by Troy Osgood
Unloading the three crates with one maglifter and by myself, well keeping an eye on a young Thesan that was interested in everything, took a bit of time. Really the thing that took the longest was moving the crates across the ring through the crowds, having to stop for hovercrafts and larger maglifts. I should have hired one of the Nuit’s dockhands with their larger maglifts and could have had this done in one trip. I could have found a way to charge Lil.
The last crate was put in the hold and the door was closed and locked. My wristcomm beeped almost immediately to let me know that I had received my pay. There was also a note with another job offer from Tesk Un Lil. I quickly scanned it. Would have been a good little job but it was the opposite direction from where I was going. I hit a couple buttons and declined the offer. I told him I was already booked, that way he would still use me in the future.
“Come on kid,” I said tapping Kaylia on the shoulder. Her eyes had been following a family of Tusgars. “Let’s do some shopping.”
CHAPTER SIX
I led her down the ring towards the arm that connected it to the main station. Her eyes still looked everywhere. She was definitely sheltered. Probably here and the Oval on CU145792 were the only other places she had been, and on the asteroid she had been running and scared with no time to sightsee. I didn’t think Turesa was that big and probably didn’t get much traffic but it did get some. Some of these assorted beings shouldn’t have been new to her.
But Kaylia was acting like everything was new.
How sheltered had she been?
We walked with the flow of people heading in towards the station. The path was lined with lights and painted, helping keep the traffic moving. Middle was reserved for small cargo with the edges made for walking. Right moved towards the station, left moved towards the docking bays from the station. Beneath us were the larger tunnels used for transporting bigger cargo. Efficient and easy to understand regardless of what planet you were from or what language you spoke. You walked in on one side and out the other.
Space stations were all built relatively the same. It was an easy to duplicate design, could be retrofitted for most any type of species. And keeping it similar helped the people that went from station to station. Like me. There were differences obviously, like the armed Nuit standing at guard periodically, but they were close enough that someone visiting a new station could easily find their way.
We turned with the traffic into the connecting arm and almost got run over as Kaylia stopped dead in her tracks.
“Sorry,” I muttered to the beings behind us as I pulled her over to the side. Got lots of annoyed glances, I gave some back.
Kaylia was looking up. I smiled, realizing what new wonder had got her attention. This one was worth pausing for. It was a beautiful and cool sight.
The arm was about thirty feet in diameter, the floor was a moving walkway in two directions, but it was the walls that caught her attention. They were clear, made of polycarbonite, and you could see the stars. The station itself loomed over everything but it just added to the breathtaking sight. The large cylinder, millions of lights and windows, with the black of space and the bright spots of the stars behind it. The gas giant to the bottom, asteroids further out and ships moving around.
A sight I’d seen so many times but standing there with Kaylia I was reminded of how amazing it really was.
“Come on kid,” I said and nudged her onto the walkway.
She stood at the edge and looked out at the vastness of space beyond. The walkway moved us along and she just watched space. I smiled. There was a naivete about Kaylia, complete innocence. I knew there was more to her story, but that could wait. For now, she could just enjoy the stars.
We got to the other end quickly and reluctantly Kaylia followed me to the bank of lifts, one last look at the stars. There were over a dozen large ones, all speeding up to the various levels that made up the station. If I remembered right, the Dynuit station had ten levels in total, five above the docking arm and five below. Some of the ones above were living quarters for the stations inhabitants. The rest were mercantile and entertainment.
Many people lived on the stations, some were born and died there; never setting foot on a planet. Weird.
We entered one of the lifts along with over a dozen other beings, the door closing behind us, and I went to hit the button for the seventh floor. That was where the gambling hall and my favorite bars were. I caught myself in time and switched to the fifth floor. The shops.
Had almost forgotten the kid was with me and we weren’t here for fun. We were here to get some clothes for her, some supplies and then leave.
A couple seconds later and we stepped onto a floor I had never been on. I was just as overwhelmed as the kid had been. Shops lined the walls as well as the middle of the floor. Some back to back forming walkways between them So many stores. It was like a miniature city.
There were a ton of beings too. Lots of young ones, kids. The signs were all bright, there was some kind of music playing and it was loud. So very loud. And annoying.
I was already getting a headache.
*****
The next level we went to was more my speed. It wasn’t as loud, but it was still packed. At least it had ale.
Level six was the restaurant level. After shopping for some clothes, we came to get some food. Kaylia was still wearing my oversized jacket and the hat. She liked it for some reason and refused to take it off. Which I was fine with. Probably still smart to hide her identity as much as possible. The overalls were gone and she had bought a decent outfit. Pants and boots, brown and black, with a short sleeve shirt. I’d had her buy a couple different outfits. It was a couple days journey to Turesa.
Her tail was swishing back and forth, happy to be free probably.
The food was good and I was able to relax for a bit.
I hadn’t realized how much adrenaline I’d been running on. Even the downtime from the asteroid to here had been pretty hectic. I really hadn’t relaxed since I had met Kaylia. Once we got back on the Wind and heading for Turesa, I’d be amped up again.
