Ruby
My palms were sweaty , so I wiped them on my pants . T hen I did it again and again because I couldn’t stand still. Pacing in the hallway beside the airlock was hardly an option, it was very tight quarters. Though I was only five months along, my belly was getting big enough that I didn’t feel quite so maneuverable in the tight space. I did n’ t want to be surprised when my back was turned. Unarmed, I felt extremely vulnerable, and I didn’t need to add to that.
When the airlock hissed, I still nearly jumped out of my skin in fear. Damn it, I was better than this. I had to keep it together. But I was certain I should have heard the clunking of a ship as it docked with our airlock—why hadn’t I? The manual wheel on the door spun as it unlocked, which meant someone was using the override from the inside. It had to be the pirates from that scary, black ship. I wondered if it was going to be the Talac male on the other side, and if he’d recognized that I was human.
The fact was, a human might be just as valuable as that stash of Kanfray I’d discovered in the vents. Once the pirates saw me, there was no hiding it. Would they snatch me and sell me? I stopped my nervous fi dge ting and attempted to strike a cool, confident pose as I waited for the door to open. My breath felt stuck in my chest, and I forced myself to breathe deeply.
These pirates swung open the airlock door but did not leap through it ; the portal remained conspicuously empty for several seconds before the first one stuck his head around the corner. All I saw was an opaque faceplate and black armor snugly encompassing a muscular male body. He was large, and that armor only emphasized how powerful he was, and how useless fighting him would be.
As he stepped from the airlock, his head first aimed my way, so I knew he’d seen me. Then he swung it around and scanned the rest of the narrow passage; he even turned his back, a laser pistol raised. I didn’t expect him to just jog off down the passage, but he disappeared around the corner without a word. Another already took his place, and then another. They weren’t really bothering with me, and one brushed by without touching me—a miracle in the narrow space.
“Captain González , I presume?” It was the very last black-armored male to board my ship who spoke. I recognized the Talacan voice, but he sounded even colder in person than he had over the communications channel earlier. A shiver of apprehension shot down my spine. There were two strangers in black roaming my ship, and I was left sandwiched between two more. I felt positively tiny, and I didn’t like it.
When I nodded, the faceplate on the helmet of the Talacan male withdrew , and I was staring into his silver - gray face and black eyes. His head was bald, as was normal for anyone of his species. Not so normal was the silver liquid that coiled like quicksilver up the side of his neck. It moved organically, but I had no clue what it could be. It made my stomach twist even more, fear rising sharply in my chest until I felt like I was about to burst.
In my belly, my tiny son fluttered and moved, I was certain of it now. I cupped my hands protectively over him, as if that would keep away the danger. When I raised my chin and gave the Talacan pirate my most defiant glare, his mouth tilted into a cruel smile. As if the plug had been pulled, all the fear spiraled out of me, swishing from my chest, gone without a trace. I felt lighter for it, but also oddly empty and drained.
“Why don’t you come with me?” t he Talac male said with a smirk that could only herald bad things to come. Here we went — I knew it. I should have taken more time to vet Kip before I hired him, should have double - checked that Chawz was still trustworthy. I’d let the cost of having my ship idle weigh too much, rushed the process of hiring a new pilot. This was the result : t hree trips in, and I was facing a threa t I hadn’t encountered in all ten years I’d been flying the Finix in the Zeta Quadrant.
“I don’t think so,” I said firmly. “If you don’t mind, I’m staying aboard the Finix , where I belong.” I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored the snort of amusement that came from the other pirate. He , too , had lowered his faceplate, and now I could see that he was Viridara. His black eyes were framed in his green face by a scar on one side and glowing golden spots on the other. Fairly young, handsome, almost kind-looking. He was too boyish to make much sense as a pirate. It confused me for a second, and that was all it took.
The Talac curled his hand around my biceps and steer ed me to ward the airlock. I stumbled, protesting the treatment with a yelp. “Hey, let me go! You promised we would be unharmed if I let you take the cargo. It ’ s just bolts of gray fabric for the Rummicaron army, but you can have them. I don’t care.” Despite the manhandling, I didn’t fall, and he didn’t hurt me. I found myself inside the small airlock with the tall Talacan and his sinister, dark expression. The Viridara male was blocking the entrance now, ensuring that I could not escape. His arms crossed over his wide chest made him an unmovable wall.
“I did. Didn’t say you could stay. First, you’re going to tell me all you know about Jalima’s operation.” The words the Talac drawled made all the steam w h oosh right out of me. Jalima? So I was right about who that Kanfray aboard my ship belonged to. I was so screwed. If my ship was responsible for losing his cargo, I was certain he w ould make me pay — should I escape these freaking pirates. Although I was seeing my hopes of a somewhat peaceful resolution rapidly dwindle.
“Nothing!” I denied immediately. “I only found a stash of Kanfray in the vents this morning. I’ve been trying to decide if it’s my nav or my pilot who betrayed me all morning!” My hands couldn’t stop going to my belly, protecting the only thing that really mattered. But what home could I offer my child if I didn’t have my ship?
The Talac didn’t believe me, I could see it in his eyes. But the Viridara male was kinder, younger , and not quite so bitter as his companion. I turned my eyes on him and implored him to intercede on my behalf. “I’d never help a crimelord or smuggle drugs! I swear I have nothing to do with the Kanfray or Jalima.” The question was : why did these pirates care?
