Page 60 of Taken to Kor
“You’re probably right. Svera always was too self-sacrificing for her own good. But, I’m not like Svera. I’m all about staying alive and keeping my kits alive, too. So, I hate to break it to you, grandmother dearest, but the only one who’s gonna die this solar is you.” Underneath my dress, I aim through the tarp at my grandma and I pull the trigger.
The little blaster heats underneath my touch and my arm momentarily flinches. Killing someone who raised you — even if they also tortured and contained you — is harder than I thought it would be. And even though my will is sure, my fingers are unsteady. The tiny little ray gun is the newest of the new models and has no recoil at all, so my feet remain rooted as the blast tears through my tarp and knocks into Mathilda. The shot nails her in the hip, spinning her around. She manages to catch herself on one of the dining room chairs, but I fire again, this time hitting her in the leg.
The irony that she’s limping now on the same leg I limp on makes me smile, but only briefly before I realize that she’s somehow still got ahold of her blaster and is pointing it solidly at me.
The critical difference between me and my grandma? When she aims a gun at her kin, she doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
The room explodes in bright white light, I cover my belly with both hands and I open my mouth on a silent scream.
15
Rhork
“Yo, Rhorkanterannu.” The voice slips into my token. I allow it to do so because I’m surprised to hear from her. Eshmiri reavers don’t make a habit of befriending Niahhorru and this particular reaver doesn’t contact me. Ever.
“Ashmara,” I answer, leaning back against the yeeyar view pane, so far above Kor’s surface the world beneath it looks like it belongs to the galaxies tiniest of creatures. We’re prepping the mothership for departure to the beach planet that Deena’s made a habit of calling Reqama, the Meero word forgift. Erobu and Gerannu are arguing about the command settings we’ll need to land effectively on sand in a craft of this size. I’m a little bored watching them fist fight, but have made no move to intervene, so Ashmara’s distraction has come at a good time.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?”
She doesn’t answer right away and I can hear the high-pitched trill of many Eshmiri in the background. I wonder where in the cosmos she is. And then she surprises me. “I’m on Kor.”
“Interesting.” I pause, allowing myself to think through the possibilities of why she’s here and, more importantly, why she’s sharing this information with me. I come up with very little of substance, so I press, “You don’t normally share your whereabouts with Niahhorru.”
“Yeah, well don’t make me regret it. I just…I saw…” She clears her throat. I stand a little straighter.
I lift my right hand and the thirty or so pirates on the command deck turn as I capture their attention. Something is wrong. I’ve never heard her like this and immediately, I feel unease. Despite the fact that she is Eshmiri, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for her. She’s a reaver and reavers and pirates share a mutual dependence. They steal from us, we steal from them, and then we come together on Kor, drink ourselves stupid, and trade all of our stolen parts. They don’t have kings or queens like the Voraxians who are bound to their planets by nothing but history. They are free. She is free. And freedom means confidence in everything, something I don’t hear now in her tone.
“What is it? Are you safe?”
“Ugh. Don’t ask. You’re so annoying when you ask. I’m a reaver. I’m perfectly capable of handling things on my own. I just saw something weird and I wanted to tell you.”
“What?”
“I saw your woman. Your human. You knocked her up real good, didn’t you?”
“I did. She is beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Yeah. She is. But uhh yeah. I saw her and she was haggling with Tintin at the market, but she didn’t finish negotiating. Another human came up to her and led her away and it didn’t look like a friendly sort of meeting. Just thought you should know.”
I grimace and make my way to the exit, rounding up pirates as I walk. “Gerannu, stay here,” I order before turning my attention back to Ashmara. I’m surprised that she’s left her communications open.
“You see which way they went?”
“I didn’t, but I asked around. Some Eshmiri said they saw the grey-haired human leading your female towards Pleasure Alley. They weren’t alone, either, Rhorkanterannu. There were Drakesh soldiers with them. Looks like they had your guys subdued.”
I growl, feeling hot, feeling restless, feeling shroving exhilarated. It’s been too long since I murdered somebody — since I’ve been faced with a real opponent. “I’ve been waiting for this. I’m surprised it took her so long.”
“You knew your lady was gonna get got?”
“She isn’t getting anything. You think I’d let my human wife carrying a litter of my kits in her belly walk unprotected through the streets of Kor?” I laugh. The thought is rather hilarious. “I am a Niahhorru pirate. And I run Kor.”
Ashmara exhales a little easier on the other end of the line. “Sorry. Forgot who I was talking to. Your guys looked worried though.”
“Herannathon and them? Where are they now?” I’m more worried for them than I am for Deena.
“Not sure. I’ll ask around though. See if I can lend a hand.”
“Don’t let me pull you from the markets. This problem will be quickly eviscerated.”
