Feels Like Falling: a Science Fiction Space Opera Adventure: a Wolfegang standalone novella (2.5) (the Wolfegang series)

by Jillian Ashe

  Engine idea was out then.

  I slipped some of them into my pockets, separated in case they rubbed against each other. The sound of someone making their way down the ladder reached me. The door might not hold against whatever they used on the hull. Murmurs as the other two came down. They paused in front of the weapons room door and I shoved the drawers closed. There had to be something I could do to stun them and escape.

  The blue crystals powered the hyperspace drive. I didn’t want to know what would happen if I used those as brute force. Maybe rip a hole in the space-time continuum. The clear ones didn’t hold any power on their own. I opened and closed drawers like a crazy person. It was so cold without the power I could see my breath in the air and my fingers were numb. Yes, the red ones would work; mid-level power and enough juice to cause a bright flash and a good explosion.

  Taking out the case I scanned the crystal room for something I could use to control the blast. Table was bolted into the floor so couldn’t use that. Maybe the weapons room had something. I scurried into the larger room with the two cannons on the prow of the ship, directly under the bridge.

  A crackle came through from the other side of the door and I paused. Either they knew I was in here and wanted me, or they wanted the weapons and crystals. The crystals were worth a lot of credits. They must know Wolfe employed the out-of-date system which meant they had a top-notch scanner with a lot of range for us not to be able to detect them.

  The boxes under the table were movable and made of metal. I moved as quickly as I could without doing too much damage to my back. Ricky would kill me if I reopened the wound. Neither of us knew exactly how much I could take before my body would shut down, unable to heal and recover. It was best not to test it.

  The heavy boxes were built to hold weapons, protecting the pulse charges from a chain reaction. I left the charges in the crates to weigh them down and pushed one and then the other until it formed a ‘V’ in the direction of the door. The seam of the door was already molten and hot. The heat felt amazing.

  More murmurs as they worked, but I couldn’t make out the words. Now I needed an igniting force. What would be heavy enough to shatter the crystals? The door creaked as they pushed on it, testing the width and strength. Melted metal dripped to the floor. I scrambled, tossing random stuff aside as I searched frantically.

  Wolfe would be furious when he found out what they did to the door.

  Something round and heavy rolled onto the floor when I moved more crap aside. The pulse cannon charge? There were more tucked behind some other boxes but one would do. Honestly I had no idea how they worked. All I knew was they went in the cannon and huge crackling balls of energy came out; so destructive they were illegal. The cannons weren’t, but these particular brands of pulse fire were.

  Too bad we couldn’t use them on the pirates without screwing everybody in the process and sucking us all out into space.

  The door was pushed inward. More molten metal rained on the floor, heating it and causing it to melt even more, dripping into the bowels of the ship. I cursed. The set up was too close. If the door fell on the crystals I would be the one exploding.

  I probably had only a few seconds at most. Bending over I pulled everything a few feet back. The wound twinged and the pain made my teeth ache but I ignored it. Eyeballing the distance, I pulled the boxes back another foot to be safe. The crystals were next and I ducked behind the boxes just as the door started to come off the frame. The cannonball was ready.

  The door fell with a boom and my ears rang. I dropped the ball and fell to my stomach. The sound of crystals crunching reached me before the percussive wave rippled out. It made the hairs on my arms stand up. My ears continued to ring as the energy released by the crystals pulsed in the air. I coughed. The crystal dust was everywhere.

  I peeked over the boxes and saw the three pirates prone on the floor. Hopping over the boxes my bare feet tingled when they touched the red dust on the floor. Please be alive, please be alive. They each wore a suit similar to the ones I’d seen hanging in the cargo bay and various other places in case of an emergency. They were exosuits, or spacesuits. Each of the pirates’ faces was covered by a faceplate. They had their own oxygen.

  My stomach dropped as I contemplated why. My fingers could feel a weak pulse on the first. The blast must not have been fatal. I decided not to wait around for them all to wake up. Quietly I stepped over them and avoided the still hot piles of metal goo. I managed to burn the bottom of my feet as I rushed over the door and went for the ladder.

