Space Gypsy Chronicles

Chapter 6

Despite the ride smoothing out, Emma still clung to the straps of the harness. She'd ridden her fair share of roller coasters, but nothing compared to getting tossed around in a spaceship while shooting lasers at another UFO.

How often can a person say that?

She couldn't help but wonder, why me? How the hell had she gone from finishing early and planning a day of relaxation to almost dying and being abducted by a dude with a spaceship?

Although she couldn't deny it was kind of thrilling, even if the visual sensation of her invisible body speeding through the air, seated in nothing, moved her heart to her throat.

The entire room had transformed. Gone were the walls and lights and panels. All gone as she discovered the true meaning to the term virtual reality, in living color. She could see the blue sky, the clouds, the bright sun to her left, right and above, while belowÉ

She swallowed. Below, she could see the ground whipping past, the hard-packed dirt humped with hard rocks and scrub brush.

If she fell, she could expect a big ouch. But I'm not going to fall. If not for the solid cradle of the seat under her ass and the fact that she clung to the straps holding her in, she might have panicked more.

"Since that other ship is gone" - AKA pulverized into scrap metal - "can you like maybe turn off the whole 3D effect? It's kind of freaky." Especially since her crazy dude had also disappeared, camouflaged by the holographic image.

"Don't like the sensation you're riding a cushion of air?" His disembodied voice didn't help her trepidation, and she screamed at the sudden dip that brought the ground rushing at her.

He chuckled.

"You did that on purpose," she huffed.

"Of course I did." Completely unabashed. But despite him being an ass, he did at least flick off the whole invisible thing, and once again, real walls and a floor made some of her world right again. Only some. She still had to deal with the fact that she'd been abducted by an alien wanted criminal.

"What happens now? Are you going to kill me too?" A part of her wanted to not antagonize him. After all, the guy was a bit of a psycho. He killed those bounty hunters. It didn't matter that they were aliens. It took some cold blood to so callously end a life.

What of the fact they would have killed us if he hadn't?

Seen in that respect, she couldn't entirely blame him for his choice, but that didn't mean she trusted him.

"Now we try to get out of here," he replied.

"What do you mean try?"

He tossed a grin at her, and it shouldn't have been so attractive, but who could resist him? Apparently not her, nor could she stop herself from sneaking a peek.

There he sat, still bare-chested, a king on his throne or, in this case, a captain for a spaceship. His hands remained wrapped around the joysticks, and she really wished he didn't look so very much like a boy playing video games. And having tons of fun doing it.

This is real, not a game, and I'd like to live long enough to slap him for scaring the hell out of me.

"I say try because there is always a chance the ship will malfunction or a small undetected tear in the hull will widen as we punch through your atmosphere to outer space. The Earth's atmosphere, while not the toughest I've seen, is still surprisingly violent on the outer layer of my ship."

"I didn't need to know that," she muttered.

Since it seemed safe for the moment, she let go of the harness long enough to push a stray hank of hair from her face. Nothing like whipping around in all directions to get that I-lost-my-brush-bird's-nest look.

Face cleared, she took a moment to truly look around. She'd not had much time before, too busy seeing her life flash before her eyes. While she'd found the parts she'd seen of the ship thus far less than impressive, she had to admit that this room, at least, more closely resembled her expectations.

The pipes and bundle of cables she'd seen in the halls did make an appearance in here, but for the most part, the space was comprised of control panels. She'd never seen such an array of buttons - that totally made a curious finger itch to push. Lights blinked from everywhere. There were tiny screens, flashing images, and what looked like scribbles.

Is that alien writing?

The front part of the room was all window. It curved to follow the shape of the wall, and she noted through it that they were still skimming the desert, low to the ground.

"Aren't you afraid that window will crack?" she asked. She might not have visited space, but weren't there like asteroids and other stuff pinging around? She highly doubted they had those quickie windshield repair places in space for the times a rock smashed into a UFO's window.

He laughed. "That's not a window. It's a screen. This room is in the middle of the ship, protected from accidental impact. Only an i***t would have their command center on an outer hull. And with a window?" He snorted. "Only the vanity cruise ships have those for their passengers. Smart space captains opt for protection instead."

Reassuring, even if he mocked her.

"Hey, now that you're not in such a hurry anymore, mind parking this thing for a minute and dropping me off?" she asked with more hope than she felt.

