by Speer, Flora
“Those are poorly armed merchant ships,” Tarik said, shaking his head in disgust. “They’ve come to offer us what support they can. Their cargoes are too tempting for Cetan greed to withstand, so those three Cetan captains have left the attack to loot and pillage a weaker enemy. Watch the result.” The markers that represented the line of attacking Cetan ships, weakened in strength by the departure of their comrades, now disappeared from the screen one by one, and the Service ships moved on to destroy the three Cetans who were attacking the merchants. “They seem unable to learn the first principles of warfare, or to obey anything but their own greedy impulses when plunder is available. That is our one hope, Narisa.”
“Tarik, look.” Narisa pointed to a line of ships just assembling on the screen. “That seems to be a disciplined group. They are coming directly toward us.”
Tarik called out a report to Halvo, his words echoing those of another alert officer. Narisa heard Halvo shout an order to take evasive action. She felt the ship shudder a little, and she saw on the screen the conjoined wave of force that blasted from the Cetan ships and moved at incredible speed, coming closer.
“Hang on,” Tarik yelled, grabbing the railing.
Narisa reached for the same rail. Her hands were almost on it when the force wave hit them. She thought their ship was turning upside down. It shouldn’t have made any difference - the ship had its own gravity so the decks were always down - but something was wrong. She was falling upward, then sideways. She saw Tarik’s horrified face, watched him reach for her and miss as she fell past him.
The ship’s gravity corrected itself. Narisa’s head hit the floor hard. A thousand stars exploded inside her brain, all the stars of a lost planet, red and gold and silver, scattering across a black sky. There was pain, worse pain than she had ever known before, and there was blackness closing in on her. It was her only hope of release from the growing agony. Wanting anything that would stop the pain, she welcomed the blackness, gave herself up to it and knew nothing more.
Chapter Thirteen
“Lieutenant Narisa, open your eyes.”
She tried hard to obey the sharply voiced command. After a while she succeeded, but the bright lights above her made her headache worse, so she had to close her eyes again.
“I know you are fully conscious, Lieutenant Narisa. Do as I tell you.”
A hand took her chin, holding her head steady, making her face directly into the light. Narisa winced.
“That’s better. Keep your eyes wide open. I’m going to shine a light into them. Ah, good. No, don’t close them. Just a little longer.”
The piercing light went away. After blinking several times to remove the afterimages, Narisa found she could tolerate the overhead lamps, and she was able to see without brilliant pain lancing her throbbing head. The nausea began to recede. She looked around, being careful not to move her head too quickly.
She was in sick bay. She recognized it at once. They were all alike on any Service ship - white, with too-bright lighting and a falsely reassuring, overly friendly doctor. Except this one wasn’t friendly. She was sour faced, with an unpleasant, gratingly nasal voice. The hostility emanating from a person who ought to have been comforting and encouraging to all her patients was disturbing and profoundly disorienting to Narisa in her present condition.
“You should be shackled to that bed,” the doctor said. “If I weren’t certain you would faint if you tried to get up, I would have you tied down. But then, I don’t want to call any particular attention to you just yet. Not until I have talked to Admiral Halvo. The reward for locating you is rightfully mine alone.”
“Why?” Narisa raised her head a little. The pounding began again so forcefully that she wanted to return to the painless blackness. Forming the simplest sentence took great concentration. She lay back on the pillow and tried once more, needing to have the answer. “Why shackle me?”
“You know perfectly well why, you shameless creature. You are a disgrace to the Service. We will be at the Capital soon, and I can’t wait to get you out of my ward. It will be a pleasure to turn you over to the guards at spaceport.”
“I fell, I hit my head. That’s all I can remember. Why should you turn me over to the guards for that?”
“You will remember a great deal more than a fall by the time Leader Tyre has finished with you. Your sentence will be passed in accordance with Jurisdiction law, and I hope I am there to see it carried out.”
Narisa could not understand what the woman was talking about. She wanted to ask where Tarik was and if he was safe, but some inner caution warned her not to mention his name until her own situation was clearer. Confused though she was, she had sense enough to try to make this gloating ship’s doctor tell her what was wrong before she revealed anything more.
“I really can’t remember what I’ve done,” she said meekly. “Please tell me.” With that simple request she unleashed a verbal flood.
“They called me to the bridge, where I found you unconscious.” The doctor recounted the story with malicious relish. “I immediately diagnosed a concussion. In spite of what you laymen believe about the wonders of modern medicine, the only cure for a simple concussion is time and rest. But Admiral Halvo and Commander Tarik would not let you be carried to your cabin and put to bed and left alone while my staff and I paid more attention to seriously injured crew members. Oh, no, they couldn’t accept my diagnosis, as though I haven’t had thirty years’ experience with shipboard medicine and surgery. They said I had made the diagnosis too quickly to be certain you weren’t badly hurt, and that I hadn’t used a diagnostic rod. Nothing would satisfy them except a complete examination.
