Kumadai Run

  Kumadai Run

  The Fall of the Altairan Empire, Book 4

  Jaleta Clegg

  Copyright 2013 by Jaleta Clegg

  Smashwords Edition

  ©2013

  Please do not copy or distribute this book without the permission of the author.

  A complete listing of works can be found at http://www.jaletac.com

  Cover art by SelfPubBookCovers.com/Shardel

  Praise for Nexus Point, The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 1:

  Well written, with an unpredictable plot and well-rounded characters.

  Fans of science fiction novels should love this book.

  Praise for Priestess of the Eggstone, The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 2:

  I enjoyed the Priestess of the Eggstone and would recommend it for anyone seeking a fun 'Indiana Jones' style adventure through space.

  Praise for Poisoned Pawn, The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 3:

  This is a good adventure series with strong male and female characters.

  This was a fun Sci-fi read, and I will be looking for the other books to read as well.

  Visit http://www.jaletac.com for more information on Jaleta Clegg's writing.

  For Keri - thanks for your unflagging support.

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Author note

  Chapter 1

  If you ever find yourself as crew on a small ship with newlyweds, don’t go.

  I winced as another thud sounded against the wall. Jasyn and Clark had been married a little over a month. The first couple of weeks were peaceful, for me, because they were off on their honeymoon. I had the ship to myself.

  Things had gone pretty well the week after that. We were headed out of the Cygnus sector and into a part of the Empire where I’d never been. Hopefully, the Targon Syndicate didn’t reach that far. I still had a price on my head.

  Another thud sounded against the wall, along with some muffled shouting. I swiveled the pilot’s chair and leaned back to close the door of the cockpit.

  I heard more muffled shouting. I didn’t want to know what it was about. I’d made the mistake of getting involved in their first fight, something about socks. I refused to even listen to either of them now. It was their fight, they should resolve it.

  Things got ominously quiet. I stared at the streaks of light on the viewscreen and wished we were a lot closer to our destination. We still had at least five days of hyperspace travel.

  We were hauling a load of medical equipment and supplies that needed to get to Parrus as soon as possible. The shortest route there, the Kumadai Run, was the trickiest, passing through two active nebulaes and skirting at least one black hole. Most people didn’t even attempt it. We were promised a huge bonus if we could deliver the supplies in less than ten days. Jasyn, the navigator and co-owner, said it wasn’t a problem. I signed the contract.

  We were over halfway there and so far the only problems had been between Clark and Jasyn. The ship flew smoothly and the route hadn’t given us problems. Five more days and I could find some excuse to get away from them for a while.

  The door slid open. Clark dropped into the copilots seat. I snuck a look at him. His green eyes, normally full of mischief, were angry.

  “She locked herself in the cabin again,” he said. “I don’t understand her.”

  I stared at my controls and wished he would go away. I didn’t want to be dragged into their fight. I didn’t want them to insist I take sides. He didn’t get my subliminal message.

  “Dace, help me. You know her. You tell me why—”

  “I don’t know what to tell you to do.”

  He sighed heavily and lounged back in his chair. “She’s so unreasonable about things.”

  I would have got up and left but there really wasn’t anywhere else to go. He was going to make me part of the argument whether I wanted to be or not.

  “She asked me how she looked in that new dress she bought. So I told her and she started throwing things at me.”

  I sighed and put my head in my hands.

  “I told her she was gorgeous and she accused me of being shallow, of only looking on the surface. She told me I was just like all the other men she’d ever met. Except for the sainted Tayvis who can do no wrong.”

  “Don’t you dare bring him into this,” I said.

  “Sorry, I forgot, you’re just as bad about him.” Clark folded his arms and looked offended. “I could hate him. If he weren’t so easy to like.”

  “Why are you and Jasyn fighting over Tayvis? Are you jealous of him?”

  “Who wouldn’t be?”

  “But you’re the one who married Jasyn.”

  “Because when you’re there, Tayvis can’t see anyone else.” He studied me a moment, head cocked to the side. “And you’re just as bad.”

  I felt the blush burning up my cheeks. “And just what does that have to do with your fight with Jasyn?”

  He grinned, watching my face turn red. I glared.

  His smile faded. He gave me a rueful look. “I thought I knew her, Dace, but she won’t talk to me. She pushes me away. What am I doing wrong?”

  “I thought marriage was supposed to make you happy.” I saw the hurt look on his face and immediately regretted saying it.

  “Now I’m in here fighting with you.”

  “Just talk to her.”

  “That’s your advice? What do you think I’ve been trying to do? Jasyn won’t listen to me. You talk to her for me, please?”

  “It won’t do any good. I don’t want to get in the middle of your fight, Clark. You have to work it out.”

  “I don’t know how. She shuts me out any time I try.” He sighed. “I don’t understand her. My sisters aren’t like that.”

