"The drone does most of the work, but I will direct you over the intercom," Krazirk said. He surveyed the others as they assembled various parts for the drones to install. "At least some of these slaves will have enough knowledge to be worth something on the market. It may just be cheaper to kill you, Earthlings."
Jim gulped, but Melissa just closed her eyes as she pulled her helmet over the top of her head. With a small twist, it clicked into place, and she turned the knob once again, this time allowing just enough air through the hose to provide a steady flow to her lungs. "Okay, where’s the part?"
One of the salvaged repair drones entered, listing to one side slightly. Behind it, the part that it and she would be installing drifted at the end of a cable similar to their bindings.
“Airlock is in the shuttle bay,” Jim said. “Of course, the nacelle goes at the other end. I’d say hitch a ride on the drone, but I’m not sure I trust that one to hold your weight.” He hitched his thumb at the device as it wavered in the faint current of air from the ventilation grate above.
Melissa nodded and disappeared down the corridor. Jim mouthed, “I love you,” to the space she had just occupied.
“Come.” Krazirk beckoned to Jim. “The rest of these slaves know better than to try something. But I want to keep my eye on you while I instruct your worthless crew.”
Krazirk pulled up the viewscreen feed from outside the shuttle bay just as Melissa left the airlock. Jim counted the agonizing minutes as she made her way across the exterior of the ship, one heavy magnetic boot-fall at a time. “This is taking too long. She’s not going to have enough air to finish the job and get back.”
“Well, that’s your fault. Isn’t it?” Krazirk backhanded him. He dodged the most of the blow and stumbled into the Captain’s chair. Krazirk eyed Jim as he got his feet back under him. “Hmm, that will work.”
In a single bound, the Razak was beside him and yanked the coil from Jim’s wrists. The metal chafed as it slid over his bare skin. He rubbed at the red marks, but Krazirk grabbed his arms again, looping the cuffs around a chair arm and binding both hands to it. “If you don’t shut up, I’ll gag you as well.”
Krazirk turned his attention back to the monitor. Melissa finally made it to the gaping hole in the ship’s hull where the port nacelle belonged. Krazirk barked directions at her over the intercom while Jim continued to focus on her biometric data.
He occasionally glanced at her progress. They had the replacement part attached and now worked on fusing the myriad connections varying from tubes as big around as his arm to nearly invisible wires that Jim could only see on the screen when they glinted in the faint light of the distant sun.
Her air supply dipped below the quarter mark. “She should leave soon if she’s going to make it back inside before she runs out,” Jim said.
“No, that’s the anti-matter condenser, not the gyroscopic controller. Pay attention.” Krazirk pounded at the panel in front of him, cracking the plastic-like bezel. Without bothering to turn off his microphone, he glared at Jim. “What did I tell you about keeping quiet. If she hurries, she’ll finish the job before she suffocates. That’s all I care about.”
Melissa jumped at his words, knocking her half-connected pipe loose. The drone’s welder attachment scorched the shell of her suit before the safeties engaged and the beam shut off. The arm flashed a series of colors to denote frustration at its human helper before tugging the pipe back into place.
Jim gulped. He wasn’t helping matters. Where is Chris? This ship isn’t that big.
-I’m outside the door, boss,- Chris replied. -But I can’t figure out how to get in without alerting Krazirk. That big S.O.B. is quicker than he looks.-
“Krazirk, I need to use a bathroom,” Jim said.
“You will just have to go in your pants.” Krazirk sneered.
Jim shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Suit yourself. But these Fagare rations don’t sit too well with my system. It’s not going to be pleasant.”
Krazirk grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the seat. Jim yelped as his shoulder sockets strained and the cuffs dug into his wrists. Krazirk yanked again before realizing the problem. If possible, the coils came off with more force this time then when Jim had been bound to the chair.
Krazirk slapped the cuffs back onto his wrists once clear of the chair and threw him towards the door. He hit the floor hard and rolled onto his back. Jim floundered until he got his feet under him and rose unsteadily. He glared back at Krazirk who watched with a bemused expression. “Aren’t you going to escort me?”
Krazirk looked from Jim to the screen where Melissa still toiled. “She won’t finish before her air runs out at this point. Might as well make sure you don’t get lost again so you can watch her in her death throws.” He doubled over laughing at the apparent joke.
Jim’s gut churned at what passed for humor to his captor. Any sympathy for the Razak he’d killed in the battle a few hours ago was quickly evaporating into a pit of rage for their cavalier attitude towards the value of human life. -Resolve, make Krazirk open the door.-
Jim stepped in front of the door sensor. As requested, it stayed shut. Krazirk frowned and slammed the palm of his hand against the manual control switch. The hatch slid open and Jim took a tentative step through.
