Star's Storm: Lords of Kassis Book 2 (23 page)

The door behind him opened and two men
entered with a small cart. Both men turned white when the saw the
medical cart. Their eyes swung back to Jazin. Delant’s throat
worked up and down frantically.

“Jar,” Jazin called out quietly. Jar stepped
forward and removed the hood from the cloak that he always wore. “I
want everything.”

Jar turned his glowing amber eyes to Delant.
“I will discover everything, my friend, everything.”

Delant’s screams filled the room as Jar laid
the tips of his fingers on the male’s temple. Thin fibers burst
through the tips of them, drilling through bone, and into the soft
tissue of the man’s brain. Jarmen accessed the male’s memory. His
eyes burned brightly as he downloaded the images. Every memory the
man had now belonged to Jarmen. The process was not painful for
Jarmen but it could be for the recipient of the probe. Jarmen had
the capacity to block the pain if he choose but he didn’t. When he
finished with Delant, the male would have sank down to the floor
limply if Dakar would have let him.

Jarmen smiled at Corklar blandly. “Next,” he
said calmly.

“No,” Corklar shouted hoarsely. “No, I’ll
tell you everything you want to know. I swear, I’ll tell you
everything.”

Jazin nodded to Jarmen to continue. “Yes,
you will,” Jar said as he touched his fingers to Corklar’s temples.
“You will tell us everything.”

Star slipped the comlink into the pocket of
her pants as she felt the box she was in being roughly handled. She
closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. This was just like
when she help Marcus the Magnificent, the most famous magician in
the all the world when he needed an assistant. Marcus was really
Marcus Jones, a pick-pocket from Vegas that learned the tricks of
the trade on the streets before Walter caught him sneaking into the
circus when he was twenty. His name changed and so did his life.
Marcus had taught Star, Jo, and River how to pick every lock that
was ever made. He said you never knew when you might find yourself
trapped in a five hundred year old dungeon or in a thirty year old
jail cell. He had also been thrown into a few trunks by local drug
dealers and pimps determined to give him a new home under the
brilliant Nevada skies.

In fact, many of the circus performers had
skills they learned on the streets or, as in the case of Bombing
Bill, in the military. He perfected his skills when he got out by
doing special effects for Hollywood before he came to a show one
night. He had fallen in love with the magic and beauty of the
performers. Walter found him sitting on the steps of his trailer
the next morning with nothing more than a sad look and a battered
suitcase.

Star let her memories calm her as the box
was set down. She refused to leave the world she remembered as she
needed to remain as calm as possible until an opportunity presented
itself. The lid of the container slid backwards slowly. Musky air
circulated around her and she had to fight not to sneeze from it.
The instant the lid was clear, Star erupted upwards. She struck out
like Armet and Dakar taught her with a little bit of Walter thrown
in for good measure. Her feet connected with one man’s nose while
her palm caught the one bending over her in the throat. She rolled
up, doing a handstand before flipping out of the container. She
looked at the two men. Both were on their knees. The one she kicked
in the nose was groaning as blood flowed down his face. The one she
hit in the throat was gagging. Star didn’t wait. She moved forward,
grabbing the one gagging by the back of his head and slamming him
face first into the metal box as hard as she could. The second man
tried to roll to his feet and grab for the pistol attached to his
side. Star kicked out again feeling an immense sense of
satisfaction at the sound of bone crushing under her booted
foot.

It was amazing how strong you could be
when you are scared shitless,
she thought to herself as she
pulled the pistol tucked in the man’s waistband out and shot both
of them at close range.

She looked down at the settings when she
didn’t see any blood and breathed a sigh of relief that it was set
to stun. She looked around, swinging the pistol up and pointing it
in case anyone else came along. It looked like she was in some type
of small freighter. She listened carefully but she didn’t hear
anything but her own heavy breathing.

“Okay, now I need help moving your asses
somewhere where you can’t wake up and get me,” Star muttered as she
stared down at the two unconscious figures.

She turned with a squeak and pointed the
pistol as another figure came forward. “You requested assistance?”
The metal figure asked with a twitch to its head.

“Y…Yes, I do. What are you?” Star asked
hesitantly.

