"Going to get mighty cold in here soon," he said as the heating systems died down.
They piled up the motors on the floor, and Twig worked in a fury, mumbling to herself, welding.
"Piston, get me some screws! And an Allen key!"
He was going insane for sure. Taking orders from a halfling! Yet when he glanced out the porthole, the enemy vessel was nearer. The claw reached out and grazed the Dragon's hull, and the metal screamed.
"Hurry!" Twig shouted.
"Piston, we need more speed!" Riff shouted over the communicator.
Piston returned with the supplies, and Twig worked at mad speed, forming a single great motor out of the many smaller parts.
"Got it!" she said. "Piston, help me attach it to the main engine thrust!"
They worked together while Romy watched with wide eyes, icing on her face.
"Done!" Twig shouted and flipped the switch.
Outside the porthole, the skelkrin claw reached toward them.
Twig's motor sputtered, roared to life, and blasted out sparks, feeding energy into the main engines.
With a great bolt that shook the room and dropped Piston to the floor, the Dragon Huntress blasted forward.
They streamed through space, roaring around the planet, leaving the enemy vessel behind.
Riff's laughter sounded through the speakers. "We're blasting like a bullet, Piston!" The captain whooped. "You're a genius, man. A genius!"
Piston puffed out his chest and spoke into his microphone. "Aye, Captain! Thank you, Captain. I—Well . . ." He lowered his head. "Truth is, it was all Twig, sir. Little beast is a maverick with the engines."
"Twig, I love you," Riff said. "I'm going to give you another bonus if we get out of this. We're well out of skelkrin range now, and . . ."
Riff's voice faded.
"Captain?" Piston said. "Captain, are you all right up there?"
For a moment, silence. Then a whisper. "Another vessel."
"Another vessel, Captain?" Piston raced toward the porthole. "What other—" He gasped. "Oh no, sir. Oh no. This can't be. This can't be, sir!"
Piston sank to his knees. His heart sank deeper.
Outside in space, roaring toward them and firing its guns, came a great silver warship, its hull sporting the Cosmian sigil.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
THE ENGINEER
Steel and Nova shot through open space, jet packs roaring out flame.
The planet of Cirona spread below, a great green ball. The Dragon Huntress flew away behind them. Ahead loomed the Crab, the massive skelkrin warship.
Be with me, light of Sol, Steel prayed silently. He clutched his sword in one hand, the spare space suit in the other. By my honor, I cannot fail today.
"I'm coming for you, Midnight," he whispered.
Nova flew at his side, her whip coiling like a string of gold. The skelkrin warship tilted overhead. Its guns pointed downward, and it blasted out its lasers.
Steel and Nova scattered and soared. The beams shot between them. They rose higher.
"To the hangar!" Steel said. "We'll blast through the hatch."
Nova's voice rose through the speakers in his helmet. "Race you there, old boy."
More weapons blasted out from the ship. One laser beam slammed into Steel's sword, bouncing off and down toward the planet. He stormed forward, jet pack thrumming on his back. Nova swung her whip before her as she flew, knocking back blasts of laser. They charged toward the hangar doors, and Steel readied his blade.
Swing true, Solflare, he whispered.
A meter away from the ship, he swung his sword.
The blade slammed into the hangar door with a shower of light, slicing through the iron. Nova laughed at his side, swung her whip, and cracked open another chunk of metal. With another swing of his blade, Steel tore the door open.
They blasted into the hangar, shooting fire from their jet packs, and landed on a metal floor. They let their engines die.
The hangar was vast, large enough that the Dragon Huntress could have fit inside. Three skelkrins stood here. The towering crimson beasts howled, baring their fangs. They charged forward, swinging their claws.
"For Sol!" Steel shouted and ran to meet them.
"For fire and venom!" Nova cried—the words of her people—and ran forward.
The gladiator swung her whip. The electric lash sliced through a skelkrin's arm, severing it. Steel reached the beasts, swung his blade, and cut off another creature's leg.
