Fugitive: A Space Opera: Book Five of The Shadow Order Read online

  For the first time since they’d left the Shadow Order’s base, Owsk took his attention away from the darkness in front of them and looked at Seb, or rather, the grub in his pinch. He frowned. “What’s that?”

  “A lot of people died on Carstic, which is where our last mission was. They died because of this parasite.”

  When Owsk didn’t respond, Seb elaborated. “We only found three survivors in the entire mining complex. One of them theorised that these grubs were planted on their planet to clear the mines.”

  “Why?”

  “They mine for ruthane, and ruthane’s worth a lot of credits.”

  A shrug, Owsk said, “There has to be more to it than that. There’s not always a conspiracy when there’s credits involved.”

  “Before the survivors—who were quite vocal about their theory, I might add—could get off the planet, their ship blew up.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” Seb said. “Oh.”

  “And you think Moses has something to do with it?”

  “Well, Moses certainly got paid from the people who owned the mines. They had to bring in the Shadow Order to clear them out. They’d also just recently paid the Shadow Order to rescue their incompetent son from Solsans, so he knew their credits were good.”

  A deep sigh and Owsk said, “You think Moses is exploiting them for their wealth?”

  “I think so, but I don’t have the evidence to prove it.”

  “So what will you do if you find out Moses is responsible for planting the parasites?”

  For a second, Seb said nothing. Instead, he stared out into the darkness and chewed on his bottom lip. The whir of the submarine’s engine continued to shake through him as he drew a deep breath of the odourless air. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “He’s powerful and is going to be hard to get to if he knows I’m coming for him.”

  “And you think he’ll know?”

  “Well, I’m a fugitive now, so if I come back, it probably won’t be for a friendly reunion.”

  “I suppose. Where are the others?” Owsk said. “Your friends?”

  To think about how mean he had been to Sparks twisted through Seb. And he hadn’t said goodbye to Bruke. The kiss on the cheek from SA might be the only one he’d ever get from her. A feeling of bleakness settled over him and his breaths grew shallow. He’d be without them when he needed them most. It took him a second to compose himself. “I don’t want them with me.” Then Gurt came to mind and the tension in his chest eased a little. He’d made the correct choice. “They shouldn’t get themselves screwed over because I’m chasing a hunch. A friend of mine died following me into a war when I didn’t want him to.”

  “And they’d do the same?” Owsk asked.

  “They did, and they would again.”

  “So you didn’t give them the choice?”

  “No.”

  “You think that’s your decision, do you?”

  A snap of fury spiked through Seb and he looked across at Owsk. Who did he think he was? “Of course!” Then he thought about how cross the others had been with him in the mines. They hadn’t been happy with the decisions he’d made on their behalf, especially with how he’d completely disregarded SA and her abilities. Yet now he was doing it again.

  A look at Owsk and the granite appraisal the creature levelled on him, Seb clenched his jaw, speaking through gritted teeth. “Anyway,” he said, trying to move the conversation away from Owsk’s opinions of his actions, “what’s your deal?”

  The sharpness of his tone forced Owsk to pull his head back and he returned his attention to the thick wall of water in front of them. They passed through a school of bioluminescent fish, traces of glowing blue phosphoresce left behind when they scattered. In the extreme glow, he saw SA’s eyes. He felt the warm memory of her kiss.

  Seb moved on and softened his tone. “Sorry, that came out wrong. It’s just … I didn’t know about the Shadow Order’s prison until I was in it. How did you end up in there?”

  Owsk made another sharp turn to avoid another whale of a fish. Seb held on again, already getting used to the sudden changes in direction.

  “Moses runs Aloo, right?” Owsk said.

  A shrug, Seb nodded. “Yeah, it certainly seems that way.”

  “Everyone knows that contraband passes through the spaceport on a daily basis.”

  “Yeah, of course. Aloo’s renowned for giving smugglers an easy ride. So what did you do that would land you in jail on a planet that actively encourages criminal activity?”

