by Jody Wallace
“Step aside?” Garza hooted. Several of his underlings barked out laughs. One of them, a big lug of a woman, cracked her knuckles for the beating that was probably about to commence. “After what she just did? Why in tarnation would I do that?”
“Shut up,” Su hissed at Wil. Her torch was only good for a few blasts, and Garza had been ticked at her since she’d hired his favorite book restorer to manage her off-planet sales. The woman had a way with customers that was being wasted in a back room, and Garza didn’t properly appreciate her.
Instead, Wil said in a louder voice, “If you could be persuaded to step aside, that would be so helpful.”
“How about I…” Garza puckered his brow and shoved his goggles over his eyes, looking around suspiciously. “What did you say?”
“Let us be on our way. This is not the loot you’re looking for.” Wil came to stand behind Su close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. Did he think she needed protection or was he seeking protection? At least he’d warmed up. Hoorah for tensil-fabric coveralls. “If you please.”
To Su’s utter astonishment, Garza shrugged. “Fine. We have a lot of sorting to do, and I don’t care about your stupid junk.” Vonner glared, but Garza motioned for his team to let Su’s dolly pass.
Su wasn’t going to question her good fortune. The good fortune she’d recently assumed this man and this cat, wherever the cat was, had destroyed. She propelled the dolly forward as fast as it would go, not making eye contact, just hustling ahead and jabbing the button for the lift to wait her turn.
Wil hung off the back of the cart, which was easier on his bare feet, as long as she could get him somewhere warm soon. Preferably before he crashed. Temp cryo was not easy on a human body. With the first round pickers flooding the ship, the lift would take awhile, so she jerked her chin at her companion. “Stay there.”
She darted into the nearest heap and grabbed whatever fabric she could lay hands on. Looked and smelled like a sex house blanket, but it would do. She tossed it at him.
He caught it deftly and gave her a puzzled look. “What’s this for?”
“Wrap your feet before you lose some toes,” she said. “And hide the fact you’ve got no shoes.”
“Smart,” he said.
Yeah, she was. Or was she dumb as a tardipede for helping this stranger? She had a million questions. What had he done to get stuffed in that container? How had he not suffocated? What about the cat? Life support was deactivated in the bays to save money, and…
But the ship rats hadn’t been dead. The life support had been left on.
Why?
A million and one questions. Wil stood at ease on the edge of the cart, one hand clasping a corner pole, as if he did this all day, every day. She frowned at him. Something about his posture reminded her of…
Nah, she couldn’t pull it up. Something. Something from long ago, before the accident.
The lift passed them any number of times, transporting pickers to the upper floor. When someone finally chose this floor, she waited for the group to pass before navigating her bulky cart into the elevator with the people who were left.
“Going up?” a woman asked.
“Nah, I’m done. Hey, Estelle. First round, huh? Nice.” Su pounded fists with the tall, older woman. “All the best jewels, friend.”
“Who’s the rookie?” Estelle eyed Wil up and down. Su supposed he was a handsome man, if you liked clean-shaven, dark-haired, well proportioned fellows. Which she did, but Estelle was more on the lady side of the fence. “Didn’t know you took on spotters. You shoulda picked a less conspicuous one.”
“Wil T… Wil Tee.” Wil’s torso began to bend, as if he were going to bow like the richie riches did when greeting someone. Instead he reached out with a fist. Estelle raised an eyebrow but she obliged him with a bump, her protective glove contrasting with his pampered, clean skin. “I’m new to this.”
“Clearly. Well, happy recycling.” She and her sons exited on the top floor, and finally, finally, the lift groaned its way to the bottom.
In five minutes, barring traffic jams and fights, they’d escape the cargo ship. Garza’s reasons for letting them go were unknown, but right now it didn’t matter. Wil Tango, aka Wil Tee, was hiding so many valuable secrets that he was a picker’s dream, and she was just the woman to find them.
If you missed the first book in the series,
you can get it now!
https://jodywallace.com/books/catalyst/
SNEAK PEEK - Magnetism by Maggie Lynch
Another Book in the Obsidian Rim World
Cryoborn Gifts Series, Book 2
* * *
Nisa stood a good one hundred meters away from her home as she watched Kieran playing a game of hide and seek with his two children. He was going from bush to bush, reaching in and coming up empty. Talking loudly and asking questions, as if they would dare to give up their position.
She smiled. He’d changed again. A little more grey at the temples. The Time dilation when she was gone for more than a month always reminded her that he was aging ahead of her. But he was still full of energy. She walked slowly down the hill, savoring every moment of seeing Kieran again.
She heard Z-Huang’s lilting laugh in the distance and saw Kieran reach into a clump of bushes and pick her up, easily flinging her over his shoulder.
“Daddy, how did you find me so fast,” Z-Huang asked and giggled as Kieran jogged with her back to the counting tree and placed her next to it.
“Your mind radiates energy like the star that warms Raeaa,” he answered. “Now to find your brother.” He turned and surveyed the designated play area.
“You’ll never find him,” Z-Huang stated, her arms crossed in front of her. “And I’m not telling.”
Kieran turned. “Oh, you’re not telling are you?”
