Page 21 of Tempting Jupiter
Jupiter paced as they watched Bug do its task. “Did she say anything about what we’re doing?”
“No, but—”
“I don’t…have…time.” The small mechanical voice didn’t provide the explanation Jupiter wanted, so Sen kept the broken speech, which could mean anything, to himself.
The sound of men with no care for hiding their footsteps echoed down the hall. “Humans,” said Sen. He tilted his head to get more of the sound. “Three. They must have discovered our escape.”
“And they sent only three?” Jupiter scoffed under his breath.
The familiarity of preparing for a fight pushed everything else out of Seneca’s mind. “No match unless they have weapons.”
Jupiter muttered softly. “Clever woman.”
“What?” Seneca hadn’t heard the woman speak through the device again.
Jupiter shook his head, then grinned. “The woman said they’ll want us alive. We can use that.”
Seneca nodded his understanding.
The crewmen never slowed, as if they were unaware of the danger. They would be carrying weapons, but Jupiter’s words were all the strategy he needed to deal with that likelihood. They’d fought together so often, the rest would come naturally.
Jupiter surged forward, leading them toward their opponents. As long as the enemy would not fire lethal shots on their direct approach, the closer space of the corridor would be to the Dogs’ advantage. The crew skidded to a stop—two males and a female. As Jup predicted, they held simple stun guns.
Seneca felt the first jolt roll through him. He flew forward, taking one of the males to the decking. He fisted the man’s hair and smacked his head solidly against the metal plates beneath them. He was hooking an arm around the legs of his next opponent the moment the male’s eyes rolled back in his head.
The female came crashing down, all flailing arms and elbows. Pain exploded in his right eye as one of the bony joints connected. He seized one of the legs already in his grasp and twisted until he’d won a satisfying cracking sound from her fragile human bones.
He took a quick second to assess their situation. Jupiter had dealt with the third opponent, who now lay unmoving on the ground. Another unpleasant pulse of energy fired through him, jerking his attention to the female.
She’d found the weapon she’d dropped and was about to hit him with a third stun blast, one too many, when the weapon went flying and her arm dropped limply from the power of Jupiter’s kick.
She fell back right into Seneca and, carrying them both to the ground, she writhed in pain. Seneca shoved her lower limbs off him and reached out to take the hand Jupiter offered.
“Put them in the pod.” The mechanical voice was back. “Don’t get trapped inside.”
The device had finished its task. The door to the small room stood open. “She wants us to put them in there.”
Jupiter raised an eyebrow, but complied, dragging the two men into the crowded space. Seneca carried the woman. He gave some thought to strapping her to one of the benches. The straps must be there for a reason, but the warning against getting trapped stopped him. In the end, he dumped her inside and stepped back.
The doors slid shut and the mechanical device launched into the air. It headed down the corridor, so they followed. It finished with a third hatch without interruption, then sped along again. This time it led them on a path complicated by turns.
The bare metal walls were long behind them and Seneca realized the corridors had started to look familiar. “This is the way back to where we entered the ship.”
Jupiter barked low—a vague sound.
“Why is she taking us there?” Seneca couldn’t hold back his concern. “The captain said the ship was damaged beyond repair.”
Jupiter barked again with more certainty. “If they think we have no reason to go there, it might be a good place to take cover.”
“They’ll search there eventually,” Seneca pointed out, surprised the more dominant Dog had answered at all.
Jupiter nodded. He lifted his nose in the air and his breathing turned slow and deep. “She’s up ahead. Her scent grows stronger.”
When the flying machine turned into a corridor that was different from the others, Jupiter slowed. Seneca looked at the expanse as Jupiter must see it. Half-meter square sheets of metal lined the floor, looking as if they’d been hastily thrown down to make a path. The rest of the floor, walls, and ceiling were made of a heavy textile stretched over metal ribbing.
“This is how they joined the two ships together,” Sen explained as he stepped into the tube-like structure.
Jupiter followed close behind. “It is stupidly made.”
