“My debt is only for one,” she said.
“Then why the other one?”
Arkei exhaled as if explaining herself bored her. “You are a replacement. I kidnapped another human at first, but he was out of control and I had to neutralize him. He tried to attack me.”
“You serious?” Regan thought of the panic he felt upon waking up here, but he still couldn’t understand that being the first response.
“I told you, your kind are dangerous and unpredictable. I couldn’t risk him hurting himself, and I also couldn’t drop him off back on Earth with the knowledge he had. So it was simpler to freeze him and collect another specimen.”
“Wow.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Guess I’m a little offended that I was option number two. Not that I’m about to complain, because this is one hell of a turn in events for me. I mean, I’m on an adventure now. A real one.”
It really was something. All the problems and concerns of his past vanished. He didn’t know what was in store for him, but this was the biggest he had ever felt, and he planned on enjoying it.
“I like your sense of adventure,” Arkei said. “It’s too bad you have to be one of Mephistopheles’s specimens. I think we could have been friends.”
Ouch.
“Yeah, well, maybe we’ll just talk about that later?” Regan suggested. “I would like to enjoy whatever time I have up here and learn more cool space stuff along the way.”
Arkei smiled and moved a throttle into position. The ship’s hum grew louder, then it changed direction and sped up.
“Mephistopheles’s compound is on the far side of the galaxy, on the outskirts. So, it’ll take us some time to get there, and we must make a pit stop for fuel sooner than later. I can answer any questions you have along the way.”
Regan nodded.
“You don’t have any windows on this thing, do you?”
“No windows, but you are free to look at the various viewscreens to observe space. I understand this is a big deal for you.”
You have no idea.
“Just don’t touch anything. I’m trusting you, and will put you in cryostasis if I have to. I’d rather not, as I’m surprisingly enjoying your company. You aren’t like the stories I’ve heard of humans.”
“I’m one of a kind, baby,” Regan said. She’d never know just how common he was, would she?
Not that that was a bad thing.
Chapter Three
The hum that Regan originally heard in the command room got louder as he moved through the ship. As he started poking his head into various rooms, he discovered the interior was dilapidated, with exposed pipes and steam shooting out in various spots. He even saw sparks and dangling wires coming from a loose control panel in one room. Regan had no idea what the control panel did, but if his engineering degree taught him anything, it was that exposed wires weren’t exactly a good thing.
He had to wonder how a ship in this shape managed in space. Arkei didn’t seem the least bit concerned, but why not?
If the sci-fi movies he had seen were any indicator, this ship was ripe with possibilities for disastrous plot points. But it also gave Regan an idea.
He wondered how long it would take him to learn some of the technology on board. After all, fixing things was his jam. Maybe Arkei would reconsider handing him over if he created a use for himself.
It was a long shot, but he had to try. While he planned on enjoying his time on the trip to Mephistopheles’s compound, he’d rather just avoid being handed over for scientific experiments altogether.
He approached a sparking control panel and inspected it without touching.
Just wires. I know how to deal with wires. How different could these be?
“I wouldn’t get too close to that,” Arkei said from behind him.
He spun around to see her standing in the doorway, her arms crossed, an inquisitive look on her face.
“I can’t help but notice that the ship looks… well…” Regan paused, realizing if he was too direct about it, he might offend her. He needed to stay on her good side. It was her ship after all. “Maybe it’s not in the best condition?”
“You’re right. It isn’t.”
“I’ve seen a lot of movies,” Regan started. “You know, like visual stories, or whatever.” His explanation made Arkei arch her brow. “Anyway, I know that one bad panel in a spaceship can make things… well… explode.”
“Don’t worry,” Arkei said. “That won’t happen.”
“How do you know? I mean, how is the ship still chugging along? That engine sounds like it’s working overtime!”
“It is. It all is. But I have a force field holding it all together.”
“Okay, well, that’s very cool,” Regan said, still mildly worried. “But what if that were to fail?”
“It won’t fail,” Arkei replied. “Admittedly, it’s a weak shield. I can’t afford one of those deluxe space yacht ones. Still, as long as I’m not attacked or don’t crash into any foreign objects, it should mostly hold together.”
Mostly?
“You know, I am quite handy with fixing things…” Regan began. “I wouldn’t mind pitching in, you know? Get this ship in better order.”
“And why do you care about it so much?”
“Well, I just think if you’re kidnapping people, the least you could do is have a nice and welcoming place for them.”
Arkei laughed. “First things first. We’re pulling up to refuel. After that, we can discuss the state of my ship.”
Regan nodded. “Groovy.”
Acquiring fuel wasn’t what Regan expected. He had visions of space gas stations with drive-up windows and green-colored attendants in greasy mechanic space suits. He wanted to see neon lights and different spacecraft pulled up. He even expected to see a space trucker taking a lunch break.
Instead, Arkei docked in an asteroid field and latched her ship onto one.
