The Awakening (The Hyperscape Project Book 1)

by Donald Swan

  Trying to distract the commander from coming to a similar realization, she asked, “Speaking of procuring technology…what was that weapon you used to paralyze all of us? Pretty impressive. I might know some people who would pay handsomely for that kind of unit.”

  Zurkan smiled. “That was a lightning grenade. Leftovers from the Klagonian war. Hard to find these days. But you’re avoiding the subject. Where is the module?”

  On the bridge, Sirok was also listening to the beeps over the com-channel. He displayed the incoming pulses on his screen. The pattern was familiar somehow. The database didn’t have a match for it, but he knew he had seen it before. The image of a piece of paper in Nick’s quarters flitted through his mind. That’s where he’d seen these pulses before. A series of short and long dashes scribbled on a pad in Nick’s quarters. But what did it mean?

  He quickly set about having the computer analyze the pattern, cross checking with the human language files gathered from Nick’s nanites. A translation slowly fell into place on the screen before him. ‘Slimy, I need you to do the following.’

  Slimy? Only one person called him that.

  Nick Bannon.

  But where was he?

  Down in the bay, Arya didn’t know how long she could stall before Zurkan would start killing members of the crew. She desperately needed to give him an answer. “Fine, you baskurt!” Arya let out a sob, pretending that it was difficult for her to betray her friend. “The moon on the far side of this planet. He went there.” She hung her head and continued to make a show of sobbing.

  Commander Zurkan glanced at one of his men. “Get back to the ship. Tell them to head—”

  A voice from the Commander’s com-link interrupted his sentence. “Commander! The module, it’s—”

  The transmission went dead. “Stuke…Stuke, are you there? Stuke?”

  Arya looked up at the Commander. He actually seemed concerned, even rattled.

  A voice answered over the com-link. “Stuke’s dead and you’re next, asshole.”

  Zurkan turned to Arya, rage building on his face. His jaw quivered, his eye’s flared. “That baskurt killed Stuke!” He grabbed the hair on the back of Arya’s head and forced a pistol under her chin. “Tell him to surrender now or I start killing the crew. Beginning with you!”

  Arya had difficulty even focusing on Zurkan. At the moment her mind had seized on that voice coming over the com-badge, and a whole host of emotions were pouring through her. Elation, worry, doubt, concern, joy. That was Nick’s voice! He was alive! She frowned, her happiness quelled by the fact that she would probably soon be dead at the hands of a lunatic pirate.

  “Tell him, now!” Zurkan demanded, kicking her shin with one pointed boot.

  Arya let out a wail and nearly collapsed from the searing pain shooting throughout her nervous system. She was only held upright by Zurkan’s tight grip on her hair.

  “Alright!” she screamed, as hairs were ripped from her scalp by the Commander’s tight grip. Schooling herself, she spoke calmly into the com-link on the Commander’s wrist. “Nick. He said he would start killing the crew, starting with me. Nick…don’t surrender! Sirok, PDU!”

  Zurkan abruptly stopped her words with a solid blow from his pistol grip. Sparks of pain shot through her skull and then she fell unconscious to the floor, blood oozing from the wound on her right temple.

  He glared at her prone body. “Binche. I knew I couldn’t trust her.”

  He raised the wrist-mounted com-link to his mouth. “Listen, human. I am only going to say this once. Surrender now and I will spare the crew. Waste any more of my time, and I will kill them, one by one, until you bring me that ship.”

  Nick’s voice crackled through the com-link. “I have no love of the Ashok or its crew. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing stopping me from finishing you off right now.”

  “You’re not fooling me for a minute, human. You’ve gone to great lengths to protect this ship and crew.” Zurkan raised his pistol and pulled the trigger. A body fell limp to the floor. “That’s one. How many more will it take?”

  Nick sat quietly in his module. The com-channel had been open when Zurkan pulled the trigger. He’d heard the blast and the body hitting the deck. His heart quivered at the thought of that body being Arya. Zurkan said he would start with her, so Nick could only assume….

