Asarlai Wars 1: Warrior Wench

by Marie Andreas

  Flarik stood near the door, her patience clearly thinning. “I understand there is a crisis of sorts in the med lab. If I am needed, I would like to get there before it is time for me to feed.” A flash of that mouth full of tiny daggers reinforced her request.

  “Agreed.” Vas wasn’t afraid Flarik would try to make her an entrée, but if she was disturbed enough to make the comment, they really shouldn’t keep her waiting.

  It took only twenty minutes to catalog all that had been taken. DNA samples from each crewmember were gone. The bodies, Terel was fairly sure there were two, and that they had died in a very similar way as that of Marli’s crewman, had been taken so cleanly the protective covering was still intact. The only thing left of them were the files she had hidden deep in her backup computer.

  No damage had been done. No one had seen anything. They were just gone.

  “When would she have had a chance? You were with her the entire time, right?” At Deven’s nod, Vas continued her tirade. “Then how could she have gotten them out?”

  “Not in that tiny little suit.” Mac winced as Vas smacked him in the back of the head.

  “Why are you here again?”

  Rubbing the back of his head, Mac frowned. “I was the one who noticed the bodies were gone. I should have some stake in them since I found them, you know.”

  “You came down to look at the bodies.” Vas glanced around. “Okay where is she?” Gosta, Deven, Flarik, and Terel were all she could see but Mac wouldn’t have come down here for nothing.

  Such a pale face really shouldn’t lie. He flashed bright red before he even opened his mouth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

  Vas whapped him in the back of the head again.

  “Ouch!” He resumed rubbing his head and took a calculated step back. “Okay, I might have been showing one of the girls—”

  This time Terel hit him.

  “You’re bringing dates to my med labs?”

  “What is it with you people and the hitting? No, it wasn’t a date. She just said she thought it was cool about the bodies and all and since I found them.”

  Vas rubbed her forehead. The headache slam back from her bout of drinking was creeping in early. With help from Mac. She’d have to get something from Terel before her brain started leaking out her ears.

  “Just go, Mac. Thank you for telling us the bodies were missing. But go.” She lifted an eyebrow at Terel’s glare. “And I wouldn’t suggest using the med lab for show and tell anymore.”

  Argumentative by nature, Mac opened his mouth to defend himself. Flarik, who had stood back since they got to the med labs, made a clicking noise with her teeth.

  Mac was gone an instant later, all protestations gone with him.

  Vas caught Flarik’s eye and noticed a smile. The Wavian may have more of a sense of humor than she gave her credit for.

  Unfortunately, even after Mac left, they didn’t come up with any answers. That the Graylian monks were somehow involved was now a certainty. How they managed to trigger an attack against the Warrior Wench when she went after a piece out of their ornate order was completely unknown.

  Terel was going to pull apart the limited data she had on both the bodies found in the hold and Marli’s late crewman to see if there were any connections. Marli clearly took the extra bodies for a reason.

  Vas made her way back to her ready room with Deven and Gosta dragging behind. Flarik had given up and returned to her quarters to try and sort things out. Getting her and Gosta together to brainstorm would have been ideal, but she needed to figure things out with the Asarlaí in the equation first. Then she’d work with Gosta and leave that part out.

  “So, gentlemen, I believe the question is where do we go from here?” Vas asked as the door slid shut behind Deven.

  “I think the same as before. We have to lay low until we get a handle on things.” Deven pulled up the most comfortable chair in the small room and threw up his feet. Vas realized he probably hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours. “There are too many players involved.” He held up a fist, flinging up fingers as he counted. “Whoever took the ship. Skrankle. Whoever poisoned you. The owners of that fake pub on the space station. Whoever slammed into you.” Vas thought he gave her an odd look at that, but he went on quickly, adding his other hand. “Plus, the ambush at Lantaria, the bodies, the Starchaser parts, the ore ship, Marli, Graylian monks, and Rillianian idiots.”

