Malfunction, page 27
Stevens turned her manic smile on him, seeming satanic in the glow of the red flashing lights. “I can’t. The guidance system is not responding. God is guiding us now.”
Christ.
He wished he knew how to fly a goddamn spaceship. Why hadn’t he taken a course?
He hurried across to the console and searched it for something that made sense. Something like a big button saying press me. Or maybe a steering wheel.
“Don’t touch that. You can’t stop this now.”
Stevens had risen to her feet, a pistol in her hand. And it was aimed at Logan. He drew his own and then remembered he’d run out of bullets. He aimed it anyway, but Stevens ignored him, took a step closer, and Logan threw the pistol at her. It hit her forehead, deflecting her to the side, but she was still coming, her finger tightening on the trigger.
Logan backed away, but there was nowhere to go and no cover. He was well and truly fucked. Changing into a wolf would be good right now. Except he had no clue how to shift. Last time, he’d had no control.
Then a dark blur flew across the bridge, crashed into Stevens, and she went down. She was screaming, a high-pitched sound more of anger than fear, her hands scrabbling for purchase.
The great cat lunged, tearing at her throat, and blood spurted from the wound, turning the scream into a gurgle as she drowned in her own blood. She went limp, arms collapsing, the pistol falling to the floor by her head. Logan snatched it up and backed away.
The huge cat stared at the body for a second then leaped off, landing in front of Logan. A second later, it was gone, and Katia stood before him naked. Blood was smeared across her face, and she wiped it with the back of her hand then gave him a slow smile.
“Having problems?”
He shook his head. “You could say that. And, unfortunately, they’re not over yet.” He crossed the room and picked up her dress from the floor, handed it to her. Though maybe he should just keep her naked. She might distract him from the whole diving headfirst into a black hole scenario.
Though he wasn’t ready to give up yet. There had to be something he could do. He cast a last look at Stevens then back to Katia. “Hey, do you ever…you know…eat people?”
She frowned. Maybe it wasn’t good shifter etiquette to ask, but he was curious.
“It has been known. But not her. Too stringy and tough.”
Thing was he had no clue if she was having him on or telling the truth. It would have to wait until later.
A voice came over the comm unit. Layla.
“To the people of the Trakis One: I’m sorry it has come to this, but the corruption inherent in our system has followed us from Earth. Our leaders must die for what they have done.”
Logan crossed to the captain’s chair. There must be some way to stop her, to get her to give this up. Except he couldn’t work out how to even talk to her. He stared at the array of buttons. He didn’t want to make things worse, but could they be worse? The black hole nearly filled the screens now. Probably his imagination, but he could feel himself getting warmer. He didn’t want to burn.
And how close could they get before they were sucked in?
Katia came up beside him, reached across, and pressed a green button.
“Layla?” he said. “Layla, it’s Logan. I didn’t kill your family, and I’m not ready to die, so could you please fucking tell me how to steer this fucking ship?”
“Logan, I’m sorry. But you’re collateral damage. And besides, you’re the enemy. Have you ever asked yourself why we need an army in the new world? What do you think would happen when people wake up and realize that their families have been murdered? Replaced by the president’s cronies?”
He hadn’t thought of that. But he was guessing there would be a few unhappy people. “What about the crew on board? They’re innocent, Layla.”
“No one is innocent.”
He blew out his breath. “Pryce was upset you left without him. He thought the two of you were the real thing.”
“He was wrong.” The comm line went dead.
“Crazy freaking bitch,” Katia said. She gritted her teeth. “I do not want to die. I have not come all this way just to get sucked into a big black hole. We need to know how to fly this thing.” She thought for a moment, brows drawn together. Then she sat down in the chair and pressed a few buttons, but absolutely nothing happened. She growled.
Pryce’s comm unit beeped from his pocket. He pulled it out and stared at it. Opened the link.
“Pryce? What the hell is going on? I’ve been trying to get through to Captain Stevens for the last half hour. Are you a-fucking-ware you’re heading into a fucking black hole?”
It was Callum Meridian. Katia reached across and grabbed the unit. “Callum?”
“Katia? What the fuck is going on? We’re heading for the black hole, and there’s nothing we can do about it from this end. We’re locked into the guidance system on the Trakis One. And I can’t get hold of Captain Stevens.”
“Stevens is…incapacitated right now.”
There was silence for a second. “What are you doing with his second-in-command’s comm unit? Where’s Pryce? We need someone with the authority to release the fleet.”
“Pryce is incapacitated as well. Look, you’re going to have to talk us through it. Just tell us what we need to do.”
Another moment of silence. “You’ve got to switch off the automatic guidance system and turn the ship.”
He took a deep breath. “Then tell us how.”
“Where are you?”
“The bridge.”
“There’s a pad on the top right of the captain’s chair. The console is activated by thumbprint. You need Stevens, and I’m guessing that’s a problem.”