Then he tickled her sides.
She giggled and batted his hands away from her “That’s cheating!”
“Not cheating,” he responded. “It’s strategy.” He reached for her again, but she turned swiftly and ran behind the tree.
“Go look for Eijaz,” she shouted. “I’m not telling.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to find him the old-fashioned way, then.” He turned again and slowly walked away from her toward a tree. “Am I hot or cold?”
“Not telling,” Z-Huang repeated and giggled.
Nisa stopped for a moment. Z-Huang seemed so much older now. When she’d left on her last trading run, Z-Huang was just starting school, barely five years old. Now she was a little girl with her own mind. She knew children grew by leaps and bounds when they were young, but this much?
A tear, unbidden, traced its way down her cheek. She wiped at it and chastised herself for her emotionality. It had been a long trip this time. Six months aboard ship, and more than a hundred wormhole jumps with only her AI to talk her through it.
She’d lost track of planetary time. Again. It was always a shock when she returned, whether Kieran and the children were a few months older or a year older. But this had been the longest time away since they’d settled on Raeaa.
Kieran had warned her about time dilation when she’d agreed to start doing the deliveries again after two years of being planet bound. It had just never mattered before. Before she was the only one who mattered, and maybe her crew. But now there was a real family. Her family. And they were growing and changing without her.
She just didn’t quite realize she’d feel this way. She didn’t realize she’d miss them so much. She wiped more tears from her face. What was wrong with her? She longed for space when she was home too long. And she longed for home when she was in space.
Each time she went out, she thought she couldn’t stand being apart from them. But then days would turn into a week and soon weeks into months. She’d fall back into her old patterns and almost forget what she left behind. Yes, they exchanged messages and vids, but they weren’t instantaneous. And she was always distracted, always planning the next
pickup or delivery, the next jump. When she was plying the galaxy and making deliveries faster than anyone else, she felt at home.
Nisa loved being in space. She loved the challenge and she loved the reputation for having the best transport in the galaxy.
But she loved Kieran even more.
She looked up in time to see Eijaz running toward the counting tree. The searching time must be up. If Eijaz hit the tree before Kieran, he’d win.
“I won! I won!” Eijaz yelled as he pounded on the tree several times and Kieran jogged up behind him, obviously breathing hard.
Yes, having kids in her life was a pain in the butt. But they also reminded her the universe was not there just to do her bidding. It was there for all living things to be in harmony.
No matter her identity—Zullili, Lehana, Tristan –-in the past, Nisa—finally had a real family. A family who loved her no matter her past or her continued failings as a good companion to them.
“Mommy!” Z-Huang shouted and started running up the hill, her child legs barely making traction on the steeper slope.
Kieran and Eijaz raced toward her now as well. Kieran quickly surpassed both children and Eijaz held back to help his sister.
Before she could take it all in, Kieran swept her into his arms—lifting her and turning her in a circle.
His touch immediately heightened every sense all at once—the smell of Raeaa wheat grass, the whistling of a breeze through the summer tree leaves, the tingling of her skin as the magnetic current passed between them. His mouth captured hers and the universe burst before her. She tilted slightly with the dizziness of the sensation, but his strong arms held her steady as he released his carnal kiss. Though every nerve ending still tingled, the stars in her vision finally stood still revealing their own corner of the universe.
Before she could grasp all of what she felt, he whispered, “I’ve missed you more than a thousand times.”
She couldn’t speak. She was still reeling from this touch she hadn’t experienced in six months. Though this happened every time, she’d never get used to it—the combination of feeling cherished by one person and yet being held by something so much larger.
Soon the children’s arms were around her as well. Now she was encirled by Kieran, Eijaz, and Z-Huang all at once.
“You’re safe,” Eijaz said as he held tight with one arm around her back and the other holding Kieran.
“I watch for you, always,” Z-Huang said, her arms firmly wrapped around Nisa’s waist as she’d wriggled between her and Kieran.
The quiet starfield she still saw in her mind’s eye shifted. It became more clear and thousands of additional stars seemed to suddenly be visible. This had never happened before when she touched Kieran. Was this yet another manifestation of his cryoborn gifts?
“What…what is happening?” she asked, a little dizzy.
Kieran broke the contact and stepped away for a moment. He tapped each of the children. “Let’s give Mommy some breathing room.”
Raeaa returned in her field of vision. The breeze still riffled the grass and as the sun waned, painted stripes of purples, greens, and reds spread across the sky.
Had she imagined that extra burst? The starmap changing, strengthening, being brighter with so many more stars?
“Mommy, give me your go bag.” Eijaz reached for the handle. “I’ll put it in the bedroom for you.”
“Thank you, Eijaz.” Nisa relinquished the small travel bag.
“I’ll get out some snacks,” Z-Huang offered. “You and Daddy can walk slow and do more of that kissy stuff if you want.” Then she ran ahead until she caught up with Eijaz.
Kieran took her hand and reeled her into his chest again. “All that kissy stuff sounds good to me.”
The tingling started once more, but this time there was no burst of stars or planets, just the usual amazing magnetism between them. She knew he was holding back his gifts to give her time to adjust.
