Reavers (Book 3) Read online

  Tardos had never really been a big fan of the 3Ps. The idea of a device projecting data directly to his brain didn’t sound safe to him. However, on a small ship the pad-sized 3Ps offered entertainment without taking up much space. So, despite his misgivings, he had gotten used to passing the long days in those artificial narratives. Ghosts and the like were fine in 3Ps; he could turn those off when he wanted. Having one stare him in the face in real life, on the other hand, was unendingly unnerving.

  “Is there a problem?” the second in command asked.

  Realizing he had lagged behind the group, Tardos quickly broke his lock on his ghost and ran to catch up.

  “Just admiring the design,” he said with a smile.

  Even if the walls scared him a bit, he knew better than to publicly criticize his new home. Being a custom ship, the captain had no doubt desired that effect. To criticize the design was to criticize the captain directly. Without a word, the second in command led the group to their bunks. Tardos let a smile fill his face when they arrived. Despite being more crowded, the room was easily twice the size of the one he had lived in back on the Freeport. He couldn’t help but snicker when he noticed several of the crewmembers had hung up posters and the like to block the walls and their eerie reflections.

  “We don’t bother to assign bunks here; if you want a bunk take it,” the second in command said briskly. “Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow you start your new lives.”

  With that he turned and left. Tardos noted he kept his right hand in his pocket the entire time. The way the pocket fidgeted he was obviously playing with something.

  “So you are the new blood we’ve been promised?” a gruff voice said.

  Turning, Tardos jumped back. A man easily twice his size was looming over him. His face made it evident he did not approve of the newcomers.

  “You got a problem with us?” one of the females in Tardos’ group sneered back.

  “I just don’t like the idea of my life being in the hands of runts!”

  Before Tardos could react, the hulking brute of a man had grabbed him by his collar and was lifting him off the ground. He was so focused on the threat of immediate dismemberment that he hadn’t noticed Kevin move to his side. Kevin leaned a bit forward and whispered in his ear. If his body wasn’t in mortal peril, Tardos might have found it funny that he had been lifted into the air to the point he was the same height as his friend.

  “Where would you like to sleep?” Kevin whispered in a calm voice.

  “You got something to say?” the hulking man holding Tardos demanded. “Speak up!”

  Kevin ignored him completely. Tardos tried to scramble his wits to him. As he nervously bit his lower lip, he focused on what Kevin had said. Quickly glancing around he noticed a bunk that looked inviting. Weakly, he pointed at the bunk. The hulking man raised an eyebrow and followed the pointing of the little man’s hand.

  “That bunk’s taken, runt,” the hulking man said with a smirk. “In fact, as far as you are concerned, they are all taken.”

  The hulking man started to laugh. It sounded more like thunder claps. Those in their bunks started to join in the laughter. The new crewmembers visibly started to back away, except for Kevin who stood perfectly still. The hulking brute holding Tardos did not miss that fact.

  “Tough guy, I see,” the hulking man said, looking him over. “I’ll have to teach you your place.”

  “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Tardos said with what small scraps of courage he had left. “I’ve seen him seal off blown relief valves - by hand.”

  The hulking man stared at him, clearly not understanding. Tardos silently rebuked himself. This dumb ox would have no idea of the force of a blown relief valve, let alone the incredible strength it would take to turn the seal by hand. As he was about to give another example, the hulking brute tossed him aside.

  His eyes quickly shut tight and his body cringed in preparation of the pain that was about to come. To his surprise, no pain came. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing on the floor plates, Kevin’s hand firmly on his shoulder. As Kevin took a step toward the bunk Tardos had indicated, the hulking man slammed his fist against the wall. The meat of his arm created a human wall that stopped Kevin’s advance.

  “Maybe I haven’t made myself clear,” the hulking man said, obviously infuriated. “I’m Revel. I run the invasion teams. Every time we raid a ship I’m the first to board her. That means when the captain isn’t here, I run things. My word is law.”

