by Laura Kaighn
“No worse than humans are at times,” Dorinda countered hotly. “Consider his actions.” She jabbed a thumb at the menacing Chauney. “Now let me inside. A prisoner’s wounds will not go untreated.”
Judith Alvarez glared at the slighter woman for a moment longer then shrugged. “Your risk, not mine.” She strode to face the side panel that would unlock the cell.
The barrier hummed aside, and Dorinda stepped into the dimmer cubbyhole. She waited for the door to slide shut again and the two guards to move away before approaching the shadowy figure sprawled on the low bed.
“Are you sure you want to be in here?” Vesarius rumbled, his face toward the cell wall.
Dorinda stalled. Had she made the right decision? After all, she really hadn’t known Vesarius that long. She was acting on her own and Coty’s instincts. And she hadn’t met the captain before a week ago. If Vesarius was guilty of treason, he had fooled even Coty. Why not a young widowed woman from Earth’s past?
When Dorinda didn’t answer right away, the Vesar turned his head to glower at her. “You hesitate,” he observed over his bent arm. “Tlenck is correct. An Orthop-Vesar alliance would be indestructible. We would have the entire galaxy to claim. Vesar would again be the powerful and respected warriors we once were.” He jerked his chin toward the exit. “Vesar would never have had to taste bitter prejudice from such closed-minded Tloni or humans as Tlenck and Chauney out there.” Dorinda still stood frozen in one spot, neither retreating nor advancing. Grimacing, Vesarius pushed himself to a sitting position, his steamy gaze never leaving her jade regard. “Vesar are good at surviving,” he told her lowly. “Our warrior clans have existed for millennia.” Vesarius tilted his raven-haired head. “Do you fear me, Dorinda? Or do you trust me?”
Dorinda blinked. Her hands grasped the medication tube to her chest. She licked her lips and swallowed hard when Vesarius rose from the bed and approached. The warrior towered a full ten inches over her head. Dori could feel her face drain of color in his shadow. She shivered in the sudden chill of his closeness. Vesarius grabbed her upper arms in a steel grip. His stony glower bored into her ice green eyes.
“Michael,” Dorinda gulped, her voice but a hoarse whisper. “He told me your parents were murdered … by Tanoki. He said Tanoki was your friend. He took you on your first space ride ... when you were fifteen. He was the big brother you never had.” Dorinda leaned away from him and grimaced as Vesarius’ bony knuckles lightened against his tightening grip.
“Gideon Tanoki was my friend. Now he is my curse,” Vesarius rumbled over her. “Tanoki was a trader, a pirate. My father refused him a shipment of zircontian crystal, threatened to report him to Alliance Command. Tanoki could not have his assets frozen, so he stole the crystals. He buried my parents in the mineshaft.” The Vesar’s voice was gravelly thick, his breath steamy against her face when he continued, “They died from the gaseous fumes. I arrived too late to save them.” Vesarius paused then menacingly added, “Tanoki still lives.”
“Vesarius, my arms,” Dorinda implored. “You’re hurting me.”
“Tanoki would never have dishonored my mother ... dishonored me, had he truly understood Vesar ways.” Vesarius released Dorinda and pivoted away from her pained expression, oblivious. He waved a muscular appendage past squared shoulders. “You humans fear us. Hate us. But do you understand us? No! Understanding would be too difficult.” Striding back to her, the Vesar snarled, “That would take patience. Compassion. Respect.” He pumped a fist before her stalled frame then marched to the far wall. There, leaning his ridged forehead against its steel solidness, Vesarius continued his condemnation. “Humans have no time to listen. They need to explore, exploit, gain for their own worth.” The man’s impassioned shoulders sagged as if in defeat. His final statement was but a murmured whisper. “We were only trying to survive.”
“I’m listening, Vesarius,” Dorinda offered rubbing her throbbing arms. “Please. Did you do such a vindictive thing? Help the Orthops to change history? Do you want the Alliance dissolved? Could you destroy the trust you and Coty share?”
Reeling on her, Vesarius’ pitted eyes seared with rage. “What do you think?” he bellowed. In three stomps he was towering over her again.
