The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4)

by Lionsdrake, Ruby

  “They’re firing on the pirate ship,” Tia said. “The pirates are returning fire, but they only have one laser bank working. Oh, look. The backside of their ship is all scarred up. They’ve already been in a fight.”

  Before Kalish could respond, a brilliant flash lit the nebula. Even with the cloud haze, she had to lift her arm and shield her eyes. When she was able to blink away the colored dots still dancing in front of her pupils, she nearly fell out of her seat at what hovered in space ahead of them. The pirate ship had been completely obliterated, with wreckage flying off in all directions. At the center of it all floated the bird-of-prey shape of the Albatross.

  “Dad,” Kalish whispered, too shocked to say more.

  * * *

  “The docking clamps are—” Tia broke off with a yawn, “—being secured.”

  Sedge stood next to the hatch in the cargo bay, his pack over his shoulder. He should be ready to return to his cabin—his home—on the Albatross, but as he gazed at Kalish standing in the center of the hold, her hands in her pockets and a lost expression on her face, all he wanted to do was stay. To make things right for her. She believed her father had been aboard that pirate ship when the Albatross had destroyed it. He did not know if that was true or not—both vessels had appeared damaged, as if they had been in the nebula, playing cat and mouse with each other for some time—but he hoped the man had been held somewhere else and that it would be possible to retrieve him. Perhaps even without trading the artifacts Kalish had worked so hard to find.

  Striker distracted him with a jab to the shoulder. “Looking forward to going home, Sniffles?”

  “Are you?” Sedge asked. The proper response to a question one could not or would not answer was to deflect it.

  “I suppose. Since the little sister has been too busy or tired to notice my virile attributes and slip off into a cabin with me. Haven’t missed P.T. though. Or getting smashed into the judo mat by the captain.”

  “And Sergeant Hazel,” Tick said, winking as he walked up, his gear also slung over his shoulder.

  “She does not beat me,” Striker growled.

  Tick arched his brows.

  “More than one in three times,” Striker amended.

  “I thought the head-to-head went the other way.”

  “It does not.”

  A clank-thunk-clank came from outside the ship.

  “We’re clamped in, and it’s safe to cross through the tube,” Tia said.

  Striker spun the wheel on the hatch, and strode out without hesitation. Tick ambled after him. Sedge hesitated. Ms. Blackwell had come to join her daughter, putting an arm around Kalish’s shoulders. Would they come aboard the Albatross? Or stay here?

  Even though the timing would be inappropriate, Sedge couldn’t help but think of inviting Kalish aboard with him for dinner and a tour that ended in his cabin. But sex would be the last thing on her mind while her father’s fate was in question.

  His comm-patch beeped. “Lieutenant Thomlin,” the captain said.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “You’ll want to bring our employer over with you.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Kalish had heard, turning her head in his direction. Sedge lifted an arm in invitation. He might not get to entice her back to his cabin, but he could spend a few more hours with her at least. She murmured something to her mother, then followed Sedge through the short tube connecting the Divining Rod to the Albatross.

  They emptied out into a cargo hold next to the shuttle bay, a dim area stacked high with interlocking plas-mesh crates. Several people had come down to meet them, including the captain himself. To his side stood a black-skinned man with tattooed forearms, short salt-and-pepper hair, and quirky, asymmetrical glasses with one of the lenses cracked.

  “Dad?” Kalish whispered.

  The man smiled, stepped away from the captain, and spread his arms. Kalish nearly stumbled as she rushed across the hold to embrace him.

  Sedge watched in surprise, pleased the man had been retrieved, but bewildered as to how the company had managed it. He walked over to the captain, hoping for an answer to that question. Striker and Tick were already ambling for the corridor, but Sergei Zharkov, the ship’s assassin, remained behind the captain’s shoulder. Sedge gave him a curious look, but the man’s perpetually saturnine expression did not change.

  “Lieutenant Thomlin,” the captain said, his face not much easier to read, “care to explain why an armada of Fleet ships has this nebula surrounded?”

