Liam searched her eyes. She was either telling the truth or she’d transformed into a master liar. He broke her gaze and muttered, “Vesta Corporation.”
“They’ve left their mark on more than the Azure Key. The Kraven are their instruments, but never forget who the puppet master is.”
Liam said angrily, “Why these games? Why not lead with this?”
“I had to be sure. Our intelligence on your species is limited, and I’ve never seen one with my own eyes. If you deliver me to Taleris, I’ll keep my word. But knowing the location of the Azure Key won’t help you. You’ll need a ship to magnify it and the Kraven will be hunting you. Even if you did make it home you’ll contend with worse evils than you’ll face here.”
Liam shook his head. “We have no intention of using it. I intend to destroy it.”
Astrid seemed saddened by the news, but nodded nonetheless. She said, “To do what my people have said they would do but could not. Mesmerized by power they could not part with it. It was their way to expand the Alliance.”
“Garuda’s Caretaker told us it would be destroyed, but his words were only air. That is why we’ve come.”
Astrid nodded, the muscles in her neck pulsing as she looked up to Liam and said, “Then I hope you find it. My people were not meant to have the key. At best it will start a war that we do not need. Someone needs to stand where my brethren will not. You have my word, Human.”
•
Four Hours Later
“What are you still doing up?”
Saturn put a hand on the back of the pilot’s chair, gripping the cracked leather before sitting down next to Liam.
Liam leaned further back in his chair and adjusted his legs, crossing them on top of the console. He turned to her and said, “My quarters is occupied, so I thought I’d catch a few winks up here.”
Saturn shook her head and scoffed, “That Ansaran has spun a pretty web of lies and now she’s put you out of your own room.”
Liam turned his head toward his crewmate. Saturn had one leg up on the console and was resting her arms against her knee, looking out the window. Her tight white shirt had been stained by dirt and grime from the planet’s surface and her leather pants bore cuts from stray branches. Liam told her, “Let it rest, Saturn. A few days from now this will all be just a distant memory.”
“If we’re even alive to remember it, you mean.”
Liam gazed out the window to the right, examining the passing stars, and said, “That’s the spirit.”
Saturn smiled despite herself. She stood up from the co-pilot’s seat and dragged Liam to his feet. “Come on, there’s no reason for you to sleep up here.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve shared a bed before.”
Liam’s mind went back to another, far simpler time in their lives. The dumb look on his face must have been a cue to Saturn, because she told him, “So we’re clear, I just mean sharing a bed. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Liam deflated a little but his heart still thumped blood steadily away from his brain as he followed Saturn to her quarters.
•
Three Hours Later
There in front of him stood Vesta Corporation’s enforcer, Takara, the ex-Yakuza member whose number of kills was only rivaled by her number of cybernetic implants, all meant to make her a more efficient killing machine. Her thin face bore the sick smile she got whenever she pulled the trigger.
Takara unzipped her black leather jumpsuit, revealing only her light skin and ample breasts underneath. The zipper reached her navel and she began slipping her arms out, covering her nipples with her arm as she did. She turned around and walked toward a bed Liam hadn’t noticed before. Her back was covered in one large tattoo. A tiger was grappling with a dragon in the monochrome piece of intricate artistry.
She got into bed and beckoned for him to come closer. As he approached, he noticed her implants were gone. Takara’s pretty face could finally be seen without the distractions of cold alloys and piercing eyes with microchips implanted within. Liam felt guilty for finding her so attractive. Somewhere deep inside he knew he shouldn’t look at her this way. She was bad. She’d killed countless innocents and gotten him stuck on a mine.
Without warning, another part of his brain took over and he found himself under the covers with her. Their lips locked together and he could taste her sweet breath on his tongue. The taste quickly turned to iron. To blood.
Liam opened his eyes and he was kissing Tiffany, the redheaded girl he’d watched Takara kill. She stared back at him, a small hole piercing her head where Takara shot her, blood dripping down her face to her chin. Tiffany looked at him quizzically and muttered, “What’s wrong, Liam?”
He closed his eyes and heard that phrase repeated again and again, until finally he jolted awake. He sat up on the sleeping pad, dripping with a cold sweat. Saturn was curled up on her side next to him, her cold feet entwined around his leg to keep warm. His heart raced as he watched her rise and fall with each slow breath. Saturn moved as though feeling a chill in the air and felt around with her arm until she found Liam’s hand. She brought it up around her and moved his hand to her chest, where she absentmindedly entwined his fingers in hers.
Liam slumped down beside her and shared her pillow. He flattened her black hair, catching a whiff of her attractive scent. His heart refused to return to a normal rhythm as they lay there entangled. Liam’s dreams were becoming more vivid. He couldn’t explain it. Something inside him felt broken, but being next to Saturn that night made him yearn for a day when he couldn’t remember those haunting faces.
18
Three Days Later
“I don’t care what she told you, Liam. I don’t trust her,” Saturn said with fire in her voice.
Liam sat down across from her at the table in the kitchen. Nix was slurping down the last bit of his Leguma and slammed the bowl down on the table.
“Saturn’s right,” Nix declared adamantly. “Give me ten minutes alone with her and we’ll see how well her story holds up.”
