Starship Revenant (The Galactic Wars Book 3) (5 page)

“
L
ocked and ready to rock
, sir,” Mitch said.

Declan grinned from ear to ear. He looked through the window at the customs officer pacing next to him. Declan smiled and flipped him off. Then he engaged the slide space-drive.

The bulkheads warbled. Zoey felt her stomach twist up in knots. The
Zephyr
vanished, and there was nothing the customs agents could do about it.

“One of these days they are going to catch up with you,” Violet said.

“Maybe. But not today.” Declan smiled and put his hands behind his head, triumphantly.

“What are your outstanding warrants for?” Zoey asked.

“Parking tickets,” Declan said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

“You might want to take care of those before you take on your next client.”

“Look, honey. You can’t hire a bunch of outlaws and expect them to be squeaky clean.”

“I’m not your honey.”

“Thank God.”

Violet arched an eyebrow at him.

Zoey grumbled.

“Lighten up, princess. We got away, didn’t we? I’ll uphold my end of the bargain. I’ll get you to Alpha Ceti 7. I’ll get your beloved captain out of jail, and take you wherever you want to go. But what I won’t do is listen to anymore of your grumbling. So, let’s all try to have a positive attitude. Fair enough?”

Zoey scowled at him.

“Great. That’s settled,” Declan said. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you. But I’m ready for a little breakfast.” He climbed out of the pilot seat and ambled toward the galley.

“Is he always this much of an asshole?”

“You have no idea,” Violet said. “But he grows on you.”

“Like a fungus,” Mitch said.

It wasn’t long before the smell of bacon and coffee lured everyone into the galley.

Declan was at the stove. He was cooking the old fashioned way. Bacon was sizzling in a pan. He was frying up a ham and cheese omelette in another. “I’m taking orders, if anybody wants anything?”

“Don’t you have a food fabricator?” Zoey asked.

“You know, sometimes you just can’t beat the real thing.”

“Two eggs, sunny side up. Bacon. And toast,” Violet said.

Mitch pondered his options. “Spinach and cheese omelette for me.”

“French toast,” Brody said.

“Scrambled eggs and bacon,” said Jaxon.

“Are pancakes on the table?” 8-Ball asked.

“I can do pancakes,” Declan said. “I got waffles too.”

Zoey melted for an instant. “Oh, my God. Waffles and maple syrup.”

“Shit, I change my order,” said Mitch. “I want waffles too. But I still want an omelette. Fuck it, give me both.” Mitch wasn’t shy about eating.

Declan slaved over the stove and fixed everyone’s breakfast. One thing was certain, he took care of his crew. They may have been a ragtag bunch of outlaw mercenaries, but they were the closest thing to a family that any of them had.

After everyone was served, Declan finally sat down to eat. It was one of those meals where nobody said a word—everyone was too busy stuffing their faces. After a night in jail, it tasted better than any breakfast Zoey had ever eaten.

Max jumped up on the table and surveyed the feast. He was an Antarian Sphynx from Beta 2 Majoris. His skin was royal blue and his eyes were emerald green. He was sleek and graceful, and lacked the wrinkly appearance of most hairless cats.

He sniffed the food as he strutted down the table toward Declan. It may have been Declan’s ship, but Max was the boss.

Declan held out a little piece of bacon, and Max devoured it.

Zoey was tired and hung over, and her face was tender as hell. “You got a med station on this ship?”

“What do you need?” Declan said, crunching on a crispy slice of bacon.

“Something for this headache would be nice. You have any cooling gel for this bruise?”

Declan pushed away from the table and stood up. “Let me see what I can rustle up.”

“Finish eating first,” Zoey said.

“I’ll just be a minute.”

Zoey scooped the last bit of waffles into her mouth and followed after him.

Max proceeded to nibble at Declan’s omelet.

Zoey caught up to Declan in the corridor, still chomping on her food. “Thank’s for breakfast. You’re not a bad cook.”

“My cooking will keep you from starving, that’s about it.”

“Do you do dishes and laundry too?”

He frowned at her and stepped into the med station. He rummaged through the cabinets and handed her a few pills. “Here. Take these. That will take down the swelling.”

Declan dug through the cabinet and pulled out a jar. He unscrewed the lid and dabbed a finger inside. “Let me see your face.”

He wiped the clear gel over her bruised and swollen skin.

“Ow. Go easy.” Her skin was extremely sensitive.

“Sorry.”

