He wiped his hand on his pants leg, then moved it up to hold something she couldn't see. "Just a little. Luckily it's mostly verbal." He hissed sharply as if he'd hurt himself again. "Damn it, I've lost all feeling in my right hand."
"So what do we do?" she asked, trying to keep him focused on the danger.
Another shot rocked them.
Desideria groaned as she slammed into the arm again and it rebruised her ribs. "Besides die painfully." She was trying to stay calm, but it was getting harder and harder. She hated feeling helpless and this situation was really starting to anger her. "I'm about ready to throw my shoes at them," she mumbled under her breath. "I know it won't hurt their fighter, but it would make me feel better." At least if she did, she'd have done something other than sit here and watch.
Caillen laughed as if he admired her spunk. "Cross your fingers."
Desideria was confused by his words as he finally slid out from under the panel. "Why?"
Without answering, he shot into the front seat, then his hands flew over the computer. Schematics and diagrams flashed on the monitor so fast she couldn't even identify what he was looking at or adjusting before he moved on to the next one.
Another blast headed right for them. She sucked her breath in, bracing herself for impact.
It didn't come.
Instead, the pod turned sharply and lurched forward while the blast shot harmlessly past them by a narrow margin.
Caillen let out a jubilant shout. He kissed his fingers, then smacked them down near the controls. "That's my girl. C'mon, baby, don't be fickle with your love. You know you want to do me right. Stay tight and fly where I tell you." He made more adjustments on the computer and the pod responded.
Desideria was so happy they had some form of control over their craft that she could kiss him. He might be a complete and utter jerk, but, lucky for her, he knew his way around spacecraft.
The fighter changed course and headed straight for them at an accelerated speed.
She cringed as she saw more bright orange flashes in the darkness. "There's another blast coming."
"I know. Hold on in case this doesn't work."
He turned the pod again, but not enough to miss all of it. The force of the shot slammed her back. She struck her head hard against the panel. Wincing in pain, she didn't speak or cry out for fear of distracting him.
To her utter amazement, Caillen dodged the next blast.
"C'mon, baby. Go. You know you want to. Just keep humming and don't stop." Their pod lurched forward again and this time, finally, it made contact with the planet's gravitational pull.
It sped up dramatically as they fell toward the surface.
The fighter opened up more fire, spraying across space in a last-ditch effort to kill them. Luckily Caillen dodged most of it.
But not all. The lights blinked and sparked as the pod rocked to the point she feared again she might be sick. Or worse that the pod would come apart.
Caillen flipped a switch over his head. "We're going in hot."
"Meaning?"
"The blasts took out our brakes and homing beacon. I'm going to try and find us something soft to land on. However, I make no promises. My control of this thing isn't the best and... well, if you're religious in any way, now would be the time to summon some divine intervention 'cause, no offense, the gods don't think much of me most days. However, they might listen to you."
Desideria started praying. She held her breath as he struggled with short-circuiting electronics. The scent of burning wires was pungent and she hoped the wires were the only thing burning and not their fuel lines.
Caillen appeared completely unshaken by everything that was happening. Other than the occasional mumbled obscenity when their frying electronics shocked or burned him. "I'd kill for one ion cannon. Just one."
She knew the feeling.
Caillen ran over their settings as he assessed their coming situation. The good news? They could breathe on the surface. The bad news? There was no information on this planet at all. No maps, nothing on culture. Nada. Not even the name of the place.
Those were things usually reserved for penal colonies and it explained why the pod hadn't chosen this site for their landing.
Why hadn't he left them on course? At least with the Andarion planet, he'd known what he was getting into.
This one...
An image of them crashing into a prison with giant man-eating aliens went through his mind. Yeah, that'd be his luck. Couple thousand pissed-off superhuman, psychic aliens with an ax to grind against smugglers and royalty...
Why didn't I stay in my room?
He glanced over his shoulder at the princess. Her face was pale and drawn, and she had a death grip on the arms of her chair. But at least she wasn't screaming or having a real girl moment. She was holding it together and he really appreciated that.
Even though she was dressed as a Guard, her posture was that of royalty. She was planning to die with dignity and that caused a wave of respect for her to swell inside him. If he admired anything in life, it was those who could stand brave while terrified.
If I'd stayed put, she'd be dead.
Yeah, okay, he felt better about being here, but not by much. Wouldn't do any good to save her from that only to have her die on impact or from the assassin chasing them.
Or get eaten by giant flesh-craving alien prisoners...
Gods, how do I get myself into this shit? Whatever unlucky constellation he'd been born under had been working overtime lately.
The pod started shaking around them.
"What's that?" Desideria asked with a note of panic in her voice.
Warning lights blinked, letting him know that their engine was failing, meanwhile there was a gash in the back stabilizer that was widening. But only one of them needed to be terrified, so Caillen downplayed the severity of their situation. "Turbulence. Sit tight and brace yourself for the landing." Unless the pod disintegrated before they made it that far.
"Why are you lying to me?"
Her question surprised him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw her staring straight at his back. "Who says I'm lying?"
