Feels Like Falling: a Science Fiction Space Opera Adventure: a Wolfegang standalone novella (2.5) (the Wolfegang series) Read online

  Celeste pushed her empty plate to the side and grabbed the deck of cards. “You cheated last time, Captain. I will make sure the cards are properly shuffled.” Her violet eyes flashed playfully.

  It was rare to see Celeste so relaxed. I liked this side of her. The last of my dinner went in my mouth, cheeks bulging, and I stood to gather the empty plates.

  “No, let me,” Wolfe protested. “You’re still recovering.”

  I rolled my eyes and pulled his plate back out of his hand. “Please, I can carry a few dishes.” The plates went in the automatic washer and sanitizer. When I turned the three of them were leaning forward, chatting, drinking, and examining their cards. I leaned against the galley counter and crossed my arms.

  In a weird way these three were my family now. For better or worse they had my back and I had theirs. We didn’t have to like each other, but we did work together well. Celeste and I still had some work to do, but as I learned more about her the cattiness between us lessened. She still hated I was a human, but I understood why. The Federation stripped her world of its independence and essentially dropped them into poverty. No one would hire them after the war.

  Wolfe did though. He even dated her for a while. I could see the familiarity between the two of them, but it wasn’t strained at the moment. I smiled. If they could figure out how to be friends stuck on a ship in space, then so could Wolfe and I.

  I brought back clean plates for the dessert and sat with the crew to play a card game I didn’t understand very well. I finished my glass of the sweet liquor and picked up my cards. “Are you guys ready to have your asses kicked by a noob?”

  Chapter Three

  I woke up when my face hit the floor. “What the shit?” I exclaimed as I tried to figure what was going on. The ship rocked again and more of my stuff clattered to the floor. My watch said it was only a little after midnight. Something was wrong. I struggled to my feet as the ship shuddered hard enough the lights flickered and anything not bolted to the floor flew across my quarters. My boots were nowhere to be found. My sweater was on the floor. I grabbed it as I ran out my door. I slipped it on and the ship rattled. A large clank resounded through the hull.

  It threw me off balance and made me stumble into the wall. The sound of metal tearing kicked up my adrenaline. Shit, I’d forgotten my comms in my quarters. I ran towards the captain’s office down the hall hoping Wolfe was there. The lights flickered again and then darkness. I froze.

  Someone ran into me and we both fell. “Fucking shit!”

  “Wolfe?”

  “Kat? Are you okay?”

  My back ached a bit from falling twice in the last two minutes but I didn’t mention it. “What’s happening?” I asked.

  “Pirates.” His strained voice was all I had to pinpoint where he was in the darkness until a warm hand grabbed mine. “I need to get to the bridge. Power has to be restored as soon as possible and the others contacted. Come with me. The pirates are probably on the ship by now.”

  Pirates boarded the Wolfegang. Of course they did. My luck recently had been complete crap. “What can I do to help?” I asked as I followed the tug on my hand. Wolfe knew his ship inside out and with his eyes closed apparently.

  We stopped abruptly and he let go of my hand. “After I have the power back up and running I need you to monitor surveillance and stay on the comms. I have to know exactly where these assholes are. They put a hole in my damn ship,” Wolfe practically growled as he disappeared down the ladder towards the engines.

  The warmth of his body went with him and I shivered in the freezing air. Without the power, life support wasn’t running and it got cold fast.

  “Katerina, is the captain in the engine room?” Celeste’s silky voice came out of nowhere and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hated how she simply appeared out of thin air like that. I hadn’t heard footsteps or anything.

  “Yes. He says pirates are boarding.”

  Celeste cursed under her breath. The words in Sarmation were harsh and degrading. I had no idea what she said, but the sentiment came across loud and clear. “I will gather the weapons.” She crossed the bridge and slid down the ladder to the weapons room.

