"Alura."
"Yes, Cooper."
"Can you open the doors?"
Alura responded, "Are you certain that is a wise idea?"
"I'm certain it is not, but I'm ready to leave."
"Yes, sir. Unlocking doors."
The door panel turned green. Then the doors slid most of the way open. The buckled edges sticking in the sleeves.
Cooper tilted the leather bowler back on his head and watched the door. The barrel of the laser pistol ready to fire on anything that entered.
The doorway was empty.
Counting the seconds, Cooper let forty pass. He lifted his head to look better. Nothing came barreling through it. He was still waiting.
"Cooper, I'm sorry," Shaltia's voice came over the comm. "We have another issue here."
Cooper didn't answer. He stared at the door.
"Cooper, are you there?"
He remained quiet.
"I'm on my way," she said.
"No," he whispered.
"But..." Her words were disappeared as a mass of black raced through the door. Firing the pistol, Cooper watched as the figure dodged several bolts. Two striking center mass did nothing to slow the creature down. Jumping, the black soared up and landed on the spreader with Cooper.
Firing rapidly, Cooper had rolled to his feet. The creature, which Cooper could now see, wore a black cloak, charged him. Three blasts hit the creature before it swiped him with a hand adorned with a razor sharp metal claw. Cooper twisted to avoid the strike, but his shoulder burned as the claws glanced off.
In a quick move, he slipped the double-edged blade free from its sheath. The creature, which resembled a humanoid, brought the battle closer than Cooper had wanted. He could handle a close fight though.
The next claw strike met the steel of his blade with a clang. His left hand holding the laser pistol that continued to vie for a clear shot. The blade, though, worked quickly to deflect the attacks. A low strike by the creature brought the blade sweeping down to parry. Cooper didn't see the blow that struck him on the opposite side. The hit, stronger than Cooper expected, tossed him off the top of the spreader.
Hitting the cargo hold floor, Cooper bounced and landed sprawled. The blade and laser pistol were thrown from his hands. His bowler rolled to a stop in the middle of the deck.
Fuck, he thought as he moved to his feet. His right arm dangled loosely, dislocated from the shoulder. The beast leaped from the top of the spreader and seemed to float in the air until his feet slammed onto the deck flattening Cooper's hat. Cooper pulled the Smith & Wesson from the holster as the creature lumbered forward.
He squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed through the hold, and the bullet struck the target in the chest. Unlike the blasts from the laser pistol, the bullet tore flesh and knocked the creature back. Cooper didn't wait. He fired another shot into its torso. A sound that seemed like a mix of hiss and growl emanated from under the cloak, and the beast scurried out the doors.
Blood drizzled down his cheek from a laceration on his temple. His shoulder ached, and he dreaded the pain that was going to come with relocating the arm. His left hand kept the pistol up in case the beast returned. He kept thinking it was a beast, but Cooper was certain that it was not. It wasn't quite human either.
"Cooper, come in," Shaltia said.
"Shal," he moaned, "it's gone for the moment."
"You're alive, thank god."
"Barely, its a monster."
Shaltia sounded relieved. "I'm coming to get you."
"I'm bringing the girl. We are getting the fuck out of here."
"Cooper, Schwarz is here."
Cooper rolled his eyes to the ceiling and pushed his back against a crate. His knees buckled, and he slid to the floor.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. How did he find him?
The throbbing in his head made it difficult to think.
Get to your feet, he urged. If for no other reason, than to be ready for the beast should he return.
"Cooper, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, Shal. I'm here."
"I've been talking to you."
Cooper shook his head to try to clear his thoughts. His head felt like the inside of a drum. Pulling his weigh on his left arm, Cooper pushed up to his feet. He lifted his right arm over his shoulder. He moved his elbow back and slowly lowered his arm until he heard and felt the excruciating crack as the humerus popped into the shoulder.
He let out a guttural "Arrgg!" when the pain his. His knees buckled a bit and he grabbed the crates to steady himself.
