Into the Dark (Dark Universe Book 1)

by Jason Halstead

  “Thanks,” Aden grunted.

  “Now those are blast doors,” Garf said as he walked up to them. “Gonna take a punch to get through them.”

  “People always say that,” Aden muttered.

  “Because people know what they’re talking about,” the Devikian pointed out.

  Aden tried to shimmy inside his armor to take some of the heat that had built up in the insulated portions of his armor away from his chest. “Maybe, but a door’s like a chain.”

  Garf turned from the door and stared at him. “One of those particle beams hit you in the head?”

  “Weak points,” Aden said. “They’re only as strong as their weakest point.”

  “No kidding, genius,” Garf grumbled. He turned back to the door and added, “That’s where I plant my charges.”

  “No, you’re still going after the door. Try the walls and floor instead.”

  Garf hesitated and turned back to Aden. He stared at the Terran and then nodded. “All right, I’ll try it.”

  “Is this going to work? We don’t have time to be screwing things up,” Meshelle snapped.

  “Behind us!” Seph cried out.

  Blasts of superheated plasma raced down the hall towards them. Meshelle grunted as she was struck in the side and spun away from the hit. Seph threw herself to the ground and rolled, minimizing her profile.

  “Keep ’em busy!” Garf huffed.

  Tosc shouldered his rifle and fired round after round down the hallway. Aden fired blindly, hoping to drive the Criknids back while he moved back down the hallway towards the crawling Tassarian.

  “Amber—Meshelle!” Aden called while he dropped to one knee beside Seph. He kept firing with one hand, fanning his weapon back and forth to keep the Criknids under cover. His left arm dropped to the Tassarian’s back and curled under the lightly armored plate on the back of her suit. He jerked himself to his feet and dragged her back with him, using his body as cover.

  “Cover!” Garf shouted. The Devikian waited almost an entire second before he triggered the explosives.

  The shockwave from the explosives threw Aden forward. He hit the ground and lay still for precious seconds, trying to catch his breath and clear the fog from his head. He managed to focus when the buzzing in his ears started making sense again. It was Meshelle, and she wasn’t happy.

  “Report in!” she repeated.

  “I’m okay,” Aden managed.

  “Me too,” Amber said.

  “A little more warning next time,” Tosc growled.

  “Doors are out, but, we got another problem,” Garf said.

  “Seph?” Meshelle asked.

  Aden rolled up onto his side and looked back. A tiny plume of white fog was rising up from a tear in the Tassarian’s suit. “Her suit’s got a leak!” he hissed as he threw himself towards her. A fresh round of pulse laser blasts started streaming down the hall towards them, proving that they were still outnumbered.

  Aden’s hand closed over the tear near her shoulder and squeezed tight on her suit. He didn’t see any more air escaping but he couldn’t be certain beyond that. “Will her suit fix itself?” he asked.

  “Doubt it,” Tosc said while he repeated his pattern of squeezing off two shots and then moving and falling back.

  “Light suit, more for working than fighting,” Garf agreed.

  “Get her back here,” Meshelle said.

  Aden scooped her up and moved as fast as his bulky armor allowed. He grunted as another shot hit him in the back. His armor held but he felt the impact of the plasma and the residual warmth until the strike cooled. He looked beyond his friends and saw the devastation Garf’s explosives had wrought.

  The floor and one wall were blown away, dropping one door at an angle and the other into the hole in the floor. Beyond, he could make out a lab of some sort, with clear panels separating a pedestal that the crystal they’d taken from the asteroid sat on. Concave dishes and a few black solar cell-like devices were placed around it, as though they could capture escaping energy.

  “What is that thing?” he wondered aloud.

  “The reason we’re here,” Meshelle barked. “And it damn well better be worth it!”

  “It is,” Aden said and then ducked as he felt another shot strike his shoulder and deflect high. “How do we get it?”

  Meshelle had the plan this time. “Amber, cover fire on those bugs. Tosc, use those ballerina skills and get in there. Aden, keep Seph alive.”

