by Laura Kaighn
“I can’t live without him, Lonnie,” Dorinda vowed into her hand. Her legs were like boneless sandbags. “The ambassador says we’re leaving ... now! As soon as the Orthops see us run, they’ll kill him.” She found the strength to brace her spine. “Damn it. All he has is his knife! We’ve got his pack, his crossbow and his pistol. He’s totally defenseless. It’s all my fault.”
“No, Dori. How could you have known? You were all doing so well down there.”
Shrugging free from Sheradon’s arms, Dorinda gathered her resolve for one last tactic. “I’ve got to get to the bridge. Vesar don’t act cowardly, and that’s exactly what the ambassador’s doing right now.”
“There’s a difference between cowardice and survival, Dorinda,” Sheradon called after her even as she bolted for the door. Dorinda had heard the doctor’s warning, but she could think of no better bargaining chip against Vesar pride. If you yelled ‘chicken’ at a Vesar, feathers were sure to fly.
When the magnetic lift dumped her onto the bridge, Dorinda didn’t hesitate to accuse. “What’re you afraid of, Ambassador? You don’t even know what their demands are.”
Slowly Tolianksalya turned to regard her beneath his hooded brow. “Fear is not what drives my decisions, Ms. Jade.”
“Then it’s your desire to be rid of Vesarius. In either case, you dishonor yourself in running away.”
“Running? You insult me, Khumahn.”
“Dori,” Coty interrupted with a stern glare. “We’re staying. My orders are to keep negotiations open at all costs. If we withdraw, it’s with all Alliance personnel. In this case, I overrule the ambassador.”
“But you said -”
“I needed a minute to review the exact wording of Chan’s orders,” Coty defended. “I’m authorized to risk the crew only as far as there’s still an option for peace. Granted, this is the bottom of the list, but open communication is still possible. Dori, we’ll get Vesarius back.”
The rushing adrenaline caused her to tremble, and Dorinda quickly backed into a spare seat near Vesarius’ navigational console. “Good,” she mumbled then fell silent, her mind a jumble of worry and newfound hope. They would listen to the terrorists’ demands, find out which Orthops were involved in Vesarius’ kidnapping, and work toward a common goal – life.
Moxland spun in her chair tapping at her tiny ear set. “Captain, I have the high chancellor on the comm. He wants to speak to the ambassador and Jade.”
“Me?” Dorinda bolted to her feet. She hopped down the steps to stand beside Coty’s chair. When Tolianksalya threw her a fiery glare, she swallowed.
“Put him on, Moxie,” Coty instructed.
A second later the translator interpreted the incoming clicks and grinds of Orthop speech. “Ambassador Tolianksalya?”
“Here, High Chancellor,” Tolianksalya responded. “You want to discuss this most unfortunate event?”
“Yes, Ambassador. Is Storyteller’s adviser present as well? I have a message for her.”
“I ... I’m here,” Dorinda said into the air.
“High Chancellor,” Coty interrupted from his center seat. “Do you have visual capability? With our species, communication is dependent on both words and body language. It better expresses true meaning.”
“Understood, Pompeii.” There was a frizzled humming, then a click. Abruptly the high chancellor’s upper torso was projected on the bridge’s forward viewscreen. “Much better,” the insectoid said.
Dorinda watched the creature’s mandibles move to make the consonant-laden sounds of Orthop speech and realized she was beginning to differentiate between individuals. The chancellor’s mouth parts were rimmed in a bluish-cream armor. Dorinda couldn’t remember another with such coloration. She would have to pay closer attention next time she traveled to the surface.
“Ambassador, it is with deep regret that I inform you of Storyteller’s abduction. Please believe, my queen had no knowledge of this. She is abhorred by this rebellious act. As am I.”
“Who took him, Chancellor?” Tolianksalya inquired splaying his mahogany hands upon vermillion-clad hips.
“A group of outcasts, those who wish continued violence. They knew we would not risk harming the storyteller, so they have taken him to their mountain hive as a hostage. We must hear their demands together. They have disclosed nothing yet, only that the storyteller will remain intact as long as we are willing to negotiate their terms.”
“What did you tell them, High Chancellor?” Tolianksalya inquired with tilted head.
“That I would speak to you first. Are you willing to bargain for Storyteller’s release?”
