Hero (18 page)

prominent feature. The large white ovals dominated his flat, angular face and had no irises, a circumstance which made his pupillary reactions disturbingly obvious.

Tisana had stiffened beside her as Veluka arrived, and Micayla instinctively

studied him for weaknesses. She knew his scales would provide protection against many conventional weapons, but his eyes seemed vulnerable and certainly provided a large target. His musculature was clearly visible beneath the rippling scales that weren't covered by the light tunic he wore, and if there was a gram of fat on his body, it didn't show. Micayla had been up against some formidable opponents before, but never one like this.

"About time you got here," Jack said without preamble. "I thought that ship of
yours was fast."

Veluka shrugged and then blinked slowly, drawing attention to his eyes. "I did my best."

"Yeah, right," Jack scoffed. "Knowing you, you probably fiddle-farted the whole way here just so you could make a few deals while you were at it."

Veluka pressed a hand to his chest. "Your lack of faith wounds me deeply."

His voice, though smooth as glass, may have sent chills running down Micayla's

spine, but he obviously didn't intimidate Jack in the slightest. "You'll get over it," she said carelessly.

Glancing sideways at Tisana, Micayla could almost see the fireballs forming in

her eyes, and a quick look at Kyra confirmed that she wasn't happy about having the Nerik in her living room either. Even Windura's eyes had narrowed slightly.

"Have a seat, Veluka," Jack said with a casual wave. "We need to talk."

Dragus lingered at the doorway, grinning unabashedly at the women gathered

there. Having heard Kyra's stories about how much he admired human females, Micayla wasn't surprised that he wanted to hang around, but when he reluctantly turned to leave, Jack called after him.

"Hold on a minute, Dragus!" she said. "I forgot to tell you I got that video you wanted."

With a quick shake of his head and a furtive glance, Dragus put up a hand to

silence her.

"Oh, yeah, right," Jack said with a nod. "Forgot that part too. I'll give it to you later."

Dragus nodded and departed, his huge flat feet slapping on the stone floor as he

moved off down the corridor.

Micayla felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle as Veluka laughed at the

exchange between Dragus and Jack. It was not only the most intimidating laugh she'd ever heard, but it also caused his scales to rise, lifting the rough tunic, which was his only garment, making him seem larger, more imposing--fearsome, even.

Shaking her head, Jack grinned as Dragus's tail disappeared from view--a grin that faded slightly when she faced Veluka.

Veluka's pupils constricted to the point that they almost disappeared. "You seem displeased with me for some reason, Jack."

"Why--whatever gave you that idea?" Jack said with a sardonic smirk.

Glancing around the room, he said, "My reception seems a bit chilly."

"Tisana wouldn't trust you not to steal an old shoe," Jack said blithely, "but unless I miss my guess, the rest of these ladies just haven't seen a Nerik before. That's what you get for being so creepy looking."

Windura covered her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle a laugh as the Nerik sat

down on a straight-backed chair near the door--obviously not wanting anyone between him and the nearest escape route.

"You never were one to mince words, were you, Jack?" Veluka commented. His smile made a clicking sound as his facial scales shifted, making Micayla wonder what would happen when he got mad.

Jack shrugged. "Don't see the point."

"I assume you asked me to come here for a reason," Veluka began. "Was it
something I did?"

"Nope," Jack replied. "We need your help with something."

"Ah, do you now?" Veluka said with another crackly smile.

"What would you say if I told you we knew who was behind the vendetta against the Zetithians?"

Veluka's huge eyes opened even wider. "I would assume you would want this

person dead."

Jack nodded. "Or at least brought to justice."

Veluka's eyelids lowered a fraction and his pupils dilated slightly. "To catch the one responsible for destroying an entire world would be... difficult."

"But not impossible," Tisana interjected. "We can't begin to pay you what you probably think--"

Jack put up a hand. "Easy, Tisana. I know you think Veluka is a liar and a cheat, and you're absolutely right, but--"

To Micayla's surprise, Veluka laughed. "I do enjoy doing business with you,

Jack," he said. "It's so... refreshing."

"Aw, cut the crap," Jack said. "You only like it because I don't try to cheat you."

