Authors: Jodi Redford
Her scrutiny moving to him, Jeneet shuffled closer to the glass. Righteous anger seethed in her sea-foam eyes. “Is he one of the males you speak of?”
Rini flicked him a quick look before shaking her head. “No. And surely you don't want to snuff the only decent male on your planet?”
“I don't know. How big is his pleasure valve?”
Ignoring his sputtering choke, Rini held her hands roughly nine inches apart. Well, at least she didn't shortchange him.
Smiling like she'd just hooked the biggest fish in the ocean, Jeneet trotted to the hose room and reached for the lever. Fimordan's tentacle slapped over hers. The two battled for supremacy of the lever. Meanwhile, the water rose at an alarming rate, almost reaching Lucus's upper thighs.
Rini maneuvered around the water spray and pummeled the glass, apparently still intent on cheerleading the showdown between Jeneet and Fimordan. “Kick the low-down bastard in the balls. If he has any.”
Lucus cocked his eyebrows. “Jesus, remind me not to make you mad.”
Rini ignored him and kept her attention centered on the power struggle waging across the corridor. “Come on, Jeneet. Show him the true meaning of girl power.”
A shrill, fingernails-on-chalkboard shriek rang from the female Aquatican and she gave a vicious tug. She stumbled back, the lever clutched in her tentacles. Her tiny lips blossomed into an O. “Whoops.”
“Oh shit.” No sooner did the words leave Lucus's mouth and a fierce rumble convulsed through the hoses, followed by an icy torrent. One of the jets nailed Rini and pulled her in its undertow. When she didn't immediately surface, he dove after her. Grasping her waist, he dragged them both above water.
Rini gasped, holding onto him with a bone-crushing grip. “This probably is a bad time to bring this up, but I'm a lousy swimmer.”
Keeping her anchored at his side, he slammed his fist on the wall, praying the combination of his pounding and the stress from the pumping hoses would fracture the glass. The water kept pouring in, forcing him to tread furiously to keep both he and Rini afloat. He could feel the spastic pressure of her chattering teeth against his collarbone.
“I-I'm s-sorry. This-s all my f-fault. Should have mentioned sm-smashed crate.”
He slid his hand from the glass and hugged Rini tighter, trying to calm her. “Babe, give me some of the credit. I'm the one who agreed to smuggle it.”
“Tr-true.”
The water level kept steadily climbing and Lucus glanced skyward. His gut gave a kick. If he reached up, he'd be able to touch the ceiling.
A massive shiver quaked Rini and her cheek bumped his shoulder. “In case I d-don't get another chanceâthank you. Th-thought maybe you'd prefer let-letting me drown.”
He searched for the words that might banish the bleak hopelessness in her eyes. “What, and deprive myself the opportunity of copping a feel?”
A quivery smile overtook her face. “Glad you've g-got your p-priorities straight.”
Pressure scraped the crown of his head. The ceiling. Reading the panic on Rini's face as the water sloshed around her neck, he hoisted her higher. Her arms banded around him. They didn't have much time. He needed to keep her calm and focused. “Breathe.”
“P-pretty soon th-that won't be an option.”
“I know. That's why you've got to do it now.” The water crept to their chins and she began to shake harder. He bobbed his head to gain her attention. “Here we go. One big breath. Then another. You can do it.”
They both sucked in a huge lungful of air and held it. The water surged up, forcing them under. Strangely enough, his entire life didn't flash before his eyes like a big, bad cliché. Just Rini, staring at him in panic, her hair fanning around them like exotic red kelp. A series of bubbles rippled between them. At first he thought she'd exhaled. Then he felt them spinning, spiraling, funneling in a free fall. Helpless to do anything but ride the current, they held on to the only thing they couldâeach other.
Lucus broke above the water and pure, undiluted oxygen filled his mouth and nostrils. The next second, the back of his head slammed into the glass and the crushing water flipped him onto his stomach and mercilessly hammered him against the wall. He slid to the floor, his breath knocked into the next universe. Through narrowed eyes, he stared at the small river congesting the corridor and the splashing advance of boots. He worked his jaw, trying to spit out the words and the water ebbing inside his mouth. “Whâwhat the fuck just happened?”
