George Lucas created Star Wars as a tribute to Flash Gordon. I created Mercury Johnson as a tribute to Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
While I’ve written about Mercury before, in The Gamble, I hadn’t had him actually looking for an ancient Earth Artifact yet, so I wanted to write that story.
This things is all adventure. Please enjoy.
Mercury Johnson and the Black Lotus by Jarrett S. Smith
Some things are better left buried.
However, if they stayed buried, Mercury wouldn’t make enough money to buy food, much less make the repairs to his ship.
He had to keep telling himself that as he slogged through the muck of the sewer system in the Murgold underground.
“This place is disgusting,” Mercury said as he struggled to lift his boot from the putrid sludge. It tried to keep his boots stuck to the ground. Each time he stepped, his boot would stay behind, and his foot would almost pull out of it.
“I told you we should have gone the other way,” Breaker’s coarse voice cracked into his earpiece. He knew it was a struggle just for her to speak his language, but it still could grate on him—especially when she tried to tell him what to do.
“Through the front door—and right past all the Hegemony soldiers?” Mercury asked as he pulled his right foot out of the muck. He raised his toes to keep the boot on before it tried to steal it again.
“You’re the one complaining.” Breaker chuckled. “I never said it would be easy.”
Mercury pushed his foot back down into the sludge and recoiled. The odor coming from the ground burned his nostrils. It smelled like a mix between the worst bathroom he had ever been to and burnt choonkico. “If I had known it would smell this bad, I would have tried your way.”
“That stink will linger for weeks,” she barbed.
“We need to keep the comms quiet,” the synthetic sounds of Ger, the ship’s navigation robot, cut through their conversation.
“Right,” Mercury clicked off as he made his way.
The trek took much longer than he planned. The longer he took to get this box, the more likely The Stork would be found. So, he tried to increase his speed without losing his boots.
Plus, he wanted to escape that smell.
After too long, he reached the access point they had identified. He lifted his foot out of the muck, letting the boot come off as his foot hit the metal ground. It felt like heaven as the cold of the metal penetrated his sock.
He couldn’t wait to get out of his soiled coverings. He wouldn’t miss these plastic-like pant covers, nor the poncho. Plus, he knew that smell would linger. He threw the covers and remaining boot into the sludge and watched as they descended into it.
He adjusted the collar of his grey shirt and then tried to press out all the wrinkles in his black pants, caused by the plastic overalls. Then, he reached for his real boots, which had been strapped to his back. He held them in front of his face and took in the brown Cruikial leather boots. He loved those boots so much he couldn’t remember how long ago he had bought them. When he put his feet in, his feet slid into place perfectly. It felt like a second home, away from his ship at least.
“The guard has moved beyond the zone. You are cleared,” Ger said. “As long as you are ready.”
“I just hope all this intel was worth it,” Breaker huffed.
Mercury would have felt more surprised if she didn’t doubt the process.
“I just hope we aren’t getting double-crossed,” Mercury muttered, although he hadn’t meant to say it to the comms.
“Is that a possibility?” Breaker asked.
Mercury sighed as he neared the exit. “It always is. But I vetted him. This isn’t the first thing he’s tried to collect, but it is the hardest to get.”
“I hope it will be worth it,” she muttered.
“It’ll be worth it,” Mercury said as he pushed at the metallic door. He thought about how much the client had agreed to pay, although he had been light on details about this Black Lotus.
As he turned the large handle that locked the door, Mercury tensed. He trusted his crew, but he never knew how things could go wrong. If this place had a Disruptor installed, it didn’t matter how good the hack into the security system was.
Mercury opened the door just enough to scan the hallway, and when he didn’t find anyone there, he threw the door open. Unlike most doors in the populated galaxy, this door didn’t have a stopper, so the door slammed into the metallic wall, sending a ringing vibration down the hallway.
Mercury jumped and raised his shoulders to his ears before freezing in place. He waited for a sign that a nearby guard had heard the clang, but only silence came back once the vibration of the door had calmed.
He ducked through the door and into a new hallway.
A white light illuminated the entire silver hallway. He knew he was breaking into a warehouse, but he hadn’t expected it to feel so sterile. There were no signs pointing him in the right direction.
“Go right,” Breaker sighed, as if she knew his thoughts.
“I know,” he lied. “I was just waiting to make sure the guard didn’t come back.”
“There is no evidence of anyone being alerted,” Ger said.
“Okay, good to know,” Mercury replied, feeling slightly vindicated. He turned to move.
“There is also no evidence that you knew which direction to turn,” Ger continued.
“Shut it,” Mercury said.
