《The Thief in Space》


 Prologue

    If I were given a choice to live this life over again, I would have chosen a different path. Then again, I never really had a choice.


    These were my thoughts as I sprinted out of the alleyway, with a whole watermelon tucked under my arm.


    I''d never attempted to steal from the hydroculture farms before, and I was already regretting it. Unfortunately, running with a watermelon in hand is a very strenuous endeavor. It was certainly more slippery than I''d expected. If the security bots chasing me didn''t shoot me first, I''d remember to grab a different fruit next time.


    There were two of them, three-foot-tall metallic grey bots on wheels equipped with an assault rifle. Who gives ASSAULT RIFLES to bots guarding a farm? They were only trying to taser me now, but security bots are usually programmed to start firing the real guns after the target had reached a certain distance from the place they were guarding.


    The bots were sounding alarms and giving warnings. Every step I took worried me more, but there was no stopping now. Getting arrested would be just as bad as being shot down.


    The hydroculture farm I was stealing was founded in a different country. Undoubtedly a country where gunning down watermelon thieves was allowed.


    It was this sort of thought that encouraged me to run faster. I rounded a corner just when the bots started firing the real guns. This was getting out of hand.


    I was only a block away from escape though. The crowded streets of Main Street would stop the bots from shooting, and I knew how to disappear in a crowd.


    I might have made it, if not for the bald man walking outside the building I was running past. He stretched out his foot just in time to trip me. Luckily, I managed to keep the watermelon unscathed through my fall. Unluckily, I was now on the ground with bots shooting to kill close behind.


    Sure enough, the bots rolled around the corner and began rolling towards me. They weren''t shooting though, probably because of the bald man that was now standing over me.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "When did beggars start stealing fruit?" The bald man said.


    As a point of fact, I hadn''t begged for anything. It was beneath me.


    "When their usual spots go out of business," I answered matter of factly.


    The bots rolled in next to the bald man.


    "Your assistance is appreciated, sir. We will be taking this thief into custody now." One of the bots said.


    The bald man kept looking at me.


    "So you stole a whole watermelon, that''s pretty gutsy." He said before turning to the bots.


    "I''m sure your employers can overlook this incident. I''ll provide any fees for the troubles caused."


    I raised my eyebrows, this was certainly unexpected. What kind of ulterior motive did this man have?


    "I''m sorry sir, but this incident can not be overlooked." The bot responded.


    "Initiate code 33A2Y." The man said.


    That surprised me even more. Override codes were passwords given to the elite so that they could give orders to bots like the ones in front of me. A handy tool used by the rich to get out of anything they want. Who is this guy?


    "Please provide a retinal scan for confirmation of override code." The security bot said.


    The man bent over to let the bot scan his eye. After a few seconds, the bots left, and now I was alone with the bald man.


    The man soon grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me to my feet. Our eyes locked as he lifted me. His were dark brown and intently focused on me. Those were rare to see nowadays, brown colored eyes. Everyone was modifying their children''s fetuses to have purple eyes with elf ears, or white hair.


    He smiled slightly as he studied me, his mouth hidden behind a neatly trimmed brown beard. He looked to be in his forties and dressed in the fine clothes of the upper class, but based on how he easily lifted me, he was much stronger than your average rich guy.


    "What''s your name boy?"


    "I don''t have one, people just call me Silver, because of my hair."


    I was referring to my silky silver hair, which was a rare hair color to be seen due to the difficult process of finding a silver hair gene to implant into a human fetus. My hair was quite the hot topic on the streets because no one understood why someone would waste money giving a kid silver hair but then abandon it.


    My eyes added another layer to the puzzle, as pink eyes (my eyes are pink) were relatively easy to gain as they could naturally appear in a human. This is confusing because the rich despised the easy to gain eye colors and obtaining exotic eye colors was a way of showing off their riches.


    This was why it was so confusing for the bald man with an override code to have normal brown eyes.


    "Say then Silver, what would you think about a rare opportunity to win riches beyond imagination."


    "I''m grateful for you paying off the bots and everything, but if you hadn''t interfered I would''ve gotten away. So no, I don''t want to become your servant."


    Remember kids, when a rich man asks you to go away with them, they are definitely asking for you to become their s** slave. Just say no kids.


    I started to walk away, hoping the man would drop it and leave me alone.


    "It''s not like that Silver, and plus, do you really think I can''t just send someone to forcefully take you?"


