Chapter Two
KIRA
“That was certainly interesting.” Max put his hands in his pockets, sneaking a peek over to Kira as they walked back down the hall.
“It is… unexpected,” Kira grimaced with her reply, showing far more to Max than most anyone else. He was a trusted confidant, but this wasn’t the place to discuss such matters, something she passed along with a look.
“Shall we return to Morgan?”
“You should. I have something that I need to take care of.”
“Ah, I am-”
“I will walk with you to the transport,” Kira smiled at Max. Despite his earlier forwardness, the man did not want to be left alone at the Meeting Place. She couldn’t blame him.
The floating station had become a collage of all that happened within the universe, steel mixed with glass and technology along with Praetorians, Verdissians, Humans, some Talcien’s and a mix of other sentient creatures that chose to skirt the rules of society. It was where Rumor ran out of, and it was where rumors simply existed. It wasn’t a place for someone to roam if they did not have allegiances to one of the major syndicates. Which meant Max should not be walking out along the falsely lit streets on his own.
Bi’ast waited for them at the bottom of the stairs, his long split tongue flicked out, retreating just as quickly, “Ssso now you sssee?”
“I do, Bi”ast.” Kira covered her emotions outwardly with a placid mask of indifference when possible, but Talcien’s, Talcien’s could practically taste your emotions by the release of pheromones. Making it nearly impossible to lie about being stressed. Still it was worth a shot, “It’ll be fine.”
Narrowly slit pupils became thin lines, an almost imperceptible snout shake following it, “You ssshould join me for a drink. I will find you sssomething real.”
“We’re short on time, perhaps next time we visit.” Intercepting and refusing before Max could open his own trap, Kira guided the man with a swift hip bump, pushing him towards the door, “Bye Bi’ast.”
Bi’ast performed a fealty gesture, his three fingers wrapping up his upper arm on his left.
“Another discussion for later, I assume?” Max said outside.
“You’re a quick learner.” Kira beamed at him and escorted him back to the Valstar.
Dropping their resident holy man off with Morgan, who seemed delighted to see they’d be off earlier than promised, until he discovered they weren’t leaving, and was then put off. Kira slapped him on the shoulder and laughed before departing, once again heading down to the inner market.
I do not approve of this, Captain.
“Since when have you approved of anything that I do?”
You should have brought Max or Morgan. It is not safe here.
“It is safe enough. No one would dare touch me.”
You think that your status protects you, but it makes you more likely to be kidnapped and ransomed back. Just because Sir has taken you in as his progeny does not give you protection, just the opposite, in fact.
“If you had a hole to shut, I would tell you to do so, Watson.”
Watson kept the line quiet instead.
The main marketplace was reminiscent of a street market from Earth. Vendors who did not have physical shops rested under broad pieces of brightly colored cloth with floating storage trays. They rolled the cover back over when the day’s business concluded. Those with physical shops used screens, force fields of a sort, turned transparent for the day so one could see what goods were for sale.
The translator installed in her implant worked overtime, bringing every language into the common tongue. She programmed it that way instead of on her native Praetorian. Advice from Toke, once upon a time, that had rather been like an order. She was not to represent Praetoria to the outside world, even if her appearance hardly fooled anyone.
Weaving in and out of the stalls, she had a specific destination in mind. Slipping into a side alley, a chill went up her spine. She ducked behind an old solid sign for a pharmacy, hung only for looks, and waited. Peering out behind it once she caught the reason, Bi’ast trailed behind her.
Kira leaned back crossing her arms, Watson spoke in her ear.I would say something about warning you or about Toke being concerned or-
“Watson,” her seething effectively hushed him.
Once she was clear of Bi’ast’s range, the sensation that rolled through disappeared. Skirting to the left instead of the right where he’d gone, she made a quick deal for a black overshirt, swapping it out directly for her coat in front of the woman selling it. Leaving the orange monstrosity, as Watson had called it once, she went the opposite direction, traversing the narrow side areas to avoid being monitored.
Adraxsions never set off her sixth sense. Praetorians were born more attuned to their instincts, a byproduct of old wars and enemies. But, Adraxsions, they were an enigma because of their ability to almost magically appear. It caught her off guard when the store owner did it. That and the drawling, deep voice unnerved her. But the mystery of the species scratched a part of her brain that sorely wished to uncover it.
“That is an excellent choice.” The pale man reached over her shoulder. His impossibly long fingers wrapping around the neck of the bottle, tilting it up towards the light. “An earth vintage,” he informed her. “Quite strong and aged.”
Kira froze. She was of middling height, between five and six feet. He reached almost seven. He did not exude a scent that she could pick up. His hand drew back, and the air felt undisturbed. Had the edge of his sleeve not brushed her shoulder, she might have believed him a ghost. His coloring was light enough, and dressed in a suit of muted gray, cut to fit him perfectly. If it weren’t for his eyes and hair, both dark as raven wings, it would have been believable. But his features were humanoid, lidded eyes like a human, formed lips, straight teeth. It was those eyes that differentiated them, no discernable pupil, just black in a circle.
“Then I’ll take it.”
“Excellent.”
Trailing after him to the counter, she set it on the edge. “Do you have anything put back for me?”
The Adraxsion laid a package wrapped in a silken blue fabric, tucked and tied with a singular ribbon in the same color on the counter.
Kira felt a lingering excitement at the sight of it. Months had passed since they’d come anywhere close to the Meeting Place. The temptation to open it then and there was almost overwhelming until he spoke. “Shall I forward this to Sir’s tab?”
