Gambit of Dares: An Interstellar War Story (The Essence Wars Book 2)

by Paul Heingarten

  Anger hit Ket hard. He'd been in a series of gambits already, he made this run to begin with, he tried for the Railen Tracker even though their ship had no weapons for protection, and last, he trusted Selina to work with him. She was probably halfway out of the ship by now, ready to stow aboard with the Cerulaks and make her way back home. He doubted he'd ever see her again.

  A loud blast thumped through the cabin, and Ket lurched to the ground. He let out a loud grimace in response. In the commotion, Ket heard a metallic clang he only assumed was Dub falling over as well.

  Seconds later, he felt someone's hands as they worked on the binders around his wrists and soon; he was freed. He was lifted to his feet and stared into the eyes of Selina.

  "You sure don't like to rush things, huh?" Ket shot her a glare.

  "I had to make sure they opened the airlock, dummy. Otherwise, we're in a metal shell floating in space. You're welcome, by the way."

  They helped Dub back upright. Zakk and Brynn's lifeless bodies were strewn about, and smoke still wafted from four-inch gaping holes in each of their backs.

  Ket nodded at Selina's handiwork. "Not too shabby. Gotta let me fire that thing sometime."

  "You had your chance. This gun stays with me. Let's get on that ship, we got seconds til they realize their boys aren't our escorts anymore."

  The threesome padded gently into the adjoined ship through the airlock. A couple of twists and turns, and they located the cockpit.

  "Cerulak Coupler Ship. Not much on the muscle, but it's got warp capability, which is good enough." Ket shrugged.

  "Nice, but can you fly it?" Selina asked.

  Dub and Ket eyed Selina in silence for a second.

  Selina narrowed her eyes at her amused cohorts. "Excuse me if I don't wanna die on this thing because you bozos got into something you couldn't handle."

  Ket winked at Selina. "We got this, sister. Just cozy up in that navigation seat. Dub, see what you can make of the interface."

  Several metallic tentacles extruded from Dub's torso and connected to the console of the tether ship. In seconds, the console burst to life with a variety of colors and displays. "I'm cycling through access codes to see what I have; may take a minute."

  Ket eyed his partner. "Better be less than 30 seconds." Ket slid into the pilot’s seat and fumbled through the controls. He wasn't quite as sure as he'd let on, but he figured every step they made when they weren't captured or dead was a victory.

  As Ket located the radar screen and activated it, a voice burst on the ship’s comm. "Brynn, report. Are ship and crew secured?"

  The radar showed the other Cerulak ships were close and in formation for a warp jump. Selina ducked down in case any Cerulaks focused on the cabin and saw them instead of their cohorts.

  "Situation normal," Ket replied over the comm. He turned to Dub. "You got something, clunker?"

  "Don't call me that. Few more seconds," Dub countered.

  A few moments passed in silence, and then the voice on the comm responded again. "Say again, Brynn; we aren't reading you clear."

  "Anytime, guys," Selina hissed.

  The console glowed a solid green color, and a chorus of gentle chimes sounded. Dub said, "Access confirmed."

  Ket smiled. "Fantastic, knew you could do it. OK, does this ship have a transit beam we can shoot back their way?"

  "Got it, but we don't have time to target each ship," Dub replied.

  "Just fire as broad a blast you can and get that warp ready to go. We'll have to hope it keeps them off our trail long enough." Ket worked the console until he found the warp mechanism, and together with Dub, plotted a course for Wenzo. "Ready to punch it. Selina, buckle whatever you got back there; we're booking out."

  Selina latched the restraints on her chair and braced against the sides of her seat.

  Dub activated the warp, and the Coupler took off instantly.

  Chapter 5

  "You've gotta be kidding me." Ket sat on a crate outside of the depot on Wenzo talking with Selina while Dub watched as well. Their quick escape, thanks to Selina's help, had gone off pretty well, but that left them with this hot device that was an easy mark for them to be ambushed and something they had to keep secret.

  "I said I need to get back to Zormad, flyboy. This device I got here isn't coming out just yet. You want your big prize, help me first."

