Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

Mike donned the chest piece and reattached the vambraces. He slid his hands inside and took hold of both grips. Slowly he stood, steadying the armor’s weight across his shoulders, and he carefully stepped forward. Four lengthy counterweight rods swung up from the front of the chest piece. They automatically repositioned themselves with each of Mike’s footfalls, lending him a sense of surefootedness. His muscles ached from the effort of movement, but it wasn’t long before he neared the Fox Mendes chart room.

Torsha whistled as she dropped down from the overhead, and Mike halted his advance. Blood spattered her claws and clothing. “Where did you get that?” she asked.

“From a guy who really didn’t need it anymore,” said Mike, and he smiled.

“Did you kill him?” she asked.

He winced a bit. “No, I didn’t kill him.”

“What is it?”

Mike raised the robot hand. “Part of a custom combat vac suit. It’s a little large on me, so I left the rest of it behind, but this should be enough to work with. It’s very heavy, though. Honestly, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to fight in this.”

“Hopefully long enough,” said Torsha. “I left four of those jerks tied up in the dining room, and two more tied up near the stairs, but the big metal hatch thing was already closed by the time I got there. Except for the people on the bridge, everyone’s safe in their rooms like you asked. How long until they take over the ship?”

“Any minute now,” said Mike. “As soon as they take the bridge, that’s it. Whatever software these guys used to hijack ops, it’s got information systems stumped. Help won’t be coming from the lower decks for at least an hour, and command override’s down.”

“So, it’s just the two of us?” asked Torsha, and she felt her heart race.

“Three of us,” said Mike.

“Where’s Nimbus?”

Mike smiled sadly. “Still in my jacket pocket.”

With a heavy heart, Torsha looked away. “We’ll find someone who can fix him. I promise.”

“I could’ve sworn you said something about making promises you can’t keep,” said Mike.

Torsha laughed bitterly. “That’s the difference between you and me. My kind of integrity, it can’t erode.”

“Of course, it can’t,” said Mike. He drew a deep breath and glanced further along the passageway. In the distance, steel embers rained down from the command deck door, amidst a huddle of motley pirates. “Do you feel good about this?”

“No,” said Torsha.

“Are we doing this?”

She extended her claws and glanced in the direction of the command deck. “We’re doing this.”

“Stay behind me,” said Mike, and he lowered his chin. He adjusted several switches in his left vambrace. “This is where we fight.This is where they fall!”

They roared a fearsome battle cry and charged their foe. Gritting his teeth, Mike squeezed the trigger, and a blast of heat engulfed the pirates. With his robot hand, he gripped a nearby jamb, and as he swung inside, Mike stole a sidelong glance at his enemies.

Half of them shrieked and howled in pain. Still aflame, blackened limbs crumbled from their bodies. Only a cauterized crater remained of someone’s chest. Another pirate’s head burned down to the skull—and kept burning.

Torsha covered her mouth as she vomited and stumbled into the room with Mike. “Holy shit!” she wheezed. “They didn’t fall, they died!”

Horrified, Mike stared at the vambrace. “I didn’t know,” he whispered. “Torsha, I didn’t know it was going to do that!”

Coughing, she flicked the biologicals from her fingers and whirled around on him. “What the hell, Mike?”

“Can we worry about it later?” he asked. “Please take position at the door. They’re almost here!” As Torsha moved into place, Mike caught his breath and stepped back. Assuming a sideways fighting stance, he used one vambrace to guard his legs and the other to shield his head. He breathed raggedly, and his muscles burned.

A mottled sudasau stepped through first, and Torsha struck. She carved out rivulets in his snout. He snorted angrily, aiming his energy pistol as his comrades in arms crowded the threshold.

Mike used his robot hand to grasp the sidearm. With a squeeze of the vambrace’s control glove, he crushed the weapon, along with the sudasau’s fingers. He pulled his opponent close, and the sudasau perished under a barrage of his associates’ gunfire. Bullets riddled Mike’s armor. Sparks showered onto the deck, and the vambraces powered down.

Somersaulting, Torsha slipped between her opponents. Crouching in the passageway, she slashed at the bootheels in front of her, cutting through cloth and leather. She severed muscles and tendons, and three pirates collapsed. Immediately, she wrested their firearms and with a snarl, kicked each of the buccaneers out cold. She tossed their weapons into the room.

Only two enemies still stood.

A thin fellow with a tri-corner hat leveled his plasma pistol at Mike, but a burly, tattooed pirate stepped in front of him and boomed, “Lower that gun! I want a shot at this coward, mono e mono.” He holstered his weapon and raised his fists. “All right, pipsqueak. Why don’t you step out of that rig and fight like a man!”

“It’s mono a mono, actually,” Mike panted. “Tell your man to stand down.”

The burly pirate looked puzzled. “I did.”

“You’d better tell him again,” said Mike. “His gun is still pointed at me.”

Exasperated, the brawny fellow glared at his associate. “Put it away.”

“You’re being stupid,” hissed the thin pirate.

“Don’t call me stupid!” shouted the burly one. He cleared his throat. “I’m not stupid,” he said, this time much quieter. “He’s got nothing left, that guy. Look at him. He’s about to fall over from all his tiredness.”

The thin one looked past his comrade. He watched Mike exit the armor and summon the last of his strength to hoist the weapon arm. Regarding the brawny pirate again, the thin one raised his brow. “Got nothing left? Is that what you think?”

The burly pirate turned around just