by Robert McKay
Beatrix walked slowly toward him, her hands held out wide so he could see she wasn't carrying any weapons. "Please, don't hurt my friends," she said, allowing a bit of her very real fear to bleed into her voice.
"Don't worry, we have no plans to hurt any of you if you cooperate. You will be integral in helping the Anthrak merge with your species. Your faster breeding rate will help us spread more efficiently through the galaxy."
The gap between them had closed to just a few meters. Behind her she could almost feel the nervous tension from her companions. Or maybe it was her own nerves. If this went sideways, they would all be dead. At least it would be better than having those things in their minds. "I've talked it over with my friends and they told me that joining with the Anthrak wasn't something to be feared. I'd rather do that than die here. It was a mistake to run." It wasn't exactly a performance for the ages. Her tone was flat and maybe even a bit sarcastic. She had to hope this new leech wasn't well acquainted with Nedran speech patterns yet.
"That is a wise decision, Beatrix," said the leech. "You will, however, have to forgive me if I don't take you at your word. Stop there and turn around."
Beatrix took a couple more small steps, pushing her luck as far as she thought prudent. There were still three long strides between her and the leech. She wasn't as close as she would have liked, but it would have to do. "Now!" she screamed.
Arryn's eyes popped open so wide it was comical. Just as quickly, they scrunched up in pain. Woolly must have done at least one of his parts: blasting a mental scream directly into the beast's mind. Beatrix launched into action, taking those three large steps as fast as she could while simultaneously reaching behind her to pull the knife she'd snagged in the kitchen. Gunfire erupted from at least two directions behind her, buying her a few more seconds. Arryn's arm lashed out at her, glancing off her shoulder. If she had been intending to charge head on into him, the blow would have landed squarely in her chest and completely incapacitated her. Instead, she stumbled and then slipped around behind him. She gave two swift kicks to the backs of his legs, driving him to his knees. Beatrix slid the tip of the knife under the black flesh of the symbiont at Arryn's neck. Her position was precarious. She was open to fire from the Anthrak in the ship, but not without risking hitting Arryn.
The scene was complete mayhem. They had convinced Woolly to give Torch his sidearm so they could fire at the Anthrak around them from two fronts. The Anthrak had responded with much better aim. The edges of the shed were quickly disintegrating. "Call them off or I find out what color your Anthrak guts are."
"This one being does not matter. We are Anthrak."
Despite his insistence that he didn't matter, some part of the leech hadn't yet overcome Arryn's instincts for self-preservation. The gunfire died down within a few seconds. "Come on out guys," called Beatrix.
Hesitantly, Torch peeked around the small shed and then, satisfied he wasn't going to be shot, waved a hand for the rest of the group to follow. Woolly brought up the rear.
Beatrix watched them in furtive glances, not wanting to risk the leech doing something stupid and getting them all killed. "Now, get your goons out of that ship." Without a word uttered between them, the shooters stood up and ambled down the ramp, their guns still switching targets from Beatrix to her friends. They walked off to the side and then slowly circled around so that they were standing in front of the dilapidated shed themselves. "Good boy."
After what seemed like days, her friends were all past her and creeping backward toward the open ramp.
"On your feet, slowly," said Beatrix. It was incredibly awkward walking backward with the knife still held at the back of Arryn's neck, but she managed. The ramp began to close and another dozen Anthrak with guns joined the two who had just left the ship, watching their prey escape. "That was close," sighed Beatrix.
The ship lifted into the air and tossed Beatrix off balance. She pulled her hand down from Arryn's neck in order to catch her balance. The leech was no longer in immediate danger. Gunfire erupted outside, pinging off the hull of the craft. Arryn stumbled past her.
"The leech is telling them to shoot us down," called Beatrix. "Somebody grab him."
"Watch out," called Woolly as he heaved himself from the cockpit. He was so fast that Beatrix didn't even have time to react. He bounded past her and knocked her to the side.
Her head bounced off the angled ceiling of the craft and stars exploded across her vision, threatening to claim her consciousness. The world spun and shouts boomed around her. A large body glanced off her and inhuman snarls were added to the mix. One of the snarls cut off and there was the unmistakable thud of a heavy body hitting the floor.
"Sting, are you all right?" asked a female voice, gentle hands clasping her shoulders.
"Just cut the damn leech off him then," shouted Hands.
"No," said Beatrix weakly, her vision still swimming.
"Yeah, if the leech is dead, it can't tell them to shoot us down," said Gadget.
"You should sit down, Sting," said Pickle. Something in her tone indicated it wasn't the first time. She was tugging at her shoulders, trying to get her to move.
"No," Beatrix repeated, stronger this time. "Stop!"
"Okay, sorry," said Pickle. "I just don't want you to fall down and hurt yourself."
"You'll kill him," Beatrix shouted. Nobody was paying attention to her.
Finally, the stars cleared from her vision and she saw Torch on the deck, his knee planted on Arryn's back. Arryn was still conscious, but his eyes swam in their sockets, not focusing. Her kitchen knife sawed back and forth. There was no time. She dived through the air and knocked Torch to the ground. The impact ripped the breath from her lungs and she lay there gasping while Torch climbed back to his feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, taking hold of the knife again.
