Stars of Charon (Legacy of the Thar'esh Book 1) (12 page)

“I’m no
baby sitter,” Loid countered.

Ju-lin
opened her mouth to respond, but Lee caught her by the shoulder and pulled her
back once more.

“Lin,”
Lee finally turned toward her. “We don’t know why they attacked, and they may
be back. The colony isn’t safe. That’s about 8,000 innocent lives. When we
moved here, we took on responsibilities. We need to know why the Celestrials
were here, and why they attacked. This shoulder is a mess, and I need to attend
to the colony. And after what’s happened, it only makes sense that you and Eli
are the ones to go looking.”

“’What’s
happened’,” Loid echoed Lee’s words. “Hey, now that’s sounding a bit serious,
besides, a smoldering wreck in exchange for me to chauffeur some pups out into
hostile Celestrials territory isn’t exactly what I consider a favorable
exchange.”

“We’re
not sitting in a giant crater, which we both know means that the munitions on
that Carrack are still intact,” Lee responded dismissively. “The Draugari load
up their own ordinance when they take a ship, and their warheads will sell well
on the Celestrial black market. And judging from the Celestrial Empire’s
markings on your tail fins, and that your cargo hold is half packed with crates
of Kevarian Ale. Isn’t that one of the Celestials’ preferred Protectorate bootlegs?
I’d think it’s a pretty safe bet that you were heading that way, and that you
have a few useful contacts that wouldn’t have a problem tracking down who sent
the ships.”

I
followed Loid’s gaze as he looked back at
Tons-o-Fun
’s
open hold.
Squinting, I could just make out the label on a crate of Kevarian ale. He
looked back from Lee to Ju-lin, and then to me, momentarily at a loss for
words. I’d read that smugglers who travel between the Earthborn Protectorate
and the Celestrial Empire were rare, but not unheard of.

“We have
a deal?” Lee pressed.

“The
warheads will get them out to Celestrial space, but then I’m left with an empty
hold,” Loid quickly recovered. “One of your colonies has a sizable logging
operation going. If I do this, when we get back you fill up my hold with some
treated oak. I have a guy on an orbital mining colony who will pay top dollar
for some real oak paneling on his mining station. A Collective guy,
Noonan-Olsterian cross-breed I think, a bit temperamental, but he’s got a fancy
for hardwoods. Something about making his station more livable.”

“Deal,”
Lee responded.

“Good
then,” once again Loid smiled widely. “Twiggy, the bandages and food are in the
secondary hold, stay to your left. Take care of Gramp’s shoulder.”

“Do
not
call me ‘Twiggy’.” Ju-lin countered.

“So,
muscle is it?” Loid turned to me, ignoring Ju-lin. “Then you won’t have a
problem giving me a hand sorting through this wreck, will you? Careful though,
Draugari missiles are
almost
as temperamental as some young ladies.”

Ju-lin
gave Loid an icy look as she started off toward
Tons-o-Fun
.

Loid
winked at me as he watched her go, then he nodded to me. “I’m serious though,
be careful. I’m not interested in getting vaporized today.”

Chapter 14.

Even
through my environmental suit, the softness and unevenness of the dirt beneath
my boots felt unnatural and uncomfortable. I missed the steel floor and the
knowing embrace of a fuselage. I wanted to make this landing as short as
possible.

I
walked across a meadow. The fine grass got caught between the scale-joints of
my boots. I would have to clean that. I cringed in disgust. Dirt. Grass. Rain.
Wild animals. I wondered at how the humans lived like this. Why would anyone
want this kind of life?

I kept
walking in the direction of the wreck. I had not been part of the battle, but
they said there was little glory in it, anyway. When we approached, the
fighters fled, leaving the transport alone against our clan. Typical human
cowardice. The transport took damage and went down on the surface. I was sent
to search the remains.

When I
crested the hill I saw what was left of it. It had not gone down well. The
angle was too steep. A black trail of fire and debris fifty meters wide and two
hundred meters long spread across the little valley. I activated my visual
scanner which indicated that most of the remains were biological. Deceased. A
passenger ship. We should have known, the human mercenaries stay to protect the
cargo ships. They always run when escorting passenger vessels. Their loyalties
never lie with the living. There would be nothing useful here. I turned back to
begin the walk back to my ship.

While
searching the wreckage of the Carrack, Loid and I managed to recover nearly a
dozen warheads. Though the missiles themselves were damaged, he expertly
separated the smaller explosive payload from the casing and packed them up.
Aside from the warheads, we found a number of other useful items, a case of
rations, a spare plasma rifle, and two sleeping pods that had managed to come
through more or less intact.  After loading up the equipment, I helped Loid
secure the warheads into
Tons-o-Fun’s
secondary storage area.