  The back of my shirt felt wet and I wondered if it was blood or sweat. One burned foot went up and my back ached so badly I could hardly pull myself up. I gritted my teeth and used my legs to push the majority of my body weight up and then used my arms to pull before I put too much strain on my back. Of course we were boarded by pirates when I was barely physically functional.

  My toes curled around the rungs and I made my way up the ladder as quickly as I could. Getting up and over was not an easy task. I had to roll onto the floor and then push myself up. The pain was excruciating. My breathing became ragged. Finding the rest of the crew was vital. Then we had to take out the scanner. The pirates were probably already on their way after seeing three of their members go cold.

  I ducked into the galley and grabbed one of the cooking knives. It wouldn’t do much, but it would be better in close quarters than the pulse pistol tucked in the band of my pants. Leaning against the door frame I listened carefully. There were no footsteps clanging on the metal floor. No one was on tier two. The only sounds I could make out were in the cargo-hold.

  It was frigid. If they didn’t get the power back up and running soon we’d all freeze to death. There was enough oxygen we wouldn’t suffocate beforehand.

  I glanced back as I slipped out of the galley and down the hall towards my quarters. The pirates were somewhere aboard. They wouldn’t leave the crystals behind. There were a few boxes of crystals in the hold but not many and they were not easy to find. They also weren’t as valuable compared to the black and blue crystals.

  Voices reached me. The pirates argued near the hole they’d made in the ship. I ducked down quick and pressed myself against the wall. Leaning forward a tad I peered around the corner and down the stairs. There were three of them, gesturing up the stairs and then back to the tunnel. I closed my eyes and focused on their words.

  “There’s another one up there. Three of our guys are unconscious thanks to them. Those crystals are worth a fortune. Add the custom hyperdrive system on top of it all and we’ll be swimming in credits for months. We need to finish this job and fly.”

  One of them shrugged. Her mask was pushed up so I could kind of make out her face. She looked human from where I hid. Her skin was dark and her eyes light but more detail than that was lost in the distance. The other two had their backs faced to me, masks up. So they weren’t worried about a breach.

  “We’ll find what we need before it’s too late,” the woman said. “The other three are tied up below. One female shouldn’t be a problem.” Normally I would be offended, but she was right. I was in no condition to fight.

  “Nice try little girl,” someone growled behind me, wrapping his large hand around my wrist. He yanked me up and to my feet. The knife clattered to the floor and my back screamed in agony as I tried to yank away. His mask was still up so I couldn’t see his face. “Thought you were so clever did you?” He lifted the oxygen mask up and I could see the rows of teeth in his mouth as he smiled wide.

  He had the most haunting ice-blue eyes. I couldn’t look away from them. The color of his skin was almost iridescent white. Like snakeskin as it shimmered in the dim glow. Irrationally I wanted to touch it and feel if it was as smooth as snakeskin as well. I couldn’t stop staring at him. My feet barely touched the floor and his grip on my wrist ground the bones together. He cocked his head to the side and then pulled back his other fist. He clipped me under the chin and my head flung back. I was unconscio
us before I hit the floor.

  Chapter Five

  My head throbbed. I reached for the ache in my jaw and felt the swollen and bruised flesh tenderly. The back of my head was also sore. I must have fallen backwards. Where the hell was I?

  “Kat, you’re awake!” Ricky’s anxious voice made the pounding worse.

  I winced and took a look around. I couldn’t see anyone else, but they had to be down here. It was pitch black and not even the tiny lights on the cargo boxes could help me see where he was. “Are you all down here?” I asked. I vaguely remembered the woman saying something about that.

  “Yeah, we’re down here,” Wolfe said. “Damn pirates and their pricey tech.”

  “With their scanner up and running we will never get them off our ship.” Celeste’s silky voice came from another corner and then I had some idea where each of them was.

