Astrid smirked, and then said, “Your knowledge of this system is stale, Dinari. Taleris is the last bastion of hope against a threat we haven’t faced in generations. Go back to whatever backwater planet you came from and wait for us to save you yet again.”
“The Nightstalkers,” Liam said.
Astrid nodded.
“They’ve attacked three colonies in the last few months, in addition to several trade vessels. They’re testing their strength and moving toward Ansara every day.”
Nix was right. The threat of the Nightstalkers was not only real, but more dangerous than any of them realized. The war left the Alliance forces devastated and they had done a poor job rebuilding them. The Kraven, on the other hand, seemed to have only one purpose in mind. Liam asked her, “Why do you need to get to Taleris?”
Astrid’s eyes shifted and she replied, “I have my reasons. Trust me or don’t, but those are my terms.”
Saturn chimed in, pointing at the Ansaran, “This is bullshit, Liam. We can’t trust her.”
“Saturn’s right,” Nix said. “She will betray us.”
If whatever Astrid had up her sleeve came to pass, they might be right, but Liam had another idea. It might not be the most popular one, but if they wanted to pursue this Nightstalker threat and find the Azure Key it was the only option he could come up with.
“I won’t let that happen,” Liam professed. “Because she’s coming with us not as a passenger, but as a prisoner. If she wants to be released unharmed she’s going to spill her guts. We’ll have more persuasive tools at our disposal on the ship.”
Saturn’s lip curled up into a smile. She said, “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“There’s a time and a place for everything.”
Astrid looked like she was about to speak but thought better of it. She merely crossed her arms and slumped back in her chair. It seemed her plan wasn’t going exactly as expected.
Liam heard a grumble from behind him. He’d nearly forgotten about Ju-Long. His muscular Asian crewmate staggered to his feet and tenderly touched his chest, a hole burned through his clothing where the electricity had struck and small burns stamped into his skin. He squinted his eyes as he looked around the room in a daze, finally landing on Astrid. His expression quickly changed to one Liam knew all too well. Ju-Long approached her with his best swagger and said, “Hey, how about you come back to my ship and I show you the stars?”
Saturn shook her head and said, “Wow.”
16
“Keep your hands off me, scum.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Liam saw Nix tighten his grip on Astrid’s shoulder, digging his claws in and breaking the skin. The Ansaran made a muffled noise but refrained from crying out. She was tougher than he expected of a scientist. Then again, Ju-Long didn’t exactly scream intelligent and he might be the smartest of all of them, when he wasn’t hitting on anything with a pulse.
They were trudging through the dense jungle, daylight fading and in a race to reach the ship before dusk. Liam didn’t want to find out how difficult it would be to traverse the thick jungle vegetation at night. Astrid had hardly said a word on their ascent up the underground spire. Liam had never tortured anyone before, and with any luck he wouldn’t have to start now. He was continuously looking for an angle he could exploit to avoid an unpleasant situation on the ship. He wasn’t worried as much about himself as he was Nix. If there was a rough interrogation Nix might not be able to separate his feelings for the Ansarans with the task at hand. Without as much history, Liam would be a better fit to question her.
Ju-Long hacked away at some heavy foliage, his sharp machete making quick work of it. His ratty leather shirt had found its way to his waist again amid the incredible humidity. Even without direct sunlight Ju-Long was sweating profusely and moving like a man who didn’t just take a bolt of electricity to his chest. Either he had some kind of healing ability Liam didn’t know about, or something was broken in the pain center of his head. Liam was willing to bet on the latter.
Under the jungle canopy it looked far darker than Liam knew it must be above the trees. Only a stray ray of sunlight penetrated the top and made it to the ground. Liam wiped a bead of sweat trailing from his forehead and continued along the old path, taking up the rear to keep an eye on Nix and Astrid.
After a few more minutes of navigating the jungle Ju-Long pushed aside several thick vines and muscled through into the glade. Once Liam crossed to the other side he nearly bumped into Nix and Astrid, the Ansaran stopped in her tracks, gazing up at their ship.