  Arya! The bastard had killed Arya!

  A primal roar erupted from Nick’s throat, and he punched the nearest panel. His entire body shook with rage and pain.

  “You bastard!” he shrieked long and loud into the cold emptiness of space. “You bastard,” he ended on a whimper.

  Tears ran down his face as he tried to compose himself. He couldn’t let this turd know how much he cared. He had to maintain the façade of indifference.

  “Commander Prik!” he said into the com-badge. “This is Nick Bannon! You win. I surrender. I am setting an approach vector. The module is yours…under one condition. You have to give me your word that you won’t hurt anyone else.”

  “Agreed. But don’t take too long. I’ve always wondered how tough the skin of a Rakozian actually is, and I’m not known for my patience.” The Commander grinned at Karg, who was just beginning to rouse.

  Zurkan turned and stared through the force-field into space. The muted shape of the module soon came into view. The docking arm cradled the module and drew it closer. Slowly, the craft made its way through the protective field and came to rest in front of him. His goons quickly surrounded the module, their weapons primed and ready.

  “Get out, human!” Zurkan commanded, raising his pistol.

  The canopy of the module stayed locked in place.

  “Come out where I can see you, human.”

  Still, no movement came from the craft.

  Zurkan waved to one of the raiders. “Open it!”

  The raider stepped over and pulled the outside latch. A slight hiss escaped as the canopy began to open. The cover hinged upward, revealing an empty cockpit.

  Zurkan rushed to the side of the module and looked inside. “Empty!” he growled in anger.

  A subdued laugh sprang from Karg’s lips. He knew Nick had a plan. He always did. Karg only hoped it was one that would actually work.

  Zurkan’s breathing deepened as his anger rose. Not only was the human not in the cockpit, but a vital piece of equipment was missing from the instrument panel of the module! He stared at the numerous wires dangling out of a rectangular hole in the dash where the component had once been housed. Zurkan’s patience was at an end. He was preparing to slaughter the entire crew when he noticed the note pinned to the harness in the cockpit. ‘I have the key component of the module. If you harm anyone else, I’ll destroy it.’

  Zurkan’s blood boiled. He stood leaned over the module, his heart ready to burst through his chest he was so angry. This freking human was making a fool of him!

  His movements were jerky as he turned to some nearby soldiers. “Find that human and bring him to me!” he snarled.

  The two raiders stared at their commander, puzzled.

  “You idiots! He’s somewhere in the freking ship! Go check the other hangar bay!” Zurkan demanded.

  The two bumped into each other as they hastily turned to leave.

  “It’s so hard to get good help these days,” Zurkan mumbled as the two made their way out of the bay.

  As the two raiders rounded a corner in the corridor, one stopped abruptly, causing the second one to collide into the back of him. “Did you see that?”

  “I didn’t see nothin’ but my nose being mashed into the back of your head.” Rubbing the blood back into his face, the raider peered down the corridor, trying to figure out what his friend was talking about.

  “Right there. I thought I saw a shadow. Like that door down there closed.”

  The two crept toward the door, guns ready. They quietly positioned themselves one on either side of the door and prepared to enter. The taller of the two raiders reached up with
his free hand and pressed the green access button. The zipping sound of the door sliding open startled them both.

  The tallest one chuckled softly at their jumpiness. “You first,” he said to the other.

  His friend shook his head emphatically.

  “Together then.”

  His friend gulped hard and nervously repositioned his body. The two poked their guns around the doorway and leaned in to take a look.

  “Just a storage room,” the taller raider remarked.

  There didn’t appear to be anyone in the room, so they cautiously entered, carefully placing their feet to make as little noise as possible. The walls of the room were lined with shelves full of various boxes and gizmos, but there was no sign of any person.

  The tallest raider slapped the back of the other’s head. “Moron. There’s no one here. You’re seein’ things again.”

  “Wait. What do you think this is?” The shorter raider pointed with his gun toward a corner of the room. Sitting in the corner was a three legged round contraption with a seat in the middle.

