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“As a ghost to scare people for her?”
Angelle shook her head violently. “No, I try to help but no one ever listens until it’s too late. Like you. It’s all in my mind anyway because I’m lying in the stasis pod.” She tilted her head as if listening to sounds or voices Jayna couldn’t hear and vanished.
Reeling from the information the young girl might actually still be alive, Jayna rose and sprinted toward the bridge. Paxter was watching his trideo, pretty far gone in a feelgood haze.
“We’re abandoning ship,” Jayna said as soon as she entered the control chamber. “You need to lock the helm and come with me right now. We’re taking the lifeboat.”
The pilot shrugged and stubbed out his feelgood stick on the arm of the chair. “Whatever. This ride has been boring—maybe a jaunt in the LB will liven things up.” He ambled toward the door as if he had all the time in the world until Jayna grabbed him by the arm and dragged him forcibly into the corridor.
He protested as she continued to propel him toward the LB dock as fast as she could march him along until she said through gritted teeth, “Either keep up with me or I’ll stun you and drag your ass to safety. You can thank me later, when you’ve sobered up.”
She found the LB port open and shoved Paxter inside, following right on his heels and sealing the portal. “All present and accounted for.”
Theo, occupying the command seat of the small craft, gave her a thumbs up and focused on the controls. “Hang on, this is going to be the fastest undocking in the history of the Sectors.”
For a few seconds Jayna was relieved to hear the engine spool up with a reassuring roar as she pushed Paxter into a seat and made her way forward to take the co-pilot spot. Turner was curled up in a seat, face buried in the cushions, and Abrall was opposite her, on the edge of the chair, visibly tense.
As she slid into the chair, she scanned the controls and asked, “Why haven’t you released the docking clamps?”
“I did,” Theo said, not looking at her. His jaw was clenched. “They won’t retract.”
No sooner had he announced the grim news than the engine cut out without even a hiccup. The silence was stunning.
“She won’t let us go,” Jayna said. “Angelee was right.”
“I suppose all the salvage crews she trapped probably tried this.” Theo relinquished the controls and powered down, although the LB had already resumed its inert state. “We had to try.”
“Agreed, but what do we do now?” Jayna asked, not expecting an answer.
“Which one of us will she kill next?” Turner wailed, rising to her feet and staring at all of them wildly. “Soames is gone and he was ex-military. Even if I am a veteran, I don’t have extensive experience in combat. What chance do any of the rest of us have?”
“We’ll escort you to your cabin and you can lock yourself inside,” Jayna said, “While the captain and I figure out our next move. Don’t open the door to anyone but Mr. Knox or myself.”
Turner was nodding, mollified for now. “And I’ll have my blaster.”
Remembering her own encounter with Nishagwaq in the hold, Jayna held her tongue since it was better for all of them if Turner took comfort from the possession of a weapon. She wondered if the alien being could project herself as someone else, in which case they couldn’t trust who in their tiny crew was human any longer, once they left the lifeboat.
“Want me to punish her hard now, sir?” Abrall asked, pausing on his way toward the exit. “She doesn’t like those power fluctuations I can administer.”
Jayna put her hand on Theo’s sleeve as he prepared to answer the engine tech and said, “When I was in the hold, the only thing that saved me was in fact one of those power adjustments. Maybe she needs the energy from the engines for her portal or worm hole or whatever she’s using to tap into another dimension. Because for sure everything in the hold isn’t here on this little ship, just as we thought at first, remember?”
“And she was picked up by the Mebsuta’s original crew from a totally dead ship,” Theo answered. “So she can survive without power but loss of access to pure energy must at least cramp her style.” He looked at Abrall. “Let the engines run normally for now but I may be asking you for a power down at some point.”
Abrall saluted. “Any time, sir.” He clearly relished the idea and left the LB whistling a cheery tune. He didn’t ask for an escort and neither did Paxter. Turner remained in the LB with Theo and Jayna, anxiously twisting her hair around her fingers and rocking back and forth.
“Have a seat, lieutenant,” Jayna said. “I need to talk to Mr. Knox here for a minute and then I’ll take you to your cabin.” She drew Theo into the cockpit, although she assumed their alien captor could eavesdrop on them anywhere if she chose to do so.
He leaned on the of the pilot’s chair. “What’s up?”
“Angelee told me her mom sealed her into a stasis pod so Nishagwaq couldn’t get at her, although now the alien has moved the pod into the hold with all her other treasures and devices. When our initial plan was to escape on the lifeboat, I figured the space navy could rescue her but now…Theo, I want to go into the hold and find the pod. I can’t leave a child in the hands of that monster.”
Theo stepped forward and drew her into his arms for a reassuring hug. Jayna allowed herself to relax into his embrace and drew comfort from his nearness. Stroking her hair, he said, “I’ll go with you— I’m not letting you re-enter the hold on your own. If we come up with an exit plan.”
Startled, Jayna pulled away. “What do you mean?”
“It may be safer for Angelee to stay in her pod even if the rest of us don’t make it. Remember Nishagwaq said she doesn’t devour the young? If we take Angelee out of the pod and then we fail to escape, she’s going to age naturally and eventually she won’t be a child any longer.”
“A grim take on the situation but I see your point. I hate it but I understand it. What are we going to? Any ideas?”
