The commander was beside himself with fury.
"Find her!" he blasted at his men. He raised his arm to bellow more orders into his wrist device. "Jeiel! Get here fast! Casina's been taken. We need more troops here!" "Marketeers?" came Jeiel's response.
"No doubt. Or dissidents opposing the new arena law. Just get here as fast as you can."
"Aye, Commander!"
With that, the device went silent. Furious at his own stupidity, the commander turned with a growl to scan the streets. His men had already arrested many of the people seemingly involved in the kidnapping, but it hadn't made him feel any better. He should have known. How had he gotten so careless? Snatched right from his own hand! Maka! Why hadn't he foreseen something like this happening before? Especially considering the reason he had come to Dandor, of all places. It was one of the most insidious places on Konatha. It was from here the black marketing had originated, and now Casina was in direct danger because of his laxity. Maka! If he hadn't been so distracted by thoughts of his day's agenda and his beautiful companion, perhaps he would have been more cautious.
He stood glaring at the populace, daring them to do anything like this again. They knew what he was capable of and still had dared allow such an occurrence.
He made his way back to the canvas module, mumbling epithets to himself the entire time. Once aboard, he scanned for Casina on his trace board. It didn't take long for him to locate her. The implant in her head contained a tracking device, for just such a purpose, and he was thankful their engineers had had the foresight to include the device in it, for just such an emergency. It certainly made life easier for him, especially in cases like this. Still, regardless of where he knew Casina was, he wanted more men there to assist in the recovery efforts.
Giving a loud sigh of regret, he notified Iddo Aemons, at TrCasinaar, to postpone or cancel the rest of the solarity's appointments or meetings. It was a first for him.
Sighing again, he stared glumly at the console, tapping his fist against it in agitation. The few men left aboard pretended absorption in their duties as they listened to his guilty sighing and groaning over the kidnapping.
"N'dan," he ordered into the intership communication device, "bring me the most powerful laser you have aboard."
"Whom shall I sign it out to, Ziros?" came the security request.
After a thoughtful pause, he answered. "Me."
"But, Commander, you never--"
"I said to put it under my name! Is that clear? And get it here to me at Dandor as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Commander."
With that, he went back outside to wait. A stiff drink would be the best thing right now, he decided. Unfortunately, he would have to seek out a local saloon for that since none of the modules carried such supplies.
So, at his unexpected appearance in the closest drinking establishment, it didn't surprise him when the patrons immediately vacated the premises, none wanting to be near a man of his ilk and reputation when he was in such a foul mood. Ten micron later, after a couple swigs of Kathian ale, on the house, he departed the pub to round up his men and await Jeiel's arrival.
But N'dan arrived first, his ship having been in that quadrant on routine assignment.
"This is the best you have?" the commander asked him, when handed the laser he had requested.
"Yes, Commander. The latest innovation, in fact. More powerful than any we've yet had in our armory."
"Good. Wait here until Seth Vernier arrives, then direct him to this location." He shared with him the coordinates from his wrist device, his d'lab'r, of Casina's location. Then, feeling the weight of the pulsar tucked beneath his arm, he ventured back into the city, his crew following with arms-at-the-ready.
Casina strained against the chains overhead, furious at being in such a predicament. She glared at the people across the room, sitting at a small round table in the alcove, playing some sort of card game. They were ignoring her, sipping contentedly from their flagons.
"Are you deaf?" she shouted at them. "I said I don't belong here. You've got the wrong person!" But they still ignored her, occasionally glancing her way, chortling. "Jerks!" She rattled and tugged at the wrist chains securing her to the ceiling and growled in frustration. Fortunately, she was able to sit down, albeit the floor was cold and bare, made of some sort of cement. After ten minutes of yelling herself hoarse, she soon resigned herself to whatever lay in store for her.
Resting her face against her upraised arm, since her shackles kept her arms over her head, she did her best to keep her fear at bay, knowing the commander was probably already looking for her. Damn. Was she always to be somebody's prisoner?
But the outrage at being kidnapped faded quickly. Bored again, she was just about to doze off when the sound of a female voice snapped her awake. Opening her eyes, she peered up at the woman who had apparently ordered her kidnapping and chaining. She eyed her with distrust, as the woman sneered and came closer.
"I'm sorry we had to meet under such dire circumstances," she told her in English, "but the Altair should have known better."
Casina blinked in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about. Why not just let me go?"
The woman laughed. "It doesn't matter what you know. It all has to do with who you are."
"What?" Casina was fully alert now. "What do you mean by that? I'm nobody."
But the alien snorted again. "Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that." "Who...are you?" Casina said.
"That's none of your concern."
"Please," Casina groaned. "Can't you just let me go. I haven't done anything to you."
The woman laughed aloud. "Perhaps not. But he has. And he will pay."
"Please," Casina said. "I don't belong here. I don't know anything about anything here. I've only just arrived in Jupitar. And I've been trying to escape and go home ever since I was taken." The woman crouched down to peer coldly into Casina's face.
"Seriously?" she said, disbelief in her tone. "You want to return to Zarak?" "Yes."
The woman chuckled.
