The Challenge (14 page)

Tessa jumped at the sound of Dora’s voice and almost told her to hush until she recalled that even if someone stood right next to her, in privacy mode, no one would hear.

Dora continued, “And you are not a prisoner.”

Tessa searched right, left, back over her shoulder, mostly from habit and not because she expected anyone to stop her, before stepping out of the chamber onto the moving walkway. “Don’t tell me you bought Kahn’s line of bullshit.”

“I am a computer. I don’t buy things. And I don’t understand why Commander Kahn would want to sell you bovine manure.”

Tessa ignored the translation problem. “Are there alarm systems to warn Kahn of my movement?”

“There are psi sensors and motion detectors—if he checks them. However, at the moment he is speaking to a woman with a large chest, and his back is to the equipment.”

“You said no one else was on board.”

“She’s still on Rystan. They are speaking over the hyper-link communications system.”

Reassured that she stood a chance of actual escape, Tessa slipped into the hallway and dashed down the moving corridor toward the shuttle, the useful eating utensil still clutched in her hand. “Thanks.”

“I have done nothing.”

“You have been wonderful. Without you I wouldn’t have a friend here. You showed me how to open the door.”

“I am wonderful, aren’t I? No one has ever told me that before.”

Tessa could run and talk at the same time. “What’s Kahn doing?”

“He’s still in conference with Madam Big Chest. If I had a body, I’d want big breasts like that woman.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Big breasts get in the way when you fight.”

“I wouldn’t want to fight.” Dora’s words turned dreamy. “I’d want to make love.”

“Can we table this discussion until I’m safely away, please?” Tessa stopped at the big, solid shuttle hatch that she recognized from her trip to Earth. Her current position left her all-too exposed in the corridor. “Dora, I need you to—”

As if reading her mind or simply anticipating her request, Dora again shined a light on the pressure-sensitive spot that would release the door.

“Thanks, you’re a peach.”

“I’d rather be wonderful than a peach.”

Tessa pushed the utensil’s tine into the red spot so hard that the metal bent. She flipped the utensil over and tried the other side. “It’s not working.”

“Patience.” Dora actually released a very human sounding sigh, which couldn’t be that easy to replicate considering she didn’t have lungs or vocal cords. “Uh-oh.”

Tessa tensed but kept up the pressure. “What?”

“Kahn’s ending his communication.”

“Is he on to me? Can you tell what he’s saying?”

“Sorry, he’s invoked privacy mode. But from his expression, he doesn’t look at all pleased.”

“So what else is new?” Tessa pressed harder, her adrenaline kicking. This might be her only opportunity to escape before they cleared Earth’s solar system.

One step at a time.

Finally, the hatch opened. She slipped inside, pleasantly surprised when the hatch automatically shut behind her and the interior lights came on. Finally her luck was changing, and she prayed that a craft built for emergency usage could be run by non-educated personnel and simple voice commands. She headed straight for the control console where Kahn had steered the shuttle earlier and studied the simple control stick.

“Dora, get us out of here. Maximum speed.”

“Maximum speed would kill you since you don’t know how to pressurize your suit against high G-forces.”

“Well, do the best you can. I don’t care if I lose consciousness. Just don’t kill me.”

“I am not permitted to kill.”

“What a shame,” Tessa muttered, nixing the idea of attempting to turn the shuttle against Kahn after he discovered her absence and followed. She had no doubts he would pursue. Now it was simply a race to return home and lose herself among their multi-billion population before Kahn caught up with her.

She hoped the lockers in the aft section contained supplies. “Do I have enough food, air, fuel, and water to make it to Earth?”

“Yes. The craft is fully stocked. If you lie down on the floor, I can navigate us out of here at a higher—”

“I’m there.” Tessa sat then lay on her back, cranking her neck to see the viewscreen. She could have chosen her stomach, but then she couldn’t have seen four different angles on the viewscreen. The sight of the flight bay doors straight ahead, a sturdy wall of the starship to the rear and one to each side. The pressure on her sore bottom enhanced her determination to leave. There was no point in staying for a mission she wasn’t equipped to handle. She had no psi power. And staying would be like sending an astronaut into space without an oxygen supply. “Head for Earth.”

“Compliance.”

The huge flight bay doors opened, and Tessa’s ears popped as the shuttlecraft pressurized. Slowly, the ship lifted and floated toward the huge open doors.

Warning lights suddenly flashed, alarm bells sounded, and Dora’s voice increased in volume. “Purple Alert. Purple Alert. Kahn is attempting to take computer control.”

“How can I stop him?”

“You can override his command by placing the ship on manual control.”

“Do it.” Tessa’s stomach lurched. “And tell me how to fly.”

“The flight stick controls our motion,” Dora instructed as Tessa shoved off the floor and raced to the console. “If you want to go right, push the stick to the right. Same for the left. If you want to go up, pull back on the stick. Down is the opposite.”

