Read Online Embarkment 2577 by Maria Hammarblad - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maria Hammarblad
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species, but I found it horrendous.
The big feet moved closer to my hiding
place. Had it seen me? No, it turned away and stood with its back to me. If it
moved just a little I’d be completely visible, and there weren’t any better
places to hide.
Fear spurred me into action. I jumped
up, grabbed a heavy lamp from the table next to the sofa, and hit the creature
over the head with all my strength.
I was lucky. It might not have been
sensitive at all in that region, but it worked. The intruder sank to the floor.
Left to my own devices I might have
stood staring the rest of the day. Anya’s encouraging voice broke my paralysis.
“Well done, Alex. They’ve overridden all the locks, so I can’t help you secure
the door.”
More aliens could come running in at any
moment. I needed to secure the one I had. “Anya, could you replicate some rope
or something to tie it up?”
The replicator hummed to life and a
number of cuffs and chains appeared. What was I supposed to do with all this? I
had to touch the creature to figure it out, and its coat was oily and
unpleasant. “Eeeew.”
As much as I fumbled, only minutes
passed before all its hands, feet, and tail were restrained. I dragged it over
the floor, towards the closet, groaning. “Dumb thing. How can someone so small
be so heavy?”
“Well done, Alex. Thus far you’ve gotten
a hundred percent more of the intruders than our highly trained personnel.”
Yay for me. “So… What happened?”
“The Bell answered a distress call. We
lowered our shields to send over an away team, and several thousand Logg
teleported on board. Our crew was greatly outnumbered. There was no choice
besides surrender, or everyone would have died.”
Logg. That must be their name. Very
fitting for something that heavy and furry. Had Adam been on the bridge, forced
to raise his hands in the air and capitulate when faced with an overwhelming
number of weapons? Maybe they shot someone in his crew to make him.
I wanted to ask if he was okay, but it
seemed petty to worry about one person when the entire ship was in danger. “Where
is everyone now?”
“High ranking officers are kept in the
brig. The rest of the crew is being teleported over to the intruders’ ship.”
“Why?” It was a superfluous question. I
could think of enough reasons on my own. My imagination was coloured by
Hollywood of my own time, and most of my mental images were probably bloodier
and more violent than the truth.
If all these highly trained and armed
people were overrun just like that, what could I possibly do? They had Adam,
Jia’Lyn, Ima, and Blake. I was just a lost girl who couldn’t even remember her
own past.
I could probably hide, at least for a
while. Maybe call for help, but to whom, and how? “What do we know about them?”
“They’re not known as great inventors
or thinkers. They steal technology and ships. They’re strong and have excellent
hearing, but poor eyesight.” Good thing Anya was there and not the ordinary
computer; it would have given me an hour long lecture.
A little fraidy-cat like me should be
good at hiding, especially if they didn’t see all that well. I had a weapon
from the captured Logg. I could at least look threatening.
I hugged myself. “Where’s the best place
to hide? In plain sight. Where’s the closest help? In the brig. Where is the
brig, anyway?”
Anya sounded weary and I couldn’t blame
her. Me being the last person free on the ship was not a good thing. “Take the
lift to level thirty-three, go down the corridor to the right, and through the
seventh door on the left.”
I counted the numbers on my fingers.
“Thirty-three, right, and seven.” It seemed simple enough at the moment, but
given the stress of a ship filled with hostile aliens, maybe not so much.
“Anya, I need to hide. Maybe a disguise
or something. What do you think?”
Going into the ship seemed like madness,
but I would certainly be captured if I stayed where I was and did
The big feet moved closer to my hiding
place. Had it seen me? No, it turned away and stood with its back to me. If it
moved just a little I’d be completely visible, and there weren’t any better
places to hide.
Fear spurred me into action. I jumped
up, grabbed a heavy lamp from the table next to the sofa, and hit the creature
over the head with all my strength.
I was lucky. It might not have been
sensitive at all in that region, but it worked. The intruder sank to the floor.
Left to my own devices I might have
stood staring the rest of the day. Anya’s encouraging voice broke my paralysis.
“Well done, Alex. They’ve overridden all the locks, so I can’t help you secure
the door.”
More aliens could come running in at any
moment. I needed to secure the one I had. “Anya, could you replicate some rope
or something to tie it up?”
The replicator hummed to life and a
number of cuffs and chains appeared. What was I supposed to do with all this? I
had to touch the creature to figure it out, and its coat was oily and
unpleasant. “Eeeew.”
As much as I fumbled, only minutes
passed before all its hands, feet, and tail were restrained. I dragged it over
the floor, towards the closet, groaning. “Dumb thing. How can someone so small
be so heavy?”
“Well done, Alex. Thus far you’ve gotten
a hundred percent more of the intruders than our highly trained personnel.”
Yay for me. “So… What happened?”
“The Bell answered a distress call. We
lowered our shields to send over an away team, and several thousand Logg
teleported on board. Our crew was greatly outnumbered. There was no choice
besides surrender, or everyone would have died.”
Logg. That must be their name. Very
fitting for something that heavy and furry. Had Adam been on the bridge, forced
to raise his hands in the air and capitulate when faced with an overwhelming
number of weapons? Maybe they shot someone in his crew to make him.
I wanted to ask if he was okay, but it
seemed petty to worry about one person when the entire ship was in danger. “Where
is everyone now?”
“High ranking officers are kept in the
brig. The rest of the crew is being teleported over to the intruders’ ship.”
“Why?” It was a superfluous question. I
could think of enough reasons on my own. My imagination was coloured by
Hollywood of my own time, and most of my mental images were probably bloodier
and more violent than the truth.
If all these highly trained and armed
people were overrun just like that, what could I possibly do? They had Adam,
Jia’Lyn, Ima, and Blake. I was just a lost girl who couldn’t even remember her
own past.
I could probably hide, at least for a
while. Maybe call for help, but to whom, and how? “What do we know about them?”
“They’re not known as great inventors
or thinkers. They steal technology and ships. They’re strong and have excellent
hearing, but poor eyesight.” Good thing Anya was there and not the ordinary
computer; it would have given me an hour long lecture.
A little fraidy-cat like me should be
good at hiding, especially if they didn’t see all that well. I had a weapon
from the captured Logg. I could at least look threatening.
I hugged myself. “Where’s the best place
to hide? In plain sight. Where’s the closest help? In the brig. Where is the
brig, anyway?”
Anya sounded weary and I couldn’t blame
her. Me being the last person free on the ship was not a good thing. “Take the
lift to level thirty-three, go down the corridor to the right, and through the
seventh door on the left.”
I counted the numbers on my fingers.
“Thirty-three, right, and seven.” It seemed simple enough at the moment, but
given the stress of a ship filled with hostile aliens, maybe not so much.
“Anya, I need to hide. Maybe a disguise
or something. What do you think?”
Going into the ship seemed like madness,
but I would certainly be captured if I stayed where I was and did
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