Dust rose around him in clouds as he galloped. The skelkrins were gone into the sky. His fellow Alien Hunters rode around him, eyes dark.
Riff tugged the reins, and his horse reared and halted. He leaped from the saddle and ran, kicking up dust, toward the HMS Dragon Huntress. The ship stood in the yard. Several children had been coloring with chalk on its facade; they fled as Riff approached. He yanked the airlock's outer door, raced upstairs, opened the second door, and barged into the main deck. Steel ran close behind, and the others soon leaped in too.
Riff made for the bridge, shouting all the while. "Giga, fly! Fly into orbit!"
Her voice rose from the bridge ahead. "Happy to comply!"
Smoke blasted out the windows. The ship shook madly. They were soaring into the sky before Riff even reached the bridge. He stumbled up the last few steps, falling and banging his knee. The ship rattled madly, roaring as it ascended. Riff fell again, dragged himself into the bridge, and somehow made it to his chair. Blood kept seeping down his leg.
"Captain!" Giga said. "You're hurt. Are—"
"Just keep flying! Find the skelkrin ship. They have Midnight."
Giga gasped, shut her mouth, and nodded. At his sides, Nova and Steel made it to their seats and sat down. The ship kept shaking madly as it soared through the atmosphere. The bulldog fell again. Finally they found themselves in open space, Vega shining in the distance.
Ahead flew the skelkrin warship.
Riff had seen the vessel on his monitor before, but now it loomed before him. The massive ship dwarfed the Dragon Huntress. Its metal claws reached out, each large enough to crush the Dragon Huntress. Its spikes gleamed in the sunlight. And its guns were blasting out plasma, raining death down onto the planet below.
"They're killing the colonists," Nova whispered. Tears filled her eyes. "They're burning them all."
Slowly the skelkrin ship began turning toward the Dragon Huntress.
Its guns fired.
"Giga, dodge!" Riff shouted.
The Dragon swerved in the sky. Riff nearly fell from his seat. They dodged one blast of plasma, but another blast slammed into them.
Sparks flew. Fire raged across the bridge. A thousand lights blinked and warning sirens wailed.
"Fire back!" Nova shouted, leaping to her feet.
"Wait, no!" Riff said. "Giga, cancel that order. We can't hurt Midnight."
More enemy fire flew. Plasma blasted all around them. The Dragon Huntress flew madly, dodging blast after blast until another bolt hit them. The windshield cracked and nearly shattered.
"Captain, we've lost an engine!" Piston shouted through the communicator.
"Riff, we might have to kill her!" Nova shouted. "We have to blast them out of space, Midnight or no Midnight."
Giga turned toward Riff. She stared, awaiting his orders. "Captain?" the android whispered.
Riff clenched his jaw. He couldn't flee—not with Midnight aboard the enemy vessel. He couldn't fire back—not without killing her.
"Giga," he said, "fire at their cannons and engines. Not their main hull." He clenched his fist. "We're going to cripple the bastards."
Giga's eyes flashed and her lips peeled back into something almost like a snarl. "Happy to comply, Captain," she hissed . . . and fired.
Searing red plasma blasted from the Dragon Huntress like dragonfire.
The inferno slammed into the enemy ship's cannons.
Explosions filled space.
The skelkrin ship rocked madly. Shards of metal flew out. Flames blasted through the escaping air. Riff caught his breath, suddenly sure the entire warship would crash down to the planet, taking Midnight with it.
But the great metal crab remained flying. Its main plasma guns had shattered. The cannons thrust out in broken shards, reminding Riff of those old cartoons where the villain fired a shotgun with a rock in the barrel. But the Crab's smaller guns, a dozen of them across its hull, had survived the assault. They now turned toward the Dragon Huntress and shot out smaller bolts.
"Evasive action!" Riff shouted. He was sure he had heard that term somewhere before. It seemed to work. Happy to comply, Giga raised the Dragon Huntress higher. The blasts shot beneath them.
The skelkrin vessel came charging toward them.
"Giga, fly beneath the bastard." Riff stood at the windshield, staring at the warship barreling forward. "Fly under it, and we're going to cripple its engines. We can't blast it apart, but we can make sure they're not getting away with Midnight."
