Chapter 13

CONSCIOUSNESS returned in agonizing increments. First a throbbing pain in her shoulder, then a wave of nausea that left her gasping for breath. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils, mingling with the stale air of the cramped space she found herselfin.

Winn blinked, trying to focus through the haze of pain and disorientation. Where was she? What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the Marauder backhanding her and the agonizing pain when she was thrown against something hard and unyielding.

Panic surged through her, cold and sharp, as the memories rushed back. The sudden appearance of the Marauders out of the void, their attack, their weapons spitting fire, ripping through the hull of Jo’Nay’s ship. The desperate battle, Jo’Nay fighting with the ferocity of a cornered beast, his Vettian strength a whirlwind of deadly grace. And then his surrender. The plasma bolt that had hit him square in the chest.

“Jo’Nay!” His name escaped, raw and ragged, adesperateplea.

No answer. Only the muffled sobs of other women, their fear a tangible presence in the stale air. It was a chorus of despair that echoed the icy terror gripping her heart.

Winn pushed herself up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her shoulder. Her fingers brushed against something sticky and warm. Blood. Her blood. The baby! Was her baby injured? She glanced down, her heart pounding against her ribs and found a ragged gash on her arm, oozing blood, atestament to the violence they had just escaped. But it was a superficial wound, aminor inconvenience compared to the agony that tore through her soul. Nothing to indicate her baby was harmed.

Of course, she was a prisoner. And Jo’Nay…

Winn forced herself to her feet, her legs trembling, her head spinning. She had to find him. Had to make sure he was alive. Had to protect their child, the tiny flicker of life growing inside her, afragile beacon of hope in this nightmare.

She stood in a cell, amodest-sized box of bars with no windows, just a single harsh light that cast long, distorted shadows across the faces of the women huddled together in one corner. There were maybe a dozen of them, all human, all terrified. Their eyes, wide with fear, met hers, asilent exchange of shared dread.

Winn recognized the stark terror that glazed their eyes, the bone-deep despair that chilled their souls. She recognized it. Had felt it, tasted it, the bitter tang of adrenaline and misery, the crushing weight of helplessness. But something within her, aspark of defiance, afierce protectiveness toward the life growing inside her, refused to let fear paralyzeher.

She had faced death before, felt its icy breath on her skin. And she had survived. She would survive this too. For Jo’Nay. For their child. For the future they had dreamed of, afuture that now seemed impossibly distant.

Winn took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus and assess the situation. The cell door appeared to be heavy bars with no visible lock or mechanism. The back wall was bare, cold and unforgiving. There was a single metal bench bolted to the floor, occupied by a young woman who seemed barely conscious.

Her head lolled against the wall, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow and erratic. Long, dark hair hung to her waist, the length snarled and knotted. Apair of glasses clung to the tip of her straight nose and her winged brows drew together in a tight frown.

Winn’s gaze swept over the other women, searching for a familiar face, aglimmer of hope, aconnection in this sea of loss. They were all strangers, their faces etched with misery, their bodies trembling with the aftershocks of trauma. Their clothes were torn, their hair disheveled, their expressions mirroring the chaos that had ripped their lives apart.

But amidst the fear, Winn sensed something else. Aflicker of defiance. Adesperate longing for freedom. Ajoint humanity that transcended the barriers of language and culture. Maybe they shared a silent understanding that they were all in this together.

Winn approached the young woman on the bench, her movements slow and deliberate. She had to choose her words carefully and avoid triggering panic. These women were already on edge, their nerves frayed, no doubt their resilience stretched to the breaking point.

“Hey,” she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. “Are you alright?”

The woman flinched, her eyes widening in alarm. They were a dark, bottomless brown, bordering on black. She shook her head, her lips trembling, unable to speak. Her gaze darted nervously around the cell, as if searching for an escape route, away out of this nightmare.

Winn knelt beside her, offering a reassuring smile. She knew what it was like to be lost and alone, to face the unknown with nothing but fear as a guide.

“It’s okay,” she said gently, her voice soft and soothing, abalm to the raw terror that pulsed through the air. “We’re all scared. But we’re going to be alright. What’s your name?”

“E-Elara,” the woman stammered, her voice barely audible. Her words were hesitant, halting, as if she had to force them past the fear that choked her throat.

