by D. J. Holmes
Sarah didn’t need any more encouragement. Breaking into a sprint, she flew past Angrave and out of the restaurant. Looking left and then right, she saw there was a greater throng of people moving to her right. Immediately, she began pushing her way through them. For a minute she moved as fast as she could without drawing too much attention to herself through the crowd. Then she slowed to a walking pace.
She nearly jumped when a hand reached out and grabbed her right elbow. Swinging round, she brought her left fist up towards her attacker. Another hand reached out and stopped her hand. “It’s me,” Ranack said. “Calm down, I think we’ve lost him.”
“I have to get back to my hotel and warn Divar,” Sarah said. “If Angrave is here, then we need to leave.”
“It’s too risky. If you were followed to the restaurant, it’s likely this Angrave has someone watching your room already. You can send a message to your partner and warn him. But we need to get somewhere safe to lie low,” Ranack said.
“Where?” Sarah asked.
“My apartment will do for now,” Ranack answered. “No one knows that you know me. I doubt Angrave got a good look at me either. It will be safe there for the moment.”
“Lead on,” Sarah said.
Ranack nodded and started to guide Sarah through the crowd, still holding onto her elbow. Sarah was all too aware of how close they were. She pushed down her thoughts though, she was happy just to be moving. Plus, with Ranack leading her, she could think.
“Send a message to Divar,” she thought to Alexandra. “Tell him to get out of the hotel. We need to get off Ankara right away. If Angrave is here, Admiral Klixar can’t be too far away. If he knows about Ankara, I’m afraid he will destroy it, just like Aral.”
“You should get Ranack to take you to the spaceport. You should come back to Destiny right away,” Alexandra said. “I can get Divar to meet you there.”
“That’s a good idea,” Sarah said. She turned to Ranack and opened her mouth to speak to him. Quickly she shut it again when she remembered what Ranack had said. Instead she sent another message to Alexandra, “If Angrave has people watching our hotel, he likely already knows where our shuttle is. I think we need another plan.”
“Divar has plenty of credits with him,” Alexandra said. “He could purchase another shuttle and you could use it to get to Destiny.”
“That will work,” Sarah thought back. “I’ll lie low with Ranack until Divar is ready to go. Make sure Divar knows to go out a back entrance from the hotel to make sure he isn’t followed.”
“I will,” Alexandra said. “Be careful around Ranack. He might have saved you, but I still don’t trust him.”
“I know,” Sarah thought as she mentally rolled her eyes.
“You’re awful quiet,” Ranack said once they were alone. He had turned down a tight alleyway that seemed to lead into a darker part of the city. A section Sarah hadn’t visited before.
“I’m talking to Alexandra,” Sarah answered as she reached up and tapped the side of her forehead.
“Oh yes, I forgot. That’s disconcerting,” Ranack said as he shook his head. Coming to the opposite end of the alleyway he paused. Carefully he poked his head out and looked left and right. Then he ducked back in and grabbed Sarah’s hand. “We’re not too far away now,” he said as he led her out.
Sarah felt her face redden again. She had never held another being’s hand before. Not like this anyway. Despite the danger of the situation, she realized she rather liked it.
“Maybe you should be thinking more about how Angrave knew how to find us here,” Alexandra said.
“You’re right,” Sarah said as she chided herself. Though in the back of her mind she was still very much aware of Ranack’s hand. “He must have followed me to the meeting with Ranack from our hotel. That, or he stumbled upon me somewhere along the way. I’m sure he has contacts on Ankara he could have used. The question is, how does he always seem to know where we are going?”
“He knows we can’t take Destiny to an Elder colony. That would give away our position to Admiral Klixar. He also knows that our knowledge of pirate bases or black colony’s is likely limited to those Lady Luck has visited. Given that we’ve been generally heading towards this sector of space. There were only so many options he could choose from,” Alexandra answered.
“And with the time we’ve already spent on Ankara, Angrave and Klixar could have already visited one or two other pirate bases in the vicinity before coming here,” Sarah finished. “We’re being too predictable.”
“It would seem so,” Alexandra said.
“Then we have another problem, potentially a far bigger one,” Sarah said as another thought came to her. “If Angrave figures out that I want to get home, Klixar will be able to beat us to Earth. Given what we’ve already seen him do, he might destroy the planet just to spite me.”
“Yes,” Alexandra responded. “That is a problem. I don’t know what we can do about it though.”
“We need to give them the slip once and for all,” Sarah said. “If they’re still following us when we finally start to head towards Earth, they’ll quickly figure out where were going.”
“It seems the closer we get to finding your homeworld, the further away it gets,” Alexandra said. “No matter, we’ll get you there. I think this is a problem for another day anyway. We need to get you off Ankara and quick.”
“Agreed,” Sarah replied.
“Here we are,” Ranack said, dragging Sarah’s mind back to her surroundings. They were standing in front of a medium size apartment complex. It looked old and dilapidated.
