Moonbeams and magic

by Taylor, Janelle

  Starla decided to ask him tomorrow why he agreed with, actually coaxed Auken, to raid that medical ship, as she did not want to get into that offensive matter at this late horn. She smiled, shared an embrace and kiss with him, whispered she loved him, and headed for her shuttle. She heard Dagan leave in a landrover which had been left there by someone.

  After reaching her ship, Starla found Cypher ready to pass along a message from Supreme Commander Thaine Sanger. She listened with relief and interest as the android

  told her that Syrkin had exposed himself while attaching a signaling device to the crystal shipment and had been arrested. "That explains why the evil traitor couldn't give the cue to Auken," Starla reasoned. "He was placing his world and many others in terrible jeopardy for selfish reasons. I wouldn't have been surprised if Tochar had destroyed him after Syrkin was no longer useful to him. Tochar wouldn't allow an equal to work with him later; those are the kinds of men who eventually become rivals and threats and assassinators. Wouldn't it be marvelous, my friend, if we could create a breach between Tochar and his Serian contact, make them believe they can't trust each other? But that's impossible without knowiag the man's identity, and I don't know how we can obtain it, not yet anyway. Somehow, I must get closer to Tochar, Sach, and Auken; then, perhaps one of them will let that crucial name slip."

  "Do not increase your mission velocity; haste or impatience evokes dangerous mistakes," Cypher advised. "We are making steady progress; our accomplishments are many and important. I understand your desires to defeat Tochar and to return home as quickly as possible, but do not rush your task and imperil it. The feat you performed in the asteroid belt will elicit praise and admiration in the villites. It is possible that episode will achieve a bonding goal and the rewards which accompany one." Cypher explained how he analyzed she was in no danger from the Kalfans when he saw their vessel depart in the opposite direction to continue to their destination. "I assessed the damage to the Adika and concluded it was not beyond the capabilities of Dagan Latu and Sach to repair or bypass them. Our instruments detected the signal Auken sent to the other vessel, the one Moig revealed to us. I recorded the frequency and incident as evidence. Following my return to Noy, I had our water system flushed and refilled; it has been decontaminated and sterilized for your consumption."

  "Have you filed a report to Thaine?" Starla asked.

  "Negative. In the event he made a verbal response, I did not think it was intelUgent for him to learn I left you behind in possible peril. The disk is ready for you to complete the data; then I will send it to our superior."

  "You're the best teammate I could have, Cypher. I'll add my news in a preon. Anything else happen during our separation?"

  "On the preceding deega, I used a holographic image of Yana to dupe Radu and others with him into believing Yana was in the settlement while Starla was absent. All illusions were carried out at a distance to which the aliens could not approach her image and discover my tricks."

  "You're so clever, my friend," Starla complimented the android. "No one should suspect Yana and Starla are the same person. We need to keep her around until we're certain we won't have a special use for her." She took a deep breath and said, "I'll finish that report so you can send it to Thaine. By the time I finish my cleansing and having a refreshment, if he intends to respond, he can do so before I take to my sleeper. I'm exhausted."

  On the planet's surface, Dagan awaited a reply from Dauld Phaedrig concerning the communication he had sent out earlier. While he sipped a drink and lazed on the seata, he let his troubled mind drift to Starla. He wished he could be with the ravishing spaceki tonight, but realized he must put duty and this pivotal assignment above his personal desires for one deega. He had to discover what was going on; if mission matters were heating up and perils were increasing, Starla could be in danger and time with her could be shortening faster than he knew. He could not surmise why Phaedrig had allowed shots to be fired on them with him aboard, and he was angry and alarmed because Starla could have been injured or killed.

  When the encrypted message came through from his superior in a code only I-GAF members knew, the skilled agent learned about Syrian's fate. It was clear to him that the unknown factor's lead had been accurate again; yet, Phaedrig still had no idea who or where that source was. In regard to why an attack had occurred against the Adika with him aboarct the answer was that the Seki superior from the capital planet in Kalfa had put several of his rangers aboard after Syrian's exposure and arrest.

