by Cheree Alsop
Liora nodded. “You have my gratitude. We’ll notify you as soon as we leave Titus.”
Both chiefs gave shallow bows before they left the bridge.
“Officer O’Tule, allow the Damaclans to depart the hull when they are ready,” Devren instructed. “Hyrin, begin communications with Tramareaus. Let him know what we need and ask him if it’s possible. In the meantime, set a course for Corian.”
“Yes, Captain,” Hyrin replied.
Devren motioned toward the door. “Brandis, will you join us for a late, but most welcome, supper?”
“I would be happy to,” Brandis replied. “I could eat the skin off a haffot at this point.”
Liora and Tariq followed them down the hall. Tariq pulled Liora into an adjoining hallway without the others noticing. He pushed her gently against the wall and put his hands on either side of her head. He looked down at her with concern in his gaze.
“You sure I can’t convince you to take up Brandis’ offer? You would be safer on Corian.”
“Really? You’re going there, too?” Liora replied. “You know there’s no way…” Her words died at the smile that spread across his face. She slapped his chest. “You’re teasing me.”
“Even if you could turn down a fight, you wouldn’t,” Tariq replied. “I think you hope things turn bad so you can pull out those knives you’re so fond of.”
“You gave me one of those knives,” she reminded him.
He smiled, his lips less than an inch from hers. “Maybe I like to see you in action.”
She smiled and his lips pressed against hers. He kissed her thoroughly, his touch gentle but firm, his body pressed against hers and his hand in her hair, holding her to him.
When he finally stepped back, they both fought to catch their breath.
Liora grinned at him. “Maybe you’re the one I should be afraid of, Officer Donovan.”
He smiled down at her. “Why is that, Officer Day?”
“Because you’re the only one I know who can actually disarm me.”
Tariq hefted the silver knife in his hand. “You mean this? Well, you were distracted.”
She laughed and took the knife back. She slid it into the sheath at her waist. “You distracted me on purpose.”
He nodded. “Kissing you is always on purpose.”
She couldn’t deny the way she felt lost and yet found when staring into the depths of his light blue gaze.
His smile touched his eyes, creasing the corners and bringing a smile to her face in return.
“Come on, Officer Day. Let’s get some food into that little growling stomach of yours.”
She took the hand he held out. “Gladly, Officer Donovan. You could use some nourishment, too. Your stomach was grumbling on the bridge loud enough I thought Hyrin might call for a search of ship rats.”
Tariq laughed. “I was hoping nobody heard that.”
“That was wishful thinking,” she replied.
She linked her fingers through his and they followed the path Captain Devren and Brandis had taken down the Kratos hallway.
Chapter 13
“Tramareaus is going to need time to put the orbs in the Omne Occasus’ case,” Hyrin said.
“How much time do you need?” Devren asked.
Hyrin studied the metal case Tariq and Brandis lifted into a wooden crate.
“Twenty minutes.”
Tariq paused with the case halfway in the crate.
“Are you kidding?” he asked.
Hyrin shook his head. “Tramareaus said that if he is able to create the orbs, and if he is able to maintain the spherical shape, and if he is able to transport them safely, stabilizing the orbs is going to be extremely important unless you want us all to dissolve into a pile of ash.”
“Tariq!” Brandis said in a strained voice as he fought to hold his side of the Omne Occasus above the crate.
Tariq turned his attention back to the task he was doing.
“That’s an awful lot of ‘ifs’,” Liora said.
“We’re winging it at this point,” Hyrin replied. His eyelids blinked quickly sideways. “I’m sorry I can’t promise something safer.”
Brandis nodded. “I really don’t want to dissolve into a pile of ash.”
“We’re not going to dissolve into ash, or burn into ash,” Devren told them. He gave Hyrin a flat look. “I’ve never heard of anyone dissolving into a pile of ash. There’s got to be some sort of heating element involved.”
