Salvage Rights (Distant Worlds Book 2) (11 page)

“The Furgarians . . .”
she started, turning wide eyes back to Lucan, “I can feel a difference in their
energy.  I think they did it.”

“The Furgarians have
never expressed this type of power as long as I have been on this moon.”  He
did something; she could feel it, a type of reaching similar to what she did
when she talked to the sprites, a reaching she did not know he was capable of. 
A minute later, they both felt the proud response from the masses.

“They did it because I
asked them to protect Kira,” Danika said quietly, forcing herself to meet his
shuttered eyes.  “You were right.  I did this.”

His eyes warmed, but
before he could answer, an imperious voice spoke from the other side of the
market square.  “What is the meaning of this?”

Danika looked over to
see an older grey-haired man looking around the market with barely concealed
contempt.  Even in the humidity of the market, his pants still retained their
slick creases, and he wore a layered cravat around his neck that touched his
chin.  Danika blinked at the strange sight before noticing the beautiful dark-haired
woman beside him.  She looked like she could have graced the learning sessions’
definition of sultry.  She was showing enough bosom to knock out an eye, and
looked appalled to find herself in such low company, as the market crowd.  A
neat trick and Danika recognized the face instantly from Kira’s memory and felt
herself stiffen further.  Briar.  Her overdone and voluptuous dress was in her
signature color.  Harlot red.  Ugh.

She turned her eyes
forcibly from the overly flashy display and studied the old man with her as
they stepped forward like they owned the island.  “Who is that man?”

“That is Patrik’s
father.”

“And Patrik is . . .?”

“The rather offensive
dandy that just got himself removed in a rather spectacular fashion by the
Furgarians.  Destination unknown.”

Well, that probably was
not good.

“Where is my son? 
Where is Patrik?”  The old man turned and spied Tuft standing carefully before
Kira and started forward, assuming that everyone would move out of his way, which
they did until he actually got to Tuft.  At that point, he hit a wall and
stopped in high dudgeon.  “You there, oaf, what did you do?”

Tuft raised a
condescending brow of his own.  “Do you see your son in blood-soaked pieces on
the ground at my feet?”

The old man opened his
mouth looking suitably outraged.  “What?”

He crossed those
massive arms over his chest and looked down at the suddenly deflated man.  “If
I had done something with the evil little blighter, it would not be as clean as
this.”

Pirate diplomacy at its
finest
, Danika thought suitably appalled, at the same time
choking on a laugh.  She felt something like ice across her neck and turned to
find dark-lined eyes of chocolate brown on her, or more accurately, the
Furgarian weavings she was drenched in, and that lady was clearly not happy
about it.  It was petty of Danika, she knew it even as she finally met those
eyes, and smiled full into the face of that avarice.  She could almost feel the
hostility ratchet up from across the square.  Kira was right, Briar would hurt
her if she could.

Beside the fuming
Briar, the old man finally found his voice.  “Are you threatening me?  I will
have you flogged from this moon.”

Tuft looked at the two
augmented cyborgs that followed in his path.  “You would need more than your
tin soldiers to accomplish that, old man.”

Danika finally noticed
the men and wondered how she could have missed them.  They were well over six
feet and shiny with metal.  What looked like armor was grafted to their skin,
and one of each of their eyes had been removed and implanted with some type of shiny
tech device.  Bulky and scary, the men came up behind the old man with purpose.

“Danvers,” Lucan called
mildly into the tension, “your men draw the weapons they are currently fondling
and I will let Tuft dismantle them, slowly and painfully.”

Danvers turned toward
them and noticed the two of them across the square for the first time.  All the
color seemed to drain from his face, and again Danika was hit with emotions
strong enough to breach the distance.  This time equal parts fear . . . and
hate.

“He will kill you if he
can,” Danika said softly for his ears alone.

“I do not need a
truthsayer to tell me that.”  His voice was mild and just as soft. “The old
shark is not as cunning as he would like to believe.”  He took her hand and
started to lead her forward, everyone took note of the touch with varying
degrees of reaction.  From the woman Briar, she felt the rage ratchet up
another ten degrees.

“Why would you let them
stay on the moon when they obviously fear and despise you?”

“The old man has his
uses.  When his irritations outweigh them, I will pitch him off the nearest
cliff and let the monsters beyond the shield gnaw him into small pieces.”

The description was so
graphic Danika blinked and almost laughed, despite the blood thirsty subject.  “I
see you have given this some thought.”

