The Complete First Season - Episodes 1-5

by J. L. Stowers

  Talon raised an eyebrow at Sylvine, seemingly noticing her unusual features for the first time. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Dani interrupted him.

  “Talon, we need a new jump drive. Do you have anything like that lying around?”

  “Of course I do.” He chuckled with his response.

  “Great.” Dani pointed at the door. “Take Howard and go get it installed on Osirion.”

  Talon cocked his head at Dani.

  “What?” she asked with a huff.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “What?” Dani asked again with a raise of her eyebrows and a more aggressive tone.

  “Why would I help you escape? What do I get out of this deal?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cassia groaned.

  “Did you expect anything less?” Jag mumbled in response.

  Dani drew her weapon. “Oh, I don’t know... I could let you live,” she said, pointing it at Talon.

  A smirk spread on his lips. “My, my, isn’t this a change from the position we were in not too long ago?”

  “Wait, what?” Jag sat straight up in his bed.

  “Dani, love, you don’t want to kill me. Besides,” he added with a shrug, “threatening to leave me here alive just so the Vaerians can have their way with me later isn’t appealing. Not to mention the fact that if you shoot me, you’ll have pirates all over you like the GC on a glowshard planet.”

  She kept her weapon pointed at him, racking her brain for some other idea.

  Talon approached her. As he drew near, she lowered her weapon, but he continued his path until he was right beside her. With the wall behind her and Jag’s bed beside her, she was cornered, and could already feel the nervousness building in the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes, trying to will the feelings of desire away as he brushed her hair off of her cheek and whispered,

  “We need each other, Dani.” His warm breath caressed her earlobe and neck.

  Suddenly, Jag sprung up and shoved Talon, causing him to reel momentarily before tripping over a chair and falling to the ground. Dani’s eyes caught Jag’s. They were wide and full of anger.

  “You stay away from her,” Jag barked down at Talon.

  Talon, seemingly egged on by Jag’s comment, got to his feet. “Jealous I got a taste before you?”

  Jag raised his fist to strike Talon, but Cruz swooped in and picked Talon up by the collar of his shirt and carried him toward the door. Cassia rushed over and opened it, allowing Cruz to throw him out into the hallway. He then dusted off his hands as though he’d just taken out the trash and turned back to the group as Cassia closed the door.

  “Okay, what’s the plan?” Cruz signed.

  “Howard, how long will it take you to install a new jump drive?” Dani asked, trying to avoid Jag’s confused and hurt gaze.

  “It depends on the model. If they have a GC drive, then it’ll be easy enough to switch out. They were designed to be replaced in a pinch if needed. But if it’s one of those pirate space junk rebuilt drives, then it could take a few hours.”

  “Okay.” Dani ran through his explanation in her head. She wished she knew how far out the Vaerian ship was.

  “At least Jag can move around now. That will help,” Cassia added cheerfully.

  Dani turned to look at him. He was still standing next to the bed, though he favored his injured leg. She pointed to it and asked, “Sylvine, can you check him out, please?”

  Sylvine nodded and gestured for Jag to sit down before examining his leg. The bite was still pretty rough looking, but the purple was nearly completely gone.

  “So we need to find the jump drive, install it, then get the heck out of here.” Dani ran through their list. “What about our cloaking? Is there any way to get that back online?”

  “That’s a little trickier. I doubt I’d have time to do both, and at this point I’d prefer to get the jump drive operational so we can leave.”

  Dani nodded. “Okay, so Sylvine and Cassia, stay here with Jag. Cruz and I will try to locate where they keep their parts around here, and then Howard and Z will get to work swapping out the jump drive.”

  A series of nods and grunts of agreement circled through the medical unit. Satisfied they were all on the same page, Dani turned and opened the door. Talon stood there, leaning on the door frame, smiling. She quickly shoved him out and Cruz followed, the door shutting behind them.

  “I overheard your plan. It’s good,” Talon said. “But wouldn’t it be so much easier if I just took you to where we keep the jump drives? Time is of the essence, you know.”