“Elara,” Winn repeated, committing the name to memory. It was a beautiful name, exotic and unfamiliar. Aname that hinted at a different world, adifferent life, alife that now seemed impossibly distant. “That’s a beautiful name. I’m Winn.”

Elara’s gaze, wide and uncertain, met hers. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, two strangers united by fear and the desperate need for connection in an alien world.

“Where are we?” Elara whispered, her voice trembling. “What are they going to do to us?”

Winn didn’t have the answers, not yet. Well, other than what Skarrp had threatened—to sell them off as slaves. But she would find a way out. She had to. For herself, for Elara, for all the women imprisoned in this metal cage. Not to mention for Jo’Nay and their child.

“We’re on a Marauder ship,” she said, keeping her voice calm, even though her own heart was racing. She had seen enough of their brutality during the attack to know that these were not men to be trifled with. “They attacked our ship and took us prisoner.”

“Your ship?” Elara echoed, her brows furrowing in confusion. “You have a ship?”

Winn hesitated. How much should she reveal? These women were strangers, their loyalties unknown. But she needed their help. She couldn’t do this alone. Not against these ruthless pirates who preyed on the weak, who stole lives and futures without a second thought.

“It’s a long story,” she said evasively. “But the important thing is that we’re together now. And we’re going to get out of this.”

“Get out?” Elara scoffed, ahint of hysteria creeping into her voice. Her laughter, sharp and brittle, was the sound of someone stretched to the breaking point. “How? They’re armed and brutal and aliens.”

“They’re not invincible,” Winn interrupted, her voice firm, her gaze unwavering. She had seen Jo’Nay fight, witnessed his Vettian strength and skill, the lethal grace that had made him one of the most feared warriors in nine galaxies. And she knew, with a certainty that burned like a cold fire in her heart, that these Marauders, for all their bravado and firepower, were mere pretenders to the throne of violence. “Yes, they’re aliens. But they must have weaknesses. We just have to figure out what they are.”

Elara stared at her, aflicker of curiosity replacing the terror in her eyes. Winn recognized that flicker. It was the spark ofhope.

“What weaknesses?” Elara whispered, leaning closer.

Winn’s mind raced, analyzing everything she had observed during the attack, every detail of their captivity. The Marauders were disorganized, driven by greed and brutality. Their leader, ahulking brute with more muscle than brains, was easily provoked, quick to anger. They misjudged their captives, seeing them as helpless victims and easyprey.

And that, Winn realized, was their biggest mistake.

“They underestimate us,” she said, her voice low and steady. “They think we’re weak, helpless. But they’re wrong. We’re stronger than they think. And we’re smarter.”

She saw a glimmer of understanding in Elara’s eyes. The young woman, despite her fear, appeared intelligent and observant. She might be an asset. Winn decided to take a gamble.

“Are you able to understand them? Have they implanted you all with translators?”

Elara nodded. “Yes. They wanted us to understand them.” A harsh laugh escaped. “More like, they wanted us to understand their threats.”

“Understanding them will help us. But, we need to work together,” Winn said, her voice firm, her gaze unwavering. “We need to observe them, listen to them, learn their routines, find their weaknesses. There’s always a way out. We just need to find it.”

Elara hesitated, her gaze darting nervously around the cell. Then, she nodded slowly, her lips pressing together in a determined line. “Alright,” she whispered. “I’m in. What do we do?”

Winn felt a surge of adrenaline, amix of fear and exhilaration. She had a plan forming in her mind, aplan that was audacious, dangerous, and maybe just crazy enough to work. It might be a long shot, agamble with their lives, but it was their only chance.

“First,” Winn said, her voice low and conspiratorial, “we need information. Who are these Marauders? What do they want? And most importantly, where is Jo’Nay?”

Winn’s hand instinctively went to her stomach, aprotective gesture. Her child, atiny flicker of life amidst the chaos, was her strength, her motivation. She would get them out of this. For Jo’Nay and for their future.

Elara’s brow crinkled. “Who’s Johnny?

For the first time, asmile curved Winn’s lips. “Jo’Nay. He’s part of the reason I’m here,” she explained, her voice softening at the thought of her mate. “They took him. He’s their prisoner, too.”

“Why?” Elara asked. “Who is he?”

