by Petra Landon
“No” he said, shaking his head. “The Ur’quay are a myth. Made up to scare little Alliance children” he sneered. “Our archives show no reference to them. They do not exist.”
Zoran laughed mirthlessly. “You fool! Four hundred years ago, the Ketaari lived in the equivalent of huts. You had yet to steal Budheya technology to feed your lust. The Ur’quay are starfarers. They had no interest in you.”
For a moment, the Imperial Forces officer looked nonplussed, before recovering quickly. “You lie, mercenary” he thundered. “The Hadari’Kor fight other people’s wars” he taunted. “You expect me to believe that the Ur’quay would rather introduce themselves to your people than the Budh-Ketaari Empire?”
“We are space-farers” the mercenary pointed out gently. “And our reputation speaks for itself. We don’t steal from our benefactors to feed our delusions of grandeur.”
The Ketaari’s expression tightened. Zoran’s barb had hit its target. “Why did you attack us?” he asked again, ignoring the pointed remarks.
“You took what belonged to us.”
The officer looked briefly surprised. “The telepath? I thought she was Un Kieto Maal’s.”
“A word of warning” Zoran said equably, gesturing at the Ur’quay warriors. “Don’t ever say that in front of their Captain. He tends to be possessive about her.”
“Possessive?” The Ketaari looked puzzled. “What do the Ur’quay want with a telepath?”
Zoran sighed theatrically. “You are dense, aren’t you? The Imperial Forces don’t seem to be attracting the right talent.”
The officer’s lips pursed with anger, much to Zoran’s satisfaction.
“Alright” the Hadari’Kor Captain expanded. “Let me give it to you in terms even you can understand. She’s an Ambassador to the Ur’quay.”
The Ketaari’s eyebrow arched. “Ambassador? A Terran?”
Zoran ignored him, starting to enjoy himself. “And her companion is my betrothed.”
“The Budh” the officer exclaimed, the pale eyes widening. “Where did you meet her?”
“I’ve been to Budheyasta, Ketaari” Zoran taunted him. “The view from Sainga Barame at sunset is a sight to behold.”
The officer’s jaw slackened in shock. Budheyasta was heavily guarded, surrounded by Empire territory and protected by a border security net. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked slowly, his brain starting to put two and two together.
“They’re getting closer, Zoran” his deputy warned in his ear.
“I have nothing to lose, Ketaari” Zoran said to the officer. “You’re going to die.”
“You are trapped here, HadKor” the Ketaari soldier retorted. “If we die, you die with us.”
“The Ur’quay have technology that put us on your ship, Ketaari. And they will pull us out the same way. How do you think we got aboard?”
As the blue-skinned face remained expressionless, Zoran continued. “You’ve pissed off the Ur’quay, Ketaari. Take my word for it — you don’t want to face them or their starships in battle. Know this, your mistake is going to cost the Empire dearly. You are fucked, your ship is fucked. And the Ketaari are fucked.”
This time, the pale eyes blinked, and Zoran remarked, his dark eyes full of intent. “I look forward to dancing on the ruins of your Empire soon.”
The officer opened his mouth to retort just as the First Commander’s voice announced. “Rescue Team, pulling you out now.”
Zoran had a microsecond to brace and half turn towards the Star Captain before he found himself on the Henia’s Autoporter Pad after the usual second of confusion and disorientation.
“Rescue Team autoported back” D’raar noted. “Henia, withdraw to a safe distance.”
The starship lurched and Zoran glanced around him. Everyone had made it out safely though Sila lay unmoving on the Pad, her hand still clasped in the Ur’quay Captain’s grip. Dr. Uish rushed to her and the Star Captain gave way, the gold eyes glittering with emotion and his battle-hardened body stiff with tension.
Saakshi ran up to hug him and Zoran put his arms around her, uncaring of his audience.
“I was worried, tseriya” he confessed, his voice thick with relief.
“Sila saved my life, Zoran” Saakshi burst out. “She bargained with the Ketaari, promising to cooperate with them only if I was in the room with her so she could make sure they didn’t harm me.”
“Captain” D’raar drew his attention.
Zoran turned to the Ur’quay deputy. “What happened, First Commander?” he asked. He had not given the signal to autoport them from the Brutaniyr.
