Nightmares & Dreams: A Science Fantasy Space Western: Eydulan Series Book 2 (9 page)

Whisper says, “Protective of myself would be a better conclusion. You are an extension of my housing after all. So I would prefer to see you, and therefor me, unharmed.”

Kat says, “See. What she said.”

Gravan squints his face, and Kat sees the worry in his face. The only thing that might put his mind at ease is something she didn’t want to do. It was the only way to get her into Guild space safely, and have someone she trusts by her side till she gets there. She needs to call Knox.

***

It took about a week before everything was set. A lot of that time was traveling through Conglomerate space, to reach Earth territory just to get to Bexar Omega. She had called Knox and told him everything. It was harder than she expected it was going to be. Telling her father she was going to need to take her to a prison and not just any prison but Ragnarok. The look on his face when she told him that was where she needed to go was heartbreaking. He already knew some of the story. His military contacts and the talkative ferry groups. Between the two he already pieced together what really happened. He wasn’t expecting her to call him for that, but he agreed to it all the same. Kat hated having to do that to him, but it was the only way she could get there safely.

When they landed at Bexar Omega it was all hugs and happy greetings. That faded quickly as Kat started to dwell on what was about to be in front of her. She didn’t want Knox or Gravan to worry, but knew she couldn’t stop them. Her destination was the most secure prison known to man filled with some of the most dangerous men and women able to control forces beyond her understanding. She couldn’t blame them for their concern, she just hoped it was the right choice.

Gale was overjoyed to see her daughter home, and sad that she was going off to something so dangerous again. She already had a huge meal waiting on the table. Knox had told Kat on the way over that Gale had been cooking for hours. He had explained to her what he knew and why Kat was there. Gale was beside herself. Which lead to cooking, baking, and cleaning.

A few hours after that, both Kat and Knox were headed to Ragnarok in Knox’s shuttle. Knox had a fake extradite order for Katrice Wylde bandit of Raspiel and owner of stolen Guild tech. Which was all true, to the Guild. Knox had some handcuffs waiting for her in a cage which was in the cargo hold. When they get closer she can put them on to look the part.

It had been a really long time since Kat had been alone with Knox. The last time was a trip where he brought her to see Earth for the first time. He picked up a ferry job delivering something. It was always a mystery what it was, but he said it wasn’t for them to find out. She feels like she was so young back then, thinking back on it now. She really didn’t know how anything worked. Life, love, home. They were all new.

Knox hadn’t said much on the trip over. They were getting close to the edge of Guild territory. He turns his head to her, and back to the controls.

Kat could tell there was something on his mind. He wasn’t one to keep things unsaid, which worried her. She asks, “What is it Knox?”

He looks back at her staring with sad eyes, “Are you sure this is the right thing to do? There isn’t any other way to get your friend out of there?”

“I’m sure. Gravan and I talked about it a lot. Ragnarok is not an easy place to get into or out of, but I’m sure you knew that. I do have Whisper with me if that makes you feel better. She has a lot of different uses now that she’s had time to unlock more of her blackboxes.”

Whisper says, “Yes, I’m turning into quite the inanimate multitool.”

“Again with the sarcasm.”

“That is what I do.”

Knox laughs. “I guess having her with you is better than just going in alone. Make sure to take care of her Whisper. She’s my little girl, and I would hate to lose her or you.”

Whisper says, “I… yes I can do that.”

“Good. Now I know we haven’t talked about this part yet. There is a cage in the back and two pairs of cuffs. One is for your calfs, the other is for your forearms. Put them on in that order, the door to the cage will lock automatically once you get in. From there just sit tight till we reach Ragnarok.”

Kat says, “Ok. Should I go now?”

“You should. We are only a few minutes away from the first Guild outpost and we don’t need them seeing you wandering around the ship.”

Kat nods, gets out of her chair and heads to the back. She stops and goes back, giving Knox a bear hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks Knox, I love you, and thank you for doing this. I know it can’t be easy.”

“It isn’t, and I love you too. Now go on and get back in there before you make this old man cry or lose his nerve.”

