Rogue Sign

Rogue Star: Book Four

Elin Wyn

Ava York

Contents

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Aryn

Kovor

Epilogue: Aryn

Letter from Elin

Rogue Warrior

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Given: Star Breed Book One

Vrehx: Conquered World Book One

About the Author

Aryn

For the first time in my life, I had a room to myself.

Maris still kept most of her things here, but she hadn’t slept here since she and Orrin made things official or whatever.

Sleeping alone was weird for the first few nights. I was so used to the sounds of another person in the room that I’d been half tempted to ask Shenna if I could keep one of her pets in my room. The cat and I got along fine, except for the fact that she made me sneeze.

Tonight, however, I couldn’t sleep, not because I was alone but because I was angry. Ever since that demented bounty hunter and his alien princess sidekick nearly killed us all, sleep evaded me. Deep down, I knew what happened wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t help but feel like I could’ve done something.

The bounty hunter, I could understand. He was paid to go after me and the other human women. Quite black and white, really. Tiatra the princess? I couldn’t figure out why she would’ve wanted a part in it.

I tried to put it out of my mind. Tiatra and the bounty hunter were dead now. The other alien women were, hopefully, on their way back to their respective home planets.

However, there were two tiny scraps of information that I couldn’t let go of.

The bounty hunter had a brand on his wrist, and no one knew what it signified. Not a big deal, except a similar mark had been on the sheet that listed the women.

And that was worse. Not just that there was some group running auctions selling rare women from newly accepted planets to the wealthy as playthings.

But that group used a symbol that was so close to the official sigil of the Dominion that my skin crawled.

Either they were part of the Dominion or hoping that recently contacted planets wouldn’t know the difference, and think their depraved demands were par for the course.

Neither option was fantastic.

What made it twenty times worse was that this bounty hunter was part of that group.

And he’d managed to find us.

There was no reason to think another wouldn’t follow in his footsteps. And what were we, the crew of the Rogue Star, doing about it? Nothing.

It’s not that I didn’t like Captain Dejar. He saved my life, after all. If our roles were reversed and he was the one launched into space to freeze to death, I probably wouldn’t have risked my life to save him. Then again, I’d never claimed to be a hero. My main goal was to survive.

Anything else was an added bonus.

Whether I liked it or not, my survival depended on Captain Dejar.

But if sitting in the port of Qasar Station, waiting to be picked off like flies, was his idea of ensuring my survival, then I needed to take matters into my own hands.

Luckily, I’d found a way to do exactly that.

Maris and Orrin had created the most sophisticated security system the Rogue Star had ever seen, but I knew a way around it.

The rewards of a misspent youth, I supposed.

The infrared system didn’t closely monitor the service vents. Why would it? The vents were too small for a serious threat to get through.

However, they weren’t too small for me.

Knowing sleep was not going to be an option for me tonight, I stood up from my sleeping mat and peeked out of the room.

It was late. The hallways were deserted.

Captain Dejar liked to have some crewmembers awake at all times, though the night shifts tended to be more relaxed and people tended to stay at their stations, rather than doing business that had them walking the halls.

There wasn’t much reason to roam the halls.

Before I left my room, I grabbed my leather jacket and boots. My jacket was older than I was. It would’ve been destroyed if I hadn’t been wearing it the day the Persephone Station exploded. I wasn’t materialistic in any way, but I would’ve been sad to lose that jacket.

Clutching my boots in one hand, I padded into the hallway, moving swiftly and quietly. I reached the storage room that the other human women had affectionately named The Makeover Room.

Inside were rows and rows of cosmetics purchased for us, and a tablet that showed a variety of aliens we humans were close enough to that we could alter our appearance enough to walk safely through the cities.

I selected a mint-colored skin dye and rubbed it across my face and hands. The long sleeves of my black shirt would cover the rest of my skin. I didn’t like using too much of the cosmetics at once, since I didn’t want anyone to know I’d been here. I popped in red contacts to match my hair and added a small pattern of false tattoos across my cheekbones. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough to fool anyone who just looked my way.

I’d already grabbed some cleaning solvent for later, stashing it in my room. I didn’t want to have to come back to The Makeover Room to get the necessary ingredients to clean myself off. The new dye was so strong that it stayed on your skin for over a day - well, an old Earth day, that I still couldn’t shake myself from thinking of as the default unit.

Two days was pushing it. But if you needed to get it off before a day, you’d need a cleaning agent that Kalyn had secured.

And anyone would have questions if they saw me made up like this.

I waited until I was at the entrance of the service vent before putting my boots on. This was the trickiest part. Once my upper body was in the vent, I wouldn’t be able to see if anyone was coming my way. I carefully lifted the vent cover and set it down on the floor.

The first time I planned this out, I’d immediately run into the issue of putting the vent cover back in place. My solution was to attach a length of thin rope to the grate and secure it inside the vent. As of right now, the rope was wedged between two loose slats of metal. As long as the slats didn’t move too far away from each other, the rope would stay in place. I didn’t expect that to last forever. I could probably weld a ring or something to the inside of the vent if I needed to keep using my escape hatch, but I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

I hauled myself into the vent and shimmied in as fast as I could. As soon as my legs were in, I grabbed the rope with my foot and pulled the vent cover up. It always took a little maneuvering to get it to slide back into its proper place, but I managed it.

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I’d been doing this sort of thing since almost before I could speak, yet the chance of getting caught always put a knot of anxiety in my belly.

If someone walked by now, there was no way they’d be able to see me. Taking comfort in that fact, I started crawling through the vent.

It wasn’t fun. There were points where the vent was so narrow, I had to roll onto one side and flop like a fish to get through. Thankfully, the vent wasn’t long. I soon reached my exit point. I didn’t need a fancy rope mechanism for this vent cover. It was in the part of the ship that was constantly kept in shadow. If someone were to look at this side of the Rogue Star, they wouldn’t be able to see the vent opening.

I popped the cover off, angled it carefully to fit around meand placed it inside the vent, far enough away from the opening so that it had no chance of falling out. Climbing out head first was never enjoyable, especially since it was a seven-foot drop to the dock below.

Once my head and shoulders were out of the vent, I reached up to grab a natural handhold in the side of the ship. I hoisted myself up until I could slide my legs out of the vent. From there, it was a simple drop down to the dock. I had to push myself out from the ship’s side far enough so that I wouldn’t hit the railing of the dock, which I would climb to get back into the vent.

I landed silently. Years of practice trained me to make as little noise as possible as I moved about.

I’m sure the Space Force could’ve put a girl like me to work, if I’d ever bothered to sign up.

And if they’d been willing to look over a few small things in my record.

Mostly small things.

I knew that it was a glaring security risk that the vents weren’t monitored. Maris and Orrin had deemed them too small to be any threat. They hadn’t thought that someone as diminutive as me would be able to access them. At first. I had thought to tell Maris about this security flaw. But then I realized that it would effectively seal me onto the ship. In the end, I decided it was worth the risk for now – I could inform Maris and Orrin once I had gotten what I needed.

I waited a moment, just to make sure no one on the Rogue Star had caught on to what I was doing. At this hour, the docks were all but deserted. Satisfied that I’d made it out undetected, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket and strode off toward the center of the space station.

Qasar Station wasn’t a glittering metropolis like Katzul. It was built for function, but it still had an elegance to it. Sections of the station were built within amber-colored domes. I wasn’t sure what their primary function was.

Probably some kind of environmental stabilizing system.

Sort of interesting, maybe. Maris would be all over it.

But not useful to me, so I didn’t really care. I’d always been a practical girl. Why stop now?

The buildings in the dome closest to the dock were mostly repair shops. When ships took damage in deep space, Qasar was the only place in this sector they could go to get patched up.

Beyond that dome was the heart of the station. The markets, the restaurants, the lodgings, and every other comfort of a regular city could be found in the center dome. While the dome containing the repair shops had an expected grittiness to it, the center dome was pristine.

The buildings in the center were all constructed of a gleaming white material I didn’t recognize. It gave everything a uniform appearance. Looking at the city center, it was hard to believe that evil lurked beneath the surface.

Somewhere on this space station was a group prepared to do anything, even commit murder, to find the Persephone Station women.

I knew their sigil.

I knew where underground groups like that one liked to hide.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I found them, but one thing was certain.

I sure as hell was going to stop them.

Kovor

“Why can’t you be a little more reserved in your expeditions?”

I looked at Dejar. I knew he was simply trying to keep things safe and simple, but I couldn’t stay on the ship when there was an entire space station I could explore.

There were places to go, drinks to drink, and there were far too many women that had yet to be charmed.

And it wasn’t just the usual delights of a new, different place calling me.

I needed to be out there.

“I’m just trying to find information and make us some contacts. What’s wrong with that?” I asked as I kicked my feet up on his desk.

He arched his eyebrow and tried for an overbearing, fatherly look. “Do you mind? This is still my office,” he said.

With an exasperated breath, I took my feet off his desk and did my best to get comfortable in the chair he had offered me. “Look, all I’m trying to do is make sure we have everything we need for this noble mission of ours.”

“And we appreciate that,” he said as he indicated himself and Aavat. I looked over and nodded to Aavat, his copper skin so much darker than my own hue. Of course, my own golden skin wasn’t as deep as Dejar’s, but I liked having the paler skin. It helped to emphasize my chiseled features and let my red hair be the center of attention it deserved to be.

Dejar was still talking. “We would just appreciate it if you were a little more hesitant with your gallivanting, that’s all. You know as well as we do, we’re not exactly in favor with the Dominion right now, and if they’ve already sent…”

“Someone to chase us down, and they found us here, yada yada,” I interrupted. “I know. But how can I be something other than who I am? That’s how we have this ship,” I waved my hand around. “And how we have as many contacts as we do.”

I could see Aavat shaking his head at me as he stood up from his chair and began pacing. It was annoying, hearing his footsteps clump clump behind me. Dejar let his head drop as he shook his head, as well. “You’re right,” he sighed. “You have gotten us numerous contacts, and have helped us with many things, but this isn’t just a standard job here.”

I waved him off. “I know that. Believe me, I do, and I support what we’re doing. It’s not right what’s happening with the women around the cosmos,” I hesitated a second, unsure if I’d phrased that entirely correctly. With a shrug, I continued, “And I want to make sure that we do the right thing, especially with the female members of the crew. That’s why I do what I do.”

“Is there any way,” Aavat started asking from behind me, “that you could, maybe, possibly, at the very least, tell us where you’re looking for information and what you’re finding?”

I shrugged again. I knew it aggravated the surly Chief Mate, but I couldn’t really help it.

Besides, it was too much fun to tweak him, just a bit.

“I’d love to fill you in, but I haven’t found anything yet. The only information I’ve found so far is that some people claim to have heard a rumor or something of the like. That’s it.”

“So, you’ve gone out every day and night since we returned, and you’ve learned…” Aavat started again behind me.

I got to my feet and turned to face him, chest tight with worry at the entire situation, despite my light words. “Nothing. Okay? I’ve found nothing so far. Then again, I’ve also been talking to people that either live off their parents’ money or are too busy to pay attention. I’m trying not to look too obvious.”

Aavat threw his hands up and looked behind me to Dejar. “I…you know what?” he asked as he pointed his finger at me. “You do whatever you want to do. If you cause problems for us, we’ll leave your golden posterior behind, just like any other member of the crew.” He looked back to Dejar. “He’s your problem. I’m done.” With that, he left.

I turned back, a bit surprised at Aavat’s outburst, only to be more surprised to see Dejar visibly angry.

And at me.

“If you screw this up, or cause trouble for us, we really will take the ship and leave you behind,” he stated, face hard. “You’ve always known that was our way. We won’t risk the women.” His lips twisted. “And with their skills, I’m not sure if anyone would realize you were the legal owner of the Rogue Star, anyway.”

“I’m not planning to cause problems.” I forced a smile, despite the growing ball of anger in my gut. “Look, the women need some more stuff for their disguises, and since I can get the best deal from Madam Ora, I’ll go replenish their supplies.” I headed towards the door, then stopped and turned back. “Unless you think that’s too much for me.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Dejar replied. We had been around the women enough for me to know that being an ‘ass’ meant I was being troublesome, so I returned the favor with another gesture I had seen the women using. Apparently, holding only the middle finger up to someone was basically saying that you wanted them to kout themselves.

I’d always thought cultural exchanges were useful.

“Go,” he said with a shake of his head. I kept the smile pasted on as I left the office and made my way to the hangar bay. I hated the door Orrin and Maris had installed but understood the necessity for it.

I hated the threat to the crew, to my new, makeshift family. And there wasn’t any way in the cosmos that I wouldn’t be trying to defuse it.

I punched in my code and headed into town.

Madam Ora was a beautiful woman that loved to give me discounts on things, as long as I was willing to give her a good time. I didn’t mind, she was fun to be with. But first, I was hungry. While the food carts in the market had fantastic food without any of the refinement, after the dressing down by Dejar and Aavat, I was in the mood for something soothing.

Which usually meant something expensive.

I found a quaint little place, barely big enough to seat the crew, and made my way in. I was only slightly under-dressed, wearing my red Genstad silk shirt with a gray silk vest, gray slacks, and my gray coat made from the softest materials found on the planet Dalu. After I was seated, I ordered a meal the likes of which I hadn’t had in months and sat back with a glass of the finest liquor the establishment had to offer. The bottle wasn’t far away.

Sitting at the table next to me was a gorgeous complement of women. Five ladies, four species, and three of those species I’ve enjoyed numerous times in various levels of…well, everything.

I asked them to join me and the light-hearted conversation helped soothe the last of the sting of Dejar’s words.

What did he know, anyway?

One of the women, a voluptuous, blue-skinned vixen that I recognized as one of Madam Ora’s minxes, had her hand on my leg, slowly making its way up. I wasn’t complaining as I leaned in and whispered nonsense in her ear. She giggled and gave me a playful squeeze on my inner thigh, letting her fingers lightly brush against me.

I was having fun. The other patrons weren’t entirely thrilled with me, but I didn’t care. These ladies were sensational.

“Oh, Baiviel,” one of the girls cooed.

Despite Dejar’s thoughts about my competence, I did know better than to use my real name. “I want to go dancing. Will you go dancing with us?”

The other ladies chirped in, and the one squeezing my leg moved her hand and gave me another squeeze as she smiled at me, adding her own silent persuasion to the verbal pleas.

“I would be honored and thrilled to spend more time with you beautiful ladies,” I laughed as I flashed a promise to my squeeze-friend. I called for the check, paid for the food and drinks—we had gone through three bottles? —and retrieved my coat as we left.

“So,” I asked, “where are…” I had to take a deep breath as the ground swam away from me for a quick moment. “Where are we headed? I can’t wait to see how you ladies move.” I wrapped one arm around my little blue friend and the other around the Pronarian goddess that had been licking her lips and batting her eyes at me all evening.

Madam Ora’s establishment would wait. The idea of these two women, maybe three or more of them—and the effects of the liquor—had me imagining so many things to do on this fine evening.

“I know a place,” the Pronarian answered. “How about The White Hole? Z is working the music there tonight.” The girls all squealed at that and started dragging me down the street. After a block or so, we arrived and were waiting in line. As we waited, I felt two hands on my backside and returned the favor. I leaned over to nibble on the Pronarian’s ear a bit when I saw something that snapped me entirely to attention.

At the end of the street was one of the women from the Rogue Star.

While the human women were good at disguising themselves, I could easily pick them out in a crowd.

And no matter how she dyed herself, I’d recognize Aryn.

She was doing her best to keep attention off herself, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

I’d watched her for far too long not to recognize her anywhere.

And she wasn’t supposed to be out here. It wasn’t safe.

“I’m so sorry, ladies. I just remembered that I have an appointment that I must attend to.”

“Aww, are you sure?” the blue one asked as she grabbed my face and kissed me, hard. A quick wave of revulsion at myself passed through me as I gently detangled my limbs.

But I could see Aryn out of the corner of my eye. She was going to get into trouble. Or be trouble for someone.

Either way, she needed me.

Even if she didn’t know it.

“I’m sorry. How about we get back together later? Deal?”

At their sad little nods, I left to follow Aryn, shoving down the growing worry.

Aryn

“Damn it,” I muttered, staring at my palm. I knew I’d forgotten something. I was so worried about getting out without getting caught that I hadn’t retraced either of the two marks onto the palm of my hand. I’d done it the previous night and the night before.

The lines from last night hadn’t completely washed off, and I could faintly see them through the pale green skin dye. One had been at the bottom of the list of women we’d rescued from Katzul.

The other had been branded into the skin of the bounty hunter who had nearly killed us all.

I wouldn’t easily forget either.

Each design was a rounded square, lines curling inside to make a pattern. Not quite the same, but close enough that there had to be a tie between them. Anything that looked similar would be worth checking out.

The third clue I was looking for I didn’t need a reference for. I was familiar enough with the differences between the Dominion’s sigil and the fake one that if I saw it anywhere on the station, I’d recognize it.

From what Captain Dejar and Aavat said, the oval mark was a spin on the sigil of the Dominion, the organization that had eyes everywhere and a hand in everything. The official Dominion sigil was a two-dimensional grid map of Dominion space, encircled by a thin silver band.

I’d only really seen it a few times, on paperwork around the ship and embroidered onto the black robes of a Dominion Official that tried to kidnap me and the other human women.

Not a fun day.

The Dominion dabbled in morally gray areas to preserve the safety of Dominion space, including warrants on the heads of the entire Rogue Star crew for accidentally entering the forbidden space of the Terran System.

The Dominion also wanted me and the rest of the human women for being unauthorized lifeforms or some crap like that. They didn’t seem to care that our options were either enter Dominion space or die.

The false Dominion mark showed different stars, and instead of a silver band, the map of the sigil was encircled by some kind of serpent eating its own tail.

Charming.

I’d taken a good look at it every time I’d taken food to the rescued women. If I saw it, or anything that looked like the other two strange marks, I’d have the next clue.

The sting of my nails biting into my palm caught my attention. I slowly, deliberately unclenched my hand.

Everyone was safe, for now.

And I was going to damn well keep it that way.

As I passed through the thrumming heart of Qasar Station, I kept my head down. Dominion law ran this station, but its officials weren’t often present here.

The station floated in the farthest reaches of deep space and, apparently, Dominion officials couldn’t be bothered to make such an arduous journey.

Needless to say, I wasn’t a fan of faceless organizations, though I was all too familiar with the faces that ran the Terran System.

Perhaps I should say I don’t like organizations, in general. Organizations certainly didn’t like me. If they didn’t make it impossible for the ordinary citizen to survive, I wouldn’t have to cheat their systems. So, who’s fault was it, really?

I’d left the heart of the station and moved toward the outskirts. The buildings were made of the same white material, though duller, dingier, somehow. The lights in this part of the center had a sickly yellow tinge to them. Music no longer tumbled out of establishment doors, and the walkways weren’t infused with the scents of cart vendors.

If an underground organization was on the station, it would be in a place like this. They’d likely frequent the center for quick jobs, but their headquarters wouldn’t be so close to their targets. They wouldn’t be on the far outskirts, either. Fewer people on the outskirts meant it was harder to blend in. This middle ground was perfect for anonymity.

The streets were far less crowded than they were in the center, but they weren’t totally abandoned. There weren’t half as many shops, either. I spied a low building with glowing windows and an open door.

I approached at a casual pace, blending in with the natural pace of the thin crowd. A sign was mounted above the doorway, though I couldn’t read the characters. That wasn’t a problem. I knew what this place was the moment I looked in.

I didn’t know what such an establishment was called on Qasar Station, but in the Terran System, it was called a bar.

I walked through the open doorway, making sure the heels of my boots made a hard impact against the floor. A few patrons lifted their heads to look at me. I avoided eye contact and looked around the place with a calculated expression of disinterest before making my way over to the main bar.

The creature tending the bar looked as unimpressed with me as I pretended to look with his place. Creature was the only way to describe him. It. Whatever. None of his limbs looked like they were from the same life form. His bottom teeth stuck out over his top lip. Each tooth was wildly different than the last. He was meant to have two eyes, but he only had one. The other was just a hole.

I didn’t flinch. I’d seen uglier mugs than his.

I took a seat at the bar, knowing he would take his sweet time coming to serve me. I was an outsider. I wasn’t yet worth rushing for. Secretly, I was glad for it. It gave me more time to polish up what I was going to say.

Old, familiar habits of thought washed over me, comforting in their familiarity. As much as I hated the situation we’d been forced into, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy a chance to use my old skills.

I couldn’t ask outright about the marks. That would immediately tip him off that I was up to something. I couldn’t look around the bar again, either. If I did, I’d look like I was searching for something or just plain nosy. Neither was a good impression to make.

I focused on what I’d seen when I first entered. Most of the patrons sat alone in silence with grim expressions and half-finished drinks. That told me that this wasn’t a place people came to have fun. This was a place where people came to forget or think too much.

If the patrons in this bar were here to forget the usual misfortunes and tragedies of life, there’d be conversation and yet there was none. No conversation meant secrets, things that couldn’t be spoken aloud in case passersby overheard.

I’d been in many places like this before. It didn’t matter that none of the patrons were human. Some things transcended humanity.

The tricky part was going to be getting information.

Luckily for me, it was my favorite part of the job.

With a plan in mind, I grabbed a napkin from the messy stack at the head of the bar and made a rough sketch of the mark that had been on the list hanging in the cargo bay. I’d seen it the most often, it came easiest to mind, it’s curls and waves almost familiar.

By the time I finished, the bartender had made his way over to me.

“What do you want?” he grunted. His single eye searched my face.

I stared at him blankly. “What’s your specialty?”

The bartender chuckled. “You couldn’t handle it.” He eyed me up and down.

“Wanna bet?”

“What do you want?” I had his attention now.

“Bring me your worst. If I can handle it, I get a free drink and one question answered.”

His bull-like ears flattened against the side of his lumpy head. “What kind of question?” His upper lip curled into a snarl.

“I’m new in town.” I smiled lazily. “I need directions.

“The station center has maps. Go there,” he huffed.

“What I’m looking for isn’t on the station maps.” I traced a finger in slow circles on the surface of the bar.

He looked at me for several beats before lumbering away to prepare my drink.

He came back with a chipped glass filled with thick, dark sludge. I carefully hid the disgust rising in me.

“Go on, now,” he sneered.

Shit.

Before I could think too much about it, I grabbed the glass and began to chug. Thick goop slid over my tongue and down my throat. I’d never tasted anything so vile in my life. Twice I thought I was going to spew it all back up, but somehow, I kept it down.

When I was nearly finished, it occurred to me that perhaps the contents of this hell-drink could be toxic to humans. Well, it was too late to do anything about that now.

I slammed the empty glass down on the table. The bartender wouldn’t give me the satisfaction of looking surprised. Bastard.

“What do you want to know?” He shrugged and placed his gnarled hands on the surface of the bar.

“I’m looking for work,” I said. “A friend of mine from Katzul knew I was coming here. He sent me a message saying some guys around here were looking for someone with my…skill set.” I paused, looking up at the bartender to make sure I had his attention. His eye narrowed just slightly. He didn’t know what to make of me. Good.

“Now, my friend isn’t a fool. He didn’t give me any names. Didn’t want me arriving on Qasar with dangerous information,” I shrugged. “All he gave me was the name of this place, and this symbol.” I pushed the napkin toward the bartender. “Do you know where I can find them?”

The bartender looked down at the napkin. His gaze grew cold and hard. He pushed the napkin back toward me.

“Don’t know nothing about that,” he growled. He was lying. I could feel it in my bones.

“A deal’s a deal,” I said through my teeth.

“You asked a question. I answered it,” he replied. “You calling me a liar?” Other patrons took notice of us. I’d made a mistake somewhere.

Dammit.

There was nothing I could do about it now.

“Of course not,” I stood up slowly, making sure the flicker of fear didn’t show, couldn’t show. “Thanks for nothing.”

Kovor

She wasn’t in that dive for very long.

I had contemplated following her in but decided against it, instead waiting, ears stretched, for any noise of distress.

I was more than a bit curious as to what she was doing, but didn’t want to make a scene, possibly put her more at risk.

As she walked away, I hurried over to the bar and glanced inside. Everyone in there looked tired with life and not at all like anyone the women should be interested in dealing with, so why was Aryn in there?

I debated going in to ask, but then she rounded a corner, leaving my view.

Decision made.

What could she possibly be doing? Was she trying to find some companionship that she wasn’t getting on the ship? Was she looking for a clandestine way back to the Terran System?

A thought struck me as she turned another corner into an alleyway.

What if she was looking for information about the auctions?

Icy fingers stroked my spine. It wasn’t safe on Qasar at night, not for our Terran women, not for Aryn to be out alone, vulnerable.

I turned the corner she had turned to see her turn yet another corner. Where the kopa was she going? I stumbled over something unmentionable in the street but kept my footing. Blinking, I impatiently shook the last bit of haziness of the liquor away and turned the corner.

There she was.

Just a bit further down the small passageway, looking at something to the side.

“Hey,” someone with an extremely gruff voice said behind me. I turned to see two figures standing at the last corner, both leaning against the building. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

“Who? Me?” I asked, pointing at myself, hoping to keep their attention away from Aryn. “I was just walking around, must have gotten a little lost.”

They stepped away from the building and walked towards me. Both were in some well-worn clothes, the hoods of their jackets pulled over their heads. Neither of them was bigger than me, but there were two of them and when they pulled their hands out of their pockets, their claws were easily visible.

“Look, friends,” I said as I put my hands up, “I sincerely apologize for intruding. I’m sort of new here, wasn’t sure where I was going, must have made a wrong turn. You know what?” I said as I took a few steps backwards. “Why don’t I treat you two to a drink, maybe some food. Whatever you two want, my treat.”

They looked at one another, and while I couldn’t see their faces, I did hear their sneering laughter. The other one spoke, his voice higher pitched than his friend’s, and with a bit of an accent, as if the words were mangled by protruding teeth.

Or tusks.

Lovely.

“Ye got money, eh? Now why don ye jus giv us all dat money, and mebbe we gon letchu lone.”

“I…could do that,” I said slowly, trying to impress upon them my innate harmlessness and state of inebriation. “But I think it would be a lot nicer if I treated you guys to something nice to eat and drink. Maybe,” I took another step backwards. “Maybe I can help you guys with your wardrobe, introduce you to some nice girls…or boys if that’s your style…and we forget that all of this happened.” Without meaning to, I burped, which brought a chuckle from my two new friends.

Gruffy spoke up. “You tryin’ to say we don’t dress so good?”

“No, no, no. Not what I’m saying at all. As a matter of fact, I like your beaten-in look, the clothes look comfortable.”

They didn’t seem to be buying it.

Scro.

I looked behind me and cursed silently. I hadn’t been paying attention and had somehow turned slightly. There was a giant trash receptacle right behind me, and Gruffy was making his way to my left, blocking my way out.

Okay, I’d been in worse situations. As long as their claws weren’t poisonous, I could handle them.

More importantly, they had no interest in Aryn or anyone else but me.

Mission accomplished.

I put my hands down and stopped moving. “Alright, alright. It seems as though you’ve got me in a corner. Literally. What can I get the two of you in order to leave me alone?”

It was Accent that answered my question. “We want alla yer money. You come down hyer, dresst like dat, you gots ta have som money. And we wants it.”

“Well, to be honest with you two fine gentlemen, I actually don’t have any credits on me. I spent it all on some very beautiful women a little while ago. I was looking for somewhere to get some money out and got lost.”

I shifted my weight to the balls of my feet, muscles in my calves flexing, ready to spring. “If you two could just show me where to go, I’ll gladly pay you for your help. Just name your price.”

Suddenly there was an awkward grunt from my left.

Accent and I both turned to see an arm wrapped around Gruffy’s chest and a knife pointed at his throat, his head lifted as high as he could make it go.

My human girl peeked her head around to flash a lovely, feral, and entirely infuriating grin. “Evening, boys. Can I join in on the fun?”

Mission not accomplished.

“Now, maybe the two of you want to leave this man alone and walk away,” she continued in remarkably fluent Shein. I made a mental note to send a bonus to the programmer.

“Why we gonna do dat?” Accent asked.

She shrugged slightly. “If you don’t, this one here ends up with a hole in his throat.” Gruffy smiled a bit, his hood slipping back, and I finally got a glimpse at what he was, a Gevvuk.

“Uh, pretty lady?” I interrupted. “He’s a Gevvuk, a nasty race of cutthroats, thieves, and idiots. They’re nearly invulnerable from the chest up. You need to go lower,” I said with a look down. She caught on to my meaning and shifted her knife from his neck to in between his legs.

Gruffy looked at me in rage.

“Then again,” she said, “I could change his religion instead.”

That made no sense to me, but I had never seen a Gevvuk get so wide-eyed before. He was on his tiptoes, doing his best to hold his position to avoid the edge of the knife.

“Oh, ho, ho.” Her grin got a bit wider. “Looks like I picked the right spot. Now, are you going to leave or not?”

Gruffy was nodding emphatically, but Accent tried to call her bluff. “You not gonna cut ’im. You just a dumb woman. You ain’t gonna do it.”

I sidestepped towards him, leaned over just a bit, and whispered, “Do you really want to risk your friend’s life and happiness on that? What if she isn’t bluffing?”

“I’ll leave. I’ll leave,” Gruffy was saying. I found it amusing to hear the high-pitched fear in is gruff voice. It was such a contradiction to what I had heard earlier.

“Look at him,” I said. “He’s terrified. He knows that she’ll do it, and here you are, risking his happiness to show your bravado.”

“Brav—what now?” Accent questioned as he tilted his head in my direction.

“Bravado. You know, when you try to be tough,” I answered.

Maybe it wasn’t so as much a problem with the teeth interfering with his words, as his lack of intelligence. “You’re risking your friend’s little toys just to show how tough you are. Do you really think he’s happy about that right now?”

“Ahhh!” Gruffy was screaming as she lifted the knife higher.

Accent moved faster than I thought he could, but I was still able to throw my leg out to trip him up.

Aryn jumped to the side as Accent fell into Gruffy and they started fighting one another as they detangled.

I grabbed her arm and started running, dragging her behind me. We stopped about a block away and I took a hard look at her. Now that we were away, she was safe, and my brain seized up.

Was I supposed to know her name? Would that mean I was stalking her, or just interested in the welfare of all the members of the crew?

Not stalking her. Of course not. Just interested. Very interested.

“I’m Kovor,” I said. “You’re Aryn, right?”

“No shit,” was her response.

Fantastic. First hurdle crossed, in a fashion.

“Want to tell me what you’re doing out here?” I forced another smile, one that came easier just by being in her presence.

“Taking a walk, learning the local customs, seeing the sights,” she shrugged. “You know.”

“Fine,” I shrugged in turn, putting my arm around her shoulders and starting us walking again. “Let’s go learn things together.”

She stiffened slightly, but that was fine. We could take as long of a walk as she wanted, but Aryn wasn’t leaving my sights again until she was safely back on the ship.

Now to convince her of that.

Aryn

“I feel just terrible that you felt the need to jump in the way you did,” Kovor called over his shoulder as he swaggered through the streets.

That was something I’d noticed about him. He didn’t walk, he swaggered. Even though he’d obviously had a few drinks, he didn’t seem off balance as he moved. Odd and annoying, graceful, considering how large he was. “I had everything well in hand.”

“They had you well in hand,” I snorted. Don’t get me wrong. Kovor was a nice guy. Hell, a great guy, making sure we had whatever we needed on the ship.

And, now that I had a chance to study him a little more closely, a rather good-looking Shein.

But I had a job to do, and playing babysitter wasn’t on the agenda.

“That’s what I wanted them to think.” Kovor waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “I didn’t expect you to be pulled into my act as well.”

“I wasn’t pulled in because you were in over your head,” I replied. “You were in over your head the moment you stepped out of the station center.”

“I’ve managed perfectly fine in worse places than this,” Kovor scoffed.

“I don’t believe you,” I replied. “Do you have anything on you worth taking or did they just go after you because of your lack of common sense?”

“They probably wanted this.” Kovor drew a cloth drawstring bag out of his coat pocket, twirling the string around his finger.

I heard the unmistakable clink of currency.

“Put that down!” I hissed. I made an attempt to snatch the bag from him, but he tucked it back into his jacket with surprisingly fast hands. “Did you learn nothing? You were literally attacked not five minutes ago. Were you swinging that around then, too?”

“No. I was just minding my own business,” Kovor replied.

“What’s your business out here, anyway?” I asked. “The fancy establishments that cater to your type are in the station center.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kovor asked.

“Fancy drinks, food that costs more than a week’s wages, overflowing with beauties. You know, your type of place,” I prompted.

“I don’t appreciate the generalization.” Kovor straightened his jacket with an air of hurt dignity.

“You didn’t say I was wrong, though,” I replied quickly. “So, tell me what you were doing walking through a shady neighborhood with a jangling pocket?”

“Being a good crew mate, if you must know.” Kovor lifted his hands. “I saw you walking, and I decided to make sure you didn’t come into harm’s way.”

“You mean you were following me!” I exclaimed.

“Yes,” Kovor nodded once. “You could put it that way.”

“That’s not minding your own business,” I pointed out.

“You live and work on my ship. That makes you my business,” Kovor said.

I gritted my teeth. “Gee, that’s not at all condescending.” I rolled my eyes.

Kovor acted like he didn’t hear me. Maybe he really didn’t. He was too busy looking around the station, playing the airheaded tourist. We’d wandered closer to the station center. More people walked the streets. I could hear music again.

As we passed a well-lit establishment with glittering crystal fixtures and lively music pouring through the open windows, I noticed several women craning their necks to get a better look at Kovor. Their longing couldn’t have been more obvious if they’d written it across their foreheads.

“Friends of yours?” I nudged him and jerked my chin in the direction of the women in the window. A charming smile that might’ve worked on me once upon a time appeared on Kovor’s face. He waved to the women but kept walking with me, earning me nasty glares from his admirers.

“It’s time to go back to the Rogue Star,” he announced. “I’ve got a meeting in the morning and I want plenty of time to sleep this off.”

“I’ll walk with you to make sure no one else goes after your purse,” I rolled my eyes. “But I’ve still got some things to do.”

Kovor stopped short and gave me a hard look.

“You know you’re going to have to tell me what you’re doing out here, right?” he asked, rolling his head to look at me.

A light breeze picked up a few strands of his hair. The station’s lighting altered the naturally metallic sheen of his skin so that it looked like parts of him glowed gold. Once we got closer to the station center, the light would turn harsh again and he would go back to looking like a white gold sculpture.

“I didn’t realize I was a prisoner.” My shoulders tensed, ready to run. I needed to flip this on him. If he knew what I was doing, he’d be involved.

The more people involved, the higher the risk. I didn’t want to drag Kovor into this.

“You’re not.” Kovor seemed genuinely insulted that I compared living on his ship to being held captive. Good. I needed to distract him from what he wanted to know.

“Could’ve fooled me,” I spat, forcing venom into my words. He was after a good time, some fun, right?

Then I needed to make sure that hanging out with me wouldn’t be worth it.

He spun on his heel to face me head on, moving so quickly that I almost ran right into his broad chest. When I looked up at him, his golden eyes glinted coldly in the light.