She gasped repeatedly, trying to get enough air to speak. It was no use. Torch took hold of the knife again. She shook her head wildly and kicked at the deck. He ignored her. She had to do something or Torch was going to kill Arryn right along with his leech. If she kicked at Torch from her downed position, he could pull on the knife and finish the leech off.
Beatrix slid closer and did the last thing she could to save Arryn's life. She kicked him in the head—hard—with both feet. She would only get one chance to knock him out, and he was built like a tank. His head snapped to the side and the gunfire outside came to a halt. The ship continued to gain altitude and its conscious inhabitants all stared at Beatrix.
Torch scowled down at her, his face a strange mix between anger and confusion. The rest of them were just confused and waiting for Torch to sort her out. Woolly was unconscious at Gadget's feet.
When she was finally able to speak again, Beatrix said, "I can explain."
"You damn well better," said Torch. "Because I have no idea what the hell you just did."
Beatrix scooted against the wall of the ship and sighed. "I had to stop you from cutting off the leech."
"Why?" asked Torch, the anger draining from his expression, leaving only the confusion. "You said he was telling them to shoot us down."
"Two reasons," said Beatrix, only just then thinking up the second one. She decided to put it first because it was the more rational. "One, if you had killed him, they would have known and blown this ship out of the sky. And two, if you cut off the symbiont, it would have killed Arryn."
"Look, Sting," said Torch. "I know you feel bad about all the innocent people that have died, but if it comes down to us or them, I'm going to choose us every time."
"I'm with you on that, Cap, but as you can see, it wasn't necessary. They stopped shooting once he was unconscious." It was a very logical argument for her actions, even though they were entirely driven by emotion. She hadn't been thinking about them getting shot down. She'd only been worried about saving Arryn's life. "And like I said, we would probably all be dead right now if you had killed him."
Torch wiped a hand
down his face and groaned. It was clear that he knew there was more she wasn't saying. Thankfully, he let it go and walked up to the cockpit of the ship. "Holy shit, nobody is flying this thing!" He stalked over to Woolly, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Wake up you furry bastard. You need to make sure this thing doesn't fly us into the sun."
Woolly started to rouse, so Torch and Gadget heaved him to his feet. "Beatrix, find something to tie your pet up with," ordered Torch, nodding to Arryn. They dragged Woolly up into the cockpit and slumped him in one of the two chairs. Torch took the other. "Gadget, you slap him until he's fully awake, while I try to figure out how to fly this thing."
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Once Arryn was shackled to a chair and Torch got enough information out of Woolly to be confident that they weren't in imminent danger of crashing into the sun, the celebration began. They were free. Gadget and Pickle danced and twirled as best they could in the limited space, while Hands watched and clapped out a beat.
Beatrix let them go on for a while, enjoying the swell of emotion it brought out in her. They were free for the first time in months and it felt amazing to celebrate. A couple of tears even dampened her cheeks. Once the dancing stopped, all the talk about what they would do when they got home started up.
"What are you going to eat when you get back?" asked Gadget.
"So much chocolate," said Hands. "Life is too short not to eat all the chocolate."
"Agreed," said Gadget. "Though I'm more of a fruity candy guy myself."
"Who doesn't like chocolate?" asked Pickle, cocking an eyebrow at Gadget.
"I don't care what I eat, as long as it's with Madeleine," said Torch, earning a collective "awww" from the group. It was one of those rare moments of complete honesty that rarely happened unless the speaker was drunk. Typically in the Fleet, those moments were rewarded with a round of good-natured ribbing, but today was special. The conversation turned to talk of loved ones for a few minutes and then Torch pulled it back around to food before ducking into the cockpit. He was always attentive to his duties.
Unfortunately, she couldn't let it go on for long. There was something she had to discuss with Torch. She knew it wouldn't go over well. She squeezed past Gadget and Pickle and gave them a big smile. The cockpit was small, mostly taken up with the two pilot's chairs and the console between them. There was just enough room for her to stand behind the console and close the door.
Torch looked up at the sound of the door closing and then buried his face in his hands. "What is it now?"
"Am I that obvious?" she asked, her smile turning down into a frown.
"Whenever you have to bring up something you'd rather not, you look like you're constipated," he said. "Out with it."
Beatrix hesitated, looking over at Woolly. He was watching her with curiosity in his brown eyes. She had to phrase things just right or she could cause them a lot of trouble. There was no telling what would force Woolly's leech to reassert its control over him, but she had to make sure they could do what was needed without him. "Woolly, have you gotten Torch up to speed on the operation of this ship?"
Woolly nodded.
He was regressing, going back to being nonverbal. That was his coping method for keeping some control over his leech. They had to get him out of the cockpit before she talked to Torch. "I think you have an idea about what I have to say to Torch. It involves our destination. I need you to come to the back with me."
He nodded again, and Torch looked bewildered. Beatrix led Woolly past her friends and seated him across the aisle from Arryn. He held out his hands and closed his eyes while she shackled him to his chair. He leaned back and his breathing deepened as if he were already asleep. He looked surprisingly peaceful for an eight foot tall slab of muscle.
