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  More blasts struck the side of the ship as we all made it behind the safety of our vessel's massive engine exhaust port. But we weren't safe yet. The freakish army chasing us would be on us again in less than half of a minute.

  As Strawberry stepped past Sage, she said pointed down at the big hipped bossy woman and said, "Leave her here."

  Sage would die at the hands of these people or from the heat created during our launch. Worse yet, she could survive and be taken captive, punished for this city's losses in battle for the rest of her life.

  "No!" the word erupted from my mouth before my brain could even think it. I couldn't do that to another human being. I thought I could. I plotted in my mind regularly to do such a thing. But somehow it didn't feel right. With all my friends watching, old and new, I had to show at least some mercy.

  "Why?" Strawberry asked. No one spoke up to support her call for leaving the woman behind. Not even Honeysuckle. Of course, Aeren and Mixi were not even clued in on the situation. Our conversation regarding Sage trying to kill me had been very brief.

  "Lock her up," I told the redhead. "We might need her for something."

  "I'd rather not," Strawberry replied stubbornly. Was she pulling rank on me? Is that how things were going to be now?

  "Hurry!" Gako bellowed from his post at the rear of our group as he watched our attackers coming within view.

  Honey quickly grabbed one of Sage's arms and attempted to lift her. Strawberry then relented and assisted with the other arm. They struggled a bit with the weight of the heavier crew member, but I couldn't help. My hands were still full.

  Mixi stayed back with Gako returning fire with her bow. The dragon couldn't do much to protect us except absorb any damage fired from our opponents. I sure as hell didn't want him to fly toward them. He'd die for sure. Unless he had more of that fire breath. Why hadn't he used that tactic again? Did he run out? I didn't even know that he had that capability.

  When Strawberry dropped her side of Sage to the ground to reach for the door panel, I saw our highest-ranking officer brace herself. Her body language suggested that she was about to run or fight as soon as that door opened. Before I could voice that thought, Aeren punched the bitch in the back of the head with her skinny fist. It was an extremely well-placed blow. Sage's body went limp immediately.

  Aeren then took the berry girl's place in lifting Sage's hefty body. She made it inside the ship along with Honey and Strawberry before the sound of more shots echoed in our narrow space between the engines. I stepped through next screaming for everyone to follow me.

  Once Mixi, Teddy and the dragons were inside, Strawberry closed the door. "We need to take off quickly before the ship sustains serious damage."

  I agreed, of course. Yet, nobody was moving toward the steps that led to the upper level where the command room sat at the front of the ship. And the reason was obvious.

  We had come to trust both Gako and Dawynda with our lives. Teddy had also proven himself a valuable ally despite his small stature. But two of our crew mates were knocked out, one of which we preferred that way. Then came the realization that two creatures resembling our enemy were now inside with us. Friendlies, of course. But unknown to the majority of us. Only Honey and I trusted them.

  Reading the room accurately, Mixi cooperatively handed her bow back to Honeysuckle. My green-skinned, white-haired lover dropped her side of Sage to accept it. Aeren released her grip on Sage's other arm to move to Mixi's side. She knew that they would be easier to guard if beside each other. It was a clear signal that they intended to be agreeable.

  No one said a word for a moment, which was weird considering the situation. That’s when I realized that Honey and I had been naked the whole time. That was expected in the subterranean city, but not among the crew of the ship. It was the doctor that spoke next, from above us at the top of the stairs.

  "Use the lift to get them up here and into medical," she said urgently.

  "Just Cinnamon," Strawberry told her defiantly.

  "Why?" the elegantly sexy older woman demanded to know. I had forgotten how much I liked gazing upon her beautiful form with the multi-toned hair flowing of its own accord.

  "Sage is fine," Strawberry told the medical expert.

  "She doesn't look..."

  "I said she's fine! Now do your job, doctor," Strawberry barked out the order. "I'm in control here now."

  Honey and Teddy both glanced toward me. They each had a weapon in their hand, though it was questionable if Mixi’s bow would work properly for a human. They were waiting for my cue, one more eager than the other. This was as good of an opportunity as any take both top girls down at the same time. I would then be captain of the ship. It wasn't like Vanilla would assert any authority to block it.

  There had been a change in leadership certainly. We had no desire to continue to follow Sage as our commanding officer. However, most of the crew were supportive of me, not the redhead that had been Sage's friend for so long. What should I do?

  Both dragons had already curled up in their usual spaces in the cargo bay. Exhausted, but they would come to my side if a struggle broke out here. But like Strawberry already said, we need to take off soon. I had to make a clear statement of where I stood at this exact moment or things could go poorly.

  "I'll take Cinnamon to medical," I told them. "Place Sage carefully in the cargo hold where Teddy can keep an eye on her."

