“It is known the Sectors intelligence community operates under many commercial guises,” Khevan said. “Perhaps this ship you spoke with is one of those? It would be our good fortune. We are owed some good fortune on this voyage.”
“Could be. Whatever. Her captain says he’ll be here in –” Nick checked his chrono again. “Eleven hours and fifty minutes, Terra Standard Time, good enough for me.”
“You think the Nebula Dream will hold up long enough?” Mara asked.
“Yeah, what if it runs into some other piece of space junk?” Twilka said. “Or something else crashes into us?”
Got no answer for that one, lady. Nick unholstered his blaster, aiming it at the fastlink transmitter.
Mara recoiled a few steps. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t transmit again for forty-eight hours under field conditions. We’ll either have been rescued by then or we’ll be dead, one way or the other – lack of air, the Dream’s engines go nova, something. I can’t take a chance on this falling into the wrong hands.” The surprised expressions of his adult companions annoyed him. Why did he have to keep reminding them of the most imposing threat to their continued existence? Civilians! “The situation hasn’t changed much, I hate to tell you. We’re still in the middle of Mawreg territory, even if now there are rescuers on the way.” He kept his voice even, gentle.
“I think we all wanted to forget the Mawreg part.” Twilka pouted. It didn’t sound as if she was kidding.
Mara put a restraining hand on Nick’s arm. “Wait, before you blast it, is there any chance the rescue ships – might want to try calling us? Any chance at all?”
He gingerly shook his head. Regret dominated the tone of his answer. “Fastlink doesn’t work that way, I only wish. I can send, I can have limited dialogue with whoever is at the other end while I’m transmitting, but they can’t initiate a call to me. And I’d fry my brain if I tried to call out again too soon, even with Damais’ help.” He paused, took a deep breath, battling dizziness. Weak and nauseated. Impatience edged his voice, even though he was talking to Mara. Until he finished the destruction of the transmitter, he couldn’t give in to the weariness now settling like a physical weight on his entire body. I have to rest. Nick took her restraining hand off his arm. “So, if you don’t mind, let me do my sworn duty and blast this piece of top-secret technology into smoldering fragments, okay?”
Mara walked away a few steps, giving him a clear shot. “You’re the expert here, do whatever you have to do – blast away,” she invited with a wave.
“Don’t blow any new holes in the ship, okay?” Twilka muttered loudly enough to be heard.
Nick chose to ignore the Socialite’s comment. Teasing or serious, she could get annoying.
The next second, the fastlink transmitter was no more. The deck glowed cherry red where his blaster beam had struck.
Holstering his weapon, Nick staggered to the nearest bench, where he sank down next to Lady Damais, who moved her tiny feet aside obligingly. Putting his head in his hands, he realized his whole body was shaking.
Rubbing his back, Mara said, “You have to rest now, right? You warned us before you transmitted, a couple of hours sleep. And I’m guessing there’s some kind of inject you’re probably supposed to have, if we only had a field medkit. You were asking for adrenephix.”
Struggling to stay awake, Nick nodded and answered her through gritted teeth, trying to damp the tremors in his muscles. “Yes to both questions. But I’ll be all right. Let me nap here for a half an hour or so.”
“And then what?” Khevan inquired. “This place is hardly defensible. Where had you anticipated we should wait for our rescuers, Captain?”
“The bridge?” Mara asked, eyebrows raised. Her hand stilled on his shoulder.
Nick shook his head a fraction of an inch, eyes closed. “No, the bridge is as much of a dead end – a trap – as this location. As soon as I can walk a straight line, I intend to head for the shuttle bay. We’ll grab a shuttle and fly out of here, meet the freighter on her way in. I don’t want to sit tamely here and wait, playing cards in the ruins of the casino. We can’t. This wreck is too tempting to too many entities. The looters in the hold are the least of what we could encounter, if we sit and patiently wait.” Raising his head, he locked his gaze on Mara. “I can fly a shuttle.”
“You think the Mawreg will come, then?” Mara said.
Nick nodded. “The Mawreg will be here. Maybe not the first to arrive, but they’ll definitely show up at some point. This is their territory, remember? It’s more likely some of their client race scavengers will be here first, all too soon, sniffing for plunder and slaves. We can’t hope to remain undiscovered for much longer, I don’t think.”
