Approach alarms went off inside the Hissak space freighter as it entered the Kintar Prime system.
"Evasive maneuvers," the captain immediately ordered.
Despite their swift escape attempt, the photon torpedoes impacted the vessel's warp drive, making it impossible to escape and leaving it adrift
A mysterious ship, totally black, like space, with a large skull painted on its hull, approached at impulse speed, keeping within firing distance of the space freighter.
"Direct hit on target, Mack," Dana reported over the communicator.
"Roger that," the team leader replied. "Keep your eyes open, Grok and I will begin boarding the space freighter."
"This is the Black Hornet, lower your shields or you will be destroyed" Dana communicated to the space freighter.
"Desist your attack. This is the space freighter Hissak XECK2332 protected by the Kintari Empire. Any attempt to board will be considered an act of war."
Mack activated the interceptor fighter's command controls, disengaging from the Hornet.
"Take care of Lucy," Dana warned.
"Relax; this will be as easy as taking candy from a baby," Grok growled over the intercom.
"Understood," Dana replied.
Dana had a bad feeling about the loot they would get from the space freighter. What kind of deal would there be between those lizards and the Kintari Empire? She knew the myths about the Hissak experimenting with biological organisms and cyborg technologies.
Mack and Grok ignored the warning messages from the Hissak freighter. They placed the Bumblebee in the cargo compartment of the space freighter and detonated the entrance door. Grok was the first to exit the ship, armed with his phaser machine gun.
Dozens of robotic organisms with organic tissues clustered at the cargo bay entrance like a swarm of bees. The big cat warrior lashed out at the Synthetics blocking his path. He opened fire on anything that moved in front of him, while his great fangs bit into a half-consumed cigar. Bursts of light reflected in his action-hungry gaze as pieces of androids scattered through the air.
"Piece of cake," Grok muttered after taking out over a dozen Synthetics.
"You go to the lower decks, I'll take the bridge" Mack shouted over the comm.
"Roger that" Grok replied as he made his way.
"Lucy, do your thing," The girl's pointed ears pricked up at Mack's command.
"Aye, Captain."
The Citza's slender, lithe body slipped through the air duct entrance that opened into the hallway. Swiftly, she quickly traversed the passageway in search of the prized target.
On the other hand, Mack was arriving at the entrance to the bridge of the ship. A bad feeling crossed his mind later as he managed to open the bridge hatch.
"Apparently, the lizard’s people have abandoned ship. I can bet on your twisted, beautiful horns Dorian that we have less time than we thought," Mack informed Dana
"The lower decks are empty," Grok interrupted from his comm.
"I wish I could say you were wrong, but the Hornet's long-range sensors detected three Imperial Kintari destroyers in the vicinity. We'll have company in approximately 15 minutes. Hurry."
"Understood," Mack and Grok replied.
"Captain, we have a problem. I found the 'gem'. You'd both better get over here," Lucy interjected suddenly.
Mack loaded the space freighter blueprints into the device attached to his forearm. Immediately, a three-dimensional schematic was pictured in front of him, and a red line indicated the shortest route to where Lucy was.
A few minutes later, both Mack and Grok arrived in a large empty room. It had in the center a series of consoles around a hibernation pod.
"What the hell is this?" Grok asked grumpily.
"It's a hibernation pod. I scanned its contents, and I was able to detect a Sahaian female organism inside," reported Lucy
"A Sahaian GEM. A genetically enhanced model, to be more specific," Lucy added.
"I thought the Sahaians were a myth," said Grok.
"Gem or not, we're taking her with us," Mack commented and began activating the controls on the pod's console, starting the reanimation process
"Stop," growled Grok grabbing Mack's arm, "Do you think it wise to wake this girl up? We don't know what we're up against."
Mack looked at Grok
Lucy's eyes jumped from one to the other; her thin tail flicked restlessly from side to side.
"I think Grok's right, Captain."
