Guarded By Them

by Skye MacKinnon

  “Our credibility is compromised,” Kili added, “and it’s all my fault. They’ll be able to see that I transferred the ship’s command to Kion. If they check the camera recordings, they might even see how I was confined to my room. It was my choice, but they don’t know that. They’ll investigate and they’ll find out what I did. After that, they won’t believe a word I say. And I’m afraid it might be the same for Kion.”

  Raf took my hand, his eyes wild. “They’re not taking her. We’ll fight.”

  Kion shook his head. “They’ll outnumber us. The vessel coming to rescue us is a warship. There will be hundreds of Custos on board. No, the only way to solve this is to find the real culprits. The Athions who kidnapped Wren. If we can find them and make them confess, Raf and Vuk might be released.”

  Raf laughed harshly. “I doubt that. We’re pirates, we’ve raided our fair share of Athion ships. Even if we’re cleared of abducting Wren, they’ll still have enough reason to imprison us for life.”

  There was a certain hopelessness to his voice that seeped into my bones, finally making me realise the gravity of the situation. Until now, I hadn’t let myself think of what might happen next. It had been all about surviving the moment.

  “Can we escape before they get here?” I asked the guys. “Is there some way to fix the ship? Or an escape pod, maybe? Vuk, Raf, can you contact your pirate friends?”

  Vuk shook his head. “The Phoenix has no power. We can’t access the communications system and our comms bracers aren’t strong enough to send long-distance messages.”

  “We might be able to help with that,” Kili said. “This ship has enough power, we’re just unable to fly. And no, Wren, there’s no way to fix it. We don’t have the necessary tools and parts. If we had a month or so, we could probably repair the ship enough to get off this rock, but by then, our supplies would be gone. No, we can’t get away from here ourselves. But maybe we can transfer some power to your Phoenix, enough for you to send a distress call.”

  Raf nodded. “It’s worth a try. Even if none of the other pirates can reach us in time, it would be good to let them know what’s happened.”

  Kion laughed softly. “I never thought I’d want pirates to come to me. Usually, we avoid them or we attack them, if we’re accompanied by other ships.”

  “We’re not as bad as you might think. We have a code of honour,” Vuk explained. “I bet we kill fewer people than you Custos. And definitely less than our fellow Trads.”

  Kion gave him a doubtful look, but didn’t comment.

  I reminded myself that I'd had the same reservations of pirates when I'd first found out what the two Trads did for a living. Pirates didn't exactly have a good reputation, whether it was on Earth or in space. Maybe they should get a rebranding. Space Robin Hoods, something like that.

  A yawn escaped me, causing all four guys to look at me.

  "You need to sleep," Kion said, looking at his data pad around his wrist. "Your vitals are good but you're still recovering. All of us are. Let's call it a night and we can get started on establishing communication with your pirates tomorrow." He sighed. "I never thought I'd voluntarily give my location to pirates. It's like you've turned my entire world upside down."

  "Your world is an asteroid just now," Kili muttered, looking tired himself. "And if we don't get picked up from this rock soon, we're all going to die here."

  "Such a cheery thought before going to bed," Raf chuckled. "I don't want you to read my kids a bedtime story."

  Kili gaped at him. "You have children?"

  Raf started laughing. "No, not yet." He shot me a quick look before staring at the floor. "Doubt I ever will. But let's imagine I had kids. You would be the last person to put them to bed."

  Children. I shouldn't even be thinking of that kind of future. It wasn't for me.

  Chapter 12

  Rafaz

  As soon as I exited the Athion ship, I took a deep breath, tension falling off me. I hadn't realised how on edge I'd been in there. We had come to a ceasefire with the two blue weirdos, but that didn't mean I completely trusted them.

  The air outside tasted dusty, but it was better than having to put on a spacesuit. The Athions had a few spares, but none of them had been made with tails in mind. Squeezing into one wouldn't have been very comfortable.

