HauntingBlackie (3 page)

“Ouch,” Gene muttered. “That had to hurt for the few seconds
it took them to die.”

The old Earth vessel rolled completely over as it turned in
a new direction, plowing into a few more pirate ships, taking them out or
damaging them until the leaks could be seen as they vented contents and oxygen
into space.

“Take that, you sons of bitches,” a female voice shouted
over the open coms.

“Take it down a notch, Danica,” another female voice
broadcast. “Decompression in levels one and six. Just vent the oxygen from all
the exterior sections. It’s making it harder to maneuver with the ruptures and
there’s going to be a lot more of them. The helm feels as though I’m trying to
steer a popped balloon.”

“On it, Eve.”

“Surrender,” a male voice hissed.

“No thanks.” It was the one called Eve who spoke. “My sister
has her heart set on hooking up with someone cute and that leaves all of you
off her dance card.”

The other woman laughed. “Exactly. No amount of drinks will
make any of you boys look pretty.”

Blackie knew he wasn’t the only one who was stunned as he
glanced around the room. Every cyborg who had gathered in the confined space to
witness the battle had wide eyes and surprised expressions. There were women
aboard the freighter. He jerked his gaze back to the screen.

“Strap in tight,” Eve demanded. “I’m cutting gravity
stabilizers to conserve power.”

“Shit.” The other woman groaned. “I hate feeling weightless.”

“You’d hate them boarding us more.”

“That’s the truth. Fire in cargo bay one.”

“Jettison it but wait until that bastard on our ass gets a
little closer.”

A section of the freighter broke loose when one of the
pirate ships changed course to pull alongside the Earth vessel instead of
behind it, slamming into the ship on the starboard side. They collided hard,
slicing into each other in a tangled mass of steel. Lights flickered rapidly on
the pirate vessel before it began to tear apart.

“They did that on purpose,” Gene gasped. “They’re using the
coms to confuse the pirates.”

Blackie smiled, more than a little impressed. “Smart.” He
had to admire the women.

“Dickheads zero, cargo bay score one,” the one called Danica
said as she laughed. “Okay. Eighteen more to go.”

“Is that all?” Eve didn’t sound amused. “Hang tough. We’re
about to go bowling. Remember that one? I’m going for it.”

“Fuck.” The other woman had lost her humor by the grim tone
of her voice. “Are you sure we can take it?”

“Do you think we have a lot of options here? Do you want to
take the pilot’s seat? We’re three levels from the impact zones. We’ll hold
together or we’ll die fast. Either way you won’t be seeing radiation sores up
close and personal. Lock down Control and seal all the vents. It might hold in
some sections instead of causing a chain reaction.”

“Go for it. I’m strapped in and ready. All sections secure.
You better remember your promise if we do survive.”

“Nightclub and drinks are on me. Unload everything we’ve got
on them. It’s balls-to-the-wall time while we’ve still got enough power.”

The big freighter rolled over and turned, reversed thrusters
and slammed into a cluster of trailing pirate ships. Blackie held his breath,
watching the belly of the large transport being torn apart right along with
their targets. Laser cannons blasted from the undamaged weapons on the Earth
vessel.

“Fleet?” Gene turned his head. “They are women.”

Their commander stood. “They deserve assistance just for
their bravery. I’ll deal with the council and the consequences.”

Blackie frowned. He wanted to help the freighter, curious
about the women aboard. It didn’t sit well to do nothing while they were killed
but it was his duty to state the obvious despite knowing it would make him
unpopular. He debated his personal feelings against what was expected of him.
It could be a test and he decided not to fail. He was up for promotion.

“What do we do with the crew of that ship if we save them?
Mission protocols state we avoid all contact with any Earth vessels.”

“Let’s worry about that afterward. This is a unique
situation.” Fleet leveled an approving stare on him. “Fire on the pirates.”

He focused his attention on the job at hand. He targeted the
pirates, taking out their engines. It wasn’t hard to kill them. Their ships
were outdated and the structural integrity already weakened from years of
attaching scrap metal to keep their hulls together. The battle waged until only
the freighter remained.

Blackie studied the ship. They’d stopped firing their
cannons and seemed to be drifting in space. Explosions could be seen sparking
in the most damaged sections and he wondered if they’d joined the battle too
late.

“Open a focused link to the freighter. We don’t want our
signal to travel out of this sector and be picked up by anyone else,” Fleet
ordered.

“Done,” Gene whispered.

“This is Captain Fleet of an Earth mining expedition,” he
lied. “Respond, transport freighter.”

