SavingAttractions

Rebecca
Airies

Adalyn Jameson fears she and her trade ship crewmates will
die on the uninhabited planet where they’ve been stranded by pirates. Before
panic sets in, Zarain shifters arrive to help them. Ada does not fight her
intense attraction to one of the brawny shifters. A short, sizzling affair with
this man is the perfect way to occupy her time before she goes back to normal
life.

Jagger Antein thought babysitting a stranded crew until they
could be evacuated from the planet would be an easy assignment. He never
expected to find his mate among those he rescued. Now that he has, he’ll seduce
her and keep her close before he claims her. When members of the crew are
attacked again, he’ll have to discover who’s behind it and what they’re after
if he hopes to keep his mate safe.

A
Romantica®
science fiction erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

Ada lifted her head from the cold gray deck of the holding
cell. She didn’t even need to look out to know that they were still aboard the
pirates’ ship. The entire crew had been taken from the
Setona
, a trade
ship, and brought here.

The pirates wanted them away from the easy means of
communication there. They also seemed to believe there was something they’d
missed when they’d raided the ship. Screams of her crewmates being tortured in
the large area beyond her prison had drawn her from the numb daze she’d fallen
into after the brutal agony caused by the villains’ methods of questioning.
When
would the torture stop?

Her red hair matted to her face and fell across her eyes,
blocking her vision. She slowly rolled her head until she could see. Pain
pounded through her head and body. Stilling, she tried to remain motionless to
let the wave of discomfort pass. She looked around the holding cell, hoping to
see the rest of her friends. The captain sprawled on the floor not too far from
her, and blood dripped onto the metal floor from his lip and nose. He looked
unconscious.

Where is it? We know it’s been sent.
That’s all the
men had asked her, over and over again. Each time she didn’t answer, they’d
pressed a silver rod against her skin. She’d never seen anything like it,
although it could have been some kind of modified pulse weapon. Surges of
energy had coursed through her muscles, causing them to spasm. She didn’t know
what the pirates wanted. By the end of the torture, she would have told them if
she had. When she couldn’t tell them what they wanted, they’d beaten her to try
to draw answers out of her.

What the hell was
it
? Fucking space pirates. It
wasn’t enough that they’d stolen the cargo and crippled the vessel. No, they
had to torture the crew. She didn’t even know what they’d done with the
Setona
.
If they were still asking about something that might be on it, it was probably
in one piece, but that didn’t mean the ship would be in working order.

They had all the cargo. What else could they want? The
pirates asked for
it
. Nothing more than that. How was she or any of the
other trade ship crew supposed to know what
it
was if it wasn’t among
the cargo? That was the only thing of value that was on board.

She’d heard about the pirate attacks over the past months
but never expected pirates to attack the
Setona
. The
Setona
wasn’t from one of the huge lines. Most of the freight runs were routine. She’d
thought they’d be safe because of that. The pirates seemed to target those
larger ships and the pricey goods they hauled. The
Setona
didn’t
transport much valuable cargo or even weapons. On this run, it only carried
supplies.

She hung woozily between consciousness and oblivion. Her
mind circled around the question of what
it
was. When the pirates began
gathering the crew of the
Setona
and taking them somewhere, Adalyn
didn’t know what to think. They might have gotten their answer and decided to
dispose of the unwanted passengers. Her heartbeat raced as fear chilled her.
Her mouth dried and her breath caught. She didn’t want to die.

When they came for her, two pirates roughly jerked her to
her feet. She stumbled as they urged her forward, her muscles slow to respond.
Her mind still felt disconnected. At one point, the blows and the jolts from
that rod had blended together. She wondered if they’d drugged her while she was
out after the beating but couldn’t come up with any answers. It would explain
some of the detachment she felt, but then again she’d been tortured and beaten.
She might be in shock.

She eyed the dark gray walls and empty corridors, trying to
get some kind of idea of the size or type of the ship. She wanted to be able to
identify something about this ship and the men if she survived. It didn’t take many
hallways to reach the destination though. Ada was surprised when the pirates
ushered them into a shuttle bay and straight to a waiting shuttle.

