The Starfarer

by Petra Landon

  “Feelings that go very deep, tseriya” Zoran reiterated softly.

  A smile bloomed on Saakshi’s face. “I’m glad, Zoran. Sila deserves to be happy.”

  “Whatever arrangements I make for you, you will not be alone. Sila will join you” Zoran remarked.

  Saakshi looked surprised. “She is not to stay aboard the Henia with the Star Captain?”

  Once the Ur’quay joined the fight, Sila would have no place on the Henia, Saakshi knew. But the Ur’quay still had months before they were deployed to the front.

  “Like you, Sila possesses unique vulnerabilities against the Ketaari” he said. “In any case, the Star Captain has resigned from the Ur’quay Space Force. He is to join us on the Juntafeyore.”

  “What! Why?” Saakshi was shocked.

  Zoran sighed. “He refuses to stay silent about an old injustice.”

  Saakshi frowned.

  “It will be common knowledge soon enough” Zoran explained. “Sila and the three Budheya the Ketaari were holding have traces of Ur’quay genetic code.”

  “Ur’quay!” Saakshi’s expression was incredulous.

  “Many centuries ago, when the Star Captain’s ancestors last roamed the galaxy, they took mates from our sector. Eventually, as their world isolated itself, they were forced to abandon the mates” Zoran explained soberly.

  “Sila’s ability …” Saakshi faltered.

  “Comes from her Ur’quay genes” Zoran confirmed.

  “There are others with Sila’s ability, Zoran?” Saakshi felt a qualm of uneasiness. Having been a recipient of and witness to Ketaari brutality, she knew how deadly the ability could be in the hands of the ruthless and ambitious Imperial Forces.

  “Yes. Zh’hir will make sure Commander Kerovac knows so the Alliance can search for the descendants. Sila has had a tough life because of it. And rumors suggest that the Budheya telepaths had almost gone mad. The Star Captain intends to make sure that others are given the help they deserve to lead a normal life.”

  He paused for a moment before voicing what he instinctively knew was the main reason his friend was choosing to walk away from the Ur’quay Space Force.

  “I suspect Zh’hir feels that history is about to repeat itself with him and Sila. He will not sacrifice her, come what may, even if he has to walk away from his career, his dying people or Ur’Qia.”

  d

  Sila awakened slowly to glance around her. She recognized the room — the Star Captain’s rest-chamber. She had spent a lot of time in here and knew the chamber intimately. Saakshi sat by the bed, reading something on a hand-held tablet.

  “Saakshi” she croaked, her voice rusty from disuse.

  The Budheya girl’s eyes shot to her. “Sila” she exclaimed joyously. “How do you feel?”

  Sila blinked. She felt fine, she realized. Remarkably well rested, in fact.

  “Dr. Uish put you through a couple of rounds of healing sleep” Saakshi explained. “You should feel almost back to normal.”

  “I do” Sila remarked wonderingly. “What happened with the Ketaari? I remember us being captured from the planet.”

  Saakshi hesitated. “What do you remember?”

  “Not much.”

  “Do not worry, Sila. Medic Vh’raal said that the device he used to heal you can cause short-term memory loss. It will come back to you in a few days.”

  Sila looked puzzled. “Medic Vh’raal?”

  “The Ur’quay medic. The Star Captain had him work on your mind.”

  Sila sighed softly. “I guess there is no keeping my secret anymore.”

  “Not with me” Saakshi said cheerfully.

  “Does it make a difference to you, Saakshi?” Sila asked candidly. “It did to everyone on Terra Agri.”

  Saakshi shook her head. “As I understand it, you were born with this. You had no choice, Sila. Nonetheless, you have tried to use it for good. I know it was you who warned Commander Kerovac of the Budheya telepaths. And you saved my life with the bargain you struck with the Ketaari, despite the cost to you.”

  Saakshi’s troubled eyes held the Terran girl captive. “I cannot have the Ketaari win this war at any cost” she said soberly. “You know I cannot, Sila.”

  Sila sat up on the bed to stretch her limbs. “They will not” she countered confidently. “Commander Kerovac is a tough adversary. And he has your Zoran and the Ur’quay on his side.”

