Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 32: JRAYK

“All right, fine, so it wasn’t a malfunction,” Tristn said. “You’re just an imbecile.”

Jrayk drew his ears back and snarled. If he wasn’t so busy figuring out what happened, he would like to throttle that arrogant, high-born bastard.

They were standing in the cockpit of The Longshot. Just as Jrayk had suspected, the ship had dropped out of faster-than-light travel, and the view port now overlooked a panorama of stars instead of the churning cosmic foam of the interstices. The only thing Jrayk couldn’t figure out was how that had happened. The navigational computer was displaying an explanation, but Jrayk knew it couldn’t be right.

Behind him, the door to the cockpit slid open, and Vaul entered, pulling up a pair of silk breeches as he walked. Rawn—that shaggy, panting monstrosity—followed right on his heels.

“What’s the matter, boss?” the first mate asked.

Jrayk pointed at the nav screen. “Vaul, do you know anything about this?”

The big Raksha came forward and eyed the data on the screen.

“What the void?”

That had been Jrayk’s exact reaction a few blips earlier. According to the computer, they had arrived at their destination. However, it appeared their destination had not been set to Rak, as intended. Instead, they had been dumped at some nameless and secluded star approximately halfway between Betnt Koarth and home.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Vaul said. “I set our course for Rak.”

“You’re sure?”

“Aye. I double checked. I always double check.”

Jrayk nodded. He did not doubt Vaul. In all the years they had been flying together, he had never known his friend to make a navigational error. Perhaps he had been distracted by thoughts of their human cargo? Goddess knew she occupied every waking moment of Jrayk’s thoughts now, and he was pretty sure it was the same for Tristn too. But surely even a distraction such as M’reen would not cause Vaul to make such a serious navigational blunder. If anything, having such a precious creature on board would make him extra careful.

Jrayk folded his arms and turned to Tristn.

“What about you, doc? Did you mess with the navigational system?”

Tristn lowered his ears and his eyes flared behind his glasses.

“What are you implying?” he growled. “Do you think I would deliberately try to sabotage the mission?”

“Well, did you?”

“No!” Tristn roared.

Over his many years spent playing cards in saloons and gambling houses, Jrayk had developed a knack for reading faces. Now he turned those powers of perception toward Tristn. He stared him down, watching the doctor’s face for any sign of dishonesty.

He saw none. Tristn was telling the truth.

Jrayk thought for a blip. If Vaul had not botched the coordinates, and Tristn had not tampered with the nav computer, that only left one other possibility. It hurt Jrayk’s heart to even consider it.

The human.

M’reen.

Could she have come in here when no one was looking and changed their course? Surely not. The more Jrayk pondered it, the more impossible it seemed. Even if M’reen had any understanding of interstellar travel, which she didn’t, the navigational data was all displayed in Rakese glyphs. M’reen would never be able to read it. Besides, her blunt little claws wouldn’t even be able to press the small recessed keys on the control board.

No, M’reen had not done this. But if not her, then who?

Jrayk grunted. He could feel a headache developing behind his eyeballs.

“Void it,” he growled. “We’re wasting valuable time here. It doesn’t matter what happened. All that matters is we get back on course right away. Come on, let’s prepare for jump.”

He dropped into the pilot’s chair and started his routine check of the ship’s systems. He hadn’t gotten far when a red light appeared on the control board.

“Muck,” Jrayk hissed.

“What is it?” Tristn asked.

“The field generator is damaged.”

That was bad. That was very bad. The field generator was a critical component. Without the protective shielding it provided, the ship would disappear in the interstices. Dammit, when had it gotten damaged. It must have happened right after they dropped back into realspace. Jrayk thought he had heard a small, secondary boom, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Well, we’re going to have to repair the field generator before we attempt another jump.” Jrayk said.

“How are we going to do that?” Tristn asked.

Jrayk leaned back in his chair and weighed their options. One possibility was to repair the generator while they drifted in space. But that was dangerous. It would require donning a pressurized suit and leaving the safety of the vessel.

“Vaul, pull up the data on this star system.”

“Already done, boss. There’s one solitary planet. It has a breathable atmosphere, and there are signs of life but no signs of civilization.”

“Huh.”

That was convenient. A little too convenient, perhaps. Jrayk felt a tingle between his shoulder blades, but he ignored it. He grabbed the controls and steered the ship toward the unknown planet.

“What are you doing?” Tristn asked.

“We’re going to land on that planet so we can repair the field generator.”

“Are you sure that’s safe?”

“No. But it’s the only alternative we have. Unless you want to put on a space suit and fix the generator out here in the middle of space.”

“Me?” Tristn scoffed. “I’m a doctor, not a mechanic.”

“Exactly.” He turned to look at Tristn. “Look, doc, I’ll make sure to set us down somewhere wide open and safe. We’ll take off at the first signs of trouble.”

Tristn nodded, but he did not seem fully convinced.

The nameless planet appeared as a white speck in the middle of the viewport, indistinguishable at first from the other thousands of celestial bodies spattering the darkness. Before long, however, it had grown into a gleaming marble with blue and white swirls. A little while after that, the planet’s curvature was filling the view port like a massive inverted bowl.

Jrayk tipped the nose of The Longshot down, and the ship shuddered briefly as it entered the atmospheric layer.

Below them, clouds sprawled like white continents. They delved into the heart of one such cloud, and for a couple of blips, the view port was obscured in a pale haze. Then the clouds faded, and the surface of the planet came into view. Dense, spreading jungles broken here and there by gray crags like giant spear tips piercing a cloak of green. Sinuous rivers twisted across this landscape, reflecting the pale overcast of the sky like chrome serpents.

“There’s a good spot.”

Jrayk gestured through the view port at a broad, treeless expanse ahead of them, and he aimed the ship in that direction.

“RRRAWN!”

The sound of claws scrabbling against metal made Jrayk turn in his seat. For some reason, the creature called Rawn was in a state of panic. He was barking and snarling madly and scratching at the cockpit door, desperate to get out.

“What the void is wrong with him?” Jrayk asked.

No sooner had the words left his lips than a klaxon sounded through the ship, making the occupants of the cockpit jump with surprise. The ship pitched slightly as if its center of gravity had shifted, and red warning lights spread over the control boards like a rash.

Jrayk’s two hearts seemed to stop.

“Oh no,” he choked. “Oh Goddess no…”

“What’s happened?” Tristn shouted over the blaring alarm. “What’s going on?”

“Someone has ejected the escape pod!”