“Rigellus is gone, and he’s not coming back. You each have a decision to make that will determine your futures. You have a choice. Take the first option, and I will drop you off at the next outpost with enough credits to purchase transport to whichever world you like, no questions asked.”
He glanced down the line, noticing varied reactions among the men. One of the more attractive ones, the one with epaulets at his shoulders, looked up. “What happened to our captain?”
“He paid for his crimes.”
Rigellus’s crewman sputtered, then looked down, cowed.
The big man on the end shifted, rubbing a hand over his bald head. “What’s option two?”
“You join my crew. We can always use men who can handle themselves in a fight.” Again turning his gaze down the line, he laid out his expectations. “You’ll have a place to live and will be well fed. In exchange, I expect you to follow orders, and I will except nothing less than absolute loyalty.”
Epaulets spoke out in a shaky voice. “You expect us to believe you’re going to let us all go? You just admitted to killing our captain. How do we know you’re not going to toss us out the airlock or shoot us all in the back of the head?”
Lyk admired the crewman’s backbone. “There’s no need to waste more lives.”
“Aren’t you afraid we’re going to talk?”
Shrugging, Lyk responded. “Talk to whom? The men Rigellus bribed? You don’t think there aren’t other greedy men waiting to take Rigellus’s place?”
“Some people still care about justice!” It was clear Epaulets didn’t appreciate Lyk’s version of justice.
The bald crewman stood, coming up behind Epaulets. Addressing Lyk, his tone was brisk. “I wanna join up. And to prove my loyalty, I’m more than willing to solve your little problem.”
Epaulets turned around, his face going pale. “You… you don’t…” Turning back to Lyk, Rigellus’s crewman had a change of heart. “There’s no problem. Drop me off at the outpost. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
Lyk nodded. “Who else wants to be dropped at the outpost?”
Several hands rose. The ones that didn’t belonged to Burns and the other two members of the security detail.
“Good. Sit tight, and we’ll inform you when we reach the outpost.” He motioned to the security detail. “You three, come with me.”
Lyk exited the mess, followed by the crewmen, with Celdrake bringing up the rear. He led them to the quarters earmarked fornew crewmembers. It was simple, small, and completely wired for recording. He would set the ship’s intel officer on observation duty for the next couple weeks. Turncoats might promise loyalty, but Lyk wanted to insure it as much as he could.
“These are your bunks. You’ll find a selection of clothing in the wardrobe. I suggest you change out of those bright colors. They won’t be much good for your new career as pirates.”
The men chuckled and filed into their quarters. “Stay put. I’ll send the sergeant along to give you your assignments soon.”
Lyk departed, Celdrake on his heels.
“That went well, considering,” the cyborg said. “Although one thing was surprising. I’m used to you letting some of our victims join up, but this time, you offered Rigellus’s crew credits to find transport. Why not just dump them and let them fend for themselves?”
“No need to engender any more resentment than we already have. They’ve just lost their nice cushy jobs on Rigellus’s ship. They’ll be stranded on an out-of-the-way planetoid with no way to get back to their homes. Angry men talk.”
“You’re worried about them telling the authorities? But you just said—”
“I’m aware of what I just said. The fact remains, if the authorities hear too many mouths all clamoring for the same thing, they might decide looking us up is worth their time. So we give them some credits and let them slink off home, defeated but not desperate.”
“Paying transport for so many is going to cost a pretty penny.” Celdrake hated to part with any of his money. Lyk teased him about still having the first credit he ever earned. Celdrake told him he was wrong. It was the first credit he’d ever stolen.
“We can more than afford it. Offloading even one of the luxury items we took off Rigellus’s ship will more than pay for the expense.”
Celdrake was still grumbling, and Lyk couldn’t help but smile. He came to a stop outside the officer’s lounge. Putting a hand on the cyborg’s shoulder, he gave him a task to keep him occupied. “Find Jinx and get to work putting together a catalogue of buyers. I want bids on the merchandise before we make the Outer Rim.”
Celdrake nodded and started off down the corridor. Lyk turned to the door that led to the officers’ mess. Before opening the door, he closed his eyes, reaching out with his Vartik powers to the female behind the door.
He sensed two minds, but it was easy to tell which one belonged to Allandria. With no difficulty, he slipped inside, tuning into her thoughts.
I can’t remember when I’ve been this full, she was thinking, images of the treats she’d eaten scrolling through her brain like a three-dimensional movie. Lyk held back his laughter. He was glad they’d raided the cabinets and eaten their fill.
