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The sound of the door opening was followed by a loud crash and an angry snarl as Jask’l rushed into the room only to smash right into his tool cart. Ha! Served him right for calling Pip “just a machine.”
“What’s going on?” Kan’n bellowed. “Ror’k said you two were disabling the ship’s weapons.”
We had been. The process had been quick, since we did it using the guerrilla method of simply smashing and breaking the connections between the ship and its weapons. Sometimes, brute force was the only answer.
“We did. Now Sam insists on rescuing Pip,” Jask’l explained with a huff.
“His shell is just a machine, but Pip is special,” I yelled from inside the shuttle. “On our way here, I promised him I wouldn’t let you guys shut him off forever, and I’m keeping my promise. And I’m not letting that creepy fungal shit get him, either. He’s going to wake up safely on Earth, or I’ll die trying. Now, either you help me or leave.” I brandished a live electric cutter in front of me.
I doubted I’d be able to win a fight against either of these hunters if they really wanted to tear me away from Pip, but I could do some serious damage before they overpowered me.
There was a chance we could recover the mothership with some good old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity, but what if we couldn’t? What if the fungus got into Pip and forced him to turn against us? He’d already had to fight other hunters when they’d held Kan’n hostage; I couldn’t put him through that again. This was my only chance to save him, and I was taking it whether they liked it or not.
I picked up the tablet-like device Jask’l had used as a diagnostic tool. “How long does it take to transfer him to something like this? And is there a better option?”
“There isn’t enough time for that,” Kan’n said, making his way around to me.
“And that will not hold all of him,” Jask’l said.
I believed him. Back on Earth, I’d asked Pip if I could transfer him to one of the laptops while I disconnected his power to fix the ship, and Pip had assured me that no computer on Earth could hold him.
“How much time do we have?”
“Ten of your Earth minutes, at most,” Kan’n answered, stepping in front of me.
I waved the cutting tool between us. “Back off. I’m trying to saveyourshuttle. Don’t you care about him?” I couldn’t believe he would even consider leaving without Pip.
His eyes softened. “Of course I do. But you are more important. I can’t let you sacrifice yourself—”
“Don’t be stupid! I’mnotsacrificing myself, not if you let me do my work. Jask’l, bring me the tools. We have ten minutes? I can get Pip out of his housing in five. We’ll take him physically, no data transfer necessary.”
“That will work,” Jask’l said, his eyes lighting up. He pushed his cart over and handed me a wrench-like tool.
I made a beeline to the panel holding the shuttle’s neural system, the “brain,” as it were.
“The oxygen is quickly venting,” Jask’l said. “Go, Kan’n. Get in a pod. We need to conserve what little oxygen is left for Sam. I’ll stay with her.”
“No.” Kan’n’s challenge was clear. “I knew her first, and it is my shuttle. I will stay with her.”
“This is my workshop,” Jask’l countered.
“And I am the better fighter!”
I didn’t have time to listen to their dick-measuring contest, so I focused on Pip instead.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I murmured, even though I knew he couldn’t hear me. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
The box that held Pip was tiny in comparison to his personality. Somehow, the Xarc’n military had managed to fit allthat mouthy sass, if occasionally anxiety-ridden, into something the size of a grapefruit. I loosened the screws at each corner and started wiggling it out of its housing little by little.
I realized my next problem when I finally had him in my hands. Pip was fragile, and without the protective housing, he was vulnerable. One drop on the ground, and it was over.
I stood and immediately regretted it. I wobbled on my feet, feeling lightheaded. My heart was beating too fast, and I was having trouble breathing. Shit, I was going to pass out. I cradled Pip to my chest so that even if I fell, he would be protected.
Strong arms caught me, holding me up.
“The oxygen level is very low,” Kan’n said softly. “Let me carry you.”
“We need something to protect Pip.” I looked down at the very fragile box that held my friend.
