Rescuing Mattie (3 page)

Mattie giggled as Peewee reached up and sniffed at Bandit, her ferret, who was exploring on one of the tables near the viewport. She had brought Peewee and Bandit out with her. She had given the others a bath earlier and didn’t want them out where they could get chilled. Peewee and Bandit had their bath
the day before.

She had stayed hidden in the storage bay for the past three weeks and was about to go crazy. She and her critters had explored every inch of both storage bays. She had even developed a few new routines with them. She walked over to scratch Peewee’s head as she stared out into space. She
had heard Ricki and Nema talking earlier. They were saying they should be on Kassis in another week.

She reached down and picked Bandit up, cuddling the soft body against her own. She couldn’t stop thinking of the huge male called Jai. At night, she dreamed of being in his arms again, his lips on hers, his body pressed against her.

“What is wrong with me?” She turned and looked down at Peewee with an accusing expression. “Why can’t I stop thinking about him? What did he do to make me ache the way I do? Hell, even where he bit me the mark is still there! I thought hickeys were supposed to disappear after a few days,” she muttered.

“Arh-whoo,” Peewee answered in his grumpy, growling voice.

“You were no help either, you know,” Mattie continued. “You just laid there while he kissed me! You could have at least pretended like you were going to stop him.”

“Grr-ruh,” Peewee answered before he sneezed loudly.

“I know,” Mattie said stroking Bandit who was trying to climb up so she could curl around Mattie’s neck. “I know. I should have at least talked to him when he came by to see me,” she said grumpily. “I will if he comes again. I promise.”

Peewee sneezed again and looked like he was happy with
the way their conversation was going. Mattie felt guilty now. Jai had come by every day to see her, often bringing small gifts that he left on the step of her camper.

She thumbed the braided bracelet
and sighed. He came even though she hid in her camper. He knew she was there. He would sit on the step and just talk. Sometimes he talked about how his work was going, other times he talked about his family. He asked her questions but she never responded. She just sat on the other side of the door hoping he would just keep talking. She loved listening to his husky voice. She could picture the large farm where his family lived and worked. When he said goodbye, she would place her hand on the door, willing herself to open it and beg him to come in. Last night, she had but he had already left.

“I’m not going to wait for him,” Mattie said suddenly in determination. “I’m going to go find him. Tell him I want him… Well, ask him to dinner,” she whispered. “I’ll ask him to dinner. That would be a good start, wouldn’t it?” She asked Bandit who was curled around her. “You are no help
either, you know.”

Peewee stood up and wagged his massive tail. “Let’s go find him, Peewee,” Mattie said excitedly.

They were almost to the door when she was thrown sideways into the back of a chair near it. She gripped it tightly, one hand going to Bandit who woke up and jumped down onto the cushion. She tried to grab her pet but the ship rocked again and she found herself falling onto the floor on her knees. Peewee crawled over to her, whining pitifully.

“It’s okay,” Mattie assured her huge companion. “Bandit, come
on, sweetheart. Come to momma.”

Bandit refused, instead
the little ferret rushed for a low vent and disappearing into it. Mattie cursed as she crawled over to the large vent cover and tried to pull it off. It was no use. The slats were just the perfect distance apart for her skinny furry pet to squeeze through. There were metal clamps holding it closed and Mattie couldn’t turn them, no matter how hard she tried.

“Bandit! Please baby, come to momma,” Mattie pleaded. She could see Bandit’s eyes glittering in the narrow duct. “Come on, sweetheart.”

Mattie knew she was going to have to go get some of Bandit’s favorite snacks if she was going to get her out. The ferret was one of her newest acquisitions and still frightened easily. Mattie knew her little friend wouldn’t go very far from the opening.

“I’ll be right back, honey,” Mattie promised, scooting back up onto her knees. “Peewee, stay.” She ordered hoping Bandit would stay near Peewee’s big shape.