  Tardos couldn’t believe it, but a small smile appeared on Kevin’s face. As anger flushed over the hulking man’s face, Kevin grabbed the arm stretched out in front of him. Before Revel could react, Kevin had bent the arm in an unnatural direction. The sickening sound of shattering bone filled the room. Those who had been enjoying the sight instantly sat up in their bunks. As the tall man fell to the ground cradling his arm, Kevin casually walked past him.

  With a gentle hand, he gestured for Tardos to sit on the empty bunk he had chosen earlier. The nearby pirates quickly packed up their personal belongings and fled to bunks farther down the room. Tardos sat on his new bunk completely dumbfounded. He knew Kevin was strong but had no idea he would actually hurt anyone.

  Looking down the walkway between the bunks, Tardos watched as the hulking man silently stood and marched off. That man must have incredible endurance and fortitude not to cry out against the pain he had to be feeling with a broken arm. As the wounded, hulking man passed the other newcomers, one of the girls stuck out her tongue at him

  “Serves you right,” she said with finality as he walked past her.

  As the other newcomers searched the room for places to sleep, Tardos turned to Kevin.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said, wiping the sweat off his brow. “This will be trouble for both of us!”

  Kevin didn’t say a thing as he sat in the newly vacated bunk next to Tardos’.

  “He was going to make trouble anyways,” an energetic voice said from behind them.

  Looking over his shoulder, Tardos found the girl who had stuck out her tongue at the hulking man. She was taking the bunk on the other side of him.

  “I’ve seen the type,” she continued, “not happy until everyone is scared of them. Nothing more than a bully.”

  “Bullies have a tendency to get revenge,” he said with a worried tone.

  “Somehow I don’t think you need to worry about that. Your friend seems able to take care of himself.”

  The girl smiled warmly at Kevin. Tardos restrained a chuckle as he realized the girl was far more interested in Kevin than himself. After a few moments of silence the girl’s warm expression faded.

  “Don’t like me or something?” she asked.

  “You’ll have to excuse Kevin. He doesn’t talk much to anyone. Took a week before he said anything to me.”

  “Really?” she asked, sounding even more interested. “What did he say?”

  Tardos couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The girl tilted her head, not understanding what was so funny.

  “I say something wrong?” she asked.

  “Not at all. His first words to me were: ‘Will you shut up?’”

  The girl started to giggle. Kevin turned his back on the two. That did it. The girl burst into full bore laughter along with about ten others. Tardos hadn’t realized it, but everyone who could had been eavesdropping. With a smile, he settled into his bunk. It hadn’t been the best of introductions, but at least it was over for now. The only worry now was what the second in command had meant by “tomorrow you start your new lives.” In Tardos’ experience those words always heralded work and suffering.

  After a restful night’s sleep, a gentle shaking awakened Tardos. Opening his eyes, he found Kevin standing over him. As Tardos was about to greet him, Kevin moved his hand to his face. He was obviously telling him to remain silent. Visions of the hulking man seeking revenge flashed through Tardos’ mind. Sitting up, he quickly scanned the room around t
hem. The regular crewmembers were still fast asleep. Along with Kevin, the other newcomers were awake. Tardos stood up and shook the sleepiness from his face. As his senses sharpened, he recognized the second in command standing in the entrance. Quickly and quietly the new crewmembers snuck out and followed the second in command while the others slept.

  “What time is it?” Tardos asked Kevin when he was sure they were far enough away from the others still sleeping.

  “Too blasted early,” a dull feminine voice said.

  Turning his head to glance behind him, he instantly snapped it back. He recognized the girl as the one who had picked the bunk on the other side of him, although who she was seemed instantly trivial. What she was wearing on the other hand was harder to ignore. Or perhaps it was better to say what she wasn’t wearing.

  While there was no dress code on a pirate ship, there were still forms of decency. At least Tardos thought there were. The girl behind him was wearing what appeared to be a single length of cloth that wrapped around her in a manner that covered only that which had to be covered. What was worse was the cloth was semi-transparent. Even the parts it concealed were barely covered.

