“Dernel? Can you speak, man?”

  “Where is my daughter? Where is Morwyn? I asked that little monster countless times to ask you, I attempted to force my lips to form the words—but he overrode my will every time.”

  “She’s all right. She’s back at the capital. She’s uninjured and happy to be back among your people.”

  Dernel opened his eyes. Although he was still lying on Rose’s bunk, he studied me. “I thought you might kidnap her and take her for your own.”

  I shrugged. The thought had crossed my mind—but of course, it would have been an effort of persuasion, not force. “She can do as she likes. So can you. If you want to be free of this Tulk, you can be. You never have to deal with him again.”

  Dernel sat up slowly. He stared at the pink-white mass in the bowl.

  “So horrible… I was too weak to face him. He’s a strong one, you know. He’s a leader of their kind. An ancient Tulk who’s known many humans over centuries.”

  “Centuries?”

  “They live longer than we do. They have names, too. Strange, alien names.”

  “Interesting… tell me his name.”

  “He wouldn’t like that.”

  “Tell me anyway. He’s not your rider now.”

  Dernel straightened his spine. He pointed a quivering bluish finger at the bowl. “He is known as Fryx.”

  “What?”

  “I might be pronouncing it incorrectly. That’s as close as a human throat can get to the sound.”

  “Good enough then. What should we do with Fryx? Should I space him right now? I can do that, you know.”

  I lifted the bowl and took it to the disposal chute. I opened the chute, and it made a sucking sound like a vacuum cleaner. Then I turned back to Morwyn’s father, who seemed fascinated. “It’s up to you, Dernel. I really mean that. You had to endure this creature for months. His fate is in your hands.”

  Dernel stared. I could tell he was highly conflicted. His arms snaked in and out of his long sleeves. He breathed with bared teeth.

  “Is this creature still affecting you somehow?” I asked. “Has he left tendrils in you? Chemicals…?”

  “Yes, but not enough to control me. He can barely do that when he resides in my sore belly. Over time, I might come to dominate him, you know. That was my plan... But these recent battles caused me to let him have his way with my mind and body every day. The greater evil of the Skaintz trumped everything.”

  “I understand, but now—you have to make a choice.”

  I swirled the bowl near the gasping waste-chute. It might have been my imagination, but it seemed to me that Fryx had balled up more tightly than before. Perhaps he could sense the cold void outside.

  “No,” Dernel said at last. “Don’t destroy him. We’ve done enough of that. The Tulk believe us to be reflexively treacherous—and they are correct. I don’t think they deserve any more abuse today.”

  I let the chute close with a hungry snap. I set Fryx back on the tiny bed stand. “What then?”

  Dernel sighed. “The Tulk really did help save my planet. They were repaid for this with evil. More evil will befall those who have made their home on Flamberge, isn’t that so?”

  I nodded slowly. “I think so.”

  “All right then. I’ll take the Tulk back again.”

  “Why, exactly?” I asked, honestly curious.

  “Because… you said it yourself. We might need them again someday. I’ll—I’ll suffer for the good of both of our species. Hundreds of thousands of people have given their lives in the war, but I’m too old to be a fighter. Perhaps I can help with diplomacy during the next invasion.”

  “Will there be a next one?”

  Dernel looked startled. “Of course. The Skaintz will never stop. Not until we are exterminated—or they are.”

  I nodded thoughtfully. “What will you do? Will you stay here on Vindar or fly away with me?”

  Dernel smiled with half his face. “You’ll have to ask Fryx—after he’s mounted me again.”

  “Hmm… all right.”

  Dernel asked me to leave then. He began to adjust his clothing and lay down on Rose’s bunk.

  I hurried to exit before I had to witness anything else. I’d already seen enough disgusting sights to make a man retch on this grim day.

  * * *

  In the end, the Tulk named Fryx decided to leave my ship. He asked to be set back down on Vindar, where he could wander the dark forests alone.

  We landed far from any human habitation. The wilderness was clean and unscarred by fire or war. Dernel walked away quickly, disappearing under the purple leaves of those strange trees. He never even looked back at us. Perhaps he wanted to get away while the getting was good.

