DarkStar Running (Living on the Run Book 2) (5 page)

Searing pain overwhelmed Stan’s mind, instantly clouding any
sense of his surroundings. Incredible pressure squeezed his entire body while
every muscle felt torn, consumed by fire, blast frozen, and melting away, all
at the same time. As though gripped by a giant beast, razor-sharp claws grabbed
and flung him into nothingness. Tumbling out of control, all went black.

When he finally regained consciousness, he found himself in
such tremendous agony he barely noticed the cold, hard floor on which he lay.
He spread his arms and legs in search of something to grip or cling to, as the
room rolled and swam, but his efforts were in vain.

His stomach ruthlessly clenched, churned, and tossed,
refusing to settle.

As he struggled to sit, intense pain shot through his
temples, slamming him back to the floor. He knew but one thing, could almost
see it, really. Claws slashed and teeth ground, as death stalked him with plans
to completely devour him if given the chance.

“NO!” The word burst out of his agony as Stan refused to
give in to the torture or the bewildering confusion attacking him. Struggling
to sit once again, he paused before pushing himself to his feet. Determined to
stand, he swayed, trying to compose himself.

When his eyes adjusted, he saw Lilia lying near him. Though
unconscious, she writhed and convulsed in her own internal war.

“I deserve this!” he screamed. “Not her! Not her.”

Tears and sweat streamed freely down his face, as he stood
there, defiant.

“For the sake of her love for You, Great One, stop hurting
her!”

Then as abruptly as it had begun, the torture stopped.
Exhausted and dazed, he collapsed to the floor, fading in and out of
consciousness.

When his mind finally settled and began to function somewhat
normally, he inhaled, but the simple act of drawing a breath argued with a
deep-seated ache in his ribs. Although a struggle, his lungs still worked in
any event. Was he still alive? Could he be? Could he have survived or was this
a lie, a tease, a cheat imposed by lifelessness itself?

He glanced at Lilia,
tried to at least
, but a
stabbing pain in his neck caught him off guard. What light there was came from
a hallway leading out of the room. It was enough to see by, but what he saw
near him shocked him cold. Sometime during their encasement in torture,
she
had stopped moving.

Stan groaned as he rolled onto his hands and knees,
preparing to crawl to her side. Every muscle and joint screamed its agony. He
reached a tentative hand to touch her neck. He felt for the carotid artery and
found a pulse. Lightheaded from the release of tension, he sat back, breathing
a sigh of relief. There was something he had to attend to. He tried to focus,
but his thoughts were slow to return. Two men . . . two dangerous men
. . . where were they? He looked around for them but they were gone.

Guardedly, he stretched and flexed in every direction to
work off the aches and pains, but a little drummer inside his skull hammered
with unrelenting stubbornness. The little villain even made seeing straight
difficult.

If Lilia awoke in as much pain as he
was
in,
he
didn’t
want
her to
suffer
this
cold,
hard floor as well. Ignoring the nastiness that
permeated every fiber of his being, Stan managed to gather Lilia carefully into
his arms, but climbing to his feet proved an exercise in discipline. At last he
rose with her in his arms.

The woman awakened, raised her head to see him, then fell
limp. Though she was small and ever so light, he walked stiffly and staggering
a bit as though carrying a cow. He took her through the open door, down the
hall, and into her bedroom.

After laying her on her bed, Stan paused a moment trying to
unscramble the mess in his mind. Puzzled, he looked around. Her room? When did
this become her room?

“
DarkStar
?”

“Yes, sir?” the ship responded promptly in a soft feminine
tone familiar to Stan.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been aboard you, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That being the case, how is it, then, that I know you
better than I know myself? I even know your name.”

“You were prepped, Stan,” came a voice from the doorway.

He turned to find a slender man in a white smock. “Who the
hell are you?”

The man smiled and offered his hand. “I’m Peter Coalfire,
the creator of
DarkStar
.”

Stan ignored the proffered hand. “Prepped?”

Coalfire jerked his hand forward to make clear his offered
friendship.

Stan glanced at it, then crossed his arms over his brad
chest.