  “It’s... surely not enough to qualify as an armada, sir. Perhaps a flotilla.”

  Mandrake stared at him, no hint of humor on his face.

  “As to the why, I thought you might know more about that than us. We’ve been down in the caverns for several days. I thought they might have been nearby for some other assignment when the miners sent out a distress call.”

  “We were monitoring the compound’s communications. The miners never sent out a distress call.”

  “No? I would have thought they found your biological agent distressing.” Not to mention the explosions Thatcher’s team had set off in their compound the first night.

  “They’re used to being self-sufficient. They rarely receive help way out here, even when they call for it. But the Fleet showed up in the area shortly after the pirates did. It’s possible they were pursuing Cometrunner.”

  “Ah, yes,” Sedge said, glancing at Kalish and her father. They were still embracing and talking rapidly between each other. Tears glistened in both of their eyes, and he felt a twinge of homesickness. Perhaps he would find a reason to visit his own family soon. If only they didn’t surround themselves with those infernal plants all the time. “What happened to Cometrunner, sir? Was he on the ship when it blew up?”

  “Technically, yes,” Sergei said.

  The captain’s eyebrow twitched.

  “Unless they jettisoned the body,” Sergei added.

  Some of Sedge’s confusion must have shown on his face, because the captain finally explained.

  “Shortly after your message about Cometrunner and his prisoner—” Mandrake jerked his chin toward Kalish’s father, “—we spotted his ship coming into orbit around the planet. To spy on Ms. Blackwell’s progress, I assumed. Since you implied we could win the contract simply by retrieving the father, we called him and offered the alien technology we had already retrieved from the ruins, for a suitable price. I told him we had heard he was a buyer.”

  “Technology you had already retrieved from the ruins? I had no idea you were a collector, sir. Or did you mean the fossilized fecal matter our new microbiologist collects?”

  “I bluffed that we had part of an alien ship, since that seemed to be what he wanted. Offered it to him for a half a million aurums and invited him to come over and look at it before deciding. He was suspicious but agreed to meeting on an asteroid out here. He came with a squad of his best men. Sergei went with a squad of our best men.” His eyes narrowed, a slight gleam in their emerald depths. “Our men were better.”

  Sergei inclined his head once, but gave no other indication of smugness or satisfaction.

  “Conveniently, Cometrunner had also brought Mr. Blackwell along, since he’s a historian and could identify genuine artifacts. About five minutes after that meeting started, Cometrunner was dead, along with a number of pirates, and we had the kidnap victim back. As soon as the pirate ship realized what happened, it fled into the nebula. If you had been here, you would have informed me that there was a reward for blowing it—and its crew—up. It seems this isn’t Cometrunner’s first kidnapping. I didn’t think to look that up right away, but once we figured it out, we gave chase. The nebula made it difficult to find them, but we had a squabble with them a few hours ago, right after we had transmitted those coordinates to you. They left us battered and injured, or so they believed. We had deliberately used an easy to break encryption in the hopes that they might show up there and try to get to Ms. Blackwell’s treasure—if she actua
lly found a treasure.” Mandrake looked expectantly at Sedge.

  “Yes, sir. Two engines from ancient alien ships, ones that hadn’t even been installed yet, and a computer that can create some impressive holodisplays.”

  Mandrake’s eyes grew unfocused as he turned them toward a distant corner and scratched his jaw thoughtfully. “Good. Yes, good.”

  “Sir?” Sedge did not think the captain had any interest in the alien civilization, but he seemed to have some new plan in his head.

  “Later,” was all Mandrake said. “In the end, you were our bait. The pirates believed us too injured to reach the rendezvous point in time and thought they could slip in and salvage something. They couldn’t, and we’ll be paid handsomely by those who had a bounty on that ship. And presumably by Ms. Blackwell as well.”

  Sedge hesitated, wanting to ask the captain to refuse payment, to not charge Kalish for their services, but that would not sit well with a ship full of mercenaries, mercenaries who expected to be paid for their time. Besides, if Kalish could find a way out of here with her relics, she ought to earn more than enough to finance the mission. The only problem was that she and her family might be deemed criminals forever after.

