by Layla Nash
He lounged in the captain’s chair and frowned at the massive viewing screen that showed him the vast expanse of space with nothing to impede his progress. That damn lawyer. He couldn’t have said why he took her with them. Something about the way she challenged him... Maybe it was the flash in her eyes that reminded him of his lost love and the mother of his son. He’d never seen a female with the same fire as her, not even close.
The Earther struck a nerve when she brought up his leaving Faryl behind. Faros knew his son was in good hands with his brother and his mate, the Earther doctor. She’d already helped Faryl more than any other person after his mother’s death. The boy suffered from a mystery medical ailment all his life, making him weak and underdeveloped, until Maisy figured out a treatment for him—and the rest of the Earthers helped him steal a treatment from the Alliance.
Well, when he said the Earthers helped him... Faros grimaced to himself at the memory. He hadn’t precisely kidnapped her. She’d gotten on the Sraibur by choice; it was just he didn’t let her leave when she wanted to. Despite what his brother wanted everyone to believe, Faros hadn’t always been so mercenary.
Wyzak handed him a tablet and had the comms officer, Izyk, pull up the inventory and status matrices on the viewing screen. “We’ll have to resupply fuel first. They didn’t let us keep the tanks full, but Nokx managed to acquire some the old-fashioned way.”
Faros snorted and concentrated on the weapons and liquor—the most important inventory for pirates. “The old-fashioned way. My favorite.”
Which was stealing.
He hadn’t always been a thief, either.
Izyk leaned against the wall of the bridge, fiddling with some good luck charm he’d picked up in one of their more lawless stopping points. “There’s an Alliance fuel transporter moving through a wild sector en route to our destination. If we divert a few degrees, we can intercept them and liberate some of their cargo.”
“And leave something for the Alliance to track us down?” Faros frowned at the tablet, trying to see anything but the Earther’s face. “I’m not leaving breadcrumbs this time. If they want to hunt us down, they’ll have to earn it.”
His crew traded looks. They’d already faced charges for dealing a little too... enthusiastically with some false-flagged transporters, despite authorization from the rebellion and a letter for privateering. Although maybe the crew had gotten too relaxed, too law-and-order while lingering on the rebel base and hanging around Frrar’s crew. He didn’t look up from the tablet. “So if we liberate fuel, we liberate all of it and deal with the ship.”
Harzt, the security officer and “fixer” who spent most of his time intimidating the shit out of whatever crews they held for ransom, yawned. “We’ll get the fuel transporter in the nav system and plan to intercept during the standard night. Take them while they sleep.”
“Good.” Faros didn’t look away from the lists of supplies, though he flipped quickly to status reports on the propulsion and shielding systems. “Didn’t you pay that Earther engineer to upgrade the engines? Why aren’t they performing better than this?”
Wyzak’s irritation started to show. “We tried half a dozen ways. She was willing when we presented it as an engineering problem, but her damn mate kept getting in the way, and then the rest of the crew took an interest.”
“Treating us like common criminals,” Harzt added. “Like we might have tried to steal her or the engines or something.”
Faros glanced at him. “Imagine that.”
The security officer grinned and his scales flared with green to show his amusement. “Hard to believe no one got in a fight over it.”
Wyzak scowled and retrieved the tablet so he could go back to doing second-in-command things—which were all the tasks that Faros didn’t like doing. “Don’t encourage him. He just got out of jail. We need at least a standard week before he goes back behind bars.”
Harzt arched his eyebrows. “I certainly don’t—”
“I will absolutely strand your ass on an asteroid in the Huloo quadrant until this mission is done,” Wyzak said. “We don’t have time for accidents or side-trips or whatever else you sons of sandsnakes think will be amusing.”
Faros sat back to watch the argument unfold as Harzt bristled and lost some of his easygoing humor.
“What mission?” someone asked from the other side of the bridge, and Faros stilled.
He spun the chair around to see the wide door to the bridge open and the Earther lawyer standing there like she belonged and wandered around on fast-attack pirate ships all the time.
Faros searched for words but found none. She was supposed to be locked in her quarters. He’d even given her the nice guest quarters instead of the bare-bones crew quarters or brig that offered more security. Still, Harzt had assured him the Earther couldn’t escape. He shot a dark look at his security officer before facing Violet and easing to his feet. “You understood that.”
“Of course I did,” she said, like he was as bright as a pile of haugmawt dung. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked, ‘what mission’. So—what mission? Did the rebellion send you out to do something?”
Silence met her question as Faros searched for an explanation and the crew refused to respond for him. He liked to think it was discipline and deference that kept their mouths shut, but in reality they probably wanted to see him dance around and come up with some artful stories.
He met her gaze and did his best to look convincing. “Yes, but it had to look like an escape.”
Her eyes narrowed and Violet folded her arms over her chest with a disapproving look that nearly stopped both of his hearts at once. “Oh really. And why did it have to look like an escape—and kidnapping, and grand theft of a deep-space-worthy vessel, plus inducing criminal behavior in... what, eight others?” She gave Faros another grim look. “The rebellion wanted all of that.”
