The Token by Kevin Bird (the little red hen ebook .TXT) 📖

speed to make furtive shipments of products that had questionable legality, it was a glorified smuggling vessel and could outrun anything larger and hide from anyone faster. Perfect for this job.
“Helm, bring us within transfer distance and open a channel for me.” Drake, sitting in his bridge chair, was pleased. Things were starting off well for this mission.
“Aye, sir. Channel open.”
“Do you have something for me?” No formalities here. As confident as Drake was about his communications security, it still never hurt to be careful. Too much at risk for anyone involved being chatty.
“Yes.” Came the equally abrupt reply from the captain of the delivery ship. “Our port cargo bay door is open. Come and get your package.”
“We’ll be right over.” Then to his men, “Close channels and send the boys out to get our stuff.”
At the same time the order was given three men were already on the deck below the Harpy’s bridge suiting up for a trip outside. Once they were sealed in their bulky outfits the room was de-pressurized and the cargo bay door opened. Ahead of them lay an infinity of blackness with a multitude of sparkling dots of light. As they moved out into space they could see their target in orbit above them. Light was shining off its surface and it was very close, for that they were grateful. Leaving a perfectly safe ship was always a nerve-wracking proposition. However, being the tough pirates they were they’d never admit it to each other. Each man was tethered to a stout nylon and wire mesh cable that was slowly being rolled out from inside the cargo bay. Every few seconds the lead man would give a short burst from his power backpack to adjust their direction and they slowly approached the other vessel.
Once they reached the slick and sleek surface of the delivery ship, they maneuvered themselves around to the other side where they saw the expected open bay door. They went inside and there was a large sealed container sitting on the floor in the center of the spacious room. They could see a man, presumably the captain, giving them a thumbs up signal through the viewport of the door leading to the main compartment of the ship. Each of the men hooked themselves to the container and gave their own thumbs up to the captain. The leader sent a signal back to the pirate ship and the cable began to tighten, and they, along with the container, were gradually pulled out of the bay and back into space.
“Delivery complete, captain. My employer sends his regards and wishes you well on your hunt. He hopes to hear of your success very soon.” With that Drake saw the other ship begin to move then suddenly blink out of sight.
A few minutes later the message came through to the bridge, “Captain, all’s in order with our supplies and the cargo bay door is sealed.”
“OK, let’s go hunting boys.” The ship moved quickly towards a nearby small farming planet and, hopefully, a nice payday for just a little work. Actually, everyone was looking forward to the idea of being paid to hunt some dumb animals. Just what the doctor ordered to relieve the usual boredom of space. No one had really taken to heart any of the horror stories they’d heard about the Hoppers. After all, they were tough pirates who were now going to be equipped with the very best weapons and personal armor available. The only two who did consider this a serious mission were Drake and his security chief, Cale. No point in worrying the men too much too soon though.
As the ship began to move Drake spoke into his radio. “Marshall, we’re about an hour away from our anticipated landing area and I need to make sure all’s as we had agreed.” He wasn’t about to risk himself and his crew if Marshall wasn’t going to fulfill his end of the bargain.
There was a moment’s delay then the voice of his intermittent employer came loud and clear through the radio. “Don’t worry, Drake. I told you what I’d do and I’m a man of my word. My contact is just waiting for my command and he’s ready to give you what you need. When I hear from my daughter that all’s well, you’ll be paid.” Marshall felt a little better about the whole situation now. He’d worked with Drake many times in the past, and though the captain was greedy, he did get the jobs done. This was just another one of those jobs, he told himself. Relax and let the professional do his thing.
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but you’ll hear from your daughter and you and I’ll have completed another business deal. It’s always good to work with you, Marshall. As usual, call me anytime you need something.” The tone was sincere, as he trusted his some-time benefactor. He’d never had any problems in the past with payment and he really expected none this time either.

