by A. K. DuBoff
“Uh, guys, I dropped the mints,” Jack admitted.
“Jack!” they exclaimed in unison.
“Sorry, I started thinking about—”
“Don’t apologize, just pick them up,” Alyssa said.
“How am I supposed to find them in the dark?”
“You could untie me and I’ll help you look,” Finn offered. “Seriously, I need to get my hair out of my eyes. It’s driving me crazy.”
“I have half a mind to tie all of you up again.” Alyssa groaned.
“What did I do? I got all of your free!” Jack objected.
“Not all of us,” Finn pointed out.
“Ugh!” Jack crawled over to Finn and found his hands. He snipped the metal ties. “Happy?”
The arms of Finn’s heat-blob swept backward over his head. “Thank the stars! My hair had been jabbing me in my eyes since we got in here.”
“You know what jabs your eye more? A cybernetic implant,” Jack shot back.
“Geez, you’re cranky all of a sudden,” Alyssa said.
“Well, I just freed all of you and didn’t get so much as a thank you.”
“Thank you, Jack,” Finn said. “Now, where are those mints?” He began crawling around on his hands and knees feeling for them in the dark.
“Why should I bother looking? I don’t get one,” Jack said.
“You not getting one is a strategic move,” Alyssa replied. “Realistically, you’re not going to be the one to talk us out of this. The mints should be allocated to the talkers. It’s about the survival of the team.”
“I guess you have a point,” Jack admitted.
“I found one!” Finn exclaimed. He sat back on his heels. “You know, I don’t think I’ll be doing much talking, either. The mint is yours, Jack.” He extended his arm.
“Really?” Jack took the mint from the other man’s hand. “Thank you.” Though a little moist and slightly linty, it was the most satisfying mint Jack had ever tasted.
“Found one, too,” Alyssa said after some shuffling.
“Got mine,” Triss chimed in.
Jack let the last of his mint dissolve. “Now wha—”
The door creaked open, flooding the room with light through the doorway a meter to Jack’s right.
Jack blinked his natural eye as his vision tried to adjust, but the cybernetic eye compensated immediately. In that moment, he saw a figure in the door holding a laser pistol. Based on the bright glow of electromagnetic energy in Jack’s composite vision, it was charged and ready to fire.
He lunged for the figure’s feet, knocking the shooter off-balance.
As his normal vision cleared, he saw that it was Larry toppling sideways in the doorway. The laser pistol slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor.
Jack dove across the floor. Gripping the pistol, it pointed it upward at the surprised Larry.
“Whoa, don’t shoot!” Larry held up his hands.
“What just happened?” Alyssa asked, rising to her feet.
Jack stood up, keeping the gun trained on Larry. “I think they were going to take us out when we least expected it.”
“I actually kind of did expect it,” Finn said, “though that’s not a useful comment after the fact.”
“I wasn’t here to kill you,” Larry responded.
Jack hesitated. “You aren’t? Then why was the pistol charged?”
“In case others came for you while I was helping you escape.”
“But you fired!”
“Bad trigger discipline, I guess,” Larry replied. “Anyway, I came here to free you. Trent wants to throw you out an airlock. He said something about needing to prove a point after you messed up his big reveal.”
“Stars! He’s so prissy,” Triss scoffed.
“We’re going to need some help. Even if we can take the Little Princess II back, he’ll just follow us,” Alyssa said.
“Is the umbilical still connected?” asked Finn.
Larry nodded. “We could be leaving any moment, though.”
“Then we need to get out a call for backup.” Alyssa took a step toward the doorway.
“Who?” Larry questioned. “Is Svetlana back in the game?”
“We don’t really work with her anymore. We need to call Compe—er, the Vorlox. They’ll help us.”
Larry frowned. “Those radiation-crazed maniacs? You must be joking.”
“It’s… a long story,” Alyssa replied. “Can you get us to a comm console?”
“Yeah, this way.” Larry led the way into the hall, taking as brisk a pace as he could with his injured leg.
Jack took up position at the rear of the group, checking over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed. It was unclear what kind of surveillance the ship may have, or how many crewmembers were on board, but he didn’t want to take any changes until they were armed.
As it turned out, though, the room Larry led them to was only three doors down the corridor. He ushered them inside.
The space was barely large enough to accommodate the five adults, due to limited dimensions and a bed in the center of the room.
“Is this your cabin?” Triss asked.
“Not mine, but a cabin,” Larry said while logging into the touch-surface desktop. “Make your call.”
Alyssa took over at the desk. After several seconds, a holographic video feed popped up. Grant Pumba appeared onscreen. “We need some help,” Alyssa began.
“Then call the authorities,” Grant replied. “Our business dealings have concluded.”
“Actually, we have an ongoing arrangement. And this concerns you, too,” she continued. “We learned how Luxuria was destroyed. It turns out that Trent built a replica Vorlox ship and has been going after other dealers who wronged him in your name. Killing them.”
Grant scowled. “How did you come across this information?”
“We’re sort of being held captive.”
“How are you ‘sort of’ captive?”
“Well, we’re not tied up, but we don’t really have a way off the ship without probably getting killed. And if that happens, Trent will continue to impersonate you and undermine the work you’re trying to do. Oh, and he now has the MEC designs.”
