The Lost Sword Read online

  THE LOST SWORD

  Huw Powell

  For my son Carter

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: The Trading Station

  Chapter 2: The Divine Wind

  Chapter 3: Wild Joe Jagger

  Chapter 4: Shan-Ti Monastery

  Chapter 5: Trouble in the Seventh Solar System

  Chapter 6: The Mayor of Remota

  Chapter 7: Admiral Voratio Vantard

  Chapter 8: The Captain’s Daughter

  Chapter 9: Baden’s Story

  Chapter 10: Man Overboard

  Chapter 11: Papa Don

  Chapter 12: Reus Roulette

  Chapter 13: Vigor-8

  Chapter 14: The Sword of Altus

  Chapter 15: Gorks

  Chapter 16: The Supply Ship

  Chapter 17: Space Battle

  Chapter 18: The Truth about Kid Cutler

  Chapter 19: Dog Fight

  Chapter 20: Rusty’s Revenge

  Chapter 21: Santanova

  Chapter 22: The Gathering

  Chapter 23: The Altian Mechanic

  Chapter 24: Act of War

  Chapter 25: Braving the Storm

  Also by Huw Powell

  Prologue

  Deep Space

  “There’s a storm brewing.”

  Baden Scott stood on the bridge of his salvage trawler, the Rough Diamond III, clutching a cup of coffee and staring through the window at the distant stars. His crew had been cruising deep space for almost a week in search of scrap, but the only thing they had recovered beyond the seven solar systems was a stray satellite. If they didn’t find something valuable soon, Baden would be forced to sell his holiday home on Reus.

  “You’re right, the scanners are picking up activity in the asteroid field ahead,” said Kiki, the pilot. “I’ll give it a wide berth.”

  Baden smiled and rubbed his stubbly chin. “I love a good space storm. Nothing can stop those big old rocks once they start moving. If anything gets in their way, they crush it and sweep it aside, no questions asked.”

  “That sounds like the Interstellar Navy,” said Kiki, pulling on the controls.

  “You’re not wrong.” Baden laughed and swigged his coffee. “Mind you, I would rather take my chances with those asteroids. At least they play fair.”

  The Rough Diamond III changed course and headed farther into deep space, where few ships dared to go. There wasn’t much to salvage that far out, but at least no one would try to spacejack their new trawler.

  “Hey, Baden.”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m picking up something on the long-range scanner.” Kiki adjusted her display. “There’s a cluster of shapes heading toward the seventh solar system.”

  “More asteroids?”

  “I don’t think so; they’re in battle formation.”

  “Battle formation?” choked out Baden. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, like a fleet of warships. But what would the Interstellar Navy be doing out here?”

  “There’s only one reason why that many ships would be sneaking through deep space.” Baden drained his coffee and popped a wad of chewing gum into his mouth. “War.”

  Kiki looked horrified. “What war? You mean those ships are going to attack an independent colony?”

  “Why stop at one?” said Baden, chewing grimly. “There’s enough laser power in that fleet to take out the entire seventh solar system. I suggest we get out of here before we’re spotted.”

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “Set course for the sixth solar system.” Baden watched the shapes on the long-range scanner. “We can find work there while the storm blows over.”

  Chapter 1

  The Trading Station

  The ISS Timidus loomed over the trading station like a hunched metal specter. It was one of nine naval gunships patrolling the fifth solar system, with orders to protect the crystal trade routes from space pirates. Gunships were smaller than warships and they carried less crew, but they were faster and able to bear heavy laser cannon.

  In comparison, the trading station resembled a large copper doughnut suspended in space. Its tarnished hull contained rows of portholes, which glowed with warm amber light. The traders were used to raids, only this time the ISS Timidus wasn’t searching for stolen ship parts or illegal weapons, but something far more dangerous.

  Inside, naval troops in midnight-blue uniforms herded traders and customers to the central atrium, where they gathered below a spiral escalator. A senior officer paced the floor, his polished gravity boots clipping the metal grating. He surveyed the crowd with narrow bloodshot eyes, but most of their faces were concealed under traditional wide-brimmed hats.

