by Layla Nash
Chapter 43
Faros
Faros felt the laser stunner tear through him after he shot the lawyer, and he struggled to bellow his pain and rage at seeing the Tyboli touch Violet. The son of a sandsnake dared to touch Faros’s mate. The stunner burn paled in comparison to the pain of seeing Violet’s expression when she realized he was injured.
Of course, the stunner hurt like hell and made it impossible to breathe, so maybe things evened out in the end.
He groaned as another blast from Kryken’s weapon rendered him almost unconscious. Faros knew in a distant way that the Tyboli had Violet and tried to take her somewhere else on the ship, but he couldn’t move or speak to reassure her that he still lived. She called his name over and over and nearly broke his hearts in doing so.
Maybe she really thought he’d died.
Faros wouldn’t have put it past Kryken to lie, the pile of haugmawt shit, but Faros would show Violet he still lived if he managed to rescue her.
He shook his head and tried to overcome the deep wounds from the laser blasts. When he rescued her, not if.
Faros propped himself up on an elbow and moved his comms pack closer to his mouth. “It’s scenario three, guys. We’re fucked. Get over here.”
He groaned and rolled to his side, most of him still burned and screaming with agony, as he tried to get up and get moving. He needed to save Violet. There was no telling what Kryken would do to her, and if the Tyboli actually got off the ship with her he might lose Violet forever.
Faros couldn’t stand the thought. It helped him stagger to his feet, still holding his side with one hand and a stunner with the other, and start limping in the direction Kryken had gone.
Wyzak shouted at him through the comms pack as the rest of the Tyboli crew grabbed weapons and fought back, though the Sraibur crew was better armed and more motivated. Faros swallowed another groan and managed to grit out a few words. “Cargo bay. Kryken has Violet. Don’t let any ships depart. Call the merchants in.”
Static reached him through the comms system. He hoped that Wyzak actually received the orders, because Faros didn’t have the breath to repeat them. He had to find Violet first, then he could worry about the rest of the ship.
He stalked them through the corridors, always a few steps behind, as the rest of the crew fought a heated battle across every level of the ship. His hearts pounded out of sync every time he thought of Violet and what being kidnapped by the Tyboli would mean for her.
Faros heard the familiar roar of a pissed-off Xaravian, and hoped that maybe the sedation that kept Pyix unconscious had worn off. It took a lot of anything to affect a true warrior, so no doubt the Tyboli underestimated how much was needed to truly disable the former captain. Faros smiled savagely as he used the wall for support as he chased after Kryken and Violet. The Tyboli crew stood no chance against the Sraibur crew and Pyix together. He’d stake every crate of Lukkan silk on the Sraibur on it.
Something jolted the entire ship and threw him to the ground. He cursed and paused just a second to let the pain settle down before he tried to rise again, though he had to roll quickly to avoid the stunner fire of a passing Tyboli crew. Faros fired back and managed to kill or at least knock the bastard unconscious, but it cost him valuable seconds in the chase to get to Violet.
Another explosion or collision rocked the ship and he struggled to stay upright. He wasn’t any use to Violet on the floor.
The emergency lights in the corridor flickered and almost turned on, and he growled in irritation. Someone messed with the kill switch on the Sraibur, or the Tyboli had some sort of defense against it. He made a mental note to figure out what would undo the kill switch’s effects, then continued on after where Violet and Kryken disappeared.
Chapter 44
Violet
Violet never stopped fighting, not until Kryken dragged her into a small side room that looked like a storage area for spare parts. She’d never seen anything like it on a Fleet ship, so it must have been repurposed from something else. Large discs stood on the floor, made of some strange metal and technical parts, with similar discs suspended from the ceiling. She set her heels. “What the hell is going on?”
Kryken released her arm but kept the stunner aimed at her. “An interesting little invention we borrowed from some of your compatriots. It transports matter through space.”
“Bullshit,” Violet said. She remembered something about a transporter from one of the earlier adventures the Galaxos crew had, but there weren’t more of those systems. There weren’t any that worked well, she knew that for certain. Griggs ended up with her feet backward and her hands flipped for weeks, and they still didn’t know if there were long-term effects. “It’s dangerous. Stay away from it.”
“I’ve been meaning to test it,” he said smoothly, not even blinking. “I didn’t want to be the first into it, of course, in case some of those malfunctions caused real trouble. So you’ll go first.”
“No,” Violet said. She ignored the stunner and backed toward the door. “I’ll do no such thing.”
“If you leave with me, the rest of that crew is free to go,” he said. His eyes hardened into titanium points. “You’ve just saved a few dozen lives. What else have you done in your life to achieve the same? None of your legal wrangling will have such an impact on another being. Cooperate, little Earther. You are too valuable to kill. You will be treated well. A golden cage is surely not the worst place to spend your days. Far preferable to a Xaravian pirate’s tent, hm?”
Her throat closed. He was right about some things, unfortunately. None of her contract law or even her erstwhile adventures in being a defense attorney had positively affected any lives. She had no doubt that Faros would search for her to the ends of the universe, and if it meant saving the Lovelace crew and the entire ship... She hesitated.