"The tone of your voice. It dropped an octave."
Damn, she was good. He returned his attention to the catastrophe at hand. "Fine. The pod is coming apart." He flipped the computer to the external monitor just in time to show her one of their stabilizers being ripped off the right side and with it went the last thing he wanted to see go. "FYI, we needed that. It was the remains of our landing gear. I was trying not to scare you, but since you insist..."
Desideria swallowed. She wished now she hadn't asked. "Would shifting our weight help guide it?"
"You don't weigh enough to affect anything."
"So what do we do?"
"Grab your ass, and hang on like you want to keep it." He was making more mental calculations as the surface of the planet drew rapidly closer.
They were flying so fast Desideria didn't see how they could land and not become a stain on the planet's surface.
Well, her aunt would be happy.
Her, not so much.
She cringed as they started lamming into the upper limbs of trees. It made the pod buck so hard she could barely stay in her seat even with straps. Her heart was pounding as fear held her close and mutilated her hope for living through this.
Suddenly, Caillen turned, unbuckled her belt and wrapped his body around hers, pulling her onto the floor. The pod slammed down hard. The only cushion she had was Caillen's body. Although honestly, it was almost as hard as the steel walls surrounding them.
Her breath left her as they were thrown against the steel and the pod rolled over and over. They tumbled like a stone in a cylinder and still Caillen held on to her, trying to keep her safe.
For a moment, she thought they'd live through the crash until her head struck something so forcefully it made her sick. Her vision dimmed. She fought the darkness as best as she could, but in the end the blackness took her
under.
The ship finally stopped.
Caillen remained still, waiting for more--they'd had such a rough landing that it felt like they were moving even though he could see they weren't.
But they stayed put. The pod snapped and hissed around him. Everything in it had been shaken loose to the point that it looked like the thing had been gutted. Wires, straps and pieces of steel swung and sparked, but at least the fires provided some form of light in the dark interior. The area where their seats had been was completely destroyed. He lay on his back with Desideria draped over him. Her breath tickled his skin, letting him know she was alive even though she was completely motionless. Pain reverberated through his body and head with every heartbeat.
I can't move. But at least by unbuckling them, he'd saved their lives.
The sudden smell of engine fuel hit him... like it was gushing out of something and pooling nearby. It mingled with the harsh odor of burning wires.
Shit. The pod's going to explode.
True to that prediction, he saw flames spread across the floor. They licked at his boots. The heat was searing. Grinding his teeth, he forced his ravaged body to move and move fast. But it was hard. Nothing wanted to work as he stamped out the fire at his feet.
"Princess?"
She was unconscious and bleeding profusely from a head wound. With a loud groan, he pushed her back enough so that he could roll out from under her. On unsteady feet, he picked her up and cradled her close. She really was tiny. Something that was easy to lose sight of when she was awake and bitching at him. Then she seemed larger than life.
His body rebelling against any act that didn't involve him lying down, he carried her out of the craft and took her to a safe distance from the pod before he laid her down on the ground.
He sat back on his heels, grateful to be out of the pod and able to breathe fresh, nonburning air. Brushing his hair back from his forehead, he saw the blood on his hand. Yeah. Just what he needed. A head wound of his own. He took inventory of his conditionhis f hers. Instinctively, he reached for his backpack to get a cloth to stop her bleeding only to realize it was still in the pod.
Shit. He needed that. It would have medical supplies, food and other things they'd need if they planned to survive this.
He looked back at the burning pod. Only a flaming, krikkin idiot would run into something that was about to explode...
Good thing I'm an idiot.
Before his common sense could override his stupidity, he dashed back to the pod. The metal was hot from the flames--which he discovered as his hand accidentally brushed a wall and was burned. Coughing, he covered his mouth with his shirt and held it there with his burned hand while he tried to see into the small compartment. Ah man, everything had been tossed around to the point he couldn't identify anything. Getting down on his hands and knees, he searched the wreckage as fast as he could. He choked and coughed, struggling to breathe. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a black strap on the floor.
His pack was underneath the crushed-in front console. He scooted forward and grabbed it, then paused as he heard something whine.
The roof lining was caving in.
Damn it! Jerking the pack to him, he scurried for the door. Just when he thought he was free, a part of the ceiling fell across his back and slammed him to the ground. He tried his best to crawl out from under it, but he was trapped. Flames blazed higher and brighter. The stench of fuel was making him light-headed. His lungs struggled to find oxygen.
Crap... I'm going to die.
Right here. Right now.
Still he fought even though it was futile. After all, he was a Dagan and Dagans never surrendered to death. Not without a bloody battle.
Desideria came awake just in time to see Caillen running back to their burning pod. What was the moron doing now? Hadn't anyone ever told him that the correct protocol was to run away from burning objects?
Her head throbbed so badly that she feared she'd vomit. More than that, her vision was blurry. She reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead. The moment she touched it, she realized it wasn't sweat. She was bleeding all over the place.
It's a concussion.
Her stomach lurched as more pain pounded through her body. Rolling to her side, she saw Caillen vanish inside the pod. He's going to kill himself.
