“You can’t be serious,” Regan said.
“He’s saying that humans are all like you,” Tookie continued. “He is demonstrating that if one human can do to this to the universe, imagine what will happen when they all start exploring space.”
Regan erupted from his booth, unafraid to show his anger. He wasn’t playing it cool now, and he let it all out.
“But destroying an entire planet? They could never do that!”
“They’ve done it,” Tookie said.
Calico came over and put her arm on Regan.
“The Intergalactic Council doesn’t meet for another week,” she said. “Even then, it would take an Emergency Declaration to destroy a planet. We have some time.”
“How do you know this?” Regan asked.
“I know things, okay?” she said. “I told you, my father worked for the Intergalactic Council. I know a bit about their schedule and bureaucracy.”
Regan looked at her sternly. He was now tired of her not telling the truth, whatever truth that was. He needed her to come clean.
“Calico, when we’re done here, you’re going to tell me everything,” Regan said. “This shit is getting out of control and we all need to be on the same page.”
Calico smiled as if she understood, and while it was a sad smile, she meant it.
Regan turned back to Tookie.
“Tookie, we’re going to get some antimatter modules then jump to the Intergalactic Council’s station. We have some info that will shut down their corruption for good. You’re welcome to come with us.”
“I appreciate the offer, Regan,” Tookie said. “But I’m going to stick around here until this all blows over. You understand.”
“I do,” Regan said. “And I thank you for bringing this to my attention.”
Tookie filled up his glass again, finishing the bottle.
“Say, who are you getting your antimatter modules from?” Tookie asked.
Regan shrugged. “We still have to find someone who is willing to trade for an exotic species. We’ve got a cryofrozen specimen that I think is easily worth several modules.”
“I think I know just the guy,” Tookie said with a slobbery smile.
Regan opened another bottle. “Well then, let’s make us a trade and go fuck up the Intergalactic Council before they destroy my home planet.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Tookie and Regan set their empty glasses down and stood from the booth. Tookie had a lead on someone who might trade for antimatter modules, and Regan intended to hear him out.
With Calico drawing trouble everywhere she went, Regan asked her to stay aboard during this exchange. He would take Arkei and Straya with him, which would be enough backup for this trip.
Straya had switched on the Bearded Butcher’s cryopod, its hover base allowing it to be easily transported. She entered a setting that conditioned the machine to keep a certain distance from her, and to lock down if any unauthorized persons tried to take off with it.
In the event they needed additional security, which they frequently did, Arkei had loaded herself up with an additional rifle blaster.
Since Tookie was making this introduction for them, Regan felt confident this would go smoothly.
But I’ve thought that before.
The group followed Tookie off the ship. Regan told his crew that he would be in touch. Otherwise, the ship was to be kept in a strict lock down to prevent any further attacks on Calico.
Tookie led them to new parts of the station, but the terrain didn’t feel that different from where they were previously. Regan was happy they weren’t going back to the Pits, as that had been a disgusting place to drag such a high value specimen through.
Instead, they weren’t headed to a new market, but to a specific ship. It wasn’t a junker, but it didn’t compare to Regan’s yacht either. It was impressive in its size. From its banged up exterior, it was clear the ship had seen its fair share of battle.
“I’ll make the introductions,” Tookie said. “But I imagine your cargo will speak for itself.”
Two security guards emerged from the shadows as the crew neared the ship. They were heavily armed with more than weapons, wearing full armor. It seemed to be mismatched, but it covered them nonetheless.
“Can we help you?” the guard on the left asked.
“Here to make an offer to Silva,” Tookie said. “He’ll be happy with what ole Tookie here has brought his way.”
The guard didn’t need to relay the information to his boss. Instead, Regan heard orders coming through the guy’s earpiece. It was clear that they were being watched. Even in this pirate stronghold, the idea of being captured on security footage made him nervous, considering the events that followed him around these days.
Still, Regan needed to keep up appearances. He found the security camera located above the ship’s entrance and nodded at it.
“Silva will see you,” the security guard finally said.
The guard stepped aside, while the silent guard led them toward the ship. The entrance opened revealing a ramp. They followed the ramp inside. The interior was much nicer than the outside, as if the damaged exterior was nothing but a front, a way to camouflage what was really going on inside.
A security detail surrounded them and frisked them, reminding Regan of airport security back on Earth. They had to walk through detector frames as the items they carried were scanned.
Arkei had some initial trouble walking through the metal detector. While she was willing—though hesitant—to remove her weapons, her arm itself created a situation.
“I can’t take it off,” she said. “It’s my fucking arm.”
The security detail was unsure how to proceed. They asked her to stand to the side while Regan, Straya, and Tookie walked through. The security detail also scanned the cryopod for any hidden gadgets or tricks, but were satisfied to find none.
“The three of you may proceed,” the security guard said, speaking to Tookie, Regan, and Straya. “But we have to ask this one to stay behind.” He motioned at Arkei.
“Are you kidding me?” Arkei snapped.
