The Starhawk Chronicles Page 20

  Kayla heard the triumphant howl and the scrabbling of claws on rock. Turning over, she reached for her holstered firearm, and froze. Kahr was standing over her, having already cleared the gap between them. The muzzle of his rifle was centimeters from her head.

  Kahr was staring at her with curiosity. “I don’t know you. You must be the rogue hunter everyone’s been talking about.”

  “So what if I am?” Kayla’s voice dripped acid.

  “I am impressed.” Kahr replied. “You have heart. Perhaps more so than anyone on Forster’s team. Seems a shame to kill you.”

  “It would be a shame, but we all have to do things we don’t want.”

  Kahr seemed to consider her response for a moment. Kayla was half tempted to make another try for her sidearm, but knew the idea to be a futile one. Her mind was racing to come up with some way she could take Kahr down and still live to tell the tale, but nothing viable came to her. Sighing, she resolved herself to her fate. “Just get it over with.”

  Kahr moved the muzzle of the rifle a fraction closer. Kayla refused to close her eyes, watching Kahr’s finger tightening on the trigger.

  The roar of lifter jets and the sudden glare from a spotlight beam caused them both to look up. Rising up from below along the mountain wall, the Starhawk hove into view. Kahr was surprised just enough that his weapon wavered from its target. Rolling away, Kayla watched in fascination as the Kleezha raised his weapon and began firing at the starship, his blasts bouncing off its armor.

  The ship’s wingtip swivel cannons angled towards the Kleezha. Kahr started running as blasts from the Starhawk’s cannons chewed up the ground where he had stood.

  Kahr sprinted across the mountaintop; powerful legs keeping him one-step ahead as the Starhawk gave chase. He neared the far end of the mesa, followed by a more urgent pasting of laser bursts. The ground exploded in a dazzling flash of light. When the flash spots finally faded from Kayla’s eyes, Kahr was nowhere to be seen.

  The Starhawk hovered at the far end of the mountaintop for a long minute, guns tracking back and forth across the edge, then swiveled on its lift jets and came back towards Kayla. It was only then she realized she was still lying on the ground. Getting to her feet, she dusted herself off as the starship halted a few meters off. The ship’s boarding plank extended and a lone figure walked from inside.

  Forster, Kayla swallowed hard. Here it comes.

  She was not disappointed. In the harsh light from the Starhawk’s spot beams, she could see he was flush with outrage. “What the hell did you think you were doing?” he shouted, out of both anger and the need to be heard over the ship’s engines. “I knew you were nuts, Karson, but I didn’t think you were stupid!”

  She held her hands in front of her. “I know. I know. Kahr was your bounty. I’ve heard it before, remember?” she shouted back. “And all I can say is, I’m sorry! I was out of my head with the thrill of the chase and I’m sorry!”

  Forster stared at her for a long moment. “You think that’s why I’m angry? Because you went after the bounty?” Shaking his head in disbelief, he gave a loud sigh. “That’s not it at all!”

  “Then what . . .”

  “You could have gotten yourself killed.” His tone more gentle now, though he still had to shout. He started walking in the direction Kahr had fled and she followed, stepping gingerly over the smoking patches of torn up ground where the ship’s cannons had struck.

  Away from the ship, it was easier to hear and Forster continued his explanation. “You have to remember that you’re part of a team now. My team. That means you’re my responsibility. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been with us from the start or only a few days. You’re still a teammate. One of my teammates.”

  Kayla had been pacing him, but now fell back a few steps. He’s sincere about this. He really was worried that I might be killed. Shame for her outburst and actions began to overcome her. “Forster, I . . .”

  She stopped mid-sentence. They had reached the far end of the bluff, where the ground was the most severely chewed up from the Starhawk’s assault. Forster was kneeling to pick something up. Turning to her, she saw he was holding Kahr’s arm, blown off at the elbow.

  Forster regarded the arm thoughtfully. “Funny,” he said, though there was no humor in his voice. “I really thought I missed him.” Creeping to the far edge of the mesa, he peered into the darkness below. “Must be parts of him scattered all around down there.”

