Jake's Fortune Ch. 06

Jake sat in a Lunar restaurant, It was similar to the cafeteria where he had an anxiety attack three years ago. He didn't fear crowds any longer, not since the pirates attacked the Metanoia and her crew last month.

They'd arrived at Luna two days prior. His uncle was engaged in closing deals and procuring supplies for their trip back to the asteroid belt. A miner's work was never done.

Thanks to Jake, they had mined an asteroid so rich in minerals that they couldn't sell all the ore to the same contractor, so they had to spread it around, which took longer than expected. Then there was the salvage from the pirate vessel, which brought extra money into their already full pockets.

He sat in silence as he absent-mindedly watched the buzz of people around him. He failed to notice a very attractive young woman eyeing him with curiosity, which was unusual for a young man his age, especially him.

His mind was elsewhere.

"Do you think he believes me?" he thought.

His uncle was dismayed when he discovered his particular predicament, and what happened with the pirates. Jake had to explain the situation to him but his uncle simply couldn't wrap his mind around it. His uncle used to call his virtual assistant a witch, and he wondered what he'd consider Siren to be, calling her a demon wouldn't be too far fetched.

"Yes, your uncle loves you unconditionally, Jake. If you say something happened then he will believe you." Siren responded.

His relationship with Siren had been strained ever since the incident with the pirates, when he accidentally killed an innocent woman using powers she enabled him, in his blind rage to avenge his then thought-to-be-dead uncle. He had even tried to get rid of her completely, but she convinced him not to do it by revealing a secret that would change his life.

"What about Hannah?"

He was worried about the girl. Ever since she discovered the nature of his powers, she had been keeping her distance from him, which sat well and fine with him; but that was not like her at all.

"I think she'll keep quiet. She knows how dangerous this is, and despite your objections; she cares about you, Jake."

He grunted out loud and regretted it immediately once he got a bunch of questioning looks from people around him.

He picked up the tab and left. His steak sat untouched.

***

Jake was passing through a narrow alley on his way back to the flight terminals when they ambushed him.

He was wearing Luna's customary magnetic greaves, which were designed to prevent injury and make one's steps surer in the low gravity environment, but they made it difficult to leap on short notice.

The Lunar slums were a dangerous place to be. Populated by society's dejects who barely got by and didn't have enough credits to go anywhere else. The slums surrounded the flight terminal and you had to take the monorail just to avoid walking through the dangerous neighbourhood.

But he'd needed a long thoughtful walk.

"Well, well, look what we got here boys." a hulking thug said as he eyed the data-pad tucked in his belt.

"I wonder how many credits he's got on that fancy 'pad." another chimed in.

"Let's find out now, shall we?"

Jake took one step back as his fists crackled loudly with electricity. They looked at him in awe as his eyes emitted a very faint but noticeable glow.

"I think you're about to take a bite too big to chew, now get out of here." he warned.

They scrambled and made a run for it. He watched in amusement as they disappeared amongst the poorly lit alleyways.

With Siren's help, he'd managed to barely control his new ability in the weeks it took them to reach Luna, and it looked like it was finally paying off. He was worried he might get carried away, but Siren helped him keep it under control. It was somehow tied to his emotional state, or so she told him.

What he failed to notice was the dark shape observing him around a corner.

***

He felt his stomach lurch as he heard his uncle yelling at him.

"Jake, get over here now!"

"What's going on, uncle?" he asked as he switched off his greaves and leapt across the tunnel towards him.

"Get in the shuttle, we'll talk once we're back on the ship."

He hopped in next to his uncle. He heard police sirens closing the distance as the Lunar glider craft approached their position.

"What's happening?" he asked his uncle loudly, trying to overcome the roar of the shuttle's reactor as it started up.

"The police are looking for you."

"What? Why?"

"That can wait for now, let me start up this shuttle so we can get out of here!" his uncle yelled.

"But..."

"Close that hatch!" his uncle commanded.

He closed the hatch and strapped himself in.

The air outside the shuttle was getting thin already as the powerful pumps worked to equalise the landing bay's atmosphere with the vacuum outside. He watched his uncle lift off with the shuttle.

The docking hatch opened automatically as they lifted and the domed landing bay was suddenly open to the elements.

"Shuttle 4012DA, you are not cleared for launch, power down your reactor." he heard the commanding voice over the comms.

His uncle was accelerating fast.

"I repeat, 4012DA, you are not cleared for launch. Return to the landing pad and power down your reactor. If you do not, deterring action will be taken. "

"Uncle, they'll shoot us down!" he voiced with worry.

"Don't worry about it, I can handle it." his uncle said assuredly.

He looked down and saw the police swarming the landing pad where they sat only seconds ago.

"Brace yourself!" his uncle shouted as he pulled hard on the steering stick.

He held on tightly as the shuttle lurched to the left, a missile streaked by and missed them by a hair's length.

Their altitude rose as his uncle made a sharp climb and turn to the right, which took them away from the incoming missiles and to a direct intercept with the city's dome. The missiles turned and gave chase.

Luna City closed quickly as they rushed past it, the missiles followed them as his uncle brushed the dome.

