She stopped pacing and stared at him. “Okay? Oh, sure, I’ve never been better. I love being stunned, hauled in for questioning, and forced to leave my home.”
He held her gaze. “I’m sorry, Ket. Truly sorry.”
“And that’s supposed to make everything all right?” She turned her back, grabbed at her elbows and began trembling from head to toe.
Mak frowned. She’d been through a rough time, but he’d been with her through worse times. He’d never seen her shake like that. Her posture and behavior reminded him of something … of someone. “Are you sure you’re not sick?” he repeated.
She swung back. “I’ve been throwing up ever since we left Hargeeva. This ship is jumping around so much, I can’t stand it.”
“Hyperspace never made you sick before. Maybe it was the stun-shock.”
“No,” she resumed her pacing. “They fixed that back at the garrison.”
Mak felt a chill run through him. Now he remembered where he’d seen similar symptoms. “They fixed you up? How?”
“Pedrin’s med-droid gave me a shot. Happy? I wouldn’t have needed it if you hadn’t dragged me into this mess.”
“No,” he said slowly. “No, you wouldn’t. You came here to ask me a favor?”
She nodded, began to speak but a sudden loud groaning from the hyperdrive engines drowned her out. The bulkheads creaked with transmitted strain, then steadied again. “Cursed garbage scow. It’ll probably fall to pieces before we make the next stop.” Tears filled her eyes. “And I don’t think I’d care.”
Mak wished he was free to hold her. “They told you about Alikka?” he guessed. She nodded. “Slag! She was a fine lady. I swear she didn’t suffer, Ket. The drugs overloaded her heart.”
Ketrian stared at him, her face managing to pale further. “What are you talking about? Pedrin told me she was still being questioned.”
Mak cursed. “Filthy liar. I’m sorry, Ket. There’s no mistake. We were in the same cell. I … I held her as she died. She was talking about you, worried for you.” Ketrian gaped at him, then began sobbing. Helpless, he could offer no comfort. “You see what your Empire does to people?”
“My Empire? It’s not my Empire. It never has been.”
“You work for them.”
Ketrian’s blue eyes flashed pure fury. “It was your cursed Alliance that killed Alikka.” She gulped back a sob. “Pedrin said he’d let her go if … ”
“If I gave you the answers he wants?”
She nodded guiltily. “I only wanted to save Alikka.”
“Oh, Ket. Don’t you see? That’s just how she felt. She wanted to save her brother, to save all the other victims of the Empire. To make sure there’s never another Alderaan.”
A deafening explosion rumbled through the deckplates that threw Ketrian from her feet. The transport shuddered and shook like an animal in its death throes. Then suddenly it went very still and quiet. Mak realized the drive had cut out. They were back in realspace.
He looked to Ketrian who was climbing unsteadily to her feet. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “What happened?”
“I think we’ve been sabotaged. I used to fly freight along these routes, they’re thick with … ”
“Pirates!” someone shouted out in the corridor. A terrified naval ensign stuck his head in the door. “We’re being boarded. Better get back to your cabin, Miss.”
“What about him?” Ketrian indicated Makintay.
“Leave him. The troopers have all gone forward to battle the pirates. Come on. I have to escort you to your cabin. Hurry.”
“I can’t,” she called. “I fell and hurt my ankle. Help me.” The youngster came over and made to prop her up, then crumpled as she hit him hard with something she’d taken from her pocket.
Mak stared at her. She smiled nervously, opened her hand and revealed a piece of dull blue metal. “My new alloy. Pedrin told me to keep it secure.”
The ship shuddered and they heard the sound of metal meeting metal as the pirates docked. Then a cacophony of battle sounds reverberated through the corridors.
“Get me out of this thing,” Mak said, struggling against his restraints. She hit the release switch and he fell to the deck. As he sprawled on the deckplates, Mak noticed the pistol in the unconscious ensign’s holster. Commenting, “while I’m down here,” Mak grabbed the weapon then scrambled to his feet.
