Snatched By Her Alien Rogue (Lady Scientists #3)

Chapter 1 Rotten

“Maybe you shouldn’t be a pirate,” my first mate Wyn deadpans as we race away from the Intergalactic Enforcement Squad. “We could just blast them right now and then we’d be home free.”

The two of us are huddled with our small crew on the bridge of The Defiant. The reason we’re being chased doesn’t matter. But if you must know, we stole several tankers of fuel from a nearby rest stop.

“I’m not blasting anyone, and you know it. I didn’t think you had a taste for murder, Wyn.” I grip the panel as our ship makes a sharp evasive move.

“I don’t have a taste for murder. And neither do you. That’s the problem.”

He pauses as another blast rattles the ship. It’s got the best shields that I could cobble together on a limited budget, but we both know they’ll only withstand so much. And once this ship blows, it’s really going to blow, thanks to all the extra fuel we’re carrying.

“Head for the Felix 2 junk field twelve knots to the southwest,” I tell Falen, our lead engineer.

“Are you sure?” Falen asks. “There’s a reason ships don’t pass through there.”

“I’m sure. Just head in there and blast any junk that gets in our way.”

“That’s a terrible waste of ammunition,” Wyn points out.

“I don’t care about the ammunition, just get us out of here,” I say.

Falen nods and sets a course for the junk field. The three of us have known each other since we were kids on the rough side of southern Xanx. If getting through the junk barrage was truly impossible, I know my engineer would tell me.

As we approach the field of floating space debris, the blasts from the IES intensify, then stop. They probably figure the junk will do what their missiles have failed to accomplish. Wyn checks the radar, blinking to our left.

“Looks like our pursuers are turning away. Now all we have to do is to survive the—oof!”

Before he can finish, a jarring clank interrupts him. It’s probably some decommissioned satellite or space wreck banging into us.

“Start blasting, Captain?” Falen asks.

“Yep. Start blasting.”

My two hearts beat faster in my chest, and I look over at Wyn with a smile.

“See? We’re having a death-defying adventure. That’s pretty piratical, don’t you think?”

Wyn grumbles but smiles to himself. I know he loves this as much as I do. Now, if we could only find a way to avoid the wrath of the authorities, we could set off on our next escapade. As my thoughts churn, the ship's computer crackles to life.

“Receiving an emergency signal, Code 5 from the Felix sector. It’s The Adventure, registered to the Galactic Broadcasting Company of Xanx.”

Wyn and I exchange glances. That’s not far from here.

“What’s a Code 5 again?” I ask him.

“It’s for an attack by an unknown assailant.”

“Computer, show a visual scan of The Adventure’s approximate location,” I say.

The viewscreen panel divides into sixteen squares showing different parts of the sector. There’s a whole lot of empty space until we get to the lower right corner. There, something truly unsettling is happening.

A ship, which I can only assume is The Adventure, is burning in multiple places. It looks like someone, or something, shot it up with laser missiles. A shiver of fear runs through me. Whoever did this is way more powerful than my friends at the IES.

“Computer. Are there any ships capable of shooting laser missiles in the Felix or surrounding sectors?”

“No ships with that capability are detected at this time.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” I mutter.

“Terrifying, more like,” Wyn adds.

I grimace. We know the Felix sector well and we’ve never heard of anything like this.

“Wait, I know that ship, The Adventure,” Falen says.

“What is it?” I ask.

“It’s the ship for that reality show Sexy Human Conquest. Or Gorgeous Gals of the Galaxy.”

“I can’t believe you watch that garbage,” Wyn says.

“It’s just harmless fun. Plus, the humans are so…” Falen trails off.

He doesn’t have to explain how alluring it is to watch scantily clad humans with their soft, round shoulders in a variety of perilous situations.

“Wait! Wasn’t The Adventure the one that got attacked a few rotations ago?” I ask.

“Maybe.” Falen rubs his chin.

“I remember. It was in the news. It was the maiden voyage, and the ship randomly got hit by a decommissioned satellite.” Suddenly, I’m more interested in this disaster.

“Maybe it wasn’t so random,” Wyn suggests.

“I wonder,” Falen says.

“We should check it out.” I start pacing behind Wyn and Falen.

“Why?” Wyn watches me pace and rolls his eyes. He knows something’s brewing in my head.

“What if there are survivors?” I say.

“If there are, I’m sure they’ve called the proper authorities.” Wyn narrows his eyes at me.

“Bahh. Who needs the proper authorities?” I smile innocently.

“There may be a good reason The Adventure got attacked.”

“Twice.” Wyn crosses his arms.

“Yeah. Maybe we can get to the bottom of it.”

“You think we’d be better at that than licensed investigators with access to government secrets?” Wyn asks, but I’m sure he knows what I’ll say.

“Government clearances are overrated. We’re not bound by their rules. And we’re close by. Haven’t you always wanted to meet a reality star? I bet they’re wearing something cute that shows off their shoulders. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Wyn doesn’t look convinced, but I’m not letting that stop me.

“Computer, do a scan for escape pods nearby.”

“Have you forgotten we’re carrying a thousand gallons of extra fuel?” Falen asks.

“No, but imagine how much safer we’ll be if we have real life TV stars onboard. No one will dare shoot at us. We’ll be heroes, not outlaws.”

“More like outlaw heroes,” Wyn says.

“I can live with that.” I grin.

The ship's computer crackles again.

“Escape pod spotted in the Felix sector.”

“Alright boys, let’s go.”