A Star Rising (The Star Scout Saga Book 1)

by GARY DARBY

  Frowning, Shar threw his hands up to acknowledge that Jadar was right. “You don’t know how many you’ll be going up against, you know.”

  “Good point,” Jadar answered. “If it’s more than ten, I’ll back off, ten or less I can handle.”

  “Oh, because your heart is pure you have the strength of ten?” Shar asked with a small light laugh.

  “That’s right,” Jadar chuckled in turn.

  “When are you leaving?”

  “First light in the morning,” Jadar stated.

  He reached over, lifted up the crumpled tube and handed it to Shar. “Here. Make yourself useful. I doubt if you can hurt it any worse than it already is. Who knows, maybe you can conjure up a miracle and get it working.”

  Jadar stood and looked toward the hills where the Zephyr had gone down. “I’m going to see what I can put together for a field kit,” he said.

  His eyes hardened, and he spoke in a dark and hard voice, “I’ve got a little hike to take—and someone I badly want to meet.”

  Chapter Forty

  Star Date 2433.060

  Unnamed Planet, Helix Nebula

  Fighting through waves of blackness to regain consciousness, Alena could feel the nausea churning at her stomach and the sickening taste of bile that coated her mouth.

  Having been stun-gunned once before in training, she recognized the tremors in her muscles, the feeling that her mind and body weren’t connected.

  The hand at her back raised her to a sitting position, and she opened bleary eyes.

  A young woman’s concerned face appeared near hers and asked, “Better?”

  She nodded, and glanced around at her surroundings. To one side of the woman who knelt by her were two men, one young, one older. Both stared at her with furrowed brows and troubled expressions.

  The four were in a small hollow carved out by several rough and large boulders. A soft wind rustled the leaves of a stand of enormous trees whose boughs overhung the oversized rocks, and nearby came the soft tinkling of rushing water. A slight scent of wood smoke filled the air.

  Alena swallowed, and asked, “Where am I and who are you?”

  The woman replied, “I’m Shelby, and that’s Granger and Nase.”

  She brought her head a little closer to Alena and murmured, “As to where we are, well, we seem to be stranded on a planet in the Helix Nebula.”

  Alena was silent, her eyes flicking from face to face. Shelby asked, “Now that we’ve told you who we are, what about you? What’s your name, and do you remember how you got here?”

  Alena ran a tongue over dry lips. “Water?”

  The younger of the two men, Nase, reached over and handed Alena an odd-shaped russet colored pouch with a small tube. “The water’s fresh from the stream,” he said, “and microbe scrubbed.”

  Alena nodded and took a sip, swishing it around for a moment, before she spat it out.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, “I’ve one horrible taste in my mouth.” She then took a long, deep drink. The fresh, cool water felt good going down her dry throat.

  “Need more?” Shelby asked.

  Alena shook her head and answered, “No,” while she handed the water pouch back to Nase.

  She inhaled deeply before she scooted herself so that her back was against one of the rock facings.

  Glancing at her companions, she replied slowly, “I’m Alena. I was on a geo-survey when someone hijacked my ship. Last thing, I remember, was some joker aiming a weapon at me.”

  Shrugging, she said, “And then waking up here.”

  She started to stand. “Thanks for the water, but I need to find my ship and get out of here.”

  Granger reached out a hand to stop her. “You might want to reconsider that. None of us are going anywhere real soon.”

  Alena shifted her eyes from one to the other. “And why not?” she demanded.

  “Because we’re hostages,” Shelby stated.

  The sickening feeling in the pit of Alena’s stomach came back. She had no doubt who held her and these three captive. Her attacker on the ship must have had accomplices that brought her, and these others, here. Wherever “here” was.

  Granger hooked a thumb toward the entrance to the hollow. “Take a look. Just don’t try to go beyond the entryway. They don’t like that.”

  Alena stood on shaky legs and with one hand on a boulder to steady her crossed to the open portal. She peered around the rock and stiffened.

  Her breath was a soft hiss through clenched teeth before she stumbled backward on leaden legs.

