Faith eyed Ranek, and Maya could see the gears turning in her friend’s head. Maya knew that look. She didn’t trust him and was going to grill the rugged-looking Tallean male for information.
“Thank you for rescuing Maya and bringing her somewhere safe. But who are you?” Faith demanded. “What are you doing on an abandoned mining planet known as a pirate hideout? And why should I trust you with her?”
Ah, Maya could always trust in Faith and her brutal honesty. It was refreshing. It might come off as lacking diplomacy on Earth,but it worked well on Reka 5 since Talleans were usually more forthright anyway.
Amusement lit up Ranek’s face. “I’m Ranek. And I’m on Fortuna II to look for old technology and other useful items to sell.”
Faith frowned. “You don’t look like a merchant.”
She was right. Tallean merchants like the one Commander Chaos was destined for usually dressed quite gaudily. Ranek did not fit the bill.
Ranek spread his hands, palms up. “I do what I can to make credits.”
“Okay. So a mercenary then.” Her eyes narrowed at him.
He shrugged. “That depends on how much you’re paying.”
Faith eyed Maya up and down, and Maya was suddenly very aware that she was wearing Ranek’s shirt. And it was a very thin, almost see-through one too. And with her type of figure, it was obvious that she didn’t have a bra underneath.
Shit. Even if Faith didn’t grill her about it right now, she would when she got back.
It didn’t help that Ranek was topless, his broad shoulders, well-formed pecs, and washboard abs on full display. The two of them looked like they’d been getting a little too comfy. Luckily, Ranek had put his pants back on before they’d started the comm.
“Yip! Yip!” Commander Chaos to the rescue!
Ranek bent and picked up the pup, and Commander Chaos let him. It seemed his trust was easily bought with a single travel ration bar. “I will return this one too. Even though I am very fond of him.”
He was? Even after he chewed on his ankle? The words bought him some brownie points with Faith.
“Fine,” Faith finally said. “I entrust you with my friend. But know that I have you on record, and if she doesn’t show up, I’m going to send people after you.”
Amusement lit up Ranek’s face.
But something was niggling at the corner of Maya’s mind.
“What happened to the captain?’ she asked, as the pieces started to form in her head.
Faith looked a little taken aback at the question, but answered. “He’s fine. I ended up getting picked up by Gallus’s ships.”
Gallus was the merchant whom Commander Chaos was supposed to go to. A merchant of rare gems, he’d fallen for a human woman years ago. He and Miranda even had a little boy, conceived after a ton of fertility treatments to bridge the tiny gap in their species. The toddler had a perfect mix of human and Tallean features and was constantly getting into trouble.
“I’m still at Gallus’s.” Faith turned her camera to show the ornate room in which she sat. “Since I thought we lost Commander Chaos, we’re trying to arrange for Grant to come by with Butterball and Princess Peach instead.”
Butterball and Princess Peach were Commander Chaos’s sisters. Well, technically, they were from the same clutch because dragus, despite looking and acting quite mammalian, laid eggs like most animals native to Reka 5. It had been quite a shock at first. It didn’t change the genetic part of it, and had even made them easier to breed.
But unlike egg-layers of Earth that relied on volume of offspring, Dragus only laid two to three, sometimes four eggs each time the females went into heat, depending on how many resources were available. The breeding pairs at Dragus R Us were so well fed that they often laid three to four eggs and the females went into heat twice a year instead of once.
Butterball was totally food motivated, and Princess Peach was a total lap dragus.
Truth be told, either of them was probably a better fit for Gallus and Miranda personality-wise, but they’d come in looking for a dragus that could one day double as protection. As Commander Chaos had demonstrated already today, he had a protective streak a mile wide, even when it wasn’t needed.
“And the captain?”
“Oh, right. The captain. He was picked up by someone else and returned to his ship. The pirates left after looting it.”
The look Maya exchanged with Ranek wasn’t missed by Faith’s keen eyes.
“What is it?” she asked. “Spit it out.”
