Whack!
Grayson’s world spun and he fell to the floor.
He could only watch as Rina threw aside the chunk of metal she had just hit him with. She grabbed his coil.
Grayson frowned and tried to sit up. Rina aimed at him.
The victims gasped and screamed.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said. “When the Arguses board, you are going to meet them first, soldier. After that, the rest of you are going back in chains.”
The little boy hugged his mother and began to cry.
“Line up,” Rina said. She looked Grayson in the eye. “You first.”
Grayson didn’t move.
“Now you know how it feels,” Rina said, smirking. “I won’t make you do any grunt work, though.”
Grayson stumbled forward, and she hit him hard on the back, propelling him toward the airlock. He crashed into the wall. Then he turned around only to be met with a punch to the face.
He slid down the airlock door.
“That’s for ruining the drop,” she said.
“Punch me all you want,” he said. “You’re still—”
She kicked him in the groin. Colored bars covered Grayson’s vision as he cried out and doubled over.
Rina opened the door to the airlock and kicked him inside. He floated, soft and light as a sheet of paper, then crumpled into a ball in the center of the room.
He lay there. He didn’t get up. He didn’t even know if he could get up—
One by one, the hostages entered the airlock with their hands over their heads. Rina followed, aiming her gun haphazardly and gritting her teeth.
“If anyone tries anything stupid, I’m going to end this once and for all,” she said.
Something struck the ship again, knocking everyone over.
Rina swayed, her hand on a hatch on the wall.
The ship rocked again.
Then they heard a knocking sound.
“So this is it,” Grayson said.
Someone knocked on the door again.
Rina ran to the airlock control and pulled on a manual hatch. It was too heavy for her.
“Muscles!” she yelled. “Get over here and pull!”
Grayson floated to the hatch, and in the face of the coil, he anchored himself against the wall and pulled the hatch with all his might.
It moved.
A honking sound filled the airlock as the pressure door began to open.
“Put your hands up and maybe they won’t shoot,” Rina said.
The victims put their hands behind their heads. Then they looked at the floor.
Clearly they had done this many times before, and the thought of it angered Grayson.
He felt a light tap on his shoulder with the gun.
“You’re no different,” Rina said.
Grayson put his hands behind his head, but he would not lower it.
The airlock door opened completely.
Instead of dark space, they stared into the mouth of a ship that had connected to the lock and formed a seal. Smoke billowed from the ship, and two dark figures emerged.
“We come with the products and the drop!” Rina cried. “I didn’t betray you!”
Then the smoke cleared.
It was Will.
And Beauregard.
Rina’s eyes widened.
A quick coil shot knocked the gun out of her hand. Then another one struck her on the shoulder. She screamed and fell back.
Will stepped forward. “God, I couldn’t wait to do that.”
Beauregard motioned to the hostages. “Everyone, you are safe. You’re in the custody of the Galactic Guard. Please rest assured that we’ll get you home safely.”
Will turned to Grayson.
“Damn, buddy,” Will said. “You kicked some ass.”
Grayson laughed.
“We’ll handle this. Get yourself fixed up.” Will glanced at Rina. “We meet again.”
Rina grimaced. Her shoulder was bleeding.
“You’ll live,” Will said, slapping handcuffs on her.
Grayson followed Beauregard and the hostages onto the Galactic Cutter’s air box, a small gray chamber that connected to the ship proper.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Grayson said.
Beau pointed out the window. “We were just waiting for the right time to strike. And we had a little help.”
Outside, through a small square window, Grayson saw the two Argus ships smoldering.
All around them, the gray frigates of the Galactic Naval Fleet shone in deep space.
Chapter 13
Lieutenant Commander Danica Gregg was waiting in the airlock when they climbed out of the air box.
She wore a blue flight suit and wood-framed glasses, and her black hair was cropped. She had a holographic screen in her hand and watched with wild eyes as the hostages piled onto the cutter.
Upon seeing her, Grayson saluted. “Good day, ma’am.”
“At ease, Grayson. And get out of that suit.”
He relaxed and climbed out of his spacesuit. His flight suit was soaked with sweat and musk.
She turned and exited the quarter-deck. “Come with me.”
He followed her. Several Guard members welcomed the passengers and handed out bottles of water.
Grayson looked back. The little boy he’d talked to earlier waved at him, water bottle in his hand. The smile on his smudged face was probably the widest and brightest it had ever been.
He grinned and waved back.
Gregg led him down a long hallway to where a Guard medic was waiting for him. Aside from mild dehydration, he was fine. Then Gregg led him to the living quarters, to Grayson’s room.
She opened the door and ushered him in.
His duffel bag lay neatly packed under the bed. His sheets were still made from the morning before. A lone porthole glimpsed into space, where the Argus ships were still burning.
“Have a seat,” Gregg said.
Grayson sat on his bed.
Finally, a soft surface…
Gregg sighed, looking at him with concern. She was inspecting him for injuries.
Her voice was soft. “How are you, Grayson?”
