The Alien Pirates' Treasure (Star Pirates Book 1)

by Charity Wells

  “Why isn’t she crying Ha’dir?” I demand, leaning around Va’naar to look at her.

  “Her airway needs cleared out,” he replies calmly. “Hold her upside down and pat her firmly on the back two or three times. Then swipe your finger through her mouth to clear out the mucous.

  Looking nervous, Va’naar carefully turns her over and does as Ha’dir ordered, though he winces with each strike to the pup’s small body. His arms shake, but he manages to poke his finger between her jaws. A glob of jelly-like mucus comes out of her mouth. Sucking in a breath, her tiny face scrunches up under the cutest little muzzle while she yowls unhappily, which sets her brother off to cry again.

  “What now?” I ask, frowning. “Ha’dir? What do we do now?”

  “Polly needs to pass the afterbirth for both infants, then just wrap everybody up as best you can and wait for the medics. They’ll be there any moment now and they can handle tying off and cutting the umbilicus,” Ha’dir instructed loudly, trying to be heard over the crying newborns.

  “Afterbirth? What the hell is that?” Messa asks as Polly strains once more.

  A mass of bright red, bloody tissue slurps out of Polly’s body, quickly followed by a second, which plops disgustingly onto the torn skirt fabric.

  “What in the hells is that!?” Messa shrieks, lurching away from us.

  Polly’s tired laughter fills the room as she collapses onto her elbows now that Messa isn’t around to assist. “That’s the afterbirth,” she wheezes between exhausted giggles.

  “Oh! You mammals are just disgusting,” Messa shudders and walks out to her mate.

  Polly chuckles again. Carefully holding her up, we somehow maneuver the worst of the mess out of the way, then wrap the scraps of her skirt around her as best we can. Both pups cuddle close to her naked skin, suckling hungrily as she leans against my chest. Va’naar hovers over us both, tracing wistful touches down the newborns backs and along Polly’s cheek.

  “Are you okay?” I ask when she sighs.

  “Yeah. It’s not exactly the birth experience I had in mind, but I wouldn’t change the outcome,” she assures me, smiling up at my secondary and I.

  “What? You mean you didn’t ask for the deluxe abduction, blaster battle, and emergency birth as part of your midwife package?” Kuma jokes as he walks in.

  “No, I had actually planned on the luxurious pampered empress package, thank you very much. You know, massages and cushy pillows, tiaras and chocolates, all the good stuff,” my mate replies with a tired chuckle.

  “Looks like they were out of stock,” Kuma says, dropping to his haunches beside us.

  “Unfortunately, and they didn’t even offer me an upgrade for the inconvenience.”

  “Aww, look at the little nipple biters,” he coos obnoxiously, waving his fingers at my pups.

  “You’re just jealous cause you don’t get to bite ‘em too,” Polly retorts, yawning to cut off my possessive growl.

  Kuma’s eyes grow wide at her comment, then he bursts in hearty guffaws of laughter. My son whimpers at the noise, gnawing at Polly’s breast to get a better grip on her, but my daughter issues the most adorable baby growl and slaps her little hand into Polly’s skin.

  “Uh-oh, better watch out for that one. She sounds like a handful already,” Kuma quips.

  “Go wait for the medics with the others, you big idiot,” I huff, waving him away. Va’naar finally eases down next to me and curls over my shoulder to wrap an arm around our mate and young as well.

  Polly and our pups are falling asleep as the medics arrive, following Messa and Duresh into the room. As the rush of adrenaline fades, I find myself exhausted. This is not what I had in mind when my mother said we should have an extravagant mating ceremony, but I wouldn’t change a thing if it meant losing the memory of my son settling into my hands as he left my mate’s body.

  ∞∞∞

  Va’naar

  It takes only a short time to gather everyone up and whisk us off to the nearest medical facility. Polly and the pups are examined thoroughly and are pronounced in good health despite their adventures. Ha’dir has been in and out, checking on us and conferring with the resident doctors.

  At the moment, he is out in the hall, heading off a pair of officials who showed up shortly after my son’s species was confirmed. They want immediate access to examine him and Ha’dir is barring them from the room with a convoluted jumble of medical jargon meant to confuse and deter the males until Ca’lek’s fathers arrive.