  I heard her load up and then finally the lights flickered back on, but on the lowest setting due to the time the ship was programmed to. The bridge was dim but the consoles glowed and I had no issue seeing. I went to the main console and pulled up surveillance. I could access the other crewmember’s comms from there as well. As I flipped through the various cameras I also pulled up communications and selected Ricky’s comm. The small device went into my ear. “Are you awake?” I whispered in case he was near the pirates.

  “I am now.”

  How the hell had he slept through all this?

  “We need you on the bridge. Avoid the cargo bay if you can. Celeste will have weapons for you.”

  “I’ll bring my own.” The transmission clicked off and I switched over to Wolfe. There was still no sight of the pirates on the cameras. “Is the power stable, Captain?” I asked. Could Celeste operate the cannons was the real question.

  “Engines are back to full power, life support is one hundred percent, and weapons are operational. Have you found their location?”

  I scrolled through to where I thought they might be. The first camera showed the stairs down into the cargo-hold, then the second and third showed the undisturbed boxes. The hold looked like it always did. The fourth was a different story. Sparks flew as the metal of the hull heated and whatever tool they had did its job. “They’re already to the inner layer,” I reported. “If the outer doors are forced open we won’t be able to remove their ship from ours without a massive hull breach.”

  The string of Japanese curses made my eyes widen in surprise. I’d never heard him talk so colorfully before. I selected all three comms and put them on a combined channel. Quickly I updated Celeste and Ricky. “What’s the plan, Captain?” My feet were freezing and I shifted so I could rest one against my leg. I couldn’t physically help in my condition. All I could do was monitor and direct the crew.

  “Kat run a diagnostic on the damage to the hull, the cargo doors, and the airlock. Access cameras forty-three through forty-nine, those will show you outside the ship. If you can, run a diagnostic on their ship and its weapons.” He paused as he remembered I had little training when it came to all this. “It’s very intuitive,” Wolfe promised.

  I closed my eyes and hoped he was right.

  The small device in my ear chirped and Celeste’s voice came through loud and clear. “Weapons are active. Should I target their ship? I can see it from cannon two.”

  “Hold on.” Selecting the right cameras I studied their ship. It was smaller than the Wolfegang, streamlined and fast-looking. A tube came out of the side of their ship and was attached to the doors of the cargo-hold. It looked bad. It was center on the line separating the two doors and breaking the seal. From the outside cameras I couldn’t see what kind of manpower they had, but there were a few of the smaller cannons. Not as big as ours, but there were more of them. I tapped the camera and the screen expanded above the console. Making a pulling motion the holo became 3D and I tapped on the pirate ship. The computer instantly ran a diagnostic. “They have an alert system,” I warned.

  More Sarmation curses. “So I cannot lock on without letting them know we are awake and aware.” Celeste’s voice grew louder and echoed as she climbed up the ladder onto the bridge. A mini cannon was over one shoulder and she placed her free hand on the floor and pushed herself up and over.

  Damn the girl was strong.

  “Have you located the roaches yet?” she demanded.

  I shook my head and minimized the diagnostic on the pirate ship, and then flipped back to the cargo-hold. “They’re still not through the last wall.”

  Guns clattered as they popped out of the hatch in the floor. Then Wolfe’s head came up. “We’ll have to ambush them and take them out one by one. We can’t afford to break the seal of their ship
until we can repair the main hull breach. Even then we’ll have to fix the outer hull before we can make a hyperspace jump.”

  Ricky appeared with a small sword in each hand and his sharp teeth bared. “Tell me what you need, Captain.”

  The three of them leaned forward as Wolfe laid out a strategic plan. Celeste added in her two cents here and there. As weapons master and first mate she knew what she was doing. There was a glint in Ricky’s eyes. He was ready to shred the intruders to pieces.

  The bright light of the machine drilling through the ship disappeared and I turned back to the surveillance cameras. Three men and women slipped through the hole and into our ship. “They’re in,” I murmured as a tingle settled in the pit of my stomach. My eyes burned from lack of sleep and my lower back ached, but none of it mattered. There were hostile people on the ship trying to steal what we had. “What if they find the medicine?” I asked. If they found it we would be screwed and thousands of people would die.

