Star Brigade: The Supremacy (SB3)

by C. C. Ekeke

  The Korvenite spotted the owner marching out, his eyestalks arched in anger. “What did you—”

  “Bitch had it coming,” Sam snapped, “and I’m not tipping. Move.”

  Angered thoughts sprang into the Korvenite’s mind. “Samantha!” she blurted out.

  A larger, heftier human rushed in to seize Sam roughly by the arm, yanking the Star Brigadier almost off her feet away from Tharyn. The human sported a quickly receding salt-and-pepper mane with a face full of pockmarks. “You ruin our meal with that…filth.”

  “Antonio—” the bistro owner raised his webbed hands in appeal, “I have this under control.”

  Terror squeezed Tharydane’s throat. The thoughts of this human Antonio were cold…merciless. He was a regular at Casa Galdora and evoked a scary menace.

  As Antonio gripped her arm, Sam stared ahead with flat, dead eyes. “Let go of me.”

  Tharyn’s breaths came in shallow gasps at the thought of this human hurting Sam. And before she could stop herself, Tharyn’s mind lurched back to that awful final day on Bimnorii so many months ago.

  Tharyn tasted that familiar wrath from her mind’s darkest corners...and the deadly power pulsing through her veins like fire, begging for release. She remembered her face then—a chalk-skinned demon with wild violet curls, powerful and laughing wickedly, pupil-less eyes blacker than night...

  A murderer like Maelstrom…

  NO! Tharyn denied that malevolence with all her willpower and abruptly returned to the present, in the restaurant with Sam. Only a few nanoclics had actually passed. Tharyn didn’t trust herself to move.

  Antonio chuckled condescendingly, dragging Sam closer until his mouth nearly touched her ear. “You need to learn some manner—RAAGH!”

  Tharyn jolted as Sam spun about, reversed Antonio’s grip, and wrenched his arm into a painful-looking arm lock behind his back, making him cry out. A hard elbow to the spine dropped Antonio to his knees. The swift right cross to the jaw dropped him to the ground.

  Tharyn gasped, as did everyone else in the restaurant. The jumpy astonishment she sensed from all around earlier now quadrupled. With a loud sigh, Sam grabbed Tharyn’s hand, stepped over Antonio, and casually strolled toward the exit as if nothing dramatic had occurred. No one dared stop her.

  Tharyn allowed herself to be led away. While exiting the restaurant, the Korvenite vaguely noticed the auto-holo salutation appear again with its same peppy zeal. “Thank you for eating at Casa Galdora. Please come back soon!”

  When the pair had first arrived at Santurce, Tharyn couldn’t stop smiling at the town’s beauty.

  Now she looked so…miserable, all hunched over and arms folded across her chest. The Korvenite’s eyes stayed fixed on the ground as they moved. Sam’s heart hurt watching this.

  Neither Sam nor Tharyn spoke during their walk to the transmat hub that would take them to Santurce’s small spaceport. Sam wanted to punch herself for exposing Tharyn like that. This time of day in the southern Carolinian Peninsula should have been perfect.

  Once they transmatted back to the spaceport to where their silvery Unionjack shuttle was parked, Tharyn used the craft’s mini-bathroom to change into fresh denims and a t-shirt.

  “I’m really sorry, Tharydane,” Sam apologized once the pair was seated in the helm of the Unionjack. “And don’t worry about that little scuffle. One call and it’s handled.”

  When Tharyn stayed silent, Sam continued, “I’ll never put you in such a dangerous position again.”

  Tharyn shrugged, gazing at the viewport. “S’not me I’m worried about,” she mumbled.

  “Then who—” Sam laughed aloud when the improbable answer hit her. “Me?” Sam shook her head sadly. “Oh kid! Let me worry about me.”

  Tharyn turned toward Sam for the first time since leaving Casa Galdora. Her features were empty. “My last keeper said that before his skull got smashed wide open by a pulse rifle,” she replied flatly.

  Sam’s eyes widened as the full weight of Tharyn’s words sunk in. She knew the general sketch of Tharyn’s background on Bimnorii, but never too many specifics. Sam shuddered.

  A series of comm beeps thankfully interrupted, Hollus Maddrone calling.

