“If we force them to stay here, then we’re no better than those who kidnapped them,” Sagitta said.
“I hardly think you can compare us to slavers, or staying on Dethocoles to going to the Zi’i. Nobody here is going to throw them into a jungle so their young can hunt them. And then eat them.”
“They believe we’ll take them back to their world.”
“If you promised them that, then you should not have done so,” a man said, sounding sad.
Angela swallowed. Actually, the captain had been careful not to promise he would return them. He must have had some inkling of this, that there would be trouble.
“It may be only temporary,” the woman said. “This world of theirs… it must be studied. From afar. Without the inhabitants detecting us. We can’t simply fly down and make contact. We dare not risk another Syanese Incident, and if their population is as great as the preliminary reports say, with billions of people there, there are many potential repercussions that must be considered before we make contact. Once they find out about the gate system and the Confederation, they could create trouble. It sounds like they’re not far from reaching spaceflight on their own. And what happens if their world truly is Gaia, the place where we all originally came from? What happens if they think that means they should become the leaders of our Confederation? Of all humanity? There is much to consider, Captain.”
“All of which can be considered after the women are returned. They’re not going to make bids to be Confederation leaders.”
“Perhaps not, but they will tell their own governments everything, and their tales could turn into the snowball that starts the avalanche.”
“Archon Lia, they—”
“With all due respect for you and your estimable career, Captain Sagitta, this is not your decision to make.”
“No, but it is my right as a citizen to argue before the Assembly.”
“And so you shall. I am simply warning you ahead of time that the vote will not come down in your favor. Come. You will see.”
Angela rubbed her face. Even though they’d been warned that this might be a possibility, she hadn’t truly imagined a future that didn’t involve her being taken home. Not since the Star Guardians had rescued them from the slavers. She’d assumed that the Star Guardians would do the right thing. And that she would go back to Arizona and the dogs at the shelter, to the training classes she was supposed to be starting in a few weeks. She had planned to go home and visit her parents before that, to see her sisters and help with the lavender, to make some of the lotions and oils that the family sold. This was—
A shout came from the courtyard, or maybe the second-story passage where the man had been.
Footsteps thundered in her direction. Angela pushed away from the wall and stepped behind Lulu, waving a hand and hoping the svenkar would face whoever was coming. She had no command for that, but Lulu stood and faced the corner anyway. The man with the briefcase raced around it, charging toward the stairs.
He’d pulled out a weapon—a dagger. Angela backed toward the edge of the stairs.
The man was so busy glancing over his shoulder as he ran that he made it halfway to Angela before he registered the huge obstacle in his path.
Lulu sprang toward him, roaring like a bear. The leash was pulled out of Angela’s hands. The man stopped so fast he skidded on the smooth stone floor. The dagger flew out of his hand as Lulu bowled into him. The svenkar buried him with her mass, and those dagger-like fangs snapped down.
“Stop, Lulu,” Angela cried, terror in her voice as blood sprayed, painting the stone wall next to them.
God, she hadn’t expected that. She raced forward to grab the leash, to use the shock collar to get the svenkar off the man.
Treyjon ran around the corner and reached Lulu at the same time.
“Off,” he barked, and Angela thought he would bodily push the svenkar back, but he also lunged for the leash.
His hand wrapped around the handle just before Angela’s, and she backed off, letting him take control. He hit a button, and Lulu stiffened, jerking her head up. Blood dripped from her fangs, and she howled in displeasure.
“Back, back,” Treyjon said, now using his body to force her away from the fallen man. “Shit,” he said looking at what remained.
Angela could only stand stock-still and stare. Lulu had ripped the man’s throat and chest to pieces. His eyes were frozen open, the horror and pain locked there even though he wasn’t moving. Wasn’t breathing.
Tremors wracked Angela’s body as she realized he was dead.
A bang sounded from somewhere below. Treyjon lunged toward the low wall looking out toward the river, park, and plaza.
