Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

better than the one Ky Rego sent me.” He retrieved a datapad from his cloak and loaded a copy of the video taken from the hoagie stand’s security cam. “Here, Orin, look at this. It is very clear. You can see what you can do.”

“Looks like that’s settled, then,” said Ky. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly. “Been a pleasure doin’ business with you.” He tipped his hat.

“You stay right there,” said Blacktusk, and a chorus of clicks and prolonged beeps filled the hangar as his buccaneers cocked their weapons, spread out, and pointed their guns at Ky and Rinshi. “I still need proof. If you don’t have it, I will need another way to verify his abilities.”

Silence hung in the air as Orin finished watching the footage, right up to the point where he was carried away on an ambulance gurney. With an excited smile, he regarded his hands. Blue fire engulfed them, and he scanned the hangar bay. Subtle swells of power rippled through his body. He harnessed their energy to buoy the footstool and set it back down. “This is great!”

“Amazing,” said Blacktusk. “Now, try something bigger.” He pointed at the shuttle Ergo.

“Sure,” said Orin, and he faced the vessel in question. With focused intent, fire roared from his hands, and waves of power coursed through him. Bringing their force to bear, he lifted the shuttle completely off the deck, ripping her docking clamps apart in the process. Impressed with himself, Orin let Ergo drop, and Rinshi tumbled down the boarding ramp.

With a look of terror, the mphuno scrambled to his feet.

“Simply amazing,” said Blacktusk, and he whistled. His trunk coiled affectionately around Orin’s shoulders. “Ky Rego intends to kill us. In secret, he plans to murder me and take control of my fleet. You must not allow this.”

“Damn it,” said Ky. “Rinshi, warm up the shuttle!”

“Yes, boss,” grunted the mphuno. Still somewhat dizzy, he lumbered up the ramp.

“I did not say you could leave,” said Blacktusk. He pulled an enormous pistol from a holster hidden under his cloak. Two shots rang out, and Rinshi toppled forward onto the ramp.

In a flash, Ky drew his plasma pistol on Blacktusk. He squeezed the trigger and held it. “This ain’t my first rodeo. This here plasma cell’s on a dead man’s trigger. If you shoot me, I release it, and we all go up. See?”

“Yes, I see,” said Blacktusk. “Mr. Webb will keep us safe though, won’t you?”

“Of course, I will,” said Orin, and he stared at Ky. “Mr. Rego, you should really consider turning that thing off. Right now.”

“Not gonna happen,” said Ky, and he walked backward toward his shuttle.

Blacktusk glared impatiently at his crew. “Someone, please shoot him already!”

A barrage of plasma and pistol fire converged on Ky, and a deafening explosion filled the air.

Ky howled as he stared at the cauterized stump that had been his trigger hand. A sphere of shimmering force contained the detonated firearm. Every bullet and plasma bolt hung in the air, a hair’s breadth from impact. All at once, the bolts fizzled out, and the bullets dropped to the deck.

“Impressive, Mr. Webb, but you only needed to contain the explosion,” said Blacktusk. “Please kill him.”

Orin shook his head. “He’s not a threat anymore.”

“I must insist.”

“Isn’t this proof enough of my abilities?” asked Orin. “He’s been maimed—and by his own hand, no less. He doesn’t need to die. I think we should take him prisoner.”

Blacktusk stood back and crossed his arms. “Even if it means putting strain on our friendship?”

“I’m sure we’ve been through worse,” said Orin.

Blacktusk chuckled. “Then we will agree to disagree.” Glancing at a burly human fellow, he said, “Drake, bring Ky Rego to me.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

“That name,” said Orin, and he looked up at Blacktusk. “I have this nagging feeling that I knew Ky Rego from before I lost my memories. Do you know why his name feels so familiar to me?”

“It is just one of those names,” said Blacktusk. He hugged Orin sidelong. “Come. Let us find you something nice to wear. There is a hunter-destroyer closing on our position, and we must prepare to receive her. If possible, I would very much like to add her to my fleet.”

Chapter 12

Decisions in a Vacuum

From her shuttle’s cockpit, Casey hailed Rocksaugh landing control but received no response. She looked at April. “Scans show the airlock dome is still engaged, and no one’s getting back to me. Blacktusk’s shuttle is still docked, so my guess is he’s taken control of the installation. If so, this is our chance to seize him and rescue Orin.”

“And…” said April.

“Arrest Ky, I know,” said Casey. “But I’m not picking up Ergo’s transponder, so that may have to wait. Can you get us inside?”

“I can certainly try,” said April. Navigating the dash touch screen, she swiped through pages of machine code and mechanical subroutines. She separated two datasets and pinged Rocksaugh’s internal network with a status request. The cursor blinked. “Come on,” she muttered. “Come on, answer.”

At last, the facility replied with a password request, and April smiled. She ran a script, and lines of code scrolled by in a blur. A command interface appeared, and April tapped through dozens of options. At last, she paused at an input prompt. Referring to the datasets she had set aside, she copied two alphanumeric strings and transmitted the data. With her hands steepled against her mouth, she waited, and she watched.

“Did it work?” asked Casey.

“I don’t know yet,” said April.

Casey leaned forward. The shuttle had drawn close enough to see the tarmac’s landing lights as they flashed. She fired dorsal thrusters, halting their advance, and weightlessness gripped the vessel. “Anything?”

“You’ll know as soon as I do,” said April. She nodded toward the sealed tarmac. Suddenly, the dome yawned open, and she whispered, “Fantastic, thank you!” April glanced toward Casey. “As soon as the lift reaches the bottom and the airlock is sealed, the whole facility will enter