by Justin Sloan
Kalan scowled. "I hope this isn’t all for me. You have bigger largidations to fry."
"Don’t flatter yourself," Robin told him. "We wanted you back, but you’re the icing on this cake. And I’m going to pretend I know what a largidation is."
"They’re delicious," Wearl answered, "once you remove the poison sack."
Valerie looked around for the source of the voice. "Wearl? I should have known you’d be here. I’d give you a hug if I could see you."
"No, you wouldn’t. You’d be too stunned by my hotness."
"Fair enough. By the way, your fellow Shimmers are a giant pain in the ass."
Kalan nodded. "You too? We’re dealing with a little Shimmer-related trauma as well."
Valerie glared at Flynn. "Turns out the hacking didn’t go as smoothly as some would have us believe."
Flynn’s face reddened. "Uh, yeah. Turns out I may have tripped an alarm or two. Funny thing though: the response from the Shimmer guards was sort of lackluster. I would have expected more of them. It was like they were busy or something."
Kalan raised his hand sheepishly. "That may have been partly our fault."
"Not surprising," Valerie replied. "What do you say we walk and talk? I’d rather not be caught in this dead end when the guards do show up."
They started down the corridor, Flynn guiding them using a downloaded map on his handheld device. "Should be a straight shot this way."
Kalan nudged Valerie as they walked. "So what brings you here, if it’s not to see my pretty face."
Valerie smiled. "I was trying to figure out how to come rescue your ass."
"That’s pretty too," Wearl pointed out.
"But we didn’t know how to find SEDE. It was dumb luck that we found it at all. We were chasing this Norrul. We think he’s working for a freak named Demus. He claims to be a high priest, and he’s obsessed with justice. His sick brand of it, anyway."
"Huh." Kalan thought about that. "The way we heard it, the captain of this ship is secretly working for a high priest."
"Guys?" Flynn called. "We need to find an exit strategy. I figure if we—"
The sudden pounding of footsteps racing down the hall interrupted him.
"Shit!" Garcia exclaimed. "They’re almost here. Tell me you’ve got an escape route planned for us, buddy."
Flynn tapped frantically at his device. "Almost got it… Just a minute…. There!" He pointed at a door a little way down the corridor. "It’s an engine room. We can cut through there and go deeper into the ship."
"Let’s do it," Valerie replied. She dashed for the doorway before anyone else could respond.
Kalan quickly followed. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer, but sounds could be deceptive in these echoing corridors. "Keep an eye out, Wearl."
"On it," the Shimmer replied.
They’d all ducked into the engine room when the gunfire began.
"Um, they’re here," Wearl informed them.
Valerie glared at the doorway. "Yeah, I got that. Keep moving, but be ready to fight." She pulled a gun out of a holster on her belt and slapped it into Kalan’s hand. “Here. My gift to you.”
His eyes lit up. “A Tralen-14!”
“Once we realized this was SEDE, I grabbed one from the crate on the Grandeur in case we ran into you. Now let’s get moving.”
They raced through the room, dodging equipment and control panels. Kalan knew smaller spacecraft, but he’d never been exposed to engines of this size. He had no idea what any of this stuff was.
"They’re coming through the doorway," Wearl announced.
The sound of gunfire filled the air immediately.
Valerie stopped running. "Shit! Now’s our chance. Fire at that doorway. We may not be able to see them, but we know they have to squeeze through that opening."
Valerie’s Elites, together again, opened fire, causing absolute devastation to anything trying to pass through the doorway.
"We’re taking out a bunch of them!" Wearl shouted. "Keep at it."
Still the gunfire from the Shimmers continued.
A round struck something behind Flynn and an alarm began to blare.
"I’m suddenly regretting having a firefight in the engine room," he remarked.
Valerie glared at him, annoyed. "That thing’s not important, is it?"
Flynn looked at the damaged machinery for a moment, then went pale. "Uh, I don’t know how to tell you this, Valerie, but it’s pretty important."
"Define important," Kalan shouted.