  This time Owsk pulled back on his controls and the ship rose. It went over the next creature, a green eel ten times the length of the sub. “I was only smuggling exotic fruit.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a big deal.”

  “The duty on it’s huge. They like to hammer you on anything with a short shelf life because you don’t have the time to negotiate. Also, they fetch big prices in the right places, so they know you’ll make the credits back. We were trying to avoid that, which is why we went through Aloo.”

  “Okay.”

  “But we couldn’t afford to pay Moses his fee either.”

  “Ah! So you were looking for a free ride from the galaxy’s tightest being?”

  “Not a free ride. We promised it to him on the way back, but it would seem the bank of Aloo aren’t into credit. He threw me in jail until one of my crew could pay.”

  “And they haven’t?”

  “Not yet. They’ve impounded our ship, so we can’t sell our stock. And we can’t make credits on Aloo to pay him back.”

  “Tell me about it. Unless you know how to fight, Aloo’s got pretty slim pickings.”

  “Exactly.” While holding out one of his thick arms, Owsk said, “We may look strong, but we’re pacifists. You wouldn’t ever catch a jelk in a fighting pit; we’ve not got it in us.”

  “And when we get to Aloo’s spaceport, you can leave without any trouble?”

  “As long as my ship flies, we’ll work out a way.” A slight pause, the hum of the engine filling the silence, Owsk then said, “Also, I might be able to help you with that grub.”

  “Oh?”

  “I know a creature that can trace anything to its origin. He makes a killing in finding slaves and charging their loved ones to get them back to them.”

  “He sounds like a kidnapper.”

  “No, he takes them back from the kidnappers. He lets the families pay in instalments for as long as they need to.”

  “My bad.” Seb rolled his eyes and couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice. “He sounds like a saint.”

  For the first time since they’d been together, Owsk laughed. A deep, stuttering sound, it bounced off the glass surfaces inside the ship. “Yeah, he’s definitely in it for himself, but at least he’s quite reasonable about collecting his credits. He’ll never hold out on reuniting someone with their loved ones. Anyway, he owes me a few favours from when I’ve helped move beings around for him. I can ask him to help you.”

  Before Seb could respond, Owsk pulled back on the submarine’s controls, harder than before. It sent them shooting towards the surface.

  With nothing to hold onto, Seb braced against the glass window next to him and watched the water get rapidly lighter.

  The aggressive change from the dark sea to the bright Aloo sunshine stung Seb’s eyes as they burst through the surface of the water. He shielded them for a few seconds and waited for his sight to return while they floated with the undulations of the choppy sea.

  A press of a button, Owsk then looked up as the glass top of the submarine pulled back. It let in the salty Aloo air, the wind throwing Seb’s hair into his eyes.

  Owsk jumped out of the submarine first and held a hand out in Seb’s direction. Seb took it and stepped out onto land, trying not to look down. One slip and he’d sink faster than a rock. When he walked away, his first few steps were uneasy from still having his sea legs.

  Once clear of the vessel, Seb and Owsk stepped back a
few paces from it. Before either of them spoke, Seb pulled out his blaster and ripped off several shots, his gun kicking as the laser fire drilled holes through the sub’s open cockpit.

  Horror turned Owsk’s face slack as he looked from his sub, to Seb, and back to his sub again. Water sprouted from the fresh holes, driven a few metres into the air from the force of his sinking ship.

  “What was that for?” Owsk said.

  “I guarantee it had a tracker in it.” Seb continued to watch the water as the vessel vanished from sight. “The second they realise the sub has gone missing, they’ll track it down. When they realise where it is, they’ll think we sank with it. We need as much time as possible.”

  When Owsk didn’t respond, Seb turned to look at him, bracing against the strong Aloo winds as he did so. To see the end of a gun pointed in his direction sent panic spiking through him. “What are you doing?”

  Tears sat in Owsk’s granite eyes and he spoke through gritted teeth. “What do you mean what am I doing? You just destroyed my ship.”

