The Starfarer

by Petra Landon

  D’raar paused as the Star Captain remained silent.

  “Everyone on the Henia understands that unlike us, the Ambassador is an anomaly on her world. It would not have been easy for her with a gift like hers and no one to advise her about the discipline required for it. And given what happened to the Budheya Tseka’ki, she is lucky her world did not fall to the Empire” D’raar said grimly.

  “I wish the High Council saw it as you do, First Commander” Zh’hir said wearily.

  The First Commander studied him.

  “Are they punishing you for taking a non-Ur’quay baithoni, Star Captain?” D’raar asked bluntly. The Ur’quay had always been sticklers when it came to baithoni. Even before their isolation, there had been few alien baithoni on Ur’Qia.

  “They are not punishing me, First Commander. I resigned because I was given an order I could not in good conscience obey.”

  D’raar hesitated. It was clear he badly wanted to ask what command the Star Captain had been unable to comply with.

  “Please keep what I tell you to yourself, First Commander. I have given the High Council three days to come clean and I intend to keep my word to them.”

  D’raar nodded mutely.

  “Satorik Jh’hrok commanded me to not reveal a secret the High Council has kept for centuries.”

  “What secret?”

  Zh’hir said wryly. “History is repeating itself, D’raar. Once again, a Space Force warrior has chosen a mate from this sector.”

  D’raar looked puzzled. “Once again …”

  “Our ancestors did the same” the Star Captain explained succinctly.

  D’raar looked gobsmacked. “How …?” he said hoarsely.

  “Sseela has the gift from a long ago Ur’quay ancestor. As did the three Budheya mind-readers.”

  The First Commander’s eyes had an unfocused look to them as he stared across the room.

  “Our ancestors were persuaded to abandon their mates, and segregate themselves on Ur’Qia, probably for the betterment of all Ur’quay. Now, the High Council wants this hushed up. But I suspect that there are more like Sseela and the others. They need help to deal with this gift we have bequeathed to them — to them, it is more a curse than a gift. And, the Alliance must be warned. If the Ketaari could find three Tseka’ki, you can bet that they will discover more. You and I both know, D’raar, that the course of this war will be very different if the Ketaari deploy mind-readers. Even one Tseka’ki could wreak havoc against the Alliance.”

  “This is …” D’raar stuttered in confusion. “I do not … how could this be possible?”

  “You cannot send Space Force warriors in the prime of their lives, ineligible to take mates from their own world, to far corners of the galaxy without the possibility of them meeting others. Such intermingling is necessary, essential even, for the long-term health of any civilization and species. Look at the Aralokans. No species can remain pure or should strive to be so. The High Council was wrong then. Their policies have brought us to where we are today. But they continue to push for the old ways, despite their abject failure. I will not stay silent, nor will I give up my baithoni. The Ur’quay and our allies will be told the truth.”

  D’raar took a deep breath. He had spent four months in this sector, exposed to different cultures and mores from Ur’Qia. It had opened his eyes to the mistakes the Ur’quay had made, as it had his warriors.

  “How can I help, Star Captain?” he offered quietly.

  Zh’hir smiled. “If our people are to survive, they need brave Ur’quay willing to stand up for what is right. I will make sure the truth is not buried on Ur’Qia and that the Alliance has the help it needs to fight back against any Ketaari-controlled Tseka’ki. You must make sure the Ur’quay Fleet stomp out the Ketaari Empire.”

  The First Commander said nothing, his eyes on his Captain.

  “I will be here, D’raar, doing my part for the war” Zh’hir assured him. “My incentive to bring peace to this sector has just gone up — I have no world to return to.”

  “We will miss you, Star Captain” D’raar said gravely. “Space Force has lost one of its best today.”

  “The Ur’quay Fleet will need you more than ever, First Commander. Make us proud.”

  “You may count on me, Star Captain.”

  d

  Zoran wandered into the Command Chamber, hoping to find a familiar large Ur’quay warrior. While Sila had kept them all on tenterhooks, he had given Zh’hir his space. But Saakshi had just relayed the good news to him and it spurred Zoran to go in search of his friend.

  “The Star Captain is in the Captain’s Chamber” the First Commander informed him.

