She had agreed to stay with the Sekani after James had mentioned how badly they would need them in the coming fight against the Krahn. She seemed to have been caught in the role of liaison to them, and Gianni was just part of the package deal. James had also implied that she was better at keeping him in check, which wasn’t a bad thing, either. The only thing was, she wasn’t really keeping Gianni in check. He was doing that himself. James wasn’t around enough to see that Gianni had changed, and he had changed on his own. It seemed to have been his choice, at least. He still had his moments, but he was no longer the insufferable jerk that he’d been on the Tukuli.
She just wished that she had at least something to do with his turnaround. She hardly saw him on a day-to-day basis anymore. He’d taken to going out on patrols with the Sekani, trying to secure the areas around the Sekani base and weeding out the Krahn security checkpoints that had been set up after the invasion. At times she was happy to see Gianni contributing to the effort, but at other times she was sad, thinking that he’d left her behind. She had plenty on her own plate dealing with Zanth and the Rajani Elders, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t lonely.
Then Yvette and David had shown up. She was happy to see Yvette was okay, and see her and James reunited. She was surprised, though, at how happy she’d been to see David, and how that same sentiment was reflected by him. It was confusing, and a little bit scary. Did she have feelings for him, outside of friendship? They hadn’t spent a lot of time together on the trip from Earth, but she had enjoyed running with him and hanging out with him in the common room, along with the others. But they had rarely spent time alone together outside of that, and he’d never shown any interest in her, other than as a running partner.
She was getting ready for bed as she thought about her feelings for both men, when there was a knock on her door. She actually thought about not answering it, not wanting to deal with the latest Sekani crisis, but then thought better of it. If they needed her, then she would help. It was the sole reason she’d come to Rajan. As she neared the door, though, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be the Sekani. She realized that she hoped it was Gianni, and was surprised at the feeling of anticipation she felt at the prospect.
It wasn’t.
“Hey,” David said when she opened the door.
“Hey,” she replied, not knowing what else to say at the moment. She hoped that her disappointment hadn’t shown on her face when she’d opened the door. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t who she wanted to see.
“Can I come in and talk to you?” David asked, smiling.
She had to admit, he had a nice smile. And he was cute, in a boy-band sort of way. She noticed that his hair had grown longer in their time apart. Instead of a boy band member, he looked more like one of the Bee Gees. They were one of her brother’s favorite bands, but she couldn’t stand them. “Sure,” she said, standing to the side. “C’mon in.”
“You weren’t sleeping, were you?” David asked, looking around her room. “I can come back later, if you want.”
“No, it’s all right,” she said. “I was getting ready to go to bed, but I’m not really that tired.” She sat down on her bed, which was the only piece of furniture in the cramped space. He sat down on the bed as well, only about a foot away from her.
“I can’t sleep, either,” he said, looking down at the floor. Kieren was suddenly aware of how close he was. She could smell his breath when he spoke. She could tell that he’d been drinking fernta.
He looked up at her, their faces only a few inches apart now. “I can’t sleep because of you,” he said. “I…can’t stop thinking about you, for some reason.” He smiled briefly, and then grew serious again, looking unsure of himself.
Kieren was surprised as well. This was happening too fast. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. Gianni didn’t seem that interested in her. But did that mean she should just go to David as a fallback option? That wouldn’t be very fair to him. Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed her. His lips were warm and soft, and, for a moment, she closed her eyes and allowed him to kiss her. The taste of fernta was not unpleasant on his lips. Then she pulled away, her eyes wide, realizing what she was doing.
“I’m sorry,” he said, standing up. “I shouldn’t have—”
“No, it’s okay,” she said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let that happen.” She saw the look of disappointment on his face for a brief moment, before it cleared away. “No, that’s not what I meant,” she said. What had she meant to say? “David, I like you. A lot. But I don’t know if I like you in that way.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have come here.” He walked toward the door of her room. She couldn’t help but notice the change in his voice. He seemed…colder, suddenly.
