Planet Eaters (Galaxy Mavericks Book 8) Page 7

  Tara’s gang.

  He winced as he rounded a dune and left them behind, along with the settlement’s newfound food and dead men.

  He wasn't going to be a pawn.

  Tara was going to pay for this.

  10

  Grayson suited up in the airlock of the rescue ship.

  New white spacesuit, courtesy of the Galactic Guard.

  He grabbed a helmet off the wall and cradled it under his arm.

  “Ready and steady, Eddie?” he asked.

  Next to him, Eddie pulled up his spacesuit. It bulked up his thin frame. Eddie smiled nervously.

  This guy. From the moment Grayson took of his shirt and started to dress, Eddie had been acting weird, like he didn't measure up or something.

  Sure, Grayson had some good muscles.

  But damn.

  Kid needed some confidence.

  “Looks good on you,” Grayson said.

  “Thanks.”

  Will Stroud sat on a stool mounted to the floor, his arms folded.

  “You two are an odd couple, not gonna lie,” Will said.

  “What do you mean?” Eddie asked.

  Will laughed. “If you have to ask the question, you'll never know…”

  Eddie looked down at his suit and smoothed it out, unsure what to say.

  Will jumped up and helped him pull the spacesuit tight around the shoulders.

  “Just messin’ with you, buddy. Since you're going on a mission with my best friend and I can't, I'm busting your balls.”

  “Probably a good thing you're not going,” Grayson said.

  “What's that supposed to mean?” Will asked in an affected tone.

  “Heard you and your new teammate are fast friends,” Grayson said, lacing up his boots.

  “If you mean fast to fight, then yeah, we’re fast, all right,” Will said.

  “Who?” Eddie asked. “Beauregard? He seems like a nice guy.”

  “Beau’s as real as they come,” Will said. “I'm talking about the other one. Mister-I-am-incapable-of-smiling-and-doing-anything-other-than-the-rules,” Will said.

  “Hush,” Grayson said. “Don't want him to hear you.”

  “I'd love for him to hear me right now,” Will said. “We've had our fair share of conversations about it. He ain't you, Grayson.”

  Grayson laughed. “That's part of the Galactic Guard experience. Gotta get shacked up with a dude you don't know and don't like every once in a while. Builds character.”

  Grayson and Will laughed.

  “Eddie, I heard you're looking for your family,” Will said.

  “Yeah,” Eddie said.

  “Well, I'll keep a look out,” Will said.

  “I appreciate it,” Eddie said.

  “One condition,” Will said, extending a hand. “You take care of Grayson. That's what we do in the Guard. We look out for each other.”

  Eddie shook his hand.

  “Tienes un negocio, amigo.”

  “I heard friend in there,” Will said. “Otherwise you lost me.”

  Grayson stood up tall and cleared his throat.

  “I believe he said, you have a deal, my friend.”

  Eddie patted Grayson on the shoulder. “Eso, eso.”

  Will puffed. “Nice Spanish skills.”

  Grayson and Eddie high-fived just as Devika and the rest of the Mavericks entered the airlock.

  Keltie whistled at him.

  “Look at you, suiting up and getting ready to leave,” she said.

  “Only temporary,” Grayson said.

  Keltie approached him and they stood in front of each other.

  She was wearing a blazer and a long pencil skirt. Her hair hung down to her shoulders.

  She had changed clothes, too.

  This must have been what she looked like when she was selling real estate. When she was ready to go out into the world and sell the hell out of a planet. He liked her understated assertiveness.

  “Looks like you're about to suit up and leave,” he said.

  “Only temporary,” she said.

  They stared into each other's eyes.

  He didn't want to leave.

  But he knew he had to.

  He cleared his throat and was about to speak when Will interrupted them.

  “Man, all we need is a saxophone playing, and that would capture the awkwardness perfectly.”

  Eddie burst into laughter.

  “Come on, man,” Grayson said. “We’re just friends.”

  “Just friends,” Keltie said.