  “Your Star Captain, you mean” Saakshi countered softly. There would be time enough later for Sila to find out that the Star Captain was walking away from his people for her.

  Sila flushed. “Yes, my Star Captain” she acknowledged quietly.

  Saakshi smiled. “I would never have guessed that it was him, Sila. All those males dogging your footsteps on TF124, but you never had time for any of them. I should have known that your heart was given to someone else.”

  “It was” Sila said slowly. “It has been for a while.”

  Saakshi stared at her friend, wondering how Sila had survived the extraordinary circumstances she had been through — her dangerous ability and being imprisoned by the slavers would break anyone.

  “I was so scared when the Ur’quay took me from Terra Agri, Saakshi” Sila’s voice was heartfelt. “Huge and intimidating, they were like no Aralokans I knew of. I was terrified out of my wits when the Star Captain found me. He said that he could hear my silent, panicked calls for help. He was a stranger and yet, very considerate of me. He took pains to teach me to control my mind and made sure that I never succumbed to my fears. I could not forget him.”

  Her green eyes wandered over Saakshi who listened intently.

  “Then, I met him again when the slavers took me. He had told me that he would come if I ever needed him and he kept his promise.”

  “You love him?” Saakshi asked gently.

  “Yes” Sila’s voice was soft. “These past months, I could not have made it without him. The opportunity to build a new life after my exile was his gift to me but he kept his distance until I was sure of my feelings for him.”

  “I’m so happy for you, Sila. Sometimes, when everything seems completely hopeless and desperate, the Pura offers us a glimpse of something magical. When that happens, all you need is the courage to take a chance. It was like that with Zoran and me too.”

  d

  “Where is the Star Captain?” Commander Kerovac inquired, on the console. The Henia had rendezvoused with the Juntafeyore and the Ishtralaya a half hour before.

  “Tidying up some loose ends, Commander” Zoran said easily. He knew that Zh’hir intended to keep his word to the Ur’quay High Council — the Star Captain had given them three days before he blew the lid to Kerovac.

  “I wanted to congratulate him on a job well done, Captain” the Commander said. “Alliance secrets are safe for now.”

  “That is what I wanted to talk to you about, Commander” Zoran remarked.

  The bright blue eyes on the console fixed themselves on the mercenary.

  “You need a new facility to train the rebels, Commander” Zoran said. “I have a suggestion.”

  The Alliance Commander looked intrigued. “Where?”

  “Hadari or Kor. Either would work.”

  “They are in neutral space” Kerovac agreed, his mind churning through the possibilities.

  “It will keep the rebels a secret from the Alliance” Zoran reminded him. Whereas a facility in Alliance territory would not.

  The Commander pursed his lips. “Will not an Alliance presence on Hadari or Kor impinge on your neutrality, Captain?” Kerovac, intimately acquainted with the Hadari’Kor’s driving principle, inquired bluntly.

  Zoran shook his head. “Not if it is a Hadari’Kor operation, Commander. While Hadari’Kor traditionally have fought off world wherever the profession takes us, there is nothing to stop us from setting up a training facility on the home worlds. Under our pact with the Alliance, the training of the rebels falls to the Hadari’Kor anyway. Let us take advantage of it. Allow
the Hadari’Kor to set up a camp and run it.”

  Zoran paused. “But we must keep any hint of Alliance involvement in the camp under wraps, Commander. We use only Hadari’Kor and cloaked Ur’quay ships to transport the rebels, weapons, and anything else the Alliance intends for Budheyasta. And, we keep Alliance personnel to the barest minimum - everything such a facility requires can be hired locally. Plus, there is an added advantage. You can hide the Ur’quay Fleet nearby. I know that region intimately and can find a suitable hideout for them.”

  The Commander agreed without hesitation. “You make a good point, Captain.”

  “What happened to TF124 would not happen on Hadari and Kor” Zoran said quietly. “The Imperial Forces would never attack our home worlds. Such an action would bring every Hadari’Kor scattered around the sector, irrespective of their current affiliations, back to our twin worlds to protect them. The Imperial Forces would have a war on its hands it doesn’t want.”

