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The power flickered and died with a harsh whining sound as Abrall began messing with the ship, per his new orders from Theo. Nishagwaq recoiled and shrieked in fury, dropping Theo unceremoniously to the deck. He landed hard, the breath knocked out of him but managed to get to his feet and stagger toward the sound of Jayna’s voice, yelling for him to hurry. His vision was blurry, with dark spots encroaching on the edges and he blundered into a cargo container. Forcing himself onward, he fought with the debilitating effects of a close encounter with Nishagwaq.
His vision was going in and out as he attempted to flee but suddenly Jayna reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into an alcove between two huge cargo containers as the power levelled out again. Behind him he heard the alien screaming angrily in her own language. Footsteps pounded on the deck as she hunted them down.
“The portal is locked,” Jayna said over the subaural. “An override. I don’t know if she did it or whether the power fluctuation affected the controls but I couldn’t get the latches cycling to open.”
“Maybe we can get out the next time Abrall shutters the power,” he answered, trying to concentrate. “It really does fuck with her.”
A shadow fell across them in the harsh lighting of the hold and Nishagwaq stood at the opening between the containers. She was restored to her normal appearance and her smile was predatory. “I told you there’s no escape.”
Theo shoved Jayna and the not yet conscious Angelee behind him, rising to his feet. “Take me and let them go.”
Jayna clenched her fingers in the fabric of his shirt and gave an appalled instinctive protest, “No!”
“Oh I’ll take you are right,” the alien replied coldly, “And then I’ll feast on their emotions as they watch you die, followed by their bodies. You people are a double treat, so much better than the species I preyed upon for the first few millennia of my existence. No one can resist the lure of the treasures I offer them and they all succumb to their greed. True then and true now.” She stretched one of her arms out, extending it down the gap, fingers wriggling like miniature tentacles. The digits fastened on the front of his shirt, daggerlike black nails digging into the skin below and he fired the pulse rifle again. Jayna retained her hold on him and Theo felt as if he was going to be torn in half.
The power cycled down and back up twice in a row and Nishagwaq recoiled, screaming as she retreated. “That one dies next! I should have killed him first—he understands more than any of you, on a primitive level, what I need from this vessel itself.” She seemed to be fighting whatever pain or weakness the fluctuating power gave her but Abrall continued his machinations down in the engine room and she crumpled to the deck in a sprawl of arms, legs, and tentacles, with her face becoming oversized, dominated by the mouth, snapping at them as Theo and Jayna ran toward the door.
Theo hit the controls so hard the taps sounded like shots but nothing happened. The light stayed stubbornly red and he ran the input sequence again. “Take cover,” he said. “I’m going to try to shoot it out.” He checked with a brief glance to see whether Jayna had done as he asked. She and the girl were now huddled by the bulkhead a few feet to the rear, pulse rifle primed and pointing in the direction where their deadly adversary screamed and cursed.
The ship’s power steadied and Theo realized he had no idea when or if Abrall would impair it again. How many bursts of interference had there been? He shot at the cargo hold door but it was thick and made of material resistant to blaster fire. He could probably burn through if he had enough time and charge in the weapon but Nishagwaq wasn’t going to give them any breaks. Still there was nothing else to do. Running and hiding deeper in the hold would only give them a brief respite and he knew the alien would find them. This was the heart of her lair.
Jayna caught his arm. She was pointing to the door. “The light changed to green.”
“We were due for a miracle.” He grabbed her and they rose to their feet, Angelee firmly in Jayna’s arms, as the portal slid open a few feet.
Turner appeared in the opening, Paxter right behind her. She gestured frantically to Theo. “Come on, hurry!”
He needed no encouragement, not with the sound of Nishagwaq bearing down on them from behind. Paxter fired a few shots uncomfortably close as first Jayna and then Theo squeezed through the opening. When Theo emerged into the main corridor Jayna was already sprinting ahead with Angelee. Turner fiddled with the door lock and the panels thunked shut just as the alien reached for them.
“I suggest we bug out, sir,” Paxter said, edging away, eyeing the door with horror.
Theo took a second look, to see the razor-tipped fingernails and prehensile fingers of Nishagwaq working to shove the doors open. “Go go go!”
The three of them took off, following Jayna. As they ran, Theo bringing up the rear, he saw the bulkheads, deck and ceiling around him transform into an endless series of horrific environments, full of creeping crawling things both animal and vegetable, reaching for them, threatening them. Blood dripped from the ceiling.
“It’s all in your mind,” he yelled to his team. “She can’t hurt you with these hallucinations.”
Turner was slowing so he got beside her to offer encouragement “Thanks for saving our asses back there. I thought you were too full of meds to pick up a rifle and ride to the rescue.”
“When you and Officer Evans didn’t show as planned I knew you must be in trouble,” Paxter said with more of his old self showing through the previous slacker attitude. “I gave her a handful of primo uppers and the rest was history.”
“I’m grateful. We couldn’t get the damn door to open from the inside.” Mentally Theo was keeping track of how many more decks they had to pass through before reaching the wardroom. So far he’d never seen Nishagwaq outside the cargo hold in her actual form and he was hoping she couldn’t stray too far physically from her crates but he didn’t want to count on it.
“Old tech trick,” Turner said in between panting breaths. “Works every time but strictly illegal.”
“I didn’t see a thing,” he answered.
They were at the wardroom. Jayna was disappearing into the hatch leading to the smugglers compartment and Theo gestured for Turner and then Paxter to follow her. When he got into the small space, he took a rapid headcount and swore. “Where the seven hells is Abrall? I’m not leaving without him.”
Turner subsided onto the deck and was probably going to need medical attention soon, after all the meds she’d been subjected to. Paxter went to the control chair and sat.
“I’m going to get him,” Theo said to Jayna, who was staring at him wide eyed as she cradled Angelee in her lap. “If I’m not back in five minutes, take the helm and detach this thing. Get as far away as you can.”
“Theo—”
“Don’t argue with me—I’m in command and I’m not leaving a man behind.” He grabbed the ladder and placed his foot on the first rung.
“No argument,” she said. “I love you. You’d better make it back here or there’ll be hell to pay.”
