Andromeda's Pirate

by Debra Jess

She took full advantage of the larger-than-usual shower stall and basked in the luxury of firm pressure as she scrubbed slowly and almost reluctantly at the evidence of sex and sweat. A hazy shadow outside the shower door appeared. She could hear Hart rustling around the cabinet before disappearing again, not even attempting to join her under the hot deluge.

  Part of her was grateful for the time to herself, but another part craved the nebulous sense of security she experienced when he held her close. She…missed it? Wanted more of it? It wasn't something she had desired from any of her previous lovers. At least those she remembered, and the ones she didn't…if they had been even a quarter as talented as Hart, she would know their names.

  Stepping out of the shower, she noticed Hart had set clean clothes meant for her on the toilet. Instead of the all-black ensemble, they included a tan shirt with the same rugged style as his own, with fatigue-style pants, all of which would probably fit as badly as the other two sets. Fresh socks were stuffed into her boots, which sat next to a dopp kit.

  The master strategist had planned for this eventuality. As much as she hated the idea that she was a foregone conclusion, there was no denying the thoughtfulness of the gift. And it was a gift. After all, he had told her outright that if she wanted more than the two pairs of the all-black ensemble, she would have to find a way to pay for it.

  Ice froze over her heart. Was their romp in bed what he had in mind for making her pay for better clothes? She reached for the towel hanging from the wall and vigorously scrubbed away the lingering water as she analyzed the situation.

  Did it really matter if she just paid for the clothes with her body? No, it didn't.

  Yes, it does.

  She had to keep her focus on the mission. Anything to get her closer to the Majesty of the Stars. Right?

  You sure?

  Yes.

  He didn't believe her story. She'd spilled out the entire horrifying history of what happened to her on the Majesty of the Stars, but she could see his disbelief in his lack of reaction. Underneath his charm, rock-hard body, and concern for his crew, and despite his history of living outside Unity laws, he still bought into Unity's official ruling on aliens: they didn’t exist.

  The ice around her heart hardened while the captain inside her took over, pushing aside the woman.

  Hart was a man and a pirate. Providing clothes to anyone he bedded on board the ship was far more courteous that most other men, but it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t believe her.

  Maybe she'd expected too much. When she left the wet room, Hart was gone. Double-checking the main room confirmed it. The brief sting of abandonment pricked at her armor of ice.

  It took a lot more effort this time to bury the storm inside her, but she managed. Time to get back to work and remember who was in charge here.

  "Queen of Hearts, where is Mayla Dunne?"

  "Mayla Dunne is in the kitchen."

  Which meant formal dining hours were over. Good.

  She found Mayla stacking dishes and utensils in compartments designed to protect them from breaking or scattering about during turbulence. While the puppets performed their duties, Kelra took the opportunity to memorize the layout: two entrances and exits, one to the wardroom, the other to the storage room. There was no compressor window directly into the kitchen, which was typical, but most Manitac ships had a compressor inside the storage area.

  Kelra scooted past the puppets without attracting their notice and poked her head into the storage room. Unlike the Silt, this one was larger, with at least two huge refrigeration units, both operating with their own generators. Preserving food on board a pirate ship was as important as armament. An entire crew could starve to death surrounded by their wealth if they couldn't make it to a port or station that would grant them access and replenish their supplies.

  The same would be true of the water tanks, though she suspected at least one was filled with ale. Each tank had a rapid dispersal unit that allowed for quick refills without fussing with the main unit. Not all ships had upgraded. The Majesty of the Stars hadn't as they were still far too expensive for the accommodation it provided.

  Another example of Darvik putting the comfort of his crew ahead of other, less necessary, needs? Or had the crew voted to upgrade at their own expense?

  Regardless, the units would make achieving her goals easier.

  Before she could answer the question, a shadow fell across the doorway. Mayla stood there quietly waiting for Kelra to leave so she could close the room until the next meal. As Kelra left, Mayla backed away from the doorway.

