Embarkment 2577 Read online

  Blake hurried up to the door and locked it from the keypad. Should I tell him the computer was off-line? Nah, he’d discover it on his own. I ignored the commotion and looked for Adam. He could provide comfort, and at least imagined safety from the chaos.

  My android friend remained in the cell, watching me with a frown. I’d be the first to acknowledge my being there, attempting to rescue them in a silly masquerade suit was very backwards. When I met his eyes, he took a few steps forward and hugged me tight.

  “Are you okay?”

  He seemed so big, strong, and certain. I wanted to bury my face against his chest and tell him he must take care of me, tell him I never wanted to make another decision in my life. Too needy. “No. I’ve never been this afraid. How ‘bout you, are you okay?”

  Adam released his grip on me, but kept his hands on my shoulders for a moment. “I’m fine. I had to surrender the ship not to get my entire bridge crew killed. I lost a couple of ensigns, but I’m fine… I was worried for you. I’m surprised to see you.”

  *****

  Time is relative. It seemed like an hour before Blake took control of the situation, but it was probably a matter of seconds. He held his hands up, and everyone hushed. “Alex, what’s it like out there?”

  I frowned and struggled to give a helpful answer. “I didn’t see much of anything on the upper decks, but there’s a lot of movement down here. They’re moving people off the ship.”

  “That makes sense. They probably want the ship empty and ready for sale. Alright people, we need a plan.”

  Jia’Lyn tried the consoles, and reported, “The main computer is down, Captain.”

  I forgot about that, distracted as I was with feeling a little safe. His words created a big lump in my throat. “Anya was in there. She helped me with all this.”

  Adam murmured, “She’ll be fine, sweetheart. We just need to take the ship back”

  He’d never called me sweetheart before, at least not that I could remember. Was it a slip, or because he knew I needed comfort?

  One of the younger officers said, with enthusiasm, “We’ll take the ship back, and then all we need to do is get the people back. Right?”

  He wore a uniform, and must have been on duty on the bridge, or in engineering. An advantage to being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night…

  “And how exactly are you going to accomplish that? Run out there with one Logg suit and one rifle?” Calling Ima’s voice irritated would be an understatement.

  Someone said, “We need to get to the bridge, and get the computer back online.”

  The Captain looked at me and I raised an eyebrow, very unimpressed. I’d hoped my part in all this was over.

  Adam pushed me in front of him and rubbed my shoulders. Having him so close made me feel better. He seemed so neutral and ready, even at a time like this. His voice got everyone’s attention. “If you’re up to climbing there’s a maintenance shaft behind that wall. It should be possible to climb all the way to the top level and get in on the bridge through the ceiling. I’ll try to go to Engineering and get the computer back online.”

  Blake grimaced. “That’s a very long climb, but it is what we’ll have to do.”

  He nodded to some of the younger crewmembers, and they were soon busy trying to get through the wall. I whispered, “Why isn’t there a door?”

  “It’s the brig. We can’t make it too easy for ourselves to escape.”

  Scaling rickety service ladders for thirty three floors dressed in underwear or this clumsy suit was out of the question. Hopefully, they’d let me stay where I was. Exhaustion made the world sway around me, and I turned around to wrap my furry arms around Adam’s waist, burying my face against him. It might not be the proper thing to do, but this wasn’t a normal situation, so screw proper.

  Being sleepy gave me an idea. “Maybe you can pump in some gas on all decks, or pump the air out, or something, and put everyone to sleep.”

  It surprised me he took it seriously. I didn’t. All my ideas seemed childish, and I kept talking to stay awake.

  “That’s a good idea. Once we get to Engineering I should be able to pump enough air out to render everyone unconscious”

  “What do you mean, ‘we’?”

  “I hate to drag you out there again, but you have to escort me. I’ll be your prisoner, how’s that sound?”

  It sounded horrible. I did not want to be part of the plan. At least going with Adam would be better than staying all alone, or facing more than thirty floors of ladders.

