‘Ship compromised’
Chapter 40
Garnet
The laughter and joy of Tin-Fallow echoed hollowly around them as Garnet and Tanin stood together in front of the docking bay door that led back to the Humility. It was still closed, lined up next to the other docking doors. There were many of them covering this entire side of the station. Lots of ships came here and that meant there were lots of docking doors to accommodate them. Their door didn’t look any different from the others. Plain, heavy metal, with a solid purple light overhead that indicated the tunnel was still sealed and available for use.
But Vytln wasn’t standing guard outside. He wasn’t protecting the entrance as he had the last time they were attacked on a station. The lack of his presence somehow made it eerie, because Garnet knew the guys wouldn’t have left no one to guard the door if the ship had been attacked and their captain had gone missing.
Tanin had tried contacting all of them on his combot as they rushed over, but none of the attempted comms connected. Not even Alred.
As Garnet looked at the door in trepidation, Tanin was untying his ribbon.
“Remember the access code?” He asked her calmly.
“I think so,” she nodded.
“Put it in. And stay behind me.”
She’d already offered to stay behind. To go back to the inn or somewhere else while he dealt with whatever problem was going on here. She didn’t want to get in the way or, worse, become a hindrance for him. But he shot that idea down. He didn’t know what happened or who got to the others, and he couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t be taken if separated from him.
“I can fight and protect you at the same time,” he had promised as he led her down between the two levels. “Just stay close to me.”
It would be swoon worthy if she weren’t afraid for everyone else. Including Goldie, who had gone just as silent as the others.
She rushed past him to the console beside the door. Her finger hovered over it as she looked back, making sure Tanin was ready. He nodded at her once and she turned forward, entering the code. The door hissed and separated. She stepped back quickly.
But nothing happened. The tunnel was brightly lit as ever, quiet and safe, happy music playing like it was mocking them.
Tanin walked forward calmly, ribbon wrapped around his knuckles, the end trailing in the air. Garnet hurried after him. Staying close. The door shutting behind them made her wince. She put a hand to his lower back, needing that connection, as they continued up towards the Humility.
Gravity was weaker in the tunnels. The generator was just strong enough that they could walk and didn’t float, but still weak enough that, even when the tunnel went in strange directions, they had no problem propelling themselves forward.
The access door of the Humility, beat up and familiar, waited at the end. The purple light glowing overhead promised a secure connection.
But as Tanin came even with it, Alred’s voice didn’t greet them. They weren’t scanned to be granted entrance. Tanin had to press the console on the side to put in an entrance code.
The door beeped once. Twice. Then slid open.
The familiar scent of home washed over Garnet, trying to soothe her even as the silence inside set her nerves on edge.
Tanin strode forward. She followed after, looking around his arm.
And, at first, she was relieved. The guys were all standing there in the empty room. Like they had just been waiting for their return.
But the relief was short lived as her instincts went haywire. Something waswrong.
The ship was still and silent. There was no cargo in the hold, which wasn’t unusual. But what was strange was the line hanging down from above. A black wire that hadn’t been there before and was limp and out of place, just dangling in the center of the room, almost reaching the ground. Vytln and Alred wouldn’t let the ship be unkempt like that.
Worse, the guys were all there. Rok standing at the front. The others behind him. All of them evenly spaced out like chess pieces placed on a board. Just as stiff. Just as still. Just as silent. Trove wasn’t smiling. Sway was off of the bridge. The twins weren’t even standing beside each other. They were all there, like statues, barely even breathing.
And tight around their necks, a metal ring.
“Welcome home!”
Garnet gasped, looking up. Tracking the voice. On the second level, standing at the rail with a wide grin, was a shinuk male. Black skin, white eyes, wearing a beautiful, tailor fit suit – white pants, teal jacket, gold accents. His black hair was styled back in a complex braid. He looked expensive, untouchable, lording over the silent statues spread before him.
Gissrn. Here. Ontheirship!
