The music was too fucking loud. In fact, it was almost
eardrum-shattering loud, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. As a
matter of fact, on second thought, the loud music was all right with
her. This way she couldn’t hear those nasty little devils whispering
in her head. As long as she stayed here and drank herself into
mindless oblivion, she could live with herself for another day.
As she relaxed in
a corner booth, Maurra casually kept an eye on the clientele coming
and going from the bar. They were a rag-tag lot, mostly miscreants
and questionable criminals, as the higher class customers kept their
distance from places like this. This time of night there were more
people coming in than heading out, which meant there was a greater
chance of someone getting pissed and slitting open someone else’s
abdomen, or a body part that resembled an abdomen. If and when that
happened, she’d have to step in and assert her authority, whether
she wanted to or not.
That was another
thing about being here that she liked. She could handle drunks
better when she’d downed a few herself. Especially mean drunks. She
could bash their skulls in with little guilt.
The music died
briefly, long enough for the band to quench its six throats. The
semi-quiet would be short-lived. Creatures around her continued
their chitter-chatter. Some used electronic translators. Some had
implants. Most conversed as best they could with sign language and
the occasional grunt, along with a smattering of Varonese, the
universal language at this end of the Carbucharon galaxy.
Maurra uncrossed
her ankles and re-crossed them where she was resting her feet on the
seat across from her. Here in the near darkness at the far end of
the room, and away from the door and stage, her deep scarlet uniform
was almost black in color. It was the best camouflage she could
manage. However, there were several patrons who had already spotted
her. Although they didn’t know her personally, the crest in the
center of her chest identified her as a JoJo. For some, they moved
closer, as if having her nearby ensured their safety. For others,
they quickly moved to the other side of the bar, or left altogether
before she could discover what nefarious nastiness they were up to.
It didn’t matter.
Her initial job on this planet was completed. The bad guys had been
caught and were awaiting extradition. The bosses had sent her their
congratulations. She figured she deserved a little rest and
relaxation before boarding her own flight back to Narcissus and the
station where she resided.
Sighing, she took
another sip of her drink. Whatever the stuff was, it was potent.
Gulping it outright could put her in the hospital in no time flat.
Sipping it would not only keep her insides from blowing up, but it
would also make the drink last longer. She wouldn’t need more than
one stein of this stuff to make her ass-over-elbows drunk, anyway.
A scuffle at the
end of the bar drew her attention. Maurra squinted to clear her
vision the same moment a loud and definitely irritated roar nearly
shattered 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 continued to watch the scene
unfold, but already she could feel her body steeling itself just in
case she needed to step in.
The slimy Par
Mattas were squeaking up a storm and waving their tentacles in the
air. They were either excited or pissed off. Or both. 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, however, it had to be for a damn good reason.
A frown creased
her forehead. The Ellin system was a good two dozen or more light
years from here. What in the world would an Ellinod 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. Slowly, almost nonchalantly, Maurra unhooked her
ankles and lowered her booted feet to the floor. She sat up
straighter, never taking her eyes away from the scene that was
drawing more attention to itself.
The Ellinod’s
gnarly face was almost gray in color. From the little she knew about
the creatures, that gray was a sign the monster was upset. No. He
was angry.
No. Correction
again. He was livid.
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, and without warning, 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 its chest. Striding over to the
doorway, the Ellinod heaved the two creatures out into the street
amid squalling, screeching, and screaming.
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 huge,
curved horns a shake, and a little shrug of its enormous, muscular
shoulders, then turned to resume its seat at the bar, the place gave
a silent sigh of relief, and things went back to normal.
Maurra had no idea
she’d gotten to her feet, one hand lightly resting on the butt of
her psionic pistol, until a Madranite scuttled past her and hurried
away. Cursing silently, Maurra tried to blend back into the shadows
but it was too late. The Ellinod had already noticed her. Or maybe
it had noticed her long before the incident started. It was hard to
tell, and frankly she hadn’t been trying very hard to remain
incognito.
The first thing
she noticed was that the creature wasn’t dressed like a typical
Ellinod. The usual coarse shirt and baggy pants that most of them
wore was replaced with a smart-looking, high-quality dark blue shirt
and vest, and black, form-fitting breeches. Instead of sandals, this
one wore heavy black boots. It was also bigger than most Ellinod she
had encountered in the past. Bigger and taller, and wider. There
wasn’t an ounce of extra fat on it, meaning this one was used to
hard labor. Maurra looked back up at the thing’s face to find it
staring at her. The expression was brooding, almost as if it was
trying to send her a silent signal.
A shiver went down
her spine. Icy cold, it sent an additional warning to her brain. Her
body automatically went into JoJo mode as her muscles hardened. She
could already feel the familiar tingling in the middle of her
forehead as her psionic powers focused.
