That explained the low oxygen in these parts. He was glad Arin had her respirator. He would put his body through all kinds of pain and torture as long as she was safe.
He might have to steal some of her air soon, though. His body could go without oxygen for some time, but starve it long enough, and his nanites would fall into a low-energy state and retract.
Another dullboomechoed in his ears, and the freightershifted again, causing the floor to slope at a forty-five-degree angle. As Arin lost her footing and slid down, Rykal drew his dagger and slammed it into the floor, using it as a handhold as he grabbed her around her waist.
She latched onto him as the lights flickered and went out, her eyes blind and trusting in the darkness. “You know what I just saw before the lights went out?”
“What is it, Arin?”
“A fucking escape pod. I can’t see now, but look down, straight down, and you’ll see a dull grey structure against the wall. It has a large red triangle on the door.”
Rykal saw it. It was surprisingly large for an escape pod, designed to fit perhaps fifteen to twenty humans. In contrast, Kordolian ships were fitted with numerous small escape pods, designed to fit one or two people only. In an attack or disaster scenario, having multiple pods maximized the entire crew’s chances of survival.
“You know how to work that thing?”
“Of course.”
“Is it trustworthy?”
“Federation regulations require it to be checked and maintained once every six months. We can only hope they’ve kept it to standard.”
“There is oxygen inside?”
“There’d better be.”
“Then hold on, my love.” In a series of fluid movements, Rykal wrapped himself around Arin, rolled onto his side, pulled his dagger out of the floor, and held onto her tightly as they slid down the smooth, sloping floor.
He crashed into the escape pod feet-first, protecting Arin from the impact. Rykal bent his legs and sustained the force of the blow as Arin flicked on her guide-light and punched a clear panel beside the door. It shattered, revealing a yellow lever which she pulled.
The doors slid open with a hiss, and Arin pulled Rykalinside. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath as stale air entered his lungs, and his heart started to beat normally again.
A light flickered on. There were multiple seats inside, arranged in pairs; Rykal counted sixteen in total. Arin slammed the door shut, pulling a large yellow lever to lock it. She then entered a series of commands into a data panel on the wall.
Her movements were fluid and practiced, as if she’d done this kind of thing a hundred times before. “Two minutes,” she declared, but Rykal had no idea what ‘minutes’ were.
Arin scrambled towards a pair of seats, pulling Rykal with her. Even though the entire pod was tilted at a sharp angle, she moved nimbly and swiftly, strapping herself into a seat and motioning for Rykal to do the same.
Rykal activated his comm. “We’re shooting out of here,” he informed his comrades, who were waiting nearby on theArawen. “Found an escape pod. Don’t bother coming to get me. Just put somekuliksbetween yourselves and that floating piece of shit. It’s unstable.”
“First Kalan, now Rykal,” he thought he heard someone - it sounded like Kail - mutter disapprovingly in the background. “Contact us when you’re clear,” the warrior snapped.
The comm ended abruptly as a low hum reverberated through the pod. It was powering up.
Arin’s fingers closed over his as a great metallic groan shook the freighter, followed by another explosion. Their world tilted sideways as the escape pod accelerated, shooting them out into the frigid vastness of space.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
They were drifting away from theHendrix IIand away from theFSS Marcia, heading towards infinity as the pod’s thrusters propelled them away from the danger zone at high speed.
At least that’s what Arin thought was happening. She had no way of seeing outside, because the pod didn’t have windows. There was only the utilitarian grey of its walls and the harsh white light shining from the ceiling.
And Rykal.
And he was naked. Again.
“What are you doing?” she asked sharply as the pod slowed to a constant speed. Once they hit inertia, with no accelerating or slowing down, it almost felt as if they weren’t moving at all.
“Feeding my nano-particles,” he murmured, his eyes lighting up as he gazed upon her. “Why don’t you let me see your pretty face?”