Flynn grimaced. "It controls the navigation, so I’d say it’s very damn important. And if I’m not mistaken, that blaring alarm means our current flightpath is on a collision course with something very large."
“Hold your fire!” a voice Kalan recognized as Captain Tuttle’s ordered, and the Shimmers immediately stopped shooting.
“Don’t listen to whoever the hell that was,” Valerie ordered. “Keep shooting!”
“Shooting at what?” Flynn asked.
Valerie shrugged. “Fair point.”
“Prime Enforcer!” Captain Tuttle called through the doorway. “May we speak?”
Kalan looked at Valerie. “’Prime Enforcer?’ That’s what you’re going by now?”
“The grander the name, the fewer people I have to kill.” She raised her voice and shouted toward the door, “We can talk, but leave your invisible lackeys outside. Wearl, keep him honest.”
“On it,” Wearl agreed.
Captain Tuttle marched through the doorway, hands raised and an easy smile on his face.
Valerie raised an eyebrow as the diminutive Skulla entered. “This is the big bad captain of SEDE?”
“Neither big nor bad,” Tuttle answered. “Just a creature out for justice. Much like yourself, I’m told.”
Valerie sighed. “Seems like everybody’s out for justice today, but nobody knows what it really means.”
That reminded Kalan of something. “Where’s Nostro, Captain?”
The Skulla’s smile wavered, but only for a moment. “He’s where he belongs. Don’t worry about him.”
Kalan balled his fists. He wanted nothing more than to punch this little Skulla in the face, but he reminded himself that this guy had control of the ship. It was better to let this play out.
“My very good friend has asked me not to harm you Prime Enforcer. He thinks you could be useful.”
“Yeah?” Valerie asked. “Who’s your friend? I like him already.”
“High Priest Demustrius.”
Valerie frowned. “Actually, scratch that. I’ve met that guy, and I wasn’t a fan.”
“The way I see it, you have two choices.”
“This guy and his ‘two choices,’” Wearl muttered.
Tuttle ignored the comment. “Come with me, and we will travel in comfort on our way to see the high priest. Or you can hope you survive the crash.”
Kalan raised an eyebrow. “Crash.”
“You didn’t know? SEDE is a modular ship. If one section is too badly damaged—or say it catches fire—it can be jettisoned to protect the rest of the ship.”
“Sorry, I don’t follow why you’re telling us this,” Valerie said.
Tuttle grinned. “You hear that alarm? That’s the ship letting us know this portion of the ship is in danger of detaching. So if you don’t take my offer, you’d better hope there’re enough seats for all of you in the emergency crash room—not that there’s much chance of that saving you. My Shimmers will make sure you can’t leave this part of the ship. I’ve programmed this section to rocket toward the nearest planet when it detaches, though I warn you, the landing won’t be comfortable.”
Kalan’s eyes widened. “No way. You’d let part of the ship be destroyed simply to kill us? What about the prisoners in this section?”
“There’s only one cellblock in this section, and it’s a small one. Only a few dozen prisoners would be killed. They probably deserve it anyway.”
Kalan took a step forward. “You
son of a bitch.”
Wearl cleared her throat. “Um, guys, they’re flanking us. Shimmers are gathering outside each door.”
“Last chance, Prime Enforcer,” Tuttle cooed, that dumb smile still on his face. “Are you going to join me, or are you going down with the ship?”
Valerie began to draw her sword. “If we’re going down with the ship, so are you.”
CHAPTER TEN
Swarthian Extended Detention Environment (SEDE)
Alarms were blaring and the shouting of Shimmer guards came from all directions, mostly discussing abandoning this section of the ship. One was arguing, however, and it seemed some were agreeing. Captain Tuttle had ducked out of the way, letting the Shimmers attack.
"Get ready," Valerie called, gesturing in that direction.
"No, to the right," Wearl argued. "I saw them coming from that way. Others."
"Shit, so...both directions?" Robin asked.
"Right."
Valerie glanced back. "We need to get to the emergency crash room."
