The Alien Pirates' Treasure (Star Pirates Book 1) Read online

  “You could say that, but we prefer privateers,” I interrupt, shrugging my shoulders with nonchalance. This conversation is taking too long. “We only go after ships that belong to trash like the Viktoids. Now, we do need to move along.”

  “Why should I go with you?” she asks, her voice laced with suspicion.

  “Because reinforcements are on their way, and unless you wish to stay here—”

  “Ca’lek,” Va’naar protests, his claws digging into my shoulder. “I must insist we take her with us!”

  Turning my head, I glare at him for thinking I’d even consider letting the female stay. Of course we’re taking her with us, but it would be best if she is willing and doesn’t fight us every step of the way. Sometimes I wonder if he's really the nurturing one in our bond.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the female open her mouth to question me further, but my comm chimes an urgent tone.

  “Cap! We’ve got incoming! Three Viktoid fighters heading this way,” Messa yells through the speaker.

  “Now female!” Running out of patience, I extend a hand to help her up.

  Finally, it dawns on her that her best chance of survival is with us. Ignoring my hand, she pushes herself off the sleeping platform. Va’naar brushes past me to assist the struggling female to her feet. Oddly enough, it takes everything I have to hold back a sudden urge to bite him as he passes. She hesitates a brief moment before accepting his help and I find myself irritated that she would take his assistance over mine.

  How was my help any different from Va’naar’s? Wasn’t I good enough for her?

  Where did that thought come from? I shake my head and turn to leave.

  As we head through the door, a proximity alert sounds overhead, signaling the arrival of the Viktoid fighters and ending whatever time we thought we had left. Growling, I turn back and scoop her into my arms. She squawks at the sudden movement, but wisely throws her arms around my neck and holds on while we run back to the lift. Her warm, sweet scent curls into my nose and unconsciously, I breathe her deeper into my lungs.

  She smells good, like home. Huffing softly, I shake my head. What was that ridiculous thought?

  The ship slightly rocks as the Viktoid reinforcements clamp onto the hull and begin pulling themselves in for boarding. Our ship is hidden beneath the aft engines. Luckily it hasn’t been spotted yet. As far as the newcomers know, we were already gone. As long as we board our ship in time, we could fly away without further incident. Though considering the conditions we found the female in, I’d love it if we took a few more of these assholes with us.

  With any luck, Ha’dir and Kuma were able to transfer all the cargo in time. The box Duresh carried would have been the Vindi serum. The colonists on Rissa V are in desperate need of the precious medicine. Without it, the outbreak of Corshu virus would spread and too many would die. Only the Viktoids produce the lifesaving serum and they hoard it, selling only to those who could pay the most credits for it. My crew and I are more than happy to relieve them of their overstock. And this female had the gall to call us pirates. We do what we do because it is right. The rich exploit the helpless everyday. I see nothing wrong with leveling the odds.

  Va’naar stops abruptly, sniffing at the air.

  “What is it?” I hiss beneath my breath, my tail bristling with impatience. I want to get the female to safety. Nearly shaking with my need to protect her and get her off this Vren damned ship, I can’t suppress the low growl in my chest.

  “Something smells off,” he mutters, taking a second, careful whiff.

  I sniff cautiously, sneezing at the faint odor of reelu gas. His nose is better than mine, but how does he not recognize the off-putting odor? “Fuck, they’re gassing the ship, run!”

  Snarling, I shove the female into Va’naar’s arms and dig a breather out of his pocket and pull it over Va’naar’s face. I grab my own as we move and fit it to the female’s face, sealing the edges. Risking the gas hurting her pups was out of the question.

  “What about you?” she asks as worry lines mar her delicate face.

  Her question catches me off guard. Shaking my head firmly, I give her a look that dares her to defy my orders, then I push Va'naar to keep moving. Should anyone catch up to us, I will deal with them swiftly, knowing that both my secondary and the female were safe and secure. As the primary in our bond, it is my job to protect Va’naar and the female he carries.

