Pirates of the Dark Nebula (Hearts in Orbit Book 2)

by S. C. Mitchell

  Tina’s hands flew over her keypad. “Micro jump in five minutes, sir.”

  It was refreshing to work with people who knew and followed fleet protocol. The pirates tended toward the lackadaisical. But where had Tina picked it up? He made a note to talk with her when he had the time . . . if they made it out of here.

  A micro jump required only a quick burst of the warp drive, pushing them past light speed for a fraction of a second. Dangerous in populated space, but safe enough in the outback, as long as the path didn’t lead through uncharted space debris. A chance he was willing to take under the circumstances.

  “Full power to the rear shields, Harvey.” The droid was filling the science officer and defensive control positions. “And give me a collision projection on Ms. la Cross’s micro jump.”

  “Point zero one two five percent, captain.”

  In effect completely safe. Rik breathed a sigh of relief. They’d need this jump to get ahead of the pursuing pirate fleet.

  The empty seats and stations on the bridge almost matched those that were filled. Most of his crew was pulling double duty.

  But we’re flying.

  Markus Stout, the last member of the bridge crew, had his thick, stubby fingers bouncing expertly over his keyboard. He’d procured a thick synthfoam seat cushion to raise his chair height and taken scanning duties as well as back up weaponry. “I’ve got weapon locks on three of ‘em, Captain.”

  “Good, Mr. Stout. See if you can delay them a bit with a few well placed photon torpedoes. Try to time them right before we jump.”

  “Course change laid in, Captain.” Tina’s voice was tight, but controlled.

  Rik checked the course file. “Micro jump in ten, nine-”

  Blam. A blast rocked the ship.

  “Rear shields at 78%, Captain.” Harvey’s message registered. They’d been hit hard, but the shields still held.

  “Mr. Stout, fire!” Rik swept his gaze toward Quatrain. The boy had gone white. “Mr. Tyson, give him some support.”

  Keep the boy busy. Time enough to see how he’s doing if we survive.

  Markus sent an array of five photon torpedoes toward their pursuers. A soft ‘thunk’ reverberated through the ship with each launch. To his credit, Quatrain did an excellent job of support, covering the torpedo attack with blaster fire so the explosions did the maximum damage to the shields of the pursuing craft.

  The pirate fleet didn’t stop, but three of the ships pulled back in their pursuit.

  The Umberhulk, however, wasn’t even fazed. In fact, it accelerated toward them.

  Rik renewed the countdown for the micro jump. “Four, three, two, one.”

  The quick lurch sent the ship jumping ahead. It was only a milliparsec, but that was enough to put the planetary destroyer out of weapons range. Still, with more ion thrust than The Starboard Mist, the big ship continued to close.

  Checking the navigation file sent a chill coursing through Rik’s stomach. The first full warp jump was a half hour away, with no opportunity to micro jump again. The Umberhulk would catch them long before that.

  Damn.

  Rik’s heart fell as the planetary destroyer bore down on them, quickly eating up any airspace between them. Its Spartech boosters on full flame.

  Frack, we’re not going to make it.

  Twenty minutes later Rik’s fears were confirmed.

  “They’ve got a weapons lock on us again, Captain.” Markus’s warning confirmed the inevitable.

  What was he to do? Surrender? Everything inside him screamed, hell no! But this wasn’t just about him. He had his crew to think of. Luna . . .

  A communication invaded their system. Kristin Devenport’s visage appeared on the com screen. “Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded, Mazer. It’s over.”

  Triumph blazed in her eyes, and Rik went cold. He’d offered these people sanctuary and only led them into deeper danger.

  Gods. What kind of power did Kristin Devenport hold within the pirate organization to pull together a fleet of ships in so short a time?

  Her uncle, of course. Frack!

  If the pirates got a hold of Luna . . . His hands curled into tight fists at his sides. He couldn’t—wouldn’t let that happen!

  His gut rolled as he weighed their chances of escape. Is there a number less than zero? “Mr. Tyson, Mr. Stout, prepare to attack.”

  He keyed in the controls to bring the ship around.

  “Found it!” Luna’s cry broke through the gloom. “I found the controls for the cloaking device.”

  Hope flared in Rik’s heart. “Then by all means, Ms. Callista, cloak the ship.”

  A soft buzzing filled the bridge. He looked at Luna and breathed. The woman was brilliant. They had some nextgen technology of their own onboard, and he hadn’t even considered it. Would it work against the Umberhulk’s updated tacking systems?

  Markus laughed, the deep-throated sound booming across the bridge like rumbling thunderechoes in Antari Canyon. “They’ve lost their weapons lock.”

  On screen, Kristin’s face fell, her eyes narrowed. She turned to the side. “What do you mean—” The communication was cut short.

  Relief coursing through him, Rik dropped into the captain’s chair and brought up the piloting display. Switching to manual, he took the ship off course portside. The pirate fleet would be sure to try every scan possible, and he was determined to not be anywhere they’d expect.

  He piloted the ship toward, but just below, the Umberhulk, keeping one eye on his vessel’s ion levels. Cloaking drained the power supply, and he didn’t dare stay cloaked for long, or they’d lose power. It was too new a technology to know for sure, but he estimated they had about an hour before they’d be forced to uncloak.

