by E. A. James
“What do we do?” Alaria asked, her blue eyes wide.
“What we do best,” Kira replied, reaching for her Phantom.
Thor grabbed hold of his assault rifle, strapped to his back. Kira thought he was being overly cautious when he insisted on bringing it along when they disembarked. Now, though, she was very thankful that he did.
He locked the action into the loaded position and handed Alaria his side arm. They backed into the room a little further, listening as the group of men worked their way through one room then the next. Kira took cover, along with Alaria, behind the couch. Thor remained closer to the door, kneeling down behind the dresser. The piece of furniture did little to conceal him.
They all held their breath as they waited. It felt like an eternity passed as the doors to different rooms in the hallway were thrown open and shouts of “clear” rang out.
When the door to the room they were hiding out in finally crashed open, Thor was the first to react.
He took out the first man to enter the room with a single, energetic blast from his rifle directed squarely at the center of his chest. The second his body hit the ground, his companions began to fire indiscriminately from pure instinct.
Kira took advantage of their frenzied state. She pushed herself up, leaping onto the couch and crouching down, her Phantom trained on one of the men. She pulled the trigger quickly. The blast that flew from her weapon grazed the man’s arm.
His adrenaline must have been pumping because the wound didn't appear to affect him at all—other than the fact that it seriously pissed him off. He twisted around to face her, the sites of his assault rifle finding her with ease. Just as he pulled the trigger, she ducked back down. The blast buzzed over her head.
One of the men let out a loud shout, directed back into the hall. “Contact!” he yelled. “Contact!”
Thor pushed himself out from his place behind the dresser, rolling across the ground as he let loose another string of shots. One of the blasts found its home in the gut of the man that Kira had hit in the arm. This time, the effects were apparent. The man fell to the ground, clutching his stomach for a second before his head tilted back and his breathing slowed to stopping.
The last man remained. Alaria ducked out from behind the couch and shot a stream of plasma in his direction. She missed, but just barely. Just enough to draw his attention to her.
Thor, now with Kira and Alaria behind the couch, leaped up and over the couch. Just as he sent another stream of energy flying from his assault rifle, the man lunged forward, letting the shot zip past him.
Kira pushed herself up, ready to direct her focus to the last remaining man, just in time to see two more come barging into the room. The small space was suddenly feeling very cramped. She set the sights of her Phantom on one of the men, as Thor threw himself forward, tackling the other to the ground before he ever realized someone was rushing toward him.
The man's gun went flying loose and skidded across the ground. Kira fired a shot, quickly, at the man she had set her sights on previously. The shot hit him in the shoulder, and the force caused him to spin around slightly. Taking advantage of the moment, she threw herself over the couch and grabbed hold of the stray assault rifle.
Just as she pushed herself up, finding one of the men in the gun’s sights, a calm, almost ominous voice spoke.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
It was the man who had come into the room with the original group. She had forgotten about him. How had she forgotten about him?
She spun around slowly, not lowering her gun. Standing there, behind the couch, was the bounty hunter. Next to him was Alaria. His hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist, and the sidearm that she had been using previously now in his possession. He was pressing it firmly into her ribs with an eerie smile on his face.
“I’ll kill her,” he said calmly. “I will. We don’t need her, you see. You two are the valuable ones.”
Kira let out a soft sigh, turning to glance at Thor. He, too, had a defeated look on his face. He lowered his gun and nodded for her to do the same.
The three men—one injured, one holding Alaria captive, and one strutting along behind them proudly—escorted them back down the hall. When they reached the common area, they found the leader of the group with his gun pointed in their direction. Ashford was seated in one of the plush armchairs in the corner of the room, also with a gun pointed at his face.
Kira’s spirits fell even further when two more of the bounties hunters appeared, coming from the hall leading to the repair bay, escorting a terrified looking Dario. Where was Bron? Vinnie? Her heart sunk into her stomach.
“You lied to us, Ashford,” the scorpion man said as his men pushed their captives toward the center of the room. “I don’t like being lied to.”
“I don’t like having guns pointed in my face,” Ashford replied calmly. “So, I guess we’re both not enjoying ourselves.”
The bounty hunter leader let out a sharp, terrifying laugh. “Not quite.” He scanned the room, counting his men. “It looks like I lost two men. I don’t like losing men, either.”
He waved the man holding onto Alaria over to him. Alaria let out a soft whimper as she was pushed forward. She tripped, something that seemed impossible for someone as graceful as she was, and fell to the ground in front of him.
Kira tensed up, as did Thor. The man behind them let out a soft chuckle and pushed the barrel of his gun into Thor’s back.
“Now, I can’t kill the Captain,” the bounty hunters’ leader began, eyeing Kira. “Or the Arcanum soldier, or the Doctor. You see, you’re all worth much more to me alive. But, I can kill this one. She’s not worth anything. And you, Ashford. That would make two. Then, we’ll be even.”