“Yes, we must be showing up on the enemy’s detection devices,” Khevan agreed. “A ship this big, where it should not be, must have triggered some sort of alarm, even in this deserted region of the Sector.”
“Would the two of you stop this?” Twilka half shrieked, jumping up from the step and pacing in a tight circle. “You’re driving me to absolute distraction, talking about it. We need to get away from this cursed ship. Are you positive you can’t walk to the shuttle bay now, soldier? We can carry you, if need be.”
“No, we can’t.” Mara drew herself up to her full height, glaring at the Socialite. She pointed at Nick. “He said he needs two hours of sleep. He’s going to try to manage with a whole lot less. I bet the sooner you stop chattering, the sooner he could rest, and the sooner we could get out of here!” Her voice rose as she berated Twilka on Nick’s behalf.
“Well, pardon a person for asking.” Twilka sulked, sinking deeper into the stairwell.
I like having Mara defend me. She doesn’t take any bullshit, for sure. Pulling her closer, Nick laughed shakily. “Fierce. Does the browbeating approach work when you’re negotiating deals for Loxton?”
“No,” she answered shortly, “And don’t you talk to me, either. Shut up and take a nap so you’re fit to fly a shuttle. I’m as jumpy as Twilka, if you want to know the truth, but I’m standing closer to you than she is. I can see how you’re shaking. Now, not another syllable!” She raised her hand to forestall his next remark.
Nick closed his eyes, trying to get comfortable on the hard, retro-designed wooden bench. SMT’s decorators had obviously not anticipated any passengers wanting to stay too long, gazing up at the marvels of the observatory. A self-fulfilling prophecy, because the damn benches were totally uncomfortable for prolonged sitting.
“Oh stop that,” Mara said with resignation, watching Nick. “Pick your head up for a minute and I’ll sit down. You can use my lap for a pillow.”
“No arguments, ma’am, not from me,” Nick agreed drowsily.
“Khevan, go check out those two locked doors, at the far end,” Mara ordered. “See if there’s anywhere better for him to stretch out than this damn bench.”
The Brother nodded, walked away, Twilka shadowing him. A few minutes later, Nick heard the crunch of shattering wood as the Brother evidently smashed open the doors in question.
The D’nvannae came striding back. “There’s a small storeroom and an office at the end of this observation deck. Let’s get him in there. He can sleep on the couch.”
Khevan and Mara supported Nick as he stumbled the short distance to the office.
Mara sat first, patting the cushions beside her invitingly. Once he had sunk onto the soft piece of furniture, she pulled him to lie down as much as possible, using her lap as a pillow. Gently, Mara massaged the back of Nick’s neck and his upper shoulders, which were cramped up tight with tension, radiating pain. He winced as her hands strayed to the injured shoulder. Apologizing, she rubbed the tight muscles, humming a few bars of some catchy tune over and over under her breath, to keep the rhythm of her hands even and soothing.
Nick drowsed a bit, knowing Khevan was on guard in the outer observatory.
It hardly seemed any time at all before there was a knock and Khev
an stuck his head into the office. “How are we doing? Can we move out yet?”
Nick tried to sit up. “Yeah, I’m ready –”
Mara pushed him back, shaking her head at Khevan. “He’s still shaky. Maybe if we’d had an adrenephix inject –”
Lips compressed, forehead lined, Khevan’s expression was grim. He hefted his blaster and stared at them silently for a minute. “I’ll check with you in another half hour. We can’t stay here much longer.”
“Are the children doing okay?” Mara asked, as he went to pull the door closed on its broken hinges.
“They’re fine. The Lady Damais sits with them.” Khevan left.
Mara sighed heavily but didn’t resume her massage. Reaching up, Nick took her hand. “Don’t stop, I liked it. Soothing.”
“Oh, well, if you’re sure.” Mara blushed. “How’s your head?”
“Hurts some, but I’ll make it.” Favoring his shoulder, he sat up and grimaced. “How are you doing?”
“Honestly?”
He nodded.
Avoiding his gaze, she drew circles on the couch cushion with her fingertip. “I’m scared.”
