Pirate's Fortune

by Gun Brooke

  “Sounds good.” Kellen spoke shortly. “I agree. Helm? Current speed?”

  Leanne rattled off the information. “Adjusting the course to the new coordinates.”

  The doors behind them hissed open and Roshan and Andreia entered with Ayahliss. Kellen had expected Andreia to perhaps opt out of this mission, as they intended to apprehend—or kill—her brother. However, Andreia had always defined herself as a Gantharian citizen first and regarded herself as an Onotharian only from a DNA point of view. She had fought alongside the Gantharian people she loved and identified with for so many years now. Kellen had no doubts about Andreia’s allegiance, even if she hadn’t hated Trax with a passion. You certainly didn’t choose the family you were born into.

  “We are receiving a subspace message from the SC,” Owena said. “Audio and video.”

  “On screen.” The big viewscreen flickered, and when Rae’s face appeared, Kellen gasped out loud.

  “Kellen. I’m safe.” It was Rae—her face and her voice. Kellen stood on shaky legs.

  “Rae.”

  “I know I look like hell, and it was a close call. I am safe, though. I promise. I’m in my father’s ready room, working from my bedside. I’m here to render any assistance I can in your effort to take Trax M’Aldovar out.”

  “Rae…” Kellen felt as if her brain had short-circuited. All she could do was stare at her wife—the dark gray stormy eyes, the tired lines around them and on her forehead, the slight dryness of her lips. “You are alive.”

  “Yes, Kellen.”

  “They found you.”

  “They did.” Rae’s eyes welled up, and she blinked several times. “I see you have all of our closest friends there.” She raised a limp hand and waved. “Here’s my father now.”

  “Kellen? She really is all right. Not very strong yet, but they have dealt with the issues—”

  “What issues?” Kellen asked, her fears reappearing.

  “Dad! I told you—”

  “What issues?” Kellen walked closer to the screen.

  Ewan listed Rae’s injuries and what had been done, apparently not caring that everybody on the bridge heard. “And as she was stuck aboard an Onotharian shuttle, she cut her arm, drew blood, and infused human DNA into the shuttle’s bioneural circuitry. How’s that for ingenuity?”

  Kellen was impressed. She had never heard of such a tactic. “And that made the SC stop long enough to ask questions before firing.”

  “Yes. The rescue ship had already raised shields when the readings came in,” Ewan said. “When they saw human DNA on their readings, they deepened their scans and found more human bio-signatures inside. Rae saved two ensigns and ultimately also three Onotharians, who are now POWs in a much nicer prison than would have been the case if the opposite had occurred.”

  Kellen had not taken her eyes off Rae while Ewan spoke. “Does Dahlia know? Armeo?”

  “I have sent a message via one of our courier ships, and I expect to hear from Dahlia any moment. She’s been in lockdown several times due to minor attacks by the Onotharians, but neither she nor Judge Beqq is that easily intimidated. They are doing fine.”

  “Armeo?” Kellen reminded Ewan.

  “He never knew Rae was missing. Didn’t see the point.”

  “Good.” Relieved, Kellen closed her eyes briefly. “Rae, we’re going after Trax M’Aldovar.”

  “So I heard.”

  “Kyakh and Pimm have him aboard the Salaceos as we speak.”

  “I have to tell you, Kellen, I don’t have a good feeling about that.”

  “You think there is a risk Kyakh would use this as a way to escape the hold the SC has on her?”

  “I don’t think she would,” Ewan said slowly. “When she called in her report to Rae and found me instead, she didn’t strike me as someone about to bail. Admittedly, I don’t know the woman, but she took a big leap of faith when she reached out to me. She seemed genuinely concerned.”

  “I’m not gullible when it comes to someone like Kyakh,” Rae said huskily, “but I wouldn’t sell her short either. I could be way off there, but I think she’s developed a reluctant friendship with Pimm.”

  “The sentient BNSL. Interesting.” Kellen made a mental note of this, sensing it might become important. “We will be within range in less than twenty minutes. I will request radio silence until we are in position within the asteroid belt. Until I contact you, please use text-only messaging, please.”

