heal the front.
Sarah opened her eyes as the instrument finished the job and the intense pain that had held her face rigid receded.
“Jordan, where are we?”
“On my ship, sweetheart. You need to get some rest, so go back to sleep while I get a situation report from G’ntriel.”
She nodded and a small smile curved her lips as she fell into a relaxed sleep. For the first time in twenty-four hours, Jordan worried about something else besides Sarah dying from an infection. He signaled to G’ntriel to follow him into the hallway and then stepped from the room.
“G’ntriel, what the hell is going on? You know I can’t guarantee Tee-ani’s safety, anymore than I can guarantee Sarah’s. There are men on this ship that won’t care that she’s a doctor. They’ll only see a human female.” He rubbed tired hands down his face, his anxiety levels increasing as he worried for both women’s safety. “G’ntriel, you are the only female on board because you are stronger and faster than most of the males on this ship. Since you married Judge, none would be stupid enough to try anything, anyway. You know human females don’t have your skills.”
“Jordan, much has changed since you left the ship,” she said, stepping closer and placing her hand on his left cheek. “You love her, don’t you?” He nodded, knowing that her empathic skills would’ve noticed his deep emotion and caring for Sarah probably before they even landed onboard.
“What has changed here? How can I keep her safe?”
Just then, the biggest, meanest looking pirate ambled around the corner, grasped G’ntriel from behind, and pulled her into his embrace. She smiled in delight and then let her husband, Judge, finish telling the captain about the past twenty-four hours onboard.
“Seems Andrews wasn’t quite happy with the way you were running the ship, so he staged a mutiny,” Judge said, his voice gruff. “But, well, he didn’t find the kind of support he was expecting.” The big man grinned, his yellowed and broken teeth making his face less attractive and far more dangerous looking. “Poor fellow found himself out the airlock almost as soon as he took over. Turns out that pirates who are willing to stage a mutiny aren’t the most loyal types, if you know what I mean.”
“How many of the crew did we lose?”
“Seventeen,” G’ntriel told him, a grim expression on her face. “All mutineers. I have two in custody, but considering their age and general intelligence, I doubt they will be making any trouble.”
Seventeen! That was nearly half the crew. How was he going to keep the ship moving with so few on board?
“Where did Dr. Tee-ani come from?”
“While we were cleaning up afterwards, we received an emergency hail from a ship not far from here,” Judge said, grinning. “When we went to investigate we discovered a badly-damaged transport full of human female prisoners. The guards told us that they were criminals, but my lovely wife here could sense no such thing. We spoke to the women and discovered that they had been abducted and were probably being sent to the slave markets in the Benorian system.”
“So we rescued them, made transport arrangements for those who wanted to return home, and invited the others to stay here,” G’ntriel finished with a smile.
“Will they be safe here?” Jordan asked, his concern about the danger his crew may represent still uppermost in his mind.
“Absolutely,” G’ntriel assured him in her musical voice. “There are none left among the crew that wish to harm them. In fact, I have sensed a need in most of the males to protect them.”
Smiling broadly and taking a full breath for the first time in he didn’t know how long, Jordan felt himself relax as his thoughts strayed to the future he wanted with Sarah. Was it really possible to have a future with her now that his ship was no longer dangerous to human females? Would she even want to stay? Somewhere she had a life, maybe
Sarah opened her eyes as the instrument finished the job and the intense pain that had held her face rigid receded.
“Jordan, where are we?”
“On my ship, sweetheart. You need to get some rest, so go back to sleep while I get a situation report from G’ntriel.”
She nodded and a small smile curved her lips as she fell into a relaxed sleep. For the first time in twenty-four hours, Jordan worried about something else besides Sarah dying from an infection. He signaled to G’ntriel to follow him into the hallway and then stepped from the room.
“G’ntriel, what the hell is going on? You know I can’t guarantee Tee-ani’s safety, anymore than I can guarantee Sarah’s. There are men on this ship that won’t care that she’s a doctor. They’ll only see a human female.” He rubbed tired hands down his face, his anxiety levels increasing as he worried for both women’s safety. “G’ntriel, you are the only female on board because you are stronger and faster than most of the males on this ship. Since you married Judge, none would be stupid enough to try anything, anyway. You know human females don’t have your skills.”
“Jordan, much has changed since you left the ship,” she said, stepping closer and placing her hand on his left cheek. “You love her, don’t you?” He nodded, knowing that her empathic skills would’ve noticed his deep emotion and caring for Sarah probably before they even landed onboard.
“What has changed here? How can I keep her safe?”
Just then, the biggest, meanest looking pirate ambled around the corner, grasped G’ntriel from behind, and pulled her into his embrace. She smiled in delight and then let her husband, Judge, finish telling the captain about the past twenty-four hours onboard.
“Seems Andrews wasn’t quite happy with the way you were running the ship, so he staged a mutiny,” Judge said, his voice gruff. “But, well, he didn’t find the kind of support he was expecting.” The big man grinned, his yellowed and broken teeth making his face less attractive and far more dangerous looking. “Poor fellow found himself out the airlock almost as soon as he took over. Turns out that pirates who are willing to stage a mutiny aren’t the most loyal types, if you know what I mean.”
“How many of the crew did we lose?”
“Seventeen,” G’ntriel told him, a grim expression on her face. “All mutineers. I have two in custody, but considering their age and general intelligence, I doubt they will be making any trouble.”
Seventeen! That was nearly half the crew. How was he going to keep the ship moving with so few on board?
“Where did Dr. Tee-ani come from?”
“While we were cleaning up afterwards, we received an emergency hail from a ship not far from here,” Judge said, grinning. “When we went to investigate we discovered a badly-damaged transport full of human female prisoners. The guards told us that they were criminals, but my lovely wife here could sense no such thing. We spoke to the women and discovered that they had been abducted and were probably being sent to the slave markets in the Benorian system.”
“So we rescued them, made transport arrangements for those who wanted to return home, and invited the others to stay here,” G’ntriel finished with a smile.
“Will they be safe here?” Jordan asked, his concern about the danger his crew may represent still uppermost in his mind.
“Absolutely,” G’ntriel assured him in her musical voice. “There are none left among the crew that wish to harm them. In fact, I have sensed a need in most of the males to protect them.”
Smiling broadly and taking a full breath for the first time in he didn’t know how long, Jordan felt himself relax as his thoughts strayed to the future he wanted with Sarah. Was it really possible to have a future with her now that his ship was no longer dangerous to human females? Would she even want to stay? Somewhere she had a life, maybe
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