  Phaedrig's symbols deciphered to explain how he couldn't order the Sekis to cancel counterstrike plans because doing so would reveal there was an I-GAF agent in Tochar's band. Their orders were to disable and capture but not kill, so the spacekis could be interrogated before punishment: if an assault was hazardous, the rangers were to break off their pursuit and safeguard the crystals to their destination. "No more clues received from anonymous informant. No ftirther data located on Starla Verdris."

  Dagan wished he could recall his rash comments about Starla's piloting skills and prowess; that she would make a good agent; that she didn't believe in life-taking and resisted doing excess damage; that from how he saw it, she was into something over her head and didn't know how to get out; that he was certain Tocher wouldn't let her go alive; and how she had endured a hard life and made mistakes, but was a good person inside.

  Phaedrig had cautioned if he was "getting too involved with one of your targets, Curran, don't forget she's a wanted villite, one of Tochar's band."

  Dagan sent a short reply. "I haven't forgotten and I won't."

  The following morning, Auken took Starla to a site where they were to place the cargo they had collected earlier from his ship. They had been assigned to unload and store their

  recent haul while Dagan and Sach worked on Auken*s craft using parts stolen during the raid on the Sion space station. While aboard the Adika, the band leader had related to Starla and Dagan he had told Tochar how they had saved the team and his ship during the ill-fated trek. Auken had grinned and hinted they shouldn't be surprised if Tochar rewarded them for their courage and prowess. Starla and Dagan hadn't been given an opportunity to speak privately, but each was cognizant they had plans to meet that night in his abode.

  At the cavern's entrance, too narrow for a landrover to drive through, Auken stood beside two vehicles and recorded the items and drugs before Starla carried them into a storage cave. The natural corridor used to reach the correct chamber was long and twisted. It was illuminated by hanging lanterns, a light source which was predated long before her parents' births, but a necessary one in this primitive location. It prevented her from taking a wrong passageway along the winding course, since there were many paths and recesses in the dark red grotto's interior.

  As she worked, Starla wondered why Tochar had not commanded some of his Enforcers to assist them in order to lessen their time and labor. These weren't, she reasoned, the type of products the leader needed to keep a secret; and the site—one of several—was always under guard. Perhaps, she mused, there were items amassed in other cavities that the fiendal didn't want his hirelings to see. While alone, she whispered for Cypher to take a coordinates reading so she could return later to investigate that idea.

  As she approached the cavern's opening to get another load, Starla heard Tochar's voice and halted before rounding the last bend, hoping to learn something vital. She signaled Cypher to go on alert and to record the conversation. She kept out of sight and eavesdropped as the villite leader told someone—perhaps Auken, but she didn't think so from his

  tone—about Syrkin's loss in Kalfa. When Tochar spoke about the thwarted moonbeam raid and boasted of how his special team had eluded Kalfan rangers, she knew his companion was not the other Icarian. She heard him brag about his loyal spaceki team which cunningly had substituted a raid for medical supplies so they wouldn't return to him empty-handed.

  "Our accomplice on Ulux contacted me to relate the ill-timed news that Sedan mines a
nd shipments have been put under heavy guard by Raz Yakir's order," Tochar said, "so no crystal raids are possible any time soon. Unless, his thrall on Kian finds a way around that precaution. In the event that does not occur, my friend, I am considering a plan to mount the smallest Destructoid from atop my dwelling to my ship so my team can strike at will. That would leave me with my two largest ones for protection. If Dagan Latu—one of my recent hirelings and best men—cannot do that kind of work, I will get my special team to abduct a scientist from Seri who can."

  Starla was horrified by that news and prayed her beloved would not be an accessory to such evil. She wished she knew who was with Tochar, but she dared not peek around the rocky comer and risk being seen. The other person hadn't spoken, but no one ever interrupted Tochar and the fiendal was still speaking.

