by Lynn Rae
Salvaged Destiny
Lynn Rae
Blush Sensuality Level: This is a sensual romance (may have explicit love scenes, but not erotic in frequency or type).
Delphine Browen knows what it takes to survive on the rough agricultural planet of Sayre. She helps with her family’s recycling business, prospects for minerals in the Outlands and keeps clear of corrupt officials.
When a handsome security officer recruits her for a secret mission, she’s suspicious. But it’s his allure that worries her the most—Lazlo Casta makes her feel things she finds hard to ignore. Things that involve getting up close and far more personal than a simple salvage operation.
Lazlo wants to impress his boss and prove to himself he can handle a clandestine assignment. After meeting Del, he’s certain she’s the woman for the job. He vows to keep their interactions professional, even though his thoughts often stray to sharing activities that involve horizontal surfaces.
Retrieving the weapons brings risk and unexpected danger. Can Lazlo must protect Del while they explore the chemistry sparking between them?
A Blush® futuristic sci-fi romance from Ellora’s Cave
Salvaged Destiny
Lynn Rae
Chapter One
As the old cart jiggled and joggled over the dusty terrain as if it were having a seizure, Delphine Browen just grinned and tried not to bite her tongue with each out-of-synch vibration. The green fields were just visible in the distance, a beautiful contrast to the burgundy rocks of the Outlands. Catching sight of them meant she was about an hour away from a hot shower, clean clothes and something good to eat.
And she had found some wonderful things. Several grams of red tektites, a wonderful striated spinel and some big chunks of dark-green and cream-banded verspar tourmaline filled the sample cases in the back of her cart, all carefully wrapped in well-worn rags. The satisfaction of a successful treasure hunt filled her with pleasure.
The thought of adding to her bank account filled her with relief.
The humid air started to smell of growing things the closer she got to the port and left behind the musty fungal scent of her native Sayre. A haze of moisture and pollen hovered above the fields filled with wheat, rice, orchards and vegetables. Tapping her datpad to send out a ping signaling she was on her way home, Delphine concentrated on her driving rather than speculating on how many marks she might have made with her haul. She maneuvered her cart from the rough track she’d been on to the pavement heading toward the settlement and then increased the cart’s velocity, grateful for the smooth surface. The cart also seemed to appreciate it; the propeller smoothed and quieted and all of the components squeaked a lot less.
With a squawk and a hiss, her dilapidated datpad woke and Delphine answered with a firm tap of her finger. The datpad was old and it seemed to take a lot of pressure on the sensors for it to notice her.
“Del, pet, where are you?” her father called out and she smiled, pleased to hear him.
“Pa, you have my ping. Just look on the map.”
“Now you know those glo maps are hard on my old eyes.”
“I’m on the Long Road, about forty minutes from the fields.” She took a deep breath and felt lighter just knowing how close she was.
“Excellent. Will you be coming over for dinner?”
“No, Dee Dee and I are going out later.”
“Fine, I’ll tell your mother. Also, Juli isn’t feeling well. Could you cover for her tomorrow?”
“What’s her assignment for that day?”
“Biologics. Pickup and drop-off.”
Del considered this. Collecting waste vegetable materials from restaurants and delivering them to swineherds and the composters was a relatively pleasant task. It was infinitely preferable to sorting through office trash in the hot warehouse or draining hydraulics from scrapped loaders. Even pig barns smelled better than rancid lubricants on a hot day. And she had been gone for two days, not contributing to the family business at all and pursuing her own interests.
“I can do it, Pa. What time to start?”
“Sleep in—you must be tired after your roving. Start at nine.”
“That I can do, Pa.” Del grinned to herself, pleased to be helpful.
“Thanks, pet. Ping your ma when you’re home safe for the night.”
“Will do.”
“Did you find some good stuff?” her father asked. He sounded a little envious. He’d taught her everything she knew about exploring the wild areas of Sayre and they’d worked as a team for a decade before he’d had to stick closer to home.
“Yeah, I surely did. A bunch of variegated tourmaline and some big tektites are the best things. After I get it cleaned up and organized I’ll show you.”
“That sounds good. See you later.”
Del signed off and started to think about what she would need to do tomorrow. Then she wondered what Dee Dee had planned for that evening. Her little sister missed her and Del knew that spending time with her tonight would mean a lot to both of them. She just hoped it wouldn’t involve loud music and chatting with men. She was too exhausted for such wastes of time. She would have preferred to retreat to her little place, scrub and sort minerals, and drink a glass of illegal whiskey.
*
Lazlo waited outside Major Sekar’s office, trying not to look as nervous as he felt— and trying not to become entangled in Lieutenant Dugal’s large and menacing palm tree. Neither task was easy to accomplish. He was tall but the palm dwarfed him and this was the first formal meeting he would be having with his commander after the recent disaster at the dock. He’d been in charge of a hostage situation and it had ended badly. Lazlo sighed with regret. If only he’d said something different, if only he’d made a grab for the stunner.
