Salvage Rights (Distant Worlds Book 2) (4 page)

Lore’s voice came over
the line.  “Captain, please report to the bridge.”

He tapped his icom
device.  “What is it now?”

“We just received a
subspace warrant.”

“Fuck!”  The captain
turned and headed for the bridge without a word to anyone else.  “Direct?”

“No, sir, on the
general.”

“That’s something
anyway.”

“Not really.”

“I’m on my way.”

The meeting took place
an hour later in the infirmary.  Mac and Sera stood together at attention,
their sides touching.  It made the captain roll his eyes.  Lore and the doctor
seemed less surprised about the whole thing.  The patient was sitting up in her
bed with a blanket tucked carefully around her.  Even so, she was a distraction
to every man there but Mac, who seemed to have his eyes permanently glued to
the pretty mechanic.

“We have a situation. 
Cor Warrung has issued a warning on warrant that he is missing some property
and will take it back.  ‘Any who may have knowledge of a Bruha, male or female,
will be greatly rewarded.  Any who harbor said Bruha will be annihilated and
all their blood family with them’.”

That caught Mac’s
attention; he pulled Sera into his side and glared at the captain.

“He invoked Tokan?” asked
the doctor incredulously.

“Yes.”

Lore who stood at ease
just behind the captain spoke.  “It appears that Warrung was fully aware of
what he was picking up in that cargo bay.  It is the only explanation.”

“Or this is my fault,”
Mac said.  “He felt the break.  This could have nothing to do with the little
one.”

“No,” Lore said, “he says
‘male or female’ as if he did not know.  I believe he is looking for the Bruha
he believed he would find on that ship.  Otherwise, he would have mentioned you
by name; at the very least, he would know your sex.”

“So,” said the captain,
“that brings us to the problem.”  He looked at the patient.  “Do you have any
questions?”  The captain grimaced.  “We need a name to call you.  Have you
remembered anything?”

“No, and I have no
questions.  According to the computer, a Tokan is a hunt of an entire family to
extinction to right a perceived wrong.  Though I do question why I would be so
important, I understand the significance.  You must get me away from you and
yours, but you are attempting to find a way that you can both make a profit and
protect my interests as well.”

The captain cleared his
throat.  “Basically, yes.  I thought you couldn’t read me?”

“It seemed the logical
course of action.  According to your computer data banks, you are salvagers and
freelance mercenaries.  But I feel you are also honorable men.”

“So, any ideas?”

“You could simply give
me to Warrung for the profit.”

“Not bloody likely,”
Mac said.  In fact, no one seemed to like that answer.

Warrung is a sadistic
killer who uses others, and then when he has no more use for them, he disposes
of them like so much garbage.”  Lore’s voice was mechanical in its recital, but
there was real feeling there.  “If he is able to get his hands on you, he has
the genetic code that can imprint you.  He will hurt and abuse you for the rest
of your days and you would not be able to leave him except in death.”

“That is not an option,”
the captain said sternly.

“How far does this
Warrung’s power extend?  Is there anyone who he fears that I can go to?”

“A few others, but with
the Tokan in effect, and the genetic claiming that keeps you from imprinting on
anyone else, they may not see it as worth it.”  Lore continued, “And even if
they did, all it would take is for Warrung to be in the same room with you for
a few minutes to complete the imprint and you would be genetically tied to him
in such a way that you would crave him to the point of madness.  No, you will
never be safe until you are mated, and your genes state that it must be a
Warrung, at least someone with a close genetic match.”

“There is an answer,” the
doctor said, “if we can get her to someone else in the Warrung line she could
mate; besides, his own family is probably the only one safe from the Tokan he
invoked.  He might fight with his brothers, but he can hardly kill their
families when his name would be on the list as well.”

Lore turned to the
captain.  “You know where we need to take her.”

“Fuck.”

“You have to be kidding
me.  The man is a ruthless bastard, almost as bad as his brother,” Mac
interjected.

“Almost being the key
word there,” Lore said.  “He does not allow abuse of women and children and his
word is as good as cold steel.  Even better, no one can get anywhere near his
planet without an invite, and his brother is never invited.  Hell, even the
pirates let his ships go freely rather than incur his wrath.”

“And he would be as
good a genetic match as Cor Warrung would be,” the doctor interjected.  “Once
she is imprinted, there will be no way to take her from him and all will know
it.”

“And if he doesn’t want
a mate?” Mac asked belligerently.  “He has never had his brother’s drive to
continue his lineage.  A Bruha mate is no small thing.”

“We are not going to
take her to him as a proposed Bruha mate.  We are going to take her as a
truthsayer and reader.  For employment.  She does not even look Bruha.”

“You want to try and
trick Lucan Warrung?”  Sera asked incredulously.

“I will tell him his
brother is after her, that she has some Bruha blood and that she is a
truthsayer.  All of those reasons are the truth and will be too much to say no
to.  He will make an offer for her; I will stipulate that she is not a slave
and he must negotiate with her; we will take a small broker fee, anonymous of
course, and all will be fine.  Warrung will have to deal with his brother, not
us, and she will be as safe as we can make her, being what she is.”

Within hours of the
message being sent, Lucan had agreed to meet with them.

***

“I have his agreement
that you will be considered an honored prospective employee with all the rights
of any free person with safe passage until an agreement between you can be
reached.”  The captain rubbed his head and sat back in his chair.  “He has
agreed to a small finder’s fee to be deposited in a numbered account when you
prove that you are a truthsayer.  I would love to tell you that if you can’t
reach an agreement that we will pick you back up, but Lucan really is the
lesser of two evils.  So, my advice is to be flexible.  He will not be.”