  “Something wrong?” she asked with a yawn.

  Feeling obliged, Tardos turned to face her and shook his head. Instantly, he realized she wasn’t even looking at him. Her gaze was firmly locked on the back of Kevin’s head. He restrained the urge to laugh. The outfit that was getting him hot and bothered was designed to do exactly that. The girl seemed to have the equivalent of a schoolyard crush on the dashing Kevin who had saved them all from that hulking brute. The only problem was he seemed completely and entirely ignorant of that fact.

  Here the girl was walking around practically naked for him, and he hadn’t even seemed to notice. Tardos rubbed the bridge of his nose. Was his young friend really that dense? Abruptly, he ran right into Kevin’s back. In the few moments he had taken his eyes off him, Kevin had come to a dead stop. Before he could ask why, he realized the second in command had stopped his advance and had turned to face them. They were in a large open room obviously used for training and exercise.

  “First things first. We have not yet been formally introduced. My name is Andreas Viera. From this point on you are expected to know the names of everyone around you. This ship regularly engages in combat situations that require quick response times. I will not have you putting this ship in danger because you are bad with names.”

  The new crewmembers tried to stand at attention against the formality of Andreas’ voice. After his introduction, he made a strange hand signal Tardos had seen before but couldn’t remember exactly what it meant. Kevin grabbed his hand and pulled him alongside him. That was it. Andreas had ordered them to form a line. Getting the hint, the others quickly moved to form a less-than-perfect line. Andreas calmly walked to one end of the line and looked expectantly at the man standing across from him.

  After a moment of confusion, the man introduced himself. Tardos focused on the man’s name and face. He had been a strategist, not a combatant. In the past he had only had to remember who was the captain and who was second in command. The rest were nameless pirates who moved like chess pieces according to his instructions.

  As Andreas moved down the line, Tardos quickly lost track of who was who. The progress came to grinding halt when Andreas stood across from Kevin. He stared expectantly at Kevin. Kevin looked like a statue that hadn’t moved in years. The hints of a frown started to form on Andreas’ face. Tardos realized he had to speak up and took a deep breath.

  “His name is Kevin,” the girl standing next to him said.

  She had beaten him to the punch.

  “Does Kevin have a problem?” Andreas asked, without taking his eyes off of the boy.

  “I don’t think so . . .” the girl said looking at the short man for support.

  “Give him an order,” Tardos said flatly.

  Andreas broke his stare to look at the short man. After a few moments of an unbearably hard stare, Andreas returned his attention to Kevin.

  “Any order?” Andreas asked.

  “Yep,” Tardos confirmed.

  A wicked smile formed on Andreas’ face.

  “What’s your name?” he asked the girl who had given Kevin’s name.

  “Sasha Pajer.”

  “All right, Kevin,” he said with a smug look on his face. “Sasha spoke out of turn. I think she needs to be punished. Take her clothes from her . . . if that’s what you can call that getup.”

  The gathered group started to mumble disapprovingly. No one dared protest with words, but it was obvious Andreas was not making any friends. Kevin nodded and approached Sasha. She instantly panicked and tried to run. With a firm hand, he held her still. Her eyes started to mist. Tardos moved to stop the affair but Andreas held him back. After making sure he understood how to disrobe her, Kevin closed his eyes.

  Without peeking once, he completely removed her clothes. Then strangely, without opening his eyes, he took off his shirt and pants. The others watched in stunned silence as he then handed his clothes to the girl. With large tears in her eyes Sasha quickly took the clothes and covered herself.

  “I didn’t say you could . . .” Andreas protested.

  “You didn’t say he couldn’t either,” a gruff voice said over him.

  Everyone turned to find Revel standing at the far end of the room, his arm in a cast.

  “You told the boy to take her clothes,” Revel said. “He did that. You didn’t say a thing about giving his. You’ve proved your point. Kevin will follow orders; no need to embarrass the girl further. None of them will keep the ship from running smoothly.”

