Star's Storm

by S. E. Smith

  He gripped the door and pulled it open. He immediately knew she was not in the room. He stepped inside and breathed deeply. His senses immediately picked up the scent of the little female. He also picked up the faint scent of Jazin. What concerned him was the scent of two unfamiliar males. His eyes narrowed and he scanned the room. He stopped when he came to the moisture on the floor near the door. He bent down and swiped his finger through the liquid. He touched the tip of his finger to his tongue. Immediately, the taste of an herbal tea with all chemical compounds flowed through his brain. He stood and quickly searched the rooms. He returned to the area. His eyes glowed as he changed his field of vision. Near the replicator was the footprint of one of the males. Jar scanned the handle of the cleansing unit, documenting the fingerprints on the handle to the processor in his brain. His mind scanned the crew documents and discovered the man had just transferred over from the disabled warship an hour before they departed Elpidios.

  Jar carefully opened the cleansing unit and discovered a cracked cup sitting on the top shelf. His mind processed the information in rapid order and he drew a conclusion that sent an unusual shiver of emotion through him. He tapped into the warship’s computer system again and did a ship wide scan for the little female. Deck after deck, department after department came up with a negative. He finally sent a command to retrieve her last known location. Within seconds, the disposal bay responded. He sent one more request even as he dreaded the response he knew he would get.

  “Crew member Star Strauss, ejected from liquid waste port three,” the computer responded.

  Jar linked into Jazin’s comlink even as he was locating the video recording of the corridor and the location of the crew members whose prints he had on file. The man was in the shuttle bay. Jar opened communication’s with Dakar and Armet at the same time as Jazin answered.

  “Is she safe?” Jazin asked tensely.

  “Dakar, apprehend crewman Delant. He is needed for questioning. Expect deadly resistance. Armet, get to the disposal bay and check the system for the last disposal location. Jazin, your female was ejected from the Blue Star,” Jar responded coldly. “I wish permission to interrogate Ensign Delant for his role in her abduction,” Jar paused as he received the video feed. His eyes flickered brightly as the information poured in. He fast forward until he received the information he wanted. “I will also need Ensign Corklar.”

  “I will get Corklar,” Armet snarled. “I just passed him heading for engineering.”

  Jazin stood frozen as he listened to Jarmen. All his mind could process was Star had been ejected from the ship into open space. He gripped the railing as his knees threatened to give out on him. He closed his eyes and pulled her beautiful face into his mind. A cold, deadly rage built. He would get the information that he needed for the traitors, one slice at a time.

  *.*.*

  Star groaned as she came to. Her head throbbed like someone was beating on a bass drum for the first time in music class. One thing was for sure, they were having one hell of a party by the feel of it. She hoped drummer was enjoying it because she sure as hell wasn’t!

  She opened her eyes and felt a moment of uncontrollable terror. She opened her mouth to scream but all that came out was a tiny whimper. Star raised her hands as far as she could and felt along the side of the container she was trapped in. Her mind played every horror movie she had ever seen where someone was buried alive. She was definitely in some type of container. Her breathing accelerated as a full fledge panic attack threatened to overwhelm her.

  “Respiration has increased,” a calm voice stated. “Reduce breathing by using deep breaths to calm your intake.”

  “Where…. Where am I?” Star whispered hoarsely.

  “Relax and continue to breath as normally as possible. Escape pod guidelines provide for the minimum oxygen levels to extend the possibility of rescue. Passengers who do not panic can extend levels by two additional hours if they remain calm. Rescue beacon is active and has been answered. Retrieval in approximately twenty-four minutes, eight seconds.”

  The voice continued to repeat the instructions every few minutes until Star felt like screaming just to get it to shut up. She got the message already. She was stuck, someone was on their way, breath slowly.

  Star remained still, looking up at the dimly lit interior. Taking a deep breath, she focused on what she could remember and tried to fill in the blanks. The two men had obviously been responsible for her being here. The million dollar question was why did they do it and what did they want. If Star had to guess, she would place all of chips on Tai Tek being behind her abduction. That guy was really beginning to piss her off. She bet he was behind all the other sudden ‘situations’ as well. That guy either had way to much charisma which she obviously wasn’t seeing or he had money, or credits in this case, coming out the ying-yang.