  “What about me?” Garf asked as Amber turned and fired her first rocket down the hall.

  “You get to make a bigger hole.”

  “Where?”

  Meshelle pointed down. “That’s our escape, down there.”

  “You want us to—”

  “Do it!” she demanded.

  Garf grunted and began assembling new charges. Amber fired her last rocket and returned the cannon to the mount on her back. “I’m out,” she announced. “Next time I’ll bring a HAM.”

  “You’d tear the ship apart!” Aden said.

  “That’s one way to get out,” she agreed.

  Aden shook his head and turned away as she pulled out another short gun with a large barrel on it. He didn’t remember seeing that one in the armory and wasn’t sure what it did. With a barrel that size, it wouldn’t be good!

  Amber twisted the activator on a grenade and dropped it in the barrel. She pumped the under barrel action on it, drawing the grenade back, and then fired it down the hallway. It sailed through the air and hit the ground once, bouncing back up and then exploding near the lift door. She smiled and reached for another grenade.

  “Got it,” Tosc confirmed. “Heading out.”

  “Wait,” Garf warned. “I’m making a bigger hole.”

  Aden pulled Seph to him and covered her body with his as the floor bucked up and sent them flying. He kept his grip on the Tassarian and waited until the floor stopped shaking until he looked back.

  “How’s that?” Garf beamed. The floor was ripped up and opened to the structural beams and braces that ran from the floor to the inner hull less than a dozen feet below.

  “Looks beautiful,” Meshelle said. “Now get your asses in there on the zero!”

  Amber launched three more grenades while the others dropped into the hole. Aden clutched Seph’s limp body against him and twisted as he fell, landing on his back and accepting the pain to keep her from being crushed. When he started to get up, Meshelle helped him and then held him steady. She picked Seph’s head up and stared at her through the tinted faceplate of her suit.

  “She’s breathing but unconscious,” Meshelle said. She turned her attention back to Aden. “You keep her safe and maybe I won’t shoot you for all the things you make me want to shoot you for.”

  Aden jerked and then fought down his grin. “If she dies, I die,” Aden vowed.

  “Nobody dies,” Meshelle snarled. She spun around and saw Amber drop down with them. “Lights on—let’s move. We’re heading aft, so stay to your right. Tosc, you’re in the lead this time. Shoot first and don’t stop for directions.”

  Tosc snarled and started ahead, moving across the uneven inner hull and slipping between bulkheads and beams. He led them to the port side of the ship and they had to duck and crawl in order to get under the service hall they’d been in before.

  “Wait,” Aden said when they were working their way under the obstacle. “Why not punch a hole in this and take it?”

  “Too much time,” Meshelle said.

  “I’m out of things that go boom,” Garf added.

  A blast of energy slammed into the inner hull ahead of them, followed by another striking a beam behind them.

  “That’s another reason,” Amber said. “I’m out of grenades.”

  “I’ve got some,” Aden said.

  “Your responsibility is Seph,” Meshelle snapped. “Get a move on!”

  Meshelle waved him past and started firing single shots through the labyrinth of support structures. It slowed
the Criknids but they could see more and more of them spreading out and advancing.

  “There’s no end to them,” Amber said. She’d shifted back to her cartridge rifle and was choosing her shots carefully.

  “Contact,” Tosc snarled. “One. Two. Three. Okay, it’s clear.”

  Aden pulled himself out from under the service tunnel and pulled Seph out behind him. He paused long enough to stare at her pale blue face and make sure she was still breathing before he slid them along the space between the inner hull and the outside of the service tunnel. He had to duck under and climb over conduits and struts in his pursuit of Tosc, but at least nobody was shooting at him.

  “How we doing?” Aden called when several minutes passed without hearing anything.

  “Garf should be right behind you. We’re coming,” Meshelle panted. “There’s too many of them, though. We better figure something out.”

  “Especially with our pilot out,” Aden realized. Seph was supposed to call the shuttle back and they’d get on that after disabling the enemy ship.

  “I’ll do it,” Tosc said. “I’m a pilot too.”

