Chapter 2 Harper was hiding behind some metal barrels when he heard the shot . He thought ' Well I guess things aren 't going well . ' He took a quick look over the barrels to try and see into the window of the bar . He couldn 't see Becka through the window , but he could see a very large man with his gun pointed in towards the other side of the room . He took another look at the street to make sure no one was around , and then he walked quietly over towards the window . When he was right under it , he took a quick look inside , and then ducked back down . Harper could see the man better now . The man wasn 't just large ; he was exceedingly fat with his stomach hanging out under his clothes . The man was pointing his gun at Becka who had her hands up , and the rest of the people in the bar were staying away from them . Harper started towards the back door , where he knew he could sneak in and get behind the big guy . He was glad Becka had insisted that they go to the bar and check it out the day before . He stepped in the back , and he could hear them talking as he slowly got into position behind the guy . Becka said , " Look , I said I was willing to pay you a good price for the seeds , I don 't see why your getting so upset Jaques . " " How stupid do you think I am ? I know you 'll be selling the seeds for four times what you 're willing to pay me . Now I asked you a simple question . Who is buying it from you ? " Harper had gotten to the man without much trouble , and now had his gun against the man 's neck . He said , " So , you must be our contact Jaques . It 's really nice to meet you . How about if you put your gun away , before I shoot you in the neck . " Becka said , " Thanks Harper . Now lets settle on a price , and get those seeds loaded before you have a nasty accident Jaques . We can all be agreeable , can 't we ? " One hour later they had six boxes of seeds loaded up in the cargo area and Jaques had four hundred and fifty dollars . Becka went to slip stream as soon as they got high enough . She thought Jaques might be dumb enough to try to come after them with his tiny ship . As soon as they were out of slipstream Becka went to Harper and gave him a hug and said , " Great job Harper . Thanks for saving me back there . " Harper said , " Man was that cool or what ! That guy had no idea what he was up against . What kind of idiot would pull a gun on you without some kind of back up ? Did you see the look in his eyes when he felt the gun against his neck ? I bet he almost peed his pants . " Becka smiled and said , " Well he did look surprised , but I wouldn 't go that far . I just hope Dunbar doesn 't want another shipment of these . I don 't think Jaques will be too willing to sell to us again . " Becka listened to Harper crack jokes about Jaques with half an ear while she headed for Dunbar . Things didn 't go well on Dunbar . A delivery that was supposed to take an hour took three days . Now Becka and Harper were finally leaving . Becka said , " Harper , you 're a genius right ? So tell me , why are the easy missions never easy ? " " Ya got that right . I mean what are the odds that our buyer would get kidnapped ? How many cargo ship captains have to rescue their buyers to get paid ? " Becka headed to her room to put the money in the safe . As she put the money in , she decided it was time to pay Harper . It had been a while since last time , and they had made lots of money for delivering the green rocks a couple of weeks ago . She sat down at her desk to figure out Harper 's pay , and as she added it up , she realized just how tired she was . The more she thought about a vacation , the better it sounded , and she decided they would take one starting today . Soon she had Harper 's money in her pocket , and she was headed to the mess hall . Harper was eating , and had a plate ready for Becka when she arrived . As they ate she said , " We don 't have anything pressing to do for a few days , so I thought we would go to Louties today and have a small vacation . I 've been there more than once , and it 's very nice . It 's well known for beaches , warm weather , and surfing . Oh , and there are lots of girls in bikinis . " Harper said , " Wow . I mean great , really great ! I 've never been to a beach before , but I 've heard about them . My grandfather had been to one , and my aunt used to tell me stories about it . I would love to actually see one . " Becka said , " It 's beautiful , and it 'll be my treat . Well , the hotel and the food will be my treat . If you find some other stuff you want , you can pay for it yourself . Which reminds me , I have some money for you . We made more than usual for delivering the green rocks . " Becka handed Harper his money . He said , " Jeez Becka , this is a lot of money ! I didn 't know we 'd made that much . " Harper counted up his money . He said , " With what I saved from last time I have about two thousand dollars . That 's more money that anyone on Earth could even imagine having . " " I want to visit my cousin 's and give them some money . I want to check on them and make sure they 're okay . Maybe even help them move to a different planet . " Becka said , " I don 't know Harper . I 'll think about it for a while . Is there anything else you want to do with your money ? " Harper said , " I think it would be very useful to be able to get into computer systems and figure out the problem without taking everything apart . Not to mention very cool . Do you know how your old partner Bobby got his ? " " I asked him once , and he told me a little bit about it . I know you can get it done on several