He strode through the opening, but it wasn’t more than three steps before Ger chimed in, “your other right, Captain.”
“Just testing the systems,” Mercury said as he pivoted.
“Are you sure?” Breaker teased.
“Do you think we’ve been set up?” Breaker continued.
“Doubt it. He seemed more desperate than anything. Remember, he went out of his way to help us get the clearance to even get this far.” Mercury hoped that his purple-skinned navigator wouldn’t destroy their ship in a rage. He’d never known any Renvourai to remain calm, especially Breaker.
She simply growled. “We need to move. You need to find warehouse 312.”
“On it,” Mercury said.
He turned into the hallway quickening his pace. Every step brought a clang through the hallway that unnerved him—each echo a reminder that someone could be just around the corner.
“This feels too perfect,” Mercury admitted as he raced down the hallway. He hadn’t seen a camera or a person the entire time. “Our plans never go this well.”
“I have a bad feeling,” Breaker said.
“Me too,” Mercury agreed.
No one spoke while he continued down the hall. Each door he came across had a number indicating the items held in that area. Finally, he came to the one marked 300-400.
He took a deep breath and held it while he pushed the button to open the door. The door whooshed up to reveal a small set of stairs. He stepped inside.
Darkness filled much of the stairs. Only the bright light spilling in from the hallway provided him any illumination.
“I’m at the stairs. About to head up.”
Mercury took the stairs two at a time. On the landing, another door awaited. He reached his hand out to open the door and it whooshed up.
Two guards glanced at each other before reaching for their blasters at their hips.
“Stop,” the left guard commanded. He jerked his gun closer to Mercury, as if the command wasn’t enough.
“Easy fellas,” Mercury said as he raised his hands slowly, his head spinning with a way to get out of this. “I’m just here checking the physical exhaust system.”
The pair of guards turned toward each other, mentally consulting. Neither spoke, but the one who had commanded him to raise his hands forced his blaster towards Mercury again.
Mercury rolled his lips between his teeth as he assessed the situation. He raised his hands and his eyebrows. “You guys are going to be in so much trouble.”
The other guard motioned with his gun for Mercury to start walking. So, Mercury exited the stairwell.
He willed his body to cooperate. He needed to play it cool. If they reported him as a threat, the operation would be over, and he didn’t know what would happen.
This wasn’t a government building. They could keep him locked up in here forever, or they could just shoot him and let his body float down the orange river behind the storage facility.
He needed to act before they had time to radio anyone.
“Check the logs. You’ll see I’m on the schedule. You’re just delaying the system cleaning. I doubt your boss will like that.”
Neither spoke. Instead, they marched him into a new hallway. The blaster pointed into his back the entire way. Their dark grey armor and footfalls made the only sound. Mercury’s mind bounced between fear of what would happen and ideas to disarm these guards.
“They don’t believe you,” Breaker whispered through the comms.
“I know,” Mercury said. The guards cocked their heads, but neither one fell out of step.
“I’ll call this in,” the right guard said.
Mercury took the moment to riff. “I know, I’ll call my boss who can call your boss and everything will get sorted out.”
“Keep moving,” one of the soldiers ordered.
“And what is that smell?” the other asked.
“Officer 242 reporting: we’ve apprehended someone here. Says he’s cleaning the exhaust,” the guard said into his comms. “It might be true because I can smell him through my helmet.”
Mercury blew out a breath. He squared up his shoulders and reached out for the left guard’s blaster.
The soldier hadn’t expected the sudden move—Mercury yanked the blaster down and away. The guard stumbled.
As the guard fell, he blocked Mercury from the other guard who had raised his blaster. With his partner in the way, he couldn’t find the shot.
Mercury managed to twist the gun out of the guard’s hand while also spinning. He swung the blaster rifle across the top of the standing guard’s helmet, ringing his head like a bell. A swift leg sweep took the second guard down.
The first guard tried to get back to his feet, but Mercury was able to keep him down. He whipped the butt of the blaster, and the guard crumpled like a doll.
Mercury searched the guard’s belt and found restraints. He bound their hands and feet. Finally, he removed their helmet so they couldn’t communicate with the rest of security.
“Officer 242? Is your comm malfunctioning? What is your status?” A voice crackled from one of the removed helmets.
“I wish you guys would have just checked the schedule. Look, I don’t want to hurt you, but I do have some work to do.” He bent down to scoop up one of their guns.
“I don’t want to take this,” he said, “but I’ll probably need it now.”
He offered the guards a two-finger salute. “It’s been a pleasure, gentlemen. I hope they don’t dismiss you, as it wasn’t your fault.”
His timeline just got shorter. Control would realize the guards were down any moment.
