Melissa slid out of the cubicle and onto the bed beside Bobby just as the door slid open.
“There is a Fagare cruiser hailing you. You must convince them to join us.” Krazirk stood at the doorway, his solid frame filling the bottom two-thirds of the space completely.
“Why would I do that?” Jim said before taking the time to think about the ramifications of his response.
For someone as large as the Razak Captain, Krazirk crossed the span of the room in a flash. He backhanded Jim with enough force to send him reeling to the floor. “There are worse options than slavery for me to choose for you.”
Jim sighed. “Okay. Lead the way.”
“You just gonna trick them into getting captured again? That don’t seem right,” Chris said.
“It’s them or us.” Jim gritted his teeth. -They still have the guns we gave them. Unless you can tunnel through steel with your fingertips, they’re our best bet,- he added silently.
Nobody else spoke. Krazirk grabbed Jim’s arm just above the elbow, squeezing harder than he meant to, or more likely knowing exactly how much pressure he exerted. Unlike the kick on the shuttle, no bones broke under this assault.
On the bridge, Krazirk removed the cuffs before standing just out of view of the screen. “Warn them or try to escape and I will shoot you. He trained a Razak-made plasma rifle at Jim’s direction.
Jim swallowed and nodded. “Resolve, answer.”
Brua’s face appeared in front of him. “Glad to see you made it out, Captain.”
“Likewise.” Jim forced a smile. “What do I owe the pleasure.? Figured you’d want to hightail it back to Fagare space.”
“My passengers and crew are pretty eager to get home. But our scans show you pretty badly damaged. I wanted to see if maybe you wanted to ride. It will be a tight fit, but unfortunately, we do have a few bunks open now that were full at the start of our trip.”
“That’s much appreciated, but home for us is that way.” He hitched a thumb towards the inner planets. Krazirk grunted and waved his weapon at Jim. “But if you could spare a couple of hours to help us out, that would be a great help. I don’t think this mechanic is as good as he says he is.”
Krazirk stomped his foot off screen, hard enough to be heard despite the sound-dampening properties of the material. Brua jumped at the sound. “What was that?”
Jim cast a sideways glance at him. “Probably that idiot dropping something important. See what I’m dealing with? It will take us months if we try to do this ourselves.”
Brua frowned and consulted with someone off screen. “Okay, we have a couple mechanics and engineers on board and the rest can help carry stuff.”
“That will be awesome. Oh, and don’t forget to bring the tools that we leaned you back on the Star Destroyer. We figured you needed them more than we did, but it’s looking like we were wrong.”
Brua started to say something, but Jim cut the connection off. Krazirk backhanded him, sending him across the room. “What was that last part?” The Razak’s shoulder plates rattled against each other. Jim held up his hands to protect his head, and Krazirk wound his wrists with the cuffs before pulling him back up to his feet.
“We found a plasma tuner on the Star Destroyer,” Jim said. “We figured that we’d still make it back to earth with an inefficient plasma mix, so we let them take it. Their cruiser took a beating when you captured them.”
In truth, Jim had no clue what shape Brua’s ship was in, but considering how the Razak handled things, it seemed like a good guess. He just hoped that she had understood his cryptic message.
Jim contemplated warning them by flashing the bay lights in Morse code. With his mental connection to the ship, it would be an easy thing to do. But either the Fagare never created such a system, or it was another one of the aggravating gaps in his inherited memories. Besides, if they knew the danger, they might not even come.
Instead, he silently operated the landing bay controls while Krazirk stood next to him with the muzzle of his gun pressed into his kidney. The Fagare landed without incident and Krazirk ducked behind the console, ready to spring his trap. Jim held his breath as the cruiser’s door opened. Brua stood at the hatch as the gangway unrolled itself to the bay floor. “So how can we help, Captain?”
Krazirk’s heavy world muscles sprang like a mouse trap, sending Brua to the floor before she had a chance to even react. “You can start by ordering your crew to surrender.”