  “What is your problem?” Dani growled through gritted teeth. “What do you want?”

  Talon’s eyes narrowed at Cruz. “Get rid of the muscle here and we’ll talk.”

  Cruz puffed up his chest, folding his arms across it.

  Dani sighed. “How about you start walking and we’ll negotiate on the way?”

  Talon was still watching Cruz, absentmindedly smoothing his shirt where Cruz had lifted him. “Fine, but he stays back, fifty feet.”

  “Whatever, let’s go,” Dani agreed.

  Talon started down the hall with Dani at his side. Cruz waited a while before following along, giving them a hint of privacy.

  “Admit it. You enjoyed that kiss as much as I did. I could feel it in you.”

  She couldn't deny the fact that he was right, at least not to herself. But the last thing she wanted to do was let Talon feel like he won at whatever game he was playing. “You used me. Anyway, I’m not discussing that,” Dani said flatly. “What do you want? You want to leave with us on Osirion? Is that it? You’d like to come with us so you can keep terrorizing my crew?”

  “I noticed you didn’t say terrorizing you.”

  Dani took a shaky breath. He was right. They both knew it. But the attraction she had for him was something she forbade herself to act upon, for her sake and Jag’s. “Just answer the question.”

  “No, I don’t need to come with you. I have a great ship with more bells and whistles than you could imagine.”

  “So what then?”

  “I need information, schematics, blueprints.”

  “You want to make your own version of Osirion.”

  “Now you’re getting it.”

  “Fine, done. But you don’t get them until after we’ve installed a working jump drive and gotten the hell out of here.”

  “Okay, deal.” Talon stopped and lowered his voice, leaning in close. “We’ll have to set a rendezvous, for the final exchange, of course.”

  Dani’s pulse quickened as he drew nearer. “Final exchange?”

  “Of course, neither of us trusts the other. So naturally I’ll need some collateral to ensure I get what you promised me.”

  “What collateral?” she asked softly, catching a glint out of the corner of her eye from Cruz’s direction.

  Talon followed her gaze, catching sight of Cruz polishing a large knife on the hem of his shirt, watching them as he leaned against the wall. He cleared his throat and took a step back. “I’ll take the lizard woman. I think you called her Sylvia.”

  “Sylvine, and no. I’m not giving you a hostage.”

  “Then I’m not giving you a jump drive.” He stepped back and shrugged.

  Dani rolled her eyes. “Why do you even want her?”

  “Honestly,” Talon sighed, “my medical team is awful. I need someone capable. I’ve seen how she helps Jag.”

  “She doesn’t even speak Common, just some version of Vaerian.”

  “Vaerian? Interesting.” Talon glanced nervously at Cruz while leaning in toward Dani once more. “I’d ask for that guy, but he scares me.”

  Dani laughed. “Look, we can talk to her. But you’ve got to sweeten the pot. If she goes with you, it will be her own choice. I’m not in the business of giving my friends away as slaves. Cassia’s been working on a translation program. Maybe, if you were to apologize to her, then she’d be a little willing
to help you out there too.”

  Talon cringed. “Alright, alright.”

  Dani was already on her way back to the medical bay, Talon following sheepishly behind. She nodded to Cruz as she passed him in the hall. He remained to glare down at Talon as Talon passed him, and then followed behind the both of them.

  Just before they got to the door, it opened and Cassia and Zadria stepped out, steadying Jag between the two of them. Howard and Sylvine followed behind with the rest of their things.

  “You.” Jag glared at Talon and left his position between the two women, limping up to Talon. “I don’t know what you did, but I will find out and you will regret it.”

  Talon reached up and patted Jag on the shoulder before leaning around him to look at Cassia. “My dear, a word?”

  Cassia’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

  “You know, everyone asks me that question. I’d like for this damned war to be over so I can set up shop and not worry about it getting blown out of space, for starters. I’d also like a nice, juicy—”

  Dani interrupted by clearing her throat and nudging Talon.