  “They won’t,” Wolfe promised, checking his pulse pistol. He had magazines stuffed in his pajama bottoms and I saw for the first time he was shirtless. I cleared my throat awkwardly and focused back on the pirates.

  They didn’t look like pirates to me. They were clean, and well-organized by the way they spread out and quickly scanned each box of cargo. It seemed there should have been a better way. A way they could have boarded without causing so much damage. Then they could have stolen what they wanted and left while we all slept with none of us the wiser.

  “But what if they find the sub-hold?” I asked, still worried about the medicine.

  Wolfe placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Kat, it’s in my personal safe. They won’t find it.” His quick smile disappeared as he checked his second pistol and then slung a rifle over his shoulders.

  My eyes fell to the floor and I noticed he was barefoot as well. Ricky was the only one who was fully dressed. Even Celeste was in a satin-y camisole and comfortable looking pants. Her hair was pleated back into a braid. Seeing the captain and Celeste like this was definitely new for me.

  “What should I do?” I asked.

  “Keep us informed of exactly where they are and what they are doing. I need to know how many at all times, and if they are conscious or unconscious.” Wolfe came over and leaned across me. He swiped up and a new overlay popped over the video of the pirates rummaging through our cargo. The bodies’ heat signature came up as well as a quick scan with gender, race, species, and vitals. “This will help you keep an eye on them.” The captain placed a pulse pistol on the console next to my hand and gave me a look. “Be safe, but don’t do anything crazy. You can’t afford to get hurt again.”

  He glanced at my lips and I remembered the kiss we had on Enzo. It was impulsive and in the moment, both of us dealing with near-death experiences. It meant nothing in the long run. My eyes couldn’t help but notice how defined his chest was. “I will be careful,” I said, not able to make direct eye contact with him in case he had seen the direction of my gaze. “You be safe as well. Put some gear on if you can.”

  Lt. Donnelly had tortured him and I couldn’t even tell anymore. He healed fast, but I didn’t know much about modern humans and their makeup. It could be normal.

  Wolfe nodded and then led them all off the bridge and down the dark hall. I turned and selected the lights throughout the ship, dimming them as low as I could while still allowing enough for them to see by. I had to keep them as safe as possible. Stepping back from the main console I studied the holos. I pushed and pulled, swiped and expanded until I had the exact setup I needed. The cameras followed the crew, popping up in succession after tagging their scans. The same was done for the pirates.

  The cameras outside were up in the top left corner and the two main cameras were in the center as they flicked to each vantage point. Wolfe stopped in his office and slipped a chest plate on and then handed one to Celeste. Ricky shook his head. Wolfe stepped into a pair of boots and then they quietly exited his office, silent and ready.

  There were still only three pirates I could currently see. I couldn’t scan the inside of their ship to find out if there were more. They had some kind of tech that blocked or jammed the Wolfegang’s diagnostic system. There could be twenty more pirates hiding and I would have no idea.

  Activating the defense shield might short the pirate ship, but I couldn’t risk the disconnection from the hull. I tapped my finger against my bottom lip and tried to think of what else I could do to get some intel so the others didn’t go in completely blind.

  “We’re at the top of the stairs, spreading out,” Wolfe’s whispered voice came through as if he stood right next to me.

  I watched the three of them split up. Ricky crawled up into the rigging above the cargo-hold. His small body and incredible strength made him completely silent as he scaled his way across the top. Celeste went left, dropping down over the railing to the cargo-hold floor. Her landing was a small whisper. Wolfe did the same on the other side. The two may never have served together, but they both knew exactly what they were doing. There was no hesitation, no pause, and no question as to what the other would do. They both circled around behind the cargo boxes, slow and steady.

  The pirates had found something they wanted and two lifted one of the heavier boxes and moved it towards their ship. It would be the perfect opportunity. “One is supervising. The other two are compromised. Attack now,” I advised.

  Wolfe and Celeste moved as one, jumping over crates and shooting the two men carrying the box. Ricky dropped thirty feet from the ceiling onto the woman below and the three vitals dropped down to almost nothing.