“You don’t show it much.” He gave her a hug.
Mara nestled into the warmth of his body. “If I give in to the fear, I’ll lose control. I won’t be able to do what needs to be done.”
“And you don’t let yourself give less than one hundred percent, do you?” Nick studied her face. “You dedicated your all to Loxton’s contracts and negotiations –”
“They gave me a chance to make something of myself. I’m from a poor Inner Sectors planet originally. I got a low-level job with them right out of school and learned the shipping business. They sent me to their own university. Promotions came pretty fast because I worked hard. I’m good at it.”
Nick lowered his head to hers and stopped the conversation with a slow, simmering kiss.
When he pulled away, Mara was blushing but met his eyes steadily. “No one has ever made me feel the way you do, Nick. Right from the first time you tripped over me at the spaceport on Glideon. I felt this electricity. I wanted to sit next to you and find out all there was to know about you, right then.”
Nuzzling her cheek, feathering kisses along her jawbone, he whispered, “Why didn’t you?”
She blushed again, averting her gaze. “I’m shy.”
What did she just say to me? Someone who negotiates huge contracts for Loxton is shy? He turned her head to him with one gentle hand.
“No, really, I am. When it’s about the business, when it’s for Loxton, I can be a barracuda. When it’s about me, I – I’m awkward, clumsy.”
“Not with me, Mara, never with me,” he said softly. “You’re beautiful and smart and brave.” He lowered his head to hers. “I never expected to meet a woman like you.” He kissed her gently at first, but then his tongue was probing at her lips, seeking entry. She opened to him, arms going around his neck.
The embrace lasted for a long moment, before Nick regretfully pulled away.
Making a needy sound deep in her throat, Mara tried to recapture his lips, pulling him closer.
Holding her, Nick stared into her eyes. “I want to make love to you right here, right now, more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”
Her eyes were big and luminous, her lips bruised from their kiss. “Probably not a good idea.”
He looked at the door. “Right, damn it. This is not the time or the place.”
As if punctuating his words, there was shouting from the observatory. Nick grabbed his blaster and, wrenching the door the rest of the way off the hinges, was gone from the office. Mara hurried behind him.
Nick stared, blaster in hand. Khevan was standing beside Lady Damais, who was holding the girl on her lap. “What’s the matter? Where’s Twilka? Where’s Paolo?”
“Gianna, honey, where did your brother go?” Mara asked softly.
“Paolo said he messed up by not telling Nick he heard noises when we were in the hold. He said he heard you talking about Nick needing a medkit. Paolo knew where one was, so he left to go get it. He said he’d only be a few minutes,” Gianna explained, probably not understanding exactly what the adults were so upset about. “He wants to help the captain, like he’s been helping us.”
“Paolo had a nice idea, sweetheart, but we have to stay together right now,” Mara answered.
Nick rubbed his face. “Lords, I could use some coffee. Or a stim inject.”
“Well, evidently Paolo went to get one for you,” Mara informed him tersely. “And Twilka chased after him.”
“And neither has returned,” Khevan said.
“Lords of Space, what in the Seven Hells is that?” Mara’s question came on a sharply indrawn breath. She was staring past the two men and out the observatory shielding.
Khevan wheeled, scanning the sky. Nick stared in the direction she was pointing as well, but for a moment there was nothing out of the ordinary.
“What did –” Nick started to ask as a trio of sleek spacecraft sped by overhead. “Pirate kite fighters! We’re in trouble now. We’ve got to get out of here, find the boy and Twilka, and get to the shuttle bay. Our odds just fell from bad to worse.”
Like a person confronting a venomous snake, Mara was staring out the great expanse of the viewing bay in fascination. Three sleek spacecraft were flying formation with the drifting Nebula Dream. The pirates had evidently overshot the space liner on their first pass, which is when Mara had seen them go by, and had now flown past again to check the ship’s condition more thoroughly.
Nick swept Mara off the bench and behind it, crouching as low as they could get. Khevan had gone to assist Lady Damais and Gianna in seeking the same inadequate cover behind their bench.
“Can they see us?” Mara whispered, a few inches from Nick’s ear.