“What are you waiting for? I don’t want to miss your crew-mate’s death.” Krazirk gave him a shove.
Jim caught sight of Chris pushed against the wall. White knuckles grasped around Melissa’s stun baton. Jim gave an almost imperceptible nod and faked a stumble. He ducked and rolled away from Krazirk. The cuffs released themselves, allowing him to control his motion this time.
Chris swung the baton like a baseball bat, connecting with Krazirk’s jaw. The device crackled with electricity as the Razak’s head and torso spasmed and went rigid. The baton chirped, and the lights on it went out. Chris frowned and threw it to the ground before reaching for his sidearm.
Despite being stunned, Krazirk was quicker to the draw. His arm quivered as he shot, and the shot missed Chris’s heart where he’d aimed but instead glanced the side of the gunner’s side. Chris clutched his side over the wound as blood seeped between his fingers. He took a step back as Krazirk raised the weapon to fire a second time.
Jim charged at Krazirk with a feral yell. Krazirk turned just as Jim barreled into him. The gun popped from his hand and skittered down the hallway. Jim punched him in the gut and immediately regretted it. It was like putting his fist into a slab of meat.
Krazirk pushed against Jim’s weight. In his weakened state, he could lift Jim but not throw him. Jim sent his steel-toe boot into Krazirk’s side. Krazirk let go of him, and he dropped onto the alien’s chest. Krazirk huffed as the air left him. Jim used the distraction to reach into his pocket and pull out the cuffs that had so recently been used against him. He got the loop around one arm, but Krazirk pushed him away before he secured the other side.
Krazirk’s strength was returning, and Jim fell next to Chris. Chris gurgled and moaned when Jim bumped into him. Dark red stained his t-shirt. “Hang in there, big guy,” Jim whispered next to him.
Krazirk stumbled to his feet. “Your feeble attempts at escape have gotten really old. I’m done with all of you. I’ll just shoot everyone and take the cruiser. I’ll sell the location to this heap to a salvage crew. That and the location of seven billion low-tech slaves out to be worth enough to buy my commission back.” He reached for his weapon before remembering that it was gone. His eyes glanced around before finding it by the shuttle bay door. He lunged for the gun, one hand still in the handcuffs.
Jim grabbed Krazirk’s leg but was kicked free. Jim landed on Chris’s leg, something hard jabbing him in the chest. He rolled off and yanked the pant leg up. The matte black handle of Chris’s Bowie knife stuck out of a leather harness.
“I’ll never complain about your obsession with being armed at all times again,” he muttered. His fingers wrapped around the knife and pulled it fro
m the sheath. He pushed himself off the floor and lunged after Krazirk.
Krazirk caught the motion out of the corner of his eye and whirled around but not before Jim leaped onto his back. He reached behind and grabbed at his passenger. Jim hooked his legs around Krazirk’s torso and rode him like a bucking bronco. His right hand struggled for a good handhold while maintaining his grasp on the knife. Krazirk threw them against the wall. Stars danced in Jim's eyes briefly, but he blinked them away. The Razak leaned forward to attempt the maneuver again. Jim took the momentary stability to raise the knife and plunged it into Krazirk's back just below the shoulder.
The saw tooth blade slid into flesh like butter until the hilt pressed against Krazirk's grayish skin. He fell to his knees, and Jim slid down his back until his own feet touched the floor once more.
"I told you that if I ever saw the back of you, you'd see a knife in it." Jim pulled the knife out of Krazirk's shoulder; dark red blood spurted from the wound. While the Razak's bio-engineered skin stitched itself back together, Jim finished securing the cuffs on his once-captor, now-captive.
A few feet away, Chris's skin has a ghostly look. "Resolve, get the medic to Chris immediately." The words were barely out of his mouth when the gray box he loathed so much shot down the hallway to its patient.
Jim raced back onto the bridge. Melissa's air gauge flashed red on the screen. He slapped the intercom button hard enough that his palm went numb. "Start back to the air lock. I'm coming for you." He took off back down the hall to Bobby's room.
"It's over," he shouted at the prisoners as he entered. "Resolve, remove everyone's bindings except Krazirk's. Somebody help me get my suit on, Melissa's out of air."
Bobby was beside him in an instant. "Let me go. You're hurt."
Jim looked down at his shirt and realized he was covered in Krazirk's blood. "It’s not mine. But Chris is. See if the drone needs any help." He looked up, somehow falling back into old habits as the initial burst of adrenaline burned off. "Resolve, send a repair bot that isn't about to keel over to the shuttle bay. And a spare bottle of oxygen."
Jim didn't wait for his suit to confirm the parts had been assembled correctly before donning his helmet at the airlock. Air hissed into his helmet as the large vents sucked it out of the lock. Warning lights flared up all over his heads-up display; the gauntlet wasn't seated correctly. He pulled it off and felt his hand swell in the near-vacuum environment.