  “Right.” Talon took a step around Jag then took a deep breath before lowering into a low bow. He then raised only his head to peer up at Cassia. “My most beautiful Cassia, I offer my deepest apologies for the way I treated you, mostly.”

  “Mostly?” She scrunched up her nose.

  Talon smiled as he stood. “Well, there were some parts I look back on with fondness.” He took her hand, his lips grazing the back of it before he winked at her.

  Cassia jerked her hand back with a frown.

  At that point, Cruz intervened, grabbing the back of Talon’s shirt this time, lifting him up and away from Cassia.

  Talon coughed and straightened his clothes once more, glaring at Cruz.

  Dani stifled a giggle at the entire situation, and Jag continued to scowl at his brother.

  “I humbly request your assistance, dearest Cassia, in helping me communicate with Sylvia—”

  “Sylvine,” Dani corrected him with a sigh.

  “Right, Sylvine.”

  Cassia looked between Talon and Sylvine, then to Dani, who gave her a quick nod. “Okay...”

  “We were just heading to the kitchen to get Jag a bite to eat. Perhaps we should continue on our way,” Howard suggested.

  “Yes, you, Jag, and Zadria go ahead and go get something to eat. Good idea. Cruz, Cassia, Sylvine, and I will get everything else taken care of.”

  “Jenwechânmol ćer dû, tiferadfe kifaher.” Sylvine patted Jag on the head.

  “He could go, too,” Talon said, examining Cruz’s large, muscular physique. “He looks like he requires lots of sustenance.”

  Cruz shook his head side to side slowly as he folded his arms across his chest and took a protective step toward Cassia.

  Cassia motioned for Sylvine to come closer and took out her port-con. She tapped on the screen for a few moments while everyone else awkwardly stood in the hall, looking at each other, before she unplugged the translation chip from the side. She then activated it and clipped it onto Sylvine’s lapel. “It’s not going to be perfect, but we’ve been working on this every chance we get. It should allow you to communicate with her.”

  “My dear Sylvine,” Talon said with a respectful bow, “I invite you to join me aboard my ship, the Sparrow.”

  Cruz snickered and signed, “The Sparrow? Really?”

  Talon rolled his eyes. “I’ll have you know that sparrows are quite resourceful.”

  Cruz proceeded to flap his hands around his chin like a little bird.

  “Anyway,” Talon said, visibly unimpressed before turning back to Sylvine, “I’d love if you could join me on the Spa—my ship as the head of the medical unit. You’ll be compensated fairly, of course.”

  Sylvine listened thoughtfully as the translation chip did its job, then she looked to Dani. The wheels seemed to be turning in her head. Dani wasn’t sure if she was working out some sort of plan or just trying to understand what was coming across that may have been lost in translation.

  “It’s your choice, Sylvine. In the spirit of full disclosure, Talon is in need of a competent medic and the schematics for Osirion, and we’re in need of a jump drive. I told him that you are not an item to be bartered for, and if he wanted you on his team, he’d have to ask you himself. You’re free to do as you choose, of course.”

  “Will there be others, like the fools?” Sylvine asked through the translation chip, pointing back to the med bay.

  “There were a few ex-GC guys in there giving her a hard time,” Dani explained.

  “No, no, no. I don’t employ any GC members, ex or otherwise aboard my flagship. There are a few throughout the space station, but I assure you, you’ll be treated with the utmost respect,” Talon answered with a nod.

  “I’ll consider it,” Sylvine’s chip translated once more.

  Talon smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Great! I just need to do one last thing.”

  Talon turned and opened the door to the med bay and stepped in, reaching out to grab Dani by the arm and quickly sealing the door behind them after pulling her in.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, regaining her footing.

  “Just to be clear,” he whispered, “I’ll get you your jump drive should Sylvine decide to join me. Then, when we meet up again, you’ll provide me with what I need from Osirion, and you can have her back.”

  “Well,” Dani said, stepping back against the wall next to the door. “She is welcome to come back if she’d like, and if you hold up your end of the bargain and get us a decent jump drive, then we’ll be able to meet up to see what she’d like. Regardless of her decision, I’ll give you what you want.”

