Free Revolution: The Ship Series // Book Two by Jerry Aubin

their mark. He certainly hadn’t spent as
much time with the man as she had, but he had even greater reason to believe
the man was ruthless enough to consider the deaths of nearly all ten million
aboard the Ship a small price to pay if it ended the uprising. If that’s how
the Boss would solve the problem, it seemed a safe bet to assume the Captain
would act similarly.
    “Kalare’s right, Aleron. We’ve got to get out of here.
Engineering is clearly a hotspot for anyone trying to wrest control of the Ship
and we’re likely to get shot or blown up if we stick around here. We’ll have a
greater chance if the three of us stick together, though, so please come with
us.”
    That last bit was painful for Zax to utter, but he
believed it to be true and choked it out regardless. He watched as Aleron
silently weighed his options.
    “Fine—I’ll stick with you two oxygen thieves, but I want
the blaster.”
    Kalare guffawed and her response instantly triggered a
change in Aleron’s demeanor. He stood tall and puffed out his chest as he
walked menacingly towards her with his arm reaching for the weapon. He hadn’t
quite achieved the height and mass of his (thankfully Culled) mentor Cyrus, but
he towered over both Kalare and Zax and was clearly prepared to leverage his
size advantage if violence was required. As he approached her, he bellowed,
“Give me the blaster!”
    Kalare’s posture shifted from defiance to acquiescence
as she moved the weapon towards Aleron’s outstretched hand. The boy was half a
stride away from her and a satisfied grin was forming on his lips when Kalare’s
weight shifted to her back leg and her forward foot shot off the deck and
connected with his testicles. Aleron emitted no sound as he crashed to the deck
in the fetal position. Kalare turned to Zax and spoke as if nothing had
happened.
    “Do you have any ideas about where we should go?”
    Zax pondered alternatives for a moment, but he couldn’t
think of anything better than the first thought which had come to mind. “Waste
Systems. It’s not that far, and I know how we can reach it through maintenance
tunnels rather than the main passageways. I can’t imagine the civilians care
enough about sewage to send anyone there to take it over.”
    Kalare nodded in agreement. “Perfect.” She paused and
appeared contemplative for a moment before speaking again. “I think we should
first figure out how to free the Boss and Bailee and take them with us.”
    “What? No way! It’s bad enough we have to deal with
Aleron. What makes you think I want to put my neck on the line trying to save
that man?”
    Kalare sighed. “Trust me, Zax, I’m not about to throw
away my life trying to help the Flight Boss out of any sense of duty or
anything silly like that. But think about it. Won’t we stand a much better
chance of staying alive if we have a little more help than Captain Clueless
here? Can you think of anyone better than Bailee to have by our side in the
middle of all this craziness?”
    Zax hated to admit it, but Kalare was right. Connecting
with the Marine would increase their odds of survival substantially and,
unfortunately, getting access to him meant throwing their fate in with that of
the Boss as well. Zax tried to find solace in the possibility they’d get caught
in a firefight along the way and he might be able to witness the Boss get
killed by a civilian.
    As Aleron continued to writhe on the deck, Zax
visualized the maintenance tunnels and crawlspaces he had studied months
earlier. His ability to vividly recall the details of imagery like maps and
schematics had served Zax well during his time as a cadet, but this was the
first time he’d rely on it in a truly life or death situation.
    “OK. This can work. It would be so much easier and safer
if we could just access the crawlspace directly above us, but our Plugs are
blocked by these damn collars and I can’t release the lock on the hatch.
There’s an access port around the corner