by Leslie Chase
That had never been in question — the damage had been superficial and easy for drones to repair. But I didn’t want to encourage Zaren and co. to land at all. I sent a quick response.
Internal damage still being checked. Will be done soon! Can’t guarantee safety yet.
There. Hopefully that would delay them long enough for us to reach the engine room. Mr. Mews trilled again, the hologram cat looking smug as the captain’s reply appeared over his head.
Get it done. I will not risk a diplomatic incident. Report in 10 mins.
Great. A time limit. Just what I need. Setting a timer so I wouldn’t forget to send a fake ‘update’ on the repairs, I turned to Auric.
“They’re here,” I told him. He nodded, a grim snarl showing before he controlled his features. Gesturing for me to lead the way, he looked ready for a fight. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
I set off at a jog. Ten minutes gave us more than enough time to make it to engineering by the most direct route, but that also took us across the open deck. Sticking to the corridors where we’d be safely out of sight would take longer — too long.
We had to chance the deck.
Mr. Mews meowed for attention again and I brushed him off. I had nothing to say to the captain and stopping to say it would only waste time we didn’t have. The doors to the upper deck were just ahead — a quick dash across and we’d be at the stairs down to the engine room.
I opened the doors and froze, Auric almost running into me. Mr. Mews looked up as though to say he’d tried to warn me.
Another alien ship hung in the air above the deck, coming in to land. Damn it. Why had I ever thought the aliens would listen to my warnings? If Donovan had even tried to tell them to stop, the aliens must have ignored him. I backed away quickly, getting out of sight before anyone emerged.
“What do I do now?” I asked Mr. Mews, who just looked up at me with his big eyes. It wasn’t fair to expect the hologram to suggest something, but then it wasn’t fair to ask me to deal with this either.
We couldn’t get past them. As soon as we stepped out of the door, they’d see us. But heading back below decks and going the long way through the warren of corridors would take too long. What was the point? Now that the aliens were aboard I had no chance of convincing the captain to jump the ship.
Auric would have to seize control of the bridge by force. I winced at the idea. Was I seriously considering helping an alien pirate take the Wandering Star?
I wished I knew how to ask his advice, but it was impossible. Even trying to phrase the question in Galtrade gave me a headache. I gritted my teeth and turned back to the doorway, peering around it and hoping for inspiration to strike.
The alien ship descended smoothly. Unlike Auric’s craft, this one came in slow and gentle, landing with a majestic grace that belied its bulk. No one-person fighter, this ship was the size of a small truck.
Donovan marched out from the bridge, accompanied by Maxwell with his rifle. I sighed with relief — at least he’d taken the minimal precaution of bringing an armed guard along. A glance at Auric killed that relief though. If he was typical of his kind, then Maxwell wouldn’t stand a chance.
All I could do was watch and hope. Auric stood close behind me, his presence a comfort and a distraction as we waited for a chance to move.
A ramp lowered from the spaceship, clanging to the Wandering Star’s deck, and out came three prytheen warriors. Each of the blue-skinned aliens had to be over six foot tall, and they wore black uniforms that clung to their muscular bodies.
I guess Auric isn’t the only impressive specimen among these aliens. None of them looked quite as powerful as he did, but they were all armed and dangerous.
Donovan adjusted his jacket and stepped forward, doing his best to hide his nerves and failing. He extended a hand in greeting, cleared his throat and spoke.
“Friends,” he said, his accented Galtrade sounding awful even to my ears. At least he’d made an effort and practiced what he wanted to say. “Welcome aboard the Wandering Star.”
The aliens looked at each other, and even from this distance I saw the cruel amusement in their smiles. Without even bothering to answer, the leader drew a pistol and fired it point-blank into Captain Donovan’s chest.
8
Auric
Tamara drew breath for a scream, and I grabbed her before she could give away our location. Outside, the body of the human captain toppled in slow motion, falling to the ground as I pulled Tamara back out of sight. My hand covered her mouth, muffling the sounds she made.
