by Lily Thomas
Xacier’s Prize
Lily S. Thomas
Chapter 1
“Hey, sexy lady! You looking for a ride?”
Samantha examined the man who’d called out to her. She was trying to find a vessel to take her to the planet Drein, but she wasn’t about to pay this man. His teeth were stained with a mix of black and yellow, and his hair was disheveled. There was a inky grime all over his clothing, and she knew he probably wasn’t the captain, more like the ship’s mechanic. Any ship that didn’t have the captain greeting newcomers wasn’t worth her time.
“No thanks.”
Samantha moved on. Each vessel along this dock was rundown and in need of repair, but she didn’t want to spend all her money on a vessel in pristine condition. She heading off to see her mother, her mother who needed all the medical care Samantha could afford.
So she’d just have to find the best vessel out of the worst and hope it didn’t break down, while on her way to Drein.
“Where you headed?” Another voice called out.
Samantha looked over at the man, who was a bit on the portly side, and as his eyes scanned over her she could feel her skin crawl. He probably just thought he could scam her for an expensive ride.
She’d dressed like she didn’t have much money, which wasn’t hard to do, since she barely had anything to her name. Most everything she made went to her mother’s medical bills, not that she minded one bit. She owed everything in her life to her mother. It was the least she could do.
“Drein.” She called out, as she stopped, but she didn’t approach him. No need to appear too eager. She didn’t need to appear desperate or he might charge her more than she’d want to pay for transport.
“I’m not headed there, but I can be, if you can pay the extra fee.”
Samantha crossed her arms in front of her. “How much is the ‘extra fee’?”
“One hundred credits.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll think about it.” Samantha kept moving down the dock, inspecting the crews and ships, as she went.
Eventually, she made it to the end of the dock. Turning around she gave a groan. None of these ships was appealing, but there was a ship with the least disgusting man finding passengers. She’d go with the portly man, who made her skin crawl and hope for the best. He might think one hundred credits was a lot for her, but she could afford it. It was on the upper range of what she wanted to pay, but it wouldn’t break her bank.
Samantha plodded her way through the ship’s corridors. It wasn’t a fancy vessel, but it was getting her to where she needed to go. The ship shook, and she threw out a hand to catch herself.
So much for gravity plating. It seemed to work when it wanted to. After finding her footing, she shook her head in exasperation. Maybe she should’ve waited for a better vessel to gain passage to the planet Drein, but the price had been right.
Just a few weeks ago, she’d been given information which had shaken her life. Her mother was taking a turn for the worse, and the doctor’s weren’t optimistic about her recovery. Samantha felt guilty about not visiting her mother more, but then again she’d been trying to make enough money to support herself and to pay for her mother’s medical bills.
Being a terraformer was good money, but it meant she was almost always on a job. There were so many human colonists looking to move to a planet where they could set their own rules and live in peace. It was the one job where she could be sure she’d always have work, because people always wanted more space to spread out.
She could understand why colonists wanted a planet of their own away from all other conflicts. Life in space could be both exciting and terrifying. There were so many things that could go wrong, like running into violent aliens or having the hull breach and being thrown out into space never to be seen again.
Samantha shivered. She could never imagine being blown out into space. What she needed was a nice quiet planet where she and her mother could live their lives in peace and not have to worry about gruesome or terrifying deaths.
Perhaps when her mother recovered, because Samantha refused to believe her mother wouldn’t, they could return to the planet she was currently terraforming. It was almost ready for the first wave of colonists. The environment was being modeled after Earth, before the climate had gone wacky.
Earth was only livable because of atmosphere controllers. Otherwise, it would be unlivable for anyone. There had been talk about terraforming Earth back to its old self, but it would’ve required a mass displacement of humans, so the option was thrown out.
As she passed another human on board, she frowned slightly. No one on this vessel appeared to be on the right side of the law. The man had so many guns and daggers strapped to his body she would never be able to count them all.
She was almost to her room, and she felt relief build inside her. All she wanted was a good night’s rest. She’d been worrying about her mother so much she’d barely had time to take a shower, eat, and get some sleep.
Her cabin door came into sight, and her feet picked up speed. The light whoosh of the doors put a smile on her face. Now she could be by herself and relax a bit. This was the ship of the damned. No one on here, except herself, was a normal citizen. There were thieves, murderers, and all sorts of people she didn’t want to get mixed in with.
“Lights.” But nothing happened. Her room was still basked in darkness. She frowned. Clearly, the gravity plating wasn’t the only problem on this decrepit vessel.
Fumbling around in the dark she tried to find the manual switch. If the lights didn’t work, she was going to have words with the captain. Then again, she might wait until they got to Drein. The captain of this ship creeped her out, and she didn’t need to get into a fight with him.
Arms wrap around her waist from behind, and Samantha’s spine went rigid. What was going on? Who was in her room?
“Got you now, you pretty little thing.”
