Mitsuki had no idea where her plasma carbine was, so she drew her plasma pistol and took off after Zetta in what she had planned to be a straight sprint but instead turned out to be a zigzagging jog.
Her HUD came online.
B began speaking immediately. “Madam, your health status—”
“Don’t care. Is the door to the Outworld Ranger still closed and locked?”
“Yes, madam, it— Wait. It just opened.”
“Damn it!” Mitsuki tried to pick up her speed. “Give me a slight antigrav boost to help me run. I feel like I’ve got weights on my legs.”
“That’s because your neural system is in shock, madam. And you’ve got some minor injuries. You need to rest.”
“I’m too busy saving the day for that.”
Time warped as she ran, so it seemed as if an eternity passed before she reached the entrance to the docking tube.
A plasma pistol fired, then a split-second later a crackling sound echoed down the tube as if the shot had bounced off an energy field.
Mitsuki was just about to dart inside when a deep thwoosh sounded in the tube. Luckily, she paused. Otherwise, she’d have died.
A fiery, cannon-sized plasma bolt screamed past her, zipped across the transfer bay, then struck the back of the Tezzin, blowing a hole in the trunk. The heat from the bolt blistered Mitsuki’s face and hands as it passed within a few centimeters of her. And that was impressive because her skin was naturally resistant to heat and a good bit of radiation.
As Mitsuki poked her head into the tube, Oona was vomiting. Zetta lay dead nearby, almost at the entrance to the Outworld Ranger. A trail of smoke drifted up from her midsection. Whatever the blast had come from, it must have gone straight through Zetta.
Good riddance.
Mitsuki checked her locator. Oona, Bishop, Siv, and Kyralla all showed up, as well as the crewmen, who were still on the bridge. She breathed a sigh of relief. All her companions were alive.
“Can you get a reading on Kyralla’s condition, or contact her chippy?”
“Negative on both counts, madam.”
“What about my boyfriend?”
“No reading there either, madam.”
“Keep trying.”
Mitsuki was about to head toward them when a purple, snakelike creature burst out from Zetta’s body and struck at Oona. The beast bounced off the girl’s shield, knocking it out.
Oona fell backward as the creature coiled up, readying itself to strike again.
Mitsuki loped into the tunnel, aiming her plasma pistol with a shaking hand.
“Dodge right!” she yelled as the creature sprang toward Oona.
The girl dived to her right, out of sight from the tube, and the creature followed. Mitsuki fired her plasma pistol at the beast. But the shot missed, and scorched the ceiling of the Outworld Ranger’s loading corridor.
Damn it!
As she ran toward Oona, an odd, metallic scrape rang out, followed by a wet, chopping sound. She had no idea what that was, but it couldn’t be good.
She reached the ship and saw the snake lying dead on the floor, its body severed in half, the light fading from its eyes. The insectoid cog stood over Oona, greenish blood dripping from a knifelike engineering tool extending out from one of its hands. It nodded to Mitsuki, then turned and knelt in front of Oona, bleeping questioningly.
“O–okay,” Oona muttered quietly.
The cog turned to Mitsuki and bleeped.
“I’m fine.” She bent halfway over, gasping for breath. It had taken all she could do to make it here. “We need to check on the others. And…” She wobbled. “You know…I could probably use…a stimulant.”
The cog nodded, and with one of its other arms drew a syringe out from a pack it was carrying. It planted the tip of the injector on her neck then triggered the dose.
A surge of energy raced through Mitsuki so fast she thought she might jump out of her skin. ‘Nevolence, the old drugs were a lot stronger than the ones available these days.
“Madam, Octavian says you need to rest as soon as possible.”
Mitsuki reached a hand out to Oona. The poor girl was trembling as if she’d been dropped into ice water. She continued to stare off into space and wouldn’t take Mitsuki’s hand.
“We need to check on your sister and Bishop.” Mitsuki waved her hand in front of the girl’s face. “Come on.”