Logan glanced over to where Stevens lay in a pool of blood. “No problem.” He hurried over, crouched down, and grabbed the body under the armpits, dragged it across, and heaved it up onto the chair. Taking the dead woman’s hand, he pressed her thumb to the panel.
Captain’s Console Activated.
So far so good. “Now what?”
“I’m not even going to ask how you did that. Now you need to access the automated guidance control and switch it off. That should give you manual control. Swipe the screen, and a number keypad should come up.”
He did, and it did. “I’ve got it.”
“Key in, 10451.”
He did and then stared at the screen, his teeth gritted.
Guidance system malfunction.
Fucking hell.
“I don’t believe this,” Katia said.
“What’s the problem?” Callum sounded rattled now.
“We have a guidance system malfunction.” The man on the other end was silent. Again. That wasn’t good. “Callum? What next?”
“There’s no way we can fix it remotely.”
Logan ran a hand over his face then scrubbed it through his hair. “There has to be a way.”
“Look, Logan, you need to break the link. Free the other ships from the Trakis One.”
He pressed a finger to the spot between his eyes. “If you say the fate of humanity is in our hands, I might just switch off this comm unit.”
Callum let out a snort of laughter. Logan liked a man who could laugh in the face of death. “How about my fate?”
That wasn’t going to do him and Katia a lot of good. “Not much better.” He glanced at Katia, saw the understanding in her eyes, but she caught his gaze and gave a small nod. He blew out his breath. “Okay, what do I need to do?”
“Break the uplink between the ships. There’s a signal that goes out—close it down. Go back to the keypad. Type in 25487.”
He typed.
Uplink system Malfunction.
He kicked the chair and swore again. Balls, balls, and more fucking balls. “Malfunction.”
“Fuck.”
“Where does this link originate from? There must be somewhere physical.”
“To your right, you’ll see a console. That’s the uplink generator.”
Logan crossed the room and tapped the console. Malfunction. What a surprise.
He looked around then crossed the room and picked up Stevens’ pistol from the floor, came back. He took a deep breath, and before he could give himself time to think, he shot out the uplink console. An alarm sounded then cut out.
“Anything happened?” he asked.
“Wait a minute…we’re free. What the hell did you do?”
“I shot the fucking console.”
“Thank you. The other ships are unlinked. You did good. Humanity owes you a debt of gratitude.”
“Fuck off.”
Callum was silent for a moment. “There’s no way we can reach you in time. I’m sorry.”
Logan was sorry as well. “Yeah, well, I guess this is good-bye.”
“Good-bye.”
And the comm unit went dead.
He breathed out slowly then held out his hand to Katia. She slipped her fingers into his and rested her head on his shoulder. “Do you really hate dogs?” he asked.
“No. Actually, I always wanted a puppy.”
He stared into the screens. They were filled with the black hole now, like peering into Hell.
How long did they have? Minutes, he was guessing.
A message flashed up on the main screen.
Emergency mode initiated. All systems malfunction. Activate cooling systems.
Turning to face her, he lowered his head and took her mouth in a slow, drugging kiss. She tasted of…blood. He tried not to think of it as Stevens’ blood; he wanted to enjoy this last kiss.
He curled his hand around the back of her neck, beneath the long silky strands of her hair, and pulled her closer. Kissed her some more.
Finally, he raised his head. “I love you.”
She smiled. “You’re only saying that because we’re about to die.”
“No, I’m not.”
“I love you, too. You’re the only man I’ve ever said that to.”
He turned her in his arms so she could see the screens and pulled her back against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. She was so short she tucked in beneath his chin. “Are you scared?”
She gripped his arms and squeezed. “Terrified. It’s weird, but for so long I didn’t care if I lived or died. Now I want to live so much it hurts.”
“Me, too.” He stared at the screen. “It’s beautiful in a way. Beautiful and terrible. But at least we got to go into space.”
“And save humanity.”
Yeah, there was that. Only one problem. “I’m not sure humanity is worth saving.”
“Maybe not. Too late now. You’re a hero. They’ll no doubt sing songs about you around campfires on the new world.”
“Hah. And we solved the case. I wonder what will happen to Layla.”
“If there’s any justice in the world, something very, very bad.” She sighed. “No regrets?”
“Loads of regrets. For one, I’m totally pissed that I never got to land on a new planet. We were so close.”
It was no longer his imagination; he could actually feel the heat now. Would it hurt? Probably not. He kissed the top of Katia’s head and tightened his hold. Closed his eyes.
A moment later, she thumped him on the shoulder. He didn’t want to look, but she thumped him harder this time, and he opened his eyes. The screen was flashing again.
Docking bay airlock opened for shuttle approach.
All the other screens showed the black hole, so close now he could see the individual flames. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he tried to make sense of the words in front of him. “We won’t make it. It’s too far. We’ll never get to the docking bay in time.”