  “Of course.” Sam threw her hands up. She had told her team to hold all calls unless it was an emergency. “This better be Omega-Level, Surje,” she warned.

  “Sorry to bother you this afternoon when you asked not to be—”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “Your point?”

  The Voton was lost. “What do you mean, ‘my point’?”

  “Get to it this century!” she barked.

  Surje gulped audibly before continuing, “It’s about Kingston Reyes.”

  Sam could feel an impending dread. “What about him? Has he produced a new leads?”

  “No…” Surje’s audible fretting didn’t help. “Reyes contacted someone a day ago, but the transmission was encrypted audio only. No known origin. Addison’s decrypting now.”

  Sam didn’t like the oddness in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

  The Voton’s sigh came out heavy and almost…fearful. “After Reyes contacted whomever, he headed a little further down the sewer tunnels and completely vanished.”

  Motherfuck! Sam clenched both fists in anger. Between this, Yin’s murder, and CT-1 going dark for way too long, the hits just kept coming… “I’m heading back to Hollus,” she announced, ending the call. With calm belying her ballooning anger, Sam turned to Tharyn. Today was supposed to be about her...

  “Sorry,” she had said that word so much it irked her now. “I wanted to show you something, but—”

  Tharyn gave a listless shrug. “I just wanna go home.”

  Unsure of how to reply, Sam grimaced and flew the Unionjack out of the parking area. Before long, they were soaring over Santurce’s deep blue Santabrían Bay away towards the aerospace traffic lanes. Silence reigned as the shuttle’s ascent continued. Something within Sam was going to burst if she couldn’t find some way to right the wrong done to this girl. “No matter what happens, you can always count on me to be there for you.” Sam reached over and squeezed the girl’s shoulder.

  The Korvenite recoiled. “Sure.”

  Sam was surprised and a little hurt. “Excuse me?”

  Tharyn shifted to face Sam, her eyes hard and hostile. “How do I know that I’m not just some nice way to push your Korvenite agenda?”

  Sam sat there, stunned. How could this ungrateful little bitch say such a thing? “You actually believe that?” she asked calmly. Deep in her soul, she hoped the answer was “no.”

  “What should I believe if you lie to me all the time? I don’t know who you are.” The teenager went back to staring sullenly out the viewport.

  Sam exhaled heavily, attempting to rein in the anger choking her thoughts. Tharyn was clearly picking a fight. Who knew why, but Sam had no patience right now to find out.

  “Guess you got me all figured out, then. Bless your heart,” she bit back, her eyes full of poison. Without another word, Sam launched the Unionjack toward Terra Sollus’s atmosphere.

  Chapter 43

  For the past orv, Kingston Reyes sat parked under jets of pressurized hot water to wash away the sewage filth—his third shower in a row. It was as if the last four days had all been a disturbing nightmare.

  Just yesterday, Reyes’s last-ditch effort for shelter came through. Despite being under deep cover, his friend happily directed him to their secure, personal safehouse. After Reyes inputted a passcode his contact specified into the comm hub, he was transmatted to this glorious safehouse.

  After exiting the shower and wrapping himself in a towel, Kingston basked in his change of fortune. Its interior bore an off-white color, with a small common room, a lavatory, and a bedroom with little furniture. Small size aside, it was perfect for someone in hiding, plus with food supplies to last a year.

  The slight itching from a few days ago suddenly flared up again. Reyes stared at himself in the mirror
to see the irritation’s source. A faint greyish rash was spreading across his chest. He grimaced and rubbed feverishly, lessening the itch for the moment.

  Must be a reaction to the sewer water that Thulican monstrosity threw me in. He would get that checked out after he left Terra Sollus.

  The chirp of an audio-only transmission interrupted his thoughts. Kingston rushed to answer at the comm array on a far safehouse wall. “Are you settled?” The caller’s voice was deep and distorted to protect their identity.

  That voice made Kingston’s gratitude flow anew. “I can’t thank you enough, friend.”

  “After all you did for me?” the caller cut him off. “Absolutely!”

  Reyes winced at the thought of all who refused to help, like Europa. “You’re not the first I asked.” The two of them never used names, no matter how secure the transmission.

