Jacintos voyage, p.1
Jacinto's Voyage, page 1
Jacinto's Voyage
by Daniel A. Kaine
Copyright 2012 Daniel A. Kaine
Kindle Edition
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1
“What's wrong with her this time?” Dane yelled, delivering a swift kick to Alessa's metal hull, her engines still billowing smoke. The ship gave a dull ring in reply and sent a bolt of pain shooting through his foot. “Is it too much to ask to go one trip without breaking down?”
Dane cursed under his breath and threw his helmet to the ground. He ran his hands through his short, blond hair. Blue eyes scanned the landscape, passing over fields of scrap metal and dry, cracked earth that stretched out to the horizon where the sun was just starting to rise.
Just my luck, landing on this God-forsaken chunk of rock. Earth. Or what was left of it.
The sound of heavy footsteps clunking against the metal ramp caught Dane's attention. He turned, and upon seeing the approaching man's lips pressed into a tight line his heart sank. Machupa stopped at the bottom of the ramp. At six foot four, he towered over Dane, casting a long, dark shadow of gloom over him. Chupe, as he was known to the rest of the crew, was the ship's mechanic. His skin was the color of dark chocolate, covered in splodges and smears of oil. Chestnut eyes peered out from behind a set of thick goggles. He bowed his head slightly to look Dane in the eye.
“How bad is it?” Dane asked, already fearing the worst.
“There's good news and bad news, Captain,” Chupe replied. “Compression coil's shot. Good news is I can fix it. Bad news... it'll take a day or two at least before we're back in the air.”
Dane's body tensed. “Two days?” he gasped. “Come on, Chupe. There must be something you can do. We've got nine hours before we need to be at Larros with the cargo. We miss this meeting and I'm not gonna be able to feed you guys, let alone afford any of the repairs we desperately need!”
His shoulders slumped, the gravity of the situation weighing down more than just his soul. Alessa had served him well for the better part of a decade. Losing her now would be like losing his favorite body part, and Dane had no aspirations to be neutered anytime soon.
Chupe motioned his right hand in a sweeping arc across the never-ending field of space junk. “You find me a half-decent coil in all that, and I'll have us up and running in a matter of minutes.”
“That could take days,” Dane wearied. It was looking more and more likely that he wouldn't be making the delivery time, and would be missing out on a rather sizeable pay check. And without that money, he would have nothing for fuel, food or repairs. Let alone pay for the crew. In short, he would be grounded, unable to travel across the universe. And, more importantly, unable to keep on the move. As a last resort, he would have to sell his ship. His baby.
Dane let out a long sigh and resigned himself to the task ahead. Maybe luck would swing his way for once. Maybe they would stumble across an intact compression coil in a matter of minutes and be back on track for making the deadline.
'And maybe I'll discover the secret to warp speed while I'm at it and be able to retire at the age of thirty,' he thought, discarding any glimmer of optimism as he picked up his helmet and headed back inside the ship to gang-press the rest of the crew into helping him search the scrapheap.
He walked up a flight of metal stairs to the walkway overlooking the cargo hold, where his second-in-command, Indra, was busy monitoring one of the computer screens. She paused for a moment, glancing her grey-blue eyes in Dane's direction as he stopped at her side.
“Dane,” she said, acknowledging his presence before turning back to the monitor, her left hand reaching up to tuck a few rogue strands of shoulder-length red hair behind her ear.
“Tell me you've got some good news for me, Indra,” Dane said. “I've had more than my fill of bad for the day.”
A smile spread across her lips. “Define good. There's a human settlement two klicks south of our position. Scavengers, probably. If they've already salvaged the area, chances are they may have the parts we need.”
“Chances are they'd rather kill us and break Alessa down into scrap than barter with us,” Dane replied, having had more than his fair share of experience with scavengers.
Indra pushed herself away from the monitor and moved to the near wall, where she pressed a small, red button. There was a click and a hiss as a section of the wall gave way and slid down to reveal a small arsenal of weapons. Indra picked up one of the shotguns and cocked its barrel.
“Just another day at the office then. Right, Captain?”
Dane nodded and picked out a pistol to conceal at his back, and a larger plasma gun. As he tucked the guns into his holsters he silently prayed that, for once, he wouldn't need either of them.
Chapter 2
Blistering heat brushed against Dane's face as he rode on the back of the Rover south toward the settlement. Without a cloud in the sky, the sun shone brightly down on the arid landscape. In the distance the settlement loomed. Walls of rusting metal sheets fenced the compound, looking as though anything more than a gust of wind could send them toppling to the ground. The Rover's engines came to a stop a short distance from the settlement, hidden in the shadow of a large boulder.
Dane jumped off, his right hand going straight to the holster at his hip and drawing the plasma pistol. The inhabitants would have heard them coming a mile off, and yet there was no sign of any greeting. No cautiously outstretched hands, and no warning shots. Indra climbed out next, tapping a few buttons on the device attached to her wrist. A holographic display projected above the device with a cluster of red dots pulsing close to its center.
