Pirates of the Dark Nebula (Hearts in Orbit Book 2)

by S. C. Mitchell

  “Oof!” He slammed into a cliff face, knocking the air from his lungs and sending pain cascading through his bruised body, but at least he’d stopped tumbling. Dragging himself into a sitting position, he gingerly rotated his ankle. Burning anguish lanced up his calf but when he stood, the leg held his weight, barely.

  He stretched to test for any other injuries, noting miraculously nothing appeared broken. But he bled from a dozen cuts and scrapes, and his left arm was useless. The shoulder joint was numb, although with some effort he could wiggle his fingers.

  Could be worse.

  He took in the landscape. Hilly, with a few spiny bushes and some larger outcroppings of rock.

  He’d been on Pluton’s open surface once before, and found the environment unforgiving. Need to find some shelter and get a fire going.

  He also needed to find . . .

  “Magda.” His shout echoed through the barren canyon.

  If she’d survived the fall, she’d probably be in worse shape than he was.

  He reached down and slid the hidden titanium blade from the side of his boot. There was a matching knife in his left boot, but that hand refused to work properly, though the tingling pain that shot from elbow to shoulder told him sensation and movement was starting to return to his left arm.

  “I’m coming.” Magda’s rasping reply took Rik by surprise. He hadn’t really expected the woman to be alive, let alone conscious.

  Magda trundled into view from behind a ridge, looking none the worse for wear. She had a slight limp and numerous tears in her dress and jacket, but appeared otherwise sound.

  “How . . . ?” He couldn’t find the words to match his astonishment.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine.” She undid the magna snaps on the sub-zero assault jacket as she approached, taking it off and holding it toward Rik.

  He shook his head. “You keep it. It’s freezing out here.”

  She eyed him impatiently. “You need it more than I do, buff boy. You’re gonna be a polar pop in about ten minutes.” She tossed the jacket at him, and he caught it with one hand. “I don’t have the strength to drag your frozen ass back to Xio. ‘Sides, just the looks I’ve had at that hot bod of yours will keep me plenty warm.”

  “Magda.” How could the woman make light at a time like this?

  “Hey, I’m old. I’m not dead. Now, put that on before you freeze and I overheat.”

  Rik shrugged into the jacket. The blessed warmth radiating from it brought instant relief from the bitter chill that had been invading his fingers and hands.

  Adrenaline starting to wear off. Yeah, it’s frackin’ cold.

  He’d keep an eye on Magda, though. They could swap the jacket back and forth. He wasn’t about to let the woman freeze to death to save him.

  How the hell she’d survived the fall was a complete mystery to him, but she had, and Rik was determined to keep the fortuneteller alive. They were far from out of danger.

  He looked around, trying to get his bearings. He knew they were west of Xio, but the sky was thick with clouds, and there was just nothing to navigate by.

  Magda pointed to the left, down the valley. “That way.”

  “The way to get to Xio?” Rik raised an eyebrow.

  She shook her head. “The way to get wherever we’re supposed to be. The Oracles are never very specific, damn them. Didn’t bother telling me I’d have to jump from a moving rocket sled.”

  “You jumped?” This woman was a complete enigma.

  Magda shrugged. “It was that or be pushed. I’d rather stay in control when I can.”

  In the short time he’d known her, Rik had come to trust her instincts, and whatever powers this woman possessed. “You knew I’d need the jacket?”

  “I knew someone did. You want the truth? I only get what the Oracles deem to send me, which sometimes is damned confusing. I just make the rest of that shit up as I go. Usually I end up in the right place at the right time. Usually.”

  Rik started down the valley in the direction Magda suggested. He still wasn’t sure he believed all the mumbo jumbo, but there was a hell of a lot about the woman he couldn’t explain. And at this point, he didn’t have much to lose.

  Chilled, hollow, and empty. Luna could barely breathe, let alone function. First Carter, then Harvey, now Magda . . . and Rik. Her knowledge—knowledge that was supposed to help people—had brought only pain and death.

  Kristin Devenport found reasons to slap and kick her numerous times on the trip back to Xio, but Luna barely felt the abuse, numbed by the intense sense of loss.

  But the numbness didn’t last, slowly it was replaced by a burning rage in Luna’s gut. This isn’t my fault, it’s hers. Fighting Kristin Devenport and people like her are the reason the galaxy needs this new technology.

  In the hands of the galactic marshals and the military fleet, technologies like the cloaking shield, tractor beam, and asteroid avoidance system would assist in doing good throughout the galaxy.

  There is no way I’m giving them to her.

  Back in Xio, she and Ian were unceremoniously dumped back into the lab she, Rik, and the others had broken into to free Ian. That hadn’t worked out like they’d planned.

  “Get back to work, both of you,” Kristin said through gritted teeth. “I want working prototypes of all three devices, and I want them soon.”

  The soulless witch slammed the door as she left. Two burly guards took up positions on either side of the room’s only exit.

  Ian sighed. “At least it’s a proper lab.”