“They were experimenting with jamming frequencies while the officer engaged you, Captain. I suspect they were searching for the Henia. But if their efforts affected the Autoporter, you would be stranded. There was no other way to get you off the Brutaniyr.”
Zoran sighed, understanding the choice D’raar had faced. “You did the right thing, First Commander.”
“The Henia is at a safe distance from the Brutaniyr, First Commander” one of the Ur’quay informed D’raar who signaled to Jolar.
“Blow the explosives” the Hadari’Kor Second-in-Command directed.
Barring the Star Captain, Sila and Dr. Uish, they turned as one to the viewer. Explosions shook the Ketaari battleship, small at first before tearing through it. The plasma near the tail lit up in a brilliant flash and the Brutaniyr exploded in a fiery ball of fire before their eyes.
Sila’s voice screamed abruptly, startling them. “Noooo! Noo!
Her screams echoed in the vast chamber, her hoarse voice whimpering. “Burning. Pain. Burning my skin.”
Zoran’s eyes flashed to where Sila lay writhing on the Autoport Pad. She screamed uncontrollably, again and again, the sound magnified by the acoustics of the chamber.
The Star Captain, kneeling beside her, gathered up her thrashing body, his arms enveloping her. “Sseela, Sseela, it is me” he said to her, a hoarse quality to his voice as the big hand stroked her hair.
Grim silence descended on the chamber. They watched as the Star Captain murmured softly to the girl in his arms whose screams gradually turned to hoarse whimpers. Saakshi’s palm in Zoran’s clasp tightened imperceptibly as she held on to him.
“They forced her to control three Budheya who were hooked up to some kind of experiment the Ketaari had going” Saakshi said to him, her words cutting through the silence in the chamber. “The strain on Sila was enormous, Zoran. I sensed that she was about to go under when you came.”
Zoran said nothing, silently hugging the Budheya girl back.
“Isn’t there something you can give her, Doctor?” the Star Captain pleaded, the words torn from him.
Some of the Ur’quay averted their eyes at the obvious grief and emotion in their Captain’s voice.
“I’m not sure I can break a connection of the mind” Dr. Uish said from where he sat on his haunches beside them as Sila continued to whimper softly.
His words held a quiet apology. The doctor was no fool. He had put it all together to reach the right conclusion. “But I can put her under for a few hours” he suggested. “It might allow her mind to let go on its own.”
The Star Captain consented mutely. He was desperate. Watching her like this tore him up inside. Those Budheya were long gone, destroyed by the explosion that had torn the ship apart but the echoes of their last conscious thoughts as they died continued to reverberate in Sila’s head. He had extended his mental shields to include her but had not been able to sever her connection with the Budheya completely before the explosion. Already weakened by the onslaught her mind had been subjected to aboard the Ketaari battleship and traumatized by the Budheya’s’ pain and fear swamping her, she was slipping away.
Dr. Uish bent to administer to Sila, and the Star Captain adjusted his hold of her to give the doctor access. A few feet away from the Autoporter Pad where the doctor worked on Sila, Zoran noted the Ur’quay around him abruptly go alert. The warriors’ bodies seemed to sti
ffen. A number of Ur’quay turned as one to stare at the three people on the Pad, their faces reflecting a curious mix of astonishment, shock and incredulity.
“Ur’quay” First Commander D’raar called out sharply in their tongue. “Pull up your mental defenses. Do not allow stray thoughts in.”
Recalled to their surroundings by D’raar’s command, the Ur’quay turned back to their tasks. A few directed sidelong glances at the non-Ur’quay in the chamber to see what they made of the cryptic command.
Damn, Zoran mused in dismay. Sila’s thoughts must be drifting. Distracted by her pain and his anguish, Zh’hir had lost his control of her mind momentarily, allowing some of the Ur’quay in the chamber to sense her drifting thoughts. It explained their strange reaction and D’raar’s pulling up his warriors so sharply.
“Scan for life pods and survivors in the debris” the First Commander directed at his warriors.
D’raar forced himself to focus on the job at hand. He was Ur’quay. He knew what baithoni meant to an Ur’quay. D’raar had long suspected the depth of the Star Captain’s feelings for the Ambassador but no hint of this had ever crossed his mind. He had been taken aback by the Star Captain’s decision to extend his mental defenses to her at the rendezvous, but he had assumed them to be lovers. A non-Ur’quay baithoni! This would cause a scandal on Ur’Qia. He was in shock, grappling with his discovery but conscious that with his Captain otherwise preoccupied, it fell to him to complete their mission.
