Burning Up Flint

by Laurann Dohner

  He was one of the cyborgs who’d been there when she’d gotten her ID chip removed and been branded. He’d silently watched her in the roomful of men. He held out a covered tray, eyeing her with interest. She bit her lip nervously.

  “Could you come in and take a look at the control computer for the room? The sleeping alarm keeps going off every time I sit on the bed.”

  He frowned. “Flint said to not enter his quarters.”

  “Every time I sit down and stay still that damn alarm is beeping at me. It’s driving me crazy and I don’t know how to shut it off.”

  He hesitated for a long second before nodding his head, carefully handed her the tray and walked slowly into the room. She had seen the silver control panel on the wall by the bed, which had given her the idea in the first place. As he moved across the room, the door started to close. She moved fast, almost diving through the opening and into the hallway as the door slid shut behind her. Spinning around, she saw the panel that controlled it.

  She used the metal tray to slam the control pad as hard as she could, imagining the cyborg realizing that she’d tricked him. She hit the panel again, using the edge of the tray to hammer at it repeatedly until the control panel broke. She tore the dented lid off the tray and grabbed for the drink inside, dropping the damaged tray and mess of food to the floor. She shook the drink, tearing the seal off with her teeth, and poured liquid into the broken control pad. Instantly an acrid, burning, electrical smell filled her nose. The wires were fried.

  Something struck the door from inside and she heard the cyborg yell her name. Drakos was trapped in the room and she was glad she could only faintly hear him. Ships were designed with thick walls in case of a space breach. Sealed rooms without damage could remain sealed until they ran out of breathable air, which also meant someone would have to pass close to hear him yelling. She turned and ran for the lift. She’d seen a ship map on the wall but she hadn’t time to study it when Flint had walked her past it. Now she studied the ship layout to locate the life pods. No pods were on her level but there were two on the deck below her. With her heart pounding she hit the button to call the lift. She wouldn’t have much time before Drakos called for reinforcements. When the lift doors opened she sighed in relief that it was empty.

  She hated the damn things but it would get her to another level quickly. The lift doors shut and she leaned against the wall as it dropped a level. The doors opened and fear hit again until she realized the corridor was empty, no one was waiting to grab her She ran, heading down toward the first split. She saw the red marker on the wall that pointed toward the life-pod bulk doors. She pressed one to open but nothing happened.

  Had they been disabled? Were the pods gone? The doors should open if they were working. She moved to the other door and hit the emergency open button. It slid open. Relief hit her as she saw the interior pod door slide open a second later, revealing the interior of the pod on the other side of the small docking sleeve.

  She ran in and spun, hitting the emergency close button. She stared at the empty corridor and hoped that luck was with her since no one had appeared to stop her. Her fear didn’t ease until the door slammed shut, sealing her inside. She moved the few feet into the pod and sealed those doors. She turned then to take a better look at the pod.

  The emergency lights had been activated by motion so she had a clear view of the interior—a twenty-five passenger pod. It was larger than she thought it would be which was lucky for her. She ran around the passenger area to the pilot seat. Throwing her ass into the seat, she started to put on her belt.

  “State emergency,” a hollow male voice startled her.

  “Um…”

  “This is autopilot for Pod 3. State emergency.”

  She bit her lip. “We’ve been boarded by pirates. We need to blast away and get away from the Star before they can come after us. Pirates have control of the Star.”

  “State destination to safest location please.”

  “Um…Earth?”

  “Understood. Uploading location. Locked. Prepare for release and sudden hard blast when we are clear. Countdown in three, two, one…”

  She barely got her belt tightened before the pod released. Her body slammed forward, hard against the belt as the small ship turned then was thrown back against her seat as it launched. Her stomach protested the sudden and violent move and a moan of terror burst from her parted lips. Most of the gravity went. The pod slowed to a stop and she saw her blonde hair floating as her limbs grew so light she could barely feel them.