  D’raar looked grim, as did the warriors. An unnatural silence pervaded the chamber, unlike the usual understated and laidback atmosphere. Nothing anyone else would pick up on from the reserved Ur’quay, but Zoran knew them better than most. He wondered at it.

  “How is he, First Commander?” Zoran asked.

  D’raar’s poker-face seemed to subtly relax. “The Star Captain is fine. It is the Ur’quay who have lost today, Captain.”

  Zoran’s eyebrows arched, puzzled by the cryptic remark. Without more ado, he strode to the Captain’s Chamber to knock.

  Inside, he was relieved to see that the Star Captain looked his usual self.

  “It is very good news about Sila” he remarked.

  “Yes, Zoran” the Star Captain admitted. “I was worried.”

  Beside himself was more like it. And why not, Zoran mused. He had nearly come apart at the news of the kidnapping — Saakshi at the mercy of the Imperial Forces was his worst nightmare.

  “She saved Saakshi’s life” Zoran said. “Those Ketaari would have snuffed out Saakshi without a second thought. Sila realized it and made her cooperation incumbent on Saakshi’s well-being.”

  Zh’hir nodded “I caught glimpses from Sseela, past and present, when the Ketaari ship blew. With her mind weakened, thoughts and images escaped the shields.”

  Zoran looked somber. He would always owe Sila a debt for what she had done for his tseriya. “What the Ketaari asked of her in return for Saakshi’s life is probably what taxed her mental abilities” he said quietly.

  “Sseela considers Saakshi of Budheyasta a friend. She did what she could to protect them both” Zh’hir responded.

  He sighed. “The blame lies with me, Zoran. The Ketaari taking them was my fault.”

  The mercenary looked puzzled. “What do you mean, Zh’hir?”

  Gold eyes entangled with dark ones. “Sseela’s role at the rendezvous with the Ketaari envoy? She could easily have played her part from the Henia — it was close enough for her to confirm the mind-reader. If she had not walked onto the space pod, the Ketaari would never have been able to scan her. But I insisted we accompany the Commander. On the Henia, her efforts could not be hidden from my warriors, but in the space pod, they believed that it was Kerovac who identified the mind-reader.”

  “You couldn’t have known the Ketaari would discover that she was a telepath” Zoran said slowly, understanding what the Ur’quay male was getting at. With Sila, the Star Captain had always walked a fine line when it came to the Ur’quay and their laws. It was now out in the open, he knew. Sila’s injury and the Star Captain’s anguish had forced her secret out in the Command Chamber.

  “I was not ready for the Ur’quay to find out about Sseela” the Star Captain admitted. “Especially when the first Tseka’ki in the sector seemed determined to use their gift to aid the Ketaari by going against every law the Ur’quay hold sacred.”

  He paused. “I wanted to protect Sseela’s secret and instead, I drew the Ketaari’s attention to her.”

  Zoran stared at him, the dark eyes serious. “We have them back, Zh’hir. No harm done. Don’t second guess yourself. Sseela with her secret was always going to be tricky.”

  “Yes” the Star Captain acknowledged. “There was a time I thought I’d have to eventually choose between the Ur’quay
and Sseela. I was struggling with it when you reminded me that I had already made my choice, Zoran. You were right — I had made my choice. But trying to delay the inevitable nearly cost me Sseela. No more.”

  Zoran stilled, sensing that something momentous had happened but unable to put his finger on it.

  “Why do your warriors look like they are about to attend a funeral, Zh’hir?” He gestured with his thumb at the Command Chamber.

  The Star Captain looked surprised. “They do?”

  “Very much so.”

  The Star Captain ignored the remark to smile wryly. “I hope the offer to join you is still open, my friend.”

  It took Zoran a moment to understand the comment.

  “You’re leaving the Henia?” he exclaimed.

  “Yes.”

  “Because of what happened with Sila when the Brutaniyr blew up?” Zoran asked. “Your warriors know about her.”

  “It has to do with Sseela but my warriors have been surprisingly understanding about her.” It might have something to do with Sila being his baithoni, Zh’hir knew. The Ur’quay took that very seriously. “D’raar tells me that no breach of Ur’quay law will be reported to Space Force — they understand that Sseela did the best she could under tough circumstances and they don’t hold her to blame for it.”

