“Don’t be silly. This will just take a minute.”
Liam pushed off from the crate and found the medical supplies in the box where Saturn had found the antibiotics. When he opened the top and rustled through it, he had to fight with syringes and bandages that tried to float away. He grabbed a piece of cloth that felt like gauze and some alcohol and closed the bin.
He kicked off the ground and found his way up to Astrid, who held out a hand and guided him toward her. Liam held the gauze over the bottle of alcohol and shook it to get it wet. He started cleaning the wound, holding her chin steady with one hand and dabbing at the cut with the gauze in his other hand. Astrid’s face was cool to the touch, but her gaze conveyed far more warmth.
“Back on Taleris, why did you help me?” Astrid asked.
“I told you, I’m not going to let an innocent girl die.”
“I’m not innocent. My House has brought a lot of pain to this system. I deserve the hatred Nix has shown me.”
Liam stopped his cleaning and looked into her big eyes, swirling with blues and greens as they gazed back up at him. He refocused on her wound and said, “Nix will come around. He’s had a lot of trouble with Ansarans before. It’s not a reflection on you.”
Astrid’s eyes appeared to have trouble focusing despite her best efforts. She blinked several times and finally squinted at him. She wore a relaxed smile as Liam continued to work. Astrid asked him casually, “And what does Captain Liam Kidd think of my race?”
Liam shook his head and responded, “Well, though I’ve had my own problems with Ansarans, but I think I can say I like the females a little better.”
Astrid smiled and then winced as Liam continued to clean out her wound with a fresh dab of alcohol. She looked at him with calculating eyes, as though trying to find an answer to a question before asking it. Finally, she relented and asked, “You and Saturn, are you two—?”
“No,” Liam said quickly. “Actually, it’s complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
Astrid moved to curl her legs around Liam’s floating legs, drawing him in closer. With one hand she maintained contact with the crate, but with the other she started drawing circles with her index finger over the deep cut in his shirt, tracing the drawstrings holding the shirt together over his chest.
Liam wasn’t sure how to respond, so he spilled his guts. “She doesn’t know what she wants. Years ago we used to have something, but now it’s like I don’t even know her anymore. She’s changed and I don’t know that I like what she’s become.”
•
Saturn pressed herself against the curved wall at the entrance to the cargo bay. She hadn’t meant to overhear but now she found her mind reeling with Liam’s words, echoing ominously within her brain. Was that what he really thought of her? She couldn’t have been that bad, could she?
Her stomach bubbled with a mixture of feelings. She wasn’t sure whether to be hurt, angry, or betrayed, but found herself feeling little bits of each. Saturn’s blood ran hot within her and she instinctively flexed her toned muscles with rage. Her knuckles turned white, visible even in the half-light of the corridor.
If Liam knew everything that had happened he would think differently, but that was the problem. He would think differently of her. She couldn’t fathom that he would sympathize with a broken woman, especially not with Astrid hanging off him like a lost dog.
“I’m sorry,” Saturn heard the Ansaran tramp say. “I wish I could do something to help.”
The Ansaran whore continued moving her hands over Liam’s chest sensually. His rocky chin shifted down so he could watch her pale blue hands toy with the leather strings on his shirt. Saturn felt something in her eye and quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand. She pulled herself along the wall, floating back toward the cockpit, careful not to make a sound.
•
Liam put his hand over Astrid’s and removed it from his chest. He considered her for a moment. Maybe it was the light, but she was sexier than he’d ever seen. Still, something inside him was off. His stomach felt as though it was turned upside down and it wasn’t from the lack of gravity.
“I’m positive I’m going to regret this later, but I can’t.”
“It’s Saturn,” Astrid said, nodding her head and releasing him from her embrace. “If you change your mind, you know what room I’ll be sleeping in.”
