Pirates of the Dark Nebula (Hearts in Orbit Book 2)

by S. C. Mitchell

  “A good bit of luck, Captain.” Carter drew his hands up and tucked them behind his head. “I was able to airlock a small compartment that stayed whole when the place blew. One of the rescue ships hauled me in, and dropped me off in the Xio starport.”

  Rik raised an eyebrow. “Then you were there? Luna thought she saw you, but lost you in the crowd.”

  Carter shook his head. “I sure wish I’d seen you guys. When the platform blew, I lost all power in the room I was in. I had to use the battery from my com device to close the airlock door in my chamber, so I had no way to communicate with you or the ship.”

  Rik nodded. “How did Kristin get her hands on you?”

  “I knew you guys were looking for Doctor von Alderamin, so after I touched down I did a little sleuthing on my own, and discovered the building where they’d been holding him. Really, nobody in this sector is very good at keeping secrets. But I got there after you’d already rescued him the first time, and ran right into Kristin and her goons.”

  “Gods, I’m so sorry, Carter. If I’d known . . .”

  Carter shrugged. “She thought I knew something about where you’d taken Doctor von Alderamin. The fact that I didn’t is probably what kept me alive.”

  “Bah!”

  Magda’s exclamation startled Rik, though he should have suspected she was behind him. He’d gotten so wrapped up in Carter’s story he’d forgot she was scampering about.

  “You’ve a destiny of your own, Arcturus. Something left to do before your time is up.” Magda plopped a tray of food in his lap. “Eat.”

  “She’s pretty convincing, Captain Mazar . . . all that destiny stuff. Makes a man think.”

  Don’t I know it.

  Rik chuckled. “Eat. But when Magda releases you, I want you back on the bridge.”

  Carter nodded, as he started spooning the steaming stew into his mouth.

  Rik’s stomach growled. The food smelled amazing.

  He turned toward Magda then, indicating the empty bed next to Carter’s. “You’re other patient is up and about again?” Rik was surprised the Ian von Alderamin was nowhere in sight.

  Magda snorted. “Luna brought him some calculations and he skipped off like a child to the engineering bay. Took that poor boy Donald with ‘em.”

  “How’s he doing really?”

  She sighed. “He’s fine. Leg is on the mend. Probably doesn’t need me anymore, drat it.”

  “And Mr. Arcturus? When can I have him back?”

  Magda huffed. “Oh, you can have him.” She ran a hand possessively through Carter’s hair, and the man chuckled. “You can’t blame me for enjoying his company, though. You’re not the only pretty boy on this ship you know.”

  Rik raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t you once say that Doctor von Alderamin was your destiny?”

  “Ha.” She shook her head. “That’s what the oracles told me. Ian’s an interesting man, though he doesn’t have your hot body.” She patted Carter’s head. “Or yours, dumpling.”

  The woman did not seem to have a filter. It’s much funnier when it’s directed at someone else. Rik chuckled. “So, you checked the good doctor out?”

  A sly smile slid across her face. “Mostly in the line of my roles as ship’s medic. I mean, those bloody pants had to go, right?”

  Rik cringed. “I mean medically, you checked him out?”

  “Every way I possibly could, yes.” Her eyes danced with mischief. “I still have to figure out how he fits into my destiny. The oracles, as usual, were rather obtuse. He does have a rather nice backside on him.”

  Rik shook his head, pulling her away from Carter’s bed and into the medic’s office. “The oracles are what I wanted to talk to you about. Do they have anything to say about our current situation? I have complete faith that Luna and Doctor von Alderamin will figure out how we got here. But that still doesn’t mean we can find a way home.”

  If they weren’t going to find their way back to the Milky Way, Rik knew they’d best start looking for a new home base here in Andromeda.

  Magda’s eyes went unfocused. “They’re . . . gone.” Her eyes wide, Magda’s breathing sped up. “I . . . I can’t hear them.”

