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  Freak Factor

  Copyright © 2009 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-55487-275-6

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

  Look for us online at:

  www.devinedestinies.com

  Freak Factor: Sector Guard Book 1

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  “You know, the kind of repair that you are requesting will cost you.” Dock master Vin nodded wisely as he spoke into his com unit. “I have a specialist who can do the job, but not at the price you want.”

  “Whatever. Your station comes highly recommended. As long as your specialist can do the job, we will pay. If I bring this thing in in this shape, I’ll get fired.” The male voice was tense and it made Vin smile.

  The commander of the vessel was obviously concerned and Vin was fully willing to take advantage of that concern financially. Kaddaka station was out of the way, but his secret weapon was making them known for their perfect repairs.

  The com crackled again, “And, just so you know, we are coming in hot. We have no engines and are moving at speed. If you don’t send out your specialist, we are going to hit the station.”

  * * * *

  “Mala! Get that lazy ass of yours out of bed and get down here. We have a repair and it is coming in hot!” Her com unit shrieked her awake as it had several times this year.

  Struggling to wake, she rolled out of bed, “Geez, Vin. How long do we have?”

  “They are inbound and they have no power. Your team is on its way.”

  She was hopping up and down on one foot to get into her coveralls. A few sharp tugs and it was covering the bodysuit that she slept in. “Get the cradle ready, Vin. I am gonna take it to them as soon as I get there.”

  “Then get your ass moving. We have less than an hour to do this.” The click of the com was enough. He was serious and she was moving.

  Her tiny quarters on the station were sparse. The money she had saved by doing impossible fixes for incredible prices was piling up nicely. She bolted through the halls, crew and vendors backing up against the walls to let her pass. The screaming scarlet of her repair suit was enough of a warning to them and so she passed dozens on her way to the repair bay.

  Gergar was holding out her space suit in two of his four arms. She jumped into it and started slapping the closures. He sighed, took her hands away and slowly sealed her suit for her.

  “You keep doing it that way, Mala, and you are going to be breathing nothing out there.”

  “I know. Sorry. It’s just that Vin sounded so excited on the com. It seemed urgent.” Her understatement was marked by a roar.

  “Get your asses in gear and get out there.”

  “You heard the man. Let’s get our asses out there.” She clipped her helmet into place checked her tanks and stepped into the mag boots. “Checking interior coms.”

  “Check.” Gergar gave her four thumbs up.

  “Check,” Rihal hissed through her mic. Her suit had a tail extension and she pressurized it to make sure it was sealed.

  With her small team ready, Mala nodded for them to take their scooters and she took driving position on her pride and joy, the cradle. The cradle was a connected network of rockets that expanded to surround and lock onto a powerless ship to steer it back to the station.

  “Coordinates coming up,” Vin’s voice echoed in her helmet.

  Mala flipped the toggles that would get her up and running. As soon as the data flashed in front of her, she was out. This was her favourite part of duty, the thrill of the race through space.

  Vin had cleared the path outbound so her team could really haul ass. So haul they did. Traffic was steady around the station, but no one was dumb enough to get in their way. A broadcast had gone out to keep private ships out of the area because an emergency ship repair crew was coming. Everyone knew what that meant.

  It took fifteen minutes of dodging debris and terse communications, but finally they were at their prize and it was a beauty.

  “Lady and gentleman, do you know what this is?”

  “It looks so new.” Rihal was in awe. Gergar was silent.

  “Oh, it is, very. That is a Reflex ship.” She was already jockeying for position. “Ahoy the ship!” It was tricky, suddenly in reverse to match the speed of the approaching craft.

  “This is the Class One. Please identify.”

  “Repair crew from Kaddaka Station. Please be advised that we will be fastening rockets to the hull for manoeuvres back to the repair bay.”

  “Do you have confirmation of your identities?”

  “No. But we do have a rocket assembly. How many pirates would be out on scooters with an engine cradle? My name is Mala, you can check with Vin.” She sighed and looked at the sleek hull of the ship. “I will be using magnetic attachment so as not to mar the hull, please have your pilot notify me of any discomfort.” She started to move fast. Her boots enabled her to walk the ship’s surface and, in only a few minutes, she and her team had locked the magnet grips into place and were climbing back into their respective conveyances.

  “Uh, we will. Thank you.” The masculine voice sounded amused. “Let us know when you hook up.”

  “I am attached and we are heading for Kaddaka station. Estimated arrival time, three minutes.”

  The male voice was a little stressed. “I thought you were going to attach rockets.”

  “I did.”

  “Then why are we still moving at this speed?”

  She chuckled, it wasn’t the first time that she had gotten a panicked call from a ship at this point. “I am not going to hit the brakes until we are within easy pushing distance of the station.