  “What’s the point of these ridiculous things in space?” he asked, snatching one from a female trader and throwing it across the atrium. “I’m going to ask you wretches one more time: Have any of you seen a cargo hauler named the Dark Horse?”

  No one spoke.

  “Admiral Vantard has reason to believe that this pirate ship was responsible for the disappearance of the ISS Colossus super-destroyer three months ago,” said the officer. “He’s particularly eager to talk with the crew and their teenage captain, Jake Cutler—”

  One of the male traders snorted, causing the officer to turn sharply.

  “Is there something funny about a child spacejacker?”

  The trader was a large man with pale skin and huge arms. He raised his head and stared back with wolf-like eyes.

  “Well?” demanded the officer.

  “My friend doesn’t speak much,” said a bronze-skinned man next to him. “But I’m sure he didn’t mean any offense.”

  The officer glared at the pair of them, like an impatient teacher with two disruptive pupils.

  “There’s a reward for the boy,” he said, stepping back to address the wider crowd. “A crate of crystals for his capture. He can be identified by his brown hair, purple eyes, and gold pendant—”

  “What about his cutlass?” interrupted a younger trader.

  “What about it?” snapped the officer, rounding on the boy and swiping the hat from his head.

  “It’s very sharp,” said the trader, producing a cutlass from inside his coat.

  The officer took one look at the boy’s bright purple eyes and raised his arms.

  “Jake Cutler?”

  “Captain Cutler, according to you.” Jake prodded the officer in the stomach. “Tell your troops to drop their weapons before I gut you with my blade.”

  Jake was no ordinary teenager. He was a space pirate and the ruler of a secret planet, Altus. It hadn’t always been this way. Until a few months ago, Jake had lived with cyber-monks on Remota, a secluded planet in the seventh solar system. He had grown up not knowing who he was or where he was from. His only clue had been a gold pendant containing three crystals: a diamond, a ruby, and an emerald.

  When the monastery was attacked by naval troops disguised as space pirates, Jake had escaped Remota aboard an old cargo hauler called the Dark Horse, which turned out to be a pirate ship belonging to the Space Dogs. With their help, Jake had discovered Altus hiding inside the Tego Nebula dust cloud. But not before they had defeated Admiral Nex and his super-destroyer, the ISS Colossus.

  “Now hold on . . . ,” said the officer.

  The naval troops saw what was happening and turned their plasma rifles on Jake, who responded by nudging his sword a little harder. He had never gutted anyone in his life, but the troops didn’t know that. As far as they were concerned, he had single-handedly destroyed the ISS Colossus, making him more dangerous than other famous pirates, such as James Hawker or Scarabus Shark. Jake had earned himself the nickname Kid Cutler.

  “You heard him,” sa
id the officer, his voice now several pitches higher. “Drop your weapons; that’s an order.”

  The troops lowered their plasma rifles and placed them on the floor. Three space pirates shed their disguises and stepped from the crowd to collect the guns, including the large pale man, Kodan, his bronze-skinned friend, Farid, and a muscular shipmate with thick dreadlocks, Woorak. The crowd dispersed around them as traders and customers abandoned the station before more troops arrived.

  “Captain Cutler?” said Farid, who was the first mate aboard the Dark Horse.

  “Why not?” laughed Jake. “You have to admit, there’s a certain ring to it.”

  Farid raised an eyebrow. “Wait until the real captain finds out that you’re after her job.”

  “It’s okay,” said Jake. “I’m not in a hurry to lead anyone.”

  After removing his uncle Kear from power, Jake had taken his rightful place as the ruler of Altus, only to discover that he wasn’t ready to lead. His home planet had not felt complete without his missing father, Andras Cutler. When the Space Dogs were forced to leave in a hurry, Jake had decided to go with them and continue his search for his father. It had not been easy to abandon his people, but how else would he find the true ruler of Altus?

  “What do you want with us, Spacejacker?” asked the naval officer.

