Vari's Choices

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Vari set the toiletries case aside and slipped her hand terminal from its holster at her waist. It took just a few moments to access the Leaper’s Passenger Handbook, and a couple of minutes after that to find the answers she needed. She closed the screen and started to make a call just as it lit up with an image of Shanti. She accepted the incoming call and spoke before her friend had a chance to say anything.

  “I’m okay, Shanti.”

  “I doubt that,” Shanti said worriedly. “At least you can talk now. Are the backups working?”

  “No, they’re not,” Vari replied. “Not one of them.”

  “Rajne,” Shanti swore. “How is that possible?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “What do you want to do, and how can I help?”

  “I’m going to call my Dads and hope they can locate a ship that I can transport onto. We’re in a major shipping lane so it’s at least possible.”

  “How’s that going to help you?”

  “It won’t unless it’s a smaller ship with fewer people onboard. Preferably a Jasani ship filled with Klanaren who can shield themselves.”

  “I hope they can find one fast.”

  “If they can’t then I’ll have to think of something else I suppose. If they can, do you want to come with me?”

  Her friend hesitated just a little, but Vari saw it even on the tiny screen of her hand terminal. “Please don’t feel like you have to.”

  “It’s just that Geoff and I have really hit it off,” Shanti said. Her cheeks darkened to a deep gray that Vari recognized as a blush. “Shame on me. You’re my best friend, Vari, and you need me. Of course I’ll come with you.”

  “You’re a good friend, Shanti, and I love you,” Vari said. “But let’s be honest. The only reason we’re on this gargantuan liner instead of a more reasonably sized, and vastly more comfortable one, is that I wanted to spend time with my sister for the last leg of our vacation, and you’re too kind and generous to say no.

  “I asked if you wanted to come with me just now because I didn’t want to repay your kindness by abandoning you here on your own. I’m glad you’ve found a reason to remain here that makes you happy. So, enjoy the rest of the voyage, and Geoff, and I’ll meet the Leaper when it reaches Jasan.”

  Shanti looked torn. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m absolutely positive,” Vari said, pressing her fingers against one temple in an effort to ease a sudden spike of pain. “Just do me a favor and check on Ria now and then.”

  “I promise. I’ll even scold her when she skips meals and volunteers for extra shifts instead of sleeping.”

  “Then she won’t even know I’m gone,” Vari said, grinning.

  “That’s the point. Lak knari, Vari.”

  “Lak knari, Shanti.”

  After ending her call with Shanti, Vari entered her Ata's vid code, then waited for his face to appear on the screen. This time she set the device on the bedside table, made sure the camera lens faced her, and pressed a button on the side. A moment later the image on the screen was projected onto an expanse of bare wall, giving her a much larger image than the tiny screen allowed, and providing her Dads with a similar view of herself. Pandora flew over to her shoulder and sat down, something Vari was so used to she barely noticed.

  “Hello, Vari,” Faron said, smiling. “Hi Pandora. This is a pleasant surprise.”

  “Hi Ata,” Vari said while Pandora just waved. Something in Vari’s expression or tone of voice must have been off because Faron’s smile immediately faded.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “My jammers have ceased to function.”

  “Ceased to function?” Dav asked, frowning as he and Ban moved to stand beside Faron so she could see all three of them. “Can you be more specific?”

  “I wish I could, Dede,” Vari said. “I was just starting to eat breakfast when all of a sudden, no more jammers. Thankfully it’s very early, so there were only a couple hundred people in the cafeteria at the time.”

  “Are you all right?” Faron asked.

  “Yes, Ata, I’m fine.”

  “The backups aren’t working either?” Ban asked.

  “No, Popi, they’re not. I’ve got three pairs of jammers with me, I had them serviced just a few weeks ago by the usual technician, and not one of them works.”

  “Nothing unusual has happened?” Dav asked.

  “Not to my knowledge, no.”

  “What do you want to do?” Faron asked, trying not to reveal how worried he actually was.