"You are one of the few that doesn't," Veluka admitted.

"Wish he would return the favor," Tisana muttered.

Micayla caught Tisana's eye with a questioning look.

Seeming to take this as encouragement, Tisana glared at the Nerik. "Those

tracking nanobots you sold Jack on Barada Seven only lasted a week!" she said hotly. "If their lifespan had been just a little shorter, Leo and Cat might have been killed!"

"But they weren't," Jack said soothingly. "Chill out, Tisana. He never said they would last forever!"

"True," Tisana conceded, "but if the nanobots had died before we caught those Nedwuts--well, I don't want to think about what might have happened."

"Then don't," Jack retorted.

Micayla suspected that this was an argument of long standing between the two

women, and a conspiratory glance from Kyra suggested that she felt the same way.

"Would you like a drink?" Kyra asked Veluka. "I'm sure you must be thirsty."

"I'd appreciate that," he replied. "But none of the local wine for me. I'll have water, please."

As Kyra left to get Veluka some refreshment, Micayla eyed him shrewdly. He

was a scoundrel, all right, but not above being cheated himself and, therefore, very cautious.

"What we need is a fast ship with a cloaking device," Jack was saying. "And you've got that."

Kyra returned with a tall glass of water which Veluka received with a gracious

nod, draining the contents before responding. "Do you only want to hire my ship, or do you need me to fly it?"

"Both," Jack replied. "We'll need you to carry some passengers."

"Where to?"

"That's something we don't know yet," Jack admitted. "But we hope to find out soon."

"Cloaked ship?" Micayla echoed as a thought struck her. "Just where were you
when you got Jack's hail?"

To her surprise, Veluka's scales flattened. "That would be none of your business."

"Maybe not," Micayla conceded, "but on the way here from Orleon Station, a cloaked ship fired on us--one that had Nedwuts aboard--and from what I hear, Nedwuts don't have that technology."

"It can be bought," Veluka said, his voice as flat as his scales, "for the right price."

"I'm sure it can," Micayla said with a nod. "Anyway, we fired back, and something exploded, but our gunner didn't think he was the one who hit it." She looked at Veluka searchingly. "Any ideas as to why that was?"

"None," Veluka replied.

"The Nedwuts didn't possess the technology to destroy an entire planet either,"

Windura chimed in from her desk, "but they did it anyway. Our 'friend' has a vast amount of money--more than anyone could earn by honest means--and he's obviously willing to spend it to eliminate every last Zetithian in existence."

"And now he seems to be equipping the Nedwut bounty hunters," said Jack. Her expression darkened. "This is not good."

"He saw Micayla and captured us," Windura explained to Veluka. "He told us what he'd done, but we escaped--and now he'll come after us with everything he's got."

"I hate to say this," Kyra began. "But if he's heard anything about Tychar, he'd have to know Darconia was a safe haven for Zetithians. He could have ships on the way here right now."

"All the more reason why we've got to find out where he is and put an end to this," Jack said earnestly. With an eye toward Windura, she went on, "Any luck with that hacking job yet?"

Windura shook her head. "No, but I've been thinking. We might be able to recruit some help with that."

"How so?" asked Jack.

Windura took a deep breath. "We'd have to go back to Orleon Station to ask the hookers for help," she said. "And I really don't see how we can do that--at least, not openly."

"I know you said we could trust them, but do you really think the hookers would stick their necks out to help us?" Micayla scoffed.

"Oh, yeah," Windura said. "Trag's probably very popular with them. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help him out."

Micayla blinked. Suddenly, all the little bits and pieces she'd heard about Trag

and the other Zetithians fell into place. "Is he--I mean, are they--really that good?"

Jack, Kyra, and Tisana all exchanged meaningful looks, but it was Kyra who

spoke. "Oh, yeah," she said as the other two women nodded in agreement. "They all are."

"Having grown up on Earth, I don't suppose you could have known," Tisana said kindly. "But Zetithian males are--" She paused, seeming to be at a loss for words.

"Absolutely incredible," Kyra finished for her.

Jack gazed at Micayla with sympathetic eyes. "You don't care much for men, do you?"

