The Defiant
Chapter Eighteen

Thankfully, right at that moment, a klaxon-like alarm started to go off, saving us from the immediate aftermath of Five’s actions but it didn’t stop my heart from dropping to my feet.

“The hail signal,” Four said over the racket. “Who’s trying to hail us?”

We followed her from the galley in single file, party forgotten. In the hallway on the way to the lift, Five fell back to walk beside me and opened his mouth to speak.

“Later!” I hissed and sped up, stepping into the lift beside Four.

We arrived at the bridge a few seconds later, and Four immediately crossed to one of the back computer stations and picked up a pair of headphones. She almost put them over her own ears, but stopped, reconsidered, and handed them to Five instead.

“First Officer...uh… Johnson, of the spaceship Defiant speaking,” he said, then sat listening for a few moments. “Yes. Of course, sir. We’ll be ready in just a moment,” Five said, then took the headphones off and ground the heels of his hands into his eye sockets.

“What’s going on?” asked Seven.

“The Bythian police. They’re stopping and searching ships in the vicinity of Byth. Something was stolen from some rich Bythian guy, and they need to catch the thief,” Five answered.

“What was stolen?” asked Two.

“Doesn’t matter. None of us took it. They’re looking for a Albahaloruan. All we have to do is submit to a search so they can look for the thief and whatever it was that was stolen,” Five said.

“So what’s the problem?” Three said.

“When you submit to a police search, you have to present your entire crew, including your captain.”

We all groaned. None of us were over eighteen. There was no way we could convince the police one of us was captain.

“Hey, Three, you look old,” piped up Two.

“Wow, Two, way to kick me when I’m down.”

“No, I mean if you wore some of the clothes you bought on the moon base and styled your hair, you could pass for at least twenty. It might be a little suspicious, but you just have to play it right.”

“That could work. I think I have just the thing,” she said thoughtfully, and disappeared into the lift.

“We still need a crew,” I pointed out.

“Easy. We’ll use Five and Eight,” Four said.

“How’d you get there?” I asked.

“Well, Five looks older than the rest of us, plus the police already heard his voice when they called us. And Eight doesn’t look old enough to be on a crew, but Three can just say she’s a ward or something. We need a crew of at least three to stave off suspicion,” Four explained.

“The more people we have, the less suspicious we’ll be,” I said, “Why not include me, too?”

“One minor on a ship is hard enough to explain, let alone two, one of whom has a facial scar.”

“Oh. Right.” I can’t pretend that didn’t sting a little.

“What do the rest of us do?” Seven asked.

“We’ll have to hide in the crawlspaces between bulkheads. There are penalties for not presenting your entire crew to the officers. The search shouldn’t take long. We’re not hiding anything. It’ll be fine,” Four told us.

“When are the police supposed to get here?” I asked.

“They’ll dock their ship in thirty minutes. We’re supposed to stop and wait.”

Four went to the pilot’s console and tapped a few commands. The engines powered down.

Twenty five minutes later, Two, Six, and Seven were safely packed into crawlspaces throughout the ship. I had been worried that Six would get stuck because of his broad shoulders, but he seemed to get in okay.

Four and I stood with Five, Eight, and Three outside the door to the cargo bay. Three was wearing a form-fitting navy dress. She had put dark makeup on, and swooped her hair into an effortlessly elegant bun. I wasn’t sure she could pass for an adult, but she sure didn’t look like a kid.

“You guys ready?” I asked them.

“Of course I’m ready,” Three said, inhaling deeply and setting her shoulders back. “I’m captain, remember?”

“Just for the inspection,” I teased, though secretly I was relieved. Three was a great actress.

“You guys ready to go up?” Five asked. We nodded.

He lifted Four first. She swung the grate that led to the crawlspace open, then climbed through easily.

“Your turn.”

Though I was reluctant to take his help, I let Five lift me as well. I clambered up into the tiny tunnel, Four behind me.

The crawlspace was not as small as I’d pictured. There was enough width for my shoulders and a few inches on either side. I’d be able to get around in here easily enough.

A whooshing sound struck my ears, the noise the shuttle bay made during the decompression sequence. I quickly reached out and pulled the grate closed, then scooted back in the crawlspace just enough to not be seen from the hall below. I had a small view of the closed shuttle bay doors and the backs of Five’s, Eight’s, and Three’s heads in front of them.

One of them took a deep breath, gathering confidence, and then the doors slid open.

The officers entered the corridor. I peered at them curiously from the grate in the ceiling.

The first was a short woman in her late thirties, with a short, severe bob of shiny black hair and smooth cinnamon-colored skin. Frown lines marked her forehead.

The second was a tall man in his mid twenties with a head of thick reddish brown hair and a cocky smirk on his handsome face.