  Ket knew he had a few options that didn't involve Selina, but he wasn't ready for thinking about them. He could've arranged something with Dub, but he just didn't see that happening either. He'd felt something from the moment he'd seen her and that hadn't gone away. If Dub was any kind of clairvoyant, he'd have assumed it involved Ket's groin area aka Ket just having the hots for her. Maybe it was just that, but Ket thought it went further. Ket saw flashes of it in Selina's eyes, the way she looked sometimes. Xeno as a race were loners in Ling Galaxy; since they arrived they had scraped for whatever existence possible. When Ket was a child growing up, he had Osten Chavis as a benefactor, but Xeno just had whatever deals they made with strangers, and the hope those arrangements were legitimate. Xeno's survival depended on the worth they proved to people and how accurate their trust was. Ket admitted at least with Chavis, he had a mentor who was already invested in Ket's growth, even if it was because there was a steady take in it for Chavis.

  "What's so damned important on Zormad you gotta rush back there?" Ket asked. "You want my help, why don't you start with telling me what Zormad and NewEarth means to ya."

  "They're my family, all I have left. You probably don't know, I'm sure you've got plenty of people you can depend on. My mother's there, and she isn't well; I can't just let them die."

  Selina bowed her head and slumped down to the ground. Ket got off the crate and sat down beside her. She watched Ket with pleading eyes.

  Ket's survival instinct swiftly kicked in and pushed aside the growing feelings he had about helping Selina. "Look, I'm a smuggler. I'm not in anything for the greater good unless it's my own. But the more I see these fights happening, the more I'm thinking if things don't settle, soon it's gonna be impossible to get anything done. Tell ya what; I don't have much of a family, but what I got I know I'd do anything for. You want to get back to your world, we'll help you. Give me that Tracker back when I get there, and we call it a deal?"

  A tear snaked down Selina's face. "Deal."

  #

  The Transient Warp Drive repair on the Crimson Lance took a day to complete, but the ship was then ready and back to its infamous glory. Ket and Dub aimed the ship back toward Zormad. Selina stayed below in the common area and checked her suit for any problems since her wild trip began.

  Dub calculated it was a time for a CPU to heart talk with his compatriot. "Are you softening in your old age? The old Ket would've taken that Tracker off her and jettisoned her out into space in a standard minute."

  "Yeah, well, guess I'm a moron then." Ket shot Dub a glare. "She kinda got to me back there."

  "About her family? You know that was likely a ruse, right?"

  "I don't think so, Dub. I got a read on her."

  "Funny, I didn't."

  "Dub, for a sophisticated robot, you don't know a lot about people, especially Xeno women."

  Dub tilted his head indignantly. "And you do?"

  "You're not the only one who checks things out. I'd heard about that Xeno colony, NewEarth. They came to Zormad in one ship, the last of a dying system. And they've pieced together whatever food and shelter they could get ever since. You saw her when we grabbed her; she hadn't backed down a bit from those Railen troops. She's all about making a stand, she's got that fighting spirit, man."

  "Ket, sounds like you're still denying you have feelings for her."

  Ket shook his head. "No, it's not that."

  "Well, while we're talking about feelings we don't wish to discuss, may I be so bold to mention another?"

  Ket eyed Dub. "Don't make me shut you down for the rest of this trip."

  "Ket, we've been partn
ers for cycles now. And as a sophisticated robot, as you say, I've kept myself aware of the goings on in Ling Galaxy; in particular, the ones with Essence. We can deliver this tracker and get our money, but I don't think we can deny any longer the problem that Essence poses to us if Malone does what he's threatening."

  The name floated in the cockpit between them like a threat. Ket's hands grappled the ship controls as tight as he could stand, and the ship proceeded on its warp course without a comment for several moments.

  Dub studied his partner, fully aware of Ket's agitation. "Ket, it was inevitable our exploits would one day bring us back into his path. You must know that. I know your feelings on him are very strong, but we've got to consider, in this building conflict throughout Ling Galaxy, what our role will be. Essence powers the Galaxy, and if that balance is disrupted, there's no telling of the consequences."

  Ket still remained silent. He hadn't tuned out Dub, and though he felt a strong urge to shut him down, another part of Ket, the one that felt sorry for Selina and agreed on a return trip, kept listening and realized that as agonizing as this topic was for him, his robot partner raised some good points.

  "Dub, all I know here is we've gotta take this girl back to her home on Zormad and then deliver this device for our payment. After that, we'll figure out our next move. I'm not a soldier; I never was. I can handle myself in a fight, and I damn well know how to survive. You should know that, after all the scrapes we've been in over the cycles."

  "Of course, but it isn't about avoiding a fight anymore, Ket. Even if we finish our run for the payoff, the bigger struggle remains. The fight is here, it's upon us, and soon it will be everywhere. I've scanned the reports on Network. Skirmishes are happening more often. The Omegans aren't backing down, and the UA is having more trouble keeping things under control. Lookers are out there; you saw one yourself, remember? They're looking for Essence. If they can get to it—and worse yet, hoard it—our entire situation will get infinitely worse."

