by S. J. Bryant
"You must have come up with something." Kari strained to keep control of her frustration. Atticus spent every spare second he had fiddling with one thing or another on board Ghost. It had to be good for something.
"It's complicated," Atticus said.
Kari paused. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means he has something," Piper said, her voice low and monotonous. "But he doesn't want to do it."
Atticus dropped his gaze to the floor.
"Is that true?" Kari said. "You've had a way of getting us out of here this whole time?"
"Not the whole time," he mumbled.
"For the last two hours," Piper said. "I'd guess."
"He told you about it?" Kari said.
"No."
"So what?" Kari said.
"I figured out what he was thinking."
Kari tried to keep patient, to keep calm. She couldn't lose her temper at Piper, not again. She'd done that enough times and Piper deserved better. But sometimes it could be so damn frustrating. Why couldn't she just say what she meant? Kari forced herself to let out a long breath. "Atticus, tell me what's going on."
He flicked his hand at the wall. "The pipes."
"What about them?"
"The gas line for the external thrusters is there."
"And?"
"And if he creates a back pressure it will release through the vents," Piper said. "Eventually suffocating everyone on board. Except here, provided we block the vents."
Kari glanced at the pipes. They ran down the corner of the room, from the ceiling to the floor. They looked harmless enough, but if they did carry gas for the thrusters…
"What are you waiting for?" she said.
Atticus looked up at her, dark circles under his eyes. "Didn't you hear? It will kill everyone on board."
"Except us," Kari said. "We just block the vents."
"But everyone else will die."
Kari pinned her lips together to stop herself replying with the first thing in her head: so what? Why would she give a damn if some pirates died? They'd kidnapped her and her crew, stolen her ship, and it was their fault Wren was dead. As far as Kari was concerned, they deserved to die.
Atticus dropped his gaze to the floor. "I knew you wouldn't understand. That's why I didn't mention it."
"That's not a choice for you to make," Kari said, only half listening. "Can we block the vents?"
"We can use pieces of clothing," Piper said. "It will be enough for a while."
"Good," Kari said. "Get things started."
"Are you thinking at all?" Atticus said.
Kari resisted the urge to lash out at him. He was probably the only one who knew how to back up the pipes so they actually leaked through the vents, something she was pretty sure they were designed not to do. She raised an eyebrow, not trusting herself to talk.
"It will kill them all."
"Yes, and I'm sorry for that."
"No, you're not. But that's not my point. What do we do when they're all dead?"
Kari opened her mouth to reply but she had nothing. She hadn't thought that far ahead, she'd just assumed that once the pirates were dead everything would be fine. But if they did kill their captors, they'd still be trapped inside the cage. "Surely we can break the lock or something."
"Really?" Atticus said. "Would you like to give it a go?"
Kari glanced at the thick bolt that pinned the cell door closed. The thick bars wouldn't break either, leaving them trapped. She tried not to let panic overtake her with the knowledge.
"Right," Atticus said. "At least now you're starting to see."
"There has to be a way. We just haven't thought of it yet."
"Right," Atticus said. "Well when you come up with an idea, let me know. Then I can go back to contemplating the equivalent of genocide."
"It's a few pirates who planned to sell us into slavery," Aydin said. "Don't get too caught up on it."
Kari had to agree. Atticus might not like the idea, but it was either kill the pirates, or accept a life of slavery. But damn he had a good point about needing a way to get out of the cell first. She edged toward the bars and stood near the door, studying the lock.
Wren could probably pick it—Kari's stomach knotted. Wren wouldn't be helping them ever again. And for that the pirates would pay.
The lock looked simple enough and Kari had done her fair share of breaking into—and out of—places in her time. She just had to trip the catch. It didn't look particularly complex. The trouble was, she wouldn't get a practice attempt. If she tried it now, the pirates would be on her faster than a raider on a damaged freighter.
"What are you doing?" Gerbil said.
Kari jumped and spun to find him standing just behind her. "Nothing."
Gerbil raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't look like nothing."
"It's none of your business."
"I've told you before that everything you do is my business because me and my people will be punished for whatever you do."
"No one will be punished."
"Look what happened last time you tried to do something."
He waved his hand in the general direction of Kari's group, but Kari knew what he meant: Wren.
"I had no control over that," she said through clenched teeth. She tried to believe it, but she couldn't help blaming herself for not seeing how low Wren had sunk.
"All control is an illusion. Whatever you're planning, stop it. I beg you."
"I can't do that," Kari said. "You might be happy to stay a slave, but we're not."
"You'll get us all killed."
"No, I won't." Kari tried to sound confident, but the door alone presented a large enough hurdle, what came after that she could only begin to guess.
"If you try anything, I'll call the guards." Gerbil stared up at her, his jaw set.
Kari wanted to scream, to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze. But how could she? He only wanted what was best for his people. He'd seen the worst sort of punishment, and clearly thought slavery was a better option. But that was his choice, he couldn't make the choice for Kari and her crew as well.
"Please don't," she said.