“That’s your ship?” she asked incredulously.
Nix pushed her forward without rendering a response.
Astrid’s eyes glowed brighter and she continued, “I changed my mind, leave me here. Someone’s bound to come eventually.”
The Garuda’s landing gear had sunk another half meter into the moist soil while they were away. Though it had been less than a day, tiny tendrils crept up the landing struts. If they’d stayed any longer, they might never have gotten off the ground again. When they neared the ship Nix retrieved a flat circular device from his inner pocket and pressed a claw down on the button. The ship responded by slowly lowering the ramp until it touched the ground at an angle that was shallower than normal.
Astrid was reluctant to board the ship, squirming against Nix’s hands. Her skin-tight body suit had become ripped on the shoulders where Nix’s claws had dug in. Tiny beads of blood soaked into the elastic fabric. The black geometric shapes along her graceful neck glistened under the occasional ray of sunlight. The marks crept up her jawbone and behind her ears, where they terminated with a hexagonal shape.
Saturn helped Nix drag the Ansaran up the ramp, Ju-Long following close behind. Liam was left alone at the bottom of the ramp. The sun was setting in a display of brilliant orange and red. He scanned the jungle edge, not sure what he was looking for. Liam saw a brief flash of green and then nothing. It looked like Jalin or one of the other local Dinari were seeing them off.
If the rest of the Dinari in the system were like the ones on Narra, they were going to have a hard time drumming up support for any kind of resistance. It was clear most of them knew nothing of fighting or war. Liam took one last look at the sunset and ascended the ramp, hitting the square red button at the top to close it behind him.
Nix had sat Astrid down on a cargo crate, his claws still holding the Ansaran in place. He asked, “I still maintain we should kill her.”
Liam shook his head and said, “There’s no need for that. She’s done nothing to merit such an action, yet.”
“What should we do with her?” Saturn asked.
Liam considered her question. There were no prison cells on The Garuda, so they’d have to deal with what they had.
“Put her in my quarters, we’ll lock it from the outside.”
Ju-Long’s tongue was quickly planted to his cheek and he made a noise of approval.
“I’ll find somewhere else to sleep,” Liam said, silencing Ju-Long.
Nix led her away, disappearing down the left corridor toward the living quarters.
“When will I get a crack at her?” Saturn asked.
“Let her sit for a while. Let’s focus on getting off the ground first.”
Saturn nodded and took off toward the cockpit, leaving Ju-Long and Liam alone in the cargo bay. Ju-Long couldn’t get rid of the smile on his face.
“Looks like this trip wasn’t so bad after all.”
“Don’t get any ideas, Ju-Long. She’s a prisoner and clearly not on our side.”
“What is our side exactly?” Ju-Long asked jovially. “The Ansarans are worried about the Kraven as much as we are. There’s no reason we can’t work together to that end.”
“Says the guy who’s just met his first Ansaran female.”
“You have to admit, you didn’t see that coming either. How can the females look that good when the men look like bottom feeding fish?”
Liam pointed his
finger at Ju-Long’s temple and said, “Use this head next time you speak. She’s dangerous and if we don’t play this right it could end up bad for all of us. So when I ask you to stay away, I mean it. Don’t get too attached.”
Ju-Long’s smile faded and he made toward the engine room, pressing the button on the wall and descending the stairs behind the sliding panels. Liam felt like he was finally starting to understand Ju-Long. He would probably spend the next hour or two working out down there to blow off steam.
Nix came around the corner briskly and nodded to Liam.
“She’s secure.”
“Good, Saturn’s waiting up front. I don’t want to spend another minute here.”
“Me neither,” Nix said, brushing past Liam.
It was clear to Liam that his Dinari friend held some pent up anger after his interaction with Astrid. He wondered why he seemed more upset than usual. Normally his relations with the Ansarans were tense, but the way he treated Astrid suggested some kind of deeper grudge. His questions would have to wait. Liam followed Nix around the curving corridor to the cockpit, taking the pilot’s seat beside Saturn.