  “Do all Lermians know how to fly?” Aden wondered.

  “Do all Terrans know how to be irritating?”

  “Some are better than others,” Amber offered.

  “Cut it out,” Meshelle snapped. “Keep moving.”

  Aden struggled through the last thirty feet and saw the breaches in the inner hull and the service hall they’d entered the ship through. Escape, and all the new threats that entailed, was at hand. He opened his mouth to share his excitement when he saw movement in the service hallway opening.

  He reached back for his rifle and remembered he’d lost it in the hallway. His only other weapon he carried was his pistol, which was useless without oxygen. Tosc leaned out with their thruster packs and dropped them down. He looked back and saw Aden. “Hurry, there are more coming this way.”

  Aden turned and saw Garf catching up to them. “Garf, help me with my pack. I can’t do it and hold Seph.”

  “On it,” the Devikian agreed. He glanced at the Tassarian and chuckled. “Wonder when the last time was she let a Terran hold her that long?”

  “Garf!” Meshelle rebuked.

  “I’m working,” he retorted. He caught Aden’s eye and rolled his. A few moments later, he backed away. “That good?”

  Aden brought up the peripheral controls in his helmet and saw the thruster pack was there. He only had forty percent of his fuel left, but that was better than nothing. “It’s good, thanks. Use my grenades—give them to Tosc so he can make a mess out of that hallway.”

  Garf huffed and started plucking grenades off Aden’s armor. He only had four left, but that was enough to hand up to the Lermian and, several seconds later, cause the ship to vibrate with new explosions.

  “That should complicate their pursuit,” Tosc shared after he dropped out of the hall and joined them at the hole in the inner hull.

  “Everybody ready?” Meshelle asked. With four positive responses, she turned and stared out of the hole. “Watch the edges. Let’s go. Tosc, wait on the shuttle.”

  Meshelle pushed out first, flailing a little and then firing her thrusters and stabilizing. She jetted out, picking up speed quickly and then cut her thrusters to float. Aden was helped into place next while he kept a careful grip on Seph. He jumped, pushing with his legs just as hard as he’d pushed on the asteroid.

  He cleared the breach in the hull and gulped as the shift from gravity to no gravity made his stomach flip. He swallowed and clenched his muscles to force his body to deal with it and keep the blood flowing in the right places. He used his thrusters sparingly and then not at all, fighting the urge to burn them until his fuel was gone.

  The others followed suit without incident, leaving them free and clear of the ship and floating in space as the enemy vessel slowly grew smaller and smaller. “Near field comms only,” Meshelle reminded them. “Is everyone okay?”

  “So far, so good,” Aden said.

  “Think I’ll take a nap,” Amber replied.

  “Ready and waiting,” Tosc said.

  “You always sound so angry,” Amber pointed out.

  “I take this serious. You should too!”

  “Knock it off,” Meshelle snapped. “Garf, you with us?”

  “Yes, boss,” Garf said. “Trying to find the Uma.”

  “Don’t count on it; she’s staying at max range,” Meshelle said. “We’ll float for another five minutes and then contact the shuttle.”

  “Confirmed,” Tosc said.

  “Everybody else, relax and enjoy the view,” Meshelle offered. “And try not to think about what happens if the shuttle’s gone and nobody finds out we’re drifting through space millions of kilometers from the closest planet.”

  Chapter 20

  “So this is kind of awkward,” Amber said. “But I’m a blunt woman.”

  Aden stared into the blackness around him, wondering where Amber was at. He called up the communications system and saw she was still using the near field band but she’d set up a private encrypted channel between the two of them. “Um, okay.”

  “Has Twyf approached you yet?”

  Aden was glad she couldn’t see him. He swallowed and tried to answer in an even voice. “Twyf? Why?”

  “She likes you.”

  “Oh.” Aden hesitated, uncertain of what to say. “Is that, uh, is that bad?”

  Amber laughed. “I suppose it depends. She came to me and asked if you and I were a couple.”

  Oh shit! “And you said?”