The silence dismayed Blackie. The pilot and copilot had
fought valiantly against great odds. He wouldn’t admit it to others but he had
a soft spot for anyone facing unfair odds.

“I repeat, this is Captain Fleet from Earth. Freighter, do
you hear me? We picked up your distress signal.” He glanced at Blackie before
motioning to cut the coms. “Drop our shielding. They’ll know this is an Earth
shuttle.” He motioned to Gene to open communication again. “We are allowing you
to pick up our signal now to verify we are from Earth. We’re on a mission for
Earth Government.”

No response.

Blackie had a really bad feeling that no one had survived on
the freighter after that last altercation.

“Prepare a team,” Fleet ordered. “We’ll board her and seek
survivors.” He shot a glance at Blackie. “You lead it. Bring back anyone you
find alive. We’ll transport them to Garden for medical care.”

“For what purpose?” Blackie stood.

“There are women aboard that shuttle. We could always use
more of them.”

“And what of any surviving males?”

“We’ll decide that later.”

He wanted to curse but instead spun on his heel to go to the
docking station to put on a space suit. He doubted there would be survivors.
The council wouldn’t be happy if there were. Fleet had gone against direct
orders from them and he knew he’d have to explain the situation. He couldn’t
see many of them being sympathetic toward the plight of two women from Earth.

A memory surfaced, though, of one human who’d been worth
saving if he’d been given the chance. His heart grew heavy thinking of Hellfire.
He masked his expression and locked down his emotions. Duty came first and
foremost. The past couldn’t be changed.

Smoke made breathing difficult without coughing as Eve
unbelted and stood on shaky legs. She stared at Danica. A great sense of relief
washed through her when a pair of green eyes held her gaze and the fact that
they were both still alive sank in.

“We didn’t die.”

“Yet.” Danica wiggled out of her belt, stood, but then
collapsed back into her seat. “Shit. I feel as though I’ve just been beaten up.”

“You kind of were. It’s no time to sit around and be lazy
though. We’re probably being boarded. Exterior and interior sensors are down
but gravity is on. I’d blindly keep rolling and slam into them to keep them
from docking with us but we lost engine power.”

Alarm widened her eyes. “There’s nothing at all?”

“We’re dead in space and now we’re going to have to fight
hand-to-hand.” Eve reached up, yanked open an overhead compartment and withdrew
the emergency bag.

“Um, there’s something I should tell you.”

“Tell me when we’re on Titan.” Eve tore open the bag and
stared at two big replicas of men’s penises.

“That was supposed to be a joke. I thought you’d get a laugh
out of it the next time you recharged the weapons during the three-month
maintenance schedule.”

Numb fingers dropped the bag as she turned to gape at
Danica.

Danica had tears in her eyes. “I didn’t know we were going
to end up like this. You’re always a bit bitchy and I picked them up at that
last outpost we stopped at to buy supplies. It was meant as a hint for you to,
um, maybe use one of them to chill out. I got two different sizes because I
didn’t know what you’d prefer. Thick or regular girth.”

“Where are the weapons?” She tried to remain calm but failed
as panic set in.

“In my room.”

Eve momentarily closed her eyes to mask her anguish. Their
sleeping quarters were two decks below, probably open to outer space. She took
a few deep breaths, trying to think. “There’s a weapons locker on this deck but
we have to go through one of the cargo bays to reach it. We might beat them to
it. Did you replace those too?”

“No.”

“Let’s go.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Eve glanced down at the open bag. “We could shock the
bastards by tossing those at them and hopefully give us time to escape if we
run into a raiding party.”

A snort came from Danica. “Stunned by dick. I like it.”

“Let’s go,” Eve repeated. A breach on the other side would
keep the door from opening. They’d be trapped. She hit the button and prayed.
The seals released and portal opened.

The damage was severe where metal had buckled in a few
places along the floor and walls but it remained intact. She pressed the
release button to the next section. The doors didn’t respond.

“Oh no,” Danica whispered.

Eve tapped it harder and waited. It didn’t open. Her heart
sank as she glanced at her sister. “It’s compromised. We’re not leaving
Control. Get back in there. When they force open this door, the oxygen will be
sucked out and it will decompress unless they are able to stabilize the next
room first. I don’t want to be standing here to find out.”

“What about the vents? They are sealed but we could pry them
open and wiggle through into another section.”

“It’s too risky. There aren’t sensors to tell us if they are
safe.”

“Right.” Danica winced. “I’m not thinking straight.”