“Don’t try to start a fight,” he said sternly. “You will tell me what you are doing. You will tell me why you feel you have the right to disregard the safety of everyone else on the ship to disembark without permission. If you don’t, I will have no choice but to report your actions to Captain Dejar and Aavat. I will advise them that you should receive a most severe punishment for your insubordination.” His chiseled jaw was tight. “Your choice. Make it quick.”

I blinked in surprise. One look at Kovor’s steely expression told me he wasn’t bluffing. If he reported me to Captain Dejar, I’d be confined to quarters, and we’d never figure out who kept coming after us.

It was only a matter of time before some other goon tried to kidnap us or kill us.

And next time, they might succeed.

“You can’t tell anyone.” My voice was as sharp as a knife’s edge.

“Can’t I?” Kovor lifted a brow. “Dejar is the captain, but I own the ship. I have the final say on everything. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Typical.

Kovor reeked of privilege. Of course he felt he could do whatever he wanted. Ordinarily, I’d tell someone like that to screw off, but I was smart enough to know that wouldn’t do me any good this time. I needed to pacify him somehow.

“I’m asking you not to tell Dejar,” I said through gritted teeth. “Please.”

“Tell me what you’re doing, and we’ll see.” He folded his arms across his chest.

I could tell that was the best offer I was going to get. I didn’t want to push him too far. I was fully aware of the fact that he could throw me over his shoulder and drag me back to the Rogue Star whether I wanted him to or not.

And nothing about that was attractive, I told myself, letting my eyes roam over his figure for just a little longer than necessary while I took a deep breath.

Decided how much I could trust him.

“Fine,” I groaned. “I’ll tell you. But let the record show that I tried to keep you out of this for your own good. Can you acknowledge that?”

My words apparently amused him, if the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth was anything to go by.

“I willingly acknowledge that you tried to protect me from whatever beastie you’re hunting,” he said.

“What makes you think I’m hunting something?” I demanded.

He stared at me as though it were obvious. “I followed you for the better part of an hour. I know what a stalking predator looks like.”

Huh. Not nearly as stupid as I’d thought. And I hadn’t noticed him. That was... interesting.

“I’m looking for traces of that mark.” I unclenched my fists again, willed myself to try to trust this one, just a tiny bit. “The one on the bounty hunter.”

All amusement dissolved from Kovor’s expression, leaving that same cold stare behind. “Of all the stupid...” he muttered, raking his hand through his hair. “What would possess you to do such a thing?”

“For starters, I’m not too keen on sitting around waiting for someone else to come after me,” I snapped. “The Dominion sent officials to kidnap me and the others on the outpost. The bounty hunter admitted he was sent to find human females. When do you think the next one is coming?”

“I know,” Kovor sighed. “But why do you think going after the group we know is targeting you is possibly a good idea? That just sounds like a quick way to get killed.”

“It’s not like I was planning on charging in there, ready for battle,” I replied. “I simply want information. It’s easier to fight the known than it is to fight the unknown.”

“Why didn’t you tell Dejar about this? He’s reasonable. He might’ve come up with a less risky endeavor.” Kovor shook his head.

“No offense to the captain, but it’s obvious he doesn’t have a clue what we’re up against. No one does. He can’t come up with a better plan without information,” I argued.

“Why are you so sure you can do better than he can?” Kovor asked. “I chose him to captain my ship for a reason.”

“Gathering information is a specialty of mine,” I replied coolly.

“How mysterious,” Kovor replied. “Care to elaborate?”

“That’s not information I’m inclined to share with anyone.” I gave him a warning gaze. “I can’t be bought, either, so don’t try.”

Kovor’s eyes hardened. “I wasn’t going to,” he said. “If you don’t wish to divulge your past, I won’t force you. I’m not a complete ass.”

“That remains to be seen. Are you going to report me to the captain?” I asked.

Kovor rubbed his chin as he considered it. “No,” he said.

I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “On one condition.” My face fell.

“What?” I asked.

“That you put a stop to this immediately,” he replied. “No more sneaking out. No more prowling the streets. No more putting yourself in danger against something you can’t fight alone.”

If I didn’t know better, I’d think he sounded genuinely concerned for my well-being.

Kovor

Yesterday had been an interesting experience for me.

Good food, good drink, some promising activities, and then it had all ended with a near mugging and my finally getting to be introduced to Aryn.

If I remembered correctly, she was one of Maris’s friends, not that I knew much of Maris. All I knew about her was that she was as good with machines as Orrin, and that they were constantly rubbing on one another.

Not that I could begrudge Orrin. Maris was fairly attractive, for a human.

But Aryn...her long, fiery red hair was matched by her temper and attitude. She sincerely believed that I had been in trouble last night.

To think that two ruffians would have been able to damage me.

It was laughable, but I was grateful for her interference. The look on Gruffy’s face when she moved the knife down low, still amused me. I don’t think I had ever seen anyone that terrified before.

And watching her move, seeing that fire in her eyes...

Worth it. Even if they’d taken my purse, it would have been worth every moment with her.

Unfortunately, that didn’t deal with the more important issue. Aryn had been sneaking out of the ship. Everyone might think I ignored the day-to-day operations of the Rogue Star, but there was nothing about this ship I didn’t know, no maintenance vent I hadn’t been through, no schematic I hadn’t pored over.

There were only two places she’d have been able to slip off. I doubted that she knew of the one inside the weapons compartment, so I headed to the other one.

When she showed up to her little escape hatch carrying a small bag and hit me with a well-practiced you-have-got-to-be-scroing-me look, I couldn’t keep my smile off my face.

I must have been absolutely beaming, because she snarled a bit before she spoke. “What are you so happy about?”

“Nothing,” I said, the smile still on my face. I couldn’t help it, I was in a good mood. I loved being right. Especially when it came to this little human. “Just wondering what you’re doing here.”

“Maintenance,” she said, her voice in a monotone.

I nodded, even though I knew she was lying.

“Really. What kind?” I flashed her my widest grin.

She let out a huff of air. “What do you want?”

“I want to come with you.”

She looked at me, a hand on her hip as her other hand shifted the bag on her shoulder. “Come with me where? I’m doing maintenance, or are you deaf as well as stupid?”

I let her insult slide. It simply meant I’d been doing a good job, letting Dejar and Aavat run around being in charge. “Oh, please. There’s no scheduled maintenance to be done in this section of the ship. I do actually see the reports, you know. You’re trying to sneak out again. You know it, I know it, you know that I know it. Why try to deny it?” I cocked an eyebrow, tried not to let my gaze roam all over her enticing form. “Especially when you have on skin dye.”

Her eyes narrowed. I would have given a ridiculous number of credits to know what she was thinking.

As long as she didn’t want to be found out by the others, I was winning. “Well?” I asked as she continued to hit me with her icy stare.

I swore she was trying to kill me with a look, she really must have been.

“‘Well,’ what? Are you trying to tell me that either I let you come with me or you’ll turn me in?” she asked.

I nodded and wiggled my eyebrows.

She was hating this.

I was loving it.

“Fine,” she snarled as she turned away from me. “On one condition,” she added, looking back at me.

“What?”

She stomped over, stuck her finger into my chest, and stabbed me with it on every word she said. “You do exactly what I say, when I say it. Understand? You don’t, I’ll leave your ass behind to die. Capisce?”

“Sorry. What does…‘capisce’…mean?”

The corner of her mouth tugged ever so slightly upwards into a grin, but she managed to hold it back. “It means, do you understand?”

“Ah. Then I capisce.”

“Fine. I’m going to crawl out of the service hatch that’s behind you and go back into the station. I think it’s too small for you, so if you get stuck, well… that’s what happens if you insist on following me,” she said as she reached for her bag. “Your choice.”

I nodded and began to leave. “Hey,” she called to me. “Giving up so soon?”

I looked back at her. “I own this thing, I don’t have to sneak around.” I gave her a quick salute. “Hope you enjoy the exercise.”

I walked away and made my way down. I was pretty sure that if she had a firearm, she would have shot me as I did.

Probably.

I punched in my code at the door, walked off the ship, and made my way to the end of the dock where a small food vendor was set up. I bought two bottles of Gevvukian juice—a carbonated fruit drink that the women had said was similar to something called ‘soda’—two twist-breads, and a big bag of jerky. I paid, gave the vendor an extra credit as a tip, then sauntered back down the dock to the ship.

I leaned against a light post not far away and waited.

I could hardly contain myself as I watched her tiny form ease around the side of the ship as she made her way across the outer hull. She had some gumption, and skill, that was certain.

But my mind raced, throwing up plans only to discard them. If she fell, that was it. We would never be able to save her from falling through the atmo-shield, yet she still methodically climbed her way around.

The bag of jerky crunched in my hand as I watched her, holding my breath, willing her not to fall.

By the time she dropped down to the dock, I had myself back under control. Relaxing, I nibbled on the twist-bread. I smiled and offered her the other bread and drink.

“You look like you could use this.”

That glare really was growing on me.

Aryn

“You really don’t need to be out here with me,” I said to Kovor. “I’ve been fine the last three nights. You don’t need to stick your neck out.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that he thought this was just a game.

There’d be real consequences if the wrong person figured out what we were up to.

“Of course I do,” Kovor said dismissively. “I couldn’t allow a lovely young woman like yourself to dive headfirst into the seedy areas of the station alone. My upstanding sense of chivalry wouldn’t allow it.”

“Oh, is that it?” I snorted.

“We need a cover story.” Kovor and I walked side by side into the station center. Music was flowing, street vendors were lined up, sending delicious smells into the air, and women were already eyeing Kovor.

This time he didn’t appear to notice them. Nice to see he had at least a tiny amount of professionalism.

“Why would we?” I asked.

“In case we’re questioned,” Kovor replied.

“Why would we be questioned?”

Kovor pretended like I hadn’t said anything at all. “Let’s be lovers having a night of romance out on the town.” He gestured with a dramatic sweep of one arm while reaching for my hand with the other.

I sidestepped out of reach and he sighed dramatically.

“You’ve already blown our cover. I thought you’d be better at this.”

“If you insist on having a cover, it has to be one that allows us to blend in,” I insisted. “We can’t be groping one another and moaning with delight.”

“I was thinking we could hold hands and look moony-eyed at each other. But if it’s groping and groaning you want, I’ll happily oblige.” He flashed a dazzling smile and winked.

I rolled my eyes, but that didn’t stop the blush from rising in my cheeks. Thankfully, it was dark, so Kovor wouldn’t see. He might be an obnoxious rich boy who didn’t know his ass from his elbow, but there was no denying that he was handsome.

And thoughtful.

And… I reeled myself back in. “We don’t need a cover story. If someone tries to talk to us, just keep your mouth shut and let me answer,” I said sternly.

“If you insist,” Kovor threw up his hands and sighed. “Walk me through your progress so far.”

“I have a system.” I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets. It wasn’t very crowded this evening. My chances of slipping away from Kovor in a crowd were slim, especially since he was taller than almost everyone else in the station center and would spot me easily.

“Care to elaborate?” He leaned in closer to me when he spoke. I shifted away from him.

“Not particularly,” I replied.

“I’m not going to follow you around all night without a clue as to what you’re planning,” Kovor replied.

“You didn’t have a problem with that last night,” I replied coolly.

“I was almost robbed!” Kovor laughed.

“Were you? I thought you had them well in hand.” I looked over my shoulder and smirked at him.

Kovor let my comment roll right off his back. “We’re partners in this now. You’re going to have to fill me in,” he repeated.

“Fine.” I stopped short. Kovor almost ran into me. “I’ve been working in small circles starting in the station center and working farther toward the outside of this dome with every circle.”

“Why circles?” Kovor asked.

“It gives me more than a snapshot of an area. When I circle, I can see the same area from different angles in a series of moments,” I explained. “Straight line is too obvious, makes it too easy to miss something.”

“Makes sense,” he nodded. “And you start from the station center every time?”

I nodded in response.

“There are several other domes. How do you know the group that’s hunting us operates under this one?” He squinted up at the curved amber dome above is. From here, it was possible to see the honeycomb structure of it. I wondered, not for the first time, what it was made out of. Though that knowledge would serve Maris far better than it would serve me. I couldn’t build anything to save my life.

I’d left Maris out of my plans for the same reason I’d left everyone else out. Maris was like a sister to me. If I discovered anything and she ended up hurt because of it, I’d never forgive myself. She’d nearly died to save my life.

She was all I had. I’d rather die than put her in harm’s way.

“We have to start somewhere, and here we are. First, we have to examine what we know about this group,” I began, when it looked like he was actually listening. “We know for certain that it’s tied to the auctions and it’s tied to the bounty hunting business.”

“Right,” Kovor nodded.

“Now, we have to consider what we know about Qasar Station. For one, it doesn’t have the overt culture of low morals the way Katzul does. Every city has a seedy underbelly, however, Katzul takes pride in flaunting theirs,” I continued.

“That’s why it was so easy to get information about the auctions,” Kovor added.

“Exactly. Here, the station’s internal security is more of a presence.” I looked at the six station guards visible on patrol in the station center.

Kovor followed my gaze, seeing what I saw. “Additionally, a large percentage of the residents are temporary and shelling out all of their funds to afford repairs. The odds of someone having enough money to shop for an exotic alien girl on the side are slim and there’s no way to predict when such a customer will be on the station.”

“Not sustainable for such a business,” Kovor chimed in.

“Exactly. If auctions do, in fact, take place here, they are few and far between. Now, let’s examine the bounty hunting aspect of this.” I urged Kovor forward.

If we stood still for too long, we’d stick out. The best way to blend in was to do what everyone else was doing. In this case, it was strolling casually and enjoying the sights.

“This doesn’t seem like a great place for a bounty hunting ring to operate, either,” Kovor commented. I tapped his arm, discreetly urging him to veer toward the small path on our right. I hadn’t checked that one yet.

“All those ships in and out, bringing people, information, goods? Easy to book passage on a cargo ship,” I reminded him. “But still, Qasar is out of the way,” I rubbed my eyes. “It’s not impossible. There’s too much we don’t know.”

I scanned the buildings as I talked to Kovor, watching people, how they moved, what areas they avoided.

“You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?” Kovor asked.

“You have no idea,” I replied absently. “You agree that a bounty hunting business is more sustainable than an exotic alien auction business, yes?”

“Yes,” Kovor replied.

“And that this group dabbles in both auctions and bounty hunting?”

“Yes,” he repeated.

“So, you’d agree with me when I say that a group that already dabbles in multiple businesses likely dabbles in other, smaller ventures to keep the two larger business afloat?” I prompted.

“Makes sense,” Kovor nodded. “What smaller ventures?”

“Ventures might not be the right term,” I shrugged. “I mean things like pickpocketing, petty theft, small scale scams, and the like. Small crimes that don’t leave a big trail but have a decent payoff.” A flash of movement caught my eye. I looked at dark corner between two buildings, ready to move if need be. But it was only a tipsy couple, giggling and groping at each other where they thought no one could see them.

“That’s a logical assumption, but it doesn’t explain why you’ve targeted this area.” Kovor steered back to his question.

“The other domes are industrial. Permanent workshops with permanent workers. Steal from them more than once, they’re going to catch on. But here? With so many people coming and going, the odds are a target will have departed before they realize something’s missing from their possessions. Most people would assume they’d lost whatever trinket while they were out.”

“It concerns me how much you know about this sort of thing,” Kovor said.

“Some of us had to get creative to make ends meet,” I replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kovor asked.

“Don’t feign ignorance,” I snorted. “It’s no secret that you come from a cushy life. I don’t expect you to know how everyone else makes a living.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Kovor said, his voice low.

My tongue turned into a wet lump of concrete as I tried to make myself apologize. For a brief moment, I cursed my stubbornness. In the end, I let the conversation drop.

We walked in silence for a long while, which is what I’d wanted in the first place.

Didn’t know why it didn’t make me happy now.

Chattiness drew attention. Explaining my method to Kovor was fine, since we were still in a highly populated area. Now, I led us farther and farther away from the station center and into the grimier areas.

The neighborhood we’d entered was run down, even more so than the one I’d picked through last night before I had to rescue Kovor. Hardly anyone was on the streets. Those who were, moved the way I did, even steps, head down.

Kovor walked with his shoulders squared and his head held high. He stood out like a sore thumb. I was about to correct him when I spied it out of the corner of my eye. The mark from the bounty hunter, crudely scratched into a metal door.

It’d be easy to dismiss it as graffiti, as a random doodle, if you hadn’t seen it before.

“Kovor.” I tugged on his coat sleeve and pointed.

“We have to tell Dejar.” He turned around to walk back to the ship, but I lingered.

“I want to go inside.”

Kovor stopped dead in his tracks. He took in a deep breath before turning around to face me. “If we go in there and something bad happens, no one will know where we are. No one will come to help us,” he explained. “I’ve been fine with humoring you thus far-”

“Humoring me?” I sputtered.

“I came along to make sure you didn’t get in over your head,” Kovor replied. “Do I have to carry you back to the ship myself?”

“You can’t keep threatening me with that,” I replied.

“I will if that’s what works.” He flashed one of those charming, evil grins. “I suspect I’d even enjoy it.”

Kovor

“I still don’t see why we have to get the captain involved,” Aryn said as I dragged her down to Dejar’s office.

“How can you not see why?” I said over my shoulder. “They need to know, Aryn.”

“The more people involved, the harder it is to remain unnoticed,” she replied.

“What is it with you and wanting to sneak about so badly?”

I didn’t know Aryn well at all. Since she came aboard, we might’ve said three words to each other up until last night.

However, I had noticed that she didn't like to leave any trace of herself. She moved from room to room like a specter. I still couldn’t believe she’d figured out on her own a way to leave the ship. Crawling through the service vents. Really.

“It’s easier.” She didn’t meet my gaze when she spoke. Clearly, there was more to her than she let on, but that wasn’t something I could focus on right now.

Right now, I needed her to tell Dejar and Aavat what she knew.

Later would be a different matter.

I entered the office without knocking. As usual, Dejar was hunched over his desk, looking at screens, sorting through possible jobs. Aavat leaned with his back against the wall, looking surly.

“Do you need something, Kovor?” Dejar asked without looking up.

“No, but Aryn here has something she wants to tell both of you.” Dejar and Aavat looked from me to Aryn and back again.

Aryn yanked her arm out of my grip with a scowl.

“Is something the matter?” Dejar asked Aryn, looking between us worriedly.

“Nothing, sir,” Aryn replied.

“Aryn.” I pressed my fingertips into the bridge of my nose. “If you don’t tell them, I will. Don’t make this difficult.”

“But that’s what I’m good at.” She batted her eyes at me. How could a creature so pretty be such a pain in the hurg?

“Aryn,” Dejar said, his voice sharper this time.

“I found something when I was walking around the station,” she muttered quickly.

“When you were what?” Aavat pushed off the wall and stalked over.

“Aryn has been taking little unauthorized field trips.” Something in my gut urged me to stand between Aavat and Aryn, even though it was completely irrational.

Aavat would never hurt her. Besides, I knew her. I folded my arms across my chest and stepped in front of the door just in case she decided to make a run for it.

“You left the Rogue Star without permission? How?” Aavat demanded.

Aryn didn’t say anything, so I gave her a nudge.

“You have to tell them,” I urged.

“The service vents,” she mumbled. “I crawled through the service vents.”

Aavat’s expression looked somewhere between outraged and impressed. I understood how he felt.

It was the same way I felt every time I looked at Aryn.

“Why did you leave? You know we’re being targeted. Do you realize the danger you’ve put us in? What if you were followed?” Dejar pushed away from his desk and began to pace the room.

“We should leave you here and let you fend for yourself,” Aavat snarled.

Aryn paled, but her chin rose, lips pressed together. She wouldn’t beg, and this wasn’t the way to get her to cooperate.

“Hold on a moment,” I spoke up. “Aryn hasn’t told you everything yet.” I nodded for her to continue, hoped that she wouldn’t pick now to show how stubborn she could be.

“I know we’re being targeted. That’s why I’ve been sneaking out,” she explained with a sigh. “All we do is sit around, twiddling our thumbs and theorizing about what might be coming after us and what they might do.”

“Aryn,” I warned. “I meant you should tell them what you found, not insult them.”

“I’m getting to it,” she said over her shoulder.

“I don’t know if I’m interested in hearing anything she has to say,” Aavat fumed.

“I went looking for information on the group that’s hunting us. Until tonight, I hadn’t uncovered anything.”

“What did you find?” Dejar asked.

“Kovor and I think we found what might be their meeting place,” she said. I winced as Dejar and Aavat’s angry gazes fixed on me. “It could even be their headquarters. But it’s definitely tied to them.”

“You were with her?” Dejar demanded.

“I spotted her walking around last night,” I explained. “I knew she was going to do it again, so I insisted on coming with her. I thought I could make her see sense and avoid all of this, but,” I shrugged, just to watch Aavat suppress a snarl, “then we found a door marked with one of those intriguing marks. So here we are.”

“Where?” Aavat demanded.

“Station center. Outskirts of the residential area,” I replied.

“I would’ve preferred it if you informed me the moment you saw her walking around unguarded,” Dejar said through clenched teeth.

He couldn’t truly reprimand me since he didn’t have authority over me. If anything, technically, I outranked him.

But he really, really would have liked to.

“I didn’t want to leave her alone,” I replied. “She has a talent for finding the seediest places.”

“That bar wasn’t even close to seedy,” Aryn shot back.

“You’re not helping yourself,” I warned her.

“Enough!” Aavat snapped. He turned to Dejar. “I suggest taking a small group to investigate the potential headquarters.”

“We don’t know what we’re dealing with,” Dejar replied. “I won’t send anyone in blind. It’s not worth dying over.”

“I had some thoughts on that,” Aryn spoke up, surprising us all.

“We’ve had enough of your ‘thoughts,” Aavat snapped.

A quiet rage flickered across Aryn’s expression, and she clenched and unclenched her fist.

“I think it’s worth it to hear her out,” I said before I realized what I was saying.

Dejar and Aavat looked at me with curious expressions, but at that moment I couldn’t be bothered to play with them.

“She’s already shown us how skilled she is at moving around undetected. I think we should use that to our advantage.”

“Exactly!” Aryn exclaimed. “I’ve worked with groups like this before. If you give me the chance, I can slip into their ranks and learn all their secrets.”

“Are you insane?” I blurted. “I was thinking you could keep asking around, not walk right into the belly of the beast.”

“Asking around might yield good info, but more than likely it’ll just yield rumors,” she retorted. “Captain, this is our chance to gain the upper hand. Aren’t you tired of running and hiding? Aren’t you sick of turning the same theories over in your head as if new information will magically appear?”

“Do you have actual experience with this sort of operation?” Dejar sighed heavily.

“Yes,” Aryn nodded with confidence.

“You can’t seriously be considering this,” Aavat gaped at Dejar.

“I’m not seeing an alternative,” Dejar said. “We can’t sit in this port confined to the Rogue Star for the rest of our lives. This is the first chance we’ve had to learn about who’s hunting us. We’re going to take it.”

I didn’t miss the smile tugging at the corner of Aryn’s mouth.

“Fine, but she’s not going alone,” Aavat huffed. “She needs some kind of backup.”

“I really don’t,” Aryn argued.

“You do. I’ll go with her,” I stepped forward.

“I don’t think so,” Aryn shook her head and looked at Aavat. “Give me someone with training. No offense, Kovor but you’ve never done anything like this before. Once I’m in with them, I won’t be able to babysit you.”

“What are you going to do if they find you out?” I asked. “What if they attack you? You’re walking into a den filled with men who don’t have an issue with hurting women, regardless of species.”

“I can take care of myself,” Aryn muttered.

“Maybe in the Terran System you could,” I admitted. “But you aren’t in the Terran System anymore. You don’t stand a chance in a fight. And as far as training, I’ve had more extensive experience and instruction than the majority of the Rogue Star crewmembers. A perk of that privileged upbringing you mentioned.”

“He’s right,” Dejar cut in. “You will go with Kovor or you will not go at all.”

“But-”

“You’re not in a great position to be arguing,” Aavat warned her. “Consider yourself lucky. If I were captain, you’d be confined to the cargo hold until we left the station.”

“Be smart about this, Aryn,” I urged.

She turned her piercing gaze on me. I stared back, unblinking, until she was forced to look away.

“Okay,” she groaned. “But if we get killed, you can be damn sure it’s his fault.”

“Glad you’re being so reasonable about this,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Are you sure Kovor is the best choice for this?” Aryn asked Dejar. I couldn’t help but laugh. She was feisty and relentless. Part of me admired her.

Part of me wanted to lock her in a room.

“I trust Kovor. I don’t trust you. It seems like an obvious choice,” Dejar replied. “Prepare for your mission. I want you and Kovor back on the streets tomorrow night. Dismissed.”

Aryn

“What’s the plan when we get there?” Kovor asked.

“Let me do the talking,” I replied.

We traveled light to create the illusion that we were drifters looking for work. Hidden within the folds of clothes in my small bag were vials and pots of skin dye and other cosmetics to keep the illusion I was a female Shein.

No one would ask why two Shein were traveling together so late at night. If I disguised myself as something else, it might raise suspicions. And questions of any sort were the last thing we wanted.

“I need more to go on than that,” Kovor said.

“No. You don’t,” I said sharply. “Stay silent and look a little stupid. Whoever’s behind that door needs to assume you’re my lackey.”

“Lackey?” Kovor exclaimed.

“Sorry to bruise your pride,” I rolled my eyes. “But I don’t trust you enough to know you won’t blurt something stupid that’ll ruin everything before it begins.”

“I give you my word.” Kovor lifted his chin. I stopped walking and turned to face him fully.

“Look.” I chewed on my bottom lip, remembering how horrible it had felt when I’d insulted him before.

Dammit. Being careful about someone’s feelings wasn’t exactly something I had a lot of practice with.

“I’m sure where you’re from your word means a lot. I’m sure you’re true to it, too. But I don’t know that. I’ve never seen you in action.”

“I’m not as useless as you think I am.” Kovor kept his voice level. His eyes were clear and genuine. He really wanted me to believe him. I took a deep breath.

“You’re probably very capable,” I admitted. “But until I see that for myself, I need you to stay quiet and let me take the lead on this.”

“Okay.” Kovor nodded. A sense of relief bloomed in my chest, but it wasn’t enough to negate my growing anxiety.

I had more to worry about than just Kovor blowing our cover. I nodded and started to walk again, but Kovor gently grabbed my arm and held me back.

“You’re going to have to start trusting me at some point,” he said. “This won’t work if you don’t.”

“In my experience, trust gets people killed,” I replied as I pulled my arm from his grasp.

He didn’t try to hold me back again as I walked on. “What is your experience?” he asked.

“That’s my business,” I muttered at the ground.

“What a mystery you are, Miss Tines.” Kovor looked up at the amber domes overhead. He didn’t sound angry or annoyed. In fact, he sounded intrigued. I couldn’t decide if I liked that or not.

It’d been years since I could say anyone truly knew me. Maris knew me better than anyone, but even she didn’t know anything. All of us from Persephone Station had some kind of past. The unspoken rule was to wait until information was offered, not ask for it.

Once upon a time, it wasn’t that hard to earn my trust. I’d always been good at reading people. I was never wrong, until the day I was.

I had trusted Harper Browd more than I trusted my own mother. She and I grew up in the same neighborhood, two dilapidated houses down from each other. We were born at the same hospital within hours of each other. It seemed only natural that we became friends.

Fated.

In our neighborhood, Mama Imelda was as close as one could get to the queens of olden times. She was powerful, charismatic, and ruthless. If you wanted to make any money at all, you worked for Mama Imelda.

Money was always tight in my house. Same for Harper. We started working for Mama Imelda when we were eight years old. Naturally, we didn’t fully understand the sort of woman she was. She would ask us, in the sweetest voice either of us ever heard, if we could help her find something she’d lost. Every week she lost something. Every week she’d send Harper and me out to find it.

We never questioned it. If Mama Imelda said it was hers, then it was hers. Harper and I never failed her. Even if we had to crawl through basement windows or shimmy down chimneys, we always brought Mama what she wanted. She always paid us handsomely and we always came back for more.

I’m not sure when we finally figured out that the items Mama Imelda asked us to retrieve weren’t hers, just things she wanted. Often, she used us as a scare tactic to show anyone that she could get into their homes without them knowing. Harper and I didn’t mind. Mama Imelda kept us fed and clothed.

As Harper and I got older, Mama Imelda trusted us with more complex jobs. She’d send us into neighboring territories to gather information on her rivals. There wasn’t a criminal organization within thirty miles that Harper and I didn’t fool. Lying and inventing new identities became second nature.

Harper and I used every trick in the book to wiggle our way into the other organizations. Between the two of us, Harper was definitely the better actress. She could convince anyone to do anything. Once Harper got us in the door, then I would utilize my extensive skills to complete whatever assignment we’d been given. Pickpocketing, lockpicking, and my ability to blend in with the shadows served us well. Before long, all of Mars knew we existed, even though no one knew who we were.

It went on for years. Mama Imelda would give us an assignment, Harper and I would weasel our way into a rival organization, and then that organization would mysteriously collapse. If the rival organization had believed in open communication, they might’ve caught us sooner.

We were eighteen by the time someone figured out Harper and I were the ones responsible for their downfall.

Wanted posters went up on every post within a fifty-mile radius, along with a handsome reward. I wasn’t ever worried when the posters went up, even though it was clearly Harper and me in the picture. No one knew our real names. No one knew where we were really from. Mama Imelda knew how to buy people’s silence.

As long as we had Mama Imelda’s protection, we’d be safe. She’d told us time and time again how she loved us as if we were her own daughters. She made enough money and paid her other little worker bees well enough that I didn’t worry about anyone being tempted by the reward.

If I could turn back time, I’d find my past self and tell her to stop being so naïve. I’d tell her to pack a bag and run the moment those posters showed up. I’d tell her not to put her trust in other people to keep her safe.

Just one person was tempted by the reward money. Harper. My chosen sister, my other half, the one person I thought I could always count on.

Even now, I wasn’t sure when she went to the authorities and how she pulled it off without me noticing. I woke up one morning surrounded by guns pointed at my face. I never saw Harper or Mama Imelda again. As far as Mama Imelda was concerned, I’d become a liability. She needed to cut ties in order to preserve her business.

Harper collected her reward money and somehow, she convinced the authorities that her guilty conscience couldn’t be ignored any longer, that she was a changed soul.

Harper took the reward so that she could start her life over.

Within a week of my capture, I was sent to Persephone Station.

“Aryn!” Kovor’s voice startled me. He stopped about twenty feet behind me. “It’s here.” He jerked his head in the direction of the metal door we’d found the night before.

“Right,” I muttered. This was exactly why I needed to be here alone. I needed my head in the game, not caught up in thoughts of the past, wondering if I’d ever be able to trust someone in the future.

We approached the door. From what I could tell, there was no guard or lookout. If there were cameras, they were well hidden. I pounded on the door with my fist.

A large alien with armored plating, like an exoskeleton, answered the door after a few minutes. He fixed us with a mean glare that would’ve shaken most people.

Good thing I wasn’t most people, and due to my little walk down memory lane, I was feeling pretty mean myself.

“It’s late. Very late. I think you’re in the wrong place.” He smiled, but unless his species had entirely different mannerisms from the rest of the ones I’d met, it wasn’t a kind one.

That was fine by me.

I eyed the belt of knives he wore around his thick waist and smiled back. “I don’t think so.” I handed him a sheet of film. It contained nothing more than the mark from the bottom of the list of alien women.

“My brother and I are looking for work. A friend thought this,” I tapped the sheet, “might serve as a recommendation.”

I held my breath. I’d spent hours debating which mark to use. The two had to be related, but if they were individual markers, it was more likely this gang would recognize the brand from the bounty hunter’s wrist. We’d picked him up here on Qasar, after all.

The one from the warehouse in Katzul seemed safer.

Sort of safer.

Maybe.

Kovor tensed beside me. Hopefully, the large alien didn’t notice.

“Where did you get this?” the doorman demanded.

“Katzul,” I replied. “We’ve been there for the last few years. We figured it was time for a change of scenery.”

“The law caught up to you?” he scoffed.

“More like the boredom caught up to us,” I replied. “It’s no fun pacifying rich idiots. There’s no sport in it. They’ll believe anything, really.”

The doorman chuckled. “What’s the name of this friend?” he asked.

I smiled once more. “Now, if I told you that, I’d be betraying his confidence. Once I’m loyal, I’m loyal until death.”

That seemed to win him over.

“Come in and talk to the boss. If he likes you, you’re in.”

Kovor

We were led into the building and forced to follow what I assumed was supposed to be a dizzying array of turns.

Unfortunately, the Drazian brute leading us didn’t seem terribly smart and we went by the same intersection at least three times.

It’s so hard to get good help.

Our guide ushered us into a room, and I looked at a very rudimentary office.

There was a large metal desk in the center of the room and three metal shelves loaded with various items ranging from weapons to notebooks to boxes. I was curious about what was in the boxes, but the hulking beast that stood up from the desk garnered all of my attention.

He was a Tutahn, one of the largest species I had ever seen, and he was not an average one. This one was a beast among beasts, and if I’d been a sane, lazy playboy, all I’d want to do was get away from him, now.

There were moments that made me question my life choices.

“They say they’re here for work.” I jumped and a small part of me was pleased to see that Aryn had been startled, as well. Distracted by the massive Tutahn, I’d failed to notice our guide had followed us in.

The boss looked us both up and down. “Why are you here?” My eyes went wide. His voice was beyond deep. There was so much bass in his voice that it felt as though my organs vibrated whenever he spoke.

Aryn stepped forward. “Like your man said, we’re just here to work. Friend of mine said there might be something here, so we’re here.”

She had no fear.

This beast of a man made Orrin look small and she talked to him like it was nothing. I was impressed, but also smart enough to keep my mouth shut and my emotions off my face.

He looked at us. “Makes no sense.” He looked at the Drazian behind us. “I don’t remember asking for help. You?”

“No, sir.”

The boss nodded his head. “How you two know to come here?”

I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I answered the big man. “Like my sister said, a friend of ours told us there was work here. Is there or not?”

Aryn flashed me a look that silently said I was going to get us killed.

“Why your sister look at you like that?”

“I’m not usually the talker, she is. Growing up, she had a big mouth. Now, her big mouth does all the talking for us both,” I gave Aryn a condescending smile to play up the statement.

The look in Aryn’s eyes were essentially daggers to the heart. I smiled wider.

The Tutahn laughed, a deep laugh that forced me to take a step back, which caused him to laugh even harder. “I like you two, and your timing is good.” He sat back down at the desk, the chair audibly groaning under his incredible size.

He looked at us. “You said you’re brother and sister?”

We nodded.

“How come you’re so much bigger than her? I thought Shein women were tall,” he said.

“I was sick as a child, didn’t grow right. But,” she said with a look at me, “I’m as tough as any other Shein male. I’ll do the work.”

He nodded again. “Okay. My name Skud. What your names?”

The fact that he slipped back and forth between fluent and pidgen speech made me wonder as to how involved this little section really was in everything.

He was certainly not your typical Tutahn, his size alone spoke to that, but his intelligent speech made me think that he dealt with many people that would not tolerate pidgen.

