Valiel nodded. "Though, really, by the time they have to be killed, it's because they've chosen to distance themselves from us. Pretty sad, honestly-"
She froze as something skittered across the hull overhead. She could barely hear it, her hearing sharp enough to catch the noise over the typical ship noises.
"Connor-" An alarm went off, and red lights began blinking, and Valiel immediately grabbed Connor's wrist and took off running towards the armory.
…………
Ronnie was watching Arriss, waiting for a signal, and he got it. He hated being called 'Ron' and if the Captain was forgetting that, this was serious. He turned and grabbed the sidearm mounted in the wall holster, charged the weapon and moved to the door, immediately pushing Arriss behind him. "It's not right, Cap, but it's happening." He moved into the hallway, clearing the corners. "Check for hull breaches, if it was done in purpose and carefully, the ship won't alert you until you run a check." He stayed posted up at the door, his emotions immediately locked down.
Conner followed Valiel, but it still took him a few seconds to finally process what was going on; they had gotten an alert from the Captain that their ship was being invaded. But that didn’t make sense. Their ship had the best security out of all the ships Conner had ever worked on, and the doors into the ship were hard— if not impossible— to breach. How did the enemy get inside?
Conner pulled a gun from the wall and stole an anxious glance at Valiel. He had never seen her fight, so hopefully she knew what she was doing.
Arriss took the other gun, and after she made sure it was loaded, she followed Ronnie out in the hall. It was strange to see him so cold and serious; he was always gentle when he was around her.
“Be careful, Ronnie,” she said, glancing at him. “I don’t know what kind of enemy we’re dealing with.”
Arriss was about to turn to go back into the cockpit when, out of nowhere, she heard fast, light footsteps approach the door on the other side of the hallway, and something began hammering on the other side of the door.
Valiel kept running. She heard a thud from somewhere across the ship, the noise too big to be any normal person.
No, no no no, please no…
In general, aliens had stayed out of the massive conflict humanity was embroiled in. A few had joined sides with the cause they aligned with, or with their economic allies. And a few were simply mercenaries, soldiers willing to fight for the highest bidder. Those were the worst.
The thud happened again, but this time from up ahead of them, and Valiel put on a burst of speed, yanking Conner off his feet. And just in time, as a section of the ceiling fell in with a loud crash, and a hulking creature dropped through. The intruder stood up, his head brushing where the ceiling was intact. 8' tall, rippling with muscles and covered in greenish- brown fur, he looked like the result from a threesome between a yeti, a sasquatch, and a Wookie.
He charged them, and Valiel kept moving, till they got to the armory. She shoved Conner in and yelped "Grab a bigger weapon!" before turning to face the charging mountain of muscle and claws. Her skin rippled and she shifted, immediately matching the intruder, except her fur was the same auburn red color as her hair. She snarled, and they locked arms, grappling in the hall.
…………………………………
Ronnie nodded at her. "I'm always careful." He was about to suggest she run that hull check quickly, when the footsteps and knocking caught his attention. He whipped around and positioned himself in front of Arriss, before nudging her back towards the cockpit. "They're going to storm the cockpit to try to take control, make sure they can't get in there." He kept his feet planted, as the sliding door suddenly blew off its track and men in body armor stepped through. They charged down the hall, but it was a confined space, and Ronnie didn't miss. Intruders began dropping, even as shots buzzed past Ronnie like lethal bees.
Conner’s eyes widened at the sight of the creature, but he tried his best to keep from freezing up. They were about to have a full fledged battle with these aliens; now wasn’t the time for a panic attack.
As Valiel fought off their attacker, Conner searched the armory for a new weapon capable of killing the creature. They mostly had average sized guns. After all, it wasn’t often that they had an alien ship attack them. However, in the back of their armory, Conner managed to find a weapon much bigger than the rest. That was when he heard more footsteps coming down the hall.
“Valiel, I’m coming!”
Arriss rushed back into the cockpit, preforming the proper procedures for an alien attack. Her hands were trembling as she did so, and she kept looking back at the cockpit door to make sure no one was getting inside. However, after she finished the first scan for breaches, the aliens rushed the cockpit, a few of them managed to make it into the room.
Aries picked up her gun and began to shoot at the men. Some of them went down fairly easily while others seemed almost invincible. One grabbed her by the wrist, tackling her to the ground and stealing her gun.
Valiel grappled with the Zas'Kyet for what felt like an hour. His strength was immense, and she could only match it for a short while before he would be able to overpower her easily.
