"The channel is open."
Shaltia spoke into the microphone. "Cooper, I know you are alive. If you have Learra, it is time to go. I'm coming for you. Farkak, I plan to shoot you on site."
"Alura, keep the channel open for me."
"Yes."
"Also, give me a schematic. I'm going top to bottom."
Shaltia hooked the scanning computer to her belt along with the Smith & Wesson as she headed toward the airlock.
Reunited and It Feels So Good
"Cooper, I know you are alive. If you have Learra, it is time to go. I'm coming for you. Farkak, I plan to shoot you on sight."
Shaltia's voice was a godsend, and a grin spread across his face when her voice came over the intercom. He had been sitting in the game room with Learra for the last hour. He had been staring at the wall rolling a die across his palm and considering how long to wait until he made a run for Alura. Shaltia's announcement was his cue.
"Learra, we have to move," he told her.
"What? She said she was coming for you?"
"This is a big ship," he said. "She won't know where to look, but she'll start either at the top or the bottom and sweep the whole thing. We need to meet her and save some time."
"Where will we go?"
"I'm betting she starts at the bridge," Cooper said.
"What makes you think that?"
"Shaltia is a flyer. Her subconscious will want to see the bridge, and it'll want to go from high to low."
Learra looked at him. "You think so?"
"Trust me, I make a living gambling on what people will do."
She nodded.
"Here's the deal. Ideally, we stay away from Farkak and that beast. Farkak is armed and can shoot us. The bigger problem is the monster. We have no guns, so we need to avoid a fight with him. If we encounter either, it will be melee, and I'm counting on your strength to help us out."
"Monster?" she asked softly. "Am I a monster, too?"
Cooper stared at her. He gently shook his head. "No, Learra. You aren't a monster. He really isn't either. Someone evil turned him into a brutish animal. It's not his fault. The real monster is Farkak. I just don't know what to call the other one."
"He is a brute."
"Yeah, brute," he said. "Come on."
They stepped back into the main part of the Entertainment Area. The room was quiet. Learra stepped gingerly behind Cooper. He sensed her anxiety, and who could blame her. She grew up living a country life, milking stuff, growing stuff, pick up shit after stuff. Being chased by a genetic mutant and murderous traitor around a spaceship, when the most excitement she'd experienced before was a fight over a sheep or whatever sheep-like animal they had on her planet.
Still, anxious or not, Learra was brave. She wasn't simpering and crying about how awful it was. She was waiting for him to get her out. She seemed to trust him, and he wasn't about to let Farkak sell her to Schwarz.
"We have to take the lift at the other end of the ship. I think I destroyed this one earlier."
She sniffed the air.
"Cooper," she said, "I can smell Farkak."
He turned and looked at her.
"I know, but I do smell him. It's faint, but I think he is that way." She pointed aft.
"Good, well, we are going that way," he said, aiming his finger forward. "Hopefully, we will miss him."
At a swift pace, the two walked forward until they reached the next set of lifts. Cooper kept glancing at Learra, looking for her to be questioning her senses. If new abilities were cropping up, then she might not recognize them immediately. The human mind has to comprehend something first, however, the human face can often show that sense of surprise unwittingly. Cooper hoped that he might note something as she felt that first sensory impression and her mind tried to piece the puzzle together.
The lift carried them up to the top floor. The blood trail that Cooper had left earlier was still quite obvious. Cooper led Learra onto the bridge. The command room was empty.
"Do you sense anything?"
"Yes. Maybe. I'm just not sure."
"Smell?"
"Hearing. I hear something."
Cooper nodded. "There are lots of noises here. Lights and energy."
"It's hard to explain. I hear all that too. I hear a constant buzzing sound running all over the place. There is the thumping of your heart. Your breathing. Everything. But it's like being underwater. Those noises are there, but then there is another sound that I can't pinpoint. Beneath us. But coming toward us."
"Is it Farkak?"
"I don't think so. I can still smell him, but he is far away."