“The jig is up. I’d expect a swarm soon, Breaker. Be thinking of how we’re going to get out of this one.”
“We should have just done it my way,” she said again.
He now had minutes to find this black lotus in a warehouse full of items and escape.
Mercury jogged down the hallway until he came to the door for room 312. The dark grey door had been made from spaceship-grade metal, unlike the rest of the doors. It had been designed to withstand firepower. At least he wouldn’t have to blast his way through it.
“What is this thing that we’re looking for?” Breaker asked.
“Some type of flower from Ancient Earth, I think,” Mercury said. He examined the frame of the door for the keypad.
“All of this for a flower? No way it’s even alive,” she growled.
He found the keypad on the left side of the door, hidden behind a sensor. Mercury had paid a good sum of money for the code, but he bit his lip as he keyed in the last button. He didn’t need another surprise. Knowing his luck, an entire battalion would be just behind the door.
The door flashed up. Mercury walked into the warehouse. Rows and rows of boxes made a grid in the room, which took up much more space than he expected. The monotony of the shelves overwhelmed him. Every row looked the same, five rows of shelves, all with grey metal boxes.
He didn’t have time to go up and down the rows looking for the number. In his best estimate, he had three minutes until someone found the incapacitated guards and sounded the alarm.
“I have minutes before they find me,” Mercury said.
“Ms. Breaker is on her way to help you,” Ger said. “You are looking for package 0391993.”
The lights flashed red as a siren went off.
“That was a fast few minutes,” Mercury said. He threw himself into the start of a couple of aisles, looking at the call numbers on the first set of boxes. After six rows, he got close. With a quickened heartbeat, he picked up the pace as he traced the numbers, each one bringing him closer to the thing he desired.
Every row, he glanced back at the entrance he had come from, anticipating the guards to come flooding in. They weren’t here yet, but it did make his feet move even faster. The flashing red light gave him a headache, and the siren made it challenging to think.
“Can anything go right?” he asked no one.
“Not usually,” Ger commented. Mercury made a note to check the robot’s sarcasm levels—if he got back to the ship.
But he forgot all about the robot as his eyes came across number 0391993. He double-checked the number before realizing he had been holding his breath. He reached the box.
The box was about half a meter squared, and light enough that it felt empty inside. Mercury held it under his arm without much of a problem.
He hoped that his intel was right, or all this would be for nothing.
The sound of the guards yelling from just outside the door came through between sirens. He needed to move.
He held the box under his left arm like a Flinker ball player and kept his gun drawn in the other.
“Ger, I need a new way out of here,” he said as he heard the clamor outside.
“Turn around for the exit,” Ger commanded.
Mercury spun around and ran towards the far wall. “Doesn’t that lead me to the front?”
“Yes, but Ms. Breaker has a distraction planned,” the robot said.
“Breaks, where are we on the—“ he didn’t get to finish his thought as the ground beneath him shook. The explosion rattled his eardrums.
“Your distraction is here. You better hurry,” she shouted through the comm.
Mercury opened the door, which flashed up into the ceiling. He watched a garrison of guards run past, ignoring him for something else.
The wall to the left had a gaping hole in it. The metal had twisted and started to crumble, while another part looked like it might be on fire.
The corner of Mercury’s left lip slid up as he realized Breaker’s handiwork. He just hoped her eagerness hadn’t outweighed the risk.
The coast appeared clear. But he couldn’t get his body to move. If he moved at the wrong time, it would be the end of him.
He stepped out, crate tucked under his arm, ready for a run. As his foot landed, a blaster bolt struck the ground in front of him. He froze, his eyes wide.
“Stop,” the amplified voice commanded him. Then the armor clad figure stepped forward, crunching on a piece of the exploded wall.
Mercury lifted his left hand up, dropping the box, and hoping that it would keep its contents safe. He had gone through all of this for whatever was inside, but if he died trying to get it, it wouldn’t have been worth it. Meanwhile, his right gripped the handle of the blaster rifle.
“Show me your hands,” the guard commanded.
At that moment, he felt a calm wash over him. Time slowed.
In one motion, Mercury brought his open hand down, bringing up his rifle at the same time. As soon as the gun came up enough, Mercury snapped off a bolt and dove forward. The guard managed to snap off two shots before getting struck by Mercury’s shot.
One of the guard’s bolts grazed the smuggler’s shirt, but they struck the wall behind him. Meanwhile, the guard fell backwards.
Mercury rolled as he hit the ground, but sprung up and pivoted to recover the box, before sprinting to the front door. The door opened as he approached. Breaker’s purple skin stood out behind the smoke of the bomb residue.