Aryn was speaking. “…Koll, and my name is Ryn.”

“Brother Koll and Sister Ryn. Greeted,” Skud said. The name fit him. Simple, yet scary. “Like said, your timing is good. We lose a worker a few days ago and we have shipment coming soon.” He looked past us. “First one in how long, Laz?”

“Many months,” was the answer.

“Like Laz says, first shipment in many months. It’ll come soon. You two, if worthy, will help.” He stood up, motioning us to follow him. “Come.” He led us out the back of his office deeper into the bowels of the building. “We’re small, but we’re good. When work comes, we finish it quickly and well.”

“What kind of work are we getting now?” Aryn asked.

“We get good job, Sister Ryn. It’s rare that it happens, but I won’t argue. It a good payday,” Skud answered as he led us through what was presumably a kitchen. “We’re not sure exactly when it will come in, but it will be soon. You two will have to do work before the shipment comes.”

“We’re up for anything,” Aryn said.

“Good. What do you say, Brother Koll?”

It took me a second to respond, my mind was elsewhere. “Like my sister says, we’re up for anything. What kind of shipment are we talking about, if you don’t mind my asking?” I ignored Aryn’s stare.

“Ha, I like you,” he said as he slapped me on the shoulder. I fell hard to the floor and looked up to see Skud, Laz, and Aryn all laughing or smiling at me.

“Thank you?” I said as I rubbed my shoulder. He reached his big hand down and helped me back to my feet.

“Skud sometimes forget that little people like you aren’t strong. To answer your question, all that matters for you is there’s money involved if you work hard. Big money,” he answered, with a big smile to emphasize the amount of money.

It had to be the women.

Or drugs. Or weapons. Or illegal tech.

I shared a quick look with Aryn, and I hazarded a guess that she was thinking the same as I was. She looked up at Skud. “So, are we to assume that standard ‘shut up and work’ rules apply here?”

Skud let out a loud bark of laughter. “You are the smart one, aren’t you?” He nodded again. “You are right. We do job, we get paid, we stay quiet. If job goes well, we get more work. If job goes bad, we suffer. And the person, or people,” he said as his voice lowered into a deep rumble, “that make job go bad will suffer.”

We both nodded, understanding the hidden threat. We were the new ones, we were the ones that wouldn’t be trusted yet. If the job went bad, it would be our heads that rolled.

“When we don’t have work from high bosses, we make work around here. We make sure things happen, that way we get paid.” He went on to explain that their operation included some ‘protection’ provided for several of the businesses, as well as some loansharking.

I assumed that Laz ran the money part of things, Tutahns were never known for being terribly good with money.

He led us through more of the building, finally bringing us to a narrow hallway filled with doors. “This is sleeping area. You two are at end of hallway on…” he looked confused for a moment, using his hands and talking to himself a bit before turning back to us. “That side,” he said, pointing to the left. “If you two want in on the job, you earn it by working here. There are many small jobs. You’ll start in the morning.”

“Works for me,” Aryn said.

“Are you sure? You can walk away,” he said. Something in the tone of his voice, however, made me think that there really was no walking away, not anymore. Aryn looked at me, winked, and turned back to Skud.

“We’re here for work. We’ll do whatever is needed, as long as the payday matches the effort,” she smiled.

He looked at her, then at me. I did my best to look calm, but it was difficult not to feel completely intimidated by him.

I wasn’t a small man myself, but I felt like a tiny child compared to him. He was very obviously sizing me up, and without meaning to, I straightened up.

With a grunt of appreciation, he nodded and held out his hand. “If you willing to work, you get paid.”

Aryn took his hand and shook it. “Like I said, we’re up for anything.”

“Good. Welcome to Enclave. We’ll see how long you last.”

Aryn

I stifled a laugh at Kovor's expression. We’d been given accommodations. However since I'd said we were siblings, Skud didn't feel the need to give us separate rooms.

There were no windows. Furnishings were sparse and well used. The chair in the corner was missing a leg, the dresser only had one drawer and the surface was so scuffed I couldn't tell what color it was supposed to be, let alone what the material was.

And there was only one bed. I didn't know if it was Skud’s idea of a joke, or if he was testing us to see if we’d complain.

If I knew one thing about groups like this, there was no room for complainers.

“The floor is filthy,” Kovor muttered.

I checked the walls and corners for recording devices, cameras.

There was nothing I could see; the walls were bare, so anything would stand out.

Sure, there could be some sort of alien tech I didn't know about, but if I worried about everything I didn’t know about, I'd never get anything done. Besides, from the look of this group's headquarters, they weren't raking in the dough. Even out here, surveillance gear had to cost something.

I turned to find Kovor still scowling. How could somebody still look so charming even while being so visibly disgusted?

I sighed and grabbed the blanket from the bed. “Don't worry about it, playboy, it won’t be the first time I've slept on the floor.”

Before I could decide which corner looked the least grimy, Kovor stood before me, strong fingers wrapped around my forearm.

I stared at where his skin touched mine. Maybe he was sick. I hadn't realized his touch would be quite so warm.

“Don't be ridiculous,” he snapped. “I'm not sure if that mattress is much better, but you're certainly not going to be on the floor.”

I forced down the oddly-timed flutter of butterfly wings in my stomach.

This couldn’t be nerves. I'd never been nervous on a case like this.

“Trust me,” I put a hand on his chest to push him away, but he stood firm, solid. “I've slept on worse.”

His scowl only deepened. “Not when you're under my watch, you haven't.”

He bent his head close to mine and I realized I wasn't the only one wondering how private our room was. “You shouldn't be here,” he murmured, his breath hot at my ear. “You shouldn't be here at all. There's no reason for you to make it more uncomfortable for yourself.”

The quick flare of temper at his words made it easy for me to wiggle out of his grip, step away from his pull.

“You're the one that shouldn't be here,” I snapped. I stomped over to the bed, eyeing it with suspicion.

He was right, it wasn't much cleaner than the floor. And no matter where I slept, the blanket would be thin.

I sensed rather than heard him move behind me, watching me silently.

“Don't be whining at me in the middle of the night,” I forced steel into my whisper. “You sure the hell aren't sharing a bed with me. I've seen the way women throw themselves at you. I won't be one of them.”

Kovor drew one finger down the back of my arm. “I wouldn't expect you to be. But it's going to be difficult to explain why you won't ever be less than three steps away from your own brother, you know.”

I turned, perching on the edge of the bed. “Would you have preferred me to say you're my lover?” I regretted the words as soon as they slipped past my lips.

Kovor’s eyes narrowed as his heated gaze roved over me.

“Don't answer that,” I said hastily.

Like the flick of a switch, the carefree playboy was back.

“I know I could play the lover better than the brother.” He placed his hand over his heart as if he were swearing an oath, his easy grin securely in place.

“Stretch yourself a little,” I growled, moving over to the battered chest of drawers. I needed just a bit of space, a moment to breathe outside his presence.

I tucked the small bag we’d brought with a change of clothes for each of us inside the drawer. No point unpacking fully, not until we had a better idea of what's going on.

The bottle of skin dye sparked its own questions. It would last a day, maybe a little more. But I hadn't wanted to risk bringing a larger container. Who knew what we'd be doing, how long we’d be here?

Kovor leaned against the wall the wall by the dresser, watching my movements. “Sure it's enough?” he asked, eyes flicking down to where my hand tapped the bottle of dye.

“I think so,” I replied. “If we do this right, we won't be here very long. I didn't see any bathing rooms yet.” I trailed off, trying to figure how I’d reapply it with him so close.

“You're joking.” Kovor’s face fell in an exaggerated grimace. “I can live without a clean room, but I cannot live without adequate bathing facilities. That's disgusting.”

“Don't get your britches in a twist,” I said dismissively, even as I wondered how much of this was an act. No one could pretend so hard to be such an idiot all the time, could they?

“You can't expect luxury accommodations.”

“I wasn’t aware a shower was a luxury accommodation,” Kovor replied. “Maybe a deep soaking tub, somewhere to have a foot rub…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculousness. “You haven’t seen enough of the world then.”

“Maybe not, then,” his smile faded. “But we’re going to see plenty of this particular bit of nastiness soon enough.”

I grabbed my spare shirt and wrapped it over the pillow. Tomorrow I’d see what could be done to sterilize the sheets.

The mattress.

The floor.

Everything.

He led me back to the bed, waiting until I gingerly lay down to shut off the light and stretch out on the floor.

“Do me a favor?” his teasing voice floated through the darkness.

“What?” I asked.

“Sleep close to the edge so the blanket can fall over on me.” Ridiculous. I could even hear his grin.

“Just take the blanket.”

“Won’t you be cold?” A hint of pity, of worry in his voice was enough to shake me.

“I can handle it. You, on the other hand, I’m not so sure. I wouldn’t want you to freeze to death before we find anything out.”

“I knew you cared,” he preened.

This time, I was able to laugh in earnest. “Don’t read too much into it, pretty boy. I still think you’re useless.”

“I look forward to proving you wrong.” His voice was serious, full of promises.

Promises I couldn’t believe.

“Good luck.”

Kovor

“You two get up, now. It’s time to work,” Skud announced in that deep bass of his.

“It’s time to get the delivery already?” I asked through another yawn.

I had no idea what time of day it was, the only thing I knew was that it was so ungodly early that I don’t think I had ever woken up this early in my life. I may have been awake this early, or late, depending on your viewpoint, but never woken up this early. I yawned as Skud stood in the doorway of the room he had given us.

He shook his head and snorted. “No. You work here. There’s much cleaning for you to do.” He left our room and I could hear his laughter resonating down the hall.

I turned to look up at Aryn, who was already sitting up on the bed, hair temptingly tousled. “Cleaning?” Not exactly what I’d wish for our morning conversation, but it would do. For now.

She shrugged. “We need to ‘prove’ ourselves first.” She stepped around me, pulled her hair back tightly. “Standard procedure.”

“Any idea what they’re going to have us work on?” I stood up and stretched, feeling my muscles loosen up, except the one in my shoulder. It stayed nice and uncomfortably tight.

“Not a clue,” she said through a yawn of her own. “But I’m going to assume that, since he said we’re cleaning, we’re probably cleaning.”

I was not happy. I had helped with all manner of tasks when we were renovating the Rogue Star, but I hated manual labor. Well, that wasn’t technically true. I did like working with my hands, but Orrin hated it when anyone worked on his engine. I hadn’t minded tearing apart some of the inside of the ship and rebuilding it, it was fun.

Cleaning was another matter.

“Hurry up!” Skud yelled at us from further into the compound. I looked at Aryn, twitched my left eye a bit, and threw on my shirt and shoes. We made our way down the hallway. We went down a flight of stairs, rounded a corner, and my heart dropped right down into my toes.

Skud stood in the middle of a dark hallway, two mop buckets and mops next to him, and a wicked smile plastered on his gargantuan face.

“It’s about time. You two clean, now. I want everything clean when we get back. If things not clean, you two sleep, eat, and clean in trash bin outside. Understood?”

I wasn’t sure if it was how big he was, or the smile on his face as he spoke, or maybe the bass that was so deep it could shake a mountain, but I wasn’t terribly keen on the idea of disappointing him.

Then, somehow, his smile became impossibly wider as he reached into a back pocket. “You two start in bathrooms. They extra dirty.” He pulled two ridiculously small brushes from behind him and held them out to us. “Here. This what you use to clean. I want it shiny!”

I hesitated a bit as I reached for the brushes. They were small wire brushes with a metal handle, a rubber grip that looked as though it had been chewed on, and tiny wire bristles that stung and drew blood when I touched them. “What are we cleaning with this?” I asked.

“The bathroom. Everything. Have fun,” he slapped me on the back, then walked away, laughing.

I turned to Aryn, the brushes held up in front of me. “Really? This is what he wants us to clean with?”

With a smile and a small laugh, Aryn took one of the brushes from me. “You’re taking this way too seriously. Come on, cleaning is part of the adventure. Besides, when we’re cleaning, there’s ample opportunity to look around.”

“Really? Adventure? What world did you grow up in where cleaning was an adventure?” I asked as she walked away from me.

She stopped, turned around, and hit me with a stern look. “It’s simple. We clean. If we don’t clean, we don’t get in on the shipment and we’re simply wasting our time. You want to waste our time, or do you want to get this clean, prove that we can follow orders, prove that we can get a job done correctly, and be part of the job? This is why I didn’t want you to come along. You’re too above this.”

Scro. She was right. I was being a jerk, and unhelpful, and all those things.

I’d blame it on having a crappy night on the floor, but that wasn’t going to win me any points either.

She turned away from me and started searching for cleaning supplies. She found them in a small closet next to the bathroom. “Well?” she asked as she pushed her way past me into the filthy room.

“Fine. Let’s clean.” I set the brush down on a small ledge by the bathroom door and grabbed a mop and bucket. If I was going to clean this thing, I was going to do it right.

I took the mop and bucket into the closet, where there was a small water spigot. I filled the bucket up with hot water, added some cleaner, and set them to the side. I then grabbed a broom, swept the entire bathroom, then started mopping.

“Why are you mopping now?” Aryn asked as she was scraping a wall with the bristle-brush.

“If I have to clean the grout, that means I’m going to be on my hands and knees. Who knows how many of these kouters missed the toilets, so I’m going to clean the floor before I clean the floor,” I answered as I slapped the wet mop onto the floor. “Problem with that?” I didn’t bother listening to her answer as I scrubbed.

But I heard her light laughter anyway.

While the floor dried from my first mopping, I took my bristle-brush and cleaned the sinks, then the urinals. I fought back my revulsion at what I was doing and concentrated as hard as I could on why we were doing this. We were trying to find the people that were selling women into slavery so we could stop them. We had a personal stake in this and wanted to make sure it was stopped.

If we didn’t stop them, Aryn was at risk.

I scrubbed harder.

After about two hours, the bathroom was as clean as it was going to get. We moved on to other parts of the building, including the other four bathrooms.

“Hey,” Aryn whispered as we scrubbed some outer windows.

“What?” I asked, not looking at her.

“I don’t hear anything.” She stopped, cocking her head. “We should look around now, see if we can find anything. Most of them are gone to do whatever they’re doing, so we should be able to sneak around easier.”

I glanced over at her and I could see the excitement in her eyes. She was right, we needed information and we could use our cleaning duties as an excuse for being in places we probably shouldn’t be.

I gave a slight nod to the idea and finished cleaning my window. We made our way around, cleaning lightly, and found a small communications room. While I watched the door, Aryn went to check the computer.

It was only a little bit disturbing that she already knew how to use this system’s computer systems.

Maybe more than a little. We really, really needed to have a talk about her past.

But it was worth it, watching her work, watching the spark in her eyes when she found something of interest.

“Come here,” she whispered. I did a quick check of the hallway, saw no one, and went to her side.

“What is it?” I whispered.

“Look here,” she pointed to the screen. “The last few communications were within the station, but this one,” she pointed to one in particular. “This one was off-station. This must have been the message about the shipment.”

I took a closer look at it. It was a short call, definitely came from off-station, and looked to have come from a ship. The designation for the origin of call only gave a quadrant location, which is usually done when a ship is making the call, and a set of coordinates.

But there was no other information. Nothing we could use.

Nothing we could take back to the Rogue Star.

“I hear something!” Aryn whispered loudly. I quickly turned off the screen and we both went about “cleaning” the room. Laz walked in.

“What are you two doing in here?” he rasped.

“Boss man wanted us to clean everything, so we’re cleaning everything,” I answered as I emptied out the trash can and replaced the liner. “Are we not supposed to?”

He studied us as Aryn kept sweeping. I stared back at Laz who studied us with narrowed eyes. With a growl, he snapped. “You’re not supposed to be in here alone. Get out.”

I held up my hands to show that I understood our mistake. “Okay, okay. Sorry. Just trying to do what Skud, you know, the boss guy, told us to do.”

We gathered our supplies and left. We continued to clean, staying away from anything that looked important because we knew Laz would be watching.

After a bit, Laz left the hallway, and we made our way into Skud’s office. Aryn argued that we were pushing it, but I wanted to see what was in those boxes on the shelves. We looked around, Aryn looking through his desk, while I looked in the boxes.

They were filled with random parts, paperwork, and tchotchkes from around the cosmos. I recognized some of the little things as being the same ones my grandmother had sitting on her window sills. I shook my head. Of all the things someone like Skud could have in his office, he had boxes of useless decorations.

“Find anything?” I asked Aryn.

She shook her head. “No. Nothing terribly important that I can tell. They’re connected to about a third of the station in terms of protection payments, but I can’t tell anything else from his writing.”

“Let’s get out of here before we’re caught, then,” I suggested. She nodded, put Skud’s desk back the way it was, and we left. We spent the rest of the day cleaning.

But when Skud came back, he requested our presence, immediately.

Aryn

By the time Kovor and I placed our filthy bristle-brushes on Skud’s desk, I ached from head to toe and felt a layer of grime even through the skin dye.

Which worried me.

While the skin dye was supposed to last through sweat and exertion, glancing down I noticed it had gotten a little thin in places.

The chemicals.

Shit.

I slid my hands behind my back and glanced at Kovor.

Poor guy might have been new to cleaning up other people’s filth, but he’d actually put the work in, scrubbing as hard as I had.

“Not bad.” Skud picked up my bristle-brush. Its initially white bristles were now black and clumped together. I doubted anything we cleaned looked much better than it did when we’d started, but I knew that wasn’t the point of this exercise.

Skud just wanted to see how far he could push us. Hopefully, he was satisfied.

“Is there anything else you need?” I made sure not to sound too eager.

“You kids have shown grit,” Skud nodded. “You did your jobs and didn’t squawk about it. Ordinarily, I’d have a few more hoops to put you through before I could sleep easy, but I have an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often.”

“What’s that?” I asked, letting my head fall to one side.

“We’ve got a delivery coming in and I’m a man short,” Skud replied. “Big delivery. Under the radar, but I’m sure I don’t have to explain that to you.”

“We’re familiar with the idea.” I let myself smirk just a little. Facial expressions were key. I couldn’t look too eager, too calm, too anxious, too uninterested. It was all a balancing act. If my eyes lit up with excitement, I’d look too greedy. If I looked nervous, I’d look useless.

I itched to look behind me and see which mask Kovor wore.

Since Skud hadn’t said anything to him, I figured Kovor had passed as well. I was getting a little curious about my playboy and his masks.

Shit. Not my playboy.

“Are you, now?” Skud leaned back in his chair, happily oblivious to my slip. “Who did you say you worked for before coming here?”

I deliberately hadn’t said anything about previous ‘employers’ and Skud knew that. His question was just another reminder of the dance we were doing.

“My brother and I freelanced for anyone who’d take us, that way we could get out in case an operation went belly up,” I explained.

“Smart thinking,” Skud nodded. “Why the urge to join a team now?”

“We’re on a confined station. There’s only so many places we could go before the permanent residents learned our faces.”

“Ah. You expect me to protect you?” Skud chuckled.

“Only if you think we’re worth it,” I shrugged.

“And what if I don’t?”

“It’ll be a disappointment for us and a loss on your part,” I replied evenly.

Skud’s shoulders shook as a laugh bubbled up from deep in his belly. “I like your confidence. Clearly, you’re the brains of your partnership. I want you on the shipment delivery with me,” Skud offered.

“My brother and I are a package deal.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and squared my shoulders.

“I can’t say I’m as sure your shadow is as useful.” Skud’s gaze flickered to Kovor.

“He’s my security,” I replied coolly. “He bites when I need him to. He’ll bite when I ask him to. He’ll bite who I want him to.” I was sure Kovor loved hearing that. No doubt I’d get an earful the next time we spoke in private.

“Fine. He’s in, too. We might need the muscle,” Skud relented. “We’re heading down to the port in an hour.”

“An hour?” I blurted. I knew Kovor and I had to see what they were up to, but I was worn down after a day of cleaning on my hands and knees. I wasn’t as sharp as I usually was.

What if this was some kind of trap?

“Problem?” Skud’s eyes hardened.

“Not at all,” I smiled easily. “It’s just that Koll and I reek after today. Hope you don’t mind the smell.”

Skud chuckled and made a dismissive gesture. Kovor and I silently left his office and headed back to our room.

“Security? Really?” Kovor said once we closed the door to our shared room. I started to laugh.

“I couldn’t think of anything better,” I half laughed at the idea of him as someone’s body-guard. Dark, mysterious, and dangerous, he wasn’t.

At least, I didn’t think so, but I was too tired to think straight.

“You didn’t try very hard,” Kovor replied but I could see the answering smile in his eyes.

“You’re right, I didn’t,” I admitted. “Cover the door while I freshen up. The skin dye’s starting to fade.” Kovor nodded and turned his back while I pulled my shirt over my head. I poured the smallest amount of skin dye needed and retouched the faint spots on my neck, chest, wrists, hands and face. It wasn’t just the chemicals that had faded the dye on my hands, the sweat through the day had done a number all over. I scowled at a bare patch on my side. The shirt would cover it, and I needed to conserve the dye for as long as possible.

Hell with it.

Throughout the process, I watched Kovor like a hawk.

He didn’t once peek.

A faint bloom of disappointment settled in my belly.

Really, Aryn?

I shook my hands, waiting for the dye to dry and my mind to come to its senses. When I couldn’t afford to wait any longer, I tugged my shirt back over my head and re-tied my hair into a neat Shein bun.

“Do my tattoos need touching up?” I asked Kovor. He turned to face me. He walked around the room until his face was inches from mine.

My heartbeat sped up and I held my breath. As he examined my face, my gaze was drawn to his mouth, those full lips.

I quickly looked away before he noticed.

“The markings look a tiny bit smudged, but only if someone is looking hard,” he assessed. “I can touch them up for you, if you like.”

“No,” I said too quickly. I took a step back from him. “I’ll keep my hood up. It’ll be dark. No one’s going to be looking at my face.”

“Except me,” Kovor grinned. Thankfully, the skin dye hid my blush.

“Why would you be watching my face?” I asked.

“It’s interesting to watch your expressions. I’ve made a game out of trying to figure out which expressions are genuine and which are calculated,” Kovor said.

“I wonder how many you’ve gotten right,” I raised my eyebrows, and wondered how many of his I’d gotten right. I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.

“Probably none. You’re still a mystery,” Kovor replied. Before I could say anything back, he opened the door to the room and strolled out. I double checked the coverage on my hands and wrists before hurrying after him.

We hung at the back of the group as we followed Skud down to the port. Kovor and I kept our heads low as we passed the Rogue Star. I wondered if anyone saw us.

Skud’s ship wasn’t as big or as nice as the Rogue Star. The lettering was in one of the alien scripts I hadn’t learned yet, so I couldn’t read the name painted on the side of the vessel, but I doubted it was the ship’s real name in any case.

Maybe Skud had his very own Maris to make false registration tags.

Or maybe he bribed the dockworkers to look the other way.

If it was me, I’d do both.

I wondered what Captain Dejar would think if he knew he shared a port with our enemy. They’d been a handful of ships down from us the whole time.

I felt a hand on my upper arm. Kovor looked at me with a carefully concealed look of concern. I relaxed my expression. I’d been glaring without realizing it. Kovor moved closer to me as we boarded Skud’s ship. We followed the group down a passageway and through an open room lined with windows, rather like the viewing deck back on the Rogue Star.

“Sit below deck. Make no sound, not even when we stop,” Skud instructed. I nodded. Kovor and I descended a rickety flight of steps to a small cargo hold. Though Skud had brought several Enclave members with him, he only made Kovor and me sit in the cargo hold. Once the door was shut, Kovor turned to me.

“Should we be worried?” he asked.

“Not yet,” I said, though I knew my voice lacked conviction. “He doesn’t trust us yet. He doesn’t want us to know where he goes to receive deliveries. He left the door unbolted. It’s another test.”

“Right.” Kovor nodded. He sat down on the floor with his back to the wall. After a few minutes, I sat down beside him. Through the floor, we felt the engine rumble to life. The ship tilted as it pulled away from the port.

Kovor and I sat in silence as the ship moved away from Qasar Station. After a while, the soothing vibrations of the engine started to lull me to sleep. I decided to rest my eyes for just a moment…

“Aryn!” Kovor’s quick whisper jolted me awake. My neck hurt. I realized my head was on his shoulder. I straightened up immediately, my entire body on alert.

“What?” I whispered back.

“We’ve stopped,” he replied.

“I’m going to go see what they’re doing,” I decided. Kovor grabbed my arm as I started to get up.

“No way! It’s too risky,” he insisted.

“Skud said shipments like these are few and far between. We might never get another chance to see who their supplier is,” I argued. I could tell Kovor didn’t want to let me go, but in the end, he released my arm.

“I should go,” he insisted.

“You’re too big to hide easily,” I patted his arm. “Good thing I was so sickly as a child, right?”

By his frown, I could tell he wasn’t nearly as amused as I’d hoped.

“Be careful,” he growled. “Shout for me if you need anything. Scream as loud as you can. I’ll come find you.”

“Okay.” I offered him a small smile before slowly opening the unlocked door to the cargo hold. I peeked into the hallway. Our door was unguarded. All hands must be above assisting with the delivery.

I slowly closed the cargo hold door. I remembered the path through the ship as Skud brought us down here and kept my footfalls silent on the metal floor as I moved.

My ears strained, ready to pick up even the faintest sounds of someone approaching. No one did.

There wasn’t a door at the top of the stairs. As I climbed up, I flattened my body down. I pulled my hood tighter over my head, ensuring that no bit of skin or red hair showed.

I peeked over the top of the stairs. I could see the ship we were meeting through the windows.

I’d seen this ship. Knew its strange curves and angles.

Never in real life, but over and over again in simulations with Maris and the crew.

It was the dark ship that attacked us weeks ago. That had killed three of the women from Persephone Station.

And on the deck of our ship, towering over Skud, was a black-robed figure marked with the oval Dominion sigil.

Kovor

Aryn had been gone for too long.

Something had happened to her, I knew it.

Then I convinced myself that she was fine. She was smart, resourceful, and a pain in my hurg, but she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Until she wasn’t. I headed towards the stairway, then stopped.

I had to trust her, but what if she was in trouble?

I had finally made up my mind to go find her when she descended the stairs and motioned me over to the far side of the cargo bay. “It’s like we thought, the shipment is more women.”

“Kout,” I cursed quietly.

“That’s not all.” She looked up at me, her eyes wide. “The ship that’s delivering them is that dark ship that attacked us…and it’s from the Dominion.”

“Are you sure? I mean, are you completely sure?” I asked. The idea that the Dominion truly was involved, and possibly even behind the abductions and auctions, didn’t sit well with me.

Even now, with the Rogue Star blacklisted, I had never known the Dominion to be anything other than a force for good.

The Dominion established laws and rules to maintain peace, maintain behavior, and to give everyone from the outer fringes a reason to improve. To be part of the Dominion, to be in their fold, protected by them, that was how peace had been maintained for so long. There hadn’t been a war with the Dominion, or its members, since long before my grandmother was born.

The Dominion had shut down tyrannies, dismantled criminal dictatorships, and helped to rebuild planets and civilizations decimated by illnesses, war, or corruption.

Pompous, hidebound bureaucrats that couldn’t understand that we were just protecting the Terran women, and hadn’t deliberately trespassed into non-sanctioned space?

Sure.

Kidnappers? Traffickers of women?

No.

Aryn put her hand on my arm. “Yes. The person that Skud was dealing with was in black robes like the Dominion…”

“That could be anyone in a black robe. It’s not like the Dominion owns that fashion statement,” I interrupted.

With a sad look in her eyes, she nodded. “I know, but the Dominion sigil was embroidered on the robes. They’re behind this.”

I shook my head and began pacing. This couldn’t possibly be right. Aryn had to be wrong. The Dominion wouldn’t stoop to these levels, to these kinds of tactics. What would their reasoning be? Why would they act in such an underhanded way?

“You’re wrong, Aryn. You saw the robes wrong,” I said.

“They were the same robes as the people that tried to chase us down at Outpost Nine,” she answered me. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I know what I saw. I dream about that damn sigil, those robes, and what almost happened to me and the others. It’s the Dominion.”

“It can’t be,” I snapped back. “They don’t do that sort of thing. Why would they?”

“I don’t know.”

I looked at her, searching for some answers. “Why would the Dominion act this way? Why would they act so suspiciously, so underhandedly? I mean, if the Dominion is really behind all of this, they wouldn’t be sending assassins and covert ships to hunt us down,” I argued. “They would just make our faces known all over the cosmos and do an open hunt for us. Why would they go about things the way they have been? Why would they be taking women from worlds that wanted to join the fold?”

I was struggling to maintain composure. It made no sense to me. The Dominion, during my entire life, had been a force of good. The only reason I was ‘against’ them as a smuggler was for the adventure and the money. Certain organizations paid better to make sure the Dominion didn’t know their actions, and the thrill of doing that was fun.

But this… something was very wrong.

Twisted somehow.

“Kovor?” I looked at Aryn, real concern on her face. “Are you okay?” she asked.

I shook my head at first, then changed it to a nod. “I’ll be fine. Just…processing.”

I didn’t get long to process as Skud brought our ‘cargo’ down into the bay. He did not look happy. “You two, keep an eye on these,” he barked at us as Laz pushed and prodded the women down the stairs.

They looked terrified. There were three of them, roughly Aryn’s size, but that was where any similarities ended. Each of them had silver skin that shined in the light and what looked to be like sheets of white hair that cascaded down their backs. Their giant eyes, easily three or four times larger than Aryn’s, took in everything.

As one stumbled on the last stair, Laz smacked her in the back of the head, barking at her to watch her step.

I let a small growl escape my lips, and Aryn flashed me a look. Luckily, Skud’s own growls drowned me out. “Easy, Laz. We lose money if they’re damaged.”

He turned away from Laz and the women and kept talking. I wasn’t sure if it was to himself or not, but his voice wasn’t able to get very low. “Not like there’s much money to get out of these three.”

His anger at the size of our ‘shipment’ was getting the better of him as his speech became more and more primitive. “This not good. We told to be prepared for important shipment, get this instead. It not right, it not what Skud expected.”

He looked over at Aryn and me. “You two, watch them. They not leave, they not get hurt, or Skud take pleasure in breaking both of you.”

We nodded emphatically. I didn’t think that either one of us wanted to try taking Skud on. Memories of Skud casually smacking me on the back returned and I didn’t want to feel how hard he hit when he was angry.

After a few more minutes of Skud pacing the cargo bay, he seemed to have calmed himself. When he turned to look at us again, he was no longer snarling, and his intelligent speech was back. “Make them look presentable,” he said, slightly stumbling over the last word and shoving a box at me. “Make sure they are clean, dressed, and look nice for when we get back to Qasar.”

I looked at the women. I couldn’t tell where they were from, or what race they were. The only thing I could tell was that they were terrified, they weren’t happy with us, and they particularly weren’t happy with me.

Not that I could blame them.

I wasn’t sure what had happened to them, but I could imagine. They were away from home, they were surrounded by people that called them names and treated them like cargo.

I wouldn’t be happy either, if our roles were switched.

A slow burn worked its way through my gut.

Something needed to be done.

Aryn

“You’re the expert on crime syndicates. Why did Skud put them down here with us?” Kovor sauntered over to me, eyes focused on thoughts far away.

Of all the questions I expected him to ask, that wasn’t one of them. He looked as uncomfortable as our involuntary guests must have felt. I guess he wasn’t used to women glaring at him.

Other than me, that was.

“Another test,” I replied, thinking out loud. “I suspect he wants to see if we have the stomach for this.”

“It makes me wonder what the traditional initiations are like,” Kovor mused.

“Probably a series of small shakedowns. Maybe a few pickpocketing jobs,” I shrugged absentmindedly.

“I would’ve been even more useless at that than I am at this,” Kovor tried to joke, but with the women hiding in the corner, even his usual grin was absent.

“You’re not useless,” I said before I could stop myself. “If you were useless, we’d be dead by now.”

“I feel useless. Look at them,” Kovor gestured to the trio of cowering women. One of them bared her teeth at him. They were sharp, like a shark’s. “There’s nothing I can do for them.”

“That’s not true,” I assured him. “There’s just nothing you can do in this exact moment. That doesn’t mean you can’t help ever.”

“I suppose,” Kovor nodded. “Maybe you should talk to them?”

“Me?” The idea made me take a step away from him.

He tilted his head and offered me a sad smile. “Why do you do that?” he asked.

Even in this low light, he looked like a golden monument. His coloring wasn’t as saturated as Captain Dejar’s. Kovor looked like real gold, not the fake stuff street peddlers hawked at me when I was a kid.

“Do what?” I demanded.

“You step away when I say certain things,” he explained. “I’m not exactly sure what I do that makes you step away, but you do it a lot.”

“Maybe I have issues with personal space,” I shrugged.

“You definitely have issues,” Kovor laughed as I scowled. “That’s why I think you should go talk to them. Plus, I’m a male and they look like they’ve had enough of males invading their space.”

“That’s very astute of you.” I couldn’t tell if I was joking or not.

“Isn’t it?” Kovor grinned like he was doing it just to annoy me.

I rolled my eyes even as I smiled. One thing was certain, someone needed to talk to the strange women. I took a deep breath and slowly approached them.

They eyed me with distrust. Their eyes were three times the size of my own, giving them a doll-like appearance.

“Can you understand me?” I asked slowly, crossing my fingers for just a bit of luck. Their eyes flickered to my mouth in unison, then back up to my face, but they remained silent.

“If you can understand me, I want to help you,” I tried again. “I want to help you escape.” Their expressions brightened. They knew that word. They understood me.

“They fitted us with translators after they captured us,” the middle one hissed. Her voice sounded like a whispering river, silky and fluid. I had to listen carefully if I wanted to piece together her meaning.

“We want to help you,” I repeated.

“Why should we trust you?”

“My friend and I have saved women like you before,” I told her. “We helped them get back to their homeworlds.”

“You expect me to believe you without proof?”

“Why would I risk incrimination by telling you?” I asked.

The trio considered me. Their movements were synced, almost like they shared a brain. Maybe they were.

If my experience in Dominion space was anything to go by, if I could imagine it, there was an alien species that did it.

“To lure us into ease,” the one on the left replied. She pronounced every letter of ‘ease’. It took me a moment before I understood her meaning.

“I don’t want to lure you,” I insisted. “I genuinely want to put you at ease.”

“We see no reason to trust you,” the middle one lifted her chin in defiance.

“Kovor!” I whispered over my shoulder. He started over in our direction, but the three women hissed and backed farther into the corner.

Kovor stopped moving immediately. I lifted my hands, palms turned outward, hoping the trio understood the peaceful gesture. They kept their pointed teeth bared but didn’t lunge or attack. I backed away from them until I was beside Kovor.

“I need to show them my true skin,” I murmured to him. Hopefully, the silvery women didn’t have super hearing.

“That’s too risky,” Kovor insisted in a harsh whisper. “They could have cameras in this room. It could be bugged.”

“They aren’t going to trust me unless they realize I have something to lose,” I replied.

“We’ll be at their mercy.”

“They’ve been at someone else’s mercy for who knows how long,” I reminded him. “It’s about time they have the upper hand.”

