Captive

by Cheryl Brooks

  Still, she was carrying Trag’s grandchildren. That had to count for something. Might even be better if they waited until after the kids were born. After all, no one could resist a baby—and triplets would be even better.

  She gazed at Bik, who was already slumbering in her arms. She’d taken on the responsibility of caring for three tiny Rackenspries, even knowing how difficult it would be to provide for them. For Trag, meeting his daughter and grandchildren at the same time might generate the kind of bond she hoped to have with him, or at least assuage any anger he might feel toward her or her mother.

  Unless they could stop off at Terra Minor on the way to Orpheseus Prime. She had absolutely no idea of the whereabouts of either planet in relation to Haedus Nine. And she was almost afraid to ask.

  They were about to climb into the speeders when Temfilk spoke up. “So tell me, where are all of these planets and how long will it take to do all of this?”

  “We can stop at Terra Minor first,” Moe replied. “It’s the closest. That’s assuming the consensus is to maroon Pelarus on Orpheseus Prime. If we decide to take him somewhere closer, we could go there first.”

  Nexbit tossed the last chicken bone to some sort of scavenging critter Klara had never seen before—possibly because they’d never walked around openly while finishing off the remains of a feast. “Know of any other nasty planets where we can get rid of that asshole quicker than going to Orpheseus? I dunno about you, but the sooner we’re finished with him, the better.”

  Moe nodded. “I agree. Although you’ve got to admit, it’s an appropriate punishment.”

  Ordinarily, leaving him destitute on Haedus Nine would be punishment enough for anyone. Klara knew that from firsthand experience. But, as Moe had already pointed out, the decision wasn’t theirs to make, and she was more than willing to let someone else decide. The deaths of her mother and brothers would be avenged one way or another, and at the moment, she was almost too tired to care what that punishment would be. Her shoulders ached and her feet were complaining more than usual. Moe was right. This had been a very, very long day.

  She settled into the pilot’s seat of her speeder after stowing Bik in the back with Jal and Lis, heaving a sigh of relief as she gave the control panel a pat. She’d whistled, and her trusty speeder had come to her like it always did.

  It suddenly occurred to her that she might have to leave it behind. “Is there room on your ship for my speeder?”

  Moe paused as he was about to hop into his own vehicle. “Sure. We should be able to fit it in somewhere, and with eight of us on board, we’re gonna need it. Remind me to ask you how you get it to come when you whistle. Mine doesn’t have that feature.”

  “Will do. It’s kinda tricky, though.”

  “I can do tricky,” Moe assured her. “And if I can’t, I still have you.”

  That sounded nice, but— “And all of my dubious skills?”

  He grinned. “Something like that.” He waved at Temfilk and Nexbit. “You guys coming with me and Nevid or squeezing in with Klara and the Racks?”

  Temfilk’s bulbous lips stretched into a smile as he gave Nexbit a nudge. “With two speeders, we won’t have to do any squeezing anymore.”

  “Until the babies are born,” Nexbit reminded him. “We’ll probably need four speeders before all’s said and done.”

  “At least the Racks won’t get any bigger,” Klara said with a grimace. “We can still fit them in somehow.” The thought of having six children—if she’d interpreted Nexbit’s prediction correctly—was a bit daunting. But no doubt they would deal with that when the time came. At the moment, all she wanted was a nice, long, quiet night of uninterrupted sleep.

  That’ll be a first.

  Or maybe it wouldn’t. As tired as she was, she really couldn’t remember. She only knew it wasn’t the first time she’d longed for such a thing—and sharing it with Moe would make her slumber that much sweeter. Either way, she figured she’d better enjoy it while she could. Something told her that motherhood would bring even more sleepless nights than living in the Barrens.

  As it turned out, Klara was able to enjoy not only a blissful night of uninterrupted sleep, but Moe actually brought her breakfast in bed.

  She sat up and pulled the covers up over her bare chest. “Wow. This is special.”

  Moe shrugged. “Not really. Just the typical breakfast aboard the Sunrise.”