They were dressed in the red-and-black jumpsuits of the Interplanetary Police Force, and carried numerous weapons in various places on their bodies. There was something on the male officer’s boot, something brownish red and flaky, that looked a lot like blood. I shuddered. According to a conversation I’d overheard back at the station, the conflict-hardened members of the IPF were not known for their kindness.

“I’m Officer Patel. This is Officer Hert. Who is the captain?” The short woman said. I was getting a serious no-nonsense vibe from her.

“I am. Captain Marisol Alfera,” Three said, stepping up to Patel and shaking her hand firmly.

“How old are you? You look like a teenager,” Hert said.

“Why, thank you,” Three said, pretending to be flattered. She coughed at their disapproving glares, then said, “I’m twenty-four.”

“Really. What are you doing out in this sector?” Patel asked skeptically, placing a hand on her hip.

“We’re returning to Cebos after a cargo run.”

“And what star system is that in?” Hert asked, tapping information onto a portable screen.

“Uh…” I watched Three search her mind for the answer.

Behind me, Four groaned quietly.

“You’re captaining a vessel, and you don’t know which system you are going to?” One of Patel’s heavily stenciled eyebrows crawled toward her hairline.

“We are very busy cargo runners. We don’t have the time between cargo runs to remember the names of every star system we visit, just the coordinates,” Three said imperiously. I could almost believe her, except I could see her hands shaking behind her back.

“Your very busy crew of two, both of whom appear to be minors? Do you know the consequences of lying to the IPF, Captain Alfera?”

“Yes, I do, which isn’t a problem, because we aren’t lying to you.”

“Then you should have no issue entering the captain’s office, should you? This Defiant is nebula class, correct?” Patel asked, even though she already knew. “The captain’s office should be coded only for the captain’s DNA, and if this is ship is stolen, as I expect it is, the door should deny you entrance.

“So let’s head up to the bridge, shall we?”

“Four, do these crawlspaces lead all over the ship?” I whispered as the group in the corridor below us moved toward the lift. Even through the grate I could see the beads of sweat forming on Five’s forehead.

“Aye. What’re you—Oh. You’ll want to climb up first and then crawl like hell if you want to get up there before they do,” she said, pointing down the crawlspace behind her.

I squeezed past her then moved as fast as I could without making a racket. I heard the lift doors open.

I found the end of the crawlspace by hitting my nose hard on a bulkhead. I found the rung of a ladder just above eye level and grasped it, pulling myself up.

Four commed me. “Where are you?”

“Between Decks Five and Six, I think,” I answered as I passed the entrance to another crawlspace.

“I’m going to stall the lift to give you a bit more time,” she said. I heard the squeal of the grate opening, then a metallic thud as she hit the floor, followed by a curse. The comm cut out.

I passed three more levels, my arms beginning to burn.

When I reached the top of the pitch-dark shaft, notified again by hitting my head, I commed Four back.

“I’m at the top. How do I get into the captain’s office?”

“Take a right, then crawl straight until you see another grate. I’m going to have to fix the lift soon, or they’ll think this was interference and not just a mechanical issue.” As she spoke, I came across another grate, this one a view of the captain’s office.

“Okay. I see the grate. Dropping in now.” I shut the comm channel and lowered myself onto the desk in the office below. I swung the grate closed and jumped down in front of the desk. I could hear voices outside. I had one second to hide myself. I wedged myself into the tiny space under the desk and reached up to prepare to tap the button that would allow them entrance. I would have to time this right.

“Open the door, if you can,” Hert smirked.

“Okay, okay.”

I slapped the button, then quickly withdrew my hand and held my breath as the door slid open.

“I told you I was the captain.” Three’s voice.

“Can we get on with the rest of the search now?” Eight.

“I suppose,” Patel said grudgingly. The door slid shut again, and I inhaled deeply, slowing my racing heartbeat.

I commed Four.

“It worked. We’re safe.”

“Not by a mile. They could still insist on seeing the crawlspaces, and if that happens, we’re sunk.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming back into the crawlspace.” I jumped onto the desk and clambered up into the ceiling.

I met up with her again in the space above the entrance to the shuttle bay. We waited for half an hour before hearing anything again, by which time I was developing a serious cramp in my left leg.

“That’s everything, officers. We’ve got nothing to hide.” Three said below us.

“Don’t Defiants have crawlspaces?” Patel asked.

“Yes, but they’re far too small to hide anything in,” Five said, an almost imperceptible tremble in his voice.

“C’mon, Patel,” Hert whined. “Let’s just go. These kids are obviously hiding something, but it’s not our thief, and we still have a dozen ships to search.”

“Fine,” Patel conceded. “But I’ve got my eye on you kids. Don’t try anything funny.”

And with that, they left, and everyone in the ship breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.

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