  I groaned when I put the patch back on my throat and pulled the headpiece back in place. The rifle was so heavy and my legs so tired.

  Chapter Ten

  I headed back into the corridor with my android prisoner. There were still Logg a plenty moving hostages, and no one paid much attention to us. A couple cheered when they saw I had a high-ranking officer, and one asked if Adam was responsible for my wounds. I didn’t want to talk more than necessary, so I nodded and poked him in the back with my rifle, hoping I wouldn’t accidentally shoot him.

  Adam led the way through endless corridors and I followed. Anya’s words, “act with confidence” echoed in my mind, and I made a show of herding him to a grim fate. It was easier when we reached the other side of the ship, there weren’t as many people there, and when he finally stopped, we were lucky enough to be alone. He forced a door open without much effort, and I hurried inside. How convenient it must be to be that strong.

  We were in a closet filled with colourful little robots. One was blue and had a camera for a head, and I pulled the headpiece off to take a closer look. “I want one. I so, totally want one.”

  “They clean and perform maintenance, but they all powered down when the main computer went off line.”

  Did he feel related to them? Had I accidentally insulted him? No, that was absurd. Adam was as connected to these machines as he was to a goldfish.

  He didn’t spend any more time on the matter either; he opened a hatch close to the ceiling. “You’ll have to lose the suit, sweetheart. You’ll never get through to engineering like that.”

  I looked away from the blue robot, after patting it on the head, but didn’t move to undress. Adam lifted an eyebrow. “What? I thought you’d be dying to get out of it.”

  I was. I pulled the voice-altering patch off and gave it a new place on the back of my hand. I didn’t want to use it again if I didn’t have to, ever, but no harm in saving it. “Well, yeah I am, but it’s in the middle of the night, you know.”

  He gave me a completely blank look.

  “So, I was in bed when all this happened, and I didn’t have time to get dressed.”

  Climbing around the insides of a starship dressed in panties and nothing more wasn’t appealing. Not even during these circumstances, and especially not together with him.

  “I see.”

  He took his shirt off, and it was very difficult not to ogle. We were in a serious situation, far from safe, and I should have other things on my mind than a man’s muscles. I still wanted to tell him I needed the tank top too, just to get to see a bit more. My hormones must be completely out of whack. This certainly wasn’t the time or the place, and he wasn’t even human. I still wanted him badly. Adam’s neutral facial expression never changed, but I could swear he laughed inside when he handed me the shirt and turned around.

  “Here you go. Pretend it’s a dress. I promise not to look.”

  My gorilla suit was soon hidden in the service corridor, and Adam hoisted me up with a firm grip around my waist.

  We crawled on hands and knees on a rough grating deck, and I wished for a pair of jeans. I liked wearing his shirt. Imagine how safe and well prepared I would have felt with sturdy blue jeans and a pair of good boots. As it was, the rough metal hurt my hands, knees, and feet. Maybe someone would find traces of me stuck to the flooring years from now. Maybe there’d be enough DNA left behind to create a new me if I didn’t make it through this.

 
My daydreams of clothes shattered when Adam stopped ahead of me. He sat down and turned enough to be able to see me. “We’re going to have to do some climbing, but only a few decks. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

  Climbing was not part of my plan. I should have realized engineering was on deck twenty-five, which clearly wasn’t the same thing as thirty-three, but I didn’t think that far.

  Adam climbed out first and stood on the ladder to the side of the tunnel, a few rungs down, ready to catch me if need be. I sat on my hands and knees and peeked out. The shaft was narrow but long, and when I looked up, I couldn’t see the end of it. I could see the bottom, far below us, and it was much too easy to imagine falling down to a certain death. Each floor here was huge; below us were docking bays where entire ships would fit. How much time would I have to think and worry before I hit the bottom?

  “I could carry you, but I assume you’d rather go on your own.”

