Page 17 of Einar (The Brigands of Ruk #2)

Chapter Seventeen

EINAR

If my brothers do not stay out of my blasted med bay, I am going to knock some sense into their thick heads. I have told them countless times that I have everything arranged in a specific manner for a reason as I observe the chaos that my once pristine domain has become. Cabinet doors are open, shelves that are labeled with specific medications have had all the jars mixed up.

There is even a phallic shaped drawing on the clear case of the med-pod I notice with a grimace. Bikar and Falon are the most likely culprits, and possibly Ruarc . Slavic is the oldest and rarely pulls pranks this juvenile and Murgul …well, he has his own issues to deal with and keeps to himself more often than not.

The fact that ours is a family operated ship, is a vastly overrated concept from time to time because no one vexes you quite like family. You are not allowed to kill them…well, not unless there is a justifiable reason. Just because my kind is considered the scoundrels of space, does not mean we have no standards for killing.

We do…it is just not quite the same as the rest of the galaxy.

Rubbing a rough hand against the ridges lining one of the two horns emerging from my forehead, I begin the aggravating chore of reorganizing my shelves again. Thankfully , having a lot of practice doing this particular chore means that it will not be a long, drawn-out process. I have almost completed this unnecessary task when the sound of my brother’s voice coming from all around me startles me enough that I almost drop the vials I am holding in my hands.

I really hate it when Bikar does that, and he knows it. Which is why he tries his best to startle me via the comms every opportunity he can. His voice echoes all around me since he is in control of all the messaging on the ship. He has made sure that his voice comes from every direction, instead of just overhead.

“ Awaken one and all, we have a new target on the radar and Slavic wants all of you on the bridge. So , get your lazy backsides up here with haste.”

I sneer at the shelving in front of me, my lips pulled tight across the pair of sharp tusks that stick up past the seam of my mouth.

I must not kill him, our life-giver would be disappointed in me.

All five of my brothers are present on the bridge and are staring at the holographic screen Bikar has projected in front of the control panel. Thankfully , the ship we acquired when we first left our home world was capable of holding our massive bodies easily, or our opulent way of life would make tempers even shorter, especially on long trips without any stops to disembark the ship. The Zenith has plenty of space for all six of us to mingle and not bump into one another, and even a few places to hide when we need our space. Our Life Giver constantly preached the importance of family, but there are times we all need some quiet time alone, lest we maim one another permanently.

Bikar sits in his comms chair to Slavic’s right, his fingers flying over the controls on the console. Falon is standing to his left, his massive legs spread as the ship moves aggressively to and fro as Bikar flies us through the vast void around us. Murgul is leaning against the wall across the room with his arms crossed, looking bored, and Ruarc , as usual, is slightly behind Slavic and to his right. My second oldest brother takes his responsibilities as Slavic’s second in command seriously, maybe even more seriously than Slavic’s dedication to being our captain…and oldest sibling.

Slavic glances over at me, his slate-gray eyes narrowed in irritation, and nods.

“ Nice of you to finally join us, Einar .”

The caustic tone of this small, censuring statement instantly rubs me the wrong way. Pointing toward the two most idiotic of our brothers, I bark back at him.

“ I would not have been late Slavic , had someone, I am not mentioning any names here, but I am assuming the culprits were Bikar and Falon , not completely demolished my med-bay. If I had not been wasting my time reorganizing things again, I would have been here when you first commed. For future reference, in an emergency situation Slavic , we cannot afford for me to not know where my things are, and you know this. They should know this! You need to keep them out of my med-bay, Slavic , or I swear I am going to start retaliating”

My booming words must contain all the menace I feel because the smirks on Bikar's and Falon’s faces slowly fade. Slavic sighs heavily, while simultaneously smacking Bikar upside his head and then reaching over and punching Falon , knocking him sideways. His rage is palpable and almost makes the room shake with his fervor.

“ You fracking idiots, I am not your caregiver. STAY - OUT - OF - THE - MED BAY ! I will not discuss this with you two again. Einar is correct. If something happens to one of you stupid males, he needs to be able to find his things so that you do not die. How would any of you explain your death to our Life -giver in the afterlife? Do you really want to tell her the reason Einar could not save you was because you hid all of his shet again?! Wipe those damn smirks off your faces before I do it for you!”