Hyrin shrugged. “That’s what Tramareaus said. I would ask him to clarify, but he’s busy dodging Coalition security in order to meet us at the shipping level of Titus.”
Tariq slid the metal latches onto the crate to fasten to top.
“Don’t bother,” he said. “We’ll find out soon enough, or we won’t, hopefully. I just feel that twenty minutes is really pushing it when our names and pictures have already been circling Saturn’s largest moon since we landed on F One Zero Four, that’s all.”
“You have a point,” Liora told him. “You should stay.”
Tariq gave her a mock glare. “Really? You’re going there?”
Liora nodded. “I’m going there. You didn’t exactly have a great experience on Titus last time we visited.”
Tariq’s smile faded. “Neither did you. Torture by electrocution isn’t our thing.”
She shook her head. “Not at all. Let’s get this done with and never come back.”
“Deal,” he replied.
Liora realized that everyone was watching them. She cleared her throat.
“Well? Are we ready?”
“Ready, Officer Day,” Tariq said loudly. “In a purely professional way.”
Officer O’Tule laughed. “You guys aren’t fooling anyone.” At their embarrassed looks, she said, “But it’s cute, so don’t let us get in your way.” She waved for them to continue their conversation.
“I don’t fall for girls like Liora,” Tariq denied.
He winked at Liora and she fought back a smile. “And Tariq is repulsive. He’s too…too….” She looked him up and down in an effort to come up with something, but the mischievous twinkle in his eyes distracted her.
“Too what, Officer Day?” he asked.
She forced herself not to smile when she said, “Too cocky.”
Tariq put a hand to his heart as though her words wounded him deeply.
O’Tule and Shathryn laughed and Devren looked as though he fought to hold in a laugh of his own.
Tariq opened his mouth to reply when Captain Hart’s voice came over the intercom.
“Commandant Day, we have reached Titus and have been given permission to dock.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Brandis replied. “Take her in.”
Nervous silence filled the holding deck. The gentle bump of the starship against the loading platform told them they had reached their destination.
“Nice docking,” Hyrin said. “I may have to get some tips from her.”
“You should,” Shathryn said with a hint of her old self. “Landing with you is like running headlong into a zanderbin.”
“I’d say that hurts,” Hyrin replied, “but I’m just happy to hear you ridicule my flying. Strange to say, but I’ve actually missed it.”
“If you call that flying,” Shathryn said with a wink.
Hyrin laughed. His wristband beeped and his smile disappeared. He glanced at the message on the screen.
“Tramareaus is in position. We’ve got to move.”
“Right,” Devren said. “Liora, Tariq, Brandis, you’re security. If anything goes wrong, we hightail it back to Brandis’ Crow. If anyone gets separated, stay calm. We’ll be there shortly.”
“And don’t kill anyone.”
Everyone looked at Shathryn.
“Shath, there’s only so much—”
“No,” Shathryn said, her voice thick with sorrow. “I can’t stand the thought of any other women waiting for their men to come home only to find out they never will. Promise me
.”
Nobody said anything. To promise not to kill anyone when picking up what was basically a bomb aboard the Coalition base with their names on the wanted banners would be a death sentence.
Shathryn turned to Liora. Her light purple irises were pleading. “Liora, please,” she begged. “No more killing.”
The memory of Shathryn curled into a fetal position on the floor of the bridge after Stone had sacrificed his ship and his life to save the Kratos came to the forefront of Liora’s thoughts. The woman had been through so much.
“I promise,” Liora said.
A grateful smile spread across Shathryn’s face. “You’re wonderful, you know that? The others will follow your example; I just know they will. Right guys?”
As her pleading gaze met each of their eyes, Tariq, Devren, Hyrin, and Brandis nodded.
Shathryn wiped away a tear. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. You are all wonderful.”
Shathryn and O’Tule hurried back to the Crow’s bridge to await their return.
“You know we can’t promise that, right?” Tariq said quietly. “It’s a death sentence.”
He met Liora’s gaze. She lowered her eyes.