Kovor pressed his fingertips into the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “I appreciate the sentiment of your words, but your logic is deeply flawed.”

“Are you asking me not to say anything?” I asked.

Kovor was silent for a moment, pondering. “No,” he said. “They deserve to know they’re among friends. I just don’t like this. You’re even more at risk.”

Sweet, and made something in my chest flutter, but not helpful right now. “Can you search to see if there are any cameras?” I asked him. “I don’t want to do something stupid if Skud is watching.”

Kovor nodded and for the next twenty minutes, we scoured the room. “This room is so old that it couldn’t support any hidden wiring,” Kovor finally declared. “There are no cameras or other recording devices.”

“What about listening devices?” I asked.

Kovor shook his head.

“The translators would render them useless. When you deal with multiple species, listening devices no longer have the same level of impact. Unless it was Shein spying on Shein, it doesn’t always work for listening devices,” he said.

Huh. I’d need to think about that, get Maris or someone to explain for me exactly how that worked.

“So, we’re good to go?” I asked him.

He nodded. “I think so.”

“I’m glad you think so.” I reached out and gently squeezed his forearm. Before I pulled away, he put his hand over mine.

A spark ran through me, bringing up thoughts I shouldn’t have, couldn’t, didn’t have time for.

Not now, not ever.

I squeezed back, then slipped my hand out from beneath his and walked back to the silvery women. Their white hair hung like ice sheets down their backs and over their shoulders. If I touched them, I bet they’d be cold.

“I’m going to show you something,” I told them. “But before I do, I need you to understand that I’m putting my life and the life of my friend in your hands.” They looked at me with interest. I pulled up my shirt, showing the patch of pale, human skin, outlined in the glittering dye.

The women gasped at the sight, one reaching out to trace the bare skin with thin fingers.

I was right. They were cold.

“I’m from what they call a non-evolved world,” I told them. “I ended up here by accident, along with other women of my species. The Dominion have been hunting us ever since.”

The middle one curled her lip back when I mentioned the Dominion.

“Where are you from?” I asked them as I tucked my shirt securely back down, hoping it was enough.

They exchanged a look. The one in the middle nodded to the two flanking her.

“We are from a planet called Mermian,” she said. “It is a planet that has become covered entirely in water, our cities spiraling into the sky. After over one hundred years of negotiating, our world was finally accepted into Dominion space.”

I looked over my shoulder and exchanged a look with Kovor. The women from Mermian fit the pattern.

“You came to this ship from another ship so dark it blends into space,” I prompted. All of their faces grew hard. “Can you tell me anything about that ship?”

“No.” The one in the middle said, looking away.

“I’ve seen it before,” I offered. “It attacked the ship I’ve been living on. Whoever was on it killed three of my species. We still don’t understand why they attacked us.”

“We cannot help you,” the one on the left said.

“If you help us, we can keep you safe,” I promised.

“We are already off that ship. We don’t need your protection from it,” the middle one said.

“The information you know could save others,” I tried again.

“Until our safety is assured, we cannot take on responsibility for others,” the one on the right said, face closed.

My temper snapped but I reeled it in. I understood their reluctance. Pushing them now would only shatter the small amount of trust I’d managed to build.

“All right.” I backed off. “But rest easy knowing that my friend and I will do everything we can to get you back to your home planet.”

I stepped away, leaving them to keep their own counsel. Kovor stood at the other end of the room with a reassuring smile.

For once, I was glad he was there.

Kovor

I watched how gentle Aryn was with the women, trying to talk to them, reassure them that we were there to help.

I wasn’t surprised, though. She had been just as gentle with the women we had rescued on Katzul. The difference this time was that it was just her and me, but none of the other human women around.

While we didn’t want to, we did our best to clean the women up and to make them look presentable so that Skud didn’t question anything.

By ‘we,’ I meant Aryn. The women, no matter how much Aryn tried to comfort them, still were afraid of me and backed away or snarled if I came close. It had taken a while just to get them okay with me being within ten feet of them, and that was as close as I dared go for now.

At first, they were a bit resistant to Aryn’s attempts to clean them up, but they reluctantly agreed when I told them that if they didn’t let us work with them, Skud would punish all of us, badly.

If we were going to be able to help them, they needed to let us do what Skud ordered.

By the time she was done, they were cleaned up, wearing nice dresses from the box Skud had shoved at me.

Aryn had even done their hair and had applied just the right amount of makeup to make them look ‘presentable.’ She kept talking to them, trying to make sure they knew that this was necessary and that we would help them as soon as we had a chance.

We docked a short time later and took a small transport with darkly tinted windows back to the headquarters. Skud had Laz take the women somewhere else in the compound, while he told us to enjoy the day off. We had done well and deserved free time, as long as we didn’t go far.

I knew we’d both love to head back to the Rogue Star, check in, clean up, lower our guards just a bit...but it would be foolish to assume we wouldn’t be followed.

Instead we strolled through the streets, buying a meal from a vendor cart and settling into a small open square.

Not a park, nothing pretty or clean about it.

But it wasn’t in that compound, and we’d be able to see if we were shadowed.

We ate in silence. I spent the time trying to come up with some ideas on how to get the women out, how to get more information, and how to get ourselves out.

Every idea involved us being quiet, sneaky, and covert. All of my ideas also reminded me of how Aryn worked, how she was good at deceiving people, how she knew how criminal organizations worked, and how she was really good at being sneaky.

“Aryn?”

She looked over to me from her spot on the bench. “Hmm?”

“I was wondering something,” I started. “I was a little curious about how you ended up being so good at the…” I searched for a way to say it.

“How I’m good at the criminal aspect of things?” she finished for me, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

I nodded. “Yes. I mean, I’ve been involved in some less than legal activities in my time, but you seem to make it all look like second nature. I was wondering…why?”

She leaned back against the wall and crossed her legs under her. “It’s a bit of a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Please,” I responded.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Tell you what, you tell me your story, then I’ll tell you mine. Deal?”

“Why won’t you just tell me?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “If you don’t want to know, then why did you ask?”

I was taken aback by that statement. “I do want to know. That’s precisely why I asked,” I protested.

She laughed at me. “I’m teasing you, you big weirdo.” She repositioned herself again, getting more comfortable. “I’ll tell you. I just really would like to know why someone like you got involved in a world like this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded.

She tilted her head as she looked at me. “You’re rich, right?”

“I wouldn’t say that, exactly,” I murmured.

She smiled. “Then why did you get into all this?”

I sighed, set aside my food wrapper and scooted back until my back was to the wall. “It’s actually not much of a story, really. I got tired of how my life was, went for a change, and eventually ended up with Dejar and Aavat. That’s really about it.”

She crossed her arms and hit me with one of those glares I was starting to enjoy. “Don’t give me that crap,” she said. “You can’t give me the abridged version of the story and expect me to tell you mine. I want details. Spill.”

I rubbed my eyes, sending little explosions of light into my tired brain. “Fine,” I conceded. “And you’ll tell me yours when I’m done, right?”

She hit me with the most innocent look I’ve ever seen her display. “Promise.”

“Uh-huh.” I took a deep breath, then started. “I…I grew up in what you would call a very affluent and influential family. Things were done for us, given to us, basically anything we wanted, we got. It was…easy.” I looked up to see her watching me intently.

“Yeah? And?” she asked.

“I had anything I wanted—clothes, vehicles, jewelry, tech, girls. Anything I could ask for, it was mine. I actually already owned my own home on the beach by the time of my thirteenth commencement.”

“What’s a ‘commencement’?”

I looked at her, puzzled. “It’s the same as you women celebrated shortly after coming on board the ship. It’s the anniversary of one’s birth.”

“Ohh,” she said with an over-exaggerated expression. “A birthday.”

I shrugged. “Sure. So, I grew up having everything, but wanting none of it.”

“Why?”

“I struggled with my life. There was nothing for me to do. There were great inequalities in the city on Shein I grew up in. So, while I got the best education, the best care, the best everything, others went without basic necessities. I should have been happy, and yet I always felt like something was missing. And as time went on, it became harder to ignore it.” I took a deep breath, let myself remember all the things, all the faces I’d left so long ago.

Or the ones who’d left me.

“My friends, if you could call them that, were more interested in making fun of those without means than they were in trying to make things better for them. At my school, there was a young lady on scholarship. She was brilliant, intelligent beyond belief, but she was incessantly teased and harassed by most people.”

And this is where it got hard. But Aryn had asked, and she deserved the truth. All of it. I lowered my head and stared at the floor. “I’m ashamed to admit that I teased her as well, even though it made me feel terrible.”

“Why did you do it, then?” I heard her ask, but it sounded far away.

The shame came back, just as fresh as before. “I was young. I wanted to fit in with my friends. One day, during a particularly brutal verbal attack, I saw her cry for the first time, so I stepped in and defended her. I lost all of my friends, but I felt good about myself for the first time in a very long time. It wasn’t soon enough. I couldn’t save her. She killed herself that night.” I continued on despite Aryn’s gasp. “It was during a rally before a big game. She walked right out into the middle of the auditorium, took out a blaster, and blew her brains out.”

“Oh my god.”

I nodded. “The part that was the worst about the whole thing, some of my so-called friends laughed and applauded. That was when I knew it was time for me to leave. I couldn’t be around people like that anymore. My own family seemed more inconvenienced and annoyed than anything.”

I stood up and walked around the tiny square a bit. “I needed a change. I needed a new life where…where I could surround myself with people that legitimately cared about something. Even if they still cared mostly about themselves, they could put that selfishness aside for a common goal.”

“So, why not just travel?” she asked.

“Actually, I tried that at first, but it wasn’t the same. I was still surrounded by people that ignored the ones at the bottom. That…” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And I was already promised to someone.”

“Oh?” I wasn’t sure if there was disappointment in her voice, but there was an unmistakable note of amused curiosity.

“My family is of the old line. You were allowed to marry for love, as long as the one you loved was the one they’d picked. I didn’t love my parent’s choice. To be honest,” I said as I looked at her, “I didn’t even like her. She was one of the ones that applauded that poor girl. When I told my parents, they tried to smooth it over by saying she was just young and made a mistake.”

“I would have beat the bitch,” Aryn said matter-of-factly.

I smiled and nodded. “I wouldn’t doubt it. So, I, not exactly wanting to give up everything, transferred most of my money into an account my family couldn’t touch. Then I formally broke the engagement and went and bought a ship. Hired a small crew, went traveling and looking for work. Eventually, I met up with Dejar and Aavat, competed against them a bit, then finally joined forces with them.”

I sat down on the bench next to her, drained. “Her name was Sertya.”

Silently, Aryn put her hand over mine. I wrapped my hand around her tiny fingers, grateful for her presence.

“I’m much happier now. One day, I’ll have atoned for my past. One day I’ll have lived among the stars and be ready to settle down. And I’ll bring the lessons I’ve learned from a group of amazing people with me.”

She squeezed my fingers but said nothing.

I cleared my throat and looked at her. “Well, that’s my story. What’s yours?”

She winked at me. “I lied. I just wanted to know what made you tick.”

I couldn’t help but join in with her laughter. “Yeah, I should have known.”

Aryn

When we got back to the compound, it was late and all was quiet. We crashed, Kovor lying down on the floor between me and the doorway without a word.

As I drifted off to sleep, my mind spun in circles, despite my tired body.

I thought I was impossible to surprise. Just over three decades of life and I thought I’d seen it all.

Yet, Kovor managed it.

It was partially my fault for making assumptions about him.

Even if I’d been generous in my speculations about his life, his story still would’ve caught me off guard.

I shouldn’t have judged him the way I did. It wasn’t fair. I’d had to make my own way in the world since I was little. I didn’t think I deserved any praise for that. It was about survival. There weren’t other alternatives.

Kovor, on the other hand, chose independence when he didn’t have to. A small part of me thought that was a stupid decision on his part. I’d put up with all kinds of bullshit if it meant I had a full belly and a roof over my head.

Then again, even though my life had been far from easy, I enjoyed my freedom. I wasn’t sure if I could give it up. Kovor obviously couldn’t. He’d rather struggle and be his own person than live in the confines of a life planned out for him long before he was born.

I could respect him for that.

At first, I’d hated the idea of him being my partner in all this. Now, I knew I couldn’t do it without him. I might be the face of our operation, but I’d come to value his counsel.

In the morning, Kovor left the room, giving me a chance to touch up my skin dye and false tattoos in private.

The bottle I’d brought from the Rogue Star was emptying faster than I’d expected, so I smeared a thin layer over my arms, and hoped today wouldn’t have another round of cleaning.

When I left the room, Kovor waited on the other side of the door for me.

“You didn’t have to stand guard,” I told him, but honestly, it was kind of nice. He quite literally had my back. I smiled, just enough so he knew I wasn’t annoyed. Most people assumed I was annoyed by default.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” he replied with a smile of his own.

“Did anyone say anything to you?” I asked.

“Nope. That bit about me being your guard animal apparently has gotten around.”

“To be fair, you’re rather menacing to look at.”

From where I stood, I had to crane my neck up to look into his eyes.

He shook his head. “Menacing? Don’t try to flatter me,” he said dismissively.

“Your teeth are starting to get...pointed. That’s pretty menacing, honestly.” I cocked my head, trying to remember the other crew members’ teeth. Somehow, it’d never come up. “Is that normal?”

He clamped his lips together tightly, covered his mouth with a hand to answer. “I’ve been filing my teeth down since I was a child. It’s considered incredibly rude to have sharp teeth in civilized company,” he explained, eyes wide with embarrassment. “It must be all the chaos in the last few weeks that made it slip my mind.”

“Even though you’re all born with them?”

“Even then,” he confirmed.

I tugged his hand away, laughing. “That’s stupid.”

“Incredibly,” Kovor agreed. “But we all do it.”

“What about females?” I asked.

“Female Shein do not have pointed teeth,” he informed me. “Only males. A holdover from our primitive days.” He waggled his eyebrows obnoxiously. Or adorably. “Women have more precise weapons.”

That was actually sweet, in an odd, odd way.

“Just so you know, I like your teeth just fine.”

“Was that a compliment?” Kovor made a show of being surprised.

“It was. I only give out one a year.”

At that moment, one of Skud’s lackeys came around the corner. Our smiles faded, our backs went straight. Kovor fixed him with a glower that would’ve made even me uneasy.

“Easy,” the lackey grumbled to Kovor. “Skud wants to see the both of you.”

“What for?” I asked.

“Didn’t tell me. Just go.” He grabbed my shirt and tried to yank me forward. Kovor reached out and gripped the man’s arm hard enough to make him wince.

“I advise against touching her.” Kovor’s voice was soft, but his tone left no room for argument. The idiot released my shirt, and I stepped away from him.

Kovor shoved the lackey away and joined me, staying close to my side.

“Wonder what this is about.” I tried to hide the fact that I was rattled.

None of the Enclave members had ever tried to touch me before. I hoped it wasn’t becoming a trend. And there’d been a glimpse of something on his arm. I cursed myself. I should have been paying closer attention, not getting comfortable with Kovor. Instead, I’d been taken unaware, missed a possible clue.

I strode into Skud’s office in a temper, with an entirely unfeigned scowl.

“What’s so important that your man felt the need to attempt to drag me here?” I demanded.

Skud looked me over with glazed eyes, wholly uninterested in the words coming out of my mouth.

“Enclave members aren’t known for their manners,” he sneered. “Stop whining. I’ve got a job for you.”

“Oh?”

“Our merchandise needs to be transported to its final destination.”

The Mermian women we’d brought back the day before. I wasn’t sure what he meant by final destination, but it couldn’t be good.

My chest grew tight, but I fought to keep my expression neutral.

“You want us to deliver them?” I asked.

“I don’t know what you did, but I’ve never had such well-behaved merchandise before. Maybe it’s a female thing.” His eyes lingered on my body a little too long. I felt Kovor tense beside me and touched his arm so he’d relax.

“Do you want us to go now?” I asked.

Skud nodded and passed me a sheet folded in half. Knowing I couldn’t read its contents, I passed it to Kovor.

“That’s the drop-off point. Hark will go with you, just to make sure there’s no funny business.” Skud narrowed his eyes.

“Still don’t trust me?” I batted my eyelashes.

“I don’t trust anyone. Don’t take it personally, sunshine.” Skud winked.

I resisted the urge to gag.

“We’ll head out then.” I walked out of the office before Skud dismissed us. It was important that he knew Kovor and I had some bite to us. Bite was useful. Submission was not.

I assumed the hulking alien near the entryway was Hark. Kovor and I approached.

“I’ll get the merchandise. You wait here,” Hark instructed. I nodded. It bothered me that Kovor and I weren’t allowed to know where the merchandise was being kept, but there was nothing we could do but wait.

Hark returned within minutes, holding a chain that linked all three Mermians together in a line. They looked miserable, terrified, and full of hatred. I wanted to reassure them but I couldn’t do that with so many eyes on me. Other Enclave members leered at them as they moved by. A few reached out to touch them. I wanted to break their hands.

I felt Kovor’s hand on my back, willing me to be calm. I took a deep breath.

If we were going to help them, we’d have to be smart. Starting a ruckus in the midst of the compound?

Not smart.

“Let’s go,” Hark said gruffly.

Hark led us to a back area of the headquarters, to a hidden door I hadn’t noticed before. He shielded the keypad as he punched in the code. The door slid open to a hallway lined with exposed pipe, definitely beneath the main floor of the station.

Hark walked forward, dragging the chain behind him. The Mermian women, keyed up by the leers and catcalls of the other men, resisted, thrashing and shrieking.

“It’s all right,” I whispered to one of them, trying to coax them forward. They looked at me warily but eventually stopped fighting as hard.

Hark led us through a maze. There were no distinguishing marks to reference our position. We walked for about fifteen minutes before we came to a small set of stairs with a door at the top.

Hark opened it and lead us all through. We were behind a building in a rough-looking part of town. Past the ramshackle buildings, I saw several expensive air cars docked on the street.

No question.

There were people with money.

And they were here to buy these women.

Hark dragged the women toward a side door carved into the building. They resisted once more.

I could hear the faint sound of music and voices wafting through the air. This seemed like the type of atmosphere that Aavat had described entering prior to the auction he had witnessed.

Men’s voices called out, loud and crude.

Impatient.

A sick feeling coated my insides.

I knew in my bones that if those women went through that door, I’d never be able to help them. They looked at me, their huge eyes shining with terror.

I looked around, desperate for a way to help them, their fear inflaming my own into panic.

“Come on, you bitches,” Hark snapped, jerking the chain again. And I saw it, clearly branded into his wrist.

The same mark that had been on the bounty hunter who had invaded the Rogue Star. The bastard who had nearly killed us all.

My gaze settled on a big chunk of discarded metal. Before I could think twice, I grabbed it and flung it as hard as I could at the back of Hark’s head. I hit my target with a sickening crunch. As he crumpled to the ground, blood leaked from a fresh gash in the nape of his neck.

“Scro, Aryn!” Kovor hissed. He crouched over the limp body.

He said more than that, but I’d stopped listening. I picked up the hunk of metal, now stained with blood, and motioned to the Mermians. One by one, I struck their cuffs until they cracked.

“Run!” I shoved what credits I had on me into the closest one’s hands. I didn’t need to tell them twice. They bolted. Only one looked back, a quick nod between us before she fled. Unexpected tears welled in my eyes. “You could’ve given me a heads up!” Kovor exclaimed as he rolled Hark to the side.

“I didn’t know I was going to do it until that moment,” I said by way of apology.

“You should’ve stopped to think about it!” Kovor snapped. “We could’ve taken them to the Rogue Star and pressed them for information.”

“Right, because that worked out so great last time,” I shot back, beginning to shake.

“You can’t be so reckless!” Kovor roughly grabbed my shoulders. “You might’ve ruined everything we’ve built with Enclave. Skud will kill you if he finds out.”

“We’ll make something up,” I mumbled.

“I don’t understand-”

I cut him off before he could finish.

“I couldn’t let them go into that building!” My voice felt raw. Tears blurred my vision. “I can’t be responsible for leading those women to auction.”

Kovor relaxed his grip on my shoulders, then folded me into his chest, his strong arms wrapping around me, blocking out everything that was wrong with the whole damn world.

“Okay,” he said softly. “It’s okay. You did the right thing.”

I only nodded, too rattled to say anything.

Kovor looked at Hark and sighed.

“But we’re going to have to do something about him.”

Kovor

Well, kout.

I had never anticipated precise Aryn, queen of hiding in the shadows, going rogue and nearly killing someone.

Not sure where exactly we were, I wasn’t sure where we were going to be able to hide Hark’s unconscious form where he wouldn’t be found.

Of course, there was the other issue. If he regained consciousness, freed himself, and returned, we’d be dead. “Are you sure we want to go back after this?” I asked.

“We have to. We don’t have enough information.” Aryn was doing an admirable job of trying to keep her wits about her, but I could tell she was still a bit shocked at her own actions.

The fact that she had hit him in the back of the head with that chunk of metal and knocked him out in one blow was impressive.

The fact that she had acted without thinking was not.

Something had to be done.

“Okay. Look around for something we can tie him up with,” I said. A quick search found some discarded straps from a delivery in a trash bin a few yards away.

I took them from Aryn, tied Hark’s limp form up as tightly as I could, then hefted him up onto my shoulder. “We need a place to hide him,” I said, grunting under his considerable size. He was bigger than me and smelled like he hadn’t bathed in weeks. “Hurry.”

Aryn looked around, then decided on the trash bin she had found the straps in. “It’s the only place around where we won’t be walking in the open,” she argued when I arched my eyebrow at her. She had a point.

“Fine,” I nodded. “Make sure no one is coming down the alley and I’ll dump him.” She jogged to the end of the alley as I walked over to the trash bin. It was big enough to hold him, and since it was situated under a trash chute coming down from the top of the building, he’d be covered fairly quickly.

As Aryn looked away to check the street, I quickly dumped Hark into the bin, carefully aiming him head first. There was a sickening crunch as his head moved farther to the side than normal, but it shifted back into place as the rest of his body settled in. I dumped some extra trash on top of him and quickly made my way towards Aryn.

“He’s taken care of?” she asked.

“Dumped in the bin and covered,” I said. “He won’t be going anywhere for a while.” Or ever. “We need something to tell Skud.”

“We can say that Hark ordered us to the ends of the alley so he could have his way with the women, then they attacked him and ran,” she suggested.

“Then how did they get away if we were each at the ends of the alleyway?”

“Um,” she thought for a moment, tapping her foot. “Oh, well, since there were three of them, they ran towards me and I wasn’t able to stop them.”

I didn’t have a better idea at the moment, so we decided to run with that. Luckily, Aryn had been paying attention to the route through the maze. We managed to find our way back to the building and knocked on the door. We were ushered in and taken to Skud’s office.

“Where’s Hark?”

“Well, about that,” Aryn started. “He…”

“It’s my fault,” I cut in before she could continue. Everyone looked at me, Skud and Laz in curiosity, Aryn in shock.

“Hark had ordered each of us to go to the ends of the alleyway to make sure no officials were in the area. Since he outranks us, we followed orders. I wasn’t paying attention, so I was already at the end of the alleyway when the girls knocked me down. They took off before I could see where they went.”

Skud growled as he stood up slowly from his desk. “You let them escape?”

“To be fair,” Aryn cut in. “It was Hark that screwed up the delivery, not us.”

“SHUT UP!” he yelled. My ears hurt, and I couldn’t help but squint in pain as he did. He pointed at Aryn as he spoke, spittle flying from his lips as he did so. “You, I’ll deal with later. You’re just a female, you couldn’t do anything. But you,” he snarled as he turned his attention towards me. “You’re supposed to be a fierce Shein male, and you let three women knock you down? Why didn’t you stop them?”

I shrugged. “I don’t hit women. It’s sort of against my code.” I held my position and didn’t flinch when he grabbed something from his desk and threw it past my head. Whatever it was shattered on the wall behind me, but I stayed still.

Angry at me meant he was less likely to look at Aryn.

“You don’t hit women.” He said it as statement, not a question. “While that’s normally something I might admire, this time you should have done something. Where’s Hark?”

“I don’t know,” I continued lying, pleased that, for once a lifetime, acting unconcerned about anything and everything had at least provided for a comfortable, useful habit to fall back into now. “He was bleeding from the back of head when I went to check on him, but he pushed me away and took off after them. He yelled something about us coming here to tell you.”

Skud was breathing hard, trying to keep his temper in check. “So, he’s out there trying to find them?”

I shrugged. “I’d assume so.”

He looked between the two of us. I hoped that Aryn had fully recovered her game face. If she flinched in any way, we were in trouble. “Something tells me you two are lying,” he said.

“Then wait for Hark to come back,” I said. “I’m sure he won’t tell you anything different than we have.”

Laz leaned in towards Skud and whispered. Skud didn’t speak but nodded and grunted on occasion.

“Laz has made a good point,” Skud finally said as he waved Laz away. “Hark has never acted this way before, so I think you two are lying. But, in case you’re telling the truth, I won’t kill you.”

Well, that was good.

Then it wasn’t.

“But, in order to teach you how disappointed I am in your failure, you will be punished.” He nodded to some of the men behind me and I was grabbed from behind.

“Hey!” Aryn yelled. “What the hell is going on?”

“You two need to be punished, and the best way to punish both of you is to hurt…” Skud looked at me and smiled, showing his teeth. “You.”

Aryn was grabbed, as well, and we were taken to one of the lower levels. My shirt was ripped off me before they tied my hands together in front of me. Then Laz tied a chain to my restraints and Skud pulled.

My arms were wrenched straight up, and I was soon dangling off the floor. “Time to learn to be more careful,” he said as he reached behind a pillar. He pulled out a whip.

“Let him go, you bastard”! Aryn shouted.

“You should really calm your sister down,” Skud commented mildly. “I’d hate for her to be restrained, as well.”

Scro.

I twisted as far as I could in the restraints, barely able to see her as she squirmed in the grip of some asshole.

“Sister,” I snapped. “Sister!”

She blinked, recalled herself.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be with you in a bit, alright?”

Alright, it probably wasn’t going to be fine at all. But I was under suspicion, we needed her calm.

She took a shuddering breath and nodded, eyes bright with tears.

“Anything else to say?” Skud asked.

“This is a little overdramatic, don’t you think?” I answered.

“Ha.” He barked. “I actually like you. Hopefully, I won’t have to kill you.” He turned to Laz. “Turn him around.”

Laz turned me back around, and all I could see was a wall as my feet were bound to rings in the floor so I wouldn’t swing around. The first snap of the whip brought a rush of pain like I had never felt before in my life.

I tried to keep my mouth shut, but by the third snap, I let out a shout. I wasn’t sure how many lashes I received. I had tried to think of something to take my mind off the pain, but it was too much to bear.

I woke up lying in bed, Aryn calmly trying to wash my wounds. I grunted in pain as she patted something into one of my cuts, then a sweet, numbing sensation spread out from her hands.

Not enough to take the burning away, just dull it enough to be coherent.

“You’re awake,” I heard her say. “No, don’t move. You’re still bleeding.”

Not moving turned out to be a fabulous idea. The tiny movement I had just made was incredibly painful. I laid my head back down and tried to remember to breathe. “How…bad?” I asked.

“Shut up,” she said, followed by a soft sniffle.

That bad, then, I thought.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

It was hard to focus on her voice, all I wanted to do was close my eyes. My back was on fire, and I could feel something trailing slowly down my ribs, but the worst part was the headache. I must have either hit my head or held my breath for too long. But her sweet voice called me back, eased the ache.

“Why…sorry?” I asked through grimaces.

“It’s my fault you were hurt. My decision was the reason this happened.”

“No,” I said. Of course it wasn’t her fault. She’d done the right thing, and I’d be damned if I let her be hurt for it. But more words escaped me, took more focus than I could manage yet.

“Yes,” she insisted. “Why did you take the blame?”

Why had I? There wasn’t a choice, was there?

“Hey. You still here?” she asked with a light brush to my shoulder.

“Ungh. Yeah, still here,” I gasped. “I…” I took a deep breath, which hurt. “It was the right thing to do.” Too serious. Not the right me, was it? “Didn’t want to see you cry like a baby,” I tried to joke.

She didn’t answer me for a long time, just kept cleaning my wounds, putting the cooling ointment on, then wrapped me in bandages, all in silence. “You can have the bed tonight,” she finally said.

I moved over slightly, gingerly, and patted the bed. “Big enough for both of us,” I said, forcing a weak smile.

She flashed a small smile of her own and nodded, lying down next to me. I couldn’t remember anything after that.

Aryn

When I stepped out of our room to get clean rags for Kovor’s wounds the next morning, Skud stopped me.

“We’re widening our search,” he informed me. He scanned my face looking for any hint of discomfort to confirm my guilt.

“Probably a good idea,” I said easily. “They’re swift little things. Who knows how much ground they’ve covered overnight? My brother isn’t in fighting shape, but I’m good to head out if you need an extra pair of eyes.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Skud folded his arms over his chest. “You and your worthless brother will be staying right here. I’m leaving someone behind to keep an eye on the both of you. Don’t try anything. I’ll have no problem bashing in your pretty face if you cross me.”

“Hark’s the reason the hand-off went belly up,” I reminded him of Kovor’s lie. “Are you going to bash his skull, too?”

Unfortunately for Hark, I’d already done that. A prickle of worry ran up my spine. How long until he got out of those bindings? Or would his shouts just lead the rest of the gang to where we’d hidden him?

“Watch it, scrub. Or I’ll take the rest of your brother’s skin off his back,” Skud snarled. I wanted to throttle him for what he’d done to Kovor, but I held myself back.

“Happy hunting.” I walked away without being dismissed. I retrieved a few clean rags and dampened them in the cleanest water I could find, which wasn’t saying much. All the water down here had a brown tint to it.

When I returned to our room, Kovor was trying to examine his wounds.

“Don’t twist about too much! You’ll only make your scabs split,” I warned him.

“I just want to see what that hurg did to me,” Kovor replied.

“It’s not pretty,” I answered honestly. “Face forward and let me clean you up.”

Kovor did as he was told and I moved the rag in slow, gentle lines like I had the night before. He winced but didn’t appear to be in as much pain as he had been last night. Thankfully, all the bleeding had stopped sometime during the night. The bloodstains on our sheet were at least a few hours old. I doubted Skud provided the Enclave members with laundry service.

“Will I live, doctor?” Kovor sounded more like his melodramatic self.

“Yes, you’ll live,” I chuckled softly. “No more heroics, though. I don’t want to watch you go through this again.”

“Better me than you,” Kovor replied.

“I’ve lived through it before,” I admitted. “It gets easier each time.”

“You’ve been whipped like that?” Kovor turned to face me, his liquid gold eyes filled with rage.

“Years ago,” I assured him. “I spent half a year’s earnings on a cream to prevent scarring. I didn’t want a reminder on my body for all eternity.”

“You don’t have any of that cream now, perchance?” Kovor laughed, but I could tell he asked in earnest.

“Sorry,” I shook my head. “I bet Lynna or your medic can do something for the scars, though.”

“Most likely.” Kovor sounded confident. “I don’t mind scars, truly. They’re a symbol of prestige, in a way.”

“You’re a true warrior now,” I grinned.

“Dejar and Aavat will die of shock,” Kovor snorted.

“Why? It’s not like you can’t fight. I saw you the day the dark ship attacked us,” I recalled.

“That fight was over before it began,” Kovor said heavily. We sat in somber silence while I finished cleaning the slashes on his golden back. Without thinking, I lightly traced the tip of my finger along the intricate pattern of tattoos that spread like wings between his shoulders. I felt his tense muscles relax under my touch.

Somewhere beyond our room, a door slammed. I jerked my hands away from his skin.

“I think that was Skud and the others leaving,” I said too quickly.

“Are they going after the Mermians again?” Kovor asked. I nodded. “He’ll never find them.”

“For the women’s sake, I hope you’re right.”

“How big is the search party this time?” he asked.

“All but one. We have a babysitter today.” I stared at my hands, trying to forget the way his skin felt.

“Just one?” Kovor looked at me with a sly smile.

“I believe so.”

Kovor slowly stood up from the bed, wincing each time his movements pulled at the healing slashes on his back.

“What are you doing?” I reached for him as if to pull him back down.

“Wait here.” He moved toward the door.

“You can’t go out there like that!” I insisted. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

“Trust me?” he asked. I pinched my lips together.

“I suppose,” I said hesitantly.

“Then stay here,” he told me. He waited until I sat back down on the bed to leave the room. A moment later, I heard low voices then silence. At least ten minutes passed before I heard another exchange of voices. The door opened and Kovor stepped back into the room.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” he grinned. He sat back down on the bed with a self-satisfied smirk that would’ve annoyed me if he hadn’t looked so handsome doing it.

I immediately looked away. Spending this much time alone with Kovor was dangerous. I couldn’t allow myself to think of him as anything more than a partner on a mission.

I didn’t want things to get complicated. I always ended up with the short stick when things got complicated.

Kovor didn’t try to make conversation, which struck me as odd. We sat in silence. I didn’t know if he picked up on how uncomfortable I was. I hoped not. I didn’t want to have to explain why I was uncomfortable. I wished he’d put a damn shirt on. His sculpted muscles weren’t helping me think of reasons not to complicate everything.

After another ten minutes, I heard a thump on the other side of the door.

“What was that?” I asked Kovor, who looked very pleased with himself. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “What did you do?”

Instead of answering me, Kovor sauntered toward the door and opened it. The Enclave member Skud left behind to guard us was slumped on the floor in front of the door.

“Did you kill him?” I gasped.

“Of course not!” Kovor flicked his wrist in a dismissive gesture. “I made him a special drink.”

“With what?” I demanded.

“I’m not just devastatingly handsome, I’ve got brains, too,” Kovor winked and stepped over the unconscious guard. I peered closer to ensure that he was still breathing, and noticed he had the same mark on his wrist as the bounty hunter and Hark.

Did all the members of this group wear it? I thought back to Skud and Laz. I’d never seen their wrists, but now I’d be looking.

But why was this mark different than the one the crew’d found on Katzul? Laz had recognized it when he let us in, so they were tied together.

I just didn’t know how and staring at this guy wasn’t going to tell me.

“You didn’t answer my question, pretty boy,” I scoffed as I followed Kovor.

“Skud has a well-stocked kitchen. He had everything needed to make a special little sleeping tonic,” Kovor said proudly. “It won’t last long, so we have to move quickly.”

“Move where?” I asked.

“You’re supposed to be the criminal mastermind, Aryn,” Kovor sighed dramatically and shook his head. “Looks like I have to do all the work.”

“Oh, please,” I rolled my eyes.

“Skud took everyone else with him.” Kovor led me through the empty rooms. “What sort of security do you think Skud has in his office?” Everything clicked for me then.

“Hard to say. This place is built on hard-earned trust. I doubt he’d keep important information from his men. Distrust breeds discord,” I rationalized.

“Let’s hope you’re right.” Kovor tried the knob but the door was locked. “So much for that.”

“Hang on.” I rushed back to the room to grab a pin out of my drawer. My lock-picking skills were a bit rusty, but after a few attempts, I was able to unlock the door to Skud’s office.

“I have serious concerns for the ship’s security now,” Kovor said as the door swung open.

