The Aerie of a Pirate Prince — C. Litka

It is always the captain's fault. So when a shipping container is offloaded to the wrong lighter – hijacked by the local crime syndicate – Captain Sing of the Rendezvous Moon knew she's be blamed, even though they had followed all the proper procedures. She had no intention of being blamed. She intended to track down the hijacked container. Red Tew, her chief engineer, volunteered to accompany her as muscle and invited Rafe d'Mere to tag along as well, since he was an old hand at dealing with the pirate princes of the Alatzian System. Because he was an old hand in dealing with the pirate princes of the Alantzia, Rafe had no desire to have anything to do with pirate princes. But what could he say, but I suppose so, when invited along? Captain Sing, Tew, d'Mere and his companion the crow Kee head down to Teire to locate the cargo container before its contents can be divided up and sent on the lawless drifts. There they are joined by an equally determined Lasha Nin, the office manager of the actual owner of the cargo. Together they trace the cargo through the busy space port of Teire, much to the annoyance of the pirate prince behind the theft. And so, before he knows it, d'Mere is once again looking down the barrel of a pirate prince's darter. Pirate princes play for keeps. The Aerie of a Pirate Prince is a 40,600 word long story – a long novella or a short novel. C. Litka writes old fashioned stories with modern sensibilities, humor, and romance. He spins tales of adventure, mystery, and travel set in richly imagined worlds, with casts of colorful, fully realized characters. If you seek to escape your everyday life, you will not find better company, nor more wonderful worlds to travel and explore, than in the stories of C. Litka.