Star's Storm: Lords of Kassis Book 2 (21 page)

Ristéard escorted them into a lavishly
decorated room. Huge tapestries depicting different events covered
the mirrored black walls. Along one wall, a huge fireplace stood
empty. Over the mantle of it was another tapestry. The figure of
two men stood side by side. One slightly older than the other. In
the picture, they each held a bloody sword and the area around them
was littered with the remains of dead warriors. It wasn’t something
Star would want hanging in her living room but since this wasn’t
her house she wouldn’t say anything. Instead, she continued her
observation of the room. Windows from floor to ceiling graced the
west wall. Heavy curtains were pulled back with thick ropes of
silver and gold. A large round table that could sit at least a
dozen men sat near the center of the room. Two large, silver
couches with twin matching chairs were arranged in front of the
vacant fireplace. Six matching end tables made of the black stone
sat on each end of the furniture.

Ristéard stood to one side as they entered.
The moment Star walked by him, he reached out to touch her hair.
She turned when she felt the slight tug on her hair but relaxed
when she saw he was looking at the strands he had gathered with a
fascinated expression. She was used to people doing the same thing
when the circus used to tour Asia and parts of the Middle East.
Jazin carefully pulled Star away but the Grand Ruler wasn’t
finished with his analysis of her hair. He followed them into the
room touching the silky wave repeatedly until Jazin reached out and
gripped his wrist. A member of Ristéard’s elite guard stepped
forward at the violation to his ruler. Ristéard studied Jazin’s
taunt face for a moment before he flicked his hand, dismissing his
guards. Ristéard tilted his head ever so slightly to let Jazin
know he understood silent warning before he walked over to where
Ajaska, Torak, and River sat at the end of the table. Jazin placed
his hand protectively on Star’s lower back and guided her away from
the huge blue leader toward the two couches where Gril and Madas
sat.

“What did you think of Ristéard?” She asked
quietly as she sat down on the plush couch.

A low rumble escaped Jazin before he could
stop it as his gaze flickered to the Elpidios ruler who was
speaking intensely with his father. What did he think of the Grand
Ruler? He was seriously thinking of killing the bastard! That was
what he was thinking. Ristéard had taken every opportunity he
could to touch Star’s soft hair as they came in.

The bastard didn’t even tried to make it
appear as if it was an accident. After the fifth time his hand
reached out to touch a strand, Jazin had enough and gripped his
wrist in warning. He had finally moved to sit next to Ajaska but
his eyes kept returning to Star’s hair.

“She is a very unique female, is she not?”
Ajaska asked Ristéard when he saw the male’s eyes drift back to
where his little daughter sat on the couch with her mate.

“My apologies,” Ristéard murmured with a
slight twist to his lips at the understatement. “I have never seen
this color before and find it fascinating. Is it common among their
species?”

River giggled as she heard the quietly
spoken words and responded for Ajaska who looked to her for
guidance. “It is fairly common. We have all different color hair.
While mine is a dark brown, Star and Jo have an almost white-blond.
Our friend Ricki has blond hair too but it is more of a honey
blond. Others have black or red hair. Even those can vary greatly.
The way you were reacting reminded me of the time we were in
Turkey. Star, Jo, and Ricki almost didn’t make it out of Istanbul.
Do you remember that, Star?”

Star laughed as she nodded her head. “Ricki
ended up buying head scarves for all of us so we could get out of
the market without being mugged or kidnapped. The people that live
in that area have dark hair like you so when they saw us it was
like sending up a flashing light saying ‘foreigners!’.”

“There is a third female? She is the a
warrior like yourself?” Ristéard asked with an intense look of
interest in his eyes.

“Lady Jo is my son Manota’s mate,” Ajaska
said in quiet warning at the interest that flashed through
Ristéard’s eyes.

“Who is this Ricki?” Ristéard asked
cautiously as a feeling of unease began to grow deep inside
him.

“Ricki is the Empress of Organization!”
River laughed. “If you need something done, have a challenge that
seems impossible to conquer or need to find something she is the
one who can do it.”

