“What?” she repeated.
“I wanted to show the boss’s daughter your upgrades, so she can decide if they’re allowed,” Erick said.
“I am improving your ship for you. Don’t be ungrateful, thief.”
Having no idea what they were talking about, Jelena stood on tiptoes and tried to peer past Masika’s shoulder. Masika lifted her chin and stepped aside. An invitation to enter?
Erick extended his arm, letting Jelena go first. Alfie bypassed them both and sauntered in. Jelena stepped through the hatchway and almost tripped as she realized what had changed. She hadn’t spent much time in the guest cabins, but as far as she’d known, all the cabins on the ship were painted the same drab gray-and-green color as everything else on the interior. She’d assumed the former owner had been going along with the turtle shape of the ship and attempting something akin to turtle skin.
But this cabin was no longer gray and green, and the air smelled of paint. The bulkheads were an appealing sky blue with one dark blue accent wall behind the bunk. A mural of stars, clouds, and images of the sun gods stretched above the blanket and pillows. A good mural. It was as if a professional artist had done it.
“You painted?” Jelena asked. Then, realizing she was stating the obvious, changed her question to, “I mean, where did you get paints? We haven’t gone anywhere with shops or anything.”
“Tell me about it,” Masika said.
The words reminded Jelena that their cyborg guest didn’t want to be here, murals notwithstanding, and might try to turn them over to the authorities if given a chance. She remembered wanting to drop Masika off at Starfall Station so she couldn’t let her employers know the Snapper’s final destination. Thanks to their diversion, Starfall Station was no longer on the way. Should she change course and go there regardless? Or maybe she should have Erick pay their painting security guard so she would feel less inclined to turn them in.
Alfie must not have minded the paint smell because she hopped up on the bed. Masika propped a fist on her hip and eyed the dog.
“Where did you get the paint?” Erick asked, peering around the cabin. “And multiple colors at that.”
“Two colors. Blue and white. I mixed them when needed. But there are actually quite a few cans of paint in that storage closet in the cargo hold. Some were gift wrapped with cards pleading the recipient to make use of them.”
Erick snorted. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not the criminal here. I can show you the cards if you don’t believe me. I assume Alberto was the previous owner of the ship?”
Erick looked at Jelena.
“Alberto Ramírez, I think, yes.” Jelena considered the walls again. “Uhm, you could paint more of the ship if you wanted.”
“Lucky me.”
“I assume you enjoy it,” Jelena said. Anyone who could paint like that had to have done a lot of it.
“I just couldn’t stand being further depressed by four storm-puke-colored walls leering down at me while I slept.”
“They are drab,” Jelena agreed. “I hung some posters in my cabin.”
“I didn’t find any posters gift-wrapped in the storage closet.”
“We’ll pay you for it,” Jelena said, growing enthused as she imagined the entire ship redone. “The painting, that is. Maybe we could get some more colors. Oh, can you do animals? What if, down in the cargo hold, we did a whole aquatic mural with turtles?”
“Turtles.” Masika stared at her as if turtles were floating out of her nostrils right now.
“Haven’t you noticed the ship has a somewhat terrapinian shape?” Erick asked.
“It’s hard to tell unless you’re on another ship and looking at it,” Jelena said.
“Jelena actually liked that feature. I thought it was abysmal. I told her parents to get the ship shaped like a pterodactyl if she had to have an animal. It was fierce.”
“A fierce freighter. That’s completely normal.”
“It’s better than—”
An alarm beeped, the high-pitched noise echoing through the corridor.
“A discussion for later,” Jelena said as she waved a goodbye and jogged to NavCom. That was the proximity alert. They shouldn’t be close to anything on their current route. They were still two days out from Arkadius.
Erick followed, saying, “It’s a ship,” as she popped into NavCom and saw it on the view screen.
A winged civilian craft, it looked vaguely like the avian dinosaur Erick had been describing, with a pointed head, a neck, and a tail. Various e-cannons protruded from the front edge of the outstretched wings.
