Star Storm

Chapter Eighteen

An Armature's Escape

Kael did his best not to kill any of the Celestial Watch officers which he fired at. The ground at their feet proved to be a useful target and he was rather proud of himself for being able to hold them the Watch back.

The officers were only doing their jobs – they were not murderous criminals like Mahoonana's men. Behind the visors they wore, these men and women were good people. Kael did not plan on harming them.

A dozen or so Watch members ran straight for Cyre. She had been the first to get captured, her killing shots undoubtedly the cause of so many officers taking her on. They wrested her blaster out of her hands, pinned her to the ground and strapped her wrists together.

Like Kael, Amara did not shoot to kill. She aimed for the Celestial Watch officer's legs, disabling them, or their weapons. It comforted him to know she did not kill when she did not need to.

When Amara fell, Kael dropped his weapon in surrender. His arms were linked together with a band of flexible metal to limit his movements and he was matched behind Amara and Cyre onto the neighbouring ship.

Just as Valour had promised them, Commander Hu Waan Vuke did not bother to check the Rapid for any further criminals. He was highly satisfied with the three of them and paraded his catch through his ship. Members of the Watch rushed to see them walked by, their eyes pinned on Amara, and only returned to their stations when Hu Waan barked at them.

The trio was finally locked in the hold in separate cells made from dimmed glass. Hu Waan saw to it that he personally was the one who locked Amara's cell, his long fingers lingering on the keypad as he punched in the numbers.

"I'll be getting a promotion after this," he sneered, his long nose pressed against the cell wall. "No more First Region duties for me. Off to an interesting part of the galaxy, I am. An important part."

"Each region is important," Kael called to the commander's back as he left. Already he found himself regretting not shooting Hu Waan in the foot.

With their cell walls translucent it was impossible to do anything without the officers on duty by the door noticing. Amara sat on the floor with her legs crossed, eyeing up the room. Having inspected the hold on the way in, Kael sighed and struggled to find a way to amuse himself.

One other prisoner, aside from Kael, Cyre, and Amara, was trapped within a cell on the far side. They wore a black prison jumpsuit and were curled on the floor facing the opposite direction. Kael wondered what kind of person could sleep in a place like this.

He twirled on the spot and stopped just as a blur moved past the window. Someone was climbing along the wing of the ship, their face covered. Kael froze as a second figure moved by; their hands filled with a massive repair kit box.

Valour and Ry were on the move.

There was no possibility of him mentioning what he had seen to Amara and Cyre. The officers watching them would also hear. Kael would not be the cause of the mission going astray.

"Hello, mister captain, sir," he said loudly. The attention of the officers on duty was moved to him and Kael forced himself to stay strong. This is just like an ambassadors meeting, he thought.

"Hush," the officer said as his companion glanced over his shoulder.

"But mister captain, sir, I do awfully need to use the lavatory."

Amara snorted and the sound echoed around her cell, bouncing from one of the reinforced walls to the next. She clamped a hand over her mouth as a blush crept onto her cheeks.