Astra: Synchronicity
Page 32
The rush of acceleration subsided, and while his color vision returned, it brought Magnius no sense of security. His bleeding may have stopped but the pain persisted. He wiped his eyes, though doing so only made his distorted vision worse.
Amii rushed to his aid and helped him into a seat next to the center console. After doing so, she refocused her gun on Tiyuri. The glint of vendetta filled her eyes.
"No!" he cried. "Don't kill him."
"Why not? He deserves it."
He clutched his midsection and struggled to voice the words. "Because then she will never stop searching for us. If he survives, at least we have a chance."
She frowned and uttered an angry sigh. "Then I'll throw him out the airlock."
"What?"
"I saw a few v-suits in the back. The air should last a week. Ships come through here all the time. He might even latch onto Beta Station when it swings by on its next revolution. But if he does die, I won't lose any sleep over it."
Realizing it was better than outright killing the man, he relented. "Okay."
After she sheathed her disruptor, she grabbed Tiyuri's hands and dragged him back toward the cargo area. With a few labored breaths, Magnius rose and followed her to the aft portion of the ship. He steadied himself on the airtight door to the hold and watched her suit him up. He'd never worn a v-suit, but it was apparent she had by the rate at which she sealed him into it. Though soft and ductile, visrene plastic was impermeable to a vacuum. Its characteristic opal sheen surrounded a padded suit, one the goliath barely squeezed into.
When finished, she rolled him into the airlock and condemned him to space. "With any luck, this will be the last time we ever see him." She grabbed his shoulder and compressed the wound to rouse him.
Magnius gasped at the insanity of the act. "What are you doing?"
"I want to look him in the eyes so he remembers what we did to him." Her words took on a demented tone that he never expected to hear from her.
She slapped Tiyuri hard before closing the airlock door and peering out at him. He rolled around for a moment with a wince imprinted on his face and climbed to his feet. He pounded on the door a few times in vain, but she ignored the pleas. Bested because he'd underestimated her. Both of them had.
She reached toward the console next to the door and keyed in a command without even looking at it. The characteristic whoosh of the airlock echoed through the ship, which shuddered with the sudden release of atmosphere into space. With nothing to hang onto, the vacuum ripped Tiyuri from the safe confines of the Excalibur into the unknown. He sailed away toward a satellite with an expression of horror, and Amii watched until he faded from sight with a satisfied grin.
Magnius wrapped his weak arm around his stomach and caught himself on the bulkhead to keep from toppling over. She put her arm around his shoulders to stabilize his footing and led him back to a chair in the engine room. He could no longer ignore the mounting agony of his condition.
She sprinted into the control room and returned with a blue satchel. When she knelt down beside him, she touched his bloodstained shirt. "How bad is it?"
The words got stuck in his throat but he forced them out. "I don't know."
She dug in the pouch and produced three white pills. "Take these."
"What are they?"
"Take them."
He was in no condition to argue with her. She dropped them into his hand and offered him some water. Because he trusted her, he swallowed them and drank half the bottle before handing it back to her.
"I'm so sorry. I was such an idiot. I saw him in the transport, I didn't know—"
"You saw him?"
"Yes. The third guard."
He coughed and doubled over, and she moved in to hold him. He'd just fallen into her embrace when she pressed a nebulization syringe against his arm. In seconds his eyes got heavy, and she kissed him to ease his pain. He focused on a hazy ribbon of bubbles churning around in the iridescent emulsion behind her, and the taste of her lips was the last thing he remembered before passing out.
***
Magnius opened his eyes and focused on the embossed ceiling overhead. His dreamless sleep left him with no idea how much time had passed since their escape from Icelandia, but no trace of pain remained. Even his space-induced headache was gone. He had no idea what she'd given him, but it worked.
When he tried to sit up, his persistent weakness became apparent. He strained his neck to look down at his abdomen and saw his midsection had been wrapped in white gauze. She'd splinted his arm with fiber optic cable and two biometrics scanners, and though he felt silly seeing them there, he felt grateful she'd taken care of him.
In the corner was a small sink and mirror, and he toddled over to it to clean himself off. But once he got there, he saw the task had already been done. The dried blood was long gone from his face and body. A gash above his right eyebrow had been stitched up. It might be healed before they got to Barnard Station. The abdominal wound and his arm would take much longer.
He turned around and saw no curtain or door sealing the shower from the rest of the room. In its place a bouquet of orange daisies hung upside-down from the rod. The leaves still felt fresh, as though she'd picked them within the last few days. It seemed an odd hobby for her to engage in out of the blue, but he thought nothing more about it before leaving the room.
Instead of redressing in distressed apparel, he wandered into the engine room and gazed up at the glistening crystal in the ceiling. Light from the cylinder played through its multitude of facets and scattered light throughout the chamber like a diamond. The area was brightly lit, yet the only true light in the room came from the vessel of churning liquid. Much like the clouds of Nuage, he could stare at its swirling motion for hours and lose himself in its magic.
After he walked into the control room, he spotted the suitcase sitting in the back where he remembered seeing it. He pulled out a comfortable pair of pants and put them on when he noticed the top of Amii's mousy head resting against the headrest in the pilot's seat.
"You did a good job back there," he told her. "Could've been a little bit quicker, you know, so I didn't have to get stabbed."
No response. She wasn't one to pass up on the chance to toss out a backhanded zinger so he stepped toward her. Amii rested in the chair with her eyes closed. Her legs stretched out in front of her with her feet crossed. She wore the leather coat turned backwards and held it around her like a blanket. Her deep breathing told him she was asleep.
Magnius couldn't resist grinning at the sight. In that moment he lost more of his heart to her. Come what may, he would do his best to keep her safe by his side. He owed it to her, and Nadine would've wanted it that way.
Part of him felt torn because he knew he'd be so better off alone. He wouldn't have to watch her grow old and die, worry she'd meet another man who'd sweep her off her feet, or wonder if she felt the same about him as he did about her. He wanted to be able to put his finger on something that showed she cared. Anything. But she always left him grasping at straws.
He brushed his fingers over the soft, ashy hair on top of her head. "Thank you," he whispered. But his love for her was quickly masked by fear.
While he couldn't be certain if they'd ever see Tiyuri again, he did know this much—next time it would take more than a gunshot wound to the shoulder to stop him. Unless Aliane had other plans, nothing would prevent him from hunting Amii until he killed her. Even rumors of his failure undermined his status as a ruthless assassin, a reputation he strove to uphold at any cost.
By then, Astra could be in turmoil. The Xuranians planned to conquer them by any means necessary, and unless the cream of the Allied Fleet could steer humanity to victory, their days as a free people were numbered.
Magnius sat on the floor next to the helm and rested his head against the side of her leg. He wondered what the future had in store before deciding he'd rather not know. It seemed far too soon to wish for a happy ending, but as long as they had each other
, both of them might live to see it.
####
About the Author:
Lisa Eskra graduated from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with a master's degree in Chemistry. Science fiction has inspired her imagination since childhood, cultivating a life-long fascination with the universe. She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs near Chicago—at least until an outpost is constructed on Mars.
Connect with Me Online:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lisaeskra
My blog: http://stubberella.livejournal.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen