Corsairs: Kaspar (Corsair Brothers 2) - Page 118

But I shrug her off. I know how this is going to play out. I'll step forward and make myself a target. I'll be the diversion, leading them away from Alice, Sterre, and Salvotor, and if they can get away, then my life will have been worth something. I stare boldly back at Crulden, daring him to come after me and not my vulnerable, pregnant female.

Crulden drops the weapon he's holding. It's a staff, and unlike mine, it's not meant to be charged. His is plain wood. He tosses it down to the ground, and when he takes a step forward in the pit, I practically growl in response, my need to protect Alice is so great. He says something to the guards at the edge of the pit, giving them a dismissive look before taking another step forward.

Before I can jump out of the shadows to meet him, a female approaches the edge of the arena pit. Crulden turns toward her as she holds out a pitcher. He takes the entire thing from her as she smiles at him and crosses her arms, saying something. I can't make out their voices, but I can tell right away that the slender female at his side is…human. She's different from Alice—darker hair, a thin face and a large nose and eyebrows—but the way Crulden looks at her makes me pause.

One of the trainers says something, and then Crulden's gaze skates my way again. He turns, slowly, and then slams the pitcher into the guard's face with a snarl. "I don't like your attitude toward my female!"

Alice jerks behind me, shocked. Salvotor sucks in a breath.

All at once, chaos ensues. The a'ani guards, previously so very bored, all jump into the arena to attack Crulden. The female shrieks and takes a step back. "Crulden!" There's more scuffling, and as I watch, the female launches herself into the fray, attacking the back of one of the a'ani guards. "Don't you fucking hurt him! Stop it!"

"What are you doing?" the female with Crulden cries. "All of you! Stop it! Leave him alone! He was being compliant!"

Her idea of compliant is very different than mine. But that's the point, I think. As Crulden dramatically throws one of the guards—away from where we stand, in the shadows—it occurs to me what he's doing. He's causing a distraction. He's helping us escape. He has no reason to, either. I don't know him. I'm pretty sure if we met in a cantina he'd rip my throat out. So why's he doing this?

Sterre growls low, and it snaps me out of my state of shock. Crulden is something to ponder…some other time. For now, my duty is to get Alice out of here.

"Time to go," I say in a low voice, and I'm nearly drowned out by Crulden's blood-curdling roar of anger. An alarm goes off, blaring across the quiet compound, and all kef breaks loose. More clones flood into the courtyard, heading directly to where the gladiator is raging. I put a hand on Alice's shoulder, gesture for Salvotor to follow close behind, and lead them through the shadows, all the while Crulden throws a fierce, terrible tantrum and the human female screams at the guards.

When we reach the shuttle dock, I want to laugh with sheer delight when the stolen wrist-cuff unlocks the door. Inside, a small fleet of space cruisers wait in the gloom. There's a jaunty little Breezer, best for pleasure cruising but not made for long distances. A state-of-the-art Excelsior class cruiser, which are so incredibly pricey and outrageous that we'd might as well just flash “STOLEN” across our foreheads and wait to be taken in by the authorities. There's a Skimmer, which looks less sleek than the others despite the name, and I gravitate toward it. I'd bet credits it's been refurbished with a Skater-class engine, the only reason to still have one of those particular birds.

And I know how to tweak a Skater-class engine. "This way," I say, pointing at the ship. "Get in that one. Hurry."

"That one? But it looks crappy!" Alice wrestles with Sterre's harness, trying to calm the carinoux, who probably wants to go back outside and tear into a few people. I imagine all the screaming is agitating her. "Shouldn't we take the best one?"

"Nope," I say, and slide the door to the hangar shut again, then bash my club into the control panel to slow things down. "We take the one that lets us fly incognito." Which, I'm guessing, is also why a refurb Skimmer ship is here. It sure isn't for the looks.

Despite the Skimmer's name, it's a blocky junk-heap of a ship, with dull gray panels and a boxy exterior. Two small horizontal “wings” jut out from the fat belly of the thing, no doubt to unfurl an old-fashioned solar-sail in dangerous areas where a dark-matter drive will show up on all kinds of tracking displays. The stodgy body of the ship leads back to an even fatter end, normally used for holding cargo. Despite the fact that it looks bloated and unwieldy, it'll move like a dancer once we get her into deep space.

Tags: Ruby Dixon Corsair Brothers Fantasy
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