She managed to get behind him and wrap her arms around his middle, before suplexing him into the deck, his thick skull leaving a large dent in the metal flooring. Conner yelled something at her, and she glanced up to see him running towards her with a massive energy rifle in his arms. SHe whipped her head around as more people came running in from the floor above them. Men in combat gear, and another massive Zas'Kyet. The one she'd body slammed didn't move, so she stood up and backed up to the door of the armory, snarling loudly before scrambling inside amidst a hail of gunfire. The door slammed shut as she slapped the lock.
"Good find… we just… need to put…. some armor on…" she panted, her muscles aching as she shifted back to her usual human form.
…………………
Everything was fine, until one of the shots hit Ronnie's shoulder. It knocked him backwards like a ragdoll, his head connecting with the wall with waaay too much force. There was a bzzt sound, and his muscles locked as whatever he'd been hit with shocked him. It completely bypassed the armor he was wearing, and the only thing he could think over the searing pain was huh, alien tech. Greaaat.
It ended, and he was aware of men rushing the cockpit. Arriss's energy weapon fired several times, and then stopped, and alarms went off in Ronnie's hazy head.
He gritted his teeth and started to get up, only to have a boot clamp his wrist to the deck.
"Don't move, boy." An imposing man, nearly 7' tall, was standing on his arm. "Cockpit secured, fellas? Leave the girl alive, please."
The soldiers currently taking control of the ship followed orders.
"Who's the Captain of this ship?"
The door screeched in agony as the aliens and men outside pounded against it, using their creatures to try to get inside. However, the door to the armory was thicker than any of the other entryways on the ship, meaning it would take longer for the aliens to get inside. They didn’t have much time, but Conner hoped it was enough to find the armor and more weapons.
He scrambled towards the back of the armory and began to gather all of the armor he could. “You okay, Valiel?” he huffed. “Those creatures… they were huge.”
Arriss was losing the struggle at first. The man who had attacked her was much bigger than her, and he had managed to get ahold of her gun. But, when she saw Ronnie get thrown back against the wall, a new surge of energy coursed through her, and she managed to get out from under the man. She took back her gun and pointed it at the man near Ronnie.
“Hurt him and I’ll kill you,” she hissed. “Don’t test me.”
While the men may not have wanted to touch Arriss because of the gun she had pointed at their leader, she still understood that she was out numbered. She didn’t want to answer the man’s questions, but she was afraid of the consequences if she refused.
“I am,” she replied. “I am the captain of this ship.”
Charad-ti metabolism meant that Valiel could become huge creatures with huge strength, but it would take a toll on her. She didn't have the energy reserves those big creatures would have, though she was expending the same amount of energy.
So when she got to her feet, nodding that she was ok, she was clearly not ok. She was shaky as she stumbled to her locker and pulled on her vac-suit and armor. "I-I'll be ok, Conner… if they make it thr-through that door, shoot the biggest ones first." She picked up her two energy weapons, smaller sidearms that packed a condensed punch. Conner seemed to be managing his own armor just fine, and the concerned look on his face would have made her heart soften at any other time.
……………..
The men moved around Arriss, content with taking control of the ship while her attention was on their leader. They shut off the auto-pilot, and brought the ship out of hyperspeed with a lurch.
The big man leaned his weight on Ronnie's wrist, and the bones cracked loudly. Ronnie only managed to keep from yelping by biting his tongue.
"Drop the weapon, Captain, or the next thing I break will be his neck…"
Ronnie looked at Arriss and shook his head. He started to mouth don't do it when the man backhanded him across the face. It felt like being slapped with a sledgehammer, and he was immediately woozy.
"Controls secured, boss." one of the men in the cockpit grunted, though they still weren't going after Arriss. The huge man nodded, before speaking again.
"Captain. Your ship is taken. Your crew is outnumbered. I believe them to all be alive, but they will not continue that way if you insist on playing hero." He pointed to several burn marks on his armor, where Ronnie's shots had hit him earlier and done nothing. "Besides, you can't hurt me anyway. So. For your crew's sake, if not for yours… Put. It. Down."
Conner finished putting his armor on as he watched Valiel. She was trying her hardest to keep fighting, but he could tell that the fight had taken a huge toll on her. He was worried about what would happen if she tried pushing herself any further.
“Valiel, no. If you go back out there, you’ll get injured. Or worse,” he said softly. “You stay in her to rest and shoot anyone who makes it through the door. I’ll stand at the entrance and try to kill as many as I can. Deal?”