  Rik nodded, trying to reflect calm while his gut twisted. He’d so hoped to glean something from Magda’s sight.

  “Rik, even when they wouldn’t talk to me, they were always there.” She shook her head. “I can’t remember a time when they weren’t there.”

  Was it some phenomenon only present in the other galaxy? Rik had always thought of things spiritual as being universal. Interesting to ponder later but it didn’t help their situation now.

  Magda harrumphed, seeming to gain control. “It’s just like those old bitties to be gone when I need them most. Sorry, Rik.” An enigmatic expression washed over her face.

  He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Is that relief or regret I’m sensing?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve often wondered what it would be like to lose the sight. Be . . . normal. I’m not sure I like it.”

  “Magda.” Rik chuckled, shaking his head. “If it makes you feel better, I don’t think anyone will consider you normal, oracles or not.”

  Magda smiled, swatting at his shoulder. “Okay for you, hot stuff. Now go figure out how you’re going to get us home, so those damn old bitties can start bothering me again.”

  Chapter 26

  “Incoming alien vessels, Captain.”

  Frack! A chill coursed through Rik’s gut at Kyra Jansky’s report. “How many?”

  “Looks like about two dozen. Hard to tell exactly. They’re heavily clustered.”

  Rik checked the display. Scans showed they were the same type ships as before, but in greater numbers. More of those damned bug ships.

  He wasn’t waiting on them this time. “Mr. Stout, I want a barrage of torpedoes on them the moment they’re in range. See if you can uncluster them.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Markus’s fingers tapped in the programming codes for the photon torpedoes.

  Carter Arcturus had returned to the bridge and Rik had assigned him to fill the second gunnery position. The man still looked like hell, but Rik wanted to relieve some of the pressure from Quatrain, so he’d split the gunning assignments. Carter took control of the port side cannons while the young man took starboard.

  Quatrain’s eyes were bright, his manner calm as he ran through the charging routine for the big phason cannons under his control. Little by little, Rik had seen the chip disintegrating from the young man’s shoulder. He’d become friendlier, more at ease with Rik and the others in the crew.

  Many in the crew had noted the difference in him, and mentioned it to Rik.

  He’d quietly asked each of them to just ignore the changes. There were still plenty of layers of Quatrain’s armor to work through.

  “Mr. Tyson, Mr. Arcturus, as soon as they are within range, you may fire at will. I don’t want any of them even getting close enough to target us.”

  Analysis of the bug ship revealed their weapons had a slightly shorter range. This gave Rik a tactical advantage he planned on leveraging.

  Rik turned to Pyxis. “Shields up, Mr. Taygate. Just in case.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  “No communications from the approaching fleet, Captain.” Tina’s announcement came as no surprise. He’d put Tina la Cross at Luna’s communication station. Navigation wasn’t needed when there was no place to go.

  “Contact The McCaffrey, Ms. la Cross. Let them know we’ve got incoming hostiles.”

  The gods only knew what was happening on the other ship. Kristin had resisted all his calls to pool their data and resources. Most hails weren’t even answered.

  I sure wish I knew what the hell was going on over there.

  Cert
ainly they’d defend themselves if attacked, but Rik wasn’t looking for any help from that direction for The Starboard Mist.

  He didn’t have time to ponder Kristin’s pettiness. He put the ship in full reverse thrusters, backing away from the incoming bug fleet while keeping his weaponry trained on them. The enemy ships were faster than The Starboard Mist, but the tactic should give them more time in the initial engagement when they could attack, and the bugs couldn’t.

  The soft thunk of photon torpedoes being launched reverberated through the ship. Rik checked the tactical monitor. The bugs were coming at them in four clusters and Markus had programmed one torpedo at each group.

  “Sir, The McCaffrey is pulling back as well.”

  At least Kristin appears to be monitoring the situation. Is she following my lead or up to something?

