Drasus

Icheck my instruments again. It appears Draxx and Drelix are some way behind me, as the trading moon grows larger in my viewscreen.

Unfortunately, as I get closer, the harder it is to follow the engine signature I picked up at the Kirakos. It's becoming lost in the numerous trails which criss-cross the space around the moon. However, given the damage which seems to have been done to the ship, it would make sense for it to put in for repairs somewhere and this is the closest place.

Habar rises up in my vision. I have memories of the place, but they are dull and distant. They could be good or bad. I know it was the last place we all gathered before we did the one final act which earned us the last three evs in the Kirakos.

It is not a safe place, not if my mate has been taken there. As much as we thrived, as much as the tame Habosu who ran the place did his best to balance the dark, the light, and the grey, there were corners which were blackness.

If my Coral is caught up in any of those places, I shudder to think what might be happening to her. The engines of the flyer whine as I increase my speed. I probably should wait for Draxx and Drelix to catch up, but one Sarkarnii should be enough to, at least initially, be of enough concern to those in Harbar for me to gain an initial upper hand.

No one likes a fully shifted Sarkarnii spoiling their pretty marketplace. Or even their dirty one, as is the case in Harbar. We are chaos and most species know it.

"Unidentified flyer."My comm crackles to life. "State your species and your trade."

"Sarkarnii, and I seek revenge on those who took my mate."

The silence which follows my statement is one of panic. I feel my lips twitch into a grimace and then a grin.

"I am coming for you, Coral. I am coming to claim you once and for all," I grit out.

"Access to the Harbar is denied, Sarkarnii. We don't want trouble here," the terrified voice on my comm says.

"Too bad, because I'm landing, whether you like it or not."

I swing the flyer round, dipping below the level of their pulsar cannon, although I doubt they'd dare fire on a Sarkarnii ship, especially when we can survive a short time in the vacuum and cold of space in our shifted form.

A Sarkarnii, seeking his mate, nevved off from being ripped from his ship? That, Harbar does not want because what they're getting in the next few seccari is bad enough.

As expected, the cannons do not fire, and I blast through the forcefield covering the main trading hangar, landing the flyer with ease, close to the entrance into the trading zones, ships scattering at my approach.

Stepping out from the flyer, I inhale the stale air the Preator allows in these zones. It's filled with a thousand scents, the vast majority related to burning meat and many species in close proximity.

And there's one, just one, which sets me on fire.

"Coral," I growl.

One of the Preator's administrators, an Ololu, all orange skin and tubes hanging from his back, curling around his white toga, has made the epic mistake of approaching me, clip-pad in his multi-fingered hand.

Artur always used to say, if you have to have administrators, ones which can input data quicker than any other species are the best, even if Ololu make most species' skin crawl.

I grab him by the neck and lift him from the floor.

"Where is my mate?" I growl.

"You can only come here if you wish to trade, Sarkarnii," he squeaks.

"How about I trade your miserable life for the location of my mate?" I suggest evenly, letting my fangs extend as I give him a hungry look.

"You wouldn't eat an employee of the Preator!" He retorts. "Don't you know what we are?"

"I'll eat any data pusher who keeps me from my mate. I don't discriminate." I keep my voice low, menacing as I give his neck another squeeze.

The Ololu are very good at what they do, irritating the nev out of legitimate traders. It's the reason everything in the hangar is screwed down, or things would be thrown at them, frequently.

He squeaks in alarm, tapping on his clip-pad with some desperation. "There are no other Sarkarnii here," he says, his voice trembling.

"Look for human," I growl.

His fingers fly over the surface of his pad.

"Two humans. They're in the linen quarter."

I drop the Ololu. He immediately tries to bite my ankles.

"Really?" I look down at him. "You haven't met many Sarkarnii, have you?"

With a further squeak, he scuttles away, tubes rattling. I expect I have half an uri or less before the Preator's robot guards find me.

I don't care.

There are two humans in Harbar and one of them is my Coral. My mate is so close, I can scent her. I can almost feel her warmth, snuggled close to my chest.

"Drasus!" I turn at the sound of Draxx's voice.

The general is striding towards me, Drelix at his side, and the pair are grim faced.

"My mate is here! Both females are here," I call out.

"We have a problem," Draxx says. "I managed to reach Draco. They've been pursuing the Bognarok and they are heading here, to Harbar."

"They must be after the humans," I growl. "Did you tell him about the Habosu?"

"I did, and that's the problem. The Bognarok are not alone. They have a Habosu mercenary force with them."

I roll my neck. "Then it's about time the Habosu find out what happens when you cross the Sarkarnii."

Draxx grins at me. "I'd hoped you'd say that. I have a plan."

Drelix folds his arms and huffs out a long stream of smoke.

"Why am I getting the feeling I'm not going to like it?"

Draxx claps a hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes. "Sometimes, your lack of memory works in your favor, warrior. Like your lack of pants."

Drelix chokes on his smoke.

"Nev the pants. Give me the plan. I want to find my mate and bury myself in her."