The Complete First Season - Episodes 1-5

by J. L. Stowers

  “At last,” Dani said with an exhale. Sylvine also looked more relaxed—many of the creases around her eyes and near her forehead had vanished. Even Cruz seemed more at ease, though only slightly. Still, it was enough for him to loosen the death-grip he had on his chair. “Okay, let’s get off this bird.”

  The words barely had time to roll out of Dani’s mouth before every person in the hangar drew their weapons and trained them on the ship.

  Chapter 4

  Dani, Cruz, and Sylvine sat in the cruiser with their hands in the air while armed pirates circled around them.

  “Uh, Dani?” Cassia asked through the comm.

  “I know.” Dani sighed. She scanned the group for any sign of Talon, who hadn’t arrived yet.

  “I knew we shouldn’t trust pirates,” Zadria said matter-of-factly.

  Dani gritted her teeth at the tone conveyed across the comm and shook her head.

  Cruz cleared his throat and nodded out the windshield. Talon had entered the hangar, and the pirates were stepping apart to create a path for him, Geneva, and the rest of his entourage. As he passed by them, they lowered their weapons. A few moments after he arrived, Dani and her crew were no longer under the threat of annihilation.

  A young man ran out in front of Talon and placed a carton on the floor. Talon took his place aboard the step and performed a deep bow. With a swooping arm movement, he gestured first to the cruiser, then to Osirion. Dani lowered her arms as the pirate crew appeared to be celebrating.

  Once the crowd was nice and riled, Talon thrust his arms in the air toward Osirion.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Cruz signed.

  Sylvine seemed awash with confusion.

  Dani sighed. “I wish I could hear what he was telling them.”

  Talon beamed up at Dani from his dais, clearly impressed with himself. She in turn held her hands in the air in the universal ‘what gives’ gesture.

  “Come out,” Talon signed a bit awkwardly.

  “Huh, how about that? I didn’t know he knew sign language,” Dani said as she got to her feet.

  Cruz was already opening the cruiser’s hatch and peering across the gap and into Osirion. As Dani peered out, she had to admit that she was thankful Talon allowed them access to the pirate base, even if it meant they had some things to straighten out. In their haste to rescue Sylvine, they hadn’t grabbed their space suits and would have been unable to reboard Osirion without a seal on the airlock. Not to mention it would vent Osirion’s atmosphere if they tried.

  Cruz banged on Osirion’s hatch until a red-faced Howard opened it from the other side. The trio then took turns climbing out of the dangling cruiser and into Osirion’s belly.

  “How’s Jag?” Dani asked as Zadria and Cassia climbed down the ladder.

  “In and out,” Cassia reported with a sigh. “It seems the creonin is working, but it might take a while for him to get on his feet. We should really get him to their medical facilities where they can take proper care of him.”

  “Understood.” Dani nodded and concealed a hand-held laser weapon before heading up the ladder. “You guys might want to grab something too, just in case.”

  Dani left the crew below to arm themselves as she made her way to Jag’s quarters. He was pale, but awake. “Hey,” she said softly, approaching his side.

  “Did we land?” he asked, still groggy.

  “Well, sort of. Now, you might not like this…” Dani started.

  “Oh great.” Jag pressed his head into his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut. “What’d you do now?”

  “Well, we got Sylvine back,” Dani said enthusiastically, trying to delay telling him where they were. “And we got away from the two destroyers.”

  Jag’s brow furrowed. “How’d we pull that off?”

  “We had a little help.” She shrugged as she said the words, trying to keep an upbeat tone.

  Jag was immediately suspicious. “Who?” he asked, drawing out the question.

  “It was our only option, really.”

  “Who?”

  “I mean, without the help, we would have never been able to get out of there or rescue Sylvine.”

  “Who, Dani?” Jag’s patience was wearing thin.

  “Sweet brother!” Talon exclaimed as he walked into Jag’s room. “You’re awake. Good, good.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jag looked between Dani and Talon.

  All Dani could do was muster a crooked smile and another shrug.