“You have nothing worth stealing. I checked.” I went to Skud’s desk and started opening drawers.

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

“I’ll never tell,” I grinned at Kovor. He shook his head and sighed before joining me at the desk.

“What are we looking for?” he asked.

“You tell me, mastermind. This was your idea,” I prodded. Every few seconds, I looked up at the door, expecting to see Skud staring at us.

“The sleep tonic was my idea. Now it’s your turn,” Kovor replied.

“Look for anything linking Enclave to the Dominion,” I instructed. “Anything to do with that dark ship would be helpful, too.”

“How about auction lists? Pick up dates?” Kovor asked.

“Did you find any?” I asked, excited.

“No, I just want to be thorough.” Kovor lifted a thick stack of films out of one of the desk drawers.

“Don’t make too much of a mess. We have to put everything back exactly where we found it,” I said. I continued looking through bundles of film. It didn’t help that I couldn’t read all the writing, but maybe I’d stumble across the Dominion’s sigil, or the fake symbol with the snake.

I shook my head. Instead of too few clues, it almost felt like we had too many.

But instead of any of that, something far more interesting.

“Is this what I think it is?” I held up a sheet of film. “Aren’t these the coordinates that were on that communication we found?”

Kovor took it, ran his hands over the symbols.

“Yeah. They’re the same.” His eyes met mine. “That was where they met the dark ship to pick up the women, I’m sure.”

“Then what’s the rest of it?” I wondered.

“I’d guess this is the name of the dark ship.” His eyebrows rose. “The Terror.”

“Creepy, but accurate.” I looked at the film again. “And this?”

He shook his head. “Numbers, but I can’t tell what for.”

“Maybe an identification code, so the dark ship, the Terror,” I corrected myself, “knew who they were meeting?”

“Possibly, but this is odd.”

“Odder than usual?”

“The registration number for the communications band. The numbers are missing.”

I shook my head. “We’ve seen how easy it is to spoof that. Maris could probably build a fake registration chip in her sleep at this point.”

“No.” He frowned. “It’s like they’re not even trying. The registration is blank.”

His golden eyes narrowed.

“The Terror is a ghost ship.”

Kovor

It had been a rough two days since Skud had ‘punished’ me for the women’s escape. My back still hurt, but it was more of a numb-pain that seemed to sit in the back of my mind and wait for me to make just the right movement before it snapped at me, reminding me that I was damaged. It was hard to sleep at times, but I made it through, even if it wasn’t a solid night of sleep.

While Aryn was busy doing another round of cleaning tasks as her own punishment from Skud, I decided to get something to eat.

The dining hall was empty, except for Skud, who motioned for me to join him. Knowing that refusal wasn’t an option, I hesitated only slightly before sitting across from him.

“Skud,” I said with a nod.

“Brother Koll,” he returned with his own nod. We sat together in a bit of awkward silence as he ate something I couldn’t identify, and I picked at my own plate. After a few minutes of utensils scraping on plates, chewing noises, and Skud’s prodigious burps, he set down his cup and cupped his hands together under his chin. “How is your back?” he asked.

I cleared my throat and finished chewing before I answered. “It’s a little sore, but I can work if you need me to.” I wasn’t exactly lying, but I knew that if I became useless to him, I was as good as dead.

“Good,” he nodded. “Since the girls haven’t been found, we need to increase business in other places. Might need someone of your size to make that happen.”

Lovely. I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I imagined he was planning on shaking down more businesses and people for ‘protection’ money. I nodded in understanding and the silence returned.

As I finished off some shriveled red drecberries, I decided to take a risk. “Skud?” He looked up from some paperwork he had with him. “Mind if I ask you something?”

He nodded as he set the papers aside.

I hesitated. What I wanted to do was probably stupid, but I felt that it had to be done. We needed information and he was the head of Enclave, whatever it was.

And, as every sore muscle in my back reminded me, we couldn’t risk staying here forever.

“Before my sister and I left Katzul, we heard a rumor about a missing shipment of Terrans.”

He tried to look disinterested, but his eyes flashed in recognition. “You know what a Terran is?” he grunted.

“I heard it was a non-evolved system,” I answered slowly, feeling like I was walking on the thinnest knife edge.

One wrong word, and over we’d go.

“Not too many people even know the word,” he grunted.

Scro. I certainly hadn’t before we took the job to pick up ice near their system, but now it seemed like just the knowledge painted a target on my back.

He tapped the paperwork but didn’t seem to be paying attention to it anymore. “What do you know about that shipment?”

I rolled my shoulder, thinking. “I don’t know anything. But rumor was, they ended up here and left just before…” and this was where the risk came in. “Just before Dominion arrived to retrieve them. Is any of that true?”

He hit me with a stare that damn-near made me drop the subject and leave.

I held my hands up, hoping that nonchalance would work. “I just wanted to know what sorts of trouble my sister and I should be on the lookout for. We don’t need any hassle.”

“You say it was rumor?”

I nodded, not sure what he was thinking. Better to stay silent now.

“You heard it on Katzul?” he asked.

Another nod from me.

He leaned back in his chair and I could hear the metal groan under his considerably muscular bulk. How the chair hadn’t already broken was beyond me. After what seemed like forever, he took a deep breath and leaned forward. “I didn’t know that bit of info had traveled that far.”

“Yeah, the whole thing seemed surprising to me, too. Just weird. It was circulating around in the back alleys and the underground, if that means anything,” I said.

“It is sort of true,” he said. “If reports are correct, there were human women here at Qasar. One of my men, Hurd, went to go see. He said he found them.”

So, Hurd was the name of the bastard that had attacked us. I was happy that bastard was dead. “What happened?”

“If they really were the human women, he was supposed to stop them so we could move in.”

“I’m assuming, since you used the words ‘supposed to,’ that he didn’t?” I asked.

Skud nodded. “Hurd disappeared. He said that he had found a way onto their ship and that he would stop them. Never heard from him again, and no one in Enclave has the human women.”

One last piece of information, and I’d stop. My gut clenched. This was risky. This was stupid.

But I had to know.

“Did he ever tell you where he’d found them? Seems like a long shot to me.”

If Hurd had told Skud about the Rogue Star, it was only a matter of time before one of his men told him we were here.

I held my breath until Skud shook his head, scowling.

Unless he was lying, he didn’t know about the Rogue Star or that she was docked just a few spaces away from his own ship. And while Skud could be a vicious bastard, he didn’t seem to have an aptitude for dissembling.

“You don’t seem to be too upset over Hurd’s disappearance,” I remarked.

He shrugged. “Eh, Hurd was a pain. He not a hard worker like your sister, or you.” I nodded thanks. He seemed to be over my ‘mistake’ and seemed to be willing to treat me like a member again. “I have assignment for you later.”

“I’m up for it, as long as I’m not carrying spiked podell, that is,” I cracked. His laughter echoed throughout the room and eased my own reservations. He still scared me a bit, even when he was in a good mood.

“No worries, we not deal with those painful bastards,” he laughed. “Whoever decided to make those things is terrible person, huh?”

I laughed with him as I nodded. Podells were essentially a ball of spikes with feet, claws, and a tail. They could shoot their spikes out nearly thirty feet, and they secreted a terrible smell that stuck with you for days. It was a nauseating smell, and I had only been within a few feet of someone that had tangled with one.

He grew a serious again as he started stacking his paperwork together. “How long ago did you hear rumor on Katzul?”

“Uh,” I took a deep breath as I tried to retrace how long it had been since we were there. I needed to make sure I took some time off that to make sure I didn’t raise his suspicions. “I heard it maybe a day or two before we left for here.”

“Did you fold here?” he rumbled.

I shook my head. “No. Didn’t have the credits for a ship that folded. Took the slow way.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, we did take the slow trip, up until Maris and Orrin finally put aside their issues and worked together to fix the engines so they wouldn’t leave behind a trail.

“So, it take three days to get here,” he said more to himself than me. “That mean that someone else know about that ship and know about girls. Enclave not be happy about that.”

He pushed himself up from the table, grabbed his paperwork, and headed towards the door. “Clean up,” he said as he put his hand on the door. He hesitated a moment, then looked back at me. “Keep your mouth shut about this, I don’t want others to hear.”

I nodded hastily. “Understood,” I said, making sure to put a little bit of fear into my voice to let him know I understood completely. He nodded and left, the door slamming shut behind him with a resounding boom.

I spent a few moments getting my breathing under control before I grabbed my plate, and his, and went into the kitchen to clean them. He had never mentioned the Dominion, only Enclave.

Could that mean that the Dominion wasn’t involved, and that Enclave was merely using stolen Dominion uniforms and the Dominion’s name to push their operation forward?

Was there a chance that whoever Aryn had seen dealing with Skud wasn’t a Dominion official? Was there a chance that what had happened at Outpost Nine was simply a terrible misunderstanding, that the Dominion really was going to take the women home and we had raided them by mistake?

But that didn’t explain the way the official had pulled a weapon on Kalyn and the others. Kalyn had almost died. Aryn could have...

My mind spun with possibilities, none of them good.

I had to find Aryn.

Aryn

I sat in our room alone, stretching my sore arms from another round of cleaning this pigsty. Kovor was out and about, hopefully earning his way back into Skud’s good graces.

Ordinarily, that would’ve made me nervous. However, Kovor had proved to be a quick learner. He wouldn’t say anything stupid that would blow our cover.

I should’ve trusted him from the beginning.

Now that Kovor wasn’t here, I found the silence of the room strange. I hoped he’d be back soon.

The silence made me uneasy. It was too quiet outside the room, as well. Usually, I heard voices and footsteps, but the Enclave members must’ve gone out.

After ‘losing’ the Mermian women, Skud hadn’t kept me or Kovor in the loop, apparently while we worked through his version of probation. The fact that we were allowed to stay at all was a good sign.

The information we’d found on the dark ship, the Terror, was interesting. I wished we could take that whole sheet of paper back to Captain Dejar, try to break the code, see what anyone else noticed.

But it was too risky, Skud would notice something like that missing from his papers. Well, he should if he was worth anything as a syndicate leader.

But the more time I spent in the compound, the more I began to suspect that Skud made things up as he went along. This was a small-time operation, its only real value being how far out Qasar was on the fringe of things.

If we were on Mars, Kovor and I would be dead by now. I guess the stakes weren’t as high here.

Either that, or I was much better at this deception business than I’d ever given myself credit for.

And I gave myself a lot of credit in that department.

One disappointing aspect of the Terror’s little sheet was that it didn’t link Enclave to the Dominion. All that paper proved was that Enclave had knowledge of a ghost ship and the coordinates to meet with it. If Kovor and I spoke out about what we saw, about the figure in the robe marked with the sigil, it would be our word against the Dominion’s.

I lay down flat on my back and stared up at the splotchy ceiling. I tried not to think about what liquids made the stains. Closing my eyes, I tried to visualize everything Kovor and I still needed to do before we made our escape. I hadn’t come up with a solid plan for that yet. If Skud kept us quarantined within Enclave headquarters, an escape would be challenging.

At some point, my endless mental to-do list faded away into dreams. I dreamed of golden eyes, a stunning smile, and large hands, warmer than I anticipated. I heard his laugh. I felt his arms encircle me. His hand traced down my arm. It felt so real, heat pooled in my belly.

My eyelids fluttered open as I sucked in a breath. I turned my head, expecting to see Kovor grinning at me from the side of the bed.

Instead, I found an intruder.

One of the Enclave members crouched by the side of my bed, his thick fingers tracing up and down my arm.

I yanked away from him.

He looked at me, realizing I was awake. There was no shame in his eyes.

He looked excited, leering at me with sharp yellow teeth.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I demanded, then clamped my mouth shut immediately. ‘Fuck’ was a human word.

“Door was open,” he snarled.

I knew for a fact that it was not.

“Get out,” I hissed, scrambling away from him.

He made a grab for me, but my arm slipped out of his grip.

He bared his teeth and I prepared myself for a struggle, but something distracted the intruder.

He stared at my arm with a perplexed expression.

I looked down and tried not to gasp.

My true skin, flushed and prickly, was stark against the silvery dye.

The intruder looked at his silver-smeared palm, eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Who are you?” he demanded, standing up to his full height. “What are you?” he shouted, advancing on me.

I needed to shut him up before everyone in Enclave headquarters poured into the room.

But I couldn’t make myself move. I could only stare, wide-eyed and terrified, at the alien moving closer to me.

The door kicked inward. I yelped and pushed myself into a corner. Kovor stood in the doorway, his face a mask of rage. He looked at the intruder, then to me, and finally to my exposed arm.

“Scro,” Kovor swore.

“Are you like her?” the intruder shouted. He lunged for Kovor in an attempt to swipe at his skin. Kovor was quicker by far. He swung around behind the intruder and put him in a headlock.

“I need you to be quiet,” Kovor said, his voice unnervingly calm.

The intruder struggled in his grasp, but Kovor tightened his grip, and kept tightening, until the intruder went slack in his arms.

Kovor released him and stepped back, panting.

“Is he dead?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Not yet,” Kovor replied.

“What do you mean?”

Before I even finished the question, Kovor grabbed the man by the head and gave his neck a sharp twist. Bones popped and crunched and I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

Kovor released the dead intruder and stepped towards me, his arms out like one would approach a spooked animal.

“I had to,” Kovor said quietly. “He saw your skin. He would’ve hurt you.”

“I know,” I shuddered. “I didn’t re-apply after cleaning. I was so tired, I just didn’t think, and now, and now-”

“Please, don’t be afraid of me,” Kovor pleaded, a tiny muscle jumping along his strong jaw.

I blinked in surprise.

“Afraid? You just saved my life.” I closed the distance between us and stepped into the safety of his arms.

He crushed me against his chest, hands stroking down my back, easing and soothing. My pounding of my heartbeat in my ears calmed, then sped up again in time with his movements.

“Kovor,” I whispered, then stopped, shocked at the need in my voice.

I pushed away, mostly sure I could stand without falling.

“We have to move him.” My voice sounded cold, strange even to myself.

Kovor only nodded in agreement. “I have an idea, but it’s risky.”

“What hasn’t been?” I asked.

“We carry him out,” Kovor replied.

“We can’t! Someone will see us!” I exclaimed and fell back onto the bed. Maybe I should have stayed in his arms longer. But that didn’t take care of our little problem.

“Hardly anyone is in the compound,” Kovor said. “Hang on, let me grab something.” He disappeared and returned a few moments later carrying a green bottle half filled with liquid. He splashed a few drops on the dead alien and the room suddenly smelled of alcohol. He carefully wiped clean the silver dye from the limp hand without a single shiver.

“We make people believe he drank too much?” I asked.

“We carry him out like he passed out in our room,” Kovor shrugged. “Nothing else comes to mind.”

“I don’t like it, it’s too risky.” I’d never felt so shaky in my life. What was wrong with me? My hands trembled uncontrollably, so I sat on them.

“I know,” Kovor sighed. “I don’t like it, either, but I don’t know what else to do. Let me take care of it. You wait here.”

I forced myself to nod.

Kovor looped the dead alien’s arm over one shoulder and hauled him up. His head hung limp but, honestly, it didn’t look unnatural.

If I didn’t know the truth, I’d think he was simply unconscious.

“I’ll be right back,” Kovor promised me. I forced another nod as he dragged the dead alien out of the room.

I’d done some highly questionable things in my life, but never murder. Hark was the closest I’d ever come but that was a spur of the moment act, choosing the lives, the futures, of the Mermian women over his.

But Kovor hadn’t wanted to kill anyone, either. He was just protecting me. I started to shake again. Who would have thought my easygoing playboy was the tough one?

When I heard voices on the other side of the door, I thought my heart would stop. There was no yelling, no sounds of fighting, just conversation, but it still made me uneasy. I was ready to bolt when the door opened again. It was only Kovor.

“I heard voices.”

“It’s okay.” Kovor walked over to me, then guided me to the bed. “I ran into an Enclave member, and he gave me a hand with our friend.” He stared fixedly at the door until I nodded. “Apparently, it’s commonplace for him. We put him outside for some fresh air."

“I think we overestimated this group’s intelligence.” I tried to joke but there was no humor in my voice.

“You’re trembling,” he murmured. I didn’t say anything back. If I opened my mouth, I would start crying. I hadn’t cried in years and I wasn’t planning on breaking that streak.

He sat beside me on the bed, arms around me, and leaned back, carrying me with him as he whispered nonsense into my hair.

I felt something crack open inside me. Before I could stop myself, I was crying into his neck. He held me tightly, stroking my hair and skin.

“Is trusting me really so awful?” he joked. I shook my head.

“No, it feels amazing,” I whispered. “I haven’t trusted anyone like this since my best friend turned me in for reward money.”

That was the first time I’d ever said those words out loud. Kovor must’ve realized that, too.

“Thank you for telling me,” he said. I tipped my face up to look at him. His mouth was so close to mine.

I realized how much I craved contact like this. A life without had left me wanting.

As if he’d read my thoughts, Kovor lowered his lips to mine and kissed me, gentle and slow, until his firm lips became demanding, forcing me to answer a call that had been building between us.

I melted against him, opening eagerly as his tongue ran against the seam of my lips. The ridged strangeness of his tongue as it wound against my own caused me to gasp.

My hands knotted in his shirt as I hung on, every breath of air in my lungs feeling on fire, heat spreading through my body.

One broad hand wrapped against my hip, pulling me tighter to him, and I felt his hard body press into mine.

Something else pulsed hard against my core, sending bright sparks through my belly until finally I rocked against him, groaning.

This was madness.

He was madness.

But for the first time in my life, I felt sane.

Kovor

Her lips were the softest, silkiest, most amazing things I had ever felt in my life, and I grew up in a world where everything was soft and silky.

Every inch of her skin called me to touch, to taste.

But as the fire built up inside me and my need for her grew, I forced myself to pull away.

“We have to get out of here,” I whispered, her lips only a breath from mine.

She brushed her lips against mine, granting me one more taste of sweetness, before she pulled away and nodded. “I know. It’s only going to be a matter of time before they go to check on our ‘drunk’ and realize he’s dead instead.”

I grinned, my happiness entirely, utterly, inappropriate for the situation, but undeniable.

“Yeah. That’s not going to look good for us. It’s really hard to explain an accidental snapped neck.”

“No shit.”

Scro, I automatically corrected.

I wanted to kiss her again, but we had to get out. “Any ideas on how we get out of here?”

“Well, you said that there weren’t a lot of people here, right?”

I nodded.

“Then let’s sneak out now. I think we have all the information we’re going to get.”

As simple as this building looked from the outside, inside was a large maze of twists, turns, and corridors. I had lost track after about the tenth intersection down in the bowels of the building. That left three other exits that I knew of—the one that I had carried our dead drunk through, the ‘main’ entrance, and one of the side doors out through the kitchen.

“Get cleaned up,” I said. “We need to fix the makeup he took off your arm.” She nodded and grabbed her stuff from under the pillow. As she started to re-apply the makeup, I grabbed our clothes and packed them up. It was going to be hard to explain why we were carrying our gear if we were seen, but if we left it here, they would undoubtedly go through it. While I didn’t believe they could find anything incriminating in our clothing, I didn’t want to risk it.

After Aryn had fixed her disguise, she grabbed her bag and nodded. “Ready.”

With a nod, I opened the door to our room, looked to make sure no one was there, and motioned for her to follow me. The kitchen, while potentially the worst option to leave through, was the most likely to be empty at the moment.

As we quickly made our way down the hall, I kept my ears as attuned to foreign sounds as I could.

Aryn truly was good at sneaking around. I barely heard her steps behind me as she crept along the halls. We came upon our first intersection inside the building, Skud’s office in the hall to our left, the kitchen in front, and the hall to our right leading to the stairs down deeper into the underground of the station and building. I made sure no one was around, then led us to the kitchen.

We weren’t very lucky, there were at least four, maybe five, voices coming from inside. With a silent curse, I motioned Aryn back. I got close to her so I wouldn’t have to whisper very loudly. “People inside, we need to find another way.”

She nodded and mouthed the words ‘drunk guy.’ I understood instantly.

We made our way back to the intersection, took the hallway that led towards Skud’s office, and skulked our way down the hall. We were only a dozen yards down the hall when footsteps echoed, coming towards us. I glanced around quickly, saw a maintenance closet, and hurriedly dragged Aryn inside.

I stashed our packs, just in case, then started looking at the cleaning supplies. Aryn followed suit. Hopefully, if the owner of said footsteps opened the closet, whoever it was would see us looking at cleaning stuff and assume we were getting ready to clean again.

Endless punishment had its uses after all.

The footsteps were loud as they got closer, then they began to recede. Whoever it was had just walked by and never thought of looking in here.

“That was close,” Aryn whispered.

I merely nodded and grabbed our gear, cracked the door open slightly, and peeked out. The hallway was empty.

“Come on,” I whispered. We made our way down the hall as quietly as we could, my own footsteps sounding like thundering drums compared to Aryn’s whisper-like steps. I envied her. I had never had to learn anything like that, so even my best attempts at silence were loud in comparison.

Twice we were forced to hide in a dark alcove or another closet, but we weren’t seen or heard. There were no alarms, no yells or shouts, and no running footsteps to show that we had been discovered trying to sneak out. Things were working out so far.

We were only a dozen feet away from the exit where I had taken our dead friend, and we only had to wait behind a pillar for one person to leave the door.

“What do we do?” Aryn mouthed as we waited. I didn’t like the odds. I was too far away to run up on him, he would surely yell out before I was able to subdue him.

Even if I walked up nonchalantly, there were too many things that could go wrong. If I tried to subdue him, I might not be fast enough. If he was under orders not to let anyone out, again, he wouldn’t let me near the door.

I shrugged and thought for a moment. We could make our way back and try Skud’s office. We knew the way out there, but his office was surely guarded, or occupied. I started to hand Aryn our stuff when she tapped my arm and pointed past me. The door guard had begun to pace, and I recognized that particular kind of gait. He was struggling with whether or not he should leave his post to use the bathroom, and the need to relieve himself was winning. All we had to do was wait just a bit longer.

He finally decided that wetting himself would be a bad idea and left the door, heading away from us towards the bathroom down the hall. I motioned for Aryn to follow and we made our way to the door. We were just inches away from getting out. I put my hand on the handle, twisted it, and opened the door.

As the door closed behind us, my hopes vanished in an instant

Skud stood there, his hand out as if he had been reaching for the door. Laz and a few others stood behind him. He looked at us, confusion changing to anger as he saw the packs hanging from our shoulders.

With a simple motion of his hand, the men jumped forward and grabbed us before we could make a break for it. “Want to explain what this is?” Skud asked, his voice eerily calm and low.

“We were heading out to look for the women. I wanted to atone for my screw-up earlier,” I offered.

“Mmm.” He looked at Laz. “Do you believe them?”

“No, I don’t,” Laz said with a shake of his head. “I wonder if they’re responsible for him.” He pointed down at the body of Aryn’s attacker.

“Well?” Skud asked.

There was nothing I could do but keep up with the same lie.

“Found him passed out drunk in our room. I took him out of there and some of your guys said he got drunk a lot, had me put him here,” I explained. Most of that was true.

“Uh-huh. Was he dead before or after you put him out here?”

I started to repeat myself, but he cut me off with a wave. “Take them down to the bottoms,” Skud ordered. “It time we found out what’s really happening.”

The men holding us wrenched us around and dragged us back inside.

Scro.

Aryn

I tried not to let my fear get the best of me when I heard the bolt slide across the door, effectively locking us in. The exposed piping that covered most of the walls groaned and hissed. Even though I heard the bolt lock into place, I ran up the short flight of stairs and yanked on the handle anyway.

“You stay till we figure out questions to ask you,” Skud yelled. “Then when we’re satisfied, we kill you.”

I yanked and slammed and screamed and banged as if I could claw my way through the thick metal from willpower alone. My hands ached. My fingernails felt like they were going to splinter, but I didn’t stop.

“Aryn!” Kovor called but his voice sounded like he was submerged in water on the other side of the room. I didn’t hear him come up behind me. I didn’t even know he was there until I felt his arms wrap around my waist. He pulled me away from the door, lifting me off my feet so he could carry me down the stairs.

“I’m going to get us out of here,” I rasped. Kovor set me down, placing himself directly between me and the door so that I couldn’t see it past his broad shoulders.

“We’ll figure something out,” he assured me. “But I’m not willing to use you as a battering ram to do it.”

“Do you have a better idea?” I demanded. “Before they torture us and kill us?”

“No,” Kovor admitted. “But we’ve got nothing but time to come up with one.” He gestured to the empty room.

“We don’t know how much time we have.” My words sounded darker than I intended. Kovor frowned and reached out to stroke my hair as if it brought him comfort.

“What do you think Skud’s going to do?” he asked. I put my hands on my hips and began to pace as I tried to predict Skud’s thoughts.

“He still doesn’t know everything,” I said. “All he knows is that we want out and that we’re a liability to his operation if we talk to anyone. If I were him, I’d lock us down here for a few days to scare us into staying in Enclave.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’,” Kovor prompted.

“But I think Skud’s panicking. Thanks to us, he’s in a situation he’s never been in before. He lost the Mermian women, he’s lost another team member, and now he’s got us trying to sneak out,” I continued. “He might kill us just to prove to the other members that he’s not incompetent.”

“You have no idea what he’s going to do.” Kovor’s chuckle was hollow.

“Not one bit, but none of the options are good.” My smile held no humor. My bottom lip quivered. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” Kovor tilted his head to the side.

“For dragging you into this.” I blinked back tears. When did I turn into such a crier? “You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to infiltrate this stupid organization.”

“If I remember correctly, you were dead set against me coming along. You can’t say you dragged me into this.” Kovor tucked me under his arm.

I leaned into him and rested my head against his chest. I listened to his heart, letting the steady rhythm soothe me.

“I should’ve knocked you out with a frying pan as soon as we left the captain’s office,” I muttered. Kovor’s laugh was genuine this time.

“That’s your go-to method for stopping me?” he asked.

“As opposed to what? Hand-to-hand combat?” I snorted.

“I don’t want you to blame yourself for this.” His voice regained its seriousness. “None of this is your fault. It’s Enclave’s, it’s the Terror’s, and it’s the Dominion’s fault.”

“It’s a shame,” I sighed. “Anyone who knew me on Mars could’ve guessed that this is how I’d go down.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Kovor cut me off. “We aren’t dead yet.” I continued as if I hadn’t heard him.

“This isn’t how your life is supposed to end. You’re supposed to die decades from now, in a comfortable bed, surrounded by a huge family who loves you,” I finished.

“No one is going to die,” Kovor insisted, but I could hear the doubt in his voice. Any moment now, Skud might return to put bullets through our heads. Or he might never come back and leave us to starve to death.

“It’s such a shame,” I said again. “Just when I start to like you, I lose you.”

Kovor cupped my face in his hands and gently tipped my head up so I looked into his eyes.

“You haven’t lost me,” he assured me. “I’m right here. No matter what happens, I’m always going to be right here.”

“I believe you.” My words surprised me as much as they surprised him.

“I never thought I’d actually win you over,” Kovor grinned as he brought me in for another embrace. I locked my arms around him and hid my face in his neck.

“Neither did I,” I joked.

“If we die today or starve to death in a week, I want you to know that I’ve never been happier,” Kovor murmured low in my ear.

“Me, either,” I admitted. Fat tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over before I could stop them. Instinctively, I tried to close off my feelings, but then I realized there was no point. I let my tears fall freely. Kovor wiped them away with the pad of his thumb.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he swore. “But just in case.” He tipped my face up once more and brought his mouth to mine. Heat pooled in my belly and fire shot through my veins. I snaked my arms around his neck and rose onto the tips of my toes. He hesitated, surprised by my forwardness, but quickly sank into the kiss.

His hands wound into my hair and his tongue pushed through my lips. I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, eager to be as close to him as possible. I might never get the change to do this again. I wanted to taste all of him, savor him.

It was just as well that men were in incredibly short supply on my home planet. Some women longed for the old days of courting, dating, falling in love. I’d never cared for any of those old stories. Sometimes I thought that if there were as many men today as there were before the birth rate dropped, I still wouldn’t care.

That was before I met Kovor. I knew with absolute certainty that there wasn’t a human male alive that could compare to Kovor. Maybe I was never meant for human males.

“The first time I saw you,” Kovor spoke between kisses, “I thought you were the most beautiful creature in Dominion space.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I gasped before his mouth devoured mine once more. Kovor laughed against my lips.

“If I’d told you when you were in the cargo bay, do you think you would’ve been receptive?” he asked. I laughed at the thought of it.

“I would’ve punched you in the jaw.” I trailed a line of kisses along his chiseled jawline.

“Exactly. I always intended on winning you over, but I needed you to want me on your own first.”

“I want you.” I took his bottom lip between my teeth and bit gently. Air hissed through his teeth before his mouth collided with mine again.

“Now I’ll have to save us,” Kovor murmured. “The first time I take you will not be in a grimy dungeon.”

“Tease,” I purred in his ear.

“Oh, most definitely.”

We kissed and whispered to each other for so long, I nearly forgot where we were and how we’d gotten there. We explored each other’s bodies with our hands, memorizing every inch of each other.

Perhaps I was delirious with desire, but I felt hopeful. Kovor and I would get out of here. I held on tight to that hope as Kovor and I curled up against each other in the corner farthest from the door.

My eyelids were heavy and my lips were swollen from kisses. I couldn’t tell if I was actually kissing Kovor or dreaming about kissing him.

In that strange space between awake and dreaming, I heard something out of place.

“Kovor,” I murmured. He grunted beside me. At some point, we’d fallen asleep. I nudged him gently until he lifted his head.

“Kovor, do you hear that?” I whispered in the darkness.

His eyes glimmered as he listened. From somewhere nearby was the unmistakable sound of music.

Kovor

“Kovor, do you hear that?”

I must have fallen asleep. The damn cell we were in was ugly, dank and dark, and the exposed pipes inside hissed and steamed at random moments. I listened, but at first all I could hear was my own heartbeat and breathing.

I forced those sounds away and listened for anything that seemed out of place.

There was Aryn’s breath, short and excited. She heard something that had gotten her hopes up. I pushed that sound away and listened harder.

The gurgling of the pipes melted away, the occasional hiss of air coming through a broken seal disappeared, and the drip, drip, drip of water vanished as I got used to them all and pushed them aside.

There was something else, it wasn’t my heart that was beating. My heart was calm, slow. I knew I couldn’t hear Aryn’s heartbeat, so that meant something else was going thump, thump-thump, thump, thump-thump-thump. I turned my attention to Aryn to see her smiling in the darkness.

“That’s music,” she whispered excitedly. “How are we hearing music down here?”

I shook my head and motioned for her to be quiet. If she was right and it was music, then that meant that the walls weren’t as thick as Skud thought they were. Maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for us to escape.

I listened again, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from.

“We can get out of here,” Aryn said again.

“Shh.” I snapped. “I need to listen.” I forced all sounds out of my mind except the thump-thump of the bass. Where was it coming from?

I got up and went to corner of the cell just to the left of the door. I motioned for Aryn to stay silent and listened. There was no music coming from there. I searched my memory and tried to pull up a mental map. When they had dragged us down here, there was a door before this one, and I believed there was another door past this one, so that meant there was a room next to us. I slowly, and as silently as I could, moved my way down the wall towards the other corner of the room.

The pipes made it difficult to hear, but I forced their sounds away as I searched for the source of the music. As I passed a pipe, I missed a gurgle and the pipe let out a hot blast of steam that caught me in the shoulder. “Ah!” I shouted as I jumped away.

“Kovor!” Aryn rushed over. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, but the grimace on my face betrayed me. My shoulder burned and I could already feel some of the skin bubbling. The pain was excruciating, but I tried to force the feeling away so I could concentrate. “We need to find the loudest point. Maybe we can get through the wall or…mmm…something,” I said as I waved my arm at the entire room, not entirely sure what the next step should be.

She nodded but continued looking at me. Her eyes were filled with concern as her hands held my arm, well below my shoulder, thankfully. “I’ll look over there,” she said, indicating the corner directly across from the door. “Are you okay?”

“I will be, as soon as we’re out of here.” I kissed her on the head, then headed for the other corner. I grunted a bit as my shirt rubbed on my shoulder, but I forced the pain out of my mind. I listened, doing what I could to concentrate on only the music and the bass pumping through. It was muffled in our corner, but as I got more towards the middle of the room, the louder it got.

I looked at Aryn as she moved closer. She put her finger to her lips and indicated her portion of the wall. She put her ear against it, then moved a step or two back and repeated the process. Then she moved forward past her original spot and listened again. She took a step back and put her head against the wall once more. “Here,” she whispered.

I made my way slowly towards her, listening as I went. The music got louder, but right where she was, it was the loudest.

“How do we get through?” she asked.

I shook my head. I didn’t know, but we had to think of something soon. I made the mistake of leaning against the wall, the pressure sending blinding, shooting pain into me. My eyes went wide. “Of course,” I said, perhaps a bit too loudly.

“What is it?”

I smiled and looked at the pipe that had burned me. “We break through,” I said. I rushed over to a different pipe and kicked at it. The sound reverberated loudly through the cell, causing Aryn and me to look at one another, then rush away from where I had been.

After a few minutes, and no response from outside the cell, we tried again. We searched around the cell for anything we could use to scrape at the walls, to dig through.

Aryn found a sharp scrap of metal and started digging at the walls while I looked around. I found nothing, so I looked at the pipes again. I found one that was dripping water, checked the water—it was cold this time—and kicked at it until it snapped off. I smelled the water, then took a tiny taste of it, and after noticing that it was fine, I drank a bit before grabbing the broken pipe.

“Get some water,” I said as I took over at the wall. With the pipe, I was able to scrape away at the old mortar used to hold the giant blocks together. I lost track of how long we scraped at the walls, taking turns with the pipe, but it felt like forever. After getting a bigger piece of mortar out and seeing a little spot of light shine through, I got excited.

I put my good shoulder against the wall and started to push. The blocks didn’t budge. “Let me help,” Aryn said. We put our shoulders to the wall and pushed, but nothing happened. I kicked at the wall, accomplishing nothing but hurting my toe.

“Umbba,” I cursed.

“Easy,” Aryn said, putting her hand on my arm. “We’ll get through.”

“And if we don’t? We’re dead if they catch us doing this,” I said. I was losing hope, and she could see it.

She leaned over and kissed me quickly. “We’ll get through. Don’t get discouraged, pretty boy.”

We scraped, stabbed, and kicked at the wall, knocking more and more mortar free. It was taking a while, but as more mortar broke free, the more hope I had. The music was getting louder, the hole was getting bigger, and I was feeling more encouraged.

“See?” Aryn looked at me and smiled. “We’re getting through. We’re gonna make it.” I couldn’t help but share her enthusiasm. We were getting close. Just a few more minutes, that was all it would take. It had to be, any longer and I was positive we were going to be found out.

“Yeah. Move,” I said. I stood up and kicked at the broken blocks. Nothing. I kicked again, and this time something moved a bit. We looked at one another, eyes wide. “Ha.” I turned back towards the wall and started kicking again.

One block started to fall. I grabbed it and yanked at it, pulling it out of the wall. I tossed it to the side and started kicking again. Aryn joined me and between the two of us, we got three blocks out in relatively short time.