  “Yes, sir,” Sedge said. “Thank you for taking the risk of going after the pirates.”

  Kalish, clasping her father’s hand, pointed back toward the airlock, saying that Tia and their mother would want to see him. Smiling, he let her drag him toward the smaller ship. Kalish glanced back and waved at Sedge before ducking into the tube.

  Her happiness pleased him, but he couldn’t help but stretch out his hand, as if to recapture something he had lost.

  Chapter 15

  Kalish padded through the tube and onto the mercenary ship, uncertain as to whether she would be allowed on uninvited. The Divining Rod remained clamped to the bigger vessel’s side, and there was no guard standing by the airlock, but should she roam around? She wanted to visit Sedge and thank him for all of his help—without him, her father would not be back, safe on her ship—but had no idea where his cabin might be, or if he was presently in it. She could comm him, but she had put on her fanciest undergarments and had a notion of surprising him.

  A clunk came from the side of the cargo hold. Val Calendula was loading a couple of crates onto a hover pallet. Kalish smiled, hoping the lieutenant might help with her mission.

  “Val?” she asked.

  “Oh, hello.” Val directed the pallet to the door with a hand control. “Just resupplying my shuttle. Gregor insists that this be done before we consider ourselves off-duty. I tried to convince him that it could wait until after we had a good night’s sleep—” she smiled mischievously, “—but he’s a stickler for procedure.”

  “Yes, I’ve noticed that. I’m, ah... I’d like to visit Sedge.” Kalish had spent three hours dining with the family and enjoying having her father back safe, but it had not taken her mind long to stray back to Sedge. She did not know yet how they would get out of this mess, but there was something she wanted to ask him, preferably in postcoital bliss. An image of his bare chest flashed into her mind, along with the way she had caressed his hard length in the back of that shuttle, bringing him to a release she still longed to find. The thought made her flush. She hoped Val did not notice.

  “Oh?” Val asked. “I think he’d like that.”

  “Could you help me find his cabin? I’d like to surprise him.”

  Val smirked. “I think he’d like that too.”

  Kalish was glad she had run into Val instead of her superior. Thatcher would either stare, mystified at her request, or he would deem it inappropriate.

  “Let me drop off these supplies, and I’ll take you up there,” Val said.

  Kalish trailed her dutifully around for fifteen minutes, getting an impromptu tour of the bowels of the Albatross, even as she itched to run off and explore on her own. Judging by the hungry looks she received from some of the men they passed, that might not be a good idea. She did not see many women in the corridors, and the hardened mercenaries looked like they were all too aware of that lack.

  “Computer,” Val said, as they headed for a ladder well, “location of Lieutenant Thomlin?”

  “Lieutenant Thomlin is in the mess hall,” her comm-patch informed her.

  “You’d prefer to surprise him in his cabin, right?”

  “Ideally.” The thought of flinging herself into his arms in front of a bunch of strangers intimidated Kalish, and the idea of greeting him with a chaste, “Good evening,” would be a letdown, at least for her.

  “Hm.” Val led them down a corridor with numerous doors to either side. Crew quarters? “Gregor,” Val called on her comm. “Do you have the ability to access Lieutenant Thomlin’s cabin?” She covered the patch and whispered to Kalish, “I didn’t know him that well before this mission, and I’ve never been to his cabin. As a paranoid security type, he probably doesn’t leave the lock programmed to allow random people in, but most of the senior officers can go anywhere on the ship.”

  “Yes,” Thatcher said.

  “Mind opening it for us?” Val tapped the door beside a plaque that read Sedgwick Thomlin.

  “Us?”

  “Specifically for our guest, Ms. Blackwell. She wants to surprise Sedge in his room.”

  “That would go against ship’s protocol, Val.”

  “Surprising him?”

  “Letting her into Lieutenant Thomlin’s quarters,” Thatcher said. After a brief hesitation, he added, “I’m less certain about the other.”

