Captive Surrender (2 page)

Someone is going to pay for this.

She couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. Whoever hit her with…whatever it was…

Calm down. One step at a time. By the book.

That meant evaluating her physical ability to defend herself. Once she was able to do that, defending anyone else who had gotten caught in the blast would be her next job.

First things first. Try to move.

Fuck, she couldn’t feel the floor, couldn’t open her eyes to see if she even was
on
the floor.

She tried wiggling a finger. A toe. Her eyelids. Nothing worked. Nothing obeyed.

Guess I’ll have to do it the hard way.

The ray, or whatever it was that had hit her, had been strong. Strong enough to drop her where she’d stood and leave her with no memory of what had happened. But nothing short of death could negate her psionic abilities.

Reaching inside herself, she found the sweet core of her power lying patiently like a favorite pet, waiting for her to call to it. As her psionic strength gathered and intensified in front of her forehead, she focused on restoring the rest of her body. Energy surged through her muscles, rushed into her blood and gathered inside her bones. Within seconds she had regained feeling in her body and extremities. Her senses returned. Shit. She was lying facedown on a cold floor.

And she was nude.

She opened her eyes. Dim lighting. She appeared to be inside some sort of room or cubical, if the semiopaque corner formed by two walls a few feet away was any indication.

The wall was too thick for her to spot anything dangerous. A quick flex of her fingers reassured her she was back to normal efficiency, or as close to normal as she could get. Her left nipple felt raw, sore, as if someone had been manipulating it. She absentmindedly rubbed it with her wrist.

Getting her legs underneath her, she squatted on her heels and took a second, better look around. The walls of her prison solidified, though the lighting remained constant. Someone had realized she was awake and had shut her away.

Her pissy attitude rose several notches.

“Who’s responsible for all this?”

She got to her feet and clenched her fists. Her holding cell was approximately ten feet by ten feet, and ten feet high. A perfect cube.
Where the hell am I? Am I still planetside?
No. She could feel a slight vibration under her feet.
Shit, I’m on a ship. Whose ship? The Kronners’? Why would they kidnap me? I’ve never had a run-in with them.
“Do you realize that what you did to me is a capital offense? You attacked a JoJo! An authorized and duly sworn magistrate of galactic law!”

For a second she thought she heard movement outside the walls. She could try breaking through the wall with her power. But if she tipped off her attackers, they might come at her again with whatever ray they had used the first time.

No. Better to wait. Her time would come. It just wasn’t now.

“I demand to see whoever is out there. I can hear you. By galactic order, I command you open this cell and let me out.”

This time there was no mistaking the sound of laughter coming from the other side of the wall.

“I hope you know that by attacking me, you’ve opened yourself up to a whole lot of trouble. People have gotten life sentences on prison moons for less.”

The wall to her left began to shimmer. Maurra turned in time to see the whiteness become transparent. On the opposite side stood two Kronners. Not much of a surprise. For a moment she wondered what had happened to the Ellinod, and then a third Kronner joined his buddies. He held her uniform.

“Ulraz jouit momvem od!” the third one jeered. His friends laughed in response. Mr. Three held up her shirt and waggled the crest at her.

These idiots had no idea what she could do. But, on the other hand, neither did she know what they had planned for her or what they would do to her if she fought them. She eyed the cubicle. This place could be rigged to do just about anything if she caused problems.

Give them enough antimatter, and they’ll blow themselves up.

One thing was certain. She was not on Cura-Cura anymore. The almost undetectable vibration under her feet meant she was on a large ship. More likely a cargo vessel that was probably heading back to Kronnaria.

Great. But I’m due back at headquarters in forty spacial hours. If I don’t answer roll call, SOP will send out another psi cop to look for me.

A fourth Kronner appeared from around the corner of her cell. This one carried a bundle. Before she could comprehend what he held, the Kronner tossed it toward her. She missed the split second the cell wall went down. She cursed herself for the missed opportunity. Apparently her brain was still fuzzy.

“In zizi collerero.” He grasped his chest and jiggled himself. “In zizi collerero.”

Now she knew what the bundle was. She went over and picked it up. The shiny black straps were embarrassingly thin. It was a hoochie suit. These Kronners wanted her to dress up like a street whore.

She dropped the straps and stood back. “Screw you. Give me back my uniform.” Without the translator embedded in the uniform, she had no idea what these sleazy aliens wanted.

“In zizi collerero.” Another one of the Kronners shook a fist at her.

“Fuck your in zizi collerero. Give me back my uniform!”