  This wasn’t terribly helpful considering that Klara didn’t recognize anything on her plate. Arching a brow, she aimed a pointed look at Moe.

  “Oh, right,” he said after a moment of obvious puzzlement. “Scrambled lacornia eggs and toast. Not sure what kind of flour the bread was made with, but it’s a grain of some kind. Probably Vessonian in origin given that Nevid has been the one doing the shopping lately.”

  One bite made her wonder why she’d even bothered to ask. “Whatever it is, it’s delicious.”

  Moe sat down on the edge of the bed with his own plate. “Glad you like it. Hope the Racks are happy with their breakfast.” After eating a large forkful of the eggs, he added, “Didn’t have any of those aubergat stalks.”

  “I’m sure they’ll adapt.” She knew from experience that severe hunger would render almost anything edible.

  “I left Nex and Temfilk arguing with Nevid over what was the best topping for toast. Nevid likes crème fraiche and strawberry jam, although he would rather have scones than toast. The other two prefer cream cheese.”

  Never having had either topping, she had no opinion. Unless… She held up her own piece of toast. “What’s on this?”

  “Butter. Figured I ought to keep it simple the first time around.”

  She nodded. “Heard anything from Velkma or Yirland?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing yet. I looked out a while ago, and things seem pretty quiet this morning. Guess most folks are sleeping off last night’s revelries.”

  Klara could relate to that. “I wonder if they’ve had any more thoughts about what to do with Pelarus.”

  “Possibly. I can’t say that I lost any sleep over it.”

  “Neither did I.” She let out a deep, satisfied sigh. “Last night was absolutely wonderful.”

  Moe grinned. “Because I let you sleep instead of hounding you for nooky all night long?”

  “Yes, but there will be other nights for that.” And mornings, and evenings, and afternoons… “I swear, yesterday was the longest day of my life.”

  “Certainly eventful, at any rate.” He paused to take another bite of scrambled eggs. “I’ll give Mom and Larry a call in a little bit. Knowing Mom, she’s probably got the scoop on the latest news.”

  A heartbeat later, the new comlink Larry had given him dinged. He peered at it briefly before picking it up. “What’s up, Mom?”

  “Just wanted to let you know there’s some sort of tribunal planned for noon today,” Jack said over the speaker. “Something tells me Pelarus won’t come out of it smelling like a rose.”

  “Not sure he ever did smell that good,” Moe said. “But then, my contact with him has been limited.”

  Jack chuckled. “By the way, it looks as though pretty much everyone is happy with Yirland being in charge. From what I can see, she’s a natural-born politician—fortunately, she’s more of a liberal than a conservative. These folks could sure use some liberal policies. Never saw such an oppressed populace in my life!”

  “Oh, surely not. I mean, you’ve been to Statzeel.” That he was joking was fairly obvious to Klara. However, his mother seemed to take it more seriously.

  “Careful, bucko,” Jack cautioned. “That story is supposed to be a secret.”

  Moe shrugged. “Maybe on Statzeel. Definitely not in this family.”

  “Only takes one blabbermouth to ruin a good thing,” Jack countered. “You need to be careful.”

  Moe rubbed his chin in a contemplative manner. “Oh, I’ll be careful. I’m just not sure how good a thing that is, to be honest.”

  “Ye
ah, but it works for them,” Jack said. “Well, gotta go now. See you at the tribunal. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.” Moe terminated the link and gave Klara a smile.

  Somehow, Klara doubted that Moe’s family had very many secrets at all—at least none that remained secret for very long. “You’ll have to let me in on that Statzeel secret, along with a bazillion other things.”

  “That, my dear Klara, will be my pleasure.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze before pressing it to his lips. “Today, tomorrow, and always.”

  Chapter 31

  If the stands in the arena had been crowded the day before, they were positively overflowing now. Pelarus, to Temfilk’s obvious delight, had been placed in a cage in the center of the field, his wings still clipped together by the chains placed on him the day before. Klara didn’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed that all of the weaponry had been removed from the walls of the enclosure, although eliminating the temptation to use them on the deposed tyrant was probably for the best. Enough blood had already been spilled on that ground.