I sneer as Slavic’s words end on a roar, and my two most meddlesome brothers look property chastised. He pauses for a moment before continuing in a more controlled tone.

“ Now as to why I needed you all here, Bikar , tell them what you found.”

We all watch as he adjusts a few dials before turning to face us. “ You all know the drill. I always have the Zenith’s instruments looking for our next haul. She notified me early this rising when a small ship came within our sensors with a full cargo hold. Unfortunately , it is a small to medium-sized Velgriddix ship. I cannot seem to get an exact head count on the nasty frackin bugs because of their exoskeleton, so we are going in blind. Now , because of the ship’s size, there should only be a handful of them onboard. However , I am picking up some odd readings in several other parts of the ship. It is possible they may have slaves on board, and you know what that means.”

“ More credits for us!”

My deep voice booms alongside my brothers until a low growl from across the room causes Bikar to pause. We all look over at Murgul’s scarred visage, checking to see if he is going to be able to retain his sanity. My brother was captured by the insectoid species many, many rotations ago, and the things they did to him … no being could fully heal from.

Not that I didn’t try; I spent rotation after rotation caring for my brother. I had worked myself to the point of exhaustion trying to repair what that filth had done to Murgul . Much to my dismay, while I managed to heal much of his body, his mind was fractured, and we all knew it. Including him. When he sees us all staring at him, he snarls out,

“ I am fine. I will not lose it.”

His electric blue eyes glare at all of us in warning and his words are harsh, almost as if he must force them from his throat. Which is probably true, because his vocal cords had been almost irreparable. The only reason I was able to repair them enough for him to speak at all is due to the specialized medic training I was forced to take from the time I was a youngling until I became a young adult.

I always assumed his cords were damaged from the torture he suffered as well as his pain filled screams. I cannot imagine the amount of agony and torture it took to make a Rukuhk break. Youngling or not, we are a tough, brutish species…even before the genetic meddling we were all subjected to. Shooting a glance over at Slavic , I meet his eyes in understanding. He is the only one of our brothers that knows the true scope of what was done to Murgul .

Assured that our youngest brother was not about to lose his small grasp on sanity and destroy the bridge, we all refocus back on Slavic .

“ Brothers , what say you? Do we go give them a traditional Rukuhk , uninvited guest greeting?”

The grin that grows on his face is nothing short of evil, his eyes lit with vengeance. None of us will ever forgive that cursed species for what they did to our youngest brother.

“ Frack yeah!”

My answering cheer sounds off the same time as all my other brothers in response to Slavic’s questions.

“ Einar , you have not been off the ship lately, so grab one of the smaller shuttles and I will take the other. Bikar , as usual, you have the comms. Falon , get to the engine room; I do not want any mechanical malfunctions on this run. Ruarc , you are in command while I am off the ship, and Murgul , keep our weapons hot. You know better than anyone these bugs rarely travel alone. Once Einar and I have the ship secured, you all are to hard dock the Zenith near their back cargo hold.

After the ships are sealed securely together, you know the drill. Bikar , instead of helping load the cargo this time, I would prefer you stay here on the comm’s at all times. Unless the Velgriddix detection system is down, you know they can probably see our ship as clearly as we can theirs. They might merely be trying to lure us closer in order to claim the bounty on each of our heads.”

Slavic turns and leaves after issuing his orders, the automatic doors opening for him as they detected his biosignature, and ignoring Bikar as he shouts with a grin, his lips pulling around his tusks.

“ Are you not glad I am one of the best comms specialists there is?!”

Falon , Ruarc , Murgul and I all groan in unison. It is not the first time we have heard Bikar boast about his skills, and it will not be the last. The annoying blight is exceptionally talented…not that I would ever tell him so. His head is already big enough as it is. No need to over-inflate his ego. Shooting a final glare at Bikar and Falon , and with a nod at Murgul , I turn and exit the room, ignoring the swoosh of the door as I pass through it. My mind is already focusing on the task before me.

Frack yes, looting.

It is a pirate’s life for me.

I just acquired a new pair of axes that needed to be broken in. Cracking Velgriddix carapace would be the perfect thing to do it with.