The Complete Razia Series, page 94
"I'm helping Sage!" Lyssa said, dropping the pile of clothes. "H-he told me to clean your room!"
"Did he also say break my washing machine and flood my ship?" Tauron said.
Lyssa's mouth fell open, and she followed him to the staircase. Soapy suds dripped from the landing above. She swallowed hard as her shoes became wet with each step up, and winced when she saw the kitchen filled with soapy suds, and the open washing machine frothed and bubbled. Steph and Wade stood in the center of the room, angry looks on their faces.
"I…" Lyssa said, taking a step back. Flashbacks of Sostas screaming at her at Leveman's Vortex filled her vision, and she readied herself for the worst. They might just leave her on a station now, they might eject her into space. After all, she'd ruined—
"Sage Teon!" Tauron bellowed.
Footsteps clunked down the stairs, and Sage's smug smile disappeared as he reached the landing. "What happened here?"
"I don't know. You tell me, kid," Tauron said, boiling fury in his gaze. "Because I seem to remember that I told you to clean the gym. And I can't ever remember giving you permission to clean my bedroom."
Steph groaned. "Did she clean all of ours?"
"No, just mine," Tauron said, his angry gaze not leaving Sage. "And now, I find my kitchen flooded."
"S-she did it!" Sage said, pointing at Lyssa.
"Because you weren't helping her, asswipe," Tauron said, stepping forward. He grabbed Sage's arm and yanked him close. Whatever words passed between them, Lyssa didn't hear, but the cold fury on Tauron's face and the wide-eyed fear on Sage's was plain enough. Lyssa wondered if Sage was going to get kicked off the ship, and felt a little guilty that she'd caused it.
"I can help clean up—"
"Ssh," Wade said, shaking his head at her. "I think you've done enough, sweetie."
"No, I messed up, let me help," Lyssa said.
"Sage is going to clean up," Tauron said, letting go of Sage's arm. "And he's graciously offering his room to Lyssa until we can drop her off. Aren't you, Sage?"
"Yes, boss," Sage mumbled.
"And he's not going to pull anything like this ever again. Are you, Sage?"
"No, boss."
Suddenly, Tauron's face brightened. "Well, live and learn, right, Lyss? Let's all go upstairs while Sage cleans this up."
Lyssa stood at the foot of the landing as Tauron and the other two passed her. Sage pulled a mop out of the laundry room, face red and filthy curses coming out of his mouth. She stared at him for a moment then put her hands on her hips.
"Serves you right."
Then she turned around and marched upstairs.
***
In truth, Lyssa was glad to be on the bridge of the ship instead of down in the belly, cleaning. Tauron and the crew were on edge, but there was a definite excitement in the air as the ship traveled briskly through space. They ignored Lyssa completely, which suited her just fine. They kept discussing their transporter, and making good time to catch up to it, and she was excited to see what they were planning to do.
"There it is," Tauron said, pointing to a speck in the distance visible in the center screen.
Wade typed on his keypad in front of him, and a diagnostic overlay of the ship type and model appeared next to the speck. "Yup. That's him."
"Fantastic," Tauron said, standing. "Let's go, Steph."
"Do you really need me?" Steph asked, looking up from his tablet. "The book's getting good now."
"Let's go, 'anus."
Lyssa stifled a giggle and caught the attention of the crew again.
Tauron pointed at her. "Stay here."
"Yes, boss."
He groaned and left the bridge of the ship with Steph in tow, leaving Lyssa alone with Wade. Lyssa was burning up with curiosity, but had plenty of experience observing rather than asking questions. The speck was now a ship, but it was unlike any ship Lyssa had ever seen. It looked like a long worm, a small ship at the front with a long train of cargo boxes at the end. Lester's ship had been a fraction of this size, and all the cargo had been onboard versus trailing behind it.
"Wow," Lyssa said.
Wade was still ignoring her as he pressed the intercom button on the panel. "Tauron, you ready?"
"Open the ramp."