Arriss’s hands shook as she slowly lowered and eventually dropped her gun. She knew it was a mistake; the weapon was the only thing keeping her alive. But Ronnie’s life was at stake, and she knew that the man wouldn’t hesitate before snapping his neck.
With no weapons in hand, she pushed through the men and towards Ronnie before anyone could stop her. She dropped down by his side, pulling him away from the man and into her arms.
“What do you want from us?” Arriss questioned, trying her hardest to keep her voice steady. “There are only four of us. We have little weapons or supplies, and no information that would help you.”
(To clarify, did you have a plan for who was boarding them and what was happening? I don't want to derail that)
The Boss didn't stop Arriss as she pulled Ronnie away, lifting his foot to release the nearly unconscious soldier.
"Well, clearly you have weapons, and supplies, enough for 4 people at least. But you're also a pirate ship, which means you likely have cargo that would be valuable to us."
He lifted his hand to the side of his helmet, and muttered something, before turning back to Arriss. With his face obscured by the helmet, his intent was impossible to read, but his voice at least wasn't hostile.
"We have your crew pinned. They seem to be gearing up for a counterattack. If you can, tell them to stand down, and their lives will be spared. If they attack my men, I can't make that same guarantee."
……………
Valiel shook her head. "No, dummy, I'm not sitting here while you go back out there and die. Not happening." She swallowed hard and steeled herself, only for the banging at the armory door to stop suddenly.
She waited, staying close to Conner, waiting for an attack, a breaching charge, something, but… nothing happened for a moment.
What are they waiting on…
(( Nah, I don’t have any plans xD So if you have any ideas, definitely go for them, cuz imma just making this up as we go ))
Arriss held Ronnie close, gently stroking his hair as she thought through the proposition. There were only four of them and more than a dozen enemies. They had no chance of defending themselves, no matter how hard they tried. It was better to protect her crew than to let them fall to a much more powerful ship.
“Give me the radio,” she muttered. “I’ll tell them to stand down as long as you don’t hurt my crew.”
He stepped back towards Valiel, taking her hand in his. He had never seen an attack like this before. Were they waiting on another command from their leader.
He stole a glance back at Valiel. “Where’s Arriss and Ronnie?”
(got it :) )
Valiel squeezed his hand gently, though she didn't hold on, keeping her fingers on the triggers of her weapons.
"They'd be up front, I think Captain was in the cockpit and Ronnie-"
There was a loud ding as the ship's comm came online, and a deep voice spoke.
"To the crew of this ship, a message from your Captain."
…………..
The Boss nodded slowly and stepped into the cockpit, ducking to fit. He flicked the switch for the ship's comm, and heralded her surrender, before handing Arriss the mic. "Go ahead."
Ronnie hadn't moved much, other than to flinch and turn his head a bit when Arriss had stroked his hair. It hurt, but only because his head was a swirling blizzard of haze and pain. The man had clocked him, and he had still been groggy from the shock earlier. His wrist throbbed, his shoulder was bleeding, and his back ached, but none of it even bothered him compared to his head.
However, Arriss was soft, and sweet, and gentle with him, and he didn't havce the willpower just now to pretend to be professional. So he leaned into her, resting against her shoulder, wrapping the arm he could move around her waist.
"It'll be ok, Cap…" he said softly, weakly.
Conner slipped his arm around Valiel as the Captain spoke, pulling her close. He knew he could do little to protect her from the aliens surrounding them, but he felt better with her nearby.
“We have to stand down.” Conner’s eyes went to the floor, unable to register what he was hearing. “She wants us to surrender.”
She leaned her head against his as she closed her eyes, taking in his warmth. She knew it was mistake doing this in front of the alien enemies. It would show them how much Ronnie meant to her. But she couldn’t care less; he had been injured, and she hated seeing him in pain.
After holding Ronnie for a few more moments, she took the comm and began to speak into it. “Valiel, Conner, this is your captain speaking. I need you both to stand down,” she said. “I repeat, drop your weapons and stand down. No more fighting.”
She handed the radio back to the man and looked down at Ronnie’s ignoring the man’s gaze. It was hard for Arriss to hate anyone, but she knew that if she had a gun, she would not hesitate to shoot this commander.
Valiel nodded slowly and put her weapons down. "Discretion is the better part of valor, Conner. This way, hopefully, we're at least alive to fight again another day." She gently pried the weapon from his hand, setting the energy javelin on the ground, before moving them so their backs were against an armor rack.
