Drake shut his eyes tight, holding back the tears fighting to break free.

  “I really hate that Titus.” Drake said out loud, trying to break the eerie silence that surrounded him. Amid the chaos that had ensued after they tried to hang Drake. Titus escaped by stealing the only ship at the prison.

  Drake usually preferred lunar prisons for his incarcerations because they only had one ship at a time parked in them as a security measure. That made it very easy to get away if you stole that one ship because nobody could chase after you. But this time, Titus beat him to the punch. So Drake was trapped here alone with nothing but his guilt; wandering around with nobody to talk to except for the dead bodies with their severed limbs and heads lying around the prison, acting as a constant reminder of the monster that he was.

  I’m filthy. He thought as he passed by a reflective window, once again trying to shift his focus away from the massacre that he had caused.

  His shirt and shoes had gone missing, and his pants reduced to shreds. He was also drenched from head to toe in blood. Innocent blood.

  He fought back the urge to sit down and cry.

  At least he had his revolver back. He would be able to control himself now that he had it. He looked at the red revolver that he retrieved from the evidence room. He also found his sword and his Line Transceiver while going through the prisoner’s confiscated items.

  I’d better call Al to come get me.

  Drake heard a banging sound on the main gate to the prison.

  They sure got here fast. He thought, placing the Line Transceiver back into what was left of his pocket. It would take at least another twenty minutes before an investigative police force would get here to find out why the prison alarms had gone off. On such a small, far out, prison like this one it sometimes took up to four days before the manpower could be spared to investigate.

  Maybe Al already figured out which prison I’m in and came to get me. He thought. It wouldn’t have been the first time that Al picked him up without needing to be called.

  Drake walked over to the door controls and flipped the lever to open front gate. He was surprised to see eight V.A.L.O.R. soldiers come running in through the door. And right in the middle of them was the biggest surprise.

  “Well if it isn’t Vahn!” Drake yelled out as he walked into the open and straight toward Vahn. Now was not a time to show his weakness. If he was going to get out of here without having to kill any more people, he needed to scare them. They saw the slaughter in front of them, and they needed to believe that he would be willing to do it again. Although it would be a challenge to not let his emotions get the better of him with Vahn’s presence flooding his mind with bitter memories.

  Vahn looked around the prison, turning pale as he saw the surrounding carnage. “You look sick Vahn.” Drake continued. “Never seen dead people before?”

  “What did you do Drake?” Vahn finally managed to say, moving his eyes away from the gruesome scene before him, and focusing on Drake.

  “I killed them. I thought that was fairly obvious.” Drake responded quickly, trying to sound as cold as he could. If they took him to another prison then this same thing would just happen again. He kept a rigid, seemingly unfeeling expression on his face; although in reality his emotions threatened to overwhelm him at any moment.

  Vahn broke his gaze and glanced away from Drake, looking around at the dead bodies that littered the ground of the prison, and at the blood splattered on the walls. A disgusted look came to his face, and he immediately made eye contact with Drake again.

  “How could you have possibly done this by yourself?” Vahn asked, staring intently at Drake; his grey eyes reflecting the intensity of his emotions.

  “It only took me about twenty minutes.” Drake said as he drew out his revolver, pointing it straight at Vahn’s face. “Now give me a reason not to do the same to you and your friends here.”

  The soldiers all pointed their rifles at Drake, with their fingers ready to pull the trigger.

  “You would shoot your own brother?” Vahn asked softly.

  “Half-brother.” Drake retorted while pulling back the hammer of his revolver. “And yes, I would.”

  “You’re still bitter, aren’t you?” Vahn answered in a disarming tone.

  “Nine years Vahn! That’s how long I waited for you. Nine years!” Drake yelled, losing control of his emotions. Hot tears ran from his eyes as he shouted. “And then I had to save myself from that hell hole that you left me to rot in! And when I finally found you after all those years, you tried to arrest me. So yes, I’m still a little bitter.”