“What a waste of time when I’m so busy, I thought. There is nothing wrong with this woman except a bump on the head. I was right, too. That is all that’s wrong with you, as I promptly confirmed once I had you here in sick bay. Still, knowing how fussy Admiral Halvo can be about details, I checked with Central Service Information to see if you had any record of previous medical problems that might complicate your recovery. And there it was, a command overriding all other data in your file. Leader Tyre has issued a personal arrest warrant for you, Lieutenant Narisa.”
“For me?” she repeated weakly. To gain a little more time and information, she added, “I don’t understand. Why would he do that?”
“Did you think your treasonous activities wouldn’t be discovered? Leader Tyre has ways of learning what he needs to know. You are accused of breaking your parole to a Member of the Assembly in order to assist in the escape of a violent Cetan criminal. Since the Cetans have attacked the Capitol, that means you were helping an official enemy. There is a large reward offered to whoever turns you in. A very large reward indeed.” The doctor was clearly looking forward to collecting the promised bounty. Her next questions caught Narisa by surprise. “Do Admiral Halvo and his brother know what you have done? Have they been protecting you? Is that why Halvo was so concerned about you?”
“No.” Narisa responded as firmly as she could, hoping the doctor had gleaned no other information from her search of Narisa’s records. Her thoughts were more ordered now as the mist of pain-induced confusion began to dissipate. She realized that whatever happened to her, it was imperative that she reveal to the doctor no connection between herself and Tarik or Halvo. They must remain free to carry out their plan to remove Tyre and reform the Assembly. In that plan lay the only real hope of safety, not only for herself, but for Almaric’s entire family, and Gaidar as well. The doctor had not mentioned Almaric by name. Perhaps she did not know he was involved. Narisa steeled herself to lie as convincingly as possible. “I don’t know why Admiral Halvo or Commander Tarik would worry about me, except they seem to be good officers who are concerned about the people serving under them. I saw that during the battle. But I only met them yesterday. I think it was yesterday. The day before the battle.”
“Not yesterday,” the doctor told her impatiently. “That would be two days ago. You have been un
conscious for a while. A good thing for both their careers if what you say is true.” She paused a moment, as if considering something, then added, “It would be nice if I could tell the spaceport guards where to find the Cetan, and the woman named Suria, too. With the reward Tyre is offering for each of them added to the one I’ll get for you, I could retire. Come on, my girl, you will be forced to tell Leader Tyre when you are taken before him, so you may as well tell me now. Where is Suria? More importantly, where is the Cetan?”
“I don’t know.” Narisa had to divert the woman from her relentless topic. “Please, tell me, is the battle over? Are the Cetans beaten?”
“Of course they are. Easy enough for Jurisdiction ships to defeat those barbarians. I don’t know what all the fuss was about.” The doctor stood over her patient with folded arms and frowning face. Narisa was afraid she would begin a more rigorous interrogation. In her weakened state she might not be able to withstand badgering questions for long. She did not know what drugs the doctor might have available that would make her talk whether she wanted to or not. She felt completely alone and helpless.
“Could I have something hot to drink?” The thought of a warm cup in her hands was comforting, and the doctor might be distracted for a little while by the need to order rations for her patient.
“Certainly not.” The doctor looked as though she had been asked to do something illegal. “There will be nothing to eat or drink for you until you have been seen by Leader Tyre. Some of his interrogation procedures will be more effective on an empty stomach. Don’t worry, you will be fed afterward, before you are taken to the Assembly to be condemned and punished. The Jurisdiction is always humane. Now, I have no more time to waste with you, criminal. I have injured to take care of, and then I have to inform Admiral Halvo of my discovery of a fugitive among his crew and make my official claim to the reward for apprehending you. I’ll be back to question you more thoroughly later.”
With this promise, which Narisa took for a threat, she was left alone, the curtains drawn about her bed to keep her separated from the other patients. She tried unsuccessfully to stop the flood of thoughts that filled her aching head.
She believed she knew what had caused Tyre to issue warrants for her and Suria. The guard whom Gaidar had so easily rendered unconscious would have supplied Tyre with a full description of the two women who had come to visit the Cetan and then helped him to escape. Kalina’s claim that Narisa had been sleeping all of that day would have been reported to Tyre by the Service guards posted at Almaric’s house, and Tyre would have recognized it for the ruse it was. Tyre was not a stupid man; he could not have ruled the Assembly for so long if he were. He would discern what Narisa had done, and he would use that information not only to punish her, but to bring down his enemy Almaric. When Almaric returned to the Capital, he and Kalina would be taken into custody along with the indisputable proof of their treason -their companions, Suria and Gaidar. Tyre’s triumph would be complete, his position stronger than ever. There would be no hope of removing him from office, no hope of reforming the Assembly. Tarik and Halvo would probably be imprisoned, too. By trying to keep her and Tarik’s word to Gaidar, Narisa had given Tyre the opportunity he wanted.
Her anguish was nearly unbearable. Added to it was her physical discomfort. Thirst was fast interfering with her ability to reason. She was desperate for something to drink. The doctor and her associates ignored Narisa’s repeated calls.
“Be quiet,” the doctor growled through the curtain at one point, refusing to open it and look at her. “We are too busy to bother with you. Be glad you aren’t in the brig and stop complaining.”