She saw eight to ten of the crew in the shuttle, along with
two of the pirates at the front. The
Setona’s
crew numbered twenty with
the captain. Some of them were missing. Glancing around before they shoved her
fully into the vehicle, she tried to catch sight of the others but didn’t spot
anyone familiar. She couldn’t remember seeing the other people for a while.
Blearily, she realized the shuttle wasn’t large enough for all the crew
members. Still, she worried about her friends and crewmates.
Where are they?

Two pirates operated the controls of the shuttle while the
Setona’s
crew sat in the rows of seats behind them. Ada knew there would be no chance to
take over the shuttle. A shield separated the pilot and copilot’s seats from
the rest of the shuttle. Not that she could have done much. Ada’s body screamed
with the pain from the torture and beating. She was in no condition to try to
take over the shuttle, and the others were likely in the same condition.

The shuttle dipped and a difference in gravity grabbed her
attention. She focused her gaze on the control panels. From what she could see
on the monitors, they’d entered a planet’s atmosphere. The discovery left her
with more questions than answers.
What planet? Is it a habitable world or
are we going to be left to die?
Her heart slammed in her chest and her
nerves stretched tight.

The shuttle lurched forward and rocked slightly to the side
in a bit of a rough landing. Before the pirates made any move to open the hatch
or even say anything, the speakers on the shuttle beeped, followed by an almost
inaudible stream of curse words. She frowned, listening, trying to make out any
kind of message there.

“You’d better be on your fucking way back up here. The
scanners just picked up a large-ass ship heading straight for us. If you’re not
up here before we’re prepped and ready, we’re leaving you,” the voice snapped
with urgency and abruptly cut off.

The copilot stood and pulled out his weapon. “Get out now.”

The hatch opened. Warm air rushed in, along with the smell
of flowers. She was relieved that it was breathable. She stood as the others on
her row of seats moved to the door. She jumped down onto the ground, clutching
her ribs and groaning as she stumbled but caught herself before falling.

The other crew crowded out behind her as she moved away from
the ship. As the last of the
Setona’s
crew left, the shuttle lifted off and
headed skyward. A rush of heated air rushed outward, buffeting them. It stung
her skin but wasn’t hot enough to burn. She watched the ship, looking for any
identifiers, but found no name or numbers on the side or bottom.

The shuttle took a sharp angle upward and fired its rear
thrusters in a rush to get up to the larger ship. She didn’t think they’d make
it before the pirate vessel fled. Generally, it took less than five minutes to
ready a ship from a full docking stop if the crew was sharp. The pirate craft
hadn’t been at a complete stop so it should take less than that.

She looked around and saw the rest of the crew emerge from
the trees across a large grassy field. That answered that question, but they
still had plenty of problems. Food, shelter and survival came first now.
Although she was fairly sure this planet was uninhabited, they’d have to
search. They needed to find a way to get off the planet and alert the
authorities.

Dumping them on a world with people already on it made no
sense when thought about from the pirates’ perspective. They wanted to make it
hard for their victims to be found. Leaving their captives on an uninhabited
world could delay the news from spreading until someone chanced upon them, if
that happened. Ships still went missing at times on well-traveled trade routes.
Although she hoped the ship whose arrival scared off the pirates did more than
a cursory scan, there was no guarantee she and the other crew members would be
found.

* * * * *

Jagger rushed into the control room of the
Sentinel
,
a Combulus-class scout ship crewed by the Shadatai Zarain. A steady beep from
one of the stations to his right assaulted his ears. He blinked, his eyes still
trying to adjust to the bright light. The blare of an alarm had jolted him from
sleep. He knew what it meant. The pirates had taken another ship and stranded
the crew.

He eased around the light-green rectangular workspace that
housed the communications and navigations workspaces. None of the people looked
away from their work. The taps of fingers and the light clicks continued
steadily as they focused on the incursion. The sharp scent of anger hung in the
air. He could also see the tension in the set of their shoulders and the
stiffness of their movements. Dace Jastien sat in a black chair near the center
of the room with the other stations arranged around his. The blond man leaned
forward, focused on one of the several monitors in front of him. As Jagger
strode forward, he saw that Dace was studying a sector map that flared red at
the alarm point. Dace was probably trying to decipher where the pirates had
come from and where they were likely to go.

