The Ace of Spades Campaign - Take a Chance On Me part 6

Luna's Story
As soon as Julia and Rebecca returned to The Ace of Spades, the other crew members were both curious and excited to know who the new arrival was. They all made Luna very welcome. Judith immediately whisked her off to the Med-bay for a check up and declared her fit but slightly malnourished. This was not surprising seeing as she'd been living on the streets, hiding from the authorities and her father's goons for two months

Judith then took Luna to the ship's lounge where the rest of the crew apart from Sharuna, who was on bridge duty, had gathered. The teenager was given a hearty meal, which she declared was the best meal she'd eaten in a couple of months. She sat in between Judith and Rebecca, both of whom she had warmed to and trusted. Also in attendance were Julia, whom she'd met earlier that day and was fearful of, Storm the ship's pilot and acting captain in Kimberley's absence, engineer Kyran and scientist Lynda. The fact that there were no male crew members intrigued Luna. No doubt their absence would be explained later.

The crew politely waited until Luna had finished her meal before questioning her.
"So, Luna, tell us your story," Rebecca began. "I know you're a runaway. I want to know why."
"Okay," Luna began hesitantly. "So, I was born here on Alhambra. Together with my parents, Darius and Bianca, we live in a large luxury mansion on Sybaros, a huge domed resort on the opposite side of the world far away from the public domes surrounding the planet's main starport, New Xanadu. My father is a multi-millionaire who runs one of the most exclusive and profitable casinos on Sybaros. I'm an only child and I had a very normal upbringing. I did well at school and enrolled at college to study astronomy and astrophysics."
"Good choices," Lynda interjected approvingly.
"Carry on," Storm said, smiling at Lynda and Luna.
"I enjoyed singing, so I joined the college choir, " Luna continued. "Life was good. I was happy and I thought I had my whole future planned out until that fearsome night when everything changed."

Her face darkened as she recalled the events of that life-changing night. "I returned home from college elated. I had just been chosen as the lead singer in a musical the college was going to put on. I couldn't wait to tell my parents the good news. However, they weren't around so I asked one of the maids where they were and she told me they were down in the cellars but weren't to be disturbed. Of course I ignored her and found the cellar door locked, which was usual, but I had a spare key that no one else knew about. What I saw sickened me to my stomach. My father was torturing some poor man with a chainsaw. A freaking chainsaw! Can you believe it? Both were covered in blood from head to foot and my mother was urging him on to inflict more damage. He'd already had both legs cut off below his knees. They seemed to think he had betrayed something called The Organisation, which I presume my parents were members of. I'd never heard of it before."
"It's real," Julia noted. "I know a lot about it. It is evil and you do not want to mess with them"
"Fortunately, my parents didn't notice my presence what with the sound of the chainsaw and the screams of their victim. So I ran to my bedroom, packed my bags and fled. That was two months ago. I got lucky and stowed away on a shuttle to New Xanadu, where I spent my time living on the streets, begging and stealing just to survive. Last week I hid amongst a big group of tourists who were returning to this space station on one of the many space shuttles. No one questioned me and I was able to slip away hoping to find a ship that could take me off planet far away from here. And that's when Becky and Julia rescued me."
"You poor girl," Rebecca stood up and hugged Luna affectionately.

"What are we going to do with her?" Judith asked the obvious question. "We can't hand her back to her parents, can we?"
"I say she stays with us," Rebecca answered quickly. "I can empathise with her given my own background. I was down and desperate when Kimberley took a chance on me and allowed me to join our crew. Let's give Luna the same chance as me."
"We'll let her stay here for the time being," Storm decided, "But ultimately it's up to Kimberley. She is the ship's captain, after all. Whatever happens we will get you off planet away from here, Luna. Is that okay with you?"
"That's all I want," Luna said gratefully. "I won't be any trouble. Thank you so much."

Next day, Kyran left the ship bright and early. She had an appointment with the crew of the Queen Charlotte, a small Class 3 trader ship under the command of Lucy Cook. It had reported a faulty reactor and Kyran had volunteered to help repair it. This was to be her third and final day helping them out. She anticipated getting finished before midday barring no unforeseen problems. She was hoping to join Kimberley that evening to offer her support in the poker final contest.

She had done similar jobs on many space stations. She enjoyed chatting with other ship's crews and offering help if required. She rarely ever encountered any trouble and certainly was expecting today to be like any other - just another normal, routine day, doing what she did best - tinkering with engines and ships' components. She was totally unaware of the danger that lurked in the shadows, just waiting for the right moment to pounce.

A couple of hours later, Sharuna called Storm to the bridge with worrying news.
"What's up, Sharuna?" Storm asked as she moved alongside the young computer hacker who was at her communications console.
"I've just received a com from Lucy Cook, the captain of the Queen Charlotte. She's asking when Kyran is going to turn up to complete her repairs? The thing is, Kyran left over two hours ago. She should have arrived there long before now. I've tried calling Kyran but she's not replying. I'm getting worried about her."
"Most unusual," Storm mused. "I'll send Julia and Becky out to look for her. She can't have gone far. In the meantime, keep on trying to contact her."
Another three hours passed and Julia and Rebecca returned to The Ace of Spades after a fruitless search.
"Nothing!" Julia announced glumly. "No one has seen her. It's as if she's just vanished. I know this station is  a big place but someone somewhere must have seen her."
The four of them were still on the bridge when Sharuna beckoned them over.
"Heads up, guys," she said, "I have incoming message from someone called Darius Covin."
"That's Luna's father," Rebecca explained to Sharuna. "Put him on."

Darius Covin was a wiry and stern-looking gentleman in his mid-fifties, dressed immaculately in a white suit with a pale green tie. He was standing in a grey stone-clad room that was dimly lit.
"Greetings, miss Galloway," he began by addressing Storm directly. "I do believe you are missing a crew member - namely one engineer, Kyran Calaveri. I have her here."
The camera panned out to reveal Kyran being held by a fearsome-looking Drahzik Manhunter.
"Kyran, are you okay?" Storm screamed.
"I'm fine... so far," Kyran replied sluggishly. "Just listen to him and do as he says."
"Good advice," Darius sneered. "I have something you want back and you have something I want back - my daughter Luna. I propose we make a trade. Fly to the space station orbiting Sybaros and take a shuttle to its spaceport. A rental car will take you to Blandford Street on the outskirts of the city. You will wait by the McMahon warehouse, where I will arrive at midnight. Don't worry. At that time the street will be deserted so we shouldn't be disturbed. Just be there on time. Bring my daughter and whoever else you want from your crew but no one else. Do not worry about customs officials or ship inspectors. They will not bother you at all, I can assure you. Do as I say and all will go smoothly. You get your engineer back and I get my daughter back. Do we have a deal?"
"Yes, dammit! We have a deal," Storm agreed through gritted teeth. The coms screen went black.
"Shit, shit, shit!" she swore angrily. "What a fucking mess!"