“Still inhabited,” she said.
“Well, let's go introduce ourselves,” said Kaidan, the last member of the group chosen to accompany Dane. Kaidan went to the back of the Rover and pulled out an assault rifle, which he slung over his shoulder. At twenty-two, Kaidan was the youngest member of the crew, and easily the most deadly when given any sort of weapon. He flexed his right hand, the cybernetic cogs and gears whirring beneath the convincing artificial skin.
“Don't wanna keep our hosts waiting,” he said, pulling on a pair of shades to hide the fact that his left eye was no longer of flesh and blood. Besides that one eye, no-one would ever guess by looking at him that Kaidan was about thirty-percent machine—and that number was steadily increasing. His skin was a bronzed tan, and still mostly natural, decorated with scars that were as much from the procedures to implant the cybernetics as they were from battle injuries. His black hair was shaved closed to his head, a remnant of his short-lived military career that he had yet to outgrow and probably never would. Muscles flexed beneath his snug black tank-top, twitching in anticipation for a fight.
“Just remember we're here to negotiate, not start a fight,” Dane said, wondering if Kaidan's presence might do more harm than good. But then, if things did go wrong, there was no-one better suited to resolving a gunfight than Kaidan.
“Better hope they don't start anything then,” he replied, strolling off towards the flimsy metal gate. Dane followed quickly after him, keeping his eyes on the multitude of holes in the walls. He half-expected to see gun barrels poking out as they approached, but they saw nothing.
Kaidan reached the gate first, yanking it open with ease. The wheels screeched beneath it and the gate came to rest with a clang, heralding their arrival into the settlement. They walked slowly through the town, making sure to check every window and around every corner as they ventured towards the center of the compound. Still nothing.
“Guess they're not used to visitors,” Dane thought out loud, his hand still firmly gripping the handle of his gun. “Kaidan, drop back and cover us. I've got a bad feeling about this.”
Kaidan nodded and dropped away from the others, disappearing into the back alleys of the settlement to cover them from behind.
It didn't take Dane and Indra long to reach the heart of the town, where a large caravan stood in the center of a clearing. Since it was the largest structure in the whole place, Dane figured it to be the most important too, and whoever lived there should be the best person to speak to. He approached the door, holstering his gun so as not to alarm anyone who might answer. Dane reached out to knock on the door when a bang startled him. A bullet pinged off the caravan wall not far from his hand and he withdrew his hand slowly from the door and raised both hands into the air as he turned in the direction the bullet had came from. With a quick nod he motioned for Indra to do the same.
“We mean you no harm,” Dane shouted, his eyes quickly scanning the area for possible exit routes and potential threats.
“Then throw down your weapons,” a voice replied from the outer edge of the clear. Dane reached for his pistol and the voice added, “Nice and slowly now. We don't want no funny business.”
They did as they were asked, throwing their weapons to the floor before raising their hands back into the air. Men began to appear from alleyways and buildings, converging onto the group to form a semi-circle around them. Seven of them. The men were dressed in dirty, ragged clothes, carrying small pistols and sawn-off shotguns. All but one, that is. The oldest of t
“You Coalition?”
“No, Sir,” Dane replied, doing his best to sound polite and non-threatening. “Just a few mercs passing through the neighborhood.”
“Mercs, eh?” The old man edged further forward. His bushy grey eyebrows furrowed. “And what brings you to Jackal's Hoard?”
“We were on our way to Larros in search of jobs,” Dane said, avoiding any mention of the fact that their ship was also carrying cargo on return from a successful job—successful if they could get back there in time. “Our ship broke down. We were wondering if maybe you fine fellows had a working compression coil lying around.”
“Yeah, we spotted your heap o' junk come hurtling out o' the sky. So you need a compression coil, eh? We may have a couple o' those somewhere. Question is, what're you gonna do to make it worth our while?”
Should've guessed there would be a price.
Dane groaned inwardly. What did he have to trade? Nothing much that a group of scavengers would be interested in, besides his ship. Knowing they at least had the part he needed was a step in the right direction at least.
“We have some medical supplies,” Dane answered. “It's not much, but what's the price of a human life worth these days?”
The old man threw his head back and laughed hard enough to jostle his rounded gut. “Meds ain't worth a whole lot 'round here. Ain't no-one knows how to use them. What 'bout weapons? You're mercs. Bound to have some gear, right? Got anything that'll tear through alien forcefields?”
“Alien forcefields?” Indra asked, raising an eyebrow as her interest piqued at the mention of alien technology. “Disruptor ammo might do it, but what would you need that for?”
“To take down an alien's shields. What else for?” he bellowed. The sound of a bullets firing nearby caught the scavengers' attention. Their heads whipped round in the direction of the noise. “Go check it out,” their leader said, motioning to the nearest group of three.
Using the distraction to their advantage, Dane and Indra pulled out their concealed weapons. The scavengers turned back to them, eyes darting to their leader as if waiting for a command.
“Four 'gainst two,” the old man said, his eyes holding Dane's gaze. “Odds aren't in your favor.”
