by Lily Thomas
“Taking ships over and selling them to our buyers.”
So that was what they intended for this ship? “Sounds like it could be a dangerous job. I’m sure you meet a lot of resistance.”
“Sometimes yes, but sometimes no. Your crew provided no challenges.” He eyed her. “Except you.”
“True.” Sadly, their prison ship had been too easy to take over. “How did you get out of your cell?”
Kruhn reached into a pocket and threw something towards her. Jade reacted quickly and caught it out of the air. She examined the small device in her hand. It was made from a black metal.
“Something to take down the force field?” She looked up, and he gave her a nod of confirmation, his black hair swooping over his brow.
Jade tossed the device back to him, and he pocketed it.
“Breakfast is done.” She called out in a happy voice.
Jade grabbed a couple of plates and dished out their meal, making sure to give him a whole lot more. He was a Vrak’rir after all, and she was sure he could pack away food like a… well… like a Vrak’rir.
Grabbing both of the plates, she guided them over to a table in the mess hall.
“Looks good.” He eyed the plate of food she set down on his side of the table.
“Hopefully it tastes just as good as it looks.” She sure hoped she couldn’t screw up eggs and bacon. It was the easiest and most straightforward meal to cook.
“So… you have any family?” Jade wanted to learn more about him.
“Of course. They all live on Vrak though.”
“You visit often?”
“We aren’t exactly on the right side of the law, so visiting Vrak can be tricky. Even we Vrak’rir have laws.”
“How did you get into stealing ships for others?” She took a bite and studied him from across the table.
“Good money and a lot of excitement. Every day is different and has its own problems that need solving. It also allows us to work on our own schedule.”
“Of course, you Vrak’rir would like a job with the thrill of getting caught or killed.” Jade scoffed.
“We’ll all die someday. Better to do what you enjoy and live life.” He popped a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “These are good.”
“Thanks.” Now he had her thinking she really should quit this job and get back to her artistic abilities. She’d never given them enough of a chance to be a success. She’d been too scared, yet here was someone who did something a million times riskier for a living because it was what he liked to do.
Weird, but she’d just found inspiration from a Vrak’rir prisoner who liked to steal ships.
Jade’s eyes widened as she suddenly made a connection.
“If you intend to sell this ship, then becoming a prisoner was a part of your plan,” she accused.
“Not this ship exactly, but yes. My men and I planned on getting incarcerated so that we’d have a chance to steal a human prison ship. It didn’t go quite as we had expected, because Veux, one of my men, got a little hot-headed, but we simply let ourselves get arrested a little sooner than the original plan.”
“On Rionia? A pleasure planet?” Dammit, despite everything she kept telling herself about there being no future between them, there was jealousy coursing through her veins.
Kruhn’s onyx eyes skimmed over her. “Jealous, my mate?” He read her like a book.
Jade reached back and straightened her ponytail, trying to act nonchalant. “Just curious what you did to piss off the authorities.”
“I did nothing. Like I said, Veux, one of my men, started a fight. Drelz and I came to his aide. That was when the authorities came in, took us into custody, and handed us to the prison ship to take us away.” His onyx eyes examined her. “I think my mate is jealous at the idea of me being on a pleasure planet.”
Jade snorted. “I barely even know you. Just because we slept together doesn’t mean I accept anything between us.” She flicked her fork about as she dismissed his theory.
For one brief second, she thought she saw hurt flash in his dark eyes, but the emotion was gone in a moment.
“I didn’t expect a human woman to be easy to win over. It will take time, and lucky for both of us I am one of the more patient Vrak’rir.” He chomped down on a piece of bacon. “No wonder you know no one who doesn’t like this… bacon?”
Jade nodded. “It’s great for the soul, bad for the body though.” As he continued to devour his new-found treat, she guided the conversation back to the reason the Vrak’rir were on board. “If you intend to sell this ship, does that mean you already have buyers?”
“The Sri’thaens want the ship.”
“Sri’thaens?” Jade racked her brain but didn’t come up with anything. “I don’t think I’ve heard of their species.”
“Soon all you humans will.” Kruhn munched on another piece of bacon, completely unconcerned about this troubling information.
“That sounds a bit ominous.”
“From what I hear they are not happy with you humans. Maybe another reason you should consider a matehood with me. I will vow to keep you safe in the upcoming war.”
“War? Who said anything about war?” Jade’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m sure our two people can work something out if there is a problem.”
Kruhn raised a black eyebrow. “I think this one is way beyond ‘working something out’.”
“I haven’t heard anything from the human council about tense relations with another species, so it can’t be all that dire.” Jade pushed her plate away. If only she could as easily push away her worried thoughts. Was it possible that he knew something the human council didn’t? She didn’t like the idea of a war.
“How about it?”
“What?” She asked, lost in her thoughts.
“Tempted to accept my claim yet?”
Jade snorted again. “War might scare me, but it isn’t about to scare me into your arms.”
Kruhn shrugged his broad blue shoulders. “It was worth a try.”
But now she knew something that she had to pass along to her superiors, just in case they didn’t know about this Sri’thaen threat.
“You found her!” A voice announced.