  “Mmm hmm,” Will said. He clapped Grayson on the shoulder. “If it weren't for me, you'd be teaching swimming lessons back on Provenance right now instead of partaking in this so-called friendship.”

  Grayson felt himself blushing.

  “What?” Keltie asked.

  Will started to give Grayson a shoulder massage.

  “Didn't tell her, did ya, big guy? Okay, I’ll embarrass you—”

  “Will—” Grayson said.

  “He was too scared to chase after you when you left Provenance,” Will said. “I sweet-talked him into finding you on the Regina VII Star Base.”

  Keltie laughed. “That true?”

  Grayson rubbed his hair and muttered something.

  “Well, I, uh…maybe it happened like that.”

  “Or?” Keltie asked, her tone sarcastic.

  “I'll leave you two love birds alone,” Will said, giving Grayson a final pat on the shoulder. He jogged away and waved at them making a dreamy face.

  Grayson wanted to kick him in the shorts.

  “You're full of surprises,” Keltie said.

  “Ha, didn't you know that?” Grayson asked. “Got another surprise for you, too.”

  Keltie’s eyes widened.

  Grayson tried to think of something witty to say, but he couldn't.

  “Ah, I, uh…I guess I don't have a surprise. Was gonna say something funny but I blew it.”

  “Wow,” Eddie said. “Spanish assistance isn't the only thing you need.”

  “Hey hey hey,” Grayson said. “Nobody was talking to you—”

  “You could have said anything,” Eddie said. “Like, my middle name is danger.”

  Keltie laughed.

  “Or that you like to take long walks on the beach. Or that your favorite food is chocolate and wine…”

  “Okay, okay,” Grayson said.

  Devika motioned to them. Eddie and Michiko jogged over to meet her.

  Keltie punched Grayson softly on the shoulder. She was beautiful right now, with the starlight on her face, giving her hair a slight glow.

  “Good luck,” she said. “And don't get killed.”

  “Don't get eaten,” Grayson said as they walked over.

  “You're not going to wish me luck?” Keltie asked.

  “Knowing what I know about you,” Grayson said, “I would wish it, but you don't need it.”

  He put his hand on her shoulder, and he felt the urge to hold her hand. But he didn't.

  She didn't resist his hand on her shoulder.

  He liked the feel of it.

  The moment walking halfway across the airlock felt like forever, by as they reached Devika he let go.

  He glanced over at her.

  She was at attention, ready for action.

  And he was, too.

  “Is everyone familiar with the plan?” Devika asked.

  Grayson, Keltie, Eddie, Michiko, and Clark were gathered in a line in the airlock.

  Grayson and Eddie wore spacesuits suits, and were ready to fly. Keltie and Michiko had changed into professional clothes and smelled strongly of perfume.

  Devika herself hadn't changed—just taken a shower and ran her clothes through the ship’s quick wash.

  She was impatient.

  She was ready to go, hating all the seconds and minutes they had wasted on this ship.

  “Where are we supposed to rendezvous?” Eddie asked.

  Rendezvous.

  Wh
at a word, like this was a spy movie!

  Besides, she already went over this.

  “We will call each other when our respective missions are complete,” Devika said. “We’ll meet at a to-be-determined location.”

  Eddie nodded.

  “Grayson, Eddie,” Devika said, “Good luck. And be careful. I don't want to hear about either of you dying out there.”

  “I'm too furious to die,” Eddie said.

  “What he said,” Grayson said. “You folks ought to be careful. Never know what you're gonna run into whenever Planet Eaters are involved.”

  “My only ask,” Devika said, smirking, “is that if you find Florian, save him for me.”

  “Nope, not gonna happen,” Eddie said. “Not on my life.”

  “Now that’s the kind of fire and confidence I want hear from you moving forward,” Grayson said. “Do that and we’ll dominate these fools.”

  “We’re approaching Cryovox,” Devika said. “Beauregard will drop you off at a spaceport there. Keltie, Michiko and I will start our journey toward Gargantua. I don't need to tell you to use discretion.”

