Aerdan: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Romance (Zhekan Mates Book 1)

by E. A. James

  “You won’t make it there before I do,” Thor said, following her line of sight. He looked at the gun and then back up at her. “I may not be as ‘enhanced’ as your guards were, but I definitely am more than you are.”

  She knew he was right, and fixing her gaze on him again, she nodded for him to continue.

  “My refusal to continue with the experiments infuriated Grimm. He gave me an ultimatum—continue with the study or be shipped off to Jaantu 7. The only thing that kept him from killing me was the honor between soldiers.”

  “And you chose Jaantu 7,” Kira finished his story for him.

  Thor nodded, his eyes still fixed on hers. The way he looked at her made her feel conflicted. There was sincerity in his expression, urgency almost. His dark eyes were no longer filled with a look of aggression or hostility. They were almost kind. Somehow, the edginess that seemed permanently wrapped around him softened.

  Another heavy silence fell between them. She wasn’t sure she could trust him—she didn’t trust him. Despite his earnestness, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that Colonel Grimm was the monster Thor was painting him out to be. Still, her options were limited. They were the only two left alive on the ship, the ship that wasn’t working. If they were going to somehow find a way out of this situation, they were going to need to work together.

  “Other Zel’Dar may be coming,” she said frankly, changing the topic of conversation quickly. “That was a small swarm, but there are always more out there.”

  “We should get moving, then,” Thor said.

  He turned around and began walking towards the couch in the center of the room, stepping over Snakeman’s body as he went. His movements were surprisingly graceful for a man of his size—large and bulky. Although he was wearing loose military grade khakis, his light green shirt was tight and form-fitting. She could see the muscles in his back flex as he moved and couldn’t help but gaze at his arms, toned and athletic.

  Following behind him quickly, she said, “The ship’s disabled. Somehow in the attack, we lost power and navigation controls went offline.”

  “I suppose that’s another thing that’s worked out well for me,” he said sarcastically.

  “It’s your lucky day,” Kira replied, standing in front of him and crossing her arms over her chest. Looking down at him sternly, she added, “except for the fact that the bounty hunter we’re supposed to be meeting with will be waiting for us. He probably knows our flight plan.”

  “You have a point,” he said, leaning forward. “So, what do we do?”

  “Well, if you want to just sit around here, enjoying my company until Nico Rax comes barging through the door, I’m all for that.”

  “While you are a very pleasant conversationalist, I think I’d rather enjoy your glowing presence over a drink, not in the midst of impending doom.”

  “Why? I can be charming in virtually any situation.”

  “Then put on your most captivating persona while we get this thing fixed.”

  “So, we’re going to work together?” she asked, a bubble of nerves forming in her stomach.

  “I promise not to kill you if you don’t try to kill me.”

  “Try to kill you? I could if I wanted to.”

  “You couldn’t.” Thor leaned down and palmed her Phantom, holstering it at his side.

  She let out a disgruntled scoff as she continued to hover over him, looking down at him with frustrated anger. Still, his story continued to ring in her mind. What if he was telling the truth? What if Colonel Grimm really was pushing the Modessi Limit? She still found it hard to believe him, but she knew that working together would be the only way to get them both out of this increasingly dangerous situation.

  “Fine,” she said, stepping towards him and holding out her hand. “Allies?”

  He pushed himself up to his feet and slipped his hand into her, his grip firm and strong, “Allies.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The engineering bay was cold—a bad sign. The small room was usually hot from the heat given off from the ships complex warp generator.

  Still, they went to work. The were not engineers, so for all they knew, they were making things worse instead of better.

  “It looks like a lot more than navigation is damaged,” Thor observed as they futilely worked to try and understand the complicated diagnostics presented on the control panel.

  “What’s going to happen?” Kira asked, sitting back on her heels and turning to look up at Thor, kneeling down to her left. “What will happen when we don’t reach the rendezvous with Nico Rax?”

  “Well, as you so acutely observed earlier, he’ll come looking for us. I have an unlucky feeling that he won’t be alone.”

  His words were haunting.

  Thor continued to pour over the diagnostics and as he reached out to continue work on the control panel, Kira saw the edge of a tattoo peek out just below his shirt collar. The thin red ink seemed to be part of an unintelligible circular design but Kira couldn’t make out more than that.

  “I’m guessing your luck isn’t inversely related to mine,” she said, shaking off her curiosity about the ink on his upper chest and refocusing her attention on the conversation.

  "Sorry, Captain," he muttered, "I'm afraid that you're as caught up in all of this as I am now. I imagine that a galactic ‘dead-or-alive' bounty will be placed on all four of us—the two of us and our previously alive hosts."

  “What?” Kira asked, pushing herself up quickly and stepping back from him. “What did I do? Why would they put out a bounty on me?”

  “You are transporting valuable cargo,” Thor said, flashing a cocky smile at her over his shoulder.

