Gamma Raiders: Storm Squadron Alpha: Scifi Alien Romance Novel (20 page)

But she knew it wasn’t an option. If she passed up this shipment, the Imperials weren’t likely to offer her a haul of this caliber again. And she didn’t know how long she had before the Rend took Tanner. It was a risk worth taking.

“I know,” she said. “Thanks, Kaj.”

“You’re going anyway.”

“You’ve known me for too long.”

“You’re just like your father.”

“I can only hope.”

***

Lana closed the shop doors behind her as she stepped back into the alley. No nav sensors. Just her luck. The Endurance still had its standard issue set, though, and that would have to be good enough. Getting through the Dennegar belt without the upgrades wasn’t impossible. Reckless, maybe. But not impossible. Perhaps she had more in common with her father than she realized.

As she made her way back towards the heart of the Bazaar, she glimpsed the Kamaran man from the fruit cart. She ducked back into the alley. No need to repeat their awkward encounter. She’d already suffered enough for one day, and the blazing Tarksian sun was barely above the horizon. At least Kira wasn’t here to goad her into talking to him again.
I told you your prince would come. You can’t run away from it forever.

Maybe Lana would avoid mentioning the incident at all.

She peeked back around the corner, scanning the area to make sure he had gone.

And she didn’t hear her attacker approach until he was already on top of her.

“There now, pretty, ssssshouldn’t be alone out here. Not ssssssafe, you know. Dangeroussss people about.” The curly-horned Ratolian gripped her arms, his rough, scaly skin cutting into her as he forced her to the ground.

His hand hit her mouth, muffling her scream as he pinned her beneath his knee. “Lovely planet, thissss. Tarkissss. Lovely womensss. Fetch a fffine profitsss.” He bent her arm up behind her back as he shoved her face into the ground.

Lana writhed, searching for escape as he dug into his satchel for a rope to bind her hands. She felt his grip loosen. Sensing a moment of opportunity, she kicked up hard, but fell short of her mark.

“Sssstay!” the Ratolian hissed, slamming her back to the dirt as he snatched her wrists and tightened the rope around them. She closed her eyes and flailed against him, fighting with every ounce of strength she could summon.

But she knew it wouldn’t be enough. The acrid taste of fear surged through her.

Lana pulled back hard, driving the back of her head into the horned devil’s nose.

He bellowed and rocked backward.

“Sssstupid bitch!” he cried, raising a sharp talon.

Lana froze. She closed her eyes and prepared for the end.

And she heard the sickening crunch of bone as someone smashed into her attacker, throwing him from her body.

Lana rolled over. Endorphins surging through her as she scrambled to her feet.

The Kamaran.

He held the horned Ratolian high, his arm braced against his throat. A raging fury painted his once pacific eyes as he twisted the horned devil’s head.

The snap of his neck was quick. He fell limp and lifeless to the ground.

The look of rage faded from her savior’s face as he turned back to her.

“You?” she whispered. “Why?”

“You’re lucky I happened by.”

“Happened by? You were following me.” She regretted the words the moment she uttered them. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

“Don’t flatter yourself, princess. I was following
him.”
He pointed over to the broken body of the Ratolian.

“What?”

“They’re not good people. And that particular Ratolian was a slaver. I’ve been hunting him for days, and managed to track him here.”

Lana looked at the broken, crumpled body on the ground. She knew things here were bad, but slavers?

“Looks like I found him just in time. He probably had some pretty nasty plans for you.”

“So you’re what? Some kind of vigilante? That’s comforting.”

“Such sass. I’d think a thank you was in order.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Observant, too.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Who just saved your life. And you still didn’t thank me.”

“Thank you,” she said. “And you
still
didn’t answer my question.”

“The galaxy can be a rough place. It’s usually the worst for those who deserve it the least. I’m just doing what I can to help.”

“How noble of you.”

The Kamaran shook his head. “Unbelievable. No gratitude at all.”

“I said ‘thank you’. If you expect more than that, you’re no better than
him.
”

“I don’t expect anything at all – it leads to disappointment. But you seem to know that song already. And though I’m scintillated by the banter, I’m sure we both have more important things to do. You can call me Adaar. And you, miss…”

“Lana. Lana Riley.”

“Miss Riley, you should be more careful. There are dangerous people out there.” His eyes penetrated her again. “But we’re not all bad. The trick is to know who to trust.”

Without another word, he tossed her the sun fruit. Smiled. And walked away.

