StarFlight: The Prism Baronies (Beyond the Outer Rim Book 2)

by Reiter

  Rahneece was not up for the shouting and cheering that Teela, Jovasor and Ephaliun demonstrated, but she held up a fist as she rubbed her forehead and temples. Dungias could not engage in celebration, where he wanted to be was still on the other side of the Middle Rim. But he would not interrupt the festivities either. They had performed their jobs well and deserved to feel proud about it. Before he could leave the area, however, a hand took hold of his shoulder. He turned to see Teela looking intently at him.

  “For you, Teacher,” she said, handing him the Chief Engineer’s Master Key. He looked at it for a moment and decided to receive it from her. “The Hard Charger is yours, Star Chaser Z’Gunok Tel Dungias.”

  “I receive it from you, Battle Mage Teela Mansfield. You should feel proud in your accomplishment.”

  “I will feel proud when we are back with our Captain, serving her needs,” Teela smiled. “But for the moment, I am proud to be your student.”

  Dungias put his hand on the woman’s shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. “And my friend, Teela. And my friend!”

  “We fight another day,” Teela smiled, caressing his hand.

  “We live another day,” Dungias corrected. “Comparatively speaking, fighting is the easy part. But, our Captain awaits.” Dungias walked away from the forecastle and headed for the hangar. There was a ship waiting there for him to fix, and it was eleven days to the next port of call for the gunship. With any good fortune, he would have a number of systems – including the emitter relays – online in half that time.

  ** b *** t *** o *** r **

  The people of the Wakasana Family were silent. Lauryll opened her eyes and looked out among them, feeling the weight of their stares upon her. She batted her eyes as they began to fill with tears, and then told them that there was a greenskin that had slipped by their searches. When the desperate man had seen the Sky-Strider walking alone, he had charged out from hiding, attacking the man she knew to be called Dungias. The greenskin had strapped twelve charges to his body and set them for their highest power yield. The detonator was in his hand and the thumb came down on the trigger.

  “That was when I awakened,” Lauryll shared.

  Several of the warriors of the family stood up, gave their war cries and stood ready to fetch their weapons; to begin the trek to the L’Konno ships. They were ready to cut short their time among the simpler elements in order to fly to the aid of the Sky-Strider. Two Lodge Masters declared they would take the matter to Willow Cha and ask that she commune with the other Family Willows to unite the Tribe and set off for the place of the greenskins.

  “No, the Sky-Strider remains!” Lauryll shouted.

  “How, daughter?” F’Karoon asked.

  “He used the Stride,” she explained. “He saw the man attacking, even before that man could take his first step.”

  “But the charges… you saw him trigger the charges.”

  “No, father,” Lauryll quickly replied. “I saw him strike the one holding the trigger. By the time that man’s thumb reached the switch, the cables to the charges had been cut… along with the arm,” Lauryll stated, shuddering at the image. “A whirling, spinning blade screamed like a Kari Bird before it returned to the Sky-Strider’s hand. When the talons of this bird re-lodged, it appeared to be the same sort of house as the one that held his blade, only smaller. He wore it at the center of his back, low at the belt.” The warriors looked among themselves, nodding and acknowledging that same place was where most L’Konno warriors wore their knives.

  “And where do you see the Sky-Strider going now?” Black Tongue inquired.

  “In the greenskin ship, now that he had smoked the life-pipe of the Commander Branthan, the Sky-Strider hides himself and tends to the wounds of his vessel. He knows he can fix it before the greenskin vessel is due at its next harbor.”

  “That was a good telling, Lauryll!” one tribesman cried out and it was not long after that proclamation that her name was being cheered with the young girl lifted atop their shoulders and marched around the hill.

  “Shall I call you Dungias?” Neesara asked of her husband as she made a very soft approach. “Our people celebrate, but like him, you remain apart from it.” He stood at the edge of the hill, looking out into the night, awaiting the rising of the first star.

  “I felt it, my wife and guiding Night-Eye. I felt the call. We will need to fight… and soon.”