“That is an understatement!” Star said with
a shake of her head. “If you need a miracle she is the one to pull
it off for you. I’ve never seen anyone accomplish some of the
things she has with just a few taps of her fingers. She is pure
magic.”

“I hope we get to spend some time with her
once she gets here,” River said. “But, knowing Ricki, she’ll spend
the next six months researching every law and by-law in the known
star systems to see what she needs to do to ease things for
everyone else.”

Ristéard listened as the two unusual
females talked for a short time about some of the ‘miracles’ this
Ricki had accomplished. His mind filtered through their
conversation picking out key elements. From what he could gather
this female was renowned for her abilities to get items no one else
could and she could handle situations others found impossible. His
eyes flickered back over the two women again, noting their unusual
beauty and grace. He felt his body stir with desire at the idea of
having a female of his own with white hair. Perhaps it was time to
add another female to his house. He wondered if they came in a
larger size.

Ristéard observed the way the young
Kassisan lord tightened his hold on the tiny female. While he found
the tiny, light haired female fascinating she did not stir his
blood sexually. She was too small. He would be afraid of breaking
her. He shook his head and turned his attention back to matters at
hand. The past two hours had been very insightful. He did not like
to learn he was being manipulated. He would send his own men to
find the Kassisan male who thought to use him for his own gain. It
was not often that he could be fooled. His concern for his people
had clouded the reservations he had at the male’s promises.

“You are in agreement to supply the
necessary crystals we need then?” Ristéard asked focusing back on
Ajaska and Torak who had been discussing the best way to handle the
increased need for the energy crystals.

“Yes.” Ajaska nodded. “Torak will return to
Kassis and make the necessary arrangements. We should be apply to
supply you with the first shipment within three weeks’ time.”

“In the meantime, we have some reserves on
board two of our warships that can be transported down to help out.
Our scientists have successfully replicated the crystals. I can
organize a team of researchers to come to Elpidios with your
permission,” Torak added.

Ristéard looked from father to son. He
could see no signs of deceit on their faces or in their voices,
only genuine concern. It had been so long since he had felt like he
could trust another he was reluctant to believe it possible there
were others out in the star system with a code of honor that
matched his own.

His head jerked around when he felt a
slender hand lightly touch his. “The Houses of Kassis will not let
you or your people down,” River said with a comforting smile. “It
was hard for me to trust as well. They will stand beside you.”

His dark silver eyes stared deeply into the
dark blue ones of the pale-skinned female. For a moment, he was
lost in their depths. He could almost see something in the swirling
colors. He jerked back to the present when she withdrew her hand
and nodded his head as he stood up.

“You are welcome to enjoy the hospitality of
the palace. I have several meetings scheduled that I need to
attend. I will make arrangements for the necessary supply ships to
leave within the next few days. I would like to tour the Crystal
Replication Plant you spoke of personally. I will contact you
shortly with the arrangements,” Ristéard stated with a quiet
authority that conveyed the meeting was over.

Everyone rose from where they were sitting.
Both Torak and Jazin slid their arms protectively around their
mates. Ristéard turned and took a step toward Jazin and Star.
Before Jazin could stop him, the Grand Ruler reached out to touch
Star’s hair one last time with a twisted smile.

“Unusual,” he murmured before he let it go
and left without another word.

Star laughed when she saw Jazin’s
expression. He looked for all the world like he would like to kick
the huge, blue guy’s ass. She squeezed his fingers to let him know
he didn’t have a thing to worry about before they followed the
others out of the room.

Three days later they were heading to a
distant Spaceport on the outer rim of the Tearnat star system. Out
of the dozen warships, only three remained. The
Blue Star
,
Jazin’s warship and two of the Tearnat warships. Gril and Madas had
departed on the other Tearnat warship after Gril had received a
report that there was an small uprising of rebels on his home
planet. Torak and River had returned to Kassis while Ajaska took
another ship to the Dramentic star system when the Alliance council
reported a disturbance on the outer edge of their system. Ajaska’s
heated curses could be heard as he made arrangements to leave. He
took six warships with him to subdue the conflict. The last
remaining Kassis warship developed engine problems and was
currently still in orbit around Elpidios until the repairs could be
completed.

