Redemption: Sci Fi Romance (Far Hope Series Book 2) Read online

  “You know what that means,” Bron said, reaching for his sidearm.

  “It means we get to have a little fun before leaving Earth,” Kira replied, readying her weapon.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The scene they created bursting into the hull of the ship was full of force. Thor led the group, followed by Kira and Bron, with Alaria and Dario taking up the rear. Weapons in hand and determination in their movements, they marched their way aboard the Curio, ready for a fight.

  A fight they would not find.

  “Ha! Look at you morons,” Vinnie shouted.

  Vinnie couldn’t help but laugh as he watched them storm into the room. Thor, still leading the group, stopped suddenly. Kira, thrust forward by the inertia pushing at her back, plowed into him. Behind her, Bron shuffled to a stop, thankfully, before he ran into her, squishing her small frame between his and Thor’s massive torsos.

  Stepping around Thor quickly, she saw what had caused him to stop. Vinnie’s laugh continued to ring through the air, bouncing off the metal walls of the ship.

  Lying on the floor in front of them were two bodies, two Terran men, collected in a small pool of blood. Vinnie, standing over them proudly with an assault rifle thrown over his shoulder, finally collected himself.

  “You should have seen your faces,” Vinnie said, his dark green eyes bouncing with laughter. “You all came in here ready for a fight. You were so serious and focused.”

  “What did you expect?” Thor replied, not amused by the situation. “We noticed forced entry on the ship.”

  “And clearly you forgot that the ship was protected by yours truly,” Vinnie replied confidently. “I noticed them breaking in, armed myself, and took care of the situation.”

  “I knew I kept you around for a reason,” Bron said, stepping around Kira and Thor and walking up to Vinnie.

  “Who are they?” Alaria asked, walking closely behind Bron.

  Everyone gathered around to examine the bodies as Thor retrieved the ship’s ID scanner. He knelt down and ran the device over each of the men’s identification tattoos on their forearms. Kira could tell by the look on Thor’s face that the news wasn’t anything good. The fact that they even had identification tattoos told her that they were Alliance employees of some sort.

  “They’re members of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild,” Thor said, looking back at the group over his shoulder.

  “They know we’re here, then,” Dario observed.

  “We seem to have a way of making a scene wherever we go,” Kira replied.

  “We need to get out of here,” Thor said, pushing himself up.

  “You think?” Kira replied, turning on her heel to head toward the flight deck.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Alaria called after her. “We haven’t had time to do any repairs to the ship.”

  “Well, there’s no time for that now,” Kira said.

  “I don’t think the Curio can handle another interstellar voyage without them,” Alaria argued.

  “We don’t need to make an interstellar voyage,” Kira said, a thought coming to her suddenly. “We just need to get out of Earth’s orbit.”

  “And then what?” Thor asked. “We just float around the solar system until someone takes pity on us?”

  “We are rather pitiful,” Kira agreed, “but no. I have a better idea. I have an old friend with a small private space station near Mars. He has a repair bay. We can go there.”

  “Are you sure he’ll remember you?” Thor asked.

  Kira smiled and looked past him back at Bron. “I tend to make an impression, wouldn’t you agree, Bron?”

  Bron grunted his agreement while shaking his head. It wasn't more than two weeks prior that Kira had shown up at his hangar appealing for shelter. He remembered her immediately. She was sure the same would happen again.

  “I’ll radio him from the flight deck while Bron, Alaria, and Vinnie get to the engine room to make sure this thing will at least takeoff,” Kira continued.

  Everyone agreed and hurried off to their respective positions. Dario remained in the common area to record a message to send to Thane, while Thor followed Kira to the flight deck. As the engines hummed weakly to life, Kira sent a quick communication to her contact, hoping that the message would reach him before their ship did. Old friend or not, seeing something like the Curio pulling up to a station unannounced would bring a sense of confusion to anyone.

  Kira held her breath as she initiated the engines. The ship shuddered a few times, fighting back against yet another departure, but finally, the lights around the flight deck blinked on and the Curio elevated from the docking platform.

  Departure from the station went smoothly, but it wasn’t long after they were drifting away from the TFS Arbiter that the radio next to her began to ping.

  “Someone’s hailing us,” she said, scanning the screens around her.

  Just to their starboard side, she saw the image of another TAF patrol ship growing ever closer.

  “Are you going to answer?” Thor asked.

  “What do you think?” Kira replied, pulling up on the controls and flying the ship higher, as quickly as it would go.

  The patrol ship reacted suddenly, and more swiftly than Kira had anticipated. "They're definitely honed in on us," Kira said, as she threw the controls forward, urging the Curio to pick up speed.

  The engines shuddered, fighting back against her. She pushed the controls forward again, keeping an eye on the patrol ship through her port-side camera.