Dorinda blinked, aware that her response could mean her death. If she did not answer, the Vesar warrior might crush it from her. Even now his fists tensed for blows. “I don’t know. I ... I can’t tell,” Dorinda sputtered. She released her answer before he again seized her with his steel fingers. “My mind says yes, because I saw Coty’s face, his utter shock. But my heart, Vesarius. My heart says-” She was suddenly enveloped by his arms, his hot skin branding her cheeks. Vesarius gripped Dorinda until she felt his lungs catch in a great sigh of despair. “Oh, Vesarius,” she consoled, her own arms now rising to embrace his wide ribs. “You could never be the monster you believe others see. I think I know your heart. There’s still innocence there. Still hope.”
Vesarius dropped his hands and moved to flump his buttocks onto the bed. “Vesar do not believe in hope.” His muscular frame drooped. His downcast eyes avoided her following gaze. “My head aches,” he groaned, his steel hands now gripping the bed edge. “Please. Leave me.” Then, as if in afterthought, Vesarius raised his dark eyes to hers. “Do me one thing, Green Eyes?”
Dorinda smiled suddenly glad to hear him call her by his appointed nickname. “What?”
“I need my pack. Tundra can get it for you, but he will not be permitted to see me. Inside are my scanner and personal recorder. Bring me those two items so that I might determine what really happened. The scanner will need a total diagnostic. It was malfunctioning. Perhaps it has been tampered with. There may be something on the recorder as well. You will get these for me?”
“In a New York minute,” Dorinda quipped. She turned to leave but paused, then squared her shoulders and saluted him. The gesture elicited the desired response; Vesarius smiled slightly and nodded in approval. Alvarez let her out of the cell. Dorinda was off with Noah to find the Vesar’s defective scanner.
Dorinda discovered an obstacle, however, when she visited the transport depot to retrieve the pack. “I’m sorry, Ms. Tanner,” the young woman behind the high counter informed, “but they’ve been impounded as evidence. Even the commander’s quarters are under guard. Poor Tundra’s got nowhere to go.”
Dorinda huffed in irritation. “Well, then. Where might I find the captain?”
“He’s in a private meeting with his officers and the ambassador. Off limits. Sorry.”
“Damn,” Dorinda cursed. With a curt thank you to the woman, she marched out. “What do I do now, Noah?” she asked her Kin once alone again in the corridor. “I’m useless. I need to know what’s going on at that meeting so I can tell Vesarius.”
In answer the otter chittered excitedly and bounced down the corridor, glancing over his shoulder for her to follow. She did, and her otter Kin guided her to the main conference room just one floor below the Pompeii’s bridge. “But we’re not allowed in. That’s what the woman said.” Noah huffed in undaunted certainty and bounced over to a recessed panel farther along the corridor. The otter then imaged a pair of hands pushing the panel then popping it open. Dorinda realized who the hands belonged to. “Jonathan took you in here? Why?” Noah answered with an image of Dr. Sheradon and an older, Asian man strolling the corridors, searching. Their heads swiveled from side to side at every intersection. “Dr. Sheradon was looking for you,” Dorinda confirmed quietly. “But why?” Noah imaged an otter. Dorinda was certain it wasn’t a self-portrait. “Another otter onboard. A female?” She giggled at Noah’s nervous twitter. “Matchmaking, huh? And Jonathan was trying to hide you. But what’s in there?”
Dorinda pressed the panel as she had been shown, and a door about a third of a meter square swung out on a concealed hinge. The blackness inside discouraged her. “You want me to climb in there? It looks more like an air duct. Not a passageway.” In response, the otter snorted and bounded in
to the hole, his flattened tail disappearing down the metal tunnel. “Noah,” Dori called quietly. “Noah, come back here.” An image of Vesarius flumped facedown on his cell bunk flashed into her mind and stopped her calling. Yes, they were doing this for him. With a sigh, Dorinda knelt and slid forward on her belly into the Pompeii’s airshaft. Not three meters in, however, there was an intersection in the tunnel.
“Noah, where are you?” she whispered. A gentle chirp indicated a right turn, so Dorinda slid forward as far as she could before bending in half. She dragged her legs after her. It was then that Dorinda realized she would be repeating this entire procedure, in reverse, in order to extricate herself from the shaft. The prospect did nothing but lend itself to claustrophobia. If only Michael Tanner could see her now.
Up ahead, Dori could distinguish the glow of outside light filtering in through a mesh vent cover. Two sparkling eyes and a gentle round face watched her from beside that opening. Dorinda had to smile at her otter friend. Sliding forward some more, she finally pulled up beside the vent and immediately recognized the angered voice of Capt. Coty.