Awareness returned to Oona’s eyes, and she took Mitsuki’s hand. When she got her up, Mitsuki noticed the half-melted snub pistol on the floor.
“Holy crap! Did the blast come out of that pistol?”
Oona nodded. “I…I didn’t know it would do that.”
Mitsuki was about to tell Octavian they would need his services, but the cog had already rushed into the docking tube and was halfway to the freighter.
As they passed Zetta’s body, Oona sobbed and began trembling violently. “I didn’t mean to…to…”
“You didn’t have a choice.”
“That doesn’t…make me feel…any better.”
“It shouldn’t.”
“The snake thing…what was that?”
“I was hoping you would know.”
Octavian had nearly reached the skimmer when Oona gasped. “The car!” She took off running.
Mitsuki chased after her. “What’s the— Oh!”
She had forgotten that the unlikely cannon blast from the snub pistol had blown a gaping hole into the trunk of the Tezzin. If the bolt had traveled all the way through, then it might have struck Bishop in the front seat.
Silky’s voice broke in suddenly, ringing loudly in Mitsuki’s ears. “What the hell’s going on out there?!”
“It’s complicated, old bot.”
“I’m detecting Zetta, finally, and she appears to be dead, and I registered what seemed to be a cannon blast along with a flare of hyperphasic energy.”
“Yeah, that. I can’t even begin to explain it. And I don’t have the slightest clue what that snake thing was.”
“Snake thing?”
“You’re not seeing that?”
“Not even on the level five scan.”
“Weird.”
She and Oona reached the car. Kyralla was lying beside it, unconscious, blood running down the back of her head and puddling onto the ground. Octavian finished administering a dose of medibots to her then rolled her over gently and began applying a bandage to her scalp. Oona knelt and took her sister’s hand.
“Will she be okay?”
Octavian nodded and beeped confidently.
Mitsuki glanced into the car. Bishop had been damn lucky. The pistol’s mega-bolt had blasted through the trunk, punctured the backseat, then sputtered out when it burned away a chunk of the dashboard, melting plastic and destroying part of the control console. The hole through the front seat was only a few centimeters above Bishop’s head.
Bishop was unconscious and stretched out across the front seat. A trail of blood was drying on his left cheek, which was swelling up like a giant plum. She didn't see any more visible signs of injury, and Octavian seemed more concerned about Kyralla.
“Everyone’s okay in here,” she told Silky.
“I already knew that.”
“Smart ass.”
“Good job killing Zetta, Mits. That’s a win.”
“That wasn’t me. That was Oona." Mitsuki’s locator suddenly surged with activity as five yellow dots left the bridge and headed toward the loading bay. "Hold on. We've got company."
17
Mitsuki Reel
Mitsuki cursed. The entire situation was out of control, and things kept getting worse. She enjoyed causing chaos, but she hated being subjected to it.
“Silky, tell Siv to get his ass out here—now. We’ve got people down, we’ve got incoming targets, I can hardly see straight, and Oona’s unarmed.”
“I can see that, but Siv… You’ll have to come get him when you’ve got everything sorted.”
“What the hell’s wrong
with him?”
“Zetta offered him a syringe of Kompel.”
“Shit. Did he take it?”
“No, not yet. But he’s cradling it in his hands like it’s a baby kitten made of sunshine. It’s taking every scrap of willpower he’s got to resist it.”
“Well…damn.”
“I’m doing all I can to get him moving, but unfortunately he’s stuck in here like a tick on a dog’s ass.”
“Keep him honest, and if you can, help B scan the ship for hostiles and…and anything else that might affect us. This day hasn’t gone well, and I’m sick of surprises.”
Mitsuki spotted her plasma carbine where she’d dropped it after getting blasted by the neural pulse. She ran over and grabbed it. The crewmen would be here soon.
“Anything you can tell me about those five crewmen, B?”
“One is armed. One is bad. I don’t know if it’s the same one. And I can’t guarantee there’s only one bad one.”
