J. N. Chaney

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  Lost in the City Copyright © 2022 by Variant Publications

  Book design and layout copyright © 2022 by JN Chaney

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.

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  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from JN Chaney.

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  RENEGADE STAR: LOST IN THE CITY

  A SHORT STORY IN THE RENEGADE STAR SERIES

  J.N. CHANEY

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  LOST IN THE CITY

  A RENEGADE STAR SHORT STORY

  “Lex Hughes,” I said, reading my shiny new identification card aloud. “Do I need to carry it on me?”

  It was a physical copy, but a digital version was connected to my prints and facial scan for rapid ID if needed. Still, I liked having my picture on a little card that fit in my pocket. A miniature holographic image of Earth reflected a rainbow of colors when I moved it in the light.

  My mother smiled at me with a knowing look. “Since we’re traveling outside Earth’s borders, we’re required to have a profile in the system, but that’s about it. Given your status, physical ID is. . . encouraged. It wouldn’t do for someone in our position to skirt the rules.”

  “I know, I know. Abigail Hughes, co-leader of Earth. You have to live by example. Pretty different from what I remember as a kid, though,” I said with a wink.

  “You sound like your father more every day.”

  We both knew the statement was a compliment and I did my best impression of the infamous Jace Hughes smirk.

  “Yes,” she continued, shaking her head. “Just like him. Anyway, I have to head back to the office to tie up a few loose ends. Are you packed?”

  I nodded, serious again. “Yeah. All my stuff is on the Star already. And we’re leaving bright and early in the morning. Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll make sure Dad is set to go too.”

  She leaned forward to kiss me lightly on the forehead, and some of her blonde hair brushed my cheeks. When she turned to reboard the transport that would take her back to work, I watched her go with a feeling of contentment.

  Some of my friends thought being the daughter of someone in my mom’s position would be a drag, but they were wrong. I knew better than anyone what had been won during the Great War with the Celestials. Not just survival. Freedom.

  Her work now ensured that we kept it.

  Besides, it came with plenty of perks. Like a personal transport that would take me out of Verdun and back home with no other passengers. It pulled up when my mom was out of the space, likely her doing. I knew she worried, even though Earth was as safe as things got in the settled parts of the universe.

  I climbed into the quiet interior and buckled up. The driverless vehicle had plenty of safety features that made injury pretty much impossible, but it was a habit. My personal data pad beeped as we pulled into traffic, and I got it out to see an incoming call from my friend Vivian.

  When I answered, her smiling face came into view, along with a riot of dark curls. “Hey, Viv. I thought you were leaving for vacation already?”

  “Hey, Lex! We’re just waiting for the shuttle, so I figured I’d see what you were up to. Ready for Sobek?”

  “Yeah, just had that conversation with my mom. We’re leaving at some ungodly hour in the morning so we get there at check-in time.”

  Her dark green eyes studied me with their usual intensity. “You don’t sound super excited.”

  I glanced out the window and took in the lush view. Verdun was at our back, and the road home provided beautiful sights. Mountains, fields of untouched green grass, and plenty of wildlife in between.

  “It’s not that I’m not excited to go on vacation,” I explained. “But what can Sobek have that Earth doesn’t? People come here for vacation.”

  Vivian tilted her head and seemed to consider before answering. “That’s true, I guess. But people live on Sobek and come here to visit. Luxoplanets or not, when you stay in one place all the time, it can lose some of that excitement.”

  “Point taken. All I’m saying is we have beaches here.”

  The look on my friend’s face turned mischievous. “Sure. But everyone here knows who you are. Might be interesting to meet someone your own age that doesn’t realize you’re the daughter of the Renegade.”

  I laughed when she wiggled her eyebrows. “Okay, fine. I’ll try to be more open-minded.”

  “That’s the spirit.” A computerized voice sounded in the background, and Vivian glanced up. “Oh, shoot. That’s us. I’ll let you know when we get there. Later!”

  The screen blinked off before I could respond. I put the pad in my bag and leaned into my seat to watch out the window. Another idea came to me, and I spoke to the transport.

  “Sigmond, are you around?”

  A series of short beeps came from the communications center, then he appeared in the driver’s seat. I chuckled at his chauffeur's costume.

  “Good evening, Miss Hughes.”

  “You know you don’t have to call me that.”

  He nodded sagely. “Indeed. But I also know that you enjoy being a Hughes.”

  The Cognitive wasn’t wrong about that. It was always a little thrill to hear myself referred to as part of the Hughes legacy. Not that my dad would have called it that. The point was that once upon a time I’d had no one. Then Abigail Pryar came into my life to take me away from the Union’s experiments. When she met Jace Hughes, all of our lives became entwined in a way no one could have guessed.

