Hard Hearted Read online

  "They seem to like you."

  "Apparently, I am likeable. They can discuss anything with me and I answer with complete truth. Even social lies are driven by emotion." Gray shrugged and released his arm to choose some selections from the trays.

  "What is all this? I have not seen most of it before."

  She introduced Canil to the staff and had them explain the food to him. He made his selections carefully and followed her to a table.

  Every implement that they offered was on his plate and he went about trying them all to see which suited him best.

  "What form were you in before this?"

  "It was squat, a quadruped and useful for my work as an enforcer. I went biped when I had to, but the four-footed one was my usual form. Easier to feed." It took him a few tries to get the right tool for the right job, but he mimicked her until he got it.

  "So, you selected this form after the Alliance came to inquire for your services."

  "I like it. It will take some getting used to, but eventually, I won't even slip when moving between forms."

  "Is that your primary talent, shapeshifting?"

  He grinned. "No, I can do other things." He extended his hand and his index finger turned to swirling grey mist and lifted his beverage cup to his lips.

  "You can go to that mist at will?"

  "And sometimes while I sleep, though that too will get better with practice."

  She used her fork to gesture to his reforming hand. "Interesting. Is it your natural form?"

  "More or less. My species is thought to be the offshoot of a shattered psyche of Nishan. Our world is in a black zone. Nothing in any direction for days and no other sentient worlds within the reach of the planet. The thought is that the planet sent her mind out when she knew that she would be alone forever. She found nothing and so shattered her mind in to pieces so she would never be alone."

  Gray really wished she had emotions at that moment. She would have bawled like an infant. She was really lucky that her soul was gone when she left the enclave. Being out in space away from her family might have driven her to the same despair.

  "I understand. How did you come to the attention of the Alliance?"

  He smiled. "My brethren and I watched for passing ships. In the last five centuries, our little, silent sector has begun to see an increase in jump travel. We pulse a signal and a few ships will send a shuttlecraft for us."

  "Does what is left of your planet mourn your absence?"

  "No, we carry Nishan within us and she experiences what we do."

  "That is nice. How many of your siblings have left…excuse me." Her pager was going insane and when she checked it, she stood. "I will be going to the com centre. You may come with me or not."

  She left the commissary at a sprint, heading for the communications hub. She slid into the seat and keyed in her code. Relay Wyt filled her screen.

  "Hard Hearted, you are required to go on a mission. There is a dead ship sending a changing signal and it is in a major shipping lane. You need to move it."

  Gray nodded. "I will do it, but isn't there another way to move that ship?"

  "None of the warships are equipped and there is a rumour that it is a plague ship. You and your partner have immunity, so you are the best candidates to move it."

  "Understood. We will depart immediately."

  "Thank you for filing his arrival reports so promptly. I wouldn't have known he was there if you hadn't."

  "You know everything, Relay. It is a side effect of the position you occupy."

  "Not everything, but I get closer every day." Relay winked. "When will you depart?"

  "We are on our way out the door as soon as I confirm supplies. How far out is it?"

  "Two jumps out, one back. And, Gralial?"

  "Yes?"

  "There is a Kozue enclave travelling that lane. I believe it contains your family."

  Gray paused as she digested that. "Understood. I will make arrangements to leave immediately. When will Brodin be back?"

  "Tomorrow. They have completed their assignment and are en route as we speak. Any emergencies for Teklan will come through my office. Don't worry, I am paying attention."

  Hard Hearted nodded and turned to her partner, lurking just out of video range. "Pack up. We are heading out for a two-day trip."

  "I am ready."

  "Grab an extra suit. You never know when you will need one and you can store a spare on the shuttle. I have my own transport, so keeping a spare uniform there will be handy in situations like this." She was moving quickly down the hallway and Mist was at her heels. He peeled off to follow her orders and she continued until she was in the bright light of day.