"Is it Brute?"
She shook her head.
"It smells familiar," she said with a querulous look. "Close."
"Be ready for whatever happens," Cooper said.
She nodded an affirmative. Cooper moved near the door with the bat raised to strike.
The doors opened revealing Shaltia holding the Smith & Wesson in her right hand and a laser pistol in her left. She stared at Learra who was ready to dive into the fight.
"Shal," Cooper said with a great deal of relief.
"Cooper, thank god. I was going to work my way down."
Cooper smiled and winked at Learra. "See, I told you."
Shaltia rolled her eyes. "Smart-ass," she said. Then she moved to Learra, extended her hand, and said, "I'm Shaltia."
Taking her hand, Learra introduced herself.
"You got my gun back," Cooper said.
Shaltia turned the barrel in and handed him the grip. He smiled and kissed the cylinder. "I didn't like being unarmed."
"I also have these," she said pulling the double-edged blade out and presenting the hilt to Cooper. In her other hand, she had an extra comm unit.
"Good, now I can go shove the barrel up Farkak's ass and blow his colon out his nose," he said as he slipped the comm unit onto his ear.
"Nice," Shaltia said. "He is a piece of work."
"Are the Skoleans and Schwarz still out there?"
"Yeah," Shaltia said. "You ready to go."
"Almost, we need something from deck four, and then we can go."
"Good. What happened in the hall?" she asked.
"I got stabbed," Cooper said.
"That's a lot of blood."
"Yeah, I fixed it, and then had to take a little siesta with some perladine."
"How did the other guy look?" she asked as they stepped onto the lift.
"About the same."
The lift doors opened on deck four.
"What the fuck is that?" Shaltia asked.
"That looks like an arm."
On the deck, a mutilated arm lay in a pool of blood. The humerus was cut cleanly with a flap of muscle and bloody skin.
"Looks like Farkak might need a hand," Cooper said.
Getting to Know You
Stepping over the severed limb, Cooper led Shaltia and Learra toward the cargo bay.
"Keep alert, that arm is pretty fresh, meaning Brute might be nearby," Cooper warned.
"Brute?" Shaltia asked.
"Yeah, it's what we are calling the hybrid. Monster seems like a harsh name," Cooper said casting a glance at Learra.
"He isn't. I don't think so." Shaltia said.
"Just keep an eye out," Cooper said. "Learra, you with us?"
She nodded, and Cooper gave her a reassuring grin. Learra continued with them. Her head seemed to be on a constant swivel as she absorbed everything. She studied Learra and stepped up next to her.
"I've never seen purple hair before," she whispered softly. "It's so pretty."
Shaltia touched one of the curls hanging from her cheek. "Thank you," she said.
"Were you given to Cooper by your father?" she asked.
Shaltia laughed, and Cooper took a broad stride forward to remove himself from that discussion.
"No," Shaltia said, "I wasn't."
"Oh," Learra exclaimed, "you got to pick him? We have that happen occasionally. At least
, I've heard of it."
Shaltia shook her head. "No, I didn't pick him. We aren't together like that."
"You aren't betrothed?"
"Hell, no."
Learra looked confused. "Do you have a husband?"
"No, I don't."
"But you and Cooper live together in space."
"We are partners," Shaltia explained. "We travel together."
"He said he was in charge."
Cooper walked faster, thinking that an attack by Brute right now would be perfectly timed.
"Did he?" Shaltia said. "Well, I do what I want."
"It's my ship," Cooper said over his shoulder.
"Your ship that you can't fly."
"Still my ship."
Learra smiled. "You two bicker like you are married."
Shaltia said, "Cooper and I just work together. We share the responsibilities and rewards."
"And you don't have to be married?" Learra asked. "Do you have to do other things together?"
Shaltia grinned, "Oh, no. One thing you should know, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. Let me assure you that I don't want to with Cooper."
"My mother says all boys want to do things. A proper girl has to wait for her betrothed."