  “C—Captain? Why are you flying toward them?” Quatrain was still pale, his eyes wide.

  “Best place to hide, Mr. Tyson. Right where they don’t expect you.” He put more confidence in his voice than he felt. This could backfire drastically if that ship managed to detect them through the cloaking.

  Passing under the massive ship, Rik was in awe of just how big it was. Requiring a crew of fifty, the planetary destroyer, codenamed Umberhulk by the Federation Fleet, could house almost two thousand personnel comfortably and stay in space for months without the need to refuel.

  “Still no weapons lock, Captain.” Relief flooded Markus’s tone. “Want me to send a photon torpedo up their arse?”

  That brought a chuckle from the bridge crew.

  Rik shook his head. “As much fun as that would be, Mr. Stout, it’s probably better if we just stay quiet for the time being. Let them think we’re running away.”

  Markus shrugged. “Hmm, ‘spose you’re right.”

  Rik took up a position a few clicks behind the pirate fleet, following them as far as the first jump point. They must have been able to infiltrate The Starboard Mist’s databanks and pull their original course when Kristin’s com connection forced its way into the ship’s system.

  He smiled as the five ships made the jump to hyperspace. They’d left, following Tina’s original course. Kristin’s fleet was now far enough away from The Starboard Mist for him to uncloak the craft.

  That was too close.

  Luna glanced over to him, one incredibly cute eyebrow raised. Did the woman have any idea how sexy and suggestive that gesture was? “Okay, Captain, what’s next?”

  Rik piloted the craft to a void near the Dark Nebula’s erratic pulsar. There was nothing in this space, and no reason for ships to pass through it. Most would avoid it because the dead neutron star had an immense magnetic field. They were as safe as possible in this sector.

  What next, indeed?

  Chapter 8

  Rik’s mind calmed as The Starboard Mist came to a full
stop, its ion engines kicking down to standby mode. No sign of any other ships within scanning distance. He could breathe again, think, and plan.

  He turned his attention to Luna. “Ms. Callista. Make sure Harvey knows how to operate that cloaking device. Harvey is the only one of us able to stay at his station round the clock, and I want him monitoring near-space constantly while we’re parked here.”

  “Monitoring,” Harvey said.

  “Good.” Rik nodded. “If anything . . . anything approaches. I want you to cloak the ship and contact me.”

  “Affirmative, Captain.”

  He turned toward Tina and Markus.

  “Mr. Stout, Ms. la Cross, take the next hour to get your people settled. There are plenty of quarters available. I’ve overridden all the locks. Help yourselves to whatever you discover aboard. And, while you’re at it, find me some trainable people to take over the bridge control stations. This journey is sure to be a starchaser and we are going to need some relief up here. We will reconvene in the Captain’s quarters in an hour for a short meeting. Then we all need some rest.”

  Rik hoped that would be time enough to deal with his most pressing issue.

  His gaze swung to Quatrain Tyson. The boy sat stiff, his head down, eyes closed. It was hitting him. Rik sighed as sympathy for the boy washed over him.

  Tina and Markus exited the bridge and Rik went down on one knee in front of Quatrain. He placed a hand on his shoulder and used the other to raise the boy’s chin. “Open your eyes, Quatrain. Look at me.”

  Tears rimmed the boy’s . . . no, the young man’s eyes. He’d certainly earned that status over the past hour.

  “They’re dead, aren’t they?” His breathing was shallow. “All those people in the hanger bay. I . . . I really killed them.”

  Rik nodded. There was no easy way to put this. Quatrain had no doubt seen the bodies in the hanger. “Yes, probably a few of them are dead.”

  Not a computerized simulation. They’d been real, breathing human beings. And that was just sinking in to the young man’s consciousness. In the moment he’d had to act and react, and Quatrain’s skills had probably saved everyone on the ship. But Rik suspected, in the quiet aftermath, there would be a price to pay.

  At least for Quatrain’s sake, I’d hoped there would be. The alternative was even uglier.

  Quatrain took in a big, stuttering breath. “H-have you ever killed anyone?”

  His question brought a flood of memories, but one in particular stood out.

  Rik nodded. “A few. First one, I was twenty-two. Fresh out of the academy. A beat cop on Alpha Ten. The Xoltron addict had gunned down twelve people. I would have been his thirteenth. He drew, I was faster.” To this day, Rik still saw the bastard’s face in his nightmares.

  “It’s not like in the games. There’s no reset, no way to undo . . .” Quatrain swallowed. “Does it ever get easier?”

  Rik shook his head. “Not for me. I think if it ever does, that means I’ll have become one of them. One of those people who can kill without conscience.”

  And if he had killed Kristin Devenport, wouldn’t their situation be better? He should have, and he would have if there had been no alternative.

  And he would have lost another piece of his soul.

  Quatrain’s eyes glazed. He shook his head. “How do you deal with knowing . . .?”

  “Me?” Rik faked a smile and a chuckle. “I pretend I’m a hard-nosed pirate captain.”

