Beyond Galaxy's Edge (10 page)

With a nod, Tryker shuffled Solomon out the door.

Nissa scraped a hand over her face. “I should go and break the news to the admiral.” Nissa’s shoulders slumped. “There goes my transfer.”

Justyn
ground his teeth together. She really couldn’t make it any clearer that the edge and what it had to offer wasn’t enough for her.

“Captain Sander, a message from the bridge,” Luciana said, tapping on her Sync. “We’re about to dock at Galaxy’s Edge.”

Justyn’s gaze met Nissa’s. “Looks like our adventure is over, Captain Sander.”

Nissa was so weary she felt about two hundred years old.

The sounds and smells of Galaxy’s Edge battered her. Her feet dragged as she made her way up the travel tubes to the level Upper 13—one of the main entertainment levels. As a blast of compressed air took her car upward, she pressed a finger to her left temple. Her headache was heading from bearable to ion-pick-into-the-eye
bad

The admiral had been furious at the events surrounding the Constitution. Nissa had always admired the older woman, but seeing her lose it so completely had left Nissa shaken. DeRuyter had not held back as she’d berated Nissa for her failure. Talk about kill the messenger. Goddess, Nissa wondered if the admiral thought Nissa had stolen the damn artifact herself and generated the fake.

With a sigh, Nissa tugged at the neck of her uniform jacket, loosening it. She stepped off the tube and winced at the bustle of Upper 13. Clubs, bars and restaurants lined one side of the open level. The other was all stores offering…just about anything a deep-space explorer might need. Neon signs flashed and blinked, promising anything from the best pizza on the edge, and cold ales and holo-pool,
to the tastiest packaged cloned food and spacesuits in any color you wanted.

She really needed a drink.

Nissa headed to Moonrakers. Tucked around a corner from the main pulse of Upper 13, it was frequented by off-duty Patrol officers, adventurers, and a lot of the people the Patrol officers arrested. It was an unwritten rule on the Edge that you checked your grievances—along with your rank—at
the door and just enjoyed your downtime.

As she stepped inside, she sighed with relief. The lights were always dim—hiding both the laser-scarred walls and some of the clientele who’d rather not be seen. The long bar on the left wasn’t too busy this time of day and manned by a cheap serving syndroid. The bar’s owner, a cranky Taxalian named Dob, wasn’t around, but he’d appear once it got busy
or if there was any trouble. Most people moved on station time when they docked at the Edge and right now local time was late morning.

But there were a few who kept ship time, and Nissa’s body was telling her it was time for a glass of wine. She spotted a few of her people from the
Freedom
playing holo-pool at the tables at the back, some in civvies, others still in their uniforms, with collar’s
unbuttoned and jackets thrown over the backs of chairs. She raised a hand in greeting, but headed for the bar. Regardless of how much her crew liked her or how relaxed she might be off duty, she was still their captain, and it made socializing…uncomfortable. Her rank and title could never completely be ignored, and her shipmates still felt like they had to be on their best behavior. They deserved
their time off, and that meant keeping her distance.

She walked through the tables and past the booths lining the wall. Most were empty, but when her gaze fell on the booth at the back, her steps faltered.

Justyn was seated there with his brothers.

She’d run into Justyn here plenty of times before. Nissa had always made a point to call a truce to their…outside dealings.

This time, Justyn
stared at her for a second with blank eyes before deliberately turning away.

It was a blow to her stomach. She deserved it, but damn it, she’d actually come to like the smile he always shot her way.

When his brother Dare raised a hand to her, she managed at nod before marching to the bar.

“Glass of Gluk’sol wine.”

There was a faint whirr as the droid moved to put Nissa’s drink together.
Many syndroids were so realistic you could barely tell they weren’t human. But this was an older, cheaper model. Its face didn’t move as it spoke and it never blinked, giving it a slightly creepy look.

Pulling herself up on a tall stool, Nissa popped her e-cred account into the holo-screen attached to the bar and gratefully accepted her drink. She took a few sips, then nursed the glass between
her fingers, starring into the red depths.

What she’d said to Justyn…Goddess, she regretted it. She’d taken out her own confused, embarrassed feelings on him. He’d been nothing but helpful on the mission—and after—and she’d repaid him with harsh words about his character.

