10.
REDEK
Redek had a tight grip on the wheel as they approached Lyskar, the planet they were going to refuel on. Maddie was sitting in the pilot's seat, staring out of the window with dancing eyes. From space, this planet looked like it was mostly desert. Orange swathes of, presumably, sand covered it in streaks.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Redek said. He didn't know anything about Lyskar beyond the fact it was sparsely inhabited except for one large city renowned for its lawlessness. They were just one man and an injured girl with no combat experience. If something happened, he wasn't going to be able to protect her.
"Do we have any other choice?"
The fuel tank was nearing empty and the two planets close enough to reach were completely uninhabited. "No. We don't."
"Then we'll just have to make the best of it."
He knew she was just excited to see somewhere new, but Redek's trepidation was palpable. If he so much as landed his ship in the wrong place they might be killed on the spot.
Her small hand rested on his forearm, and she leaned into his side. "It'll be fine."
"We'll have to see about that."
It might be a lawless society, but that didn't mean it was without order. From the stories he'd heard, the police force had been replaced by territorial gangs that kept control of things. He didn't know anything about the gangs except that they weren't affiliated with the IU. The planet was completely outside their jurisdiction. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep them out of Damien's clutches.
He dropped low to the planet and joined a number of other ships flying close enough to see what the lay of the land was below them.
"We need to find somewhere to land that isn't private property," he said. The sky above the city was swarming with ships, and he slowed his pace, trying to get a look at their logos. None of them seemed to be flying Damien's.
In between the ships were multiple flying metal boxes with neon billboards on each face, each advertising something. A few of them were offering somewhere to park a ship while you explored the city.
Redek picked one at random, and input the coordinates on the billboard into his navigation, then started the descent. "Would you grab my weapons?" he asked Maddie, gaze glued to the windshield in case something happened. "They're in my backpack on the bed. In fact, could you bring the whole thing through. If we're going to change ships maybe we should keep all our things on us."
She did as he'd asked and brought their backpacks through before retaking her seat.
"Get something to arm yourself with," he said, pulling into the hangar through a large opening in the room. It looked moderately busy and that was a good thing. If it had been empty he would have been flying straight back out.
"I really don't like weapons," she argued. "And I don't even know how to use one actually."
"Please," he begged, looking over his shoulder at her, and wearing his worry all over his face. "I'm really not comfortable with us being here at all."
She dithered, but took a pistol from his back and held it like she had no idea what to do with it. "Are we even allowed to just carry weapons around here?"
"I don't know. We'd do best to conceal them, just in case. I don't know what kind of control the gangs exert over this territory." He cut the engine on the ship, standing up and picking out a few knives to conceal behind his jacket rather than wearing the intimidating knife belts he normally went for. He left his pistol in his bag. "We should be able to refuel in this hangar. Maybe we should leave right away after that."
"We need some food," she said, her stomach rumbling. They had no supplies and if they went straight back to the stars they might be in the ship for days before they next landed.
He had to admit she was right. "Okay," he agreed. "And I need to make sure my money is valid on this planet, otherwise we're in a heap of shit." It was the IU-wide currency that he had in his accounts and there was no guarantee the rogue planet would accept it, or have somewhere he could exchange it.
If worst came to worst he would sell his weapons—or use them to get what he wanted. In this situation, strict morals weren't a luxury he could afford.
With their engine off and time never on their side, Redek hoisted his backpack onto his back. Maddie went to do the same, but he took it from her hands, wearing it on top of his. "It'll rub against your back."
"Thanks." His nerves were rubbing off on her, and he tried to control himself. He walked into bad situations all the time, and he'd always come out on top. This was going to be no different.
Maddie was his charge, and he would protect her.
He released the door on the ship and offered her a hand to help her down. People from various races bustled around the hangar, all in different quality ships. Theirs certainly wasn't the smallest or the most rundown. "Let's go and find out how much it costs to park here," he said. "We'll know if my money is worth anything then, too."
As they walked through the hangar, Redek stayed close but not too close to Maddie's side.
It was only when they were nearly at the office he had no idea why he was worried about standing too close to her. There weren't ever-watching cameras here. He didn't have a job left to lose.
He took her hand in his and laced their fingers together.
Maddie grinned, and nudged her shoulder against his. He wasn't sure she'd have been able to smile like that in the compound. It was completely free. She blossomed here, away from Damien and surrounded by strange things and kept safe by him.
If Damien stepped out of that office right then, he decided it would have been worth it, even to let her see some of what the universe had to offer.
Inside the office, a tall, thin man with a long snout sat behind a desk staring at a screen on the opposite wall. A sport Redek didn't recognize was playing. "What can I do for you?" the man said, without glancing away from the screen.
"How much to park my ship here?"
"Seventeen Leerk a day," the man replied.
Redek had never heard of the currency before. "Can I spend IU Credits here?"
The man's snout flared. "No."
"Can I exchange them anywhere?"
"Take a left. It's four shops down."
"Thank you."
"If you're not back here in an hour with the money, your ship is mine."
