by Laura Kaighn
He lurched from her touch. “Did you not just say the Pompeii was my home?” Vesarius’ spine stiffened. “I have a job to do, and it will take me far from here. I cannot stay.”
Dorinda’s eyes softened with shared sadness. “And I must ... At least for now.”
Shoulders suddenly wilting, eyes obsidian stones, Vesarius asked the inevitable. “And if you decide to stay forever?”
“Then I’ll be here … when you visit.”
“No!” Stomping a boot, Vesarius swung his arm at a kitchen chair. It clattered to the floor. “We are mated.” His insistence was as a gravestone. “You said you loved me. Does it mean nothing?”
“Vesarius, you mean everything to me,” Dorinda defended.
“Are all human females so … contradictory?” His ears buzzed with the misperceptions.
“We’re often ambiguous with our feelings, yes,” she stammered. Visibly Dorinda flinched from his tensing arms; sheer will held them at his sides. “I … I’ve waited for you to accept me, love me,” she explained. “But this is important, Vesarius. Please don’t force me to choose. I’m not ready to leave. Not until my heart and head agree.” She set her palm over her sternum, leaning toward him. “My heart wants to go with you. Believe that.”
“But your head refuses me?” Vesarius’ mind fumed. Every muscle quivered with the Fury. It threatened to boil his heated blood, detonate his pressured brain. He hammered his shoulder with an iron fist. “Absurd!”
Dorinda backed away, but Vesarius closed the distance with one slamming stride. “No!” Dorinda shrieked when he seized her by the arms. “Your promise!”
His eyes seared with an ebony flame. His voice arctic fury, Vesarius hissed, “You want to stay here ... alone? I do not.” He shook her in emphasis. “You must come with me.”
Dorinda thrust her right knee high into his injured ribcage. Grunting at the impact, Vesarius caved and slackened his grip. As Dorinda wriggled free, he heaved for air and watched her dash for the porch door. “Tundra!” she shouted, shoving her way outside. Vesarius’ long legs carried him past the door and down the steps even as she was leaving them. Snatching her trailing wrist, Vesarius made Dorinda gasp. Her eyes were round with terror when she spun to defend herself, fists ready. “Let go -” Her mouth dropped. “What?”
Vesarius sensed the cooling tickle of tears slide along his cheeks. He viciously swiped them away with his free hand. “I do not desire loneliness. It has been too long, this ... My isolation.”
“You won’t be alone,” Dorinda consoled still within his iron grasp. “But you’ve got to give me time. Please, Vesarius. I need time to think. If you want me to be happy, you must let me choose.”
“I ...” Vesarius faltered. His breath caught in a vise-constricted throat. “Dorinda, my heart. It aches. I … cannot ...” His fist released her to jam against the torment stabbing within his bowed shoulder. His other arm flopped uselessly against the wooden railing. He sank to the steps in his confusion. Head hanging, Vesarius mumbled, “I do not know what to do. You have taken my strength.” His lungs were crushed hulls in his ribcage, his heart an anchor. Like a flaccid sail, his spine folded, unable to support his frame.
Kneeling before him, Dorinda cradled his drooping chin in her hands. “Vesarius, you’ve never had the hope of being in love before. These emotions. This must all be so overwhelming to you. It’s all right.” She soothed his damp cheek with a gentle caress.
Vesarius raised stony orbs to her and objected. “No. You do not understand. Vhahl-shaukk, the Fury. My Fury was such that I could have killed you just now. ... In an instant. My promise would have been broken, my life dishonored again.”
Sighing, Dorinda held his head firm. “Vesarius, you never broke your promise. I should’ve realized you’d be upset. I’m sorry. If you want me to come with you to the Pompeii, I will for a while.”
“No, Dorinda. The Pompeii is not coming back. We leave for Orthop space in two days.” When her face paled at the prospect, he entwined his palms about her forearms and squeezed in emphasis. “These are Chan’s orders. Coty knows by now. He will be recalling the crew. Dorinda,” Vesarius clarified, “we are to start peace talks, and I am to be the Alliance liaison.” He paused. How could he admit his infirmity? “I need you with me, to stop me from acting as I have just done. A Vesar’s Fury does not lend itself to diplomacy.” Weak with the sudden drop in adrenaline, Vesarius lowered his eyes again. “I ... ask for your help.”