  Looking up at her, he grinned, handing her the arm, and laughing at the face she made as she took it from him. “Here you go. You clean up the mess, you can have the bounty.”

  She watched him as he walked off laughing, and thought for the moment how satisfying it would be to throw the arm after him. She disregarded the thought as the humor of it caught up with her. Laughing as well, she followed Forster back toward the ship.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The sun rising over the distant mountains revealed the true extent of the devastation the colony had suffered from the Nexus gang’s brutal assault and the carnage of the previous evening. Thin pillars of smoke from burned-out buildings rose like lost souls into the sky, only to dissipate and fade away as the gentle morning breezes caught them. The Starhawk crew went throughout the colony, picking off any straggling gang members and searching for survivors.

  They found sixty-seven, out of one hundred and eighty.

  The majority of the survivors, mostly children, were in good condition. Podo and Morogo, with the help of their three little friends from the stables, collected blankets and food, trying to make the injured comfortable. Kym and Bokschh set the Starhawk down in the center of town and were now hard at work repairing the damage to the communications array, leaving Jesse and Kayla to collect the DNA templates needed to collect their bounties.

  “I just can’t believe the destruction,” Kayla said, climbing over the debris from a collapsed wall that blocked a section of street.

  “Well, the Nexus is to blame for a lot of it,” Jesse answered, looking somewhat sheepish. “But not all. We did have a big hand in it. Letting their livestock loose like that helped get us inside, but at a pretty high cost.”

  As if to emphasize his point, they came across the remains of several cattle lying helter skelter along the ground. Carrion birds swooped out of the sky to pick at the carcasses. Jesse kicked at the nearest scavenger, causing the bird to flutter away with a squawk and shower of dark feathers.

  Watched the bird flee, Kayla looked at Jesse. “It could have been a lot worse. A lot worse,” she said. “The colony could be a total loss had we not shown up. I’m actually surprised we found as many survivors as we did.”

  There was a commotion from a nearby building, causing them both to draw their weapons. From the shadows of a darkened doorway staggered K’Tran. The elder hunter was filthy from head to toe, with one eye swollen shut and a large gash across his chest. Over his shoulder he carried a body, which he dumped without ceremony at Jesse’s feet.

  Jesse looked down and recognized the bald, yellow-eyed man immediately. “Khyber,” he said, drawing his eyes from the body to his friend. “What happened?”

  K’Tran took a long, deep breath before answering. “Little runt jumped me while I was looking for any remaining colonists. Must have been hiding out after he saw all his buddies go down.” He gave the dead man an appraising look. “Put up a good fight, though. I’ll give him that much.”

  “Did you get his genetic template?”

  K’Tran shook his head. “My sample collector got smashed when he jumped me. You didn’t think I was carrying his stinkin’ hide around just for decoration did you? Draping dead Harkonians around one’s shoulders isn’t exactly the big fashion rage these days.” He smiled, and Jesse could see that there were several teeth missing from his friend’s mouth.

  “It’s okay. I still have a few left.” Kayla said, reaching into her belt pouch as she knelt next to the body and took the sample.

  “I did manage to g
et this one though, just before the little creep showed up.”

  K’Tran tossed a vial to Jesse, who deftly caught it. He held the vial up to the light, examining the viscous liquid within. “Who was this?”

  K’Tran smiled. “A bonus. Charris Bu’kel.”

  Jesse looked at him in amazement. “The Chinsharra? I hadn’t realized that any of them had thrown in with Rahk and his boys.”

  “Surprised me too,” K’Tran admitted. “And you know how much I love surprises.”

  “You’d better get cleaned up, old friend,” Jesse told him, after Kayla had disposed of Khyber’s body. “We set up a temporary shelter and med station in the rec center, but I think you should use the ship’s med bay. The town’s resources are stretched thin enough already.”

