Deadly Betrayal Read online

  I don’t think any of them heard me. I stopped right inside the door and tried one last time.

  “Adam!”

  He was still talking about the cylinder. “This valve can be adjusted for the size of the system.”

  I shook my head and left, heading downstairs into the bowels of the ship.

  Standing alone in the lift made me second-guess my decision. He was being impossible, but leaving might be overreacting.

  On the other hand, he planned to leave me. This entire journey had one purpose: for him to leave me. I had a chance to to take the initiative, and being the one left behind might be good for him.

  My eyes weren't paying attention to logic. They leaked and I dabbed them with my sleeve.

  Downstairs, John waited in his secret room. “I didn’t think you’d show.”

  I huffed. “There’s no competing with a starship or the fate of the world.”

  He offered his bottle and even a careful sip made me cough. “How do you drink this? It smells like kerosene. I haven’t actually tasted kerosene, but I’m pretty sure it would be like this.”

  My reaction seemed to amuse him. “Practice. There’s beer in the fridge.”

  I got two and handed one to him. He teased, “Maybe I like kerosene.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me if you did, but you might need something to help rinse it down.”

  He smiled and I curled up in the next chair, pulling my feet up.

  “So, this running away thing, what did you have in mind?”

  I was the one who brought it up first, but he wouldn’t hold little details like that against me.

  “The boys can have this ship, we don’t need all this room anyway. We could go look at a nebula, they’re pretty spectacular. See if they miss us.”

  “They’ll miss us eventually, when they need something. It will take them a while to reclaim the fleet, and Earth, and all the other planets. Isn’t a shuttle a bit small for a great escape?”

  His eyes glittered. “You know me better than that. Come.”

  He led the way to the back of the room, pressed a rivet, and a part of the metal wall swung to the side.

  “Ladies first.”

  There was a small ledge and a ladder leading down. I wasn’t good with ladders, but this one was pretty short and I was still filled with adrenaline, so I climbed down just fine. It stopped by a circular hatch with another ladder, and the arrangement made me think of a submarine.

  The space was dimly lit, and as soon as John came down, he flipped some switches, making the light dazzle.

  “This is the Captain’s cruiser. A few rooms in the back, storage and pantry here in the middle, and bridge that way.”

  “You have another ship under the ship.”

  He grinned. “Our secret, Hon. It’s so well camouflaged I don’t think even Adam has spotted it. Look around.”

  The vessel was fantastic. Comfortable, cozy, large enough to be roomy yet small enough to be manageable. No endless echoing corridors or risk of getting lost.

  “I love it.”

  “Wanna take her for a spin?”

  “Yes, but we’re in hyperspace. Isn’t that impossible?”

  He looked like I just promoted him to Santa Claus. “Normally not advisable. But you know how I…”

  I interrupted him. “You like to work on mechanics too complicated for a normal person to comprehend while pretending to be a drunken smuggler.”

  “The one who understands me.”

  He led the way to the small bridge. I recognized many of the controls, but instead of a vast room there was just two comfortable captain’s chairs and enough space for the two of us to move around.

  I rested my hands on the back of a chair.

  “Let’s go somewhere.”

  “Sure. Whenever you want.”

  “I was thinking right now, but we should probably tell him.”

  John smirked. “Yeah, once he figures out he misplaced you he’ll tear the ship apart looking.”

  I got a sting of bad conscience, but enough was enough. I was not sitting on my butt waiting for weeks or months to see if the altered crew found Adam in the Bell’s innards.

  There was a keypad by the door. John said, “The code is 921672.”

  He entered it and all the consoles around us lit up. “Sit down, Hon. I’ll go make sure the hatches are closed.”

  It took less than two minutes for him to return.

  “Are you sure about this?”

  I wasn't, but I still nodded.

  John turned on the radio. “Adam?”

  “What is it, John? A little busy here.”

  Hearing his voice almost made me change my mind, until he reached the busy part. It reminded me of the way he said, “Yes, I know they may be docked for a long time, but I’ll just stay hidden and wait.”

  John’s voice shook me out of it. “Alex and I are going for a ride. We’ll catch up with you at GA7 when you’re done crawling around in the Bell.”

  That finally spurred a reaction. “What? We’re in hyperspace. And where are you going?”

  I heard Debana in the background. “I told you to listen. If your wife is polite enough to come tell you she’s running away and asks if you want to come, you could at least turn around and look at her.”

