Page 46 of Bela's Bounty
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Treto
Everything is happening fast.
Sone is doing a fine job of taking out the ships sent to disable us, but he’s only one pilot. I do what I can to aid him, but the last hit we took damaged the power conductor, which fuels the cannons as well as the rest of the shuttle. We’re losing power quickly, and soon we’ll be little more than a floating target.
With one eye on the screen, I start moving some of the less important energy drains offline to give us some extra time.
“How you doing back there, Sky?” Bela turns in her seat to check on the young.
“I’m okay,” comes her small voice. “What’s happening?”
“I think backup just arrived.” She turns back to me with a smile that suddenly falls from her face as she screams, “Treto, look out!”
I look back at the view screen just in time to see one of the station ships angling toward us, its laser changing from red to white as it charges, preparing to fire on us.
My fingers dance their way across the board, lining up the sight with their gun, and fire a single blast before they have a chance to. It won’t take the ship down, but its weapon is now useless.
“Nice shot,” Bela breathes.
I may not be the pilot Sone is, but I’m twice the marksman. With the both of us manning theShade, we were invincible.
TheShade!
I hit the comm. “Sone. Any word from theShade?”
“They were right behind me,” the Markatti replies. “In fact, look starboard.”
I do and then let out a whoop!
“Look there, Bela.” My finger points to the screen where the distinct black shadow of my ship is chasing after one of the station’s ships before blowing it out of the air.
“Treto!” Rovos’ deep voice bellows through the speakers. “Another wave just cleared the station. You need to jump.Now!”
I start the sequence to initiate the jump to lightspeed, only to have the engines whine down and the lights flicker before going out. In the back, the hatchling squeaks in surprise.
“Not now, youkurvingpiece of …” I growl under my breath as I shift anything that draws power around until I get the shuttle back online. Hitting the comm, I say, “My power converters are damaged. I’m not going to be able to jump far, if I can get it to jump at all.”
“Do whatever you have to, just get out of there, Treto,” Rovos growls. “We’ll be right behind you.”
“Keep an eye on the screen for me, Bela,” I ask. “If anyone gets close, tell me.”
She nods and focuses her attention ahead so I can work on adjusting the power drains. The lights come back on first, although at only a quarter power, which is just enough for us to see by. Then I slowly switch off anything non-essential, which is most of the ship.
“Hurry, Treto!” Rovos’ voice rumbles through the speakers.
“I am,” I grumble back, starting the jump sequence. The first of four bars lights up, and the engines begin to whine. Thank the Fates, it’s working!
The second bar lights up, and I prepare the rest of the ship for the jump.
“Hang on; we’re about to jump.” I buckle myself back into my seat, pulling the straps tight. “Check your harnesses. Jumps can be… jarring.”
Bela looks behind her, and when she’s satisfied the young is strapped, she pulls at her straps, making sure they are tight before holding her hand out to me with her thumb up. The obscene gesture is so surprising coming from her, I nearly choke on the laugh that bursts out of me.
Her cheeks turn pink, and she laughs with me. “This must not mean what it does on Earth.”
I suspect it doesn’t.