  For several seconds, she stood motionless before turning. “What is this, some kind of joke?”

  Shelby shook her head. “It’s no joke, believe me. We saw them bring you out of your ship. While we walked, they carried you here.”

  Alena turned her head sideways, eyes wide and sputtered, “You’re not suggesting that they’re for real?”

  Granger stood and came to stand beside her. He made a little motion with one hand toward the firelight and the hunched-over figures.

  “It’s as real as it gets,” he replied. “And yes, they’re the one hundred percent genuine article.”

  He turned to her. “And now that you’re up and about and understand our situation, I have a few questions for you.”

  Alena glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and replied in a hard tone, “The only question I want to hear right now is how do I get out of here?”

  Granger gave a little grunt. “Forget it. None of us are going anywhere fast.”

  He jerked his head outward, grimly saying, “They’re definitely not friendly, but you’re welcome to try.”

  Alena met his stare, turned and edged forward to squat on a bended knee next to the large rock that framed the portal’s one side. With a wary eye on the beings who sat or stood around the small fire, she started to slip around the rock’s rough facing.

  She took one noiseless step and then another. She gathered herself to make a break for nearby shadowy bushes when the sounds of heavy footsteps caused her to whirl.

  One of the creatures loomed from the darkness. He locked hard eyes on Alena before taking two ground-eating strides right at her.

  Alena gave a small gasp and scrambled back into the tiny shelter. For just a second, the being stood in the portal, the campfire’s glow outlining its towering frame. Its eyes swept the humans before it turned and melted back into the darkness.

  With a little shrug, Granger remarked, “Like I said, they’re not real friendly.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Star Date 2433.060

  Unnamed Planet, Helix Nebula

  “Move!” Dason whispered in a fierce tone.

  In a rush, the four sped down the small hill’s backside. Weaving between thin saplings, Sami led them toward a large, dark stand of trees that blocked the overhanging moon’s pale luminance.

  All four pulled their L-guns, anticipating that a firefight with the renegades would soon ensue.

  They had almost reached the grove when Shanon reached out and yanked Sami back. “Stop!” she commanded.

  “What’s wrong?” Dason asked.

  “Over here. Footprints,” Shanon replied.

  In the moon’s faint light, Dason could see that the short grass held a broken trail of odd-appearing prints.

  Sami knelt and peered at the ground. “Footprints, all right. But real funny-lookin’ footprints. Big ones, little ones, in-between ones.”

  “Where do they lead?” Dason asked.

  Sami motioned to his left. “Looks like they parallel the trees and make for that clearing.”

  Shanon peered ahead, “Do we—

  Like an eruption, the blaster shot at Sami’s feet pelted them with rocks, chunks of grass and clods of dirt.

  Dason tackled all three and pushed them to the ground. “Get down!” he shouted.

  A second scarlet beam seared the air over their heads, the bitter smell of ozone biting at their noses. On all fours, the novices scramble
d away from the incoming fire.

  Pushing at TJ and Shanon, Dason yelled, “Go, go, go!”

  The four leaped to their feet and darted away. Another disruptor shot tore out an enormous swath of bark and sprayed them with splinters and chunks of carrot-colored wood.

  From the glade’s far side came the priings of stunners going off. Dason and Shanon crashed through a thicket and sprinted on. Shanon caught her foot on a root and hit the ground hard with arms and legs splayed out.

  Dason yanked her to her feet and together they raced to join Sami and TJ. Sliding in the grass, they came to rest behind a broad tree trunk.

  All four gasped for breath. “What the hey!” Sami huffed. “They must be really mad; those weren’t stunners; that was blaster fire!”

  “No kidding,” Dason panted between breaths. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait!” Shanon snapped. “Something’s wrong. Listen.”

  The sounds of disruptor fire and stunners broke the stillness of the cool, evening air. Dason glanced at his companions. “Who are they shooting at? They must have seen us run.”

  “Who knows,” Sami snapped. “They could be shooting at each other for all I care. Let’s get outta here and now.”

