Rogue Stars

by C Gockel et al.

  “And you don’t understand any of it.”

  Tague turned back to Seth. “True, so much is still a mystery. And Air Command is closing in, leaving us no time for research. The Brothers are becoming impatient. Taking the Alpha and the hosts into subspace is my last chance at making this happen.”

  “You won’t ever get them to cooperate. They don’t care about our Union or the Shri-Lan or our reasons for anything. They cannot be controlled. We are little more than life support systems for them.”

  Khoe scowled at him but said nothing.

  “And yet you seem to get along just fine with yours,” Tague said. “There is something different about your parasite, or perhaps in the way you have combined. I need to know what that is.”

  “Can’t you see where this is going? These people don’t belong here.”

  Tague shook his head, impatient with this pupil who refused to see the larger lesson. “If we don’t take control of them, the Union will. We are merely ahead of the competition. We’ve only seen the beginning of what can be done with them. We can lead the research, the development, the very evolution of the species. Your parasite is the key. It hasn’t harmed you. You are what I’ve been striving to create. With just a few dozen like you, we will shift the balance between Shri-Lan and the Commonwealth.”

  “If you think I’m going to cooperate with this…”

  “No need. Your Dyad is far too valuable to leave with Union spy. We’ll find a more suitable host for it.”

  “You can get it out of my head?” Seth said. “How?”

  Tague just smiled and motioned to his men. Seth’s eyes widened when one of them turned his hand to reveal what looked like a small pistol, aimed at him. Then there was nothing.

  12

  “Don’t move.”

  Seth fought weakly against the hands that restrained him. The blinding overhead light stabbed into his eyes and he moaned when the pain in his head grew unbearable. His chest still ached but not with the ferocity he felt earlier. Against the glare he was able to make out someone beside him. “Lights,” he groaned and tried to shield his eyes with his arm.

  A moment later the room dimmed. He blinked, grateful when the pain in his head subsided a little. This was some sort of clinic, he decided. Or perhaps another part of Tague’s creepy research compound. He was stretched out on a metal table surrounded by cabinets and anxiety-inspiring gadgetry. Someone had removed his jacket and shirt and the surface beneath him felt like ice.

  Avi Tashad returned to his side where he continued to bandage Seth’s blistered fingers. Seth raised his other hand, finding it already wrapped in a clean layer of mesh.

  That’s when he perceived a peculiar void, like something very important that he might have forgotten or misplaced and now desperately needed.

  “Khoe,” he called out. His voice sounded hoarse. “Gods, Khoe!” He tried to sit up but the young man rose quickly to press him back down.

  “Keep still,” Tashad said softly. He placed a cool hand over Seth’s forehead. “You need to rest. Your parasite is gone.”

  Seth stared at the Human without comprehension.

  “He took it.” The youth gestured at the equipment beside the table. “Some resonance he’s been working on. Sort of like the reverse of the tune that attracts them.”

  “No! That can’t be. Is she all right? What did he do with her?”

  “She?”

  Seth nodded and closed his eyes. “Yes, she.” Knowing better, he tried to call to her, the way he sometimes did when she had withdrawn. Nothing. Just a cavernous vacancy where she used to fit into his senses. He lifted his arm, not surprised to see his data sleeve gone. He sat up, shaking off Tashad’s hand. The room tilted crazily and he closed his eyes again. “Where is my transmitter?”

  “They took it. The Shri-Lan. To get into your ship. Please let me help you.”

  Seth pushed his hair out of his face. “I think you’ve done enough.”

  “This was hardly my doing. I didn’t come here to force people into having their brains altered. I was promised a research opportunity with the Trida team and instead I end up working for the Shri-Lan. I’m stuck here.” He went to a cabinet and stood before it as if undecided about what he wanted there. “But I have records. Notes. Conversations. If I ever get off this rock and somewhere safe I’ll have my say about what goes on here.”

  Khoe? Dammit. Wake up! “Where are they keeping her? She destroyed the storage thing where the others were being held.”