***

"Disaster struck at Luna City this morning when a shuttle accidentally..." Jake turned off the news broadcast. It was the 4^th time he'd seen it. He hated half-truths and the media's tendency to cover up for the government's screw ups.

They were back aboard the Metanoia. His uncle had nearly crash-landed the shuttle in his haste to get out of the domed city.

The crew gathered in wonder as they climbed out of the shuttle, asking all kinds of questions, but his uncle waved them off as they headed to his private quarters. Hannah followed and he didn't object.

But now it was time for answers.

"What's going on, uncle? Why is the police after me?"

"Either somebody talked..." he looked at Hannah, who looked hurt by his suggestion.

His expression softened as he continued "...or they recovered some footage from the pirate ship when we delivered the wrecked computer cores with the evidence. I can't believe I missed it!" his uncle said as he slammed his hand on the bulkhead.

"Shit." Jake's heart sank as he heard the words.

"We should head out for the colonies." said Hannah.

"What?" he asked, surprised at her suggestion.

"It's the only way to be safe. They'll come after us otherwise." she said.

"Us? They're only after me, why should you expose yourself to danger for my sake?" he asked.

"Jake, you saved us. We can't just abandon you. They'll try to study you! They'll perform experiments on you!" she exclaimed.

His uncle was rubbing his eyes, it looked like he was experiencing the onset of a terrible headache all of a sudden.

"Well, if they weren't after us, they certainly are now. We wrecked their dome and they're probably requesting armed ships from Earth to take us out as we speak." his uncle sounded tired.

"I'll go. You can tell them I was the one flying the shuttle." he said.

"No, son. We're all in this together. We don't abandon our own." his uncle said stubbornly.

***

Everyone got into the acceleration pods as fast as they could. The acceleration pods were another ingenious invention made by humanity. Once inside, the pod was filled with ferrogel, a magnetised material that could soften and harden based on the intensity of a magnetic field. At their lowest setting the gel was water-like and didn't impede movement at all, and at their highest it was hard as steel. The pods were fitted with a miniature mass field that reduced the mass of its contents to counter inertia.

Unfortunately, you had to breathe through a tube or even intravenously at higher acceleration, and the same went for feeding and various other bodily functions. The pod's AI monitored the occupant and managed the administration of nutrients and stimulants for each individual with precision only computers could achieve.

Despite the inertial dampeners, which normally managed the crushing g-forces experienced through acceleration, the pods were commonly used in cases where higher acceleration was required.

They set a course for the Kuiper Belt and climbed in. This would take them well past the inner solar system and out towards the Oort cloud.

They accelerated to 0.3 the speed of light in eight hours, crossing a distance of eight point six AU. Then the reactor stopped, and it took them fifteen hours to cross the distance of thirty two AU, then they began to brake again for the rest of the distance. Which took another eight hours.

When Jake went to sleep inside the pod, Siren came to him.

"Is this the norm now? Are you going to pop a simulation into my head every time I go to sleep?" he asked her.

"It's not a simulation, dummy. Your subconscious brings me here whenever it feels like it. I'm quite helpless to prevent that, actually." she said as she undressed.

"What are you doing?"

She pointed at the lake. "Going for a swim, it's a long trip to the Kuiper Belt. Would you like to join me?" she asked.

"No, thanks. I have a lot on my mind right now." he responded.

He watched her undress and step into the water, her slim body glimmering in the moonlight. She dove in and came out smiling, her hand playing with her curly auburn hair.

"Aren't you worried at all by our current situation?" he asked her, irritated.

"No. I know things will work out eventually." she said calmly.

"How can you be sure of that?"

"I just know." she said as she disappeared below the water.

He sighed and lay back on his elbows. Thinking of what they were about to face. He considered his options, but every plan he formulated in his mind was shattered by the reality of their situation. It was hopeless, he thought. If they turned and ran right now they'd be hunted for the rest of their lives, and if they gave in and surrendered he would be kept in a cage like a lab animal. The idea didn't sit well with him.

Maybe if they fled the solar system entirely? He wasn't sure if the crew would agree to that. Relativistic travel was a problem in and out of itself. At high speeds, time would slow down for them, but it would go faster outside the ship. They could exit their deep journey and be well into the next century.

He was deep in thought when he felt the water splashing him in the face.

"Don't think too much!" Siren said playfully.

"Siren, I'm not exactly happy right now. Please let me be." he responded.

She splashed him again as she moved closer.

"Seriously! I'm not even..."

She kissed him full on the lips. He pulled away.

"Not now Siren. I'm seriously not in the mood." he warned her.

"What are you going to do about it? Punish me?" she asked with an impish grin.

"Maybe I will." he said as he pushed her away into the lake. She pulled him back along with her and he clumsily fell in the water.

She giggled and watched him stagger and flounder. The water was cold and it jolted his senses. He looked at her with distaste, but couldn't help but admire her sensible features in the bright moonlight.

"You like?" she asked as she flaunted her body. She leaned in for another kiss.

He didn't resist.

She embraced him and enfolded him in a heated kiss, and he felt his erect member poking against her crotch. She grabbed it and started to stroke it against her bud sensually. It inflamed his desire and he started groping her ass.