“Nix, do you want to punch in the coordinates for Taleris?”
Nix grunted in the affirmative and started pushing buttons on his console.
“On second thought, put us at one of the outer moons. We should be in scanner range and we can see what we’re dealing with.”
Nix continued to fiddle with his console, finally acknowledging, “Coordinates set for the outermost moon of Taleris. It will take about three days if there are no hiccups.”
“What do you mean, hiccups?” Saturn asked Nix.
“Astrid. If this is an ambush, I’m saying I told you so in advance.”
“Noted,” Liam said, flipping on the power to the engines and slipping his arm through the copper ring, grabbing the control handle on the other side.
Liam pulled back on the controls and was met with resistance. The landing gear was stuck amongst the mud and vines. The creaking beneath them grew in volume, the entire hull crackling in protest.
“Fire auxiliary thrusters,” Liam ordered.
Saturn moved her fingers up her console, increasing power to the three boosters below the ship. The creaking sound echoed throughout The Garuda and they were finally released. Liam pulled up the control handle and made a rapid ascent, retracting the landing struts after clearing the jungle’s canopy. The ship shook slightly as they approached the outer atmosphere, abating only after they broke through into outer space.
“Wait to break orbit until my mark,” Saturn said, watching her screen vigilantly for the best window of escape.
After nearly a minute Saturn said, “Now.”
Liam fired the thrusters, breaking free of orbit and laying in the course Nix had input into the system. The Garuda moved on its own several degrees and locked itself in place, accelerating into space. Liam removed his arm from the copper ring and turned to Saturn and Nix.
“Before this goes any further, understand that I’ll be handling the interrogation.”
“Liam, you need me in there,” Nix appealed.
Saturn was noticeably silent. He knew she’d seen him like that before and was smart to stay out of it. She’d know there was no changing his mind now.
“No. We both know what the Ansarans think of the Dinari. It doesn’t make it right, but being an outsider I might be able to get more out of her alone.”
Nix turned and faced the window. He said grudgingly, “Call me when you want to break her.”
17
Liam stood outside the door to his quarters, one hand bracing himself against the riveted metal wall and the other on his hip, a sign of his exhaustion. He wiped the crust out of his eyes and readied his mind for what was about to come. His mind raced with the benefits and detriments of using different techniques to interrogate the Ansaran. He didn’t want to come out swinging for fear she’d shut down and yield no reliable intelligence. Astrid was an enigma. Matters with the Kraven and the Ansarans were growing more and more complicated and there was no telling where she stood.
Liam stood up straight and adjusted his tunic. He’d try another approach. If it failed there would always be time for the old-fashioned way. Liam held his hand over the door’s sensor pad and the screen’s color turned from red to green. The heavy metal door slid to one side.
Inside his small living quarters, Astrid sat with her back up against the wall, fidgeting with the tight blue material that terminated at her wrist. When Liam entered, the door shut and locked behind him. He crossed the short room and leaned on the small vanity. He took a moment to examine himself in the mirror. His shaggy hair was a tangled mess after being immersed in Narra’s humidity. Worst was his eyes. They looked puffy and tired so that he hardly even looked like himself. Without turning from the vanity, Liam asked calmly, “Where’s the trap set?”
“I’m a woman of my word, Outsider. Deliver me to Taleris and I’ll give you the location of the key. No deceptions.”
Liam sighed looked to the Ansaran. He said, “We’re not going to Taleris.”
Astrid’s eyes grew, their sapphire glow intensifying. Extra lines appeared on her forehead and cheeks, accentuating her anger. She asked with a cutting tone, “What do you mean? We had a deal.”
“Look, Astrid, I want to help you, but I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. As my friend Nix has indicated, we haven’t had much luck by way of Ansarans. Why should we trust you?”
