Kara's Ravens

Chapter 1

"Name," the gruff security officer said as the woman handed over her identification, of course it was fake and as was everything she gave to the authorities.

"Hera Voltiir," the woman replied. She was wearing a simple white tank-top with a black overcoat, brown riding pants and black military boots.

"If I let you on the station, I must remind you that your safety is not our responsibility or how people will react to one of your kind being here." The man said with a look of absolute disdain.

'Hera' knew exactly what the man was talking about, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the way she dressed, or her extensive piercings or even her tattoos that could be seen on her neck and snaking under the collar of her shirt, the same being said of her forearms. No, it went far deeper than that. She had pitch black hair, which was right now tied back in a simple ponytail. She had all the curves in all the right places, clearly still evident even in her attire and sandy brown skin with light golden-colored eyes.

While your average traveler would consider her striking and exotic, that was not a word that would be used to describe her in either the Inner Rim or the Eastern Fringes. Here the word used most often to describe her was half-breed, her father being Taiidani and her mother being Hiigaran. While her parents loved her greatly, there was no one else who really felt that way.

Given back her identity card, she slung her bag over her shoulder and having passed through security she re-holstered her C-33 heavy pistols, something her father gave to her on her eighteenth birthday as a bit of a going away present. She remembered his words as if they were yesterday. "Kara, I have done all I can to protect you from the worst this galaxy has to offer, but where you are going there are people that will try and destroy you. Some will hate you because of what you say or do but others just because of who you are. These belonged to my father, they will keep you safe as I have."

The two deep black pistols had lived up to her father's promise, they still had the old imperial stamp on the handle. While the Taiidan Empire had many failings and eventually destroyed itself, there was a reason they had survived for so long. There was a time where any officer worth his salt carried these weapons and it was for a good reason. Even today, there was few weapons that could match these and fewer examples of body armor that could stop the heavy slugs that the weapons fired.

Had it just been the weapons her father had given her, she may have died many years ago, but he had given her other gifts over the years, the same could be said about her mother. Her father had taught Kara every form on unarmed and armed combat that he knew, and she was a good study. By the time she had set out on her own, she could kill a man with any gun, knife or just with her hands if need be. Her mother had taught her to fly almost from the time she could walk, one of those skills that any self-respecting independent needed living out on the ragged edge.

So as she walked towards the meeting place, she had very little concern about the meeting as she was more than equipped to handle herself. As she walked among the throngs of people on this station, she could see that like other stations like it; battlestations and outposts that had been refurbished since the collapse, life had not improved much for them since the empire collapsed nearly one hundred years ago. She knew that this was because the empire had bankrupted its planets to pay for the navy that enforced the emperor's absolute rule, this was also known by everyone else. Problem was that the Taiidani were still a proud people, some of them still sympathetic to the empire. They blamed one group for this, the Hiigarans although in their minds they would only be called exiles, refusing acknowledge their claim to the ancestral homeworld.

As she pressed through the groups of people, she could hear the insults whispered and people giving her dirty looks. This was something that she had become accustomed to, when she noticed a large Taiidani male approaching her with a knife in hand.

Kara was ready for this, and while she could have easily challenged him with the knife she kept strapped to her right boot, she instead pulled out one of the pistols from her holster, holding it in one hand with the barrel pointed to the floor in a relaxed stance. Seeing that he was outplayed, the man just sneered.

"Finish your business and be on your way, you're kind is not welcome here. But before you go, please stop by the station's fusion plant so we can sterilize you and prevent you from corrupting Taiidani genetic purity and further."

"I have a better idea, how about you step aside before I finish what evolution failed to weed out and leave you as nutrients for some feral Triikors," Kara growled right back at him, her brow furrowed and her eyes becoming a more intense golden color.

Clearly the man was no expecting such a challenge and sheathed his weapon before walking away and spitting out insults as he left. Kara sighed as she holstered her weapon and continued her way through the station until she reached the little club where her contact was waiting. Entering the club, she allowed the man at the front to take her coat and proceeded to roam his eyes up and down her body. Kara patiently tapped the handles of her pistols which prompted the man to hang up the coat and avert his eyes somewhere else.

