Space Station Wayfar Ch. 01

"This is a mistake," he tried to reason with her.

"Perhaps," she agreed, "but it's better than being a lab sample for the rest of my life."

"You'd rather be a slave to him?" he asked.

Francesca couldn't think of an answer to that and was spared the effort of trying when her program cycled the cell doors open and Stepen shot out and grasped the guard by the neck. The guard struggled for a moment and then collapsed.

"Should I kill him?" Stepen asked.

"What? No. Just put him in the cell," Francesca directed.

Stepen dragged the man inside and came back out, closing the cell behind him. He handed the guard's weapon to Francesca and peeled his from her hand. "Now we are armed. Good. What next?"

Francesca hefted the larger firearm in her hands and started moving down the hallway. "Escape pod time," she explained as the power again went out again. "But they might be able to listen to us, so I'm not going to explain."

"I trust you," he said.

The words, and his sincerity, shocked Francesca. She wanted to puzzle that out, but the situation simply didn't allow for that time. So she pushed the thoughts and feelings aside and concentrated on the next step.

She was careful to put her survival suit on before she allowed Stepen anywhere near her. The suit sealed itself and, when she hesitantly reached out a hand to touch him, cut off the signals that would trigger her lust. She released a deep breath when she realized that the idea worked. Stepen, seemingly oblivious, figured out the unfamiliar suit shortly after she did. She motioned for him to follow her into the escape pod and then closed the door behind them. Crawling past him, she typed a code into the computer and waited. After a minute she became aware of the reduced atmosphere and then, with the pod vented to space, the escape hatch opened. She crawled out and motioned for Stepen to follow her.

He moved slowly, apparently unfamiliar with the gecko pads, and Francesca's motions grew agitated. He nodded and visibly tried to hurry. They were barely at a safe distance when the pods, all of them, launched. Francesca took a moment to make sure the second survival suit, the one with the protein converter inside it, was safely tied around her waist before she pointed to the fueling station looming above them. She mimed jumping and then went, not waiting to see if Stepen followed.

***

"This is highly irregular and there will have to be a hearing," the station manager declared.

Francesca nodded her acceptance, again. She'd been doing a lot of that for the past several hours and it seemed to be accomplishing her goal of putting the station authorities at ease. "Of course, Stationmaster. We only ask for a fair hearing. What tasks will we perform to pay for our upkeep?"

"That will be determined," he told her. "You will be escorted to a transient accommodation by my personnel. You will not venture into any other portions of the station. Keep your tracking bracelets on at all times; removal, in your case, will merit the death penalty. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Stationmaster."

***

Francesca pressed herself against the far wall. Stepen, understanding her intent, stopped himself just inside the door and did not approach any closer.

"How close do you have to be?" she demanded.

"The closer I am, the stronger the effect," he explained. "At this distance it will take some time for you to fully feel the effects. Would you prefer that I step outside?"

"Not yet," she said. "Look, my story has so many holes in it that it's only a matter of time before the Stationmaster decides to just lock us up and sell our debt." It was a best case scenario, but she didn't want to even mention the words 'biological hazard' in a monitored space. The station might not care about them if they didn't cause trouble and left as soon as possible, but if they thought they were a biological threat they would react ruthlessly. "If we behave ourselves and leave as soon as possible then the station won't care. Not their problem any more. The Stellas don't want to cause any problems here, so they're mostly keeping quiet. I need to check the boards and find work on a cargo vessel. We need to get away from the station and not cause any problems."

"And after that?" he asked.

"And after that we can come up with another idea. Can we go back to your people?"

He shook his head.

"Mine won't be too wild about us either," she said. "We'll have to think of something."

"If I do not then I am confident you will," he said. "You have proven yourself very resourceful and courageous. I do not think I would have tried to deceive the crewman with an ineffective weapon."

"Ineffective?" she asked.

"My weapon. Surely you felt it trying to make contact with you? But you are not equipped to handle a weapon."

Francesca vaguely recalled the creepy feeling of the weapon in her hand, the persistent itch on her palm. "It wouldn't have worked?" she asked quietly.

"You did not know this?" Stepen asked.

She shook her head and was surprised to hear Stepen laughing. "I didn't think you had a sense of humor," she blurted.

"You were wrong."

To Be Continued...