  “The Leaper doesn’t have hibernation tanks, and their life pods are built to hold three hundred people each. So neither of those options are available.

  “I can’t remain on the Leaper, either. My stateroom is on Deck Two, near the stern, under Transport. That’s helping me a lot at the moment, but when the other passengers start waking up and gathering up there, it’s going to get rough. The only solution I can think of is to get off this ship.”

  “I agree that getting you off the Leaper is the best solution,” Faron said. “We’ll contact whichever one of our ships is closest to your current location and have it rendezvous with the Leaper as soon as possible. One with a significantly smaller population than the Leaper.”

  “I’m sorry to cause so much trouble Ata, but I don’t know what else to do.”

  “You’ve nothing to apologize for, Vari,” Faron said. “What about Shanti and Ria?”

  “I haven’t told Ria. She just got off work an hour ago and is, I hope, sound asleep. I’m not going to let her throw away the extra credits she’s earning for med school just to babysit me anyway, so there’s no sense in waking her up.”

  “You need to at least tell her what’s happening,” Dav said.

  “Shanti will do that for me. She’ll be staying here, too.” Faron’s jaw tightened with disapproval. “Shanti has an unusually strong mental voice, Ata, and she’s just learning to control it. Having her with me would not be helpful right now.”

  Faron nodded, unable to argue with that. “Stay in your stateroom. We’ll get back to you with details regarding a pickup as soon as we can. Pandora, please contact us if anything happens.”

  “I will, Lord Faron. Don’t worry, I won’t leave her for a moment.”

  “Love you, Dads,” Vari said. “Give Mom and Bean a hug for me.”

  “Mom’s not here,” Dav said. “She and Aunt Lari went to Garza to visit Tani.”

  “What? Why? Is Tani all right?”

  “She’s fine, sweetheart,” Ban replied soothingly. “She’s getting close to her time and they wanted to be there when her son is born.”

  “Maybe we should refrain from telling her about this,” Dav suggested.

  Vari winced as she imagined her mother’s reaction to that. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dede.”

  “We’ll wait until we have you safe and sound and go from there,” Faron said. “Try to relax now, Vari. We love you, too, and we’ll give Bean your hug.”

  “Okay Ata, thanks,” Vari said. “Talk to you later.”

  Vari reached out and pressed a button on the hand terminal, closing the connection. Pandora flew back to the bedside table, but since she made no comment, neither did Vari. Instead, she kicked off her shoes and got up to change into her comfort clothes; a pair of loose, stretchy lounging pants and a large, faded t-shirt, both of which had seen far better days. Then she laid down on the bed, closed her eyes, and concentrated on making her shield stronger.

  ***

  Declan, Jaydan and Kaidan Dracon-Bat left the Roar Room after a satisfyingly intense workout in their dracon alter-forms. They were surprised to find their captain waiting for them in the ante room, something the man had never done in the fifteen years he’d captained for them.

  “Lord Commanders,” Finch said with a polite bow.

  “Captain Finch,” Declan replied. “Is something amiss?”

  “An urgent, priority one encrypted message from High Lord Faron Lobo came in. I f
orwarded it to your private lines but thought it best to alert you to its presence immediately.”

  “When did the message arrive?” Declan asked, revealing neither his surprise nor his concern.

  “Less than five minutes ago,” Finch replied. His eyes went to Jay, who was already checking his hand terminal. “I’ll be on the bridge if you need me, Commander.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Declan said. He waited for Finch to leave the ante room, then turned to face Jay and Kai. As soon as the message was decrypted Jay offered the hand terminal to Declan without reading it. Declan stared down at the text on the small screen and frowned.

  “This is…interesting,” he said, looking up to meet his brother’s curious eyes. “It seems that the eldest Lobo daughter is on a passenger liner not far from our current position. We are asked to intercept the liner at all speed, transport Lady Varia onto the Bihotza, then continue to Jasan as quickly as possible.”