  “Intercom,” Kira ordered Thor, not wanting to take her attention off the screen.

  “Connected,” Thor replied, flipping on the ship-wide intercom system.

  “Alaria,” Kira spoke firmly, turning the ship to the right as the patrol ship closed in from the left. “What the hell is going on down there?”

  “You want the long or the short answer?” Alaria replied.

  “I want whatever answer is going to get us moving,” Kira replied.

  The patrol ship was now close—too close for comfort. Kira pushed the Curio forward as fast as it would go, but it was clear that unless something was done, soon, they wouldn’t be making it to see her friend.

  “Captain,” Alaria replied as Kira turned the ship hard right again. “There’s nothing else I can do. The ship is generating as much energy as it’s able. Weapons and defensive arrays are online, but warp capabilities and the high-speed thrusters won’t respond.”

  “Two out of four isn’t bad,” Kira replied, looking over at Thor. Her eyes sparkled, just slightly.

  Thor, letting out a soft sigh, said, “I know that look. Everyone, hold on. We’re going to be in for a bumpy ride.”

  He leaned forward and switched off the intercom just as the patrol ship in Kira’s port screen locked in on their position. Just as the cannons swiveled in their direction, Kira pulled up sharply on the controls. Thor was thrown back in his seat, as the missile blast buzzed past them.

  “Want to give a warning next time you do that?” he asked, looking over at her.

  “What fun would that be?” she replied, pulling the ship to the side and spinning it around. The patrol ship continued to pursue them, cannons lowered and prepared to fire.

  “Lower the missiles,” she ordered.

  Thor, pushing himself forward again, entered the weapons code into the screen directly in front of him. Another shudder shook the ship as the missiles lowered. Before the crosshairs that appeared on her screen even moved over the patrol ship, Kira let the projectiles fly.

  They buzzed past the ship, just barely missing the bottom corner of the ship’s glossy hull.

  The patrol ship jerked to the side, dropping out of view for a second. Kira scanned the viewscreens, waiting for the image to appear again. She continued to urge the Curio forward.

  Her efforts would prove futile when the patrol ship once again appeared on her screens. This time, though, instead of being to the side, it was just below them and picking up speed.
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  “They’re going to cut us off,” Thor observed.

  “They’re going to try,” Kira replied.

  As the ship below them zoomed ahead, spinning around to once again face off with them, Kira dropped the Curio slightly. The timing couldn’t be better. As she lowered the ship, another missile blast came hurtling in their direction. This time, it grazed the roof of the Curio, shaking the ship violently as the projectile scraped along the shields.

  Again, Kira fired another missile. Again, it missed.

  “It’s like you’re not even trying to hit them,” Thor said, noting the way she carelessly let the artillery fly.

  “I’m not,” she replied. “We’re in enough shit with the Alliance as it is. The last thing we need is to shoot down one of their patrol ships.”

  “As wise as that may be, we won’t be able to prove our allegiance to the Alliance if we’re dead.”

  “They won’t kill us,” Kira replied, rolling her eyes.

  She pushed the Curio forward again. The ship moved along lazily, flying just below the patrol ship that was working to spin itself around to continue their pursuit. With quick precision, the patrol ship floated downward, locking its missiles on the Curio again, this time from the back.

  Another blast. Another shudder.

  A loud, long, whine came out of the console in front of them. Lights began to flash across all the screens. The shields were failing, and one more blast would shut them down completely.

  “Are you sure about that?” Thor asked.

  “Maybe,” Kira replied.

  Her eyes were glued to the screens. The ship didn’t have the power behind it to spin around quickly to begin an offensive attack now. She had to keep with her original plan. Just keep moving forward.

  She pushed the controls as far forward as they would go. The Curio buzzed along, picking up a little more speed, but unable to outfly the state-of-the-art patrol ship that was quickly gaining on them. As the alarms rang out, informing that the patrol ship’s missiles were once again locked in on their position, Kira swerved her ship to the right. The missile buzzed past, but another was close behind it.

  “Damn it,” Kira muttered. “Lower the rear guns.”

  Thor nodded and entered the code in quickly. As he did, the patrol ship fired another missile. This one was coming in from the right. Kira swerved left.

  Utter annoyance was beginning to build up inside her. She was unable to do anything more than she was. Her abilities were limited by the capacities of the ship, something she found beyond frustrating. Still, she urged the Curio on, bobbing and weaving seamlessly through the missiles the patrol ship was beginning to release in a consecutively quick stream.

  “Rear guns ready,” Thor informed her, sitting up and taking hold of the controls in front of him. “Linked to co-pilot controls.”