  Even the thought of Vahn made Drake furious. But having him right here was just overwhelming. These deaths were all because Vahn hadn’t kept his promise. Drake knew that he was rationalizing. These deaths were caused by his own choices, and he knew it. But right now he just didn’t care. He never would have made those choices if Vahn had just done the right thing and saved his own brother instead of becoming a traitor and joining up with the Empire that murdered most of their race.

  “I understand that you’re mad,” Vahn started to say.

  “Mad doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Drake cut him off. “You have three seconds to give me a reason not to kill you. 1...2...”

  “Amnesty.” Vahn yelled out with a slight tremor in his voice. He was actually afraid. Drake actually convinced him that he would kill him. Of course, that shouldn’t be surprising, should it? Vahn betrayed him; he deserved to die, didn’t he?

  The prospect was tempting. It would be the only justified murder that Drake had ever committed.

  But it would contradict everything he believed.

  The executioner is no less guilty than the executed. Only take a life if it is to save another.

  The words of Ezra, his former mentor and the closest thing he had to a father figure for most of his childhood. In the end Ezra abandoned Drake just as Vahn had, but Drake couldn’t deny the truth in his words. This confrontation wouldn’t be ending in Vahn’s death.

  “You have my attention.” Drake said.

  He didn’t care much about getting amnesty from the Human Empire, but it was distracting enough to help him calm down and gain control of his emotions.

  “I’m here on direct orders from King Ryker to get you.” Vahn said, regaining his poise. “Two days ago, the royal palace was attacked. One man destroyed our wall, killed hundreds of palace guards, and kidnapped the princess.”

  “So you have bad security.” Drake said with a smirk. As much as he disagreed with his actions, the memory of Ezra was helping Drake to calm down, and slip back into acting like his usual sarcastic self. “What does this have to do with me?”

  “The man who attacked was an Anti-Luck.” Vahn said.

  “And I’m the only one left that can fight him, right?” Drake said, not waiting for Vahn to finish making his pitch. It was obvious that they wanted his help.

  “Yes.” Vahn replied. “King Ryker is offering you full forgiveness for all past crimes, along with full citizenship in the human empire, as well as twelve-million denarius.”

  “Forgiveness? Only Knune can forgive, Vahn, or did you forget your childhood religion when you decided to become a traitor? And isn’t it a bit ironic that a man with so much blood on his hands as your king, is offering to forgive me of the blood on my hands?” Drake said.

  Vahn sat in silence. He clearly didn’t know how to respond, so Drake continued talking.

  “And frankly, I’m insulted that such a rich man would only offer twelve -million denarius for a job like this. What is that in grhars anyway? Like twenty-million? I could make that in a year if I robbed the right people.”

  “You want more?” Vahn asked. “Because that can be arranged.”

  Drake lowered his gun. The rest of the soldiers slowly lowered theirs as well; although Drake noted that there were now snipers up on the walls who kept their rifles trained on his head. Had they really been able to get snipers set up on those walls without Drake noticing just during his conversation with Vahn? V.A.L.O.R. soldiers were more talented than Drake had been giving them credit for.

  “Good,” Vahn continued. “Now what are your terms?”

  “I have no terms.” Drake said. “I’m not doing it.” He pulled the trigger of his revolver. Smoke flew out of the barrel, billowing up into the surrounding air completely obscuring the view of the soldiers within fractions of a second. Gun shots rang out from the soldier’s rifles and then quieted down as the smoke cleared. Vahn looked around, shocked at what had just taken place. Drake was nowhere to be seen.

  “Our ship!” Vahn yelled out, running out the main gate just in time to see the only transport that could get them out of the prison flying off into space.

  Chapter 8: Angela

  “Do you think he’s coming to get us?” Angela asked her younger sister. They had been sitting in a small, dark, run-down house for the past three days, and Angela was getting sick of it. If he didn’t show up today it would be time for them to strike out on their own and find their own way off this planet.

  “I sure hope so.” Nora replied. “And I hope he brings food.”

