What better time? Nickie reasoned. This is the kind of shit I’m going to be working to prevent. I need someone I can trust to take care of the company while I’m captaining. What do you say?
Grim hop-skipped over a puddle, skidding as he landed. He steadied himself against the wall. I think that’s more Keen's cup of Coke, he told her. If you’re going to keep fighting, then it looks like my mother’s favorite son is going to war.
Nickie smiled, scanning ahead as she walked with her Jean Dukes Specials at the ready. That doesn’t sound too bad. Just the two of us, flying around delivering an ass-kicking to the Ooken.
Grim shook his head. If you think Bethany Anne is going to give you free rein for destruction…
Nickie turned back and waved her JD Special over the carnage around the airlock. To prevent this from happening? Sure she will. She can’t grow her military fast enough. I’ve seen the company books, I know how much cargo is being transported to the shipyards. She needs every fighter she can get, and I’m one hell of a fighter if nothing else.
Okay, Grim acquiesced, accepting her resolve. We’ve been strictly support so far. What made you change your mind?
Nickie wasn’t entirely certain. Maybe it’s just time to grow up and do what’s right. I’ve spent too much time being selfish, thinking of myself instead of what I can do for others.
Grim patted Nickie’s upper arm. You haven’t been that person for a long time, Nickie.
The conversation ended when they came to the junction where three elevators sat opposite them on the corridor going crossways.
Nickie wondered why Sayomi had directed them to the dead cars. Where do we go from here, Sayomi? She looked around the empty corridors on either side, feeling a twinge of foreboding when the AI hesitated before replying. Please tell me we don’t have to haul our casualty up the fucking elevator shaft.
I could, Sayomi told them, but I don’t see how lying to you will benefit this rescue mission in any way.
Grim groaned aloud, moving to pull the doors of the central shaft apart. Anything but heights. Have mercy on an old Yollin!
Nickie rolled her eyes at his bitching. You know damn well you’re going to go down that shaft. Why complain?
Grim shrugged, letting go of the door once it clicked past the safety mechanism. Because it makes me feel better, that’s why.
Nickie punched his upper arm before reaching for the maintenance ladder inside the shaft. It would be too quiet without you, she teased, stepping down onto the rung.
Grim whimpered as he swung his bulky body onto the ladder. As much as I hate to inflate your already enormous ego, life has taken a turn for the better since I met you.
Nickie looked up, then wished she hadn’t when her pause almost got her a faceful of Yollin ass. She resumed her descent quickly, putting some space between them on the ladder. Don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about with my ego, loverboy. Don’t think I missed you sneaking off every time we dock at Waystation. Have you been finding a little excitement of your own?
Grim hesitated.
Nickie snorted. Grimmie’s got a girlfriend…
Did you see Durq and Missy getting chatty after dinner the other night? Grim sidetracked, hoping she would take the bait.
Nickie let Grim’s secret romance be for the moment. You think those two are gonna hook up?
Maybe, Grim conceded. They were definitely getting along well.
Doesn’t mean anything, Nickie disputed. Watch yourself. We’re coming to the end of the ladder. She turned her head to get a look at the floor below and jumped past the last few rungs.
Grim clambered down a few moments later and paused to rest his hands on his exosuit’s knee plates. Yollins are not built for this kind of maneuvering.
And yet you managed it. Nickie waved him over, seeing that neither of them could reach the exterior doors from the depression they were in. I need a boost to get the doors open.
Grim stood patiently while Nickie climbed up on his shoulders and forced the doors apart.
She hauled herself out, then spun around on her stomach to reach back into the shaft to pull Grim up. “Put some effort into it,” she teased as he gasped for breath. “You’re going to have to take a desk job at this rate.”
Grim fell forward out of the elevator shaft onto his hands and knees, then rolled over on his back and lay there for a second to get his breath back. “I’d rather have another session in a Vid-doc and come out with the body of a god.”
