Starbound: Eleven Tales of Interstellar Adventure

by SM Reine

  It was decision time.

  I could stay here and hide out, but another ship was coming. What if they planned to stay and take over? They didn’t want any of the crates in the ship’s cargo bay.

  “We need her,” Leslie had said. “That’s all that matters.”

  The best plan of action would be to leave the room and find suitable weapons. Hunting them instead of them hunting me brought a smile to my lips.

  Mmmm, entrée time.

  When the hallway grew quiet again, I opened the door—only to glance up and see Viz.

  Those tricky, tricky bastards.

  He caught me off-guard and advanced, a metallic stick with a blunt end in hand. With a grunt, he turned it sideways and shoved it into my chest. I dropped the vase. We crossed the floor to the other side of the room in three of his wide strides.

  “Damn vamp bitch!” He rammed me into the wall. The bright red blood running down his chest stained the weapon and his hands. My gaze flicked to the sweet fluid as I pushed back against the heavy bat. Time to knock him out and find Leslie.

  He pushed harder until his weapon pressed into my chest. Effectively pinned, he slammed his forehead into mine. Ouch. Black specks danced along my peripheral vision. Viz’s wicked smile widened. “How dare you bite me! I can’t wait to make you bleed.”

  His thumb jerked on a switch along the side. A clicking sound jumped from one end of the stick toward the other. Viz pushed back from me, only to leave the blunt end against my chest.

  One moment he was in front of me, in the next I danced with electricity coursing through me.

  I slumped to the floor. Swiftly, he grabbed me by my neck and flung me against the wall.

  “You’re not bleeding yet,” he mumbled. He threw back his left fist and aimed for my face.

  He actually thought he was winning.

  Can’t choke somebody who doesn’t breathe, low life.

  Strength gathered in my stomach first and pulsed through my limbs. I caught his fist and my claws sunk into his hand until I hit the bones. He grimaced. When I forced him to take a step backward, his grimace turned to agony. I kicked him in the gut, wrenching his toy from his right hand in the process. He flew a few feet away and hit the floor hard. I was on him before he could so much as twitch.

  “So I’m a vamp bitch, huh?” My voice was strange to my ears. Low and guttural.

  I placed the blunt end on his crotch and flicked the switch he’d used. “I kept standing. Let’s see what you do.”

  The familiar clicking sound kicked in, and Viz stiffened with a harsh cry.

  “Damn bitch!” He curled into a ball, muttering more curses. Something crass about using the bat on my lady parts. Didn’t matter. I was done with him.

  I pounced on his back and leaned over his head. “I heard you the first time.” I sank my teeth into the side of his neck. He growled and reached behind to grasp me, but I’d locked my right arm around his throat and my other hand on his face. A few bites and I hit the jugular. Life poured out of him and into me.

  Viz managed to stand. We wobbled across the room and he almost made it to the doorway.

  The feisty ones made the best meals.

  He dropped to his knees and finally went down face first to the floor. I continued to drink.

  “Draw deep until they sleep.” The advice from a distant memory circled my head, but I ignored it. Warmth whispered its way down my back and settled into my feet. The pain in my arm disappeared. Vigor and strength amplified my once dulled senses to a razor’s edge. So much that I caught the faint tremble as another ship attached to mine.

  The party just got a lot more exciting.

  The Hyperion had docked.

  Run, Don’t Walk

  The Siren IV had five docking points for other spacecraft. The three closest to the stern were large enough to transport cargo—maybe better suited to a larger ship—while the two along the sides were solely for people.

  The cryo-chamber was at the bow not far from the bridge in case of an emergency. So which one had they come from?

  Leslie was able to talk to her ship. All these years, I hadn’t bothered.

  “Uhh, excuse me?” I called out. I waited and there was no answer. “Oh…ship? Can I get some help?”

  Still nothing. Go figure. I didn’t know why I tried. I’d been talking to myself all this time and no one had yet to answer me back. Why would now be any different?