“No, I am not,” Tolianksalya answered flatly. “The Alliance does no business with terrorists. We are here on a peaceful mission. They have mocked our attempt at good faith.”
“But the storyteller is one of yours. You will not assist us in getting him returned alive and whole?”
“Cmdr. Tankawankanyi is expendable,” Tolianksalya stressed. “Peace with the Alliance is not negotiable through duress. I will not falter on this.”
“I’ll help, High Chancellor,” Dorinda blurted stepping forward. Coty grabbed her arm in warning. “What do you need me to do?”
“You are the adviser. You have no authority. How can you help?”
“I ... I’ll find the hive,” Dorinda explained, her voice trembling. “Tundra, Noah, and I can find it. We’ll rescue Vesarius. Then there’ll be no need to bargain.”
“You would risk dismemberment?”
“She will not,” Tolianksalya declared. “This is an Alliance matter, and Jade has little authority to do anything.”
“Then perhaps I have more, Chancellor,” Coty offered rising from his seat and considering first the Vesar ambassador then the Orthop on the viewscreen. “I’ll authorize a team to track down these terrorists and return the storyteller to the Pompeii. We’ll need your help, however. Your most trusted aides will need to come along. We’re ... strangers to your world, unfamiliar with native dangers.”
“Yes, yes. That is acceptable. I will have supplies gathered for the journey. The hive is to the west, many glicktts, but hidden in the mountains. We never expected these outcasts to survive, much less act upon their convictions. Our security was taken by surprise.”
“You will do nothing, Captain,” Tolianksalya growled, towering before both humans. Dorinda could feel the heat from him, his anger a smoldering pyre ready to ignite. “We are both under specific orders. There are no provisions for this situation.”
“I haven’t any orders to follow, Ambassador,” Dorinda countered. “I’m not even officially an Alliance citizen.” She swallowed her fear to conclude, “I can do as I wish.”
“She’s right, Ambassador,” Coty agreed. Then he gripped Dorinda’s arms. “Are you sure you want to do this, Dori? It’s an extremely dangerous mission.”
“I can’t live without him, Michael. Tundra and Noah’ll help. Just get me down there.” Dorinda hoped the captain didn’t notice her trembling jaw or hear her chattering teeth. Truth was, Orthop’s desert barrens was the last place she wanted to be.
“You’ve got it. And anything else I can spare, short of my presence.” Coty glared up at the glowering Vesar. “We all have a job to do. Let’s accommodate the terrorists for now. Hear their demands, Ambassador. Listening doesn’t mean complying. But it’ll give us time.”
Tolianksalya resignedly shrugged. “If you want to sacrifice your crew to Orthop rebels, for the sake of the Grilcmzáe, that is your business, Capt. Coty. As long as it does not interfere with Orthop government operations. Our mission is far more consequential than even the lives of everyone onboard this ship. I must have your full cooperation.”
Nodding curtly, Coty released Dorinda’s arms. “As long as my first officer isn’t abandoned, I’m more than willing to continue negotiations.”
“Then we are in agreement.” Tolianksalya considered the stiff-backed woman standing before him. “You have my permission to go,
Jade,” he said simply. “May Brahmanii Sule protect you.”
“Thank you, Ambassador.” With forced calm, Dorinda turned to her captain. “I’ll leave as soon as a pilot and rescue team can be assembled.” Then her eyes drifted back to the waiting Orthop official on the screen. “High Chancellor, there’s a message for me?”
“Yes, Adviser. Storyteller has asked to have you told. He is unharmed, and he wishes the test not be denied.”
“Damn,” Dorinda cursed. During her interim desperation, she had admitted their relationship to Tolianksalya and betrayed her mate’s trust. Now the ambassador would deny them Vwafar’ee. They’d never be bonded as Vesarius wanted. Stifling an apprehensive gasp, Dorinda covered her mouth. “Excuse me.” With a flip of her braid, she bounded the stairs to the lift then stepped into its confining isolation. “Level three,” she instructed and mentally called for Noah. They were leaving.
Silently instructing the otter to gather their equipment, Dorinda knew it was time to break in her SAR training. Finding Vesarius and avoiding rebel Orthops would test every skill in her knowing, every muscle in her body. It was a warmup to Vwafar´ee, and perhaps a model for Ambassador Tolianksalya that a human was indeed a worthy mate for a Vesar warrior. They would set the best example.