The instant the Kronner on the far end raised his hand. When she saw the implant in its hand begin to glow, she knew what they had used to subdue her. Now she’d see which was greater—her psionic power or their negative neuron ray.

“In zizi collerero!” He really meant it this time.

Maurra was more than ready. “Go ahead, you little shithead. Show me what you’ve got!” She kicked the hoochie suit across the floor of her cell. She’d rather go nude than put that thing on.

She felt her mouth open in shock when the other three walls of her cell suddenly cleared, and she could see there was one other person being held prisoner like herself.

The Ellinod looked up at her in dazed surprise. He turned his head to see the Kronners standing beyond the wall, and his face instantly turned gray. His mouth opened to show fierce incisors, and he roared in fury.

Neither of them got the chance to say anything when the Kronner turned and fired at the Ellinod. Pinkish light surrounded the creature. He bellowed in pain and slumped to the floor of his own cube.

“In zizi collerero.” The Kronner pointed to the hoochie suit.

Her temper went combustible. She slammed her hands against the nearly invisible wall of her cell, ready for the jolt. Focusing her psionic power, Maurra tried to melt her way through.

Two other Kronners lifted their hands, and along with the first one, all three aimed their beams at her. The fourth Kronner kept his hand aimed at the unconscious Ellinod. This time the beam glowed almost black.

“In zizi collerero.”

She backed off. The little creatures were not above torturing and maybe killing the Ellinod just to get her to dress up as a common prostitute.

Put the fucking thing on if it’ll stop them from attacking the Ellinod. Remember, your first duty as a JoJo is to protect and defend. Back off, and keep your eyes and ears peeled. There has to be a reason. There has to be an explanation.

Maurra nodded, hoping they would understand. “All right. You win for now. I’ll in zizi collerero.”

Picking up the straps, she started to slip them over her head when she stopped. Why make her put it on when they could have just as easily put it on her themselves when they’d stripped her the first time?

The answer was obvious. By making her do it herself, they had forced her to bend to their will. Point for the Kronners. Zero for the JoJo.
They must be really loving the odds.

The outfit included a pair of elbow-length fingerless gloves and thigh-high boots, both made out of the same cheap, shiny black material. The whole thing was made for show—to wear just long enough for a quick bump-and-grind interlude then ripped off without further ado for some paid recreation.

“Better enjoy it while you can.” She eyed the one Kronner who had remained behind to make sure she obeyed entirely. “This game is just beginning, but I play by my own nasty set of rules. Plus, I cheat.”

By the time she was finished cinching the last strap, her cell went opaque, leaving her alone in a stark white emptiness. Behind her, she could hear the Ellinod moan softly in pain.

Nearly six hours passed. If there was a side benefit to being psionic, it was the ability to tell time without clocks. It didn’t matter what planet she was on or what galaxy she was visiting—Maurra could tell the exact local time within seconds. Not all psi cops could do it with precise accuracy, and she was better than most who could.

Right now her internal clock was frozen, which meant they were still in space. Her stomach clenched. She was getting hungry. And cold. The Kronners came from a very humid planet and kept their ships on the cool side. It would have been all right if she was wearing her uniform, but this hoochie outfit was no better than being bare-ass naked.

She undid the braid behind her head and combed through the thick, dark red mass of hair with her fingers. She pulled some of it over to cover her shoulders and breasts and huddled with her knees up to her chest. Sighing loudly, she braced her forehead against her knees.

“Covil mwato?”

The voice was deep. Resonant, with a texture like velvet being dragged across sandpaper. Definitely not the voice of a Kronner.

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but if you’re commenting on our situation, I agree with you.”

She heard the Ellinod move. It was a subtle shifting, which made her realize she hadn’t heard him move before now. Maybe he’d been sleeping off the effects of being rayed and had just now woken up.

“Iji kuv JoJo?”

All right. That much she could interpret.

“Yeah, I’m a JoJo. My name’s Maurra.”

“Maurra.” There a slight, silent pause. “Kuvma Safan.”

Safan. His name must be Safan.

“Hello, Safan. I wish I could say it was nice to meet you.”

There was more movement. She heard the unmistakable sound of peeing. Maurra blinked. A second later, she realized she had to go too. There wasn’t anything in the empty, sterile cube except herself. But at least she had the frosted walls to provide her with a modicum of privacy. Moving over to the farthest corner, she squatted and pulled aside the one-inch strap that ran between her legs. As soon as she was done, she hurried back to the other side of her cell.

“Kleeja. Moromo.”

Whatever you say.

The unmistakable sound of a door sliding open got her attention. Maurra jumped to her feet as one wall of her cell went transparent. Three Kronners stood just inside the entrance to the huge room. One of them Maurra immediately recognized as the graghole who’d thrown the hoochie suit at her.

