Free Star Wolves (The Tribes of Yggdrasil Book 1) by Hugh B. Long Page A

the ship where she lay, but where the smaller Alfar was standing, there seemed to be artifical gravity. Or maybe he was wearing magnetic boots. More likely they had artificial gravity control down the axis of their ship; it was off where the Sparrow’s passengers were being piled, and on, where the Alfar stood. She needed to find a way to get to him, but she had no leverage or traction with the gravity off. But if she inched her way toward his side …
    Gina waited for a few more passengers to be loaded before she began moving, by millimeters, so the small Alfar wouldn’t notice her.
    She suddenly felt her weight return. She peeked up at the small Alfar and saw him about three meters away. It might take her two-seconds to jump up and get to him; should be enough time, she thought.
    Gina sprang at him like a panther. She swung her right forearm and elbow toward the side of his head and connected with a satisfying crunch. He dropped hard, and with a bit of forward momentum, was carried to the side of the ship with artificial gravity turned off. He hit the field and floated quietly aft, until he bumped up against another passenger and came to rest in the pile of people closest to the edge of the hatch.
    One down, she thought.
    She heard the big Alfar shouting from the Sparrow. She didn't recognize the language. It wasn’t Alfish or Yggdrasi. She glanced left and right. No weapons in sight. Gina knew he would be coming up soon. She saw a series of buttons on the wall above the hatch: one was glowing red, the rest were blue. She guessed that must be the artificial gravity control panel. She pressed the red button, then saw various limbs of the unconscious passengers slap against the floor as gravity was re-engaged. That was it.
    The big one was hollering again from inside the Sparrow. Good, at least that way she knew exactly where he was. She decided to give him some company and rolled his friend, and a couple of other passengers, down the hole. She heard the first land with a thump, then a much more muffled sound as the others went down on top of each other. The big guy was quiet after that.
    Gina wanted to get back to the Sparrow and deal with the big Alfar. She oriented herself so she would end up facing the back of the Sparrow, and jumped the two meters down the hole. She landed on top of some older woman with red curls. She dove and rolled after she landed, looking up and back. Nothing. Where the hell are you, she thought.
    Gina crouched and listened. Still nothing. She could see all the way forward to the cockpit hatch, which was ajar. He wasn’t in between her and the cockpit. He might be inside the cockpit though, so she crouched and made here way forward as silently as possible. She took a breath and kicked the cockpit hatch violently. It flew in with a metallic bang , and she saw the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator, all slumped in their seats, unconscious like the rest of the passengers. She concluded the big Alfar must be aft, and he knew right where she was now, thanks to her kicking open the cockpit.
    She left the cockpit, walked back six rows, and dropped down on the floor, crawling between the middle rows of seats, listening. She was completely still. She lay there for a few minutes before the big Alfar got impatient and began walking forward. She could hear his soft footsteps, barely. She worked her way under the seats and was completely hidden from view to anyone walking down the aisles. He would have to bend down to find her. Perfect.
    Gina saw him pass the eighth row where there was a curtain, he was leading with his rifle, sweeping it across his from left to right, looking for a target. When he was next to her aisle, Gina kicked him in the ankle as hard as she could from her prone position. He tripped, dropped his rifle, and want sprawling forward. She scrambled out from beneath the seats and jumped toward him, but by that time, he was back on his feet—without his rifle, but ready.
    She threw up her hands