Starship Armstrong - Season 3

Part 35 - Family Ties (XIII)

"We need to... the thing," said Hastoyar, sticking his head in through the doorway. "Hit her with the stungun again."

"No- please-" McAfree begged. Her face was stained with tears. Her ears still rang from the last stun.

Azar casually stunned her again, this time the bolt struck her directly in the head. She slumped over in her bonds.

"Not so tough now, is she?" he asked, obviously pleased with himself.

Hastoyar went back into the other room.

"Okay, hit it," he said, touching his ear.

A space/time tunnel of the same kind used by starships to travel interstellar distances gaped open on the wall in front of him. Rather than bridging the uncountable gap between the stars this one bridged a distance of about three meters. Still it was more than enough to allow someone to step through the wall.

Two men quickly ran through the glowing light-edged tunnel, carrying a large box of supplies between them.

"They're clear," said Hastoyar, and the space/time tunnel closed.

He helped the two men unpack the supplies.

"Did they include the... medicine we asked for?" asked Hastoyar.

"Oh yes," said one of the men, smiling conspiratorially.

* * *

Mitzner watched the space/time tunnel close behind the two men from the shadows. A recently active relativity drive. Now that was something she could track by smell.

* * *

Ambie wiped the sweat from her forehead with the part of her sleeve near her shoulder that wasn't covered in grease. She was only single-handedly keeping a centuries-old jury-rigged relativity drive running outside of a starship but no, no thanks necessary. The joy of being ignored until her compatriots needed something was all the thanks she needed.

If she wanted to work herself raw for no appreciation she'd have stayed a reactor engineer.

Ambie jumped down off the drive, ready to slink off to her safehouse to grumble about being underappreciated in peace. That's when she felt the barrel of a pistol being shoved against the back of her head.

Ambie made a noise like "meep".

"Scream and I shoot," said a voice that sounded almost identical to the Queen's. "Move and I shoot. Do absolutely anything I don't like the look of and I shoot. If I'm being perfectly honest I want to shoot you. It would give me great pleasure to shoot you. I've been picturing it vividly for hours. You hurt my friend. So please, give me the thinnest justification and I'll kill you where you start. Bear in mind I know where to shoot someone so that they die quick and painless. That's not where I'll be shooting you. There is, in fact, only one scenario left in the endless quantum multitudes wherein you don't bleed out, cold and alone, staring up at my smiling face so pay careful attention. Nod if you understand."

Ambie nodded frantically.

"Good," said the voice of the not-Queen. "You're going to set this thing to open a tunnel automatically in ten minutes. Then you and I are going to go down to where your friend's little secret base is and wait. If the tunnel opens on time and I'm not expected you get to live. If things go a different way I shoot you and let the Queen's people figure this thing out. Nod if you understand."

Ambie nodded again, even more frantically.

"Very good," said the voice. "Now you have five minutes to set everything up. I don't want you taking too long to think about this. Get going, the clock is already ticking."

Ambie jumped to work.

* * *

A circle of light appeared on the wall again and began to enlarge.

Hastoyar touched his ear.

"What's going on? I didn't call for a tunnel. Ambie? Hello? Ambie?"

Ambie didn't reply.