She was going to have to apologize.

More than anything, she wanted Justyn Phoenix to turn that charming smile on her
again.

She was so confused. He made her feel things, twisted her up inside. She’d always had a clear idea of her life. Rise through the ranks of Patrol, date other equally ambitious men, make her father proud.

Maybe it was time to take a chance and do something about Justyn. Maybe she might offer to buy him dinner. She knew a great place right around the corner that made the best pasta in
the quadrant.

Nissa swiveled on her stool, feeling the knot in her chest ease a little. Her gaze settled on Justyn’s booth, just in time to see him leap to his feet.

She was about to stand when a woman came rushing into Moonrakers, headed toward Justyn’s table. As she neared, she launched into the air.

Justyn caught the woman with a laugh. Laughing herself, the woman tipped her face back
and her amazing strawberry-blonde curls cascaded down her back. She clamped her legs around Justyn’s waist and planted a huge kiss right on his mouth.

Nissa felt a spike of pain in her gut and the wine in her mouth soured.

The woman was tall and even with her impressive curves, it was easy to see she was fit. Nissa trained and worked out every day, so she recognized the strength in the woman’s
toned physique. This wasn’t just some bar or club junkie. Her striking, sunset-colored hair framed a pretty face, and her skin was the color of cream. She was too far away for Nissa to tell her eye color but she had a full-bodied laugh that turned several heads.

Justyn set the woman down and through lowered lids, Nissa watched her also give Dare and Rynan hugs before she settled into the booth
wedged between Justyn and Dare. Justyn slid his arm across the woman’s shoulder, dipping his head to say something that made her laugh again.

Nissa clutched her hands together in her lap. The woman suited Justyn. She was fresh, pretty, bright. Full of life.

Nissa turned away, starring at the scarred surface of the bar. Her hand tightened on the stem of her glass. All she wanted to do was finish
her drink and escape back to her cabin on the
Freedom
.

A big body moved in beside her.

Nissa glanced up. Way up. At the sight of the huge alien male beside her, she sighed.

His tough skin was a mottled gray. He was humanoid, with a seven-foot frame carrying a lot of muscle. The Semper were a warrior race and even their females were big and excellent fighters. They were some of the best mercenaries
in the quadrant.

“Krudon, what are you doing here?”

He looked down at her. His face was broad with overlarge eyes that she knew provided him with excellent peripheral vision. It was damn hard to sneak up on a Semper. They had no hair, just a rounded head covered in that same dark-gray skin as their bodies.

“I was looking for you.” Krudon’s voice was a deep rumble.

Nissa sighed again and
set her drink down. She nudged it across the bar. Out of range of what she knew was about to happen. “You sure you want to try this again?”

“You arrested me!” His voice boomed across the bar. “That’s the fifth time.”

Behind her, Nissa heard deathly silence fall. Great. “Because you were smuggling weapons to the Weyzan.” She kept her voice calm. “They’re slavers, Krudon. They enslave children.
And if I catch you doing it again, I’ll happily throw you in my brig. Again.”

She watched as his large hands—each the size of her head—curled on top of the bar. She unobtrusively slid to the edge of her stool and let her feet touch the floor.

“Star-sucking bitch!” Krudon reared back and swung at her.

Nissa slid sideways and ducked.
Here we go again.

Krudon whirled, and with a bellow, he
swung again. Nissa ducked under his arm. His huge hand dented the bar. Behind it, the syndroid started yelling.

Nissa balanced lightly on the balls of her feet, adrenaline racing into her bloodstream. There was no way she could take Krudon in a fair fight. But the Semper were best with weapons, not hand-to-hand. And besides, she didn’t intend to fight fairly.

She slipped a hand under her jacket,
passed over her laser pistol and palmed her stunner. By touch, she switched it to the lowest stun setting. Krudon was an idiot, but she didn’t want to hurt him.

Before Krudon turned, she slammed a boot into the back of his knee. He went down, swiveling as he did. On his knees, he was the same height as her.

“Enough, Krudon. You keep attacking me every time you get out of the brig and you know
what happens every time we do this dance.” She leaned a little closer. “I beat your ass and put you straight back in a cell to cool off.”