“David, wait, we should talk—” she began, standing up.
He turned to her, and she could see his eyes. They reflected the coldness of his voice. “No, there’s nothing to talk about.” He turned and left, closing the door behind him.
She stood there a moment, shocked at what had just happened, and the change in David at the end. It was like he had turned into a different person than the one who had entered her dwelling. It was a long time before she could fall asleep.
#
Ries sat in his room and wondered how he kept finding himself in such dangerous situations. Everything had been going so well in his new job, and now he found out that his superior at Galactic Intelligence was acting on his own to carry out some sort of personal vendetta, and had used Ries to help in his quest to overthrow, and possibly exterminate, the Rajani.
Ries had been so angry at first, he’d thought of just killing the little Sekani and trying to disappear somewhere where GI couldn’t find him. But after seriously contemplating the scenario, he knew that there was nowhere in Alliance space that he could go. He thought about trying to escape to space controlled by the Supreme Consortium, but relations between the Alliance and the Consortium were not exactly amicable. He could be shot just trying to enter SC space.
No, he had to get out of the mess the old-fashioned way, by using his wits. He turned the attention of both of his brains to the problem at hand, knowing that if he was going to escape this latest mess, he would have to be at the top of his game. He needed to implicate T’van anonymously, so that none of the Sekani’s stench stuck to him. He poured himself another glass of kolan, knowing it was going to be a long night of scheming, but then, scheming was what he did best.
He finally decided that the Security General himself should learn about T’van’s plotting, not just whatever lies T’van had told him so he’d agree to strong-arm the ASPs into abandoning their quest for the Rajani ship. The only question was how he was going to get word to him. He couldn’t just hop the next ship to Sh’kall, the seat of Galactic Intelligence. T’van had an elaborate system of agents and informants, and he would know what Ries was planning.
#
The Sekani were celebrating their victory; their first major triumph over the Krahn. The victory over the Krahn at their northern base had cost the lives of hundreds of Sekani, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to make. They had set up one of the large warehouse buildings near the shore of the ocean to have a victory feast. Gianni was the guest of honor, his standing among the young male Sekani at an all-time high. After the third large glass of fernta, he had stopped drinking, feeling lightheaded and much too warm. His small group of warriors had tried to get him to stay and drink more with them, calling out his Sekani name, Sedan’ka, and generally acting like he would offend them if he left.
He had begged off anyway, telling them that he needed to get some sleep. In reality, he wanted to see Kieren. Call it liquid courage, but he felt ready to finally talk to her. He was tired of pretending he didn’t care about her. She needed to know the truth, if only so that he could stop carrying the load of feelings around like an anchor on his heart. He walked, somewhat unsteadily, over to where her room was located. He had to stop for a minute, f
eeling like he was going to be sick. Never should have drank that third glass, he thought, grimacing.
After the wave of nausea had passed, he continued walking. At first, he thought he was seeing things when he saw Kieren inviting David into her room. His legs felt weak, and he had to sit down. He was too late. She’d moved on. He scoffed at the thought. How could she move on when they’d never been together in the first place? There was nothing to move on from. He sat there a few minutes wallowing in self-pity. He was just about to stand up and head back to the celebration, perhaps to drown out the sight of David going into her room, when the door suddenly opened up and David emerged. He slammed the door and seemed upset. Good, Gianni thought, smiling.
He closed his eyes. Good, he thought again. I’ll get up and talk to her as soon as I rest a little. When he woke up a few hours later, his head pounding and a thick coat on his tongue, he decided that maybe it wasn’t such a good time to talk to her after all.
#
David had not been able to sleep after leaving Kieren’s room at the Sekani compound. He’d returned to his own room, but had stayed up until he saw the first light of dawn coming over the eastern horizon. He should have known that he would be rebuffed by Kieren. Women were all the same. They acted nice to you, but they weren’t really. His father had tried to tell him, but he hadn’t listened. He had fought against him, fought against the truth his entire life. But no more. He knew now that they were all unworthy of him.