  Throughout every setback, fight, and even flat out war, they protected me. By the time it was all over, the three of us were family. It didn’t matter to me that I didn’t necessarily look like them. Perfected genes or not, I was a Hughes, through and through.

  “You know me pretty well, Siggy,” I mused.

  “Yes. I’ve known you a long time, Lex. What can I help you with today?”

  “I was wondering if you know anything about this luxoplanet we’re going to. I know I could look it up on the gal-net, but I trust your opinion.”

  “Of course. One moment.”

  The smile he sent my way was easy and familiar. Sigmond was another member of my family, even if he didn’t have a human body. His eyes flickered the way they did when he was processing data, but it only lasted a few seconds.

  “The majority of the feedback regarding Sobek is positive. I took the liberty of checking it, plus all media provided by guests. There was one rather morbid incident that occurred years ago.”

  That piqued my interest. “What happened?”

  “This would have been before the Great War,” Sigmond explained. “At the time, official channels charged Alyss Cortez and Farah Shahi—known then as Eva Delgado and Sophie Singh, respectively—with the assassination of a prominent Union citizen and his wife, as well as the attempted assassination of their young son.”

  I sat up straight, shocked at the news. “No way. We know them. They would never do something like that. Mom and Dad would never have invited them here before if they had really done that.”

  “You are quite correct, Miss Hughes. Records have since been updated that exonerate our friends. The assassination attempt was orchestrated by a former Sarkonian official. Nothing of a negative nature has happened since.”

  “That’s sad, Sigmond. The son survived, but he was still orphaned. I know how that feels.”

  The Cognitive reached out and laid a hand on mine. “Worry not, Lex. He was taken in by another family and by all accounts is shaping up to be a successful individual, much like yourself.”

  “Aww, I’m touched, Siggy.”

  His smile was both genial and amused. “You are very much like your father.”

  I beamed back a smile. “You know, I’ve been hearing that lately.”

  Back home, I found my dad waiting, a frown pinching his features.

  “What’s up, Pop?”

  He held up his pad. “Your mom just called. She got held up at work. Some unavoidable crisis that’s going to keep her busy for another day or two.”

  “Oh,” I said, unsure whether I should be bummed or not. “So, what now?”

  “Mom wants us to go ahead without her. The resort said it’s not a problem for us to extend our stay either.”

  I set my day pack down on the nearby chair and studied my dad. Jace Hughes, the Renegade, as he was known to most of the populated universe, had a rough-hewn face and grey eyes that could see through any bullshit. There was more silver in his hair than when I was a kid, but not much else had changed. At the moment, his features held something besides simple annoyance over a delay.

  “There’s more to this,” I guessed.

  “Always is,” he replied. “An old friend of mine sent me a message right before you walked in. He’s calling in a favor. I need to go and see what I can do to help. It’s in the Deadlands, an entertainment station called Eryx.”

  My response was immediate. “I want to go. It’s been years since I was in the Deadlands. You know, back when we were wanted fugitives.”

  I could tell he was going to say no, so I kept going. “Once you’re done with your favor, we can just meet Mom at Sobek. Besides, it’ll be nice to get some father-daughter time. Please?”

  Trying my most charming smile, I leaned forward and gave him a hug.

  He squeezed back, but his answering grunt told me he was far from fooled. “Nice try, kid. I’ll talk to your mother and see how she feels about it. Wait here.”

  I let him go, pleased that he was at least considering it. When his bedroom door closed, I tiptoed close and put my ear to the hard surface.

  “She wants to tag along, Abby. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  My mom’s answer was a little faint, meaning he wasn’t on an emitter holo call. He was using the pad instead. “Of course she does. She’s ours. And we’ve all been on Earth for a while now. The Deadlands mean adventure.”

  “We both know better than that.”

  “You’re right, Jace. But Lex isn’t a kid anymore. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself. We made sure of that. You two go ahead. We’ll all meet up in a few days and enjoy a nice family vacation.”

  “Alright, nun. If things go sideways, I’m going to say I told you so.”

  Her laugh was light and carefree. “Of that I have no doubt. Take care of my two favorite people, Renegade.”

  There was a quick exchange of love, then my dad spoke again. “You can stop listening at the door, Lex. I guess we’re going to the Deadlands.”

  Far from abashed, I stuck my head inside the room and grinned. “Some habits are forever, Dad. So, should I grab some weapons?”

  The bridge of the Renegade Star 2 looked the same as it always had.

  Even with all the advancements in technology since starting the Earth Reconstruction Project, the ship remained a pinnacle of engineering. Most of the Celestials’ knowledge was under lock and key to prevent any outside entity from abusing its potential. It was part of the new accords among the Alliance.

