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Heavy footfalls signaled the arrival of reinforcements. He braced himself, his blade raised, but his movements slowed by exhaustion and injuries. The Marauders surged forward, overwhelming him with sheer numbers. His blade sang through the air, but a plasma bolt struck his shoulder, sending a hideous, incapacitating pain radiating through his arm. He staggered and fell to one knee, gasping as his vision blurred. His sword dropped to thedeck.

“Finally,” a deep, rasping voice declared. Jo’Nay knew that voice, had dealt with this creature before.Skarrp.

Jo’Nay looked up, the pain nearly unbearable, to see the Marauder leader striding forward. Skarrp’s grin was predatory, his satisfaction evident. He was a towering brute with a scarred face and a blood-red eye patch. His voice, aguttural growl, echoed through the bridge. “Yield, Vettian, and you and your female pet may live another day. Resist, and you both die, here. Now.”

Jo’Nay met the Marauder’s gaze, his voice filled with hatred. “You will have neither of us,” hesaid.

The Marauder laughed, aharsh, grating sound. “One way or another, Iwill take you both.” He raised his hand, and the pirates behind him broke through the reinforced chamber, dragging Winn out. “Do you truly wish for the female to die?”

Jo’Nay noticed Winn closing her eyes, bracing for the inevitable. He wished he could hold her, comfort her. But he had to remain strong. “No.”

“Then surrender and you will live.” Skarrp lifted an eyebrow. “Live to fight another day, mayhap, yes?”

How it grated to face defeat at Skarrp’s hands, something he’d never have done before Winn. But keeping her and their child alive trumped all. Without a word, he kicked his weapon in Skarrp’s direction, signaling his surrender.

The Marauder laughed in delight. “The great First, Intergalactic Warrior Jo’Nay brought low. What a prize.”

A sharp, crackling sound filled the air as a bolt of plasma fire tore through his chest. He cried out, his body jerking. Falling. Utterly out of his control. It felt as though a bomb had exploded inside of him. He vaguely registered Winn screaming.

Skarrp’s expression darkened. “I told you I wanted him alive,” he snarled, his voice dripping with fury. Withouthesitation, he drew his blade and ended the subordinate’s life in a single, savage stroke. Blood pooled at Skarrp’s feet as he turned back to Jo’Nay, squatting in front of his crumpled form. “By the Nine Galaxies! He still lives!”

Jo’Nay’s vision faded and he struggled to breathe. The pain was excruciating, unlike anything he had ever experienced. He could feel the plasma energy burning through his flesh, disrupting his Prime healing abilities. It would take a miracle for him to survivethis.

The Marauder, his voice filled with greed, barked an order. “Take them both. The female will fetch a good price in the slave markets. The Vettian, though wounded, may still have some use.”

Rough hands grabbed Winn, pulling her away from him. She struggled, kicking and screaming, but the pirates were too strong. They bound her wrists with energy shackles, the metal biting into her flesh. He hated that she could only watch helplessly as they lifted him, his body limp, his white hair and chest stained with blood.

“Don’t hurt him!” she cried, her voice raw with fear and desperation. “He’s injured! He needs medical attention!”

“We will see,” Skarrp replied, his tone smug. He gestured to his men. “Take the warrior to the brig. Make sure he doesn’t bleed out. Ihave plans for him.” His gaze shifted to Winn, who stood trembling but unyielding. “As for you, little human, you’ll join the others. Put her in the cell with the other Earth women.”

Winn stepped forward, her voice steady despite her fear. “If you’re taking us, you’ll need the apples and seeds we have on board. Use them to feed the women. If you want them alive for the slave markets, they’ll need food.”

Skarrp’s eyes narrowed, his expression flickering between amusement and irritation. “The apples?”

“They’re in the ship’s galley,” Winn insisted. “Take them.”

For a moment, Skarrp seemed to consider her words, but then his amusement vanished. “I don’t take orders from slaves.” With a sudden, vicious motion, he backhanded her. The force of the blow sent her crashing into the bulkhead. Her head struck the metal with a sickening thud, and everything went black.

“Take her,” he growled. “And find thosevexxingapples. Why waste our supplies on the slaves when we can use the warrior’s.”

Chapter 13

CONSCIOUSNESSreturned in agonizing increments. First a throbbing pain in her shoulder, then a wave of nausea that left her gasping for breath. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils, mingling with the stale air of the cramped space she found herselfin.

Winn blinked, trying to focus through the haze of pain and disorientation. Where was she? What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the Marauder backhanding her and the agonizing pain when she was thrown against something hard and unyielding.

Panic surged through her, cold and sharp, as the memories rushed back. The sudden appearance of the Marauders out of the void, their attack, their weapons spitting fire, ripping through the hull of Jo’Nay’s ship. The desperate battle, Jo’Nay fighting with the ferocity of a cornered beast, his Vettian strength a whirlwind of deadly grace. And then his surrender. The plasma bolt that had hit him square in the chest.

“Jo’Nay!” His name escaped, raw and ragged, adesperateplea.

No answer. Only the muffled sobs of other women, their fear a tangible presence in the stale air. It was a chorus of despair that echoed the icy terror gripping her heart.

Winn pushed herself up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her shoulder. Her fingers brushed against something sticky and warm. Blood. Her blood. The baby! Was her baby injured? She glanced down, her heart pounding against her ribs and found a ragged gash on her arm, oozing blood, atestament to the violence they had just escaped. But it was a superficial wound, aminor inconvenience compared to the agony that tore through her soul. Nothing to indicate her baby was harmed.

Of course, she was a prisoner. And Jo’Nay…

Winn forced herself to her feet, her legs trembling, her head spinning. She had to find him. Had to make sure he was alive. Had to protect their child, the tiny flicker of life growing inside her, afragile beacon of hope in this nightmare.

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