different planets , and I know Bobby got his done on Newmars . They have a great big hospital , and lots of specialist doctors . He said the operation took a full day , and the recovery took about a week . That 's about it . I have no idea how much he paid to get it done . " Harper said , " Well maybe we could go there and look into it . I mean the next time we have no jobs to do . I still want to go to Louties to see the beach this time . " Once they landed on Louties , they locked up the Maru and went to find a hotel room for the night . They got one close to the beach , and once they were settled , they walked to the beach . Harper and Becka spent most of the late afternoon just walking and sitting on the beach , enjoying the sun . Harper was blown away by how beautiful everything was . He was especially interested in the surfers . He wanted to try it , but he didn 't know how to swim . After eating dinner out , and watching the sunset , they went to some of the shops by the beach . When Becka started looking at clothes , Harper decided to look at some surfing equipment . He didn 't want Becka to start thinking that he should buy some new clothes too . " Well , it just isn 't a smart idea . Being able to swim is much safer . I 've lived here all my life , and most of the stories of people being lost at sea or getting hurt involve someone who doesn 't know how to swim . " Harper saw Becka headed his way and said , " Great . Thanks for all the information . It was very helpful . " The next morning Becka said , " So Harper , what do you want to do today ? " She said , " I 'm sorry Harper , but if you don 't know how to swim , you 're not gonna take a surfing lesson . I don 't care what they say about wet suits . You never know what will happen to you in an ocean . " Becka could tell this was going to be an argument , because Harper was now fairly red , and his jaw was clenching . Harper said in a loud voice , " So just like that you can tell me what to do , even when we 're on vacation ! That is so unfair . I 'm perfectly capable of deciding what I want to do on my free time . We 're not on the ship right now ; we 're just two friends on vacation . I am going to get the surfing lesson . " Becka crossed her arms and said calmly , " Harper , you 're still seventeen , and until you turn eighteen , I will be deciding what you can and can 't do , both on and off the ship . Now in ten months or so you 'll be eighteen . Then if you want to leave the Maru and find somewhere else to live and work , I 'll let you . I would be really sad to see you go , but that 's your choice . If you choose to stay with me on the Maru , I 'll expect you to obey me until I think you 're mature enough to make your own choices . That may be when you 're eighteen , or it may be when you 're older . But until I decide you 're ready , there will be consequences for disobeying me . And if I remember correctly you didn 't seem to enjoy the consequences last time . " Harper was now bright red . He realized they were still in the hotel , and that if anyone was next door , they could hear her smacking him . He still thought she was wrong , but he didn 't want to ' talk ' anymore . He glared at her and said , " We don 't need to talk anymore . Don 't worry Becka , I won 't do the one thing that I really wanted to do on this trip . I 'll just follow you around all day , since that 's what you 're gonna make me do anyway . " Becka sighed and said , " I know how to swim , and I can teach you . We can spend the morning in the hotel 's pool , and if it goes well , then this afternoon you can take the surfing lesson . Maybe I 'll even do it with you . " Later at lunch Becka said , " For someone who has never been swimming , you picked it up very fast . It 'll be fine with me if you still want to take that surfing lesson after lunch . " Harper 's face lit up with a huge grin , and he started talking a mile a minute telling her all the things he had learned about surfing from just going to the stores . Harper was still talking about an hour later when they reached the surf shop that offered lessons . As he opened the door he asked , " Are you gonna come out with me ? " Soon the three of them were on the beach with their boards . Dave said , " Okay , before we get started there are three things to always remember when you 're surfing . First , make sure you have someone with you . Especially if you are new to surfing , but even when you are an old pro like me , you should always have a partner either in the water , or on land watching you . Second , balance and strength are what you use to surf . If you can balance while in motion , which takes strength , then you can surf . Third , if you aren 't enjoying it , don 't do it . Any questions so far ? " Dave said , " Let 's get out there then . " By the time the lesson was over , Becka could stay up once in a while , and Harper could stay up almost every time . When they were back in their regular clothes , Becka said , " Well , Harper , I thought that was pretty fun how about you ? " Harper said , " I loved it . Surfing makes me feel free and in control at the same time . I want to go again tomorrow , and I want to come back here to Louties every chance we get . " Becka laughed and said , " I 'm sure we can come back here sometimes . If you want to go surfing again tomorrow , I 'll watch you from land . I think my legs will be in too much pain for me to surf again tomorrow . " Becka said , " You know , you have enough money to buy a board and a wet suit if you want to . We have plenty of room in the Maru to store it . Then if we landed on some other