Into the Dark (Dark Universe Book 1)

by Jason Halstead

  “I’ve got a problem,” Aden warned. “My fuel reserves are at twenty-five percent, but with Seph, my mass is almost sixty percent higher. We will have to load last or I won’t have enough fuel to slow and maneuver.”

  Meshelle cursed before saying, “All right, we’ll adapt. Tosc, can you handle that?”

  “Matching relative velocities? Don’t insult me.”

  “With a potential enemy warship bearing down on us?” Garf asked.

  Tosc hesitated before stating, “That does add an element to it. The enemy ship is turning, but their primary engines are still offline. Thrusters only, but they’ve got a lot of thrusters. Shuttle ETA is two minutes.”

  “All right: Tosc, Garf, Amber, me, and then Aden and Seph. That’s the order. Now make it happen and don’t screw up,” Meshelle ordered. “When we’re on, we’ll contact the Uma and arrange pickup.”

  The mercs confirmed the orders and waited until the shuttle emerged from the blackness and grew larger as it approached. It slowed and spun, waiting in space with the cargo door still open. Aden saw it and wanted to ignore the math he’d already figured out and fire his thrusters. The moment was gone as he floated past and continued into space.

  Tosc floated in first and then the others. By the time Meshelle loaded, Tosc was in the pilot’s chair and settling into the controls. “Aden, I need your position. Activate your suit’s transponder.”

  “Won’t the Criknid ship receive it too?”

  “Yes. That’s the element of challenge I mentioned,” Tosc said.

  “All right, turning it on now,” Aden said while he worked through the suit’s menu and activated the transponder.

  “Got it, stand by.”

  “I’ll just, uh, hang around then,” Aden mumbled.

  Aden watched the shuttle grow larger and larger as it approached. His relief turned to fear when it kept coming. Straight at him. “Tosc? You’re heading right for me.”

  “I’m picking you up, remember?” the Lermian responded.

  “I’m supposed to board the cargo door, not get splattered across the nose.”

  “You Terrans and your details. You’re overcomplicating things.”

  “No. No, it’s not complicated at all,” Aden argued.

  “Speed up.”

  “What?”

  “Fire your thrusters and accelerate. Now.”

  “On the zero,” Meshelle added. “The enemy ship is closing and if they’ve got mass drivers, they could pick us off.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Aden said before triggering his thrusters and accelerating himself backwards, away from the shuttle. The rate of closure slowed, allowing him to breathe a little easier. He shifted his focus to his remaining fuel and saw it dropping at an alarming rate. The green gauge turned yellow at fifteen percent and red at seven percent. “Almost out of fuel.”

  “Just float,” Tosc said. “And watch this.”

  “Watch what?” Aden asked.

  Tosc’s answer came in the form of the shuttle’s thrusters firing. It spun away, but continued to move towards Aden at the same velocity. The thrusters continued to fire, adjusting the rotation until Aden judged it was closing and spinning at the perfect rate. He swallowed and ground his teeth together as the shuttle loomed in front of him. The rear engine housing swept in front of him, missing by a couple of feet. The open shuttle door loomed in front of him then, but it seemed so far away.

  A dark shape launched out of the open cargo door. Aden grunted as it struck him in the hip and then started tugging him in. The shuttle continued to rotate but he was sucked into the cargo bay and grabbed by Garf, Meshelle, and Amber.

  “Welcome back,” Amber said as the cargo door closed behind them.

  “I could kiss all of you right now.” Aden grinned. “Even if it meant coughing up a fur ball.”

  “Watch it,” Tosc growled. “Strap in. We’re accelerating and getting away from that ship.”

  Garf helped Aden carry Seph to a seat and then the Devikian secured him while he held on to the Tassarian. Garf fell into the seat beside him and grunted, “All set.”

  No sooner were the words said than the shuttle shook around them.

  “What was that?” Meshelle demanded.

  “They’re firing at us. We lost some armor. Hang on, this could get bumpy.”

