by Cheree Alsop
At Liora’s blank look, O’Tule grinned. “Your space helmet.”
“Oh. Thank you,” Liora said, her thoughts still on the conversation between Devren and Tariq.
“I snagged the best three. Sicily spits when he talks, and Cassidin has a tendency to throw up when we land.” She pulled her helmet over her green hair as she spoke and her voice became muffled, “You’d think he’d need windshield wipers to see anything.”
“That’s gross,” Shathryn said.
“Tell me about it,” O’Tule replied. “Last time he ate ramo stew. Hopefully this time he went with something clear.”
Liora slid the zipper of the form-fit atmosphere suit. It felt like a second layer of clothing and was made of stretchy material that didn’t hamper her movements at all. According to O’Tule, it would protect her from pretty much any atmospheric conditions they might find on the red planet.
Liora picked up her gun and followed the others into the Gull, which turned out to be a small spaceship made for surface missions. Her heart thudded in her chest. She had never landed on a hostile planet before, or shot a gun for that matter. The presence of the knife she had moved to the outside of her atmosphere suit was reassuring. At least if the worst scenario happened, she could fight her way out.
Hyrin guided the ship from the belly of the SS Kratos. Liora watched the surface of the red planet draw closer through the window.
Devren’s voice crackled over all of their headsets from the co-pilot seat. “Officer O’Tule, give us the breakdown.”
The green-haired officer held up a small screen. “This planet is a Class F.” She glanced at Liora and explained, “Planet F One Zero Four of the Cetus Dwarf Galaxy is marginally able to support life. There’s a somewhat stable atmosphere with large percentages of nitrogen and oxygen. You should be fine for a few hours with your helmet off if necessary.” She lowered her voice and said, “Though I don’t recommend it. You never know what kinds of bacteria you might find in the air. When in doubt, keep the helmet on.”
“Got it,” Liora replied.
“The survey team reported hordes of what they called giant flesh-eating worm-like creatures, but they said they only come out at night. We should be long gone by then, right Cap?” There was a hint of worry in O’Tule’s voice.
“Right,” Devren replied. “In and out. Let’s make this quick. Our goals are for Team Alpha to investigate the Revolutionaries and terminate any possible threat to the surveyors while Team Beta heads to the source of the surveyors’ last beacon. We need to secure whatever their cargo is and get it back to the Kratos. Everyone clear?”
A chorus of ‘clear’ went around the Gull.
“I’m setting her down about a click from the Revolutionaries. That should give us some breathing room,” Hyrin called over his shoulder.
The Gull shuddered as it entered the red planet’s atmosphere. Liora realized she was holding her breath. She let it out in a slow rush. It fogged the shield of her close-fitting helmet, but fresh oxygen pulsed, chasing the fog away.
“I never get used to that,” an officer buckled into a seat across from Liora said. He looked rather green, and Liora was pretty sure he wasn’t a Roonite.
“Keep it together, Cassidin,” Shathryn implored. “Give us a touchdown without fireworks.”
“I don’t mean to,” the young officer protested.
“Count to one hundred,” the gilled Salamandon next to him suggested.
“Ninety-nine,” Cassidin began.
The Gull landed with a thud that shook everyone inside the ship. Cassidin immediately threw up.
“Great,” Shathryn muttered. “Windshield wipers.”
“Cassidin, catch up to Team Beta after you get cleaned up. Officer Hyrin—”
Whatever Devren was about to say was cut off by the percussion of bullets against the side of the Gull.
“We’re under fire!” Hyrin shouted.
“Strafe them; protect the hull,” Devren ordered. “We need the ship in good enough shape to get us back.” He hit the button for the door. “Tariq, take Team Alpha and sweep left. Team Beta, follow me. Draw fire from the Gull and eliminate all hostiles.”
Liora didn’t have time to think. She jumped out of the door after Officer Cassidin and followed Team Alpha to the left. As soon as Hyrin shut the door, the fire turned from the ship to the crew.