I watched the kid eat for a bit wondering when she had gone from being the Thesan girl to being the kid. Taking a drink of the ale I looked around the crowd. I had chosen a restaurant that had an open wall that overlooked the main walking area and a decent view of the lifts. Having Kaylia wasn’t affecting that habit of mine, I always wanted a view of the exits and where I could get the lay of the land.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just beings of all kinds going about their business. No one seemed to be paying us any attention. Which was good.
I kept my eye out for Thesans, but didn’t see any.
The thought was to hand Kaylia off with them. She’d probably be better off with her own kind, right? But doing that just didn’t feel right. It felt like passing the buck, ditching the responsibility. She had chosen me, by accident sure, but she was now under my care. It might have started as an accident, but all my actions since was me choosing her.
Finishing up her food, her hands flashed at me.
Can we look around at the other levels?
“Sorry kiddo, we need to head out,” I said standing up and looking around again. Always take another sweep before moving out. When you started to make a move, that’s when the calm around you started to shift as others reacted. Look to see who reacts to your movements. That was a holdover from my old Special Operations days. I’d never lost that habit because some of the jobs I took on were dangerous and I had my share of enemies.
Kaylia stood and nodded, obviously disappointed. Probably realizing that once she was home on Turesa the chances of seeing a place like this again were slim.
We stepped out of the restaurant and into the crowd. I kept one hand on her shoulder to help push her along, she was still wanting to look at everything, and the other laying lightly on my holstered blaster. We moved slowly towards the elevator, my eyes searching everyone in front of us.
I should hav
e been looking behind as well.
We were maybe twenty feet away from the doors when I saw an alien step next to Kaylia and grab her arm. Before I could do anything I felt the tip of a blaster hard against my back. It had happened quickly and smoothly. Professionally.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” a rough and deep voice said quietly. “Follow them,” it added with a nudge of the gun.
The being holding onto Kaylia looked over her shoulder at me. A female Garand, a little shorter than I was. Long silvery white hair, very pretty face with dark purple eyes and blue gray skin with horns a shade different coming from the sides of her head behind her large pointed ears. The horns curled back and down to her neck with the tips turning out. Four tendrils, two on each side, grew from below the horns and hung over her shoulders, the ends capped in a soft gray metal. She wore nondescript brown shirt and pants, her thick tail hanging down to her knees, banded in the same gray metal. I looked down at her legs, bent backwards at the knee and ending in what looked like a hoof. I looked back up into the pretty face with eyes that were cold, hard and unfriendly. Kaylia looked back at me, scared, and I just nodded trying to project reassurance even though I didn’t feel it.
This was not a good situation.
Chances were good that I could disarm the guy behind me and get out of this. But not with the second person and Kaylia being involved. The crowd didn’t help any either. The being with the blaster in my back might not open fire in the middle of the crowd but could still do some damage.
Best bet was to let this play out for a bit.
“Right,” the one behind me said and nudged me that direction.
The Garand guiding Kaylia pushed her that way. We were heading towards a door, pushing our way through the light crowd. No one paid us much attention, beyond the angry glances at being forced to move. With so many different people and cultures, no one wants to ever get involved.
The unmarked door was set in the wall between the first shops and the lifts, a keypad next to it. Probably to the maintenance corridors and employee areas. The Garand reached out and hit numbers on the keypad, the door sliding silently into the wall. The room beyond was dark and she pulled Kaylia into it.
I paused and looked around quickly. I didn’t like going into a dark room and that they knew the code meant they had most likely been in the room already. They knew the layout, I did not.
“Move,” the Garand behind me said and jammed the blaster hard into the small of my back. I was assuming he was a Garand because they usually operated in mated pairs so it was a safe assumption.
I couldn’t wait to shove that gun down it’s mouth. Male Garands were big bastards, but that wouldn’t stop me.
I stepped into the room a couple of feet and heard the door shut behind me. There were no lights, it was dark and I could barely make out the darker shadows that were the female Garand and Kaylia. The one behind me pushed me forward hard and I stumbled a bit.
The lights came on and I saw we were in a square room, a couple storage closets along the wall, a hanging rack that was currently empty and what looked like lockers on another wall. A door was directly across. The female Garand had turned Kaylia around so she was facing me. The Garand had her arm hanging on Kaylia’s shoulder and under her chin. A clear sign to not do anything.
Kaylia was putting on a brave face. I knew she would be close to breaking. Kidnapped and now being held prisoner like this? She had to be wondering why this was happening to her.
I was getting angry. If they hurt her in any way they were dead.
Turning I saw the male Garand and he was a big one. About six inches taller than I was, but almost twice as wide. Garands are broad shouldered and built. Big and strong. He had the backwards bending knee and hooves like the female, along with the dark purple eyes and bluish gray skin. HIs face was blocky with horns that curled to the side growing from his forehead. Hanging from his chin were four long tendrils with another two hanging down his back coming from behind his pointed ears. I could see the end of his tail behind him, just hanging there. Unlike many other species with tails, for some reason the Garands wasn’t used. It was just there.