“Well, that didn’t last very long.” Hurt was written all over her face. “Everybody come out. We’ve been captured again.” Brua’s remaining crew and passengers shuffled out of the cruiser. Jim counted to himself as they stepped out to be frisked by Krazirk and fitted with restraints. Eight plus Brua made nine. Who was missing? Jim realized with a start that the scholar who looked like Chris had not left the cruiser. His eyes darted to Brua. She glanced at Krazirk who’s attention lie elsewhere and nodded almost imperceptibly.
Jim bit his lip. The scholar had his creed of nonviolence and would be no match to Krazirk.
The Razak finished processing his prisoners and boarded the cruiser to ensure it was clear. As soon as he was inside, Brua slid beside Jim. “I can’t believe you sold us out.”
“I tried to warn you. Told you to bring the tools.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I couldn’t figure out what you were going on about.”
“Remember the guns when we rescued you?”
Her eyes went wide with understanding. She opened her mouth, but Jim stopped her. “We can discuss that another time. Where’s the scholar?”
“He’s hiding in the smuggler’s box below the bridge. That’s where your ‘tools’ are.”
“Any chance you can get a message to him?”
She shook her head. “Not unless Krazirk lets me back on the Starfall. Doubt that’s going to happen.”
Jim bit his lip. “Do you have a plasma tuner?”
Brua wiped the grease from her hands. Krazirk leaned forward from his perch on an empty crate. “Get back to work.” He motioned her with the muzzle of his rifle.
“That’s as much work as I can get done on this conduit without a plasma tuner.” She shrugged and spread her arms as far as the loosened cuffs would allow her.
Jim smiled from under a control panel where he tried to trace a rats’ nest of cables to figure out why the thrusters weren’t getting power. Krazirk grabbed his pant leg and yanked him free of the panel. He yelped as his elbow banged against the support beam above him. He rubbed his funny bone but said nothing. Best not to antagonize him until further along in the plan.
“You gave them the one you stole off my ship.” Krazirk’s words came out as more of a statement than a question.
Jim nodded. “Yeah.”
“I can go grab it,” Brua said.
“Ha. Only a fool would let a Captain back on their ship unattended. Tell me where it is, and I’ll get it.” Krazirk stood and stretched as if having sat in one position for too long.
“Then you would be leaving the Captain of this ship unattended.” Jim squared off in front of him.
Krazirk’s shoulder plates rattled. “No, I am in control of your vessel now.”
“You really think you found every hidden spot? Turn your back on me and you’ll find a knife in it.” So much for not antagonizing their captor.
Krazirk picked him up by this thought. Jim kicked his legs trying to find purchase. Krazirk squeezed his fingers, cutting off Jim’s airway. His nostrils flared with each breath. Jim’s vision clouded over. In a low voice, Krazirk growled. “If you ever threaten me again, you better be prepared to follow through with it.”
Krazirk dropped Jim who went tumbling back to the floor, heaving his chest to get oxygen back into his body. Jim’s mind wandered back to his fight with Bobby a few hours earlier. Suffocating felt like such a horrible way to almost die. Another apology would be necessary after they got out of this mess.
Krazirk stood over him. “You get the plasma tune
r then. But if I think you are taking too long, I will shoot your crew. I have plenty of slaves to sell now.”
Jim wobbled as he pushed himself first to his knees and then onto his feet. “No dallying. Got it.”
The other captives made way for him as he swayed down the hallway to the elevator. He felt better by the time he reached the shuttle bay, but between Krazirk’s abuse and the bumps and bangs from stumbling through the Resolve’s repairs, he was beginning to get over his disdain for medical drone. He couldn’t afford to let Krazirk know that he could still command them, however.
Jim closed his eyes to visualize the directions that Brua had given him. She had been the first choice for this mission, but everybody had been given the details so they would be prepared no matter who Krazirk had allowed on the Starfall.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he plunged into the dimly lit foyer of the Fagaran cruiser. Sensing his presence, the ship brought the lights up to full power, temporarily blinding him. He rubbed the purple star-like afterimages from his eyes. Jim should have known better; the Resolve seemed to have no sense of gradual changes in lighting either. He wondered if prolonged exposure to such conditions could do damage to his already slowly deteriorating vision.