"If you try something and I do nothing, they'll punish me and mine. At least if I try to stop you, we might escape the worst of it."
Kari tried to work through the options, but it felt as though there weren't any. How long would it take the guards to arrive if Gerbil raised the alarm? Not long enough for Atticus to adjust the pipes. Hell, he'd be lucky to have enough time as it was. They'd have to hope the guards weren't watching the security cameras particularly closely. If Gerbil raised the alarm, then they were done for.
"We have to at least try," Kari said.
"I can't stand by."
"What about this," Kari said. "I knock you out."
Gerbil rolled his eyes. "You resort to violence too much."
"Hear me out. I pretend to knock you out, you go down. Your people put their focus on helping you and leave my people to our own business. When this is all over, you can say that you had no idea because you were unconscious, and your people were looking after you."
Gerbil glanced up at the cameras and then at Kari. "It's too risky."
"If you raise the alarm and they decide to kill us," Kari said. "Or torture us. That will be on you. You'll be just as responsible as them."
Gerbil's face lost some of its color. "No."
"Yes. Because if you do nothing then at least we stand a chance."
Gerbil fidgeted with the bottom of his torn shirt. "It will have to be convincing."
"I can throw a good fake punch," Kari said, cracking her knuckles.
"No. It will have to be real."
Kari raised an eyebrow. "That won't be good for your head."
"Better I lose a few brain cells now than get whatever punishment Blanchard and her people will deal out."
"If you're sure?"
"I'm sure. Just let me speak to the others." Gerbil shuffled over to where his group
huddled, separate from Kari's crew. They'd been treated even more like outsiders since Wren's death. None of Gerbil's people knew exactly what had happened, but it was enough that one of Kari's crew had spontaneously died.
Kari returned to Atticus and the others. "We can do it."
Atticus raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes." Kari tried to sound confident. It was just a lock after all, they could all be picked if given enough time.
Atticus rubbed his eyes. "But what about the rest of it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Killing all those people!"
Kari shrugged. "It's them or us."
"There has to be another way."
"There's not," Aydin said. "And we're running out of time. Whatever plan you have; I say let's do it."
"As much as I hate it," Ryker said. "I have to agree with him. We've got to act now."
Atticus' face twisted, as if spikes were being driven into his stomach. "And you, Piper. Are you okay with this?" he said.
Piper pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. "It's ugly."
"Exactly."
Piper locked eyes with him. "But necessary."
"What?" Atticus said.
"I won't be a slave again," she said. "And it won't be long before we reach the destination. I can feel it in the engines. They're slowing down."
"It's settled then," Kari said. "We're doing it."
"But you're not doing it," Atticus said, voice low. "I'm the one that has to do it. It will be me killing them."
"Hell, talk me through it if that makes it easier," Aydin said. "But let's get this bloody thing happening."
"No," Atticus said. "If I'm going to let this happen, then let the blood be on my hands."
"I don't give a damn," Aydin said. "But hurry it up."
"What do you need?" Kari said.
"My tool bag?"
"Be serious."
"Ryker and Aydin can stand behind me and block the camera. The rest of you… I don't care."
"Right," Kari said. "Gerbil's group will stay out of the way, hopefully. Be quick."
"Yeah," Atticus said. "That will be the top thing on my mind."
Kari turned away from him, not bothering to reply. They all had demons, but for Kari, the death of the pirates wouldn't weigh heavily on her mind. They deserved whatever was coming to them.
Gerbil was still with his people. They leaned in close as he spoke—his back to the camera. Some of them shook their heads and looked to be arguing, but Gerbil cut them off. A few moments later he returned to Kari's side.
"Make it a clean one," he said. "And to my left side. My right is my good side."
"I'm going to need a reason to punch you."
Gerbil looked her right in the eyes. "It's your fault Wren is dead."
Kari pulled back her fist and brought it around in a roundhouse to Gerbil's left temple. His head snapped sideways and he collapsed to the floor with a soft sigh.
Kari stood over him, breathing hard. She wasn't sure whether he'd meant what he'd said about Wren, but it had felt real enough. And if Gerbil blamed her, did the others as well? What if they all thought it was her fault? What if it was?
Kari's shoulders heaved. She barely noticed when Gerbil's people rushed to his side and propped his head up. They glared up and cursed at her, but it was as though their voices came through a thick layer of water; muffled and meaningless.
In the back of her mind, she noticed Atticus pulling on a valve but that all seemed irrelevant. There was just Kari and her thoughts.
She'd killed Wren.
It was her fault.
She should have been the one to die.
"Kari!" Ryker yanked hard on Kari's arm, wrenching her out of her thoughts. She blinked, coming back to reality. "Kari. Get it together. We need you over here."
"Ryker?"
He locked his eyes with hers. "Get it together, Captain. This is about to get ugly."
CHAPTER 20
"How long until we know if it's worked?" Kari said.
Atticus shrugged. He'd set up a bypass in the pipes so that the gas went straight into the oxygen supply that fed the rest of the ship. Piper and the others had blocked up the vents leading into the cell. "We can wait to see if anyone brings us dinner."
