The Price of Conquest

From now on, Kressa promised herself as the two men hauled her toward the open doorway through which Devin's assailants had just left, I'm carrying a gun.

Not that a gun would necessarily have changed things during this encounter. Outnumbered by men who obviously knew Devin well enough to track and predict his moves, she wasn't sure another gun added to the encounter would have helped them get away, but it might have given them more of a chance. She'd have to give one to Devin, too, just in case any more of his—or, more accurately, Garth's—past caught up with them. Of course, all of that depended on her getting away from the two men who currently held her.

They reached the doorway and her two captors backed through the opening, keeping a wary eye on Devin. The men's hold on her loosened as soon as they stepped outside, then they shoved her into the room and slammed the door behind her.

Surprised, she paused for an instant, then hurried across the room, knelt down beside Devin, and took his head gently in her hands.

He blinked up at her groggily.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

He struggled to stand, and she helped him to his feet.

"I've felt better." He gave a half-smile and then grimaced. He brought a hand to his mouth to wipe away the blood.

"Can you walk?" Kressa asked.

He nodded. "There's no permanent damage"

"You must really owe this Imurha guy a pile of credits," Kressa said. She helped support him as he staggered toward the door.

"Actually Garth owed him. Unfortunately, I inherited his debts."

They reached the door. Kressa opened it and peered outside. There was no one in sight.

"What did he owe Imurha for?" She supported him through the doorway and into the alley.

"The Gamble," he said. "Garth bought the ship from Imurha, but he was always behind on payments due to one of his idiotic schemes gone bad. So then he would make a deal with Imurha to do something in lieu of payment. That normally went bad, too."

Kressa led him out of the alley and turned in the direction of the city port. "Some partner."

"He had a ship, I needed one. We got along well enough."

"Why don't you just give the Gamble back?" Kressa asked.

"I need it. Besides, Imurha would still want his money."

Devin kept an arm around Kressa's shoulders as they made their way closer to the port.

"Is Imurha's operation based here on Vsuna?" Kressa asked.

Devin nodded.

"Well, he obviously doesn't operate completely inside the law," she said. "Maybe the new authorities will crack down on him."

"He operated under the United Galaxy for years. I think he can handle whoever's in charge now."

"Maybe not. There's a chance I have some pull with them," Kressa said, wondering if Commander Vel might be willing to do her a favor in exchange for her help during the uprising.

"Yeah?" Devin looked surprised, and definitely interested.

"I'll have to talk to someone first, but I may be able to get Imurha off your back."

"You do that and I'll buy you a whole wardrobe of pretties to go with those bracelets."

Kressa frowned. "I don't want you to buy me things, Devin. I want you to not have to worry about dealing with people like Lauden and Imurha."

Devin pulled her close against him "You're one hell of a woman, you know that?"

When they arrived at the Gamble, Devin headed straight for his room, but paused outside the door. He looked at Kressa.

"There's a medkit in my room. Get it and wait for me inside."

"Are you sure a medkit will be enough?" she asked, worried that Lauden's beating may have caused some hidden damage. "I have a full med-unit on board the Conquest. We should go there."

For a moment, Kressa thought he would agree, but then he glanced down the corridor toward the rear of the Gamble and shook his head.

"I'll be all right. Just get the medkit."

Kressa entered his room and found the kit, then waited for several minutes before deciding to go look for him, worried that Lauden's mistreatment had caused a concussion, or something more serious, and Devin was lying unconscious somewhere in the back of the ship.

She picked up the medkit and headed down the Gamble's single short corridor.

There were only two doors beyond the one to Devin's room: one a few meters past his, the second at the end of the short corridor.

She stopped at the first door and looked toward the second. As she tried to guess which one Devin had gone through, the door at the end of the corridor opened and he stepped through it.

She hurried to him. "Are you all ri—?"

"What are you doing back here?!" he snapped, and then activated a coded lock on the door. "I told you to wait in my room."

"I did, but—"

"You don't come back here, do you understand?!"

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She glared at him. How dare he yell at her? She was only trying to make sure he was all right.

He held her glare for a moment, and then his expression softened. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

"My head is killing me," he said.

Kressa relaxed slightly and held up the medkit. "I brought this."

He smiled and put an arm around her shoulders, and then leaned on her as she guided him to his room.

Kressa helped him take off his jacket and shirt, and treated his injuries as well as she could, although there was little she could do for a cut lip and a few bruises. She rewrapped the burn on his arm, but he refused medicine for his headache, claiming he would sleep it off.

When she had completed her doctoring, he stretched out on his bed. Kressa sat on the edge of the mattress and watched him as he drifted toward sleep.

"Kressa," he said suddenly and opened his eyes. He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry I snapped at you out in the corridor, but you really can't go back there. There are things you shouldn't see."

"What things?"

"Business," he said, as if that explained everything. "Maybe, someday…" His voice trailed off and he met her eyes. "We'll talk about it later, okay?"

She nodded and he closed his eyes again.

Kressa watched him, lips pursed, and tried to figure out whether to be hurt by his mistrust or touched by his obvious concern. Just what did he have hidden in the back of the ship? He said it was business, which suggested it might be something he was delivering to someone, but why shouldn't she be allowed to see it? Was it dangerous? Or illegal? Was he smuggling something?