She found Tundra pacing the transport bay waiting for someone to pilot him down to rescue his Bondmate. With emergency supplies in the utility pouch at her hip and her plasma pistol holstered at her side, Dorinda slipped on her cotton jacket then waved Noah forward into the bay. She tugged Vesarius’ pack to her shoulder, lightened to only the serviceable necessities: the Vesar’s field glasses, plasma pistol, canteen and scanner.
“Tundra, I’ll need your sniffer and your wits. Can you find Sarius within the next few hours? I’d love to have him back before sunrise. Orthops’ll be more dangerous in the daylight.”
With a huff and a snort, the malamute Kin wagged his tail and bounded for the Pompeii’s waiting transport. When Dorinda moved to climb in behind him, a voice called after her. “You better wait for me. You’re not going anywhere without a pilot.”
“Rosh!” Dorinda exclaimed as Noah slipped past her into the vehicle. Dorinda pulled herself up after him, clinging to the hatchway. “Since when did you ...? Never mind. I know you’re not going to let anyone hijack your transport again.”
“You got that right,” Roshana Zlenko quipped trotting forward. “The captain talked to the Orthop high chancellor again. I’m to set you down on the city’s western perimeter. Three Orthops’ll meet you there and take you to the mountains where they’re holding the commander.” Roshana bolted up the three plastisteel steps to the transport hatch then slid past Dorinda into the pilot’s seat. “I’ll drop you off then wait for the rendezvous. But I can’t stay. Too obvious.”
“I’m grateful for your help, Roshana,” Dorinda affirmed. “You don’t have to do this. Even the high chancellor’s unsure how many dissenters there are. We might be fired upon.”
“Don’t tell me the negatives,” Zlenko complained. “It puts me on guard.”
“Being on guard might save our lives,” Dorinda countered hitting the hatch close before slipping into a seat behind the pilot. Besides the security corporal, it seemed her team was to consist only of herself and two Kin. “Let’s do this. Vesarius is only alive as long as those dissenters think we’re negotiating.”
“We’re off.” Roshana hit the ignition. She next flipped on the communicator unit. “Bay control, this is Zlenko. Ready to depart.”
“Brace yourselves, boys,” Dorinda advised the Kinpanions standing in the center aisle. She strapped into her chair. “We might not have the best landing. Rosh, how much practice have you had dodging plasma fire?”
“In the simulator, I’ve scored in the eighty-fifth percentile.” Zlenko grinned over her shoulder. “Give me another month, and I’ll reach the commander’s one hundred-ten.”
The security corporal continued her preflight procedures as Dorinda’s eyes widened at the statistics. “Well, then I hope we don’t run into any hostile podships. I’d hate to bet my life on a B+ average.”
“Zlenko, this is bay control,” came the Tloni controller’s voice through the onboard communit. “The bay is depressurizing. You may depart on my mark.”
“Roger, Brend. Awaiting clearance.”
Leaning back in her chair, Dorinda contemplated her uncertain future. She wished she could take back her words to Tolianksalya. If she survived this, Vesarius would never forgive her for divulging their secret in a moment of grief. She had wanted to wound the ambassador. Instead, she had hurt Vesarius. Sighing in resignation of events unchangeable, Dorinda watched the bay doors yawn open.
“Clearance granted Pom-1. Good luck, Jade,” Brend said through the communit. Coty had simply wished his farewell earlier with warm jasper eyes.
“I’ll need it,” Dorinda mumbled then redirected her concentration on the starry coldness of space. She had to think positively, keep her mind open and wits tuned, or she’d be dead ... and so would Commander Tankawankanyi.
Chapter 9: Rescue Attempt
The mountain cave was damp, and the desert wind brought only a chilling breeze to the confined Vesar’s bare arms. The deep night outside was free of any illumination; Orthop had no satellites. Yet with his Vesar eyes, the warrior could just discern the slouched forms of his three captors dozing in the hovel’s yawning entrance. Vesarius frowned at his own discomfort, slumped against the jagged surface of this natural prison and began again to slice away his sticky bindings.
