Inherit the Stars Page 18

  Terredyn Narbas’s proximity alarm rang as debris banged against its starboard hull. Kivita flinched as a chunk struck and cracked her starboard viewport. Without slowing, she closed the damaged viewport’s blast cover. Some oxygen sucked out into space, making her breaths labored.

  Fanged Pauper swerved at her port-side hull, but Kivita dived just as more ships sped past in the orbital lane. Fanged Pauper now flew on her starboard side. Five other craft had slowed to examine Sar’s dropped crates.

  One of the damaged pirate vessels limped into Tejuit Seven’s orbit, its thrusters crushed. The other pirate craft floated in place, its port-side hull ripped open. Small forms floated in the void.

  A pirate craft tailing Frevyx slowed until it flew parallel with her port-side hull, with Fanged Pauper on the other. Both ships drew closer, sandwiching Terredyn Narbas. All three formed a triumvirate of doom while orbital traffic veered as a whole into Tejuit Seven’s upper atmosphere.

  Sweat rolled down Kivita’s face. The harness dug into her skin, stretched taut from rising G-forces. There really was nowhere she could go without being followed.

  “He’s not buying it, Sar,” Kivita said.

  Fanged Pauper came even closer, its port-side airlock linking up with her single, starboard-side one. The pirate ship on her port side drew in, keeping her from pulling away. Below, traffic resumed, preventing her from diving.

  Warning lights bathed the bridge in red shades as her ship jolted. Her stomach fluttered; Fanged Pauper had activated its gravity fluxer.

  “He’s going to board me, Sar!” Kivita started to pull up, but the vessel on her port side fired its starboard thrusters. An integrity alarm rang in her ears.

  “Kiv, try to pull forward—” Sar’s voice cut off as a green beam darted past her viewport. It struck one of the pirate craft flanking Frevyx, cutting straight into the hull behind the bridge. Debris and bodies flew out as the ship careened away.

  The speaker buzzed. “Kivita, this is Seul Jaah. Hang on; we have those pirates in our sights.”

  Heart leaping into her throat, Kivita gripped the manuals and increased speed. “Seul?”

  The clank and suction of Fanged Pauper’s airlock joining with hers echoed through her ship. Kivita increased the onboard gravity to high-G. The gyro harness bit through her bodyglove as she sank toward the floor.

  Air levels dropped as someone forced her airlock open.

  Terredyn Narbas shuddered again. The ship on her port side came even closer.

  Through the viewport, Frevyx blasted toward the exit lanes. A green beam hit the last pirate craft trailing Sar’s ship; the vessel spun into a Sutaran saucer in a shower of debris.

  Heavy, booted steps reverberated from Kivita’s airlock chamber.

  “They’re inside my ship!” she yelled into the mic.

  Kivita drew her kinetic pistol, but under high-G, the gun seemed to weigh fifty pounds. Her right biceps bulged, but the weapon clanged to the floor.

  “The Sarrhdtuu will give me my own world for you, Kivita Vondir,” Shekelor’s cultured voice came from her quarters. “Make it easier on yourself. The Sarrhdtuu shan’t care if I deliver you without your arms and legs.”

  “Kiv, hold on!” Sar yelled over the speaker. Ahead, Frevyx slowed and ascended.

  “Almost there, Kivita,” Seul said.

  Through the forward viewport, two orbiting asteroids drew near.

  Kivita squirmed in her gyro harness as Terredyn Narbas continued along the gas giant’s curvature. In her struggles, the Juxj Star rolled from her pouch, pulled out by the high-G.

  Three coils grasped the bridge doorway just as Kivita caught the gem in her right hand.

  Shekelor’s coils lashed around her right arm, and his smile shone through his envirosuit’s faceplate. His mismatched eyes glared death.

  “Get off my ship, you son of a—” Kivita screamed as Shekelor yanked her arm out of socket.

  “Bitch? My mother means nothing. My son means everything.” Shekelor’s coils pulled again.

  Chest heaving, Kivita tasted bile in her throat, and the high-G seemed to mash her organs to the floor. Blazing, tearing pain traveled up her arm. The viewport became a raging blur of lights.

  Through it all, she still held the Juxj Star.