Coalfire looked at his own outstretched hand. “Yes. Quite,”
he said, lowering his spurned hand. “Prepared. Yes. About that.
DarkStar
inserted data into your genome. This altered your memories on a genetic level to
give you the knowledge needed to control her.” His brows leveled and pinched
together. “I know it was painful. Few things come without cost.”

“Painful? Oh, it was far more than painful. Damn well better
get that fixed before you use it on someone else.”

“Sorry. That simply can’t be helped.”

Stan exhaled, taken aback by what he had just heard. He
hesitated, afraid of what the truth might be. “What did you do, Coalfire? Did
you have Lilia ‘Prepped’ too?”

“I did,” Coalfire said. “And like you,
DarkStar
altered her memories in like manner. Nothing for it though. I didn’t have time
to educate you otherwise. I expect your head to unscramble soon, and when it
clears, you’ll understand what
DarkStar
is all about, as well as know
her functions.”

“I wish you’d asked. Who says if given the choice I would
have wanted this?”

“Time is of the essence. Things are about to go pear-shaped
and you need to be ready.
DarkStar
needs a pilot. You’re it.”

“Who do you work for, Coalfire, and why here on Chagwa?”

“Chagwa?” Coalfire chuckled in astonishment, then cocked his
head as he puzzled. “This is Providence Minor, my dear boy. You are deep inside
Union territory. Chagwa is well within Confed space light-years away.”

“But . . .”

“Sir,” Coalfire said, “this ship now belongs to you. And you
and Lilia, now sharing each other’s memories, are bound to each other. What is
done is done.”

“What are you saying, Coalfire?” Stand said astonished.

“And yes, sir,” Coalfire continued, “this was done to Lilia
as well. It was necessary. And again, I’m sorry the process was painful.”

Stan shook himself. Pain didn’t describe half of what he
felt, and every distressing answer given by Coalfire only raised more
questions. He wasn’t up to spending time he didn’t have playing “ask and answer.”
His situation needed to be assessed and dealt with, and he had to do it through
the worst hangover of his life.

“My Lieutenants, where are they?”

“They are in the cavern mounting their ships”
DarkStar
said. “They will reposition shortly, and fire upon us.”

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Coalfire asked with a coy
smirk.

Stan clenched his teeth but kept his head. Though Coalfire
delivered the question softly, it was a clear rebuke.

“How long before they’re ready?”

“Five minutes, sir,”
DarkStar
said.

“Report! Are you ready and able to fly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you get us out of here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And I’m out of here,” Coalfire said turning on his heels.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

Coalfire paused only long enough to peer back over his
shoulder. “I’ll be in touch.” With that he disappeared into the hallway.

Stan lunged for the door to look, but Coalfire had vanished.
The hallway was too long for a man, any man, to have moved so quickly.

“Fine!
DarkStar
, fire up the drive and head for the
surface.”

“Yes, Captain.” With no dispute, the ship responded in
obedience. Stan was master. Through his feet, he felt the floor faintly thrum
as the ship’s
Slip-band drive
came to life.

Lilia roused and, with a moan, sat up on the edge of the
bed. He could see she felt the soreness as well, but, thankfully, she had
remained unconscious through the worst of the procedure. She stretched and
groaned again.

“You okay?” he said.

She looked at him as if his question was glaringly stupid.

“I need to get to the bridge. In moments, my Lieutenants
will fire on this ship. Time is critical.”

“Sure.” Lilia shook her head, puzzled. “And I know
where
,
or even
what
the bridge is . . . how?”

Stan’s lips curled into a smile. “I’ll help you sort out the
hows
and
whys
later. Right now I need to leave you alone. You
okay?”

“I’m right with you.”

“Bridge.” Stan commanded.

Instantly, a green, luminous band lit across the smooth walls;
a trail to guide them directly to the bridge. A mix of understanding and seeing
something completely new clashed in Stan’s mind as genetic memory sought to
override his experiences. “Hmm, would you look at that?”

Following it, he soon stepped onto the bridge. Grateful that
the distance wasn’t great, he hobbled stiffly toward the pilot’s seat like an
old man who had misplaced his walker.

“So,” kidded Lilia, “how’s this for moving quickly?” As she
had said, she was right behind him.

