Chapter 15

(Callie)

Callie sat on the table, with her back to the window overlooking the roiling gas giant below. Laying on the table, Taniya reached over and rested her hand on Callie's lower back. She could hear the young woman breathing heavily, still in shock over the removal of the shrapnel. Taniya hummed softly. Taniya was humming the tune of an offensive bar song about a barmaid and three drunken sailors..

The young woman's mind was clearly in the gutter. It was kind of amusing, and Callie wonder if she was like that when she was high on pain meds? With this in mind, Callie allowed Taniya's hand to stay on her lower back. Mostly, she allowed it because Taniya liked to touch people for comfort, and it was the least Callie could do when the young woman was in so much pain.

Callie gave Cindy a dismissive glance, and the waitress immediately left the room. That done, she turned to the pirate lord Yergan. Now that he was under her command, she had a few questions for the bug.

"Yergan, while we are here, give Lenny over there access to all of your drones and other surveillance gear."Callie order. Yergan chitter softly, but didn't argue. "Of course, I have several dozen drones and cameras set up across the shipyard to watch what's goings on."Yergan replied, no doubt downplaying the number he had.

"That's good. I am on a tight schedule, so we need to find out where Hendricks is and when we can get to him as soon as possible."Callie said.

Yergan clacked his mandibles excitedly."Oh finding him is easy. He holds a weekly auction, to sell off his merchandise."Yergan said dismissively.

"When is the next one?" Callie asked, cocking her head. "The next auction is in seventy-eight hours, just over three standard days."Yergan replied.

"And you are sure Hendricks will be there?" Callie asked. Her heart skipping a beat as Taniya traced circles on her lower back with a finger.

The touch was rather distracting, and she had to fight to ignore it. "Yes, Hendricks always hosts the event."Yergan said. The bug glanced at the four body guards laying dead on the floor. His bulbous eyes flicked back up to Callie.

"What is it Yergan, speak your mind."Callie's order, noting the Gwarks look. "I hate to admit it, but Hendricks has more security than I do."Yergan replied with a click of his pincers.

"Is his security more numerous, or better trained?" Callie asked.

Yergan paused at that, chittering in laughter. "You are perceptive commander Ark-an. Hendricks only cares that his security looks tough. Most of them couldn't his the broad side of a planet. Mostly they are mercenaries that were disgraced and can't find work anywhere else."Yergan said, grinning creepily.

"Will that be a problem for you? Or will I have to kill them all?" Callie asked calmly, making it sound easy.

Yergan chitter loudly, his bright orange shell splitting to reveal his wings. "If you kill Hendricks first, then they will switch sides in a heartbeat. However, as long as the leader is alive, they will work for their paychecks."Yergan said.

Callie nodded, smiling. "That's what I thought. Now tell me, what do you know about the war between the Slax and the Zrixians?" Callie asked with a bored tone.

Yergan blinked his bulbous eyes, cocking his head, a look of consideration crossing the bug's face. "Nothing big yet. There have been a few skirmishes, but no large-scale battles yet. From what I can tell, the Slax is preparing for a large scale offensive on either Saleia or Etria."Yergan said.

"And what about the Zrixians? Surely they aren't just letting the Slax do what they want?" Callie asked.

"Of course not! Two days ago, a supply depot suddenly blew up, and no one knows how the Zrixians did it. Rumour has it the Devali are involved. And of course they are blaming the explosion on poor engineering."Yergan said, clearly excited to gossip.

Callie smirked, pointedly not glancing at Taniya on the table. Was Dustin involved? Or was it one of the other high ranking Devali? Dustin's specialty was espionage, so it could likely be him. However, the Devali had hundreds of members, it could be any of them, and most likely was several working together.

Even if Dustin wasn't directly involved, that ruthless woman, Veronica, was just the kind of person to throw her own son into danger. It was only a matter of time before Dustin was involved in the war. Callie laughed softly.

She glanced at her wounded friend lying on the table, drugged to numb the pain. Callie shook her head, knowing this was her fault. She couldn't judge Veronica, as Callie was no better then the spy master.

She turned back to face the brightly coloured Gwark. "We will discuss more on that later. For now, we need to come of with a viable plan to both find and kill Hendricks in three days. Word has probably already gotten out about my takeover of your organization, and i want to subsume Hendricks resources before he decides to run away."Callie said calmly. Yergan's mandibles clicked together at her assertion, but he didn't argue.

"I will keep my people quiet. Word will still spread, but Hendricks is too cocky to flee from a fight, especially when he sees videos of a woman fighting me."Yergan said. Callie cocked her head, her silky black hair falling in front of her dark brown eyes.

"So, this Hendricks, he is one of those kind of people? The kind that think woman are weak?" Callie asked.

Yergan clacked his mandibles in agreement. "Its worse than that. Most of his merchandise is female, and children as they are the biggest moneymakers. I think he just views females as nothing more than a product."Yergan replied glancing away, for a moment looking ashamed.