Astrid’s eyes shifted momentarily before becoming fixed again on Liam’s. She replied, “I’m just a researcher. If you knew anything about Ansarans you’d know it’s the males who seek power and control. Ansaran females are concerned with affairs of the mind; of science. I have no interest with your petty squabbles with my people or the Kraven.”
Liam considered her words. He’d never seen an Ansaran female on Garuda, so he had no basis for comparison. In this case he was going to have to take her words as lies until he could prove otherwise. It wasn’t how he liked to operate, but he had more lives than his own on the line.
“What else was being worked on at the research facility?”
“Some secrets are not meant to see the light of day. Some never do. Some are so frightening they have no names, for a name would make it real.”
Liam pushed off from the vanity and slammed the bottom of his fist against the wall. “You speak in riddles.”
Astrid looked up at him with a small smile. The angry lines on her face were dissipating but the eerie glow in her eyes remained. Her long ears turned slightly toward him like a cat searching for the source of a stray noise. Regaining her calm demeanor she said, “You know as well as I do that they’ll kill me if I talk.”
“Nix might do the same if I let him,” Liam responded in a crueler manner than he intended.
“Is that a threat, Outsider?” Astrid asked, cocking her head to one side.
“A promise. The safety of my crew is my first priority. What, I wonder, is yours?”
Astrid considered him for a moment, and then responded with a shrug and a simple phrase. “To return home.”
“Right, to House Gaya was it?”
Astrid nodded a little too vehemently. Liam shook his head. Nix was right. She was hiding far more than she let on. She scrunched her knees up to her chest and hugged them in a passive display. Liam wasn’t buying it. He told her, “You can stop now.”
Astrid’s expression turned from meek to neutral in an instant.
“It was worth a shot,” Astrid said. “Ansaran men are far easier to manipulate. What species did you say you were again?”
“I didn’t.”
Astrid smiled, revealing bright white teeth that were less sharp than those of the Ansaran males he’d seen before but pointed nonetheless. In the right light they might have passed for human, but in the small room she looked even more alien to him. She said glowingly, “You want the box but you do not know what it is.”
Liam crossed his
arms and said confidently, “Under the right circumstances, it opens a singularity.”
Astrid made a face and her glowing eyes swirled with a brilliant shade of blue. She looked to the fabric at her wrist and began playing with the seam once again. Astrid asked, “And what circumstances are those, Outsider?”
“You act smug, but it wasn’t even your people who created the Azure Key.”
The glow in Astrid’s eyes faded, revealing orb-like white eyes with irises that swirled with blues and greens. They looked remarkably human, despite their increased size. Astrid said more to herself than to Liam, “As I suspected. A human has made the crossing.”
Liam’s face turned pale. In his confidence he’d given away too much. But Astrid, how did she know about his kind? Surely the Ansarans weren’t going around broadcasting the fact that outsiders were in their midst. Liam shoved off of the wall and stepped toward her, kneeling down and getting face-to-face with the Ansaran. He demanded, “Who are you really?”
Astrid stood up from her seated position and Liam followed suit, backing her up against the wall. They were within a meter of one another and sweat began to ball up on Astrid’s pale blue forehead. She averted her gaze and said, “Someone who knows the value of a deal. You’re as entwined in this as any one of us. There is no reason we cannot work together.”
“The basis of any relationship is trust,” Liam said, his voice growing in volume. “Who are you?”
Astrid closed her eyes. It was difficult for Liam to tell if it was sweat or tears that rolled down her face. She replied meekly, “If I said, your faith in me would not grow, rather, it would falter.”
Astrid opened her eyes looked back to Liam, gazing into his cold blue eyes, her own intricate weave of blues and greens revealing an almost imperceptible vertical black slit in the center. The longer Liam stared the larger her pupils grew. She slumped against the wall and continued, “If you are who I think you are, then we’ll need each other. The key is not the only item of concern that began with your people. An evil darker than the Kraven will soon be upon us and I would dare to guess you know their name.”
The Corsair Uprising Collection, Books 1-3 Page 25