  Shanon grabbed a fistful of Dason’s vest. “Hold on. That disruptor fire came from the clearing’s far side. They couldn’t have gotten ahead of us.”

  “She’s right,” TJ stated. “We had too much of a lead.”

  Shanon stared at her teammates and then sprang up as if she had made an abrupt decision. “I’m going back.”

  Grabbing at her arm, Dason pulled her back down. “You hold on,” he said. “I thought the idea was to escape, remember?”

  Taking a deep breath, Shanon replied, “I know, but this is wrong. Bianca and the others need our help, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  Sami looked askance at her. “What?! Are you crazy? They started shooting at us or had you forgotten?”

  Shanon shook her head hard, her brown hair swishing about her shoulders. “No, Sami, they were shooting back at whoever took those blaster shots at us.”

  She chewed on her lip before she looked at each of them. “We’re teammates, right? You know I wouldn’t do anything to harm any of us. I need for you to trust me on this one. We need to help Bianca.”

  Dason searched Shanon’s face. Her eyes held nothing but determination and conviction. Whatever she was thinking, it made sense to her though it didn’t to him. Still, this was Shanon, and she had stuck by him and never doubted.

  Wiping away sweat off his upper lip, Dason nodded at her. “Okay, Shanon, I’ll go with you.”

  Shanon turned to Sami and TJ. “Sami? TJ? We need to all be in this together.”

  Crossing his arms, Sami sat tight, without saying a word. TJ elbowed him while saying, “Hey, if I’m following her play, so are you.”

  Sami screwed his mouth to one side and shrugged. “Is this another one of them charge-of-the-light-brigade things?” he mumbled.

  Grinning, Shanon huskily replied, “I surely hope not. That didn’t end so well for the light brigade.”

  She reached out to the three. “Thank you. But no time to explain. I don’t know who’s firing the disruptors, but I’m pretty sure I know who’s using the stunners, and they need our help, so come on.”

  The four scrambled to their feet and darted forward until they were behind the dense thicket. They crawled on their stomachs through the leafy brush and peered out.

  Below came the repeated muzzle flashes of several disruptors, while from the other side came intermittent stunner fire.

  Watching the laser bolts shatter the darkness, Sami observed, “Either there’s more with disruptors, or they’re using the ‘shoot and scoot’ tactic to keep from being hit by a stunner charge.”

  “How do you know that?” Dason asked.

  Sami gave a little shrug with one shoulder. “Learned it as a kid. Came in handy a time or two.”

  “Dason,” Shanon encouraged, “we should turn on our comms, talk with Bianca.”

  He met her stare and shook his head. “Not yet. You just might be wrong, you know. If we do this, we go in as a team, just us.”

  Her face clouded up, and he could see that she didn’t agree, but she took a deep breath, nodded, and muttered, “We’ll do it your way.”

  Dason motioned with a hand toward a line of trees. “We circle to the left, try to flank them. How is everyone set on L-gun charges?”

  “Couple of shots left,” Shanon replied.

  “Me too,” TJ responded.

  “I’m pretty low. I’ll just throw rocks,” Sami sighed.

  Dason checked his weapon and saw that it read empty. Without looking up, he replied, “I’m good.”

  He took a deep breath. “Everyone set? Let’s go.”

  The four melted into the shadows. In a running crouch, they moved through the spotty bushes. Disruptor blasts flashed through the night, throwing up garish outlines of tree shadows and black bushes.

  Sonic waves pounded at eardrums, drowning out all other sounds. For just a second, Dason could see two figures sprinting in the night before each dove behind a cluster of boxy boulders surrounded by short, thick brush.

  Dason grabbed onto his companion’s arms and steered them away from the unknown figures. Dason could hear someone yelling, but the words were unintelligible to his ears and he kept running.

  They reached a series of thin, reed like bushes, and lay belly down. “I think we’re behind them and on their flank,” Shanon murmured.

  Dason nodded and whispered, “Move forward, try and pick off a couple, but don’t go so far that you get hit by a stunner charge yourself. Remember, Bianca’s group probably can’t see us, or might not care if they hit one of us, either.”

