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"At least we can save the prisoners still confined to the compound," Slye replies firmly.
"When did we go from criminals to rescuers?" Rooke smirks.
"Twenty rotations is a long time to be locked up with your own demons," Drax grumbles. "Let's say we pull off this heist. How are we going to keep the females separated from the prisoners?"
"We keep them contained in the cargo hold until we reach a suitable world, then we set them free," Bruke says. "Maybe the space port on Elysis. We can cut them loose and let them find their own way, then we find a safe world far outside Universeval Rule to settle. That cargo ship is a long-range craft. We can forgo a stop on Kyler 4 since we won’t have to planet hop to get anywhere."
The shuttle grows quiet as everyone is lost in thought, each of us considering our options, whether or not to chance an encounter with the Kaul and release the prisoners. Rooke and Slye aside, space pirates have no honor and Star Mavericks are even worse. They live by their own codes. Loyal only to each other.
"Can you fly a Thrushian cargo ship, Rooke?" Darcy casts ruminating eyes on her mate.
"Pfft, I can fly anything, Darcy." Rooke lifts his mate's hand to his lips.
Mumbles about cocky space pirates rumble through the shuttle.
"All you doubting cunts can fuck right off," Rooke tosses over his shoulder.
"Language, Rooke," Darcy chides and turns in her seat to face us all. "Just my two cents, but it wouldn't be right to leave all those guys here. What if some are innocent like you all?"
"I assure you, most are not," Bruke says softly.
"But some could be," Zoe speaks up, looking over at me with adoring eyes. "It wouldn't be right to leave them if there's another option."
"You all said you would come back for them once you found a transport large enough and you have," Stacy points out.
"I vote we help them," Tasha adds.
"Me too." Romy nods definitively.
"The Star Maverick is on the move," Drax reports gravely. "He's headed inside the prison compound."
"Can you take us closer but not close enough to endanger the females?" I raise up on my knees to look out the front viewport. "I want to follow him inside and see what he's up to."
"I'm going with you," Drax states flatly.
"You're trained in the art of reconnaissance?" I scowl doubtfully.
"Seriously?" Drax sneers back. "I can sneak into anything and not get caught."
"Except the Ambassador's complex."
"Hilarious, Bruke." Drax cuts the purple-maned male a nasty glare.
"Just saying." Bruke presses his lips together as he fights back a grin.
"As I was saying," Drax draws out the last word, "I'm going in with you. You'll need a scanner and someone to watch your back."
"So, we're doing it?" Slye asks the group. "We're going to steal the Kaul's Thrushian vessel and take the prisoners with us?"
"Not until after lockdown," Drax reminds us. "There's no shutting down the luminetric barriers without exploding every head in the compound. The confinement collars will sense any tampering and trigger the failsafe of a prison break."
"That will give me time to take a look at the controls on that vessel," Rooke ponders aloud. "Could be biometric so whatever you do, don't kill the Kaul."
"Biometric?" Darcy wrinkles her brow. "What does that mean?"
"It means the spacecraft controls are tied to the living tissue of the pilot. Most space pirates equip their vessels with this feature. Discourages mutiny when no one but the commander can operate the ship," Rooke explains. "The energy signature of whoever is in command will be linked to the ship's navigation systems too. We won't be able to fly it if Qhix is dead."
"That's some kind of failsafe," Tasha huffs.
