Stalls stopped moving. “A resourceful woman. You know, this only makes things more interesting for me,” he said as the ends of his mouth curled up.
Nan continued to maintain the pressure of the blade against his neck.
“Slowly, take your hands off of me. No quick movements, or I’ll shove this blade in as far as it will go.”
Stalls slowly brought his hands away and stood back, away from her. Nan had no idea what to do next. How would she keep him from making a move? She wouldn’t be able to maintain this position for long. And she was right. His right hand moved in a blur, catching her wrist and twisting it away from his neck. She dropped the knife. Still holding her wrist, he twisted and backhanded her across the mouth with his left hand. He’d released his grip just enough for her to pull free. She ran …
Chapter 29
Brian was having difficulty with Bristol and his injured hand, so Jason asked Rustling Leaves to carry him. Jason felt a wave of guilt; Rustling Leaves had, again, become their de facto pack-mule.
“Get Bristol into a MediPod, then split up. Ricket, head to Deck 4B to try to re-establish communications with the AI. Rustling Leaves, you’ll join Billy and Three Horns down on Deck 2. Bristol, you make one sound, and you won’t live to regret it,” Jason said.
They all left the Zoo at a hurried pace. Billy and Three Horns stayed to the back of the pack and would head off to the lower decks once they reached the DeckPort.
Studying his HUD, Jason counted fifteen pirates on Deck 4. Most were concentrated on the bridge; others were milling about here and there throughout the deck. There were only a handful of his fellow crewmembers—although there hadn’t been that many to begin with.
Jason was the first to go through the DeckPort. The corridor was nearly unrecognizable. Trash, various types of equipment, and food trays from the mess littered the floor. They split up with Rustling Leaves and Bristol heading off toward Medical. Jason, Rizzo, Orion and Traveler moved forward toward the officer’s quarters and the bridge. Jason heard noises ahead around a corner and held up a hand for his team to hold.
Jason NanoTexted Nan.
Establish outbound NanoText hail: Crew Member Nan Reynolds:
Capt. Jason Reynolds:
I’m close—can you hold out a little longer?
Nan didn’t bother to NanoText, opting to use standard voice NanoCom.
“He’s a lunatic! I’ve locked myself in the bathroom. He’s trying to kick down the door; for God’s sake, get your ass in here!”
“Just a couple of minutes. You should be safe in there. We need to take back the bridge first. Just try to hold on.” Jason hated leaving her, knew he’d pay for this decision later. But he also knew if he didn’t deal with the insurgents close by on the bridge first, all would be lost anyway.
Jason signaled his team to move forward. Still out of sight of the main corridor, Ricket and Rustling Leaves, with Bristol squirming under one arm, headed off toward Medical. Where several forward ship corridors intersected, Jason peered around the corner. Two of the biggest men he had ever seen were standing sentry outside of his cabin. Jason checked that his MultiGun configuration was set for the most powerful of the stun settings. On the count of three, they all rushed toward the bridge. Jason fired as soon as he’d turned the corner, hitting both raiders in the chest before they had time to draw their weapons. Neither went down. Both raiders wore their weapons gunslinger-style and holsters low at their hips. Their sidearms were more like shortened rifles than pistols. Both moved with practiced ease, separating away from each other, then dropping to one knee. They could be twins, long black hair worn in ponytails. Sleeveless, tattooed, muscular arms drew weapons and fired simultaneously. Jason took the brunt of the energy bolts to his upper chest, his battle suit still working enough to save his life once more. On the ground, a warning signal flashed in Jason’s HUD. Battle suit integrity was at critically-low levels. He watched as the two pirates continued to take multiple plasma fire to their bodies—black craters erupted on their upper torsos. They screamed out in pain and scrambled to an adjacent corridor up farther toward the bridge. The floor shook from behind, and Jason knew Traveler was making his move. In all likelihood, they were used to being the biggest, baddest boys on the block, so when they encountered the charging thousand-pound rhino warrior barreling down on them, they hesitated. It was only a second or two, but long enough for Traveler to move ten yards closer. Traveler’s hammer was already moving in a sideways swing, hitting the left raider just below his ear, caving in the side of his head. Jason, Orion, and Rizzo concentrated their fire on the other pirate. He too went down.