In this area, no Common Space buffered the border between
the Shifter-Protected border and that of Galactic Central Command. Every ship
near the border was on alert and the boundary alarms beefed up and changed
since the pirates had begun entering their territory. Several ships and crews
had been stranded on their side of the border. Jagger knew the pirates hoped to
delay the report of the theft so they could sell the sensitive merchandise
before it had been registered as stolen. Galactic Central Command operatives
had shared some theories that there might be inside help on some of the
attacks.

“What’s the situation?” Jagger asked. He didn’t know how
much sleep he’d gotten, but adrenalin pushed the fogginess of any lingering
tiredness away.

He looked to Dace at the command post. The blond man’s short
hair stood on end as if his fingers had been scraped through it one too many
times. That didn’t bode well for the situation. Both of them held the same rank
of
Terchal
, commander or assistant to the
Achan
, and had been
given joint command here by their
Achan
, their leader, since he knew
that there was a good possibility one would have to watch over survivors while
the other chased pirates.

Up until today, the mission had been so routine he’d almost
wished he’d been left on Baratille, their home world, to act as a sort of
supervisor or manager. When he had the duty, he watched over the businesses, the
homes and working buildings of a Zarain holding. He was in charge during the
Achan
’s
absence. As a
Terchal
, he’d taken the duty a few times. Although it was
far from his favorite duty, it wasn’t ever boring. Annoying, yes, but that was
another matter.

“An unidentified incursion. Scout-sized ship, although we
weren’t able to get a positive read on its identification. We tracked a shuttle
going down to Astelle twice, but it didn’t get a chance to return to the ship
before the larger ship fled.” Dace turned to look back at him. He rose to his
feet and walked over to meet Jagger.

Fuck. That meant there were probably people stranded down on
the surface of the planet. Not only that, but at least one damn pirate ship to
round up. The shuttles were loaded and ready with supplies. Men from each shift
had been selected and most likely already notified and urged on their way down
to the bay. The
Sentinel
would chase the pirate vessel and either catch
them or drive them straight into the hands of the Central Command ships, which
had also stepped up patrols.

Since Dace was on command here, it was Jagger’s duty to go
down to the planet with some of the other men to hunt for the pirates there and
keep any stranded people safe until help could arrive. They had prepared for
this. He and Dace had decided that whoever was on duty would remain on the
scout ship so that there was no need for a change in command or confusion.

“You catch these fuckers. We’ll need a small slowdown to
disembark, but otherwise, it shouldn’t delay the chase too much.” Jagger took a
deep breath and focused on what needed to be done. He tried to think of
anything that wasn’t already on the shuttle that might be needed to help the
survivors.

“I’ll do my best. Keep the survivors safe. We’ve gotten word
that the
Achan
is on his way, but it will take time, even on the
Vigilant
.”
Dace clapped him on his shoulder.

Jagger didn’t have to go by his quarters to get a bag. His
clothing and equipment were already on board. They’d wanted to be prepared
either way. He went to the shuttle bay and supervised the readying of the
shuttles. The rest of the small crew gathered and boarded. He helped the doctor
carry on some last-minute supplies and then entered himself. Activating the
hatch closure, he made his way to the front of the shuttle.

He took the copilot’s seat and buckled in a moment before a
slight dipping sensation in his gut told him they’d lifted off. The
Dagger
,
the shuttle Jagger had chosen, led the second shuttle out of the ship. Almost
as soon as the second shuttle cleared the bay, the
Sentinel
increased
speed to close some distance between it and the pirate ship.

Jagger focused on the nearby planet. They’d have to do some
scans to find any survivors and the pirates. The survivors held the highest
priority. From the injuries listed on some previous victims, they’d need help
and protection. The pirates should keep their distance, but Jagger wasn’t going
to count on it.

Before the shuttle entered the atmosphere, they launched a
small satellite. First, it allowed for communication with the
Vigilant
and
the
Sentinel
and secondly offered surveillance capabilities. As long as
the pirates didn’t pose a threat and were a safe distance away from the
victims, he’d leave them alone. It made more sense to focus his resources where
they mattered than to chase someone who was trapped here.