  “They’re gone. They took the Stoyan off-planet. The research ship. Not very long ago. Told me to keep you alive until they get back in case he needs to work with your brain some more. He wasn’t sure you’d wake up.” Tashad sorted through the medicine packets on a shelf. “I’m studying astrophysics. What am I supposed to know about keeping you alive?”

  “Where did they go, dammit,” Seth snapped. “How long have I been out?”

  “About six hours. They are going to jump, that’s all I know. He’s got at least five cruisers with him.” He peered at an ampoule in his hand. “I’m thinking if he doesn’t get results he’s going to keep right on going. Things are a bit of a mess here right now.”

  “Your mess,” Seth growled. “You should have turned in the lot when you first saw something going on here. Now people are going to die or worse.” He pushed off the table and carefully tested his weight before standing. His legs seemed agreeable to holding him up. He shuffled to the boy and nudged him aside to rummage through the cabinet. None of these medicines were in pill or vapor form and he resigned himself to an injection. “Those,” he said. “Just painkillers.”

  The boy turned and Seth saw tears stream over the delicate face. “I couldn’t! They would have killed me!” Tashad cried. “First the doctor was trying things out on rebels and I didn’t care. Those people are rude and mean. You have no idea about the things they’ve said to me. I barely dare to step outside anymore. I know what the Shri-Lan do to people they don’t like.” He raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “But then Jael died. My teacher! She went mad and then just died. I don’t even know where they put her after that!”

  Seth closed his eyes briefly, thinking of the bodies Khoe had found outside.

  “And now he’s got those others,” Tashad continued. “Volunteers from the other agencies. Some of them are my age, trying to learn something out here. What if this new test doesn’t work out?” His red-rimmed eyes pleaded with Seth. “What if it does?”

  Seth frowned, sorry for his harsh words. “Is there no one left here of your team?”

  “No. Just a half dozen guards outside and the doctor’s wife, Isalia. She refused to go with him. She’s locked herself up.”

  “Seems sensible. If your doctor doesn’t return they’re going to start getting angry. Lock yourself up, too. Contact Air Command and let them know what’s going on here.”

  “Air Command? They’ll arrest me. And they’ll arrest you. Why do you want them here?”

  Seth took a deep breath and halved the amount of painkiller he was going to take. His mind was fogged and the lack of Khoe in his head kept threatening to drop him in a bout of vertigo. Of course the boy would think of him as Shri-Lan. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirrored front of the cabinet. The irises of his bloodshot eyes were pale, a sure sign of illness among his people. The dark shadows under them went well with the cheeks covered in a few days’ growth. He certainly looked the part today, too. “Well, wait till I’ve gone.”

  Tashad wiped his face with his forearm. “It’ll take days for Air Command to get here. Weeks maybe. There’s nothing here for them. Tague destroyed everything that you didn’t already. He’s the only one now with the research data.”

  Seth gestured for Tashad to administer the medicine. Gritting his teeth, he looked away from the needle slipping into his skin. It hardly helped to remind himself that the pain in his burned fingers felt far worse than the injection; he’d never feel comfortable around needles. “I’m goi
ng after them. There’s got to be something flyable left down here.”

  “Your ship is still here. They weren’t able to break into your cruiser, even with your transmitter.” The youth’s hand lingered on Seth’s bare arm and his voice took on a pleading tone when he continued. “Stay here until help comes. Or take me with you. You got rid of that alien. You’re free. I’m so scared here. And alone.”

  Seth gently removed Tashad’s hand. “I might have… given you the wrong idea earlier. I can take you out of here, if you want. I just can’t guarantee that I’m going anywhere you want to be.”

  The youth’s hopeful expression shifted to disappointment. “How are you going to get away? Your ship’s under guard. They want it.”