Her blood froze, as the captain’s repulsive breath flowed over the side of her neck. Struggling she felt her fight or flight senses come alive. “Let go of me!” Samantha barked, as she threw her head back and connected with his nose.
“Bitch!” He yelled, but his grip loosened enough for her to twist out of his grip.
She could see his outline in the dark. His pudgy stomach blocked her way to the cabin’s door. There was no other place for her to hide, and there were no other passengers in the nearby living quarters. Samantha would have to get past him to find any assistance.
Taking a calming breath, she backed up some more. She didn’t need him taking control of her again. He might be on the portly side, but he still had more physical strength than her.
“Why are you in my room?” She demanded, wishing her voice was a bit stronger.
He growled at her. “You got the cheapest fare, didn’t you question why?”
She shook her head, and then realized he wouldn’t be able to see it in the dark. “How was I to know it was the cheapest? I’ll pay you some more. Just leave my quarters.” She’d give him anything to just leave her alone.
He gave a bark of laughter. “We’re past that now. You almost broke my nose, so I’ll get what I originally came here for.”
Samantha braced herself. She was going to fight her way past him, if she had to. If there was any possible safety she could find on this ship, but she had to believe he picked her cabin for a reason. He probably didn’t want anyone to step in to her defense, which meant he wouldn’t try anything if she could just get past him.
“Come here.” He ordered her.
“Why don’t you come over here?”
“Trying to move me
away from the door?”
Too bad he wasn’t as dimwitted as she’d first thought. “You’ll have to leave, at some point. You’re the captain of this ship, after all.”
“For now, I have some time. Come here. I’ll promise to be gentle with you.” She could imagine him licking his lips in the dark, and a shiver raced up and down her spine.
Samantha knew this couldn’t last forever, that she couldn’t stand here forever. She had to take a chance and trust she could get past him. All she had to do was outwit him.
“One night, and then you will leave me alone?” Samantha asked.
“You’ve got my word, as captain.” His voice snaked through the dark.
“Ok.” Bit by bit, Samantha approached the captain. As she neared, she smelled his foul breath permeating the air of her cabin. He had to be dreaming, if he thought she was going to just be a good little girl and let him take her.
“I knew you’d see reason.” He purred into the darkness.
She was close enough to see him smirk. There were some missing teeth, and he clearly didn't care enough about dental hygiene.
His sausage fingers landed on her hips, as she drew close to him. Samantha leaned in close like she was about to kiss him, as she positioned her knee between his spread legs. As his stale breath assaulted her nose, she kneed him in the crotch, he went down, and she pushed him aside, as she leapt over his groaning form.
She felt his fingers brush her calf, as he tried to bring her down, but he aimed wrong and she was able to slip past.
Samantha sprinted out the door in a matter of seconds. She tore down the corridor. There weren’t many people for her to turn to, but she remembered seeing a warrior woman on her first day. She just hoped she could remember where the warrior woman’s cabin was.
Stopping she looked around, and then gave a knock at a cabin door. At first, there was no answer, and she bit her bottom lip. She needed to get out of the corridor, before the captain came looking for her.
He wasn’t going to be thrilled with her, when he recovered, but he wouldn’t have sex on his mind after such a whollop to his crotch. She’d made sure he wouldn’t be thinking of sex any for days, hopefully.
As she took a couple steps away, the cabin door slid open. “What?”
Samantha turned to find the warrior woman staring at her. She was definitely human, and Samantha hoped that meant she would take some pity on her.
“Would you mind, if I came into your room?”
“Why?” The woman looked her up from head to toe, not looking terribly impressed by what she saw standing in front of her.
Samantha’s spine stiffened. What was wrong with how she looked? Her shirt and pants weren’t anything amazing, but they weren’t ratty either.
“Please. Let me in, and I will explain everything to you.” Samantha glanced down the corridor from where she’d come from. How long would it take for the captain to recover? “You might even enjoy the story I have to tell.”
The woman’s hazel eyes narrowed, but she moved away from the doorway allowing Samantha to squeeze inside.
“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much you’re helping me.” Samantha felt like she could finally breath. She wasn’t out in the corridor, where the captain could easily find her.
The woman folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the closed door. Samantha took in her attire, and she couldn’t help but be impressed. The black suit was form fitting, and she could tell this warrior woman would probably be able to beat any man senseless, without any weapons. Not to mention, all the weapons strapped to her body. It was an intimidating sight.
It made Samantha think she should start working out again. Or train herself with close combat weapons.
“Why have I allowed you in my cabin?”
“Long story short… I was attacked by the captain, and I kneed him in the balls. He’ll probably want my head, and I don’t want him to easily find me. I get the feeling he would only attack me if I was alone.” Samantha said in one long breath.
The woman looked her over some more, before cracking a smile. “You might not look interesting, but I like your determination and spirit. You may stay here, but I won’t save you from him, if he comes knocking. I can’t bring unnecessary attention to myself.”