  Luna kept her voice low enough to not be overheard by the door guards. “We are not giving them the technology.”

  “Luna, you have no idea how brutal these people are.” Ian’s voice was edged in fear. “They will find a way to compel us to do their bidding. Believe me, it’ll be easier on both of us if we just comply with their wishes.”

  Ian’s eyes darkened and he shook his head. He’d never come across to her as a coward. What had these people done to him?

  He’d already started selecting the components needed to build the Temba wave generator necessary for the cloaking device.

  Maybe I can insert flaws into the schematics. Something so they appear to work, but don’t, or cause problems.

  Luna was determined to do something, with or without Ian’s cooperation.

  The orange star that served as Pluton’s sun peeked out briefly from the rolling clouds just before it dipped below the horizon.

  Are we going the wrong way?

  It hadn’t been enough to let him catch his bearings. Still, a feeling of wrongness permeated his gut.

  The temperatures plummeted even lower and the winds picked up.

  We can’t continue in any case.

  “We need to find some shelter,” he said, scanning the craggy lands around them.

  “Th-There’s a cave ahead.” Magda’s voice betrayed the shiver she’d been no doubt attempting to hide.

  Rik shrugged out of the jacket and handed it to her. “Here. Your turn.” An icy blast cascaded over his bare torso.

  “Y-you’ll freeze.” She was one stubborn woman.

  He could be just as obstinate. “Not if we find that cave.”

  Magda put on the coat, then pulled another of the thorny shrubs she’d been collecting on their journey. “We’re going to need something to burn.”

  Smart woman. Rik felt for the small electronic Jimmy box in his pocket. He could use sparks from the battery to start a fire. Shelter and a fire would do much to assure their survival. They could melt some snow for water. Food would soon become an issue.

  “Do these oracles of yours tell you if we’re going to survive?”

  Magda shook her head. “No, those crazy old bitties withhold more than they tell. Seem t
o delight in causing me pain. Days I wish they’d just leave me alone.”

  In the deepening gloom, he’d have missed the cavern opening had Magda not pointed it out. An inkier darkness in the shadowed cliff face.

  Wishing for a flashlantern, he felt his way in. Movement was slowly coming back in his left arm, so he used it to track the side of the cavern as he led Magda in, keeping the knife in his right hand ready. Just in case.

  The wind blocked, the cavern entrance felt warmer, yet the air held a stale, acrid stench. A low growling rumble issued from ahead. That isn’t the wind.

  Rik forced his left hand down to his boot, retrieving the other dagger. He prayed his grip would hold, because he’d need every advantage. Any beast able to survive in the wild on Pluton would be deadly.

  He motioned Magda back, whispering, “There’s something alive in here.”

  “Frackin’ old bitties,” she mumbled under her breath.

  A grunt, then sniffing. Shuffling paw pads. The creature was coming for him and it wouldn’t need light to find him.

  Rik, on the other hand, would have to wait for the creature to engage, and a first strike could be the last. If only he had . . .

  The cavern blazed with illumination as a fiery bush rolled out onto the floor. Magda obviously had her own means of making fire.

  Two large, dark eyes, and a shapeless mass of fur, teeth, and claws was all Rik had time to take in. He pointed the daggers and leapt straight ahead into the charging creature. If he was going down, he was going down fighting.

  His back burned as razor-sharp talons raked across his flesh, but he stabbed and slashed with everything he had left, hoping to hit something vital on the beast before being taken out.

  At least Magda would have a chance then.

  The creature roared its defiance, and Rik felt his arms leaden. He gasped for breath, struggling for the strength for one last jab. His head whirled. Bright stars flickered behind his eyes.

  He pulled his bloody right hand back.

  Damn it, he’d promised Luna he’d come for her. A surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins. He drove forward, the blade sinking into the creature’s furry flesh, as the world reeled around him.

  Then the darkness consumed him.

  Chapter 17

  Luna struggled to keep her gorge from rising. The man on the floor before her had been beaten severely. His rugged body purpled with bruises to the point he was almost unrecognizable. But his eyes widened as he lifted his head and gazed at her.

  “Doctor Callista? I thought—”

  A heavy boot came down on the man’s back.

  “Shut up.” Kristin Devenport’s guttural command sent shivers up Luna’s spine.

  But in that brief moment their eyes met, Luna recognized the battered man. “Carter.”

  Kristin’s cruel smile deepened. “So you do know this slug. Good, because I know what you’re planning.”

  She motioned to her two pirate companions, who picked Carter up off the floor and dragged him from the room.

  Pointing her index finger at Luna’s nose, Kristin’s lips curled into a sneer. “Know this. He’ll be on the ship that’s testing your devices. One hint of sabotage, and I will personally kick him out of the airlock. Do you understand?”

  Gods . . . Carter . . .

  Somehow he’d survived the exploding space platform. Now his life rested in her hands. I won’t see him sacrificed again.

  The pirate’s eyes narrowed at her. “Do. You. Understand?”

