Alternity Chapter 7

It Takes a Thief

Well, how do we take care of our watchdogs so we can deliver the Regenatrol?" asked Harper. "They outnumber us two to one and that's not counting the fact that they're stronger, faster, and generally tougher than us."

"A full scale gun battle isn't an option either," added Beka. Our weapons are loaded out with rounds that won't penetrate the Maru's interior bulkheads and perforate vital equipment, but you can bet that theirs aren't. A breach in the slipstream generator's exotic matter containment tank wouldn't be a good thing."

"We can't outfight them," agreed Trance. "But we can outsmart them. One of the drugs in our medical locker is Diamox. We use it as a treatment for decompression hypoxia but it was originally designed to help settlers adapt to worlds with low air pressure."

"And?" said Harper.

"Well I am the environmental systems technician. I give you and Beka an injection of Diamox and then decrease the Maru's air pressure until our guests pass out. You and Beka will still be conscious because you'll be protected by the drug."

"How about you, Trance?" asked Beka. "Aren't you going to be taking any Diamox, and if not, won't you be affected by the drop in the oxygen level?"

"Probably, but I don't think it would be a good idea if I take any Diamox. Do you remember the time Harper gave me something for a headache?"

In spite of the seriousness of the situation Harper smiled. Trance had been suffering from a severe headache and he had given her a commonly used analgesic. Instead of relieving her pain, the drug had acted like a cross between a stimulant and a hallucinogenic. Their purple pixie had been bouncing around the Maru like a jackalope high on Flash, and had held long conversations with the appliances in the galley.

"Well I suppose," said Harper "that when you go out I can put an emergency breathing device on you. That way you can help Beka and me, and we can keep the oxygen level low until we get our friends securely tied up. But what will we do if they're smart enough to recognize the effects of the drop in air pressure?"

"They won't be, " reassured Beka. "Did you see the way they gawked when they came aboard. They're mudfeet. And even if they did recognize the symptoms they wouldn't know an emergency breathing device from canned tuna."

Plans made, there was nothing left to do but wait for the opportunity to implement them and to get the slipstream generator operating properly. Beka kept a watchful eye on Trance while Harper conducted his repairs and noticed that Harkness was doing so as well. Several times the gang leader stepped in when one of his men seemed to be showing too much interest in the girl. The Maru's captain wanted to be grateful for his help but in the end decided it didn't matter. To Beka, a man could be judged by the company he ran with, and Harkeness ran with excrement. A day and a half after the incident in the engine room the generator was fully functional, and to Harper's disappointment the twin he had shot was back on board, though limping heavily and with both legs in braces.

"Well," said Harper "At least now we have an easy way to tell them apart."

As soon as the slipstream focusing lens was calibrated, Harkness insisted that they get back into space. Beka and Trance took their customary positions on the command deck while Harper went aft to the engineering spaces. As usual, Harkness was on the command deck keeping an eye on things while the rest of his men were scattered about the ship.

About two hours before the Maru would arrive at the slip point Beka decided it was time to put their plan into action, while the probability of Harkness immediately noticing anything was amiss when they exited the slipstream was slim, she didn't want to take the chance.

She keyed the ships communication system. "Harper, it's time for your medicine. Trance will be bringing it back to you."

Trance left her position at the environmental systems console and walked aft to the common room and the medical locker. Harkness looked at her suspiciously as she left, but said nothing. Two more of the doctor's thugs, the ones Harper had dubbed Baldy and Eyebrows, were sitting at the table in the common room helping themselves to the contents of the Maru's pantry. As she opened the locker containing the Maru's medical supplies, Eyebrows got up to looked over her shoulder. Seeing the locker contained medical supplies and not weapons he gave a grunt of satisfaction.

"What are you doing there, girl?" he asked.

Trance put an innocent expression on her face. "Getting Harper's medicine," she lied. He needs it to keep the virus under control."

"What virus?"

