“Adrenaline junkie?”
“No. I don’t seek excitement and danger to enhance my life experiences.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“Someone has to.”
“You have a hero complex, don’t you?”
“No.”
“A death wish?”
He hesitated a little before answering. “I’m not in a family unit, nor do I have many close associations to other cyborgs. I’m expendable.”
It caused her chest to ache. He really believed that. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. Had anyone ever loved Stag? She doubted it.
“I’d grieve you, so don’t get yourself killed.”
He pulled his hand away. “Those are polite words but spare them for someone else.”
“Now you’re breaking my heart.” She turned on the bed, inching closer to him. “We’ve been intimate. I don’t hate you, Stag. Sure, sometimes I’d like to strangle you. You’re tough to get close to but you’re a good man. I wouldn’t kill you.” She grinned. “Just a little choking would be involved if you really pissed me off, but I’d stop before I really hurt you.”
“Sexual intimacy means nothing.”
Again, his words stung. “Ouch. Well, I’m not you. It meant something to me. I can’t compartmentalize my body from my feelings. Sorry. You die, I’m going to cry. Deal with that.”
That seemed to either irritate him or make him uncomfortable. “Go to sleep.”
She frowned. “I thought you wanted me to―”
“No,” he cut her off. “This ends now.”
She studied his handsome face and the way he looked at her. “You’re starting to feel things for me, aren’t you? Afraid?”
He glared.
“I’ll take that for a yes.”
“You don’t frighten me, Earther.”
“Right. And stop calling me that. I think you’ve spent a lifetime, however long that is, keeping everyone distanced. You admitted you don’t have many friends and spend all your time on this ship. You don’t want anyone to care too much about you because then you might feel something back. You make me sad, Stag.”
“Go to sleep.”
“Do you plan to tie me up again?”
“You’re no threat. Just stay near the wall and don’t touch me.”
The rejection hurt. So did the fact that he wasn’t ever going to let her get close to him again, emotionally or physically. Part of her wished she could hate him, but she wouldn’t have that ache in her chest if that were possible. Stag might be prickly and remote, but she’d seen traits in him that had softened her heart toward him.
“Fine.”
“I no longer wish to talk to you.” He stood. “I need to check on something.”
She watched him leave. It was more like fleeing.
She cursed, lay down, and scooted all the way over against the wall. Tears filled her eyes and she let them flow.
Maybe she’d allowed herself to feel for him only because she’d lost everything else in her life.
Chapter Eleven
Stag wiped sealing gel off his hands, staring at Kelis. “Well?”
The cyborg checked the sensors and nodded. “Pressure seems to be holding. We’ll know for certain after the engines start.”
“I wonder what else can go wrong?” Hellion closed one of the electronic ports and sighed. “This has to be the worst mission we’ve been on.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Kelis kept his focus on the pad he held. “Remember that colony ship we found adrift? I still have nightmares about that.”
Stag grimaced. “I try to forget.”
“What are we talking about?” Maze entered the engine room.
“The ship where the colonists went nuts and slaughtered each other,” Hellion answered. “We had to clean up bodies for days so we could haul it back to Garden for them to salvage.”
“I thought we decided to never bring that up again.” Maze handed out water and an power bar to each man. “Drink and eat. You’ve been down here for six hours without taking a break. What reminded you of that ship?”
“Hellion believes this has to be our worst mission.” Kelis put away the pad and opened the energy bar, taking a bite. “I disagree. We were able to blow up the Pride, didn’t have to scrape up decaying bodies, or haul that thing back to Garden. We did escape the dead zone. This flooding mess wasn’t as bad as body removal and it didn’t involve wearing suits to avoid a putrid smell.”
Stag thought of Nala as he ate the bar and drank his water. She’d loved the Pride. He wondered what she’d have thought of having her freighter salvaged for building supplies on Garden, rather than being blown up. He was glad he never had to find out. Her crew and father had died aboard. It was probably best that she never had any kind of reminder of that once she reached the planet.
