Despite Rik’s assurances he’d get her out of here, she was still on one of the most dangerous planets in the galaxy. Trapped on a back-water world with a man she hardly knew.
And Harvey is powered down and laying in a box in the other room.
Sighing, she rolled to her side, pulling the bed’s second pillow in and hugging it close, suddenly feeling very much alone.
Chapter 4
“Who are you again?”
Rik’s stomach knotted as he faced one of this sector’s most notorious criminals.
Zartos turned out to be Alixander Zartosovich, a crime lord with his hands in just about every illicit activity in the universe. His face had been prominent on the galactic marshal’s most wanted list for almost a decade.
The villain sat forward, elbows on his desk in the huge office Rik had been ushered into by an attractive secretarial type worker. The office—the entire building—felt out of place in Port Hubble. Coreworlds big business from top to bottom. A shining gem in the galaxy’s anus.
So, this is where you’ve been hiding out.
The penthouse office had a panoramic view of the spaceport city. Steelglass windows looked down on the festering sprawl that was Port Hubble.
In contrast, the office was opulent. Zartos sat behind a desk larger than most of the houses in the poorer districts of the city.
“I’m Rik Mazar, Captain Planemo’s first mate.” Rik tried to sound confident, yet subordinate. He’d need to tread lightly.
Silver streaks ran through the man’s once ebony hair, but Zartos’ blue eyes were still bright and inquisitive. “So, old Onwin is scared to face me himself, and he sent you instead to take the fall for him.”
“I volunteered, sir.”
Rik’s statement elicited a jerking, wide-eyed response from the man. “You’re either very bold or very stupid, young man.” Zartos rose from his chair and leaned forward, placing his hands on the large desk that separated the two men. “Which is it, Mr. Mazar?” His eyes narrowed.
It wasn’t the first time Rik had played this game, but he’d never played for higher stakes. There was no right answer, and his response could easily get him killed.
And where would that leave Luna? He needed to play this right for her sake as well as his own.
“Neither, sir. I’m just doing my duty.”
A smile spread across the old outlaw’s lips. “Your duty?” The man’s eyes darkened. “Your duty to a fat, washed up lackey who no longer holds any value to my organization?”
“No, sir.” Rik stood his ground, feet wide, hands behind his back, eyes staring straight ahead. “My duty to you, sir, as you appear to be the person in charge here. I am well aware that Onwin Planemo has failed both you and the Brotherhood of the Dark Nebula.”
A chuckle escaped Zartos’ lips. “Yes, old Planemo has outlived his usefulness. You knew that . . . Smart. You’re not like most of the others on the back-world dump. Maybe I can use you after all.”
The knot in Rik’s gut loosened. Zartos had to be at the top of this, one of the strongest factions in the Brotherhood. He was not the kind of man to be subordinate to anyone. It was exactly for information like this that Rik had been entrenched with the pirates. With everything else he’d gathered in the past three years, he now had enough to warrant pulling out . . . going home. He could be normal again.
Do I even know what normal is anymore?
Well, he wasn’t ready to leave just yet. But now he could concentrate fully on finding Ian von Alderamin and getting him, Luna, and the stolen technology safely out of the Dark Nebulan sector.
And himself as well. Whatever it was that Zartos wanted him for didn’t matter.
His breath caught as he envisioned Luna’s trusting, green eyes. He wouldn’t let her down.
Zartos pulled a data pad from his desk. “Mr. Mazar, how would you respond if I told you I have a report from a . . . Miss Kristin Devenport . . . which states you were explicitly responsible for Doctor Callista’s escape?”
The knot twisted tighter again. He hadn’t expected this ploy, though maybe he should have. Kristin’s pettiness could be a dangerous force.
Rik swallowed, buying precious seconds to formulate his response. “I’d tell you that Miss Devenport is bold and ambitious, but not to be trusted.”
Zartos laughed, his eyes dancing with mischief.
“Yes, she is that. She is much like her uncle, you know.” His jovial mood passed and Zartos narrowed his eyes.
“Her uncle, sir?” Warning heated the back of Rik’s neck.
The old man fisted his hands, leaning on them across his desk toward Rik.
“Me.”
Rummaging in Rik’s closet, Luna found tan softspun leggings and a white, puffy sleeved blouse that fit her. Deep brown tarsk leather boots completed the ensemble, but it felt a bit bland compared to the bright colors the pirates in this city tended toward. She added a bold, chartreuse sash around her waist, which supplied the needed color and hid her blaster holster and belt, then topped it off with the wide-brimmed hat she’d worn the previous day.
“I suppose I look piratey enough to blend in.”
Now what?
She wandered into the main room of the small apartment. Even without Rik here, the three rooms felt cramped. His presence still lingered. Hints of vallenoak and ginger.
Who are you, Rik Mazar?
Galactic marshals were as revered throughout the galaxy as pirates were reviled. Rik certainly hadn’t come across as anything but honest with her so far. Yet the very nature of what he was doing meant he’d need to appear honest while being deceptive. So, was he really being honest with her?
