As the comm ended, Rykal turned to her, a spark of interest glimmering in his golden eyes. “What’s this I hear about you offending some big-shot? Tell me more.” He grinned conspiratorially, flashing his fangs. For some reason, the idea seemed to please him.
Arin gave him a wry look. “It’s old news. Back in the day, when I was a young officer looking to make a name for myself, an asshole called Admiral Davis thought he could force his way into my pants. He found out that he couldn’t, and in the process, he ended up with a broken nose and two black eyes.” She grinned. “And that’s why you found me on Fortuna Tau. I got exiled.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.” Rykal returned her smile with his own fierce look. “For numerous reasons, of course, but most importantly, because I would never have met you if you hadn’t given the man what he deserved. Iwouldkill him for you, but it sounds like you’ve already dispensed your own brand of justice.” He stroked her bare knuckles in admiration, ignoring the disbelieving stares of his fellow warriors.
A warm glow spread through Arin in response to Rykal’s obvious approval. He was right. Even though she’d been treated unjustly on that fateful day, being sent to Fortuna Tau had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She’d actually come tolikethe role; she’d been promoted on her own merits, and now, she’d met Rykal.
“Strong hands, strong heart,” he whispered, “and just perfect for me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Two weeks later
Arin ducked into the mobile dwelling, the door banging behind her as she escaped the fierce wind outside. Tiny stinging particles of sand had hit her, and now they coated her face, hair, and lower arms.
The dust-storm had rolled in from the west, blackening the sky and engulfing everything before it.
She shrugged off her coat, dropping it in the small foyer as she kicked off her boots and brushed off the sand. She walked through to the living area, appreciating the relative coolness of her surroundings.
The dwelling was a sturdy structure made from wafer-thin semi-concrete. It had a bedroom, a living area, all the mod-cons one could desire, and it had been assembled in a little under two hours.
It was superbly insulated too, specially designed to withstand the heat of the North African desert.
When the Kordolians had proved themselves useful and the public had expressed their approval, the Federation had suddenly become very kind to them, providing them withstate-of-the-art accommodation and a surprising amount of logistical support.
The only people who’d really objected to the First Division’s presence had been the archaeologists working on the dig site called Gara. Gara was a network of ancient temples and tunnels beneath the desert sands that had been invaded by Xargek. But in the end, they’d acquiesced, because everyone knew the Xargek would do far more damage to the historical site than the Kordolians.
Arin reached the lounge, the auto-lights switching on as she entered the room. “Network on,” she commanded, and a flatscreen came to life. Arin sank down into a low chair and watched as a news bulletin came on.
“Latest reports from the Gara archeological dig site in Naea are that the Kordolian warriors are finally managing to hold the Xargek terror at bay. Xargek-related deaths in the nearby settlement town of Fadar have dropped sharply over the past week, and so far, fears of a Kordolian-fronted invasion have yet to manifest. In other news, the prime investigation into the Department of Planetary Security continues. At the center of the scandal is a recently confiscated surveillance ship reported to contain highly incriminating evidence. Several employees allegedly involved in violations of Federation law have been stood down, pending further investigation…”
Arin sighed and switched off the flatscreen. So far, none of the news networks had mentioned the carnage Rykal had wrought onboard theSilvermist. Her mother had handed the ship over to the prime investigator, and once the Federation had realized exactly how effective the Kordolians were at fighting the Xargek, certain problems had mysteriously disappeared.
Except for one.
Arin reached for her link-band. “Yo, Riana,” she said.
“Yo, Arin,” her former junior officer replied, picking up on the first ring.
“Any leads?”
“Plenty of leads. It’s just a case of figuring out which ones are genuine. Have you heard of Scarabus?”
“Not at all.”
Riana’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial near-whisper. “This is deep shit, Sarge, secret society shit. It’s an organization of sorts, and there are some very powerful people behind it. Political people. Corporate people. Off-planet people. Government people. Most of the leads I’ve picked up from the Fortuna Tau explosion trace back to them.”
“Huh.”
“Huh is right. I’ve gone as far as I can go electronically. The rest will have to be done on the ground. I should get my brother to look into it. He’s got his PI license, even though he never uses it.”
Arin brushed a stray sprinkling of sand off her pant leg. Outside, the dust-storm raged, its full fury hitting the sturdy walls of the dwelling. “The Kordolians will want to send one of theirs to help out. This is personal for them, too. They see revenge as their bloodright, but trust me, the benefit will be all yours. They can come in very, very handy.”
“Blood-right?” Riana sounded a little panicked. “You’re beginning to sound like one of them, Sarge. It’s because of that boyfriend of yours, isn’t it? You’ve been hanging out with them for too long.”
“When they let me know who they want to send, I’ll get him to contact you.”
“Me?” Riana’s voice rose an octave. “Y-you can’t let them contact me. I’m just the socially awkward IT girl. I’m not going to go traipsing across the planet searching for secret organizations with some stone-cold killer.”