“It came up on us fast,” he said. “I didn’t sense anything until the alarm went off.”
“Maybe you were being lulled into placidity by Masika’s serene mural.”
Jelena silenced the alarm as she slid into her seat and slowed down the Snapper. The ship had planted itself directly in their path. No chance it was just passing through.
The comm light flashed. Jelena considered ignoring it and setting a course that would take them around the ship, but she wagered it was faster than the Snapper and would catch up.
“This is Captain Marchenko,” she answered the hail. Even though her parents had dubbed her acting captain, she felt presumptuous claiming the rank and also using her mom’s title.
“Prepare to be boarded, Turtle,” a disdainful male voice said.
At least they didn’t seem to be dealing with another android. But how had this ship found her out here? She hadn’t filed a flight plan with anyone, and surely her detour to Halite Moon couldn’t have been anticipated by anyone.
“See,” Erick said, looking over his shoulder. “It’s clearly a turtle if you’re looking at it from a distance.”
Masika stood in the hatchway. She only grunted at his comment, her gaze toward the view screen.
“We’re an independent civilian freighter,” Jelena responded over the comm. “Who are you, and why would we let you board us?”
“This is Captain Zhu of the Falcon, working for Stellacor Incorporated. You have something that belongs to my employers.”
“I can’t read him,” Erick whispered, touching his temple.
Jelena frowned at him. Were they dealing with androids, after all?
“Sorry, Captain,” Jelena said. “We already dropped off the animals. We found a better home for them than your employers provided.” Well, they had dropped off some of the animals.
“That is unfortunate for you. If your stolen cargo can’t be reacquired, there will be unpleasant repercussions.”
“I’m wagering your employers ordered you to unpleasantly repercuss whether you get the cargo back or not, but we don’t have time for that now. You’ll have to pardon us if we don’t invite you to board.” Jelena raised their shields and tapped the controls, setting a course to go around. She didn’t expect the ship to let them go around—not without a fight—but the less time she gave the captain to think about options, the better. She muted their end of the comm. “I need you to study that ship as quickly as possible and find something to break, Erick.”
“I’m not familiar with pterodactyls at all.”
“Better find a sys-net entry.”
“Yes, we’re aware that you’re trying to reach Arkadius,” Zhu said. “If you somehow evade us, be assured that many more ships will be waiting for you there. Stellacor’s reach is long, and they have offices on Arkadius, as well as ships. Powerful ships to ensure they’re not trifled with. You won’t be able to get anywhere near the planet to sell your stolen cargo.”
Jelena’s first thought was indignation—did they truly think she meant to sell the animals?—but then a chill went through her. Arkadius, he’d said. How could Stellacor possibly know her destination? Had they looked up the Snapper, learned it belonged to her parents, and then looked them up? Had her communications been monitored somehow? Or had someone figured out that Leonidas was in trouble and assumed Jelena would be going to visit? Or—Jelena glanced at Mas
ika, who was observing with a stony, unreadable expression—was it possible their guest had figured out where they were going and gotten to the comm at some point to send a message? Jelena and Erick had been splitting the shifts, so that shouldn’t have been possible, but—
No, she realized with a silent groan. That wasn’t true. Masika had been alone on the ship when they’d been in the Starseer base. Why hadn’t Jelena thought to lock down the comm?
“We’re not going to sell anything,” she said. “I told you: we dropped off the animals.”
“We have sensors,” Zhu said, as if he were speaking to a dense toddler. “We can tell there are more than two life forms aboard.”
“Damned inconvenient when your enemies can count,” Erick muttered, then pointed at the screen. “He’s angling to cut you off.”
“I see it.”
Jelena sent full power to the thrusters, hoping she might surprise the captain and get by with a burst of speed. It might be a vain hope, since she was certain he could catch her again. They needed to disable that ship somehow, ideally putting Zhu out of commission for a couple of days.
