Free Borne On Wings of Steel by Tony Chandler Page B

watched his unmoving form while a third walked over and accessed the last terminal still logged onto the system.
    The stout Harg typed commands, going through the search history. A low laugh rumbled from his broad chest. He smiled wickedly and worked the controls faster. A minute later, he returned the terminal to its original screen.
    "I've ID'ed their starship and dock number. The Zuuk, all of them, came here on it. But nothing on their sector of origin,” he whispered in a rough voice to his two accomplices.
    Ablek's eyes fluttered open, although he didn't comprehend the words. He felt terrible—every inch of his body throbbed with pain.
    He lay still as the footsteps of his attackers retreated, and just as they slipped through the door, he took a cautious glance towards them.
    They were short, muscular aliens with thick bull-necks. A memory clicked in his mind—Harg, aliens from a secretive and violent order.
    And not the kind of alien you wanted to cross.
    Ablek groaned as his body ached with renewed waves of pain.
    There was something else about Hargs. Yes, they came from the mysterious Paum Sector—the Forbidden Place .
    He shivered in the semi-darkness.
    Nothing good ever seemed to come out of there, and the few who ventured there rarely came back. If they did, they were changed somehow— different . No one who had dealings with the aliens of Paum spoke of it except with the darkest of curses.
    And they never wanted to deal with them again.
    In fact, less data was stored about the Paum system than even the most distant planets of the known sectors—a strange thing indeed.
    "Looks like these huumans are in fer some trouble,” Ablek grunted as he rose. “And I don't want any part of it either."
    Ablek struggled to the Security console, falling into the seat. He began checking why no security personnel were alerted or came to his rescue. The answer was most disturbing—somehow the Harg isolated the security cameras from main Security, all the while simulating normal signals. These aliens knew what they were doing—effectively circumventing the vaunted security of the Mrad.
    Not good.
    Ablek paused in thought, wondering if he should report the incident. But his body ached with renewed pain, and nothing of value had been damaged or taken. In the end, he decided to finish his shift and not report it. He desired no more dealings with these dangerous aliens.
    He limped over to the last Search Console and paused a moment as waves of intense nausea overwhelmed him. Ablek bent over, trying to clear his mind. Finally, he logged off the last terminal, never realizing the Harg had infiltrated the User Information.
* * * *
    DINNER WAS LATE and very subdued that night.
    Not only did Elise not show up, but neither Jaric nor Kyle showed as well. The others sensed something amiss as well, though they could not put their finger on it. Even Rok was not his normal self. Everyone ate in silence and quickly retired to their private cabins.
    Mother watched all the occupants retreat to the privacy of their rooms and once again contemplated life and loneliness—something she knew all too well. It was a long night for everyone.
    The next day began like most others.
    "Rok, why don't you and I and Kyle take the Bullet-Cars back to the main Search terminals. We can check on the results and go from there.” Jaric motioned for the Kraaqi warrior to join him and Kyle at the ramp.
    At that very moment, Elise, Krinia and Jysar entered the corridor. Elise watched impassively as the three turned to leave. Her eyes still reflected the pain from last night, but they reflected something else there too—a hardness, a determination.
    "I want to help, too."
    The trio froze in their tracks.
    Jaric and Kyle exchanged uneasy glances before they turned around and faced Elise.
    Inside his mind, Jaric's thoughts and emotions shouted at him, urging him to apologize for his words and actions of last night. But he wrestled with his inner feelings of shame