  I got to my feet slowly. The back of my shirt was wet and I was pretty sure it was my blood. The wound must have reopened again when I was knocked out or when they tossed me into this sub-hold. “How are we going to take the ship back, Captain?” I asked. My hand went to the cargo box next to me and then I shuffled in the direction I last heard the captain.

  “Celeste and I have to board their ship and disable their scanner before we do anything. Once the scanner is down we need to take out the pirates and scavenge supplies from their ship. They damaged the hull, they can pay the costs.”

  I stumbled over someone’s legs and fell in their lap. “Wolfe?”

  “They didn’t tie you up?” the captain asked incredulously.

  “Um, no, they didn’t.” I carefully picked myself up to avoid any awkwardness. “What did they use to bind you?” I asked, unwilling to feel around.

  “Standard elastic bonds. The more you struggle the tighter they get,” he explained. “They tied our wrists and ankles. We’ve already been searched and there’s nothing we can use to cut ourselves loose.”

  I felt sick to my stomach and patted my pockets desperately. If they’d searched me I’d have nothing to work with. If they didn’t and the crystals broke when I landed…the pirates had taken the pulse pistol and the knife. The crystals in my pockets were gone. “God dammit!” They now had their hands on some black crystals, fucking fantastic.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Wolfe said gently, soothing. “You’re untied and you can easily find one of the cargo boxes down here with weapons. It’ll be easy.”

  I shook my head and then remembered he couldn’t see me in the pitch black. “No, I had some crystals in my pockets and they’re gone. I think that’s what they’re here for. Three of them came down below while I was in there with all those crystals. I managed to delay them, but they’re probably already down there again, stealing everything they can.”

  Wolfe muttered a curse, but it was mild compared to some of the others I’d heard him use. “It’s fine. Look around for a box labeled ‘X-5452.’ Let me know when you find it and I’ll give you the code to open it.”

  Normally I could see okay in the dark even with nearly no light. The boxes down here had tiny little lights that glowed faintly, but I couldn’t focus, couldn’t zero in and concentrate like I had been able to since cryo. I winced. Blood trickled down my back and tickled. My body was too focused on healing and keeping me together to allow for anything extra at the moment.

  “Can anyone help me find it, direct me to it? I’m having a hard time seeing down here.” My hand trailed on one box as I shuffled until I found the next. I peered close to the tiny light to see if I could make out the serial number on the box.

  “Follow my voice,” I heard Ricky call from deeper in the sub-hold. I’m right next to it.”

  Carefully I shuffled my way around a few boxes and tried not to stumble too much. I really wished I’d put on socks or something. I couldn’t feel my feet anymore. How much longer until frostbite set in? Too bad there wasn’t a pair of shoes down here.

  Ricky made a noise. “If you would stop insisting on going barefoot everywhere this wouldn’t be an issue.” I changed direction and headed more directly towards him. “Once we’re free we’ll all get into the exosuits. It should help.” My foot brushed something soft and I realized it was Ricky’s pant leg.

  “Okay, I’m here. Where is it?” Voices upstairs bounced around, muffled through the closed hatch.

  “To your left, three boxes back and on the bottom. Hurry, Kat, they’re getting suspicious of the movement.”

  The need to rush pressed heavy on my chest and I stumbled as quickly as I could, counting boxes until I found the one I needed. Squinting, I just barely made the number out. “What’s the code?” I called out, shoving the boxes on top off, giving up silence for speed.

  Wolfe rattled off some numbers and my numb fingers felt fat and stunted as I punched in the code. With a small chime and a click the top of the box slid open and the interior lit up. For the first time I could orient myself in the sub-hold. Ricky’s outline was nearby and past him I could see Wolfe’s boots. The weapons were placed in perfectly cut foam-material and I yanked them aside. I needed something to cut with. Yes! My hands wrapped around a laser cutter and I ran over to Ricky as best as I could.

  His hands were bound behind his back and he had to angle towards me. “I have no idea how to use this,” I whispered desperately. My hands were numb and I didn’t want to cut a hand off.

  “Just press the button to activate it and carefully – carefully! – slice through the bonds.”