“Yep,” he said. “The ‘why’ of it isn’t your concern. Harzt will show you back to your quarters.”
“But—” she started, but stopped when his expression darkened.
Faros didn’t take his eyes off her. “There is a brig on this ship, Earther. If you earn a place in it, you will not escape. Is that understood?”
Her lips thinned until they nearly disappeared. Her fragile skin reddened and her fists clenched at her side. For a wild moment, he wondered if maybe the Earthers could breathe fire and no one had bothered to tell him. Violet looked like she could have torched him with her thoughts alone. He braced for the fight and tried not to relish it too much. He had a lot of work to do, sure, but first... first he could have a little fun at the Earther’s expense.
Chapter 4
Violet
Violet hadn’t expected it to be so easy to escape the quarters the pirate trapped her in, but after a few minutes of tapping at the control panel on the wall, the door disengaged and she was able to shoulder it open. She meant to immediately take one of the escape pods and find her way to neutral space or some other way to communicate with Isla and Jess and the rest. But her wandering brought her closer to the bridge, and just in time to overhear the pirates talking about their next mission.
He was up to something, the captain. She didn’t believe for a moment that Faros worked on behalf of the rebellion. It would have been too easy for the rebellion’s leadership to dismiss the charges and send the pirates on their way; orchestrating a complex breakout and escape just didn’t make sense.
And then he threatened her with the brig. She’d never been a rule-breaker. Ever. “I hardly think that is necessary.”
“It shouldn’t be,” the captain said, though his dark eyebrows arched in challenge. “A grateful guest would be motivated to remain in her assigned quarters, as invited.”
“A guest?” Violet scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. The arrogant ass. She didn’t like having what looked like the entire crew standing around studying her, though they at least paid most of their attention to the captain. Maybe they weren’t entire
ly on board with what he did, even though they helped with the escape. Maybe she could entice them to mutiny against Faros, or at least free her, with promises of lowered charges or immunity. “I hardly think dragging me away from the base and into a questionable mission counts as inviting me along.”
“I forgot the engraved invitation,” Faros said with a mocking bow. “And the musicians to sing your praises were indisposed.”
Violet was not amused. “How long is this mission supposed to take?”
“We can discuss that later,” the captain said. He glanced at one of the huge Xaravians lurking near her. “Harzt will escort you back to your quarters. Feel free to avail yourself of the library while you prepare for dinner.”
Prepare for dinner? What did he expect her to do for dinner? “I can find my own way.”
“I insist,” Faros said. He smiled widely, showing far too many teeth, and bowed again. Violet knew he mocked her, but she couldn’t quite tell how or why. Some inside barbarian joke, no doubt. The pirate captain made a shooing motion with his hand, already turning his attention back to the viewing screens. “Can’t have a guest getting lost and poking her inquisitive little nose into all manner of dangerous places.”
Violet rolled her eyes as she turned and strode away. He said that as if it would tempt her into wandering around the ship to look for trouble. That might have worked on Rowan or Griggs, but Violet had more sense than that. Let him think otherwise, though. She had to keep her wits about her and keep the pirates bored in order to get free. Whatever Faros was up to, she didn’t want to be around to witness it.
She’d spent enough time in courtrooms to know she didn’t want to be an official witness. Ever.
Violet took a direct path back to her jail cell, not giving her escort a reason to suspect she wandered, and wordlessly went in. Let them think her cooperative. Her jaw clenched as she confronted the blank walls and empty interior of the room. Einstein’s mustache, what the hell was she going to do?
She paced and rubbed her temples, trying to think through a growing headache. She hadn’t eaten anything yet that day, too distracted by the long list of things she had to get done, which no doubt contributed to her feeling like something that crawled out of the waste tanks of the base latrine. Violet fiddled more with the panel on the wall, searching for sustenance, and used the distraction to fight off some of her growing panic. She didn’t know how to get free of the pirates.
The roast chicken that appeared from the meal generator was almost enough to calm her nerves, and the protein helped clear her thoughts. Violet began an inventory of the room’s contents as she ate. A bed, a small set of drawers for storage, a few cupboards in the wall, a control panel charging on a stand at the small desk, and a chair. The attached latrine also had a small shower, so at least she didn’t have to worry about sharing with someone else. Thank Newton for small gifts.
The first thing she needed to do was figure out how to contact the others back at base, so at least they’d know she’d been kidnapped. Then she needed to determine where they were headed, so she could come up with a way to get free. Violet took a deep breath and stuffed down the panic that threatened to steal her equilibrium and reason. She’d never run into anyone like the pirates before, who just didn’t care that they broke the law and violated someone else’s rights. They couldn’t just ignore that they’d kidnapped her.
What the hell did Faros expect to do with her? Why had he taken her?
It just didn’t make sense. Violet shoved to her feet to pace. She’d done Isla and Vaant a favor by defending the pirate, since they knew Frrar wouldn’t ask for any help, and Violet agreed despite her dislike of criminals. It didn’t matter if Faros had what he thought was a reasonable justification for breaking the law. He’d broken the law. He had to pay the price for that. If not... If people weren’t held accountable for their transgressions, then everything else broke down. All of society would fall apart and they’d be no better than rats jostling for scraps, tearing each other apart to get off the sinking ship.