Lazlo considered sitting down and trying to relax as he waited for his summons but the available chair looked small and uncomfortable and it was located directly under the palm. The major’s assistant, Lieutenant Dugal, was pointedly ignoring him. Best just to stay standing at near attention and be ready to respond to whatever might happen next. And not start to pace.
The inner office door opened and Major Sekar beckoned him to enter. Lazlo walked in and waited to sit until his commander indicated a chair. The room was austerely bare other than large displays showing real-time views of the port. The only spot of color was a clear cylinder filled with liquid and a soft-looking green ball resting at the bottom directly underneath a full-spectrum light along one edge of his commander’s nearly bare desk. They both sat quietly for a moment. Major Sekar’s dark, sharp eyes studied him with no expression on his face. Lazlo realized he was probably going to be demoted or transferred again. Galaxies blessed he hadn’t brought much with him when he’d moved to Sayre, so the packing wouldn’t take too long.
“Lieutenant, I first want to congratulate you on how well you handled the psilo investigation. You had everything wrapped up in record time and with minimal expense,” the major said quietly as he rested his hands on the desktop.
“Thank you, sir.” Lazlo felt dizzy with relief.
“I’m placing a letter of commendation in your record.” The major rumbled as he glanced over Lazlo’s shoulder at the wall monitors and frowned. Lazlo couldn’t turn his head to look at what had caught his commander’s attention. A riot? An assault? Or just an overturned pallet of avocados?
“Thank you, sir.”
“And I would like to give you a few days off.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But I can’t.” His commander snapped his gaze back to Lazlo.
Lazlo swallowed, unsure of what the major was talking about. Of course, he didn’t actually need the time off—he loved what he was doing. But perhaps he was going to be reassigned back to pat
rol. He knew the port was short on experienced officers and there had been an uptick in crime lately.
“Of course, sir. I’ll happily serve wherever I’m needed.”
“I know. But something has come to us that I need you to take on and resolve with the same speed and initiative that you showed in your previous assignment.”
Lazlo waited, completely at a loss. There hadn’t been any rumors floating around the station and his friends around security had merely wanted to chat with him about an upcoming concert rather than any unusual assignments in the works. Major Sekar glanced at a display and then hit a button on his desk.
“We just received an order from the system governor, direct from the Congressional military committee, that we need to find something here on Sayre. Something that has been misplaced for over eighty years.” His commander leaned back in his chair and his severe features tightened as he contemplated something amiss in his jurisdiction.
“Apparently, when the military was the sole owner and occupant of the planet, they used some experimental equipment here, most of which was of course disposed of properly. However, some things never were recovered and after an extensive search of old records at headquarters, Congress needs them back. According to the orders I just sent you, several pieces of equipment left here back then contained rare elements in their circuitry that are now even more uncommon after the loss of the mines on 42-AR. The theory is they are still stashed in a storage facility in the Outlands.”
Lazlo remembered reading the news reports on how geologic instability had made working the mines on that planet too dangerous, even for bots. The return rate had dropped to less than one percent and no matter the enormous subsidies the government offered, no private company could turn a profit on 42-AR anymore.
“So we have to find them and return them to their absentminded owners so that new and improved weapons can be made and we can all rest that much easier at night,” Major Sekar concluded. Lazlo watched his commander, unsure if he was making a joke. He decided not to smile and risk being wrong. Rubbing a large hand over his bare head, his commander relaxed a bit and leaned back in his chair. “I would take on the search myself with Citizen Kidd’s assistance, but her injuries prevent that.”
Guilt rushed in him again. Injuries to Bara Kidd that he had triggered when he had confronted her captor and former friend at the docks. “Sir, about that. I want to apologize again for what happened—”
“Why? You didn’t do anything wrong. You followed procedures correctly and reacted in a very effective manner. I don’t blame you for what happened and Citizen Kidd certainly does not. In fact, she has pestered me to invite you to dinner so she can thank you for all of your help.”
“Really?” Another wave of dizzy relief filled Lazlo and he realized that he hadn’t been taking deep breaths the whole time he’d been in the office. Inhaling to the bottom of his lungs, he waited for whatever would come next.
“Yes. So back to our current issue. Since I’m not able to take on the task, much as the idea of spending some time hiking in the back of beyond with Citizen Kidd appeals to me, I would like you to find these items. Citizen Kidd knows a great deal about the history of the port and the records that might be useful in the search. She has formulated some search parameters for you while she has been recuperating, which kept her occupied. Of course, she is quite skeptical that the military has any accurate idea of what they used to own eighty years ago, but that’s an informationist for you. She has also recommended two possible guides for you to approach for assistance. This is nothing to attempt on your own. The uncharted areas of this planet are quite forbidding,” Major Sekar warned him with a stern look.
Lazlo nodded, already starting to wonder how in the galaxy he was going to accomplish this. Uncharted? Then how in the galaxy did anyone know where something might have been stored for the last eight decades? He was starting to appreciate Citizen Kidd’s skepticism. Since he’d never ventured much beyond the port itself aside from some visits to the hot springs with friends, Lazlo had no firsthand knowledge of how dangerous the unsettled areas of Sayre might be.