  “Okay I missed the last one. I assume it has to do with why our erstwhile lawyer was swearing about them under her breath when she left us.” Vas frowned. “I thought her people got along with those xenophobic nuts.”

  She felt a pleasant flush when Deven appeared surprised. That was something that almost never happened.

  “How’d you know that?”

  Even Gosta was startled but at least he didn’t say anything.

  “I am the captain, people. It’s my job to know who on my crew are friends. I’d always understood those two races were supportive of each other.”

  Deven ran his fingers through his hair and stretched, fatigue etching a few lines on his face. They’d probably have to wrap this up soon or she’d have him sleeping in her ready room.

  “They may have been. But according to Flarik that’s not going to last.” He pulled out the piece of fabric. “It took some work, but I made a readable copy. Flarik said it’s from some Asarlaí-worshiping cult. The Wavians believe the Asarlaí were the worst abominations in the history of the galaxy. She was not pleased that a world her people trades with is worshipping them.” He flipped the patch to Vas then got out the panel with the image from the vid.

  She studied both for a bit, frowning as she realized he only had the image of the man who hit her, and the patch from his uniform on the panel and not the entire clip. She was going to have to bug him about it when Gosta wasn’t around. He didn’t need to see any more infighting than he already had.

  “Gosta, can you see what, if anything, you can find on this group or cult?” She flipped the panel and saw Flarik’s translation on the back. “Use these terms, and stick to connections with the Rillianians.”

  He stood, taking the panel and patch. “I take it I’m off watch shift again?” He wasn’t even paying attention to her answer as he peered at the item in his hands. Clearly he’d be happily ensconced for a few hours.

  “Yes, you’ll be covered.”

  The door shut on her last word. To be honest he probably hadn’t even heard her.

  “Now why in the hell would an Asarlaí want those bodies and the DNA samples?” Vas pushed Deven back into his seat as he attempted to follow Gosta out. He might fall asleep in here, but she needed some answers first. She went to her desk as a thought hit her.

  “Hold off on that. Could your friend have done to you what had been done to me? You know, erase those memories?”

  “No, of course not. I would have noticed.” His comment lost steam as he clearly gave it some thought. His creative swearing told her his answer.

  “Two weeks ago I would have said no. Over the years I didn’t think of her as an Asarlaí, but more of an equal.”

  Vas waited but he’d drifted off in thought. “And two weeks ago you realized…?”

  “Sorry. I realized how very much she and I aren’t equals. She could have wiped my memories with a thought. Hell, she could have had us all help her carry them out.” He leaned forward and held his head in his hands. “This isn’t good. We need to take that tracker off our hull.”

  “No, your first instinct was right. This just confirms that she can do whatever she wants.” She tapped the computer in front of her. “I did notice one thing though, but I didn’t want to mention it in front of the others. The computer in the lab where the bodies were was on. I had its information sent to me, any searches in the last twenty-four hours. Terel’s too fastidious, and none of her people would have left it running.”

  “I didn’t even see you do it.”

  “See? Not all of us need pre
tty mind tricks to pull something.” She flicked up the transfer information as Deven came around behind her. “Hmm, the ship’s systems? Why would she pull up…hello?” Vas froze as a series of screens unfolded to reveal an entirely unknown system running in the ship, directly below the hold where the body and Starchaser parts had been found. She clicked around until the entire system schematics spread out before her. “A particle mover.”

  “What?” Deven leaned forward, and then pulled back with a deep breath. “Oh. One of those.”

  Vas spun on him. “What do you mean, ‘one of those’? They’re completely theoretical. Something that can take apart things, weapons, people, anything, and mash them into the tiniest of molecules, then send them from one place to another? That only gets a ‘one of those’?” She folded her arms and glared. “I suppose your people use them all of the time. Whoever they are.”

  The look on Deven’s face made it clear he didn’t want to discuss his people. However, he obviously recognized this highly secret bit of tech. The inner circle of the Commonwealth council might be used to the concept; normal merc captains certainly weren’t. And their seconds shouldn’t be.

