Change Horizons: Three Novellas (14 page)

“She’ll stay with me. I’m used to having her around.” Dana followed as he motioned for them to walk behind him along the narrow corridor. Corrosion and leaking hydraulics made even the air taste of metal. Mindful of slick oil puddles, she memorized what she could of the ship’s layout.

“That may be, but I don’t want some old woman breathing down my neck.”

“Don’t tell me that you want a setup fit for a queen too,” Dana said sweetly. Boransh looked like he wanted to either object or merely swat her. She was fairly sure he wouldn’t physically hurt her, as that would lower her going price. “How big is your crew?”

“Just me and four other guys.”

Finally some good news, if he was indeed telling the truth. “Am I expected to…entertain them as well?”

“No!” Now Boransh looked angry for the first time. “You’re my catch. You owe
me
, not them. They’re simple men, all fugitives with a price on their head. Nothing for a queen such as you.”

Dana heard EiLeen huff behind her.

“You’re so right, Boransh. I used to be accustomed to the finer things in life.” Dana swallowed against the bile at having to touch even his clothes, but took his arm and looked admiringly at him. “So these simple men, do they join you, the captain of this fine vessel, on the bridge?”

“You’re joking?” Boransh patted her hand, making her stomach turn over. “They’re in engineering in shifts of two. I have a fully automated bridge that I easily operate myself without any input from those fools.”

“Sounds like you have it figured out here aboard the—the…What is the name of your ship?” Dana infused admiration in her voice.

“The
Quistamajar
.”

Noting the information, Dana continued. “Now, about those queen-like quarters of yours? I really need to freshen up.”

“I’ll show you. Your maid—”

“Will help me. Freshen up.” Donning a broad smile, Dana nearly chuckled at how this man swallowed her every word. He really was full of himself if he thought a woman like her would ever find him the least bit appealing. Even if he’d bathed and had basic dental procedures, she couldn’t see anything redeeming about him.

As Boransh punched in the command to get inside the captain’s quarters, Dana gazed pointedly at EiLeen, who in turn pushed her shawl aside enough for Dana to see the long, greasy pipe in her hands.
Now, that’s what a real queen would be. Proactive.

Inside the quarters, which were marginally cleaner than the corridor, Dana circled Boransh and tossed her hair provocatively over her shoulders. “This isn’t bad,” she said, beaming. “I can see myself being quite comfortable here.”

“Excellent—” Boransh’s expression was a strange mix of blankness and surprise as he fell forward on the floor.

“Damn. I think I broke a nail.” EiLeen poked the large man with the pipe before letting it go, making a disgusted face. “If he’d leered at you one more time, I swear—”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s find something to tie him up with.” Dana scanned the room. An assorted set of ropes and other bindings close to the bed made her stomach curl. “Something tells me it will be poetic justice to tie him with those. Wonder how many not-so-willing women he’s strapped to his bed?”

“Quite a few, if you take into account that he has had rings welded to the bulkhead for that purpose.” EiLeen pointed. “Poetic justice indeed.”

They managed to drag the man onto the low bed and secure his arms and legs spread-eagle to the wall and the footboard. Dana wanted to make sure he couldn’t give any audio commands to override the ship’s computer, even though she doubted the small vessel actually boasted such a feature. She pushed a sock she found on the floor into his mouth and secured it with a gag she fashioned from EiLeen’s “shawl.”

“There. He looks comfy.” EiLeen smirked. “Better get to the bridge before someone misses him.”

Dana regarded the man who’d planned to use her and then sell her to others, no doubt. He looked rather pathetic tied up on his own bed, but she was fresh out of pity for the likes of him. “Come on.”

Working their way back, they didn’t run into any of the men who worked on the lower decks. No doubt they were intimidated by Boransh and kept to themselves. Hopefully they would find him intimidating enough to never question where he decided to steer the ship.

Two decks up they found the bridge. Dark and dingy like the rest of the ship, it was still an average bridge that seemed functional enough. Glancing to her right, she spotted a rusty plate that confirmed Boransh had provided the correct name for the ship. “Okay, here goes,” Dana said, muttering. “The
Quistamajar
to flight control. Departing ahead of schedule.”

“You won’t get any credit refund,” a gruff voice said, sounding as bored as the gatekeeper had. “Let me make sure you’re not in debt at any of the tables.” A few nervous minutes passed. “Disengaging security lock. Propulsion system start allowed.”

