Free Marauder Kronos: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Mating Wars) by Aya Morningstar Page A

say.
    “Save it,” Delphie says. “I’m going to hand you as much as I can and you pack it up outside the ship.”
    “Pack it up?” I ask.
    “Just like you packed up those peacekeepers.”
    “Oh,” I say, nodding.
    She shoves a huge crate at me, and Jerky grabs hold of it.
    After twenty minutes, I have a huge, bright orange spider web of supplies floating outside of the ship.
    “Delphie,” Kronos says. “The elevator with our hostages hit ground a few minutes ago, and Malcom’s elevator is coming back up now.”
    “If he’s not in there,” Delphie says, “I’ll never forgive you.”
    Kronos nods. “He’s in there. We need to encircle the elevator for when it comes back up. Just in case.”
    “Because that tactic worked out so well for them,” Delphie says.
    “We caught them off guard,” Kronos says. “They won’t surprise us.”
    We all wait around the elevator. Delphie and Kronos are holding fresh plasma rifles from Malcolm’s ship, and Jerky and I are ready to completely let loose.
    “What do you think he’s really up to?” I ask Kronos.
    “The peacekeepers are a large organization with hundreds of officers,” Kronos says. “My guess is that he’s just called in backup to come get us. Rather than risk losing his whole squad and ship to fight us right now, he can just track us and take us down with greater numbers. His real goal in coming here was to find us...he can always get us later.”
    I bite my lip. Kronos is making it sound like it’s inevitable that Jerky will be taken away from me.
    “Do...do you have a plan?” I ask. “For him not getting us later?”
    “I’m working on it,” Kronos says. “One step at a time.”
    “That’s what he says when he’s got nothing,” Delphie says.
    Kronos powers up his plasma rifle and holds it at the door. “Elevator is almost up.”
    Delphie powers hers on and takes shaky aim.
    The elevator hums loudly as the car approaches, and then the motor shuts off completely. My heart pounds, and I pray that Jerky will know what to do if Malcolm himself is in there. If I have to fight someone else wearing a biosuit, I have no idea what I’ll do.
    The elevator beeps, and the doors open to reveal Ramu – his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
    He pulls his ears back and glares up at Kronos. “So you’ve got a heart, but only when it comes to the ladies. When it comes to me, you’re all pirate, huh?”
    Kronos grins. “Yeah, something like that. You had twenty minutes and still couldn’t get those cuffs off?”
    “They’re peacekeeper-issued,” Ramu says. “Marauder-proof.”
    I reach out toward the cuffs and realize that I’m reaching with a tendril rather than my hand. It seeps into the keyhole, and I feel dozens of small latches and mechanisms inside. I push and prod at them, and soon the cuffs pop open.
    “Oh,” Ramu says, “the cook is useful now?”
    Delphie is staring at Ramu with her ears pulled back, but she says nothing.
    “See, Delph?” Kronos says. “Told you we’d get him back.”
    Her face burns red. “Who said I cared if we got him back? Come on, we need to get all this equipment back on our ship.”
    I give Kronos a look, but he shakes his head at me.
    “Well,” Ramu says, “I guess no one’s happy to see me.”
    He looks up at my web of supplies. “Damn! Nice job, cook!”
    “Minna,” I say.
    “Want me to carry that shit?”
    “It’s heavy,” I say.
    “Nothing’s heavy in zero-g,” Ramu says, flexing his arms.
    “She means it’s massive ,” Delphie snaps. “Dumbass. Are your big dumb muscles alone going to stop that huge mass of equipment from crashing into our ship?”
    Ramu squints at her. “I was going to get her to stop it….”
    “Then why not just have her carry it?” Delphie asks.
    “Fine!” Ramu grunts. “You carry it, cook! I was just trying to be a gentleman.”
    “God!” Delphie says. “I’ll see you on the ship, Captain!”
    She kicks off and heads toward one of the handrails