NASTRAGULL: Pirates by Erik Martin Willén

volunteer in their squad.
    Tech was a citizen of Tallas, where he had been born, and because of that he automatically belonged to the Elite. Most of his family, except for his mother and older sister, had disappeared on a deep space voyage before he was born. He'd lost his mother when she left him with her sister on a search-and-rescue mission and was never heard from again. When he got older, Tech had sworn never to stop looking for them until he knew for certain exactly what had happened to them. His interest in pirates and abductions had made him into a fanatic on the subject.
    As for Jack—he was the squad leader, and no one knew him well, beyond the fact that he was a cadet in the School of Military Intelligence. That meant he had to belong to the Elite, since only they were ever recruited into military intelligence. As for his species, everyone assumed he was a standard Oman, but it was hard to tell. He might well belong to one of the hybrid or transgenic races.
    Andrew demanded, "Anybody see what happened to Jack?"
    "Last I saw of him, he was taken away by a couple of pirates," Sal answered.
    "Missing an eye," Alec added dryly.
    "Ugh." Andrew was quiet for a moment, then: "Anyone seen Major Nesbit or any of the girls?"
    Alec muttered, "Nesbit's an officer, so they wouldn't keep him here. The girls must be in another area." What he didn't want to say—but couldn't help think—was that they were probably being gang-raped right about now.
    Sal cut in, "The major could be dead for all we know."
    Mat spoke up for the first time, in that rough voice of his, "Wonder what happened to him. Did anyone see him once the attack started?"
    Like his crew, Major Thore Nesbit was an Elite citizen. He belonged to the Royal class, was extremely intelligent, and very well respected among his family, friends and foes alike. His full name was actually Nesbit Thore Af Hornet, and he and Alec shared a secret from the others: they were cousins.
    No one replied to Mat's question about Major Nesbit. Raising his voice in anger, Andrew yelled out loud, "You bastards, you will all pay for this!" His shout was interrupted by an electric zap as the collar kicked in, causing him to gurgle and spit blood.
    A voice from an intercom warned them, "Any more lip out of any of you and you'll be gagged again, boyos. Now shut up!" Alec tried to whisper something, but a mild tingling from the collar made him stop. From the intercom came, "That goes for whispering too."
    None of the cadets had anything more to say after that; they dared not even sob. Alexa stood behind pillar a dozen yards away, gazing toward Alec and his friends in their barbaric slave blocks. There was a deep sadness in her eyes, but her tears were concealed by the water pouring from the sprinkler system.
    Hours turned into days, and days into weeks. Alec and his friends lost count of time. The lights never dimmed, so they had no idea of the ship's daily cycle. People came and went at all hours, and they slept whenever they could. Their misery was horrible, and the cramps were regular and agonizing. From time to time, pirates came down to taunt and tease them; and every time, Alec's friends screamed and cursed while threatening the pirates with the most painful, undignified deaths they could think of. Alec didn’t. He remained subdued and kept a low profile, slumping in a submissive posture, taking the pirates' taunts without saying a word. It took everything he had to do it; he wanted to be defiant, but he needed them to think he was beaten. They'd get theirs.
    Most of the time Myra and her guards kept the pirates in check, but once a pirate managed to get too close. He looked Sal, Tech and Mat over with an evil smile on his face. The pirate's name was Gor, and he reeked from alcohol and cheap drugs. Grinning maliciously, Gor removed his oily black shirt, revealing several scars and a bar code tattooed onto the right side of his chest, along with the Nastasturus Unicorn symbol. He murmured