by Maia Tanith
I roll my eyes. “It was destined for the waste burn-piles long before you were given it. Get rid of it.”
She nods, then tosses it down on the floor in the far corner of the room.
I stand and sidle past her, heading towards the washroom. The scent of soap and something else sweet hits my nose as I walk past.
I keep walking. Shake it off, Azr. She’s a human. No more good to you than Lila was. Worse, probably.
I stand under the hot running water for a long time. My mind flits back to the moment I’d met Lila. The reason I was here, in this predicament. With no ship, having escaped the Games by the skin of my teeth, and with my little Earthling sidekick to look after.
When I’d met Lila she’d been bartending at a tiny, shitty, bar, at a tiny, shitty space port, on a tiny, shitty planet. It was a subsidiary planet to Xill, one of the mineral rich planets that our Emperor loves to mine, to squeeze every last credit of worth out of. Many freebooters, unluckier than I turned out to be, are sent to the mines to work for their freedom.
I’d been there with my own ship, after hearing rumors of a high value delivery of goods. I’d had nothing to lose at the time, and a lot to gain. So I’d headed there.
Lila was the first woman I’d spoken with in a while. The first woman I’d been with in much longer.
She’d seemed genuine. Strong willed, down on her luck, and incredibly gorgeous. She’d told me, in confidence, or so I thought, about the rumors she’d heard of the delivery. Weapons. Military grade weapons. A whole shipful, stopping at the port to refuel before its final delivery place. Top secret, minimal security to hide the importance of its cargo.
Everything I saw there stacked up.
I fell for her. I thought she’d fallen for me. I offered to take her with me, for us to steal enough together to build a comfortable life for ourselves, far away.
She’d gladly accepted.
Little did I know, she gladly accepted because she was undercover, and I was her new conquest. The latest freebooter that she’d caught as a member of the Intergalactic Antipirate League. And through me, she’d expected to net a whole smuggling ring, not just lonely me.
I’d disappointed her.
Disappointed her and got her into trouble.
She’d expected me to break into the ship and steal a pitiful load of arms. Instead, I broke into the ship and entered the slave command code into the ship’s internal control system. This top-secret piece of code I’d paid a hefty price for a long time ago from an ex-military pilot who needed the money. I knew it would come in useful one day.
Then, from my own ship, I entered the master code, giving me access to control the delivery ship from the comfort of my own control center.
I’d thrown a spanner in the works for Lila.
She’d had a group mobilized to take me down. Instead I’d blindsided her by not telling her the whole plan. She found herself having to order her team to follow her through space and intercept us, after having to mobilize a whole new ship.
I had slowed down her mission, cost her team more than they’d been allocated to spend, and definitely made her look incompetent in front of her crews and superiors. All for the lone smuggler with no notable connections, wealth, or even notoriety.
I’d kept my nose down for years, operating in the shadows. No one knew of me. And that meant that no one cared if I was caught or not.
Lila’s plan failed. That’s the only small consolation I have for having my trust betrayed and my heart broken.
I vowed to never trust a woman again. And I’d never, ever tell anyone the full plans I had.
Not even sweet, innocent, naive, little Delia.
Chapter Five
Delia
Azr is drunk. He barely lets a minute slip by after his shower to get stuck into the liquor that Dezar keeps on board. Judging by the empty glass bottles littering the ship, Dezar has a fair amount of drinking experience.
I’ve never liked drinking myself. My parents, my original parents that is, not my many foster ones, had been big drinkers. The little I remember of them centers around bottles and beer cans, glasses smashed on the floor in drunken arguments. When I promised myself I’d stick to the right side of the law so I didn’t end up like them, not drinking too much was included in this promise.
To keep in control, you can’t drink too much. It takes your control away.
I had a friend at college who drank so much that she’d throw up all night and miss class. Her grades suffered. She said a few things she didn’t mean to say one night, and her boyfriend broke up with her. She was so heartbroken, she dropped out and moved away to the other side of the country and I lost touch with her.