Declan finished applying the gel. Within moments, her skin grew cool. The gel was like an icepack, activated by skin contact. Declan gave her the jar. “Hang on to this. It will last about 15 minutes, then you can reapply.”

“Thanks.” She looked up at him with appreciative eyes.

“Just put it back when you’re done.” His steely blue eyes met hers. He held her gaze for a moment.

Zoey felt a little tingle in her stomach. Declan was attractive, in a dangerous, rough around the edges kind of way. She was a sucker for those kind of men, though she wasn’t about to admit it. “Well, it seems you aren’t as much of an asshole as I thought you were.”

“Don’t sell me short. I’m a tremendous asshole, you just don’t know me that well yet.” He grinned and left her in the med station just as Violet hovered in the entryway.

It was easy to see that she was a little jealous. She gave Zoey a
back off, he’s mine look.
It was an awkward moment.

Zoey slid past her and bumped into 8-Ball in the hallway.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to get a little shut-eye,” 8-Ball said.

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Zoey. “But don’t get any ideas about us bunking together.”

“Please, you are totally not my type,” 8-Ball said.

Zoey rolled her eyes. “Anything with a pulse is your type.”

“Are you suggesting I don’t have standards? I mean, I guess I could compromise my values, if you begged me.”

“You definitely need sleep. You seem delusional.”

As she headed to her quarters, Zoey suddenly got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The bulkheads breathed and rippled. She felt seasick for a moment. The
Zephyr
had emerged from slide-space.

Zoey’s face twisted up, perplexed. It was much too soon to be exiting a quantum jump. She and 8-Ball raced to the cockpit.

“What the hell is going on?”

“It’s an old ship, sweetheart,” Declan said. “It doesn’t have the range of modern vessels. It’s just going to take a few more jumps than usual to reach our destination.”

Zoey grimaced.

“We’ll get there. I promise.”

“Where are we?” Zoey said, gazing out the front viewport. Visibility was almost down to zero. They had emerged in an angry green cloud of dust and ionized gasses. Electrical charges flashed about the hazy nebula. It was like an interstellar thunderstorm.

“X2997365. It’s a planetary nebula that doesn’t even get a real name,” Declan said, looking over the charts. “But we shouldn’t be here. We should be two sectors over. It doesn’t make any sense.”

The
Zephyr
cruised through the luminescent clouds. Suddenly, a large metallic object emerged from the haze. They were on a collision course, and there was no time to avoid it.

D
eclan pulled hard
on the controls. The ship veered starboard. The inertia sent Zoey crashing against the port side bulkhead. The old
Zephyr
creaked and groaned. It was going to be a close call.

As they careened closer to the object, it became clear it was another spaceship. It was massive. But the nebula prevented a clear view of the ship. The bow and stern were obscured by the luminescent haze.

Declan reversed the thrusters, trying to avoid impact. The
Zephyr
shuddered and rumbled. The edge of the
Zephyr
scraped along the top of the mysterious ship. Sparks flew, and metal squealed. It was like nails on a chalkboard.

Still pulling hard on the controls, Declan arced the
Zephyr
away, clearing the mammoth vessel.

“What the hell is that?” Declan muttered.

“She doesn’t show up on the scanner,” Violet said.

“Must be electromagnetic interference from the nebula. We’ve got to be careful in here.” Declan circled around to get a better look at the ship.

They flew along the mammoth structure from end to end. It didn’t take Zoey long to recognize what it was. “That’s an
Avenger
class star destroyer.”

8-Ball stared out of the front view port, slack-jawed. “Holy shit. That’s impossible.”

The tattered and faded name on the hull read:
USS Revenant
.

“That ship’s been missing for 25 years,” 8-Ball said.

An eerie silence fell over the cockpit. No one was sure what to make of the phenomenon.

“Can’t be,” Declan said.

“It says it right there on the hull,” 8-Ball exclaimed.

“You spike our breakfast?” Violet said in jest. “Maybe we’re all hallucinating?”

“That’s not a hallucination,” said Zoey.

Declan made another pass around the ship.

Violet activated the comm system. “
SS Zephyr
to the
USS Revenant
. Do you copy, over?”

There was no response. Just static and interference from the nebula.

“
SS Zephyr
to the
USS Revenant
. Do you read me?”

There was still no reply.

“She looks like she’s in pretty good shape,” Zoey said.

“She’s a little dinged up here and there, but I don’t see any major hull breaches,” Declan said.

