Fighting Lory (English Edition) (Lords Of Arr'Carthian 2)

by Cathy McAllister

  In the meantime the other fighters were also flying alongside them. Three fighters were firing on the entrance to the docking station.

  “The docking station is passable. All systems go for boarding,” commanded Kordan over the radio.

  ***

  “It sounds as if the shooting has stopped. Do you think the attackers have been defeated?” asked Charly in a strangely shrill voice.

  “Either that or they’re now boarding our ship. We should stay here for a while and wait.”

  The two women listened hard but it was deathly quiet on the ship. They were a long way from the bridge and, likewise, the docking station. If fighting was happening there they probably would not be aware of it. Lory was itching to go out and get involved. The stupid thing was, though, that she did not know whose side she was on. If Ellyod was right then Kordan was her enemy. But if he was lying, which she could not one hundred per cent rule out, she would be making a fatal mistake if she attacked Kordan and his men. It was driving her completely crazy. She did not even know whether she was able to harm Kordan even if she absolutely knew that he was guilty.

  “Fuck!” she murmured in frustration.

  “”What is it?” asked Charly.

  “Nothing. I just hate this waiting and not doing anything.”

  Lory began to search the wall next to her for a switch.

  “Whatever are you doing?” asked Charly.

  “I’m looking for the light.”

  “Are you crazy? Do you want them to find us here?”

  “Of course not. I just wanted to quickly see what’s in here. Perhaps there’s something that we could use as a weapon. And anyway, I don’t think anyone can see anything from the outside. There’s no gap under the door that light could shine through and there’s no key hole either.”

  “Bingo!” Lory cheered quietly once she had found the switch and a lamp in the ceiling flickered into life.

  Both women looked around on the shelves.

  “I’ve got a spray,” Charly spoke. “It might be effective if we spray it into their eyes.”

  “Yes, that’s something. But still keep on looking.”

  Lory rummaged about amongst boxes, bottles and various appliances until she came across a case. She pulled it out and opened it.

  “Scalpels!” she cried with joy.

  “Wow! What are they doing with scalpels? Be careful! They look damn sharp.”

  Lory grinned.

  “And so they should. Don’t panic, I know how to deal with things like this.”

  “We should put the light out again, don’t you think?”

  “OK,” Lory agreed, putting the case in her belt. She pressed the switch and they sat in darkness again.

  ***

  Kordan stuck his sword into the jelly-like figure in front of him and grimaced in disgust as his opponent splashed him with sticky green jelly.

  “You really are revolting, brother. It’s time to put an end to your sad existence.”

  He struck out and cut the head of the creature from his wobbly body. Yet more jelly splashed about and Kordan swore loudly.

  “Watch out!” shouted Amano. “Behind you!”

  As he turned round Kordan pulled out his laser pistol and shot a lizard-like creature between the eyes. The beast uttered an angry growl and charged towards him. He frantically tried to work out where the most vulnerable point was on these beasts.

  ‘Take that, you revolting bastard!’

  Acting on impulse he lowered his weapon and shot into the stomach of this creature that had nearly closed the gap between the two of them and was reaching out to him with his claw. The lizard cried out as grey-green blood shot from the deep stomach wound.

  ‘Yes, I’ve got you, you damn lizard!’

  “Spare at least one of them,” he shouted to his men.

  It did not take long for his men to have the ship and the rest of its crew under control. Kordan had the survivors gathered together in a corner. Two were very seriously injured and would not make it much longer. The other three were only slightly injured. Expressionless, he walked up to the cowering men.

  “Where is Ellyod?”

  “We don’t know any Ellyod. We don’t even know why you’ve attacked us,” said one of the men.

  Kordan took his sword and pushed it into the man’s stomach in such a way that he would not die straight away but had time to think about his stupidity. And the other men would now know that he did not tolerate any lies.

  “I’ll ask once more and I want a correct answer. Where is Ellyod Allegrass.”

  “He’s fled,” responded another prisoner.

  “Fled?” asked Kordan in an ominously calm voice. “When and how?”

  “During the attack,” answered the man. “He took his stealth fighter.”

  “Stealth fighter? You mean he’s invisible with this stealth fighter?”

  “Yes. It’s only visible during take-off, but as soon as take-off is completed he can activate the camouflage screen.”

  “How come a fighter that does not have large energy reserves can maintain the use of a stealth fighter?”

  “The camouflage screen was developed by the Regans. Allegrass only recently acquired a camouflage screen. He was planning to equip the mother-ship with a camouflage screen, too.”

  “Shit!” Amano swore. “Marruk will kill us when he finds out that this son-of-a-bitch has slipped through our fingers.”

  “I’ll still get the bastard. Sooner or later!”

  “I should hope you will. But now we should look for our mates. I’m missing Charly.”

  Kordan clenched his fists. Yes – he, too, was missing his mate. He was not complete without her. He did not even know how he could ever have been complete without her. He only hoped that Ellyod had not taken the two women with him.