“Always explosions with you?” he asked through labored breaths.
“You’ve been hit,” she said as they ran, although she had to slow to a jog to match his speed.
“Nothing serious,” he said as he chanced a glance at his burned shirt and skin.
“Ger should meet us there,” Breaker said as she pointed to the right.
“Lead the way,” he said. The two of them ran around the storage building and through the industrial area. The guards fanned out of the building, shouting at them and trying to coordinate.
The Stork soared over their heads. The ship stopped and pivoted in the open area in front of them. The landing gangway opened so they could hop in.
A blaster bolt raced between them, hitting the stairs.
“Hey. That’s my ship,” Mercury shouted. He saw a squad of soldiers all running after them. Because of their enhanced armor, they moved faster, cutting the lead Mercury and Breaker had created.
“Give me the chest,” Breaker said, reaching back for it. Mercury tossed it forward to his crew-mate.
Breaker increased her speed, even while dodging the lasers from behind. Mercury turned and fired as best he could to disrupt the guards and not hit anything. Then he willed all the speed he could manage.
His legs burned. After crawling through the mud and running, he wasn’t sure how much strength they had left.
Breaker made it to the gangway and shouted for Ger to start moving. The ship pulled away, although it stayed close to the ground and kept the landing down.
Mercury drew near, but the landing had raised enough that he couldn’t reach. “Lower,” he called out. But as the ship moved lower, he had to jump out of the way to avoid getting smushed. “Easy!”
A blaster bolt brought him back to the importance of getting on the ship. He would have to make a jump to grab the landing.
As the ship descended a little, he made his move. He threw the blaster rifle to the side while trying to set his feet to jump. With his feet set, he launched himself up.
His fingers grabbed onto the walkway, while the rest of his body dangled. With all the strength he had left, he hoisted himself up and rolled onto the ship.
“Close it,” he shouted. Immediately, the walkway wobbled as it began to close.
Exhausted, Mercury lay there, his hands on his chest while he tried to catch his breath. His body relaxed, grateful to lie still. He closed his eyes and almost drifted to sleep on the stairs.
The ship rocked as it navigated away from the planet. He tried to calculate how long he could nap before they arrived back to the station and the client.
“We’re in the wormhole,” Breaker shouted down the hall.
As he felt the pull of gravity change, he opened his eyes and forced himself to stand up. He rolled his neck and shoulders. Then he put his finger in the hole in his shirt. His skin had burned slightly. He’d need a medpack to keep it from scarring.
He walked through the tight hallway of the ship up to the common quarters. The metallic box sat on the table.
As he made his way, Breaker appeared from the hallway to the cockpit, while Ger followed. His metallic arms and legs reflected the dull light inside. His head looked like a cross between a silver cinnamon roll and a microphone. Two optical sensors focused on the box.
“Is there anything even in there?” Breaker asked.
Mercury shrugged. “Maybe we should find out if it was all for nothing.”
She nodded and moved to the table. They all gathered at the table while Mercury opened it.
The case opened to reveal a small playing card in an airtight sleeve. Mercury pinched the card between his fingers, frightened that any touch could disintegrate the thing. He couldn’t believe this little thing would fetch the fortune he would need to make modifications to his ship.
It was his biggest score to date, even after the cost of the codes and schedule insertion.
Still, he didn’t understand. He turned the card over and over.
On one side, a black flower had been printed. Beneath that, a brown text box with writing on it Mercury couldn’t decipher. The other side had a logo with the same style of writing.
“What the hell is that?” Breaker asked.
“No idea,” Mercury said. He put the card back in the box and closed it. Then he leaned back, kicked his feet up on the table and laced his hands behind his head. “It’s not our question to ask. The question is, was it worth it? And once we get paid, I would say, yes.”
“But it’s nothing but a card,” she said again.
“Wake me up when we get there,” he said as he closed his eyes again.
Breaker knocked his feet off the table.
He looked up at her with big eyes.
“Go take a shower. You smell disgusting.”
Mercury sniffed again. He must have gotten used to the smell, but he didn’t react until he sniffed his sleeve again. “Fine. Then I nap.
Further Reading
I hope you enjoyed this tiny adventure, as I plan to create more Mercury Johnson stories. If you’d like to find more to read, make sure you check out my library of fiction, to find your next favorite read.
If you’ve already read The Gamble, Mercury’s first story, I might suggest trying out Robin, my modern-day Robin Hood story. I have more stories in his world coming soon as well.
As always, thank you for reading. Let me know what you thought of this story in the comments, and make sure you have subscribed to The JSwordSmith Update, for my weekly newsletter.
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