  This oxy-tent was fantastic technology. We'd have to steal one once we had our own ship again. I looked at the Phoenix's wreck and sighed. It might be a while. There was no way we'd be able to fix her. The hull was broken in many places and parts of the ship had broken off, strewn across the asteroid ground or blown into space. It was a miracle we'd survived the crash.

  The bridge was the least damaged part, yet it was still bad. Very bad. Debris had landed on some of the controls, several screens were broken, and of course there was no power. Cables were hanging from the ceiling, but there were none of the sparks that had rained down on us right after the crash. That reassured me a little. I didn't want to die in a wreck explosion. Not after having survived a crash on an asteroid. That would be a bit of an anti-climax.

  Luckily, the comms panel wasn't as damaged as some of the other consoles. I wiped the dust off the screen. It had a crack in the right corner, but that wouldn't impact its function. As long as the console had even a tiny bit of power, I'd be able to transfer a lot of the data to my communicator and then use the Athion ship's long-distance comms system to contact the other pirates. It still bugged me that they hadn't given their ship a name. It seemed like a disrespectful thing to do. After all, we usually spent months, even years on the same ship.

  I ran my hand over the console. "Sorry, old girl. This is the end of the line."

  No AI voice answered. Not that I had expected it to, but it was a disappointment nonetheless. I'd spent hours honing the AI, making it far more efficient than it had been when we'd taken over the Phoenix.

  I opened the back of the comms console, not even needing any tools since the metal was already bent. I cursed when I took in the scrambled mess of burnt cables. I’d hoped I might be able to simply connect a power cable from the Athion ship to the console, but it wasn’t going to be this easy. Half of the cables in the console were fried and some had fused together. I was going to have to separate them one by one, repair some, extend others. It would take me half a day at the very least.

  I tapped my comms bracer and Vuk’s holographic face appeared in the air above my wrist.

  “It’s bad,” I told him. “I’ll be busy for quite a few hours, if I can get this sorted at all. How’s it looking over there?”

  “We’re trying to fix one of the engines to generate more power. It’s doable, but it’ll take a lot of time. Kili is helping me, and Kion is scouring the ship for possible parts. If he doesn’t find what we need, he might have to come over to the Phoenix and see if he can scavenge from there.”

  Even though I knew that the Phoenix was beyond repair, the thought of taking her apart for parts hurt my soul. She’d served us well for years and seeing her like this was painful.”

  “I’ll always remember you, old girl,” I muttered, patting the console. “You’ve done well.”

  “You’re crazy,” Vuk laughed.

  Zut, I’d forgotten the comm link was still open. I glared at him before ending the transmission.

  I stroked the smooth metal next to the console screen again. “He loves you too, darling. Even if he’s too scared to say so.”

  Wren

  With the men busy with repairing the ship and doing stuff to their communications system, I was left without a job. I had no technical skills whatsoever; changing a lightbulb was as far as my DIY knowledge went. I felt useless as I watched Vuk and Kili work in the engine room. I’d asked whether there was something I could do to help, but they’d refused. I didn’t blame them; I likely would have broken more than fixed.

  We’d only just eaten breakfast, otherwise I would have offered to make some food. Not that I knew how to cook some of the strange ingredients t
he aliens had onboard. I’d probably end up poisoning everyone.

  Useless.

  “See if Kion needs some help,” Vuk said, as if he’d read my thoughts. “He might find things too heavy to carry himself.”

  “She shouldn’t carry anything,” Kili argued. “She’s still recovering.”

  Vuk’s eyes widened. “Oops. Yes. What he said. No carrying.”

  I laughed and jumped off the barrel I’d been sitting on.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “No carrying!” Vuk called after me as I left the engine room in search of Kion.

  I’d not really explored the ship, but its similarity to the Athion vessel I’d been held captive on was still giving me the creeps. No panic attacks, I told myself. Don’t you dare.