  “Where are the women?” he asked, his heart pounding.

  “They’re in their cabin,” responded another prisoner.

  Kordan pointed his pistol at the man.

  “You will lead us to them. But I tell you – if you so much as blink out of turn you will have taken your last breath. Is that clear?”

  The man nodded.

  Kordan and Amano were led through the ship to the cabin where Lory and Charly were imprisoned. But when they reached the cabin the door was open. Kordan swore. The door could only stay open if someone had tampered with the wiring. The women had obviously managed this, as confirmed by one look at the open switch box next to the door. They could now have hidden themselves practically anywhere on this damn spaceship. He could see that Amano was thinking the same thing as he was frowning, bewildered.

  “Maron,” he said into the radio on his wrist.

  “General,” came the officer’s response.

  “See to it that the prisoners are bound and taken to the Cordelia under guard. All other available men are to systematically comb the ship in search of Lady Lory and Lady Charly. The women may be afraid and might try to defend themselves. Use force, if necessary. But ensure they are not harmed. If absolutely necessary you may use the laser on the lowest setting. If you find the women I want to be informed immediately. Captain Amano and I will search Deck C where the women had their quarters.”

  “Had, General?”

  “They’ve evidently fled from their quarters and are wandering about somewhere. I’d like them to be found as quickly as possible.”

  “Aye, General. We’ll begin immediately.”

  “Good. Over and out.”

  “Understood. Over and out.”

  “Come on, let’s get started. First we’ll search this room and the bathroom.”

  “Why?” asked the man who had led them here. “They’ve clearly fled, so why are you looking for them here?”

  “Because it could be a trick. It’s possible that they just want to give the impression that they’ve fled so that no one searches here,” Kordan explained indignantly.

  “What are we going to do with our friend here?” asked Amano with
a sideways glance at the prisoner.

  Kordan scrutinized the man, squinting. He saw fear flash into the man’s eyes.

  “Will you cause us trouble?” he asked threateningly.

  The man shook his head vehemently.

  “No! No! Definitely not, General. I didn’t get on this ship voluntarily anyway. I have no sense of loyalty towards Allegrass. He forced me into service. I will help you, general. I swear!”

  Kordan nodded. The man was unarmed, smaller and of lighter build than his mate. Lory would have this little man for dinner. No! He did not pose any real threat. He had the feeling that the man was speaking the truth and the Ellyod had coerced him into serving him.

  “What are you called?”

  “Loomo, General.”

  “What use were you to Allegrass, Loomo? You’re definitely not a soldier.”

  Loomo shook his head.

  “No, not for fighting. I’m the cook.”

  “The cook?” asked Amano in amazement. “What does Allegrass need a cook for? He has food generators.”

  “He liked freshly cooked food. I’m a master chef. Maybe you gentlemen can make use of someone like me?”

  “Help us find our mates, then we’ll see,” replied Kordan.

  “Yes, I’ll help.”

  They combed the whole cabin and the connecting bathroom. Next they systematically searched the entire deck, one room at a time.

  ***

  “I can hear something,” whispered Lory.

  The two women listened out into the darkness.

  “Yes, me too. They’re getting closer but I can’t work out whether they’re coming from your side or mine.”

  Lory strained to listen.

  “They’re on my side. They’re combing the rooms. They’re obviously looking for us. Only I don’t know whether they’re Kordan’s men or Ellyod’s.”

  “And we still don’t know for sure who the bad guys are now,” Charly pointed out.

  “I wish this whole bloody alien abduction hadn’t happened. I’d happily carry on believing that aliens only exist in science-fiction films and just get on with my job. Fuck! And whilst I’m wishing for things, I also wish that my last night on earth had gone differently and that my colleagues were still alive. “

  “Life can sometimes be truly shit,” Charly responded quietly.

  They were silent for a while, listening out.

  “They’re getting closer. Shall we go out on my side and hide somewhere else?” Charly suggested.

  “Can you just open the door really carefully and see if anyone’s there?”

  “I’ll try. It’s really tight in here.”

  Charly carefully opened the door behind her and peered into the corridor. She closed the door again immediately, swearing quietly.

  “What is it?”

  “There are three men there. I recognize at least one of them from the Cordelia. At least we now know who’s won the battle and is now after us.”

  “I can’t even say whether that’s good or bad. Damn it!” Lory had never before in her life felt so torn. Who was the foe and who was the friend? She had always known who the bad guys were. But these damn aliens were completely different in their facial expressions, their gestures and their whole behavior, and from that point of view really hard to work out. The whole thing with the biting, the injection of some kind of drug and the shapeshifting did not make the situation any easier either.

  “They’re getting closer,” whispered Charly, panicking. “And from both sides.”

  “I can hear them,” snarled Lory. “Shit!”

  The door was torn open and three men stared into the closet. Just seconds later the other door opened, too. They were caught in a trap.

