The Arrival (10 page)

U4’s chest plates slid to the side, with a platform raising out and exposing her cracked orb.

Evaran grabbed a nanobot-filled syringe and pricked Jake in the neck with it. He tapped at the console on the side of the slab, causing an enclosure to slide up from the sides and then completely cover Jake.

“Analysis. Shutdown imminent.”

Evaran rushed over to U4 and interacted with the console on the slab. “That is unacceptable.” His hands flew over the side console as mechanical arms on the side of the slab reached out and interacted with U4’s orb. Gel oozed out of the burnt cracks in the orb.

“Statement. Evaran … Evaran …”

“I will repair you,” said Evaran as he swiped at the console. His hands flew from the console to his ARI. The mechanical arms zipped around U4’s orb, shooting multicolored lasers.

“Statement. Thank you for creating me,” said U4. Her lights dimmed.

Evaran shook his head and gritted his teeth. “No. Your matrix can be healed. You cannot leave me. I will not accept that.” His hands picked up speed as they became a blur over his ARI.

“Analysis. Systems failing. Systems … failing … Sys … sss … ,” said U4. Her lights dimmed again, then blinked out.

Jake awoke with a gasp. His breathing went ragged as the enclosure around him began to slide away. After a moment, he was clear to sit up on the edge of the slab. His muscles ached, and a tingling sensation permeated his body. He shook his head and used the lukewarm slab to stabilize himself after sliding off. The silence unnerved him as he gained his bearings, and after a few moments, he exited the medical lab. He grimaced as he hobbled up to the front of the ship. He saw space outside the front left window.

Evaran sat at his command chair with his head down in his right hand.

Jake had not known Evaran for too long, but the silence and posture indicated to him that something was wrong. He took a seat in the right seating area. “Evaran?”

Evaran sat up. “You are up. How are you feeling?”

“Could be better,” said Jake with a sigh. “I suppose Robert’s not here.”

Evaran shook his head. “He is not.”

“Where are we?”

“Stealthed and in low Earth orbit. I took us here after getting you and U4 to the medical lab.”

“Guess Greecho didn’t follow.”

“He sent ships to investigate, but the Torvatta was stealthed and away before they got there,” said Evaran.

Jake looked around. “Where’s U4?”

Evaran paused as he licked his lips and looked down. “She did not make it.”

A lump formed in Jake’s throat as his eyes popped open. “U4 is … I mean … she’s gone?”

“Yes. She gave her life for yours,” said Evaran, exhaling slowly from his mouth.

Jake looked down and covered his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Evaran nodded.

“How long did you know her?”

“Three hundred twenty-three years,” said Evaran with a sidelong glance.

Jake pondered what he had just heard. That would put Evaran at least as old as that. He could not fathom losing someone he had known that long, assuming he could live that long. There was pain in Evaran’s eyes, yet Evaran’s face seemed like it struggled to show emotion. U4 had mentioned that Evaran’s exposed hand was a layer of a suit, so it was possible that Evaran’s emotions were expressed internally somehow. He was not sure, but it was clear to him now that Greecho controlled his fate. There was a time when he had begun to believe that things could change, but if Greecho could kill U4 and stop Evaran, what chance did Jake have. “I … don’t know what to say.”

Evaran sighed.

“Look, I appreciate all you’ve done, but I think if you just drop me back off at Dad’s … er, Jells’s, maybe Greecho will go easy on Jells and Robert. I’ll go into the Seceltor breeding program. You’ve done enough, more than what was asked,” said Jake with a hand out.

“No.”

Jake jerked his head back. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this. Greecho is too powerful, and now U4 is dead.”

“No. Try again,” said Evaran with a finger raised toward Jake.

Jake furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Do you always give up this easily?”

Jake snorted. “Well, no, I …” Jake narrowed his eyes and paused as he stared at Evaran. Evaran was right, he always went with the flow, and every time, he let someone walk all over him. The recent memory of Greecho beating him and torturing him with the Seceltor memory- access device filled his mind. He clenched his jaw. The memory of Greecho beating Robert and Jells flooded his mind. He balled his fists. The memory of his last meeting with his mom, before she was sent off to die, crashed through his mind. His face turned red. All of this, because of Greecho. Enough was enough. He could not go on living like that anymore. Robert had filled him in on the Melkins military history. Melkinses did not back down from a fight, and they stood for what was right, and he had that in his blood. It was time to be a Melkins. With a deep breath, he stood up and said, “Let’s get this asshole.”

Evaran nodded and tilted a finger at Jake. “Yes.”

06

A day later at the docking bays of an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of Lincoln, Nebraska, Jake stood with Kathy near the bottom of a loading ramp. Large, closed doors dotted the side of the warehouse where trucks would back up and load and unload cargo. There were several other, smaller buildings around it to the sides, giving the location a U-shaped layout, with them in the middle. One of the downsides of their position was the chilly wind funneling through. Jake was bundled up with boots, jeans, and a fluffy jacket, as was Kathy, but the chill made him shudder. “Shouldn’t be long.”

Kathy exhaled from her nose. “Are you sure Greecho will come?”

“Hope so,” said Jake. “Greecho will come for you, of that I’m sure. I’m glad you decided to help.” He looked off toward the open grass visible from the only side Greecho could come in from.

“Anything to take him down,” said Kathy with a defiant look.

It did not take long for Greecho’s ship to arrive. Jake recognized that it was not his main ship, but a lighter scout ship used for smaller jobs. It still packed a punch with its aerodynamic and armed profile. He figured Greecho would just capture any witnesses if they saw his ship, but this far out, there would not be any.