Astrid needn’t have said that much, because her eyes said it all. She had the look of an animal in heat. It was a look Liam was accustomed to seeing on Earth, but it had been more than a year since his last time and he felt out of practice. He wasn’t sure he knew how to respond anymore. Every time he thought of a woman he remembered death. Sound escaped his lips, but the words that came out were half-formed and mumbled. He felt a heat grow in his loins and the slow creep of blood leaving his brain. Astrid was going to make life in close quarters difficult.
25
Nix handed Ju-Long a laser cutter with his good hand and quickly grabbed an overhead pipe to turn his floating body away to avoid the cutter’s bright light. He heard Ju-Long turn on the cutter and make the incision in one of the metal offshoots of the gravity generator. The device was small for what it did. It sat near the back of the engine room, centered against the back wall, and was the dead middle of the populated areas of the ship.
He hated seeing her like this. The Garuda had been good to him since he was old enough for Zega to let him pilot her. She’d seen many battles and had come through relatively well for such an old vessel. Every ship has its quirks, and he thought he’d seen them all. This was the first time the gravity generator had gone out, though. He’d never had to mess with it before. It just worked. In this case, Ju-Long’s technical knowledge, even if the technology was different from what he was used to, would be of great use.
Ju-Long ceased his cutting and removed the generator’s outer plate, looking around inside under the low light of the engine room. The muscular human had begun to sweat in the hot chamber and Nix began to feel himself salivate to reduce his core body temperature. After a moment Ju-Long asked, “Is this square box the power module?”
Nix bent to look where Ju-Long was pointing and winced from the pain in his shoulder, nodding with his jaw clenched tight. He said, “That’s it. If I remember correctly, Zega said we can’t connect it to the ship’s main supply.”
“Why not?”
Nix smiled and replied, “You’ve seen the main gun. If we connect the generator to the main power, far too much Aether will be drawn in and our bodies would be crushed under the gravitational pull.”
Ju-Long looked at the grated metal floor and remarked, “Ju-Long waffles. Yuck. What were you saying about Ather?”
Nix cocked his head. Even children knew about Aether. It was at the very core of their system’s knowledge of the universe. Ju-Long bore a truly puzzled look that couldn’t have been faked for the sake of a joke. He really didn’t know.
“You’ve seen the purple energy on Planet Garuda, as well as running along the conduits in this ship. That is Aether. It powers most technologies in this system.”
“But what is it?”
Nix didn’t entirely understand the question, so he repeated, “It is Aether. It is derived from the planets and every creature on them.”
“Like Qi.”
“I do not know this word. We view it as the life force of the departed. Do you see now why The Garuda runs on Aether?”
Ju-Long furrowed his brow and thought hard. Finally, he replied, “So, this ship really is just a ship, but it’s powered by the life force of the Garuda of legend? The souls of the dead?”
“Elegant, isn’t it?”
“But she acts like a living thing sometimes.”
Nix shook his head and motioned for Ju-Long to be quiet. He said, “Careful what you say, she’s sensitive. I would argue she’s more alive than any number of creatures I’m aware of. The Aether has reanimated the creature’s consciousness. She is completely aware of her
surroundings, even this conversation.”
Ju-Long looked around the room, a little agitated, and said softly, “Ghosts in the machine.”
Ju-Long’s small brown eyes darted back and forth as though expecting an apparition to appear. The human’s small curved nose had a single bead of sweat dripping down it, which made him snap out of it and wipe the perspiration from his face. Nix never could get over how small and unpronounced their features were. Humans were a funny race. Nix confirmed, “An odd phrase, but not inaccurate.”
Ju-Long continued to examine the insides of the generator, feeling around the different modules. While he worked, he asked, “So, every one of the Corsairs had this Aether running through them?”
“Every one. While the average ship in the Ansaran fleet may also run off Aether, not every life force is equal. It is why only the most feared creatures’ power was harnessed for the purpose of creating the Corsair fleet.”
Ju-Long stopped fiddling with the modules and looked up at Nix, who floated above him and slightly off-kilter. He asked the question Nix was rather not fond of answering.