“She knows both of these individuals and since I’m new here, I’m going to simply pass along her information and you can decide who to hire. The man, Avo Kirk, has had a few minor convictions for disturbing the peace and failure to pay debts. The woman, Delphine Browen, has a clean record. The terms you reach are at your discretion. If you can get one of them to volunteer, all the better for my mid-year budget. If you need to pay, we can only authorize a reward upon delivery of the weapons, not for wages for the time it might take to find them. The maximum amount we could pay is included with the data I have sent you. Of course, if you can negotiate a smaller amount, the budget will thank you and I will as well. We’d like this wrapped up by the end of the month. Any questions?”
“No sir, at least none until I’ve read the orders.”
“Very good. Reach me today if you have any questions. You start tomorrow. And also, do not mention this to anyone outside this room, other than whomever you contract as your guide. And your guide must abide by a nondisclosure agreement as well. That’s included too. Communicate with me by a secure channel and give me a report every day. Keep in mind that you will be intruding on Sheriff Harata’s jurisdiction and he is unlikely to be cooperative with our efforts, so keep your distance and keep a low profile. The last thing we need is any excuse for him to posture and fume.”
“Yes sir. Thank you.”
“Do you have some good hiking boots?” The question came out of nowhere and Lazlo had to take a moment to think. “You can’t go out there without proper footgear.”
“Yes sir. I do have some, from my tactical training rotation on WG-87.” And that had been a torturous posting—cold, windy and a mess hall that seemed incapable of serving food at anything other than room temperature.
Major Sekar watched him again, calm and neutral as usual. “Very good. I will have Citizen Kidd contact you about that dinner. I won’t have a moment’s peace until she has it scheduled.”
“Yes sir. I’m sure that whenever she would like to host, I will be able to attend.”
“That’s the right attitude, Lieutenant. Maintain that and the partner in your life will be pleased with you.” His commander’s eyes glinted with something that might have been close to amusement in another man, but with the major it was hard to tell.
Feeling as if he’d missed something, Lazlo rose and shook the major’s hand and left the office. He paused in the reception area once the door had closed and looked at the silent Lieutenant Dugal with some confusion. He remembered meeting Citizen Kidd once at the Officer’s Club. She’d been sitting with the major, but he hadn’t realized that they knew each other that well. And of course the next time he had seen her, stunners had been used and she had suffered severe injuries while he watched. He’d just assumed that the major was uninterested in women or men or anything other than law enforcement and regulations.
“New assignment?” The man glanced at him and then turned to his display, likely to look for a new assignment notation for Lazlo. Well, he wasn’t going to find it if this task was as secretive as the major had indicated.
“Yes. No, not really. Just some days off.” The slight deception wasn’t easy for Lazlo to make, but he stumbled through it. “Say, Dugal, do you know anything about Citizen Kidd?”
“Certainly. She’s a lovely person.” Now Dugal was looking at him with a considering expression.
“Ah.” Citizen Kidd was pretty, but it seemed there was something else not being said.
“The major pointedly thinks so,” Dugal added in a knowing manner. With an icy stab of fear, Lazlo realized Sekar and Citizen Kidd were involved. With each other. Dating or cohabitating, but certainly intimate with each other. Nebula’s Balls, he’d allowed his commander’s companion to be shot and nearly killed. He was lucky he wasn’t in jail. Or in the medical center recovering from a severe beating. Major Sekar was a wicked hand-combat i
nstructor, as Lazlo already had cause to know. When the man had first arrived on Sayre he’d offered to be Lazlo’s sparring partner during a workout and Major Sekar had thoroughly wiped the walls and floor with him. Lazlo still had residual aches when he thought of it.
“I see,” Lazlo said with resignation.
“I think you do.” Dugal attacked a few points on his display. “And now that she is on the road to recovery the atmosphere in these offices has definitely improved. Which you in particular should be grateful for.”
“She wants to invite me to dinner.”
“Lucky you. Enjoy yourself, but don’t bother with bringing wine, just some chocolates. She prefers dark, he likes milk.” The lieutenant gave him another severe look and then turned back to his display, likely hunting for the particulars of Lazlo’s service history to evaluate him as a proper dining companion for his supervisor and the very treasured Bara Kidd.
Lazlo didn’t feel up to asking for any more explanations, and with a wave he left the offices and went to his desk to start reading about the new assignment. It was somewhat undercover and independent, so it looked as if he wasn’t headed back to patrol just yet.
*
Thankfully, Dee Dee had merely wanted to go to the Bunker after having dinner together, which meant Del could actually relax. If they’d gone to one of the port bars, there would have been loud music, strange drinks, meeting new people and men trying to pick up Dee Dee, all of whom became annoying after about forty-five minutes. And Del liked the Bunker and most of the people who went there—native Sayrians like herself. The bar was too hard to find for porties to bother with and the ag workers preferred their own establishments that were more forgiving of dirty boots and clothing.
The Bunker was like a large living room—cozy, quiet and relaxing if you were willing to ignore the fact it was located inside a repurposed ammunition storage bunker. Of course, all of the explosives and toxic agents were long gone, at least according to common knowledge. Del had her doubts about the accuracy of common knowledge.