That never happened with me. I was always reliable, dependable, with good grades that never dropped.
And, most importantly, I was in control of my life.
Azr needs a bit of control. As much as I encouraged him to open up to people, this is not what I meant. Not drunken bonding over a bottle. With someone like Dezar who makes me feel like ice cold water is trickling down my back whenever he looks at me.
The three of us are sitting on crates in what they’ve explained to me is the control room. On one side of the room is a huge window with a desk of complicated looking controls and two pilot seats.
Outside the window I can see the space port. It’s mostly empty, with a few claw men carrying crates or dragging wheeled trolleys behind them. The huge sun is low in the sky and spreading out across the horizon.
We are crammed in the small space behind the pilot seats, sitting on metal crates with a fourth metal crate used as a table. On the table is a half full bottle of something green that smells minty. Next to it are three cups. Mine is untouched. And next to that are two empty bottles that only a few minutes ago had been filled with that green minty liquid.
Azr picks up his glass and shoots the last mouthful back. “Ah, this is the good stuff. I’ll throw a few extra credits your way for it after you drop me at my stop, and I can pick up my property.”
Dezar’s eyes seem to glow at this comment. A greedy look creeps into his face, then is gone before I can blink an eye. “Call it three credits and you can drink ‘til morning,” he says, and pours another glass for them. He nods towards my own cup, still sitting untouched. “What are you afraid of? It’s not bloody poisoned.”
I reach out stiffly and pick up the cup. I’ve tasted alcohol of course; I’ve had the odd glass of wine and even drank a gin and tonic once—although it did make my head swim a bit—but I’ve never been much of a drinker.
“Ah leave her be. She’s an innocent little kit. A right do-gooder,” laughs Azr. His eyes are a little red, and his voice slurs just slightly. “She’s not one to relax and have a good time.”
His words rankle me. He’s implying that I’m a child, and a boring one at that.
Just because I like to follow the rules that does not mean I am boring.
Or maybe it does.
Maybe I am boring.
I open my mouth to speak before I can stop myself. “I know how to relax and have a good time.” My voice comes out more defensive than I’d meant it to.
Azr and Dezar look at me and chuckle.
“You’ve been sitting there stiff as a board for the past few hours,” Dezar laughs. “I was beginning to think you were a cyborg that’s run out of batteries.”
Azr evidently finds this rather amusing, and snorts with laughter so hard that the liquid he’s drinking sprays out of his nose.
I move my drink away in distaste.
“That’s the best way to describe her I’ve heard yet,” Azr says.
I see red. “Excuse me if I’ve not been the most fun to have around,” I snap. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been kidnapped, taken across the galaxy by some sort of hyena man hybrid monster, dropped onto a dusty, hot, good-for-nothing planet god knows where, forced to fight for my life, starved, and then kidnapped a second time. And now I’m stuck in this rusty metal box with t
wo smart-mouthed, drunk, probably delinquent aliens. Pardon me if I’m not a bundle of damn joy since I met you.”
Dezar and Azr go quiet. I think my outburst is a lot more than they expected. Dezar’s mouth is hanging open.
“And for your information,” I continue, “I do know how to have fun. I am a relaxed and fun person on Earth. I’m not a child. I’m not innocent. And I’m not a fucking do-gooder!” Then I lift my cup and down it in two swallows, before slamming it back onto the table.
There’s a moment of silence.
“I didn’t know cyborgs had such dirty mouths on them,” Azr finally chokes out.
Dezar lets out a guffaw. “Best pour the cyborg another round,” he says. “Looks like her batteries have recharged.”
Azr pours another glass for me which I down again. I’m so mad at them both, and still scared of this whole unsettling world. But every mouthful of the green minty liquid seems to infuse my bones with another ounce of courage.
A second cup down, and I’m feeling great. I’m stuck on a rusty ship with an alien pirate and a scary yellow-eyed claw man who most likely is also a pirate, but I’m holding my own. I’ve got this. I’m going to be heading back to earth soon, and I’m holding it together until I get there.
