by Cheree Alsop
Yukan’s voice sounded worried when he said, “That’s a lot of guesswork.”
“It’s all I’ve got right now,” Gage replied. He tried to reach the back of his atmosphere suit, but keeping the Ketulan’s claws at bay required all of his effort. “Tell me where the cryogenic line is.”
“On your left side just below your shoulder blade,” Indy called out in his lilting accent. “But be careful. It’s pressurized. Once it’s cut, it could send you flying off into space.”
“Thanks for the thought,” Gage told him.
“We found a way to overwhelm it with some electrified bullets Indy’s been working on,” Klellen said. “Yukan, Suye, come with us. We’ve got some target practice to do.”
Gage knew that once he let go of the Ketulan’s claw to reach for the hose, the Ketulan would be free to tear into him until he found the line. Making a quick decision, Gage pulled his gun from his holster and shoved it in the machine’s right claw to distract it while he groped for the line.
The Ketulan attempted to cut through the gun. Gage breathed a breath of gratitude for the Zamarian steel craftsmanship of the gift Yukan had given him when he joined the crew a year ago. Gage fumbled behind him for the line. He found it, sliced it with his knife, and aimed the hose at the Ketulan.
The blast of the pressurized gas hit the Ketulan square in the middle of its metal plate. The force of the pressure sent Gage reeling backwards against the hull. He scrambled for a handhold on the Kratos, but the Ketulan was on him again. He blasted it with the liquid nitrogen once more. The force sent Gage spinning over the top of the Kratos toward the nothingness beyond.
“Gage!” Sienna yelled.
“Captain!” Klellen shouted. “Yukan, get a Grebe! Ruck, shoot the Ketulan!”
“I might hit the Captain,” Ruck replied with panic in her voice when the machine surged after him.
“Yours is the only gun that’s ready,” Klellen said. “You have to take the shot!”
“If I hit it, the electricity could affect the captain!” Ruck replied.
Gage grappled with the Ketulan. The machine’s momentum sent them both rolling end over end as he fought to protect himself. The nitrogen from his cut line spurted out, adding to their crazy trajectory. Gage fought to bring his knife up. He could see the spread of frost across the Ketulan’s front plate where the nitrogen had hit. He let go of the Ketulan’s left claw, brought the knife up, and then drove it into the frost patch just as the machine’s claw latched onto his right shoulder.
Gage let out a yell of pain. The metal plate shattered under the impact and he drove the knife deep inside the Ketulan. The machine sparked and shook. It engaged its thrusters in an attempt to pull Gage even further from the ship, but a bullet hit the side of the machine. Green electricity raced across the metal fueled by the gasses that emanated from the hole he had caused. Gage yanked the knife free, but the electricity ran through the Ketulan’s claw that still gripped his shoulder.
Gage’s jaw clenched and muscles tightened. A yell escaped his gritted teeth.
“Go, Yukan!” Hyra pleaded.
“Hold on, Captain,” Yukan said when he reached them.
The Zamarian grabbed the line from Gage’s atmosphere suit and sprayed it on the Ketulan’s arm. He then slammed the butt of his gun onto the metal, breaking the Ketulan’s claw off entirely. He shoved it away with his foot. Gage and Yukan watched the machine spin lifelessly end over end until it disappeared into the endless darkness.
“That’s it,” Klellen called. “Keep it up. Good shot, Vinian. There’s another near the starboard side.”
“You thought drifting out into space would be a good idea?” Yukan asked.
Gage gave a weary chuckle. “Onto the next adventure, right?”
“If you survive to see the next one,” the Zamarian chided.
“Rin’s not going to complain about that,” Gage pointed out.
Yukan grabbed the Ketulan’s claw that was still embedded in Gage’s shoulder and pulled. Gage’s breath caught in his throat at the pain and he pushed away the Zamarian’s hand. “Leave it.”
“Yes, Captain,” Yukan replied. “Hold on.”
