Stowaway (Redleg in Space Book 1)

by Z D Dean

  “Why didn’t you talk to me first? Ask me about Zade and the situation? Don’t you trust my opinion at all?” Samix asked.

  Before the chancellor could answer his daughter, the silence of the office was broken by a pained cough. Both individuals turned to look at where the sound originated from. Zade, still tied to the chair, feebly shook his head trying to clear the blood that had started to congeal in his mouth and nose. As he struggled to draw in a breath, Samix leapt to her feet and ran to him. While Samix worked to free Zade from his bondage, the Chancellor called for his guard detail.

  The men barged in, scanning the area for threats. Their eyes first fell on Zade then quickly turned to the Chancellor who ordered the men to get a medical team. A brief pause before they sprang into action was the only indicator that the security team was confused at how the situation had changed. As the security team radioed for the Chancellor’s personal medical team, Samix finished untying Zade and moved him to the floor. He had fallen unconscious again, and rolled onto his back, Samix stroking his blood-soaked hair.

  Moments later the medical team entered the Chancellor’s office. After a quick explanation of the situation by the Chancellor himself, the team set out to help Zade. Due to the advanced medicine in the Unity, the two-man medical team carried relatively little gear. The lead medic carried a diagnostic scanner and a bag full of nanite doses, the junior medic carried a collapsible stretcher and a bag full of resource fluid. The lead medic quickly scanned the motionless Zade and looked, somewhat bewildered, at the results of the scan.

  “Sir, it is showing multiple fractures, ruptured organs and internal bleeding. But this species isn’t in the database,” he announced.

  “I am well aware of that. Can you fix him?” the Chancellor demanded, his voice taking its usual haughty tone in front of his subjects.

  The medic read through his results once again before shaking his head.

  “Sir, with standard nanites, no. His body is far too damaged. By the time they get the internal bleeding fixed, he will have already expired from the internal hemorrhaging.”

  It was news that Samix loath to hear. But, even through her grief, she picked up a thread of hope, so fragile she feared she might have imagined it.

  “Why did you quantify that by specifying that standard nanites couldn’t do the job? Is there any other kind?”

  The medic looked back and forth between Samix and the Chancellor, uncertainty etched across his face. He knew that time was a factor, the patient would expire in minutes. He knew that his bag of nanite treatments held the answer. He also knew that the advanced nanites he carried were cost prohibitive to create, thus reserved for members of the Unity government. Most of the expense was because the nanites were made exclusive to each member species. From what he could tell the Xi’Ga strand should work on Zade, but he wasn’t sure. The medic looked to the Chancellor once again for permission to explain himself.

  With a nod of approval from the Chancellor, the medic explained himself as he moved to Zade to begin the process of saving him.

  “Recently, nanite technology has improved. The new nanite treatments essentially stop the aging process, and correct trauma thousands of times faster than the nanites currently in his body,” he said while nodding at Zade. “The new nanites would extend the life of the host body to over 1,000 because they alter it at the molecular level. According to my scan, Zade’s species rarely lives past 100 years old. This treatment would effectively make him immortal in his mind.”

  With the medic’s explanation done, the Chancellor looked at his daughter.

  “I will authorize this treatment, but understand that if you chose to move forward with the treatment, Zade must leave the core planets. His presence will raise too many questions.”

  “He lacks the means and knowledge to travel outside the core. Does that mean that there is no real treatment?” Samix asked flatly.

  “I will provide Zade with a ship and AI that will get him out to the second-tier planets. After that he is no longer my concern as long as he never re-enters the core systems.”

  “All he wants to do is go home and help his people. I will pilot for him. Give him the new nanites,” Samix said, the last sentence directed at the medics.

  As the medics turned their attention back to their patient, the junior hanging a bag of resource fluid in Zade’s left arm, and the senior preparing the needle for the nanite injection, the Chancellor addressed Samix.

