Krac's Firebrand (16 page)

She is mine,
he thought as he answered the silent call coming in.

*.*.*

Krac stepped into the conference room off the bridge and nodded to the group of men sitting around it. Ty Jefe had taken his warship,
The Raven
, and was returning Violet to Kordon and Gracie. He moved closer to the windows, unable to sit as restless energy flowed through him. The attack on the
Lulu Belle
had brought the war closer to home. Before he had fought out of a sense of duty and loyalty to Anastasia. Now, he fought for personal reasons.

His eyes flickered to the split screens. One showed Anastasia with Roarrk standing behind her looking very grim. The other was Kordon Jefe.

“Toolas said Captain Mann will be well enough to transfer back to her freighter tomorrow. Once she has, we’ll be heading back to Pryus. Tillman’s starship has docked with it. Only one member of the crew disembarked,” Bran stated, his eyes following as Krac moved into the shadows near the viewport.

“Tillman states his starship was stolen when it was docked for repairs six months ago. He has offered a substantial reward for its return. Personally, I think he is full of shit,” Anastasia commented, sitting back in her chair only to jerk forward when Roarrk placed his hands on her shoulders. “He didn’t report the theft until three weeks ago.”

“What was his excuse?” Kordon asked calmly.

“He said he was not informed until then by his flight chief. He claims he has documentation to support his claims if I have any doubt,” Anastasia replied sarcastically. “All doctored I’m sure.”

“Krac, have you found anything from the men that were killed?” Kordon asked. “Also, Gracie and I would like to thank you for returning Violet to us. It is a debt we will never be able to repay.”

Krac shuttered his eyes when all eyes turned to him. He refused to show how uncomfortable he was being the center of attention. He was used to being in the shadows.

“Your debt is not to me, but to Captain Mann. She is the one who rescued Violet from the assassins. Violet is well since her return?” Krac corrected.

The corner of Kordon’s mouth curled upward and he nodded. “Oh yes. She has decided she is going to be a freighter captain now when she grows up,” he said dryly. “She wants a pink one.”

Chuckles echoed around the room at Kordon’s statement. Krac’s eyes flickered to the viewport where he could see the
Lulu Belle
off the port side. The lights from both the freighter and the
Conqueror
reflected off the outer hull highlighting the color. His eyes moved down the long surface toward the back where the shadowed outline of a dark red bird in flight was painted over the welded area that had been repaired.

“I learned very little from the men that I didn’t already know,” he replied, turning back to look at Kordon. “Harden Gimbal was an assassin for hire. He spent much of his youth in one of Earth’s youth detention rehabilitation facilities before he vanished at the age of fourteen. He was wanted in at least three star systems for the murder of prominent members within their legal or political system. He was hired by Tillman’s company four years ago to oversee the transport of defense equipment to some of the mining operations along the outer rim. One interesting pattern that I noticed was each of the mining facilities he delivered to were the ones attacked by the Alluthans.”

Curses echoed throughout the room at Krac’s last statement. He frowned as a new theory occurred to him. His eyes narrowed on Kordon as he ran the data he had stored on Harden, Tillman, the attacks on the Freedom Five descendants and the recent sudden interest in Gracie. That was one connection that none of them had connected until now.

“They want Gracie because of her knowledge of the Alluthans. She has been on board an Alluthan Mothership and lived. She knows their language, their computer systems and has firsthand knowledge of them both past and present,” Krac murmured out loud.

Kordon’s loud curse broke him out of his reverie. “Why? Why would they want to know about the Alluthans? The Mothership was destroyed!”

“One,” Krac replied. “One Mothership. What happened to the debris from it?”

“We salvaged as much as we could,” Bran said.

“The Zion military?” Krac asked with an intense stare.

“No,” Cooraan interrupted. “The council hired a salvage company. Everything that was collected was delivered to Paulus for the Confederation’s scientists to analyze.”

“What company was hired?” Krac asked, already knowing the answer but wanting confirmation of his suspicions.

“Multi-Works,” Anastasia hissed in dismay. “It is one of Tillman’s subsidiaries.”