He shook his head. There would be time enough for complaining about alien engineering later, but only if he didn’t waste time now. The Starfall was laid out similarly to the Resolve, except on a reduced scale and most of the storage space converted into more bunkrooms. With the war, most Fagare travel consisted of fleeing Razak encroachment. Belongings were abandoned in favor of traveling light.
The previous Captain had fewer scruples than Brua and some of his passengers had been fleeing justice rather than war. Brua had considered opening up the smuggler’s hold when she bought the ship at auction but figured the hidden compartment could come in handy one day. She’d had no clue how much her life would rely on it then.
Jim found the section of wall that she had described, squeezed between two-family sized staterooms. Jim ducked inside one room, then the other. The hidden space couldn’t be more than a few feet across; it would take a discerning eye to even realize the rooms didn’t touch.
Jim pressed his thumb into a corner of the diamond panel where the color was half a shade lighter than the rest of the wall. It clicked and a three-foot section of panel slid into a recessed slot on the wall.
"I surrender. Don't hurt me." Chris - or rather the scholar who looked remarkably like him - cowered on the floor with his arms over his head.
Jim bit his lip in disgust. He felt no love for violent action, but couldn't bear to witness how cowardly this man took that sentiment. He held out his hand. "For once in your useless life, you are going to help."
The scholar lowered his trembling arms. "I can't fight."
Jim tensed, and the slight motion sent Chris’s doppelganger back into a quivering mess. Jim grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Pull yourself together, man. I don't need you to fight. In fact, all you need to do is sit in a room and do nothing."
"I- I can do that."
"Good. Get up. I'll explain along the way."
The scholar stood and dusted off his jumpsuit. He stepped out of the alcove to reveal more of the hidden space. The six laser pistols that Chris had given Brua sat on a shelf in the back. Jim squeezed beside the scholar and slid them into a bag.
The scholar took a step away from the Jim and pressed his back into the wall.
"That's fine. Just stay out of my way." Jim checked his wrist computer that Krazirk hadn't bothered to remove when they'd been stripped of their space suites. He tossed the bag over his shoulder and glanced at the man who was simultaneously useless and their only hope. Before leaving, he snatched the plasma tuner from the engineering cubicle near the door. He pushed the bag into the scholar's chest. Go in the door on the left and take Chris's place. He will do the rest."
The scholar didn't move. "You have one minute left before I start shooting your crew." Krazirk's voice echoed down the hall. Jim gave the scholar another push. "Do it," he hissed. He couldn't waste time to confirm that the scholar had responded. He stepped onto the elevator and the deck disappeared behind him.
Jim only had a moment to collect himself before the door reopened to reveal Krazirk's scowling face. "What took you so long?" Krazirk's breath felt wet and hot on his face.
Jim resisted the urge to step away from him. "I remembered wrong what it looked like and missed it the first time through. But I have it now." He raised it up in his hand.
Krazirk snatched it and pushed it to Brua. "Now get back to work." He grabbed Jim's shirt. "Get your female in her space suit. She needs to fasten the nacelle you stole from me." He shoved Jim back into the elevator. "I just hope you remember what she looks like." Krazirk laughed, and Jim fought the urge to cover his ears with his hands to escape the awful sound.
Jim slapped the manual control on the elevator and waited for Krazirk's face to disappear behind the door. He considered trying to delay the EVA, but he reasoned they needed to do it regardless of Krazirk. Bobby's door opened wordlessly for him before he realized that he'd left the elevator. Rather than try to keep tabs on more than a dozen prisoners and ensuring they didn't sabotage the repairs, Krazirk only let a couple out at a time and left the rest locked in the bedroom. The prisoners milled about the room, finding places to sit where they could.
Jim looked for Chris, trying to determine if the big man was the gunner or his look-alike. He didn't see the bag anywhere, so hopefully, that was a good sign.