  "What if it doesn't? Dub, you never have to worry about dying, but plenty of people do. So if someone wants to control Essence to stop that from happening, I say we let 'em do it and see how we can work the angle on the side."

  "Quite a risk, my friend. This is far beyond stealing reactor cores."

  "Payoff, Dub, payoff. We're getting huge credits outta this, remember? Once I settle with Papa Chavis, we'll be set. Smuggling won't even be necessary anymore."

  "Just think about it, Ket. The time is coming when we'll have to decide. You know Malone demands allegiance, if he comes to power like most people think he will."

  "He's an idiot." Ket hadn't been able to even mention the name; it stung too bad. "What he's trying to do? Merging himself with Essence and making himself some kinda god won't work anyway. I don't know if his cover story about spreading Essence around is the worst idea I've heard, but him being in any kinda control is bad. That said, I'm really not dumb enough to try getting in his way, I'd rather get as far away from him as possible and spend our incoming loot in peace."

  The ship console announced an update: "Estimated arrival at Zormad forty-five standard minutes."

  Once Ket and Dub finished their discussion, Ket's insides still reeled from the talk, but he admitted, at least to himself, the considerations about Dub's arguments. There had been talk about a unification going on, even beyond the Universal Alliance, but Ket had doubts about that making any kind of difference. Malone was growing in strength, and the various lawkeeper and militia groups around were as much a threat to Malone as insects on a giant. Their problem was no coordination. Even on Zormad, Ket heard about the tribal lifestyle between NewEarth and the Mardaks. The Mardaks themselves were pretty Spartan and lived just for their own survival. Ket knew any resistance effort required lots of roots, and he wasn't any kind of commander who could've made that happen. His services were best employed in remaining alive and able to run other jobs, or deciding when his last one was, which thankfully was now a possibility with his upcoming bounty.

  Ket ran some cursory checks of Zormad for troop activity. He hoped the hotspot they had slipped through last time was a bit cooler, since with the Railen and Omegans around, the chances of either or both being there on the Crimson Lance's return was a definite concern.

  As the onboard console computed activity on their destination, Ket's mind reeled back over thoughts of Malone. As much as Ket denied it to Dub and even himself, Malone's name hung over him like a carrot on a string. And Ket knew one day he was going to have to bite it.

  The name hailed from deep in Ket's history, a page in his book dogeared and left to age like an ancient relic. But there it was, fresh and new before him once again, and Ket knew he had to turn that page, but doing so meant facing Malone. The fire in Ket's veins over the idea made his face flush hot, but he knew that whatever happened with Essence, if Malone or even someone else took it upset the balance in Ling Galaxy, he had to find some sort of resolution with Malone, in case the escape he hoped for wasn't an option.

  The two of them were in this game, and even though their goals weren’t even remotely close to each other’s, Ket knew their crossed paths was inevitable one day. Ket knew about the updates Dub mentioned. Ket was better at putting those ideas aside. But that was increasingly harder to do, and now it was time for Ket's acceptance that no matter what he did, how many runs he went on, how much he stole, how much money he made, how much fame he earned for himself, there was no way he could ever escape the fact he was the son of Malone Stanton.

  The story continues…

  Who is this mysterious Malone Stanton, and will anyone be able to stop him? Could even his son Ket have a chance at preventing Malone’s crusade to take over control of Ling Galaxy? Find out more about Malone Stanton in Quest for Dominion, the follow up to Gambit of Dares, coming soon!

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R2Y26Y8

  About the Author

  Paul Heingarten mainly writes science fiction and fantasy, with the occasional detour into general fiction. A musician for most of his life, and an IT professional because it pays the bills, he lives in the Southern US with his wife Andrea. In addition to sharing his passion for writing with his wife and the local Bayou Writers Club they belong to, he’s also a diehard Saints fan.

  Keep in touch with Paul Heingarten and get more offers for free books at his website www.paulheingarten.com

  Other books by Paul Heingarten

  The Harvest (Short Story)

  Leave from Absence

  The Monitor (Short Story)

  Natural Election (Short Story)

  Cataclysm Epoch

  Menace Ascending

  Valkyrie Rising

  Xeno Reckoning (Short Story)

  Gambit of Dares (Short Story)

  Keep up with Paul Heingarten at these links:

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulheingartenauthor/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanis2112/

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/tanis2112

  Blog: http://www.paulheingarten.com