  “Cross your arms tightly to your chests and lean your heads back against the headrest,” the computer voice ordered. “Hard blast in three, two, one, blast.”

  Mira would have screamed but she had no air left in her lungs from the violent motion of being slammed into her seat. She was glad she’d followed the instructions quickly. If she hadn’t crossed her arms over her chest she was pretty sure they would have been broken by the sudden burst of speed. The force was crushing her as the pod continued to hard blast.

  It wasn’t stopping as she knew it should have. The escape pod was on full blast speed, which meant it was pouring fuel into the thrusters, forcing the pod to rocket away from the Star. She closed her eyes, managing to force air into her lungs. The pressure was still there but it eased as her body adjusted to the speeding pod. She’d been through hard blast only once before. That had been when the Star had done it to avoid the debris from her shuttle. It had only lasted a few seconds. The pod was burning fuel far longer than that.

  “We are being pursued by the Star,” the computer announced calmly. “Evasive maneuvers.”

  Mira did scream when the pod rolled and everything spun. She wished the gravity had completely shut off so she wouldn’t experience the sick feeling of the small ship rolling but she couldn’t get the words out to order the computer to shut it off.

  The pod violently shook as it adjusted course. She kept her eyes closed, clutching the belts over her chest, unable to do anything else. The Star was coming after the pod. That shocked her. She wondered suddenly if the Star could capture the smaller vessel but she didn’t think it could. Escape pods were usually pretty fast because they were for higher speeds in case of real pirate attacks.

  “Pod 3 has successfully pulled away from the Star. Reducing burst to steady to keep out of range and initiating normal gravity from minimal gravity for comfort. Monitoring to continue until the threat is no longer on sensor range,” the computer announced. “Fuel levels are acceptable. Attempting to auto signal Earth with status.” It paused. “Out of range. Will attempt every hour to establish contact with Earth. Please remain belted until no hostile threat is detected. Changes will update.”

  Mira opened her eyes finally, breathing easier, her fear easing. She had escaped. She took more deep breaths. The Star had tried to come after her, which made no sense to her. She wondered if Flint was still on board or if he’d already left on the Rally. Her guess was that he’d already left or the Rally would have come after her instead. It was the faster ship.

  She wondered if Flint was would miss her. Pain hit at the thought. He’d probably just replace her with a new woman when he heard she was gone. He’d get a new possession. Maybe the next woman wouldn’t mind that he felt nothing more toward her than ownership. The thought of him touching another woman hurt though, causing her to utter a curse.

  “State problem.” The computer’s voice broke the silence.

  She shook her head. “No problem. I was thinking out loud.”

  “I will initiate voice mode. If you wish to address the pod, state Pod 3 before orders. I will not respond to other voice commands so you may communicate amongst yourselves in the compartment.”

  Mira shook her head, eyeing the empty pod. The stupid computer thought she had someone else to talk to.

  “Pod 3?”

  “Pod 3. State problem.”

  “I was wondering how long until we reach Earth.”

  “At current rate
of speed it will be four days, six hours, thirteen minutes, forty-one seconds.”

  She sighed in relief. “That’s great news. That’s faster than I thought it would be.”

  “We can’t stay at current rate of speed,” it announced. “We will run out of fuel in three hours, fourteen minutes, sixteen seconds if we continue current burn ratio. The fuel will be cut when threat is out of scanner range. Ask for estimation when pursuit is over.”

  She clenched her teeth, thinking, taking a few deep breaths to relax. “What happens if the Star continues to pursue the pod?”

  Seconds ticked by. “Programming states to continue burn until threat is out of scanner range. If pursuit continues we will burn all fuel in three hours, twelve minutes, three seconds.”

  Mira was horrified. If the Star continued to chase her it would only be a matter of hours before they caught her. She wasn’t a damn pilot. She stared at the controls, realizing she was at the mercy of the automated pilot.