And this place isn’t so bad after all.
I’m halfway through my third cup now. The edges of my vision have gone a little fuzzy. In the blur the room doesn’t look so bad. I can’t see the rust stains on the walls anymore. And Azr is probably the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life. Even if he is an alien. And a crook. A crook who saved my life. Twice.
The two men are joking and I’m joking along with them, every mouthful increasing my confidence to express my thoughts in words. I’m telling Dezar that his eyes scared me, but now I know him I think he’s very lovely, and I feel bad that—
Azr grabs my arm and squeezes. “You feel bad that you are going to be sick all over his ship very soon, if you don’t slow down on your drink.”
I wrench my arm away. “I’m fine.” I move so fast that I wobble on the crate and have to steady myself by grabbing the table.
Dezar’s eyes narrow slightly.
Oh shit. I was about to tell him were going to steal his ship. Stupid, stupid.
He only looks at me like that for a second, then his expression has gone.
Maybe I was imagining it. He won’t know what we’re planning.
“It would be appreciated if you didn’t get sick everywhere,” Dezar says. “It might slow us down in getting to—wherever it is you are headed exactly.”
Azr turns his attention back to the bottle and pours another drink. “Yes, to the port in Qe’xi. From there it’s just a short trip to my late uncle’s property. Fallen into decay now.” He takes a gulp and puts his cup down. His hand is shaking from the drink and he sloshes liquid onto the table.
“Shoot, sorry mate,” he says, and clumsily wipes it with his arm. “I was saying, it’s a bit of a mess now, of coursh, shbut “—hic—“she’s full of secrets.” He winks and taps his nose. “I can’t tell you much more”—hic—“‘cos then I’d have to kill you.”
Dezar has forgotten me, and he’s focused on Azr’s face. He has a hungry look in his eyes that I don’t care for much.
I keep my mouth shut. I shouldn’t have drunk so much. I don’t even know if this was gin, or vodka, or rum, or something completely different.
I bite my tongue to make sure I keep quiet. It’s not me, really, all the bravado and joking I’ve been doing. It is the drink. I will get up and go to bed. As soon as the room stops spinning.
“Ah, but you are visiting your uncle? Picking something up from him?” He sounds less drunk now than he did a few minutes ago. He must be able to handle it better than Azr and I can.
Azr nods and leans in close. “I wouldn’t normally tell anyone, but I trust you. You’ve shared your drink with me, and in my books, that’s the greatest honor.”
Dezar raises his glass and clinks it against Azr’s. “To friends,” he says. He lifts the cup to his lips, but I don’t think he drinks. Azr does though.
Azr is drunker than I am now.
I swallow. I need to tell him to be quiet and stop drinking. But I’m barely able to see straight myself.
“Ah friend,” Azr continues. “I have something very special to me that I am retrieving. It’s been buried in this property for a long time. I knew there would come a day when I’d need it. Here I find myself with nothing but a few credits and my good fortune gone. It’s time to cash in my inheritance.”
“So you inherited something?” Dezar says casually.
Shut up, Azr, I think. Don’t say anything else.
“Something incredible,” Azr says, his eyes gleaming. “You’ll see it for yourself when you take us there. I’ll pay you back for this trip and more.”
Dezar openly eyes him now. The yellow of his eyes has darkened. “I can take you all the way there. You don’t need to get off at the port. Consider it a favor, from a new friend.”
Azr reaches over and claps his shoulder. “Would save a day of travel if you can take us right there. To the edge of the Vengla settlement. Just wait ‘til you see this property. It would have been incredible in its heyday. The biggest house around by miles. Of course, all decaying now. The perfect place to keep something like this. Everyone thinks he died with nothing,”—hic—“but they’re wrong.”
I’ve heard enough. If Azr wants to blow our cover and tell every stranger about his treasure that’s on him. I don’t care as long as he gets me back to earth.