“What now?” Ketrian asked.
“We hotfoot it outa here and find an escape pod.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door. He leaned out, checked the corridor. “Clear. Come on.”
“No, wait,” she protested. “If anyone sees you in that outfit, they’ll blast you.” Makintay looked in dismay at his bright-colored prison clothes. Ketrian nodded at the unconscious man. “He looks about your size.”
Mak grinned. “That’s the woman I love.” Impulsively he pulled her to him and kissed her.
“You do?”
“Always have,” he said intently, holding her gaze. “But first I gotta get you outa here.”
“Hey,” she laughed, “who’s rescuing who?” A spasm of nausea doubled her over. Makintay held her and as she met his gaze she saw naked fear in his eyes. Fear for her.
They had not gone far before they realized they would need to find a less public route if they didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire. The Imperials were rapidly losing ground against a better armed and more ferocious opponent.
“What are they?” Ketrian whispered, peering over Mak’s shoulder as they crouched low in a shadow-filled fire equipment alcove.
“The ones that look like overgrown scaly swamp creatures are called Ghawems,” he said. “We gotta steer clear of them. They’ll be spouting methane gas from their backpacks. Come to think of it, they’ve probably already flooded the upper decks with the stuff. Slag! We’ll have to find some breathers. Maybe I can grab one from one of the little blue furry guys.”
“Wh-what?” she stammered as another wave of nausea swept through her. What was wrong with her? She was shaking almost constantly. She wasn’t that scared.
“The Myills,” he explained, turning to her. “They’re sorta slaves of the Ghawems. They do all the dirty work. They’ll be bringing up the rear and they breathe oxygen. Wait here.”
“No way. I’m coming with you.” She tried to stand but had to grab at the bulkhead.
“No point,” he told her. “I’ll have to come back this way anyhow and you need to rest. Give me that knife.” She had claimed the weapon from a dead crewman and didn’t look happy about giving it up. “I’m not leaving you unarmed,” he explained. “I need it to work these bolts loose.” He stood aside so she could see an engineering access cover on the bulkhead. “If I’m right, it opens onto a real maze of tunnels carrying all kinds of conduits. You’ll be safe in there.” She gave him the knife, and moments later he dropped the cover to the deck. The clang it made as it hit was lost to the background din of blaster shots, explosions and screams. He helped Ketrian climb up and in. “Don’t wander off. I’ll be back.”
“You’d b-better be.” She reached out and touched the scar on his cheek. “Be careful.”
He took her hand. “You’re as cold as ice. Here, take this coat.” He shrugged out of it, handed it to her and replaced the access cover. Then he disappeared out into the corridor, pistol at the ready.
Cowering in the pitch-black tunnel, Ketrian waited. Time passed and she grew more and more cold, glad for Mak’s coat, certain it was all that kept her from freezing to death. Surely he should have been back by now. What if he didn’t come? No, he would not abandon her, he never had. He said he loved her — did she still love him?
Scrabbling sounds at the access cover filled her with terror. Had the pirates found her? She clutched hard at her knife. The cover fell back, flooding her hiding place with greenish, foul-smelling air.
“Ketrian?” Mak called. “Are you there?”
“Wh-where else … ” she coughed and choked. Mak
intay climbed up to her and clamped a breath mask over her face. She gulped pure, sweet air. Mak turned away and she heard him fumbling to replace the access cover. “Hey,” she protested. “I thought we were leaving?”
Ketrian’s surroundings became clearly visible as he lit a glow rod. She blinked as she got a good look at him. Blood ran from a shallow cut on his brow and he had some new bruises to add to the old. Several emergency survival packs were strapped about his now grimy uniform.
“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” he told her. making an obvious effort to cheer her.
“Tell me,” she sighed.
“The lmperials won’t be bothering us anymore, but all the escape pods are gone.”
“What? We can’t stay here. What are we going to do?”
“Never fear,” he winked. “I have a plan.” She groaned.