“There’s the other one. Angela, here. Take this.” He thrust the handle of the leash toward her.
Take it? Was he joking?
“This one isn’t going to talk now,” Treyjon said. “I have to catch the other one. Here.” He wrapped her fingers around the leash handle, manipulating her thumb to rest it on the button. “Angela?”
He glanced toward the half wall again, clearly wanting to go after that man, but he gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look in his eyes. “Angela, I need you, please. Watch her. I’ll be right back. Promise. All right?”
She nodded shakily. It was all she could manage.
He took it for assent and vaulted over the low wall, dropping into the plaza below.
Hands shaking, Angela didn’t go to the wall to watch his progress or see whether he would catch up with the man. Her feet weighed a hundred pounds each, and she couldn’t move them.
The svenkar walked toward her, and fear surged into her chest. That fear almost gave her the power to lift those leaden weights on her legs and race down the stairs, but Lulu merely sat beside her, looking at her like a hunting dog proud that it had caught a pheasant and wanting to know what they were doing next. Even sitting on her haunches, Lulu’s eyes and bloody snout were as high up as Angela’s face. It was unnerving as hell.
Angela tried to pull herself together, to exert her pack-leader confidence, even though she was still shaking inside, even though her mind was silently screaming that this hunting “dog” had just murdered a human being.
But she wasn’t a dog. Treyjon had told her that. Everyone had. This was, as she herself had said, an apex predator. She’d been walking around the city with something as wild and deadly as a tiger or lion on a leash. She was lucky it hadn’t killed before this and that it hadn’t turned on her. It was impossible not to feel uneasy—and outright scared—to be alone with the svenkar now. She wished Treyjon hadn’t left and prayed that he would return right away.
Lulu lifted her chin expectantly.
Angela stared. It took a long moment for her to realize the svenkar wanted her chin scratched. Lulu thought she’d done a good thing and wanted to be rewarded.
“You did protect me, didn’t you?” Angela whispered, not looking toward the dead man. The dagger he’d pulled out as he’d run had likely been for Treyjon, in case he caught up to him, but Lulu wouldn’t have known that. She’d seen a threat running toward her and Angela, and she’d taken care of it.
Lulu twitched her head, as if to draw attention to her bared throat.
Though her hand still trembled, Angela lifted it to scratch the svenkar’s chin. Thankfully, it wasn’t bloody. Her chest was, as were the sides of her snout, but Angela found a bare spot. The creature sighed contentedly.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and the svenkar lowered her head and growled.
Treyjon came into sight, taking the steps three at a time. He was alone. Did that mean he’d lost the other man? That all this had been pointless?
He slowed when he heard the growl and looked at Angela. “You definitely have a bodyguard now.”
“Yeah,” Angela said, her voice hoarse. She couldn’t keep from glancing at the shredded body on the floor.
Treyjon winced. “I’m sorry about that. That was my mistake. I thought the man would see yo
u two and turn around right away, that I would be the one to deal with him.” He slapped the side of his belt. “I should have brought a stunner with me. He needn’t have died, especially before we could question him. I didn’t think I’d need a bunch of weapons, walking around the capital. There are police, and it’s a peaceful city. Usually.”
“Do we need to, uh. Will there be repercussions for…” Angela waved toward the body and grimaced. She imagined herself being thrown into jail for life on some strange planet.
“Yes, but I’ll deal with them. He was running at you with a dagger, so even if some camera somewhere caught it, I think a court of jurors will rule it self-defense. Regardless, the svenkar is my responsibility, so I’ll take charge and talk to the law.”
“Thank you. I—” Angela didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want him to be in trouble, either, but she was relieved that he would take charge and shield her from the law.
Some of the tension seeped out of her limbs, and she suddenly felt like she might collapse.
Treyjon must have seen that, because he stepped forward and reached out to her.
Lulu growled.
