Darksaber by Anderson Kevin J

Author:Anderson, Kevin J. [Anderson, Kevin J.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Coiled and tense, the two Cathar stood from the empty storage containers they had used as seats and readied their blasters. Drom Guldi slung his rifle over his shoulder. Sinidic carried no weapon, but clung close to the Baron-Administrator. Burrk wore two blaster pistols at his hips; they looked battered and well used, repaired enough times that Luke wouldn’t count on them. He and Callista had their lightsabers.

“Let’s do this fast,” Burrk said, leading them to the outer shield doors.

“We can make a dash for it… since we don’t have to worry about the motion sensors anymore.” He scowled at Luke.

“Leave the door partially open as a fallback option,” Drom Guldi suggested,

“in case we need to make a hasty retreat.” Burrk nodded.

Luke sensed an interesting shift in command. Burrk was the nominal leader, but Drom Guldi-a hardened administrator-was equally proficient in making decisions under stress. The two men seemed to have formed a team for their own survival.

The shield door opened, and freezing air and snow gusted in. The sky had turned a hazy purple as the day drew to a close. Together, Luke and Callista led the five survivors in a sprint past the wreckage of the exploded poachers’ ship to their own small space yacht.

Luke focused his senses on Burrk and the others, concerned that the desperate refugees might try to blast him and Callista in the back and take their ship-but he sensed only a gnawing fear. These people were too frightened to worry about treachery.

As Luke and Callista approached their ship sitting calmly on the snow, Luke saw that the hatch stood open, like a dark mouth. Callista said,

“Hey, I didn’t leave the door like that.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Luke muttered. The Cathar looked at each other and snarled.

“Bad news,” Drom Guldi said, already guessing what they would find. Luke bounded up the ramp, while Callista stayed outside to prevent the others from entering the ship.

Inside in the cockpit, Luke stared. The comm system had been torn to shreds, the panels ripped open with a silver scoring of claws. The navicomputer was gone, torn from its housing and smashed to a tangle of wires and broken chips. Severed cables dangled loose from the other controls.

It was as if the monsters knew exactly what they were doing.

A coil of fear tightened in the pit of his stomach. He turned behind him to the locker where the environment suits had hung-and found that the snow creatures had slashed both of the suits, making them unusable.

Then came a shout from outside, a panicked outcry and sudden blaster fire. Luke charged out of the cockpit, leaping down the ramp. Callista already had her lightsaber drawn, its topaz beam crackling and spitting in the cold.

Luke could barely distinguish the creatures that blended so perfectly with the snow and rock. Their white pelts made them only a blur of movement, curving horns sweeping from their heads, claws like knives extended as they boiled up, slashing and tearing and roaring.

Burrk

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