  Markus’s torpedo barrage hit, taking out five of the attacking ships. The bugs spread out as they closed to within phason weapons distance. Quatrain and Carter opened fire. Phason beams streaked into the inkiness of space.

  Still, no weapons launched from the pirate vessel. What are you waiting for, Kristin?

  “The McCaffrey is cloaking, Captain.”

  Okay. Was this a tactic to get around in back of the bug squadron? Were they just going to hide out until the battle was over? In any case, it meant the entire bug force would attack The Starboard Mist. “Would a little communication kill you, Kristin?” Rik mumbled under his breath.

  Cloaking wouldn’t have been a bad idea for The Starboard Mist, but that was no longer an option. Luna had needed components from the cloaking device, tractor beam, and asteroid avoidance system for whatever she and Ian were constructing to get them back to the Milky Way. She’d also wanted the devices from The McCaffrey, and Rik had requested them.

  Of course, there hadn’t been a reply.

  The behavior was odd, even for Kristen. There was no going home without cooperation. Didn’t the woman want to get back? Kristin was not a stupid woman. Vain, selfish, and malicious yes, but this was bordering on suicidal.

  I’m going to need to force some communication after this engagement.

  The bug ships had closed the distance, and were again firing their plasma weapons at The Starboard Mist. Of the original two dozen ships only eight survived. “Nice shooting, gentlemen. Brace for maneuvers.”

  Rik took manual control of the ship, tilting and turning the craft to avoid the initial shots. Only one of the blue plasma bombs came even close. As it exploded the ship rocked.

  “Starboard shields at eighty-five percent,” Pyxis reported.

  Not too bad so far.

  Quatrain laid down a trail of phason bolts that appeared to miss, but caused several of the bug ships to take alternate routes toward the port side of the ship. “Those are all yours, Carter,” the young man said, as his canon shifted back suddenly to blast one of the other ships.

  Only then did Rik see Quatrains genius. He’d lined up three ships perfectly with Carter’s port side phason canon. With one shot, Carter decimated all three.

  “You will teach me how to do that someday,” Carter quipped. It was not a question.

  Quatrain chuckled. “Level 43 of Oberon Rising. You can’t get past it without that maneuver.”

  The four remaining bug ships broke off their attacks and arced away. “They’re running,” Carter said locking in the hindmost and blasting it away. “We’ve won.”

  Rik watched the last three bug ships reach the edge of his ship’s weapon range. Then, with a suddenness that startled him, The McCaffrey appeared in their path. Its guns blazed and the three ships disintegrated.

  Rik breathed a sigh. He’d wanted to keep any of the bug ships from escaping, desiring to keep their location here as secret as possible. Luna’d told him The Starboard Mist and The McCaffrey would need to be within a small radius of where they’d entered Andromeda, to be able to return where they wanted to go.

  “Captain, I am receiving a communication from The McCaffrey.” Surprise rang in Tina’s voice.

  Them calling us? Uncertainty swirled in Rik’s stomach. “Patch them through.”

  “Sorry for the late arrival, Captain Mazar. We’ve had some changes over here.”

  The voice was male.

  Chapter 27

  In the three years he’d spent with the Pirates of the Dark Nebula, Rik hadn’t had the opportunity to meet Tarsk Mueller, though the pirate was spoken of in whispers. The giant of a man towered over Rik’s two meter height as he shook Rik’s hand. Ebony curls fell to the man’s shoulders, and a full beard graced his chin, hanging to the center of his broad chest.

  “Captain Mazar, welcome aboard The McCaffrey.” Tarsk’s gray eyes were bright, his mouth stretched into a wide, cordial grin.

  Rik wasn’t fooled. This was a dangerous man. “Captain Mueller I presume?”

  Tarsk released his hand. “Captain for now at least. We’ve had a bit of a mutiny, you see.” His gaze shifted to Luna. “Well, hello there.”