“We will if we shift.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Yes, you do. Just reach inside yourself and find your wolf. Do it or we both die.”
He reached. And nothing.
In front of him, Katia gritted her teeth. Then she extended her hand toward him. Black fur sprouted. Fingers turning to wicked claws. And she raked them down over his bare chest.
Pain flared. His nostrils filled with the scent of fresh blood. And deep inside him, his wolf awoke and howled.
This time the shift came over him like magic, smooth and easy.
And the world was changed. Beside him, the huge black panther growled. Then they were off and racing down the corridors. The heat almost singed his fur, but he felt alive, reveled in the stretch of muscle, the strength of his wolf body. They were in the docking bay as the shuttle touched down. Up the ramp. Katia was human again, and she slammed her hand against the door panel, and he hurled himself after her, hit the back wall of the shuttle, crashed to the floor.
Were they too late? Once within the gravitational pull of the black hole, they would never get out. They’d be sucked in with the Trakis One.
And then they were flying, the speed pressing him against the wall.
Arms enfolded him. A face buried in the fur of his throat. Warm breath. Katia.
If this was the end, he wanted to hold her, and he found his human form deep inside himself. A moment later, he was back. Wrapping his arms around her, he held on tight. He lost track of time, unsure whether they were heading away from the black hole or straight into its fiery depths.
Finally, after what seemed like an age, they slowed. Katia wriggled in his arms, and he loosened his grip. She opened her eyes and looked straight into his. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he said back.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. And this time, hopefully, I’m not about to die.” Logan took a deep breath. He cleared his throat. “Are we okay?”
“Let’s go take a look.”
He pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand for Katia, pulled her up. They moved to stand in front of the screen.
“Holy shit.”
“That about sums it up.”
Katia gripped his hand. The black hole filled the screen, and against the circling burning gases he could see the silhouette of the Trakis One as she was pulled inexorably toward her death. All those people, who had come so far across the universe, and to end like this.
He’d saved the other ships, done his best, and that was all he could ever do.
They watched until the ship got smaller and finally disappeared into the darkness. Maybe there was something on the other side. No one really knew how black holes worked. Perhaps the Trakis One would find herself in a different dimension. A new world. A better one. Hell, it could hardly be worse.
Then he breathed out and turned away. “That was close,” he said.
“It was indeed.”
“I turned into a wolf. Twice. That was pretty surreal.”
“You did good.”
All his life, he’d looked for somewhere to belong. And never found it until now. He’d survived against all the odds, and now the future stretched ahead of him. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of optimism. Excitement. Maybe it wasn’t paradise waiting for them out there. Who knew what this new world would offer? But now he had the time to find out. And he wouldn’t be alone.
He had to pick his side, and he’d picked Katia.
“We did good.” He grinned. “I guess I’m one of the monsters now.”
Epilogue
Something woke her.
Katia didn’t want to be woken; she was having this wonderful dream. “Piss off,” she mumbled. But the dream was fading and reality taking its place.
For a moment, she was disorientated. Where was she?
Soft lips kissed the back of her neck, and a shiver of pleasure ran through her. A hand cupped her breast; it felt so good, and a groan escaped her lips.
Warm breath teased her ear. “Wakey, wakey, kitten.”
“Don’t call me kitten.” But the protest was half hearted, and she rolled onto her back and pulled Logan to her, kissed his mouth, her tongue pushing inside, sliding against his, tasting the sharp sweetness of him.
His erection nudged at her belly.
Oh yeah, she could wake up like this every morning.
“We have to get up,” he whispered. Not words she wanted to hear.
“Oh no, we don’t.”
They were in the cabin Rico had originally assigned her. Exhaustion had hit as soon as they had landed back on the Trakis Two, and she’d grabbed Logan and disappeared. She knew Rico wanted to hear everything. But he’d have to wait. And once alone, they’d made sweet love and then fallen into a deep sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
“Rico just commed. He said he’s the captain and to get our asses to the bridge pronto or we’d be court-marshaled.”
“That vampire has delusions of grandeur. But I suppose we could humor him.”
She gave him one last kiss and rolled out of bed. They’d both lost their clothes in that last shift. But they’d wrapped themselves in the silver space blankets on board the shuttle so as to not give everyone an eyeful when they’d disembarked on the Trakis Two. Now the blankets lay in a pool of silver foil on the floor. Her bag was still on the chair where she’d left it, and she dug out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
Logan wrapped one of the blankets around his waist, and she bit back a grin. They’d have to find him some new clothes, maybe raid a few cryotubes before they woke up the Chosen Ones.
The bridge was crowded when they arrived. She recognized most of the people there, and she nodded to Dylan and Adam.
She was getting over her aversion to werewolves. Being in love would do that. She found herself smiling.
“Okay, children,” Rico said. “I got you all here today to show you your new home. This, people, is the Trakis System.”
He pressed a switch, and the screens came to life. She took a step closer, Logan rustling at her side.