  "The cargo hold?" Vanilla complained in outrage. I had worded it that way for her benefit. She didn't need to know at this time that we forcibly removed Sage from power. The doctor was a real stickler for following rules and orders. It was a wonder she wasn't up in arms already about two aliens being brought aboard without medical clearance.

  "Let Mixi and Aeren rest in my quarters," I said next. "Strawberry and Honey can show them where it is. After we launch, we'll get them some medical attention as well."

  That ought to satisfy our newly self-appointed leader regarding any threat that they posed. She could lock them in there while we get this bird in the air. We'll figure out security measures afterwards. I would push for them to have free roam of the ship like Teddy, but that would likely take some time.

  "Don't," a familiar voice said from the floor. Sage had regained consciousness and was pleading for Vanilla to come to her aid. The doctor looked severely confused.

  This shit just kept getting harder. But now was not the time to play around. Blasts of energy were striking our ship's entrance that we all had just passed through. I nodded to Teddy and he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Lightning fired from his gun to strike our former leader in the head. He released quickly to keep from causing permanent damage. Of course, we didn't know that for sure.

  Vanilla screamed and stared at us in shock. I thought she would have run off from the sight until I noticed the barrel of Strawberry's rifle pointed at the good doctor.

  This was getting much more complicated than I had hoped.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  "Vanilla!" I yelled in anger. This was a control freak's nightmare. A ship full of unpredictable creatures. All of them had their loyalties and trust issues. Not many of them the same.

  We had dragons that were currently very loyal but may at any time declare that they had enough and demand to be released. I had made that agreement with them. I knew Sage would have no interest in honoring it as she hoped to sell these magnificent animals at the first station. It was still possible that Strawberry would want the same. I would have to deal with that when the time comes.

  Teddy had turned into the perfect sidekick, completely committed to my agenda. However, it could easily turn sour if I didn't hold up my end of the bargain to return him to his home planet soon.

  Aeren and Mixi had never left the area of their city, let alone their planet. How would they fare in space? Just like the dragons they could easily decide they were not cut out for this life and demand to be returned to Edaifoss, their home planet.

  I felt good about Honeys
uckle and Cinnamon. I had done a good job recruiting them to my cause. Inadvertently, I had actually done much more than that. I cared for them deeply. Was I in love? With two women at the same time? It sure seemed so.

  That left Strawberry. I trusted her about as much as I trusted a viper that I held by the tail. But my grip on her was tenuous at best. I had the majority of the ship's inhabitants on my side, though she was more knowledgeable and capable in most areas of the journey ahead of us. If I messed things up with her, I could easily end up back where I started. Especially if she decided on releasing Sage.

  However, didn't she just tell us to leave her long-time friend on this planet to die?

  Every fucking step forward that I took placed my weight on a stone floating in quicksand. I had not planned this very well at all. Then again, most of this had been totally unplanned. How stepping through that portal led me to this current situation could not have been dreamed up by even the most extreme imagination.

  "Follow orders, please," I said to the doctor. "Cinnamon needs your help. Focus on that. We'll get everything else cleared up after we take off. Okay?"

  "Yes, Kash," she nodded emphatically, then slowly withdrew to her facility. I briefly wondered if she could cause us any trouble. It wasn’t like she would be reporting us to somebody. We weren’t really part of a fleet with a command center. And she had no way to communicate with anyone off-world at the moment anyway. If we kept Sage guarded, Vanilla would have no choice but to follow our orders. Didn’t doctors still take some kind of oath to always care for the sick and injured?

  By the time I rode the lift up Strawberry was already following my instructions and guiding our new guests to my quarters. I spent a couple minutes watching Vanilla care for my spice girl before I felt safe leaving her. Once in her element, the doctor seemed focused and less rattled. I was happy to hear that Cinnamon's diagnosis was good. Her injuries from the enemy weapon and her subsequent fall were not serious. I had Mixi to thank for part of that.

  "Did they give you any problems?" I asked Strawberry about Aeren and Mixi where she stood outside the medical bay. She had graciously grabbed me some clothes to put on, giving one last stare at my privates. Running around extreme commando in a crisis was one thing. Going about my duties on the ship with a pecker flopping around was another.

  "No," she replied. "They seemed happy to be able to get some rest. Right now, though, we need to get off the ground. I'm counting on you to fly this ship."

  Ah, that's right. It was Sage that had some pilot training. The redhead turning on her former friend meant that she now needed me in multiple ways. That made me feel a little better.

  "We might have a little trouble with the exit door next time we land," Honeysuckle announced from her station in the command room as we entered. She had already put on a fresh new uniform. "The rest of the damage that we're taking is mostly superficial. Since they are not familiar with spaceships they don't know where to shoot."

  "That's good news, I guess," Strawberry said as she slid into the captain's chair.

