Star's Storm: Lords of Kassis Book 2 (22 page)

“You need rest, my friend,” Jar said coming
to stand next to where Jazin was standing watching the men below
him on the bridge.

“Soon,” Jazin responded. “How far are we to
where Dakar thinks Tai Tek may have taken refuge?”

“Another two days,” Jar said quietly. “I am
concerned with the things that have been occurring. An analysis of
the events suggest they are just a distraction for something else.
I have run each through several different scenarios. Only one comes
up with a higher than normal percentage of acceptability.”

Jazin shook his head, looking down tiredly
before his lips curved in a small smile at his unusual friend.
“What outcome is that?”

Jar looked at Jazin with a frown. “That it
is a distraction to limit the number of warships available is
obvious but the second is to perhaps take something without it
being know.”

Jazin looked at his friend with a thoughtful
look. He was about to ask him what he thought someone would take
when the
Blue Star
rocked violent. Alarms blared as the
lights flickered. Red emergency lights came on. A second wave hit
the warship tilting it upward on the port side briefly before the
stabilizers kicked in. Jazin grabbed the railing around the upper
level of the bridge. Jar did the same. Both men reached out to grab
a warrior who reached for the railing but missed as the second wave
hit. The male was thrown up and over, his body falling to the level
below with a sickening thump. Jar held onto the back of Jazin’s
vest when he almost went over the railing after the male as he
grabbed for him.

Shouts and moans echoed throughout the
bridge as calls to extinguish the small fires and those thrown
around that could still move struggled to their feet. Jazin looked
at Jar who nodded to him and focused. Jar’s amber eyes glowed and
he began speaking rapidly.

“One of the Tearnat’s warships exploded. Our
shields are holding but the blast sent shockwaves through space.
The other Tearnat ship was closer and it has received severe
damage. Hull integrity has been compromised on the Tearnat warship
on decks eight, twelve, and fifteen. Evacuation is underway.
Implosion of the warship is probable. The
Blue Star
’s hull
is undamaged. The engines are off-line due to the shockwave. Minor
damage on decks one, five, six, ten, eleven, twenty, and
twenty-two. Unknown number of causalities or injuries at this time.
Emergency response teams have been activated and medical teams have
been deployed. I would recommend moving eight point four-five
kilometers away from the Tearnat ship to reduce further damage,”
Jar said as the amber light in his eyes slowly returned to
normal.

“Star,” Jazin muttered as he fought between
his responsibility to his warship and to his mate.

“I will go check on her,” Jar said as he
released his grip on the railing. “I will let you know
immediately.”

“Thank you, my friend,” Jazin said with a
nod. “Tell her I would have come myself but I have to make sure the
ship is safe first.”

“I will,” Jar said as he stepped closer to
the door. It didn’t open at first. Jar gripped it at the seam and
pulled it open as if he was tearing paper from a box.

Jazin looked down at the men moving down
below him. Two warriors were removing the body of the man who fell.
The crew members who could were working on repairing the equipment
at their stations while others were helping those who were injured.
Jazin ordered the alarms off. Lights began to flicker back on as
the emergency teams worked to restore order. Jazin ordered the
comlink repaired as soon as possible. They needed to rescue as many
Tearnats as they could before the second warship disintegrated.

*.*.*

Jar worked his way down to deck four. Along
the way he passed several injured warriors. He paused long enough
to record their location and submitted it to the emergency medical
team closest to them. He was not hampered by the limitation of the
communication’s systems as he could by-pass it and patch directly
into the warship’s computer system. That was how he contacted Dakar
and Armet.

“How long before you are able to get the
systems back online?” Jar asked as he patched into their
comlink.

“Us?” Dakar growled out. “You’re the one
with the computer brain. Why don’t you just fix the damn
thing?”

“I am good but I am not that good,” Jar said
seriously. “I will begin bringing what systems I can online but I
do not want to override my own systems.”

“We are in the landing bay. Two of the
shuttles broke loose and slammed into another. It is going to take
a while to get the equipment we need to pull them off the one,”
Armet cursed.