He left his room and went in search of Krahn. He’d discovered that he enjoyed hunting the Krahn on his own. He felt free to take out his pent-up anger on the creatures, and it also gave him time to think. His thoughts, always seemingly going too fast, seemed to slow down as he concentrated on searching for his next prey. It was close to the way he had felt back on Earth before agreeing to leave with the Rajani. He found his first Krahn warrior a little while later, squatting next to a large piece of stone that had once been a corner of a building. It held its gun casually, as if it were taking a break.
David didn’t feel like doing anything extensive, so he just ran to the Krahn, picked it up, and ran it straight into another large piece of stone some twenty feet away. He ran it headfirst into the stone; its struggles were inconsequential. The Krahn exploded between the stone and David’s power field, covering him from head to foot in gore, which slowly slid down the field toward the ground. He looked down at himself, surprised at the mess he’d made. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, he thought. He began to run as fast as he could, watching the blood and other bits of Krahn slide off his field. When most of it was gone, he slowed down and dropped his field briefly, allowing the rest to fall away before powering up again. Good as new, he thought, grimly.
He smiled when he caught sight of another Krahn. Better just do this the old-fashioned way. He raced up to the Krahn and picked it up before it knew he was even there. He then raced for the nearby coastline. He’d found that most of the city of Melaanse was bordered on its eastern side by a sandy beach, but the northern area of coast rose in height to tall cliffs that overlooked a small bay. This was where he took the Krahn warrior. When he reached a point where he knew there were jagged rocks far below, he hurled the Krahn off, watching as the body bounced down the cliff face and came to rest at the bottom.
He stood there a moment, looking down at the body of the Krahn where it rested. There were four other bodies lying next to it, where he’d also dropped them. They were all in various stages of decomposition. Satisfied, he took off once again, heading back to the city of Melaanse, and another hunt.
Chapter 16
Ries an na Van was meeting with his new boss, Agent Fourth Level Kamran Ne. His former boss, Odorey T’van, who had initially recruited him to Galactic Intelligence, had been labeled as a rogue agent and discharged from the agency. T’van was to be apprehended with extreme prejudice by whoever saw him, whether ASP officer or GI agent, or whatever bounty hunter got lucky enough to collect the reward money. The Security General had not taken the news well when he’d learned about the machinations of the rogue agent. Ries had been careful to remain anonymous, but had used communication channels that were available to all agents of GI.
Ries didn’t know what the ASG’s anger meant for his own standing in GI. How was he supposed to have known that he’d been working for someone who had been operating outside of GI protocol? Now he just needed to do everything possible to stay alive. He walked into Ne’s office, unsure what to expect. It was a simple, unadorned workspace, much different than the luxury preferred by T’van. There was a desk with a small computer screen on it. There was no chair behind the desk, though there was one in front of the desk for visitors. There were no pictures on the walls. He would not have thought that anyone was using it, if not for the large glass of water that had been set on the corner of the desk. He stood there, looking around the office and wondering if he should sit. He decided he’d better just stand and wait.
It was a few minutes before Ne entered. Ries was surprised to see that he was a Mling-don, an aquatic species that traveled around in mechanical bodies. Ries had to stop a smile that threatened to split his face. His small Sekani superior had been replaced by one even smaller, and possibly more vulnerable.
Ne walked over to the desk without a word and placed a file he’d been carrying on the desktop. When he reached the area behind the desk, he stood there a moment, his circular tank just at the level of the top of the desk. Suddenly, the top half of his mechanical body bent backwards, extending its arms toward the floor. When its arms had set down on the floor and stabilized, the top of the tank sat just below the level of the desk. Ries heard the sound of machinery working, and the tank began to rise. It finally stopped when it sat a full standard foot above the desktop. Ries could see Ne turning around in the tank, the wires leading from his head to the mechanical body floating around it in the water. Ne stopped when he was facing in Ries’s direction. “Please, have a seat,” Ne said through a translator built into his mechanical body, his small arm pointing toward the chair. Ries sat down. “Water?” Ne asked.