"Relax. It's much easier this way," Mack assured Mack
Suddenly, a loud, shrill alarm began to sound. Lucy gave a startled gasp at the loud sound. Grok, felt his heart racing as he looked around nervously and squeezed the mag on his machine gun. Mack frowned and instinctively brought his hand toward his belt.
"You were saying?" growled Grok again.
"Warning," said a synthetic voice, "an unauthorized attempt to access the hibernation console has been detected. Initiating defense protocol."
A wall panel opened, giving way to a battle droid, which began to open fire on them. Lucy fled in terror, slipping between the air ducts. Grok and Mack jumped behind the consoles taking cover and at the same time returned fire.
"Mack! Another android is coming at you through the ceiling!" reported Lucy.
"You've got to be kidding me" Mack replied looking at the second android moving between the beams and roof structures.
He opened fire on this new android, who dodged all of his shots.
"Guys, stop playing around and hurry up" Dana alarmed.
"Give us a few seconds" replied Grok and Mack in unison.
Both droids dodged the shots and closed in on them quickly. The closest droid grabbed Mack by the neck with one hand and with the other stopped Mack's gun.
"Take this fracking droid!" roared Grok, as he fired his weapon at the head of the droid holding Mack.
The droid fell releasing Mack, however, Grok was wounded as he was shot in the side by the other droid, throwing him unconscious several feet away.
Mack ran towards Grok while firing towards the other android. Upon arrival, he grabbed the unconscious feline and pulled him by one arm, dragging him behind a console. Two more androids came out of the walls. Within seconds, he was surrounded by several androids, who continued to approach without stopping. Mack's shots had little effect on them. Suddenly, one of them mysteriously collapsed in a burst of sparks, having been pierced by a tube. The other androids stopped their pace to assess the new threat. Taking advantage of the bewilderment, the mysterious girl grabbed the fallen droid's weapon and opened fire on the head of each of the remaining androids, taking them down instantly.
Mack lowered her weapon and raised his hands. The girl's dark eyes scanned the entire area. Detecting Lucy hiding between the slits of the air duct. She pointed her gun at her.
"Stop!" shouted Mack. The automatic defense system again issued an alert.
"Warning! Self-destruct system activated!"
"There is no time to lose," Mack warned as he hoisted the big cat guy over his shoulder.
"Lucy! Head for the Bumblebee!"
"Right away!" replied Lucy
Mack glanced at the Sahaian girl, who was still looking around in confusion. Her wavy, silver hair fell over her shoulders.
"If you want to survive, you'd better come with us!"
The girl thought for a moment and then surrounded Mack and helped him carry Grok. They both ran towards the Bumblebee.
A pair of Kintari destroyers reached the Hissak freighter and immediately opened fire on the Black Hornet. Despite Dana's evasive maneuvers, the ship took heavy hits as it tried to cover the Bumblebee from the destroyers' fire.
"Anytime, guys! " Dana stressed as she opened fire on the Kintari destroyers.
Mack quickly docked the Bumblebee on the Black Hornet.
"Get us out of here, Dana."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
"N8T, I need help on the Bumblebee," Mack demanded.
"Right away, Captain!"
The Hornet activated its warp engines, escaping before the space freighter exploded into a thousand pieces. The Kintari destroyers that attempted to follow were damaged by the wreckage of the freighter, thus avoiding pursuit.
Inside the Black Hornet. The Sahaian girl pointed her gun at N8T, as he entered the Bumblebee.
"Oh my! " said N8T
"Easy girl. He's N8T, a medical Synthetic."
"I also play the role of chef on the spaceship," added N8T.
"Lousy chef," added Mack with a wink. The Sahaian girl stared at the gesture confused.
N8T approached her and extended its hand in greeting. The girl was reticent about this new character.
"N8T, drop the formalities and attend to Grok," Mack ordered.
"Right away, sir."
"Come with me girl, let's go to the bridge."