“I’m afraid so,” the security guard said. “That arm could be a weapon for all we know.”
Arkei looked at Regan.
“Maybe you should just wait and let us take care of this,” Regan said, even though he wasn’t happy about it. “We want this to go as smoothly as possible.”
“Ugh,” Arkei said. “Fine.”
“I’d keep you company so you don’t have to wait alone, but I might be needed for this exchange, darlin’,” Tookie said, licking his hair seductively.
Arkei squinted at him and flexed her bionic arm. Tookie laughed, then led Regan and Straya out of the security room and into the hallway beyond.
The single hallway only had one door, which affirmed Regan’s belief that this wasn’t a ship at all. His impressions about it being simply a camouflaged base were turning out to be spot on. The door at the end of the hall opened. The group then entered a room full of pirates.
It was like a party. There was a bar set up in the corner, and servers carried drinks all over. Heavy amounts of smoke drifted through the room as well.
They were only in the room for moments before a server was in front of them with a tray full of drinks. It looked like the same pirate booze that Regan had taken a liking too, and even though he wanted one, he felt he should keep a professional appearance.
“This is pirate territory,” Tookie said to him, seeing his hesitation. He lifted up a glass of his own and one for Regan. “It’s impolite not to have a drink.” Tookie handed Straya a drink as well. She gave Regan a look of confirmation, as if what Tookie was saying was true.
Regan took a sip, then followed Tookie to a pirate sitting in what looked like a throne. This was clearly Silva. Silva looked like a textbook pirate: long hair, beaded beard, many rings, a hat with feathers and bones, and even an eyepatch.
There’s no fucking way this guy actually needs an eye
patch.
On top of that, Silva had a leg over one of the arms of his throne, revealing a knee-high boot with heavy rolled over flaps. It was almost comical.
“Silva!” Tookie said as they neared. “You look better than ever.”
Silva smiled when Tookie dragged his large tongue over his shoulder and raised his glass to him.
“I feel better than ever,” Silva replied, his voice rather haughty for a pirate. “And who are your friends?”
“This is Captain Regan,” Tookie started. “And he is—”
“Yes…” Silva interrupted, dropping his knee and placing both feet on the ground. He leaned forward. “The infamous human.”
Silva chuckled pompously. Regan grew nervous. His reputation was getting around, but was that a good or bad thing around here?
Silva turned to Straya. “And you are the pirate who has helped him. I must say, I’m quite honored to have such outlaws in my presence. What is it I can do for you?”
Well, time to put all the cards on the table.
“We first want to thank you for seeing us,” Regan started. “And we would like to propose a trade.”
“For?” Silva inquired.
“We need antimatter modules,” Regan stated plainly.
“I see,” Silva said. “And it seems you have brought some sort of creature to entice me with?”
“This is the Bearded Butcher,” Regan said.
The surrounding pirates, whether they had been secretly eavesdropping in on the conversation or not, were now clearly tuned in. Regan felt this was about to go one of two ways.
One thing he hadn’t considered was the fact that a group of pirates might be furious to see one of their own frozen in a cryopod. Even so, Regan was here now. It was going down.
Silva jumped down from his throne and stepped toward the cryopod. He inspected the dial on the side, and touched his eyepatch, which Regan realized then was a scanner of sorts. It made much more sense then.
He rubbed the dust off the glass surface and looked inside at the pirate for some time.
“I can’t think of a better first mate than the Bearded Butcher!” Silva shouted. His comment was met with much applause from those in the room.
“But tell me,” Silva continued. His tone changed slightly, becoming more direct and less playful now. “Why do you have this poor creature? And why is he frozen in this pod? We all heard he was dead.”
“We rescued him,” Regan said. “He was one of Mephistopheles’s captives in his illegal species museum. We were only able to break a few out, including him.”
Silva looked at Regan curiously then started laughing.
“So it’s true!” Silva shouted. “You actually did destroy Mephistopheles’s complex!”
The room of pirates started applauding.
“What a dreaded man he was, constantly kidnapping members from our ranks. I’ll be happy to do this trade with you. After all, I have plenty of antimatter modules, but there is only one Bearded Butcher!”
Silva approached Regan as if he was going to shake his hand, but instead he went for a full hug. He laughed and clinked his glass against Regan’s.
“A pleasure to have met you, Human,” Silva said. “I hope your war against the Intergalactic Council goes splendidly. Just splendidly.”
Straya and Regan were taken to a room where they were given a crate of antimatter modules. The crate contained more modules than they would need in all their lifetimes combined, according to Straya. They were also given a crate of pirate booze as a bonus.
Tookie met them at the entrance of Silva’s place and shook their hands. He was greasy and gross, but he had come through for them again. Regan offered once more for Tookie to join their quest, but Tookie raised his glass of booze and winked.
“This is where I belong,” he said.
Arkei joined them from the security room, and the three made their way back to their ship, carrying the crate between them.
As they approached the yacht, they were greeted outside by Calico. It was a surprise for all of them. She looked upset, as if she’d been crying.
