Captured by the Yandere Space Pirates

The pirate ship, hummed with the low thrum of its engines, a battered haven drifting in the void beyond the Kingdom's reach.

Vera, Aster, and Pako sprawled on Vera's bed, the glow of a recent holo-call with Syn still lingering in their eyes.

The screen was dark now, but the echo of his voice refused to get out of their ears.

Pako leaned back, her cropped black hair sticking out at odd angles, her t-shirt slipping off one shoulder.

"Aww, I miss him already," she sighed, her voice rough but tinged with genuine longing. "Syn's out there playing hero, and I'm stuck here with you depressing lot."

Aster, curled up with her knees drawn in, her blonde hair a golden cascade over her shoulders, nodded fervently, her blue eyes wide and wistful.

"Me too! It's not the same without him. I just want him back safe."

Vera, sitting cross-legged, her purple hair catching the dim light, smirked, her violet eyes sharp with confidence. "He'll be back soon, you two. I trust Syn—he's too stubborn to get caught. And when he does come back…" Her voice dropped, a wicked glint in her eye. "I'm going all the way with him. No holding back."

Aster gasped, her cheeks flushing, but she leaned forward, her expression hardened, her voice rising with competitive zeal. "Oh, no way, Bitch! I'm going first! I've been waiting forever to go all the way with Syn. You can't just claim him like that! You must have already seen what all we have done so far."

Pako threw her head back, her laugh loud and unrestrained, cutting through the room like a blade.

"Keep dreaming you both. Your 'all the way' will take a damn eternity. By the time you even make a move, I'll have gone all the way with him—twice!" Her smirk was pure provocation, her eyes dancing with challenge as she propped her elbows on her knees, leaning toward them.

Aster's mouth dropped open, her irritation deepening as she pointed an accusing finger.

"You've already gone all the way with him, Pako! Don't act like you're waiting in line!"

Pako's smirk widened, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial drawl. "Not all the way, Aster. There's one more hole he hasn't entered." She waggled her eyebrows, her grin downright feral.

Vera didn't understand what she meant, but a few second later her face twisted in disgust, her violet eyes narrowing as she leaned back, arms crossed. "Ugh, Pako, you're disgusting."

Aster's flush spread to her ears, despite the stern expression on her face, her curiosity warring with her shock.

"Wait, you mean…?" Her voice trailed off, her blue eyes darting between Pako and Vera, wide with a mix of intrigue and embarrassment.

Pako leaned closer, her smirk unrelenting. "Yes, the asshole, Aster, it's called anal sex. It feels good from there too, a whole different one." Her laugh was a cackle, her amusement feeding off their reactions.

Vera waved a hand, her voice sharp. "Shoo, Aster, don't listen to her, she is plain disgusting." She shot Pako a withering look, but Aster's gaze lingered on Pako, a silent question in her eyes.

She bit her lip, then nodded slightly, as if deciding to corner Pako later in private for the details, for reference purposes.

Aster shifted, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, her voice softer but still curious. "Pako, you're so… open about it. Don't you ever worry about, like, boundaries?"

Pako snorted, sprawling back on the couch. "Boundaries? With Syn? Nah, he can handle me. Besides, life's too short for tiptoeing. You should try it, Aster—loosen up a bit, explore some boundaries yourself, I can always help."

Vera rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. "You're a menace, Pako. But let's focus. Syn's out there, and we've got work to do." Her tone shifted, authoritative now, her violet eyes hardening. "Pako, you were saying something about sneaking into the Kingdom?"

Pako straightened, her playful demeanor giving way to a spark of ambition. "Yeah, I was thinking—if I cut my hair even shorter, go full tomboy, I could slip in without being recognized. Blend in, poke around, maybe back Syn up if he needs it. I'm not half bad at sneaking, you know."

Vera's brow furrowed, her voice firm but measured. "Maybe, maybe not. But if you're recognized, Pako, you'll blow Syn's cover and put the whole operation at risk. He'd be pissed—beyond pissed. Mia's got eyes on him, and if things go even a bit sideways, she'll pull him out. We can't afford to complicate things, keep them simple."

Aster nodded, her fingers twisting a lock of blonde hair nervously.

"Yeah, Pako, don't do anything crazy. Syn's counting on us to keep things tight here. What if you get caught? The Kingdom's not exactly forgiving."

Pako huffed, crossing her arms, but her smirk returned. "Fine, fine, I'll stay put—for now."

