Star's Storm(58)

Ristéard looked from father to son. He could see no signs of deceit on their faces or in their voices, only genuine concern. It had been so long since he had felt like he could trust another he was reluctant to believe it possible there were others out in the star system with a code of honor that matched his own.

His head jerked around when he felt a slender hand lightly touch his. “The Houses of Kassis will not let you or your people down,” River said with a comforting smile. “It was hard for me to trust as well. They will stand beside you.”

His dark silver eyes stared deeply into the dark blue ones of the pale-skinned female. For a moment, he was lost in their depths. He could almost see something in the swirling colors. He jerked back to the present when she withdrew her hand and nodded his head as he stood up.

“You are welcome to enjoy the hospitality of the palace. I have several meetings scheduled that I need to attend. I will make arrangements for the necessary supply ships to leave within the next few days. I would like to tour the Crystal Replication Plant you spoke of personally. I will contact you shortly with the arrangements,” Ristéard stated with a quiet authority that conveyed the meeting was over.

Everyone rose from where they were sitting. Both Torak and Jazin slid their arms protectively around their mates. Ristéard turned and took a step toward Jazin and Star. Before Jazin could stop him, the Grand Ruler reached out to touch Star’s hair one last time with a twisted smile.

“Unusual,” he murmured before he let it go and left without another word.

Star laughed when she saw Jazin’s expression. He looked for all the world like he would like to kick the huge, blue guy’s ass. She squeezed his fingers to let him know he didn’t have a thing to worry about before they followed the others out of the room.





Chapter 17


Three days later they were heading to a distant Spaceport on the outer rim of the Tearnat star system. Out of the dozen warships, only three remained. The Blue Star, Jazin’s warship and two of the Tearnat warships. Gril and Madas had departed on the other Tearnat warship after Gril had received a report that there was an small uprising of rebels on his home planet. Torak and River had returned to Kassis while Ajaska took another ship to the Dramentic star system when the Alliance council reported a disturbance on the outer edge of their system. Ajaska’s heated curses could be heard as he made arrangements to leave. He took six warships with him to subdue the conflict. The last remaining Kassis warship developed engine problems and was currently still in orbit around Elpidios until the repairs could be completed.

Star frowned as she thought of all the events that just suddenly seemed to explode all at once. She wasn’t the only one thought that either. She had listened in before the others left that it was very unusual for the Dramentic star system to have issues but a mining asteroid had been under attack. The Dramentians were a passive society who were known for their negotiating skills, not their fighting ability. That was one reason they relied heavily on the Alliance for protection. The last head chancellor of the Alliance was from the Dramentic star system. Trolis had killed him. It was during that incident that Star, Jo, and River met Jazin, Torak, and later Manota.

Jazin had been in meetings on and off for the last three days. She walked over to the replicator and programmed it for a cup of hot tea. She was just turning back to her comfy spot by the viewport to read some more when the door sounded letting her know someone was requesting permission to enter. Star was surprised since she wasn’t expecting anyone. She set her cup down on the small table next to the door and waved her hand over the panel. The door slid open to reveal two men she had never seen before. One was slightly shorter than the other. The taller man wore the standard uniform of security while the shorter one wore the maintenance uniform. Star was surprised to see a small repair cart behind them.

“Jazin’s not in right now,” Star said looking at them with a smile. “I can request his location if you would like. Is something broken?”

“A repair order came in for your replicator,” the shorter man said.

Star turned her head and looked at the replicator she had just used. “It is working fine. I just used it,” she said turning to look at both men again with a frown.

“A work order was submitted and I have to look at,” the man insisted.

Star stepped back as a funny feeling turned her stomach. “I’ll call Jazin and see if he was having problems with it,” she said turning to reach for the comlink she hadn’t put on since she was still in the cabin.

“That won’t be necessary,” the taller man said raising his arm and firing.