Regan picked up his pace. Maybe this was it. Maybe she was going to come clean about everything. Either way, he didn’t like seeing her like this.
Just as he was about to reach her, a ninja dropped in between them.
Chapter Fifty-Three
The ninja dropped right between Regan and Calico, raising his hands to demonstrate that he was ready for action. Regan looked at him closely, then peered around.
Only one ninja?
Regan felt Straya and Arkei tense up beside him, then they drew their weapons and took aim. It was a standoff for a few moments, as the ninja looked from one of them to the next, his back to Calico.
He then flipped up in the air backwards, going for the princess, lunging above her in his backward leap. Before Arkei and Straya could fire, a force knocked them all on their backs, sending the ninja forward as well, away from Calico.
The force was invisible and felt familiar to Regan.
It was Calico. She had used her power to prevent the fight from occurring. And strangely enough, the force felt like it sent a piece of her along with it. It felt like her presence had moved right through Regan to knock him down.
It effectively stopped the ninja in his tracks, but why did Calico knock down her allies as well?
“Stop it!” she shouted. “Everyone just stop!”
The ninja stood quickly. He was in the center of the group and took his stance again, not attacking, but ready to move at a moment’s notice. The ninja turned and faced Calico then. It was clear that he was not intimidated by Calico’s power, perhaps even being familiar with it.
“You will cease this behavior and return home,” Calico ordered the figure in black.
“I’m under orders!” the ninja replied. His voice was a hiss, almost sinister. “You know how this works.”
“Well, I’m giving you new orders!” Calico hissed in return.
“You don’t command us! Not anymore!”
“I do command you! I’m your princess! Leave now or I swear I will reach down your throat, grab you by the tail, and turn you inside out!”
The ninja stood still for a moment, unsure how to proceed. He quickly glanced back at Regan, Straya, and Arkei, assessing his situation completely. When he turned his gaze back toward Calico, Regan felt he was going to attack anyway, regardless of what Calico just ordered. He could see the ninja adjust his back leg while he turned.
“Squit, you watching this?” Regan asked quietly into his communication link.
She didn’t respond, but her tentacles appeared out of nowhere, swiftly reaching out from the ship’s entrance ramp just as the ninja made another leap for Calico. The tentacles caught the ninja mid-air and smashed him into the ground, holding him down at his chest and feet.
Squit made a squishy sound that Regan was sure was some type of trash talking to the ninja.
“Right you are, Squit,” Regan said. “Nicely done.”
Regan always knew Squit was fast, but he loved how quickly that just went down. Finally, they caught a ninja off guard, instead of the other way around.
Regan approached the ninja who had no chance of escaping Squit’s tight grip, and pulled off his mask. To his surprise, the ninja was a Persha, with cat ears and patterned skin, just like Calico. And while this revelation angered Regan, it outright infuriated Straya and Arkei, who surrounded Calico.
They didn’t raise their weapons to her, but Regan wouldn’t have been surprised if they had.
“What the hell, Calico?” Straya said.
“These assholes were on our trail because of you this whole time!” Arkei chimed in. “And you knew who they were!”
“I thought they would leave me alone,” Calico said, her head lowered.
Straya jerked Calico’s chin up with her hand. “How about you start by telling us who the fuck they are and what they want?”
The ninja started to speak but Squit adj
usted her tentacle to cover his mouth. He made some muffled sounds, quickly giving up the effort.
Calico retreated several steps and took a seat. Straya and Arkei stood before her and stared her down. They made no attempts to hide how they were feeling.
Regan joined them, but he held his anger back. A good cop, bad cop situation was playing out in his mind. And ultimately, he did trust Calico.
“The ninjas were sent to collect me, yes,” Calico began. “But I thought they would give up after the first attempt. If I knew they would have kept coming back, I would have said something. I thought it would just pass over.”
“But why now?” Straya demanded.
Arkei added, “Why didn’t they save you when you were imprisoned by Mephistopheles?”
Calico sighed. “Because they didn’t know where I ran off to. Mephistopheles was quite off the grid, as you know. But now that I’m with you guys, with all sorts of heat on us, I guess my family finally figured out where I was. And what’s more, I know they’ll really want me back since my power’s been unlocked.”
Regan remembered what she told him back when Salvato had imprisoned them: She had an innate power, but it could only be unlocked through mating. He pulled at his shirt collar. “But they have no way of knowing that, right?”
Calico snickered humorlessly. “Whenever a royal member draws upon our innate power, we all can feel it and sense, at least generally, where the force is being channeled. So no, my family will know for sure. They would have felt it every time I used it.”
“So, uh, that means your family knows you’ve been mated?”
“Clearly.” Calico wrung her hands. “My father’s going to kill me—metaphorically speaking, but still.”
If her father would metaphorically kill her, Regan didn’t want to know what the cat king would do to him, the one who took her purity.
Regan decided to throw a softball question, as Calico was clearly stressed. “Why’d you ever leave your family? Why leave them for Mephistopheles of all people?”
Galactic Bandits Compilation Page 37