One thousand one. One thousand two. One thousand three. I begin to count to take my mind off the horror.
Three more breathless minutes pass, then we break free of the asteroid belt not far from the ship.
As we near it, however, we start to veer downward.
“What’s happening?”
He’s looking at all the blinking lights. “I don’t know. For some reason, we’re being sucked toward the underside of the ship.”
“Is that bad?”
“Well…” He starts pressing buttons and forcibly pulling against the handle. “…if it’s built like the landers, the underside is where the turbine engines are. We’ll be pulled in and incinerated.”
“What?!” I press the release on my belt and hop over to his chair, trying to help him pull back the handle.
“Find something else we can use for leverage,” he orders urgently.
I look around but don’t see anything. Then I reach behind the seat for my swords.
He glances over. “I don’t think killing me is going to work.”
I lop off the safety belt at the bolts, and in a flash I’m at his seat again, handing it to him.
“Great thinking.” He ties the handle to the captain’s chair, holding it in place.
He’s up in a flash, trading places with me. “Get in the chair.”
I sit down and he has me grab the controller. “Hang on to this, just in case the belt doesn’t hold. I’ll send Casin back in while I amp the power.” His fingers fly across the blinking lights on the glass in front of me.
The controller jerks wildly against my hand. The belt isn’t strong enough.
“Hurry!” I cry.
But it’s slipping.
He’s gone in a flash.
And only seconds later, the belt snaps.
The ship jerks sharply downward and I scream with effort as I pull the handle back toward me with all my might.
I succeed in righting the ship, but we’re much lower than before.
Don’t let it go.
Hold on, Ande! I’m breaking out into a cold sweat. I try to clench my hands more tightly around it, but my hands are slippery with sweat.
Hold on! Not just for you.
For all of them. My muscles are screaming, my fingers going numb.
For Lla’ei. Tuorin. And every other planet.
We need to kill these cats!
Just then, two strong hands close around the handle above my own. Casin.
“Thank the gods.”
“I don’t think…we should thank anyone yet.” He grunts, pulling back on the handle. He looks at the handle closely. “We’re going to break this fucking thing off if Juordin doesn’t hurry up.”
I hear a crack and realize the fissures from our earlier asteroid hits are widening.
Casin lets out a stream of curses.
Another crack.
The ship is about to come apart. I can feel it. The handle jumps back and forth in our hands.
“Jourdiiiiiiin!” Casin’s half yell half scream is one I’ll remember for the rest of my life. For however long that is. Please hold together, Helios.
The hairs on my body are standing on end.
When the viewscreen starts to spidercrack, I can’t even scream. My arms are shot, my fingers numb from the pressure.
And then I feel it. A surge of power, and we start to rise. Another surge, and Casin pulls back on the handle, the muscles in his hands and arms shaking. I try to help, but I’m fairly useless. But I can see we’re slowly climbing upward toward the top of the ship.
Another surge of power comes, and it’s sustained this time.
“Thank the gods,” I say.
Casin’s heartfelt curse makes me smile weakly.
We’re alive. For the moment.
Juordin sprints in moments later.
He takes in our position, the cracked screen, and the cracks in the ceiling in a glance. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, that’s been said already.” Casin’s voice is dry.
“Are we out of the draft?”
“It appears that way. I think we’re drifting along with the ship inside of it. How did you do that?”
“I threw in the fuel reserves and amped up the engines to maximum power,” Juordin answers. “The end result is we’re alive, but I ended up cracking the engine case so we won’t be going back through the wormhole.”
Casin opens his mouth, then closes it abruptly. His expression is a mix of sadness and resignation. Finally, he speaks. “I guess we’d better make this mission count.”
Juordin nods. “Agreed.”
Casin rises and Juordin takes the chair, punching some buttons on the console in front of him. A smaller screen pops up within the larger picture, showing a much more detailed view of the top of the craft.
I peer over his shoulder. “How did you do that?”
“A telescoping lens. It allows us to see things more closely.”
“It’s amazing.”
“There.” Casin points to a circular object. “That’s probably an opening to get inside.”
Juordin pilots the craft and lands directly next to the circle.
By this time, others have gathered on the bridge. We’re all quiet for a long moment.
“How are we going to get in?” Redonim asks.
“I guess we’d better put on some damn space suits and find out,” Corin answers.
“Space suits?” I ask. “You have space suits?”
Juordin’s lips quirk up at the corners. “This is a spaceship.” He points to the door. “Straight back to the cargo bay, in the wall to the right.” The men file out.
I try to follow them, but he steps in front of me. The expression on his face is fierce. “Don’t even say it,” I warn.
“You’re not coming with us,” he says flatly.
“Don’t start this…” I warn him again.
“This mission is extremely dangerous. I have no idea how long it will take us to find a console to insert the malworm, or how many cats we’re going to run into in the process. I can’t justify taking you.” In a flash, he pulls a pair of cuffs from behind his back, wrapping one around my hand and the other to the handle on the console. “I’m sorry, my little warrior, but this is little better than a suicide mission. The rest of us are doomed to die, but you still have a chance at life. I won’t take that from you. I can’t take that from you.”
