Novels by Ocha Ruby

Chapter 30: Spoils of War"He's right around the corner," Dorian gasped, clutching his chest as the crimson light beneath his skin flickered like a dying ember. "Third bulkhead down. He's weaponizing the corridor's security feed.""Let him try," Kenji muttered, sliding his combat knife back into its sheath with a sharp click before ripping a high-pressure steam valve off the auxiliary wall unit. "Seraphine, keep Dorian behind the turbine housing. If Vance gets past me, put a round through his skull. Don't hesitate.""I never do," Seraphine said coldly, dragging the shivering boy out of the line of fire as a dense, blinding white hiss of scalding steam erupted across the narrow metal walkway.The deafening roar of the freighter's engines drowned out the initial sound of the ambush, but the sudden, violent clash of steel against steel echoed sharply through the vibrating lower deck. Kenji lunged into the blinding white wall of vapor, his blade meeting Vance's combat knife with a shower

Chapter 29: Turning the Blade"Stay down, Dorian," Kenji snapped, not even turning around as he kept his eyes locked on the twisting maze of steam pipes stretching across the lower engineering deck. "One wrong step and that spinal shunt is going to blow its seals. We don't need you bleeding out before Vance even gets his hands on you.""I’m not... useless," Dorian wheezed, his hands clawing weakly at the rusted metal plating of the deck as another violent tremor wracked his frame. The crimson light glowing beneath the skin of his collarbone pulsed erratically, casting a sickly, bioluminescent hue across his contorted features. "I can feel him. In the static... down the corridor."Seraphine dropped to one knee beside the boy, shoving him firmly back against the bulkhead. "Shut up, Dorian. Listen to Kenji. If Vance is tracking your biometric signature, every word you choke out is basically screaming our GPS coordinates right into his earpiece.""She’s right," Kenji whispered, his body t

Chapter 28: Iron and Steam"Vance isn't the type to wait for a harbor clearance," Kenji muttered, sliding his combat knife from its sheath with a dry, whispering hiss. "He’s already aboard. I found a fresh boot print on the ladder leading down from the main deck—and it definitely doesn't belong to any deckhand on this rust bucket."Seraphine's grip tightened around her weapon, her knuckles turning bone-white in the dim yellow emergency glow of the hold. "How long ago?""Minutes. Maybe less," Kenji replied, his eyes scanning the labyrinth of massive steel pipes and towering auxiliary steam turbines that hummed with a deafening, vibrating roar. "He’s moving quiet. Trying to secure the asset without tripping shipboard alarms or alerting the crew.""Which means he wants Dorian breathing," Seraphine said, casting a sharp glance toward the shivering youth slumped against a bulkhead.Dorian tried to push himself up, his teeth gritted against the sudden, agonizing flare of pain radiating from

Chapter 27: The Hunter Aboard"They aren't looking at ship logs," Kenji murmured, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the data feed scrolling across the terminal. "They’re tracking the biometric signature of the bio-sample inside you, Dorian. The corporation flagged you as proprietary stolen tech worth more than this entire vessel."Seraphine cursed under her breath, reaching down to steady Dorian as another wave of tremors wracked his frame. "So the port authority thinks we're a coal barge, but the company's elite hunters can still smell us coming a mile away?""Worse," Kenji said, snapping the diagnostic terminal shut with a sharp metallic click. "I saw the deployment logs flash across the port surveillance bypass. They didn't send a cleanup crew. They sent Vance."Dorian raised his head, his pale face slick with cold sweat. "Vance? Who is—""An elite corporate tracker," Kenji cut him off, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low pitch. "The kind of man they send when they want a targe

Chapter 26: Crossing the Line"Got it," Kenji hissed, his fingers hammering the final sequence into the diagnostic terminal as a stream of green text cascaded down the cracked screen. "Port authority logs are looping our transponder ghost-signal with a civilian coal barge three miles off our stern. We’re officially invisible.""And the corporate bounty files?" Seraphine demanded, keeping her eyes fixed on the narrow metal ladder leading up to the main deck. "Are we still flagged as missing assets, or did your little analog trick buy us an actual clean slate?""We’re clean on the port registries," Kenji replied, yanking the copper tap wire free and coiling it with sharp, practiced jerks. "As far as the maritime authorities know, the Iron Gander is carrying five hundred tons of low-grade anthracite and nothing else. But the corporation isn't relying on public registries anymore."Dorian shifted uncomfortably against the crate, his hands trembling as he pulled his jacket tighter around h

Chapter 25: The Ghost in the FrequenciesKenji pulled the analog tap wire tight, wrapping the copper thread around the battered diagnostic terminal resting on the rusted oil drum. Sparks hissed into the damp air of the freighter’s lower hold, casting fleeting orange shadows across the walls of stacked cargo crates."Keep that light steady, Seraphine," Kenji muttered, his fingers flying across the makeshift keyboard with practiced precision. "If I drop this connection before the handshaking protocol locks in, the port authority's digital tripwire will trace us straight back to this bilge."Seraphine adjusted the tactical flashlight clamped between her teeth, her hands busy securing the auxiliary power cell to Dorian’s shivering shoulder. "If you don't hurry up, your precious tripwire won't matter because the corporate cleanup crew will already be boarding us," she hissed, her voice muffled around the metal casing.Dorian sat slumped against a wooden crate, his breathing shallow and err