Star Minds Next Generation

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "That's what they all say," he replied. "You want to feel precious and taken care of, I'll do that."

  "No, no, it's for real! I'm Sylvanian..."

  "Lovely! So you're a lesbian, that's why you can't relax in my arms, huh?" He licked her cheek, making her shiver in disgust.

  "I'm not a lesbian!" she snapped. "And I'm not a virgin either. And you could be my father if I had one! Except I don't, and never wanted one anyway!"

  He chuckled and pulled her closer to shove his tongue down her throat, almost choking her. Dadina stiffened, but understood he'd never believe her, so she stopped resisting. He could do what he wanted, as long as he used a condom. Which he did, thank the goddess.

  I'lli'nya's moans of pleasure got on her nerves, and she clenched her teeth as the man touched her everywhere. She managed to relax enough that he didn't hurt her when he entered her, but hated every minute of the sexual intercourse. She prayed for her mother to come and save her before she started hating men – all men, including Shan-leo, Hiro and Wim.

  As she lay disheveled on the couch and I'lli'nya softly snored on the bed, the customers gone, she wondered how the young thief was doing. K'iri'llian didn't look sweet and the way he'd stared at Wim made Dadina understand that Wim was probably worse off than her. And what about Shan-leo? Was he still with Ivanka? And had Mayumi reached Marc'harid yet?

  ***

  "I managed to get you an anonymous ticket to Ivanka's gladiators' fight," Kol-ian said over the Haiduc comm. "We don't know where she keeps Shan-leo, Dadina or Wim, so the only way is for you to get near her and find out."

  Ker-ris nodded, thoughtful. "Were the anonymous tickets expensive?"

  "Four times the normal price." Kol-ian scoffed. "But she probably knows who Shan-leo is, and we don't want her to see you coming, do we?"

  "No." Ker-ris smiled briefly. "I'll read her mind to find them all. When is the fight?"

  "Tomorrow night. Be at Mansion Rotshy by sunset. You're allowed one bodyguard into the arena, so Mayumi will have to wait on the Haiduc."

  Ker-ris glanced at Mayumi who meekly nodded. "Thank you, amatan. Will be in touch." He signed off and turned to look at Maela. "Are you ready?"

  "You bet," Maela answered through clenched teeth. He could tell she was ready to slaughter half the household if she found out they'd hurt her daughter.

  Ker-ris looked at Mayumi. She looked young and lost as she stared into space. He wondered how hard her life had been with such unusual powers.

  "When this is over, would you like to join the palace security?" he asked, breaking the silence.

  Startled, Mayumi looked at him. "Would you really trust me?

  "Why not?" He smiled. "You told me where to find my son."

  "I got him in trouble."

  "He got you in trouble, forcing you into the bad decision of trying to abduct him."

  She sighed and averted her eyes. "I guess we're not really meant to be close in spite of what he says."

  "What does he say?" Ker-ris was curious.

  "He says he wants to know me better," she grumbled, eyes low. "I don't know what he sees in me."

  "You're pretty. But that's not all, is it?" Ker-ris sighed and stared at the main screen that showed the fast-approaching planet Wega. "We'll see. Let's get them all out of trouble first."

  ***

  The arena was an ellipse, much like the old Coliseum on Earth, but it was all underground. The audience sat upstairs, and there was a special booth for the owner and her guests. Cameras flew all over the arena, recording the fights from all angles, following the directions from the hidden control room.

  Raken explained how the show worked before leaving the waiting area with Shan-leo. The opponents entered the arena from different doors on opposite sides of the ellipse. Shan-leo had taken off the broken artificial hand and substituted it with the retractile blade, hoping it would help him stay alive.

  As the door slid open in front of them, his eyes went to the booth where Ivanka sat with K'iri'llian. The dark-skinned man had Wim seated next to him, half-naked and wearing a slave collar to which his hands were attached. Wim's long hair half hid his face, but Shan-leo briefly met his eyes and in spite of the mind-controlling device he felt the anger and pain of the young thief.

  Then Raken elbowed him and he focused on their adversary, a tower of muscles who probably had Reptilian blood since his Humanoid features were somehow distorted. Like Raken had mentioned, he didn't look very bright – all muscle, no brain – but his strength must be impressive. If the big hands grabbed any of his limbs, Shan-leo would probably find himself with another prosthetic or at least a broken bone.

