Page 3 of Black Star

As his squadron made the necessary preparations, Mikiel mulled over his instructions to the main fleet. The Empire and the Coalition weren’t at war. Exactly. It was more of a face-off -- who could gain the subtle upper hand without actually engaging. Both sides always vehemently denied the rare skirmishes between the two groups, so if a soldier -- or ship of soldiers -- was captured, he was left at the mercy of his captors.

For Imperials, it meant a life of slavery. For Asalians it usually meant death. Mikiel had barely managed to escape before such a fate befell him. He knew first-hand how Imperials treated their prisoners. At least the Asalians treated their slaves well -- there were strict laws outlining the rights of slaves. They were taken care of and allowed to develop their natural born talents. In many ways, it was a good life.

He was brought out of his deep thoughts as the last of his ships signaled their readiness. With a few final instructions to theBroad Swordand theGem of Maylor, Mikiel gave the order to follow theBlack Star. The only thing that had gone right in that battle was the beacon they’d placed on theBlack Star’s hull. They had a good lock and a strong signal. It was only a matter of time before they engaged the other ship, hopefully for the last time.

Chapter Two

Once theBlack Starentered hyperspace, Captain Barnus exploded.

“You stupid bitch!” Nadira couldn’t stop the yelp of pain and surprise that escaped her throat when Barnus hit her, then yanked her out of her seat by her hair. “You could have gotten us all killed! We could have taken out two or three of those bloody Asalians if you hadn’t sabotaged my firing pattern!”

“Captain!” Damon’s normally soft, raspy voice cut through the room like a Madorian laser blade.

Barnus whipped around, taking Nadira with him, and pointed at Damon with a shaky hand. “Keep quiet, or I’ll relieve you of your station, as well!”

Before Nadira or Damon could protest, the ship lurched and bucked as the jump engines screamed in protest. TheBlack Starwas thrown violently out of hyperspace, tumbling end over end, tossing everyone around like rag dolls.

“Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!” Captain Barnus bellowed. It didn’t do any good. She couldn’t even crawl to the pilot’s station the way the ship was pitching. The unplanned exit from hyperspace had thrown theBlack Starout of control. Nadira prayed they were in open space.

She struggled to move toward her station, but with the artificial gravity, the tumbling created a centrifugal force far greater than normal gravity. Her limbs were so heavy, she got muscle cramps from simply trying to raise them from the deck. She was pinned by her own weight.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Damon flip a couple of switches on his console -- thank the Stars he’d been in his seat when this started -- and the artificial gravity disappeared. Unfortunately, that meant everyone tumbled in all directions.

Nadira felt like she was submerged in water with everything around her constantly moving. It took her a moment to work through the disorientation, but she managed to finally make a concerted effort toward her station. Once there, she strapped herself in and grabbed the control stick. Immediately, she made adjustments in pitch and yaw, bringing them out of the spin they’d been thrown into.

The tumbling lessened immediately, and within a few moments stopped altogether. As she automatically checked their position and scanned the area, the reason for their situation became clear. Four Slavers surrounded them, one of them directly in their line of flight. They weren’t out of danger yet. She’d just bet their weapons were hot and trained on theBlack Star. While they watched, another company of Slavers emerged behind them -- all part of the same group of ships they had just engaged.

“Black Star. Black Star.You will surrender and prepare to be boarded, or you will be destroyed. Will you comply?”

“Like hell.” Captain Barnus started to say something else -- most likely something to further piss off the Asalians -- but Damon grabbed his hand in what looked like a very painful grip.

“No. You will not endanger this crew again.” Over the years, Nadira had learned to read Damon’s body language and facial expressions pretty well. She liked the man, mostly because he was the only man she’d ever known who hadn’t tried to hit on her, but also because of his commitment to the ship and the crew as well as to her. He made sure they all functioned as a single unit, emphasizing the need to work together. He’d even made the men she’d rejected quit calling her the Black Star Princess. He’d said if Nadira had a holier than thou attitude, it was because she understood her job aboard theBlack Star. She was the pilot, not a sperm receptacle. Nadira knew defending her honor wasn’t the real reason he’d reprimanded them, though she appreciated Damon’s harsh words to those foolish enough to let him hear their comments.

When Barnus started to protest, Damon spun the other man around and clipped him neatly across the jaw. Barnus’s head snapped to the side and he stood there a moment before crumpling to the deck, unconscious.

Nadira was stunned. She looked at Damon, wide-eyed. “What have you done?”

“Either committed an act of treason, or saved this ship from the biggest mistake the Vok’nair Empire has ever made.”

“Black Star. Black Star.You will surrender and prepare to be boarded. Comply or be destroyed.” The Asalian Slavers weren’t going to wait much longer.

“Communications.” Damon didn’t take his eyes from Nadira. “Signal our surrender, but with terms.”

“By your command, Sir.” The young officer’s voice squeaked. Fine lotthiscrew had turned into. The best the great Vok’nair Empire had to offer, and all of them scared beyond imagination. All of them except Damon. He should have been captain of this vessel, not Barnus -- and he would have been, too, if not for her. Unfortunately for theBlack Star, Damon had taken another assignment. As her bodyguard. As the pilot of the Empire’s flagship, and the only female aboard, it was thought she might need extra protection.

“I’ll get us out of this, Nadira.”

“I know,” she said matter-of-factly. “I never doubted it.”

“That makes one of us,” he muttered. “This may be harder than anyone thinks.”

“Black Star.You will send your captain, second in command, and pilot for negotiations. You have thirty standard minutes to comply. A security team will meet your shuttle in the main docking lock. The area will be indicated with beacon lights. Do you understand?”

Nadira shivered. Why was she included in this party? She had a sinking feeling she didn’t want to know.

“Signal our understanding and have security meet us in the shuttle hangar. Our esteemed captain might not agree with leaving his ship.” Nadira knew she didn’t want to. “And when we get back, I want gravity restored and this ship spaceworthy enough to get us back to a Vok’nair base.”

Captain Barnus was indeed opposed to leaving the ship, but Damon and the security team didn’t give him much choice. Bound and gagged, he left theBlack Stara most unwilling ambassador.

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