  Deadpan was waiting for her and as she swung inside and ran the necessary checks, feeding the location information from Relay into the computer, she waited only a few minutes before he was next to her with the shuttle sealed and ready to fly.

  He had gone immediately to the storage locker and put his uniform and boots away as if he was used to the layout.

  "Why do you have your own shuttle?"

  She throttled up the engines and sent Deadpan down the runway as she pulled up. she flashed a hollow smile. "Because no one will fly with me. Hang on, please."

  The engines roared as she blasted them through the atmosphere, into the stratosphere and out into open space.

  Mist had his hands clenched around the armrests. "No one will fly with you? I can't imagine why."

  She wanted to laugh but settled for, "I can't understand it, myself." She shifted the controls and they used the moon to slingshot their speed.

  "Mist, you will address me as Hard Hearted when we are in communication or in the presence of others. The guard etiquette is fairly firm on this."

  "Will do. I ran into something similar when I was acting as an enforcer for the Alliance. This is a similar situation." He stretched in his seat and she watched him closely.

  "You seem at ease in the shuttle."

  "You cannot injure me if that is what you are asking."

  She blinked. "I wasn't thinking that."

  "What were you thinking about?"

  "The musculature of your legs has a great deal of definition. I find it hard to look elsewhere."

  He blinked in surprise as she set the jump halo in place. "You say whatever comes into your mind, don't you?'

  "If you ask me, then yes."

  "So, what secrets do you hold that I can delve into?" He held his breath as she sent them into a jump with no notice.

  "I don't know. You would have to find the question for me to find the answer." She quickly keyed in the next coordinates and blasted to the next jump point.

  "Have you ever been in love?"

  Chapter Five

  The ship was dead in space. It moved sluggishly as if a giant hand had pushed it eons ago and it was still treading its lonely path, no other purpose to its existence.

  "There it is. We need to run scans and prepare to grapple the ship to Deadpan."

  Mist reached forward and his fingers turned into tendrils that worked the equipment switches with alarming rapidity. "You still have not answered my question. Have you ever been in love?"

  "Yes, I think I was. I was engaged to wed a young warrior named Tomo. He was injured and I healed him. It was my last act on that ship. He rejected me and sent me off to the Alliance as if I was nothing more than a convenience."

  "Did it hurt?"

  "Until they had a minder remove my soul, yes. The moment the soul was gone, so was the pain."

  He nodded. "That makes sense. It took all of your responses with it."

  She didn't bother replying, merely ran a life scan and confirmed that the ship was dead. Hard Hearted worked and verified that the engines were inert and it carried no viable cargo. "Sector Guard shuttle Deadpan to Morganti station."

  "Relay here." Relay's voice came through with a mechanical tone. She was using the direct speech accessory to communicate with the shuttle.

  "I am c
onfirming the inactivity of the ship in the lane. Requesting instructions for disposal."

  "Fire it at the third sun. It has been confirmed that it is unintelligent and the local sentient planets do not object."

  "Will do. Hard Hearted out." She disconnected the call and looked to Mist. "Let's get the grapples deployed and launch this ship."

  He nodded and his fingers continued their work. "Deploying grapples."

  The solid hit was evident when their forward momentum halted with a jerk. "Good hit."

  "Thank you."

  The remainder of their disposal was almost textbook. At her signal, Mist released the grapples and the dead hulk fired into the sun. There was no other way to kill any contaminants that were on board.

  An emergency flasher went off on the control panel. "Relay, what is it?"

  "There has been an outbreak of plague on a few of the Kozue ships. Apparently, they raided the hulk for any useable parts and were infected. Can you help them?"

  "I can. Will I is another matter."

  On the other end of the communication that spanned galaxies, Relay sighed. "Please, Hard Hearted. Lives are at stake and the main ship is a family ship."

  "Understood. Send me coordinates and we will be on our way." She waited until she got the information and cut off the communications.

  "You didn't want to help?"