  "Mayla, may I ask you a question?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you know how to use a wardrobe fitter?"

  No response. Well, that was okay…

  "Yes."

  Maybe it just took Mayla a few extra seconds to work around the blocks to find the memory? It didn't matter. Kelra had what she was really after, and a wardrobe fitting was only secondary.

  "You see, Mayla, my clothes don't fit so well," she said as she tugged at her loose waistline, "and I was wondering if you would help me make them fit properly."

  "I don't have a wardrobe fitter."

  Good point. "Don't worry about that now. I'm sure there has to be one somewhere on this ship. I'll bring it to your quarters, and we can get started."

  "Okay."

  The awkwardness of talking to a ’pet returned. How did one extricate oneself from a conversation with a person who didn't say good-bye? All Kelra could do was back out of the kitchen, giving Mayla nothing more than a quick wave. Once at the compressor window, she directed it toward sick bay. Even if Cuff didn't have a fitter, he would probably know where to get one.

  As for the layout of the storage room…well, it did present a few challenges, but she had time to figure out how best to use it to disable the Queen's crew, including its captain.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hart glanced around the bridge, noting that his deck crew were already in place as he exited the compressor window. The configuration of the bridge mirrored the placement of his people around the wardroom table. Everyone sat in a circle with their individual head-up displays projecting in front of them at eye level, including himself. Given the nature of piracy, and the incorporation of puppets, his crew played fast and loose with the command structure with one exception: Hart was in command unless he was dead or incapacitated. Should he be unable to command, Naz and Rusa would take up his duties.

  Was this the typical setup for any ship? Not by a long shot, but it gave his pirates a sense of equality. Respect was earned on a daily basis, and disagreements were handled with less violence when respect wasn't on the line. Something Ezick still needed to learn the hard way.

  To his left, a single empty seat stood out from the others. Unlike the duty stations, this seat had no console or display. The Queen of Hearts almost never allowed visitors to the bridge, but his crew assumed he would make an exception for Shade. They assumed correctly.

  Given her insider knowledge of Manitac, it would be foolish of him to not include her in planning this operation. As for her belief that an alien had killed her parents…he'd have to think long and hard about what to do with her insistence. While he'd grown up in an atmosphere steeped in mistrust of the Unity Homeport's government, there was no denying that with all the current technology and Manitac's spread across Andromeda, not one single whisper of a rumor existed about intelligent life evolving anywhere except on the Unity Homeport.

  For the moment, he would leave Shade to her belief. The fact that he wanted her by his side for other, more personal, reasons wouldn't resonate well with his bridge crew, but they would have to get over it. Being the captain did allow for certain privileges.

  Speaking of Shade…

  By the Stars, just the brief shadow of her outlined in the compressor's window made him want to fall to his knees. As she stepped forward, he figured out why. Someone had gotten ahold of a wardrobe fitter. Clothes that had hidden her figure now emphasiz
ed the curves of her hips and breasts. He'd seen her naked, which damn near broke him despite the outline of her ribs from her too-thin body, but it also reminded him of how much she'd suffered on Ruintalos. Covered up and looking like a commando ready to rush headlong into combat gave her a teasing edge, a sexiness that bare skin couldn't match. Even her new hair hung loose over her shoulders instead of pulled back into a bun.

  Looking around the command module like she owned it, the flash of them serving side by side poked him like a sharp stick. The pirate side of his brain rebelled even as the man inside him craved it.

  He closed his eyes, the emotions sloughing off him. Only after he regained control did he look at her again. By this point, she'd walked over to where Mirin sat. The two women didn't talk, but Shade tilted her head to the side, observing the custom modifications he and Mirin had worked on together to increase efficiency of target acquisition and firing control.

  If Shade were impressed, she didn't say so as she moved along to the next station. By the time she made it to Rusa's post at navigation, he'd manage to get his reactions back under control.

  He hoped.

