The Pirate from the Stars Book 1- Renegade

by Cheree Alsop

  Everyone waited in silence for Gage’s response. He nodded. “Well done. If the battle turned the other way, I’d rather the pods be in the hands of pirates than Macsians. Quick thinking.”

  “With my calculations, if we use the AB drive to get to the Black Star Galaxy and then use it again for the Ice Fray Nebula, that’ll be our quickest route,” Hyra announced.

  “Last I heard, there was an asteroid cloud in the Black Star Galaxy,” Klellen said. “It might be risky.”

  Gage studied the star map in front of Hyra. “How long will it take us otherwise?”

  “We’d have to stop short in the Triangulum Galaxy,” Hyra said, charting it out, “But we can’t go directly from there. We’d have to alter our course once we reached the Fluris Nebula. It’ll add hours to our course.”

  “We’ll brave the asteroids and hope our luck holds out,” Gage replied. “The sooner we get to Balan, the better.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sirens sounded the instant the AB drive released.

  “Asteroids are everywhere,” Manax called as he steered the ship through twisting rocks and debris.

  One hit the side of the Kratos.

  “Activate the next surge,” Gage said. “The velocity will move the asteroids out of our way.” Another one hit the ship. “Get us out of here!”

  “She’s not responding,” Manax replied, his voice tight. He pressed a button. “Who’s running the engine crew with Rin down?”

  “Me,” a high voice replied. “Pravish, Sir. We have a leak.”

  “We need to use the drive,” Manax told her. “How soon can we be back up?”

  “We’ll have it ready in minutes,” she told him.

  “Uh, Captain.” Klellen’s scales were blue and green when he continued with, “Whatever hit the Kratos is still attached.”

  “What do you mean?” Gage asked.

  Klellen moved his image to the main screen. The flashing red and white indicators where the asteroids had struck also showed green along the hull.

  At the same time, Manax straightened. “Captain, I don’t think those are asteroids.”

  One of the floating rocks drew closer. Hyra enlarged the image. A gasp sounded from Sienna at the sight of claws protruding from the asteroid.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “A rodential mineraloid,” Klellen replied. At her look, he said “A rock rodent. They eat metal.”

  “They’re eating the ship?” she asked in horror.

  Gage nodded. “Tersha?”

  “Vinian and Yukan are on their way up. Vin wants to know if you are up for some target practice?”

  Gage glanced at Sienna. She shook her head.

  He agreed, but didn’t want to admit that the pain meds were wearing off to the point that he doubted he could even hold a sniper rifle. “My doctor says I can’t.”

  The bridge crew laughed.

  “Tell Vinian to take one down for me.”

  “Will do,” Tersha replied at the same time that she was speaking to the groundcrew with her other mouth.

  They watched on the monitors as Vinian and Yukan made their way carefully around the outside of the ship.

  “Don’t let them see you,” Hyra warned. “They might like metal, but I’m sure they’d make an exception for a yummy Darfian.”

  “Quiet, Hyra,” Vinian replied. “You know I hate rodents.”

  “Just shoot straight,” Gage recommended. “Others are coming. You need to get back in here before we surge. Klellen, what’s the status on the engine?”

  “Privish says thirty seconds,” the Iridian replied.

  Gage pressed a button on his console. “Guys, you have thirty seconds. How does it look?”

  “The rodents didn’t like our form of appreciation for their presence,” Yukan said. “But they left quite the hole. We’re going to need a patch job to preserve the structural integrity when we surge. Give us a bit longer.”

  A low tone sounded.

  “Proximity alert,” Hyra called out.

  “Report,” Gage told her.

  “An unidentified ship,” she replied. “Coalition markings.”

  Tension ran through the bridge.

  “We’re getting a transmission,” she said.

  “Put it through,” Gage replied.

  To his surprise, Corporal Ganik’s face appeared. “Hello, Metis. Good to see you again.”

  “Same to you, Corporal,” Gage said. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I have a feeling this isn’t a coincidence.”

