Page 15 of 3 Secrets to Love
My heart pounded in my chest as I lifted my head only to search for the triplets, to ensure they were still with us. They crouched in the snow, slightly ahead of us but even closer to the building and out of the view of whomever had murdered the Arodian spaceport clerk.
“What are we going to do?” I asked Phalon. I didn’t like the idea of lying there until those hunting us down stumbled upon us before killing us like they did to the woman inside.
He peeked inside before returning to the ground. “You’re going to stay here with the kids. Stay close to the building, as tight as you can against it. Their suits are white, so they’ll blend in, but I’ll cover your legs with snow, and they can block the rest of you from view.”
“No.” I didn’t want the triplets hiding me. I was supposed to protect them. “And what are you going to do? Abandon us?”
His gaze remained focused inside the spaceport as he walked in a crouch toward the front of the building. “I’m going to find us a ride, so we can get out of here before they locate us.”
“And alert them to where you are while we’re still here?” His plan made no sense. “They’ll get you and then come after us.”
He pointed toward the runway. “They’ve destroyed the ship that was at the spaceport when we arrived.”
Following his finger, I saw the flames licking across the jet. My stomach dropped, doubting we would ever make it off this planet. “We’re doomed.”
With a quick shake of his head, he guided my gaze toward the craft behind ours. “I’m going to claim their ride. It’s running, but that means there’s likely at least one being on board. I’ll take care of them, and when I’ve done that, I’ll send a signal for you all to join me.”
“Phalon, that’s—”
He had gone on his way to the other ship before I had a chance to object. And I was left like a free-floating planet, along with the triplets, hoping no one would discover us until Phalon had our escape vehicle ready.
Chapter Ten
Phalon
I had no weapons. Not even anything I could use as one. My best hope was to take over the jet by surprise. And quickly. I hated leaving Xacalla and those kids, but they remained safer at the side of the spaceport than they would be with me. At first glance, I didn’t see anyone around the jet, which meant someone was likely inside.
Before getting any closer, I scanned the rest of the area to ensure no one stood guard anywhere else. I didn’t know where the being inside the spaceport would go next and knew they were armed.
No one around me. With quick and quiet steps, avoiding the heat from the burning jet, I hurried toward the other spacecraft. The cargo door lay open at the back, and I peeked inside. A quick glimpse revealed a mercenary in all black and a mask covering their face, so I couldn’t even tell their species. They paced back and forth on the other side of the door, holding a plazer with both hands. I stood no chance against that one, either.
I ducked back, contemplating how to get inside. The jet’s cockpit was much larger than in any of the spacecraft I’d previously flown, but if I could get in there, I would have a better chance of taking it over. Yet, it was much higher up than the cargo bay and I had no ladder to aid my climb, as I did with my own jet. I sighed. These mercenaries, wherever they were from, really didn’t want any of us to get off the planet. Yet, I refused to accept that option. I wasn’t going to die on Arodin. And neither were those in my care.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the being from inside head toward the jet. Without thinking, I circled around the spacecraft to come up behind them. Then I attacked.
Launching myself at them, I had one goal. To get their weapon. If they’d spotted me, I would have failed. But I grabbed their plazer and rolled out of the way just before the mercenary inside fired. They missed me, though not by much. Yet, I now had a weapon. If I could figure out how to use it.
The plazer wasn’t like any of the ones I’d used in gaming, and none of the jets I’d flown were equipped with any sort of weapon.
The being I’d tackled got up and headed toward me. I aimed the plazer at them. When I pulled the trigger, nothing happened. I had no time to try again, instead using the weapon to knock them across the head. The being went down, much harder than when I’d tackled them. Yet, the mercenary from inside charged toward me. I dodged as they shot at me, still trying to figure out how to fire back. I pressed all the buttons across the top of the weapon, some of them causing the plazer to light up and make a high-pitched buzz. I figured that was a good thing. Pausing to take aim, I pressed the trigger again.
Laser light shot out of the barrel, but I missed and was knocked back by the force of the kickback. Somehow, I had figured out how to use it and made the mercenary back off for a moment. I shot the weapon again as plazer light fired toward me. Being a space racer and then an aerobatics pilot meant I had to have a quick reaction time. But my body didn’t move the same way as any of my jets. I got hit. Or, at least, my jacket did. A hole right through the baggy material in my armpit. The mercenary barely missed my heart.
I think they assumed they’d shot me as they lowered their weapon and went to their fellow crew member. I used their presumption against them, firing in succession until they both lay on the ground. Dead.
I waited several moments for any indication of anyone else from inside or around the spacecraft. I didn’t trust there were only two of them in the large jet. Yet, no one else came.
I dragged the bodies off to a nearby field, not wanting anyone to come across them before we left, especially not those in my care. Armed with two plazers, I searched the rest of the jet. No one. I just had to signal Xacalla and the kids to come to me before we could depart and leave behind this frigid planet where almost everything on it tried to kill us. Not wanting to leave the jet, I hunted for a flare. Much easier to find and shoot than the plazer. Then I waited for them to get on board.
***
“Hey,” I greeted Xacalla when she rejoined me in the flight deck. It hadn’t been as hard as I believed it would be to get the cargo spacecraft, usually requiring three flight crew, off the ground, but I’d needed her help until we reached outer space. Then she’d left me for a bit. “Are the kids all settled in?”
“Yeah, they’re in the upper deck, resting.” Xacalla sat in the seat beside me. “Though my boss isn’t very happy about the way this wish went down.”
Shaking my head, I scoffed. “It’s not as if any of it was your fault. At least we found them.”
“But that doesn’t matter as much as the Four Corners Wish Foundation disciplining me to assure others something like this won’t happen again.” As I steered around an asteroid field, she grabbed the arms of her chair. “Zenda wants me to resign. They recognize I’m not at fault but feel that celebrities won’t participate any longer if they think they will have to chase after the children they meet. They’re worried about donations dropping, too.”