The Zamarian steered them back toward the Kratos. This time the lifeless bodies of the Ketulans didn’t give any sign of reanimating. Even so, when they drifted close to one, a shudder ran through both Gage and Yukan.
“I always say this when we run into Ketulans, and I always mean it,” Yukan said. “If I never see another of those death machines, it won’t be long enough.”
“Agreed,” Gage replied.
Sienna, Hyra, Klellen, and several other crew members rushed into the holding bay as soon as it was re-pressurized. Manax and Klellen eased Gage to the ground and helped him take off his helmet.
“You alright, Captain?” Manax asked, his gaze worried.
Gage nodded. “I’ll survive.” He looked up at Ruck. “Nice shooting.”
“It still electrocuted you, didn’t it?” she asked, her striped face pale.
“It stopped the Ketulan. That’s what matters,” he replied. He met Yukan’s gaze. “Thanks for coming after me.”
“I told you I would,” the Zamarian said. He helped Gage to his feet. “Oh, and I found your gun.” He held out the object. “You should take better care of a gift.”
“That gift probably saved my life,” Gage replied. “Thank you.” He slid it gingerly back into his holster.
“That thing’s still attached to you?” Manax asked. He gently touched the claw sticking from Gage’s shoulder. “We need to get it off.”
“In the Medical Bay,” Sienna directed. At everyone’s surprised looks, she explained with a hint of embarrassment, “That way if there’s any risk of him bleeding out, we’ll have the equipment he needs.”
“You can trust her,” Gage reassured them. “She helped save my life on Corian.”
“I trust her, then,” Klellen said.
Several of the others nodded. To Gage’s surprise and amusement, they all proceeded to follow him toward the Medical Wing. He looked back at them. “Don’t you have jobs to do?”
“Not until you’re in the clear, Captain,” Hyra replied.
He smiled. “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, but there are more important things right now. Klellen, I need a report on the ship. Hyra, you should be scanning to ensure that there aren’t any other Ketulans out there, and with Rin out of commission, I need to get a status report from the engine room on damages.”
“We’ll take care of it, Captain,” Klellen told him. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Take your own advice,” Gage told his friend. “I’ll be fine.”
But Klellen wasn’t the only one who looked concerned at the sight of the claw protruding from Gage’s shoulder.
When the others began to disperse, Manax stayed close. “Captain, given what we’ve seen from Ketulans, you might need help getting that claw off.”
Gage wanted to send him away, too, but he remembered how hard Yukan had tried to pull the claw free when they were at the Grebe. He nodded. “Alright. Ask Klellen to give us an update. If there are any hull breaches—”
“They’ve got it,” Manax said, opening the door to the Medical Bay. “You trained them well.”
Gage took one look at the waiting beds and his stomach turned over. He could hear Cisco in the corner behind the white curtains working on Rin. Gage turned around. He met Manax’s knowing smile. The Amphibite steered him back into the Medical Wing.
“What was that?” Sienna asked.
“Our Captain has a known dislike for the Medical Bay,” Manax replied. “It’s not that bad, Cap.”
Gage glanced back at him. “You’re not the one who’s bleeding,” he pointed out.
Chapter Nine
Manax walked ahead of Gage to the closest bed and motioned for him to lay down. “Stay here. It’ll be good for your health.”
“Being in a medical ward’s not good for my health,” Gage mu
ttered, but he did as his friend directed. He didn’t want to admit that he was feeling lightheaded from the injury. He could feel blood dripping down his chest beneath the atmosphere suit. It wasn’t pleasant.
The pressure of the detached claw on his shoulder made Gage nauseous.
“Sienna, I need you to get the claw out,” he said through clenched teeth.
Sienna and Manax exchanged a glance.
“This isn’t my medical ward,” she began.
Gage met her gaze. “You’re right. It’s mine.”
Manax laughed.
Another throb of pain went through Gage. “You patched me up on Corian,” he said with a hint of pleading in his voice.