  I dragged Viz’s body behind the desk. From the closet, I found an old uniform. After tearing it into scraps, I used the materials to tie the bat to my leg. I was takin’ that thing with me. It was mine now.

  I listened for footsteps from either direction, but the hallway was empty and still. Compared to the last time the ship had been breached, things were too quiet. At the time, ten people flooded the Siren IV and I’d fled from my cryo-chamber into the bowels of the ship below the main deck. Through the maintenance tubes their loud voices in the cargo bay could be heard over the quiet roar of the ship’s engine.

  “Anything on the bridge?” one man had asked another.

  “Nothing. I couldn’t bring up the control console. There’s some kind of biological lock I can’t circumvent. Not long after we breached the dock, the ship changed course for the closest sun to begin refueling.”

  The man cursed and added a new word to my repertoire. “Fuck. Our ship can’t take that kind of pressure. How soon?”

  “We need to be out of here in about two hours.”

  They’d visited so long ago—their nasty body odors no longer lingered. After I knew they’d left, I’d inspected the cargo bay and discovered crates opened and scattered about. They’d searched through metal boxes filled with useless things: clothing, electronic equipment, and tools.

  There were no weapons or food.

  The Crescent and Hyperion crews didn’t know that though—which meant I could do reconnaissance from nearby maintenance tubes while they checked. It took me about a half hour to slide from the end of the ship toward the middle. Every now and then I paused to the sound of gunfire.

  They were already fighting each other.

  Once I reached the ventilation shaft above the cargo bay, nine people—none of them were Leslie—searched the area. All of them were women wearing dark blue body suits and one barked out orders.

  “Scan all of them for food as quickly as possible,” a short blonde ordered. Compared to Leslie, this woman had softer features. Her skin was tanned—just a few shades lighter than my brown skin—and she assessed the room with an experienced glance. “Vamp ships give me the creeps. Any living organisms? Any meat?”

  “I got nothing, Dru,” one of the women said to the blonde. They wouldn’t sense me—I didn’t have a pulse.

  “How are you doing, Wagner?” she asked.

  None of the women answered. A male’s voice though could be barely heard from her earpiece.

  “The Crescent crew is heading your way. Watch your back. The ship has already started its defensive maneuver.”

  My trusty ship was heading for a star again.

  “Let’s go people!” Dru ordered. “Standard formation.” The women abandoned their tasks, slung their ion rifles over their shoulders, and headed for the cargo bay exit. “I want this place swept from top to bottom for supplies. We’re closing in on a red giant. We need to find any supplies or vamp tech before the Hyperion is destroyed.”

  As they left, I scampered backward. I had no choice but to hide again until all the crews abandoned ship.

  But the big question was where could I go? Would I have to fight again? I refused to repeat what happened with Viz. I’d eaten my fill—there was no need for me to kill again.

  I ventured deep into the ship. There were countless tubes to explore, but they narrowed when you got closer to the private chambers where I’d tried to hide. The ones along the hallways were the easiest to navigate.

  Not far from the middle of the ship, the maintenance shafts grew warmer. When I touched the walls th
e heat seeped into my chilled skin. This was a familiar place. I glanced out of the grate, paused and listened. Dancing blue lights bathed my face. Gunfire continued to erupt, but the sounds were farther away.

  The aquarium was as special to me as the engine room. Fish farm was a more appropriate term, especially since they were my food source in the cryo-chamber, but I loved the way I couldn’t resist smiling every time I came in here. I didn’t have anyone to talk to, but I could sit by the glass and watch the red and white fish glide from one side of the massive tank to the other. Their all-white eyes peered at me, only to glance away.

  On the other side of the tank, someone had painted a beautiful mural. As time stretched out, I’d come to memorize each line, each curve.

