by Robyn Bachar
The ranking officer’s hands shook as he gathered weapons and ammunition, and he couldn’t fasten his armor. The man was about five years from retirement, judging by his salt-and-pepper hair.
“Have you ever been in combat?” Lindana asked. The poor bastard was so scared he didn’t even notice her terrible accent.
“No,” he said. “Not even during the war.”
Gabriel thumped the officer’s shoulder. “We have been,” Gabriel assured him. “We can take the lead, if you wish.”
The officer sighed and sagged with relief. “I would be grateful, comrade.”
Gabriel looked to Lindy, one dark eyebrow quirked in silent question, and she inclined her head in permission. Yes, she outranked him, and she arguably had more battle experience than he did—difficult to judge, considering that she still didn’t know the details of his classified past—but Gabriel’s Russian was impeccable. He could handle this. She trusted him.
Gabriel clapped his hands sharply to get the room’s attention, and then he barked orders like a seasoned commander. Lindana allowed herself a tight grin—she and Gabriel should be able to handle a few pirates. All they had to do was repel the boarders and hold the station long enough for Jiang’s help to arrive. Though it did beg the question of who Jiang had called for help. The Mombasa was away on its recruitment mission, and they didn’t have any allies in Soviet space that Lindana knew of, though other Soviets vessels would help them until they realized that the Yangtze was really the Novosibirsk.
Well, one crisis at a time.
Chapter Thirteen
The slam of the battering ram reverberated through the corridor, and the Korolev’s crew all flinched as though struck. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Lindana’s face as she steadied the butt of the rifle against her shoulder.
“Hold,” Gabriel ordered. “Remember, they have to come to us. They can only take what we give them. Do not cede any ground.”
Jiang had assured them that nothing in this area was flammable or combustible. They could shoot the entire corridor full of holes if need be—but no concussion grenades, just in case. Lindana had rigged a quick and dirty set of traps by setting trip wires to trigger stun grenades while the rest of the defenders hauled makeshift cover into place. She could have set a dozen more if she had the time, but the Blackjack’s pirates were nearly through the hull and there was no time left.
“Hold!”
One final boom of the battering ram was followed by the heavy clang of metal hitting the Korolev’s deck. The roar of angry voices echoed down the corridor, and Lindana braced herself behind an overturned desk. The Blackjack’s crew outnumbered the Korolev’s by three to one, possibly even more. Captains like Kowalczyk had no problem attracting men to their crews—men who were desperate, violent, greedy or crazy enough not to care who they hurt as long as the payday was good. The Korolev’s defenders had the advantage of good position, but the Blackjack’s invaders had superior numbers. The stun grenades would take out the first wave, and Lindana waited for the flash of the stun blast followed by the thumps of unconscious bodies hitting the ground.
Her Soviet comrades were not so patient and fired the moment the pirates appeared, wasting their ammo and giving away their positions. Lindana’s lips pressed in a disapproving line as she lined up her first shot. The rifle jerked in her hands as she fired, but the round hit the chest plate of her target’s armor. Shit. The Korolev’s armory wasn’t equipped with ammo that could penetrate heavy armor. Poor bastards hardly had any weapons at all.
Gabriel was positioned across from her, and she watched as he fired and hit a pirate with a clean headshot. Damn. Maybe Lindana was more out of practice than she realized—soft from too much time spent in the cockpit and not on the front lines. She’d remedy that if they survived this; item two hundred and fifty-five on her To Do list.
The Soviets fired wild, and the fever pitch of their attack kept the invaders at bay until the pirates realized that their armor was soaking most of the damage. The pirates advanced in a drunken line as they bobbed and weaved to avoid taking fire. Lindana lined up and shot the lead pirate through the throat, but his comrades simply stepped over him as he fell.
“Hold!” Gabriel’s order boomed over the noise of battle, but the nearest defenders spooked and ran, only to be shot in the back when they turned. Their light armor was no match for the bullets of the Blackjack’s crew, and most were dead before they hit the deck.