"Door, verbal unlock, authorization Victor-Alpha-Lima." The door to the armory hissed as the locks disengaged, and it flew open. Valiel had her hands out, visible, obviously unarmed, though she kept a grip on Conner's hand the whole time.
Soldiers streamed through the door, and the last thing she registered was a large boot approaching her face. The blackness took her quickly.
Once she'd crumpled to the ground, unconscious, the soldiers turned to Conner. "Keep your hands where we can see them."
……………………….
Ronnie tried to sit up, to not be so weak and useless and helpless and vulnerable in this situation. Now, of all times, he needed his strength.
He heard the command go out, and hoped the other two had gotten it in time to surrender. The alternative was… not pleasant.
The Boss nodded at Arriss, watching her refocus on Ronnie. "Smart move, Captain. Now. We should discuss your plight somewhere more comfortable." He turned and headed back down the hallway, and the soldiers swarmed her. A few of them pulled Ronnie away, firmly but without cruelty. His head lolled back as they picked him up, unnecessary cuffs locked his wrists loosely in place, and his consciousness fled as the pain became too much. They carried him after the boss.
The remaining soldiers held Arriss back from him, mostly with shoves, though the gun muzzles oriented her direction helped dissuade any serious protest. They herded her down the hall and towards a large hole in the hull. Through that hole, a boarding dock had been shoved, and it was onto this dock and across to his own ship that the Boss lead her.
Conner caught Valiel before her head hit the ground, and he sat down before pulling her towards him. Part of him wanted to disobey the orders, show some sort of power over the men that had invaded them, but he knew that would end up in either him or Valiel being killed. He couldn’t have that.
So, when they asked him to raise his hands in surrender, he did so without a fight but he still stayed close to Valiel. Anyone who came near her knew simply by his expression not to touch her.
“Did you seriously have to knock her out?” he hissed. “She had no weapons! We’ve surrendered.”
Arriss fought against the men at first, but she forced to give up when the men brought out their guns. Instead, she tried her best to keep her eye on Ronnie’s unconscious body as they made their way through her ship and towards the enemy one.
As they crossed the boarding dock, Arriss noticed something interesting. The ship wasn’t an enemy ship at all; it was one of the ships on her side. In fact, it was one of their main bases. They must’ve taken it over, which is likely why her ship security system never processed that an enemy was near until it was too late.
The men brought her aboard the ship and to one of the spare rooms where they forced her to sit down. It wasn’t long before the commander entered, and Arriss immediately began trying to speak with him.
“Don’t injure my friend anymore than you already have. Please,” she insisted. “He was
just trying to defend our ship…”
The man who'd kicked her narrowed his eyes at Conner. "She's a skin-thief, you idiot. She doesn't need weapons to be dangerous." The common slur for Skin-changers cracked like a whip out of the man's mouth, and he was almost spitting his words. "Now get on your feet and let's go, or I'll clock you too." Two of the other men picked up Valiel, and one put a mask of some kind over her face. It looked like an oxygen mask, but whatever it was made her body go even more limp. They headed out of the armory and down the hall towards where they'd breached the hull.
Out in the hall, the Zas'Kyet Valiel had slammed was finally waking up, after all this time. It shook it's head and looked at the two men carrying her, with something between grudging respect and loathing on its face.
………………………..
The Boss glanced at Valiel, and noted the recognition on her face. He left for a bit, leaving his mean to guide her to one of the meeting spaces the base had. They sat her in a fairly comfortable chair at a long table.
Eventually, he came in, but this time without his armor. He was still tall, around 6'5", and muscular, but not hulking and bulky like he had been.
He was also not human. His skin was a grey color, almost the color of stone, and his teeth were serrated. His eyes blazed a bright red.
He waved a hand at Arriss's plea on Ronnie's behalf.
"We're not going to hurt him worse, unless you give us reason to, Captain. Please, relax. Sit back." He gave her a smile that could curdle milk. "I believe you've recognized your own military's symbols on my ship, correct?"
Conner made a face at the man, but he didn’t try anything. They had Valiel, and he knew that if he fought back, they would only hurt her worse. But, even if he couldn’t fight back, he still managed to get in a few threats.
As they were led over to the other ship, Conner noticed the same thing his Captain did; this ship did not belong to the enemy. It was one of their own. It was once a base ship— one of the most powerful ones on earth— and he couldn’t even imagine how many other ships they’d taken over.
The men took them down through the ship until they reached a small room near the bottom. Conner was tossed inside, the door shut and locked behind him.
