by Lace, Lisa
* * *
When Tracy returned to the sick bay, she found that Rev was gone.
"He has gone to the trials to give testimony," said nurse S’den. "Would you like to watch?"
"Can I?"
"Yes, public trials are broadcast for all to see."
Tracy nodded and climbed into bed while the nurse activated a holographic display.
Tracy felt as if she were sitting in the hall. She saw Rev standing next to Captain Sa-Moten and Counselor Ja-Idin Du in a majestic room. The chamber was circled with concentric rings of seats filled with many different types of strange-looking people. Against a high glass wall that looked out over a great city was a long bench. Six stern humanoids sat behind it.
Jaal, Bris, and Grenta were brought into the hall, hands and feet in shackles. Jaal and Bris looked a little worse for wear, while Grenta wore a defiant look on his face.
"Who is that?" asked Tracy, pointing to a black-robed man standing with the prisoners.
"That is their counselor. He was assigned to make sure they receive fair treatment."
Tracy snorted, crossing her arms.
One of the judges looked at the assembled men.
"The charges against citizens Jaal, Bris, and Grenta are abducting women from nonaligned worlds, a high felony; abduction with intent to sell, a high felony; genetic manipulation of the genomes of nonaligned world sentients, a high felony; and the murder of Tracker Ar-Teven, an officer of the Enforcement Wing, conviction of which carries a sentence of immediate lifetime incarceration."
"That's a lie," called out Bris.
"Counselor, control your client."
"It's a lie. Ask the captain here. That tracker is alive!"
"Counselor!"
The counselor who stood with the criminals spoke quietly and urgently to Jaal, Bris, and Grenta. Finally he turned back to the court.
"Your Honors, the accused are prepared to offer proof of life for the tracker Ar-Teven."
"For what consideration?"
"Withdrawal of the murder charge."
"That is fair. The charge will be withdrawn upon receipt of proof of life. Let's proceed. I see we have Tracker Ar-Reven, the brother of Ar-Teven, to give testimony. I understand there are witnesses to these crimes as well."
"Your Honor," said Ja-Idin, "with respect, we have discovered facts that make producing the witnesses impossible."
"And what facts are those?"
"Medical reports were in the case files forwarded to you this morning. We ask for Your Honor's discretion, as this information is highly sensitive."
The judges immediately brought up shimmering screens full of information. The images appeared blurred to Tracy. Some of the judges looked at each other with surprised looks.
"Very well. The prosecution will make its case on the testimony of Tracker Ar-Reven. Proceed."
Rev started his narrative, sparing no details about everything he’d witnessed while he was in the company of the accused. He told them how he’d fought with Cax in the hotel room, stealing his identity and thus able to gain entrance to the restricted sections of Jaal's ship. Rev spoke about the abduction of Tracy and Carol, the conversion process, and what Carol and the other women were forced to endure. He detailed delivering the women to the Staukub mining camp, his escape from the angry miners, Bris and Jaal beating him and dropping him to the desert, and the final attack by Bris and Jaal.
As he spoke, the background chatter of the people in the auditorium died down until the only one speaking was Rev with his clear, deep tones. Tracy thought he’d never looked or sounded more impressive.
"Tracker Ar-Reven, thank you for your testimony in this matter."
Rev nodded and stepped back.
"Testimony is accepted from a trusted source and recorded for the record. Judgment is rendered. Captain Jaal, Bris, and Dr. Grenta, you have two choices. The first is the permanent stripping of travel rights through the Aligned Worlds and being restricted to the Aligned World of your choice. While on planet, you will have no access to relief services, and you will be expected to support yourselves. You will report regularly to a case officer to report your whereabouts and activities for the rest of your natural lives. Your second choice is ten to twenty years in a prison facility determined by the Aligned Worlds Corrections Wing. You will be incarcerated here until your decision is made. Take away the prisoners."
"Wait," said Tracy to the nurse. "They get to choose their punishment?"
"Of course! The restriction of a citizen's rights is a grave matter."
Tracy shook her head. She had her own notion of what kind of justice these men deserved.