“Let’s hope nothing else goes wrong.” Hellion took a seat on the case containing all the damaged wiring he’d had to replace.
“Did you feed our guest?” Stag addressed Maze.
“Of course. She claimed you’ve been avoiding her.”
“I’ve spent most of my time down here sorting this mess.” He hated the way he felt he needed to defend his actions as the males all gave him questioning looks. “The line ruptured and flooded out this section. I wanted to personally be on hand for all the repairs.”
“Every wire, circuit, and filter had to be switched out for new ones,” Hellion grumbled. “I found damage in all the panels. I also replaced the seals so they won’t leak if this ever happens again. Stag and I have practically had to live here.”
“Exactly,” Stag said, feeling grateful the male took his side. “The engine fluid caused erosion, since the pumps were slow to drain out the section. I fixed those too.”
“I told you I could help out more.”
Stag hid his irritation with Kelis. “Your skills were better used in Control monitoring for any signs of the Markus Models searching for us.”
“Maze could have monitored the sensors since shuttle repair isn’t his forte. We’re moving slow enough for their sensors to misread us.”
“Perhaps they adjusted their sensors. We can’t take that chance. It’s logical for them to assume we suffered severe damage at a minimum if we escaped dead space after they set those bombs. We’d be slow moving or have to find a place to hole up to do repairs. I want someone in charge of Control who is skilled with battle tactics if needed.” Stag glanced at the medic. “We’re also in pirate territory. You might hesitate to fire on them, since they’re known to take female captives. You’d feel sorry for any innocents aboard their ships. No offense, but I wouldn’t put you in that position.”
“None taken.” Maze smiled. “I never want to take your seat, Stag. I don’t want to make those difficult decisions.”
A beep sounded and Stag turned on coms. “Status?”
“Nothing to report but you wanted an update every two hours,” Veller stated. “We aren’t picking up any traffic in this system.”
“You have excellent timing. Repairs are finished. Start engine two, but baby it. Compensate for the difference with thrusters.” Stag motioned the men in the room to move toward the door to a safe spot in case any of the seals blew. “We may as well test them now while we’re in communication.”
A loud hum began and Stag relaxed within minutes when nothing went wrong. He smiled. “Let’s go home, Veller. I’m on my way to you.”
He nodded at his men and left fast, done with the conversation. He knew he’d avoided Nala and didn’t need his crew giving him any crap about it. They wouldn’t understand how unsettling his last conversation with her had been.
He stopped in one of the crew quarters quickly and used the cleansing unit, then borrowed an outfit from Hellion’s storage.
He reached Control five minutes later. Veller stood and moved out of his seat. Stag dropped into his chair, placing his palm over the pad. The screen in front of him showed open space.
Then th
e sensors almost instantly detected six ships.
Stag wanted to punch something. “Where the hell did all of them come from?”
“Shit!” Veller moved fast, taking the weapons station. “Pirates.”
“I’m reading the radiation signatures too.” Stag opened coms ship-wide to his crew. “Get to Control now.”
“There shouldn’t be so many.” Veller sounded stunned. “Where did they come from so fast? Were they hiding behind the dead planets?”
“It appears so.” Stag evaluated the other ships, their placement, and put the Varnish on high alert when the other ships began to head in their direction. Red lights flashed at the back of the room. “They laid in wait for a ship to come and now are engaging. It seems we’re in for a fight.”
“We’re under orders to avoid conflict if possible,” Veller reminded him. “We should attempt to outrun them.”
“The seals are still hardening. We could lose engine two if we put that much pressure on that new fluid line. We can’t risk it going down and losing power to a main thruster.” Stag changed course. “There are only two ships in this direction. Target them as soon as we’re in range. We just need to stay ahead of the group until it’s safe to full burn.” He mentally calculated how much time it would take. “We have to keep out of their weapon range for five hours.”