Nickie rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t we all.”
“You’re already enhanced,” Grim pointed out as he got to his feet.
“Yeah,” Nickie agreed as they resumed their trek into the wreckage. “But if I could summon a damn energy ball, I’d be a happy woman.”
Ooken Outpost, QBS Defiant, Bridge
John opened the report Sayomi had sent him in his HUD
The first part was straightforward enough: she had answered a distress call from a station a couple of systems out from Waystation. He frowned at the next part, the furrow in his brow deepening with every word he read. The last sentence made him grunt in surprise. “The fuck?”
Eric’s eyes flicked to John and then back to the outpost on the viewscreen. “Hey, what’s up?”
John closed the report and engaged the Defiant’s weapons systems. “My granddaughter has somehow ended up in my ship at the site of an Ooken attack.”
Eric’s eyes widened. “Nickie? Shiiit. Can she handle it?”
John’s jaw tightened as he released the missiles. “Sayomi stranded the Ooken ship and headed back to search for survivors from the station. Nickie and Grim went in to rescue a survivor.”
Eric grimaced. “You don’t think she’s taken on too much? What if she comes across an Ooken?”
John sighed, wishing he wasn’t so far away. “I have to trust that she’s ready. Still gonna worry about the kid, though. She’s always been a hothead.”
They watched the staging post explode, leaving the readings to the ship’s AI.
“Wanna get back?” Eric asked once the show began winding down.
John nodded. “Yeah, that would be good.”
Silver Line Route, Station Wreckage
Nickie halted at the bulkhead blocking their way. “Is this an exterior wall?” she asked, confused.
No, Sayomi replied. It is the failsafe between this segment and the next. A safety measure meant to enable the sections to remain sealed should a catastrophe occur.
“Only one survivor,” Grim commiserated. “I’d say it didn’t work in the case of an attack on this scale.”
“One is better than zero,” Nickie countered. “Sayomi, how do we get past the bulkhead?”
There is an air duct located above your heads, Sayomi supplied. It will bring you out fifty meters from the casualty.
Nickie and Grim looked up at the meter-square vent cover.
“Doesn’t the duct negate the bulkhead?” Nickie asked.
It does. Sayomi confirmed. However, there is also an independent secondary life support system in each section that is activated when the bulkhead seal is broken.
“I’m not going to fit through there,” Grim complained, frowning at the vent cover.
Nickie shrugged. “Wait here. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Grim sighed, moving into position to help Nickie up into the vent. “Fine. Just be careful, okay?”
Nickie pulled the vent cover free and crawled into the duct on her stomach. She pulled herself toward the junction leading to the other side of the bulkhead, glancing nervously at the narrow bands where the cutoff panels were located on the boundary.
The access panel to the other side fell away with a clang, startling Nickie with the sudden loudness. She slid out feet-first, landing softly on the floor below with her weapons raised.
Sensing no threat, Nickie dropped her arms and walked a few steps along the dark corridor before remembering she didn’t know where she was going. The smell of blood was
still strong in the air, making it impossible for her to find the injured survivor that way.
Fifty meters, huh? she remarked to Sayomi. Which way?
Keep going, Sayomi instructed. You are almost there.
Nickie advanced, her senses straining for any sound that would guide her to the survivor. She came to a hole in the wall where there had previously been a door.
She stepped over the door, which lay flat on the other side of the ruined portal, and entered the mess beyond.
The spartan dining area had been completely overturned. Tables smashed, and food, plates, cups, and cutlery everywhere.
And the bodies.
Nickie’s nausea returned with a vengeance when she saw the half-chewed and discarded corpses strewn around the mess.
The people here had fought hard for their survival and lost.
Nickie’s eyes were drawn to a heap of red fur and bright blue flesh over by the kitchen. She gripped her JD Special and approached cautiously.