"Our next trial, that concerning the activities of Tracker Ar-Reven, will be conducted in private due to the classified nature of those activities. We will return at sentencing."
The screen went blank, and Tracy stared at the space where the hologram had been projected.
"They can't do that, can they?"
"I told you," said S'den, "the Du do not want your existence known. Here is some food for you, Noc Walsh. You should not go without eating."
Tracy picked at her meal, despite the fact that it all looked delicious. She wanted to know what was going on with Rev. Minutes stretched into hours, agitating Tracy. She paced the sick bay, flopped on her bed, then jumped to the floor and paced again.
Finally, the hologram flickered, and she saw Rev standing next to Ja-Idin Du. His grim expression filled Tracy with dread.
"Tracker Ar-Reven, testimony is given and accepted. Because of your record of service, your sentence is not commensurate with the charges. Therefore your choices are to take treatment as discussed and resume your duties with the Enforcement Wing or six months’ incarceration in a facility to be determined by the Corrections Wing of the Aligned Worlds. You'll be detained until a decision is made."
"Your honor, I choose to state my sentence now."
"Go ahead."
"I choose the treatment as discussed."
"Very good, Tracker Ar-Reven. You will report to the appropriate medical facility for treatment. Thank you for your service."
The holographic display collapsed and with it so did Tracy's hopes. She sat feeling punched in the gut even though she knew it was the best thing for him. Tracy just hadn’t expected Rev to give up on them so easily.
She wiped away her tears to see Ja-Idin Du watching her silently.
"Noc Walsh, I am here to escort you to the ship that will take you to your homeworld."
"Where's Rev? I want to say good-bye to him."
"I'm sorry, Noc Walsh, you can never see Tracker Ar-Reven again. It will do neither of you any good."
Tracy crossed her arms and looked straight ahead.
"I'm not going anywhere until I see Rev."
With movements so swift they shocked her, Ja-Idin was on her. His eyes blazed, his breath was so hot it flushed Tracy's skin. "You will leave this ship as quickly as possible. I've had enough of you!"
Tracy had never heard so much menace in any man's voice. His mouth opened, revealing large fangs that dripped liquid.
Tracy gasped and pushed him away.
Ja-Idin fell to the ground, startled. He picked himself up and jumped at her, his fangs flashing. Tracy fell onto the table that held her food tray, sending it crashing to the floor.
"It would be a service to us all if you did not live," he hissed.
He moved forward, fangs exposed and ready to bite. Her heart pounded, and her back was against the bed. She gripped the bed frame and kicked out her right foot as he advanced, catching him in the chest. Ja-Idin flew backward, falling on the floor in a daze.
Without a backward glance, Tracy ran from the sick bay and down the halls.
"Help! Help!" she called.
Tracy was in a panic. She didn't know where anything was on the ship, didn't know where to go, or whom to trust.
The only one she could trust was...
"Tracy!" It was Rev's voice.
She whipped her
head around to see Rev rushing towards her down the hall. Behind Rev were the captain and several men in pursuit.
"Stop, tracker," called Captain Sa-Moten.
Rev swept her up in his arms. "What's wrong, Tracy?"
"Put down the sentient," boomed the captain.
"Ja-Idin Du. He had fangs. He had—"
Rev whirled around to the captain. "I am charging Counselor Ja-Idin Du with assault with intent to commit harm to a nonaligned world sentient. Go arrest him."
"Tracker Ar-Reven, if you do not release that sentient, I will be forced to make charges of my own."
"Then do so and get out of my way. It's obvious that her care cannot be entrusted to you."
"Tracker—"
Rev turned away, grabbed Tracy's hand, and raced down the corridor with her. There was a big commotion behind them. When the noises faded into the distance, Tracy stopped running and gasped out a question.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"We're going to steal a spaceship."
"Steal a spaceship? Are you crazy?"
"Crazy for you, apparently, but I told you I wouldn't give you up. If that makes me crazy, so be it."
"But you said—"
"What? That I would take the treatment? That was only to get back here to you. Otherwise they would have escorted me directly to a transport for prison."