  The device flared to life and Ricky winced. The numbness made me feel like I could barely hold on let alone have accuracy. “Steady hands, steady hands,” I muttered as I brought the bright red light closer to the strange elastic. Close enough to cut it off, but not too close. The bonds snapped off and the whiplash stung. The absence of the resistance pitched me forward and I felt it slice into Ricky a little before I could pull back.

  “I’m so sorry!” I turned the device off and handed it to him, feeling horrible. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Ricky sliced the bonds from his ankles and then knelt next to me, a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You did your best, Katerina. Thank you.” He quickly went to the captain and then Celeste.

  I tried to stand but stumbled and fell. My feet were useless from the freezing cold. Someone’s hands went under my arms and pulled me up. Celeste passed me off to the captain before gathering the weapons. “Just leave me down here. It’s not a big deal. I can wait until you all come back.” I tried to push off the captain but his arms tightened around me.

  “You’re getting into an exosuit,” Wolfe said. “That’s an order.”

  Ricky had the hatch open and jumped straight up from the box he stood on. In seconds he was up and over, reaching down for me. Wolfe climbed up on the box and I was passed like a small child from one to the other. It grated on my nerves.

  The pirates were missing from the cargo-hold. Wolfe helped Celeste up and then climbed over himself. He crouched with his gun at the ready, sighted towards the pirate ship. Celeste pressed her back against his and covered the other side. If anyone came through they’d be in for a rude surprise.

  My whole body shivered. Suddenly Ricky was at my side and helping me into a thin exosuit. As soon as I had it all the way on, he sealed the oxygen mask to the suit and activated it. Instantly warmth spread from my torso to my arms and legs, then finally my hands and feet. It felt wonderful despite the painful tingling in my nerves. The boots compressed to fit my feet and they were cozy. I wiggled my toes and gritted against the pain.

  “Better?” Ricky asked.

  I nodded.

  The other three suits were passed around and a whispered conversation happened where Wolfe gave orders and I waited to be told what to do. “They have to know we are no longer tied up in the sub-hold.” I muttered. “So where are they?”

  “As soon as they have what they want they’ll be heading down here ready for a fight, they aren’t worried with their superior tech and fire power,” Wolfe
said. “Ricky, I need you and Kat to keep them from boarding their ship until Celeste and I can disable the scanner and make it back.”

  “What are your orders for dealing with the pirates?” Celeste asked, inspecting her weapons before settling on the largest and stashing the others.

  “Stun for now. It would be preferred if we can send them safely on their way and make our getaway. Kill only in self-defense.”

  She made an ugly noise in the back of her throat. “You cannot be serious.”

  Wolfe shrugged. “You never know when we’ll come back this way and need safe passage. They’ll honor the life debt.”

  “If you say so.” She didn’t sound convinced and I had to agree with her on this one. Still, I set the pistol to ‘stun.’ The charge would act more like a taser than a burning ball of destruction.

  Celeste followed after the captain and Ricky and I set up behind a stack of cargo boxes. The metal was designed to withstand anything up to a nuclear attack.

  My shoulder was pressed up against Ricky’s as I aimed for the top of the stairs. This I could do. I wouldn’t let any of those pirates through. “Why didn’t they tie me up?” The comms on the suits were activated. I could hear the echo in my mask and instantly regretted the question. Wolfe and Celeste could hear the conversation as well.

  The damage to your back might have made you a non-threat, Ricky explained, his thought slipping through the barriers of my mind. Made me wonder how bad it was they didn’t even bother with me. The pirates might have even thought I was close to dead.

  Shouts came from tier two and the sound of pounding footsteps. Wolfe must have made an impression on the scans. I took a deep breath of purified air and let it out. All we had to do was keep them back, but it occurred to me as I waited for the pirates to come running out of the hall and down the stairs, we had no idea how many were onboard anymore. I’d been unconscious and never saw how many went to load up the crystals. Everyone else had been tied up since whatever tech they had shut down our ship and comms.