by Tristan Vick
“The artificial gravity ends at this red line,” she informed them, pointing down at the red strip before the airlock doorway.
Jegra nodded. Then, looking up again, she watched Raven leap out into open space. Trembling, her heart raced in her chest and her breathing became sporadic as her nerves went haywire. “I can’t do this,” she whispered to herself.
“Take a deep breath,” Cassera said, squeezing her hand.
“See you over there?” Kregor asked, smiling down at Jegra.
Fuck me, she thought to herself. But she put on a brave face. “You bet,” she said, attempting her best to smile back at him.
She caught a glimpse of her own reflection in her helmet visor and was a little embarrassed to see that the grimace she was making was the same one she often made whenever she had to take a rather unpleasant dump.
Kregor leapt out into space too, and Jegra drew back. “Nope. Yep, I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can,” Cassera said, tugging gently on her arm to get her to come back to her side. “We’ll do it together. On the count of three.”
They both stepped up to the red line. Holding one another’s hand, Cassera began the countdown. “Three, two…”
Before she even started on one, Cassera gave Jegra a strong tug on the elbow of her EV suit and pulled her out into space with her.
“You bitch!” Jegra shouted into her helmet and they floated away from the Skywend and into deep space.
Cassera tapped on the side of her helmet to let Jegra know she needed to turn her comm-link on first if she wanted to be heard.
Jegra tapped her helmet and screamed, “You crazy bitch!”
“Oh, stop being such a cry baby,” Cassera replied. “You can charge head first into the arena to face down a giant Nogrossian razorback hog, but you pee your pants at the slightest little spacewalk?”
Jegra gulped. “How did you know I peed myself?”
Cassera laughed. “Because peeing, puking, and shitting all over the place is apparently what you do best.”
Jegra laughed. “Bitch,” she repeated in a playful tone, and she stuck her tongue out at Cassera.
Cassera smiled at her and then turned her face to the freighter. They’d be there in another couple of minutes.
“Don’t worry, Jegra,” reassured Cassera. “We’ll be in and out of there before you know it.”
Although she knew that Cassera was only trying to help, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Her instincts were rarely wrong, although she hoped to God that this was one of the times she was mistaken.
15
“Activating magnetic boots,” Raven said over the comm, masterfully spinning herself around and rotating into the precise position that would allow her to land feet first on the hull of the ship.
A loud clank came over the comm and then a relieved sounding sigh. “We have touch-down, ladies and gentlemen.”
Kregor followed suit and made a stiffer, albeit no less impressive, landing.
“Oh, shit,” Jegra said, the hull of the derelict ship coming up on her fast.
“Just breathe,” Cassera reminded her. “I’ll help you through it.”
As they came down, Cassera flipped them both right side up in orientation to the hull, and stuck her legs out. Jegra, however, wobbled about behind her like a stringer on a kite.
Cassera made contact, but Jegra smashed down onto her ass and rebounded off the hull. Letting out a yelp, she was certain she was going to drift off into space just as a hand reached up and caught her by the ankle.
“Got you,” Kregor said, pulling Jegra back down and setting her upright.
“My hero,” she said, her lips forming a smile when her eyes met his.
“Alright people, let’s do this by the book. I want to be in and out in thirty. Keep the comms open at all times. If you see anything suspicious, report it. If you’re uncertain, report it anyway. Are we clear?”
Everyone replied with a simultaneous, “Yes,” and Raven tapped her helmet and then pointed at Kregor to hack into the hatch on the hull for her.
Kregor pulled out a small black a device of some kind, and knelt down near the hatch. Placing the box next to the digital locking mechanism, he tapped a button and a series of symbols started cycling through the box’s display.
“Seyfferian tech,” Cassera said.
“I keep hearing about the Seyfferians, but I’ve never met one.”
“Raven is one,” Cassera replied, contempt dripping from her words.
“But she’s a blue-skin, like you.”
