His Woodland Maiden

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Raisa pointed at her and grinned. “Now that I know what flavor profiles you like I’m going to feed you more things than you ever imagined.” She turned to Rick. “And for you?”

  “I’ll have the same.” Rick leaned next to her and whispered, “I don’t want to risk not being able to kiss you later.”

  “Well, that’s not much of a food challenge,” Raisa grumbled as she went to program a second serving.

  Harper chuckled and bumped his cheek playfully with the tip of her nose as she chewed. When she swallowed, she asked, “I’m curious. How did you all find each other?”

  “Long story,” Rick said.

  “Not for me. I was buried alive by thieves, clawed my way out, went to retrieve my molecular gastro-spectrometer, didn’t go well, Jackson helped me, and I’ve lived on the ship ever since.” Raisa brought the second meat-bread to Rick before sitting with them at the table. She didn’t eat. “The way I heard it, Violette tried to kidnap Dev and they fell in love. Alexis snuck on board when the crew was shopping at the Pleasure Droid warehouse.”

  “Not sneak. She followed Rick,” Viktor corrected. “He thought she was a droid and was in love with him.”

  Harper arched a brow.

  “My brother and I were in the process of being hung by corrupt law enforcement on Senthianick,” Viktor answered. “Sam captained the crew back then and saved us. Dev was being crucified on an Old Earth settlement on a Data Moon Base. Jackson and Lochlann were part of a crew run by Sam’s brother-by-marriage. It just happened that we all had the same purpose.”

  “And you?” she looked expectantly at Rick.

  Rick took a big bite of food to keep from answering.

  “Rick was a sad case, all lost and lonely. We took pity on him and let him join,” Viktor said, smirking.

  Rick made a noise of protest and swallowed. “Hardly. You begged me to join up with you.”

  “No. Don’t recall that.” Viktor took another piece of bacon.

  “I had a run-in with the Medical Mafia. They wanted a cut of my salvage load, I didn’t want to share, they sent a contract killer after me. I had the upper hand when Sam and these misfits showed up, and next thing I know, I’m abandoning the load and saving their asses.”

  “You were barely moving when you were brought on this ship. The contractor beat you nearly to death. If not for Sam, you would have died in a mud puddle,” Viktor corrected.

  “She sounds like a special woman,” Harper said.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Rick isn’t in love with her anymore,” Viktor said.

  “Shut your black hole.” Rick tore a piece of meat-bread and threw it at his crewmate. To Harper, he explained, “I was never in love with Sam. She risked her life for us when she didn’t have to. Without her, we might not have lived. She showed us we could have a purpose.”

  Harper couldn’t help the small pang of jealousy that she felt seeing the way the men spoke of their old captain. There was a reverence in their tone. Sam was the source of their current philosophies. She was the reason they didn’t think twice about saving a group of people they had never met.

  “I would like to meet her,” Harper said. “She sounds like an amazing woman.”

  “She is,” Viktor agreed.

  For a moment, she’d convinced herself her place on this ship was real, but the truth was she did not belong here. She was an HIA agent. If they survived this, she would go on to another mission. Rick would do his space pirate thing. Their paths should never have crossed in the first place. There was no foreseeable future for them.

  That didn’t mean she didn’t wish there was a way for them to be together. Her chest hurt, and she had a hard time swallowing. Realizing the three of them looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for a reaction to what they had told her, she said, “Thank you for the meat-bread, Raisa.”

  “Do you want another?” Raisa began to stand.

  Harper hadn’t finished the portion she’d been given and shook her head. “No, thank you. This is perfect.”

  “Do I smell bacon?” Alexis appeared in the doorway with Violette.

  The women entered, distracting the attention from Harper.

  Seeing Rick, they paused and then shared a look.

  “What?” he asked over a mouthful of food.

  “We were coming to find you,” Alexis said.

  He swallowed and moved to stand. “Is the Ingeniarian ship back?”

  “No,” Violette assured him. “I think we lost them. Your artificial nebula flyby stunt worked.”

