The Starhawk Chronicles Page 17

  Jesse stood amongst the stragglers, hands on his hips, a very satisfied feeling coming over him. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

  Podo came up beside him, gesturing with his rifle. “There are a couple of mounts over there. A few horses, a Phalean strider, and a bogo. No sign of the riders, though.”

  Jesse was grinning now in the darkness. Looking down at Podo he said, “Go get them and bring them here. No sense walking the rest of the way.”

  “What have you got in mind?” asked Podo.

  “Come on, little brother. You should be able to figure it out.” He pulled his Colt 77’s, gave each a twirl, and settled them back in their holsters. “You know I always enjoyed playing cowboy.”

  Podo gave him a grin stretching almost from ear to ear. “Gotcha, Boss.” Turning, he headed back the way he had come, disappearing in darkness as the moon slipped behind a cloud again. Jesse heard a softly whispered “Yippee ki yay.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Where are they?” Pacing in a tight circle across the roof of the tracking station, claws were flexing and extending with impatience, Kahr’s eyes trained on the colony entrance. “What is Forster waiting for?”

  Sitting on the edge of the roof, Khyber was staring at the stars above the mesa wall behind them. “I think they’ll come in from behind, over the mountain. I would.”

  Kahr halted his pacing, shaking his head. “No. That is not Forster’s way. If there is one thing to be said for him, he is direct.”

  “You mean he is suicidal if he thinks he can win this fight,” Khyber replied. He pulled out one of his knives and began carving his name into the mortar of the rooftop.

  “You are a fool to underestimate Forster,” Kahr answered, resuming his pacing. “He took down my father. That makes him worthy of our respect. That is one of the few things my brother and I agree on.”

  Khyber snorted with disdain, his knife twirling between his fingers. “Let Forster come. I’ll carve your father’s name into him. I’ll slice him into so many little pieces that he’ll . . .”

  He paused, a look of confusion crossing his face. “What is that? A ground quake?”

  Kahr halted. Khyber was right. The building beneath his feet was trembling slightly. The sensor dish across the roof vibrated. He whipped around to look towards the colony’s main gate.

  Even in the blackness of the prairie night, the cloud of dust could be seen growing larger as it drew near. The ground shook more noticeably with each passing second. Kahr grabbed the binoculars off his belt, training them on the dust cloud. Even without night vision, he could see the cause of the commotion as it approached, illuminated by the perimeter lights surrounding the colony.

  Cattle. Hundreds of cattle, and they were headed for the colony’s main gate.

  One of the crew on watch at the gate summed it up, shouting “Stampede!” The first of the cattle reached the colony, crashing through the perimeter fencing, taking the hapless watchman with them. They could hear his muffled cry for a brief moment before it was choked off by the sound of thundering hooves.

  From his vantage point, Kahr could see other members of the gang firing into the angry flood of cattle, cutting the beasts down left and right, but it was not enough. There were simply too many animals. Glass shattered and wood splintered and Kahr and Khyber watched as several of the beasts crashed through the door of one small adobe building and out through the back wall.

  All Hell had broken loose, and Jesse Forster was the devil that had unleashed it.

  *

  Podo worked his way free of the makeshift sling that had been rigged to carry him undetected into the compound along the underside of one of the larger bulls. It would have been difficult enough if he had ridden atop the beast. Riding beneath it was equal to trying to hold on to a runaway starship from the outside while speeding through hyperspace. He’d suffer from bruises for days to come, but it had been worthwhile. None of the Nexus would know he had made the first foray into their territory. Yet.

  Crouching in the shadows, cradling his rifle, he listened to the sounds of the chaos further inside the colony, sniffing for any nearby signs of trouble. It was at times like this that an ultra-sensitive sense of smell was a bonus.

  Confident that he was for the moment safe and undetected, he pulled the explosive charges from his belt, setting off through the shadows to do his work.