  Irritation tingled at the base of Rik’s neck. Warning or jealousy? He’d hated bringing Luna into what could be a touchy situation, but she needed to extract certain technologies from The McCaffrey, and besides Doctor von Alderamin, she was the only one who could identify them. So they’d shuttled over at Captain Mueller’s request.

  Luna offered her hand to shake. “I’m Luna Callista.”

  The rogue accepted it only to turn it backside up and plant a kiss across it. “The most desired woman in the Dark Nebulan sector.”

  Color rose in Luna’s cheeks.

  Rik’s stomach churned. “Let’s get on with this. What happened over here?”

  Tarsk indicated a table set with refreshments and the three sat down around it. Rik resisted the fare. This could still be an elaborate trap.

  “She went crazy, Rik.” Tarsk shook his head. “Talkin’ about voices in her head saying she would rule this galaxy as queen. I think she’s gone over the edge.”

  Rik nodded and the man continued.

  “After we cloaked, she ordered us to wait until the attack was over, and if your ship survived, we were to open up fire and destroy you guys.”

  Rik fiddled with one of the utensils on the table, not looking at Tarsk. “So you decided to save us?”

  “Ha,” Tarsk’s big laugh filled the room. “You’re a suspicious bastard, as I’ve been warned. No, my intentions were not so noble. You and the squints are our only way back home and, except for that crazy lady we got locked away, most of us would like to see home again.”

  “Can I see her?” Rik still didn’t trust Mueller and wanted confirmation that he wasn’t being played.

  Tarsk harrumphed. “Sure. We had to separate her from the rest of her rabble we dumped in the brig, so we locked her in one of the life pods. Camera and com link are working in there, so I can just bring her up here.” He turned to one of the workstations.

  When Kristin appeared on screen, Rik barely recognized her. Usually perfectly coifed, her hair now stood out in wild strands as if she’d been pulling on it. Her eyes were intense, and her lips pursed in a sneer.

  Tarsk pointed the camera toward Rik, so he would appear on the screen in the lifepod.

  “Kristin? I—”

  “Enjoy your freedom while you have it, Rik Mazar.” Spittle flew from Kristin’s mouth, landing on the camera to blur the view screen. “It has been decreed. I will have the throne of Andromeda, it is my destiny, and you will grovel at my feet, begging for death. Your end will not be pleasant, you will writhe in anguish.”

  The woman’s definitely lost it. Kristin Devenport wasn’t that good an actress.

  Tarsk closed the connection. “See what I mean. It started right after we came here. Said she heard voices, women’s voices. Kept asking people if they heard them also
.”

  “Voices,” Rik mused. Andromeda’s version of Magda’s oracles? Or is she just plain crazy? The Kristin he’d known wouldn’t have cracked under pressure. A tingle ran up his spine. “We need to get out of this galaxy as soon as possible.”

  Tarsk nodded. “I’m with you there, Rik. What do you need from me?”

  Luna severed the last connection, and placed the mechanism on the rolling cart next to the other two. She had them all back. The tractor beam, cloaking device, and asteroid avoidance technologies installed on The McCaffrey were once more in her hands.

  Redemption? Perhaps. At least, when they got back, the pirates would not have any working prototypes to copy. The technology could go to the galactic marshals, where it belonged. If they could get there.

  She wheeled the three devices, along with some useful components she’d scrounged from the pirate vessel, to the waiting shuttle.

  “Any problems?” Rik asked, helping her load.

  She shook her head. Every pirate she’d encountered had that same haunted look in his or her eyes. “I think they’re all too scared to cause any problems. They just want to get home.”

  His gaze darkened. “Level with me. What are our chances?”

  Luna’s gut chilled. Far too many variables and no way to test them.

  “It’s never been done, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be. Once Ian and I figured out how we got here, it was just a matter of following the science back home. Our theories are sound, but . . .” Luna shrugged. “There’s a huge element of risk.”