  “Won't be an issue,” Grayson said.

  Eddie saluted.

  She knew Grayson wouldn't falter. Eddie was a liability, and she reckoned it would take a miracle to stop him from causing some kind of harm.

  At least he wasn't her problem.

  Beauregard spoke on the radio.

  “Approaching Cryovox’s orbit now,” Beauregard said.

  11

  Cryovox was a cold blue planet in the short arm of the Rah Galaxy. A planet with no moon, it was a literally an ice ball. Citizens lived in heated dome cities on the planet’s surface, with tunnels that stretched under the ice.

  Keltie watched as the planet rolled up on the rescue ship like a blue agate marble in the middle of space.

  Michiko sat next to her, eating reconstituted chicken noodle soup from a can. She clanged the can with her spoon.

  “It's such an iceball of a planet, isn't it?” Michiko asked. “I wonder what it would be like to live there. No sun. No moon. Pretty boring.”

  “Yeah,” Keltie said.

  “Have you been there?” Michiko asked.

  “Many times,” Keltie said.

  “Ooh, what's it like?” Michiko asked.

  Keltie knew this place.

  Spent a lot of time here when she was training for real estate. The atmosphere was considered a “test atmosphere” that helped prepare agents for frigid conditions elsewhere in the galaxy. She learned how to walk on ice, how to instruct customers to walk on it, how to survive in total darkness and in the event of an unexpected disaster, and all the amazing peculiarities of glittering, shining ice.

  A lot of memories.

  Keltie stood on the bridge and put her fingers on the glass. She imagined the cold from the planet sinking into her fingers. But the glass was surprisingly warm.

  Warm.

  A thermal kind of warm. A manufactured, intentional kind of warm, just like in the domes.

  A memory overtook her.

  Of her and Claire.

  Rookie real estate agents in a bar with the glittering, striated ice outside, the curved edge of the living dome just near.

  The Bar at the Edge of the Ice.

  A mouthful kind of name, but it had the best snowball martinis on this side of the short arm.

  It was a “subzero” bar, too, and it emulated the dark landscape just outside the living dome, with the air chilled and the tables frosted for dramatic effect. A circular, bowl-shaped fireplace blazed quietly in the center of the bar, creating cozy, crackling warmth. Synthy, chord-driven electronica music played from the speakers overhead.

  She wore a parka with a fur collar and with thermal packs on the inside pockets. She leaned on the bar as she listened to…

  Claire.

  Beautiful, smiling, talking Claire, with her shoulder-length blonde hair, little black dress with a parka over it, and earrings shaped like Saturn.

  “I think I'm in love with him,” she said.

  The words hit Keltie hard and pulled her back into the conversation.

  “I'm sorry, you what?” Keltie asked.

  Claire blushed and then downed her martini.

  “I think I love him.”

  Dex Kotlarzo. Software engineer who lived on Gargantua. Cute smile. Nice manners. A little burly, and not at all the kind of guy you'd expect a princess like Claire to date—but maybe there was some truth to opposites attracting. Keltie didn't mind him, but she didn't know Claire was so serious.

  “I don't know,” Claire said, “it's getting harder to see myself without him, you know?”

  Keltie nursed her drink and took a sip.

  Coconut snowball martini. So good! Islandy!

  But the news dulled the flavor somewhat.

  Her best friend was falling in love. The only person who ever understood Keltie.

  The way things were going, Claire would be married, then with children, and Keltie would have to live all alone in her apartment.

  She shouldn't have been sad. She was supposed to be happy.

  “That's so amazing,” Keltie said. “You have to listen to what your heart is telling you.”

  And at the same time, Keltie’s heart was breaking.

  “I want you to come out with us,” Claire said. “I want to see if he passes the Keltie test.”

  “Is there such a thing?” Keltie asked.

  “If he can survive your wit and your scrutiny, then maybe he's the one for me.”

  A waitress in fishnet stockings and a parka with a hood delivered a fresh round of sparkling drinks.

  Keltie and Claire grabbed their drinks.