  "Current champion. Pure brute force," Raken said quickly. "He's strong, but too bulky to be fast."

  Shan-leo nodded, frowning in concentration. In the two days before the fight, he'd come up with a plan to beat the brute, combining his few skills with Raken's. He was very happy to have given up his artificial hand for a blade now that he saw the mountain of a man facing them.

  Ivanka rose and the audience quieted. The gladiators faced each other and waited for the signal.

  Ivanka slowly smiled and raised her hands. "Fight!" she screamed.

  Shan-leo pulled out the blade, ready to use it. As he'd imagined, he didn't have any real protection. The opponent also fought half-naked, so it would be easy to wound him. Shan-leo hoped he wouldn't be forced to kill him. There probably wasn't much in the man's mind, but he was a living being and he might have a wife waiting for him somewhere.

  The brute charged and Raken quickly moved around him and jumped on his back, trying to stop him by beating him on the head. Shan-leo swiped his blade as high as he could and cut the man's torso, making him scream. But it was only a scratch, and it only made the man more furious and determined to crush the two young men who were half his size.

  Shan-leo rolled away from his grasp and was too busy trying to stay alive to listen to the cheering of the crowd or to keep an eye on Ivanka. A kick in the ribs took his breath away and the huge hand grabbed his ankle.

  Shan-leo struggled to stab the brute as he was picked off the ground and thrown against the arena wall. Luckily the prosthetic softened the blow, but he collapsed on the ground, panting for breath. Raken quickly detached his substitute hand and used the blade to stab the colossus in the neck, crumbling down with him.

  Shan-leo relaxed but didn't move from the floor as Raken disentangled himself from the mass of the fallen man.

  "Well done, partner!" The gladiator cheerfully offered his hand to help him back on his feet.

  Shan-leo's chest hurt too much, so he simply nodded, holding his ribs with his flesh-and-blood hand. Raken dragged him in front of Ivanka's booth.

  "Am I free, now that I have defeated your champion?" he asked.

  "You sure are," she answered. "But only you. Your teammate still has to earn his freedom."

  Shan-leo groaned. Raken had done most of the work, so he was glad that his temporary friend was free.

  "I'm not leaving without him," Raken said. "He's the perfect teammate. He managed to stay alive – which isn't something I can say of his predecessors!"

  Ivanka scoffed. "Suit yourself. Then you both stay."

  "You should just go," Shan-leo whispered, still breathless.

  "Not going to abandon you, pal," Raken replied, putting one arm around his shoulder. "Come, I'll take you to the infirmary. You might have a broken rib or two."

  "It sure hurts," Shan-leo admitted with a wince, happy to leave the arena and the bulky corpse behind.

  ***

  Ker-ris had watched the fight, ready to stop it if he saw Shan-leo in real danger. Maela was ready to jump in and kill anyone trying to stop her, but it wasn't necessary. As soon as Shan-leo and his teammate left the arena, Ker-ris rose and went to the exit of Ivanka's booth with a determined look on his face.

  Ivanka came out, followed by a tall Ulba'wissian who held the chain attached to the collar of a long-haired young slave – Ker-r
is recognized Mayumi's associate from the glimpse into her mind. Good, two were already within reach. He only needed to find Dadina. He stepped in front of the Wegan woman who looked up at him, startled.

  "You will release Shan-leo right now," Ker-ris demanded. "And Dadina and Wim. And I hope they aren't too damaged, or you'll join your brother in prison."

  "Who let you in?" she replied defiantly, strong with the half-dozen men behind her.

  "I bought a regular ticket." He showed it. "Anonymous. And I was lucky enough to find who I was looking for in tonight's fight. So release Shan-leo before I lose my patience."

  "And who the hell are you?"

  "I'm Ker-ris Shermac and the Shermac fleet are in orbit, ready to invade your property if you don't comply."

  "Ah, so you're the father!" She gave him the once-over, admiring his good looks. "I hear you're a widower – are you by any chance looking for a second wife?"

  "Not even if she pays me," he retorted. "I've had enough of women using me. Release my son and his friends now, or this place will be flooded with military who obey only me."

