Death In Transit preview
The captain was laying on his back on the floor. They hadn't seen much of him since they'd started the trip but Jesper recognized him all the same. A little tubby. Hair thinning up top. Thick, unruly mustache and a few days of stubble. He was breathing. His lips had turned blue and his eyes looked like they were bulging a bit.
“Damn!” Jesper said.
“Quiet! Please! I've never done this with a human before,” Nassadra said. She ripped the captain's shirt open and pulled an instrument out of her bag. She injected him with something and then pulled out a complicated looking device.
“God, I hate this part,” Jesper said quietly. He had to stay. He knew he did. No one else had run into the fray. He looked around the cabin, trying to find anything that might ... help in some way.
He found a button for the public address system. He pressed it.
“This is Jesper. Don't rush the control room. Nassadra is trying to save the captain from ... I guess a heart attack? If there's any additional qualified medical personnel aboard, please make your way to the forward compartment. Otherwise, stay out.” He pressed the button again to stop broadcasting.
“Proximity alert,” the ship said.
“What?” Nassadra said. She pulled the cloth off her head and sat up.
“Proximity alert.”
“What's that?”
“Unidentified vessel is coming close to us.”
“Call them.”
“Unknown command. Please consult the ship's manual which can be located —“
“Shut up!”
A voice came over the channel.
“Don't you worry about us. We're here to take something that's ours. If you cooperate, you won't have a bit of trouble, Sanders.”
“This isn't Sanders. This is his first officer. Sanders is indisposed and he didn't say a thing about having a visitor mid-trip. Break away immediately.”
“No, I don't think we're going to. You'd better cooperate.”
The call disconnected.
Jesper turned on the PA.
“We're being boarded by pirates. Anyone who doesn't feel up to fighting should lock themselves in the passenger compartment. If you can fight, I may need your help. Until this situation is over, don't do a shipwide broadcast.” He turned the PA off and set a passcode to lock out the ship controls.
Juan made his way to the back.
“Yeah, you should probably go with them.”
“I'm going for my knives,” Juan turned back and gave him a disgusted look. “Don't get in any fights without me, pretty boy.”
Death In Transit is now available across ebook stores including Smashwords, Kobo, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Everand, Thalia, Vivlio, and Fable.
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