by S. E. Smith
River knew she needed to find a way around the ship without being seen. These creatures were huge compared to her, Star, and Jo. Looking up, she noticed a series of platforms leading to the ventilation system. If she could get to it unseen she could move through the vents. The creatures were too large to fit in them. Besides, isn’t that what they did in the movies? If she could stay in them she could find her friends and they could hide out until they figured out a way to get off the ship.
Satisfied with her plan she just needed to wait until things calmed down a little. In the meantime, she explored the shuttle for any type of food or drinks and a restroom. Finding a box with what appeared to be emergency rations, she stuffed as much as she felt she could safely carry into her duffle bag. She needed to get ready in case she needed to defend herself. Opening her duffle bag, she pulled out some of the harnesses she used to carry her knives during her performances. She pulled her sweater off placing it in the duffle bag. She might need it later but not while she was climbing. Pulling on a tight long sleeve black form-fitting spandex shirt, she strapped on two of her leather wrist holders which contained seven small knives in each holder. Next, she grabbed her back and chest holder. It criss-crossed her front and back and allowed her to put all types of knives and throwing stars in it including two small swords which fit in an x-formation on her back. Pulling on her belt she had additional small throwing stars in them. She used this belt when she was riding bareback and throwing them at candles lit around the ring. She had maybe twenty-five very sharp throwing stars in it. Last, she pulled out several of her favorite throwing knives and placed them in the inserts she had in her leather boots. Closing the duffle bag, she pulled the straps tight so she could run fast if she needed too.
River waited almost two hours before the shuttle area had become deathly quiet. She watched as the last creature left the area and the lights dimmed. Moving toward the opened ramp which had been left down after their arrival, River stayed as low as possible moving slowly so she could listen for any noises. Grabbing the side of the ramp, she flipped under it so she was covered. Peering out, she moved swiftly when she felt confident she was safe toward the nearest stack of cargo boxes slipping between two of them. She followed the tight corridor between the crates until she was in the shadows under the catwalks leading up to the ventilation system. River turned and grabbed the piping and began climbing. She hoped there was no video surveillance of the area. If so, she should have had company already.
Rolling over the catwalk, she took the stairs up to the highest level before grabbing hold of the piping and climbing it up to the vent. It was small but she wouldn’t have any problems sliding through it. They didn’t even have a grill over it. Holding on to the pipe with both hands she stretched her legs out until she could slide them in then pushed off letting the rest of her body follow. She moved back about ten feet into the vent before she leaned back and took a deep breath to calm her shaking body. She had never been so scared in all her life. The only thing keeping her going was the knowledge Jo and Star had to be even more scared than she was.
River crawled until she reached an intersection in the vent. Here it was high enough she could actually stand up straight. She guessed whoever built it was a lot smaller than the creatures on it now. They would have a hard time crawling as each one of them had to be over eight and a half feet tall and almost as wide. Moving to the left which she hoped with the direction the creatures had headed when they took Jo and Star she followed the ventilation system for hours marking sections as she came to them with a permanent marker. Luckily she had always been good with directions probably because she had traveled so much her whole life. It almost reminded her of the passageways under Paris her, Star, and Jo had explored one summer.
River almost cried out with relief when she saw a schematic of the ship attached to one intersection. Pulling out one of her knives, she pried it off the wall. Sinking down she looked over the map. It looked like there was some type of holding cells two levels up. If she followed the ventilation system another hundred feet to the left there should be a vent leading up to the next level. She needed to do this again at the next level to get to the one she wanted. Sliding the stiff map into her shirt she moved off to the left. Sure enough, she came to a vent that went straight up. It was narrow but it had what looked like foot holds. Grabbing hold of the first rung, River began climbing.
River spent the better part of the next three hours moving through the ventilation system. She had made it to the level with the holding cells. It had taken her longer to climb up to them than she expected. They were much further apart than she expected. Once she had made it to the level she wanted she had paused to rest and get something to drink. At first she was leery of what was in the bottle but on smelling it and then finally taking a sip she was relieved to find it was water. She drank half the bottle before realizing she needed to conserve what she had. Closing her eyes, River felt the fatigue take over her body. She needed to rest before she moved any further. She had been up for over seventy-two hours between arriving back in the States and her long flight and drive. Then there had been the wait in the shuttle until everyone had left. Leaning her head back against the cold metal River felt a shiver run through her body. She had no idea how they were ever going to get home. No one would even begin looking for them for at least three months when they didn’t return from the mountain. By then, who knew where they would be. Shaking off the depressing thoughts, River focused on finding her friends first. She had to make sure they were safe. Her last thought as her body shut down was she would worry about the rest later.