  “Daughter, you know as well as I do that you cannot go with Zade. Your flight into the contested zone, and subsequent return has made you a hero of the Unity. You are hope to your people, you must stay. I will make sure Zade has a ship and an AI so he can try to return home.”

  Samix could see the logic in her father’s words. She had always wanted to help her people, ever since her rescuers saved her from the slavers. She recalled some of her classes on warfare. Hope was as important to a people as food or water.

  “Even so, father, he saved my life. I should at least try to do the same,” Samix said, resigning to her decision.

  “An honorable decision, Samix. That honor will make you a great leader.”

  As soon as the medics completed the nanite injection, Samix could hear Zade’s breathing take on an easy regularity. A tear of relief escaped her eye. She wiped it away quickly. As she looked at him, she could see his ugly bruises fade, and some of the smaller lacerations begin closing up. The medics did another scan and estimated that Zade would be back on his feet in the next couple of days.

  Samix wanted to be by Zade’s side when he awoke. Upon hearing his estimated recovery time, she stood and made her way out of the office. As she left, she informed her father that she would be returning to the spaceport to retrieve the location data for Zade’s home world. He reinforced his concerns about Unity security and made Samix promise to not transfer any relevant information about the core worlds. After some discussion, Samix was allowed to give Zade information on his home world, contested space and the rim planets.

  Chapter 17

  Samix headed for a quick shower before she, and her security team headed to the spaceport to retrieve the information for Zade. As soon as she set foot on the XES01, Mur was right beside her.

  “Is everything ok captain? Your stress hormones appear to be off the charts,” he asked, a genuine note of concern in his voice.

  Samix gave Mur a quick run-down of the events that had transpired since the crew had disembarked. Mur held a particular interest in how Zade had been treated and whether or not he would recover. The AI had taken a liking to the human after his reboot. Samix wasn’t sure why, but surmised the AI was overcompensating for how his previous version had reacted to Zade’s presence. After she was done explaining everything, she told Mur about the information she needed to get Zade back to his people. Mur quickly found the information, but before uploading it to a fresh data core, asked for clarification.

  “The only restriction given by the Chancellor was, no data on the core planets, correct?”

  After confirming the restrictions, Samix waited for Mur to transfer the data. At the AI’s signal Samix took the data core and pocketed it. She turned and headed to the command deck to reminisce about the times she and Zade shared aboard the ship. Hours passed before Samix broke from her reverie. She was going to miss Zade, but she didn’t have to leave him defenseless. After stopping by her quarters aboard the ship to grab a duffel bag, Samix headed to Zade’s lab to stuff it with his creations.

  As she dug through the different weapons strewn across the workbenches, she set the data core next to one of the terminals, and asked Mur to download all of the blueprints stored in the lab. Zade had spent months tinkering in the lab and Samix felt it only right that he took the fruits of his labor with him. With the weapons and data gathered, and both in the duffel bag, Samix headed back down the ramp of the ship where her security detail waited. Even though she informed them on the contents of the bag, they still searched it before allowing her to
take it to Zade.

  Before leaving the spaceport, Samix found that Zade was staying at a hospital not far from where she was. After directing her driver, Samix arrived in Zade’s room; he was still unconscious. She spent the next two days going to and from debriefings, press conferences, or Zade’s bedside. As long as she didn’t expose Zade’s existence, the Chancellor was content letting her spend time in the hospital.

  Just before nightfall on the second day after his run in with the Chancellor, Zade stirred. The first thing he noticed was how extremely thirsty he was, and after opening his eyes to look for a water pitcher, he saw that he was back in a hospital room.

  Damn, I have to stop waking up this way, he thought as he took a long draw from the glass of water on his bedside table.

  Thirst quenched, Zade sat up and scanned his room further. It was a standard hospital room, with the addition of Samix’s sleeping form on the couch by the foot of his bed. The sight of the blue woman set his mind ablaze and the memories of the past few days came flooding back. Memories of the abduction, the encounter with the Chancellor, and the beating all came back to him. Caught up in his head, he hadn’t even noticed that the woman had moved until she embraced him in a hug.