“How is the Aether harnessed?”
“In time, friend,” Nix hedged. “I can give you a history lesson after we repair the gravity field. Topics such as this require a good meal, and I can’t make Leguma in a weightless environment.”
Ju-Long frowned and looked back to the generator. He let go of the laser cutter and it floated next to him. He pointed at the machine and said, “This technology is foreign to me, but I’ll do my best. Hand me that power meter and we’ll see if the module is totally drained.”
Nix handed Ju-Long an ergonomic rounded device with probes that extended out from the bottom. Ju-Long began attaching the leads while Nix drifted off in his mind to another place. He was thinking of Astrid. No, not Astrid, but someone who looked remarkably like her. In the spire they called her “The Heiress.” She was the daughter of the Caretaker on Ansara and next in line to lead their House. The Heiress put on a fantastic show, but she was far worse than Ragnar or Toras ever were.
One day, Nix was cleaning the Caretaker’s office with several other Dinari, when The Heiress showed up on a diplomatic mission. He’d seen her a few times before, but only ever briefly during her limited stays in the spire. She’d had a way with Ragnar that left him speechless. No, it was more than that. He was physically incapable of speech. A few of the Dinari heard her exchange with Ragnar and watched as The Heiress made him sign some documents, seemingly against his will. Nix hid behind one of the many columns in the Caretaker’s office, more out of instinct than anything else. If Zega had taught him one thing, it’s to never get involved in matters of diplomacy if he intended to remain alive.
He waited for several minutes without hearing a sound, until finally several thuds echoed throughout the chamber. The sound of three Dinari bodies hitting the cold stone floor. Nix waited for The Heiress to leave and then came out from behind the pillar. There was no blood on the ground, but the three Dinari lay dead, expressions of lust and contentment burned into their scaled faces.
Ragnar sat back in his chair in a daze, but very much alive. Nix examined him more closely, making direct eye contact with the drooling man. He had this feeling that behind those eyes he was aware of everything that had happened. Nix backed away slowly, and then turned and broke into a run, exiting the chamber. He was absent from the spire a week before Zega convinced him to go back and continue his mission. Nix had been flogged once for every day he’d been gone, and Ragnar never looked at him the same way. It had occurred to Nix that Ragnar might have remembered everything, including him.
The Heiress was the first Ansaran female he’d ever seen. From the rumors, most never left Ansara. Whatever strange power they held was enough for Nix to distrust Astrid. When he’d heard Astrid was from House Ansara, the connection was clear. That would make Astrid at least a cousin to The Heiress, and certainly capable of the same evils. Blood never lied.
Ju-Long broke him out of his reverie. “Looks like there’s a bit of juice left in the module, but if it’s anything like an engine on Earth, we’re going to have to give it a jump so it can recharge itself. Do these power modules need to be replaced like dead batteries?”
Nix shook his head and responded, “What? Oh, any replacement parts would have to be fabricated by us back on Garuda at Zega’s shop. A jump should work until we can replace it.”
“If the main supply is too much, maybe we can use one of our energy weapons?”
Nix nodded absentmindedly and said, “It could work.”
Astrid was inside his head again, smiling jovially and laughing at his incompetence. He’d had his chance to kill her. With Liam and Ju-Long swept away with her façade it would be increasingly difficult to carry out his tasks and remain a part of the crew. Nix breathed out a big gust of air. Everyone had their burdens to bear.
26
“They’ve got our scent and they’re not going to stop until we’re dead.”
Liam held on to a metal crossbeam while floating on the ceiling of the cockpit, considering Saturn. She’d been trying unsuccessfully to convince him to go after the remaining Nightstalkers and his patience was fading. The Garuda was still being patched up and they couldn’t risk an open space battle with the Kraven. It was like she had a death wish.
“It’s decided, Saturn. When repairs are complete we’re headed back to Garuda. We can stop by Narra on the way if need be.”