The Ooken twitched a tentacle as she leaned over to examine its body. Nickie fired three kinetic rounds into its skull, and the tentacle dropped back to the floor. She caught another movement in her peripheral vision and turned to see a foot disappear behind the island in the kitchen.
Nickie holstered her weapon, calling softly as she stepped over the dead Ooken. “Hey, it’s okay. My name is Nickie Grimes. I’m going to get you out of here.”
A disheveled teenaged head peered over the island, his hands gripping the edge to support his weight. “What about the monsters?” he asked in a shaking voice.
Nickie met his frightened eyes and flashed the most confident smile she had as she skirted the counter. “I’m a Grimes, kiddo. The monsters are scared of me. Besides, they’re gone.”
“Really?” He looked at her skeptically for a moment before coming out from behind the counter with a cleaver in his left hand. “I’m Toby.”
Nickie looked Toby over for injuries. “You hurt?”
He held his right arm, showing her the useless elbow joint. “I can walk.”
Nickie wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, no. I need you to climb and crawl. Let me think about it for a minute.” She looked around to see what she could use to haul him up into the duct, then pushed a table over before undoing her belt. “Let me lift you up,” she instructed. “Here.”
Toby allowed Nickie to help him onto the table, then she joined him and fastened her belt under his armpits. “Hold that there with your good arm. I’m gonna jump and then pull you up after me.”
Nickie hauled herself into the duct, then turned around and leaned out to grab the belt. “You good?”
“Um, I think so,” Toby told her nervously.
“Just watch your arm,” Nickie reminded him. She braced her feet and pulled the boy up into the duct.
She looked at Toby’s slightly clammy face with concern. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Toby assured her. “One time, I crashed a roamer and broke my femur in two places. This is nothing compared to that.”
Nickie snickered, taking her belt back for the moment. “If you say so. Follow me. We’re going to crawl along this duct to where my sidekick is waiting.”
“You’ve got a sidekick?” Toby asked.
“No, she hasn’t,” Grim called from up ahead, his voice echoing in the duct. “She has a long-suffering friend who indulges her far too much.”
Toby grinned. “Where can I get one of those?” he asked Nickie.
Nickie snickered at Grim’s exasperated sigh. “You can have mine for a while if you like. I warn you, he loves to complain.”
She went slowly to account for Toby’s injury, monitoring his progress in her HUD cam. “We’re almost at the access now, Toby. You’re doing great.”
Toby paused his slow shuffle to catch his breath. “How close? I don’t know how much farther I can go.”
Nickie unhooked her belt from around her body and left it for Toby. “Ten feet. Wait here and get the belt back on. I need to get out at the access to turn around, but I’ll be right back for you.”
Toby nodded, and Nickie scrambled for the access.
Grim only just avoided being Nickie’s landing mat. “Seriously? You couldn’t yell or something?”
Nickie was already back in the duct. “How you doing, kiddo?” she asked Toby. “Ready to get out of here?”
Toby pointed to the belt, which was still on the floor of the duct. “Are those grenades?”
Nickie nodded, unclipping the grenades from the belt and dropping them into the pouch with her drones. “Yeah, but it’s keyed to my genetic code, so don’t sweat it.”
Toby eyed the pouch as Nickie clipped it to her armor. “Okay, so how do I get down?”
Nickie checked that the belt was secure under his arms and moved carefully backward until her HUD cam showed her the edge of the vent. “I go on the other side, then you move very slowly to the edge, and I lower you into Grim’s arms.”
She braced her hands and feet against the sides of the duct and crab-walked along the wall, right over the open vent.
Toby shuffled to the edge of the vent and looked down at Grim. “You’re going to catch me, right?”
Grim held out his arms. “I’ve got you.”
Nickie dug into the vent with her armored boots and grasped the belt as Toby gingerly put his legs over the edge. “You ready?”
Toby gulped and nodded. “Uh-huh.”
Nickie grinned. “Brave kid. Grim, you ready?”
“Lower him,” Grim called.