Lyssa gasped as the warnings indicated that the ship was being opened in the vacuum of space, but Wade was unconcerned. After a few moments, in the left panel, Lyssa saw a man-shaped body suit floating away from the ship, one long tether pooling out behind it. The suit was connected to a small jet pack that pushed the suit to the left then the right. Then the suit reached the other ship.
"What's he doing?" Lyssa couldn't help herself.
"Watch," Wade instructed. "And keep quiet. I'm concentrating."
The screen to the left beeped and displayed diagnostic information. Wade typed quickly, changing some of the code and moving it around. The screen displayed errors and he cursed, typing even quicker. Lyssa couldn't keep track of what he was doing or typing, but eventually, he accomplished what he wanted, for he reached for the intercom and said, "Got it. Sending the on-boarder now."
The walls of the ship groaned and Lyssa clenched her hands on the arms of the chair. A billowy, white fabric was now leaving the ship, taking the same path as the tether had. It reached the other ship, which was now close enough to see the windows. It was only two levels of living space, but the engines on the back were humungous.
The white fabric reached the other ship, covering Tauron's shape. Then, as it had with the Academy ship, it became rigid as it suctioned onto the other ship and filled with air.
"Steph, you're up," Wade said into the intercom.
"Now what?" Lyssa asked.
"I thought I said to keep quiet," Wade replied, standing up. He glared at her for a moment. "Do not touch a thing, do you understand? I'm going to make sure they don't need any help."
She nodded, but the moment Wade left, Lyssa scampered over to Tauron's seat and pulled up the pirate intraweb. While they were busy, she could complete the next part of her plan.
As she had before, she opened a second window to the Universal Bank and began her research. Every creak and moan caused her to jump, worried that Tauron and the crew were returning. She opened a third window of a blank notepad, where she dumped her research information.
Unfortunately, this guy had stopped using the three known aliases a few months ago. Lyssa didn't know what that meant, but she used the same line of thinking as she had before. If he'd created new aliases, perhaps he would—
"What are you doing?" Tauron asked behind her. He no longer wore the space suit, but his hair was more mussed than usual.
"Bounty hunting for you," Lyssa said, swallowing.
Tauron sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He crossed the bridge to the seat where Wade normally sat and began to type.
"Where's Wade?" Lyssa asked.
Tauron pointed to the ship. "He's gonna fly it to the transport station where we'll negotiate with the buyers."
"Buyers?"
"We hijack, they buy it, I get paid," Tauron explained, not looking back at her. "Usually it's the same company I hijacked it from." He leaned into the intercom. "Kid, when you're done cleaning, make our prisoner a sandwich."
Prisoner…that must've been the pilot of the transporter. She itched to ask more, but she was content to pretend she didn't exist so Tauron wouldn't stop her from bounty hunting. Perhaps her plan would work out after all.
The white tunnel returned to the ship, and the transporter's engines flashed red and white as they restarted. Tauron's ship rumbled as well, and followed the large transporter closely. Tauron set a course, and sat back, glancing at Lyssa, who was trying very hard not to look interested in what he was doing.
"Who you looking for now?" Tauron asked.
"Teofil Dahlberg."
Tauron snorted. "Good luck. He's one of Insurgent's best pirates."
"I can find him."
Tauron stood and sauntered up behind her, reading over her shoulder. "You won't find him using those aliases. See?" He pointed to the date on the Universal Bank. "Hasn't been used in six months."
"But it was listed on his wanted poster."
"Exactly," Tauron replied, folding his arms on the seat behind her. "If everyone knows your alias, it's not much use, is it?"
Lyssa furrowed her brow as she considered this. "Then how?"
"Combination of different things, usually," Tauron said. "Sometimes, you get lucky and find the guy at the same bar, and he's too drunk to realize he's using a hidden alias. Harms, too, knows a lot of alias information because guys use the wrong alias when they come to see him." He stopped and looked down at her. "Why am I telling you all this?"
"Because you want me to stay and find all your bounties for you?"
"Lyss—"
"Razia," she replied. "I want you to call me Razia."