Dana punched in the commands to take them to a safe distance from the station before she engaged maximum speed, not caring what limitations this flying bucket had. “Bye-bye,” she muttered as she cleared the inner perimeter. “I think it’s safe to say this was the first and last time I’ll set foot in such a place without backup.”

“I found the place very educational,” EiLeen said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, yes? What on earth did you learn?” Dana glanced over at the woman who now looked like herself again.

“That I’m prepared to do anything to keep you safe. If I hadn’t known it wouldn’t go down well with you, I would have hit that despicable man in the captain’s quarters hard enough to end his life. All for placing his filthy hands on you.” She shrugged but gazed cautiously at Dana.

“As a matter of fact, if the roles had been reversed, I would’ve reacted the same way. I was furious when he tried to suggest I’d put you down with the unhappy foursome below.”

EiLeen relaxed marginally, her body no longer ramrod. “That’s reassuring.” She smiled. “Let’s get out of here, then, Captain.”

“Certainly, my Queen.”

“This ship is in deplorable condition,” EiLeen said, regarding the bridge. “How can people live like this?”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Dana made a wry face. “My aunt struggled to clean, but every surface in our house always had a thin layer of the dust from the mining operation. I couldn’t wait to leave. The only sanitary place was the cleaning tube. As soon as I walked out, all I did was rub more grimy dust onto my skin from the towels.”

“Where did you grow up?”

“In a mining district with my aunt and uncle. We moved onto a space station when my uncle got a new job at an asteroid mining company. I wasn’t too thrilled with my aunt, even if I owe her for taking care of me after my parents died. She tried to keep me from joining the fleet academy since she wanted me to become a teacher on the station and…well, I guess, she wanted me to stay. I ended up leaving at sixteen.”

“Ever go back?”

“No.” Dana blanched and turned around. “Nothing to go back to. Pirates destroyed the space station after they cleaned out everything of value.” She paused and then looked at EiLeen with dull, gray eyes. “I have nothing personal left to return to.”

“Darling.” Not concerned about the small ship’s dirt any longer, EiLeen maneuvered over to kneel next to Dana. “I can’t bear to see you like this. Once we’re out of range of any potential followers, I’ll make sure you know you’re not alone anymore.” Hesitating briefly, she touched Dana’s chin. “Or do I assume too much?”

“No.” Only her trembling breath betrayed the emotional storm inside Dana. “I’d say you’re spot-on.”

“Good.” EiLeen’s stomach unclenched and her heart mellowed its wild movements. “Good.”

“Can you pull up the specs of this piece-of-crap can?” Dana straightened and focused on the helm console. “I have a feeling we’re going to need any and all advantages we can think of. We also need to make sure the basement quartet stays put.”

Understanding that Dana was trying to hold it together despite lack of sleep and emotional turbulence, EiLeen patted her shoulder and then walked over to what she surmised was the operations console under all the dust. She punched in commands that would allow them to relax some.

“I’ve sealed the doors from the lower decks,” she said calmly, “and deployed perimeter beacons around us using regular lasers. A little trick one of my friends in the intelligence service showed me.”

“Sounds good. Is this your way of saying we might just rest a little?”

“As long as we do it right here on the bridge. Rest a little, I mean.” Annoyed at herself for the warmth on her cheeks and earlobes, EiLeen busied herself by taking what was left of her “shawl” and wiping off two chairs placed together at the far right. “These look like they actually recline a bit.”

“Fantastic. I’m all for relaxing and reclining at this point. Wonder if they have something to eat on this bridge?”

“Eat?” Aghast, EiLeen looked around them. “You’ve seen the deplorable state of this vessel, which is a very forgiving way to describe this flying soup can, and you suggest we feed off
anything
that individual we just strapped to his bed has touched?”

“Um. When you put it that way…Will you stop looking around as if you think some Golibedarian ham will round the corner and eat
us
?” Dana ran her hand over her face. “Stars and skies, you’re right, but I’m famished.”

“I’m hungry too. I suppose I could venture out of here and find the galley. If there’s actual canned stuff, we might risk it.”

“I’m not too fond of the idea of you going alone.”

“I’ll be fine. Just keep your eye on the stars and I’ll be back in a few moments. I have my communicator.”

“Good.” Dana looked half-placated.