"If that's true, then we can certainly arrange that."
Casina perked up at this. "Really? You...You would be willing to take me back to Earth?"
"It won't matter how you disappear, just so long as you do."
"What?" Casina was shocked by this. "What do you mean? Disappear?"
"It doesn't matter, so I won't waste my time telling you."
One man interrupted, drawing her attention. The woman straightened, giving Casina a once over, before walking back to her men. Their conversation reverted to alien, so Casina could discern nothing from it. Moaning again, she yanked at her chains, disgruntled by her confusion and lack of freedom. Why ever had the commander brought her to such a place? she wondered, hoping that when the woman said disappear, she didn't mean as in killing her. Biting her lip, Casina swallowed her growing fear. With renewed energy, she began tugging on the chains, hoping, by some miracle, that they would give way soon.
When the commander and his men arrived, it didn't take long for them to blast their way into the fortress and into the chamber where Casina was being held. They made short work of the men guarding her. But they knew the conflict was only just beginning. Once the marketeers discovered Casina missing, they knew they would soon come after them.
The pulsar blasts reverberated throughout the damp chamber, startling Casina awake. She felt weak and tired and had dozed briefly. She hadn't realized how afraid she was at this most recent abduction. So many bad memories of being arrested, abused, and incarcerated at St. Christi's had come flooding back to her as she sat there in chains. A renewed sense of panic and terror at thought of never being free again was overwhelming. So it was a wonderful sense of relief she felt when she saw the commander and his men breaking through into the chamber to rescue her.
When the commander came to free her from her bonds, unaware he had broken them with his bare hands, she gave a grateful sob and collapsed against him, throwing her arms about him. To her, it seemed as if she had been there for ages.
"Please, take me back to TrCasinaar," she murmured, surprising him by her words.
He slowly drew her to her feet and made sure she wasn't hurt.
But his men shouted something alien as they made their way from the building, stepping over the rubble and debris caused by their weapons. Once outside, it was apparent they had been expected.
"Come," the commander said, leading Casina from the fortress, using his body to shield her from the laser blasts aimed at them by the marketeers. He handed her into the care of another of his men, once distanced from the attackers, intent on redirecting their attention away from Casina, to him.
But as the man tried hurrying her away to safety, another blast caught him, killing him instantly. With a squeal of dismay, Casina hurried to get away. But the commander was quick to reappear, to guard her back.
"They won't hurt you," he told her. "Just stay down. It's me they want dead."
Directing her under cover of a large Dandorian flatbed, parked beneath a long wooden roof, held up by four metal supports, they crouched there awhile. The commander returned fire openly, keeping Casina safely behind him as he did.
"We must get to the module," he said. "It's several koron from here. Are you strong enough to make it?"
Casina had no idea what a koron was, but she nodded anyways. "Y-Yes."
"Then follow me." The alien grabbed her arm and steered her clear of the flatbed.
It was a cat-and-mouse game all through the streets of Dandor. The populace, fortunately, had no desire to involve themselves in the battle and kept themselves inside. But Casina could sense them watching, peering from behind closed shutters at the goings-on in the streets.
"There! Go that way!" The commander shoved Casina forward, directing her to the side of a large brick wall. Obedient, Casina stumbled forward, wishing now she had never left her cozy palace suite. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she felt panicked again. Never had she realized how safe she had been at the Kaanig's palace.
Another ear-piercing blast of laser fire shocked her when it shot past her, and she gasped. But the commander continued shielding her as he crouched beside her at the wall.
He thrust her into a corner, pushing her as far behind him as possible, to escape the laser blasts.
"What's going on?" she asked, her face a mask of anxiety. "Why are they shooting at us like this?"
"They. Want. You."
Casina was aghast. "But why? What ever for?"
But he ignored her questions, intent on targeting the enemy still firing at them.
When she moved to peek out at them, he growled and furiously pushed her back against the wall.
"Stay put!" he commanded, as he loosed another stream from his own weapon.
"Well, answer me!" she said, grabbing his arm. "Why do those men want me?"
"They want to take you...and sell you."
"But why?"
"Because of who you are. You will fetch a handsome price on the...black market, as you call
it."
"Because of who I am?" Casina said, puzzled, recalling the alien woman's words earlier, of her desire for vengeance. "But I'm...nobody. Just someone you stole from Earth. Why do they consider me valuable?" She paused, terrified, growing pale. "They don't want me...for...food...or experimentation...do they?"
But another round of flaming blasts aimed their way brought more answering flames from his own weapon. He turned slightly, directing her attention to the narrow opening near the corner of the wall, between the two brick buildings.
"Go that way," he said, pushing her toward it. "Squeeze through it to the other side. I'm right behind you."
"No," she told him, staying put. "Not until you tell me why they think I'm so valuable."
"Maka," he cursed. "Just go. I'll tell you when we're on the other side of the wall."
She hesitated but a second, then slunk back against the brick as she cornered the wall to squeeze through the narrow opening, which was about twenty feet long. Once on the other side, she was amazed to see the alien propelling his powerful physique through it without getting stuck.
"So," she said, not willing to let the topic go. "Why am I so valuable?"