"And I want you off my ship, but it is what it is, yeah?" Tauron said. When she pouted at him, he groaned loudly. "Look, you aren't going to find Dahlberg. He's too good for that. If you want something to keep you busy, go after someone in the mid-forties. They're usually a little easier to track."
"Does that mean you'll go after somebody if I find them?"
"No," Tauron replied with a shake of his head. "But it'll keep you quiet until I can get you back to school."
***
Lyssa found three pirates by the time the transport station was in sight. Tauron had left her alone a few times to check on the transporter prisoner, but she kept her focus on hunting bounties. When their ship docked in one of the large docking station openings, Tauron told her to get her things.
"Do I get to go with you to meet the buyers?" Lyssa asked brightly.
"No, I'm putting you on a shuttle to G-279," Tauron said. "And then your ass had better go back to school."
Her face fell. "But—"
"Lyssa, I'm not arguing with you. You…" His gaze slid behind her to the computer screen. "You found Arpad Bernal? And Conboy Conrad and Max Fried?"
She grinned. "I did! Now can I stay—"
"No."
Lyssa argued and whined, but Tauron was immune to her pleas. He kept a firm hand on her shoulder until they reached the transport terminal then walked her onto the shuttle.
"Stay in school," Tauron said, buckling her into the transport shuttle seat. "I mean it. I don't want to see you again."
Lyssa grumbled and folded her arms over her chest. Tauron spoke to the shuttle attendant, pointing at Lyssa. She frowned when the attendant nodded, and Tauron left the shuttle.
"Well hello there, little girl," the attendant said, bending at the waist to talk to Lyssa. "Your big brother tells me you're going to the Academy."
Lyssa stared at him. "You can't be serious."
"He said you're really scared, so if you need a cup of hot chocolate or—"
"Save it," Lyssa snapped, unhooking her restraints and grabbing her bag from under the seat.
She ignored the protests and shocked gasp of the attendant and marched off the transport ship. She strained her eyes for Tauron's mop of curly hair, but she didn't see it. He'd only left a few minutes ago; if she hurried she could catch up with him.
"Hey, wait!"
The attendant had followed her. She took off running and didn't stop until she was at the end of the terminal.
***
Unfortunately, Lyssa had no idea where Tauron's ship was parked, and she couldn't figure how to find out, either. She decided to try her luck back at the food court, hoping perhaps she'd hear of someone else going to D-882 or maybe run into Lester again.
She'd completed two circuits when she spotted two blue-suited attendants and a security guard. Their faces darkened when they saw her. She spun on her heel and hurried out of the food court, making sure to hide in a group of waiting passengers as the attendants passed by her. She kept moving through the transport station, listening in on conversations and hoping to strike gold as she had with Lester. The universe was a big place, but this transport station seemed the kind of place that pirates would visit often.
Three trips around the concourse, and Lyssa gave up and sat at one of the tables, if only to rest her feet. She was beginning to wonder if this was all a big mistake when she heard "D-882." Springing upright, she scanned the hall for the source of the voice, and saw him.
He was fat, with thick glasses and a red bulbous nose. Unlike Lester, who had an air of kindness about him, this man seemed supremely self-absorbed, if only for the loudness of his conversation into his mini-computer and the smell emanating from the bag of food at his side.
"Yeah, and I gotta stop off at '282 to drop off this cargo. Yeah, just a bit. But I stopped at the transporter to get some grub. Yeah, I know it's terrible. But I can't help it, you know?" He chortled loudly.
Lyssa couldn't believe her luck!
"Excuse me—"
"Hold on," the man said into the mini-computer before glaring at Lyssa. "Look, kid. I ain't interested in buying nothing and I ain't got no food to give you."
Lyssa glanced at the bag in his hand and the size of his waist and pursed her lips. "I'm not—"
"Get lost before I beat yer ass," he said, brushing past her and knocking her on her rear.
She lay on the ground, watching the fat transporter waddle away as he continued his conversation into his mini-computer.
"Oi! There she is!"