The beast must
have noticed the translucent glittering. Her power would have stood
out in the shadows like a beacon. Slowly, the Ellinod shook its
ponderous head with its enormous horns that stretched all the way to
the ends of its shoulders, and resumed sipping its drink. But the
creature continued to keep an eye on her. For what reason, she
couldn’t begin to guess.
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. For some reason, Maurra 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, she wondered?
There’s always the first time to find out.
Apparently she
wouldn’t get the chance to find out this time around. Her
ruminations were interrupted when the Ellinod got up from his seat
and walked out the front door. By his gait she could tell he was a
little on the tipsy side. 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. Maurra
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’d been nursing. Damn. Drawing on
her energy always did that, but 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. Maurra let out a belch, which helped to relieve
some of the pressure.
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.
It sounded like an
acceptable plan. Funny thing, though. The universe had the biggest
sense of humor. It especially loved to screw with people’s lives.
Gritting her
teeth, Maurra left the bar without interference. The night was
balmy. Amazingly quiet, considering. What sky she could see overhead
was brightly lit with the planet’s nine moons in varying phases.
It was because of
the quiet that she was alerted to the faint sounds of struggling.
Flat, smacking sounds told her someone was getting the shit beaten
out of him. What other sounds she could catch were muffled.
There was no
hesitation in deciding what she had to do. Being a galactic law
enforcement officer was more than a job—it was her life. Her whole
life. In fact, it was everything and the only thing in her life.
Once she’d taken the vows, and her power had been reinforced, there
was no turning back.
The pistol was in
her hand before she could think about it as she raced around the
side of the building and into the alleyway behind it. When she
reached the small back lot, she was already primed to use her psi
abilities.
Maurra felt her
mouth drop open when she saw the more than half a dozen Kronners
furiously beating the hunched-over figure. There was a moment when
the sight of a pair of curling horns came into view, and she
immediately noticed that one of them flared to the right, like a
birth defect, or the result of an accident.
It was 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, when she hesitated. Yes, the Kronners
outnumbered the Ellinod, but she had been wrong about who was
getting their asses kicked. In fact, it was somewhat amusing to
watch as the little creatures, the tallest of which only came up to
the Ellinod’s knees, tried to punch and kick the enormous beast into
submission.
Maurra smiled.
From what she could see, the Ellinod was doing just fine without
her, and she leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over
her chest, to watch.
To his credit, the
Ellinod was being amazingly gentle with the stick-thin Kronners,
tossing them away or brushing them off with swipes of his huge
hands. Treating the little creatures like so much dirt coating its
uniform.
Fuck this. She
wasn’t needed here. It was obvious the Ellinod could take care of
himself. Still smiling, she turned to leave when her psi senses
burned a warning. Maurra whirled around just as another half a dozen
Kronners came running in to join the fray, and this time they were
carrying 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 a
fraction of its size, but by bringing in the stunners, they had
shifted the odds in their favor. Not to mention outnumbering the
Ellinod twelve to one. But the biggest factor forcing her to
intervene was the fact that the inebriated beast they were trying to
subdue was not able to function at peak efficiency. They had managed
to ambush him at a very opportunistic time.
Or maybe they’d
planned it that way.
Either way, the Ellinod was giving as good as he got, flinging the
Kronners around now like he was wringing his hands of water. His
roars of anger were deafening. The attack must have just started
when she left the bar, or else she knew she would have heard the
ruckus from inside.
“You are ordered
by galactic law to stop!” Maurra shouted again, although it wasn’t
necessary. She’d already given them the prerequisite initial
command. She could feel her powers focusing, strengthening,
narrowing. Aiming the pistol, she fired.
A field of strong
psi powers blasted from her weapon. Bright, blue-white light wrapped
around the Kronners, and the creatures shrieked as their nervous
systems shut down. The aliens dropped in their tracks.
It took a few
seconds for the Ellinod to shove the unconscious Kronners off of him
and struggle to his feet. She had hoped to avoid hitting him, but
there was always a possibility some residual power would strike him.
Maurra could see he was stunned. Hurt. Confused. Angry. Several deep
cuts on his arms and chest were bleeding freely. From the way he was
breathing heavily, she could tell the attack had taxed his physical
resources. Hell, if she didn’t have her psi powers, she doubted she
would have lasted as long as the Ellinod did.
Holstering her
gun, Maurra hurried over to him as he collapsed again to his knees.
“Sorry about that. Sometimes a little backlash happens. How do you
feel? Do I need to notify medical?”
The Ellinod lifted
his head, and she was taken aback by the human looking eyes staring
down at her. Light green eyes. Eyes that were still dazed from
drink, the beatings, 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 his feet when he swayed, almost toppling over.
Automatically,
Maurra reached out to help when the beast’s eyes widened. She knew
instinctively the creature was looking past her. Behind her. He
opened his mouth to warn her.
She never had the
chance to turn and defend herself when she was hit hard and felt
excruciating pain. She was unconscious before she fell to the
ground. |