Free Scrapyard Ship 3 Space Vengeance by Mark Wayne McGinnis

funny. Nan was holding a floor mop ready to strike and Mollie was ready to swing the old Louisville slugger.
    “ Get back! Get out of here!” Nan yelled in the direction of the front door. Jason couldn’t see who they were screaming at. As he stepped around the corner and into the room, he understood. It must be one of the new droids, specifically the one Ricket had repurposed to stay behind.
    “ It’s okay, it’s one of ours,” Jason said, holding up his hands to fend off an attack from either of them.
    Turning to the droid, Jason was surprised by its appearance. It seemed the Caldurians had made an effort to humanize, or more accurately, Caldurian-ize, its appearance. But there was something menacing, dangerous about it. As tall as Nan, the drone was an iridescent white, had a head and two arms, a long angular-shaped torso and it was legless—it hovered several inches above the floor. It had a cold, intimidating face with a somewhat downturned mouth, which Jason guessed was strictly placed there for appearance’s sake, without being functional. It moved with aggressive purpose.
    “ What the hell are you doing in here?” Jason scolded.
    “ Captain Reynolds identified. Nan Reynolds identified. Mollie Reynolds identified. Drone allocation 724 security perimeter circuit in process.”
    Mollie’s eyes were wide with fear and never left the hovering droid.
    “ Relax, both of you. It’s here for your safety; really, it’s okay,” Jason said, trying to sound calm.
    The drone moved forward into the house, passed by Jason, and turned down the hallway toward the bedrooms.
    “ Oh no, that thing is not going to be floating around this house like a frigging ghost while you’re gone.”
    Mollie nodded her head in agreement, eyes still wide.
    Jason knew Nan well enough to know that laughing would be a bad idea.
    “ This is my fault. I should have mentioned the drone. But it’s here for your protection. We just need to set up some parameters.”
    “ You think?” Nan barked. Then she gestured for Jason to look behind him.
    Startled, Jason jumped back. The drone was hovering mere inches from his back.
    “ Get away from me!” Jason yelled.
    This brought nervous giggles from both Nan and Mollie.
    “ Seriously, Jason. That thing creeps me out. Tell it to stay outside. And maybe it can make some noise once in a while,” Nan said.
    “ Yes, absolutely.” Jason held two fingers to his ear and hailed Ricket.
    “ Go for Ricket.”
    Chapter 9
    Chapter 9
     
    Bristol had contemplated leaving—but where would he go? Pirating had been the way of his family, their clan, for hundreds of years. Truth was, it was all he’d ever known. If nothing else, he supposed he was loyal.
    Bristol watched as his brother sent another backhand toward Brian’s already red and beaten face. Usually, he was not one to feel much in the way of sympathy for anyone, but this new round of beatings was taking things a bit too far. Fuck, the guy had already lost an eye to his brother’s fury.
    Brian, a bloodied makeshift patch covering his now empty right eye socket, moved to protect his damaged face. But he was too slow, or too weary to fend off the blow.
    A week had passed since Brian had been chained to a post below ground in the bowels of this ridiculous fortress monstrosity. Made of stone, and virtually all the available timber on this Godforsaken planet, Bristol’s brother’s lair was more like a castle.
    “ Generalities are useless. So exactly where will I find them?” Captain Stalls asked, his voice stern but hushed.
    Bristol had to give Brian his due; he’d still not given up the specific location on Earth for Captain Reynolds or his family. And he knew his brother well enough not to intervene, but the continual torturing of Brian didn’t seem to be working very well.
    “ Just tell him what he wants to know, Brian,” Bristol said. “Come on, you’re going to tell him eventually anyway.”
    Captain Stalls hesitated. “They always