  Everyone had agreed—readily—because no one wanted a repeat of the last conflict. Especially since a crazy Sarkonian had got his hands on some of that technology and tried to make his own personal brand of Celestial warriors. He’d been stopped by Alyss Cortez and her crew, of all people.

  Thank gods that hadn’t worked out for him.

  A sense of nostalgia swept over me when I saw my dad sitting at the controls with a steaming mug of coffee. I had one in hand, too. Thinking just how alike we really were, I joined him. The holo display showed we were still in slipspace, the tunnel’s green walls casting the ethereal glow I’d long come to admire.

  He looked up when I took the copilot seat, then his eyes fell on my drink and he shook his head. “I don’t see why you ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee with all that extra crap.”

  “I just prefer to have something a little sweet to balance out the bitter,” I said, holding back a grin. “Are we there yet?”

  “Not quite. Still got a few more hours.”

  The last time we’d been on a solo trip, things were a lot different. For one, it hadn’t been planned. Second, I’d been kidnapped. Good old Dad, being the man he was, couldn’t stand for that sort of behavior. He came after me and ended up taking full control of the ship single-handedly, half dead from all the fighting. That was always how it went. He never knew when to lie down and quit.

  And thank the stars he didn’t.

  “You okay, kid?”

  I glanced at him, debating whether or not to say anything. He was pretty protective and might have turned the ship around if he thought it would make me feel better. But I knew better than to keep secrets from the sharp-eyed Renegade. That wasn’t our style. “Just remembering what happened when the Sarkonians tried to take me. Thought of how hurt you were after.”

  He looked surprised at my admission. “You were thinking all that, huh?” he asked with a chuckle. A short pause followed as his eyes glazed into nostalgia. “Now that you mention it, being trapped on that ship with me was a lot for a kid. I was impressed with how well you held yourself together.”

  “I think. . . I wanted to be brave. You rescued me and took out everyone by yourself. Might be biased, but I don’t think anyone else could have done that.”

  He laughed. “Your mom would have.”

  “That’s true!” I blurted out, smiling. “She’s crazy.”

  There was a long moment of silence before he spoke again, and when he did, his words were more serious. “I didn’t do it alone. I had you, and believe me, if I didn’t, things would have been a lot worse.”

  “I don’t remember it that way.”

  “Well, it’s the truth,” he insisted. “The only thing I could think of was getting to you. And when I did, you were just sitting there all calm-like, as though those animals weren’t going to try and torture you for information. As if nothing in the whole world was wrong and you were just waiting to go home.”

  When he said the words, I could hear the pain of the memory still lingering. He was like that sometimes, here in these quiet moments when it was just the two of us talking about the past, when he didn’t have to smile and wave to the cameras or pretend like everything was easy. Here with me, the legendary Renegade was gone, replaced only by my kind and gentle father.

  “I remember that your legs didn’t touch the ground,” the old man continued. “They were almost sticking straight out because the chair was too big. Then you patched me up. Do you remember that part? You saved my life.”

  The unmistakable pride in his voice made my heart swell, but I tamped it down and cleared my throat so he didn’t see. I couldn’t have him teasing me about it. “You said Eryx is an entertainment station?”

  He took another swallow of coffee before answering. “Yeah, but not like a family resort or anything. They hold a lot of professional fights and gambling. That sort of recreation. I think they film holovids there too sometimes.”

  “Hmm” was all I said, but it was enough for him to shoot me a sideways glance.

  “Don’t even think about it, Lex. There are plenty of other things for you to do. Touristy stuff that doesn’t involve you going places someone your age ought not to.”

  “I’m almost an adult, you know,” I reminded him. When his only answer was to raise an eyebrow, I blew out a sigh. “Yeah, okay. I hear you. No casinos and no fights.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said. “Hopefully we aren’t there long anyway. I’m enjoying my retirement.”

  Now it was my turn to raise a brow. “Oh, really? The famous Jace Hughes hasn’t been missing his past exploits even a little bit?”

  “Just like your mother,” he muttered before draining the last of his cup. “Both of you are the same.”

  Despite the words he spoke, I caught the humor in his voice and smiled to myself.

  As promised, we reached Eryx a few short hours later. Like most stations, there was a queue to dock, but we were given the go-ahead within minutes.

  “I take it someone greased some palms for us?”

  He gave a loose shrug as he put on a coat that would hide the same pistol and revolver that he’d carried since the day I met him. “Something like that. Look, kid. I’m going to go take care of business with my friend. It crossed my mind to ban you from leaving the ship, but I know you would have just snuck out.”

  “No idea what you’re talking about,” I said with a rueful smile. “I am the picture of innocence.”

 

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