Let him.
Unfortunately, she couldn't. He'd pulled her out twice now and saved her life. She'd still be inside the burning pod but for him.
Get up, soldier. Time to save the heroic idiot.
As she came to her feet, she heard a loud crash from the pod. There was no sign of Caillen. A bad feeling went through her.
He was dead or trapped.
Only a complete imbecile would run into a burning pod...
Bad thing was, she was an imbecile. Especially since she owed Caillen her life and even if it was only a small chance he was still alive, she couldn't leave him there to burn.
Forcing down her nausea, she headed for the pod on unsteady feet.
The smoke was so thick as she neared it that she could barely see. The stench did nothing for her nausea. You're a Qillaq. Stop whining.
Over the loud popping and roar of the fire she heard something... A string of obscene profanity.
She couldn't help smiling as she used his angry tirade against the gods to find him trapped under burning debris. His wrath was palatable as he tried to free himself.
"I hope you melt into oblivion! Stupid, stupid son of a--" His words broke off as he saw her. For an instant, his entire face lit up, then it turned to a dark scowl. "Are you out of your krikkin mind? Run!"
She did, but it was toward him.
Caillen was astounded as she knelt down to help him get free. "There's a tank about to blow. You have to leave. We only have a few seconds. I can smell it."
"Not without you."
"Princess--"
"Not without you," she enunciated each word sharply, letting him know that he was the one wasting their time with a useless argument. She pulled as hard as she could against the hot metal that pinned him to the floor. "I'd already be dead if not for you. I'm not about to leave you after that. Now shut up and help!"
Caillen smiled at her sharp command. Only a sick bastard like him would find that amusing, especially given his circumstances. But they didn't have long.
He growled as she lifted the burning beam where his leg was trapped. He slid his foot free and grabbed the pack. But not before he could hear the tank whine and whistle.
It was about to go. Their time could only be measured in heartbeats now.
Even though his foot felt broken, he grabbed her hand and his pack and ran with her from the pod.
Still they weren't safe. The shrapnel would blow out for yards and could very easily pierce them. Tightening his hand on hers, he pulled her toward a copse of trees that would hopefully offer some protection.
They'd only made it halfway there before the pod blew. The shock wave of the explosion pitched them forward, causing them to tumble. All Caillen could do was try to protect his head as he rolled and fragments rained down all around them.
He came to rest on his stomght=/font>
Desideria lay a few feet away from him, on her back. Unmoving.
A sick feeling of dread constricted his stomach. "Princess? You alive?"
"No," she groaned.
"Me either."
A second explosion sounded. Caillen cursed as he saw more shrapnel heading for them, including a sizable chunk of the door. Grabbing Desideria, he barely made it behind a fallen log before the door impaled itself upright in the ground right where she'd been. Small fires burned all around them.
Her face pale, she looked up at him in awe. "Thank you."
Letting out a long breath in relief, Caillen laid his head on the ground and did his best not to whimper from the pain that was tearing through every single inch of his body. He felt like he'd been run through a compactor. The last thing he wanted was to move, but he needed
to check on her and tend the long gash in his leg. His luck it'd turn to gangrene and he'd lose it if he delayed treatment.
"Any time, Princess. But really, we have to do something about these near fatal interactions of ours." Bracing himself for the pain, he sat up.
She glared accusingly as she shoved at his shoulder. "Don't you dare blame me for this. What the hell was so important that you had to go back for it and risk our lives?"
"I only risked my life. You're the loon who came back for me."
She rolled her eyes. "I couldn't agree more. Now why would you go back?"
He held his pack up.
She gaped at him, then glared as if she could murder him herself. "You almost killed us for a stupid backpack?"
"Not a backpack, baby. It's a survival pack."
"I would comment on the irony of you almost dying for that, but right now I really ache too much to bother."
He laughed as he rifled through it. Until he heard the soft whir of an engine drawing near. That sobered him fast. "Someone's coming."
Her face lit up with relief. "Oh please, God, let it be a rescue crew... one with a clean bathroom."
He didn't share her optimism. Instead, cold dread weighed heavy in his gut. "C'mon." He pulled her toward the tree line, deeper into the woods.
She dug her heels in and slowed him down. "What are you doing?"
"We don't know where we are or who they are. They could be our friendly assassin or an accomplice. Until we know for sure, let's not be seen."
Desideria wanted to scream in frustration at his paranoia. But not so deep inside she knew he was right and unl they discovered the intentions of whoever was coming, they did need to keep a low profile. "I really hate you."
"Hate you too, babe." He gave her a charming grin and a wink that managed to be adorable even though she wanted to kick him some place that counted. "Now, c'mon."
Desideria groaned as she forced herself to run after him. How could he move on that busted leg of his? Did the man not feel pain? She glanced to the woods and winced. It looked so far to those trees...
Caillen doubled back to try and carry her.
She stopped him. "You're injured too and I can walk. I am not helpless or weak. I'm simply pissed," she growled.
He held his hands up in apology. "Fine, but we need to hurry." He jerked his chin to the sky where she could see the craft almost on them.
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