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MC-2 gave a sharp nod. “What about our food and clothing?”
“Leave them,” Free ordered. “Those things can be easily replaced. I have plenty to share on my shuttle.”
Chapter Seven
Free couldn’t stop staring and touching Marisol. She was real and finally with him again. The things she’d told him in the minutes he’d been with her were shocking. She had died, and her grandfather had her made into an unblanked clone. He couldn’t imagine how much internal trauma she’d suffered upon learning that.
Four clones were traveling with her, two males and two females. That didn’t surprise him. Marisol had always had a big heart and didn’t look down on clones the way other humans did. She knew they had emotions and feelings. Their lives mattered. The woman he’d fallen in love with wouldn’t have willingly left them behind to die.
“We need to transfer over to my shuttle immediately,” he stated loudly so everyone understood. “More pirates will be coming. Your shuttle is too damaged to fly, and we don’t have time to haul it back to our home base. We’ll leave it behind to give the pirates an alternative target to focus on.”
He pulled Marisol toward the cargo hold where he’d docked their shuttles together. He didn’t care about the plasma they’d brought along. They had plenty stored back on the mining station. The important thing was getting them to safety. It was slower going since gravity wasn’t present in the damaged shuttle.
“Move quickly,” Free called out. He spotted strapped-down boxes, noticing they were marked as ‘files.’ “Do you need anything from in here?” He stared into Marisol’s deep brown eyes. “We can’t come back to retrieve any items once we abandon this shuttle. The pirates will take it.”
“I have a bag over there.” She pointed to a black suitcase. “It has some of my important mementos I didn’t want to leave behind.”
“I’ll grab it.”
“Thank you. It’s some things that belonged to my parents and a few of my favorite childhood toys. I was too afraid to pack them when I went to meet with you the first time. It’s a good thing I didn’t take them then, or they’d have been lost when I died.”
He hated to release her but did, pushing her toward the open docking sleeve. “Be careful when you transition inside my shuttle. Gravity is stable there. I’ll get your case.” He used the wall to push off, aiming for the far corner.
One of the male clones entered the cargo hold, frowning at Free. He appeared wary and unsure of what to do or say.
Free didn’t have that problem. “Grab whatever you want to take with us, and be careful when you enter my shuttle. I wasn’t aware you’d lost gravity, so I didn’t turn my stabilizer off. The first step into my cargo hold will be difficult as you transition.”
“Can we trust you?”
Free didn’t have time to hold a discussion with the male. “I’m a clone. Either come with us or die. The pirates might not kill you, but they will enslave you. They already did that to one of us who recently was able to escape their clutches. We’ll sit down and talk later.”
That seemed to mollify him. The male medic clone floated to a box and began to unstrap it. The two females and the last male floated into the cargo hold. All three of them appeared confused and disorientated.
“Grab a box or just enter my shuttle. We’re out of here in one minute. More pirates are coming. Move if you want to stay alive and free.” Free hoped that would motivate them not to waste time.
“I just left the cockpit,” the second male stated, staring at him. “I don’t see any new signals showing on long-range sensors.”
“Not yet, but they will be coming,” Free assured him. “It’s what they do.” He got the suitcase Marisol had wanted free and gripped it by the handle, using the wall to push against. He aimed for the open docking door.
“Stay or go, but I’m leaving. I strongly suggest you come with us,” Free told them. His heart wasn’t soft like Marisol’s. They’d either decide to live or allow their stupidity and naivety to get them killed. Marisol was already on board. She was Free’s priority.
The transition from the other shuttle to his was brutal as Free staggered, almost dropping the now-heavy suitcase. His body had been light, but now gravity made movement extremely awkward for the first few steps.
Marisol was in his cargo hold, leaning against the wall for support. Her features were strained, and she appeared to be in some pain. He didn’t see any blood or other injuries. That didn’t mean she hadn’t somehow gotten hurt.
Free strode to her, put the suitcase down, and attached the handle to a strap. It was the quickest way to secure it in the hold. “Are you alright? What happened?”
“I collapsed when I stepped into gravity. I’m fine, though. I just really banged up my knees and will probably have some bruising.”
“I warned you to be careful. I didn’t find you, only for something bad to happen to you, Marisol.”
She gave him an unsteady smile. “I tried to be careful. It’s not like you can really prepare for how drastic the difference is, though, when you’ve never experienced something like that before.”
“True.” Free rose to his full height, turning when there was a loud thump. One of the female clones lay sprawled over one of the boxes she’d been carrying. She groaned as she tried to stand up. Gravity seemed to make that impossible.
Free moved quickly to her side, bent over, and pulled her up. He released her just as quickly. “Move slowly until you adjust to not being weightless anymore,” he instructed. Then he yelled at the other three clones. “Hurry up. Get out of there. We need to go.”
The other three stumbled, and two dropped their boxes as they entered his cargo hold. Free felt sympathy for them, knowing being in space exposed them to a lot of new experiences they weren’t really prepared for. He sealed his side of the docking door.
