The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Chapter Sixteen



“Shipcomm call to Maribelle, at the Mars factory…” Shade said to his ship, staring at the small screen on the inner side of the locker, near his bedhead.



Maribelle’s face appeared, her shoulders bare.



“Did you find him?” She asked; no ‘hello how are you’, simply ‘Did you find him?’



That annoyed Shade.



He became even more annoyed when a man’s hand appeared on her right shoulder, a man’s face pressed against her right cheek.



“Professor, I’m speaking… stop that!” She told Fassbeinder, whose left hand was busy elsewhere.



The man’s face disappeared and then both hands as Maribelle continued talking to Shade, “So did you?”



“Yes, I found him…” Shade admitted.



“And, the case?” Maribelle asked.



“He has it…” Shade responded, taking one boot off, then the other.



“He has it?” Maribelle repeated.



“Yes, he does…” Shade told her, a smile on his lips.



He had left Henry and Varna on a small Earth-like planet, that had a population in distinct need of guidance, guidance that a man like Henry could provide; coupled with the protection that Varna’s guardianship could provide.



“You betrayed me!” The woman snapped and, Shade roiled with suppressed anger.



“And you used me,” he quietly replied, his mind awhirl.



‘The Brood might prove useful there,’ he idly mused, as he watched Maribelles face.



“It was just business…” Maribelle explained dully, moments before the screen faded to black and Shade lay back on his bed, closing his eyes against the thought of being used by a corpie.



“Looks like it’s just you and me again,” Shade muttered, to his ship.



She didn’t mind, at all…

Chapter Fifteen



As everything that was not fixed down flew out the bars viewport window, Shade led Henry and Varna back to his ship, carrying the silver case, with the samples inside.



“I’ll take you to a planet in the midst of The Fringe, they won’t bother you there,” he explained to Henry, as they made their way to the ship, moving faster than before, as the asteroid continue to quake.



“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this Shade,” Henry enthused, minutes later, as they sat in the airlock and, stripped out of the EV suits.



Shade looked to the woman with them, “And you Varna?”



The muscled blonde, in a chainmail bikini looked at Shade and told him, “I’m pleased that my beloved is happy and, will be safe… It is all I want, for him…”



“Ohboy,” Shade muttered, “You got what you want; let’s hope you want you got.”



He opened the airlock door to the ship, then led Henry and Varna to his own cabin, “There’s one bed on this ship, so enjoy your honeymoon flight…” Shade told them, as the ongoing quake became worse.



‘Captain…?’ The ship prompted.



“Go on?”



‘Captain, the asteroid beneath me is fragmenting and dangerous. Can I leave?’



“Fragmented and dangerous? Yes, go…” Shade told his ship, running toward the cockpit, as Henry closed the cabin door, wishing he possessed a ‘do not disturb’ sign.



‘Time till destruction is an ETA of fifteen minutes,’ the computer intoned.



‘Many will die soon,’ Shade mused, as he assumed his place in the co-pilots seat, still uncomfortable about sitting elsewhere.



He extended his legs and crossed the right ankle over the left. Then locating his Stetson from the floor by his chair, Shade said to his ship, “Time to go then.”



The starfreighter lifted slowly at first, then as the thrusters continued to burn, the legs retracted and the secondary drive kicked in.



Shade tilted his hat forward, to cover his eyes, as the small ship powered away from the asteroid: ‘Time till destruction is an ETA of five minutes Sir!’



“That was a quick ten minutes,’ Shade mused, as his eyes closed. He was tired.



And, as the asteroid split apart, a series of explosions began that climaxed with a ball of white light, expanding rapidly and sending shockwaves outward.



‘We stand a twenty per cent chance of destruction,’ the ship told its sleeping captain, who would have cared little about such odds, having learnt years earlier, ‘one makes one’s own luck.’



The ship deliberated on a course, until it’s memory recalled a conversation between the captain and one of his guests. “…a planet in the midst of The Fringe”.



‘Course set, Sir…’ The ship announced, as it dimmed the interior lights, to allow her captain to sleep…

Chapter Fourteen



Calibrating the mattrans had not been as onerous as Shade had at first envisaged, as the computer had enquired of him in a helpful manner: ‘what are you doing Sir?’



He had told the ship what he intended to do and the bars distance from it. And, when it answered, Shade could almost imagine his ship smiling, ‘If you step from the booth, I’ll do as you want, Sir…’ The ship was always polite, to its Captain.



Shade did as had been requested, then watched as the mattrans came to life with a thrumming sound. And just as suddenly as the sound began, it ended, leaving nine small pieces of metal of the floor of the booth…



“That ships as confident about itself as my captain had been,” Shade had mused a short while later, as he made his way back to The Harmony Bar, Henry and Varna.



He still missed ‘his captain,’ James Tolliver and, although he had learnt much from the man, Shade was sure that his education had not been complete…



It was as he opened the airlock door that an explosion went off on the far side of the asteroid, shaking the ground beneath him.



“They’re blasting…” he told the bar’s two occupants as he entered, not at all surprised to see them embracing, their lips seemingly fused together; ‘the muscle woman and the geek,’ he mused, with mild amusement.



A second explosion shook the bar.



“Er, you two want to stop what you’re doing and suit up. If those miners get their haul they’ll be in here to celebrate and, if they’re not lucky they’ll blow this whole damn asteroid up… those are the options…”



Still Henry and Varna kissed, her hands roaming.



“I’ll find her a suit,” Shade called out, suddenly aware of the floor trembling beneath his boots. “And, I’ll be quick about it,” he added, returning to where he’d found Henry’s EV suit earlier.



“Got it!” He exclaimed, holding up a suit bigger than his own.



“Now c’mon…” he snapped, separating Henry and Varna, “It’s starting to feel like they were not as lucky as they might have been…”



Shade was understating matters, he knew. The ground was still trembling and, now cracks were starting to appear in the flooring. What would happen next was obvious.



“We’re gonna be losing pressure soon, so hurry up,” he instructed, turning his head to see a viewport window begin to crack.



“Helmet’s on, Now!” Shade bellowed, as the crack widened.

Chapter Thirteen



Henry crouched down, his back to the mattrans wall, his eyes glued to the burnt out panel before him. There was an odour in the air that he chose to ignore; as to state the obvious would not help matters.



“Thanks,” he said to Shade as he took the toolbox from him, then set to work. First he took the panel off and noting the burnt out circuit, he began a rewire, telling Shade, “It’ll do for now. Get me somewhere with more equipment and, I’ll make it literally as good as new. But yeah… it’ll work… for now…”



Shade was poleaxed, it had taken the little man less than ten minutes and now he could set about removing the fragments of bullet, from Varna’s body, so she could self-heal, as he’d been assured this Brood could.



“’kay then,” he began, “You get suited up… and, get yourself back to the bar. I’m pretty sure than when I’ve removed the pieces your lady will need you nearby…”



Henry scrambled up and, took Shade’s right hand in both of his, then began to pump vigorously, telling the spacer, “I gotta thank you mister, I really…”



Shade scowled, shook himself free of the man’s grip and told him, “If you want my help, then don’t do that again, alright?”



Henry nodded and continued to do so, as he made his way back to the ships airlock, leaving Shade behind, deliberating on the settings he would need to use to do as they needed…