  “Close the tab,” Claire said.

  The waitress nodded.

  “For what it's worth, he sounds like a catch,” the waitress said, winking. “Couldn’t help overhearing.”

  Claire laughed.

  As the waitress walked away, Claire grabbed Keltie’s hand. Her hands were warm, familiar, soft—so very Claire.

  “Will you do this for me?” Claire asked.

  “Of course.”

  “I know it's hard for you, but I promise you'll like him.”

  “I better,” Keltie said.

  Keltie felt a hand on her shoulder.

  It was Michiko.

  The bar flashed away and she was back on the rescue ship bridge.

  “Are you okay?”

  Keltie’s head throbbed. She grabbed her forehead.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I don’t think so,” Michiko said. “You were standing at the window, swaying, with this far-gone look in your eyes. You didn’t even respond when I called your name.”

  “I was just thinking,” Keltie said.

  She was embarrassed. She wanted to go lie down.

  “Did I say something that triggered a memory?” Michiko asked. “Before you zoned out, I asked you about—umm…maybe I shouldn’t say it?”

  “I told you, I’m fine,” Keltie said. She sat down with her back against the glass, and she sighed as she thought of Claire.

  Michiko plopped down next to her and sighed sympathetically. Then she drummed her fingers against her thighs.

  “Soo…”

  Keltie rested her head against the glass and closed her eyes. Then she opened them, trying to forget the whole encounter.

  “I never asked you,” Michiko said. “What happened to you?”

  “What didn’t happen to me?” Keltie said.

  “No offense, but you went freakazoid when you first saw Clark,” Michiko said. “And now this.”

  “Had some bad luck,” Keltie said. “I was doing a real estate showing when the Planet Eaters showed up. They killed my clients, my colleagues…and my best friend, Claire. Right before my eyes.”

  Michiko gasped and put her hands to her mouth.

  “I’m so sorry, Keltie,” she said. “That’s horrible.”

  “Sounds picturesque, doesn’t i
t?” Keltie asked, laughing dryly. “All of us, losing something or someone so dear to us.”

  Michiko said nothing.

  “I was just thinking about Claire, that’s all,” Keltie said.

  “Tell me about her.”

  No one had ever asked her about Claire. No one in the Galactic Guard, at the Regina VII Star Base, on Macalestern, at home, in her workplace. Not even Grayson or Devika. They avoided it, like bringing it up would cause her pain.

  “She was great,” Keltie said. “Not perfect. But a perfect friend for me.”

  “That’s all that matters,” Michiko said.

  “She was engaged,” Keltie said. “Ran a burgeoning real estate business that rivaled mine. I was…kind of mad at her just before she died because she accidentally almost stole one of my planets.”

  “Guess something like this puts emotions into perspective, huh?” Michiko asked.

  “We were running from the aliens,” Keltie said. The memory of the Planet Eaters on Kepler was in her mind’s eye. She could taste the cold, thick air, hear the gunfire and Claire’s panting breath next to her as they ran. And all the while, the Planet Eaters gathered in the sky, covered it with ink-like dark and glowing red eyes…

  “We were almost free,” Keltie said. “We found an abandoned spaceship. I made it into the airlock. She did, too, but the bay doors pierced her suit, and, and—”

  Michiko took Keltie’s hand. The girl’s eyes were moist with tears.

  “You don’t have to say any more,” Michiko said. “I understand.”

  “I just feel guilty,” Keltie said. “Like I could have done more to save her.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Michiko said. “I promise you that. And wherever Claire is, she’s smiling down on you right now and raining blessings on you. Because that’s how life works. It’s about optimism, you know? So you can be sad, but as long as you do something to spread positivity in the world, it all balances out in the end.”

  Keltie smiled. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-four and six months,” Michiko said.

  “Wise for your age,” Keltie said.

  Outside, the ship began its descent into Cryovox.

  12

  From the Cryovox Space Port, Grayson and Eddie watched as the GGC Horizon lifted off and rocketed upward, out of the chilly airlock dome, toward space.