Kara for the most part looked like she belonged here, here ensemble very much matched with that of the patrons, the low rise and snug pants combined with the tank top showed some midriff and her navel ring and ink on her toned abdomen. There was one thing that set her apart and that was the large pistols on her hips but that was one accessory she would never part with. She sauntered over to a booth where a creature was sitting, it was a bipedal creature with very similar dimorphisms to that of others here, the difference being three fingers to a hand, dark green scaly skin, and facial features that were similar to that of a reptile. When Kara sat down, she remembered why the pistols she carried were designed with such a powerful projectile. Frerrni were tough to take down.

"Sarchi," Kara said as she signaled the server to come over and ordered a drink.

"Kara, you're looking as stunning as ever," the Frerrni male said, his deep bass voice rumbled with the occasional clicking sound. "So when are you going to stop running around and trying to eek out a living in this junkyard of a sector, I'm always looking for good pilots."

Kara chuckled as this and shook her head, "because I would probably end up on your assault cruiser."

"Is there something wrong with my ship?" He said as he leaned forward, the breath from his nostrils causing an errant strand of hair that had fallen out of Kara's ponytail to fall out and billow slightly as she had leaned forward at the same time.

"Because my dear Sarchi," Kara said with a sly grin as she ran the back of her hand along the side of his face that she knew drove him mad. "Women invited to serve on your ship have a tendency to end up in your quarters."

"They all leave satisfied," he returned, his crimson eyes with the black centers turned almost predatory.

"I'm sure they do, but…" Kara said, indicating to his mouth and razor-sharp teeth. "Those, and my jewelry won't exactly mix, and I'm quite fond of my ear lobes, brows, nose and lips."

A groaning sound could be heard from the male as he looked ready to pounce her, "as am I my dear Kara."

"Is that what you tell the rest of the girls?" Kara said, finally sitting back and lounging in the booth comfortably. "Problem is, I'm sure your government would be a little annoyed that an upstanding officer such as you was sleeping with a pirate wanted by several of their trade partners."

The Frerrni sighed as he sat back with a sigh, the tease was finally over. "Our government has also gained a fair amount from your exploits."

"What can I say? Give me experimental ion drives, an ungodly amount of reserve reaction mass and mass driver ammunition and I'm putty in your hands. Your people know how to make a girl happy."

"A girl that's wanted in over two hundred systems?" Sarchi said, bobbing his head up, their equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

"It was two hundred thirty-three, but make that two hundred thirty-four," Kara said as she tossed a small device his way. "That has the location of the disabled freighter with your stolen missiles on board, must say it sure is fun tangling with the imperials, almost as fun as when we stole Captain Soban's frigate and took it for a little test drive. That man sure gets riled up when you walk into the most heavily defended starbase and sail off with his pride and joy. I told him I was going to only borrow it, and he would have it back without a scratch. Learned the new names they're calling us mixed race people on the 'illustrious homeworld'."

Kara watched as she noticed that Sarchi's posture had completely changed, his eyes were looking elsewhere and she could hear the occasional clicking. For an operative of the Frerrn Aggregate he sure had a soft spot for her problems, and in spite of the teasing, she thought he was a good man and would make some female happy one day.

"We're not going to do this here, are we?" Kara said folding her arms across her chest and looked at him. "Sarchi, there's nothing you can do about it."

"Sorry Kara, it's just I thought your people would be different. I mean so few of you survived the exile and I assumed they would want every last one of their own to help rebuild. But no, by the next generation they're willing to throw out anyone who might be different. I mean it wasn't like your father was an imperial. For crying out loud, he was Captain Elson's ground commander!" Sarchi said, his voice rising slightly, but not really heard over the music of the club. "You warned them that the array network was vulnerable and they did nothing until you took that fool Soban's ship and they finally saw the light. Now they want to drag you before their courts and throw you to the wolves. One of their own kin, and for what? Just because the blood in your veins does not come completely from Hiigara."

"Sarchi…" Kara swallowed as she looked at him with a smile, "thanks, good to know I still have friends out here." Kara tried to make herself as strong as she could, but still it wore her down, not having a place that she was welcome and running from place to place just to stay ahead of the angry mobs.

"So, you said you might have something else for me?"

Sarchi still avoided her gaze, making it clear that this was no ordinary job and perhaps this is what was bothering him the most. Kara placed her hand on his wrist, getting his attention.

"Sarchi, we both know I need the work. My ships need fuel and my crew needs to be fed. What's the job?"

"Well," Sarchi began, gazing back at her in a paralyzing stare. "Have you ever been to the Hethlim Ice Fields?"