Page 16 of Klaz

Klaz spat a glob of dark blood at His feet. “When I get out of this, I’m going to tear that freaky eye from your skull and make you eat it.”

The pirate’s composure cracked for just a moment, revealing the fear that still lingered beneath his bravado. He recovered quickly, but I filed that information away. It might prove useful later.

“Big words from a dead man,” he sneered then nodded to his crew. “Seal him up. Let’s give our hero his grand send-off.”

As the pirates prepared to launch the pod, I knew it was now or never. I glanced around frantically, searching for anything I could use as a distraction. My eyes landed on a nearby control panel, and an idea sparked.

I pulled out my shock baton, praying it still had enough charge for one last jolt. With a silent apology to whatever poor engineer would have to fix this later, I jammed the baton into the panel.

The effect was instantaneous. Sparks flew, and alarms shrieked to life. Emergency bulkheads slammed down, separating sections of the bay.

In the ensuing chaos, I sprinted for the escape pod. Klaz’s eyes widened as he saw me, emotions flashing across his face too quickly for me to process. I didn’t have time to explain or second-guess my decision. I dove into the pod just as the airlock began to close.

“What the–” Klaz’s question was cut short as the pod lurched, launching us into the void of space.

Through the small viewport, I caught a final glimpse of the pirate leader’s face. His expression of shocked disbelief quickly morphed into cruel amusement as he realized what I’d done. His laughter followed us out into the darkness, a chilling promise that our troubles were far from over.

As the Empyrean Explorer shrank behind us, I turned to face Klaz. He stared at me, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, the only sound was the labored wheezing of the pod’s failing life support system.

KLAZ

The escape pod lurched, slamming me against the curved hull. Pain lanced through my injured side. I gritted my teeth, tasting blood. The pod’s systems hummed and whirred, struggling to compensate for the damage it had taken in the attack.

Cinta sprawled across the floor, her hair a wild tangle. She pushed herself up, wincing. Our eyes met.

“What in the seven hells were you thinking?” I snarled.

She lifted her chin. “I couldn’t let you die alone.”

Fury and... something else... surged through me. I clenched my fists. “So you decided to die with me instead? Brilliant plan.”

“We’re not dead yet,” Cinta retorted.

The foolish, reckless, infuriating woman. I wanted to shake her. To hold her close and never let go.

Her expression suddenly shifted, concern flooding her features. “What about the other passengers? We can’t just leave them with those pirates.”

I scrubbed at my hair, frustrated. “There’s nothing we can do for them right now. If we survive this, we can try to do something.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it, nodding reluctantly. “You’re right. But we can’t forget about them.”

“We won’t,” I assured her, then turned away, focusing on the flickering control panel. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Too late now,” Cinta said. She moved beside me, studying the readouts. “Life support’s failing. We’ve got maybe six hours of air.”

I grunted. “Five hours, forty-three minutes. If we’re lucky.”

Cinta rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?”

Despite myself, my lips twitched. I squashed the urge to smile. “This isn’t a game, Cinta. You’ve thrown your life away for nothing.”

“For you,” she said softly.

I whirled to face her. “And what makes you think I’m worth that?”

Cinta met my gaze unflinchingly. “I don’t know. But I couldn’t stand by and watch you get spaced.”

“So you decided to get spaced with me,” I said flatly.