  *

  Jesse reigned in his mount a few yards away from the colony’s gate, waiting for the others to catch up. As he did, he saw that the gate was considerably wider now, the panicked cattle having torn through the perimeter fencing wherever they happened to come into contact with it. He chuckled, hoping that some of the Nexus happened to have met with the same fate.

  Karson and K’Tran rode up shortly after him, each on a painted palomino. Morogo brought up the rear, mounted atop the Phalean Strider, the only mount large enough to support his weight.

  “What if Podo didn’t make it in?” Kayla asked, bringing her horse up beside Jesse. “There was a lot of weapons fire. I think all we did was give them a chance to practice their marksmanship. If they happened to nail the one we strapped Podo to . . .”

  Before she could finish her sentence, an explosion near the center of the complex lit up the night as an orange fireball blossomed into the air. A moment later, the sound wave reached them, startling all mounts but Morogo’s for a second. Reining his reptilian mount under control, Jesse turned to Kayla with a grin of immense satisfaction. “I think that means he made it in safely. Time to earn our pay, people.”

  Pulling one of his Colts from its holster, Jesse spurred his mount forward with a shout. The bogo gave a slight hop as it lurched forward, but it was soon striding swiftly across the plain.

  As rider and mount drew ever nearer to the colony, Jesse experienced something he had not felt in a very long time; not since Lohren’s death. His heart was pounding, and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through him. All his senses were at their peaks and despite the fact that he could very well be dead by morning, he let out a burst of elated laughter.

  For the first time in months, he felt alive.

  Deep inside, he knew the reason for his enlightened state. He had come full circle. His long, hard odyssey of the heart had begun on this world with the cry of a laser blast. Lohren had been taken from him here and a part of him had died here with her. Now he had returned, determined to put his nightmares to rest. Either the Garrakis brothers would be dead, thereby allowing his beloved to rest in peace, or he would be the dead one. At least then he would be able to be with his Lohren, as was meant to be.

  Digging his heels in, he leaned forward in the saddle, and rode as though he were part of the beast beneath him. Kayla and K’Tran closed up ranks and were riding alongside him, Morogo bringing up the rear.

  They closed in on the colony.

  *

  Crouching between stacks of packing crates bordering one of the colony’s two landing platforms, Podo paused to catch his breath. Looking to his chrono, he counted off the seconds, grinning when the second explosive charge he had set went off exactly on schedule. From his vantage point, he watched the fireball rising into the air above and behind the building directly across the landing pad. The auxiliary generator station, which was supplying power to the lights in the streets and along the perimeter fences, erupted in a larger blast than he had expected. A second, smaller blast from the same vicinity followed, and the lights surrounding the landing pad went dark. Podo crawled out from his hiding spot just enough to peer down into the street beyond and could see that the other lights had gone dark as well.

  The first stage of his mission accomplished, Podo set out for the more important objective. He had to find the colonists.

  Provided that any of them had survived.

  Kahr cursed an ancient Kleezha oath as the second explosion lit up the night.

  “They’re inside already,” he shrieked, smashing a fist into one of the support struts of the sensor arra
y.

  Beside him, Khyber was about to respond when another blast made him spin about. All lights in the compound went dark. Laser fire sounded from the main gate.

  From their vantage point, they could see the other members of the gang along the rooftops, firing into the streets as they had when the stampede ran through the complex. Only now, those that came through the gate were firing back.

  Grabbing Khyber by the scruff of the neck, Kahr turned him around with a violent jerk. “Get on the comm channels,” he growled. “Tell everyone to fall back to the center of the complex. We’ll regroup there and cut Forster and his friends to pieces. Go now!”

  Under other circumstances, Khyber might have felt the urge to lash back at Kahr, but not this time. He saw the look in the Kleezha’s eyes, and it was not one that he had ever seen before. The anger was there, of course, but it was mixed with something else. Something that Khyber never thought existed within Kahr.

