Deep Space Intelligence : Complete Series

by Gary Weston

  Too much depended on this, so she dragged it along the floor to the door and dared to look out. She gasped as she saw the bad man at the top of the passage and dodged back into the galley. Was he heading for the toilet or the galley? She held her breath and waited. The door wasn’t pushed open. He had gone to the toilet. This was her chance. She opened the door and dragged the goodies along. She opened the door to her room and quietly closed it, wishing it had a lock on it, then she went to the cupboard. Pinky bounded out the second it was open. Something smelled very good.

  Inside the cupboard, Shannon sat down and opened up the towels. Hungrily she tore off some of the chicken meat and took a mouthful, then she gave the rest to Pinky. As the puppy ate that, Shannon had some of the bread. She hadn’t realised just how hungry she was. But now she was thirsty so she drank some of the water. She had to give Pinky water, so she cupped her hand to fill it for Pinky, her pink tongue tickling her palm as she lapped it up. She repeated this four times, then took another drink for herself before putting the rest away for later.

  ‘I gotta feed you now, Dixon. It isn’t warm like it should be.’ She felt the bottle. It wasn’t as cold as when she had taken it from the fridge. It would have to do. She picked up Dixon as she had seen Joy do, supporting his head, then, she put the teat to his lips. That was all the encouragement he needed.

  ‘Now I gotta burp you.’

  Shannon got Dixon so his head was on her shoulder and gently rubbed his back so he finally did a little burp.

  ‘Poo! You stink. I gotta change you.’

  Gently lying Dixon on one of the towels, Shannon gingerly removed the nappy which made her eyes water. Folding the soiled nappy up, she put it in the far corner. With one towel, she wiped Dixon as clean as she could. That done she thought about using the other towel for a clean nappy, decided that was just a bit too complicated, so settled for wrapping Dixon up in it like it was a blanket.

  ‘This being a woman thing is real hard work, Dixon.’

  But Dixon was fast asleep which seemed like a very good idea. With Pinky in her arms, she settled down and she too was soon fast asleep.

  Chapter 392

  Dale Martin’s shoulder hurt like hell where the laser shot had hit him. He had looked in the bathroom for any painkillers and had drawn a blank. There had to be a first-aid kit somewhere on the ship. Even on his old ship there had been one. He would look again later. Things had happened so fast, he hadn’t had time to think, just react. His reactions so far had killed the most powerful man on Mars, Commander Fripp Norton. Then, the woman security guard had been hurt. Killing his best friend and business partner, Dan Valiant had come next. The spectacular blowing up of his old ship, the fight with the man outside; another fight with the woman in the airlock and the cherry on the cake, stealing a freighter. All in all, a fairly busy night.

  The damaged shoulder meant he had to do almost everything with his left hand, which was awkward. And there were still details to sort out. Like…everything. Now he was finally calm, he had to think logically. He had a head-start. That was all. Crap. He knew Mars had little in the way of defences. A few old laser ground cannon. No fighter ships. Everybody in the galaxy relied on the D S I to keep the peace.

  ‘Damn!’ He remembered. He had heard somebody in the bar say Boss was on Mars. Boss. Like, what were the odds? All those other planets, and he had to be on Mars. That sort of guaranteed that right that minute, D S I ships were out hunting him down. They would be relentless. D S I were known for it. Probably wouldn’t bother to arrest him. They would use the ship for target practice, then go back to Home for beers.

  ‘Right. I have to find a planet I can live on for the rest of my life. Either that or don’t have a life. Great choices. Live alone on a planet so bad nobody else could bother to live there. Or, wait for the D S I to come and play a game of how many holes can we put in a ship before it actually explodes. Planet it is, then. Now. Sector six. The far reaches have hardly been sniffed at.’

  Martin worked the screen with his good hand. There was a cluster of suns and planets catching his eye. It would take a week to get there at his present speed. If he could get there before the D S I caught up with him, he stood a slim chance of finding a rock with his name on it. He made the course change with the computer and set the speed to ninety-five percent. That done, he decided to find the first-aid kit and find a bed to pass out on.

