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“No way of knowing. But you’ll book a public transit option. Lots of people might mean uncomfortable travel, but it also means you won’t be alone.”
I bite my lip. “Right, and it’s cheaper anyway.”
“You’re sure you’ll be okay making your own way back to your colony? We won’t exactly be able to drop you off anywhere convenient,” the captain says as she ties her candy blue hair into a tight braid. “I can make sure you’ll have some weapons. It’ll make you feel a little safer, even if you’re not confident using them.”
“We’ll be fine,” I assure her. “Frankie and I can fend for ourselves. We survived this long together, and if we call our sheriff, I think he can help us get transportation costs covered, or maybe even have someone meet us.”
“We’re finishing this today,” she says with a grin.
Captain Rossa has made this all possible. Her ship,The Primordial Avenger, has one mission, and that’s to destroy the slave trade that fuels the Azza Empire. She tells me it's been bleeding into the civilized galaxies in all directions, and that their brief interest in human females is the tip of the iceberg. The slave trade is always fluctuating, she says, demanding this or that like a hungry beast whose moods will incentivize scheming bounty hunters to find the latest goldmine. Yesterday, it was human females… Tomorrow—Who knows?
“I guess I won’t see you for quite a while after this,” I say. “I was hoping I could do something to express my gratitude, but… you’ll be off to war.”
We received a notification that all Kar’Kali ship captains were called to report to their home base. They’re readying to wage war, and Rossa is just one of many pirate captains that has pledged allegiance to the king, Ka’lakka Makiva.
“From captain to commander…” Rossa laughs, but it comes out strained. “Don’t thank me until we get Frankie back, okay?”
“Okay.” I manage a weak smile.
When it’s time for the pirate crew to do their work, my job is to wait. Rossa will be sending a team on a small craft to latch on to the cargo bay of the enemy ship while her bridge team distracts them with firepower. I’ll stay close to the landing location so that I can help Frankie understand that she’s safe now… rather than being picked up by a new set of captors.
“Now listen, it’s not going to go perfectly but just trust that Rossa knows what she’s doing,” Raffa is telling me.
Raffanaki is the Kar’Kali equivalent of a sophomore in high school insofar as I understand how their ‘passings’ compare to human years. He lounges across from me on the hull of a parked ship as we stand on the deck ofThe Primordial Avenger. It’s nerve-racking being here, when the rule up until this moment has been a firm “NO CIVILIANS ON DECK.” There are even multiple signs in Alliance-Common and other languages reiterating this fact everywhere I turn. They’re painted on the floor and flashing in neon on the doorways. The deck is an intimidating space, stadium-sized with the acoustics of an indoor pool and a glass roof that shows the milky stars and galaxies up above. The captain’s many smaller ships are parked in rows before massive garage doors through which they can launch away from the main ship.
Raffa’s eyes are the brightest teal blue, sparkling with enthusiasm, and his curly black mop of hair sticks out in every direction. He bears a striking resemblance to his sister and seems at ease in this space even if Rossa prefers he stays out when they’re on a mission. As a former teacher, his youthful presence has been a comfort while I navigate a world of pirates I don’t understand. I feel more myself when I’m with him, less disconnected from my past life. He’s energetic and social, always trying to help whether he’s been asked to or not. And like any kid, he loves to explain things to me, so I let him.
“I know,” I say, sipping an herbal tea that I was told will calm my nerves. “It won’t stop me from having heart palpitations until she’s here with us and we’re safely on our way.”
“It can be scary being on the deck when they’re landing,” he explains. “But as long as you don’t move without permission, you should be just fine.”
“I plan on following orders,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “Are you going to followyourorders?”
His lips squish up in distaste. “Perhaps.”
“Are you supposed to be here?”
He taps his foot. “No…”
I make a shooing motion and wink at him. “Begone, then.”
“I’m starting to realize there’s something to that human face twitch,” he says as he hops off the parked craft and scurries away.
What remains of my tea is ice cold by the time the rescue crew hails my comm device, a watch with a screen they provided me so I could stay in the loop.
“We’re coming in. Kaye, you’re ready? We’re gonna need you to calm her.”
“I’m here,” I say, starting to pace in my anticipation.
“Are you squeamish over blood or anything like that?”
A student in my class once tried to stand on his desk and came crashing down so hard that his head smacked the ancient heating units. The whole place was screaming over the ensuing pool of blood.
“No,” I reply.
“It’s not pretty.”
Bewildered by that, I watch the oversized garage doors ahead of me split down the middle to accommodate the ship that’s swooping over the translucent roof.