  Fear. In the years that Khyber had known the Garrakis family, none of them had ever shown fear toward anyone or anything. Kahr was afraid now, though he tried to keep it concealed. If Kahr was scared, that scared Khyber.

  He ran off to do Kahr’s bidding once more. He was not grinning this time, and he certainly did not laugh.

  *

  Riding his pony down the main street of the colony, K’Tran felt he was living out a boyhood fantasy. It was not something he had thought of often in his adult years, though the time he had spent on his ranch had rekindled the memories on occasion.

  He was ten years old again, riding into danger as Billy the Kid or alongside Wyatt Earp, through the deadly streets of Tombstone—the big difference now being that if these bandits got him, he would not be able to get up, dust himself off, and start playing again tomorrow.

  He watched as Jesse and Kayla turned their mounts down one side street and Morogo down yet another. Giving his palomino a kick, he galloped down the main street.

  Just like in those old western films, two of the bad guys appeared on the rooftops and opened fire on him, but had difficulty tracking him because of the speed of his mount. Staying at full gallop, he pulled his left foot from its stirrup and swung his leg over so that he was hanging over the horse’s right flank, using the horse’s body to shield himself while he stood in one stirrup and took aim. The tactic paid off. One gang member took a laser in the chest, while the second was hit in the gun arm and toppled backwards out of sight.

  K’Tran resumed his seat, pushing further into the colony, laughing. He had always wanted to try that.

  *

  Podo stopped in an alley between two buildings, waiting within the shadows as several Nexus Gang members ran past in the street ahead, oblivious to his presence. He was growing discouraged, having checked several buildings for any sign of survivors and found nothing. The fight around him was escalating. The others might need him sometime soon and he would have to put off his search. He began doubting that there would be any survivors to find anyway.

  Venturing to the end of the alley, Podo peered down the street. It appeared deserted, but the darkness held disadvantages for him as much as it did for the Nexus Gang.

  Lifting his head, he took a long, deep breath of air; his acute olfactory senses trained for any scent of danger. There was none he could detect, but he did pick up something else. From the scent, it was young, human, and very, very afraid.

  Taking another deep breath to reassure himself that he had not been mistaken, Podo began to follow the scent down the street to where it dead-ended at a long, two-story building flanked on each side by corral fencing. The fencing to his left was smashed and trampled down where the stampede of cattle must have cut through, but the rest of the building and grounds appeared intact.

  Pausing at the main door, sniffing again, he was rewarded with a stronger scent. There were several more scents as well, some animal, some human, and some non-human. He could smell fear coming from all of them. As quietly as he could, he slid the door open along its track just enough to allow him to slip inside.

  With the door closed behind him, he paused and both sniffed and listened. To the rear of the building were several paddocks, where horses within whinnied in agitation as the door clicked shut louder than Podo had intended. The main entrance to the building had a vaulted ceiling and storage lofts filled with feed and supplies made up the bulk of the second floor. Shafts of moonlight from overhead skylights illuminated the building well enough that he did not have to stumble blindly about in the darkness as he made his search; straw on the floor crunching softly beneath his footpads.

  “Hello?” he called in as gentle a tone as he could muster. “Anyone in here? I won’t hurt you. I’m a friend. I’m here to help.”

  His only reply was the nickering and stomping of several frightened animals in their paddocks. “I know someone’s in here,” he said. “I caught your scent from down the street. I promise I won’t hurt you. I’m with the Starhawk. Do you remember the Starhawk?”

  The sound of wood scraping on durocrete behind him caused Podo to whirl. In the moonlight, a section of the floor was moving aside. He trained his rifle on the area that had been hidden by the trapdoor, and tensed, finger tight on the trigger.

  A tiny head popped up from the darkness below, and Podo let out a sigh of relief. It was a young human female, no more than ten years old, long blonde hair tied up in two braided ponytails. She froze at the sight of the rifle Podo held, and he quickly slung it over his shoulder.

