by JN Chaney
I leaned closer to the edge of the door, trying to eye whatever the hell was going on in there.
I spotted Abigail first, standing a few meters in front of two of the men. One had Hitchens in a headlock. Docker, by the look of him. The other guy, the same one Abigail had knocked out on the other ship, had a broken piece of pipe in his hand. Part of me wondered where he could have gotten it, but I buried the thought, focusing on the situation.
Two men, one hostage, no sign of the third, I thought. Abigail’s close enough to strike, if I need it. Octavia has to be close, too, but the angle’s no good. She might be under the overhang, beneath the stairs.
Fuck, there wasn’t enough information. I needed a better vantage point.
Fast, heavy breathing half-a-meter behind me. Oh, and there’s Freddie, I guess.
“Let him go and I promise, we won’t kill you,” Abigail told the two Union soldiers.
“We just want off this ship!” said Docker, trying to keep Hitchens’ head in front of his own. “We don’t want to hurt anyone, but we will if we have to!”
“If you do,” began Octavia. Her voice seemed to come from beside them, in a place I couldn’t see. “You’ll have given up your only hostage. Is that what you want?”
“We’ll still have the two of you!” snapped the one whose name I didn’t know.
“Wrong,” corrected Abigail. “I’d kill you both before you could touch us.”
He laughed. “You only got the drop on me the first time because I thought you were asleep. You won’t get lucky again!”
“It wasn’t luck,” she said. “And I really was asleep. If I can do that, half-disorientated and with a beating headache, just imagine how I am now.”
“Bullshit!” He raised the pipe. “You try anything, I’ll go for the cripple first!”
I eased my way into the cargo bay’s upper floor, putting my hand out to keep Freddie back. Slowly, I made my way to the back of the railing, overlooking the entire area.
Abigail noticed me right away, but only gave me a single glance. “Your friend in there had the right idea. You should stay in the cell like he did.”
“He’s just scared,” said Docker.
“I’d call it smart,” she answered. “The two of you…not so much.”
She looked at me again, but only for a second. Long enough to get the message across. Long enough for a signal.
I aimed my barrel at the one with the pipe, and I pulled the trigger tight.
The bullet whizzed through the air, sniping him through the jaw, scattering blood and bone against the wall behind him.
He spun around like a doll, blinking rapidly, and then collapsed, releasing the pipe.
“Bennett!” screamed Docker.
“Was that his name?” I asked, stepping down the stairs.
“How did…where did you…!?”
“Let him go, Docker,” I cautioned. “Or else.”
“I…I…”
“We’ll forget about this if you do what we ask,” said Abigail.
“Do what they say, you idiot!” called the young ensign, who was still in the cell.
Octavia was close to his position, behind a few crates, like she’d been trapped there. “Listen to your friend!” she said.
“If I do, you won’t kill me?” he asked.
“We might, if you try this again,” I said.
Abigail looked at me with an expression that told me I should probably stop talking.
“We won’t hurt you, Docker,” said Abigail.
He nodded, and began to loosen his grip, but when Abigail started to move, he tightened it again. “Stop!”
She sighed. “Docker, what are you doing?”
“I bandaged your side, and this is how you repay me?” asked Octavia.
“Th-The situation is complicated!”
Just then, I spotted Freddie on the upper deck, climbing over the railing, three and a half meters from the bottom.
I turned my head, watching him. “What the f—”
Before I could finish, he was in the air, falling straight towards Docker. He landed on the man’s shoulders, sending both of them, as well as Hitchens, onto the deck floor.
Abigail lunged forward, after Hitchens, while I went for Docker. Freddie managed to roll, surprisingly, and got to his feet in seconds.
As Docker started to rise, I slammed the butt of my pistol into his nose, and he fell again. “Stay the fuck down, you idiot!”
FOURTEEN
I sat beside the open cell with the two men inside. Docker was on his knees with steel cuffs on his wrists and a gag in his mouth, while the ensign stood beside the entrance. “Smart move, not trying to escape. Smarter than your stupid friend back there.”
“Nnfph,” said Docker.
“Right,” I agreed. “Very stupid.”
The ensign nodded. “I knew there was nowhere to go.”
“See? Smart. Now, stay that way and you’ll get out of this in one piece.”
“When?” he asked.
I was surprised by his calm, almost like he wasn’t terrified, like he didn’t really view me as the enemy. “Whenever I say. Just keep quiet and don’t cause me any problems. Do that, and I’ll drop you both off first chance I get.”
“Do you have any idea where that will be?”
“Not yet, but the guy Docker had his arm around, Hitchens, he knows a place. Some habitable planet a short slip away.”
“I understand,” said the ensign. “And I’ll make sure Docker doesn’t try anything again.”
“Good,” I said. “You’re smarter than you look, kid.”
