on not being caught that I didn’t think about anything else for years. One day I kind of woke up and looked around and had no idea how I got to where I was.”
“I understand that feeling,” Violet said, nodding. “It’s not uncommon after people leave the Fleet. However that comes about.”
EJ picked at some of the spicy meat in front of her, wanting to laugh as Nokx kept adding more and more to her plate. “Like being sold?”
Faros didn’t look amused. “And the ones who did that paid the price, or so I’m told.”
“They did,” Violet said. She patted his arm, on the verge of rolling her eyes. “And I know you’re mad you weren’t the one who meted out justice. I’d let you re-kill them if I could.”
EJ studied Violet but sneaked a few looks at the grumpy captain. “What happened?”
“I mentioned, I think, that my female crewmates and I were traded by our Fleet captain to a Xaravian crew, right?” When EJ nodded, Violet went on, although she kept stroking Faros’s arm as that particular Xaravian grew more and more irritated. “It took a little while but we eventually seized his ship and killed him, along with several of his senior male crew, and traded the ship to someone who would use it for better purposes.”
“Oh.” EJ took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I wish I’d been able to get back at those trainers. The ones who killed my classmates. It would have been nice to even the score.”
“You could join the rebellion,” Violet said, as if it were just that easy. “You’d be fighting the larger Fleet, not those instructors specifically, but it’s one way to get revenge.”
EJ frowned and took her time chewing so she could gather her thoughts. “Does it make you feel better about what happened? That they traded you in the first place?”
The two Xaravians traded looks and edged closer to their females, and EJ didn’t really mind the comfort of Nokx’s bulk right next to her. Faros’s scowl deepened and he draped his arm along the back of Violet’s chair as the lawyer pondered. Eventually she shrugged away from his overbearing presence and leaned her elbows on the table. “Not really, I suppose. It’s hard to forget that he might have done that to any number of other crew, or treated other female crew poorly in different ways. It wasn’t the first time he’d done something like that, obviously, since it was the first thing he thought of to save his own skin. Just like those instructors of yours—they already knew how to kill your classmates. It’s hard to reconcile the reality with what you hoped the Fleet would be. You know?”
A knot tied up EJ’s throat. “Yeah.”
“There are more to kill,” Faros muttered. He drank his liquor and refilled the glass, throwing that back as well. “Plenty more where those came from.”
“And you intend to take down the Fleet from all the way out here?” Violet smiled and nudged her mate’s shoulder. “Come on, pirate. If that was a priority you wouldn’t have fled the rebellion.”
“And what, face a bunch of trumped-up charges?” The captain rolled his eyes and picked a piece of food off her plate, then ordered more for the table. “No reason to sit in a cell when we do more out here.”
“More for what?” EJ asked. She didn’t want to challenge him, but maybe asking questions would prove she was interested and wanted to help with whatever his goals were. If it meant staying with Nokx, she could make herself care about whatever mission they were on. Besides, if he was worried about trumped-up charges, they had more in common than ever. “Are you like privateers? Pirating for a cause?”
His silver eyes narrowed as he studied her, and Nokx tensed. Faros looked at the other male, then back at EJ. “Of course not. I’m a pirate for the booty. The take. That means we take from the wealthy and powerful and give to the poor—us. Sometimes I may distribute the take to others. Sometimes we do not. That’s it.”
Her heart sank. So that was that.
“That’s not to say we shouldn’t have a better cause,” Violet said smoothly, her fingers tightening against Faros’s scales. “We certainly made a nuisance of ourselves to the Tyboli when we finally got Gemma free from the bounty.”
“I was more concerned about the bounty on my ship,” Faros said. He toyed with the glass of liquor, attention drifting to Nokx and