Chapter 1
Going Home
Teresa was finally going home to get her mother after five years working with a group of mercenaries. They had finally gotten that big score and her bank account was flush. She’d saved every bit of cash she could knowing her mother wasn’t getting any younger and that life on Earth in the unprotected areas was rough.
Praying to every deity she knew of, she only wanted her mother to be safe and secure. Contacting people on Earth wasn’t easy and was only getting worse. It had been a year or a little more since their last contact. Her mother had been alright, or at least she’d insisted she was. Now as the ship landed, she got out and looked around at what used to be her home.
This place was a dump. How had it gotten so bad in the five years since she’d left? The house looked like a strong wind would blow it over. She knocked on the door waiting to see her mother’s familiar face when it opened. Instead there was a man that looked half drunk and not clean at all. A smell rose from him that was disagreeable to say the least.
“Is Rose home?” She asked.
“No, Rose isn’t here. Who are you?”
“I’m Teresa, her daughter.”
“Please, come in. I have some things to tell you.”
She was distrustful to say the least, but this man was her only clue to where her mother was. That was the only reason she stepped into the house. This house had been her home for many years but it wasn’t the same anymore. It had always been clean, her mother was obsessive about that. That had changed completely.
The house was now a disaster. It was filthy and the house smelled like the man or he smelled like it. “Have a seat please.” He motioned to chair that didn’t look too bad. “I’m sorry to tell you your mother died.”
“Who are you?” How could he know that and why was he living here?
“I am Pettigrew Wilson. Your mom and I got married so I’m your step dad. We had several months together and she got sick. Something was going around hitting women as usual and it hit her hard. I wanted her to stay home and rest, try to recover, you know? She refused to do what was best for her and she just went fast.”
“Why didn’t you contact me?”
“It’s been hard to get messages out. Life is getting harder around here. I’m real sorry she’s gone, but there was nothing I could do. If you’ll stay tonight, I’ll take you to her grave in the morning.”
The man was almost believable. Enough so that she worried it was her unwillingness to believe her mother was gone even though she was that made her doubt him. “Okay, is my old room in decent shape?”
“Should be. No one goes in it.” He replied.
It was hard to believe her mom had taken up with a guy like this, but she knew it was also hard to be alone all the time. Tomorrow she would figure things out. Right now she was tired and the trip had been long. As she settled in to her room, probably the cleanest one in the house, she regretted not having any weapons on her. She comforted herself with the fact that she herself was a weapon.
At sixteen, with false papers, she’d enrolled in Earth’s military. Moving up through the ranks steadily, she’d learned a lot. When the military had crashed along with most of the government, she’d gone off on her own and eventually joined a mercenary squad hoping to save enough money to rescue her mother. That had been her only goal in life so what did she have now?
Once she finally fell asleep. It turned into a deeper sleep than she’d ever known. It was strange because she felt like she was floating and moving. Different scents filled her nose and she wanted to wake, but she just couldn’t. When she stopped moving, she settled in to a deep sleep that made her feel like hours had passed.
“Did you give her too much, you idiot?” A harsh voice accused.
“I followed the dosing suggested on the bottle. Maybe you supplier gave her something more than we told him to? After all. He’s so drunk most of the time he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Another voice answered.
“Not so drunk that he didn’t try to soak me on her price. Of course she’s younger and lovelier that I anticipated. It doesn’t matter anymore. He won’t be collecting his pay. Our dealing with him has concluded.” The first voice observed.
“Strahan, what the hell did you do?” Number two asked.
“Nothing you wouldn’t have if you could have. That poison rotgut we got off that last ship we captured, I let him have his pay out of that. Fool was so excited to get the whiskey he never had it checked out. He drank a whole bottle in front of me and before he passed out he gave me his banking information so I could deposit the rest of what we owed him.” Strahan admitted.
“He was a good supplier. Now when we deliver something to Earth we won’t be picking up any surprises. Captain will be mad.”
“Kale, you’re not a thinker. Cap is surprised every time we return and that guy is still alive. He’s so excited about breaking this female in, he’s not even thinking straight. I’ve got it all under control, believe me. Let’s get some work done and come back to check on her in a little while.”
Shit! That asshole had sold her to slavers or pirates. The two males who had been in here with her were gone so it was time for to get up and escape. It hurt a bit when she sat up. Her head and her body ached from the residue of whatever drugs they’d used on her. The room was empty and because she was small, they’d left her unrestrained.
That was a mistake that would cost them dearly. Looking around, she saw a computer and turned it on. It was password protected, but she was in in ten minutes or less. The files she went through were interesting and something the Mazlans would like to look at. She looked around finding an information stick and she downloaded the files onto it.
Computers were so fast these days it took mere minutes. While it was downloading, she looked for weapons, clothing, and food. She found a little of everything. A ping told her the computer was done. It was time to get the hell out of here before they came back. The door was locked, but it was a simple lock on the knob. That took her seconds to unlock.
Carefully, just to be sure not to get caught, she looked around and down the hall both ways. Where the smaller ships were stored is where she needed to go and that was down, two decks below. An elevator was the quickest way, but the stairs would be less crowded. Finding them, she ducked in just as someone went past.
Hopping over the rail. She dropped half a floor down in case anyone entered the stairwell. It was a relief they didn’t. Once she was at the bottom, she slipped out right where smaller ships were stored. They had a scout ship, one that was armed with the latest and greatest equipment. It was actually illegal to have one since it was only good for military purposes.
That was what she was taking out of here. She’d worked with similar ships and knew them well. No one had set the alarm or any of the protective devices that it came equipped with. Getting into its computer system was a snap.
As soon as she was in, she used it to connect with the main ship and override its systems. Her ship was on and ready to go as the door began to open. Her new ship was faster than she had imagined and they were on the way to freedom. The ship would try to shoot her down, but their weapons were offline. Right now, she had a ship worth a fortune and information that could buy her a new life. It was good to be her.