by A A Warren
She turned and stepped towards the rear of the container. Two Kujita followed behind her, and one grabbed her shoulder. “Stay here. I’ll confirm the—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a war cry bellowed from the open metal container and echoed through the cargo bay. An orange glow lit up the container. Talon charged out of the glowing mist, his skin covered with a pale layer of ice and frost.
The other warrior spun towards him, but before he could fire, the blazing plasma axe sliced down, severing the barrel off his rifle. Sparks leapt from the damaged weapon, as Talon slammed the axe's shaft into the surprised warrior’s face. The blow struck his helmet with a loud crack, and he stumbled backwards.
Even as Talon attacked, Vaki sprang into motion. Reaching back, her hands clamped onto the forearm of the warrior who had grabbed her shoulder. The man tried to raise his rifle, but the weapon was heavy, and his armor slowed his reaction. With a quick twist of her waist, she flipped the armored man over her back. As he crashed into the ground, she slammed her foot down on the barrel of his rifle, pinning it to his chest. A slim pistol appeared in her hand.
With a loud whine, the pistol fired. A glowing red hole appeared in the man’s helmet.
She pivoted, and fired again, striking the other warrior in his shoulder. He staggered backwards, throwing up his rifle in a defensive block as Talon lunged towards him.
Talon swung the axe high over his head, then drove it down in a straight arc. Sparks flew from the remains of the man’s damaged rifle, as the burning orange blade tore clean through the weapon, and sank into his helmet.
Talon kicked the smoking body to the ground. It slumped over and lay motionless on the deck. A barrage of pulse bolts exploded around him, sending sparks flying from the side of the container.
“Take cover, bulaka!” Vaki shouted. She darted behind another container, scooping up the Kujita’s pulse rifle from the ground.
Talon ducked behind his own container. He could see her, crouched a few meters away. “What does that mean?”
“Figure it out!” She tossed him the rifle. He snatched it from the air, checked the power indicator, then pulled back the charging slide.
Vaki leaned around the corner of her container and returned fire with her pistol. Her bright pulse bolts lit up the cargo bay in brief, glowing flashes. Talon saw the remaining four warriors, ducking behind fallen debris as they advanced closer.
He opened fire, sending another glowing barrage streaking through the dark chamber. The Kujita ducked behind cover, as another shockwave ran through the ship. Talon heard an ominous creaking and clanking above them. He peered up and saw more containers, hanging from massive loading cranes mounted to the roof.
The Kujita returned fire. Vaki ducked as sparks showered from the edge of the container she was hiding behind. “We can’t stay here forever,” she shouted. “Sooner or later they’ll call for reinforcements. They've got enough firepower to melt these containers to slag!”
The ship shuddered again, and Talon took a step back, the motion throwing him off balance.
“Assuming the ship doesn’t explode first!” she added.
Talon raised his rifle and sent a blast towards the Kujita’s position. “I need you to draw their fire!” he shouted to her, as a concentrated barrage of pulse bolts thudded into his container. The metal over his shoulder glowed and bubbled. He knew his cover wouldn’t last long.
Vaki narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. She nodded. “Alright, go!”
Talon darted left as Vaki returned fire. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as she stepped out into the gap between the containers, drawing the Kujita’s aim. He grinned as she dropped to the ground and rolled behind the other container, glowing bolts streaking through the space where she had stood.
Talon charged towards another container, near the edge of the room. Taking a deep breath, he leapt into the air, and grabbed the edge of the metal box. He winced as his body struck the side with a loud clang. Grunting, he pulled himself up onto the roof of the rectangular box. More pulse bolts streaked past him and struck the wall with a sizzling explosion. The Kujita had heard the noise, and were targeting his position.
Gritting his teeth, Talon stood his ground and raised the rifle. From this position, he had a clear shot at the chains that hung down from the crane’s loading arms.
He squeezed the trigger, sending a blast of pulse fire towards one of the cranes. Sparks erupted from the chains. One of the mag-hook units exploded from the strain. The cargo container plummeted down, tearing through the links of the remaining chains as it fell.
