"What do you want?"
"I haven't decided yet," Cooper said. "I'll get back to you."
He cut the transmission off. Schwarz was cold-blooded, and he had likely gutted his fair share of enemies. However, Cooper knew he was a businessman, and businessmen always know how to negotiate.
He stood and pulled a half-emptied bottle of Jack Daniels. He poured a glass of the amber liquor. The bottle was 240 years old, and Cooper had a small stash of them hidden in a cache on Mars. He was on his last case, meaning a trip to the Sol System might be in order soon.
The whiskey, which was famous on Earth, moved over his tongue. The warm liquid filled his belly. Time to get on the move again. He swallowed the rest of the whiskey, setting the glass on the table.
Mitch stared at him.
"Sorry, buddy, not this time. You got in trouble last time."
The bulldog's head drooped.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Cooper said.
Strapping the plasma launcher to his back, Cooper scratched behind the canine's ears.
"Alura, please keep an eye on Mitch."
"Cooper, I do not have an eye. I do have four hundred thirty-seven cameras that can watch the dog."
Cooper shook his head. He left the door to his quarters ajar for Mitch, and he headed toward the airlock.
"Alura, I want you to keep Shaltia here. I'm going to find the other stasis tube. I would rather she stayed here."
"I understand, Cooper. However, Captain Shaltia has already boarded the Burnside."
"What the hell?" he said incredulously ignoring the title that Alura continues to assign Shaltia. "Why would she do that?" He keyed his comm,"Shaltia, where are you?"
"I'm heading to engineering. I'm going to find the wormhole generator."
"Damn it," he cursed. "I have a plan."
"I don't really want the Skoleans to end up with that kind of technology."
"Fuck, I'm on my way," Cooper opened the airlock hatch. "Alura, no one but Shaltia or I boards."
"Understood."
The Burnside was quiet when he stepped back on board. The grip of the Smith & Wesson in his right hand. Sweeping the hall, Cooper ran for the lift. Shaltia was alone on here, and while he did not doubt her ability to handle most any situation, the players at this table were scaring Cooper.
The lift doors opened, and he was struck as Farkak lunged up from a crouched position. The surprise rocked Cooper on his feet, and he was unprepared for the blow that struck him in the face. Farkak punched again quickly. The Smith & Wesson was knocked from his hand.
Cooper recovered as the third hit came at him. Blocking with his left arm, Cooper whipped the blade from the sheath. Farkak jumped back and dropped under the swiping metal. Cooper drove the hilt of the blade down onto Farkak's shoulders. Farkak hit the deck and rolled away. He came up with a laser pistol in his hand aimed straight at Cooper.
"Please don't," Farkak said. "I don't mind killing you, but it will be easier if I don't"
"What do you want?" Cooper demanded
Farkak bent over and picked up the Smith & Wesson. "Interesting piece. I haven't seen anything like this except in some museums."
"Yeah, well, get a good look at it. I'm going to get it back."
Farkak laughed, "Good luck with that. Just drop the blade."
Obeying, Cooper tossed the knife away.
"Go ahead and toss your laser pistol away too. And whatever that is on your back."
Cooper dropped the laser pistol and unstrapped the plasma launcher.
"What is that?" Farkak asked.
Cooper smiled. "Why don't you try it out?"
Farkak laughed, "Good try. Just leave it. Toss your comm down, too."
"What do you plan to do?
"I plan to use you to get your ship."
A Worm in the Apple
"Unfortunately, there has been no working wormhole generator prototypes recorded, therefore I do not know what it might look like," Alura stated.
Shaltia sighed, "Not a lot of help then, are you."
"I apologize for my inadequacies, Captain Shaltia."
Bowing her head, Shaltia said, "I'm sorry, Alura. I do not think you are inadequate."
"Captain Shaltia, there is no need to apologize. I do not have emotions that will be injured by the truth."
"Alura," she said, "you are not inadequate."
The ship responded, "That statement is inaccurate. In this instance, I am unable to provide the information that you need to accomplish the task you have, therefore I am inadequate."