Lindana and Gabriel exchanged a grim look, and each tensed at the inevitability of hand-to-hand combat. Lindana had never missed her machete so much; all she had was her backup knife. It was a wicked military model that would cut through even heavy armor, but she hated letting any target get close enough to use it. A machete at least gave her an arm’s length of distance from an attacker.
Lindana and Gabriel’s combined marksmanship took four more pirates out of play. Several shots thudded into the desk in front of her and one bullet zinged past her head. She dropped her rifle and switched to her pistol, plugging several rounds into a pirate who had advanced within a few feet of her position. She unloaded until the pistol clicked empty, and then she sucked in a deep breath and grabbed her knife. Then a voice shouted down the hallway and combat ground to a halt.
“I want to parlay!”
Fuck. Lindana would recognize that gravelly voice anywhere, as though the speaker gargled with whiskey and rusted nails. Captain “Black” Jack Kowalczyk. She frantically shook her head at Gabriel and hissed, “Just shoot them!”
Gabriel raised his rifle to reply, but then Commander Polestra answered from behind them. “What are your terms?”
“Sir, we do not negotiate with pirates,” Gabriel reminded him, his voice strained.
“This is my station, and I will do as I please,” Polestra said.
Idiot. Lindana was tempted to shoot Polestra herself if he stepped into her line of fire.
Kowalczyk swaggered into view, geared in expensive armor that would deflect their bullets as though there were shooting spit wads at him. Lindana could never afford to outfit the Mombasa’s crew with equipment like that. The armor envy was almost enough to tempt her into piracy.
Kowalczyk peered up and down the hallway, and his attention locked on Lindana. “Why, Captain Nyota. Is that you hiding under that dead rat?”
Lindana scowled and fought the urge to scratch under her fur cap. She clutched her knife tighter. “Come a little closer and you’ll find out.”
“Now, now. No need to scratch my armor,” he tsked. “Why don’t you all put your weapons down and we’ll talk like civilized people.”
“You wouldn’t know civilized if it bit you in the—”
“Ah ah!” Kowalczyk waved a disapproving finger in her direction. “Weapons down, or my boys will start killing these nice people.”
Lindana’s teeth ground as she slowly rose and set her blade aside, the rest of the defenders following suit by dropping their guns. She glanced behind her and saw Polestra finally step into view, and her hands clenched into fists. The commander held a pistol pressed against Jiang’s temple.
“Stay back! I will shoot her.”
“She’s lovely, whoever she is,” Kowalczyk said, “but we’re not here for her. We want Red Raiya. Give her to us, and we’ll leave quietly.”
“Raiya is dead, jackass,” Lindana said. “Don’t you read the newsfeeds? Oh, wait, I bet you never learned how to read.”
“Very amusing, I’m sure. I know she’s with you.”
“How do you know?” Gabriel asked. “Who sent you after us?”
The pirate captain turned his focus, and his weapon, on Gabriel. “That information is expensive, and I doubt you can afford it. Hand Raiya over now,” Kowalczyk demanded.
Lindana shrugged slightly. “Not sure where she is, but really, I’m afraid you h
ave things backward.”
“Backward?” Commander Polestra repeated with a confused frown.
“Raiya is the least of your problems now. We’re prepared to accept your unconditional surrender.” The pirates burst into laughter, but then as if on cue the entire station rattled as though shaken by an earthquake. “Sounds like the cavalry to me.”
Everything happened at once, almost in slow motion. Jiang swung into action, disarming Commander Polestra and dropping him to the ground in one fell swoop. The pirates realized that something was wrong and the parlay was over and began to fire, and Lindana watched in horror as Kowalczyk’s weapon discharged. She leaped forward, propelled by fear for Gabriel’s life, and she threw herself in front of him. Pain blossomed through Lindana’s chest and she collapsed.
“Lindy!” Gabriel’s pale face swam into view, his eyes wide with terror. “God, no.”