“Asteroids?” Regan asked, confused. “You have to mine asteroids for fuel?”
This was where his sci-fi movie knowledge left him empty-handed.
“I’m traveling with an illegal Class C alien,” Arkei stated evenly. “I’d prefer to stay under the radar, thank you. And besides, fuel is expensive.”
“Damn. I guess I assumed that with space travel came far more efficient forms of power.”
“You are referring to an FTL drive?” Arkei asked.
“Uh, I guess so,” Regan said less than convincingly.
“I’m not licensed to operate one, nor can I afford it. Few can. It’s a bit of a monopoly.”
“A monopoly on free energy, huh?” Regan shook his head. “Ain’t that ironic.”
Arkei prepared the drilling device. Upon looking at it, Regan figured out the basic concept. It was a drill with a straw through its center that would enter an asteroid, break down the mineral properties, and suck them into the ship’s fuel tank. It seemed pretty old fashioned and reminded him of steampunk machines.
“Okay,” he said, cracking his knuckles with determination. “So how do I help?”
“You don’t.”
“Oh, come on! At least let me enjoy my time here before handing me over to your boss.”
Arkei stopped prepping the machine and glared at him. Her gold eyes became focused. He felt like they were piercing his very soul.
“He is not my boss,” she said, pointing a clawed finger at him.
Regan could see that she didn’t like being affiliated with Mephistopheles. He was her bartering ticket out of that relationship, which worried him.
“Oh, right. Okay.” He turned away.
She relaxed and returned to her work, but Regan could tell she felt bad about the comment. She turned to face him, sighed, and waved him over to her.
He approached without a moment’s hesitation.
She gestured at a pair of controls clearly designed for a set of arms, like two rubber gloves. She took his arms, one by one, and slid them
inside the device. The rubber gloves expanded on their own, allowing plenty of room for the entering arms. Once his hands were inside, he felt at the hand grips and triggers.
Arkei moved behind him before he knew it and put her hands over his inside the expanded gloves, her arms on either side of his.
“You control the drill with these triggers,” she said from behind. Again he felt the warm texture of her silky skin against his arms and hands. He couldn’t deny that it strangely turned him on.
But this time he also felt her robotic hand. The firmness of it. The control it had, yet how specific and subtle it was. It was a living thing, not just a piece of metal, but he knew the arm was as precise and deadly as any machine.
She was fascinating.
Once both sets of hands were in place, the rubber sleeves tightened to hold them together. He felt her warmth from his fingertips all the way up his arms.
But he felt her on his back as well, as she stood right behind him. Her warm breath tickled the back of his neck, and her soft chest rubbed against his upper back.
She spoke in his ear.
“The grips will help you set the drill.” She adjusted the grips with his hands. He saw the drill move before him. “The triggers underneath will initiate the mineral breakdown, then extract it. Pay attention to the monitor to locate the mineral deposits.”
With her fingers on either side, both robotic and silky, she tapped his fingers where the triggers were. He almost thought that her silky hand rubbed his finger and knuckle for a moment, but he couldn’t tell if his imagination was getting the best of him.
Keep it cool, dude.
“If you are ready, we can begin,” she said.
“Ready for anything.”
She removed her right arm from the glove and pushed several buttons on a control panel. The monitor changed its view to a set of vault doors in front of the drill. They slid open, screeching as if rusted over, and even making sparks.
This piece of junk is seriously about to fall apart.
But he was able to look beyond the mechanical problems as he now had a view to the outside through the monitor. He could see into space!
There was an obvious force field at work keeping oxygen in, but beyond the subtle blue glow it produced was an asteroid field. Arkei’s ship was gripping onto a large one, but he could see hundreds floating about.
“Arkei,” Regan said. “You just keep blowing my mind.”
Arkei blushed. Regan didn’t have to look at her to know it. He felt her shoulders lift slightly and her head tilt downward. He felt a lock of her hair graze the back of his neck.
“Time to drive in that big drill and get what we came for,” she said.
She returned her right hand to his on the controls. She was leading this dance.
Regan had to remind himself again to keep it cool.
With her guidance, he lifted the drill with the controls and thrust it forward into the asteroid. It was easier than he thought, expecting to feel a great deal of rocky resistance. Instead, when the drill reached the surface, small lasers protruded to assist. The entrance was smooth and gratifying.
After the drill was nearly all the way inside, Arkei applied a small amount of pressure on his fingers.
“Now, we break down the minerals,” she said.
Together they pulled the triggers halfway and subtle vibrations traveled through his hands. It only lasted for a few moments, then she tightened the grip and they pressed the triggers down all the way.
“And now, we extract,” she said. The intake of minerals rushed from the asteroid. The floating rock itself shook mildly, having chunks of it extracted.
Regan noticed a screen on the wall nearby that was lighting up. It looked like a fuel indicator filling up.
