Page 61 of Salvaged By the Alien Pirate

“Don’t you dare speak his name,” I snarl, my heart pulsing with a rage-fueled energy that threatens to overload my systems. I monitor the bridge’s security feeds, catching glimpses of Cirdox coordinating the defense, his wings mantled as he barks orders to the crew. The Void Reaver shudders under another barrage, but I know he won’t abandon his post—not while his people need him. Through the flickering displays, I watch Zara and Grig working in perfect sync at their stations, keeping our damaged systems operational against overwhelming odds. This fight is mine, and I need to trust them to handle theirs.

“Why not?” Kira’s elite team moves to flank her, weapons trained on me, their movements precise and synchronized. “I was there too, remember? I watched my brother die because you were too afraid to trust anyone but yourself. Too convinced you could handle everything alone.”

“That’s not what happened.” My fingers tighten on my stolen weapon, the cold metal a small comfort in this chaotic nightmare. “Kai died because the Eclipse—”

“Because the Eclipse knew exactly how to manipulate you,” she cuts in, her voice a venomous whisper. “Just like they knew exactly how to turn your isolation against you. Why do you think the STI hired you? Why do you think they put you in position to find that data?”

“I knew the STI was rotten,” I snap back, my voice tight with fury. “That’s why I took the data in the first place. You think this changes anything? It just proves I was right.”

“No,” she agrees, raising her weapon, her cybernetically enhanced eyes gleaming with a cold, calculating light. “Now you’re just another liability that needs to be contained.”

“K’vex was right about you and the Kyvernian,” she says, synthetic undertones making her voice unnaturally smooth. “When she told me you’d actually bonded with someone, I almost didn’t believe it. The great Neon Valkyrie, finally letting someone close enough to touch her heart.” Her broken-code smile never reaches her enhanced eyes. “Though your neural implants have certainly evolved since I last saw them. The Eclipse’s research division will be particularly interested in how they’ve adapted to the mate-bond. Once we’ve properly extracted them, of course.”

There is no humanity in her tone, just cold machine precision calculating the most efficient way to tear us apart. The sister who once taught me everything I knew about neural interfaces is gone, replaced by something that sees only specimens to be dissected, patterns to be analyzed. The way she studies my implants’ glow reminds me of how she used to examine code—methodical, relentless, focused only on finding exploitable weaknesses.

I launch myself sideways as Kira fires, the energy bolt scorching the wall where I stood, leaving a trail of molten metal and the acrid stench of ozone. My bond-enhanced reflexes give me a split-second advantage, but I’m outnumbered, cornered, and my systems are flickering. The elite team moves with a practiced precision, cutting off my escape routes, forcing me back, away from any semblance of cover.

Through our bond, I feel Cirdox’s desperate need to reach me, a raw, primal urge that’s almost painful in its intensity.But K’vex’s betrayal has left the bridge in chaos, a maelstrom of failing systems and desperate maneuvers. He’s fighting his own battle, trying to prevent the Eclipse from completely seizing control of the ship. The crew needs him there, even as every fiber of his being screams to protect his mate.

A flash of movement catches my enhanced vision—one of Kira’s elite soldiers emerging from a ventilation shaft, his Malaxian bulk barely fitting through the opening. All four arms move with lethal grace as he drops to the deck, each limb equipped with different weapons. His iridescent scales shimmer beneath state-of-the-art combat armor, marking him as one of the Eclipse’s enhanced operatives. My neural implants catalog the modifications—reinforced skeletal structure, accelerated reflexes, integrated weapon systems that make him more machine than organic.

I don’t hesitate. A quick burst of code overloads his primary weapon, sending feedback screaming through its targeting systems. The distraction is minimal—these troops are too well-trained to rely on a single weapon—but it gives me the opening I need. As he switches to his secondary arms, I grab a flickering holographic display panel, ripping it free in a shower of sparks. The distorted emergency warnings create a strobing effect, momentarily confusing his enhanced optical sensors.

