The Alien Pirates' Treasure (Star Pirates Book 1)

by Charity Wells

  “We’ll take care of you, my friend,” Ca’lek says, patting his shoulder. Then he turns and begins issuing orders in his captain’s voice. “Take us in, Duresh. Disable their external weapons as soon as we’re close enough to fire the energy cannon. Kuma, prep our boarding equipment and weapons, take them to the airlock, and we’ll gear up there. Va’naar, warn Messa and Ha’dir, they’re staying aboard with Polly. I want her near the escape pod if anything happens.”

  “Aye, aye, Cap’n,” Kuma cheers, running off to get his part done.

  He’s always the most eager to get in a fight, but he’s also the best gunner and guard I’ve ever met. Just a little bloodthirsty and infinitely playful, Kuma has the most fun when his adrenaline is high.

  Seconds pass by before Messa comes rushing in with something clenched in her fist. Lifting her hand to the light, she pinches the tiny device between two fingers for the rest of us to see. “I found it! Had to tear apart a couple of rooms, but I found it.”

  “That is the device causing all our problems? It’s smaller than Ca’leks brain.” The joke flies from my mouth too quickly to stop, which earns me a whack from my sour primary.

  At least Messa thought it was funny.

  “Is it active?” Ca’lek immediately asks, killing my joke with his sudden question.

  “No, I deactivated it as soon as I located it,” Messa replies. A frown shows on her face and her lips quiver as she struggles to hide her amusement. She places the device in his hand, showing him the burned out wiring on the bottom. “It’s a really sneaky little bastard though. This thing was attached to the sensor array. It not only tracked our whereabouts, but also gathered data from any nearby ships and communication relays. This thing could have stolen information from any of the Alliance satellites we’ve encountered, and any of the stations we’ve docked at. There’s no telling what kind of data files it has stored on that tiny little chip.”

  “Has it transmitted any recent data?” I was worried now. What if they discovered our plans to break the contract before we could contact the Council?

  “That’s another sneaky thing about it. If it transmitted regularly, we would have picked it up sooner. It stores the data and when we dock somewhere and tie into the maintenance systems to purge the old air and run diagnostics, it uses those systems to send a data burst through off-ship transmitters.” Messa says, sounding impressed.

  “How did you find it so quickly, my lovely mate?” Duresh asks, pulling her into his lap for a quick kiss.

  She grins deviously. “Two solars ago we had that hyper modulator that cracked mid-jump. Remember how it took us almost three lunars to limp home? The Bel’faun’s were the only ones who had the right parts when we arrived. It was their work crew that put it in. I figured that was a good place to start and I was right. I found the little bastard tucked into the wiring harness that ties the entire system into the engine core. It was really hard to get to.”

  “All that matters is that you found it and those bastards can’t track us anymore. They will regret manipulating my family,” Ca’lek snarls, taking the device and throwing it to the floor. He starts to raise his foot to smash it, but Messa dives out of Duresh’s lap to grab it.

  “Don’t break it! We can use it as proof. The transmission codes are still there!” she exclaims, cradling it in her hands and glaring at Ca’lek.

  “Store it somewhere then, I want the Bel’fauns in ruins,” he replies, clenching his fist against his desire to destroy the offensive piece of equipment.

  “I’ll stick it in the lockbox in the engine room then. So, what’s this Kuma was saying about a raid?”

  As Ca’lek and Duresh begin detailing the nearby ship and our plans for it, I turn and head down to the cabins to wake Polly up, then get her ready and situated with Ha’dir. Messa can meet them there when she’s ready.

  Polly is awake and in the shower when I arrive at the cabin. We have time, so rather than rush her, I strip out of my daily wear and start pulling out the heavier vest and pants I wear in combat. They’re still fairly lightweight, but have a protective inner mesh that helps shield against knives and certain types of blaster fire.

  I’m pulling my boots on when the shower cuts off, and it’s only a short moment later when Polly appears in the doorway.

  She’s sparkling wet, wrapped in a towel and utterly beautiful. She refuses to use the auto-dryer because she says it dries out and tangles her hair too much, so that silky pale mane of hers is twisted up in a second towel, but damp wisps of it have escaped around the edges.