When the commander entered the room, Arriss kept her eyes on the table, avoiding eye contact with the man. Part of her wanted to look him in the eye, show some sort of power, but the other half of her loathed him so much that she didn’t even want to look in his direction.
“Relax? When my crew mates might be dead?” She snorted and rolled her eyes at the questions. “And yes, I recognized the symbols. It’s one of our ships…”
The men responded to Conner's face with stony face apathy. They didn't seem ruffled in the least bit.
They did seem to be a bit unnecessarily rough when they tossed him in his room.
A small blue hologram popped up in the middle of the floor. It was just blue light for a moment, until it suddenly took the shape of Conner's face.
"Hello! My name is Moro-12, and I am here to help you, within certain bounds, of course. Feel free to ask me anything, and if I can give you an answer, I will!"
…………..
"Yes, relax. Because if you don't then they will be dead." The Boss said evenly.
He nodded. "It most certainly was one of your ships, Captain. SImilar to your own, it's mine now. You'll also notice I've got humans, wearing your gear and using your weapons, working for me. That doesn't just happen, I'd like to remind you."
He leaned forward, quiet for a moment.
"I'm sure you've got questions. Ask."
What kind of monsters were these people? Not only had they knocked out Valiel and taken them captive on the ship, but they had also created some sort of weird hologram that looked like Conner himself. It made him uncomfortable, and while he wanted to throw something at it, he figured it was best to try to get some information out of this strange hologram.
“Moro-12, huh?” Conner snorted, clearly annoyed. “Where are they taking Valiel?”
Arriss felt the eyes of everyone in the room land on her, and she began to squirm slightly in her chair. She felt like curling up in her chair and hiding from the world, but she wasn’t a child anymore. She was a captain, and she needed to act like one.
“You sure like to threaten me, don’t you?” She finally raised her gaze to meet his, her curls falling into her face. “I want to know what’s going to happen to us now that you’ve looted our ship and taken us captive.”
"Indeed, I am named Moro-12. I should mention that if you're irritated by looking yourself in the face, I can assume any form you would appreciate more. Just tell me what. You may also redesignate me, if you wish not to have to call me Moro-12 everytime." The AI paused for a moment.
"Valiel, being your Charad-ti companion? If she is whom you mean, she's being taken to a holding cell designed for the Charad-ti. She will not be harmed unless she causes trouble."
………………….
The Boss chuckled. "I only threaten to hurt you as much as you threaten to make trouble, Captain." He folded his hands on the table in front of him. Without the heavy gauntlets, he had thick hands tipped with razor-sharp claws. "Well, you're currently our… shall we say guests on our ship. We have indeed looted your ship, and what a nice find. It would be easy to just send you on your way. But I'd also like to keep that sleek little ship you've got."
He stood and began pacing, slowly, staying on his side of the room.
"This conflict between you humans has shown the rest of the galaxy something. You have great potential. Many of us have stayed out of the Human Affair, in a strict sense. However." He stopped moving and turned to face her.
"A few of my colleagues and I saw an opportunity. To ally with humans and bring them on, and shake the galaxy at large. And so I've begun hiring soldiers, men with talent, men with ambition."
He sat down again. "I'm prepared to offer you a command position, with your crew intact and healthy, if you'll join us. We're growing quickly, and as you can see, we're already a power to rival your own factions."
Conner sighed, sitting down on the floor and placing his head in his hands. This was all too much to process right now. Only an hour before, he had been sitting on his ship, having a nice conversation with Valiel. Now, his ship had been conquered, their supplies had been taken, and he was trapped in a containment room with no idea where the rest of his crew was.
“How about Arriss,” he questioned, “or Ronnie? Where are they?”
Arriss’s hands shook as she tried to hold back the tears burning her eyes. Would her crew hate her if she agreed to this? Would Ronnie be disappointed? He was such a strong fighter. Even when they had him down on the ground with a broken wrist, Ronnie still kept trying to get up to protect her and the ship. She felt she was throwing him and all his sacrifices aside just to keep them safe.
“Look, I get it. You’re trying to build an army or whatever. I get it. But I’m only doing this job because I have to.” Her voice cracked with emotion as she spoke. “Besides, I’ve only ever led a four person ship. What makes you think that I’m capable of leading more than that?”
(not gonna lie, fully thought she was gonna turn it down flat. Nice twist :)
(Im actively falling asleep while typing, so I'll answer this tomorrow if thats ok.)