"Sorry, that thing beat the shit out of me."
"Schwarz wants to talk to you," Shaltia said.
"Fuck him. I have bigger problems right now."
"He says you have something that belongs to him."
"Shal, tell him it will be a minute. I have been sliced and diced over here."
"Fine, just get back over here. Our Skolean friends and Schwarz are both breathing down my neck."
Cooper limped toward the stasis tube. His blade was lying three or four meters away. He sheathed it and glanced around for the laser pistol. The laser pistol was not visible, having likely slid under a crate or some equipment. Cooper released the cylinder from the Smith & Wesson and removed the two spent shells. Putting the empty casings into his pocket so he could cast more bullets, he replaced them with two new shells and snapped the cylinder closed.
A beeping sounded behind him. Turning, he saw the stasis tube flashing a warning on the screen. There was a crack in the bottom of the tube. The warning screen declared a system shutdown.
"Shit!"
He began unhooking the cables leading into the stasis tube. He didn't want the tube to malfunction and kill the girl inside. Getting her to Alura's med bay was the number one priority. He holstered the Smith & Wesson. Then grabbing the tube from the back, he began pushing the tube's cart toward the door in a half-run. His body ached. His head spun in an arc looking for the creature or his other attacker from engineering.
"Shaltia, I'm coming to you. The stasis tube is failing."
"I will meet you at the airlock."
The lift was at the end of the corridor. As he passed a hallway, a flash of light shot out, and he found himself being tossed into the dark corridor. Rolling to his feet, Cooper saw the figure charging him. Bracing his feet, he prepared for the onslaught. The clawed fist caught him in the left shoulder. Cooper jerked the blade from the sheath and sliced it toward his attacker.
Blood oozed from his shoulder. Cooper whipped the blade up and felt it cut into flesh. Razored claws sliced through Cooper's leather jacket as the beast grabbed him and flung him overhead. Cooper hit the wall and dropped the blade.
Cooper groaned and rolled to his side. The figure ran at him, claws bared. Fumbling for his pistol, Cooper watched as a laser blast hit the beast in the chest. His own gun came up, and Cooper fired three consecutive shots into the monster that stumbled back as another laser blast followed the bullets. Then, it was gone.
Spinning around, Cooper saw a man standing at the end of the hallway holding a laser pistol. Training the barrel of the Smith & Wesson on the man, he stepped closer.
"Who are you?" Cooper demanded.
"The names Farkak. I'm the ship's engineer."
Cooper stared at him intently. "Put your pistol down, Farkak."
The engineer complied, lowering the laser pistol. "I'm sorry I was shooting at you earlier. I've been alone here forever."
Peering down the barrel, Cooper said, "What happened here?"
"That thing."
Glancing over his shoulder, Cooper asked, "That thing? Killed everyone?"
"Yes," Farkak said.
"What is it?"
"It's a Skolean."
"Holy fuck! There's only one?"
"I don't know. There was an explosion and the lifts were locked down. Communications were down. I was stuck down in engineering, and when I came up. There was no one left."
Cooper shook his head in disbelief
. "How long ago?"
Farkak answered, "I don't know. I lost track after a few months. Maybe a year?"
"What about her?" Cooper asked, pointing his head toward the stasis tube.
"I don't know where she came from. I found her after a few days."
"Why didn't you wake her?"
"I thought she might be safer in there."
The alarm on the tube was still blaring. Cooper nodded at Farkak's logic. "The only problem," he said, "is the tube is damaged now."
"Shit," Farkak said.
"I need to get her to the med bay on my ship."
Looking at the tube, Farkak said, "You don't have time. Our med bay is one level up. Come on."
He started down the corridor to the lift. Cooper grabbed the tube and started after him.
"What about the Skolean?" Cooper asked warily.
"He'll lick his wounds. Don't worry, he'll be back."
"Great, I would hate to not get to say goodbye."
