Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,17
out on their private family frequency. His cousin would have the means to disable the pirate ship. All Veral needed to do was stall the pirates and wait.
“Perhaps Argurma are as intelligent as everyone says. Cold logic, rather than passionately trying to rip your female away. Very good. Now upload the schematics into my comm uplink.” With one hand pointing his blaster still, he stepped over to the uplink port and attached his comm with a sharp jerk of his hand.
Veral suppressed an agitated growl as his ship’s systems established the link. Egbor’s tech felt invasive and filthy to him. An unwanted intruder. Stealing a quick glance at his mate’s face, her expression twisted with anger. Despite the flare of fear in her eyes, he maintained control over his reaction. Instead, he met Egbor’s eyes and, with a flick of his finger on the control, sent the schematics outlining the ship’s resting place over to the pirate. The male grunted in satisfaction, the hum of the engines as the salvager ship drew into the cavernous mouth of the pirate ship the only other sound.
He was uncomfortably aware of Terri’s hard, nervous exhales as the darkness engulfed them. They were dragged into a docking area that was pitch dark when the hatch closed. Once it snapped shut, so many lights shot on that it blinded him. At Terri’s cry, he looked over at her, concern rising within him as she screwed her face up, her eyes clenched shut. The pain and disorientation were intentional. Veral closed his inner lid, filtering out the worst of the light until, as predicted, it dimmed to a more comfortable level. Only then did he lift his inner lid to glower at his surroundings.
From the viewing screen, he could see a number of pirates from the less savory dregs of space milling around. None of them were anywhere near as well dressed as Egbor. In fact, many of them wore tattered, ill-fitting clothes that might have once been fine before being soiled with blood, food, and sweat. Igwin males with long jointed limbs prowled, large heads swiveling and mouths stretching in wide grins as they paced like beasts waiting to be fed.
While there were many Igwins, they were not as numerous as the Blaithari and the Turogo, a vile, squat race that lived in their primitive swamps. Pirates recruited among them, promising them treasures, taking advantage of the males’ drive to collect gems and gold with which to line their muddy hollows in hope of attracting mates. What they lacked in intelligence they made up for in thick, muscular bodies and venomous teeth and claws. Even their long tails could loop around another being to squeeze the life out of them.
Veral growled and attempted to place his body directly between them and his mate as they were forced to disembark into the belly of the pirate ship. It did little good as Egbor made certain to keep him separated from his mate. Veral’s vibrissae rattled in a warning hiss as he snarled and clicked his mandibles in clear threat at any male who so much as looked his mate’s direction. A threat was all it amounted to, and the males knew it, but it did give some among them pause.
Egbor opened his arms wide, a satisfied smile on his face as he addressed the crew. “Miscreants, look at what your own captain has secured for the benefit of all of us: a way to find the resting place of Evandra.”
A riotous shout drove up all around them, males raising their weapons in the air in a frenzied jubilation. Numerous swords and axes clanged together, and blasters fired into the air. With a shove, Egbor drove him forward, but Veral stalled, his attention always on his mate behind him. Her body jerked in alarm as the Igwins sniffed, licking their jowls as they raised their short muzzles to scent the air, and Turogos uncoiled long tongues from their mouths which they flicked at her without any discretion, stealing small tastes of her skin.
Her captors allowed Terri to bat away the tongues with angry squeaks of disgust because they found it amusing, but did nothing to protect her. Crude, hard, scraping laughter surrounded them, their shouts of delight rising among the cacophony of banging weapons at every flinch from Terri. She was brave in face of the slavering interest of the males pressing in around them, but she did not have complete control over her natural reactions. Nor