The Teristaque Chronicles by Aaron Frale

Author:Aaron Frale [Frale, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-07-04T23:00:00+00:00

2

The crew gathered in the cargo bay around the mystery crate. Grannork was irritated because of the wait on the dwarf planet where they had planned to rendezvous once Hayden picked up Kal. Grannork wasn’t good at waiting and preferred smashing skulls. When the Scitronite failed to show up on time, he wanted to launch an invasion on the Tricore vessel. The cooler head of Maker prevailed, and he convinced Grannork to stick around and scan the planet.

While they found no evidence of the whereabouts of the Scitronite, they did find scorch marks left by repeated launches from the v-class fighters. They also found a building near the runway. Grannork made quick work of the sole occupant left to defend their hideout. Kal didn’t ask about what Grannork considered “quick work,” even though she already knew how Grannork handled most conflict. Maker and Grannork filled the shuttle with as much of the marauders’ loot as they could, and just as the wait was getting a little too long, Hayden sent a ping announcing his arrival.

Once the replicator crates were safely in storage and a new cartridge installed in the system, Kal gathered the crew to discuss the mystery crate. Kal discovered pretty early in her life as a pirate to include the crew in all major discussions, especially when the discussion was about loot. Since they were all escaped convicts, it would be easy for the crew to devolve to prison rules of distrust and struggles for power. They needed to trust each other. There were many ways to die in the cold vacuum of space, and even easier for a crew member to put the others in danger.

Kal used some of the wisdom of her tribe in her management of the crew. The elders never made decisions without consulting the village. The entire tribe would meet in the center of the village to discuss important issues that affected everyone. Kal hated the discussions growing up. She would rather explore the woods or play rock ball than listen to people debate about boring topics. Now that she was a leader herself, she understood the value of listening to what the people wanted.

“It could be booby trapped,” Seayolar said as he eyed the crate cautiously.

“I find that scenario highly unlikely,” Maker said. “The crate is designed for delivery from one Teristaque vessel to another. I find it challenging to conceive of a situation where they would wish to cause harm to their ship.”

“Unless it was an assassination attempt.”

“There are far more effective-“

“We should just smash it open and be done with this pointless discussion,” Grannork snarled. Orcandus were twice the size of humans and had a jagged horn on their forehead that seemed to look sharper with their mood, which bordered on fearsome even when they were happy. Kal was taller than humans, and she was the runt of her species. However, even the tallest of her earth brothers and sisters looked like dwarfs compared to Orcandus.

“I don’t know,” Hayden said. “What do you think Captain?”

Kal hated when he called her Captain, and he knew it.

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