“I never was one to bet on the favorites,” Dane replied, spotting a familiar face approaching slowly from behind the scavengers, with a pistol in each hand.
“How about evening the odds a little?” Kaidan said, aiming his guns at the remaining two scavengers.
The old man could only laugh. “You wanna take your chances? What's worth more to you, the life o' one o' your crew, or a blasted chunk of metal?”
Dane held his ground, staring down the old man. He must have wanted something from them or they wouldn't still be stood there talking.
“Look, I'm willing to make you guys a deal. You seem like you could handle yourselves in a fight, unlike this bunch o' ingrates. Whaddaya say? You do a small job for me, and you can have your compression coil.”
“What kinda job?” Dane replied without pause for thought. Whatever the job was, it couldn't be too difficult, and as long as it wasn't particularly long they could still make it to Larros on time. Besides, accepting the job would at least put them in a better position to fight their way out if the need arose. At least, that's what he was counting on.
“Here's the deal,” the old man said. “There's some alien roaming 'bout the ruins out there been ambushing my men. Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. It was one ugly son o' a bitch. Built like a damn truck too. That beast is mutilating my cattle and killed at least a dozen o' my men over the last two years. I had it in my sights once, but the bullet bounced right off its head. Should be no problem for you guys and your fancy weapons though, right?”
Dane nodded, holding the man's gaze while trying to suppress the wave of unease that poured through him. The job itself wouldn't be difficult, but it was the questions plaguing his mind that had him on edge. Aliens hadn't been spotted this far into human territory in over two centuries. What would an alien be doing so far from home? And why would it be on Earth of all places? Dane tried to push the thought away, to focus on the job at hand, but he couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something about the whole thing did not sit right with him.
Chapter 3
“So, this is Jacinto's Fall,” Indra said as the Rover approached the field of space junk. “I've heard of this place. They say Jacinto was the first of mankind's great space cities—came crashing down in a blaze of glory. Now look at it, nothing more than a heap of scrap that's been picked clean to the bones.”
“You really think we'll find an alien amidst all this crap?” Kaidan asked.
“Maybe,” Dane replied with a shrug. “Anything on the scanner yet, Indra?”
Indra glanced down at the holo-projection at her wrist and tapped a few buttons. A single red dot flashed faintly at the edge of the scanner. “A single life source near those mountains,” she said, pointing east to the jagged spires that rose up in the distance.
“Then that's where we're going,” Kaidan said, putting his foot down on the gas and swinging around to the left.
They parked the Rover some distance away from the source of the blip, not wanting to alert the target to their presence with the roar of engines. Kaidan took point as they navigated the scrapheap, moving slowly closer to what Dane hoped and prayed would be the alien the old man had mentioned. Simple would be nice for once.
As they drew closer to their target, Kaidan paused at one of the corners, lowering his shades to peer out. He turned back to Dane and shook his head. “Guess we're shit out of luck,” he said, motioning for the others to take a look.
Dane stepped out first, still sighting down his gun out of caution. In the distance, climbing over a pile of scrap was a four-legged beast with yellow-orange fur and black spots.
“That's our alien?” he asked, dropping his aim and scratching his head. It certainly didn't look like any alien he had heard of before. Nor did it match the description they had been given.
Indra tapped a few buttons on her scanner. The hologram disappeared, to be replaced with a three-dimensional image of the beast.
“It's a leopard,” she said. “One of Earth's native life forms.”
“You don't think this is what the old geezer was talking about, do you?” Dane asked.
Indra shook her head. “I doubt a leopard would have forcefields that can deflect bullets. Better keep searching.”
Kaidan shouldered his gun and began to backtrack to the Rover when a flash of light flew past him, striking the ground near his foot. He ducked quickly behind cover, dragging Dane with him.
“Shit,” Kaidan swore under his breath. “What was that, Indra? Thought you said there was only one life form out here.”
“Must be something wrong with the scanner,” she replied, furiously tapping away.
“Or it's not alive,” Dane said. “Maybe it's a machine, not an alien we're hunting.”
Kaidan kneeled down to pull a large, serrated blade from his boot. He lifted the blade to eye level, using the flat edge as a mirror to peer round the corner. A second later he jumped back, dropped the knife as a second bolt of light struck it, sending it spinning through the air. The knife was thrown into a twisted plate of metal, colliding with a clang before coming to rest on the ground.
“Well that explains why the scanner didn't pick it up,” he said. “Damn thing's invisible.”
“A cloaking device? Interesting,” Indra said, rubbing her chin. “Such technology wasn't invented until after the inception of the Third Planetary Council. I'm surprised we'd run into advanced tech here on Earth of all places.”
“Forget that,” Kaidan snapped. “Just tell me how to find it so I can blow the bastard's head off. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get off this blasted planet.”
Indra reached into her utility belt to pull out a small round object with a single red button on top. “Never know when you'll need a short-range EMP,” she said handing it to Kaidan. “The burst should disrupt the cloaking device so you can get the shot.”
