Personal Log 2-9: Grandma's Eyeball Jello

The computer voice rang through the ship, calm and unemotional. “This ship is changing course. Delphi override protocol initiated.”

“Where is Vasha taking us?” I muttered.

“I don’t think it’s Vasha.” Turner pointed at the door.

Caligula’s second in command stood framed in the doorway. Armed pirates crowded behind him. He smiled. “Thank you for your assistance, Stevens is it? You saved me a lot of trouble.”

I nudged the unconscious cyborg at my feet. “We want the Odyssey and your word that we can leave in safety.”

“I don’t think so.” He fingered his rifle. “No, I think the three of you are going to be my special guests for a while. At least until your other friends surrender. They are locked in the ship’s torpedo storage bay and refuse to unlock the door. I could blast it, but that would leave us stranded if it doesn’t kill us. No, I would rather negotiate. And with you as my hostages, I mean guests, they might listen to reason.” He stepped into the room. His pirates flanked us.

I kicked Caligula. “Are you the one Caligula told us to fear?”

“He said to fear Rafael? What a nice thing to say about the man who has been trying to kill him for the last two months.” Rafael signaled his men. The picked up Caligula and herded the three of us together. “But now that I have his ship and you, I don’t need to kill him. I think I’ll let the medics have him for experimentation. I wonder how much pain a cyborg can feel.”

I traded looks with Turner. This guy was ten times creepier than Caligula, who made Del’Brugado look as harmless as my grandmother and her eyeball jello.

The lights flickered off. “Main reactor shut down initiated. Power levels dropping to minimal.”

“Crap,” we all said together.

Personal Log 2-10: Our Only Hope