  "My memories of a Kozue ship are unpleasant. Though there is no emotional attachment, I know that violence is often done to unwanted visitors and I am definitely unwanted."

  He nodded and worked his magic on retracting the grapples and fastening them for travel. "I will be at your back while you are on the ships. No one will have the chance to do you harm."

  "Thank you for that. I may have to take you up on it." With the coordinates in the ship, she set the shuttle on an intercept course for the Kozue enclave. The collection of ships would be easy to spot.

  "What are the odds that the Kozue will welcome us?"

  She shrugged. "Fairly good or Relay would not have told us to go."

  "Will you be all right?"

  "I should be fine. Since we are going under Alliance orders, they won't dare do anything too stupid." The scanners lit up as the enclave came within range. It was as if they had been hiding in this system, waiting for her.

  "Sector Guard shuttle, please come aboard the Stellar Blade. We have set aside a medical area with the infected in the third shuttle bay."

  "Stellar Blade, are you confident that it is indeed a plague outbreak?"

  "We are. Salvaged materials from a nearby ship were infected, but we have contained the contaminated."

  "Hard Hearted and Mist of the Teklan Sector Guard reporting for duty."

  "Whatever. Just get in there and do what you can."

  She clenched her hands on the controls and aimed for bay two. If bay three was occupied with a medical bay, the halls from bay two would lead directly to their assignment.

  "You seem to know where you are going." Mist was clinging to his chair arms with tight fingers as she skimmed dangerously close to the hull.

  "This was my home ship. I know it like the back of my hand."

  Deadpan swivelled in a sharp about face and they were suddenly facing the closed door of shuttle bay two. "Can you open the door to bay two? As attractive as the view is, we need to get inside to help your people."

  "You are there already?"

  "Obviously. Check your scans." Being rude to Kozue was fun. She had missed it.

  The door opened slowly and Deadpan cruised into position fairly deep in the bay. If they blew the shuttle bay, the Deadpan would not be the first ship out. The heavy magnetic docking attachments made sure of it.

  Mist was approaching the shuttle door when she said, "Wait. Run an atmospheric check. The Kozue enjoy cutting off oxygen to visitors. It gives them an edge."

  "Your people don't sound very pleasant." He ran a check and shook his head.

  "They aren't." Hard Hearted grabbed the com again. "This is Hard Hearted in bay two. Give us the oxy we need or we will be on our way."

  Mist kept an eye on the gauges and nodded when the monitors showed the correct levels.

  "It's safe. We can go now."

  She straightened her robes and grabbed her med kit. It was time to work. "Follow my lead and stay on your guard. If there is a plague running around, they will be frightened and unpredictable."

  "Understood."

  She stepped out of Deadpan and when Mist cleared the door, she sealed it with every lock she had available. Her companion didn't say a word.

  A guard of Kozue warriors met them in the hall and surrounded them on the way to shuttle bay three. Hard Hearted recognized three of the men who seemed surprised at her appearance. No one said a word to her or her companion.

  When they arrived at bay three, the warriors hung back and their leader gestured. "Here it is."

  With guns drawn to keep them from running, Hard Hearted and Mist entered the realm of the dead and dying.

  Smells of antiseptic and rotting flesh met her nostrils the moment she entered the room. There were a few people running from bed to bed to attend the infected, but it was far too few people to make a difference.

  She handed Mist her bag and whipped out her palm scanner. She stopped one of the runners with a hand to the arm. "Who is the closest to death?"

  Cheris looked into her eyes and teared up. "Your grandfather. He is in that bed over there." She gestured and returned to her scheduled attending. "It is good to see you, Gralial."

  "I have not been Gralial since I left the enclave. Hard Hearted is my designation." She turned away and Mist joined her in attending Elder Ganath.

  He was indeed very close to death, but his wife was at his side as always.

  Her grandmother, Shevil, smiled sadly at her. "Gralial. Why are you here?"