Knox’s shuttle was a small cargo ship. It could hold about half of what the Felicity could, and didn’t have all the extra rooms like the medical bay, and armory. The cage was the only thing in the cargo hold, and was being held down by large metal clamps. The door was already open with two pairs of cuffs laying on the single person cot which was welded to the side. Seeing this made it start to feel real. She was really going to do this, get herself captured to stage a rescue.

Taking a sharp breath in and out she steps into the cage, the door closing behind her. The automatic lock click into place as metal rods slowly get into place. The cot was hard as she suspected. Nothing like the bed she had on Felicity, but nothing she wasn’t expecting. She then latched the calf cuffs on, which seem too big for her. With both sides latched they tighten down on her. Not uncomfortable, but who wants cuffs on in the first place. Then the forearms, which worked much the same way. This whole experience has let her realize she never wants to be incarcerated. Ever. Or at least not a second time after this.

Kat says, “Alright Whisper, your turn.”

“Since I haven’t done this before, it might sting a little. I am still trying to figure out how all of this will work.”

“You haven’t? Well thats great.”

“Yes, I know. I just hope that once I get inside you the constant sloshing doesn’t drive me crazy.”

Knox’s voice comes over the speakers, “Alright Kat, we’re here. Time to get your game face on.”

Kat says, “Ok Knox, thanks. Whisper hurry.”

Whisper says, “Be expecting a pinch. Or two.”

Thousands of tiny pin pricks happen around her wrist all at once. Her arm might have been cybernetic, but she still had synthetic skin placed over it that gave her the same sensations as having a real arm. A deep burning ache at her wrist soon traveled up her arm and into her chest. She had always heard a heart attack started that way. The burn turned into a fire rolling over her whole body. She holds back the urge to scream as every inch of her body feels like she just dipped it in molten lava.

Whisper’s voice resonates inside her mind, “Just a few more minutes and I will be evenly distributed throughout your body. Hold on.”

The burning in her chest was the worst. She almost wanted to give up, and turn around. It was too late for that and she knew it. Telling herself she was lucky it was only flesh deep on her cybernetics. The rest of her body she tried not to think about. Then all at once, the pain stops. She still felt like she had just experienced what its like to riding inside a meat tenderizer, but was confused.

Kat asks, “What just happened?”

Whisper voice — still in her mind — replies, “I turned up your pain threshold. It looks like me being inside you like this is causing your body a lot of distress. I just started blocking some of those pain signals.”

“That’s useful.”

“Don’t get used to it. This is only a temporary fix. The pain and burning is still there, and you body doesn’t want me in it. If I stay in you too long it will cause permanent damage.”

“So we need to move quickly is what you're getting at.”

“Yes. For your health, and my sanity. I really don’t feel the need to extend this trip any longer than it needs to be. I already feel like I’m in the middle of the ocean. How do you stand it?”

***

The next few hours Kat sits quietly inside her cage. Waiting for them to take her, twirling her necklace in her hands. She wasn’t sure how everything would work, or if it would work at all. The fake orders were based on a real warrant, but what if they don’t take her to Ragnarok and take her somewhere else. Kat fidgets back and forth, while Whisper tries to tell her to calm down. Pleading to keep the movement down to a minimum. Whisper didn’t know if she could throw up, but didn’t want to find out.

Finally the ship stops and rocks into place like it was docking. The cargo bay door opens and six men walk in. Knox comes out of the bridge, and tells them that’s her. He shows an officer the order, and Knox gets a payment for his work. The officer asks Knox how he captured her. He laughs, saying he didn’t. Tells him a story about how he gets a call in the middle of the night from this woman, telling him she has some cargo to deliver to Ragnarok, and she would pay him half up front and half after.

The officer seems to buy Knox’s story. He was always good at telling them, and today he was in fine form. Kat just stayed quiet and watched. She didn’t want to do anything that would tip anyone off.

The officer says, “Thank you Knox. Now release the cage and we will take her from here.”

Knox hits the controls for the metal clamps. They slide across the ground and back into the wall. “There you go. You wouldn’t believe my surprise when that woman showed up with her all cuffed up like that. I about had a heart attack.”