"Us, and anyone else left on this chunk o' junk," Garcia said, eyes wide as he moved his rifle from passage to passage.
"Wide eyes won't help you see us," Wearl noted.
"Shut up and tell us where they are!"
"Right, in three, two…" She paused. "Shoot now!"
Everyone took cover and opened up. Valerie unloaded before turning back to Flynn and saying, "You and Wearl cover the other route. Fall back on my command." She fired some more, only able to guess where to shoot based on the curses and shouts coming from the enemy Shimmers.
"AHHH!" Flynn started firing on the other passage, despite Wearl shouting that there wasn't an enemy.
Suddenly Wearl called, "Oh, damn. Keep shooting! You got one, but there are three more!"
"How we doing over here?" Valerie asked, pulling back and noting that there was no more talking or shouting from the various passages.
There was a thud and Wearl grunted, then something hit the floor.
"Wearl?" Kalan asked, worried.
"I'm fine," Wearl assured him. "There was one left. None now."
"Good, now get us to the damn emergency room," Valerie yelled.
"Behind you. Stay close." They heard footsteps, then Wearl told them, "Just go. I'll tell you when to turn."
They ran, careful not to go too fast and take the lead, pausing at times to wait for Wearl to give them directions. Several prisoners ran by, and Wearl explained that the cells had likely opened in the malfunction.
As they turned a corner, they saw something unexpected—a Norrul with a metallic carapace.
“Rokal!” Valerie shouted in surprise.
The Norrul looked just as surprised to see them. He held something in his hand: a glowing orb. It had to be what he’d taken from the male he’d shot in the ruins of Silahu Corporation’s compound. When he laid eyes on Valerie, he clutched it to his chest.
“Captain Tuttle!” he shouted, looking back the way he’d come. “They’re over here! We must protect the orb!”
Valerie and Robin glanced at each other.
“We’re definitely taking that orb now, right?” Robin asked.
Valerie smiled. She knew they didn’t have long. They’d have to get to that emergency crash room fast. “Leave it to me. Get the others to safety.”
She sprinted toward the Norrul and slammed into him. The force of the impact knocked the orb lose, and it rolled across the deck.
“That belongs to Captain Tuttle,” Rokal snarled. He swung his big arm and the back of his hand connected with the side of Valerie’s head, sending her stumbling backward.
He reached for the orb, unaware that Valerie had already recovered from his blow. Her foot slammed into his back and he went sprawling to the deck.
She scooped up the orb. Rokal was trying to struggle to his feet, but the blaring alarms reminded Valerie that she didn’t have time to continue this fight. Instead, she turned and dashed after her friends.
When she reached the emergency room, Wearl was guiding them to the seats. She came face to face with a heavy alien who resembled about three Arlays in one and had a metal arm. The alien glared, then pointed away.
"How bad are most of these prisoners?" Valerie asked Kalan.
"Aside from me, you mean?" he replied. "Most of them are the worst of the worst. Imagine something truly horrible, and I'm guessing this guy did it."
"That's all I wanted to hear," she said and stepped forward, socking the alien in the stomach. The alien doubled over, but four more ran at them—three up front and one toward the back who’d been stuck trying to unfasten himself but was now free.
"Get out of our way," Kalan shouted, holding out his hands. "There's plenty of room for all of us in there."
"Problem is, we've got friends coming," one of them explained, squaring off against Kalan. "And you hit my pal here."
"Wasn't me." Kalan gestured to Valerie.
"Her?" The alien barked a laugh, then glared at Kalan. "Nah, no way she could've done that to Bonbon."
"’Bonbon?’" Robin asked, laughing. "And what's your name, ‘Plum Pudding?’"
The alien glared at her but shook his head, the joke going right over him. "No, it's Anwan."
"Dondon, Pompom, and whatever the fuck your names are," Robin began, stepping up to him. "Get out of our way, or learn how hard a little girl can hit."
Anwan spread his arms wide. "Give it your best shot."
Valerie stepped toward Robin to pull her back, then glanced at Anwan. "Actually, yeah, give him hell."