Giga nodded and the Dragon Huntress dipped in orbit, then charged forward. Enemy lasers flew above them. Streaks of light filled the sky.
"Lower!" Riff shouted. "We're going to slam together!"
The Crab came charging forth. Soon the two ships were only a kilometer apart, then only meters apart.
Nova screamed.
Giga snarled.
The Dragon Huntress dipped in space. Riff grimaced, grabbing onto the dashboard.
The Crab charged forth above them. The two ships rubbed together. Sparks flew from the instruments. Metal screeched and banged together.
"It'll open us like a tin can!" Steel shouted.
"Giga, lower!"
The Dragon Huntress sank deeper. They reached the end of the enemy ship.
"Blast their engines apart!" Riff shouted.
The Dragon Huntress flew deeper into space, then spun around to face the Crab.
The dragon blasted out its fire. The plasma slammed into the enemy's backside, blazing across its rear engines.
Those engines exploded with heat and light that washed the Dragon Huntress's bridge.
The enemy ship kept flying.
Its hyperdrive engines were shattered. They were in ruin. They were in shreds. Yet somehow, they were lighting up. Coils of blue light flowed across them.
"Captain, the enemy vessel is prepared to shoot into hyperdrive," Giga said.
"Fire again! Tear the engines apart!"
"Cannot compute, Captain. Their engines are heating up. A blast from us now will tear their entire ship apart, Midnight included."
Riff clenched his fists. "Warm up our own hyperdrive engines. We're going after them."
"Cannot compute, Captain. Our fuel tank sustained damage and is leaking its contents." Giga turned to stare at him. "We have barely enough fuel left to remain in orbit, Captain."
The enemy hyperdrive engines were sputtering. One went dark, coughed, and reignited. The Crab's engines were obviously struggling but getting brighter. Riff had a sudden memory of his father's old lawnmower which always took several yanks on the cord to kick-start.
The skelkrins are going to escape with Midnight, Riff realized. And we can't stop them.
"Get them on speakers, Gig." He returned to his seat. "Put them on."
"Happy to comply, Captain." Giga nodded. "Hailing enemy vessel . . . hailing . . . hailing . . ."
With a crackle of electricity, the head-on display in front of Riff sprang to life.
Onscreen leered the ugly, fanged face of the brute that had kidnapped Midnight and struck Riff. The pain in Riff's jaw flared again.
"Captain Raphael 'Riff' Starfire." The skelkrin grinned and licked his chops. Saliva dripped down his chin. "Yes, I know your name. This is Captain Skrum of the Skelkrin Empire. Called to say goodbye, Starfire?"
"I called to tell you that you're a coward." Riff snorted. "Running from a fight?"
The skelkrin growled, then laughed. His milky white eyes seemed to burn with inner fire. "There is no more fight, Starfire. Your ship is leaking fuel. Your engines are shattered. Your puny weapons could not cripple us."
"So why are you fleeing, dog?" Riff balled up his fists. "I thought skelkrins were apex predators. I thought you were the greatest hunters in the galaxy. And yet you flee from me, a puny little human. If you leave now, I'm going to spread the word across the galaxy. Everyone from Vega to Sol will know that Skrum the skelkrin is a yellow-bellied coward who fled from me." Riff forced himself to grin. "You
want to prove your strength? Finish what you started. We're both hunters. Come and hunt me."
Riff swiped his finger across his throat. Giga understood the signal and cut off the connection.
"Riff," Nova whispered. She was pale, and her hand clenched around her whip. "We can't defeat them in a fight. What are you doing?"
Riff grinned savagely, clutching his armrests. "I'm hunting aliens." He turned toward Giga. "Same maneuver as before. We fly under them. Once their hyperdrive engines have cooled off, can we blast them without making their whole ship explode?"
The android nodded. "Aye, Captain."
"Good. We do that. Now. Now!"
The Crab's hyperdrive engines were going dark again, but its thrusters were blasting. The ship was turning back toward them.
"Giga, under them!" Riff said. "Blast those hyper engines!"
The Dragon Huntress flew.
The Crab charged toward them.
This time, the enemy vessel did not fire its guns. Instead, one of its great, iron claws swung downward.