The Star Captain stood up with Sila in his arms. She had stopped whimpering, the medication the doctor had given her pushing her into healing slumber. A warrior from the Rescue Team that had fought the Ketaari stooped down to help the older Dr. Uish off the floor and hand him his medical kit.
The First Commander strode purposefully up to his Captain. “The Ur’quay have this in hand, Star Captain. Please attend to your baithoni” he said formally, his manner almost ceremonial.
The Star Captain’s gold eyes flashed to his deputy to study him before he acknowledged D’raar with a sharp nod of his head. “I leave you in command, First Commander.”
“No survivors, First Commander” one of the warriors informed D’raar as Zoran watched the Star Captain with his precious burden in his arms stride away with the shorter Dr. Uish hurrying to keep up with the Ur’quay.
“Uncloak the Henia and set coordinates for the Juntafeyore” D’raar directed stonily.
“Zoran.” Saakshi drew his attention. “I’d like to go to Sila. Perhaps, I can be of assistance to Dr. Uish or the Star Captain.”
“We will both go, tseriya” Zoran said softly. There was nothing more to be done here. The First Commander had everything under control. They had recovered both Saakshi and Sila and the Imperial Forces Brutaniyr and its crew had taken any secrets gleaned to their graves. News of the Alliance’s pacts with the Ur’quay and the Budheya was safe. Their mission was a success but Sila was injured and Zoran had a bad feeling that something else had gone awry. That strange little dance between the Star Captain and his First Commander had been about more than what it had appeared to be. The Ur’quay’s reactions in the chamber had confirmed that.
FIFTEEN
Sila watched a colorful butterfly hover by the bright pertona bud. The sun beat brightly down on the vast meadow of wildflowers. She loved the colorful flowers that bloomed just once every season. The sweet fragrance of pertona in full bloom saturated the meadow. Sila sighed contentedly, raising her face to the orange orb in the sky. She hated the freckles that sun exposure left on her face but loved to feel its warmth on her skin.
“Sseela, can you hear me?” a vaguely familiar voice called to her.
Sila ignored the summons, content to lie under the sun with the fragrance of pertona flowers in the air. It was probably Tauro asking for her assistance with the evening’s gathering. Sila was done for the day. She had toiled since the morn, starting early at sun up. With a full day’s work under her belt, she was determined to enjoy the sun, the wildflowers and the fragrance of the meadow.
“Sseela” the voice called again, more urgently.
It must be Tauro, Sila mused dreamily. The voice sounded male — she loved the unusual intonations of it. But not its owner. Tauro was lazy. It wouldn’t hurt him to work a little hard, now and then. Plus, he’d been showering an inordinate amount of attention on her recently. It made Sila uncomfortable for she did not return his interest. He was attractive enough if one liked that type of well-groomed handsomeness in a male. But he was boring, lazy and far too wrapped up in himself. Sila sighed softly. Nothing interesting ever happened on Terra Agri. It was too rustic for anything exciting. Just for once, she wished for a little adventure, something different from the humdrum life she led as a gatherer.
“She is not responding” the male voice declared. “Medic Vh’raal, I would like you to attempt the Mind Repair device on her.”
Vh’raal, Sila pondered languidly. What kind of name was that? She’d never heard anything like it before. Must be a friend of Tauro’s visiting from the forest lands, she mused. The forest people were said to have unusual names.
“She’s completely under, Medic” another voice chimed in. “It is safe to use the device on her.”
“I will monitor the device to ensure that it causes her no harm, Star Captain” warned an unfamiliar guttural voice. “But I must warn you that it might not be able to help her at all. The device has been designed specifically to repair Ur’quay minds.”
“I understand, Medic Vh’raal.”
Sila wished Tauro and his friends would shut up. Their incessant chatter was jarring in this flowering meadow on such a beautiful sun-drenched afternoon. She’d rather dream of adventure and an exciting alien who would smile approvingly from the shadows while she adventured away.