planet that had places to surf , you would already have your equipment with you . " Becka thought ' He 's hot . ' She said , " I went surfing for the first time today . Can you make me something that will make the pain go away for the next day or two ? " He said , " About three years . I started off cleaning tables , but now I 'm the night manager for the bar . What brings you to town ? " He said , " I am surprised . Surprised at my luck that is . I may have a job for you , if you 're interested . My name is Max by the way . " Becka held out her hand to shake and said , " Becka Valentine . It 's nice to meet you , and I 'm always interested in new jobs . What did you have in mind " Max shook her hand and said , " I 've been getting quite a few customers from Leeds recently , and they all seem to want a drink that I don 't have the supplies to make . It 's made from the milk of one of the native animals on Leeds . I 've asked my regular supply guy to bring me some of this milk on his regular weekly stop here , but he has some personal issues with going to Leeds , so he won 't do it . " Becka said , " I 've been to Leeds before , and it isn 't the most pleasant place , but it 's not horrible either . I could get that for you , for the right price . " To Becka 's surprise , about an hour after she started to talk to Max , she had a contract to deliver this milk to the hotel once a month . After that , she thought he was even cuter . Soon Max was off for the night , and they sat in a booth getting to know one another a bit more . The more Becka found out about Max , the more she liked him . Pretty soon , Harper came to find Becka , and said , " I 'm going up to bed . " Max smiled and said , " Would you like to go to my place for a while ? It 's right across the street in that set of apartments . " He pointed to some apartments that could be seen through the window . Becka smiled and said , " Sure that would be nice . " The next morning , Harper rented a board and went surfing , while Becka sat on the beach and watched him . After an hour of watching Harper surf , she walked up to the shoreline , and motioned for him to come in as he finished a ride . Harper came in and said , " What 's up Becka ? " She said , " You 're doing really well out there . Are you having fun ? " " You bet . You know Becka ; you don 't have to watch me the whole time . If you wanna do something else , you can . " Becka said , " Well it wouldn 't be fine with me . In fact that 's the reason I had you come in . I want to get my headphones so I can listen to some music while I watch you . I think I 'm going to get a snack , and go to the bathroom too , so you 'll need to take a break for about a half an hour . Do you want me to get you anything ? " While Harper sat in the sand and waited for Becka , he saw a really huge wave , and thought ' Great . I missed the best wave of the day . Thanks , Becka . ' After about ten minutes of waiting , and thinking less than pleasant thoughts about Becka , Harper thought , ' I don 't care what Becka says . It 's perfectly safe with all these people . This is our last day here , and I am wasting it sitting on the sand . Forget this . ' With that thought Harper got up and went back out in the water to catch another wave . About half an hour later Becka came back to the spot she thought she had left Harper , but she didn 't see him . She looked up and down the shoreline first , and then she looked in the water . Soon she saw Harper riding a wave . She just stood there staring at him for a while , getting more and more angry . When he got close to the shore after riding that wave in , he waved at her , but she didn 't wave back . She stood with her arms crossed and looked at him with a glare . Harper saw Becka 's glare and thought ' Maybe this wasn 't the best idea . ' He didn 't want to come in , but then he got an image of her coming in after him , and he decided to come ashore . He reached her side and smiled at her . He pretended not to notice she was mad and said , " Wow surfing is great ! Did you get what you wanted . " Harper 's stomach started to feel a bit uneasy , and he said , " Why ? " in a quiet voice . Becka said , " I thought I made myself very clear about staying out of the water until I was back to watch you . We are going to talk about the fact that you chose to ignore me . " Becka interrupted him with a whack to his arm and said , " Return the equipment now , and meet me back in our room . " Then she walked away from him and towards the hotel . Harper watched her back for a while as she walked away , and then he slowly went to return the surfboard and wet suit . He was feeling a mixture of guilt and anger . He felt guilty because he had known she didn 't want him surfing without her there . He was angry , because he thought she was getting all worked up over nothing , and now he was missing out on the last hour and a half of his rental time . After he returned the stuff , he walked slowly back to their hotel room , and thought about what she might do to him . Becka watched Harper come inside , close the door , and stand with his back against it . He was looking at the carpet . Becka said , " Harper come and sit at the table with me for a minute . " Harper thought this sounded promising , and he hoped talking would be the end of it . He looked up and saw her sitting at the small table . She motioned for him to sit in the chair across from her . He went over , sat down , and looked at the table . Becka said , " Look at me Harper honey . " Harper had been expecting anger , and looked up quickly . Becka wasn 't smiling , but she