“That was different,” she hedged. “Your sister was there and nobody else could help you.”
Manax must have caught the pain in Gage’s voice because he said, “Rin’s in bad shape. There’s no telling how long Cisco will be. You have an entire medical bay at your disposal and I’m here to assist you.”
Gage shot him a grateful look. Manax squeezed his good shoulder.
Sienna gave in. “Fine, but if I make things worse….”
“I don’t know how you could make it much worse than this,” Gage replied.
“I second that,” Manax said. “Remove the claw, stitch it up. Done.”
“As easy as that?” Sienna asked with a hint of humor.
“In theory,” Manax replied.
He touched the claw. The pressure to Gage’s shoulder made him wince.
“But only if the Captain stops being a baby,” Manax said.
Gage was about to reply when the Amphibite shoved a pair of forceps from a tray between the claw and his shoulder. Gage gritted his teeth at the pain. It took him a moment to realize he had caught his tongue in his teeth. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
“Almost there,” Manax grunted.
He pulled the forceps apart, forcing the claw open. As soon as it was wide enough, Sienna pulled the claw away from Gage’s shoulder. The metal claw clicked shut again with a force that could have removed a finger. Sienna dropped the piece into a plastic bin on the table. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
“Now it’s bleeding,” Manax pointed out.
“Put some pressure on it,” Sienna replied, handing him some bandages. “I’m going to get something for the pain before we stitch it up. Help him get his shirt off.” She hurried across the room.
Manax gave Gage a look.
The Foundling chuckled. “You asked to be her assistant, remember?”
Manax shook his head. “I didn’t know what I was getting into. Next time, you get to wait for Cisco.”
“Next time I’ll pull on a jacket over it and pretend nothing happened,” Gage replied.
“That would be helpful,” Manax said dryly.
The Amphibite helped him ease the top of his atmosphere suit over his head, followed by his vest and his shirt. The pieces that clung to the shoulder wound were unpleasant.
“You probably shouldn’t wear so many layers under an atmosphere suit,” Manax noted.
Gage nodded. “I’ve thought about that before, but I imagine going commando would be chafey.”
Manax chuckled. “I’d rather not think about that.”
“That was my best vest,” Gage said with regret as he held cloth bandages to the wound. “Voluk hide is hard to come by.”
Manax held up the torn brown leather. “This isn’t voluk hide.”
“Yes it is,” Gage replied. “A trader on my father’s Hyperion sold it to me.”
“And you believed him?” Manax asked in a tone of disbelief. “What would a trader with the merchant fleet be doing with voluk hide? That stuff’s poisonous if not treated correctly.”
“Exactly,” Gage said. “Hence it being hard to come by.”
“This isn’t voluk hide.”
“Yes it is,” Gage shot back.
“Are you guys arguing?” Sienna asked when she returned to the table.
Manax held up the vest. “Is this voluk?”
“Not even close,” Sienna replied. “Only an idiot would think that’s voluk. It’s not even a good knockoff.”
Manax smirked at Gage. Gage rolled his eyes. Sienna swabbed his arm near the inside of his elbow.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you an anesthetic to knock you out so I can clean and stitch the wound,” Sienna replied. “Hold still.”
Gage shook his head. “You’ll have to use a local. We need to reach Tanus and with the Ketulans swarming, I need to be awake and alert.”
“You need to relax,” Sienna told him. “Sleeping would be good as well. Your sister will never forgive me if I let you drop from exhaustion as well as blood loss.” She reached for his arm.
Gage held her gaze. “A local or nothing.”
“I’m tempted to use nothing,” she replied. “It would serve you right to feel your stitches. Maybe you’ll learn not to mess with Ketulans.”
“Go for it,” Gage challenged her.
They glared at each other.
Manax crossed his green scaled arms. “As much as I enjoy watching power struggles, you’re bleeding a lot, Gage. Be nice or she’ll just leave you on this table and I’ll join her.”