“This is where you live?” Sarah said.
“Yes,” Ranack said as he flashed her grin. “It’s perfect.”
“I’m not sure those are the words that come to mind,” Sarah said as Ranack lead her through the front doors.
“Perfect for my purposes,” Ranack elaborated. “No one would think a successful businessman. Okay, okay, a successful smuggler,” he corrected as Sarah raised her eyebrows at him. “No one would suspect I would choose to live here. Plus, I rarely spend more than a week in Ankara at one time, so it’s cheap.”
“I suppose,” Sarah replied as she eyed the dirt and grime on the walls of the staircase as they made their way up to his apartment.
“Home sweet home,” Ranack said as he punched in an access code.
As Sarah walked in, she had to admit she was impressed. His apartment was small, but it was far cleaner than the rest of the apartment complex. Ranack also had a few nice paintings hanging on the wall. “At least you look after your space,” she said.
“Of course,” Ranack said. “One never knows when one will have company. Care for a drink?”
Sarah was about to refuse, but Ranack’s question made her realize how thirsty she was. Running away from Angrave had tired her out. “Thank you,” she said instead.
“Now,” Sarah continued after she took a sip of the water Ranack had given her. “My partner is working on an escape plan. We intend to leave Ankara as soon as possible. Once he has everything in place, I’ll have to go meet him.”
“That’s okay with me,” Ranack said as he came to stand beside her. “I need to leave to. The only reason I delayed leaving was to meet with you. My colleagues are expecting me soon. The plan I want you to help me with is on a tight schedule.”
“Are you sure you won’t sell me the coordinates to Earth?” Sarah said. “After all you’ve done to help me, why can’t you just give me what I want? I can pay you whatever you need.”
“You know I can’t,” Ranack said. “Your ship is too good an opportunity to pass by. You know my terms.”
“Fine,” Sarah said in frustration. “Tell me more about your plan then.”
“Let’s take a seat,” Ranack said as he pointed to one of the two large seats that dominated the center of his apartment.
Sarah sat down on one of them, expecting Ranack to sit opposite her. Instead, he sat down beside her and turned to fa
ce her. As Sarah mimicked his move so she could see his face, their knees came into contact. Part of Sarah instinctively wanted to shuffle away and break the contact, yet she didn’t.
“The penal colony is in the system 10045X,” Ranack began, seemingly unaware of their physical contact. “That’s it’s designation, it has no other name. It’s two weeks travel from Ankara. The rest of my colleagues are scheduled to meet me near the system in just over two weeks’ time. We have five warships between us. Four are former pirate ships and one is a refitted Protector World ship. The colony is on a rocky planet very near to 10045X’s mass shadow. Our last intel indicated it was protected by one Elder frigate. One of my colleague’s ships is scheduled to carry out another stealth run through the system to confirm this. Our plan is to meet at the rendezvous coordinates, then we’ll jump into the system together. As we’ll be able to jump in close to the colony itself, we should take the Elder frigate by surprise. We believe we have enough firepower to destroy the frigate. Then, we’ll be able to take our time with the prisoners and make sure we get everyone out of the system.”
“That sounds extremely risky,” Sarah said. “Don’t forget, I know the capabilities of an Elder frigate.”
“But what you don’t know, are our capabilities,” Ranack answered. “We are not fools, we know what it will take to destroy an Elder frigate. You managed to take one on yourself with just one pirate ship. We have four pirate ships that are as heavily armed as Lady Luck was, plus our Protector World ship. It’s almost as powerful as the rest of our fleet combined. We know what we’re doing.”
“Then why do you need me?” Sarah asked. “Why can’t you just sell me Earth’s coordinates?”
“You know as well as I do that in battle, nothing is certain,” Ranack answered. “If you join us, you will massively decrease the chances of anything going wrong. I’d much rather see my comrades survive this mission, than fill my pockets with your credits.”
“I understand,” Sarah said slowly. Though she was deeply frustrated he wouldn’t give her what she wanted, she admired his stand. She knew she would do the same for Divar or even Alexandra. “I will think about it. But it won’t just be my decision. Divar and Alexandra will have a say.”
“Thank you,” Ranack said, sounding genuinely pleased. “That is all I ask. You can do some good. I know it’s not saving Earth. But it’s a start.” Reaching into his pocket, Ranack pulled out a small datapad similar to the one he had given Sarah before. “This has the coordinates to the rendezvous point. I’m trusting you with this. If you decide to join us, you can meet us there in two weeks.”
“I’m not making any promises,” Sarah said as she took the datapad.
“I understand,” Ranack responded. “We’re friends now though, aren’t we? I hope you will find your way to helping me.”
As he spoke, Ranack moved closer to Sarah. Now their thighs were touching. As he stared into Sarah’s eyes, she found herself getting lost in his gaze again. Just as she had the first time she had met him.