“I don’t know. Shemdylann pirates aren’t sophisticated in their technology, but they kill well enough. We have to get out of here.” Nick looked over at Khevan. “You ready to make a move?”
The Brother nodded.
Suddenly the Nebula Dream shuddered, lurching under their feet. A terrific grinding and screaming of tortured metal came from somewhere above and to the starboard of the observatory.
“Docking.” Nick’s pronouncement was grim.
“The pirates’ main ship? Here so soon?” Khevan was disbelieving.
Nick nodded. “Breaking through the bridge bulkheads with probes and docking to the Dream. We’re out of time, people. Move it!”
Grabbing Mara by the hand, his blaster drawn, Nick made for the stairs. Khevan, also with his blaster at the ready, indicated for Damais and Gianna to precede him. Nick stayed close to the bulkhead of the observatory, working his way to the stairs. Khevan glanced up through the clear canopy. The three kite fighters stayed locked in their position, holding a stationary orbit with the Dream.
“I imagine they know we are here,” he told Nick in the stairwell.
“Maybe, maybe not. They may not be scanning. There are obviously going to be some people left on board. Not enough lifeboats floating out there. Even a Shemdylann will be able to do the calculation. The pirates will want to consolidate their control of the ship as fast as possible, then go through it at their leisure. We’ve got a few minutes to get the hell off this level, down the grav lift, and into the shuttle bay,” Nick said. He rubbed his hand across his forehead for a moment, wearily.
“But Paolo? And Twilka?” Mara demanded. “We can’t leave them!”
“I don’t intend to,” Nick was calm, in command, no matter how miserable his body felt as an aftereffect of the fastlink episode. “Where exactly did the boy think he had seen a medkit, does anyone know?”
“Gianna?” Mara drew out the child’s name. “Did your brother tell you where he saw the medkit?”
“When my mommy and daddy came to the casino the first time, my mommy fainted. She was going to have a baby, you know,” Gianna confided, clutching her big stuffed bear.
T
he adults exchanged glances.
Gianna chatted on. “Daddy said sometimes, when a mommy is going to have a baby, she faints. Mommy told us they took her to a doctor right here by the casino. Paolo went there.” Her tone implied it should have been an obvious conclusion, even to adults.
“A doctor – sick bay?” Nick wracked his brain, trying to remember where on this level a medical office might be located. “Anyone know where –?”
“There is a clinic on this same level,” Mara said. “I remember their mother telling me about it the next morning at breakfast. It’s at the far side of the casino, across from where we are now, by the cashiers and the casino manager’s office.”
Not great, but at least I have a general idea where to search. Nick squared his shoulders. “All right, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going after Twilka and Paolo. Khevan –”
But the Brother was protesting already. “You are not well-enough recovered. I’ll go after the boy, and Twilka. It is my duty. I was supposed to be on guard and I left my post, which is what allowed Paolo to make his well-intentioned but foolish run, with Twilka right behind.”
“Can you fly a shuttle?” Nick asked.
Reluctantly, the Brother nodded.
“Listen, I –” Mara tried to join the conversation between the two men.
“Mara, not now. I need you to stay with Lady Damais and Gianna, please,” Nick cut her off. He didn’t need anymore volunteers for the reconnaissance run, even if she could shoot a blaster decently. “We’ll go through the casino together, as far as the main entrance, separate there. I’ll go to this clinic, probably meet them coming back. The rest of you move as fast as you can to the stairway and get to the next level. Then take the grav lift to Level Eight and pick out a shuttle.”
“Why can’t we take the grav lift directly from this level?” Mara seemed confused by his rapid instructions. “Wouldn’t it be faster?”
Nick shook his head emphatically. “Too close to the short end of the corridor, where the access to the bridge is, remember? The pirates will be coming through the auxiliary ramp any minute, if they haven’t already. We’re out of time,” he said, his voice intense. What part of this aren’t they getting? “Take the stairs, get the grav lift at the next level, go to Eight, get a shuttle. Don’t wait for me more than ten minutes under any circumstances. Understood?” He fixed Khevan and Mara equally with a steely glare. “Don’t wait. We aren’t going to be coming if it takes longer than that.”
Wreck of the Nebula Dream Page 16