“I’m just fine. Glad to be here. Glad you guys saved us.”
“I won’t tell you that what you did was stupid,” she said. “Your training clearly helped you make the right decisions, and I salute you for that.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“No formalities right now,” she said. “What exactly did you see out there?”
Grayson told her everything, down to every detail. She listened with a stoic face, but he could tell that the story disturbed her.
“This is the first I’ve heard of Arguses holding slaves,” she said. “It’s strange. It doesn’t jive with any reports we have about their behavior.”
“Took me by surprise, too.”
Gregg paced the cramped quarters. “And you’re sure about everything you saw?”
“Yes. I did a lot of watching.”
“The commander will want to speak with you. Via conference. But I told him you’re going to get some sleep.”
“Thanks.”
“You hungry? You’ve got to be starving.”
“No. I could use some sleep and water, though.”
“Good. Why don’t you go take a shower and get some rest? We’re not taking any actions until tomorrow. The Marines should be making their descent onto the planet now. Medical is treating Rina, and they’re going to let her rest as well. I’d like for you to accompany me tomorrow when I meet her.”
“Yes. Just come and knock.”
“Good. Sleep well, Grayson.”
Grayson saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
She left him sitting in darkness. He took a long, hot shower, thinking about everything that had happened.
He was proud of himself, but he didn’t feel any happiness.
The passengers had been through a lot, and sure, he saved them, but they we
re going to carry this ordeal with them for the rest of their lives.
He wanted to call his mom. Not to tell her what happened. Just to hear her voice.
He shook his head as he thought about what she would say.
“Boy, what the hell is wrong with you? I told you, you can’t go saving everybody that needs it!”
“But they were going to be slaves, Ma.”
“So what?”
“If you could go back in time to Africa, you wouldn’t have saved our ancestors from going into chains?”
“First, can’t nobody go back in time so that’s crazy talk. Second, if I could go back, maybe I might not ‘cause otherwise I would’ve never had you.”
“By that logic, you would’ve never existed yourself, Ma.”
“Stop talking, you hear? What you did was stupid. Stupid! You don’t ever think about your family. You just march into trouble and want to be a hero all the damn time.”
And then she’d cry and he’d offer his handkerchief but she’d swat his hand away and he’d have to stand there with a knob in his throat as his Pop led her into the kitchen and set her on the couch and held her and told her that everything was going to be okay and hey baby, look on the bright side cuz Gray is home and we can touch him and feel him and maybe this Galactic Guard thing would work out in the long run.
He stopped thinking about it.
No use getting worked up over a future conversation. He had to take everything day by day.
And today, he was safe.
There were twelve people who were safe. And they would travel home and be with their families.
Several Arguses and one really bad man were dead. A terrible woman would soon be in jail and the universe would be a hell of a lot safer as a result.
He threw himself on his bed, his nappy hair still wet and steam still rising from his biceps.
He reached into his duffel bag and slipped on a thermal shirt and pajama pants. Then, as the ship eased into hyperspace and the window turned purple with plasma, he fell into dreamless sleep.
Chapter 14
He woke to a knock on the door the next morning.
He wiped his face. He was groggy.
He didn’t even feel refreshed. His body was still tense. It was like he had closed his eyes for just a few seconds.
“Yeah,” he said, swinging his legs onto the cold steel floor.
Will entered with a plate of food: eggs, sausage, bacon and a glass of orange juice.
“Thought you’d be hungry, man.”
Grayson nodded as he took the food. “Thanks.”
Will plopped down on the floor. “Not gonna lie. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“I didn’t know if I’d ever come back.”
“Well, welcome back.”
“Good to be back.”
“That chick is a real bitch, man,” Will said. “Spit in my face like five times.”
“Don’t mind her. She’ll be in jail before long, anyway. You got no idea what she put me through.”
Will lowered his eyes. “I should’ve been able to stay onboard that damned ship. Those bastards blew me into space like a dandelion.”
“Not your fault.”
“We took an oath to protect each other. Just feel like I didn’t do my part.”
“If it had been you, you would’ve done the same thing.”
“You think so?” Will asked, chuckling. He gazed out the window. “Sometimes I wonder how I even get out of bed in the morning.”
Silence. Grayson cut into his sausage.
“I look out into space and I get scared, man. Not like some minor fear or anything. But straight up, gripping fear. Like I’ve never felt before.”
“Will, I don’t blame you for this. I’m glad you didn’t come along. This whole thing has been crazy.”
“I’ve been thinking maybe I’m going to call in my last mission soon, too.”
“If you do, I’ll hold off and we can walk off together,” Grayson said, stuffing a piece of bacon into his mouth and chasing it with orange juice. God, regular food tasted so good!
“I’m seriously thinking about it.” Will stood. “The Lieutenant Commander wants you in the holding cell. She’s eager to interrogate Rina. I’d hate to be on Gregg’s bad side today. She’s going to scorch that chick.”
“Can’t say it would upset me.”
“Let’s catch up after the interview. I’m dying to know how it goes.”