  Star flexed her fingers in the soft cloth interior and frowned when the tips of her fingers brushed something small and hard. She wiggled further down and searched along the crevice with her fingers until she felt it again. She rolled it between her fingers. A soft sob escaped her as she recognized the comlink she had been reaching for before the jerk stunned her. She wasn’t sure how far it would work but it was a chance of rescue, no matter how slim.

  She felt around it until she found the tiny button on the side. She drew in another deep breath and pressed the button. It was linked directly to Jazin’s, no one else, just his.

  “Jazin,” Star called out loudly. “Jazin, please you have to hear me.”

  “Star,” Jazin’s voice came over the comlink. It was weak but it was his voice. Static made it impossible to hear what he was saying so she didn’t even try.

  “Jazin, I’m in some kind of a box. You have to help me. The computer said something was coming,” Star sobbed. “Please, you have to hear me. Jazin, I’m in a box. It feels like a coffin. I don’t like coffins.”

  The box jerked and a loud bang sounded on the outside of it near Star’s head. “Retrieval in progress. Life support is stable. Congratulations passenger, you are safe,” the automated voice said before the lights in the box turned off plunging Star into darkness.

  “Jazin, they have me,” Star whispered brokenly.

  *.*.*

  Jazin’s harsh cry of fury echoed through the level. The sound so loud and painful that the warriors in the area paused for a moment and bowed their head. The moment Star’s voice activated his comlink, Jar had boosted the reception. He could do it coming it but not going out. The sound of his mate’s tortured voice tore through Jazin’s tightly held control. He gripped the laser sword he had retrieved from his living quarters. The two crewmen had been taken to the training room. He had ordered it cleared of everything. When he got done with the men, the room would be coated in their blood.

  The men were on their knees, their arms secured behind their backs when he walked in. Both men glared defiantly up at Jazin as he walked through the door. Their glares turned to fear as they studied his face. Jazin stared at each man before he nodded to Armet and Dakar to pull them up into a standing position.

  “You might as well kill us,” the taller man, Corklar, stated coldly. “You will get nothing out of us.”

  Jazin’s smile turned the men’s blood to ice. He took a step closer, appraising each man carefully. He raised his hand and gripped Delant’s throat, squeezing slowly until he began to gag. Jazin grimly shook his head.

  “You will not die so easily,” he whispered in a dark, menacing tone devoid of emotion. “I am going to slice you up one small piece at time. You will beg for death and I will still deny you the comfort of it. You will learn the penalty of harming the mate of a Kassisan Lord. We are unbelievable cruel when someone harms what belongs to us.”

  The door behind him opened and two men entered with a small cart. Both men turned white when the saw the medical cart. Their eyes swung back to Jazin. Delant’s throat worked up and down frantically.

  “Jar,” Jazin called out quietly. Ja
r stepped forward and removed the hood from the cloak that he always wore. “I want everything.”

  Jar turned his glowing amber eyes to Delant. “I will discover everything, my friend, everything.”

  Delant’s screams filled the room as Jar laid the tips of his fingers on the male’s temple. Thin fibers burst through the tips of them, drilling through bone, and into the soft tissue of the man’s brain. Jarmen accessed the male’s memory. His eyes burned brightly as he downloaded the images. Every memory the man had now belonged to Jarmen. The process was not painful for Jarmen but it could be for the recipient of the probe. Jarmen had the capacity to block the pain if he choose but he didn’t. When he finished with Delant, the male would have sank down to the floor limply if Dakar would have let him.

  Jarmen smiled at Corklar blandly. “Next,” he said calmly.

  “No,” Corklar shouted hoarsely. “No, I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I swear, I’ll tell you everything.”

  Jazin nodded to Jarmen to continue. “Yes, you will,” Jar said as he touched his fingers to Corklar’s temples. “You will tell us everything.”