“I am Numbnuts, a class A service bot,” the
metal figure responded.

“They named you Numbnuts?” Star choked out
on a startled giggle. “For real?”

“Yes, I am real. You requested assistance,”
Numbnuts responded with another twitch.

“Can you help me secure these two so they
can’t get loose? I don’t want them to hurt me. What I really need
is a way to lock them up and take control of this…. Whatever it
is,” Star said looking around the dingy freighter.

“This is a First Class Piece of Shit,”
Numbnuts stated as he bent over and gripped the back of each man’s
shirt. “I will secure them in the shithole.”

Star giggled as Numbnuts turned and began
dragging the two men she had knocked out down along the long, metal
corridor. She couldn’t help but wince and feel a little sorry for
the two. Their asses were going to be raw by the time the service
bot got them to the ‘shithole’.

Numbnuts dropped both men in the middle of
the corridor. Star watched in fascination as the service bot bent
over and pulled up a section of the floor, it was hollow underneath
the panel. Thick metal bars covered the hole that was about the
size of the dumpsters back home. Numbnuts lifted the metal hatch
and slid it to the side. At the bottom of the hole was what looked
like a port-a-potty. There were also several piles of blankets and
a lot of empty bottles. Numbnuts picked up one of the bodies and
dropped the man on the pile of blankets where he promptly rolled
off onto the cold, metal floor. He turned and did the same thing to
the next man. Once he was done, he slid the metal bars back over
the top and slid a locking device into place.

“Do you wish to cover the Shithole or not?”
Numbnuts asked Star who was watching the whole process with
wide-eyed amazement.

“What do you normally do?” Star asked,
biting her lower lip.

“It depends. If Dumbass is drunk and
annoying then Jackoff requests that I do. If Jackoff is drunk and
annoying then I do not. Dumbass says it is easier for him to throw
things at him without the covering.”

“Are you telling me those two use this on
each other?” Star asked faintly.

“Yes,” Numbnuts responded. “Unless they are
being boarded by an Alliance ship. Then they hide their illegal
cargo in the shithole.”

“What kind of illegal cargo?” Star asked
curiously.

“They specialize in the trafficking of a
foul liquid that often causes them become quite loud and annoying,”
Numbnuts said waiting to see if he should cover them or not.

Star glanced down at the two men who were
snoring loudly now. She giggled when one of them rolled over and
snuggled the other. Something told her these were not the typical
warriors Tai Tek normally hired.

“Don’t cover them up and whatever you do,
don’t let them get out!” Star ordered. “Is there anyone else on
this piece of shit?”

“Only IQ,” Numbnuts answered, tossing the
cover plating to one side of the corridor.

“And who is IQ?” Star asked wondering if
whatever it was could be any more wacky.

“IQ. You call IQ? What now, Numbnuts? I’m
busy. Someone has to work on this piece of shit,” a very small
robot about a foot and a half tall rolled up in a ball and uncurled
until it was standing on two legs with wheels attached to the
ends.

“Oh,” Star gasped. “Hello.”

IQ turned on his wheels and scanned Star.
“Ah, my beautiful little butterfly. Have you come just for me?” He
purred rolling up to her. “I’m IQ. I will bring your every fantasy
to life,” the tiny robot murmured in a voice that reminded Star of
Pepé Le Pew, the adorable skunk from the cartoon show.

The tiny robot reached out an arm, or at
least she thought it was an arm, and grasped her hand firmly
between its three digits. The head leaned over and the creature
pressed his mouth to the back of her hand before turning it over
and doing the same to her palm. Star jerked her hand back when she
felt something slimy touch it. She glanced down and saw a faint
line of oil along her palm. Gross!

“Oh my beautiful darling, I will make your
life amazing,” IQ purred as he rolled up to her leg and began
feeling her up.

“IQ is the pilot. He has been trying to
teach Dumbass and Jackoff how to navigate the ship but they are not
very fast learners. They won this ship in a game of chance two
years ago and still have not mastered the controls. IQ and I were
already part of the crew.”

Star looked down at the tiny creature
looking up at her with two mismatched eyes that blinked slowly at
different times.
Okay, this is getting way too weird for me,
she thought with a giggle. She was used to a lot of strange things
in her life but this had to be the absolute strangest.