  Polly has been tucked into a bed to rest, while Ca’lek and I sit beside her, each of us cradling a sleeping pup in our arms. We are still in awe that we were the ones to deliver the pups with our own hands. All we can seem to do is stare at our mate and pups in the near silence.

  Lor’ei has the softest fuzzy fur all over her body. She’s a patchwork of pale pastels, peaches, pinks, creams, and even a bit of lavender. Her muzzle is shorter than a Mephidaean and just barely protrudes from her face, ending in a small black button nose and the tiniest little whiskers. A fluff tipped tail no longer than my finger pokes out of her tiny little romper. Little five fingered hands tipped with soft, white claws wave through the air and grab at my shirt. Pale blue, slit pupiled eyes blink sleepily up at me.

  My son is the opposite. For starters, Lin’kin is completely hairless. Instead of a pelt, the little male is covered in tiny, buttery soft scales in a vibrant green hue. Random yellow scales speckle his entire body in small patches. He has short stiff protrusions around his nose and chin that Polly jokingly calls dragon whiskers. Three thick fingers with the beginnings of wide black claws grip the edge of his blanket while he slumbers. His snout is broad and tapered, giving him a predatory look. Lin’kin’s eyes are a vivid yellow and also have slitted pupils, though they are larger than his sister’s.

  They look nothing like Mephidaean pups. Still, my pups are beautiful and unique. I would not change a single thing about them.

  “Are you guys okay?” Polly finally asks, breaking the silence.

  “Why do you ask?” Ca’lek replies, moving to her side.

  “Because you look a little shell-shocked,” she says, taking his hand and holding her other one out for me.

  “A lunar cycle ago, we were doomed to mate with a female we did not love much less have any hope of liking. We were looking at a life of solitude and disappointment, not even knowing just how evil she truly was. Thanks to you, our future is so much fuller. We have family, we have laughter, and we have love,” I say, answering for us both. “We simply pray this is real and not some fever dream where we will wake up from and discover that it is all a lie.”

  “We could not go on without you,” Ca’lek adds, leaning in to place a kiss on her head.

  “Awwww, you three are so disgustingly sweet,” Kuma teases from the doorway. Messa and Duresh stand behind him, waiting for him to move out of the door. “Be careful, Duresh. Messa might get horny just from all the sugary feelings going on in here.”

  Messa punches him in the shoulder, making him wince dramatically while he rubs the offended limb.

  Polly bursts into giggles at his juvenile attitude, then pulls me in for my own share of affection. “If you had waited any longer to visit, you might have walked in on a real show,” she teased when she let me up.

  “She is definitely a keeper,” Kuma guffaws as he steps around the bed to tuck a pair of stuffed toys in beside each of our pups. One was a fluffy long billed movik with purple wings, and the other a bright yellow riri fish with soft shiny scales.

  “Kuma, those are precious. Where did you find them?” Polly asks, gently touching each toy.

  “There’s a shop in the square that sells toys for little ones. I wanted to give them their first presents, cause I’m gonna be the favorite uncle,” he announces in a lofty tone.

  “You mean you plan to spoil them anytime their parents aren’t looking,” Messa scoffs as she leans down to give Polly a hug. Turning to look at the quiet pups, she smiles softly. �
�Your spawn are so much cuter when they are clean and no longer squeezing out of your ovipositor.”

  “Oviwhat?” Polly asks, her brows drawn tight in confusion.

  “She means your birth canal my dear,” Ha’dir says as he walks through the doorway, closing the door behind him. “Your families have arrived, but I have asked them to remain in the waiting area for the time being. And Ca’lek, your fathers have been given permission to take over the responsibility of evaluating your son and sending the report to the Galactic Alliance. The Viktoids obviously have Eshkaliran DNA or ovum or something, and it needs to be addressed since they seem to be responsible for the disappearance of an entire race. We can put off the testing for a short time, but it needs to be done.”

  “We will deal with that eventually,” Ca’lek agrees with a firm nod. “But not until our pups and mate have had time to recover from their ordeal.”

  “Now that we know for sure that Lin’kin is Eshkaliran, what species is Lo’rei?” Polly asks, glancing at her daughter.