“Alphonse,” he corrected.
“What?”
“That’s my name. Ensign Alphonse Malloy.”
His tone was different than before, back when we’d captured him. He was calmer, less frantic, like all the fear in him had drained. Did he think he was safer now, since he’d refused to join his crewmates’ escape attempt, or was there more to it? I had assumed he’d stayed back out of fear, but looking at him now, I wondered if there was more to it.
“Okay, Alphonse,” I said, giving him a dismissive wave. “Whatever. Just stay put and don’t piss me off.”
“I won’t cause you any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble for me,” I said, stepping back from the cell. “You’re the one who’ll end up dead.”
* * *
I returned to the lounge, walking straight to the fridge. I was thirsty and still hung over, so the only solution was a piece of kessil. If I was right, I’d find four in the fridge.
I pulled the door open and bent down, looking on the third shelf. There was a bottle of mustard, two refrigerated dinners, and absolutely no kessil fruit.
“The hell?” I asked. “Hey!” I raised and turned my head. “Who took my fruit!”
I heard a slurping sound coming from the sofa. “Sowwy,” said Lex, chewing on one of the kessil. She swallowed, then took another bite.
I glared at her. “Lex, what is that in your hand?”
“I dunno,” she said, smiling, trying to play innocent.
I shut the fridge, burying the fury in my throat as it slowly rose to a killing rage. “Are you sure about that?”
She scrunched her chin into her shirt, soaking the rim with liquid from the fruit. “I dunno,” she giggled.
I let out a long sigh, accepting my defeat at the hands of this child. “I’ll be on the bridge.”
“Can I come?” she asked, leaping off the sofa, the mostly eaten kessil still in her hand.
Without answering, I walked into the cockpit and shut the door behind me, locking it.
I collapsed into my seat and tried to get comfortable. I was exhausted and hungover, tired of dealing with all this bullshit. Maybe a nap in here would do me good, but only if everyone left me—
“Sir, I hate to intrude, but…”
Goddammit. “What is it now, Siggy? Have you come to betray me, too?”
“Heavens no, sir. I would never
dream of such a thing. I simply wanted to inform you that you have yet to provide our next destination.”
“Destination?” I asked.
“We need to choose a route. Do you not recall our last conversation? It was just before the interruption involving Mr. Frederick Shiggorath.”
Oh, right, I thought. With all the insanity in the cargo bay, not to mention the catastrophic loss of my kessil, I’d completely forgotten about the two slip tunnels.
“Shall I continue forward, per our original path?” asked Sigmond.
“No, we’re taking the other one. The one Hitchens gave us. The detour.”
“Understood. Proceeding with new destination. Star system X1-20-5519.”
“Sounds like a wonderful place with amazing people,” I said.
“I wouldn’t know, sir, but I should hope that it is.”
“Me too, Siggy.” I leaned back, propping my feet on the console and closing my eyes. “Me too.”
* * *
The tunnel took six hours to cross. I slept through most of it. When I finally opened my eyes, I felt better than I had in days.
“Siggy,” I muttered, licking my lips and wishing I had some water.
“Yes, sir?”
“The next time I’m drinking straight whiskey in the middle of the night, remind me how awful the last time was, would you?”
“Of course, sir.”
I leaned forward, rubbing the grime from my eyes, and blinked, trying to focus. We’d just entered normal space again, having left the tunnel behind. According to the map, we were in the X1-20-5519 system. There was one planet, waiting in the goldilocks zone, three smaller planetoids in deep orbit, and a few hundred asteroids. Hardly the kind of place you’d want to visit, but it would do fine for unloading prisoners.
I entered a command to bring us closer to the planet, then set us in a stable orbit. “Cloak the ship,” I ordered. “Hopefully, this doesn’t take us long.”
“Shall I begin landing procedures, sir?”
“Go ahead,” I said, getting up from my chair. I tapped the Foxy Stardust bobblehead as I did, letting it bounce chaotically while I left the cockpit.
“Captain,” said Freddie, who was sitting with Abigail. “Have you been on the bridge this whole time?”
“I had work that needed tending,” I lied. “Are those two soldiers playing nice?”
“We fed them and left them in their cell,” said Abigail. “They should still be alive in there.”
“Either way, we’re at the system Hitchens gave me, so we can finally get rid of them. You two think you can help me get them on the shuttle?”
“With pleasure,” said Abigail.
“I’ll be happy to help,” said Freddie.
“I bet you would,” I smirked. “Just don’t jump on anyone this time, if you can help it.”
He gave us an embarrassed smile. “I was only trying to help.”
“And you did,” said Abigail. “We’ll have to work on your form, though. You could have broken something.”
He nodded. “I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Sounds like you’re really taking to this whole training thing,” I said, and I really did mean it. “Keep it up and you might actually learn how to fight.”