“He what?!” Grant exclaimed.
“You didn’t think I handed over the only copy, did you?” Alyssa responded with a raised eyebrow.
Grant rolled his eyes. “I suppose you wouldn’t.”
Alyssa made a rapid entry on the desktop. “That’s our present location. How soon can you be here?”
“We’re actually in the vicinity,” Grant replied. “Twelve minutes.”
“Thank you. The imitation Vorlox ship is right next to us on the Thrasher. We’ll hop in escape pods and you can pick us up.”
“Understood. Stand by.” He ended the call.
Alyssa sighed. “Okay, that went pretty well, I think.”
Larry squinted. “The Vorlox aren’t crazy mutants, are they?”
Jack patted his shoulder. “Now you’re getting it.”
“I don’t understand. Who are they, then?” Larry asked.
“People powerful enough to control the flow of the market,” Triss replied.
“Oh, wait!” Larry lit up. “You were about to say ‘Competron’ earlier, weren’t you?”
Alyssa and Triss looked at each other, then Alyssa nodded. “The Vorlox are a division of Competron, yes. If you cooperate, they can help you get a new career going away from Trent.”
“That sounds good to me,” Larry said.
“Come with us,” Triss told him. “We just need to get to an escape pod. We can wait it out until Competron arrives, then they can help us reclaim our ship.”
Larry nodded. “Okay.”
“What about all the booty?” Finn asked. “And the MEC design files, for that matter.”
“Shit!” Alyssa groaned. “Larry, have they moved it from the hangar?”
“No, still on the sorting table,” he confirmed. “And they
haven’t been able to break the encryption on the MEC files on the Little Princess II yet. That’s the only reason we’re still here.”
“We can’t leave without the booty,” Triss urged. “Trent would sooner burn everything then let us take it to Competron. This is our only chance to walk away with something.”
Alyssa squeezed past everyone to the doorway and glanced in both directions down the hall. “You’re right. We can’t let him get away with ripping us off.”
“To the hangar, then?” Finn asked.
“Damn right.”
CHAPTER 11: Showdown
— — —
“Are we going to die?” Larry whispered to Jack while they slinked through the corridor.
“Most likely not. We tend to have a knack for getting through these things without any real consequences.”
“I’m not sure if I should be relieved or concerned because I’m not one of your crew,” the other man replied.
“I’ll be honest, Larry, it’s probably fifty-fifty for you. Good luck.”
Jack fell silent as they neared an intersection in the corridor. Directional arrows indicated the hangar was to the left.
“We need weapons,” Alyssa muttered. “Stars, I hate being at a disadvantage like this!”
“Plus side is you might get to kick Trent in the face rather than shooting him,” Triss pointed out.
“That would be way more satisfying.”
“Except if he shoots us first,” Finn said. “I’d rather have a pistol in hand, thank you.”
“There’s a weapons locker inside the hangar, just to the right of the entry door,” Larry said. “With the crates in the middle of the room blocking the view from the sorting table, you can probably get to the locker before they notice you.”
“What’s this ‘you’ business?” Alyssa asked. “I thought you were coming with us?”
“Oh, leaving the ship, yes. Helping you get your stolen goods back was never part of the arrangement.”
“Ugh, fine,” she agreed. “Wait in the hall and we’ll grab you for the run to the escape pods.”
“Deal.”
The group took the left branch of the corridor toward the hangar. They paused outside the entry doors.
“Okay, everyone grab whatever weapon you can,” Alyssa instructed. “Go!”
Leaving Larry behind, they ran toward the door and it slid open. The crates in the center of the room did, indeed, block the view of the sorting table, but that was irrelevant, given the two men perched on top of two crates directly across from the door with their guns in hand.
“Hey! What the…?” The larger of the two leaped to his feet, pointing his rifle toward the group.
Jack sprinted to his right, spotting the weapons locker five meters away. There was no way he could make it without getting shot in the back, so he dove behind a crate labeled ‘Explosives’, banking on Trent’s goons not being stupid enough to open fire.
Around him, Finn, Alyssa, and Triss found cover behind other crates.
“Come out! We see you. You can’t hide forever,” the second gunman called.
“We need a distraction so we can make it to that locker!” Alyssa whispered.
“I think I may actually be able to do that,” Jack replied. “On my mark, the three of you make a run for it.”
Alyssa nodded.
“Go!” As he gave the command, he simultaneously ripped the confetti release cord on the interior of his jacket collar and activated the speakers embedded in his breast pocket.
A plume of rainbow confetti launched into the air as the first synthesized techno beats filled the chamber. Jack leaped up with his arms outspread. “Congratulations! You caught us!”
“The hell?” The guards gaped at him, distracted by the floating glitter. “How did you…?”
“Always be prepared for a party, my friends,” Jack replied, tapping his foot to the music. “Are we gonna celebrate or what?”
“Duck!” Alyssa shouted from behind him.
Jack crouched down just in time to miss a laser blast flash past him toward the first guard’s shoulder. The blast connected, causing the man to drop his weapon while he cried out with surprise and pain.