“I opened the door.”
He recognized the tinny voice above him. Jeneet.
“Don't just lay there. You've got five minutes before stupid Fimordan gets here with General Quarrel. Trust me, neither will be happy when they see you out of the cell.”
Her astute observation managed to push him onto his elbows. Planting an arm against the wall, he leveraged to his knees. “Rini.”
“She's over there.”
Following the direction of Jeneet's tentacle, he spied Rini sprawled farther down the corridor. Lurching to his feet, he loped to her side. Relief crashed into his chest when he peered into her blinking eyes.
“Am I dead? Somehow I didn't imagine heaven looking like this.”
He knelt and helped her stand. Jeneet jogged up beside them. “You're both going to be dead if you don't bust some hiney.”
Rini swiped her streaming hair from her face. “There are probably guards upstairs blocking the elevator.”
“There's another way. The worker's passage. This close to lunch, it'll be deserted.” Jeneet pointed straight ahead. “See that flashing red light? Just beyond there, you'll come to it. Follow the passage to the end and you're home free.”
Lucus grabbed Rini's hand but she didn't immediately budge. She gaped at Jeneet quizzically. “Why are you letting us go? Won't you get in trouble?”
“Nah, I'll blame it on Fimordan. He deserves it for cheating on me with that tramp Saribeth. And I did it because we females have to stick together.” Jeneet winked. “Besides, it gives me a good excuse to visit the Earth outposts sometime.”
He remembered the earlier conversation regarding his
pleasure valve
and grimaced. Oh hell with it, it was the least he owed Jeneet.
The female Aquatican shot a nervous glance towards the opposite end of the corridor. “You two get going. Now.”
Heeding Jeneet's advice, he tightened his hold on Rini's hand and took off running. As promised, he found the door leading to the passageway. Steering Rini ahead of him, he followed her fast clip until they halted outside another steel door. “Why don't you let me go first, in case⦔ He didn't bother filling in the rest of the blank. They both knew what would happen if guards waited outside.
Surprisingly, she didn't balk when he moved her aside and twisted the knob. The door swung outward and sunlight momentarily blinded him. Thankfully they weren't greeted with a dozen electro-pulse rifles cocked and ready. Directly across from them stretched the tarmac. The Liberty waited like a beacon beneath the blazing sun.
A siren's blaring wail blasted overhead.
“We're gonna have to haul ass.” Snagging Rini's arm, Lucus sped towards the untended ship. He tried his damnedest to ignore the shouts ringing out to the left of him and the whizzing
ping-ping
of laser fire ricocheting off the tarmac.
God must have been listening to his prayers, because the debarking ramp was still lowered. He propelled Rini up the stairs and clambered after her, his boots barely making contact with the metal steps. Hurtling inside the star cruiser, he slammed a fist on the ramp release button and hustled to the bridge. While Rini fumbled with the straps on the copilot seat, he powered up the engine.
Several guards darted in the direction of the two bulky rocket racers parked at the end of the landing strip.
“Looks like we'll have company for this flight.” Lucus rammed the throttle forward and disengaged the pod wheels. The Liberty lifted and he swung a hard right, heading in the opposite direction of the mountain peak.
“What are our chances of outrunning them?”
He met Rini's worried expression. “Slim. That's why I'm going to take them out before we leave the magnetosphere.”
“Uhâ¦how do you plan on doing that? Last time I looked, your ship isn't equipped with external weapons.”
“Those rocket racers are top heavy. If I get them within close range of Aquatica's moon, the magnetic pull just might crash them.”
Rini's gulp was loud enough the guards pursuing them could likely hear it. “Won't that require
us
flying too close to the moon?”
“Yep.”
“I was really hoping you wouldn't say that.”
He yanked on his harness, preparing for one hell of a bumpy flight. “Look at it this way. Either we die courtesy of the moon or the rocket racers. Which would you prefer?”
“Can I hold out for a third choice?” Her wet hair squished on the neck rest as she leaned back and dug her fingernails into the seat arms.
They punched through the sparse cloud cover hovering mid-latitude and the star cruiser continued climbing higher. On the radar panel, Lucus noticed the rocket racers closing distance. “All right, you bastards. You want a chase, you've got it.” He executed a cork spin swoop that earned a weak groan from Rini.