  Without answering her, Deven reached around her and began flipping through the screens. His look grew darker the more he saw.

  “Damn it, what is it?”

  He tapped the screen with a frown. “That thing is fully functional. And it also has Rillianian writing on it.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Vas swore as Deven pointed out the various components. It was carefully hidden but they would have found it eventually.

  The system was informally called a particle mover. A bureaucrat with no imagination named it ten years ago when the rumors about such a machine started. Vas shuddered. There was no way anyone was going to tell her that was safe.

  Now as a weapon it had potential: aim it at your enemy, move their particles, and just don’t reassemble.

  “I recognize that look,” Deven said. “You’re planning world domination again.”

  She laughed in spite of herself. “Not exactly. I already have a world. Now, galaxy domination might be interesting.” She tapped the screen. “I think they are missing a hell of an application. Make it smaller, more mobile, broaden the beam? A dream weapon.”

  “Wouldn’t work, at least not yet.” Deven went back to his seat and settled in. “Yes, my people do have something very similar, and no, they haven’t been able to make it mobile or have a broader range.”

  “Pity.” She sighed and shut down the screen. She’d let her eggheads play with it; she had enough of them on the ship she might as well use them. Personally she couldn’t see a big use for it unless they wanted to move the Starchaser parts off ship. Most likely the particle mover was as contraband as the Starchaser parts. Even using it would end them up with far too much Commonwealth attention.

  “Why aren’t they after us?” she said out loud as her thoughts wandered.

  “Who? I think we have enough people after us right now, don’t you?” Deven leaned back and shut his eyes.

  “The Commonwealth.” Vas threw a stylus at him but he batted it away without opening his eyes. “Come on, this is a pleasure cruiser? Currently under ownership by a mercenary crew and it just happened to have come loaded with Starchaser parts as well as top-secret tech?”

  “Un-huh.” Deven didn’t open his eyes. “They don’t know. Or the parts and tech weren’t theirs. Or they can’t touch us.”

  She looked up sharply at his last comment. “What do you mean they can’t touch us?”

  “I don’t know, Vas.” His voice was fading; he wasn’t even trying to stay awake anymore. “But they didn’t even check out Lantaria. One of their worlds was attacked and no one came. What does that tell you?”

  She thought about it. Honestly, she’d briefly thought about it before, but it was usually a good thing when the Commonwealth wasn’t shoving its protuberance into everyone’s business. Now that she thought about it, there were fewer visits to distant planets and ships listed in the Commonwealth databank in the last few months. Less red tape for getting things approved if it meant a bureaucrat was going to have to leave the inner planets.

  “What does it mean?”

  “I have no idea.” His words were so slurred she didn’t even know if he got them all out.

  “Fine.” She rocked back in her chair. Damn, she wanted to ask him about the video but he was done for. Granted, he had the disgusting ability to sleep anywhere. She swore there had been times in war zones he not only slept standing up but he also never dropped his weapon. But even he had limits.

  Which left her alone with her thoughts. Not a place she liked to visit often.

  The buzz of the comm saved her from an extended trip.

  “What ya need?” She probably scared the hell out of whoever was calling. For some reason her crew didn’t like it when she was bored.

  “Captain, ah, Gosta wanted me to tell you that before he went down to his lab he programmed the nav system to head for Mnethe V. He said we have a drop?” Xsit chirped. Usually Vas felt the small Xithinal was too perky for first shift, but being as she herself was wide-awake it didn’t bother her this time.

  “Great. What is our ETA? Oh, can you notify Mac and Jakiin and tell them to get their delivery ready? This is their baby.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Xsit trilled her version of a polite laugh. “We should make orbit in less than an hour.”

  Vas studied her sleeping second-in-command. Left alone, he could probably get a good few hours nap. She debated waking him as payback for bringing Marli into this. However, he just looked so damned sweet in that chair.

  She really was getting too soft.

  “Go ahead and have Klaxitia oversee Mac and Jakiin’s prep. Deven’s out of commission for a bit.”