"You know, it's like arguing with Cooper when I talk to you," she told the computer.
"That is amusing," Alura said.
"It is?"
"Yes, Cooper says the same thing about you."
Emitting a groan, Shaltia asked, "How would one generate a wormhole then?"
"Historically, it has been done with magnetic fields, however the size of the wormhole would not be large enough for the Burnside to pass through. There are theories of using antimatter blasts to rupture space in order to use magnetic pulses to create the gravitational forces required to fold space."
Listening to Alura, Shaltia processed the information. She asked, "Could it work like a weapon system?"
"Possibly. The antimatter blast and magnetic pulses would need to be targeted in order to open the wormhole where you wanted it to go."
"Do you think you could run a diagnostic on the Burnside's systems?"
"Yes, if I can communicate with the computer. It tries to make it difficult."
"What?' Shaltia said.
"The Burnside's computer is not an artificially intelligent system. It runs on a basic logic programming. It does not have the capacity to learn and therefore it does not communicate in ways that defy its logical programming."
"Oh," Shaltia said, "I'm sorry. Please see if you can run the diagnostics. Look for weapons systems."
"Yes, Captain Shaltia."
Shaltia had been glancing over her shoulder the entire time, but so far engineering was quiet. Cooper hadn't made it down here yet, and she was starting to get worried.
"Cooper," she said into the comm.
There was no response.
"Cooper, where are you?"
"Captain Shaltia, I have found an abnormality."
"What?" Shaltia asked.
"There is a device attached to the front array that is not networked into the Burnside's system."
"Give me the location," she told Alura. The scanning computer on her belt flashed with the location.
"Cooper," she tried again.
The silence was all she heard.
"Alura, where is Cooper?"
"I do not know. He was boarding the Burnside twenty-five minutes ago."
"Where is he?"
"I do not know."
"Shit, he needs to answer," Shaltia complained. "Let's find this array."
"The array is located at the front of the vessel. If you will follow the path I highlighted, then you should be able to find it."
"Cooper, come in," she tried again.
The radio silence dug at her.
"Fuck, we have to find him," she turned and headed back to the lift.
The lift opened, and Shaltia took in the scene. Cooper's double-edged blade was lying on the floor along with a laser pistol and a large armament. Cooper's comm unit was crushed on the floor. Shaltia lifted the longer weapon. This was something Cooper had been squirreling away. From its appearance, this weapon was heavy duty.
"Alura, what kind of weapon is this?"
"Does it have a comm port?"
"Yes," Shaltia said as she attached the scanning computer to it.
"Judging from its components, this is a plasma generator with firing capabilities. It has a designation mark indicating it was designed on Belluna. I believe it could be called a plasma launcher."
"Are you shitting me?"
"It appears to be a ground weapon for defense against airborne assault vehicles."
>
"Will it kill the hybrid?" Shaltia asked.
"If the plasma bolt does not kill the hybrid, it will likely result in a hull breach in the immediate area."
Alura didn't need to explain what a hull breach would do to the person firing the weapon. The vacuum of space would ensure the shooter's imminent death. Cooper had a hell of a backup plan.
Where was he, though.
Shaltia strapped the plasma launcher to her back along with the matrix blaster. A feeling of unease crept over her with the knowledge that she carried the only two weapons that would slow down the hybrid, and those weapons will result in the destruction of the ship.
She picked up the blade. Cooper might want it back. The razor sharp blade glistened under the corridor lights. She gingerly slid the blade under her belt. The edge was keen enough that too quick of a motion would slice through the leather belt. She bent over and grabbed the laser pistol. The Smith & Wesson wasn't here, and Shaltia guessed that whoever took Cooper, Farkak she assumed, had the ancient pistol.
"Alura, where are Farkak's quarters?"
"Deck Six."
Shaltia stepped back onto the lift and headed to Deck Six. His quarters were not likely where he was hiding. When she arrived, the doors were sealed.
