Page 26 of Slavic

“Dowhat needs to be done, but we will be leaving the moment the credits clear for the cargo we brought in.”

“Weshould be able to secure it temporarily until you can plan on a more extended stay here on theNavale,Captain.”

Iremain with them until the hatch is open andIsee the fuel being pumped inside the main holding tanks.Whilethey are busy with that,Itake a leisurely stroll around theZenith, running my hands along the bottom and making mental notes of the things that need to be fixed on her.Shehas protected us from day one, andIrefuse to let the ship slip into disrepair.

Thesound of a youngling giggling not far off has me ducking under the primary hull.AValerianmam is playfully chasing her youngling on the connecting deck, and for a moment my mind drifts back, reliving a similar scene with my own mam.Shakingmy head,Imake myself wander further out into the main passage.Lookingdown at my comm unit,Itake a moment to see where everyone is at.

Bikaris on the ship.Einaris standing at the top of the closed ramp.Murgulis at the credit depository.Ruarcis headed my way from the major market, butFalon’scomm is blinking off and on.

Iam just turning toward the lower levels lift when a strong hand grabs my arm.ImmediatelyIturn, ready to attack only to see it’sRuarc. “Wemust get the frack out of here now.TheVelgriddixhave issued a bounty for any information concerning a certain flesh cargo and the pirates that stole them.Apparently, the main swarm ships are under the assumption that there was a breeding princess on board.Theyeven sent out a detailed description of the ship, and guess who it resembles?”

“Shet, get back on board, but we will need to stall as long as possible.Theyjust started refueling andFalon’scomm signal isflashing.Iam going to head down to the lower levels to see ifIcan find him, but you leave us if it becomes necessary.”

Ruarcdoesn’t question me, simply turns to do asIhave ordered.Hittingmy comm unit,Ilock ontoFalon’slocation, then head that way.Myeyes constantly on the lookout for any of the known bounty hunters that roam this area,Ihave just stepped into the lift and it was almost closed, when another sticks their arm out, halting the doors.

Ihave to bite the inside of my jaw to keep from snarling whenIsee it is aKorgon.Thosefour-armed bastards are a menace and impossible to beat in a fair fight, but who says this is going to be fair?

Henods his head, acknowledging me, as he walks in.Ihit the button to level seven, then step back.Ifhe needs another floor, he can tell the lift himself.Thedoor slides open and asIstart to step out,Ihear him chuckle. “Smellslike a human in here, how is that possible,Rukuhks?”

Iact likeIdon’t hear him, but my hearts hit my chest.Inever imagined other species would be able to smell the females on us.Ifthat is the case, we are projecting it all over the station that they are with us.Iam walking so fast thatIam practically running.Myspines tremble in anger and fear asIfight my instincts to rush back to my mate.Othersmove out of my way quickly asIstalk through the halls with a snarl on my face, looking for my brother.

IftheKorgonsinvade theZenithbeforeRuarcreturns and whileIam down here, there is no wayEinarandBikarcan fight them off alone.Myfemale and the others would be lost to us forever as theKorgonships are strong enough to puncture theVeil, and ours is not.

Thankfully,IfindFalonquickly, strolling calmly toward me with several crates hovering behind him on a sled.Hiseyes not missing a thing asIapproach, he says, “Calmyourself, brother, your anxiousness is bringing unwanted attention our way.”

“Theycan smell the females on us, and theVelgriddixhave issued a bounty.Weneed to leave now!”

“Iam well aware, as my informant met me the momentIstepped off the lift.Weare known to attack first and ask questions later, so for now, just keep that snarl on your face and walk with me.”

“Didyou get what we needed?”

“Idid and then some.Thefemales should be happy if we make it back to the ship that is.Don’tlook now, but we are being trailed by aJynrel.”

“Howdid this get out so rapidly?”

“Noclue, big brother.CommBikarand tell him to get theZenithready to launch as quickly as possible.”

“Bikar,Ineed you to get theZenithready to depart the moment we are on board.”

“Gota slight problem with thatSlavic.Ijust happened to look down at our fuel status, only to realize instead of it increasing they were siphoning it out.Imanaged to shut off the main fuel valve, but now we have less than we did when we got here.Weneed that fuelSlavic, butIdon’t want to open the ramp to go out and confront them.Especiallynow that there have been severalKorgonsspotted at the entrance gate.Ithink they’re waiting on us to lower the ramps.”

“Lookslike we are going to have to improvise then,Bikar.Lookon the scanners and tell me what other ships similar in size are docked.”

“OntheNorthside is aJynrelship that is being loaded now, so the ramps are open.Ohwait.Well, would you look at that?Seemslike the gods are looking out for us this rising.AnEmperorPyrkynecruiser just docked two bays down from us.However, the fuel tanks are a match, as are the remote connections.Itscargo hold is cloaked, soIcannot see what they are hauling.TheNavale’slog is showing this is a drop and pick up, so they will not be here long.”

“Firepower?”

“NothingtheZenithcan’t handle.Theircrew is small, but you know how overly confident those pigs are.”

“Canyou disconnect the fuel hose without exiting the ship?”

“Alreadydid, then set the hull to shock any who touch her.”

“Excellent, we are at the lift headed your way.Keepme updated.”

Falonmaneuvers the hover sled into the lift and when it engages,Itake a deep breath, then double check my weapons as it accelerates.WhenIlook over,Falonis doing the same. “Ifwe encounter any resistance, you get to the ship.Thefemales need those translators.Worstcase, leave me andIwill catch the next ride out of here.”

“Nocan-do big brother, where you go,Igo.So, pull those big boy pants up, and let us get to the ship.”

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