Instead of screaming, she bit me. Teeth sank into my palm, hard and deep, and now I was the one struggling to keep quiet. I had an armful of a feral human, biting and clawing at me.
Outside, another blaster shot echoed. The remaining human screamed and fell silent. The humans were no match for trained prytheen warriors, especially not when outnumbered and taken by surprise.
“Sundered Space, woman, stop that,” I hissed in her ear. “I’m trying to save your life!”
If the human female understood a word I said, she didn’t care. Biting harder, she stomped down on my foot and I bit back a frustrated roar as we struggled in the small space.
Winning would have been easy if I’d been willing to hurt her, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t. Cursing my instincts I pushed her against the wall, pinning her with my weight and trapping her as best I could.
She thrashed in my grip, and I was hyper-aware of her squirming body against mine. Even now I couldn’t help responding to it, to her.
“Quiet,” I said, keeping my words simple. “You must be quiet.”
Thank the blessed ones, she understood. Or at least, she fell silent and stopped struggling. Cautiously, I removed my hand from her mouth.
No scream. Good. Hopefully the noise we’d made in our little struggle hadn’t attracted any attention. Stepping back and letting her down, I braced myself for a renewed fight.
Fortunately for us both, Tamara was smarter than that. Steadying herself against the wall, face pale, she made no move to fight me or to scream. I hoped that meant that she knew I was on her side.
She whispered something in her own language. The words meant nothing to me, of course, but I could feel her horror and disgust.
I shared it. The ‘warrior’ out there didn’t deserve the title: gunning down the captain of this ship without warning or hesitation was an act without honor.
At least only one ship has arrived. Three prytheen warriors aboard the Wandering Star was a bad start, but if more arrived it would be impossible to keep the humans safe.
Three would be more than enough to seize the humans’ ship and hold it. The rest of the Silver Band would be on us soon, too soon, and we needed to leave before they arrived.
Risking a look out of the doorway I saw that the second human still lived. The battle was over, though, and that was no surprise: the humans hadn’t been ready for a fight.
Standing over the body of the captain, the living human dangling from his grip, a prytheen warrior laughed. I recognized him — Kozan, a hero of Zaren’s campaigns.
I wasn’t sure whether that made the human luckier than his comrades or not. Yes, he was alive, but he might come to regret that. Kozan was Zaren’s creature, and that meant I couldn’t expect him to treat a captive honorably.
“Where is Auric?” Kozan demanded in Galtrade, and I cursed under my breath. Of course they’d want to make sure I was secure.
The human stared at his captor, uncomprehending. Kozan had to repeat the question twice before it sank in and the human pointed in the direction of the sickbay.
Great. They’re coming this way.
“Go,” I told Tamara, stepping back and pointing into the ship. “I will stop them.”
Tamara turned to look at me. Said something incomprehensible in her own language. A warning, I thought, or perhaps a blessing. There was no way to be sure. What was clear was that she was worried.
Not about what I would do
, but whether I would survive it.
I smiled a hungry smile, and pushed her on her way. A fight while outnumbered three to one wasn’t a good idea, but at least this was a danger I’d prepared for all my life. A simple challenge, one where I knew what I was doing.
Tamara put a hand on my back, a brief contact that sent a wave of warmth through me. Her support meant more to me than I could tell her, but right now I needed her to go. If she got caught in the fight that was about to erupt I wouldn’t forgive myself.
Before I could say anything, she retreated into the corridors from which we’d come. Hopefully to find another way to the engine room, but as long as she was safe from the fight, that would do.
Kozan shoved his human captive through the doorway ahead of him. Exactly as I’d expected — I grabbed the human and pulled him past me, sending him tumbling into the ship as I met Kozan’s surprised glare.
I couldn’t give him time to recover. He was armed and had backup while I had nothing, no weapons or allies. This first moment of shock was my only chance.
