Draekon Pirate Read online

  “Yes, Chief Officer.”

  I turn to Thel. That was a debacle. I wouldn’t blame my mentor for being furious with me. “When you entered, you said you wanted to talk about two things. What was the second?”

  The amusement in his eyes fades. “Not here,” he says. “Let’s talk alone.”

  Anxiety prickles down my spine. I know Thel. Whatever he’s going to say, it’s not good news.

  2

  Mirak

  I jump into a wormhole as soon as I’m clear of the Mahala, since I wouldn’t put it past the Ekton pirates to put a tracker on me. I set a ship-wide scan going on the Isad, my loaner cloakship from the city-state of Ashara, and then I lean back in my chair.

  That was unexpected.

  I’ve met some of the other human women, so I know better than to underestimate them. The humans aren’t a physically strong race, but they’re mentally tough, they’re smart, and they’re adaptable. Alice Hernandez, Kadir’s mate, was tortured by Zorahn scientists, but she’s a fighter, through and through. Olivia Bucknell used to work for a spy organization back on her home planet, and she brings that knowledge to her current job. I’ve seen Dor Pitts in action; she’s a decent pilot. With more hours in the simulator, she’ll be as good as any of Tarish’s crew.

  Very little surprises me anymore. Diana Behrman had. Standing on the bridge of the pirate ship, clad in Ekton grey, wearing the insignia of the second-in-command, rage boiling in her eyes as she realized the Mahala wasn’t responding to her anymore…

  A smile curves my lips. She’d been so fast with her blade. The only thing that saved me was my Draekon reflexes. Even with them, catching the knife before it cut me had been a stroke of sheer luck.

  The scanner finds not one, but three trackers. If Ruhan were here, he’d probably rewrite them to deliver a string of false leads to the Ekton, but I’m not a hacker, and that kind of thing is beyond my capabilities. I disable them instead, run Ruhan’s location-masking script, and then open a comm line to Tarish, leader of the Rebellion.

  He answers almost immediately. “Yes?”

  The Commander looks stressed. I don’t blame him. Blood Heart attacked the Rebellion last month. First, my homicidal fellow Draekon, had spearheaded the assault on Tarish’s headquarters. If Kadir hadn’t arrived in time, the losses would have been catastrophic.

  Tarish almost certainly has a spy in his midst. So far, all efforts to find that person has failed. The Rebellion has had to pick up and move to another location, First is still slaughtering Draekons, and, in the High Empire, the time of the yearly testing approaches. It’s a lot to manage.

  Not my problem. I was tasked to find the humans; I’ve done so. Kadir might feel the need to help the Rebellion—that’s his choice, and I respect it. But I feel no particular need to emulate him.

  “I located Diana Behrman and Lisa Kwok,” I tell Tarish. “They’re on the Mahala, an Ekton pirate ship captained by Theldre ab Beni. They’re not prisoners; they’re there of their own volition.”

  “They are?” The Commander looks up. “You’re sure about that?”

  I flip the blade I took from Diana into the air and catch it. “I boarded the ship and talked to them. Both women appear healthy and happy. Diana Behrman was wearing an officer’s uniform, and she was on the bridge. She was in charge.”

  Oh. No wonder she was so furious. I’d hijacked the Mahala on her watch. Oops.

  “Lisa Kwok was seated at a nav computer,” I continue. “Neither of them showed any sign of relief when I boarded their frigate. No, like the rest of the crew, they were angry. Theldre called them his family. He’s Ekton; those aren’t empty words but a formal declaration of protection. Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Theldre ab Beni called them family?” Tarish’s eyes narrow. “Intriguing. He’s got quite a reputation.”

  I don’t like the expression on his face. The Commander is something of an enigma. In a galaxy where everyone is obsessed with blood purity, Tarish is secretive about who he is. His past is a mystery. His family and house, unknown.

  Ruhan did some idle digging before he went offline. Tarish appeared out of nowhere twenty-eight years ago. He doesn’t have any House tattoos. I don’t know if he’s Highborn, Midborn, or Lowborn—he has no markings indicating his blood status. Even more shocking—while every male Zorahn in the High Empire is tested yearly for the Draekon mutation, Tarish has no testing tattoos. None at all. He’s never been tested.

