thepiratesinspace:

A Mutiny of Pirates: Being an account of the Damn Shames and the search for the treasure of Chalcedon

The Damn Shames, a group of bikers-turned-pirates, find themselves at the center of a search for a legendary pirate captain’s treasure–a quest made deadly by politicians, privateers, and the uncaring vacuum of space.

4432 words – 15-20 minute read

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{15}
Maude

The Starfarer’s hold is sour with gasoline and oorhund
fear-sweat. It’s giving Maude a serious headache.

She thought she’d been clever, heading back down to the
cargo area to find some solitude. Already, the number of people in close proximity
is driving her a bit mad, so she’s posted up against a metal box amongst the
cargo. Three heavy ‘hund heads rest on her crossed legs. Her fingers twist Rivet’s
long, silky ear as she stares off into the blur of grey-on-grey metal and rosy
running lights, losing herself in her thoughts.

She misses Lahmu already. She’s lived on seventeen
(eighteen, if the station counts) planets and planetoids in her 39 years, and
Lahmu is the only one that felt like her home.
Her soul is woven from as many threads of sweetly constant rainwater, singing
fields, and gritty fellow colonists as it is from threads of her childhood, her
education, her experience.

Maude closes her eyes. She feels the rain caress her face—soft,
cool, a reminder of what mindfulness truly
means. The sensation is so real that she raises her hand to touch her cheek;
her fingers come away dry. Her melancholy sigh rustles through the hold.

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