“And suppose I’m not?”
“You will be,” she said stubbornly.
“When we get back to Reka 5, you owe me a drink for convincing me to come along.”
“Done. Drinks on me when we get back.”
The connection ended, and Maya focused on Commander Chaos again, trying her best not to panic as they drifted through the great unknown.
Ranek
Ranek gave the strap one last tug before stepping back to admire his handiwork.
This was the last crate he’d be able to bring with him on this run, but he’d made a note in his comm unit of all the items still up for grabs at this particular mining station. He’d be back for them in the near future, maybe when he got his hands on a larger ship.
He straightened, rolling his shoulders to ease the ache as a gust of cold wind blew in from between the mountains. The air on this part of Fortuna II carried a metallic tang that clung to his throat, a reminder that the planet had once been a busy Dominion mining hub. It had been abandoned decades ago and was now used mostly as a pirate hideout.
But that was only because most people didn’t know that when the Dominion had evacuated the planet, they’d left everything behind. And he meant everything. This included technology that at the time had been new and state-of-the-art, though by now most of it was obsolete. But certain things hadn’t changed much in the last few decades and could still fetch a good price on the market. And others had changed so much now that the old tech was considered collectible.
It had been the crew of theNew Horizonthat had told him about the planet and its abandoned riches. Two of the members had been stuck on the planet a while ago, running from pirates through the underground mines. They’d even picked up a small but ferocious creature they’d named Nibbles.
Not much more than a round ball of fur with big ears and massive teeth, Nibbles, a tunnel verlak, guarded the crew loyally. But the creature also tended to chew up the ship, with a special preference for wires. It also ate more than a growing Tallean male, because its adult form was a huge, terrifying predator.
Ranek wasn’t here for the creatures; he was here for loot.
And he was even willing to visit an abandoned mining planet to get it, which was saying a lot for someone who’d just made it to the outer planets after escaping nearly ten years of Dominion lockup. He’d spent enough time inside mines to last his entire life.
But Fortuna II was a far cry from an inner Dominion mining planet. For one thing, nature had reclaimed much of the planet since the Dominion had left. And Ranek was motivated by the promise of credits, something he desperately needed to kick-start his new life.
Freedom still felt strange. The air tasted too fresh, and the lack of chains around his ankles was a constant reminder that he was no longer caged. After nearly a decade locked away in various Dominion prisons, every step of his booted feet on the ground felt surreal.
A few short months ago, he would’ve never imagined himself here in the outer planets, planning his own future. It felt like he’d stepped into someone else’s life.
He leaned against the shuttle that had taken him from a space station just outside of Tal, through the worst of Dominion patrol space, and out into the freedom of the outer planets. He dug his comm unit out of his pocket, brought up the map the crew of the New Horizon had given him, and zoomed in on his location.
There was a large building just to the east. He wasn’t sure what type of building it was exactly, but the crew had labeled it as a possible research facility. And that meant there may be medical supplies. Medicines were light and took up little space; they also fetched a good price even when they were expired. If he was lucky, the facility wouldn’t even be occupied by pirates.
He glanced up at the early evening sky. If he hurried, he’d make it there before sundown. This part of the planet became very dangerous at night. Tens of thousands of giant flying reptilians rose from their caves at night to feed. And each one had the natural weaponry to tear him limb from limb.
A bright streak in the sky caught his attention. At first, he thought it was a ship, but as it drew closer, he realized it was much too small. He squinted, cursing the fact that years of being in dark, close quarters had damaged his eyes.
It was already low to the ground when he realized it was an escape pod.
Who in the Stars could that be? Out here? Probably a pirate.
But Ckzarr and Roxy from theNew Horizonhad crash-landed on this planet in an escape pod because pirates had set a trap for them. What if this was another victim?
He looked at the sky again, just in time to see several large, winged forms shadowed against the setting sun. Fuck! The flying predators had come out early today. Well, in that case, he’d better get moving and get there before the pirates—or worse, the flying creatures—did.
Chapter 2
Maya
The pod door opened with a click and a hiss, followed by the universe’s worst metal-on-metal grinding sound. The pod’s stale air rushed out, and moist, sulfur-tinged swamp gas rushed in. Maya coughed and blinked against the dim light filtering through the mist.
The trip had taken far longer than she’d expected. Much longer. The delivery agent had promised the pod would land on the nearest habitable planet, and they’d been just outside New Rhea when the attack happened, so why had it taken so long that the pod had started warning of low oxygen?
And yes, she’d totally panicked when that had happened, clawing at the console, desperate to get a call out to somebody, anybody. Suffocating in a metal tin can in the middle of space was not the way she planned on going out. But apparently moving around had been the wrong thing to do, because it used up the oxygen even faster, and the pod had taken her survival into its own hands and gassed them. She’d only woken moments before the final impact.
