by S. E. Smith
At that moment, Ash was certain of two things: he wanted Kella permanently in his life and he would fight to protect his new life here. He leaned back against the counter as those two realizations washed through him. It was the first one though that really shocked him.
The word permanent never entered into any relationship he had in the past. Hell, if it had, he would have been gone so fast the door wouldn’t have had a chance to hit him in the ass on the way out. This time it was very different. This time, he wanted to see where their relationship went.
“Ash, I have tools if you need them,” Kella said, stopping in the doorway to consider him.
He blinked, noticing she had two bags, one in each hand. Pushing away from the counter, he strode across the room and took one of them off her hands. He would have carried both of them for her if he thought he could get away with it. She shot him a quizzical look before she turned away.
Yes, this is my kind of woman, Ash thought, watching Kella stride down the corridor with a tool bag in her hand and a blaster on her hip.
20
Two days later, Ash had a much better appreciation of alien technology. Kella’s freighter might not be as shiny and new as the Gliese 581 had been, but it was far more complex and ingenious. He also had a great new respect for Kella’s technical and mechanical skills.
Upgrading a freighter that could travel at speeds humans only dreamed about, with an effective weapons and defense system, was a lot different than rebuilding the 1969 Boss 429 Mustang that he bought while in high school. He and Josh spent most of their high school years working on the damn thing. They pooled every dime they earned to put it back together.
Glancing around the engine room of the freighter, he couldn’t imagine how much it must have cost to buy and rebuild this thing. They were on their final section for repairs. He tore apart both hydraulics joints that operated the platform and rebuilt them. The seals were leaking and some of the gears were worn and needed replacing. Kella had a nice supply of spare parts on board and he was able to find what he needed to rebuild the side that was sticking.
After that, he repaired some of the lighting, worked on the environmental system when a heater coil shorted, and cursed up a storm while he watched Kella complete a six hour spacewalk to mount additional weapons. She grunted the word ‘pirates’ when he asked why a freighter needed laser cannons. When he had asked why she had so many knives and laser pistols hidden in every nook and cranny, she had growled at him not to touch them – that they were there for a reason. And she kissed him silly when he asked her what the name of her freighter was and told him he was driving her crazy with all his questions – but, there had been a twinkle in her eye that told him she was enjoying answering them.
“How are you doing?” Kella asked, leaning over the edge of the railing to look down at him.
Ash glanced up and smiled. “Almost done. This thing is humming,” he replied.
“I am going to get cleaned up. After that, I will prepare some food for us,” she said.
“Sounds good. I’ll need about another ten minutes to clean up and store everything here,” he responded, turning so his voice was partially muffled.
Kella gazed down at Ash’s back for a moment before she forced herself to turn away. He had stripped out of the Torrian tunic and was wearing a form-fitting black shirt. The front of it had a small emblem over his left pectoral.
She climbed the steps to the top level and walked down the corridor to the cockpit. She wanted to check their trajectory again. They were making better time than she had expected.
Climbing the short set of steps, she slid into the pilot’s seat. Her stomach clenched when she saw that she had a message. Glancing over her shoulder, she returned her attention to the console and touched the communications screen. The screen flickered for a moment before she saw Tallei’s familiar face.
“Kella, your time is running out. I have been following your progress and know that you have the Ancient Knight with you. There was a report that a Turbinta was involved in killing several Legion soldiers. I am disappointed that you were seen. That will be dealt with when you return. Do not be foolish, Kella; complete your mission. I told you, Turbintas must treasure nothing.”
The transmission flickered again before cutting off. Kella raised a hand to touch the tattoo at her throat. Tallei’s voice was a chilling reminder of who Kella was and what she was supposed to be doing. Her mentor’s words sent a wave of unease through Kella.
She wasn’t afraid of what would happen to her for being seen. Tallei would beat her, then send her through trial after trial until Kella remembered that she was nothing more than a ghost in the shadows – an assassin who must never feel the touch of the sun upon her face.
No, what caused the unease was Tallei’s statement that she was following Kella’s progress. The only way that Tallei could know where she was heading was if her mentor had placed a tracking device on the freighter. But, where? She and Ash had been over every section of the freighter. Where could Tallei have hidden a tracking device that would ….
“No!” Kella whispered.
She twisted out of the chair toward the corridor. Jumping past the stairs, she ran toward her cabin. She swung through the doorway, frantically scanning it. A slow anger burned inside her. Tearing open one storage cabinet after another, she ran her hands along the insides. When she didn’t find anything there, she dropped to her knees and searched under the table and chairs.
“Where would you have hidden it, Tallei? Where would you think I would not look?” Kella whispered to herself.
The answer came to Kella like a blow to the gut. Swallowing, Kella crawled across the floor to the bed. She reached under it, feeling for the loose panel in the wall behind the headboard. Pulling it out, Kella felt around for the small box that she kept hidden in the wall. The small box with the few treasures she had collected over the years.
“No,” Kella’s strained cry echoed through the small room.
