by Tracy Lauren
I mean, looking out at the stars…how could I blame her? There’s so much possibility out there, so much hope, so much…danger?
“What the hell is that?” I ask, noticing one star that looks like it’s coming closer by the second.
Gile and Mire look up, they obviously know what they’re seeing because they spring into action a second later.
“Fuck! They’ve got scramblers running, our scanners didn’t read them,” Gile shouts, sounding the alarms. Red lights start flashing throughout the bridge.
“Didn’t read what?” I shout, my heart rate ratcheting.
“Pirates,” Mire growls.
Chapter 36
Gile
“How far are we from Elysia? Can we outrun them?” Mel asks.
Mire zooms in on the approaching ship, magnifying it in the view screen. “Looks like some kind of old retrofitted battlecruiser. Can’t be more than a C-class, with crew of 20 or so. We can outrun them, but we can’t outgun them. Old as it is, that ship was made for fighting.”
“Then let’s get the fuck out of here!” Mel shouts, as Mire and I race to do just that. But before I can lock in warp coordinates our computer starts blaring a warning. They’ve already opened fire. I cast a glance at Mire. He’s closer to Mel, so he dives for her, wrapping her in a bear hug. Then, the pulse cannon hits. My boots lock on to the metal floor, but still it rocks me. Gravity remains intact and we can feel every swing of the ship as it spins out of control.
Mel doesn’t scream. It’s strange, but that fact frightens me more than anything else ever could. “Mel! Mel!” I shout. “Is she okay?”
“We’re here! We’re okay!” she tells me. I exhale and focus on stabilizing our ship. But I have system failures showing up all over the screen.
“Dammit! This ship was fucked to begin with—” I rack my brain. If Kellan were here, he could help us. He’s a specialist when it comes to this kind of stuff. Mire and I are better with mechanics than we are computer systems. Perhaps it is because my mate is with me, but all my instincts are telling me to abandon the nav systems and fight.
“If we keep spinning like this I’m going to barf!” Mel warns. That’s enough to shake me from my thoughts. I divert power from the few non-relevant systems still running on the ship, so I can send it to the last still-functioning thruster. Slowly, we stabilize.
“We need to get aboard their ship,” Mire grits out.
“What? Why the hell would we want to do that?” Mel demands.
“We aren’t going to be able to outrun them now and we never had a chance of outgunning them. With 20 men aboard, we might be able to best them in a fight,” Mire explains.
“That’s crazy! No!” Mel wails. “We need to come up with another plan!”
She’s right. We can’t board the ship with Mel. We need to keep her protected. And I fear we’re running out of time.
The comm chimes. “We’re being hailed.”
“What do we do?” Mel asks, looking at the blinking light at the comm station. But I know what comes next. The pirates are going to force a link. They are going to see right onto our bridge and know that we are outnumbered and harboring a valuable commodity—Mel.
“Hide her,” I tell my brother.
“What?” Mel begins to protest, but Mire nods and drags her into the corridor just as the pirates break into our communication system. An Ihasa’s face fills the screen.
“Surrender,” he tells me. “My crew will be boarding shortly to salvage your ship and any cargo you might be carrying.” Before I have the chance to respond, he narrows his eyes at me. “Where is your master? Why am I speaking with you, Sovolian?”
“I am the only one aboard this ship,” I tell him.
“Bullshit,” the Ihasa hisses. “I saw you on Revax. I know you travelled with four brothers, The Beast himself and, more importantly, two goddesses I wish to claim for my crew.”
“That may have been true,” I grit out, clenching my fists to keep from lashing out at him. I hate that he dares to threaten my mate. “But I was the only one to make it off Revax alive. Tell me, Ihasa, what good is a lone Sovolian to you—or to anyone for that matter?”
“Nice try, slave. But I think I will still take a look for myself.”
“By all means. I lost my brothers yesterday on Revax and I am eager to join them. Come over and I will show you a Sovolian’s true worth.”
The Ihasa laughs, it’s an ugly hissing sound that I want to shield Mel from. “I lost more than your worth and that of your brothers yesterday. Jevet planned that sham of a fight and robbed me and half of Revax of a lot of creds. I figure if I walk away with his prized fighter and a couple of Goddesses, we are even though. So despite what you say, Sovolian, I think I will come over and take a look around your ship for myself.”
And with that the view screen goes blank. We don’t have much time.
I race down to the corridor and nearly run headfirst into Mel and Mire hiding in the hall.
“We have to get Mel off the ship.”
Chapter 37
Gile
“What do you mean, get Mel off the ship? Don’t you mean get all of us off the ship?” she demands.
I look to Mire. He is the only one who understands the position we are in and already I have a plan forming in my mind—a plan to keep the two people I love most in this life safe.
“The e-pod. With minimal life support you should travel undetected until you are close enough to Elysia to signal for help. I will remain here and distract them. The longer I put up a fight, the better chance you have at escape.”
“Nope. That’s a plan, but it’s not the plan. We think of something else, something that keeps us all together.”
Mire stares at me long and hard, but he nods. “There is no time for another plan.”