Treyjon puffed out his chest and growled back as he slipped his arms around Angela’s waist. Lulu’s tail swished, but she stopped growling.
Angela slumped against Treyjon’s chest, glad for his support. He held her gently and stroked the back of her head. She was so relieved she wasn’t here alone, that she had someone to look out for her.
“The other one jumped into a boat waiting for him in the canal,” Treyjon said. “I ran alongside the water, trying to catch up to it, but it was too fast. All I managed to get were some pictures of the side of the man’s face and the boat.”
Angela nodded, feeling his irritation with himself, but not having anything to say. She didn’t yet trust her voice.
“I think the captain saw me,” Treyjon went on. “I was confronting that man as he walked through a doorway following the archons. He didn’t seem that surprised. Maybe he’d noticed their eavesdropping on his own. I hope he checks his messages.” Treyjon looked toward the body. “Wonder if he has any identification on him.”
Angela sensed that he wanted to check. She wasn’t ready to step out of the hug, but she did anyway, nodding to let him know that she was fine. Even if it was a lie.
Treyjon squeezed her shoulder, then headed for the man. But after pausing, he jogged past and around the corner.
Before she could ask, he returned with the man’s briefcase in hand. He opened it.
“Empty. Just a dummy.”
He tossed it aside.
“I don’t imagine spies carry their spy orders around with them,” Angela said, glad some of the raspy distress had left her voice. She didn’t exactly feel normal, though. She longed to return to the ship and take a shower. And even though she understood Lulu and what she was, she needed a break from the svenkar. She also needed that blood to be cleaned off Lulu before she could work with her again.
“No,” Treyjon said, crouching by the body, “but a clue or two would help.”
He didn’t seem bothered by the blood or the fact that the man’s throat and chest had been torn out. He searched the pockets and patted him down.
“Nothing,” he eventually said. “Not even a wallet. I bet he doesn’t have a banking or ID chip, either.”
Treyjon brought up a holographic camera on his logostec and took a picture of the man’s face.
“Since the captain will probably be in the Assembly for a while and won’t be checking his messages, I guess it’s up to me to take charge on this,” Treyjon said. “Let’s head back to the Falcon. I’ll contact the police, and see if anyone on the ship can help search the planetary and Confederation databases for a possible match for these faces.” He came to stand beside her again. “And you look like you could use someone better than me to lean against.”
“Who would that be?”
Her parents? They were literally light-years away. It had been almost a year since she’d had a boyfriend, and she wasn’t sure Kevin Meeker would count as someone she wanted to lean against after watching a man be killed.
“Your female friends?” Treyjon suggested.
“Juanita would think this a magnificent adventure, one that would give her ideas for her novels.”
“The doctor then? Tala?”
“She’s not the most empathetic person I’ve met. I doubt she knows how to hug people.”
Treyjon snorted, not disagreeing. “Must be fun for her lovers.” He offered his arm as they headed to the stairs. “Well, you can lean on me as often as you want.”
“Good,” she whispered, walking close to him and welcoming the supportive arm that went around her waist.
This time, Lulu didn’t growl. She followed behind them. Correction: she followed behind Angela.
As they walked out of the building, Angela tried not to dwell on the fact that she now seemed to be bonded with a natural killer.
7
Several hours later, Treyjon walked into engineering. Even though he’d promised to be support for Angela, the police had been waiting for them when they returned to the ship, so he’d had to send her and Lulu in on their own while he talked to them. Dealing with them had taken hours, but at least the police hadn’t made any threats about putting Treyjon or Angela in jail—though someone had muttered that the svenkar should be put down. Treyjon had rushed to the animal’s defense, saying that she tracked down criminals for Captain Sagitta, and that if the police wanted to kill his expert tracking svenkar, they could take it up with him.
