03 Solar Flare - Spark Series (23 page)

“No problem. Tell her “hi” for me the next
time you talk.” He looked over his shoulder. “There’s other people
outside the booth, waiting to use the pin beam. Is there anything
else you want to know before I go?”

She shook her head. “That was it. Thanks
again.”

“No problem.” He signed off.

Brandy sighed. She did feel better in some
ways, apprehensive in others. There were a lot of details Xera had
never shared. Brandy could understand why; if it made her uneasy
now, it would have made her frantic before.

Azor nudged her arm. “Think about it on the
ship. I’d rather not hang out here any longer than we have to.”

He had a point. She heaved herself to her
feet, hiding her discomfort behind a pensive expression. She
couldn’t wait to get off her feet and take something for the
pain.

The Hatir licked his lips as he watched the
foot traffic going by their ship. It had been an eternity since
he’d had some meat. He was starved. Gouka might be vegetarian, but
the predator in him wanted flesh. And why shouldn’t he have it? He
was a careful hunter. He wouldn’t get caught.

He growled softly to himself and changed into
something a little more appropriate for hunting. His true prey
would never find out. He’d have the little Gouk back in place long
before they arrived…perhaps a little rounded for having fed
well.

His black lips pulled over his fangs as he
slithered toward the hatch.

Brandy noticed a crowd forming a couple of
ships down from theirs. She glanced their way, but didn’t think
much of it. Whatever was happening didn’t concern them.

Or it wouldn’t of if a man didn’t suddenly
look their way and shout, “Hey! You’re new here. What do you know
about this?”

Azor calmly moved in front of her as the big
man got closer. The stranger was dressed in brown, worn pants and
blue canvas shirt with holes that revealed his black undershirt. He
had a knife sheathed at his hip and big wrench hanging from his
utility belt. His heavy, scarred boots rang on the deck as he
stormed their way.

“Easy,” a bystander cautioned, sizing up
Azor. “Being new don’t mean nothin’, Kril. He’s awful tidy to have
done that to poor Jadious.”

“What’s happened?” Azor asked calmly,
glancing over the heads gathered around what Brandy now suspected
was a body. “Someone was hurt?”

“Murdered,” Kril spat. His eyes were
bloodshot, a little wild, like someone who was running high. “They
gutted my cousin like a mongrel dog.”

“His guts is gone,” his buddy said helpfully,
and ducked away from a fist. “Well, it’s so, Kril.”

Kril turned his aimless rage back on Azor. “I
say you done it.”

Azor’s voice remained calm, but it grew soft,
cool. “Go home and sober up, boy. Better yet, find a cop to trace
your killer. The time you waste here only lets him get away.”

Kril hesitated, momentarily confused.
Unfortunately, whatever rot he was on did little for his thought
processes. He reached for his wrench and raised it for an
attack—and was stretched out on the cold floor seconds later,
unconscious.

The crowd stared at Azor ominously. They
didn’t appreciate seeing a stranger drop one of their own.

Azor nodded to them once, then walked away
deliberately. The ramp to their ship opened on his command as they
got close.

He leaned down and said softly in her ear,
“Be ready to run.”

Her heart slammed into gear. Could she? By
this time her feet were burning as if she'd seared them on hot
knives. Only her will kept her on her them, and tears burned behind
her eyes at the torment. She took a look at the murderous crowd and
drew a tight breath, and resolve hardened her expression. It was
run or die.

“Get him!” someone shouted, and Brandy broke
into a sprint. The sudden shock of her running weight on the soles
of her boots hurt like poisoned daggers, like shards of steel
stabbing her feet. She staggered, blinded with the sudden burst of
pain, and could do nothing more than limp to the ramp as the mob
closed in. Some hero she was.

Azor cursed and snatched her arm. He flung
her up the ramp, covering her clumsy retreat as he fought his way
up the ramp. One false move and he’d be dragged away, swept under.
The vigilantes wanted blood—his would do.

She made it inside and hit the button to
retract the ramp. Azor fought his way up it as it closed, and men
jumped off to avoid being sealed inside. That didn’t stop one man
from whipping a chain across the ramp, trying to catch Azor’s feet.
Azor couldn’t see it coming from his angle.