So, he was to be a bargaining tool for the rebel Orthops’ demands. Rubbing warmth into his biceps, Vesarius knew Tolianksalya would not cooperate. He had even told the rebel leader so. But Gluctg was determined to attain his members’ freedoms even if it meant death to the Orthops’ newfound idol. Vesarius also knew Coty would not sit back and allow that death to happen. The captain would find some way to send assistance.
Meanwhile, the Vesar had not wasted time anticipating rescue. He had simply waited until his captors had settled down for their evening hibernation cycle before attacking the silky, cocoon-like strands which enshrouded him. With his survival knife, Vesarius soon slashed through the last of the sticky threads to peel them from his boots. Now he was free to move, but the entrance was blockaded by a carapaced wall of slumbering Orthops.
His momentary perplexity was interrupted in a starlit image of stealthy prowling.
Tundra! The Alaskan malamute was on the surface tracking for him. Dorinda and Noah were along as well, with three towering Orthops in the lead. There is great danger here, Vesarius warned, imaging the well-armed guards blocking his exit. Go back.
Vesarius knew a healer was coming to examine him. Gluctg had said it was simply a precaution – to be sure his rough handling had not caused permanent damage. Yet, having sustained only minor bruises and cuts from his struggle with the kidnappers, Vesarius was skeptical of the healer’s true intentions. The Orthop physician might desire an opportunity to poke at their Vesar captive, scan him, and gain knowledge of Vesar physiology. Without fatality, internal examinations were possible, though they left scars. He would not allow these monsters to vivisect him, then sew him back together like some laboratory ragdoll. Vesarius had to escape this rocky prison before either he or Dorinda were further imperiled.
Climbing to his feet, he silently called Tundra, asking for the malamute’s location. His answer was unsettling. In order for stealth to be maintained, Dorinda’s party was approaching on foot. Vesarius knew, all too well, the defenses of this mountain fortress. He had seen the plasma canons mounted along the perimeter of the landing pad. No unauthorized podship, hover, or Alliance transport would get within a square kilometer of the rebel base without its resultant disintegration.
With a glance over his furry shoulder, Tundra next showed Vesarius their proximity to the glowing capital city of Kcluchtt, less than sixteen kilometers behind them. Vesarius knew his podship ride to the mountains had last
ed several minutes.
If Dorinda persisted in her risky plan, she would not arrive until near morning when the rebel Orthops would be more active and a surprise appearance easier to spot. Unwise. Plus, they would only find him if Tundra could pick up and safely follow the Vesar’s scent trail from the well-fortified landing pad further down slope. Uncertain. The rescue team would have to circumvent that first. The odds were just too grim; Dorinda’s SAR skills too raw. Untried.
Too dangerous, Tundra. Tell Dorinda to go back, was all he could urge, mentally picturing his Kin’s retreating legs. Had Coty authorized such a risky venture? Or had Tolianksalya, expecting failure? Vesarius had to take his life into his own hands so that Dorinda needn’t gamble with hers. Go back!
So, with his only defense in hand, Vesarius slunk to the front of the cave and his three dozing guards. Gluctg would be nearby waiting for his healer to arrive. Vesarius must not alert the rebel leader or his sentries. He must move like the breeze, light and without sound. Adjusting his footing on the jagged floor just inside the entrance, Vesarius waited for the night wind to return. He would slip out with it, disturbing no more air than his chilly escort.
When it came, the breeze brought Orthop’s sweet lillakthorn scent, deceivingly pleasant considering his present circumstances. Back in Kcluchtt, the insect race’s high chancellor was probably kneading his claws in worry.
Now that he had the speed and direction, Vesarius waited for the next wisp of night air. It was blowing upslope. He would have to sidestep around and up the jagged rock face. Later, when he was out of range, Vesarius could double back and head east toward the city ... and Dorinda.
A chilly finger of atmosphere twirled a few loose strands of his raven braid. It was time to go. Carefully tiptoeing past his first slumbering guard, Vesarius stepped over the next’s extended foreclaw. So far so good. Then the breeze fell off, and Vesarius froze waiting for its return. It did not come for many seconds. Finally a brisk burst prickled his skin. Exiting, Vesarius slid his knife into its boot sheath. He turned toward the cave wall and felt for a solid perch. A loose trickle of gravel crumbled under his searching fingers.