Page 2 of Saved By the Alien Mercenary

Elyssa tried to pet my hand, her greeting bright and cheerful, but I evaded the touch. I knew she meant well—I knew it hurt her feelings when I withdrew—but I simply couldn’t bear it. She wouldn’t want to touch me if she knew what kind of murderous rages I fought to control every minute of the day. She’d be appalled, and her mate would never let me near her if he knew. He’d be right.

“Thanks, Brace!” one of the others said. When I ducked, I could peer through the crack and see that Mandy had draped her arm around Elyssa’s shoulders and was hustling her to a nearby table. The young Elrohirian,whom I’d known as a little girl,was giving my hatch a forlorn look,but she was easily cheered up by the others. Mandy was already digging into her slice of cake with gusto, patting her pregnant belly as she sat down and joking about her extra appetite. I understood that, Hoxiam females were especially ferocious eaters when gravid.

I shouldn’t havelistenedin to what they had to say, but I couldn’t help it. The rage for Jalima that I wanted to forget also drove me to savor each snatched bit of informationaboutAsmoded’s quest for vengeance. It was why I was still here, aboard theVarakartoom, instead of hiding away on some moon. I didn’t know if I remained to torture myself further or if I couldn’t stand the thought of truly being alone. Whatever it was, I was still here, still running my little, lonely domain aboard the ship—which meant I was here to listen to every word the mated women had to say as they bent their heads together to gossip.

“Mitnick says it was a human woman—he was dead certain,” Harper said. She was mated to the ship’s communications specialist, aka hacker. “She spoke English with a modern accent, so she’s from the present time, not a stasis girl like us.” I knew what Harper was referring to and wondered what Elyssa was thinking at that moment. Did it cut to be excluded by the other three? She wasn’t a stasis girl—she wasn’t part of the ‘us’ that Harper referred to.

“I heard she surrendered without a fight,” Elyssa said brightly, with not a hint of sadness orof feelingexcluded in her tone. “Tass was with the boarding party,” she added. “She’s pregnant. Not as far along as you are, Mandy, but definitely showing.” The four women began speculatingabouthow she got here, what her part in this was, andwhethershe was working for Jalima or not. I felt static rush through my brain, my thoughts spinning as a single image formed: alonely, pale-faced pregnant woman, and Jalima’s four hands controlling her every move. The rage that I’d been fighting all morning boiled over, exploding through my veins—lava-hot, then ice-cold.

I could not risk harming the four at the table in the mess hall; I could not let them see me. So I spun and raced for my quarters next door, hands pulling at the fur on my head, the door slamming shut behind me with a bang. Then there was darkness, and silence—except for the pounding of my heart and the rapid bursts of my breath. My eyes zeroed in on the punching bag dangling from the ceiling next to my bed. I knew it wasn’t enough, that I’d lose control once I started, but it was too late now.

Chapter 2

Ruby

My palms were sweaty,so I wiped them on my pants. Then I did it again and again because I couldn’t stand still. Pacing in the hallway beside the airlock was hardly an option, it was very tight quarters. Though I was only five months along, my belly was getting big enough that I didn’t feel quite so maneuverable in the tight space. I didn’t want tobesurprised when my back was turned. Unarmed, I felt extremely vulnerable, and I didn’t need to add to that.

When the airlock hissed, I still nearly jumped out of my skin in fear. Damn it, I was better than this. I had to keep it together. But I was certain I should have heard the clunking of a ship as it docked with our airlock—why hadn’t I? The manual wheel on the door spun as it unlocked, which meant someone was using the override from the inside. It had to be the pirates from that scary, black ship. I wondered if it was going to be the Talac male on the other side, and if he’d recognized that I was human.

The fact was, a human might be just as valuable as that stash of Kanfray I’d discovered in the vents. Once the pirates saw me, there was no hiding it. Would they snatch me and sell me? I stopped my nervous fidgeting and attempted to strike a cool, confident pose as I waited for the door to open. My breath felt stuck in my chest, and I forced myself to breathe deeply.

These pirates swung open the airlock door but did not leap through it;the portal remained conspicuously empty for several seconds before the first one stuck his head around the corner. All I saw was an opaque faceplate and black armor snugly encompassing a muscular male body. He was large, and that armor only emphasized how powerful he was, and how useless fighting him would be.

As he stepped from the airlock, his head first aimed my way, so I knew he’d seen me. Then he swung it around and scanned the rest of the narrow passage; he even turned his back, a laser pistol raised. I didn’t expect him to just jog off down the passage, but he disappeared around the corner without a word. Another already took his place, and then another. They weren’t really bothering with me, and one brushed by without touching me—a miracle in the narrow space.

“CaptainGonzález, I presume?” It was the very last black-armored maletoboard my shipwhospoke. I recognized the Talacan voice, but he sounded even colder in person than he had over the communications channel earlier. A shiver of apprehension shot down my spine. There were two strangers in black roaming my ship, and I was left sandwiched between two more. I felt positively tiny, and I didn’t like it.

When I nodded, the faceplate on the helmet of the Talacan male withdrew,and I was staring into his silver-gray face and black eyes. His head was bald, as was normal for anyone of his species. Not so normal was the silver liquid that coiled like quicksilver up the side of his neck. It moved organically, but I had no clue what it could be. It made my stomach twist even more, fear rising sharply in my chest until I felt like I was about to burst.

In my belly, my tiny son fluttered and moved, I was certain of it now. I cupped my hands protectively over him, as if that would keep away the danger. When I raised my chin and gave the Talacan pirate my most defiant glare, his mouth tilted into a cruel smile. As if the plug had been pulled, all the fear spiraled out of me, swishing from my chest, gone without a trace. I felt lighter for it, but also oddly empty and drained.