  Kivita recalled things the gem had revealed, then met Shekelor’s stare. All became focused, attuned. Forceful. Kivita showed him the vastness of space outside the Cetturo Arm. The flurry of coordinates; the awesome alien vistas. Crammed it into his mind, drowning his thoughts with the invasive knowledge the Juxj Star had given.

  The coils relaxed their grip as Shekelor gaped at her. Grunting, he tried to retract his coils.

  With high-G hampering her every move, Kivita maintained her stare. Cold pain pressed in on her temples and her forehead numbed, but she focused the raw data into him. Even without touching Shekelor, she sensed it rattle his brain.

  Agony rippled through her skull. Oh, shit; couldn’t hold the data flow, couldn’t control it! She groaned and spasmed. The pirates would still capture her. If only she could demagnetize from Fanged Pauper.

  Kivita thought about shoving the manuals down.

  Terredyn Narbas climbed at a sharp angle.

  “Stop! Get out—” Shekelor fell back through the bridge doorway. His coils wrenched from her arm, and Kivita cried out. Concussive popping noises sounded from the airlock. As both asteroids grew larger in her viewport, Kivita slammed the gravity controls and wanted the ship to dive.

  Terredyn Narbas dived of its own volition.

  Alarms invaded her ears. Pure static blared from the console speaker. Terredyn Narbas hummed in her mind, while the tingling numbed her skull.

  On her port side, the other pirate vessel smacked into both asteroids. A brutal dismantling of hull, engine, and flung bodies accompanied a brief dust ball.

  Even in her gyro harness, Kivita smacked into the bridge wall as gravity returned to normal. Her left leg flared with pain. Groans and curses came from her quarters, Fanged Pauper ground into her starboard hull with earsplitting noises. She unbuckled herself with the quick-release button, grabbed her pistol, and stumbled into her quarters.

  “Kivita, report your status,” Seul’s worried voice came over the speaker.

  Shekelor started to stand as Kivita cracked her left polyboot into his right side. Two pirates rose from the floor, pointing guns, but Kivita fired point-blank into one’s faceplate. Blood and melted polymer dusted her bulkheads. She aimed at the other pirate, but Terredyn Narbas tilted. The pirate ducked and shoved his gun into her stomach, then aimed it at her head.

  “Disarm her!” Shekelor stood up.

  The pirate rammed his armored knee into Kivita’s gut. A terrible ache spread through her abdomen.

  The pirate she’d shot rose, half his olive-tinted face shot away. “Plumb stupid bitch, ya should—”

  Fanged Pauper finally demagnetized from Terredyn Narbas’s airlock with a pop and a whoosh. Decompression yanked them all off the deck, but Kivita gripped the end of her hammock. Sharp agony traveled from her fingers up to her dislocated shoulder. Air sucked from the cabin, and the vacuum pulled the mangled pirate with irresistible force through the airlock. His scream ended as the void claimed him.

  Shekelor, coils wound around the airlock lever, sneered. “The Sarrhdtuu have ways of reviving the coldest-hearted bitch, Kivita. Go ahead, let go. You cannot escape.”

  As the second pirate neared the airlock, his form blocked the vacuum suction for an instant.

  Kivita leapt toward Shekelor and fired. The shot blasted through two of his coils, breaking his grip on the lever. Landing beside him, she kicked him away and clutched the lever.

  In the next second, the pirate clattered through the airlock. With the opening unblocked, the suction ripped Shekelor into space. Kivita’s body lifted off the floor
toward the airlock. Air was ripped from her lungs. Awful cold numbed her skin. A few more feet, and she’d be lost out there forever . . .

  She pressed the lever.

  The doors slid shut just as her boots clanked against them. She fell onto the floor, knocking what breath remained from her body. Blood bubbled from her lips. She coughed, bringing up more.

  Kivita gasped with suffocating fright, since most of the cabin’s air had emptied into space. She forced herself up, right arm numb. From a nearby locker she snatched a breath mask and breathed deep. The vacuum quiet seemed to last forever, until a faint buzzing tickled her ears. The sound grew louder until her ears popped back to normal in the repressurized cabin.

  Sar’s yell echoed from the speaker on the bridge. “Kiv? Kiv! Dammit, I’m coming aboard!”

  She staggered onto the bridge and leaned against the console. With numb fingers she turned all of Terredyn Narbas’s life-support systems back on and activated the mic.