Gunfire rained down on all sides. Bullets hit the red dirt around Liora. She dove to the right and rolled behind a pile of rocks.
“Can’t…breathe…”
Liora glanced back and found Officer Cassidin crouched next to her. He had his helmet off and was desperately trying to clean out the throw up.
“Get your helmet back on!” Liora said.
She grabbed his helmet and was about to shove it back on his head when a bullet hit his skull. The officer slumped to the side.
Liora froze. She held the helmet and stared numbly from Officer Cassidin’s fallen body to the bullets that hit the rocks around her.
“Liora, down!” a voice yelled.
Liora was tackled to the ground. The blow knocked the wind from her. She rolled to the right and unsheathed her knife. It took her a moment to realize she had pinned Tariq and was holding the knife to the throat of his atmosphere suit. There was a gouge and cracks spider-webbing across the front of his helmet as if a bullet had barely missed killing him. His eyes were wide and he fought for breath.
Liora backed off quickly.
“Do you have any sense?” Tariq demanded. He pushed up to his knees and peered around the rocks. Four bullets sent shards into the air. Tariq ducked. He glanced around and his gaze settled on Officer Cassidin. A string of muttered curse words caught Liora’s ears.
“We’re pinned,” he said. He leaned against the rocks and fought to catch his breath.
Liora scanned the area. The next clump of rocks was bigger and a hole showed close to one end. The cave looked promising.
She nudged Tariq.
“Get away from me,” he growled.
Frustrated at their situation and the way he treated her, Liora grabbed him by the helmet and turned his head to face the cave.
“That would be defensible,” she shouted above the gunfire.
Tariq glanced behind them. Random shots sounded among the rocks. Nobody else was in sight. A volley of bullets hit the rocks near his head. He ducked back.
“I’ll cover you,” he said. “Get ready to run for it.”
Liora’s heart pounded. Part of her wondered if he would use her as a distraction to get away. She didn’t like the thought of being peppered with lead.
“Go!” Tariq shouted. He showered the rocks behind them with bullets, keeping the Revolutionaries under cover.
Chapter 10
Liora ran across the space of dirt between the two patches of rocks. She had less than a second to peek in the cave before bullets hit the rock where her hand had been. She dove inside and spun on one knee to face the opening.
Liora’s heartbeat thundered in her throat. She fought to catch her breath. Someone yelled in pain. She was half-tempted to go back out and track down the crew when a closer cry sounded.
Tariq dove heavily through the entrance and landed with a thud at her feet. Blood showed from several places in his atmosphere suit. Two forms appeared in the hole after him. It took Liora less than a second to verify that they were hostiles. She pulled the trigger on her submachine gun. The bodies fell on top of each other.
Tariq scrambled up faster than she thought he was able to and shoved the bodies into the opening of the cave, blocking out further attacks. When he was done, he slid to a sitting position on the sandy cave floor facing the hole.
“Tariq, you need help,” Liora said.
She reached for his bleeding leg, but he yanked it out of her grasp.
“Leave me alone,” he snarled.
Anger flooded through her. “What have I ever done to you?” she demanded.
“I can’t stand Damaclans,” h
e said. “They’re savage, vile, disgusting creatures more ready to rip a person’s beating heart out of their chest than solve things civilly.”
The assessment hurt. Liora pushed the emotion away. “I’m only half Damaclan.”
“Yeah, well, I feel bad for the human who slept with the Damaclan that made you. Or was she raped?”
Liora dove for his back. He dropped his shoulder and spun, slamming her to the ground. Liora grabbed his knee when he tried to pin her and rolled to the right, throwing him against the cave wall. Tariq whirled with an elbow out. She blocked it and turned in, using his momentum to throw him off balance. She dropped and spun on one knee, catching his legs with hers. He fell heavily to the ground.
Liora landed on him when he tried to get back to his feet. She shoved a knee in his back and wrapped an arm around his neck. She resisted the urge to slide the knife from her sheath and end him once and for all.
The sound of their breathing was loud in the cave. In the distance, muted gunfire continued.
