Excerpt

     The passengers of the Korro Nett were in an extreme state of panic.  They had heard the sounds of shots being fired, people yelling, and what appeared to be an intense sword fight.  For the past few minutes, though, there was only silence.

      Maria continued her attempts to calm her son, though he was already settled down.  She was stoking his hair gently.  He was so brave, she thought to herself.  He seemed more composed than the adults in the compartment.

     A hush fell over the group, however, when the silence outside was broken by the clatter of numerous approaching footsteps.  Everyone tensed as the sound stopped right outside the door to the passenger hold.  Suddenly, under emergency power, the door snapped upward with a sharp hissing noise.

     At first, Maria and the other passengers could see nothing, as the corridor outside the passenger compartment was just as poorly lit as it was inside.  Then a shape formed; it was an Auri-Entel woman that appeared to Maria to be in her mid to late twenties.  She was followed by two of her shipmates who were dragging Captain Alegna between them.

     The captain looked pitiful.  To Maria, it appeared as though he had been pummeled so as to extract some piece of information from him.  She knew because, in her early years, she had seen several men with this exact appearance.  Exhausted, he didn’t say anything, but he looked at Maria.

     Auri-Tang Shann followed the direction of Captain Alegna’s weary gaze.  She regarded Maria and Tommy, and then motioned in their direction.

     “This is Shallowhorne’s wife and brat,” Auri-Shann stated matter-of-fact.  Alegna moaned as the two pirates dropped him into a heap in the middle of the floor, and then headed for the Shallowhornes.  Maria drew her son in closer and tried to back away.

     “Why do you want us?” Maria pleaded of Auri-Tang Shann.

     “I don’t,” the young Auri-Entel responded with a sarcastic tone.  Then she motioned behind her, toward the doorway.  “She does.”

     Everyone turned to see that another woman had entered the room undetected.  She, also, was an Auri-Entel woman— athletically built, but a little older than Auri-Tang Shann.  She was dressed colorlessly, with a white, loose-fitting shirt slackly laced up the front, black pants, and black leather thigh-high boots.  The woman had a thick, leather belt at her waist with a holster attached to her right side.  A small, sheathed blade was attached to her left thigh, over her boot.

     Maria saw that she appeared to be holding a sword, but suddenly, the blade began retracting into an unusually skeletal-looking right hand.  At first, she thought it was some form of a mutation, then she realized that the hand was not natural, but a mechanical replacement.  Still, in the darkness, it was hard for Maria to make out the face.

     Appearing to read her mind, the Auri-Entel woman slowly stepped forward.  As she neared Maria and Tommy, Maria saw her face more clearly, and a wave of terrified recognition rushed over her.  Everyone in the room could hear her gasp.