  He settled back into his seat.

  “We need to talk to you.” Alexis sat down across from them next to Raisa.

  Rick leaned back and placed his hand on Harper’s thigh under the table. A small tingle ran along her leg at the caress.

  “It’s about the ship,” Violette added.

  “What did you do to my girl?” He frowned. His fingers tightened on her leg. “You broke something, didn’t you? Blast it, Vi, I told you to stop poking around at the controls. My lady needs a special kind of touch.”

  “I’m still not sure if I’m supposed to be jealous,” Harper said toward Raisa as the other three were having a conversation.

  Raisa chuckled.

  “No, you’re my lady-lady,” Rick assured Harper. “She’s my ship-lady.”

  “That doesn’t comfort me.” Harper laughed.

  “Rick, you’re a space cadet.” Viktor slapped at Alexis’ hand when she tried to steal a piece of bacon from his plate. Raisa instantly stood and went to the food simulator.

  “What about my ship?” Rick insisted, his fingers working up her leg before snaking across her back to curl around her hip. He inched her closer to him. Harper felt his concern translated in his touch even though his tone was easygoing.

  “Oh, hey, Vik.” Violette pointed at his face and then swiped at her cheek as if to tell him something was on his face. When he automatically reached up to rub his cheek, Alexis swiped two pieces of bacon and passed one to Violette.

  “Oh, come on, ladies, that’s mine,” Viktor protested.

  Raisa appeared with a fresh batch, and he instantly grabbed a handful and dropped it on his plate to more than replace what was stolen.

  “What about my ship?” Rick said louder.

  “We need to—” Violette shoved the bacon into her mouth.

  Rick leaned forward and stared at her.

  Violette swallowed. “We need to destroy the ship.”

  Rick started to laugh, but it was a strangled sound as he realized they were serious. “What? No. You’re not touching this ship.”

  “Technically, we’re all touching the ship,” Viktor said.

  Rick slashed his hand in the man’s direction to shut him up while keeping his attention on Alexis and Violette.

  “I think I’ve figured out a way to create a modified version of old electromagnetic technology that would send out a pulse big enough to disrupt all side stitches and Ingeniarian security in and near the factory. It should also take out any of the bionics on the guards, at least damage their cyborg halves. That doesn’t mean they won’t have the ability to fight, but it would level the playing field. This also includes any communication feeds sent to the second planet.” Alexis grabbed another piece of bacon. “It’s our best chance.”

  “And you’re worried about the ship?” Rick waves his hand as if dismissing the concern. “Jackson, Dev, Lochlann, and I can set the charge. The rest of you can take the ship up into orbit, where it will be safe until we’re done.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Violette said.

  “I’m not staying on the ship while you all fight my fight,” Harper protested. “This is my mission. Freeing the workers on Ingeniare Three might not be exactly what the HIA had in mind, but they won’t care as long as I disrupt the Ingeniarian’s power growth. We have agents in place who will automatically ensure the damage stays done. They might not know what’s happening, but they’ll take any opportunity they see. So, I’ll set of
f the pulse. You all stay on the ship until it’s done. Then we’ll load as many people as we can cram on board and get the hell out of there.”

  “You don’t understand,” Alexis said. “This ship would be the source of the pulse. It would be the first thing fried.”

  “You want to blow up our ship, our home?” Rick ran his hand over the table as if petting a living thing.

  “Not blow up, more destroy as in fry every system and leave it as a hulk of useless metal,” Violette said. “If we do this, this ship is not getting off the planet, not unless some hauler comes to scavenge it.”

  “What about the idea to give them something to stop the bleeding?” Rick asked. “Then we wouldn’t have to pulse anything.

  “As I mentioned before, they mostly eat nutrient paste,” Raisa said. Then glancing at Harper, she added, “Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just helps paint the picture of the conditions. We’d have to spike an entire shipment and hope it gets to all the people in the doses we’d need. That could take years depending on when they receive shipments.”