  "Hello, Captain." Her grin almost set off another hopeless cascade of lust.

  "Looks like you've been busy," he replied for lack of any other way to acknowledge what she'd done to her clothes.

  "As much as I appreciate your efforts to dress me in appropriate attire, I decided that stopping to hike up my pants wouldn't do us any favors if Manitac should catch up with us."

  "Agreed. Since you're handy with a fitter, I'll see if we have more spare clothes in storage you might use."

  "Me? Handy with clothing alterations?" Her laugh echoed, but still none of the command crew looked at her. "Not hardly. Mayla Dunne assisted me."

  "Mayla…the puppet?" Was it even possible? He looked over at Ezick, who must have overheard the conversation but said nothing. Either he'd learned his lesson to watch his mouth, or he already knew. Johza had shown him the recorded holo of Shade confronting Ezick in the launch bay, but he hadn't overheard the specifics. Perhaps Shade had managed to broker peace between the two of them?

  "Yes. As long as I kept the instructions simple, she figured out the rest without too much difficulty."

  "Do you know how dangerous that is?"

  Of course she knew, but he had to distract himself from the urge to lean in for a kiss despite his annoyance with her. "If she'd been a tailor or fashion designer before she became a puppet, she could have gotten sick from the memory loops."

  His attempt failed when her warm hand circled his bicep. "I'm aware of what happens to ’pets when they loop. If I witnessed any distress, I would have put an end to the alterations. She's fine."

  The absolute sincerity in her eyes shone brighter than any star, so he put away his own concern even as Ezick slouched farther in his chair, his lips mashed together. The kid was learning to control himself. "All right then. We have a lot of work to do. Let's focus on getting to the haunted nebula."

  Mirin stretched her booted feet on the empty seat he'd added for Shade. "We need the specific slipstream for that science station."

  "I know where the slipstream is located." Shade extended a delicate hand at Mirin's boots, wordlessly asking for the seat.

  He should have said something before now about allowing Shade to sit. Standing for a strategy meeting would wear her out faster than the rest of them. He felt like a bit of an ass. The look he shot Mirin made her move her feet fast.

  After sitting down, Shade went on. "Manitac never considered this particular science station a priority. It was a politician's pet project, for reasons I don't know. They used the commercial hub in the Vaynix sector to build the slipstream. After the Majesty of the Stars disappeared, so did any reference to the station or the slipstream, not that there was a whole lot to work with in the first place."

  Struggling to get his mind off Shade's hips and back on the mission, Hart scrambled to analyze her words. "I'm still bothered by the idea of Manitac allowing the Majesty of the Stars into the nebula. And with its scientists on board no less. I don't want any surprises once we have a location."

  Johza cleared his throat to bring attention to himself. "If pirates chased the Majesty of the Stars, not realizing Manitac had a presence in the area, the pirates might have decided to destroy the station. Majesty of the Stars took the scientists on board in a mercy rescue and then breached the nebula hoping to lose the pirates in there."

  The theory sounded good, almost perfect, but in the way that perfect wasn't believable. "I'm having difficulty believing Manitac would allow their scientist on board a pleasure cruiser just to keep them safe from pirates."

  "I agree." Shade leaned forward in her seat. "The station would have a small contingent of security, maybe enough to ward off an attack, but even so…losing personnel to pirates wouldn't bother Manitac. Unity would just replace the science team and make noise about better security. If I were still on board the Silt, I might have been ordered to track down the pirates after the fact."

  Any concern he still had over Shade contributing to his crew eased as she confirmed everyone else's assumptions. Looking around at the faces of those he trusted, he could see they were listening without judgment, at least for now.

  Johza cocked his head, brow scrunched in the way it did when he was deep in thought. "Vaynix is huge. It's the crossroads to seven other hubs. Do you know if the slipstream is locked down? Do we need a passcode to open it? Are there ships patrolling or standard lock from one of the hub's stations?"