“Not like me,” Cassera snarled. She almost lost her composure. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. “That woman is a defector and a traitor as far as I’m concerned. She’s a disgrace to the empire.”
“You do realize the shared comm-link is still on, don’t you?” Kregor asked, shooting Cassera a disdainful look.
“She heard me,” Cassera said, scowling at Kregor and then turning away.
Just then the icons on the black box came up green, and with a hiss of stale air decompressing, the hatch opened.
Raven ignored Cassera’s scornful dig and leapt through the opening and into the ship.
“What’s gotten into you today?” Jegra asked, shooting Cassera a nasty look. “First you’re at it with Dakroth over who knows what. And now you’re having at Raven like she’s your personal punching bag even though she’s only doing her best to help us. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were being overly emotional.”
Cassera frowned. “It’s nothing,” she said. Her voice dropped and she looked away.
Jegra knew something was eating at her, and she glanced at Cassera one last time, hoping she might open up about it, but Cassera just shut herself down again and went back to being like a cold-hearted android. Jegra figured Cassera would tell her when she felt ready. She turned toward the hatch where Kregor was waiting for her. He already had his hand out for her and she gladly accepted it as he helped her down into the ship.
Cassera gazed up at the Skywend. Dakroth was right. It was the prototype that had been stolen three keks ago. But who in their right mind would steal from the Dagon Empire, let alone leave it abandoned the same week they hijacked it?
She turned and entered the ship, dropping into the dark opening as though it was second nature to her. She’d been looking to get away from Dakroth for a while. Not that she didn’t enjoy the company of her emperor, but he was an eccentric person who, like a rich curry, was fine to sample once in a while. But to constantly be in his presence was overkill.
Kregor was the last to come through the hatch and he sealed it behind him. Tapping his helmet, he said, “Hatch secure.”
Raven opened the inside door to the ship and then checked her arm scanner to determine if the environmental conditions were good. “There’s breathable atmosphere,” she said, unlatching her helmet and twisting it clockwise. It unsealed with a hiss and she popped it off and set it on the floor beside her.
Everyone followed her lead, so Jegra did too. After getting her helmet off, she asked, “But I thought you said there was no power. How can there be life support?”
“Not life support,” Cassera corrected. “Breathable air. They must have an atrium or some kind of plant-based oxygen producing system.”
Raven tapped her environmental suit’s arm panel and a shoulder light flipped up. She also twisted her cuff, which lit up with a ring-type LED lamp. Holding up her wrist, she said, “I’ll get to the bridge and run the reboot sequence. Kregor, you get to the engine room and make sure we can jump start this old girl.”
“What do we do?” asked Jegra.
Arm straight out, her wrist lamp lighting up the unassuming gray panels of the deck, Raven stepped into the corridor. “You two head to the cargo area and see whether what they were carrying is still there.”
“Don’t you need my codes?” Cassera asked Raven.
Raven glanced back at Cassera and smiled. Jegra
could tell it was feigned, but at least Raven was being the consummate professional. “I don’t need them,” Raven replied, tapping her temple. Just beneath her skin, a web of vein-like circuity pulsed. The light traveled up her neck, into her cheeks, and then her purple eyes flashed a bright violet.
“You’re enhanced,” Cassera said. “Of course, you would be. Seyfferians don’t care about polluting their bodies with unnecessary technology. And even though we’re at war with the Nyctans, at least I can respect their vow of purity.”
“Unlike you, Vice Admiral, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to get by anyway I could. The enhancements aren’t a fashion choice. For me, they’re a matter of survival in a cold and indifferent galaxy.” Having spoken her mind, Raven took off down the corridor.
“Well, you heard the lady,” Kregor said, and he followed after her.
Jegra looked back at Cassera who was turning on her wrist lamp. Realizing that it might be a good idea to do the same, Jegra copied what she did and managed to get hers working as well.
“Ow!” Jegra said as the light turned on right in her eyes. She held her arm out and gave her eyes time to adjust.