He still had the blaster pointed at me. A Duig Model XC. Decent gun. Good range, accurate and had a stun feature.
“Who are you,” I asked. I moved and shifted so I could see the male Garand, and his mate with her arm around Kaylia’s neck as well as the two doors. I took a couple steps back to get some more distance.
“I was going to ask you the same question,” the male Garand replied. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re just interested in her.” He pointed at Kaylia with his free hand, the point of the blaster never wavering from me. “Let us leave with her and you won’t get hurt.”
“Why do you want her,” I asked.
The Garand’s eyes never left mine, neither of them. The female held Kaylia tight but wasn’t watching her.
“There’s a big bounty out on a Thesan girl matching her description. Traveling alone or with a non-Thesan companion.”
Great. Bounty hunters. But they didn’t have my full description. That was good. I was surprised that the Tiat would go to bounty hunters but it really was the only way to spread the net across the galaxy. They probably limited it to a select few hunters. No way this was broadcast to everyone. I’d known a few hunters through the years and while they were all out for the money, some of them had a moral code or just hated the Tiat.
“This isn’t her,” I tried. “You got the wrong girl.”
“Maybe we do, maybe we don’t,” the male said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Only one way to find out.”
Of course these would be the moral less kind of hunters.
“Might as well drop that blaster,” the Garand said looking down at my weapon. “Slowly or the girl gets hurt,” he added.
Keeping my hands out, left one up where they could see it, I lowered my right to grab my weapon. I had to find a way out of this. These two would take Kaylia and turn her over to the Tiat. I couldn’t let that happen. I used a couple fingers to grab the blaster and lift it out by the grip. I was looking at the male Garand, his gun pointed at me and concentrating on my hand and gun, when there was a sudden movement from the female and Kaylia.
The female Garand yelled in pain, sharp and loud.
I looked that way quickly, fingers turning into a firm grasp on my blaster’s grip. Kaylia’s fingernails had grown again, long and sharp like claws. One hand was buried in the Garand’s side and the other in the arm across Kaylia’s neck.
There was an angry hiss and growl that I realized was coming from Kaylia. With her claws buried in the Garand, Kaylia pulled the arm free. Her other hand ripped out of the Garand’s side, prompting another scream of pain. Kaylia turned and somehow her small body had the strength to push the bleeding Garand to the ground. Blue blood dripped from the Garand’s wounds and from Kaylia’s claws.
The male Garand was stunned and so was I. Neither of us moved. I was frozen in the act of drawing my weapon. The Garand frozen half-turned with his weapon turning to point at Kaylia.
She crouched down, fury in her eyes, blood dripping from her claws. She hissed and growled at the Garand and took a step forward.
I pulled my weapon out of the holster and aimed at the Garand but he had recovered faster. His weapon was pointed right at Kaylia now and he pulled the trigger. A bolt of blue-white energy shot out and struck her in the stomach, streaks of energy cascading around her. She fell backwards a couple of feet, falling limply to the ground, hitting hard.
“NO,” I yelled. A sound of pure rage.
I hoped the Garand’s blaster was set to stun. Mine was not.
I pulled my trigger, a greenish bolt of energy shooting from my weapon hitting the Garand in the chest, just below his head and between the tendrils. The alien fell to the ground, smoke rising from the wound.
Keeping my weapon pointed at the female Garand, who was trying to stop the bleeding from her wounds and trying to pull herself across
the floor to her dead mate, I ran to Kaylia. She lay in a heap on the ground, her fingernails back to normal but stains of blue blood on the tips.
I saw her chest rising slowly. Stunned.
Breathing a sigh of relief, weapon still pointed towards the Garand, I bent down to pick up Kaylia. Her body was so light, she was so small. How had she managed to throw the much heavier Garand? Where had that rage come from?
She was awkward but there was no way I was using two hands to carry her. The male Garand was dead and while she was wounded, the female might still be dangerous. She didn’t look it, bleeding out of multiple wounds and cradling the head of her mate. I regretted killing the bounty hunter but he had shot Kaylia.
Stun blasts were supposed to be non-lethal, but they could still damage a body. With the wide variety of beings in the galaxy, there was no way to create a stun frequency that treated all the same. It was just impossible. Each manufacturer had their own frequency which complicated things even further. Most humanoids were generally the same size, which was what most stunners were set for, there were still occurrences of permanent damage from being stunned.
I needed to get Kaylia back to the Wind where I could run some tests on her, make sure she was okay.
Opening the door against the far wall, I stepped into a long corridor that ringed the outer shops of this level. I looked back into the room and met the eyes of the female Garand. There was hatred there, pure hatred. The door closed behind me. I leaned Kaylia’s body against the wall and aimed for the control pad. The blast was loud in the silent hall, the metal cover falling apart and sparks erupting from the crackling wires.
Holstering my blaster, I picked up Kaylia and ran down the corridor looking for a way out.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Why me?
Kahlia signed at me from where she lay on the bed in her room.
“I don’t know kiddo,” I said pulling the blanket up around her. “But I promise you that we’ll find out when we get you home.”