  It was brave of that boy to save a bunch of slaves, but the rescue didn’t seem to have been well planned out. The rescue itself was a success, but leaving them here didn’t seem like it was part of the plan. There was a well for water, but there wasn’t a scrap of food in the place. What kind of rescuer would save you just to leave you to starve?

  “But even if he doesn’t bring food, I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.” Nora mused out loud, speaking more to herself than to anybody else.

  “Are you still stuck on that?” Angela asked, not bothering to mask her irritation at the comment. Nora had spoken almost exclusively about how attractive she found Drake ever since they’d met him three days ago. Drake had his charms, sure, but the other girls didn’t seem to even notice how annoying everything else about him was.

  “Shouldn’t you be more worried about whether or not he can get us home than if he’ll date you?” Angela continued. “It seemed like he had no plan at all to rescue us. He just did it on a whim. And he wasn’t attractive. He was filthy! And he smelled terrible.”

  “I just think it’d be nice if a good looking, heroic guy like him came home with me.” Nora said, “And how could you smell him over the stench in that cart anyway?”

  “Alright, so I don’t know if he stank or not, but he was too old for you.” Angela said defensively. The thought of her sister being with Drake made her angry “You’re only sixteen, and he looked like he was at least twenty-five, possibly older.”

  “Actually I’m twenty-one.” a voice came in through the doorway.

  Angela and Nora turned simultaneously to see Drake standing in the doorway.

  I can’t believe he’s here. Angela thought as she examined Drake.

  He looked much better now than he had when they first met. He’d obviously taken a shower since the last time she’d seen him, and he was now dressed in dark blue pants with a matching jacket. The color matched his eyes and made them stand out more than his other features. He was more attractive than Angela had given him credit for, but just being attractive wasn’t a reason to trust him.

  “How much of that conversation did you hear!?” Nora burst out.

  “Enough to know you’ve got a great big crush on me.” Drake replied in a mocking tone. Nora’s face turned a bright shade of red as she turned her eyes away from Drake and looked down at the floor.

  “And enough to know green eyes here was lying when she said I stank.” Drake continued. “Lying is very unladylike you know.”

  “Well as feminine as you are, you ought to be an expert in what’s ladylike. So I guess I should believe you.” Angela replied.

  Was she really fighting with him again? This guy was here to help them without asking for anything in return. She should be nicer to him. She couldn’t come up with any real reason to dislike him, but something about him just rubbed her the wrong way.

  “Knune’s fire.” Drake said, “That was a little harsher than I think I deserve; but I’ll rise above your sarcasm and get straight to the point. I’ve called my crew; there will be a ship here that can fit all of you comfortably in the morning. Until then, I’ll be hanging out with you girls if that’s ok?”

  “Yes!” Nora squealed excitedly before moving over to another group of girls, who all started squealing just as loudly.

  How could they muster so much energy just to obsess over a boy? They hadn’t eaten in three days. This whole thing just seemed ridiculous.

  “It was Angela right?” Drake said to her, interrupting her train of thought.

  “What?” Angela responded, trying to mask her surprise.

  “Was it that complicated of a question?” Drake asked.

  “Um....I...” Angela muttered

  “Yes, that’s her name.” Nora cut in. “And mine is Nora. I thought you were so heroic when you saved us. I really like that.”

  “Well Nora,” Drake said, turning away from Angela to face Nora. “I’m a pirate by profession. I literally do the wrong thing for a living. One good deed makes me a hero or the type of guy you’re looking for. But I appreciate the sentiment.”

  “Oh….” Nora muttered, looking baffled by Drake’s response to her obvious attempts to show her interest in him.

  “But don’t worry,” Drake cut her off. “I only do the wrong thing when I’m getting paid for it. Since I’m helping you for free, I guess I can dabble a little in making right choices until I get you girls home.”