Moro-12 gave him a concerned look. "You seem distressed, Let me assure you that you will all be taken care of as long as you don't try to cause problems. You are only confined right now because we cannot be sure you won't try to kill someone." The AI paused again, as if gathering the info to answer Conner.
"If Arriss is your Captain, then she is in conversation with our leadership. She has not been harmed. And I assume Ronnie is the 4th member of your crew. He sustained some injuries during the boarding action and is in the medbay, receiving treatment as we speak. He is unconscious but stable." The AI pasued, running an authorization check.
"Would you like to see any of them? Would that help you relax?"
………………………………….
She was considering it. That was a good sign. The Boss had thought she'd reject it flat. A few of the more 'patriotic' types had.
"It would be a command on the same level as what you were doing. I'm not going to throw you into commanding major operations. You would likely lead a 5 or 6 man crew doing similar work to what you're doing now, or more philanthropic efforts if you like." He tilted his head forward, not staring at her, but making eye contact.
"As for only doing what you do because you have to… well, Captain, what would you like to be doing?"
He was prepared to offer her much, and frankly… well. He'd need to tell her more, but the Captain clearly had a heart, and the Boss wasn't as cold and hard as he'd displayed so far.
A human with heart was a force to be reckoned with, in the wider galactic order. And with the Singularity bogged down in bureaucracy and power plays, there were people languishing all across civilized space. Those people had reached for help, for hope, and he was trying to give them that.
Except there were no legal ways to do that, within the Singularity. And so he was a pirate. In human folk lore, they might have called him a Robin Hood.
And if he could get her to join his Merry Men, he would.
Conner thought through the question for a moment. Ronnie was unconscious, so he knew that there wouldn’t be much to see. He desperately wanted to see Valiel, but the AI probably wouldn’t allow him to speak with her. Arriss, however, was in a meeting with the leader. Maybe if he asked to see her, he would overhear what the commander had been trying to talk to her about.
“Can you… show me our Captain?”
What would he do if she turned down his offer? Would he kill her and her crew? They had treated them fairly so far, other than the incident where they injured Ronnie. But there was telling what they would do if she said no to their commander.
“With all respect, I would like to be going home,” she insisted. “I’m only doing this for my family. For my country. I never wanted to get bogged down in this stupid war, and I especially never wanted to be any sort of pirate.”
She stared down at her hands, twisting the rings that adorned her fingers. Her crew may be disappointed in her, but she hadn’t lied. Killing, stealing, looting ships… it’s the exact opposite of what she’d wanted when she’d first been drafted for the war.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” She sighed softly. “Right now, I’m too worried about my friend to be making any big decisions.”
Moro-12 nodded. "I can give you video feed, though I am not authorized to give you audio channels as well at this time." The AI's face disappeared, replaced by a security cam feed. It showed Arriss sitting in a large meeting room at one end of a long table, and some hulking figure sitting at the other end. He didn't seem threatening, and she didn't seem overly distressed, just upset, of course. She was also unharmed.
"Would you like to see anyone else?" Moro-12's voice came from nowhere to ask.
………………
The Boss smiled at her. "You're not even interested in what I could offer you and your crew? It's not an offer without payment, without perks. And going home could definitely be in the cards, if that's what you want. But think about it- if I send you back now, you'll just be re-drafted. There's no escaping the military complexes your people have put in place. Unless… you go through the right channels." He tilted his head forward.
"Captain… would you like to hear what I'd be willing to offer you and your crew before you turn it down?"
Her obvious worry for the injured crewman was… sweet, in a way. More evidence of that human heart he'd been talking about. But it also gave him leverage.
"I should also clarify that each of your crew will be given their own choice as well. I start with you because it's easier to convince a crew if their captain has agreed. But rest assured, they'll each be asked what they choose."
Conner scanned the video feed for a few moments, thinking. He was glad that she was unharmed, but also very, very confused. During most raids, the captain of the ship was often killed after interrogation. They were also beaten and often tortured for information. Arriss, however, was completely unharmed. Sure, she was obviously under distress, but she was fine.
“Yes, I would like to see Valiel and Ronnie,” he said. “Are- are they planning to kill Arriss? You know, after they’re done with her…”
She stared at the floor, thinking. These people intrigued her in a way. When most space pirates took over other ships, they would treat the crew like trash, often torturing some and killing others. But so far, her crew had remained mostly unharmed. Their kind treatment of the crew was respectable, to say the least.
“What makes you so different from the humans and their war effort?” she questioned. “What’s your end goal?”
