Page 23 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

Mostly firm. Kind of firm, at least.

“I have to contact my parents as soon as possible. They’ll be worried sick.” That was a different enough concern to turn my attention from just how much I ached for Kreel’s touch to slide beneath my clothes.

The alien pirate rumbled something under his breath. I didn’t know whether it was good or bad, but then he spoke louder, and in Galtrade. “It will not be easy, but when we next dock, I will see if there is a fast courier going in the right direction. The swiftest way to send a message may be to travel to your homeworld ourselves, though.”

“Does that mean you have a plan for where we’re headed?”

He tensed behind me, just slightly. I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t paying so much attention to the feel of his hand on my shoulder, and despite that, I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined it. “Not a good one.”

14

KREEL

Talbrek station was the last remaining habitat in the system, and that was unofficial. The asteroid mines ran dry long ago, the mining consortium which once held sway had abandoned it—and the criminals moved in, repurposing the station as a base too far from the major routes to be worth putting down. No serious gangs operated out of Talbrek, but it was useful as a neutral meeting place and somewhere to trade, or to lie low. You might findanyoneaboard.

Years had passed since my last visit, but I doubted anything had changed in the meantime. Certainly, nothing would have improved.

It was also our only hope of safety. Frax’s ships spread through the system, and wherever I turned on the engines, I wouldn’t be able to hide long enough for the hyperspace drive to recharge. At the station, at least there’d be other signals to hide among. We only neededto stay undetected for a day or so, then we’d be able to make another jump out.

“That means trusting a station full of criminals to not hand us in for the reward,” Rachel said, pointing out the most obvious problem. “It’s not like theStarshadowis inconspicuous.”

“True, we will have to be careful and do our best to keep our ship disguised or hidden from view. It is a risk. However, the ruse need not last long. A day will do, or if we are very lucky, someone may have a charged drive for sale. I’ve seen stranger things in the markets. Void, I’vesoldweirder things in the markets.”

My mate nodded unhappily. “Okay, it’s not like I have a better idea, I guess.”

“That’s the spirit,” I said, and smiled. “Embrace the least bad plan and run with it! That’s the pirate way.”

That got a laugh from her. A reluctant laugh, but still a sign of humor.

“Okay, mighty pirate,” she said with a shake of her head. “How long will it take us to get there?”

“If we want to approach without broadcasting our position for everyone in the system to see? Five or six standard days. And before you say anything, yes, the irony of stealing one of the fastest ships ever built in order to crawl along like this is not lost on me.”

She laughed again. “Yes, that’s my life all over these days. But if we’re going to drift for days, wouldn’t we be better off charging the hyperdrive and jumping somewhere else?”

“Not that easy. Charging a hyperdrive is an activeprocess, easy to detect, and worse, easy to identify. Each drive is unique—if we light ours up to charge it, Frax’s thugs will reach us well before we’re ready to leave. You’re valuable enough to risk burning out a few warships.”

“So we have nearly a week of sitting in the dark? Wait, no.” Her eyes closed and brow furrowed. “No, I forgot, I don’t know how long your days are. I guess it doesn’t matter, it’s a long wait. What are we supposed to do in the meantime?”

She started out sounding frustrated, but by the end of the question, a shy smile played at the corners of her delightfully soft lips. A blush spread over her face and neck when I raised an eyebrow.

“I can think of a few ways to pass the time,” I said.

TheStarshadowarrivedat Talbrek Station almost exactly a week later, according to my human mate. Why humans have a unit of time for seven of their homeworld’s days, I will never understand.

We spent the time well, both in and out of bed. Rachel and I had found a balance, and while she still refused to make a commitment, she accepted me as a welcome part of her life.

I had no doubts, of course, and longed to show her the freedom of space, the joys of the galaxy. As soon aswe escaped the cage of our current predicament, I’d take hereverywhere.

First, though, we had to make it through this last trial. After a few days of hard work, we were as prepared as possible. TheStarshadowhad looked better, but she was no longer instantly recognizable—insulating foam, designed to block breaches in the hull, covered all her shiny diamond surfaces, leaving only a few patches visible. The hardened foam also changed her profile, making us that much harder to identify.

I didn’t expect the disguise to stand up to scrutiny for more than a day, but it was the best we could do with the time and materials available. We hadn’t just spent the entire trip fucking.

Unfortunately.

When we lowered the ramp onto Talbrek’s most functional remaining docking bay, the first thing I noticed was the smell. That wasn’t a good thing. The burned plastic and stale sweat smell wasn’t new, but it was worse than usual. The airmakers had deteriorated in the years since my last visit, which was a sign of a station on the brink of collapse.

The mix of ships docked alongside ours had not changed. I saw pirate vessels, captured prizes, and a few ‘honest traders’ either here to buy pirate loot, or smugglers loading up on illicit cargo. The difference was often difficult to determine.

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