The Kujita ceased their firing and looked up, startled by the groaning and screaming of torn metal rushing toward them.
Talon heard a brief series of shouts echoing through the dim room. The thundering crash of the container drowned out the men's cries as it struck the floor of the cargo bay. The enormous metal box buckled and skidded across the deck-plates. Then it lurched to a stop.
The Kujita were gone, crushed beneath its massive weight. The only noise in the bay was the clanking of the loose chains above, and the groaning of the ship's mangled hull.
Talon hurried over to Vaki. She stepped out from behind her battered container.
“Nice shot. Thanks for not abandoning me.”
Talon nodded. “Thank you for the cover fire. You fight well for a stowaway.”
She looked down and checked the power cell of her pistol. "I grew up in a rough neighborhood.”
Together, they advanced towards the mangled cargo container, keeping an eye out for any Kujita that might have dodged the falling slab of metal. As they moved closer, Talon noticed the container’s door had torn loose from the hinges. The container’s contents had spilled across the floor of the cargo bay. Dozens of large translucent bags were scattered in every direction. Talon stepped over the nearest bag, and knelt down to inspect it.
The opaque sack was about the size of a human being. Tiny black cylinders of pressurized gas hung from the bag, and an array of tubes and valves snaked inside.
“These are stasis bags,” Vaki whispered. “For transporting organic material.”
Talon slid a curved cryocite blade from his belt. He slashed open the plastic shroud. A burst of freezing gas hissed out, covering the skin of his arm with a layer of stinging white frost.
A pale, gaunt face stared up at him through the torn plastic. It was a human corpse.
“Body bags.” Talon looked at Vaki. “This container was full of them.” He looked up, hearing the creak of swaying metal above them. Dozens of identical containers still hung from the ceiling. “Are all of them the same? Why would Kujita warriors be guarding a ship full of corpses?”
Vaki shook her head. “I don’t know.” She glanced at the other bags laying around them on the floor. “But unless we want to join them, we’d better get moving.”
A shuddering moan echoed through the hull of the ship. Loose chains shook and rattled above their heads, and the deck-plates vibrated. Vaki surveyed the room, a concerned look on her face. “That’s not good.”
“What is it?” Talon asked, rising to his feet.
“The portal drive is powering up. Someone must have set it on an automatic sequence. There’s no way the ship will survive entering a star-path in this condition.”
The vessel spun sideways, and the two of them slid across the floor. Vaki grabbed Talon’s arm. “We have to get off this wreck! Come on, there’s a transport this way.”
Talon followed her as she led them deeper into the dark shadows of the cargo bay.
Chapter Five
Vaki led Talon through another security door and into the corridor beyond. The lights were flashing on and off, flooding the narrow passageway with a harsh, strobing glow. Talon squinted, as his eyes adjusted to the brighter surroundings. Vaki swept her pistol left and right, glancing down the darker corridors that branched off from their position.
“Looks clear,” she whispered as she advanced forward.
<
br /> “Anyone with an ounce of sense abandoned ship long ago,” Talon replied.
“So what are you still doing here?” she said, as they rounded a bend in the passageway.
“A friend of mine was in one of the clean up squads. He got cut off, couldn’t find his way back to our ship. I was looking for him.”
“I take it you didn’t find him?”
Talon glared at her. “I found him. He didn’t make it.”
Vaki glanced over at him and blinked. “I’m sorry.”
Talon nodded, and looked away. “So am I. How much farther to the lifeboat?”
Vaki glanced down the corridor. “Not far, should be just around—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a brilliant blue glow flooded the windows. The light was blinding, and Talon threw up an arm to cover his eyes. The groaning of the ship’s strained hull grew louder.
“Orion’s blazing bow! What was that?” he shouted.
Vaki rushed to the window, squinting as the beams of light cast a dazzling glow across her face. She pointed to a brilliant circle, shimmering beyond the transparent panel. “Look, I was right! Star-path, opening on the port side!”