She moaned into his mouth as he lifted her body and impaled her on his stiff rod. The water helped steady her as he rammed her rhythmically, and with purpose he savaged her body as she screamed his name.

He smacked her ass hard and she screamed louder.

"Do you like this? Is this punishment enough for you?"

"Yesss." she cooed.

"Is this what you want?" he smacked her harder.

"It's... it's what I... need." she whispered, out of breath.

He turned her around and started ploughing her from behind, she met his thrusts with her own. He started going in with longer strokes, in and out he ravaged her, harder.

In his haste his member slipped out of her slippery tunnel and entered a forbidden cove. He paid it no heed as he felt the increase in pressure. She lifted her hand and steadied his mast against her puckered star. He pressed on and all the way into her depths. Her hand found her love button and pressed and pressed and pressed.

"Yesss, make me yours. Forever." she howled with pleasure.

He increased his pace as he felt his pleasure mount and finally found his release. She felt his eruption and met it in kind. Her body reverberated as they climaxed to exhaustion.

They lay there naked, on the lake's shore, eyes aglow, exhausted but satisfied.

***

When he woke up, he felt sore all over. The AI was already administering stimulants and he felt his head clearing up gradually. The ferrogel was polarised and it simply left his body and migrated to the edges of the pod. He unhooked the various tubes connecting his body and stepped out. He wasn't sore just from the trip but also because his erection was straining against the ferrogel for the entire time.

He looked around and saw Hannah getting out of her pod, completely naked, as was he.

When she turned around, she looked at him with surprise and covered herself. Her bust was average and it swayed as she moved. Not trusting himself, he averted his eyes and pretended not to notice her obvious stares at his prominent erection. He quickly got into his clothes and watched her get dressed. Then they both went to find his uncle.

"What do we do now?" he asked his uncle.

"We head to Liberty and see what awaits us there." his uncle responded.

Liberty was the furthest station in the solar system. It was barely sustained in orbit by the sun's gravity, and it was harsh and cold; yet it was the go-to place for ice harvesting operations. It was one of the most dangerous places to be. A lawless place with ruthless people, but his uncle didn't seem too concerned. His uncle had contacts everywhere.

"I'll check with my sources and see what awaits us there." his uncle said.

"If it's not safe... I'm not sure where we can go. Perhaps out of the solar system entirely." Hannah suggested.

"Why are you so insistent on leaving for the colonies?" he asked her.

"It's just that you'll..." "We'll never be safe here." she quickly corrected.

"Hannah, it's just not fair to you and the crew. You did nothing. They're after me and you shouldn't even be out here." he said.

"What's done is done. We're all out here right now and that's what matters. We need to talk to the crew and explain everything. Hannah, assemble the crew in the cargo hold." his uncle commanded.

Twenty minutes later they arrived in the vast cargo hold where the crew awaited them. He saw looks of worry on many faces. Some were indifferent, and some looked perplexed.

"I know most of you are worried about our hasty departure from Luna, and we're gathered here to explain our situation, and to decide what to do next." his uncle started.

"The authorities are pursuing my nephew for reasons that I can't explain. Suffice to say that they want to capture and retain him, most likely indefinitely."

"What do you mean you can't explain? We all know that he murdered that woman we found on the pirate ship. It wasn't a fire, I'm sure of it. It's only justice that he stands trial for what he did." said Anton, a young engineer who never got along with Jake.

"He was defending us!" shouted Aisha as she moved forward, he heard murmurs of agreement.

"And he killed..."

"That's enough!" his uncle interjected in a loud voice.

"We're all here to decide what to do next. Jake might have accidentally killed that woman, but that doesn't mean he did it in cold blood, let's just say that he wasn't himself when he did it."

"What do you mean he wasn't himself? He's an adult and he's responsible for his actions." Anton quipped.

"Jake, show them."

"Uncle... are you sure?" Jake said reluctantly.

"Yes, they need to know what we're dealing with."

They looked upon him with terror as his eyes glowed and electricity arced through his fingers. He calmed himself and it subsided.

The silence was deafening, and doctor Lev's eyes practically bulged with excitement.

"Jake was afflicted with what you just saw. What happened was completely out of his control." Siren winced at the term 'afflicted' but said nothing.

"If captured, he'll stand no trial! He'll be studied and he'll be retained until the end of his days. There will be no justice! Only misery at the hands of a heartless government we all know. We all know what they're capable of, and what they'll do to him if they capture him."

"This should be studied." said doctor Lev in fascination.

His uncle ignored the remark and continued. "We're faced with two choices: we can flee the solar system to the colonies, or we can try to hide out here and scrape a living from ice harvesting."

"Or he could turn himself in..." Anton grumbled.

"That's not an option. We stick together. That's our motto, and how we survived this long."

"He could just leave us then, and try his luck on his own." Anton pleaded.

"That's another option, uncle." Jake said in agreement.

Everybody looked at Jake.

"Son, if you strike out for the colonies on your own, we'll never see you again. We'll be long gone if you ever returned." his uncle said with emotion.

"I know, but it's the only chance we have. They'll catch up to us sooner or later."