"We can't just wait around. If it hasn't worked then we need to come up with a different plan, and even if it has worked, we can't just sit here. We have no idea where we're heading, or who's waiting for us when we get there."
"Not to mention the small matter of the air supply," Aydin said.
Kari hadn't thought of that. "How long do we have?"
"Based on the volume of the room and number of people," Piper said. "Three hours at the most."
"Okay, but we can bring the air back if we need to, so we don't have to panic," Kari said. "But we don't want to start cracking the door until we're sure the guards won't be watching. If they come in and realize what's happening, then we're done."
"Sure," Atticus said. "We just have to wait for a hundred people or more to die."
Kari wasn't sure he'd ever forgive her for making him do this. But that was something she could worry about later. Besides, how had he lived so long without learning that everyone was only looking after themselves? It was either kill the pirates, or be killed. Better to shoot first than wind up dead.
"So how long?" Kari said, ignoring Atticus' hidden meaning.
"Depends how efficient the air distribution system is. But maybe an hour?"
"Right. We wait an hour and a half, then we move."
Kari forced herself to sit and try to rest. She had no idea what would happen once they broke out of the cell. Hopefully there'd be a carpet of pirate bodies and they could find Ghost and get the hell out of here. But that would be too easy. So far, she'd found that the Universe never made things easy.
At the other side of the cell Gerbil had started to stir. His companions helped him to sit up, his back against the bars. A purple bruise colored the side of his head and his left eye was swollen shut. He stared across at Kari and she could feel the judgment in his eyes. Oh well, what did he know? They hadn't been caught yet and it was only a matter of time before every pirate bastard on the ship was dead. Then Gerbil and his friends would want to get out. They wouldn't sit there waiting for the next lot of slave traders to come along.
Would he say thank you?
Kari fiddled with a frayed thread on her sleeve and tried to find peace. How could she hate Gerbil and his friends? They only wanted to live. Was that such a crime? But on the other hand, how could she respect them when they didn't stand up for themselves? More to the point, what did it matter when Wren was dead and they were only days away from being sold into slavery?
"You can't blame yourself," Ryker said, sitting beside her.
"You're a counselor now?" Kari said.
"No, just an old friend."
"Do you think she was planning it for a while?"
Ryker shrugged. "Who could tell with Wren? She hid everything."
"I still feel like I should have realized."
"No one could have known. She chose to do what she did."
"What about them?" Kari said.
Ryker glanced at Gerbil and the others. "You gave him a good hit."
"He deserved it."
"I doubt it. But I'm sure you had a good reason."
"He's protecting himself and his friends. Plausible deniability."
"Ah," Ryker said. "Although I bet he didn't know how hard you hit when he made that deal." Ryker massaged his jaw and Kari couldn't help a tiny smile tug at the corner of her mouth. She'd knocked Ryker out with a single hit once when they got in a fight over the Imperium.
"His choice. But what do you think? When we get out of this mess, do we leave them here?"
"You won't leave them," Ryker said.
"They've done nothing to help us get out."
"You won't leave them. You never turn your back on people who need help."
Ka
ri snorted. "I do it all the time."
"Okay, you never turn your back on people who need help because they can't defend themselves."
"But they can." Kari tilted her head in Gerbil's direction.
"Can they?" Ryker said. "Have you spoken to any of them, other than Gerbil?"
"Not much, I've had other things on my mind." Kari hadn't even thought about trying to socialize. The much more pressing matter of getting the hell off a slave ship had been her first—and only—priority.
"Well, Atticus has. You know what he's like."
"Benefit of the doubt," Kari muttered. It was one of the only things she didn't understand about the tinker. He'd seen so much of the Universe, and yet he still gave people the benefit of the doubt. Surely his experience should have taught him better? It was a wonder he'd lived this long.
"Yes. And he passed on some of their stories."
"And?"
"Most of them have been slaves for life. They don't know anything better. And the ones that weren't born into it have had a bad time."
"So, wouldn't that make them even more keen to fight their way out?"
"If you'd spent your whole life trodden down, don't you think it might be hard to see any other way?"
"I managed it," Kari said.
"Please," Ryker said. "The Imperium might be controlling. But you were never like those slaves. You always had the option of running away."
"So, you think they had no choice?"
"Exactly."
"Then is there any point to freeing them? Won't they just go right back to it?"
"No, I don't think so. They just need a glimpse of the possibilities, a taste of freedom, and they'll come around."
"You've got more faith in them than I do," Kari said.
Ryker shrugged. "I wasn't so different from them. It's just that my slavery was in my own deluded head."
"The Imperium?"
Ryker nodded.
Kari sighed and pulled at the frayed thread. "Fine. We'll help them get out too."
"You're confident that this plan will work."
"It has to." Kari looked around. "Besides, no one has come to give us water."
Ryker raised an eyebrow and glanced at the door. "Then you think it's already happened?"
"I hope so. I hope all those bastards are dead. But we wait another half an hour to be sure."