"If I were allowed inside the defense sites, I could plant units there, but Tochar is too careful to imperil his treasures. As long as those weapons guard Tochara, an attack by our forces is impossible. Yet, the more raids we make, the more I help him to get stronger. Why can't the Serians and Kalfans halt shipment of those blasted crystals until Tochar is defeated, or at least increase their security and protection?"
"It is too late for research to be halted and it must be done in isolation," the android explained patiently. "To use
a show of force would draw attention to the transportation vessels and a valuable cargo; that would provoke bolder attacks by larger pirate bands. If raids are prevented, no clues are released and gathered; the identities of the traitors could not be discovered. Tochar would wait in safety on Noy until shipments were resumed. If Tochar is prevented access to all crystals, he could be tempted to attack to obtain them; if accomplished, there would be no defense against it."
Those were frustrating points Starla knew well, but reasoning aloud with an analytical Cypher often helped elicit new ideas which might prove helpful. "Your list of reasons is grim but accurate." She took a deep breath. "It's a shame the Serians and Kalfans can't construct large devices and shatter the crystals in their possessions to prevent enemies from obtaining them, and seal those mines forever. That would prevent a threat like this from ever occurring again."
"Is it logical to destroy the good to destroy the bad? Remember what the other crystals will do to help mankind."
"You're right; if mining continues, they can't control what types and sizes of moonbeams they locate. Still, the hazards of having such powers are enormous. Besides, if the mines were sealed, only Tochar would own Destructoids. Now, others must be built for a balance of power, if more large white crystals are found. Let's pray that little device works and slows Tochar's evil."
"I did as you ordered. I attached an adhesive circle for concealing it underneath a crate and disguised it as a metallic disk for your belt. It is ready for use."
"I'll take it with me tomorrow in case my speculation is accurate. This might be the only chance I have to get close to those crystals. Attach it to my belt while I'm sleeping, if I can sleep tonight."
"Take a Calmer if necessary; rest and renewed energy are needed."
"Don't follow us tomorrow, but keep us monitored and record the incident. We don't want to take more risks than necessary with our trick when you leave orbit to shadow me. I'm afraid somebody might discover we're using a hologram and fake signal and your absence would be revealed. If its auto-pilot or image maker malfunctioned, we would be exposed."
"I am programed to protect and assist you," Cypher reminded her. "I can not accomplish that order from a great distance."
"I know, and I'll be extra careful. Even if it seems I am in danger, do not interfere unless I signal you to help or rescue me. I don't want Tochar or the others to grasp the full extent of your capabilities or your constant observations. Victory is contingent upon duping them."
"Take no risks, Bree-Kayah; do not expose or endanger yourself"
"I promise, I won't attach or switch on the device unless it's safe. Don't worry, we may only be going on a weapons' or supply sale or buy."
"You can not deceive me to prevent concern. Tochar handles such business in his abode."
Starla's eyes brightened. "What if he's going to meet with one of his contacts? If that's true, I can discover his identity and report it."
"Do not break contact with me to prevent concern."
"You've covered all the warning angles, so relax and trust me. An Elite Squad member of Star Fleet would not jeopardize herself or her mission." She reminded for a final time, "Do not react in any way unless I signal you."
"What if you are unable to signal me?"
"Unless I'm dying or in chains, do not rescue me. Make certain they cannot handle the peril before revealing yourself to them. Even if the situation looks grim, wait until the last preon to take action. Understood?"
"Your meaning is explicit; I will obey your order."
"Good. Now, I'll get some sleep while you finish your task."
Two landrovers with rear cargo holders headed to a secluded location beyond the busy colony. Tochar, Auken, and Sach traveled in one; Moig, Dagan, and Starla rode in another to their left.