“No!” Dario called out. “Don’t hurt her!”
The man with the scorpion tattoo let out another bone-chilling laugh as he mockingly pointed his assault rifle down at Alaria.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room as everyone held their breath. Kira’s mind reeled. There had to be a way out. There had to be something…
Her thoughts were cut short when a loud explosion rang out. Everyone, including the bounty hunters, recoiled back as a bright light shot out of the direction of the explosion, followed by a heavy layer of smoke. The blast itself was so loud, it made Kira’s ears ring.
She didn’t even hear the plasma rifles begin to fire. She felt them, though, as they buzzed past her. Thor, somewhere from behind the thick curtain of smoke, reached out and grabbed hold of her. She spun around to face him, just in time to see the fog-covered shadow of the man who had been guarding them lift his gun, despite his obviously confused state, and point it again at Thor’s back.
Kira continued to give into Thor’s tug as she raised her Phantom and fired a shot just over his shoulder. The man behind him fell to the ground instantly. Maybe he yelled, maybe he didn’t. She wasn’t sure. There was too much going on, too much confusion, too many sounds.
The smoke began to lift as Thor pulled her into him, leading her out of the center of the room. They found their way to Ashford, no longer in the chair but standing triumphantly over the body of the bounty hunter that had the gun pointed at him.
“I may be old,” he said, smiling at her, “but I still got it!”
“Good, because we sure as hell need it,” Kira replied, spinning around to face the commotion simultaneously lifting her gun again.
The bounty hunters’ leader still stood in the center of the room. But, Alaria was gone. Kira scanned the area, searching for her. Everything was hazy, chaotic, and confusing. On the ground lay two more of the bounty hunters, dead. Two more were injured. The others from their group were scattered about, also searching the area. They were looking for the source of the blast.
Kira, too, wondered where their salvation had come from.
Then, an enthusiastic, energetic shout echoed off the walls, answering her question. “Die, you fucking assholes!” Vinnie yelled out.
> He came running into the room, followed closely by Bron. Down the hall they had come from, Kira spotted a distraught Alaria and a concerned Dario peering out.
The pair burst into the room, guns blazing with furious energy. Kira and Thor joined in the fire. The six remaining bounty hunters scurried back and forth, sometimes returning fire, others ducking for cover. Thor kicked over one of the couches in the seating area and pulled Kira down with him for cover. Ashford joined them.
Bron and Vinnie took cover nearby, behind an old, metal desk that Kira hoped was sturdier than it looked.
“What did I tell you?” Bron yelled at Officer Ashford over the roar of gunfire. “You keep her around too long and action will find you!”
“I live for your entertainment,” Kira replied, popping her head up quickly and firing a quick blast at a bounty hunter charging in their direction.
“For the record, the thrill of a simple ship race would have done the trick,” Ashford said.
"I'll keep that in mind," Kira said, slumping down behind the couch again. She crawled around to the side closest to where Bron and Vinnie were hiding behind the desk. "Bron!" she yelled. "Flashbang!"
Bron didn’t look to acknowledge her but it was clear he heard her. He reached into his pocket quickly and pulled out a small black box. It was a stun grenade, like the one they used to distract the bounty hunters and rush in to rescue Alaria. Kira leaned back and waved for Thor and Ashford to do the same.
Two seconds later, another explosion went off, and the room once again filled with smoke.
Kira led her small group forward, following Bron and Vinnie back to the hallway where Alaria and Dario were still taking cover. Once there, Kira ran forward, embracing Alaria tightly.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” Alaria said, nodding her head. There was a smile on her face, but she still seemed a little shaken up. “Really, I’m fine. I just really want to get out of here.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Kira said, pulling back from Alaria’s embrace and turning to face the rest of her crew. “Where’s the ship?”
“This way,” Bron said, taking the lead.
The sound of the bounty hunters running around in the fog of the stun grenade spurred them all to run a little faster. The hall leading to the repair bay was short, and it took less than a minute for them to arrive. Just as they burst through the door, the Curio finally in view, Ashford pulled back on Kira’s arm. She ordered her crew to get on the ship, telling Alaria and Bron to make sure the engines were ready for take-off.
“I’m this way,” Ashford said, motioning to a small private shuttle stationed not far from the Curio.
“You won’t come with us?” Kira asked.
“As much as I’ve enjoyed this entire experience, I’m suddenly remembering why I decided to retire,” Ashford replied with a shrug and a smile.
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Kira asked.
“I’ll be stuck on Earth with my wife, so I’m not sure I’d say okay,” Officer Ashford replied with a crooked smile. “But I’ll survive, yes.”
