Hand of Steel Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One - The Comet’s Tail

  Chapter Two - Melsha

  Chapter Three - Fire

  Chapter Four - Prisoner

  Chapter Five - Crew

  Chapter Six - Storm

  Chapter Seven - Departure

  Chapter Eight - Hunters

  Chapter Nine - Outlaws

  Chapter Ten - Cost

  Chapter Eleven - Choice

  Chapter Twelve - Cyborg

  Chapter Thirteen - Showdown

  Chapter Fourteen - Pirate

  Glossary

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Note: There is a glossary in the back.

  Copyright © 2019 Jessi L. Roberts

  All rights reserved.

  ASIN: B07TF3T18F

  To my family, who supported me.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The Comet’s Tail

  Sunlight shown off a bulky space freighter as it flew across the plains toward the spaceport. Scraggly grass whipped in the chilly wind that swept across the cracked dirt below the ship.

  I tore my gaze away from the bleak expanse and focused on the ramshackle mining town surrounding the spaceport inn we stayed at. We’d come to Lokostwa for bounties, not a lousy view of flat land with a few distant peaks.

  Dad scanned a crowd of miners as they left one of the shafts near the edge of town. All the miners, other than the feathery Torfs, wore tattered clothing that did little to break the wind. Tattoos marked some as slaves. Others were workers whose lives weren’t much better.

  I shivered and followed Dad. A long-sleeved shirt wasn’t enough to keep the chill away. I should’ve put a jacket in my pack, but to save on weight, I’d only packed my first aid kit and some extra ammunition.

  We headed past the slaves without looking for bounties hiding among them. Escaped slaves and criminals hid because they wanted to avoid the mines, or worse, the pits. They wouldn’t hide in the very place they wanted to escape.

  I brushed dust from my hair. It would have been smart to cut it short before coming to such a dustbowl, but I liked it long. It made me look younger, which gave me the element of surprise. People tended to dismiss teenage girls without considering them a threat, even if I carried a stun pistol. Lots of girls carried those, but most hadn’t spent time in a hunter academy learning to use one.

  Dad pulled his datsheet from his pocket and touched an icon. “Rumor has it this Chix is around. Nasty little beast’s been kidnapping people and selling them as slaves on the black market, as well as dealing with exotics that get smuggled in.” He handed me the datsheet. “With all these workers coming and going, it would be pretty simple to nab a few.”

  I looked at the datsheet. Unlike the newer models, which were very thin and folded over at least twice, it only folded once.

  An image and description of a Chix appeared on the datsheet screen. Nerrini Kazini. No slave tattoo marked her lustrous black fur. She held her bushy tail higher than the top of her head. Golden rings hung from her ears. A few even adorned the flaps of gliding skin that stretched from her ankles to her wrists.

  The datsheet read: Wanted for slave trafficking, kidnapping, association with smugglers, resisting arrest, kidnapping of hunters, murder of two hunters. Bounty: 4,000 Coin

  My shoulders tensed. Maybe the Chix would only reach my waist if I stood next to her, but considering this one killed hunters, we’d have to be careful. I gave the datsheet back to Dad.

  Dad brushed dirt out of his red sideburns. “Krys, you okay?” He watched a Torf strut by. The Torf had lost most of his tail feathers, leaving his long tail nearly bare.

  I shrugged. “Fine. I just wish we could go after some sort of scammer. This one sounds like she’s dangerous.”

  Dad playfully punched my shoulder. “We can do this. We’re Karzils, and she’s a Chix.”

  His words did little to comfort me. Thousands of years of bloody history showed the Chix were perfectly capable of standing toe-to-toe against any military in the galaxy, other than Tupra.

  “Come on.” Dad headed deeper into Port City, named after the spaceport. Obviously, whoever called it a city had never seen the shining cities of Saddat.

  Stone and rusting metal made up most of the buildings. I examined every person we passed, most of which were Torfs with dirt-colored feathers. None stood out as potential bounties, but many of them watched us with suspicion. Even two decades after the war, they still had a rebellious streak. Most likely, they were followers of the radical Free Kin sect that refused to accept the Ordained were put in power by God.