"Can you unlock them?"
"One moment," Alura said. Then the doors opened.
Shaltia stepped in slowly with a laser pistol raised.
"Lights," she said, and the voice-operated controls illuminated the room.
The room was clean. As if no one had been here.
"He isn't staying here," Shaltia said.
"Are you able to scan for any life signs?"
"With the Burnside's internal sensors destroyed, I cannot pinpoint any life signs."
"Where the fuck are you Cooper?"
Bound and Screwed
"You know you won't be able to board the Alura," Cooper said smugly.
"I'm pretty sure we will," Farkak sneered. "You have a rather large survival mode. I can always kill you and find your partner."
Cooper laughed. "You dumbass, she's more stubborn than anyone. She will die before she even lets you near the airlock."
Farkak narrowed his eyes, "Then if you have no concern for your life, you should at least be concerned for hers."
Cooper was bound using plastic ties to a chair in the captain's office. Farkak sat behind the desk. Cooper grinned at Farkak. He had no idea what his next move was, but years of playing cards against sharks had taught him even a pair of twos can win sometimes. He had a plan formulating, but it would never succeed while he was tied to the chair.
Shaltia would figure out what happened soon enough, but the other problem was still the hybrid that was on the loose. Of course, Farkak faced the same problem. Maybe more so if Cooper's estimation of the engineer's plan was correct.
"Even if you do get to my ship, how do you plan to get the crazy one to Schwarz?"
Farkak glared at him.
"That is your plan, right? To sell Learra and the monster into slavery."
"Yeah, you are going to help me get him back into a stasis tube."
"Are you kidding me?" Cooper snorted. "Have you gone against that thing? We can't slow it down. Let alone get it into a stasis tube."
"I don't have a choice."
"How did he wake up anyway?" Cooper asked.
"Gribel had a fail-safe password on the first tube. When he failed to put it in, the stasis ended."
Cooper chuckled and said, "I guess, killing everyone backfired on you."
"It would seem."
"Let me get it straight though, you make it seem like a saboteur is on board because you want Naol to stop the Burnside so you can 'effect repairs,'" Cooper said. "Only Naol was worried so he kept pushing the Burnside despite your protestations. Since killing communications was the only way to keep assistance from coming, you couldn't relay the new coordinates to Schwarz."
Farkak remained silent, but his eyes confirmed Cooper's theory.
"How did you kill everyone?" Cooper asked. "I'm guessing an environmental agent. If the beast and Learra were in stasis, they would be protected from it. All you need is to protect yourself until everyone dies and you can purge the environment."
"You're pretty smart, huh?"
"I like the word devious," Cooper said grinning.
"Mouthy is a better term."
"That's what Shaltia says. Where is Learra anyway?"
"She's fine," he said, "once I got her away from you."
"She's just a girl," Cooper muttered. "What's wrong with you?"
"I'm not rich enough, I guess."
"She just wants to go home," Cooper stated.
"Hell, she doesn't even know where home is. She's one of nearly a thousand planets that is tech-less."
"That doesn't give you the right to steal her."
Farkak leaned close to Cooper's face. "I didn't steal her. I am liberating her from her captor."
Cooper slammed his forehead into Farkak's nose. The resounding crack of his nose satisfied Cooper until Farkak struck him on the side of the head with the grip of the Smith & Wesson. His head swirled as he lost consciousness. Farkak's bloody nose was the last thing he saw.
Seconds seemed to pass, but when Cooper opened his eyes, he was alone in the captain's darkened office.
"Lights," he said.
The office illuminated, and he found his head throbbing.
"Dim the lights," he said trying to lower the strain on his eyes.
His wrists were still bound, and he realized that more than a few seconds must have passed while he was unconscious.
"Computer," he called. "Can you respond?"
There was no answer. He had hoped the Burnside's computer would talk to him. Then perhaps he could get a message to the Alura. No luck. He would have to get out on his own.
