The Fated Stars

by Veronica Scott

  “Better make it a good one.” The sheriff sat her at a desk and adjusted the force cuffs so she could use the comlink.

  She called the Mercenary Guild special link and left a message about needing a lawyer, providing her membership details. Then, because no one was paying her much attention, she called Pamila’s personal AI. “You still on the planet?”

  Pamila sounded sleepy. “Larissa, what the seven hells? Do you know what time it is? What’s wrong?”

  “I got myself arrested, and I need you to bail me out.”

  “Arrested? On this backwater world? For what – drunk and disorderly? Those allegations don’t sound like you.”

  “No official charges yet. It’s a weird situation. Listen, I can pledge the title to my ship for the bond.”

  “Okay, Devlin and I’ll be there as soon as we can. We’ve got your six. Hang tight.”

  The sheriff took the com control out of her hand and closed the link. “I said one call.”

  “The second one was local,” she protested.

  “Don’t try my patience,” he advised as he took her to a cell in the back of the jail.

  Larissa entered the small enclosure without a fuss and sat on the hard bunk as he slammed the door and the lock engaged. She assessed her featureless temporary home then lay down. Might as well rest while I can. Anger at having been bested so easily by Kinterow was keeping her blood pressure elevated, and she was worried what the ring master might be doing to Samell. But once I’m out on bail, I’ll be raising holy hells. That piece of dreck will be sorry he ever touched me and whatever shady scheme he’s running will be over. She was briefly tempted to lodge a human trafficking complaint against Kinterow, to force the sheriff to investigate, but Samell’s insistence on keeping the authorities out of the loop held her back,

  Larissa slept and ate as much of the institutional breakfast as she could stomach but chafed at the inactivity enforced by being in a cell. She did the key portions of her morning exercise routine as she best could manage, but the time passed slowly. Mid-morning, a deputy put her in cuffs while a second man with blaster drawn covered him from the hallway. “You got guests,” he said. “The sheriff agreed to give you ten minutes.”

  Pamila and Devlin waited in the jail’s small interrogation room. Larissa was cuffed to the other side of the table and the police officer took a position behind her.

  “What the seven hells is going on here?” Pamila stared at the deputy in a challenging manner before focusing on Larissa’s face.

  “Did you make my bail?” she asked. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

  “We went to city hall earlier today, but bail was denied.” Devlin frowned. “Local judge said you were too much of a flight risk. I think you’re in serious trouble here.”

  “Is this a job? The cops said the charges might include kidnapping. Were you hired to try to extract this guy from the sideshow?” Pamila asked. “It’s not like you to work without backup. We’d have been happy to help.”

  Conscious of the cop listening to every word and more than a little bothered by the fact she wasn’t getting out on bail as expected, Larissa shook her head. “I can’t talk about it.”

  “Tell me it wasn’t personal? I mean, the guy was cute, for an alien, but you didn’t seem overly attracted to him when we were there, getting our fortunes read.” Pamila exchanged glances with Devlin.

  Embarrassed to remember the strength of her reaction the first time she saw Samell, Larissa did her best to act casual and evade the truth. “No accounting for tastes, as I’m sure you two would agree.” She kept her tone light and teasing. “This is a big misunderstanding. It’ll get cleared up, I’m sure. Thanks for your efforts. I put a call in to the Guild as well.”

  “We’re due to raise ship today,” Devlin said. “Got a deadline for our next job, in Sector 48.”

  “But maybe we could juggle things and stick around, if you want?” Pamila made the offer but Larissa knew perfectly well it was impossible for a mercenary with a job waiting to sit on this dump of a world and babysit her.

  “No need for risking your next job, no worries. I’ll be fine and besides, the Guild’ll have my back.” She made her voice confident.

  “Not if this was an unsanctioned, jack operation.”