  “Soon to the black skies, my husband and vessel of my hope,” Neesara said as she walked around him, placing the side of her face in his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, closing her eyes as she felt his arm surround her shoulders and back. “What is soon to them can be seasons for us, you know that.”

  “It can be, yes,” F’Karoon contended.

  “But it is not tonight, and it will not be tomorrow,” Neesara said, looking up into her husband’s eyes. “The lodges are empty and the people are cheering. I want the warmth of my man and his bed.”

  “Neesara, I–” the warrior woman quickly but softly covered his mouth with her hand.

  “Man, I have spoken!” Her hand slowly fell from his lips to his chest and her stare did not waver from his.

  “Ay, you have,” F’Karoon said as she picked his woman up from the ground and started down the hill to his lodge.

  Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

  Mark Twain

  (Rims Time: XII-4203.08)

  Ephaliun walked around the scout ship one more time, stopping every now and then to look up and around before shaking his head and resuming his inspection. Getting back to the point where he had started, his hands were on his hips and he was making a stuttered hissing noise with his mouth.

  “What is wrong with him now?” Rahneece asked of Teela who had been standing there, watching Ephaliun, when she arrived.

  The young Battle Mage shook her head as she folded her arms. “Figuring out that man was not something we covered in my training.”

  “Probably out of someone’s sense of mercy,” Rahneece added before walking away from the taller woman to approach Ephaliun. Rahneece looked up to see Ulios in the rafters. He looked down and shrugged shoulders in confusion.

  “Not either know.”

  “And don’t stretch yourself trying to,” Rahneece warned. “This boy is a special kind of stupid!” Ephaliun shook his head again, still looking at the Kulri-Kraythe. “You don’t think she’s good to go?”

  “Oh, she’s ready to fly,” Ephaliun answered. “It’s only been a couple of days and some change, but damn if he doesn’t have her damn near ready to rip out of here.”

  “So… what’s the problem?”

  “Did you ever notice that when Z works on something, or makes something… it always comes out looking like you bought it at a store?”

  “Stars of my fathers, give me strength,” Rahneece muttered.

  “Seriously,” he pressed. “Just look at that emitter! The rest of the hull looks like you flew too close to a sun, ‘cuz it did, but that emitter looks like it just came out of a box.”

  “I think we caught a break,” Rahneece remarked. “A serious ‘oh my damn, why aren’t we dead’ kind of break. A folding star, Dugger?! How the hell do you even begin to tell that story?!”

  “For starters, it’s Kulrithe, not Dugger,” Ephaliun corrected.

  “Right. Sorry about that.”

  “No problem,” the young man said, looking back at the scout ship. He looked at his brace-com and shook his head, sighing in frustration.

  “What else is up with you?”

  “You guys want to talk about breaks, and I can get that. But right now, at this very moment, there’s another me… in another this,” he said, pointing at the scout ship, “… making our way out of The Territories while at the same time we’re trying to get back in! How do you shake that off?”

  “I guess it’s a good thing we’re in Ardrian Space,” Rahneece giggled. When Ephaliun cut his eyes over at her, she broke into laug
hter. “Yes! I knew it,” she cried in triumph. “The only thing you’re really thinking about is me laying you low! If we weren’t on a serious silent run you’d be trying your damndest to send a warning to Dugger!” Teela stared intently at the young man, looking to see if Rahneece’s claim held any ground. Seeing Ephaliun’s face change, as if to admit she was right, made the Battle Mage lose all interest in the conversation. She walked away in search of something to do. “What would you say? You know, if you could say anything.”

  Ephaliun looked at the floor of the hangar bay and smiled. “And take the chance on not being this right now? Nah. I’m going to chalk that one up to the lumps you gotta take to get to where you want to be.”

  “Really?!” Rahneece said with a measure of surprise in her voice.

  “Really,” he admitted. “I was going through some stuff, and back then… you know, tomorrow… I kept thinking the answer to my troubles was whatever was happening at that moment. ‘But what if nothing was happening’, you might ask. That’s usually when I went out of my way to make something happen… and it never went down right.”

