Victory of the Stars

Chapter 2: Boarded

Vi fell off the couch.
"Captain?! Wh... what happened?" She jumped back to her feet as the ship stopped moving. "Did we hit something? Why are we going backwards?"
He ignored her and leapt over 8-6 into the hallway. Vi tried to follow him, but tripped over the droid, who was lying on the floor cussing out everything in the galaxy.
Note to self: Delete those ... words from 8-6's programming.
Picking herself back up, she sprinted down the main corridor towards the docking bay. However, before she turned into the hall that led to it, Captain Riley was already running back the other way towards her.
"What's wrong?!" Vi cried, but he didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
She could hear for herself the sounds of gun fire and screams.
Grabbing her hand, Captain Riley pulled Vi back away from the docking bay, towards the life pods. They'd finally stopped going backwards, and the total stillness was more unnerving than any motion.
Even the sounds of gun fire had stopped when they got back to her room.
Vi could feel her heart pounding in her temples, her entire body pulsing a rhythm warning her that some part of her safe little world was broken irreparably.
Clasping Captain Riley's hand tighter, she followed him as they made their way cautiously through the ship. After so many twists and turns that Vi hardly knew where they were, Captain Riley stopped by a door.
Vi hadn't ever noticed this many hallways on the ship.
She wasn't even sure it was their ship at this point.
8-6 rolled into the back of Vi's legs, startling her. She hadn't noticed that he was following so close behind them.
"---- -- Vi! Why the ---- 'd you stop?"
Captain Riley turned and surveyed the hall, then, seeing that the three of them were alone, opened the door and ushered them in.
"Come on, Lavigne. 8-6, BE QUIET BY ALL THE STARS."
8-6 quieted as they stepped into the room that he'd opened. Even he knew better than to argue with Captain Riley.
Riley didn't make decisions lightly, and he always had good reasons for his actions. After checking again that nobody had followed them, Captain Riley stepped through the blast door and closed it behind him.
This definitely wasn't their ship. Their ship was too small to have blast doors.
Where are we? How did we get onto another ship?
Vi looked around, realizing that they were in by escape pods. A noise frightened her:
something like a metallic whoosh, but when she turned it was just Captain Riley closing the
secondary blast doors.
"That should hold them long enough," he muttered to himself.
"Ca-aptain," Vi began, mortified at the quiver in her voice. "What's goin' on? Who's shooting? Why are we hidin' by the 'scape pods? Why'd the ship go backwards?"
Captain Riley glanced up from the escape pod he was programming, and looked at her.
Her chestnut curls that she usually tucked into a neat braid were all over the place, having worked free while they were running. She stood awkwardly, as if she was both embarrassed and angry. Her face was red and damp from the tears that always slid out when she was scared or upset, and she was obsessively tucking the stray curls behind her ears, another tic.
She was obviously more frightened than she wanted to admit.
"8-6, watch the door," Captain Riley commanded, then walked over to Vi. She shivered, and he pulled off his coat and put it over her shoulders.
"Lavi-... Victory," he began, watching her curl into the four-sizes-too-big jacket.
Then the lights went out.
Vi screamed, more surprised than she was scared, although she was scared, too.
8-6 let out his longest string of curses yet.
"They cut the lights," Captain Riley said, sounding completely unsurprised. "Of course. Night vision. How could I have forgotten? Damn, damn, DAMN!" In the blinking red emergency lights he looked angrier than Vi'd ever seen him, and in all the time that she'd known Captain Riley he'd never, ever cursed.
None of this is right, she thought to herself. Where are we, who cut the lights, and quite
possibly the scariest of all her thoughts, why is Captain Riley so scared?
A noise was coming from the corridor, so familiar and foreign that it took her a minute to notice it and yet another to recognize it.
Footsteps.
That in itself wouldn't be scary, but these footsteps were heavier than she'd ever heard, and in almost perfect unison.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Vi hugged Captain Riley's jacket closer as he hurriedly approached her in the dim light, holding something out. She took it automatically, inspected it, and realized that he had given her a gun.
"C... Captain? I don'... donno how ta' use this," Vi said. "Wai'... why would I even want this?"
Something slammed against the blast doors, hard enough to shake the floor. 8-6 swore and toppled over, rolling into the wall of now-useless escape pods.
Wait, those are... painted? Painted shut? So they never were able to be used. Then why... From outside a voice yelled "We found him!"
This was followed by more footsteps.
Lots more.
As the door shuddered again, Captain Riley bent down and gave something to 8-6. Sparks flew as the door burst open.
Someone grabbed Vi's arm, and, acting completely on instinct, she swung around and punched them.
She'd punched people before, but this wasn't like punching anyone she'd ever hit. This was like the time she accidentally hit a brick wall.
"GAH! Suns-and-moons-and-stars-THAT HURT!"
She'd punched a soldier's hard body armor. Sure, it had made them release her arm, but now her hand felt broken.
Smart move, Vi, she scolded herself. Punch first, ask questions later.
Captain Riley ran over, sweeping her behind him so he could keep himself between her and the soldiers.
"Lavigne! Are you all right? Why in the galaxy would you do that?" He gently checked her
bruised fingers. "They're not broken, but can you please promise me that you'll stay behind me from now on?"
Not broken. Good to know. Suns and STARS that hurts.
8-6 rolled over and began lecturing her, swearing at odd intervals. Vi bonked him with her uninjured hand.
"Shush, you semi-spherical rustball! I swear, I WILL turn off your voice chip!"
Suddenly, several more soldiers came in through the broken door, closely followed by an officer, and the room got very quiet very fast.