The Last Atonian

Chapter 14:

 It was several hours later when Veerna and Chris came back out into the passengers' side of the ship. Veerna noted with some amusement that Chris did not look very happy. The others all looked up at them, and Veerna saw the anxiety on Suzan's face. "Are we at a hospital?" she asked anxiously.

"Close," Chris muttered, casting a foul look at Veerna. So much for trusting her, Veerna thought with amusement.

"Close?" Don scowled. "Where are we?"

"A smuggling planet," Veerna answered. "However, I'm held in high esteem here. And the hospital is first-class; Weni will be in good hands."

"He is not being taken care of by criminals!" Suzan protested.

Veerna raised an eyebrow at her. "Does it ever occur to you, Suzie, that you are currently in the company of a criminal? I am a space pirate. We are not the good guys. In fact, I'm a criminal. So if you have a problem with it, you can go and get yourself arrested at a Federation planet. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

The sudden sarcastic tone Veerna was using cowed Suzan, and she practically deflated in front of Veerna's eyes. Melody had her eyes trained on her sister, but she didn't say anything. Surprisingly, it was Don who protested further. "What's worse, getting arrested or getting sold into slavery—again?" he demanded.

"They won't sell you into slavery again," Veerna said. "They'll give you into slavery. There's a difference."

"Oh, a big difference," Don said sarcastically. "It all has the same end result, Veerna! Don't you take into account anybody else?"

Veerna rolled her eyes. "You don't get it, do you, Donny?" she said. "I'm doing this for you, losers. I could've just left you in the hands of Rulon and shipped off by myself. Or shot you all while you chilled out here. Honestly, you left me alone with Chris. Once we flew away from Rulon's ship, it would've been a simple matter for me to pull the trigger on her and finish the rest of you off."

"Then why didn't you?" Melody asked.

"I'm not that bad," Veerna said. "No kid deserves to get sold into slavery. And I wouldn't betray you at this point, either. We've stuck together this long. Plus, saving Xander would really put Sareen's nose out of joint, and that's the best bonus of all. So are you coming or not?"

They all glanced at each other before looking at Melody. The doctor's eyes widened briefly before she stammered out, "He won't survive for another few hours. We don't have enough time to bring him to another planet. The smuggling place will have to do."

Chris sighed audibly. "Oh, very well," she said. "Don, help me lift Xander."

"That ... might not be the best idea," Veerna interrupted. They really weren't going to like what she was going to say next. "The people on this planet aren't overly fond of humans. The hospital will accept him if I manipulate—err—convince them, but we've got to get him through the city first."

Chris threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Oh, great!" she said tiredly. "This just keeps getting better and better! What do we do now? How do we sneak a dying man through a city that's prejudiced against humans?"

Veerna put up her index finger with a smile. "Who said we're going to be doing any sneaking? I'm going to take Donny with me and secure safe passage to the hospital. He's the most inconspicuous of all of you, so ... yeah. Mel, keep him alive for as long as you can. We shouldn't be too long." She grabbed Don's arm, dragging him towards the door.

"W-wait!" Don looked astonished. "Why are you taking me with you?"

"I already told you," she replied, frowning. "You're inconspicuous. Suzan's too smart, Melody needs to take care of Xander, Yulia's hair is too obvious, and Chris needs to be here in case we need to get the heck out of here."