None of them had seemed interested in doing so, especially after finding out it would have required interrupting a meeting with the archons. Eventually, Treyjon had managed to turn their attention to the men who’d been spying on Sagitta. He’d shared the pictures he’d gotten of both, and they had looked them up in the planetary database. They hadn’t found any matches. They’d promised to keep looking, but Treyjon had a feeling he would have to spearhead the investigation. Eventually, the police had agreed to let Treyjon go while they continued their investigation. He wasn’t exactly exonerated, but he was sure he would have had a lot more trouble if he hadn’t worn a Star Guardian uniform.
“You in here, Hierax?” Treyjon asked, stopping in the center of the bright engineering room, the white walls almost painfully clean. Machinery hummed even though the ship was docked with most of the systems powered down.
“Where else would I be?” came a call from behind a block of machinery.
“Everyone else is taking advantage of a night off to get drunk or have sex. Or both.”
“Not interested in either unless I can do them in here.”
“You’re not my type sexually, but I guess I could bring you some wine.”
Treyjon walked around the machinery to find Hierax bent over a workstation, tools and parts and bits of wiring scattered all over it. As usual, Hierax wore a gray tank top with his uniform trousers, his fatigue jacket, the part of the uniform he ought to be in, nowhere to be seen. Twenty pounds worth of tools hung from his utility belt, along with some of the mechanized trinkets he was known for making. The glasses he wore weren’t a part of his usual look, and when he looked up, his eyes seemed oddly large behind the lenses.
“That’s unfortunate, Treyjon. You’re missing out by not expanding your sexual horizons.”
“Yeah? Do you turn to your gizmos for hand jobs when you get lonely on long voyages?” Treyjon waved to the belt.
Hierax unclasped one of them, a bronze and silver thing with wings, then tossed it into the air. At first, Treyjon feared he was going to demonstrate its man-pleasuring capabilities, but all it did was fly up and start polishing the ceiling with tiny brushes.
“It’s only a hand job if the gadget has a hand, Treyjon,” Hierax said as if he were talking to a child. “And no, I haven’t found the urge to make sex toys since I was a horny teenager.” He grinned. “My mother was horrified when she found some of them in a s
hoebox. After that, I learned to disguise them or give them multiple functions. To this day, Mother doesn’t know that the crevice duster that she used to clean out the cupboards was one of my favorites.” His grinned widened.
“You’re a weird man, Hierax.”
“My school years were lonely. I didn’t look like this then, you know.” He tapped one of the substantial pectoral muscles under his tank top. “It was hard to woo the ladies.”
“What did you look like?” Treyjon asked, curious despite the more pressing matters on his mind.
“A skinny stick. I got tired of being beat up, so I took martial arts. That helped me bulk up into a slightly less skinny stick. When the Star Guardians approached me, more for my engineering knack than my combat skills, I’m sure, I got some muscle implants and started taking GrowthGain. I was afraid I’d end up being picked on here, too, if I didn’t look like I fit in.”
“Little did you know that we would pick on you anyway, right?” Treyjon slapped him on the back.
Hierax wasn’t the tallest of the Star Guardians, but he definitely looked like he fit in. Until he started talking about his passions, like building self-pleasuring dusting robots.
“At least nobody’s tried to stuff me into the spacesuit storage cabinets. That happened on my first ship during the war. You’d think humans could band together when they have a common enemy, but no, I had to knock a lot of thugly soldiers on their asses before they’d leave me alone. There was also less abuse after I fixed the engines against impossible odds and was single-handedly responsible for us evading being sucked into a Zi’i warship.”
“That’ll make a man appreciate his engineer. Did you get my pictures, Hierax? The police came up empty, but I hear you’re almost as good at finding things on the network as you are at making weird things.”
“Weird? My automatons are useful and functional, not weird.” He winked. “Just ask my mom.”
“I’m getting way too much information about you and your family today.”
Treyjon raised his eyebrows as the cleaning gadget flew back down, dropped a dust ball in a waste bin, and came to rest on the workstation in front of Hierax. He hooked it back to his belt.
Treyjon: Star Guardians, Book 2 Page 8