A picture of an extraordinarily tall, well-built male with exotic bronze skin covered by pale vertical stripes rose in her mind’s eye. Sila smiled serenely. This is what she meant by adventure. The alien looked like he meant business with his shimmering body armor and the beautiful gold irises with the reptilian-like elongated dark pupils. He stared down at her as she lay on the grass in the dappled sunlight, the gold eyes glittering with a look that sent a shiver of excitement through her. He was exotic, like no race she had ever heard of, and yet, hauntingly familiar. Sila chuckled. Perhaps, Bessa had it right. Her friend was always saying that Sila had a fertile imagination. Here was the proof. She had conjured up this fascinating and dangerous-looking alien.
“Is it having any effect on her, Medic?” inquired a hopeful voice.
There was a short silence before the medic responded. “According to the device, there has been a five percent improvement in repairing her mental pathways.”
There was a note of shocked incredulity in the guttural voice that did not escape Sila. She ignored it to blissfully dream about the exciting alien her imagination had conjured up.
“If you agree to be mine, I will move heaven, hell and everything in between to make it happen.”
The alien declared in a growly voice that scraped across her skin like sandpaper. In the throes of passion, he would be raw, unselfconscious and direct about what he wanted, those dark pupils dilating to rake her possessively.
“I want to love you again — to see the expression in your eyes as you scream out my name.”
The gold depths held a mixture of yearning, hunger, entreaty and promise. A slow flush enveloped Sila - the look in the exotic eyes did not hide an iota of his desire for her. She closed her eyes and images of him swam in her mind. Him teasing her, the large webbed hands playing delicately with her hair; his head cocking at an angle to study her when something puzzled him; and a patient and skillful tutor while he taught her to control her ability. In her imagination, he was the rare stranger she dared to reveal her secret to. Bessa was right, Sila told herself, she did allow her imagination to run riot. Yet, he sounded like a fun and exciting alien, Sila mused with satisfaction tinged by yearning.
“I want you and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make you mine. But first, I must know what you want.”
Sila frowned, turning carefully on the grass to tilt her face to catch the last rays of the setting sun. She had missed its warmth these months.
“Be very sure of what you want, little Terran. If you come to me, it will have to be forever. I’m not sure that I can walk away if you change your mind later.”
Her frown intensified. This sounded a little too specific to be conjured up by her wild imagination. Her alien called her ‘little Terran’, she mused in bemusement. And why would he need to walk away from her? He was a figment of her imagination. By that token, he should always be with her. Also, when had she missed the sun? Her work was always outdoors, rain or shine. It was summer on Terra Agri. And the sun was always kind to her agrarian planet during the summer months, shining tirelessly down from dawn to dusk.
“This cannot be” muttered a guttural voice. “It is not possible. I must talk to the Star Captain.”
“Is something wrong with her, Medic Vh’raal?”
“No, Dr. Uissh, the patient is fine. There is … a different matter I must discuss urgently with the Star Captain.”
There was that strange name again - Vh’raal. It reminded her that she’d heard an exotic one a few days ago. Zh’hir - very strange but beautiful, spoken by rolling the rr sounds. Sila pondered the puzzle. Where could she have heard such an alien name? She never traveled off planet. And very few strangers came to her rural world. How strange, she mused. Could she be dreaming, Sila wondered suddenly? Was this all a dream — the sun-drenched meadow, the fragrance of the pertona flowers, and her exciting alien male who overwhelmed her with his passion?
In a different reality, the Star Captain strode into his rest-chamber, responding to the urgent summons. His eyes flashed to where Sila lay unmoving on the bed. In repose, she looked serene, her face unlined with anxiety or pain. But his heart lay heavy, not soothed by her outward serenity. In all his life, he had not felt anything like the fear and helplessness that gripped him now. The High Mountain Deity had never been the recipient of as many prayers as he had dispatched while he waited for word about Sila. Once he understood that Dr. Uish could do no more for Sila’s injury, the decision to summon the Ur’quay medic had been the only choice left to him. If Zoran was right, and he was almost sure that his friend had it right, Sila’s ability was inherited from an Ur’quay ancestor. If that was the case, her injury could be healed by Ur’quay technology and a medic skilled at dealing with such trauma. Sila’s secret was already out to his warriors. There was no reason to hide her ability any more. Thus, Zh’hir had shielded his rest-chamber and summoned Medic Vh’raal. While Dr. Uish was familiar with her Terran physiology, Medic Vh’raal’s skills tended towards mitigating damage to the mind. Zh’hir prayed that between them, the two medical professionals could heal Sila enough to bring her out of her coma.