ARCHDUCHESS

Several days earlier…

Adira hiked up her pants, sliding her arms into her jumpsuit sleeves and zipping up the front. Qillian panted as he leaned back on the counter, pants still dropped around his thighs.

She grinned. "Fly's unzipped, doc."

He smiled at her, then tugged his trousers up and buttoned them shut. "How careless of me."

"Did I pass my physical?" she asked, grabbing her tool belt and snapped it around her waist.

"With flying colors," Qillian replied smoothly. He wiped his glasses, then slipped them back on, transforming once again into the no-nonsense doctor everyone was familiar with. "Although I really wish you let me actually examine you for once."

"I think you did a pretty thorough examination, Doctor Zhu," said Adira, hands set on cocked hips.

He sighed, although his slight smile remained. She liked that about their encounters; each time his shell cracked open a little more. Beneath all that stiff formality to keep the rest of the crew at a distance was a warm soul. Stop it, Adira. You promised to keep it casual, remember? She did. It was just easy to forget whenever he looked at her the way he was now, intelligent eyes with a dash of mischief assessing her over the rim of his glasses.

"Hmm, maybe we could shake things up with a bit of roleplay?" Adira teased, sauntering towards him. He was shorter than her by a few inches but she liked to think they'd been transferred to… a different area. Arms pulled behind her back, she pressed up against, forcing him back against the cabinet. "What do you think? Breast or pelvis exam?"

He flushed. "I—"

The door comm crackled to life. "San? San, why the hell are you in medbay!? Get down to Level 12. Something's busted and the damn computer won't shut up about it. What the frack is taking so long?"

Adira rolled her eyes and pulled away from Qillian. She mouthed the word 'sorry' as she headed for the medbay door, activating the comm on her watch. "I'm here, Rijel. Christ."

Qillian gave her a sheepish smile and waved as she stepped out the door.

"Save your blasphemy for whatever problem is screwing with the sensors. I've multiple alarms going off down there and Gezzer isn't reporting in," said the captain.

"Alright, alright! I'm on it." Adira frowned. It wasn't like Gezzer not to be on comms. He was as rough as sandpaper but he was reliable. She'd counted on that reliability when she'd snuck into medbay to hook up with Qillian rather than answer the maintenance request.

Stepping out of the tube that connected the different levels of the cargo ship, Adira was surprised to find the narrow maintenance shaft bathed in orange emergency light. What the hell?

Checking the ship's systems via her watch's hologram, she headed toward the problem area. The Archduchess' AI was reporting damaged wires and piping. A coolant line was threatening to burst.

Adira swung her duffel bag forward, unzipping it to rummage around for the tools she would probably need. This was just her luck. She'd been betting on trying to get Qillian to go for a second round. Why hadn't Gezzer fixed the issue—

As she rounded the corner, Adira froze. The panels along the left wall had been gouged and torn open in two parallel lines that looked like ragged claw marks. They ended where Gezzer's crumpled form lay on the ground.

"What the frack?" she whispered. What on earth could have done this?

Adira quashed her shock. Gezzer was on the ground, which meant a possible gas leak or exposed current. She quickly reached inside her duffel for her mask, sealing it to her face with a quick hiss. Then she pulled out her scanner, an invisible stream of lasers firing down the hall. She couldn't trust the sensors on this level in case they'd been damaged. The machine chirped. Nothing.

Adira's eyes narrowed as she tucked the device into her duffel and walked cautiously forward. She crouched next to the man, gut clenching in fear at the amount of blood pooling around him. In the sharp orange light, it appeared almost black.

"Gezzer?" she asked, gently touching his shoulder.

No response.

"Shit, frack." Adira looked down the hallway, which was a dead end. Who the hell would kill Gezzer—

As she glanced back the way she had come, Adira noticed a crackle of energy. The fizzling light melted away to reveal a hulking figure with long, scarlet hair. They wore a fearsome mask, horns jutting from the top. Metallic armor and netting covered parts of their speckled flesh, but most of their muscled physique remained exposed. As they stepped toward her, she was struck by how huge they were. They had to crouch slightly to enter the maintenance shaft. Their horns dragged along the ceiling, sparks cascading over the mask's angular visage and glassy eyes.

