I went over to stand next to her and attempted to follow her gaze all the way under the ship to a red planet looming rather close. “The red planet? Is that what you’re pointing at?”
“That’s Cerulea. I thought it would be blue like them. Dumb, huh? That is why your ex is so nervous. He was sure that is why the ship was incapacitated, though he didn’t use that word. I didn’t think fleet officers were supposed to curse like that on duty.”
I grunted in reply, unable to spare any word when my brain was chewing over that information. When combined with Vanessa’s accusations, it seemed anything but coincidental that the ship was stopped here. Had my ship been picked with the idea of targeting me in mind, or was it happenstance? I had been so concerned about old grudges with the fleet that it had never occurred to me that a foreign government might have their own plans.
I turned away from the window too quickly, and black dots danced across my vision. I threw out a hand to brace myself until my vision slowly returned.
Raph moved to my side. “You okay, Cap?”
I nodded. “Fine. But I should probably rest soon. This is a bit more exciting than my normal life. This sounds weird, but we should probably look into… me. After the trial, there were some people pretty upset that I was found not guilty and… I don’t know. This feels personal.”
There were three quick knocks on the door. I gestured toward the bathroom. “Go hide in there.”
Chloe obeyed, probably eager to rifle through the rest of my toiletries, but Raph hung back. “Why? It’s probably Horton.”
“Or it could be James, and do you want to explain why you’re out of your room?”
“I didn’t unlock the doors,” he countered.
I sighed. “Just do it as a favor to me. Plus you can spy on us.”
His eyes lit up. He went into the bathroom and closed the door most of the way behind him.
I opened the door with less caution than I should have, and things happened very quickly. A stunner beam hit me, and my whole body seized up. I fell down and knocked over the plant by my door, the fragile dead leaves breaking and cutting into my cheek as I lay on the floor. Everything faded to black.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Awareness came slowly, like a sunrise on Earth. I was cautious and confused, and my whole body hurt. My time on Earth had been spent in heavy training, but my current source of discomfort was not immediately obvious to me. I was shoved into a corner on a seat, my neck at an odd angle. The pain of moving was only exceeded by the continued pain of not adjusting my position.
I sat up as my muscles screamed in protest after hours of being locked into the slightly unnatural position. I used my left hand to steady myself only to realize that my hands were taped together, as were my feet. That was when my brain decided to kick into gear and replay my last few conscious moments.
I had been on my ship and stunned by… someone, but the list of possible suspects wasn’t very long. I had a good guess who was involved. I remembered the sight of a ban before everything went black. There were better weapons available, so the reasons were limited as to why someone would use a fleet standard-issue weapon in a kidnapping.
And it was a kidnapping. There was not a circumstance I could imagine in which this was on the up-and-up. I twisted and stretched as best I could despite the screaming muscles and pins-and-needles sensation attacking my limbs.
It was a small room with a door that appeared to slide back into the wall. There was a little basin with a faucet on a podium. I moved my hands under my seat and pulled up on the thick cushion underneath me. It pivoted upward, confirming my suspicion. I might not have been in this exact model of shuttle, but I recognized a bathroom when I saw one.
Considering that they had stuck me in there, either they planned on an uncomfortable ride or they weren’t going too far. This design of a bathroom that could serve as an extra seat was most often used in short-range shuttles for traveling from a disabled ship to a nearby planet… Cerulea, perhaps.
I set to work loosening my hands, which wasn’t difficult. They were poorly tied, and the tape was already peeling. Next, I freed my feet. I stood up as much as possible in the cramped quarters and moved a little to get the blood flowing. No sooner had I started moving than the turbulence increased, in addition to the general noise in the cabin.
We were probably starting to break though the atmosphere. I wasn’t sure of the exact makeup of Cerulea, but it was safe to assume that we would be landing soon. At that point, I would face my kidnappers and… what? They probably planned to pin the murder on me, but to what end? Immediate execution? Public trial? A quick death and burial in a hole?
I checked my pockets, hoping against hope that my work unit or ban were still on me, though it was as I suspected. I hadn’t taken either with me to the door. I did have my mother’s Bible, which was a great comfort but probably of little practical use unless I could somehow convince my captors of their grievous sins and encourage them to repent.
Frankly, that was as good a plan as any, so I set that up as Plan A and started working on a backup plan. The interior of the door was smooth except for a sheered-off bolt halfway up on the left side. The handle had probably been knocked off before I was deposited in there so that I couldn’t escape. Bummer for them. Replacement parts were notoriously difficult to acquire, and after kidnapping the captain responsible for package delivery, it was going to be quite a wait to get a new one.
And what about James and the fleet? Would they even know I was kidnapped? Or would they think that I’d escaped? Surely Raph and Chloe knew something was wrong, but would James believe them? Maybe fleet would play it off as though I was guilty, and the whole thing would be brushed under the rug. Or maybe that was their plan all along. A chill ran through me. I might really be all on my own.