  “I’m going, I’m going.” The ladder was far to the side. I leaned out of the tunnel and was able to reach it with my fingertips, but couldn’t get a good grip. I leaned further, trying to hold on to the tunnel with one hand and one foot while getting something besides empty air under the other. I was too short, too sore, and too tired. I toppled over and fumbled with empty air.

  There wasn’t anything for my grasping hands to hold on to. It’s amazing how much you can think during a split second. Would people miss me? Would I have time to feel pain when hitting the floor far below? Then, Adam held me with an iron grip around my waist. I clung to him, and he whispered, “I told you I wouldn’t let you fall. That doesn’t mean you have to try me.”

  He kissed the side of my head. “Hold on to the ladder this time. You have to go first, but I promise I won’t look up under your shirt.”

  I understood. Deck twenty-five awaited eight floors above us. I would fall again, and he needed to stay below me to be able to catch me. “You know I’m keeping the shirt, right? I think I look good in black.”

  “Adorable. If I wasn’t perched on a ladder I would absolutely try to seduce you.”

  The unexpected comment made me laugh and shook the worst anxiety away. My legs were still shaky, the ladder seemed slippery, and the rungs hurt my naked feet, but I was ready to try.

  My climb was slow and arduous. Imagine a monkey with vertigo trying to reach the highest branch in the forest. Adam let me fight with it for a while, but I soon heard his voice drift up from the darkness underneath me. “Sweetheart, stop there for a moment.”

  I wasn’t used to endearments from him, but I liked it, and I obeyed. I wrapped my arms around one of the rungs, worried I would fall the second I stopped concentrating. He came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me steady. “Turn around and hold on to me.”

  My faith in him was strong enough to allow me to move. For a breathless moment his arm was the only thing holding me. Then, I got my arms wrapped around his neck.

  “Legs too. I need you to hold tight and close your eyes.”

  I didn’t understand how this was supposed to work, but I soon clung to him with my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist. It was embarrassing, but much better than having to climb myself. Adam virtually flew up the ladder and teased me all the way, keeping my mind away from the abyss beneath us.

  Eventually, I felt us move sideways and heard Adam leave the shaft and enter the corridor. Opening one eye, I saw the roof of the tunnel above me.

  “I think you can go on your own from here.”

  “No.” It was childish, but I didn’t think I’d be able to let go even if I wanted to.

  “I’ll carry you all you want once this is over, but for now, I can protect you better if I have my hands free. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He held an arm around me and lowered me down on the floor. For a moment our faces were very close, almost touching. I hoped he would kiss me, the very thought cheered me up.

  “We’re almost there. I’ll go first.”

  The light at the end of the tunnel took on a brand new expression as I crawled behind Adam. If this was a service tunnel, were people really supposed to crawl around in there on hands and knees, carrying tools and performing repairs?

  He finally stopped and peeked out through a hatch separating us from the room below. “Looks clear. I’ll go check it out. Stay here.”

  “Okay. Be careful.” Unless there were zombies sneaking around in the tunnels, I had no intention of jumping down without his approval.

  He stuck his fingers through the grating and pushed it loose. It looked easy, but I would probably have needed a crowbar.

  As soon as he jumped down, I scuttled forward enough to keep him in sight. The room was deserted, and he returned in less than a minute to lift me down.

  “You doing okay?”

  I nodded. It wasn’t true, but I didn’t want him to know just how scared I was.

  “I’m proud of you Alex.”

  His words made me beam. I hadn’t done much, he carried me most of the way, but hearing the words still made me warm inside.

  Adam crossed the room and keyed in a code on a panel. A portion of the wall slid to the side, revealing quite a weapon’s storage. He rummaged around in there, and smiled when he pulled out a uniform and tossed me a pair of black pants. “Jia’Lyn is always prepared. She’s a little taller than you, but maybe you can roll them up or something.”

  Her boots also fit pretty well. Being dressed made everything feel better.

  “Do you think they discovered everyone escaped?”

