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

would not leave empty handed.
Bella put her hand on Jacob’s arm and looked up at him pleadingly. “Please, Jacob, can’t we give them some of animals from the barns?” She sounded desperate and indeed Jacob knew she was as her accent was increasing as it always did when she became stressed. They had discussed this at length lying under the stars, and they knew that the remaining animals were the bare minimum they would need to re-stock their farm.
“Bella, darling, you know that would only be postponing the inevitable. We have no choice.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, and turned to the man in charge. “Sir, is there anything you can do to overlook this and allow us to make up the difference at the next Token?” It was worth a shot.
The man seemed about to laugh but then his face became sadly stern again. Jacob guessed the man must have realized this was a traumatic situation, one of almost certain life and death for this family. “That is not remotely possible. We’re not in the business of extending deadlines. This war would be lost very quickly if everyone offered up their Token only when it suited them. No, I’m sorry but you must meet the terms of agreement. Your daughter is forfeit.”
Though Bella and Jacob had expected this, hearing the words spoken aloud by someone who had the power to make it happen rocked the very ground they stood on. Bella fell to her knees and both Jacob and Bettine rushed to her.
“Wait!” Jacob stood up from his wife’s side and addressed the three men. “If I can give you and the Suppliers something more valuable than my daughter or the missing blues and greens would you list our Token as paid and leave my daughter in her home?”
The man looked with annoyance and skepticism at Jacob, but must have decided he had nothing to lose, “I can do that...if it’s worth my efforts. What can you give me?”
“I can give you myself. My real name is Steen. Marel Steen. Please check in your database under the listing for absent officers. When you get the information let me know.” Jacob waited, hugging his family. He could tell the man wanted to just ignore his demand and take Bettine, but there was also a look of interest on his face. He tapped the keys and then looked up at Jacob. He held the small piece of electronics up in front of him in line with Jacob. He was obviously comparing Jacob’s face with that of the one attached to the name of Marel Steen.
“You certainly look like him.” He was getting excited. “You look a lot older...oh, wait!” He looked back at the screen. “This was taken over ten years ago.”
Blake had been silent till now, “What’s this Jacob? What’s going on?”
Jacob ignored his friend. “Let me prove it’s me.” Jacob walked slowly, hands in the open so as not to have any trigger fingers do anything hasty, and placed his thumb on the screen. After a second he stepped away again. The man looked up and his face showed a range of emotions at the same time. He was surprised, pleased, and greedy. While his companions now pointed their weapons at Jacob, their leader turned to them and spoke. Jacob and the others could not hear all he said, but what did come to their ears told them why the man was so pleased. There was a bounty for the return of Marel Steen.
“Your Token is fulfilled and your daughter can stay with his mother. However, Steen, you are under arrest for evasion and dereliction of your duties as a military officer. You will come with us peacefully or I may change my mind about your daughter. Understand?” Jacob nodded his agreement.
Blake stepped forward and tried to intervene, “Wait a minute, what’s…” The Collectors pointed their weapons at him and ordered him away. He hesitated, not sure what to do, but Jacob spoke up.
“Please, Blake, everything will be fine. Just take care of Bella and Bettine for me.” With those words he took a last look at his family, sitting forlorn in the dirt. He threw the backpack almost casually over his shoulder then walked willingly up the hill and into the enormous vessel. Once the rest of the trailers carrying the animals had been loaded aboard the second ship they both took off in a cloud of dust.
As Blake looked up at the vanishing ship, he heard a low pitiful moan escape from Bella’s lips, and he turned just as she fainted across her daughter’s lap. She had, in one moment, lost her husband to the same fate that had been reserved for her daughter; removal from the family and almost assured death far away.