  “Get in.” Following them into the lift, I tap my comm. “Duresh, we’re on our way. Be ready to jump as soon as we’re on board.”

  “We can’t jump in close proximity to the ship, we’ll rip it apart,” he protests.

  “Fuck ‘em! They’ve been experimenting with people here. This ship and its crew can go to Vren’s deepest hells for all I care!” I snarl into my comm, slamming my palm across the lift’s controls.

  “Yes sir!”

  The lift shudders when it reaches the bottom of the shaft, then opens into the corridor between the cargo bays. Shouts of anger can be heard behind us as we emerge. There’s the whine of laser pistols powering up. Drawing my weapon, I shove Va’naar towards the bay, placing myself between him and the attackers. If I don’t make it, at least my secondary will. And there is no one in this universe who will stop his revenge.

  “Get to the ship!” I bark, charging my plas-rifle and preparing myself to fight anyone who dares to get in our way.

  “Wait. No!” The female squirms in his arms, protesting as he runs. Her head peers over his shoulder directly at me, her big eyes wide with concern.

  I fire rapidly down the corridor, forcing the attackers to dive for cover. The gas in the air becomes more cloying. I don’t have a lot of time before it starts to affect me, or worse, knock me out. Slowly backing along the wall, I continue to shoot, giving Va’naar time to get the female safely aboard.

  Chapter 2

  Polly

  We just left him! I can’t believe we left that guy behind! Why didn’t he come with us? What was his name again? Ca’lek?

  Thankful for the rescue, I cling to the Mephidaean male carrying me. He curls his frame around my body, shielding me from laser fire.

  These guys really were saving me. No one with bad intentions would care this much, would they?

  Still, until I knew for sure, I had to keep my guard up.

  Hitching me higher, my bodyguard drops through a hole in the deck plating. I can't help but shriek in fear. Our surroundings seem to morph, closing in as they swallow us whole, but the chaos ends just as quickly as it began. We jolt when his feet thud against the floor. My breath whooshes out in a little gasp from the impact.

  “Apologies,” he says, rushing to a nearby set of seats. Placing me in the nearest one, he pulls the padded webbing of the jump harness around me. “Stay here sweetness, it’s gonna get bumpy.” He grins cheekily, turning towards the front of the ship.

  I grab his wrist. “Wait! What about your brother? Is he okay? Where is he? You’ll go back for him, right?”

  The questions fly from my mouth but I can’t help it. My worries demand I do something to help the sweet alien who gave me his mask and covered our escape. We just abandoned him in a ship full of toxic gas with enemy Viktoids shooting at him! I really hope he’s okay.

  “Who Ca’lek? He’s not my brother. Don’t worry though, that grump will be here shortly,” he assures me, gently prying my fingers out of his fur.

  Releasing him, I watch anxiously while he moves to the front of the command deck and slides into a chair. The hatch we dropped through is still open. I hear the whine of laser fire overhead. Footsteps thunder behind me. I squeak in surprise when a figure runs by and dives into the chair across from mine, yanking the jump mesh around themselves.

  It was a female Dendrobat; a slender, colorful, amphibious species. This one has pale, minty green skin covered in neon pink spots that start above her brow and trail down her smooth head to speckle across what I can see of her shoulders. Being entirely dependent on a
ready source of freshwater, Dendrobats typically lived and worked planetside.

  It's surprising to see one on a pirate ship. And apparently an engineer at that! My eyes roam the stains on her coveralls. Her species usually hated working around the heat and chemicals associated with engine work.

  Goodness, this ship is so strange.

  Giggles of amusement interrupt my train of thought.

  Meeting her gaze, I blush, realizing she has been watching me stare at her the whole time. “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I bet you haven’t seen very many of my kind on a ship before,” she says, smiling brightly.

  “No, not really. I’m Polly,” I reply, introducing myself to the friendly female.

  I was glad to know that I wasn't the only woman on board. She seems to have a nice sense of humor and I think I like her already.

