Page 12 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)
T’Rak
T ime is not my friend. I am having a hard time finding my way around this ship. They must have blocked the way to the lower decks somehow; it is frustrating me beyond reason. I contemplate blowing shit up, but that would only draw attention to me.
I am rescanning the back hallway of the ship right now. Logically, it should open up to a Cargo Bay, and I am wrecking my brain trying to figure out where the entry lies. My scans come back incomplete, but I do have the ship’s make and model, which is a great starting point.
I search the database for references, and I am finally in luck.
The entire back of this ship is supposedly listed as the Cargo Bay, and the front half consists of three levels.
There should be elevators in the corners, which I cannot use, but they also say something about ventilation ducts.
They should be running to the lower levels next to the elevator points…
It will be a tight fit because I am a big male, but they are my best option.
I pick the corner closest to me and grin when I find the duct.
Carefully, I remove one of the side plates to look inside.
It will do. I need to remove two more plates before I can fit my shoulders in there.
I put my gun in a holster at my back and place a knife between my teeth. Nobody is going to surprise me.
The duct is small and tight, too narrow to rappel down, but crawling isn’t any easier. Still, I push on, figuring my best chance is to make it all the way to Cargo Bay.
Getting in was way easier than getting out. Inwardly cursing, I am very, very tempted to just blast my way out. If only I could get my knife in between these panels… Got it. Thank the stars, the panel is not that sturdy, and I manage to push it out with minimal sound.
After the second panel, I decide to take my chances. I roughly jerk my body through; it stings, and I might have drawn blood, but that is okay as long as I can make it back to my mate quicker.
I follow the faint trace of light that’s coming from further down the hall, making sure my steps are light and I keep to the shadows myself.
That soon turns out to be impossible because when I round the corner, I find myself at the entrance of a heavily lit Cargo Bay.
The space is enormous; it could easily fit multiple small spaceships, as proven by a cruiser sitting in the middle of the bay.
There’s not much to see but crates stacked to one side, and a row of stacked cages on the other.
Breathing in, I try to focus on Fr’Ya’s scent.
To me, she smells like the forest after heavy rain.
It’s a strong, earthy scent that fits her temper and her strong heart.
I zoom in on the cages and sneak my way into the Cargo Bay.
Keeping to the wall, I run towards the cages and move behind them for cover.
A quick glance tells me there are more empty cages than full ones.
There is a bad smell coming from them, and I am afraid we are too late for some of the people here.
I try to locate my mate through it. A sliver of a trace of her scent leads me towards the middle of the cages, where two figures are huddled together on the second row.
The closer I get, the stronger her scent gets. I take a quick glance at the rest of the room, but nothing moves.
“Fr’Ya!” I softly call out when I reach the two figures. One of them abruptly turns. Relief hits me hard. It is my mate and she looks good.
“T’Rak? You… You came!”
“I told you he would. Thank you, Warrior, for all the service you provide for the Galaxy, for the ways you keep us safe.”
The figure next to F’Ya turns around, and the wonderful purple eyes of an Elphea meet me. A noble race, nearly extinct because they are hunted for their horns. I bow my head in respect, and when I look up, she smiles.
“Would you be so kind as to get us out of here, Warrior?”
Grinning, I nod. “That is the plan, though you have to help me first. How many are there, where are they, and do you know what they are?”
“Krait,” the Elphea whispers.
“Is that bad?” Fr’Ya asks.
“Could be bad, how smart are they?”
“Not very,” the Elphea says. “There are three of them. Their leader is in the spaceship, and the other two are somewhere in the ship.”
“Probably looking for you,” Fr’Ya says. “I told them I was alone, but they didn’t believe me and went looking anyway. I figured I could buy you some time.”
Clever female, she did very well. “Are you hurt?” I need to know.
She bites her lip.”I think I sprained my ankle when I fell through the hatch. They toyed with me a little bit, but did not exactly hurt me, only scared me.”
I growl menacingly. “They will pay for that.”
Fr’Ya gives me a shy smile. “Thank you for coming, T’Rak.”
“Always.”
I have more questions, but we are cut off by voices coming from the hallway.
I slink back onto the ship's wall and take cover behind some pipes. Two Krait males enter the room. I know these species, scum who have often aligned with the Sternotheri. Wherever there’s trouble, they happily appear.
Their sting is deadly–they are poisonous in more than one way.
“Ey, boss!” One of them shouts, before they take their seats at a table filled with bottles, wrappers, and a deck of cards.
He takes a swig from one of the bottles before he picks up the cards, and the two start playing as if they do not have a care in the world.
Their boss exits the cruiser and walks towards them. “Nothing?”
“Nope boss, nada. No humans, no other aliens.”
“Did you find the ship she was on?”
“Yeah, a Sternotheri cruiser. I’m curious about how she got hold of that, though.”
The boss waves his words away. “That can wait. We have to set a course to get to market. We have enough material to sell.” They all cackle after that, making my blood boil. As if they are not talking about people, living, sentient beings.
The boss walks back into the cruiser and looks over his shoulder at the door. “We leave in two hours; be ready,” he says.
The henchmen grumble, but continue drinking and playing cards. I have to take them out first. I can use my knife, I’ll be quick and slit their throats before they even know what hit them.
I sneak back to my mate, who’s anxiously looking in the direction of the aliens. “What’s the plan, Jan?”
“Jan?” She sighs, so I ignore it. “You will stay silent, I will kill them with my knife, then proceed with their boss.”
“Stealth-op it is!” she whispers.