Hold the Star: Samair in Argos: Book 2 Read Free Page B

Vosteros spoke up, shifting his seat on the bed to try and get to a more comfortable position, his injuries were healing well, but his abdomen was still tender and unless he had something to lean against or he maintained ramrod straight posture, his stomach would twinge a bit.
                  “And what’s that?” Taja asked, a little impatiently.  He glared at her, but she didn’t back down.  Tensions had been running high ever since the run out from Ulla-tran and Ka’Xarian had specifically stated that his quarters was no décor, meaning all were equals, check your rank at the door.
                  He looked at her calmly, though a wrinkle had formed between his eyebrows.  “I should think that was obvious, young lady,” he said condescendingly.  “We cannot meet up with any more of Verrikoth’s ships, not without some sort of help.”
                  “Yes, that is obvious,” Taja shot back.  “But we’re heading to Amethyst now and who knows what we’re going to find there.  More pirates, probably,” she said sourly.
                  But Vosteros only nodded.  “Exactly.  Which is why we can’t allow Jax to dictate where we go and what we do.”
                  Now all of them were looking at the man.  He was still an outsider, and a captain without a ship.  It had to smart that he’d had to be rescued and that his ship had been left behind.  He wasn’t crew, not yet and they didn’t know if he would ever be. 
                  “He’s got soldiers throughout the ship,” Ka’Xarian reminded him.  “For all intents, Jax is in command of the ship, especially if the Captain has locked himself away in his stateroom.”
                  That’s when the man smiled.  “Then we have to convince him that meeting up with Verrikoth is not in his best interest.”
                  Frowns.  “Unlikely, Captain Vosteros,” Cookie replied.  “Jax is fanatically loyal to his lord.  And it doesn’t strike me that he would be willing to disobey any commands from Captain Verrikoth.”
                  “Then it seems that our first order of business is to find out if the good Armsman has any direct orders from his lord, or if he’s just improvising,” Vosteros said, nodding. 
                  “There’s been murmurings of ‘Byra-Kae’ among the soldiers,” Cookie put in, looking thoughtful.  “I’ve heard them when they’re standing in the chow line, when they think I’m not listening.  Apparently, being a cook isn’t a noble pursuit.”  He sounded insulted.  “Food is fuel, not something to truly be enjoyed.”  He huffed in exasperation.  “What they hell kind of pirates are these people?”
                  That elicited a chuckle from the rest of them, quickly dampened.  Yes, Gideon Jax and his men weren’t showing most of the usual violent tendencies they’d known to be found in pirates.  But for a few exceptions, this actually was a good thing.  So far there had been no rapes among the female (or the male) members of the crew.  Nothing had been stolen from the berthing areas or staterooms.  And with the exception of Tamara and the bridge officers who’d ‘mouthed off’ to Jax back in Ulla-tran, no one else had been assaulted.  So far, it had been a novel experience with these grunts.
                  “He’s really going to do it,” Vosteros breathed.
                  “Really going to do what?” Taja demanded.  Her fuse had gotten much shorter after she’d found out what had happened to Tamara.  And who was responsible.
                  Vosteros turned his gaze to the cargo specialist.  “As I’m sure you know, Ms. Mbuto, Byra-Kae is the home of a Republic base in the Argos Cluster.  Or rather, the only serious base in the Cluster.”
                  “Yes?” she said