Mattie climbed to her feet and hurried out of the exit. She ran into several warriors. She heard the word explosives and engineering. Her eyes widened when she realized someone had set off an explosive in the engineering level.

The level where Jai worked,
she thought in horror.

“What if there are more?” She whispered as she ran. “What if one goes off and he gets hurt or killed and I could have stopped it from happening?”

Mattie ran through the open doors of the storage bay heading as fast as she could to her camper. She grabbed the handgrip by the door and swung up onto the step. Pulling the door open, she called for the other dogs.

She jumped down off the step as they came barreling out of the camper. She whistled and took off for the engineering level with the dogs in tow. She skidded into the lift just as alarms started to sound. Giving the command for the Engineering Level. She watched as the lights flashed up two levels to Level 6. She and the dogs poured out of the lift as soon as the doors opened. She looked wildly around before looking down at her dogs.

“Sniff Sprengstoff,”
Sniff explosives
, Mattie ordered in German and gave them the hand gesture to send them out.

The dogs took off in different directions, each with their noses down. Each had a unique bark. She would know which one found something by the sound of their barking. She followed Polly, her golden retriever. Nothing got by Polly, her oldest and best trained sniffer.

Mattie glanced as several warriors ran by her. She stepped around several large banks of panels. Polly was moving rapidly, as if she was scenting something. She was able to move through the maze of tubing, pipes, and conduits faster than Mattie could. Polly let out a sharp bark and headed toward a male who was heading into another section marked by strange symbols that Mattie couldn’t read. He turned his head at the same time as Polly froze, growling.

“Stop!” Mattie called out. “Help! He has a bomb!”

The male turned toward the door. He dropped something on the floor as he turned, half in and half out of the doorway to the next room. A look of horror flashed across his face before a huge explosion knocked Mattie backwards onto her back. She cried out and covered her head as she rolled closer to a panel, seeking cover.

She screamed when she felt several sets of hands gripping her, trying to roll her over. She kept her arms over her head as she was flipped onto her back. She peeked between her arms but all she could see was Polly’s mouth and nose as she pushed between the men and Mattie.

“Move the creature,” a heated voice said.

“No! Don’t touch her,” Mattie croaked out hoarsely.

An unfamiliar man’s face peered down over Polly’s head. “Are you hurt?” He demanded.

Mattie shook her head and let the other two men help her to sit up. “No, I don’t think so.”

She glanced toward where the man with the explosives had been but she couldn’t see through the huge male kneeling in front of her. A part of her was thankful because she had a feeling she would have passed out.

“Who… who are you?” Mattie asked hesitantly.

“My name is Banner. I am Chief of Engineering. Who are you and what are you doing here?” He demanded, shifting so that she was forced to turn away from where the other man must have died.

“I’m Mattie. I heard there was an explosion in engineering. My dogs are trained to sniff for explosives. I was worried…,” she paused as Banner helped her to her feet. “I was worried Jai might have been hurt in the explosion. I also thought that maybe whoever put the explosive here might have put another one. I was right,” she answered quietly.

Banner turned her away from the mess behind him. “Yes, you were,” he replied before looking at the other two men. “I need to get the engines back online. Come with me. I can’t spare anyone to protect you.”

Mattie walked rapidly beside the male who still held her arm tightly in his hand. “What happened? What if there are more bombs hidden?” She asked breathlessly as they rounded a corner.

“The warrior you saw damaged the coolant panel, knocking the engines offline. We are under attack by pirates. I don’t know if there are any other traitors on board and I’ve received word that we have been boarded,” Banner growled out. “Work on rerouting the coolant system override.” He ordered before he pushed her into a chair. “You stay here. I’ve notified K’tar of the situation.”

“What about Jai? Is he alright?” Mattie asked, biting her lip in worry.

Banner’s expression softened as he stared down at Mattie. “I have not heard anything yet,” he admitted.