His voice was stern when he said, “Liora.”
She gave him a defiant look. “I’ll do what I can to honor Shathryn’s wish.”
“It’ll get you killed,” Tariq argued.
“I don’t have to kill to defend myself or anyone else,” Liora replied. She felt far less certain of that than her calm demeanor showed.
The ramp lowered. Tariq shoved the crate forward hard.
“If Shathryn gets us killed, so help me,” he muttered.
Liora set a hand on his. “We’ll be fine.”
Tariq shook his head. “I’ll be convinced when we’re away from this moon for good.”
Their blue and silver uniforms from the Day fleet didn’t get any second glances as they pushed the crate through the first security station.
“Contents?” a Salamandon guard with heavily-lidded eyes and a bored expression asked.
“Compressed nitrogen gas from the Day merchant fleet,” Brandis answered. “We were notified of a shortage on Titus.”
“Hold a moment,” the guard answered. He pressed a button on his communicator and asked, “Ges, do you know anything about a compressed nitrogen gas shortage?”
The response was immediate.
“Yes, I do,” Ges replied. “There was some sort of leak from the storage containers. It was all over the channels yesterday. Didn’t you catch it?”
“I guess not,” the guard replied. “Thanks, Ges. I still owe you a cormidon stomach.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Ges said.
The guard waved the group through. They turned down a hallway along with several other groups pushing supplies. A Folian in black ran into Devren; Liora saw the man slip a paper into the captain’s lapel.
Devren didn’t say a word, but when they reached the next security checkpoint, he handed the paper to the guard. The man glanced at it, then waved them through.
“Nice,” Tariq whispered to Brandis. “Your father has men in some very interesting places.”
Brandis nodded. “It helps to have friends all over the Macrocosm.”
“One more,” Devren said to all of them. “Keep on your toes.”
“Open the box,” the final guard said.
Devren obliged. He slid the clasps and lifted the lid halfway. He pretended to try to force the lid open further, but thanks to Tariq’s careful closing work, it wouldn’t budge.
“I’m sorry,” Devren apologized. “It’s these rusty hinges. I’m about ready to get a new crate.”
“If you do, go to Amaya’s and tell her Yadaga sent you,” the guard told him. He winked. “I’m trying to get on her good side.”
“Good idea,” Devren said. “She must be quite the beauty.”
“She’s absolutely the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” the guard replied. His grin widened. “I think she’s adorable.”
Devren chuckled. “To each his own.”
The guard checked the label on the canister just visible through the partially-opened lid.
“Liquid nitrogen, huh? I hear we have a shortage of this stuff.”
“That’s what I heard,” Devren replied. “We brought it clear from the Tucana Dwarf Galaxy.”
The guard whistled. “Then they must really need it. Go ahead.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they were clear of the third checkpoint.
They turned down a smaller hallway.
“Liora, wait here.”
Liora stared at Devren. “What?”
“After your little stunt in the Gladarian, you’re the most likely to be recognized here. The last thing we need is for some guard to call attention to us because we’re with you,” Devren explained apologetically.
“Wait— Liora was in the Gladarian?” Brandis asked in amazement.
“She jumped in,” Tariq replied.
“You jumped in?” Brandis’ eyes were wide.
Liora raised a hand. “I’ve already been lectured about it. You can spare me.”
A smile spread across her brother’s face. “I was just going to say that’s amazing! I wish I could have seen it.”
An answering smile touched Liora’s lips. “Thanks.”
“I’m sure there’s footage of it somewhere,” Hyrin put in. “I could probably get you a clip of it if we have the time.”
“I’d love to see it,” Brandis replied.
“Just the same,” Devren broke in. “Liora, we’ll call you if we need anything. We’ll have to come back this way, so keep alert. If Colonel Lefkin gets wind that we’re here, he’ll send the troops through these halls. You’ll guard our backs.”
“Fine,” Liora told him. “But I don’t like it.”