Under the cover of the confetti still raining down, Jack bolted toward the weapons locker. Additional blasts filled the air as Alyssa, Triss, and Finn fired down the pathway between the main stack of crates in the center and the interior bulkhead. To his surprise, the blasts perfectly synced with the techno beats still booming in his jacket’s speakers.
He found cover behind a crate next to the locker, which Alyssa was already behind.
“You can turn that off now,” she said. “I don’t know why you had those things in your jacket, but I guess it came in handy.”
“I knew it would!” Jack beamed. “I told you, I always want to be prepared. I figured they’d be used for a party rather than a shootout, though.” He disabled the music.
A laser blast struck the crate, fired from a position perpendicular to the placement of the two men they’d previously engaged.
“Don’t just sit there!” Alyssa chastised.
Jack reached into the weapons locker and grabbed a laser pistol while Alyssa fired back. When he turned back to the action, he saw that it was Trent who’d joined the fight.
“Trying to escape?” the man shouted. “May as well give up now. We have you outgunned.”
“If you’re going to kill us anyway, we may as well go down fighting,” Alyssa shouted back.
Jack reached over the crate and fired two shots in Trent’s direction while he looked around the hangar, trying to get the lay of the land. His sightlines were limited from his present vantage, but he was able to confirm that the umbilical was, indeed, still connected to the Little Princess II. More members of Trent’s crew may have crossed over.
“What’s the plan?” he asked Alyssa just loud enough for her to hear.
“I was hoping no one would be in here,” she replied while shooting. “I guess we’ll need to take them out if we want the goods.”
“Kill ’em?”
“I don’t care about these other guys, but death is too easy an out for Trent. I want him to pay.”
Weapon in hand, Jack fired wildly toward the two men who’d initially engaged them in the hangar. Finally, one of the shots connected and the first man dropped to the deck. Triss landed a shot on the other a moment later.
A laser blast above Jack’s head drew his attention. As he spun around, two new goons came into view, their eyes wild with fury.
Finn was the first to fire on the new set, which offered enough momentary distraction for Jack to reposition behind a crate to his right that offered better sightlines for the new engagement.
“How many are there?” Jack asked his comrades.
“I just count these two and Trent,” Alyssa replied. Her focus was on trying to disable the leader.
Jack nodded. “There were four when Trent was holding us earlier; that might be all of them.”
“We can only fire at who we can see.”
One of Finn’s shots took out the left of the two newcomers, and Triss hit the other in his left thigh. The man kneeled with his weight on his good leg and shifted his focus to Triss with renewed vigor.
With the enemy’s attention drawn, Jack crept around the edge of his crate and lined up a shot for the man’s chest. He fired.
The shot struck its mark and the man collapsed.
Seeing that his comrades were down, Trent dove off the back side of the crate pile in the center of the hangar.
“Head him off!” Alyssa shouted. She and Finn ran to the left while Jack and Triss headed to the right.
His pistol aimed ahead, Jack rounded the back side of the crate pile and found that Trent was already frozen in Alyssa’s sights.
“Nice try,” she said Trent. “You should have stuck to our deal.”
He scoffed. “After how you left me high and dry last time? No way.”
Jack, Finn,
and Triss advanced with their weapons trained on Trent.
“Hands up. Get down on your knees,” Alyssa instructed him.
“Funny, I used to request Triss do the same thi—” Trent cut off with a squeal, gripping a fresh wound on the outside of his arm.
Triss sneered at him. “You better do what she said or the next one will be somewhere that might not heal as cleanly.”
“Don’t listen, boss!” someone announced from above to Jack’s left.
Every detail in the scene came into focus for Jack as he turned toward the voice. The man was about to squeeze the trigger of a pistol pointed directly for Jack’s head.
Jack wanted to dodge, but he knew there would be no time. Thoughts of the recent weeks flashed through his mind—and everything he still wanted to do. He didn’t want to die.
But, before the trigger could fully depress, a laser blast bored straight through the man’s forehead. His body dropped to the deck.
Jack released a shaky breath. “That was close.” He didn’t see the shooter, but he owed his life to whomever had fired the shot. He was about to look around to see if it was Larry who’d finally joined in, but he was immediately distracted by a yelp from Trent.
“Sorry, looks like we won.” Alyssa slammed her boot into Trent’s wounded shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
Triss grabbed a handful of quick-ties from the nearby sorting table and knelt down to secured Trent’s hands behind his back, making no attempt to be gentle. “You’re going away for a very long time.”
“Uh, guys.” Finn emerged from behind a crate, pointing toward the umbilical to the Little Princess II.
When Jack spun around, he realized that the shooter who’d saved him wasn’t one of his friends or Larry, as he suspected, but rather a gorgeous brunette hefting a laser rifle.
“Thank the stars you’re all right!” she exclaimed in a breathy voice.
The crew exchanged glances.
“And you are…?” Alyssa prompted.
“Latrina. I’m the Little Princess II’s waste processing droid.” Her bright green eyes sparkled with pride.
The captain worked her mouth. “No… Wait, what?”
“Morey let me know that the ship had been captured by pirates and you were in trouble, so I emerged from the tank to help.”