“Great. Truly grand,” Cade said.
Juliana locked him down. I dropped into position, searching him for any weapons. I pulled out a shank and pocketed it.
“Alright, alright,” he growled. “Ease up, Hoss. I’ll leave peacefully.”
“Back to your quarters. You’re under lockdown. If I don’t get pinged that you made it there, you’ll spend the rest of your days in solitary,” she said.
“Wait,” I said. “A sedative for you. Extend your arm.”
Cade grinned. “Be my guest.”
I injected the tranquilizer into his arm and felt his muscles instantly give way. I could finally stand and breathe.
“Mm. Thanks, honey-pie.”
“Runt,” I said, ignoring him. “Escort him to his quarters. You hear me?”
Runt did as he was told, leaving us alone with the rest. “Sit down. It’s over. Eat. Be Merry. Whatever,” I said, waving the syringe.
“Seriously, you can’t let these monsters get to you,” Juliana said.
“They’re not monsters,” I reminded her. “Most of them are human beings.”
“Most of them,” she warned.
But her nostrils were wide as they sucked in air, and I knew she was as freaked out as I was. We were two women, hired to keep the peace in the middle of the widest landscape known to any being: the universe. The final frontier was even scarier than we thought.
“I only listen to a few people around here,” I said. “You and—”
The door whooshed open, causing me to forget what I was about to say. Manny, the shuttle’s mechanic came running in. “Ya’ll need to see this. Something’s up.”
Manny was an overweight specialist in engines and fraud. Somehow, he was one of the trustworthy ones.
He knew a thing or two about the ship, making him a valuable member of the crew.
Sweat stains littered the front of his shirt. He was out of breath, his eyes scanning the ceiling. I hadn’t ever seen him look this worried before. Palm searching for a place to sit, he found the table and finally leaned his weight against the metal.
Juliana saluted him, as did I. Protocol, I suppose. “What’s the problem?” she asked.
My mind instantly shot to Cade, but when Manny looked at the side doors, I knew something was going on in the cargo hold. That’s where he said he’d be, working on separating out the fuel cells we’d need to complete the journey.
“Downstairs,” he said, breathing erratically. “Something—someone—”
“The cargo hold?” I interrupted. “No one is allowed down there. The doors won’t open for anyone but you, Juliana, or I.”
He swallowed and turned back toward the doors. The sweat covering his face and upper body was making me realize my panic. “I will show you what I saw, but you ain’t going to be too happy about it,” he said.
No shit.
Regardless of our worry, we ran alongside Manny, slowing down when we got to the massive doors to the cargo bay. Boxes were everywhere. Food supplies had been ripped open. The whole place had been ransacked. But that wasn’t all. There was a thick, sticky substance running over everything, and it carried the smell of something peculiar.
Juliana stopped and shielded her nose. “Jesus fucking...”
Humming came from below the deck. I dropped to my knees, easing down to lie on my stomach. I placed my ear against the metal and listened. I heard the sound of an engine. It sounded nothing like ours.
“Another starship,” I muttered. “Someone has docked to us.”
Manny’s eyes widened. “Well, get them the fuck off!”