“Eblee.” One that she didn’t identify stepped forward until he was close enough to touch the wall of her cell. “Eblee immidoo.”

“Fuck you and your immidoo.”

The lead Kronner gave her an irritated look. He opened his hand to show her a flattish dull green device about the size of her thumbnail.

“Immidoo karak.”

Obviously the object was for her. What did they want her to do with it? Swallow it? Shove it up her ass?

The wall of her cell began to waver. At the same time, the other two Kronners raised their neuron rays, both set to green. Whatever they had planned for her and that immidoo, they were prepared for her to resist.

Damn right, I’m going to resist. Two one-hundredths of a second, guys. I need less than two one-hundredths of a second. How fast are you with those ray pods?
She backed up to the rear wall of her cell. Without her gun to centralize her psionic powers, she’d have to make do with trying to bracket them by hand. She could feel the familiar tingle growing on her forehead. The wall ceased wavering. Almost open.

Yeah. You just
think
you know how to handle a JoJo.

Maurra opened her hands, palms facing the opening in her cell, and threw her power at the three Kronners in a wide arc. The psionic force enveloped them in a nice pale blue color, and the Kronners slid unconscious to the floor as soon as it touched them.

She ran for the opening as soon as she fired. She barely saw the fourth Kronner before the neuron ray hit her. It was like running full-tilt into the solid hull of a ship. Her body went rigid, and she fell unconscious next to the comatose Kronners.

Her head felt like something was digging its digits into her brain. It was quickly becoming a major headache, and she never got a headache unless something was interfering with her power.

She tried to send out a mental probe to see if there were any Kronners still aound. A flash of dark, intense pain ripped through her spine and up to her neck, where it threatened to fry her brain. She screamed and rolled over, clutching her head in agony. Now she knew what an immidoo was.

Tears coated her cheeks. She was crying. Those fucking Kronners had made her cry, and she had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t be the last time. They enjoyed seeing her squirm.

Someone needs to take a squadron of Klasil bombs and just wipe out the whole fucking planet.

Nice idea, but it did nothing to stop the residual prickling inside her skull. Maurra swiped the tears from her face. As long as she remained calm, the pain stayed tolerable. Barely.

After six minutes she was finally able to sit up and open her eyes. All of the walls of her cell were transparent. She could see the Ellinod. He sat in the middle of his floor, gazing at her with those sea-green eyes. The creature looked ready to chew through the walls of his cells if he was forced to. “I wondered how long it would take you to wake up,” he said in that soft, gravelly voice.

She stared, and the creature nodded.

“They put translators on us.” He pointed to his back. “Mine doesn’t hurt like yours does, but I think that’s because I’m not a psion.”

She could hear him speaking in his own tongue, no more than a whisper beneath the interpreter speaking directly into her inner ear.

“I think it’s programmed to hurt only when I try to use my power.” Pausing, she checked to make sure she hadn’t made a liar out of herself. When no jolt of pain exploded in her head, she gave a slight nod. “Safan, right? Did I understand you earlier?”

He nodded slowly. “My name is Safan.”

“Why are you here? I can understand why I got caught up.”

If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn she saw a twinkle in his eyes.

“Why do you believe you were taken prisoner, Maurra?” He smiled at her.

“I came to your rescue.” She had been reaching behind her, searching for the immidoo. For a moment she thought her fingertips had brushed across its slick surface, but the Kronners had managed to place it in the one spot she couldn’t reach.

The Ellinod shifted to a more comfortable position. He hadn’t been given anything else to wear. She got a brief glimpse of his dick and balls as big as his fists. Yes, definitely humanoid. She quickly dropped her eyes and pretended to adjust the tiny strap crossing her breasts. It barely covered her nipples, never mind the areolas.

“I was not their target, Maurra. You were.”

Her head jerked up and she stared at him openmouthed.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re a JoJo. They weren’t interested in kidnapping me. They used me to force you to come to my rescue. That had been their intent all along.”

She remembered how earlier the Kronners had threatened to hurt him if she didn’t comply with their orders. They knew her top priority was the safety of others. What the Ellinod was telling her made sense.

“But why?”

“You’re a JoJo. You represent everything that stands between them and their ill-gotten gains. They want to humiliate you in every way they can.”

“I don’t understand.” And she still didn’t. At least, not completely. “I always have people coming after me for revenge or some other personal vendetta. It comes with the job. Why use you as bait?” She was beginning to think this situation wouldn’t be one she could easily escape. Or get out of without losing some skin and a pint or two of blood.

