Page 27 of Slavic

Idon’t have time to argue with him as the lift doors slide open.Steppingout first,Imotion forFalonto follow.Myeyes surveythe area asIlook for anything hostile or out of place.Wemake it to the loading dock beforeIsee the firstJynrelround the corner.Hedoesn’t look at me, but those little frackers hunt in packs, soIknow there are more close by.Thankfully, theZenithis hovering above the floor, ready to lift off as we get closer.

Bikarmust have seen us approaching because a small slide opens in the bottom of the ship allowingFalonto maneuver the hover sled inside.Istand guard while he pushes the small crates in.Themoment he is done,Ipress the button on the small ramp and it closes.Nowfor the tricky part.HowwillFalonandIget back on board without opening the main ramp?

“Bikar, open the cargo bay door wide enough forFalonandIto slide in and then take off.Wewill make our way up to the main areas once the ship is out of theNavale’sorbit.”

“Frack, brother, that’s going to be a rough few ticks.Itgets mighty cold in the cargo bay.”

“Youhave any other ideas?FalonandIcan hold our own easily against theJynrel, but not if they are joined by the threeKorgonsthat just walked onto the dock.Wecan’t risk lowering the main ramp.”

Imotion forFalonto head toward the lower bay door that is only a few feet above the floor of the dock.Duckingunder theZenith’smain hull,Ihesitate whenIsee the fuel door swinging back and forth under the ship.Frackthat is going to be a problem, but we don’t have the time to fix it now.Falonslides into the narrow gapBikaropened and just asIam following behind,Ihear the first roar of an attack coming our way.

Theymust have caught on that we were not going to lower the main ramp and started scouting the rest of the ship.Ibarelyget my legs inside before seeing a blue hand reaching for me.Asecond one grabs the door, trying to shove it open more.

Ihit the controls for the hull to seal shut, only to hear a whine where the ship’s closure mechanism is fighting theKorgonshoving with all his strength to get inside.Falonputs his weight against the door as we start to lift off.Bikar’svoice echoes throughout the room.

“Slavic, get that door closed or both of you can say your goodbyes.”

“Shockthe hull, the fracker won’t let go.”TheKorgonmust have heard my words, just asIfeel the energy sweep across the floor.Hestarts to let go and the door finally slams shut, but not without a little souvenir.Thetips of his blue fingers lay severed near the seal.

Falonslides down the wall, breathing heavily. “Thatwas too close.”

Thefloor beneath our feet begins to vibrate, and the temperature starts dropping rapidly. “Iagree little brother, let us grab a few of these crates and head up.Iwould prefer to escape this cold as quickly as possible.”

Hittingmy comm unit,Iorder, “Bikar, get everyone to the helm and keep track of thatPyrkynecruiser.”

“Alreadyahead of you.”

Chapter Eighteen

SLAVIC

Iam not shockedto hear raised voices whenIapproach the helm.ThemomentFalonandIwalk through the door, they all turn toward us.

“Bikar, did any ships launch in pursuit?”

“Negative, theKorgonship is powered down for repairs and theJynrelcruiser that is docked is too small to take on theZenith.Isuspect they had teamed up together temporarily in order to have a better chance of taking us there.”

Einarturns snarling at me, “Howthe frack did they figure out we were the ones who took the females?”

“Well, apparently, they could smell them on us,Einar.Itdid not help that theVelgriddixput a huge reward out for their return and half the frackin galaxy is out looking for any sign of them.Likeuntried youths, we put ourselves right in their sights rather easily, asIam sure they contacted any and all spaceports within their ship’s last known location.

“Ruarc, you andFalongo through those crates and separate the items acquired for the females.Einar, before you sneak off,you will tend to the other females hiding inFalconandBikar’sroom.Ido not care how you do it, but get it done.Allfemales are precious, and we will not neglect them.Falon,Ineed you to verify that those translators are working.Doyou know if they are the temporary or permanent ones?”

“Frommy understandingSlavic, they are permanent.Butmy informant told me that implanting them could be painful.”

“Einar, do we have anything that would assist with this?”

“Notreally, andIfear they will only be more distressed when we subject them to the procedure.”

“Frack, these females have been hurt enough, the very thought of us harming them once again has me torn.”Shockinglyenough,Murgulis the first to voice his opinion about what we should do.

“Fearis caused from lack of knowledge brother.Theywill be temporarily upset, but will calm quickly once it’s finished and they can understand us.”

Theentire helm goes quiet withMurgul’swords, as this is the mostIhave heard him speak in rotations.Hiswords flow through my thoughts, but we have other more pressing issues to deal with. “Bikar, where is thatPyrkyneship?”

“Theyleft right after we did.Ikept us cloaked once we departedNavale, now we are following behind them just out of their scanner’s range.Atthis speed, we will overtake them in a few ticks.”

“Murgullooks like we are going to have to do this alone, suit up.Iwill be down momentarily.Bikar, hold back untilIreturn to the helm.”

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