The skelkrins screeched. One roared, grabbed Steel, and leaned in to bite. The creature's fangs gleamed. His eyes were smelters.
Steel drove his sword forward, slamming the crossguard into the alien's face.
A fang snapped and fell.
The creature stepped back, howling, and Steel swung his sword. Light flashed. The blade sliced through the creature's torso, cleaving it in two, leaving a trail of smoke.
The skelkrin slammed down dead.
Steel turned his head to see Nova swing her whip, cutting through the last living skelkrin. The creature fell down dead, black blood spurting across the floor. More blood pooled around Steel's feet.
He frowned.
He knelt and pressed his finger against a small, purple splotch. He examined the liquid.
"Purple blood." Steel's heart twisted. "Midnight was here."
"There!" Nova pointed. "A trail of purple blood. It leads deeper into the ship."
Steel straightened and began walking. "We follow. We find her."
They left the hangar and entered a long, black corridor. Scattered lights flickered on the ceiling.
Shadows stirred. White eyes cracked open.
Four more skelkrins came charging their way, howling.
Steel pointed his blade forward, blasting out beams of light. Nova cracked her whip, sending forth lightning bolts. The skelkrins roared and fell. Steel and Nova kept walking. One skelkrin on the floor reached toward Steel, trying to grab him. A thrust from Steel's sword cut through his heart.
"More purple blood." Nova pointed to a splotch ahead. "This way."
They ran down another dark corridor. The walls were jagged iron. The ceiling towered above them. Gears spun in the walls. There were no windows. It felt to Steel like walking through the dungeon of some ancient, medieval fortress of evil, seeking a princess to save.
I will find Midnight. I will find my princess.
They kept moving through the iron labyrinth, following the trail of purple blood. A great archway rose ahead, twenty feet tall; the trail led through it. A stench wafted from beyond, acidic, rotted. A low growl sounded.
Steel paused and looked at Nova. She stared back.
"There's something in there," Steel whispered.
Nova raised her chin and gave him a crooked smile. "Let's go kill it."
It felt like years since Steel had smiled, but now he smiled with her.
They raised their weapons and stepped through the archway.
They found themselves in a great hall, large as a cathedral. Many gears and levers covered the walls, floor, and ceiling, some of them larger than men. A narrow bridge spanned the length of the chamber, stretching over a chasm toward another doorway. Steam blasted out. Fires roared in pits. It was some sort of engine room, Steel realized.
And below in the chasm lived the engineer.
The creature was massive, larger than Steel's old castle on Earth. Ten of its tentacles spread out, turning gears, tugging levers, rearranging pipes, keeping the ship moving. Its many eyes blinked, and its mouth opened wide in the pit, ringed with teeth, screeching.
Nova's eyes widened. "Calamari!"
Steel grimaced. "Never could abide the stuff." He pointed. "Midnight's blood trails along the bridge. We pass."
He stepped onto the walkway. Nova grabbed his arm and held him back. "Let me walk first. I need room to swing my whip."
He stiffened. "I am a Knight of Sol. I will not let a woman walk before me while I trail behind. I will walk ahead,
defending you."
Nova tugged him closer to her and snarled. Her eyes flashed. "I am a princess of Ashmar, a planet of proud warriors. I am a gladiator. I tamed a thousand beasts. I wield a whip of pure energy. I will walk ahead." She tightened her grip on his arm. "We are equal here, Steel Starfire."
He stared into those burning green eyes. For many years, when Steel had looked at Nova, he had seen a shameful sight. A woman who acted like a man, who cursed and spat, who confused him. Who scared him.
Looking at her now, however, he saw a proud warrior. He saw a partner. He saw a sister-in-arms.
He nodded and bowed his head. "Forgive me, Nova." He looked back up at her. "Forgive me for everything. I've been a fool."
For an instant something damp and sad filled her eyes, but then she nodded. She smiled crookedly. "Let's go save your princess, Steel. Together."
She stepped onto the bridge. Steel walked behind her.