  Larissa knew her friend had a valid point, but she continued to urge them to keep to their own schedule. Mercenaries who didn’t show up on time for jobs got penalized by the Guild, and word of unreliability spread fast. She’d get herself out of this mess – it just might require a bit more time than she’d originally anticipated. Eventually the deputy indicated time had expired, and she was taken back to her cell. There were no more interruptions for the rest of the day, other than meals. Larissa banged on the cell door periodically and shouted her demand to speak to her Mercenary Guild rep, but she was ignored.

  She slept uneasily on the thin mattress, reconsidering whether she should have let her friends depart before she knew what was going on with her case. The man who brought her breakfast tray was new to her and, although pleasant, he denied any knowledge of the charges against her.

  Then the sheriff came to the door. “You’re being released, Channer.”

  “The judge decided I could post bail?”

  He shook his head, standing aside to let her walk out of the cell. “Charges have been dropped. You’re free to go.”

  She stared at him, hardly able to take the words in. “Dropped? Are you serious?”

  “Come to my office.” He led her past the staring deputy.

  At his invitation, she took a seat in front of his desk and waited while he sat in his own weather-beaten brown leather chair.

  “Look, Channer, I don’t know your motives for what you did, or why, but Kinterow came in late yesterday and said he wasn’t going to press charges. Said it was a case of a practical joke perpetrated on you by one of his employees going too far.”

  “Practical joke?” Head spinning, Larissa could hardly believe her ears. Then she shook her head. Time to drop the serious charges, no matter what Samell wanted. “No, sheriff, the carnival is holding Samell prisoner, forcing him to work as their slave. There may be others in a similar situation. You’ve got to go over there today and investigate. Kinterow’s up to no good.”

  After taking a judicious sip of his synth coffee, Sheriff Brown set the battered mug down and shook his head. “Kinterow said your story would be a wild tale along those lines. Like a bad trideo plot.”

  “Well fine, so you have a ‘he said, she said’ situation. You’ve got to investigate. Samell’s being held against his will—”

  “I talked to Samell Smith. He sat right there in the same chair you’re in. I interviewed him without Kinterow in the room, just in case.” Leaning back dangerously far in his big padded chair, Brown said, “I reviewed his work papers, his Sectors ID – the guy’s no more an undocumented alien sentient than I am.”

  “He was here?” She couldn’t believe Samell had been walking around freely, telling lies to the sheriff at Kinterow’s behest. Pain wrapped around her heart, and she realized she was bitterly disappointed. Maybe he’s protecting someone, telling the story his captors wanted to spread. “The boss had him under duress, sheriff. Kinterow must have another form of leverage. The papers have to be false. Two days ago the seer was begging me to help him escape. I saw with my own eyes how he was restrained with force bands, inside a stasis bubble.” She rose and paced back and forth in front of the desk.

  Brown tracked her with his eyes narrowed. “Did anyone else observe this?”

  She had to shake her head. Her companions had been drunk and focused on their night of entertainment.

  “Again, Kinterow and Samell both said that was the joke he was playing on you, because you were so taken with him you made a second trip for a private reading the next day. Apparently, the guy couldn’t resist pulling your chain once he realized how infatuated you were. Concocted this phony story about being held against his will to appeal to your
sympathies.” The sheriff shrugged. “Reading between the lines, I think he wanted to have a little fun at your expense, get laid, and sleep with a mercenary for the hell of it. Sit down, Channer. You’re wearing a hole in my floor, pacing in space boots.” The sheriff pointed at the chair. “Humor me.”

  “Infatuated?” She slid into the seat but sat on the edge, as if ready to move out on a moment’s notice. “Please, sheriff, just go check out the set up for yourself. Talk to Samell again. Let me talk to him.”

  “I can’t, even if I wanted to and had the time. Which I don’t. Got more work than my deputies and I can handle this week.” He tapped a pile of old fashioned files. “The show closed and lifted off planet last night.”

  “What? And you let them go?” She knew she wasn’t winning a friend here, but the situation made her blood boil.