She glanced around the bay, looking for a good position for sniping them, if necessary. There was hardly any cover to work with, and she couldn’t see how to get up on the catwalk. So she settled on hunkering down behind the car. At least that way she could protect Oona and the cogs as they tried to help Kyralla and Bishop.
Seneca had pushed an antigrav sled out of the tunnel. As soon as he reached the car, Octavian lifted Kyralla and loaded her onto the sled. Seneca was about to take her back to the ship, but Mitsuki stopped him.
“Everyone take cover behind the car.” She braced the plasma carbine across the trunk to keep her aim steady since her hands were shaking. “Stay there until I tell you otherwise.”
Octavian placed himself between Kyralla and the car, and then he pulled Seneca over to block for Oona. Mitsuki stared at insectoid cog in awe for a moment then returned her gaze to the passageway the freighter's crewmen would be emerging from. She wondered if Octavian had been remarkable for his day, or if cogs that well made and considerate had been standard back in Siv's youth.
The crewmen entered. One of them, his face bruised and bloodied, had his hands placed behind his head. Directly behind him walked a man armed with a pistol, a man she recognized as the ship’s captain. She had bargained directly with him for their passage on the vessel, exchanging several video messages. The other three men, unarmed, trailed behind the captain. One of them was clutching a wound on his right arm.
She stood but kept her gun pointed at them. “Captain Alois.”
The captain glanced around the room, noting the bodies of the dead criminals. Then he locked his eyes on the car, his eyebrows rising in surprise.
“Ms. Lutz,” he responded, using the name she had given him. “You can put the gun down. Order has been restored to my ship.”
She lowered her weapon. “Is that the snitch?”
“Traitor is the word I prefer.” Captain Alois shoved the man forward with disgust. “I don’t know why—and please don’t tell me—but the Star Cutters are paying good money to dishonorable men all through the system to be on the lookout for your ship.”
“What about the rest of your men? Do you trust them?”
“They’re honest enough not to betray their captain.”
Mitsuki nodded. “Look, I know you didn’t expect…all of this. And I didn’t tell you we were wanted. So as soon as I clean this mess up, we’ll head back to our ship.”
The captain chuckled. “I didn’t think you were clean, upright citizens. We made a deal. I keep my deals.”
Mitsuki tucked her arm into her carbine's strap and swung it over her shoulder. "Thank you, captain. Let me get all this cleaned up so we can be on our way. Would you like our medical cog to treat your wounded man's injuries?"
“That would be mighty kind,” he answered.
The captain reached her and glanced over at Oona and the two cogs. Mitsuki's gut clenched. The captain probably had to know they were worth a lot. He would certainly appreciate what two pristine cogs and a skimmer car were worth. Mitsuki almost wouldn't blame him for trying to seize them and the Outworld Ranger.
“The girl coming with us, too?” he asked.
Oona shook her head.
“Where’s the man who’s supposed to travel with you?” Captain Alois asked.
“He’s here,” Mitsuki answered. “Just a bit…rattled…at the moment.”
“What about the alien woman?” he asked, shivering as he glanced around.
“Dead,” Mitsuki answered. “I killed her just before she boarded our ship.”
He gestured to his men. “Get the other four bodies piled up for spacing.”
Four? Mitsuki glanced at her locator, noting the fourth criminal had passed away, probably from internal bleeding. The car had clipped him, after all. That was too bad. She had hoped to interrogate him.
Captain Alois jabbed his gun into the snitch’s back. “And you…you’re—”
“Going to have to face the authorities back on Zayer Prime,” Mitsuki said.
When the captain glanced hard at her, she flicked her eyes briefly toward Oona.
“Damn straight he will,” the captain said, understanding.
The snitch, not having understood what was going on, got a hopeful gleam in his eye. But he was still going to face the captain’s justice. It just wasn’t going to happen until the Outworld Ranger was safely away.
Mitsuki waved to Seneca. “Go ahead and take…” It came to her that she shouldn’t use real names. “Take…Samantha…there back to the ship.”
