The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (22 page)

‘
I was stranded, and I was certain you would turn me away if I
requested your help. I had to take a chance. Please understand; I’m
a desperate man.’

‘
We should help him,’ said Cynthia. ‘We can at least take him
to the next stop.’

‘
He’s lying,’ said Acacius.

Ajax’s eyes
narrowed. He stepped forward and snarled down at Gopher. ‘Do you
take us for fools?’ he asked, pointing his rifle directly at the
infiltrator.

‘
No,’ replied Gopher in a trembling voice as he shrank back
even further.

‘
Gopher, you should tell us the truth if you want our help,’
said Michael calmly.

‘
Why give him a chance to explain himself, Cap? He’s already
lied to us. Let’s put him in an escape pod and launch him at an
alien occupied world.’

‘
Please, no!’ whined Gopher, the blood draining from his
face.

‘
Why not?’ asked Ajax, his face as hard as concrete.

‘
Okay! Okay,’ stammered Gopher. ‘I’ll tell you the truth. I’ll
tell you everything.’ Ajax reached down and grabbed Gopher by the
scruff of the neck and lifted him off the ground. ‘I am a
professional thief. My speciality is precious gemstones,’ he
whispered, gasping for air. ‘I was working on a major job on Nod
33, but everything fell apart and I found myself behind bars. I
spent a month in prison; that’s why I was left behind on the moon.
They don’t make extra space for thieves on billionaire ships. The
prison guards were kind enough to open my cell and give me back my
belongings before the last ship took off. I was
stranded.’

‘
We should definitely eject him,’ said Ajax, nodding
resolutely. ‘I’m sorry, Gopher. We don’t have extra space for
thieves on our ship either.’ Ajax started to drag Gopher across the
cargo bay to the escape pods, which were situated behind a
removable panel on the opposite side of the room. Gopher struggled,
but he was no match for Ajax’s brute strength.

‘
Please, no, I told you the truth, please!’ pleaded
Gopher.

‘
Ajax, wait,’ said Michael.

‘
He just admitted he’s a thief, Cap,’ said Ajax, raising an
eyebrow.

‘
That doesn’t mean he should die,’ said Cynthia.

Ajax lowered
his eyes and nodded. ‘All right, I agree with you, but what are we
going to do with him. We can’t keep him on board the Out Drifter.
You can’t trust thieves; I know from experience.’

‘
You have nothing to worry about; I only steal valuable
gemstones, and I doubt you have any on your ship,’ said Gopher. ‘If
you could be so kind to let me off at the next stop I will never
bother you again. Please don’t send me to the aliens. You have no
reason to send me to my death. I haven’t stolen anything from
you.’

‘
You tried to steal a ride,’ growled Ajax.

‘
It’s not stealing,’ argued Gopher.

‘
Yes it is,’ snapped Ajax. Gopher lowered his eyes.

Michael
pondered the best course of action. He didn’t want to eject the
man, even though he knew it was the regular way most crews dealt
with uninvited guests, but at the same time he knew Ajax was right;
thieves could not be trusted. In Michael’s opinion there was only
one solution. ‘All right, we won’t eject you, but you have to stay
in deep sleep for the whole trip. We’ll drop you off at our next
destination.’

‘
The whole trip?’ questioned Gopher.

‘
You can choose either deep sleep or Ajax’s idea of launching
you at an alien occupied world,’ said Michael.

‘
Okay, fine. I’ll sleep for the entire trip. Do you mind if I
ask where we are going?’

‘
Bodach Delta,’ said Sara.

Gopher’s face
became deathly pale and his eyes glazed over for a moment. ‘Bodach
Delta! Why would you go there?’ he asked in a low and trembling
voice.

‘
Important business,’ said Michael. ‘Ajax, set up a sleeping
pod for our guest, and lock his pod on the outside.’

‘
Consider it done.’

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Michael awoke
from deep sleep as the glass cover slid off his sleeping pod. Ivan
was standing beside him. He felt the blood returning to his
hands.

