Page 8 of Mated in the Stars
"Didn't sleep well?" Sara asked.
Stretching his arms over his head, Berg stretched out. "Hard to sleep with that big bastard in our brig. Have you heard stories about Vrak’rir? These guys are brutes. Literally. Maybe he broke out and that’s why he’s being so quiet."
Sara rolled her eyes. "We have a force field between us and him. He hasn’t escaped, not unless he wants to burn every part of his flesh."
"I don't think you've heard the right stories." Doug shook his head. "These guys are tanks, and stars forbid they find their mates. Not even a force field would stop one of these guys."
"Well, I can't help with those fears. I have no clue if he is mated or not." Sara shrugged. “But as long as his mate isn’t in danger, we are fine.”
Cat snorted. "Yeah, Doug. A mated Vrak'rir is only a problem if something or someone gets between them and their mate. Since there's no mate on the ship we're good."
"See?" Sara pointed a hand over to Cat. "The force field will keep him contained."
"I don't know."
Sara turned to Berg. "How goes the sifting through the salvage?"
"Good.” Berg replied with a slight nod. “From what I've heard from the men we've got a solid haul. Pretty sure the debris field was from a warship. Lots of intact tech and some valuable bits."
"Wonder what position our guest had on board." Sara mused. He was the only one found alive, so she wondered if he might have held a higher rank on board his ship. It might be a reason why he would have survived over everyone else on the ship. Otherwise he was just a really lucky dude.
But Sara didn't believe in luck. Not one bit.
"Hopefully someone worth a lot of credits." Cat smiled with a flicker of excitement in her eyes.
Suddenly, the Vrak'rir in the brig started pounding on the walls again, his hollering echoed through the ship. Sara rubbed her fingers over her forehead as she groaned in frustration.
"Hunter." She paged over the comm, her voice betraying the impatience she felt.
"I hear him, captain. Already have the sleeping gas prepared." Hunter responded promptly.
"Actually, let's give the Vrak’rir the benefit of the doubt.” Sara reasoned. It had been a moment since they’d brought him some food and water. “Bring him some food. He's a massively built dude. Probably just woke up hungry."
"And if he doesn't stop once I bring him food?" Hunter asked.
"Then knock him out." Sara ordered, her voice firm but not unkind. She was trying to be nice to this guy. Sure, she intended to sell him for credits, but she wasn’t abusing him. He was fed, in a nice cell with a bed, and a toilet.
"Gotcha." Hunter signed off the comm.
A few moments later, a station filled their view screen as they flew around a moon. Finally. They could stop here, sell some of the stuff they'd gathered and maybe she could get a clearer idea of who they had on board. Ships zipped around the station like a bunch of bugs swarming their hive. It was essentially a space junk yard, where ships came to sell and buy junk. Maybe while she was here she'd take a look around. She’d always enjoyed the gritty chaos that surrounded a space junk yard.
"Cat, you up for some shopping?" Sara asked.
Cat swiveled in her chair and folded her arms with a grin. "I'm always up for some girl bonding time. Long overdue if you ask me. Too many men on this ship anyways."
Berg frowned at Cat in mock seriousness. "You love us and you know it."
Cat rolled her eyes. "Whatever you want to think, Berg."
Sara shook her head, a soft laugh escaping from her. "Play nice, kids. I still have lots of open cells in the brig, and I’m sure the Vrak’rir would love some company." Actually, it’d probably drive the Vrak’rir nuts to be stuck with other people.
Berg barked with laughter. "Captain, you always threaten, but with no follow through none of us believe you now."
Sara arched an eyebrow in challenge. "Oh, yeah?"
Berg held up his hands as his eyes widened. "No, need to prove it today."
Moving back to the task at hand, she told him, "Get us docked and then head down to the bay. I want as much as possible sold but don't go selling it for less than it’s worth."