  The man was brilliant. Losing his experience would impact operations in so many ways, yet there was no way to fight the disease. Though Hart hated to lose the man, he deserved his retirement.

  "Last I checked, there were only standard patrols," Shade said. "In this case, with Manitac not wanting to spend unnecessary money to maintain a single use slipstream, they were counting on misdirection and the infrequent use to keep it safe and out of the media rather than draw attention with its own security."

  Rusa bumped the image of the haunted nebula off the display and replaced it with an image of the hub. "It’s also coreward, which means we'll have to pass from Calypso through Callista and head deep into the bulge. There're at least seven expanded stations, each with no less than twelve rings. An average of 18.2 million passengers pass through this sector daily. We might want to think about restocking our supplies while we're there."

  "Agreed." Johza crossed his arms, probably formulating an inventory list they would compare later, after the big plan was in place. "So how do we activate the slipstream without anyone noticing?"

  "Shouldn't we figure out how to get the Queen of Hearts into the hub first?" Shade looked around as if she couldn't believe none of his crew had already thought about how to obscure the Queen's auto-ID system. "Manitac knows what this ship looks like. Even if you change your registry and fake your identification, there are profiles of this ship already programmed into the defense systems."

  Like the rest of his command crew, Hart had to smile. "Well, it seems there's one thing about the Queen of Hearts Manitac doesn't know."

  Shade frowned. "I don't understand."

  "Ezick, do we still have the holo of the last time Queen of Hearts transformed?" he asked.

  "We should. Hang on."

  Hart laughed to himself at Shade's obvious confusion. Instead of explaining what the Queen of Hearts could do, he waited for the holo of the Queen of Hearts to displace the image of Vaynix hub.

  "What am I looking for?" she demanded. Like himself, Shade apparently didn't enjoy being out of the loop.

  "I'm not done yet. Keep your boots on." Ezick activated the holo one second later.

  The image showed the Queen of Hearts as she was meant to be: a standard-looking destroyer, but then Queen of Hearts shifted, folding interlocking bulkhead frames, shrinking the size of the ship. As the ship shrank, the propulsion system extended farther out from where the engines were secured to more resemble a
civilian cargo ship. The cannons that lined starboard and port retracted inward to make them resemble sensor arrays.

  The entire shift was subtle so the interior of the Queen of Hearts didn't need to adjust. A casual security sweep would overlook the odd exterior configuration as a custom design to hold more cargo, which was not unusual for shipping operators. Since the defense systems would assume a custom job meant expanding the bulkheads, they weren't programmed to look for a ship that had shrunk. No programming meant no alerts, and no alerts meant no human eyes double-checking the readouts.

  At least that's what it was supposed to do. While the new configuration had made it easy to dock at pirate-friendly ports without attracting attention, Hart had never tried it with a fully secured commercial hub like Vaynix.

  Regardless of their future plans, the look on Shade's face—a mixture of disbelief, admiration, and consternation—made every stolen credit he'd spent on the conversion worth it. She stood up at that moment and walked closer to watch the conversion again as it looped.

  "No wonder I couldn't figure out where you were getting your supplies." She jammed both hands into the pockets of her fatigues. "How many times were you right there, on my radar, and I never even noticed?"

  No point in exacerbating her outrage. "That's not…"

  Ezick picked up where he trailed off. "Six."

  If the kid hadn't actually had some use, Hart would have dragged him down to the black room and stripped the skin from his back.

  "Six?" There was nothing to do about her outrage now but wait out the storm and make it up to her later.

  "That's the point of changing the configuration."

  "Still, if I hadn't relied on the automatic defense systems, I might have figured it out."

  The last thing he wanted was for her to doubt herself. "Of course, but why wouldn't you rely on a typical scan? The Queen of Hearts is the only ship in all of Andromeda that can shift like this."

  Shade said nothing, rocking back on her heels, but Hart couldn't help the swell of pride as he watched her hungry gaze on the holo as it repeated itself for the third time.