She had no clue as to what made the ship go, but she mastered the uncomplicated controls within minutes, grateful to the engineers who had designed the ship so simply a child could have flown her.

Maneuvering inside the tight space of the flight bay was tricky. Tessa edged forward slowly toward the blackness of space, careful not to scrape the ship against the bulkheads.

“Flight bay doors are closing,” Dora reported.

Tessa’s heart kicked up her throat. Kahn was trying to trap her and the shuttle inside the bay. Shoving the stick forward, she increased their speed, trying to beat the closing doors.

The communications screen lit up with Kahn’s concerned face. “Turn the controls back on automatic and let the computer pilot the shuttle before you do real damage.”

“Warning, Warning!” Dora’s official tone sounded another alert. “Stop engines, we are on a collision course.”

Tessa’s hand tightened on the control, but she didn’t slow the ship. “Dora, plot maximum speed. Can we make it through the doors without crashing at full throttle?”

“No.”

“Is there an emergency overdrive?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Can I boot us into high gear?”

“Not inside the bay.”

“
Outside
the bay, the speed can be increased?” Tessa asked, her excitement leaping as adrenaline shot through her veins.

“Once we’re outside and away from the mothership, warp power can be initiated.”

“Why can’t we warp from right here?”

“The mothership would suffer damage,” Dora told her.

“How much?”

“Estimated repair time: two days, three hours, and twenty-two minutes. Cost of repairs: two thousand Galactic credits. Loss of life: none.”

She glanced again at the closing flight bay doors. “I can live with that. How do we go to warp?”

Dora made a light on the control panel blink. “Push that button.”

Kahn shouted at Tessa through the holoscreen. “Don’t—”

“Turn him off, please.” Tessa couldn’t afford distractions. The bay doors were already almost too narrow for the shuttle to escape. “On my mark. Now.”

The ship didn’t accelerate. It jumped out of space into another place. Hyperspace. An overwhelming sensation of dizziness washed over her, and Tessa clutched the console to steady herself.

The viewscreen blurred into a crazy maelstrom of lights while her battered senses strived to perceive her surroundings. Gravity disappeared. A sensation of nausea arose as her stomach flip flopped in an effort to seek a fixed harbor. Viewscreen lights pulsed at irregular intervals, and Tessa’s ears throbbed at the humming static. At the same time, her sense of smell heightened. Enhanced by the sweet mustiness of the alien environment, the odor contributed to her feelings of nausea. When she thought she couldn’t stand the heightened sensations another second, the warp drive abruptly kicked off, and the ship returned to normal space.

“Dora, can Kahn track us?” asked Tessa.

“Not through hyperspace.”

She had escaped!

Elation swept over her at the thought of returning to Earth. With Dora’s help, she could go home and regroup. Earth’s engineers could analyze the ship, delve into the secret warp drive, and maybe replicate the design. Maybe they could even figure out a way to get off the damn suit, which continued to torment her but at lower levels than before.

However, no way would she let anyone tamper with Dora. In fact, Tessa wasn’t sure if Earth should give back the shuttle at all. Perhaps they could use the shuttle to trade for the equipment to clean up their atmosphere.

Although Dora had turned off communications, the light still blinked, signaling an incoming message. “Dora, if I answer Kahn, can he track me?”

“No. Communication transmissions go through hyperspace, too.”

Tessa pressed the blinking light. Kahn’s amber eyes narrowed on her in obvious irritation, and he pressed his lips together tightly, jaws clenched. He scowled at her, his tone clipped, his voice devoid of inflection, yet still demanding. “Are you all right? Have you sustained any damage?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Astonished that his first words to her revealed concern for her welfare, she answered with as much politeness as she could muster. “How about yourself?”

“The ship will require repairs.” Kahn’s voice although annoyed, revealed no hint of the reversal he’d suffered.

“I’m sorry about the damage, but I
did
check, and the computer informed me that there would be no loss of life.”

“The damage to the flight bay doors is extensive.”

“When you tried to trap me, you left me no choice but to warp into hyperspace,” Tessa reminded him, pleased at how nonchalant she sounded, when in truth his holo-image and voice set her heart hammering, reminding her exactly how much pleasure he’d once given her.

“This is my fault,” Kahn admitted. “I thought you would fall asleep. Never before has a Challenge candidate learned to operate mechanical technology prior to mastering their suit’s biomechanics. I never expected you to flee to the shuttle without mastering your psi. I won’t underestimate you again.”

She didn’t plan to give him another opportunity.

He frowned at her, his head cocked to one side as if trying to figure out what made her tick. “Perhaps your reckless behavior is responsible for your continued failure to progress.”

“I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you.”

Kahn locked gazes with her. “Once repaired, my ship will travel ten times faster than your shuttle.”
Oh, no
. “And since I know your final destination, I can simply plot a hyperspace jump to intercept your flight.”

Oh, God
. She’d thought she’d escaped him, but apparently she hadn’t—unless he was trying to trick her. She turned away so he couldn’t see her talk to the computer. “Dora, is that true?”