Lyssa glanced up; the security guard that had accosted her earlier had found her again. She hopped to her feet, shouldered her bag, and dashed down the hall. There were two options—duck and hide from the security guard, or try to tail the transporter headed to D-882. She'd been lucky twice so far. Would she get lucky a third time?
She made a snap decision to keep following the fat transporter and hope she could shake the security guard at the same time. Luckily for her, the transporter sat down on a bench to continue his conversation and stuff his face, which gave her time to blend in with a group of travelers waiting for their transport shuttle, which was over an hour late. She squeezed between two tall men, who barely noticed her, and waited for the security guard to walk by.
"Budge off there," one of the tall men said, pushing her to the side.
She stepped out of the gaggle and frowned; her transporter was gone!
Glancing to both ends of the long hall connecting the terminals, she spied the long, stringy curtain of hair hanging from the mostly bald head and hurried in that direction, but kept her distance. He stood motionless on the escalator down to a level below then stepped onto a moving walkway and leaned against the railing as it carted him. Lyssa cursed her luck when he stepped onto a lift, and she was afraid she was going to lose him. She watched the numbers on the lift change, and quickly pressed the button when it stopped six levels below.
It took forever for the car to arrive and then forever to reach her destination, and she was sure she'd lost her ride to Tauron. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his loud voice echoing in one of the cavernous docking stations. There were four ships docked in the station, all with refueling lines attached to them. Her transporter struck up a conversation with a group of attendants, making no motion to which of the four ships was his. She wasn't going to sweet talk her way onto his ship, so she'd have to figure something else out, and fast.
"Oi, wait a second!"
Lyssa froze mid-tiptoe, but then realized the attendant was talking to the transporter. He turned from his ship and walked back to the attendant, haggling over price or something. While they were distracted, Lyssa dashed toward the ship.
She bypassed the passenger compartment; it was small and probably lacked anywhere to hide. Instead, she looked at the giant container hooked into the ship. With one more glance at the men haggling in the center of the docking station, Lyssa tapped the keypad on the container, and it lit up, ready for an entry code.
"Uh," she whispered, frantically looking back to the now-increasingly loud arguing. Without anything else, she typed in 1-2-3-4 and pressed enter, hoping maybe she'd get lucky again.
The door released a gust of air and opened to reveal a dark cargo space.
"Really?"
Inside the shipping container, boxes were stacked high against the walls with little room to walk or maneuver. Lyssa pulled herself on top of the nearest box and climbed over a low stack until she was hidden from sight.
"Why's this door open?" came a voice from outside the container.
Lyssa held her breath as a shadow crossed the ceiling. More muffled conversation between the voice and another, and then the door locked.
Which was when Lyssa began to question the brilliance of climbing into a cargo box that would be traveling through space. Pesky necessities like oxygen might be a problem once the transport shuttle left the safety of the docking station.
"Uh-oh," she whispered, knocking over a few boxes as she scrambled to the door.
She banged her fists on the metal and screamed for help, but her voice must've fallen on deaf ears. A loud hum grew to an ear-splitting roar and the cargo container moved. Lyssa and a few of the unsecured boxes fell over and bounced around.
The temperature drop was almost immediate, but as long as that white puff appeared in front of her mouth, she was still breathing. Instead of thinking about what a completely terribly impulsive decision she'd made, wondering where she was going, or for how long she'd be on the ship, she focused on the visible proof that she was still alive.
After a while, she noticed that not only was she not dead, but there was some sort of artificial gravity on the ship. Not as much as in a passenger cabin, but enough to keep her and the boxes on the ground. And her breathing remained steady, so there might've been some sort of provision for stowaways like her.
She might've celebrated her good fortune, if she could stop her body from shivering. Reaching for her duffel bag, she pulled out another two long-sleeved shirts, layering them over each other to try and stay warm. Completing her outfit with her Academy zip-up jacket, she was a little warmer.
Confident that she was safe, for the moment, Lyssa curled up between two boxes and tried to make herself comfortable. At the very least, she hoped that if she could fall asleep, she might wake up and find herself somewhere safe.