  Aden grunted as he was jammed into his seat. He squeezed Seph tighter and focused on holding on to her as though she was his lifeline. They were thrown back and forth a few times before a final surge of acceleration was met with a whoop from the pilot’s seat. “We’re out of range and moving too fast for any missiles or torpedoes. The autopilot’s making random course adjustments to avoid any undirected mass drivers.”

  “We’re free?” Amber asked.

  “We’re free,” Tosc confirmed.

  After the cheers died down, Meshelle brought them back to business. “Open up a line to the Uma. We need to be picked up and to get as far from here as we can.”

  “Then what?” Garf asked.

  Meshelle pulled the crystal out of a container on her armor and held it up. “We sell this thing.”

  “To who?” Amber asked.

  Meshelle stared at it and shrugged. “Whoever is willing to pay the most, I guess.”

  Chapter 21

  “You should probably be dead,” Garf said.

  “All of us, I imagine,” Aden agreed. He pulled his briefs up his legs and turned to the Devikian.

  Garf pointed at the damaged spots on Aden’s suit and shook his head. “That plate there, on your chest near the shoulder joint. It’s melted and froze and then cracked. Cracked. You should have been leaking air.”

  Aden leaned over and stared down at the armor. He poked it with his finger and then moved it around, flexing the joint and the compromised seal for the shoulder joint. “Damn.”

  “That’s it?” Garf asked.

  Aden shook his head. “I don’t know—you’re right. Maybe the way I was holding Seph kept it clamped off?”

  Garf tilted his head and nodded. “Maybe. Must be, I suppose. Otherwise you’d both be dead. You got lucky.”

  “We all got lucky,” Meshelle said. She walked up to Aden and glared up at him. “We’re alive and Seph looks like she’s fine. We got back that strange crystal and we got away. A good day, except we haven’t been paid yet. I still have this nagging feeling that makes me want to punch you, though.”

  Aden looked down at his boss and nodded. She’d changed out of her armor and wore a loose-fitting blue tank top and darker blue shorts. With his height, or her lack of height, he forced his eyes to stay on hers and not drop to her cleavage. It should have been a simple task: Meshelle was his boss—a Vagnosian—and the situation was pretty serious. But on the other hand, he was a man who was living high on their success.

  “Um, sorry about the elevator and the grenade. I felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. Otherwise we would have been off our timetable and the bugs would have been able to organize better.”

  Meshelle nodded. “It was and they would have, but don’t ever try that kind of thing again without telling us first.”

  “Okay, yeah,” he agreed. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry almost got Seph killed.”

  “Boss, you know we all take that chance every time,” Garf mumbled.

  Meshelle spun and pointed a finger at him, “Shut it, or I’ll put you on my shit list too.”

  Aden held up a hand. “No, it’s cool. She’s right. It was impulsive and I should have been more careful.”

  Amber walked into the armory with her helmet hanging from one hand. She looked at Meshelle and Aden before saying, “Seph’s okay. The med scanners show no permanent tissue damage and the nerve tests Tosc ran on her show everything’s working right. She just needs to wake up at her own pace. I went through her suit’s log and it shows the oxygen levels weren’t low enough to knock her out by themselves, but the humidity and temperature dropped enough to trigger a defensive m
echanism in her body.”

  “A what?” Aden asked. “She’s defending herself?”

  “Hibernating,” Garf grunted. “My people who lived in higher and colder climates found that any Tassarian, uh, guests they had would do that. Made them useless.”

  Meshelle snorted at Garf’s choice of words. “Good. She’s no good to me asleep.”

  Amber moved to her locker and released the clamps on her armor. She pulled the breastplate free and stepped back into the mounts in her locker to pull the back plate off. She pulled her arms free and stretched, nude from the waist up, before loosening the hips and legs and removing the heavy armor one piece at a time.

  Amber looked up and saw Garf and Aden watching her. She raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to start charging if you’re going to watch me like that.”

  Garf chuckled and raised a thick lip to leer at her before he turned back to Aden’s armor. “Let’s get this fixed.”

  Aden blushed and nodded. “Uh, yeah, good idea.”

  “You should check on Seph,” Amber suggested.

  Aden stiffened. “I should?”

