A Faded Star 2: The Deadly Pact Read online

  Copyright © 2017 by Michael Freeport

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover art purchased under license from 123rf.com.

  For: Tanner. The Sweetest cat I’ve ever known. You will be missed. In memoriam: ~1997 – 02/27/2017

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 1

  Hanlon, Kelper, and Adler got themselves and Watkins strapped in to the escape pod. They knew it was a matter of seconds before the Broadsword exploded. The pod let out a beep and then hurled itself down the launch tube. The crushing acceleration lasted only a few seconds, followed by a sudden weightlessness.

  Hanlon grabbed the med kit from the marked locker and rifled through it. She brought out the tool the Alliance had told them was for any open wound. “Adler, unwind that bandage from Mister Watkins, please.”

  Adler complied, and the large gash in Watkins’ stomach began to ooze blood into floating droplets. Hanlon aimed the long, thin cylinder at Watkins’ injury and pressed the button. A fine mist sprayed from the end, and the bleeding immediately began to lessen. As they watched, the blood stopped, and a scab started building up in the wound. After less than a minute, the whole area was covered by a dense, thick scab that looked like the wound was several days old.

  Watkins groaned and began to stir. His eyes fluttered and then opened. He looked at the three people peering concernedly at him and said, “What’d I win?”

  “Nothing yet, Kiran,” Hanlon said. “Are you okay?”

  Watkins looked around the pod for a second before saying, “I think so, My stomach is pretty sore.”

  Hanlon nodded and said, “We used an Alliance first aid kit on you. Do you remember our orientation and direction of travel when we evacuated the bridge?”

  Watkins nodded his head and said, “Yes.” He paused and thought for a moment before continuing, “I don’t think it’ll do us any good. We were moving really fast, and we’re halfway across the system from any of the moons that might be able to sustain us. I don’t think the escape pod has enough thrust to get us onto a safe approach vector.”

  “Can we slingshot around anything on this side of the system,” Kelper asked.

  “No way. The pod’s propulsion system is really limited. They’re intended to either make an emergency planet fall from orbit or to be recovered after a battle. There is nothing like a gravity slope drive on them. It relies on a small set of chemically fueled thrusters.”

  “Remind me to have us bail out on a pinnace the next time we have to abandon ship,” Hanlon said. “This thing is for the birds. If I recall correctly, the pod’s endurance is pretty good, though. Something like nine or ten days for humans.”

  Kelper nodded. “That’s what I remember, too. Since there’s no way we’re going to make planet fall, what do you think the odds are an Alliance ship comes to rescue us?”

  Hanlon tapped her chin with the tip of her left index finger for a moment while she considered the question. “I think we have a good shot if the Saber made it out, and they send someone back as soon as they get to the Alliance base,” Hanlon grinned at the other three occupants of the pod. “Does anyone know any good games to play?”

  The four shared a quiet, if tremulous, laugh. Watkins cast about the inside of the pod for a second before pulling himself to the only control panel mounted on the bulkhead. “This thing has a small computer in it. Maybe there’s something we can use it for.” He tapped experimentally at the keys for a while with everyone else watching expectantly. “It looks like there’s a general survival manual in here, instructions for operating the radio, and a series of instructions for either making a safe landing on a planet or docking with another vessel. Nothing else in here.”

  “Care to read us the manual with your beautiful tenor voice, Kiran?” Hanlon asked.

  “Sure,” Watkins said and dramatically cleared his throat before saying, “In the event of…” He trailed off and looked closely at the panel. “Well, that’s odd.”

  “What is it,” Kelper asked.

  “It looks like something is approaching. The proximity detector is alerting. It could be a ship.”

  “I bet it’s the Saber,” Hanlon said. “Hold off on the dramatic reading, Mister Watkins. Zinda, take a look out the porthole and see if you can see the ship.”

  Kelper drifted up to the single porthole and peered out. Her body suddenly stiffened. She spun around and said, “It’s a crab ship, ma’am.”

  Hanlon’s face blanched. “Search for weapons. With luck, they won’t expect us to be armed.”

  Everyone started going through lockers and storage compartments. A remarkable amount of what looked like camping gear and food rations spilled into the area, careening around in crazy explosions of frantic energy.

  “I’ve got them,” Adler said. He held four small energy pistols. He passed three of them to the officers and then strapped the remaining gun to his waist. At that moment, the pod entered the crab ship’s gravity field. Supplies, water, and people crashed to the floor of the pod as it drifted into the crab shuttle bay.

  Hanon groaned and pushed up from the bottom of the pile. “Adler you need to lose weight.”

  Adler put on a brave smile as he rolled off of his executive officer. “Sorry, ma’am. I’ll see to it right after we massacre these crabs and take their ship from them.”

  Hanlon gave the young petty officer a slight smile and nodded. “I appreciate your zeal. I want everyone to hold their fire until I give the order. Kelper what do you see out there?”