“So you see,” Makintay repeated some minutes later, “we’ve got all the supplies we need. All we gotta do is stay here and sneak out when they make port.”
She scowled. “Oh, sure. We walk off this ship right into some pirate enclave. Great plan.”
“Hey.” He gave her a wounded look. “We don’t know that they’re heading for home. They might have a buyer lined up someplace.”
“Right.” She shivered harder. “I hope we don’t have to stay here too long. It’s freezing in here.”
“It’s not that cold, Ket,” he sounded worried. “You’re sick. If you get any worse, I’m gonna have to get you some help.”
“From them?” she gaped.
“Yeah, why not? I did some deals with ol’ Uskgarv in my trader-pilot days.”
“Uskgarv?”
“The esteemed leader of this motley bunch of pirates,” he explained. “If we don’t make landfall someplace in the next few hours, I’ll talk to him. You don’t look so good.”
“Are you crazy?” she protested. “We don’t have any bargaining power.”
“Oh, yes, we do,” Mak said quietly. “You’re worth a fortune to the Empire.”
“Ransom.” He nodded and she thought that over. “I suppose, but I’m not keen on working for them anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. He drew her down to lean against his shoulder. “Had any other offers lately?”
She smiled. “One.”
“And?”
“And it’s looking better all the time.” His arms closed about her.
She woke some time later feeling sicker than ever in her life. Shuddering with fever, she looked up into Mak’s eyes and saw her own fear reflected there. “What’s wrong with me?” She saw his expression change. “You know, don’t you?”
He sighed heavily. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to tell you. I’ve seen this before, with defectors who arrived at Eyrie Base.”
“I d-don’t understand.”
“Poison, Ket.” She stiffened with fear. “It’s okay, there’s an antidote. The problem is how to get you to it. We’re outa time. I gotta go talk to Uskgarv. They should have some of the stuff in this transport’s sick bay. Pedrin would have made sure of that. Just in case there were any delays getting you to Coruscant.”
“He poisoned me?”
Mak nodded. “The med-droid, remember? It’s standard Imperial procedure for keeping useful people from becoming useful defectors or healthy Alliance prisoners.”
Pure fury flooded Ketrian’s veins. “I wish Pedrin had been allowed to come on this trip. Maybe the pirates would let me dismember him.”
Makintay chuckled. “Hold that thought.” He moved back toward the access. “I’m gonna go get us some better accommodations.”
“Good news and bad news again?” Ketrian asked as Mak returned a second time. “Where’s Uskgarv?”
“Gone,” he said, looking both pleased and sad. “There’s only a few Myills and their bosses out there. They’re stripping anything of value and loading it on a freighter. They’re in a real panic. Attack ships are heading this way. Imperial rescuers, I suppose. You’ll be okay, Ket. As soon as they secure the transport, you’ll have that antidote.”
“And what about you?” she asked, squeezing his arm.
He shrugged. “I stick to plan A. Hide in here, hope they count me among the dead, then jump ship first chance I get.”
“I don’t want to go back to the Empire,” she repeated. “But even more, I don’t want to leave you again.” She kissed him. “You say those shots the ship’s doctor’s been giving me were to keep the poisoning under control?” He nodded. “Right then. Sounds to me like it’s not too dangerous out there now. I’ll go up to sick bay. I know the stuff they’ve been giving me. I’ll grab a load of it and bring it back here. Then I can stay in hiding with you.”
He stared at her. “I don’t know. Sounds risky.”
“Life with you is always risky,” she said. “That’s the way I want it. I’m not taking no for an answer. It’s not just us … I can give my new alloy to the Alliance. For Ali.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, then said in quiet agreement, “For Ali.” Ketrian made to move forward and he took her arm, steadying her. “We did a lot of ducking and weaving through the corridors out there. Can you find the way?”