  “Ah, well. It doesn’t matter now.” The caller changed the subject, “I’ve ensured that Star Brigade can track you no longer. Even better, I can get your standing with Children of Earth back.”

  Reyes was astounded. Thank the Maker! Then doubt began to creep in. “What about your cover?”

  “Don’t worry—”

  Reyes shook his head fiercely. “I could never ask you to do that.”

  “You don’t have many options.” Reyes sighed in defeat at that unavoidable truth, and let his friend finish. “I capture a Korvenite, before picking you up. Then we both deliver our prize to the CoE higher-ups!”

  Reyes’s smile vanished. “How will that get me ‘back in the fold’?”

  “During the Battle of Terra Sollus,” the voice countered, clearly expecting resistance. “Remember news about a Korvie turning on her own and stopping another attack? She’s living on Hollus.”

  Reyes almost fell to his knees in shock. “The limeblood lives on the military starbase you’re located on?!” Was there no end to Union Command’s stupidity?

  “Adopted by a human race-traitor and a Kudoban.” The voice spit “Kudoban” like a curse word.

  It pretty much was, to Kingston’s ears. He shuddered. Those pencil-necked mind rapists are almost as bad as the limebloods. “How do you deal with the smell? And protecting your thoughts…”

  “The smell I’m used to,” the voice replied. “And I’m practiced at mind jingle, though the Korvenite has been a challenge. Anyway, The Korvie is extremely well protected. I can work around that, then both of us will deliver her to our superiors.”

  Reyes’s eyes narrowed. “Are you absolutely sure you can grab her?” He didn’t like uncertainties.

  “Positive,” the voice assured. “I’ll contact you in a few days once everything’s in motion.”

  Reyes suddenly felt overwhelmed. Obviously leaving Terra Sollus for good was unavoidable. But he might have his life back, no more running... “Thank you,” he said genuinely.

  “Of course,” the voice replied casually. The transmission ended shortly afterward, which was when Kingston suddenly shivered. The unmistakable chill felt all too dismal…all too familiar.

  “Wha-What?” he chattered, hugging his naked torso. Then the chill vanished. Reyes gave in to his paranoia and looked about his surroundings again. It could not be the osvowraith he had killed.

  Even so, Reyes’s contact guaranteed that nothing could find this place through conventional means.

  “I killed that beast…killed it,” he told himself confidently, but felt less than such.

  Chapter 44

  God, he is beautiful, Liliana marveled, kneeling beside her unconscious cellmate, Lt. Khal Al Abdullah. She ran her hands over his clothed form with medical thoroughness.

  No broken bones or lacerations. Heartbeat was steady. Breathing sounded shallow, but normal. The blood on Khal’s forehead concerned her, possibly a concussion from last night…or was it two days ago? Fiery red rays of early evening light streamed through the prison’s narrow openings, helping her examination.

  Liliana scraped gently at the dark worms of blood crusted over Khal’s forehead and felt a minor bump on the left side, slightly tender. Seeing nothing overtly wrong, her eyes traveled up to Khal’s lustrous ebony hair, and that face. Having a face like that should be illegal in most planets…

  Dulce Madre, Cortes! Liliana realized how far off track her mind had wandered. She couldn’t help herself. Better that distraction than staring at the red walls of their tiny prison, worrying where the rest of CT-1 was…or worse...wondering if their captors would hand them over to Ghuj’aega.

  Her last memories had been of the jusha beast horde almost overwhelming Star Brigade, then Uyull dying… followed by astonishing pain. Her whole body felt fuzzy and achy when she had woken up.

  Greeted by the stony red ceiling of this cell, Liliana quickly assessed her circumstances. She was alive, for starters, with every appendage intact.

  However, someone had removed her field costume and cleaned her up, redressing her in a long-sleeved black tee with green cargo pants. Undoubtedly, someone had mined the items from their wrecked transport. Her small pulse pistol and wristcom had also been removed. The personal violation riled Liliana more than she cared to admit. She took a knee and clasped her hands like a gun, pointing at the wall opposite her. Nothing happened.

  Confusion vibrated up Lily’s chest. Her powers should have blown a hole through that wall. She aimed and focused again. Still, nothing.