They retreated and sealed the door. It wouldn’t buy them
much time if the pirates had cutting equipment or were good at hacking into
wires. Splicing the right ones after breaking open a panel would gain them
access. It was an old ship with inferior security.

“I am so sorry. We’ve never been breached before. I wouldn’t
have done it if I ever thought it was possible.”

Eve battled her emotions. Part of her was furious that her
sister had pulled such a bonehead stunt but yelling at her wasn’t going to fix
the grim situation. Danica loved to play pranks, was always trying to make her
laugh, but messing with their weapons crossed the line. She studied the other
woman’s face, read the sheer regret and the dawning horror of her actions. They
were going to die and she didn’t want their last moments to consist of nothing
but harsh words and discord.

She pushed back her anger. She’d always been the serious
one, while Danica used humor as a way to deal with their tough life. It was
what she loved most about her sister. Their personalities were polar opposites.
A sense of sadness tightened her chest when she saw those expressions on Danica’s
face. Her lighthearted spirit seemed crushed.

Eve hugged Danica, trying to give her comfort. “Who would
have guessed those freaks could come up with this kind of brilliant plan? They
usually are so scatterbrained from the insanity that they can’t work together
in groups. They turn on each other instead.”

“I should have kept the weapons in here.”

“It’s irrelevant now. Stop dwelling on it. You couldn’t have
predicted this would happen.” She released her, stepping back. “Don’t beat
yourself up. Beat on the mutants instead.”

“But—”

“I need you, Danica. Forget it and let’s deal with this
situation we’re currently in. We have mutants boarding the ship.”

“Okay. You probably should put on more clothes.” Danica
glanced down her body. “Or strip totally naked. They won’t even notice me if
you flash them your goods until I’ve snatched one of their weapons to use
against them. What do you think of that plan?”

“No. I don’t want to make it easier on them if getting me
totally naked is their goal.” She rolled her shoulders and lifted one leg at a
time, stretching. “It’s hand-to-hand combat. Do you remember your training?”

“Of course. Do you want to put on your shoes? Touching them
is going to be gross. At least cover your feet.”

“I’ll be faster without anything slowing me down.”

“As in being fully clothed?”

“I tore my suit to get out of it quicker. It’s just more for
them to grab onto in a fight. Throat, groin and the knees. Those are the weak
spots. Take them down and out.”

“I remember. Do you want something to tie your hair back
with?”

Eve hesitated. “No. They might go for it and I’d rather just
lose a handful or two than risking them getting a firm enough hold on me to
gain an advantage.”

“I could cut it.” She pointed to a sharp piece of metal.

Eve shuddered. “No. It will take too long to regrow it to
this length. I don’t like looking in a mirror and having flashbacks of the
past. New life, long hair. My motto.”

“I understand.” Danica gave her a sympathetic look. “I hope
we survive. Maybe I’ll grow my hair out as long as yours.”

“I’m not ready to die and neither are you. Go for the kill.
Don’t screw around, okay? Mind over matter. We can do this.” She stared into
Danica’s eyes. “We’re meaner. Keep repeating that no matter how many come at us
and take them out fast.”

“Okay. I don’t plan to play around in a fight. Like I want
to repeatedly hit them. Not!” Danica pulled her sleeves down to her wrists. “I’m
going to try to avoid using my bare hands. Do you think their skin is as
squishy as it looks? I’d totally puke if I hit one of them and my fist went all
the way through.”

“I worry about you.” Eve grimaced. “Thanks for putting that
image in my head. I really hope you’re wrong. I’m also glad I missed breakfast.
It’s tough to kick ass while food is coming up.”

“This is a good time to worry.” Danica’s gaze fixed on the
sealed doors. “I wish there was more maneuvering room in here. The designers of
this line of freighters were idiots to make the command center so small. It’s
going to be tight quarters if there are a lot of them.”

“It’s a transport freighter. They wanted maximum cargo
space. Stay by my side or at my back. Don’t allow them get between us. We stand
a better chance that way.”

“I know. I’m not senile.” Her sister turned, bent and came
up holding the two sex toys from the bag.

“What are you going to do with those?”

She offered one to Eve. “Maybe we can poke out an eye or
something if we use them properly. And it beats touching those mutants with my
fingers.”

“I’m not taking that. Did you bump your head too? I think I
passed out for a little while after the engines died and that last impact
happened. I don’t know how much time went by but it wasn’t long. I don’t
believe I have a concussion. I’m feeling fine. Maybe you should get behind me
and let me fight the first wave.”

“I conked out too but I’m okay. You think there are going to
be that many?” Some of Danica’s bravado faded.

