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Danec grunted and shifted uncomfortably. Evidently he felt it too.
I looked past him to Slek, who seemed uneasy for different reasons. My tongue darted over my lips. "Those things you said—"
He set his mouth in a line. "I didn't like it any more than you did. I'll say whatever I have to to keep us alive."
"I know," I said quickly. "But you knew what they wanted to hear. You don't seem too surprised to find Freytaurians out here who—"
He cut me off. "I'm not. They usually stay away from IF space, but I knew they existed."
Danec looked at him in surprise. "I had no idea."
Slek smirked. "No offence, but you're barely off your mother's tit. Figuratively speaking. If you were any more innocent, you'd still be back in school, playing mathematics games on your tablet."
"I'm not that innocent," Danec muttered angrily.
"We shouldn't fight with each other," I snapped. "Slek, what are these Freytaurians capable of?"
"Besides running around the galaxy, destroying IF ships, and hunting Iri to kill? Just about anything, I'd say."
"They wouldn't hesitate to kill you," Selvia said. She'd walked back and forth through the seats and evidently heard at least the last bit of our conversation. "They would likely have their pleasure with you first." She cast an eye around the pod. "Anyone who isn't a Freytaurian. Perhaps even those who are, but who disagree with their ideals."
My stomach turned at the idea of any of us being violated like that. Even J'avet.
"I will die before I let him touch me," Humar declared loudly.
Selvia turned a cold smile on him. "You may get that chance."
She would kill as easily as any Frey-T rogue.
The pod bumped to a stop beside another couple, both a lot older and more battered this one. The rogues would probably welcome it with open arms, if not its passengers.
"We're here." Brinley sounded relieved, but anxious. If all Selvia needed was a pilot, she may have no further need for my friend.
Selvia nodded and waved for Brinley to step out of the cockpit.
"Close the door," she ordered, waving her cannon at Brinley.
Brinley nodded and hurried to comply.
"You two, to the pod's door." Selvia gestured to Danec and Slek. "You as well," she said to the other Freytaurians. Everyone else, in front of me."
I hated the idea of turning my back on her, but I complied.
Brinley, her pretty face creased in the kind of frown my mother would have told me off for, stood beside me. She grabbed my hand and moved in close.
"It'll be all right," I said softly. "We'll get through this."
"I know," she replied. She didn't seem convinced.
I gave her a small smile as the pod door opened.
Six, maybe eight Freytaurians, skin ranging from pale blue to deepest purple, stood with weapons raised at us. Every one, man and woman, wore clothes that had seen better decades, with patches here and there to cover the multitude of holes.
They certainly looked like a bunch of pirates. Hungry ones, from the way they eyed us all.
A cold shudder passed through me. For the first time, I really wasn't sure we'd survive this.
"Step down slowly," one ordered. Evidently he didn't notice Selvia until she stepped off the pod last. When he did, his eyes widened and he raised his blaster.
Before he could fire, Selvia pulled a tube out of her pocket and tossed it onto the floor. When it hit, the tube shattered. Hundreds of tiny, glittering particles were dashed across the floor.
"Oh, shit," Slek muttered.