“Vesarius’ parents would not have even been murdered yet, Tlenck. Your dates don’t match up. You’re fishing. He’s not the traitor.”
“Captain,” Dorinda heard the Tloni diplomat counter airily through his bucked teeth. “This scenario still fits within our, granted, estimated timeline. If your parents had been murdered by an Alliance mercenary, wouldn’t you want revenge? Used information known only to you toward that goal?”
“Revenge upon the killer, perhaps. Not on the entire Alliance.” The captain’s voice seemed to be changing position as if he were pacing. Dorinda pressed her face to the mesh screen and could discern dark pillars of varying widths in the room. When a pair moved past her, Dorinda realized she was lying near the floor. The pillars were legs, both animate and not.
“You are not a Vesar, Captain,” Tlenck argued. “A Vesar’s code of honor maintains a right to revenge, revenge that must equal the loss.” The ambassador explained in his articulated speech. “If a Vesar child lost his pet to a neighborhood bully, and the child sincerely considered that pet an equal brother, that child would have every right to kill the bully’s brother. Vesarius’ parents were the last of his family line. His revenge would be great indeed, equal to the death of Tanoki’s family line. Not knowing that heritage, why not extinguish all of them? At least those who would travel into space as Captain Tanoki has.”
“You’re embellishing a hypothesis, Tlenck. I won’t succumb to your reasoning,” Coty disputed. “You find a medallion and a translator approximately dating back to the Pvokx’s visit to Mytok, ten years ago. You cite Vesarius for negligence in the death of Peters, all the while preventing my first officer from knowing your intentions. Seems to me this is accusation based on deception.”
“I did not want Tankawankanyi destroying evidence before I could get a paw on it,” Tlenck’s voice reasoned. “So I had Mr. Dickson alter the commander’s scanner only enough to prevent him from detecting the medallion’s leather fringes.”
“But Sarius read Toh’s report. He knew about the leather being found ...” The captain’s voice trailed off. From her hiding place, Dorinda wished she could see the participant’s faces.
“I had that bit of transcript removed from the commander’s copy,” Tlenck was saying. “After reviewing Toh’s notes, I reasoned the origin of the leather traces might be Vesar, just as Cmdr. Tankawankanyi had once voiced himself. I felt it necessary to protect the evidence from tampering.”
“Well, isn’t that just cherry pie? It seems, Ambassador, you have everything figured out. Just when did you decide that Vesarius was the one Vesar who would betray his people to the Orthops?”
“Not his people, Captain,” Tlenck corrected with forced patience. “Our people. The commander’s been dishonored, outcast from Vesar for the last eight point six years. I had the entire crew of the Pvokx investigated. The existence of the crest medallion narrowed it down. The commander’s conduct on the planet simply reinforced my suspicion. Actually, it’s all been verified. Rather cut-and-dry, as you humans say. I really don’t understand why you cannot simply accept the facts.”
Dorinda heard a deep, regretful sigh. “Vesarius is my friend. I’ve known him for nearly a decade now. I know him, Ambassador. No matter how grieved or vengeful he was after his parents’ deaths, he wouldn’t destroy the universe he grew up in.” Coty exhaled again, this time in stubborn impatience. “Ambassador, I won’t allow you to remove my officer from this ship. You won’t parade Vesarius around on Tlonnis for all to throw stones. I need him here, at his post. Cmdr. Tankawankanyi stays onboard the Pompeii until the mission is through and we’ve destroyed the Orthop’s time Arch. Is that clear?”
A chair ground against the steel deck as someone stood. “No, Captain. I have my orders. The Pom-3 leaves tonight with a pilot, my aide, me, a nurse, three security guards, and Cmdr. Tankawankanyi onboard. You, on the other hand, are to proceed as scheduled to the Orthop homeworld without delay. Yours is the most urgent mission, and I wish you wisdom and success ... for all our sakes. Good day, Captain.” Clicking paws moved across the floor. A door hummed open then closed.
There was silence within the conference room for a deathly moment. Then Dorinda heard Coty curse in frustration. “Damned if I’m going to let Vesarius be the object of some monkey trial.” There was another thoughtful pause. “Yolonda, what does he need a nurse for?”
