Page 44 of Lost in Barbarian Space

“Get your gear. I’ll meet you at the marlins. I want to find that ship…for Dr. Behati. Something for him to study once he’s back on his feet.”

At that moment, Dr. Lev’nan reappeared, holding a mug of some steaming drink in his hand.

Honor took a quick step back from Colm and cleared her throat. “How’s Dr. Behati?”

“He’s not conscious, but the medical team believes he’ll make a full recovery.”

Honor released a breath. “That’s good news. We cracked the Sync from the lockbox, and got the Valhalla’s records. We’re heading out again. We found the exact location of where the ship crashed. We’ll need another archeologist to join us.”

Lev’nan grimaced. “Doubt I’ll have any volunteers after what happened to Dr. Behati. Guess I’ll be joining you.”

Soon, Colm found himself strapped into the marlin again, zooming out of the Drake.

Honor’s hands cruised over the controls, her face set. “We’ll get to the location, and the first priority will be to drop the deterrent system.”

Colm grunted. He knew Honor needed to do what she could to protect her team.

“Then we’ll land and⁠—”

An alarm sounded. It was loud and strident. Honor stiffened.

“Drake, talk to me?”

“Honor.” Officer Abora’s harried voice. “A ship has appeared on scanners! It came out of nowhere.”

Honor looked over at her screen and swore. “Where the hell did they come from?”

Colm frowned. “Travelers? Explorers?” They’d never had so many ships in Markarian space before.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “Ning, I need details. What kind of ship?”

“Hang on…it’s an old model Zoorian starfreighter. But Honor, it’s got all kinds of illegal modifications. They’re lighting up my screen. There are a lot of weapons.”

Honor cursed again.

“What?” Colm hated being in the dark in a situation like this.

She looked his way. “That kind of ship. Those kind of mods. It’s likely space pirates.”

Markaria had its share of brigands and raiders. He knew pirates were not a good thing. “They know about the wreck, the treasure.”

She looked furious. “Yes, I suspect they do. Niklas kept the news contained, but my guess is that we have a leak. We have to assume the pirates know.”

“What do we do?”

“Outrun them. Get back to the Drake, and then get the Magellan here. It’s the only thing that has the firepower to take the ship on.”

She changed the marlin’s course and touched the screen. “Marlin Beta, return to the Drake. I repeat, return to the Drake.”

Out the window, Colm saw the second marlin just ahead of them. As they turned again, Colm got a perfect view of the pirate ship and cold dread filled his chest.

The central part of the ship looked like two large, vertical discs. Extending off it were huge spikes, giving it an intimidating look. It made Colm think of the garga animals from the Darken Wilds, with their wicked, poisonous spikes.

“God.” Honor changed course. “Drake, we need⁠—”

A high-pitched squeal cut across the comms. She slammed her fist against the console.

Silence filled the cockpit.