There was fear in his eyes when he spoke, fear for his friend’s life.

  “Save her,” he begged, his voice hoarse from age and adrenaline.

  Mikhail knew his limitations. Compared to him, Special Agent Nyasi stood a much better chance of reaching Kal before the other member of Dao’s supremacy group could find her.

  And if they already had her, it would eventually lead to a fight between a biological Terran and a biotic Sunguard Special Agent. Of what the outcome of that fight would be, Mikhail didn’t have the slightest doubt. Kal would be safe in the hands of the young, black woman now standing confidently in front of him—but only if she was the one to go. He himself, with his aging body decimated by half a century of hard work on the streets of Kerrma-non, would not stand a chance against a young Terran supremacist. And that’s if he could even reach his friend in time.

  He hoped Special Agent Nyasi would see it his way.

  She probably wouldn’t, Mikhail thought to himself. That was the whole point of her being biotic: she didn’t care about status or connections. She didn’t value one life above another. She would only be able to save one victim, and it was probably up to pure chance which one she would choose.

  “I will,” she promised, contrary to what he had expected her to say. The compassion in her voice caught him with surprise. The strength of her gaze as she looked into his eyes comforted him. He knew everything would be alright now.

  Perhaps, he mused, it was precisely because she didn’t value one life above another that she had agreed to save Kal and leave Dao and Tamor to him. Because if, to her, Kal’s life carried the same value as Tamor’s, it didn’t matter either way who she chose to save. And so, she had opted to show compassion and save Mikhail’s dear friend.

  He took a minute to compose himself, still hidden behind the corner of the travel agency. He steadied his breathing in preparation for confronting Dao.

  The sun had just cleared the tops of the skyscrapers obscuring the horizon. In the heavens, two birds were calling to each other as they chased one another in a playful hunting display. To the east, a heavy starship was descending towards Kerrma-non Airport, carrying with it the treasures and promises of faraway worlds.

  He stood there on the pavement, smelling the morning dew evaporating after a long, cold night, as it was being replaced by the dust of the hot summer day to come. This was Jerr. This was his world. His home.

  Unarmed, he was at a distinct disadvantage here. But he was still a Sunguard Special Agent—perhaps not officially, but in his heart, he would never cease to be one. Despite his age, Mikhail Johnson was still the most formidable enemy Jonas Doa was likely to ever have faced.

  From the small satchel he had been carrying with him, Mikhail retrieved his old jacket. Gray, unadorned—except for the single red stripe running down its sides—it was utilitarian. There were no medals or insignias of rank on it, yet, it clearly stated his purpose to everyone who saw it. It instilled fear in those who would do harm, and brought hope to those in need. Quickly, he donned it on top of his shirt, and placed his old, weathered fedora on his head.

  Calmly, Mikhail Johnson, Sunguard Special Agent, stepped into the devil’s den.

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  The young Jerrassian woman—surveillance had identified her as Lamat Nor—sat in a chair in front of the sales desk inside the travel agency, fear evident in her eyes as they dashed from the bomb strapped to her chest to Jonas Dao standing beside her, and then further on to Mikhail, who had now entered the store with a limp.

  He locked eyes with her. “It’s going to be alright, Nor,” he said, in passable Jerrassian. Though his throat was physically incapable of creating the deepest sounds of the alien language, he was still fluent in it. The accent didn’t prevent the woman from understanding him. The use of the hated native language did, however, prevent the Terran supremacist from doing so.

  “Shut up!” Dao shouted. “If you use bear talk again, I’ll kill her!”

  He pointed to the bomb strapped to her chest to make sure Mikhail understood.

  The Special Agent raised his hands in mock surrender and nodded.

  “Let her go,” Mikhail said to Dao, now in Interstellar. “It’s Tamor Wren you want, not this girl.”

  “Sure,” Dao replied, contempt evident in his voice. “And the moment I let her go, you’ll shoot me.”

  “I’m unarmed,” Mikhail replied, waving his hands as supporting evidence. “I don’t mean you should let her go without getting anything in return. I’ll take her place.”

  That offer caught Dao’s attention. Using a Jerrassian as a human shield was all fine and good, but the chance to get to kill a Special Agent was perhaps even more tempting.

  “Here’s what we’ll do,” Mikhail continued. “You’ll back off two meters, and then aim your gun at my head. Meanwhile, I’ll slowly remove the bomb harness from the girl and put it on myself instead. Then I’ll sit down, and you’ll let the girl leave the shop.”

  Dao took a moment to consider the new situation before eventually agreeing to the exchange. As the Special Agent lifted the harness off the terrified girl’s neck, she shook her head at him in silent thanks.

  But if Jonas Dao was the kind of man who was willing to kill innocent people just because of their race, he certainly wasn’t above breaking his word. As soon as Mikhail had sat down in the chair Lamat Nor previously had occupied, Dao—rather than releasing her—ordered the girl to the back of the shop. To Dao, she was just a prize—one more Jerrassian he could kill. With a whimper, she sat down behind the sales desk together with Tamor Wren and the customers who had been in her shop when the Terran had invaded it.

  “Don’t try anything funny, Sunguard,” Dao ordered him. “If you attempt to disarm the bomb, it’ll go off. You’ll be dead before you know it.”

  Despite the betrayal, a sense of calm filled Mikhail as he sat there in the shop. He had promised the young girl she would be safe, and that was a promise he intended to keep. Now, by betraying his promise to Mikhail, Dao had forced his hand.

  A soft voice seemed to speak in his ear. The neural writer he wore, now hidden below his fedora, relayed Special Agent Nyasi’s words to him with perfect clarity and complete discretion.

  “Kal is safe,” Nyasi said.

  That was all Mikhail needed to hear.

  He sat up straight in the chair, the small bomb still strapped to his chest. Beside him stood Jonas Dao, his hand gaser pointed in Mikhail’s general direction as the supremacist scanned the room, trying to figure out what to do next. And behind them both, hidden on the far side of the large, solid sales desk, were the eight Jerrassian hostages.

  It had been a good life, a life lived in service of the Terran Federation, the Sunguard, and his adopted homeworld. It had all been worth it.

  In the face of what was to come, Sunguard Special Agent Mikhail Johnson did not look away.

  With a quick stroke of his right hand, he suddenly ripped the cables out of the homemade bomb he wore. The circuitry inside immediately detected the tampering and ignited the blasting cap, triggering the detonation of the main explosive. Within less than a millisecond, the resulting explosion had ripped apart his body, the chair he was sitting in, and the Terran supremacist standing next to him.

  Protected behind the sales desk, the eight Jerrassians were perfectly safe.

  In the moment before his consciousness ceased to exist, one final name lingered on his mind.

  “Amanda,” Mikhail thought.

  Thank you for reading Twilight Duty! What you've experienced is just one of many stories set in the expansive Lords of the Stars universe I've been developing over the past 30 years. If you enjoyed it, there are many more tales to explore, where familiar characters and locations might reappear, or you could discover new favorites. Exploring the wider Lords of the Stars universe also gives you the joy of connecting the dots and uncovering connections between the stories.

  If Twilight Duty is the first story from this universe you've read, I think you'll particularly enjoy Wonders From Beyond the Sky, and A Game of Wolf and Mouse, both which serve as prequels to this story.

  https://lordsofthestars.wordpress.com