  Her claiming that spot was fine with me. I wanted to be in the pilot's station where I could focus on my job at the moment. Let us wrestle over command of this ship later. I just didn’t want to give her too much time to plot while I was busy caring for the needs of our expanded crew.

  "It's just the three of us, isn't it?" Honey asked.

  "Yes," Strawberry answered. All animosity toward the mechanic was absent in her tone. "Why don't you take the navigator's seat in the front and pull up your screens there. I'll focus on general systems while you track the engine performance and any damage sustained."

  Honey slid into the seat beside me. It was nice to see her there, but I couldn't help but think that Strawberry might have ulterior motives. Typically, the mechanic's place was behind the captain and to the left. Maybe she was worried that Honey would try to strangle her or something. The redhead and I had some serious talking to do if we wanted to relieve these ongoing concerns.

  I rushed through my checklist haphazardly. If it wasn't a requirement before firing up the lift thrusters, I would have skipped it entirely. The ship barely vibrated when we powered up. If there were screens showing camera feeds of the monster city folk outside, I ignored them. I didn't give a shit if our lift off killed them all. I only regret not getting to safety fast enough to save Mavi. If it weren't for her my escape might not have ever been attainable.

  "All systems within parameters," Strawberry declared professionally. She was back in her element.

  "Really?" Honeysuckle asked. I too was surprised. We hadn't run any tests after we completed the repairs. Then again, I was gone for a couple days. Not only did they have time to make sure the vessel was in good shape, but they also flew the thing at least once to land where they could storm the underground city with the dragons.

  "I lowered the standards," the redhead said from her command seat. "We'll be fine. Keep us going, Kash."

  And I did just that. My training and extremely limited experience came back to me as I focused solely on the task at hand. Not on what to do with Sage. Not on my promises to the dragons or Teddy. Not on Cinnamon's recovery. Not even on the two alien hotties sleeping in my bed.

  With no significant problems experienced reaching a thousand meters I set the autopilot to keep us hovering in place. No ground-based weapon could strike us there, and there hadn't been another ship spotted in the atmosphere for as long as the Arketa Moreta had been there.

  "How did Gako breathe fire?" I finally asked. I had been dying to ask that question.

  Strawberry laughed. "I was wondering when that would come up. When Cinnamon let your overgrown lizard friends outside without permission, Gako found some fungus that he decided was edible. The unusual properties of the fungus, combined with the indigestion that it gave him, produced fire. Your girl suggested that he eat some more after we located the entrance to the caverns where you had been taken."

  That opened the opportunity for a myriad of questions. What happened while I was gone? What was it like being held underground for days? But Honey voiced a different question entirely.

  "His girl?" my white-haired friend queried as she continued to study the readout before her.

  "I mean Cinnamon, of course," Strawberry answered. "I guess for a while you were his only girl, weren't you? What was that like?"

  That question could receive a variety of replies as well. Honey could reveal the rough sexual episode that we shared, or her jealousy. I was thinking that was what Strawberry's question was targeting.

  "It was nice," Honey replied casually. "But I'm ready to share him again. With select people."

  "Is that right?" Strawberry responded. "Speaking of which, Kash I see you have acquired two more females for yourself, these much more exotic. What is it that you plan to do with them?"

  "Aeren and Mixi are as intelligent as Teddy," I told her, ignoring the sexual implications. "They helped us escape at the risk of their own lives. In fact, their other friend Mavdaios was killed, as you know. I trust them, but their skills will be limited until they receive some training."

  "So, you are suggesting that we make them part of the crew?" Strawberry asked with obvious surprise.

  "We are short-handed, are we not?"

  She mulled that over as she leaned back in the captain's chair. I wondered what that felt like. It was silly, but still my ego couldn't help but be envious of the person sitting in the slightly elevated chair. The position of command.

  "Once Cinnamon recovers, she can handle cargo and comm," Strawberry said. "I've got systems still. That just leaves navigation, which is an extremely important job. I doubt we would trust either of them to learn it."

  I waited for her to suggest letting Sage handle the navigation duty. She was the one fully trained and experienced in that regard. It would make sense, except that Strawberry was already willing to leave her outside the ship when we launched, like a bag of trash.

  "Do you plan to get a new navigat
or at the next station?" Honey asked. Without turning around, she didn't indicate who exactly she was asking.

  My berry flavored questionable ally took a heavy breath and released it before answering. "Taking on regulation crew members now will be challenging. Inviting someone to study our crew records could create a potential accusation of theft and murder. I think that we'd all like to avoid that."

  "Couldn't we just pin all that on Sage?" Honey suggested. I took it as a joke, but there may have been merit to the question. I had no idea how the legal system worked in the galaxy these days.

  The question got a great reaction from Strawberry until she thought it through. "We would still have to give back the ship to King's company and face an investigation. I was thinking that maybe we could go a different route."