  The Corporal tipped his head. “You’re correct. We followed your plasma trail. Fortunately, the solar winds haven’t come through yet. Judging by the speed with which you’re traveling, you’ve got a destination in mind.”

  “We just stopped for repairs, Corporal,” Gage replied carefully. “Watch out for the rodential mineraloids.”

  “I have snipers already set up,” Ganik said. “Thanks for the warning.”

  When the Corporal fell silent, Gage couldn’t beat around the bush any longer. He kept his voice level to keep the suspicion out of it when he asked, “Corporal, is there a reason you’re following the Kratos’ trail?”

  “Yes, but I would prefer to talk about it on a private line.”

  Gage knew he could trust the man who had gotten him off Tanus alive, but concern for his crew kept him from being specific. “We will be using the AB drive as soon as it’s online. Hyra can patch you through to my quarters.”

  “I appreciate your time,” the Corporal replied.

  “I don’t like it,” Manax said as soon as the ship was offline. “First of all, what is the Corporal doing in a Coalition ship, and secondly, why speak to you alone?”

  “The Coalition granted the Unified Militia use of their crafts when they formed the treaty to protect the Macrocosm against the Macsians,” Gage replied. “The Corporal must have been given the ship for his own use during the Macsian Wars. And as to your second question, nothing I do is a secret to my crew. If the Corporal needs the reassurance of a private conversation, he must have his reasons. I owe him enough to hear him out.”

  The Amphibite gave a single nod. “Fair enough. But I still don’t like it.”

  “Me, either,” Gage replied. “Manax, you have the command.”

  Gage pushed up to a standing position with his good arm. The weight of his shoulder against the wound made his breath catch in his throat. He straightened and walked down the hall.

  Grateful that his quarters were the first along the next hallway, Gage took advantage of the momentary respite from the bridge to slump in the chair near his monitor with a stifled groan he wouldn’t have allowed himself around the crew. He made a mental note to ask Cisco about pain medication; bringing up the matter to Sienna would only make things complicated.

  He took a steeling breath, straightened his shoulders with a muttered curse, and push the button near the console.

  “Hyra, patch Corporal Ganik through.”

  “Yes, Captain,” the Guarite replied.

  A moment later, the Corporal’s face appeared on his monitor. The background was different than before. It looked as though Ganik was in his private quarters as well.

  “You look tired, Captain,” he noted.

  Gage gave him a weary nod. “There was a battle with Macsians that turned out to be a little more difficult than planned.”

  The barest hint of a smile lifted the Corporal’s mustache when he replied, “You mean you had a plan? Looked like you jumped down there with the intention of taking on the entire Macsian army.”

  “Are you saying that wasn’t a good plan?” Gage replied.

  Corporal Ganik chuckled. He tipped his head in accession. “You always did have a mouth on you.”

  “I’ve been told that,” Gage said. He leaned uncomfortably in his seat. “Corporal, why did you fly halfway across the Macrocosm to trail me and my crew?”

  Corporal Ganik’s expression tightened. He shifted in his seat as if he, too, w
as uncomfortable with the situation. “I respect you enough not to draw this out, so I’ll just ask and let bygones be bygones.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  The Corporal cleared his throat. “Metis, the Unified Military has received a tip that a hostile being known only as Tomo has been destroying planets in the outer region beyond the scope of the Military’s protection.”

  “For what reason?”

  Corporal Ganik shook his head. “I haven’t been given that clearance. All I know is that both the CUOC and the Coalition are worried about whatever this Tomo has, and they fear that he’ll bring it into our borders.”

  Gage watched him closely. “You’re here on the Military’s request, right?”

  “I am,” the Human answered.

  “They know we’re pirates and not mercenaries, right?” Gage told him. “We’re not their moon cats to be led about chasing a string.”

  “They understand that,” Corporal Ganik replied. “But there’s pay.”

  Gage snorted. “You can see the irony in that as easily as I.”

