Don’t touch the cargo. That’s rule number one for an independent ship’s captain, and I’ve never been tempted to break it.
When Onyx, my beloved pest of a cat, claws his way into a container, I don’t have a choice. Which is how I find out I’m transporting a devilishly handsome alien, frozen in stasis. An alien I recognize from the news.
Kidnapped from his homeworld, half the galaxy is searching for Prince Karkonar. Thanks to Onyx, I’ve found him. It isn’t hard to see why he’s so popular. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Muscular is hot enough to melt steel, and he’s big—in every sense of the word!
The safe option would be to reseal the container and forget I saw him. The daring option would be to return him for the reward. Waking him up is the stupid option, so guess which one I’m going to choose?
Royal Cargo was first published in the Pets in Space 9 anthology, though this version has minor changes.