Jason hailed each team member at the same time: “Forget using anything less on these guys other than the highest plasma pulse setting.”
Billy came back on comms, “Cap, we’re at a bit of a stalemate down here. We could use some more help. Both sides are pinned down. Three Horn’s not looking too good either. Think he might be down for the count.”
“Hang on as long as you can, Billy. We’ll get down there as soon as we take back Deck 4.”
Together, Jason’s team sprinted toward the bridge. Three more raiders rushed out with weapons drawn. One went down with a shot to his head. The other two dived and rolled and came up shooting. These guys are good, Jason thought. Again, both raiders concentrated their fire on the biggest target, Traveler, leaving their flanks exposed for Orion and Rizzo to bring them down with two shots each.
According to his HUD, there were six more raiders held up on the bridge. Obviously, the element of surprise was gone. They rushed forward with Traveler in the lead, his bulk shielding them from another barrage of plasma fire. The rhino’s chest took simultaneous blasts—numerous black craters smoldered and pocked his hide. Traveler used his energy weapon and took down two of the raiders. Jason moved left while Rizzo moved right. Four raiders were left, each were within inches of fellow crewmembers. Their weapons pointed at their heads.
“Jason, stop!”
Her voice came from behind at the bridge entrance. She was wearing a short black dress, one strap hung loosely down her arm. The side of her face was pink and swollen; a trickle of blood was at the corner of her mouth. The blade of a long thin knife was at her neck. Standing behind her, with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, was a mountain of a man, easily a head taller than Jason. Smiling and confident, his eyes were leveled on Jason.
Stalls spoke slowly and calmly. “Captain Reynolds, please instruct your men to lay down their weapons. Do so now or your ex-wife loses her life.”
Jason hesitated, then hailed the other teams and spoke aloud. “Stop fighting. Lay down your weapons.”
“Excellent. I can see you are a man of reason.” Jason noticed that Stalls, as well as the other raiders, had ear-comms devices. Jason’s own NanoCom went active.
“Cap, what do you want us to do? Are we giving up?” Billy asked.
Jason had run out of ideas. “Hold, Billy. Don’t do anything for now.”
Nan looked terrified. Jason looked at her and nodded, tried to convey a sense of calm. He’d run out of ideas, he knew Stalls would not hesitate to kill Nan. Sounds came from behind them.
“Put me down! Put me down!”
Jason recognized the squeaky voice. It was Bristol.
Stalls moved Nan further forward onto the bridge and spun around to see what was happening. Rustling Leaves, his arm outstretched, was holding Bristol by the neck several feet in the air. Bristol kicked and flailed, his face red and angry. Jason noticed that Bristol now had all ten of his fingers fully intact.
“Put me down!”
Stalls’ irritation was evident as he watched his brother pulling at Rustling Leave’s fingers.
“There is a way out of this, Stalls,” Jason said.
Stalls didn’t say anything but looked over toward Jason.
“Let’s make this about you and me. You release her, and your brother’s neck stays in one piece. You and I handle this one on one. That is, unless
you prefer fighting defenseless women?”
Stalls smiled, then looked over at Bristol again.
“The lengths we go to for family.” Stalls shook his head and frowned at his brother. “All right, Captain. It’s to the same end, anyway. Killing you with my bare hands makes this all the better.”
Chapter 30
The Deck 2 mess had been decided upon as being open and large enough. Both men relinquished their weapons; both were shirtless. Jason watched as Captain Stalls removed the small knife sheath from his arm. Jason had left his boots on, while Stalls had opted to go barefoot. His pirates stood right along side The Lilly’s crewmembers around the perimeter of the mess. Nan was back wearing a spacer’s jumpsuit.