"No can do, wench. Not only can I not allow you to go around gossiping to all your lady friends about the hot alien guy you're lusting after - "

"I am not lusting after you." A lie she hoped he didn't catch.

"But I think I've overstayed my welcome. Even as we speak, according to communication we've intercepted, we are about to get some company. It seems my altercation with the hunters did not go unnoticed. Your government's military defense has sent some jets to intercept us."

"Can't you avoid them? Turn on like some cloaking thing?" She'd seen that on a science fiction show, she was sure.

It wasn't crazy dude, but the woman who replied. "The ship's cloaking device is out of service. Still."

He glared at the ceiling. "Don't you give me attitude, Annabelle. It's not my fault the humans didn't have the part I needed here."

"Who's Annabelle?" Emma couldn't help but ask. In all her visits to his trailer, she'd only ever seen him. Is Annabelle his girlfriend? And where did that spurt of jealousy come from?

"Annabelle is the artificial intelligence running my computer who thinks she's a smartass."

The melodic female voice held not a hint of humor as it replied, "I don't know what you are speaking of, Captain. While I am programmed for intelligence, I have no physical form, either in the buttock version or of the Earth donkey variety."

"You're doing this on purpose to vex me, Annabelle."

"I am incapable of such an act, Captain."

Emma could only blink as crazy dude took his crazy to a higher level arguing with his computer.

A siren went off, a whooping sound that made her frown. "What's happening?"

"Annabelle, report. And turn that damned thing off. It's not like there is other crew aboard that need warning."

The alarm abruptly cut off. "The military aircraft have reached visual airspace."

"What's the power core at?" he asked.

"We are at sixty-seven percent. Estimate of three Earth minutes to full charge."

"Sixty-seven?" Emma exclaimed. "What happened to like eighty-nine?" Was the computer stupid? She'd heard it.

"That was before we had to use up a bunch of power digging ourselves out of the hole and then shooting at the Krolz."

"You lost all that power doing that? That doesn't seem like you've got a very strong power-ma-jiggy. And you expect me to believe you can use it to fly in space?"

"My secondary core is only about a fifth of the strength of my primary. It is plenty strong for most tasks. However, I should mention it is very draining having to maneuver a craft this size and do things that require force in a gravity-fed location. Once we are in the void of space, it takes very little power to get the momentum to move, and I should also note the core does regenerate its power. It just takes time."

"I am not reassured." She truly wasn't. What if his battery died in space? What would happen to them?

He might be alien, but that didn't stop him from imitating sarcasm with artistic flair. "Does your lack of faith mean you're going to deafen me with more screaming? Because screaming will so help the situation."

No she wouldn't scream, but she might just explode his head with the force of her laser-like stare. Jerk.

"The enemy vessel is hailing us," his computer announced.

"Let's hear it."

"You are flying in protected airspace without authorization. Please identify yourself."

"Please?" He snorted. "Does that request ever actually work?"

"Should we reply, Captain?"

"Nah. Let them wonder who we are. Can I trust you to stay out of their reach?"

"Reach of what?" Emma didn't realize she'd asked aloud until he replied.

"Missiles."

"You mean they're going to shoot at us?"

The roll of his eyes proved eloquent. So did her upraised finger.

He laughed. "We are an alien vessel in protected American airspace. Of course they're going to shoot at us."

"And are you going to shoot back?"

"I'd prefer not to, as that will add more recharge time to the power core. But if they get too close, then I will do what I have to. The last thing I need is for them to accidentally damage my ship."

"You can't kill them. They're just soldiers doing their job." And they were human, which, in her eyes, made it important they not be harmed.

Her regard for their wellbeing didn't extend to her kidnapper. "I won't die to save your feelings, wench. If it comes down to me or them, I will always pick me."

"You're just a murdering thug."

"Why thank you. I do my best to leave my mark on the universe."

"That's not something to be proud of," she snapped.

"Says you. Now, would you keep your opinions to yourself? I'm kind of busy here."

"No."

He sighed. "You know, I am really beginning to wish I'd left you behind."

"Yes you should have!" she agreed while, at the same time, she couldn't help feeling miffed. No girl liked to be dumped. Then again, what did she expect?

I expected more from the guy who was trying to get in my pants.

