Page 47 of Star Defenders (My Alien Mates 2)

Focus, Edie.

I sniffed. I smelt it too. A good deal of it must be spilled for it to be that strong.

"It's not blood," Zarex said. He seemed more troubled than ever. "It's the smell of acrolein."

J'avet and I both stared at him.

"Burnt fat," Zarex said. "It's the smell of bodies after—"

"Multiple blaster shots," J'avet finished.

"We should see if anyone is alive in there," I said uneasily.

Zarex nodded. His back straight, he marched toward the bridge. J'avet hurried to follow. Both men still moved with caution, but now with a new need to hurry.

I bit my lip and followed, but the smell became more pungent the closer we got. Burning flesh would have been more sickening, but this was bad enough.

We rounded a corner and I gasped out loud at the scene in front of me.

Three Iri lay dead. At least, I presume they were Iritauri. Hints of silver remained around their foreheads and on their lips. The rest of their skin was blue or purple.

The remainder of the bridge crew lay dead, slumped over consoles, or splayed on the floor. Most displayed blaster wounds, but one looked to have fallen or been pushed and hit their head hard enough to leave a fatal gash.

There was blood, but only smears here and there.

"They're all dead," Zarex said, his expression horrified.

"Who’s flying this thing?" I asked softly.

J'avet's eyes widened. He hurried to a console and looked down at what looked like random letters and numbers to me.

"We're off course." He rubbed his forehead. "Headed for… Out of IF space."

"Can you put it back on course?" I asked.

He tapped a few buttons. "I'm locked out. We'd need a pilot with the right access, or the Captain." He waved toward a Centauri man on the floor. "The first officer is dead. They must have forced him to lock us out before they killed him."

"So the Iri are pirates now," I concluded. Fucking wonderful.

"We'll stop them," Zarex said. "We just need to get Brinley up here."

"Piece of cake," I muttered. "What if she's locked out too?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Zarex said.

"I see what you did there," I said without smiling.

He looked wry and nodded. "I thought you might."

"Shhh," J'avet said.

I opened my mouth to tell him there was no one here to hear us, when I heard it.

Footsteps.

"Should we hide?" I hissed.

Zarex nodded. "Get down behind the console." He all but shoved me in that direction.

---