EiLeen passed Dana and pressed her lips to her cheek briefly. “See you soon.”

“All right. Be safe.”

The ship was ghostly when it was void of any other sound than her own steps. She walked briskly, checking her position with the help of small charts at each intersection. There was a logical structure that had worked well for the ship once, and soon she found the galley. The smell of something musky and old made her nearly turn and go back to the bridge instantly. Instead she poked her head in, hand on her communicator, but all she saw was the huge mess left by whatever crewmember had cooking on his schedule.

She opened cabinets one after another and was about to despair when she found four cans of something that reminded her of her childhood’s vegetable soup. She was looking around for something to open them with when the ship lurched, sending her careening into the bulkhead. She dropped the cans, which rolled away from her. Tearing at her communicator, she hung on to the small preparation table that was attached to the deck. “Dana! Talk to me, what’s happening?”

“Damn it, they’re right on top of us, and below for that matter.” Dana’s voice sounded pressed. “They’ve taken out our weapons array, not that this damn ship had an array to speak of.”

“I’m on my way back. Are these the same ones as before?”

“I think so, from what I can see on the security-station console. They showed up out of nowhere so they must have cloaking ability. Sounds like the same—ow!”

“Dana!” EiLeen ran down the corridor that sometimes disappeared under her feet. She clung to the hand railing on the wall but knew the ship was losing its inertial dampening. “Damn it, Dana, what did you do? Are you all right?” As she pulled herself forward it was like climbing the Imidestrian chain of mountains where she kept a summerhouse.

“Just fell over the helm and put a crack in Boransh’s lovely view screen with my head. Damn, what a bump.” Dana’s moan propelled EiLeen forward. Her palms burned as she slid along the wall and later the deck. She fell hard onto her knees twice, and the second time she heard the fabric rip in her pants, and her skin as well. Wanting to use the most obscene of Imidestrian swear words, she bit her lower lip and forged on.

“EiLeen, the alarm you set? The perimeter beacons? They’re blaring all over the port side.”

“Which deck?”

“Decks four and five.”

“I locked the guys in the lower decks, one and two, out. Decks four and five are still within reach.” Now the ship was nearly stalling, which in itself was impossible in space, but that was the best way to describe the insanely steep climb she would have to make to reach the bridge.

“We’re losing pressure on deck five. Trying to seal it.”

“They’re boarding us!” EiLeen pressed so hard with her feet now, she heard her bones creak.
Damn legs. Maybe I
am
too old?
She climbed, calling out Dana’s name every few meters.

“We’re being boarded, EiLeen. Get a move on. I can see them passing bulkheads, as Boransh is clearly big on inner sensors. They’re two decks below you.”

“At least we know they have to climb too. That’ll slow them down.”

“And you.” Dana sounded composed, though her voice sounded faintly tinged with desperation.

“Hey, I’m all right. I’ll be with you on the bridge in two minutes. You haven’t failed your mission.”

“I don’t give a damn about the mission. I just want you back here now.”

“One. Minute.” Nearly losing her breath, EiLeen pulled herself up along the handrails, using the soft soles of her shoes to push her way upward. She could see the double doors leading to the bridge. “Figure out. A way to. Seal the doors, Dana. Or. We will have to. Abandon the bridge.”

“On it!”

Eventually, EiLeen pulled herself almost over the edge of the doorway to the bridge. Inside she saw Dana clinging to the command chair. “How’s the boarding team doing?”

“Struggling, but doing better than you. They were evidently ready for this turn of events and brought arti-grav boots.”

“Brilliant.” Artificial-gravitation boots would give them the edge as the ship carried on like an untamed ghazellia.
EiLeen was about to flip over the edge of the doorway and join Dana when something hit her head. She cried out and clutched at the pain above her ear. “Scets!” Cursing in Imidestrian helped some, but the gesture had made her lose her grip and she was now bouncing across the sloping floor toward the other side of the corridor.

“EiLeen, what happened?” Dana yelled from the bridge.

She opened her mouth to say she was all right when she saw something move in the outer part of her field of vision. Four individuals were stomping their way toward her. They looked surreal, like they were defying gravity by walking on the wall. Arti-grav boots indeed.

“Dana, we’ve got company. Four of them. I need a weapon. Something!”

“Do not move.” A dark male voice thundered from the comm system.

“What the hell?” Dana called out. “Did they tap into the whole system? Who has such technology?”