"Did he also say break my washing machine and flood my ship?" Tauron said.
Lyssa's mouth fell open, and she followed him to the staircase. Soapy suds dripped from the landing above. She swallowed hard as her shoes became wet with each step up, and winced when she saw the kitchen filled with soapy suds, and the open washing machine frothed and bubbled. Steph and Wade stood in the center of the room, angry looks on their faces.
"I…" Lyssa said, taking a step back. Flashbacks of Sostas screaming at her at Leveman's Vortex filled her vision, and she readied herself for the worst. They might just leave her on a station now, they might eject her into space. After all, she'd ruined—
"Sage Teon!" Tauron bellowed.
Footsteps clunked down the stairs, and Sage's smug smile disappeared as he reached the landing. "What happened here?"
"I don't know. You tell me, kid," Tauron said, boiling fury in his gaze. "Because I seem to remember that I told you to clean the gym. And I can't ever remember giving you permission to clean my bedroom."
Steph groaned. "Did she clean all of ours?"
"No, just mine," Tauron said, his angry gaze not leaving Sage. "And now, I find my kitchen flooded."
"S-she did it!" Sage said, pointing at Lyssa.
"Because you weren't helping her, asswipe," Tauron said, stepping forward. He grabbed Sage's arm and yanked him close. Whatever words passed between them, Lyssa didn't hear, but the cold fury on Tauron's face and the wide-eyed fear on Sage's was plain enough. Lyssa wondered if Sage was going to get kicked off the ship, and felt a little guilty that she'd caused it.
"I can help clean up—"
"Ssh," Wade said, shaking his head at her. "I think you've done enough, sweetie."
"No, I messed up, let me help," Lyssa said.
"Sage is going to clean up," Tauron said, letting go of Sage's arm. "And he's graciously offering his room to Lyssa until we can drop her off. Aren't you, Sage?"
"Yes, boss," Sage mumbled.
"And he's not going to pull anything like this ever again. Are you, Sage?"
"No, boss."
Suddenly, Tauron's face brightened. "Well, live and learn, right, Lyss? Let's all go upstairs while Sage cleans this up."
Lyssa stood at the foot of the landing as Tauron and the other two passed her. Sage pulled a mop out of the laundry room, face red and filthy curses coming out of his mouth. She stared at him for a moment then put her hands on her hips.
"Serves you right."
Then she turned around and marched upstairs.
***
In truth, Lyssa was glad to be on the bridge of the ship instead of down in the belly, cleaning. Tauron and the crew were on edge, but there was a definite excitement in the air as the ship traveled briskly through space. They ignored Lyssa completely, which suited her just fine. They kept discussing their transporter, and making good time to catch up to it, and she was excited to see what they were planning to do.
"There it is," Tauron said, pointing to a speck in the distance visible in the center screen.
Wade typed on his keypad in front of him, and a diagnostic overlay of the ship type and model appeared next to the speck. "Yup. That's him."
"Fantastic," Tauron said, standing. "Let's go, Steph."
"Do you really need me?" Steph asked, looking up from his tablet. "The book's getting good now."
"Let's go, 'anus."
Lyssa stifled a giggle and caught the attention of the crew again.
Tauron pointed at her. "Stay here."
"Yes, boss."
He groaned and left the bridge of the ship with Steph in tow, leaving Lyssa alone with Wade. Lyssa was burning up with curiosity, but had plenty of experience observing rather than asking questions. The speck was now a ship, but it was unlike any ship Lyssa had ever seen. It looked like a long worm, a small ship at the front with a long train of cargo boxes at the end. Lester's ship had been a fraction of this size, and all the cargo had been onboard versus trailing behind it.
"Wow," Lyssa said.
Wade was still ignoring her as he pressed the intercom button on the panel. "Tauron, you ready?"
"Open the ramp."