They had taken only ten steps into the engine room when the creature below squealed. Its tentacles—each one was as long as the Dragon Huntress—left the gears and levers they held. Its suckers smacked, each one full of teeth. The creature's eyes glared up from below, and the tentacles came flying toward Steel and Nova.
With a roar, Nova lashed her whip. "Down, beast!" she cried and burst into a run. "Down!"
One tentacle came swinging down above Steel. He ran, and the digit slammed into the walkway behind him, denting the metal. Another tentacle swung ahead, and Steel thrust his sword, lashing out light. The bolt slammed into the tentacle, knocking it aside, but another swung from his other side. It crashed against him, knocking him sideways.
Steel fell from the bridge.
He reached up and caught the ledge.
A tentacle grabbed his leg, biting, squeezing. Below in the pit, the creature's mouth smacked, ready to devour him.
Ahead on the bridge, Nova was swinging her whip in circles, holding back several other tentacles. Steel shouted in pain, kicked madly, and lashed down his sword. He cut through the tentacle that grabbed his leg, tugged mightily, and pulled himself back onto the bridge. He thrust his blade again, knocking back another of the creature's arms.
"Nova, keep running!" he shouted.
They raced along the bridge. The creature bucked below, reaching out toward them. Nova sliced through one tentacle with her whip; the severed digit slammed down, sank between two gears, and spurted blood as the gears crushed it.
They were almost across the bridge when a tentacle thrust up, grabbed Nova around her waist, and lifted her into the air.
She screamed, kicking madly. The creature pinned her arms to her sides; she could not swing her whip.
"Nova!" Steel cried.
He leaped toward her, sword flashing. He was too late. The tentacle tossed Nova through the air, and she went plunging down toward the great mouth below.
Steel gritted his teeth and jumped off the bridge.
Nova fell.
The creature's mouth opened, ready to swallow her.
As he plunged down, Steel thrust his sword before him, blasting light into the alien's maw.
The creature squealed, the light cutting through its palate, and closed its mouth an instant before Nova hit it. She slammed against its closed lips and rolled to the floor.
Steel hit the floor an instant later.
"Nova, I'm here." He grabbed her. He lifted her. She wrapped her arms around him.
The creature's blobby head rose ahead of them on the floor, massive, larger than both of them. Its mouth turned toward them, snapping its teeth.
"Hold me tight!" Nova said and swung her whip. The lash wrapped around the bridge above.
They leaped up, rising just before the creature's jaws could snap around them. They climbed the whip and tugged themselves back onto the bridge.
Blasting their weapons, they ran the last few steps and leaped through the far doorway.
They landed in a shadowy corridor.
Behind them, the great octopus squealed. When Steel looked over his shoulder, he saw the beast stretch its remaining tentacles toward the instruments. It continued its work, wounded and hungry, its prey gone.
Steel and Nova paused for only a moment, panting. The trail of purple blood stretched ahead. Steel raised his sword and Nova raised her whip. They kept following.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
INTO THE FIRE
Riff stood on the Dragon Huntress's bridge with Giga, staring out the windshield at the new starship approaching.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, he thought as cold sweat trickled down his back.
With Twig's makeshift engine, they had blasted out of the skelkrins' range. The massive, crablike warship was now many kilometers away, Steel and Nova invading its bowels. But this new warship that approached terrified Riff just as much.
The vessel was several times the Dragon Huntress's size, built like a great barracuda. It stormed forth through space, its jaws opening to reveal cannons. Its hull was shimmering silver, smooth, fluid. Its headlights blazed like eyes. Upon its hull appeared the words: "SS Barracuda, Holy Cosmian Order"
Riff grimaced and clutched his gun as if he could fire through the windshield and blast the enemy ship apart.
"Captain, message coming in from new vessel." Giga stepped toward him and held his hand.
"Put it on screen."
Giga nodded, suddenly not so happy to comply. With crackling static, a hideous countenance appeared on the HUD—a face half man, half metal.
"Grotter," Riff whispered.