“I’d say that’s the last piece of the puzzle, Dana. The Onotharians.”

“What? In SC territory?” Dana’s voice faded. “Stars and skies, this is bad.”

“No kidding.” EiLeen pushed at the wall, trying to get back through the door to the bridge. Perhaps they’d find a way to block it from inside.

“Seize that female. She’s our main objective.” The closest figure in a black space suit pointed at EiLeen. “Do you have the extraction device ready?”

“Aye, sir. I have to locate which lobe they’ve used.”

“Just cut her head open. We have no use for her once the implant is extracted.”

“There’s no need to kill her—”

“
Enough!
Follow orders or merely decapitate her. Then you can explain to our superiors why you insisted on bringing back such a bloody mess.”

“Understood, sir.”

“EiLeen, did you hear that? You have to get away from there.” Dana’s voice echoed. She had switched from Premoni to English, probably hoping the thugs didn’t understand.

“I’m trying,” EiLeen said, moaning as she pushed for her life. “Damn ship…I can’t…” She mobilized what was left of her strength and managed to get hold of the door frame. Sobbing out of sheer fury, she pulled herself up, kicking her legs to gain momentum. Finally sitting on the door, which was now effectively the floor, she was just about to move her feet up when she felt a strong, gloved hand around her ankle. It pulled at her, squeezing so hard, she feared the man would fracture it. She looked down and saw the man in the black space suit just below the doorway. Her reflexes sent her free foot down in a hard kick, hitting his narrow helmet at the temple. Clearly he hadn’t seen that coming, as he swore loudly over the comm system and loosened his grip. EiLeen pulled her leg free and scooted backward.

“EiLeen, here!” Dana called out. She threw something rather large and bulky toward her.

EiLeen reached up before the object passed her and broke yet another nail as she grabbed what turned out to be some strange-looking alien sidearm. She frowned at the settings but merely turned it on, relieved when it hummed reassuringly in her grip.

Suddenly the two hands were on her both her legs as the man heaved his way up toward her. Behind her the other three were making their way up through the door opening.

“EiLeen, fire! Shoot them!” Dana’s voice was filled with panic. “I’m trying to get over there, but—”

“Surrender, woman. Your days of espionage are over. The Onotharian Empire will rise again.” The man growled as he pulled EiLeen toward him.

Not hesitating a second longer, EiLeen aimed at him and fired. The man threw himself sideways and the beam from the alien gun hit the one behind him. The person fell motionless through the door and disappeared out of sight without a sound. EiLeen fired at the one to the left and then at the horrible person with the damn lobotomy kit. They went through the door just as silently. The man in charge of the operation against her grabbed the metal bag from the unconscious or dead lobotomizer, then turned his attention back at EiLeen, this time also with a weapon directed at her.

“As I said, you might as well surrender. I will make it painless.”

EiLeen thought fast. What if she let him really close and then took advantage of his nearness by firing at close range? Clearly he hadn’t fired at her yet because any disruptive weapon might kill the implant, rendering it useless. It needed to be extracted properly or, as gross as it sounded, cut out.

The ship lurched again.

“…come in, Begoll vessel. Are you present, Captain Rhoridan? The
Koenigin
to Begoll vessel…”

“
Koenigin
, Rhoridan here. We have intruders and need immediate assistance. What’s your position, Commander L’Ley?”

“We have you on our screen. ETA ten minutes. Bringing friends.”

“Step on it, L’Ley.”

“Aye, Captain.”

EiLeen was trembling so hard now she could barely keep hold of the weapon. Edging toward the ledge framing the bridge, which now acted as a partial roof, she hoped to climb onto the other side. Just as she shifted her grip on the weapon, the old ship rolled and sent her flying like a projectile. A railing passed her lower arms, and she grabbed it with her free hand. A dark shadow shot past her, and then hard hands tugged at her legs. She almost let go. Excruciating pain shot through her arm toward her shoulder, and she couldn’t suppress a deep moan. Then soft, but strong hands gripped her arm and helped her not to fall. She looked up into Dana’s stormy dark eyes.

“Shoot him, EiLeen. Hurry!”

EiLeen raised the heavy gun, its handle so thick in her hand she was afraid she’d drop it. Pointing it toward the furious face of the hateful man wanting to kill her, she pressed the sensor and kept her finger on it.