The ship swung hard, and I slammed into a wall. I flopped down on the seat that converted to a toilet and noticed a drawer in the podium. Pulling it open, I saw an assortment of junk. There was a rod with protruding metal bristles, an empty tub that—based on the congealed substance in one small corner—once had contained a red liquid, and two flat metal sticks that were welded together on one side.
The brush might be able to do some damage if I swung it directly at someone’s face, but I was going to need to rely heavily on the element of surprise for that approach. I ignored the empty tub but grabbed the little metal tool. It roughly resembled tweezers if one needed to pluck hair the toughness of wire.
I turned off the light in case the cabin had already been darkened. I pushed the two metal pieces into the space around the sheared-off handle then tried to grasp the bolt to twist it. It slipped on the smooth surface until I was able to catch the smallest edge of a ridge where the sheared metal had distorted. The leverage was poor, and like those in many shuttles I had been in, the latch was stiff. Eventually, I was able to unhook it enough to break the seal on the door.
There was only the smallest sliver of space between the edge of the door and the jamb. The noise level in the bathroom instantly changed as the soundproofing was cancelled. The dull rush of white noise lowered, and the shuttle’s clanks and rumbles filled the air. I worked my jaw, and my ears popped. I pressed my eye to the opening.
Based on the size of the bathroom, I had a hunch about what to expect, and sure enough, the layout I could see matched my expectations. The bathroom was tucked into a far back corner behind a row of seats, and little else was visible, not even a window that might help me judge our rate of descent.
Something was tied in front of the door, and when I attempted to wiggle the door, it caught. I guessed a rope was tied from the exterior handle to something as insurance should I manage to get the door open. Considering I had done just that, it showed they were smart.
And if I had been able to exit the bathroom, what then? I could hardly leap out an exterior door to freedom. Well, I could, and I would be gloriously free for whatever time it took me to plummet to my death or, if we were still in spac
e, to suffocate. Both delightful choices.
I could try to fight everyone present and attempt to gain control of the shuttle. I took a moment to snort at the idea. I had handled Officer Girlfriend, but she had a messy attack that even a child could have seen coming.
A flash of two bodies passed by at a quick pace. I ducked down, even though I was reasonably sure they couldn’t see me since I could see them through only the tiniest sliver.
Wylene was speaking to Vanessa in a soft, lilting foreign language when Vanessa cut her off with a stomp of her foot.
“No, sister. You’ll speak Universal Language to me.”
Wylene pulled back as though struck. “But we always spoke like this at home. I want to talk to you privately.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “That is not my home any longer and never will be again with its dirty ocean air and venom farming. Once I am married, I will travel constantly. It is my freedom.”
Wylene leaned forward imploringly. “I don’t understand why we left the ship. We could have just waited until—”
“Do not question me and the decisions I’ve made. It will be like Jonah. I will be queen and have all that I desire and leave this burning red planet.”
“How can you speak of Cerulea that way? The hills and curves are gorgeous. The king has large pools. He is proud and mighty. Anyone would be lucky to be his mate.”
“There are other pools. Better pools. And he is of no matter to me. I will perform my duty but with no joy.” She stepped forward and grabbed her sister by the arms. “Trust me. When I left, you were a girl and I but a young woman. Now, we are both women, and we know things.”
“I know nothing.” Wylene’s face shifted to a deep blue color, and she looked away.
“Then stay by me, and I will teach you what our mother never did. It will be okay.”
“And if God is with her?”
“There is always a backup plan, little sister. Trust no one but me. We must sit down as we will land soon.”
“Wait!” Wylene grabbed Vanessa’s arm and pulled something out of a pocket in her robe. “I asked you to come back so I could give this to you as you requested. But how could you go through so much so quickly? You never drank the tea at home. You promise you didn’t abuse it?” She passed over a small container.
“Just trust me and don’t ask questions,” Vanessa said as her voice faded away.
The shuttle shifted, and the rumbling changed frequency. I had only a few minutes, so if I was going to form a plan, now was the time.
My options were severely limited. I had a brush with metal bristles, a pair of tweezers, and my brain. And frankly all three of those things were pretty busted. I was about to land on a planet I knew nothing about, surrounded by individuals who only wanted the worst for me.
But if I was going out, I was going out fighting. I crouched behind the door and armed myself as best I could. When they came to get me, I would come out swinging. If I was lucky and they underestimated me, I might be able to escape and run.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As the hours ticked by, my plan lost its appeal. Once we landed, everything shut down except the axillary lights. The shuttle was running on standby power with cool air blowing from the vent. But I was sure everyone had left. Without me. My plan was pretty harebrained, but theirs seemed ridiculous. Why kidnap me just to leave me here?
Eventually, footsteps and furtive whispering approached. Perhaps they had hoped I would fall asleep or even die. I had hit the floor pretty hard. Whatever their logic, they were back. The way they moved and the darkness of the ship meant that I couldn’t see how many individuals had come, their builds, or even what language they were speaking.
I again crouched into my ready position despite my thighs screaming in pain. My workout routine was thorough but no match for hours in a squat position. A dark hand pushed the door open. I sprang up with my metal-bristled-brush weapon, ready to rake the eyes of whoever was there.