  The Alliance Commander mulled over the suggestion. A temporary camp for the Budheya run by Hadari’Kor on their world would serve his purpose very well — keep the pact a secret, protect the facility from the Ketaari and enable the Henia to transport the rebels without their presence being detected by Alliance personnel. And a hideout for the Ur’quay Fleet on its way, near the Hadari’Kor home worlds, would kill two birds with one stone.

  “It is a good plan, Zoran of Hadari’Kor. Talk to Yan Tirovac about the logistics and let me know what you need to set up the facility.”

  Kerovac paused. “Can you find a location large enough to house more rebels than we currently train?”

  “I’m more familiar with Hadari, but there’s plenty of land on both worlds” Zoran said easily.

  “Let me know how many you can train at a go. I think it prudent to bring the timeline in, Captain. With the attack on TF124 and now the telepaths, we must move fast.”

  Zoran shared the Commander’s concerns. Both the Ur’quay presence and the pact with the rebels became riskier as more were allowed in on the secret. Kerovac must take advantage of his new allies quickly or he would lose the element of surprise.

  Nevertheless, Zoran leaned back in his seat, pleased by his success. On TF124, run by Alliance personnel, they had been restricted by space and keeping the presence of rebels a secret. On Hadari, they could train five, even ten times, the rebels than the Alliance facility. The Hadari’Kor involved in the training could pitch in to help run the facility and the crew of the Juntafeyore had family they could tap for any shortfall. Most importantly, he could stash Saakshi on Hadari. She would be safe there, guarded by Hadari’Kor and Ur’quay, while still involved with the Budheya cause.

  “Dr. Uish is working on the genetic marker, Commander” he offered. “He should have an easy way to test for telepaths soon.” Much like the Alliance Commander, Zoran was worried by the threat of telepaths. Zh’hir, he knew, would be a huge help once the Star Captain had a handle on his stand-off with the Ur’quay High Council.

  “I have asked Yan to sweep all Alliance administration stations first for the marker” Commander Kerovac acknowledged the urgency of the telepath threat. “It sounds like the Ur’quay have some experience with such matters. I hope the Star Captain can help us counter telepaths under Empire control.”

  Zoran changed the subject adroitly. “I hear the Alliance has a problem, Commander. Worlds outside the security net are being raided by slavers and marauders.”

  Kerovac’s bright eyes glowed eerily, but he did not deny it. He knew the Hadari’Kor mercenary was well informed about matters in the sector.

  “I have a suggestion to make, Commander” Zoran offered.

  Amusement flashed on the Commander’s face. “You are on a roll today, Captain.”

  “I am impatient, Commander” Zoran countered easily. “I want an end to the war as quickly as we can. Anything that distracts the Armada from fighting the Imperial Forces is a delay.”

  “We need more ships to patrol some of our more vulnerable worlds incapable of defending against raiders” the Commander admitted.

  Zoran studied the Alliance Commander. Un Kieto Maal had a machine’s capacity for information and the influence to gather intel from all over the sector. He would take the hint.

  “There is news from the Ur’Segati System” Zoran remarked.

  The Commander’s dark brows arched together in a pucker. “The Sihadr’en, Captain?”

  “Yes.”

  Kerovac stilled, his cobalt eyes glowing. “I would not trust them with Alliance worlds, Captain. They are little better than privateers and bandits.”

  “I don’t disagree with your assessment, Commander” Zoran countered. “But the new Sihadrokh is doing things a little differently from his predecessor.”

  As the Commander said nothing, Zoran expanded on his suggestion. “They are a band of blood-thirsty and violent thugs, Commander. But I’m not suggesting we ally with them, merely pay them to do a job they are more than capable of. The Alliance needs guards to patrol their worlds so the Armada can fight the Empire” he pointed out.

  The Commander’s bright blue eyes studied the mercenary in silence. He must have been convinced by the argument for he did not dismiss the idea. “I’ll have a word with Maron Colotoni” he murmured.