“This is juvenile, Jason. What … are you back in high school?” Nan said, irritated.
Jason eyed his opponent. He was a big fella. Broad muscular chest, arms twice the size of his own. Easily a seven or eight inch height advantage. Jason saw Billy out of the corner of his eye and looked over at him for moral support. The best Billy could offer was a shrug and half smile. Great.
Jason didn’t wait on formalities. He charged the bigger man, feigned a punch, then spun low with a sweeping motion to the back of Stalls’ legs. He went down hard. Jason followed with a kick low to his head. Stalls dodged, rolled to his right, and got to his feet. He moved fast and came directly at Jason, both fists clenched. Stalls punched, a wide roundhouse swing that glanced off Jason’s ear, which was immediately followed up with an upper cut to Jason’s chin, sending him onto his backside. Dazed, Jason stood and stayed low, hands out—he moved back and forth, ready to anticipate Stalls’ next move.
“Come on, Captain, you’re not giving up so soon, are you?”
Jason didn’t like Stalls’ heavily accented voice. He didn’t like anything about Stalls.
“Are you here to talk or fight?”
Jason didn’t wait for an answer. He took two quick steps, a jump and spin in the air that ended with a sidekick that connected his right foot to the bridge of Stalls’ nose. Blood spurted and continued to flow down into his mouth. Stalls spat, then smiled a bloody, toothy grin. Now, also staying low, he came at Jason. Feigning a jab, he punched out with his right and caught Jason’s left cheek, tearing flesh from bone and causing his own blood to flow down his face. Stalls’ men cheered—Nan screamed. Jason was seeing stars. He couldn’t remember ever being hit that hard. He staggered and fought to stay on his feet.
Stalls was on the move again. He swung and Jason ducked. Stalls swung again and Jason blocked and countered with a jab to Stalls’ already broken nose. The bigger man staggered backward, then regained his footing. Jason came at him, swung and missed. Stalls surprised Jason with his speed. He moved in close, then angled in behind Jason and placed his forearm firmly over his throat. Jason fought against Stalls’ hold, making him work for control. Stalls quickly glanced over his shoulder to Nan, and smiled.
Jason moved, bringing his right knee up, then forcing his boot down with all his strength. Comprised of a hardened composite material, the back ridge of his boot heal came down directly on Stalls’ right foot—right where his toes intersected. Although Stalls’ big toe held on, his second and third toes tore away with a relatively clean separation. The move wasn’t pretty, but highly effective. Stalls released his grip and reflexively reached for his damaged foot. Jason knew he was still in trouble and had no more than a second, maybe two, before Stalls composed himself. With Stalls doubled over, again Jason targeted his broken nose—this time with his knee. Stalls went down and stayed down.
Jason turned and saw that Billy was smiling. Nan, on the other hand, had a furrowed brow and was shaking her head. Then her eyes went wide.
How Stalls had recovered so quickly and had found his knife, Jason had no idea. Again, Nan was held at knifepoint.
“Seriously, Captain, you trust a pirate to play fair?” Stalls said, grinning.
“Stalls, you’ve lost control of this ship. Why go through this?”
“Where is my brother? I need to know he is still alive.”
There was no need for Jason to answer. Rustling Leaves moved forward and came to a stop several paces behind Stalls. Seeing movement, he quickly glanced backward over his shoulder. Bristol was still secured under one of the rhino’s arms.
“What have you done to him?”
“He’s fine. Well, a little scratch to his thumb, earlier,” Jason replied. “It’s been attended to.”
“Scratch!” Bristol whined.
“Quiet, little brother,” Stalls said, with irritation.
Nan started to shake. Tears ran down her cheeks. Jason felt his rage building; his fists clenched, knuckles white.
“I’ll be taking her with me, insurance of safe passage.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Listen, you have my word. If you release her now, you’ll have safe transport back to your ship.”
Stalls’ men had their weapons pointing at Jason. Billy, Orion and Rizzo had their weapons pointed at the raiders. At a stalemate again, Stalls looked to be weighing his options.