  “Does Lord Faron give a reason for his request?” Kai asked.

  “He does not,” Declan replied, handing the device back to Jay who read the message quickly. When he was finished he handed it to Kai, then looked up at Declan with an arched brow.

  “How odd.”

  “Yes,” Declan agreed. He waited for Kai to read the message and return the hand terminal to Jay. “Please send the data on the liner—what was it called? The Leaper?” Jay nodded. “Send the Leaper’s data to the bridge and ask Captain Finch to plot an intercept course immediately.”

  Jay nodded, already tapping at the device. When he was finished he looked up at Declan again. “Shall I respond to Lord Faron as well?”

  “Yes, but wait until Captain Finch provides an ETA for our intercept. While we wait, let’s go to the comm room.”

  “Yes, good idea,” Jay said. It would be much easier to send encrypted messages from a full sized terminal than the hand terminal.

  “Would it be too intrusive to ask Lord Faron why we are being asked to do this?” Kai asked as they left the ante room and headed for the stairs.

  “I’m afraid so,” Declan said after a moment’s thought. “Lord Faron spared no words to make it clear that the retrieval of his daughter is exceptionally urgent. If he’d wanted to explain why, he would have.” He opened the stairwell door and, using Air magic, ran up two flights in just a few moments. They left the stairwell and walked up the corridor at normal speed. “I wonder why Lord Faron makes no mention of the child’s attendants.”

  Jay glanced down at his hand terminal. “Captain Finch advises we will intercept the Leaper in four Standard hours. I can ask Lord Faron about his daughter’s attendants when I respond to him.”

  “Yes, please do,” Declan said, opening the comm room door. Jay went straight to the first vid terminal and began tapping out a message before encrypting it, then sending it speeding back toward Jasan.

  “It’s a good thing we’re on our way to Jasan anyway,” Kai said. “And using the same shipping channel as the Leaper.”

  “I suppose,” Declan agreed stiffly. Kai understood his brother’s feelings on the subject. He shared them. As much as they all respected their cousins, High Prince Garen, Prince Trey, and Prince Val, being summoned home without explanation did not sit well with any of them. Especially since they’d been forced to hand over the lead in tense negotiations that they’d worked more than a year to bring about.

  They waited patiently without speaking further until a soft tone indicated the arrival of Lord Faron’s response. Jay decrypted it, then opened it on a large screen so that they could all see it.

  “I don’t understand,” Kai said after reading the missive. “Why would a child—an extremely important and all too rare female Clan Jasani child—be traveling unattended on a public liner?”

  “I’ve no idea,” Declan said, a slightly arched brow the only indication of his own surprise. “I can’t imagine Faron, Dav, or Ban condoning such an action.”

  “Perhaps she ran away,” Jay suggested. “It would certainly explain why she’s alone, and why we’ve been asked to retrieve her with such urgency.”

  “Perhaps.” Declan thought a moment. “I recall meeting the Lobo daughters not so long ago. We were in their presence for no more than a few moments, but they seemed to be quiet, well-behaved little girls. I’m surprised that one of them—especially the eldest—would defy her fathers in such an egregious manner. I would’ve expected more from a daughter of the Prime Guardians.”

  “We don’t know that’s what happened,” Kai pointed out. “There are other possible explanations.”

  “Such as?”

  “Perhaps her attendant died or became ill. Or, maybe whoever she’s traveling with will continue on their journey while Lady Varia returns to Jasan. Maybe she fell ill herself, or has been injured in some way.” Kai shrugged. “I hardly think it’s fair to make judgements regarding the child’s character and behavior until we have more information.”

  “You’re correct, of course, Kai. We should suspend judgement until we know the facts.”

  “I’ll tell the head steward to prepare a guest room for her,” Kai offered.

  “Yes, please,” Declan said, allowing his annoyance to show for the first time. “We’ve seen and done many things over the years, my brothers, but this is the first time we’ve been asked to babysit. In all honesty, can’t say I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully the next eight days will pass quickly and we can put this particular adventure behind us.”