  She exchanged a quick glance with the Ulba'wissian who had clenched his teeth and was glaring at Ker-ris.

  "You have men of your own, Ivanka! Don't let him play you!"

  "The Rotshy have money, but they don't have an army," Ker-ris reminded them. "I do. As son-in-law of the late Emperor, I am much more powerful than you, even if he is no more."

  "I can appeal to the High Council for abuse of personal power," Ivanka challenged.

  "I have an uncle in the High Council, who do you think they will listen to?" Ker-ris replied.

  She glared at him. "Fine. Take back your son. He's not so good anyway. I guess he's too young."

  "I'm sure you can teach him plenty, being a former whore, but that's not what he's destined for."

  "I'm not a former whore!"

  "Yes you are. You and your wretched brother. Now give back the hostages you have no right to keep."

  "I'm not giving up this little bastard," the Ulba'wissian said through clenched teeth, shaking his fist holding the chain of Wim's collar. "And where is that bitch Mayumi?"

  "With my admiral, ready to invade the mansion if you don't surrender right now," Ker-ris answered, not bothering to tell the truth. Mayumi was on the Haiduc, ready to take them all home.

  "And you came here with just one woman as bodyguard?" the other insisted, sarcastic. "What makes you think we can't take you hostage and force your fleet to leave without you and your son?"

  Ker-ris stepped to the side, allowing Maela to come forward.

  "You'll have to drop that chain if you want to capture me," he teased.

  The dark-skinned man screamed in anger and threw the chain at him, pushing Wim towards Ivanka to get her out of his way. The young man stumbled and fell into Ker-ris's arms while Ivanka slumped against the wall with a yelp.

  Maela went into full action mode. Her bionic hand shot laser beams to stop the men coming at her. Her prosthetic leg took the wind out of a couple of chests and her speed allowed her to take down four men in one quick action. The remaining two tried to attack her at the same time and again were taken down by her war prosthetics, including the dark-skinned leader. Her impassive face stared at him with contempt as he moaned in pain, holding his crotch with both hands.

  "Men. They never learned how to handle Sylvanians," she muttered, picking up a gun. She put it on "stun" and shot down all the bad guys, including Ivanka who collapsed next to her men. Then she turned to look at Ker-ris.

  "How do we find Dadina now?" she asked bluntly.

  "I think I know where she is," Wim said as Ker-ris pulled him back on his feet.

  "No, you don't," Ker-ris said. "This is an underground labyrinth. But I read their minds before they lost consciousness. Come, the arena infirmary is this way."

  ***

  Dadina couldn't help biting her nails. She didn't have anything else to do. She had put on a fairly decent dress and was waiting for lunch or whatever they'd pass to her and I'lli'nya before they went back to work. The other woman was humming a song while painting her toenails, still half-naked as if that was her natural state.

  The door opened, but it wasn't a servant with their tray of food. Dadina gasped with joy at the sight of her mother and rushed to hug her with a scream.

  "Mom!"

  Maela's arms wrapped around her like a safety blanket.

  "Oh, thank the goddess you made it!" Dadina whispered, relieved.

  "Are you all right?" Maela asked, worried, pulling her away only to observe her more closely.

  "Yes, I'm fine. How is Shan-leo?"

  "A broken rib and he lost his artificial hand – nothing we can't fix back on Marc'harid."

  "Good, let's go, then!"

  Maela glanced at puzzled I'lli'nya who had stopped humming and stared at her with wide chocolate-brown eyes.

  "Does your friend want to come with us?"

  "I don't think so..."

  "Yes, she does."

  Startled, Dadina saw that behind her mother stood a young man with a pierced nose and long auburn hair.

  "Raken!" I'lli'nya exclaimed, brightening. "You're free?"

  "We all are," he answered coming forward with a big grin. "Come, it's time to get away from Wega once and for all!"

  I'lli'nya rushed to him and they embraced. Incredulous, Dadina watched their passionate kiss, then looked at her mother.

  "Oh, well, I guess she's coming too," she muttered, averting her eyes.

  Maela squeezed her. "Let's go," she whispered tenderly.

  At the main entrance they joined Ker-ris, Shan-leo, Mayumi and Wim, who had a blanket over his shoulders. He was half-naked, much like Dadina, and didn't smile. He didn't even look up and Dadina worried he was more wounded inside than she was.