  "I cannot wait any longer for a big white crystal to be found and another Destructoid to be built so I can recover my losses," Tochar continued. "If we are going to get control of Trilabs and make use of its products, we must have one of those weapons to penetrate Darkar's force shield and complex structures. With Trilabs and the moonbeams in our possession, we will have great wealth and power, more than we can imagine or ever use. These are serious and pressing matters, my friend, but we will discuss them later. Go and look over the items stored inside to see if there is anything you want or need. I will join you soon in the lighted cham-

  ber. Starla Vedris is inside and will guide you around. Do not allow certain lust for her to show, my friend, she must not be offended; she is my best pilot and an elite member of my special team."

  Before the man could respond or react to Tochar's suggestion, Starla hurried down the winding passageway to the chamber she had just left to pretend she was stacking containers. She did not want to be caught near the entrance and be suspected of spying, and she was eager to discover the identity of the stranger. As she made those preparations, she whispered them to the ever-vigilant android aboard her orbiting ship, then awaited a new adversary's arrival and exposure.

  "Starla Vedris, Tochar sent me to—"

  As she turned from her faked task, her startled gaze widened as much as the Mafifeian's did as his shock sliced off the remainder of his sentence. Starla felt as if the blood drained from her face, her entire body, as she confronted Acharius, son of Avatar Faeroe, son of the planetary leader of Caguas in her Galaxy, a man near her age who knew and desired her.

  "What in Gehenna are you doing here, Bree-Kayah?*' he exclaimed.

  Starla mutely cursed the traitor before her who was jeopardizing her mission, who surreptitiously had aligned himself with the forces of evil and darkness. As he gaped at her in shock, it gave her time to think rapidly about what to do. She wondered if she should slay him and try to bluff it out with Tochar; or let the nefariant live, escape fast, and admit defeat. In order to safeguard her mission, could she, Starla mused, kill the son of a Maffeian Avatar, a man whose father was a respected leader and a close friend of her parents? If she didn't eliminate him, sparing Acharius's life could cost innumerable ones on the planets in the United Federation of Galaxies, and her own after he exposed her to Tochar.

  "Great Gehenna, you're on a secret assignment! Aren't you?" Reality returned to her opponent and the grim truth settled in on him. He didn't give her time to answer before he shouted into the rocky corridor behind him, "Tochar, come quick! We have a spy!"

  Starla leapt aside as Acharius drew his laser weapon and fired at her, the beam zinging off the wall behind her and scattering debris as it did so. Cypher sent a vibratory warning signal via her wrist device that more danger was approaching. At the same time, she heard Tochar and Auken racing toward them and yelling questions.

  As Acharius steadied his weapon to fire again, Starla knew decision time was running out.

  jouiissn

  Due to the past mysterious incidents, team members had been told to wear their weapons at all times. That was advantageous for Starla, unfortunate for her crazed assailant. She was given no choice except to draw her weapon and fire in self-defense, as Acharius never entreated or demanded her surrender. She lacked time to reason with him, to try to persuade him not to unmask her. It was clear to her that the reality-impaired man was trying to eliminate the only witness who could bind him to Tochar. Her dexterous fingers worked the weapon's settings in resolved haste, and she fired a lethal and accurate beam into his evil heart which sent his jolted body tumbling backward to the ground. She signaled Cypher to delay any attempt to transport her out of jeopardy, as she hoped she could salvage the situation with the threat of exposure removed.

  Tochar and Auken reached the astonishing scene. Auken went down on one knee to check the man for signs of life and found none; he looked at Tochar and shook his head, then eyed Starla in confusion.

  Tochar stared at her and demanded, "Why did you kill Acharius?"

  Starla lowered the laser weapon to her side instead of bolstering it, and left a finger on the trigger. She remained where she was, keeping a safe distance between them and feigning an expression of dismay. "Before I came here, I robbed him during a stop at Caguas in Maffei. He recog-

  nized me and attacked like he was zoned out. Look at the wall behind me; he fired at me twice, and his weapon wasn't set on stun. The damage and sound of his blasts revealed his intent to kill me. I was only trying to defend myself. I must have pressed the wrong button w^hen I panicked and drew my weapon. Things happened fast and wild. I hope he wasn't a close friend. If so, I'm sorry about his loss." She noticed how cold and piercing Tochar's gaze and tone were when he replied to her desperate fabrications.