Anwan grinned…until Robin's punch sent waves across his ample belly and he flew back to crash against the far wall.
"Get them out of here," Valerie ordered, tossing one of them down the hall. The others got the rest of the aliens out and followed her into the room, where they found a series of chairs along the walls and more in rows, all with crash harnesses.
The ship was falling through Rhol’s atmosphere, and there wasn’t a damn thing any of them could do about it. After securing the door behind them, Valerie used her strength to help others to the seats and strap them in, figuring that was their best chance for survival. A glance through the only window in the room showed other ships out there, likely more from the Demus’s fleet. Lolack’s fleet had drawn some of them off, but more were coming. Apparently this was their staging ground, which wasn’t good news for Valerie and her team.
"We’re all going to die!" Bob cried, leaning over and putting his head in his hands.
"Probably," Valerie replied. "So don’t be a wuss. At least make it fun."
"WHAT?"
"Like me…joking around," she told him as she found a spot to strap herself in. "Maybe I’ll laugh the whole way down, just for kicks."
"Valerie," Robin said.
"Yeah?"
"SHUT UP!"
Valerie laughed, but since they were all glaring, she stopped and pretended to zip her mouth.
"They’re harsh," Kalan admitted, glancing out the window. "I mean, you did come to rescue me, even if it ended up leading to my death."
"See? Humor," Valerie said, but he wasn’t smiling. Okay, time to change her tone. "Listen, everyone," she started, only to be interrupted by a loud crash and vibration as part of the ship tore off from the rest. "We’re not going to die!"
"How do you know?" Robin asked.
"Because that crazy Demus guy is still out there, and I haven’t had a chance to put my size-seven Puma up his ass. Or these armor boot-things."
"I love the optimism!" Jilla stated, and started laughing. It didn’t sound right coming from her, but then Flynn joined in and Valerie couldn’t help it. She hadn’t been serious, but why not? The ship spun then, giving them a view of the clay-like ground that was rising up fast.
"Brace for impact!" she shouted and then they’d landed, everything rattling and shaking. The ship broke apart and there was a deafening crack, and she was out.
Lucky her…she healed fast. If something had hi
t her head the effect wouldn’t last, and soon she was looking around and blinking.
The ship was torn up, wires dangling and long pieces of metal sticking out here and there. It was dark but for the sparks and lines of orange light streaming in from outside. Robin, groaned, pulling herself free from a piece of metal wall that had broken off and pierced her shoulder. It looked like it hurt like hell, but that wouldn’t last long.
"Everyone alive?" Kalan asked, pushing himself to his feet and moving a broken portion of the ceiling out of his way.
"Check those next to you," Valerie said, turning away from Robin to see that Flynn was still unconscious. Not dead; she was glad to verify he was breathing, so she gently got him out of the harness. When she laid him on the floor, he started groaning and gradually came around.
Garcia had a large bump on his head and Jilla stumbled at first, but everyone seemed to be in pretty good shape. By the time she’d checked everyone, Flynn was pale and holding his head, but on his feet.
"We’ve got to move," Valerie said, glancing around to locate the best way out of there. She saw more orange light than elsewhere coming through a crack in the wall to their right, so she figured they’d try that. "They’ll be after us soon, and judging from our last visit to this planet, the locals might not be on our side."
"What did you do to them?" Kalan asked, already moving in the direction she’d indicated.
"Showed our faces. Apparently that was enough."
"I have to give you credit," he told her, stopping to shove a control terminal out of their way. "I’m still alive."
"And I mean to see that you stay that way," she replied, guiding the others toward the exit.
When they exited the ship, her worries were confirmed. Already transport ships were descending toward them, and there was more: some of the other prisoners had survived and were already moving out, though half of them were stuck in the clay surface.
"Grab sheet metal from the debris," Valerie commanded, already at work. "Anything we can use to cover the ground as we move across it."
They followed her orders without question, and soon had a good walkway across the clay. Others saw this and did the same, while some on the ship started making their way over to follow them.