“I don’t think it wants you to give away the artifact, but why?”
“While I’d love to debate the intelligence and sentience of that thing with you, we’re running out of time. How long do we have?”
“Less than five minutes before the deadline imposed by Captain Everest.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Russell as he discretely set his holstered blaster to minimum stun.
Daisy’s eyes shone brighter red, and the bioluminescent fur turned red-orange in a fast pattern change. In response, Russ quickly grabbed his blaster and shot the Skampra.
A shield rose around it and deflected the blaster shot right back onto Russell’s blaster-wielding arm.
“What the frak!” he exclaimed as his arm numbed, and he dropped his weapon.
“It is a female, after all, and pregnant to boot,” said Alby.
Russ held his numb arm with his robotic one. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Pregnant Skampras can erect shields to defend their offspring.”
“It was alone in the tunnels, maybe for months or years; how can she be pregnant?”
“A Skampra’s pregnancy is very slow; it takes years for the new offspring to develop inside their mother’s womb, even more so if another female is part of the litter.”
“Not even close to being a cat, then.”
“You don’t understand, Captain. Skampras have wiped out entire civilizations that have hunted them. Eventually their numbers dwindled, and they went into hiding. I wasn’t even aware of any sighting in the last century.”
“You did say it was rare, yes.”
“I may have understated by how much.”
“Obviously. Now what?”
“Three minutes, Captain. Maybe you should try to calm it down. It did seem to like you before.”
“I don’t think it likes me anymore, Alby.”
“What other choice do we have? They’re intelligent creatures, cunning even. I’m sure you can talk to her.”
Russell briefly gazed at his blaster, and Daisy shot lasers from her red eyes and incinerated it.
“I said talk, Captain, not antagonize it further.”
I didn’t antagonize her, I just looked at my blaster.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” said Russell.
“You can’t be serious? It’s in times like these I miss my hands.”
Russell took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said, looking directly at Daisy, trying to raise both his arms in a peaceful gesture, but only the robotic one obeyed. “We mean you no harm. That thing you’re protecting is the only way we all get out of this alive.”
Daisy shook her head in refusal.
“That’s uncanny.”
The holo-screen in his quarters burst to life.
“What’s going on, Russ?” Jena said.
“In a bit of a bind here.”
“Need backup?”
Russell thought about it but didn’t want to put Jena in mortal danger, not unless that was their only option. “No, but I’ll need you to buy us some more time, a few minutes. Just tell them we’re having trouble with our transporters or something, let the Terrans know we will be giving them what they want, but we just can’t do it right now.”
“Okay. The best we can hope for is twelve more minutes; after that, the second ship will join them and it will be checkmate.”
“Well aware of that,” said Russell without breaking eye contact with Daisy.
The holo-screen turned off.
“Alby, can you replicate something that looks exactly like this artifact?”
“Yes, but it won’t emanate an energy signature like the original does. But Captain, do you mind telling me where you’re going with this?”
“Well, we obviously can’t give them the artifact, nor can we let them shoot us, so let’s try something different and send the Terrans a surprise. Can you use C-12 to destroy that damn interdiction field? Would that work for you…” Russell hesitated to say his next word, “Daisy?”
The intensity of the Skampra’s bioluminescent fur lowered, and the color went from orange-red to a tamer yellow.
Progress, thought Russ. I’ll take it.
“Okay, Alby, replicate a copy of that thing, and stuff as much C-12 as you can in it.”
“I may have to add anti-matter to the mix, or we run the risk the explosion won’t be powerful enough to take down the interdiction generator.”
“Just make sure you disable that ship, and don’t destroy it. We have enough enemies as it is.”
“I can’t make that promise, but I’ll do my best.”
“And obviously, let’s be ready to jump out of here in a rush.”
“That goes without saying.”
* * *
Russell stepped into the bridge with the artifact in hand. He walked to his chair and sat.
“So, we’re giving the artifact away after all?” asked Jena.
Russell almost told her no, but he decided that it might play better if the rest of the crew were under the impression it was the real thing.
“Unless any of you think this thing is worth our lives?”
“I vote against that,” said Del-Ron. “There’ll be other jobs.”
“Says our ex-pilot,” said Jena.
“Heat of the moment kinda thing, we’ll see about that,” answered Del-Ron.
“Would you look at that, there might be a silver lining about this day after all,” said Russell. “Hail Fleet Commander Asshole, if you please.”
Jena chuckled and entered the hail command on her terminal, and the holo-screen filled with Everest’s stern face.
“I’ve run out of patience, Captain. I want the device, now! Or I’ll send you and your crew to the seventh circle of hell.”
An educated fleet commander; color me impressed.
“Sorry for the delay. We had trouble with our transporters, but they’re back online now.”
“So your first officer has told me.”