Not knowing she had followed, Stan turned with a start, but
a stab in his ribs nailed him hard. He could feel the ship rise slowly as he
sat down at the pilot’s console. Lilia took the co-pilot’s seat next to him.
The ship rose to the cavern ceiling and stopped suddenly with a thud. The
abrupt jerk sent pain shooting through both of them.

“
DarkStar
, we’re in enough pain as it is,” Stan said.
“Please bring inertia suppressor on line.”

“Aye, sir.”

Thunderous scraping echoed through the bridge as the ice
resisted the ship’s efforts. Following orders,
DarkStar
stubbornly
pressed upward and broke through the thick frozen barrier. Once free, the ship
began to move more quickly through the softer snow.

Lilia rubbed a temple, scowling at the painful noise filling
the bridge. “Buffer that racket, will you,
DarkStar
?” At once, the
intense sound vanished.

She tabbed the console to bring shields to full. “Give us
tactical,
DarkStar
.”

Just as a 3-D hologram appeared before them revealing the
ice planet, Stan shot an annoyed glance her way. “What do you think you’re
doing?”

“My job.” She tabbed her console. The picture zoomed in, and
they could now make out the planet’s surface.

“That isn’t Chagwa,” Stan said, mystified. Then the surface
features of the planet abruptly changed to that of Chagwa. The five
Darts
that patrolled the planet’s surface appeared from nowhere. The hologram
magnified again, and through the transparent view of Chagwa, they could see their
ship deep beneath the snow. Then out of the white Troy and Jesse’s Darts
appeared, heading skyward in pursuit. Stan swore they weren’t there a moment
before.

Lilia keyed in another command, strengthening the rear
shields.

“Await my commands,” Stan ordered. “I’ll let you know what
to do and when.”

Lilia leaned back and glowered. “Excuse me? Who put you in
charge?”

Stan fought to clear his mind, and could see Lilia fared no
better. “They’re closing in. I don’t need your mucking about confusing the
issue.”

Her jaw tightened noticeably as she shook her head and
motioned to his console. “You just mind what’s in front of you and let me do my
job.”

“I’m in command, woman. Respect that.”

“Keep us out of pistol shot,
DarkStar
,” Lilia
ordered, “but don’t let them fall too far behind.”

“Roger, ma’am,” the ship responded.

“Now just one minute here. You’ll follow my orders,
DarkStar
.
Not those of a . . . a
waitress
,” he sputtered.

“When Captain Slone is wrong, sir, I’ll disobey those
orders. But until then . . .”

Lilia grinned. “Like I said, flyboy, who put you in charge?
It doesn’t sound as if
DarkStar
has.”

It didn’t pay to argue. Time was crucial, and he had none to
waste. Seeing Lilia was determined to fight him every step of the way about his
being in command, Stan groused to himself, then spoke to regain control. “Back
tactical out a bit. Give me a broader picture.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Lilia rubbed her temples with both hands, trying to ease the
soreness, but her actions were in vain. Thinking clearly seemed as much an
effort for her as it did for him.

Panning back, the planet’s moon came into view. Lilia leaned
forward and pointed. “Get us around to the other side of Chagwa’s moon, and as
soon as we’re out of view, go to full stealth.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Now, wait a minute, woman. We should head for open space
and run like nobody’s business.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s like I said, someone has to be in charge, and I’m the
one with the military experience.

“So, it certainly isn’t going to be a waitress from
Seychelles when it comes to a military operation, huh?”

Stan’s mood had instantly soured, but he couldn’t tell what aggravated
him more, seeing
his
own men trying to kill him, or suffering this young
upstart’s attitude.

“It’s like
DarkStar
said, Stan. Correct me when I’m
wrong, but until then, mind your own station.”

“Yeah, Lilia, walk us right into a trap, will you? I’m not
going to let that happen.”

“Your men are behind us, Stan,” she said coolly. “All of
them. How is ducking behind that moon going trap us?”

He sat hunched over his console. “I see that my one good
deed in rescuing you has come back to bite my butt. I can’t explain my every
decision, woman. You’ll just have to yield to my experience.”