Lost in her thoughts, she barely tasted the breakfast she prepared for herself. She placed the empty plate in the sanitation chamber and nudged aside the curtains on the window over it.
The hillside apartment complex offered a grand view of the bustling city and busy spaceport. The streets were filled with people, most in vividly colored clothing. Burgundies and blues abounded with greens, yellows and tans also prominent.
Shabby, rundown buildings filled the area close to Rik’s apartment, but slightly nicer structures dotted the landscape to the right of the spaceport complex. One huge, modern structure towered over the rest, like the medieval castles on old Earth she’d seen in holovids—seeming out of place among the minuscule, ramshackle buildings outside its walls.
Starships, large and small, left contrails into and out of the spaceport’s many hanger docks. The azure sky was otherwise clear of clouds, and the brilliant, orange sun sparked golden off any shiny surface it touched.
At first glance, Port Hubble didn’t appear any more sinister than one of the smaller spaceports on the coreworlds.
But there was a certain feel to the city. Desperation. Greed. Oppression. The tone of this city was as ripe with corruption as the steam from a Corra Mound dung heap.
Her heart sank. What have I landed in?
Rik somehow made everything seem okay. Now, without him here, Luna felt completely isolated and alone.
She pulled the curtain tightly shut, then checked the other windows throughout the apartment to make sure that no one could see in. Making her way over to the wheeled box containing Harvey, she pulled open the lid.
A touch on the power button at the back of his neck brought Harvey to life. At least he’d be someone to talk to.
“Miss Callista, are you all right? My circuits have been ever so worried about you.”
The droid’s concern brought a smile to her face. “I’m fine, just . . .”
Lonely? Confused? Scared as hell?
Things were out of her control, and she didn’t like that one bit.
“What has happened since you depowered me?” How the droid could put concer
n in his monotone electronic voice, Luna didn’t know. But it was there, bless him.
She’d only begun the tale, however, when a scratching, clicking noise drew her attention to the front door of the apartment. She held up a hand to hush Harvey. Whispering, she motioned toward the bedroom. “Hide in there. Shut the door.”
As Harvey shuffled off, Luna watched in amazement as the door’s deadbolt slowly receded. Frack. Someone’s breaking in.
Before he’d left, Rik told her he’d knock and announce himself when he returned. “Don’t open this door for anyone,” he’d cautioned.
Luna stood facing the door, her hand as near as she dared to the blaster hidden under the sash at her side.
The door slowly swung open with a creak. A dark shadow fell across the threshold. The heavy scent of Tyberian orchid wafted ahead as a tall, ominous figure strode from the shadows of the hallway.
Towering over Luna, almost as tall as Rik, Kristin Devenport entered exuding confidence and swagger. Like a charmed Trandorian fangsnake she turned her head to look down her nose at Luna, her piercing brown eyes narrowing with distain. “Oh. You’re still here.”
The woman sniffed dismissively, then started scanning the room. “Get out. Rik’s not coming back. Though why he’d want you to wait for him is beyond me.”
“I’m his girlfriend.” The lie slid easily from Luna’s lips. In my dreams.
Kristin harrumphed dismissively, her gaze falling on the wheeled wooden box, standing in the center of the living area. “Ah.”
Striding purposefully toward it, she peered inside. Her brows knit. Then she raised her head, glancing once again Luna’s way. “Are you still here?”
Luna widened her stance and placed her fists on her hips. She’d had enough of this witch. “Where’s Rik?”
Kristin let out a curt laugh. “Probably a rotting corpse in some sewer by now. If not, he soon will be.” Distain curled the side of her mouth. “What did he have in this box?”
Luna’s gaze drifted toward the bedroom door, then she caught herself.
Gods, I hope I didn’t give Harvey away.
Kristin smirked. “In the bedroom? Some new sex toy? This I’ve got to see. Didn’t know old straight-laced Rik did the kink.”
She strode toward the bedroom, kicking open the door and sauntering in.
In an instant, Harvey had her by both wrists. Gears churned as his arms extended out and up to the ceiling.
Kristin dangled up off the floor. She kicked at Harvey, but the droid wasn’t even fazed.
Harvey’s head swiveled toward Luna. “What shall I do with her, Miss Callista?”
Kristin’s eyes went wide as she shot a glance through the doorway toward Luna. “Callista?”
Frack! Harvey had given her away.
Luna pulled her blaster, checked that the setting was on stun, and shot. The beam struck Kristin and she went slack, still dangling from Harvey’s upraised hands. “Put her on the bed while we figure out what we’re going to do.”
“Yes, Miss Callista.”
She used sashes from the closet to tie Kristin’s hands and feet. The stun effect from her blaster should keep the woman out for at least an hour.
Luna sat on the edge of the bed, slumping over with her head in her hands. Frack. “Now what?”
If Kristin was right, and Rik was dead, Luna would be alone, trapped on one of the most dangerous, back-water worlds in the galaxy. How was she to get away? How was she to get home?