He smiled. “Thank you, Captain.”
* * *
We stepped out into the light of sun and saw the endless valley before us, a vibrant yellow field, interlaced with spots of green.
The Renegade Star had landed in the western part of the largest continent, twenty kilometers from the ocean. There was a freshwater river nearby, with two large lakes, ripe for drinking. According to the database, there had been a colony here, half a century ago, but no longer. Because of a border dispute between the Sarkonians and another group, the colony was uprooted and moved to a world called Hexios.
It seemed the Sarkonians had still yet to make use of this place, but it would do just fine for our purposes. The wildlife was mostly safe, with a larger population of smaller critters than not, and there were wild orchards of fruit trees, remnants from when the settlers had been here.
“What do you think?” asked Abigail, standing beside me as I scanned the horizon.
“It’s not a bad place,” I said. “Should be good until we send someone to pick them up.”
“About that,” she went on. “What’s your plan to get them rescued?”
“Siggy suggested an encrypted message to the Sarkonians, once we’re clear of their territory. Since they’re clearly working with the Union, they should have no problem rescuing them.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath of air. I imagined it must feel nice, not being cramped inside a ship the size of mine for once. “Does it make you miss the Church?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked, turning to look at me.
“Wide open spaces, fresh air, your two feet on the ground. Seems like a better alternative to living on The Star.”
“I’m not complaining. Not at all. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression.”
“No, I didn’t think you were,” I assured her. “I was just wondering.”
“Were you?” she asked, giving me a warmer smile than I was used to seeing from her. “Interesting.”
The look on her face gave me pause, and I cleared my throat. “Okay, I’ve seen enough. Let’s head back.”
“Already?” she asked, a disappointed tone in her voice.
“What? Did you want to go frolicking in the grass? Do you need time to play in the mud?”
She laughed. “Do I strike you as the frolicking type?”
“I’m not answering that,” I said, walking back onto the ramp of the cargo bay.
I heard the footsteps running through the corridor on the second deck, growing louder by the second. “I wanna see!” demanded a tiny, eager voice. Lex darted into the cargo bay with her hands raised, looking like she was in a panic. “I wanna see the outside!”
“Whoa,” I said as she zipped past me, nearly running into my leg. I dodged her, and she continued unabated towards the ramp and into the field.
Abigail laughed when she saw her, putting her hands on her hips as the little girl sprung off the metal grate and into the mud, stomping her feet around. “It’s so pretty!”
“Great, now I’ll have mud to deal with,” I said, watching as she managed to get the wet dirt on her feet, knees, and hips, all within a matter of seconds.
Abigail laughed, and for a few seconds it looked almost natural on her.
I supposed it was nice to see the kid having fun for a change. After everything she’d been through, maybe it wasn’t so much to ask, just to play in the mud.
“Sir.” Sigmond’s voice popped into my ear, startling me.
“Something wrong, Siggy? Did the scans turn up anything?” I had asked him to continue searching the planet to look for anything Docker and Alphonse might find that could give them a means of escaping. I couldn’t have them accidentally stumbling on a lost shuttle or a communications device. They needed to stay here until we were long gone.
“Not quite, sir. On the contrary, the scans revealed very little,” he explained. “However, I am detecting another slipspace tunnel opening. It appears to be the same tunnel we used.”
“Did someone follow us here?” I asked.
“That is unclear for the moment.”
I looked back at Abigail and Lex. “Hey, you two! Get back in the ship!”
“Aw,” groaned Lex. “Already?”
“I said now!”
She frowned, but did as I told her, running back and into the cargo bay, leaving a trail of mud in her path.
Abigail came jogging behind her. “What’s going on?” she asked as she approached me.
“We have company,” I said.
“Union or Sarkonian?” she asked.
“Does it matter? Either way, we need to get out of here.”
She nodded, heading inside without another word.
I hit the control near the door,
raising the lift. “Siggy, begin the ignition sequence.”
I watched the gate close, sealing me inside and killing the outside light. We just might need those hostages after all.
FIFTEEN
The Union ship emerged from the rift right as The Renegade Star was leaving the planet’s thermosphere.
As we did, the clarity of our long-range sensors improved and I was able to find the exact designation of the incoming vessel.
It was the UFS Galactic Dawn.
“Fuck,” I said as I watched the rift close behind the oversized death ship.
“What do we do?” asked Abigail. She’d followed me into the cockpit, refusing to stay in the lounge. I saw no point in arguing this time.
Our thrusters eased when we were clear of the planet’s gravity, and I aimed the ship toward a nearby moon. “We wait,” I finally answered, trying to kill our momentum and bring us to a dead still. “As long as the cloak stays up, we should be good. We just can’t move too much. A ship that size is bound to be able to see us. We need to keep our distance.”
“Is that the only tunnel out of this system?”