Jade turned in her seat to see a couple Vrak’rir heading over to them. These must be the two men who were in the cell with Kruhn.
Kruhn rose from his seat, and Jade followed suit.
“I’d like to introduce you to Veux and Drelz,” Kruhn said.
“Nice to meet the both of you.” Jade looked them over. They were all very similar when it came to being blue-skinned, tattooed, and muscled, but they each came off differently.
Kruhn was the leader and in control.
“You gave him some trouble.” Veux smiled gleefully. He strode over and gave her a pat on the back. “Thank you for that.” He snickered.
Veux was the clown of the group who had fun no matter what happened.
Kruhn glared at him, and Drelz rolled his eyes.
“It is nice to meet the mate of Kruhn. He deserves to find her.” Drelz held out his hand. And Drelz was the steady, dependable companion.
She took his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you two as well.”
“So I did do this right?” Drelz asked.
“The handshake? Yes.” Jade smiled over at him.
Who knew she would feel so comfortable when she was surrounded by three intimidating Vrak’rir.
“You can stop touching my mate now,” Kruhn grumbled at Veux who still had his hand touching her back.
Veux pulled back and rose his hands in the air. “No need to get uptight. She’s attractive, but she’s human.” He looked over at her. “No offense.”
Jade smiled at his frankness. “None was taken. Not every species is for everyone.”
“I like her.” Veux smiled. “We should go over some game plans on how to annoy Kruhn. I can give you lessons, but it seems like you’ve been doing a good job so far.” He winked at her.
�
�Enough.” Kruhn wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her back to the table. “Go get yourselves something to eat.”
She sat back down while Drelz and Veux went back to the kitchen.
“I like them.”
He rose an eyebrow in her direction. “I don’t see why.”
She sent him a smile. “I know you like them just as much. You can’t pretend otherwise.”
He just grunted, but Jade could read his dark eyes easily. He loved those two men, even if they got under his skin. She shook her head. She’d never thought she would enjoy the presence of Vrak’rir, but she did.
Chapter 7
A couple of days passed, and she grew closer to the Vrak’rir, and to Kruhn in particular. Every night she went to bed well-satisfied, only to wake in the morning to him pleasuring her all over again. It’d been great, but it was time to take advantage of the Vrak’rir’s trust and try again to release her crewmates.
Jade rolled off the bed. Kruhn had already left for the bridge. He probably felt like he could leave her alone without any trouble. They’d spent most of their time together, and she’d made sure to be lovey-dovey with him. Unfortunately, she feared it hadn’t all been an act on her part.
Jade really enjoyed their last few days together. The sex was terrific, of course, but it was more than that. She loved waking up in his arms and seeing his face every morning. She loved the careful attention he gave her every time they talked, as though her thoughts and words were of the utmost importance. She loved the camaraderie he shared with his crew, and the way they all looked out for each other.
Jade sighed as she slipped on her ugly olive uniform and made her way to the brig. It was time to face reality and help her colleagues retake the ship. They had to regain control before their vessel was sold to the Sri’thaens, whoever they were.
Once she got to the brig doors, she paused and took a deep breath. She was about to go head-to-head with Captain Drew again. Hopefully, a few days in the cell had made him more willing to cooperate.
She stepped up to the door, and it whooshed open. Stepping through she plastered a smile on her lips.
“What do you have to be so happy about?” Captain Drew’s voice rang out the moment she stepped through, and the smile slipped from her face. What was the point in even trying to be friendly with them?
“I’m here to try and release you all. If you give me your code, I know I can do it. Then we can take the ship back from the Vrak’rir.” Jade made her way to the brig console and tried to bring up the access interface for the force fields. Again, she found herself locked out of the system.
“Never. We can’t trust you. Maybe the Vrak’rir sent you in here to get my code.”
“Oh, give it to her.” Jacob uttered from another cell. “We’ve been in here for days, and it’s clear we’re never going to get out by ourselves. She’s our only hope.”
“We have no idea what the Vrak’rir might do with the code, so no.” Captain Drew insisted, his stubborn personality unwilling to let her have control.
Jade tried for a few more minutes, trying to ignore the jeers from her crewmates as the console continued to deny her access, despite all of the back-end avenues she tried. Eventually, she gave up. She was never going to get through the locks, but maybe she could get some information out of the captain.
“Do you know who the Sri’thaens are?” She asked as she made her way over to his cell.
Captain Drew eyed her, clearly enjoying her failure at the console. “In passing,” he supplied. “Why?”
“I found out why the Vrak’rir have taken control of the ship. They intend to sell the ship to the Sri’thaens. Then they told me a war was coming. Do you know anything about that?” She hoped Kruhn had been mistaken about a war because she wasn’t ready for what that might bring.
The other crew members were listening curiously now. The captain glanced around at them before answering. “I heard about a skirmish in their space, but that’s all. Nothing that would be major enough for a war.” The captain might not hand over his code, but at least he was talking. It was a step in the right direction for once.
“I’ll keep trying to find a way to get you out of here.” With that, she strode out of the brig, before Captain Drew could accuse her of working with the Vrak’rir again.
