Burning Up Flint Read online

  He was one of the cyborgs who’d been there when she’d gotten her ID chip removed and been branded. He’d silently watched her in the roomful of men. He held out a covered tray, eyeing her with interest. She bit her lip nervously.

  “Could you come in and take a look at the control computer for the room? The sleeping alarm keeps going off every time I sit on the bed.”

  He frowned. “Flint said to not enter his quarters.”

  “Every time I sit down and stay still that damn alarm is beeping at me. It’s driving me crazy and I don’t know how to shut it off.”

  He hesitated for a long second before nodding his head, carefully handed her the tray and walked slowly into the room. She had seen the silver control panel on the wall by the bed, which had given her the idea in the first place. As he moved across the room, the door started to close. She moved fast, almost diving through the opening and into the hallway as the door slid shut behind her. Spinning around, she saw the panel that controlled it.

  She used the metal tray to slam the control pad as hard as she could, imagining the cyborg realizing that she’d tricked him. She hit the panel again, using the edge of the tray to hammer at it repeatedly until the control panel broke. She tore the dented lid off the tray and grabbed for the drink inside, dropping the damaged tray and mess of food to the floor. She shook the drink, tearing the seal off with her teeth, and poured liquid into the broken control pad. Instantly an acrid, burning, electrical smell filled her nose. The wires were fried.

  Something struck the door from inside and she heard the cyborg yell her name. Drakos was trapped in the room and she was glad she could only faintly hear him. Ships were designed with thick walls in case of a space breach. Sealed rooms without damage could remain sealed until they ran out of breathable air, which also meant someone would have to pass close to hear him yelling. She turned and ran for the lift. She’d seen a ship map on the wall but she hadn’t time to study it when Flint had walked her past it. Now she studied the ship layout to locate the life pods. No pods were on her level but there were two on the deck below her. With her heart pounding she hit the button to call the lift. She wouldn’t have much time before Drakos called for reinforcements. When the lift doors opened she sighed in relief that it was empty.

  She hated the damn things but it would get her to another level quickly. The lift doors shut and she leaned against the wall as it dropped a level. The doors opened and fear hit again until she realized the corridor was empty, no one was waiting to grab her She ran, heading down toward the first split. She saw the red marker on the wall that pointed toward the life-pod bulk doors. She pressed one to open but nothing happened.

  Had they been disabled? Were the pods gone? The doors should open if they were working. She moved to the other door and hit the emergency open button. It slid open. Relief hit her as she saw the interior pod door slide open a second later, revealing the interior of the pod on the other side of the small docking sleeve.

  She ran in and spun, hitting the emergency close button. She stared at the empty corridor and hoped that luck was with her since no one had appeared to stop her. Her fear didn’t ease until the door slammed shut, sealing her inside. She moved the few feet into the pod and sealed those doors. She turned then to take a better look at the pod.

  The emergency lights had been activated by motion so she had a clear view of the interior—a twenty-five passenger pod. It was larger than she thought it would be which was lucky for her. She ran around the passenger area to the pilot seat. Throwing her ass into the seat, she started to put on her belt.

  “State emergency,” a hollow male voice startled her.

  “Um…”

  “This is autopilot for Pod 3. State emergency.”

  She bit her lip. “We’ve been boarded by pirates. We need to blast away and get away from the Star before they can come after us. Pirates have control of the Star.”

  “State destination to safest location please.”

  “Um…Earth?”

  “Understood. Uploading location. Locked. Prepare for release and sudden hard blast when we are clear. Countdown in three, two, one…”

  She barely got her belt tightened before the pod released. Her body slammed forward, hard against the belt as the small ship turned then was thrown back against her seat as it launched. Her stomach protested the sudden and violent move and a moan of terror burst from her parted lips. Most of the gravity went. The pod slowed to a stop and she saw her blonde hair floating as her limbs grew so light she could barely feel them.

  “Cross your arms tightly to your chests and lean your heads back against the headrest,” the computer voice ordered. “Hard blast in three, two, one, blast.”

  Mira would have screamed but she had no air left in her lungs from the violent motion of being slammed into her seat. She was glad she’d followed the instructions quickly. If she hadn’t crossed her arms over her chest she was pretty sure they would have been broken by the sudden burst of speed. The force was crushing her as the pod continued to hard blast.

  It wasn’t stopping as she knew it should have. The escape pod was on full blast speed, which meant it was pouring fuel into the thrusters, forcing the pod to rocket away from the Star. She closed her eyes, managing to force air into her lungs. The pressure was still there but it eased as her body adjusted to the speeding pod. She’d been through hard blast only once before. That had been when the Star had done it to avoid the debris from her shuttle. It had only lasted a few seconds. The pod was burning fuel far longer than that.

  “We are being pursued by the Star,” the computer announced calmly. “Evasive maneuvers.”

  Mira did scream when the pod rolled and everything spun. She wished the gravity had completely shut off so she wouldn’t experience the sick feeling of the small ship rolling but she couldn’t get the words out to order the computer to shut it off.

  The pod violently shook as it adjusted course. She kept her eyes closed, clutching the belts over her chest, unable to do anything else. The Star was coming after the pod. That shocked her. She wondered suddenly if the Star could capture the smaller vessel but she didn’t think it could. Escape pods were usually pretty fast because they were for higher speeds in case of real pirate attacks.

  “Pod 3 has successfully pulled away from the Star. Reducing burst to steady to keep out of range and initiating normal gravity from minimal gravity for comfort. Monitoring to continue until the threat is no longer on sensor range,” the computer announced. “Fuel levels are acceptable. Attempting to auto signal Earth with status.” It paused. “Out of range. Will attempt every hour to establish contact with Earth. Please remain belted until no hostile threat is detected. Changes will update.”

  Mira opened her eyes finally, breathing easier, her fear easing. She had escaped. She took more deep breaths. The Star had tried to come after her, which made no sense to her. She wondered if Flint was still on board or if he’d already left on the Rally. Her guess was that he’d already left or the Rally would have come after her instead. It was the faster ship.

  She wondered if Flint was would miss her. Pain hit at the thought. He’d probably just replace her with a new woman when he heard she was gone. He’d get a new possession. Maybe the next woman wouldn’t mind that he felt nothing more toward her than ownership. The thought of him touching another woman hurt though, causing her to utter a curse.

  “State problem.” The computer’s voice broke the silence.

  She shook her head. “No problem. I was thinking out loud.”

  “I will initiate voice mode. If you wish to address the pod, state Pod 3 before orders. I will not respond to other voice commands so you may communicate amongst yourselves in the compartment.”

  Mira shook her head, eyeing the empty pod. The stupid computer thought she had someone else to talk to.

  “Pod 3?”

  “Pod 3. State problem.”

  “I was wondering how long until we reach Earth.”

  “At current rate