  Xsit signed off.

  Which left Vas with the chore of who was going to go down planet-side for the trip. With a sigh she pulled up Mac’s original list. He, Jakiin, and Bathie. The sigh grew heavier.

  She flicked open a private comm to Gosta. “How’s the search going?”

  “I still haven’t found anything. There is a lot of information to sift through. This will take time, Captain, you can’t believe that—”

  “Easy there, Gosta.” Vas laughed. “I’m not checking on your progress.”

  “Thank goodness, I will be able to find—”

  “I’m calling you off your search for a bit.”

  “Captain? I thought this was a priority?” He sounded like a small child whose favorite toy had been yanked from his grasp.

  “This should just take a few hours. I need someone to ride shotgun on Mac’s little trading adventure and Deven’s out cold. I want you to go down instead of Jakiin. I don’t trust him and Mac together. Take Divee and the triplets too. They can help move the product faster.” Vas sat back and ran over her modifications to Mac’s original plan. The drop seemed straightforward. There was no reason for any of her more serious people to go along.

  “Aye, Captain.” The annoyance at being removed from his beloved research was lessened. “I completely understand. I don’t trust them either. Does Jakiin know he’s not going?”

  “Nope, you get to tell him. Mac too. They should both be moving their stock down to the landing bay.”

  “Aye. I’ll call if there’s a problem.”

  Vas smiled as she cut the call. Gosta wasn’t happy, but he was the best person for the job. Even though this should be a simple drop and run, Vas didn’t trust simple things anymore.

  ****

  Vas was in the gym exorcising some demons when Xsit patched in a call from the planet. About time. They’d gone down three hours ago, and even with the wanderings that often followed these types of jobs, they should have been finished before now. She reset the anti-grav weights, grabbed a towel, and opened the comm.

  “Vas here.”

  “It’s Divee, Captain. He sounds upset.”

  “Patch the call through.” Vas fro
wned. Why was he calling and not Gosta?

  “Captain, we have a problem.” Divee’s voice was faint, as if not wanting to talk too loud. “The buyers aren’t here, and um…one of the cases broke open.”

  Vas swore. She knew Mac and Jakiin couldn’t set up a smuggling run right. Every time she let those two boys try something responsible, it bit her in the ass. Now the buyer was missing. And if the tone in Divee’s voice was any indication, something very bad was in those crates. Which meant they weren’t what they originally scanned as. Which meant it wasn’t just Mac and Jakiin’s mess anymore.

  She hated when people lied to her about what she was smuggling. It was simple: she ran a clean ship, and she had an almost 100% success rate in terms of getting cargo safely intact to its destination without the Commonwealth being the wiser. All she asked for were a few simple things. No people, no live animals, no drugs, and no explosives or arcane Asarlaí-based archeology. And no damn lying.

  “I’ll be there in ten. That’s as good as I can get. Keep whatever it is under control and if the buyers do come to pick it up, stall them until I get there.” Vas said.

  “Aye, Captain.” The obvious relief in Divee’s voice didn’t boost her spirits any.

  She called Deven and was pleasantly surprised when he sounded awake. She’d left him in her ready room the entire time.

  “Something has gone wrong with the wonderkids smuggling operation. We need to get down there before things get worse.”

  “Do we know what happened?” From the slight catch in his voice he was probably jogging down to his quarters for a quick change.

  “No, but the buyers are AWOL, the boxes broke open in a bad way, and Divee called me.”

  “Crap. Who else do you want?”

  “Terel, Jakiin, and you two.” Vas pointed to Gon and Walvento who just happened to be passing into the gym at that point. The heavy Walvento looked surprised; as the ship’s master gunner he rarely went off ship. Nevertheless, he shrugged his massive shoulders in agreement. “I’ve got Walvento and Gon.” She smiled at the two men then pointed at the gym and shook her head. “I need every one armed and ready to drop in less than ten minutes. Oh, and get Bathie up on the bridge. She’s got command while we’re gone.”