  “It looks like a small boat bay There are several shuttles here. There’s no one present. I think they use unpressurized bays like we do. They’re probably maneuvering us to an airlock.” The pod lurched to a halt relative to the crab ship.

  “Get ready, everyone,” Hanlon ordered. “Watch your shots. It’s crowded in here. Don’t close with the crabs. They can rip a person in half with their claws.”

  The tiny area filled with the muted click-whine of people checking their weapon’s charges and flicking the manual trigger safeties off. The door to the pod groaned, and a crack appeared along its edge. There was a hiss of equalizing air, and an odd smell began to fill the pod. The four humans raised their weapons as the door swing open.

  A crab stepped into the opening. His claws were raised, and a tangle of meter long tentacles hung from just above the joint between the claws and upper arms. Hanlon shouted, “Fire!”

  All four pistols went into rapid fire at the same instant. Holes appeared across the front of the crab’s carapace, and orange ichor began to ooze from the wounds. The crab wobbled in place and then collapsed halfway through the pod door. Another crab stepped into its fallen comrade’s place. The quartet of humans started to fire once again. The crab raised its massive claw and pointed a device at them.

  Hanlon experienced a
sudden searing pain like nothing she had never experienced before. She heard herself and the other three humans screaming out in agony. The pistols dropped from nerveless fingers, and they began writing on the floor of the pod while the crabs calmly entered and began tying Hanlon and her other crewmates up with wide plastic straps. Their arms were jointed just above the claw and there were a series of long, prehensile tentacles wrapped around the arm just above that joint. They were using those tentacles to manipulate the humans.

  Once the humans were secured, the device was switched off. Hanon gasped in relief. She was covered in a thick, cold sweat and her heart was racing. Her breath came in heavy, jagged pants. She turned her head from where she was lying awkwardly on her side and looked over at Kelper. “Is everyone okay,” she asked.

  Kelper managed a shaky nod. “I’m okay. Watkins? You there?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I think I might have made a mess of myself, though.”

  Hanlon tried to muster the energy to laugh, but it just wouldn’t come. “Adler?”

  “Yeah,” the petty officer groaned.

  “Are you okay?” Hanlon never got her answer. She was hauled roughly to her feet. She stood, facing the crab who had pulled her erect. The crab’s eyes flicked back and forth as it regarded her for a few seconds. “Why have you taken us prisoner, and what are your intentions?”

  The crab didn’t respond. She felt the smooth, segmented tentacles of another crab slither around her wrists and waist, making it all but impossible to move. The crab in front of her plucked a long, slender knife from a tool harness hanging across its torso and moved towards her. She began to struggle, seeing the knife coming in her direction. The tentacles holding her tightened until they felt like iron bands.

  The knife slashed towards her and began cutting her clothing away. Within seconds every stitch she’d been wearing was nothing but rags on the deck. She turned her head and saw everyone had received the same treatment. She turned back to the crab and said, “Sorry, but you just aren’t my type.” Her embarrassment at being naked in front of her crew overriding her self-control for a moment. She snapped her eyes back to the crab in front of her and said, “Well, what is it? What are you doing to us?”

  The crabs didn’t really have faces. Their black chitinous exoskeletons allowed for almost no movement. They had two eyes that did move within protective hoods near the tops of their bodies. Hanlon was becoming frustrated at how easily they were being handled. There was no head or obviously vital spot on their bodies, so Hanlon picked the best target she had and kicked at one of the four legs as hard as she could.

  The kick landed right at the high joint in the leg. It moved at least two centimeters. The crab reacted instantly. It brought its claw up, snapping as it did. Hanlon was sure when it came down, her life would end right there. Rather than cut her to pieces, the crab jabbed her hard enough in the chest to take the wind out of her. She heaved and coughed while the crab stood impassively watching.

  As she regained her breath, she looked back into those alien eyes, flicking back and forth in their sockets. “Okay, I get it. No rough stuff. What the hell do you want with us?”

  The crabs stood silently for so long Hanlon thought she might have gotten through to them when all of them were suddenly heaved forward by the crabs who held them. A door at the far end of the launch bay opened and more crabs stood in the passageway beyond.

  The humans were marched into the hallway when Kelper yelled, “They’re taking us in different directions, ma’am!”

  Hanlon couldn’t see behind her, but Watkins was being marched next to her. She yelled, “Keep strong, Zinda! Keep an eye on Adler. Don’t tell them anything.”

  “I won’t, ma’am.” The voice sounded far away already.

  “Keep your hope! Captain Erickson won’t forget about us!”

  If there was a reply, she never heard it. She heard a door shut behind her and Watkins. The crabs reached a T intersection and took Hanlon one direction and Watkins another.

  “That goes for you too, Kiran. We’ll get out of this.”

  “I know, ma’am,” he said. His voice sounded oddly calm.

  A door opened in front of Hanlon and she was thrust into a small room. The walls were bare. There was a long shelf along one wall and a hole in the floor in the opposite corner. She turned as the tentacles released her arms and the restraints were removed. She rubbed briskly at her hands and wrists as blood rushed painfully back into them.