It wasn’t like she had skills useful to pirates. She was a lawyer—a bookish scholar who knew more about treaties and contracts than anything that might help a bunch of barbarians. Did they expect to execute a contract with someone and wanted her to oversee the negotiations? Violet snorted to herself at the absurdity of the thought and turned her attention to the panel at the desk. Faros hadn’t acted as if he intended to kidnap her, with the lackadaisical sheet thrown over her head in his cell at the base, so perhaps he hadn’t been prepared to keep a prisoner isolated in regular quarters.
And his own arrogance and grandiosity had him keeping her in regular quarters, not the brig. So maybe she stood a chance of contacting the Galaxos, if she acted fast.
Violet fiddled with the panel, a bit impressed with the level of tech on the pirate ship, and managed to find the comms connection. It took far too long for her to remember the frequencies to contact Griggs, and Violet swore to herself she’d never leave the safety of her ship without having a list of contact numbers for emergencies.
It took forever for Griggs to finally answer, and chaos filled the background as she moved fast. “What?”
“It’s Violet,” she said, already irritated that the security officer decided to be rude. “I’ve been kidnapped.”
“You what?” It sounded like Griggs stopped dead in her tracks. “Where are you? There’s been an incident, and we thought—”
Violet glanced at the door of her quarters, hoping that no one stood outside to guard her and could overhear her conversation. She lowered her voice and moved into the latrine with the panel. “I was advising Faros this morning. Before I could leave, his crew burst in and helped him escape. He dragged me out of there and onto his ship, and now I have no idea where we’re at.”
“Bloody black holes and supernovas,” Griggs muttered under her breath. “We knew about the escape; everyone is in uproar. But we didn’t know you’d been taken. Vrix is reviewing the security systems on the jail with some of the others. He hadn’t mentioned seeing you, but then again, I’d expect that the pirates knew how to shut all that off.”
“That’s all great to hear,” Violet said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “But can we return to the fact that I’ve been kidnapped and am currently detained by pirates, on an illegal ship speeding somewhere out into ungoverned space?”
“Right.” Griggs started moving again, and Violet feared she probably should have contacted Isla instead. Maybe Jess. But the security officer managed to keep her attention on the immediate problem, at least. “You’re still on the Sraibur?”
“Yes,” Violet said. “They’re headed off to take care of some business, but Faros hasn’t said precisely what. He claims that the rebellion knew about his escape and allowed it.”
Griggs scoffed. “Not bloody likely. Not with pirates like them. At least we’ve got some trackers on the damn ship.”
“You do?” A hint of relief flooded Violet’s chest, though she didn’t get her hopes up too high. “How?”
“Mrax and Rowan did it, when the pirates asked Rowan to check the propulsion system.” Griggs shouted at someone else, then the background noise abruptly disappeared. “Jess is here with me. I don’t know how fast we can catch up, Vi. They’ve got quite a head start on us.”
“There’s got to be some rebel ships in the vicinity,” Violet said. She concentrated on breathing normally. This was just another temporary nightmare, like she’d hoped their original abduction by the Xaravians had been. How did things like this keep happening to her? She’d led a good life. She worked hard and never broke the rules. How did she have such bad luck?
Griggs hesitated, and Violet’s heart sank. The security officer rarely hesitated; when she did, it meant really, really bad news. Someone cleared their throat, then Jess’s calm voice crackled through the communicator. “Here’s the thing, Vi. If the rebels intercept the Sraibur, we don’t have any control over what they’ll do when they catch them. The
y might not even care that you’re on the ship if it means finally getting rid of Faros and his crew.”
“They can’t possibly intend to execute the crew without a trial. That’s ridiculous. There are laws.”
Jess, at least, didn’t laugh at her, even though Violet heard how ridiculous she sounded. Faros and his crew were pirates. What did they care about laws? Their disregard for civilization and social mores bordered on the sociopathic. But the cultural attaché and information officer continued smoothly, “We don’t know how any individual rebel captain will react. And we can’t risk your safety. So we’re coming for you. It just might take a little longer than we like. Do you know where they’re headed?”
“No,” Violet said. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She hadn’t felt so stuck, so trapped, in a long time. “How the bloody hell am I supposed to know?”
“Ask him,” Jess said.
Like it was the easiest and most obvious thing in the world. Violet took a steadying breath, even though she wanted to wring Jess’s neck. “And you expect him to just tell me?”
“I don’t mean you should confront him and demand to know where he’s heading,” Jess said, and that time, Violet heard the laughter in her tone. “See if you can wheedle it out of him. Act interested, ask him questions, flirt a little. Pretend you don’t know anything and give him a chance to impress you with how much he knows. Males love that.”
Violet started scowling. “You cannot be serious. You want me to flirt with him?”
“Sure,” Griggs chimed in. Her voice went suspiciously high, like she fought down her own laughter. “Let your hair down. I’ve heard pirates like that kind of thing.”