Two guards held a man while two more guards mercilessly pummeled him. Blood splashed down his shirt and into the dust, along with some teeth.
I swear, he panted, his mouth ruined, I didnt know I had it!
It , Mara guessed, was the plasma pistol another sentry now held.
Someone tried to bring an advantage to the party, Kell murmured.
It did not take long before the man lolled between the two guards holding him. They dragged him back through the gate and threw him to the ground like rubbish. As he lay in the dust, groaning, the guards gave him several kicks to the ribs and legs for good measure. Even from a distance of dozens of meters, Mara heard the crack of bones shattering.
She winced. Displays of merciless violence were nothing new to her, but Gavra seemed to be paying her mercenaries extra to ensure they inflicted the maximum amount of damage.
Im shocked they didnt kill him, she whispered to Kell.
Sends a stronger message if they dont. A walking cautionary tale.
A crawling cautionary tale. She watched the man trying unsuccessfully to drag himself away.
Everyone keep moving, one of the sentries yelled.
Putting aside the image of the brutalized man, Mara fell in step beside Kell as they continued on to the main building. She didnt want to think of herself, or Kell, lying bloody and broken in the dirt.
The main building was a filthy warehouse, rusted and grimy, empty of anything except throngs of people and a dais at the far end. A short flight of steps led to the top of the dais. As she and Kell pushed their way through the crowd, Gavra climbed the steps, her stocky body making her resemble a red-headed sarvikpotemus .
Fifteen solar minutes until the auction, swine, she bellowed. Fifteen more minutes
to check out the Black Wraith before it gets locked up.
Kell and Mara exchanged a look. Adhering to their plan, they followed the crowd through a side door to an alley between storage buildings. Armed mercenaries lined the alley, which led to a hangar that had doors wide enough to accommodate a light ship. Security panels kept the doors sealed, and people could only go inside through a small entry, monitored by cameras and sentries. She had never seen so many security precautions in her life, not even in Skiren Palace.
Once inside, she understood why. Her first glimpse of a real Black Wraith ship. Kell clenched his jaw as if just barely holding in a curse, but she gave a soft gasp of amazement. Its beautiful.
A sleek, dark knife of a ship, the Black Wraith gleamed beneath the sodium lights. It seemed formed of a single piece of seamless metal, even the guns projecting from beneath its curved wings.
Another gun sat mounted on the back, presumably to be used when being pursued. A window indicated the cockpit, yet Mara could find no way to actually get inside the ship.
Kell whispered the answer to her unspoken question. Only Black Wraith Squad has access to the interior.
Then itll be worthless to PRAXIS or anyone else.
A precisely calibrated plasma saw could breach its shields and split it open. The ship would be ruined, but they could pull it apart and learn how to make more.
That definitely should not happen. The Black Wraith radiated deadly potential, sleek and lethal,
not unlike Kell. He had mentioned that the ships pilot had a unique way of interacting and communicating with the vessel, making them an almost unbeatable force. A fleet of these ships could wreak devastation from one end of the galaxy to the other.
Kell spoke tightly. PRAXIS already greatly outnumbers 8th Wing. Black Wraiths help, but its never enough.
Gods only knew how many more worlds PRAXIS would conquer if they had such power at their disposal. She fought a shudder.
She made sure they were at a distance from the people milling around the ship before she spoke.
It takes more than the chip to fly a Black Wraith.
Years of training, depending on the pilot.
You probably learned in a year.
Ten solar months, he answered.
Always a fighter.
Pride flickered in his eyes. Celene was quick too. Took her sixteen solar months. The second fastest record in the squad.
Something in his tone told her more than his actual words. You were lovers.
When a hint of flush darkened his tanned face, a hot blast of pure anger cleaved through her. She wanted to grab a plasma rifle from one of the guards and start shooting out the sodium lights, maybe even club a few people with the butt of the gun.
Or maybe you still are, she said, her voice like broken glass in her throat.
Were , not are . He stepped closer.
She turned away to feign interest in the Black Wraith. Damn it, she was jealous . She had never experienced that emotion before, but now she wanted to find Lieutenant Jur. Hurt her as Mara hurt now.
She did not recognize herselfthe scavenger with attachments to nothing and no one. The idea of Kell making love to someone, to anyone who wasnt her, felt like the bitterest betrayal. No matter how long ago it had happened. How would she face it in the future, knowing that he wasnt in her bed but someone elses because of a choice shed made?