Chapter 5

Cursing at the ship's insistence that we couldn't undock without the proper protocols, I told her to meet up with me as soon as she had. I unplugged and started limping, leaving my cane by the engine, I must have looked like an utter fool, almost skipping through the ship, in an attempt to drag my useless leg with me. I stopped at the arsonal that Goldie had kindly opened for me and spotted immediately my knife and my sword, hanging by their scabbard and sheath. I picked both of them up and strapped the knife to my thigh and the sword to my back. Next to where they had been resting was the bag of my body armor and other things that Errold had not wanted me to have. Not wanting to be to laden down I only put on the gloves and Gauntlets, their gold reticulated engravings glinting up my arms and over my elbows, in the fluorescent light. And the boots with their matching gold metal work that twisted up my calf, to my thigh. The knee's on them were scuffed from having to kneel at my trial, the gold plating chipped by the white marble of the palace it had taken place in. There were a few other odds and ends in the bad including my Inquisitorial Rosette. It was scratched, it's surface marred by my repeated attempts to force it to register to me. I had finally been successful in the end, but at some cost. I put the string of beads around my neck. Old habits die hard, I guess. I thought ruefully, feeling it's reassuring surface.

"You sure about this, sis?" I looked over at Mark standing in the doorway now.

As I stuffed the rest of the armor back in the bag, rolling my eyes I said tersely, "Which part."

He laughed, "All of it. Just sit on the ship a little longer. Lockharte will have his way, and your Inquisitor will be dead. And you," he paused, that little half smile playing on his lips. "Will be free."

"While I get that you have a history of backstabbing people who don't necessarily deserve it. I thought you were pro hunting down Lockharte." I stood up and grabbed a harpoon-like grappling gun from Errold's personal collection, and strapping another holster to my hip, wrapping the strap around my thigh, slid the weapon into it and grabbed a single stun grenade. I pushed passed him on my way out and limped down the hall.

"Sis." His voice trailing after me, "I'm an echo, remember? I want what you want." I gritted my teeth at his words and trotted to the little ship's docking bay. I passed the shuttle, still docked and strapped in tight. Inside a small compartment to the side of the shuttle was a few mini, portable rebreathers, I grabbed one and continued through the small space to the exit. Goldie opened it for me as I approached and I passing through, glancing around, trying to find someone who worked in the area. I spotting a dock worker lounging next to a terminal and I shouted at him.

He had been chatting to someone on his arm communicator and glanced up annoyed at the rude interruption, then his eyes bulged as they came to rest on me. Between the piece-mail armor, my half open shirt with the Rosette bouncing from my neck over the glowing text that spiraled, golden, from the center where my heart lay under the skin, along with my blades and nasty looking grappling gun must have been quite the sight. My hair wasn't even dry yet and hung in loose rings around my face and shoulders.

"Y-yes ma'am?" The dock worker said in surprise, straightening as I descended on him.

"Security. Call them now." I commanded sharply in my best Inquisitor growl, "Tell them I need to get up to Sector fourteen, outer ring, section D."

He looked alarmed, "Yes, Inquisitor Ma'am," he choked and hung up his call with the chatty female on the other line. Then made a call to security.

I didn't wait around, I just started jogging down the platform to the main waiting area trying to ignore the shooting pain; my booted feet making an uneven, but satisfying, 'thump, thump'. By the time I got there, several security personnel were there waiting for me, one of them stepped forward to greet me.

"Inquisitor ma'am. I'm Security Captain Reginold. I was the one who circulated your flyers."

I nodded to him and grabbed his arm turning him, "We need to get to Sector fourteen. This is urgent, my fellow inquisitor needs backup apprehending the heretic I sent you a photo of." But damn, if I didn't even sound convincing even to myself.

He puffed up proudly having been so candidly in on such an important situation. "I'll help anyway I can, Inquisitor." He motioned for one of his men to grab one of their indoor skiffs. Kind of a topless ground vehicle that hovered along at a nice clip, but still had fair handling in the low gravity; perfect for getting around the massive structure that was Interstellar Five. A group of about a dozen of the captain's security force jumped into similar cars to follow us, they were armed with stun weapons and the like.