The Sahaian walked cautiously behind Mack, her eyes analyzing all the surroundings. On the way, a young man appeared, slim, his face smeared with oil, and his short, discreet beard, barely glimpsed on his face.
"What the frak have you gotten us into, Imperial Destroyers!!!?" commented Riggs in annoyance.
Suddenly his words were interrupted as he was pointed at by the girl's gun.
Riggs paled and immediately threw his hands in the air.
"I see your ability to make friends is innate Riggs," said Mack.
"Relax. He's our mechanic, he can fix any device in seconds."
Riggs smiled in distress as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
The girl removed the gun from Riggs' neck and continued behind Mack.
"My name is Riggs, by the way," he said quietly, hesitantly, as he waved his hand, engrossed in the new guest.
The girl glanced at Riggs, before losing sight of him. Riggs still had that silly impression on his face.
Entering the bridge, Dana fired a stun bolt at the Sahaian girl, knocking her down. However, her attempt was futile; she had to fire three more shots to knock her unconscious.
"The girl is tough," Dana commented.
"Be nice, remember she saved me and Grok's life," exclaimed Mack
Mack was talking with Dana and N8T in the dining room. Lucy was listening intently to the conversation.
"What's Grok's condition?" Mack asked N8T.
"He's recovering; fortunately his armor protected him from further injury," N8T replied, as he served dinner.
"What are we going to do about the girl?" Dana asked.
"We will continue as planned, we will deliver the 'gem' to Grishnak as agreed."
"Very well" Dana spat wrinkling her lips.
"Don't be discouraged. With what we'll gain in the exchange, we'll never put our lives in danger again."
Dana had no problem with smuggling weapons, devices, or equipment, but she had never thought of bartering for a living organism, let alone a girl.
"N8T, what did you find out about our guest?" Mack asked.
"In addition to her offensive prowess, analysis of her DNA revealed a high resistance to disease and extreme weather. Due to the Kintari and human genetic combination, her ability to regenerate tissue has been enhanced to 1000%, making her a perfect fighting machine. It is likely that she also possesses psionic powers."
"She is solid evidence that the Sahaian exist. We do not know what other abilities she might have. However, ancient scriptures indicate that these mythical beings usually have dark hair, unlike our new crewmember," concluded N8T
"I can see Grishnak's interest now," Dana added.
"It is possible that the Hissak may have had something to do with it. N8T, make sure our guest remains unconscious until we arrive," Mack ordered.
"Affirmative, Captain."
N8T was checking the Sahaian girl's status on the vital signs monitor. N8T was about to administer a fresh load of sedatives, when suddenly, the girl stopped its hand and kicked it, throwing it away.
The girl released her restraints and prepared to escape, but N8T activated a force field to hold her captive inside the infirmary. Still, the girl did not give up. She started hitting the force field with her fists without stopping. She moaned in pain. Soon her hands began to smell scorched, with each blow she delivered. Grok awoke from his slumber, he lay sprawled on the bed next to her recovering from his wounds.
"It's no use, child. You'll never be able to cross that force field,"
The girl paid no heed to the feline's warnings and continued to strike the force field. Suddenly, her psionic power altered the energy state of the force field; they managed to open a small hole. She began to force herself towards it, and after piercing it with one hand, she managed to put her other hand through the hole. She gave an intense scream, increasing her psionic energy; the muscles of her arms were intensifying more and more. In a last-ditch effort, she managed to open the hole enough to pull her body out of the infirmary.
"Impossible," Grok commented dumbfounded.
The girl watched as her burned hands began to regenerate. She ran through the corridors of the ship and entered the first room she found.
Riggs was taking a sip of hot chocolate from a large mug. His eyes widened when he saw the girl walk in unexpectedly. They both stared at each other. Riggs, transfixed, swallowed his drink without realizing it burned his throat. He was wearing baby pink long johns.
