The Sands of Argurumal (Argurma Salvager Book 3)

by S. J. Sanders

  Sands of Argurumal

  Argurma Salvager Book 3

  S.J. Sanders

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Other Works by S.J. Sanders

  About the Author

  ©2021 by Samantha Sanders

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission granted in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction intended for adult audiences only.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  It was strange to think that a human who spent most of her life in crumbling ruins on Earth would feel more at home in space. After leaving the ruins of the Evandra, and the fucked-up planet that served as its resting place, far behind them, Terri no longer saw the little ship as a prison. No, now she was an active member of the ship’s two-man crew. Veral had taught her how to work many of the systems, and she participated in salvage assignments as well.

  She knew that he still filtered out what he considered to be more hazardous assignments—no going to the firepits of Delthon Minor to locate a vein of delthon ore used in the construction of many high-class starships, for instance—but that didn’t hurt her feelings any. Terri considered it a process of baby steps. At least he trusted her to leave the ship.

  As gratifying as it was, she understood that some of that newfound confidence was due to the extra protection that the gymotakin symbiont provided. She personally appreciated the hell out of it, so as far as she was concerned, it made sense that Veral felt more comfortable with her out and about in the dangerous universe. The bio-tech was a nasty bit of machinery, after all. Yet she also knew, by his own admission, that he had since come to see just how capable she was.

  Not that it stymied his overprotective nature, but his demonstration of trust had gone a long way in making a true home for the two of them on the ship they had renamed The Wanderer. Even Veral had agreed it was a good choice, since they spent considerable time wandering and taking on odd jobs. There had only been one dark spot in the recent months, one that she was now staring directly in the face as she lay in the medbay bed, trying to control her racing pulse. Her mate hovered over her at her side as he supervised the bed’s scanner running over her.

  Something was wrong.

  Although Veral wasn’t the most expressive male, he had a particularly pensive look on his face, dark mandibles clicking softly as he read her scans on the datapad in his hand. Shit. That just confirmed what she already knew… Her pregnancy was advancing abnormally fast.

  Even with her human genetics taken into account, all of her scans until that point had indicated she would have a gestation period close to that of an average Argurma female, meaning she shouldn’t have started to show for another year and a half. With a three-year gestation, Argurma offspring didn’t begin to grow rapidly until the last four months of gestation.

  She could tell just from looking at herself that something was wrong. Seemingly overnight, her belly had visibly grown. It currently resembled a melon, a year and a half before schedule. She bit her lip as she looked down at her exposed belly, the soft tunic pulled up over it.

  Everything was okay. It had to be. But she couldn’t help but feel a niggle of worry as she watched her mate.

  At first, Veral hadn’t been too concerned, assuming that they just needed to make adjustments for human physiological differences. He patiently applied cooling cream over the tight, itchy skin of her growing abdomen daily without comment. Now, however, the dark coils of his vibrissae rustled around his dark gray face with sharp rattling sounds that alarmed her as she slipped out of the medbed and joined him where he stood a short distance away.

  Absently, she scratched lightly at the bio-tech symbiont imbedded in her forearm as she watched him.

  “How bad is it?” she asked cautiously.

  One brilliant cybernetic blue eye turned toward her. He took a deep breath and the thin, tentacle-like vibrissae settled once more around his muscular shoulders. With one finger, he projected a hologram from the surface of the datapad. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of Terri’s mouth as she looked at the compact fetus curled up on itself. A little leg kicked, sending a burst of bubbles through her abdomen.

  Resting a hand over her belly, she grinned at the tickling sensation and her mate’s expression softened, his lips ticking up at the corners. It was fleeting, but sent warmth through her at their shared moment before his expression once again turned solemn as he returned his attention to the hologram.

  “The fetus is growing at a rapid rate. At its current growth, I calculate gestation to be concluded within one hundred and fifty standard rotations. Roughly four lunars,” he clarified with a disconcerted click of his mandibles. “Everything else is normal for an Argurma fetus, but the speed is alarming, possibly due to interference from the gymotakin symbiont.”

  His brows drew lower as he enlarged the projection and worked at taking measurements, turning the hologram to make notes at various displayed angles.

  “I was not prepared to return to Argurumal so soon, but we may have no choice now. I was prepared to deliver our offspring here in the medbay, but with the interference of the symbiont and the growth surge, it would be prudent to have access to a skilled Argurma medic who is more intimately familiar with our species’ physiology,” he muttered.

