my skies, Ellie Jane. I will find you, no matter where you go. You will never be rid of me again. I swear it.”
“Good,” she said. EJ took a deep breath and wiped the soles of her boots so she had better traction. “Then let’s get moving.”
Chapter 42
Nokx
Nokx knew EJ wanted to keep the stunner but there was no way in the entire universe that he would let his mate take on the danger of running into the unknown and probably an ambush. She argued softly for long enough he wondered if he would have to knock her out and throw her on his shoulder again. He kissed her again to quiet her, knowing they ran out of time, and prepared to die fighting to get her to safety.
The ship’s announcement system blared three blasts, silenced, then repeated it. Nokx froze. Had Klee returned to the navigation and comms station to send a message? He took the gift for what it was—a distraction—and hauled EJ into the corridor. He pointed her toward the hall that led directly to the escape pods and maneuvered so he could keep overwatch of her until she grew close enough to sprint for it.
A semi-familiar voice echoed through the ship as Gygak chuckled, pleased with herself. “I am Gygak of Glaak. I am in control of this ship. All beings who do not belong on this ship should depart immediately, before my security team begins to sweep for stowaways. I will not take kindly to interlopers.”
EJ paused at the end of the corridor, looking around, then signaled back to him that she saw three guards. Nokx’s hearts jumped to his throat as two Slasu appeared close behind him and shouted as they spotted him and EJ. He fired at them and dodged into a side hall, trying to draw them away from EJ, and had almost succeeded when the power cycled to a halt. He froze as the lights went out and everything turned pitch-black.
No. Xaravians could navigate in the darkness, but he knew Earthers could not. They were helpless as baby marmox without light. A feminine yelp only convinced him of it and drove him through the darkness to the open area near the escape pods. He didn’t know how well the Slasu and Horgut could navigate without light, and he didn’t want to find out. He ran for where she’d gone and hoped he got there in time.
Chapter 43
EJ
EJ almost cheered when Gygak came up on the ship-wide intercom and announced she’d taken the ship. She didn’t really believe it, since Gygak and her gang hadn’t had time to physically get to the bridge, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the pirates and crew believed they were on the losing end and the battle wasn’t going their way. She needed them distracted just long enough to...
She braced to dodge through a corridor with a Slasu guard who’d already taken a few stunner shots at her, to get to a few weapons that had been abandoned by the Horgut. They weren’t the best weapons, but they were better than nothing. She could provide cover fire for Nokx once she’d gotten to the escape pod.
EJ took a deep breath, crossed her fingers in her mother’s favorite superstition, and ran low to the ground through the deadly passageway.
And then the light disappeared.
She skidded and slammed into the body she’d meant to jump over and squeaked in surprise despite every intention of taking the pain stoically and in silence.
Which gave those bastard Slasu something to aim at. EJ hissed under her breath as she tried to crawl through the inky dark. She’d thought space was black, but at least there were stars and other bits to reflect light back at her. Inside the gen ship without power... She swallowed the knot in her throat. She had only the barest idea of where she was and getting to the escape pod... Shit. Shit.
She patted down the unconscious body next to her, searching the belt and pockets for anything that could illuminate the way forward. Stunner fire from the Slasu broke up the dark in blinding flashes as the Horgut spotted her and scree’d their impending victory. EJ clenched her jaw and wrenched the rifle away from the limp guard on the ground so she could fire back.
At least it gave her a hint of where to go. She hoped that Nokx could see in the dark. She knew she should have gotten those night-vision implants when