“Are you going to kill me?” Tariq asked. His tone was tight with pain.
Liora held him for a moment longer, then pushed him away. She climbed off his back and stepped to the hole, afraid the distraction might have allowed Revolutionaries to sneak up on them.
The sound of gunfire continued near the ship. An occasional shot hit the rocks near their cave, but no Revolutionaries were in sight, or other Kratos crew members, for that matter.
“It’s clear,” she said after a moment.
She turned to find that Tariq had rolled onto his back. His eyes were closed, but his chest moved beneath the atmosphere suit. A closer look showed blood leaking through the suit at his shoulder and lower leg. The crack in his helmet was letting in air from the red planet. O’Tule’s warning about not breathing in the air if possible stayed in the back of Liora’s mind.
She dropped cautiously to her knees next to Tariq. He didn’t open his eyes. His breath fogged the inside of the helmet. The amount of blood from the shoulder wound alarmed her.
“If we don’t get that stopped, you’ll bleed out,” she said.
Tariq didn’t answer.
“Where’s your med kit?”
Silence met her question.
Liora bit back a comment about stubborn males. Realizing he must have lost the kit in the fray, she crawled to the bodies of the slain Revolutionaries. A glance showed them to be older males with battle-worn, weary faces. Red sand had been caked into the creases of their skin. She wondered how long they had been shipwrecked.
“Maybe I can go for help,” she said. She pulled the top body back. Bullets immediately peppered the rocks. One tugged past the shoulder of her atmosphere suit, tearing the fabric. Liora ducked back.
“They’ve got us pinned down.”
Trapped inside the cave, Liora knew her options were limited. Survival instincts took over. She used her knife to cut strips from the rebels’ shirts where they appeared to be the most clean. She worried about infection, but with Tariq losing blood so quickly, she was more concerned about him dying at her feet.
She returned to him and knelt in the dirt. His face was pale and his breathing shallow. The unclean air wouldn’t help his body any. Liora figured she could stand an hour. She touched the control pad on her arm and turned off the oxygen to her atmosphere suit to conserve it.
Tariq opened his eyes. “What are you doing?”
She pulled off her helmet and set it carefully on the ground.
“Giving you my helmet so you can breathe some clean air while I work on you,” she explained without meeting his gaze.
Using both hands, she turned his helmet to the right to slide it free of the catch, then lifted it clear. Tariq moved so that his head rested on a rock outcropping. She felt his gaze on her when she picked her helmet up.
“Air will still come in through the bullet holes.”
Liora nodded. “Not as much. At least without a cracked shield, it’ll be cleaner.”
She lifted the helmet toward him, but he shook his head. “Too claustrophobic. Give me a minute.”
“We don’t have much time,” she replied. “The Revolutionaries could be here any second, and if you don’t let me do something about your wounds, I might be fighting them next to a corpse.”
She held his gaze, her own defiant, angry, and with a touch of fear at the thought of being trapped alone on planet F One Zero Four.
He grabbed his shoulder against a surge of pain and his jaw locked tight. When he moved, the wound in his leg left a dark streak through the sand.
“Fine,” he finally breathed out through gritted teeth.
She pulled off her gloves and set them next to the helmet. Able to work more nimbly with bare fingers, Liora unzipped the top of Tariq’s atmosphere suit. Blood coated his shoulder and ran down his bare chest. Liora eased Tariq back slightly to check for an exit wound, but there wasn’t one.
“The bullet’s still in there,” she said quietly.
Tariq’s words came out tight. “You’ll have to remove it before you bandage the wound.”
Liora shook her head in protest. “I don’t have any supplies, my knife is dirty, and our bandages are made out of shirts from the rebels I killed.” She forced her voice to remain steady when she said, “I’m not prepared for this.”
Tariq lifted his good arm to indicate the cave opening. “I don’t know where the others are, but they’ve got us cornered in this hole. It doesn’t sound like we’re getting out any time soon.” His voice lowered and he said, “Remember what O’Tule reported about the flesh-eating worms? I’d like to be able to hold my own against those.”