The lift opened as the screen flashed "WARNING: STASIS SHUT DOWN EMINENT."
"Hurry," Farkak urged.
The tube was rolling toward a double door labeled "Med Bay" when the seal cracked.
"Shit," Cooper said.
The lid of the tube flew open, and the girl sat up screaming.
The Patience of Schwarz
Watching the three vessels from the Hasian cutter, Monstro, Schwarz sat in his captain's chair sipping a Lindolian ale. His steward had just removed the remains of his meal. This was supposed to have been an easy pick up six months ago, but the Burnside wasn't at the right coordinates. For months, he had a team sweeping the quadrants for any sign of them.
Schwarz had seen deals go south in the past. Often judging the value of either revenge or justification as being unworthy of his time. That didn't mean that someone could cheat him and get away with it. Extracting every ounce of revenge was more than a pleasure to him. He thrived on it.
This time the proposed reward was worth the effort. Of course, after months of searching, he finds Cooper Montbarts staking a claim over his property. Montbarts had crossed his path before, and Schwarz didn't trust him. His partner, Shaltia, was another matter. He liked those purple locks. Adding her to his harem was a fierce temptation, but she was one born of steel. Breaking her spirit would be challenging, to say the least.
No, Schwarz thought, he would end up killing her.
"What is the status of the Skolean ship?" Schwarz asked.
"Weapons are armed. The captain has repeated his demand for us to leave immediately," the comm operator said.
Schwarz employed a skilled crew that he had plucked from the prime military or exploratory organizations using the one thing that all men understand. Money. He paid well to have the best crew. Loyalty to their pocketbook. As long as Schwarz kept the credits flowing to them, he had the best.
"I want to get someone on that transport ship. Can we go around Montbarts' shields?"
"I haven't found a way yet. The energy field is unusual. It is still holding at over a hundred percent capacity even after the onslaught that the Skoleans were giving it."
The Skolean ship was an unknown factor. What were they doing here? The Skolean captain had made contact and demanded that Schwarz take the Monstro and leave the sector. Based on their scans, the Skoleans were about evenly ranked in weaponry. This left the Monstro and the Skolean cruiser in a type of standoff.
Schwarz could understand Shaltia's reluctance to drop shields with the Skolean present. They would destroy the whole ship out of foolish bravado. Whether the Skolean realized the bind that Shaltia and Montbarts were in, was unknown. Schwarz knew of the Deneb class ship that Montbarts flew. It was state of the art. Designed to decimate a planet's surface and freight the natural resources away, the Deneb could blast the Skolean ship and the Monstro if it could fire in time.
That was Montbarts problem. He was tethered to the Burnside and couldn't fire. At least, that's what Schwarz surmised. The cannons on the Deneb were facing the wrong way to get a clear shot. Of course, with their advanced shielding, they were in no rush either. It was obvious that the constant barrage of blasts from the Skolean had not weakened the shield at all.
That kind of shielding might be exactly what the Skolean are after. The technological advances that race has made has almost always been on the back of stolen hardware. A ship like the Deneb might be exactly what the Skolean are doing here.
"Not my problem," Schwarz muttered under his breath.
He only wanted the tubes. Then he could deliver the items and collect his fee.
None of that will happen though if Montbarts doesn't lower his shields, or Schwarz's men figure a way to get through the energy field. Even then, while Montbarts is a man of questionable morality, Shaltia will probably fight him. She has high ideals that slavery is immoral and evil.
She was right, of course. Slavery, though, was also profitable and rewarding. Schwarz had seven lithe and nimble girls in his quarters ready to make certain he felt like a god. He never killed slaves either. Not because it was evil, but it was not profitable. His own harem changed regularly.
He had one or two favorites that had been with him for years. Morena was as close as a spouse to Schwarz as he would ever have. She had been with him for almost ten years. He bought her outside the Collive Collective from her father. That was a vile man, even by Schwarz's standards. She knew her place immediately, however over time, she had become comfortable. She was the only one that he allowed to voice her opinion. It didn't matter to Schwarz often, but she was allowed to have it.
