Rae and Essa’s Space Adventure

by Donna Maree Hanson

  Rae held up her hand. ‘What if the room is bugged?’

  ‘Good point.’ I turned away, stretched a thumb into my pouch and pressed a small button on my handheld. It broadcast interference to any electronic listening device. It was the deadliest heavy metal cross gangster rap in my database. It was an antique but it did the job. ‘Okay, let’s talk.’

  Thorn eased his neck and rubbed his shoulder. ‘If we can get to an escape pod, my ship should be able to pick us up. Slick had orders to follow.’

  My mother’s eyebrows raised and then she titled her head to look at me. ‘And?’

  Damn my mother was perceptive. ‘I have my handheld. If I can find an access port, I can get us out of here.’

  ‘How did you get that?’ asked Rae and Thorn simultaneously.

  ‘I asked for it,’ I replied with a shrug. It was the truth.

  ‘Sure you did,’ Rae responded.

  Mother nodded. ‘With the handheld you could scramble some critical systems, but I think internal security and de-linking the escape pods from the alarm takes priority.’

  ‘I can do that with this,’ I said, tapping my handheld.

  My mother’s eyes narrowed, but she closed her mouth. I figured she knew about my side operation and had kept her mouth closed. Interesting. My mother was a clever woman. Not that I’d ever doubted it.

  ‘Essa and I can handle logistics,’ Rae said, putting her hands on her hips.

  Thorn’s eyes widened. ‘What logistics?’

  Rae looked him up and down. ‘If you’re up to it, you can help. It’s called beat the dumb pirates at their own game.’ One of her fists slammed into the other.

  She did know martial arts and she wasn’t bad in low gravity. My gaze assessed Thorn. He did look better. Maybe he’d had the same painkillers I had. His father owed him that much.

  ‘Will your father come with us?’ I asked Thorn.

  He shared a look with me and then shook his head. ‘No. He can’t. Won’t.’

  ‘It would be good to have inside help, someone to watch our backs,’ Opeia said as I went to the wall, looking for a small hatch that hid the room’s security, and maybe a passing conduit to ship’s systems.

  I thought of Alwin and I wasn’t sure. He did get my handheld. Alwin may not know what I could do with it, but still, he wasn’t that stupid. I tried to recall everything he’d said. He told me to listen to Rae. And what was that about my strength? I couldn’t say anything though. I couldn’t give Rae false hope, and if Alwin was on our side, I didn’t want to jeopardise his life too.

  Thorn took out a small piece of foil and held it out to Opeia. ‘I brought you this. Sneaked it off the med tray. It’s a painkiller. Works like a dream.’

  Opeia took the foil and opened it.

  ‘Take it, Opi,’ Rae urged. ‘We need you in the best condition. We may have to fight and run.’

  With a nod to Rae, Mother put the small tablet on her tongue. ‘Look for something we can use as weapons. The water canister, for instance. The tray.’

  Thorn and Rae dived on those items, while I continued to scan the walls. The logical place for the hatch was by the door, but there was nothing there. Thorn lifted me so I could run my hands over the top of the doorway, near the ceiling. There were no ceiling grates, as it was just one piece of metal. It was possible to blast through but as we had no weapons or explosives, so that wasn’t an option.

  I continued to search, worrying at the back of my mind that we might get interrupted. For that reason, I kept my handheld hidden. I thumbed the switch and turned off my music broadcast. It could make them suspicious if I left it on too long.

  Opeia was pacing and Rae leaned against the wall with her hair hanging over her face. I could sense her despondency. I wished there was some way I could alleviate it, but I couldn’t. Alwin had betrayed us all and even if I had the slightest doubt that he was actually a traitor, there was no point in me voicing it. Things could turn out ugly.

  As much as I accepted that I was the one who would die, I’d rather matters didn’t get that far. If I could get Mother and Rae off the ship with Thorn then I could die happy. I shook my head at my thoughts. Thorn lowered me down and I then crawled along the floor.

  ‘Found one.’ The hatch was tiny and well hidden. I ran my hands around the join, looking for a press point to spring the cover. It hadn’t been sprung in quite a while and it took a bit of jiggling. Thorn hovered above me.

  ‘You’re in my light, do you mind?’