  Rik saw a smile playing at the corners of the young man’s mouth. He got it. “In your case however, I’d go for the bad-ass kid with a chip on his shoulder. Think you can pull off that act?”

  The smile broke fully upon Quatrain’s face as he pulled in a deep breath. “Yeah. I think I can pull that off.”

  “Now, go find yourself a place to hang out, someplace away from all these insufferable adults.” Rik ruffled Quatrain’s hair.

  Quatrain pushed off Rik’s hand. “Leave off, old man. You think I’m broken or somethin’?”

  The smile was still in his eyes as the young man stood and sauntered off.

  Rik shook his head. Not anymore.

  Wow.

  Luna hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on the conversation. Harvey had quickly picked up everything he needed to know about the cloaking device, and she hadn’t wanted to disrupt Rik and Quatrain’s conversation by exiting the bridge past them.

  That is one hell of a man. The rugged, sexy pirate had an even sexier soft side. The way he’d handled that.

  She’d seen Quatrain’s pain as well, but had no idea how to approach the boy. Quatrain had taken steps to keep everyone at orbital lengths. The boy was an ion storm no one would want to even get near.

  No one but Rik.

  The man seemed to have a grasp of so much. No wonder the galactic marshals had him working undercover.

  I wouldn’t mind getting him under some covers myself.

  Where the hell had that come from? Sure the man was drop-dead gorgeous. Rugged and sexy in a way coreworlds’ men just didn’t seem to be able to pull off. Still, she needed to keep her head on straight. A guy like that would certainly have no interest in her.

  Which still won’t keep my mind from an occasional fantasy fling with a hot marshal.

  She forced herself to look away from him and rose to go find her own quarters. It would be good to wash up a bit. Splash some cold water on the heat rising in her cheeks.

  Rik held up his hand to stop her as she approached. “Now you . . . you’re another issue I need to deal with.”

  A chill bolted through her stomach. “What?”

  “Smart, quick witted, and pretty damn tenacious.” He shook his head, his eyes deep golden brown orbs that captured her gaze and refused to let go. “I find you incredibly attractive.”

  Luna’s breath caught. Her core heated. “Me?”

  “It’s a distraction I don’t really need right now, though I wish I’d met you under different circumstances.” He took a step closer to her. Her skin tingled with awareness of how close he was. She breathed in his essence.

  A flush worked its way up his neck and he looked down. “If I had my way, I’d have you move into the captain’s quarters with me. Would that be wrong?”

  Luna thought back on that stolen kiss, in broad daylight in the Port Hubble marketplace. The way his lips . . . plundered. “I could do that? Move into your cabin?”

  Idiot. He’s asking . . . he wants . . . Heat gushed through her system. Hadn’t that been just what she’d been thinking about?

  “No.” No what? Was she really going to turn him down or . . .? She shook her head slightly, nibbling her bottom lip before resolving her internal conflicts.

  “No,” she repeated. “That wouldn’t be so wrong.”

  He took a step closer and tucked his fist under her chin, raising her lips to meet his. Warm, firm, and enticing. The thrill shot through her core once again as his mouth took her to another place, another world.

  Time stopped. Her whole focus was him. Only him. His lips on hers. His hard body pressed against her.

  His arms wrapped around her, a comforting cocoon—protection from the cold, dark galactic sector about them. It would be so easy to say it was just comfort and protection she was seeking in this man, but there was so much more to it than that. So much more to him.

  His eyes promised safety—his lips heaven.

  Still, she barely knew him. Who was he? What was he?

  An actor and a con man, to be sure. So, was this all an act too?

  His tongue tangled with hers, plundering ever so sweetly. Damp heat built in her core. The bold press of his erection against her stomach betrayed his arousal. This was no act. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. Did there need to be anything more to it?

 
“I am tracking an ion storm entering the quadrant, Captain.” Harvey’s monotone intruded into the passion of the moment. She’d all but forgotten the droid was standing behind her.

  Rik broke off the kiss. Reluctance colored his gaze. “Thank you, Harvey. Continue tracking. Let me know if it gets near enough to bring us under its influence.” He shook his head. Lowered his voice. “That was probably a huge mistake.”

  He sighed, looking deeply into her eyes.

  “Oh, I don’t think so, sir.” Harvey’s retort took Luna by surprise once again. “Those storms can get quite intense.”

  Rik chuckled, his heated stare still locked onto her. “Yes, quite intense.”

  The reek of Captain Planemo’s essence hadn’t fully cleared from his cabin, but Rik found the air acceptable enough to call the meeting there. Saying the man had body odor problems would be an understatement. The cleansing station in the head had seen far too little use. Perhaps Planemo hadn’t known how to use it? The pirates, mainly spacers released or escaped from low-tech prison planets, were often decades behind the technology of the central coreworlds.

  Or is that just giving him an excuse. He was probably just too lazy to bathe.

  Yes, it would take time to fully clear the stink out of the place, but the long rectangular table in his quarters was the only place large enough to comfortably seat this gathering.

  Rik scanned around those at the table. His crew, at least for now. Luna sat next to him on the far end. Easier to keep his mind on business if he kept her to his peripheral vision. Gods, why had he kissed her . . . again.