Shaltia said, "Out here, you don't have to be proper."
They entered the cargo bay, and Learra said, "I think I would like to do what I want."
Shaltia nodded. Cooper glanced over his shoulder at the two women.
"Over here," he said leading them to the stasis tube in the corner.
"The other tube," Shaltia said.
"Yeah, we just need to get Brute back in here."
"What are we going to do with him?" Shaltia asked.
"I vote we ship him over to Schwarz and let the stasis tube fail. Then he'll be Schwarz's problem."
Learra turned her head down.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Shaltia said. "This isn't his fault. We can't sell him into slavery."
"We could just leave him here," Cooper said.
"All alone," Learra whispered.
"Guys, I get it. We can't take him on Alura. If he gets upset, he cuts people's arms off."
"I know," Shaltia said. "I just feel for him."
"If we can get him in the stasis tube, then, at least, he won't know he's alone. He will just be asleep."
"We can't hand him over to Schwarz though."
Cooper nodded reluctantly. "Let's get this back to Alura. Then, we can figure out how to catch him."
Shaltia pulled a handful of bacon from her pocket. "I have an idea."
"Is that my bacon?"
"Yes, it was the only raw meat I could find."
Cooper sighed, "It's not raw. It's smoked and cured."
"You still have to cook it."
Learra said, "The two of you sound like you are married."
Both of them turned to look at Learra.
"Let's move these crates," Cooper said. "Then, let's get the hell out of here."
The three pushed a large crate back. Learra did all of the pushing, with Cooper and Shaltia exerting all the effort. Cooper pulled the stasis tube out of the corner.
"Is it damaged?" Shaltia asked.
"Doesn't appear to be. I'm no expert on stasis tubes though. Maybe Alura can run a diagnostic."
Learra walked around the tube staring at it. Cooper put his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not going to put you back in this," he assured her.
"Why would someone just take me away?" she asked.
Shaltia said, "This galaxy is full of bad people. This scientist, Tyma Gribel, wanted to prove he could do something that he shouldn't have done. If it hadn't been you, then it would have been someone else."
"If it hadn't been me," Learra said, "I would probably be married and with child by now. I want to go home."
She turned and buried her face in Cooper's chest. He let her tears moisten his shirt as he patted her back and looked over her head at Shaltia.
"Learra," he said, "we'll find your home."
She stayed pressed against him for another minute before she pulled away.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I just can't believe anyone could be that evil. Even Farkak lied to me."
"He did more than lie," Cooper said. "He murdered everyone on this ship just to get you from Gribel."
Cooper froze for a second.
"What is it?" Shaltia asked.
"Farkak gassed everyone, at least that what I think."
"Yeah," she responded.
"Brute might come to you with the bacon, but could we get him into the stasis tube with it."
Shaltia shook her head. "Probably not."
"What if we gassed him though?"
"Don't kill him," Learra said.
"No, not to kill him. We can't shoot him or cut him, but he has to breath."
Shaltia bobbed her head in understanding. "If we hit with a gas to knock him out, then we could get him into the stasis tube."
"How did Gribel do it?" Cooper asked. "Brute was already changed, whereas Learra was not yet. What did Gribel do?"
"Alura," Shaltia called to the ship.
"Yes, Captain Shaltia."
Learra looked at Cooper. "I thought you were the captain."
He sneered at a grinning Shaltia. "I am."
Shaltia continued, "Can you review Gribel's logs? How did he get the hybrid into the stasis tube?"
A second passed before Alura answered. "He states that he used an aerosol of Methoproline to render the hybrid unconscious."
"Can we duplicate that?" Cooper asked.
"Yes, Cooper, I can duplicate that."
"Great," Cooper said, "we need two canisters of highly concentrated Methoproline."
"Why two?" Learra asked nervously.
"I want a back-up in case he escapes the first one."
She stared at him until Shaltia stepped around the tube. "Learra, Cooper is not one of those bad men. He's a fucking asshole, but he's not evil."