I’m in such shock that I can’t find my voice.
He gives me one last, urgent kiss. “That’s in case I don’t come back.”
“What?!” I screech. “You’re coming back! You let me out of these cuffs right now! You need me.” I’m pleading. I don’t want him to die.
He presses a few buttons that bring up the telescoping view to the outside of the ship. “If you see any cats come out of that circular hole, I want you to press this yellow button. It will lift off the ship. Then press the green button here and it will start the autopilot to take you back to Lla’ei.”
“Are you joking?”
“No, I’m deadly serious.”
“I’m not leaving you here. That would be a coward’s choice.”
His purple gaze meets mine for a moment. “Better to make it back to your people than die here by cats.”
I raise my chin. “Not to me.”
He cups my face for a moment. “So honorable. So stubborn. More reasons why I love you.”
I narrow my eyes at his handsome face. “When I get free of these cuffs, you’re going to regret it.”
He has the nerve to laugh.
5
Juordin
The door closes behind me and I wince. Casin is in the hall, and he obviously heard her yelling behind me.
“I don’t think your woman is very happy.” His voice is thick with sarcasm.
“What gave you that idea?”
Wisely, he remains silent.
I hear her shriek again and shake my head as I follow him down the hall to the cargo bay. I can’t worr
y about her now—I have to focus on keeping my men and the scientists alive long enough to insert the malworm.
The scientists are suiting up, the warriors ready to go. I grab my suit. Putting it on is second nature, due to long years of practice. We’d trained on land, sea, air, and in space. I’d thought my warriors were ready for anything.
Corin shouldered me as I opened my locker. “Where’s your woman? The sword fighter?”
Casin laughs. “I believe she’s a bit tied up at the moment.” He guffaws at his own joke.
Corin simply looks at me.
I grit my teeth. “She’s chained to the console,” I admit.
“But she’s probably the best fighter among us. I was looking forward to seeing some sword action.”
I take my sword from my locker and point it at his balls. “You’re not going to be seeing action of any kind unless you shut your mouth.”
Casin bursts out laughing. “I don’t think you’ll be seeing much action, either, Juordin. She’s going to be mad as a Tuorian spitting toad when she gets loose.”
“I’d rather take my chances with her later than with the cats now.” I hook the sword belt on over my space suit, and the others do the same.
“But—” Corin starts.
I draw a finger across my throat to cut him off. “This is our chance to take down more cats than we’d ever imagined, so we have to go. But the truth is, we don’t know if we’re coming back. I’ve set the autopilot so she can go home if we don’t.” I meet both of their gazes with mine. “You would do the same for your mates.”
After a second, Corin nods unhappily.
Casin is quiet for a moment, then his smile his back. He hits his brother on the arm. “Never thought I’d see Juordin in love.”
“All right, enough.” I’m suited up, blaster and knife at my side and sword at my back. I glance at the two of them together and feel a pang of sorrow. At six years younger than me, both of them are as yet unmated. And now they never will be.
“All right, let’s get moving. Helmets on. Line up,” I order. I hear some commotion toward the back, so I walk down the line that’s forming.
“What’s going on?”
“Shimi won’t take a blaster.” One of my warriors, Bodrin, thrusts a blaster at her.
“Are you against killing?”
Shimi shakes her head, visibly trembling. Her voice is quiet, but firm. “No. I hate them as much as anyone. But… I’m clumsy. And nervous. I’m just as likely to kill one of us as one of them.”
I turn to Bodrin. “We can’t argue with that. Leave the blaster.”
He grimaces, but puts the blaster back in the weapons locker.
I turn back to her. “Maybe you shouldn’t come.”
She raises her chin. “I’m the one that developed the malworm. If you have any problems inserting it, you’ll need me.”
I look to Redonim and he nods in affirmation. “What about you?” I turn to Helena.
She has a sword on one side and a blaster on the other, and looks me straight in the eye. “I have no problem killing them.”
“Should we be taking all three of you?”
Shimi answers. “This is the best chance we’re going to have. Each of us has several copies of the malworm, and we can work in tandem to get past the cats’ computer defenses and insert them. I say if this is our only shot, let’s do it.”
The other two nod, although Redonim nods more slowly. Pity. The women have a lot more fire than he does. I turn back to the line, visually checking them. “Coms check.”
Each answers with a yes as I look at them. There are seven of us altogether, four warriors and three scientists. I hope we’ll all come back, but in the back of my mind, I know we probably won’t. The sad reality is that the cats are much stronger, and their exoskeletons are more advanced than our suits.
“All right. The goal of this mission is to insert the malworm into the Ardak ship’s computer system. We know nothing about the inside of the ship, design or layout, so we’re flying blind. Once we’re inside, scientists stay in the middle for maximum protection.” I hold up one of the malworm devices. “We’re looking for the first panels we come to where the malworm devices will fit. If you see one, tell me immediately through the com. Any questions?”
No one raises a hand.
