Kalan stopped and looked back at the dock officer who just muttered the words, “Damn refugee,” under his breath. Kalan didn’t recognize the officer. He was several years younger than the ship’s captain and was probably fresh on the job. Even so, it didn’t excuse his words. Kalan walked back and stood in front of the officer, staring down at him.

“Would you care to repeat those words to my face?”

The officer sneered at him. “You heard me. You’re a damn refugee. You don’t belong here.”

Kalan nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”

The officer’s sneer disappeared when Kalan drew the blaster from its holster in one lethally fast movement and pressed the barrel against the officer’s forehead. Kalan didn’t say anything or pull the trigger. Then again, the barest twitch against the trigger would carve a hole through the officer’s skull before anyone even registered it had happened. Kalan knew it and so did the wide-eyed officer. There was a flurry of motion as someone ran headlong toward the desk, desperately shoving people out of the way.

“Kalan! No!”

The sound of that shout apparently drove home just how precarious his situation was to the officer behind the desk because his face went a ghostly shade of white. Kalan glanced to the side and saw Prence hurtling toward them. The portly security chief came to a puffing stop at the desk. He looked at Kalan’s calm face before turning his attention to the officer behind the desk.

“What the hell did you say to him?” Prence demanded of the stunned officer.

“He attacked me, sir,” said the officer, clearly thinking he had the higher ground.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“No, he didn’t. You can tell because your head isn’t a smoking crater above your neck,” snarled the now furious security chief.

Prence glared at the officer who seemed to develop a form of instant muteness. The security chief turned his gaze to Kalan.

“What did he say, Kalan?”

“He informed me that I’m a damn refugee who doesn’t belong here.”

Prence’s face went stony as he turned on the officer and started bellowing. “I warned you about that, Jadis! I told you one more incident and you were done! Turn in your gear, now! Don’t let me see you on this ring again or so help me I’ll bring back full body cavity searches just for you.”

“Sir,” protested Jadis.

“We could do it the other way, Jadis,” said Kalan, never taking his eyes off the former dock officer.

Something in Kalan’s voice or demeanor made Jadis snap his mouth closed. He rose behind the desk, very slowly, and backed away with his hands in the air. Kalan didn’t holster the blaster until Jadis disappeared back into some administrative offices. Prence turned a disapproving eye on Kalan.

“You were really going to kill him, weren’t you?” The security chief demanded.

Kalan shrugged. “Maybe. I hadn’t decided by the time you showed up.”

Prence closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “You can’t just kill people who offend you.”

“I’d have given him a chance to defend himself.”

“Would that make a difference?”

Kalan thought it over. “For him, no, probably not. It might for some people. Besides, how many times have I actually killed anyone?”

Prence opened his mouth to snap something before he got a quizzical look on his face. “Twice, that I know of.”

“Sounds about right,” Kalan agreed.

It was more than that, but he’d only killed two people on the station and only when other people made it life or death. Kalan preferred it that way. He’d also found that the occasional display like the one he’d just done with the officer kept people cautious about him. Kalan considered that a good thing. It made people steer clear of him, his ship, and his cargo. Other peoples' caution let him avoid the necessity of killing. The less he had to kill, the happier he was.

“You’ll give me a heart attack, Kalan,” grumbled Prence.

Kalan gave Prence a grin. “Oh, fantastic. Now that you’ve said that, you’ll probably outlive me.”

“From your lips to the gods’ ears, boy. You headed to Patonga’s?”

“That’s the plan. Why?”

Prence shrugged. “Tell her I said hello.”