We stopped and she tried to crawl through.

“Ugh, I can’t fit.”

“Okay, get out. One or two more blocks,” I said through heavy breaths. I was tired, but the adrenaline kept me moving. We kicked, scraped, pulled, and even pushed against our little hole, and after what I was sure was too much time, the hole was finally big enough to crawl through.

I sent Aryn through first, then followed right behind. I scraped my cooked shoulder twice but ignored the pain…mostly.

She helped me to my feet, and I had a chance to look around. We were in a bathroom, of course, but this one was clean. Well, clean-ish. The music was pounding through the walls and the ceiling.

“Want to dance?” she winked, as she took my hand and tugged me towards the door.

Outside was a club, a massive crowd jumping and writhing to the music.

More than one turned to look at us as we stalked across the floor, filthy and bedraggled.

I flashed an embarrassed smile, grabbed Aryn, and pulled her behind me through the crowd.

It was time we got the kout out of there.

Aryn

“Come on!” Kovor grabbed my hand and pushed his way through the mass of people. I slammed into the shoulders and elbows of those who either refused to move or weren’t paying attention.

Normally I slid through a crowd. Now I just wanted to get distance between us and the compound.

We didn’t stop moving until we reached the pulsing heart of the station center. We slipped into the throng at the mouth of the marketplace, blending in with the day laborers, and I pulled my hood up to hide my hair.

“Which way is the port from here?” Kovor asked, looking over the heads of the other market-goers.

“We can’t go to the port!” I exclaimed. “We can’t risk leading Skud and the rest of Enclave right to the Rogue Star. What if they’re right behind us?”

“All right,” Kovor soothed. “We won’t go to the port. We’ll go to station security instead.”

“That’s worse!” I cried.

Some of the market-goers took notice of my frantic state. Kovor reassured them all with a smile and gently took me by the hand. I leaned into him so no one would think I didn’t want to go with him, but my mind whirled.

We were free, but for how long?

Kovor led me to a quiet nook between two buildings.

“Hear me out.” He lifted a hand to silence me before I could argue back. “I understand that your relationship with any official group of authority hasn’t been a positive one. In my experience, the opposite is true. Let’s go get help from the people whose job it is to help us.”

“The Dominion are supposed to help others in this system,” I pointed out. “And we sure don’t know if we can trust them.”

“Fair point,” he conceded. “But station security isn’t the Dominion. This place is so remote, I doubt they bother alerting the Dominion of every incident.”

“That’s a risk,” I said.

“Everything we’ve done since the Rogue Star picked up you human females has been a risk,” Kovor replied. “Reporting this group of the Enclave to station security could solve all of our problems. If security finds proof that Enclave and the Dominion are linked, we’ll all be safe.”

“Or station security is in the Dominion’s pocket,” I argued. “You have to admit it’s a possibility.”

Kovor rubbed his chin as he weighed our options.

“How about this. You and I are traveling merchants stuck here while our ship is under repair. We go to security and tell them Skud and his group kidnapped us because they thought we were carrying rare gems or something,” he suggested.

I turned his fabrication over in my head. Simple, but believable. It might work.

“Shame you have a good heart.” I smiled up at him. “You could’ve been one hell of a syndicate runner.”

“Don’t try to flatter me,” Kovor chuckled. “Besides, I would have been a criminal mastermind, I’m sure.” He squeezed my hand. “Let’s go. Skud and his thugs will notice that we’ve escaped any moment now. They could already be after us.”

We didn’t waste another minute. Kovor and I held hands as we wove through the crowds.

“Do you know where you’re going?” I called to him.

“Yes,” he called over his shoulder. “There’s directional signs all over the city.” I looked around. To me, directional signs, advertisements and building names were all equally illegible. I had just barely learned to speak Shein through the auto-tutor. Written language hadn’t seemed important yet.

It would be as soon as we were back on board. I took a deep breath and accepted the fact that this time, Kovor was in control.

I’d told him I trusted him, now was the time to prove it. The notion made me feel more anxious than the thought of Skud hunting us down.

“When we get there, let me do the talking,” Kovor instructed me. “All you need to do is look fragile and frightened. I know you’ve never looked that way in your life, so fake it.”

“I’ll do my best,” I assured him, half-amused by his odd confidence in me.

The station security building was found just before the central dome gave way to the workshop dome. We burst through the glass doors, cracking one by accident as it slammed into the wall.

“What’s the meaning of this?” a burly alien in uniform snapped.

“Please, you have to help us,” Kovor panted. I clung to his arm, wide-eyed and trembling. My legs looked like they were about to give out. Kovor tucked me under his arm, clutching me to his side. I clung to him like my life depended on it.

“What’s the matter?” another uniformed alien asked.

“We were kidnapped,” Kovor yelled. I let out a small sob and hid my face in his chest so the security officers wouldn’t see my lack of tears.

“What?” the officer exclaimed.

“We’ve been held for days. They were going to kill us but we escaped,” Kovor explained. He was really committing to his act. He expanded on the story we cooked up moments ago with impressive conviction.

Hell, I almost believed him.

“Slow down,” the office said calmly. “Come back into the office and we’ll have you fill out a statement.”

“You don’t understand!” Kovor shouted. “They’re coming after us! We aren’t the only ones they’ve done this to. They had other captives! Silvery women I’ve never seen before.”

“Are they still being held captive?” The office asked, finally seeming to understand the seriousness of our situation.

“I don’t know.” Kovor shook his head. “They locked us in a room under the building.”

“Do you know who did this to you?”

“Yes. They kept calling themselves Enclave.”

The officer’s face darkened. Clearly, he’d heard the name before.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before they really hurt someone,” he muttered more to himself than to us.

“You know of them?” Kovor demanded. I feared my suspicions were right, that the Dominion paid off station security to leave Enclave alone.

“Yes,” the officer nodded. “We’ve never had enough evidence to accuse them of anything other than being a nuisance. If we sent a squad with you, could you lead us to their base?”

“Absolutely,” Kovor nodded.

“Wait just a moment. I’ll have a squad ready in ten minutes.” The officer rushed into a back room. I took a deep, shaking breath.

“Are you all right?” Kovor bent over me, brushed my cheek.

I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely asking or trying to keep up appearances, so decided to give him an answer that would satisfy both scenarios.

“I’ll be all right when those monsters are spaced,” I spat.

“Did they hurt you, miss?” Another officer approached cautiously. Kovor tightened his grip on me as if he would shield me from all the dangers of the world.

I looked at the concerned officer with wide, glassy eyes and simply nodded. The officer gave me an understanding smile.

“We’ll bring them in. Don’t you worry,” he said. Kovor pressed a kiss into the top of my head.

The door to the back area flew open and ten officers filed out, armed and ready.

“We’ll follow you,” one of them nodded to us.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?” Kovor asked me, keeping the act going. I shook my head.

“I want to stay with you.”

“Will she be safe?” Kovor asked the officer.

“We’ll protect you with our lives,” the officer swore.

Overdramatic, but I appreciated the gesture. Kovor took my hand and together, we led the team of officers back toward the Enclave headquarters. As we walked, I scanned the crowd for Skud or any of the others. I didn’t see any sign of them. Maybe they still hadn’t figured out Kovor and I escaped.

A flash of rich gold caught my eye, quickly followed by a flash of bronze.

“Did you see that?” I murmured to Kovor so the officers wouldn’t hear.

I craned my neck, looking for confirmation that I’d seen what I thought I saw.

“See what?” Kovor asked.

“I thought I saw someone we know,” I whispered. “A certain rogue.”

Kovor understood my meaning quickly enough and began to scan the crowd as well. His height was an advantage.

He must not have seen anything, for he stayed quiet until we reached the main door to the Enclave headquarters.

We both immediately noticed something wasn’t right. The door was wide open.

“Skud can’t be that stupid,” I muttered.

The security team prepared to move in when we heard shouts coming from the doorway, followed by the sounds of a struggle.

One of the Enclave members flew through the door, landing face first on the ground. Aavat charged through the door and kicked the alien while he was down.

“Aavat?” I said louder than I meant to.

He looked up, jaw hanging open, apparently as confused to see us as we were to see him.

“Wait!” Kovor shouted to the officers that had already lifted their weapons. “That’s my friend. No Shein were with the bastards that took us.”

“Is Enclave in there?” an officer asked.

Kovor nodded. The security team moved forward, weapons drawn. Aavat let them pass. I gnawed on my bottom lip, anxious to watch Skud and his morons go down.

“What are you doing here?” Kovor whispered.

“Dejar and I were getting restless,” Aavat said. “You weren’t supposed to be gone this long without checking in. It took us almost a full day to find this place. Half the crew’s in there now.”

“If you’d come just a few hours earlier, you would’ve found us locked in a basement,” Kovor said uneasily.

“I would’ve liked to see that,” Aavat teased.

“We told security we’re kidnapped merchants,” Kovor explained hastily. “Try not to blow our cover.”

“Right,” Aavat nodded. “You two stay out of sight. We’ll sort this out.”

“So much for keeping the crew out of it,” I muttered and waited for the rest of the game to play out.

Kovor

From a small alcove between buildings, a safe distance away, Aryn twitched next to me.

“Are you jealous that Dejar, Aavat and the others get to have all the fun?” I nudged her.

“I want to be the one to break Skud’s nose,” she wailed.

Joking.

Probably.

“The day’s not over. You might still get the chance.” I patted her on the top of her head and she tore her eyes away from the still open door long enough to scowl at me.

She was positively beautiful, especially when she was all fired up.

Between the Rogue Star crewmembers and Qasar Station security, I didn’t imagine it would take very long to bring the Enclave members down.

When nearly twenty minutes passed and there was no sign of anyone, I began to worry.

“What do you think is happening?” Aryn asked me.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ll go have a look if you stay here.”

“No way!” Aryn exclaimed. “We go together or we don’t go at all.”

“Is that because you’re concerned for my well-being or you don’t want to be left out of the action?” I asked with a wry smile.

“A little bit of both,” she grinned. Seeing her natural confidence returning eased a band I hadn’t realized was around my chest.

She’d been so shaken by the attack in our room, by our confinement.

Nothing should upset her like that.

And if she wanted to see the bastards who had scared her go down, who was I to deny my lady anything?

No sooner had we stepped out from our alcove than the first station security guard reappeared with Skud in tow, powered restraints binding his massive wrists. Another guard followed closely behind with another Enclave member, followed by another and another. Aryn and I stood aside and looked at each one to make sure every Enclave member we’d seen was accounted for.

Another delay as a large transport unit was summoned, large enough to hold so many. One by one, the station security officers loaded Skud and his beastly crew into the transport unit.

“Did we get them all?” The officer I’d spoken to earlier approached us.

“Looks like it,” Aryn nodded.

“Great.” He turned away from us and called to a pair of officers still lingering by the Enclave door, “Bring the rest of them!”

“The rest?” I asked. An officer appeared in the doorway restraining a furious Aavat. More officers filed out with Dejar, Orrin, Qal, and three more crewmembers.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I demanded. “I told you before that they were my acquaintances. They helped you!”

“That doesn’t excuse open brawling,” the officer tutted. “They’d engaged in a fight before we arrived on the premises. It’s a violation of Qasar Station law.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Aryn fumed. “They practically did your job for you!”

“A violation is a violation,” the officer replied, unfazed. “I can’t make special exceptions because you tell me they should get them.”

“We don’t have to tell you!” Aryn cried in frustration. “You saw it for yourself.”

“Report to the station office if you want to know more about the charges filed against them.” The officer plastered a smile on his face, gave us a nod, and sauntered away.

“Tell me that didn’t just happen,” Aryn groaned.

“Let’s go to the station office,” I suggested, mind working fast. We’d come far too close to being finished with this mission to have this sort of hurdle stop us. “It doesn’t look like we can do much for them here.” The Rogue Star crew was loaded into the same transport unit as the Enclave members.

“I hope Aavat has the good sense not to beat Skud to a bloody pulp inside that thing,” Aryn sighed.

“Good sense has never been his strong suit.” I took her hand in mine, letting her presence calm me, order my thoughts. Together, we rushed back to the station security building.

“Let me do the talking,” I told her once we entered the pristine lobby.

“Why?” Aryn demanded in a whisper. “Between the two of us, I’m the better liar.”

“We don’t need lies right now,” I whispered. “We need charm and a form of subtle manipulation that is only learned from living with my mother.”

“All right,” Aryn nodded. “Schmooze away.”

She hung back in one of the plush lobby chairs while I approached the officer stationed at the front desk.

“How can I help you?” he asked unenthusiastically.

“We’re here to petition for the release of a prisoner. Several, actually,” I explained. “We’ve just seen them unjustly arrested. I doubt their transport unit has even arrived.” In no hurry whatsoever, the officer pressed a few keys on his console and pulled up some kind of report.

“I can’t authorize a release until the prisoners have been properly entered into the system,” he explained.

“How long with that be?” I asked.

He replied with a non-committal grunt.

“My friends have been arrested under a misunderstanding. Surely, I can speak to someone and have it sorted out before you have to be bothered,” I smiled, mentally adjusting the levels of charm to appear friendly, open, and eager to help, but not too pushy.

The officer looked at me from the corner of his eye.

“I’ll let you know once they’ve been processed,” he said, and a flash of worry snaked through me. If their names were entered into the station’s security system, the Dominion might be able to see that. I couldn’t let that happen.

“You and I both know that the only reason we have to go to such trouble for simple things is that someone, somewhere needs piles of paperwork to tell them something so simple, a comm message would be sufficient,” I tried again.

“Someone’s need for paperwork is what keeps me in this comfortable chair,” the officer replied. “Whoever that is, I’d like to thank them.”

Time to shift gears. “Do they know that your organization has arrested the decent Shein that helped your fellow officers apprehend a crime syndicate? From what I’ve heard, you’ve been looking for that Enclave compound for years. Embarrassing that a visiting group of merchants was able to bring them down so quickly,” I said dismissively.

“I don’t take kindly to that,” the officer said in a low voice.

“And I don’t take kindly to my friends being imprisoned over your officers’ incompetence,” I bared my teeth in a feral grin.

“Unfortunately for you, that’s not my problem,” the officer pressed.

“It is now,” I replied. An alert popped up on the officer’s console.

“Looks like your friends have arrived.” I swore I could see a smirk on the officer’s face. “I’ll let you know when they’ve been processed.”

I should’ve watched mother more closely.

Before the officer could stop me, I snatched a scrap of paper from his desk. I grabbed a pen and scrawled a number on the piece of paper and handed it back to the officer.

“What’s this?” he grumbled as he unfolded it.

“What I could put into your account in exchange for my friends’ freedom,” I replied.

“Bribing an officer? That’s a violation. I could lock you up for that,” the officer warned.

“But you won’t,” I grinned.

“How do you know that?”

“The soles of your shoes are worn to their breaking point. Your trousers are a size too large. Either you couldn’t find your size or you’ve had to cut back on a meal or two to save credits. I’m willing to bet it’s the latter. You don’t look old enough to have as many lines in your face as you do. Added stress due to financial troubles?”

Color drained from the officer’s face and he looked down.

“The Dominion reduced funding for the station last year,” he said quietly. “I’ve got a sick youngling to look after.”

“Take the money, for your child’s sake.” That last bit might’ve been overkill, but I could see the officer’s resolve diminishing by the second. “You’re not releasing dangerous criminals. You’re releasing merchants that tried to help.”

“Tell anyone and I’ll have you locked up for the rest of your days,” the officer warned.

“I’ll carry this secret to the death,” I promised. I used his console to complete the transfer. My own account took a small hit, but I anticipated being able to recoup it in a few months’ time.

Assuming I could get my crew back on the Rogue Star.

“I’ll go clear up this misunderstanding,” the officer nodded and vacated his desk. I made my way back to Aryn and took the empty seat beside her.

“Did you use your superior powers of manipulation?” she asked, slipping her hand around my arm. I relaxed into her touch.

“Something like that,” I let a half-grin through, and then settled back to wait.

Within the hour, our friends were released back to us.

“It’s about time!” Aavat boomed as he strode through the lobby, flaunting his freedom.

“There’s gratitude for you,” I sighed. Aryn and I ushered our colleagues out of the lobby, eager to be done with this whole affair.

“How’d you do it?” Dejar asked me once we were far enough away from the security office. Aryn pulled back to talk to Orrin. I assumed she was asking him about Maris.

“I have my ways,” I replied with an affected air I knew would irk both him and Aavat. Void, it was good to be back with people I could have some fun with.

“I bet you begged on your hands and knees,” Aavat teased.

“No, he definitely threatened them with the wrath of the Dalech clan,” Dejar replied. “What kind of family keeps an army, anyway?”

“You’re both wrong,” I replied. “And my family doesn’t have its own army. That’s just a rumor my father cultivated to keep people off his estate.”

“Naturally. But I’m not sure that’s much better,” Aavat shook his head. “But in all seriousness, whatever you did, thank you.”

I clapped Aavat on the shoulder. “Thank you for coming to save our hurgs. It was getting a little dicey in there.”

“You’re one of us, even if you don’t know how to act like it,” Dejar reminded me. “Aryn is, too. We have your back.”

“You say that now, but just wait until you see what I’ve done to our budget.”

Aryn

The moment I set foot on the Rogue Star once more, Maris was right there to envelop me in a crushing hug.

Neither of us were touchy-feely people by nature, so the rush of contact surprised me at first. I startled myself by hugging her back.

“You better not leave me out of any top-secret missions again,” Maris threatened.

“I’ve had enough sneaking around to last me a lifetime,” I sighed as we released our grips on each other.

“You better tell me everything,” Maris insisted.

“Captain Dejar is pulling everyone together in the dining hall so Kovor and I can get everyone up to speed,” I replied.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Maris rolled her eyes. “I want to hear about all the stuff you leave out of the meeting. Starting with why you smell so damn awful.” I barked out a laugh.

“You try marinating yourself in skin dye for days on end with no way to shower properly,” I shuddered. My arms were covered with uneven splotches of silvery dye. I bet the rest of the alien population thought I looked diseased. “I had to use wet rags to wash myself! And you can bet your ass they didn’t have clean water. It’s a miracle they weren’t all dying from dysentery.” Maris tipped her head back and laughed.

“Go clean up,” Maris stepped aside so I could pass.

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

Captain Dejar allowed Kovor and me some time to collect ourselves before we had to talk about everything we’d discovered.

Kovor waited for me just behind Maris. He extended a hand to me and I took it without hesitation. Maris looked at me, her eyebrows almost to her hairline in surprise. I winked and let Kovor lead me down the corridor to the cabins.

“I suspect you want to bathe,” Kovor said.

“You have no idea,” I sighed with deep longing. “My cabin is equipped with a private bathing room. You can use it if you like,” Kovor offered, gentle fingers stroking the small of my back as we walked.

“That would be amazing,” I enthused. He led me to his cabin, one down from Dejar’s. The room was small and simple with a bed just big enough for two and a desk that looked like it’d never been touched.

“I expected something more lavish,” I teased. Somehow, the knowledge that he’d given up a lavish future for this tiny room made it all the more special.

“I’m sorry it isn’t up to your standards,” he shot back. “Shower is through that door,” he gestured to a narrow door on the opposite side of the room and handed me a fluffy towel.

“Thanks.” I clutched the towel to my chest.

“Would you like some company?” he winked.

I felt my stomach bottom out and my cheeks flush. A huge part of me was desperate to say yes, yet I hesitated. Truth be told, I was scared. We were back to our normal environment.

What if we drifted back to our former roles now that we didn’t have the threat of death looming over us?

What would keep us together?

“I-” I stammered, but the words caught in my throat.

“It’s okay,” Kovor nodded. “You’ve been through a lot. If you want to take some time to yourself, I completely understand.” My heart melted to liquid as I closed the distance between us, kissing him gently.

“Next time,” I promised before scampering into the small bathing room.

The shower was just big enough for one person. Showering together would’ve been a feat, even if I was happy to imagine exactly how that would work.

I set the towel aside, stripped down, and turned on the water as hot as it could go. I stepped into the scalding spray, watching layer after layer of old skin dye melt away. I scrubbed at my skin until it felt raw. Only when I was satisfied that every inch of my time with Enclave was removed from my body did I wash my hair. The amount of grime that came out of my hair was alarming, to say the least.

I emerged from the bathing room in a thick cloud of steam.

“I took the liberty of fetching some clean clothes for you.” Kovor apparently had found another shower. He waved the steam away with his hand and pointed to a neatly folded pile on the bed.

“You’re amazing,” I sighed.

“You’re easy to please,” he teased, then turned away, and I unwrapped my towel and pulled on clean clothing. Though, if he’d looked, I wouldn’t have minded.

Probably.

But it would have made us late for the meeting.

Another flush crept up my cheeks and I thought about what he’d look like without any clothes.

“Ready?” I asked after I’d dressed.

“Let’s get this over with so we never have to talk about Skud and his group of fools again,” Kovor said.

“I’ll drink to that.”

He opened the door for me and we made our way to the dining hall. My stomach growled the moment I smelled food.

“Do you think the captain would mind if I ate during the meeting?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Kovor chuckled. I grabbed a tray and piled it with huge portions. As I ate, crewmembers filed in and found seats. Some grabbed trays, too. Maris slid into the seat beside me and picked a few bites off my plate.

“I thought showers were supposed to make you smell better,” she joked.

“Take one more thing from my plate and I will bite your hand off,” I threatened. Kovor looked between us in alarm until Maris and I laughed.

“That’s how human females talk to each other when they’re best friends,” I explained.

“It’s true,” Maris backed me up.

“You both look so normal, it’s easy to forget how strange you humans are,” Kovor shook his head.

“Don’t think about it too hard,” I suggested. Kovor chuckled and took a bite of my food as well.

Captain Dejar, Aavat, and Commander Kalyn were the last to enter the dining hall.

“I’d like to start this meeting by congratulating Aryn and Kovor on a job well done,” Captain Dejar began. “Their mission led to the apprehension of a group that’s affiliated with the people targeting us. We have gotten some valuable information that will help us strike back in the future. I’ll let them explain. I’m sure you’re all as eager to know about this group as I am.”

Kovor stood and extended his hand to me. He pulled me out of my chair and I quickly swallowed my bite. Together, we walked to the front of the room where Captain Dejar stood.

“The group is called Enclave,” Kovor began. “This is a small cell, connected to the larger organization. At first, Aryn and I had a difficult time identifying their main means of business. In addition to petty theft, blackmail, and similar crimes, Aryn and I discovered that Enclave plays a large role in the underground trafficking of alien women.”

“Not surprising,” Aavat muttered.

“There’s more. Aryn, tell them what you saw on the ship,” Kovor prompted.

“Skud, the leader of this branch of Enclave, took us to pick up a delivery. At the time, neither of us thought much of it. We didn’t go to an outpost or another space station. We met another ship in deep space, far away from common space travel routes. The ship Skud met with was the dark ship that attacked us.”

Murmurs and gasps rippled through the dining hall.

“The merchandise the dark ship transported was three Mermian females,” I explained. “The person who handled the transaction with Skud wore Dominion robes.”

The murmurs broke into a round of shouting.

“I knew it,” Maris spat.

“Where are the Mermian females now?” Commander Kalyn asked.

“Hopefully long gone,” I replied. “Kovor and I helped them escape once they were on the station. With any luck, they’re on their way home now.”

“What else?” Captain Dejar prompted.

“The dark ship is called the Terror. It’s a ghost ship. You won’t find any information on it in any dockmaster’s ledger. It has no registration,” Kovor explained.

“Only the Dominion would be brave enough to openly use a ghost ship,” Orrin added.

“Skud mentioned multiple times that the shipment he received was a rarity. I don’t believe the auction business thrives on Qasar Station,” I continued. “This group likely took a bounty hunting job for supplemental income. I suspect that there are other factions of Enclave scattered throughout Dominion space.”

“Do you know where?” Aavat demanded with a dark look in his eyes.

“I have a theory,” Kovor spoke up. “I’ve been studying what I’m calling the Enclave sigil. I think if we lay that sigil over the Dominion sigil, the points on the Enclave map will line up with the map of Dominion space. If I’m right, there’s a major Enclave establishment on Katzul. It would line up with the activity we’ve seen there.”

“We’ll return to Katzul, then,” Captain Dejar said decisively. “With everything you’ve discovered, I suspect we have enough to blackmail Itair into helping us.”

“Is there nothing else to be learned from the Enclave group here?” Commander Kalyn asked me.

“We rifled through Skud’s office,” I explained. “We found a few helpful documents, but nothing proving that Enclave is involved with the auctions or with the Dominion. Without solid proof, we can’t do much.” I shrugged.

“Station security will be all over Enclave headquarters by now,” Kovor added. “We can’t go back and search without looking suspicious ourselves. I agree with Dejar, returning to Katzul is our best bet in uncovering the proof we need.”

“Let’s prepare to depart.” Captain Dejar clapped his hands together once. “The sooner we get to Katzul, the sooner we can put all of this to rest.”

“You hope,” Aavat added dryly.

“Always the optimist.” Captain Dejar clapped his friend on the shoulder. Everyone in the dining hall began to move to make preparations for leaving the port. Everyone, except Kovor and me.

“You two take a day or two to rest,” Captain Dejar instructed. “You’ve earned it.”

Kovor

As soon as Dejar dismissed everyone, I looked to Aryn. She looked exhausted. Dark circles appeared under her eyes, though they did nothing to dim their brilliance.

Before she could protest, I guided her out of the dining hall and into my cabin. When I handed her my most comfortable shirt and pulled back the covers of my bed, she got the idea. With her eyes barely open, she crawled between the sheets and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

“That was easier than I expected,” I chuckled, though I knew she couldn’t hear me. I planted a kiss on the top of her head and tucked the covers in around her. Satisfied that she was soundly asleep, I slipped out of my cabin as quietly as I could.

I’d had an idea the night before, when neither of us were sure we’d live to see tomorrow. I promised myself that, if I lived through this, I’d do something special for Aryn. I knew my options would be limited, but I had a fair idea of what she’d like.

I returned to the dining hall and peeked through the window in the door. I saw only Sars the cook and the cat that was somehow able to get into any room, even locked ones.

Sars grinned at me when I entered.

“Need another plate?” he asked. “I can’t imagine what those thick skulls in Enclave were serving you. Must’ve been pretty bad if it made you acquire a taste for my cooking.”

“I’ve always enjoyed your cooking, you old buffoon,” I laughed. “Your natural talents rival even the finest chefs.”

“Stow your flattery,” Sars said dismissively. “What do you want?”

“Help me cook something.”

Sars tipped his head back and cackled. The noise sent the cat skittering out of the back room and under the nearest table.

“Funny,” he wheezed.

“I’m serious,” I repeated. “I want to cook a nice meal for Aryn and I think she’d appreciate it if I did some of the work myself.”

“You hired me right after you bought this hunk of space junk. Have you ever cooked for yourself before?” Sars asked.

“You know the answer to that,” I sighed.

“Get back here.” Sars waved me in.

“Thank you! I’ll make you proud,” I swore.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Sars chuckled.

Together, Sars and I spent over three hours making all sorts of human-like foods. By the end of it, I’d succeeded in making three balls of cooked meat and many giant messes. Sars expertly crafted long, thin noodles from dough, red sauce with a medley of seasonings, and the rest of the balled meat.

“Brush some of that livoel oil on the bread,” Sars instructed. “Not too much, you don’t want to soak it.” I did as he said. He’d already gone ahead and added an array of savory herbs to the oil. The kitchen smelled fantastic.

“Let’s load up the tray,” I urged. Sars had one tray on wheels. I planned to roll it right into my cabin as a surprise for Aryn. Sars helped me carry the large dish nearly overflowing with freshly boiled noodles, a bowl of balled meat, and the platter of warm seasoned bread. The last to make it onto the table was a bowl filled with the red sauce.

“Does this stuff taste good?” I asked him.

“Shenna told me it was one of her favorite foods in the Terran System. It’s not exact, but according to her, I’ve got the flavors close.”

“That’s good enough for me.” I clapped Sars on the back. “Ready to wheel this thing?”

“One final touch.” Sars ducked back into the kitchen and reappeared with a bottle of dark spirits and two flutes. He set them on the table with a satisfied smile.

Together, we slowly and carefully rolled the tray out of the dining hall and down the corridor that lead to my cabin.

“I’ll get the door,” I offered when we approached. I opened the door to my cabin as quietly as I could. Aryn was still in my bed, fast asleep. Her flaming hair completely covered her face. I propped the door open and motioned for Sars to be silent as he entered.

“Thank you,” I mouthed. Sars slipped out and closed the door behind him. I approached the bed.

“Aryn,” I said softly as I brushed the hair away from her face.

“Hmmm,” she moaned softly. I leaned down to kiss her cheek. I kissed her over and over again until she opened her eyes and laughed.

“That’s the opposite of a rude awakening.” She looked soft and sleepy with her tousled hair and the neckline of my shirt slipping over her shoulder. Seized by an irresistible urge, I leaned in and bit the tender flesh between her neck and shoulder.

“What’s that smell?” Her voice was throaty and warm as I worked my way up her neck.

“Sars helped me make dinner for you,” I hummed against the hollow of her throat.

Dinner was just about the last thing on my mind, then. I was a whole lot more concerned with what now flowed up and over me—that intoxicating scent of hers, filling my head with an overwhelming need for her.

I dragged my tongue slowly from the hollow of her throat up to where it turned toward her chin, trailing off in a faint lap at the sensitive spot just beneath her jaw. I could feel her heat, her quickening heartbeat, her excitement as I gave another long, slow stroke there, sending a shudder through her before my body sent one to join it.

Her natural fragrance, laden with more compounds and pheromones than I'd likely ever understand, settled in a fog over my mind. What I did understand is how it made me feel. I needed her more than anything when it hit me, and before I had a moment to even consider my next move, I found myself atop her.

Aryn just giggled and raised her arms above her head in a clear go-ahead, and with a flourish I pulled her shirt—my shirt—up and away before tossing it out of sight.

I sat up and looked her over, my knees sinking into the bed at either side of her hips. Her skin was so beautifully pale, prominent nipples standing out like flowers inexplicably flourishing in a field of snow.

I ran my hands down her sides, firm and taut until I reached her hips where she softened, her skin beginning to flush a gorgeous pink beneath my touch. I watched as it spread over her chest and cheeks, her boldness seeming to slide a bit toward bashfulness.

After shifting my hips down a bit, I leaned in and wrapped my lips around one of those perky nipples, suckling eagerly. A little laugh of surprise passed Aryn’s lips, but it trailed off into a breathy moan.

I squeezed idly at the other breast as I worked at the one I’d claimed, kissing and licking here and there at the burning hot flesh, watching her chest rising and falling more and more rapidly the longer I went on. I then leaned in to lavish attention on the other nipple, and she brought a hand to the back of my head and to stroke at my hair.

When I moved to pull back a bit, intending to shift my attentions to her other breast, it became clear that her stroking wasn't exactly to encourage me. Her hand tightened a little, a faint pressure holding me in place. It was an unconscious, desperate sort of measure, her body utterly consumed with the sensation if the look on her face was any indication.

I brought a hand up to her wrist and eased it away and down to her side, and that seemed to break her reverie.

Aryn blinked and shook her head slightly. "Ha... sorry about that. It just felt so good." The flush at her cheeks deepened, her gaze averted as she spoke.

I shot a wink up to her. "Oh, don't worry. I just wanted a little more... free reign."

Before Aryn had a chance to question my meaning, I brought my lips to the bottom of her sternum, working my way down over her belly. Each kiss seemed to cause her to tighten and writhe just a bit, somewhere between ticklish and pleasure-dizzy, the laughed moans returning in full force as I worked my way down to the line of her hips.

I gave a few soft kisses at her mons before drifting back out, leaving her panting and trying to follow me with her hips. The same hand that had sought to hold me in place returned to the back of my head, gently urging me with a faint pressure back toward the joining of her thighs.

Her legs were still closed, but they strained at the inside of mine to open. Only once she seemed truly desperate to have me there did I finally relent, lifting one leg at a time to allow her to spread hers.

I brought the kisses back to her mons and was immediately taken by her sweet fragrance. As much as I was relishing the teasing and the uncharacteristic little mewls it drew from her, I couldn't help myself anymore.

I placed a hand behind each of her thighs and slid them down to hook behind her knees, pressing them up to her chest as I worked my way down the bed. I settled there between her legs, the position feeling somehow right in a deep sense, as if I was meant to be there. Laying as I was, prostrate in reverence to the treasure laid before me, I felt the desperate need to claim it swelling.

Any restraint I might have been holding to fled. I was driven forward hard, immediately and inextricably joined to her, lost in her heady scent and divine taste. My tongue darted over her of its own accord, lapping up every bit of sweet nectar that had gathered already, unconsciously following the motions of her body and the subtle exhortations of her breaths and whimpers.

I settled in at her clit, suckling almost madly until she jerked her hips back a little, laughing and panting wildly. "N-not so fast! It'll be over before it's even had a chance to start!"

I could feel my own cheeks flushing with a sort of strange embarrassment. I knew how utterly transparent my need was, but I couldn't help the sense of vulnerability that came with being so utterly wrapped up in something—in someone.

Instead, I nodded my assent and let her legs descend back to the bed, settling instead into a series of long, loving laps from her opening up to her clit, twisting and flicking my tongue at the top of each and watching her lovely reactions.

Aryn’s body seemed to be pulling her in two directions, between closing her eyes to fully lose herself in the bliss of it all and keeping them open, trained on me, watching. She switched between them more and more, and the closer she came to climax, the less she seemed able to control that or anything else. Her hips bucked wildly against my face, unashamedly carnal in her desire, and when her hands came down to tangle in my hair, I didn't make any move to urge them away.

Her moans picked up in intensity, and all at once, she seemed to lock up. Her eyes shot open, fixed suddenly on mine, mouth dropped open in what seemed like shock, or a silent scream of a moan. Her chest seemed to vibrate with trapped energy, her legs quivering as I wildly lapped and suckled at her clit.

All at once, Aryn released my hair and her body went rigid. She thrashed back hard, her hips leaving the bed completely, though I followed her close and kept the stimulation quick and intense as she rode the wave of her climax. Her whole body thrummed with that same intensity, and when she went slack, it was with a scream of pure ecstasy, hips beginning to buck against my face hard once more.

Three times over, each orgasm coming quicker and more violent than the last, taking less and less stimulation to drive her over. I watched intently, loving every second of her unbridled show, her hands twisted up tight in the sheets as she held on through the ride.

Aryn’s body stilled for a long moment before she managed to raise her head, catching my gaze. “That was... fucking incredible. You're incredible."

I gave a low, soft laugh before sliding up to join her where she lay. I was more than content to let our fun end there, considering how exhausted she seemed to be.

Aryn had other plans.

She rolled toward me, and after resting her head on my chest to catch her breath, she brought a hand to my thigh.

I pulled my head back just enough to look down at her, a brow raised. "That's an awfully... suggestive sort of touch for someone so worn out." I was painfully hard, and I knew she could see it the moment her hand began drifting inward and upward.

