I keep smiling when Jade gives me a vaguely worried look, and punch a few more buttons. A visual of the incoming ship appears on the comm monitors, and I swear to myself. That's not the Little Sister. Nor is it Lord Straik's The Darkened Eye. It's a flash cruiser, designed for speed and stealth…and a favorite of pirates with a lot of credits to burn.
It sends another ping, and the system chirps at me.
"Shouldn't we answer?" Jade asks, looking at me. "If that's your brothers?"
"It's not them," I admit after a moment. "I don't recognize that ship at all."
"How…" She pauses. "How did they know we're here, then?"
It's an excellent question. The odds of someone finding the Buoyant Star without specific coordinates are extremely, extremely slim. Jade and her companions had a handful of visitors over the last three years, and only after they were sending out a distress signal to lure in pirates with supplies. This strikes me as highly coincidental. Either we've left a signal on somewhere, or someone's given away our location.
If I had a credit on me, I'd suspect it was Lord Straik. I know my brothers wouldn't sell me out…so it has to be the lord. But at the same time, it doesn't make sense. He acted like he was ashamed to find out his family was smuggling humans. Why would he turn around and give that information to pirates? He wouldn't.
Unless…he was forced to. I rub my jaw as the ping chimes again. This is definitely a problem.
I look over at Jade. Jade, who looks up at me with those big, beautiful eyes, as if she's trusting me to fix this problem. As if I can reassure her that everything's going to be all right. Jade, who makes my world better with a laugh, whose smile makes my heart feel as if it's coming out of my chest. There is nothing I wouldn't do for this female, and being with her in the last six weeks has only emphasized that feeling. It's easily been the happiest six weeks of my life. I want to wake up with her wild, kinky hair in my mouth and her tits plastered against my chest every morning for the rest of my days.
And I'm not going to risk her for anything.
"Do you love me, Jade?" I ask.
Her eyes narrow as she looks over at me. "This is an odd time for a declaration."
She knows me all too well. "Just answer. Yes or no?"
"You know the answer is yes."
"Fantastic." I gesture at the wall. "I'm going to pull that panel off and I want you to hide behind it until that ship is gone."
Jade stares at me. "Do…what?"
"It's a pirate ship. Probably not friendly. I don't want them getting anywhere near you, so I'm going to need you to hide." I'm already racing out of the room, heading for my blaster. I'll give her my weapon, so she can protect herself. If she's hidden, this ship has a lot of janky re-wiring now thanks to my efforts. Maybe they won't notice another bio-signature. I can play it off as something else.
At least, that's the hope.
As long as Jade is safe, I can take anything these pirates dish out.
I snatch up my weapon from the hook on the wall and head back toward the kitchen. Jade meets me on the way there, her eyes wide and frantic. "Adiron, what if you're wrong? What if they're friendly? What if it's one of your brothers?"
"One of my brothers would have sent more than a ping. This is someone that's testing the waters to see what bites." I reach out and touch her cheek. "It'll be all right, love. I won't let anyone harm you." I'll die first.
I put my blaster in her hand. She gives it a horrified glance. "Adi, no."
"Yes," I say firmly, and steer her toward the wall. "There's a fusion component hidden behind the food processor. Stick as close to that as you can. I'm hoping it'll hide your bio-signature. I don't want you to come out until I give you the signal."
I half-expect Jade to protest more, but she's smart and cool in a pinch, my girl. She nods and takes the blaster, pulling it free from its holster and priming it before hefting it, and then turning it off again. "What's the signal, then?"
Gotta be something they won't think to use in normal conversation. I consider for a few moments, "I'll work out a way to bring up my list of five favorite things."
Jade nods. She moves forward impulsively, grabs the front of my tunic, and tugs me down toward her. Her mouth is on mine, fierce and desperate, and she kisses me so hard that her lips will likely be bruised in the morning. She pulls back, just a little, her gaze meeting mine. "I love you more than anything," she tells me.