious stuff, genocide, even for you, Hyde."
Hyde's face lit up. He looked proud. "Hacked the Galactic Shipping Registry. Broke the encryption on your anonymized shipping license."
"Really? That's impressive."
"I figured I'd make some money off the contraband cargo," Hyde said, "and maybe get you killed in the process. But I'm glad you made it out alive. I think I'd prefer to kill you myself." He jostled in his chair and laughed. "And take your ship when I'm done."
"Jake," Sarah said.
"Uh huh?"
"That thing you asked about is ready."
"Good to know," Jake said. He leaned forward, staring into the two-way video transmission. "Hyde, I always hated you. You are the vilest, most dishonorable, dumbest mercenary I've ever met. I'm not sure who did the leg work on this job, but I'm willing to bet you have no idea how to hack the shipping registry, let alone the shipping license encryption. No, somebody much smarter than you had to do it. I'm guessing you're just the dumb pawn in someone's game. But, you know what Hyde?"
Hyde seemed to be boiling with rage as Jake spoke.
"The sad thing is, Hyde," Jake said, "you probably don't even realize that."
Hyde got up from his chair, raising his hand in front of him and clenching it into a fist. "Jake Mudd! I will—"
"Let's go," Jake said, as he flipped a switch on the arm of his chair to cut the comm link.
"You got it," Sarah replied.
The charged field around the ship pulsed and Sarah and Jake were gone.
CHAPTER 43
I n the timeless place between space, Jake sat in his captain's chair watching the cosmic dance of light around his ship, Sarah.
"Where to?" she asked.
"I don't really know."
"How about somewhere off the charts for a while?"
"That sounds like a good idea. Sorry I didn't get the payment on this one."
"That's OK. We'll manage. We always do."
"We do, don't we?" Jake rubbed the edge of his chair, and Sarah felt it. "You're always there for me."
"Always will be."
THANK YOU FOR READING
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to the following people for the invaluable contributions they have made to the success of this book.
To my editor, Graham, of Fading Street, your work has immeasurably improved this story. It has been a pleasure working with you.
To the wonderful team at Deranged Doctor Design, particularly Milo, Kim, and Darja, thank you for sharing my vision for this work and for bringing it to life through your wonderful cover design. It's been great working through the whole process with your team.
To my fellow writer friends Gary, Nick, and Adam—sources of inspiration and invaluable feedback, as well as unwavering friendship. Thank you.
Lastly, but most importantly, to my three children, Lewis, Ben, and Abbie, you bring unceasing joy and purpose to my life. May you soar with your dreams and bring your particular genius to the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hal Archer was born in Texas, where, after many travels, he again resides. He has worked as a bookseller, a research library assistant, and a military computer network expert (often in hostile enemy territory). He eventually took a position in international shipping and worked for twelve years, while pursuing the writing craft in his spare time. After several early attempts in sci-fi, action/adventure, and thriller genres, he developed a character that he found truly compelling, and the Jake Mudd Adventures series was born.
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BOOKS BY HAL ARCHER
JAKE MUDD ADVENTURES:
DEADLY CARGO
FORCED VENGEANCE
HEAT SEEKER
BROKEN SOLACE
LOST HUMANITY
To be continued…
TANGLED PERIL (a prequel novella)
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PREVIEW OF FORCED VENGEANCE, JAKE MUDD ADVENTURES BOOK TWO
FORCED VENGEANCE, CHAPTER ONE
T he drop out of the fold in space was smooth, as usual, but Jake awoke seconds later to his ship's frustrating sense of humor. His head rose a few inches above the padded roll on his bed shelf before coming back down with a thud. The pillow gave some protection against the hard surface beneath it, but not enough to keep him from experiencing the onset of a slight headache.
He groaned as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. Before his eyes were ready, the lights came on.
"Good morning, Jake." His ship Sarah spoke with a cheerfulness that Jake took as the perfection of sarcasm.
"Yeah, right. You too."
"You asked me to wake you when we reached Eon Station."
"How'd you manage to hit a bump in space? Did you run over something?"
"What? Oh, no. I must've made an error when activating the impulse drive. Sorry about that."
Jake got up and stretched his arms. He rubbed some feeling into his stubbled jaw. Then he reached for his brown leather jacket that hung on the hook nearby. He donned it over his broad shoulders and slipped his feet into his boots. He left his holstered blaster and belt hanging on the other hook.
"How far out are we?"
"Far enough to allow for the fold without drawing attention to ourselves. A few minutes to the space station at this speed."
"When we get closer, slow down and notify me."
"Will do, boss. You know…"
"What is it?"
"A shower might be a good idea."
Jake looked into the camera on the wall above his holster belt. "Funny."
"You know I have sensors, right?"
Jake took his belt off the hook and put it on. "I'm heading to the bridge. I want to get a look at the station. It's been a long time."
"Of course. It's coming into view now."
Jake walked over to the door of the elevator to the bridge. He stepped in front of it and caught a glimpse of his tousled brown hair in the reflection before the door slid open. As he entered, he raised his arm, tilted his head toward it, and sniffed. "She's crazy."
Coming out of the lift he got his first look at the massive space city of Eon. It had been a couple of years since he'd visited the space station metropolis. He could see that it had grown even from the sprawling conglomeration he remembered it to be.
Eon first served as a refueling and trading outpost for those braving the uncertain frontier of this part of the galaxy. Over the years, it drew the wayward and the unseemly with its offer of unbridled opportunities for profit and mischief, and for the absence of interference by the various policing organizations that hampered much of the galaxy with law and order.
Word quickly spread through the many networks of ruffians and the unruly. In time, more of that sort came from across the vastness of space to do business at Eon, and often settled there. The remote space station grew to accommodate those that came.
Now it stood as a gargantuan city, fixed in space, alone in its galactic neighborhood. It played host to the underbe
lly of the universe, with kingpins and factions carving out their own sleazy pieces of the city. A dangerous place where anything could happen and all could be had for a price, it was just the place Jake needed.
"Are you sure you can get one there?" Sarah asked as Jake walked over to the large viewing window and took in the sight.
"No doubt someone has one. If it's black market, then you can get it in Eon. An anonymized shipping license will be harder to track down than some things, but I'm sure I can find one."
"I'm sorry about what happened."
"It wasn't your fault. I don't know how Hyde did it. He must've paid off the right people. Still, I've never heard of a shadow license being cracked."
"You don't think he'll come after us here, do you? I know he can't trace us on the shipping registry this time, but…"
"Doubtful. As bad a character as he is, this isn't his neck of the galaxy. He may not even know how to find Eon. It's not exactly on the official maps."
"I'm just glad you got back on board from Daedalon before his ships could attack."
"Me too. You're a tough lady, but I didn't want to test his fleet."
Jake stared at Eon. A thousand times larger than his cargo ship, the space station city crawled with activity. Vessels docked and took off at multiple hubs around the perimeter of the station. The glow of lights from the hundreds of buildings created an effect like a sky at sunset. That's how it always was, Jake remembered, perpetual dusk. The inhabitants of Eon liked it that way. Nothing was ever exposed to the light of day.
"They're hailing us now," Sarah said.
Jake stepped over to his captain's chair and sat, resting his hands on the wide arms of the seat. He swiveled the blocky unit to face the wall-sized display screen off to his right.
"Bring them up."
An Eon border official appeared on the screen. It was a humanoid creature, with soot black skin that overlapped itself in rolls across its face. Jake couldn't see the rest of the official, and he couldn't decide if it was male or female.
"Identity?" the border officer said, though its mouth moved for longer than the time it took for Jake to hear the word.