Jar paused for a moment before he pushed
open the door to the emergency hatch leading to the lower level.
“Was the Tearnat starship damaged?”

“It sustained some minor damage when the
front end of one of the shuttles hit it,” Armet said. “It will take
a few hours to repair but it should be fine.”

Jar grabbed the handrails on each side of
the ladder leading down and slid down to the next level. “Very
well. I am checking on Jazin’s little warrior.”

“Gods,” Armet cursed again. “I didn’t even
think about her. Fine Captain of the Guard I am,” he said in
disgust. “I’m on my way up.”

“I will inform her,” Jar said signing
off.

He walked down the corridor noticing it was
empty. That was not unusual as this level contained the living
quarters of some of the officers and several relaxation lounges for
the crew. He stopped in front of the door to Jazin and Star’s
living quarters unsure of the protocol of asking for admittance
when there was no automatic alert. He raised his hand and knocked
loudly several times. When he didn’t receive an answer, he became
concerned that perhaps the little warrior had been knocked
unconscious or hurt badly.

He gripped the door and pulled it open. He
immediately knew she was not in the room. He stepped inside and
breathed deeply. His senses immediately picked up the scent of the
little female. He also picked up the faint scent of Jazin. What
concerned him was the scent of two unfamiliar males. His eyes
narrowed and he scanned the room. He stopped when he came to the
moisture on the floor near the door. He bent down and swiped his
finger through the liquid. He touched the tip of his finger to his
tongue. Immediately, the taste of an herbal tea with all chemical
compounds flowed through his brain. He stood and quickly searched
the rooms. He returned to the area. His eyes glowed as he changed
his field of vision. Near the replicator was the footprint of one
of the males. Jar scanned the handle of the cleansing unit,
documenting the fingerprints on the handle to the processor in his
brain. His mind scanned the crew documents and discovered the man
had just transferred over from the disabled warship an hour before
they departed Elpidios.

Jar carefully opened the cleansing unit and
discovered a cracked cup sitting on the top shelf. His mind
processed the information in rapid order and he drew a conclusion
that sent an unusual shiver of emotion through him. He tapped into
the warship’s computer system again and did a ship wide scan for
the little female. Deck after deck, department after department
came up with a negative. He finally sent a command to retrieve her
last known location. Within seconds, the disposal bay responded. He
sent one more request even as he dreaded the response he knew he
would get.

“Crew member Star Strauss, ejected from
liquid waste port three,” the computer responded.

Jar linked into Jazin’s comlink even as he
was locating the video recording of the corridor and the location
of the crew members whose prints he had on file. The man was in the
shuttle bay. Jar opened communication’s with Dakar and Armet at the
same time as Jazin answered.

“Is she safe?” Jazin asked tensely.

“Dakar, apprehend crewman Delant. He is
needed for questioning. Expect deadly resistance. Armet, get to the
disposal bay and check the system for the last disposal location.
Jazin, your female was ejected from the
Blue Star
,” Jar
responded coldly. “I wish permission to interrogate Ensign Delant
for his role in her abduction,” Jar paused as he received the video
feed. His eyes flickered brightly as the information poured in. He
fast forward until he received the information he wanted. “I will
also need Ensign Corklar.”

“I will get Corklar,” Armet snarled. “I just
passed him heading for engineering.”

Jazin stood frozen as he listened to Jarmen.
All his mind could process was Star had been ejected from the ship
into open space. He gripped the railing as his knees threatened to
give out on him. He closed his eyes and pulled her beautiful face
into his mind. A cold, deadly rage built. He would get the
information that he needed for the traitors, one slice at a
time.

*.*.*

Star groaned as she came to. Her head
throbbed like someone was beating on a bass drum for the first time
in music class. One thing was for sure, they were having one hell
of a party by the feel of it. She hoped drummer was enjoying it
because she sure as hell wasn’t!