  "Hey, Dadina." Shan-leo greeted her with a tired smile, his chest bandaged and his prosthetic missing the hand. He leaned heavily on his father, as if he was too weak to walk on his own.

  "Let's go," Ker-ris said. "The Haiduc will take us home."

  "What will happen to the bad guys?" Dadina asked.

  "I'm taking K'iri'llian K'aran prisoner, but we shouldn't worry about Ivanka. K'iri'llian is on the Galaxy Police wanted list, but she isn't, so we can't do much about her. Raken and I'lli'nya will be taken where they want by my flagship."

  "Thank you, Ker-ris. How come Kol-ian isn't with you?"

  "Busy with the Five. We can be apart, if we want to." Ker-ris winked. "Let's go before my son slumps to the floor before our eyes..."

  15. HOME SWEET HOME

  Shan-leo was glad to be home, if only to have people doting on him. The fight in the arena had left him with a broken rib and his prosthetic was completely gone, so he felt maimed again. Tyro had removed the mind-controlling device, and that had been a relief. His body still felt battered, but at least his mind was free. Dadina stayed by his side all the time, holding his hand in the hospital room and then when he went back to his own bed.

  "How are you doing?" he asked her, knowing she'd had to lay with a couple of men while he trained for the arena.

  "I'm fine," she said a little bluntly. "I can take it. I know it's different when you're in love."

  "Tough girl," he said tenderly, caressing her cheek and making her blush. "I'm sure you'll find someone who loves you and respects you and makes you feel great soon."

  "And what about you?" she asked, worried. "When you're back on your feet, will you go to Xi-kong to inquire about Mayumi's past? What if she's a killer, like Hiro?"

  "I don't think I'll need to go there," he replied. "She's here now, isn't she?"

  "Yes," she grumbled, averting her eyes. "So? What will you do with her?"

  "I don't know yet. Some things must be decided together. Stop being so hostile to her, she brought our parents to the rescue after all."

  "She also brought the bad guys to us," she retorted. "If she hadn't tried to abduct you for ransom..."

  "Dadin
a, you were lucky. You have no idea of what Mayumi and Wim went through in their lives. You don't know why they did what they did. Just give them a chance, will you?"

  She sighed. "I don't read their minds like you do," she complained.

  "I can't read Mayumi's mind," he replied. "She is a telepath. She has mind shields. And I look forward to discovering the woman behind them."

  "Fine." Dadina pouted. "I wonder what kind of jobs they'll find here... They certainly can't be thieves!"

  "Nor prostitutes," Shan-leo said, serious. "Wim was raped – gang banged. I don't think he's going to use his body to go anywhere anymore."

  Dadina's eyes widened in shock. "That's why he's still at the hospital, then! And Mayumi is with him... you think she's helping him?"

  "Definitely. They share a common past, and they stick together like you and me. Give them time and I'm sure they'll reveal their true selves to us..."

  ***

  The next morning, Shan-leo and Dadina went together to the Vaurabi Labs. While Tyro repaired Shan-leo's arm, Markandeya gave Dadina a progress report of what had been done in her absence.

  "Hiro is really good. We'll have to give you a bonus for bringing more brilliant minds to the Labs."

  "Hiro would have joined anyway." Dadina shrugged. "I'm sure Bess-lin would have sent him here when she didn't need him anymore. So you can thank Shan-leo for abducting Kay-low and making Hiro's job redundant."

  "Hiro is not the only mind you sent here," Markandeya insisted, amused. "Another young man showed up with your name as reference and, believe it or not, he was apprenticed to the Hacker in spite of being male."

  The Hacker had long forgotten his real name. He lived in a room full of computers in the Vaurabi Labs and never went out. He'd helped Tyro and the others to break the Triumvirate security and save Kol-ian and Ker-ris ten years earlier, so Dadina had heard of him, but she'd never actually met him.

  "The Hacker?" she said, puzzled. "I thought he didn't take on apprentices – he's too antisocial to deal with people!"

  "He must have been very impressed with the young man's skills, then." Markandeya grinned.

  "I don't know any hacker!" Dadina protested.

  "You do," Shan-leo said, moving his artificial arm to make sure everything was working well again. "Although you like to think of him as a hooker – or a thief."