Chapter 6

A scream echoed through the corridors, punctuated by the solitary report of a pistol. Odybrix was in the process of shoving BOB forward when she saw Buddy double back. Behind them, seemingly heedless of imminent dismemberment, Sturdy snapped pictures of the monstrosity with the PDA on his wrist. Buddy was beside him in a second, pulling him away.

“Get out of there, you idiots!” Odybrix yelled.

Sturdy spun and ran, with Buddy backpedaling behind him. The upper torso of the dwarf sailed through the intersection of the passageways and landed somewhere unseen with a wet thud. Odybrix barely registered the arm whipping out from around the corner in a blur of claws, but Buddy, miraculously, did. The monstrosity swung wildly, each swipe promising evisceration if it landed, but Buddy somehow dodged them all. Not only that, but she fought back.

A few strands of her ponytail were severed as she ducked a horizontal swing and rolled away, snapping off six shots from her laser pistols. Two blasts struck the thing’s head, leaving smoking holes. Odybrix released a breath she was holding, expecting the thing to slump to the ground. Instead, the flesh around the wounds convulsed and knit together, like it hadn’t even been shot. A wet seam opened in the middle of its featureless head, revealing rows of finger-length teeth. Odybrix gathered psionic energy to shove the thing away, but Adam acted first.

“Get down!”

Buddy somersaulted away from the creature as a grenade sailed overhead and detonated. The monstrosity screeched as a flash of bright orange flame consumed it. Odybrix didn’t wait to see if the grenade had solved their monster problem; she let loose the psionic blast and shunted its flaming bulk down the passageway. Adam fired a few perfunctory shots in the thing’s direction—an extra kick in the ass for good measure—and they ran.

“Change your mind about explosives inside ships?” Odybrix asked.

“No. This was a special circumstance. And mine wasn’t attached to a torpedo,” Adam said.

“Sure, sure. Talk to me when we’re back aboard, we can go over the finer points of setting off grenades in tight spaces.”

“I’m not making a habit of this.”

Ozzy came on their comms channel as they fled, “We’ve got a ship inbound.”

“Reinforcements?” Zenith asked.

“I don’t think so, ZT. It’s big. Bigger than a group of mercs could afford.”

“Darlings,” Hilde said, cheerfully joining the conversation, “I have great news. Scans indicate that the ship is frigate-class with a full weapons complement presently armed and targeting the barquentine.”

“We’re on the barq! How is that good news?” Odybrix asked.

“Because this ship is a celebrity!” Hilde said, sending an image of a massive vessel to their feed. “Note how the bow is shaped like a colossal blade? This is the HWS Warspite, flagship of planet Grolvar!”

“What did these guys do to piss off the orcs?” Odybrix asked.

“We need to get to rev space ASAP,” Adam said, fear creeping into his voice. “That ship is infamous.”

“Torpedoes incoming!” Ozzy said.

Odybrix turned the corner towards the airlock. She caught a glimpse of the dark outlines of Hoxley and the dog bathed in flood lights as they boarded the Sunrunner. How did that scrawny cook move so fast? The question didn’t have time to marinate in her mind.

A cataclysmic boom rocked the ship and sent the crew flying into the bulkheads. The pummeling shockwave was immediately followed by the irresistible pull of space—a torpedo had cracked the barq open like an egg. Odybrix’ arms flailed, grasping for anything that could keep her anchored. She managed to grasp onto a dead power conduit, channeling all of her psionic might to keep a grip. Something flashed in her periphery and she turned her head just in time to see Adam barrel into her, sending them both spinning into the void.