  “Are there other options, Pod 3?”

  “None. I have auto scanned for any other emergency locations but we are out of range.”

  In other words, she was screwed. All she could hope for was that the Star broke off its pursuit of the pod. It might happen, she reasoned. The Star wouldn’t want to get too far from the Rally while it was away on its mission. The pod was heading for Earth and she knew the Star had been heading toward Garden. Would Flint really waste all that fuel chasing her?

  She was property to him and all property had value. She just couldn’t be that valuable to Flint. He was picking up more human women on the Piera. She tried to relax. The Star would break off pursuit when they realized that she wasn’t going to stop running.

  “Incoming message from the Star,” the computer announced.

  “Shit.”

  “Order not understood. Would you like communications open?”

  She hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Mirasia Carver,” a deep voice that was unfamiliar to her barked. “I am Vollus. Order the pod to stop burn now and reverse direction back to the Star.”

  “No.”

  The man literally growled. “I have contacted Flint. He and the Rally will catch up to us soon. You do not want him to have to board the pod. He was very angry. Order the pod to stop burn and reverse direction to the Star now. I promise you no harm will come to you if you do as I say.”

  She was tempted. She was terrified of Flint coming after her. Would he be so angry he just blew the pod up with her on it? She knew she was going to run out of fuel sooner than later. Did they? She took a deep breath.

  “This pod was designed for twenty-five passengers. I’m not burning much fuel with only one body aboard,” she bluffed. “How much fuel are you wasting coming after me? I’m just one human. I’m worthless, Vollus. Flint is pissed because I got away. Think logically. You’re a cyborg, damn it. Is it rational to waste fuel and time to come after one worthless human?”

  Silence greeted her statement, giving her hope that he was considering her words.

  “I’m not going to stop burn and I’m not going to turn around. I’ll blow this damn pod up before I go back on the Star. Is that clear? I saw how upset it made everyone when the pilots blew up the shuttle I was on. You could have salvaged the shuttle. I’ll blow the pod if you chase me until I run out of fuel. I’ll be dead, the pod won’t be salvageable, and you’ll have lost all that time and fuel for nothing.”

  Silence.

  “Hello?”

  Silence.

  “Pod 3? Is communications still active?”

  “Affirmative,” the computer announced. “I can pick up breathing sounds.”

  Fear hit her. They weren’t answering her. They were just listening. “End communications,” she whispered.

  “Communications ended.”

  She waited a good five minutes. “Pod 3? Are we still being pursued?”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Son of a bitch!”

  “Order not understood. Please restate order.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Order not understood. Please restate order.”

  “He’s going to kill me.”

  “Order not understood. Please restate order.”

  “Pod 3? Stop talking to me.”

  “Order understood.”

  Mira let her head drop into her hands.

  Chapter Eight

  “Warning. Respond. Warning. Respond.”

  The computer’s voice jerked Mira awake. She’d fallen asleep, exhausted from her lack of sleep the night before.

  “I’m here,” she got out.

  “Second unidentified ship approaching.”

  “Shit!” That woke her up all the way. “Is it the Rally?”

  “Unidentified. Hailing.” A pause. “No response.”

  “How far out?”

  “We will make contact in four minutes.”

  “Four minutes?” Shock tore through her.

  “Warnings have been issued in minute increments for twenty-three minutes. You did not respond.”

  She had slept deeper than she had thought. “Is the Star still pursuing?”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Can we full burn?”

  “Negative. Fuel resources are at an unsafe level. Full burn could cause tank rupture.”

  She knew that meant the pod could explode as the shuttle had. She shut her eyes, trying to think. The Rally was going to reach her in less than four minutes. Damn.

  “Orders?”

  “What do you suggest we do?”

  “Orders?”

  “Fuck!” Frustration hit her hard. The damn computer was asking her what to do and it wasn’t giving her any options. She had no idea what to do beyond a full blast to put distance between the pod and the Rally. “I don’t know.”