Jim pulled the glove back on, struggling to get his now sausage-like fingers into their holes. The exterior door opened as he twisted the piece into place. The red lights died out leaving Jim with a pins-and-needles sensation in his arm. He ignored it and grabbed hold of the drone with his good arm. "Take me to Melissa, as fast as you can."
They found her at almost the halfway point, doubled over against the surface. One arm was held out in front as if reaching for help. "Please be okay. Please be okay," Jim prayed as he hopped off the drone with the spare tank.
His boots latched onto the ship a few feet from her, and he shuffled to her side. He fumbled with the hose on the tank until he got it connected to the auxiliary input on her suit. He turned the valve onto full and stared into her faceplate willing her to revive.
“Drone, hold her down.” Jim braced himself as best he could and started chest compressions. He sang the Bee Gees, as the CPR instructors always taught. Chris’s laughter echoed over his suit’s radio, but was cut short by an “ow.”
Seconds passed. Finally, her mouth opened and sucked in a deep breath of air. She took several more gasping breathes before her color returned and her eyes opened. “That song is so old.” Her voice was low and raspy.
"I thought I lost you," he cried. His hand rose to wipe away the tears but bounced against the glass.
"Krazirk?"
"He's secure. He won't be a problem anymore. Come on. Let's go home." He pulled her to her feet and helped her board the waiting drone. He didn't want to overburden the device, so he walked beside it as it floated back to the lock.
Inside, Bobby rushed to Melissa and helped her to her feet. Chris leaned against a bulkhead a few feet away. His color was a little better than before, but from the way he swayed, Jim could tell he was still weak. But upright was an improvement.
Melissa slowly removed her helmet and placed it on the drone beside her. Bobby wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, threatening to force the air out of her lungs.
Jim looked around uncomfortably. Their whole relationship was still too new to him to be able to deal with it. He caught Brua's eye and hurried to her.
"Krazirk is locked in the smuggler's nook," she informed him.
Jim glanced back at the two lovebirds one more time before returning his attention to the other Captain. "Ah, yes. Let's talk about that or anything, really."
Brua laughed. "She is your youngling, no? Mine is eighty, but it is still hard not to think of him as the baby I held in my arms."
"Seems like just yesterday, I was kissing her boo-boos." He shook the memory from his head. "But as much as I hate to admit it, Bobby's a good man. I can trust him to treat her right. But tell me about this nook. He can't get out at all?"
"Come, I'll show you." She put her hand on his elbow and led him towards her ship which still dominated the shuttle bay's space. "I broke the handle off the inside and we welded a plate over it. Probably never going to get anyone to go in there willingly again."
In front of them, the Starfall groaned, and the Resolve rocked. The klaxon sounded, right over Jim's head as always seemed to be the case. "I'm getting really tired of that thing," Their two crews raced over with Chris limping on Bobby's shoulder. "What happened?" Chris yelled over the sound of the emergency siren.
Brua ducked inside her ship. Jim followed her, clutching the knife that was still stained with Krazirk's blood.
"Shit," Brua swore. "He's gone."
Krazirk?" Jim gripped the knife tighter. "Where did he go?"
"Not on the ship." She pointed to the warped girders inside the small space. "The S.O.B had a personal warp transporter. Damn near blew my ship up with it."
"I thought you couldn't warp near a larger mass. Doesn't a ship qualify compared to a person?"
She shook her head. "It's not that you can't. It's just extremely dangerous. The beams bent when a bubble of spacetime collapsed on itself. Those personal transporters are outlawed by all the systems, even the Razak. More than half the time, they manage to implode their rider."
Jim clicked his tongue against his teeth. "I've got my fingers crossed that happened to him, but something tells me that I haven't seen the last of that bastard."
Thanks for buying Absolve. As a special thank you, I commissioned a special preo-order bonus sketch of the Resolve's gunner.
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Once Upon a Saturn Moon
Bitter rivals. A dictator on the rise. One chance to save humanity…
Salaris thought her biggest problem was missing her fiancé during his mysterious mission. It’s only when the Barakaak learns of a master plot meant to rid the solar system of humanity that she learns her true purpose. When she’s abandoned by her allies, Salaris finds herself captured, tortured, and alone, sending humanity even closer to a deadly interplanetary trap.
Marsil is the sworn enemy of Salaris. But when this leader of a rival Saarkark faction learns of the plot against humanity, she makes her own plan to intervene.
As it becomes obvious that teaming up is the only way to save the human race, Salaris and Marsil must put aside their personal agendas or fail humanity in the process.
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Lost Fagare Ship 2: Absolve Page 7
