I scoff. "Look at this keffing ship, you noodle-brain. You think this guy needs our little ship? Think again."
"Will you two be quiet?" Mathiras snarls. "I can't think when you're arguing."
This time, the guard walking behind me gives me a shove, and Kaspar gets the same. "All of you keffing shut up or you get shock collars."
I shut up. Kaspar glares at me, but his gaze wanders to our surroundings, and I suspect what I told him is sinking in.
It's obvious to me that whatever Lord Straik wants, it isn't our “riches.” The Little Sister's a decent ship thanks to our constant work on her, but to the rest of the universe, she looks like a piece of junk. She's also a Class IV freighter, which is usually a passenger ship. No one's going to think we're hiding a ton of snazzy cargo somewhere on board. As far as robberies go, we'd be a shitty target. And this ship we've been dragged aboard is of a much finer make than ours.
Lord Straik's ship is cutting edge technology. The metal walls of the corridor are cool and pristine, without old scorch marks from blaster fights or dents from, say, getting into a noogie-fight with your brother. The endless hallways we've been dragged down are large and airy and well lit, the temperature comfortable, and to me, that says more than anything else that this is run by a male that doesn't care about credits. If he knew how much it'd cost to change out the air filters on a ship like this, he'd run something smaller. The Little Sister, for example, has tight, short hallways because the less living space that has to be climate-controlled, the better.
He's definitely not after us for our credits. Especially not a corsair that can afford to feed an entire score of a'ani bodyguards as well as a crew. So then…what does he want?
We're led down another hall, and at the far end of this one, double doors are flanked by uniformed, red-skinned clones. One nods at our guards and taps the door panel, then steps aside. We're then brought into a large chamber, and I stare at my surroundings in utter surprise. I expected a war room and this…looks more like a keffing fancy retreat. There's art on the walls, old paintings of important-looking nobles, tapestries from distant colonies, and a few golden-looking weapons that are clearly for show and not actual defense. In the corners of the room, expensive flowering plants curl around wrought trellises, and I swear I can hear the tinkling of a fountain somewhere. On one wall, there are several large star maps pulled up on-screen, and across from the screens there's an enormous window that looks out on deep space. Right now it's full of the V'tarrian moon's dark side, but I imagine it's a nice view most times. There are vases and books on elegant shelves, which is kind of ridiculous in a spaceship that can lose gravity control in a solar storm, and I spend a happy moment imagining those expensive vases flying through the air and landing on our captor's head. At the far end of the room, near the wall of vid-maps and star charts, is a huge desk made of impractical wood and covered in ornate carvings. It looks very heavy, very expensive, and completely ridiculous. There's a marble bust of a mesakkah lord on the desk, and it only adds to the realization that stupid amounts of credits have been spent on this male's room, a room that would be completely destroyed in a single battle.
Something tells me this lord never actually gets into fights. He just shows up and browbeats his opponents with his superior ship and masses of troops at his disposal.
Lord Straik sa'Rin stands with his back to us, gazing at one of the star charts, hands clasped just above his tail. His hair is long, which isn't surprising as most mesakkah society lords prefer that sort of thing. He turns and I'm surprised to see that he's young. Certainly younger than me, and I'm the youngest of my brothers. He looks a bit sulky, this lord, dressed entirely in black clothing with dozens of fasteners and a shoulder cape. His horns are extremely ornate, the metal tooled with intricate patterns, and he's got piercings all up one ear. His collar is high so it's impossible to tell if he has any tattoos or scars, but I suspect