  “Gods, are we all going to start sounding like Z?” Rahneece groaned.

  “Fate worse than death, right?” Ephaliun joked, and Rahneece threw her arms up in frustration as she turned to walk away. “And the best compliment anyone’s ever given me.”

  “So what is the answer, Kulrithe?” Satithe asked and Ephaliun was startled. “Forgive me, I shouldn’t have intruded.”

  “No, it’s okay, Satithe,” Ephaliun replied. “I’m just lazy-brained again; not paying attention. I kind of like you always being there. You’re the warmth to Z’s necessary cold. The answer, eh? I guess… no, I’m done guessing. You already know, reviewing the lessons Z had with Cutter was part of my training. At the beginning, I thought Big Blue was trying to make me cry, and I almost missed it. Z was trying to show Annsura that she might’ve gotten away from her masters, but she never climbed out of that pit. You can’t be whole stuck in a pit.” A moment of reflection and Ephaliun shook his head. “I don’t know if she ever got out.”

  “I am not sure that is for us to say,” Satithe shared.

  “Exactly! Which brings me to the point of it! I thought my baggage was the worst, but it was nowhere near as bad as what Annsura had to go through. I thought it was, but it’s hard to stay an idiot when you leave home and see the worlds. I guess you could say I gave it one helluva try though.

  “But Z pegged it: I had issues with authority figures and women. JoJo is a god-smacking culmination of both, and I ran to Nulaki for safety.”

  “A safety you did not need?” Satithe inquired.

  “And one that Nulaki couldn’t give, which is really no fault on him. But when he didn’t, I tried hating him,” Ephaliun shared. “Just knew I could replace him. What a joke!”

  “I am sorry,” Satithe sounded confused. “I was under the impression that–”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, Satithe, I’m on my way to being a total bad-ass… but there’s only one Black Scarab.”

  “Just so long as you realize there is only one Kulrithe,” Satithe returned.

  Ephaliun chuckled, waving his hand. “Yeah, I get it. Gotta love the way Z back-doored everything. Let me rant and rave… even fanned the flames a bit. Taught me how to move, and then dropped me in the Chi pool… at the deep end! Now look at me. Nulaki’s a rogue and a half. I just happen to steal stuff exceedingly well. There’s a difference… a very major difference.”

  “And that is?”

  “He’s crazy before, during, and after the job,” Ephaliun answered, and Satithe giggled. “I just go insane when I have to move. Oh yeah, one other thing. With him, it’s fight or flight. With me, it’s flight and fight!” Ephaliun patted the side of the Kulri-Kraythe and returned to making the preparations for his run. He chuckled at how the man who was supposed to be on doctor’s orders to get some sleep had managed to broadcast his order for the upcoming target.

  Dungias opened his eyes and wondered if he had been wrong about a decision he had made. He looked up at Jovasor and engaged the vision of the Stride. He could see many treks the doctor could take, but none of them bent the way the Traveler needed. Jovasor Cole possessed a fine mind and he would make an incredible researcher and surgeon. Should Jocasta ever need that, he would be a solid resource. But he was not what she needed now.

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Dungias said as Jovasor removed the sensors. “I feel totally rested.”

  “Good,” Jovasor replied. “While your meditation is astounding, and I’d love to study it someday, even you have your limits. Not to mention you had a number of chemicals in your blood.”

  “Probably administered during my dissection,” Dungias said, sitting up.

  “I’m sure that’s just an inflated view of what was really happening, Z.”

  “Forgive me,” Dungias returned, swinging his feet over the side. “But since it was my body they were intrusively probing and cutting into, I believe I will keep to my perspective.”

  “I suppose you have a point there,” Jovasor acquiesced. “I’m just glad I was able to get you to sleep five hours. While you were in dream land, I used the materials on hand to make sure all the medical stations and personal med-kits were ready. I think that, along with the water and nutritional units I put on the Kulri-Kraythe, we’re ready to go from the medical side of things.”