Chapter 3

Lana quickened her pace as she rushed through the massive open dome of the Depot’s central hub. By far the largest collection of structures in the city, the Depot was one of the few places on Tarksis constructed from the planet’s namesake metal. Its rich aquamarine hue would have made the place feel serene if it weren’t for the incessant roar of engines reverberating through the open air of the hub. Towering spires of blue tarkanium twisted skyward, supporting the fleet vessels and trade ships as they prepared for launch.

A handful of new Kamaran marine recruits still lingered, but Lana barely noticed them as she hurried toward the port that housed the Endurance. She was running late, and her contractor at the Consortium had made it clear that the delivery needed to go off without a hitch.

No pressure
.

After her encounter with Curly-Horns and the strange Kamaran man, she was more than ready for a retreat to the blackness of space. As she rounded the corner to the dock where the Endurance sat ready for their departure, she spotted Kira waiting impatiently.

“There you are!” Kira’s face lifted into a smile. “Just in time, Riley. In your book, that’s late. Everything okay?”

“I know. I’m sorry,” said Lana, still out of breath from her sprint through the depot. “I got held up.” She leaned over the metal railing and peered at the giant clock in the center of the hub. “We should still be able to make schedule, though, as long as everything’s ready. The Consortium guys still getting the ship loaded?”

“They finished a few minutes ago. Even faster than usual. I didn’t even see the guys load it.”

Lana raised an eyebrow.

“It’s
not
because I was admiring the scenery. I promise. I know this one’s important, Riley.”

Lana believed her. Despite her obsession with those
painfully sexy
Kamarans, Kira had a good head on her shoulders. She was dependable, and she’d never let anything important slip through the cracks.

“The soldiers all left already, anyway. Probably catching up on their rack time before training,” said Kira. “Though I’m sure they would have loved my company.”

“I’m sure they would have.”

“But you’d be lost without me, Riley. So here I am.”

“So you didn’t see them loading our cargo? No clue what the haul is?”

Kira shrugged.

Frigates like the Endurance didn’t have the cargo space for massive shipments of Tarksian ore, so transporting small loads was nothing out of the ordinary. The Endurance was small and light. Built for speed. It meant they couldn’t handle the massive shipments of raw materials that most captains made their living on. But it also meant that they got the high priority rush deliveries.

Still, it was strange that the Consortium didn’t at least tell Kira what they’d be hauling.

Kira seemed to read her thoughts. “I wouldn’t worry, Riley. Just some crazy rich person’s whim. Besides, we’re getting paid to go to paradise. I’ve always wanted to dip my toes in an Anaran ocean.” She stood up and smiled. “You look like you could use a break, too. Let’s get those nav sensors installed and get out of here.”

“Oh,” said Lana. “Yeah, about that…”

“Don’t tell me you couldn’t get them? Sakaj can get
anything.
”

Lana shook her head. “Not this time. The shipment went missing. And not the usual ‘gone missing’ that Sakaj would have gotten wind of.”

“Now that you mention it, I overheard a few of the officers talking while I was…”

“Ogling the new recruits.”

“
Ogling.
I don’t ogle. What kind of word is that?”

Her friend’s sense of humor never failed to make Lana smile.

“Anyway, they were all in a panic because there was a huge weapons shipment that was supposed to come in for the recruits. But it didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“That’s what they were so freaked out about. Nobody knows what happened. Some kind of comm blackout maybe? The ship just went dark. Vanished from the radar. Poof. No more ship. No weapons shipment.”

Shipments went missing all the time – nothing strange about that. It was unusual for the officers to have no explanation, though. “Should we be worried?” asked Lana.

“Please. The Endurance can outrun anything. With you in the cockpit, we’ll be just fine.”

“Gods, I hope you’re right.”

***

A loud metallic groan tore through the hull of the Endurance as it dropped out of hyperspace. People said it didn’t make that sound, but Lana knew better. The sudden deceleration put an intense strain on the ship’s frame and caused the entire thing to contract and scrape against itself as its momentum slowed. The result was the shrieking, inhuman growl of the drop.

Lana sat upright in her chair, taking inventory of the systems as the comm circuits buzzed back to life. She transmitted their location back to the Consortium, indicating they’d made the jump without the ship tearing itself to shreds. Fortunately, such occurrences weren’t common. Anymore.

The ship’s sensors breezed through their diagnostic protocol, lighting up the console controls as they scanned the life support, the cargo bay, fuel, throttle, and navigation controls. The faint red glow of the auxiliary system faded as the rest of the systems returned to their default active state.

“Another successful jump,” said Kira as she unfastened her safety restraints and lifted herself out of her chair. “Not that I had any doubts.”

But Lana didn’t respond. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the view in front of them.

The Dennegar belt.