  “I’m . . .” She gasped, then sucked in more air from the mask. “I’m okay. Shekelor’s taking the . . . long way to Umiracan.” Wheezing, Kivita strapped the mask on before she fainted from lack of air.

  “Your old trawler is listing starboard, toward the gas giant. Can you trail me, at least from its gravity well?”

  Kivita’s breathing regulated, but as adrenaline wore off, her stomach throbbed. She coughed; blood splattered the inside of her mask. She ripped it off as life support resumed normal levels.

  “With my eyes closed,” she whispered.

  Slumped over the manuals, Kivita forced herself into the seat. The Juxj Star rolled against her right boot. The fact that the gem hadn’t been sucked into space gave her a chill.

  Through the viewport, Frevyx reappeared above her and blasted away from Tejuit Seven. Kivita flew after them as Cheseia’s voice came over the speaker.

  “We must definitely leave the system, Kivita. The Naxans have sent their mercenary transports to investigate, and Inheritor ships are unfortunately everywhere.”

  Kivita glanced out the viewport and almost let go of the manuals. The two asteroids and crushed pirate ship had lumped together into scrap and dust particles. Fanged Pauper limped to the other side of Tejuit Seven, leaving several floating forms in its wake.

  “I need . . .” Kivita bit back a groan, barely staying in the harness. Her right arm, left leg, forehead, and stomach all came alive with renewed agony.

  Seul’s voice popped from the console speaker. “Kivita? I’ve been ordered back to Aldaar, so please follow my coordinates. My people can help you. I want to help you.”

  Three Inheritor battle cruisers appeared over the gas giant’s horizon.

  The speaker crackled. “All human craft seek shelter in sector TJ-Five-Three-Zero. Inheritor ships have been deployed for your safety against Aldaakian aggression.” The arrogant voice brought a cacophony of protest over the radio channels.

  Two more Inheritor warships appeared.

  Terredyn Narbas shuddered and new warning lights lit up the console. Two starboard thrusters were gone. The port-side hull had lost its outer layer of iron-polymer coating.

  “Give me some coordinates, Sar,” Kivita said on a direct channel to Frevyx.

  “Too late for that. Inheritor military is in the system now. Every one of their ships will have locked on to your beacon. If Shekelor hadn’t given such a chase, we might’ve made it. Didn’t expect such craziness, even from him. Must want you bad.”

  “Yeah, a gal likes to be popular.” Kivita clutched her aching stomach. The movement sent fresh waves of pain up her right arm. “Listen, I’m pretty banged up, but I can still make a light jump. Send your coordinates.”

  “Kivita, it is simply too late. They will certainly trail your beacon,” Cheseia said in an aggravated tone.

  A knot formed in her stomach along with the pain. She slammed the console button. “I’m not leaving Terredyn Narbas!”

  “Then let me pilot her. You and Cheseia take Frevyx to the coordinates.” Sar paused. “Coming alongside now. Two merc ships are nearing the pirate wreckage. They’ll be after us next.”

  “No, I won’t—”

  The speaker replied with static.

  “Sar?” A wet cough ended her protest. Crimson droplets spattered her terminal.

  She knew he spoke truth, but abandoning Terredyn Narbas again cut her heart with a dull knife. She glanced down at the Juxj Star. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she put it back into her pouch.

  Within moments, after her airlock magnetized with his, Sar rushed in, wearing two pistols and a tooled leather satchel. Upon seeing her, his face fell.

  “Your arm . . .”

  “I’ll make it,” she said, but he touched her forehead, smoothed her hair, felt her neck. This time, she caught a slight reaction every time he contacted her. After forcing raw data into Shekelor’s mind, Kivita realized Sar’s struggle.

  “Hold still.” Sar reached for her right shoulder.

  “Hell, no—” She bit her bodyglove sleeve to keep from screaming while he pushed the dislocated arm back into place. Hot dampness flooded her crotch. Tears misted her eyes, but she restrained a wail. He had to see she was strong, no matter what. Breathing faster, she glanced up at his face without wincing.

