Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (9 page)

Anki walked with her head held back, trying to see the tops of the buildings, but she couldn’t make them out. The buildings were so tall they looked like they joined the sky. She had never seen anything like it before. There wasn’t anything close to it back home.

She imagined the buildings were sleeping giants, towering all around them. They had to be careful not to make too much noise or the giants would wake up and eat them. The giants took very long naps, and were very grumpy if they were woken up.

She decided it would be safer to walk on her tip toes. She slunk down the street with Jon and her mother, trying hard not to make a sound. The people walking by her weren’t so careful and she wanted to warn them that the giants would wake up, but they didn’t look at her. The giants must have hypnotized them. They couldn’t be saved. Even worse, they might notice she wasn’t hypnotized and capture her for the giants. It wasn’t safe to look at the people anymore.

“Anki, this way,” said her mother, pointing to a set of doors.

She stopped staring at the giants and ran to catch up with her mother and Jon. She followed them into a bright, noisy room with plenty of tables and chairs and people eating. Their meals smelled delicious, making her stomach growl. She stopped and stared at a table filled with heaping plates of food. Her mouth watered. The people sitting there didn’t seem too eager to eat, though. The talked and laughed, but all that wonderful food just sat there. She wondered if they needed her to show them how to do it.

“Anki,” said her mother. She walked back to her with one of those looks on her face. The ones that told her she wasn’t happy with her. Anki tried to imagine what she had done. Nothing. She was just looking at the food. Her mother grabbed her hand and said, “I need eyes in the back of my head with you child. I know everything is interesting, but you need to stay with me.” Breeah pulled her along by the hand and Anki followed. Up ahead she saw Captain Seiben sitting at a table, waving at them. They all went over and sat down. Sitting in front of her were two little girls, one about her age and the other looking at least a year or two older.

Captain Seiben rose from his seat and stepped behind the two girls. He reached down and seized them, wrapping his thick arms around them, and kissing both on the cheek.

“Daddy!” each girl complained. Anki didn’t blame them. Captain Seiben’s face was full of whiskers which would make it very scratchy. Captain Seiben kept kissing them, laughing loudly as they complained.

“Anki, these are my daughters,” said Captain Seiben. “This is Alina,” he said, pointing to the one who looked the same age as her. “And this is Otka.”

“Hi,” said Anki.

“Hi,” said the girls.

Captain Seiben smiled at Anki and went back to his chair.

“My father says he found you in space,” said Otka.

“Yes, he did.”

“He said you were going to die if he didn’t find you.”

“It was boring and the food was bad,” said Anki. “But we weren’t going to die.”

“Well that’s what my father said, and he knows about things like that,” said Otka.

“Do you have any dolls?” said Alina.

“No, do you?”

“Yes, I have lots of dolls.”

“That’s because you’re still a baby,” said Otka.

“No I’m not!”

“I don’t think you’re a baby,” said Anki.

“Thanks,” said Alina. “What type of games do you like to play?”

“Humans versus aliens.”

“How do you play that?”

“You have to zap the attacking aliens.”

“What kind of device do you need for that?”

“Just your imagination.”

Both girls stared back at Anki with a confused look on their faces.

“That doesn’t sound like it’s any fun,” said Otka.

“What games do you play?” said Anki.

“I play Rise to the Top,” said Otka.

“How do you play that?”

“You start off as a worker on the first floor, and you have to do your job better than everyone else so you can level up and advance to the next floor. Then you get a new job and you have to be the best at that job so you can move up again. You get bonus points for reporting on bad people who don’t do their job well.”

“How do you win?”

“You have to get to the top floor. Then you become the CEO and win the game.”

Anki nodded, trying to be nice, although the game didn’t sound like it was much fun.

“My father said that your father killed a bunch of raiders on his ship.”

“He isn’t my father.”

“He’s not?”

“No, he’s my friend.”

“Did he kill the raiders?”

“Yes, he killed most of them, but my mother killed one too.”

“Wow,” said Alina.

“My father says you’re soldiers,” said Otka.