Veller grumbled something but it wasn’t loud enough to hear.
“What was that?”
Veller twisted to face him. “We could still outrun them if engine two goes down.”
“We could,” Stag agreed. “But if we lose engine one, we’d come to a full stop and lose all power, including two weapons. I’m not willing to take that risk.”
“I don’t foresee that happening.”
“Did you foresee engine two going down five days ago? I’m certain the stress fractures were caused by our maneuvers out of the dead zone. We scanned but they didn’t show until the leaks happened. The same could happen with engine one.”
Veller’s mouth compressed into a tight line and he faced his station. “Understood.”
Stag regretted snapping at him. They were all under stress, wanted to return to Garden, and being slowed down by repairs always frustrated his crew. He adjusted his tone to a calmer, more neutral one.
“Part of my duty is to take everything into account. We’re heavily outnumbered and now is not the time to take any unnecessary risks. It’s best to be cautious. We’ll damage the two ships, keep ahead of the four trailing us, and outrun them when we’re certain the fixed fluid line can hold the pressure going through it.”
Veller glanced at him and nodded. “You’re right.”
The doors to Control opened and Hellion, Kelis, and Maze entered. Maze spoke first. “Parqel and Yammer are sleeping. Should I wake them?”
“No.” Stag changed course again. “Take stations. Maze, you’re not needed here. I want you back in the engine room watching those new seals. Alert us if they begin to leak.”
“Understood.” Maze spun around and left.
Kelis grunted. “The pirates seem organized.”
“They do,” Hellion agreed. “It’s like they’re communicating with each other and working as a team.”
Another blip showed on sensors. Stag fisted his hand. “There are seven of them now. They are attempting to surround us.”
“We should inform the Star.” Veller glanced at him. “It could be a decoy to lead them from us. Pirates would love to engage a vessel that large.”
“I spoke to Flint four days ago. One of our warning sensors went off in the Ovis System. They went to check out what is there.”
“That puts them too far from us.”
“Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Hellion.” Stag scowled. “We’ll still take out the two ships ahead of us and clear a path. They can trail us. We’re fast enough to stay ahead of them. Otherwise, we’ll turn and take them out one by one. We are better at targeting.”
“We have important cargo onboard and have suffered some damage. A battle isn’t in our best interest.”
Stag glared at Veller, getting irritated with his constant opinions. “I’m in charge. Shut up or leave Control. I refuse to argue with you.”
Veller appeared stunned.
Stag hated being questioned as captain but it was no excuse for snapping at his crew. He cleared his throat. “We’ll target the ones in front of us and leave a wide spread debris field in our wake. It will slow the other pirates while we increase speed, get out of sensor range, and change course.” He dropped his gaze to his pad. “Then we’ll head home. They’ll lose us and won’t be able to communicate our location to others.” It would mean he had a few more days before he could hand Nala over to the council on Garden.
“Agreed but I think we should attempt to speed past them without firing. They are slower than we are.” Veller faced forward. “They’re usually bad at targeting us.”
“I’m not willing to chance it in case they get lucky. We target the two ships coming at us before they get too close to fire upon us. Stow your suggestions, Veller. Enough.”
Stag fumed. He understood Veller believed it was his duty to point out other solutions to any problems they faced, but he currently wasn’t in the mood for it. He hadn’t slept much in the past five days, his mind on Nala far too often.
* * * * *
Nala sat up on the bed when she heard a slight rumble. A few seconds later, another one followed. She climbed out of bed, walked to the panel next to the door, and pressed her hand on it. “Maze? Is this connection still active?”
Seconds passed before the medic answered. “I never revoked it. Is something wrong, Nala?”
“What’s that sound I just heard?”
“Weapons fire.”
“We’re being attacked?” Dread hit fast and hard. “The skin droids?”
“Pirates.”
She flinched. “Shit.”