  “You’re the one who saved her. I think it’d be nice.”

  Aden looked at Garf. Garf shrugged his furry shoulders. “Girl thing.”

  Michelle snorted and said, “Don’t take too long. We’re in the dark for three days and Chuck’s going to need help patching up the shuttle.”

  Aden glanced at Meshelle and then turned to grab the rest of his clothes. He dressed and headed out, walking through the lounge and then down the port hall towards the port side staterooms. Janna and Seph had rooms on the port side, leaving two empty cabins for supplies, guests, or any other purpose.

  He knocked on the door and waited. As soon as it slid open far enough, a black and caramel-colored figure leapt through the opening and landed on Aden. He stumbled backwards under the assault until he caught his balance and adjusted to the extra weight clinging to him.

  “Uh, hi,” Aden grunted.

  Twyf looked down the hallway and then kissed him with the same intensity that she’d used before. The only difference was length; she broke the kiss sooner and stared at him. “Is it true?” she breathed.

  “If it means more of that, then yes,” Aden said.

  Twyf grinned and stepped back. Her hand grabbed his and pulled him after her, into Seph’s room. “I meant what you did. You saved her?”

  Aden shrugged. “Oh, um, I guess. I mean, I just grabbed her when she went down and carried her back—not a big thing.”

  “Stop,” she hushed him. “It is a big thing. The biggest. Most of the people who have come and gone on this ship were one step above criminals. Some probably were criminals. Or pirates or something. All of them looking for an easy credit or a big score so they could take off and live the rest of their miserable lives. Nobody gives a damn about anybody else.”

  “Meshelle seems to,” Aden said.

  Twyf bowed her head, conceding this point. “Janna, too. Seph and I look out for each other, but we’re never together.”

  Aden thought about what she said and nodded. Amber would do what she could, he was pretty sure, but she wouldn’t risk her neck. Tosc? Not a chance. He was caught up in himself and what he wanted. Garf…maybe. The Devikian loved to blow things up, mostly.

  “Well, I did what I thought was the right thing. I’d do it again.”

  “I hope you don’t have to,” Twyf said.

  Aden chuckled. “Me too! How is she?”

  “Sleeping. Stasis, actually,” Twyf said. “If we get too cold and there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight, we can do that. She’ll probably sleep a day or so before she wakes up.”

  “Oh, well, that’s good. I guess.”

  Twyf nodded. She looked behind them at the closed door to her sister’s room. “On behalf of my sister, I’d like to thank you.”

  “Stop,” Aden said. “I don’t need any thanks. I’d do th—”

  Twyf lowered herself to her knees while he talked and reached for his pants. She tugged on them and managed to unfasten them before Aden’s brain started working again.

  “Twyf! Stop! We can’t—not here!”

  “Why not?” she asked. She pressed her hands against him and smiled. “Part of you thinks we should.”

  “All of me th—no, I mean. There’s a lot to do and they want me to help. We have to be ready.”

  Twyf pouted. “But Aden…I—”

  Aden reached down and pulled her back to her feet. “I want to, too. But there’s a time and a place for it. Unfortunately, this isn’t either.”

  Twyf pouted until Aden lifted her chin with his finger. Her eyes met his and drew a smile from her. “Just make sure you let me thank you for what you did and not Seph.”

  Aden nodded. “Is it true about your people and kissing?”

  Twyf sucked her lips into her mouth and tried to glance away. Aden lifted her chin with a gentle touch again. Her eyes looked different, not cloudy, but like they had a film over them. Wetness glistened until she blinked it away. After a few blinks, the protective lid retracted and let her golden eyes gleam. She nodded. “It is. The man will—”

  Aden put a finger to her lips to silence her and then replaced it with his lips. He felt her stiffen and melt into him. She sagged against him and let him hold her up while he tried to recreate the same fervor she’d kissed him with.

  “Only you,” he whispered when he broke the kiss.

  Twyf’s lips curled up in a satisfied smile. She buried her face into his chest and squeezed him in a hug. Aden kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. “I’m going to head back. Are you going to stay with Seph?”

