“Not now, Tay,” Saph replied.
“How many people are on their vessel?” Suni asked.
“The sensors indicated there were six life forms onboard,” Saph replied.
Suni made a noncommittal noise as the newcomers worked on the external damage to their space craft. The internal window they used to view the strangers was made of strong material to withstand the air pressure from space if the outside bay doors opened but was see-through.
Just as easily as they could see the newcomers, they could also see them. Or their top halves at least.
The newcomers were humanoid, which was common in this area of space. The male was bigger than any Suni had ever seen and there was a very muscular female. Suni didn’t recognize their uniforms, which had seen better days. She had a sneaking suspicion that the dark blotches dotting the male’s clothing was blood. What held her attention though was the dark brown “CR” markings on both of their cheeks.
Every few minutes the male and female would throw glances their way. The female’s gaze appeared uneasy while the male looked as if he would kill them without a second thought.
They were scary looking. Suni didn’t know why she said what she did next.
“We should go in there and say hello.”
Saph reared back. Her attention no longer on the working pair. “What?!”
Tayan bounced on her toes. “I would like to meet them! They’re so muscular.”
“Which is why we leave them right where they are,” Saph countered.
Suni kept her eyes on the strangers. Yes, they were muscular and appeared to be from a military background, soldiers of some sort, she’d wager. But there was something else about them that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
As powerful as they appeared, they also looked as if they had been through something traumatic. Not just because their clothes were ripped and bloodied. It was in the tense way they held their shoulders, the wary glances darted in the direction of where she stood with her sisters, and the sense of readiness in their stance.
Suni knew all about trauma and its impact on one’s emotional psyche. She’d lived the story and was still standing. “It’s obvious they need our help.”
“Which we provided,” Saph was quick to point out, ever the clear-thinking one. “They have the tools needed to repair their vessel.”
“They’ve been through something—bad. They could probably use a shower, food and rest.”
“Sure. That sounds really nice, Suni,” Saph drawled in a voice laced with insincerity. “Then, after we see to their needs, we can give them the control codes so they can take over the ship.”
“Over my dead body!” Yovit yelled over the intercom.
The shout drew the attention of the two bent over the side of a cracked panel. They jerked upright and spun on their heels in a rapid move almost too quick to trace. The male grabbed one of the solid metal tools and angled toward the internal door while the female crouched low, hands raised in a fighting stance.
Suni slapped a hand over her face. “Yovit, you’re broadcasting ship wide, adjust the communication. Now they’re scared of us.”
“It’s my ship! I can broadcast wherever I want!”
“Wrong,” Saph said, peering through the window to watch the pair again. Their backs were to their ship as they stared above, looking for the danger. “You had to sell it to me to get the creditors off your back.”
“Semantics,” he grumbled.
“He doesn’t like that you bring that up,” Tayan said.
Saph looked down at her and rustled the top of her head. “Well, that’s too bad, since he’s the one who needs constant reminding of property laws.”
“He also doesn’t like that you call him by his first name. He said that you used to call him ‘Father’,” Tayan said.
Both Suni and Saph let out a snort. Yovit stopped being a father when their mother died. He’d chosen to retreat into himself, leaving Saph to raise an infant and Suni to help her.
Saph nodded toward the people. “Enough about Yovit. Let’s focus on them.” The glint in her gaze saying without words what Suni had thought earlier. The way they had reacted was fast and calculated and they still maintained their defensive positions, awaiting an attack.
A cruel smirk twisted the lips on the big guy’s face as he twirled the tool in his hand in an obviously threatening manner.
“And you wanted us to open the door and invite them inside to kill us.” Saph chuckled in wry humor.
“They only reacted to Yovit’s outburst. Now they’re wondering if we have a lunatic onboard,” Suni said.
Saph made a noise in the back of her throat, laughter filling her eyes. “We do.”
“Besides, what Tay said before still stands. They might have enough credits to help us with the fuel.”
“And if they don’t, we send them on their way,” Saph said.
That didn’t sit well with Suni. They had encountered thousands of different species and personalities since living out in space. This life was brutal and wasn’t meant for the weak. People left others to die all the time. Especially in this territory.
“We could still use their help,” Suni said.
Saph snorted. “We don’t need their help. They obviously need ours.”
“They look like they can handle Kenzi and his crew.” Suni’s breath caught as soon as she’d spoken. She stared at her sister, hoping Saph was thinking the same as she did.
“Hmmm,” Saph hummed as she focused her attention on the pair again under a new light.
Saph was considering it. Suni just needed to sell her idea to get Saph onboard with what she was thinking. “Kenzi has been getting bold lately. The last time we ran into him and his crew, they tried to steal our scavenger hunt item from under our noses. If we had these two watching our backs, we wouldn’t have to keep looking over our shoulders when we’re on planets looking for the items.”
Kenzi and his sister Katara, former space pirates, were Sonhadrian from the planet Eta Lyrae. Their spaceship, Ghost, was in a lot better shape than The Renegade and they seemed to have more resources at their disposal to find and buy the scavenger hunt items. More participants vied for the coveted grand prize; enough credits to buy a small uninhabited planet, but out of all of them, Kenzi seemed the one to watch out for. They had participated in the scavenger hunt for four months and in that time, they’d had eight run ins with Kenzi, and each time had been an escalation of the last.
