Chapter 28

Zeke stood, locked his boots to the floor and then reached down to grab Baraz’s wrists.

With little effort, he pulled the man to his feet. He turned him around and shoved him towards the ladder.

“Work out how to get up it, while I get Shorty,” Zeke told Baraz as the man managed to get a hand on the ladder and stop himself from falling.

Baraz turned and looked at Zeke with confusion. Zeke pointed at Baraz’s still prone friend, who was lying on his side on the floor.

“We will be right behind you. If you try kicking me again, you will find him in the way. Now climb!”

“I can’t climb like this!” Baraz interjected and lifted his hands from the rung to display his cable tie.

“Yes, you can. You have already proven I can’t trust you. Reach for the top rung. You can then hop your feet up several rungs. By then, you should be able to brace your back against the opening and put your arms out to pull yourself out. We are only at half gravity.”

Baraz turned and looked up. He reached up and grabbed the top rung and easily pulled his feet up onto the first rung and then the next. Zeke watched Baraz as his torso went through the opening.

As soon as his legs disappeared, Zeke released his boots and pushed off the floor with his hands above his head as if he were diving upwards. It is amazing how high you can jump against 0.45g. As Zeke’s shoulders cleared the opening, he brought his hands down in front to push against the rim.

He tucked his head and rolled his body out of the opening. As he completed the roll onto his back, his feet kicked out. Baraz was on his side, trying to pull the hatch up to shut it. Zeke’s feet connected with Baraz’s knees and pushed his legs and hips over the rounded top of the pod.

Baraz squawked in surprise and scrabbled for the rim of the hatch. With his hands tied together, he couldn’t get a grip. He also missed the cone of the small thruster and slid down the pod’s side. At least he didn’t fall fast.

The friction of his body against the pod’s exterior also slowed his 3m drop to the floor. Even so, mass is mass, and he came to an ignoble halt to his decent. He ended up falling backwards and smacking his head on the floor.

Zeke climbed down the outside ladder and walked over to the laid-out man. He checked his pulse and response. Baraz was out cold but still breathing. Zeke shook his head and left him to go get Shorty.

Shorty was coming around when Zeke checked him. Zeke got him to his feet and had to brace him as he fumbled up the ladder. Shorty was still groggy and had no intention of putting up a fight. He rolled out of the way to let Zeke climb out after him.

Zeke climbed down first and told Shorty to slide over the side, and he’d help him down. Once Zeke had his legs, Shorty slid down until his hands were on the rim. Zeke gripped Shorty’s waist and told him to let go. He then gently guided the man to the floor.

“Thank you. That was the scariest flight I’ve ever experienced. I can’t believe we survived it,” Shorty said shakily as he gripped Zeke’s arm for support.

“If I cut the tie off your ankles, will you behave while I walk you to my spare cabin?”

Shorty nodded and stood still while Zeke cut the tie. He didn’t resist when Zeke took his arm and led him into the hall. Zeke called the lift to their level when they got to it.

While it went up, he said, “I have to lock you in. This cabin has a small bathroom, and I have several spare suits in the cupboard. One of them should fit you. I’ll cut the tie before I leave. Behave, and I won’t have to restrain you again.”

“Can I have something for the headache?”

“Yes. I’ll be putting Baraz in the infirmary. I don’t trust him and can cuff him to the bed. I think he may have a concussion, and I can treat him better there.”

Shorty nodded, “Thanks for saving us. That pod was stuffed. I’m surprised it even launched. Baraz said he was fixing it, but I didn’t think he had.”

“It didn’t. My runner has grappling arms, and I was able to pull it free of your ship. You are damn lucky I came after you when we realised you were in trouble.”

Shorty shivered and was as pale as his skin tone would go.

Zeke went to the infirmary.

He unclipped the bed from the wall. It now functioned as a wider-than-average gurney. The infirmary was on the second floor, so he had to use the lift. Once down, he wheeled it to where Baraz lay.

Baraz was still unconscious. Thanks to the lighter gravity, Zeke got him on the gurney. He made sure Baraz was strapped down before moving him. He manoeuvred him back to the lift and then to the infirmary.

Zeke removed everything from the man’s pockets and his Mad. He wasn’t really surprised by the knife and sheath tucked into the man’s right boot. Nor the multi-tool in a pocket on his pants.

He then stripped Baraz. Taking care to only free one limb at a time. The rank smell coming from Baraz wasn’t pleasant. He didn’t wish to put another spell on the man, but a clean-the-body spell was necessary.

Zeke ran the Auto-Doc scanner over Baraz. While waiting for the results, Zeke washed his hands, put on gloves, and retrieved the antiseptic wipes. He cleaned up Baraz’s forearm and elbow on his right arm. He noticed the snake tattoo around his lower arm was the same as the one he had seen on Armid Ali.

Zeke connected the treatment dispenser to Baraz using a specialist cuff that inserted a needle into a vein. You could also attach an IV line to it. It did a diagnostic assessment of his blood and monitored his vitals.