Page 69 of Lost in Barbarian Space

“Stars,” she murmured.

It filled the entire cargo bay.

Treasure.

Honor couldn’t believe it. It was an ancient Terran treasure trove. There were suits of armor, various weapons, gold, statues. It filled every inch of the space. Her gaze skimmed over it. The contents of the hold were worth a huge fortune.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and Alara walked into the cargo bay. “Woohoo!” She cackled with gleeful, greedy joy.

Her remaining pirates followed her in and started cheering. A few rushed forward, holding large bags. It took them mere seconds to start cramming the smaller treasures inside.

Anger swamped Honor. She watched a pirate carelessly drop an artifact on the floor. The golden statue broke in half.

“That is a piece of history you just destroyed.” Her voice was tight.

Alara laughed and the sound echoed in the confines of the cargo bay. “You mean it’s a mountain of e-creds he just ruined.” She reached out and backhanded the pirate who’d dropped the artifact. “Be more careful, or your share goes down.”

Honor’s hands curled into fists. It was her job to stop this and protect these artifacts. She glanced at Colm and saw the echoing glint in his eyes.

“Fighting with you will never get old, little warrior,” he said quietly.

“Ready?”

“Always.”

Together, they launched into an attack. With hard chops of her arms, Honor took down the pirate closest to her. Colm stormed forward, his massive fists weapons in themselves.

With a cry, the final pirates converged on them. Honor and Colm’s hands and feet moved in a deadly dance as they fought.

“Honor!” Colm grabbed her arms. “Behind you.” He swung her, lifting her off the floor.

When he let her go, she slammed into two pirates, knocking them onto the icy floor. Two more hits made sure they weren’t getting up anytime soon.

She stood, ready for more, when a shot of green laser fire cut across her arm, and she cried out from the burn.

She ducked, and from the corner of her eye saw the droid floating closer. She glanced down, checking her arm, reassured that it wasn’t bad.

But then she heard an enraged sound.

She turned and saw Colm, his hands out in front of him, his muscles tight.

He launched himself at the syndroid.

“No!” she cried.

The droid was firing, but Colm moved too fast. He dodged all the laser fire. His kick sent the droid rocking, but it recovered quickly.

Honor watched him fight, amazement filling her chest. He was so lethal, so ruthless, so powerful. Even without his sword, he was still a magnificent fighter. He slammed kicks and hits into the droid. The droid was fast, spinning and ducking to avoid the blows.

But Colm had rage on his side.

Then out of the corner of her eye, Honor spotted Alara lifting a pair of laser pistols—Honor’s pistols—and she was aiming them right at Colm.

No way. Honor sprinted, slipping a little on the icy floor. She dived into the air and tackled the pirate leader.

They connected with an oomf. They slid across the floor and right out the hole in the side of the ship. As they bounced over the icy ground, Honor winced, but she kept her grip on the woman.

The pirate leader wasn’t young, but she was muscled and tough. She punched Honor in the face, and Honor felt blood trickling from her mouth. She spat it out and fought back. They rolled again, trading hits.