Kessia kicked her feet, feeling awkward. She eyed the different labels on the crates around them. They showed the logos of various universal shipping companies, a few she even recognized from the Terran sector. Turning back to the crate of oranges, she couldn’t help but grin. It seemed fitting somehow to find oranges on a pirate ship, even if they were space-faring pirates. “Well, at least we won’t die of scurvy.”
Baron cocked a dark brow at her. “Is that something we have to worry about?”
“Not really. Most ship recombinators are crafted to deliver optimal nutrition for whatever species the ship hosts.” She shrugged. “Not that we have access to one right now.”
Baron gestured to the crate of beetles. “We could probably eat those if needed.”
Kessia paled at the thought. “I’m not sure I could ever get that hungry.”
Baron’s chuckle came as a surprise and the deep tone of it sent a warm little thrill through her stomach. Nope. I am not getting the hots for the barbarian alien. Kessia shook it off and hopped off the crate. Definitely time for a distraction. “Let’s see what goodies might be hiding in this place before those bastards come back.” She announced, turning to open the nearest crate.
Baron nodded and stood, sticking to his word by staying by her side as they opened every crate in the room.
With a groan, Kessia straightened up from the last crate, pressing her hands into her lower back to try to massage away the stiffness. It had taken them at least a standard hour to peek into all the crates, finding a varied assortment of items. The cache of emergency hydro-sleeves would be helpful, but some of the goods, like a shipment of ore that had been refined into long metallic rods, would be less handy. Baron had set about moving anything that seemed vaguely useful close to his container and moving the other crates into a barricade formation by the door. He’d also been thoughtful enough to move the beetle-filled crate to the farthest corner and not laugh at her when she insisted he put the heavy container of ore on top of it. Just in case.
She cast a baleful look at the blast door that remained across the only entrance to the cargo bay. That would be her next challenge. The Rehulians had most likely locked down the system, but with a little finesse, she should be able to access the panel and override the lock. She just hoped there wasn’t an armed contingent on the other side when she managed it.
A hydro-sleeve was thrust into her line of sight and she followed the arm offering it up to meet Baron’s citrine eyes. I could’ve sworn they were black. She shook off the confusion and responded. “Thanks.” She took the sleeve gratefully and ripped the sealed edge of the straw portion off with her teeth before taking an appreciative pull. Hopping up to sit on a crate of some sort of spice, she kicked her bare legs as she drank.
Baron gave her a little head tilt of acknowledgement before heading to the tall crate of oranges. Once he’d gathered a handful, he came to sit beside her, offering her half of his bounty.
Kessia had almost finished peeling her first orange when a burst of citrus sprayed into the air from beside her and Baron grumbled in frustration. One glance at his orange and she had to press her lips together to keep herself from laughing. The big guy’s dark claws might be perfect for taking down an enemy, but they were not meant for peeling fruit. He had managed to get a portion of the peel off and then he’d slice into the side of the actual segments. As she watched, he blinked rapidly and she suspected he’d sprayed himself in the eyes.
Kessia set her orange down beside her, carefully cradled by its peelings, and reached for his. “Here. Let me help you.” She took the abused citrus he gratefully offered up and finished peeling it before partially separating the sections so they would be easier for him to grab. “There, that should be easier for you.”
“My thanks.” He gave her a sweet smile and took the fruit back, carefully pinching a piece between his fingers and bringing it to his mouth.
“No problem.” She murmured and worked on eating her own. “When we’re done here, I need to take a look at the door. If I can find the control panel, I think I can override the door locks.”
“Truly?”
“Yeah. It shouldn’t be too hard. A lot of ships run on the same basic programming. You just have to know what you’re doing.” She grinned up at him and popped her last segment into her mouth.
A frown crossed his features as he seemed to think of something. “Can they still enter while you are working on the door?”
“Well, yeah. Ultimately, the panel on the other side will still be running so it can be used to open the door. I’ll have a little bit of warning, as they’d have to raise the blast door first though.”
“I will stand guard.” Baron decided, shoving his last few segments in his mouth and getting to his feet. He offered her a big hand to help her down from the crate’s height, and she couldn’t help but grin as she took it and hopped down. They headed over to the door side by side and she smirked when he planted his huge form in front of the blast doors, one set of arms crossed over his burly chest and the others grasping a blaster and shockrod. If she was the Rehulian who opened the door, she’d be closing it again real quick after catching sight of him.
Kessia went to the wall beside the doorframe and started tapping on the wall, listening for the sound of the hollow section where the control panel would be. Not finding it on the left of the door frame, she circled behind Baron to the other side and started the same routine. “Ah! Found it!” She dragged her fingers over the wall to the door frame and dug her fingernails into the tiny seam between the two. She tried to pry the panel out and hissed when one of her nails broke. “Ow! Dammit!”
“Are you injured?” Baron inquired, peeking over her shoulder.
She jerked a little, surprised he’d managed to sneak up behind her so quietly. “I’m fine, just broke a nail.” She put her hand up and wiggled her fingers.
He eyed her digits and frowned. “You have such tiny claws.”
“We call them nails, but yeah, compared to yours, mine are tiny.” She dug her nails into the seam and pulled once more.
“May I assist?”
She looked over her shoulder at his nails once more and sighed. “Sure.” She stood and gestured at the panel’s seam. “I just need to get this open.”
Baron nodded and knelt down beside her. He slipped his dark claws into the seam and pulled. Instead of swinging open, the metal panel bent beneath his grip and he ripped it off the wall. He set the panel to the side and met her eyes. “Will that do?”
Kessia grinned. “Yeah, big guy, that’s perfect.” He stood, and she dropped to her knees before the open panel. Sure enough, she could see the inner workings of the control mechanism on the other side of the door. Taking a good look at the mess of wires and crystal diodes, she sighed. Normally when she worked on these units she had her diagnostic pad with her. Without its easy plug-in override, she was going to have to do this manually. Reaching into the hole, she yanked out three wires, twisting two together to make a circuit and stretching the other one to the far side of the board. She removed a crystal from its bracket and slipped the wire beneath it, pressing it down with the crystal. She couldn’t get to the interface on the other side, but she could initiate a reset of the lockdown. If they timed it right, they could slip out into the ship proper. She continued to fight with the panel, setting everything up. When all that was left was to slip the clear crystal into its new slot to complete the connection, she sat back on her heels. “That should do it.”
Baron turned from where he faced the doors and looked down at her. “The doors will open now?”
Kessia nodded. “As soon as I put this back in.” She held up the small clear crystal so he could see. “The only problem is it will be quick. It’ll open and close again immediately as it reboots the locking system. If we want to take anything with us, we should gather it now. We’ll only have time to get out of here. And the computer will probably alert the pirates once the door opens. If they decide to blow the panel from the other side, we really will be trapped.”
Baron nodded and offered her one of his big hands to help her to her feet. “Then we will gather what we need first.”