“I assume the ambassador wishes to keep the commander sedated,” Dorinda heard Dr. Sheradon surmise. “Tloni are against violence, even opposed to its threat. Tlenck’ll want to avoid a possible scuffle, so he’ll have Vesarius drugged.”
“This is fool-crazy,” Coty confirmed loudly. “Moxland, I want Chan on the subspace link. Tlenck’s not in command of my crew. Or my ship.”
Noah chittered a warning and imaged the outer corridor. It was time to leave the airshaft. Dorinda agreed with a nod. She pushed off backward with her arms, stifling a sneeze as dust was disturbed. When the two had navigated to the edge of the opening, Dori gave one last shove and flopped out onto the corridor’s deck. Noah bounded out a moment later as Dorinda finally let loose her sneeze. She clambered to her feet before shutting the access panel and brushing herself off. “Come on, Noah. We’ve got to see Vesarius.”
The two raced along the corridor, past the conference room to the lift beyond. The elevator took them down the four levels to the brig, and they slowed their approach just short of the cell block. Calming her breathing so as not to seem panicked, Dorinda nonetheless felt her heart continue to race. “Hello, Sgt. Alvarez. Might I see the prisoner? I ... I came to re-administer the medication for his abrasions.” Dorinda swallowed her lie to pluck the ointment tube from her jeans’ front pocket.
Judith Alvarez exchanged an indecisive glance with Chauney, but nodded and keyed the locking mechanism. “Make this short,” the security officer advised. “Ambassador Tlenck’s coming to give us new orders.”
“Is that so?” Dorinda stepped into the dim room. Vesarius was lying on his back, left arm draped over his eyes. “Vesarius,” Dorinda said quietly. “I’ve got bad news.”
The Vesar lifted his limb and turned his head to regard the figure standing halfway into the cell. He must have noticed her concern. “What is wrong?” Rolling up quickly, the warrior then slumped. He held his head between his hands. “I must stop hurting myself.”
Dorinda strode closer. “Vesarius. Tlenck’s going to take you away. He’s taking the transport to a place called Tlonnis. He’s going to drug you so you won’t fight back.”
“Slow down,” Vesarius urged, standing and steadying her shoulders. “Tlenck is taking me to Tlonnis to stand trial?”
“Yes. Tonight. What will happen if you’re found guilty?” Dori searched his mahogany face for the answer and knew it would not be pleasant by the solidity of the man’s chiseled jaw.
“Vesar execute their traitors publicly. I wou
ld not want you present to witness.”
Dorinda leaned into him, her eyes constricted in near panic. “But I want to help you … in any way I can. I won’t let them execute you.”
Vesarius nodded in understanding. “You are afraid I will leave you alone in this future to which I have brought you.” He bent to kiss her hair. “You need not worry for yourself, Green Eyes. This universe is not far different from your own. You are resilient. Courageous. Coty will be here to protect you, show you the new ways.”
Dorinda bowed her head against his leather clad chest. “I’m not afraid of this time, this place. I’m afraid for you. Afraid you won’t get a fair trial. You’ll die for something you didn’t do.”
Vesarius pushed her away and ducked his eyes at her, smiling. “You are afraid for me? Green Eyes, I am touched.” Then the Vesar’s face hardened to granite. He straightened. “Tlenck’s evidence is damning. It will do me no justice.” With that, Vesarius paced away from her his forehead furrowed in concentration. “If Tlenck is leaving tonight with the transport, I assume Coty is to proceed into Orthop space to find the other Arch? Destroy it before its completion?”
“Yes. That’s what I heard.”
Vesarius stopped pacing. His eyes constricted. “Heard? From whom? You were not at the meeting?”
Dorinda avoided his suspicious scrutiny by considering her boots. “Not with an invitation, no. Noah and I ... uh … we listened to the meeting through the airshaft.”
In response, Vesarius chortled deeply and smacked the back of the chair beside him. “Torch was a great one for knowing every crevice on this ship. Yuri and Sheradon were often trying to mate Noah and Kite. She is in love, you see.”
“I’m not proud of what I did, Vesarius,” Dorinda defended. “But I do know some things that might make sense to you. Your scanner for instance.”
“You did not bring it. I assume it has been impounded.”
“Yes, but you said it wasn’t working right, giving you false readings. Tlenck said he had Dickson alter it so that you wouldn’t find the leather fringes that Toh had mentioned in his notes.”