Liam placed his elbows on the table and rubbed his tired eyes. The last few nights he’d found himself awake more often than not. If not for nightmares, simply sleeping next to Saturn had taken its toll. How could he sleep when she was grappling him all night? Instead of being comforted, he found himself wanting more.
Saturn and Nix continued their outpouring of objections until finally Liam yelled, “Stop it. We’ve been over this. She knew about Vesta Corporation. She knew about Humans. I’m not saying I trust her implicitly, but I think we need to look at this as a lead and follow it. What if she’s right and Vesta is interfering in this system in more ways than we know?”
“I’m with Liam on this one,” Ju-Long said, standing in the doorway. “Out of anyone in this system, the three of us should know what Vesta Corporation is capable of.”
Saturn let out a sigh of exasperation. “Not you too. Nix is the only sane one here. At least he isn’t lusting over the Ansaran.”
Nix made a face like he’d smelled something awful.
“I’m not lusting over her,” Liam rebutted.
Ju-Long raised his hand and said, “Well, I kind of am, but I still stand by what I said.”
Saturn crossed her arms and looked away, visibly upset. Liam had never seen her act that way before. Could she be jealous? It hardly seemed possible. Liam said firmly, “Saturn, we’ll take every precaution. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Who says I’m worried?”
Liam didn’t get a chance to answer. Numerous small crashes rocked the ship and a red warning light flashed overhead. The metal table shook against the bolts that held it down and their glasses toppled over, spilling onto the floor.
“What the hell was that?” Liam asked.
Nix rose from his seat and said, “It didn’t sound like laser blasts.”
Liam rose up from his chair and followed Nix and Ju-Long to the cockpit. He took the pilot’s seat and surv
eyed their surroundings. Countless tiny fragments of rock filled the space in front of them. They’d traveled right into the rings of one of Taleris’ moons. Liam took the controls and pulled up, spinning the ship to avoid a rather large piece of rock the size of the cockpit itself. Warning lights flooded the console with reds and yellows and a groan echoed throughout the ship.
After avoiding a few more collisions they pulled free of the orbiting rocks. Ahead, Liam could see a small blackened moon with volcanic activity all over the surface. Beyond the moon was a large planet, easily several times the size of the Earth, which was mostly gray in color. A number of other bodies orbited the planet, too many for Liam to count offhand.
“Welcome to Taleris,” Nix said. “Home of shipyards, foundries, and little else but darkness.”
Liam snapped out of his wonder and ordered, “Run a scan of the planet and its moons. Look for signs of Kraven or Ansaran ships. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
“There might be a tiny flaw in your plan,” Ju-Long said. “Won’t they be able to scan us too?”
Nix answered first. “I’ve taken care of that. When they scan us they should only see a merchant vessel. Hardly a threat. The Ansarans shouldn’t bother.”
“Don’t the Nightstalkers go after merchant ships?” Ju-Long asked.
Liam had to laugh at that. He told Ju-Long, “Well, you were looking for a fight, weren’t you?”
Ju-Long smirked and took the co-pilot’s seat. He used the console to run a scan of the surrounding area. When he was done he simply said, “Huh.”
“What is it?” Liam asked.
“No Kraven within range. There’s also very few Ansarans. There’s a spaceport of some kind that should be coming around the other side of the planet soon. They’re building something massive.”
“Do you think?” Liam began to ask to Nix.
“A ship meant for the Azure Key.”
“Great,” Ju-Long murmured. “I’m never going to get back to my fight.”
Liam spoke over Ju-Long, “What else did we pick up?”
Ju-Long sighed and continued, “The surface of the planet is like one big manufacturing facility. There are only a few dozen Ansarans and they’re all located toward the northern hemisphere. The rest looks to be automated.”
Nix shook his head and said, “That doesn’t seem right. I seem to remember more people living here, Ansarans and Dinari alike.”
“I think it’s time we grabbed our friend,” Liam remarked.
“I’ll get her,” Saturn said from the cockpit’s entrance.
Liam had nearly forgotten about her. When he turned he saw she was leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. She seemed bored when he made eye contact with her. He nodded in agreement and she disappeared down the bowed corridor. Liam stared out the window once more.
“I’m no expert in these things,” Ju-Long began, “But that cannot end well.”
Nix smiled and said, “He has a point.”
•
Saturn stood outside Liam’s quarters gripping an energy weapon in her sweaty palm. She half wanted to shoot the Ansaran and be done with it. She could say Astrid was reaching for her weapon and so she didn’t have a choice. Liam would have to believe her. Right?
She didn’t know what she was feeling inside. A fire burned in her chest whenever she saw the Ansaran, as though simply being near her was painful. Saturn wondered if a bolt of energy to Astrid’s heart would squelch the flames inside her own chest. Maybe it was too quick an end. It would be far worse to set Ju-Long on her and watch her wish she were dead.
Saturn placed a hand over the sensor pad and watched it click to green. The door slid aside and she stood there in the entryway wearing her most menacing glare. It was a glare that transcended species. Astrid stood and faced her calmly.
“So, from the crashes I take it we’ve made it to Taleris?”