Will left him.
He changed into a fresh, olive green flight suit hanging in his closet. He examined himself in the mirror.
The bags under his eyes!
His skin seemed paler than normal. Probably his imagination.
What would his mom say?
He focused on the moment, straightened his suit and left his quarters.
***
Lieutenant Commander Gregg and Beauregard waited for him outside the holding cell.
“I trust you slept well,” Beauregard said.
“As well as one can,” Grayson said.
“We want to get as much information out of her as possible,” Gregg said. “This will be our only chance before the Fleet takes her. Once that happens, who knows what they’ll do to her. But the point of this interrogation is not to solve this conspiracy. It’s to help the Galactic Guard be more keen in spotting criminal behavior with Arguses and Argus-friendly humans. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Grayson and Beauregard said.
“What’s her story?” Gregg asked.
Grayson shrugged. “I’ve heard several different ones. She’s not going to give you any personal information. I can guarantee that.”
“The man she was with—was he a husband, lover…”
“Whatever he was, he gladly sold her out.”
Gregg rubbed her chin. “I see. Any idea what rattles her?”
“Accuse her of being a bad person. Seemed to work every time.”
“So she’s one of those criminals.”
“As I said, ma’am, she’s a shifter. Changes whichever way the tide is turning. You act nice, she’ll act nice. You be mean, she’ll be mean. I’d never met a true sociopath, but I don’t think I can’t say that anymore.”
“Sounds like this was a true learning experience then,” she said, smiling flatly.
She opened the door to the holding cell and entered. Grayson and Beau followed her.
The holding cell was a small interview room with a lone table and two chairs. A single fluorescent light flickered in the ceiling. The flicker was for psychological effect.
Rina was handcuffed to the table. Her other arm rested in a sling. Her hair was a curly mess in front of her face, and one of her purple contact lenses was missing, revealing a dark brown eye. Something about the two different colored eyes rubbed Grayson the wrong way.
She watched as the three soldiers gathered on the other end of the table.
“Rina Pulsara, my name is Lieutenant Commander Danica Gregg of the Rah Galaxy Galactic Guard. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?”
“Screw you.”
“Sure. But I asked you a question.”
Rina didn’t reply.
“Fine,” Gregg said, sitting down in the only remaining chair. “Where should we begin?”
“I’m not a Rah citizen,” Rina said. “You can’t detain me.”
“Wrong,” Gregg said. “And doubly wrong. You see, I did a little extra research on you, Miss Pulsara. Or wait—that’s not your name, is it?”
The words stunned Rina.
“I called my friends in the Orion Galactic Guard. And my, did they have a lot to say about you, honey. Their records show that your real name is Rinea Palmara Ondaliss, age thirty-three, with a criminal history in the Orion longer than this ship. Rina, Rinea… funny how one letter makes all the difference. And let’s be honest—Pulsara? That’s a name only a science fiction author could love.”
Rina puckered her lips.
“But we’ll cal
l you Rina if you want. Is that what you want? Anyway, my friends in the Orion also told me something even more interesting, Rina. According to them, you’re not actually from the Orion. I almost fell out of my chair, but it turns out they were right. I downloaded a copy of your birth certificate from Provenance—our home planet and yours, too. You were born in a little regional hospital on the southern continent that was torn down about ten years ago. Turns out Rinea isn’t even your real name. What did the birth certificate say? Rinealeah Palmara Ondaliss. I’m convinced that this is your real name, but if you keep leaving out letters and syllables every time you want to make a name change, you might as well change your name to R.”
“You can’t prove any crimes.”
“I don’t have to. The courts already did. Petty larceny, parking tickets, grand theft auto, and—I saved the most recent for last—human trafficking.”
Rina slammed the table. “So what? I was cleared of those!”
“Cleared?” Gregg asked. “Are we speaking the same language? Where we come from, clear means to settle something in a judicial way. I would hardly call escaping from the courthouse via your cousins holding the place at gunpoint ‘clear,’ Rina.”
Rina shrank back.
“We may be the Galactic Guard, but our knowledge is just as mighty as the Fleet’s. Yes, we specialize in search and rescues,” she said, leaning forward, “but when it comes to criminals like you, our goal is justice.”
Gregg waited a moment and let the statement sink in. Rina’s face hardened.
“Why were you working with the Arguses?” Gregg asked.
“You want to talk to a criminal, now, do you?”
Gregg said nothing. Instead, she stared at Rina intensely. Rina averted her gaze to Grayson, then to Beauregard, but they just stared at her as well.
“I did it for fame and glory,” Rina said sarcastically.
“Which you will have eternally when we cover your trial across the galactic television networks. But really—why did you partner with them? You knew they were hostile.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” Rina said, nodding down to her burned arm.
“Where’d you get your burns?” Grayson asked. “I never asked you that.”
“I grew up on Reed. It’s at the edge of the Orion. All I know is that the pigs showed up one day, and the next, they started attacking.”
Honor's Reserve (Galaxy Mavericks Book 1) Page 5