  Podo came running up as they made their way back to the center of town. “Kym and Bokschh have the comm dish working again,” he said as he approached. “We’re already receiving replies to our distress call. There’s a tramp freighter on the edge of the system. Its captain says he doesn’t have much room, but he’ll come lend a hand until more help arrives. Plus there’s a Confederation hospital frigate in the Victrona sector. They’re coming in at maximum warp, but it will still take two days to get here. A few others responded, but it will be at least five days before the first of them arrive.”

  “Well, it’s a start,” Jesse replied. “How are the survivors doing?”

  “Most are good. No injuries so serious that they can’t hold out until the help arrives,” Podo replied. “Some of them are grumbling though. Think we could have prevented this but didn’t care enough.”

  Shaking his head and running a hand through his hair, Jesse sighed. “We can’t win,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air. “I give up.”

  As he started to walk off, the three children Podo had rescued approached them from the barn. Shannon and Willy saw Jesse was unsettled and their steps slowed, but MacKenzie walked forward undeterred. Stopping two steps away, she looked up at him and smiled.

  The hard look Jesse intended to use on the child to shoo her away quickly faded. MacKenzie turned to her companions and waved them over. They now rushed over, each carrying something. Shannon approached Kayla, and, with an exaggerated half bow at the knee, presented her with a long package wrapped in tattered cloth. Willy approached with a large sack that he handed to MacKenzie, who in turn handed it to Jesse. With practiced unity, they bowed said, “Thank you!”, then they turned and ran off back the way they had come.

  Jesse, Podo, and Kayla all looked to one another with bemused smiles. Jesse gestured to Kayla that she should open her gift first. She slowly unwrapped the strips of cloth, and smiled again. It was her taser staff, a bit nicked and scratched, but obviously no worse for wear from its tumble down the mountainside. It was apparent that the children had taken time to clean it before wrapping it.

  Jesse opened the sack that MacKenzie had presented to him, and the most delicious scent wafted out at him. Podo peeked his head in, then looked at his companions with a look of delight. “Chocolate chip cookies,” he proclaimed. “Fresh baked and enough for the whole crew.”

  “Well,” Kayla asked as she approached, stuffing her hand into the sack. “Do you still feel unappreciated?”

  Jesse smiled around the mouthful of cookie he was munching, swallowing noisily. “No,” he replied. “This definitely made it all worthwhile.”

  *

  Rahk sat in the command chair on the bridge of the Malcontent, claws burrowing into the armrests with impatience. “Any word from the others?”

  Tesk turned, focusing its multi-faceted eyes on its leader. “Still nothing. It is my opinion that they have all been captured or destroyed by the Starhawk crew.”

  Rahk stabbed a claw in Tesk’s direction. “Keep your opinions to yourself, Mantilorian,” he hissed. “Unless you want to find them shoved back down your throat.”

  Tesk turned away just as one of the indicator lights on his board went red. “The aft access hatch has been opened,” the Mantilorian reported.

  Rahk rose from his seat, pulling his sidearm from his hip and leveling it at the bridge hatchway. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tesk doing the same. They watched the hatchway as the sound of unsteady footsteps made their way closer.

  The hatch slid open. Kahr was standing in the doorframe, covered in dirt and soot. Clutching the stump that had been his left arm, splotches of blue-tinged blood covered his legs and side. His breath came in heavy wheezes. “Brother,” he gasped, falling to his knees.

  Rahk was at his brother’s side in a heartbeat. Kahr looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Brother, I am sorry,” he wheezed. “I have failed and dishonored our clan.”

  “Rest, Brother,” Rahk soothed. “Do not talk. The others? They are all dead?” he asked, knowing the answer before his brother could nod a reply.

  “Do not worry. I do not hold you responsible,” Rahk said. “They were weak. Like all great tribes, the weak must be weeded out. But you survived. You were strong enough to make it. We will rebuild, and the Nexus will be more powerful than ever.”

  A fit of spasmodic coughing shook Kahr's whole body. Blood formed on his lips. Rahk looked at Tesk, grabbing the Mantilorian by the leg. “Get him to the medical bay. Take care of him. If he dies, you die!”

  Tesk bobbed his head in compliance and picked Kahr up off the floor, carrying him out the hatchway to the corridor beyond.