She gave him a wide smile.
"Okay, space cop, where are we going?"
"Home."
"Home? To Earth home?"
"No, Tracy Walsh, I'm taking my mate home to my planet. It's time you met my family, but first we have to make a little stop."
"What kind of stop?"
"We have to rescue my brother."
The sound of boots pounding down the hallway greeted their ears.
"We’d better get moving," he said and grabbed her hand.
Tracy squeezed Rev's hand and they ran.
Chapter Thirty-One
Tracy and Rev raced through the Enforcement Wing ship desperately searching for any spacecraft they could use to escape. Now that Rev knew his brother, Ar-Teven, might still be alive, he had to continue the search. The first step was getting off this ship.
A team of military personnel was chasing after them. Rev had no intention of going to prison or being “treated” for his attachment to his mate. And Tracy had no intention of going back to Earth. At one point, Tracy would have loved the idea of returning to her home planet and leaving this strange world behind. The problem? That would mean leaving Rev behind as well. Even under the circumstances, as she ran behind him, Tracy could not help noticing how good Rev looked in his dark blue Enforcement Wing uniform. For better or for worse, they were in this together.
Suddenly, there was a wild chorus of voices all around them.
"They’re up ahead!"
"Send security to cut them off!"
"Security is on the way!"
They were surrounded.
A panel on the right side of the corridor opened up. Nurse S’den poked her head out, motioning for them to come in. "Hurry," she whispered.
Rev and Tracy entered the dark opening, and S’den pushed the panel back in place. She picked up a flashlight from the floor and motioned for them to be silent. Then she pointed the beam of light ahead and started walking.
Tracy couldn't see much because S’den’s body blocked most of the flashlight’s beam. She ran her hands along the walls on either side of her and felt small pipes running parallel to the floor and larger ones that ran perpendicular. She didn’t want to be taken by surprise by an unexpected turn.
S'den stopped suddenly and shined her flashlight on the covered entrance to a ventilation shaft. "This looks dangerous, but you want to go through here," she said, pulling off the cover. "Follow this tunnel to the end, and when you get out, there should be a ladder leading down to the launch bay. But first, stand still. I have to perform a nonintrusive operation." The nurse took out an instrument and ran it down the length of Rev's body. It beeped when she came close to his thigh.
"When you were in our medical facilities, they put a homing beacon inside you. It has to come out if you want to remain undetected."
"Do it," said Rev.
He stood still as S'den held the device to his thigh. A tube emerged from the medical instrument, ripped through his clothing, and made contact with Rev's skin. S'den pushed a button. There was a sucking sound, followed by a yelp of pain from Rev, then a small flashing cylinder erupted from his leg, zoomed up the tube, and came to rest in S'den's hands.
"Good," nurse S'den said. "That didn't hurt a bit." She dropped the beacon to the floor and crushed it with her boot. "And now you, Noc Walsh."
Tracy nervously stood still as S'den scanned her body. It beeped when it come to her arm, where her contraceptive implant was supposed to be. "Why is my implant beeping?" Tracy asked.
"I believe that Dr. Akar removed your implant so he could insert the homing beacon."
"He had no right to do that."
"I agree, Noc Walsh, but there is nothing we can do now. It needs to be removed."
"Yes, take it out." Tracy winced as the beacon was extracted.
"I provisioned the third ship on the left with food and supplies," said S'den. "You should have enough to get to your homeworld, citizen Ar-Reven. Take this too, you might need it," she said, handing him the pack she carried on her back. "Take Noc Walsh to safety."
"Why are you doing this?" asked Rev.
"I don't believe Noc Walsh is the threat Ja-Idin Du claims. There is something that frightens him about nonaligned world sentients, but his reasoning is not sound. Just because he is frightened doesn't mean we all have to be scared. There are people like me who are tired of the control the Dus have on our society. It's time that people show them we don't need to live by their rules."
"What about my friend Carol?" asked Tracy. "Who will take care of her?"
