Truehearts & The Escape From Pirate Moon Jake Macklem (classic romance novels TXT) 📖

Gunfire rang out. Another scream. He shouted at the crew, “Get these slaves back on the ship!” then turned and rushed toward Remy, who stood near the cave entrance. The gunfire stopped but the agonized cries of wounded men echoed up the tunnel—and finally the sound of someone running toward them.

Remy pulled his plasma pistol out of instinct, waiting to see what came down the tunnel. When one of the crew emerged, he sighed in relief. The crewman looked terrified, focusing only on escape. Damn spider-things. This is like the sixth time. He caught the man by the arm. “Calm down. It’s okay. What happened? Spider-thing?” He tried to look concerned, sympathetic. “Did it eat your friend?”

The crewmen staggered and Remy let him fall to the ground. “It was awful, captain. Just awful.”

“Yes. They can be a bit nasty.” Confused, Remy looked at his first mate. Mr. Vargi shrugged.

“Weren’t no spider, Captain!” The man jumped up and grabbed Remy by the lapels of his coat and pulled him close. His breath smelt of rot and whiskey. “It were a redheaded angel of death.”

Remy’s eyes went wide, and he suppressed a smile. He’s mad. But as the crewman looked deep into his eyes, he saw the genuine fear there and a cold spot grew where his confidence had just been. “Wait… you’re saying there’s a person down there?” He squinted into the dark of the tunnel, then skeptically at the smelly man.

“No person can move like that! It ain’t possible! She just walked through the men. Bullets and lasers just passed through her, Captain. And she shot a man with her eyes!” Letting go of the captain, the crewman took a few steps toward the ship. “With her eyes! We have to leave! We can’t stay here! It’s not safe!”

The cries of men begging for help echoed from the dark tunnel. Remy swallowed as the fear threatened to take hold, but he refused to show it. “You just want to leave those men? Your companions and brothers?”

“If you go down there, you’ll die!” The crewman shouted. “If we don’t leave now she’ll kill all of us.”

Can’t let him scare the crew. With a sigh, Remy pulled the trigger of his plasma pistol, and a good portion of the crewman’s chest, neck, and face ceased to exist, vanishing in a flurry of charged ions. The nearly headless body took a few clumsy steps and fell as Remy turned to the Gargin. “Mr. Vargi, I think there might be some spiders in the cave. Or maybe even a redhead. In any case, gather everyone but T’toli and Getha and two snipers and go down there to secure my possessions.” Remy’s eyes narrowed.

“Aye Captain.” Mr. Vargi gave a wicked smile.

  24: Cam

The cavern, almost a perfect square, was nearly thirty meters long and almost as wide. Two tunnels, narrow and roughly formed, entered the chamber at opposite far ends. Beams of light from cracks and gaps in the ceiling provided light during the day, but at night the beams from the flashlights vanished into the dark before illuminating the massive cavern.

Towards the center, a trio of heavily eroded columns attached the floor to the ceiling, which was nearly fifteen meters overhead. Stacked around the room, nearer to the larger tunnel the duo had entered from, were piles of shipping crates and storage containers. The stash seemed to be organized by contents, with food and supplies in one stack, another for gear and ammunition, and a third pile for random hardware and construction materials. Cam walked along the walls, shining his light towards the ceiling, mapping the chamber in his head. It looks like it was manufactured, not a natural formation. Even this far out in space, the Verse hates right angles.

Cam and Ace spent hours rooting through the supplies for anything that could be helpful in their plan. They had not seen any Tree-knockers or Shondas—Cam doubted they would suddenly show up—but they were still cautious. Using the heavier crates and containers, they built a wide, semi-circular defensive perimeter next to one of the three pillars

There were air cots and expanding polymer settlement. They even found a portable shower setup that Ace demanded they build as soon as they found it. She spent over an hour pouring jugs of water into the reservoir then took an hour-long shower with soap and shampoo. Once Ace emerged from drenching herself, Cam was surprised at how vivid her red hair was.

After getting a full night’s sleep, they had dug in and reinforced the makeshift bunker. Building the wall higher with the military crates, spacing them so they could aim and fire between boxes. They prepared escape routes and even created a few elevated positions above the tunnels. Cam was confident they could survive on the moon for years, maybe a decade with the supplies they found. It won’t be that long, Gwen, I promise.

Cam removed the percolator from the hotplate and carefully poured himself a cup of rich aromatic coffee. Replacing the pot, he picked up his cup and smelled the fresh brew. Haven’t had coffee this good since… well ever. This almost makes this moon worth the trouble. Sipping his coffee, Cam smiled. Almost. I’ll bring some home, Gwen. If I can’t bring platinum, I can at least bring home good coffee.

Savoring his drink, he felt a strange vibration in the ground and a familiar sound in the distance. He knew he should recognize the sound, and made a strange face trying to place it. It repeated, then he heard footsteps coming down the main entrance.

“Shaw! Shaw!” Ace shouted from the tunnel. Bursting into the chamber, she slid to a stop and gave him a delighted smile. “They’re here, Cowboy!”

Cam stood up. “The pirates? That only took a week. I’m impressed Red.”

She nodded and she ran to her equipment. “Thanks. They’re coming in on