“Humans.” His word held contemplation not condemnation. “You are a strange species. The government you choose to rule you is cruel and unforgiving and demands all from you, but yet you still have learned nothing about allowing someone else to gain your pity.”
“Maybe pity is all our government allows us.” Her words held rancor. “Or maybe it is because that is one thing I could never afford back there that makes me ask. Why do you care? Anyway, all I said was they can work, and be valuable.”
He stepped into the space she had put between them. His body had a pleasant odor that made her want to draw closer and inhale that scent. She stepped back instead. He didn’t come forward. His eyes darkened though, a slight shading toward an indigo color, then he looked away.
“I see,” he said softly. “Then, if you truly feel so, you shall buy them yourself.”
No. Goddamn it all to hell!Her teeth clenched. It was too late. He was heading for the door. She found her tongue. “How am I supposed to do that? I already am indebted for my family.”
“Then perhaps you better make sure they sew very well, and that you win a lot.”
He didn’t move, but the door opened anyway, leaving her puzzled.It must be a triggering mechanism, perhaps a scanning device that identified him as a jailer and not a captive.
He stepped out of the door, leaving her swearing and shaken.
Her confusion grew when a sudden burst of color lit the sky outside the bay windows. There was a tremendous boom, and the ship rocked. Sirens went off.
Clara shouted, “Not again!”
The chamber doors popped open. Jessica exited hers, her face already tight with fear and determination. Ariel and Margie came out as well. Dana clung to her daughters, and none of the three of them looked eager to find out what was happening.
Clara said, “Stay here, okay?”
Dana nodded. The other four women set off down the hall, following the running crewmembers.
She saw Renall strapping on a weapon and shouted, “What is it?”
“Brigands!”
Brigands? “You’re a brigand ship!
He grinned at her. “There is no honor among thieves it seems. Here,” he handed her a weapon she had no idea how to use. Jessica and the others were being armed too. Ariel asked, “What do I do with it?”
Jessica said, “Point that end and squeeze that lever. Pray you don’t run out of burst before you kill whatever is coming at you.”
Okay then,Clara thought. She stood, her shoulder pressed against Renall’s. He whispered, “We can’t outrun them yet, but Talon will figure out a way to get past their ship. In the meantime, we are going to be boarded. Shoot fast. It doesn’t matter if you hit anyone, just keep shooting so those with better aim can have a chance to reload and aim and kill.”
Sounded easy enough. She asked, “What if I run out of bursts?”
“When you run out of bursts, run away.”
That answer hardly reassured her. She took three shaky breaths. Jessica stepped forward. She said, “The door.”
The line of beings waiting all tensed. Ariel let out a long whimper. Her weapon jerked and bobbed in her hand Clara felt sick to her stomach, and that sickness got worse when the outer door peeled back and a set of creatures wearing large suits on their bodies charged in.
The weapon discharged. It sent a long stream of blazing light at the creatures running at them. Clara had the sudden horrifying realization that if she accidentally fired into a floor or walk, she could destroy a vital part of the ship, but the idea of killing something was not what she wanted to do either. She aimed lower, at their legs. Two fell. Renall sent deadly fire at the ones she had downed, killing them instantly and sickening her even more. Her finger stayed steady even though her entire body shook like she had the low rot.
The creatures just kept coming! She ran out of bursts. Renall and the others kept firing, but it was clear that unless Talon could get them away from the ship and they could reduce the number of creatures boarding, they were doomed.
Jessica charged in, her body a weapon. Clara lifted the butt of her weapon over her head and brought it down into the face shield of a suit. The line connected to the suit popped open, spilling a noxious stink into the crowded hall. Her feet slid in gore and fallen bodies.
She hacked at another one, using the weapon like a bat and then when it fell under a falling body, she launched herself onto the back of a creature that was reaching for Margie. Her fingers yanked the hose thing away because part of her brain had already registered that they needed those snaking hoses to survive.
The same awful stink came. Clara gagged and yanked at the helmet then wished she hadn’t when she came face to face with a creature whose face was not only not human, but also snake-like and with tentacles as well. It hissed at her, showing row after row of needle-sharp teeth. Clara screamed and kicked out, landing a few solid kicks to its body before Renall charged in and shot it dead.
Time drew out and collapsed as they fought. The ship turned sharply, sending all of them flying pell-mell across the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling. Clara landed in a throbbing pile atop a crewmember that shook her off and made it to his feet just in time to shoot a creature that had its head reared back to bite her leg off.
“Thanks,” Clara muttered.