“I don’t know. We killed a bunch of them but I lost count of
how many we plowed into before the engines died and the sensors failed. The
screen got a little wonky before that so I couldn’t see everything we nailed.
There’s also no way to tell the number of pirates living on each ship.”

A loud screech of metal made them both wince.

“They are coming,” Eve whispered, staring at the door.

“That sounded like a seal being forced open.”

They both backed up.

“Keep your voice down. Maybe they won’t hear us and move on.”

“I doubt they are stupid enough to forget to check here but
our voices aren’t going to carry through that sealed door.”

“I’m not used to it being this quiet, with the engines out.
We could hope it was part of something collapsing instead of them tearing
through seals.”

“I don’t think so.” Eve hated to disagree but every instinct
told her someone or a bunch of “someones” were coming at them. “You ready? We’ve
faced tougher shit than this. Remember that bar on the station with all the
mechanics? That was grim.”

“There were only seven of them and they were out of shape.”

“Yeah, but they were really pissed off. You told them they
were incompetent after the repairs they did.”

“I was right. We’re still having issues or at least we did,
when we still had a semi-working ship. I’m glad we stuck together, Eve. I know
I bitched a lot about leaving Earth with you but it was better than staying.
You saved my life. It was only a matter of time before I made a mistake and
they discovered—”

The door was activated when the lights on the panel next to
it flashed but the lock held. There was no doubt they’d been boarded.

“They could be morons,” Eve hoped aloud. “Maybe they won’t
figure out how to bust in.”

“That would be great.”

“Yeah. Of course it would also mean we’re trapped on a
disabled ship in pirate territory. At least this way we’ll be able to steal
something to make it to Titan. If they can reach us, it might gain us a way
out. They know we’re women so they’ll want us alive. That means they are
sealing any breaches they pass so we don’t die outright. They have to be smart
enough to know we won’t have suits.”

“I like the way you always find a bright side.”

“I try.”

“You’re good at it, Eve. That’s why you’re our brave leader.”

“I’m not feeling it so much at this second. Those things are
really ugly.”

The light completely cut out on the door panel.

“Fuck.” Eve tensed. “It looks like they know how to disable
the door lock. Here we go. Game on!”

A soft growl filled the small room and Eve envied her sister
that kind of rage. She was just scared shitless. Danica moved, stepped in front
of her and took a protective stance.

Eve studied her back and pondered ordering her to switch
positions. She had always felt responsible for Danica’s well-being and was more
skilled in hand-to-hand combat. She dismissed the idea though. Protective
instincts were a strong motivation to win and they would distract her from
being terrified.

“Don’t worry about me,” she coached, feeling proud. “Just
concentrate on what they are doing. Don’t get sucker punched like you did in
that bar because you saw me go down. I’ll get back up.”

“I remember,” Danica swore. “You dived in to break his legs
but I thought you were hurt.”

“I’m tougher than that.”

Danica gave a sharp nod. “I have this.”

“I know you do.” Sadness filled Eve again. Their chances of
survival were very slim. She refrained from saying “those” three words. Danica
knew she loved her and it would sound more like a goodbye than a reminder.

“Let’s do the single-file routine.”

Eve moved into fighting stance. She was right behind Danica,
their bodies aligned in the same position. “Set.”

They’d reached the command center of the transport. They
hadn’t discovered any bodies yet. Of course the damage had been massive in the
sections they’d had to clear. Most of them were airless corridors, some leading
to open space. The corpses of the crew were probably tangled with the wreckage
that had been vented outside and were floating in space.

Blackie, face mask in place, raised his weapon to aim at the
door as Gene, kneeling in front of the electrical panel, turned his way and
nodded. Gene stood about the same time that the bulkhead doors slid open.

The sight of a brunette with bright green eyes, wearing a
blue jumpsuit, was the first thing Blackie spotted. She blocked his view of the
woman behind her but there was no doubt of her fellow crewmember’s sex since he
got a glimpse of rounded breasts contained inside a small shirt before
something hit his chest. The one in front had pitched an object at him.

Instinct made him catch it before it bounced off, instantly
assuming it was an explosive device. He glanced down to gauge the type, hoping
there was a clear path to throw it far enough to avoid being killed. His mind
blanked for a second as he gawked, freezing.

“Is that an artificial phallus?”

Gene’s deep-voiced question jolted Blackie from his stunned
stupor as he dropped the nonthreatening object and aimed his weapon at the
woman. She held a second one as if it were a weapon, waving it back and forth.
Part of him wanted to laugh, the sight so absurd it seemed impossible.