  “I’m so sorry about all of this, about everything,” Samix managed to get out between sobs. “This is all my fault; I should have told you about my father before we landed. I just didn’t want you to think differently of me.”

  As Zade laid on the floor of that office, getting worked over, his life had flashed before his eyes. Every good moment, every bad one, and everything in between. As he watched his life flash by, Zade had made a revelation; outside of the things that happened in the military, the worst times in his life were cause by either his temper or his ability to hold a grudge. Just before he blacked out, he promised himself, if he had it all to do over again, he would work on his temper, the source of most of his regrets.

  After kissing the top of her head, he gently pushed Samix back so he could look at her as he spoke.

  “Samix, all is forgiven. I’m back to healthy. I don’t think this whole situation played out like either of us wanted but, more importantly, I don’t think you intentionally hurt me.”

  His words elicited another round of wracking sobs from Samix. She clung to him like a drowning man to a life preserver. Zade just stroked her back as she slowly regained her composure. The sound of Samix’s sobbing must have alerted the guard outside the room because he promptly looked in the room. After noticing Zade awake, he walked over and handed him a sealed envelope, after which he retreated back out of the room. Still holding Samix in one arm, Zade quickly read the letter.

  Mr. Zade—

  My daughter’s interest in you is the only reason you are still alive. It was her desire to see you healthy and back on your way home. I cannot have you interrupting my plans here on the core planets. There is a ship waiting for you in private hanger 062. You have one week to vacate Unity core system space, after which I will declare you an enemy of the Unity.

  —Chancellor of the Unity

  By the time Zade had read the letter for the third time, Samix had calmed enough to wonder what had drawn his attention away from her. Seeing the envelope with the official Chancellor’s seal on it, she quickly grabbed the letter from his hands and read it through.

  “It seems that quite a bit has happened since I’ve been out,” Zade said, giving Samix time to finish reading the letter. “Care to fill me in?”

  Samix quickly launched into explaining the events that had transpired between her and her father since Zade had been recovering. Neither the news on how much time had passed since the XES01 left, nor the news about his new 1,000 lifespan got the reaction from Zade that she had expected. The news about having his own ship caused Zade to light up; the thought of him leaving on it crushed Samix.

  “This is the way it has to be,” Zade said, before the unshed tears gathering in her eyes could fall. “I don’t even know if Earth still exists, but I have to try to get home. I plan on helping anyone who needs it along the way. Helping people who can’t help themselves—it’s the reason I joined the military. It’s who I am.”

  He quickly gauged her reaction before continuing.

  “You on the other hand, are needed by your people here. You are destined to be the next Chancellor. That’s who you are. I really want to stretch my legs, and I can’t think of a better place to do that than on my new ship. You coming?”

  Samix wanted to argue about Zade’s impression of who she was. She was more like him in the sense that all she wanted to do was help the oppressed people of the galaxy. She never wanted to be a politician; that was her father’s dream for her. She joined the Academe to be a trooper, so she could go fight and help people. Her father pulled some strings to get her in the command course, which looked better on the resume. She wanted to tell Zade that they had more in common than he thought, but knew that would make it harder for them to go their separate ways.

  As Zade changed, out of his hospital gown and into his recently laundered fatigues, he noticed the look of consternation on Samix’s face. He really wanted to know what was bothering her, but if she wasn’t talking, he wasn’t going to pry. When they left Zade’s hospital room, Samix’s security detail fell into formation and escorted the pair to waiting vehicles. After a brief drive, the two were standing in front of a closed, private hanger, the numbers 062 painted across the doors.