From her seat behind the two men, Starla made a quick and ftirtive study of Dagan Latu. He wore a thin and billowy white shirt with fiill long sleeves and corded ties below his throat. Earlier she had noticed those lacings had been left hanging fi-ee and loose, displaying a triangular expanse of hard chest covered with wispy dark hairs. His black pants were snug, their bottoms tucked inside matching boots. A weapons belt was secured around his waist and held a laser pistol and sheathed knife, a large one with a jagged edge on one side. His dark wind-tossed hair grazed broad shoulders, shorter fi-om a recent cutting. He had shaved recently, as well, and his strong jawline was smooth and free of stubble. Though he seemed to laze on the seat, she sensed he was prepared to react in a flash if trouble threatened, and knew he possessed the skills and agility to do so. He was such a magnificent and virile male that his mere presence aroused her to forbidden desire. She was all too aware of the fact that if something went wrong later, this could be the last time she saw him, if they survived.
After they halted, red dust created by their movements wafted past them or settled on their bodies and garments and on the transportation vehicles which lacked bubble covers. The arid canyon was desolate and hot, but the temperature cooled after sunset, which was imminent. The mostly flat terrain of semi-desert topography was altered in that area by clusters of burnt red rock formations and barren cliffs to their right and left, both revealing hollows in various sizes and shapes. Slashes of mountains could be seen
in the distance and the ridges on two sides of Tochara. In a few spots, gnarled scrubs and bunches of wiry grass grew low to the ground and close to the odd configurations, as if cuddled against them for protection from these harsh conditions. The sky was a hazy red and no clouds were in view, indicating that no refreshing rain was forthcoming in the near future.
"Koteas and Terin are uneasy about this buy, so they will not land in their shuttle until the crates are in view and no one is near them except me," Tochar revealed to Auken and Sach. "Unload the rovers and move back to an acceptable distance,*' he instructed. "Stay alert, you two, but I do not anticipate any trouble or problems. I will not allow the crystals to be touched until I am paid and standing with you."
As she stepped from the vehicle, Starla overheard To-char's words but pretended she was not listening as she glanced at the rugged setting with its forbidding aura and drab colors. She recognized the names of Koteas and Terin of Icaria—^which also was the origin point for the flendal and his three best friends, and was the capital planet of the Thracian Empire, the neighboring galaxy. The leaders of Thracia had refrised to join the United Federation of Galaxies, claiming their solar system—beyond the Free-Zone— was too far away and separated from the others for uniting with the UFG to be of any benefit to their worlds and people. She, as other UFG members, believed that was a devious excuse so the Thracians could continue doing as they pleased—such as continuing their barbaric slavery practice and militaristic government—without interference and observation.
Auken passed along Tochar's orders, and the group obeyed them.
Though she knew she appeared calm, Starla's heart pounded fast and hard. A sudden heightening of tension plagued her as the moment for action arrived. While the others were collecting more crates and Tochar was dis-
tracted, in a hasty and unseen motion, she removed the buttonlike disk from her belt and attached it beneath one of the moonbeam containers. That sly task was accomplished during her second delivery to a mounting stack that also included a large supply of a new pleasure-evoking drug from a past raid. She had pressed the start button as she applied the device, but knew she had a safety interval of thirty preons to
get out of danger's range. Thanks to the Icarians' demand for privacy, that seemed possible. By detonation time, since Tochar was in a rush to finish before dark, perhaps the fiendals would be standing near the crates when the crystals' internal pressure increased to a destructive level. She hoped the device's inaudible frequency transmission was undetectable except by a certain instrument and no one would know to use it. She worried that Tochar's Sedan spy might have learned of the device's existence and warned the pirate leader about it. She shoved that horrible thought from her mind. If she were injured or slain, she could be replaced, but she must not allow moonbeams to get into Thracian hands.
Starla grouped with the others beside the empty landrovers, aware the preons were clicking off on an imaginary timer inside her head.
"That's all of them," Sach said. "Where do you want us to stand guard?"
Tochar glanced at the hovering shuttle before he pointed to a cluster of contoured rocks with odd-looking apertures in their red surfaces. "Move over there and stay alert. Weapons at the ready. I will join you after I make my deal. They will land as soon as I am alone with the crates."