"Well, no," Micayla admitted. "I mean, I do, but not like that."

"It's only because you've never been around any of your own kind before," Tisana
said bracingly. "What they're capable of is overkill for most other women--though highly addicting!--but for you, it's probably a necessity."

Kyra nodded in agreement. "And when they say 'I will give you joy unlike any you have ever known,' they aren't kidding," she said fervently. "Believe me, once you go cat, you never go back."

Micayla wanted to scream in frustration. Between this and what Lerotan had told

her, she was finally beginning to understand why she felt the way she did. Obviously, for a Zetithian woman, only a Zetithian man would do--and she'd already made a no-sex pact with the only available one left alive.
Chapter 13

A Zetithian man who, unfortunately, made her long to bite him and was also in

love with his brother's wife. Micayla closed her eyes and waited for the thrumming inside her head to pass.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't be discussing this right now," Windura said awkwardly.

"Not with him here, anyway."

Micayla's eyes flew open. Windura was, of course, referring to Veluka, who was

following the discussion with undisguised interest. "Forget I'm here," he said with an expansive wave of his hands. "I won't say a word."

Tisana snickered. "If you think we'll believe that..."

"It's okay," Micayla said. "Keep talking. I think I need to hear this."

"Obviously we should have had this conversation sooner, but the guys have

always been hanging around," Kyra said. "You've seen them, of course, so you know how gorgeous they are--and you've seen them naked, so you know what they've got--but what you don't know is the effect one of them can have on you. They excrete a fluid from the penis that triggers orgasms in females, and their semen has the most euphoric effect--

they've even got a sort of ruffle on the head that undulates after they ejaculate. It feels fabulous!"

"And afterward, you get this feeling they call laetralance," Tisana put in. "It's the most peaceful, fulfilling, blissful thing you'll ever experience. There's not even a word for it in Stantongue--"

Windura had rattled off something similar when they were confronting Grekkor,

but it had sounded too fantastic to be true. Micayla hadn't believed it at the time, but still, it would explain quite a bit.

"Yes," Windura said eagerly, "and Mr. Big sells drugs--though he won't admit to it--so it would cut in on his business!"

"I have always believed it was something like that!" Jack declared. "But he also said it was because his wife had a Zetithian lover."

"Ah, a crime of passion then?" Veluka suggested.

"A premeditated, highly organized, extremely well-funded crime of passion," Jack said roundly. "He's even confessed to it. We just have to get him to do it in front of witnesses."

"I realize I said I wouldn't say a word," Veluka said hesitantly, "but just who is it we're talking about? Someone I might know?"

Micayla looked at Jack, who merely shrugged.

"He'll find out eventually anyway." Tisana sighed. "You might as well tell him now."

"It was someone named Rutger Grekkor," Micayla said. "Ever hear of him?"

Veluka's pupils dilated to the point that his entire face went dark and his scales lost their shine. It was a long moment before he spoke. "And I blasted one of his ships..."

he said faintly. "Jack, you really owe me this time."

"Ha!" Micayla exclaimed. "So it was you!"
"Yes," Veluka said, visibly shuddering. "It was." His broad shoulders drooped and he hung his head. "I'm dead meat in a can."

"Not if we get to him first!" Jack exclaimed. "Oh, Veluka! I could kiss you!" She had already jumped up from the couch and was heading toward him when she stopped

short. "Then again, maybe not."

"That's okay, Jack," Veluka said. "I understand completely." He took a deep, fortifying breath--presumably to steady his nerves--and held up a hand. "Just give me a moment."

Micayla looked at him curiously. "I can understand why Zetithians would be

afraid of him, but is everyone?"

"No, just people who have sense enough to stay out of his way," Veluka replied.

"I've managed to do that--up until now. I thought I was doing you a favor, Jack. Now I've probably signed my own death warrant."

"No you haven't," Jack said cheerfully. "If we don't tell him, he'll never know who did it. It's not as if there were any survivors."

Veluka shook his head sadly. "If only I could believe that."

"What? Which part?" Jack asked.

"Doesn't matter," Veluka replied. "Is it okay if I just stay here for a while?