Callie nodded her head to that, feeling a little disgusted by Yergan's words. "We will discuss all the slaves when we get there. For now, find some spare housing and get some supplies to house and feed them when we get them. And don't worry, I will cover the cost, at least until we can get them a new home."Callie said.

Yergan nodded its head and turned away from her, walking into the hallway. Callie felt a soft poke to her side, and she turned to look down at Taniya. The young woman's light blond hair was splayed beneath her, and her bright hazel eyes stare up at Callie with a look of adoration. Or was that desire?

"Can I come with you? I want to help take down this Hendricks guy."Taniya asked softly.

Callie patted Taniyas hand." Going into combat with your injuries is unwise. You need time to fully heal from the internal wounds."Callie replied.

A look of determination filled the young woman's bright hazel eyes." It's in three days, right? I will be good enough to help by then."Taniya replied stubbornly.

Callie pursed her lips and nodded hesitantly. The young woman was no longer pale and still under the effects of the numbing agent. Even still, after Callie's chat with Yergan, colour was returning to Taniya's cheeks. "We will see. You can come, but only if you stay out of the fighting. Your role will be support only."Callie replied firmly.

Taniya nodded emphatically, but there was a spark of determination in her eyes. Callie sighed. That look was all too familiar. It was just like the look Warren always gave her. This was going to be a pain. The young woman was going to keep pushing for something more involved later.

Oh well, she would have three days to figure it all out. Until then, she needed to do some snooping around the shipyard. For now, she would stay in one of her newly gained facilities. She doubted Yergan would complain too loudly.........

Taniya leaned her head on Callie's shoulder, one hand around Callie's waist to keep herself upright. The young woman swayed on her feet, pretending to be drunk. Callie kept her hands free, her eyes darting around them, ready to react. Taniya was not yet fully healed, but after three days of recovery and copious amounts of energy gel, she was well on her way to a full recovery.

With the inner intestinal wounds not stitched shut, the wound would take extra time to fully heal. After all, even the highly advanced energy gel wasn't a cure all. The body still needed time to properly restore the damage, even with the art infused medicine.

Callie kept her steps short, not wanting to agitate Taniya's wounds. Her friend had an arm wrapped around Callie, her warmth leeching through Callie's thin blouse. Taniya wore a lovely blue, knee-length dress with a slit up the side and a low neckline that from Callie's angle hid little.

Callie, being taller, had to keep focused and force herself not to look down at her friend's revealing top. In case of trouble, Callie went with some thin, form fitting black pants and a silken white blouse with a low neckline.

Her knife was tucked on her lower back, and her P223 was in the black purse slung over her shoulder. They both looked like they were going on a night out, which was the point of their attire. Callie kept her pace casual, allowing Taniya to match her speed easily.

Their closeness wasn't necessary, in fact, it was a blatant break of her training to allow someone this close to her. For violating this rule, her instructors would have punished her with double training, and maybe even attacked her for the violation.

Callie's good mood soured. Why couldn't she just enjoy the warm embrace? It was so rare that she got to experience something nice. Normally, she hated someone in her personal space, but Taniya was her friend. And Callie didn't hate her friends' embrace and her warmth.

Ok, maybe she enjoyed the young woman's head resting on her shoulder, more than she was willing to admit. To the casual observer, they looked like a young couple riding the ligne into the more seedy lower city.

Taniya's plan, to dawn some disguises and go after Hendricks, was going well so far. The plan was going so well that they hadn't been attacked yet. For the plan, they were pretending to be a couple on a date, traveling to the under-city where the sell off illicit goods, and scumbaggery was the norm.

During Callie's interrogation of the pirate lord, Yergan mentioned Hendricks' weekly auction, to both buy and sell Merchandise. Callie grimaced at that word. The fact that alien trafficking was so easily accepted in this place made her sick. Not only that, but with a war going on, there was a lot less scrutiny of kidnappers and traffickers.

After several hours of discussion, they came up with their current plan. They decided the best way to get close to Hendricks was to attend the weekly auction. It was not a bad plan, but Callie still didn't see why they needed to pretend to be a couple? That was Taniya's idea, and so were their revealing disguises.

And much to Callie's discomfort, the young woman was playing her part to the extreme. So far, over the last twenty minutes, Taniya made a point of leaning her head on Callie's shoulder, making it obvious they were more than friends. As for why Callie brought the still injured Taniya into the viper's den, that was simple.

It was because her friend asked. Callie would not coddle Taniya and keep her locked away in the ship. If the young woman wanted to help take over Hendricks' organization, then she could. Callie's com bussed and a soft growl came over the line.

"Look to your left, that older human in the brown shit and black pants. He is paying a little too much attention to you two ."Lenny said over the comm.

"I bet he is looking because Callie is wearing these form fitting pants."Taniya said mischievously.

Taniya reached down with her offending hand to grab Callie's butt. Callie batted her hand away, again, not wanting the distraction of Taniya's hand on her butt. "And why did you suggest I wear this revealing outfit if all you are going to do is try and grope me?" Callie asked, exasperated.