Caught by surprise, Azor grunted as the heavy
links caught his ankle. He staggered, but the ramp had risen too
far for the mob to take advantage of his momentary weakness. He
limped into the ship, his breathing heavy with pain.

He grabbed her arm. The deck vibrated faintly
with the newly kindled engines. “Let’s get to the bridge. Sounds
like the Gouk is already powering up.”

Though in pain himself, he supported her to
the bridge and saw her to her seat before taking his own. Shook up
and feeling rather battered, Brandy strapped in as Azor took over
the controls. At least the Gouk had proved his worth here—the ship
had been refueled, serviced and was ready to go. Azor got them out
of there before anyone thought to lock down the shield doors for
the shuttle bay.

“Prepare to jump to hyperspace,” he warned
her as soon as they’d cleared the station. There was an ominous
conversion of ships headed their way.

“Calculations are ready,” the Gouk said, his
voice wooden. It was one of the rare times his eyes were focused on
anything other than his game.

Azor did a quick check, but there wasn’t time
for an in depth perusal. The ships were closing in. “Jump.”

The stars stretched long and winked out as
the ship jumped. A moment went by, then suddenly alarms blared,
jolting Brandy's already stressed nerves.

“What the—” Azor’s fingers flew furiously
over the controls, then he stared at them in angry disbelief.
“Gouk! We clipped the rings of a planet! What were you thinking?”
He made some rapid readjustments, working furiously at the
controls, but they were already spinning out of control, headed
inevitably toward one of the planet's smaller moons. “Brace
yourself!” he snapped.

He managed to slow them just enough to
survive the smackdown into the snow covered surface. Plumes of
vaporized ice crystals flew into the air, completely obscuring the
view screen. She braced against the chair as they skidded sideways,
and grunted at the abrupt stop. It felt like they'd hit
something.

For a moment there was only the sound of
their harsh breathing. Then Azor threw off his flight harness.
Before she registered what he was up to, he jumped up and kicked
the Gouk in the back of the head, knocking him out of his seat. He
lay there, stunned.

She stared in shock. “What did you do that
for?”

Azor grunted as he whipped a cable restraint
out of his pocket and quickly bound the Gouk's arms behind him.
“He's not a Gouk. Stay out of the way while I deal with him.”

She gaped at him, but didn't immediately
question his sanity as she limped after him. She couldn't help but
protest as he threw the now-struggling creature into a cold sleep
pod. “Azor, are you sure? I mean....” She trailed off. He was
ignoring her as he programmed the pod.

The Gouk was not. He shot a glance at Brandy
that was both malicious and vengeful, a look that chilled her
blood. It was not something she'd expect to see on that normally
placid face. She couldn't help but curl her lip back in
response.

Gas filled the pod. With sullen reluctance,
his eyes closed. In seconds he was asleep.

Azor shot her a look, then took her arm to
help her back to her seat up front. “I need you up here to keep an
eye on things. I may have to go outside and look at the damage.
Just a minute.” He saw her settled, then ran back and grabbed a
handful of pain patches. “Slap one on and stick the rest in your
pocket. We'll talk about it later, once I've determined if we're
about to die.” He spared a glance for her feet, then flung himself
into his seat and let his fingers fly over the controls. After a
moment, he cursed. “Hull damage, but it looks fairly minor. I'll
have to go outside and repair it.”

She looked at the console in front of her and
bit her lip in concern. “It's a hundred and thirty below out there,
and the wind chill—”

“I know. Gotta be done.” He glanced at her,
then at her feet. “Did you hurt yourself, or is this something
else?”

“It's leftovers...from before.” She didn't go
into specifics, but she saw his look of understanding.

“Fine. Do what you have to and control the
pain. I might need you to reel me in if I run into problems. I'll
try to make certain the tether is clear.”

She swallowed at the idea of pulling his limp
body through the snow and into the ship, but hoped it wouldn't come
to that. “Don't try to do it all at once. Warm up and go out a
second time if you need to.”

He nodded and got up to head to the spacesuit
storage locket. “Yeah. Don't worry, I've done this before.”

She watched him suit up, remembering the
other reason she had to be concerned. “About Kirkin. Why is he in
the freezer now?”