“Do you think she still has an atmosphere and gravity?” Violet asked.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“Oh, hell no,” Mitch said. “You’re not thinking about going aboard that thing, are you?”

Declan’s face twisted up. “Why not?”

“The
Revenant
is cursed.”

“Nonsense. Old wives’ tales.”

“This thing disappeared without a trace, then reappears here 25 years later? That doesn’t strike you as odd?”

“I’m sure there’s a simple explanation,” Declan said. “They probably had some technical difficulty, got stuck in deep space, and drifted into this nebula. Look at all this interference going on,” he said, motioning to the electrical disturbances within the cloudy haze. “More than enough to wreak havoc with long-distance communications. It’s why the ship doesn’t show up on the scans.”

“I’m looking right at it, yet it doesn’t read at all on LRADDS,” Violet said.

“That’s creepy,” Mitch said.

“No, it’s not,” Declan said, ever the skeptic. “Look, the ship probably got locked into an orbit around the planet. Eventually the crew ran out of supplies and… well, shit happens.”

“I don’t like it,” Mitch said.

“Don’t be a pussy,” said Brody.

“That means there’s going to be a ton of dead bodies on that ship,” Mitch said.

“Crusty skeletons,” Brody said. “You’re not afraid of a few old bone bags?”

“Have some respect,” Zoey said. “There were over 1600 crew on the
Revenant
.”

“With all due respect to the dead, do you know what a ship like this is worth?” Declan said with a grin. “Trillions.”

Mitch's eyes widened.

“Hang on a minute,” Zoey said. “This is Federation property.”

“This vessel is abandoned, and is clearly in peril,” Declan said. “If we salvage this ship, we’re entitled to 100% of its value. The Federation can have it back, as long as they pay me for it.” He smiled.

“You don’t know if it’s abandoned,” Zoey said.

“Even if there is someone aboard, it’s likely they need our help. In which case, the vessel is in peril, and we’re entitled to salvage rights.”

“What’s the split,” Jaxon asked.

“The usual. I take 50%, the rest is split evenly between the four of you.”

“That’s bullshit,” Jaxon said.

“When you have your own ship, and your own crew, you can set the percentages.”

“I’m with Jaxon,” Violet said. “You want us to go aboard the ship, it’s an even split.”

Declan scowled at her.

“Even split, or I don’t go either,” Brody said. There was a little fear in his voice. “I’ve heard the stories about the
Revenant
.”

“Yeah, fair is fair,” Mitch said.

Declan threw up his hands in exasperation. “Okay. Fine. Even split. Five ways.”

Zoey stared at them with wide eyes. “Is money the only thing you people give a shit about?”

“No,” Declan said. “I though it was pretty obvious we all like bacon.”

“I’ll kill for bacon,” Jaxon said. He wasn’t kidding.

Zoey shook her head. “What about our mission?”

“Your mission can wait a day or two in order for us to make a trillion credits.”

Zoey’s face tensed. “You know, you wouldn’t have even stumbled across this ship if it weren’t for me.”

“So?”

“So, 8-Ball and I should get an equal share.”

“Absolutely not.”

Zoey scowled at him.

“She’s got a point, boss,” Mitch said.

Declan glared at him. Mitch was just trying to make a good impression, hoping it might help him get into Zoey’s pants—and Declan knew it.

Declan sighed. “Alright. All those in favor of cutting the clients in, raise your hand.”

Violet, Mitch, Zoey, and 8-Ball raised their hands.

“You two don’t count,” Declan said, looking at Zoey and 8-Ball.

Zoey gritted her teeth and huffed.

“All those in favor of keeping the shares among us, raise your hand.”

Jaxon and Declan raised their hands.

“That’s 2 to 2. Who didn’t vote?” Declan scanned the cockpit. Brody stood sheepishly, trying to ignore his gaze.

Declan’s eyes narrowed. “Brody, how say you?”

“Well, to be honest, it only seems fair.”

“I agree. It only seems fair to keep it among us.” Declan glanced at Zoey. “I’m sorry, but that’s 3 to 2. You lose.”

“No, I mean, it only seems fair to cut them in,” Brody said. “After all, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.”

Declan grimaced. “Fine. Seven way split. Are the negotiations over?”

Everyone nodded.

“Just remember, it’s her fault if anything goes wrong. She brought us here.” Declan grumbled under his breath and spun back to the command console. “Who’s going to be the first aboard?”