"It's not too late to change your mind and let me off," she reiterated.

"Second thoughts, wench?"

"Have you not been paying attention? I really wish instead of following you into your trailer, I'd run the other way."

"Run where?" he asked.

Good question, given the desert surrounded his old trailer for miles in every direction.

"Anywhere but with you."

"Are you always this irritating?" he asked.

"Only if inspired." Being orphaned at a very young age meant she'd learned, early on, to not let people push her around.

"If the captain could spare a moment to our current situation," Annabelle interrupted. "The military vessels are within firing range. Their weapons have been armed."

"What are they carrying?"

"Nuclear grade missiles. If they impact, they will compromise our outer hull. What would the captain like to do?"

It didn't take Emma long to realize that the ship was asking if he was going to shoot them out of the sky.

"You can't kill them."

He didn't turn his head or reply. He simply drummed his fingers on the armrest. "How much longer until we can exit this orbit?"

"The core is at ninety-one percent, Captain. We have enough power between the engines and the core to punch through the atmosphere and set course to the next star system."

"Well then, why didn't you say so?" he grumbled. "Get us out of here, Annabelle."

"All crew please brace for imminent vertical launch," his computer announced.

Since that sounded kind of ominous, Emma's fingers once again clamped around the harness, not that gripping it added extra protection. It just made her feel better to hold on to something - especially since his neck isn't an option.

"Launching in five, fourÉ" Annabelle halted. "Incoming, Captain."

"f**k me," he muttered. "Those idiots are firing. Go now!" His head turned, and while his words sounded serious, his expression was lit with excitement. "It's going to be a close one, so hold on tight, wench."

She was holding on as hard as she damned well could! She also couldn't help but stare, absolutely riveted by the scene on the screen. In it, she could see the two fighter jets rocketing at them, but streaking even faster, blurry blobs.

Those aren't blobs, they're bombs.

Then she didn't have time to worry about the explosives because the ship flipped onto its end, which meant she stared up at scattered fluffy clouds. A single blink and they were rocketing toward them at an impossible speed.

Dear God, I hope we don't die today was all she could think. A part of her still kind of hoped this was a dream, a nightmare, something she could wake up from, and yetÉ She couldn't help a certain exhilaration.

This is kind of exciting. She'd never gone on an adventure before unless she counted the ones she saw in movies or read in a book. Adventures happened to other women. Slimmer women. Blonder women. Women who didn't work almost sixty hours a week to make ends meet. She'd seen enough movies to know that the women who went on adventures had perfect hair, perfect bodies, and the perfect outfit. Not steel-toed boots, thick socks, tan shorts and shirt, plus a baseball cap, a baseball cap that she'd lost somewhere in the fracas.

I am not an adventure type of girl. Despite all the reasons not to, though, she was going on one. In space. With a crazy dude.

If the ship could make it through the atmosphere.

Swallow.

She still recalled the whine of the engine and the shuddering as the ship had tried to pry itself free from the earth. To her relief, it didn't have the same kind of problem rocketing through the air heading toward the outer rim of the Earth's atmosphere. While she could hear the ship's engine rumble, it didn't have the same screaming pitch, although everything around her vibrated - and not in an ooh-I'm-coming kind of way.

Given their upright angle, her hair hung down straight from her head. Even this high above the surface, gravity still applied. It made her wonder what would happen when they finally hit space. Would it be like those movies where everything floated?

"The missiles are hugging our tail. Hold on, I'm going to have to perform an evasive maneuver," he warned. The sudden jerk of the ship pulled a squeak from her, and her head whipped to the side, but the rest of her didn't go anywhere.

On the far edge of the screen, she noted a bright explosion, felt it, too, as the shock wave sent a tremble through the ship.

"That was close!" he exclaimed. Despite the swerve to avoid the missiles, the ship still angled upwards. They were well past the clouds now and heading to what seemed like an endless sky. She could feel the strain of the ship as it gained even more speed in its upward thrust.

The pressure built within the craft, and it wasn't pleasant. For a few seconds, she felt as if her face would peel off as the skin of her cheeks pulled taut, and her eyes, already wide, bulged. Then, suddenly, the pressure pushing on her was gone. As was the blue sky, traded for the darkness of space.

Holy s**t, I'm in space. Does this mean I can add astronaut to my resume?