She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Even after they disappeared around the next corner, the sound of the crate’s casters squeaked loudly for the next several minutes.
Liora let out a slow breath. As much as she hated waiting behind, Devren had a point. She would try to be patient. It was a virtue she struggled with. She might as well—
“Liora!” Tariq shouted over her communicator.
Liora took off running. She drew her knives and rounded the final corner. She skidded to a stop at the sight of Tariq, Devren, and the others surrounded by Coalition officers. Colonel Lefkin smiled at them smugly. Next to him stood Tramareaus. The three-armed Artidus met her gaze and lifted his shoulders. The hustle of officers checking Devren’s men for weapons filled the air.
Rage burned through Liora at the thought that Tramareaus had betrayed them. She took a step forward.
“La ent deveret tol.”
Liora stared at Tramareaus. The words were Anadrian, one of the older languages Liora had picked up when she had first become captive. In Anadrian, Tramareaus had said that the orb was in the second crate.
“What was that?” Colonel Lefkin demanded.
Tramareaus cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry. I was trying not to cough.”
The colonel took a few steps away from him. “If you’re sick, keep it to yourself. I don’t need to get some disgusting tripod disease.”
Anger at the insult burned in Tramareaus’ eyes, but he merely ducked his head and coughed. He said in gruff tones, “La deveret expolds cas.”
The crate has guns. Liora inched to the right. Against the wall was another crate similar to the one they had brought from the Crow. The top was unlatched. If she could just make it there, they would have a chance.
“Don’t move, Damaclan,” Colonel Lefkin ordered.
Liora met his gaze. The man’s eyes narrowed and he swung his gun so that it pointed at her instead of Tariq.
“Detain her,” the colonel said.
The officers rushed forward. As soon as one crossed into the path of the colonel’s gun, Liora lashed out with her knives.
H
er promise to Shathryn tempered the way she used her blades. She sunk a knife into the first officer’s shoulder, cut across a chest with a backslash of the right hand, and drove her right blade into the thigh of the next officer. She spun, pulling the knives free, and cut down four more officers with quick stabs. She ducked, hamstringed two others, and let the next two push her back toward the crate.
“Stop her!” Colonel Lefkin shouted.
The rest of his officers pressed forward. Liora blocked punches and answered with her knives. She was grateful that the small space kept the officers from using their guns. In the chaos of the square room, they were as likely to hit each other as her.
A glance showed that the majority of the officers had turned their attention to her. Tariq, Brandis, and the others watched with wide eyes. Their weapons were against the far wall behind where Colonel Lefkin’s personal guard kept him shielded in case she broke through. She needed the guns in the second crate.
Liora ducked under a punch and drove her knife through the man’s bicep. He let out a yell of pain. She blocked a gun swung at her head and stabbed the woman who attacked her in the shoulder. When she shoved the woman away, Liora felt the backs of her legs touch the crate. She sheathed her silver knife and used the other to block a blow from an officer. When he brought his gun up, Liora sliced along his ribs. He let out a cry of pain as she spun around. In one smooth motion, she threw the top off the crate and grabbed a semi-machine gun.
“Tariq!” she shouted as she tossed it in the air.
Tariq caught the gun and fired at the ceiling. The officers froze.
Liora grabbed a gun and threw it to Brandis, then another to Devren. Hyrin dropped his and had to scramble to pick it up. Tramareaus looked surprised when Liora left the final gun in the box instead of tossing it to him.
“Colonel, we’re kidnapping this Artidus,” she said.
Colonel Lefkin looked at Tramareaus in surprise. “But he set you up.”
Liora shrugged. “I like a good battle in the morning. It wakes me up.”
The groans and moans of the fallen officers around her said they felt otherwise.
“I should kill you.”
The tone of Devren’s voice was one Liora had never heard before. His gun was aimed at Lefkin’s forehead and there was a fury in Devren’s eyes that looked entirely out of place in the captain’s usually smiling face.