“What about the others hiding inside their vessel?” Saph asked.
“If the other four are military, then that’s also in our favor.” Suni squinted, trying to read the brown markings. “What do you think those brandings on their faces mean? CR?”
Saph flicked a dismissive hand. “I don’t care, and neither should you.”
Saph stared at the pair, and they stared back. Her gaze darkened with calculation. If Saph said no, Suni would defer to her.
“X-9,” Saph called.
“Yes, Captain.”
“If any one of our guests poses a problem to us, I want you to kill them.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Chapter Four
Saph slapped her palm on the control panel and the door slid open with a deep groan that reminded Suni to add lubrication to the growing list of supplies to buy once they had extra credits.
The door froze half-way open. Tayan gave it a hard kick and, with a shudder, the door creaked open all the way. Metal on metal grated roughly together until they could fit through it.
Suni, Saph and Tayan stood side-by-side across the open area, watching the newcomers, who hadn’t dropped their tense fighting positions. There was no point in having a standoff, especially if the newcomers could pay for their fuel to get to the next item or if they could help protect them from Kenzi and his growing antics.
By the looks of their uniforms and the expensive material used to make them, they had the credits to give.
“Stand down or I’ll shoot you o
ut the airlock.”
Suni whipped her head around to stare wide-eyed at her older sister. “Saph!”
The female newcomer stood. Her small frame flexed effortlessly with the movement. “We could hold on to something as you three are sucked into space.”
The smirk dropped from her face as Suni, Saph and Tayan activated their gravity boots at the same time, locking them in place to the floor. The boots would help to keep them on the ship, but they would still perish in the vacuum opening the door would create.
“I could take them out before they opened the bay door.” The big guy’s deadly words were spoken as an absolute.
The room stilled. The hairs on the back of Suni’s neck stood on end and the skin on her arms pebbled in goosebumps. Saph wasn’t one to pass up a challenge when the opportunity presented itself. That was the reason they had joined the scavenger hunt in the first place.
Suni held up her hands. “Hold on. We didn’t bring you onboard for a fight. We brought you here to offer our help.”
The big guy continued to watch Saph, sensing her as the one in charge. “Seeing how you’ve been so nice to us, forgive us for not trusting you.”
“We gave you supplies to fix your ship,” Tayan said, craning her neck to look around the man, eyeing the destroyed gap in the hull they had been working on.
“You just threatened to send us out the airlock,” the female snapped.
“Because of your threatening demeanor—”
Saph’s words ended abruptly and hung in the air as Suni stepped forward, ignoring the tension. Suni continued with sure strides toward the female and bowed slightly at the waist as a show of respect and greeting. “On behalf of my older sister, Saph, younger sister, Tayan and myself, Suni, welcome to our ship.” She straightened then angled toward the male and presented him with the same greeting.
The female snapped her legs and feet together and made a gesture with her hands over her chest. “Thank you for receiving us. I am Lieutenant Zema.”
Suni gave her a slight nod then looked at the man. The grimace on his face remained, and Zema backhanded him on the chest.
“Raint,” he reluctantly bit out.
Knowing this was all she would get, Suni gave him a nod as well.
“There are four other lifeforms onboard,” Saph stated as she approached.
“Two civilians, a Second Lieutenant and our Commanding Officer are on board,” Zema noted.
A groaning creak sounded from the left. Suni glanced at the man who now stood at the top of the ramp. Most of his body took up the entryway.
He was overly handsome, the skin on his face was smooth except for the scars etched into its surface. He had the same crude “CR” on his cheek as Zema and Raint. His dark hair was cut short but longer at the top. Light-blue eyes seemed to pierce right through her as he studied her with the same intensity she did him.
Heat flushed across her skin as his gaze roamed up and down her body slowly. Suni suddenly remembered that she hadn’t purchased any new clothes since their stop on Xet-8 some years back, and her clothes were worn and held together by glue and tape. There was literal tape around the hem of her pants. It was supposed to be a quick fix. She had gotten so used to it being there and without anyone to impress, hadn’t given it a second thought.
She now regretted her choice of clothing. Not that she had anything else suitable for greeting an insanely hot male.
“This is Taun, our Second Lieutenant,” Zema waved in the new man’s direction.
Taun.
Suni licked her too-dry lips.
His gaze turned from her and settled on Saph. “Thank you for the tools and a space to fix our jumper. We’ll be gone shortly.”
His voice matched his appearance—rough and smooth at the same time.
With his eyes focused elsewhere, Suni took the time to let her gaze linger in places she hadn’t dared while he watched her. Muscles coiled under a shirt that stretched over his chest. The material strained to the point she could count each abdominal muscle—eight.
Well defined arms flexed when he fisted his hands on his narrow waist and she could only imagine what his thighs looked like under his loose-fitting pants.
The image of strong limbs dusted with dark hairs popped into her head and was enough to make her mouth water. She swallowed a gulp.
