Captive Surrender

The music was almost eardrum-shattering loud, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. Neither did Maurra. And as long as she stayed here she could drink herself into mindless oblivion.

Maurra kept an eye on the clientele coming and going from the bar. A ragtag lot, mostly miscreants and petty criminals. The higher-class customers kept their distance from places like this. This late at night there were more people coming in than heading out, which meant there was a greater chance of someone getting pissed and slitting someone else’s throat. When that happened, she’d have to step in whether she wanted to or not.

It was much easier to handle drunks when she’d downed a few herself.

The high-pitched squeals that passed for music died briefly, long enough for the performer to quench its six throats. Creatures around her continued their chitter-chatter. Some used electronic translators. Most conversed as best they could with sign language and the occasional grunt, along with a smattering of Varonese, the universal language on this end of the Carbucharon galaxy.

In the near darkness at the rear of the room, away from the door and stage, her deep scarlet uniform looked black. It was the best camouflage she could manage. Several patrons had already spotted the crest identifying her as one of the exclusive Joramansu, the psionic police who patrolled this vector of space. A few moved closer, as if having a JoJo nearby ensured their safety. More sidled to the other side of the bar or left altogether.

It didn’t matter. Her job on this planet was complete. She’d caught the bad guys and they were awaiting extradition. The bosses had sent her their congratulations. And she deserved a little rest and relaxation before boarding her own flight back to headquarters.

Sighing, she took another sip of her drink. Potent stuff. She wouldn’t need more than one to get ass-over-elbows drunk.

There was a sudden loud squalling at the opposite side of the bar. Maurra squinted to clear her vision the same moment a loud and irritated roar cracked the nearby mugs. It was an Ellinod and what looked like two Par Mattas. She grunted. This should be good. The Ellinod was at least two meters taller and a goodly number of kilos heavier than both Par Mattas bolted together. She’d watch and step in if she was needed.

The slimy Par Mattas were squeaking up a storm and waving their tentacles in the air. Maurra wondered how the Ellinod fit in. The beastly looking creatures were loners. They didn’t do business with other species outside of their mining operations and rarely ventured away from their home world. When they did, it had to be for a damn good reason.

She frowned. The Ellin system was a good two dozen or more light years from here. What in the world would one be doing on Cura-Cura in the first place?

Now her internal alarm was going off, warning her that too many variables weren’t adding up properly. What had the Ellinod done to piss the Par Mattas off? And why were people giving them a wide berth? Slowly, almost nonchalantly, she unhooked her ankles and lowered her booted feet to the floor. She sat up straighter, never taking her eyes away from the scene.

The Ellinod’s gnarled face was gray. From the little she knew about the creatures, that gray was a sign the alien was angry.

Correction. He was furious.

If he reaches out and grabs one of those—

The Ellinod threw back its head and let go with another roof-rattling roar, raising massively muscled arms ending in fists that looked ready to pound the Par Mattas into oblivion. Suddenly, a thick arm shot out, and the enormous hand closed around several sections of the Par Mattas, catching them both in its steely grip. Before anyone could react, the other arm reached down and scooped the semi-aquatic blobs up against the Ellinod’s chest. Striding over to the doorway, the Ellinod heaved the two screeching creatures out into the street.

For two whole seconds the patrons of the bar held their breaths, waiting to see what the enormous Ellinod would do next. When it gave its long, curved horns a shake, shrugged its enormous, muscular shoulders, then turned to resume its seat at the bar, the place gave a silent sigh of relief. There was a call for refills.

The creature wasn’t dressed like a typical Ellinod. The usual coarse shirt and baggy pants that most of them wore had been replaced with a smart-looking, high-quality dark blue shirt and vest, and black formfitting breeches. Instead of sandals, this one wore heavy black boots. It was also bigger than others she had encountered in the past. Bigger, taller and wider. There wasn’t an ounce of extra fat on it, meaning the beast was used to hard labor. Maurra looked back up at the thing to find it staring at her. A shiver went down her spine. It was icy cold and sent an additional warning to her brain. Her body automatically went into JoJo mode. She could already feel the familiar tingling in front of her forehead as her psionic powers focused.

It was difficult to tell whether the thing was male or female. Both sexes looked almost identical as long as their clothes were on, but word was they were humanoid. She tagged this one as male.