“Not done yet,” Lindana blurted out. “Orders. Go.” Her lips twitched as she tried to give him a reassuring smile. She was made of stern stuff, and one bullet couldn’t bring her down.
“Damn you. Don’t you dare die on me.”
Jiang appeared at his side and pressed a blade into his hands, and the pair charged off. Lindana listened to the cacophony of battle around her. Each breath was an agonizing struggle, and each inhale a wheezing gasp that didn’t seem to draw in any air. She suddenly regretted not bringing Tomas on this mission.
* * *
Rage burned through Gabriel as he gripped the hilt of the sabre Jiang had given him. Commander Polestra’s, doubtless, liberated from the man after she dropped him.
“Go,” Jiang shouted. “Stop him.”
Captain Kowalczyk was rushing toward them, and Gabriel raised his borrowed blade and charged.
Bullets whizzed past him as the few Soviet crew members fired at the pirates. Jiang was a blur of violent grace in Gabriel’s peripheral vision, dropping target after target with a pair of daggers.
Kowalczyk drew his cutlass, and a metallic clang cut through the cacophony of battle as their blades met. Fueled by fury, Gabriel was relentless in his attack, forcing his opponent to retreat as he pressed him back.
“You’re new,” Kowalczyk said. “This isn’t your fight. Just give me Raiya and I’ll leave.”
“The only way you’re leaving is in a box.” Gabriel lunged and scored a hit that gouged a line across the pirate’s armor.
“So dramatic. This is just business.” Kowalczyk slashed at him and Gabriel was a second too slow to dodge. He hissed in pain as a long slash sliced through his light armor and cut a gash down his left forearm.
“Hardly,” Gabriel spat. The fate of the galaxy could be at stake, and Lindy might be dying from her wound. This was far from business. He surged forward and swung for Kowalczyk’s head, and the blow cracked his helmet’s visor.
Kowalczyk stumbled back, momentarily blinded, and Gabriel pressed his advantage. He continued to gain ground as his opponent retreated, all the way back to the pirates’ boarding point. Kowalczyk shouted for reinforcements, but nothing happened. Gabriel risked a glance past Kowalczyk, and saw only the blackness of space through the hole the pirates had cut into the Korolev’s hull. The Blackjack was gone, and it had left the dubious protection of a flex-seal in its place.
“Hold your fire,” Gabriel ordered. One stray bullet could puncture the seal, and Gabriel had no desire to see what would happen if it did.
Captain Kowalczyk snarled as he realized he was stranded, and he whirled and renewed his attack. He swung like a madman—hacking and slashing without form or finesse. Gabriel struggled to block each blow, on the defensive for the first time. His wound ached and bled, and his gut roiled with fear for Lindy.
“Gabriel! Down!” Jiang ordered.
He dropped to one knee in reply, and two daggers sailed over his head and embedded harmlessly into Kowalczyk’s breastplate.
“You missed,” the pirate crowed.
No, she didn’t. Gabriel lunged and thrust up, stabbing Kowalczyk through the throat. He withdrew the blade in a gush of blood, and the pirate collapsed like a rag doll.
Gabriel scanned for other threats, but Jiang seemed to have taken care of the rest of the pirates. He dropped his sabre and hurried to Lindy’s side. She gazed up at him, her breath rattling wetly as she struggled for air.
“Why?” Gabriel pressed his hands against the wound to stanch the bleeding. “Why would you do that?”
She reached a shaking hand to cup his jaw, and then placed her palm against his chest over the spot where the gold engagement ring hung on a chain around his neck.
Gabriel grabbed the chain and yanked it free. With bloodstained hands he slipped the ring free, and then placed it on to her finger. “Marry me,” he insisted. “I love you. I will never make the mistake of leaving you again. I’ll follow you to the ends of the universe.”
Lindana inclined her head in a weak nod, but then her eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness.
“No!” Gabriel roared.
“Here.” Jiang appeared at his side with a med kit in hand. “That station medic is down. We need to stabilize her until the Yangtze can dock and we can get her on board.”