Saturn stepped through the door and let it close behind her, locking firmly in place. Astrid’s expression changed to understanding and she started backing away, quickly hitting the wall of the tiny room.
“I see I’ve overstayed my welcome,” Astrid said.
Saturn took another step closer and leveled her energy weapon at the Ansaran’s chest, building up a ball of lightning at its crescent tips. Astrid put her hands up in front of her defensively.
Astrid asked nervously, “What do you want?”
“You might have the others fooled, but I know better,” Saturn growled.
“Our deal is firm, no tricks.”
Saturn smiled. Astrid didn’t know who she was dealing with. Saturn placed her other hand on the crescent weapon so both hands were gripping the pulsing firearm. She said brazenly, “Oh, we’re going to deliver you to the surface, but before we do you’re going to tell me everything, starting with your real name. If I think you’re lying, you’ll be delivered in pieces.”
Astrid’s swirling blue and green eyes began to glow a deep blue. It seemed to be some kind of defense mechanism, but it wouldn’t make much sense if it were. Glowing eyes hardly seemed like a superpower.
The Ansaran sputtered, “My name is Astrid, I swear.”
“Of what House?”
Astrid’s eyes shifted.
“What House?” Saturn bellowed, the ball of energy pulsating furiously at the tip of her weapon now centimeters from her chest.
“House Ansara,” Astrid mumbled under her breath.
Saturn squinted her eyes and said with disgust, “I knew it.”
“What are you going to do?” Astrid asked, visibly frightened.
“What I should have done from the start.”
Saturn was interrupted by the sound of the hallway door opening and Liam stepping inside. His jaw was clamped together, making his jaw seem even more broad and masculine. The rough blond stubble on his face accentuated his coarse glare. He approached her furiously and demanded, “What’s going on?”
19
Liam put a hand on Saturn’s forearms and lowered her weapon, pressing a release button on the side of the crescent-shaped weapon with his other hand. The ball of lightning dissipated into the air and the room was blanketed in silence. Astrid continued holding her breath for a moment before letting it out and collapsing to the floor, shaking feverishly.
“Care to explain?” Liam asked.
“She’s not who she says she is. Someone had to end this charade before we all wound up dead.”
Liam let out a huff of air and knelt down beside Astrid. Her eyes, which glowed a furious blue when he entered the room, had now returned to their vivid mix of blue and green, slightly larger than human but just as beautiful. Liam put a hand up to her face and wiped away a single tear drifting down the side. Her face was smooth, with hardly any semblance of scales, and cool to the touch. He asked her, “Are you alright?”
Astrid wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in close, catching him off guard. He could hear Saturn scoff and he gently pushed away. When he did he saw Astrid’s gaze firmly planted on Saturn. Her eyes quickly returned to his and she said, “Thank you for coming when you did.”
“Unbelievable,” Saturn said before storming out of his quarters.
Watching her go, Liam shook his head and looked back to Astrid. “What were you two talking about anyway?”
“She was right to be angry with me. I don’t belong here.”
Liam didn’t know what to say. It was true that having an Ansaran on board was off-putting to say the least, but she hadn’t caused any problems yet. He tried to think of something nice to say and eventually said, “I think she’s just wary of new people. She’s protective of what we have here.”
“And what’s that?” Astrid said, wiping a tear from her bony cheek.
“We’re an odd bunch, but deep down we’re like family, squabbles and all.”
“I never had a family. Not a real one anyway. I envy you.”
Liam knew how she felt but he wasn’t about to express such a sentiment to a relative
stranger. He could hardly remember his childhood, as though he was blocking as much of it out as possible. Liam told her, “You’ll be with your people soon enough. Come with me, you’re needed in the cockpit.”
•
Liam entered the cockpit with Astrid following close behind, one hand gripping the back of his tunic as though she were afraid of losing track of him. Saturn had kicked Ju-Long out of the co-pilot’s chair so he was spinning in the seat behind her. Sitting in the seat opposite Ju-Long was Nix, hardly acknowledging them as they entered.
“Saturn, bring up a map of Taleris and the surrounding region.”
She mashed a few buttons angrily and a slowly spinning holographic projection of Taleris and its moons appeared, its orange hue coloring the cockpit with its luminescence. Liam stood aside and let Astrid approach the hologram. After a few moments, she pointed at the northern hemisphere of Taleris and the image halted its spin, rippling at her touch. When she removed her finger, a yellow dot flashed where she’d pointed. Astrid stepped back to Liam, keeping within arm’s reach.
“There’s a landing pad outside a large structure there. It’s where the Caretaker of this world resides.”
Ju-Long commented, “That’s about where we saw a few dozen life signs.”
“A few dozen?” Astrid asked anxiously.
“What’s wrong?” Liam asked.
“There were thousands only months ago. How can this be?”
“I have a few suggestions,” Nix chimed in. “None of them pretty.”
Liam waved a hand at Nix for him to keep quiet. “We can be there in an hour. Saturn, set a course.”
“Wait,” Astrid said. “I should send a message ahead of us. The Caretaker isn’t fond of guests he does not expect.”
The Corsair Uprising Collection, Books 1-3 Page 26