The Ellinod scratched his chest, drawing her eyes to the mountain of muscle. The beast was built. Strong, solid and powerful. Someone had treated the wounds he’d received planetside and only a few reddish welts spotted his skin.

Why would the Kronners use him as bait to catch her? His people, for all their immense size and strength, were a relatively placid race. Most of the planet was involved in mining and trading billirs, a semi-rare but beautiful stone the Ellinod prided themselves in polishing and setting into expensive pieces of jewelry. By the looks of Safan’s muscles, he must have spent some times in the mines himself. She wondered how old he was.

“How do you know all this?”

He snorted. “I listen. I watch. I can speak a little Kronnese.”

Can speak a little Kronnese?
Since when did Ellinod take the time to learn a planet-specific language, much less one from a race of known deviates and con artists? The universal language among traders and merchants was Varonese, the same tongue she used wherever she went.

She glanced back at the door. Getting to her feet, she scoped out the entire area as best she could.

“We’re the only ones here.” He moved closer to her cell.

“We’re their only cargo? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I think I’ve figured out why.”

“All because of me again?”

“You’re worth more to your enemies than you know. Especially if you’re presented the right way.” He motioned toward the hoochie brace.

That frightened her. Had they kidnapped her because she was a JoJo, or was this personal? “So where are we headed? Back to Kronnaria?”

“I would guess for the time being.”

She started to ask him what he meant by that when the door opened. This time more than a dozen Kronners filed into the room. Her cell and the Ellinod’s began to move.

Toward each other.

She squatted, fingertips on the floor to help keep her balance. The two platforms met with a hiss and a gentle bump. The walls between them wavered and disappeared. She and Safan were now technically in one large holding pen. She eyed the little aliens circling them.

“Let me guess. Each one of them is holding one of those neuron rays.”

“They’re preparing the stage,” Safan murmured.

She shot the Ellinod a guarded look. “What stage?”

He nodded and glanced upward. “Do you see anything along the walls just below the ceiling?”

She looked up. Every few meters, something reflected light. “What are those?”

“I’m willing to bet they’re video scopes.”

“So? Every transport ship has a camera in the hold, to watch over their cargo.”

“This isn’t one camera, Maurra. I counted more than twenty of them. I think they’re vidding us.”

“What?”

He started to say more when the Kronner who seemed to be the leader of this bunch of miscreants stepped forward. He made certain to show her the ray in his hand first.

“You will do as we say.” He waved the ray at her.

“Do as we say and there will be no pain,” another Kronner told her.

Maurra threw him a dirty look. No pain? Did they mean for the Ellinod or for her?

“You’re looking at life without parole on Dumanbarti Four,” she told him, using her best professional voice. Getting back up, she made it a point to turn around slowly and look each Kronner in the face. A few were nervous, but the majority had that evil glint in their tiny pink eyes. “I am a JoJo. I represent the law in this quadrant of the Nebu Hollum galaxy. By kidnapping me, you have violated not just galactic law, but the laws of the twelve treaties of the universe. At the least, you all will be sentenced to life on the prison moon. And I can assure you your life won’t last long.”

They scoffed and another Kronner stepped forward. “We do not care for your laws. Your laws do not affect us.”

The laws didn’t affect them? Kronnaria was well inside the boundaries set by the galactic council. Every world included had agreed to and signed the treaties, promising to abide by the terms listed. And that was the way it had been for the last fourteen hundred or so years. What did he mean, the laws didn’t affect them?

“According to my orders, Kronnaria is part of this quadrant. You are under my jurisdiction. Therefore you are obligated to obey the laws.”

The second Kronner grinned. “No one here cares about your threats, JoJo. You will play by our rules because you have no choice.”

The other Kronners laughed at the joke. Maurra raised an eyebrow. Behind her she could hear the Ellinod growling. “Keep laughing, you little pricks. Other psi cops will come looking for me when I don’t return to headquarters.”

“They will not know where to find you. And those of us who know…” He giggled. The sound rasped across her nerves. “This is your fate, JoJo. You will never be allowed to leave and tell the others.”

She gritted her teeth. “Pretty wishful thinking.”

The little alien dismissed her anger. “You may keep your anger. It entertains us.”

Entertains us?
Maurra glanced again at the little glittering portholes encircling them.

“No more talk, JoJo,” Kronner number one stated. “The others are waiting. You will obey us now.”

“Screw you.”

Kronner number two shook his head and grinned. “No. That is what
you
will do.” He pointed to the Ellinod. “Fuck the beast, JoJo, or else we will hurt him bad.