“IQ, can you contact someone for me?” Star
asked politely trying to move her leg away. If she wasn’t mistaken,
she would swear the tiny robot was trying to hump it.

“Of course, my love. IQ will do anything for
you,” the tiny robot responded before turning on his wheels and
heading along the corridor at a rapid clip.

*.*.*

“Send in a cleaning crew and jettison the
bodies,” Jazin said, ignoring the looks he received as he walked
down the corridor.

He was covered in blood. None of it was his.
He had been ruthless, cold, deadly. He showed no mercy. Dakar,
Armet, and Jarmen had stood to the side never interfering and never
condemning his brutality against the men who struck out against his
family, especially his mate. He wanted to set an example of what
would happen to anyone who dared. The training room was a blood
bath. He looked almost as bad. Blood covered him from head to foot.
His chest was bare, long streaks of blood mixed with sweat ran down
in eerie trails. Dakar, Jarmen, and Armet followed behind him.
Blood splatters covered the three of them, evidence of the violence
behind the punishment. The sight of the youngest lord struck terror
into those who saw him as he approached the bridge. During the
three hours it took for him to kill the two men, the emergency
teams had repaired most of the damage to the warship and taken in
the Tearnat warriors before their ship imploded. Jarmen informed
him the warship’s engines would be back online within the next
hour.

Men paused as he approached, bowing their
heads in respect. Even the Tearnat warriors kneeled and placed
their palms over their hearts in a show of respect and loyalty.
Jazin walked onto the bridge without saying a word. He looked
briefly at Jarmen who nodded. His friend closed his eyes and
focused. When he opened them, his eyes blazed with power as he
tapped into the communications system and opened it to every
Kassisan, Elpidios, Tearnat, and Alliance ship within receiving
distance.

“My name is Jazin Ja Kel Coradon. I am the
third son of the ruling House of Kassis. Let it be known that any
who strike against my family or my mate will be given no mercy.
Death will not come fast enough. For the ones who have taken my
mate, there is no place you can hide that I will not find you, no
star system that can protect you, and no Gods that will give you
mercy. I am coming for my mate and I am bringing death with me,” he
growled out in an icy voice.

Jarmen closed his eyes, releasing the
communications console back to the warrior in charge of it. Slowly
one by one, the warriors on the bridge rose. The men looked proudly
at Jazin’s bloody figure before kneeling. Each man bowed his head
and placed a clenched fist against their heart. Jazin could have
traveled throughout the great warship and found the same thing.
Tearnat and Kassisan warriors knelt together in unity. There are
many things that a true warrior holds scared, his mate being the
most important.

Jazin’s jaw clenched. He would not show what
the loss of Star was doing to him. He turned, nodding to Armet and
Dakar. He looked at Jarmen who nodded in response to his silent
order to follow him. As the door opened, a soft voice echoed
through the warship’s communication system.

“Were you able to connect?” Star’s anxious
voice sounded.

“Of course, my love. You have sound but no
video, I’m afraid. I wish I could do more,” the deep masculine
voice purred. “I would connect the universe to bring a smile to
your face.”

Jazin turned in disbelief as his mate’s
giggle echoed through the bridge. “You don’t have to do that, you
adorable bundle of sweetness. I just need to talk with a warship
called the
Blue Star
.”

“All they need to hear is the sweet sound of
your voice, my beautiful oil can, and they would search for the
beautiful face that goes with it,” the male said smoothly.

“Connect the transmission to a secure line
on the commander’s console,” Jazin growled out turning to look
briefly at Jarmen.

Jarmen nodded before closing his eyes and
redirecting the transmission as Jazin requested. “It is done.”

Jazin stormed into the conference room,
pacing back and forth while he drew in deep breaths to calm
himself. Jarmen came in behind him and sealed the door. Jazin
looked at his friend with such fury, Jarmen winced. He had just
killed two men. He had just opened communications to every known
star system with a vow of vengeance and his mate calls him
giggling! Giggling! Jazin ran his blood stained hands through his
hair and fought the need to scream in fury. He was going to rip
apart the male who continued to whisper sweet nothings to his
mate.