Pandora's Chase

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kanor was a tall brute of a man, the likes of which Chase had never encountered before. He hadn't realized men could get that large and actually wondered for a moment if Kanor was some kind of alien. The man dwarfed everyone else around him.

His ship, too, was larger than the others nearby. The cone-shaped cockpit behind Kanor stood three times higher than he; it stretched backward, curving down into a cylinder that led to a thick underbelly. A cargo ship. Two huge engines twice as tall as Chase, both of them hollow in the center, rested under short, stocky wings. The engine rings were about a meter deep and half as thick, nothing like those of the surrounding ships.

Kanor and his profound beard had obviously been working on the ship before Chase's arrival, as he was filthy from head to toe, covered with engine grease and the like.

As Chase drew closer to him, he gave a deep-throated hoot, as if to call wild animals, and crew members began to surface. From inside open compartments on the exterior, under the belly and out from the loading bay, crew members emerged and formed a sort of rebellious line. They looked either unwilling to meet their new passenger or ready to fight whatever peril could have been threatening them. Surprisingly, Chase wasn't worried about them, but when he made eye contact with Kanor, another sharp jolt struck his chest. He flinched at the pain.

"What's wrong, boy?" Kanor spoke with such vigor that Chase could only recoil and shake his head.

"Chase," Cael said, putting his hand on the brute's solid rock of a shoulder, "this is Kanor. And his crew." Cael's hand gestured from one crew member to another as he named them. "Gunny, Snitch, Packet, and Severine." Seeing Severine should have put Chase's mind at ease--she was a small woman and should have been less intimidating than the others. But her annoyed expression was far too hard and tough for him, and it made him uncomfortable. Neither she nor anyone else on this crew looked to have any desire to help Chase.

"Guys," Cael said, speaking to the crew, "this is who I was telling you about. Chase."

A murmur of hellos and head nodding ensued.

"Do we still have a deal?" Cael looked at Kanor.

"That depends," he replied.

"On?" he asked.

"On whether you've kept your end of it." Kanor gave Cael a small grin while rubbing three fingers together to indicate he wanted money. Then he handed Cael a tablet.

"Right!" Cael waved Chase closer, indicating that now was the time to pay.

Every bone in Chase's body said to run. Even the etching on his chest seemed to be burning a distinct warning. But Chase fought his instincts, pulled out his money, and offered it to Cael.

"Not me," Cael said and nodded toward Kanor. "Pay him. He's the one taking you on."

Just as Chase turned to hand his money off to Kanor, the hulking man said, "I don't handle the money. She does." He raised one of his meaty arms and pointed at Severine.

Biting back a frustrated sigh, Chase made his way down to where Severine was waiting. She stuck out a hand as he neared her, and he relinquished his wad of cash. Without even changing her expression or bothering to mutter a thank you, she stuffed the money in one of her pockets. Chase retreated, trying to hide his irritation at the crew's rudeness.

"We good now?" Cael asked Kanor.

"It would appear so," the man answered. He walked over to Chase and stared him down. "Are you the law, a fugitive, or anything else liable to get my crew caught, killed, or pissed off in any way?"