  What would be the point?”

  He didn’t seem happy, but replied, “You are correct. Or at least I hope you are. If not we are going to make a large splat at the station.”

  “I have been doing this for years and have never lost a shuttle or ship.”

  He was suddenly suspicious. “How many years?”

  She laughed, he had caught her. “At least two. Whoops. Prepare for braking.” His chatter had distracted her and she winced as she triggered the front thrusters to slow the ship. This was the one moment she was worried about the connections. Traffic was still going around their path so Vin was doing his job.

  She slowed the ship down to a controlled float and eased it toward the open repair bay. Gergar and Rihal floated in beside her, keeping the ship from bumping the edges of the doorway. It wouldn’t do for them to put more damage on the ship. It would come out of their pay.

  With finesse and not a little pride, Mala landed the cradle in the docking area. Clamps came out to hold the ship and she disengaged her pride and joy. The rockets folded together and another clamp came out to bring the cradle to storage. She climbed out before that could happen.

  Mala stood and smiled at her crew through her helmet and gave them both a thumbs up. Mission accomplished. Now for the hard part. “Team, prepare for complete scan and repair of the ship. Be warned. Reflex ships are wired to a living operator. The operator can feel the ship like their own body. Be gentle.” She crossed the floor and grabbed a data pad. It was time to make some notes.

  “Blast damage on the forward nacelle,” Rihal piped up.

  “Blast damage on the nose, indicative of a battle,” Gergar was decidedly cheerful.

  “Blast damage on left engine port,” she put in her own two cents.

  “Blast damage on right engine port.”

  “Tail broken and metal fatigue throughout rear portion of the hull. Yup. This would keep them from flying straight all right.” It was a final confirmation of the damage. She sent the report to Vin and he told her he would forward it to the occupants of the ship. She looked forward to the go ahead. She wanted to get her hands on her first Reflex ship.

  Chapter Two

  Inside the ship, Isabi was busy removing the results of a cold sweat from his body. “Did you know she was going to cut it that close, Helen?”

  The pilot leaned against the frame and smirked at him. “From what we have heard, yes. I did think that she would conserve her resources until the last moment. I didn’t know you were this twitchy, Isabi.”

  “Only when my life is at stake and an unknown quantity is controlling whether I live or die. I am funny that way.” He stretched and flexed muscles that had grown taut. The repair woman had almost killed them and Helen Ta line was remarkably calm about it.

  “Didn’t you read her histories? She is incapable of damaging a ship. She knows every inch of every ship she has ever seen, she knew that this was a Reflex as soon as she saw it. That is not an identification that most techs in the Alliance could have made.”

  “Fine. How did she know?”

  “That is what we are here to find out.” The ship shifted and it began its slow progression into the detail repair bay. They would soon be in a breathable atmosphere with access to the station amenities, including restocking their galley. The light to the outer airlock went green. “Now, we will see what she can do.”

  * * * *

  Taking off her EVA suit was a lot easier than putting it on. Boots first, then helmet and finally, she unsealed the baggy thing. She stumbled free and stretched just as the hatch opened to reveal the occupants of the ship.

  “Holy mother of stars,” Mala whispered it as quietly as she could, but there was no getting around the fact that the male Selna was one of the most attractive things she had ever seen.

  She shook her head, of course he was. All Selna put out pheromones causing compatible races to want to mate. Mala’s mixed bloodline was no exception.

  She stayed out of their way and merely nodded to the pilot as she passed. It was easy to determine that she was the controller for the ship. The ports in her wrists gave it away. The pilot looked with a smile between Mala and Isabi. Apparently, Mala should have been writhing on the floor in front of the Selna. That just wasn’t her style.

  Her repair crew helped her look busy as the occupants made the long walk to the end of the repair bay and they waited until the Selna and pilot were out the door. The instant that the coast was clear, Mala stripped off her gloves and ran her hands over the hull. The minor and major damage caused by the blasts ceased to exist at her touch, the metal joining, sealing and healing under her fingers.

  This was why she made the credits that she did. The money was compensation for the perfect repairs that she was capable of. It was her one skill, this repair talent, her freak factor when it came to blending in with other techs.

  She moved slowly along the ship, inch by inch, clearing and eradicating all trace of the battle. Whatever had hurt this beautiful ship had been brutal. The damage had been deliberate and designed to turn the ship into a paralyzed meteor, it had worked. The poor baby.

  She was murmuring to the ship when she reached the engine damage. “Gergar, I need some metal here.” She stroked the superficial damage on the exterior of the housing and waited for the hand to tap her shoulder. She took the metal sheet blindly and held it in place, feeling it melt into the surface of the ship. She could repair anything as long as she had enough materials to patch up the holes.