"Thanks, Shal."
Learra looked relieved.
"Where are do we need to catch him?" Shaltia asked.
"One of the corridors make the most sense. We can box him in and use both canisters."
"Let's pick the one closest to the airlock. I don't want to have to carry him far."
"Let's get this up there and get the canisters."
Shaltia said, "I'll go get the canisters and some gas masks. You two meet me up there."
"Be careful," Cooper said as she ran out of the cargo bay.
After the One-Armed Man
Shoving the stasis tube into the corridor leading to the dining area, Cooper glanced at Learra and said, "You know, she left us with the shitty job."
"What's that?"
"We have to find Brute and lead him here. We will use this corridor to come up behind him. Then one of us is in the airlock and comes out to block him that way."
"Where do we find him?"
"He was recently on deck four, but he moves up and down the deck levels so fast it's hard to keep up with him. He seems to prefer the lower decks though."
Cooper thought for a second before he said, "Let's go make some noise."
Taking the lift back down, Cooper started in Engineering. "Learra, how loud can you scream?"
"I don't know."
"Try it," he urged.
Learra screamed a high-pitch scream that split Cooper's ears.
"Good job," he said. "Let's do that floor by floor. Hopefully, Brute will come to your call."
Learra looked nervous again.
"Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you."
As they stepped off the lift on Deck Two, Learra emitted another blood-curdler. They stepped back on to the lift and continued the same treatment for each floor. After stopping on six levels, Cooper returned to the main level that accessed the airlock.
"Shaltia, come in. We've been baiting the trap."
"On my way," she said.
"Learra, I want y
ou to hang back until we catch Brute."
"Cooper," she said, "you do realize I can handle myself?"
"Of course, but you're still in my charge for now."
Learra smiled for the first time since Cooper had seen her wake up. "I'll hang back until you need my help."
"Smart-ass," Cooper said turning away as a smirk crossed his face.
"Cooper," Learra said, her voice now a serious tone.
"What?"
"Something's coming," she rasped.
Pulling the steel pistol from his holster, Cooper checked the cylinder. Seeing six live rounds, he spun the cylinder as he slapped it closed. Winking at Learra, he hoped his confidence was infectious if not totally authentic.
"Shaltia, we have company coming."
No answer.
"Shaltia," he said again.
"What the fuck?" Cooper cursed. "How far away is it?"
Learra's head was shaking. She didn't know.
"Shaltia," he called over the comm again.
"I'm sorry. Shaltia can't talk right now," Farkak answered.
"Farkak, I got my gun back. I'm coming to kill you."
"Not likely," he hissed. "I have your friend. These nice canisters too. What's in them? Gas? You are taking lessons from me."
"I don't know, Farkak, can you carry all that? I can come give you a hand."
Shaltia's scream came over the comm. "Did you hear that Cooper? Perhaps you want to make another joke."
Cooper sank his head. He looked at Learra. "I have to go save her."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. But I need to do it fast."
"Cooper..."
"Stay here," he interrupted her as he moved around the corner.
Cooper was an excellent marksman with the Smith & Wesson, and if he could get a single shot, then Farkak's brains could splatter across the corridor walls for all Cooper cared. As long as he could save Shaltia.
The thought that she was the most important surprised him. He didn't feel any romantic inclinations toward her, but the two had a bond that he had never experienced with anyone since his mentor, Jonathan. He felt responsible for her, a feeling that he had never had for anyone else.
Hatred also boiled up. He hated Farkak, who he saw as the lowliest of criminals. Morality and legislative concerns were never important to Cooper who had been known to steal, cheat, and con for almost anything of value. However, slave trade. Kidnapping. Human experimentation. Mass murder. The whole thing sickened Cooper. He never liked Schwarz either. Anyone who made their living on the misery of others was vile enough, but until now, Cooper assumed his slave trade was legitimate. Purchasing kidnap victims was pretty far outside the realm of legitimacy.
Alura's Bind_Book One Page 12