The captain had also
given her a name.  “Danika, it means morning star.  It seemed appropriate.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Don’t thank me.  I
feel like I’m selling you to the damn slavers.”

“On the contrary, you
have saved me from becoming exactly that, and I will not forget it.”

He shook his head.  “Tell
me that again after you meet Lucan.”

She took the bag he
handed her.  She was wearing borrowed clothes, but Lore had been able to adjust
them to fit her smaller height and you could not tell that she was not the
original owner.  She wore the standard fitted grey slacks and top without the
utility belt that held the sword and blaster, which she would not be allowed to
wear.  Her hair had been cut to her thighs, also by Lore, and was presently pulled
up and back, wrapped tight against her head in one of Sera’s clips.  Though no
one could deny that she was a beauty, no one would look at her and think
Bruha.  She slipped the bag onto her back and pulled on the black gloves that the
captain handed her last.

“He knows you have
Bruha in you and what the consequences are if you are compatible mates.  He
says he has plenty of others to warm his bed and has no need for a mate, but he
has not seen you yet and if you touch, all bets will be off.  So try to keep
your distance.”  From his tone of voice, he held no hope that she’d be able to.

“You will give the
others my farewell.”

“Yes.”

She held out a hand “Good-bye,
Captain.”

Instead of shaking, he
pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a hard edge of passion before
releasing her just as abruptly, stepping back, and hitting the controls. 
Because of that, she transported down slightly heated from the kiss.

***

Luc had expected
someone beautiful, mostly Bruha, even with only a little of the blood managed
to jump-start a man’s dick, but he was not expecting her.

Small and delicate, she
came off the transporter with heated green eyes, the color of moss and skin
like cream.  Bruha tended to be tall and golden; she had none of the
characteristics he would normally associate with the Bruha until she moved. 
Like water over rocks, she flowed forward and he wondered if she even touched
the ground.

She was wearing the
standard uniform of a mercenary vessel, down to the combat boots.  She should
have been in free flowing robes, or better, nothing at all.  She was so small,
with lips that looked freshly kissed and a delectable body like a compact
Venus.  He was revising his list of demands of service even as she moved.  She
placed her bag on the ground and bowed.

“Thank you for agreeing
to this meeting, Commander Lucan Warrung.  As a prospective employee, I am
prepared to prove my truth saying abilities at this time.”

“Your name is Danika?”

“Yes.”

“According to the
anonymous communications I received, my brother Cor is trying to acquire you.”

“That is my
understanding, yes.”

“Your understanding? 
You have not met my brother.”

“I have not.”

“Then would it interest
you to know that no word of a loose truthsayer has crossed intergalactic
communication lines?”  He studied her, his own ice blue eyes frozen on her
face.  “My informants tell me he is looking for a full-blooded Bruha, not a
mixed blood truthsayer, one imprinted with the Warrung line.”

Danika lifted her chin
with false bravado.  “I believe the agreement was to test my truth saying
ability and then proceed to employment negotiations.  If you are no longer
interested in hiring me, you have only to say and I will take my skills
elsewhere.”

“Really?”  His words
were cold and he moved forward forcing Danika to move back.  He was a good foot
taller than she and all of it hard muscle and cat-like grace.  “If my brother
is after you, where else could you possibly be safe?  And make no mistake – he
will be after you.  Even if you are not what he thinks, you are still much too
valuable for his greedy hands to let loose.  No, I’m afraid there is nowhere
else you could possibly go, even if I was of a mind to let you, Bruha.”

“Then test me and we
will begin negotiations.”

“You misunderstand,
little Bruha.  There will be no negotiations, no agreements.  You are here
because you cannot be safe anywhere else and I can keep you safe from my
brother.  In exchange, you will serve me in whatever capacity I see fit.”

“No.”

“No?”  His voice was
deadly cold. 

“You have given your
word that I would be treated as a prospective employee, not a slave; am I to
understand you are breaking that word?”

“Your captain lied to
me.  That negates the deal.”

“Untrue.  He told you
only truth.  I am a truthsayer.  I have Bruha blood in my veins.  I am being
hunted by your brother.  He told no lies to break the agreement.”

“That remains to be
seen.”

“Then test me and see
the truth for yourself.  I can prove you were dealt no falsehoods and you will
be bound by your word.”

“You should be careful,
little one; just because I have never broken my word does not mean I will
always be bound by it.”

“Lie.”

“Which part?”

“Both.  You have broken
your word and you will be bound by it.”

He studied her, his
eyes losing none of their frost.  “I see I will have to be careful of what I
say to you in the future, little truthsayer.”

“True.”

He snapped an icom off
his belt. “Tuft. Two to transport directly to my quarters and you may send the
finder’s fee once we are aboard and the shields are up.”

“Yes, sir”

***

They were transported
before Danika could argue for a different location, but when she looked around
the room, she lost the ability to speak.  It was spacious and airy with the
smell of salt and water on the breeze coming in through the open terrace. 
Danika had no memory of anything she had experienced before Captain Tyber
released her from the capsule.  So, when she was drawn to the open doors and
looked out into what from her research was a clear blue ocean, she was
mesmerized.  This was not anything like what she had become used to in space. 
She caught her breath at the beauty spread out as far as she could see.  The
beaches of white sand looked like powder and the two suns in the distance
reflected off azure waves that crashed and flowed. 

She was so lost in the
beauty before her that she forgot about Lucan and the danger she was in.  She
was not aware she was crying until he stepped up before her and caught a tear
on his gloved finger.  She looked up at him then, her eyes overflowing.

“It is the sea?”

“Yes.”

“I learned about it,” she
said, her eyes drawn back to the pounding surf, “but it is not the same.”