  We traveled through the poor outskirts and into the market area of the town where brightly painted stalls stood against smooth stone and steel buildings. A few Gorkam and Torfs tried to sell us trash, or what looked like trash to me. One Gorkam held up a bit of its own shedded exoskeleton. I moved on without pausing. Why would anyone pay for the spotted shell of a giant insect?

  A few larger shops and inns stood ahead. Dad stopped and gazed at a tavern in front of us. Unlike the buildings on the outskirts, this stone building had been smoothed and painted with a mural depicting a comet. Below the comet, lettering spelled out Comet’s Tail.

  “From what I know, Nerrini likes to do trade in places like this,” Dad said. “Can you go in there and scout it out?”

  I clenched my teeth and nodded. Dad’s muscular build and the fact that he was a Human on Lokostwa screamed “hunter.” He’d attract too much attention.

  “Don’t engage if you find something.” Dad handed me his datsheet. “If Nerrini isn’t there, see if anyone else has a bounty on their heads. Don’t let them see this.”

  “I won’t.” I did my best to shove the apprehension down. I’m sixteen. I can handle this.

  I pushed open the steel door and stepped into the tavern. The noise of various species talking and shouting assaulted my ears while starchy smells enveloped my nose. From the earthy aroma, I guessed most of the food was plant-based, though a few meat scents clung in the air.

  The door clanged shut behind me.

  Local Gorkam and Torfs made up at least half the patrons. A few families sat around tables in the center of the room. The edges had rougher customers, most of which kept their backs to the walls. Some even wore their pistols in the open. Another group of the rough bunch stood at the bar or perched on stools.

  I hurried to a dark corner near the doorway and sat at a small table. My chair wasn’t as close to the wall as I liked, but it would have to do. I scanned the faces again. A bark-colored Chix sat at the bar next to a huge Elba who had various weapons and sharp claws. A pair of Chix and their children sat around one of the tables, their fur dark sable. The mother’s coloring was black enough to be Nerrini, but this Chix had a family.

  Two more Chix, both with reddish brown fur, sat in a dark alcove. No other Chix were in the tavern.

  A young Torf trotted to my table. “What do you want to eat?” His sandy-colored feathers were shiny, hinting that he got paid well enough to care about his appearance.

  A menu had been carved into the metal tabletop. I read the first thing on the list. “Fried sarga root.”

  He scurried away, his claws clicking on the floor.

  I leaned back and pulled out Dad’s datsheet. I kept it in my lap, hopefully out of sight of any patrons.

  The Chix at the bar turned his head. While the right eye was dark purple, the left had been replaced with cybernetics—not a cybernetic eye either. A lens took up most of the eye socket. From the looks of the metal around it, the thing could telescope.

  I punched out a description of the camera-eyed Chix on the datsheet. If only I had a modern datsheet, I’d be able
to scan his face from a distance. Still, this was better than our really old one.

  The info popped up. Only one Chix had an eye like that so I didn’t have to scroll through various icons to find the right one.

  Chril Korishi: Wanted for slave trafficking, radicalism, terrorism, pirating, murder, illegal medical experiments, experimentation without consent, enslaving of hunters, war crimes, desertion, espionage, and smuggling. 20,000 Coin. Known aliases: Doc. Known associates, Klate, captain of the Deathhorn.

  I stared at the number. Twenty thousand? That’s more than we get in a year.

  I touched Klate’s name. An image of a dark brown Elba with black stripes and green eyes appeared.

  I froze. My gaze moved to the huge Elba next to the Chix doctor. The stripes on his face were identical to the image on the datsheet. Two thick weapons belts crossed his furry chest. A knife and ammunition hung there, along with a pistol at his hip. Considering he’d have been able to gut any Human-sized person with one swipe of his sharp claws, the weapons were overkill.

  The young Torf hurried back with a plate of twisted roots. I stuffed the datsheet in my pocket. The Torf dropped the food on my table and scrambled away before I could pay him. Had he seen Klate’s image on the datsheet?