  Talon glided over to the other side of Jag’s bed and flopped down. “Is the lovely Dani filling you in on our alliance?”

  “Ow,” Jag said when Talon landed on the bed near his leg.

  “Alliance?” Dani asked, alarmed. “I don’t know that I’d go that far.”

  Talon ignored her, peeking at Jag’s wound. “Nasty bite you have there. Don’t worry, my medical team will get you all patched up.”

  Just then another group swarmed into the room, carrying a stretcher.

  “Wait, medical team?” Jag asked as they loaded him onto the stretcher. “Where are we?”

  Talon stood and took Dani’s hand, now ignoring Jag. “My dear, thank you very kindly for caring for my sweet brother.” He bent into a bow and his lips grazed the back of her hand, electrifying her skin.

  “Oh,” was all Dani could manage to say through the blush that took over her face. She quickly glanced at Jag, who was being carried out of the room, and caught a look of anger on his face, and immediately regretted letting Talon get to her. “I should go with him.”

  Talon slid his arm around Dani’s shoulders and guided her out into Osirion’s hall and toward the cargo area. As soon as Dani saw Jag again, she slipped from Talon’s grasp and caught up to him and the medical team as they boarded a lift. With the cruiser in the position it was, the cargo door didn’t reach all the way to the floor of the hangar, and a portable lift had been brought in to lower the crew to the ground.

  Cruz, Cassia, Zadria, Sylvine, and Howard were all already down on the ground, watching Dani, Jag, Talon, and the medical crew descend. She hoped they had taken her advice to arm themselves. From what she could see, they didn’t appear to have any weaponry, but that could just mean that they had concealed their weapons well.

  The medical team bustled Jag and the rest of the creonin away as soon as the lift was safely on the ground. Dani took a quick glimpse at her own wound to see if she needed to follow them, but the dark tendrils were gone, and all that was left was a slight redness around the wound. It was still tender and would likely leave a scar, but she was glad she didn’t need to use any more of the medication since she knew Jag’s condition was much worse.

  “Cruz, Sylvine, please go with Jag and keep an eye on his treatment,” Dani ordered. Even though Talon was his brother, she knew better than to leave Jag alone on a pirate base, especially when he wasn’t able to adequately defend himself.

  “I’ll go too. For... translation purposes,” Cassia said as she quickly darted after Cruz and Sylvine.

  “Now.” Talon cocked his head to watch them go after the medical team before he turned on his heel to face Dani and the rest of her crew. “A meal perhaps?”

  Dani had to admit that she was hungry and nodded in response. “Yes, please. Thank you.”

  Talon grinned and headed for the nearest door. Cruz, Cassia, and Sylvine disappeared around a corner after the medical team, while Zadria, Howard, and Dani followed Talon.

  As they walked out of the hangar and down a hall, Dani couldn’t help but eye the various gaps in the walls and floors, as well as the several nooks and crannies. She hoped Cassia had locked Carl up in a safe place, because if he escaped Osirion, they’d have a hell of a time finding him here.

  Talon led the small group through a series of hallways that didn’t seem to be based on any type of plan. In fact, it kind of seemed like the structure had been added onto several times, creating an abundance of walls that seemed to divide nothing in particular. Even
tually their winding path stopped in what seemed to be a royal dining room. A table of great size sat in the center of the room with an assortment of chairs around it. Name cards sat in front of some of the place settings, and Talon grabbed and rearranged them on his way to the head of the table. Once he got there, he flopped into his seat, allowing one of his legs to dangle over the arm of what Dani could only describe as a jeweled throne.

  “Is this what he was doing while his crew pointed their weapons at us?” Howard mumbled to Dani.

  Dani shrugged. She wasn’t going to deny the possibility, especially with what she knew about Talon. He was nearly the complete opposite of Jag, aside from their shared good looks and the ability to make Dani blush. Where Jag was intense, Talon was much more laid back. Dani had to admit that the ever-present calm the pirate captain possessed was a trait she desired for Jag in exchange for his hot temper, but she’d never let him know that.