“Let go of my brother.”
Jason nodded to Rustling Leaves. Bristol fell to the floor.
Stalls released Nan and pushed her toward Jason. She staggered and moved behind him. He heard her whisper something—then she said it again, louder.
“Don’t trust that animal, Jason.”
Stalls moved in closer toward one of his men, grabbed for his sidearm and leveled it in Jason’s direction. Walking backward, he helped Bristol to his feet, and they continued backward into the Deck 2 corridor. His men followed, guns raised high.
Bristol fished in his pocket for something and came out with the little handheld device. In a flash, a large section of the Lilly disappeared, phase-shifted to the multiverse. Jason flinched, expecting to see and feel the vacuum of open space. Before them was another ship, also with a large section missing. Apparently, both ships were butt-up against each other. Not a perfect fit, the vacuum of space was sucking the oxygen out of The Lilly from around the edges where the two ships’ hulls made loose contact. One by one, the remaining raiders jumped across the open void into the other vessel. Bristol made a sneering glance in Jason’s direction and was the next to jump across.
Jason was surprised to see Brian rush by. “Sorry, I have some unfinished business with these people, Jason. To be honest, the prospect of sitting in a brig back on Earth doesn’t really work for me. You understand. Say hello to dad for me.” Brian smiled, and he too jumped across the void into the pirate ship.
With a smile, Captain Stalls turned, limped to the edge of the void and jumped. Five seconds later there was another flash and the corridor phase-shifted back to normal.
* * *
Later, Jason found Nan back in her suite, toweling dry her hair. Every muscle in his body ached and his head throbbed. He slowly sat next to her on the bed.
“That’s three, Jason.”
He looked at her, not knowing what to say.
“Twice thrown into Craing cages and now almost raped by a crazed pirate.”
Jason nodded, but still held his tongue.
“I think you know what I’m going to say next.”
He stared at her.
“I want a weapon. And I want to know how to use it.”
“That was not what I expected you to say,” Jason replied.
“I’m tougher than you think. But I’m through being a victim. So if you want me and Mollie onboard this ship, we’re learning self-defense and how to use weapons.”
“Mollie too?”
“Yes, most importantly Mollie.”
“Deal. And I know just the person to teach you.”
“Who?”
“Gunny Orion.”
“She scares me,” Nan said, sounding less sure of things.
“I’ll set it up. Starting first thing tomorrow.”
Jason was being hailed.
Go for Cap.
“I think you should s
ee this, Captain,” Ricket said.
“I’m on my way.”
Jason turned to Nan. “I have to go. Your daughter is still hiding in HAB 4. Oh, I need to warn you about something.”
“Oh God, what now?”
“It’s about Alice.”
“Who is Alice?” she asked.
“Not sure if it’s so much of a who as a what. She’s a dog-like creature we found in HAB 12. It’s my guess Mollie’s going to want to keep her. Don’t let her pressure you. We can build her a kennel in the hold. I’m just warning you ahead of time.”
“Well, it might be good for her to have a dog. I don’t know.”
* * *
Coming out of Nan’s quarters, Jason nearly walked into Chief Horris.
“Cap, I was just on my way to see you.”
The chief fell into step with Jason. “I wanted to talk to you about the XO.”
“I hear you kept them from throwing his body out an airlock. I appreciate that. His family will as well,” Jason said.
“That’s fine, sir. Thank you. The thing is, Lieutenant Commander Perkins wasn’t taken to the morgue.”
“Where did you put him?”
As they approached Medical, the chief gestured for Jason to turn. “Sir, I did my best to get Perkins into a MediPod, and perhaps save his life.”
“That’s wonderful, Chief. Quick thinking on your part. In here?”
“But Sir … I’d never been trained how to use any of the medical equipment, including those MediPods.”
“Oh, I see; he didn’t survive,” Jason said, his shoulders sagging a bit.
HAB 12 (Scrapyard Ship) Page 20