  “Oh, is there something else on this ship I didn’t know about?” she snapped back quickly, looking over her shoulder mockingly.

  When she turned back around to look down at him, she was surprised to find that he, too, had stood to his feet and was now towering over her.

  “Unfortunately for you, it’s just the two of us.”

  “Joy,” she said, taking another step back.

  “I’m confident that Grimm will do anything to keep me from walking free. He’s desperate to keep his activities a secret and he will do anything to keep from being exposed. He’ll have our images broadcast through the galactic bounty network, and before long, we’ll be the next big news.”

  “I have always wanted to be famous,” Kira replied, trying to remain calm and nonchalant.

  “Well, I’m glad I could elevate your social status.” He looked back down at the control panel. “We’re not going to be able to fix this stranded out here. The Zel’Dar attack must have damaged systems outside the ship.”

  “We have to do something to get out of here. My ship was destroyed unceremoniously on arrival, so I’m out of options.”

  Thor thought for a moment. “Your ship?” he said softly. “There might be another vessel on board.” Thor seemed to be lost in thought and he quickly started to leave the engineering bay. Kira followed after him.

  As they marched quickly down the main corridor of the freighter, whatever fear or panic had previously started to form in her stomach was quickly replaced with the rush of adrenaline and her mind shifted to the familiar analytical state that always kicked in when she found herself face-to-face with danger.

  “They may have destroyed your ship, but I bet they kept the one I was brought here on,” Thor explained as they went. “It’s small, but it’ll do.”

  “We’ll have to do something about this ship,” Kira said. “If they find the ship destroyed, maybe they’ll just think that we were all killed in an attack—no need for a bounty when everyone is already dead.”

  Thor slowed slightly but didn't stop. "That’s possible," he said, continuing down the corridor. "Those soldiers were carrying a surprising amount of explosives with them. I'll rig the ship with explosive, you go down to the cargo hold, find our ride out of here, and start familiarizing yourself with it. We may not have a lot of tim
e before they realize we’re no longer on course."

  “Got it,” Kira replied, quickly moving down the corridor in the direction of the ship’s cargo holds.

  “Wait!” Thor said. “Take this - just don’t shoot me with it later.” He handed Kira her Phantom.

  “No promises,” Kira quipped, appreciating the gesture of trust nonetheless. Thor forced a concerned grin in her direction before hurrying off to collect the explosive ordinance and rig the ship.

  Kira reached the end of the corridor and found the service ladder that would take her down to the cargo holds. As she approached the ladder and peered down she could see that power had been compromised on the cargo hold deck, it was emergency lighting only.

  Kira cursed under her breath. She un-holstered her Phantom and turned on the tactical light located beneath the barrel. It wasn’t much, but she needed all of it to navigate through the darkness. Slowly, she descended down the ladder onto the deck below.

  As she reached the platform she was startled by the darkness. The Zel’Dar attack had clearly damaged this section of the ship, and she wondered if their way out of here had been damaged, or worse, destroyed.

  The emergency lighting was poor, spaced about twenty feet apart and some were either not working or flickering ominously. Where the lights were not working, Kira was forced to walk in near complete darkness with only the tactical light on her Phantom guiding her way. She could barely see more than four or five feet in front of her at any given moment.

  The ship groaned from time to time, as the metalwork twisted and bent from the damage sustained in the attack. Kira clutched her Phantom tightly, walking with the weapon raised in front of her. Sweat dripped from her head and her heart pounded in her chest.

  After Kira had come about ninety feet down the corridor she came to the first bay door that read “Cargo Hold #1”. She pressed the door release button. Nothing happened. “Shit,” Kira muttered.

  She walked another two steps and approached the large door. She noticed the door was not fully closed and one of the panels was damaged and bent. From that bend, she could see into the cargo hold. Kira poked her Phantom into the opening to get a better look.

  The light illuminated a small part of the cargo hold and she could make out the outlines of a small shuttle craft about fifty feet away from her. “That must be the ship,” Kira thought.

  Kira looked at the control panel by the door for an intercom control to tell Thor she had found the ship, but there was none. “Must be inside the hold,” Kira pondered.

  She took a step back, and suddenly, a scurrying noise from down the dark corridor grabbed her attention. She pivoted, bringing the Phantom up to face the direction of the noise. Her breath caught in her throat as she strained to see through the darkness.

  Kira’s eyes remained fixed in the direction of the noise. The silence was deafening. Her arms ached from the strain of holding her Phantom at the ready.

  After a solid minute of staring into the darkness, Kira knew she had to make a decision. She lowered her Phantom and braced herself against the cargo bay door. She pushed lightly against the door to see if it would budge. Slowly, the door began to grind against its metal tracks – the noise reverberated through the corridor – Kira grimaced at the sound and stopped pushing.