didn 't look like she wanted to hit someone either . She said , " Harper did you understand what I said to you before I left ? " Becka was quiet for a few seconds until Harper looked at her . He could clearly see she was not happy with that answer . She said , " You tell me pretty often that you 're an adult even though you 're seventeen . Do you think you acted like an adult today ? " Becka said , " Well that 's the whole issue now isn 't it . You say you 're mature enough to be on your own , and I say you 're not . You decided to disobey me , and you did something dangerous , because you got angry . Is that correct little boy ? " Harper was getting angry now . He didn 't like where the conversation was heading , and he certainly didn 't like her calling him ' little boy ' . He hated it when she thought he was acting like a kid , and he hated it even more when he agreed with her . He said , " You 're overreacting . So what if I went back out before you came back . There were lots of people out there . It wasn 't dangerous . " Harper said , " Whatever . " Harper realized that probably wasn 't the best thing to say , after he said it . He wished he had said something like ' Sorry Becka ' or ' You 're Right Becka . ' He thought to himself ' You 're a dumb ass Harper ' while looking at the table again . Becka said , " I see we 're back to you acting like a child . I think we 're done talking about this . I think it 's time for an attitude adjustment . " Becka stood up and went over to the dresser . She picked up her hairbrush and turned towards Harper . Harper jumped out of his chair , and started backing towards the door . He said , " No way Becka ! It isn 't fair . You shouldn 't s . . sp do that to me for something so so unimportant . " Becka walked to Harper who had backed himself against the door . She grabbed his wrist , and pulled him to the corner of her bed . She sat down and pulled him face down across her lap . Harper moaned and said , " Becka please don 't . " Harper yelped with the first swat , but then tried to keep quiet . He was angry with Becka . He decided she was being unreasonable , and that he wasn 't going to cry . By the tenth swat Harper was squirming . By the fifteenth swat he was grunting with each swat , and by the twentieth swat he was kicking his legs a bit . Becka stopped but held him in place . She said , " Okay Harper , we 're almost done here . What are you going to do the next time I tell you to do something ? " Becka said , " Thank you . " And gave him six more fairly hard smacks concentrated on his sit spots . Harper was still mad , and it helped him not to cry out . Becka tossed the brush on the bed , and stood them up . She hugged Harper , but he didn 't hug her back . Becka said , " Okay Harper you 're forgiven . Go get cleaned up . " Harper went to the bathroom and washed his face off with cool water . He was grumbling to himself the whole time about how unfair it all was , and about how Becka was over reacting . He pulled his shorts down , and looked at his butt in the mirror . It was bright red all over , but no welts or anything that would become bruises . He was in a fowl mood when he went back out to see Becka . Becka could tell that he was not at all repentant , so she decided he needed some time to think about it . She said , " I 'm going to go get us some lunch . I want you to stay here , and think about what just happened . Think about what you could have done differently to avoid it . I 'll be back in a few minutes . " Harper nodded his head and stared at the carpet . As soon as Becka left , Harper flopped , face down on his bed and thought about what had happened . His thoughts were all about how Becka sucked , and about how he should be able to do whatever he wanted . He soon fell asleep . Harper was running . H could hear the pounding footsteps behind him . H knew that if the Nietzscheans caught him , he would be a slave by the end of the day . H turned another corner , and found the hidden door behind the dumpster . H had used this escape route before . H hid , and soon he heard the footsteps go past him . H sat there breathing hard for a while . A out an hour later he crawled out , and looked through the dumpster before heading for home . H found a head of cabbage that was half - rotten , and two potatoes with some black spots . H carried them home . A home his Uncle Jim and his two cousins were waiting for him . J m had found work and had been given half a chicken . A ter they all ate , Jim asked Harper where the food he brought home had come from . H rper told him about trying to find work , and he had just gotten to the terrifying part about the Nietzscheans chasing him , when his Uncle stood up and slapped him so hard he fell out of his chair . H rper stayed on the ground covering his head while his uncle took off his belt . H s Uncle yelled at him while he started beating him , " How many times Th ack have I told you Thwa k to stay away from the city ! Thwack , Thwack If you et caught Thwack and they don 't kill you Thwack you idiot Thwack they 'll ask you questions . Thwack , Thwac Once you start talking Thwack they 'll come after us . Thwack I told ou to go o the outskirts of town . Thwack You ar worthless ! hwack , Thwack . You re going to get us all killed ! " Harper was screaming and trying to protect his head . On the other side o the room , his cousin James was holding his cousin Amy who was crying . His uncle put his b lt back on and told Harper to get to bed . When Harper didn 't ove fast enough , his uncle kickHarper said , " No thanks James . You better not be t lking to me when