  Defeated, Luna nodded.

  “Humph!” Kristin turned and strode from the room.

  “That poor man.” Ian’s timid tone spoke volumes. “Do you know him?”

  Luna sighed. “Carter was with us when we came here to save you. We lost him along the way. Thought he was dead.”

  Ian shook his head. “It might have been better . . .” He didn’t finish his statement, but Luna easily filled in the missing words.

  What had happened to him? How had he ended up here? So many questions with no answers. Kristin Devenport held all the power now.

  That needs to change.

  Warmth.

  A crackling sound. Fire? Rik’s head pounded as he tried to piece together where he was. A coarse, furry covering lay over him. He didn’t have the strength in his limbs to move it aside. A musky, copper-tinged stench met his gasping intake of air. He forced open one eye.

  “He lives.” Magda sat about a meter away, poking at a smoky fire with a stick. She threw him a glance. “Don’t try to sit up yet.”

  Rik took another deep breath. His parched mouth begged for moisture, his throat raw. “What happened?” he managed to croak out.

  “You won.” Magda shrugged. “Kind of.”

  His back itched like crazy.

  She scuttled over to kneel beside him. “You saved my sorry ass, and killed Fang in the process.” She held a handful of snow to his lips, and he sucked in the cool moisture. Blessed relief slid down his throat.

  “Fang?”

  Magda chuckled. “That creature. Thought he deserved a name, seeing as how we barged into his house and slaughtered him.”

  Rik tried to sit up, but couldn’t find the strength. “How long have I been out?”

  “About a day, I’d guess. Kind of hard to tell. Been pretty gloomy out there.”

  “A day?” Gods. Luna. His mind filled with all the horrible things Kristin could be doing to her. He forced himself to sit up. Whatever he’d been laying on came up with him, stuck to his back. He reached to grab at it, but Magda slapped his hand.

  “You don’t want to take that off.” She moved back toward the other side of the fire and picked up one of his daggers, then started hacking at something on the floor next to her. “You hungry?”

  She used the knife to hang a gray piece of meat over the crackling fire.

  The savory aroma of seared meat helped mask some of the cave’s fouler odors. “What’s that?”

  The sides of Magda’s mouth curled up. “Fang.”

  Rik rotated his shoulders, trying to ease the itching along his back. He reached over his shoulder to find a stiff mat of some kind, stuck to him. “What’s on my back?”

  Magda’s smile grew wider. “Fang.”

  He lifted his furry coverlet, and raised an eyebrow.

  “Yup.” Magda nodded.

  The woman was resourceful, he’d give her that.

  “You bled quite a bit. I had to staunch the bleeding with something, and we don’t have a lot of extra clothing to go around, so I hacked off a bit of Fang’s hide and slapped it on your back. He’s been a wonderful help around here since you killed him.”

  Rik propped his aching head with his right hand and used his left to massage his forehead, trying to quell the pounding. “Did those oracles of yours tell you anything while I was out?”

  She shrugged. “Kind of, damn them.” She handed him the knife with the charred piece of meat on it. “Eat. You’re going to need to regain your strength. We’ve got a rough trip ahead of us.”

  As Rik ate, Magda picked up a bundle of fur, and started stringing leathery strips through holes she made using Rik’s other knife.

  “What are you doing?” he asked between mouthfuls. The meat was tough and had an acrid tang, but it did satisfy his gnawing hunger.

  “Making myself a Fang jacket, something to remember the little feller by and allow me to give you back our one jacket for good.” She fed another thorny branch into the fire.

  Rik finished his meal, then laid back down, squeezing his eyes closed against the consistent pounding in his head. “Magda, are you all right?”

  Not that there was anything he could do for her.

  “Right as precipitation, as they say, now that you�
��re awake.” She repositioned, laying his head in her lap and rubbing circles over his temples. “I’ve spent the past day talking to myself. I got more input from you and Fang than the damned oracles. Hell, maybe I am crazy.”

  Blessed relief poured from her fingertips. Was it just the action, or did the woman have some kind of supernatural power? Crazy or not, Magda was a life-saver.”

  With a turn of the microwrench, Luna finished construction of the tractor beam device. She sighed, fighting the urge to take up a hammer and crush it. Handing it to the pirates felt like treason against the Galactic Federation.

  Gooseflesh crawled up her arms. It feels like death in this lab.

  She missed Magda’s constant prattle, and Harvey’s companionship. Most of all she missed Rik. Gods, there had been something there, hadn’t there? More than just the physical?

  Not that the physical hadn’t been enough.

  She sighed, placing the finished device on the worktable. She rose from her seat to start gathering the components needed for the cloaking device. At least now I know Ian’s designs.

  They’d compared notes. In the event either of them escaped, they’d have the complete plans and theories for all three devices. The marshals wouldn’t have the edge, but at least they’d have a level playing field.

  Ian was inputting her programming to the asteroid avoidance unit. They’d gone over the code line by line, checking each equation. There wasn’t room for even one wrong statement or calculation.