The hull groaned louder, and Talon felt the deck shift under his feet. The ship was rolling, spinning through space towards the glowing portal. “You said that was bad,” he growled.
“It is. This ship is barely holding together. There’s no way it can survive entering a star-path. The gravi—”
“Tear the ship apart, understood,” Talon said, cutting her off as he shifted his legs across the moving floor. The deck continued to spin, rolling them towards the swirling hole of light. He grabbed her hand and together they hopped onto what was previously the side wall of the corridor. “It’s pulling us in,” he shouted. “We have to get to that lifeboat and launch, before we fall in.”
They raced along the side wall. A series of glow tubes exploded in their path. Talon spun Vaki behind him, shielding her body from the white-hot sparks erupting into the air. The ship continued its whirling, spinning movement, forcing them to leap onto the opposite wall. “Keep moving,” he shouted. “That portal is getting closer!”
The ship’s hull shrieked in protest as the distortion field of the star-path took hold. Out the window, he saw glowing shards of wreckage dislodge and fly away from the ship, leaving trails of glowing plasma gas in their wake.
Finally, they came to a T-shaped intersection. They paused, panting for breath. “Which way?” Talon asked.
Vaki pointed ahead of them to a spinning red light, mounted next to a security door in the next section of corridor. “That way… straight ahead.”
Due to the inverted angle of the ship, the airlock doors seemed to be on the floor, just past the intersection of corridors. The passageway between them and the airlock pointed straight down; a dark chasm lit by sporadic flashes of light and venting plumes of gas. Vaki took a step forward, and glanced down the long narrow corridor. Another step would lead to a long fall into the bowels of the fractured ship.
Talon yanked her back from the edge, as a hissing metal pipe plummeted from the corridor above them. The debris plunged down the shaft, clanging and bouncing along the sides of the inverted corridor.
Vaki shuddered. “Long way down. Maybe we should wait for the ship to right itself?”
A series of distant explosion rumbled through the air. The sections of wall they were standing on buckled and cracked.
Talon took several steps back. “No time. I can make the jump. Then I’ll catch you.”
She cocked her head and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Are you crazy?” She brushed her purple braid behind her ear as she glanced down the chasm before them. “That’s at least eight meters wide!”
Talon nodded. “Nine meters is my guess.” He took another few steps back. “I’ve made similar jumps in the arena. Of course, the gravity there was lighter…”
“Talon, wait, I think—”
The ship buckled again, and more debris fell down into the shaft from above.
“No time to think. Victory or death!”
Talon raced forward, and leapt off the edge of the corridor. Vaki watched as he sailed over the flickering chasm. She gasped as his body dropped through the air… the gap between the corridors was too wide. He wasn’t going to make it…
He struck the other side, and his body thudded into the wall. His arms reached over the edge, flailing for purchase on the smooth wall opposite the gap. He slid backwards, falling a few inches down into the dark corridor. A cloud of plasma gas vented near his feet, and he winced in pain as the burning vapor struck his skin.
His fingertips dug into a raised access panel, mounted on the wall. The panel flipped open, revealing a row of sparking power conduits. His body dropped another few inches. Then his clawing fingers grasped the edge of the conduit box. The muscles in his shoulders and arms heaved as he pulled himself up over the edge. He scrambled to his feet. The ship lurched again. He spun around and faced the terrified woman on the far edge of the gap.
“Your turn.” He held out his arms. “Jump, I’ll catch you and pull you up.”
She took several steps back, shaking her head. “Talon, I don’t think I can make—”
The ship groaned again. Talon felt himself sliding backwards, away from the edge. The vessel’s bow was tilting down now. He flexed his knees and planted his feet, fighting against the changing angle of the ship.
Vaki looked down… her feet were skidding towards the edge of the corridor.
“Run,” Talon shouted. “Now!”