“We’re willing to give you this,” said Russell, holding the artifact in front of him. “Just send us the beaming coordinates, and then let’s go our separate ways. But first, I need you to give me your word as a sworn officer of the Terran Empire that you’ll let me and my crew leave here in peace?”
The fleet commander stayed silent as he considered Russell’s trade.
“Very well, you have my word. We’re sending the target coordinates.”
“Nice doing business with you, Everest. Hope you won’t be offended if I say I hope we won’t meet again.”
“I’m not, Captain, and I hope you can accept I’m only following orders.”
Russell attempted his best diplomatic smile. “I do. Beaming the artifact now.”
The holo-screen turned off, and shortly after, an explosion could be seen in the distance on the Terran cruiser. Then another, and a third one, before the ship blew into a million pieces.
“Aaah…Frak!” said Russell. “Get us out of here on the double, Alby.”
The ship jumped into hyperspace seconds before the second cruiser arrived on the scene.
“What the hell was that?!” asked Jena.
Russell gestured her to hold off.
“Alby? What part of disable the ship didn’t you understand?”
“Sorry, Captain. I told you I couldn’t guarantee the outcome. Look on the bright side, though; we’re still alive and in possession of the artifact.”
“We are?” asked Jena. “Oh, we are, but now every Terran Empire ship will open fire on sight. We may have just delayed the inevitable.”
“Was that a fake?” asked Del-Ron.
“Yes, but I never intended to blow up that ship. Trust me when I say that giving them the real thing was never an option in the time frame we had. As for delaying the inevitable, between dying now or dying tomorrow, I choose tomorrow.”
“You’re gonna have to give me more explanation as to why we simply didn’t hand the artifact over than this vague excuse,” said Jena.
“I know, and I will…later. I need to deal with something else first. You have the bridge. Let’s rendezvous with our buyer. Del, what’s the ETA to get us there?”
“It’s a two-day jump, Captain.”
“Alright, then, let’s go get paid,” said Russell as he rose from his captain’s chair and walked off the bridge.
Something told him they would never convince Daisy to sell the artifact. But Russell had been through enough for one day, so he decided to deal with the problems one at a time.
* * *
Daisy was purring at Russell’s side as he knocked on the window of the airlock.
A grumpy Knurr came back to consciousness and got up, looking around, getting his bearings.
“What the frak is this? I get shot, and now I’m getting spaced for my troubles?”
“I haven’t spaced you…yet.”
“What is this, Captain? What did I ever do to deserve this?”
“That’s an interesting question, and the reason we’re talking.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t play coy with me, Knurr; you sent a message to that cruiser. And forced me to destroy it.”
“You did what?”
“Things didn’t go as planned, and the Terran cruiser is history.”
“Then so are we.”
“We’ll see about that, won’t we? The only question is how many Fenix crewmates will be alive at the end of this discussion.”
“If you think I betrayed you, why would you even give me an option?”
“I’ve been asking myself this same question for the last twenty minutes while I was waiting for you to wake up. Why did you do it?”
“Why else? Money.”
“But this job will get us well paid.”
“You’ve been saying that for several jobs, no offense.”
Russell was well aware he had failed to bring his crew any profits for a long time now, and his near-death injury had meant he refused to take risks he would have taken before, which might have played a role in why they’d botched their last few jobs.
If that were the case, then it wasn’t all Knurr’s fault. Russell knew he’d hired a mercenary as his Vor weapon’s specialist. And mercenaries get paid.
“None taken.”
“Are you going to space me or not?”
“I’m still deciding.”
“I see.”
“About my accident, did you have anything to do with it?”
“I did not. But I can’t prove it, either. You’ll have to take my word for it.”
“Trust, as far as you’re concerned, has been in short supply lately.”
“That goes both ways, right?”
“Goes without saying. So, here we are. I can press a button and not worry about a knife ending up in my back, or I can spare your life and hope we can find common ground in the future. Obviously that business about telling the Terrans of our mission will cost you all the pay I owed you up until now, plus another month.”
Knurr flinched. “Sounds about fair, under the circumstances.”
“Oh, and if you so much as breathe the wrong way, I’ll put you down; you do get that, right?”
“Why don’t you just open the door, Captain?”
“I will, but I don’t think a day in the airlock will hurt you, and it will give you time to reflect on your place among this crew.”
Knurr sighed. “If you think that’s necessary, I’ll abide by your wishes.”
Knurr had never been so diplomatic, but then again, he was sitting on the wrong side of an airlock. Still, something in his attitude didn’t add up.
Daisy climbed on Russell’s shoulder.
“What’s that?” asked Knurr.
“It’s Daisy. A Skampra female, I’m told.”
“Skampras are a myth.”
“This one sure isn’t. It’s the reason we’re still alive, too.”
“You should not trust it.”
Daisy hissed.