  The sheriff frowned, his patience obviously slipping in the face of her continued belligerence. “Kinterow was a law abiding operator, had all the right permits for his ship, the equipment, the workers and the animals. Okay, he left a day or two early but he said the crowds were thinner than expected here, and he’d gotten a slot at a big festival in the Yurmenet system. Too good to decline. May I remind you, you trespassed on his rental property, armed and apparently ready to turn all his animals loose if he hadn’t gotten there in time to stop you. Maybe you were even going to burn the barn down, I don’t know. Kinterow had all kinds of charges he could have made stick, if he’d wanted to hang around here for the trial. You were in considerable trouble, Mercenary Channer. Your Guild confirmed this wasn’t a sanctioned contract of any kind—you were running a jack operation on my turf, and that I do not appreciate.”

  Stunned, she sat at a loss for words.

  Sheriff Brown leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I read your exemplary military record. I’m a fellow veteran, even if I wasn’t in Special Forces like you, or deployed outside the fence the way you were. Do I think Kinterow is hiding something? Just between us, fellow soldiers and all, with no shred of proof, going on instinct alone, yes, I do. Whatever the scheme was, he didn’t cause a problem in my jurisdiction as far as I’m aware, and now he’s left the solar system. If he ever comes back, I’ll be on him like dust on a comet. But as of right now, he and I are done. I gotta give my attention to the issues here on Dakotta Two. Take my advice and turn your mind to your next legal contract. Forget you ever met Samell Smith or whatever his name was.”

  “I—I don’t know what to say.”

  “Not used to being played by a good looking guy—I get it. Kinda burns, right?” He grinned and gave her a wink. “I won’t tell anyone. Your reputation is safe with me.” The sheriff nodded and rose. “Collect your gear at the booking desk, get back to your ship and move on. I want you off my planet by sundown.”

  She stumbled to her feet and preceded him to the door. “No problem. I can’t leave this dump fast enough.”

  He ushered her into the hall, handing her off to a waiting officer. “And Channer? Take my advice, if you ever find yourself in the same town as the Kinterow carnival again, give the place a wide berth. Don’t mess with them. I think you got off lucky because the structure had a security alarm that rings here, so my deputy and I showed up to the party. Owner of the land and the barn is a nervous type, added the alarms a few years ago after a string of petty vandalism issues.” He shook his head. “Kinterow had a lot of firepower and he doesn’t strike me as a person you want to cross. Not without backup. You came close to disappearing without a trace is my guess.” The com in his office pinged and he turned to answer it.

  She couldn’t bring herself to thank the man, much less admit he was probably right, so she strode down the hall and heard his office door slam behind her. Her gear was in order, so she signed the chit and emerged onto the deserted street.

  Her skimmer was apparently still in the woods behind the carnival so she worked off her towering rage over the outcome of the situation with a double-time hike to retrieve it. Once she was able to fly the small craft back to her ship at the spaceport, she noticed Pamila and Devlin’s cruisers were both gone. Hers stood alone in the private sector of the facility, no other mercenaries she knew in town. She’d have been very much on her own if anything had gone down, no one to watch her six.

  What the seven hells was I thinking?

  Nerves jangling, she only relaxed when the hatch closed behind her, and she knew she was safe. No one on this planet was breaching the security of her enhanced ship.

  Much as she craved a shower to wash off the odor of jail and the mental pollution of the entire misbegotten escapade, she wanted to be gone from the damn planet more. Taking her seat at the controls, she obtained clearance and lifted off, working the Valkyrie Queen into the exit queue between two military vessels.

  Larissa stayed at sublight speed and picked a geosynchronous orbit behind one of the big moons of the candy-colored eighth planet. Only then did she feel at peace enough to take the shower she was longing for, followed by a dinner of her favorite foods, raiding the pantry recklessly. She drank too much Suavarian brandy, dug deep into her store of Saleesian chocolate and fell into her own bunk, the firmness of the mattress adjusted by the ship’s AI to exactly her specifications.