  The doctor let her arms drop in disbelief. The Ghebrekh dampened my powers! Just as quickly, Lily questioned if the Ghebrekh had actually abducted her. She would be dead, not a captive. Discovering Khal on the floor nearby only reinforced her belief that the Ghebrekh weren’t holding them. Their captors had redressed Khal as well in normal clothes from the UComm transport. Lucky them...

  “Stop it,” Lily chided her gutter brain, causing Khal to stir. “Khal, it’s me,” she replied as he stared at her in woozy recognition. “How do you feel?”

  “Wiped,” he grimaced and sat up. Liliana filled him in on what she knew of their situation and the whereabouts of their teammates. Khal stared at her in disbelief. “Then we should get outta here and rescue them,” he explained like an adult addressing a toddler.

  Liliana took his disdain with frayed patience. “I already tried.”

  Khal sprang up and waved a hand brashly at the wall. “Try harder. What the—”

  As Liliana suspected, Khal’s telekinesis had been inhibited, too. He tried again, looking as if he was pushing against an invisible barrier. Again, nothing.

  Liliana quickly offered up her diagnosis, “They tranked us with a power suppressant.”

  Khal finally let his shoulders slump in defeat. “Guess that means—whoa.” He sagged to one side.

  “Khal!” Liliana dashed forward instinctively, catching her teammate from behind before he fell over. She eased him down against the red wall encircling them, ensuring Herope’s setting light cascaded on their position so she could look him over again more accurately. Had she missed something?

  Liliana switched to “doctor mode.” Kneeling, she took Khal’s face in her hands and examined his eyes, which appeared unfocused. “Are you feeling nausea, dizziness, a headache?”

  Khal shook his head. “I feel really...drowsy.”

  “You might have a concussion from the crash. Open your mouth.”

  Khal did as asked. No obstructions in his airway. “Then again,” Liliana added, “I’m still exhausted... Must be whatever they dosed us with.”

  Khal frowned with deep loathing. “The Ghebrekh.”

  “I don’t think they’re our captors.”

  “Whatever,” Khal sniffed, letting Liliana turn his head side to side to inspect his ears. Both looked clear. “How are you feeling with the whole Uyull thing?” he asked, sounding genuinely worried.

  Lily stiffened. She had avoided thinking about the Nirandian’s death.

  Now, thanks to Khal, that situation barreled to the forefront of her mind. She steeled herself before replying. “I did everything
I could with the resources I had,” she stated evenly, like reading from a script. “Which weren’t many.” In her heart, Liliana believed that. She just hoped that Byzlar did, too. And she hadn’t even thought about Uyull’s body...and what whoever held it had done with it.

  “Any tingling in your fingers or toes?” she asked routinely, testing out his right arm’s range of motion. Khal shook his head, jostling that ebony mop of hair. She repeated this test on his left arm.

  “You look fine,” Lily announced, wincing a bit at her word choice. She recovered with a final question, “Anything else you want to tell me about?”

  “Well...” Khal’s face began to contort. The doctor’s concern spiked when Khal grabbed at his stomach uncomfortably. “I do have this intense burning...down there.”

  “Down where?” Lily’s gaze darted below Khal’s waist instantly. Her medical mind began to sort through possible ventral or lower-body issues: stomach cramping, bad reaction to the suppressant?

  Khal’s response was wild laughter. She glanced up to find his smarmy expression, and understood. Feeling a white-hot jolt of anger, Lily fought the strong urge to punch Khal “down there.” She rose to her feet instead and stomped away from him.

  “Just lightening the mood,” Khal called out, still quaking with laughter.

  She slid down in a huff to sit on the opposite wall of their cell. “I’m starting to see why no one wanted you on CT-1,” Lily hissed, wrapping both arms around her legs.

  Khal’s smarmy smirk dropped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Lily looked away, growing angrier than before. She had planned on keeping quiet. Airing others’ dirty laundry wasn’t her style. But his crude behavior left her few options. “The night before we left Magnasterium, I saw you with Uarya Ipmas.”

  Khal recoiled. “You know her name? And how much did you see?”

  She scowled, only acknowledging his first question, “I researched before the mission, like you should have! Uarya’s father owns one of the largest megacorps on Faroor. And she’s betrothed to Maorridus Magnus’s heir!”