  “Of course they do. It’s a damn fine plane.” Seth perched on the edge of the examination table and ran his fingers over the ship tattooed above his elbow. The burn mesh made it difficult but after a little experimenting he tapped the code onto three of the Dutchman’s torn sails. A gentle buzzing sensation confirmed access and he lifted his arm to touch the embedded data sheet against the implant at his temple. “I may have to get rough with them. Still want to come with me?”

  Tashad looked away. “No. I’ll stay. I’ll call the Slian team to come get me and Isa after you’ve gone. I don’t dare to walk over there in the dark.” He fished Seth’s clothes from a shelf under the table and shook them out. “Those rebels scare me more than the lizards.”

  Seth winced when the pain in his hands made fastening his shirt problematic. “Lock yourself up until someone gets here. Don’t give those rebels out there a reason to…” He hesitated, but his glance at Tashad’s slender body told the boy what he meant. “To hurt you.”

  Tashad nodded uncertainly.

  Seth tried to recall the layout of the facility, willing his brain to work properly. “I need your help to get out of this place. Go down to the module that sits higher up, at the far end. Know which I mean?”

  “Yes, the recycler.”

  “Find something to make a lot of noise to get their attention. Break a roof panel or something. If I make it to the Dutchman I’ll try to get them to follow me away from here. You’ll be fine then.”

  “I can do that. You’re being very kind after… after what we did to you.”

  “We don’t always get to make our own choices,” Seth said and then sneered at his own philosophical tone. “I sound like my old man just before I get a trouncing. See where that got me?”

  Tashad tilted his head and gave him a weak smile. “You’re not really a rebel, are you?”

  Seth winked. “Sure I am. Hail the mighty Tharron and his bastard offspring.” He pondered this for a moment. “Well, actually, if you can leave my name out of this, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I will.”

  “Are there any weapons here?”

  “Yes. We have all the stuff that used to belong to the… the first test subjects. In the closet near the stairs. I saw guns.” Tashad tugged on Seth’s sleeve to stop him from stepping into the hallway. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you when you first got here. I’m to blame for this and I’m worried about your condition. You could be damaged. I don’t know if you should be going off-planet at all. Never mind going through subspace any time soon.”

  Seth had to agree with that opinion. “If you ask me, a good place to be right now is inside a big tub of hot water with bubbles and a trio of dancing girls but there’s no point in wishful thinking.”

  Tashad pointed toward the west side of the building. “The main door is sealed now and guarded. But there is a tunnel down in the labs leading outside to the other side of the building. I… I don’t want to go down there. I don’t think I can stand to see the bodies. I’m sorry.”

  Seth touched his slight shoulder. “That’s all right, Avi. You didn’t come to Csonne for this. Just promise me to check out your next study assignment a bit more carefully. Shri-Lan are bastards to work for, believe me.”

  Tashad smiled. “Please be careful.”

  Seth watched the youth disappear down the hall and then turned in the opposite direction to the lab area of the facility. There he found the stolen items Tashad had mentioned behind a sliding door, pathetic reminders of the lives lost here because of Reylan Tague’s misguided research. He dug through a small stockpile of projectile weapons, rail guns, simple lasers and even a flash mod among com badges and other tools taken from the victims. He chose two rails and a bare-bones scanner that made him wish for his own top-quality data sleeve. A finely crafted K’lar knife caught his eye and he tucked it away in a pocket. No need to leave the valuable goods for those who would soon loot this place.

  He came to the stairs and moved silently down into the shielded lab, not surprised to find the bodies of the dead Dyads still scattered on the floor. He stepped over them and into the narrow tunnel. It rose toward the open exit doors at the back of the main building.

  The area behind the compound was a shamble of dropped bundles and supply cases, some piles of sheeting that looked like more of the shielding he’d seen below, and a large empty space that used to be taken up by the Stoyan, the doctor’s research ship. A Human, listlessly shoving a few boxes onto a trolley, muttered to himself when his cart tipped off balance. Another paced nearby, rifle poised although the glare of overhead lights kept the wildlife at bay.

