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Star's Storm(68)

By:S. E. Smith


“Dumbass, someone is hailing us! The dippy wad who wants to buy our home. What should I tell him?” IQ called out through the communications console in the wall.

“What do we tell him?” Jon Paul asked as the freighter rocked again. “Numbnuts! Get in here! Do you know if we have shields? Guns? Anything?”

Jazin and Jarmen looked at both men as they huddled next to each other. “You two don't even know if you have any defense systems on board?” Jazin asked in disbelief.

“We French are lovers, not fighters. The only weapon we had your beautiful fairy took from us,” Luc said with an apologetic smile.

“That is not true!” Jon Paul said fiercely. “The French are some of the greatest fighters in history! We are known for our skills in battle.”

“Oui, that is true. There was the French Revolution, World War I and II, not to mention the French Foreign Legion,” Luc started to say with a weak smile. “But, me? I am definitely more of a lover.”

“The French Foreign Legion is made up of many nationalities, isn't it?” Star asked as she clung to Jazin who was braced against the table.

“Can we discuss this later?” Jazin bit out. “Jarmen, tap into their system and see if there is anything you can do to keep us from being blown apart. You,” Jazin said pointing to Jon Paul. “You will make contact and find out what is going on. Tell him you have what he wants and try to get him to board.”

“What about me?” Luc said as Jon Paul scooted out from behind the table and headed for the bridge. “What should I do?”

Jazin fought the urge to tell the man what he really wanted to tell him. The first suggestion was for the strange human to take an escape pod so it could be used as target practice instead of the freighter. Instead, he told the man to secure any items that might cause damage to the freighter, hoping that should keep him busy for a while. The man left followed closely by the tall service bot.

“The freighter’s shields are holding at seventy percent,” Jarmen said looking at Jazin. “There are two laser gun ports mounted. One on top, the other is down below. No power to either one so they are useless.”

Jazin nodded even as he listened to the sound of voices coming from the front. “Can you monitor the conversation from here?”

“Of course,” Jarmen said tilting his head to the side and enhancing his hearing. “It is Tai Tek. He picked up the distress signal that little warrior sent out. The one named Jon Paul is telling him that they opened the box and found a human female,” Jar’s mouth tilted up at the corner. “The human male is cursing Tai Tek out in a combination of languages. I am not able to completely translate what he is saying but I think it safe to say he is calling Tai Tek a cowardly bastard and challenging him to a duel.”

“What the hell is a duel?” Jazin asked in exasperation. He didn’t think this situation could get any worse.

“A duel is when a man defends his honor by challenging someone who has insulted it to fight, usually to the death,” Star said as she gripped Jazin’s arm tightly. “You aren’t going to let him fight Tai Tek, are you? I don’t want Jon Paul to get hurt.”

Jazin gritted his teeth as he stared down into the worried eyes of his mate. This is why he wanted to lock her up. She was far to tender-hearted! He couldn’t help but wonder which God or Goddess he had insulted in his previous lives. Only his mate could get kidnapped, ejected into space, and end up on a dilapidated freighter with no weapons systems and a crew of four, two of who were totally clueless to any type of survival skills. The only two who could probably fight were the service bots!

A curse burst from his lips as the freighter rocked again. “Armet! Where in the hell are you?” Jazin barked out. “Dakar, how long until the Blue Star’s engines are back online?”

“Ten minutes out,” Armet answered tightly.

“They are coming online now,” Dakar responded. “The Blue Star can be there in twenty minutes.”

“We may not have ten minutes much less twenty,” Jazin bit out. “This rusted pile of scrap has no defense systems.”

“Gods!” Armet cursed. “I’m pushing the starship. I can cut a few extra minutes off.”

Jazin could hear Dakar ordering engineering to get the Blue Star up to full power immediately. He looked down at Star. She was staring at him with total trust in her eyes. His heart thudded heavily. She was magnificent.

“I love you, my Star,” he said huskily. “Now, sit your ass down until we can get out of here.”

“Jazin, they are sending a boarding party,” Jarmen warned. “Expect company, they are attaching to the emergency hatch now.”