  He seems to be wealthy; he appears to be funding the Rebellion on his own. He’s well-versed in the nuances of the High Empire, and he’s ruthless, so he’s had political training. But he’s not a soldier either.

  I respect what Tarish has built. Do I trust him? I’m not sure. “What kind of reputation?” I ask warily.

  “The Ekton is extremely wealthy, according to the Exchange rumormongers.”

  Tarish desperately needs a competent spy network, if he’s had to resort to buying information in the Exchanges. Even a thousand years ago, the rumormongers were notoriously unreliable, and their motivations were famously opaque.

  “I’m not going to rob him for you,” I say flatly. “And I’m not going to kidnap the humans so you can hold them for ransom.”

  “I’m not going to kidnap them; do you think I’m crazy?”

  I raise a silent eyebrow. When Tarish first brought us out of stasis, he’d injected us with a toxin that would kill us in ninety days. I don’t know what he was trying to achieve with that move. Gain our cooperation? Keep us in line? He’s already demonstrated that he’s ruthless enough to do whatever he feels is necessary to help his cause.

  Tarish sees the expression on my face. He’s not stupid; he knows exactly what’s running through my mind. “I’ve already apologized for the toxin,” he says wearily. “It was an honorless thing to do.” He takes a breath. “Ekton pirates don’t tend to be wealthy. If the rumors are true, then Theldre is the exception. I’m interested in learning how he earns his money. In any case, that’s my problem, not yours. You’ve kept your end of our bargain. Thank you. As promised, the city-state of Ashara will let you keep the cloakship as payment for your work locating the humans. In addition, you have my gratitude. There’s always a place for you in the Rebellion, if you want to join our cause.”

  “Join the Rebellion. No, thanks.”

  He doesn’t appear surprised by my refusal. He nods curtly and ends the call. I flip the knife in my hand again, feeling oddly restless. For the first time in my life, there’s no mission. There’s no battle. No one to tell me what to do. I’m free. I’m finally in charge of my own destiny.

  I’m already bored.

  I flip the knife again and pull up the Mahala’s logs. I’m curious about Diana. How does a woman from a distant Neutral Zone planet become the second-in-command on a pirate ship? The Ekton are not sentimental; she would have had to earn her place among the crew.

  I’m examining the pirate ship’s navigation logs when my comm chirps. Tarish again? I glance at the screen. No, not Tarish. It’s my brother Kadir, one of the four people in the universe for whom I’d do anything, no questions asked.

  I answer at once. “Shouldn’t you be recuperating?” I ask him with a grin. “I’m surprised Alice let you get up; I expected her to keep you in bed for a week.”

  Just five days ago, First had tried to kill Kadir in Consalas. Sixth and I had arrived just in time to stop it. Unfortunately, First had managed to escape, and I blame myself for it. I should have been better prepared. I should have stopped him, but I didn’t.

  Every time the sociopath Draekon kills from this point on, my soul will share some of the responsibility. At the rate First is going, when it is time for me to be judged in the Gardens of Caeron, my soul will be in tatters.

  Kadir laughs. “She doesn’t know. She’s busy studying for a test.”

  “Sifax still bothering her?” Alice is Kadir’s mate. She’s like a sister to me. She used to be a healer back on Earth, and she’s studying to become one he
re, but the Zorahn in charge of her training doesn’t believe humans can be healers.

  He’s giving her a hard time. I have very few principles, but one thing is clear. Nobody messes with my family.

  “I ran into him last night,” my brother replies. “I might have glared.” He smirks. “I promised Alice I wouldn’t say anything to him, and I didn’t. As far as I’m concerned, I’m in the clear.”

  Good for him. “Somehow, I doubt your mate will agree with your interpretation, but your secret is safe with me.” I lean forward. I’m assuming Kadir didn’t call me out of boredom. “Have you heard from First?”

  He shakes his head. “Nothing. You found your humans, I hear. They’re safe?”

  “News travels fast,” I comment. “I just finished talking to Tarish.”

  “The Commander was with me when you called him.” He looks at me, his expression serious. “What are you planning to do next, Fourth?”