  We lifted off again and set our course for the Conclave. Everyone wanted to spend the diamonds the Vindari had paid for our last load of Sardez rifles. Even more than that, we wanted to experience a vacation without killer-aliens or wars to fight.

  Rose, among all of them, seemed the most surprised that we hadn’t taken Morwyn with us.

  “You just left her behind? She must be distraught.”

  “She’ll get over it. She wasn’t pirate-crew material—you said so yourself.”

  “Yes, but… would you dump me so quickly? So utterly?”

  I glanced at her. Sosa was sitting in the copilot’s chair, looking annoyed. I unsnapped my buckles and climbed out of my seat. “Sosa, you have the helm.”

  “Got it, Captain.”

  “We can have a beer and talk about it, Rose,” I said.

  For a moment, Rose looked stubborn and shy. I knew what she was thinking.

  First off, she was angry with me for carrying on an affair with Morwyn. But countering those hard feelings, she knew I hadn’t killed the Tulk or Dernel. I’d listened to her even though she’d disobeyed me and stowed them away on my ship.

  In a strange twist of perspective, we were fairly even. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t still upset.

  “All right,” she said at last.

  We went below, we had our drink, and we felt the weight of Vindar falling away behind us.

  Days passed. The lightyears slid by every hour, making us feel better. We felt free again. We were unburdened by the demands of others in need of our help. We’d done our duty for our species, and we’d done it well. Baron Trask, the Tulk, the Vindari—they could look after themselves for a while.

  Eventually, Rose asked to sleep in my cabin. She professed that her own still had a foul odor lingering in it. I believed her, and I shared my bed with her willingly enough.

  It was good to have her back. She was easier to deal with than Morwyn had been.

  Late in the night, however, I awakened to strange cries coming from Rose’s throat. She was dreaming. From the sound of it, she was having a nightmare.

  I didn’t awaken her. We all experienced terrors in our sleep these days.

  Instead, I moved to my tiny desk and took out a locket Morwyn had given me. It was an ornate thing. The Vindari tended to create pieces of art out of devices that served mundane functions.

  The locket contained a jewel-like memory device. Inside that device, I knew, were the coordinates of Old Earth.

  Morwyn had promised to give them to me when we’d first met. Thus far, I hadn’t bothered to open the files and examine the data.

  I wondered as to my lack of curiosity—I thought perhaps it was the fear of disappointment.

  Earth was probably better as a dream than as a reality. It was comforting just to know she was out there. In the Conclave, we’d been taught all our lives that Earth was splendid and strong. If she had decayed or fallen… well, that could only serve to crush the spirit of every human who’d learned to revere the birthplace of our people.

  Soon, Rose quieted. I put away the locket and climbed into bed again.

  THE END

  The audiobook version of Fire Fight performed by Mark Boyett is available HERE!

  From the Author: Thanks Reader! I hope you enjoyed FIRE FIGHT, the second episode of the all-new STAR RUNNER books. If you liked the book and want to read the story to the finish, please click some stars HERE or even write a review to support the series.

  -BVL

  More SF Books by B. V. Larson:

  The Star Runner Series:

  Star Runner

  Fire Fight

  The Undying Mercenaries Series:

  Steel World

  Dust World

  Tech World

  Machine World

  Death World

  Home World

  Rogue World

  Blood World

  Dark World

  Storm World

  Armor World

  Clone World

  Glass World

  Edge World

  Rebel Fleet Series:

  Rebel Fleet

  Orion Fleet

  Alpha Fleet

  Earth Fleet

  Star Force Series:

  Swarm

  Extinction

  Rebellion

  Conquest

  Army of One (Novella)

  Battle Station

  Empire

  Annihilation

  Storm Assault

  The Dead Sun

  Outcast

  Exile

  Demon Star

  Starship Pandora (Audio Drama)

  Lost Colonies Trilogy:

  Battle Cruiser

  Dreadnought

  Star Carrier

  Visit BVLarson.com for more information.

 

 

  B. V. Larson, Fire Fight (Star Runner Series Book 2)

 

 

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