Ten Rules For Being An Intergalactic Smuggler (The Successful Kind)

Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (The Successful Kind) by Holly black: Art Direction Project
A tale from the anthology ‘Monstrous Affections’ telling the story of a niece and her uncle tackling the smuggling trade through a universe of planetary species. They receive a high offer to smuggle dead aliens to a research facility between two planets. As they set off, pirates invade her uncle’s ship and take control, stealing their rare possessions and livelihood. The child hides in the cargo where the dead aliens reside; however, the proposed specimen is not in fact dead. In fear of the pirates' malicious intentions, she opens the vault containing the monster and waits to die. To her surprise, the monster kills every pirate on board and takes possession of the ship. The child and the monster become smuggler partners and face the challenges of their new lives.