  She addressed the crab that stood facing her. “My name is Captain Hanlon of the Lashmere Space Navy. I demand you return me to the company of my shipmates. Do you understand me, crab?” The crab gave no reaction. The door to her cell slid shut. “I guess that’s a no.”

  An indeterminate amount of time passed. Hanlon dozed on the rock hard shelf. A slot in the door opened, and a small box flew into the room. She moved over to it and looked it over carefully. Turning it over in her hands, she saw a tab obviously meant to allow the box to be opened. She pulled, and the box fell obediently into separate halves. Inside there was something that was probably food and a plastic looking pouch of what looked like water. She sniffed experimentally.

  “They wouldn’t go to all this trouble just to poison me, I guess. Well, they wouldn’t if they were human. I hope their reasoning goes along the same lines.” She experimentally licked at the block of brown substance. It tasted like bread and meat at the same time. She took a nibble and found it tasted pretty good. It was a bit salty, but she detected nothing in it that seemed dangerous. The pouch did indeed contain water. After the salty bread-meat block, she was pretty thirsty, and she slurped the water down. When she was done, she dropped the remains through the hole in the floor.

  She pondered her situation for a while longer and was lying on the shelf again when the door opened. A crab stood there watching her.

  “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want, now?”

  The crab gestured at her for a moment with its huge claws. When Hanlon refused to get off of the shelf, it stepped into the room and reached for her with its tentacles.

  “Alright, no need to get pushy,” she said, standing and moving towards the door. The crab walked directly behind her, nudging her with its claws to indicate if she should turn left or right. Another door appeared and opened before her. Inside was a chair, obviously meant for humans by its construction. There was a copious amount of blood on the chair and floor. She whirled on the crab, but it was ready. It jabbed her with its claw, knocking her from her feet. It moved with astonishing speed, lashing her arms with its tentacles. She kicked and heaved with all her strength, but the crab moved her inexorably towards the chair.

  She felt her movements becoming more and more frantic as she was forced into the chair. She felt the cold, sticky blood getting on her skin Metal bands snapped shut around her wrists, and her legs were secured within seconds. She flung herself against her restraints but succeeded only in tearing the flesh at her wrists and ankles. She saw her blood trickling down to join the blood of her crewmates on the chair.

  The crab stepped back and moved around to a tall console along the wall where she could see. It manipulated controls for a few seconds with its tentacles. It rested its claws on a bar running along the top of the console.

  Hanlon was shocked to the tips of her toes when a voice filled the room. “You cannot escape. Damage to yourself will result if you continue your struggles.” The voice was flat, almost toneless, but she recognized it. It was her voice. “You will answer our questions. If you do not, pain will be applied. Do you understand,” her voice asked.

  “Who did you injure in here? Which of my crew did you hurt, you monster!” Hanlon shouted at the crab. “Let me go!” Her voice rose in pitch to a near scream as she finished.

  “Do you understand,” the voice asked again.

  “Go throw yourself out an airlock.”

  Hanon felt her back arch upward as the same agony she’d experienced in the escape pod flooded her senses. Her toes cramped
and twitched as they curled upwards and her hands balled into fists so tight her fingernails cut into her palms. She screamed until she had no breath left in her and kept trying to scream, but she couldn’t take a breath. Her vision started to swim, and she felt herself losing consciousness. As suddenly as it had come, the pain stopped. She collapsed back onto the chair, her chest heaving as she sucked in huge lungfuls of air.

  Hanlon blinked to clear the tears from her eyes and stared at the crab with as much venomous hate as she’d ever felt for any living being. “When I get out of here, I’m going to kill every crab on this ship,” she said. In her heart, she knew, at that moment, she would without hesitation.

  The flat version of her voice came back at here again. “You will answer questions. If you do not, pain levels will increase. Do you understand?”

  She knew the crab had her as soon as she started to answer without thinking. She cut herself off before she told the crab anything. Instead, she tried to remain silent. The crab waited impassively for perhaps three minutes before tapping at the console again. The pain was actually worse that time. Hanlon wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but the intensification was so much more than she would ever have thought she could experience.

  When she had the ability to think clearly again, the crab once again caused her voice to say, “You will answer questions, do you understand?”

  Hanlon shook her head to clear it and said, “My name is Captain Linis Hanlon of the Lashmere Space Navy. I demand you return my crew to my presence and treat us with the dignity all people deserve.”

  The crab tapped once on the console again, and Hanlon felt the agony wash over her again. This time, she thought the pain level had subsided. Perhaps her system was growing accustomed to the intensity.

  Her vision blurred, and she suddenly felt a shift in her sensations. She felt a fierce cold wind at her back and the clear crystal mountain top air of her dream. Her eyes snapped open, but she was still in the torture chamber. The sensation had been fleeting, but it had been there. She barely heard the crab repeat its statement once more. She tasted blood and realized she’d bitten into her tongue this time.