Her head down, she caught only a hint of the shadow moving along the floor across the threshold of the bedroom doorway. Chills shot through her stomach. I left the front door open.
“What the hell?” Rik’s deep, sexy voice never sounded so good.
She jumped up. “Rik.” Her stomach quivered, the sight of him causing her heart to leap.
Dashing toward him, she threw her arms around his neck. From terror to joy in a nanosecond, she couldn’t hold back the tears that streamed down her cheeks. “She said you were dead.” Her chest tight, she could barely whisper the words as she buried her face in his shoulder.
Vallenoak and ginger. She breathed him in, her body shaking.
His big arms came around her, holding her gently. His hand brushed down the back of her hair. “Ssh, my starshine. It’s okay.”
And for some reason it was. The endearment warmed her heart. Her fear lessened. She could breathe again. What was it about this man that gave her such comfort?
She didn’t have a lick of evidence that he was, in fact, a galactic marshal. But his confidence and the caring way he held her, as gently as one would hold a newborn Blarmling, made her believe everything would work out.
She pulled back, heat rising in her cheeks. I barely know this man.
His incredible golden brown eyes bore into hers, concern etching the rugged features of his handsome face. “What happened?”
Luna dropped her hands back down to her sides. “She jimmied opened the door and walked in like she owned the place.”
Rik nodded. “That’s pretty much her style. Any idea what she was looking for?”
She pointed at the wooden box. “She went right to that, then headed for the bedroom where I’d hidden Harvey.”
Rik snorted. “I had a feeling your droid was going to cause problems.”
“I am so sorry, sir.” Electronic servos clicked as the droid lowered his head. “I appear to have put you both in some kind of danger.”
Rik sighed and shook his head, putting her at arm’s length and stepping around her to stare down at Kristin on the bed. “What’s done is done.” His brow creased. “But, what to do next?”
Luna thought it best to tell him. “She knows who I am.”
Another sigh and a mumbled frack. “So, if we leave her here, we can’t leave her alive.”
Luna’s heart quailed. That didn’t sound like a question. Was the man actually contemplating murder?
Rik began pacing. He stepped into the living area over to the wooden wheeled box. “Nope, too small for both of them.”
His gaze traveled to Harvey. “That can’t stay here either.” He continued his pacing.
This must be his way of working things out. She had her own routine when working through a complex equation.
Giving him space and quiet, Luna stood by silently, observing. He certainly was easy enough on the eyes. His tall black boots barely made a sound as he paced. Cat-like, ready to spring at any moment.
After about a minute he stopped, crossed his arms, and raised his eyes to the ceiling. His tongue rolled in his right cheek as he stood in contemplation. Then he lowered his gaze toward her and nodded.
“There’s an option, but it’s risky.”
He retrieved a tool kit from a cupboard and began mixing chemicals at the small table. The aroma of acetone wafted toward her, with subtle hints of polymer iodes. He appeared to be working with some sort of resinous plastoide compounded.
“Okay droid, come here.” Rik motioned toward Harvey.
Harvey, in turn, looked toward Luna.
She nodded.
“Yes, sir.” Harvey shuffled toward the table.
What is he planning to do to Harvey?
“Your voice will be a dead giveaway, so from now on . . . no more talking.” Rik started to apply the compound to Harvey’s head. “Do you understand?”
Luna stiffened. Was the man just playing games? How would Harvey reply if he’d been instructed to not talk?
Harvey nodded.
Rik continued to manipulate the compound, spreading it over Harvey’s shiny, silver faceplate. “Good, what’s your name?”
Seriously? He was testing Harvey’s programming by giving him impossible and contradictory orders. Irritation rose inside her and she jumped to H
arvey’s defense. “His name is Harvey.”
Rik may not trust her droid, but Luna had complete confidence in her old friend.
Rik pulled back, scrutinizing his work. He’d created a somewhat human looking face on the blank faceplate of her droid, leaving only small openings for Harvey’s ocular sensors. “Okay, Harvey. You’re an E-series droid, probably been around two decades or so. Right?”
Harvey nodded again.
“You’ve been close to humans, observing them most or all of that time?”
Again a nod.
“You will now start acting as human as you can. Walk like a human. Move like a human. Be human. Understand? Give yourself a tick, or a limp, or something that adds even more character to the illusion.”
He stood and patted Harvey on the shoulder. “Process that. I’ll be right back.” Rik exited to the bedroom.
Harvey stood motionless for long moments. Then, with a slight jerk, he started walking around the room. Pacing, much like Luna had been. Little by little, the jerky, robotic movements began to even out. He sauntered, then slumped and plodded, as if trying out different patterns.
Amazing.
Rik returned with an armful of clothing. “I’m going to layer it to give your frame a little more bulk.” He had Harvey put on three pair of pants, four shirts, and a long hooded monk’s cloak. The cowl hid most of the droid’s head and left the crafted face in shadow.
“A Parian Monk wouldn’t be too out of place here. There are certainly a lot of souls that need saving.”
Pirates of the Dark Nebula (Hearts in Orbit Book 2) Page 5