I push myself to my feet. “I’m going to bed.” My mouth stumbles over the words. I take a step away and sway on my feet. Azr jumps up and steadies me.
“Steady there,” he says. He’s so close I can smell the soap from the washroom on him. It smells good. Spicy and fresh.
“You might have to carry me,” I say.
“Leaving first thing,” Dezar says, as Azr half carries me to our pitiful room.
Azr lays me down and I sit back up again immediately. “Ish spinning,” I mumble. I lean my head against the cool metal of the wall. It’s already hot in here, and Azr’s body is radiating heat. The smell of the soap on his skin is making my head spin even more.
“I’ll get something for your head,” Azr replies. He leaves the room and returns not long later with what is evidently a first aid kit. He rummages through and pulls out a packet which he tears open. “Drink all this, and you’ll feel fine in no time.”
I squeeze the packet into my mouth. It’s a thick liquid, the consistency of cream, and tastes sweet but tangy. It clears my head slightly, and the room stops spinning right away.
I realize Azr doesn’t look drunk at all anymore. “Did you already have one of these?” I mumble.
He flashes me a grin. “Unlike you, I can hold my liquor. I’m also a great actor.”
He squeezes in beside me. We’re too close in the bed. I feel so small beside him. And he is so hot.
I’m sharing a bed with an alien. Freaky, huh? It’s not the sort of thing that many Earth girls would ever get to do.
I wonder if Faye and Hannah are still alive. If they, too, are snuggling up to an alien right this moment. I hope so. I hope, like me, they have beaten the odds so far.
I wonder if I will ever see them again. I wonder if I will ever see Earth again.
The thought makes me melancholy.
Azr’s voice comes out of the semi-darkness. “Not crying again?”
“No,” I say sweetly and burst into full out sobbing.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” he says, and pulls me close. “You are the most watery human I have ever come across.”
I hiccup through my tears. “Have you met many other humans?”
He is stroking my hair with soft hands. “No. Just you.”
His touch comforts me. “Not much of a sample size to go by then,” I point out. At least arguing with him is distracting me from thinking about my fellow captiv
es.
He is not impressed by my logic. “I have met one human, and she is very watery.”
“Only when the situation calls for it,” I reply. Snuggled in next to him, with his large body cradling mine, I am beginning to feel that the situation no longer calls for weeping.
In fact, it calls for something quite different.
When I point out that Kargan males are bigger than human men, I meant it. In every way.
And his largeness is right now poking into my back in a very interesting way.
I wriggle my buttocks against him. Yep, my alien pirate is definitely turned on.
“My apologies.” His voice is strained. “Mint often has this effect on me. It’s temporary. Don’t worry about it.”
Does he think I am completely innocent? I wriggle harder. “I wasn’t worrying about it. I was enjoying it. There’s quite a difference.”
Silence for a moment. “You are interested in mating with me?”
That is an interesting way to put it, but yes, I am. And getting more interested every moment. “Yes.” Then a thought strikes me. “Unless there’s a problem. Are Kargans and humans sexually compatible?”
He laughs, but his voice is tight and a bit strained. “As far as I know. Genetically, we are very closely related. I don’t know if we could successfully breed, but mating should not be an issue.”
So we can fuck like rabbits and I won’t get pregnant? Perfect. I won’t arrive back on Earth with a baby Azr growing inside me. That would certainly give the docs a fright.
I wriggle out of Azr’s arms and draw the covers back. His body, even in Dezar’s spare clothes, is impressive.
Working swiftly, I pull his shirt over his head and tug his pants down.
Yep, he’s even more impressive naked.
Of course, most of the time I’ve spent with him we’ve both been unclothed, but at the time I was too traumatized to enjoy the view.
He’s much handsomer now that he is cleaned up, too. His hair is silky and soft and feels like the fur of a sleek cat.
I trace the marks of cuts and bruises across his chest. Some old silvery scars. A couple of new pink ones. Mottled yellow and green bruises. “Do they still hurt?”