His frown as he motioned her safely to the ground revealed his annoyance. So she waited, watching him scanning the street for anyone that might want to take more potshots at them.
"With your pale face and hair, you will fetch a handsome price. Your rare beauty is worth a fortune here."
She slumped back against the wall in disbelief. Never having once considered her appearance as a reason to be kidnapped, she gave it some thought.
"I guess I am somewhat different than the rest of you," she said, accepting the truth of the matter. He shot her a concerned look, but she couldn't hide her mixed emotions over what he had just told her. Is that why you kidnapped me? she wondered.
"Come on," he said, taking her arm. "Let's go." He dragged her unresisting to her feet. With her safely under his wing, he lunged across the wide expanse of street, to shove her down beneath an overhang housing several large barrels. She waited there for several long moments, her confused mind trying to make sense of everything going on.
The next thing she knew, he was yanking her up again to drag her over to the imperial cruiser that had suddenly arrived, landing in the middle of the street. As they boarded, she was vaguely aware of when Seth Vernier and more of his troops disembarked to take control of the situation.
Subdued in a matter of minutes, many of the marketeers that hadn't escaped at sight of them were quickly rounded up, shackled, and dragged aboard the large ship.
Once they were detained, the Seth ordered his ship immediately put to flight. Then he made his way to the back of the ship to give the commander an update.
"Everything is well in hand," Casina heard him say in English. "No casualties on this end."
She felt curious eyes on her before he aimed a question at the commander. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes," the commander said. "Everything is fine. Just take us to our module."
"Aye, Commander."
Shortly thereafter, the Seth deposited the commander, his crew, and Casina beside their canvas module. He waited until they had put their own vessel safely to flight before returning to his own duties.
* * * *
The commander wasted no more time. Once more in control, he ordered the module back to TrCasinaar, where he intended to return Casina safely to her quarters and ignore her for the rest of the solarity.
The Vaalstran slid her bloody Kenran blade back into its sheath as the corpse slid to the ground, coming to rest at a lopsided angle against the brick wall, in an alley in the common area of Dandor. Smirking, she stepped over it and made her way across the cobbled street to the tavern. The fool deserved to die, she told herself, disgusted by any man who touched her like that.
Although she gave her favors away freely, she was very selective. Only one man was allowed such freedom with her body, she thought, growing heated even as she recalled memories of her lovemaking with the famous Altair. No man affected her the way he did, and it infuriated her to know he had secretly betrayed her. She had traveled light years from Vaalstra to warm his bed on more than one occasion and was convinced she would have become Kaaniga, if that woman with the white hair hadn't enticed him. Maka, she swore as she shoved open the door to Squalon's Lair. Whatever Dammen saw in that pale-skinned Zarcon was beyond her.
Moving across the crowded tavern, the stench of mescan smoke, imported Rhenian ale, and unwashed bodies nearly choked her. Stopping, she peered through the dusky cloud hanging over the room until she found the man she was seeking. Ignoring the hordes of testosterone reaching out to paw her well-endowed form, she continued past them to stand behind the man sitting at a table in a dark corner of the room. The three men with him glanced up briefly in recognition but paid her little heed. She moved closer and laid her hands on the man's well-muscled shoulders, squeezing them by way of greeting.
"Have you heard the news, Menakam?"
The man, seemingly oblivious to her, tossed a handful of drekan cards into the center of the table, guffawing loudly and slamming his palm on the table.
"That's another win for me!" he chortled in Dandorian, taking up his flagon to down whatever was in it. The woman removed her hands as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. She watched as he leaned closer to draw forth the stack of winnings and pocket them. "That's all for now," he told his comrades. "I've got a vein that needs emptying." Shoving back his chair, he left the table, amid the groans of disappointment from those who had hoped to recoup their losses. "Yes, I've heard. It didn't take long for that bit o' news to reach every quadrant of the galaxy."
"She was here, Men," the woman told him, following him to the bar. "She was here in Dandor." She watched as he demanded a refill. Then, slapping a nikon atop the bar by way of payment, he leaned back against it, lifting the flagon to his lips for a swig. "We had her, but youknow-who arrived and rescued her. She would have brought in more riches than all of our other trades combined."
Menakam was looking about the room as she spoke, as if disinterested. "So what are our chances of getting her back?" he said.
"I'm not sure if that's what we should be considering, Men."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the woman apparently doesn't want to be here. She wants to go back to Zarak." This time, Menakam was interested and turned his besotted focus on her.
"She actually said that?"
A grin splayed across her pouting lips. "She told me so herself. She practically begged me to take her home."
Menakam snorted at this. "Well then. Perhaps we can accommodate the lady. That would really addle Dammen, wouldn't it?"
"I was thinking the same thing, Men."
"So what have you in mind? Knowing you, it's something cruel and vicious." She shot a glance upstairs, a smile curling her lips.
"Well, how about we have a bit of fun first," she said. "And then I'll tell you my plan."
Having secret plans of his own, Menakam merely chuckled and tossed back the rest of his drink. He slammed the empty flagon down on the bar then took her arm.
"I think I'm just in the mood for both. Lead the way."