Twenty One


“My God, Bella, what’s going on?” Blake was holding a clay cup of water to her lips while she still sat in the dirt. “Who’s this Steen person and what has he to do with Jacob?” He was close to panic with concern for his friend.
“My dad was Marel Steen.” Bettine had spoken on behalf of her mother who was staring, open mouthed, into the sky where her husband had been taken from her.
“But I’ve known him for years as Jacob the farmer. What does all this mean? Isn’t there anything we can do?” He sounded as wounded as if it had been his own brother taken.
Bella spoke quietly, “Blake, you’re my husband’s friend, but are things he never told even you, things he couldn’t say or you might have found yourself in trouble some time too.” She stopped to take another drink then went on. “When I met him he was officer in Intelligence Section. He make decisions on which troops should be sent and where based on information from spies, friendly civilians, and so on. After many years he just couldn’t take it more. He knew he was really just sending thousands of people to deaths.” She walked back into the house holding her son’s hand. Blake followed close by. Once inside she sat down at the table and began to cry silently. Blake sat next her and tried to soothe her.
Bettine carried on the story she had only learned the night before out on the rooftop. “This was in the last war; the one that my dad says was really what caused this one to start, before I was even born. Anyway, that’s when he says he started to become a non-tech and to hate war. When the last war ended he had done real well for them so they let him retire. When this new war started he was told to become a soldier again, but he didn’t want to. He went away with mum before the army could find him and they changed their names and became farmers here.”
“Since then we’ve tried forget about past and that army would be searching for Jacob,” Bella was in control of herself again. “Was really no way that they ever could found him and we thought we’d be safe here forever. Those damn monsters up the hill changed all!” Her anger got the better of her and she slammed the cup she was holding onto the table shattering it, spilling water all over. “What we do now?”
Blake suddenly jumped to his feet frightening both of the others at the table with him. “I have idea; come with me.”
He ran outside and through the farmyard, mother and daughter following at his heels. They ran past the now empty pens and further down the hill onto their neighbor’s land. They were almost ready to drop from their exertions by the time they reached a wooden farmhouse similar in most respects to the one they had just left.
Blake knocked on the door but before it had even been opened he was pushing it inward and walking briskly inside. Bettine and Bella followed and as they stepped inside they saw that Carlee had come from a back room to see who her rude guests were. She opened her mouth to speak but Blake spoke first.
“Please Carlee, excuse us barging in, but we really need your help.” Without waiting for any response from the surprised looking woman he went on. “Can you contact your father for us? It’s a matter of life and death, literally.” He looked at her in earnest and her face showed no hesitation or questioning now.
“Of course, wait here.” She walked off to the room she had appeared from and went out of sight. They could hear her talking, Dale’s voice weakly responded questioningly, then she spoke again. When she reappeared, she had the radio her father had smuggled to her and that had been of so much help to them all recently. On seeing it, both Bettine and Bella immediately recognized why Blake had led them here. They hoped the radio would now be as useful again.
Bella was very impressed with the change that had come over Carlee in these last few days. She knew that previously Carlee would have had little interest in helping anyone else and would certainly have demanded to know more details before she would even consider it. Now she just played with the dials and spoke clearly into it.
“Daddy, are you there? Please respond if you can hear me, it’s important.” She tried twice more, and just as they were all about to give up they heard a little static then a familiar male voice came across the void.
“Carlee? What’s the matter? Are you OK?” Marshall’s voice betrayed his concern.
“Yes, I’m fine, but I want you to speak with one of the other farmers. Here’s Blake.” She handed the radio over without a further word or any hesitation.
Blake spoke quickly. “Sir, Collectors have just left, and have taken two of our people with them. One is Jacob, the man you spoke with and helped your pirates get their job done. We are asking you, please find way to help us to help them.” He stopped not sure if there was anything else to be said. He heard Carlee hugging and consoling Bella now that she knew what the emergency was.
Marshall spoke back, “Jacob? I thought it was his daughter who’d be taken. What happened?” His confusion was somewhat cleared up when Blake brought him up to date on the events of that day and how Jacob’s past had tied in.
“I thought that man sounded too organized and efficient in a time of stress to be just a farmer; meaning no offence to you and your community, Blake.”
“None taken, sir.”
“Who’s the other person you mentioned?” asked Marshall.
“One of the farmer’s sons, an eleven-year-old boy named Sean,” replied Blake.
“Let me see what I can do. Wait with my daughter and I’ll contact you as soon as I have something to tell you.” He broke the connection and then all they could hear was static.
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As the massive Collector cargo vessels broke out of the planet’s atmosphere and into orbit, their fighter escorts adjusted positions to provide a defensive shield for the groups last trip. The various cargoes they had collected over the last weeks had finally filled these vessels, and it was time to take the trip to their unloading points. The live cargoes were always the last to be collected so they would be fresh and healthy when they were delivered, so this had been the final stop. Time to go.
“Lieutenant Clayton, please dial in the final co-ordinates to the fleet.” The captain was clearly already imagining feasting on some of the fresh meat they had on board, and his