“I take
passengers every so often,” Loid noted as we lifted the second sleeping pod
onto the wall-mounting. “Most of the time they are the less-reputable types
trying to get off their worlds fast. You know how it is, so I haven’t bothered
with any fancy accommodations. They are happy enough with a bulkhead to lean
against. But, seeing as these pods are ripe for the taking, we may as well grab
em’. Besides, afterwards I may be able to use these to help smuggle a higher
class of refugee.”

“You usually
travel alone?” I asked.

“For the
most part, yeah,” Loid leaned around the corner into the galley and pulled out
two cold bottles of Kevarian Ale. “Want one? Personally it’s not my favorite.
Cheap local brew from
Epsilon Minor, b
ut
the Celestrials pay top dollar for it, and it’s cold.”

Loid used
a notch in the butt of his pistol to pop the top off the bottle and slid the
gun back into his holster fluidly.

“Cheers,”
he held up his bottle.

Unsure
what to do, I lifted my own. He grinned, clinked the bottles together, and took
a large swig. I did the same and almost choked as the taste hit my tongue.

“Ha!” he
said. “Don’t worry about that, the first kiss is always a bit awkward, but it’s
the gateway to better things, as my daddy used to say.” Loid paused to take a
long swig of ale. “Anyhow, yeah, I travel alone a lot,
Tons
and I can
get along just fine between the two of us, and as long as it’s just me, I don’t
have to split my profits. Every now and then I end up out at Smugglers Run and
partner up with some rogue or another if the pay is good or the customers are
too rough. But, I’m a simple man who does simple things. Now
you
, you’re
interesting. You’re an outsider, yeah? Twiggy and Gramps seem like they’re
looking out for you, but you don’t quite fit. From what he said on the coms
when he called in to get picked up, it sounds like the colonies are full of
refugee miners. You’re no miner.”

Loid
stopped drinking and seemed to be taking me in. Measuring and calculating. I took
another drink, this one going down only slightly smoother than the first swig.

“No,” I
answered. I made a mental note not to gamble against him.

He waited
for me to say more, but I didn’t.

“Fair
enough,” Loid shrugged as he finished off his bottle. “I can respect a man who
keeps to himself. The fact is I made a deal with the old man to help you out.
There’s money in it, and I’ll admit, I am a bit curious as to why the
Celestrials and Draugari are so interested in this rock. It’s unusual for
either of them.”

“What do
you mean?” I leaned back against the bulkhead, trying to mimic Loid’s casual
stance.

“The
Celestrials are a deliberate people. I doubt they ever wipe their asses without
planning how many up and down strokes they intend to make. Though, come to
think of it, I’m not sure if they wipe their asses at all. Hm. Anyhow, the
Draugari may seem like mindless killers, but they are all about honor of the
individual and the needs of the Clan. Something brought them both here. We’re
far from Draugari space, and we’re on the wrong side of the Furies, and a few
fluxes too close to the Protectorate for the Celestrials to go traipsing about.
That’s more than a bit peculiar. Whatever they want, they want it bad. There
may be some real money to be made in all this, but there’s probably also a few
plasma bolts to catch. If I were you I’d think twice about getting too
involved, I know I am. Once we see what we can find out, I’m taking my cargo
and shipping off.”

“Thanks,
but I don’t really have a choice.”

“No
choice? Everyone has a
choice
. What is it? The girl? Duty?” Loid shook
his head and took a long swig of ale. “Look, kid, I’m not one to tell another
man his business. But, let me give you a bit of advice: You don’t belong here,
that’s clear enough. Gramps and Twiggy may be your friends, and she’s not bad
looking if you’re into the skinny ones, but that will only last as long as you
are useful, and that’s the cold hard truth of the verse. Loid’s first rule:
always look out for your own neck, because nobody else will. It’s a good rule,
one that’s kept me alive longer than I care to say. You would do well to
remember that.”

The
console on the wall lit up.

“Ah,
saved by the bell,” Loid said as he accessed the terminal. “Looks like a skiff
approaching. Gramp’s ride finally got here. Good, we can load up and get
moving.”

When we
returned, Lee was resting comfortably in the shade of
Tons-o-Fun
’s bow
sitting on a folding chair that Loid had supplied. Ju-lin had treated and
bandaged his shoulder the best she could, but she was pretty sure that there
were fragments lodged in the bone from the Draugari weapon. Lee had shrugged
her off, and promised to go directly to Chen once he returned to the Downs.

“A skiff
is approaching,” I told Lee as we approached him.

“Good,”
he was still pale, but the strength in his voice was returning. “When I got him
on the wave, Marin said that there were over 300 dead in New Haven. A damned
shame. Most of their supplies were vaporized, so the construction skiffs are
packing up the colonists and moving everyone to the Downs.”

“300?” I
repeated. “That’s almost 15 percent of the population.”

“Yup, and
they lost seventy percent of their supplies.” Lee answered. “Poor devils.
Naturally their Governor Growd is just fine, and intends to make my life as
difficult as possible, no doubt. Marin managed to delete the weather-sat feeds
that showed you and Ju-lin near the cave, and then came up with some story
about how I ended up in a crashed Draugari ship 3,000 kilometers from the colony.”