His lower arms reach for me as the upper pair draw backup weapons, but I’m already moving. My foot connects with a gap in his armor where flexibility is prioritized over protection—the sweet spot where Malaxian exoskeletons are weakest. The impact isn’t pretty or technically perfect, but I feel something crack beneath my boot. He staggers, all four arms flailing to maintain balance, giving me precious seconds to put distance between us.

“You’ve gotten better,” Kira admits, her voice devoid of emotion as she watches me fight with a clinical detachment.“But you’re still predictable. Still trying to protect everyone but yourself. Still letting your conscience make you vulnerable.”

She’s right. Even now, with Eclipse forces closing in, I can hear crew members trapped in nearby sections, their panicked voices carrying through the damaged bulkheads. If I retreat now, if I focus solely on escape, I might save myself. But I can’t abandon them to the Eclipse’s mercy. Not when they’ve become more than just crew—they’re family. And that’s exactly what Kira knew I would do. She counted on my loyalty being my weakness, just like it was with Kai.

The tactical part of my brain knows she’s using my protective instincts against me. But knowing the trap doesn’t make it any easier to walk away from people who need me. Not anymore. Not since I stopped running and learned what it means to truly belong somewhere.

The ship lurches violently, a catastrophic tremor that signals their sabotage has reached the main power grid. Emergency lights flicker and die, plunging the corridor into a near-total darkness, broken only by the sporadic flashes of weapons fire and the eerie glow of my neural implants. In that moment of chaotic darkness, Kira’s team makes their move.

The first stun blast catches me in the shoulder, a searing jolt of energy that sends electricity arcing through my cybernetics. I stumble, fighting to maintain consciousness as my enhanced systems short out, overwhelmed by the sudden surge. The second hit drives me to my knees, my muscles spasming uncontrollably as the energy disrupts the delicate balance between organic and technological.

“Finally,” Kira says, her voice a cold whisper in the darkness as her team secures me. “The Eclipse has plans for both of you.” She kneels beside me, her enhanced eyes gleaming with a predatory light. “And this time, you’ll get to watch someone else die because of your choices.”

The last thing I see before darkness claims me is the flash of Eclipse energy weapons, the desperate, terrified faces of the crew I swore to protect, their fear a chilling echo of my own.

Chapter 21

Cirdox

TheVoidReaverrocksviolently as another barrage of Eclipse fire slams into our shields, the impact sending tremors through the deck plates beneath my feet. Through the viewport, I watch their ships move with mechanical precision, each formation perfectly aligned to maximize damage while minimizing our chances of escape. The bridge is a chaos of flashing warning lights and blaring alarms, the acrid smell of burning circuitry filling my lungs.

“Port shields failing!” Zara’s fingers dance across her console, her russet fur bristling as she diverts power from non-essential systems. “Two more Eclipse cruisers emerging from hyperspace, bearing three-four-zero!”

Grig’s pale blue skin gleams with sweat as he executes another desperate evasive maneuver, the ship groaning under the strain. “Hull integrity at sixty percent, Captain. We can’t take much more of this.”

I grip the command chair, watching tactical displays flash with cascading system failures. The Eclipse knows our every move, anticipating each strategy before we can execute it. K’vex’s betrayal has given them everything—our protocols, our formations, the very patterns of thought that kept us alive all these years.

A sudden silence in my mind stops my heart. The warm pulse of Neon’s presence through our bond... vanishes.

“NEON!” The name tears from my throat, a primal roar of loss that makes the bridge crew flinch. My fist slams into the command console, leaving a dent in the reinforced metal. The pain barely registers through the burning emptiness where her presence should be. Those Eclipse bastards took her. They took my mate.

“Captain!” Zara’s fur bristles with alarm as she abandons her station, rushing to my side. “What happened? What’s wrong with Neon?”

Grig’s large eyes widen with concern, his pale blue fingers stilling on the controls. “Is she...?”

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