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Marisol watched as the two battling shuttles fired on each other. The pirate ship suddenly changed course, but instead of heading toward Marisol’s crippled shuttle, it flew toward the second one, aimlessly floating.
Free, or who she thought was him, broke away and changed course toward her. He put his shuttle between her and the two pirate ones. Marisol had maneuvered her shuttle away enough that it would take him a few minutes to reach them. A glance at communications showed it was down. No one could try to talk to them.
The pirate ship seemed to spear the damaged one with a harpoon-like cable and started to haul it back in the direction they’d originally come from. Relief flooded through Marisol. “The pirates are fleeing!”
Her gaze went to the incoming unknown shuttle that had popped up on sensors without warning, hoping it wasn’t someone who meant them harm. It was reading as a Varlius class. Those were top-of-the-line luxury shuttles.
“That other shuttle is slowing. I think it’s planning on docking with us.”
“I see, MC-2.” Marisol wished the comms still worked. She did shut down thrusters. As soon as that happened, all power went out. Everything on the console flickered before it completely died.
“What is happening?” MC-4 loudly sobbed now.
“Calm down,” Marisol ordered. It was terrifying and eerie sitting in a dead cockpit with no power. She couldn’t see anything. The only sounds came from the panicking female clone.
Marisol blindly felt the console, reached under it, and felt for the cap. It was located a little to her left. She slid it open and flipped the switch. It was the emergency backup control to reboot all systems.
Nothing happened for what felt like an entirety, but in reality, it was probably a full minute. Then pale yellow lights blinked on the console. Red flashing lights came on overhead next. More power surged into the console, but a lot of systems remained down. That included long-range sensors and communications.
“Life support is still reading as down,” MC-2 ground out.
“I see that.” It didn’t take Marisol long to figure out they were in deep trouble. Both engines were reading non-operational. The thrusters weren’t responding. Life support was down. The only good news was that they weren’t showing a hull breach. They might be dead in space, but the shuttle wasn’t coming apart.
Marisol reached for her belts, releasing them. “Stay here. The entire system is rebooting.” She didn’t mention that she was sure it wouldn’t do any good.
It was difficult to move without gravity as she floated out of her seat. The cockpit doors were wide open since they never sealed them off. She had to grip the seat she’d just left and use it to push off against, floating toward the back.
More red flashing lighting from the ceiling bathed the living area of the shuttle. MC-1 and MC-3 were strapped onto the couch. Both silently stared at her. They each held one of their med kits on their laps.
“We are probably about to be boarded,” she told them.
MC-1 growled, rage twisting his features. He fumbled with the kit, probably to get a syringe ready.
Marisol shook her head. “I don’t think they are hostile. It might be Free. Don’t you dare attack him.”
“Why is gravity out?”
“We’ve lost most systems. I started a complete reboot, but engine one showed severe damage before we lost power. The gravity stabilizers probably are too damaged to come back online.” Marisol floated by them, lightly bumped against the ceiling, and grabbed hold of one of the strips to pull herself along toward the very back of the shuttle. “Just remain buckled in. I’m going to the cargo hold where I think the other shuttle will dock with us.”
“You think?” MC-1 started to unbuckle. “I’m coming with you.”
“Fucking stay there.” Marisol didn’t trust him not to attack Free or whoever was in that shuttle that had come for them. “I’ve got this.”
Something hit the shuttle. The impact was enough to tear her away from the ceiling and send her weightless body careening into a wall. She hit it with a grunt of pain but grabbed hold of another wall strip to prevent her body from bouncing away from the side.
One thing became increasingly clear to Marisol. It was hard to move about without gravity in the cabin. It was also an experience she hoped never to repeat. She’d spent her entire life living on a planet. The space travel trips she’d taken for business had always been necessary, but then again, she’d never been inside a damaged shuttle before. It was terrible.
An alarm sounded from the back. It was probably a warning that someone had attached to the docking doors. Marisol pulled herself toward the cargo area again. It was slow going since she had no experience dealing with being weightless. She almost made it to the doorway at the back section when it suddenly opened.
The sight that met her gaze had Marisol freeze in place. The lighting was bad since only red flashing lights washed over the face of the man who braced upright in the doorway. It was enough, though, for Marisol to open gawk at a face she had thought she’d never see again. It was Free.
His blond hair was cut short, accenting his masculine bone structure. A black body suit stretched tautly over his muscled arms, wide shoulders, and dense chest. He’d filled out since she’d last seen him. She identified the outfit he wore as a popular space suit. Only he wasn’t wearing the matching helmet.
“Marisol,” he rasped.
He suddenly used his grip on the open doorway to thrust his body forward, coming right at her.
“Free!” Tears blinded Marisol as she released the wall. “It’s really you!”
