Seeing Stars
Page 17
With the vessels of Earth after them, Rhus laughed as he and Salvia sped off, their beacons still clutched in their hands.
Haber tried his best but couldn’t catch up with them before they reached the chasm.
About the Author
I am a child of the global South. In the past, I have run my own IT consultancy business, bookshop, gym, swimming pool business and martial arts school.
So far in my life, I have been a corporate trainer, lecturer, satirist, martial arts instructor, project manager, political essayist, small business owner and am now proud to call myself a fiction writer. Although I love romance, I have to admit my first love is science-fiction and the opportunity to combine both genres was irresistible! I do hope you enjoy reading my stories.
Together with my husband, we have lived and worked in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. We adore our two children and tolerate as necessary evils our two grumpy, fur-shedding cats.
Email: ks@ksaugustin.com
KS loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com.
Also by KS Augustin
A Pirate’s Passion
Prime Suspect
On Bliss
His Bodyguard: Guarding His Body
Cougars and Cubs: Singapore Sizzle
Star Struck
Buffi BeCraft
Dedication
I was a tomboy/geek/nerd before I knew what any of that meant.
This is for my tomboy/geek/nerd friends and family who helped wear out three sets of Star Trek and Star Wars movies long before we started on the DVD versions. Late night black and white monster flicks (Dad). For actually sitting down with us (Mom) when it wasn’t your thing. For appreciating my eight-foot-long, purple scarf while we stood in line to get Tom Baker’s autograph (Angela). It’s also for the hours my three home-peeps put in patiently explaining video games and animé to me (Jason, John, and my Shae-Shae).
I love all of you guys.
Chapter One
Captain Drew Roberts rummaged through the crate of spare parts, her mood going from sour to downright bitchy. The warm exhaust-heavy air, the norm for any port and a must for a space station, wafted in through the aft engine room doors. Air quality on Celestial VIII was better than most. She hefted the wrench, a nice old-fashioned, earther tool that should get the job done. Switching on the power, Drew hit the start-up sequence from the maintenance panel, listening for the catch and stutter that was keeping her grounded and eating at her profits.
Watching the entwined barrels of the massive engine hum, she held her breath as the hiccup began in the first, sending a shudder through the ship. She hit the kill switch before the jerking stutter pulled the engine from its moorings. Or before anything else made strange noises.
She crouched in front of the first engine barrel and stared into the open panel at the jungle of wiring and computer boards and sensor knobs. “Okay, Mara,” Drew whispered to her dead business partner and mechanic. She’d been speaking Galaxy I Common for so long, she rarely even thought in her own language anymore. “What would you do?” She closed her eyes, hoping to channel just a little bit of her friend’s genius. When nothing occurred immediately, she reached one hand in, hoping for a little luck in the place of her lacking skill. The first hiccup was on this side. Surely, she could see a burned out thingamajig or something. Aha! A blackened knob was tucked up next to the optic wiring going to the next barrel. Drew was pretty sure she’d seen one of those in the crate. “I got you now, you little bastard.” She reached down for the wrench.
“You do not want to use that on a crystal hybrid engine.” The smooth voice jerked Drew around, swinging the huge-ass wrench in front of her as she rolled to the balls of her feet. Quickly, she assessed the intruder—smarter than his pretty looks if he could identify a hybrid engine. Human descent, male, pale skin, medium build, loose travelling clothes. With his colouring, chestnut and gold topknot, tilted eyes and full upper lip, she connected the dots and lowered the wrench a fraction. Long dormant hormones blinked to wakefulness. Yeah, he was hot, but she wasn’t buying anything a trader offered.
“Sorry, I’m not taking on passengers.” She used the end of the wrench to point at the engine. It pained her, but she admitted her failure anyway. “Engine trouble.” Mara would have had the stupid thing running in seconds. He nodded, approaching carefully, bringing with him the scent of wild primitive forests, a real scent, not a fabricated cologne. “I heard.” Mischief glittered in the shadows of his grey eyes. The tip of one long canine peeked when he smiled. To some that would be a turnoff. Mara always teased Drew about her fascination with dangerous men. In the end, Mara beat her hands down in worst boyfriend material. The moral? Never date cold-blooded men. “Most of the port heard.” He pointed at the open panel. “May I?”