  “She isn’t your sisters. Or your mother.”

  “That’s obvious.”

  “Just go talk to her, Clark. She married you because she thought you were different from all the other men she’d ever met. Because you took the time to actually talk to her, not just drool over her. That’s what she told me. Have you ever asked her why she gave up navigating?”

  “I wasn’t aware that she had.”

  “She did, until she met me.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “Clark, just go talk to her. It can’t hurt.”

  “It does, especially when she finds something heavy to throw.” He rubbed his elbow. “Dace, talk to her for me. Please. She’ll keep me shut out for days. She trusts you.”

  “She trusted you enough to marry you. You talk to her. I don’t want to be in the middle.”

  “Hiding won’t help me, Dace.”

  “It isn’t my problem, Clark. It’s yours and hers.” I fingered a switch on the control board. “I don’t know what to say or how to help. And don’t ask me to talk to her, becau
se she’ll tell me everything you’ve ever done wrong. And I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Then tell me why she’s this way, Dace. You know her. You’ve been her friend for years.”

  “Months, Clark.”

  He looked startled. “I thought—”

  “You assumed. Maybe that’s why she’s mad at you. You keep assuming things. Try talking to her and actually listening.”

  “But she doesn’t listen to me.”

  “So?”

  That stopped him. He stared at me for a long minute and then grinned. “Thanks, Dace.”

  “You’re welcome, I think.”

  He didn’t hear me, he was gone. I heard him knocking on their cabin door. Whatever he said was too soft for me to hear, but Jasyn opened the door. I heard it close again. The ship got very quiet. There was the quiet hum of the ventilation system and the low vibration of the engines. But no shouting, no objects hitting the walls.

  I wasn’t under any illusion that it would last. I’m the last person to ask for advice. I don’t know anything about relationships. I grew up in an orphanage, the bottom of the pecking order. No, make that beyond the bottom of the pecking order. Tivor wasn’t a nice planet when your parents weren’t outcasts. It was worse when they were. I was glad to be free of it.

  I relaxed in my chair, enjoying the momentary peace. I fell asleep, lulled by the quiet monotony of a ship that was actually running well.

  I was awakened by an insistent beeping. I reluctantly opened my eyes. It wasn’t an alarm. The ship still showed green lights. Everything was running as it should. The beeping was an alert from the com system. We’d picked up a distress signal.

  I swiveled my chair to face the com and punched in the key to call up the message. It was the signal from an automatic emergency beacon. I twitched a few controls to bring the signal in clearer.

  I was hesitant to answer it. The Phoenix was a fairly small ship. We weren’t equipped to do rescue work. On the other hand, we might be the only ship to pass along the Kumadai run for quite some time. The beacon was still fairly strong, which meant whatever had happened had happened recently. If we ignored the beacon and someone later found out about it, we’d be questioned about our decision by the Patrol. And possibly fined for not at least checking it out. But it could also be a decoy used by pirates to lure ships into a trap. It wasn’t a decision I could make by myself. I hated to interrupt Jasyn and Clark. I didn’t see I had much choice. I buzzed their cabin.

  “What?” Jasyn answered. She didn’t sound happy.

  “We picked up an emergency beacon,” I said.

  “Be right there.” She switched off.

  I worked on pinpointing the signal while I waited. Doppler shift indicated it was fairly close and we were coming up on it quickly.

  “What is it?” Jasyn asked when she came into the cockpit. She was dressed in her shipsuit, without shoes or makeup though.

  Clark came in behind her, looking a bit rumpled. He gave me a wink and put his hand on her shoulder. She leaned into him. Whatever the fight had been about, it seemed to be over for now.

  “Emergency beacon,” I said. “It’s not far away. We’ll be up on it in about ten minutes. It’s only about half a light year off our course.”

  “We’ve got time,” Clark said.

  “But,” I was going to list all the reasons I hesitated.

  The com crackled to life. The signal was very broken, full of static.

  “Hesiphos calling. Engines are out. Damage is extensive to the cargo bays.” The signal fuzzed into static. I flicked the dial and got the signal back. “—casualties. Many more hurt.” The signal crackled out again. I couldn’t get it back.

  “They’re still alive,” Jasyn said. “We have to go.”

  “It could be faked,” I said.

  She gave me a flat look. “My parents would have survived if someone had answered their call. Three ships passed by them.”

  I’d never heard details of how her parents had died, only that it involved an ore freighter accident. She’d been barely nineteen at the time.

  “Then we’ll stop,” I said.

  Chapter 2

  Clark slid into his seat as I turned back to the engines. Jasyn started on the scans while we ran through an emergency course change. We’d been cruising normal space through this section because the area was extremely difficult to traverse at hyperspeeds. Four more hours and we would have been clear and jumped back to hyperspace. We would have missed the beacon entirely. Clark dumped speed and brought us to a relative stop.