  In the center of the painting, a tree stretched its limbs toward the edges. Each of the seasons dangled from its branches. On the far left, the moon cast a heavenly glow on the snow-covered branches. The next segment, spring, the branches had signs of new life with bird nests among green sprouts. Summer was my favorite. Life thrived under a bright sun. On the other hand, the fall season brought multi-colored leaves, the promise of longer days, and death. The burnt hues bathing the right hand side of the tree dampened my mood.

  All things present under the rising sun eventually fell and died.

  Except for me.

  That fact solidified in my head every time I looked at the smooth surface in front of me.

  My reflection in the glass was unkind. A tall, gangly thing peered back at me, her black hair in matted tufts around her head, and her features too gaunt. The smile on the woman’s face fell.

  I used to be able to twirl the tight spirals in my hair in my cryo-chamber. That was so long ago, I wasn’t sure sometimes if the memory was accurate or not.

  Had I always looked like this?

  The letters “SEE” had been stitched into this suit. I wasn’t sure if that was my name—even if this was the only uniform that fit me.

  “They’re beautifully flawed, aren’t they?” a voice whispered. Behind me something subtly shifted in the reflection. I turned sharply, prepared to hide, but what moved in the far corner wasn’t going anywhere. The fish farm was a damp, warm space compared to the cold in the rest of the ship. At the far end of the room, past the scaly stone pillars, which filtered the water, a small shaft of light revealed the slightly opened door. Midway across the room, a single leg extended behind a pillar. Whoever it was, they were lying on the floor.

  I darted from one column to the next, my movement silent beneath the soft sound of the water. By the time I approached him from the darkened corners where long-abandoned filtration equipment was stacked, the figure hadn’t moved much.

  It was a man.

  The light from the hallway cast a faint white light on a short brown beard, while on the other side, bluish tints gave him a sickly pallor. Although, that complexion might be from the pool of blood underneath his leg. Five small arrows protruded from his thigh. Leslie’s handiwork.

  The looters from the last invasion were far dirtier than this one. Spiky, light brown hair sprouted out of the top of his head, while the sides had been shaved off. Shadows made his features murky, but I could make out the sharp angles to his face.

  Approaching footsteps thundered down the hallway. Someone was coming.

  “Wagner, where in the hell are you?” a woman’s voice snapped from a tiny, rectangular, metal box on his shoulder.

  So this was the Wagner she spoke to…

  She wouldn’t be speaking to him for very long. Leslie’s team was closing in. If I were smart, I’d be scampering to the closest maintenance grate.

  And yet, I paused when his scent hit my nose. He didn’t smell sweet. I crept even closer to this oddity.

  This man wasn’t food, and yet, he smelled human. He sure stank like one. Was he something different altogether? I glanced from his bleeding leg, which should’ve sent me reeling, to his face. He saw me. Our gazes locked and one thing became quite apparent as the noises grew louder: Wagner was about to die.

  A Thousand Suns

  Viz, my latest meal, had stunk from all sorts of body odors, but his underlying scent had been sweet. The sweet taste of life. Every human had a distinct underlying taste. The more virile, the better. Sickly humans had a foul stench and bitterness I stomached when I had nothing else to eat.

  One woman, from the last looting ship, had fed me well. I shuddered from the memory of her begging. Why was her voice the one I heard in my head more often, and not the woman in dark blue whose wise words circled in my head like the cool air in this room?

  The footsteps grew louder and I crouched lower. If Leslie’s group found us, only one of us would be able to escape. Only about ten feet separated me from the shaft, and yet, for some reason I ran toward the hallway instead.

  I didn’t have to wait long for Leslie’s familiar figure to appear with three other men dressed in the same clothing as Viz.

  “There’s the vamp!” Leslie called out.

  I broke into a run. This hallway led straight toward the main intersection of the ship. Once there I’d have to decide if I was heading toward the bridge at the bow or if I’d go right so I could descend to the engine section.

  My decision was made the moment I reached the intersection. I darted to the right. Never before had I let my pursuers get so close. At this point, I’d have to see how deep I could go into the engine room until they gave up. My running slowed a bit as I hurried down the steps. The chill in my bones turned warm. I jumped down to the next level. Then the next. Heat radiated against my face. I reached the double doorway to the engine room and paused.