  Seeing no one else out here, Seth squeezed the trigger of his new gun to drop the first rebel who obliged him by falling onto the cart. His aim brought down the other before he ducked for cover. He heaved him onto the trolley as well and shoved it into the tunnel opening. After scanning the area and finding no more guards here, Seth sidled around the sprawling modules of the compound, glad for the design that placed windows onto the domed roofs rather than the walls. Eventually, he rounded the farthest bend to see the Dutchman. It now didn’t seem so clever that he had parked at a distance; the space between the main building and his ship looked inconveniently broad and exposed.

  He crouched down and waited with an eye on the scanner to alert him to the creatures in the dark. Two rebels stood by the main entrance, chatting and bent over the display on the woman’s wrist. He heard her laugh. A Centauri paced aimlessly by the rebels’ remaining ship, occasionally crossing paths with a masked Caspian. Seth’s scanner detected two more people aboard the cruiser. It would not be long before their own sensors found him hidden here.

  The Caspian at the far side of the rebel ship heard the humming first. The others, too, looked up when it grew louder. A sharp whine accompanied it and then even the ground seemed to vibrate along with the air. The two rebels at the door seemed undecided about leaving their post but the others moved curiously toward the maintenance module at the other end of the compound. Seth grinned when whatever mechanism Tashad had managed to overload tore itself apart and exploded the module into a hail of shrapnel and glass.

  He raced toward the Dutchman. The ship, already in standby mode at his remote command, whined into readiness. The first of the rebels’ bullets tore up the ground by his feet by the time he reached it. Some ricocheted off the hull as he ducked around the back and pressed his hand onto the keypad.

  “Damn!” he cursed while he fumbled with the bandages on his fingers. They peeled off along with some of his skin but the sensor looked beyond mere fingerprints and he was finally allowed aboard.

  Once inside the ship, Seth leaped into the pilot couch and slipped into his headset. Screens overhead came alive to show his surroundings. Some of the rebels were running toward their ship, the only weapon powerful enough to damage the Dutchman. Seth went through the launch processes while taking potshots at the people outside, hoping that fewer rebels meant less trouble for the people still inside the research station. Some of his fire took out the rebel cruiser’s landing gear but its pilots had prudently lifted off the struts as soon as they guessed Seth’s intent.

  Something slammed into the Dutchman and Seth launched to engage his shields, aware that the rebel ship was doing th
e same. He swept around the other ship and into a diagonal escape path out of Csonne’s atmosphere. The Dutchman’s much-modified crossdrives soon outpaced the rebels but they remained on his tail, even when he slipped outside of weapons range. Seth recalculated his flight path and set the scanners to track down the small fleet carrying the doctor and his experiment toward the nearby keyhole.

  He found them nearing the breach, five hours in the distance. With luck, the convoy would stop before entering the keyhole to prepare whatever the doctor needed to prepare before attempting to prove his newest theory. If they entered the uncharted breach before then he had neither the fuel nor the aptitude to follow. And if they didn’t, Seth was most certainly flying into battle against five rebel ships.

  And for what? Seth left the cockpit and paced around the small, untidy cabin, feeling alternately anxious and exhausted. The painkillers had wrestled his headache into a manageable state but what damage had been done to him? The Shantir on Magra had warned of brain damage. Seth ran his hands through his hair and realized that they were trembling.

  “All right, Kada,” he mumbled to himself. “You’re upright, your brain’s working, so be happy with that.” He reached into a cabinet to find a medical scanner. “See?” he said after running it along his body. “Nothing leaking in there, nothing missing. Stop your damn worrying.”

  He looked toward the cockpit. Maybe it was time to cut his losses and let Air Command clean up this mess. The alien was gone from him and wasn’t that what he had set out to do? His well-developed sense of self-preservation told him to return to Csonne, scrounge some coolant from one of the outposts there, and then head straight back to Magra, even if that took weeks without a proper spanner. Then he’s see his little Bellac friend whose medical skills would ensure he’d not suffered from having been turned, however briefly, into a Dyad. And then put it all behind him as another peculiar adventure in his peculiar life.