The Star Pirate's Return

Chapter 4: Entropy

Montez barked a fake laugh. "Bullshit."

Bee rolled her eyes. "It's true. At this point, why would I bother lying?" Montez had no response, so Bee continued. "We got separated in Styx. Starhawk ambushed us from a hidden gate with a whole fleet on the other side. We turned the tables, boarded him, and he tried to get back through, but Myra rerouted the gate to here and shut it down while Starhawk's ship was inside. I think the crash took out both gates, so I'm stuck out here. Not exactly expecting a rescue party, either."

"Wait." Montez lifted a finger for silence. "We stopped moving."

All three turned to the airlock as it opened for another intruder. Montez let her pistol dangle from one finger as she held her arms up in surrender. Bee and Crane both followed suit.

The long silver barrel of a beam rifle entered first, cautiously, followed by a strange-looking pirate. Streaming black fabric ribbons flowed from the armored nullsuit, which had a scaled surface like snakeskin. Bands of red and brown hues shifted across it in mottled waves. On the pirate's shoulders, what looked like a shawl made of small bones rattled as it slid against the armor.

"Out." A male voice, softer than Bee had expected. He motioned for them to leave, circling behind the three inside the small cabin and prodding them forward.

Swallowing nervously, Bee slipped behind Crane and Montez as they moved to the airlock. She planned to follow Crane's advice and hope for the best. They'd be dead if that's what the pirates wanted—they were out of options. Whatever else might happen, struggling further would only complicate things. If they were going to kill her, they'd have done it already.

Unless it was an execution.

The thought made her guts turn upside down. Bee stumbled and bumped into Montez. Trapped inside the tiny airlock, Bee's breathing quickened. Panic grabbed her by the back of the neck and squeezed. Crane started to open the outer door.

"Are they gonna kill us?" Bee asked.

"Quiet," the pirate hissed, with a jab into her lower back with his rifle. "The Dreadstar decides your fate."

Glancing behind her to get a better look at their captor, Bee earned a painful strike to the throat. The thick material absorbed some of the blow, but it was enough to have her clutching her neck and coughing for air.

Crane turned to her as he prepared to open the airlock, giving a slight shake of his head and a stern look. Eyes watering, still sputtering for air, Bee nodded in compliance and tried to wheeze in a few deep breaths.

The door swung out to reveal the black-ash surface of the asteroid she'd crashed on aboard Deep Fog. They'd settled in the base of a shallow crater. When Bee stepped down the ramp after Crane and Montez, she looked up to see a massive warship lowering itself over the crater until they were nearly sealed in. Floodlights activated to illuminate the area, revealing patchwork welding scars on the dark metal hull above.

Nearby, four armored pirates emerged from a transport shuttle, the two in back carrying a large, metal, ring-shaped device together. Between Littlefoot and the shuttle, Dreadstar's cryo pod rested in its own small impact crater, jutting out like a stick in the mud. A cloud of debris still lingered around it, floating persistently in the microgravity.

The first two pirates vaulted over to the pod and quickly righted it, taking extreme care not to damage it further. The others lined the ring up with the horizontal cryo pod, and Bee realized it must be a portable gate. A moment later, the gate activated and through it Bee could see a white room. Several more armored pirates waited on the other side to receive the pod.