  At her distressed look, he vibrated his mandibles in a reassuring purr. “Do not be concerned, anastha. The scans are showing that our offspring is healthy and otherwise developing normally. We are merely taking necessary precautions. They would have a better way of calculating the offspring’s development and whether or not the symbiont will be an issue during or after birth, or how it might be affecting our offspring’s development in ways this scanner’s limited capabilities cannot detect. It is still too much of an unknown factor, and we appear to be running out of time.”

  “Considering that they wanted to experiment on me, I’m not sure how thrilled I am over this idea,” she returned. “Can’t we just go to a nearby space station and have a medic take a look?”

  He shook his head. The shorter lengths, that were slowly regrowing from the damage sustained months ago from their tangle with pirates, whipped expressively with the movement.

  “I have no intention of making our presence widely known,” he stated flatly. “The Argurma are the only species who utilize cybernetic bio-tech. Although the symbiont is far superior and unlike anything we have designed, an Argurma doctor would be able to analyze the nanos that you acquired from our mating and any changes that may be occurring due to the symbiont.
There is also the matter that it would draw too much attention to us. There is too much risk of information about our offspring getting to the council. The wisest course would be to attend a medic on Argurumal who would be both knowledgeable and trust-worthy.”

  “Okay,” Terri muttered doubtfully. “I’m assuming you know a place where we can lie low?”

  He clicked his mandibles in agreement. “I do. My family line has holdings at a far outpost. It will keep our location known only to a trusted few. The medic that serves my line and those of my mother’s house will be discreet out of loyalty alone.”

  “And you can trust them?”

  His brow quirked slightly in the smallest gesture of surprise. “Of course. Medics are solely loyal to their maternal line. The medic who serves my mother’s line was her cousin. The recordkeepers who come when they receive alert of a birth are another matter,” he growled. “By that time, we will be far from Argurumal.”

  Terri swallowed back a lump of fear as he continued to take measurements and make notes on the datapad. He was right. There was probably nothing to worry about. Other than growing quickly, their baby was healthy, and he was certain that they would be someplace safe while they got assistance. If he was confident about it, then she should be too.

  Pushing back her worry, she used the opportunity to get a closer look at her baby. Her heart melted at her first real look at her baby. Vibrissae curled against its neck, its tiny features perfect. To her surprise, although the fetus was dominantly Argurma, she could see a little of herself in the shape of its smooth brow, nose, and delicately curved lips. The tiny buds of its mandibles were only just visible at its jaw.

  At her side, Veral grunted. From the corner of her eye, she watched as he tapped a few character keys at the bottom of the screen and stilled.

  “What is it?” Terri asked as she turned to face him, her heart jumping anxiously. “Is there something wrong?”

  “A complication,” he said slowly. “The fetus has developed to the stage in which Argurma sex is determinable. According to the scans, it is a female… Our offspring is the heir to my mother’s house.” His brow drew lower in contemplation.

  “Well, that’s good, right? That should give her some sort of protections… right?” Terri hazarded.

  He cocked his head. “Perhaps. However, I am uncertain how this will affect our reception by my mother’s kin. Since her death, my mother’s second sister has doubtlessly been directing our holdings. A daughter of my blood would be the head of the household once she came of age. It could stir disagreement among my mother-kin.”

  “Which means what exactly?” she asked. “Why would they care if she inherits your mother’s house?”

  A raspy chuff left him. “Not her house in the manner you are thinking. My mother’s household refers to our line’s domestic complex, in which my mother’s home was the fore wing overlooking the great gates. Unlike the Argurma in the cities, those who live farther out in the deserts keep to our ancestral ways. The entire complex and all of our produce will belong to our offspring by law, as it was my mother’s before her, despite her sentencing.”

  The reminder of his mother’s termination drew a heavy silence between them. Although he would not admit it, she knew that Veral struggled to deal with that loss. Although he claimed more than once to barely have any memory of his mother, she knew that he still hurt, and she felt that pain for him. Like Veral, his mother had been considered malfunctioning due to her programming’s inability to suppress her emotions. Terri regretted that she would never meet her, for it was clear that he had loved her dearly, regardless of how much or little he remembered.

  “It’s possible that your family will be happy for our daughter’s arrival,” she murmured. “They might see it as gaining some small part of her back.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted, and he curled his large arms around her and pulled her against him. Despite her belly being large enough to be inconveniently in the way, she was able to comfortably rest her cheek against his chest. His voice rumbled through her ear as he spoke.

  “Word among my mother’s kin has suggested that the malfunction is prevalent and hidden quite well among us. From what I understand, they never would have discovered her if she had not become enraged when I was separated from her for my first implants upon my adolescence.” His lips tightened. “It displeases me that the implants block so many of my memories from my youth. I do not remember the sound of her voice or the image of her face. I just have impressions that come at times.”