  “Messa,” the Dendrobat replies, touching her brow in greeting. “So, you were on the Viktoid ship, huh? I’ve never known them to use humans before.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know what they wanted with me. I went to bed after work...last night, then I I woke up in that awful lab.” My hand curves over my belly again. “And I wasn’t pregnant when I went to bed. The only Viktoid I was in contact with said something about examining the product’s viability, whatever that means.”

  “Oh. That’s not good,” Messa cringes, the smile dropping away from her face.

  Something about her expression tells me she’s avoiding something, and I want to know what it was.

  “What’s not good?” I ask, only to be greeted by silence. My curiosity gets the best of me when I ask her again, despite the very obvious fact she clearly doesn’t want to say. “What aren't you telling me?”

  Sighing, she relents. “Viktoids are rare, and there’s not a lot of information about them, but members of the Alliance have been harassing their ships for solars, and have learned very disturbing information about them. You may not know this, but they’re carnivorous and with their planet on the brink of destruction, they’re willing to go to any lengths to ensure their survival. That means increasing food production.”

  I blink several times, trying to comprehend what she’s implying. Everyone grows food, that’s the nature of the universe. There’s nothing wrong about that.

  Messa takes a deep breath before continuing. “They incubate their prefered prey in living hosts to increase production when their food stocks become too low. It also ensures the best quality. Apparently artificial incubation yields less than optimal stock.”

  The face she makes after saying that is akin to a kid who doesn’t want to eat their broccoli.

  “Animal farming? That’s hardly new.”

  “Polly,” Messa strains my name as she says it. Her face contorts into an even more uncomfortable looking frown. “They eat sentient beings.”

  A knot forms in my throat as a chill runs down my spine. “Wait a damn minute. Are you saying they impregnated me so they could eat both me and my baby?”

  It never occured to me that the Viktoid grew their food in such fashion. Not only is it barbaric, but I’m fairly certain it breaks dozens, if not hundreds of galactic laws. My stomach churns in protest. It doesn’t matter that I’ve only known about the pregnancy for less than a day, my motherly instincts are already kicking in. Regardless of circumstance, this child is mine and the thought of someone sinking their teeth into me and my baby disturbs me enough that I begin to feel faint. If I wasn’t already strapped in, I might have fallen to the floor.

  “I’ve said too much, I didn't mean to upset you,” Messa apologizes, looking deeply regretful.

  She changes the subject, but I’m too lost in my own thoughts to hear what she has to say. I’m more concerned about the Viktoids’ response to my escape. These pirates killed their men, tore up their ship, and took away one of their breeders. They're going to be pissed.

  What if they come after me?

  A sudden, loud thud behind us causes a fearful shriek to escape my mouth. The hatch slams shut and a large, dark figure rushes by without a word. Messa reaches out and pats my hand, lending me some comfort. I hear the men in the command deck greet Ca’lek as he throws himself into a chair. The ship detaches with a loud, grinding screech of metal on metal.

  I breathe a sigh of relief as we flee the Viktoids’ vessel.

  ∞∞∞

  Va’naar

  “What took you so long?” The words fall from my mouth while I swivel in my chair to face my primary who has finally returned to the ship.

  Ca’lek throws himself in his seat and straps in. He looks like shit. A couple minor laser burns have singed away some fur, but other than that, he appears to be in great condition, especially after a solo battle with the Viktoids.

  “You know exactly what took me so long,” he snarls, flashing his teeth threateningly at my teasing, then briefly grooms his mane with one hand while his other hand types a command into the console, using the sensors to scan our surroundings for incoming enemies.

  Honestly, it’s probably not the best time to poke at my primary, but I can’t help it. His fur is a tangled mess and I know how fastidious he is about it. Besides, I could really use a laugh right about now.

  “Why are you making jokes at a time like this?” he says, his voice dripping with irritation.

  “You missed a spot.” I point to a section behind his ear, one of several spots where his fur is damaged. Obviously he didn’t successfully dodge every shot that was fired at him. I refrain from pointing out that one of the scorched spots is still smoking a bit.