She clutched her stomach. “Where's the motion-stabi pills when you need them?”
He eyed the soaked leg of her pants. “You're kidding. You don't have any stashed in those pockets of yours?”
“No,” she croaked. “Usually it's not an issue.”
“Hang in there.” He scanned the gauges. “We're less than one hundred kilometers from the moon.”
“At this point, I'm almost welcoming the idea of being crushed to death.”
“Sorry, babe, but I'm hoping to deprive you that outcome.” Pulling back on the throttle, he fired the thrusters until the Liberty hit maximum velocity.
“How many times have you attempted a maneuver like this?”
He didn't answer and Rini groaned again. “This is your first time. Sweet mother of God, we're going to die.”
“Ever consider becoming a motivational speaker?” Despite his sarcasm, a bead of sweat trickled down his neck. Dying definitely wasn't how he wanted to start the day.
The sky darkened and the exterior temperature steadily plummeted as they approached the moon's orbital path. Ice crystals began forming around the edges of the viewing shield.
“Is it supposed to ice up like that?”
Hell if he knew. “Yeah, perfectly normal. Happens all the time.” He rechecked the radar. The rocket racers were gaining on them. Fast.
Shit, I really hope I know what I'm doing
.
“Why are you making that face?”
He glanced over at Rini. “What face?”
“That holy-crap-what-was-I-thinking face.”
“I'm notâ” His denial snapped off when the entire ship shuddered and the throttle jerked spastically.
“What's happening?”
“I think we just took a hit from one of the rocket racers.” Fighting to regain control of the throttle, he scanned the system's alert panel. Sure enough, the left rear thruster was reporting malfunction. Clenching his teeth hard enough his jaw ached, he hammered the bouncing throttle into the highest gear and mentally crossed his fingers that the remaining thrusters would hold.
“Uh, Lucusâ¦I know the viewing shield distorts distances, but that moon looks real freakin' close.”
“Don't worry. Got it covered.” Another quake rumbled through the cockpit. The rocket racers hot on their tail had taken out the right rear thruster. “Mother
fucker
.”
The ship rocked and dipped, losing altitude. “Come on, baby. Don't crap out this close to the finish line.” Clutching the throttle tight enough every jolt ricocheted inside his bones, he shifted the Liberty into a free fall. On the radar, the rocket racers tailing them attempted the same nosedive. As he'd predicted, the moon's magnetic tide locked onto the top-heavy vehicles and reeled them in like a pair of oversized flounders. The racers slammed into the moon's surface with a fiery explosion.
“
Holy crap
. I can't believe your plan worked.”
“That makes two of us.” He caught Rini's stare from the corner of his eye and cleared his throat. “I mean, of course it worked. Hell, I'm a pro at this sort of shit.”
A buzzing alarm pealed from the alert panel.
“What's that?”
He saw no way to downplay the situation facing them. “We've lost another thruster.”
“How? We're not being fired on anymore.” Panic bubbled beneath the surface of Rini's voice.
“Maybe the moon's magnetic field is playing havoc with the system circuits.” As if to verify his suspicions, the navigation and alert panels blinked off. “Damn, sometimes I hate being right.”
With the alarm's insistent buzzing silenced, the sound of his own heartbeat pounded in his ears. He eased off the throttle, bringing the ship level.
“We're not going to make it, are we?”
He looked over and met the uncertainty in Rini's eyes. She took a shaky breath and released her death grip on the harness. “You can tell it to me straight. Better knowing what to expect, right?”
He hoped to hell she meant that, because what he had to tell her wasn't pretty. “We're flying on one thruster and the navigation system is shot. Our best chance is flying back the way we came and finding a landing surface. If we're lucky, I might be able to bring us in manually.”
The white sheet of her face stood in direct contrast to the determined set of her chin. “Okay, let's do it.”
Cranking the throttle, he steered the ship in a loop and descended towards the vaporous cap of clouds scuttling across Aquatica's surface. How ironic that minutes ago he couldn't get away from the damn planet fast enough and now it was their only hope of salvation.