  Yirland stood before the throne Pelarus had occupied only the day before. After raising her hands for silence, she began to read from a scroll. “Branethan Pelarus, you have been accused of theft on a massive scale against the people and planet of Haedus Nine and also of ordering the murders of countless native Haedusians and offworlders, including the mother and possibly the brothers of Klara Tavock. Do you deny this?”

  A night trussed up in the dungeon had done wonders for Pelarus’s lofty demeanor. Gone was the haughty arrogance that had characterized him in the past. He was terrified, and it showed. “I did not order the murder of Klara’s brothers. That was entirely the doing of a band of Nedwut bounty hunters.”

  “Hmm… not guilty of two murders,” Yirland drawled as she made a mark on the scroll. Shaking her head, she went on, “And the rest?”

  “Those who competed in the arena were either gladiator slaves or accused lawbreakers.” Pelarus seemed to take heart, as if he believed he could actually talk his way out of his predicament. “Any who survived trial by combat were released following three victories.”

  Yirland tilted her head to one side as though searching her memory. “Tell me, did anyone ever survive three battles in the arena?”

  “A few,” Pelarus replied, though without much conviction.

  Yirland barked out a laugh. “So few that none can recall any prisoners ever being released.”

  Pelarus lifted his head and swept the stands with his gaze. “Isn’t that what the citizens of this city want? Criminals taken off the street and punished for wrongdoing?”

  “Perhaps,” Yirland conceded. “If the punishment did indeed fit the crime. But it did not. Many were only stealing to enable themselves and their families to survive.” Yirland regarded Pelarus with a mixture of pity and contempt. “You cannot be so deluded as to deny that most infractions were of that nature.”

  “There were always…complaints.” A slight tremor in his wings caused his chains to rattle. “I did nothing wrong in capturing them and bringing them to justice.”

  “Justice? What you meted out was not justice.” Yirland’s voice rang out across the expanse between them. “Stealing a loaf of bread does not warrant a sentence of death.”

  “Ah, but you people are every bit as guilty as I.” Pelarus sneered as he drew himself up to his full height. “You have allowed this so-called injustice to continue for many years. No one ever lifted a finger in protest.”

  “Again, that was your doing. After our concerns were ignored for such a long period of time, we lost heart, most of us forgetting that there is strength in numbers. But that time is past. We have been awakened and discovered that we are stronger than one arrogant usurper who cannot even claim to be of this world—or even begin to understand what that means. Your wants and needs are insignificant compared to the suffering of our people. Therefore, it has been deemed necessary to exile you from this world forever.”

  “And just how do you plan to do that?” Pelarus demanded, a trace of his old arrogance evident in his tone.

  “We have received an offer for your starship,” Yirland replied. “Ownership of it in return for taking you to Goralus Five, where the natives are notoriously inhospitable toward offworlders, and leaving you there with nothing but the clothes on your back.”

  Klara shot a sideways glance at Moe and his family, but they appeared to be as puzzled as she.

  “Who has made this offer?” Pelarus’s voice sounded slightly weaker than before.

  Harlex and another Nedwut guard—the one called Zract, if she wasn’t mistaken, whom Moe had introduced to her during the party the night before—stepped forward.

  “We did,” Harlex replied.

  Klara gasped and turned toward Moe, who chuckled. “There’s one problem solved, huh?”

  “B-but the Nedwuts were once loyal to me,” Pelarus stammered. “What assurance do you have that they will carry out this plan?”

  Once again, it was Harlex who spoke. “You have demanded unquestioning service in return for the pittance you doled out to us, effectively holding us hostage on this miserable planet. We’re sick of having to live on a dying world while catering to your whims, and it will give us great pleasure to dump your sorry ass in the dust of Goralus Five before flying home to Rusarck in style.”

  “He should have paid them better,” Klara muttered as the crowd responded with a resounding cheer.