Beatrix returned to the cockpit, ignoring the strange looks cast her way by Hands and the others. She closed the door behind her and started talking before she lost her nerve. "We can't go home just yet."
Torch let out a long breath and stared into the distance until Beatrix thought about repeating herself. "I don't even know what to say to you, Beatrix. I can't pretend to know what you've been through since you tried to...you know," he said, waving at her scarred wrists. "But you got us out of that hell, so the least I can do is hear you out before I tell you to go to hell."
"That's all I ask," said Beatrix. She knew that if he listened to what she had to say with an open mind, he would agree with her.
Torch smiled. "You think you've already won. You smug asshole."
Beatrix shrugged. "I just know you, is all." They sat quietly for a while before Beatrix continued. "When I touched that Anthrak orb, I was fully integrated into their hive mind. Once I was out and I could think again, I realized there was a lot more information in my head. I know how they work. I know their one weakness."
"So you want to try and take them out," he said, drawing her statement to its natural conclusion. "So why did you pull Woolly out of the cockpit?"
"Because if I said that in front of him, his leech would lose its shit and he would do everything in his power to stop us."
Torch's brow scrunched up. "I don't get it. I thought he was on our side. Doesn't he want to be free?"
Beatrix pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "It's not that simple. Staying in control of his body is a very delicate balance. If he keeps his independent actions very infrequent, or can rationalize them as for the greater good, he can work with us. That's why he let me chain him up. He had a good idea of what I was going to talk to you about. As long as he didn't think about it too closely, his leech didn't sense the danger. It helped him avoid a fight which was for the good."
"Fine, he's basically a big furry ostrich. As long as his head is in the sand, everything is just fine," said Torch, a grin stretching across his face.
"Exactly, except for the fact that ostriches don't really do that."
"Whatever. It was still a lot easier way to explain what you were saying. That's why I'm the commanding officer. Gotta make things short and sweet so the stupid grunts like you can understand it." Beatrix punched his arm playfully, and he rubbed it idly as he continued. "So, where is this big red button that we have to go push?"
"It's not exactly a big red button," started Beatrix and stopped at his glare. "It's on the Anthrak home world. It's not that far from here. Only about a day's ride if we push this thing to its limit."
Torch rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "You realize I should just tell you that we need to take this to command and let them take care of it from there, right?"
"I know, but you know as well as I do that if it ever gets done it would be months down the road. If we do it ourselves, we can end this war tomorrow."
"Or the key to winning the war could die with us," replied Torch, his frown deepening.
Beatrix allowed herself to speak the thoughts that she'd pushed down since the day they were captured. "Torch, you know there's no way that we're the only ones who got captured in the battle with the Hounds. There could be hundreds, or even thousands of our people stuck in Colarian prisons. They aren't likely to have been as lucky as we were. If you want to know what it's like, you could ask Hands."
Torch shuddered. "We talked about it more than I ever care to."
"So you'll do it? You'll take us to the Anthrak home world?" Beatrix asked, biting her lower lip.
"I think I already am. I haven't figured out half of this ship yet." He laughed and threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know why Woolly nodded when you asked if I knew what I was doing. I haven't changed the coordinates that he put in, but I know that we're not headed toward Nedran air space.
"How about I figure out how to fly this thing and you go do your 'explain it to the stupid grunts' thing, Captain?" She flopped down in the other pilot's chair and smiled innocently up at him. "Make sure that Woolly and Arryn don't hear."
"You just don't want to break up the party," said Torch.
"You're damn right, Captain.
Also, I'm a much better pilot than you."
He reached over and ruffled up her hair before he sighed and stepped out of the cockpit. Beatrix noticed his lip curl up, his usual nervous tick, and it made her smile.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
It took Beatrix a couple of hours to work out the intricacies of the Anthrak ship. The autopilot was already programmed with the coordinates for the Anthrak home world. From what she could tell, it was a good thing too. The ship wasn't meant for long journeys like the one it would take to get back to Nedran air space. They would be lucky to have enough fuel to make it back to the Leothen's planet when they were done.
Alien spaceship or not, Beatrix was glad to be in a cockpit again. She hadn't realized how long it had been since she felt like herself until she grabbed the flight stick. Flying hadn't been part of her life for that long, but she felt like she had always been a pilot. Even when she wasn't flying, she was still Sting, just as she would always be Bumble Bea even if her father wasn't around any more to call her by the name. If there was a silver lining in the way the Anthrak consciousness had invaded her mind, it was feeling more secure in who she was.
They took shifts sitting in the cockpit, making sure that nothing caught them by surprise. Beatrix made sure each of them had a basic grasp of how to control the ship and assessed their moods while she was at it. Pickle was more cautious than the guys were, but she knew stopping the Anthrak was the right thing to do. Hands and Gadget were far more enthusiastic, as she'd expected them to be. Gadget was pissed about his torture, even if he couldn't remember it. He wanted to see them go down, hard. She decided not to tell him how much worse it would have been if his integration had been successful and his leech joined the Quorum. She'd talked it over with Hands. Even his experience hadn't been as bad as hers.
