Free Starlaw by Candace Sams

need to know certain things.”
    “But why will it take so long to get me back home?”
    Sadness in her brilliant blue eyes touched Darius and made him feel longings he hadn’t experienced for a very long time. He understood the yearning for home, even if hers was a primitive little rock that wasn’t worth mentioning. The promise to ask for her return was genuine though he knew what the response would be. For now, all she needed to know was that he would
ask
.
    “It isn’t the distance from Earth that takes so long to travel, especially not since we have access to wormhole technology. It’s the process of trying the man we were sent to capture. Trials can proceed slowly on Luster … that’s our destination.”
    She lifted one hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. For a second, she looked like a little girl trying to decide what to do. Pity wasn’t something he was used to feeling. Not any longer. The sudden presence of it in his arsenal of stoic control weighed heavily.
    “I must warn you, enforcer, it’s entirely possible that you’ll be called upon to stand as a witness against the man who attacked you and your friends.”
    She turned her head away. In that instant he knew she wouldn’t talk about what had happened back on Earth. At least not yet.
    “Y-You talk like you’re some kind of cop.”
    “We’re referred to as enforcers, just as I’ve referenced you. Obviously, we saw your uniform and your identification, hence the mention. As for the word cop, my communo-chip equated words similarly. The difference is that I enforce laws binding a group of planets together. These planets comprise an organization called the Constellation League. The man we chased to your planet was an escaped prisoner from our justice system. He murdered one of our officials.”
    “He killed a lot of
my
people,” she angrily muttered, finally touching on the subject. “What kind of …
thing
… attacks the way he did?”
    Darius further softened his tone and his demeanor. Now, she was acting more rationally and they could converse, assuming one could speak intelligently with someone of such a mentally inferior race. “The man with whom you came into contact is called Goll. If Gemma hasn’t already told you, he’s called a
vamphiere
. Though they can exist well enough on other food, they prefer to feed off the flesh and blood of newly killed humanoids. Whenever we come across his race, we keep a very close watch on them. Citizens of most planets report their whereabouts to us whenever they’re spotted. There aren’t many of them left, but they can be quite dangerous as you’ve discovered.”
    “And that’s what killed Cory?” she whispered as she stared out the view port.
    Again, he felt something akin to pity. He saw a brief glimmer of tears in her eyes before she closed them. Oddly, the presence of them now didn’t rile him as it once might have. Her response was entirely warranted as she’d just lost someone who was apparently close to her.
    Once again, he grudgingly gave her credit when the woman looked back at him and seemed in control of her emotions. In this particular, rare instance, he was actually sorry she masked her feelings. There would come a time when that control slipped and she’d need help. He knew. He’d been where she was now and understood what she was shoving down and why. The difference was she’d eventually have the opportunity to seek solace in her own way. He hadn’t the luxury of accommodating old wounds.
    “What will happen to this person? This … Goll?” Laurel questioned.
    “It’s my sincerest hope that he dies slowly,” Darius answered honestly.
    Laurel nodded.
    “Commander, I’m outside the bay hatch. May I enter?” Gemma requested via the outer, passageway intercom.
    “Yes, Gem. Everything is under control,” Darius responded as he uncharacteristically shortened his med-tech’s name.
    The hatch opened and Gemma stepped into the space.
    Laurel turned to