He nodded as he cracked the kit open and grabbed the aerosol bandages. “What happened to the Blackjack?”
“It’s being pummeled into scrap. Comms are back up.” Jiang squeezed his shoulder. “She’ll make it. Lindana is a fighter, and she’s fighting for you.”
Gabriel nodded tightly, and prayed.
Chapter Fourteen
“I can’t believe you took a bullet for him.”
Lindana blinked a desert’s worth of sand from her eyes as she dragged herself awake. Everything hurt—an all-over pain as though she’d rolled down a hill covered in sharp rocks. The world swam into focus and Tomas’s disapproving scowl hovered over her.
“Don’t try to talk yet,” Tomas said. “I’m going to sit you up, and you’re going to drink some water.”
Lindana nodded. The diagnostic bed angled up and eased her into a sitting position, and Tomas held out a cup of water with a straw. She reached for it and he gently pressed her hand down. “Rest. Drink. That’s an order.”
She cocked a brow as she tried and failed to remember the last time Tomas had pampered her. She had a fuzzy memory of having the chicken pox as a child, and Tomas force-feeding her soup. The moment the water hit her lips she realized that she was parched, and she sucked down the liquid like it was cheap vodka.
“Easy. Don’t overdo it. You’ve been out for two days.”
“Only two?” Her voice was rusty as though unused. Or overused. Had she been screaming?
“Well, more like three. The Novosibirsk busted ass to get to the rendezvous point. Lucky for you we were already there. Though the Soviet medical team did a decent job of patching you up. Not as good as I do, mind you, but at least they didn’t screw anything up.”
“Report.”
“Right. You’re aboard the Mombasa. Sveta is captaining the Novosibirsk, which is docked with us. All of our crew and theirs is accounted for. The Korolev had a bad day, but that’s the Soviet’s problem, not ours. Sveta stole the entire Soviet data network, and we’re working on it now.”
Lindana frowned, skeptical, and Tomas shrugged. “Okay, not the entire network, but it’s a big haul. It’s going to take time to decrypt and analyze.”
“Where’s Gabriel?”
Tomas rolled his eyes. “I kicked him out. He was always underfoot and I was about to stab him with a scalpel. Jiang put him to work.”
A knot eased in her chest. Gabriel was all right. Her gaze flicked down to her left hand, and she blinked at the ring. So she hadn’t hallucinated that. Good to know.
“That’s some bling you have there, princess,” Tomas teased. “Guess you fina
lly found your Prince Charming.”
“No,” she corrected. “He finally found his knight in shining armor.”
“No shit. Sounds like you. Leaping into the path of Teflon bullets to protect your true love.”
“Are you mad at me?” Lindana asked.
“No. I want you to be happy. I’m just not convinced yet that he’s the man to do that.”
Lindana smiled. “He has time to convince you. He’s staying.”
“Well I guess that’s a step in the right direction.”
“Was your mission successful?”
Tomas shrugged again. “Yes and no. We have three additional ships. We also have what was left of the Blackjack after the drones got through with it, but there are differing opinions on what to do with it. For now it’s running with a skeleton crew made up of people from each ship.”
“Drones?”
“Apparently Jiang called in a drone strike.” Tomas paused and looked away. “Don’t worry about that now. What matters is that we’re okay.”
“It’s a start. We’ll convert more people to our cause.”
Tomas chuckled. “‘Our cause.’ You sound like a revolutionary.”
“I guess I do. We are starting a bit of a revolution. Fighting the good fight.”
He scratched his head and poured her a refill. “Not sure if this is the good fight. I’m interested in keeping us all alive, though. And you! No more diving in front of bullets. I don’t want to be an only child.”
“I’ll do my best. I love you, big brother.”
“I love you too, little sister.”
“Lindy! You’re awake,” Gabriel exclaimed as he hurried into the room. He shot Tomas an irritated glare. “I asked you to call me if she woke.”
