“I was schooled with humans.”
The man’s eyes flared before he brought the weapon up and Hauk caught his arm before he could pull the trigger. He disarmed him. The man attacked.
Hauk deflected the blow and returned it. He dodged, twirled, and delivered a staggering fist to the man’s jaw. Hauk head-butted him then flipped him to the ground. The fall raised his shirt to betray an emblem Hauk knew better than he wanted to.
Shit.
He was a Ravin. No wonder the man was so skittish and unkempt.
Hauk immediately held his hands up and backed off. “I’m not here to hunt or kill you, friend.”
The man glared at him. “You’re League, aren’t you? Isn’t that why you’re here?”
Hauk scratched his chin with the back of his hand. “Used to be, and was discharged years ago. If I wasn’t, I’d have killed you already. These days, I’m Sentella, only.” He gestured toward the weapons on the ground he couldn’t carry. Weapons this man would need if he was to live out the week. “Walk with peace, brother. Take your supplies and go. I won’t stop or track you.”
He wiped at the blood on his lips. Suspicion hung heavy in his eyes before he pushed himself to his feet. His gaze never wavered from Hauk as he began searching the bodies for things he could use.
Ignoring him, Hauk took a trophy of his own from one of the fallen that he bagged in the container they’d brought for his head, then he returned to studying the airbee.
“I was captain first rank. Gyron Force.”
That explained why he was still alive. Gyron Force was the elite of the elite for the Kirovarian armada and infantry. Less than one percent of one percent of their soldiers qualified to wear those uniforms.
“I’m Hauk.”
“Bastien Cabarro.” He licked at the blood on his lips as he narrowed his gaze on Hauk. “You really Sentella?”
Not sure why Bastien was asking, Hauk slid his hand toward his blaster again. Just in case. “Yeah.”
“You guys really declare war on The League?”
Hauk relaxed a degree as he heard the hatred backing those words. “Definitely.”
“Then can you get this fucking chip out of me?”
Hauk winced inwardly at the man’s fate and his justified outrage over it. Ravins were the targets League cadets were assigned to kill for practice and rank. As Gyron Force, Bastien would be a most coveted prize by a cadet wanting to advance. He could only imagine how many had sought to take his life. It was a nightmare he wished on no one.
“Absolutely. How long have you been implanted?”
Bastien curled his lip. “Almost eight full minsid years.”
Hauk let out a low whistle of appreciation that Bastien had lived so long. Average life span for a Ravin was six to eight weeks. Because they were tagged and hunted so viciously, they couldn’t risk being in any civilian population. Relegated to hellholes like this one, many ended up taking their own lives just to stop their suffering. It was physically and psychologically grueling to be hunted like an animal.
“Damn long time to be on the run.”
“What can I say? I’m a stubborn bastard, fueled by venom and vengeance.” Sighing, Bastien finally relaxed as he approached Hauk. “So is that your family you’re traveling with?”
This time, Hauk did draw his blaster and pinned it right between Bastien’s eyes again. “What do you know of them?”
Bastien held his hands up. “Nothing. I saw your camp a few days ago. Being hunted, I make it a point to check out anyone who lands here. I figured you were on a hiking trip of some sort, so I left you alone and went away. Seems to be some kind of Andarion thing around here. But usually it’s only two Andarions at a time and they leave after a few weeks. Though why you guys want to vacation here, I cannot imagine. You are one fucked-up species.”
Snorting, Hauk holstered his blaster. If the man only knew… “Have you been here the whole eight years?”
“Most of them. Once I realized the magnetic field and radiation play havoc with tracking devices, I decided Shithole Central suited me fine enough.”
Hauk snorted at that. “Doesn’t seem to be playing with mine. They haven’t had any problems tracking me.”
“Ah… that’s why they keep hitting you. Wondered about that.” Bastien frowned. “So who wants you dead?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Bastien nodded. “I guess being Sentella, you have a lot of friends who want to play with you.”
“Yeah, but I’d rather take my ball and go home.”
Bastien laughed. “Why do I doubt that?”
“Probably because I’m about to take my ball and go shove it up the ass of whoever started this.”
“Spoken like a true Andarion.”
“Known a lot of us?”
“Just one. Nasty-tempered bastard, but damn good in a fight.” He narrowed his gaze on Hauk. “Now that I think about it, he looks a lot like you.”
“Yeah, well, we all look alike.”
Bastien rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t know. He’s the only Andarion I’ve been this close to, besides you. Come to think of it, his name’s also Hauk. Only it’s his last name.”
Hauk narrowed his gaze on the ragged human. “Friend or foe?”
“Good friend, so if you plan to shit-talk him, you better be ready to draw again and shoot when you do so.”
Hauk grinned at the man. If he, a human, knew a full-blooded Andarion named Hauk who looked like him, there was only one male it could possibly be. “I never shit-talk Fain behind his back. Only to his face. Otherwise, my brother would kick my ass.”
Bastien went slack-jawed. His eyes registered recognition. “You Dancer?” he asked in total disbelief.
He inclined his head to him. “I’m Dancer.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. Small fucking universe. The way Fain talked about you, I thought you’d be the size and age of the kid you’re with. Had no idea you were so close to his age and build.” Bastien held his arm out to him. At a distance that let Hauk know he really was familiar with Andarions and their culture. “I owe Fain my life. You need a point or anchor, any time, I’m yours.”
He shook his arm. “How you know my brother?”
“He used to live in my neighborhood on Kirovar. We worked out at the same gym. I was the only one who’d spar with him. After awhile, we ended up as drinking buddies.”
While it was true his brother had lived on Kirovar, this story didn’t sound like Fain, who couldn’t stand to be around people. Other than the drinking. For all he knew, Bastien was lying his ass off. “So you must know his firstmate Durden.”
Grimacing, Bastien shook his head. “Never heard him mention a Durden. Didn’t know he had any friends, to be honest. Not that he ever talked much, but when he did, you’re the only one he ever really talked about.”
Now that did sound like Fain. And he was right. Fain didn’t branch out much. Omira had seen to that.
“So did I pass?” Bastien asked.
“Pass what?”
“Your test to see if I’m really a friend of Fain’s. Not that I blame you. Don’t trust strangers as rule, either. But I do know Fain. I even know you have burn scars on your back from a childhood accident he blames himself for. And that his ex-wife was named Omira Antaxes.”
Hauk studied Bastien carefully. They had to be tight for Fain to mention any of that to him. “He must have been drunker than hell to tell you that.”
Bastien rubbed at his neck. “Yeah. It was on what would have been their tenth anniversary. He didn’t handle it well. He even told me why they divorced, and I know that if I allow anything to happen to you, he’ll hunt me down to the ends of the universe and gut me hard.”