“Ah, no, this is personal.”
Flipping her wrist over the scanner, she performed a mental calculation of her credits even as her implant advised her of the purchase.
“Thank you. I appreciate your time.”
“It is nothing for one of my favorite customers.” His fingers came together, the tips pressed loosely against one another. Again too long, too thin, but the right number of joints in each one.
Kira wished her ability to sense more was the reason behind the chill she felt. She deposited both the bottle and the wrapped package into her messenger bag and departed only to run into- “Bi’ast!”
“Kira.” the Talcien cocked his head in a bird-like gesture. “You are outssside the parametersss ssset.”
Should I-
Kira tapped the piece behind her ear to shut out the A.I. temporarily. “It seems I am. Would you be so kind as to escort me back?”
Bi’ast hissed with his tongue flicking forward. “Follow me.”
The sensation of something watching had not quite faded. So many eyes in one place had that effect. Kira noticed Bi’ast tensing. Every muscle tightening making him appear rigid as he leaned forward. Then backwards towards her, so far, it was clearly not intentional. His feet pointed out, making him top heavy, as like a chess piece being pushed for checkmate, he fell onto her.
Kira didn’t have time to react. One minute he was speaking, and the next she knew a stunner, which froze him in place, had him keeling back. Whoever shot the blaster wasn’t out to kill, which was a minor relief from the current predicament. Who hit him was less obvious, and there was no time to focus. His dead weight pinned her. His head hit her over her heart, knocking her to the ground. Sharp pain shot through her spine sending a tingling sensation down through her toes.
The rough landing earned an expletive. She thrashed, maneuvering her feet to gain traction as she fought to get out from underneath Bi’ast.
“It ssseemsss we caught more than we intended.”
Kira stopped her escape attempt to take stock of the situation. Three more Talcien”s strolled up before Bi’ast, and her prone body beneath him. They were darker creatures than him. Their black scales were mixed with copper, but the same lisping speech would have given them away in a dark room. The one in front held a sleek blaster the size of a sawed off shotgun. The metal gleaming from the neon light of a nearby shop.
“What do you want with me?” Kira felt for her own blaster, her right hand shifting near her hip. She’d clipped the slimmer, more feminine version into her back waistband the instant she’d known they were coming down.
“You?” They walked in a triangular formation with one leading. He was the one that spoke, slit eyes blinking as the secondary eyelid slid across. “We have no quarrel with you. We want what we are owed.”
“From Bi’ast?” Kira moved her hand in infinitesimal movements to avoid attention. Keep talking.
I will alert Sir.
“No,” she whispered.
Luckily, Talcien’s had very little in the way of hearing.
“Yessss.” The leader tilted his head. “You ssseem familiar little one…”
“Oh yeah? I mean, I work in the market sometimes, so maybe you’ve seen me here.”
Help is on the way.
“I thinksss thisss isss not it.”
“Well, I think-” Kira did not wait to finish her sentence. With a slight heave, she got her hand free and reached for her own blaster. She didn’t hesitate, firing directly at the leader, hitting him square in the chest with maximum voltage. She’d stalled long enough to turn up the firepower. It wouldn’t kill him by any means, but it would stun him for a good hour. The blaster beeped in her hand, indicating the next charge was ready, but she didn’t need it.
The other two collapsed to the ground almost simultaneously. Both had been reaching for their own weapons strapped on their hips, but their hands never made it. The Adraxsion shopkeeper stood behind the pair.
“Great timing,” Kira said with a grin.
“I cannot afford to lose one of my best customers,” he spoke in his long, drawling voice. He sidestepped the pair, walking up beside the leader. “I daresay you should make yourself scarce.”
Bi’ast laid half on her legs, still frozen. He could hear but not move. She scuttled out from beneath him. “Hey Bi’ast, looks like I wasn’t the one that needed saving. Now, I’d love to keep this between us. How about it?”
Bi’ast blinked.
“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll be out of your hair. Watson’s already got help on the way. Toodles.”
You should wait, Captain.
“For what, a spanking?” Kira tapped Bi’ast on the side of his face, giving him that same mischievous grin, grabbing the thin canvas bag with her items, then pacing down and out of the alley. She walked with some haste towards the shuttle bay.
To give a full report. Sir will not like you simply leaving.
“That Sir does not like a lot of things. It doesn’t change the outcome, Watson.”
The approval codes will be locked out until this is settled.
“Not if I get there before he knows to do it.”
Clearing the bustling part of the market, she moved from a swift walk to a run, hitting the shuttle bay at full speed.
“In a hurry there, Captain?” A ground crew worker shouted as she ran past.
There was no answer as she rushed inside the Valstar. The little transport ship’s cargo hold was long enough for four seats along each wall in the cargo area, and four forward facing ones in the main cabin.
She hardly broke a sweat as she hit the back ramp. Max already stood there, his arms crossed. “Are we running from something in particular?”
“Parental disappointment,” Kira said.
She hit the button to close the back hatch before heading directly into the small cabin.
Max pursued. “Kira, what have you done now?”
“I actually didn’t do anything. It was Bi’ast’s fault.”
Max frowned. His evident disapproval formed like a rain cloud over his head that was about to turn into a full on thunderstorm.
Morgan, who’d just turned as she entered, caught part of the conversation. “I take it we’re leaving?”
“Speedily, please.” Kira let out a half laugh. An ache in her side throbbed from where her blaster dug in when Bi’ast fell on her. Reminding her of their reason to hurry.