  “Understood.” Rae lifted her hand briefly. “Be safe, Kellen. All of you.”

  “We will. Stay strong, Rae. Kellen out.”

  Kellen sat down in the captain’s chair, her knees impossibly weak all of a sudden.

  “Fantastic news, Kellen,” Leanne said, beaming, from the helm.

  “Thank you. Yes.” Kellen took another deep breath. “As you heard, we are now operating under radio silence. Adjust cloak to highest setting. We cannot have even the slightest blip on their sensors, or we lose the advantage of a surprise attack.”

  “Cloak harmonics set to heavy.” Owena pushed at the sensors before her. “We are invisible.”

  Good. Trax had better have enjoyed the last few days, because he was not going to have many more. Kellen drew her upper lip back in a feral grin. “Good hunting, everybody.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Weiss had never felt more enraged or nauseous. She regarded the spectacle in the cargo bay with a careful look of indifference when all she really wanted was to yank Madisyn out of their claws and run.

  Podmer had paraded Madisyn in front of M’Aldovar like she was a prize-winning Gantharian maesha. He had not been able to make her display any of her “features,” but listed them proudly to the immobilized man.

  “She’s not bad-looking either, if you’re going for the wholesome, slender type.” Podmer leered. “Still, I have to warn you, some of my guys tried to have her concede to servicing them when she first came aboard, and though she is an android, she is also sentient with a strong will of her own. Nobody could get her to comply.”

  “Some would say that’s getting the best of both worlds. I’m sure our scientists can reconfigure her, if need be,” M’Aldovar said absentmindedly. He looked Madisyn over again. “I don’t suppose I should ask her to strip so I can make sure she’s as stunning as her exterior suggests.”

  “Honestly, I wouldn’t try that before you have her, what did you say, reconfigured?” Podmer gave another belly laugh. “She’s a handful.”

  “Sounds good to me.” M’Aldovar signaled with his eyes to his officers. “Pay the man.”

  Podmer rubbed his hands as the Onotharians arranged the payment. As they focused on this important task, Weiss dared to look at Madisyn. She stood straight, her hands cuffed and her feet in restraints that allowed only for very short steps. Lifting her gaze to Madisyn’s face, she saw no emotion in her features, but her eyes burned with clear hatred. Weiss’s heart constricted painfully. Had Madisyn not understood? When she followed Weiss’s orders to kick and scream while being captured, Weiss had thought Madi knew they had to stall until a moment presented itself to act upon.

  Madisyn now met her eyes dead-on, and the chill they induced traveled throughout Weiss’s body. She tried to convey her feelings, but nothing changed in Madisyn’s demeanor to suggest she understood.

  “I need someone familiar with her physique to accompany us back to my ship,” M’Aldovar demanded. “I need to know the specifics regarding her sustenance and so on. If I don’t familiarize myself with these facts, she might try to self-destruct without me realizing it.”

  “Good idea.” Podmer agreed willingly. “Kyakh here has shared quarters with Pimm ever since she joined our crew. Have you observed enough to assist General M’Aldovar, Kyakh?” Podmer looked at her as if to dare her to contradict him.

  Seeing this as a godsend opportunity to work out an escape, Weiss smiled lopsidedly. “As boring as this droid is, on a personal level, I can safely say that I know what she eats, when she ne
eds sleep, and what diagnostics she runs on a regular basis.”

  “Excellent. You heard the man, go with them to their ship and install Pimm.” Podmer walked up to Madisyn and looked down at her with something mimicking remorse. “Sorry. No hard feelings. Just good business. For you, it should make little difference, really. It will be interesting for you to see another part of space.”

  Weiss was shocked to hear Podmer talk to Madisyn as if selling her like a slave was a mere career change with new prospects for her. Weiss held her breath as Madisyn’s eyes narrowed.

  “You unimaginable fool.” Madisyn’s voice was low but carried clearly throughout the cargo bay. “I never did give you much credit. I saw you as a vain, not so very intelligent thug, and I think that was overstating things. Clearly, you’re just as dumb as you look. I pity you.” Madisyn turned to M’Aldovar. “Shall we go, then? What are we waiting for?”