  Sixteen years earlier….

  Vari sat on the thick grass at the top of the hill, her eyes fixed on the house below. She’d been waiting since sunrise for her sisters to come out, and although she was a little cold, the thought of giving up her vigil never entered her mind.

  Today was the first day of school for her middle sister Maria (who preferred to go by Ria), and her youngest sister BreeAnna, (who, for reasons of her own, answered only to Bean). Even though Vari couldn’t attend real school herself, she was determined to at least wave to her sisters when they left.

  Finally the front door opened and her sisters skipped out onto the porch. They were too far away to see clearly, but Bean’s long, pale blue braids, and Ria’s bright blue pony tail were impossible to mistake. Vari felt how happy and excited they were and she smiled. Her disappointment at not being able join her sisters did not dim her happiness for them.

  When Ria and Bean turned to look up the hill before waving to her, she had to fight back tears. Even in their excitement, they hadn’t forgotten about her. She returned their waves with both hands.

  Her mother followed Bean and Ria out the door and turned to blow her a kiss. Then she herded the girls to the ground car on the other side of the house. A short time later the ground car backed down the drive, then drove away and out of sight. Vari continued to sit on the grass overlooking the house she could no longer live in, waiting for the urge to cry to fade. After a few minutes she stood up and turned toward the little house her parents had built for her, stumbling in surprise to find that she wasn’t alone.

  A woman she’d never seen before stood several yards away staring silently at nothing. There was something odd about the woman’s appearance. Vari studied her curiously for a few moments before realizing she could see right through her, just like she could see through a shadow. She’d never been able to do that before, and wondered what it meant.

  The woman continued to stand there without speaking or moving or even looking at her. Vari wasn’t sure what to do. She was hungry now as well as cold, and wanted to go inside, but she thought it might be rude to just walk away without saying anything. One thing her parents never tolerated was rudeness. So Vari set her hunger aside and gathered her courage.

  “Hello,” she said hesitantly.

  The woman’s eyes widened in surprise as she shifted her gaze to Vari. “Did you speak to me?”

  “Yes,” Vari replied, looking around to make sure there wasn’t someone else there that she’d missed seeing.

  “You ca
n see me,” the woman said as she drifted closer. “Can’t you?”

  “Yes,” Vari replied, starting to feel a little nervous. Then she realized that she couldn’t hear the woman’s thoughts and forgot all about being nervous.

  She hated hearing people’s thoughts. It was the reason she couldn’t live in the house with her family any more, or go to school with her sisters, or play with her baby brothers, or go to parties or shopping or anything. She was learning how to stop people’s thoughts from getting into her head, but she wasn’t very good at it yet even though she practiced all the time.

  “Vari, come inside now. Breakfast is ready.” Vari looked up at the kitchen window.

  “I’m coming, Popi,” she replied, starting toward the house again. She’d only taken a few steps when the woman called out for her to wait, so she stopped. “Yes?”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Into the house for breakfast,” Vari replied, gesturing to the little house behind her.

  “Will you come out again later?”

  “Yes,” Vari replied. Then, since the woman didn’t say anything else, she turned and continued on her way around to the front of the house. After wiping her feet on the mat she went inside, closed the door, and crossed the living room to the kitchen in just a few steps. The little house was pretty, she had all of her things in her room just like before, and it was a relief not to be in so much pain from all the voices in her head. But even after a whole year, she still missed living with her family.

  “Good morning sweetheart,” Ban said as she stepped into the kitchen. “Did you see Ria and Bean off to school?”

  “I did, Popi, and they both remembered to wave at me too. And guess what!”

  “What?” Ban asked as he set two steaming plates on the table. Vari went over to the sink and Ban picked her up so she could reach the faucet.

  “There’s a shadow lady outside and I can’t hear her thoughts,” Vari said as she put soap on her hands and began washing. Ban was so surprised by her statement that it took him a few moments to think of a response.