  Cautious, still unsure if Podo was attempting a trick or not, she climbed further out of the hidden cellar. She was filthy from head to toe, her clothes torn and ragged, clutching a tattered, headless baby doll close to her chest.

  Holding up an open paw, Podo gave a small wave. “It’s okay,” he said, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as he could. “I’m not here to hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  The child regarded him for a long moment, finally giving him a small smile. She turned to the cellar, waving to someone else down there.

  Two more heads popped out. One was a dark-skinned boy about the same age. The girl looked to be slightly older. Both held toy slingshots in their hands, ready and willing to use them on Podo had he turned out to be hostile.

  Podo smiled at them all. “Is that all of you?”

  The first little girl gestured at the boy. “Shannon’s dad is down there. He’s hurt real bad. And my mom. She’s pregnant and sick. We don’t know where Willy’s folks are.”

  “It’s okay,” Podo said, approaching slowly, in case the others should decide to use him for target practice. “We’ll get them some help. My name’s Podo. What’s yours?”

  The girl regarded him with suspicion, as though giving her name would strip her of some defense against him. Finally she said, “MacKenzie.”

  Podo smiled at her. “Pleased to meet you, MacKenzie.”

  “Hey, I remember you now,” the dark-skinned boy suddenly shouted, his voice echoing around the barn rafters. “You were here last time. You arrested these Nexus guys before.”

  “Willy, keep your voice down,” MacKenzie scolded.

  “Well, not by myself,” Podo replied. “But, yes, I was one of the team that captured them.”

  Shannon gave him a curious look. “Guess you didn’t do too good a job of it.”

  Podo ignored the jibe. “We’re back to make sure the job gets done right this time.” He looked to MacKenzie. “Let’s see if I can do anything for your folks. I have medical training.”

  Nodding, MacKenzie gestured down into the cellar. Podo started for the steps when a sound from the vicinity of the front door made all four of them jump. It was the sound of heavy footsteps on gravel. Willy swallowed, loud enough for them to hear. “What’s that?”

  More scraping from the door, then heavy fists pounded against the corrugated metal. Over and over came the pounding, as though who or whatever outside had not figured out that the door slid open rather than swinging on hinges.

 
Podo swallowed nervously, a sound almost as loud as Willy had made, slowly slinging the weapon from his shoulder.

  “That,” he said, “is company.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jumping from his mounts back, giving the beast a sharp slap on its rear flank, Jesse sent the bogo scurrying nervously down the street. Pulling his second pistol, he stepped back out of the street, into the shadows between two buildings.

  Pausing, he closed his eyes, letting his body relax. His hunter’s instincts were most definitely coming back to him. It was as if he had been blindfolded for a very long time and someone had suddenly lifted the veil from his eyes.

  It was in this heightened state of awareness that he heard the slightest sound of cautious footfalls behind him. Without turning, he knew exactly where the attack would come from.

  Spinning on his heel, he fired a round from each weapon; shots that would have met their marks had his target not been so agile. He saw a flash of glowing red eyes and dark fur dart out the other end of the alley into the next street.

  Feros, Jesse thought. It was hard to mistake the hulking tiger-like form for any of the other Nexus members. This isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.

  Cautiously, Jesse crept his way to the back of the alley, senses alert for any sign of ambush. He peered around the nearest corner, keeping close to the wall.

  The street beyond was as dark as the others, but Jesse knew it was not deserted. Feros was nearby.

  Leaning up close to the wall, listening intently, the only sound Jesse could pick out was that of the warm evening breeze blowing through vacant streets.

  When the attack came, it was not from in front or behind, but from above. Jesse heard the sound of claws scrabbling on the masonry of the walls above him, and caught sight of the leaping figure an instant before Feros crashed into him full force. The blow knocked Jesse to the ground, his weapons flying from his hands. Rolling as he landed , he quickly regained his footing. Feros rose too, a few feet away, and the two combatants eyed each other warily.