  I climbed up a ladder leading back to the living quarters of the ship. It was nice and quiet here compared to the noise of the engine room. The males didn’t seem to mind it; maybe my human ears were more sensitive than theirs.

  I randomly opened a door to my left, a little surprised that it unlocked at my touch. It was a bedroom, chaotic and full of…stuff. Clothes littered the floor, seemingly flung down without care. The bed was unmade, surrounded by stacks of books. I curiously picked up one of them, but I couldn’t read the language. The Athion alphabet was made of intricate characters that curved into each other, reminding me a little of vines. It was beautiful, like calligraphy back on Earth.

  I put the book down and continued looking around the room. It felt a little wrong to do so, like I was spying on one of the Athions, but I was bored and this was more interesting than searching for Kion.

  A picture on a small shelf next to the bed caught my eye. It was a digital picture frame that changed between photographs. The first was that of a family, two adults and a child; a boy with bright blue skin and a mop of ocean blue hair that reached over his eyes. The image changed to an Athion woman, beautiful, with high cheekbones and full lips. I stepped closer, mesmerised by the intense way she stared at the camera.

  It was the first time I’d ever seen an Athion female. Her skin was smoother than it should be possible, with no impurities or marks. Her hair was glossy, falling down to her shoulders in gentle waves. She was one of the most beautiful women ever, Athion or human.

  “My aunt,” Kion said quietly, startling me. I hadn’t even heard him enter the room.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” I stuttered, acutely aware that I’d gone into his room without permission.

  “Don’t worry, it’s fine. When I got the notification that someone had opened my room’s door, I thought it was one of the Trads snooping around. I’m glad it’s you instead.”

  Relieved that he didn’t seem to be angry at all, I turned back to the photograph.

  “She’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, she was.” Pain swung in his voice. “She raised me after my mother died, until she too succumbed to the plague that wiped out our females. She was one of the last to die. We almost thought she was immune. Well, she wasn’t.”

  “I’m so sorry. It must have been horrible.”

  “I was still young. I didn’t quite understand that I’d never see her again.” He sighed deeply. “Are your parents still alive?”

  I shook my head. “They disappeared during the invasion, like so many. They’d gone to the closest city for a business meeting, but they never came back. I just hope they died quickly and without suffering.”

  “I’m so sorry. What the Trads did to your planet is unforgivable.”

  “Did they lose their females at the same time as you on Athion?”

  He nodded. “More or less. We still don’t know if it was the same virus or just a coincidence. We were at war with Tradrych even before they invaded Earth, so we never exchanged intel on the plague with them.”

  That struck me as stupid, but that was politics for you. Short-sighted and not focused on the benefit of all.

  Kion sat down on the bed and I did the same, keeping some distance between us.

  “Sorry about the mess,” he said with a boyish grin. “I’m not used to having visitors.”

  “I don’t really care. Back home, when I shared a house with other women, we had the rule that all common areas had to be neat and tidy, but it didn’t matter what everyone did in their own rooms. Some people like tidiness, other chaos.” I shrugged. “Besides, it’s your ship.”

  “Not really ours, not like your Trads own theirs. We were assigned it by the admiralty and we might be given a new one at some point.” He laughed softly. “Well, that’s unlikely now. I doubt we’ll ever get another assignment, not after all that’s happened. They might demote us to desk duty, if we’re lucky.”

  “What if we don’t tell them that Kili shot me?” I asked, surprising myself.

  Kion looked at me in surprise. “You’d do that? Lie for him?”

  I shrugged. “What’s done is done. I believe him when he says that he didn’t intend to hurt me. And now that he’s got to know Vuk and Raf, I doubt he’d harm them either. As you said, your races are at war. You’re not used to being nice to each other.”

  He smiled at me, a smile that reached all the way to his eyes, which were sparkling with emotion.

  “Sadly, they’ll be able to access the ship’s records. Even though they can’t see what happened on the other ship, they’ll see that our med pod fixed you. They’ll know that Kili transferred command to me, too. There are cameras all over the ship that have recorded what’s happened. No, there’s no way of hiding the events since the crash.”

