Marina was not sorry to be interrupted, but was annoyed by the cause.
Maz had escaped. A guard had entered his cell at lunch to find him asleep. She had shaken him and he fell off the bed, as if dead. She panicked but did not check his thoughts or pulse before running for help, leaving the cell door open, opening all the doors en route. Maz simply got off the floor and walked through the building to the transport and was gone. No-one questioned a naked man walking through the department, even though it was unusual. They would find out where he transported to, but Marina was surprised the police had never put a stop on the transporter system. It was a basic precaution that she assumed they would have taken.
Ga’Mikkal regretfully dressed. This was the second time he had got Marina to himself and so far he had got only a few kisses and cuddles. He felt he was losing his touch. Marina offered to drop him off at the Embassy on her way to the Department and he accepted.
Chapter Twenty-Seven - Close Encounters
Divak had taken Ondiella and her son to lunch at an establishment cooking open air barbecues on the river-bank. After lunch they walked together along the river bank, passing the Kurgian Embassy as a hover-car landed and Ga’Mikkal got out. He reached over and kissed the driver who did not seem to be complaining. Divak recognised Marina’s car at once and was trying to speed Ondiella on, not wanting a confrontation. Princess Marina ignored their presence and drove off at speed, but not quickly enough for Ondiella to not recognise her and her passenger.
Marina did not waste time with recriminations at the department. The guard on duty was reprimanded and moved to other duties. The supervisor was told to write a report explaining how she had failed to keep a prisoner of only average intelligence from escaping. Marina would decide how to punish her, when the results of her incompetence bore fruit. The panic was to find Maz before Irzina did. If Irzina discovered Marina had captured Maz before the searches, there would be hell to pay. The computer check on the Department’s transporter indicated a male matching Maz’s description had accessed the transport direct to Marina’s own home.
Marina questioned the guards who had been on duty, “Did Maz ask you about me?”
One guard replied in the affirmative, “He wanted to know when you’d be at the Department and I told him probably not until the Games were over and you would be going into the country that afternoon to train for the Games.”
“Did he seem upset to hear that?”
“He said he must see you, but I told him, he’d have to wait.”
Marina returned home and instigated a search of the house and grounds but they did not find Maz. She packed a small bag and stopped off at the hospital to say goodbye to Vellina, who was ordering everyone about as usual. Marina warned her to slow down. Marina then drove to Army Headquarters. Vlama seemed satisfied with Bromarsh’s first morning. He had watched several training groups and been making copious notes.
Marina spoke to Colonel Bromarsh and found him in good spirits. The current training course was on a five day on, three day off basis, she invited him to join them at the farm when he completed the five days for a rest before his next spell. She would appreciate a copy of his preliminary report as soon as possible. Marina stopped to speak with Charles briefly and he begged to accompany her to the farm, she was surprised.
“But you loathe farming and the smells offend you.”
“I still prefer to be with you and I don’t like leaving you for two whole weeks.”
“With other men? Konsky won’t replace you. I’ve no intention of replacing you until I find a mate, which I’ll have to do some day.”
“What about Ga’Riyal, won’t he do?”
“I doubt it, no point in counting Golds until they pass change. Some still die.”
She drove to the farm where she participated in a round of hard labour, physical exercises, running, jumping, throwing, swimming, eating and periodically servicing Konsky. Six hours of work she put in a day on the farm, doing more physical work than most the farm workers thought physically possible. The farm was a strange mixture of mechanisation and hard labour.
Whilst Marina was on the farm she took the heaviest jobs, distaining mechanical assistance. She was not in conflict with her manager, interfering little in her daily planning or running of the farm. She simply worked as a farm worker for six hours harder than anyone else.
If Kotenza occasionally bent her ear for permission and financing for some new scheme, Marina coped with it with fortitude. Usually a raised eyebrow and a “Have you costed it out fully” got rid of the most exotic projects. Apart from the desire to start weird ventures, Kotenza was an exceptionally good farm manager with an excellent relationship with both her workers and employer. She was an excellent organiser and innovative in her approach but if she thought it amusing to give Marina an exhausting job no one else wished to do; she could rely on it being done at top speed without complaint.
Colonel Bromarsh enjoyed his first day’s work at Army Headquarters. At the end of the day, he had a few invitations from some of the officers. He was tempted to take one of them up so he looked across to Vlama who nodded.
“Yes,” he said “Thank you I’d like that.”
Charles found most of the day boring but the final session was an unarmed combat exercise, he watched jealously wishing he could join in, but that would not be permitted.
The next day he spoke to Bromarsh about it, telling him how much he had enjoyed watching the combat session. Bromarsh joked back that the girls had looked pretty good naked and crudely commented especially when they waved their legs about.
“I did not mean that. What I meant was that they were so fast and skilful, I’d love to learn how to fight like that.”
“Why can’t you?”
“Men just are not taught. I’ve no desire to beat Marina, I know that would be ludicrous, but I’d feel less vulnerable when she’s not around if I could protect myself. Letinza told me how you knocked out Zada. Most men wouldn’t even consider fighting back.”