“It’s beautiful in its way,” she said. “From here, it looks so peaceful.” She had feared it for so long. Heard so many stories about pilots getting lost out there. She knew that any one of those asteroids could tear a hole straight through the walls of their ship. But she trusted herself behind the console. Trusted her ability to get them safely through. And she looked forward to the challenge.

“I can’t wait to get in there.”

“It’s a bunch of rocks, Riley. And they can kill you. Kill
us.
”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid.”

“I trust you and all, but…”

“Relax. I don’t plan on dying out here. We get paid and we get home. Easy.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“And dip your toes in the Anaran ocean.”

“Damn right.” Kira grinned. “Alright, captain. Let’s do it.”

“You might want to sit.”

Lana punched the controls, blanketing the Endurance in a soft, blue field of light. “Shields up,” she said.

“Will that even help?”

Lana shrugged. “I doubt it.”

She threw open a box on the console and flipped the lever to nudge the Endurance into manual control. She eased forward on the throttle as the engines lit up behind her and they made their way past the outer rim.

They slipped between two craggy, pocked asteroids as Lana effortlessly dodged and weaved between the smaller rocks that hurtled through the vastness towards them. As they flew deeper into the labyrinth, the paths of the asteroids dictated their course. A quick juke here, a roll there. Lana guided the ship through the maze, falling into flow as her instincts took over.

The flight was smooth. Kira visibly relaxed as the gentle movements of the ship under Lana’s skilled hands took them through the belt.

Then a white hot flash of light filled their vision.

“What the hell was that?” said Kira.

“Guess the shields work after all.”

Kira’s eyes went wide. “That’s not funny.”

“Don’t worry. It was a little one.”

“Um, Riley?”

“Relax, that’s what they were designed for. We’re not going anywhere near anything that’s going to cause us problems.”

“Riley,” she said again, the playfulness gone from her voice. Her face turned to ash as she pointed at the console. “Look.”

Lana angled the Endurance into an open patch between two mountain-sized chunks of rock and pulled her focus from the window. The display showed their shield power levels at zero. “What the hell? That can’t be right. It looks like it’s still on.”

Kira looked outside the window. The familiar blue glow still surrounded their ship. “I know. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe the meter is wrong? Maybe too many gravity fields are pulling it out of whack?”

“You know it doesn’t work like that. It’s reading the power levels on a self-contained feedback loop.”

“I don’t like it, either. But the shields wouldn’t just drop without pulling power from somewhere. Everything else is still functioning normally.” Lana tugged at the yoke to prove it.

But the ship didn’t change directions.

Frantic, she hit the throttle. Then the retrorockets.

Nothing.

“Shit.”

“What’s happening, Riley?”

“I don’t know. It won’t…” Lana frantically tugged at the yoke, pushing a series of buttons and attempting to reclaim control of the ship.

The cabin lights flickered and dimmed as the ominous red glow of the emergency lights took their place. The ship’s sensors went dark, leaving them blind to everything but the blackness of the void outside their window and the ominous, spinning asteroids outside their window.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

“Okay,” Lana said. “I know. But that won’t help.” She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
Let it in,
she told herself.
Get through it.
She let the weight of their predicament rush through her and let the fear in. Let it run its course, as she’d done a thousand times before.

“Riley,” said Kira, shaking her from her trance.

“Alright. Let’s think through this. The instruments aren’t working. The shield is down. We’re still breathing, though, so at least the life support systems are still good. And the emergency lights are on, so the auxiliary is working. We’re not dead. It’s fixable.”

“Damn right it’s fixable. I’m not going out like this. If I’m going to die young, it’s got to be more glamorous than a power failure.” Kira always kept things in perspective.

Lana couldn’t help but smile.
It’s just a small setback. You’ve dealt with far worse.
“Damn right,” she said.

The tension broke as the pair erupted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, but their relief was short-lived.

With a buzz and a hiss, a glowing blanket of white light enveloped the Endurance. The ship juddered and lurched to a halt, throwing Kira unceremoniously forward into the console.

What the hell?

“Lana, was that you?”

“Something stopped us.”

“Not an asteroid. We’d be torn to pieces without the shield.”

“Yeah, and no glowing field. Someone’s out there.” She tapped at the console with a silent prayer that the sensors would come back online.

They were blind, and they were trapped. Fear surged through her again. Whatever happened wasn’t natural. And it wasn’t mechanical.

Someone was out there.

And in Gamma, that was bad news.

“Riley, what do we do?”

Lana closed her eyes again, trying to will the fear away. Will her rationality to come back in and deliver an answer. But her mind was as blank as the scanner in front of her.

“What you do,” came a deep, commanding, masculine voice behind them, “is surrender.”