  “I am going to need three more of those if this engine was any indication.” She clambered over the ship, keeping her focus on feeling the entirety of the ship at all times. It took her two more hours, but at last she was finished. Dizzy and terribly pleased with herself, Mala sat heavily next to the ship and turned to face her crew. Dismay filled her.

  “You know, if I hadn’t seen it for myself, I never would have believed it.”

  The Selna from the ship leaned on one of the pylons and played with one of the chunks of metal she had been using to reconstitute the engines.

  “The report was quite insistent that she was capable of it. I am glad to see that it was not exaggerated.” The pilot was smiling.

  Whatever race she was from was in Mala’s own makeup. She could feel kinship with the strange pale creature with its wide eyes and cheerful grin. Her crew was huddled together near the door, mouths gagged and arms and tail confined. “Let them go and tell me what you want.”

  The beautiful Selna moved close to her and whispered, “We want you.”

  Chapter Three

  “For what? Your ship is fine, you have already paid, so you can just go.” She kept her back to the ship and reached out to support herself. She was always weak as a kittling after a repair.

  “Is there somewhere we can speak? Privately?” The Selna was still close.

  Too close for her peace of mind and he smelled too damned good. “Sure. Give me a few minutes to refresh myself and we can go to one of the station diners.” She needed a cleanse and she definitely needed food. “Untie my crew first.”

  The pilot simply nodded and, with a few economical movements, she released the workers. Rihal’s tail was the last thing unfettered and the pilot jumped back as she triggered the release, narrowly missing the swipe of retribution.

  “Rihal, Gergar. Leave it. It will be fine,” she barked the order and they immediately stood down. She didn’t often throw her weight around, but when she did, she meant business. Her discomfited crew slowly left the bay, leaving Mala with the two newcomers.

  The Selna came toward her again, seduction in every line of his body. “I would rather we talked immediately.”

  “Well, I would rather be half a meter taller. It isn’t going to happen.” She took a deep breath and strode for the door. “My quarters are this way, I need a cleanse and a change of clothing.

  Then I can eat.” She moved through the halls with a weary plodding gait. All she wanted was a way to eat as she slept, but that wasn’t going to happen. Her two shadows stayed with her up one hall and down the other. When they finally reached her quarters, she stopped. “You can’t come in.”

  He blinked at her. “Why ever not?”

  He was completely clueless. “I have one room and a small cleansing unit. No room for dressing in there. I am not stomping around naked with you in there.”

  The pilot stepped between them. “Isabi. Just stay outside. I will go in and keep my back to her.”

  “Good compromise.” Mala headed into her room and, as soon as the pilot crossed the threshold, she triggered the lock. “Just in case he gets nosey.”

  “He is really too cocky for his own good. He is far too used to women just flopping onto their backs and spreading their thighs.”

  Mala blinked. “Uh, that is quite the image. I will be right out.” She headed into the cleanser and stripped. She had lied, there was room in the chamber for clothing, in fact it was where her wardrobe was. To conserve space, she had opted for the gel cleanser and now she took a deep breath and stood under it as it covered her from head to toe and then hardened into a shell. She waited for a three count and then the sonic blast hit her, blowing the gel into bits. A quick swipe with a towel and she was ready for fresh clothing. She used the com unit in the room to place an order at her favourite diner for lunch for three. It would be ready when they arrived.

  One baggy jumpsuit and some clean boots later, she was ready for company. “Sorry for the wait.” Oh, she was so glad she had dressed in the cleansing chamber. The Selna was inside her room. A quick glance told her two things. One, her door was still locked and two he was looking very disappointed that she was wearing a jumpsuit.

  She opened and closed her mouth in surprise. Something was going on here and she didn’t know what. Never mind that, she was still hungry. She said nothing, merely led the way out of her room and down the hallway. Her favourite diner had private rooms. As soon as they were behind the silence screens, she was getting to the bottom of this. It was one weird day.

  The brighter light of the commercial halls made her blink and she stumbled for a moment until she acclimated. The instant that her footing became uncertain, she felt a hand under her elbow. She didn’t need to look to know who it was. The Selna had an unusual fascination with her and she was going to disabuse him of that idea as soon as she could. Men were a department of her life that she wanted to leave dormant. She straightened her shoulders and simply moved out of his grip. They were at their destination.

  “Mala! How nice to see you. We have your room ready.” The Ontex nodded, his small silver frame and enormous black eyes incongruous to his voice.

  “Hey, Milton. Thanks for being so attentive.” She followed him to the private room that she had reserved and sat on a floor cushion next to the low table. Her guests sat to either side of her. The food arrived while they were staring at each other. As the host, she portioned out the food and filled the beverage cups.

 

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