Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Nissa was so weary she felt about two hundred years old.
The admiral had been furious at the events surrounding the Constitution.
Nissa had always admired the older woman, but seeing her lose it so completely had left Nissa shaken.
DeRuyter had not held back as she’d berated Nissa for her failure.
Talk about kill the messenger. Goddess, Nissa wondered if the admiral thought Nissa had stolen the damn artifact herself and generated the fake.
She really needed a drink.
Nissa headed to Moonrakers. Tucked around a corner from the main pulse of Upper 13, it was frequented by off-duty Patrol officers, adventurers, and a lot of the people the Patrol officers arrested.
It was an unwritten rule on the space station that you checked your grievances—along with your rank—at the door and just enjoyed your downtime.
As she stepped inside, she sighed with relief.
The lights were always dim—hiding both the laser-scarred walls and some of the clientele who’d rather not be seen.
The long bar on the left wasn’t too busy this time of day and manned by a cheap serving syndroid.
The bar’s owner, a cranky Taxalian named Dob, wasn’t around, but he’d appear once it got busy or if there was any trouble.
Most people moved on station time when they docked at the Edge, and right now local time was late morning.
But there were a few who kept ship time, and Nissa’s body was telling her it was time for a glass of wine.
She spotted a few of her people from the Freedom playing holo-pool at the tables at the back, some in civvies, others still in their uniforms, with collars unbuttoned and jackets thrown over the backs of chairs.
She raised a hand in greeting, but headed for the bar.
Regardless of how much her crew liked her or how relaxed she might be off duty, she was still their captain, and it made socializing…
uncomfortable. Her rank and title could never completely be ignored, and her shipmates still felt like they had to be on their best behavior.
They deserved their time off, and that meant keeping her distance.
She walked through the tables and past the booths lining the wall. Most were empty, but when her gaze fell on the booth at the back, her steps faltered.
Justyn was seated there with his brothers.
She’d run into Justyn here plenty of times before. She had always made a point to call a truce to their…outside dealings.
This time, Justyn stared at her for a second with blank eyes before deliberately turning away.
It was a blow to her stomach. She deserved it, but dammit, she’d actually come to like the smile he always shot her way.
When his brother Dare raised a hand to her, she managed a nod before marching to the bar.
“Glass of Gluk’sol wine.”
There was a faint whirr as the droid moved to put Nissa’s drink together. Many syndroids were so realistic you could barely tell they weren’t human, but this was an older, cheaper model. Its face didn’t move as it spoke and it never blinked, giving it a slightly creepy look.
Pulling herself up on a tall stool, she popped her e-cred account into the holo-screen attached to the bar and gratefully accepted her drink. She took a few sips, then nursed the glass between her fingers, staring into the red depths.
What she’d said to Justyn… Goddess, she regretted it. She’d taken out her own confused, embarrassed feelings on him. He’d been nothing but helpful on the mission—and after—and she’d repaid him with harsh words about his character.
She was going to have to apologize.
More than anything, she wanted Justyn Phoenix to turn that charming smile on her again.
She was so confused. He made her feel things and twisted her up inside. She’d always had a clear idea of her life. Rise through the ranks of Patrol, date other equally ambitious men, make her father proud.
Maybe it was time to take a chance and do something about Justyn. Maybe she might offer to buy him dinner. She knew a great place right around the corner that made the best pasta in the quadrant.
Nissa swiveled on her stool, feeling the knot in her chest ease a little. This was what she wanted to do. Her gaze settled on Justyn’s booth, just in time to see him leap to his feet.
She was about to stand when a woman came rushing into Moonrakers and headed toward Justyn’s table. As she neared, she launched into the air.
Justyn caught the woman with a laugh. Laughing herself, the woman tipped her face back and her amazing strawberry-blonde curls cascaded down her back. She clamped her legs around Justyn’s waist and planted a huge kiss right on his mouth.
Nissa felt a spike of pain in her gut and the wine in her mouth soured.
The woman was tall with impressive curves, and it was easy to see she was fit.
Nissa trained and worked out every day, so she recognized the strength in the woman’s toned physique.
This wasn’t just some bar or club junkie.
Her striking, sunset-colored hair framed a pretty face, and her skin was the color of cream.
She was too far away for Nissa to tell her eye color, but she had a full-bodied laugh that turned several heads.