“Anastasia, do you think Tillman could be the Leader of the New Order?” Kordon asked point blank.

“If he is, I would have already taken him out,” Roarrk spoke up from behind Anastasia. “He’s not, but he is working for the Leader.”

“Are you sure? Everything is pointing to him?” Kordon insisted.

“He’s a ruthless bastard, but he is a follower,” Anastasia said. “I’ve had him followed for the past year. He was on Sallas when an attack on one of the council members was done. This one by the Leader himself.”

“Which member? How can they be sure that it was the Leader?” Bran asked.

“It was my younger sister Morgan,” Anastasia responded quietly. “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Couldn’t she identify him?” Kordon demanded.

“No,” Krac answered when Anastasia turned her head away to hide her grief. “Morgan was barely alive. She whispered that it was the Leader who attacked her before she lost consciousness.”

“What did she tell you when she woke?” Kordon asked impatiently.

“She was in a coma for over a month. When she finally woke, she could remember nothing of the attack,” Anastasia answered. “She has tried, but she remembers nothing.”

Kordon sat back with a growl of frustration. “Then we are no closer to finding out what is going on than we were before,” he retorted in a cold voice.

“What of Gracie? Has there been any more attacks?” Roarrk asked in concern. “If they want information about the Alluthans from her, they will try again.”

“Two nights back an assault team tried to enter the compound,” Kordon admitted. “We were aware of their arrival and were prepared. I’ve since moved with Gracie, Adam and Violet to a more secured location. Krac, we need to know why they want information on the Alluthans. There is something we are missing. This is beyond just the Earth council. I will bring it up with the Confederation Council members.”

“I will get the information,” Krac promised.

“Roarrk, you and Anastasia make sure you know every move that Tillman is making. Bran, make sure that every scrap of the Alluthan Mothership is accounted for. I will work with Gracie to see if there is anything that she might remember that can help. I want a report the moment you discover anything.”

Krac listened as Kordon went over a few other items but they had little to do with him. Already, his mind was back on the brave and beautiful human female lying in the medical unit. He was torn between his duty to protect the Earth council and his need to protect Skeeter from additional harm.

There was only one person he trusted to protect her the way he would. One person in the universe who was as deadly as he was. It was time that he introduced himself to Skeeter’s illustrious father – Bulldog Ti’Death.

Chapter 21

The next morning, Skeeter sat in the chair in the medical unit waiting for Krac. She had woken up feeling much better physically. Emotionally, she was still a wreck. Toolas told her that she was being given the all clear to return to the
Lulu Belle
. Every time she thought about the freighter, she thought about Frog and her eyes would fill with tears.

Poor Toolas had sat with her for nearly an hour and talked with her about her grief, explaining that it was natural and healthy to cry for someone she cared about. She had listened carefully to what the healer was saying. Even though she had dealt with her parents dying, she had been very young. This was really the first time that someone she had really cared about since she was grown had died. The fact that Frog died protecting her and Violet only made the pain ten-times worse. Toolas explained she might be feeling something called ‘survivor’s guilt’.

“It is perfectly natural, but you have to understand, your friend would not want you to remember him with sadness. Focus on the good times you had with him. It will help if you celebrate the time you spent with him,” Toolas said gently.

“Can’t you make her sadness go away?” Krac demanded, glaring at Toolas after he returned from his meeting. “You have medication. It takes away pain.”

“Medication is merely a band aid,” Toolas replied in exasperation. “What Skeeter is feeling will lessen with time. Eventually, she will be able to think of her friend without tears but with a smile. Skeeter, can you remember a special time with your friend?”

“Well, there was the time I backed into the pirate ship,” Skeeter said with a small, shaky smile. “He was hopping up and down so much when the alarms went off that I thought he was going to hit his head on the ceiling.” She gave a watery chuckle. “He could hop really, really high when he was mad.”

Toolas laughed and nodded her head. “That is what I am talking about. Remember the good times.”

Krac scowled at Toolas. “Almost getting hijacked by pirates is not something to laugh at,” he retorted as he thought of what could have happened to Skeeter if the pirates had boarded the freighter.