“Every time we meet in
person,” Lucan finished grimly, his focus moving back to the tableau before
them.  Then, they were standing beside Tuft.  Danika reached her free hand
behind his broad concealing back and took hold of Kira’s shaking hand. 
Immediately, Kira relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.  That was all they had
time for because Lucan was speaking, and he, like the old man Danvers, was not
subtle in his dislike.  Though, in his case, he did not seem to be even trying
to prevaricate.  “You wanted something, Danvers?”

The old man’s face went
an unfortunate shade of purple.  “Where is my son?”

“Have you lost him?”
Lucan asked with false solicitude, looking beyond the man, and right through
Briar, which she clearly noticed.

“He was here.  Your
beast did something to him.  Or someone did, but he is not here.”

Lucan looked around and
behind Tuft.  “You think he hid him in his pocket?”  He snorted.  “What exactly
are you accusing him of?”

Danvers’ voice rose
significantly.  “Something has happened to my son!  I demand to know where he
is!”

Danika felt the cold
wave emanating from Lucan even before he spoke so softly it was a threat in
itself.  “You demand?”  He pulled Danika behind him fully and let go of her
hand.  Then his went to the blaster strapped to his hip that he was never
without.  “Who are
you
to demand anything of
me
?”

The cold had turned
biting and everyone around them backed up, including, Danika noticed, Briar. 
The cyborgs shifted on their feet but held their ground.  The man Danvers was a
fool, but he was not so great a fool as to challenge Lucan Warrung outright,
because a second later, his fear spiked, and his tone turned conciliatory.  “I
meant no offense, Warrung.”  Sweat beaded on his brow.  “I am just concerned
over my missing son.”

“Then I suggest you
start looking for him elsewhere, as clearly he cannot be found here.”

Danvers gritted his
teeth, but gave a short snap of a nod in acknowledgment.  Then, with a glare
around the square and an angry flick of his wrist, he led his security and
Briar back the way they had come.

“Now,” Lucan said, as
soon as they were gone and the rest of the people moved away, “let us hope the
Furgarians have done nothing too permanent with the little bastard.”

“The Furgarians?”  Tuft
asked surprised, his suspicious eyes falling all over Danika.  “Why the
Furgarians?”

“Because, surprisingly
enough, they admitted as much.”

“They killed him?” Kira
asked, the color leaching from her face all over again.

He grunted like he
could care less.

“I don’t think so,”
Danika said, tilting her head as she listened.  “More like they moved him to
where he would cause no trouble.”  She squeezed the other girl’s hand, and
tried to make light of it.  “I think they liked him less than you do.”

“They did it to protect
me, didn’t they?”  She seemed completely awed and shocked by that.  “Why would
they do that?”

Danika smiled and
squeezed her hand again.  “They must have agreed you were worth the effort.”

“Enough of this,” Lucan
said, not unkindly.  “I have business.  Stay with Tuft, do everything he tells
you.”  He looked right at Danika, his gloved hand taking her chin firmly and
holding her in place.  “As your employer, I will furnish you with clothing fit
for the duties you will perform.”  His voice turned hard when he saw her begin
to argue.  “And I will hear no more of this.”  He studied her mulish look a
moment longer; then satisfied, he ran a warm leather-covered finger up her
cheek.  “Try to stay out of trouble.”  When she held her silence, he turned to
Kira.  “Comfortable day clothes, at least two evening dresses, and three body
suits of nanite armor.  Make it happen.”  He practically snapped the last order
out, but Kira was moving, and Danika was being carried along right behind her. 
She lost sight of him when Tuft took up the rear guard position and they were
swallowed by the crowd.

“He is a strange man,”
Danika mused aloud, still feeling the heat of his touch on her chin and cheek
and trying unsuccessfully to catch another glimpse of him through the bustling
throng.

“I warrant it was the
first time he had to order a woman to buy clothes,” Tuft muttered, herding them
along.  Not so surprising, a path opened up before them as people did their
best to stay out of his way.  If someone was not fast enough, he had no problem
stepping up and throwing them to the side himself.  Though he only had to do
that once before the way was miraculously cleared.  He had no apparent interest
in the rest of the list it seemed, because he passed many a small shop that
Kira gazed back at wistfully, and led them directly to the weapons hut.

When they finally
stopped, out of breath from the march, he grunted, “Nanite armor first,” and shoved
them through the door.  It was dark and cool inside away from the two suns. 
Even with the field keeping out most of the heat during the day, it was still
something of a relief.  Danika was still blinking to adjust to the difference
in light when a small green man stepped out of a side hatch.  Unlike the
outside of the shops which look to be comprised of bamboo and long grasses, the
inside was clearly a ship pod of some kind that had been reconstituted.  The
walls and floor were metal alloy and everywhere you looked was a blaster or
sword of one kind or another.