  Place cards for Dani and Zadria were located in front of the seats closest to Talon. Howard’s place card was down at the opposite end of the table, several chairs away from the rest of the group.

  Zadria immediately sat in her seat next to Talon, straightening her place card as she did so.

  “Talon,” Dani started, but didn’t have the opportunity to finish.

  “Please, sit down.” He smiled one of his handsome smiles and patted the cushion on Dani’s seat.

  Dani hesitated a moment before picking up Howard’s name card and placing it at the seat next to her chair. Only then did she sit down.

  Talon waved his hand, and a number of his staff brought in plates of food. There was some kind of roasted meat, along with a deep red vegetable and a roll. A young woman appeared, carrying a decanter of wine, and served each of the guests.

  Talon dove into his meal and drink with the enthusiasm Dani stuffed down inside of her. She didn’t want to appear too eager for anything Talon offered. Zadria reached for her wine glass, but a well-timed look from Dani was all it took for her hand to slink back to her silverware. Howard was thoroughly examining his food.

  “So,” Dani said as she poked at her food with a fork. “After we’re done here, I’ll have Howard examine the cruiser and Osirion. As soon as it’s fixed, we’ll be on our way.”

  The wine girl lingered, looking confused, until Talon waved her out of the room.

  “I think…” Talon spoke between bites. “You guys should stick around a while.”

  “Why?” Dani asked before finally taking a bite.

  “Why not?” Talon laughed. “I mean, you’ve clearly been abandoned, out here in the Dead Zone with no backup. You can’t be that important to... what is your mission, anyway?”

  “What would you say if I told you it was to apprehend a prominent pirate captain?”

  Talon paused for the briefest of moments before winking at Dani. “Oh, you... you almost had me there, you know.”

  “He kind of has a point,” Zadria said between bites. “I mean, we haven’t been able to get ahold of the Houston anyway.”

  Dani studied Zadria’s face. Her desire to stay rather than get back to the Houston and their mission was somewhat uncharacteristic of her. Dani wasn’t sure if she was finally loosening up, or if there was something else going on. That thought made her shift her attention to Talon. “Why do you want us to stay?”

  Talon rested his elbow on the arm of his chair and leaned forward, placing his chin in his hand. His eyes narrowed, and Dani felt as though he were scanning her for something. “My reasons are my own, but as you know, there’s a war upon us. It never hurts to have allies.”

  “Is that why you built your space station in the Dead Zone? To make allies with the Vaerians?”

  Talon laughed once more. “Of course not. We’re here because no one would think to look for us in such a place. It’s very tiring to build up something of this magnitude just to have it raided by the GC as soon as it’s finished. Here we’ll have peace, provided no one reports our location.” Dani felt Talon’s gaze shift to one of warning as he muttered the last words.

  “You should know me better than that by now.”

  Talon continued his intense stare for a moment before his charming smile broke through and he relaxed back into his chair once more, resuming his meal. “Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to double check where you stand. Loyalties shift, you know.”

  As Dani searched his last statement for hidden meaning, the door flew open and a rotund man reminding Dani an awful lot of Warden Quill bumbled into the room and made his way to Talon’s side with a tablet.

  Talon accepted the device and flipped through a few screens before returning it to the man and shooing him away. “So. wormholes, eh?”

  Dani looked over to Howard, who froze mid-bite, then at Zadria, whose schoolgirl crush seemed to shatter in that moment, before her eyes finally rested on Talon. “Digging around on my ship isn’t the best way to make allies.”

  Talon simply shrugged. “What’s a pirate to do?”

  “I did hear about the stunt you pulled in PS683, escaping through a wormhole. No doubt the GC wanted to explore that further. They’re always looking for new ways to find and exploit planets.” Talon lowered his voice and leaned closer to Dani. “Is that why you’re out here? Did you ride a wormhole into Vaerian space? That’d give the GC quite the upper hand, wouldn’t it? An attack from behind enemy lines...”

  “We’re done here,” Dani said as she tossed her napkin on her plate and stood. Howard and Zadria followed suit.

  “Not if you want your precious first officer, you’re not.”