  Podmer’s face was now dark, a sure sign that he was like a high-yield explosive ready to go. “Ungrateful damn droid,” he growled. “Get her out of my sight!”

  “I’ll take care of her.” Before anyone else had a chance to react, Weiss lifted Madisyn and hoisted her over her shoulder. “Come on then.” She led the way to the airlock. Not daring to show with the slightest caress that she was on Madisyn’s side, Weiss let her dangle in such an undignified position, even M’Aldovar’s officers smiled faintly.

  Aboard M’Aldovar’s shuttle, Weiss strapped Madisyn into the seat farthest back and sat down next to her, attaching another harness to herself. M’Aldovar required a lot of assistance as the officers adjusted his hover chair and made sure it was safely locked into place.

  “Madi. Please,” Weiss whispered. “I’m going to get you out of this.” She tried not to move her lips in case they were under video surveillance unawares.

  “Don’t talk to me.” Madisyn spoke quietly, but not as low as Weiss deemed necessary.

  “Madi. I’m trying to figure out a way to escape with you. Please trust me.”

  “Why?”

  “Gods, woman, surely you’ve figured it out by now.” Blinking at the stinging sensation behind her burning eyes, Weiss had to use all her motivation and strength not to shout. “I’m doing this, despite my reputation and my past, because I love you, damn it!” Startled at her own confession, Weiss kept her eyes forward, scrutinizing the Onotharians as they worked around M’Aldovar and began the launch process.

  “What?” Madisyn said, her voice small.

  “You heard me.” Weiss’s lips felt stiff and dry.

  “But—”

  “Shh. Here they come.”

  The officers made sure they were strapped in, and one of them checked Madisyn’s shackles. When he was done, he let his fingers run through her hair, only to yank his hand back when she growled at him and bared her even, small teeth.

  “She always this feral?” the officer asked Weiss. “She’ll need some serious modification to be of use to the general.”

  “Yeah, he might regret ever buying this wildcat,” Weiss said.

  “There’s more than one way to break someone in. A damn droid shouldn’t be too hard,” the young officer said with contempt.

  “Exactly.” Weiss smiled, knowing full well just how feral she could look. “In the meantime, my best tip is to keep your distance. She can sever a finger just as easily as a laser knife. I’ve seen her in action.”

  “Really?” The Onotharian ensign took a step back, which delighted Weiss. “All right. We’re about to take off. Remain seated. This close to the asteroid belt, it can be a bit bumpy.”

  “Understood.”

  The young man left and Weiss heard Madisyn exhale. “Thank you.”

  “Try not to move your lips when talking. Something tells me that a paranoid man like M’Aldovar has surveillance everywhere. Whisper and keep your lips still if you can.”

  “All right.” Madisyn shifted in her seat. “Did you really mean it?”

  “You can laugh or ridicule me later. Yes.”

  “Why would I ridicule you?”

  “Just my luck, huh, to fall for someone who hates me.”

  “I—I don’t hate you, Weiss.”

  Weiss began to tremble. “What? But you do. You hate anything to do with pirates and mercenaries.” It was so tempting to turn her head to try to read the truth in Madisyn’s eyes. This might be their undoing, so Weiss closed her eyes almost completely, leaving only a slit big enough to keep an eye on the Onotharians.

  “I do. I do hate them. Just…not you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’ve changed.”

  “Not that much. I’m still the person who kidnapped Dahlia Jacelon and helped M’Ekar to escape. Several people were killed on Corma because of that.”

  “I didn’t say you don’t have a lot to atone for. You do. And you are. You’re here, obviously trying to save me, risking your own life in the process. You could’ve left a long time ago, obviously. You’re here.” Madisyn sounded like she was trying to convince Weiss as well as comfort and encourage herself at the same time.

  “Yes, I am, and I’m not going anywhere without you. We’re going to get out of this, Madi.”

  “I like for you to call me that. You’re the only one that ever has.” Madisyn’s voice caught. “If you can’t get me away from him, I will remember it.”