  “Good thing he didn’t,” Moe said. “I’ve never been to Goralus Five, but I’ve heard rumors, and I certainly wouldn’t want our first litter to be born anywhere near that world. Terra Minor is much nicer. In fact, I wouldn’t mind hanging out there for a little while, maybe even until our babies are born, if possible. We could all use the rest.”

  Klara grabbed at the first straw she could think of. “You said you carry cargo all over the galaxy. Don’t you have any jobs lined up? And what about aiding the recovery of Haedus Nine? Shouldn’t we get started right away?”

  Moe shrugged. “That’s going to take time to get organized, and believe me, Mom’s way better at that sort of thing than I’ll ever be. Once she gets the ball rolling, we’ll be plenty busy hauling cargo here. In the meantime, I figure we’re entitled to a vacation of sorts. We could even go to Rhylos for a while if you like, although we’d probably lose our shirts there. Especially if we wander into the casino district.”

  One of the Racks snickered. Klara turned toward Jal, whose subsequent wink was enough to assure her that he’d been the one to laugh. “I think Rhylos would be fun, and with Jal’s luck, we might end up rich.”

  Moe stared at her for a long moment before he spoke. “After all you’ve been through, you’re still afraid to meet Trag. Aren’t you?”

  She fixed her eyes on the back of the seat in front of her, doing her best to avoid meeting Moe’s gaze. “Maybe.”

  “We could get him on a comlink easily enough. Anything to put your fears to rest.”

  “No.” She sucked in a breath. “I want to face him directly. I just need some time to prepare myself.”

  “You’ll have that. It’ll take at least a month to get to Terra Minor. Haedus Nine is a little off the beaten path, you know.”

  She nodded. “A month sounds about right. Maybe I’ll even look pregnant by then.”

  Moe chuckled. “You’ve only been pregnant for a few days, and you’ve already got the glow of motherhood in your eyes.” He leaned closer, putting his arm around her shoulders, his breath warm on her cheek. “Plus, there’s the scent.”

  She drew back in dismay. “You mean other Zetithians can tell I’m pregnant by the way I smell?”

  “’Fraid so.” He kissed her cheek. “Although it doesn’t affect the others the way it affects me.”

  “Thank the gods for that,” she whispered. “Talk about embarrassing.”

  “At least they all understand the inherent difficulties of expectant parents.”

&
nbsp; She arched a brow. “Like me craving you as much as you crave me?”

  “Something like that. Either way, as far as they’re concerned, it’s a matter of been there, done that. Don’t worry about it.”

  Klara thought she might be overreacting, but this was all new to her. For years, being tough was a way of life. Now, she was convinced that everyone they encountered was busy imagining what she and Moe might do when they were alone together. After all that time in hiding, she simply wasn’t used to being quite so…visible.

  The crowd assembled in the stands was already beginning to disperse. Klara almost wished they’d planned some sort of spectacle to keep everyone in their seats, somehow delaying the inevitable for a few more minutes.

  “Guess there’s no point in hanging around here any longer,” Jack said as she rose from her seat. “I told Yirland that once we’ve unloaded anything from my ship the locals can use, we’ll get started on resupplying this place. Might even be able to drum up some donations.” She viewed their surroundings with a rather bleak expression. “No time to lose on that, as far as I can see.” With a pointed look at Moe, she went on, “I suppose you guys will be heading to Terra Minor soon. We haven’t been over that way for a while. Give my love to Trag and all the others, will you?”

  “Sure thing, Mom. And thanks again for coming to my rescue.” Moe grinned. “Whether I needed rescuing or not. It’s been good to see you guys.”

  “Same here, kid. We’ll let you know when we have shipments ready for delivery here.” She nodded toward the center of the arena, where a troop of Nedwuts were in the process of carrying Pelarus off the field, cage and all. “I’d kinda like to get those chains back, though. Sentimental value, you know.”

  Cat slipped an arm around his wife. “I would have no difficulty if I never saw them again. I have very few pleasant memories associated with them.” His lips curved into a gentle smile. “Other than you removing them.”