Trance had a brainstorm. "Didn't Dr. Marentez tell you? Harper has myeloitic viral leukaemic syndrome. It's fatal, but as long as he takes his medicine the virus is held in check. Of course if he misses a single injection the virus will become active, and it's highly contagious. I'm immune to the disease, but you probably aren't, so unless you want to test how effective your immune system really is, I suggest that you let me give him his injection."

Eyebrows backed off as if fearing that she might somehow be a carrier for the disease. Trance removed an ampule of Diamox and an injector for the medical locker and after giving Eyebrows and Baldy her most sincere smile headed back to the Maru's engine room. Muscles was there and gave her a suspicious look as he noticed the injector in her hand.

"It's time for your injection, Harper."

"What? Oh yeah, I guess it is that time again. Shoot me up, babe."

There was a soft hissing sound as the injector activated and sent the Diamox into Harper's system. Putting the injector in the pocket of her jumpsuit, Trance gave Harper a quick kiss then headed forward.

To her disappointment, but not to her surprise, Harkness was still on the command deck. She had been hoping that she could dose Beka as well, but with Harkness staying on the command deck monitoring things it wasn't going to happen. Trance gave Beka an apologetic look, nodding her head in the direction of their overseer as she returned to her station. Beka gave a resigned shrug and turned back to her piloting duties. As soon as her environmental systems technician was on station, she gave a luxurious stretch and started to get up out of the pilot's chair arching her back and making a show of working the kinks out. It wasn't much of a distraction but Trance didn't need much. In the time it took for Beka to get up, stretch, and sit back down, Trance had adjusted the Maru's atmospheric pressure regulating system and the air pressure in the starship began to slowly decrease.

For Harper in the engineering room it was now just a case of wait and see. After what seemed like an eternity to the anxious engineer, Muscles started acting drowsy. A couple of moments later he collapsed in a heap on the deck.

Moving quickly, Harper removed an emergency breathing device from its rack on the bulkhead and put it over his head. Emergency breathing devices were simply clear plastic hoods with an attached canister of compressed air. They provided enough air for about 20 minutes and were designed to allow a wearer to escape from a room filled with toxic gases or when air pressure became too low to sustain life. He then drew his pistol and headed forward.

Eyebrows and Baldy were in the common room slumped over the table. Baldy had been drinking a cup of coffee and had fallen forward so that his forehead was resting on the cup. After checking the berthing compartment and finding it empty, Harper continued forward to the command deck, nearly stepping on Harkness, who was lying unconscious on the deck. Trance was sitting on the floor playing with her tail and giggling like a little girl. Beka was conscious, but barely. Holstering his pistol, he removed two emergency breathing devices from the storage rack and placed them over his shipmates' heads. They would recover their facilities quickly enough now that they had an adequate supply of oxygen. With the exception of the Twins, all of Harkness' men were accounted for. There was only one other place on the ship where they could be, the cargo pod. Leaving the women to secure the unconscious men, he made his way to the ladder leading to the cargo pod.

Harper cautiously climbed the ladder that connected the Maru to its cargo pod. He was reasonably sure that the twins would be unconscious, but he had not lived as long as he had on Earth without learning that being reasonably certain could get you killed. It turned out his caution was justified. As he stepped off the ladder and into the hold he heard movement. Apparently either one or both of the twins was not the space fairing novice Beka thought them to be. Drawing his pistol he began to move carefully towards the source of the sound, trying to use the boxes of medical supplies for cover.

He rounded a pile of crates and saw that the twin he had shot, the one Harkness called Willis, was still conscious. Not only conscious, but wearing an emergency breathing device and in the process of putting one on his brother.

"Put your hands over your head and stand up nice and easy, Gimpy."

The tough turned towards the sound of the voice, and spotting Harper with weapon drawn, foolishly reached for his own. Seeing the man reach for his weapon, Harper couldn't think of any reason why he shouldn't put a round in the thug's head and several reasons why he should. He pulled the trigger, twice.

Chapter 6

Chapter 8