  There was a storage alcove next to the flight-deck and he checked in there first. And there it was, the kit. It was difficult opening the kit with his left hand only, and after a rummage, he found the capsules of painkillers. One was recommended, so he popped two. Down the passage he went to find a bed. As he walked along it, a weird, unpleasant smell hit him, a smell that for some reason made him think of smelly babies. But the painkillers were kicking in and he had to find a bed fast before he fell down. He opened one door and there was an unmade bed. The room started to spin, so he tried to spin in the right direction, and was out of it before his back hit the mattress.

  Chapter 393

  ‘He’s changed direction,’ said Thorne.

  Raven had fallen asleep in the chair. ‘What? Oh. Right. Yes. That’s where I’d be going, if I were him. The chances of something he could live on being there, are possible.’

  ‘Anything come to mind?’

  ‘Not really. Not my level of expertise. Just keep following him.’

  ‘And do what?’

  Raven said, ‘Your guess is as good as mine. I sure wish I could call Joy.’

  ‘Can’t risk it, Tagg. The more I think this over, the more I’m convinced he hasn’t spotted us, and more importantly, Shannon is doing a damned good job of staying hidden.’

  The alternative possibility of what could have happened to Shannon and Dixon were possibilities neither father dared contemplate. Sure. Shannon had kept baby Dixon hidden on a ship, damn it, it was still just a ship, away from a man who had killed twice. Yeah. That’s what was happening. But, assuming Martin was indeed planning to find a rock he could live on, that would take days of flight. The stark reality was, Shannon could not stay hidden for that long. And when she was discovered….?

  * * *

  ‘Are you sure you have everything?’

  Karma Casey was angry and frustrated. ‘I don’t have Sam or Shannon.’ Suddenly realising what she had said, Casey said, ‘I am so sorry, Joy. You are going through just the same thing I am.’

  ‘I’m as livid as you are. Not one radio call since they took off? Are they in for an ear bashing when they get back.’

  They had thanked the doctors and nurses for their care, but Casey was no lover of hospital beds. She was going to share the resort rooms with Joy; two strong women sharing the heartache of the acts of a mad man. Two women hanging on to the flimsiest of beliefs that not only their men but their children were alive and would survive this. Total breakdown would result if the slightest doubt to the contrary crept into their minds. Joy opened the door of the buggy for Karma to get in, throwing bags of toiletries and clothes which she had taken for Casey to wear, onto the back seat. Joy pressed the sensor and the buggy took them to the resort.

  Resort staff tripped over themselves to carry bags and escort the women to their rooms. Charles was snapping fingers with both hands at the same time, having minions willing but confused.

  ‘On behalf of Mars, I sincerely apologise.’

  ‘Big of you,’ snapped Joy. ‘Ok. Just…oh, crap. Leave our stuff there. We need booze.’

  ‘Of course. Understandable…under the…circumstances. You. And you. The finest…everything. Chop, chop. Why are you still here? Go.’

  Four of Charles’ staff ran hither and thither. Many bottles of Martian premium champagne of the finest vintage, triple distilled bourbon, whisky and brandy, magically appeared.

  ‘What,’ snapped Joy, her hands on her hips and a well practised attitude on her lips. ‘No beer or cider?’

  Charles almost dropped to his knees with embarrassment. ‘I a
m so, so sorry. What was I thinking? You two. Our best beers and ciders. Shoo.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Joy. ‘We need chicken, chocolate, the real stuff not the synthetic, garlic bread and real butter.’

  ‘Garlic bread could be a problem.’

  Joy stomped up to the little man. ‘The garlic bread is not a problem. Go.’

  Poor Charles bowed, humbly and apologetically. ‘Your wishes are my command.’

  The lounge was suddenly full of so much stuff, it was almost impossible to move.

  ‘Charles upset you, or something?’

  ‘No, Karma. But I suddenly feel a whole lot better.’