  Rahk watched them go, then stalked to the ship’s control station and keyed in for a pre-launch check.

  *

  Kneeling before the simple, hand-carved stone, Jesse stared in silence at his reflection in its polished surface. The grateful colonists who had interred Lohren’s body within caves deep below the mesa had erected the monument. The inscription read:

  Lohren Jeanette Forster

  June 17, 2260 - Mar 15, 2283

  Until the next dimension . . .

  This was Jesse’s first time seeing the tribute. Despite the pain that stabbed into his heart as memories flooded back at him, he could not help but smile at the mistaken last name the colonists had bestowed on Lohren. It was both touching and fitting, since marriage to Lohren had been his intention anyway.

  He could still remember almost every small detail of the day they had first met, now nearly ten years ago. . .

  *

  The flight of four Confederate Phantoms dropped into an elongated diamond formation and fired two missiles each. The projectiles raced out half a kilometer ahead of the fighters, each splitting into four smaller warheads. All detonated in unison, erupting in a ring of fire in the purple tinged sky of Kassandra Two. The fighters then fell in behind one another only meters apart, racing through the shrinking center of the ring, resuming their diamond formation as soon as the last fighter was clear.

  The crowd watching from the grandstand below went wild, cheering as the four Phantoms, now with tails of colored smoke trailing behind them, roared over the stands. Jesse and Podo screamed their enthusiasm as they, along with several other celebrants, saluted the fighter craft disappearing into the distance.

  Patriotism was at an all-time high among members of the Galactic Confederation. Victory after the long war with the Harkonian Empire had swelled attendance at military air shows like this to record numbers in recent years.

  Beside them, Thom Forster smiled at the enthusiastic display of pride his two sons showed for the Confederation’s armed forces. “You two aren’t going to be able to talk if you keep screaming like that.”

  Jesse and Podo looked up at their father, broad smiles painted across their young faces. Thom marveled at how much his teenage son resembled him, but the eyes belonged to his wife. “Who cares?” Jesse replied.

  “Yeah!” Podo thrust a stubby paw into the air. “Go Confeds! Whoooo!”

  Thom laughed, but the sound was drowned out by an announcer over the loudspeakers proclaiming in several languages an end to this segment of the show, and that the pilots would be out
on the airstrip with their fighters for questions and answers and holo opportunities.

  “Frigid!” the boys exclaimed, Podo thrusting a paw into one of the pouches on the vest he was wearing, producing a holo-camera.

  “I’m set,” the young Warwick rose from his seat, making a beeline for the exit, cutting several beings off in his haste.

  Jesse and Thom were less obtrusive, waiting their turn to clear out of their seats. Jesse looked up at his father. “Are you coming with us?”

  “Only onto the airfield,” Thom placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “There are supposed to be a few pilots from my old squadron in attendance today. I’m going to see if I can’t look them up. You boys can go do what you want. Just behave yourselves, and remember, our shuttle home leaves at seven.”

  “No problem whatsoever,” Jesse held out his hand, looking up at Thom expectantly.

  Laughing again, Thom reached into his pocket, pulling out several credits and dropping them into Jesse’s hand. “Try not to spend it all at once,” he said, using his best fatherly voice, the one he knew both of his sons had learned not take too seriously. “And go easy on the goortberry fizzes. Your mother will have my hide if I bring you two back sick again.”

  “No problem whatsoever,” Jesse echoed, turning to catch up to Podo, who had already made it out of the stands and down onto the field. As he approached his adopted brother, he held up the handful of credits. “We are golden.”

  Podo’s face broke into a broad grin again. “Frigid!” The two exchanged what they called a high four, taking into account that Podo had only four digits per paw.

  Podo jabbered about which fighters he wanted to see, and how he was hoping that some of the pilots would be good enough to let him have his holo taken in the cockpit, but Jesse heard only part of it. He had been scanning the field, looking for the nearest fizz vendor, when he spotted her. He had to do a double take because he was sure he was imagining things. Can’t be. There’s no such thing as a real, live angel.