She only gave a quiet, smiling sort of affirmative sound before bringing her fingertips up to slide along the length through the thick fabric of my pants. I fell quiet, watching her intently. As she tightened those fingers, gripping near the base, she shot me a mischievous little look. "Isn't it?"

Her intent was more than clear, but more than that, I could feel a new kind of smirking energy in her words. She seemed to be drawing energy from somewhere new, and as she began stroking my cock with her fingertips, her breath quickened.

I hurriedly sat up and slipped out of my pants, almost desperate to feel that warm touch.

Though I intended to finish getting undressed, Aryn let out a soft little gasp that stilled me completely. Her eyes settled between my legs, and I'm sure I would have felt some kind of pang of self-consciousness if a look of overwhelming hunger didn't immediately overtake her surprise.

She brought her hand back and gripped the base of my cock with almost shocking speed and strength, as if she'd been given some kind of present. After sidling down a bit and sitting halfway up, she squeezed and slid her hand up along the length until she had the tip in her palm, her breath picking up more.

Where the bright flush had begun to fade after her climax, it returned anew—and maybe even stronger, now. Never taking her eyes off the dual lengths, she moved up to her knees and leaned over me, one elbow positioned between my now-parted thighs, the other hand sort of sneaking toward the second length with feather-light touches along my skin.

Her tongue darted out over her lips, and before I had time to say or do anything else, she leaned down to slide the thick tip past those plump, warm lips of hers.

It was a feeling like nothing else. A buzzing sort of heat spread through me, simultaneously driving me toward both relaxation and tension, a primal urge somewhere deep inside urging me to bury it deep and quick. I managed to hold it back, if only to prolong the sight of her slow exploration.

Seeming to sense my tension, she adjusted her angle and slid down the length, mouth open wide. She was hardly able to get halfway down before seeming to bottom out, but the feeling of her lips stretched tight around me as they passed over each ridge was utterly overwhelming. Or, at least, I thought it was until her free hand came to grasp the upper appendage, sliding from base to tip in a long, firm stroke.

A shudder ran through me and I reflexively jerked my hips up, suddenly breaking through whatever resistance I was up against. The whole of my length up to the thick base slid deep quickly, and her eyes widened before shooting up to mine. It almost looked like panic, but the slight curl of those lips and the smile in her eyes told me it was a kind of pleased surprise.

She lingered there, pumping her head a bit before coming back up and taking a hungry, desperate sort of breath, panting and grinning madly up at me. She seemed proud of herself, and I might have been too if I wasn’t so overcome with the need to have her down to the base immediately.

When I brought a hand to the back of her head, she let out a soft moan and opened her mouth just enough to make her assent clear. She wanted to be taken, and I was more than happy to oblige.

After positioning her just right, I pressed my hips up in a long, firm stroke, passing through the now-slight resistance at the back of her throat, my eyes rolling back as soon as I’d seen her lips move just enough to take in the flared base as well. Every inch of the primary length had been taken in, and the growling demand from deep in my chest broke through my reservations to command my hips.

With every upward press, I pulled her head down to match, pumping her throat, pace rapidly quickening as I felt her tongue swirling around the length and teasing at the base each time I bottomed out. Her hand tightened and stroked in time at the appendage, and we seemed to lock into a perfect pace, though I wasn’t sure how long I could possibly keep control of myself under the tempestuous waves of pleasure that crashed against me from all directions.

The look in Aryn’s eyes was clear—she may never have seen a man before, never been with a Shein, but she was a quick learner. Only when her chest heaved for relief did she give a light tap at my thigh, desperate to take that next precious breath. The moment she had, she was teasing the tip with her tongue again in anticipation of being pushed down the length once more.

Her eyes rolled back as she bottomed out, a half-stifled moan vibrating up from her chest and through me, seemingly in just as much ecstasy as I was. The sight of her so desperate, loving every second of having her throat pounded… it was unbelievable.

Along with the intense stimulation there and what she gave me with those wild strokes of her hand, I found myself digging my heels in to keep from being thrust over the edge. She seemed to know, pulling up for one more breath before leaning forward to swallow my cock, her eyes now fixed on me.

The slavering beast in my depths was unleashed, and it seemed like I was just along for the ride. My hips slammed up wildly, pounding her for an endless instant before I felt the immensity of the orgasm focus down to a point before exploding out like a supernova.

I could feel Aryn’s throat pulsing around me as I filled her. My eyes shut tight, muscles turning steel with the intensity of it all, mind desperately holding on like a passenger white-knuckle on the exterior of the ship as it hurtled through space.

When my senses returned to me in a retracting flash of sudden, visceral reality, I found her nestled in at the crook of my arm, those gorgeous green eyes watching me with no small amount of pleasure, a satisfied little smirk on her lips.

We laid panting in each other’s arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the forgotten tray of food.

“I think our dinner’s gotten cold,” I joked.

“Worth it.”

Aryn

“It’s nice to wake up without the looming threat of discovery,” Kovor sighed in my ear the next morning. We were in his bed, still naked from the night before. My back was curled against his chest. His arms were around me, holding me as close to him as possible.

“I’ve never slept more soundly in my whole life,” I sighed dreamily. I twisted in his arms to kiss him. I felt him grow hard against my backside.

“You’re utterly maddening.” He planted a trail of kisses from my shoulder to my jaw. “It’s going to be very difficult to leave this bed.”

“Who says you have to leave?” I purred, rocking my hips back against him.

“My daunting responsibility as the owner of this ship,” he replied. “This is the longest I’ve been away from the Rogue Star. Things are bound to be in shambles.”

“I thought you trusted Dejar to handle all that.” I guided his hand up my belly to grasp one of my breasts.

“I do, but he needs my signature for certain things,” Kovor attempted to explain to me despite the many distractions I supplied. Now that I’d been with him once, I wanted more. I was addicted to the feeling of his skin against mine. I was addicted to his mouth, his hands, and the wondrous tool between his legs.

“Dejar said to take the day off,” I argued.

“You may not remember, but he’s not actually my boss,” Kovor chuckled. “And here I thought you liked me for my personality.”

“I love you for your personality,” I corrected him. “But I can still like you for the things you can do to me.”

Scenes from the previous night flashed through my mind, and I realized that what he could do to me was just as much speculation as it was experience. We’d worn each other out so thoroughly that I hadn’t had a chance to really have him inside me.

The second I realized it, I felt a sudden rush. Not only was there more to do, more to experience, and more to explore—there probably always would be. Rather than lingering on the memories of last night, my mind began spinning and buzzing with all the things we might get around to doing, whether right away or sometime much later.

That wasn’t what mattered, though. All I could think about then was what he was about to do to me. I wiggled my hips a little against him, looking over my shoulder.

Kovor leaned in and brought his lips to the lobe of my ear, suckling with just enough pressure to leave me whimpering and rocking my hips in earnest. “And just what would you have me do to you, hm?” There was a distinct growl in his voice—one I’d only really heard a little of the night before, right before he climaxed. I could feel something caged in those depths of his, and the more I could draw it out, the happier I’d be.

Being such a swaggering playboy was one thing, and as much as his confidence turned me on, the fact that he had hidden depths of all kinds turned me on a lot more, and in more ways than one.

I wanted to explore him and explore every dimension and depth he had. I knew he felt the same, though maybe in a more literal and explicit sense if the growing hardness against me was any indication.

I leaned my head back and brought a hand up to caress his cheek. "Anything. Everything. I went to sleep thinking about it, dreamed about it, and woke up with nothing else on my mind. I need you inside me."

He shifted his hips a bit, sliding down the bed to move the ever-growing hardness against the back of my thighs rather than the small of my back, teasing me a bit. "Is that right? You certainly seemed to enjoy having that lovely throat filled."

I shuddered hard as a thrill ran through me. He was right. Nothing had ever felt like that. When he took control and began pumping my head down so firmly, pleasure and unrestrained desire painted on his features, it drove me absolutely wild.

The knowledge that I was giving him something so good that he couldn't control himself drove me on, and the pleasure I was feeling just from having my throat fucked was multiplied a hundred-fold by it.

"I did. I want more. But..." I shifted back and brought one leg up and bent it at the knee, letting the tip of his thick length press just slightly to my slick opening. "...here."

In a flash, he’d rolled me to my belly, pressing those gleaming teeth to my shoulder, holding me in place like he'd finally pinned me after a long hunt, unwilling to let me get away.

I knew how viciously sharp those teeth could be. I could feel his jaw trembling ever so slightly as he brought his tongue out to give a few faint licks at the flesh he'd trapped between them. I trusted him totally, and while I knew he'd never bite, the fact that he could had my whole body buzzing and thrumming with equal parts instinctive fear and totally out-of-control lust.

I wanted to say something, anything, to let him know how incredible he was, but I figured it'd be better to show him. I was going to tease that beast out of its cage, and I knew that before it was all said and done, I'd end up trapped beneath it being fucked so hard I couldn't think.

Another sharp, crackling cascade of excitement rolled up and over my shoulders, spreading down through my core and down to my clit directly, pulling a quick half-yelped moan from me. The feeling seemed to urge my body to act on its own, and rolled my ass up, grinding into him. The secondary length probed against my tight hole, and I squirmed against it, startled.

Strong fingers pulled my hips up until I rested on my knees, my hands fisting the sheets. “Kovor…” was all I managed to groan out before the tip of his thick cock worked inside me.

The twin sensations quickly overcame me, and I tightened down around him, rocking my hips in a slow cycle, stroking and slicking him, but teasing him too.

Kovor brought a hand down to my hip and dug his fingers in tight, holding me fast as though the pressure of his jaw and the lingering danger of his bite wasn't enough. I wanted to stay silent, but I couldn't help the small sound of excitement that escaped as he positioned himself, though it rose into a half-screamed moan until inch by inch he began pushing that massive length into me.

As huge as he'd felt in my throat, and as much as I'd struggled to take him there, having him inside me properly was so much more intense. I could feel every ridge of that beautiful length slipping into me, every quickening throb of his pulse through it, the impending ascent to my furthest depths.

The feeling of being so completely stretched was mind-shattering, and before half of that gorgeous cock was inside me, I couldn't do much but lean back against his chest and spread my legs wider for him.

Kovor picked up the pace with long, firm strokes then, every one pushing him deeper inside me. The cry of overwhelmed bliss was kept trapped in my chest, though my mouth still hung open in a silent scream of pleasure as he pounded harder and harder.

When he bottomed out, I couldn't hold it back anymore, but I was surprised when it came out as a long, breathy sort of moan, a strange kind of satisfaction washing over me along with the pleasure.

A shade of something unfamiliar, something new, settled atop the indescribable satisfaction of having him nearly buried inside me. The deeper he pressed, the more my body accepted him, and the more quickly I acclimated. I had a sudden visual of my body conforming to fit him, his expanding to fill me in perfect, complete balance.

The sudden shock of the final push pulled me from my reverie, Kovor burying the flared length of his huge cock inside me. I could feel his jaw tremble hard before it opened, instincts apparently pleased enough with having me impaled upon him so thoroughly.

He didn't speak at all, then. Instead, he released my hip and slid his hand down and in, holding me in place in the crook of his arm as his finger settled on my clit. His hips were still, the strokes at my clit coming slow at first before picking up in both speed and intensity.

I was still practically frozen; my body having locked up and clamped down. As my mind began to clear, it became obvious that the sudden sharp tension was just as much to keep that incredible length inside me as it was a response to the sudden stretching. As he pulled his hips back, I found myself clinging on, even moving my hips back with his in an attempt to keep him exactly where he was.

Kovor angled his hips down and back, drawing a sharp gasp from me as he slid nearly out, a scream quickly following it when he plunged back inside suddenly. The wailing moan trailed off into the rumbling, visceral one I'd heard pass my lips for the first time only moments ago—one I was getting familiar with, and quick.

His presence did things to me already but being fucked like that was something else completely. All I could do was grip the sheets harder as he pounded up into me wildly. Each thrust would have brought me off the bed completely if he wasn't holding me, I was sure.

I could feel the descending fog, scattering all rational or conscious thought under the thick heaviness of ecstasy. I moaned his name, unable to think of anything but him and how incredible he was making me feel.

A climax was building quickly deep inside me, and even so far off, I could feel the enormity of it like a looming sandstorm over the Martian horizon. It was coming, and there was nothing I could to do to delay it, let alone stop it.

No matter how much I pleaded with my body to let me experience the bliss a little longer, the tsunami of sun-killing brutality barreled ever-forward, its scope becoming more and more apparent the closer it came.

My core pulsed hard around him, seemingly desperate to bring him with me. A roaring moan sounded from behind me just before I felt the sudden rush of hot seed gushing deep, the sensation driving me over the moment it registered.

I was consumed by the dark tempest, everything fading into nothingness behind me, but I could feel him there. As the world raged black and violent outside, we sheltered together in our void for two, consumed in one another too completely to be taken by anything so weak as a world-scouring storm.

Outside, our bodies writhed and bucked in an animalistic display of unbridled lust, climax after climax tearing through the both of us until I felt like I was going to lose my mind to the pure immensity of it.

When I felt Kovor fall slack behind me, I followed him down, crashing back to reality with a snap that would have been jarring if not for the total sensory exhaustion I’d been pushed to. The world around me hardly seemed real—but he was. Each heaving breath from him pulled me back into myself a little more, each swell of his chest against my back grounding me in the heavenly here-and-now we’d made together.

“What kind of beast have I awoken?” Kovor turned my face to his and devoured me with a kiss.

“A hungry one.”

For a moment, I thought Kovor was going to give in again. He kissed me deeply. His hand left my breast, trailed down my belly, and dipped between my legs. I gasped against his mouth, moments away from begging, when he pulled away. A wicked grin spread across his face as he climbed out of bed before I could pull him back to me.

“Stay hungry for me, darling.” He winked.

“Tease!” I snapped.

“Indeed,” he laughed. “That’s payback for all you did when we were locked in Skud’s basement.”

“You’re the one who said you didn’t want our first time to be in a grime-covered hellhole!” I reminded him.

“Oh, that’s right.” Kovor shrugged it off. “Either way, I like knowing you’ll be here craving me while I run the ship.”

“Bastard,” I laughed. Kovor pulled on his clothes and leaned in to kiss me one more time before he departed.

Alone in bed, I pondered the ways I should spend my time until Kovor returned. Dejar had kindly arranged for my duties to be covered for the next few days. I could relax if I wanted to.

Too bad I had no idea how to do that.

I leaped out of bed, already feeling restless. I decided to take another long, luxurious shower in Kovor’s private bathing room. I opted for a cold shower to stop the blood thrumming through my veins. I spent what felt like ages in the bathing room, but when I stepped back into the bedroom, the clock told me I’d only been in for ten minutes. I guess I wasn’t used to dawdling.

I pulled on some clean clothes and left the room. Maybe someone somewhere needed help with their daily duties.

I saw no one in the halls as I walked. After a few minutes of wondering where everyone else was, I decided to check the dining hall. To my surprise, all of the Persephone women were gathered at several tables pushed together to make long one to accommodate all of them.

That’s right, Kalyn wanted us to have regular meals together. I’d completely forgotten. The idea still felt strange to me. We were starting to feel like a proper family after everything we’d been through. Apparently today was a group lunch.

I pushed through the doors to the dining hall, capturing the attention of everyone at the table.

“Aryn!” Maris called enthusiastically. “I saved a seat for you.” She patted an empty chair wedged between her and Shenna.

“We weren’t sure if you were awake,” Kalyn explained. “We didn’t want to disturb you in case you needed rest.”

“We also didn’t know what we’d find if we opened the door to Kovor’s cabin,” Maris winked.

I blushed, for a moment caught in the memory of what we had been doing.

“I’m glad I caught you all here,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“We’re glad you showed up!” Lynna beamed. “We all want to know what happened on the station.”

“Kovor and I had to scrub the entire building with a single bristle-brush,” I laughed. Shocked faces peered back at me.

“That’s inhumane!” Manda gasped.

“I’d never been so sore in my life,” I replied.

“Except for last night,” Maris joked under her breath so only I could hear her. I clamped my lips together and tried as hard as I could to keep my face neutral.

“What were the Enclave members like?” Kalyn asked.

“Honestly? Most of them were stupid.” I lifted my chin. “It’s clear the bounty hunter they sent was the most competent of the bunch.”

I regaled them with tales of my misadventures with Kovor until some of the women started to lose interest. Xyla and her group were the first to leave, pushing away from the table without so much as a goodbye. I frowned after them. If I could swallow my pride and need for independence to share a bond with the other women, so could Xyla. I didn’t understand why she was always so displeased with everything.

Maybe all she needed was a good romp with one of the Shein crewmembers. I smirked at the thought.

I felt a light tap on my leg. Maris tapped once more, giving me a silent signal that she wanted to talk alone.

“Sorry to cut the party short, ladies,” I said apologetically. “I’m feeling tired again all of a sudden. I think I’m going to go lie down.”

“Of course,” Kalyn smiled and reached across the table to pat the top of my hand.

“Thanks,” I smiled back. I rose from the table, pressing my palm into my forehead to really sell it. I left the dining hall but lingered in the hallway. Within a few moments, Maris stepped out of the room.

“I think that was probably unnecessary,” I said with a laugh.

“Definitely,” Maris agreed. “But where’s the fun in doing it the normal way?”

“Good point.” We linked arms and made our way through the Rogue Star. I considered bringing her back to Kovor’s room, but I knew for certain that he was going to be a topic of conversation. I didn’t want him walking in while Maris and I were gossiping about him. We went back to our shared room instead.

I plopped down on my sleeping mat and winced.

“One night in the rich boy’s bed and you’re too good for the sleeping mat?” Maris teased.

“I’m a woman of luxury now.” I lolled on the bed. “But in all seriousness, there’s so much more to Kovor than you or I ever imagined. He’s been nothing but a wonderful surprise.”

“He must be something special if he’s made you go all sappy,” Maris agreed.

“Did you know he willingly gave up all his privileges he enjoyed from being wealthy?” I said. “He traded it for his independence.”

“Admirable,” Maris nodded. “But that’s not important.”

“It’s not?” I furrowed my brow.

“No. What’s important is how good he is in the sheets,” Maris giggled. I felt my cheeks go red once more.

“Your fixation on that is alarming,” I replied.

“Don’t pull that modest, blushing act with me!” Maris scolded. “You teased me relentlessly when I started sleeping with Orrin.”

“Of course I did!” I exclaimed. “That’s what best friends are supposed to do.”

“Exactly. Now I’m going to repay you in kind, and then some,” Maris swore.

“I’m terrified for what that entails.” I rolled my eyes.

“For starters, does he have a nice cock?” She winked. “Or two?”

I almost choked on my own tongue. “For fuck’s sake, Maris!” I squealed before dissolving into giggles.

“For the record, I don’t actually want to know. I just wanted to see the look on your face when I asked,” she clarified through her own laughter.

“It’s fantastic,” I informed her. She clamped her hands over her ears.

“I don’t want to know!” she shrieked.

“You brought this on yourself,” I chided.

“I regret it,” Maris assured me. “Do you want to know about Orrin’s?”

“No!” I shrieked.

We laughed until our bellies ached and tears streamed down our faces. As I regained control of my breathing, I realized I’d never laughed this way with Harper before she betrayed me. The more time I spent with Maris and the other women, the more I realized that my friendship with Harper was one of convenience. It had had no real substance.

“I’m glad to be back,” I told her.

“I’m glad to have you back. It’s so boring without you here.” Maris leaned back against the wall, weak from laughing.

“We should have our own adventure once we reach Katzul,” I suggested.

“Will we even be allowed to leave the ship?” Maris wondered.

“Probably not. But I’m sleeping with the owner, so maybe I can work something out,” I grinned.

“Day one and you’re already abusing your position,” Maris tutted. “Atta girl.”

“What else would you expect from me?” I joked, but then shifted to a serious tone. “I don’t care that he owns the ship. Truly, I love him for who he is.”

“I can tell,” Maris grinned. “You look happy.”

“I feel happy.”

Kovor

We were back home, back on the Rogue Star, and I felt good about myself again. I felt good about a lot of things again.

The issue with Enclave and the Dominion was far from settled, and my bank account was much lower than I liked it to be, but I was back around people that I knew and trusted with my life.

That was more than enough for me.

As my screen woke up on the small desk in my quarters, a reminder popped up from my calendar. It was my father’s commencement day, or birthday, as Aryn called it.

I wonder what my father would think of her. They shared similar attitudes about some things. He believed in hard work, in standing up for what you believed in, for never giving up. He’d always been drawn to people of strong character. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that my father would like and appreciate Aryn.

My mother...that would be a different story. If I ever brought Aryn home, my poor mother would die of a heart attack at the idea that her ‘little boy’ had become involved with someone so far out of our social class.

Aryn’s abrupt and brash attitude would be such a shock to my mother, I couldn’t help but grin to myself just thinking about it.

As a matter of fact, my parents were opposites, just like Aryn and I. And yet, they had made it work, eventually coming to truly love one another despite their arranged marriage.

Maybe Aryn and I had something that could match that, possibly even surpass it.

Well, scro.

Maybe we should drop by.

I hadn’t thought about returning home since I left.

But Aryn deserved everything, even meeting my family, seeing my old home. At least once.

It wasn’t home anymore, it was just a place I used to live. It was a place that was part of my past, a past that I had spent a long time trying to get away from. But if she wanted it, she was welcome to see everything I’d left behind.

Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to leave the money behind. While our business had gone well, or at least well enough to not have to usually dip into my accounts, it was reassuring to know that the money was still there in case we needed it.

It hurt that we’d needed it in the last few days, but at least it did what it was meant to do.

At least I knew that Aryn wasn’t interested in me just for my money, and that her feelings for me were genuine.

Maybe that was part of why I was suddenly interested in going home. Aryn wouldn’t be influenced by their money, their connections, their ways. Likely, she’d laugh herself silly.

I wondered what a wedding would be like. Would my family be okay with something like that? Would Aryn?

A wedding…one between Aryn and myself…would it be better to have it here, on board the Rogue Star? This is where we lived, where we met, and where…well. I loved her, I would marry her anywhere, if she would take me.

As if the universe had been listening, my door chimed, signaling a visitor.

I opened the door to see Aryn.

“Hey,” she said, a smile on her lips. She held a bottle and a datapad.

“I wanted to see if you wanted to watch some vids on my pad and chill?” she asked.

“Excuse me?” I asked as I let her in.

“It’s an old Earth custom,” Aryn explained. “It originated a few hundred years back. But nowadays at home we called it ‘Flix and Chill’,” she said as she made herself comfortable on my bed and patted the sheets next to her.

I smiled.

I would figure out all of this ‘home’ business later. I just knew that wherever Aryn was, I was home, as I joined her on my bed.

Epilogue: Aryn

Now that the Qasar Station was completely out of sight, I felt like I could breathe again.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The sound of Kovor’s voice instantly brought a smile to my face.

“Didn’t expect to find me here, did you?” I stood in front of the massive window on the observation deck.

“No,” Kovor admitted. “You never struck me as one to stare at the stars in solitude.”

“This is the first time I’ve come up here on my own,” I replied.

He stepped up next to me and I marveled at the way the light of the stars shimmered against his golden skin. In this light, he looked like he was made of stardust. I looked at my own pale hand. As crazy as it was, I almost missed my false silver skin. I’d liked the way it looked, just not the way the dye eventually itched.

“What brought this on?” he asked.

“I think it’s finally sinking in that my life will never be the way it was,” I explained. “I’ve always understood that the chances of returning to the Terran System were slim. It’s only now that I’m feeling it in full. Dominion space is my home now.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Kovor asked.

“It’d be nice if I wasn’t wanted by the Dominion,” I laughed. “But other than that, it’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, I think I’m more suited to Dominion space than I ever was to the Terran System.”

“Naturally,” Kovor agreed. “There are hundreds of planets in Dominion space. I don’t know how you didn’t go stir crazy with only three habitable planets in Terran space.”

“There was a time not too long ago that I thought three planets were a lot,” I reminded him.

“Silly human,” he teased.

I bumped his arm with my shoulder. “How many planets have you been to?”

“Not many,” Kovor admitted. “Twenty-eight, I think. That’s not including stations and outposts.”

“Oh, only twenty-eight?” I made an exaggerated disappointed face. “And here I thought you were some well-traveled nobleman.”

“I’m so sorry to be a disappointment,” Kovor quipped.

“Tell me about the planets you want to see most,” I urged him, mind racing with wonder at the thought of all there was to explore. “Maybe we can stop off at a few while we’re running from the law.”

“I’ve always wanted to see Phixtrial,” Kovor answered quickly, without needed to think about it for even a moment. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to explore the ruins of whoever lived there before the Dominion arrived.”

“Does anyone live there now?” I asked.

“The ruins are on protected land. Nothing new can be built there. But a few species have inhabited the non-protected parts. I think they’ve built a school dedicated to learning about the ruins.” Kovor’s eyes lit up with excitement as he spoke. It was heart-meltingly charming.

Like everything about him.

“I’d like to see Mermian,” I offered. “I don’t know how I’d fare on a water planet, but after meeting those women, I’m fascinated.”

“There are suits we can purchase that allow the wearer to walk underwater,” Kovor jumped in. “They’re pricey and hard to find, but we can figure it out.”

“We?” I smiled.

“You don’t think I’d let you go to Mermian without me?” Kovor exclaimed. “I want to see it just as much as you do.”

“I don’t think Captain Dejar would appreciate it if you commandeered the Rogue Star so we can explore the galaxy,” I joked.

“Aavat would tie me up and throw me in the cargo hold before he allowed that to happen,” Kovor laughed.

“I’d actually like to see that,” I snorted.

“Nice to know I can count on the love of my life to laugh at me when I get into a scrap,” Kovor replied.

“Of course! What else am I good for?” I quipped. “If the roles were reversed, you’d be laughing just as hard.”

“Very true,” Kovor chuckled. We stood in comfortable silence and watched the stars pass by.

“Kalyn saw space whales up here once,” I commented.

“She saw what?”

“Space whales. I forget what you call them. Huge creatures that swim through the stars?” I prompted.

“Celestriads,” Kovor supplemented. “Fascinating creatures. I’ve only seen them a handful of times in the Star Fields.”

“Do any other creatures live out here in deep space?” I asked.

“Oh, most certainly,” Kovor nodded. “The problem is, they’re difficult to find and even more difficult to study.”

“Have you ever seen any?” I asked.

“I thought I did. Once,” Kovor explained. “However, I was new to traveling in deep space and I’d had more than a few drinks that night.”

“Tell me anyway.” I slid closer to him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I slid my own arm around his waist and hugged myself against his side, reveling in his touch, the ease and magic of it.

I’d turned it into a game for myself. I liked seeing how long I could go without feeling the urge to wrap myself around him. The record was not more than a few minutes. I adored being close to him.

He pressed a kiss into the top of my head before continuing with his story.

“I was one of the few still awake,” he said. “To this day, I can’t tell you why I came up here. There’s something about being up here alone, with only the endless expanse of stars for company, that makes one feel small and vulnerable. I don’t care for either of those feelings, so I avoided this place when it was empty. Except for that night.”

“I was sitting over in the corner there,” he gestured to the far side of the room, “right on the floor, too drunk to care. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something moving in the dark spaces between the stars. At first, I thought my inebriated state was making it impossible to see clearly. Then I realized that the creature was transparent! It was only visible when light reflected off it.”

“That’s incredible!” I gasped.

“It gets better,” Kovor grinned. “The thing, whatever it was, was at least three times the size of the ship. It drifted up to the Rogue Star and glided parallel to us. Its eye was the only solid part of the creature. Its eye took up the entire window.” Kovor made a sweeping gesture with his free arm.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“What could I do?” he laughed. “I just stared at it, mouth hanging open like a fool. I don’t know if it saw me. Thankfully, it decided the ship wasn’t worth attacking. It drifted away and disappeared.”

“That sounds like a definite encounter to me,” I said. “Why do you think you only might have seen something.”

“The next thing I remember is waking up in my own bed, fully clothed and terribly groggy,” Kovor chuckled. “I haven’t eliminated the possibility that I was imagining it in my inebriated state.”

“Well, I believe you saw something,” I said with certainty. “I want to see it, too.”

“Do you?” Kovor smiled down at me. “How do you propose we do that?”

“I think we need our own ship,” I grinned up at him. “It doesn’t need to be big. We can pilot it ourselves.”

“You, me, and a fast little space cruiser sound ideal,” Kovor sighed wistfully.

“We should scrap the Skimmer and replace it with a cruiser,” I suggested. “That way we won’t have to totally abandon the Rogue Star crew when we fancy an adventure.”

“Clever idea,” Kovor nodded. “Being captain of a little runabout wouldn’t be too horrible, either.”

I tipped my head back and laughed. “Cute that you think you’re going to be captain of our cruiser,” I giggled.

“I’m going to be the one paying for it. I get to be captain,” Kovor insisted.

“You’ll have to defeat me in honorable combat if you want to give the orders,” I shrugged. “Those are the rules.”

“Can the combat take place in the bedroom?” Kovor winked.

“That’s the only acceptable place.” I trailed my fingers up his arm. Kovor slid two fingers under my chin and tipped my face up so he could kiss me. My whole body tingled from his kiss.

“We’ll do it someday,” Kovor said when he pulled away, “when we no longer have to worry about the Dominion, Enclave, or anything else. You and I will sail off between the stars and see the entire universe.”

“There’ll never be a shortage of adventure,” I grinned.

“Even if we never leave the Rogue Star again, being with you is all the adventure I could ever want.”

Letter from Elin

You knew there had to be more to Kovor, right? And Aryn was just the person to bring it out of him.

Next up, the sweet, kind doctor of our crew. She’s going to go for someone nice and light, right?

I don’t know if I can save Valtic from the darkness. But I’m damn well going to try.

Every day I make a choice. Spread the light. Help where I can. Make sure my friends, my new family, are safe.

But the darkness inside of Valtic calls me. I can see him fighting it with every breath.

I want to, need to, help him.

And not just as a doctor.

His heated glances and fiery touch beckon me.

I’ll follow and hope that whatever luck kept us all from dying on Persephone Station can help me keep him from giving in.

Well… this should be fun :)

XOXO,

Elin

P.S. After the sample of the next book, I’ve added the first chapter from Given, the first book of my Star Breed series, and Vrehx, the first of Conquered World.

Give them a try and let me know what you think! You can always reach me at elin@elinwynbooks.com

Rogue Warrior

Lynna

I missed duct tape.

I tried not to let my frustration show as the bulb attachment belonging one of the Rogue Star’s pieces of medical equipment fell onto the floor for the third time that day.

This time, the fragile bulb cracked.

I picked it up and examined it. It should work just fine if I screwed it back in, however, I had nothing to stop it from falling out all over again.

I’d recently learned how to use everything in the Rogue Star’s med bay, sometimes in crisis mode. Despite long hours with the auto-tutor, I didn’t know the technical names for all of the equipment, but even I could tell that everything was in dire need of replacement.

It was a good thing I didn’t have any patients to tend to at the moment.

The Rogue Star was en route back to Katzul. Unless someone was particularly stupid, I wasn’t going to be patching anyone up until we’d made port.

Considering that we were wanted criminals and all, we’d been lucky in terms of injuries.

Kayln’s leg wound had been bad, but the worst was Orrin when he was shot close range by a bounty hunter. If it weren’t for Zayn, the Rogue Star’s medic, I wouldn’t have known what to do.

It still made me shudder.

I didn’t think Zayn would like me when Captain Dejar asked me to take on some of the doctorly duties.

Turns out, Zayn had no issue with letting me have free rein in the med bay. He came in every once in a while to check supply levels but, for the most part, he seemed to enjoy taking a break.

It made me wonder what the Rogue Star crew got up to before myself and the other human women ended up here.

“Lynna!” Kalyn burst into the med bay, startling me so I lost my grip on the bulb.

This time it shattered. I pressed my lips together to hide my annoyance.

“Sorry!” Kalyn gasped. “I shouldn’t have burst in like that!”

“It’s okay,” I managed a smile. “It was already cracked. It was going to break sooner or later. Is everything all right?”

“I need you to come with me.” Kalyn extended her hand, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Why?” I swept up the shards of broken bulb and tossed them.

“You’ll see!” She squealed. I’d never seen her so animated. Deciding to humor her, I took her hand as she pulled me out of the med bay and dragged me through the ship’s narrow corridors.

“The mess hall?” I asked when we approached the double doors.  “If you wanted to get lunch you could’ve just said so.” Kalyn didn’t say anything, she just grinned. She pushed both doors open with a flourish.

The lights came on to reveal the other human women standing around a table. On the table was a white, square cake with Happy Birthday Lynna! written in sloppy red cursive.

“Surprise!” Everyone exclaimed. “Happy birthday!”

My hand flew to my chest and my eyes widened.

“It’s not my birthday, is it?” I looked at Kalyn.

“It is,” she confirmed. “I’m your Commander. It’s my job to know these things.”

“I must’ve lost track of Terran Days,” I laughed. Now that we weren’t in Terran space, I found it difficult to stick to the old calendar.

Kalyn held up her watch, which still reflected the Terran day and time. She was right, it was my birthday.

“Thank you, everyone,” I said. “You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”

“You would’ve done the same for us,” Kalyn nudged me gently.

That was true. Back on the Persephone Station, I loved organizing things like this. It brightened up the monotonous day to day of life on the station.

“Sorry there aren’t any candles on the cake,” Kalyn said. “I couldn’t find anything safe enough to light on fire, and we can’t waste the oxygen, anyway.”

“Understandable,” I laughed.

“Speaking of cake, let’s cut into this one,” Maris exclaimed. “I’m starving.”

“It’s still not exactly the kind of cake we’re used to,” Shenna explained quickly. “Sars and I got it as close as we could, though. We’re getting better.”

“If it’s anything like the stuff we made on Valentine’s Day, I’ll be happy,” Maris declared.

“We have to wait for the others to get here,” Kalyn insisted.

“Others?” I asked.

“I invited Dejar and the rest of the crew. They’re family now, after all.” Kalyn shrugged.

“Yes, they should be here,” I agreed, a tiny bit of amusement making me smile. If we’d stayed on Persephone Station, it wouldn’t be much of a family. And to think Kalyn of all people had been the first to…well, integrate so well with the Shein.

“If they aren’t here soon, I’m calling for a free for all on the cake,” Aryn declared as she swiped some icing off the side of the cake with her finger.

Shenna smacked her hand away, but Aryn triumphantly sucked the icing off her finger.

“Are we late for the party?” Dejar said as he strode into the mess hall with Aavat and Orrin in tow. Other crew members filed in behind them.

Including someone I didn’t expect to see.

Valtic, the head of ship security, stood in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

I looked away quickly. My cheeks were warm because so many people were close by.

That was it.

Really.

I liked to say that I considered everyone on the Rogue Star a friend, even the deck hands and cabin workers.

Valtic, on the other hand, was still a mystery to me. I rarely saw him. I wasn’t sure where he spent his time. I was sure he had an office somewhere.

To my embarrassment, I only learned his name just the other week. Since then, I decided to make an effort to get to know him but that was proving to be a difficult task.

Especially since every time I saw him something in me fluttered.

“Of course you’re not late!” Kalyn exclaimed. “There’s still cake!” The crew members stepped into the mess hall and helped themselves to pieces of cake cut by Shenna.