"Evasive ac—!" Riff began.
Before he could complete the word, the claw slammed into the Dragon Huntress.
They tumbled through space. Sparks flew. A panel caught fire.
"Captain, we can't take much more of this!" Piston's voice rose from the communicator.
"Giga, fire at their engines!" Riff shouted. "Fire, fire! Point us up and fire!"
The Crab loomed above them. The Dragon Huntress steadied itself below, raised its head . . . and belched out smoke.
Riff cursed. "Why aren't we firing? Blow our dragonfire!"
Giga tilted her head. "Cannot compute, Captain. Weapon ignition requires fuel. Our tank has leaked out its last drop."
Riff cursed every foul word he knew. The Crab came swooping down toward them again, claws snapping.
"Pull back!" Riff stared in horror at the approaching enemy. "Use thruster power!"
The Dragon Huntress blasted out gas. They shot backward in space. The enemy vessel flew in pursuit. The two ships streamed through orbit.
Riff spoke into his communicator. "Piston, we need more fuel. Hook up the reserve tanks."
"I can't do it, Captain!" The gruffle's voice rose through the speaker. "The damn demon drank our spare tank. Drank every last drop, she did."
Gods, Riff thought. We might die because of the damn demon.
"Piston, we have to fire our plasma!"
"I cannot fire without fuel, Captain!"
Giga turned toward him. "Captain, thruster power is running low. We have only a few more minutes of flight left, and then we'll be sitting ducks, sir."
No. Riff stumbled toward the windshield. Gods, no, it can't end like this.
He stared out into space. The skelkrin vessel came charging toward them, claws opening wide, ready to tear them apart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
OF WARRIORS AND WRENCHES
Steel stood on the bridge of the Dragon Huntress, staring at the enemy vessel approaching. He raised his chin.
There is a damsel in distress on that ship.
He took a deep breath.
Midnight needs me. She needs a knight.
Riff was shouting at Giga to fly, shouting at Piston to find more fuel, shouting at the enemy warship in a rage. That enemy warship kept charging forth, claws clattering.
My brother is losing control, Steel thought. But a knight remains calm. A knight always maintains his honor, his duty, his chivalry, even in the face of death.
He stepped toward the side of the bridge, opened a cabinet, and pulled out a space suit.
"Steel, what are you doing?" Riff said, turning toward him.
Calmly, Steel began removing his ancient knightly armor and pulling on the space suit. "I'm going after the damsel, brother," he said calmly. "Midnight needs me."
As the Dragon Huntress kept orbiting the planet on thruster power, and as the enemy approached, Riff marched toward Steel and grabbed his arm.
"What are you talking about?"
Steel gazed at his brother. He reached out and clasped Riff's shoulder. "My honor demands it, brother. There is a damsel in distress within their vessel. Our ship is crippled. I will go fight for her with sword and chivalry."
Riff slapped his forehead. "Steel! Damn it! This isn't a game anymore. You're not back on Earth in your fake castle. You can't pretend to be some knight anymore like from the fairy tales. This is real battle, Steel. And the fate of the cosmos itself hangs in the balance."
Those words dug deep. They twisted inside Steel.
A relic, some on Earth had called him. A dinosaur. A madman. A modern Don Quixote.
No.
Steel squared his shoulders. "I am a Knight of Sol, brother. You are right. This is no game." He zipped his space suit shut, put on his helmet, and lifted his sword. "Yes, the fate of the cosmos hangs in the balance. So does my honor. I pray we meet again." Steel clasped Riff's arm. "I love you, my brother. Always."
Riff laughed mirthlessly and turned toward Nova. "Can you believe this, Nova? Can you—Nova? Nova, what the hell are you doing?"
The ashai princess too was pulling on a space suit. She glared at Riff. "I'm going with your lump-headed brother. I'm not letting him die in glory without me. The poor bastard has no idea what he's doing." She flashed Steel a crooked smile. "Needs a real warrior with him."
Steel wanted to object. To tell Nova to stay. The woman was an abomination, not a true lady. She was crude, rude, a woman who spat, who drank, who—
A woman I need with me, he thought. A true warrior.
He lifted a jetpack from the cabinet and handed it to her. He placed another across his back.