She opened her eyes and felt a moment of
uncontrollable terror. She opened her mouth to scream but all that
came out was a tiny whimper. Star raised her hands as far as she
could and felt along the side of the container she was trapped in.
Her mind played every horror movie she had ever seen where someone
was buried alive. She was definitely in some type of container. Her
breathing accelerated as a full fledge panic attack threatened to
overwhelm her.

“Respiration has increased,” a calm voice
stated. “Reduce breathing by using deep breaths to calm your
intake.”

“Where…. Where am I?” Star whispered
hoarsely.

“Relax and continue to breath as normally as
possible. Escape pod guidelines provide for the minimum oxygen
levels to extend the possibility of rescue. Passengers who do not
panic can extend levels by two additional hours if they remain
calm. Rescue beacon is active and has been answered. Retrieval in
approximately twenty-four minutes, eight seconds.”

The voice continued to repeat the
instructions every few minutes until Star felt like screaming just
to get it to shut up. She got the message already. She was stuck,
someone was on their way, breath slowly.

Star remained still, looking up at the dimly
lit interior. Taking a deep breath, she focused on what she could
remember and tried to fill in the blanks. The two men had obviously
been responsible for her being here. The million dollar question
was why did they do it and what did they want. If Star had to
guess, she would place all of chips on Tai Tek being behind her
abduction. That guy was really beginning to piss her off. She bet
he was behind all the other sudden ‘situations’ as well. That guy
either had way to much charisma which she obviously wasn’t seeing
or he had money, or credits in this case, coming out the
ying-yang.

Star flexed her fingers in the soft cloth
interior and frowned when the tips of her fingers brushed something
small and hard. She wiggled further down and searched along the
crevice with her fingers until she felt it again. She rolled it
between her fingers. A soft sob escaped her as she recognized the
comlink she had been reaching for before the jerk stunned her. She
wasn’t sure how far it would work but it was a chance of rescue, no
matter how slim.

She felt around it until she found the tiny
button on the side. She drew in another deep breath and pressed the
button. It was linked directly to Jazin’s, no one else, just
his.

“Jazin,” Star called out loudly. “Jazin,
please you have to hear me.”

“Star,” Jazin’s voice came over the comlink.
It was weak but it was his voice. Static made it impossible to hear
what he was saying so she didn’t even try.

“Jazin, I’m in some kind of a box. You have
to help me. The computer said something was coming,” Star sobbed.
“Please, you have to hear me. Jazin, I’m in a box. It feels like a
coffin. I don’t like coffins.”

The box jerked and a loud bang sounded on
the outside of it near Star’s head. “Retrieval in progress. Life
support is stable. Congratulations passenger, you are safe,” the
automated voice said before the lights in the box turned off
plunging Star into darkness.

“Jazin, they have me,” Star whispered
brokenly.

*.*.*

Jazin’s harsh cry of fury echoed through the
level. The sound so loud and painful that the warriors in the area
paused for a moment and bowed their head. The moment Star’s voice
activated his comlink, Jar had boosted the reception. He could do
it coming it but not going out. The sound of his mate’s tortured
voice tore through Jazin’s tightly held control. He gripped the
laser sword he had retrieved from his living quarters. The two
crewmen had been taken to the training room. He had ordered it
cleared of everything. When he got done with the men, the room
would be coated in their blood.

The men were on their knees, their arms
secured behind their backs when he walked in. Both men glared
defiantly up at Jazin as he walked through the door. Their glares
turned to fear as they studied his face. Jazin stared at each man
before he nodded to Armet and Dakar to pull them up into a standing
position.

“You might as well kill us,” the taller man,
Corklar, stated coldly. “You will get nothing out of us.”

Jazin’s smile turned the men’s blood to ice.
He took a step closer, appraising each man carefully. He raised his
hand and gripped Delant’s throat, squeezing slowly until he began
to gag. Jazin grimly shook his head.

“You will not die so easily,” he whispered
in a dark, menacing tone devoid of emotion. “I am going to slice
you up one small piece at time. You will beg for death and I will
still deny you the comfort of it. You will learn the penalty of
harming the mate of a Kassisan Lord. We are unbelievable cruel when
someone harms what belongs to us.”