"That's an interesting outfit," the girl said. It was the first time she'd heard her voice.
"It's my pajamas. I just got up," Riggs replied.
The girl caught the sweet smell of chocolate.
"Surely you've never tasted hot chocolate," Riggs assumed.
He cautiously handed his mug to the girl.
"Careful, it's hot," he warned.
The girl took it apprehensively, then sniffed and tasted it. She closed her eyes as she felt a series of flavors never tasted before.
"You like it, don't you? It's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in the universe," Riggs said proudly.
Riggs curved his lips; she moved closer to him intrigued by the expression on his mouth, which she touched with her fingers. Riggs confused at what she was doing, couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
"Hey!" exclaimed Riggs, "your hands are burned, let me see them."
He invited her to sit down and then fetched some ointment from one of the compartments he had in his room along with two handkerchiefs. The girl let Riggs gently tend to her wounds.
"You'll see how in a couple of days you'll be as good as new" Riggs replied smiling again.
"This ointment is miraculous."
"You're Gem isn't it?" he asked the girl.
She looked at him tilting her head.
"I guess that's your name because that's what my shipmates used to call you."
"I don't have any designation assigned to me," she replied shaking her head
"Then I'll call you Gem."
N8T set off the alarm, alerting the rest of the crew.
"I guess that sound is for you, isn't it?" Riggs asked again.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can clear things up."
It was then that Mack took advantage of the girl being distracted and taking her by surprise, administered a fresh dose of sedative, knocking her out.
"I'm sorry girl, but I can't have you endangering my crew!"
Riggs protested what Mack had just done.
"Riggs! How many times have I told you not to play with the merchandise?" reamed Mack.
"I disagree with you, she saved your life and Grok's."
Mack took the girl in his arms and left the room. Riggs was left pensive and concerned for Gem's well-being.
"When you get your share of the loot, you'll forget all about this girl," Lucy commented from the entrance of Riggs' room, who had sneakily observed everything that had happened.
The encounter with Grishnak was on a desert planet, to avoid ambushes. The Orchallen used to be savage, untrustworthy, and warlike, though not as much as the Kintari, who ruled their lives under a military regime.
The Bumblebee had landed 2 miles from the rendezvous point. Dana and Lucy were in the Black Hornet, orbiting the planet, monitoring the surroundings. Not far away was Grishnak's destroyer Orchallen, monitoring the exchange at the same time.
Mack and Grok headed for the rendezvous point driving an all-terrain vehicle, carrying the 'gem'.
Arriving at the rendezvous point, Grishnak's burly, tall guards surrounded the vehicle. Grok grabbed his weapon, but Mack advised him to remain calm.
"Where your manners are, that's not how you treat distant relatives," Mack commented.
Grok growled. Despite their differences, the Maur constituted the patron race of the Orchallen.
Mack stepped out of the vehicle with his hands in the air. And the guards led him to Grishnak's hologram. Grok remained in the vehicle.
"I see you've increased your security."
"You bet on that," Grishnak replied.
"Now, show me the gem, is it as cool as they say?"
"Come and see for yourself," Mack said.
Mack motioned to Grok and Grok opened the tailgate of the vehicle for the guards to remove the hibernation capsule the girl was in.
The guards mounted the capsule on a mobile aerial platform and moved it to where Mack and Grishnak were standing.
"Okay, I see you have her in hibernation mode. You're being very clever."
"I don't want to be rude in negotiations, but you've already seen the goods, so without saying anything else, I expect you to deliver the promised payment."
Another pair of guards brought another dolly with 50 ingots of Athanium, An item that conferred longevity and even immortality to the one who possessed it. Its value in Krets was incalculable.
Grok's eyes sparkled
Mack checked the contents and when he was satisfied he waved goodbye to the hologram with a smile.
"As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you, Grishnak."