  For whatever reason, the security detail felt comfortable enough to let the two enter the hanger alone. Zade knew the space was gigantic from the outside of the building. The interior was pitch black except for a small cluster of work lights focused on the nose of the ship. After fumbling around, unsuccessfully, for a light switch, Zade made his way to the nose of the ship. The darkness of the hanger concealed most of the ship, but from what Zade could see illuminated by the work lights, the ship was a decent size. He approximated it to be slightly smaller than the XES01, but just so.

  Around the nose of the ship a mechanic stood, wiping his hands and putting away his tools. Trying not to startle the guy, Zade knocked on the side of the ship before speaking up.

  “Taking care of my new ride?”

  The mechanic startled at the intrusion but quickly overcame his discomfort.

  “Sure am. Just finished putting in the hydrogen scoop. Installed the new warp engine and AI yesterday after we renovated the life support systems,” a brief pause ensued as the mechanic went through a mental checklist of repairs before he continued. “Not sure what you did to piss off the Chancellor that he saddled you with this rig. She might get you to the rim, but just barely.”

  Curiosity laced with concern raced through Zade’s mind, prompting him to ask the mechanic to turn on the lights in the hanger. He wanted to see his new ship in its full glory. As the lights came up both Zade and Samix’s mouths fell open. Zade’s because he was looking at his very own spaceship, Samix’s because she recognized the ship.

  One of the Unity security teams came across the ship floating dead in core space. No one knew the origins of the ship, or the species that created it. The team towed the ship back planet side for researchers to examine it. Researchers tried to gather information on the ship, and eventually deemed it no longer useful, assuming Unity technology had surpassed anything on the mystery ship. It had been sitting in disrepair, forgotten, in this hanger for decades. Her father must have given it to Zade because he could never get anyone to buy it. She was absolutely furious at her father for setting Zade up for failure. Nobody even knew if the ship could break into orbit, let alone make it into contested space. Samix spun on her heel and stormed back towards her waiting security detail.

  “I can’t believe this. My father gave you this hunk of junk. He’s probably hoping you’d die on your trip. I’m going to talk to him.”

  Before Zade could respond, she was out the door. Zade simply shook his head and admired the jet-black ship, laced with green accents. It was a bit bulky like the cargo s
hips he had seen in the spaceport, but somehow still looked sleek. From the outside, he guessed that the ship was sectioned into three main components. The back looked wide and cavernous, which Zade assumed was for cargo storage. Unlike the majority of the ships he had seen before, there was no ramp exiting the rear of the ship, rather a portion of the cargo bay floor dropped straight down below the ship. The front of the ship had a protrusion, shaped like the head of a snake, that was covered in windows. Zade assumed this had to be the command deck. Leaving the middle portion of the ship for quarters the galley and any other rooms. Zade did one full circuit around the ship, and when he returned to the nose he was addressed by the mechanic.

  “I am done here. If you don’t need anything, I’m gonna head out,” the mechanic said.

  “I don’t think I need you to do anything right now,” Zade said, considering the ship in front of him. “Could you tell me how to order parts for the ship, if I find anything I might need?”

  “Right over there is a terminal that allows ordering and control of the hanger functions. If you swipe your ID card by it, you should be able to control everything. Anything you order for the ship will be delivered to the hanger within a day or so. If you need any more equipment installed, give me a call,” he said as he pointed to a screen at the far end of the space.

  Zade quickly pulled a handheld screen from his pocket, and the mechanic swiped his ID chip over it, transferring the data. After giving his instructions, the mechanic picked up his tools and retreated out the man door.

  After watching the mechanic leave, Zade looked back towards the ship that would be his new home for the foreseeable future. As Zade admired his ship a new plan began to coalesce in his mind. The reality was that with the time dilation involved in faster than light travel, mankind may not even exist when he returned to Earth. If they did, he would need more than his lone ship to fend off some large galactic organization such as the Unity or Galactic Domain. Grabbing the bag Samix had brought to his hospital room, Zade jumped on the lift and decided to explore the inside of the ship.