Nickie took Toby’s weight and lowered him slowly until she felt Grim take over. “You got him?”
“Affirmative,” Grim replied.
Nickie let go of the belt and waited for Grim to clear the space below before unhooking her feet from the duct wall and completing her exit the only way gravity would allow.
Already half out of the vent, she went with the inevitable fall. She had positioned herself to land in a forward roll and came to her feet in one fluid motion.
Grim had Toby cradled in his arms. “What are we going to do about the elevator shaft?”
Nickie took her belt back from Toby and fastened it around her waist again. “We’ll work it out when we get there.”
There may not be time, Sayomi interrupted. I am detecting activity aboard the Ooken ship we destroyed. It would be foolish to discount the possibility of survivors making their way back here.
Nickie replied over the comm to avoid scaring Toby again. You think we’re going to get company?
I would count on it, Sayomi responded.
Nickie turned to Grim. “We need to find Toby a suit so he can get to the Pod.”
“There’s a locker room with EVA suits by the airlock,” Toby volunteered.
Nickie nodded. “Then let’s move. We have a hell of a climb to get there.”
Chapter 19 Nickie
Station Wreckage, Elevators
The company of three ground to a halt at the open elevator door.
Grim put Toby down gently with his back to the wall so the boy could rest. “What are you thinking we do about getting him up there?” he asked Nickie.
Nickie walked toward the nearest door along the corridor. “I’m going to find something better than my utility belt to strap him to my back with, then I’m going to climb the damn ladder.”
What about the Ooken? Grim asked over the comm. Do we have time to get back to the Pod before they work out we’re here?
I fucking hope so, Nickie replied, clearing the room before she entered. We’ve got a kid to protect, which outweighs wanting a fight any day. She saw what she wanted right away.
Grim ducked his head around the door when she snapped the body of the chair away from its legs. “Oh, I see. You need something to secure it with. I’ll start looking.”
Nickie smiled and moved past Grim to go sideways through the door, holding the chair body out to the side. and got back to searching.
“What are you lookin
g for?” Toby asked when Nickie put the chair down by the elevator
“Something to tie the chair to my back,” Nickie answered.
Grim called out from another room. “I’ve got something. He returned to the corridor draped in a curtain, the pole still attached to the end trailing behind him. “Will this do?”
“Perfect.” Nickie took the curtain and discarded the pole. She tore the fabric into strips a few inches wide and passed them to Grim. “Give me a hand.”
Grim lashed the thin plastic chair body to Nickie’s back with the first four strips of fabric, then lifted Toby into the chair and harnessed him in with three more. “How does it feel?” he asked them both.
Nickie checked her balance, and that her climbing muscles weren’t hampered by the hasty rig. “Yeah, I’m good. How about you, kid?”
Toby shifted a little, testing the viability of his perch. “I’m not going to fall out,” he concluded. “I think we’re good.”
Grim clambered down into the depression at the bottom of the shaft. “I’ll be right behind you, Toby. I’ll catch you if you fall.”
“Nobody is going to fall,” Nickie told them. “Just keep still while I’m climbing, okay?” She smiled at Toby’s rapid agreement and reached for the maintenance ladder, hyper-aware of every shift the rig made as she stepped onto the rung. “Now for the real test. Are you down there, Grim?”
“Ready and waiting,” Grim confirmed. “But it’s not necessary since I know my knots are sound.”
Nickie rolled her eyes at his attempt to sound reassuring and started to climb.
Toby bounced around some, but his weight wasn’t enough to pull Nickie off-balance. There was no reason for the boy’s rising nervousness. “It’s a good thing it’s not Grim I’m hauling up here. Can you imagine how sore my ears would be?”
Toby chuckled despite himself. “He does complain a lot,” he agreed.
“He’s a very good friend,” Nickie confided in a conspiratorial tone. “So I don’t mind so much. But don’t tell him I said that, or he might complain three times as much.”
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