Kryken started to smile still more.
Violet clenched her fists behind her back. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m not going with you. The rest of the Sraibur crew will be here any moment, and then you’ll be a dead man. Get out of here if you want to go—but you’re going alone.”
“On the contrary,” he said. “You’re going first.”
When she refused to move, he fired the stunner and clipped her leg through those damn Xaravian robes. It wasn’t much more than a nick, but Violet played it up as if her whole leg disintegrated. She flopped to the ground and screamed, using the opportunity to fish around in the jumble of spare parts for something that could have been a weapon.
Kryken grumbled and stalked closer, ready to drag her all the way to the transporter, but someone growled from the door, “Stay away from her.”
The Tyboli started firing and Violet swung the heaviest piece of metal she could find at Kryken as Faros staggered through the door.
Chapter 45
Faros
Both his hearts stopped when Violet screamed and fell to the floor of the ship, right into a jumble of rusty parts and other potentially dangerous things. Faros charged into the room and dove at Kryken as the bastard Tyboli aimed a stunner at Violet once more. Kryken barked in surprise and stumbled, the stunner firing wildly into the air and ceiling and far too close to the Earther.
Faros ignored the pain in his chest and sides and head, ignored all of the wounds he’d sustained in the fight for the Lovelace, and focused only on getting rid of the threats to Violet. She had to be okay. She had to be safe and fine, and then he could rest.
Kryken fought back, growling curses in his vile language, and they rolled toward the metal discs in the back of the room. He had no idea what they were, but Violet cried out with a warning about them being dangerous. He trusted her—without thinking, without evaluating the risk and gain. He knew those were dangerous because she said so.
He shoved the Tyboli toward them and retreated, searching for a weapon from among the random parts and machines in the room. Violet called out, “Here,” and Faros turned just in time to catch the heavy pipe she threw at him
.
Faros wanted to crack a joke about her trying to give him a concussion, but instead swung the pipe and managed to whack Kryken across the head with enough force that the bastard collapsed. Faros laughed, turning to make sure Violet was still safe, and went to his knees as his legs finally gave out.
Something hummed and whirred next to him, and he frowned as Kryken’s motionless body lifted up, faded in and out, then... disappeared. Disappeared? He blinked and sat heavily, certain something was wrong in his head from all the stunner fire he’d taken, and stared at where the Tyboli had once been.
Violet scrambled over to him, scattering random bits of metal as she went, and seized his shoulders. “Are you okay? Where are you hurt?”
“Everywhere,” he said without thinking, and couldn’t quite swallow back a groan. “What the fuck happened to the Tyboli? Did he just…disappear?”
“It’s a transporter,” she said, tone grim. “We’d heard about them and tested an early prototype, but it doesn’t seem to turn out well for anyone who uses it. Hopefully it dropped him into the middle of space and he’s already dead.”
Faros couldn’t look away from her beautiful face, particularly when she sounded so damn sexy and self-assured. “A transporter. We’ll have to get one of those.”
“Let’s hold off on that,” she said. Violet touched his face, her own eyes dark with worry. “We have to get you to the sick bay. Can you walk?”
“I’ll be fine.” He sighed and relaxed back against the floor, though he reached for her hand so he could keep touching her. “Are you injured? You screamed.”
He could have added that she’d almost killed him with fear in that moment, but held that back for another opportunity. He never wanted to hear her make those sounds again, not with fear. Her screaming for other reasons was perfectly acceptable, of course. Faros smiled to himself and let his eyes drift closed. Tied up in his bed, hollering for him to move faster and harder and deeper...
“What on earth are you thinking about?” Violet demanded, her hand suddenly on his hardening cock. “What the hell kind of stunner did he hit you with?”
“Just thinking about how much I enjoy your…company,” he said. Faros lifted his hips to meet the gentle pressure of her hand and chuckled as she made an exasperated noise. He didn’t feel bad at all. The pain from his wounds faded away to nothing and all he felt was the rush of lust and a bit of numbness.
“Faros,” she said, and instead of grabbing his cock like he wanted, Violet smacked his cheek. “Open your eyes and look at me. What’s wrong? Can you talk?”
He meant to answer her, he really did. But his thoughts drifted until he couldn’t focus on anything, even the potential to fuck her again. Faros sighed and tried to squeeze her hand. She was safe, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter 46
Violet
Violet thought he was totally fine when the ridiculous pirate started having dirty thoughts, but when his scales turned gray and he didn’t immediately grab her hips, she knew something else was wrong. It wasn’t until he’d completely passed out that she was able to move him enough to see how many wounds drained away his strength.
She cursed and shoved to her feet, bolting into the corridor to shout for help. Too many voices called out warnings and directions until she didn’t know what to do or where to go.
There wasn’t time to dither. And those stupid robes kept tripping her up... She growled in frustration and finally looped them up through her legs and tucked the long ends into the belt, so at least she had almost-pants that looked very piratical in nature.