  “With you? Nothing,” said Jake. “We just need to borrow your gunship for a while.”

  Kodan grinned. He was the master-at-arms, responsible for keeping peace aboard the Dark Horse, despite being unable to speak a word.

  Farid produced a communicator from his pocket. “Ahoy, Callidus, we’ve secured our guests. How are you and Capio getting on?”

  Callidus Stone was an ex-naval officer turned fortune seeker. He had spent years searching for Altus with his clumsy companion, Capio Craven. Callidus had helped Jake to escape from Remota and find his home planet.

  “Ahoy, Farid,” said Callidus. “The crew didn’t put up much of a fight. We’re on the bridge now, and I’m accessing their ship’s computer. It shouldn’t take long; not much has changed since I was in the Interstellar Navy.”

  “You’re aboard our ship?” exclaimed the officer.

  “Yep,” said Jake. “We need to access the main naval server to find out what you know about us, so we can keep one step ahead of you. And I want information about a ship that was destroyed eleven years ago.”

  The communicator crackled.

  “Hmm, that’s interesting,” muttered Callidus.

  “What is?” asked Farid.

  “An old navy buddy of mine has retired.”

  “Fascinating,” said Farid, impatiently. “Now hurry up and find something useful.”

  “Why don’t we take their ship?” asked Jake. “Isn’t that what spacejackers are supposed to do?”

  “Yeah, right,” said Farid. “I can just imagine turning up at the next service port in a naval gunship. It’s not exactly discreet, is it?”

  “W-w-we don’t need another ship,” stuttered Woorak. “Not now that we have n-n-new registration plates and a coat of p-p-paint.”

  “Ah,” said Callidus.

  “What’s up?” asked Farid.

  “This isn’t the only naval vessel in the area. A warship is approaching and it’s hailing the gunship.”

  “Ah,” echoed Farid.

  A cold panic spread through Jake’s body. It was bad enough to encounter a naval warship in open space, where they could at least make a run for it, but they were docked inside a trading station with the gunship crew as hostages.

  “Get everyone back to the ship,” instructed Callidus. “I’ll delay them.”

  “Let’s go,” said Farid, backing toward the exit.

  “Leaving so soon?” sneered the officer.

  Jake flicked his cutlass with lightning speed and sliced open the officer’s jacket. He watched the silver buttons spill on to the metal grating.

  “Oops, sorry about that,” he said.

  Farid, Kodan, Woorak, and Jake hurried through a red arched walkway to the maintenance bay, where the rest of the crew were waiting. It was hard to run in gravity shoes and the air was thick with incense cubes, which were used to disguise the stench of recycled oxygen. As they reached the bay entrance, three people stumbled out of another passage holding midnight-blue containers.

  “Watch out,” warned Farid.

  Kodan and Woorak instinctively raised the plasma rifles they had collected.

  “Wait, don’t shoot!” yelled a voice from behind one of the crates.

  “Maaka?” said Jake.

  “Aye,” said the shipmate, lowering his container. “The captain sent us to get some supplies from the gunship.”

  Maaka Metal Head was a gnarly-looking shipmate with a face full of scars and piercings. Next to him stood Jake’s two teenage friends, Kella and Nanoo, their arms laden with naval supplies.

  Kella Anderson was a United Worlds citizen and a talented crystal healer. Jake had often wondered how someone could cure people with shiny stones, but whenever he asked her, Kella just shrugged her shoulders and told him that it was a gift. Apparently, the crystals were only tools that helped to channel her healing powers, in the same way that a megaphone was used to amplify sound.

  Jake had first met Kella in Papa Don’s illegal spaceport, where she had been held for ransom because her family owned a crystal mine in the sixth solar system. Her sister, Jeyne, had been on her way to pay the ransom when the Interstellar Navy had arrested her, leaving Kella at the mercy of the space mafia. Jake had helped to free Kella, who was now part of the Space Dogs crew and the ship’s medic.

  Nanoo was a lilac-skinned Novu alien from planet Taan-Centaur in a distant galaxy. His exploration ship had crashed into an asteroid, killing his parents and the crew. He had been left alone, stranded for a whole year inside the shipwreck, before Jake discovered him.