“You all right?” Cassera asked, placing a hand on Jegra’s shoulder.
“I will be,” she said, embarrassed that she was so clumsy around technology. “Let’s go.”
They headed down the long corridor together and then hooked a right at a T-junction. There they passed through another bulkhead and several more doors.
Cassera stopped in the middle of the hall and checked her EV suit’s wrist panel.
“What is it?” asked Jegra, glancing down at the display on Cassera’s arm. She didn’t understand the symbols, but the readout seemed to be glowing in a soft green, and their path was lit up by a yellow line as the active sonar mapped out the deck for them.
“I thought I saw a strange reading, but then, just like that, it was gone.”
“What kind of strange reading?”
“I don’t know. It was probably nothing,” Cassera said, starting up the corridor again. “Never mind.”
As they walked along, there was a static crackle and Kregor’s voice came over the comm. “I’m afraid the FTL has been stripped,” he informed them.
Raven’s voice replied. “See if you can get the backup generators online. At least that way we could get some power and check the systems logs.”
“Wilco,” Kregor replied. “Over and out.”
Another junction came up and Cassera took a left. Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud electrical clunk, like a breaker switch being flipped on; dim red lights illuminated the room.
“I got the generators running, but they only have enough juice to last about twenty minutes, give or take.”
“Understood,” Raven replied over the comm. “Everyone, time is limited. So, let’s do what we came here to do. I’m downloading the black box data now.”
“Come on,” Cassera said, pointing at a large double door area. “This is the main cargo hold.
They walked up to the door panel and Cassera tapped the button. But it buzzed at her, signaling it was locked. She hit the panel again but again it buzzed.
“Bloody Helios,” she griped. Tapping her arm panel, she got on the comm. “Raven, this is Cassera. We’re at the main cargo bay entrance but the doors seem to have been sealed. Is there any way you can unlock them from up there?”
“Let me see what I can do,” Raven replied. After a long silence, her voice came back. “Try it now.”
Cassera smashed the panel; the light above the doors switched to green and the doors pulled apart.
“Holy fuck!” Jegra gasped.
Cassera and Jegra stood before a cavernous cargo-hold filled with all kinds of glowing plants and particles that lingered in the air like fireflies. Green, leafy vines grew up along the walls and had buds that also glowed with the same turquoise-blue energy.
“What is it?” Jegra asked.
“I have no clue,” Cassera said, checking her arm display. “But the readings suggest they’re safe.”
The two women slowly stepped into the cargo hold and looked around at the indescribable sight. Feeling a strange sensation beneath her feet, Jegra looked down. “The floor is squishy. It feels like moss.”
A large series of fern-like plants stood at the center of the room. They were as tall as a row of corn, Jegra guessed, and these filled the main cargo hold. The glowing motes fluttered around on the air that they’d let in and the scene left Jegra in awe. “It’s breathtaking,” she said.
Cassera tapped her arm display. “There’s that strange reading again.” Making her way into the ferns, brushing giant leaves of flora out of her way, she disappeared into the bush.
Jegra gulped nervously as she realized she was alone. “Hey, wait up,” she said, following after Cassera.
Jegra brushed aside the leaves as she slowly made her way through the thick growth. After a minute, she came out the other side; when a hand flew up and halted her.
“Why’d you turn off your lamp?” Jegra asked.
“Shhh,” Cassera replied, gesturing with her finger for Jegra to go silent. Cassera reached down and grabbed Jegra’s wrist and aimed it at the ground. Then, she slowly extended her finger out toward a dark object in the corner of the room.
“What’s that?” Jegra whispered.
Still holding tight to Jegra’s wrist, Cassera cautiously raised Jegra’s arm until her lamp lit up a dark figure standing at the back wall. It was metallic, dark metallic–a space gray color with a glossy shine to it.
Jegra squinted as she tried to make out what she was looking at. “It appears to be some kind of armor.”