  If anything were to happen to her it would destroy me. How can we go into a raid with her on board? Can we really be that foolish? What if something bad happens?

  My breath catches in my chest and she looks up, noticing me for the first time. She smiles, but must notice the worry on my face because her smile fades a little and she fidgets uncertainly with her towel.

  ∞∞∞

  Polly

  “What’s going on?” I ask, frowning. “Is everything alright?”

  Va’naar is wearing all black clothes that look a lot like what he and Ca’lek wore when they rescued me from the Viktoid ship. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he’s staring at me with an intense expression that looks equally horrified and worried.

  “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. We’re...uh...just suiting up for a raid. Nothing really important,” he answers with an unconvincing attempt at reassurance.

  “A raid?” Unconsciously, my hands settle over my belly protectively. One of the babies kicks. “Whatever for?”

  Va’naar takes a moment to adjust the fastenings on his vest and grav-boots, then stands and makes his way to where I am in the door.

  “Polly,” he starts in his sweet, comforting tones as he leads me to sit on the bed before wrapping his arms around me. “Everything is going to be just fine. Kuma spotted a small, personal space yacht that has very low firepower and a very high probability of an expensive payout. We have some space in the cargo hold still, and it never hurts to completely fill it before we return home.”

  “But isn’t it still dangerous?”

  “Only a little. Our ship is built for this kind of thing. These other ships can’t pick us up on their sensors until it’s too late, and they hate risking damage to their fancy hulls. They always give up and we take what we want, then run off into the stars. We’re equipped with special ionic shields that prevent them from following our trail later. It’s going to be just fine,” he explains, rubbing my back while he talks. The problem is, he’s not meeting my eyes and he doesn’t sound entirely confident when he says it.

  “But—”

  “We would never needlessly endanger you,” Ca’lek says as he enters the room and begins changing his own clothes. “Va’naar worries too much and doesn’t know how to hide it. I know this mission will go smoothly. It’s a simple excursion, so no one is going to get hurt, my love.”

  Now that I actually believed. Ca’lek was calm, confident, and self assured. He exudes control and a commanding presence that makes my interest perk up despite my worries. Blasted hormones. This was not the time to be lusting after bossy Ca’lek, but damn he was hot when he was in charge.

  I had a little sweet, sexy time with Va’naar this morning before he left the bed, now I was craving something a little bolder. Shaking off my longing though, I turn to Va’naar, my tender lover with the compassionate heart. Even though Ca’lek exudes confidence, my poor Va’naar worries tirelessly about me.

  Reaching up, I caress his face and thread my fingers in his fine, short mane. The beads I wove into his hair this morning before we made love jangle from the light movement. “I love how you worry about me. I worry about you too. But if this is something you need to do, and Ca’lek is certain of your success, I think we can relax. I know you guys won’t purposefully put me in danger.” I turn to Ca’lek. “So. What’s the plan?”

  He grins, baring his teeth in excitement. “I love how practical you can be,” he says
. “You will be in the medbay. It’s the closest to the escape pod. Messa and Ha’dir are staying with you so they can get you to the pod if there are any problems.”

  “But it’s not going to come to that,’ Va’naar states, his voice loud and unwavering. “This is a typical rotation’s work for us. We do this all the time and haven’t had any problems in a long while. I’m just stressing because you’re here now.”

  He's trying to be strong for me. I nod, squeezing his hand. They can do this, I believe in my mates.

  “Okay, well, let me get dressed and we will get everything ready. Is there anything I need to do?”

  “No, everything is being taken care of as we speak, but I do want you to take this credit stick, wear an emergency shield, and carry whatever personal effects you want to keep that can fit in a small bag as a precaution,” Ca’lek replies, holding out a small credit stick.

  Hesitantly, I take the stick that I already know is linked to all of my mates’ financial accounts. If the worst were to happen, I would be set for life. Ca’lek has it hung on a chain and I slip it over my head before I dress. I grab my music box and the sun catcher, then wrap them in the fabric I’d picked for the babies and stow them in a bag that Va’naar holds for me. As an afterthought, I add an extra change of clothes on top, then sigh.