  “Probably, but it’s a big ship.”

  He glanced around. “C’mon. Go sit over there for a bit. I’ll go get the computer online.”

  This didn’t sound appealing at all. I didn’t want to be left alone. Wouldn’t the mainframe be guarded? He winked and disappeared out of the door, and I moseyed over to the corner least visible from the door. Maybe I could sit down on the floor, just for a little while.

  Chapter Eleven

  I was a real asset in a stressful situation: I slept through the computer coming back online. I woke from Adam stroking my hair and saying my name. It felt good. “Mmm, hi.”

  “It’s a shame to wake you, but we need to go.”

  “This is a very comfortable floor. You go save the day, and come back to get me when you’re done.”

  He laughed softly. “I’ll find you a chair on the bridge that’s even more comfortable.”

  “You’re not getting me coffee?”

  “I wish I could. Here, put this on.”

  He held out a peculiar visor to me. It resembled some futuristic scuba gear. “What? We’re going swimming?”

  The man was the epitome of patience. When I didn’t take the visor, he put it on me. “We need to go to the bridge now, and you will need air on the way there.”

  Wearing the breathing device was awkward, and the air had a peculiar taste. I could breathe though, so I didn’t complain.

  He paused just inside the door to the corridor. “Stay right behind me, just in case. Are you ready?”

  As ready as I’d ever be.

  I squeezed my eyes shut when he opened the door to the corridor. No harm in delaying whatever horrors might await for a second or two, right? When I opened them again, Adam crouched next to three motionless bodies. “Are they… Are they dead?”

  “They’ll be fine, but they’ll have wonderful headaches when they wake up. Come on.”

  My plan didn’t seem all that great anymore. What about people who might be sick, or pregnant, or something. Would they die?

  “Alex, I pumped in a mix of sevoflurane and nitrous oxide. They’ll be out for a while, but they’ll be fine.” His words woke me from my paralysis.

  Strewn with bodies, the beautiful corridors turned into a nightmare. I kept trying to peek over my shoulder to see if a monster might be sneaking up on us, but the visor wouldn’t turn that far.

  There was an unconscious Logg in the lift.
I shifted my weight from foot to foot, unwilling to go in, and Adam pulled the furry body out.

  “Do you think the others made it to the bridge before…?” My mental image of everyone falling to their deaths, put to sleep during the long climb was too horrendous.

  He took my hand and led me into the elevator. “I think they picked up masks just like yours, and I think they’re waiting for us.”

  Waiting? How could they be? We only had to climb eight floors, and they needed to go thirty-three. Oh no… “You didn’t let me sleep, did you?”

  “Just for a little while.”

  Great. The entire rescue operation stalled because I needed a nap.

  Adam squeezed my fingers. “No matter what happens, it’ll be a long day.”

  The top floor was almost empty. It would make sense to empty the ship from there down, and only a few stocky, furry bodies hindered our way. I stepped over one, hoping it wouldn’t wake up to grab my ankles.

  There was a pile of maybe twenty intruders outside the door to the bridge. Adam ignored them, but paused to put up four small magnetic devices. He pressed the side of one of them and a force field enclosed the door. If Blake and his crew had time to recycle the air, we’d be able to get in without contaminating it.

  I expected him to open the door, but he paused to look at me, looking like he wanted to say something. He didn’t, he never did, and we entered the bridge.

  Taking the visor off was a relief, not to mention seeing our friends in control.

  Jia’Lyn said, “Good to see you.” Further in the room, a young woman exclaimed, “What did they do? These controls are all messed up.”

  The bridge was intimidating. A large oval room filled with consoles and indecipherable holograms. Adam nudged me towards a row of chairs and went to work. Even from where I sat, I could see his fingers fly over the controls so quickly they blurred. The young woman smiled. “Thank you, Commander. That’s much better.”

  Everyone was so busy, and I couldn’t help. Even the simplest of tasks in this room were far above my level of competence.