“It’s a Knight,” Cassera whispered, her voice wavering with a hint of fear.
“A Knight?” Jegra repeated.
“A Knight of Caelum,” Cassera informed her in a hushed tone. “They’re the most elite soldiers of the Nyctan Empire.”
“It seems to be hibernating,” Jegra said, inching forward. Cassera immediately jerked on her arm and reeled her back.
“We’re in no position to take on one of these,” Cassera said. “I suggest we slowly back out of here and reseal this door.”
Just then, the thin, cross-styled visor on the Knight’s helmet flashed red. The Knight’s suit activated and its body rose up.
“Run!” Cassera said, turning and shoving Jegra ahead of her.
The two women raced through the flora, thrashing about like wild animals to try and escape the micro jungle of the cargo hold. Jegra was the first to make it to the corridor. When she turned around, she saw Cassera shoot out of the bush at a dead sprint. “Go, go!” she yelled, waving at Jegra to keep moving.
But Jegra was stubborn. She wasn’t going to leave her friend. And as much as it pained her to say it, she considered Cassera a friend.
Cassera skidded out of the cargo hold and spun around. Just as she looked back, the Knight slowly emerged from the glowing plants, his visor glowing menacingly.
Not waiting to find out what it would do next, Cassera smashed the button and the door slammed shut. Pulling out her blaster, she shot the panel and fried it.
Jegra threw her hands up as the panel spat sparks at them and hissed. “Are you going to tell me why you’re so scared of that thing, or what?”
Before Cassera could relay to Jegra the severity of the situation, the comm crackled and Raven’s voice came on.
“What’s going on down there?” Raven asked. “Your comm-link cut out for a moment.”
“We’ve got trouble, captain,” Cassera replied. “We have company.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing Jegra can’t handle,” Raven replied.
“There’s a Knight in here,” Cassera stated, her voice filled with urgency and fear.
“Get to the bridge, asap,” Raven said.
“I’ll meet you all there,” Kregor, replied. “Just keep your distance from that thing and, whatever you do, don’t engage it.”
<
br /> “You don’t need to tell me twice,” Cassera replied.
A flash of orange and red light appeared as a plasma blade shot through the cargo hold door. Jegra screamed.
“He’s cutting through,” Cassera said, easing away from the door. “Come on, we’d better be gone by the time he cuts through that.”
Jegra and Cassera ran back down the corridor the way they had come. As they were about to pass the airlock, Jegra turned and went to fetch their helmets.
“Wait, where you going?” Cassera asked.
“To get our suits’ helmets,” she replied innocently.
Seeing as she was already halfway there, Cassera glanced down the hall and then sighed out anxiously. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll help you.”
Jegra and Cassera put on their helmets and then grabbed the other two and returned to the T-junction of the corridor. They hooked a left at the corner and headed in the direction of the bridge. That’s when they heard the low, pulsing hum.
“Do you hear that?” Jegra asked. Cassera and Jegra slowed to a halt in the middle of the corridor. Cautiously, she turned around to see the Knight at the very end of the corridor standing there, his plasma blade glowing as he held it at his side, the colors of the energy sword cascading across his lustrous armor.
There was a long silence and then the Knight tapped the floor with his blade, sending up sparks. He started marching forward, tapping the sword every few steps and sending up more sparks.
“Go, go,” Cassera said, turning around and running alongside Jegra.
They tore around the final corner and met Kregor at the entrance of the bridge.
“It’s right behind us,” Jegra said.
“Quick, inside,” he said.
Both women rushed onto the bridge to find Raven waiting for them. Kregor held back and waited. He’d never seen a Knight in person, and this might be his only chance.
Kregor tensed up when the Knight appeared from around the corner. When it turned to find a larger Dragonian staring at him, it paused momentarily to reassess the situation. Without waiting for it to come to a definitive conclusion, Kregor stepped onto the bridge and manually shut the doors. He then tapped something into the pad and the giant blast doors came crashing down.
