The First Nova I See Tonight by Jason Kilgore (the false prince .txt) 📕

Dirken nodded. "I'll be feeling his hospitality for a long time." He paused, then added, "You never told me your name."

"Ananak change names depending on the company they keep and the situation. But you can call me Eow."

She pronounced the name with a rhythmic vibration at the end that he knew he could never imitate. Perhaps no human could. But he repeated it as best he could. "Eow. You don't seem to have gotten the same treatment. Why are you here?"

Eow turned away and laid her head against the bars, but her right ear was still angled toward him. She sighed. "I'm acting as a messenger for someone. Someone of great influence."

"Ah," Dirken said, and shook his head. There was a ringing in his right ear where he'd been punched. "Since you're in here, I'm guessing the Bloodhawk didn't like the message."

"He did not. But he knows better than to mistreat me. He can get more by holding me for ransom. I expected it. The Eridani Mafia would never do business with him again if he killed or beat me, and he'd be shut out of half a dozen key solar systems."

Dirken sat up. "The Eridani Mafia! And who does this someone-of-great-influence happen to be?" There were a dozen wise guys he could think of, every one of which ran their own deals. He'd worked with a couple of them. Made a bundle, too. And then there was the don, Grimmag Ruby-Eye.…

She looked back at him, then lowered her gaze, her fingers running up and down a bar as if stroking it. "I've said enough. And why are you here? Something about a safebox, I overheard."

Dirken stood up, grimacing. He'd pulled a muscle in his upper back at some point during the interrogation. "I can't say," he replied, "except that we were escorting that safe and need to get it back."

Eow watched him intently as he stepped over to Yiorgos's bunk and sat down, now right next to her with only the bars between.

She examined his face, then reached through the bars and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. Her fur was every bit as soft as he'd imagined. His pulse quickened. He ran his hand along her arm, crossing into her cell. Beneath the fine fur was hidden hard, smooth muscle. He resisted the urge to go lower.

Eow reversed her movement, now running her palm along his jaw. The dark pad on her palm felt like warm suede, and the tips of her claws lightly scratched along his skin. The sensation sent tingles down his neck and seemed to soothe the pain.

"I can make you a deal," she whispered with a glance toward the sensors on the wall opposite the cells. "If you get me out of here, I can help you get that safebox. And if you help me get off this ship, I can offer you protection by the Eridani Mafia."

He looked into her amethyst eyes, just centimeters from his across the bars. There was that dangerous spark again. He took her hand in his. "And just how do you think you can help me get the safe? Do you know how to fight?"

Eow leaned her head back and laughed, fangs glimmering in the light of the LEDs. "I am a warrior in my culture." She flexed her other hand and black claws shot soundlessly out from each finger, each claw as sharp and long as a filet knife. "But I cannot do it alone. Together, we can manage. I have a few… tricks. I imagine you do, too. By the look of it, I'm guessing your partner's right arm is more than it appears. It may have fooled the pirates, but I've seen a custom job like that before."

He nodded. "And do you have a ship?"

"In the hangar." She flexed again and her claws retracted. "We go to the Eridani first and you drop me off. From there, you're free to go where you choose. So, do we have a deal, stud?"

His eyebrow flexed at stud. "Yeah. We have a deal."

She once again ran the back of her hand across his jaw and gave him a smile, the tips of her fangs showing over her lower lip. The touch of her fur was soothing. But he didn't trust her. No one associated with the Eridani Mafia should be trusted. But there wasn't a better choice, was there?

She slipped her hand down his neck and down into his shirt, letting her fingertips play in the hair of his chest. "I don't know what the Bloodhawk has in store for us, but I'm glad I'm not alone here…" Her eyes met his. "…for whatever fate has in store for us."

Suddenly she sat back and withdrew her hand, her eyes on the door. And then he heard it too — heavy steps. The door to the brig opened with a clank and squeal of metal hinges. Mom and the two Pleiadeans dragged Yiorgos through.

"Oi! You!" Mom said to Dirken. "Turn around and put your hands on the far wall!"

Dirken did as instructed, then the cell door opened and Yiorgos was dumped onto the floor. The door slammed shut behind him. Dirken turned around and watched as the Pleiadeans stepped out.

Mom went last. As he put a foot through the door, he looked back and winked at Eow. "Hey, kitty. Later I'm goin' to make you purr." He reached down and grabbed his crotch, gave it a squeeze, ran his tongue over his lips. Then he stepped out the door, shutting and locking it.

Eow showed her fangs, staring daggers at Mom as he left.

Dirken knelt and checked Yiorgos. The cyborg was awake, but the organic side of his face was swollen and red. The metallic portions of his head, both shoulders, and right arm were dented, and the edges were bent up here and there as if the pirates had tried to pry parts off of him.

Dirken helped his