Lyssa gasped as the warnings indicated that the ship was being opened in the vacuum of space, but Wade was unconcerned. After a few moments, in the left panel, Lyssa saw a man-shaped body suit floating away from the ship, one long tether pooling out behind it. The suit was connected to a small jet pack that pushed the suit to the left then the right. Then the suit reached the other ship.
"What's he doing?" Lyssa couldn't help herself.
"Watch," Wade instructed. "And keep quiet. I'm concentrating."
The screen to the left beeped and displayed diagnostic information. Wade typed quickly, changing some of the code and moving it around. The screen displayed errors and he cursed, typing even quicker. Lyssa couldn't keep track of what he was doing or typing, but eventually, he accomplished what he wanted, for he reached for the intercom and said, "Got it. Sending the on-boarder now."
The walls of the ship groaned and Lyssa clenched her hands on the arms of the chair. A billowy, white fabric was now leaving the ship, taking the same path as the tether had. It reached the other ship, which was now close enough to see the windows. It was only two levels of living space, but the engines on the back were humungous.
The white fabric reached the other ship, covering Tauron's shape. Then, as it had with the Academy ship, it became rigid as it suctioned onto the other ship and filled with air.
"Steph, you're up," Wade said into the intercom.
"Now what?" Lyssa asked.
"I thought I said to keep quiet," Wade replied, standing up. He glared at her for a moment. "Do not touch a thing, do you understand? I'm going to make sure they don't need any help."
She nodded, but the moment Wade left, Lyssa scampered over to Tauron's seat and pulled up the pirate intraweb. While they were busy, she could complete the next part of her plan.
As she had before, she opened a second window to the Universal Bank and began her research. Every creak and moan caused her to jump, worried that Tauron and the crew were returning. She opened a third window of a blank notepad, where she dumped her research information.
Unfortunately, this guy had stopped using the three known aliases a few months ago. Lyssa didn't know what that meant, but she used the same line of thinking as she had before. If he'd created new aliases, perhaps he would—
"What are you doing?" Tauron asked behind her. He no longer wore the space suit, but his hair was more mussed than usual.
"Bounty hunting for you," Lyssa said, swallowing.
Tauron sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He crossed the bridge to the seat where Wade normally sat and began to type.
"Where's Wade?" Lyssa asked.
Tauron pointed to the ship. "He's gonna fly it to the transport station where we'll negotiate with the buyers."
"Buyers?"
"We hijack, they buy it, I get paid," Tauron explained, not looking back at her. "Usually it's the same company I hijacked it from." He leaned into the intercom. "Kid, when you're done cleaning, make our prisoner a sandwich."
Prisoner…that must've been the pilot of the transporter. She itched to ask more, but she was content to pretend she didn't exist so Tauron wouldn't stop her from bounty hunting. Perhaps her plan would work out after all.
The white tunnel returned to the ship, and the transporter's engines flashed red and white as they restarted. Tauron's ship rumbled as well, and followed the large transporter closely. Tauron set a course, and sat back, glancing at Lyssa, who was trying very hard not to look interested in what he was doing.
"Who you looking for now?" Tauron asked.
"Teofil Dahlberg."
Tauron snorted. "Good luck. He's one of Insurgent's best pirates."
"I can find him."
Tauron stood and sauntered up behind her, reading over her shoulder. "You won't find him using those aliases. See?" He pointed to the date on the Universal Bank. "Hasn't been used in six months."
"But it was listed on his wanted poster."
"Exactly," Tauron replied, folding his arms on the seat behind her. "If everyone knows your alias, it's not much use, is it?"
Lyssa furrowed her brow as she considered this. "Then how?"
"Combination of different things, usually," Tauron said. "Sometimes, you get lucky and find the guy at the same bar, and he's too drunk to realize he's using a hidden alias. Harms, too, knows a lot of alias information because guys use the wrong alias when they come to see him." He stopped and looked down at her. "Why am I telling you all this?"
"Because you want me to stay and find all your bounties for you?"
"Lyss—"
"Razia," she replied. "I want you to call me Razia."