  He bumped into a Skallan with a cybernetic leg. Scars marred the Skallan’s brownish green scales, indicating he’d likely been in the Tupra War. The Torf paused and said something I couldn’t hear over the tavern noise before darting into the kitchen.

  I picked up a root and bit into it. Under the dirt flavor that most Lokostwan foods carried, it wasn’t that bad. I took another bite and forced myself to look at my food. My hands weren’t shaking, that was good. I just had to act normal and avoid getting caught staring.

  The Skallan with the cybernetic leg looked at me, rose, and headed for the exit. Like many of his species, he stood a few inches taller than most Human men, though I doubted he weighed much more.

  I glanced back at the two pirates. Klate swigged some sort of purple juice while the Chix stuffed a large roast bug into his mouth. If I’d only been dealing with one of them, I’d have considered drugging a drink. Trying to take two would likely get Dad and me killed.

  I pulled out my datsheet. It still had Klate’s profile on it, which included the murder of multiple hunters.

  These pirates needed to see justice, but Dad and I couldn’t risk it. Maybe we could find some other hunters who were willing to take the risk and give us a cut for the tip-off.

  A scaly hand latched onto my shoulder. The cyborg Skallan had somehow snuck up on me.

  I grabbed the Skallan’s thumb and yanked his hand off my shoulder. Before he could react, I sprang to my feet and bolted for the exit.

  The Skallan snatched my wrist. I spun, my shoulder protesting at the yank. With my free hand, I struck at the Skallan’s throat.

  He swatted my hand away, then twisted my arm behind my back. He grabbed my stun pistol from my belt then wrapped his gangly arm around my neck, not tight enough to cut off my air but enough to tell me he had complete control.

  I froze. If only I’d fought back instead of knocking his hand away, I could have escaped.

  “Tenned, what are you doing?” Klate strode toward us, his long ears flipped backward in annoyance, though his voice was soft.

  My body trembled.

  “Looks like a hunter to me.” Tenned’s meat-scented breath blew in my face. “Get that datsheet off the floor. It will tell you what she is.”

  Klate bent and scooped the datsheet up.

  When had I dropped it?

  He touched the screen. “Fifty thousand? Didn’t know I was worth that much.” He pushed a few more buttons. “Doc, you’re worth a good year’s wage.”

  The camera-eyed Chix hopped off the barstool and scurried to stand beside Klate. He didn’t even reach the huge Elba’s waist. Klate handed him the datsheet.

  The other tavern customers circled around. Most of them glared at me, not the pirates. I wouldn’t get any help here.

  Klate’s feline gaze turned on me.

  I fought to keep tears from welling up in my eyes. It took all my self-control to hold his gaze.

  “Tenned, let her go.”

  The Skallan, Tenned, released me and stepped back.

  Klate stared down at me, his ears now perked forward. “Why are you after my crew, kid?”

  I took a few deep breaths in a desperate attempt to control myself. “I—I wasn’t after you, just looking for bounties. Not you. We—I only go after less dangerous criminals.”

  Klate’s ears twitched. “Show me your license.”

  I reached into my pocket and fumbled with my backup license card. Finally, I extracted the tiny card from my pocket and held it up for Klate.

  “A point three.” He looked over my shoulder at Tenned. “At her rank, she’s only targeting petty criminals.” He handed it back to me.

  Doc held up Dad’s datsheet. “Her history says she’d been looking up information on Nerrini Kazini.”

  Klate grabbed the datsheet and turned it so I could see the picture of Nerrini. “Is this who you were after?”

  I nodded.

  “You won’t have any luck here. That vermin headed to Tupra when her bounty went up.”

  I relaxed a little. Why was he telling me this?

  “You taking this one to Tupra to sell her?” a Torf hissed. “Stinking Loyalist.” His feathers stuck upward aggressively.

  Sold as a slave on Tupra like a criminal? I wrapped my arms around myself to hide my trembling.