"You should buckle in, ma'am, the flight might be dangerous." He said and pointed to the restraint device.

I leveled him with a stony, unflinching gaze. "I don't think I need to tell you not to crash and kill an inquisitor."

He paled at that and looking terrified, started the engines and we sped up and into the grand sweeping lofts of the space station. The ride was a little bumpy as the massive wind turbines pumped the air at this height like great lungs. The gravity was a little manic also, going in and out, I had to hold on to the little windshield and the seat of the skiff, growling at every bump that jostled my cybernetics and the discomfort passing through them.

Within a few seconds of this wildly fast run we finally approached what I recognized as the upper rings of the station. Where each ring had its own micro atmosphere and was almost completely separate from the rest of the station.

"Section D, right Ma'am?" He asked pulling up along one of the open decks. "Its desolate up here, but I guess that'd be a good place to hide, if you were on the lamb." I rolled my eyes at the gumshoe and jumped from the car. Walking right up to the closest hall. The captain pulled his blaster and signaled for everyone to scatter in teams. "Spread out, we're gonna give the Inquisitor some back up."

I started jogging along the corridor, scanning the walls for any traps. But other then some trip lasers there was nothing. I pointed them out to the security behind me, then stopped and held up my hand in the 'quiet' and 'stop' hand signal and motioned for them to stay.

I had heard voices and I was sure one of them was Lockharte's tenor.

I peeked around the corner and saw two other tech-priest with blasters looking on as a laughing Lockharte stood, lording over Errold who was bound on the floor, glaring daggers up at the menacing tech-priest, blood trickled from a cut on his head. Maddock and the astro path were unconscious on the floor, the astropaths looked gray and there was a fair amount of blood pooling under him. Although bordering on comically evil, I noted the jagged laughter was a tell tale sign of his relief at finally being rid of this inquisitor.

"Ooh, yes. I'm so excited for you to enjoy this new batch of deliciousness I've cook up. It's perfect for the subject being aware, but not being able to move." He giggled.

I rounded the corner and walked right down the middle of the hall. The windows to space to my left. I could see Errolds eyes catch sight of me and widen and I took out the stun grenade.

"You know," Lockharte continued, "you should be happy, there's a slew of people who'd give their teeth for some of this stuff." He paused over Errold and back handed him, "Ungrateful! Well, I'll-"

Then I went from a walk to a run, throwing the grenade at the two hulking tech-priests. The thing detonated with a "Boom" sending out spiraling electricity, the two of them shouted in pain as they were stunned momentarily. I pulled my knife from its place on my hip: a gift from my wife. And the sword from my back: a gift from my brother, Mark. Her daemon spirit crooning that it had missed my touch and the blood we had spilled together. Then I jumped the tech-priest nearest me, he shouted a string of binary, in the middle of getting up, as I sliced up into his torso with the knife; with the sword slicing his neck, taking his head off.

His body slumping to the floor, blood pooling, Lockharte turned and his mouth opened in shock at me. My face contorted with rage and I lept to the second guard right as the security team rounded the corner and opened fire.

Lockharte still in shock watched as I took a shot to the leg so I could close the distance to the panicked, hapless guard.

"Should have aimed higher," I growled as I sunk my knife in his belly three quick times, then, turning I let the blade of the sword snap out behind me, it's wicked metal lengthening, the iridescent daemon laughing gleefully as her tip shot towards Lockharte's head.

He jumped to the side, barely avoiding the blade. Snarling now, he took off at a run down the hall, pulling out a blaster of his own along with a small metal stick that had something red on the end.

My gut wrenched at what it could be, and I yelled at the station security to help me get the unconscious bodies out to the hover cars.

They grabbed Maddock and the astropath as I took off at a dead run after Lockharte, sheathing my sword so I could run faster. His tech was going to be better than mine but I had to try.