  “Good,” Kira said, pulling back slightly on her controls. She let the ship slow, slightly, and the patrol ship began to rush up on them. “Shoot the missile coming at us when I tell you. Not a second before, not a second after. Exactly when I give the order."

  He nodded, not waiting for her official order to fire. She didn’t give it right away. She let another missile fly by them, then another. Thor sat patiently, his finger resting lightly on the release button.

  When the patrol ship locked in on their position again, causing the alarms to ring out around them wildly, Kira tensed up. Just as the missile flew, coming straight for the hull of the Curio, she ordered, “now!”

  Thor trained the guns on it, firing at it with a fury of determination. Kira’s heart pounded in her ears. Just before the missile made contact, Thor was able to shoot it down.

  The resulting explosion shook the ship—exactly what she was hoping for. Kira used the ripple effect caused by the blast to propel the Curio forward. Even though the blast did a number on the shields, bringing them offline completely, it provided enough push to boost them along and to send the patrol ship sputtering in the opposite direction.

  She didn’t look behind them. It didn’t matter anymore. If the ship fired at them again, it would be the end. She knew that. She just kept her focus on moving ahead, moving to the safety of open space. She clutched tightly to the controls, pushing them as far forward as they would go.

  “Kira,” Thor’s voice broke into her piercing concentration. “Kira.”

  She didn’t look over at him, keeping her eyes on the viewscreen in front of her.

  “They’re gone,” he said, reaching out and resting a hand on her shoulder.

  “What?”

  “We lost them.”

  “Oh,” she said, relaxing back in her chair. Her eyes flitted across the screens. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. I think their ship stalled from the blast. Either that or they figured we were too much trouble and just gave up.”

  “We are quite a bit of trouble,” Kira agreed.

  The warning lights on the consoles continued to blink, and the buzzers kept on ringing.

  “I didn’t think the ship would make it,” Thor said.

  “It almost didn’t,” she replied, switching off the alerts. “There’s no way we’d survive another surprise attack like that.”

  “But we would survive a planned one?” Thor asked, spinning his chair around to face her.

  “Would you like to find out?” she replied, looking over at him. “We have enough enemies floating around the galaxy, I’m sure we could arrange something.”

  “Us? Enemies? Never,” he answered, settling back in his chair with a chuckle.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “You’re sure this friend of yours will help us out?” Thor asked as they pulled into the station near Mars.

  Kira shrugged, trying to hide her apprehension. “Why wouldn’t he?”

  Thor, picking up on her unease, shifted in his seat. Turning to face her, he tilted his head to the side. “Kira,” he said firmly, “who is this old friend of yours?”

  “He might have been employed by the TAF at some point.”

  “The TAF?” Thor repeated. “You think it’s safe for us to be contacting someone associated with the group searching for us?”

  “He’s retired,” Kira replied. “I’m sure he hasn’t been keeping up with all that nonsense.”

  Thor let out a disbelieving grunt. “Right, because no one cares about the coup or the condition of the Alliance after they retire.”

  “So, you see my point,” she replied with a smile

  Thor shook his head, looking back at the control panels spread out around them. The warning lights still blinking wildly spoke for themselves. “We don’t have much choice, I suppose.”

  “It’s like we have the same mind.”

  “Or we’re stuck on the same shitty ship,” Thor replied with a crooked smile.

  Kira laughed in agreement as she shut down the engines. The two of them collected their belongings and met with the others as they prepared to disembark. As they filed out of the Curio, the familiar figure of Officer Mac Ashford came into view.

  It had been nearly ten years since she last saw her former training officer. He had aged well, still looking as youthful as he ever did, despite his advanced age. His dark black hair was now lined with gray and his dark brown eyes had wrinkles around them. Other than that, though, he looked the same—fit, kind, and collected.

  The station was small, but it would hopefully serve their purpose. That wasn’t Kira’s main priority at the moment, however. At the moment, she only worried about Officer Ashford’s reaction to seeing her again after so long, especially under the circumstances. If he turned them away, it wouldn’t matter what supplies his station had or not.

  “Captain Winter,” Officer Ashford said as he approached her. “I was surprised when I got your message.”

  “I hope we’re not intruding,” Kira replied.

  “Intruding on what?” Officer Ashford said, extending his arm out, motioning around the small space. There was no one else around, and the place fe
lt completely quiet and still.

  “Do you live here alone?” Alaria asked, spinning around to take in the view.

  “Most of the time, yes,” Officer Ashford replied. “My wife is back on Earth with her family and the kids. They aren’t big on living in Space and I’m not big on my wife’s constant nagging. So, it’s a win-win.”

  Kira was shocked by her former Field Training Officer’s bluntness. While she was in the academy, under Officer Ashford’s command, issues of personal lives rarely, if ever, came up.