  “All three are unconscious,” I confirmed. Thank god they’d stunned and not killed. Dealing with body cleanup wasn’t something I was ready for.

  “Load them onto their ship,” Wolfe directed. “We’ll take what we need to repair the hull from their stash, not ours.”

  Pulse fire suddenly filled the cargo-hold and I ducked even though I was nowhere near it.

  “Shots fired! Shots fired!” I heard Celeste scream and suddenly everything went dark. Then my console display stuttered and fizzled into nothing.

  Chapter Four

  I stood there like an idiot for a second and tried to get the crew on the comms. “Ricky?” I tapped the device in my ear like that would help. “Celeste, can you hear me?” Desperately I tried to bring the main console back up. “Captain, I need a status report, something. You all better still be alive,” I muttered, giving up on the console.

  The engines were accessible. No pirates between me and them, but I wasn’t even sure that was the problem. What I suspected was some kind of electromagnetic pulse from the pirate ship had shut everything down. They probably had better scanners than we did and knew we were up and moving about the entire time.

  What were they actually after then? Did they want the ship, or did they somehow know there was something, or multiple precious and invaluable somethings onboard? I had no idea. There was no way for me to contact Wolfe or the others and I was a sitting duck on the bridge, the most likely place they would go first.

  Would they be able to find me based on my heat signature like we had used on them, or did they use something different? I needed to keep away from these assholes and somehow help the crew. The engines were hot for now and I could hide there, but it was cut off from the rest of the ship. I had access to the weapons and the cannons, but without power they were useless. The crystals were down with the engines as well. In a pinch they could be used for power.

  Carefully I made my way to the ladder and felt around until my foot found the first rung. God, everything was so cold and I hated it. Awkwardly I climbed down with the pulse pistol in one hand and was relieved when my groping foot found the freezing-cold floor.

  The glow from the crystals led me through the weapons room and into the space where Wolfe cut and programmed the various types of crystals. I stopped in my tracks and listened. I couldn’t hear anything, but every time I�
��d played a video game like this someone came from behind. Turning around I locked the door to the weapons room. It wasn’t easy with the power off, but there was a hand wheel to crank as a backup. The loud noise of the large tumbler falling into place made me wince.

  No doubt someone heard it if they were anywhere close to the bridge.

  The pistol felt slippery in my hand. I could use it. Ricky had given me enough training on all the various weapons I could use anything I might need available on the ship. With the way my back ached though, even climbing down the ladder had been rough. The muscles twinged and I held still as I listened intently. I had to concentrate hard to use the new advanced hearing I had. Taking a deep breath I slowed my breathing until I could hear the hum from the crystals. The ones in the drawers still waiting to be installed had power, but the ones already installed were quiet; dead. The EMP or whatever it was must have shorted everything.

  The backup system wasn’t something I had learned and I didn’t know if they were even in the engine room or if it was a program. Dammit, I hadn’t had any training on any of this shit.

  Footsteps rang above me and I froze. My fingers instinctively tightened on the pulse pistol. Words made their way down but they were echo-y and difficult to understand. So there were at least two people on the bridge. More footsteps joined the first two sets and I gritted my teeth. Okay, so three now. What had happened to Wolfe and the others?

  It was safe to assume my crew wouldn’t be able to help. I only hoped they were okay. Damn, the pirates found the ladder. I scrambled to the crystal room and the table in the center. Falling to my knees I went straight for the black crystals, the most powerful yet volatile. I wasn’t sure exactly how they held power. They weren’t batteries and they weren’t sentient exactly, but the crystals were alive, some kind of living force held inside the rocks.

  The drawer opened smoothly and the black-as-space crystals against the velvet burned in the pitch dark of the ship. I carefully took one and inspected it. There was nothing in Wolfe’s manual about this kind of thing, all he said was they could be programmed and used for power. I couldn’t see why I couldn’t use them as a sort of…key? A type of battery I guess. The power could go to the engines but that was dangerous. The black crystals needed to be programmed perfectly otherwise they might explode.