Sweet Starfire by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
see if Severance had awakened. When she saw him lying spread-eagle on his stomach, face to the cabin hull, she decided to act. She went over to the bunk and reached down to touch his shoulder, only to find she had made a terrible mistake.
There was no startled shout or sleepy, questioning groan. Severance simply exploded off the bunk at the touch of her hand. He was on the deck, feet spaced apart in a fighter's crouch, before Cidra quite realized what had happened. The small weapon he had used on Scates was in his right hand. Somehow he had gotten it out of the utility loop he'd hung beside the bunk.
Cidra froze, not daring to breathe as his eyes flickered in recognition. With a muttered oath Severance dropped the black metal object back into his loop. The poised tension went out of his body. On the bunk Fred exposed his teem briefly, and then went back to posing as a rug.
"A few more surprises like that, Cidra, and one of us isn't going,to make it as far as Renaissance."
She cleared her throat. "I just wanted to tell you that we're approaching Lovelorn. The ship seems to be altering course. I assumed that, as pilot in command, you might have some interest in the matter."
"Not much," Severance assured her. "This baby can land herself if necessary." Nevertheless he went forward to check the winking lights on the command console. "Saints know she's done it before." He yawned and massaged the back of his neck with one scarred hand as he stood staring down at the controls. "Severance?" "Hmmm?"
"What is that instrument you carry? The one you had in ! your hand a moment ago?"
"It's a remote for a Screamer." He leaned down and de-i pressed a red-lit control, watching the screen in front of him I as he did so. Severance Pay banked gently into a turn.
"I've never heard of a Screamer," Cidra said.
"I don't imagine you've got a lot of use for them in dementia. They're not exactly legal." "But what does it do?"
"It's very good at making uninvited visitors scream." His obvious preoccupation bothered her. "That's not much of an explanation," she said reproachfully. Cidra was accustomed to an educational system that answered all questions as ^completely as possible. She was also trained to keep asking questions until she was satisfied with the answers.
Severance shrugged, still watching the landing setup on the screen. "It's a device that's designed to jam the frequency of human nerve impulses. That's about the only way I can explain it. I've got the main system installed here in the ship. I carry die remote with me."
"Scates didn't scream when you used it on him."
Severance glanced at her. "He was already half out. The remote just finished the job you'd started."
Cidra stiffened. She wasn't sure if she had been rebuked. But her curiosity persisted. "Does the device function automatically whenever someone comes aboard?"
"It can be set that way. I leave it on when I'm gone and switch it off with the remote when I'm ready to come back aboard. But it can also be triggered manually. See that switch there on the console?"
"Yes."
"That will trigger it. There's another one back near the head of my bunk."
"You would turn it on while you, yourself, were on board? What about your own nerves?" she asked.
"Curious little thing, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry," she apologized formally. "I don't mean to pry into your private business."
"Uh-huh." He sounded skeptical. "Well, the answer is that I can set the remote to protect me from the effects of the main system. Fred's safe because his nerves work on a different frequency than ours. Have a seat, Cidra, we're ready to hit dirt."
She realized that his patience had reached its limit, so obediently she strapped herself into the passenger seat and fixed her gaze on the lights of Lovelorn. A few moments later Severance Pay settled gently down into the landing field, and Severance cracked the hatch.
"I'll be gone for about an hour. No more than that. We haven't got time for you to wander
There was no startled shout or sleepy, questioning groan. Severance simply exploded off the bunk at the touch of her hand. He was on the deck, feet spaced apart in a fighter's crouch, before Cidra quite realized what had happened. The small weapon he had used on Scates was in his right hand. Somehow he had gotten it out of the utility loop he'd hung beside the bunk.
Cidra froze, not daring to breathe as his eyes flickered in recognition. With a muttered oath Severance dropped the black metal object back into his loop. The poised tension went out of his body. On the bunk Fred exposed his teem briefly, and then went back to posing as a rug.
"A few more surprises like that, Cidra, and one of us isn't going,to make it as far as Renaissance."
She cleared her throat. "I just wanted to tell you that we're approaching Lovelorn. The ship seems to be altering course. I assumed that, as pilot in command, you might have some interest in the matter."
"Not much," Severance assured her. "This baby can land herself if necessary." Nevertheless he went forward to check the winking lights on the command console. "Saints know she's done it before." He yawned and massaged the back of his neck with one scarred hand as he stood staring down at the controls. "Severance?" "Hmmm?"
"What is that instrument you carry? The one you had in ! your hand a moment ago?"
"It's a remote for a Screamer." He leaned down and de-i pressed a red-lit control, watching the screen in front of him I as he did so. Severance Pay banked gently into a turn.
"I've never heard of a Screamer," Cidra said.
"I don't imagine you've got a lot of use for them in dementia. They're not exactly legal." "But what does it do?"
"It's very good at making uninvited visitors scream." His obvious preoccupation bothered her. "That's not much of an explanation," she said reproachfully. Cidra was accustomed to an educational system that answered all questions as ^completely as possible. She was also trained to keep asking questions until she was satisfied with the answers.
Severance shrugged, still watching the landing setup on the screen. "It's a device that's designed to jam the frequency of human nerve impulses. That's about the only way I can explain it. I've got the main system installed here in the ship. I carry die remote with me."
"Scates didn't scream when you used it on him."
Severance glanced at her. "He was already half out. The remote just finished the job you'd started."
Cidra stiffened. She wasn't sure if she had been rebuked. But her curiosity persisted. "Does the device function automatically whenever someone comes aboard?"
"It can be set that way. I leave it on when I'm gone and switch it off with the remote when I'm ready to come back aboard. But it can also be triggered manually. See that switch there on the console?"
"Yes."
"That will trigger it. There's another one back near the head of my bunk."
"You would turn it on while you, yourself, were on board? What about your own nerves?" she asked.
"Curious little thing, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry," she apologized formally. "I don't mean to pry into your private business."
"Uh-huh." He sounded skeptical. "Well, the answer is that I can set the remote to protect me from the effects of the main system. Fred's safe because his nerves work on a different frequency than ours. Have a seat, Cidra, we're ready to hit dirt."
She realized that his patience had reached its limit, so obediently she strapped herself into the passenger seat and fixed her gaze on the lights of Lovelorn. A few moments later Severance Pay settled gently down into the landing field, and Severance cracked the hatch.
"I'll be gone for about an hour. No more than that. We haven't got time for you to wander
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