Adiron (Corsair Brothers 1)

I shrug. "In the future, you'd be better off taking hostages and negotiating."

She blinks at me. "What?"

"You know, force us to come off the other ship and to you. Get everyone in one place. You had to know that we were going to leave someone on the other ship. That's just piracy basics." I gesture at them. "Next time, take someone hostage, demand that everyone else hand over their weapons and no one gets hurt, or something along those lines. I'd suggest Lord Straik next time. He's the one in the black clothes."

Jade processes this, her expression thoughtful. "You can't negotiate with a ship-wide taser. That's something we'll need to consider in the future."

I don't know what a taser is, but guessing how the humans have their hair floating around their heads like they were shot up with electricity, I can guess. Mathiras used Straik's weapon on the females. That's how they ended up here and captive. I don't know if I'm impressed that my brother pulled out the shock system immediately…or if I'm irked? Because that thing hurts like a son of a bitch, and I don't like the thought of Jade being hurt. I'm already strangely protective of her.

She's just so…alone. She's in charge, but it's clear to me that other than the three equally fragile females, no one's looking out for her in the universe.

That's gonna be my job from now on, I decide. "I'm sorry he did that to you. I've experienced that shock, and it sucks."

Jade just gives me a suspicious look. "Why are you in here talking to us? Being nice to us?"

I shrug. "Because I like you, and I'm curious what would make a human so desperate she'd take on an entire ship full of a'ani."

"What's a'ani?" the yellow-haired one asks.

"A clone," I say, scratching at my arm. "You know, the red skin."

The qura'aki gasps. "I'm a CLONE?"

Er… "You didn't know that?"

She looks over at Jade, her purple eyes wide and terrified. "Is that bad?" Her lower lip trembles. "Am I the enemy?"

"It's fine, honey," Jade soothes. "You're perfect. You are absolutely not the enemy. He's just talking out his ass." And she glares at me as if I'm the problem.

These females make no sense. The clone doesn't know she's a clone, they don't know how to operate a ship, and they're terrible at being pirates. "You wanna tell me what's going on?" I offer. "Maybe I can help."

14

JADE

My head feels like it's splitting, but what feels worse is the failure. I couldn't keep us safe. I gambled on a plan, and I lost. Now Ruth, Helen and Alice are going to suffer for it, and I want to just curl up into a ball and cry.

I can't, though. I have to pretend like I'm strong and in control. The other women are shooting me worried looks, and I know they're scared. I have to be strong for their sakes.

"What do you think is going on?" I answer coolly.

The big guy grins at me. He paces around the room, but there's no urgency in his steps. He's not doing it because he's agitated. It's like he's doing it just because he's not the type to calmly have a seat. His tail swishes back and forth in a calm manner, and I've learned enough about the mesakkah race over the last few years that I recognize that he's not angry, or seething with rage. His smile must be legit, because his body language just enforces his easy nature.

Body language is something I've had to lean into over the last few years. Even with a translator chip unceremoniously implanted behind my ear so I can understand alien languages, things don't always line up. Aliens have different sayings, different customs. This particular race might get offended at a bared teeth smile. This one might not look you in the eye. With all that going on, I've learned to look for subtle cues instead. To see how someone holds themselves, the set of their shoulders, if their knuckles are tight, or if they stand too close. If a tail flicks in agitation. All these things can tell me a lot without saying a word, and I trust them far more than any platitudes spewing out of alien mouths.

As aliens go, though, I'm glad that whoever this guy is, he's the blue-horned race. Mesakkah. Out of the alien races I've seen so far, the mesakkah are the most appealing to human sensibilities. They're blue skinned with armored plating on the brows, arms, chest, and a few other spots. They've got enormous, curling horns that arch back from that plated brow and crown impossibly thick black hair. Their facial features are somewhat angular and oversized, but it all comes together to be strikingly attractive. They're around seven feet tall and have three fingers and a thumb, fangs, and a tail. It's a mixture of elements that are just enough to be familiar and appealing…and different enough to be alien.