“I don’t think she likes you very much.”
“Well, it can kiss my Vor as—”
Before Knurr finished his sentence, Daisy leaped off Russell’s shoulder and hit the decompression control for the airlock. Russell saw brief surprise in Knurr’s eyes before he was swallowed whole in the cold darkness of space.
Russell cringed. “That’s that then…bad kitty,” said Russell with as much seriousness as he could muster, but the truth of the matter was, he wasn’t necessarily displeased with how things turned out.
Daisy didn’t care about his tone and brushed herself hard against his leg while purring.
At the very least, he wouldn’t have to worry about Knurr trying to take revenge on him later down the line.
* * *
“You don’t expect me to believe that the cat did it?” asked Jena.
Russell raised both his hands pleadingly. “I swear. I had made peace with Knurr, but he pissed her off.”
“Her?”
“Yeah, her,” said Russell pointing at the Skampra. “Daisy.”
“And that name…really? This thing can kill us all in our sleep, and you give her a cute kitty-cat name.”
“I like her, and she likes me, too…I think.”
“Yeah, that’s my point exactly. She may look like she likes you now, but how can we know we can trust it?”
Daisy jumped on the table in between them and scared the living crap out of Jena. The Skampra had the artifact in her small mouth and dropped it on the glass table with a clang. She started hacking at the red stone in its center.
“What is it doing?”
Daisy stopped, turned toward Jena, and hissed as her fur’s bioluminescence increased in pulsation.
“I don’t think she likes being called an it,” said Russell.
“Sorry, kitty cat.”
Daisy hissed again.
“I mean Daisy,” Jena corrected herself pleadingly.
Daisy walked near Jena and brushed herself on her arm before returning to the artifact.
“I think she wants to break it apart or something,” said Russell.
Before Jena could comment, Daisy ripped the red stone from the artifact and jumped down from the table, running toward Russell’s desk. She jumped on it and dropped the stone on the desk’s scanner. She used her little paws to enter commands on his holo-terminal, and a holo-image burst to life.
It was a star map.
Jena and Russ went to his desk and studied the map.
“Would you look at that? It’s a map,” said Russell.
“I don’t know that star system,” Jena added. “It’s well beyond the rim.”
“Could this be leading to an even bigger prize?”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
Russell transferred the coordinates into the main computer and opened a channel to the bridge.
“Del, change of plans. I’m sending you a new set of coordinates.”
“I can see that. Are we seriously traveling that far?”
Jena looked at Russell with a mixture of both intrigue and playfulness.
Russell smiled. “Why the hell not? Let’s set a course to the unknown for a change.”
* * * * *
Christian Kallias Bio
Aided by an abundance of Sci-Fi characters with supernatural powers, Bestselling Sci-Fi author Christian Kallias has a secret. He lives two lives. One in the real world and one inside his own creations, in worlds where he can lay down the foundation of his universes for both his and your enjoyment. Guess which world he prefers?
Christian Kallias is the bestselling author of the award-winning Universe in Flames Space Opera series.
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The Hitchhiker’s Pass by Chris J. Pike
BEATRICE STATION
STELLAR DATE: 04.25.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Beatrice Station
REGION: Outer Fringe of Trio System, Silstrand Alliance
“Welcome to Beatrice Station, one of the liveliest stations in all the Silstrand Alliance!” the hologram cheerfully welcomed Gerti as she stepped off the ramp that led to the station’s main concourse.
The NSAI greeter wasn’t wrong. Beatrice was illuminated by natural light pouring in through the plas overhead, mixed with flashing neon signs advertising shopping districts—though they seemed to be outnumbered by bars and nightclubs. The place hadn’t earned the reputation as the party station for nothing.
Lexxi was being literal about the wings; Kasey had been modded into a human-sized parrot. She’d held onto the powers of speech, and she had hands, but everything else about her screamed bird.
She was a nice enough woman, and her altered genetics—which Gerti found to be more than a little distasteful—hadn’t been her choice. However, Kasey seemed to have embraced the changes forced upon her and made the most of it.
Gerti wasn’t exactly stock human, herself. Where most people sported hair, she had long tentacles, her eyes were large, black, almond-shaped pools, and her skin was an almost iridescent green. She was more comfortable living on the fringe of society, which made the Hitchhiker’s Pass the perfect home.
The ship housed a group of women coming together to…Well, Gerti didn’t know exactly what they wanted to do, but she was beginning to wonder if returning to Heaven—the station where she’d lived for some years—was the right idea. Maybe her new life would find her as a member of the ship’s crew.
Traveling among the stars. Flying to new places. They’d be able to find odd jobs and help people along the way, right? But then there were her friends still on Heaven, all of whom thought she had either left of her own volition or been killed. They had no idea she had been kidnapped by Maverick.
The Dogs of God Page 37