“Why not?” Samantha was intrigued about this mysterious person, who spent almost all the journey inside her own cabin. Samantha had her suspicions this woman might be an assassin or a body guard for hire. Or maybe she was a spy!
But that was the end of their conversation. The warrior woman made her way over to the table and continued to eat her meal that Samantha had interrupted.
“So… what’s your name?” If she was going to stay here, she couldn’t just call the woman ‘warrior woman’. She might lose a finger, in her sleep, for the title. The warrior woman might not have a sense of humor.
The woman glanced up from her plate. “Talia.”
“You’re a human?”
“Yes.” Talia gave a snort. “Do I look like an alien?”
“No, but I’d hate to assume and be wrong.” Samantha sat across from her. “So why have you booked passage on this ship?”
“Personal.”
“Interesting.” Samantha wasn’t about to let the conversation end there. “I’m on a personal trip as well. My mother’s illness got worse, and I’m on my way to see her. I’m thinking I should’ve booked passage on a better vessel.”
“Not to be rude, but if you want to stay here with me, you must learn to shut up.” Talia looked up from her meal, to give Samantha a slight glare.
Samantha nodded. She’d zip it, as long as Talia didn’t kick her out of the room.
Several more days passed, and Samantha was relieved to find Talia was a deterrent for the slimy captain. He didn’t want to chance someone stepping in to save her. Just as long as he didn’t find out Talia wouldn’t step in, Samantha wasn’t at rick.
At the moment, she was sitting in Talia’s cabin, while Talia took a shower in the adjoining room. She lifted one of Talia’s knives and examined it. It was vicious looking, and she couldn’t imagine using it on another living person. There were some tiny barbs on it, and Samantha knew they were meant to cause maximum damage, when Talia yanked the weapon out of someone’s body. A few shivers ran up her arms.
“Be careful, you might cut yourself, and I don’t want blood all over my cabin. That crook of a captain might charge me a cleaning fee.”
Samantha jumped a bit. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be nosy. I’ve never met another human woman who was some sort of warrior.”
Talia smirked. “I’m not a warrior. I’m an assassin.”
Samantha gulped. So one of her guesses had been correct. “Who are you after?”
“I told you, it was personal.”
“Well, I wish you the best of luck with your mission.” What else was she to say to an assassin? Happy hunting?
A siren went off, as the ship jerked to one side.
“What the…” Samantha was jolted from her seat at the table and landed on the floor.
Talia lunged for her weapons, as the ship gave a shudder and the hull groaned. “Come.” Talia grabbed Samantha’s arm, dragged her up and out into the corridor. “We should make it to an escape pod, in case we need to use it.”
Samantha nodded dumbly. She was too shocked to say anything. What was there to say? She knew nothing about floating around in space, since she was just a terraformer. Everything she knew about had to do with building livable planets.
Other passengers came flying out of their cabins, as they searched for what was going on and tried to figure out what to do next.
As they rounded the corner, they saw the captain talking with some aliens. From where she stood, they looked like Frirens. There were three of them, and they were tall lanky aliens with powder blue skin and silver eyes and hair.
Maybe the captain would be able to convince the aliens to leave. They were armed, and if Samantha had to guess,
they were the reason the alarms were going off. Were they raiding the ship? Perhaps they just wanted some valuables, and then they’d leave, and the ship would be able to continue on its way to Drein.
“There she is!” The captain pointed at Samantha, as they drew closer.
Samantha froze and looked over her shoulder, and then at Talia. Maybe they wanted Talia? She was an assassin, after all. Maybe she’d killed someone and now family or friends were out for her blood. But Talia didn’t seem to recognize any of them, and her weapons remained sheathed.
“She’s the one you want. I’m sure you will find her to bring in a bit of money.”
Was he talking about her? How was she to bring in money?
Before she could blink, one of the Frirens grabbed her arm and yanked her away from Talia. Samantha flinched, as the Friren applied pressure to his grip.
Talia reached for a weapon, but her fingers stopped above the handle. “I told you I wouldn’t risk my life for you.”
Samantha gaped at the aliens. “Why me?” She turned her gaze over to the captain.
He smirked at her. “Should’ve accepted me into your bed, but don’t worry, these men will make sure the rest of your life is a living hell. You have no need to worry about that.”
“You did this? You contacted them?!” Why would he allow someone to attack his ship? “They attacked your ship.”
The captain waved his hand. “The sirens went off, because the ships had a rough joining.” He glared at one of the aliens. “Even though I specified what speed they should be going when they docked.”
The Friren in charge, just shrugged his broad shoulders. He said something to the captain, but her translator didn’t pick it up or couldn’t pick it up.
“You invited them on board?” Then it dawned on her. “You wanted to give me to them as revenge?” He was so upset about her rejection that he went out of his way to sell her to Frirens? This was just a bit ridiculous.
One of the Frirens tossed a bag over to him, and then they took her out the airlock and onto their ship.