  Chapter 5

  For the first time that Dani could remember, Talon looked neither charming nor playful. Instead his face now wore a sinister sneer as his power-hungry eyes bore down on her, not unlike the eyes of the Vaerians themselves. The change of energy in the room and the threat against Jag helped snap her out of whatever hold he had over her.

  Very methodically, Dani leaned toward Talon, bracing herself on the table with both palms. “You don’t want to make an enemy of me.” She stared back at him, unblinking.

  Talon leaned back from Dani but maintained eye contact. “My dear, I have far worse enemies than you.”

  “I want to see Jag,” she stated.

  Talon rolled his eyes and sighed. “Very well.”

  “Howard, Z,” Dani said without taking her eyes off of Talon, “go back to the ship and begin repairs. I want to get out of here as soon as we can.”

  “You got it,” Howard replied as he and Zadria left the way they came.

  Dani was suddenly very aware she was in a room alone with Talon. A few minutes ago this fact would have made her nervous, but his snooping through her ship’s database and threat to keep Jag from her negated her feelings toward him. “Well?”

  “This way.” Talon stood and left through a different door than the one they had used to enter the dining room. This part of the space station was much more carefully constructed than what Dani had seen so far. He led her down a short hall and through another door into a room with lush rugs on the floor and a massive bed at the center. Dani stopped in the doorway.

  “Your bedroom? You can’t be serious.”

  Talon seemed to ignore her as he crossed the large room to a bookcase. He triggered a hidden switch somewhere that caused the bookcase to slide to the side, exposing a network of screens mounted within the wall.

  The screens caught Dani’s curiosity, and she approached them. There was a collection of nine screens, but they rotated through images from around the space station. Talon picked up a small remote control and entered a code that Dani didn’t quite catch. The screens changed to make one large picture of the medical bay where Jag was located. He lay in his bed, Sylvine administering another dose of creonin. Cassia and Cruz stood off in the corner, Cruz’s arms wrapped around Cassia and her head lying against his chest.

  “Cassia did always have a soft spot for the burly type,” Talon sighed, looking forlorn. He and Cassia once shared a mom
ent, long ago, when she was younger and less experienced in halting Talon’s advances. Dani knew for a fact that Cassia regretted it, mostly from late-night chats with her about how he let her down time and time again because of his insatiable appetite for other women.

  “Say,” Talon added as he stroked his strong jawline, “isn’t fraternization among GC crews forbidden? Surely that must be so or you and Jag would have—”

  “I’m not worried about Cassia and Cruz. They’re both adults.” Dani changed the subject, “How’s Jag doing? It’s hard to tell from here.”

  Talon shrugged. “He seems alive.” He stepped closer to Dani, the scent of his musky cologne filling her nose. “I’ll just…”

  He reached past her toward the bookshelf once more and grabbed another device. Once it was in his hand, he remained close and turned it on. It was very much like their port-con devices. A few selections on the screen and it displayed what Dani guessed were Jag’s vitals. Talon held it up for her to see.

  “See?” His voice had softened with his proximity to her. “He’s doing well. Better than when he arrived, anyway.”

  Dani studied the display and nodded, her mouth dry. Talon’s closeness was still having an effect on her. His soothing voice and deep blue eyes matched Jag’s. She felt her anger start to melt away as he brushed the shaggy, dark hair away from his eyes.

  “You seem tense. Perhaps a walk would help you relax? I’ll give you the tour as we make our way to the medical bay.”

  Dani could feel his gaze on her as she stared at the screen once more. “Yeah, sure.” The room had started to feel small with Talon so close, and she started to doubt her desire to fend him off.

  She turned to face him, and he seemed even closer with his enticing eyes, smile, scent, and touch. Dani knew any type of involvement with Talon would be a bad idea, but Jag had always left her unsure of how he felt about her, while Talon made it very clear that he was interested. His forwardness appealed to her in a way she hadn’t expected. Before, she had always assumed it was just to get under Jag’s skin, but now that they were alone and the interest didn’t seem to wane, she found herself reciprocating.