Winn hesitated. How could she explain Jo’Nay? AVettian warrior, agenetically engineered masterpiece, abeing of immense power and fierce loyalty. Aman who defied his own programming for love, for her. Aman who was dying, his life force ebbing away, until the miracle of Earth apples had reversed the deadly effects of his Final Flight.

“He’s… different,” Winn said finally, her voice evasive. “And the Marauders want him for some purpose of their own. We need to find him before it’s too late.”

Elara nodded slowly, her gaze intense. “Okay. We’ll find him. But how?”

Winn took a deep breath, her mind racing. She had a few ideas, but they were all risky. And time was runningout.

“We need to learn their routines,” she said, her voice low and urgent. “When do they bring food? How often do they check on us? Are there any blind spots? Any patterns we can exploit?”

Elara’s eyes widened, aglimmer of understanding dawning. “You’re thinking of escaping,” she said in a hushedtone.

Winn nodded, her gaze firm. “We have to. There’s no other way.”

“But how?” Elara asked, her voice trembling. “They’re armed and we’re not.”

“We have something they don’t,” she said, her voice soft but unwavering. “We have each other. And we have a reason to fight. For our freedom. For our lives. For our future.”

She saw a spark of determination ignite in Elara’s dark eyes, afire that mirrored her own. They might be prisoners, but they were not defeated. Notyet.

“Let’s do this,” Elara said, her voice stronger now, her gaze steady. “Let’s get out of here.”

“I’m in, too,” came another voice from the huddle of women. Three more murmured their agreement.

Winn nodded, pleased by their unexpected unity, asense of purpose settling over her. The fear remained, acold knot in her stomach, but something stronger overshadowed it. Hope. Determination. And a fierce, unwavering love for the man who had risked everything for her, for the child they were creating together.

The hours that followed were a blur of whispered conversations, shared observations, and careful planning. Each woman seemed to have a different skill set, Elara’s in IT and computers which Winn considered hugely helpful. Winn drew on her own knowledge of human behavior and understanding of Vettian technology, and began to piece together a plan, adaring escape that hinged on exploiting the Marauders’ arrogance and their predictable patterns.

As well as Jo’Nay, assuming she could findhim.

She watched the guards, noting their shift changes, their lax attention spans, their moments of vulnerability. She listened to the ship’s sounds, the hum of engines, the hiss of hydraulics, the rhythmic beeping of unknown systems, searching for a pattern, aclue that might lead them to Jo’Nay. Every sound, every movement, every flicker of light held a potential clue, apiece of the puzzle they were desperately trying to solve.

Elara proved to be a valuable asset. The young woman, though initially terrified, possessed a sharp mind and an uncanny knack for observation. She noticed details that Winn had missed, picked up on subtle cues in the guards’ behavior. She even managed to decipher some of the Marauder ship’s control panels after watching the guards use them. Her fear, though still palpable, was tempered by a growing sense of purpose, adetermination to escape this prison and reclaim herlife.

“They’re disorganized,” Elara whispered one evening, as they huddled together on the metal bench, sharing a meager meal of apples and recycled water. The food, barely sufficient to sustain them, was a constant reminder of their captivity, asymbol of their powerlessness. “They fight amongst themselves. They’re more interested in loot than strategy.”

Winn nodded, her mind working overtime. “That’s our advantage. They’re predictable. Complacent. They don’t see us as a threat.”

“But we are,” Elara said, her voice firm, her gaze unwavering. “We’re not going to just sit here and wait for them to decide our fate.”

Winn smiled, agenuine smile, for the first time since their capture. Elara was right. They were not helpless victims. They were survivors. And they would fight for their freedom, for their future. Her gaze encompassed all the women. “Remember to save the apple seeds when you eat the apples. I’m going to need them.”

To her relief, none objected and they were quick to pass her the seeds as soon as they finished eating. “We need to create a diversion,” Winn continued, her voice low and conspiratorial. “Something that will draw their attention. Give us an opportunity to slip away.”

“But what?” Elara asked, her brows furrowing in thought. “We don’t have any weapons. No resources.”

Winn’s gaze swept around the cell, her mind racing. Their only resources were their ingenuity, their desperation, and the sheer audacity of theirplan.

“We have each other,” Winn said, her voice firm. “And we have a reason to fight. That’s all we need.”