“You’ve got the look, kith-ra, just not the attitude.” Those grey eyes lost some of the polite genteelness she hadn’t noticed until it was gone. She almost felt bad about her rudeness before remembering who was responsible for the turn her life had taken.
Still, his manner reminded her very much of the one and only time she’d seen the legendary warriors. Sleek, efficient fighters defending the evacuation of their people with the ferocity of leopards when pirates invaded the Silas Two station. That glimpse she’d got had stuck with her all these years. The pirates had been clumsy thugs. A bunch of clumsy thugs that had won the station by sheer numbers, but Drew watched the kith-ra battle from her ship’s security surveillance. The pirates didn’t have a chance. Kith-ra danced and wove in perfect choreography, keeping the path clear for the last of their clan to board their ship.
“Kith-dana,” he corrected the inflection hard on the last two syllables. “I am no warrior.”
“Ashwin!” The bellow from the doors had Drew bringing up her wrench again. Once again, human and male, this man was lethally muscled. Darker streaks of chestnut twined in his hair. Neither was unusual for this part of the universe. Drew had seen different species of humans with every hair and eye colour imaginable, fantastic only to her because it was a naturally occurring phenomenon. Feathered aviary people and draconi were less common.
And again, that troubling flash of libido reared up, reminding Drew of her neglected sex life. He glided in, taking in her first visitor without any kind of warmth in his lighter grey eyes. Her personal danger sensor went wild, reminding her of that first glimpse she’d had of his kind. Her second thought was of the promise to love and cherish that Mara’s hot and dangerous boyfriend had given before he killed her.
Without thinking, she stepped past her visitor, putting herself between them. Kith-ra. Drew had no tolerance for bullies. She let out a breath, preparing to defend her ship and her impromptu guest. The steely gaze flicked over her, assessing her, her coveralls, and her weapon, then fixed on the kith-dana. “Ashwin, there is no time for sightseeing.”
Ashwin touched a hand on her shoulder, giving her another sexy whiff of man and forest. She wasn’t much reassured by his fanged smile, however it had been intended. Kith-ra had a badass rep for a reason. He walked around her, pushing the wrench down, that damn confident smile actually working on the scary newcomer. “This is Kormec. He means no harm to you.” he told her, then to the warrior, “I found our pilot.”
Kormec looked her over again making Drew’s hands clench on her wrench. Her black hole of a week finally exploded. Her best friend was dead. Her livelihood was threatened. And the port authority was adding another one hundred credits to her bill every day the Pandora stayed docked. So far, she could pay, but it was eating a hole in her savings. She pointed her weapon at him. “Time to leave, big guy.” Her eyes never left Kormec’s hands, long-fingered lethal weapons that hovered around the knives on the wide leather belt holding his tunic closed. Perversely, she wondered what other talents those fingers had. “Look, Ash. It’s nice to meet you, but I can’t possibly be your pilot. Engine trouble, remember? So, you
and Korm here should probably find a ship actually taking on passengers.”
Kormec’s lip twitched. “The woman does not want us here.” The cat-eyed bastard actually smirked at her! “We must leave now.”
Ashwin shook his head. “She is our pilot.” Kormec’s eyes turned harder as he closed the distance between them. The less bulky man held his ground, his lowered eyes indicative of how much self-control it took not to back down. “She is the one. This is the ship we must leave on.”
“Guys, look. I can’t be your pilot.” They ignored her. Face to face, both men were striking. One more dominant than the other, yet neither subservient, but the effect was sexy as hell. Drew set the wrench down and wiped her hand on the grimy coveralls, deliberately enunciating each word. “The ship is bro-ken. Not working.”
Kormec reached out, grasping Ash’s forearm. His voice lowered. “Even if this woman was the one, she does not want us here. There is word that the Starpath is docking in an hour. We have to go.”