  “That...we don’t know.” Ha’dir says, then sighs and shakes his head.

  “What do you mean? Have you not asked the Archives Master? Surely the Alliance has some record of her kind somewhere,” I interject.

  “I’m afraid not. I checked. There is no record of her species in any of the databases. Her DNA is entirely unknown. No one knows what she is or where the Viktoids found her species. And as such, the Council is afraid she may be from an undiscovered, pre-technological or possibly, even a primitive planet. If the Viktoids are harvesting from unregistered planets and their species now, it’s a major issue. It will make it much more difficult to protect them from those bastards. Not to mention there is almost no chance of rescuing the victims and returning them to their homeworlds.”

  “That’s impossible,” Ca’lek says, frowning. He looks towards the door as if he can see through it to where his sires sit waiting to meet their grandpups.

  “But what’s the problem? She could have come from Pluto for all I care. That’s not going to change the fact that she’s my daughter. I don’t give a damn what she or Lin’kin are, and no one is going to take them from me to study, return, or whatever it is they think they need to do,” Polly says firmly.

  Ha’dir shifts on his feet, looking rather uncomfortable. “Of course, Polly. No one has even considered trying to take your pups. That’s not an issue, but you must understand that the Galactic Alliance might feel a tad bit uncomfortable about her until she undergoes more testing. She is an unknown. At this point, we don’t even know where her species will register on an evolutionary scale until she’s older and we see how she develops. Her species could be fairly primitive. The Alliance doesn’t like unknowns. They will want more information.”

  Ca’lek growls. “I said no testing until everything has settled down. If I have to remove my family from the planet and hide them in deep space to protect them I will. Blood work can wait until they are older or if it’s absolutely necessary. If I have to remove my family from the planet and hide them in deep space to protect them, I will.”

  Ha’dir rolls his eyes at my overprotective primary. “I understand Ca’lek. Most of what they are asking for will simply be observing their development over time. Hers in particular. I will, however, inform The Alliance and let them know it’ll be a few months at the very least before you will allow them to collect a decent genetic sample. In light of your threat, I’m sure their curiosity can hold off until then.”

  At that moment, little Lo’rei issues an unhappy whimper. Her body tenses in my arms. With a frustrated grunt of effort, a massive flatulent rumble issues from her, vibrating against the hand I have cupping her bottom. The room goes silent as we all stare at the tiny newborn who now reeks worse than anything I’ve ever smelled in my life. Messa’s eyes open wide with shock.

  Kuma, however, bursts into a roar of laughter which upset my daughter. She starts wailing her distress and a second shock runs through us all as her multicolored fur changes color, darkening from her natural pastels to a deep red with heavy black markings.

  “Fascinating, she has chromatophores in her fur,” Ha’dir says in awe. “I’ve never seen that ability in any species but reptilians, aquatics, and, very rarely, insectoids. It’s quite uncanny.”

  I’m less concerned with the color change in my pup and more concerned with the stench and the growing wet spot in my hand. Turning my uncertain gaze to my mate, I struggle to find the words to voice my sudden horror. Polly returns my gaze with badly concealed amusement.

  “Polly...what do I…” I stumble over the question, watching, as her hands cover her up her smile.

  My mate coughs lightly, clearing her throat. She smirks. “Va’naar, maybe you should change her?”

  “But...I…” I try to hold my crying pup out to her, but she shakes her head.

  “Oh no mister, I pushed two pups out of my body today, you two get to change the first several rounds of diapers,” she announces, pointing to the changing station located across the room.

  The nurses had demonstrated how to diaper the pups when we first arrived, but actually doing it myself was a daunting thought. I look to Ca’lek for help. Unfortunately, his attention is on our son, who at that moment, is squirming and grunting in his own discomfort. In a few short breaths, the stink in the room doubled. I found Ca’lek’s frown mildly entertaining as he held Lin’kin far away from his body. It was then that I saw a large, ugly, wet smear soaking through the light colored fabric of his shirt.

  “Why are you mammals so disgusting?” Messa asks in a high pitched tone.

  “Messa,” Duresh scolds, trying to discreetly cover his nostrils. “You are being rude.”

  “That’s okay, Duresh. One day Messa will have her own spawn and then she’ll see the truth,” Polly says, waving away the unintended insult.