  “Stop it. Stop.” Furious at the thought of failure, Weiss curled her toes inside her boots and dug her nails into her palms to regain self-control. “You’re returning to SC space with me. You said it yourself. The protector is hunting M’Aldovar, and from what I know of her, failure is not an option. We just have to make sure we’re ready when it happens.”

  “All right. Guess I’m just afraid.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. This is a dangerous situation on a far more personal level.” Weiss would have given anything to wrap Madisyn up in her arms and hold her tight, protect her from everything that frightened her. Being brutally honest with herself, Weiss was just as much in need of such an embrace. She feared she might screw up and lose what window of opportunity the protector’s imminent attack might provide.

  “Are you afraid?” Madisyn could clearly read minds.

  “Not of them, but for you, yes. Of you, in a way, yes.”

  “What do you mean, of me?”

  “I’ve never loved anyone since I lost my mother. This was very inconvenient.”

  A soundless laugh from Madisyn startled Weiss, who opened her eyes fully to make sure nobody heard. “Stop laughing!”

  “Sorry, but it sounded kind of funny.” Madisyn raised her hands and wiped at her eyes.

  “How amusing that I can provide some comic relief.” Rigid, Weiss retook her position with her arms folded and her eyes half-closed.

  “It’s not funny. It’s sad, really.” Suddenly filled with sympathy, Madisyn’s whispers soothed Weiss like nothing else ever had. “I think you are on your path of atonement. As am I.”

  “You? You have nothing to atone for. You’re the victim in all this.”

  “Yes, and I’ve lived and breathed like an avenging victim ever since my parents died. That’s not what they wanted for me. Instead of continuing their work, our work, at the university, I joined the Guild Nation Intelligence Forces as a way to cope, to fight back.”

  “And I joined the enemy, the pirates, for the very same reason.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes. Weiss saw images from her childhood flicker through her mind. She hadn’t allowed those memories to surface for a long time. When the vision of her mother remained, she wanted to press her wrists against her eyelids and pry the memory of the soft-spoken woman out of her brain. Quicinda Kyakh-sehn had done nothing but love and care for her daughter as she worked as a chef aboard a generational ship heading for the SC.

  When pirates attacked, it had seemed that the seasoned leaders aboard had everything under control. Herding the children to a shelter deep inside the belly of the vast ship, every one amo
ng the four thousand crewmembers knew exactly what to do. But they had no way of knowing that they had come across a new breed of ruthless pirates. This well-organized band dealt just as much in the trafficking of humanoids as illegal drugs, and even humanoid organs.

  “Weiss?” Madisyn nudged her carefully. “Weiss. Wipe your cheeks.”

  “What?” Hastily Weiss felt her cheeks, mortified at the wet traces of tears. For stars and skies…

  “Are we slowing down?” Madisyn’s voice trembled.

  “Seems so.”

  “Weiss?” Madisyn pressed harder into the seat and began to breathe faster. Her eyes darted back and forth between M’Aldovar and Weiss.

  “I won’t leave you. I promise. No matter what happens, I won’t leave you, Madi.”

  “You really do love me?”

  “Desperately.” Weiss never thought she’d profess to love, certainly not to a complex, unique woman in mortal danger.

  “I trust you. If you say you’ll get me out of this, I know you will, or die trying.” Sounding surer than Weiss felt, Madisyn’s words drilled into Weiss’s soul. Could it be true that Madisyn didn’t hate her as much as before? Weiss gripped the armrests as M’Aldovar’s shuttle momentarily lost inertial dampeners. A whining sound showed that the helmsman had engaged the brakes and was about to enter the Onotharians’ shuttle bay. Sick at the thought of what might happen to Madisyn now, Weiss steeled herself. Without finesse, the shuttle came to a sudden halt, tossing them against the harness and bouncing them off the backrest.

  “Weiss?”

  “Yes?”

  Madisyn drew a deep, trembling breath. “Whatever happens, don’t blow our cover. The mission—”

  “Comes first. Sure.” Weiss wasn’t sure at all. Her rebellious side insisted on making Madisyn her first priority, but her feelings for Madisyn caused an irrational urge to make her proud.

  The Onotharian officers came toward them. Yanking Madisyn free from the harness with hard hands, they motioned for Weiss to follow them.