Violet figured it was time to fully commit to the Sraibur and Faros’s general criminal outlook, though she knew she’d spend most of her time trying to get him to do the right, legal thing. If he survived.
Her vision blurred but she dashed away the panicked tears. She didn’t have time to waste. He needed her to get her shit together.
Violet ran into the corridor and searched for the nearest Xaravian, grabbing one of the younger crewmembers around the neck and dragging him back to where Faros lay prone. She pointed at the captain and then flung her arm at the door. “Sick bay. Now.”
He blinked but immediately obeyed, lifting the captain into a fireman carry over his shoulders, and staggered into the corridor. Violet followed, carrying two stunners, and trusted that the Xaravian would make it to the sick bay on his own. She ran back down the corridor to the cargo hold adjacent to where they’d entered the Lovelace. She dodged a few errant lasers and stunner fires, shouting at the Xaravians she found, and managed to wing a few of the Tyboli who remained on the Lovelace. She hoped they realized that Kryken left them behind and just surrendered sooner rather than later. And making sure the Tyboli knew that seemed like the fastest way to end the running battles through the halls of the Lovelace.
Violet seized on the idea and ran to where Estelle and several of the Lovelace crew sat groggily, trying to regain consciousness. She caught Estelle’s shoulder and gave her a shake. “I need to speak to the whole ship. Where’s the nearest comms station?”
The ensign looked at her with bleary eyes. “The ship doesn’t speak.”
“I know,” Violet said, exasperated. “A comms station. Where’s the nearest comms station?”
Estelle gestured at the wall and tried to roll to her knees, close to crawling across the smooth floor. “This way.”
Violet hauled her up and they staggered together across the room to a panel in the wall. Estelle fumbled but couldn’t get her hands to work, which left Violet to wrench at the tech until the modified comms board revealed itself. The other Earther exhaled in frustration. “I don’t know what happened. We were fighting and then—just nothing.”
“They drugged you,” Violet said. She put Estelle to sit on the floor and used all of her attention to make the right connections in the comms panel, hoping that the universal translator still worked even without the life support systems and everything else working at partial capacity. “And you all passed out. But I got your message, babe, so good job. You saved everyone.”
“Oh good,” Estelle said, and passed out again.
Violet shook her head and held up the comms mouthpiece, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. “Attention all hands. All hands aboard the Lovelace. Tyboli captain Kryken has abandoned this ship. He transported elsewhere and abandoned ship. All Tyboli personnel must surrender immediately.”
She repeated it slowly once more as silence settled throughout the corridor outside the cargo bay. Violet hoped the Tyboli really understood what it meant—they were on their own, and it didn’t look like the rest of the Tyboli ships were going to show up to rescue them. She smiled to herself and wondered whether Faros would be okay with selling the Tyboli prisoners into the hell they’d planned for the Lovelace crew.
Not that she condoned forced labor or anything like it, of course. That was illegal. Totally, completely illegal.
But a few months on a hostile planet breaking rocks would no doubt teach those Tyboli a lesson in how to treat others.
She clenched the comms mouthpiece and figured it was time to go for broke. “This is Captain Violet Newfield. I am in command of the Lovelace. All Tyboli will be spared if they surrender immediately. Xaravians, report to battle stations and receive the surrender of all Tyboli. Any resistance can be met with force. Prepare the brig.”
A roar of celebration rose up down the corridor, and Violet swallowed a smile. She’d never planned to be a captain of anything, but it felt pretty damn good to announce it that way. She added, “Medic to the sickbay immediately,” since Faros needed some attention, too.
She hoped he didn’t mind her taking over the ship, but wouldn’t have done anything differently even if he had pitched a fit. Violet paused to check on Estelle, who was sleeping once more, and retrieved another weapon from one of the Tyboli guards who’d been killed in the cargo bay once the fighting really took off. It took a moment to figure out the rifle-like stunner, but it
gave her a great deal of satisfaction to step into the corridor and aim it at some Tyboli—who all immediately dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.
“Earther,” someone said behind her, and Violet braced for an attack.
Instead, one of the Sraibur crew strode up, his own weapons trained on the Tyboli. “You’re needed in the sick bay. I will deal with these prisoners.”
It was not her imagination that the Tyboli looked a lot less thrilled about a Xaravian captor instead of an Earther.
But she didn’t have time to worry about them. She nodded sharply and strode back toward where she thought the sickbay was, her heart in her throat. Surely if Faros was doing fine, they wouldn’t need her in the sickbay.
Violet held her breath and ran faster. Victory on the ship wasn’t worth anything at all if Faros wasn’t around for her to lord it over. She wanted to make him call her “captain” at least once or twice. She clenched her jaw and followed another of the Sraibur crew as he appeared to lead the way to where their captain fought for life. It had to be okay. He had to be okay.
Chapter 47
Violet
The Sraibur medic stood over Faros’s body on one of the regeneration tables, fussing with various machines and panels as they rotated around the Xaravian pirate. Violet didn’t wait for anyone else to speak as she rushed up to the table and peered at Faros’s face. “What’s wrong with him? Why hasn’t he woken up?”