“Yes, we are,” she managed to mumble. Blinking, she tried to sort out her thoughts. Her mind felt fuzzy. She was experiencing feelings and emotions that were entirely new to her. It reminded her of how she felt after she had left her meeting with the soothsayer.
“Good,” Ranack said as he reached out and took Sarah’s hand. “We humans need to stick together. We are the same flesh and blood after all. If we can’t trust each other, who can we trust?”
“I agree,” Sarah said. “It’s just all new to me. I’ve never met another human before.”
“I know,” Ranack said. “And I know I can be forceful. I just want what’s best for my friends, and those I know the Elders are mistreating. We are very alike you know.”
“Yes,” Sarah agreed. She was beginning to be overwhelmed. The heat radiating from Ranack’s leg seem to be causing her entire body to feel warm and flushed. A part of her mind couldn’t get the memory of Ranack holding her hand to go away. She wanted to reach out and take his again.
“Divar has found a shuttle,” Alexandra said, breaking into Sarah’s thoughts.
“Already?” Sarah said as she turned away from Ranack, breaking their contact.
“Yes, I can guide you to where he is. Though you need to leave now,” Alexandra answered.
“What is it?” Ranack asked. “Is it your artificial intelligence?”
“Yes,” Sarah said, turning back to him. As soon as their legs touched again, she felt her body begin to heat. “He is waiting for me now. We are going to be leaving Ankara. I have to go now.”
“That’s a pity,” Ranack said as he reached out and touched Sarah’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “I was hoping we could spend more time together and get to know each other. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen another human. Another time perhaps.”
“I hope so,” Sarah said as she forced herself to stand. A part of her just wanted to sit there and let Ranack stroke her face. Yet, she knew she needed to go. It was hard to ignore Alexandra’s urgent demands that she get moving. “Thank you for helping me get away from Angrave. And for the information you’ve given me.”
“It was nothing,” Ranack replied. “I hope to see you at the rendezvous coordinates.”
“Perhaps,” Sarah said. “And thank you again,” she added before she turned to leave.
As she moved towards the door, it automatically opened. “Hold on,” Ranack said as he reached out and grabbed Sarah’s hand, turning her around.
She almost jumped back in surprise as she found Ranack’s face approaching hers. When it dawned on her what he was doing, she panicked. Yet, she didn’t pull away. As their lips met her panic fled. Instead she lost herself in the texture of his lips and the softness of his touch. When they broke apart, Sarah took a deep breath. As she realized what they had just done, she felt like her whole face was beaming bright red.
“Something for you to remember me by,” Ranack said. “If we don’t meet again, at least.”
“I have to go,” Sarah said as she turned and fled out of the apartment. Her emotions were out of control. She didn’t trust herself to say anything more. “Lead me to Divar,” she said to Alexandra.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back?” Alexandra said, chuckling. “I mean, you’re only being chased by Angrave and a vengeful Elder Admiral. I’m sure you have time for another kiss or two if you really want.”
“Just shut up and help get me get out of here,” Sarah said as she ran down the stairs out of Ranack’s apartment complex.
*
As Ranack watched Sarah move down the corridor, he grinned. It was a cheesy line I know, he thought. But I bet she’s never heard it before. Angrave was a fool trying to capture her ship. Why waste the time trying to capture it, when you can capture its Captain?
Chapter 22
Just over two weeks later.
“It’s been two days,” Divar said. “There’s no sign of Ranack or any of his supposed allies. We’ve waited long enough, it’s time to get out of here. We should head to the slave markets of Kashel. Going there was always a better idea anyway.”
Sarah took a deep breath. It had been a momentous effort to convince Divar and Alexandra to help Ranack. As they had made their escape from Ankara, Alexandra had transmitted a virus to Ankara’s Orbital Control. She had hacked into the black colony’s data banks and located Kashel. Given that they had no more use for the colony, she had risked blowing their cover. Alexandra had used the information to try and persuade Sarah to forget about Ranack. The only thing that had helped Sarah win the argument had been the fact that Kashel was over three months journey away from Ankara. “We are staying,” Sarah said. “We already had this argument. I’m the Captain.”
“Ranack could be gathering pirates right now to come and attack us. For all we know, he’s been playing us. His only interest could be in Destiny,” Divar argued.
“I’m telling you, he was genuine,” Sarah shouted as she finally lost her tem
per. She had been trying to cut Divar some slack over the last couple of weeks. “I trust him, and so we are staying.”
“Well you know what I think,” Alexandra said to Sarah through her neural implant so Divar couldn’t hear. “The fact you can’t control your tone of voice shows that I’m right.”
“I told you I didn’t want to hear anything more about it,” Sarah thought back. “If you tell him, you’ll regret it.” She had already banned the artificial intelligence from telling Divar what had happened with Ranack. Divar had enough ammunition to use against her when it came to his mistrust of Ranack. He didn’t need a reason to think Sarah’s judgement was compromised.