Vaki launched forward, sprinting towards the dark chasm as the front of the ship continued dipping down. Talon could hear her panting for breath, as she planted her foot and prepared to leap.
The rear of the ship rose higher as she jumped, catapulting her into the air. She crossed the gap and overshot the edge, flying over Talon before she slammed into the ground. Her body rolled forward as the ship continued to tilt. She screamed, and her arms flailed across the smooth plastic wall as she bounced over the airlock doors. Talon dropped to the floor and let himself slide with her. He managed to grab the edge of the airlock door. He reached for the woman with his free hand, but she slid past him too fast.
He felt her fingers dig into his ankle. Vaki was holding on for dear life. Grunting with exertion, he reached up with his free hand, and slammed his fist onto the blinking red access button.
Nothing happened.
Security door, he thought.
He glanced down at the flailing girl. The ship had spun almost vertical, and she dangled below him, her legs kicking in the air.
“Vaki, the door won’t open. I need the security badge!”
She glanced up at him with wide, terrified eyes. They continued to spin… soon they would be upside down, and it would be impossible for him to maintain his grip on the door. His crimson eye peered down at her, reflecting the sparking plasma and emergency lights in the corridor.
“Vaki, look at me. You can do this, just take it slow.”
She nodded, grit her teeth, and let go of his leg with one arm. Reaching down, she unclipped the badge from her belt. It shook and trembled in her hand as she reached up to him.
Talon let go of the ledge with one hand. He reached down and grabbed Vaki's wrist, grunting as he lifted her into the air. She gasped, and flailed for the doorway. When she finally had a firm grip, she slapped the badge onto the blinking red panel.
“ACCESS GRANTED,” an electronic voice replied. The door hissed open. Talon pulled himself up and fell inside. As soon as his feet touched the deck, he grabbed Vaki’s arm and pulled her in after him. The door closed behind them with a dull thud.
Talon glanced around… they were in the narrow, claustrophobic cabin of a lifeboat. A row of padded seats ran along either side. Ahead of him, the tiny domed cockpit looked out over the glowing blue portal. The star-path shimmered in the black void.
“Well done,” he said between breaths. “We made it
.”
“I almost didn’t… you saved me.” She panted, gazing into his eyes with a curious expression on her face. “Whoever you are, it looks like we’re in this together.”
The ship lurched sideways. Talon planted his arm on the low ceiling of the lifeboat to steady himself, as the girl fell forward. He grabbed her waist with his free arm, stopping her from colliding with the wall.
“We can talk later,” he grunted. “Time to leave this wreck before it drags us into hell.”
He climbed into the cockpit, which now hung sideways over the swirling portal. A rush of debris and shattered escort vessels flew past the transparent dome, shooting toward the maw of the portal.
“It’s pretty rough out there,” Vaki said as she climbed into the chair next to him. “You sure you can fly this thing?”
Talon grinned. “I’ve flown in worse.”
He flipped a row of switches on the console, and the navigation holo-display glowed to life. Reaching up, he grabbed the docking clamp release mounted to the ceiling and yanked down. With a loud clank, the lifeboat disconnected and drifted away from the ship, just as a series of explosions erupted on the ventral side of the freighter’s hull.
Grabbing the controls, Talon darted the tiny craft forward, maneuvering between the debris floating around them.
Vaki called up a navigation reading on her holo-display. “You’re getting close to the portal’s event horizon. It’s unstable, probably a malfunction in the dark energy cells on the—”
A violent shockwave erupted behind them, tossing the lifeboat forward. The cockpit lit up with an orange glow, as the remains of the cargo ship broke in half. A massive fireball ballooned from the wreckage. Seconds later, the cold vacuum of space snuffed out the explosion.
“Iberon’s harem,” Talon cursed. A loud clang sounded from the top of the lifeboat. Sparks erupted from the console as the tiny craft’s inertia compensators blew out. A damage alert wailed through the cramped cockpit. The ship dipped down, then flew into a tight corkscrew, spiraling towards the edge of the star-path.