  “Will you now?” He flashed his dazzling smile and braced his hand on the wall above Dani’s head, leaning in close.

  “I... I mean I’ll give you the schematics.” She felt her temperature rising as he leaned in close. She didn’t understand how she could want something and yet not want something so badly at the same time. Whatever the reason, it was getting more difficult to keep herself in check with each passing encounter.

  Talon cocked his head and grazed the side of her neck with the back of his fingers. “I know you will. And I look very forward to seeing you again, Dani.”

  Banging on the door helped bring her mind out of the fog and into reality. “We don’t have a lot of time. We should probably get moving.”

  Talon inhaled, leaning toward Dani’s lips, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but smiled instead, taking a step back and reaching over to open the door.

  Dani was both relieved and disappointed.

  “After you.” Talon bowed his head ever so slightly.

  She walked out of the med bay and back into the hall where Cruz, Cassia, and Sylvine waited with concerned looks. Dani could almost feel Talon’s eyes on her body as he followed her out of the room.

  “This way,” Talon said as he started off down an adjacent hall.

  The eyes of Dani’s crew lingered on her questioningly, but not wanting to talk about it, she hurried along after Talon.

  They stopped outside of the parts warehouse while Talon fiddled with the keypad.

  “Sylvine, stay out here with me. I’d like to make a few more adjustments to the translation program,” Cassia requested.

  Sylvine nodded in agreement and passed the translation device to Cassia. Talon finally got the door to slide open, and Dani and Cruz followed him inside.

  The poor construction of the majority of the space station was nothing compared to the room where they stored the spare parts. The large, warehouse-type room looked as though several ships had exploded inside of it, with chunks of debris lying along the outermost edges and things like radars, weapons relays, shield generators, cloaking devices, and a few other devices Dani didn’t recognize poorly organized toward the middle.

  Talon strolled through the winding aisles of components, then m
ade a sweeping gesture to a small pile of jump drives. They seemed to be of varying ages and degrees of quality, causing Dani to sigh.

  “Howard,” she said into her comm. “You there?”

  A moment later a muffled voice answered, “Yes, sorry, just finishing up my meal.”

  “I’m not sure what I’m looking for here. You want to have someone point you in the direction of the parts storage and come pick out one of these jump drives?”

  “On my way,” he answered.

  Meanwhile, Cruz had wandered over to a series of cabinets and was peeking inside one. He drew out a wide-barreled energy blaster, the likes of which Dani hadn’t seen up close. He weighed it in his hand and smiled before walking back to Talon and holding it up before signing, “This too.”

  “Sure, whatever you can carry. I imagine all of this will be gone once the Vaerian ship arrives.”

  Dani looked up from the mysterious device she was examining. “Shouldn’t you sound an alarm or something?”

  “This early? Heavens no.” Talon laughed. “Pirates are always ready to leave at a moment’s notice. If I tell them to evacuate now, then it’s far more likely they’ll scatter and the Vaerian ship will easily be able to take them out one by one. No, in situations like this, it’s best we wait until the enemy arrives on our doorstep. Then we’ll swarm out of here and find strength in numbers against our enemy. We may even be able to fight them off.”

  “Well, then you’ll be able to stay. That’s good news.”

  “Doubtful,” he added. “I’m sure they’ve already relayed our location. If their ship doesn’t report our destruction, then they’ll send more and more. So we’ll fight to run away.”

  “And then what?”

  Talon looked around the storage room with a nostalgic sigh. “Then we’ll rebuild. Such is the life of pirates.”

  Howard trotted into the room, then leaned over, bracing himself on his knees, huffing. “Where…are…the jump…drives?”

  Dani returned to their location and waved him over.

  “These are the best you have?” he asked Talon as he dug through the pile.

  “Everything we get is scavenged or stolen. It’s not like we have access to GC manufacturers.”

  Howard puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled. “I’m not sure any of these are going to get us far.”