Dorinda stroked his fallen face. “It’s hard to fight your own heart, Vesarius,” she agreed. “Hard to accept your own frailties.” She sank down further on her knees. “I’ve only two days ...”
Vesarius caught her unfocused gaze. He had to make this clear. “A Vesar does not ask for assistance when going into battle. But this is different. I am no diplomat. My heart is feeble in soft talk, my reasoning fuzzy. I ask you to come with me, to help me control my Fury. You do not need to decide now.” Gathering his strength, Vesarius hauled Dorinda to her feet with him. “I will love you either way.” She leaned into his embrace. Vesarius was pleased to feel her crown rest gently against his chest ridges. After several moments, the Vesar asked into her hair, “Do you want me to cook the fish? It is almost noon, and our Kin will be getting irritable with hunger.”
From his chest Dorinda chuckled. “They’ve already eaten.” She raised her ivory countenance to regard him. “But you can grill us some lunch before I get irritable.”
Smirking Vesarius slanted his head at her. “You? Irritable? I cannot imagine. We Vesar are the notorious ones.”
Dori huffed at the prospect. “Then I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, don’t I?”
Vesarius nodded slightly but countered, “I believe you can cure me. Your nurse’s training has saved me thrice, your kindness a thousand times.”
Hugging him Dorinda sighed. “Come on, Iron Man. You’ve got fish to scale and a fire to build. I’ve got a pair of wayward Kin to find. I bet they’re out romping in the woods.”
Agreeing Vesarius followed her inside to retrieve the two lake trout Noah had caught. “They have enough sense to stay out of the way during a family spat,” he observed gathering up their meal and tugging free his survival knife for the job.
Dorinda fixed them some coffee and warm baked apples while Vesarius prepared the fish. Together they enjoyed a quiet lunch from the porch, reassured that Tundra and Noah were on their way home from their woodland adventures.
Later, as he marched down to the still smoldering cook-fire upon the lawn, Vesarius heard Dorinda greet the two explorers at the side door. “About time. We’re going into town. Sarius needs to contact Coty. We were about to leave you trailblazers behind.”
Dumping a pot of water over the coals, Vesarius listened to them pop and hiss. Then he returned to the house for his pack and leather jacket. “I will be grateful for the warmth of my cabin on the Pompeii,” he mumbled swinging his full pack upon his spine and marching out the door, fastening the jacket as he went.
“You can leave the luggage here,” Dorinda said jerking her chin at his backpack. She shuffled her Kin into the hover she had parked beside the cottage the night before. “We’re just going into town for some more food and your supplies.”
Smiling crookedly Vesarius informed, “A Vesar is always prepared to travel. All that I own is in here.”
Dorinda glowered. “You don’t exactly travel light. That pack’s at least forty pounds.” When Vesarius simply shrugged but kept his backpack, Dorinda shrugged as well. “Who’s driving?”
A slight smile traced his lips. “I must experience your quick study tactics. You drive.”
“OK.” Dorinda sank into the driver’s seat and pushed the door closed. Tossing his pack in behind her seat Vesarius slid in beside her. “Ready? I really am good at this.”
Vesarius huffed with humor. “I do not doubt it. You are a formidable woman in many respects.”
“Then strap in. I’ve already done my share of tossing th
ese two about.” Vesarius watched Dorinda pad the ignition button. He heard the hover’s starter hesitate then click before humming to life.
“Has it been doing that long?” he asked as she leaned the joystick hard right. The hover did a 180 degree spin. Dorinda then pushed the accelerator pedal and it hummed up the gravel path toward the road.
“Yeah, for a while,” Dori asserted. “I thought it was supposed to sound like that. It isn’t?”
“No,” Vesarius explained watching the forest roll by. “The ignition battery is in need of recharging. The self-charger must be malfunctioning. There are facilities in town if you do not mind waiting. It will take approximately two hours.”
Dorinda shrugged as she looked both ways along the Uncas Road before pulling out and turning left. “I’m sure we could find something to do. Our shopping and your call to Coty’ll take up one of those hours.” As they coasted west and then south into Eagle Bay, Tundra shouldered his way between the bucket seats. “Goodbye? Tundra, what do you mean, goodbye?” Dorinda asked glancing over at the big malamute. She nearly took the hover with her. In answer, Tundra licked her face then turned to Vesarius laying his great head on the Vesar’s lap.