“The Starpath is a merchant trade vessel.” She should know—Captain Larissa managed to sweep up a nice sodium chloride deal out from under her a couple of months ago. She eyed her ‘guests’ a little harder, finally dredging up the little known fact that the Starpath was part of one of the nomadic kith clan. “Nightsky.” She snapped her fingers in triumph, grinning in the little thrill of discovery that tingled through her. “You guys are part of clan Nightsky.”
The revelation pulled Kormec from his little battle of the wills. The hard planes of his smooth cheeks worked. “We are leaving now.” His final decree. He gave a small bow and turned, Ash behind him as he started down the ramp. Both men looked just as yummy from the back, Korm all solid muscle and Ash athletic grace. One foot on the ramp, the warrior stopped, holding his arm out. Ash froze, backing up instantly. His hair whipped over one shoulder as he did a quick scan of the engine hold.
“Another exit.” The grey shadows in his eyes were hunted. Looking around him and Korm, Drew could see another pair of kith coming down the dock towards her slip. Korm’s tense posture, the hand on his knife hilt. Drew closed her eyes against the mental vision of those kith-ra protecting their own from the pirates. “Please…” Ashwin breathed.
“This way.” Hoping she wasn’t getting herself killed, because she knew she’d just stepped in a big pile of trouble. “Korm.” She hissed at the warrior, relieved when he finally turned. On the dock, the two still hadn’t seen them. Drew pressed her hand to the ID plate, waving them both inside. The door slid shut¸ cutting off whatever the big man had been about to say. Drew turned, taking in a steadying breath and picked up her wrench.
“Hallo, the ship,” called yet another visitor. Drew crossed to the ramp, wrench on her shoulder. Her eyebrow rose at the luxurious silk tunic and multiple braids woven into the kith-ra’s bland brown hair. He was pretty and polite, she’d give him that, but ho-hum compared to Ashwin’s understated elegance and Kormec’s in-your-face power.
“Hallo, the dock.” Drew leaned against her ship, big-ass wrench on her shoulder, slipping it off when he started up the ramp. “Sorry, no passengers.” His companion stopped at the foot of the ramp, just as pretty as him. Their fancy tunics and boots did nothing to rev her engine. Fancy man walked up the ramp, pulling a holo-card from his pocket. On the surface, the likeness of Ash and Korm shimmered—dressed to kill in silk and hair ornaments…everything was high-class perfect. The weight of the wrench slapped solidly into her opposite hand. Drew shifted to block her engine bay door. “No passengers,” she repeated.
“These two have been seen on this dock.” His snotty demeanour really pissed Drew off. “There is a reward for information.”
“Yeah, yeah. Get off my ship.”
The kith-ra’s tilted eyes narrowed to slanted slits of murky green. “Have you seen them?”
“Suure… Come on back. I’m hiding them out so that I can have my wild wicked way with them later.” She snorted, pointing the wrench at his pretty embroidered sash. Oh, please, God, do not let this asshole try to get past. He would crumble her like a cracker. But not after she whacked him a couple of times with her wrench. “Now, get the fuck off my ship before I call port authority and file a harassment complaint.”
He stared at her, his equally visually boring buddy behind him ready to back him up. Drew met him stare for stare, her heart pounding. “Lanard-ra. The woman is not worth the trouble. Kormec-ra would not take up with skid like that.” Skid, meaning the slur for a small independent trader. The deal with sticking –ra for a title at the end of their names emphasised just how different the kith were from independent Earth. Hell, last time she checked, her small Texas town still had a population of less than thirty thousand. Drew kept herself from taking out her frustration by swinging the wrench back and forth at her side. Finally, Lanard-ra turned around and walked back down the slip. Bland vanilla in looks—yes, danger-wise, those guys were a triple-decker yes, probably with a good dose of mean sprinkles on top. But Mr Kormec-ra had all that vanilla beat by a long shot.
Drew watched them go. She stepped back into the engine room and pressed her hand to the plate to shut the door. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. God, for a moment there she thought he was going to come through. She stared at the opposite door. In that moment it slid open and she stared at Korm. So, his people thought a hard working woman like her was beneath a high-born guy like him and Ash?