  Klate’s ear swiveled backward. “I’m not selling a kid, even if she is a Loyalist hunter.”

  “She can’t be alone,” Tenned said. “She’ll bring her buddies after us if you let her go.”

  “She wasn’t after us.” Klate stepped sideways, giving me a clear shot to the door.

  I bolted from the tavern into the cold light of Lokostwa’s sun.

  Dad stood across the street, his back to the wall.

  I ran to him. I’d been a disgrace, getting myself in such a mess.

  Dad put his hand on his pistol and looked over my shoulder, probably making sure I wasn’t pursued.

  Klate opened the door and peered through.

  Dad pulled his pistol from his belt. He kept it pointed at the ground, an obvious threat.

  Klate ducked back into the tavern.

  “You can tell me about it after we’re away from here.” Dad walked fast, deeper into Port City.

  As I followed, my body stopped shaking.

  When we were far from the Comet’s Tail, Dad stopped. “What happened back there?”

  I got my breathing under control. “Nerrini wasn’t there. I checked some of the others for bounties. That big Elba, he’s a pirate captain with fifty thousand on him. They caught me.”

  Dad went rigid. “Did they hurt you?”

  “No. I—I’m fine. Just a little shook up.” I looked at the ground. “They took our good datsheet and my pistol.” We couldn’t replace that stuff until we got a decent bounty. I mentally beat myself. I hadn’t been careful enough, then I’d frozen up when they spotted me. What kind of hunter would I make? “I should have been more careful.”

  Dad hugged me. “It’s okay. We can replace the stuff.” He released me. “Coming to this planet was a mistake. These locals have no regard for the law. Once we get a decent bounty, we’ll go back to Saddat.”

  “I don’t get it. Why’d they let me go?”

  Dad shrugged his broad shoulders. “You might’ve been too much hassle for them. Then again, some pirates have a sense of morals. The Free Kin Bible isn’t that different from what we read, just has all the parts about following the law misinterpreted. I don’t like hunting them, not when I owe the Samaritan’s crew.”

  Even though he’d known Mom and Dad were hunters, the Samaritan’s captain saved us when I was a baby. Unlike Klate, that captain’s list of crimes hadn’t included killing hunters. “Shouldn’t we report the Deathhor
n’s in the area?”

  “Not when they let you go,” Dad said. “Come on. We’ll try hunting in the market.”

  I followed after him. Hopefully, the market would be safer, but on a planet full of Free Kin who hated hunters, we’d have to watch our backs.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Melsha

  My stomach growled. After two days, even the dried rations being sold across the street smelled good.

  I squeezed the bench I sat on. I hadn’t even been able to finish the root at the tavern, thanks to those pirates. Now, we had to save every coin for passage off this stupid planet.

  Dad’s siblings, Reva and Akar, always had enough to eat. Maybe we should join with them. They’d taken in Urkot, who had to be our most inept hunter relative. Surely they’d let us join their team.

  Someday, once I gained enough skill to go after pirates and dangerous outlaws, we’d be able to get elite status, then we’d have the coin we needed and free passage between planets.

  A Skallan child with a blue thief tattoo on his scaly cheek scurried down the street. By the way his gaze darted around the street, I guessed he was an escaped slave, not one who had served his time and still had a tattoo. I glanced at Dad, who leaned against the corner of a stone building across the street. He hadn’t spotted the thief.

  My stomach growled again.

  The little thief stepped in front of a Gorkam with shopping bags. The thief held out one grubby hand to the huge insect-like creature. “Please, a little coin or food.”

  The Gorkam’s antenna twitched. She reached into one of her bags and pulled out some sort of root.

  The thief snatched the root and bit into it. “Thanks!” He darted past me, toward Dad.

  I watched him go. I couldn’t sentence some kid to years of slavery just because he’d stolen something to ward off starvation.

  A Torf, one of the thousands in Port City, strutted down the street, her feathered tail bobbing as she went. She carried a large bag over her back. A red and gold furred himple curled around her neck like a scarf. She kept her shoulders hunched up so the himple hid her cheeks.