“Get up!” a synthesized voice commanded.
As I opened my eyes—which had swollen shut—I saw a tall gaunt figure in an environmental suit. It was a Faiurae commando, and even in its suit, it looked like a desiccated gray scarecrow. Holding a stunpike.
That explained why I felt the way I did.
We were still on the Freya, but I had been moved from the gun turret to the main hold. All around me were bodies—Ana-Zhi Agrada, Obarral, Yates, and Hap Galish. I couldn’t tell if they were dead or just unconscious.
A harsh translated voice said, “You are the captain of this vessel?” It was less of a question than a statement.
“I am.”
I tried to get up because I didn’t want to show the Faiurae any weakness, but before I could fully stand, my knees buckled and my legs gave out. As I started to collapse back on the ground, the Faiurae shot out one bony claw-like hand and dragged me to my feet with surprising strength.
“Go!” It shoved me forward.
This time I managed to keep my balance. I gritted my teeth against the pain, as the creature half-shoved, half-dragged me down the corridor towards the engineering bay.
Chiraine was there, slumped against the bulkhead. She looked battered and bruised, but not seriously injured. “Beck!” she mumbled, but could barely get my name out. It sounded like they had busted up her jaw.
Anger surged through me and I turned to confront the Faiurae, but it just slammed me up against the wall beside Chiraine.
Sitting at her workstation was another Faiurae. It could barely fit in her seat and was manically flipping through screens of data with its insect-like limbs.
The Faiurae commander glowered at me. “Where are your findings?”
“I don’t understand.”
“This stra’cor discovered the location of the Kryrk.” The Faiurae gestured contemptuously at Chiraine.
I shook my head. “No, she failed,” I lied. “There was nothing on Taullae.”
The two Faiurae commandos chattered back and forth in their own harsh tongue. They didn’t sound especially happy.
“This aggression is against the Rhya’s rules,” I protested. “You can’t—”
“Silence!”
The Faiurae at Chiraine’s workstation jabbered angrily and then rose from the seat.
“We seize the stra’cor. We will obtain the knowledge we seek by force!”
Chiraine’s eyes widened when she realized that the Faiurae was talking about her.
“No!” I yelled.
As the Faiurae commando advanced upon her, Chiraine leaned over to me and pressed her lips to mine in a passionate kiss. And not only that—she pushed something smooth and round from her mouth into my own.
“If this one is of use, we may let her live!” the Faiurae said, yanking Chiraine away from me. “If not, you may pick her corpse up floating near Ordilon!”
It almost looked like it had a mocking smile on its face. That was the last thing I saw before the Faiurae swung its stunpike into my gut and knocked me into oblivion.
“Wake up, asshole!” Hap Galish shook me conscious.
I gasped and spit out the item hidden in my mouth. It was Chiraine’s biklode.
“What the hell?” Galish stared down at the data orb in my hand. He was bruised and had a nasty gash on his forehead sealed with curant foam.
“Chiraine passed this to me—right before they took her. What happened?”
“The Faiurae boarded us, kicked our asses.”
“Casualties?”
“None,” he said, helping me to my feet. “Even the Faiurae aren’t that stupid.”
We returned to the main hold where the rest of the crew was recovering.
“Well, it doesn’t appear as if they trashed anything,” Obarral said, as he stared at his datapad. “I’m running diagnostics now, to make sure we don’t encounter any nasty surprises. Besides the lingering stink of Faiurae, of course.” He wrinkled his nose.
Ana-Zhi groaned and tried to prop herself up. “Arrogant fuckers!”
I showed them the biklode and told them what Chiraine had done.
“Smart thinking,” Ana-Zhi said. “I have to give her props. We might not be dead in the water after all.”
“What are you talking about?”
She took the data orb from me and inspected it. “Chiraine said she had accessed the data about Bandala’s security system.”
“She said that she was working on it,” I corrected.
Ana-Zhi handed the biklode to Yates. “See what you can get off of this. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Then she turned to Galish. “Let’s get going. We’re running out of time. We’ve got to get into Bandala and find that bloody Kryrk.”
I didn’t believe what I was hearing. “Hold up! What are you talking about?”
Ana-Zhi regarded me as if I had suffered brain damage. “Our mission, Jannigan. We need to find the Kryrk. Remember?”
“No, we need to get Chiraine back! She’s our first priority.”
“Doesn’t work that way. You know the mission protocols.”
“Screw the protocols! Those freaks have Chiraine! We need to find them and get her back.”
“Listen, Jannigan. The Faiurae aren’t going to hurt her. They’re already in deep shit with the Rhya. They’ve crossed a lot of lines here. What we need to do is contact the wardens down on Yueld and let them handle it.”
“That’s not right,” I said. “They threatened to throw her out an airlock.”
“Which is exactly what I’m going to do to you, if you don’t back down. I’m the goddamn captain here. And I make the rules.”
Technically that was true, but I just couldn’t accept it. We went round and round for fifteen minutes and then she threatened to lock me up in my cabin for the rest of the mission unless I shut up and followed orders.
I reluctantly agreed. But not really.
I would shut up. But I wouldn’t follow orders.
After leaving the main hold, I headed to the infirmary to get patched up by the MedBed. It treated my abrasions, pumped me full of healants, and checked me for serious damage. Luckily no bones were broken and I had no internal injuries.
I needed to figure out how to find Chiraine. And that meant finding the Faiurae ship.
Would they be able to make her talk? And, if so, what would she say?
I wandered to the launch bay to assess