Vesarius patted the dog and explained. “I believe he is thanking you for saving his life when you thought me dead. He wishes now to re-bond with me.”
“I won’t be able to talk with him?”
“Not in picture words,” Vesarius explained. “But you must believe, he is very close to you. There will always be an emotional bond.” Taking the Alaskan malamute’s head in his hands, Vesarius exchanged an intense stare with his former Kin. After a moment, Vesarius smiled and nodded. “It is good to have you back in my mind as well.” Looking up at the woman beside him, however, the Vesar’s mouth turned downward. “Green Eyes, your face is wet again.”
“Yes, and I can’t see very well. Maybe you should drive.” Dorinda blinked repeatedly and pulled the hover over to the shoulder just past the Super Duper’s blacktopped parking lot. Dorinda sniffled. “I’m sorry. I just feel suddenly empty. I didn’t expect this.”
“I am the one who is sorry. I did not think to warn you. Tundra says you were ready to part with him, strong enough to do without him.” Vesarius paused sensing the woman’s distress and not knowing how to comfort her. Humans were different. They could be strong, but they were also vulnerable. “Yes,” he agreed softly, “I will drive. Sit in the back with Tundra and Noah until your eyes dry.”
Rolling from the driver’s seat, Dorinda slipped into the hover’s back compartment. Vesarius watched her plop down between the two animals and hug them fiercely, burying her face in Tundra’s mane. Then, opening his door, Vesarius climbed out. He walked around to the driver’s side just as another vehicle hummed by on its way toward Old Forge. Settling into the seat, the warrior slid closed the door and released the electronic parking brake. Vesarius gave the grieving woman one last glance before touching the accelerator.
Down the road, not one hundred meters, rested the hover which had just passed them. Vesarius considered the other driver, a man who seemed not in need of assistance. With curiosity, the Vesar noticed him pull back out into traffic and follow Dorinda’s vehicle, matching speed and altitude.
When the warrior veered their hover into town, he had had some time to ponder his shadow. “We have company, Green Eyes. He may only be curious. Or perhaps he has a penchant toward my people.”
From the back Dorinda offered her subdued reply. “You think he’s trouble?” When Vesarius did not answer her promptly, she voiced a suggestion. “Pull into a parking lot and see if he still follows you.”
“Here is the general store.” Vesarius steered the hover into a parking space just down from the Howard’s store and shut off the engine. “He has gone past us.”
“How do you know he was following you? This is the main road through town,” Dorinda reasoned sliding forward to kneel by his shoulder.
“The driver passed us when we were stopped, then waited for us to pass him. I did not realize Vesar were so exclusive here.”
“He saw you get in to drive?”
Nodding Vesarius hauled open his door and rolled out. He waited for her to exit with the animals before speaking. “I have concerns.”
“Don’t be paranoid. You’re a novelty. Maybe he just wanted another look, to see if you were stopping in Old Forge.” When Vesarius bent back into the hover for his pack, Dorinda tapped his spine. “We do have company.”
“Vesar?” Straightening from the hover, Vesarius pivoted to swing the pack up onto his shoulder. “Don’t move, Vesar!” the man called again. Approaching from the left, the uniformed officer’s plasma pistol was trained on the Vesar’s middle, his forefinger over the trigger guard. “We need to talk to you.”
“Uh-oh,” Dorinda said privately. “Police. I don’t like this.” She raised her voice and chin to address the new arrival. “What’s the trouble, Officer?” The dark-skinned policeman kept his eyes and weapon centered on the mahogany alien.
Though a dark dread welled in his gut and threatened to engulf him, Vesarius kept his voice calm. He had faced this wary response before. “I am no threat to you.” The navy uniformed man stopped his approach a safe three meters from the group. Behind Vesarius the footsteps of two others drew near. “I am visiting here. Is there a problem, Officers?”
The slight-framed policeman glanced at the woman standing beside the Vesar. “Did he hijack your vehicle, Miss?”
“No, Sir. He’s my friend.”
“But you arrived here alone with your two Kin, just two nights ago, Miss Jade.” The older man twitched his pistol in the Vesar’s direction. “He’s been here for over a month.”
“We are both from the Pompeii,” Vesarius stated. “I was waiting for her at the cottage.”