  Jasyn called out numbers, the heading for the beacon. Clark turned the ship and boosted speed again. I kept the engine balanced while he poured on the power. The Phoenix had a lot more speed than she should have, thanks to the engine pods Lowell, the Patrol commander, had installed when he'd commandeered my ship. If I’d decided to become a smuggler, I would have been very hard to catch.

  Jasyn had opened the panel hiding the more sophisticated scanning equipment Lowell had also left behind. I glanced over my shoulder. Jasyn frowned and flipped a few switches.

  “What?” I asked. I still didn’t quite trust the beacon. It was too convenient and we were in a very deserted stretch of space.

  “Radiation is a bit high,” she said. “The beacon is coming in clear, though.”

  “Where?” Clark asked.

  I glanced through the viewscreen. We headed straight for a red dwarf star.

  “I’m working on it,” Jasyn said.

  Clark dropped speed. I twisted my seat to reach the com board. I set it for an automatic scan sequence and listened. All I got were static bursts and the steady beeping of the emergency beacon.

  “I can’t find any ships,” Jasyn said. “There are traces of something, but they’re old, years if not decades.”

  “The beacon is still there,” I said.

  Clark slowed us further. I watched over Jasyn’s shoulder. She worked her way around the signal, narrowing down the field of search, focusing on the steady beating of the beacon. This area was crossed by a lot of debris trails and radiation echoes. With the nebulae and the nearby black hole, it was not unexpected but it wreaked havoc on the sensors. Jasyn worked quickly, eliminating the stray ghosts from the sensors readout.

  She narrowed in on the beacon, following its steady blip. And then it quit. It didn’t fade, it was there one second and gone the next. Jasyn stared blankly at the screen for a moment. Her hands flew over the controls, searching.

  “I lost it,” she said.

  I scanned through all the emergency frequencies ships normally used and quite a few they didn’t. The signal was gone.

  Clark started the ship moving again, cruising slowly into the system of junk around the star. Jasyn kept working, her hands slowing as she scanned more carefully.

  “What was the ship name?” I asked. “Hespi-something?” I pulled up the library comp and typed in a search. I got back four hundred and thirty seven possible ships.

  “I got a reading on a planet,” Jasyn said. “Small, but it does have an atmosphere.”

  Clark nudged the ship onto a course for the planet. The star grew larger in the viewscreen, a virulent red that looked far from stable. I turned on the radiation shielding.

  There was a loud ping on the ship hull. We all jumped. A series of smaller pings followed.

  “Did I mention there’s a lot of junk in the system?” Jasyn said.

  I flipped on the more substantial shielding. The shields would stop just about anything larger than a dust speck. Anything big enough to get through the shields was big enough we should be able to see it in time to avoid it.

  Clark slowed us to a crawl. Asteroids showed up all over the screens. They were dark, blasted by radiation into cinders. They were also big enough to smash our ship. I wondered why anyone would have risked their ship going into the system in the first place. There was nothing here except trouble. We picked our way carefully towards the planet. The shields ate power at an enormous rat
e as they deflected the smaller rocks away from us.

  “Got it,” Jasyn announced. “They’re definitely down on the planet. That’s weird.”

  “What?” Clark and I both demanded at the same time when she went quiet.

  “There’s a huge gash in the surface. The atmosphere there is more than adequate. The rest of the planet surface is barely habitable. The signal is next to the edge. Wait. It’s gone.”

  We were approaching an orbiting pattern.

  “How about we just stay up here and check it out,” Clark suggested. “It doesn’t feel right to me.”

  Jasyn shook her head. “What if they’re still alive?”

  “Give me coordinates for the beacon and I’ll land,” Clark said.

  “Let’s stay up here for now,” I said. “Our shields are going to need recharged in about an hour. We can land then.”

  The ship lurched to the side and started sliding towards the planet. Clark muttered under his breath as he checked the ship. I turned back to my own boards. The engines whined as they tried to hold us to the course Clark had set. Something was pulling us down to the planet. Clark pushed the engines to maximum, fighting whatever it was.

  Something in the controls gave with a bang and flash of light. Sparks flew across the controls. The smell of burned components filled the cockpit. The scanning screens flashed pure white, then went dark. Completely. She tried to reboot them, but the systems were dead.

  “Where are we going?” Clark asked over the growing sound of the engine rumble. He fought his controls, trying to keep us steady.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Jasyn answered.

  It was my turn to swear. I’d made several blind landings, the worst in a defective emergency pod. I hated not knowing where I was going. I hated not being in control.

  “We’re going down,” Clark said, unnecessarily. All of us could hear the sound of thin atmosphere tearing past the hull.

  He throttled back on the engines, no longer trying to fight whatever was pulling us in. Both of us worked to just bring the ship down in one piece. Without scans, it was going to be dicey.