“And if my hand slips?” Liora asked, only half-joking.
“Then you’ll prove I’m right about Damaclans,” Tariq replied with his eyes closed.
Liora wiped the blade of her knife carefully on the inside of his atmosphere suit where she judged it was cleanest. She pressed a shirt strip below the wound to catch what she could of the blood so it didn’t fill Tariq’s suit even further. With an outlet of breath, she touched the tip of the knife to the injury. To Tariq’s credit, he didn’t wince.
Liora’s hands shook. She wiped her head with her arm and put the knife to his skin again, but she couldn’t make herself cut into the bullet wound.
“You’ve got to do it.”
Liora’s gaze locked on Tariq’s. His forehead shone with sweat and pain showed bright in his eyes.
“Take a breath,” he instructed, his voice tight. “And just go for it. You’ve got this.”
“I don’t think I do,” she replied, her words shaky.
Tariq put his hand over hers. Before she could stop him, he pushed the tip of the knife slowly into the wound. The muscles in his chest flexed with the pain, but he didn’t make a sound. Fresh blood welled from the injury. His hand fell away.
“Your turn,” he said, his eyes half-closed.
Liora eased the knife in further, opening the bullet hole so she could find the slug. Blood spilled out, making it harder to see. The knife grazed something hard. She drew it back. There were no medical instruments she could use to search for the bullet.
Liora wished she had the pieces of the tweezers Devren had given her to escape the Kirkos. That felt like an eternity ago. Without other options, she slid her fingers into the wound. Tariq gave a gasp of pain. The hole was warm and slick. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to probe for the slug.
Tariq’s muscles relaxed. A glance showed that he had passed out. Liora breathed a sigh of gratitude and searched deeper. Her fingers grazed the hard sides of the bullet and her breath caught in her throat. Using more force than she wanted, Liora was able to work the slug up to her fingers and pull it free.
More blood welled out of the wound. Liora let it bleed for a moment, hoping it would help carry out any bacteria from the bullet and her fingers. The hole would need to be stitched, but not before she had a chance to flush it properly. She packed the strips of cloth into the wound
, then tied others around his shoulder and chest to hold it in place.
With Tariq still unconscious, she quickly checked his leg. Luckily, a bullet had only grazed it. The gash was nasty, but shallow. She wrapped it as well and bound strips around the outside of his atmosphere suit to help hold it in place.
She was tying off the last strip when Tariq muttered something. The words ‘dirty Damaclan’ caught her ear. Liora shook her head, telling herself it was only the shock. She couldn’t blame him for what he said. He had a right to say whatever he wanted given his condition.
Liora’s hand strayed to Tariq’s forehead. She told herself she just wanted to check for fever, even though spiking one so quickly would be a stretch. She wouldn’t push or cover his pain. He hated her. He wouldn’t be forgiving if she tried.
Yet she needed him. He was her only partner on the red planet. With the sounds of gunfire intensifying as the two suns lowered, Liora didn’t dare wait alone. Tariq could help her if she assisted him with the pain.
Intending to cover his shock as she had done for Devren, Liora touched his forehead. The feeling of his cool skin beneath her palm sent a shiver up her arm. Liora closed her eyes, opened her mind, and drew inward.
Instead of the pain she expected, something else hit Liora full force. Images and thoughts rushed over her, stealing her breath and making her mind reel. She tried to stop it, but she couldn’t take her hand away.
Tariq walked down the hallway of the homestead spaceship. He looked younger, his rare smile fresh and his blue eyes clear. It was night and Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, showed through the closest window. The hall lights were on and tiny bugs whistled as they flew around it, their yellow halos casting patterns on the hallway floor. He wondered how bugs always found a way to survive. Despite all the cleaning protocols, the creatures eventually returned.
The third-person view took Liora into the apartment. After two steps, Tariq froze.
Blood streaked the floor and along one wall as if someone had tried desperately to escape, only to be pulled back. Liora’s eyes focused in the darkness. Someone stood in the living room. He held a knife and an object.