Vera leaned forward, her voice steady, her eyes glinting with purpose.

"We've got our own mission. I am sending multiple team to Thebe, the moon, and its asteroid belt. We need to dig up traces, clues—anything to prove the King's hand in using shapeshifters as weapons, and his role in destroying their planet. That evidence is our leverage, our way to rally more to our cause. Syn's work in the Kingdom, our search on Thebe—it's all connected and will help us backup Syn's case if it's weak."

Aster's eyes widened, her voice soft but determined. "The shapeshifters… they deserve justice. If we can find proof, it'll show the Kingdom's not untouchable. Syn would want us to keep pushing."

Pako cracked her knuckles, her grin fierce. "Hell yeah. Let's tear through those asteroids and shove the King's secrets in his face."

Vera nodded, her smile tight but resolute. "Exactly. We do our part, Syn does his. Mia's watching his back, and we trust her to bring him home. Until then, we move forward—no distractions, no reckless stunts." She shot Pako a pointed look, but her tone softened. "We all miss him, but he's counting on us to hold the line. Let's just hope and pray for his safety"

The three women fell into a silence.

______

Mia flicked through camera feeds, her eyes scanning for anomalies.

Most cameras showed the Kingdom's usual chaos—crowded metro stations, bustling markets, soldiers patrolling—but rarely some were dark, marked with a simple notice: "Down for Service."

Such outages were common; the Kingdom was a sprawling beast, and cameras were routinely taken offline for maintenance, checked for glitches or pirate hacks.

But as Mia cycled through the feeds, a gut feeling—sharp, instinctual—prickled at her senses.

She paused on a dark feed, its location tag reading "Scenery Biome, Sector 7."

Her brow furrowed.

The Scenery Biome was far from the Manufacturing Biome, where Syn had vanished. So it's highly unlikely he would be there by now, but...

She pulled up a list of all cameras currently down for service, sorting them by location.

Her fingers froze as the data loaded: an unusually high number of offline cameras were clustered in the Scenery Biome—far more than random maintenance could explain.

Her heart skipped a beat, her scales pulsing with a mix of dread and certainty.

She opened a map of the Biome, plotting the offline cameras' locations.

A pattern emerged, a tight cluster of offline cameras around a secluded glade—a place Mia knew all too well.

It was the glade where Syn and Ila had met in secret, their forbidden romance hidden from the Kingdom's eyes.

The camera in that precise spot had a history of going offline, but only when they were there, disabled by Ila's royal authority to shield their trysts.

Mia's breath caught, her mind racing.

"How did I miss this?" she whispered, her voice trembling with self-reproach.

After Syn and Ila's brutal fight months ago, Mia had been certain their breakup was final.

Ila, the King's heir, had duties that should've consumed her—commanding armies, overseeing territories, driving the Kingdom's technological edge.

Mia had assumed Ila would bury herself in her role, forgetting Syn, not track him down the moment he set foot in the Kingdom.

But the offline cameras, the glade—it all pointed to her.

Did Ila know the truth about Syn's real mission, about who he is? What are they doing right now? What is she doing with him right now? The thought sent a chill through Mia, her scales flaring brighter.

She darted from the room, her decision made in an instant.

By the time she reached the door and stepped outside the dark room, her body shimmered, scales rippling as her form shifted.

Her white hair darkened to a sandy blonde, her frame broadened, and her features hardened into those of a young man, a man from the royalty—Prince Ben, the prince who'd vanished into underground months ago, a perfect disguise for her needs.

Dressed in a crisp military jacket and boots, "Ben" moved with purpose, his stride confident as he approached a nearby military hangar.

As a shapeshifter, Mia could borrow any identity, and Ben's gave her access to resources no one would question.

She flashed a forged ID at a nervous officer, her voice deep and authoritative. "I need a personal shuttle, immediate departure. Scenery Biome. Official business."

The officer saluted, scrambling to comply, and within minutes, Mia was strapped into a sleek, single-pilot shuttle, its engines roaring as it lifted off.

The space metro would've taken half a day, crawling through the Kingdom's congested routes, but this shuttle would get her to the Scenery Biome in around an hour.

Syn could be in trouble—real trouble—and every second counted.

Her mind churned with worst-case scenarios: Ila's sadistic streak, her psychotic rage.

"I guess today, another princess may die," Mia muttered, her voice cold, her hands tightening on the controls.

If Ila had any intention to hurt Syn, Mia wouldn't hesitate to end her, royal blood or not.