“Why don’t you come with me?”the Talac male said with a smirk that could only herald bad things to come. Here we went—I knew it. I should have taken more time to vet Kip before I hired him, should have double-checked that Chawz was still trustworthy. I’d let the cost of having my ship idle weigh too much, rushed the process of hiring a new pilot. This was the result: three trips in, and I was facing a threatI hadn’t encountered in all ten years I’d been flying theFinixin the Zeta Quadrant.

“I don’t think so,” I said firmly. “If you don’t mind, I’m staying aboard theFinix, where I belong.” I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored the snort of amusement that came from the other pirate. He,too,had lowered his faceplate, and now I could see that he was Viridara. His black eyeswereframed in his green face by a scar on one side and glowing golden spots on the other. Fairly young, handsome, almost kind-looking. He was too boyish to make much sense as a pirate. It confused me for a second, and that was all it took.

The Talac curled his hand around my biceps andsteered me towardthe airlock. I stumbled, protesting the treatment with a yelp. “Hey, let me go! You promised we would be unharmed if I let you take the cargo. It’s just bolts of gray fabric for the Rummicaron army, but you can have them. I don’t care.” Despite the manhandling, I didn’t fall, and he didn’t hurt me. I found myself inside the small airlock with the tall Talacan and his sinister, dark expression. The Viridara male was blocking the entrance now, ensuring that I could not escape. His arms crossed over his wide chest made him an unmovable wall.

“I did. Didn’t say you could stay. First, you’re going to tell me all you know about Jalima’s operation.” The words the Talac drawled made all the steam whoosh right out of me. Jalima? So I was right about who that Kanfray aboard my ship belonged to. I was so screwed. If my ship was responsible for losing his cargo, I was certain he wouldmake me pay—should I escape these freaking pirates. Although I was seeing my hopes of a somewhat peaceful resolution rapidly dwindle.

“Nothing!” I denied immediately. “I only found a stash of Kanfray in the vents this morning. I’ve been trying to decide if it’s my nav or my pilot who betrayed me all morning!” My hands couldn’t stop going to my belly, protecting the only thing that really mattered. But what home could I offer my child ifIdidn’t have my ship?

The Talac didn’t believe me, I could see it in his eyes. But the Viridara male was kinder, younger,and not quite so bitter as his companion. I turned my eyes on him and implored him to intercede on my behalf. “I’d never help a crimelord or smuggle drugs! I swear I have nothing to do with the Kanfray or Jalima.” The question was:why did these pirates care?

They were much better equipped and more disciplined than I would expect of a pirate crew. Their black armor was all uniform, making them seemmore like militarythan criminals. The questions about Jalima and what roleI played also made me feel like they weren’t your average pirates. What were they really after? I suddenly doubted it was the gray fabric or the Kanfray.

“We’ll get this sorted aboard theVarakartoom, CaptainGonzález. Once yourstory checks out, you’ll be free to go,” the Viridara male said soothingly. Yup, now he was starting to sound like a freaking police officer. What the fuck had I landed myself in?

The two males hustled me through the airlock and then aboard the small shuttle they’d docked to theFinix. The Talac took the helm for the short flight, but the Viridara never left my side. He might be the nice one of the pair, but he was nofool—his watchful eyesstayedon me the entire trip. Then I was hustled aboard the large black ship, theVarakartoom,he’d called it. The name stirred some faint memory, but I couldn’t place it. Not until I was led into an interrogation room and seatedin a metal chair behind a metal table.

The sight of their captain jarred that memory loose when he slithered into the room with me. A Naga—black-scaled, speckled with gold and green. His long hair rosesharply from a widow’s peak,black locks streaked with green highlights. He was Asmoded, and the rumorssaidhe had a vendetta against Jalima. Of course, this wasn’t about stealing goods;this was about dealing the crimelord a blow. That smuggled contraband was just the way to do it, and now they wanted to know what I knew. Would they believe me when I said I knew absolutely nothing? I doubted it.

This male was as terrifying as the Talac, and facing both at once made the fear come back. It jumped in my throat, made my pulse pound in my chest. It felt like I was about to have a heart attack when the black-scaled male turned his intense golden gaze on me. “Talk” was all he said. And I jumped to do as he wanted, blabbering almost incoherently about how I’d found the Kanfray that morning and had nothing to do with it, begging him shamelessly not to harm my child or me. At this point, I didn’t even care about keeping theFinix;as long as they didn’t sell me into slavery,I’d be happy.

TheVarakartoomand its captain weren’t pirates; they were mercenaries. They sold their services to the highest bidder, and they werereallygood at what they did. I’d heard whispers about them when visiting Yengar Station.

They let me talk unimpededforas long as I had words, never saying anything—just staring at me with cold, implacable eyes. I talked myself hoarse explaining how little I knew of Jalima and that filthy Kanfray. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed;there was no way to tell inside this dark room. My voice was shot when the Captain rose, abruptly ending the conversation. My throat ached, I’d talked so much, and none of it was useful to them.I knew that too. Falling silent, I bit my lip and waited anxiously to see what they would do next, certain it wasn’t going to be anything good.

“Sin, escort our guest to the med bay for a checkup. Then see to it that Flack assigns her quarters near the mess hall. Thank you for your time, CaptainGonzález. I’ll be corroborating your story with the rest of your crew, but I’m sure it will check out.” The captain still looked mean, closed off,ashe slithered from the room. Now I wondered if I had misjudged. Doctor? Corroborate? They believed me?

---