  Angela couldn’t help but chuckle a little. The stupefied look on Nora’s face was priceless. Plus, Drake’s comments confirmed what she thought about him. He was nothing more than an immoral pirate. But if that was true, would he have said so? If he was a pirate, it would confirm all the negative things Angela thought. But if he was a pirate then why would he free a bunch of slaves? Was he planning on selling them to somebody else? As much as Angela disliked the guy, he didn’t seem anything like the slave dealers she had met up until now.

  “Are you girls hungry?” Drake asked loudly, once again interrupting Angela’s thoughts.

  Everybody’s ears perked up at the mention of food. They all responded to Drake’s question at the same time making it impossible for Angela to understand what was being said. But Drake seemed to understand, or at least he pretended he did.

  “Alright Angela, come with me. We’re going to go get some food for these ladies.” Drake said over the noise of the other women.

  “What? Me? Why?” Angela asked.

  “Just come.” Drake said.

  **********

  Angela followed Drake out the door, and into the cool night air. She shivered as the breeze blew against her mostly exposed skin. It was summer back in her hometown, but it felt like it was late autumn here. Her captors hadn’t given her any new clothes, so she was still wearing the short pants and sleeveless shirt she had been captured in. It didn’t help that it was now getting tattered and torn, leaving her skin more exposed to the cold than she would like, and much too exposed to the wandering eyes of pirates like Drake. Although, so far, she hadn’t caught him looking anywhere aside from her face.

  “So why are you taking me with you?” Angela asked as they walked toward the center of the town, turning down random alleyways to avoid being seen.

  “Because you’re pretty.” Drake replied. “So where are you from?”

  “Did you really just say that?” She asked, blushing brightly.

  Why did that make her blush? Who cares if Drake thought she was pretty or not? She was pretty, so why wouldn’t Drake think so? It didn’t mean that she liked him back.

  “You mean ask you where you’re from?” Drake said. “I really did ask you that. I understand if you don’t want to answer though; I’m sensitive about where I’m from too.”

  “If you’re trying to flirt with me you’re doing a really bad job.” Angela replied.

  “Flirt with you?” Drake asked. “I wanted you to come so I could ask for permission to date your little sister. I didn’t want to cause contention in your family by making you jealous of our love for each other.”

  The smirk on his face made it obvious he was joking. At least that’s what Angela hoped it meant.

  “You stay away from her.” Angela said sharply, narrowing her eyes at Drake, who began laughing loudly.

  The wind blew again, sending chills across Angela’s bare skin. She couldn’t keep herself from shivering.

  “Take this.” Drake said, sliding off his dark blue jacket and holding it out in front of her.

  Angela grabbed it from him. It was a nice gesture. Drake was wearing only a thin shirt underneath the jacket, but still offered it to her.

  The insignia on the shoulder of the jacket caught her eye, and she almost gasped in surprise as she read the letters: V.A.L.O.R.

  “You’re a V.A.L.O.R. soldier!” She exclaimed. That must be why he had gone out of his way to save a bunch of Human slaves. Suddenly, she felt optimistic about Drake being the one to save them. “You must know my brother! His name is Captain Brooks Fisher. Have you met him?”

  “Hey!” Drake said, “I take offense to that. I may be wearing their clothes but I’m not a part of your king’s group of errand boys. I stole this jacket from a V.A.L.O.R. soldier, I don’t know the name of the guy I stole this from, but oddly enough I have met Captain Fisher, he arrested me a few years back.”

  Her hopes had been so lifted by the prospect of Drake being a V.A.L.O.R. soldier but were now crushed down to nothing. If her brother arrested him then he was definitely a criminal.

  “So I guess that means you can’t tell me how he’s doing?” Angela said. “He hasn’t contacted home in over a year.”

  “Oh I’m sure he’s fine. V.A.L.O.R. soldiers hardly ever go into combat.” Drake said. “So are you going to tell me where you’re from or not?”

  “I’m from Fundus Six.” Angela replied, glad to change the subject. Brooks hadn’t left home on the best of terms with the family, and it made Angela a little sad to talk about him. Drake reminded her of Brooks. Maybe that was what bothered her so much about him.