Chapter 13

Mitnick

The readings weren't good, and I cursed under my breath. We'd only been underway for a day, and already a ship had picked us up and was following us. They were still far away, barely within sensor range of the small shuttle, but they probably thought they were staying out of our range. They didn't know about the upgrades on every component of the ship that Ysathaeand I had installed. I'd extended the range of the sensors to give us an advantage, and Ysa had upgraded the engines.

"What is it?" Harper asked me, and she placed her small hand on my thigh. My armor blocked out most of her heat, but that brief touch, so casual and easy, settled my mind. I knew what I had to do, and that nothing would keep me from ensuring her safety. I was going to mess that ship up my way . They would never know what hit them when I was done with them because nobody threatened my female.

"We are being followed, but I'll take care of it." I tapped the tiny device I'd been fiddling with that morning, one of my specialized drones. "This will take care of it." I rose to place the device in the airlock, aware that this was going to be the last time I'd see it. That was a small sacrifice to make. I had six more, and I could always order extra when we were back at Strewn in the future.

"What are you going to do?" Harper asked, ever inquisitive, and I spared her a moment to smile. She was not worried, but I saw the spark in her eyes; she wanted to know everything. I considered my plan, and then quickly outlined it for her while I got to work at the same time. Activating my implants and the visor over my eyes, I gained full control over the prepared drone. It was the work of a moment to vent it into space and leave it drifting directly in the path of the ship that was trailing us.

"I can't believe you're this patient," my female commented while she curled herself into the navigator's seat with a frown. "You're in hunting mode, aren't you?" I nodded. That was as good a description as any. I was hunting, and they didn't even know it. I flexed my wing and curled it around the back of her seat in a protective gesture; for her, I would gladly hunt down anything.

When the unsuspecting ship neared my drone, nothing in their flight path indicated they'd spotted the still-dormant device. At my command, it powered up in time to get under their guard. I had it attach itself to the underbelly of the Star Class Cruiser near an antenna array; the perfect spot to get into their systems. Familiar with all their security protocols, I bypassed most and locked onto the least protected and most basic functions. From there, I hitched a ride directly into the ship's communications hub.

"I'm in," I said to Harper, aware that to her, this must be the most boring confrontation ever. All she could see was the blip of the chasing ship on our navigational systems, and see me focus on my visor and my readings. She didn't know that I'd just wrested control and was downloading all their important data, from the crew roster to the ship's transponder information.

"In what?" she asked, confirming my suspicion. I flicked off my visor for a moment so I could regale her with a smile; excitement bubbled through my bloodstream. This was as good as a fight to me. My crewmates didn't understand that, but I was pumped with adrenaline. This was a battle of the mind and a game of subterfuge. I was in my element when I could challenge myself to deal with an enemy in the most unconventional way.

"Their systems. They're about to receive a transmission. Let's listen in." With a few flicks of the controls the shuttle filled with the audio from the bridge of the chasing ship. A Star Class Cruiser with a transponder call sign that labeled it a mercantile ship by the name of Argamonde, hailing from Ker. It was likely a stolen transponder; I'd flag the identification at every port I'd put in thereafter.

"Report, now! Did you find that bitch yet?" a voice snapped over the speakers as the Argamonde's incoming transmission connected. That voice was all growls and snarls, spoken with a vicious inflection that left nothing to the imagination. I recognized the language, Hoxiam, which made the speaker Batok. The crimelord wouldn't tolerate any of his kind around; they would be too much competition for his sick proclivities.

Harper flinched in her seat, and I shot out a hand to offer support by cupping her leg and gently squeezing. "He's not there, he's just calling," I said quietly. "You recognize his voice, don't you?" She nodded, her eyes wide and the slightest hint of fear curling through her scent. She mastered it quickly, masking that fear with a determined glint in her sky-blue eyes.

"Not yet, sir," a male voice replied with an obvious tremble in his tone. That was not surprising, the rumors were that Batok ate those that displeased him, and considering his species, I expected those rumors were likely true. Before Batok could get angry, the voice continued speaking, and it became obvious he was the captain of the ship, the fake Argamonde.

"We are following her ship, sir. It shouldn't be long before we have her. Do we kill her and those she is with immediately, or would you like the pleasure?" The words made my protective urges surge wildly, but I was in control of this situation, even if the captain of the ship did not know it yet. My fingers twitched around the delicate controls of the drone before I redirected my focus to what I planned to do to them.

"What do we do?" Harper whispered as if she was afraid that Batok and the captain could hear her. That was not possible, we were tapping into their connection, but they had no idea we were even there. I lifted a hand, forced it to relax before I reached over to her and cupped her chin. She leaned into my touch, her eyes big in her pale face.