  "Somehow I think there is a good reason why Acharius tried to kill you, Starla, and it had nothing to do with a simple theft. Acharius would have found that coincidence amusing, even sexually arousing. You are much too highly skilled and in control of your prowess to slay anyone by error or to panic in any situation. If he was a threat, you would have stunned him and allowed me to handle the matter. I heard what he shouted, so I think you silenced him for a good reason, one you should tell me."

  Starla feigned dismay at his accusation. "I can't believe you would call me a liar and threaten me. Haven't I proven my fealty to you countless times and in countless ways? Perhaps he mistook me for someone else. I gave him no reason to react as he did. When I'm on a raid, Tochar, I'm on full alert; my guard was lowered during this unfortunate accident since I felt safe in here. Have you forgotten the troubles we've had, those so-called 'mysterious' incidents? The way he suddenly appeared and attacked me, he could have been an enemy, a saboteur. Your suspicions trouble and hurt me deeply. I can tell you intend to punish me or perhaps even terminate me without just cause, based on the rantings of a reality-impaired man. I have done nothing to deserve such wicked treatment and disloyalty, and I will not endure them. I shall leave your settlement and hire this very deega. I will be a great loss to you, my previous leader, for no one has been a better or truer raider for you than I have, including your best friends. I shall return to work for

  myself, since you think I can't be trusted." Let's see if you apologize and beg me to stay. . . .

  "What if she's telling the truth, Tochar?" Auken reasoned. "She's never given me a reason to mistrust her. She's been an excellent teammate."

  "We both heard what Acharius shouted about having a spy in here," Tochar insisted. "That is something I have suspected for many wegs since those incidents."

  "It may not be Starla, and maybe Acharius did zone out for a preon."

  Tochar kept his dark and chilly gaze on the woman before him. "Perhaps you are right, Auken, but I am skeptical. She will have to find a way to convince me I should take her word over that of Acharius. I shall have a long and serious talk with Starla in private. Take her to my—"

  Starla glared at him and shouted, "You are not worthy of my fealty and you will not torture me for an absurd reason!" She darted into the nearest corridor, ignored shouts for her to halt, and vanished into engulfing darkness. She knew sh
e didn't have much time before Tochar summoned Enforcers and they used lanterns to search for her. She didn't dare to imagine what the vicious fiendal would do to her if she was caught. Not even Dagan with all his elite prowess or claims of love could save her from such an enormous and powerful force. Dagan, my love . . .

  Stop it, Bree, and focus on saving your skin! He's lost to you. She prayed no Skalds were lurking nearby, since the cannibalistic mutants were compelled to avoid the sun and favored caves. Her hands found the wall and guided her deeper into the location until she felt it was safe to stop and be rescued. "Cypher, lock on to my coordinates and get me out of here!" she commanded her loyal android. "Be ready to cloak the ship as soon as I'm aboard, then change her location fast."

  Starla paced the bridge deck of her cloaked spacecraft, still tense from a close call with death and the gloomy destruction of her mission. Before she contacted her superior with the bad news, she had to settle down and clear her wits. "I don't understand how a man with his bloodline and status could have turned out so wicked," she mumbled. "Many times he tried to be my companion for private evenings. Many times we've been at the same special functions, even sat together at a few of them. I know his parents; he knows mine; our parents are friends. I'm certain Acharius would have pursued me as a legal mate if I had allowed or coaxed him to do so, but he did not appeal to me in that way."

  She halted her aimless movements and asked Cypher, "How could he attempt to slay me like that when he has vowed love for me? My rejection of him was never done in a cold or cruel manner, and he seemed to understand and accept the fact my feelings did not match his."

  "My data on human behavior and emotions—in particular, those of villites —suggests Acharius panicked and reacted from fear, humiliation, a survival instinct. I deduce his love was not pure, strong, self-sacrificing."