She almost laughed at the thought of him worried about her discovering that he was hauling illegal cargo. She did more than a bit of that herself.

Was that the reason for his secrecy about who he was looking for in Vaxua? Had he been hoping to make contact with someone to arrange for a shipment of illegal cargo? That would explain not only his reluctance to talk about who he was seeking and why, but it would also go a long way toward explaining what he could have hidden in the back of the ship. The Gamble was hardly the best type of ship to use for hauling freight, but given Devin's current financial state, he was probably willing to take whatever job he could get.

Maybe she could change that. She'd never seriously considered taking on a partner, but she'd never completely rejected the idea either. They could move Devin's belongings—and his cargo—onto the Conquest, give the Gamble back to Imurha, and then work together to earn the rest of the money Devin owed. After that, they could spend all of the money they earned on themselves, doing what they wanted.

For a moment, Kressa considered waking Devin to present the idea to him, but she knew he needed to sleep.

Moments later, when her initial excitement over the idea ebbed and more practical thoughts took over, she was glad she let him sleep.

Gendzet training was unlikely to be something she could do on a part-time basis. From what little she knew about such things, developing and mastering psi abilities required complete commitment, focus, and dedication, and doubtless more than just a few months, or even a few years.

She would have to wait until she could talk to Nait before making any firm decisions. After all, there might not be anyone available or willing to train her right now, or in the future.

Thinking of Nait and the Gendzets, Kressa realized she had not seen the amulet since yesterday.

Fighting down a sudden rush of concern, she got up carefully from the bed and crossed the room to her travel case. She started to search it, and then stopped, closed her eyes, and felt for the familiar tug on her mind.

She easily located the amulet in an outer compartment.

With a relieved smile, she sat down on the floor beside the case and held the amulet up in front of her by its chain. The silver metal and purple gem winked in the room's dim light, and she felt its distinctive presence in her mind.

She looked from the amulet to Devin and back again. Hopefully, she could find some way to have them both.

She sighed and started to put it on, but a flash of memory stopped her.

She had purposefully removed the amulet and hidden it away yesterday because of something Devin said. What was it? She closed her eyes and concentrated. Something about criminals and bounty hunters here on Vsuna?

No. Devin had mentioned the criminals; he'd said they would be flocking to Vsuna now that the Pattys were gone. She had realized then that bounty hunters would follow them, and removed the amulet in case one of them recognized it.

She put the amulet back into her travel case and climbed to her feet.

Why had she and Devin been talking about criminals?

A name sprang into her awareness.

Sangrey.

That was the name Lauden mentioned while threatening Devin. He said something about Sangrey's crew finding something out. Did it have anything to do with whatever Devin had in the Gamble's hold? Could it be stolen cargo? Why would someone's crew be interested to know that? Unless Devin had beat them to a promised job…

Another memory flashed into focus. This one she felt certain was from last night. She saw a big man dressed in black and gold, with a glinting gold tattoo on his face. He was standing close to her. Too close. And then…

Nothing. The memory simply ended.

Then she recalled something else, an older memory. Sangrey—Tiode Sangrey was a pirate. A cold-hearted killer and thief. The worst of the worst.

Was he the big man she'd seen in the brief flash of memory, or was he the stranger Devin said she'd been sharing drinks and drugs with? She still couldn't quite believe she'd done that. No matter how many Starshooters she managed to drink without passing out, she simply could not see herself abandoning Devin and casually accepting some unknown drug from a stranger, unless she'd had more than just the 'shooters. Was it possible someone had slipped something into one of her drinks?

She experienced another brief memory, although she could not be certain when it was from. She closed her eyes again and tried to remember more clearly. She was standing in front of someone—could it have been Devin?—he pulled her forward, she felt the cold sting of a drug pad on her neck, and then things went hazy.

She opened her eyes and shook her head. That couldn't have been Devin, but—

Damn it! What happened last night? And what—if anything—did it have to do with what happened today with Imurha's goons?

The only apparent connection was Sangrey. Lauden had mentioned him, and it seemed that she and Devin may have discussed him last night. It was a tentative connection at best, but what else did she have to go on?

The datacard.

Lauden hinted that he knew of a way for Devin to get the rest of the money he owed then gave him a datacard.

She went to the foot of the bed where she'd put Devin's jacket and removed the card from the pocket. There was no label or writing or other indication of what the card might contain.

There had to be a card reader on the Gamble's bridge, but dare she use it without Devin's permission? It did not seem very honest, but he clearly had not been completely honest with her.

Yet how fair was that? They had only known each other for three days. In that time she hadn't exactly told him everything about her, such as the fact that she'd worked with the Free World Guard on Arecia for the past several years, or that she was wanted by the Patrol for running guns and probably a half dozen other crimes. And she hadn't exactly been honest with him about the Gendzet amulet.

A sudden wave of guilt swept over her, and she returned the card to the pocket.

"Kressa?" Devin rolled over and looked at her. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She sat down on the edge of the bed beside him. "Sorry I woke you."

He rolled onto his back with a groan. "Is that offer of some headache medicine still open?"

She nodded and reached for the medkit where she'd left it on the nightstand.

He took hold of her hand and pulled her down beside him.

"On second thought," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "I think I have my medicine right here."