"Hey, we have to sell our cover. Don't you know couples do shameless things like this in public all the time?" Taniya Said, snuggling in close as they walked.

Callie, for her part, was extremely uncomfortable with the physical contact in public, and Taniya was doing her best to make Callie even more uncomfortable. It's not that she disliked that kind of physical affection, it was merely she didn't think this was the time or place for it.

"Lenny, keep one drone watching that human. He is probably just interested in us because of our revealing attire, but he is also probably one of Hendricks' people." Callie said over her comm.

"I doubt he is even looking at me. I mean seriously, you are absolutely stunning in that outfit.. and how do you have such a nice butt? This is totally unfair. My butt is like a board in comparison." Taniya said, her light hazel eyes swimming with mischief. Taniya squeezed Callie tighter and looked up, batting her lashes seductively.

Callie sighed. Taniya was either playing a joke on her or that numbing agent was stronger than she thought? Had the numbing agent somehow, even after three days, still been making the young woman delirious?

Lenny laughed over the comm, noticing Taniya's antics. "T is right commander, you need to sell the cover."Lenny prodded un helpfully.

"Both of you need to focus. We are in enemy territory, and Hendricks people could make a move at any moment."Callie said. Despite that, her lips turned up into a smile and she wrapped one arm around Taniya's shoulder. Despite her dislike of others in her personal space, Taniya's warm embrace wasn't terrible.

Ok, maybe she liked the physical contact. "You know, I have been contemplating upping the training regimen. And I have decided to volunteer you both to test it out."Callie said with a grin.

Taniya's offending hand drifting slowly down the small of Callie's back paused.

Lenny coughed over the voice chat." I think I am busy later."Lenny said.

Taniya pouted, excentuating her dimples.

"Don't be like that. Callie, if I don't look all lovey, anyone watching us will think we hate each other. Especially since you look stiff as a board. I will not stab you."Taniya said softly, not wanting any of the passersby to hear.

Callie winced at Taniya's remark and forced herself to walk with a more relaxed gait. Taniya was right. She couldn't fail her role because of a stiff posture. So, with that in mind, she tried to match Taniya's enthusiasm.

They received more than a few curious glances from the humans they passed. The gwark or Tallax they passed didn't give a damn about two humans acting all lovey dovey, but they received several interested looks from some of the humans.

About an hour into their date night, Callie noted a familiar drone following them silently with its camera following their every move. The drone was a low-quality model, and it bumped into several objects as it tried to stay hidden. Whoever piloted that thing was not making much of an effort to be stealthy.

That was ok tho, as she was nearly certain it was one of Yergan's personal drones. The blasted thing had somehow found them again. This had been happening ever since she broke into his place and took over. Yergan, being a very cautious bug, was keeping track of Callie's movements. Or at least trying to keep track of her.

The only reason she allowed this was the fact that Yergan needed to be prepared to swoop in after she left and take over Hendricks' personnel. And it couldn't be helped. Lenny was using some of the pirate lord's drones.

The fact that Yergan was probably watching this interplay left a sour taste in Callie's mouth. That ruthless bug was probably already planning on kidnapping Taniya as blackmail. Callie took a deep, calming breath and plaster a smile on her face, taking small steps so Taniya didn't stumble.

Their disguises, which included wigs, face paint and a fresh set of clothes, helped them move to the lower levels of the shipyard, mostly unnoticed.

However, a fresh problem soon arose. They were both two beautiful young women, seemingly alone in the seedier sections of the shipyard, where there was no authority to be found. Not like there were any sort of authorities in the shipyard other than the pirate lords.

And the only authority the pirate lords cared about was who had the most power. And so it was to no one's surprise that they were accosted a mere two hours into their tour of the seediest part of the shipyard.

Two people, part of Hendricks' crew most likely, followed them out of the Ligne once it stopped, shadowing them for nearly five minutes. The two pursuers tried to act casual, and pretend like they were just following the same twisting path, but their acting was terrible.

Even Taniya was glancing over her shoulder too often instead of acting flirty. "Be on guard. When you round the next corner, there are two more waiting for you."Lenny said over their comm chat.

"Are they carrying any weapons?" Callie asked softly, her voice just above a whisper.

"They both have stun rods, but I am assuming they might have a pistol as-well."Lenny said, sounding not at all concerned. "Alright. T, just stand back, I will teach these ruffians some manners."Callie said jokingly.

"They are murderous pirates. I seriously doubt they care about manners."Taniya replied with a nervous laugh.

Just like Lenny said, when they walked around the corner, entering the narrow hallway of a passage, the four pirates sprung their trap. Callie released Taniya and took a step forward, smiling at the two pirates. In the back were two humans and the front, a gwark and a Human.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?" Callie asked calmly. "Hand over your purses and just maybe we will let you go unharmed."Said the Gwark in broken Tallaxian. The one beside the Gwark, a bald human in his forties, gave Callie a creepy stare, his eyes groping her curves..