Melissa spotted him at the door and rushed over to give him a hug. "Chris left a few minutes ago. I thought he'd grab his stash in his room and hand them out, but he hasn't been back."
Jim shook his head. "That would be too risky. I don't know if this old boat would survive a shoot-out. Certainly, not with the beating we've already taken. If I were him, I'd wait for a chance to get close to Krazirk and take him out without any collateral damage."
"Subtle isn't exactly Chris's strong suit, dad."
"I know, but luckily, we are about to have a distraction." Jim smiled. "Get your suit on. Krazirk wants you to go out and attach the nacelle."
Getting the suit on was tricky with the cuffs on. Jim debated simply removing them, but he didn't want to risk Krazirk knowing the difference. As he helped her attach the magnetic boots, he asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? If we wait until Chris takes care of Krazirk, we can send somebody else out instead."
Melissa grinned. "Are you kidding? I've been dying for a chance to go out and experience zero-g. Or just to be outside of a ship again. You know I don't like being inside all the time."
"Yeah, I'm a little jealous myself. Maybe we'll all do a little space walk on the way home." His face matched hers.
Her face grew serious. "So, you are coming with us then?"
The shock of her accusation startled him enough to fall backwards to the floor. Five heads swiveled towards them. He waved them off as he pushed himself back to his feet. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on, dad. I know you've been blaming yourself for all of this." She waved her arms over her head. "You think this is the first time in the twenty years we've been family that you've decided to be the martyr for things you couldn't control." She placed a gloved hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to take the burden alone. We all played our parts."
Jim gave his stepdaughter a squeeze. "I didn't realize I was so obvious."
"Also, Chris isn’t the only one broadcasting more than he should." She smiled. "No, let's go put this ship back together."
"Wait," Bobby yelled as they reached the door. He jogged a couple of steps to them from where he'd been perched on his desk. Bobby wiggled one hand out of his bindings and wrapped his arms around Melissa. Jim tensed and gave him a squint eye, but otherwise didn't interfere.
"Be careful out there." Bobby stood on his toes and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Jim found himself clenching his fists and willed them back open. Bob
by glanced over at him. "You, too. Need somebody to walk her down the aisle when we get home."
Melissa backed away from Bobby. "That's not how I wanted to tell him," she hissed through her teeth. She turned back to Jim. "That's not how I wanted you to find out, dad. We weren’t going to tell you yet. We were going to wait till we got the ship fixed."
Jim didn't move. "You weren't going to tell me yet. Just how long have you been hiding this from me?"
Bobby kept his head down, not willing to meet Jim's stare. "We weren't. I mean, we just decided."
"He just asked me. Like five minutes before you arrived." Melissa put her hand on Bobby's shoulder. "Dad, I don't want to hide anything from you again. I just wanted to wait until things weren't so life-or-death."
Jim exhaled slowly. "Well, I guess I can see that. I appreciate that you weren't planning on keeping me out of the loop again. Maybe there's hope for this relationship yet."
Melissa opened her mouth, but Jim waved her off. "No, you were right. Now's not the time to be dealing with personal matters. Other lives are at stake besides our own. Let's go and do this."
They met Krazirk in the galley where he was organizing the prisoners' repair efforts. "Before you say anything, these suits aren't easy to put on with hands bound. Should have thought of that if you're in such a hurry." Jim knew better than to antagonize him, but couldn't help putting in the little dig.
Krazirk grabbed Melissa by the shoulders and whirled her around until she faced away from him. He twisted a nob on the attached air tank, and gas hissed out. Jim watched the gauge sink until reaching the halfway mark. Krazirk tightened the nob back before returning his attention to Jim. "Now she will be in a hurry as well."
Jim stomped his foot. "You can't do that. She won't have enough time to finish before running out of air."
"If she does, I've got more slaves to finish the task." Krazirk shrugged.
Jim glanced in her direction. She nodded and turned to Krazirk. "I'll go as fast as I can, but I don't actually know how to attach it. A week ago, the most advanced engine I'd ever seen was a three fifty-two Ford."
Lost Fagare Ship 2: Absolve Page 6