“Well if yesterday’s class was the standard you have to beat you shouldn’t have many problems. They were stronger than us, but their fighting was sloppy. Marina or Zadina even drunk would have beaten them flat in seconds. None were better than mediocre.”
“I blame myself for it,” joined in Vlama who had just come up.
“Their performance yesterday was dire. I trained the tutor and she was a pretty good fighter, but she’s not getting it across to her students. You are correct Marina could take the whole class apart with her hands tied behind her back. She has seen the problem and was horrified. But nothing we’ve done to improve it has worked.”
“I reckon I could take most of them on myself and win,” said Bromarsh, “And I’ve not been fighting hand to hand for years. They left openings all over the place and relied solely on brute force, their balance was bad. I’d recommend some kind of motivating punishment to the teachers and the pupils.”
“We tried it, we fined and reprimanded the tutors and confined the recruits to barracks but they’re not trying. We put on a new training course for the tutors and they proved good enough in class, but as soon as they were back to teaching they regress to this mess.”
“Do you think it’s deliberate?”
“Yes, but I can’t prove it.”
“The Markaban Army would’ve dismissed a couple of tutors with dishonourable discharges. Most of the mercenaries I’ve fought with would have shot one to encourage the others. You could try flogging them?”
“Interesting idea, do you reckon you could beat one of the students? There is another session tomorrow afternoon. Pick one out and demonstrate on her. If you win it might shame them into learning. If that does not work, I’ll flog the tutors in front of their recruits. You could teach Charles in your spare time. Marina wouldn’t mind, but I’d be breaking tradition to train a slave.”
“You wouldn’t mind if Bromarsh taught me, Vlama? Please will you teach me, Colonel?”
“I�
��d love to, it would loosen up my muscles too, but we need somewhere to practice.”
“Why not use the gymnasium here at headquarters; there are currently only training sessions in the afternoons. I can give you a key so you can come in at night in secret.”
“Thanks we’ll do that.”
***
Maz had been still in Marina’s house when she drove Ga’Mikkal to the Kurgian Embassy. Domestic security was something Zeninans worried little about. Guilt lingers in the mind and was usually picked up by another telepath quickly. Although a violent society, Zeninans were remarkably honest in most things. The transporter system could be blocked for any individual by the Police or Internal Security Departments by refusing to move their brain patterns. Any attempt would be recorded as would their intended destination. Irzina in spite of her desire to search for Maz had not bothered to have the system blocked.
Irzina expected her staff to do so automatically, but had given no order and did not check it had been done. Marina concerned about Irzina finding Maz before her, decided not to search too obviously. If Maz was seeking her, he would find her eventually. Warning people he was seeking her, would make it harder to reach her. She put no restriction on the transport system, but Maz did not use it again after Marina’s house and grounds were searched.
He was in her study so he locked the door from the inside. The room was screened from telepathic emanations so the searchers were unaware of his presence. They assumed Marina had locked her study door. He waited for a couple of hours until he heard Marina call off the search and leave. On the wall of her study was a large map of her personal estates. Marina owned several farms, but it was easy to work out which she was visiting.
The plasticised surface of the map was grubby with small finger marks over the farm as if it had been pointed out to little interested persons. Charles had shown Orina and the twins where the farm was on the map before taking them. So Maz set out on foot. Unlike Charles he did not take the scenic route but followed the course of the river upstream. After two days walking he found a speed-boat tied up with the keys still in it. Maz stole it. He now made much better speed, reaching the farm after nightfall unobserved.
Maz let the speed-boat drift, hoping the current would take it down river to the sea so the owner would think it had been improperly secured. He walked from the river to the farm, but ended up wandering around outside the grain and fodder stores. He found buildings which contained young animals and three large empty echoing buildings whose purpose defeated him. A senior farm worker came out armed with a fierce torch to check on a cow calving. The farm worker heard Maz’s feet scuffle into the shadows; but presumed it was merely a large long-tailed rodent.
The cow was nearly ready so the worker efficiently eased the calf into the world. A bull and healthy, most calves were female but they needed a new stock bull. Cattle were not native to Zenina and were imported from Markaba. Male fertility was a problem with all imported animals for the first few generations but careful breeding and gene-splicing were having successes so there was every probability the new bull would be resistant as Kabaneev predicted.
The cow was one of their best, she was worth breeding from. Having satisfied herself the cow was well and the calf could stand and suckle, the worker set off to bed. Her torch swept a wide path to the farmstead, Maz followed in her wake. The next morning, the farm-hand asked Kotenza to send the dogs around and root out any nests. Now Maz rounded the farming buildings he could see a few lights on. He hung back until the farm worker went in. He slid into the building, but no one was around downstairs. He found stairs to the living quarters searching for Marina. He failed but found an empty room with the door open. He entered, shut the door and climbed into bed. He was soon fast asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Combat Training
That afternoon Colonel Bromarsh picked a girl in the class. Elenza was not the worst but she was of medium build and the plainest looking girl in the class. Bromarsh was not used to the idea of fighting women, so he was afraid his gentlemanly instincts would give her an edge. Asking Vlama for a helmet so she would not be able to read his thoughts, he was soon ready to fight.