Toolas crossed her arms and stared in exasperation at Krac. “That is not the point,” she replied with a shake of her head.

“He… he… was always trying to get me to pay more attention to the controls,” Skeeter whispered, her eyes filling with tears again. “I… should have… listened to him better.”

Krac bent down and pulled Skeeter into his arms when she started sobbing again. He looked accusingly at Toolas and narrowed his eyes in warning. He was shocked when the healer just shook her head again and stood up.

“Where are you going?” Krac demanded as Toolas walked across the room toward her office. “Her eyes are still leaking.”

“Yes, they are and they will continue to ‘leak’. It is natural for most species to cry when they are sad or upset. Humans are especially susceptible to it,” Toolas replied.

“But, how can I make her stop?” Krac asked desperately when he realized that the healer really was going to leave.

“Give her something else to think about,” Toolas suggested with a raised eyebrow. “Something… more pleasant.”

“Like what?” He called out in frustration.

Toolas’ exasperated chuckle echoed as she walked out of the room. “Use your imagination!” She suggested, closing her office door behind her.

Krac stood still wondering what in the hell that was supposed to mean. Use his imagination? He did not have an imagination. He thought logically. He mapped out the best possible solution to a situation and conducted a very decisive attack. Skeeter was the one with the imagination. She saw life in color while he saw it in black and white. She was twinkling lights and pink freighters. He was… shadows.

“I do not have an imagination,” he whispered, holding Skeeter securely in his arms.

Skeeter shook her head and sniffed. “Everyone has an imagination,” she whispered as she laid her cheek against his broad chest, feeling safe and warm. “You just haven’t discovered yours yet.”

“Are your eyes still leaking?” He asked gruffly.

She bit her lip and shook her head. “No,” she choked out, pressing her wet face into the opening of his shirt.

Krac released a heavy sigh. “We need to leave. There is much to be done. We have a long trip ahead of us,” he murmured, ignoring her lie.

“Where are we going?” She sniffed.

“We are going to Sallas,” he replied.

Skeeter frowned and stiffened before pulling back to stare up at him. “Why? I don’t have any orders for there. The cargo I have is for Newport. Besides, daddy is on Sallas,” she said nervously.

“I know,” he said, bending and picking her up in his arms. “That is why we are going there.”

“But,” she whispered. “I don’t want to go to Sallas.”

“Why?” Krac asked, striding out of the medical unit. They would take his starship back to the freighter. He could dock it in the lower bay for the journey to Sallas. “It is the most logical place to take you. You will be safe there.”

Skeeter ignored the last part. It was not her safety she was worried about, it was his. “Daddy will see you,” she said, biting her lip. “He’ll know that I… that we… that I…”

Krac paused to look down into her worried eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief that while her eyes were still red and puffy, they no longer leaked. Toolas had been right about giving Skeeter something else to think about.

“Yes,” he said with a satisfied nod.

“Yes? Yes? Do you have any idea of what my father will do if he knows that I… that we… He’s going to kill you,” she replied with a deep sigh and her eyes filled with tears again.

Krac frowned in frustration. He would NOT let her leak again. He stepped into the lift when it opened and turned. The moment the doors closed, he pressed his hand to the control panel and halted it.

“No, he will not kill me,” he murmured, setting her down so he could cup her face with his hands. “I will tell him you belong to me now. He will accept it.”

Skeeter’s mouth dropped open as she stared up at him. Krac noted that at least it cleared her eyes again. He would just have to keep her occupied. That seemed to fix the problem of her tears.

“You’re going to tell him I belong to you? Just like that. And you think he’ll just accept it. Just like that,” she said.

“Yes,” he replied confidently.

“Just like that,” she repeated.

“Yes, just like that,” he replied with a frown at the sound of doubt in her voice.

Skeeter slowly shook her head back and forth. “He’s going to kill you,” she replied heavily. “Dead. Completely. Totally. Without mercy, dead.”

Krac lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his determined eyes. “No, he will accept it,” he whispered huskily before he pressed his lips to hers.