With the huge alien backing away, Maurra allowed herself to relax, easing back down onto the small bench that sufficed for a chair.
Another possible disaster averted, thank the stars.
In all her years on the force, she’d never had to subdue an Ellinod before. Was she strong enough to handle one if it came down to it?
There’s always the first time.

Apparently she wouldn’t get the chance to find out this time around. The Ellinod got up from its seat and walked out the front door a bit, stumbling slightly over the threshold. Drunk or not, the alien was still powerful and dangerous. And unpredictable.

A sexy Blois slithered over to her and asked if she wanted another drink. She frowned at the couple of sips left in the bottom of her mug and drew a finger across her throat. The little incident with the Par Mattas had burned away the nice buzz she was nursing. Damn. Why couldn’t she ever find two consecutive minutes of peace without someone or something demanding her attention? She should have known better than to come down to the seediest side of town and expect to spend an hour or two in relative quiet.

“Fuck this.”

Tossing back the rest of her drink, she paused long enough for the bubbles to explode in her esophagus and then belched.

All right. Let me have a decent night’s sleep so I can catch tomorrow’s flight and arrive back at headquarters looking better than I feel.

Gritting her teeth, Maurra left the bar without interference. The night was warm and amazingly quiet. What sky she could see overhead was brightly lit with the planet’s nine moons in varying phases.

Flat, smacking sounds and groans cut through the unusual quiet. Someone was getting the shit beaten out of him.

Pulling out her pistol, she raced around the side of the building, through the alleyway to the small back lot, her psi abilities primed for a fight.

More than half a dozen Kronners were kicking the hunched-over figure. Others were punching him. The little meter-high creatures crawled like ants all over their prey. A pair of curling horns came into view, and she immediately saw that one of them flared to the right, like a birth defect or the result of an accident.

The Ellinod from the bar.

The Kronners were trying to take out an Ellinod? For crying out loud,
why?

She started to order them to cease.
Wait.
The Kronners outnumbered the Ellinod, but she had been wrong about who was getting their asses kicked. She tried not to laugh. They couldn’t be serious, could they? The little creatures, the tallest of whom only came up to the Ellinod’s knees, were trying to punch and kick the enormous beast into submission.

From what she could see, the Ellinod was doing just fine without her. She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest, to watch.

To its credit, the Ellinod was being amazingly gentle with the stick-thin Kronners, tossing them away or brushing them off with swipes of its huge hands. Treating the little creatures like so much dirt coating its uniform.

She wasn’t needed here. It was obvious the Ellinod could take care of itself. She turned to leave when her psi senses suddenly sent a hard cold flare up her spine and into her brain. She whirled around just as half a dozen Kronners joined the fray. The newcomers carried stunners.

The unarmed Ellinod no longer had the advantage.

“By the law, I command you to stop!”

She drew a bead on the cluster converging on the Ellinod. The Kronners may have been tiny compared to the Ellinod, but the stunners had shifted the odds in their favor. Not to mention that the inebriated beast they were trying to subdue was not able to function at peak efficiency. They’d ambushed it at a very opportune time.

Maybe they’d planned it that way.

Either way, the Ellinod gave as good as it got, flinging the Kronners around like it was wringing its hands of water. Its roars of anger changed to pain and frustration.

“You are ordered by galactic law to stop!” She could feel her powers focusing, strengthening, narrowing. She aimed the pistol, then fired. The weapon concentrated her power to disperse it in a finely tuned spray.

A field of strong psi powers blasted from her weapon. Bright, blue-white light wrapped around the Kronners. The aliens dropped.

It took a few seconds for the Ellinod to shove the unconscious Kronners off of it and struggle to its feet. Several deep cuts in its arms and chest bled freely. From the way the creature panted, she could tell the attack had taxed its physical resources. Hell, if she didn’t have psi powers, she probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as the Ellinod did.

Holstering her gun, Maurra hurried over as it collapsed again to its knees. “Sorry about that. Sometimes a little backlash happens. Do I need to notify medical?”

The Ellinod lifted its head. She hadn’t expected to see such human-looking eyes staring down at her. Light green eyes. Eyes still dazed from drink, the beating and the psi ray. A trickle of dark blood seeped from a cut in the creature’s forehead. The beast tried again to get to its feet.

Maurra reached out to help. The beast’s eyes widened. She knew instinctively the creature was looking past her. Behind her. It opened its mouth. Before she could say anything, excruciating pain rolled through her. The world tilted sideways before everything went completely black.