The class complained he should remove his trousers as well as his shirt and boots, to fight naked as they did but Vlama backed him up.
“To make it fairer I should insist Elenza dresses and offer the Colonel a box to wear.”
“That is not necessary, I only want a little practice and to demonstrate the openings left by her style,” Bromarsh replied.
The bout started slowly, Elenza tried to lunge at him a few times, but he got out of her way. She aimed a kick at his groin but Bromarsh replied with a blow from his knuckles to the side of her knee. Her leg withdrew sharply as she yelped in pain. He followed up quickly with a knee to the centre of her stomach before she regained her balance, stepping back quickly, so she could not reach him as she doubled up.
She straightened running straight at him, he sidestepped and she charged into the audience. Her group were embarrassed by Elenza’s poor showing. Bromarsh was only a man and a Markaban at that, not even a Zigan who were generally stronger. There were a few guffaws at her expense but an air of depression hung about the class.
Were they really that bad? They had thought Vlama was picking on them because she was getting senile.
Bromarsh was beginning to enjoy himself. He hit out at Elenza to her neck and left elbow, both blows reaching their target. Neither blow did much damage but they were painful. Marina would have blocked both. Another blow to her belly went unchecked and as she bent with the blow, he kicked her feet from under her. She fell in an ungraceful heap with her legs in the air. Bromarsh aimed one final kick at the nearest ankle while she lay there. The kick actually chipped a bone in her ankle and she gripped it half-sitting.
“All right,” she said “You win, I really am that bad.”
Her easy submission had a profound effect on the class. Both Colonel Bromarsh and Vlama went up in their estimation and Elenza and their tutor went down.
Elenza had been an inspired choice for Bromarsh, especially as he was no telepath. She had a loud mouth and was a disruptive element who shirked. The class had taken her as a model. “Elenza gets away with it, so we can too.” Her disgrace was theirs as well. Their tutor had been encouraged by the fertility cult not to train the recruits to too high a level.
The bribe she accepted seemed a lot of money for doing nothing. Now she realised what Zadina paid her was insufficient for the damage this class would do to her reputation. She resolved to pay back the bribe and tell the cult what to do with it.
Later she spoke with Vlama and confessed. Vlama accepted her apologies, but told her if there was not a marked improvement by the end of the week, she would be flogged as an example to the other tutors. Vlama appended a note to her file stating she was not to be considered for promotion for three years and was not available for active service off planet. The word soon went around. The performance of tutors and recruits alike improved 200 percent almost overnight.
Bromarsh had many invitations that night; practically the whole College paraded their charms seeking his company. He apologized but he had already an engagement that evening. After his teaching session with Charles, he was invited for supper with Lahoda at the palace. Jelen who was an excellent cook was being allowed out with Charles on condition he prepared their supper first.
Vlama recommended Bromarsh not to eat in the palace dining rooms for his safety. Zadina might not spend much time in her palace suite but could choose to do so at any time.
Charles was a good student. He was thoroughly fit and flexible; his regular running meant he was very fast. Having watched Marina fight many times, he knew more than he realised. He was not naturally aggressive and was unsure if he was hitting hard enough or too hard, especially as Bromarsh had not reached colour change. Both however were satisfied with Charles’s lesson and went off to see Lahoda.
Chapter Twenty-Nine - Femme Fatale
> Maz spent an unpleasant day. He woke late hearing cleaning going on in the next room. He rose, remade the bed so his presence would not be immediately apparent, leaving the room moving to a room down the row which was also empty. When the cleaners reached the room, they found it empty as Maz hid in the cupboard. When Maz could no longer hear cleaners he searched for Marina’s room. He had no breakfast and it was lunch time when he found her room. It was identical to the others, but the scent of her body hung around the room.
He moved around her room, reassuring himself by touching and looking at her things. He had found only some fruit in one of the rooms to eat all morning, but he did not go to search for food. He was so close to Marina he would not risk interception. He slid under the bed to wait for Marina. He had a long wait. Marina did not return to the room until an hour before supper that night. She was accompanied by Konsky with whom she intended to spend that hour. Shutting the door behind them, she was aware the room was occupied. She turned to Konsky and kissed him.
“I’ve changed my mind, Konsky. I feel a bit tired. I’ll rest before dinner. Run along now.”
Konsky protested but reluctantly accepted his dismissal and left closing the door behind him. Marina waited a few minutes while his footsteps moved away.
“Maz, you can come out now” she said.
He crawled out from under the bed, stiff and grubby. He knelt clumsily before her, gazing up at his Goddess.
“What can I do for you, Maz? “ She asked sitting down on the bed and putting her feet up. He gabbled unintelligibly for a few seconds, “I want you, I love you; I cannot live without you.”
“You must know I don’t reciprocate that feeling, Maz,” she said in a kindly tone.
“You must love me, I will make you love me, I want to be always with you,” he spluttered out.
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