  “I said no,” she answered, without hesitating. “I just wanted you to know so you weren’t confused the next time she bats her eyes at you.”

  He exhaled in relief. Disaster averted! Except— “What about that kiss when we got back on the Uma?”

  He could almost hear her shrug in her response. “I told you, I’m spontaneous. I’m glad you made it. I’m glad I made it. I’m glad you helped. If we make it out of this and if that were me instead of Seph you were keeping alive, I’d fuck your brains out as a way of saying thank you.”

  “Whoa!”

  And I happen to know she’s got a lot of experience convincing her lovers that she’s the best thing that ever happened to them. You might prefer it was me.”

  “Why?”

  “Seph’s lovers? Either they end up heartbroken or dead. She twists them around her finger and gets everything she needs before she moves on.”

  “Yikes,” he said. “I’ll, uh, I’ll settle for a nice thank-you note.”

  Amber laughed again and then fell silent. Aden thought the conversation was over until she spoke again a few minutes later. “Be careful with Twyf.”

  “Twyf? Why?”

  “Something about the way she looks at you,” Amber said. Again he heard, but didn’t see, her shrug. “She’s teased and teased for years, but the only person she ever goes out of her way to spend any real time with is her sister. I’m not saying she’s a virgin or anything; I just think she sees something in you that she likes. Something big.”

  “I’m not seeing a problem.”

  “Of course you don’t—you’re a man.” Amber snorted. “What if she makes a play and you think it’s all that, just play? You walk around with your head in the clouds because you just fucked a Tassarian and she’s expecting a commitment that you’re not ready for. Not good.”

  “You put a lot of thought into this,” Aden mumbled. He had too, but he didn’t want her to know that. He had too many other things going to get caught up in drama.

  “Somebody needs to, or things get weird on the Uma. Twyf gets upset and does something stupid. Janna loses her sensor tech and turns on you. You end up getting kicked off the ship and have to take a job serving as a guard for a hydrogen mining operation. Then we lose out on having another merc with a lot of skills and the ability to act when the shit hits the air vents. It’s not good for anybody.”

  Aden laughed in spite of
their grim circumstances. “You’ve got quite an imagination.”

  “I’m trapped on a ship with the only men being covered in fur. Without an imagination, my toys and fingers wouldn’t be enough to keep me sane.”

  “Holy shit,” Aden gasped.

  Amber’s smile came across when she said, “Like I said, I’m blunt.”

  He remembered Twyf suggesting Amber joining them and he tried to push the thought away. He failed. “Maybe you should try to hook up with Twyf.”

  Amber laughed. “Let me guess—you want to watch?”

  “No!” Aden lied. “I was just offering—I mean, it’s not a big deal. Lots of people are into that sort of thing.”

  “Humans and Devikians, maybe,” she agreed. “I don’t know of any same-sex Lermians, though. And Tassarians? One of them would probably switch if that happened.”

  “This is getting complicated.” Aden groaned.

  “Do what you want—just keep that in mind. And if you’re not in it for the long haul, don’t kiss her!”

  Aden frowned. “That’s kind of cold, don’t you think?”

  “Kissing is different for Tassarians. A few—Seph, for example—use it to their advantage. For most, it’s part of selecting a mate and raising children.”

  “Raise—what?”

  “Some ritual from their history that a lot of them still observe about collecting eggs and passing them from one partner’s mouth to the other before they’re nested and watched over. It’s weird, but they aren’t human, so whatever.”

  “Holy shit,” Aden whispered. “This is getting over my head. Are you sure you don’t want to hook up with her instead?”

  “Not a chance. I’ve never been into Tassarians. And I prefer my partners to have a penis.”

  Aden sighed. “It was just a joke, you know?”

  “I know. Sometimes I get off by messing with people,” Amber admitted. “And you’re easy to—”

  “Shuttle’s inbound,” Tosc interrupted over the group channel. “ETA three minutes. Range to enemy ship is under five hundred kilometers.”

  “That means get loaded fast,” Meshelle said.