Her fingers closed around the tracking device. Tallei had found and taken her small box of treasures and left instead a reminder that Kella was still under her control. Kella scooted out from under the bed and pushed up into a sitting position. She glared down at the glowing red lights. Rage unlike anything she had ever felt before flooded her.
Rising to her feet, she walked into the bathroom. Kella placed the tracking device down on the edge of the sink. Pulling one of her blades from the sheath at her waist, she placed the tip on the seam and struck it hard with her palm over and over until the tip pierced the seal. Picking up the device, she held it firmly in her grasp and worked the blade in, moving it back and forth until the casing popped open.
She sliced through the wires, watching as the red lights flickered and then faded. Tallei would know what she had done – yet, Kella didn’t care. Turning, she dropped the pieces into the latrine and flushed it.
It wasn’t until a drop of red splattered on the basin of the latrine that she realized she cut one of her fingers. Kella watched the blood mix with the small amount of liquid in the basin. She drew in a shuddering breath.
Tallei will know I cannot complete the mission, she thought.
“Hey! What happened? You’re bleeding,” Ash’s deep voice exclaimed behind her in concern.
The burning sensation Kella felt before returned, only this time it was different. It didn’t stop when she blinked. The pressure continued and the burning intensified.
“I cut my finger,” she whispered in a barely audible voice, lifting her hand to look at the blood dripping down.
Gentle hands turned her. One lifted to guide her hand over the sink. Chilly water rinsed the blood away before it was lifted again and a cloth was wrapped around it. Kella looked up when Ash used his other hand to tenderly stroke her damp cheek.
“It doesn’t look too bad. A bandage and it should be fine,” he promised.
“What… What is wrong with me? Why… Why is… water coming out of my eyes?” she asked.
Her eyelids lowered when he brushed his thumb across her cheek again. It didn’t help. The moisture continued to pool in her eyes and overflow down her cheeks.
“Haven’t you ever cried before?” Ash asked.
Kella shook her head. “No. I… Tallei said a Turbinta does not know how to cry,” she replied.
“Well, you do and there is nothing wrong with it. My grandma told me that tears heal the soul and ease the pain by washing it away. She once said that if another man ever told me that men don’t cry, I should punch him in the nose or kick him in the balls, and then ask him if men cry. I don’t think she meant for me to take her quite so literally. I’ve only cried a few times in my life, but each time I felt better afterwards,” he told her.
“What would make you cry – besides being punched in the nose or kicked in the balls?” Kella asked, rubbing her cheeks against the palm of his hand.
“The day Josh’s dad was killed and the day my grandma died,” he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her close.
Kella wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close. She rested her head against his chest. The soft beat of his heart, the warmth of his body, and the strong arms wrapped around her made her feel loved and protected. Her arms tightened around him.
Tallei was right; loving someone did make you more vulnerable, but it could also make you more dangerous, she thought.
Kella knew that she would do anything to keep Ash safe from the Legion. She didn’t care about the contract. She didn’t care that to defy or fail meant her almost certain death. The only thing she cared about was keeping Ash safe.
21
“Your assassin failed,” Andri Andronikos stated in an unemotional voice.
“The time is not yet up,” Tallei responded.
Andri turned to stare at the face on the screen. The scarred face of the Turbinta contractor stared back at him. The scars along her face and the cloudiness of her damaged eye added to the sense of menace he felt.
“What do you know?” he demanded.
“She has one of the men you seek,” Tallei replied.
Andri’s gaze narrowed. “One of the men?” he questioned.
Tallei bowed her head. “She was paid to retrieve one. If you wish for the other – the one who killed your men on Tesla Terra – it will require more credits,” she responded.
He tightened his grip on the gloves in his hand. If he didn’t need the Turbintas’ services, he would have sent his Battle Cruisers to wipe out the traitorous species long ago. Unfortunately, their services had been required, despite the heavy price tag. They were instrumental in the deaths of many of the Gallant Knights and their families.
“Name your price, Turbinta, but make sure you deliver or I will be coming after you next,” Andri stated.
“Your threats mean nothing to us, Director. Save them for those who have something worth losing. One hundred thousand credits. When it is delivered, I will be in touch again,” Tallei stated.
“How do I know you are telling me the truth?” Andri demanded, leaning forward to glare at the screen.
“You don’t,” Tallei replied, ending the call.
Andri resisted the urge to place one of his fists through the screen. A knock on the outer door drew his attention and he straightened. A moment later, General Coleridge Landais stepped into the room.
“What did you discover?” Andri demanded as he studied his half-brother.
“A message was placed on one of our soldiers on Torrian while he was unconscious,” Coleridge replied, walking over to pour himself a drink. He lifted the glass and stared at it for a moment before turning to look at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “Is it…?”
Andri sent his brother an annoyed shake of his head. Throwing his gloves on the desk, he moved to stand near the window. For several minutes, neither man spoke. Coleridge walked over to stand next to him. Below, fighters flew over the destroyed city, searching for and killing any survivors.
“We will build a new Jeslean, Andri,” Coleridge murmured, lifting the glass to his lips.