They were much better equipped and more disciplined than I would expect of a pirate crew. Their black armor was all uniform, making them seem more like military than criminals. The questions about Jalima and what rol e I played also made me feel like they weren’t your average pirate s . What were they really after? I suddenly doubted it was the gray fabric or the Kanfray.
“We’ll get this sorted aboard the Varakartoom , Captain González . Once you r story checks out, you’ll be free to go,” the Viridara male said soothingly. Yup, now he was starting to sound like a freaking police officer . W hat the fuck had I landed myself in?
The two males hustled me through the airlock and then aboard the small shuttle they’d docked to the Finix . The Talac took the helm for the short flight, but the Viridara never left my side. He might be the nice one of the pair, but he was no fool— his watchful eyes stayed on me the entire trip. Then I was hustled aboard the large black ship, the Varakartoom , he’d called it. The name stirred some faint memory, but I couldn’t place it. Not until I was led into an interrogation room and s e at ed in a metal chair behind a metal table.
The sight of their captain jarred that memory l o ose when he slithered into the room with me. A Naga —b lack-scaled, speckled with gold and green. His long hair r ose sharply from a widow’s peak , black locks streaked with green highlights. He was Asmoded, and the rumors said he had a vendetta against Jalima. Of course, this wasn’t about stealing goods ; this was about dealing the crimelord a blow. That smuggled contraband was just the way to do it, and now they wanted to know what I knew. Would they believe me when I said I knew absolutely nothing? I doubted it.
This male was as terrifying as the Talac, and facing both at once made the fear come back. It jumped in my throat, made my pulse pound in my chest. It felt like I was about to have a heart attack when the black-scaled male turned his intense golden gaze on me. “Talk” was all he said. And I jumped to do as he wanted, blabbering almost incoherently about how I’d found the Kanfray that morning and had nothing to do with it , b egging him shamelessly not to harm my child or me. At this point, I didn’t even care about keeping the Finix ; as long as they didn’t sell me into slavery , I’d be happy.
The Varakartoom and its captain weren’t pirates; they were mercenaries. They sold their services to the highest bidder, and they were really good at what they did. I’d heard whispers about them when visiting Yengar Station.
They let me talk unimpeded for as long as I had words , n ever saying anything — just staring at me with cold, implacable eyes. I talked myself hoarse explaining how little I knew of Jalima and that filthy Kanfray. I wasn’t sure how much time had pas sed; there was no way to tell inside this dark room. My voice was shot when the Captain rose, abruptly ending the conversation. My throat ached, I’d talked so much, and none of it was useful to them . I knew that too. Falling silent, I bit my lip and waited anxiously to see what they would do next , c ertain it wasn’t going to be anything good.
“Sin, escort our guest to the med bay for a checkup. Then see to it that Flack assigns her quarters near the mess hall. Thank you for your time, Captain González . I’ll be corroborating your story with the rest of your crew, but I’m sure it will check out.” The captain still looked mean, closed off, as he slithered from the room. Now I wondered if I had misjudged. Doctor? Corroborate? They believed me?
The Talac’s expression was even more unreadable as he urged me to my feet with a jerk of his chin. I levered myself upright with a hand on the table, the cold metal biting into my skin and causing me to shiver. My emotions were crashing, spinning as I struggled to keep up with what was going on. Was I free to go or not? It sounded like they were keeping me here, but why?
This time, the Talac, Sin, didn’t physically haul me around. He kept a careful distance as he strode across the small room and opened the door. Then he halted, and I wondered if he had been caught by surprise by what was on the other side of the door. Silver flashed over his black armor, not just writhing along his neck but sliding down his arms and around his head. “Let us in, Sin,” a female voice said firmly. “There’s been a change of plans.”
That was English. There was no mistaking the familiar tones of my native language. This woman spoke the words with an unfamiliar accent, but the tones were crisp and decisive. They brought forth a wave of homesickness that, augmented by my pregnancy, made me burst into sudden tears. Ah , fuck, way to go , Ruby — cry in front of the scary mercenary/pirate. I’d held firm all this time . G ranted, I’d babbled like a fool, but I hadn’t cried.
The Talac male looked at me over his shoulder with what was clearly a horrified expression. The way he slipped from the room seemed hurried, as if he couldn’t get out of my presence fast enough. “She’s all yours, Mandy,” he snarled in parting.
I thumped back down in the chair and fought to get the tears under control, wiping my face with the edge of my sleeve. I wasn’t prepared for the four women who burst into the room after the scary guy had booked it. They were all human, like me. One was also pregnant, and they all looked healthy and happy. It was such a confusing, unexpected sight that I just sat there and stared, the tears forgotten.
The pregnant woman was in the lead, her belly bigger than mine, brown eyes radiant beneath her stylish black bob. She wore jade green, a flirty dress that had to be tailored to fit her beautiful pregnant belly. She smiled warmly as soon as she saw me, rushing around the table as fast as she could, though really , it was more of a waddle than a walk.
The other three were close on her heels , and now that I got a better look, I realized one was not actually human but Elrohirian —a humanoid species that , save for their pointed ears , could easily pass as human back on E arth. They were all smiles, about as close to the opposite of my welcome so far as one could get. The pregnant woman drew my attention again when she perched on the edge of the table next to me. “Hi, I’m Mandy!” she said. “I’m so sorry about my mate, he’s got no manners at all. Let’s get you sorted.”