  ***

  “General,” a voice came from Kordan’s radio.

  “Yes? Any news?”

  “We’ve got them.”

  Kordan’s heart beat faster. Amano rushed over, too, and was now standing next to him, ready to set off.

  “Where are you now?” asked Kordan.

  “In the infirmary.”

  “Are the women injured?” asked Kordan, worried, whilst Amano walked up and down restlessly beside him.

  “Not the women, but several of our men. Lady Lory had a scalpel and Lady Charly sprayed a de-icing substance into two of the men’s eyes.”

  Kordan groaned inside. Whatever had the women been thinking? Did they not know that the men belonged with him and had come to rescue them?

  “I have a feeling that our mates don’t want to be rescued at all. It’s so complicated with these two. Do you think all women on their planet are like this?” asked Amano in frustration.

  “No idea, but we’ll soon calm them down again. No doubt they’re just feeling stressed.”

  “We’re coming,” he said into his radio.

  “OK. Over and out.”

  “Over and out.”

  Kordan, Amano and Loomo entered the infirmary on deck F. To Kordan’s dismay he found both women bound and gagged. Lory glared at him from angry eyes. Amano, next to him, swore and was about to rush to Charly who was sitting next to Lory, tears in her eyes, but Kordan held Amano back.

  “Wait. Let’s clarify the situation before you jump to conclusions.”

  “I’ll kill anyone who’s hurt a hair on Charly’s head,” snarled Amano sinisterly.

  “Right now you’ll be silent. That’s an order!”

  Kordan looked round the room. All four medical units were occupied by his men. A few others were sitting on the beds with makeshift bandages, waiting their turn, whilst the ship’s healer was frantically administering first aid.

  Maron spotted his superiors and greeted them with respect by placing his right hand, clenched, on the left-hand side of his chest, over his heart.

  “General. Captain.”

  “Was this necessary?” asked Kordan, nodding in the direction of the two bound women.

  Lory appeared to want to say something but the rope in her mouth made her words unclear. But it was certainly nothing nice that she had to say because her eyes screamed murder and he thought that he could make out, in the unclear murmuring, words like bastard and ass-hole. The word castrate also occurred and he flinched involuntarily.

  “Unfortunately yes, General,” Maron responded to his question. “As you can see they’ve injured a lot of men. Some seriously. At first we only tied them up, but they did not stop insulting us in the most awful way and they made unspeakable threats.”

  By the sudden pallor of his officer Kordan could tell which unspeakable threats she had made. The little word castrate will definitely have had something to do with it and he sympathized with his men. Such a threat would indeed disconcert any man in the universe. He sighed and secretly felt sorry for himself for the thankless task of making peace with his mate.

  “Do you still want to set them both free?” he asked, turning to Amano.

  He, too, had turned somewhat pale and just shook his head silently whilst casting a distrustful glance at the women. But then he nodded.

  “Prepare to leave the ship,” commanded Kordan. “Maron, you’ll stay here until the men come out of the medical units, then return to the ship immediately. How long will the treatment last?”

  “An hour,” replied the ship’s healer.

  “Kandu, program the self-destruction of the ship at one hour and twenty minutes. The extra time should be enough for the return to the Cordelia.”

  “And what about me?” Loomo spoke.

  “You’ll come with me.”

  Loomo nodded eagerly.

  ***

  Lory cursed the stupid gag that was preventing her from speaking. But that did not mean that she did not utter every insult and threat that occurred to her. When Kordan and Amano approached her she pulled wildly at her ties. She did not miss the determined look in Kordan’s almost emotionless face. But she thought she also saw a hint of resignation in his expression and wondered what that meant.

  She struggled when he p
icked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She was getting fed up of this Neanderthal shit. Charly, too, next to her, was hanging over Amano’s shoulder, wriggling and struggling like an eel. Amano smacked Charly’s bottom with the palm of his hand and Charly shouted in outrage behind her gag.

  The two men bundled them into a small spaceship that was waiting in the docking station with many others like it. Kordan dropped Lory roughly into a seat and belted her in tightly. Charly was given the same treatment.

  Once all of the men had taken their seats and were belted in Kordan started up the small spaceship. He counted down from ten and the ship shot forwards so unexpectedly and so violently that it pushed Lory back into her seat. The extreme acceleration made her whole body vibrate.

  ‘Shit! I think I prefer the bloody beaming, after all. This is awful,’ she thought miserably.

  The flight to the Cordelia was only short and the landing in the docking station much more gentle than the take-off. Kordan pulled her out of her seat and she stumbled behind him. She was pleased that he was at least not throwing her over his shoulder again. The walk to Kordan’s quarters seemed endless to her. But once they got there, and the door closed behind them, she wished that the walk had lasted forever. Anything was better than being alone with this bloody alien. She simply could not trust herself when it came to him. He clearly had a greater influence over her than she had thought.