  Chapter 394

  The ship was too quiet. Shannon had lived half her life on this ship and other ships. Ships had their own language. They hummed in slightly different ways. This ship belonged to Karma and her father and the ship’s engines had their own subtle tones. The passages and rooms would be filled with the happy sounds of her playing hide and seek; either her daddy or Karma finding her and tickling her relentlessly. How she so longed for that laughter and tickling. But she had to be brave. She also had to do something about the smell. A combination of baby and puppy smells in a confined space was more than a little girl could endure. She piled all the mess into a very dirty towel and bundled it together.

  ‘I gotta do stuff. No, Pinky. I’m not playing. You gotta be a good girl. I need to get rid of this and get us more food. No. Shush, Pinky. I’ll be right back.’

  Shannon crept out of the cupboard, opened the door onto the passage, dragged the messy towel out of the room and made her way to the galley. There was a waste-chute that disposed of lots of stuff, but it was prone to be noisy. She stood on tiptoes and turned the chute on. Immediately it whirred into the steel bladed spinning monster it really was, and the towels, poop and anything else, was churned up. In her head, the noise was loud enough to rattle teeth. He would hear. How could he not hear? The last of the mess was gone, in small cubes to be found by explorers hundreds of year away, getting all exited over baby poop.

  Shannon washed her hands, then she wondered why the bad man hadn’t heard her. Gotta be a reason, yeah? She went out into the passage and then she heard it. Snoring. Daddy was bad with snoring, but this had to be some kind of champion, right?

  Shannon followed the noise and found Martin. He was asleep on her daddy’s bed. That made her so angry. But this bad man was out of it. She went right up to him. This man wasn’t waking up. She poked him hard with her finger. A snorting snore was all she got. This was her chance.

  Running to the flight-deck, Shannon hit the controls. ‘Daddy. Daddy. Are you there?’

  A pause, then, ‘Shannon? Are you ok?’

  ‘Daddy, yes. I got Dixon and Pinky. The bad man don’t know we are here. Pleeeeeeeaaaase come save us, Daddy.’

  ‘Sweetie. We’re on your tail. But we can’t shoot the ship because we might hurt you and Dixon. He doesn’t know we are following you. I love you so much, sweetie. Me and Uncle Tagg will get you. But can you stay hidden awhile longer?’

  ‘I’ll try, Daddy. But I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Stay hidden. Jeez. I am so proud of you. But listen. We can’t spook this man. Stay hidden, ok?’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  Raven said, ‘Shannon. How is Dixon?’

  ‘Ok. I fed him. But we ain’t got much feed left. The bad man is asleep, so I’ll get us more food. Daddy.’

  ‘Sweetie?’

  ‘I’m so scared.’

  The words were like lightning bolts to his heart. ‘I know, sweetie. We’re doing all we can. We are right behind you. You can do this.’

  ‘I’ll try, Daddy.’

  ‘You can do it. Get what you can for Dixon and you and just remember we’re right behind you.’

  ‘I love you, Daddy.’

  ‘And…and…and I love you, Shannon.’

  They ended the call and Thorne stood up, his knees ready to give.

  ‘Hey, pal,’ said Raven, helping Thorne to the floor.

  Tough Thorne broke down. ‘My baby. My baby. Tagg….’

  ‘Your baby is one tough kid. Sam. She’s alive. Dixon’s alive. We have to hang on to that.’

  Sam wiped away his tears with his sleeve. ‘Yes. They’re alive. They’re alive.’

  Raven held his friend’s head in his arms, sharing his pain. ‘Sam. They’re alive. Right. This guy is well out of it. I have to send a message to Joy.’

  ‘Ok. But hurry.’

  Raven left his friend and worked the ship’s radio. ‘Hey. This is Boss Raven. You getting me? Hey, you getting me?’

  ‘Boss. Mars Communications here.’

  ‘So, communicate. To Joy Dainty. Dixon and Shannon ok. Hidden. Repeat, hidden. Heading into sector six. We are on their tail. You got all that?’

  ‘Got that, Sir. Good luck.’

  ‘Thanks. Nobody is to call us, right?’