  “I know everything’s going to be just fine. This is what you do for a living. Is it stupid that I’m worrying so much? That I want to lock you both in here so you can’t go out to fight and possibly get hurt? Is that crazy?” I ask, taking a deep breath as I look at my mates.

  Ca’lek utters a low growl and pulls me in for a fierce, hard kiss, while enveloping me in his arms.

  “That’s not crazy, that’s love,” Va’naar says when Ca’lek lets me up for air. Pulling my chin in his direction with his clawed hand, he kisses me with the same ferocity as my other mate and when we break apart, they both stare at me intensely. “But if you really want, you can lock us in here afterwards, and we’ll never leave our bed unless we absolutely have to.”

  I snort, rolling my eyes. “You’re about to go into battle and now you’re thinking about getting into bed with me,” I say, swatting his firm butt. “Come back in one piece and we’ll see.”

  “Alright you two,” Ca’lek chides. “We’ll escort you to the medbay, and before you know it, all of this will be over and you can have us all to yourself again,” he assures, picking up my rucksack and nudges us towards the hall. “We need to grab your emergency shield on the way as well.”

  Chapter 13

  Ca’lek

  “Come on Duresh, what in Vren’s name is the hold up,” I ask impatiently, watching through the viewport as he slowly guides us in to clamp onto the Sylvian yatch. The vessel belongs to a wealthy Kiskian merchant who can afford to lose a few million credits.

  “Just give me a Vren damned moment Cap’n. It’s a delicate process attaching to a moving object,” he grunts through the ship’s com. “I can do it right or I can crash us into the other ship and fuck us all.”

  I’m filled with an intense rush of adrenaline as we get closer and closer to the flashy, but useless ship. For Vren’s sake, they didn’t even pick us up on their scanners until we’d already disabled their weapons and engine controls. Now they are coasting on the remains of their last jump, desperately trying to take control of their ship back. I can only imagine what they have on board that’s taking up the precious space where their defenses should be.

  Kuma laughs. “It’s like they were just asking to be raided.”

  “Begging,” I add. “Vren, but I love it when they refuse to cooperate.”

  “You two are entirely too bloodthirsty sometimes,” Va’naar comments with a snort. He enters the airlock and joins us. He’s already got his breather over his face and his pulse blaster in his hand, ready to go.

  “No, you are just too boring,” Kuma retorts with a haughty laugh.

  Our ship jerks, thudding against the yacht’s airlock. Our airlock mechanism forces the outer door open, and equalizes the pressure from our side, but we still have to get through the inner lock. An alarm sounds, and our hatch opens, exposing the other ship’s inner door.

  “All set, I’ll be down in a minute. I swear to Vren, Kuma, if you start without me again I’ll…”

  Kuma slaps a hand over the comm, shutting it off and silencing Duresh’s mid threat. Grinning, he picks up his equipment and steps into the airlock before it finishes opening.

  “And the fun begins,” I say, while Kuma approaches the airlock door and kneels down, clamping an electronic breacher to the inner lock, which starts the code cycle.

  The machine will hack into the ship’s controls and open the door without damaging it.

  Duresh runs in, snaps his breather in place and closes our inner lock behind him, securing us inside. Once our ship seals, there won’t be any air between the ships until we force the hatch open. If the other ship doesn’t equalize the pressure in the lock before we breach it, the seals will blow, spacing my entire crew, but severely damaging the yacht in the process.

  While my crew and I are prepared for that with breathers and atmo-shields already in place, I highly doubt they are. In fact, I’m sure they’d do anything to save their pathetic, greedy lives, even if it meant dipping into their profit margin. It’s simply a biological driven need to survive, one that my team and I will easily exploit.

  If the seals were to blow, my ship is sturdy enough to withstand the damage, but Messa and Ha’dir have their orders in the case of an unforeseen emergency. Polly is safe and they will keep her close to the escape pods hidden in the medbay, the most heavily secured section on my ship. The pods are concealed in the slim chance we were ever boarded and couldn’t fend off the attackers. Not that that has ever been a concern. My ship is fast and well-armed, easily avoiding enemies that could actually pose a risk to us.

