[tent Warning: violence, svery, sedu, no sex, sci-f

  As they left the terminal K’rra walked slowly ahodically in her heels, purposefully making sure each step was nguid. Kaster couldn’t help but watch her ass sway as she pced her feet one in front of the other with each step. Knowing there were no panties underh the thin fabrily furthered to ensure his distra.

  When they got to the shelves, she made a quick turn looking back to take his hand and drag him along. With shelves cealing them on two sides, K’rra pressed herself against his chest looking up and drawing his head down into a kiss. Shocked, his first thought was of vanil kaffe, she tasted delicious only further fanning the fmes of his desire. His hands ed around her back.

  She broke the kiss and whispered, “I’ve always wao be taken in a library.”

  Stars! What he would do to make exactly that happen. He wao take her right then, right there. But the dark side of his mind asked, is she distrag you as a trap?

  Her lips crushed against his again and she murmured softly as his hands explored her backside. He could feel his desire enfming. He pushed her against the shelf and pressed himself hard against her.

  “Yes, Dear,” she moaned softly.

  He indulged, but only for a moment lohen stepped away out of her embrace. “Not now. Not here. We have a target. There’s work.”

  K’rra pouted, “All fun and no thrill makes me a dull girl.”

  “When we are deeper ierritory, on some fat zy world, I’ll take you to a library and fuck your brains out.”

  She squealed and threw her arms around his neck, “Promise me, Master.”

  He sighed and disengaged, heading for the exit. K’rra followed along for a moment, then caught up with him and took one of his arms in hers. Kaster looked down at her with a mog frown.

  “What? You’re my travelling panion. On this world I get to walk o you.”

  He shook his head rolling eyes, plications upon plications.

  “What do you know about Fury temples?” he asked.

  “Hmm, not much. Culturally few Gyth have embraced the mission or purpose of the Furys.”

  “Why is that? They’re stoics like your people.”

  “My people?” she wrinkled her nose, “Hmmph. It might be best expined with a line of questions. When you use your Focus on others what are you doing?”

  “Sensing their feelings.”

  “That is exactly how I uood Focus as well. Why not sensing their thoughts?”

  “Thoughts are plicated, require building blocks to arrive at a clusion, deceive even the person having them.”

  “That also firms what I’ve read. So why emotions?”

  Kaster nodded uanding where she was leading him, “Because emotions are instantaneous, happen in a state of flux, are broadcast and have effects immediately.”

  “My people squelch feelings. They rely only on long carefully matricuted thought. We don’t e to the Fury temples with any sense of how to read others. The Fury religion holds no value for us.”

  “Thank you for the lecture professor.”

  “You asked.” She butted her head on his shoulder, “Besides, having a student aheir owions is one of the greatest learning tools.”

  The exit doors whisked open as they exited, he ughed, “I’m a student, am I?”

  “On some things you do seem quite… oh stars.”

  Kaster looked up to see an armored military vehicle parked in front of the library. A squad of Federated soldiers bristling with armor and ons approached.

  “ I see your papers?” the eldest and most burly of the soldiers asked.

  “Why? Have we…” Kaster began but was cut off.

  “Have we broken the w?” K’rra demanded. “Are we under arrest?”

  The lead soldier narrowed his eyes and gred at K’rra, “Not yet, but…”

  She wasn’t having any of it, she interjected before he could finish his threat. “But, nothing, Sergeant. Without either suspi of a crime or an act of arrest, Federated citizens are free to move about without fear of having to present identification or expin themselves. Last I checked this world art of the Federation. If you’d like to press me on this matter you better get your Lieutenant or Captain here asap… What was your name soldier?”

  Kaster watched the exge nervously. He held K’rra against him, her body hiding his WaveBde.

  He blinked from under his dark blue beret, “It’s Sergeant Sokes. Could I get your name ma’am. That is something we have legal authority to demand.”

  “Absolutely,” K’rra said indignantly. “It’s ander K’rra of Ry’attahk Chief Sce officer of the Hy, and my travelling panion. Do you need his name as well or is harassing a naval officer enough jackbootery for you for one day?”

  “Well ma’am…”

  “That’s sir.”

  “My apologies, sir… It’s just that… there is a heightened security posture on this world as we search for traffickers. Could I ask that you step away from your travelling panion just a moment to ensure you’re not… under duress?”

  K’rra made fists with her hands, letting the soldiers see their very first angry Gythian. She spoke slowly and ftly, “I am fttered you think I am attractive enough to be a… a… pleasure sve, sergeant. But this indignity…”

  Kaster leaned down and told her, “It’s okay, they’re just doing their job. If it will alleviate their fears, go speak with them. I’ll be right here.”

  “But…”

  “Just go talk with them.”

  As she stepped forward Kaster turned hiding his right side. With a flick of his wrist he got the Bde pommel off his belt and up his shirt sleeve. Crossing his arms he turned back to the soldiers who were he wiser. K’rra stomped off indignantly which he thought was quite a task given her heels.

  K’rra and the sergeant spoke for a few moments as Kaster waited for the arrest to e. The Feds would want to separate their assets, K’rra, before doing anything to their target, himself. He eyed the handful of soldiers left waiting with him, the soldiers looking more bored tha, Kaster’s Focus provily that.

  She returned and took him by the arm. “ we get that ow?”

  Kaster nodded and called for one on his . The soldiers lingered, asking other civilians for identification, separating women from men, and generally milling about their armored carrier. Dark thoughts tio pgue him, had she passed a message on? Was this some sort of deeper setup? He admitted his paranoia made little sense, how would Vydon profit pnting him with a Fed spy?