  Chapter 18

  Star slipped the comlink into the pocket of her pants as she felt the box she was in being roughly handled. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. This was just like when she help Marcus the Magnificent, the most famous magician in the all the world when he needed an assistant. Marcus was really Marcus Jones, a pick-pocket from Vegas that learned the tricks of the trade on the streets before Walter caught him sneaking into the circus when he was twenty. His name changed and so did his life. Marcus had taught Star, Jo, and River how to pick every lock that was ever made. He said you never knew when you might find yourself trapped in a five hundred year old dungeon or in a thirty year old jail cell. He had also been thrown into a few trunks by local drug dealers and pimps determined to give him a new home under the brilliant Nevada skies.

  In fact, many of the circus performers had skills they learned on the streets or, as in the case of Bombing Bill, in the military. He perfected his skills when he got out by doing special effects for Hollywood before he came to a show one night. He had fallen in love with the magic and beauty of the performers. Walter found him sitting on the steps of his trailer the next morning with nothing more than a sad look and a battered suitcase.

  Star let her memories calm her as the box was set down. She refused to leave the world she remembered as she needed to remain as calm as possible until an opportunity presented itself. The lid of the container slid backwards slowly. Musky air circulated around her and she had to fight not to sneeze from it. The instant the lid was clear, Star erupted upwards. She struck out like Armet and Dakar taught her with a little bit of Walter thrown in for good measure. Her feet connected with one man’s nose while her palm caught the one bending over her in the throat. She rolled up, doing a handstand before flipping out of the container. She looked at the two men. Both were on their knees. The one she kicked in the nose was groaning as blood flowed down his face. The one she hit in the throat was gagging. Star didn’t wait. She moved forward, grabbing the one gagging by the back of his head and slamming him face first into the metal box as hard as she could. The second man tried to roll to his feet and grab for the pistol attached to his side. Star kicked out again feeling an immense sense of satisfaction at the sound of bone crushing under her booted foot.

  It was amazing how strong you could be when you are scared shitless, she thought to herself as she pulled the pistol tucked in the man’s waistband out and shot both of them at close range.

  She looked down at the settings when she didn’t see any blood and breathed a sigh of relief that it was set to stun. She looked around, swinging the pistol up and pointing it in case anyone else came along. It looked like she was in some type of small freighter. She listened carefully but she didn’t hear anything but her own heavy breathing.

  “Okay, now I need help moving your asses somewhere where you can’t wake up and get me,” Star muttered as she stared down at the two unconscious figures.

  She turned with a squeak and pointed the pistol as another figure came forward. “You requested assistance?” The metal figure asked with a twitch to its head.

  “Y…Yes, I do. What are you?” Star asked hesitantly.

  “I am Numbnuts, a class A service bot,” the metal figure responded.

  “They named you Numbnuts?” Star choked out on a startled giggle. “For real?”

  “Yes, I am real. You requested assistance,” Numbnuts responded with another twitch.

  “Can you help me secure these two so they can’t get loose? I don’t want them to hurt me. What I really need is a way to lock them up and take control of this…. Whatever it is,” Star said looking around the dingy freighter.

  “This is a First Class Piece of Shit,” Numbnuts stated as he bent over and gripped the back of each man’s shirt. “I will secure them in the shithole.”

  Star giggled as Numbnuts turned and began dragging the two men she had knocked out down along the long, metal corridor. She couldn’t help but wince and feel a little sorry for the two. Their asses were going to be raw by the time the service bot got them to the ‘shithole’.

  Numbnuts dropped both men in the middle of the corridor. Star watched in fascination as the service bot bent over and pulled up a section of the floor, it was hollow underneath the panel. Thick metal bars covered the hole that was about the size of the dumpsters back home. Numbnuts lifted the metal hatch and slid it to the side. At the bottom of the hole was what looked like a port-a-potty. There were also several piles of blankets and a lot of empty bottles. Numbnuts picked up one of the bodies and dropped the man on the pile of blankets where he promptly rolled off onto the cold, metal floor. He turned and did the same thing to the next man. Once he was done, he slid the metal bars back over the top and slid a locking device into place.