  Thorn hunkered down beside me and ran his hand up the back of my leg. ‘Better?’

  A shiver passed over my skin. I glanced at him over my shoulder. ‘That’s distracting.’

  He moved away. ‘Better?’

  ‘Slightly.’ I lowered my voice. ‘How are they holding up?’

  The little hatch sprung open and I slid my handheld out of my pouch.

  Thorn turned towards them and chewed his bottom lip. ‘Okay, I think. Your mother needs medical attention.’

  ‘Internal bleeding?’ I asked

  His eyes met mine. ‘I think it’s likely.’

  My mother was holding up, but that haematoma on her abdomen was bad news. If she didn’t get help, she could die. Then the pirates wouldn’t have any use for us. Their plans would be wrecked.

  I tried to get the handheld to sync with the room’s security, but it couldn’t engage. I could see there was a larger conduit in there but it was too hard to access without ripping out more of the circuitry.

  Thorn leaned in closer so he could talk privately. ‘I’m no expert, but I have some training. She’s sweating. Although the painkiller is helping for the moment, it won’t help the underlying problem.’

  ‘Good. I think she’ll hold up.’ I prayed she would hold up.

  ‘Essa…’

  My gaze flicked to Thorn’s and my heart clenched. ‘Yes.’

  ‘If we get out of this…’

  My app synced to the room’s security. ‘I’m in.’

  Thorn stopped talking and I was glad. I didn’t want to think about the future, the future where I would be dead. But as my app analysed the security system, I did let a slight sliver of a possible future unfurl in my mind. In that future, I was with Thorn on his spaceship, living our lives how we wanted.

  I stamped down on those ideas and focused on busting us out. ‘I can open the doors. If you give me a bit longer, I can try to disarm the internal alarms but I’m afraid it won’t take them long restore it. There are too many variables.’

  We shared a look. ‘Do we break now and try to disarm later?’ I asked, my eyelids lowered so my mother couldn’t read my expression.

  Thorn’s gaze flicked to the others. ‘I think we have to risk it. We might get separated.’

  ‘Get ready then.’

  Thorn called to the others. ‘Rae, Mrs Gayens…’

  The door snapped open. Thorn and Rae bounded out, taking the two guards by surprise. Rae bashed one repeatedly with the water canister. Thorn wrestled with the other one for the gun. Luckily, the guard hadn’t had his finger near the trigger. Mother raised the tray and brought it down on Thorn’s guard’s head. It was enough to stun him.

  ‘Shove them in here.’ I was still on the floor, synced to the room’s security, keeping the door open. Thorn nodded, then punched Rae’s quarry in the face, sending him sprawling into the room. It saved us time. Rae helped drag the other guard into the room.

  ‘Wait outside. I’ve got to time this right.’

  I had to make sure I didn’t leave any trace, except a few minutes of blank space in the audit logs. I prepared to disengage the sync and readied myself to bolt for the door. Because the handheld’s range was limited, I had to be quick.

  Thorn stood in the doorway, hand out ready to grab me. I climbed to my feet, crouched to maintain the connection.

  ‘Now,’ he called.

  I bolted, snatched Thorn’s hand and was tugged out as he dived clear of the door.

  ‘Which way?’ Rae as
ked, panting heavily. She had grazed knuckles and a bruise forming under her left eye.

  Opeia had the metal water canister and was tapping it against her palm, looking absolutely feral. She was really pissed. I lifted an eyebrow. I didn’t realise Mother had it in her to smash heads. They really must have hurt her bad when they tortured her.

  ‘This way,’ Thorn said as he bolted.

  I sighed as I jogged after him. ‘Come on. Best stick together.’

  Thorn’s feet stamped down the stairs to the next level. I checked around the corner to see if anyone was about. As there wasn’t, I waved Rae and Mother ahead before bringing up the rear. Sounds of an altercation reached me. I wanted to push the others out of the way and get to Thorn.

  Mother leaped from the step in front of me. A dull thud resounded as the canister met skull. Mother stopped to kick the downed pirate in the ribs. He looked young and thin and reminded me of Slick. Mother’s boot didn’t make the pirate twitch. She was pretty lethal with that canister.

  Thorn checked the wall. ‘This way.’