  “Wait,” Viktor interrupted. “If we take out everything on Ingeniare Three, and we disable our ship, you’re basically saying we could end up trapped on-world?”

  Violette and Alexis nodded. Raisa ran her hand through her hair and bowed her head.

  “It’s a work in progress,” Alexis said.

  “What’s the point of freeing the population if we can’t rescue the population once they’re freed? Do you expect everyone to hide on the planet?” Viktor frowned. “How long do you think it will take for the Ingeniarian government to hunt them down and reactivate the side stitches?”

  “That might happen,” Violette admitted, “but I think the point is we have to try.”

  “All I know is, if it were me, I’d want the chance.” Harper didn’t like this plan in its current state but trying something was better than nothing. If they’d been talking about her parents, if there had been a chance to save them, she’d have wanted someone to try. “If they’re purged, the workers are dead, anyway. At least this way they have a chance.”

  “What about you?” Rick gave Alexis a pointed stared. “If it shuts down everything you say it will, what about your nanoids? You can’t live without them. We tried that before.”

  “Most of those are already inactive,” Alexis answered. “I think I might have that figured out.”

  “Might have? How about you tell us what you do have figured out? Because if you dying is part of this plan, then we need a new plan. Period.” Rick placed his hands on the table and stared her down.

  Alexis nodded. “We have an empty scavenged radioactive holding container we can use. The protective box will be big enough to hold a few comms and lights when the pulse goes off but not much else. It’s not radioactive, but it should work for our purposes. If we put the power source we took from the tracker inside with the comms, that one source should be enough to reactivate anyone who might have my unique issues—not that I expect there will be. I’m also devising something I can wear to protect me. We have all those scavenged ESC crates from Sintaz.”

  Rick looked around at the mess hall for a long moment before saying. “The ship doesn’t matter compared to what’s at stake. Let’s do it. This is more plan than we’ve had going into most situations. The universes haven’t killed us yet. We’ll figure out the rest of the details when we land.”

  “And when the other two planets figure out what’s going on? Then what?” Viktor asked. “Do we at least have a plan for that?”

  “With any luck, we’ll find enough supplies outside of the pulsed dead zone to repair the ship to minimum function at least long enough to get as many people as we can off-world and someplace else.” Alexis didn’t appear convinced by her own words.

  “We were hoping maybe Harper could help us figure out something. If agents are already in place, maybe they can make sure what we are doing remains hidden, or at least buy us some time.” Violette looked at her expectantly. “Or maybe even get someone to send a ride to pick us up? We could hide with the workers and pretend to be new arrivals getting ready to be fitted with a side stitch. If we’re prisoners, there is no reason why we would know what’s happening. That way the HIA won’t have a reason to consider us a threat.”

  Harper shook her head. This was too damned risky. “We might be able to convince the HIA you had nothing to do with it, but if not the newcomers, then who?”

  “What if we say one of the guards betrayed them?” Lucien suggested.

  This plan was built around long shots and wishful thinking. They’d need more than skill to make this work, they’d need pure luck.

  “I can’t ask any of you to do this,” Harper said. “If you’re willing to sacrifice the ship, I’ll fly it in and set it off. I can drop you somewhere along the way, and you can go about your lives.”

  They all turned to her and stared as if that was the stupidest thing they’d ever heard.

  “I’m going to forget you said that,” Violette said.

  “No,” Raisa answered at the same time. “We’re doing this.”

  “Yeah, not happening,” Alexis added. “Too much could go wrong. You can’t fly the ship, and set off the modified EMP, and fight all the guards who will surely not be happy at an alien invasion. Even if you can normally maneuver a ship like this, it will be impossible between all of Rick’s modifications and the systems we had to rig with spare parts done to it over the years. There’s no way I can teach you all the alien technology you will need to know in case something goes wrong with the pulse. I have the files in my head. I need to be there when it happens, and I need Raisa and Viktor helping me. We’ll have to connect it to the ship after we land. It’s too dangerous to do while we’re flying. Lucien will keep track of everyone and relay orders. Jackson, Lochlann, Dev, and Rick will handle any guards left standing after the pulse. Everyone will help with crowd control. There is sure to be confusion and panic amongst the workers.”