"And I want you off my ship, but it is what it is, yeah?" Tauron said. When she pouted at him, he groaned loudly. "Look, you aren't going to find Dahlberg. He's too good for that. If you want something to keep you busy, go after someone in the mid-forties. They're usually a little easier to track."
"Does that mean you'll go after somebody if I find them?"
"No," Tauron replied with a shake of his head. "But it'll keep you quiet until I can get you back to school."
***
Lyssa found three pirates by the time the transport station was in sight. Tauron had left her alone a few times to check on the transporter prisoner, but she kept her focus on hunting bounties. When their ship docked in one of the large docking station openings, Tauron told her to get her things.
"Do I get to go with you to meet the buyers?" Lyssa asked brightly.
"No, I'm putting you on a shuttle to G-279," Tauron said. "And then your ass had better go back to school."
Her face fell. "But—"
"Lyssa, I'm not arguing with you. You…" His gaze slid behind her to the computer screen. "You found Arpad Bernal? And Conboy Conrad and Max Fried?"
She grinned. "I did! Now can I stay—"
"No."
Lyssa argued and whined, but Tauron was immune to her pleas. He kept a firm hand on her shoulder until they reached the transport terminal then walked her onto the shuttle.
"Stay in school," Tauron said, buckling her into the transport shuttle seat. "I mean it. I don't want to see you again."
Lyssa grumbled and folded her arms over her chest. Tauron spoke to the shuttle attendant, pointing at Lyssa. She frowned when the attendant nodded, and Tauron left the shuttle.
"Well hello there, little girl," the attendant said, bending at the waist to talk to Lyssa. "Your big brother tells me you're going to the Academy."
Lyssa stared at him. "You can't be serious."
"He said you're really scared, so if you need a cup of hot chocolate or—"
"Save it," Lyssa snapped, unhooking her restraints and grabbing her bag from under the seat.
She ignored the protests and shocked gasp of the attendant and marched off the transport ship. She strained her eyes for Tauron's mop of curly hair, but she didn't see it. He'd only left a few minutes ago; if she hurried she could catch up with him.
"Hey, wait!"
The attendant had followed her. She took off running and didn't stop until she was at the end of the terminal.
***
Unfortunately, Lyssa had no idea where Tauron's ship was parked, and she couldn't figure how to find out, either. She decided to try her luck back at the food court, hoping perhaps she'd hear of someone else going to D-882 or maybe run into Lester again.
She'd completed two circuits when she spotted two blue-suited attendants and a security guard. Their faces darkened when they saw her. She spun on her heel and hurried out of the food court, making sure to hide in a group of waiting passengers as the attendants passed by her. She kept moving through the transport station, listening in on conversations and hoping to strike gold as she had with Lester. The universe was a big place, but this transport station seemed the kind of place that pirates would visit often.
Three trips around the concourse, and Lyssa gave up and sat at one of the tables, if only to rest her feet. She was beginning to wonder if this was all a big mistake when she heard "D-882." Springing upright, she scanned the hall for the source of the voice, and saw him.
He was fat, with thick glasses and a red bulbous nose. Unlike Lester, who had an air of kindness about him, this man seemed supremely self-absorbed, if only for the loudness of his conversation into his mini-computer and the smell emanating from the bag of food at his side.
"Yeah, and I gotta stop off at '282 to drop off this cargo. Yeah, just a bit. But I stopped at the transporter to get some grub. Yeah, I know it's terrible. But I can't help it, you know?" He chortled loudly.
Lyssa couldn't believe her luck!
"Excuse me—"
"Hold on," the man said into the mini-computer before glaring at Lyssa. "Look, kid. I ain't interested in buying nothing and I ain't got no food to give you."
Lyssa glanced at the bag in his hand and the size of his waist and pursed her lips. "I'm not—"
"Get lost before I beat yer ass," he said, brushing past her and knocking her on her rear.
She lay on the ground, watching the fat transporter waddle away as he continued his conversation into his mini-computer.
"Oi! There she is!"