  “Something’s bothering you. What is it?”

  The corner of his mouth twitches. “I’m supposed to be the one who can read emotions,” he says wryly. “Two things. The Rebellion is running out of money.”

  That takes me by surprise. “It is?”

  He nods soberly. “I’ve talked to Zunix. We sustained a lot of damage when First attacked us. Now we’re training soldiers, trying to get them outfitted. We’re trying to stay a step ahead of Blood Heart, trying to stay a step ahead of Ru’vi. Tarish has been financing the Rebellion for twenty-eight years, but his resources aren’t limitless.”

  “That’s a problem.”

  “Indeed. It’s part of the reason why Zunix and Dariux haven’t been able to establish a decent spy network.”

  First lured Kadir to Consalas. Would a better spy network have alerted us that it was a trap? Probably.

  I don’t care if the Rebellion runs out of money. But First, that’s personal. He tried to kill my brother. He will die for it.

  I flip Diana’s knife in the air. Kadir’s eyes lock on the weapon. “Is that new? I didn’t think a blade was your go-to weapon.”

  “It’s not.” I have claws. A blade is redundant. “I took it off one of the humans. Diana Behrman. Let’s call it the spoils of war.”

  “Did she throw it at you?” He laughs out loud. “Alice punched me when we first met. They look meek, but the humans have a violent edge.”

  “Diana certainly does. She almost connected.” I told her to call me if she wanted her knife back. Will she do it? I hope she does. I want to see the intriguing human again.

  I want to do more than see her, if I’m being honest. When I remember the expression of fury on her face, a smile curves my lips. Diana’s a force to be reckoned with. That fire, that burning passion, those katha-quick reflexes. Will she bring the same fiery energy to bed?

  Caeron, even the thought of it sends a jolt of desire through me.

  An entry in the logs catches my attention. “Hang on,” I tell Kadir absently. I look at the list of upcoming destinations, and one of them stands out.

  “They’re going to Neiptiun KZP-71.” I pull up the refugee ship’s information, scroll through their nav logs, and the pattern jumps out at me, the same pattern that has caught the pirates’ attention.

  Clever.

  Kadir does a quick search on his end. “That’s a colony ship, isn’t it?”

  “Not according to Theldre. Neiptiun KZP-71 is Docarro Corp’s secret bank.”

  Surprise slaps Kadir’s face. “Is he right?”

  I look again at the nav logs and match what I know about wormholes against the information on the screen. “Yes. Neiptiun KZP-71 is falsifying its flight patterns. In reality, it’s staying in safe quadrants of space, and Docarro ships routinely dock on it.”

  Kadir leans forward, his expression focused. “How did Theldre find out?”

  That’s a very good question. “I’ll ask him when I run into him again.”

  I don’t care about the Rebellion’s financial health, but I do care about finding First. And right now, that means helping Tarish.

  I draw the line at robbing Theldre, but robbing Docarro Corp before the Ekton pirates can get there? That’s fair game.

  And, as a bonus, I’ll get to see Diana Behrman again.

  Maybe I’ll even take another knife off her.

  Kadir rolls his eyes. “You’re planning to drain Neiptiun KZP-71? And to think we call Third reckless.”

  “I’m contributing to the Rebellion’s empty coffers.” Diana is going to be furious. Fun. My grin widens. “You know something? I think I’m going to enjoy being a pirate.”

  3

  Diana

  How did I, a human who until a year ago, didn’t even know there was intelligent life out there, become the second-in-command of the Mahala?

  Here’s how.

  When the pirates attacked, they boarded the spacer we were on. The Zorahn scientists were not fighters. They had hired mercenaries at the last port, but the mercs had taken one look at the pirate ship approaching them and had fled, leaving the three of them undefended.

  The scientists had tried to shoot at the pirates. To nobody’s surprise, that hadn’t gone well. They’d been killed.

  The marauding crew had then searched the ship, and they’d found Lisa and me. After the initial shock, they’d brought me in front of their leader, Theldre.