Mack loaded the vehicle with the precious cargo, and along with Grok, they headed for the Bumblebee. Mack was still worried about Riggs, but he would be sure to change his mind when he saw his share of the Athanium cargo.
Suddenly, he watched in the rearview mirror as the engines of Grishnak's ship gave off a cloud of black smoke and plummeted. He braked the vehicle immediately.
"What's going on?" Grok asked.
"Something's going on with Grishnak's ship."
Mack got out of the vehicle and used binoculars to see what was going on.
"Damn it! Riggs" Mack shouted.
"Mack, the Grishnak's destroyer has loaded its weapons," Dana reported from the Black Hornet.
Riggs had detonated a section of Grishnak's ship, escaping in a vehicle along with Gem.
Mack climbed into his vehicle and accelerated toward the Bumblebee.
"I have to give credit to Riggs' courage," Mack commented.
The Hornet stepped into the line of fire of Grishnak's Destroyer.
"This is the Black Hornet, lay down your weapons," Dana warned over the comm system.
Meanwhile, back on the planet, Riggs and Gem were being pursued by Grishnak's guards.
"Do you have a plan?" Gem shouted to Riggs.
"Run no matter where to, as long as we're together."
Gem smiled at Riggs for the first time. His boyish attitude captivated Gem. She felt for the first time something more than the need to survive at all costs, the need to protect this individual she was attracted to.
Gem grabbed a rifle and began firing at the guards following them.
Meanwhile, inside Bumblebee, Mack received a call from the Destroyer.
"Keep your Black Hornet away and leave that pair of rebels in my hands. You are free to leave the planet unharmed, you have my word," Grishnak exclaimed.
"You have 30 seconds to decide."
Grok growled at Mack.
"I'll follow any order you tell me to," Grok said.
"The heck with that! Riggs better share his share of Athanium with the girl," Mack exclaimed.
The Bumblebee took off violently towards where Riggs and Gem were standing.
"Dana!" shouted Mack.
"Roger that!" Dana replied. "Hang on, Lucy!"
The Black Hornet attacked Grishnak's Destroyer, firing with everything it had.
Riggs and Gem were surrounded by Grishnak's fighters when suddenly they heard the detonations of the Bumblebee's weapons. Destroying all who pursued them.
"Attention loving couple! Need a ride?" Mack shouted from the Bumblebee's communicator.
Riggs stopped the vehicle and waited for the Bumblebee to open the door to board it with Gem.
"They're already on board. Let's get off this sweltering planet right now," Grok commented.
On the outskirts of the planet, the Black Hornet had managed to put the warp engines of Grishnak's destroyer offline.
"Finished playing with the Destroyer, Dana dear?" exclaimed Mack over the comm.
"Like taking candy from a child!" mentioned Dana.
The Bumblebee docked with the Hornet.
As they were ready to flee, they were suddenly surrounded by three Imperial Kintari Destroyers.
"You didn't think you were going to escape so easily with Athanium's cargo, did you?" exclaimed, over a comm channel, Grishnak.
"I wasn't thinking of doing that," Mack replied.
"Eject the pod, Dana," ordered Mack. Grok groaned.
"Easy Grok, it's only money, the safety of the family comes first."
The capsule shot off into the distance.
"Do you see the capsule, do you recognize the pattern it's emitting, Grishnak?"
"Capture the capsule immediately!" shouted Grishnak.
The destroyers changed course and began pursuit of the capsule.
In a whisper, Mack said.
"Fire!"
The Hornet fired a pair of shells blasting the capsule to dust along with its precious cargo.
"NOOOOOOO," Grishnak shouted angrily.
"As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you, Grishnak," was the last thing he heard from Mack before he came in activated the warp engines, and vanished.
Days later after making it safely through the jump gates to the Freyvian system, dozens of light years away. Dana was sharing a drink with Mack at a small bar on a Terran space station.
"When are you going to tell the guys you saved 60% of those Athanium."
Mack smiled and said.
"Soon."