"Carol still needs constant medical attention and more time to heal. I will watch her. I will reunite you with her as soon as practically possible. Do not worry, Noc Walsh, I will care for your friend."
"Thank you," said Tracy.
"You're not free yet, Noc Walsh. You still need to get to safety."
S'den gave the flashlight to Rev. "Good luck to you, S'den," said Rev as she disappeared into the darkness.
Rev and Tracy made their way carefully down the long ventilation tunnel. The end was sealed, and Rev pushed out the cover, doing his best not to make any noise. He helped Tracy out and aimed the flashlight down the vertical shaft. The light illuminated a ladder in the corner to their right. "I will go down first, then you follow me," said Rev.
Tracy swallowed hard, looking down the shaft. It descended into complete darkness, and there was no way to tell how far down the ladder went. "Is this a bad time to tell you I'm afraid of heights?"
"Tracy, you jumped out of a spaceship onto a planet, right? How can you possibly be afraid of heights?"
"Well, that was different. Number one, I didn't have much choice, and number two, I had a parachute."
"I still don't see how you can make those distinctions.” He grinned and shook his head at her. “But don't worry, if you fall, you'll take me with you. I’ll cushion your fall."
"I can't tell you how much of a comfort that is."
"It should be. I'll be the one who gets the worst of it." He smiled, and Tracy realized he was trying to make a joke.
"Get down that ladder, and you better be a good landing pad," Tracy said nervously.
"As my lady wishes," he replied.
Tracy climbed down after Rev, clinging to the rungs. Almost immediately, her hands grew slick with sweat and she started breathing heavily. She glanced down to see Rev's green head growing smaller and smaller as he rapidly retreated down the ladder.
"Rev! Wait!" she whispered loudly.
"Don't look," said Rev. "And try to move. We can’t get out of here if you don’t."
Tracy sped up, and a moment later
her right hand slipped off the metal, and she cried out.
"Don't worry, Tracy," said Rev. "Just go slowly. But hurry."
Great, thought Tracy, he wants me to hurry and go slow simultaneously.
All this advice made Tracy even more nervous, and her hand slipped again. This time she lost her grip entirely and fell off the ladder.
Before she could even scream, she was in Rev’s arms. Turns out she was only a few feet from the floor. Rev had already dismounted and had been watching her descent, ready to catch her. "Please be more careful," he said before giving her a squeeze and setting her on her feet.
Great. Hurry slowly and be careful. Tracy hoped there wouldn't be any more helpful suggestions. "Sorry," she said.
"Let's go." He took her hand and led her down a dark corridor. The flashlight beam made eerie shadows ahead of them, and they had to stop a few times to make sure they weren't being followed. At the end of the corridor was an access panel, just large enough for one person to go through at a time. "You wait here," said Rev. "I'll check out what's ahead."
Tracy grabbed Rev's arm. He twisted around, and she kissed him hard.
"Mmm, we don't have time for that."
"Just a little added incentive to get us out alive."
He grinned. "Looking at you is incentive enough."
Rev pulled the panel back with a grunt and peered through a crack. "This is the launch bay for shuttles and small transports," he whispered. "It looks clear. Wait here while I make sure there is no one around. Hold the panel open."
Rev slipped out, leaving Tracy bracing the panel open. She stood there, muscles tense, heart pounding. Strangely, this was by far the most nerve-racking part of her journey so far. Getting thrown out of a spaceship, killing a huge land crab, and facing off a giant toothy snake bent on making a meal of her were less frightening. When she knew about a danger in front of her and could see it, it was much easier than waiting around for the unknown.
Tracy’s mind wandered as she waited. She thought about how Rev had given up everything in his life for her. His job as a tracker was probably gone forever. If they were caught, they'd be separated, and he’d be tossed in prison. Tracy wasn't sure what would happen to her, but she didn't trust Counselor Ja-Idin Du as far she could throw him. Tracy agreed with nurse S'den; Ja-Idin Du was lying when he’d said Tracy would be returned to Earth. If there was a resistance movement against the Dus, there must be a good reason. Maybe they could be allies.