My punch struck Kozan in the throat, sending him staggering back gasping for air. He collided with the warrior behind him and the two of them tangled each other.
I followed up, fast and hard. There was no time for subtle tricks or clever feints — if either of two managed to draw a weapon, I didn’t stand a chance. Grabbing Kozan’s wrist as he tried to pull his pistol, I snatched a knife from his belt and slashed at his companion’s throat.
The blade bit deep, sending the man back in a spray of blood. For a moment, I regretted that. I didn’t know this warrior, who he was or why he was here. I’d just snuffed out his life without knowing anything about it.
He came here to kill and steal from a weaker race, I reminded myself. And he did nothing to stop Kozan from shooting the human captain. I have nothing to be ashamed of.
But my moment of hesitation gave Kozan time to recover, to pull his arm free of my grip and dive away. I swung the blade, catching him with a shallow cut that barely drew blood, and then he had his blaster out.
I hit the deck and a beam of plasma seared over me, heat scorching my back. Rolling desperately aside, I barely avoided his second shot. He took aim as I leaped up, and I knew that his third shot would finish me unless I did something unexpected.
The knife wasn’t balanced for throwing but I tried anyway. Kozan dodged, the movement putting his aim off center, and the beam missed me by a finger-width. I felt the heat wash over me as I leaped toward him, one hand closing on his forearm and the other grabbing at his throat.
His knee came up hard, and I twisted to take the blow on my hip. Locked together, we tumbled to the deck, rolling over and over as we fought for control of the blaster. Energy bolts went wild, the heat burning both of us, and neither of us could get an advantage.
Where’s the third warrior? I hadn’t seen him when the door opened, and now I had no time to look for him. My shoulder blades itched — if he came up behind me, it was all over. I had to win this fight, fast.
Headbutting Kozan as hard as I could, I drove him back down into the decking. Grabbing his blaster pistol in both hands, I forced it down into Kozan’s chest and squeezed the trigger.
At point-blank range, the energy bolt tore straight through him and the deck below. The Silver Band commander bucked and stopped moving as I let go of the blaster with a wince. My hands burned where I’d held the barrel, but the fight was over.
I looked up at the sky through the forcefield. No other ships were close enough to see, but they’d arrive too soon for comfort. The Silver Band was on its way.
If the humans didn’t get their ship out of this system, everything was lost. And somewhere on the Wandering Star was the third prytheen warrior, working to stop anyone interfering with the attack. He’d head for the engine room or the bridge, and I could only get to one of them.
The choice was easy to make. Tamara would be in the engine room, and if he caught her there… I couldn’t finish the thought, but an angry snarl spread across my face.
I had to find him before it was too late.
9
Tamara
My communicator lit up as I ran, messages from McKenzie flooding it. Mr. Mews kept trying to tell me I had urgent notifications, and I wished I there was a way to shut him up.
I know! The captain’s dead, the ship’s under attack. Everything’s going wrong. What more is there to say? Worst of all, I had no idea how the fight behind me was going. Auric had seemed confident when he pushed me back into the ship, but he was up against three fully-armed enemies. And he’d just lived through a crash.
Against odds like that I had to assume he’d lose. If I was lucky, he’d take some of the enemy with him, but I couldn’t count on it. I swallowed painfully, images of him lying dead on the deck coming to mind unbidden.
Why did that hurt so much?
The idea of Auric dead felt worse than Donovan being killed. Okay, I hadn’t liked Donovan, but he was my boss and I’d known him for months. Auric? We’d just met, but the image of him dying left a cold weight in my heart.
Don’t think about it, just run, I told myself, panting as I made my way through the corridors. I hadn’t run this fast in months — it turned out that being chased by murderous aliens was a great motivator.
Bursting into the engine room, I slammed the door behind me and leaned against the wall panting. My muscles ached and my side hurt from running, but I was safe. Well, safe-ish. I doubted those alien blaster pistols would take long to burn through the door.