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“Thanks for coming with me Blake.”
“No problem. I’m as keen as you to find out exactly what it is it that’s causing all this trouble for us. Anyway if there’s something we can learn that might help us then all the better.”
Jacob had called on Blake on his way over to examine the bodies of the creatures. Blake had already been up and was about to leave to look in on his animals so it didn’t delay Jacob, and they arrived at the field at the same time as Santor.
“There they are,” Santor said pointing to the other side of the enclosure. “Someone must have dragged them out of the field. I’m sure the greens were too freaked out by the bodies. Dead or not I’m sure they’d still smell like predators to them.” He walked over to the bodies and knelt down to take a close look. The other two men joined him.
“These things are big!” Blake whistled as he said it to emphasize his amazement. “Very impressive.”
Santor said, almost defensively, “Impressive? If you’d been attacked last night you’d be a lot more scared and angry, like me right now, than impressed! These things aren’t just curiosities, they were smart and dangerous”.
Jacob had been ignoring the others and was staring down at the closest creature. The black body was almost the size of Jacob, a big man even by farmer standards. The front legs were as long as his forearms but when he stretched the back legs out they were thickly muscled and as long as he was tall. Jacob took Santor’s not so subtle hint to get down to business and went down on one knee to probe under the front legs.
“Look at this.” His voice was both shocked and surprised. “The thing they used to kill Adam is like nothing I’ve ever heard of or seen before. How about you?” He had pulled a limp length of dark and shiny flesh from between the beast’s front legs. It lay on the ground extending from the body as long as Jacob’s arm. He pulled back the flesh at the end to expose a set of razor sharp teeth. Santor stepped back at the sight of them, nervous. Images of Adam’s neck flashed in his head.
“New to me,” Blake, like Jacob, was calm. “What’s that thing?” His slightly slurred speech added a level of horror to his question. He pointed between the teeth at a thin tube with a pointed end that seemed to hang down from the back of the ‘throat’.
“I couldn’t even imagine, Blake. This thing’s beyond me.” Jacob stood and with a hand full of dirt wiped his hands free of the sticky ‘blood’. “All I know is, I’m really looking forward to Marshall’s help arriving here as quickly as possible. I don’t want any of us to have to deal with these things anymore.”

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No sooner had Jacob returned home than Bettine ran up to him excitedly, “Dad, the radio’s making a noise.” She handed the radio up to Jacob’s outstretched hand.
After Carlee had finished the conversation with her father, Marshall had requested that Jacob be the one to keep the radio. He said he felt Jacob had the reliability to be trusted if, and when, a message had to be sent in or out. He’d also liked the way the farmer had handled himself on the radio, especially in an emotionally charged situation. Though Jacob was a non-tech he was clearly concerned about his daughter and would bend his own rules, if really necessary, in order to make sure the girl was safe. Using the radio would be a small price for him, one he would willingly pay. Marshall had thought how there must be more to this farmer than showed on the surface.
Jacob pressed the button to send, “Hello, this is Jacob.” A little static came out of the small unit followed by a voice he had not heard before.
“Jacob, this is Captain Drake, Marshall sent me to take care of a little problem you seem to be having with some bugs.” To Jacob he sounded pompous and full of himself. “We’ll be landing within the hour and will home in on your radio, so I want you to do two things for me.” He didn’t wait for a response but just continued talking as if he always expected everyone to pay attention and then jump to follow his orders. “First, go to an open, flat area of land close to your homes and fields. It needs to be a big enough area for a ship the size of a Collector vessel. Second, keep keying the send button of the radio every five minutes till I give you the message we have you in sight. Clear?”
“Perfectly clear.” The line went dead. Jacob already had a dislike for Drake’s condescending way. He would happily swallow his pride though if this man could help them all.
“Bella, can you make me something to eat, please? I have to go out again.” He walked into the kitchen to find her already putting food on the table.
She smiled grimly up at him. “Go ahead, eat. I heard what the man say and I’m just not happy about all this. I hope it ends soon.” She stood behind him as he sat and she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, “Please be careful. We need help of the men, I know, but they don’t sound like our kind. Don’t trust them. Take Blake and some of others with you, OK?” She kissed his ear and went to make breakfast for Bettine.
“I will Bella,” he said with his mouth full. “Don’t worry. It’ll all be over before you know it. We’ve had all the problems we’re going to have with these creatures. This Drake guy may not be very friendly but if Marshall sent him we can rest assured he’ll do the job. Marshall doesn’t want anything to happen to his precious Carlee.”
He turned to his daughter who had just come into the kitchen. “Bettine, before you eat I need you to go over to Blake’s house and tell him to pick up Santor and meet me up on the meadow above my blues. Tell them to come as soon as they can.”
“Yes, dad. Can I go with you to see this Drake man, too?” His daughter had also heard the radio conversation and was clearly excited to be involved.
“No. Sorry, Bettine. I don’t know what kind of people these men are, and I don’t want to take any chances. In any case since I’ll be gone, I want you to come right back home, eat, and then help your mother feed