  Terri wrapped her arms tightly around him, wanting more than anything to be able to take away his pain.

  “Maybe returning there will help you remember.”

  His mandibles vibrated in a low, buzzing purr. “Do not concern yourself over it, anastha. Although I dislike my lack of memory, I do not suffer from it. It is far more important that we focus on our offspring.”

  She let out a discontent huff and he chuffed and pressed his mouth against the top of her head, his mandibles sliding through her hair. She allowed herself to lean into him until he gently pulled away.

  “Go eat. With our offspring’s accelerated growth, you will require extra nutrition,” he instructed as he strode toward the medical bay’s exit.

  “Okay, and what are you going to be doing?”

  “I will be on the flight deck inputting our route into the navigation systems for Argurumal. You can join me there once you are finished. And do not forget to eat a portion of axna fruit.”

  She scowled at his back, but it did not go unseen. Veral chuffed as slipped out the door. Despite herself, an amused smile danced on her lips as she followed him out the door.

  Before turning down the small hall that would lead her to the ship’s galley, Terri paused to admire the way the shiny blue cloth of his tunic clung to the heavy musculature of his body as he made his way down the corridor. Although he was sexy as hell in his skin-tight, flexible body armor, the sight of him in the simple tunics and robes of his homeworld that he took to wearing aboard the ship—now that he no longer seemed to feel that he needed to be armed to the teeth at all hours—never failed to take her breath away.

  A gurgle from her stomach put her in motion just as he rounded a corner and led her the rest of the way to the galley. She didn’t try to hold back her delighted smile. Although she had gone hungry often for much of her life, food was one thing she absolutely refused to go without and Veral spoiled her by providing all the best supplies for the replicator to sate her appetite and most of her cravings. A lack of food was the one thing that could ruin her mood, especially with her passenger snuggled within her womb.

  She patted her belly as she programmed the replicator for her favorite dishes and grinned when Krono slipped inside when the first fragrant steam drifted up from the food. The dorashnal, what could only be described as a giant alien dog with black scales and his own mane of vibrissae, grinned up at her. She chuckled and tossed a bit of meat to him which he expertly snapped out of the air.

  “Come on then, Krono. I’ve got plenty to share,” she said as she carried her bowls over to the table bolted against one wall.

  Krono ducked beneath the table and tucked himself against her legs, his enormous body warming her feet and calves as she slipped him chunks of food. She could practically hear Veral scolding her for sharing her food with the beast, which just made her grin broaden. He didn’t approve of anything but raw meats for his friend, but it was so hard to say no to the shameless beggar. Right on cue, Krono put his large head on her lap and whined.

  “I am such a sucker,” she laughed, and she handed him another bite of meat. “This is our secret.”

  Despite Krono’s “help,” Terri packed away a fair amount of food before her stomach was satisfied and she headed to the flight deck. Although it was no doubt several days or perhaps weeks until they arrived on Argurumal, she wanted to see to the plotted course for herself. She was still nervous about approaching the planet after the Argurma warriors had a
ttempted to capture her on Earth, but she couldn’t deny an insatiable curiosity about Veral’s home and family.

  Besides, he was certain that they would be perfectly safe.

  2

  Veral pulled up the star chart, his lips thinning. He had hoped to delay returning to Argurumal… permanently. Taking his pregnant mate to his homeworld was the last thing he wanted. He had preferred not to return with his offspring at all, but with the youngling not yet born it added new complications. Although he was certain that Terri would protect herself and their unborn offspring ferociously, he also knew that her current heavily burdened state made her more vulnerable than before.

  His fingers twitched against the armrests of his chair as he settled himself and mentally sent up the command to bring up the star charts for Argurumal and his current position on the view screen. Immediately the view of space blanked out as the charts layered each other. The last chart that opened up showed The Wanderer’s position in the star system through which they currently traveled.

  His vibrissae twitched as he shifted the charts around, looking for the quickest but least obvious route to his homeworld. Fortunately, most of the planetary security was on the desert flats, the side of the planet where the majority of the Argurma population lived in the tall cities built around and over the large ground water wells. Few bothered to scan the great dunes on the other side of the planet. It was a harder life out there, dotted with various outposts and family complexes that traded amongst themselves. Although the warriors from the great dunes were regarded as the strongest and hardiest among their species, it was no secret that few among the council worried about attack in that inhospitable landscape. An alien, even an unprepared Argurma from the cities, would find it difficult to survive in such an environment.