The five obeyed their leader's words as the last rays of sunshine vanished, allowing enough light for visibility for another hora.
With the others, Starla watched the shuttle touch dov/n, blowing about sand as it did so. Two men exited and approached Tochar, who was spanking debris from his gar-
ments. As with the fiendal and his friends, the other two Icarians had various shades of golden hair and black eyes, genetic traits of their race. As the three villites talked, she observed with fingers grazing the butt of her laser weapon. She wished she could draw it and put an end to the crimes in progress, but chances of defeating seven armed enemies were slim to none. She knew Cypher was positioned in the Liska to witness and record this secret meeting as evidence and for clues. She was glad no one nearby was speaking, as that might intrude on her android's ability to pick up the nefariants' conversation via her wrist communicator. After it was recorded, all other sounds deleted, and those three voices were amplified, she and Cypher and their superiors could listen to the talk.
Dagan was intrigued by Starla's intense concentration on the scene, just as he was intrigued by the woman herself. She was not clad in her usual jimipsuit. She wore a bronze top that covered her torso from armpit to waist and bared her shoulders front and back. The band was fitted to her figure so no straps were necessary for holding the garment in place. Her hips were covered by a matching short skirt with many pointed ends at the hem; underneath it was a pair of flesh-colored leggings covering long and sleek limbs. The top and skirt were decorated with dull plantinien disks at their borders. Her feet were encased in knee-high bronze boots; her slender waist, with a wide and studded belt with weapons attached. He assumed she had secured her brown hair into one plait which dangled down her back to prevent strands from blowing into her eyes and for keeping her cool in the arid location.
Dagan knew his body heat was rising steadily, but not because of the weather; it was Starla's effect on him. Her skin looked soft and he saw nothing to mar its smooth surface, not even the dirty red smudges where she had wiped away grime and salt-tinged perspiration. She was the most beautiful, desirable, and fascinating female he had met in
all of his travels. He enjoyed her company, even when she was being aloof or wary or falsely spuming him. She had a smile, voice, and manner that summoned enormous cravings within him, emotions and sensations that were unfamiliar and close to alarming. She would be a prize for any man who was lucky enough to win her heart and loyalty, but that couldn't be him, wouldn't be him ... It was as if she didn't know he was alive and standing beside her, so focused were her attention and green eyes on the meeting beyond their hearing range. But there was something unusual, contradictory, about the beauty that he couldn't put his finger on . . .
"I'm thirsty and my throat is dry," Starla remarked, praying her voice didn't expose the tension she felt, results both of Dagan's keen examination and the impending blast. Did the Kalfan not realize that his gaze was so potent that she sensed it? She was concerned because his interest seemed to be more than a casual or merely sexual one. Perhaps he wasn't duped by her Starla identity. She forced her thoughts back to her bodily discomfort. "I wish we had brought along something to drink."
"I didn't think about it," Auken admitted with a wry grin.
"Neither did I, so you aren't to blame," she replied and smiled.
Auken grinned again. "This business won't take much longer. It's getting dark. You'll be soothing that dry mouth soon."
"At least a breeze is stirring now and cooling me off, but it's kicking up more dust. I feel as if I'm covered in it. A bath will be wonderful," she said as she received two vibration signals from Cypher on her wrist unit. One meant danger at a distance and two meant peril was close by. It told her that his sensors had detected something unusual. She heightened her alert and glanced around as she tried to discover the hazard. It sounded like movements and whispers were coming from inside the cavities in the rocks.
Dagan also had heard the eerie noise, become vigilant, and caught a glimpse of something in the shadowy recess before it vanished into the darkness. He warned the others they weren't alone, be it man or beast.