  “During the day, do not stray,” the woman in dark blue had warned me a long time ago. Out of the things that stuck in my mind, this one made no sense until I came to this particular room. In space, there was no night or day. No waxing and waning of a sun and moon like the drawings on the aquarium wall.

  There was a reason I got close to the engine room, but I rarely went in.

  When I ventured closer to the doors, they opened and I rushed inside. To anyone who hadn’t seen the Siren IV’s engine room, this place could’ve been awe-inspiring. Twenty levels of scaffolding and massive tubes surrounded an open space. I couldn’t even see the other side of the room—in the center sat a glowing, white sphere that slowly turned. Bluish-white streaks flared across the surface. The humming noise throughout the ship came from the giant, vibrating metal disks that were attached to arms extending from the ceiling toward the white-hot core.

  The core had to be the heart of the vampire ship, kept alive by fuel from other stars.

  Only once did I dare look at the core and was left seeing white spots for days. The exposed skin along my hands and face began to tingle.

  Not far behind me, Leslie stopped hard at the doorway.

  “Don’t go in there, Yao!” she snapped. “Radiation warning. Look at the fucking sign.”

  I crept toward the closed door, facing away from the white light bathing my back. Were they coming in or not? Only a fool waited, but I wanted to know why they wouldn’t cross the threshold.

  “So how do we get her then?” a man’s voice yelled.

  “I dunno,” Leslie grated. “See any radiation suits?”

  “On a vamp ship?” he said with a voice drenched in sarcasm. “Like they need it.”

  Before I’d gone in, I remembered seeing a symbol with three vertical lines and strokes along the bottom. Did that mean “engine room” or “radiation warning”?

  Either way, Leslie and her crew were running out of time. I was as well. My exposed hands and feet were going numb.

  I raced away from the door across the top floor’s metal scaffolding. There were all sorts of vents here, many of them dangerous places to hide, but I’d have to find one that took me away from the radiating core.

  A thick metal block with a panel on top appeared to be the best spot to check for escape routes. I scampered behind the block and searched.

>   Back in business! A quick check revealed cool air blasting out. I hurried into the ventilation shaft. A few feet in and I sighed with relief as the numbness faded into a dull ache. The last time I’d dared to come in, I’d been left with spots in my vision and a few searing burns on my face. I’d learned my lesson that time: there was a reason there were no viewports to the outside.

  I curled up on my side and closed my eyes. The smart thing to do would be to wait out the Hyperion and Crescent crew.

  Yet, my thoughts drifted to the man I’d left behind in the fish farm.

  “They’re beautifully flawed, aren’t they?” Wagner had said.

  Not a single looter had ever said a kind word to me.

  Had he escaped? Was he reunited with the Hyperion crew?

  A subtle jolt shook the Siren IV—which meant a ship had left. If so, which one?

  I turned over twice before I gave up and exited the shaft, a destination in mind. When I got to the doorway leaving the engine room, one person stood in my path wearing a dark-blue space suit.

  Leslie had waited for me.

  A Day in the Sun

  “You didn’t leave,” was all I said.

  What could I say? Gee, miss your ride?

  Leslie took a step toward me. Her crossbow was gone, but she sported a knife in her right hand and a frown on her face.

  “Five years. Nine months. Three weeks. Two days. That’s how much time I’ve invested in this fucking ship,” she hissed. “And I refuse to leave until it’s mine. If I have to slice off body parts, I’m gonna do it.”

  “Even if that means destroying the Crescent?” I whispered, taking a step away from Leslie. The radiating heat from the core caressed my back.

  “I told them to leave. Once I control this ship, I’ll find them again soon enough.”

  I untied Viz’s bat from my leg. Time to play.

  She glanced at what was in my hands. “Is that Viz’s jolt sword?”