Dejar lifted Kalyn, kissing her deeply before turning to me, one arm still wrapped around her waist.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand the occasion,” he confessed. “Kalyn just said cake.”

“Lynna was born thirty-one years ago today on the Terran calendar,” Kalyn explained. “Humans celebrate their birth annually with a gathering of friends, cake, and an exchange of gifts.”

“Please tell me you didn’t get me anything,” I warned.

“Okay. I won’t tell you,” Kalyn grinned shamelessly.

She turned to Dejar. “Traditionally, the guests wish the birthday girl happy birthday,” she urged.

“Happy birthday?” He said hesitantly.

“Well done,” I grinned. “And thank you. Go help yourself to some cake.”

“I’m supposed to be the hostess,” Kalyn chided. “You just focus on enjoying yourself.”

“Done and done,” I replied.

Kalyn and Dejar laced their fingers together and moved off toward the cake table. I took a moment to survey all of the wonderful friends I made. Contentment bloomed in my chest.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned to find Valtic.

For a moment my stomach clenched.

“Fancy some cake?” I asked. Smooth, Lynna.

“No,” he said. “I came to give you the traditional well-wishes and depart. I have work to do.”

Oh.

“Are you sure you can’t stay for a little while?” I asked. “It’s a party, after all.”

“Unfortunately, no,” he replied, though he didn’t look at all regretful. “Happy Birthday.” He nodded and left the mess hall.

“Don’t take it personally.” Kovor appeared at my side. “Lighthearted fun has never been his forte.”

“Parties aren’t for everyone,” I shrugged, trying to push off my disappointment. “Has Aryn eaten all of my birthday cake?”

“She’s had three slices,” Kovor chuckled.

“I better get in there before it’s all gone,” I laughed. I made my way through the packed mess hall, accepting birthday wishes left and right.

I had plenty of friends here, I reminded myself. Even if someone was determined to be difficult.

The cake was half gone by the time I reached the table. Kalyn presented me with a piece she’d put to the side just for me. It had some of the icing that read my name.

“Can you put a second piece to the side?” I asked, even as I said the words, a little nervous about the plan that had just sprung to mind..

“Of course! You’re the birthday girl. You get to eat as much cake as you want,” she exclaimed.

“It’s not for me,” I replied. Kalyn gave me a curious look. “It’s for Valtic,” I supplied.

Kalyn looked more confused.  “I don’t think he likes cake,” she said.

“Maybe not,” I shrugged, trying for casual. “But he left to go back to work. I want him to know his absence was noticed.”

Kalyn furrowed her brow but didn’t say anything more. She cut an extra piece of cake as asked. I felt like I was missing a piece of information, but I didn’t know how to ask for it.

I went around the room, making sure to say hello to everyone. Kalyn and the other women presented me with a hand-knit scarf they all took turns working on. It was messy and filled with small holes.

Perfect.

As the party wound down, I pulled together my nerve.

“Be right back!” I gave a small wave to the room and took the slice of cake that’d been set aside.

I knew where Orrin’s workspace was. I remembered Maris saying that Valtic’s office was nearby.

I tried a three doors near Orrin’s workspace until I found him.

The only light in the room came from four monitors. Valtic sat at his desk flipping through the same pieces of footage over and over, but nothing looked out of the ordinary.

“Have a minute?” I asked.

“What can I do for you?” Valtic replied without turning around. He wasn’t rude, just focused.

Distant.

“Nothing.” I stepped into the dark room. “I brought you some cake from the party.”

I set the plate down on the desk next to him.

“Why?” He asked.

“Because you didn’t get any,” I explained. “And you should know that your presence was missed.” Valtic looked at the cake with a blank expression, then to me, then back to his monitors.

“I have a lot of footage to look through,” he said.

I pursed my lips.

“Right. Well, enjoy the cake.” I backed out of his office and closed the door quietly.

It was dangerous to spend too much time in isolation, I knew that better than anyone.

Valtic was about to have a special friend, like it or not.

Valtic

I was not pleased with the crew holding this…party…when we had so many other things that needed to be dealt with.

Despite everything that happened the last time we let our guard down, now the crew was doing it again.

It was an asinine thing.

Granted, it was a celebration of the day Lynna was born.

That would be worth celebrating, at any time.

For the Shein, a commencement day was an acknowledgement of our birth, but it was normally the mother that was celebrated while her child, grown or young, gave a gift commemorating their mother’s life.

It was how the Shein honored the one that bore them to life.

I had attended the party only to better understand the confusing sounds of an unscheduled gathering that had come through my monitors.

When Lynna made an attempt to socialize with me, I remained dedicated to my duties instead of falling into conversation with her.

I had to maintain vigilance, especially since I had failed so badly before.

It was the only way to keep us safe.

I should have been aware of that man, the bounty hunter named Hurd…I should have seen him for what he was.

I’d had my concerns about him, about that entire job, but I didn’t follow through, and it had cost us.

I was not going to let something like that happen again, no matter how tempting it was to spend just a few more minutes in her company.

I left the party to resume my rounds of the ship.

I began with the system Orrin and Maris had installed in the hangar bay, running the required diagnostics.

They both growled when I ran extra checks on their system. But I needed to know, to be sure.

The system was tolerable.

Actually, it was a brilliant piece of engineering by the two of them.

It was, once they finished modifying it, something that was capable of doing something that I had failed at.

Keeping us safe.

After running diagnostics on the system in the hangar bay, I moved on to the weapons bay, then the engine room, the med bay, the living area, the bridge, and finally back to the hangar bay.

Everything was nominal, as it should be.

I had found Aryn’s little escape hatch and had put a small strip of tape both inside and outside the hatch. It was a simple technique, but it was effective. Neither had been disturbed between hers and Kovor’s return and when we left Qasar.

Next on my rounds were the service tubes. I worked my way through service tube two, half listening to the sounds of the party. The women were teaching the others a child’s song, gathering dates for future parties.

More of this madness.

At the top of the service tube, I opened the hatch, and stepped onto the bridge. I was delighted to see that the crew on the bridge already had their weapons drawn on me, as they should.

“Good work. Routine check complete,” I complimented them.

Their weapons lowered, but not holstered, the crew nodded to me and waited for me to leave. They had done exactly as instructed, although the night crew were the only ones to do as I wanted.

Captain Dejar’s, as well as Commander Aavat’s, bridge crews rarely acted accordingly. Any time I brought it up, both of them essentially shrugged me off, telling me that they trusted me and trusted I would never betray them.

It was true, but it was a breach in what I thought was necessary protocol to ensure the ship’s, and crew’s, safety.

Commander Kovor’s night crew was the only one to take me seriously. Odd, considering I’d never seen Kovor himself take anything seriously.

I made my way to another tube, doing my best to make sure I didn’t put myself into a predictable pattern with the service tubes, or with my rounds.

A routine could be another weakness.

Only constant vigilance could keep us safe.

As I lowered myself into tube six and closed the hatch behind me, I could hear the sounds of the party echoing up to me. I wondered again if I should join them.

Lynna had been very polite to me, something I didn’t deserve, but appreciated. Her hair cascaded down from her head like waves, and her deep green eyes sparkled more than a Halandian emerald.

She was as gentle as could be and always seemed to be smiling. She truly enjoyed making people feel better.

Lynna was everything goodness and light.

When she’d brought the cake to my room, she’d brought her own light with her. I hadn’t dared look at her for too long.

She was a distraction. Even now I was thinking of her, her lovely, soft form.

I should stay far away.

Make sure nothing threatened the crew, threatened her.

Three steps from tube ten when the ship’s red alert went off, the blaring alarm cutting through my thoughts like a hot blade.

Sper, the overnight pilot, came on the overhead speaker system, voice crisp and clear. “Proximity alarm has been triggered. I repeat, proximity alarm has been triggered. All non-essential personnel to assigned stations.”

I brought up the exterior cameras on my tablet and searched, but it was hard to see on such a small screen.

I rushed to the wall-screen on the science lab, swiped what was on my tablet onto the wall-screen.

I cycled through the different camera angles until I saw it.

Rather, I didn’t see the stars that should have been there.

Something dark, almost impossible to see was approaching.

I opened up a sub-routine in the defense system, activated exterior spot lights, and maneuvered them into the direction of the darkness. It might be invisible to our sensors, but not our eyes.

There is was.

It was the Dark Ship. What Kovor and Aryn had discovered to be called The Terror.

It had found us.

I sent out a communication blast to Dejar and Aavat, then rushed for my office.

I was closest and knew what needed to be done.

I  pulled the tube five hatch open, and jumped in feet first, swearing all the way as I slid down to engineering.

I needed to activate the new stealth system and give it time to build up power.

We’d never fully tested it.

We didn’t know if it would work.

But now, we were out of time.

I rushed into the room and the ship rocked hard, knocking me to my hands and knees.

My head hit the metal legs of the workstation and for a few brief moments, all I could see were dancing lights in front of my eyes. I blinked quickly, and as my vision returned, I got back to my feet.

I began the process of activating the system, but we needed two people to get it started.

Umbba.

It was so new, we hadn’t assigned this as a crew position yet.

Of all the…

The power drain from the stealth system was so great it had made sense to require two points of activation in order to prevent accidental activation or deactivation.

But now that caution might get us killed.

I couldn’t reach the other station, to activate it.

Both stations had to be switch on simultaneously.

Where was anyone?

The haze that was my constant companion focused my vision to a pinpoint. Calm, slow breaths beat it back.

Then, I heard footsteps rushing towards me and returned to the stealth controls to prime the system up once again.

Whoever it was, they better move fast.

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Given: Star Breed Book One

Kara

It was all Juda’s fault.

I kicked him out of my bed three weeks ago for cheating on me, but apparently, he wasn’t done screwing me over.

I crouched low on the roof of the abandoned gambling den across the street from Sary’s “general store” and cursed the limp-dicked bastard all over again.

There wasn’t a lot of traffic at this time of day. Not that that meant much in Ghelfi; the thieves’ city never truly slept. There was no point in waiting for night, like in the old vids Mom used to watch over and over. Like all sealed cities on the surface of Neurea, lighting in Ghelfi varied throughout the day’s cycle, but never to a true night.

I saw real night, once. I stowed away on the back of a surface crawler that was heading to Lashell. I don’t know why, somehow I’d thought it would be better if I got out of Ghelfi, started over somewhere else.

The velvet sky, studded with stars, shone clean and cold. Perfect. Not like the barely organized chaos of the cities.

But halfway there, the crawler broke down, had to be towed back. I realized then that there was no way out. Not for me.

In the old vids, everything always turned out alright, something swooped in at the last minute to save the day.

That’s how you knew they were only lies.

So here I was, half-hidden among old wires and debris that had been kicked up to the top of the store years ago, long forgotten. Watching time slip away on the chrono, crossing my fingers to old gods I didn’t believe in.

“What’cha doing?”

I jumped, furious with myself.

Bani crouched next to me. His dark brown hair hung down in his face, but I could still see the twinkle in his eye. Snuck up on me and was proud of it, little bastard.

I socked him gently in the arm, just enough to let him know I cared.

“Everybody’s looking for you, Kara,” he said under his breath. He didn’t look at me but instead kept his eyes scanning across the street, trying to see what I was interested in. Smart kid.

I ran my hand through my own tangle of hair. It was past time to cut it, but things had been a little busy lately.

“How mad is Xavis?” I really didn’t want to know the answer.

Bani shrugged one bony shoulder. “He’s playing it down a little bit, but I think he’s pretty steamed. If you, of all people, don’t show up by the end of the tithe, he’s gonna lose a lot of face.”

A light crackled, the burnt smell of frying wires wafted by. But I wasn’t paying attention to the noise or to the stink of ozone that permeated the air of Ghelfi. If Xavis really was mad, I was in trouble.

I shoved the thought far to the back of my head. Nothing to do about it but keep moving.

A shuffling sound below surprised me, and I risked another glance over the ledge. A miner, wrapped in rags so filthy there was no telling the gender, half-staggered down the street. He, she, whatever, paused in front of Sary’s storefront, then stumbled inside.

Ice gripped my spine. Rings willing, he’d be quick. Claim whatever he came to trade, and get out. Not stay there, spinning stories of life in the Waste, screwing my timetable.

“Is that the job?” Bani’s wide eyes fixed me. “A snatch and grab on the miners after they bring in the dust?”

I rolled my eyes. “They’re just trying to get by, same as us.” Besides, credits were no good to me, not with so little time to clean them. But the antonium dust the miners brought in was untraceable. ‘Dust knows no provenance’ was the saying. I just needed to get enough of it.

Agonizing minutes passed until he left. I glanced at my chrono again. If she didn’t show up today, I didn’t have a backup plan. This was my backup plan. No more nets to catch my fall.

I closed my eyes to try to find the calm, cold center within that had kept me alive so far on the streets of Ghelfi, and waited. I didn’t need to see, didn’t need to check the time. I could only wait and listen.

Finally, the sound came. The sharp click of stiletto heels across the permasteel walkway. I opened my eyes and leaned forward ever so slightly to peer down the street.

There she was. Charro’s secret indulgence. Silver hair teased into a high fall down her back, her face paint marked her as one of Sary’s working girls. When I first found out about Charro’s extracurricular activities, I’d half thought of sending a note to Sary, stir up the nest a bit. Then I started thinking long term. That’d been almost two years ago.

Two years of planning and waiting brought to a crash by that bastard Juda. I should have gutted him like a fish instead of just kicking him out.

Bani glanced at her and then looked up at me, frowning.

“That’s your mark?” He risked another look but I pulled him back sharply by the collar of his jacket.

He glared at me, with all the scorn a preteen could manage. “I know her. She works the landing pad. Even if she did have the sort of money you’re going to need to get out of trouble with Xavis, she isn’t gonna be carrying it with her on a job.” His eyes narrowed. “So what are you really up to?”

I grinned. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t pleased to have to use this job to get out of the hole Juda left me in, but it was pretty brilliant.

“Just keep your eye on the alley, kid, okay?”

I checked my chrono again, but I didn’t need to. I’d timed this pattern so often. Like clockwork, the shadows of Charro’s two goons came into focus on the tinted plex of the storefront. Just like every other time I’d watched, they paced back and forth, no doubt joking about their boss and his hobby.

“They’re supposed to be guarding the back room, but he always kicks them out when she visits.” I checked the time again, stupid habit. Couldn’t help it. “He might be there, but he’s more than a little distracted right now.”

I worked my way across the roof, down to the collection of rubble in the back alley that had let me gain my vantage point.

Bani followed me and I glared at him.

“Stay up here,” I snarled. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out.”

“Then you’ll need a second pair of hands.”

The kid had a point, but I’d be damned if I was going to let him have it.

“No, I need a second pair of eyes.” His shoulders sagged a little. But I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t follow me anyway.

“Besides, I don't know if I can trust you on this job.” His white face told me my words hit their mark. Hated to do it, but I didn’t want to be worried about him. I was in enough trouble as it was.

His face slid out of sight as I worked my way down the trash heap.

Even before I crossed the street, the bitter stench of the acid bombs I’d planted clawed at my throat. The air recirculators only worked intermittently in this neighborhood, and in the alley, the smell almost forced me to my knees.

That the miner walked by without flinching, I could understand. I’d heard too much time in an environmental suit would have you smelling nothing but rubber. But the silver-haired doxy must have been high on something to not notice something was wrong.

No time to linger in the alley. Microcams swept every ninety seconds, watching, waiting for anything out of the ordinary.

I dashed to the hiding space I’d carved out of the fallen wall that backed up to Sary’s, and held my breath, trying to hear over the drumming of my heartbeat. The rushing in my ears slowed, and I poked my head out. Still all clear.

Nobody in their right mind would take on Sary, he ran half the games in town, and word in the pits said he wanted to take control of the city over from Xavis. Unlikely, but still, not someone I really wanted after me. But if the choice was Sary or Xavis himself….well, it was a sucky choice.

I counted, waiting for the next clear moment to check on the results of the clustered acid bombs, then ran back around the corner.

Ninety seconds is a long time.

Ninety seconds is long enough to make one chip in the wall a day until a section can be lifted away and replaced seamlessly.

Ninety seconds is long enough to plant one small acid bomb at a time, then wait for a few days for the smell to dissipate, for the interior wall that led to the vault to weaken, bit by bit, day by day.

Ninety seconds is long enough to die in the Waste, outside of the protection of the domes.

And if I didn’t get my tithe to Xavis by tonight, that’s where I’d end up.

Davien

Really, everything would be so much easier if I just snapped the fat fool’s neck. Only the endless lessons in control back on the ship kept my hands still at my sides, fingers barely flexing. The tips of my claws ran across my palms, bringing me back to focus.

“Davien, are you even listening to me?” Xavis rumbled.

And he wasn’t a fool, even if I despised him. Xavis had clawed his way to the top of the dirtiest pile to run Ghelfi. The trip to the top had been over the broken bodies of plenty of enemies. He’d stayed on his perch for over twenty Imperial years. I didn’t have to do much research to know his methods hadn’t changed.

Prime example: he’d hired me.

I focused on Xavis, only too aware I’d started to slip away into the hunt. Every moment here, stuck on this rock, was a delay I couldn’t afford. Xavis, bastard though he might be, was my fastest way out of here. Well, the fastest way without an unacceptably high casualty count.

Xavis lounged in his hover chair, fingers tapping in annoyance well away from the control pad. The chair was as much affectation as convenience - he could walk just fine. Just liked to be able to loom over people.

“She’s late,” he growled. “She’s never late.”

I didn’t need to ask who he meant. He’d been on a tear about his precious Kara for hours, first calling her his brightest find, then cursing her ingratitude.

The large room I’d come to think of as the receiving hall was mostly empty now, just the regular workers at their terminals around the edges, cleaning credits, shifting funds until they could be transferred into the most secure banks in the Empire. Repetitive, mind-numbing, but crucial to any modern criminal enterprise. The low drone as they worked filled the otherwise quiet room.

The last traces of the dark festivities of the last day had almost been erased. All day and night long, denizens of Ghelfi’s underworld had streamed in, bringing their tribute to the acknowledged boss of the city, doing their best, or worst, to please a capricious overlord. The whole affair had been boring, and stupidly inefficient.

But the archaic ritual soothed his ego and had been an opening to a job. At the last tithing, some idiot with more guts than brains had tried to take Xavis out. He’d failed to account for the force shield over the hover chair, but his explosives did thin out Xavis’ bodyguards considerably.

Bad luck for them, perfect timing for me. When Doc had commanded we all enter the escape pods, she’d made it clear we were to jump as randomly as possible. It should have worked, should have drawn the attackers away from the Daedalus, but it had been six standard weeks since I’d crashed here, and I hadn’t had a signal from her or any of my brothers.

If I was on my own, I needed credits. And I needed a lot of them.

Six weeks had been enough to battle my way up the ranks of Xavis’ enforcers. Not that they were slouches, but they didn’t have my, shall we say, advantages.

A commotion at the entrance to the room drew my attention, and I angled for a better position at the front of Xavis’s chair. The dais we stood on served as an excellent vantage point for the room, allowing me to take in any suspicious movements at a glance. I’d argued to get rid of the scarlet drapery behind us, observing it provided too obvious of a hiding place. He’d refused. Like the dais, it was all about show.

The scuffle at the doorway turned out to be two enforcers dragging a third man between them. Beneath the new scrapes and swelling around his eye, I recognized him. Marcus, Martin, something like that. A low-level hustler who worked the dive bars near the station. Rigged games of chance, targeting travelers who wouldn’t be around long enough to make a fuss.

Xavis waved me back into place, and I relaxed, just a tad. This wasn’t a threat to his authority, just another loser trapped here.

The enforcers tossed the poor sap onto the lowest level of the dais and stepped back, waiting for orders.

“Malik,” Xavis coaxed the hover chair to the edge of the dais, watching the human wreck below take shuddering breaths. “You didn’t appear for the tithing last night.” He floated down, a pale mass of malevolence, eyes narrowed.

I stepped behind him. I didn’t expect trouble from Malik, but there’d be hell to pay if I wasn’t where Xavis expected me, especially when he was in this mood.

“Well?” Xavis’s low voice was almost pleasant, but a thread of malice wound through it, unmistakable. “We’ve known each other for so long, I’m surprised that you’ve disappointed me.”

“I’m sorry, Lord Xavis,” the man mumbled. Probably had lost a few teeth. “My youngest has been down with the Batdu pox, the medicine was so much…” He gulped. “I thought I could make it up before the tithing.”

“Oh?” Xavis’s eyes glittered. “How is the poor thing doing now?”

“Better now, Lord Xavis. Thank you.”

“You should have told me, I would have lent you the money.”

Sure he would have. At rates that would mean he’d own the service of the entire family.

“But, as it is, we have a problem that needs to be sorted out.” Xavis made a show of tapping his fingers, as if considering, but that sharp brain had already decided on the punishment, I was sure. This was just to terrorize the hustler, and send a message to everyone else in the room.

“I’d forgotten about your lovely family,” he purred. “The oldest is twelve now, as I recall?”

The man shifted uneasily. “Yes, my lord. But she’s not very strong…”

“I’m sure a more active life will be good for her. She’ll have her own tithe to pay, starting next cycle.”

“What?” The man pushed himself to his feet, protesting.

Idiot.

Xavis flicked a finger, and I sprang to the front of the chair to grab the beaten hustler by the front of his jacket. I lifted him off the floor and shook him until his head snapped back.

He pushed feebly against my grip.

“I wouldn’t try it,” I growled, and he froze.

I’m not sure what it is about my voice. On the ship, with my brothers, no one had a problem with it. In all the training vids we watched, I never thought I sounded that different. But here, on this worthless rock at the fringe of the Empire, all I had to do was speak, and the humans cowered.

Weak.

Prey.

I snarled, and the acrid scent of urine assaulted me. The fucker had wet himself. Apparently, he hadn’t liked the points of my teeth, either.

“I suggest you comply, little man. What choice do you have?”

He stared at me, face pale beneath the marks of the beating, but finally nodded. It wasn’t much of a motivational speech, but it was the truth. No one on Neurea had a lot of choices.

“I think you can release him now, Davien.” The smug tone of Xavis’s voice told me he’d gotten what he wanted. He hadn’t had to send a usually reliable worker to the Wastes, and he’d picked up extra leverage at the same time.

I lowered the man back to his feet. His legs buckled, but he scrambled away from me on hands and knees. Idiot. I wasn’t the worst monster in the room.

The rest of the negotiations were predictably short and one-sided. The hustler left, and the business in the room resumed its quiet drone.

“I’ve decided.” Xavis’s voice cracked like a whip as he floated back to the top of the dais. “An example must be made.”

I waited below for orders.

“Find Kara Shimshi. Bring her to me.”

Despite my better instincts, I grinned.

The hunt was on.

Click here to keep reading Given!

Vrehx: Conquered World Book One

Vrehx

Streaks of plasma lit the blackness as a squadron of Valorni fighters swooped in dizzying spirals, blasting at the massive Xathi ship that filled the screens of the Vengeance.

We were so close it was the size of a planet. Like two steel ziggurats smashed and welded together. Not practical for space flight, but efficient enough to tear through several worlds.

Designed to intimidate.

Designed to destroy.

And we were going to stop it.

We crept closer, waiting. I sucked in my breath, geared for the inevitable.

I gritted my teeth as the bridge shook, and Karzin let out an undignified whoop from his station on the far curve of the bridge. The purple stripes on his shoulders rippled, and his excited eyes darted back and forth as if cheering on his favorite sport.

Barbarian. His crude Valorni traits got on my last nerve—not that he gave a rat’s ass. Like the lot of them, he had no empathy for others. He barely listened to commands and forget anyone who didn’t at least match his rank.

“You green motherfuckers aren’t supposed to be hitting us, just laying cover for our approach,” I snarled. “They can remember that much, can’t they?”

They had only begun venturing into space when we took them into the alliance, but surely they weren’t that stupid.

I hoped not.

“Fuck you,” the Valorni drawled. The stretched-out sounds of his abominable accent were like bristles to my red Skotan scales. “Not their fault we’re cloaked all to hell.”

What an asshole. Valorni couldn’t even be bothered to speak accurately. Their drawl made it nearly impossible to understand them, and they had idiotic slang for everything.

“They were informed of our flight path before the battle.” The lights of Sk’lar’s implants flickered in the dim light of the bridge. “It should have been simple for them to avoid it.”

I smiled just a little, glad I wasn’t the only one with some common sense. Sk’lar wasn’t much better than Karzin, but he was more tolerable. My biggest problem was his implants.

His artificial augmentation was just creepy and wrong. You could see them light up in biohazard green against his shiny black skin. He looked like a fucking motherboard.

The strike team leaders were chosen for their specific talents and leadership, but Sk’lar’s was not stealth outside the ship.

Karzin made it a point to butt heads with all of us. That usually distracted the rest of us from being at each other’s throats.

Maybe that was his intention. Whatever. He was an asshole.

Karzin shrugged off the K’ver’s barely concealed criticism. “Not gonna matter in a few minutes, is it?”

The sarcasm warranted him a disapproving side-eye from Sk’lar, which he ignored. I hated to admit it, but the jackass was right. In a few minutes, we would probably all be dead.

“Gentlemen,” Rouhr’s quiet word from the command station silenced the chatter, “are you prepared?”

The scar that ran down the left side of his face rippled as he clenched his jaw. He was annoyed.

Of course, we were prepared.

We shut up anyway. Rouhr was very diplomatic. That’s why he was in charge.

We straightened ourselves and regained our concentration.

Tension and anger clogged the air, but there was no fear. Fear had died when our families did, when our worlds had burned under the Xathi attacks.

Around the half circle, each of us activated the new weapons panels, the long seconds drawing out as they lit up and hummed. Every battle had this moment—the waiting before the storm.

But this would be different.

We owned the storm.

“Let’s blow a hole in those bastards,” I growled, eyes fixed on the sickly green hull, thinking of the swarms inside.

They waited for the go ahead to surge through over the squadrons like locusts.

Nothing had been able to penetrate a Xathi hiveship before. They just plowed through and destroyed whatever they wanted, the swarms mopping up whatever the hiveship missed.

The Valorni, as annoying as they were, were inducted into the alliance for one reason. The Sugavians had worked with K’ver scientists using codialite, a mineral from the Valorni homeworld, to make one last attempt.

Just enough had been mined for this last-ditch effort—an experimental weapon that had a shot at penetrating that hull. It was rare, and we were on the losing end of this fight. We only had one shot.

We’d better make it count.

Every Skotan, K’ver, and Valorni warrior on the Vengeance had volunteered in the knowledge that it was a one-way trip. If this worked, the three strike teams below would board the Xathi and battle until there was nothing left.

If it didn’t, we’d all die—just sooner.

Either way, the recorder satellites would beam the results of the experiment back to the scientists and engineers. We’d succeed, or they’d build a better weapon next time. That was the most important part of the mission, and we all understood how expendable we were.

The three of us locked focus on our stations as we crept closer.

“We are now in firing range, Captain,” Sk’lar reported.

“Fire at will,” was the only response.

Karzin sent the signal to the Valorni ships, and I started a slow count.

One.

His comrades had fought stupidly but bravely. There was no discernable pattern to the attack.

I was worried more would take friendly fire than would hit the Xathi, but they somehow made sense of the chaos, dodging fire from their comrades. If any survived the battle, they deserved to escape.

Two.

More likely the crazy bastards would follow us into the breach, but they’d earned the choice.

Three.

I activated the launch panel and braced, eyes fixed on the monitors. The adrenaline rushed through me in anticipation of the blow.

Nothing.

Not a bang or a pop or a whine. Just the hum of the engines, and the wall of the Xathi ship growing larger on the screens.

The anticipation deflated as I looked at the panel in confusion. The damn thing was experimental, but it should at least fire. The engineers weren’t brain-dead.

With a snarl, I slapped it again.

And then the universe turned inside out.

Jeneva

I was in my element.

I was where I belonged.

Completely alone in the silence, except for the gigantic bipedal tree creature with an affinity for spewing poison.

Home sweet home.

A glob of the foul stuff hissed as it ate away the earth beneath me. It was only inches from my boot, but I didn’t flinch or try to move out of the way.

A rapid movement around a sorvuc was far more dangerous than its projectile poison. Its damn branches were covered in tiny neural fibers, capable of detecting incredibly small movements. The fibers were illuminated purple.

The sorvuc searched for me.

Under different circumstances, I would have found it beautiful, but at that moment, it was just a pain in my ass.

The humidity made my short hair damp and scratchy. It clung to the curve of my neck. I longed to brush it away, but a movement like that would be a death sentence.

The luminescent purple faded away to a tranquil pink. I realized I was holding my breath.

Slowly, so slowly, I crept closer to the wide trunk of the sorvuc. I had already made an incision in its trunk. That’s what pissed it off in the first place.

A necessary risk, but I only needed a few more drops of the thick scarlet fluid that seeped from the incision. The right person would pay a small fortune for its sap—or is it blood? Hell if I know.

As I slid my vial into place, ready to collect the liquid the sale of which would keep me comfortable for months, shouts erupted from somewhere nearby.

Damn it.

The sorvuc shrieked, its neural fibers flaring purple once again. It pivoted, razor-sharp leaves dangerously close to me. I rolled away, camouflaging my own movements in its rustling.

The hulking creature lumbered off in the direction the shouts came from—sort of. Its neural fibers must have picked up the sound vibrations, but with so many trees, it would have been difficult for the creature to determine the exact direction.

It’s a good thing sorvuc had those fibers. They were as deaf as, well, a tree—at least, the sort of trees our ancestors brought over on their generation ship. But those trees sure as hell didn’t fling poison or walk.

Walking plants were something the dense forest of Ankau had in excess. Even so, I’d take a hostile tree giant over people any day. At least they left me in peace.

Another round of shouts echoed through the trees. I clenched my teeth.

Speaking of peace.

I moved quickly and quietly through the dense forest, mindful not to disturb any of the thick vines that crisscrossed the forest floor. It was difficult to tell which ones were looking for a snack.

I spied a small herd of luurizi grazing between the roots of the docile Lenaus trees.

Their coats of lilac, sage, and pearl shimmered when they caught the mottled light bleeding through the canopy. Their silvery horns shone like jewels. It was easy to forget how deadly they were.

I was sure they could smell me.

Ordinarily, they would attack the moment they sensed an intruder. But this particular herd had become accustomed to my scent after so many years. It was an uneasy truce, but I still knew better than to take my eye off them.

Another bout of shouting brought me back to the present. It was louder this time. And stupider.

Clearly, whoever it was had a death wish, which was fine. I’d just prefer to be farther away when it happened.

The trees gave way to a small clearing. Two women, who I can only assume are the shouting morons, stood inches away from each other, their faces red with anger. They didn’t notice my intrusion.

“You’re not even trying anymore!” One woman, blonde and petite, hissed at the other. Her voice was tight, like she was trying to stay in control.

Sharp would have been the only way to describe her—sharp cheekbones, sharp chin, and sharp shoulders. Even her mouth was a sharp slash across her face.

I winced at her words, a headache throbbing at my temples. I almost wished something would come along and kill them.

“What more do you want me to do?” The other woman, dark-haired and softer than the other, answered wearily. “If I had known you were going to bring this up, I never would have agreed to meet you!”

Though they were different in coloring, they had the same nose and face shape. I guessed they were sisters—not that I cared.

“What other reason would there be to meet up?” the blonde snapped, her gray-green eyes narrowing. “What else do we have anymore?”

There was more poison in those words than there was in a fully grown sorvuc.

“I hate to interrupt,” I said, startling both women.

I wanted to sound as annoyed as I felt, but my voice was brittle and raspy with disuse. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had spoken aloud.

“But you really should shut up,” I continued.

The blonde pivoted to face me. I was at least a head taller than her, but she somehow seemed bigger than she actually was. And the glare on her face would have made a narrisiri hesitate.

“This is none of your business,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Nope, it isn’t. I don’t want to know about it. I don’t care about it. But you really should find somewhere else to finish your screaming match,” I replied.

“Do you think we’re idiots? We have a howler with us,” the blonde smugly fished a small black device from her pocket.

I hated those damn things. They emitted a high-pitched sound above the threshold of human hearing. It was meant to repel the creatures that stalked the forest, but I always thought it was a scam.

First of all, the people living in the cities and towns hardly knew anything about the creatures that lived out here in the forest. Second, how would anyone know for a fact that a howler was working? No one could hear it.

“Yes, I do think you’re idiots if you think that carrying a howler into the middle of aramirion territory during nesting season is a good idea,” I snapped, fighting the urge to give the blonde a smug smile. “If they can hear that thing, you’re screwed.”

The dark-haired woman paled as she put her hand on the blonde’s shoulder. The blonde stiffened at her touch.

“Leena, is that true?” the dark-haired woman whispered. Her eyes, the same color as the blonde’s, nervously scanned the surrounding forest.

“How the hell would I know, Mariella? You’re the one who moved all the way out to the middle of freaking nowhere!” the blonde, Leena, grumbled.

I turned to leave. Obviously, they had no intention of listening to me. Perhaps the dark-haired one, Mariella, might have seen reason, but Leena had some sort of chip on her shoulder—a chip the size of a damn ravine.

Fine. Whatever. They were adults.

I’d tried my best to warn them. It’s not my fault if they chose not to listen to me.

What would I know, right? I’ve only been living out here for fifteen years. They would come to their senses and leave, or they would keep at it until one beast or another silenced them.

Either way, I got my forest and my silence back.

I could still feel their flurries of emotion as I marched through the undergrowth. If I was going to find another sorvuc to fill my vial, I needed to concentrate, but I couldn’t do that with the feelings of two idiots in my head. I should turn back, try even harder to get them to leave.

A horrible screech unlike anything I had ever heard tore through the air. The sheer force of it drove me to my knees.

I tried to protect my ears with my hands, but it was useless. My vision blurred, stars danced behind my eyelids. I could practically feel my brain thrashing, desperate to escape that terrible sound.

Those idiots either did something to their howler, or the damn thing was malfunctioning. That had to be it.

As soon as I could get back on my feet, I staggered back to the clearing where I’d left the arguing pair. I would tear their stupid howler apart with my bare hands if I had to—anything to stop the noise.

“What the hell did you do?” I yelled.

Again, they didn’t notice me when I entered the clearing, but, this time, they weren’t distracted by an argument.

They stood side by side, looking up at the sky. Their faces were pale and their mouths were open in terror and confusion. I followed their gaze.

A jagged scar of pitch marred the once pristine stretch of endless blue.

The sky, my sky, had been torn open.

There was a beat of silence as if the whole planet had drawn in a collective breath of shock.

Then the forest erupted into chaos.

Click here to keep reading Vrehx!

About the Author

I love old movies – To Catch a Thief, Notorious, All About Eve — and anything with Katherine Hepburn in it. Clever, elegant people doing clever, elegant things.

I’m a hopeless romantic.

And I love science fiction and the promise of space.

So it makes perfect sense to me to try to merge all of those loves into a new science fiction world, where dashing heroes and lovely ladies have adventures, get into trouble, and find their true love in the stars!

Copyright © 2019 by Elin Wyn

All rights reserved. These books or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.