Pirates of the Dark Nebula (Hearts in Orbit Book 2) Read online

  Humans? She snorted. Not so much.

  Sometimes there was even an advantage to having a Blarmling rumbling through your mind. It had been Kirtl who’d set her on the right track to solving her latest roadblock.

  Kirtl. The little scamp always managed to bring a smile to Luna’s lips. No thought was too embarrassing for the little guy to question. But he was family.

  A little over one year old, yet an adult by that planet’s standards, Kirtl had been adopted by her brother-in-law Rigel because of a process called first nurture, a Blarmish custom Luna still didn’t fully understand. Still, by some quirk of the universe, the little Blarmling was lawfully her nephew.

  Overall, Blarmlings were learning decorum around humans, but dealing with Kirtl could be an ordeal. He still tended to be a little too honest and forthright.

  Of course, it was always funnier when his honesty was directed at someone else.

  After rummaging around in her mind for days, bringing out numerous embarrassing thoughts, he’d suddenly asked, “Do you think chromodynamics would fill in the holes left by your particle based theories?”

  She’d been wrestling with the problem for days.

  “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” She’d smiled, reaching down to scratch the top of his head, stroking the soft fur.

  “You did,” he said matter-of-factly. “Last night in your sleep.”

  A tingle in her hand brought her back to her present situation. She wiggled her fingers, willing the blood to flow as she adjusted her arm in the cramped space suit.

  I could use a Blarmling right now. It would be nice to know what was really going on around her.

  The Jimmy box blipped softly, a small green light flashing on as the device found the proper sequence. As he opened the hatch to Kristin Devenport’s quarters, Rik’s breath caught. Complete chaos reigned. Clothing and items littered the floor and bed. Like the nesting area of the Earth crow, her bed sparkled with items.

  He spotted his astrolabe among the collection, a gaudy knick-knack he’d acquired on Signess 7 to decorate his cabin onboard and lend some authenticity to his cover back-story. Two days earlier, the astrolabe disappeared from his quarters.

  Not really a big surprise. Probably about the time she got her hands on that master key.

  Well, taking it back now would draw her suspicions, and he wasn’t really attached to the thing in any case.

  Breaking into Kristin Devenport’s quarters would be sweet justice, as long as Rik wasn’t caught in the act. But she possessed something he needed, desperately.

  Rummaging through the clothing on the floor, he found just what he was looking for. Dark brown fallengor leather pants and a white, synthsilk blouse. At least ten pair of high, black unisized boots sat in her closet among the mountain of other footwear. Certainly she wouldn’t miss one pair.

  It doesn’t matter if she does. By the time Kristin discovered the missing items, if ever, he’d be far away from her.

  I hope.

  Rik stuffed the clothing under one arm and slipped out of the room, locking the door behind.

  Okay, she had to pee.

  The bulky spacewalk suit made it impossible for Luna to even squeeze her legs together. There could be no more hiding out. If she didn’t visit the head soon, she’d be swimming. Slipping out of the spacewalk suit while it was still hanging on the wall turned out to be a contortionist’s nightmare, but she managed without dislocating anything.

  No more hanging around. I need to get busy anyway. See what I can find out. But first, she had a more pressing issue to attend to. Creeping through the depowered spacecraft, she made her way through her sleep chamber to the head. Blessed relief.

  Now what? Did she climb back into the suit and wait some more? Was ‘Rik’ even coming back for her? And, who the hell is he?

  A shadow darkened the doorway of her sleep chamber and she jumped, heart palpitating wildly.

  Relief flooded her when she recognized the man. Rik.

  “Take your clothes off.” His business-like tone held no hint of danger or seduction.

  She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “You first.” Gods, where had that come from? Someday my quirky sense of humor is going to get me killed.

  He huffed and threw a pile of clothing on the floor in front of her. “Take your clothes off, and put these on.”

  She picked up the blouse. It was synthetic, plain, boring. “Why?”

  Seriously? Fallengor pants? Gods, I’ll look like Cindy Quidich in this outfit.

  “Because your coreworlds’ high fashion would stand out like neon arc lighting where we’re going, and you do not want to stand out.” He reached toward the door panel control. “I’ll wait out here while you change . . . and don’t be all day about it.”

  The door slid across the opening with a thunk.

  The slacks were a bit too long and had to be cuffed.

  Ugh.

  The blouse had way too much room in the bust. She held the excess material out in front of her after putting it on. In my dreams maybe.

  The plain black boots were unisized—Thank goodness—so they’d adjust to her foot. But, would a few bow-buckles or glitter bells be out of line?

  She took a quick check of herself in the full-length mirror. Well, don’t I look . . . meh.

  Sighing, she opened her door.

  Rik’s eyes widened as they raked over her. “That’ll do. Just needs two more things.”

  He handed her a wide brimmed black hat. “Tuck your hair up under this. Your hair color would draw too much attention.”

  That is the idea, big boy.

  As she pushed her hair under the hat, he tied a wide, red sash at her waist. His firm but gentle touch brought a flutter of butterflies to her stomach. He was still all business. Darn. But the sash did add a bit of color to the drabness. With the hat and sash the look would be . . .