They all went away after a while, dimming the overhead lamps before they left, and the sick bay became quiet. Narisa began to debate with herself the risk of getting out of bed and searching for water on her own. She felt weak and dizzy each time she attempted to raise her head from the bed, and soon realized the doctor had been right about not needing to shackle her. If she could not sit up, she certainly would not be able to stand without help.
Temporarily defeated, she lay back and tried to forget about her aching head and the sick, empty feeling in her stomach and the thirst that was driving her mad. She had to make herself stop thinking about those things and concentrate instead on what she might do to get away before the doctor came back to question her once more. The woman had frightened her badly, and her fears were compounded by her helpless weakness. She listened intently for any sound that might indicate the doctor was returning. There was nothing.
A deep silence had fallen over the ship. The low, barely noticeable vibrations of its engines were stilled. Narisa knew what that meant. They had reached spaceport. Now was her chance to get up, find her uniform or steal someone else’s to replace the skimpy hospital gown she was wearing, and get off the ship. If she could hide for a while, then the search for her, which she was certain the reward-hungry doctor would insist upon, would delay any action Tyre could take against Almaric. That delay might give Tarik and Halvo the time they needed to move against Tyre. She saw clearly that this might be the only chance they had. She had to go now, before the doctor came back for her. She had to sit up.
She could have wept from frustration when she tried and immediately fell back, overcome by returning dizziness. She tried again. She couldn’t do it. Never before had her body refused to obey her commands. She gave a soft moan of utter despair.
“Narisa?” The whisper could just barely be heard through her accumulating fear and misery. The curtain around her bed moved slightly. It could not be the doctor again, or the guards coming for her, because the sick bay was too quiet and the movement was distinctly furtive. “Narisa?”
“Here.” She had recognized the voice. It was Tarik. She did not see him slip inside the curtain; her vision was blurred by tears. As she silently cursed her own weakness, she felt his arms around her, strong and comforting. She raised her own arms, putting them about his neck. He draped the sheet around her near nakedness and lifted her from the bed. “Tarik, the doctor …Leader Tyre…” She swallowed a sob of fear.
“I know, I was with Halvo when she told him. Don’t make any noise that would disturb the other patients,” he murmured into her ear. “We’ll talk later. Just hold on to me.”
It was what she wanted most to do. She clung to him, the aching in her head vastly improved by resting on his shoulder while he carried her from the sick bay. Narisa saw a single attendant in the receiving room, a young woman who stood with her back turned toward them, resolutely inspecting the contents of an instrument cabinet. She did not turn around when Tarik carried Narisa past her.
No one questioned him as Tarik stalked through the ship. He was the admiral’s brother, and a commander in his own right, and if he appeared to be doing something strange it must be on Halvo’s orders or for his own important purposes. Not one of the Service personnel they met along the way revealed the slightest surprise at the sight of them, and no one tried to stop them.
“Strict discipline does have its uses after all. They are unwilling to challenge me,” Tarik said softly as they entered an area unfamiliar to Narisa. “This is the cargo bay, my love. It’s small on a warship, but it has one great advantage - its own hatch. In another minute or two, the single guard outside it will be called away so we can leave unnoticed.”
“Halvo has arranged that?”
“Why, Narisa, what a scandalous thing to suggest,” he teased. He carried her to the hatch and stood listening. She was feeling stronger now, and most of her fears had been effectively quelled by the knowledge that Halvo and Tarik were not going to allow her to be turned over to the spaceport guards. She felt absurdly happy. She rubbed her cheek against Tarik’s shoulder and sighed.
“My hands are full,” he murmured, smiling at her. “If you will push in the numbers as I speak them, we can unseal the hatch and leave the ship.”
“Let me stand and free your hands, Tarik.”
“I’m not sure you could, not
without fainting, and in any case, l don’t want to let you go.” He hugged her more tightly against him. “Push those numbers, my love.”
She did as he asked. She did not really want to leave his embrace. He carried her off the ship and onto a deserted area of the spaceport at the rear of his brother’s flagship. A few containers for food and other supplies lay scattered about.
“How are we going to get off spaceport?” Narisa asked.
“We have a personal invitation to ride in Admiral Halvo’s private transporter car. Can you sit up alone for a moment or two?” Tarik put her down carefully on top of a container. He then pulled a workman’s shirt from under his uniform jacket and hurriedly put it on over the jacket. It effectively hid his Service insignia. “Narisa, I am going to have to wrap you tightly in this sheet and fold you into one of these large empty containers. It’s only for a short time, just until we are on Halvo’s transporter. We dare not let you be seen. If you are recognized you will be arrested at once. I know you can’t feel very well after that terrible blow on your head, and I’m sorry to do this to you, but it’s the only thing Halvo and I could think of in a hurry.”
“I don’t care. Do whatever you want, and do it quickly before someone comes.”
He lifted her, bare feet first, into a food container, using the trailing sheet as padding to protect her as best he could. He had to push down on her shoulders to fit her into it and get the lid on properly. Narisa had one last glimpse of his anxious face before the lid was shut and she heard the latches click.