    He does have a point, someone with an override code probably had the means to capture me.


    "I really don''t have a choice do I?" I said with a sigh.


    "No, you don''t. Cheer up though boy, if you succeed, this opportunity will give you more money than you could ever ask for."


    Yeah yeah, big words from a shady guy who picks up kids from the streets. I was already planning on how to escape from whatever "opportunity" he puts me in.


    "Do I get to keep the watermelon?" I asked.


    "Sure."

 Chapter 1

    ¡°Stand up straight boy.¡± The bald man said.


    I ignored him. He was probably just going to send me off to one of those places where rich people torture the poor. I heard a news report about one of them. The rich were picking beggars off the streets and using them as test subjects.


    Although I certainly didn¡¯t enjoy the life of a thief, torture or servitude wasn¡¯t in my future plans, which meant I could walk as crookedly as I wanted.


    ¡°So tell me boy, why is someone like you crawling around the streets?¡±


    ¡°I could ask you the same thing baldy.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem fazed by my name-calling.


    ¡°My name is Tobias Exeter. Tell me, what can you do, boy?¡±


    ¡°Nothing that you care for.¡±


    He continued without batting an eye.


    ¡°Can you fight?¡±


    Now that¡¯s a strange question to ask someone you want to be a servant.


    ¡°If I couldn¡¯t then I¡¯d be dead by now.¡±


    ¡°What did your parents do?¡±


    Also a strange question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any.¡±


    ¡°An orphan then. How¡¯d you survive without parents?¡±


    ¡°Oh you know, a pack of wolves raised me till I was ten.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit.¡±


    I smile and act surprised.


    ¡°Wow! You¡¯re much smarter then I thought Tobias.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°You will refer to me as either Sir or Mister Exeter.¡±


    ¡°Ok then Sir Mister Exeter, what do you want me for?¡±


    ¡°Can you handle yourself with a gun?¡±


    Here we go again.


    ¡°If whoever I¡¯m shooting at doesn¡¯t have one.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°Hand to hand combat?¡±


    ¡°Always go for the testicles Sir Master Exeter.¡±


    ¡°Can you read?¡±


    I sigh, this was getting old quick.


    ¡°What do you actually want?¡±


    Tobias just grinned his annoying face at me. Before I could say anything else, a pitch black limo rolled up next to us. It was one of the newest models, with the latest self-driving bot sitting at the wheel. The door to the limo opened by itself and Tobias hopped in.


    ¡°Come along now boy, I have places to be.¡± He said from within the limo.


    ¡°Rich assholes and their self-driving limos.¡± I muttered under my breath.


    I sit down in the limo and make myself comfortable in the black leather seats. Tobias is sitting directly behind the driver, facing backwards in the car. His legs are crossed and his arms spread out, completely relaxed. On his face he sports a predatory smile.


    ¡°Have you ever heard of the Apex Corporation?¡±


    I snort at that. Who hasn¡¯t heard of Apex, they¡¯re the richest company in the world. They¡¯re everywhere, from tech to airplanes, or weapons to bots. They have a hand in almost every industry.


    I take another good look at Tobias. From the override code to the attitude, this guy screams rich. But even the rich don¡¯t compare to Apex.


    ¡°Judging by your reaction, you do know Apex. You might also know that Apex is very involved in the aerospace industry. Well about 50 years ago, we found a habitable planet. We named it Hope.¡±


    He paused for a moment.


    ¡°On Hope, we found signs of life. No advanced civilizations, but there was life. More importantly though, we found a substance called Aether.¡±


    Tobias reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small vial. Inside, a crimson liquid swirls around, sparkling under the light.


    ¡°Aether is incredible, a substance that can send humans into an age of prosperity beyond your wildest imaginations. It can burn as a fuel millions of times stronger than ones that we have. We can travel to places we thought UNTOUCHABLE! That¡¯s not all we found on Hope though.¡±


    Tobias removes a small dark metallic marble from his pocket.


    ¡°This is Hopium. A miracle metal that is lighter, stronger, and better than any metal on Earth. Make a tank out of it. It¡¯ll take over twice the damage as an Earth tank. Make a rocket out of it, it takes less than half the fuel to get to the Moon.¡±


    He gestures at the suit he¡¯s wearing.


    ¡°Weave it into clothing, and it¡¯ll take a gun to pierce it.¡±


    I made a note to myself. Don¡¯t try to stab Tobias through the clothes, aim for the throat.