Masika took a step into NavCom, and Jelena spun in her seat, pinning her with a glare. She sensed unfriendly intent from the woman, like she was thinking of attacking while they were distracted. Or at least doing enough to keep them from escaping the other ship.
“Don’t,” Jelena said, trying to put a dangerous chill in her voice. “Erick, will you escort our guest to her—”
Masika lunged with incredible speed, throwing an elbow into Erick’s chest as he started to stand. He gasped and was flung backward, falling out of his seat on the other side. Without pausing, Masika punched Jelena.
Instinctively, Jelena threw up a block, deflecting what would have been a fist to the face. Even though she succeeded, a jolt of pain ran up her arm from the power of the blow. She tried to stand so she could have room to maneuver, but Masika was already punching again, with the same lightning speed of Leonidas.
Jelena ducked, the fist tearing out some of her hair as it grazed her scalp. She twisted in her seat, kicking out, trying to force Masika back. Her foot connected with Masika’s stomach, but it was like kicking a metal wall. It didn’t give, and Masika didn’t so much as grunt in pain. She lifted her arm to deliver what would surely be a chop hard enough to break Jelena’s skull.
Jelena flung herself out of her seat, rolling awkwardly across the deck and bumping into the co-pilot’s seat as she tried to jump up. Masika’s blow landed, not on her skull but on the console. Her fist sank into the navigation control panel, leaving a dent like a crater. An alarm wailed in protest. Masika whirled, springing toward Jelena, and Jelena flung a desperate attack with her mind. At the same time, a wave of power whooshed past her like a tornado, almost knocking her back to her knees even though she wasn’t the target.
Masika flew over the pilot’s seat and struck the bulkhead, her skull cracking against the metal, her face contorting with pain. Erick grabbed Jelena and helped her to her feet.
“We have to knock her out,” Jelena blurted. Already, Masika was shaking her head, snarling away the pain as she recovered from the crash.
“I was thinking of shooting her,” Erick growled, even though he didn’t have a pistol.
“Keep her busy,” Jelena blurted and ran through the hatchway, spun around the corner, and sprinted down the corridor toward sickbay.
A crash and a thud came from NavCom, and Erick cried out. Damn it. Jelena ran faster, skidding as she grabbed the hatchway and spun herself into sickbay. She lunged for the drawers, hoping Masika hadn’t thought to remove the sedatives when she’d been rummaging. There were some sharp objects missing, but Jelena found the drawer with the drugs in it unbothered. She snatched out a sedative and jammed it into an empty injector, almost firing the dosage into her hand in the process.
She sprinted back to NavCom, jumping through the hatchway and crashing into someone who was tumbling back out of it. Erick. Masika snarled and leaped after him, her hands wrapping around his throat. Jelena squirmed under both of their arms, yanked up Masika’s shirt, and jammed the injector against her skin. An elbow came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of her head so hard that stars exploded behind her eyes. She was aware of her body flying across NavCom, but she couldn’t move her arms, couldn’t do anything to soften her fall. As she crashed into the bulkhead, much as Masika had done seconds earlier, she heard the tinkle of the injector landing on the deck.
Had she managed to inject enough of the drug to do anything? She blinked, trying to clear the dark spots swimming before her eyes and trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her skull.
A dark shape loomed above her, and Jelena lifted a hand in a feeble attempt to protect herself. But it was Erick. Masika lay crumpled on the deck behind him.
“We have trouble,” he said, not looking at her but toward the view screen.
“What?” Jelena croaked. Then a white light flashed on the screen, followed by a shudder reverberating through the ship. “Never mind,” she rasped.
Grab beam. The other ship had captured them.
Chapter 10
“We shouldn’t have bought a freighter that didn’t come with chains strong enough to restrain a cyborg,” Erick growled as he and Jelena hefted their unconscious guest onto an exam table in sickbay.
“Maybe you could check the storage closet and see if any were gifted to Alberto,” Jelena said, wincing. Speaking hurt her head. Everything hurt her head. She glanced toward the drug drawer, figuring she better take some Painpro. If they had time. Any second, the pterodactyl ship would be close enough to clamp onto them, extend an airlock tube for boarding, and invade the Snapper. “I can’t believe she painted our cabin and then turned on us.”