  What Nanoo lacked in language skills, he made up for with his knowledge of advanced alien technology, which he had used to make a number of improvements to the Dark Horse. This included engine enhancements, stronger electronic shields, and more powerful laser cannon. All of which made the old cargo hauler much tougher than it looked.

  Kella flicked aside her long black hair and opened a container full of food pouches. “These naval munchies look much nicer than that stuff in the trader canteen.”

  “And we disable gunship engine,” said Nanoo, his wide turquoise eyes sparkling with delight. “They not go anywhere fast.”

  “Good work,” said Farid approvingly. “But we need to hurry.”

  In the maintenance bay, they were met by the chief engineer, Scargus, and his assistant, Manik.

  “We can’t leave yet,” protested Scargus. “The ship is not ready.”

  “Sorry, we don’t have any choice,” said Farid. “There’s a naval warship heading our way.”

  “But we haven’t tested the new boosters, the rear shields need calibrating, and the intercom is faulty.”

  “And the paint is still wet,” added Manik, holding up her artificial arm, which was covered in red specks.

  “Will she fly?” asked Farid.

  “Aye,” said Scargus. “But . . .”

  “That’s all I need to know.” Farid headed straight for a cargo hauler with a plump red hull. “Let’s get the old girl into the stars.”

  “I heard that,” croaked a silver-haired woman, standing at the top of the loading ramp. “And you had better be talking about the ship.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  Granny Leatherhead was the captain of the Dark Horse, which had served the Space Dogs for over twenty years. It had endured many adventures and its battle scars were still visible beneath the coat of paint. Jake had grown fond of the old cargo hauler. It was like one of the crew, a comrade-in-arms. Thanks to Nanoo, the ship now boasted four new booster exhausts and a multibarreled laser cannon hidden inside its nose.

  “Isn’t she a beauty,” said Scargus with a sigh.

  “Aye, she’
ll do,” agreed Farid, climbing the loading ramp.

  “Now I know you’re talking about me,” cackled Granny Leatherhead.

  The captain was dressed in a faded black combat suit, which was covered in patches, straps, and buckles. It was traditional for pirate crews to have their own colors and customize their outfits. A crusty leather patch covered one of her eyes, while the other looked down her hooked nose at the naval supplies.

  “I hope you picked up something a bit stronger than fruit juice this time,” she said.

  The maintenance bay doors crashed open and Callidus entered, closely followed by Capio. Jake noticed that the tall fortune seeker was holding a data crystal.

  “Start the engine!” shouted Callidus, his long coat flapping behind him.

  “What happened?” asked Farid, from the top of the loading ramp.

  “It’s the naval warship,” said Callidus. “I didn’t know the latest security codes.”

  “How long before they’re in range?” asked Granny Leatherhead.

  “Two minutes.”

  “Blast it.” The captain turned to a blue-haired woman waiting in the cargo hold. “Nichelle, fire up the engine. We’re leaving in one minute.”

  “That’s not all,” said Callidus, as he reached the bottom of the ramp. “It’s the ISS Magnificent. Admiral Vantard has tracked us down.”

  Chapter 2

  The Divine Wind

  Jake and the Space Dogs had been blamed for the disappearance of Admiral Algor Nex, after he was sucked into a black hole along with his super-destroyer, the ISS Colossus. It was now common knowledge that Admiral Nex had been searching for a teenage space pirate with purple eyes. The name Jake Cutler had spread throughout the galaxy, as the boy who had defeated the most advanced warship in the Interstellar Navy.

  Now there was a new admiral in charge, Voratio Vantard, the most decorated officer in naval history. His handsome face and dashing smile were often featured on the stellar-net, with reports of daring feats and dangerous missions. His fine copper hair and bottle-green uniform were sharp even for a naval officer, prompting his nickname: Admiral Vaintard. If anyone wanted to be credited with capturing the most dreaded space pirate of all time, it was the admiral.