  “What truth?” Duresh asks with an expression of horrified curiosity.

  “The truth that all babies are disgusting,” my mate announces with glee.

  “Sorry,” Messa mumbles, her skin blotching with embarrassment.

  “So, wonderful loving mates of mine, I think all of us would be very happy if you changed those stinky diapers right now and spared us anymore of your pups’ unlovely stench,” Polly says.

  Ca’lek tips his head at me and together, we move to the changing station. We eye each other with uncertainty, then lay the pups side by side on the flat surface. Grabbing clean wraps for us both, I pass some his way as we endeavor to change our newly born younglings. Ca’lek removes Lin’kin’s covering first, revealing a horrible sticky mess of yellow-green feces. The smell is even worse and we both retch, struggling not to vomit. Ca’lek quickly covers the mess up again.

  I can hear everyone laughing behind us.

  Both pups begin crying. Lor’ei has shifted to a rich purple color and her tiny tail lashes against the mat. Lin’kin kicks angrily, thumping his tiny feet on the padded tabletop.

  “The longer you take, the worse it gets. So please, take your time,” Ha’dir states calmly.

  Ca’lek gives me a serious look, then flashes a set of hand signals we typically use to communicate silently during a raid. I nod, ready. We spring into action. Ca’lek uncovers Lin’kin and removes the diaper, rolling it up in his free hand while I wipe our son clean. Sliding a new diaper under the pup’s bottom, I take the dirty one and trash it as Ca’lek wraps Lin’kin up once more. We manage the process quickly and efficiently, changing and redressing him before the smell can overwhelm us. Using teamwork once more, we get Lor’ei changed as well, though cleaning her fur takes a little more time than simply wiping Lin’kin’s scales.

  Ca’lek takes Lor’ei this time, holding her up on his shoulder away from the stain left by her brother. Her fur returns to its normal color now she’s no longer distressed.

  Lin’kin waves his hands at me as I pick him up, his three little fingers wiggling in the air. Both pups are wide awake and very alert while we move back to Polly’s si
de. Lin’kin nuzzles his snout in my mane and I can feel his short stiff little whiskers poking through my fur.

  Lor’ei squirms uncomfortably again, fussing quietly. Ca’lek jiggles her a bit, gently bouncing her and patting her back. A belch erupts from her and she vomits a stream of white slime down the back of Ca’lek’s shoulder, further ruining his tunic. He stares in horror at me, still holding our now happily gurgling daughter on his shoulder. His eyes are wide and uncertain. In the window reflection behind him, I can see the pup’s vomit soaking into his shirt while it slowly oozes down his back.

  “Polly?” he says with an uncertain tremble in his voice.

  Our mate struggles for a sympathetic expression and fails horribly. Her laughter starts as a muffled giggle and quickly turns into full blown guffaws of hysteria. Tears flow from her eyes and falls back against her pillows, gulping air and chortling with delight.

  Messa stares in revulsion at the mess on Ca’lek’s back, seeing it first hand from her position behind him. A chunk of white sludge plops to the floor and she gags, making a herking noise into her hand.

  “Oh dear Goddess,” she exclaims when a second blob splats to the floor, then she runs from the room with her hand clamped over her mouth.

  “Sorry,” Duresh mutters in embarrassment before following his mate into the hall.

  “I’ll go see if your sire can fetch a clean tunic for you,” Ha’dir says and chuckles, turning to go.

  Lin’kin gives a sudden belch of his own and douses the front of my tunic in his own vile stomach sludge. “Better ask for two,” I say, sighing while I reach for a towel to clean myself.

  Kuma, who has been suspiciously silent since the first, loses it. He bellows with mirth, slapping at his knees and gasping for air. The noise startles the pups who start crying and gumming at their fists hungrily.

  “Pass me Lo’rei first,” Polly says, adjusting herself to sit up and places a pillow on either side of her waist for the pups to rest on while they nurse.“So, whatever happened to Sa’rin? Did the authorities catch her?” Polly asks, settling Lin’kin against her breast. He flops around, pushing his snout into her soft skin until he finds her nipple and latches onto her. Lo’rei seems to have no trouble finding Polly’s other nipple and soon both pups are happily nursing.