  “And tomorrow, good riddance to this star system and practical joking fake seers alike,” she said as she punched her pillow into the right shape.

  Samell offered no resistance as his captors transferred him to the cryo sleep pod for their journey to the next planet. For the first time he was eager for the time in suspension, although not to escape the spirit crushing reality of his life. This time he was going to do whatever it took to find her and offer his apology for the disaster his attempted rescue had become. She might not be willing to listen to him, but at least he could make the effort.

  He owed her an explanation.

  But more than obtaining closure for the failed escape attempt and its aftermath, he wanted to see her, to hear her voice and spend a few more precious moments in her company. She fascinated him, not only because she was a warrior sent by Thuun, but also because she was beauty and power intertwined in one being. He wanted to know more of her, although sadly he had the energy reserve for only the one attempt.

  Samell hoarded the remaining power at his core and resisted the effects of the cold, sterile machine which attempted to submerge his consciousness in its icy grip. If she dreamt, he’d be there and do his best to mend things between them. Anything less and he’d be bitterly disappointed.

  Nothing more was possible.

  Wearing a long cotton dress in tones of blue, with green and pink embroidery at the hem, she was standing on a beach, watching the pale lavender waters wash in over the stark white, gleaming sands. Tiny yellow birds ran in jerky patterns , scooping up wriggling sea creatures in their scarlet beaks. She was barefoot and the damp sand felt good, cool under her toes.

  Larissa had never been anywhere remotely like this before. Beaches on various worlds – yes. A lavender sea and white sands – no. She tilted her head to admire the pure azure sky, dotted by lacy clouds scudding across the horizon.

  “You’re angry with me.”

  The deep voice came from behind her, and she heard faint footsteps and the rustle of his robes as Samell moved to stand beside her.

  Clenching her jaw, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing from her face how affected she was by his presence, she stared out to sea. “Do you blame me?”

  Gently placing one hand on her arm, he turned her to face him. “I’m sorry I ever involved you in my problems.”

  “Why did you?”

  He brushed a stray wisp of hair off her cheek, tucking the locks behind her ear. “You were the first person I came across in the Sectors who showed the blue fire of a warrior. I was shocked, in disbelief my god had finally answered my prayer, after four years of silence from him–”

  “I don’t even know who your god is. I’m not anyone’s warrior,” she said. “I’m an ex-soldier and a
damn good mercenary, despite recent evidence to the contrary. End of story.” She pulled away and walked along the waterline, stopping to pick up a smooth stone and fling it into the advancing waves, where it skipped a few times before sinking.

  “I’ll apologize all night, if you need me to.”

  “This is a dream.” She pinched her arm. “I’d rather wake up, if it’s all the same to you.”

  “Please, talk to me a little longer. You’ve no idea how lonely my existence has been, how hopeless. You were an unexpected blessing.”

  “Were you controlling my mind? Compelling me to take action?” She voiced her top suspicion. The impulsive solitary extraction attempt had been completely unlike her. She usually planned her operations and replanned them until nothing unanticipated could throw off her timetable, and she always had backup arranged.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I might have been able to exert control over a different human but my powers don’t work on you. You and I, we’re connected somehow. Perhaps we were together in a previous life. We share a bond even now—”

  Larissa snorted. “Don’t recite superstitious nonsense for me. You don’t have to play the mysterious mind reader here.” She waved an arm at the empty beach. “No audience to convince.”

  “There’s you.”

  She strolled onward. “How are we communicating now? Why are you invading my dreams?”

  “I’m in what you call cryo sleep, as the carnival travels to its next destination.”

  Larissa stopped in her tracks, resting her hand on his arm in horror. “And you’re awake? How do you hang onto your sanity?”

  He shrugged. “I was a high priest, having achieved the ultimate levels in discipline and dexterity with my gifts. As long as Thuun wills my continued sanity and my survival, I have no choice but to obey him and breathe.”

  “How are we linked? And don’t give me mumbo jumbo about past lives or fated stars or whatever bullshit you were slinging.”