  “Unless…” I couldn’t believe I was actually suggesting this. “Unless the system crashed? Deleted all the footage? Raf has already hacked the ship, I’m sure he could get rid of the evidence.”

  “Do you think he’d do that?” Kion didn’t seem convinced. “He might have rescued you, but he’s still a Trad.”

  I groaned. “Would you stop going on about that? Yes, you’re two different species, and I’m a third, but we’re all in this together. We’re a team now, at least that’s what I’d like us to be. Squabbling amongst ourselves won’t get us anywhere.”

  “You’re right. Sorry. Let’s keep deleting the records as our last resort. For now, we should focus on establishing communications with the pirates.” He grinned at me. “To be honest, I’m a little excited about being on a real pirate ship. It’s so…illegal.”

  Excitement reflected on his face. I laughed at how enthusiastic he seemed about breaking the law. I guessed that as a Custo, he was used to following rules, never doing anything fun.

  He got up from the bed, stretching and cracking his back. “Let’s continue. Want to help me go on a treasure hunt?”

  I gave him a cheesy wink. “Just like pirates. Arrrrrr.”

  Chapter 13

  Vuk

  It had taken all day, but the cable was finally in place, ready to carry power to the Phoenix. Everyone was in position: Raf on our ship, Kili in the engine room, and Kion at the door leading outside, monitoring the situation, fire extinguisher at the ready just in case something went wrong. Wren and I were on the bridge, watching everyone on the big screen in front of us. Since the Phoenix was too damaged, Raf was going to use his comms bracer to send us the encrypted codes that would allow us to call the pirates using the Athion ship’s systems. To download the codes, he’d need at least a few clicks of power though. This wasn’t something anyone was supposed to do, so he’d have to dive deep into our computer system.

  This was our only chance to send out a distress call. It had to work.

  I looked at Wren who’d taken a seat on the captain’s chair. She seemed surprisingly comfortable on it. She was the glue that kept us all together. Maybe we should make her our honorary captain. She was smart; with a bit of training, I was sure she’d be able to master the ship’s controls. Besides, she had four capable males to do the flying, she just had to give the orders.

  Something to think about later, once we had a new ship. For now, we w
ere homeless and desperate for the other pirates’ help.

  I pressed a button on my comms bracer to connect me to the other three males. “Is everyone ready?”

  Raf grunted his agreement, while the two Athions both lifted their index and little finger to the cameras.

  “What does that mean?” Wren asked in confusion. “I bet it’s not what it means on Earth.”

  “It’s the universal sign of signalling concurrence,” I explained.

  “Oh, we do thumbs up for that.”

  She showed me and I stared at her. “I didn’t know humans were that rude.”

  She laughed and waved her hand around, thumb still extended in the most offensive gesture I knew.

  “So I shouldn’t do this?”

  I shook my head. “No, better not. Wars have broken out over less.”

  Wren didn’t stop though. She seemed to enjoy breaking etiquette. I wasn’t a prude by any means, but if I wanted to be rude, I used other gestures, not the thumbs up.

  “What’s the hold-up?” Raf asked through the comms and I forced myself to look away from Wren.

  “Nothing. We’re ready too. Kili, switch on the power in three…two…one…”

  I gripped the armrests of my chair as I stared at the screen, trying to take in everything. Sparks were flying in the engine room, but Kili didn’t seem phased. He punched instructions into the engine controls. Satisfied that he was content with how things were going, I turned my attention to Raf. A light had sprung to life on the comms console of the Phoenix, but it was flickering precariously.

  “It’s not enough power!” he shouted, our link still open. “I need more.”

  “I’m giving you everything I’ve got,” Kili called out without looking at the camera. He’d pulled out a wrench and was doing…things to the controls.

  “Can’t you switch off some power this ship is using?” Wren asked hesitantly, as if she was afraid her suggestion might be silly.