  “Maybe it’s a toy for little ones to ride in.” He put his hand on one of the control handles protruding from the console of the metal apparatus. “Ewww.” He pulled his hand away to look at his fingers. Slimy goo clung to his palm. He turned and wiped his hand on his buddy’s shoulder.

  “Don’t freking wipe that sket on me! Use your own freking shirt!” The tall soldier pulled away to look at the goo on his shoulder. “Why did you have to go and do that? It’s my favorite shirt,” he growled. “Come on. We better find that ooman before the boss gets mad.”

  The two walked out of the room, and the door shut behind them. A metal container on a shelf near the back of the room shifted slightly. The lid creaked as it slowly opened. Four eyes stared out into the empty room.

  Pop. Sirok flipped the top of the container up and began madly typing into Arya’s PDU. She must have known that he would have been monitoring communications. It hadn’t taken him long to track the location of the data unit. And even less time to completely lock out the bridge and reroute all the commands through Arya’s PDU. Now he could work to put Nick’s plan into action.

  In Bay Two, Nick was punching a sequence of commands into the bay’s console when he heard the voice of two approaching raiders. He secured his helmet in place and ducked behind the console, one hand stretched up, index finger poised over a button on the control board. He was ready for what they had to bring.

  Nick heard the zip of the access door opening. Two raiders stepped into the bay. Zip, the door closed behind them again. If Sirok wasn’t able to get those overrides in place, he’d be screwed. Nick hit the button and grabbed the base of the console tightly. The force-field holding the air in the bay suddenly dropped, and the air exploded out of the open space-door, carrying the two raiders with it.

  Nick hit the button again, and the field reappeared across the open bay. He could hear the sound of air rushing in to refill the bay’s atmosphere. A few minutes later, the pressure was equalized enough for him to make his exit into the outer corridor. A blast of air hit him in the chest as the access door slid open.

  Nick paused in the doorway to taunt the raider Commander over his com-badge. “Hey, dumbass, I just spaced two of your henchmen. I sure hope they’re good at holding their breath.”

  In Bay One, the Commander heard a giggle from behind him. Turning, he saw that his Arisian captive was awake again. “What’s so funny?”

  Arya grinned at him. “I see your translator nanites haven’t finished processing the human language data yet.”

  Zurkan grunted. “What did he mean, dumbass?”

  Karg replied “Stupid, moron, idiot…imbeci—”

  “That’s enough! I got it!” Zurkan raised his pistol toward Karg’s head.

  “You kill him, and Nick will destroy those components.” Arya smirked. “Then your precious module would be nothing more than a pile of worthless space junk.”

  “Grrr!” Angered by her composure, Zurkan turned and stormed away.

  The sounds of screaming and plasma blasts rang from Zurkan’s com-link. Another group of raiders were dead. Zurkan stopped, his veins boiling with anger. He picked up a heavy pipe from a scrap heap and took out his frustration on a nearby console. Sparks flew into the air as he beat the thing with every ounce of his being. His mother ship was destroyed, most of his crew dead. This son of a binche was going to pay! “Human! Show yourself. Fight me, man to man,” Zurkan screamed into the atmosphere.

  Arya shouted across the bay to Zurkan. “Oh, you’ll see him soon enough. Right before he kills you! Come to think of it, that’s not soon enough.”

  Zurkan had never been so infuriated in all his life. He turned, intent on teaching Arya a lesson in respect, but his steps faltered when he caught sight of a figure in the corridor. The human that had given him so much grief stood bold as you please in the doorway just beyond the Arisian binche. Startled to see him there, the commander froze. Nick waved then turned and walked down the corridor.

  “Don’t just stand there! Go after him!” Zurkan shoved the two remaining raider soldiers toward the door.

  The two ran into the hallway just in time to see Nick round a bend at the far end of the hall. They gave chase, racing as fast as they could in their cumbersome armored suits. As they hit the corner, their feet slipped on a slimy substance, sending them to the floor with a smack. Their momentum carried them across the slick floor and through an open doorway at the end of the corridor. A quick blast to the door control from Nick’s pistol and the door slid shut, trapping the two inside.