Justyn set the woman down and through lowered lids, Nissa watched her also give Dare and Rynan hugs before she settled into the booth wedged between Justyn and Dare. Justyn slid his arm across the woman’s shoulder, dipping his head to say something that made her laugh again.
Nissa clutched her hands together in her lap. The woman suited Justyn. She was fresh, pretty, bright. Full of life.
Nissa turned away, starring at the scarred surface of the bar. Her hand tightened on the stem of her glass. All she wanted to do was finish her drink and escape back to her cabin on the Freedom.
A big body moved in beside her.
Nissa glanced up. Way up. At the sight of the huge alien male beside her, she sighed.
His tough skin was a mottled gray. He was humanoid, with a seven-foot frame carrying a lot of muscle. The Semper were a warrior race and even their females were big and excellent fighters. They were some of the best mercenaries in the quadrant.
“Krudon, what are you doing here?”
He looked down at her. His face was broad with overlarge eyes that she knew provided him with excellent peripheral vision. It was damn hard to sneak up on a Semper. They had no hair, just a rounded head covered in that same dark-gray skin as their bodies.
“I was looking for you.” Krudon’s voice was a deep rumble.
She sighed again, set her drink down, then nudged it across the bar. Out of range of what she knew was about to happen. “You sure you want to try this again?”
“You arrested me!” His voice boomed across the bar. “That’s the fifth time.”
Behind her, Nissa heard deathly silence fall. Great. “Because you were smuggling weapons to the Weyzan.” She kept her voice calm. “They’re slavers, Krudon. They enslave children. And if I catch you doing it again, I’ll happily throw you in my brig. Again.”
She watched as his large hands—each the size of her head—curled on top of the bar. She unobtrusively slid to the edge of her stool and let her feet touch the floor.
“Star-sucking bitch!” Krudon reared back and swung at her.
Nissa slid sideways and ducked. Here we go again.
Krudon whirled, and with a bellow, he swung again. She ducked under his arm. His huge hand dented the bar. Behind it, the syndroid started blaring a warning.
Nissa balanced lightly on the balls of her feet, adrenaline racing into her bloodstream. There was no way she could take Krudon in a fair fight, but the Semper were best with weapons, not hand-to-hand. And besides, she didn’t intend to fight fairly.
She slipped a hand under her jacket, passed over her laser pistol and palmed her stunner. By touch, she switched it to the lowest stun setting. Krudon was an idiot, but she didn’t want to hurt him.
Before Krudon turned, she slammed a boot into the back of his knee. He went down, swiveling as he did. On his knees, he was the same height as her.
“Enough, Krudon. You keep attacking me every time you get out of the brig and you know what happens every time we do this dance.” She leaned a little closer. “I beat your ass and put you straight back in a cell to cool off.”
He yelled a word in his own language and since her lingual implant didn’t provide a translation, Nissa suspected it was some nasty Semper curse word. He lunged forward, his huge body slamming into hers. Nissa stunned him.
It didn’t do much. At the lowest setting, a man of Krudon’s body weight probably registered a mild sting. They crashed to the floor and unfortunately, she was on the bottom.
His immense bulk knocked the wind out of her. Fighting to draw air, she felt something sticky on the side of her neck. Ugh, she did not want to know what was on the floor of Moonrakers.
She jammed her stunner into his side. “Do that again and I’ll set it high enough to knock you out cold.” Her words were husky from lack of air.
His huge jaw lifted, his wide eyes were filled with a mutinous glow.
Yeah, yeah, you don’t like me. I get it. A lot of that going around today. “Get off.”
That mutinous look again. With a long sigh, she knew she was going to have to stun his ass again.
Then suddenly his weight was jerked backward and she could breathe.
“Nissa!” Justyn appeared in front of her, grabbing her arms and pulling her to her feet.
Krudon stood beside them, swaying slightly, holding his bleeding head.
“Don’t you move, asshole.” Justyn stabbed a finger at Krudon before focusing on Nissa again. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He’d dived in to help her. Despite everything, something warm bloomed in her chest, but she couldn’t focus on that right now. First, she had to deal with Krudon. “Really, I need to?—”
Suddenly, the Semper lunged forward, knocking Justyn aside, and punching Nissa brutally in the stomach.