Page 24 of My Alien Sunshine

The ship is indeed readying to take off, which serves my advantage. The docking techs have all left and nobody’s noticed me approaching. Climbing up the docking clamp, I squeeze my body between the hydraulic joints. It’s a tight fit but I manage to crawl through just in time. The clamp disengages and the hatch slides shut behind me, enclosing me in complete darkness.

I push forward, ignoring the deafening roar of the engines, knowing I have to get to the maintenance pathways before we hit open space. Even if the air cycle vents did cover this section of the ship, which I’m pretty sure they don’t, being this far out from the ship’s core, the chill of outer space would kill anyone, even me. And I can’t risk becoming a frozen popsicle. I have a little girl to save.

Chapter 14

Nala

As I watch the Crimson Specter take off, it feels like my heart is leaving with it. Ellen. My precious little girl is once again being taken away from me. And this time, instead of kicking and screaming, I just stand here and watch. And I hate myself for it.

Faelin is on board, I remind myself. He told me to get help. He promised he’d rescue Ellen and I…I trust him. For the first time in forever, I have someone I trust and who is trusting me. I will not let him down.

It’s a good thing Faelin already entered the coordinates into the hovercraft’s guidance system because I’m so out of my mind with stress, I don’t remember anything he said beyond promising to save Ellen.

Examining the vehicle’s steering device with apprehension, I try to remember what Faelin did. I never got my driving license for a regular car, let alone a flying one.

“Hey, uh…car?” I ask.

“Systems ready,” the computerized voice responds. “What is your query?”

“My what?” Damn, I feel stupid. “Oh, you want me to tell you what to do. Can you drive yourself? Like…on autopilot? Do you have that option?”

“Of course. Do you wish to engage autopilot now?”

Thank fuck. “Yes. Go to where Faelin told you to go.”

The vehicle smoothly lifts off. “Autopilot engaged,” it announces. “Do you also wish to engage emergency protocol systems?”

It asked Faelin the same question and when he agreed, it started blasting sirens. I’m not comfortable drawing that much attention to myself. It reminds me too much of the one time I got arrested for underage drinking. “No. Just get me to that ship.”

“Copy that,” the vehicle responds. “Your heart rate seems to be elevated. Do you wish to listen to calming music for the duration of our travel?”

Calming music? I snort. “I don’t think there’s any kind of music that would calm me right now. Just shut up, please.”

“As you wish.”

The computer’s tone is flat as always but I can’t help but worry. Did I insult it? Is it going to slam into the nearest wall and then play some calming music while I die from my horrible injuries? I know the AIs don’t think this way, but my irrational fear stems from watching too many science fiction horror movies back on Earth.

Despite my fear, the hovercraft safely delivers me to the shipyard. It has all of the necessary access codes, so we enter without being bothered by security. As we glide by the many berths, my mind tries to guess which ship is Faelin’s. There are lots of smaller cargo ships and frigates, all being repaired, refitted, or, in one case, dismantled. We don’t stop at any of them, though.

As we enter the section where larger ships are docked, I suddenly grow anxious. I’d assumed Faelin was merely a simple mercenary, part of a small crew manning a small, yet fast, ship. I’d hoped that he’d be close enough to his crew that they’d agree to come and rescue him. But these ships are made to house dozens of people, if not more. There’s even a behemoth of a battleship docked in here that looks like it could easily house hundreds of crew plus entire regiments of soldiers.

Unless Faelin turns out to be the captain, will the crew agree to help him? Individual people are easily replaceable, even skilled and strong fighters such as Faelin. What if he’s not as important as he thinks and the crew decide he isn’t worth the risk? What if they write him off as an acceptable loss?

The hovercraft slows down to a stop and jerks me out of my spiraling thoughts. “We have arrived at your destination,” it announces flatly as it opens the door.

I jump out, pausing to look at the spaceship in front of me. It’s not as large as the others, but it still looks like it could house a few dozen people. It’s sleek, white, and under normal circumstances I’d be admiring its elegance, but I’m in a hurry.

Sucking in a deep, calming breath, I approach the airlock. The door is closed and the access panel does nothing more than flash orange when I touch it. It’s not like I expected the door to open for me, but wouldn’t a stranger trying to get inside set off some sort of an alarm? Not that I want to set off an alarm, but it’s not like there’s a doorbell here.

“HEY!” I yell, pounding on the door. “Is anyone in there?!” My wrist hurts as I slam my fist into the access panel. In fact, my entire arm hurts. Also, my ribs. And pretty much my entire body. The injuries from my encounter with the security goons are starting to hurt again. When my adrenaline runs out, I’m probably going to pass out from exhaustion. Until then, I’ll just have to keep pushing through the pain. There’s no other option.

“Come on, there must be someone here!”

Just as I turn around to find something I could lob at the ship to get someone’s attention, the door swishes open. “Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?” a short-haired Zyderi female growls at me.

“Oh, thank god.” My knees want to sag in relief but I force myself to stay upright. I’d probably end up huddled on the floor whimpering and I don’t have time for that. “I need to speak to your captain. Faelin is in danger.” I’m not telling anyone about Ellen unless I have to. There’s no reason to reveal my biggest weakness to a bunch of strangers.

The female’s scowl turns to concern. “I was wondering why he didn’t answer his comms. Come on.”

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