  “Gha. I’ll look like a pirate.”

  He smiled and nodded. “Exactly.”

  Chapter 3

  Luna’s chagrin at the ridiculousness of her clothing was tempered by the spark of excitement shooting through her stomach. Where is he taking me? Where in the galaxy would an outfit like this blend in? Someplace dangerous?

  Sure, pirates wore outfits like this in the holovids, but did women anywhere really dress this outlandishly?

  She eyed Rik’s garish outfit. Damn! On him it worked, though he looked like he’d just walked off a class one Saturnwood holovid shoot. Still, with his good looks, no one in their right mind would be looking at what he wore.

  Hell, I’d barely noticed it before now.

  The elaborate blue and gold stitching on his deep maroon tunic extended up the back in a double row to an intricate but indistinct design. The pattern covered his shoulders, all the way down to the cuffs of the short-cropped sleeves. While eye-catching, the stitching was poorly done and uneven.

  Hand stitched? Did anybody even do that anymore?

  The play of shadow on his exposed upper arm displayed dense muscle tone and suggested even more interesting real estate along his broad shoulders and back. In contrast, his baggy black pants gave no hint of the musculature underneath.

  But I’ll bet he has a great ass.

  Rik’s golden brown gaze flicked over her. A slight smile curved his full, sensual lips. “It’s a good enough disguise to get us through Port Hubble and to my apartment on the city’s edge.”

  His deep, sexy voice resonated in her core. Gods, just listening to him set her girly parts fluttering.

  “You should be safe enough here on your ship until we dock. I’ll wait until most of the crew disembarks then come for you.”

  She knew nothing about him. Was she a fool for trusting him?

  As though reading the questi
ons in her eyes, he reached out and briefly touched her shoulder. “Trust me, I’ll get you out of this.” His seductive tones resonated with honesty.

  Really, what other choice do I have right now?

  “And by the way,” Rik continued, all business again, “they’re planning on disassembling your ship for parts, so if there are a couple of small keepsakes you want to take, gather them up while I’m gone. We won’t be able to take much, though.”

  Her stomach dropped. “Oh fardles, Harvey!”

  His eyes narrowed. “Harvey? Is there someone else on this ship?”

  Luna dashed for the closet. If they’ve done anything to Harvey, I will hurt every last one of them.

  When the door opened to reveal the droid still slumped on the floor, a sigh of relief washed through her. She hit the activation button at the base of his neck, and his ocular circuits flickered to life.

  “No.” Rik shook his head, a frown narrowing his oh-so-perfect lips. “We can’t take a droid. You’ll have to leave it.”

  “Hello, sir.” Harvey’s monotone never sounded sweeter.

  Luna planted her hands on her hips. “Harvey comes with, or we part company right now. I’m not leaving him behind.”

  “You don’t even know where you are.” Irritation crossed his handsome features.

  “Doesn’t matter.” She wasn’t leaving her old friend behind. “He stays with me.”

  “Listen to me, Doctor Callista.” His tone lowered. “There are no droids where we’re going. None. Your droid will stick out like a Liberonion musk throbber.”

  “Miss Callista, if I am putting you in danger—”

  “Shut up, Harvey.” The damn droid would sacrifice his life for her. But she wasn’t about to let that happen.

  She widened her eyes and her stance, lowering her chin and glaring at Rik.

  Rik glared back.

  The confrontation lasted only a few seconds before he sighed. Running his hand down his face, he shook his head. “Okay, okay. Let me see what I can figure out. But this is it. Nothing else.”

  There wasn’t anything else anywhere near as valuable to her as Harvey on this ship. “Agreed.”

  Another heavy sigh. “Okay.” His hand raked through his hair, his features tensing as his gaze swept Harvey. “It will take us about five hours to make port. You’ll be safe enough here. I’ve put your ship off limits to the bulk of the crew until after we dock. I won’t be back until then, so if you hear anyone coming, hide.”

  The tension eased and he shook his head, grinning wryly. “Now I have to go get my ass reamed out by my captain for losing you.”

  Rik stood on the bridge, at attention, hands folded behind his back. He’d delayed this meeting as long as he could. It was time to confront the unpleasantness that was Onwin Planemo.

  The Captain of The Starboard Mist paced the deck, giving those assembled the evil eye. “I need to know how the hell we lost her.”

  Could this day get any more complicated?

  “What am I supposed to tell Zartos?” the captain barked.

  The man’s gaze fell on Rik, but his angry look did less to unsettle Rik than the overwhelming stench of his plump body.

  Does he never wash?

  Swallowing against the nasty odor, Rik drew in as deep a breath as he dared. “Why tell him anything? We went out. We looked for her and didn’t find her. End of story. It’s true enough.”

  Captain Planemo shook his head, his jowls flapping. “I got the intelligence directly from Zartos’s agent. They knew her ship would be there.”

  Rik shrugged. “They only knew her ship would be there. Not necessarily her.”

  The captain nodded. “True enough. I suppose if the marshals suspected anything they could have sent the ship as a decoy.”