  He peered around and gestured to their left. “See the tree with the three rocks at its base. Rendezvous point. When the firing stops, meet back here.”

  Reaching out, the four clasped hands in a four-way handshake. Dason swallowed hard and hoarsely ordered, “Scouts Out.”

  Together they turned and moved forward in a ragged line toward the disruptor fire. Closing in on where several disruptors had opened fire, all four went to ground and wriggled forward in the dark.

  Dason raised his head and spotted a craggy boulder. From its size and location, he had the distinct impression that it would make for an excellent concealed position.

  He crept forward, all the while keeping an eye on the rapid fire stunners to his right. He was getting closer to the invisible line where a spray shot would take him down so he edged cautiously forward.

  Between the loud blaster recoils and the stunners, it was near-impossible to hear anyone moving in the darkness. Dason was tempted to bring his IR eye devices in play, but the flashes from the discharging weapons would nullify any direct benefit.

  Easing up to the head-high rock, he started to slip around it when a disruptor went off from the other side. Dason grimaced and moved back down. Someone else had thought that it made for a protected firing spot, too.

  Sliding his knife out, he held it low and to one side. He placed his back to the rock wall and slipped forward. Gathering his legs under him, he was about to lunge when a loud grunt sounded nearby followed by the sounds of a struggle.

  Dason’s immediate thought was that one of his team had gotten around him and jumped this attacker. He started to dash around the boulder to join the fray when in rapid succession, three stunners went off nearby. He whirled at the sound.

  Shanon, Sami, and TJ!

  In an instant, a volley of disruptor fire turned on them. Searing flashes of red-hot energy tore through trees and brush, igniting small fires wherever they touched.

  The scarlet disruptor beams were indiscriminate, raking across the underbrush and the ground.

  Dason took several steps toward his teammates when a familiar, but desperate voice shouted Dason! at him. He spun around.

  Bianca!

  Illuminated in the bright
light of disruptor blasts and the pale moon the outlaw leader fought for her life with a knife-wielding assailant.

  Compared to her, the man was twice her size and had her pinned to the ground. The tip of a wicked-looking barbed blade waved just above her throat. Bianca had both hands on the man’s wrists and in desperation pushed back but her strength was no match for her opponent.

  The knife tip pushed closer and closer to her neck. Bianca strained with all her might, her eyes locked on the blade.

  Dason took a step toward the two combatants when the prrring-prrring-prrring of his teammate’s stunners sounded again. He twisted around at the noise.

  The back of Sami’s head bobbed up just for an instant. At the same time, Dason caught movement between him and Sami. Two figures jumped up and aimed their blasters right at Sami.

  Dason yelled, “Sami! Get down!”

  The two swung around and aimed at Dason, instead. Without thinking, he dove to the right. Two intense crimson bolts sliced through the air and exploded into a tree shaft a few meters away.

  He crawled on the ground and rolled up behind a small boulder. A gurgled, “Dason . . .” caused him to snap his head around. The man’s blade had reached Bianca’s throat, a second more and it would slice into her flesh.

  Dason seemed frozen in the river of time. He could help Bianca and leave his three friends at the mercy of the blaster fire, or he could help his teammates and leave Bianca in the hands of a knife-wielding fiend.

  He couldn’t do both. He stood immobilized until Bianca’s pleading eyes met his. In what seemed like slow motion, Dason launched himself and crashed into the killer, sending him flying to one side.

  The man rolled once but before he could turn, Dason twisted and sent one boot smashing into the man’s skull. The man went down hard and stayed down.

  Dason spun back toward his friends and for an instant, the three were silhouetted against the brilliant flashes of blaster fire. But then, in a blinding burst of energy that dazzled Dason’s eyes, they were gone.

  For several seconds, streaks of purple and green clouded his vision and he staggered forward while furiously rubbing at his eyes. A moment later he could see clearly enough and stared at wisps of grayish smoke that rose from where the three had appeared just seconds before.