“A few minutes ago. With the kids. I thought I saw—”
Before she could finish her thought, he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around him returning his soft kisses with ones of her own that stoked the hunger she’d held inside. His insistent mouth parted her willing lips, and soon she was leading the dance of mouth and tongue. Each promising more.
Long before she was willing to stop, Kieran slowed the progression of his passion, and set her down, grounding her again to Raeaa.
“We will finish this after the children are asleep,” he said.
She nodded, not letting loose his hand firmly grasped in hers.
Composed once more, they meandered toward their home and Kieran pointed out what had changed while she’d been away.
He gestured toward a well tended garden. “Z-Huang has taken a real interest in gardening.”
“She’s now what?” Nisa asked. “Six?”
“Seven.” Kieran squeezed her hand. “Two years have passed for us.”
Nisa nodded and bit her teeth together hard. Two years was a lifetime for a child. When she’d left, Z-Huang was just five, barely old enough to enter school.
Kieran reached down and picked a couple of rounded red berries. “Tomatoes,” he said, holding one out to her mouth.
She swallowed it whole. “Strange.”
“Used in salads and sauces. Z-Huang has an uncanny understanding of how to nurture a variety of plants, but in particular vegetables and some fruits.”
“And Eijaz,” Nisa asked.
Kieran pointed to a side building. “That’s Eijaz’ station. He’s built an enhanced digital net that has become a significant part of the Raeaa communication system—both planet wide and to passing starships that need information for wormhole jumps. He’s quite talented.”
The children were certainly blooming on Raeaa. She’d made the right decision eight years ago when she’d settled Kieran and the children here. They were happy. They were growing. This was a good home for them.
She swallowed back a yearning. Though she didn’t deserve it, Nisa wished it felt like home for her. She wished she believed she deserved to be part of this happy family.
Pound. Pound. Pound.
Kieran pulled Nisa into him. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No. Let the kids get it. They’re probably already up.”
“Mom,” Eijaz yelled from outside the door, his voice trailing off. “Adira is here and she wants you to get up right now. She says it’s a matter of life or death.”
“I’ll handle it,” Kieran said as he grabbed pants and t-shirt. “You sleep in. You haven’t been home even twenty-four hours yet.”
He opened the bedroom door, stepped outside, and closed it again quietly.
“Sorry,” Adira started immediately. “We have a huge problem. Six farming communities on other planets have called in. The crop wasting disease is spreading beyond the wheat.”
“Six?,” Kieran asked. “I thought it was limited to one place. What about here? Has anyone spotted this here?”
“No, but they’re double-checking. No one expected it to move this fast. And worse, it appears that some people and animals are getting sick, too.”
“Are you sure?” Kieran asked. “That’s highly unusual. In all my past farming, before we left on the colony ships, I never saw a disease jump from the crops to people.”
“We are just getting the full data now. It appears that the disease starts with just one farm and one crop—mostly wheat—then over a year it devastates that crop and then mutates to attack other grasses and seeds. Today, when we were getting multiple reports, this is the first time we’ve heard of it jumping to humans. They aren’t sure it’s the same virus but it appears to have the same structure and the symptoms in humans are similar to the plants.”
“You mean humans are wasting? Is it from eating the plants? Or is it actually an infection in the body?”
“No one is sure. Scientists on Discordja-C have been doing all the analysis up until now and they haven’t processed the new da
ta. The current theory is that the leftover gravity waves from Q-bombs have compromised some people’s immune systems and perhaps that has made them more at risk. It’s just a theory. They may be grasping at straws or brainstorming. But the human wasting looks and acts the same as the plant wasting.”
Kieran sighed. The last thing he wanted was for Nisa to have to leave again. She’d just got in last night. “What do they expect us to do about it?” he asked.
“The Earth Conservatory field scientists have been taking samples at impacted planets and trying to work on a vaccine or some counter agent to stop it. They’ve been sending samples to different research planets hoping different environments might come up with similar but different solutions.
“So far Discordja-C is the only group of researchers who have been successful in designing a vaccine that seems to be working. They are now using their core sample to engineer copies and provide it to other planets to try.”
Kieran understood why they needed Nisa now. She had the fastest ship in the Rim. And with the two of them together they could smoothly do wormhole jumps anywhere.
“And they want the Kalypso to deliver it,” he said on a sigh. “Everyone wants the Kalypso at their service.”
“True.” Adira confirmed. “And Captain Star. I love her name change. Nisa Star. It’s like one of those vids with the heroic captain rushing to save someone from the bad guys.”
Kieran chuckled. “She is kind of like that, when you think about it.” She’d laughed when he suggested her last name be Star instead of Saar. She embraced it as a joke.
She’d been Lehana Saar, captain of the freighter, Phoenix, when they’d met. When they were forced to choose new names and identities, they each chose the new name for the other. He’d chosen Nisa, because the name meant new beginnings. She’d started her life over three times before they met and once while they were apart. He wanted to not erase her past, but help her move on from all the darkness and sadness she’d experienced before. He hoped this was the last name change she’d have. He hoped this new beginning, new family, new home would become her place of refuge, a beginning that would remain for her always.