  CHAPTER 5

  “Now calm down,” Seb said, his voice raised over the strong wind crashing into them. He’d slipped his gun down the back of his trousers after he’d shot the submarine, and although he could have drawn it, he didn’t need to escalate the situation. Not yet.

  The tears in Owsk’s eyes had thickened and looked like they’d spill over. Wrinkles ran across his granite brow like cracks in rock. “Calm down? You’ve just shot my submarine full of holes and sunk it. What do you mean calm down?”

  Salt rode the strong breeze, making it burn against Seb’s face. “Would you rather I left it there so Moses could find us? I guarantee you there’s a tracking device in it.”

  Still with his gun trained on Seb, Owsk said, “You could have said.”

  “I did.”

  “Before you shot it. I can remove a tracking device. I can’t replace that submarine.”

  A look to where the vessel had only just been, the sea crashing over the edge of the rocks as the waves broke against them, Seb scoffed a laugh. “It can’t have been worth that much. It was ancient.”

  Owsk closed the distance between them in just two strides. He pushed the cold steel barrel of his gun so hard against Seb’s temple it sent the start of a headache streaking through his eyes.

  The act of aggression slowed down Seb’s world, but he held his position, pushing his head back against Owsk’s pressure despite the pain of it. With slow and deliberate words, he spoke through gritted teeth. “You helped me get away from the Shadow Order’s base, so I’ll allow you this indiscretion. However, if you don’t take your gun away from the side of my head, I’m going to take it off you and shove it so far up your arse you’ll feel the barrel against the roof of your mouth.”

  A wobble ran through the hard weapon, shaking Seb’s vision as he waited for Owsk to act. Not prompt enough, he said, “I’ll give you to the count of three.”

  But before Seb could start his countdown, Owsk lowered his gun and sighed.

  To look at the thickset granite creature, his arms hanging down by his sides, his shoulders slumped, sent sadness twisting through Seb. In any other situation he would have sparked him, but something didn’t seem right. “I’ll be honest, it seems like an extreme reaction over a crappy boat.”

  “Say it again,” Owsk said, the wind so strong it even tugged on his heavy hair. He looked at Seb, tears running down his face. “Say that about my submarine again and you’ll be wishing you hadn’t.”

  Seb stepped back in the face of Owsk’s aggression. He had to remember that Owsk had gotten him away from Moses. Whatever his reason for being so angry, he needed his chance to speak. After drawing a breath to rein in his reaction, Seb said, “Let’s start again. Why is that boat so important to you?”

  For a second, Owsk said nothing. He then put his gun away and sighed. The anger gave way to a grief that twisted his granite face. When he spoke, his mouth buckled. “It’s been in my family for centuries. Passed down from father to son for as long as we can remember. We’ve always smuggled goods through the galaxy, and that submarine has been with us through a lot of scrapes. If you can get to places via land and sea, you get a lot more work. Although the advantages of the sub are much less important than what it meant to me every time I sat in the cockpit. Of the pride I felt for continuing to be good at what we did.” His voice broke when he said, “We could have removed the tracker.”

  Owsk’s sadness affected Seb much more than his anger had. When a particularly strong gust of wind clattered into him, he stumbled a few steps to the side. “I’m sorry. I truly am.”

  After he’d inhaled another deep breath, Owsk pulled his shoulders back and glared at Seb. “Sorry won’t get it back.”

  “Maybe we could—”

  “It’s at the bottom of the sea, Seb. You’ve seen what’s down there.”

  Although Seb opened his mouth to reply, nothing came out. The taste of salt lay along his tongue when he closed it again. What could he say to that? “So where does that leave us?”

  “There is no us, Seb. There’s just you, me, and the prophecy.”

  Seb waited for him to continue.

  “I’ll help you. I’ll help you because I believe in the prophecy. Because this is bigger than me and I’m not going to stand in the way of it.” Owsk’s voice dropped to a growl, his brow set, his eyes deader than they were only moments ago. “But know this, I hate you for what you’ve done. I hate you with everything in me.”