Star frowned as she thought of all the
events that just suddenly seemed to explode all at once. She wasn’t
the only one thought that either. She had listened in before the
others left that it was very unusual for the Dramentic star system
to have issues but a mining asteroid had been under attack. The
Dramentians were a passive society who were known for their
negotiating skills, not their fighting ability. That was one reason
they relied heavily on the Alliance for protection. The last head
chancellor of the Alliance was from the Dramentic star system.
Trolis had killed him. It was during that incident that Star, Jo,
and River met Jazin, Torak, and later Manota.

Jazin had been in meetings on and off for
the last three days. She walked over to the replicator and
programmed it for a cup of hot tea. She was just turning back to
her comfy spot by the viewport to read some more when the door
sounded letting her know someone was requesting permission to
enter. Star was surprised since she wasn’t expecting anyone. She
set her cup down on the small table next to the door and waved her
hand over the panel. The door slid open to reveal two men she had
never seen before. One was slightly shorter than the other. The
taller man wore the standard uniform of security while the shorter
one wore the maintenance uniform. Star was surprised to see a small
repair cart behind them.

“Jazin’s not in right now,” Star said
looking at them with a smile. “I can request his location if you
would like. Is something broken?”

“A repair order came in for your
replicator,” the shorter man said.

Star turned her head and looked at the
replicator she had just used. “It is working fine. I just used it,”
she said turning to look at both men again with a frown.

“A work order was submitted and I have to
look at,” the man insisted.

Star stepped back as a funny feeling turned
her stomach. “I’ll call Jazin and see if he was having problems
with it,” she said turning to reach for the comlink she hadn’t put
on since she was still in the cabin.

“That won’t be necessary,” the taller man
said raising his arm and firing.

Both men watched as Star jerked forward
knocking the cup off the table. Her fingers curled as the shock
moved through her body, clenching her muscles before darkness
settled around her. The taller man entered, picking up the cup and
placing it in the cleansing unit while the other man pushed the
cart inside the cabin. Within minutes, they were heading down the
long corridor. They only had minutes to get the body of the female
in position. Every three days, liquid waste was flushed out of the
ship. This time there would be a solid mass going with it.

*.*.*

Jazin rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.
He had been receiving reports from all over and had conferenced
with his father, brother, Gril, and the Commander of the warship
they had left behind at Elpidios. His father discovered the mining
asteroid had been destroyed. There was nothing left of it except
some chunks of metallic fragments. Whoever was responsible was long
gone by the time they reached it. Gril discovered the group of
rebels were nothing more than a small group of young Tearnats that
had been promised extra credits and time with some females if they
caused a disruption. He was interrogating them separately but the
stories were all the same. Three older Tearnat males came to their
villages with the promises of wealth and women. In exchange all
they had to do was pretend to cause an uprising. They had all been
told it was to help with a military training. Gril was ready to
slap every single one of them into the military for some real
training!

The commander of the warship left at
Elpidios couldn’t understand how the circuit boards had received
water damage. The only way was if they had been sabotaged on
purpose. He was reviewing the crew roster to see who had access to
that level. The only thing that appeared to be going right was on
his home planet. Torak had arrived just in time. He had gone to one
of their largest Crystal Replication Plants. During a tour of the
facility he had observed several workers acting strangely. He had
his elite guards stop and search the men. Enough explosives to
disable the plant and kill an untold number of workers was
discovered. The men had resisted and two of the three were killed.
The last one was gravely wounded. Torak ordered all plants to
undergo lockdown and be searched thoroughly. All workers were to be
reviewed as well. Once the worker who was injured recovered enough
to speak, Torak said he would find out what other terrorist acts
were planned.