“Just get back to where ever your ilk calls home. We have no need for you here any longer.”

Knox nods, “Just doing my job that’s all Mr. Officer. I’ll get out of your hair once you leave my ship.”

The officer glares at Knox, and he glares back.

The officer says, “Its Captain Albright, not Mr. Officer.” Without taking his eyes off Knox Albright says, “All right men, take her to processing.”

The five men surrounding Kat hold out their hands. They each glow a faint green as her cage rises into the air. She falls over to her side as they walk her out since she isn’t able to keep herself upright thanks to the cuffs. They pass through a few sparsely lit hallways before entering a dull grey room. The room didn’t have much in it. In one corner of the room is two glass walls. It looked like a shower. There were seven shower heads in the tiny space, and Kat didn’t like the look of it. Next to that was a four set of polished silver locker cabinets. Two of the guards walk over to them as the cage sets down in place and the door opens. Albright walks inside, giving Kat a once over with his eyes.

He smiles at her, like a child predator looking at his next victim, pulling a small dagger out from behind his back. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” He says putting the small blade up to her chin. “Which way do you want it?”

Kat says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not going to fight or struggle, so what are you asking me?”

“A first timer. Don’t get many of those here. I’ll make this a memorable experience for you then.”

He walks behind her dragging the blade from her chin to the nape of her neck.

Albright says, “Don’t move, or do. It’ll be more fun for me if you do.”

A chill runs down her spine. He grabs her collar, and runs the blade down the back of her shirt, cutting it off her body. He does the same for her pants and underwear. She can hear his blade click back into the scabbard as he walks back in front of her. He reaches out and cups her breast squeezing them twice with a slimly smile on his face before ripping her necklace off her neck.

“The warden’s going to like you.” He turns to his men. “Get her cleaned and ready for departure and this necklace of her’s checked in as her only personal effect.”

Albright walks out of the cage, and the two men enter who were at the lockers. Grabbing her on each arm, they drag her out and toss her into the tiny shower. A foamy type liquid flows out of the nozzle in the ceiling. It smells like strong bleach. It was making her dizzy. The foam fills up to her neck before the water starts to spray out of the walls in high pressure blasts. The water hurts her skin and she goes up against the glass, trying to get as far from the spouts that she can get. Her dizziness is getting worse and feels close to passing out.

Kat wakes up inside a small chamber. The last thing she remembered was being naked inside a shower getting blasted by water. She wiggles around feeling stiff finding her whole body is strapped down. There are no windows, but there is a single orange led bulb above her head casting down a light into the cramped space. Her head is strapped down but she can see there is a cage around her over the straps.

Albright’s voice comes over a speaker. “Get ready for a wild ride, you’re about to be orbitally dropped in two minutes. Enjoy, and give my regards to the Warden when you get there.”

Kat says, “Wait. Isn’t there a different way to get to the planet?”

“Nothing to worry about, only one in a hundred don’t make it. We’ve only had seventy launches this month. You should be fine.”

Kat’s heart pounds like a jackhammer in her chest making her ears throb. She had never been through an orbital drop before, and never really wanted to. There were stories she’d heard about, people living though a bad drop. Broken limbs and years of recovery. Not that she really had to worry about her limbs.

An automated voice comes on, “Orbital drop in three… two… one…”

Kat thinks,
I really wish it was Gravan doing this right now instead of me.

She hears a loud click, and her body presses against the straps around her. The fall is rough, and it reminds her of her piloting exams. The pressure making it hard to breath, the tight quarters, the feeling she’s about to die. At this point in her life she almost wouldn’t be surprised to see General Ajax open the hatch and tell her she’s been in a simulator for the last few years. That isn’t in anyway possible, but it helps distract her from the fact she’s falling into a planet inside a modified metal coffin.

The automated voice says, “Slowing decent in three.”

Kat hears metal clang together, and is flung into the cage holding her in. The pressure against her lets up a little. She thinks,
I must be getting close to landing
. Another clang of metal, and the pressure gets worse. This wasn’t good. Kat prays she survives this fall. There is high probability all the metal wings that were slowing her fall just broke off and she’s now in a free fall.