  Zoran looked perplexed. “Then, why …?”

  “I have resigned from Space Force, Zoran.”

  Speechless, the mercenary stared at the Ur’quay male. He had not expected this.

  Zh’hir glanced around the chamber. “I have spent my entire life building up to this — my own command and my own starship. I thought it would hurt more if I had to give it up.”

  Zoran roused himself. “You are not to command the Ur’quay Fleet, Zh’hir?”

  “No, but a new commander will do the job, Zoran” the Star Captain assured his friend. He knew what drove Zoran when it came to the war. “The shtoal here is the Ur’quay’s last hope. Do not worry — Space Force will ensure that Sector Araloka is controlled by the Alliance.”

  Zoran nodded, comforted by the assurance. The Ur’quay on the Henia were professional and very good at what they did. He had no doubt Space Force would send another competent warrior to lead the Ur’quay Fleet. But the Star Captain would be missed, all the same. Nevertheless, Zoran understood why and for whom Zh’hir was walking away.

  The Hadari’Kor male’s eyes entangled with exotic gold ones. “Any regrets, Zh’hir?” he asked softly.

  “None at all. If I had to do it all over again, I would do the same. For Sseela. I came to Sector Araloka to save the Ur’quay’s future. But now, I consider that secondary to her.”

  “Sila will be fine” Zoran said quietly. Sila was now under the care of the Lopordian doctor. “Dr. Uish is the best.”

  “I know she will” the Ur’quay responded with quiet confidence, his faith in the Divine strong, like all the warriors of Ur’Qia. “The High Mountain Deity watches over her.”

  “But now, I stand before you as Zh’hir Mu’raat, trained Ur’quay warrior in search of employment. I want to stay in your sector, Zoran. This is all that is familiar to Sseela and I intend to make a life here with her.”

  “It would be an honor to have you join us” Zoran said promptly, his words sincere. “You understand us Hadari’Kor, I think. We are very similar.”

  “Yes. And you are one of the few who understand why I do this, Zoran.”

  “I do” the mercenary admitted. He had after all set out to bring an Empire to its knees for daring to mess with his tseriya. And the Star Captain had guessed that from their first meeting.

  A faint pucker marked his brows. “But if not for your warriors, why did you resign, Zh’hir?”

  “Because you were right, Zoran. The mind-readers in Sector Araloka have Ur’quay blood in them. Vh’raal confirmed it for Sseela and is checking the Budheya mind-readers. I refused to bury it.”

  Zoran arched an eyebrow in surprise. “Space Force ordered you to bury it?”

  “Not Space Force. The civilian authority.”

  Zoran knew what a momentous discovery this was for the Star Captain and the Ur’quay. It would also have enormous consequences for Sector Araloka. “The Ur’quay bear responsibility for this” he said quietly.

  “Yes, we do. My ancestors left behind this powerful legacy without the proper tools for their descendants to handle it. That the High Council has known about this for centuries makes me furious, Zoran. I have friends on Ur’Qia with the influence to reveal this. Once it comes out, the Ur’quay will clamor to redress this wrong.”

  There was a pause as the two contemplated each other. Zoran guessed that his friend could not quite come to terms with what his Ur’quay ancestors had done — they had stayed silent even at the cost of abandoning their mates.

  “There are others, Zh’hir?” he asked, knowing the answer.

  “Yes, Zoran. Kerovac will need our help if the Ketaari ever get control of other Tseka’ki.”

  SIXTEEN

  “Sila opened her eyes” Saakshi said to her mercenary as she watched him disrobe.

  It had been four hours since the rescue. They were on the Henia in the chamber assigned to the Hadari’Kor Captain. Saakshi surmised that everyone on the Ur’quay ship was aware of her relationship with Zoran for she had not been assigned any accommodation on the Henia. Instead, there had been an implicit assumption that she would share his. Although rest-chambers were few and far between on the Henia, Zoran had been assigned one. Possibly because of the inordinate amount of time he spent on this ship, she guessed. Just as the Star Captain had been assigned a permanent chamber on the Juntafeyore.