The cog paused a moment, as if confused, then moved on.
Silently, she communicated to Oona using their chippies. “Get onboard quickly. Before the captain catches a bout of greed.” At almost the same time, she said out loud, “Go with your sister. Get her settled in, make sure she’s okay.”
“Sure thing,” Oona said in a faux, almost cheerful tone.
“How’s it going?” Mitsuki asked Silky.
“He’s still nursing the sunshine kitten.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Good work out there, Mits.”
“Thank you, Silky,” she responded earnestly.
Then she rolled her eyes at herself because praise from Silky without any snark attached had made her feel proud of herself. She nearly laughed. Silky was a bastard. He knew that’s how she’d feel. The compliment was snark, just a much subtler kind than usual.
As Oona went along with Seneca, Octavian crawled halfway into the car and set to work on Bishop. Once Oona was safely in the Outworld Ranger, Mitsuki relaxed.
By the time the crewmen had piled up the bodies and Octavian had finished his first aid on Bishop, Seneca returned with not one but two antigrav sleds.
Mitsuki stared at him, puzzled, but didn’t question his intentions. Octavian left Bishop in the car. The cog then reached in and activated the car’s antigrav control without turning on its engines. The car rose into the air but bobbed unsteadily. Apparently, the antigrav had sustained damage. Octavian deactivated the sleds, slid them under the car, then activated them again so that they rose up underneath the frame, lifting the car higher. Then, with Seneca’s help, they pushed the car back toward the Outworld Ranger.
“Industrious,” the captain said. “Wish I had a few cogs like them. Mine are all… Stupid would be a kind way of putting it. And half-rusted. Don’t suppose they’re for sale?”
“Sorry,” Mitsuki answered.
Octavian bleeped at the captain.
“What’d he say?”
B translated for her.
“He’ll be back to patch up your man,” Mitsuki said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go check on my partner.”
As she headed toward Siv’s location, she communicated with Oona. “Make sure you keep the ship locked.”
“I promise. Please be careful.”
“I think we’ll be okay. The captain’s a decent man. I’m just afraid the price on our heads and our apparent wealth in cogs may change him. And I doubt he’s realized
how good a condition the Outworld Ranger’s in…yet.”
Mitsuki found Siv keeling in the engineering supplies room, and Silky’s description of him had been accurate. He was cradling the syringe in his hands, staring at it.
He didn’t even look up at her.
She knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You should take it.”
Siv flinched and turned away from the syringe. “What? No…I can’t.”
“Good.” With one quick motion, she snatched the syringe away and tucked it behind her back. “Then let’s get going.”
If she had stolen candy from a baby, the baby would've looked less stunned. Siv licked his lips then nodded. With her other hand, she helped him up. Then she placed the syringe in a pocket.
“We needed you out there.”
He nodded. “I…I know. It’s just…”
“How bad have the cravings been?”
“I…I would have turned you all in back on Ekaran just for a single syringe.”
She frowned at him and rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe that crap, not for one instant.”
He shrugged. “Maybe…maybe not…”
They headed back toward the loading bay. “I’ve never seen you this rattled before. I have to be honest. I’m a little freaked out.”
“Me too.” He sighed. “I was going to make a move on Zetta…no matter what. I wanted her to kill me so that I wouldn’t be tempted…so I’d be free from the Kompel.”
“That makes sense.”
“Silky says Oona killed her…with my dad’s old snubbie. That it fired a cannon-sized blast. That she shouldn’t have been able to use it at all because of its DNA lock. And that a weird snake creature jumped out of Zetta’s jacket.”
“Those things are all true, and I don’t have any answers for you.”
He stopped just before they entered the bay. “Mits…I’m sorry.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “S’okay, pal. I get it. You’d used up all your willpower. Then you thought you were going to die. You’d probably prepared yourself and everything. But then you survived and what you desired most was sitting right there. I get it. I really do.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
Shadow Agents The Benevolency Universe Page 12