  “Don’t you have something better to do?” he snaps.

  He’s right, I should be focusing on our escape. I pull a map up on my vid screen, and take a look at our trajectory. My job now is to make sure the Viktoid reinforcements can’t track us.

  I’m just glad we’re finally off that damn ship. The bounty for retrieving the Vindi serum was worth it, but seeing the human female trapped helplessly inside that cell sickened me. My tail bristles just thinking about all the other poor souls, devoured by those sick bastards. She would have likely died in a similar fate had we not found her.

  Duresh punches the release and disconnects us from the cruiser. We lurch backward as the boarding clamps push us away from the ship and retract. With lightning quick fingers, he keys in the jump sequence that will take us away from the Viktoid ship and out into deep space.

  “Hold onto something,” he yells, slapping his hand down on the execute command.

  The ship jerks hard when the engines throw us into a hyper jump that rips pieces off the other vessel, dragging them along behind us. The detritus shreds under the force of the jump, burning up in our wake as we flee the scene of our raid. A warning light flashes across our scanners seconds before the other ship explodes from the sudden decompression. The shockwave from the detonation ripples outward, slamming into our stern which causes our ship to jerk violently. The blast shoves us ahead of the debris field.

  A squeak of discomfort echoes from the rear of the cabin. I grimace when I realize it came from our pregnant passenger. Sudden jumps into hyperspace can’t be easy on her.

  “Ease up as soon as you can,” Ca’lek instructs Duresh. “We don’t want to stress the human too much.”

  “Aye Cap’n. Ha’dir is ready to check her health once we reach the slipstream.”

  “Good. Tell Ha’dir they gassed the ship with reelu before we made our exit. I want her examined for that as well.”

  “You should get checked too. You were in there the longest and without a mask,”

  “Bah.” He waves his hand dismissively. “That was nothing.”

  “You know as well as I that it was not nothing. If you don’t check in with Ha’dir I’ll comm him. We both know he will chase you out of an airlock if it means you’ll finally sit down for an exam.”

  “That blasted male has been hounding me ever since we worked salvage at that abandoned base on Exos Six, where I found that lishian fungi. I am perfe
ctly well and you know it,” Ca’lek grumbles under his breath.

  “And if he finds out you didn’t see him after this, he’s going to be pissed.”

  “Fine! But only because I know that neither of you will shut up about it until I do.”

  A few moments pass and I sneak a peek over my shoulder. Ca’lek follows my gaze, frowning. The human sits quietly in the back of the room with Messa.

  “What are we going to do with her?” I ask, quietly enough so the human can’t hear our exchange. I can’t help but notice how silent the female has become.

  “Female!” Ca’lek calls over his shoulder, pretending he wasn’t just staring at her as well.

  “Yes?”

  Two voices answer. Messa’s is a snarky, amused drawl, but the human sounds quite confused. Ca’lek rolls his eyes as Duresh and I chortle quietly at Messa’s wit.

  “Human female,” he clarifies.

  “Yes?” she says, her voice quiet and timid.

  The poor thing’s voice is so small and worried.

  “Where are you from?”

  “I lived on Ildunin Station, at the resort. I’m a massage therapist at the Diamond Nebula Day Spa...or I was,” she says with an uncertain tremble in her voice.

  Ca’lek rubs the sides of his temples, releasing a strained sigh. He swivels towards Duresh. “Well?”

  “That’s all the way on the other side of the Delni Quadrant. It would take more than a lunar cycle of slipstream travel to get there. We’re also too far away for a direct comm. If she wants to contact her people there, she will have to send a message through the relays,” Duresh says after a quick search on the navigation console.

  “Fuck!” Ca’lek curses. “And we can’t just dump her at the nearest station. We have no idea how she’d get by in her condition.” Growling, he digs his claws into the arm of the chair, then pulls the star chart up on the screen and searches through them.

  “There’s a station near Rissa III that has a large human population, if I remember correctly. What if we take her there after the delivery to Rissa V,” Duresh suggests, glancing up from his console.