Three things happened all at once: I recognized my opponent. Chloe whispered, “Liz, No!” And I crashed into Raph, who hit the doorjamb and bounced off.
A second later, we both landed on the floor. Fortunately, he broke my fall. I would have felt bad except I was sure that if I had one more hard landing, my brain would be a scrambled egg. Raph was lanky and bony but quite a step up from bare flooring.
Chloe pulled me close, folding me in a hug. “I can’t believe we found you.”
I returned the hug briefly then reached out to Raph to pull him up. I would love an extended greeting, but the turn of events meant there was more intel needed. “We’re on Cerulea?”
Raph answered in a slightly strained voice. “Yes. Sorry we didn’t get here sooner—”
“You got here at all. That’s what matters. You have the ship’s shuttle?” All fleet vessels had a shuttle, though I was sure that ours was being held together with tape and hope.
Raph nodded. “We took the officer’s shuttle.”
He meant he had stolen it, but it was no time for quibbling. I headed for the exit at the front of the shuttle, staying close to the wall. “What was the situation out there? Guards? How do we get out of here?”
Raph was close behind me, a hand light on my shoulder as we were taught. By maintaining contact, we could move more easily in a hostile environment, like a kidnapping vehicle. “No one. We parked outside the gate, but there are shuttles everywhere. It appears to be a landing station. No one even looked twice.”
I stopped so suddenly that Raph pressed his hand down on my shoulder to prevent him from running into me. A second later I heard a loud oomph from Chloe as she plowed into him.
Something wasn’t sitting well with me, and I was fighting the twin urges to stop and think versus run and escape. I had been left in a shuttle, alone and unguarded, that was only in low-energy mode. Prickles of unease ran down my back even as my feet twitched to run.
“It’s all too easy, Cap.” Raph’s voice was tight in the darkness.
“Why aren’t we moving? We have to get out of here.” Chloe’s tone was verging on hysterical, and I could hear her gills flapping.
“I know.” I replied to both their statements. “I think it’s a trap, but I’m not sure how. Keep your head on a swivel and stay close. Raph, I don’t know where we’re going.”
He slid to the left to step in front of me, but I stopped him with my arm.
He removed it. “The safest way is for me to lead. Put Chloe between us.”
I stepped behind Chloe. I hated not being in front, but he was right. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, willing my pounding heart to slow down. With my brush still in hand, I whispered, “Go.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
We left the shuttle, and time both sped up and slowed down. Everything was happening too fast while I moved in slow motion. My heart pounded in my ears as we stuck to the side of the shuttle before moving across the yard toward an opening in a wall. There were a few people moving about who only gave us a cursory glance. They were all Cerulean, but none of them seemed surprised to see us.
The oppressive heat hit me in the face like a slap from a steaming blanket. It had a physical weight to it that pressed me into the ground. Breathing felt like inhaling a sludgy liquid, and my lungs struggled to process it. I had trained on a variety of planets in my years, but this might be the most extreme combination of gravity, humidity, and heat that I had experienced. After so long on assignment, I was out of shape when it came to adapting.
The yard had a half dozen shuttles of similar build to the one we had exited. However, most had fancy paint jobs, a sign that they were used on the planet rather than for exiting the atmosphere, which would strip the paint job. We could travel the stars, but we couldn’t develop a neon-pink paint that could survive re-entry.
It didn’t appear to be a military yard so much as a parking lot. We passed a particularly expensive shuttle with garish painting and a series of numbers on the side. It appeared to be a business advert
isement for a local cake shop.
“Raph, slow down and relax.” I stepped up to be in line with him, my hand on Chloe’s hand, guiding her between us. “We’ll draw more attention by sneaking.”
“This doesn’t feel right.”
“I know.” My unease had shifted. I was still suspicious but also deeply confused.
We exited the yard, and I missed a step as the castle became visible in the distance. It was like a scene from a fairy-tale book, the kind that used to grace some countries on Earth, according to the books I had read as a child.
But instead of the grey stone I had seen in pictures, it was a red that matched the dirt ground we strode across. In fact, most of the structures that weren’t metal were the same red as the castle and ground. I took a split-second glance up into the air and was able to spot our ship directly overhead, though it was small because of its location beyond the planet’s atmosphere. But it did confirm that we were on Cerulea, and we could possibly make it back to my ship within a few hours.
I followed Raph’s lead around the wall, and when the stolen law enforcement shuttle was in sight, I didn’t sprint, daring to hope we could get there before we were caught. When I leaped up the steps and crossed the threshold, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Closing the door, I turned around to start the shuttle and slammed right into Horton.
“Liz! I thought you were deader than a diorite dealer.” He squeezed me to his smooth, scaly chest, slightly blubbering in his delivery, before stepping back and shyly adding, “I mean Captain Laika.”
I squeezed his arm as I nudged past him to get to the primary control station. “Liz is fine during covert rescue missions. This is hardly the time for standard procedure. Everyone, buckle up. If we can clear the atmosphere, we’ll be back at the ship in no time.”
Space Murder Page 6