  With a look of annoyance, Andreas sighed. Without a word of apology, he moved to Tardos. Realizing they were continuing, Tardos gave his full name. He skipped Sasha. After the last of the new crewmembers had been introduced, Andreas handed each of them a pad. Quickly checking it over, Tardos found a long list of menial tasks to be completed before the day was over.

  “Dismissed,” Andreas said plainly.

  As soon as his back turned, the new crewmembers made faces and gestures one did not make in polite society.

  “Let’s get you some new clothes,” Revel said with a grin as he forcibly slapped Kevin’s bare back.

  “I hate to ask, but aren’t you mad about . . . that?” Tardos asked, hesitantly gesturing to Revel’s cast.

  “Mad? Are you kidding? Mad is for when you stub your toe on the hull plating. I planned to come down here and return the favor. And then some.” Revel slapped Kevin’s back again. “Seeing all that, I think I may have judged him too quickly. You’re alright, kid.”

  As he started to pull Kevin along, Sasha stopped him.

  “Thank you for . . . everything,” she said in a soft voice, between sniffles.

  “Girl, thank the man when he has some clothes on!” Revel said, bursting into laughter.

  As Tardos followed after the rest, a sickening thought hit him. What would Andreas have made Kevin do if he had answered before Sasha? A shiver ran up and down his spine at the thought. As they reached the bunks again, he overheard some of the male crewmembers following behind him talking among themselves. Tardos struggled to place their names with their voices.

  “I can’t believe that just happened!” Tommy said, or at least Tardos thought he was named Tommy.

  “Tell me about it, but did you see her body? A-ma-zing,” Isaac said.

  “I can’t believe that guy closed his eyes. What an opportunity!”

  A mixture of annoyance and disgust filled him. After that display, all they could think of was that? As he shook his head, a familiar hand rested on his shoulder. Kevin was redressed and was already looking over the tasks on the pad. He shot a glance at him that asked if he was ready.

  “One moment,” he said, gesturing for Kevin to stay.

  Kevin raised an eyebrow as Tardos crossed the room and leaned in close to the two men.

  “I hope you boys enjoyed that eye
ful,” he said in a low voice so Kevin couldn’t hear, “because that is as close as perverts like you will ever get. Because my friend chose to be a gentleman and not take advantage of that opportunity, he has a chance that next time she’ll be the one asking him to take her clothes off.”

  The two men stared at Tardos in disbelief. As he returned to Kevin he could hear the two men arguing enviously over how unfair life was.

  “What was that all about?” Kevin asked in a whisper.

  “Nothing important,” he answered with a shrug. “Now tell me, my friend, what do you know about dating?”

  “A little extreme for my tastes,” Rosalyn said indifferently.

  “It served a purpose,” Andreas said defensively.

  “I know, I know. Makes me wonder though.”

  “Wonder what?”

  “If you’d like to strip me down too.” Rosalyn ran her hands around her bust and hips suggestively. “I can imagine you’d love to sneak a peak at these curves.”

  “Attire like that is a distraction.” He completely ignored her taunt. “We can’t have the men tripping over their drool. The lesson will keep both in line.”

  “Plus, I’m the only one who gets to make men drool around here. I am a little surprised by Revel though. He loves to abuse the newcomers.”

  “Don’t forget Revel originally came from a core world. He doesn’t bat an eye over a broken bone or two. However, he is overly squeamish about decorum.”

  “Whatever you call it, I think your plan backfired.”

  “How so?”

  “Kevin’s made a powerful friend in Revel. The two of them might be more than you can handle. You’re losing your touch.”

  “If I can handle you, I can handle anyone. It’s a shame though.”

  “What? That you can’t confess your undying love for me?” Rosalyn said with a wink.

  “That we will have to miss on so many targets.”

  “You always have to ruin my fun, don’t you?” she asked as her face turned serious. “Our last job should be more than enough to keep us running. Although, I don’t like the idea of missing out any more than you do.”