River woke disoriented. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Taking a drink, she rubbed her eyes trying to get them to focus. She wasn’t far from the first row of cells. She figured she would leave her duffle bag here and check out each cell through the vent until she hopefully found Jo and Star. Shrugging the bag off her back, she checked to make sure all her knives were securely fastened so she didn’t make any noise. Standing up she moved to the first cell. Peering through she saw it was empty. Moving to the next one she found the same. On her third cell she saw a familiar pink and white comforter lying across what looked like some type of bed. Peeking around the room River waited a good five minutes listening.
“Jo, I’m scared.” Star whispered. “Do you think they are going to hurt us?”
“I don’t know, baby.” Jo replied softly. “I hope not.”
“Psst. Jo, Star.” River called out softly.
“River?” Star whispered excitedly.
River pulled the vent grill up. Man, whoever designed these cells must have been thinking whatever was going to be in them would be too big to fit through the opening. It was a perfect fit for River, Jo, and Star’s petite figures.
“You alone?” River asked quietly.
“Yes. They only come by once a day. They bring us something to eat and drink, then don’t come back again until the same time the next day.” Jo replied.
River was surprised. She didn’t realize they had already been in here that long. She had fallen asleep earlier in the ventilation system but hadn’t thought so much time had passed. She felt guilty at having slept so long.
“When will they be back?” River asked huskily.
“Not for another eight hours by my calculations.” Jo said.
River laughed softly. Jo was always the level headed one of the three of them. River slowly lowered herself through the vent opening and dropped lightly to her feet. Star rushed off the bed and wrapped her arms around River tightly.
“Oh River, you shouldn’t be here.” Star cried softly.
“Oh? And where else do you think I should be?” River teased softly pushing Star’s hair back. “Whatever adventure we go on, we go together.” River said softly repeating a Muttra they had said since they had become friends.
Jo smiled through her tears. “Yeah, but even we aren’t stupid enough to have invited you on this one.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to
be anywhere else without you.” River said. “Now, we need to think about how we are going to get out of here and back home.”
“What do you suggest? If we are on a space ship and I have to believe we are, God only knows where we are. Even if we were able to get off where would we go? It’s not like any of us know how to fly one of these things.” Jo said sadly sinking down onto the bed.
“Can you understand anything the creatures are saying?” River asked trying to think of ways to get the girls in a fighting back mood. Usually it was Jo who was the one shaking everyone up out of the dull-drums. This was a new experience for River.
“Yes. They gave us some type of translator to wear.” Star said pulling her hair back to reveal a device that looked almost like a small hearing aid.
“I need one. I‘ve been scouting the ship. If worse comes to worst, we can disappear into the ventilation system until we can figure out a way to get off this boat.” River said holding out her hand.
Star handed her translator to River. “What should I tell them when they discover it missing?”
“Tell them it fell in the toilet.” River grinned. “I bet they’ve dropped stuff down it before.”
Jo laughed. “You are so bad.” Sighing, she couldn’t help but admit, “I’m glad you’re here, River.”
River smiled softly, “Me, too. If I am going to be hanging out here some I need to use your bathroom. I left my duffle bag up in the vents a few cells down. I figured I could spend part of the day with you and the other part doing recognizance. I need you two to stay here just in case someone decides to put in a surprise visit. I’ll leave you some of my knives just in case you need them. Whatever happens, don’t be afraid to use them.” River added seriously.
Jo and Star nodded as they took the knives River handed them from her boots. They knew this was for real and wouldn’t get a second chance if they hesitated. River used the bathroom to freshen up and refilled her water bottle. The three of them talked for the next few hours planning different strategies. River had Jo copy the map she had of the ship and they made plans on where to meet if they had to disappear into the ventilation system. They had three places they set where they would meet in order if they should get separated from each other. Jo insisted River get a couple hours sleep and she would wake her an hour before their next schedule visit so she could hide. River was going to stay close to make sure the translator worked before she would explore more.
Over the next two weeks they did the same routine. River began having Jo and Star explore the vents to get familiar with the ship while she stayed with one or the other. They figured she could cover up with the bedspread and act like she was sleeping if the creatures came back early. So far, they had been left alone. It wasn’t until the beginning of their third week of captivity that they knew something major was happening. The ship jerked and shuddered tossing them to the floor as the lights in the cell dimmed.
“What’s happening?” Star asked frightened. She gripped the edge of the bed trying to keep from falling again.
“I don’t know. I’m going to go check it out.” River said. “Give me a boost.”
Jo and Star stood and cupped their hands giving River a boost through the vent. River closed the vent grill before whispering, “I’ll be back shortly.”
The sisters nodded as they staggered under another shudder. The ship moaned then everything seemed to become deathly quiet. Moving over they sat on the edge of the bed holding on as they waited for River to return.
Chapter 3
River moved swiftly through the vents. She was a pro at navigating her way through them now. She had even pack-ratted items she thought might come in handy. She had food and water stored throughout the ship. She had even found a storeroom filled with weapons. She had taken as much as she thought she could get away with and hidden them in strategic places as well. Her biggest find had been what looked like explosives. She figured they could always find a good use for those. Moving down she followed a group of creatures running towards the shuttle bay. They seemed to be very excited about something.