  “Do you wish to cover the Shithole or not?” Numbnuts asked Star who was watching the whole process with wide-eyed amazement.

  “What do you normally do?” Star asked, biting her lower lip.

  “It depends. If Dumbass is drunk and annoying then Jackoff requests that I do. If Jackoff is drunk and annoying then I do not. Dumbass says it is easier for him to throw things at him without the covering.”

  “Are you telling me those two use this on each other?” Star asked faintly.

  “Yes,” Numbnuts responded. “Unless they are being boarded by an Alliance ship. Then they hide their illegal cargo in the shithole.”

  “What kind of illegal cargo?” Star asked curiously.

  “They specialize in the trafficking of a foul liquid that often causes them become quite loud and annoying,” Numbnuts said waiting to see if he should cover them or not.

  Star glanced down at the two men who were snoring loudly now. She giggled when one of them rolled over and snuggled the other. Something told her these were not the typical warriors Tai Tek normally hired.

  “Don’t cover them up and whatever you do, don’t let them get out!” Star ordered. “Is there anyone else on this piece of shit?”

  “Only IQ,” Numbnuts answered, tossing the cover plating to one side of the corridor.

  “And who is IQ?” Star asked wondering if whatever it was could be any more wacky.

  “IQ. You call IQ? What now, Numbnuts? I’m busy. Someone has to work on this piece of shit,” a very small robot about a foot and a half tall rolled up in a ball and uncurled until it was standing on two legs with wheels attached to the ends.

  “Oh,” Star gasped. “Hello.”

  IQ turned on his wheels and scanned Star. “Ah, my beautiful little butterfly. Have you come just for me?” He purred rolling up to her. “I’m IQ. I will bring your every fantasy to life,” the tiny robot murmured in a voice that reminded Star of Pepé Le Pew, the adorable skunk from the cartoon show.

  The tiny robot reached out an arm, or at least she thought it was an arm, and grasped her hand firmly between its three d
igits. The head leaned over and the creature pressed his mouth to the back of her hand before turning it over and doing the same to her palm. Star jerked her hand back when she felt something slimy touch it. She glanced down and saw a faint line of oil along her palm. Gross!

  “Oh my beautiful darling, I will make your life amazing,” IQ purred as he rolled up to her leg and began feeling her up.

  “IQ is the pilot. He has been trying to teach Dumbass and Jackoff how to navigate the ship but they are not very fast learners. They won this ship in a game of chance two years ago and still have not mastered the controls. IQ and I were already part of the crew.”

  Star looked down at the tiny creature looking up at her with two mismatched eyes that blinked slowly at different times. Okay, this is getting way too weird for me, she thought with a giggle. She was used to a lot of strange things in her life but this had to be the absolute strangest.

  “IQ, can you contact someone for me?” Star asked politely trying to move her leg away. If she wasn’t mistaken, she would swear the tiny robot was trying to hump it.

  “Of course, my love. IQ will do anything for you,” the tiny robot responded before turning on his wheels and heading along the corridor at a rapid clip.

  *.*.*

  “Send in a cleaning crew and jettison the bodies,” Jazin said, ignoring the looks he received as he walked down the corridor.

  He was covered in blood. None of it was his. He had been ruthless, cold, deadly. He showed no mercy. Dakar, Armet, and Jarmen had stood to the side never interfering and never condemning his brutality against the men who struck out against his family, especially his mate. He wanted to set an example of what would happen to anyone who dared. The training room was a blood bath. He looked almost as bad. Blood covered him from head to foot. His chest was bare, long streaks of blood mixed with sweat ran down in eerie trails. Dakar, Jarmen, and Armet followed behind him. Blood splatters covered the three of them, evidence of the violence behind the punishment. The sight of the youngest lord struck terror into those who saw him as he approached the bridge. During the three hours it took for him to kill the two men, the emergency teams had repaired most of the damage to the warship and taken in the Tearnat warriors before their ship imploded. Jarmen informed him the warship’s engines would be back online within the next hour.