Uncle Jim gets back in . " Harper said , " I didn 't . He just assumed I was in the city . I was on the outskirts where he told me to be , when the Nietzscheans came after me . I don 't know what they were doing there , but I knew they would catch me if I ran towards home , or worse I would draw them to you , so I hid . He didn 't let me finish . I thought he would listen to the whole story . I think I hear him coming back in . Go to bed . " Then Harper felt a hand touching his forehead . Harper thought ' Who would do that ? ' He turned over onto his back , but instead of the sharp biting pain all over his back , all he felt was a dull ache in his butt . He opened his eyes and saw Becka smiling down at him . She was sitting on the side of his bed , and smoothing the hair off his forehead . Becka said with a teasing voice , " I thought you were supposed to be thinking . I brought us some soup and sandwiches , and even some cookies . Come to the table and eat , and let me know how you 're doing . " Harper sat up and hugged Becka hard . He started to cry , and he kept mumbling , " I 'm sorry . I 'm sorry . I 'm sorry " ecka hugged him back and said , " Harper what 's this about ? ou 've already been punished , and I 've forgiven you . " Harper continued crying while she held him . Once he had himself under control again he said , " No Becka , you were right . I have no right to question your authority . You got me off Earth , you give me a place to live , and food to eat , and money to use however I want . I 'm an ungrateful shit to Whack Becka had whacked the back of Harper 's head . he said , " Harper you know how I feel about you calling yourself names . o more of that please . " Becka glared at no one in particular while she thought about the man who had abused Harper mentally for eight years , and physically for two . She really hoped she would get the chance to meet him someday , so she could kick the shit out of him . Becka said , " You want to tell me about it ? " Becka said , " I know I 've told you this before , but I 'm gonna say it again . Your Uncle Jim should not have beaten you at all . From what you have told me , it is pretty clear that he hit you , because it made him feel powerful , and because it got rid of his anger . He never tried to teach you how to be a better person , or how to avoid getting into trouble . " Harper was quiet while they ate . Becka noticed he was eating the way he used to eat when she first met him . He was eating as fast as he could , and he was eating everything in front of him . All his concentration was on his food . He was shifting around in his chair a bit , but it didn 't affect his focus . Becka said , " Hey Harper , no one 's going to take the food away , and if you 're still hungry when we 're done , I 'll get you some more . " After a minute Harper looked at Becka and said , " Becka , I want you to know I really am grateful to you . I know you 're looking out for me , and I shouldn 't make things harder for you by being a pain in the ass . I 'm really sorry about today . " Becka said , " Harper , you 're not a pain in the ass , and you don 't make things harder for me . You make my life better just by being my friend . Actually , it feels more like you 're a part of my family , so I have to look out for you . I hope you aren 't mad at me for spanking you . " Becka sighed and said , " No that 's right Harper . No one has the right to do ' whatever they want ' to you . That 's what your Uncle did . It 's okay to be angry with me . It 's okay to disagree with me too . If your parents hadn 't died , and your Uncle hadn 't been such an abusive creep , you would probably realize that . " " Now , here 's the part you may not agree with . I think it will be good for you to have some time to be a kid . If you know I 'm in charge , and that I 'll always be here for you , then you have a chance to let your emotional side catch up to your logical , more adult side . Hopefully you 'll have enough time to find out what it 's like to have a stable home , and to feel secure . I think the next few months will be confusing for you , because your logic and your emotions will conflict . Like today , your emotions tell you to go back in the water , and your logic tells you that 's not such a good idea . " " Not really . It 's a done deal . But , I want you to know that it 's fine with me if you get angry with me for punishing you , or for telling you what to do . It won 't stop me from doing what I think is best for you , and it won 't change my mind about punishment . It also won 't make me kick you out , and it won 't make me love you any less . " They spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach . Becka noticed that Harper was more quiet and thoughtful than usual , but other that that he seemed to be fine . When it was close to dinner time Becka said , " Hey Harper , do you remember that guy I was having a drink with last night ? " Becka said , " While Max and I were talking yesterday , he asked me to deliver some supplies for him . " Harper almost fell out of his chair laughing . After he had calmed down enough to talk , he said , " I told you that you didn 't know how to take a vacation without working Becka . " Becka glared at him , and he started to laugh again . Then she realized he was right , and she laughed too . They said good night to Max , and headed up to their room . That night Becka tucked Harper in and kissed his forehead as usual . Then she sat on the edge of his bed , and started to rub his back , but Harper was already asleep . Soon Harper was dreaming about surfing with Max next month .