Greecho’s ship hovered a bit outside the buildings and then shot a beam to the ground. Greecho and two heavily armed slavers descended in the beam. Once they were on the ground, they headed toward Jake and Kathy. After a few minutes, they were at the open end of the U-shaped area.

Jake had expected four on the ground per Evaran’s plan. Since there were three on the ground, one would be flying the ship, leaving the fifth crew member unaccounted for. He pulled out his laser pistol and, with his left hand, aimed it at Greecho, knowing it would not pierce Greecho’s shielding.

Greecho scowled when he saw Jake and halted along with his men. “Surprised you’re alive, you little shit. Didn’t find Evaran’s ship after our last encounter. Just the imprint of where it hit. Since you survived, I’m guessing he did too. The fact he isn’t here doesn’t surprise me. He knows when he’s outclassed. Looks like he tucked tail and ran, leaving you to fend for yourself.” The men around him snickered. He glanced at Kathy. “But that’s the real prize here.”

Jake stepped in front of Kathy. “Not today.”

Greecho shook his head. “You’ve changed. Usually takes a few years at the breeding camps to grow a pair, but in this case, you’re wasting my time. Cut the crap and get over here.”

“No, we are not going with you. How’d you find us anyways?”

“Your tracking devices are activated, how else?” said Greecho. “Whatever Evaran did to mask them is no longer working. Means he isn’t around. No surprise. He got a taste of what he was up against and split like the coward he is.” The slavers around him laughed.

Jake rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand. Greecho had installed one on him when he was recently captured with Robert earlier, but Evaran had masked it when he was in the enclosure in the medical lab. He had to give Evaran credit. Activating both of them lured Greecho out of his base just as he said it would.

“Look, there’s nowhere for you to go that I can’t find you. I have your real father, and … things could get messy with Jells. So why don’t—”

A crashing sound reverberated throughout the open area as the Torvatta slammed into Greecho’s ship, causing it to careen off to the side. Greecho and the slavers hunched down and drew their weapons as they turned to watch their ship crashing out of sight. Jake and Kathy took the interruption to turn and run up to the doors of the abandoned warehouse.

Greecho pointed in the direction of his downed ship. “Damn it! That asshole is still around.
Go!
”

The two slavers nodded and ran off toward the ship.

Greecho wheeled around and stared Jake down as Jake opened the door for Kathy. “Where you think you’re going?”

Jake hustled in and slammed the door shut after Kathy ran in and off to the side. The metal door blew off its hinges and into Jake, sending him flying backward. Kathy ran up to him and tried to help get the heavy door off his chest. Jake pushed her hands away and pointed off in the distance. “Just go! I’ll catch up.”

Kathy hesitated and then took off in the direction he pointed.

Jake struggled to get the door off of him. Pain pulsed through him, and the blood and sweat in his eyes was making it difficult to see. He squinted as Greecho appeared in the doorway.

“Jake, Jake, Jake,” said Greecho. “You tried. I respect that, but it’s over. I could have killed you just now, but you’re simply worth too much for that. Now stay down. When I find Kathy, several months of pent-up excitement will be unleashed.”

Jake licked the blood off his lips and then coughed up more blood. “Leave her alone. Just take me.”

“Uh-uh. She can provide things you can’t. Don’t make me regret letting you live,” said Greecho. He looked around and shot Jake’s pistol lying to the side. “You won’t be needing that anymore.” He took out a device and tapped at it. With a sneer, he ran off in the direction Kathy had gone.

Jake focused on his breathing as he tried to roll. The plan had been for Greecho and the slavers to go to the ship, and if they came after Jake and Kathy, to hide in the warehouse. He figured Evaran would know that the plan had changed. After a few minutes of rolling, he was able to slide the door off to the side. He gathered his breath while looking at the metal beams in the ceiling, glinting from the sunlight filtering in through cracked windows. His attention focused when he heard Kathy screaming in the distance. His heartbeat ramped up as blood surged to his face. Giving up was not an option for him anymore. It was do-or-die time. He struggled to his feet and, after orientating himself, took off toward the shouting. It took him a few pain-filled minutes to arrive at an open area bounded by metal cargo containers.

He surveyed the situation. Greecho had tied Kathy’s hands to a metal beam in an open area ahead and ripped her shirt. Greecho was too busy laughing and dodging Kathy’s kickbacks to be aware of Jake’s presence. He noticed that Greecho’s weapon rested against a container to the side, with his portable shield generator sitting next to it. With a burst of adrenaline, he charged forward and kicked Greecho in the crotch from the back. As Greecho shouted in pain and fell down, Jake ran over to Greecho’s weapon and shield generator and tossed them off into the distance. He knew the smart identification system that was standard on all Seceltor weapons made both unusable to him.

Greecho winced. “I told you to stay down.”

Jake rushed over to Kathy and helped untie her hands from the beam.

Greecho struggled to get up and rested against one of the cargo containers. “You’ve crossed the line this time, boy.”

Kathy got behind Jake as he stepped toward Greecho with his arms in front of him, bent at the elbows. His body was loose, and his right front leg was out forward a bit from his left leg.

“Guudinka, huh?” Greecho assumed a similar stance as Jake and crept forward.

Jake struck first with a quick strike at Greecho’s arms. Greecho stepped back and grimaced as he circled to the left. Jake kicked at Greecho’s knee, but Greecho raised his leg, catching the kick in the shin. With a quick jab, Greecho struck Jake on the side of the head. Ringing echoed in Jake’s ear as he tried to focus. He concentrated and then fell to the side. While on the ground, he swept Greecho’s legs, causing Greecho to fall. Jake rolled over and delivered a backhand to Greecho’s face. Greecho grunted as he rolled out of the way. He raised his hands to protect his face. Jake stood. He kicked at Greecho.