in sheets and his arms, and wished she heard it saying something other than that slavers boarded the ship.
A low rumble started through the prison quadrant, rising but still muffled by the doors and reinforced walls, as the prisoners heard the news. EJ didn’t want to know how the settlers reacted. At least the prisoners would take the announcement seriously and do something about it. Well, once they got out of their cells. She feared the settlers would be too beaten down, too cowed by circumstances, to throw themselves against an armed, stronger enemy.
Which meant she had to convince Gygak to help.
The panel allowed her to turn the door to the cell in front of them transparent while still secure, and allowed EJ to see and hear Gygak. Nokx made a soft, disbelieving noise when he saw the Psonil. EJ didn’t blame him. After a few days, when EJ uncovered who the best of the worst was in the prison block, she found Gygak to see whether she could get EJ off the ship. Unfortunately, the Psonil’s connections outside the ship had been effectively cut off and could not help, but Gygak offered to make EJ her assistant once they reached their destination. Still. The Psonil had been the last thing EJ expected when she searched out the most dangerous prisoner on the ship.
She stood only as high as EJ’s chest and had a slight frame that changed and shifted as she saw EJ through the opaque door. The Psonil were one of the chameleon species and could mimic some attributes of whoever stood in front of them, and Gygak used it to her advantage at every turn.
Gygak took in Nokx, though, and instead of mimicking EJ’s form, grew blue scales and a curvaceous body and a few feet taller, perhaps to appeal to the male warrior. But her gaze remained on EJ. “You’ve returned. What is this commotion about? Is it your doing?”
“The message, yes,” EJ said. Irritation bubbled up as Gygak swayed her hips as she approached the door and ran long, clawed fingers along the clear barrier between them. “The seizure, no. There’s a Slasu slaving fleet surrounding the Hollbrd, and they’ve got transfer arms in place. They may have boarded the ship already. They set up this gen ship as a way to collect slaves and have the slaves pay for the privilege.”
Gygak made a thoughtful noise and pondered the turn of events. “An interesting plan. Not terrible, although the quality of slaves is certainly low. We would none of us demand much at auction, even for labor or food.”
“No,” Nokx said, his eyes narrowed. “They hold your lives cheaply. Which is why the passengers should fight back, to at least make an effort to resist the Slasu. There is a Xaravian ship and a... another vessel of some kind attempting to interdict the Slasu. If things grow difficult enough, the Slasu will abandon the scheme and retreat. They like easy targets, not rebellious ones.”
“As I well know,” she said. Her gaze raked Nokx from toes to the top of his spikes, and EJ scowled. Any female would find the giant muscular warrior attractive, but that didn’t mean Gygak needed to make her interest so damn blatant. There was something to be said for subtlety. Gygak tapped the talons against her chin, pondering as she listened to the blaring message repeat again, then gestured at the cell around her. “And what, precisely, do you want me to do about it?”
EJ’s heart beat faster. This was the important part. They didn’t have much time. Once the crew disabled the ship-wide messaging, they’d focus on tracking down the perpetrators. Which meant she and Nokx had to move fast and not waste any more time flirting or hiding in small spaces. She tried to look focused and competent and like the criminal Gygak believed her to be. The Psilon had managed to get hold of EJ’s record and offered grudging respect for how much trouble EJ had caused. She just hoped that was enough for Gygak to agree to the plan, such as it was.
“You run this entire sector. You’re the only voice that can control them long enough to keep the ship from falling to the Slasu.”
“You want me to defend a ship that imprisoned me and intends to dump me on a shitty piece of asteroid in the ass end of space? That is what you are asking of me?”
“The Slasu will take you somewhere nicer, that’s