  They’d been in the strong wind long enough for Seb to be locked tight because of the cold battering. The salty air burned the corners of his eyes, tautening the skin on his face. In a poorly judged attempt to lighten the mood, Seb laughed. “I’ll take it.”

  Muted and stony rage came back at him.

  The dead parasite in his pinch, Seb showed it to Owsk as he shrugged. “Let’s go find this saint of yours, yeah?”

  Owsk paused for a few more seconds before he finally turned his back on Seb and walked off in the direction of Aloo’s spaceport.

  CHAPTER 6

  Seb took the hint and walked a few paces behind Owsk as he strode ahead of him into the spaceport. Purposeful in his gait, every kilo of the granite beast slammed down against the spaceport’s ground as if he stamped out his frustration.

  Before Seb followed him around the first corner, he looked behind them one last time. Not really at the space where the submarine had been, just behind in general. Something felt amiss. It felt like they were being followed. Yet he only saw the rolling sea. The cold and sharp wind crashed into him as he watched the waves rise and fall. A shake of his head, he then entered the spaceport, moving into the bustling crowd filled with creatures he didn’t recognise from planets he’d probably never heard of.

  Owsk moved as if he were telepathic, navigating the throng like he could read their next steps. The spaceport looked the same as the last time Seb had visited it. Full of beings, they all rushed in different directions. Heads down, heavy scowls, and no acknowledgement when they bumped into one another. No idea where Owsk was leading him at that moment, he had little choice but to trust him.

  Even though Seb and Owsk had several metres separating them, he still felt the tension coming from the rock troll. Those close by seemed to pick up on it too. When they looked at Seb, he saw eyes widening and then narrowing as they recognised what he was: a human! If Owsk was setting him up and sides needed to be picked, their reactions served as a clear display of their allegiance.

  The stares did little to help ease Seb’s paranoia. He’d walked into the crowd knowing they wouldn’t react well to him. On top of that, he hadn’t shaken the feeling of being followed. A check behind showed him abundant hostility, but if one of the creatures in the crowd was following him, he had no way of picking them out. At some point Moses would put a bounty on his head, but surely that hadn’t happened yet.

  Whereas Owsk walked through the press of bodies with ease, Seb met much more resistan
ce. At over twelve feet tall, an ape-like creature walked towards him and stopped directly in his path. Huge hands on its wide hips, it stared down at him.

  But Seb didn’t react. Instead, he viewed the world in slow motion, which made it easy to skirt around the brute, moving at the last moment to prevent the creature from blocking him again. While he passed him, the brute released a sharp shot of air from its snout, the sweaty halitosis reek of its breath pushing down on the top of Seb’s head.

  The beast’s weak spot stood out from a mile away: a point beneath its right arm. Seb could have dropped it in front of everyone. Maybe they would have backed off, but he and Owsk didn’t need any more attention on them. If he started trouble, it would get straight back to Moses.

  Several creatures that looked like ants but were the size of large dogs carried crates on their backs. They dumped them in Seb’s path. Again, Seb didn’t react; instead he stepped on one of the crates, transitioned to the back of one of the ants, and continued after Owsk as if his path had been clear all along. A collective clicking hiss followed him, but none of the ants did any more than that.

  Spaceships lined either side of the walkway. Many of them had crew members standing guard outside, and all of them had their cargo doors wide open. They would usually hide their cargo, even on Aloo, but the fact they were open suggested they were yet to collect what they’d come for. Nothing stayed on Aloo for long if it didn’t have to. Seb planned to follow that mindset too.

  The feeling of being followed still played on Seb, and he turned to look over his shoulder again. He saw nothing other than the collective hostility of the spaceport, yet the unease wouldn’t leave him alone. In his gut he knew there was something more than what he’d seen so far. As much as he wished it not to be true, he knew Moses played some part in it.

  Thinking of the one large brute that had blocked his way, he turned back around to see a wall of them in front of him now. Smaller than the ape, the six creatures still stood like sentries. In any other situation, he would have fought them if he had to, but he needed to keep his head down and follow Owsk.