Azor's mouth tightened. “This is twice he's
deviated from profile. The incident with the sleep pods, this
crash...Guoka never make mathematical miscalculations, Brandy.
Never. I don't know what he is, but the fact that we just ran from
a mob intent on avenging a murder concerns me. They were right, you
know. We were new, and if nothing like that had happened before,
I'd eye us, too.”

“You think he was involved?”

“I don't know, but I'm not taking chances
with your safety. We'll thaw him out and take a closer look when we
reach the Scorpio. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize then.” He paused
once he had the body of the suit on to look at her. His face
softened. “Come here.” He said it, but he knelt next to her so she
wouldn't have to stand and touched her face with one gloved hand.
“Are you okay?”

She sighed deeply. “Shook up, but well
enough. I'm sorry I slowed you down back there.”

He shook his head. “We'll take a look at your
feet when I get back. Until then....” he kissed her gently,
soothing the fear that had ridden her ever since they'd been
mobbed. He kept it up until she relaxed into him, her tension
momentarily forgotten.

After a moment he drew a slow breath and
rested his temple against her cheek. She felt him smile. “Behave
while I'm out there, okay?”

She smiled back and stroked his soft hair,
watched the emerald strands spring through her fingers. “You're the
one who'll be in danger of becoming an ice pop.”

He grinned. “I'll make sure to think warm
thoughts.” His eyes swept suggestively over her body. “Maybe you'll
help me warm up later.” He laughed at her blush and put on his
helmet, checking the automatic seal. He grabbed a kit from the
locker and nodded to her. “Stay put. I'll make sure to keep up the
chatter, so you know I'm okay,” he said over the com. “Please keep
an eye on my vitals. Hypothermia can be sneaky.” He glanced out the
view screen at the blank snow. “At least our hunters won't think to
look for us here.”

She gave him a strained smile. “Yeah, we're
just knee deep in luck.”

For all his cautions, Azor managed to repair
the hull in one trip. Still, she didn't relax until they'd managed
to maneuver away from the rock they'd crashed into and successfully
launched.

Azor sighed when they'd managed to get back
on course. He sat back in his chair, exhausted. “Just another
wonderful day at the office.”

He rested for a moment, then pulled Brandy
out of her chair. “Come on. I want to look at your feet.”

She nodded dully, tired herself, and let him
help her to the med lab. Since the sleep pods were right next to
it, she glanced uneasily at the one containing the Gouk. “Are you
sure...?”

He followed her gaze, eying the frozen alien
with grim resolve. “It was the right move. The murder coincided
with our arrival. That’s not a common thing—to abscond with
someone’s guts. It’s the sort of thing an animal would do; or a
predator.”

“So you think he's some kind of...what?
Shifter? How could he maintain his form so long?”

Azor looked at her. “Not all shape changers
have the same limitations. Some can hold their forms indefinitely.
Also, we weren’t with Kikin the whole time.”

She thought of her vision, and felt cold.
What would Azor make of it? She grimaced. Probably nothing
flattering.

She wasn’t sure how likely his theory was,
but she trusted Azor’s instincts. Hesitantly, she said, “Let’s say
he is. Now what? I don’t even know why he’d be here, but there’s no
proof. You can’t just lock him up.”

He raised a brow, which was still black.
“Couldn’t I? I’m not inclined to be hasty, though. I’ll find proof.
If I'm right, there should be undigested evidence in his stomach
when we thaw him out.”

She grimaced. “Ugh.”

He grunted in agreement, then took her waist
and set her up on the examining table so she didn't have to
struggle.

“How bad is the pain? You ran like you were
tripping over shards of pottery.”

She sighed. “Sorry about that. It’s…pretty
bad. Maybe the cold sleep weakened them somehow. Of course, not
using them usually makes things worse, because they stiffen up.”
She didn’t mention the threads of white she’d found in her hair
when she’d woken up. Maybe she was just getting gray early.

He frowned. “The cold sleep shouldn’t have
done anything. I’m interested to hear what your doctor has to say
about this.”

She let him run the scanner over her and send
off the email, and then cleaned the offensive makeup off in her
room. The occasional throb from her feet was giving her a headache,
and she just wanted to rest. She was so tired.