  “Orders?”

  If she risked a full burn it would probably blow her up. All it would give her was another ten minutes, if that, before the Rally caught her again. She was screwed and she knew it. She’d never thought Flint would chase her down. It was insane to waste his fuel to come after her. She’d underestimated her worth to the crazy cyborg. She didn’t want to die so she didn’t order the computer to do something suicidal. She’d been bluffing about blowing up the pod.

  “Third ship in range. Unidentified.”

  She frowned. “What?”

  “Proximity alert!” A sharp blast sounded through the pod as an alarm screamed. “Impact is imminent. Evasive maneuvers. Reversing engine thrusters to soften impact.”

  The gravity went as the pod engines cut out. They suddenly flared again. The pod vibrated violently and then all hell broke loose when it slammed into something hard. Mira was grateful that the gravity was gone or she knew the violent hit might have torn her painfully from her seat. As it was, she was just jarred a bit, barely enough to cause mild pain.

  “Pod 3 has been hooked,” the computer announced. “Computer is attempting to send Earth an emergency transmission.” It paused. “Negative signal. Would you like Pod 3 to continue to try to send emergency signal as long as there is power?”

  “Affirmative,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “Confirmed. Hatch is being breached.”

  She unhooked her belt so she could turn her head. She almost floated out of her seat. She could order the pod to turn the gravity back on but she didn’t. It would slow Flint down getting to her if he had to cross the pod to the pilot seat to reach her without gravity. Every second was one more instant that she was going to be free.

  She could see the pod hatch from where she floated just above her seat, gripping it to stay in place. She heard a loud pop as the hatch was wrenched open. She swallowed hard, feeling fear. Would Flint be the first one in the door? She was pretty sure he would be. Would he kill her outright or take her on the Rally to do it? She was certain he’d be so furious that he’d want to end her life. He seemed like the unforgiving type.

  Terror struck as she saw the man who entered the po
d. It wasn’t Flint. It wasn’t even a cyborg. He was human but he was scarred and something was wrong with his head, only sporting hair in a few places as if he’d suffered radiation poisoning. She’d seen it before on the news when a ship had had some kind of containment failure. Survivors lost clumps of hair that never grew back without surgery, if they were lucky enough to be fixed. The man floated into the pod and his eyes met hers.

  Near heart-attack-inducing terror hit her. His eyes were two different colors. She’d seen that on the news too. He’d definitely suffered severe radiation poisoning. From the different eye color, the lack of a full head of hair and the skin scarring, she knew when he’d been exposed. Unborn infants exposed to high doses of radiation were born like this man, indicating that he was a lifer space inhabitant. As he moved forward, grabbing seats to float his way toward her, she got a good look at his misshapen hands. He was without a doubt a full-on radiation mutant, which meant he was a pirate. They usually were born in space and lived on old, unsafe ships, turning them into virtual monsters.

  “What do we have here?” The man’s voice was raspy.

  She saw more motion at the pod door, causing her to turn her head. Three men who floated in were just as physically messed up as the first man.

  “Pod 3? How far away is the Star?”

  “Not close enough,” the pirate rasped as he grabbed her by her floating hair.

  Mira screamed in pain and missed what the computer said as her grip was torn from the seat. Her body floated freely in the cabin. The man had yanked her so she was pushed in the direction of the three other mutants until rough hands grabbed her. Mira tried to kick and claw at them but the lack of gravity hindered her. They dragged her through the hatch into a sleeve that connected to the pirate ship. The hatch was shut and gravity suddenly returned.

  Mira fell, hitting the floor of the sleeve, pain slamming through her head and her back where she hit the hardest. Three mutant males grabbed her and lifted her. She heard a door slide open on the pirate ship and then she was carried into a cargo area. One had her arms while the other two were gripping each leg. She saw the beams and the high ceiling above her. Boxes were packed and secured in the hold.