“Do not worry.” His voice sounded calm enough. “We’ve had to deal with plenty of pirates over the years. We’ve never suffered any losses.”
“Why not just outrun them? That’s what we always did on the Pride.”
“We completed engine two repairs but the seals are new.”
She understood what that meant. “We can’t full burn. The pressure might blow them out until they have time to fully set.”
“Yes. I’m in engine room two at this moment watching them.”
“Any leaks?”
“None yet.”
“Where is Stag? At the helm?”
“Of course.”
She hung her head, knowing that had been a stupid question, but she hadn’t seen him for more than a few minutes in quite a while. He would come in to get a fresh uniform, then leave. She’d lost track of the days. “Are we going to be okay? I mean, are we in danger?”
“From pirates? No. It’s more of an annoyance.”
A rumble sounded and she lifted her head, staring around the small quarters. “Did we just fire again?”
“Yes. I’m monitoring Control. One pirate ship has been completely disabled and another damaged. We will fire on it again as we pass.”
“Pass?”
“Stag’s plan is to fire upon the two in our path and allow the rest to trail us until we can full burn safely. That should be in about five hours. Relax, Nala. Stress is bad for you and we have this situation in hand.”
Another rumble sounded. “How many more ships are out there?”
He paused. “Six now, minus the two we’ve disabled.”
Eight pirate ships? She felt fear, despite what Maze told her. “They’re attempting to swarm us?”
“I’m not familiar with that term.”
“Can you connect me to Stag? I need to talk to him.”
He hesitated.
“Damn it, Maze!” Her temper flared. “I get reports regularly from other ships that are attacked by pirates. Mass attacks are something they’ve been doing lately. Chances are, that’s what’s about to happen
. If that’s the case, a hell of a lot more of them are going to show up. They even connect their ships together so on sensors it reads as one large ship, then they undock and spread apart. They’ll attempt to net us in and then open fire once we’re surrounded. Get it? Connect me with Stag.”
“We had a ship witness that behavior once. Pirates attacked a carrier. It was thought to be a singular occurrence.”
“It used to be, but not anymore. Connect me to Stag.”
“I’ll give him the information you’ve shared.”
“I want to talk to him. I know what to do.”
“He will contact you if he wants your input. Maze out.”
“Don’t disconnect!” she demanded. Seconds ticked by. “Maze?”
She cursed, jerking her hand off the panel. He’d cut her off. “Goddamn cyborgs! They think they’re so smart.” She paced the floor, hoping Stag would com her. Minutes passed by and she realized he wouldn’t. She stepped over to the door and placed her palm on the panel. “Maze? Answer.”
“I’m busy, Nala.”
She felt relief that he didn’t block her. “Listen to me. Tell Stag he has to risk blowing the new seals. There’ve been at least ten freighters who have been attacked in a swarm pattern over the past few months. We’re talking twenty-plus pirate ships that show up. Do you hear me? They’re transmitting our location to all the pirates in surrounding areas and they will come at us from all sides if they’re able to! We have to get off their sensors and change course as fast as possible. Those bastards are working together now.”
“I’ll relay the message. Maze out.”
She fumed when he cut her off again.
Nala continued to pace, hoping Stag would take her advice. Otherwise, they might be in a world of shit.
Stag ended his conversation with Maze and grimly read the sensors. Two more blips showed up on long-range. Seconds later, another ship registered. It seemed Nala knew what she was talking about. He leaned back in his chair. “Prepare to full burn.”
Veller turned in his seat, his mouth opening.
“Don’t say a word. New information has come to light. We need to get out of this sector now. We’re being boxed in and more pirates are on their way to us. They plan a full-scale attack.” He opened up the charts of the sectors around them, scanning for a place to disappear. A belt of asteroids caught his attention. He adjusted course to the sector next it and opened coms to Maze. “Watch those seals closely.” He cut coms and did an override to Yammer’s quarters, ordering the male to get out of bed and rush to engine one to watch for any problems.