Stars Gods Wolves by Dan Kirshtein (good books for 8th graders .TXT) 📗

It was a very quiet rage that filled her, reminding her that the man who had shown her such love when she felt lonely had died alone in space. It was at this very inopportune time that Harper and Nitro approached her. That is, Harper approached her. Nitro seemed to barrel out and demand something. He grabbed the nearest chair, and it collapsed as he placed it down. So he grabbed another chair and placed it in front of her. He sat down, leaning on his knees to stare in her face. Harper was satisfied not making a scene, and sat on the table behind the mercenary. “Can I help you gentlemen?” she asked.

Nitro nodded, his eyes as mad as usual. “Me and the pilot were talking.” His bony finger danced between himself and Harper. “We were definitely shot down. We know that for a fact.” It now pointed upward, as if he were counting the facts that they knew. “We also know—” a second finger rose, “—that you government types are supposed to keep tabs on planetary airspace before and after a course is charted!”

“The planet just had an extinction event, I had assumed…”

“Bullshit!” Nitro interrupted her, leaning closer.

Without pausing, she snapped at him calmly yet firmly. “Things getting too tough for you, captain?”

Nitro laughed in anger, unable to respond to such an insult. “Oh, you piece of—” he stood up, wagging a finger at her, waiting for words to come to him that weren’t loaded in a rifle. “Oh, honey.” He ground his teeth and kicked the chair away. It clashed against the nearby wall.

Harper finally gave his input. “We think you know who shot us down.” Gally’s eyes turned to him, solemnly. It wasn’t intentional, although she was quite good at manipulating men, but she would occasionally let her face drop to reveal her inner sadness and helplessness. She was just beginning to realize her own selfishness was costing them money and lives. The change in her expression was all the confirmation Harper needed. “Ah, shit,” he grumbled.

The captain was now leaning against the wall, staring daggers at her. “I’m gonna ignore—” he started, a fist tapping the wall next to him as he spoke. “No, I’m gonna forget the fact that you knowingly withheld information that we needed in order to do our jobs. But before the next words that come out of my mouth are ‘this contract is null and void’, do you think it would be prudent to enlighten us with this information?”

“It’s the Eighth,” she conceded, speaking as if she was an outsider looking into her own horrible situation.

While the pilot didn’t react, he watched Nitro slump against the wall. He gathered from the reaction that this was bad news. “What the shit,” the captain muttered. “Why the shit.”

“More specifically, it’s Rook.”

Nitro blinked. “Their leader,” he grunted in disbelief, staring at her. “Seriously.”

“I don’t know why he’s here, but he killed my dad.”

Harper slapped the table with his palm, about to say something harsh, but thinking better of it. The only thing he did say came out rushed. “This whole thing is just a vendetta?”

Gally leaned back against the wall, no longer wanting to apologize. “Look, there’s what the job dictates, and there’s what I want.”

Nitro nodded, disdain in his voice. “Nice job cherry-picking a job that does both, by the way.” He nearly stormed off before he saw Josie approaching. “Shame it’s gonna kill us all.”

Josie gave her captain a confused look before she leaned into the conversation, as if suddenly taking an interest in a movie they were watching. She could feel the intensity, and immediately looked to Gally. “You telling them?”

Nitro nodded to answer her before he realized what she’d asked. “Wait, you knew?”

She shrugged, looking at the others as if it were obvious. “I got eyes, don’t I?” Harper tried to pretend that he didn’t feel like an idiot. But he couldn’t help thinking Josie was right; he was as blind as the rest of them. She popped open a bottle of water and sat down next to Gally. “Who’d you lose? Boyfriend? Mom?”

“Dad,” Gally whispered. “He served on the Ballpoint. Rook shot him in cold blood.”

Josie nodded. Her awkward silence and stretched facial expression suggested she was eager to help, but unsure of how. She gave Gally a comforting clap on the shoulder and stared at the floor. “That’s, uh,” she searched for the word before her tone became more decided. “That’s rough,” she said, and there was a brief silence.

Nitro’s slow nod turned into him standing, as if tired of a social function and making his way out the door. “I’ll say it’s rough.” He slapped his knees. “But, steal a ship, bring back some bodies, and get out of here. That’s the plan, and that’s what’s in the contract.”

Nearly in unison, everyone in the conversation looked at him as if he was an asshole—apart from Josie, who always wore that face. As if acknowledging their expressions, he clarified with one long sentence that built slowly into a yell. “Well, the ship part is implied. But this shit is between you and him, and I’m not making two stops!” And he stormed off, uncertain of with whom he was arguing. “I’m not!”

While he struggled to wrap a tattered blanket around his shoulders, Martin watched Nitro storm past him. The others had all tapered off, leaving Gally alone, still sitting in the corner with her arms around her knees. The doctor had heard the conversation, and realized he was staring at the girl.

They met eyes, and Martin wondered if he was beginning to understand her. Her eyes reminded him of the day he’d been taken from his home. She looked helpless and lost, as he had been. The slightest frown appeared on his face, and his mouth hung open as he searched for something to say. He remembered the transport lights flickering, the silence on his way to Heru. He felt that silence now, and