Don’t borrow trouble, things are bad enough. I forced my eyes open and looked at the hyperdrive that filled most of the room. Plastered with warning stickers, almost all of the controls were off-limits. Or they were supposed to be. Right now I wouldn’t let the rules stand in my way.
Mr. Mews still yowled for my attention, and as I tore the stickers out of the way, I told him to put the call through. Getting the engine ready wasn’t enough on its own, I needed a pilot.
“Where have you been?” McKenzie shouted into the comm as soon as the call connected. Mr. Mews hissed, not liking his tone. I wrenched open an inspection hatch, grabbing my tools and getting to work.
“Running to engineering,” I shouted back as I tried to find the overrides that would let the drive operate at less than full power. “Are you on the bridge?”
“Those alien bastards killed the captain,” he said, ignoring my question. “They’re going to kill us all.”
“I know, I saw it. McKenzie, are you on the bridge? We have to jump the ship before the rest of them get here.”
“Yes,” he stammered. “I’m here. I locked the doors when I saw them kill the captain. I… oh god.”
Finally he shut up for a second. I heard him breathing heavily, panting almost, trying to get his panic under control. Giving him a chance to get himself together, I worked fast. Praying I wouldn’t damage anything important, I made my best guesses at what I needed to patch.
An engineer shouldn’t work on guesses, my father would have told me. But today I had no choice.
“We can’t,” he answered at last. “We can’t reach the next stop, Tamara, we’re all going to die.”
“Don’t worry about the engines, I can get them to behave,” I told him, trying to sound more confident than I felt. If we stayed here we stood no chance at all. “You just need to plot a course. Do you want to be here when the rest of the aliens arrive?”
“Fuck no,” McKenzie said. “But we can’t jump, not for days. We’ve got to surrender, right? What choice do we have?”
“We can leave as soon as I short out the safeties.” And void every warranty on the ship. My fingers trembled as I pushed a wrench across the gap where a fuse ought to go. This wasn’t even slightly safe, but what choice did I have? “We’ve got to risk it.”
“The akedians—”
“They leased us a pile of junk,” I snapped, interrupting him. “Don’t listen to what they say it can and can’t do.”
His silence filled the channel. McKenzie wasn’t a brave man, and he wasn’t one for bold action. Before, I’d been grateful for that: it had kept him from pushing me too far when the captain wouldn’t back him up.
Now it might get us all killed. I swore under my breath.
“Look, if those aliens get aboard, we’re all dead, right?” I tried. No answer. Reason wasn’t working on him, not now. His panic overwhelmed it and I needed something equally scary to get through to him.
Only one thing came to mind. “Fine. I’m going to jump the ship as soon as I can. If we don’t have a new course laid in, we’ll come out in deep space, too far from a star to recharge the engines. Understand?”
McKenzie gasped. Every spacer had nightmares about being lost in the dark between the stars. The supplies on this ship would last a long time, but there’d be no resupply and no way for rescue to find us. Death would come for us slowly in the dark between the stars.
“You can’t do that,” he protested. “You’ll kill us all.”
“It’s me or those aliens,” I told him, getting back to work. “Or you can set a course to a star we can reach, and we’ll live.”
Frantic typing answered me and I grinned. A small victory, but I’d gotten what I wanted. He was setting a course.
“This is insane,” he complained as he worked. “It takes hours to plot a safe course. You can’t expect me to get this done in minutes.”
“Just do your best,” I encouraged him. It wasn’t as though we had any choice, and the course didn’t have to be perfect. As long as we didn’t come out right on top of something, we’d be okay. I hoped.
Behind me, something heavy slammed into the door. I winced and looked up at the sound. “They’ve found me.”
McKenzie started to say something but I killed the connection. Let him take the time to set it up again, I had a better use for the communicator right now.