  "The enclave asked the Alliance for help. I am with the Sector Guard out of Teklan." She used her scanner on her grandfather, confirming his situation before taking his hands and closing her eyes.

  He began to breathe more easily as his skin knit back together and she reset his body to its genetic standard. Once his body was whole, she released his hands and turned to her grandmother. "Why haven't you fallen ill?"

  Shevil's chalky skin flushed. "I have impure genes. My mother was…"

  Mist's voice rumbled through the air. "One of my kind."

  "A Nishan animorph?"

  Shevil looked around and nodded. "It was my genes that polluted the bloodline, but Ganath stood by me and refused to have me sterilized."

  "But you don't have a talent."

  "No, but my child and grandchildren did." She smiled. "Now that you have healed Ganath, you may want to continue your rounds."

  Just like that, Hard Hearted resumed her duties. Several of her patients fought her touch, but they were healed no matter what. Mist used tendrils to bind a few of them to the bedding just to be on the safe side.

  She stopped for regular meals and drank water provided by the relieved attendants who were resting now that their immediate concerns were taken care of. While Hard Hearted ate and rested, Mist was running constant scans of the area and the clan members who had attended the afflicted and making a list of those she would need to take care of when she woke.

  The reset patients were starting to stir when she got to her feet after a few hours. They started talking about forcing their way back into the bulk of the ship and Hard Hearted had to fight her urge to laugh.

  She finished eradicating the traces of the plague in the occupants of bay three, then moved to address the rising tide. "Please. Everyone calm down."

  "Who is in charge of the Stellar Blade with Ganath down here?"

  Ganath and Shevil looked at each other and scowled. "Tomo is acting captain. I have the feeling that it is only the presence of the enclave around us that has kept him from blowing the bay doors open."

  "That sounds a little aggressive for him."

  "He has mated with a very
manipulative creature and his intentions have altered dramatically when it comes to keeping the Blade under my control."

  Hard Hearted nodded and ran her fingers along the studs near her neck. "Command deck of the Stellar Blade, this is Hard Hearted of the Sector Guard, currently in bay three. The plague has been stopped. The patients are ready to resume their duties on the ship. Open the damned doors."

  Mist whispered in her ear, "If they blow the bay open, I can hold us in here for a few minutes."

  She nodded but kept her voice stern as she spoke. "Stellar Blade command deck, I am waiting for a response."

  "This is Acting Captain Tomo. I am afraid that we cannot take a chance on the plague spreading."

  "The enclave sent for help from the Sector Guard, we provided it. You now have the right to scan these people for infection, but I have already confirmed that there is no lingering bacteria. It was strictly a contact plague. Either release this bay so that we have access back into the ship or we will have to force the issue."

  The whole group of forty souls was staring at her. Some had recognition in their eyes, but others merely watched her cautiously.

  Ganath's eyes showed anger, but if he pissed Tomo off, they would all be floating outside the ship in a few minutes. Her grandfather kept his mouth shut.

  The red light over the main door flickered and flashed green. It groaned as it rose, displaying the warriors who stood with guns trained on the plague victims.

  Standing front and centre was Hard Hearted's ex-betrothed, Tomo. There was a small, delicate woman clinging to his arm, glaring at her with unbridled hostility.

  "Acting Captain Tomo."

  "Gralial. I had hoped to see you again." His grim smirk warned her as the warriors made her their target. "Several of the warriors recognized you when you landed. We have been eager to right a miscarriage of justice."

  Hard Hearted stood motionless with Mist at her side. She waited. Tomo never had any patience where drama was possible.

  Acting Captain Tomo nodded to his cohorts and the woman clinging to his arm. "The enclave has reconsidered and for the crime of genetic deception, the sentence is death."

  Chapter Six

  "Mist, whatever happens, don't intervene. This will be resolved one way or the other." Hard Hearted followed Tomo to the bridge where the sentence was to be carried out.