“Jon is. My mother isn’t.”

“But she killed a raider.”

“Yes, she’s good at that.”

The two girls stared back at Anki with that same confused look, but said nothing. Anki was glad that Otka stopped asking questions. She didn’t think she liked her very much. Then, before Otka could think of anything else to say, a man appeared with a tray full of food. He set a plate down in front of Anki and it smelled wonderful. Anki grabbed her fork and without another word began shoveling the hot food into her mouth.

“Slow down, child. Take a breath between your bites,” said her mother.

“I’m hungry.”

Her mother frowned at her. “Anki…”

“Okay,” said Anki, and slowed down a bit till her mother went back to speaking with Captain Seiben, then she returned to shoveling the food back into her mouth.

“Will you go to school here?” said Alina.

“I don’t know,” said Anki. “I don’t know how long we’ll be staying.”

“If you come I’ll introduce you to all my friends,” said Alina.

“Thanks,” said Anki. She liked Alina much better. She hoped she would get a chance to play with her.

“Did you go to school where you came from?” said Otka.

“Yes.”

“What was it like? What did they teach you there?”

“Normal things. Reading, writing, math, hand to hand combat.”

The two girls looked back at Anki with their mouths open. It reminded her of her food and she went back to wolfing it down.

“They teach little girls how to fight where you’re from?” said Otka.

“They teach everyone how to fight. Don’t they teach you?”

The two girls looked at each other. “No,” they said in unison.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I hope your school improves.”

“I’ll find the base for you,” said Jon, holding eye contact with Jansen. Kulberg had taken his position behind Jon, flanked by his two guards. Jon wanted to deal with Jansen alone and had left Breeah and Anki back at the apartment.

“Excellent,” said Jansen. “I will arrange more permanent living arrangements on board the station for you.”

“We won’t be staying.”

“Oh?”

Jon wondered if Jansen would go back on his word. “You said you would provide us with a spaceship if we chose not to stay.”

“That’s right, I did say that. You are planning on moving on then?”

“Yes. We want to explore the other worlds.”

“Of course, Captain. That is understandable.” Jansen went quiet for a moment and looked like he was silently debating something with himself. “Captain, I have another proposition for you.”

Jon leaned forward and gave Jansen a cold look. “Are you trying to change the deal on me?”

“No, Captain, of course not. My offer stands. You find the raider base for us and I will give you a spaceship in return.”

“Good,” said Jon, relaxing his posture.

“What I am going to do is offer a performance bonus.”

“What does that mean?”

Jansen accessed his console and a three dimensional holographic image of an older man appeared above his desk. “This is Durril Tai. He is the leader of the raiders, and not a very nice man. He deals in murder and extortion.”

“He doesn’t sound like a fun dinner guest.”

Jansen ignored the comment. “If Durril Tai was eliminated the raiders would lose all cohesion and structure.

“Something you can accomplish once you know the location of their base.”

“If we know their location we can certainly damage their operations,” said Jansen. “Without Tai’s removal, however, I fear they will establish a base elsewhere.”

“How?”

Jansen sat back into his chair and looked at the holograph. “The raiders were fugitives at first. They were miners and went into hiding to avoid being captured after murdering their managers. They disappeared and weren’t heard from for decades. Then they returned and began plaguing our shipping lanes. They even attacked some of our mining colonies. Their resurgence was the direct result of Durril Tai’s leadership.”

“So this Tai keeps outsmarting you?” said Jon.

“He is an elusive opponent.”

“And you’re afraid that he’ll find a way to get out of any trap you set.”

“The thought does trouble me.”

“He doesn’t sound like an easy man to find, let alone kill.”

“You will be rewarded handsomely if you succeed, Captain. I will not only give you a spaceship for your travels, but will also give you one million credits as a bonus. This will be more than enough for you to live comfortably wherever you choose to go.”

“You do realize you are asking me to commit murder.”

“Come now, Captain. Let’s not play games. I am a good judge of people and I can tell you have done this before. In any case, this would be a DLC sanctioned mission, so it is not murder.”