  Like I said, I’d been biding my time, planning my escape. I’d amassed a collection of improvised weapons. A sharp piece of glass—a leftover from a laboratory accident—served as a blade. A couple of knockout patches, stolen from the scientists’ stores, were in case I needed to render someone unconscious in a hurry. A syringe containing a death serum, as a last resort.

  They should have searched me; they didn’t.

  So, I was ready when I first saw the alien pirate.

  The captain was six-feet tall. He had two arms and two feet, but that’s where the resemblance to a human ended. The pirate’s face was the stuff of nightmares. Grey in color, and leathery in texture, he had five eyes on either side of his ridged forehead, set in two rows—two larger eyes on top, and three smaller ones underneath. He didn’t have a nose; instead, there was a narrow vertical slit where a nose should have been. His mouth was a hole. Two orange curved tusks emerged from his protruding jaw, each four inches tall, with wickedly sharp tips. He was clad in grey armor from head to toe, and there was an orange emblem on his breastplate.

  I slipped the glass blade from my wrist as Theldre approached me. “I don’t recognize the species,” he’d murmured in Zor. He’d turned to a taller man whose tattooed, shaved head gave him away as Zorahn. “Krep, what about you?”

  The instant his attention left me, I brought my arm up and slashed at the pirate’s face, the only unarmored part of his body.

  Let’s be clear. This was a pretty stupid thing to do. Brave, but ultimately pointless. After all, the pirates were heavily armed. Yes, slashing their captain’s face was bold, but did I really think I could take on a dozen of them with a glass blade, two knockout patches, and just enough death serum to kill one person?

  In my defense, I had a plan. As my next move, I was going to place the knife at his neck and threaten to slit his throat if the pirates so much as moved an inch. I was going to march to the nearest escape pod, with the pirate captain as hostage, and I was getting Lisa and me the hell out of here. It might not have been the best plan in the world, but I’d been tortured for a month, and it’s possible I wasn’t thinking clearly.

  Of course, it failed dramatically.

  The instant I cut the pirate, armor erupted from his neck and covered his face. He brought his hand up and closed his fingers around my wrist, and my knife fell from my nerveless fingers.

  I’d braced myself for instant death. Instead, the pirate had laughed, a low, rumbling sound. “No one has landed a blade on me in fifteen years,” he’d said. “Whoever you are, I think I like you.”

  I almost killed Thel. Instead of punishing me, he became my ment
or. A month after I came on board, he had a combat suit custom-made for me. In six months, he’s taught me everything he knows. He’s introduced me to his fences in all five of the Uncharted Reaches’ major Exchanges. I already knew how to fight; he’s honed my skills. He’s taught me how to bargain. How to steer the ship, how to pilot a flier.

  I can best any of the crew in a knife fight. I have nerves of steel. Aunt Debbie taught me to cheat at cards, and the third day I was here, I taught the pirates how to play poker, and I robbed them blind.

  That’s the kind of leadership a pirate crew can get behind. Maybe that’s why, six months after they found me, I’m the second-in-command of the Mahala.

  I follow Thel to his chamber. Once the door slides shut behind us, he sheds his armor and immerses himself into a healing tank.

  That’s not good. “Your leg’s bothering you today?”

  “It bothers me every day, Diana,” he says wearily. “But yes, it’s getting worse. Forget that; that’s not what I want to talk to you about.”

  He might be resigned to his pain; I don’t find it quite as easy. We need to do something, damn it. The Zorahn came to Earth with a cure for leukemia. They are skilled geneticists. In their own race, they’ve almost doubled their lifespans, and they’ve succeeded in eradicating almost all diseases.

  Unfortunately, Thel is Ekton, not Zorahn. Different race of people, different set of genes. Different set of diseases.

  Still, it’s a big galaxy. There has got to be a scientist somewhere that has done research on Ekton autoimmune disorders. “When we’re done with Docarro, I want you to hire a scientist,” I tell him. “God knows you’re rich enough, Thel.”

  He snorts. “A scientist? Like the ones that abducted you and Lisa? I don’t think so.”

  I step over his armor and pull up a chair next to the tank. “Not all scientists are evil.”

  He looks skeptical. “Do you know how much research the Crimson Citadel has done on Ekton physiology?”