Running down the corridor I spotted him. He had a little teardrop-shaped pod that he was already in and closing the top of, it's little engines firing up in the enclosed space, the area in front of him had a little pile of explosives in front of it.

We locked eyes and I felt something sink to the pit of my stomach, the rage and anger fading from me as I realized I was trying to hunt a person who had been one of my closest friends. I sheathed my knife and he gave me a little nod of comradely as he closed the hatch, and I backpedaled as fast as I could.

The explosion was deafening and the roar of rushing air blocked all else from being heard as the air was being sucked out the now giant hole in Section D's ring. I was thrown forward by the initial blast into a support column, then felt myself being pulled back towards the hole. I grabbed the large column and barely hung on, and then I saw Errold's limp form slide past me, the two security guards had let him go to hold on to hardpoints they'd managed to find in the chaos.

I reached out for Errold's fluttering coat as it passed, but just missed it. I said a curse and took a few quick breaths to flood my system with oxygen, than taking one giant breath I let go and actually pushed off the column. Letting myself hurtle towards the Inquisitor. He was already out the hole and floating. I just hoped my trajectory was good.

I zoomed out of the hole, turning slightly, like a torpedo hurtling towards my target and reached for Errold's arm as I passed him, catching the sleeve. I pulled him close to me and, looking into his bright blue eyes, now frosting over with cold, I squeezed him close and told my systems to fire up my internals, so I would became a space heater of sorts. I also took out the portable rebreather and looped it behind one ear and over his nose and mouth, where it clung, flooding him with air. I then unholstered the grappling hook and shot it at an angle to the left of us without braking that eye contact with him.

The hook caught and held onto its target which was the welcoming shape of the inquisitor's ship. The little mechanism of the grapple began to turn as we drifted to the shadow of Goldie, her form eclipsed the light of the station as the grapple reeled us into her. She lovingly swallowed us up into her warm body. The door closed behind us and gravity gently reengaged as air and warmth filled the cabin again. We landed gently on the ground, him touching down first. Still hugging him tightly, I gently rested on top of him, and said with a little smile, "it's cold out there, next time you go for a space walk, take a jacket, huh?"

I then pulled his arms in close and rubbed them and his torso as my body fired up a good fever and warmed him. I put a hand over his forehead, and slid over his body, covering as much surface as possible. I could feel his cold skin warming as we lay there. His eyes blinked under the heat of my hand as I whispered softly to him, "Shh, now. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. Just take it easy, now," I said while my other hand rubbed his arm, hands and torso. "It's the best way to deal with one of Lockhartes drugs." And I gave a little, knowing smile.

"Goldie, take us back to docking." The computer gave a little chirp of acknowledgement. I could feel the thrusters start to burn the fuel needed to get us there. The vibrations of this reverberating through the floor. Errold just looked at me, unable to speak. When his flesh had started to regain color I stood up, "Let's get you into bed," I said with a grunt and lifted him up into my arms and carried him to his quarters.

I gently rested him down on the bed and took off his boots and belt, holster and gun, cloak and the rest of his clothes. I ran quickly to the medical area of the ship and found some gel meant to help treat severe burns from cold or hot and rushed back to his quarters. I rubbed the clear gel over his skin. And then laid in the bed with him after undressing down to my shirt and pants, pulling the blankets up over us and again spreading out over his body, my form acting as a massive heater, radiating out over his chilled skin. I rested my head on his chest and wrapped his arm around me, putting his other hand on his chest and covering it with my own.

"You know," I said softly to his chest, "now's as good of a time as any to do some real grieving for your apprentice Tam." I lifted my head to look at him, "Grief is the easiest way for the corruption to take over and spread. Grief, and fear that is." I added and rested my head back down on his chest nuzzling him slightly, breathing in his scent. "Just saying."

All that he was able to express, trapped as he was in his body, were the traitorous tears that leaked from the corners of his eyes, slipping down his temple to the pillow under his head.