“We will build a new Order on all the worlds,” Andri replied in a harsh tone. “Tell me about the message.”
Coleridge grimaced in distaste and turned away to walk over to the couch. He sat down and leaned back.
“You know about the incident several days ago,” Coleridge began.
Andri impatiently waved his hand. “Yes, yes… That is why we ordered Roan here,” he stated.
“There was another, this time involving another stranger,” Coleridge informed his brother.
Andri turned to gaze at his brother. “Have we acquired the second capsule?” he asked.
Coleridge shook his head. “No. While the first stranger was rescuing Packu de Rola from Roan’s Battle Cruiser, another one was seen in the marketplace on Torrian. Roan ordered a lockdown on the planet and all buildings and ships searched. A squadron encountered a strange male. His description matches the sighting reported by a farmer on the outskirts of the city,” he explained.
“Get to the point, brother. I care nothing for a farmer’s strange sighting or a squadron’s search. How do they know this may be a second sighting and that the male may have come from the ship that broke apart?” Andri demanded.
“There was an emblem displayed on the outer portion of the ship. Our scientists were able to reassemble that section. That emblem is the same as the one on the patch the farmer gave the soldiers, when he described a man with dark brown skin who stole clothing and weapons from his storage building. The video placed on the soldier from the marketplace shows the second capsule and warns that the Ancient Knights of the Gallant Order have returned. The soldiers in the marketplace encountered this stranger and he defeated eight of them with the help of a woman. Another team is still missing,” Coleridge said.
Andri stared at his brother in silence. He turned, walked over to the bar, and poured himself a drink. His mind raced through the implications as he replaced the stopper on the bottle.
“The woman… What did she look like?” Andri curiously asked.
Coleridge was silent for a moment before he replied. “The soldier only had a brief glimpse of her, but he believed she wore the mark of a Turbinta,” he said.
Andri’s fingers tightened on the crystal stopper before he forced them to relax. The old assassin said that her pupil had one of the strange males from the capsules with her. The other alien that had rescued Packu de Rola would come for him once word spread the Legion had captured his comrade.
“A trap,” Andri murmured.
“A trap?” Coleridge asked with a frown.
Andri turned and walked back toward his brother. “We will set a trap. Find the Turbinta assassin and you will find the second man from the strange ship. We will then use him as bait to draw out the other one,” he said.
“What of the Turbinta?” Coleridge asked.
Andri lifted his drink to his lips, pausing to return his brother’s gaze. “Kill her,” he ordered.
“I will personally oversee the mission,” Coleridge said, standing.
Andri drained half of his glass. “What of Roan?” he asked.
Coleridge paused. “You do not need to worry about him, Andri. I raised him. He will not betray us,” he said.
Andri held Coleridge’s gaze before he nodded and finished his drink.
“Find the Turbinta, kill her, and bring the stranger to me,” Andri stated.
“I will leave immediately,” Coleridge replied.
“Do not fail, Coleridge,” Andri added before Coleridge opened the door.
Andri watched his brother bow his head in agreement, opened the door and stepped out. Walking over to the window again, he rolled the empty glass in his hand. He knew of the legend, the one that promised the return of the Ancient Knights of the Gallant Order, that prophesied the enemy’s downfall would come when the Ancient Knights were allied with a betrayer. There was no way the Ancients could have foreseen his rise to power. Andri’s
eyes narrowed on the skeletal remains of the old temple of the Gallant Order. He would allow it to remain as a warning to any who dared to resist him.
Turning back to his desk, he placed the glass on the corner and sat down in the seat. With a few taps of his fingers, the image of the old Turbinta assassin reappeared. He was pleased to see she appeared annoyed.
“I will no longer require your services. Consider the contract void,” he stated, ending the call before she could say anything.
“You move like this,” Ash said.
Kella relaxed her body while Ash moved her arms and feet into the proper positions. Her breath caught when he placed his hands on her hips and adjusted her body position. She bit back her sigh of exasperation. He had been endlessly teasing her since she demanded that he teach her more of the moves he called self-defense.
“Now try it,” he instructed, stepping back.
They went through the sequence of moves slowly at first. He blocked her kick, then the punch she threw. She struck again. The more she practiced the individual moves, the more she began to understand what each move was for and how each related to the next. Balance was important. It was very similar to what she learned from Tallei, yet different. This balance allowed her to increase the power of her attack on a more spiritual level – something she never thought of before.
He also taught her about Kiai and Kage no kiai. She thought it fascinating that the sound of a voice could be used. Unlike the silent techniques Tallei taught her, Ash not only encouraged her to use sounds, but also to focus on the harmony the three sounds created and the feelings of self-assurance which helped her maintain a sense of inner calm.
“Ei!” Ash growled.
Kella warily jumped back, watching him. She raised her leg, stopping his kick, but not the strike of his arm. Her breath hissed out before she remembered that he told her it was better to be vocal, as it made the blow less painful.
She immediately moved forward. “Toh! Ya!” she shouted, moving in on him and forcing him back out of the area they marked off for their training in the loading bay of the ship.