The Darkest Cargo by Amanda Bridgeman

Author:Amanda Bridgeman [Bridgeman, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: soldiers, spaceship, found family, predator, black ops, firefly, action, horror
Publisher: Centralis Entertainment
Published: 2023-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Spud stood, hands still cuffed behind his back, in the corridor at the ship’s inner door to the cargo hold. Guarded by Shaw and Dante, his crew, with the exception of Glossy, stood with him. Spud’s face was close to the door’s observation window, watching carefully as Grey’s team, inside the cargo hold and dressed in biosuits, prepared to open the box.

“I got a bad feeling about this,” Nikita said, close by his side.

“Me, too,” Spud said, subconsciously pulling on his cuffs.

“That’s not a kitten inside,” Finn said. “Not if it came from Quadrant Four. It might look and sound like a kitten, but it won’t be.”

“Panthera-X03 does not sound like a kitten’s name,” Miguel said gravely.

“The risk is infection from the claws, right?” King asked. “Should I prep the med bay?”

“No one’s going anywhere,” Shaw said, hands wrapped tightly around his weapon.

“Could you remove my cuffs, please?” Spud asked. “I’m the captain of this ship, and if shit goes down, I need to respond.”

“You won’t need to respond. That’s what we’re here for,” Dante said.

“Yeah?” Spud said, eyeing him. Though Dante was well-built, he looked only 24 or 25 years old. “Well, if things go bad, no offence, I’d prefer to rely on my own team than yours for my defense.”

“Shut up,” Shaw said. “It’s a goddamn kitten with bacteria in its claws. Relax.”

“Do you at least have the keys to our cuffs?” Nikita asked.

Shaw shook his head. “Grey and Chancer have them.”

Spud turned back to the window. “And they’re inside. Great.”

Spud watched as Grey, Chancer, Harper and Renton, dressed in biosuits, began to open the box. Glossy was ordered to stand well back until called upon. That was something at least, Spud thought. Grey wasn’t being reckless with his crew.

Grey stood by the console, working her data-pane, while Chancer, Renton and Harper stood with their weapons raised and spread around the container, which was placed in the middle of the clear floor space. Harper held the tranq gun.

“The code worked,” Grey said, her voice pouring through the comms speaker in the corridor. “We’re in.”

They watched as a high-pitched alarm sounded and red lights along the top of the box began to flash.

To Spud, they looked like warning lights.

“The lid’s unlocked,” Grey said. “Renton, Harper, Chancer, get ready.”

The silence hung thickly in the corridor as Grey tapped her console once more. Spud noted the top of the box reached Grey’s upper chest height. With a whir of hydraulics, the lid on the box began to retract, and a smoky substance wafted over the edges and disappeared into the air.

“What is that?” Miguel asked.

“Remnants of the cooling system?” King said.

“Or something else,” Nikita said, eyes fixed on the box.

When the box was partway open, Grey and Chancer paused, studying the contents.

“What is that?” Grey asked motioning to something.

“Shredded… paper?” Chancer asked.

The lid was now fully retracted, and they swiftly pointed their weapons inside.

“What’s inside?” Spud asked, but they, of course, couldn’t hear him.

Both Grey and Chancer peered carefully into the box, the red lights along the top of it reflecting off their helmet faceplates.

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