  As I jogged past, I saw he was looking at the safety notice, which pointed out the nearest escape pod.

  A shout behind me made me turn back. Three pirates were heading down the companionway, running as they held the handrails.

  ‘Rae?’ She was behind me. ‘Thorn, get Mother to the escape pod. We know the way. We can catch up.’

  Silence greeted me. I turned slightly. ‘I’m staying.’

  Thorn’s eyes were pleading.

  I shook my head. ‘Please, it’s her they want. Get her to safety.’

  Thorn’s eyes darkened and he nodded. He and Mother kept going. I deflected the punch of the first pirate. He was a bit surprised by my block and counterstrike. I heard his nose crunch and he fell to his knees. The next one leaped over the first and was greeted by a kick to the groin by Rae, who then punched him while he was down.

  ‘Not bad,’ I said. ‘Those extra karate lessons paid off.’

  The third pirate was going for his weapon — not as dumb as the other two that lay senseless on the companionway. I leaped up, scissor-kicked the gun out of his hands and it sailed over the rail to the level below. Rae finished him with a roundhouse kick to the head that slammed him against the bulkhead. I stood on his outflung hand and heard a satisfying crunch of bones.

  ‘Run.’

  Rae didn’t need prompting. She was good on her feet, hardly needing the assistance of the handrails. Me, I clung for dear life. Rae stopped suddenly and I barrelled into her.

  I recognised the corridor. This was where I left Vee. Suddenly, I couldn’t see myself leaving her behind. I could have been her and I had to save her.

  ‘Wait here.’

  Rae swung around. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Give me five and then go without me.’

  Rae’s face turned red and her fist curled.

  ‘Please. It’s important.’

  Rae nodded and hid in a wall niche. It wouldn’t hide her, but it did make her less noticeable. I ducked down the corridor and used my handheld to open the quarters where I had assessed Vee. She was still there and jumped to her feet when I entered.

  ‘Come with me.’

  Vee stood still, shook her head.

  ‘We’re getting out of here. Come with us.’

  Again she shook her head, her eyes wide.

  ‘Come and live life away from here, Vee. We’ll take care of you. Trust me.’

  I held out my hand. Vee looked at it. ‘Please hurry,’

  Something moved behind her eyes, some instinctive sense of survival. She grabbed my hand and ran with me.

  Rae joined us at the corridor. ‘You’re brining Opi’s clone?’

  ‘Yes. It’s a long story.’

  Rae nodded to Vee. ‘Stick with me then. Essa’s got work to do with the ship’s systems before we leave.’

  We ran down the corridor, nearing the bay holding the escape pods. But a mountain of flesh stood in our path. It was Bub Rugby.

  Rae looked at me sideways as we backed up. ‘Remember what I said, Essa. You’re stronger than me.’

  ‘Sure.’ I pushed down the fear boiling in my gut. This was one huge man and I was pretty sure I couldn’t stop him if I tried. Yet Rae was with me. She lashed out, aiming to cut him down at the knees. I aimed for the face. He leaned forward as Rae’s hit unsuccessfully tried to down him. He blocked my gouge, but missed my punch to his stomach. He doubled up, my hard fist penetrating his soft flesh. Rae thumped down hard on the back of his neck with her bare hands. I went for it too, and mine slammed him down.

  ‘Quick,’ Rae said, leaning around the corner. ‘Coast is clear.’

  She grabbed Vee’s hand and tugged. I kicked the hulk on the ground in the family jewels, before diving around the corner. He wasn’t out, as he cried out like he had tears in his eyes. He’d be after us in a couple of minutes, although he might be limping for a while.

  We reached the gantry where the escape pods were. Thorn was waiting, waving at us to hurry.

  ‘I have to disengage the alarms first.’ I didn’t have time. Bub Rugby or some other pirate would be after us soon. We’d left a number of injured pirates in our wake. ‘Rae, take Vee and go strap yourselves in. If we’re interrupted eject the pod anyway. You too, Thorn.’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m watching your back.’

  I was in luck, the bulkhead had a thick conduit running along it with secondary ones snaking in different directions. I kneeled down to access one of the secondaries, hoping to come into the system by a back door. The secondaries were there in case the main conduit was damaged during an attack.

