The First Nova I See Tonight by Jason Kilgore (best ereader for pdf and epub TXT) 📗

sizzled through his hair. Another struck the deck plating between his boots.

Yiorgos fired off several shots. Then a bolt slammed into his right leg, throwing him to the ground and spinning him, his saber cutting through the deck plating in a line. The Heart rolled away from him.

"Cover us!" Dirken yelled to Eow.

As she laid down a rapid round of cover fire, Dirken helped Yiorgos to his feet, wrapping his arm around his partner. The cyborg's right mechanical leg had a chunk blown away just over the kneecap.

Dirken fired several shots, then roughly pulled Yiorgos over to get the Heart.

"Watch it!" the cyborg said. "My leg was blown open, in case you didn't notice!"

"Stop complaining and get the damned sphere."

Several more blinks and Dirken's eyesight cleared, but his eyes felt very dry and pained. Following Eow, they were headed toward an interstellar shuttle, its gravwell panels wrapping around the hull like a ribcage.

"Oh, fuck!" Eow exclaimed. "My ship!"

And then he saw what she had. The gravwell panels had been cut into. The mass expanders — osmium-iridium alloy packs with diamond lenses that were necessary to project the gravwell generator emissions — had been stripped out. One of the most valuable parts of any ship. Without them, there could be no folding of space and no escape.

The pirates stopped firing. Then came a deep, cynical laugh from Dirken's left.

He turned and saw the Bloodhawk standing beside three other pirates, a Rigellian with a blaster and two lizard-like Reptilocs aiming pulse rifles. They were about six meters away behind a parked shuttle.

"Captain Neenan!" Eow growled. "You have damaged the property of the Eridani Mafia. Grimmag Ruby-Eye will not be pleased."

The pirate captain pulled his sword, a scimitar, from the scabbard on his lower body. The metal gleamed, then the edge flared with a blue glow as he activated the plasma blade on it.

"He can shove his displeasure up his maggoty ass!" the centaur said. "I like your gumption. It seems I've lost some crewmen, thanks to you. Hand over the Heart and throw down your weapons. If you comply, I'll let you replace them as my crew — and live. If you refuse, you die."

The Heart, Dirken thought, glancing down at the sphere in Yiorgos's arms. What the hell is this thing? Whatever it is, it's got a value high enough to take on a UW destroyer AND defy the Eridani Mafia! He wasn't sure which was more dangerous.

"No chance, Bloodhawk!" Dirken shouted, backing away. "You'll have to do better than that!"

Yiorgos looked up at him incredulously.

"Yes, forget it!" Eow added. "Grimmag will destroy you and your miserable little fleet!"

"Have it your way!" the Bloodhawk said. He pointed his scimitar at the trio, and the three pirates opened fire.

Eow returned fire, and they ran for cover behind Eow's ship, ducking behind the front of the ship as rifle shots impacted around them.

"They're advancing!" Dirken shouted as he fired back at the pirates.

Then Eow gasped.

Dirken shot a glance over to her then straightened in shock, swinging his blaster around to face a new threat.

"Uh uh uh!" Mom said. He had sneaked around Eow's ship and grabbed her by the neck from behind, his blaster barrel pushed against the back of her head. His face had turned bluish with bruising and was still covered in dried blood from his fight with Dirken. His right eye was swollen shut, but his left stared at Dirken with menace. "Wouldn't want your lovely little kitten losin' any whiskers, now would you, maggot?" He shook Eow by the neck, and she responded by emitting a low growl and showing her fangs. "And don't even think about usin' those spines of yours, girly. I got you at arm's length. Now drop your weapons!"

Mom had Eow in front of him. Dirken didn't want to risk firing for fear of hitting her.

Eow dropped the rifle.

Then the Ananak swung into action.

She dipped, spun, and in one smooth move knocked away the blaster with a right arm block and ripped out Mom's throat with the claws on her left hand. Before Mom had time to realize what was happening, Eow spun again, her tail counterbalancing, swooped to pick up the rifle, and fired it point blank into Mom's chest.

It was the same kata Dirken had seen her do in the brig, only sped up to just a couple seconds.

Mom fell backward onto the deck, a gaping hole in his torso and his neck a bloody ruin. His gawking eyes staring up at the ceiling. He coughed blood and then lay still.

Dirken was transfixed by her prowess. But the explosions of several rifle pulses next to him broke him out of his mesmerization. He returned fire, hitting one of the Reptilocs in the chest. But the beast of a pirate shook it off with a high-pitched, reverberating howl and she slowly advanced with a smoking wound.

"There!" Yiorgos said, pointing to the their left. "That's our ride!"

Dirken and Eow turned to see where Yiorgos was pointing. It was the bright yellow fightercraft that had earlier intercepted their shuttle.

"The Bloodhawk's fighter?" Eow said. She smiled. "I like your style, cyborg!"

They ran for the fighter, Yiorgos leaning against Dirken's shoulder. "How do you know the ship won't be coded for access?" Dirken asked.

"Think about it, Dirk," Yiorgos said. "No sane crewman would try to take the Bloodhawk's fighter!"

Dirken laughed despite himself, then fired again. He hit the same Reptiloc in the same place. This time, she fell to the ground and didn't move again.

"My fighter!" Neenan cried, seeing where they were headed. The captain sprinted forward, loping like a lion, his scimitar raised and ready to strike.

Dirken aimed and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He glanced down and realized the power pack was out of charge. "Damn!" He holstered the blaster.

Eow fired her rifle, hitting the Rigellian and sending the Bloodhawk sideways to dodge.

"Here!" Yiorgos said. He put down the Heart, then reached over with his left hand, pressed a couple hidden catches on his right