Kira patted him on the shoulder, looking over her own as two of the bounty hunters stormed into the bay and began to run toward them. “Thank you, Officer,” she said. “I owe you.”
“You owe me a new station, is what you owe me,” Ashford replied, pushing her toward the hatch of her ship. “But you can pay me back when you stop Grimm and become an intergalactic hero.”
“Deal!” Kira yelled as she hurried up the ramp.
She didn't have the chance to say anymore because just as she entered the Curio, the repair bay hatch began to rise. She turned to watch Ashford scurry back, heading for his personal shuttle. She didn't see him reach it and she didn't have time to wait around to make sure he did.
Spinning on her heel, she raced toward the flight deck. Thor was already there, waiting for her in the co-pilot seat. Initiating the engines went much more smoothly than it had before, which was a very good thing because the bounty hunters were within range of the Curio.
The speed with which she was able to lift the ship off the ground caused a sigh of relief to escape her lips. “Finally,” she muttered to herself. “Now I can actually do my job.”
She sent the ship forward as the large bay doors ahead of them began to lower. Through her rear camera, she could see Ashford take off in his private vessel and begin to follow them toward the exit. To her surprise, the bounty hunters didn’t attempt to shoot them down. The second they saw the ships take off, they turned around and raced back into the station.
“That’s probably not a good thing,” she said, looking over at Thor.
“You don’t think they’re just going to give up?” he asked, watching the camera feed with her.
“Have we ever been that lucky?” Kira replied.
The door to the landing bay was completely opened, and Kira led the Curio out into open space, throwing the controls forward the second they were past the station’s outer hull. There wasn’t even time to relax. The image of the bounty hunters’ ship came into view just moments after they parted ways with Ashford—him heading for Earth, them for anywhere but there.
The bounty hunters’ ship wasn’t the top-of-the-line models used by the TAF patrol squads. But, it was definitely more state-of-the-art than the Curio. Kira quickly radioed down to Alaria to confirm that the weapons and defense arrays were online.
“You’ll be able to warp,” Alaria informed her. “But ease into it, she’s not warmed up.”
“I can’t make any promises,” Kira replied as she watched the bounty hunters’ ship growing closer.
She prepared the Curio for warp. She knew there was the chance that she would be able to defeat the bounty hunters in combat, but given the ship’s recent performance, she thought it best to not push her luck.
“Thor, enter in the coordinates for the first mining colony,” she said, keeping her eye on the monitors around her. An alarm began to go off, informing her that their pursuers had locked in on them.
“Done,” Thor replied just as the flash of cannon fire burst out from under the belly of the bounty hunters’ ship.
Kira pushed down on the controls, lowering the ship just out of the line of fire. The coordinates were in, but warp capabilities were still not online. She glanced over at her readout and noticed the warp system prep stalled at 95%.
Another explosive flash caught her eye. This time, the blast was coming right at them. Thor clenched his fists as he waited for her to make her move.
She glanced back at the gauge—99%.
“Come on beautiful,” she said under her breath. “Come on.”
The bright orange glow of the projectile flying toward them was growing closer and closer. Kira tightened her hold on the controls, both bracing herself for impact and waiting for her moment to act.
One hundred percent.
“Finally!” she exclaimed, slamming her fist down on the warp-drive generator. In a flash, the Curio was sent hurtling through space, just seconds before the bounty hunters’ cannon fire reached the spot they had previously occupied. She didn’t relax at first. Neither did Thor. They both leaned forward, watching the sensor array as the wide open expanse of space continued to zip past them.
“Did they follow us?” Kira asked.
“No,” Thor said, leaning back in his chair. “We’re fine, I don’t think they had time to triangulate our coordinates.”
Finally letting herself relax, Kira leaned back in her seat as she let out a soft sigh. Her skin still tingled with the surge of adrenaline, and her spirits were high on the feeling of accomplishment. In the span of thirty minutes, they had escaped the clutches of bounty hunters twice.
Reading the screens around her, Kira turned to Thor. “We should be there in two days,” she said.
“That should be more than enough time to relax and recoup before we go throwing ourselves into another dangerous and stupid situation.”
He pushed himself up a
nd began moving toward the hull of the ship. She noted something in his mannerism, in the way he left without saying anything else. Something was bothering him. She had done something to upset him.
In the excitement, she had completely forgotten about their tense encounter in the hallway, the moment she could have stepped up and given him what he needed, her open admission that they were together. She hadn’t. She had let him down; she clammed up.
“Great job, Kira,” she scolded herself. “You always find a way to screw things up.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Pacing up and down the hallway multiple times did nothing to relax Kira’s nerves as she tried to find the right way to approach Thor regarding their current situation. She had played about a dozen different conversation openers over in her mind, feeling like all of them were complete shit and discarding them as quickly as they appeared.