"So we fly together, Nova of Ashmar. We fight together."
She spat into her palm and slapped his shoulder. "We hunt aliens together."
They turned toward Riff—a knight and a gladiator.
"You can't leave," Riff whispered. "You'll die."
Nova stepped toward him and touched his cheek. "According to your dad, if the skelkrins get away with Midnight, we'll all die." She leaned forward and kissed his lips.
Riff growled and stepped toward the cabinet where a third space suit still hung. "Then I'm going with you."
Steel reached out his arm and stopped him. "No, Riff. You are captain of the Dragon Huntress. A captain does not abandon his ship in battle. Besides—I will need this third space suit." He lifted it, placed it under his arm, and smiled thinly. "How else am I to bring Midnight back here?"
Riff stared back at the windshield. The enemy vessel was flying forth, its engines sputtering, its claws snapping. The Dragon Huntress raced along its orbit, down to fumes, its weapon crippled. Riff turned back toward Steel, stepped closer, and embraced him.
"Go kick their asses, brother."
Steel groaned. "Do you have to be so crude?" Then he tightened his lips, wrapped his arms around Riff, and held him tight. "Goodbye, brother. I will see you again, in this life or the next."
With that, Steel spun around. He marched off the bridge, down the stairs, and into the main deck. Romy was huddled in the corner, staring with wide eyes. Steel tilted his head toward her.
"Guard the ship while I'm away, my friend," he said.
Romy sniffled and her eyes filled with tears. Trembling, she leaped to her feet and saluted him.
Steel stepped toward the airlock. Nova walked with him.
They tugged the first door open and closed it behind them.
They stepped down the stairs.
They opened the outer door, exposing the vacuum.
Steel and Nova, knight and gladiator, Alien Hunters, friends . . . shot into the emptiness of space.
* * * * *
"Twig, we've got to go faster!" Piston said. "Gods old and new, lassie. We've got to do something or that giant space crab will tear us apart."
The engine room was in shambles. Pipes had cracked and blasted out steam. Electricity buzzed across the switchboard. Part of the hull itself had cr
acked; Piston had sealed it just in time before losing their air. Worst of all, the fuel was gone, leaked out into space. Romy had drunk the spare tank. They were coasting along their orbit; without fuel, they couldn't change course, couldn't speed up, and couldn't ignite their plasma cannon.
"Oh, it's a right mess." Piston leaped toward a cracking pipe and began to tape it shut. "We've got to move faster! We've got to get away from those claws. We can't take another hit."
Twig was busy climbing a ladder, welding together shattered fuses. "Piston, the throttle engines are down to fumes! We can't coast much longer. We're going to slip out of orbit soon and crash down to the planet. That is, if the skelkrins don't catch us first."
Piston stared out the porthole at the skelkrin warship that was charging toward them, claws snapping. "There's got to be some way to go faster."
Twig tightened her lips. "We can compress the air from the attic. Blast it through the vents and out to the thruster engines."
Piston groaned. "It'll never be enough air! Will shoot us maybe a few meters forward before gravity or skelkrin claws grab us. What we need is power. More engines!"
Twig hopped off the ladder. "We've got a ship full of engines, Piston! The motor in the vacuum cleaner. The motor in the fridge. The motor in the furnace and air conditioner. We can rig those together."
Piston waved his hammer at her. "Blast it, you clod! You'll never propel a starship with a vacuum cleaner."
"I will!" She raised her chin. "As a little girl back on Haven, I used to always tug motors out of our vacuums, fridges, and other contraptions and build robots and rockets. Used to drive my old gaffer crazy. I can do it."
Piston clutched his head. "I must be going insane! Taking ideas from a damn halfling." He groaned. "Well, all right! Off we go. Let's find some bloody motors."
They raced off, leaving the engine room, and burst into the main deck. Romy was standing there, looking helpless.
"Romy, help me dig for motors!" Twig shouted.
The demon nodded. "All right!"
They raced through the ship—gruffle, halfling, and demon. Piston tore the motor out of the microwave. Romy ripped out the motor from the fridge, pausing to grab a last slice of cake. Twig plundered the attic for the vacuum cleaner. They rushed back down into the engine room where Piston grabbed the motor out of the furnace.
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