She frowned. “This is the worst dream ever.”
He gave a sharp nod, as if agreeing. She was mentally stable as long as she kept believing this was a dream. He’d deal with the fallout later, once he blew up the transport to erase all traces of him being there. He didn’t need another criminal charge tacked onto his record.
Chapter Three
Gemma followed the tall hunk through his ship, to the front of the vessel. It had a tricked-out cockpit with two seats. Good thing, because her limbs felt oddly heavy after being weightless. She gazed at stars and a lot of blackness through the front window.
“Strap in,” Big ordered, taking the seat to the left.
“Where are the planets and the moon? The sun? Aren’t we supposed to be in space? Can we see Earth? I might as well enjoy the view while I’m trapped here.”
“Strap in, please.”
She sighed and took a seat, putting on the belts. “Fine.”
“We’re in deep space, not in Earth’s solar system.”
“You mean I dreamed up a black hole? Fantastic.”
He grinned and started the engines. Everything vibrated and lots of lights came on across the dashboard. She noticed some kind of device in front of her. It reminded her of one of her son’s video game controllers. “Can I fly?”
“No.” He flipped switches. “I am not giving control to your side. We’re undocking from the transport and then I’m going to destroy it.”
“Isn’t Sherlock still over there?”
“The android? Yes. I left it. It’s of no use to me.”
“Awesome. Can I blow it up?” She stared out the big window and saw another ship slowly come into view. It appeared boxy in shape and was a light gray color. Seven numbers were painted in black on the side. “I mean, why the hell not? The robot has bugged the crap out of me since this dream started. I might as well get a little joy out of killing it off in my imagination.”
“Push the white button near your left hand when I tell you to.”
She reached out. “This one?”
“Yes.” The space pirate flipped another switch. “Hang on while I target the transport.”
“Okay.”
He toyed with his large joystick. She grinned and watched as they backed farther from the boxlike ship. Big pushed some more buttons on a console over his head, then gripped another joystick attached by a thick sleeve on the dash.
He glanced at her. “Hit the white button now. We’re locked onto the transport.”
She pressed the button with gusto.
Nothing seemed to happen.
But then a hole suddenly appeared in the side of the other ship. She expected it to burst apart, blow up, but instead, big dents began to appear on the metal. It seemed to shrink inward on itself, then small pieces broke off around the edges of the main body, floating outward. There were a few sudden bursts of lights flashing in certain parts of the ship as more holes appeared, and the metal shell seemed to crumple more.
“That’s it? No big bang? No blast of fire? That was kind of a letdown.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. I just breached the interior to decompress the ship. I try to make these things look as if they were accidental. The distress signal didn’t specify the problem. These supply transports are always computer piloted, and it will be impossible for them to take stock of what was inside. The transport is too crushed, and it’s not worth hauling it to a docking station and bringing it inside to see what can be salvaged.”
“Shuttles accidentally decompress? Does that happen often in this dream world?”
“It does if the autopilot is faulty and unable to avoid space debris or asteroids. Rapid decompression will crush the ship. It comes apart at that point. I fired small asteroid chunks at it to create the holes. You didn’t see them because they’re as dark as space.”
She pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her bent knee. “This sucks. I want to be on a beach next to the Pacific Ocean. You could be my cabana boy.” She looked at him. “Maybe not. You’re too large to be a boy anything.”
He messed with more buttons, some switches, and his joysticks. “I know this is difficult for you to believe, but the time you knew is gone. You really are existing in what you would consider the future. I’m setting a course for home.”
He slid out of the seat and bent next to her, releasing her belt. “Come with me.” He stood and held out his arm. “No other ships are in range and my autopilot will alert me if that changes.”
“Right, right. You’re a pirate, and now the space police will want to catch us.”
“They’ll kill us. I’ve possibly got an active death warrant out on me already, and you’re an illegally created clone. We’ll be safe when we reach home base.”
“Okay. Now we’re playing baseball? This is so weird.” She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
He grinned. “Home base is where I live. It’s a closed mining station inside a moon. The company that built it tapped out on the minerals they sought and abandoned the facility. A group of us found it and restored power.”
“Of course you did.” Everything in this dream was turning out to be weird. She followed him out of the cockpit and into the narrow corridor they’d come from after leaving the cargo area. “So…a group?”
“There were six of us. All clones. It’s just me living on the station now. They wanted to travel and seek adventures.”
He stopped in front of double doors and pressed a button. They slid open to reveal a small square room. He entered and tugged her along. The doors sealed, and she felt a sharp drop. She gasped and squeezed his hand tighter.
“The living quarters are below. Take it easy. This is a lift.”
“Elevator. Got it. How many floors does this ship have?”
“Two. Cargo and function operations are on the top section. Living quarters are below. The engines take up the entire back half of the lower section. I apologize that it’s not a smoother transition between floors. I need to fix that but haven’t gotten around to it yet. That repair wasn’t a priority.”
The elevator stopped moving and the doors opened. Big kept ahold of her as he brought her into another narrow hallway. They passed two closed doors. He stopped at the third one and opened it by pressing his hand on a panel. It lit up and seemed to scan his palm. The door slid open.
Gemma released him and stepped inside to see what she assumed was a bedroom. The king-size mattress was a good clue. But it was the wall to the right that mesmerized her as she approached. It appeared to be the biggest television she’d ever seen. It ran floor to ceiling, taking up the entire flat surface.
The image currently displayed showed a beach. It looked extremely realistic. She could almost see every grain of sand, and the crashing waves were spectacular. It was a view of a cove, with big rock walls on both sides of the small beach, the sun shining brightly in a clear blue sky.
“This is what I’m talking about.”
“I hoped you’d enjoy that view. I programmed the screen from the cockpit once you mentioned the Pacific Ocean. These entertainment walls are included with most shuttles. It helps combat claustrophobia for the crew, who spend months in space. I usually view other planets, but you mentioned a preference for sunny beaches. This is from Earth.”