“I can,” Erick said. “We kidnapped her, after all.”
“We rescued her.”
“After you knocked her off a cliff.” Erick poked through the cabinets and pulled out some cable ties.
“Her own people knocked her off the cliff. I don’t think that’s going to restrain her. Did you see what she did to my control panel? And almost to my head?” Jelena headed for a drawer. They needed to keep Masika out while they dealt with the boarding party that came over. Jelena, envisioning troops in combat armor, did not yet know how she and Erick would do that, especially if they were androids and wouldn’t be affected by mind attacks.
“I saw. It looked like you got a glancing blow. You’re lucky your brains aren’t splattered all over the deck in NavCom now.”
“A cheery thought.” Jelena dragged out a collapsible IV stand and tubing. “I’m going to set her up with a continuous drip, keep her knocked out.”
“Does that mean you’re not willing to entertain my suggestion of shooting her?” Erick, apparently not satisfied that drugging her would be enough, tied her ankle to the bar under the exam table.
“Not until we convince her to paint the rest of the ship.”
An ominous clang reverberated through the Snapper.
“If they steal the ship and kill us, we won’t be around to appreciate the paint,” Erick said.
“That would be unfortunate. Are you figuring out how to disable their grab beam as we speak?”
He gave her an exasperated look as he tied Masika’s other ankle. “When would I have had time to do that?”
“As a superhero, doing two things at once should be within your skill set.” Jelena finished setting up the IV and went fishing for a vein in Masika’s arm, glad for the computerized guide on the needle tip, since Masika wasn’t in a position to make a fist for her.
“Now I’m back up to superhero status? I thought you took my cape away.”
“Just temporarily.”
“I’ll try to figure out where their grab beam generator is, but—”
Another clang reverberated through the Snapper. Jelena didn’t need to stretch out with her senses to know the enemy ship was fully clamped on now.
“We’re going to have
to figure out a way to deal with the boarding party. Ideally, you will, so I can sit in here and concentrate on doing incredibly dastardly Starseer things to their ship.”
“I’d settle for quasi dastardly things.” Jelena slid the needle into the vein, slapped a patchtab to hold it down, and tapped the computerized IV bag to provide a steady drip. She risked giving Masika a little more than her weight would have suggested, thinking of the way Leonidas metabolized things quickly.
“I’m serious, Jelena. Do you think you can keep them busy for a few minutes? If I just have some time . . .” He finished tying Masika’s wrists and backed up, resting a hand on the bulkhead and closing his eyes.
“I’ll do my best.” Jelena reached out with her mind’s eye, hoping to gauge how many people were on that ship and how many were coming over. She had no idea how she would delay a pack of androids, but to her surprise, she sensed four armored men standing next to the airlock on the enemy ship, one of them manipulating the tube and the clamps, another gripping a space-rated plasmite torch for a forced boarding. There were four more people on the ship, two men and two women, and they were split between the bridge and engineering. “Erick, you said you couldn’t sense any humans over there?” she asked, surprised that he would have missed them.
“Oh, I sensed them, but try touching their minds,” he said without opening his eyes. “I think they’ve taken some Qui-gorn or another anti-mind-manipulation drug.”
“Ah.” She saw now. She couldn’t get any sense for the emotions or thoughts of the men near the airlock. Not that their intent wasn’t perfectly clear.
“All right. I’ll try to give you your time.” Jelena grabbed one of the painkillers before leaving, going straight for the injectable drugs rather than the pills. After growing up with Leonidas, she should have known better than to get into a fistfight with a cyborg.
Soft scrapes came from the hull as the airlock tube was attached. Jelena jogged to her cabin and grabbed her staff, struggling for calm and focus. Four strong men in combat armor was a daunting thing, but she didn’t have to utterly defeat them, just delay them long enough for Erick to sabotage their ship.