Chapter 1
Maya
Maya pressed her back against the curved wall of the emergency escape pod, arms wrapped around the squirming dragus pup. Commander Chaos gave a pitiful whimper, then tucked his snout under her chin. His gray, brown, and white mottled fur was warm against her skin, a reminder that she wasn’t entirely alone in this metal coffin drifting through space.
Something hit the pod, making it shake violently, and the lights blinked on and off. The dragus pup in her arms started to freak out, pawing at her shoulder with his recently trimmed claws.
“Damn it! Ow!” she cursed. Even with its claws dulled, that still hurt like a bitch and was going to leave a mark.
“Hey, hey, stop it, Chaos. It’s okay,” she said in the calmest voice she could muster. The last thing she needed was a panicking Commander Chaos trying to tear his way out of the pod and sacrificing them both to the dead of space. He’d earned his name for a reason. “I know you’re scared, buddy,” she continued. “I am too. But we can’t have you flailing around in zero G.”
Maya’s voice calmed the little beast, or maybe it was her rubbing behind his ear, so she kept talking and petting.
As she did, she replayed the attack she’d just survived in fragments, remembering the flashing lights and the smell of burnt electronics. Faith’s hand had been gripping hers when Maya was pulled away from her friend by the captain and stuffed into an escape pod. Then the pod door was slamming shut and sealing her in.
Maya and Faith had been on their way to New Rhea to deliver Commander Chaos to the Tallean merchant who had invested heavily in their breeding venture when the delivery vessel they’d contracted to make the trip was attacked by pirates. The assholes had torn through the ship with weapons that left no chance for negotiation, and the captain had shoved Maya and her four-legged charge into a pod and sent her off before she could even protest.
Now Maya was trapped in a pod that refused to obey her commands. They had drilled for this exact scenario. She was supposed to be able to set coordinates within range, to guide herself toward safety, and most importantly of all, send out communications. But the pod had ignored every input.
With Commander Chaos calm again, she jabbed at the console one more time for good luck. Still nothing. The pod simply refused to respond.
Feeling useless and a little crazy, she pounded on the screen. “Work, you useless piece of shit!”
The pod reacted by turning off all the lights, leaving her in the dark.
Fuck.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean it. You’re not a piece of shit,” Maya wailed like the pod could understand her.
After a long moment where Maya considered letting Commander Chaos rip the obstinate pod to shreds, Faith’s voice crackled through the speaker. “Maya? You there?” It was tinny and faint, but most definitely Faith. Relief swept through her.
“Faith? Oh, thank the Stars! I’m here. I’m here.”
“We’ve been trying to reach you! Why didn’t you pick up sooner? We thought maybe you were hurt.” Her usually calm friend sounded like she had been through the wringer. “I tried to look for Commander Chaos, but I couldn’t—”
Recognizing his name, Commander Chaos barked, the sound ear-piercingly sharp in the tiny space.
“Commander Chaos!” Faith’s relief was palpable through the speakers. “You have him.”
“I do. The captain shoved us in together.”
“Oh, he said he didn’t know where you were. But things were such a mess. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m not sure how long that will last,” Maya said. “I don’t think my pod’s working right. The screen is frozen, and none of the buttons do anything. I don’t have lights right now, and I’m not even sure if the life support is working.”
Another voice came through the speaker, much lower and masculine, and speaking the guttural Tallean language. One of the hired delivery crew had made it into a pod with Faith. It must be cramped in there with two. Maya’s in-ear translator kicked in immediately.
“We can track your pod through ours. The life support is still working, but it shows that no input has been made.”
“Oh, trust me, input has been made. I tried several times, but this piece of shit won’t respond.” She smashed her hand on the screen a few more times. “Does it show this? Or this?”
“No. It shows nothing. But do not worry, female. The pirates are still with the ship and not following, so you are safe. Your pod will locate the nearest habitable planet. We’re tracking you. Stay in the pod if you can when you land. If you can’t, stay calm and find shelter close by. We’ll send help. There is emergency drinking water and food under the seat.”
Maya registered the words, but they felt hollow, like they were generic instructions that couldn’t possibly pertain to her current precarious situation. Nothing about this was routine, and those words sounded routine. But what else was there to do?
She took a deep breath and centered herself. “Okay. Food and water under the seat. Stay in or find shelter close to the pod when it lands. Got it.” She blew out a breath.
“You’ll be fine, I know it,” Faith said.