“Now
that’s
interesting,” Loid broke in. “Deleted weather-sat footage?  Sneaking around
caves? You will have to tell me more about that one.”

“No, we
won’t,” Ju-lin was walking toward us from the wreck. She had recovered her
homemade plasma torch, and had added a laser pistol to her belt.

“Hey,
Twig-er, sorry, what was your name again?” Loid asked.

“Ju-lin,”
she said flatly.

“Right,
well, if you want my help, I will need to know at least
something
about
what’s going on. Sure, the Celestrials flew into this system with guns blazing,
but tracking down where three ships came from won’t be easy without some more
information.”

“I
remember seeing a four-pointed silver star on the tail fins of the Celestrial
fighters,” I could recall the image of the fighter strafing past me in in a
hail of plasma fire.

“Now,”
Loid raised an eyebrow. “How in the seven Hoken slums did you
see
the
tailfin? I thought you said you were on the ground when the Celestrials hit.”

“They
made a few low runs,” Ju-lin threw me a quick glance as she lied to cover for
me. “I saw it too.”

“Right,”
Loid looked from Ju-lin and back to me. “Because we all know it’s easy to see a
tail marking on the
top
of a speeding starship in the dead of night from
below
. If you two keep lying to me, at least be creative about it.”

“There
was a four-point silver star on the tail,” I affirmed.

“Oh, I
have no doubt about that,” Loid replied, looking back out over the horizon.
“Your skiff is coming in. I’m going to start prepping the ship so we can get
off this rock. The sooner, the better.”

As Loid
disappeared back into the ship, Lee turned to us his expression was deathly
serious.

“I need
you two to understand, this is not a game,” Lee said. “People are dead, and
more will die. The Celestrials will be back. I need you two to find out what
you can, but I also need you to stay safe. Make up a story of where you came
from when you’re out there. Not here, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t
trust Loid,” Ju-lin said.

“Good,”
he said flatly. “You shouldn’t. But as long as there is profit in it for him to
get you there and back, he’ll do what he promised. His ship is light on
supplies and in need of some repair. He may act confident, but he needs the
credits. He’ll get the job done as long as there is money in it for him.”

“I don’t like just leaving you here,”
Ju-lin pressed.

“That discussion is over,” Lee replied.

While
Loid and I sifted through the wreckage of the Carrack, I had looked back
several times to see Lee and Ju-lin had been arguing. Ju-lin later told me Lee
had grudgingly promised to request help from MineWorks in hopes that they would
help set-up defenses around the planet. When Ju-lin had pressed and suggested
petitioning the Protectorate for help, he had spat on the ground and flatly
swore he had come out this way to get away from the long arm of the
Protectorate’s bureaucracy, and that he would never go to them for help.

“I still
think it’s a bad idea for you to stay here, you have no defenses until help
arrives,” she pressed. “I don’t see why you can’t go with us.”

“The
safety of the colony is my responsibility. We’ve been over this, and I’m not
leaving.” he replied with finality as he turned to meet the incoming skiff.

The
parting was brief and unceremonious as Lee boarded the skiff. It was larger
than the one Ju-lin and I had taken to the cave, and I didn’t recognize the
driver, he must have been one of the refugees from the New Haven colony. Lee
gave Ju-lin a tight embrace and a few quiet words. Both tried to try to appear
tougher than they really were. Ju-lin wiped her eyes as she took a backpack of
her clothes that someone had loaded into the hover for her. They didn’t bring
anything for me. All I had was my blue jumpsuit back at the barracks anyway.

Lee
watched her go, and then motioned for me.

“Eli,”
Lee leaned in to speak quietly as he shook my hand. “Be careful, and take care
of her.”

“I will,”
I answered. “And, thank you. You didn’t have to take me in, you didn’t have to
trust me. But you did.”

“We’re
all lost now and again in life,” he replied. “Though, granted, I think you may
be a little more lost than most. There are answers out there.”

Without
another word he patted me on the back and I turned to follow Ju-lin back to
Tons-o-Fun
.
As we were walking up the ship’s power-plant hummed to life and Loid came
skipping down the ramp.

“She’ll
be ready to lift in five,” he called back over his shoulder as he walked past
us toward Lee in the skiff. “I need a word with Gramps, and then we’ll be good
to go, so strap yourselves in.”

I ducked
through the cargo entrance and stepped into the large cargo hold. Though the
majority of it was filled with pallets of Kevarian Ale, there were a number of
other items strapped down to the walls. A few black crates, several laser
cannons that looked large enough to mount on a ship, and a dozen or so items I
couldn’t identify. I followed Ju-lin into the main hold of the ship, and then
up through the hatch to the secondary hold where Loid and I had stored the
warheads in crates that Loid had then secured against the wall. Given how
readily Loid took to salvaging, I figured that Lee was right about him needing
the money.