  “Cheseia’s ready; I’ve already keyed in the coordinates. Any trackers will follow me in Terredyn Narbas. And there will be trackers, Kiv.” Sar looked her in the eye. “Damn it, take care of yourself. I swear this ship will be fine—don’t worry. But you listen to Cheseia; she’ll help. Promise me.” The fear in his voice sunk like a stone into her heart.

  “But when will we link up?”

  He looked away.

  She grabbed his collar with her good hand. “Don’t you dare! Don’t sacrifice yourself for—”

  “I’ll find you.” The tremor in his voice stopped her heart. Sar hefted her into his arms and carried her to the airlock. Cheseia helped her through Frevyx’s airlock, but Kivita stopped.

  “Sar, take good care of her, will you?” She fought back fresh tears and kept her voice firm.

  “Hope she’s not as fickle as her owner.” He smiled sadly and squeezed her hand.

  Kivita wanted to pull him along with her, but Sar released her hand and backed into Terredyn Narbas. The vacuum outside nipped at her skin as Tejuit Seven’s multicolored atmosphere reflected in his eyes. She wet her lips.

  “Sar, I—”

  Both airlocks slid shut.

  20

  Dunaar paced before the bridge viewport while Stiego and his officers watched with tense faces lit by red and blue console screens. Outside, the traffic lanes orbiting Tejuit Seven had slowed to a crawl. Dozens of ships had already left the system after Captain Stiego’s wideband announcement. Dunaar smiled. Let the gnats escape. Soon there would be nowhere to run to.

  “Rector, Terredyn Narbas’s beacon is still broadcasting in this system.” A hologram emitted from Stiego’s monocle, showing Kivita’s ship a short distance from the gas giant. “Surely, if we act now—”

  “It takes cool resolve to achieve our goals, Captain. Kivita Vondir must depart without our involvement. Then we will follow her to the Thedes.” Dunaar ran his sweaty palm over the Scepter of Office. “What is the status of our blockade?”

  Stiego’s monocle hologram flickered and displayed a diagram of the system. “Two cruisers have taken position near the jump lanes, preventing further egress from Tejuit. One cruiser is in pursuit of the Aldaakian ship we spotted earlier. Our other two cruisers are maintaining order in the traffic lanes.”

  “And the Naxans?”

  “Three hive ships have agreed to await inspection by our boarding parties, but six have split up and have made for the jump lanes,” Stiego replied. “There is nowhere they can go, though. The system is ours, Rector.”

  Dunaar swept his g
aze over the pathetic panorama. Yes, the system was theirs, but the sight of so many rebels, heretics, and petty nobles sent a pang into his heart. None of these people had to live like this. Residing on outdated starships, orbiting a beautiful but worthless gas giant. How many children on those ships could be fed by Haldon grain and tutored by wise prophets? How many could he save by taking them to the young yellow stars in the Core?

  By the Vim, he would see it done. As long as he had the strength to do what was necessary.

  “Captain, order those cruisers policing the traffic lanes to target a few random Aldaakian craft and destroy them.”

  Within seconds, the order passed to the Inheritor battle cruisers. From his vantage point, Dunaar glimpsed small flashes and hurtling debris. Stiego’s monocle hologram projected data sent back from their cruisers: four Aldaakian merchant ships and two frigates destroyed.

  One did not lead by mere words. Sometimes people had to be shown what they should fear, and whom they should beseech for salvation.

  “That is sufficient. I shall—”

  A terminal beeped, interrupting him.

  “Rector, I have just received a report from our fleet at Bons Sutar,” Stiego said, his monocle hologram deactivating. The bridge officers perked up with expectant eyes.

  “Finally, some news from that treacherous Tannocci strongpoint.” Launching campaigns across the light years tested even his patience.

  “The system has been taken, though casualties have been heavy.” Stiego’s right eye twitched.

  “Of course those Sutaran brutes would fight well. Give me the numbers,” Dunaar said.

  “Out of the thirty-five thousand troops sent, sixteen thousand were killed or wounded. An additional two thousand are still unaccounted for.”

  The bridge staff blanched. Stiego’s shoulders sagged slightly.

  Dunaar clasped the Scepter in both hands and took a deep breath. “We shall not forget those brave men. When we reach the Core, we will reunite with them there, bathed in the Vim’s light. The Sutarans have joined our cause. It is up to us to bring as many as we can when the time for departure arrives. The Sutaran losses, Captain?”