“Your robe, Captain.”
A smug smile curled his lips, no doubt noticing how green the entire situation was making her. “Put it into your pack and carry it for me. I will need mine to fill with treasure. I will recover it from you once we return to the ship.”
Terri grimaced and swung her pack from her back. “Sure. Just… awesome.”
She tried not to think about the nastiness that it would be getting all over everything as she shoved the rolled-up material into her bag. As far as she was concerned, anything within it was now tainted from the contact, including the food rations and hydration pods that were divvied up the last time they stopped out of concern over having the food all with one individual, with the way the crew was dying off. In light of how few people survived the encounter with Experiment 226, as Veral called it, she’d been grateful. Now that they were buried in the crumbly remains of a dead prince… well, she was no longer hungry. She hoped that Veral had been given some rations to carry.
She shouldered the bag again and looked back toward the pirates, noticing that they were no longer paying attention to her. His orders being followed, Egbor had resumed focus on his objective: getting into the room. He drew up to Veral’s side, his face tight with expectation as Veral worked on the door codes.
The door unlocked and slid open as Veral stepped back to permit the captain entrance. Egbor didn’t even hesitate, pushing his way through, a joyous shout coming from him. Terri’s eyes widened at what she could see from where she sat.
There were visible containers of gold, precious metals she couldn’t even identify from the distance, and gems that put the palm-sized ones she had ferreted away to shame. Most containers were large enough that they stood above the water level like brilliant beacons, but even those beneath it glittered beneath the artificial lighting that had activated when Veral opened the door. In fact, the water seemed to lend mystery to those it concealed, and Terri had to wonder what was hidden on the floor, obscured by the sediment.
She blinked.Wait… Water?
The prince’s chamber hadn’t been flooded until they opened it. Why was the treasure room already flooded? It appeared to have been for some time, the lower ends of several tapestries rotting and falling apart where they were submerged. That didn’t make sense, unless…
Egbor laughed, his arms stretched out as he circled. “Is it not as I told you!? Behold the wealth of theEvandra! It is ours!”
Hands dove among the treasures, eagerly filling packs to the brim as Veral took one step back and then another to place his hand once more on the key panel. Terri sucked in a breath as he initiated the sequence to seal the door once more. The pirates spun around just as the door began to slide shut, panic on their faces, but what Terri saw made her blood run cold.
An enormous fin broke free of the water, and a deafening shriek filled the room.
They shouted in fear, scrambling for the door. Veral grinned ruthlessly at Egbor, who had waded too far into the room to make it back in time. The captain shouted as he made his way to the door, only then noting the creature emerging behind them.
“Wait!Argurma, you cannot leave us in here!” he bellowed.
“I told you, did I not, that you would never threaten my mate again?” Veral said just as the door slid home, the heavy chink of the locking mechanism engaging filling the room. He turned away from the door just as the screaming began and looked at Azan.
“Will I have any trouble from you, pirate?”
A lazy smile stretched over the female’s face, and she shook her head. “From me? Not at all. With no Igwins left on the ship, I will be able to exact complete control and put things back in shape that his endless greed allowed to fall apart. In fact, I would say that this may put me in your debt for ridding me and the crew of that overbearing male.”
Terri sloshed over to his side, a tremor running through her when the last hair-raising scream split the air. “That might set some kind of record for vengeance delivered. Send the guy to be eaten by a monster. Well done.”
He smirked down at her, his vibrissae smoothing through her hair. “It would be lauded among my people, though I lost the trophy,” he said, his smile falling.
“I’d say it was worth it. Something worthy of legends, far better than a skull.” A puzzled frown pulled at her brow. “But how are we going to get off the planet? The pirates…” She cast a hopeful look to Azan, but the female shook her head.
“Although I fully intend to take over the crew, it will not be so easy as that. I will need to return to the ship and wrest control. That takes time—and a lot of blood spilled, if I’m unlucky. I do hate to lose crew members, but I will have to deal with those who consider themselves loyal to Egbor. We still need to devise a way off this planet, and to return us to the ship, without being blown out of the sky. By now, his vitals implant will have flatlined. His upper crew will be aware of his death. They will have been alerted by medical immediately.”
“Fuck! What are we going to do?”
“Do not be concerned. I have a contingency plan en route,” Veral replied.
“What?” Terri asked, bewildered.
“We will no doubt have to deal with him as well, but it will allow us to get away from the pirates.” Veral tilted his head again, smirking. “He is arriving now. We must leave.”
“Let’s hope we don’t meet up with 226 on our way out,” Terri muttered. “How did you know it was in there?”
“My scans revealed that the room was flooded and a large bio-organic tech was present. It was clear that the thing had made the treasure room its den. I estimate that we will be able to pass through the flooded compartments before it realizes that there is more prey awaiting it.”
“Please don’t refer to us as prey,” Terri groaned.
“Yes, please,” Azan muttered as she swung Garswal onto her back. “Lead the way, then.”
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