  “Good work, Slim…I mean…Sirok. Now, that’s how you bag a couple of raiders!” Nick shouted in glee.

  Inside the room, the two raiders struggled to get to their feet. The slick stuff on the floor was like a combination of snot and motor oil. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get enough traction to keep their feet under them. They finally propped each other up enough to peer out from the round window in the door. Nick stood there smiling back at them.

  One raider raised his pistol to the window. Nick tried to warn him not to. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’s magnetically seal—”

  Bang. In the blink of an eye, a bolt off plasma ricocheted off the door and around the room several times. The blast came to an abrupt halt in one of the soldier’s legs, knocking him to the floor. “You shot me! You Arskhole!” he cried in pain.

  “Sure didn’t need a translator for that,” Nick joked. “Boys, wave bye-bye now.” Nick waved to them through the window. The standing raider looked at Nick nervously. Nick smiled. “You’re standing in an air lock.” With a glance at Sirok, Nick muttered “hit it” out of the side of his mouth.

  Sirok grinned and punched a key on the screen of the PDU. The outer air lock door opened, expelling the raiders into space.

  Nick tapped his com-badge. “Hey, dumbass, you still there? Two more of your goons just decided to take a space walk. How many does that leave? Oh…wait…right…I think you’re all out of minions. What are you going to do now?”

  Back in the bay, Zurkan grabbed Arya’s arm and pulled her to her feet again. She could tell by the sweaty palms against her skin that the tough, merciless raider was scared. He had met his match this time. Without his band of goons, he was nothing but a coward.

  “To the transport. You’re going to fly us out of here, binche.”

  “I can’t fly with my hands tied behind my back. I’m good, but not that good,” Arya quipped.

  “Alright, fine.” Zurkan put his pistol to Arya’s back and, with his free hand, unlocked the restraints around her wrists. “Just don’t try anything stupid.” He shoved her in the direction of the transport. In a split second decision, he turned and took aim at Karg, who was sitting on the floor, chained to a support column. At least Zurkan would have the pleasure of venting some of his anger on the big Rakozian beast.

  Karg swallowed hard as he stared at the baskurt’s plasma pistol.
He tested the chains that held him stationary, but it was no use. He was bound tight. There was no getting out of this one.

  “I wouldn’t,” Nick said, as he stepped through the hangar door, pistol aimed at Zurkan.

  Zurkan swung his weapon toward Nick and fired a shot. To avoid the plasma blast, Nick quickly dove to the right and hit the floor sliding. His weapon remained trained on Zurkan as he slid across the shiny hangar deck. But he hesitated to fire.

  Zurkan smirked and took aim at Nick.

  Clank. Arya walloped Zurkan in the back of the head with a tri-tanium pipe. He dropped to his knees and fell forward onto his face with a painful sounding thud. “That’s for Kyrk, you baskurt.” She grabbed Zurkan’s weapon from the floor and trained it on his back. As she backed away, she glanced up to see Nick sauntering toward her from across the bay, his dark, wavy hair sticking up every which way as usual. Her heart pounded at the sight of him. As he came closer, she noticed a teardrop running down his face.

  They simultaneously blurted out what was on their mind, their voices overlapping in perfect sync. “I thought you were dead!”

  A slow smile formed over Nick’s handsome face as he stared back at Arya. She chuckled softly. “Great minds think alike,” he murmured.

  Nick brushed the hair away from the wound on Arya’s temple. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, her eyes never leaving his. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks to you. I really thought I was done for, until I heard your voice.”

  On his way to unchain Karg, Sirok raced around them in his three legged, metal rover. Two of his four eyes peered at them in curiosity as he passed. He zipped behind Karg and unlocked his restraints. The large chains crashed to the floor as Karg leapt to his feet. Within seconds, Nick was jerked off the floor and held inside the massive, smothering bulk of all four of Karg’s arms.

  “Nick! You’re alive! You’re alive!” Karg bounced him up and down like a baby until Nick’s head began to ache.