Drew could almost hear Mara’s voice. What the fuck had she got herself into now?
Chapter Two
Kormec steadied himself against the emotions fighting for dominance inside him. First, his concern, no—his fear for Ashwin’s fate should Captain Larissa capture them, second, his aggravation at Ashwin’s insistence on finding ‘The One’. As if this grime covered skid who barely reached his shoulder could protect them better than he, a trained warrior, could. Third, damn the fates—he did not have a third.
He scowled at the small grimy woman as Ash slipped around him. His bond-partner’s excitement was a live thing humming in Kormec’s mind. Her cropped black hair was wild and smudges stained her cheeks and the tip of her nose. She looked more child than woman, a tiny child who weighed next to nothing. This was a stupid, stupid plan. “We will leave you to your business,” he told her.
Ash stopped, every well-bred line of his body appeared relaxed. Aggravation was his main emotion. He purposely ignored Kormec. “We can leave in twenty minutes,” he told the ragamuffin posing as a trader captain.
Her blue eyes rounded more than they were. Big and round, it was an exotic combination found in a subrace of earthers. He should know—Ashwin had become an expert on Earth and its laws since his ‘vision’.
“Okay.” she referenced the ship’s security system, pulling up information, then looked back at Ashwin. “Twenty should be enough time for your friends to vacate the area. Looks like the Starpath docked early.” She snorted, the derision of those who could not compete with the large trading clans. “The captain can certainly afford the fine.”
“That is acceptable.” Kormec nodded. Mentally, he calculated how much money he had left to buy their way on to one of the yachts further up the dock.
Ash, Kormec frowned harder at the woman as the nickname stuck in his brain. He refused to shorten his bond-partner’s name into something so common. He turned the frown on to the subject of his discontent, imagining dragging Ashwin Kith-dana out of this barely functional ship.
Ashwin rubbed his hands together, taking in the engine, and met his eyes in a challenging gleam. This time he did not back down or give way. “Twenty minutes is perfect. Once I have the engine up and running, the Pandora can leave.”
“I…you.” She looked questioningly at Ash. “You can fix it?”
He nodded, already opening various lockers and equipment boxes, steadily ignoring Kormac’s crossed arms and the disproval that was no doubt as obvious as Ash’s excitement. “Twenty minutes, I promise.”
Her glance switched to Kor
mec.
“Ashwin is an excellent engineer of anything mechanical.” His pride in Ashwin’s skill had never been in question. Even as a boy, Ashwin had gone is own way, wanted to learn how things worked.
“Oh, so that makes you the bodyguard?” He had no idea how to respond. The kith bond-partner relationship was more than her implication.
“Woman, I am a highly trained warrior, bred to protect my people.” His words brought a red flush to her face. The chopped mop of curly black hair on her was by no means the proper length for a lady of position, but it did lend her a certain gamine look.
One tiny finger pointed in his direction as she stomped towards him. “The name is Drew Richards. Captain Drew Richards of the Pandora.” Her ugly heavy black boots and multi-pocketed one-piece outfit swamped her figure and lent no authority to her position as captain of this dubious vessel. Yet, she had the fire of a masso-dog, small and ferocious. “Highly trained warrior you might be, but you’re hiding out from your people on my ship.” Her blue eyes cut over to Ashwin. Kormec noted a glint of satisfaction in the pure colour. You’ve got your twenty. Use override code eight-three-one to access the ship when you’re finished.” She pointed two fingers at her eyes, then twisted her wrist to aim one index finger at Kormec. “I’m watching you, bodyguard.” With that parting, Drew Richards slapped her hand on the plate and walked through the sliding door.
Ash’s gaze drew his attention. His bond-partner was donning another of the ugly jumpers. “We should go to one of the yachts.”
Shaking his head, Ash picked through an equipment box. “Captain Larissa will be expecting that.” He bent, taking off the cover of the second drum-shaped engine unit. “Besides, Drew Richards is the one. The fates chose perfectly.” His voice was hollow from inside the unit. “She is beautiful. Brave. Intelligent. My mother will not be able to defeat her.”