A sour smile warped the policeman’s lips. “The Pompeii only arrived in orbit three days ago, Vesar. We checked. You didn’t come from there.”
“I did,” Vesarius corrected. “Consult the crew manifest -” He stalled his defense. His particular circumstances and the time machine were, after all, Alliance confidences.
“Listen, Officer,” Dorinda entreated, raising her hands before her. “Vesarius isn’t in any trouble is he? He’s done nothing wrong since I’ve been here.”
“You were with him last night?”
Vesarius watched Dorinda wince at the question. Noah groaned from her bootside. “Yes,” she answered slowly. “I stayed with him at the cottage. We are friends from the Pompeii.”
“I suppose he gave you that facial contusion as a friendly greeting, then?” The dark cop’s challenge was accompanied by a pointing finger toward her purple cheek.
Dorinda fingered the bruise. “No, this was my doing. I tripped going up the back steps in the dark. Sir, what’s the problem? We came here for supplies and to contact his captain. Are we parked illegally or something? This used to be a public lot.”
In answer, the policeman returned his gaze to the Vesar. “Put down your pack. Slowly. Then step back against the hover.”
“Wait,” Dorinda interrupted gripping the Vesar’s jacket-clad arm. “What are the charges, if any?”
“First the pack,” the policeman insisted not wavering his gaze nor his weapon.
“All right,” Vesarius stated evenly. He slid the backpack from his shoulder lowering it to the ground in a singularly smooth gesture.
“Now, Miss Jade,” the officer instructed. “Step aside, and take your Kin with you.”
“But-”
“Do it, Dorinda,” Vesarius advised sending a silent message for Tundra to comply. He watched Dorinda back up along the hover’s driver’s side.
“Now, Vesar, turn around and spread eagle,” the officer instructed as his two partners slunk closer from the far side of the hover. “Both hands on the vehicle’s roof.” A trio of plasma pistols were now poised at the ready.
“When are you going to tell us what this is about?” Dorinda asked. Splaying
both hands atop the hover, Vesarius turned his head to share her concerned stare. “Is it unlawful to come into town together? He didn’t hijack the car.”
“Dorinda, my dear,” a woman’s voice implored. “Are you all right?” Dori turned away from the prone Vesar, now being patted down, a plasma pistol aimed at his back. She confronted the middle-aged woman approaching them from the direction of the motel. Vesarius grimly straightened as next the policemen converged to bind his leather-clad arms and elbows behind him in an orange security harness.
“J.J., I’m fine. What’s going on?”
The motel owner cringed at the dark wound under Dori’s eye. “Oh, what did he do to you? I told you Vesar were brutal.”
“He didn’t hurt me, J.J.,” Dorinda insisted as the police cinched the straps until Vesarius shuddered against their rigidity. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“Sure, dear. You and your Kin come with me.” The woman’s soothing voice and gentle grip were coaxing. “Everything will be fine.”
When the dark-haired woman tried to shuffle her away, Dorinda held firm. “But I’m not leaving Sar-”
“He’s going to the station, Miss Jade,” the black officer informed, “for questioning.” Vesarius was spun toward the street. “I assure you, he’ll be fairly treated as long as he complies.”
“But what are the charges?” Dorinda asked again as Vesarius tested the snugness of his harness. Even now his fingers tingled, their circulation impeded.
“Murder, Miss Jade. We found Danny Hawthorne this morning, not a mile from the Vesar’s cottage. He’d been brutally mauled. There was Vesar blood on his clothes.” Vesarius blinked. Murder? My blood?
“But ... how?” Dorinda stammered as the warrior was led away. “Vesarius. ... Stay calm. I’ll get this straightened out.” Her voice quavered with audible shock.
Glancing over his retreating shoulder, Vesarius stressed his own concerns. “Dori, see to my pack and Tundra. I will cooperate.” Surrounded by his trio of guards, Vesarius had no other choice. He regarded the weapons trained on him. Two were set for wide pulse and would knock him unconscious. But the third, held by the dark officer who had arrested him, was set on tight beam, just as Cpl. Zlenko’s had been. Despite the leather jacket, that pistol would stab a hole right through the warrior’s flesh, inflicting serious injury. Vesarius’ eyes never left the middle-aged officer who bore it.