She gave him a wry smile. “I’ve become very familiar with this level recently. I must have paced every corridor a dozen times, trying to get up the nerve to talk to you, and trying to figure what to say when I did. I’ll just head back to the main corridor then go forward and up two levels to sick bay. I know it well, too. Don’t worry. I’ll find it, even in all the murky air and emergency lighting.”
Makintay nodded and helped her to the access. While he worked the cover free, Ketrian checked her jumpsuit pockets. “I’m not going out there without a knife,” she told him as he turned to her. “I might come across a few of your pirate friends lurking about on the upper levels.”
“We might at that,” he said, firmly accenting the “we.” He patted the pistol at his belt. “This will be useful, and maybe we can find one for you too.” He made to climb down into the corridor but she grabbed him.
“No, Mak,” she protested. “Please, stay here. It’s too dangerous for you out there. If the Empire takes you prisoner again …” she flinched and looked away. “Pedrin bragged about what they were going to do to you on Coruscant.”
“I can imagine,” Mak said sourly. He tilted her face up until she met his gaze. “No way are you going out there alone and sick. No problem. I’m a naval ensign,” he tapped the insignia on his tunic. “Says so right here. This guy and all his pals are dead. I’ll disappear long before anyone gets organized to do an ID check.” She frowned uncertainly and he added. “Trust me.”
She rolled her eyes beseechingly. “I knew you couldn’t go much longer without saying that. All right, all right, lead on then. The sooner we get that medicine, the sooner I can get you back to your cosy little hidey-hole.”
“You always did pick on my taste in interior decorating,” he complained with mock insult, “I’m the one who grew up in a palace.”
“Oh, do pardon me, Your Highness,” she said and laughed.
Mak reveled in the sound. He climbed out, then turned and lifted her into his arms, enjoying the feel of her as much as he did her laughter. How long had he waited to hold her, hoped to hear her laugh? Would he be forced to part with her again soon? Should he allow her to risk hiding out with him, being arrested and charged with treason if they found her with and arguments raced through his mind as he cautiously led the way to the end of the corridor. There, he paused and peered around the corner.
The methane gas seemed to be clearing, though they were still better off using breath masks. Ahead lay another corridor bathed in dim red light. Bloodied bodies littered the deckplates. Silence was broken only by sporadic, muffled sounds of blaster fire. Ketrian was right — any stray pirates could easily be forced back this way. He and Ketrian best stay alert.
As they entered the main corridor, they were thrown off their feet by the sh
ock wave of an explosion somewhere above and forward of them. “What was that?” Ketrian panted fearfully as she pushed herself to sit beside Makintay.
“Probably standard pirate tactics,” he told her. “Booby trap the hatchways. Come to think of it, we’d better avoid the turbolifts too.”
Ketrian groaned. “Stairs? Two whole levels?” She was already breathless and frighteningly weak as he helped her back to her feet. “You’re not doing any climbing,” Mak said. “I’ll carry you.”
“No, you won’t,” she refused. “Hang onto that pistol. One of us has to be ready to fight. I’m in no shape to use this knife.”
“You?” he teased. “The lady who can take off a bug’s wing at a hundred paces? Well …” He touched his forefinger to the scar below his eye. “Then again, I remember you do have your off days.”
She bit back a smile. “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Nope,” he grinned, but the smile faded as he held her gaze and said softly, “All those long months in prison this scar was all I had to remind me of you.”
“Oh, Mak,” she whispered. Tenderly she traced the mark she’d given him in an accident caused by her jealousy. “If only I’d known where you were. I would have gotten you out of there. I swear it.”
“I know you would have.” He kissed her fingers. She was trembling with fever chills. “But right now it’s me that has to get you out of here. Come on. Lean on me.”
Gratefully, she did so. Later, halfway up a stairwell, she collapsed and was too weak to struggle free as he insisted on carrying her. At the exit door he lowered her gently to her feet.
“Wait here,” he advised. “I’m gonna check around outside. I’m sure I heard something. Sounded like troopers.”
“Then I should go and you wait,” she panted.
Star Wars - Firepower Page 3