  Aware of the rumors of Colotoni’s closeness to Un Kieto Maal, a male notorious for his detachment and eschewing of personal relationships, Zoran silently approved of the Commander’s choice. Second-in-Command of the Star Guardians, the powerful Tesakian military, General Marondo Colotoni had a reputation in the sector. Not only was Tesaky Bura the nearest neighbor to the Ur’Segati System, but the Tesakians also possessed one of the most effective intelligence operations in Sector Araloka. As usual, the Alliance Commander seemed to read it correctly — Colotoni would have the latest on the Sihadr’en.

  “If the Sihadrokh hankers for legitimacy, their ships would serve very well to patrol the skies” the Alliance Commander agreed.

  The Sihadr’en would not renege on an agreement with the Alliance. Even preoccupied with the Imperial Forces, the Alliance would never stand for it. If what the Alliance required from the frontier vigilantes was guard duty from raiders and others of their ilk, the Sihadr’en would do a thorough job.

  “Thank you, Zoran of Hadari’Kor. It is a good suggestion. I will pursue it.”

  d

  Sila glanced up as the door to the chamber slid open. The Star Captain stepped in to pause at the threshold. The door slid noiselessly shut behind him but neither inhabitant of the rest-chamber took any notice, their eyes reserved only for each other. Sila straightened to study him. The gold-colored eyes with their exotic pupils stared intently at her, drinking in the sight of her. His face was carefully blank, almost as if deliberately holding himself back. It was that last thought that had Sila reaching for him. She ran to the tall warrior to throw herself into his arms. The powerful arms came around her immediately to hold her close, the wordless gesture telling Sila how worried he had been for her.

  For a moment, his arms tightened convulsively around her. Then, he loosened them to bury his face in her freshly showered hair. Sila stood unmoving in his embrace, holding on to him. Though her memories of the rescue were still hazy, she now remembered everything that had led up to it very clearly. The kidnapping from the pond, the Gelimnek with the cold eyes, the terrible danger she had realized Saakshi was in and the three desperate Budheya cousins with the same ability as her whose fate had been sealed a long time ago despite her best efforts. Without any of the gory details, Saakshi had let her know that everyone aboard the Ketaari battleship had perished in the explosion that had ripped through it.

  Sila felt the steady beat of his heart as he nuzzled her hair. They stood entwined for a long time, holding on to each other after the near brush with disaster. Eventually, the Star Captain disengaged slowly to meet her gaze.

  “I have things to tell you, my Sseela” he said softly.

  A burst of joy unfurled in
her. “What things, my Star Captain?”

  The gold eyes brightened noticeably at her use of the endearment. “Serious things, baithoni.”

  Sila slid her palm into the webbed hand. “Tell me” she said, tugging on his hand.

  The Star Captain resisted it, glancing down at himself. “I must discard my armor.”

  Sila let go of him. She had tinkered with the climate controls to make the chamber more comfortable for herself, like he always encouraged her to. As a result, the rest-chamber was too warm for him, especially in the heavy armor.

  When he strode back in, attired in loose trousers with his hair cascading over his bare chest and back, Sila was staring at the floor by the bed. Assured by an unusually grim-faced Ur’quay medic that her mind was healed, Sila sought to use her other connection with him to communicate.

  This is how we conversed before.

  Yes, I remember.

  You taught me to control my thoughts.

  I hungered for you even then, knowing in my heart that it was not possible.

  Sila’s eyes flashed to him. The gold eyes watched her intently, the glint in them pronounced.

  “I … I didn’t know, Star Captain” she stammered, taken aback by his confession. He had never allowed even a hint of his feelings to escape him then. Instead, he had gone out of his way to keep his distance.

  You thought yourself a prisoner aboard this ship. How could I take advantage of you under those circumstances, baithoni?

  He wouldn’t, not the Star Captain. Whenever she thought back to how fearful and uncertain she had been during her first time on the Henia, his care of her was her most vivid memory.

  Sila sat down heavily on the bed. “I could not forget you” she confessed. She had never told him any of this — it had seemed unnecessary. Now, she wanted him to know. He had always been the one to make every move in their relationship. It was time he knew that it had never been one-sided.