Running she made the quick climb down the vents until she came to the vent she had originally slipped into almost three weeks before. Staying to the shadows she moved quietly out onto the catwalk using the pipes to move around. There was a large square duct hanging down she could hide behind but be close enough to hear what was going on as she would be almost directly above them. Crossing the thick metal beam she made her way across and hid behind it just as the huge creature that obviously was in charge stormed into the shuttle bay with almost twenty armed men following him.
Another ten men stood surrounding a shuttle with their weapons drawn. A small explosion caused the platform at the back of the shuttle to open. The men rushed in. A few minutes later they came out followed by a group of almost a dozen men. River caught her breath at her first look of the men. They were much different than the creatures that had captured Jo and Star. They were tall, about six and half feet, but had long black hair pulled back at their necks. They were all dressed in leather pants and had on different color shirts except for the one in the front who was older and wore some type of formal cloak. They were so handsome River would have to call them almost beautiful. They appeared almost human in form. She couldn’t tell what it was about them from this distance but she knew there was something different about them. Maybe it was their builds were very muscular or the way they carried themselves but something was different.
River watched as the huge creature named Trolis walked up to the man in the long cloak and hissed at him.
“So, Krail Taurus, we meet again. This time there will be no peace negotiations.” The huge creature hissed.
“Trolis, you have broken the treaty signed by your people by attacking an Alliance vessel on a diplomatic mission.” Krail Taurus replied calmly. “This will be seen as an act of war.”
Trolis grinned nastily before replying, “No, this will be seen as an act of war.”
Before anyone knew what Trolis planned he swung a double-edge sword and sliced the older man across his neck severing it clean off his shoulders. The other men roared with rage and moved to attack. Suddenly the ten men surrounding them opened fire and all the men dropped to the floor.
River shoved her fist into her mouth to keep from crying out. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks as she watched all the men drop. She almost fell from her hiding place when she heard Trolis tell the men to drag the men to the holding cells. They weren’t dead, just unconscious! She thought with relief. She waited to hear what else Trolis had to say. She needed to know what he planned on doing to the other men. If he planned on killing them she was going to have to tell Jo and Star they were moving up their attack on the creatures.
“Commander Trolis, what do you want us to do with the others?” One of the creatures hissed out.
Trolis swung his large head back and forth, “Two of the men are part of the royal family. I think a demonstration of who is in charge is necessary. Strap them to walls. Take the younger one with the red shirt and secure him to the center of cell block eight. I want the others to watch as he is gutted. I have plans for his older brother to suffer.”
“Yes, commander.” Hissed the creature.
Trolis called out to two other creatures, “Clean up this mess.”
River watched as Trolis walked out of the shuttle bay. She moved back along the metal beam climbing back into the vent and took off at a run. She had to let Jo and Star know about what happened and get to cell block eight before they had a chance to kill anyone else. She didn’t know why but she knew those men were their only hope of finding their way off this ship and back home. They had to free them.
“Torak.” A voice called out hoarsely.
Torak shook his head to try to clear it. He focused on pushing the pain away in his chest where he had taken a blast from the stunner. Looking up he saw all his men chained to the walls; most of them just regaining consciousness. He looked up to see he was chained
as well by both his arms and legs. Looking around he frowned when he didn’t see his younger brother, Jazin, with the others. His eyes narrowed when he saw Jazin chained to bars in the center of the room.
“Is everyone else here?” Torak asked harshly.
He was furious. The Alliance had a treaty with the Tearnats. He knew Trolis was a deadly opponent. He had fought against him in the wars before the treaty had been signed. He had not known Trolis had gone rogue until recently. The wars had ended two years before and a tentative peace had been achieved with the Tearnats. Trolis had been a commander during the war and was the second son of the ruling family. He had not been happy with the decision to end the war. The Alliance had vastly outnumbered the Tearnats in both technology and in warships.
Made up of over twenty different galaxies, the Alliance provided safe passage and support to ships traveling between the galaxies. Torak was a member of the ruling family from the Kassis star system. They were one of the most powerful members of the Alliance. His people were very advance technologically and had the most powerful warships. He, his younger brother by three years, and ten of his best men had been on a diplomatic mission with the head chancellor of the Alliance, Krail Taurus of the Dramentic star system. They had been on the chancellor’s shuttle on their way to intercept Torak’s warship, The Galaxy Quest, when Trolis had fired upon them taking out their engines. The chancellor had insisted they allow the shuttle to be taken and felt confident a diplomatic solution could be reached. Now the chancellor was dead and he and his men were prisoners. His only hope was the emergency signal he had sent out to his brother, Manota, was received. If so, he might be able to reach them in time.