Covering her mouth with mine, I pulled her attention away from the nasty voices and into my touch. A thought through my implant switched the sound from the ship's speakers to my translators, making the conversation for my ears only. She did not need to hear how Batok smacked his mouth in anticipation as he ordered her to be alive so he could eat her.

Her breathy moan filled me with satisfaction when I pulled back, fingers still splayed against the side of her face and neck. "How about I fuck their ship up? What would you like, Novi? Exploding engine, broken navigation, maybe I'll emergency evacuate their cargo bay and food supplies?"

I loved how big her eyes got in her face and darted from my mouth to the visor clinging to the side of my head. "You can do all that? When you said you had control… You really are a hacker, aren't you?" The glint that sparkled in her blue orbs made my chest flush with happiness; I'd made her smile, and I'd impressed her. My crest rose proudly on my head, feathers on full display for her.

"And more," I replied. "It might take a minute, but I could take out that entire ship now that my drone is attached to their systems." I flexed my fingers, waggled them playfully, and then sat them down on the computer console in front of me. "So what will it be, my sweet mate?"

Batok was giving more instructions in my ear about how to treat his expected prisoner. He was definitely trying to make sure that no one would touch Harper and discover why he was after her. Whatever information was on those implants, his captain did not know. I still made sure to download their entire database. Even if it didn't give us any answers, it was worth having a look.

Harper's eyes lowered as she contemplated my question, and she took long enough that I heard Batok end the call. Then I was listening in on the chatter on the bridge, on how the ship's captain tried to posture and save face for his earlier fear of speaking to their boss. They were eager to get their capture; the captain was already ordering the pilot to intercept us. They were even arming their weapons, but that wouldn't be a problem. I could wrest control of them at any moment.

"Just make them leave. I don't want you to kill them… Maybe that's stupid, but I'm not a killer. If you can, I don't know, send them into the arms of the police or something. That would be cool, maybe? Can you do that?" She looked up at me through her lashes and my dual hearts sped up.

What she was asking was probably harder than any of my suggestions, but I was always down for a challenge. It would be satisfying to complete because she asked it of me. I still very much liked the idea of venting their food out into space. It would be poetic justice to make Batok's goons starve after they had put my mate through the same fate.

"As you wish," I said, and I bowed myself over the controls. First to make sure I'd learned everything I could from them, and then to disable their weapons. They had appeared on our sensors at a distance well within normal shuttle sensor range by the time I'd taken care of the most immediate threat. They were trying to hail us, but I ignored the attempt; I did not need to speak to the captain and hear his blustering. Harper definitely did not need to hear more angry words.

Tweaking their navigational controls was harder, especially since I was no seasoned navigator like Solear. I couldn't efficiently plot a course that would lead them into the hands of the nearest law enforcement. We weren't far from Kertinal space; I just needed to send the ship in that general direction and then lock them out of the controls.

The shuttle's com started beeping insistently as they kept trying to hail us, but by now, panic had struck the bridge. Their navigator had sounded the alarm, and so had their Weapon Master. They could not do their jobs, and their captain's punishment was swift, brutal, and pointless. I did not tell Harper about this, just focused on leaving a final trap. A repeating broadcast would announce loudly that they worked for Batok and were flying under a fake transponder.

"You did it!" Harper cheered, her finger pointing at the red light on the scanner that showed how the Argamonde was turning away from us. Its path now veered sharply to our starboard and would spin to take it on a direct course to Kertinal space; heavily patrolled Kertinal space. I estimated that it would take them five days to reach, and another day before they would noticed by a Kertinal Warship.

"Yes," I agreed, grinning. It had taken more finesse than simply overheating their reactor core and blowing up the ship, but I had done as she asked. Now it was in the hands of fate to see it through, but at least we'd be long gone should they somehow manage to regain control of their ship before they reached the Kertinal Empire.

"I can't believe you did that! No wonder your captain hired you! That was amazing," Harper said, smiling widely and still leaning over the viewscreen that displayed the departing Argamonde. She raised her head when my wing brushed along her back, and that blue glance turned hot and warm in a flash. Then she threw herself into my arms with a laugh, her warm, slight body colliding with mine.

At that moment, I deeply regretted making her the promise I had. Her lush behind brushed against my groin, sending a sharp bolt of pleasure up my spine. My instincts soared, demanding I claim her, not just with my pleasure cock but with my mating cock. But I'd take anything she was willing to give me, even if they were jubilant kisses and nothing more. Harper was worth waiting for.