The Dragons of Andromeda by W H Mitchell

Author:W H Mitchell [Mitchell, W H]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: space opera
Publisher: W. H. Mitchell
Published: 2018-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Sylvia Flax could smell Walter Ruggles’ aftershave. Hunkered down in the chilly, unlit hold of a Celadon starship, she recognized it instantly and knew he was somewhere among the other passengers, all held captive in the darkened room. Apparently, he had survived the pirate attack after all.

When Flax first got a whiff of Ruggles’ cologne, she was sitting in his cabin on the Jewel of Amann. It was one of several things about him that annoyed her.

“Why do you wear those glasses?” she had asked, sitting in his room.

“To see,” Ruggles replied matter-of-factly.

“Obviously,” she said, looking up from her datapad, “but why not get your eyes corrected?”

“I have astigmatism.”

“What about implants?”

“Not on my salary...”

Flax sighed, tilting her head.

“You’re quite a catch, Mr. Ruggles,” she said.

At that moment, the ship rocked sharply, and an alarm went off in the corridor. The jolt knocked the datapad from Flax’s hand. It slid across the floor and under the bed.

“Well, shit!” Flax said.

“It’s the IDEA people!” Ruggles shouted in a panic. “They found me!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Flax replied.

The lights flickered and Flax felt the artificial gravity fluctuate. Her stomach turned.

Ruggles was heading toward the closet.

“Where are you going?” Flax asked.

He tapped the control, opening the closet door.

“What do you think?” he said.

“If IDEA can track you in the middle of nowhere, I’m sure they’ll find you in a closet.”

Sounds of explosions and blaster fire filtered through the walls and floor. Flax considered leaving, perhaps to find someone from the crew, but Ruggles objected.

“Stay with me!” he pleaded.

“That’s sweet, Walter, but I don’t plan on spending my last moments with you.”

The door to the corridor slid open and a small, green-skinned man stood in the threshold. His head was too big for his body and his nose and ears were too big for his head. Everyone stared at each other until Flax jumped up from her chair, crossing the tiny cabin in a single step. She lunged at the man, punching him on the nose and knocking him down.

The little green man cupped his nose as blood poured from between his fingers. He was also screaming.

Flax touched the controls, closing the door.

“What is that?” Ruggles asked.

“Celadon I think,” Flax replied. “Nasty little bastards...”

Finding some electrical cord, Flax tied the Celadon’s hands and feet. Mostly to stop the noise he was making, she also tied a piece of cloth torn from the bed sheet around his mouth. The blood was already starting to dry around his nose.

“Now what?” Ruggles asked.

“Help me stick him in the closet.”

“But I was going to hide in there...”

“Sorry, hero,” she replied snidely. “We’re going to take his gun and find a lifeboat or something. We don’t want to get caught by these guys.”

“Do you think they work for IDEA?”

“No!”

Although they left the cabin together, Flax and Ruggles quickly became separated amid the confusion of Celadon pirates and panicking passengers. In the end, Flax was captured, disarmed, and hauled aboard a corsair starship. Now, crouched in the hold, she felt both relieved that Ruggles managed not to die, and irritated that she had not done better than him.

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