“Oh, good, we can drop off some baggage on the way.”
“That’s enough. Think what you want about her, but she’s willing to help us. We don’t have so many friends on this side of the galaxy that we get to be choosy.”
Saturn stifled a laugh and broke his gaze. After a moment, she said viciously, “No, apparently that honor is left for the Captain.”
Saturn pushed off from her chair and floated away down the bent passageway, leaving Liam wondering what had just happened. His wonder spiraled down into scorn.
Liam’s grip tightened on the support beam until his knuckles were white. She infuriated him to no end with every colorful statement and her incessantly contemptuous tone. Liam’s thoughts were dashed by a sinking feeling in his stomach. Soon his arms had to flex to keep him in place and he became aware of his weight hanging from the beam. Liam let go and fell to the grated floor below. He stood and brushed himself off, still steaming inside as he looked down the empty hallway.
It didn’t take long for Ju-Long and Nix to appear in the cockpit, giddy with their successful repair of the artificial gravity generator. Ju-Long knelt down and kissed the metal grates below. He exclaimed, “It worked. God I missed this.”
“Good work,” Liam said with a level voice, hiding his residual anger. “Let’s get our bearings and get the hell out of here.”
•
“There’s no sign of them,” Ju-Long said, examining the co-pilot’s console. “Their last energy signature was seen near the farthest moon, on the other side of Taleris.”
Liam nodded and took hold of the control handle, simultaneously releasing the hooks holding them down. He gave a short burst from the thrusters and The Garuda rose up several meters from the asteroid. Liam folded back the landing gear and began a slow departure from the debris field. Without the Nightstalkers chasing them, navigating the spinning rocks at low speed hardly posed a challenge.
At the edge of the debris field, Nix asked him, “Are you sure about this, Liam?”
“As sure as I can be. The Nightstalkers would have waited us out until our supplies were gone. It’s what I would have done. This way we have an advantage.”
Nix eyed him suspiciously and asked, “You expect them to follow us?”
“I expect them to try. We both know we haven’t pushed this ship to its limit.”
Nix made a noise like he was about to object, but instead he simply said, “Even if we outrun them, they’ll still be out there.”
“Don’t worry, Nix. I always have a plan.”
Liam gripped the control handle tighter and moved the ship through the center of two pock-marked rocks. Nix worried too much. Despite his faith in The Garuda, when it came to the Kraven he was always gun-shy. Maybe it was his upbringing or the multitude of stories about these particular ships that was making him wary. Either way, they were going to make it through, no matter what.
Nix looked to his bandaged arm and said sardonically, “Your plans usually end with one of us getting hurt.”
“This time will be different. If we time it right, we’ll have the element of surprise. Besides, Nix, usually Ju-Long’s the one getting hurt.”
Nix chuckled while Ju-Long made an offended face and defended, “Keep laughing, but someone needs to get things done around here.”
Through the reflection in the cockpit window, Liam saw Nix shake his head and gaze out at the stars with a faint smile still burned on his face. It might not seem like it to his crew, but Liam had actually done some planning this time. That didn’t mean it was going to be easy, but The Garuda did have something the Nightstalkers didn’t, and it had nothing to do with firepower.
Astrid entered the cockpit and took the seat behind Ju-Long, strapping in, perhaps out of caution after the last time she’d been in the cockpit. She said, “I see we’re on our way. Where exactly are we going?”
“Narra,” Ju-Long said.
Astrid appeared discouraged. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“If you like, we can drop you off and it will be like none of this ever happened,” Nix seethed.
Astrid regarded Nix and frowned. She held a hand over her shoulder as though protecting her body and turned away from the Dinari. Liam could tell keeping her on the ship was going to be a Herculean task. He announced to the cabin, “Narra is a strategic play, nothing more. No one’s kicking anyone off this ship. Are we clear?”
The Corsair Uprising Collection, Books 1-3 Page 29