  “I can,” the Corporal agreed. “The way I see it, take their money. Use it to benefit yourselves or these people I keep hearing about spreading rumors that you’re some sort of liberator or protector. Check on the planet. There’s no harm in swinging by the Black Box Nebula—”

  Gage cut him off. “Did you just say the Black Box Nebula? This just keeps getting better and better.” He reached for the button.

  “Hear me out, Metis,” the Corporal said.

  The edge of worry in the man’s voice kept Gage from turning off the monitor.

  The same concern showed in his eyes when he said, “From what I know, the Unified Militia has never asked a pirate to investigate something like this. The higher-ups are worried; extremely worried. When your name came up, mine followed because I was your commanding officer. I told them you probably wouldn’t do it. They gave me leave to offer you anything you wanted in return.”

  This caught Gage’s attention. “Anything?”

  The Corporal nodded.

  “Amnesty?” Gage pressed.

  “They said anything,” he replied. “You could clear your name and those of your crew. They could go home, Gage. They could raise families and live in the open instead of skulking in the shadows with the brand of a pirate putting a black mark on their families’ names.” He paused, then said, “You could go home, Gage. Or you could come work with me. I need a good captain who knows when to push and when to run. I’ve always trusted your instincts.”

  Gage didn’t know what to say. The offer sounded too good to be true. “We just have to swing by and look?”

  Corporal Ganik nodded. “Short and simple.” He hesitated, then said, “But like you, I can’t figure out why they haven’t sent a ship already. I know it’s out of their jurisdiction, but if it impacts our little slice of the Macrocosm, I don’t know why they wouldn’t do it. That was my hesitation in telling you in the first place, and why I asked to tell you in privacy. Your crew might jump at the chance to clear their names, but you’re their captain. It’s up to you to make the right decision.”

  Gage felt the engines rumble on. “Corporal, it seems my engine crew has this beauty up and running once more. I’d prefer it if you didn’t trail us to our destination.”

  The Corporal inclined his head. “My report to the CUOC and Coalition will show that I contacted you and are awaiting a response. If you choose to accept their mission, send me a transmission and I’ll let them know it’s open.”

  “Will do,” Gage replied. His intercom beeped.

  “Captain, the patch has been made and the AB drive is back online.”

  “Thank you, Tersha,” he said. “Tell Manax to continue to our destination.”

  “Will do,” Tersha replied. “Over and out.”

  “Corporal, I’ll be in contact.”

  Corporal Ganik nodded. “I’m glad to see you up and about.”

  “I owe that to you, sir.”

  A furrow formed between the older man’s eyebrows. “Gage, I’m sorry about what happened in the Verde Nebula. If I had known—”

  “I know,” Gage replied, his chest tight. “If I had also known, things would have been much different. As it is, I am grateful for your leadership.”

  “And I, yours,” the Corporal replied.

  The transmission cut out. It was the only sign that the AB drive had initiated. Gage sat in his chair for a moment to collect his thoughts. When he rose and went to the door, it slid open to reveal Sienna standing there with a glass of water and something in her hand.

  “Pain meds, Captain Metis,” she said. “Doctor’s orders.”

  “I’d argue,” Gage replied, accepting the cup and the small pill, “But something tells me you won’t give up until I take it.”

  “Yeah,” she said, adjusting his sling. “You just keep telling yourself you’re fine and this shoulder doesn’t bother you at all, and I’ll keep bringing you pain meds until it’s either healed or you drop over from some other catastrophe.”

  He chuckled. “I appreciate it.”

  She fell in beside him on the way back to the bridge. “The crew is worried about your conversation with the Corporal.”

  Gage kept his gaze away from her. “We’ll talk about that after we’ve found Majoria. If something terrible is happening on Balanelf, I need my crew focused.”

  “I thought you didn’t keep secrets from them, Captain,” she said.

  “I’m not,” Gage replied. At her look, he said, “I’m only thinking through our options. I need to protect my crew from the outside as well as the inside. And no matter what the Coalition and CUOC offer, I’m not about to allow them to risk their lives on some mission that may or may not have an impact here.”

  “Shouldn’t that be their decision?”

  The question hung in the air between them when Gage entered the bridge.