Lyssa glanced up; the security guard that had accosted her earlier had found her again. She hopped to her feet, shouldered her bag, and dashed down the hall. There were two options—duck and hide from the security guard, or try to tail the transporter headed to D-882. She'd been lucky twice so far. Would she get lucky a third time?
She made a snap decision to keep following the fat transporter and hope she could shake the security guard at the same time. Luckily for her, the transporter sat down on a bench to continue his conversation and stuff his face, which gave her time to blend in with a group of travelers waiting for their transport shuttle, which was over an hour late. She squeezed between two tall men, who barely noticed her, and waited for the security guard to walk by.
"Budge off there," one of the tall men said, pushing her to the side.
She stepped out of the gaggle and frowned; her transporter was gone!
Glancing to both ends of the long hall connecting the terminals, she spied the long, stringy curtain of hair hanging from the mostly bald head and hurried in that direction, but kept her distance. He stood motionless on the escalator down to a level below then stepped onto a moving walkway and leaned against the railing as it carted him. Lyssa cursed her luck when he stepped onto a lift, and she was afraid she was going to lose him. She watched the numbers on the lift change, and quickly pressed the button when it stopped six levels below.
It took forever for the car to arrive and then forever to reach her destination, and she was sure she'd lost her ride to Tauron. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his loud voice echoing in one of the cavernous docking stations. There were four ships docked in the station, all with refueling lines attached to them. Her transporter struck up a conversation with a group of attendants, making no motion to which of the four ships was his. She wasn't going to sweet talk her way onto his ship, so she'd have to figure something else out, and fast.
"Oi, wait a second!"
Lyssa froze mid-tiptoe, but then realized the attendant was talking to the transporter. He turned from his ship and walked back to the attendant, haggling over price or something. While they were distracted, Lyssa dashed toward the ship.
She bypassed the passenger compartment; it was small and probably lacked anywhere to hide. Instead, she looked at the giant container hooked into the ship. With one more glance at the men haggling in the center of the docking station, Lyssa tapped the keypad on the container, and it lit up, ready for an entry code.
"Uh," she whispered, frantically looking back to the now-increasingly loud arguing. Without anything else, she typed in 1-2-3-4 and pressed enter, hoping maybe she'd get lucky again.
The door released a gust of air and opened to reveal a dark cargo space.
"Really?"
Inside the shipping container, boxes were stacked high against the walls with little room to walk or maneuver. Lyssa pulled herself on top of the nearest box and climbed over a low stack until she was hidden from sight.
"Why's this door open?" came a voice from outside the container.
Lyssa held her breath as a shadow crossed the ceiling. More muffled conversation between the voice and another, and then the door locked.
Which was when Lyssa began to question the brilliance of climbing into a cargo box that would be traveling through space. Pesky necessities like oxygen might be a problem once the transport shuttle left the safety of the docking station.
"Uh-oh," she whispered, knocking over a few boxes as she scrambled to the door.
She banged her fists on the metal and screamed for help, but her voice must've fallen on deaf ears. A loud hum grew to an ear-splitting roar and the cargo container moved. Lyssa and a few of the unsecured boxes fell over and bounced around.
The temperature drop was almost immediate, but as long as that white puff appeared in front of her mouth, she was still breathing. Instead of thinking about what a completely terribly impulsive decision she'd made, wondering where she was going, or for how long she'd be on the ship, she focused on the visible proof that she was still alive.
After a while, she noticed that not only was she not dead, but there was some sort of artificial gravity on the ship. Not as much as in a passenger cabin, but enough to keep her and the boxes on the ground. And her breathing remained steady, so there might've been some sort of provision for stowaways like her.
She might've celebrated her good fortune, if she could stop her body from shivering. Reaching for her duffel bag, she pulled out another two long-sleeved shirts, layering them over each other to try and stay warm. Completing her outfit with her Academy zip-up jacket, she was a little warmer.
Confident that she was safe, for the moment, Lyssa curled up between two boxes and tried to make herself comfortable. At the very least, she hoped that if she could fall asleep, she might wake up and find herself somewhere safe.