“All right. Stay together. Stay in constant contact. Use swords, blasters, or anything else at your disposal to kill the cats if they attack us. Everyone into the depressurization chamber.” They follow me in and I shut the door, depressurizing the chamber so we can open the external door. “I’ll go first and attach the cord to the ship next to the entrance. Hook yourselves to it and follow me.”
I open the external door, heading out toward the circular port. The landing was good—the circular entry portal is literally right outside the Helios. I hook the cord to a metal loop next to the portal. Rather than a palm scanner, there are three grooves in the door.
My mind draws a blank for a moment, but Corin pulls out his dagger. “Claws.”
“Oh. Right.” I pull out my dagger, and so does Casin. We follow Corin’s example and insert them into the grooves. “Here goes nothing. 3, 2, 1,” I count, and we all pull down. There is a loud hiss and the door pops open. “Into the hatch,” I order, leading the way into the darkness.
It’s pitch-black inside.
“Cats have night vision,” Corin says into the com.
Right. “Switch to night vision,” I order. Once the last person is inside, we’re squashed together with almost no room to move. “Shut the portal.”
The minute Casin shuts the portal, we hear the loud hiss of the chamber pressurizing.
“They probably have oxygen, but keep your helmets on in case we need to make a hasty exit. Keep the scientists in the middle for protection.” I press a button beside the door, hoping it will simply open. To my surprise, it does.
“I guess the Ardaks aren’t too worried about people getting into their ships,” Corin comments.
I have the sinking feeling it’s because they can take care of themselves.
We exit into a short hall, with tunnels going in both directions. They are taller and narrower than the halls on our ships. And the walls aren’t exactly smooth. I can’t tell what they’re made of, but it isn’t plastic or metal.
I have no idea where to go—we’re simply searching for the closest door and praying it has a place to insert the malworm.
I take the tunnel to the left and turn right at the end. “Left. Right.” I say into the mic for the benefit of the scientists. The warriors will already be memorizing the way back. The end of the hall runs into another. Going right gives us a number of door options. “Right.”
I’m almost to the first door when I sense motion above me.
“We’ve got company. Scientists duck, swords out.” I look up and see two unblinking, yellow eyes. The cat jumps down from the ceiling before I can get my sword out—I’m hampered by the space suit. Cold dread curls through my belly. Perhaps this plan was even more dangerous than I thought. Even worse, the cat isn’t wearing armor so it’s a lot faster than it would be with the exoskeleton on.
I bit back a curse as a sharp pain slices into my shoulder. Acting on instinct, I slam the cat against the wall of the tunnel, feeling gratified when I hearing a snapping sound behind me. But its grip on me only tightens.
A woman screams. Behind me, I see several flashes of quick movements as cats jump onto the others.
Gods, how many of them are there?
I kick the cat, desperate to help my comrades and protect the scientists.
We must complete the mission.
The action gives me the split second I need to get my knife. Then I’m on it, stabbing it until it stops moving. This cat is gray with black stripes on its face. It looks younger than the others I’ve fought. I want to feel sorrow, but I just can’t.
I turn back and see Casin and Corin each fighting a cat, their swords flashing. Corin stabs the first, then
Casin breaks the neck of the second. There are six cats on the ground and blood is everywhere. Through our night vision goggles, the blood is no more than black splatters decorating the walls. Pools of black spread out beneath the crumpled bodies of our enemies, making the floor slick.
This is why I brought them. The four of us had been the swordsmanship champions in military training. The three I left on the Helios aren’t much worse.
But Bodrin is limping, and Casin and Corin have their suits torn.
And this is just the beginning.
Someone takes their helmet off. It’s Shimi, her long golden hair spilling down her shoulders. “Help,” she gasps.
I move closer to her, my heart sinking at the sight of the amount of blood flowing from her throat. She isn’t going to make it.
She falls against the wall, and Bodrin and Corin rush to her. Bodrin puts his arms around her to hold her up, while Corin tries to staunch the flow of blood.
“You’ll be all right,” I hear one of them murmur.
I take three steps forward and try the first door on the left. It opens into a small empty room. I see panels on the walls. Maybe the malworm devices will fit here. “Get inside and try the devices,” I order Redonim and Helena, holding it open.
Bodrin and Corin half carry Shimi inside, and I can see the guilt on Bodrin’s face. I look at him meaningfully and shake my head. It wasn’t his fault. Their space suits are also ripped. We can make it back to the ship if we don’t spend too much time outside. Maybe. Fuck.
I close the door once we’re all inside. I don’t see a lock. Great.
Redonim has gone straight to a console—he and Helena are working at it while the soldiers try to tourniquet Shimi’s neck with Corin’s shirt. But from the looks on their faces, they know as well as I do that it’s too late.
A few seconds later, she breathes her last breath.
Then the alarms sound and lights begin to flash.
“What’s the status on the malworm?” I yell over the shrill whining of the alarms.
“It’s in their system—I think it triggered the alarms,” Redonim yells back.
“All right, let’s get out of here. Run.”
Alien Insertion: An Alien Warrior Romance (The Tuorin Legacy Book 4) Page 3