  ‘Understood, Sir. Over.’

  Chapter 395

  Angus McCoy, Chief of Communications, had raced around to deliver the message in person.

  Panting for breath, he gasped, ‘Boss said, Dixon and Shannon are hidden but ok. They’re on their way to sector six and Boss is on their tail. That’s all good news, right?’

  Joy said, ‘It’s brilliant news. Thank you.’

  Karma asked, ‘Is that all he said?’

  ‘Yes. Oh. No. He said for us not to call him back.’

  ‘Right. Thank you.’

  McCoy hurried away and Joy and Karma hugged each other, tears of relief .

  ‘What’s going on, Joy?’

  Joy said, ‘Not much to go on. Somehow, your wonderful, amazing daughter is not only hiding from Martin, she’s looking after my baby as well. I’m thinking Martin doesn’t know he has passengers and he hasn’t seen Tagg and Sam chasing them.’

  ‘Sector six. Not a lot out there. Martin knows he can’t land on a populated planet. He’s looking for any planet he can live on. All Tagg and Sam can do is follow them and try to catch him.’

  ‘They’re all alive. That’s the main thing. Where’s that champagne? We need to celebrate.’

  * * *

  ‘I’m just so relieved we got a message back to the women,’ said Raven. ‘At least they know we’re all ok.’

  ‘That’s something. We’re gaining on Martin. We don’t want to get too close, though.’

  Raven said, ‘Maybe it would be the best thing to call him and let him know he’s not getting away with this.’

  ‘Can’t risk it, Tagg. He knows we’ll be hunting him down. He has nothing to lose and the only bargaining chips he has are our kids.’

  ‘It’s just a matter of time before he discovers the kids. Once that happens, he’ll find out about us.’

  Thorne said, ‘And when he does, we’ll have no choice but to try and talk him into giving himself up. We don’t talk to him until then.’

  ‘Ok. We’ll do that.’

  Chapter 396

  Shannon raided the galley kitchen again, taking the last bottle of Dixon’s milk. There were the capsules she had seen Joy use to make drinks for Dixon. They had all the nutrients and vitamins a baby his age needed, Joy had told her when she was making some up. They just needed to be added to the right amount of water. There were three capsules left.

  She found packets of processed “ship” food in the food storage locker, and without looking, grabbed what she could carry. Finally she refilled the water bottle. Glancing left and right along the passage, Shannon scampered to her room. She also made it, then heard the noise of the bad man getting off the bed. She heard him cough and groan. She thought she saw his shadow as he walked to the door to the passage,

  Into her room, closing the door softly behind her, into the cupboard, shutting them inside. Had he seen her? She held her breath as long as she could. Pinky was licking her hands, smelling the food. She started yapping, eager to be fed.

  ‘Shush. Here.’

  Pinky concentrated on the food,
but Dixon decided it was his turn to be fed.

  ‘Don’t you start. Here. There. You get comfy and drink this.’

  As Shannon fed Dixon, she listened hard for the bad man. She heard his footsteps in the passageway, and she knew he was just outside the room. Frightened, she chewed on her lower lip, then she heard the footsteps move on. He’d go into the kitchen. Would he notice things were missing? All she could do was to stay quite and hope for the best.

  * * *

  Dale Martin could hardly see straight, let alone think. His head pounded and his shoulder throbbed mercilessly. From his belt-pouch he took one of the painkillers. As he poured water to wash it down with, he had the strangest feeling things looked different from the last time he had been in the kitchen. It had been just a fleeting visit then, for water. He decided that with his head the way it was and how so much had been happening all at once, his imagination was playing tricks with his mind.

  In the fridge, he was disappointed not to find much ready to eat. From the dry-store, he settled for an unappetising looking ready-meal. Anything to fill his stomach.

  Snipping the end off the tube, he squeezed the bland tasting paste into his mouth. He sat and tried to think, but didn’t have much luck. One thing that was obvious to him, was that he couldn’t be too picky finding a planet. The first one that would sustain him, would have to do. He washed the paste down with the water, then headed for the flight-deck.