Mattie bowed her head and nodded. She placed her hand on Polly’s head, gently running her hand over the golden retriever to make sure she was okay. She looked around the huge area, worried about the other dogs. The engineering department took up almost half of this level. She stood up when she heard Oscar’s muffled baying. He had found another explosive.

Mattie looked around worried. She opened her mouth to call out when a movement out of the corner of her eye had her turning defensively. A cry escaped her when she saw Jai’s grim face. Mattie ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his neck.

“You’re okay,” she sniffled. “I was so scared.”

Jai’s strong arms wrapped tightly around her. He held her close, breathing in steadying breaths. He had heard K’tar telling Manota about the second explosion and Mullox. He said that a human female and her pet had stopped the traitor from destroying their crystals.

“What are you doing here?” Jai demanded hoarsely, cupping her face between his hands.

“Oscar!” Mattie said urgently. “Oscar has found another explosive!”

Jai’s eyes widened but he released her. “Where?”

“This way,” Mattie said, grabbing his hand and pulling him. “Polly, find Oscar!”

The golden retriever took off, weaving through the equipment. Mattie and Jai raced behind her. Oscar’s soft baying grew louder as they raced to the far end. They rounded the corner of one set of piping that lead up to the ceiling. Oscar was trying to dig a hole through one of the metal plates covering a floor panel.

Jai cursed and slid his laser sword into his belt as he dropped down next to the foxhound. Mattie called Oscar to her as Jai carefully pulled the release to the side and opened the panel. Under it, three cylinders filled with liquid, wrapped in wires and set to a timer was exposed.

Jai looked up wildly, his eyes narrowing on a cabinet on the wall. Rising up, he ran over to it and pulled it open. Inside was a toolkit. He grabbed it and rushed back. Pulling a splicer from it, he carefully followed the wiring until he found the one he wanted. With a quick move of his hand, he sliced through the wire. The timer flashed once before going out.

His head turned and he gazed at Mattie’s pale face as she hugged the foxhound to her. His head tilted as he heard another howl. Mattie’s eyes widened in fear as she stood up and turned.

“Chia,” she said.

Jai grabbed the toolkit and nodded. “Lead me,” he said huskily.

Mattie took off, following Oscar and Polly. They found two more explosives set to detonate at varying times. Mattie sent the dogs out over and over for the next hour before she felt confident there were no more explosives in engineering. She looked over at Jai who was helping repair the coolant panel that had been practically destroyed. Deciding there was nothing more she could do, she quietly turned to return to the storage bay before she remembered she had to still get Peewee and Bandit.

“I have to get my dog and ferret that are in the lower lounge. Is there a way to get there if the lifts are not working?” Mattie asked one of the men working on the programming.

He glanced at the dogs then back to her and shook his head. “You won’t be able to take your animals with you. There is a crawl space that leads down to it but they won’t be able to go,” he said nodding to a side door that stood closed. “Press your hand to the panel and I’ll program it to open.”

Mattie nodded and walked over to the panel. Pressing her hand against it, she waited as it scanned her palm. A moment later, the door popped open. She smiled her thanks before telling the dogs to stay. She climbed through the opening, turning and began descending as the door above her closed.

She hurried down the ladder until she saw the same symbol that was on the walls of the storage bay. She leaned forward and pressed her hand on the panel next to the door and it slid silently open. She was on the right level. She looked around before she stepped out into the corridor. The door slid closed behind her. She turned away from the storage bay, heading
to the far end where a service lounge was set up for those working in the area. She was almost to the lounge when four pale males unlike anything she had ever seen rounded the corner opposite of the lounge.

Her eyes widened and she let out a short scream when one of them yelled out and charged at her. Mattie turned, emitting a loud scream as she tried to escape the male’s hands. Her next scream was cut off as the male slapped his hand over her mouth. The noise was enough to alert two of the Kassisan warriors who had been searching for intruders. They were able to shoot one of the pale pirates before the male holding Mattie put his pistol against her temple and growled out a warning.