    He goes on to say things about Aether helping humanity reach its manifest destiny.


    This was all well and good though, but where did I fit into this? Why did a higher-up in Apex randomly pick up a thief? Could they know my secret?


    Suddenly I didn¡¯t feel comfortable sitting alone with Tobias.


    ¡°I bet your wondering where you fit into this, Silver.¡± He said, looking into my eyes.


    I just stared back without answering. He obviously wanted me to ask him, to feel as though he was the shepherd and I was a sheep. I wouldn¡¯t give him that satisfaction.


    He frowned, but continued talking.


    ¡°Apex¡¯s founder has died, and now it needs a new leader.¡± He said.


    Ah, a power struggle then.


    ¡°The founder was the sort of man who liked to play games. So in his will he left the potential successors a game. Whoever brings the most Aether back to Earth in three years gets the company, gets the money, and most importantly, gets the power.¡±


    He looked at me, watching for any reaction that I might have.


    ¡°Stop the car.¡± I say.


    Nothing happens.


    ¡°I said stop the fucking car.¡± I said in a low growl.


    I wasn¡¯t going to fuck around in this. It was obvious that Tobias knew more about me then he was letting on.


    Tobias raised his hand and the car stopped.


    ¡°What makes you think you can leave.¡± He says, an easy smile across his face.


    I see it in his eyes though. The deadly gleam, the crazed enthusiasm. This man is dangerous.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to mess with me Tobias. You have no idea what your getting into.¡±


    I grab the door handle and open the door.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t leave if I were you¡­Alexander.¡±


    There¡¯s a long pause, but suddenly I¡¯m in front of him, a knife at his jugular.


    I thought I covered all my tracks, but I should¡¯ve known someone would find me one day. Too bad for you Tobias, you shouldn¡¯t have messed with me.


    ¡°That¡¯s the worst option you could¡¯ve chosen Alexander. If I die, the fact that you¡¯re alive will be revealed to the whole world. I don¡¯t think you want that, do you?¡± He said.


    This bastard.

 Chapter 2

    Tobias smiles widely. He knows he¡¯s won.


    I take my knife off his throat and hide it back in my sleeve.


    ¡°How much will I get paid?¡± I ask, suddenly nonchalant as I sit back down.


    ¡°100 grand for every month, for the rest of your life.¡±


    I nod in appreciation. That¡¯s some pretty good money.


    ¡°So all you want me to do is get this Aether stuff. One thought though, I¡¯m an assassin and a thief, not a miner.¡±


    ¡°No no no, you won¡¯t be mining anything. You¡¯ll be stealing the Aether from other competitors of mine. I will run the mining operation, but I¡¯m also creating a crack team that can defend my gains. All of the other¡¯s will be doing this as well.¡±


    ¡°And why is there a need to defend anything. Don¡¯t tell me your going to be fighting your own company out there.¡±


    ¡°Well it wouldn¡¯t be much of a game if the only thing happening was people running around and drilling up Aether. No, Hope has already been scanned for its pockets of Aether and getting it out of the ground will be simple enough. The real game is the battles that are fought for the land.¡±


    I scoffed, leave it to the rich old bastards to come up with a war game on an alien planet.


    ¡°You know it would have been much easier if you just hired mercenaries that weren¡¯t in hiding.¡± I say.


    Tobias responds by reaching into his pocket and producing a chip. One of those digital gizmos with a mess of metal parts.


    ¡°Meet the Apex Corporation¡¯s newest innovation, the Implant.¡±


    ¡°Creative name you got there. Do I put it in a computer or something?¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t be putting it anywhere. Instead, a surgeon will place it in your brain.¡± He says with mock bravado.


    I eye the chip again.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡±


    Tobias ignores my apprehension.


    ¡°With the Implant, Apex can create super-soldiers. Reaction times, memories, thoughts, calculations, movements, and much more will become better, efficient, and streamlined. The only downside, the Implant is only compatible with the growing brains of teenagers like yourself.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    I was 16 and immediately regretting it. Tobias continues.


    ¡°Each competitor gets eight implants, as they are incredibly expensive and hard to create.¡±


    The car starts to slow and I look out the window. We were outside of a rocket launch site.