The five backed away from the formations and eyed them as they drew their weapons to prepare for trouble and self-defense. Suddenly, numerous unkempt men in filthy and ragged garments leapt from the closest orifices as they sent forth strange clickings with their tongues. The horrible-looking creatures brandished clubs and spears in hands covered with new and old sores. Mutants also poured into the large clearing from hollows on the other side of the canyon and from others on the space pirates' side, continuously flowing from the dark holes like the yellowy fluid oozing from their pustules.
"Skalds!" Auken shouted in alarm, his black gaze widening.
"Tochar! Take cover! We're under attack!" Starla shouted to dupe the startled leader with feigned loyalty and affection as she took refuge with her companions between the land-rovers, and signaled Cypher not to panic.
The team ducked and dodged the rocks that were thrown at them as they fired at the mutants running toward their leader. Koteas and Terin, cut off from their shuttle, raced toward the armed pirates with Tochar. The Skalds darted about with such speed and nimbleness that even skilled shooters like Auken, Sach, and Moig had trouble hitting their targets; but Starla and Dagan struck down attackers with each blast.
Laser fire buzzed in all directions, but the mutants kept coming at them, almost tripping over the bodies of their fallen companions. Their wild eyes and scabby faces exposed fierce determination to capture and devour them. Their arms and tattered clothing were beyond dirty. Their feet were bare, but the sand had cooled allowing comfort to their strides. Beneath the layers of grime, it was impos-
sible to tell their skins were pale, as were their ghostly eyes. Nocturnal beings who could not take the blazing sun, they had waited and watched their chosen victims until the safety of dusk appeared.
"They've never come this close before or tried to attack our fringes or patrols," Auken exclaimed. "They usually prey on less guarded colonies."
"This will be the last time they attack us!" the leader vowed.
Tochar used a communicator to order Destructoid beams from his mountaintop defense sites to slay and repel the flesh-eating Skalds, and for Enforcers to come rescue them. When he saw mutants going after the crates of crystals and drugs, his black gaze narrowed in fury. "Aim near the crates!" he shouted to the men controlling the Destructoids. "They're trying to steal my delivery! Stop them! Kill them all!"
Bursts from the Destructoids chewed into the dirt near the stack of containers as the team fired in rapid succession at howling mutants closing in on their location. Then a loud explosion occurred that terrified the Skalds, killing those in the blast's vicinity and causing the others to flee for the rocks. The air was filled with minute debris from shattered crystal
s and scattered drugs, small pieces of the containers, and red sand.
Tochar gaped at the costly destruction and cursed his losses. "We will be lucky if we can find even a few of those crystals. Probably all of them are buried in the sand or concealed in crevices, and those drugs are history. As soon as it is light tomorrow, I want a large, well-armed unit out here to search for those crystals; nothing can destroy them, so they still exist."
A suspenseful silence surrounded the group for a few preons after the rumble landed and Tochar spoke. With targets gone, the Destructoids had ceased firing. Except for the sounds of their mingled breathing, nothing could be
heard. Everyone glanced about, but no live enemies were in view.
"Let's take the rovers and get out of here," Auken suggested. "It's almost dark and they might return. We're too outnumbered."
"The Enforcers will be here soon," Tochar said. "Nypeer should have them gathered and en route by now."
"Nypeer better hurry because they're coming again!" Sach shouted.
As Skalds crept from the orifices, showing caution and wariness this time, an enraged Tochar ordered more blasts from the Destructoids and demanded the rescuers get there fast.
Starla looked at Tochar. "Do you want me to see if I can reach Cypher-T, get him to lock in on my signal, and give us added firepower?" she asked. Before the leader could respond, a sharp pain stabbed through her head and her senses gave way to blackness.
Dagan grabbed her body as it slumped forward. "They hit her with a rock," he told the others as he examined the injury.
Between blasts at attackers, Auken asked Dagan about her condition.
The worried Kalfan replied, "Out and has a head cut, but breathing. We'd better get her back to the colony fast in case she has a concussion."
"We will after my unit arrives and finishes off these ugly creatures," Tochar said. "I see dust rising, so my Enforcers will be here soon."
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