“No, fuck that! We just need to talk this out for a second!” Mel insists. She is loyal, my mate. And even though our time together was brief, I still think of myself as the luckiest of men.
“Since I met you, Mel, you have changed everything for me. I never thought I could be so blessed.” There is more I wish to say, but truly, we are out of time.
I see the fear in my mate’s eyes and she shoves my chest hard. “What the fuck are you doing? Are you saying goodbye to me? No.” She shakes her head as if she is denying me. “No. We aren’t doing this plan.”
“I love you,” I tell her, shooting her one last smile. “Take care of him for me. He is lost without someone to guide him.”
A look of horror contorts my mate’s features as Mire hauls her off of her feet. “NO! STOP IT!” she screams. There is not even time left to watch her disappear down the dark corridor. I must head to the weapons cache and buy Mel and Mire every precious second that I can. The pain of walking away from them is unparalleled and the blood pounds in my veins—already my turning has begun.
This is it, I think to myself. My last battle. Because surely it will be my last. Sovolians are not made to succeed when they are alone. Even so, I will use my final breath to hold back these pirates so my family can escape. I could not ask for a better death.
Chapter 38
Mel
I fight Mire the entire way to the e-pod. I do everything I can think of to stop this madness. I fucking bite him for Christ’s sake. Reasoning doesn’t work, so I dig my nails into his skin and fail wildly, trying to free myself. But I’m no match for him and he’s silent as he takes us farther and farther from Gile. When we reach the e-pods I’m terrified that I won’t be able to change his mind.
“This is crazy! Why can’t he come too?” I plead as Mire uses one hand to pry open the metal hatch to the emergency escape pod.
“If no one is here they will know we have escaped and come looking for us,” Mire explains, sounding unbelievably calm. “Gile stays to distract them.”
I glance inside the e-pod. It’s tiny and dark, representing nothing but death to me—Gile’s death. “Mire, we can’t do this. Please, please, please. We cannot do
this!” He ignores me, though, shoving me in first and squeezing in behind.
When Mire closes the door a thin blue light comes on. I can barely make out his features in the dim lighting. But I reach up, grabbing him by his cheeks and forcing him to look at me.
“You’re going to let this happen?” I shout…then I go for a low blow. I hate saying it, but I’m desperate at this point. I’ll do anything if it means saving Gile. I take a deep breath and force the words out. “You’re going to let him die, like Ash?”
Mire’s eyes close and he hangs his head. They’re terrible words, but if I can’t talk our way out of this mess, Gile is going to die.
“We have to protect you, Mel. Nothing else is as important as that.”
“Fuck that. Staying together is the most important thing. We’re a team, God damn it! We’re supposed to be a team!” I’m sobbing now, because I feel like I’ve lost.
Mire ignores me, reaching around the tight pod to begin our escape.
“We are leaving him to die! This is wrong! He needs us!”
“We need you!” he shouts back at me. “Nothing is more important! It is our duty to protect you, Mel. We are Sovolians, we will die for you if necessary.”
“I’m not your fucking master! We’re in this together! Equals, all of us!”
“I wish you were our master, then you could tell me what to do! I am lost, Mel! I do not know what is right, all I know is that I need to protect you,” he confesses, and by the sound of his voice he is crying too.
“We are going to stop for one second and think.”
“There is no time. I’m not good at strategy—” he complains.
“Shut up, yes you are. How many years have you done shit like this? You guys are experts.” Then it dawns on me. Mire already had an idea. “What if…what if we go to the other ship?” I blurt out.
Mire’s hands freeze on the controls. He’s listening.
“Look, they’re going to be boarding this ship, right? Do you think any will remain on the cruiser?”
“A skeleton crew, maybe the captain.”
“You can take them! We can take them. And then we can…I don’t know what. Mess with their ship? Come back and take them by surprise? Where do you think Gile will be?”
“He will make his last stand on the bridge.”
“Then we sneak back onto the ship and fire on them from behind. We’ll have them sandwiched between us and Gile. They won’t see it coming.”
“They outnumber us.”
“That’s why we divide and conquer. Plus, we’ll have the element of surprise. It can work, right?” I cling to Mire, praying that I’ve swayed him. Every fiber in me is desperate to hear him speak, to give me his answer. “Think of Gile!” I beg.
Slowly, Mire shakes his head, prying my hands away from his shoulders.
“Do you think he will forgive us?” Mire asks.
I suck in a gasp as my heart sinks in despair.
“Though I suppose if this works, we will have many years to make it up to him,” Mire tells me.
His words make me stagger in the small pod. “You mean…?”
“Setting coordinates for the cruiser now. Get your charger ready, Mel, you’re going to have to have my back.”
“Always. I will always have your back,” I promise him.
Chapter 39
Gile
Thirty-seven minutes have passed. I wonder if it has been enough time, if my brother and Mel have gotten to safety. I know there will be ships in Elysia’s orbit after the beacon we sent out. Gorrard is probably sitting in front of his scanners right now, searching for us. If Mel and Mire get beyond the reach of the scramblers they will have friends waiting to help them. The thought gives me a sense of peace as another round of laser blasts go flying past me.