  Kalish snorted.

  Val rolled her eyes. “He’s serious, you know.”

  “Yes, he seems to be an interesting and unusual man.”

  “Interesting and unusual men make appreciative lovers,” Val said.

  Kalish smiled back.

  Thatcher cleared his throat. “You are aware that your comm signal is still engaged, Val?”

  “Yes, I’m waiting for you to open this door.”

  “I already told you—”

  “Remember that new list you were showing me earlier, Gregor? And how I told you that Number Seven isn’t very dignified for a woman?”

  “Yes,” Thatcher said warily.

  “Do me this favor, and we’ll engage in Number Seven tonight.”

  An instant later, the door slid aside. Val held it open with her hand, nodding for Kalish to go in.

  “Thank you,” Kalish said. “But I hope you won’t be put into an uncomfortable situation on my behalf.”

  Val cut her comm. “Not at all. I’m not a dignity kind of gal. I love Seven. You just can’t let the man know. It’s good to have bargaining chips.” She winked, then headed back down the corridor.

  When the door slid shut behind Kalish, she explored Sedge’s room with her eyes, feeling naughty for her intrusion. She kept herself from opening drawers or peeking into his wardrobe, though judging by the tidiness of the bedspread, she suspected everything from shirts to pairs of socks would be perfectly hung or folded. Not surprisingly, there was not a single plant in the cabin. She grinned when she spotted the air purifier and his other bedtime appurtenances lined up on a shelf near the pillow. Kalish had showered before coming aboard, scrubbing herself clean with unscented, hypoallergenic soap. She hoped he approved.

  As much as she longed for his touch for her own satisfaction, she wanted to please him too. He had been so much help on her mission, even when she had been prickly and standoffish with him, and she wanted to let him know how much that meant to her. She had chastised him for his snooping when it had ultimately brought her father back to her. Now, she felt guilty about her harsh words, even though she was certain he forgave her. With nothing left between them, she hoped they would have the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company tonight. Indeed, she wanted more than a night, but she did not know if Fate would grant them that.

  Voices sounded in the corridor, just audible through the door. Reminded of her intent to surprise Sedge, she peeled off her clothes and folded
them neatly on the desk. She left her shoes and socks on the deck next to them and walked to the bed in her favorite lacy red bra and panties. With a brush of her hand, she could make them turn translucent, not that she’d had a reason to play with such features for some time.

  She lay on the blanket, which was surprisingly soft and fluffy for something in a military man’s quarters. Good, she hated that scratchy wool the Fleet liked to inflict on its soldiers. Maybe a family member had sent it. She hoped silky sheets had come in the box too.

  The door opened with a hiss, and there was no more time to speculate on Sedge’s sheets and blankets.

  More voices sounded in the corridor and, as she lay provocatively posed on the bed, she envisioned Sedge walking in with several other people for a game night or some such. She was on the verge of leaping up and grabbing her shirt, when he stepped inside, thankfully alone. The door slid shut behind him. His hair was combed, his clothes pressed, and his jaw clean-shaven. The effect was striking.

  Kalish bit her lip, meeting his eyes and suddenly feeling shy at her brazenness. By now, she knew Sedge was attracted to her, but she always felt that twinge of self-consciousness at the extra inches around her hips and thighs, worrying that her figure wasn’t perfect enough to attract anyone as handsome as Sedge.

  “We never got to finish our Crucible game,” Kalish said, forcing herself to put thoughts of inadequacy out of her mind. “I thought you might want to do that.”

  “Kalish,” he whispered, staring at her body, then jerking his gaze to her face, as if he had been caught peeping. She was relieved he wanted to peep.

  “It’s all right.” She slid her hand up her waist to her bra, then brushed the seam of the fabric. The rich red shimmered and grew translucent. “You can look.”

  “I—uhm.” He hesitated at first, biting his own lip, then finally seemed to figure out the invitation was in earnest. Slowly, he let his gaze roam down her body, taking in every inch of her. “You’re beautiful,” he croaked.