Page 1 of Mated in the Stars
Prologue
Ak’kel watched the metal debris floating around him. Damn Haldon for blowing up his warship and leaving him here for dead. Haldon thought he was gone, but he’d managed to get off the ship in a space suit.
Now though?
Now he was screwed.
There was a certain amount of oxygen left in his tanks, and the tiny thrusters on his suit wouldn’t get him far. This suit wasn’t designed for sitting in space for extended periods of time. It was designed to fix the outer hull of a ship during small space walks. It wasn’t like he could get to a planet or a space station.
Glancing around the vast expanse of blackness that surrounded him like a dangerous shroud, the stars teasing him with their twinkling. Pieces of his ship floated past him, reminding him of his failure and loss to Haldon.
Perhaps he should have stayed aboard the ship and died with his crew. Only time would tell if he’d made a horrible decision. He might just suffocate out here by himself. Turning his attention to the small beacon on his suit, he turned it on, the faint blinking light cutting through the darkness. Haldon’s warship should be far enough not to pick up on it, but there was still a chance it could reach the wrong ears, and land him in even more trouble. But anything was better than wasting away in space.
Hours blurred together, as he watched the oxygen gauge slowly drop. For the first time in his life, he felt despair fill him, constricting his lungs. As another hour passed, black spots formed on the edges of his vision. Inhaling, Ak’kel sucked in a couple of greedy breathes. It wouldn’t matter at this point. Noone was going to find him. None of his strength or wit could get him out of this situation.
As the oxygen slowly faded, Ak’kel squinted into the darkness… was that? He blinked back the black dots clouding his vision. Was it a ship? For a moment, joy spread through him. Closing his eyes, he chuckled to himself. He could just imagine Haldon’s face when his enemy discovered he’d been rescued. Opening his eyes again, Ak’kel frowned.
Where was the ship?
Eyes scanning over the immediate area around him, he felt despair over take him. The lack of oxygen was causing him to hallucinate. There hadn’t been a ship.
In less than thirty minutes, he found his consciousness fading. As he closed his eyes, he swore he saw a ship drop out of subspace. But maybe it was just his oxygen-deprived brain making up another hallucination. Then everything went black.
Chapter 1
“Captain, we have something on sensors.” Berg said as he punched in some commands, his bushy eyebrows drawn down low over his eyes.
“And?” Sara leaned forward in her captain’s chair, her curiosity piqued. “Is it a ship?” They hadn’t found much to scavenge this week, and she knew the crew was antsy for a good find.
"Not sure yet, but it could be a debris field. Based on the size, it might be a warship or a space station." He swiveled in his chair to face her. "What would you like to do?"
Steepling her fingers in front of her chin, Sara leaned back in her chair, weighing her options. She'd been a space farer for three decades and the previous four she'd been a baby living planet side. In her thirty-four years of life, she’d seen the dangers of space. This life was all she knew, and she wouldn’t have it any other way, even if space faring could be more dangerous than living planet side.
"Any visuals?"
Berg shook his head. "Maybe another thirty minutes until we're in visual range."
They were scavengers, plain and simple. They scoured space looking for abandoned or destroyed up ships, gathering whatever they could use or sell. Often times, they would encounter bodies of unfortunate souls. But bodies didn't bring in credits so they stepped over those lost souls. Space wasn't a place for kind people. One misstep and it could very well be your life.
Sara cracked her neck from side to side. "Okay. We'll go check it out but ensure whoever blew this ship up isn't lurking nearby. Then drop us out of subspace and let the crew knowwe finally have what might be a decent scavenge ahead of us." Excitement bubbled up inside her. Though she trusted her crew not to revolt against her during a dry spell, she knew this would help to boost morale.
"Aye, Captain." Berg turned back to his console, fingers dancing over the screens before him with years of practice under his belt. "You heard her, Doug, guide us toward the debris field."
Doug flashed a grin as he plotted the course. "Wonder what it was." He mused. “By the looks of the debris pattern it could have been a large ship. Maybe someone who encountered a Sri’thaen warship?
“Our this far?” Berg rolled with eyes with a snort. “Sri’thaen’s aren’t out this far.”
"I'm more curious if there was anything interesting onboard." Cat piped up from her station at the weapons console. Her eyes sparkled with the thrill of a good scavenge ahead of them.
Sara glanced over at Cat, who’d become an indispensable part of her life. She'd picked Cat up on a prison planet, of all places. The woman was a force to behold, who even held her own against a Vrak’rir, throwing the poor alien into a chokehold. Something Sara would never forget. Now Sara knew that the Vrak’rir’s blue skin turned grey when they lacked proper oxygen. Then again, it didn't surprise Sara at her friend’s incredible strength, since Cat was half Daen'su. There'd been a couple of fights in Sara's life where she could've benefitted from some alien genetics.
"Let's suit up some of the crew.” Sara instructed her bridge. “Once we're in position, I want to grab what we can find and then get out of here. There’s no reason for us to overstay our welcome." Sara glanced around the bridge to see her crew nodding their heads in agreement of her words. Then she let her eyes fixate on the main screen where the drifting wreckagelazily swirled around the vacuum of space. She didn’t want to be around when this massive amount of wreckage attracted more scavengers.
"Should I join them?" Doug asked, as he spun around in his chair as he addressed her, the eagerness in his voice shining through.
Sara leaned back as she eyed him, seeing the eagerness burning bright in his eyes. Doug was their best scavenger, possessing a great knack for discovering valuables in a heap of metal. "Of course, you're our best scavenger. Just remember to keep a sharp eye out for anything unwanted. We still don’t know what happened here. There could still be dangers lurking in the wreckage."
“Understood, Captain.” Doug smiled as he leapt from his seat and rushed to the lift, ready to prep for the upcoming scavenge.