‘
We are five hours from Bodach Delta,’ said Ivan.

‘
How is the Out Drifter performing?’ he asked in a sleepy
voice.

‘
The ship is fully operational. Ethan has identified a minor
leak in one of the oxygen tanks which he will be able to repair
after we land. Every other system is functioning
normally.’

Michael sat up
and stepped out of his sleeping pod.

‘
How are you, Ivan?’

‘
I’m functioning normally, Captain.’

‘
Have you fixed the broken jetpack yet?’

‘
I cannot correctly identify the underlying cause of the
malfunction. The jetpack should be operational.’

‘
But it doesn’t work.’

‘
Correct.’

‘
Well. You gave it a good try,’ said Michael.

‘
It is a puzzle. I believe it is just a matter of identifying
the cause.’

Michael nodded
in agreement. ‘Keep up the good work, Ivan.’

‘
Yes, Captain.’

Michael walked
down to the control room.

Sara glanced
over her shoulder. ‘How did you sleep?’

‘
You know what those sleeping pods are like.’

‘
That’s why I try to avoid them as much as possible. You know
there are advanced sleeping pods that don’t leave you feeling like
a zombie when you wake up.’

‘
Oh, you mean the upmarket sleeping pods that millionaires can
afford,’ said Michael with a cheeky grin.

‘
That’s right. I guess we can only dream of such luxuries,’ she
said with a laugh.

‘
Ivan said we are nearly at Bodach Delta.’

‘
We are still a few hours out.’

‘
Have you identified where the Tunnel Makers base is?’ he
asked.

‘
Ethan will help with our first contact. The Tunnel Makers own
a small town, which was once a gold mining colony when the Epherian
Empire governed the planet. Their base is situated inside the old
mine beneath the mountain which is adjacent to the town. They live
underground in tunnels, hence the name, Tunnel Makers. If we didn’t
have Ethan on crew I would suggest staying away from Bodach Delta.
The place is a criminal hotbed, a cesspool of depravity and
violence. Ethan seems to think we will be safe; he believes he
carries a certain level of respect among the Tunnel Makers, but I
don’t think we should let our guard down. Let me show you a picture
of the planet.’

A shimmering
image of Bodach Delta appeared above the holographic panel. The
planet was entirely covered in ice. It looked like a white globe
floating in space.

‘
The average temperature is far below freezing and gravity is
1.06. The planet has a dark side which never faces the star. The
light side, which should have been called the twilight side, has
about ten major towns which are operated by different groups,
mostly criminal. The best thing about the planet is its atmosphere,
which is prime grade, as it was developed by the Epherian Empire
about fifteen hundred years ago. The Epherians left behind giant
automated atmospheric generators which are powered by the planet’s
molten core; they continue to regulate the atmosphere and are
closely guarded by every invested party. Nothing grows on Bodach
Delta, apart from some varieties of moss which are adapted to the
extreme cold. The people live entirely on synthesized food. The
towns and bases are also powered by thermal energy from the
planet’s core.’

‘
It doesn’t look like a nice place to be stranded.’

‘
At least not without a good coat,’ she said with a
smile.

‘
Let’s just hope these Tunnel Makers have a way of helping us
cross the Epherian frontier.’

**

Sara navigated
the ship through the upper atmosphere of Bodach Delta. The Out
Drifter glided through the thick clouds and into the darker regions
below. Michael watched a mountain range appear on the horizon. The
mountains were completely covered in ice and snow. Ethan was
standing behind them and watching through the viewing panel.

‘
See the line of mountains in the distance; those that look
like jagged spines. The Tunnel Maker base is at the northern side
of that range.’

‘
I expect they have some security measures in place,’ said
Sara.

‘
They do; plasma cannons, lasers, heavy duty missile launchers
and nuclear weapons if they need them. The base is also protected
by an electronic and electromagnetic shield. Their watchmen will
contact us when we pass their outlying sensors. Let me do the
talking.’