    I spin around to face Tobias.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving now?¡±


    ¡°No time like the present Silver. The game started today and it takes a full year to fly to Hope. That gives us a round trip of two years and one year of mining time.¡±


    The door opens and Tobias steps out with me close behind. The launch area is a mess of people running about. The ship itself looks like a giant building made of dark metal. Tobias leads me into the spaceship. The inside is a mess of corridors and tunnels which Tobias leads me through.


    We eventually stop in a room. Inside lies racks of guns, weapons, and futuristic jumpsuits.


    ¡°Change into a jumpsuit and pick out some weapons. The jumpsuit and weapons have Hopium incorporated into them.¡±


    I walk over to the jumpsuit and run my hands over it. Then I looked at the weapons. Guns of all kinds lined the wall and an assortment of swords, blades, axes, and whatever other medieval weapon were arranged on a table.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous to give guns to people on a rocket?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re only temporary. Once you¡¯re done changing, come out of the spaceship the way we came from. There¡¯s a little surprise I have planned for you.¡±


    Tobias leaves and I turn back to the racks of weapons. I won¡¯t say no to weapons, but something doesn¡¯t feel right about him just handing them to me.


    Whatever, it¡¯s either play along or face the consequences.


    I quickly change into the jumpsuit. Then I survey the handgun section of weapons. I choose the grab two Apex Zephyrs, pistols that I had preferred in my past.


    I was trained to be able to shoot with most guns, but give me a sniper and a pistol and I¡¯ll be all good.


    I moved to where the snipers were held but immediately feel disappointed. Tobias was only providing Apex¡¯s guns, and while I liked their handguns, I had other preferences when it came to sniper rifles.


    I grab an Apex Reaper and move on to the knife section. I grab some throwing knives, three combat knives, and their respective sheathes.


    With that I decide that I¡¯m as prepared as I will be and leave the ship. As I walk back out into the launch zone, a worker guides me to a warehouse a few hundred feet away from the launch zone.


    Inside the warehouse, 31 other jumpsuit wearing youth stand around talking. Some glance my way when I enter but most are too busy talking amongst each other to notice.


    A feeling of dread appears in my stomach. There¡¯s 32 people here, but Tobias said that he only got eight implants. Then I look down at my holstered pistols. He couldn¡¯t be that sadistic, right?


    I look around the rest of the warehouse. The jumpsuit wearing people were being herded around the entrance, which is located in the corner of the facility. In the center, a forest of stone trees forms a circle. Off one of the walls, a glass booth projects out over the stone tree forest.


    Inside, sits Tobias. As I watch him, he reaches out and grabs a microphone. Soon, his voice sounds over an intercom.


    ¡°You all know why you¡¯re here.¡±


    Tobias¡¯s voice sounds almost¡­excited.


    ¡°You are the chosen few who have been selected to be my representatives in the upcoming battle for Apex. Each of you know the reward for participation.¡±


    Some of the others around me lick their lips and nod their heads. They stand straighter, eyes widen, and grin madly.


    ¡°Unfortunately, not everyone is fit for space exploration.¡±


    Worry suddenly begins to spread among the jumpsuit clad youth.


    ¡°Servants will be coming out and putting you into groups of four.¡±


    On cue, men and women in suits walk out and begin putting people into groups. I¡¯m placed with a golden-haired girl with enough makeup to be on television, a purple-haired pretty boy who looked good and knew it, and finally a beefy boy with black-haired buzz cut. The servant led us to the edge of the forest before turning back and leaving.


    ¡°So what¡¯s your name? I¡¯m Michael by the way.¡± The pretty boy asks makeup girl.


    ¡°It¡¯s Vanessa.¡± The girl curtly replies.


    ¡°I must say, your hair is amazing looking. I thought my hair was good but your hair is ten times better.¡± Michael continues.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Vanessa replies.


    This continued on and on. Meanwhile, beefy boy and I remained silent. I noticed that Vanessa was holding an assault rifle awkwardly, as if she wasn¡¯t trained. Michael meanwhile was waving around a sword like an idiot. Could Tobias have chosen people who didn¡¯t know how to fight? The beefy boy at least held a shotgun with some degree of ease, but was that experience, or naivety.


    Tobias¡¯s voice came back over the intercom.


    ¡°All groups, please enter the stone forest.¡±


    We all step into the forest. It¡¯s not a very dense forest, enough space to shoot through, but not ideal. I draw my pistols.


    ¡°There are currently 32 of you.¡±


    Tobias pauses.


    ¡°I only want 16.¡±