“I want him.”
Saph whipped her head toward Suni and frowned. “Ancients, Suni. Hold it together.”
Had she said that out loud? Suni groaned as heat crept up her neck and burned her cheeks. A quick look at Taun confirmed that he’d heard. Those eyes that seemed too deep were once again locked on her.
“Um…do you have everything that you need? I-I can offer you my services.”
Saph slapped a hand over her face. “Really?”
Taun raised an eyebrow and Raint snickered.
“By services, you mean help fixing the jumper?” Zema asked slowly.
“Yes! Yes, help with the jumper,” Suni said too quickly.
The only thing that saved her from facing any more embarrassment was Tayan going around her and walking between Zema and Raint to make her way up the ramp.
“Tayan!” both Suni and Saph yelled in unison.
Tayan didn’t pay their concern any mind as she pushed past a bewildered Taun to go inside the jumper. “I want to look at the systems.”
Suni held her breath. If anything happened to Tayan, X-9 would dismember all their guests before any one of them could get a chance to flex their muscles, even the handsome Taun.
Even though Taun wanted to block the child, he stood aside and let her past. What harm could a small child do if she were let inside? The room went from an already unbearable friction to the calm before the storm. The two women, who looked exactly alike, were now hyper-focused on the child and her whereabouts.
Taun extended a hand toward the inside of the jumper where the girl was now sitting in the pilot’s chair with an ease of someone much older, checked the system functions. “You’re welcome to join her if it will make you more comfortable.”
The one named Suni let out a breathy sigh as her eyes settled on him. His vision tunneled to her as it did when he had first stepped to the top of the jumper’s ramp in an effort to calm the growing tensions between Raint and Zema and their rescuers.
Suni was beautiful. Even with ill-fitting clothes that had seen better days draped across her frame, he could tell she had womanly curves. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun that sat precariously at the top of her head. Her large and expressive eyes stood out in her small, round face. Per his bio scanner, which was one part of his ocular device, all of her vitals fell within a normal range. He could’ve probed more, but suddenly what was second nature to him seemed intrusive and, instinctively, he wanted to protect her.
Saph nudged an elbow into Suni’s side and Suni stumbled and gave her a bewildered look that Taun instantly found appealing.
Taun wiped emotion from his face, shook his head and re-focused his line of vision on Raint and Zema. He wasn’t here to indulge his carnal nature—although he would be the first to admit it had been a while since he had the pleasure of a female under him. They were here for two reasons only. Repair their jumper and get the hell away from Emperor Shui.
What he didn’t need was to be captivated by the female who sighed every time he spoke. He definitely didn’t need to imagine how those sighs would sound while she was wrapped in his arms with his cock buried deep inside her.
“Tayan!” Saph called. “Come out and let them finish fixing their jumper.”
Taun didn’t expect the child to leave but she stood and walked from the jumper, ignoring a very confused Ised and Aesh. As she made her way down the ramp, she said, “I can look at their specs later.”
“We’ll be leaving here as soon as our repairs are completed.”
Suni raised her hand. “Um…about that. We have a proposition for you.”
Chapter Five
Proposition.
&
nbsp; The carnal thoughts that came to Taun’s mind in rapid succession were intrusive. He wanted to gather her hair in his hands and sniff it. He wanted his hands on what appeared to be soft skin. He wanted to squeeze his palms on breasts that were just the right size for such an act. He wanted his mouth on her mound between her legs. He wanted his chest pressed against hers. He wanted her riding his cock. There were so many propositions floating in his head.
Taun raised an eyebrow at Suni. “Proposition?”
Raint grunted and shifted on his feet. “If this proposition includes killing or fucking, then I’m in.”
Taun liked the way Raint thought. He wouldn’t mind either or, but preferred the latter.
Zema backhanded Raint on his chest. “Raint! There are children around. I shouldn’t be surprised that your priorities aren’t in order.”
Raint frowned, his eyes glittered with confusion. “What? I need to work off some of this aggression.”
Zema shook her head. Taun had a hard time following Raint and Zema when all he could focus on were Suni’s pouty and perfect lips.
Suni raised her hand. “It doesn’t involve either of those.”
“Damn,” Taun and Raint replied in unison.
Zema gave Taun an exacerbated look. “You too?”
He still couldn’t focus on Zema. He was too busy watching Suni.
Saph walked to stand next to Suni and placed a hand on her arm. “Hold on. There might be some killing involved and if you can find a willing partner on Stindrol, there might also be some fucking too.”
Suni slapped a hand over her face and groaned.
“I’m in,” Raint said.
Taun needed to get his focus together. He literally had a computer processor for a brain. Why did it seem like he was going haywire? He cleared his throat, trying to also clear his mind.
He wasn’t the leader of either Zema or Raint, but he did outrank them. “I’m afraid we’ll need more information on this proposition of yours. We aren’t hired guns. We don’t go around killing for sport or for credits.”
“Speak for yourself,” Raint mumbled. “After the week I’ve had, I wouldn’t be opposed to some R&R.”
Saving The Cyborg (Cyborg Redemption) Page 4