She knew of one way to get them out of the cells. That little black device Kruhn had shown her, but she couldn’t seem to find it. She’d searched his clothes last night after he’d fallen asleep, but there’d been no sign of it. He’d either got rid of it, or he’d hidden it from her.
Jade would keep her eyes open, but she wouldn’t rest all of her hopes on it.
If she couldn’t release her crewmates, then she was going to at least send a message to another prison ship. They had to be told about the suspected Sri’thaen threat and that a prison ship had been compromised.
Jade made her way to a communication station. Kruhn was going to be pissed when the Vrak’rir detected a communication signal leaving the ship, but he’d just have to deal with it. She was still a prison guard, and he was still an escaped prisoner. Once he was done with his prison sentence, which was just a few months for starting a fight, then they could see about this mate thing.
Jade tried to pull up a communication channel and found herself unable to access the area to initiate a call. She let out a hearty curse. The Vrak’rir had blocked off communications as well. No doubt they’d blocked off several other key systems as well. Now she realized why Kruhn wasn’t afraid to let her roam about the ship.
Biting her lip, Jade thought for a moment. What about an emergency beacon? As part of the emergency systems, they shouldn’t be able to shut off access.
Jade pulled up the emergency channel. Instead of a direct call to another ship or planet, this would be more of a general broadcast. Pressing an activation button, she recorded her message.
“This is Jade Meeks, on the prison ship Legacy. We took on three Vrak’rir as prisoners, from Rionia. They have taken over the ship, and I am the only crewmember who has not been locked in the brig. We require assistance from any nearby ships.”
Jade took a breath. Now to mention the Sri’thaens.
“The Vrak’rir, who have taken over the ship, intend to sell the ship to the Sri’thaens and have told me the Sri’thaens plan to use the ship for a war against Earth. Jade Meeks out.”
She stopped the recording and then sent it into space. There was nothing more for her to do but hope that the message found friendly ears, and that those ears believed her.
Jade left the communication station and wandered around the ship, searching for anything that might help her take back the ship.
It wasn’t long until Veux came around a corner, stepping into her path.
“Hello human.”
“Hello,” Jade said, wondering if it was just coincidence that he’d sought her out so recently after she sent out a message.
“Kruhn would like to see you.”
“I was just heading to the mess hall for some lunch. Maybe afterward.” Jade tried to brush past the Vrak’rir, but the large male gripped her arm in a firm grasp.
“Nope. Kruhn wants to see you now.” Veux led her down the corridor, not hurting her, but keeping up a brisk pace that forced her to walk quickly unless she wanted to be dragged.
“Why?” She knew why.
He rolled his eyes. “We detected the message that left the ship. He wants to know what was on the message and what he should expect.”
“Good luck with that.” Jade snorted. She was his mate, so it wasn’t like he was about to torture it out of her. Her lips were sealed.
Veux guided her over to her cabin. “He’s waiting inside for you.” He almost had a sing-song tone to his voice.
“Someone just sent out a message from our ship.” Drelz looked over at his screen. “And I’m guessing it wasn’t one of us.”
Kruhn turned to face him. “How? From where?”
“As to where, it looks like i
t was a communication station a couple of floors down. As to how, it looks like your mate figured out that she could still access the emergency broadcast beacon.”
“Jade,” Kruhn grumbled from where he sat. He scrubbed a hand down his face. Why did she insist on being a troublemaker?
“We should have locked her up with the rest of the crew,” Veux commented.
Kruhn growled at him. “She’s my mate.” But maybe he should have. They had no idea what was in that message. “How long was the message?”
“Not too long, less than a minute.”
“Who was the intended target?”
Drelz shrugged. “As an emergency beacon, it would be sent out on all bands. Anyone who is along its path will be able to receive and hear the message.” Drelz turned away from the console and crossed his arms. “We’ve got a problem if that message reaches any human vessels in the area,” he commented.
“Yes, thank you, I gathered that much.” Kruhn scrubbed a hand down his face again. What was he going to do with his little mate? She’d been acting so responsive to him for the past couple days. He hadn’t even thought of her reaching out to anyone outside of the ship for help.
“Better find out what was in the message.”
Kruhn agreed. “Find her, Veux, and bring her back to her cabin. I will be waiting.” Kruhn rose from the captain’s chair and made his way from the bridge.
When Veux brought her to him, he wanted to be ready.
Kruhn made his way down to the cargo bay and soon found a rope and a pair of handcuffs. As he was leaving the bay, he spotted a couple of bindings, and he decided to take those as well.
A quick jaunt to the mess hall saw him supplied with ice cubes, and he made his way to Jade’s cabin with his hands full.
Now he was ready for his mate. She’d probably try to keep her mouth shut about what her message was about, so he’d have to get the answers from her. He couldn’t hurt her, but he was prepared to tie her up and torture her with sexual pleasure.
Kruhn made it back to Jade’s cabin before she’d arrived. Good. He could get himself set up then.
He placed the tray of ice cubes on her coffee table. Then he looked around for a good place to hang his rope. A couple hooks on the ceiling caught his attention, and he fastened the rope around them.