“No, thank you,” Ries answered.
“Suit yourself,” Ne said. A small hose slid out from the mechanical body and dipped into the glass of water sitting on the desktop. The water level in the glass slowly decreased. When the water had all been vacuumed into the mechanical body, the hose slid back to its original position. “Ah, much better,” Ne said. “My filters work well enough, but there’s nothing like some fresh water to get the blood pumping.”
Ries just sat there, wondering if he was going to be killed by someone who swam around in his own waste. It didn’t seem fair.
“Now,” Ne said. “I suppose you’ve heard about my predecessor’s undoing?”
“Yes,” Ries answered glumly.
“Then you know why I’ve called you in,” Ne said. “We can’t have our agents performing unsanctioned missions, especially when those missions involve the toppling of sovereign and Alliance-recognized governments.”
Ries almost laughed. Toppling governments was what Galactic Intelligence specialized in. He kept his face emotionless, though. No need to unduly tempt fate.
“Agent T’van chose to operate outside of GI control,” Ne continued. “Even going so far as enlisting his own agents, such as yourself, Agent Van. It’s a practice that is frowned upon by Galactic Intelligence, though not without precedence.” He paused a moment, his unblinking eyes studying Ries from behind his clear orb. “I’m willing to overlook the impropriety in this instance. I’ve read over your records, and if you’re willing to work for me, and more importantly, work within GI’s stated legal limits, then you still have a job, as far as I’m concerned. Do you choose to do so?”
Ries was still digesting everything that he had just heard, and the fact that he had survived yet again. It took a moment for him to answer. “Of course,” he said. “Yes. Whatever you’d like me to do.”
“Good answer,” Ne said. “First things first. We nee
d to clean up T’van’s mess.”
“Planet A2242?” Ries asked, already knowing the answer.
“Of course Planet A2242,” Ne said. “I tell you, I don’t know what T’van was thinking when he agreed to help the Krahn Horde. But I want to emphasize the fact that he was working alone in this instance. Is that understood?”
“Of course,” Ries answered, wondering if it was actually the truth. He supposed it didn’t really matter.
“We can’t be dragging the Alliance into this,” Ne said. “Very touchy matter, and all that.”
“I understand,” Ries said.
“So, what I want you to do,” Ne said, “is immediately break off all communication with your Krahn contact—what’s his name?” he asked himself, looking down at his notes, which he’d laid out on the desk before him. “Oh, yes, Ronak. Fancies himself the leader in exile of the entire Krahn planet. Looney as can be, from what I’ve heard. Immediately break off communications with this Ronak. From now on, he’s on his own.”
Ries sat there a moment, perplexed. He hadn’t been aware that T’van had a contact within the Krahn Horde, let alone that it was Ronak himself. All he’d known was that T’van had recruited a Sekani on Rajan and had been working with him to overthrow the Rajani Elders, and possibly destroy the Rajani completely. Every time he thought he knew what was happening, there was another layer to uncover. He had survived twice now. He didn’t know if he’d live to see another layer uncovered.
“Of course, this issue would take the talents of someone performing above your pay grade,” Ne said, breaking into Ries’s contemplation. “So you are promoted to Agent Level Two, effective immediately. Is this acceptable to you?”
Ries almost fell out of his chair. “Yes,” he barely squeaked out, amazed once again by the turn of events.
“Now,” Ne said, looking at Ries intently. “About this Sekani saboteur on Rajan. He must be silenced for the good of Galactic Intelligence. If word ever got out of GI’s part in all of this, it could turn into a real public relations nightmare.”
Rajani Chronicles II Page 21