Gage was about to reply when the intercom beeped.
“Captain?” Tersha asked.
“I’m here,” he replied.
“Repairs are done. We’re on our way to Tanus, but Klellen is concerned because we haven’t been able to reach the Terrarians.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Manax offered to Gage.
“Manax is on his way,” Gage replied. “Thank you,” he told his friend.
“Just get yourself taken care of,” Manax said. He paused near the door and met Sienna’s gaze. “Look after him, will you?”
“I will,” Sienna promised.
As soon as Manax was gone, Gage eased back onto the table. “Do whatever you need to do. I appreciate your help.”
Sienna lifted an eyebrow, reminding him of Mattie. “Did you just give in?”
Gage nodded. “That doesn’t happen often, so be sure to take advantage of it.”
Sienna’s lips lifted in a small smile. “I know you need to be there for your crew. I’ll use a local, but promise me you’ll get some rest when you have a chance.”
Grateful, Gage gave her his rogue’s smile. “I promise.”
She shook her head. “And don’t give me that look. Does it work on all the women?”
He smiled at her again. “You tell me.”
She laughed. “You’re ridiculous. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
She pulled back the bandages. Gage turned his head away. The feeling of cold air against the wound made his stomach roil unpleasantly.
“It’s deep,” she said. “The lacerations run on both sides.” She gave him a stern look. “I’ll stitch it, but you’re going to have to take it easy on that shoulder.”
“I will,” he promised.
She studied him as she cleaned around the wound. Gage gave her his most innocent look. “What?”
“I don’t think ‘take it easy’ is in your vocabulary,” she said.
Gage grinned. “I’ll work on it for you, Doc.”
She injected the wound with the anesthetic. Gage sucked in a breath, his smile gone.
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “You were brave out there. I saw it. Rin owes you his life.”
Gage looked toward the white partition curtain at the other end of the room. “I hope he pulls through. Those Ketulans don’t mess around.”
“I can see that,” she replied.
Gage concentrated on breathing calmly despite the pulling sensation of the thread through his skin. Though the area was numb, the thought of what she was doing was unpleasant. Gage felt grateful he didn’t have to wait for Cisco. Though the Roonite was good at what he did, he lacked a certain gentle quality Gage could appreciate in Sienna’s touch. He closed his eyes.
; “That’s it,” Sienna said, her words quiet. “It’s much easier to work on you when you relax. You’re a tense person.”
He turned his face toward her without opening his eyes. “I have a tense job.”
“I don’t know if I would call pirating a job,” she replied.
That brought a hint of a smile to his lips. “At least you don’t sound so hateful about it.”
She paused in what she was doing. When he opened his eyes, her green gaze looked troubled. “You’re different than I thought you would be.”
Gage kept his face carefully expressionless when he replied, “What? You figured I’d be cruel and bossy and greedy, taking whatever I want without care for the consequences?”
“Well, yes,” she admitted.
That bothered Gage. He closed his eyes and turned his face away from her searching gaze. He thought after all they had been through growing up together, she would have known him better than that. “Sorry to disappoint you,” he said, his words flat.
He heard Sienna let out a breath and she starting working on his shoulder again. Her movements were small, precise, and the small glance he had taken at the wound showed it to be closed with a skilled hand.
“I miss Corian.”
Her admission opened his eyes. “You sound surprised at that.”
She nodded with her gaze on her work. “I am, actually. I thought that once I left the Tucana Dwarf Galaxy, I’d never look back.”
“I’ve looked for a place that feels like home all over this Macrocosm, but there’s nothing like Corian, even this ship.” Gage was surprised at his own openness; he saw the same surprise on Sienna’s face.
“After two years, are you ready to go back?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I can’t. You saw what happened when I crashed there. I can’t even show my face for a second without Donovan’s entire army combing the area looking for me. I’m a danger to my family. It’s not safe for them if I’m there.”