“An assassination then.”

“We can play with words all day, Captain. Durril Tai is the murderer. You would be merely carrying out his death sentence.”

“What kind of spaceship?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What kind of spaceship do I get if I provide you with the base’s coordinates?”

“A Journeyman Class passenger ship. It has an FTL system that is fully capable of travel between the worlds you want to visit and beyond.”

“Armament?”

Jansen frowned. “Captain, this is a civilian vessel. It doesn’t carry weapons.”

An idea came to Jon and he knew what he needed. “Ok, here is what I want. If I manage to take out this Durril Tai, you give me the million credits and you upgrade the spaceship to one that can actually defend itself.”

Jansen folded his arms over his chest and studied Jon for a few moments, then nodded like he had made up his mind. “I can provide you with an Interceptor Class spaceship.” He manipulated his console and the holograph changed from the raider leader to an image of a sleek military vessel. “It has energy weapons and an armored hull. There is an FTL system, but it is also designed for speed and maneuverability allowing you to outrun an opponent you can’t fight.”

Jon smiled.

“Do we have a deal, Captain?”

“We have a deal.”

“Excellent.”

“I’m going to need full access to any intelligence you have on the raiders.”

“Granted.”

“I’m also going to need a freighter.”

“A freighter?”

“Yes. Preferably one with a crew and some valuable freight.”

“You are hoping the raiders will come to you.”

“That’s right. Then I’ll convince them to take me with them.”

“What if they don’t comply?”

“I’ll show them my persuasive side.”

Jansen nodded. “I believe you’ve become familiar with Captain Seiben and his crew already. I will assign them as your freighter crew.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Nonsense. He’s already seen you handle yourself with the raiders. He’s had time to get to know you, too. He’s the perfect choice.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that.”

“I should have never picked up your goddamn lifeboat!” said Captain Seiben. “I should have let you rot in space.” He glared at Jon, wanting to punch him in the face for getting him involved in this suicide mission. “You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me.”

“I understand you’re upset. I asked for someone else, but Jansen insisted. I wanted to tell you myself.”

Seiben had a bad feeling when Jon said he needed to speak to him, especially when he insisted it had to be in person. He glanced over at Breeah who hadn’t taken her eyes off him, but her face didn’t betray any emotion. Anki played with some toys and seemed uninterested in the adult discussion taking place.

“Are you comfortable with this?” Seiben asked Breeah. “You will be putting Anki and yourself in danger.”

“Yes. Where Jon goes we go.”

“You would willingly put your child in danger?”

“We do not shield our children, Captain Seiben. They learn through experience.”

Seiben shook his head. Frustrated. What kind of people were these?

“You’re all insane. All of you. And now you’ve pulled me into your crazy plan.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jon.

“I have kids too. I’d rather they grow up with a father.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Forgive me if your promise doesn’t make me feel better.”

Jon didn’t say anything.

“What about Milo? He’s barely a man. You’re putting his life at risk too.”

“I know.”

“You know? You know?! Do you also know that his father, my brother, is going to kill me?”

“He can’t know about the mission.”

“Why?”

“The mission has to stay secret. The raiders may have spies on the station. In fact, we’re counting on it.

“You’re counting on raider spies?”

“That’s right. The freighter will be loaded with very expensive cargo. We’re hoping that word will get to the raiders about it and encourage them to act.”

“Wonderful,” said Seiben, the venom dripping off each syllable.

“Mr. Jansen has agreed to make it worth your while. You’re all going to get hazard pay for this mission. Triple your normal salary.”

“What the hell good is that if I’m not around to spend it?”

“Look, I know this is hard, but like I said, Jansen insisted. We have a few days until we depart. Try to relax and spend some time with your family. You’ll be back with them in no time. You’ll see.”

Seiben still had the urge to punch Jon, but he knew it would accomplish nothing. He also knew Jon could likely knock him into a coma with one strike. He couldn’t refuse Mr. Jansen either. If he disobeyed Mr. Jansen he would be out of a job and that would leave his family destitute. He had no choice.