He yelled a word in his own language and since her lingual implant didn’t provide a translation, Nissa suspected it was some nasty Semper curse word. He dove forward, his huge body slamming into hers. Nissa stunned him.

It didn’t do much. At the lowest setting,
a man of Krudon’s body weight probably registered a mild sting. They crashed to the floor and unfortunately, Nissa was on the bottom.

His immense bulk knocked the wind out of her. Fighting to draw air, she felt something sticky on the side of her neck.
Ugh
, she did not want to know what was on the floor of Moonrakers.

She jammed her stunner into his side. “Do that again and I’ll set it high
enough to knock you out cold.” Her words were husky from lack of air.

His huge jaw lifted, his wide eyes were filled with a mutinous glow.

Yeah, yeah, you don’t like me. I get it. A lot of that going around today.
“Get off.”

That mutinous look again. With a long sigh, she knew she was going to have to stun his ass again.

They suddenly his weight was jerked backward and she could breathe.

“Nissa!” Justyn appeared in front of her, grabbing her arms and pulling her to her feet.

Krudon stood beside them, swaying slightly, holding his bleeding head.

“Don’t you move, asshole.” Justyn stabbed a finger at Krudon before focusing on Nissa again. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He’d dived in to help her. Despite everything, something warm bloomed in her chest. But she couldn’t focus on
that right now. First, she had to deal with Krudon. “Really, I need to—”

Suddenly the Semper lunged forward, knocking Justyn aside, and punching Nissa brutally in the stomach.

As she fell, she managed to lift her stunner. She saw Krudon’s body jolt, just as she flew into the side of the bar with a massive explosion of pain.

***

Justyn barely gave the giant alien a look as he knelt beside
Nissa. “Shit, sweetheart, that was a serious hit.”

“I’m fine.” She sat up. “If you hadn’t interrupted, I wouldn’t even be down here getting unknown muck on my hands.”

She was cradling her ribs, and as he reached to take a look, she pushed his arm away.

“Sorry for trying to help when a guy twice your size was beating you into pulp.” Yeah, Justyn heard the sarcastic edge in his voice, but
he was still raw from their earlier discussion.

“Sorry.” She huffed out a breath and grabbed his arm. “Sorry. Broken ribs make me cranky.”

The snarky apology almost made Justyn smile. Then he pressed a hand to her side and felt the knot on her ribs and winced.

She grimaced. “That bad, huh?”

“Ah, yeah.” He looked toward the bar. “Hey, Dob? Can you bring some ice?”

“This ain’t no med center,
ya know.” The Taxalian had a heavy, broad accent.

“Just get it.” Justyn was used to the bartender’s grouchiness. He was all bluster. Seconds later, Justyn was pressing ice wrapped in cloth against Nissa’s ribs.

As they stared at each other, boots sounded on the floor beside them. Two young uniforms from the
Freedom
appeared.

“All finished, Captain?”

“Yes, Ensign. Please take Krudon and
get him settled in the brig. Again.”

Justyn arched a brow. “This is a usual occurrence?”

“Krudon likes to dance with me at least once a month. I stun him, then throw him in the brig. Rinse and repeat.”

“Nissa, the guy could kill you!”

“He’s pretty harmless, really.”

Justyn shook his head and studied her face again. “Your ribs might beg to differ. You’re going to need a medscope.”

“I’ll check in with my chief medical officer when I get back to the
Freedom
.” She cleared her throat. “Can you help me up?”

With an arm around her, he helped her to her feet. She glanced over to his table and he saw his brothers on their feet, waiting to see if they were needed. He waved them off.

“I thought you were ignoring me,” Nissa said quietly.

He looked back at her. She’d turned her
head away, staring above the bar.

“I was,” he said.

She wrapped an arm around her middle. “I was out of line earlier. You’ve been nothing but helpful in this whole Constitution mess and…I appreciate what you did to help me.” She nibbled at her bottom lip. “You have my apology.”

Jesus, this woman could turn him inside out in a blink. “Nissa—”

“I know better than anyone that you hide a lot
under your charming scoundrel persona. I shouldn’t have said what I said.”

She’d hurt him. And with a simple, honest apology, the ground leveled under his feet again.

She glanced past him. “Your girlfriend’s trying to get your attention.”