Sara guided
the ship along the edge of the mountain range. The external com lit
up.

A heated voice
could be heard through the com. ‘…Who are you and what do you
want?...’

‘
This is Ethan Faraway. I’m a Tunnel Maker requesting a landing
dock.’

A few moments
passed without anything being said. ‘…Ethan Faraway, you’re the
mechanical engineer who went missing years ago…’

‘
That’s right; I’m back.’

‘…
Tyr will want to have a word with you…’

‘
Why would Tyr want to talk with me?’ asked Ethan
cautiously.

‘…
He’s the new boss of the Tunnel Makers…’

‘
What about Vlad?’

‘…
Vlad died last year and Tyr won the vote to replace
him…’

A shadow
passed over Ethan’s face. ‘Do we have permission to land?’

‘…
Dock thirteen. Follow the navigation signal…’

‘
You got it.’

The external
com light flickered off. Ethan lowered his eyes and appeared to be
in a state of shock.

‘
What’s the problem?’ asked Michael.

‘
Tyr is not an easy man to deal with. I thought we would be
dealing with Vlad. This could complicate things.’

‘
Why?’ asked Sara.

‘
I once worked on Tyr’s cargo ship. We never liked each
other.’

‘
Don’t worry. The worst thing that can happen is they will
refuse to help us,’ said Michael.

‘
Tyr is a madman. There are much worse things he can do than
not helping us. He’s unpredictable. I’m not sure if it is safe to
deal with him. Maybe we should change the plan.’

‘
They won’t hurt us because we belong to the Outer World
Salvage Guild,’ said Sara. ‘They won’t want our guild
offside.’

‘
I hope you are right,’ said Ethan.

**

The Out
Drifter entered the deep valley where the old mining town was
situated. The town consisted of a flattened area of concrete
landing docks to the north and a group of old hardy residential
buildings on the south side of the valley. There was a large armour
plated door at the base of the mountain, and there were various
plasma turrets and defence mechanisms surrounding the entrance to
the base and many larger turret guns at various locations around
the valley.

Sara guided
the ship down to the dock thirteen, which was covered by a thin
layer of ice. The Out Drifter gently landed on the concrete
platform.

‘
You will have to put on our weather coats. It’s freezing
outside,’ said Sara.

‘
Be ready to leave in a hurry,’ said Michael.

‘
I’m always ready,’ she said confidently.

Michael stood
up and walked to the cargo bay, where Ajax was gathering his
weapons. Acacius was waiting beside the exit door and wearing a
thermal regulator coat. Cynthia, Ethan and Ivan were standing with
him.

‘
We don’t want to scare them into a fight, Ajax. I think you
should leave your rifle and grenades behind.’

‘
No, Cap, I think I should take all my weapons, just in case,’
said Ajax.

‘
The last thing we need is a gunfight with smugglers. Just take
a pistol.’

‘
If you insist,’ grumbled Ajax.

‘
You should put a coat on, Cynthia,’ said Michael. ‘It’s cold
outside and there is an icy wind blowing over the mountains. You
won’t make it to their front door without a thermal
coat.’

‘
Yes, Emperor,’ she replied with a coy smile.

Michael
returned the smile, but he didn’t say a word. They put on thermal
weather coats, and Ethan opened the exit door. A blast of frozen
air hit them. Ethan led the way out and across the docks. They
followed him through the piercing cold and across the rocky ground
to the base front door.

The double
reinforced security door opened as they approached and revealed a
large tunnel which cut directly into the mountainside. About twenty
yards further was a second security door. Four smugglers with
plasma rifles were standing ready and two heavily armed battle
droids were positioned a little further back. The droids stood
about ten feet in height and were armed with rocket launchers and
plasma machineguns attached to their shoulders.

One of the
guards was a large and muscular man with short jet black hair and
fierce dark eyes. He grinned as they stepped in out of the cold.
‘Ethan! I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I was sure you were dead.
Good to see you again!’ he said, holding out his huge hand for
Ethan to shake.