  Kristin Devenport harrumphed. “So we conveniently leave out the part about Rik letting her slip through our fingers?”

  So, that’s the way she was going to play this. Rik knew there’d be hell to pay for rejecting her advance, but she had to know he was holding an ace. Was she asking for it?

  “If she wasn’t there, she couldn’t have slipped through our fingers.” Rik raised an eyebrow at Kristin in challenge. “Did anyone see a lifepod ejecting? I could go recheck the data.”

  Would she press the matter? It would be easy enough to throw the whole thing in her face if she did. The fabricated story of Luna Callista escaping in a lifepod while Kirstin was not at her scanning station was becoming more than a ruse.

  Just the tool I need to keep that snake off my back. Maybe even knock her down a peg.

  Kristin affected a smile, but her eyes blazed with fury. “I have to side with Rik on this.”

  “Still . . .” Planemo was fidgeting. His gaze shifted nervously, avoiding Rik’s eyes. Fear, definitely, and most likely deceit lay behind whatever the portly starship captain was thinking.

  Who is Zartos? He’d only heard whispers about the shadow council member at the top of their faction of the Brotherhood. The man he’d been seeking for months. Is this my opportunity to find out?

  Rik threw out the bait. “I’d be happy to bring our report to Zartos for you.”

  Captain Planemo’s eyes lit. “Would you now?” He looked ready to punish his first mate with exactly what Rik wanted all along. “I think that would be an excellent idea. You haven’t had the honor of meeting Zartos yet, have you?”

  Across the room, Kristin’s rage-smoldering eyes brightened. Not the expression he’d expected. Crap. What was he getting himself into?

  Rik had been embedded in the Brotherhood of the Dark Nebula at first as a matter of investigation. His superiors wanted to know the pirate organization’s structure and who was pulling the strings from the top. Step by step he’d worked his way up the ladder, and Zartos was the next rung—possibly the top rung of this faction. But if Kristin Devenport was in thick with this pirate leader, Rik could also be in for a boatload of trouble.

  That aside, he also had other issues on his plate.

  A month ago a high-level scientist named Ian von Alderamin had been kidnapped by the Brotherhood. Rik’s orders had been changed to include finding, and securing, this important asset. Projects the man was working on were of great importance to galactic interests and couldn’t fall into the hands of these back-water pirates.

  He’d failed there. The prototype tractor beam and cloaking device installed on The Starboard Mist had come from Alderamin, and a third device, something about asteroid field avoidance, was close to being implemented as well.

  Then there was Doctor Luna Callista. Forget the fact that the woman turned out to be drop-dead gorgeous, which was a complication all on its own, she also seemed to be in possession of a key component of that asteroid avoidance system.

  If the pirates got their hands on that system, it would upset the balance of power in the galaxy. They were sneaky enough without being able to vanish into an asteroid field at will.

  So, new orders came down the encrypted lines. Secure Ian von Alderamin and keep his assistant, Doctor Luna Callista, out of the hands of the pirates. And, while accomplishing those not-so-small feats, he was to maintain his cover in the Brotherhood and continue with his original mission.

  Sure. No problem. Why not ask me to heppledance on a dracophant while you’re at it?

  Still, he didn’t dare pass up an opportunity to meet with someone higher up in the chain of command. His senses told him he was reaching the upper echelons of this faction of the Brotherhood. Zartos was the next rung on his ladder up this faction of the Brotherhood.

  Top rung?

  He’d soon find out.

  Rik sighed. Tension crept up his neck. He’d taken this assignment to avoid a desk job. He rolled his head from side to side, flexing and popping tense muscles. That desk was sta
rting to look pretty damn good.

  Luna ran her finger along the metallic seam on Harvey’s right shoulder. Was that rust or dirt? “Oh, Harvey, I’ve neglected you so.”

  “Hardly, Miss Callista. I am in excellent repair.”

  No, of course he wouldn’t admit it. Loyalty and caring had been programmed into his systems.

  It was hard to think of him that way. Harvey was more than just circuits and programming, and while the logical side of her brain knew better, she refused to accept there wasn’t something more to him.

  Harvey was her friend. Her only friend at times. Her father, a powerful galactic industrialist, had gifted freely and often to his two daughters, while cloistering them for their own protection.

  Have things not friends. But in Harvey she’d gotten both.

  Luna sighed. “At least you’re not a stupid, stuffed Gormorian Dracophant.”

  “Now, Luna, Miss Snotty Pants is quite delightful, once you get to know her.” Harvey rarely used her first name, and usually only when admonishing her. That programming had been put in place by her father.

  Never speak ill of your sister.

  Miss Snotty Pants was her sister’s A.I. stuffed animal, and Phoebe was every bit as attached to that ratty old Dracophant as Luna was to Harvey. Much as she was loath to admit it, they were very similar in that respect.

  And now Phoebe is all married and has a child . . .

  Well, two children, if you counted Kirtl, and she always counted Kirtl. The little Blarmling was an excellent big brother for Tapeete. He simply had to read her mind to find out what every little cry meant.