Seeing all the alien
metals and hard surfaces after the old-fashioned natural look of the outside of
the hut, Danika had to wonder if they were all ship pods surrounded by
camouflage or if that was merely this man’s type of business that called for
more protection than a grass hut could afford.

“Tune,” Tuft called
shortly, “three suits of nanite armor for the lady.”

The man scrunched his
face in what Danika knew from his emotions to be surprise.  They washed over
her with no apparent block at all from the man.  “That is much armor for so inoffensive
a lady.  Why she need so much?”

Danika could feel the
curiosity coming off him in waves.  She felt nothing from Tuft but knew from
his response he did not particularly like the little man, or his questions.  “Three
sets, Tune, of the best, and if you try to pass us subpar armor, I will rip
your ears off that sack you call a head.”

The little man stood
straighter, his ears folding down like origami, and his eyes beading back in
his head.  Danika blinked at the sight, but knew from his emotions that he was
not as insulted as he appeared.  “No respect you give me in my own ship.  Maybe
you take your big pink women elsewhere for armor if you think mine ‘subpar.’ 
Eh, big feet?  You find someone else to insult.  See if you get better armor
anywhere else.”  His hands clasped in front of him and he was clearly waiting
for Tuft’s next move.  She could feel him go into haggling mode.  It was
fascinating to watch.

Tuft just sighed in
aggravation.  “Can we for once just get down to it without all the theatrics?”

Tune seemed to swell in
size before them, and Danika could feel his emotions change from anticipation
of a good bargaining to true insult.  Tuft was not doing them any favors. 
Danika stepped forward, clasping her own hands before her as Tune had done.

“What Tuft means to say
is that if anyone else had better quality armor than you sell, he would have
gone there.”  Tune turned his eyes to Danika for the first time and blinked,
taking her in.  She felt his emotions like thoughts as oblong black eyes
trailed her servant sarong and fortune in crystal pearls.  More curiosity and a
whole lot of greed.  She spoke before he could.  “That is not to say that Lucan
Warrung has not the ability to procure the same quality elsewhere should you
become too much trouble to deal with, or ask for more than the armor is worth.”

His eyes narrowed as he
considered her and her words.  Danika held those alien eyes with aplomb, and
understood much when that too surprised the green man.  “You do not fear me?
Know you not what I am?”

“A Monghet – a proud
and thrifty nomad people who hail from the Denar solar system.  Your people
roam the galaxy, acquiring and selling only superior quality or hard to find
goods.  Known to react violently if attacked or cheated.  Only a very foolish
creature would attempt either.”  She tilted her head in thought.  “Your bite is
virally poisonous and attacks the nervous system killing painfully and in
seconds.”

His large mouth had
opened and shut a few times while she spoke; now it snapped shut with a clang
that must have hurt what with all those razor sharp teeth in there.  “You study
worthy opponent.  That is good.”  He pointed to her dress and the jewels.  “You
seek to confuse by sending promise of wealth but question of status.  Clever.” 
He pointed to Tuft.  “You let man anger and cloud my thoughts first.  Harumph.” 
He seemed embarrassed that such a strategy had worked, but his ears unfurled,
his eyes opened wide, and he clasped his hands before him again.  Danika could
feel his anticipation return, and felt almost gleeful at finding a worthy
opponent.  “You will see armor, finest quality, and we will deal.”

Danika merely nodded at
him once and he was gone back through the hatch.  She felt something niggle on
her thoughts and turned to see Tuft staring at her with a thoughtful look on
his face.  It beat the hard suspicion she was used to.  “He was not liking your
form of bartering,” she said by way of explanation.

Tuft grunted at that.  “If
you can get a good deal out of Tune, you might prove to be worth the trouble.”

Danika had no idea what
to say to such faint praise, and was thankfully saved from the attempt when
Tune returned with his arms full of shiny black cloth.  She knew what nanite
armor was, of course, from her studies.  A nanite-based technology was stronger
than the hardest metals, but moved like supple leather on the body.  Thin
enough to breathe, the more money you were willing to pay the more they could
do.  The highest quality, which she understood these to be from Tune’s pride in
them, could cleanse the contaminants from your skin and sluice away sweat, form
pockets and scabbards at the will of the wearer, and, of course, block a
blaster or a sword strike without bruising.  They could also regulate body
temperature in the heat of two suns or the colds of space.  Outside of the
League of Planets’ security forces and ambassadors, few could afford such
quality armor.  Lucan had ordered her to get three of them.