  “I’ll help with the guards,” Violette said. “Blasters will be down so it’ll be hand-to-hand combat.”

  “I think there may be something in the Hungariz lab we can use to help subdue the guards,” Alexis said, “and help any locals who may have a reaction to the side stitch deactivating. With instant shut off, it shouldn’t release any blood thinners because we’re not pulling them out. It’s a low-tech solution but there are manual injectors in the lab.”

  “I can show you how they work if any of you hasn’t used them before,” Harper offered.

  Rick grunted. “Yeah, she has no problem using injectors.”

  Harper hit him lightly on the leg. He winked at her.

  “I’ll go with the forward team,” Harper said, knowing she should be on the frontline of the fight. “I can try to get a message to the agents on Ingeniare Two and let them know I’m with cleared HIA assets, but I’m not sure I’ll hear back from them by the time we arrive. With a great amount of luck, they’ll be able to arrange to have someone help with the relocation. Even on the very remote chance we get a ship to transport the population from the planet, I can’t guarantee what will happen to this crew if someone decided to check on your asset status because you’re not going to be cleared in the system. We can try to hide some of you with the population and smuggle you out.”

  “We’ve had worse odds,” Violette said.

  “When?” Lucien asked.

  “Any time Rick gets behind the flight controls,” she answered.

  Rick ignored her teasing. “And what is our excuse to get close enough to do this? Or are we going in hot?”

  “Still working on that part. I think there is a landing pad we can use to put us in the right position,” Alexis answered.

  “I’m sure you can come up with a quick excuse to talk our way in, Rick,” Violette said.

  Rick nodded. He pushed up from the table and held his hand out to Harper. “If you need us, I’ll be kissing Harper in our quarters.”

  Harper s
lipped her hand into his and let him lead her from the mess hall. To Raisa, she said, “Thanks again for the food.”

  Raisa gave a small wave.

  As she turned the corner, she heard Raisa say, “I think I’m going to track down Jackson.”

  “If you need me, I’ll be with Dev in the cargo hold,” Violette said.

  “Yeah, I think Lochlann was taking a nap. I’m going to join him,” Alexis said.

  “Viktor, you need anything?” Raisa asked.

  “I’m going to be right here with all the bacon,” he answered. “My sweet, sweet bacon.”

  Rick ran his hand along the corridor wall, tracing the soft glow of light that shone from behind its clear casing. “I know this ship doesn’t look like much—she’s old and starting to rust, her insides are cobbled together from scavenged parts, and we had a blood-drinking monster hidden in the walls for years without knowing it. This was my first home. After Sam and the guys saved me, this is where we became a family. I know every inch of this ship, all her secrets and her quirks. She saved our lives more than a few times.” A small laugh escaped him. “And she almost killed us a few times, too.”

  Harper stopped walking and watched his back. He took several steps before realizing she wasn’t following. When he turned to face her, she said, “I have to ask again if you’re sure. This is your home. You love this ship. I can find another way to help—”

  “You need to let me finish. As much as I love the freedom this ship represents, it’s only metal and wires. What matters are the people she carries. We’ll find another ship someday.” Rick tapped the wall thoughtfully with the pads of his fingers. “From the very first rivet, this ship was destined for adventure—not some boring cargo freighter or transporter. I can think of no better end for her run than to help free those trapped on Ingeniare Three. There is no choice to make. The Bound Virgin is meeting her end, and she’s going out in true pirate style.”

  14

  The feeling of Harper against Rick’s skin lingered even when she wasn’t near him. It remained pressed between his flesh and clothes, embedded on his nerves, and twisted into his soul. He now understood what he could have lost with the curse, what he still might lose. To those looking in, four happy couples out of five would still be considered a great success in breaking a curse, but not if you were the one left standing heartbroken.