  My handheld synced quickly but it took a while to identify the escape pod systems. They were rather complex, being connected to a number of systems.

  I heard a shout. Heavy boots reverberated along the metal grating I was crouching on. A quick glance told me it was Bub Rugby and he looked really pissed. He limped and I smiled. At least I got him where it hurt. I couldn’t deal with him and the ship’s security systems.

  ‘Thorn,’ I said with clenched teeth. I was high in the back end of the ship’s systems where I wouldn’t be noticed and it was working. These pirates were scum — I could do all kinds of things while in these sensitive ship systems but, with so many lives at stake, I couldn’t do it. I thought of Alwin, and even Thorn’s father. I couldn’t have their deaths on my hands.

  Thorn charged for Bub Rugby and was swatted away, rolling as he hit the rail. He shook his head, stunned for a moment. Bub was heading for me — the girl who’d stamped on his balls. I left my handheld there, hoping it would diagnose which code I needed to alter.

  Thorn called out, still trying to pull himself up. A ribbon of blood curled down his neck. ‘Watch out.’

  I stood up and faced off with the big guy. He growled and lunged for me with his arms spread wide. I ducked, using his momentum to push up as his body tipped over me. I pushed for all I was worth. He was one heavy pirate. Yet I had power in my legs, fed by desperation — and maybe something else I’d never tapped into. I had hidden strength. Perhaps there was conditioning there that prevented me using it, but now that I was desperate, power surged through me.

  Jumping, I raised my foot to hit him in the jaw when he landed, but he was quick and moved, blocking my kick and sending me sprawling.

  ‘Thorn?’

  Thorn had inched over to the handheld and checked the readout. ‘Not yet.’

  Bub was moving but I was faster. I grabbed him from behind around the throat. I squeezed and Bub tried to pry my hands off, at the same time using his weight to crush me. I screamed, squeezing for all I was worth. I just had to hold on and he’d pass out.

  Thorn called out. ‘It’s got it.’

  ‘Hit engage.’ I called through gritted teeth.

  Thorn stood up, looking for something. He wasn’t leaving.

  ‘Get in the pod,’ I shouted through gritted teeth.

  The strength was l
eaking out of Bub. He still fought me, but his movements were sluggish and had less force. After what seemed like an age, he went limp.

  Thorn nodded and entered the pod.

  Struggling out from under the mountain of flesh, I dived for my handheld and checked that the three ways the escape pod eject sequence would alert the bridge had been blocked. I was weakened. I was breathing hard and my arms and legs felt like lead.

  Crawling, I reached the pod and saw everyone was inside and strapped in. I used the hatch to help pull me upright. When Thorn’s face changed, I knew Bub was up again.

  Turning, I saw him looming large. Rage exuded from him, quivering his excess flesh. I had nowhere to go. Our escape was ruined, we weren’t going to get away. Bub had his arms outstretched, his lips tight over his snarling teeth. A feral growl filled my ears.

  I stumbled back into the pod just as the sound of a shot echoed in the corridor.

  Bub crumbled.

  With the last of my strength, I hit the eject button and lunged for a safety harness. The hatch snapped shut. I prayed that it all went to plan as I tried to buckle in. A face appeared in the hatch window.

  ‘Alwin!’ Rae yelled, fighting her harness.

  I gaped at him, wondering if he would set off the alarm and wondering what would happen if he didn’t, how he could explain it all. Stay safe. He banged on the window as if he was beating it in frustration.

  As the thrusters fired and we pushed away from the ship, Alwin’s face grew smaller and then faded.

  Rae screamed as we plummeted away from the ship. There was no more time to think about Alwin. If he set off the alarm, our trip would be short. If he didn’t, we still ran the risk of being picked up by the ship’s sensors.

  ‘Can we manoeuvre this thing?’ Mother yelled at Thorn. ‘We’re sitting ducks out here.’

  Thorn was near the navigation console. He ran his gaze over it, hit a few buttons. ‘It only has some thruster capability to avoid debris or an orbit. We can’t go anywhere.’

  ‘What if they come back?’ Opeia asked. ‘We need to be away from their trajectory so we won’t be so easy to find. Can’t you use the thrusters to change our direction?’

  ‘Yes, we can do that Mrs Gayens, but that would make it hard for Slick to pick us up.’