The cyborg smiled a twitching smile. Gears clicked upon his face. "Riff Starfire. Did you think me dead? You've run far, boy. But now your running days are over. I will kill you now—the way I killed your mother thirty years ago." He raised his snapping claw of metal. "Die like she did—squealing like a pig."
The transmission died.
The SS Barracuda fired its guns.
Riff didn't even waste time shouting for Giga's help. He grabbed the manual controls and yanked the ship up. The clatter of counter-squares pieces, Twig's wrenches, and Romy's bottles of juice rose from the decks below. The blasts of Grotter's fire blazed under the ship. One grazed the hull, and the Dragon Huntress rattled madly. Sparks flew across the bridge, and the crack on the windshield stretched longer.
If that glass shatters, we'll all be sucked out into space.
"Piston!" Riff shouted into his communicator. "Piston, have you fixed our gun yet? We have to fire. Now."
"No can do, Captain!" rose the gruffle's voice through the speakers. "We can't fire without fuel."
"Rig the motors up to the gun! Come up with something, I don't care, but we need our dragonfire!"
"Aye, Captain!"
Riff yanked at the controls, trying to steer away, to escape. The fuel lights beeped. Empty. Empty.
The Barracuda fired again.
Riff yanked the Dragon sideways, moving closer to the planet. He dodged a few blasts of Grotter's fire. Another blast slammed into the Dragon's wing, tossing it into a spin.
Even Giga, always composed, screamed and squeezed his hand.
"He's tearing us apart, Captain," the android whispered, turning toward him. Fear filled her eyes.
The Barracuda fired again. Blasts pummeled the Dragon Huntress. Steam and fire blazed across the ship.
Riff winced, pulled Giga into his arms, and held her so close he almost crushed her.
* * * * *
"Twig, we've got to blow our dragonfire!" Piston cried. "Can we connect your motors to the plasma gun?"
Twig raced around the engine room, leaping over shattered pipes, fallen engine coils, and tools that swept across the swaying floor like jetsam. "It won't work! The gun needs fuel, Piston! No motor will work."
Piston ducked and leaped aside as wrenches and hammers fell from a shelf. Another blast of enemy fire hit the Dragon. Alarms blared. The attic hull was breached. Romy screamed and raced to hide behind Piston, tears in her eyes.
"What about your electric wrench?" Piston said. "Can we rig that?"
Twig shook her head, her long black hair in disarray. "It's no use, Piston. Without fuel, we can't fire our gun. Period." She turned to look at her rigged engine made of many smaller motors. "And this contraption is going to be out of battery power any moment now." She paused from running around, stared at Piston with wide eyes, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "We're done for."
Behind Piston, Romy wailed.
Piston spun around toward the blubbering demon, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her. "This is all your fault, you beast of Hell! If you hadn't drunk the fuel from the reserve tank, we'd have a chance, damn it."
Romy's lips wobbled, and tears poured down her red cheeks. "I was thirsty!" The fire on her head crackled like a guttering torch. "It's not my fault."
More blasts shook the ship. The alarms blared. A monitor displayed air blasting out of another breached room, this one the ship's washroom.
"Of course it's your fault!" Piston dug his fingers into Romy's arms. "You've doomed us all. You've doomed us to death! You— You— Why are you dancing?"
Romy was leaping from foot to foot, hands clasped between her thighs. She bit her lip. "Because I have to go to the bathroom!"
Piston groaned and rolled his eyes. "This isn't the time, Romy! You're not a toddler. The bathroom's blasted to bits. Hold it in!"
She hopped around, hands thrust between her thighs as if struggling to seal a dam. "But I drank too much fuel! I have to goooo."
"You can't! Unless you want to be sucked out of the bathroom hull into space, you—" Piston froze. He spun toward Twig, then back to Romy. "The . . . the fuel's still inside you?"
Romy whined. "So much it's about to come out of my ears!"
Piston spun toward Twig. The halfling stared back with wide eyes, her jaw hanging open.
"It might work," Piston whispered.
Twig covered her mouth. She spoke between her fingers. "It can't . . ."
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