The knife strapped to his calf was still there. Farkak hadn't bothered a thorough search, perhaps thinking the four weapons were enough. Cooper felt smug knowing that he was still a little prepared. With his hands bound behind his back, he would need to get his leg up to his hand. A prospect that seemed nearly impossible given the position he was sitting.
Taking the toe of his left boot, Cooper eased the cuff of his pants up the calf until it cleared the top bolster of the dagger. Nudging the hilt with the tip of his shoe, he moved the dagger slowly up out of its sheath. When the tip of the blade was almost clear of the scabbard, Cooper pressed the knife against his skin to keep it from dropping to the ground. Maneuvering the dagger, Cooper used great care to not let it fall to the deck and still get it to lie on his boot. Once it was stable, the other boot pinched together to hold the blade. Extending his legs so that his feet were holding the dagger's blade held between the boots.
Please don't stab yourself, Cooper thought. Don't stab yourself, don't stab yourself, don't stab yourself.
He tossed the knife into the air with his feet. Watching it flip, end over end, Cooper prayed that it would clear his head.
It didn't.
The hilt of the dagger thudded against the top of his skull. Then his arm burned as the blade pierce the top of his right forearm, embedding itself at an angle.
"Fuck me," he said, biting back a scream.
The first two fingertips of his left hand squeezed the blade. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the blade up. Each movement sent waves of pain through his arm. The blade moved slowly out of the flesh as rivers of blood dripped down his forearm. The tip cleared his skin, and Cooper twisted the dagger so the handle fell into his right hand. He snapped the plastic ties holding him to the chair.
His right arm was drenched in blood, and Cooper used the blade to cut the fabric of his shirt. Cinching the tourniquet quickly, he staunched the blood flow. The pain was duller once the blade was removed. He held the dagger in his left hand and pulled his right arm against his body. Until Alura could repair the wound, he had to prevent himself from bleeding to death. He was pretty sure that he had hit the artery but prayed hi
s first aid would hold him.
Moving to the door, he kept the dagger in his left arm prepared to slash at anything coming in the door. The doors slid open, and Cooper moved quickly for the lift.
When the lift doors opened, Cooper barreled out the doors with the small dagger prepared to attack anything on the other side. He shuffled along toward the Burnside's Med Bay. Thankfully, Cooper praised, the Med Bay was empty.
The suture stick was lying on the counter where Cooper had left it earlier. The cloth bandage was red and moist with his blood, meaning that the bleeding had not stopped. He was feeling light-headed which worried him. He sat at what he presumed was the doctor's desk. Unwrapping the blood-soaked bandage, Cooper watched as more blood continued to pump out.
Taking the suture stick, he moved it over the cut. The stick increased the cellular reproduction in the arm allowing the body to heal itself faster. The energy the stick emitted also increased the thrombin in the blood to ensure faster coagulation. The bleeding slowed, then stopped.
Watching the skin slowly grow together and the gash to close, Cooper continued to wave the suture stick over the wound. Minutes later, the wound was sealed. Cooper stood up slowly. He moved to the cabinet and began digging through the medical supplies until he found perladine, a pharmaceutical injection that speeds the replacement of red blood cells. Injecting himself, he decided he needed a few minutes to recuperate.
As he washed the blood from his arm, he noticed that the floor from the door to the desk was drizzled with blood, and Cooper realized he left a trail for Farkak to follow. He needed to move and quickly. His right hand tingled from the effects of the suturing, but he gripped the dagger in his hand.
The Med Bay doors opened, and Cooper left warily.
Engineered Perceptions
She had swept the level, and Cooper was nowhere to be found. There wasn't a big struggle where Shaltia had found Cooper's armaments, and she was certain that the engineer must have grabbed him.
He would have to be on his own. Without his comm gear, Alura couldn't track him. She had several options, and none of them would help Cooper. If she could find the wormhole generator, then she could bargain with the Skoleans. If she could find, and capture, the hybrid, then perhaps she could bargain with Schwarz. Neither of those things would help if Cooper was being held by Farkak.
Alura's Bind_Book One Page 10