  Every raid we go on has its risks of course, but we carefully plan and research each ship before we engage them, and thankfully, very little has ever gone wrong, which is why these types of missions are a guaranteed payout.

  Since Kuma is our best shot, he’ll bring up the rear and cover us from behind while Va’naar and Duresh follow me as we sweep the vessel. Once we reach a control center, Duresh can hack their system and lock it down, while the rest of us watch out for other attackers.

  Pressing forward, I peer over his shoulder and grin. “How’s it coming?”

  “I’m nearly finished,” Kuma says as he tinkers with the electronic breacher. It’s connected to the inner door and in the next few moments it will override the ship’s computer and force the door open without damaging it. He gets to his feet and wipes his hands on his thighs. “It’s done.”

  “Get off my ship you scum!” an angry voice yells over the shipwide coms.

  “Sounds like the merchant is in residence today,” Kuma states and grins.

  “Good, I like when they know we’re cleaning them out,” I say, baring my teeth in a feral smile while staring up at the security camera in the corner.

  “They’ll fight harder though,” Va’naar observes. “They always fight harder when the boss is onboard.”

  “We could use a good fight,” Kuma says and laughs. “The last few have been too easy.”

  There’s a disgusted snort behind me and I glance over my shoulder. It’s Duresh. “Speak for yourself,” Duresh scoffs. “I wish more ships were easy pickings. I like not getting shot at.”

  Adrenaline courses through my veins. As soon as this door opens, they will only have seconds to decide whether to equalize the pressure between the ships.

  “Everyone ready?” I ask.

  With everyone gripping their blasters tightly, they nod, signalling they’re ready. We’ve done this dozens of times and everyone knows what to do. There isn’t any doubt on my crews’ faces.

  “Good. This is a Dinari Class Sylvian yacht. Crew complement is no more than twenty-four and up to six passengers. Any more than that stresses their
life support. Keep track of how many you take down, I don’t want any surprises. Try not to kill them if you can, you know I don’t want that kind of a reputation,” I order, checking the setting on my own laser pistol one last time.

  “We’ll try Cap, but you know I gotta have at least one,” Kuma says.

  “I’ll send you all to the pits myself if those pirates take a single thing off this ship!” the merchant screams over the comms as the pressure alarm sounds and the lock begins its cycle. What I can see of the security team tenses as they grip their weapons with newly determined expressions.

  “You can have the merchant,” I say dryly, shooting a look at Kuma who answers with a delighted snarl and a flash of his fangs.

  The door in front of us buzzes a final warning and begins to open. Someone on the other side hits the pressurization controls, and a rush of air comes through as the airlock equalizes.

  Excellent.

  The iris opens and an overeager security member rushes towards us. His teammates shout warnings to him, but he doesn’t listen. As soon as I have a clear shot, I pull the trigger and his body thuds when it hits the ground.

  “That was set to stun. The next one won’t be. We don’t want to have to hurt anyone,” I bluff loudly. “We just want the cargo and the merchant.”

  “We’re not getting thrown in the slave pits just so you can make a few credits in ransom,” a big Sylvian calls back.

  “We’re taking this ship one way or another,” I reply. “You can lay down your weapons and cooperate, or we can take you out on our way through.”

  “Stand your ground!” the male yells, rattling his scales. The other Sylvian team members echoed the threatening sound. Growls rise from the other species around them.

  “Ready?”

  “Let’s do this,” Kuma growls, anticipation lighting his eyes with a predatory gleam. The airlock to our ship snaps shut behind us to prevent any of our opponents from sneaking aboard while we clear the yacht.

  A primal cry spills from my chest and I throw the first grenade. With a loud bang, it bursts in a bright flash, blinding those closest to it and spilling a noxious tysic smoke into the air. Our breathers filter out the smoke, but anyone unfortunate enough to breath it in will experience stinging, watery eyes, vomiting, and a severe cough, but a good rinse with water should alleviate the symptoms.