  A low guttural growl echoed back from down the corridor and the scurrying sound resumed. Kira pivoted back again, bringing her Phantom up in the direction of the noise. There, about one hundred feet down the corridor Kira could make out a large shape running towards her position. The creature was moving fast and the emergency lighting revealed it momentarily before it disappeared back into the shadows as it made its way towards Kira.

  Kira clenched her jaw and fired a quick shot from her Phantom. The red beam of energy burst forward, illuminating the corridor as it flew towards the creature.

  The beam flew past the creature and carried on down the corridor, but as the beam missed, Kira could make out distinct features for the first time – it was a Zel’Dar. The sight of the dark blue and brown exoskeleton sent adrenaline shooting through Kira.

  She fired three quick bursts and the creature deftly dodged the first but was struck on its right side with the second and third. It shrieked loudly and dove off into a service corridor about fifty feet from Kira’s position.

  The scurrying sound had subsided but Kira was certain she did not kill it. “Fuck,” she exclaimed, her breathing rapid and tense.

  After another moment, she decided she had to get into the cargo bay immediately. She lowered her weapon and braced herself against the door again, pushing with all her might. The door began to shriek, the sound of metal on metal ringing loudly down the corridor.

  The guttural growl came again, but this time, there was more than one.

  She continued pushing the door open inch by inch as the scurrying sound resumed, the Zel’Dar closing in on her position rapidly.

  With a final grunt Kira managed to create an opening large enough, she pushed through, her body squeezed tightly by the metal door. As soon as she cleared the door she dove, landing on her back with her Phantom aimed at the opening in the door.

  As she landed, at least one Zel’Dar launched itself at the opening in the door, getting wedged between the door itself and the metal frame. Its large mandibles thrashing as it struggled to free itself.

  Kira fired three quick bursts with her Phantom, hitting the Zel’Dar with each. The third found its home and a jet of blue liquid erupted from the carapace of the creature. Its body went limp, wedged between the door and its frame.

  Kira let out a small cry of relief. She quickly stood, still hearing the sounds of the Zel’Dar in the corridor behind her. She didn’t know how many were out there. Looking around the cargo hold Kira found the intercom panel and approached it, hoping it still worked.

  She pressed the button for the ship-wide emergency broadcast, “Thor! Zel’Dar – cargo hold deck, they breached in the attack!” Kira nearly yelled into the intercom.

  A moment passed that felt like a lifetime.

  “Understood, get the shuttle operational, I’m on my way!” came Thor’s reply. Kira could sense the urgency in his voice.

  Kira turned and ran for the shuttle. It was a small craft with a rear loading ramp. Kira found the control panel for the ramp and hit the release – the door slowly descended and Kira cried out in celebration “Yes! At least something still works around here!”

  She entered the shuttle and slid into the pilot’s seat. Kira quickly scanned the panel and began entering in commands, the ship’s engines hummed to life and the running lights illuminated the cargo hold. The shuttle lifted off the ground slightly, ready for flight.

  “Get ready, I’m coming down!” Thor’s voice boomed over the intercom. Kira turned and looked over her shoulder, back out to the corridor. Kira saw several green bursts from Thor’s plasma rifle fly down the corridor and heard the pained shrieks from the Zel’Dar.

  The cargo bay door began to slide open wider and the body of the Zel’Dar that was wedged in between slumped to the ground. Thor leaped through the opening and was running for the shuttle, Zel’Dar streaming in behind him.

  “Go!” Thor shouted. Kira didn’t hesitate and started accelerating the vessel towards the cargo hold exit, slow enough that Thor would be able to board on the run.

  Kira marveled as Thor deftly ran and jumped over obstacles with ease and even fired a few shots back in the direction of the Zel’Dar with surprising accuracy.

  As Thor reached the shuttle he athletically jumped onto the ramp and hit the control for the door – it whirred shut with an emphatic clunk.

  “Punch it!” Thor exclaimed as he took the seat next to her.

  "What the hell am I doing out here?" Kira scolded herself. "I'm on the run with a Jaantu 7 fugitive. There might be a bounty on my head. I’m pretty sure I’m out of a job, and I’m damn sure running for my life isn’t what three weeks of leave is supposed to look like!"

  Steadfas
t on the controls, she propelled the ship forward, praying that the landing bay doors opened before they crashed into them. The large metal gate trembled as it pushed outward, and the vast, endless sky became slowly visible.

  Thor clenched his fists in his lap, almost nervously, but didn’t speak. Kira kept her eyes locked on the fine line of star-filled blackness as she urged the ship to continue forward. Just as they were approaching the door, a ball of orange and yellow began to spill into the room behind them.

  The door, still not fully open, was just ahead of them. Positioning the ship just right, Kira led them into the open, the vessel just barely squeezing through the tight space.

  As she accelerated the ship, the ball of heat behind them continued to surge up at them. It was another few moments before they both relaxed as the explosion calmed and the wreckage of the freighter could be seen floating through space.