When two wickedly curved blades slowly extended from the device on their forearm, Adira ran. She couldn't slip past the psycho murderer to get to the tube. The hallway barely fit a normal human as it was and the guy stalking her was massive. She skidded into the dead-end, dropping her duffel bag to the ground. The killer — she assumed they were the one who sliced up Gezzer — took their time. Adira grabbed her drill, the tool whirring as she popped out the screws to the vent.

There wasn't time to call for help. She would die screaming into her comms if she did that.

Adira tore the vent away and began to shimmy in when a hand snatched at her ankle. She screamed and kicked as the killer dragged her back. Twisting her around, the psycho grabbed her by the throat, silencing her cries. Slowly, they lifted her until she was eye level, her terrified face reflected in its glassy eyes. The hand around her neck began to squeeze. Her face flushed, straining for air.

As her glazed eyes flickered over the ceiling, she noticed the large coolant hose running through the middle. Adira didn't think. With the last of her fading strength, she activated the drill in her hand and jammed it into the hose. The psycho immediately dropped her, quickly backing away.

The woman wheezed, grabbing at her neck. Keep moving! She couldn't stay here. The liquid nitrogen pouring down from the hose would flash freeze her body the moment it touched her. A sensor alarm blared as she crawled away into the vent.

Keep moving. She just needed to keep shimmying through the vent and stay one step ahead of the deadly gas.

Her comm crackled to life. "San? San, what the Sam Hill is going on?"

"Rijel!" she panted. "Send out a distress signal. There's someone on the ship. They killed Gezzer and tried to kill me, too."

"What do you mean 'there's someone on the ship'?"

"Just fracking listen to me, captain! There's a crazy murderer loose on the ship and you need to get everyone to the bridge now!" Adira continued crawling, turning down another shaft, one that would take her away from the area where the killer lurked.

Silence.

Then Rijel's voice answered, the edge of frustration replaced with a cool, flat tone. "Alright. Sending out a high-priority alert now… I… what the f—"

Adira waited, heart pounding so hard it seemed like it was hitting the metal underneath her. "Captain?" She turned on general comms. "This is Adira. Is anyone with Rijel?"

A chorus of voices answered her, asking what was going on. Adira did her best to explain. Demina started barking orders. A secondary channel pinged her.

"Hello?"

"Adira…"

"Qillian!" Yet even as her heart leapt, she sensed something off. He sounded tired.

"Are you… alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Are you still in medbay?"

"Yeah," he rasped.

"Okay, sit tight. I'm coming your way. I just have to find another vent and—"

"Addy."

Adira stopped, anxiety clenching her gut. He only used her nickname when he felt anxious or guilty about something. "Qillian, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry… but I don't think I'm going to make it."

"Don't say that. If you're hurt, grab some bandages and keep pressure on the wounds until I get there." Tears pricked her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that," she shouted into her comm. "I'm supposed to ask you out for drinks when we get to Heathcliff Station. I… I wanted to tell you how I feel."

The comm remained silent for a moment. A tear slid down her nose.

"The old Qillian might have said that would be… unprofessional… but I think now… I'd take you up on that offer." His voice grew softer with each word. With a shuddering sigh, he said, "Make it out, Adira… find a pod."

She choked back a sob. "Those busted old things?"

"If anyone… can fix them… it's you." She could barely hear him, his voice fading, as if he was walking down a tunnel and was growing farther and farther away.

"Qillian—"

Metal screeched as something cut through the vent ahead of her. She didn't even have time to curse as the vent was also sliced through behind her. She dropped, he air driven from her lungs as she crashed into the ground with bone-jarring force. A growling snarl echoed inside her metal coffin. A hand reached in and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her out.

"No!" she screamed.

There was a bright flash. Then nothing.

Author's Note: If you're enjoying the story so far, let me know what you like and what you're curious about.