When they had enough, she eased her grip, and his hands reactively did the same. Together they pulled the drill back and placed it in its resting position. She removed her right arm and pushed the button to close the doors. Regan couldn’t help but stiffen when he felt her breast momentarily brush up against his shoulder.
“You’re a natural,” she said near his ear.
The words sent a shiver through his entire body.
Then she pulled her other arm out and stepped away from the machine. He removed his hands as well.
She smiled at him.
“And that’s how we do it,” she said. “Now I’ll set us back on course for the compound.”
Regan wasn’t thrilled to hear those final words, and Arkei’s expression revealed she wasn’t thrilled to say them. She told him he could keep exploring the ship, that she would remain in the command room for a short while and find him once she was done.
She walked away, and he stared at her the entire time, unable to say another word. One of her antenna eyes rolled back and seemingly winked at him before she disappeared out of the room. He swore those extra eyes had a mind of their own.
Regan entered a small room where he found a series of lockers. What caught his attention was that one of them was labeled “Class C Species.”
Since he knew that meant him, he opened it up, surprised at what he found inside. He first spotted his baseball bat, cellphone, game controller, headset, gaming console even, and a single unopened beer… The items he had been interacting with when Arkei broke into his place.
It made him laugh to see these things. But there were other items in this locker as well. A series of journals and textbooks, some pens, and another cellphone. The writing on these personal effects looked Asian.
Whoever else Arkei kidnapped wasn’t having a fun time when they were taken, that much was clear.
He considered opening the beer, but when he picked it up, he noticed it was warm. Even so, drinking a beer in space?
That’s a big fuck yeah.
“Some of your artifacts,” Arkei said from the doorway.
Regan spun around quickly, still holding the beer in his hand.
“They’re for Mephistopheles’s observations,” she finished.
“Of course,” Regan responded.
He lifted the beer bottle up.
“You don’t have a place where I could keep this cold, do you?” he asked. “Maybe save it for right before you hand me off, so I can have one last drink?”
“I do, in fact,” she said, almost excitedly, before she motioned for him to follow, which he did. But first he grabbed his phone and gave it a quick glance, noticing there was no reception.
Well, no shit. I barely get reception in my own apartment.
He turned the power off and slid it into his pocket. He didn’t want some intergalactic kidnapper going through his phone—not to mention he wanted to save the remaining battery power, just in case.
“Is it some sort of power elixir?” Arkei asked, harking back to the beer.
When he returned his gaze to her as he followed, he could only stare at her rear. And again, he noticed the way she was so smooth in her movements, as if she glided down the hallway. He still couldn’t figure out how she moved so lightly.
“Sort of,” he said. “It’s more like a drink for celebrations. Or for socializing. Or for winding down. Well, I guess it could be for anything, really.”
“How wonderful,” she said and showed him a box that resembled a fridge. He should have known that a fridge was just a fridge wherever you were.
She opened the door for him and stood there while he placed it inside.
“Perhaps we can share it before our descent?” she asked.
Regan nodded.
“I would like that,” he replied.
She shut the fridge door, and they stood there for a moment, looking at each other. Her golden eyes were captivating, the shimmer on her skin more so. Regan wanted to touch her everywhere.
Then an alarm wailed. He jumped.
Arkei wasted no time, disappearing from the room. He knew she was headed for the command room, but damn, he hadn’t seen her move that quickly before.
She really is trained for this kin
d of thing!
He hurried after her.
The alarm was excruciatingly loud and Regan was worried the ship’s hull had finally given way to the pressures of space. Maybe the force field was failing, or an errant piece of asteroid hit the ship.
At least it would be a quick death… Mostly painless.
He hoped.
When he got to the command room, he saw Arkei handling a myriad of controls as she looked at a large screen which was clearly displaying a radar.
“Space pirates!” she shouted. “Be ready. Things are about to get messy.”
Chapter Four
The alarm continued to sound as Arkei grabbed the controls and made several quick maneuvers. The jolt sent Regan flying across the command room.
“Hold on to something!” Arkei shouted as she turned the ship with a hard downward motion.
After briefly stumbling around, he found a grip and hung on for dear life.
From Arkei’s rough piloting, it seemed she was trying to evade the attacking ship instead of fighting back.
“Can’t we shoot at them?” Regan shouted.
“Not in this position. They’re right on top of us.”
She cranked the controls hard to the right and Regan spun around, still holding on.
“If I can just get above them…” Arkei said past gritted teeth as she pulled the throttle down hard. The ship was vertical for a few moments, causing Regan’s feet to dangle.
A loud blast shook the ship before it leveled out. The alarm stopped. The lights went dim. The screens, once full of attack alerts, turned black.
The silence was probably not a good sign.
Then the ship started to vibrate.
“What’s going on?” Regan shouted.
“It appears they have taken out my gun and a significant power generator.” Arkei punched the console with her robotic arm, making no further attempts to pilot her way out of this.
“You said this force field would hold!”
“I said mostly! And it mostly has, if we’re still breathing.”
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