Cosmic Lover by Stella Cassy

Author:Stella Cassy [Cassy, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-23T16:00:00+00:00

15

Natalie

The next week seemed to pass very quickly. With my help – and with Ranel acting as a tough-as-nails drill sergeant – Dashel was able to convert the slovenly group of slaves into a passable fighting force. They weren't the most formidable warriors, and a sizable percentage of them were afflicted with handicaps and maladies they'd contracted during their work in the mines. Not only that, but a gang of mischief-makers were intent on using their new training against the Hielsrane, and each other...which made it difficult for Dashel and Ranel to determine which ones, if any, could be trusted with weaponry or sensitive sentry duties.

Still, there were a lot of them, and they were heavily motivated by the promise of freedom.

The mining equipment was disassembled into parts by the slaves, then reassembled into vehicles and armaments by the Hielsrane crew. The Pax's idea to convert this gear had been a masterstroke, but now that we'd stolen the concept, we were able to do it better.

What used to be crude lasers and core-drillers with limited battery capacities were refined into laser rifles with multiple settings and portable rapid-fire explosive launch tubes. The armor on the Digger modules was reconfigured to eliminate the structural weaknesses, and the propulsion units we installed made them capable of greater speed and maneuverability than the ones we'd faced in Nort's upper atmosphere. The hover-skiffs made excellent patrol crafts for the planet's surface. We were even able to rig the Wyvern's two dozen escape pods into small manned fighter ships, though this made many crew members extremely nervous, since it meant they'd have no way off the vessel in case of emergency.

During that time, there was nothing Dashel and I wanted more than to indulge our appetites for each other – but we had to show restraint instead. Ranel had finally gotten over his initial disapproval (though perhaps “disapproval” was putting it mildly), but he told Dashel that even though the entire crew knew about it now, it would still be a big mistake to rub it in their faces when it was so important for them to remain focused. The last thing we needed was hostility and resentment getting in the way of what we were trying to do here. Dashel grudgingly agreed.

One morning, we received word that a small fleet of Hielsrane ships would be joining us, commanded by someone named Lehar. When we reached the command deck to watch the vessels approach, it was hard not to notice that they weren't in very good shape – their hulls were scorched with laser burns, and many of them were either limping along at half power or being towed due to missing engine nacelles.

“Splendid,” Stal groaned, picking up his medical kit and heading for the door. “From the condition of those ships, it appears as though I'll have my work cut out for me patching up what's left of their crew. As if I didn't have sufficient matters to attend to. Have their wounded sent to the sickbay, and please tell them to keep their moans and screams to a minimum, if possible.

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