  “How is she?” Zoran asked, fiddling with the chamber’s controls as he noted her shivering under the blankets on the bed. The Ur’quay starship was too cold for someone like Saakshi, born and brought up on a volcanic desert planet.

  “She seems fine but a little confused about what happened on the Brutaniyr. Dr. Uish believes that one more round of healing sleep will aid her recovery. The Ur’quay medic seems to have fixed her …” Saakshi hesitated, unsure of what words to use for her friend’s affliction.

  “The damage to her mind” Zoran finished for her.

  “Yes” Saakshi concurred. “How long have you known about Sila’s ability, Zoran?” she inquired curiously.

  “Since I helped free her from the slavers on Keeyor 9” he answered easily. “Zh’hir told me about it then.”

  “And how long has the Star Captain known about it?”

  “From the very beginning.”

  Zoran shed his tech, weapons, belt, boots and uniform to pad towards the bed.

  “We must discuss your living arrangements” he announced, staring down at her huddled under the covers.

  At the look in his eyes, Saakshi sat up in the bed. “I want to stay with you, Zoran” she protested.

  “I want you with me too, tseriya” he acknowledged. “But not when there is even a small chance of running into Ketaari.”

  He sat down on the edge of the bed to reach for her. “My heart stopped when I heard about the Ketaari holding you. I won’t leave you in neutral space when I go into Empire territory or travel with Commander Kerovac. It is too dangerous for you — I must find a safe place to stash you.”

  Saakshi burrowed into him. The metallic taste of panic and the sheer terror in her when she had first glimpsed the soldiers in their dreaded uniforms was not yet a distant memory. It was the stuff of her nightmares. She would have been dead or worse, certainly lost to Zoran, if Sila had not driven that bargain with the Ketaari Gelimnek. But life without Zoran was not to be contemplated. This war could go on for years, possibly even a lifetime. She could not give up Zoran for a lifetime.

  “What if I promise to be Jolar’s shadow when you are away from me?” she offered. Commander Jolar would never allow anything to happen to her. Not only because she was his Captain’s tseriya, but also because he was her friend. Her mistake had been to go sightseein
g on an unknown world away from the safety of the Juntafeyore, Saakshi mused. The Ketaari would never have come within touching distance if she had been aboard the Hadari’Kor ship guarded by Zoran’s mercenaries.

  “We will come up with something.” Zoran’s arms came around her to hold her tightly. “I could not live if anything happened to you, tseriya” he confessed hoarsely.

  “Nothing will happen to me, Zoran.” Saakshi’s voice was confident. “Not while I have you.”

  She placed soft kisses on the hard shoulder of the male who held her, attempting to reassure him; sensing that her big mercenary was shaken up by her near brush with disaster. His arms tightened around her. Passion surged between them, quick to ignite as always, like the very first time a Hadari’Kor mercenary had boldly laid claim to a Budheya server girl his hungry gaze had followed for months.

  A long time later, Saakshi turned to the Hadari’Kor male who lay beside her, one blunt finger drawing circles on her hip.

  “Zoran.”

  “Hmm.”

  “The Star Captain and Sila.” She hesitated.

  Zoran’s dark eyes tangled with hers. “The Star Captain loves your friend. He will do anything and sacrifice everything for her.”

  “When we were on the Brutaniyr, Sila was so sure that the Star Captain would rescue us” Saakshi said slowly. “Everything she did was predicated on it, Zoran.”

  The dark eyes wandered Saakshi’s face, his expression softening subtly. “He has always wanted her, probably from the first time he saw her on his ship. Sometimes, it happens like that, without rhyme or reason.” Like it was for me with you, he acknowledged silently.

  “Until the Ketaari, I never realized that they had feelings for each other” Saakshi said wonderingly. The Ur’quay were rarely mentioned because of the secrecy surrounding them, but the few times they had discussed anything related, Sila had talked about the Star Captain in glowing terms. He had been harder to read, with his innate reserve and general Ur’quay impassiveness. Until Saakshi had witnessed his agony and terror for Sila after the destruction of the Ketaari battleship. The mask had come undone before the world as he tended to Sila.