  Twyf turned her head and stared at her sister. She shook her head. “No, I’ll set the climate controls to make her comfortable and come with you.”

  Aden nodded and let her adjust the environmental controls for the cabin. He glanced up when he felt a mist land on his face and neck. Humidifiers were increasing the moisture in the room to make her comfortable. He backed up to the door and waited for Twyf to join him. There was work to be done and he didn’t know if Twyf would be able to help, but if she couldn’t, he hoped she had nothing else to do. He was enjoying spending time with her.

  Chapter 22

  “Anything new?” Janna asked when Aden and Twyf walked into the galley.

  Aden studied the people gathered around the table. Chuck and Kessoc were the only two missing. The multifaceted crystal rested on the table in front of Meshelle. Aden stared at it even as he turned his head to nod for Twyf to speak.

  “She’s in stasis,” Twyf said. “I think a day or two and she’ll come out of it. Before we’re back in normal space.”

  Janna gave Twyf a quick smile before turning her attention to Aden. Her hair twisted and then lay still against her head and neck. “Good job.”

  “I can’t take credit for it. I’m just built that way,” he said. “I didn’t think about it; I just did it.”

  He was met with blank stares from most of the people at the table. Janna’s eyes narrowed, but at least she smiled. Amber rolled her eyes at him.

  “I’d risk my life on a mission with you anytime,” Twyf said.

  Several gazes flicked to her and then him. A few eyebrows raised and lips twitched. Aden felt heat rushing to his face and knew he’d better move the conversation elsewhere. And fast. “So, what’s going on with that rock?”

  His redirect worked; everyone turned their focus to the crystal on the table. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Meshelle said. “Going after it was your idea. What are your thoughts?”

  Aden stared at her and realized his mouth was hanging open. “My thoughts? I didn’t know you paid me to think?”

  Meshelle scowled at him. “Keep that up and you won’t get paid at all!”

  Tosc laughed.

  “Hey now, I’m just trying to keep it light,” Aden said. “I don’t know anybody who would buy it. Wait—does anybody have any contacts with a governm
ent? Vagnosian, Devikian, Tassarian? Heck, even Terran?”

  “Why?” Janna asked. “Why would they want something like this?”

  Aden stepped closer and leaned between Tosc and Amber to reach for the crystal. He hesitated and looked at Meshelle. Her hair was writhing in slow waves. “May I?”

  She gave a short nod.

  Aden picked it up and backed up a few steps. He held it up in the air and turned it in his hand. It caught the overhead lights and reflected it in shimmering colors that turned his arm into a rainbow. “It’s pretty. But that’s just a prism. Any crystal can do that. A drop of water can do it. But what I saw on the asteroid was something else. Something powerful and scary and amazing.”

  “What are you talking about?” Janna asked.

  “Fluvulis, the Kesari. He held it up in one tentacle and some kind of beam of energy shot up and hit the air lock doors. He stopped and pulled it back inside his suit before the energy ate away at the rock and weakened it so it blew out.”

  “That crystal did that?” Janna asked.

  Aden nodded. He glanced at Twyf and saw her staring at him with what looked like adoration in her eyes. He fought down the smile and made sure he turned and looked at everyone else. He held it up higher, thrusting it towards a light. “Like this.”

  Tosc snickered. “Did he chant any magic words while he was at it?”

  Aden sighed. “I didn’t hear any, no.”

  Garf chuckled. “He’s got your number.”

  “Does he?” Twyf asked.

  Everyone turned, including Aden, to look at the Tassarian. She pointed at the crystal and then turned and stared at the metal floor. Her finger moved back and forth, tracing lines between dots on the floor.

  “Twyf? What’s wrong?” Aden asked.

  “Look!” she hissed. “No, move it back up, near the light.”

  “I can’t get it any closer,” Aden grunted.

  Tosc stood up and walked around Aden. He stared at the ground and twisted his head. “What have you got there?”

  “I think—no. Well, maybe. I don’t know.”

  “You’re not making sense,” Janna muttered.

  Aden stared at the ground and then looked around. He frowned. “Kill the lights.”