Redek didn't bother getting annoyed at the impolite man. At least he wasn't aggressive. He'd count it as a win. Still holding Maddie's hand, he followed the man's instructions. "As soon as we get the currency, we need to leave here as soon as possible," he told her. "If Damien is tracking my accounts and he has people nearby he could be here in a matter of hours."
She nodded, though he wasn't sure she was listening. She stared in wonder at their surroundings as they left the hangar. Buildings that must have been forty stories tall and made of an ugly gray stone protruded into the sky, and in between each window was a billboard advertising something. The sidewalk was packed with people and none looked up from the devices they had in their hands. They didn't look like the same kind of phone either he or Maddie owned.
She pushed further into his side to avoid the bustling people, but didn't look scared. "This is amazing."
It wasn't so different than the principal city of Suytov. The buildings were uglier, and the crowds less sociable, but the atmosphere was similar.
She would probably love it on his home planet—in his apartment, which sat high in a building and overlooked a busy street just like this one.
"I want to take you back to Suytov one day," he said, squeezing her hand. "Show you my place, show you where I grew up."
"I'd love to see it."
Talking about the future as though it was guaranteed they had one was the only strategy he could take right now. It was like how, supposedly, if you were sad and forced yourself to smile, it would eventually cheer you up. If he willed it enough, hopefully it would come true.
Inside the currency exchange, several women of the same race as the man in the hangar's office were sitting behind a desk. They must have been Lyskarian. Two were serving customers, and a third beckoned for them to approach. "Hi. How can I help you today?"
"Can I exchange Credits to Leerk here?" he asked.
"Of course. Do you have cash on you, or are you looking to withdraw from an account?"
"Withdraw from an account," he said. "Can I withdraw both Credits and Leerk?"
The woman opened her drawer. "We only have seven millions Credits in bills right now, but there will be more available tomorrow."
"It'll do," he replied. He handed over a card with his bank details. "I'll take all the Credits, and," he paused. He had no idea how much the currency on Leerk was worth. Seventeen for the parking. He needed food, fuel, and, hopefully, a tablet or phone for Maddie. "Three hundred Leerk," he guessed. Fuel was always expensive. He hoped that would cover it.
The woman nodded and handed him back his card. "Certainly, sir."
The moment the account details had been entered, Redek felt like they were on a timer. He wanted to tell the woman not to bother counting out the Credits and just give them to him, he didn't care if the amount was short. Damien's men could be honing in on them any second, and he'd only just realized how badly he wanted Maddie to see his home. This wasn't how it could be allowed to end.
When the money was safely in an inside pocket in his jacket, they strode from the shop. "We need supplies. One of these has to sell those."
In the shop he realized that three hundred Leerk had probably been an extortionate amount to withdraw, and he was glad he hadn't let the woman behind the counter tell him how many dollars were left in his account after the transaction. They spent only twenty Leerk in the convenience store.
Maddie peered over the counter when she saw a glass cabinet in the back with secondhand electronics locked behind it. “Could I get one of the phones?” she asked. “The cheapest one is fine. There are just some things I want to do.”
“Get whichever one you want,” he replied, the Leerk burning a hole in his pocket.
She squinted as she looked, and eventually picked a newer model. “And I need a data package. Something intergalactic.”
The shopkeeper clicked his tongue at that. “You want one of the IU approved providers? Either something local or something intergalactic. They’re mutually exclusive.”
“We’ll take one of each,” Redek said, wanting to tap his foot and say that they didn’t have time for this. He wasn’t sure what Maddie needed this for, but he trusted it was important. She knew what they were risking every moment they stayed here. He’d already abandoned the idea of switching ships. It would take too long to find another one now.
Maddie declined the shopkeeper’s offer to set up her new phone for her, and thanked him. “I’m sorry that took so long,” she said, pocketing the device and data packages and picking up her pace as they headed back to the hangar. “It’s still not even been fifteen minutes since we accessed your account, though. There’s no way Damien could have gotten here already.”
“We’ll be fine,” Redek agreed. “We just need to refuel, pay for the hangar space, and then we’re out of here. I’ll start asking around for people who might have an IU contact when we’re on the move.” The phone would be necessary for that anyway, he realized. He’d not been thinking ahead at all, too caught up in what was happening now.
Inside the hangar, he headed for the office, fingers still laced through Maddie’s.
“I’m here to pay the hangar fee,” Redek said, fingering the Leerk in his pocket. “And I need to ask you about refueling.”
The man flared his snout with irritation as the commentators on the sports game went wild. “Refuel and then come and pay me for both. The—”
He was cut off by a blaring alarm. Redek and Maddie both cringed at the high-pitched noise that filled the room.
Finally, the man looked away from the screen with a muttered, “Shit.”
“What is that?”
“IU forces are here.”
Redek’s blood ran cold. “What? Does this happen often?” Often enough to have an alarm, he supposed.
“Not in five years.”
What were the chances? Five years since the last IU attempt to colonize the planet and the IU showed up on the day Redek and Maddie touched down.
“It’s Damien,” he said, sure of himself. “Somehow, this is Damien.”
Maddie was still as a statue. “What?”
“It has to be.”
“What are we going to do?”
He screwed his eyes shut, trying to think fast and failing. “I haven’t got a fucking clue.”