  “Ardrian nutritional units,” Dungias muttered. “This may indeed be an occasion where I am glad the Captain is not with us.” Picking up Alpha, Dungias was dressed before his third stride away from the examination table. He smirked as Alpha relayed the events of Jovasor scanning the Osamu.

  “Do not be angry, Master,” Alpha projected.

  “And why not?”

  “Because I am anxious to see his reaction when he finds that I am a WarloK who has taken control of your soul!” There was a benefit to spending so much time around Jocasta and Persephone. Dungias could keep from laughing if he were pressed enough to engage the effort. On this occasion he had to make his uncapped burst of laughter sound like the first in a string of coughs.

  “No,” Dungias whispered. “I made the right decision. Status, if you please, Satithe.”

  “All stations are ready for deployment,” she replied. “Good skill, Master.”

  ** b *** t *** o *** r **

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Deidre said as she slid down the ladder behind Sally.

  “Not at all!” Sally exclaimed, shaking her head dismissively. “Right there, in my parent’s flat, not fifteen minutes after we got home from my graduation… tonsil-fencing with my sister!”

  “Ugh, what a total waste of a manhood!”

  “Oh, it gets better,” Sally said, holding up her finger as she walked. “I mean, he’s caught, right? Belted and busted! He lets go of my sister’s tits, turns to stand in front of her… you know, like he’s going to defend her or something.”

  “Because now he’s a gentleman?!” Deidre said sarcastically.

  “Exactly!” Sally cried, squatting for a few strides to pass under a set of large pipes. “And who does he look at? Not me! Not his girlfriend of two years! Oh no, he looks at my father! He actually looks at my father and says, ‘I think it’s about time we had a man-to-man talk about your daughter, Rachel.”

  “No he did not!” Deidre exclaimed.

  “And he wasn’t done!” Sally returned, holding up her finger. “Oh no… not by laser round. Because then, the Noble Prince then turns to me and says, ‘No offense, Sal, but a man’s got to look out for his heart and his family. Rachel is just better–”

  “Breeding material!” Deidre said in unison with her friend before she screamed in protest. “Me so hate that shit!”

  “You-me and me-me,” Sally returned.

  “So what did you do?”

  “What do you mean, what did I do?!” Sally scoffed. “They don’t make epilates big enough to make me swallow that kind of humiliation. Now, it w
asn’t one of my better fights; Garrick is an officer after all… plus, he had help.”

  “Who was there with him?

  “Rachel. I jabbed that bitch first!” At that, Deidre laughed, reaching forward for Sally’s shoulders to steady herself. “Her sorry ass went out through the bay window, I dragged his ass out the front door and proceeded to beat him down some more.”

  “So when the brass gets wind of everything…” Deidre started, grinning in anticipation. Sally puffed up her chest, brushed back her short brown hair, and twisted her face to feign authority.

  “It has come to our attention,” Sally said in a lower voice, “that while your ability is exactly what we’ve come to expect from our Marines, you show a frightening lack of discipline for a graduate of our academy.”

  “Ohmygosh,” Deidre panted, almost unable to stand. “Sally, what did you say?”

  “I beg to differ, sir. The Lieutenant took exception with my potential towards procreation; I simply engaged in an investigation of his standing in the same regard. I have to report that I was in error to argue his position. His tiny dick deserved that little skitch!” Deidre started to cackle and Sally could not keep from giggling herself. “So that’s how I come to be in your company, out here on the Fringe, commanding the dead shift on a Corridor Station that doesn’t even officially exist. To think I ever loved that pig!” Entering her code to unlock the door to the Command Deck, Sally laughed while helping Deidre to stand. “Okay guys, your relief is here. On time and–” Sally Avderon gasped to see two Ardrian Marines unconscious in the middle of the floor with a masked figure standing over them.

  “Actually, sweetness, you’re a little early,” Ephaliun said softly before leaping at the two women.