My fangs ache and my claws itch to dig into an opponent. My body wants hand-to-hand combat, but if I were to step out into the corridor I would be overtaken in an instant. Instead I wait to hear the pirates’ attempts to inch their way closer to me, then I lean out and open fire on them. But I am outnumbered and as some move forward, the others lay down cover. That is how my arm got singed.
It does not hurt too badly… I’ve definitely had worse. But it bleeds heavily as my turned state pumps blood throughout my body. The bronze fluid drips down my elbow and pools on the floor. I take care not to slip on it and I chuckle to myself, imagining a slippery floor being my downfall rather than this band of pirates.
I send a few more blasts blindly down the corridor. I’m just buying more time at this point. But soon the pirates will tire of this game. And once I’m gone they will search the ship. They might find something of Mel’s then, perhaps a discarded piece of clothing, and they will search harder for her. That’s when they’ll see that the e-pod has been released and once they know what to look for, they’ll find it. Let’s just hope Mire has gotten our mate to safety by that time.
Our mate. Still, I marvel at the idea. Truly, there have been few Sovolians as lucky as me. I sigh happily with that thought in mind as a laser blast zips past me, obliterating the nav systems. I block my face as sparks and shards of metal go flying. But I must recover quickly in order to return fire.
My mind is not in this fight. It is on Mel. I picture her and the way her smile gets soft when she looks at a friend. It’s a smile that could make anyone feel valued and loved. That is why so many are drawn to her. I was free for a long while before I met Mel, but once she came into my life… I suddenly felt like more than just one of the thousands of nameless and expendable slaves. I finally felt free to be a man. Her man.
And that makes me think of Mire. She will take care of him, I think. It will be a difficult task, but one she is up for. It makes me feel all the more grateful that she came into our lives. Poor Mire, he tries to be strong, but his spirit is fragile. Losing another brother will be devastating to him. But with Mel at his side, life will go on. Wistfully I find myself hoping that she is already with child. That will give Mire a light to look towards, rather than being fixated on the darkness of the past.
I can see them in my mind’s eye, my family, happy and living in Beacon, gathered around the large communal table each night. Mire will be silent and stoic as always, but he will be smiling as he watches Mel and our child. It is a good thought, and if it comes to be then I am left with no regrets.
The gunfire in the corridor picks up again. I am growing tired though and I begin to consider how I might take out as many of the remaining pirates as possible. Shouting interrupts my thoughts, however, and I notice that none of the blasts from the hallway have penetrated the bridge. They must have terrible aim. That or…
I lean around the corner to get a better view just in time to see three of the pirates being thrown against the wall by a blaster round. It obliterates them. I marvel at the sight and for a moment I cannot tell if I’m angry or overjoyed. My brother is back…as is my mate.
The pirates change direction, placing their aim on the dark corridor behind them. It leaves them exposed to my gun. I take advantage of their harried mistake and fire on them, taking out two more.
I run a rough count in my head. Twelve came aboard. We just killed five. I think I killed three during my shootout. Likely there are only four left. I fire at the pirates, Mire and I both delivering an endless barrage. Despite the severity of the situation, I cannot keep the laughter from spilling from me. To think I was ready for my own death and now the odds are far from grim.
Three more of the pirates fall in quick succession. Only one remains. I hear his boots make a hasty retreat, but Mire emerges from the darkness, chasing after him. I push myself to my feet. We need to get over to the battle cruiser and eliminate the rest of their crew—but I hear another set of boots and I look up to see Mel sprinting towards me.
I give her a happy grin as she leaps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist. “You fucking idiot,” she tells me, pressing kisses to my face. Her cheeks are wet with tears. I ignore her words and
opt to return her kisses instead. But she yanks me back by my hair.
“Never again. You will never, ever fucking do that again,” she insists. It is not a promise I can make, but now is not the time to tell her this. Mire saunters back onto the bridge as if we have time to spare and Mel is still making her demands. “We’re a team, the three of us. We aren’t splitting up ever again. Do you got that? We come to solutions together.”
“Now is not the time for this, we need to get to the other ship before they realize what has happened,” I explain.
“We already took care of it,” Mel tells me proudly. “See what taking the time to create a plan can do?”
“I came up with a plan,” I point out.
“Yeah, a shitty one where you were going to sacrifice yourself to save us.”
“It was a bad plan,” Mire agrees. He doesn’t say more than that, but judging by the look in his eyes I can guess what he is feeling.
“Wait, what do you mean you already took care of it?” I question.
“We forced an entry point on the pirates’ ship. Their crew had been severely hit by the riots on Revax. There were only a handful of men left aboard, most of them were here with you.”
“So it’s done?” I ask, shocked.
“It’s done,” Mel agrees, burying her face against my neck.
“Now what?” I didn’t expect to find myself on the winning end of this day.
“Now we go home,” my mate answers. We are on the same page then. Nothing sounds better than returning home to the safety and comfort of Beacon, where we can begin our lives together. Besides, I do not want to stick around in case these pirates sent a distress signal to one of their friends.
“But how?” Mire pokes at the ruined nav station. Our options are limited, but an idea comes to me as I stroke my mate’s back to comfort her…hell, to comfort me as well. I nearly lost her.