"I want through that shield," Schwarz demanded again. "I pay you all enough money to figure out how to do that."
Niels, one of Schwarz's engineers, said, "It's the wave spectrum. I've never seen anything like it. Most shields have a frequency that we could break by hitting it with a diametrically reverse wave pattern before the blast. This one is layered in wave spectrums. We would have to find the frequency of ten different spectrums. Even if we did, by the time we got through most of them, the others would reset behind. It's fascinating but impossible to break."
"Fuck," Schwarz cursed. "I have over a hundred million credits on that ship. I want it off."
"Sir," the comm operator said, "we have an incoming message from the Burnside. It's coded and says he is working on extraction."
"Great, maybe he can figure out how to shut down the shielding."
The comm officer was silent.
Schwarz drank a bit more of the ale and stared at the ships. This was a waiting game. For a man like Schwarz, who is used to instant gratification, waiting was an irritating exercise. He wanted on that ship now. Much longer and the small bits of patience he had would wear thin.
At that point, he might do something unconscionable. And Cooper Montbarts could be damned.
Stasis Ended
The girl began shaking violently as a seizure took over her body.
"Quick," Farkak shouted.
Cooper pushed through the Med Bay doors.
"We need to get her on the table," Cooper insisted.
Cooper pulled her body up until Farkak could lift her feet clear of the tube. Her entire body was gyrating, each muscle taut as her nervous system overloaded. They moved her to the table, and Cooper held her down while Farkak began strapping her to the table.
"Alura," Cooper said, "can you access the Burnside's Med Bay?"
"Yes, Cooper."
"We need to scan this girl."
"Yes, Cooper."
Farkak began looking around. "Should we sedate her?"
"I don't know," Cooper said. "Let the seizure pass."
"Cooper," Alura said in his comm. "The female's vitals appear normal. The seizure may have been a result of the sudden stasis tube failure. There are some abnormal readings. Increased cell growth that is inconsistent with her age."
"What does that mean?"
"Unknown," Alura said.
"Let Shaltia know, we are in the Med Bay here."
/> "Yes, Cooper."
The seizure passed, but the girl was in a less peaceful sleep than before. Her forehead beaded with sweat, and her eyes moving rapidly under the closed lids. Out of the tube, she appeared much younger than Cooper had thought. She was in her early teens. Her face, though, almost seemed to be older. Farkak stood back, and while Cooper's pistol was holstered, he was far from ready to trust the engineer. He didn't like the story he told. Cooper just wasn't ready to call him a liar yet.
"Why didn't you repair the communications? Call for help?"
Farkak pointed at the door. "That thing out there has hounded me for months. I barely have time to stay in any one place. He appears out of nowhere and attacks."
"Why not take an escape pod?"
"Honestly, it's been months and no one shows up. I was afraid an escape pod would just be a coffin eventually. At least on board the Burnside, there were plenty of resources."
"What does the Skolean want?" Cooper asked, referring to the monster as a Skolean, but his gut said that wasn't possible.
"I assume this ship."
"This ship? A thirty-year-old transport vessel with an outdated magnetic drive."
"How the fuck should I know," Farkak exploded. "I didn't fucking ask him what he fucking wanted."
"Sorry, I'm just trying to get a grasp on it if we are going to get out of here."
Farkak shook his head. "No, it's me. Stress is getting to me."
Cooper nodded. "Can we lock the doors?" he asked.
"Yes, we don't want him in here."
Farkak moved to the door panel. Cooper milled around but kept an eye on the door. When the panel turned red, he moved across the med bay from Farkak and stepped into an office.
"Shaltia, come in."
"Cooper, what happened?"
For the first time since the second attack in the corridor, Cooper's adrenaline rush began to subside. The pain in his shoulder was burning from the Skolean's claws. The tan leather of his jacket was red with blood.
Alura's Bind_Book One Page 6