  He said, “Alex…”

  “No. I’m tired of waiting to see if you’ll live through another stupid and death-defying stunt. I’ve watched you die once, and that was enough. You go do whatever you feel you have to do, we’ll meet you later if you’re still alive.”

  “Alex, if you don’t want me to go you should have said so.”

  “Oh yes, like when I said, ‘Adam, I really don’t want you to do this’ several times and you ignored it? You have perfect memory, I’m sure you can recall it.”

  Debana muttered, “Ouch” and Samuel said, “I won’t do that. I promise I’ll never do that.”

  “Can we talk about this?” He sounded weary. At least I managed to catch his attention long enough for him to understand we were leaving.

  “Will talking make a difference? Can anything I say or do change your decision?”

  The long silence that followed answered for him. He would do what he deemed necessary no matter the cost.

  John said, “Well, take care, son. Stay alive and we’ll see you in a few weeks.”

  He had been working on the computer as we talked and flipped the radio off just as Adam re-found his voice to ask, “Where are you?”

  John glanced over towards me. “You okay?”

  I was surprised to find I was.

  “Yes. I’m so over this.”

  I imitated Adam’s manner of speaking. “From now on I will value your input and let you decide. Until I feel the need to sit in a service corridor in a battleship for weeks. If I come out of that alive and not a zombie, I’ll just pop over and battle the governing force of this vast and troubled galaxy, uniting it in peace. By myself. After that I’ll stop. Just kidding, now there’s an emergency in the Andromeda galaxy. Going there will take a few years, but I’ll be back.” I closed my mouth so hard my teeth rattled to cut off the rant.

  John chuckled. “He would too. Press that button before he finds us and tries to break in here.”

  I obeyed. After a metallic clang and a small bump as we left the other ship, we were free.

  

  Interstellar Conflict

  Coming soon in 2016

  The Crabhead Nebula looked nothing like a crab.

  It didn’t matter. The view was spectacular.

  “You’ve been staring at that for a long time.”

  I ripped my eyes from the miracle outside our little ship and flashed as smile as John entered, carrying two mugs with coffee.

  “Thank you. Bourbon-free?” No harm in checking, just to be on the safe side.

  “Yours is.” He winked and shook his hair out of his eyes as he sat down. John was tall, strong, and handsome, with hair that had grown just a little too long, warm
hazel eyes, and perpetually stubbly cheeks. He personified the concept of charming rogue space pirate.

  To make life more complicated, he was also one of the builders behind my android husband, Adam, and sort of my father-in-law. John insisted I was his little girl, which unnerved me since he couldn’t be more than five years older than I. If that.

  This would have been intricate enough, but became even more so when we ran away from the rest of the family almost exactly three weeks earlier. Not the most mature thing to do, but we were clearly happier on our own than amongst the complications of people.

  I sipped the dark brew and coughed. “Wrong mug.”

  About Maria Hammarblad

  As a little girl, Maria was fascinated with books. Before she could read or write, she made her mother staple papers together to resemble books. She drew suns in them and claimed they were “The Sun Book.” They were all about the sun. The four-year old also claimed her existence on Earth was a mistake, a result of a horrible mix-up, and that her real family would come to bring her home to her own planet at any time. This didn’t happen, but her fascination with both books and other worlds stayed with her.

  Originally born in Sweden, she moved to Florida late 2008, and today she lives in the Tampa Bay area with her husband Mike and their rescue dogs. Her biggest interest besides writing is playing bass, and through the years she has played in a number of Swedish rock bands.

  Maria also writes screenplays, and has won a number of awards.

  For more information, visit Maria’s website: www.hammarblad.com

  Other books by Maria Hammarblad

  With Desert Breeze Publishing

  Kidnapped

  Undercover

  Flashback

  Operation Earth

  Shadow of a Man

  Courage and Retribution

  Covert Identity

  With Sadowski Media

  Embarkment 2577: Arrival

  Embarkment 2577: Brand New World

  Embarkment 2577: High Gravity

  Embarkment 2577: Adam and Eve

  Embarkment 2577: Interstellar Conflict (release 2016)

  Embarkment 2577: Anguish and Hope (release 2016)

  Touch of the Goddess

  Wrath of the Goddess

  Return of the Goddess

  Conversion