  Finally, an air-car dropped from the sky towards them.

  “Ma’am!” called the sergeant, running from the military vehicle back towards her, “Did you say your name was ander K’rra Ry’attahk?”

  “Void,” was all she whispered.

  Kaster sprung into a, hurling K’rra back behind him as his Bde came out and ighe sergeant stopped in his tracks looking stunned. Using his Focus, Kaster yahe soldiers rifle causing it to leap through the air. He caught it with his left hand and flung it back. His Focus drove the rifle into the sergeant faog the burly man down. He leapt over the body and into the cluster of five soldiers.

  With a Focused kick Kaster sent another soldier flying, then dodged around ahe soldiers panicked now haviheir sergeant and aaken down. One of them began bsting bato the circle of soldiers. Kaster dodged several shots that hit awo soldiers, they screamed clutg thighs and arms as they toppled.

  Flig his Bde out Kaster cut through the ter of the firing rifle causing it to explode. He dodged the spray of hot metal as the firing soldier went down clutg his fad screaming. Kaster spun to face the st two soldiers. They stared at him wide-eyed.

  “Run.” He told them. And they did.

  The armored carrier had started up, its engine whining to life. Kaster saw a squat ugly turret atop it turning. His bde vanished and he clipped the pommel to his belt as he returo K’rra, wide-eyed and asto what she’d just seen. He grabbed her hand and yanked her to the parked air-cab.

  “What in the void?” the driver yelled when Kaster ripped open the back door. He threw K’rra inside and dove in after her.

  “Drive!” he yelled once he’d shoved K’rra down to the floor and covered her with his body.

  The military vehicle fired and the pavement around the cab exploded sh the area with broken fragments of durocrete. The driver screamed, and Kaster shouted at him, “Drive! Drive! Drive!”

  Another volley of fire erupted from the military vehicle as the cab lifted into the air. The shots missed but for ohat passed through the rear windoorizing it pletely and hitting the roof of the cab. The roof exploded in hot burning fragments, bit and pieces of which fell on Kaster. The driver, realizing the danger he was in, shot the cab skyward at full speed. The car sped through the sky wounded and smoking, but with only superficial damage.

  With a growl Kaster shoved a burning k of roof off him. He then asked K’rra, “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, seeing a man pletely different than the one she thought she knew.

  Kaster Sat up and yelled at the driver over the howl of air rushing by, “Get us to the starport.”

  The driver screamed baething unintelligible. When Kaster pced the pommel against his here were no more arguments.

  As they flew, Kaster moved about the cab, watg for any pursuit vessels. He was relieved to see nothing for now, but ohey were alerted, he khey would e in droves. A quick exit was their only option.

  He noticed far more military vehicles iy below. Far more than he’d ever seen on a Federated world. There was a massive build up of troops, as if an invasion was expected… or pnning to be unched. Void. He’d been so smitten with K’rra earlier he hadn’t noticed. He o clear his head ahink his situation with the sve. She was a dangerous distra.

  When they nded Kaster dragged K’rra out and dumped a fistful of s on the seat o the driver, “Sorry for the mess…”

  Not wanting to be slowed by K’rra’s heel, Kaster hefted her up with one arm and flung her over his shoulder. He sprinted into the starport. At the s desk the agent watched a fshierminal. He stood up to shout something as Kaster sprinted up to him.

  Barely slowing Kaster used his Focus to send the agent flying across the starport lobby.

  Kaster left K’rra dazed in the on area as he leapt into the cockpit. As the engines growled to life he flicked on the scrambler. The dog status light ged from red to green. He yanked ba the collective and shoved the throttles forward, the Outnder rocketed into the sky.

  In space he debated whether he should flee bato Coalition space, o with the plot he’d already set deeper into the Federation. Creating a new plot would take time. The authorities down below were probably already rep a fleeing starship, and patrol vessels would be thick all too sooed for the quicker escape, deeper into the dragon’s maw.

  The s came alive with an ining message. “Fleeing vessel, by order of Federated Fleet and you are to nd your ship immediately…”

  There was more of the same but Kaster lost i. He checked the ser noting that a trio of fighters were closing in.

  “e on, finish your calcutions,” he demanded of the navp.

  It seemed to have heard him making a ping echh the ship.

  He grabbed the jump shifter and pulled ba it watg all the pinpoints of light bee streaks.

  Safely in hyperspace Kaster pulled himself up out of the pilot’s chair. Not that the adrenalin was fading he could feel the exhaustion ing oaggered out into the on area where K’rra sat nervously on a cushioned bench.

  “Stars!” She cried and rushed to him.

  When she ed her arms around him, he gasped wing, “Careful. Go to the middle room, there’s an autodoc, get it prepped for me.”

  “Yes, Master.” She ran to the middle door and pluhrough it.

  He staggered a few more meters to the table he’d taken her on. A deep pain in his back wailed. Reag back, he found a wedge of metal buried in the skin. Brag himself he yanked on it pulling it free.

  “Void, no!” K’rra cried as she came running back but stopped before the table. He followed her gaze to the floor a ramp. A trail of ochre dots lihe floor leading from the exit to the cockpit, then back to where he stood. He looked at the ft metal pie his hand, it was streaked with blood.

  K’rra tore the dress off, throwing it across a chair. She then darted around the table and under one of Kaster’s arms. Standing she dragged him into the ter room, helping to get him to the autodoc, a gurney with robotic arms. They heaved and got him on it. He cried out when she rolled him on his side.

  She leapt to the trol terminal and started the doc up. A ser swept over him, then an arm desded pressing a hypo to his neck. He heard the hiss and watched the universe fade away.