  “Captain, thank goodness,” Hyra said. “Balanelf is in trouble.”

  “From what we can tell, the entire planet is on the verge of an entire surface reformation,” Klellen said.

  Gage slid into the captain’s chair and stared at the image on the screen. From their orbit above the small Class J planet, the live video showed clouds and shifting debris. Klellen’s near-infrared mapping showed numerous areas of disturbance along the planet’s surface as well as the core.

  “What’s causing it?” Gage asked.

  “There’s no telling,” Klellen replied. “It could be any number of things, plate tectonics, structural instability, fault plane slippage; whatever the cause, the entire surface of Balanelf is in turmoil. Nobody is going to be safe down there.”

  “Can’t they escape in ships?” Sienna asked.

  Gage shook his head. “The Balanelves don’t believe in modern technology. They feel that it disrupts their ability to be in touch with the peace of the simple world. Besides their communicators like the one Majoria used, they don’t have vehicles, weapons, or media. Their simple lifestyle is a form of worship to their goddess.”

  “And one of the reasons Gage and Majoria always argued,” Hyra said.

  “For instances like this,” Gage replied. “If they had ships, they could have gotten away. We have to get down there.”

  Klellen stared at him. “Did you just hear what I said? The entire surface is collapsing.”

  Gage nodded. “And Majoria’s down there.”

  “We can’t leave her,” Hyra seconded. “I’ll go down myself if I have to!”

  “I’m going,” Gage told them.

  Manax shook his head. “Captain, I have to disagree. You’re not in any shape—”

  “Do any of you know Majoria the way I do?” Gage countered. When none of them could answer, he said, “I appreciate your consideration, but if we’re to have any chance of finding her and the royal family, I need to be there. Manax, the Gull.”

  “Yes, Captain,” he replied.

  “I’m coming,” Klellen told him.
“With Ruck gone, you need an extra hand.”

  “I’m coming, too,” Sienna said. When Gage shook his head, she said, “Your shoulder is a mess. If you tear your stitches, you need someone who can put you back together.”

  “That’s not happening,” Gage told her. “I’m not exposing you to danger. It’s not like you’d have time to perform emergency surgery down there with the surface like that. Stay here.”

  “But Gage,” Sienna began.

  Hyra grabbed her hand. “He’s right,” Gage heard the Guarite tell her, “Let him go.”

  He, Klellen, and Manax ran down the hallway. Gage grabbed the atmosphere suit Indy held out and climbed into the Gull. Vinian and Yukan were already there. Suye reached the space-to-land ship right behind them.

  “What was I thinking bringing her on board?” he asked.

  “She’s concerned about you,” Manax pointed out as he maneuvered the Gull out of the Kratos. “It’s alright to have someone onboard who cares. Gods known Klellen and I don’t.”

  “It’s true,” Klellen said as he hurriedly pulled on his atmosphere suit. “I don’t care at all.”

  “Me, neither,” Suye seconded. “Go battle a Gaul in a glass shop, or whatever that means.”

  “I care,” Yukan said. “Give me a hug.”

  “Can it,” Gage told the Zamarian.

  Everyone gave short, tense laughter. Despite their joking, the enormity of what they were about to do pressed in on them all.

  Gage peered intently out the Gull’s window at the planet that drew near. The giant structures that had made up Balan’s capital city of Vi were crumbling as he watched. The great, spiral palace that branched at the top into the hundreds of crystal walkways split up the middle, sending crystal and white marble thundering to the glass streets below. The glowing temple the Balanelves had erected to their goddess of knowledge lay crushed beneath the million-year totem. Its priceless, iridescent rock was now an indistinguishable mess of stone.

  Despite his bravado, Gage didn’t know where to start looking for Majoria. She was a member of the Balanelf royal family, the daughter of her father the King and his third mistress. As a female in the male-dominant society, her claim to the throne wasn’t a powerful one, but ensured her a life of safety and luxury within the confines of the palace. She and Gage had argued many times about safety versus acceptance and life versus living. He wondered if that was what had attracted her to him in the first place.