Return

by Blaze Ward

  Wolcott studied him closer, like he was perhaps a rival.

  Oluchi smiled that careful smile he gave to powerful men who might want to crush a competitor for a woman’s affection, when they never realized that the women made those choices.

  He supposed it made him seem less of a dominant personality, at least as men saw it, but usually it endeared him to the women. It was like listening to them want to bitch with a friendly smile on your face.

  It did wonders here, as well. Wolcott’s pupils narrowed, but then relaxed after a moment.

  “Trade?” he asked in a voice that had at least a dozen layers of meaning shaded underneath.

  “Absolutely, sir,” Oluchi said with a nod. “At the very least, you represent a whole new culture, which will generate a demand for goods across Human space. I’m certain that my principal will want to help fulfill that demand. In turn, there will be Human goods in demand on your worlds. We are not formally part of the Rio Alliance, though we are loosely aligned. Trade is our centrality, rather than politics.”

  Oluchi did not miss the quick glance that flowed between the two Churquen and Lazarus. But he was expecting that. Best to have his motives on the table up front, especially if he wanted to get rich in the process of shaving off his percentages.

  Wolcott turned to Grace next, studied her like another alien species. Considering how much darker her skin was from the three men, and the tight poof of curls, one could make that mistake, the first time dealing with Humans.

  “And you?” Wolcott asked in a tone much more polite than the words themselves.

  “Eduardo Martìnez, Oluchi’s principal, tasked me with assisting Lazarus when it came time to use violence, and to protect him from repercussions,” she said.

  “So you did,” Wolcott said dryly. “That time appears to have passed.”

  “I suspect Lazarus will continue to need help and protection,” she smiled a sideways smile that both Churquen shared a moment later.

  As inside jokes went, it wasn’t that vague, but Oluchi could see how Lazarus might get into a variety of troubles and need friends. Looking around, that seemed to be the common theme with the group.

  “Xiuying?” Wolcott turned to the last one.

  “I’m just hired muscle along for the ride, mate,” the man smiled ambiguously. “Also really useful when you need violence done.”

  “I’ve already got that covered,” Wybert spoke up now in a tone Oluchi could only classify as aggrieved.

  “Not the way you’re holding that spear, buddy,” Xiuying replied with just a hint of an edge to his voice. “Nobody ever taught you the proper way to grip it?”

  “I am a warrior!” Wybert said, shuffling about a foot forward on all ten feet like a wave passing beneath him.

  “I know a better grip you should use then,” Xiuying held out an arm, like he expected Wybert to just hand him the spear. “May I?”

  Oluchi wasn’t the only one that suddenly held a breath. Wybert appeared to pout for a moment, and then blinked three of his eyes, which was really weird to watch, as the two on the outsides, almost like a horse or rabbit had, didn’t blink at the same time.

  Wybert pivoted and flipped the spear out, thankfully butt end first, rather than stabbing at Xiuying with it.

  Lazarus had warned them about Wybert, but they’d all seen Xiuying in action.

  “Right,” Xiuying said, turning to the side and shifting so he was almost next to Wybert, rather than facing him. “Your fingers are all wrong, so you lose leverage. Useful to just punch someone with the butt end, but you almost never want to do that. Instead, hold it like this, see?”

  Oluchi looked and realized that Wybert had been clutching the shaft in his whole fist. Xiuying was holding it more like a knife-fighter would, with thumb and middle finger controlling, and the other fingers just providing stability. Not that he’d ever had to use a knife that way.

  That he would admit to.

  “Edge wounds, understand?” Xiuying said slowly, carefully, deliberately. “Shaft stuns. Point kills. Always make sure every move you make is to keep them centered in front of you so you can stab at them with the killing tip. Front hand should only loosely hold, so you can adjust quickly. Here, you try.”

  Utter silence. Oluchi could have heard a key entering a lock three rooms away, as someone’s husband got home unexpectedly.

  Wybert reclaimed the spear and adjusted his fingers on it. Settled his weight some, all ten legs squatting with a quiet rumble.

  The tip of the spear flickered out and back almost delicately. Oluchi wasn’t all that versed in the sort of close combat Xiuying apparently did for a living. He was, after all, a lover, not a fighter. Still, he could see how much easier the spear moved.

  “Thank you,” Wybert said, grounding his spear and rotating his whole body around like a compass. The weird face might have smiled.

  “We need to teach you some Yari, mate,” Xiuying smiled. “Then you’ll be all sorts of fun.”

  Oluchi wasn’t sure he was prepared for that definition of fun, but he supposed that life was likely to be getting more dangerous, now that he had decided to change careers. At that point it would be useful to have expert killers around.

  “Now what?” Oluchi asked the two commanders, mostly just to fully release the tension that had broken.

  “Uniforms,” Aileen suddenly announced.

  “Uniforms, madam?” Oluchi turned to her and let the confusion show.

  “I’m the Quartermaster on his ship,” she smiled up at him. “As Lazarus said earlier, you’ll need clothing, so we’ll put you in Rio Alliance uniforms for now.”

  It dawned on Oluchi, looking at Addison Wolcott, that the man was wearing Rio colors, but the tan cotton tunic had been cut down to a simple vest, over which he was wearing a harness with pockets and loops. Both of the women had been dressed like civilians, Eha in a similar vest in blue and Aileen was in silvery capri pants and a vest in an off-white darker than cream but not down towards mustard.

  “Will that cause a problem, boss?” Xiuying turned to Lazarus now.

  “Not if you aren’t wearing insignia or rank tabs, sailor,” Lazarus said simply. “You three are civilians I rescued, or kidnapped, depending on how someone might interpret it, and I put you in appropriate clothing. Or rather, my Quartermaster did.”

  “I see,” Oluchi said, somewhat crestfallen that he might have to dress like an office drone, rather than the dandy he’d been for a while.

  “Alternatively,” Lazarus smiled evilly at him, as if reading his mind, “I do have a tailor handy who can make Human clothing. We should have enough spare, if you prefer.”

  Oluchi nodded, unwilling to take the pretense too far. Grace shrugged, but she’d either look amazing in a burlap sack or vanish, depending on the needs of the situation.

  He had an extremely good idea what that woman really did for Eduardo, regardless of whatever cover stories she might share.

  “Whatever’s easiest, mate,” Xiuying said.

  He’d worn tan before, so it might be like coming home for the man.

  “This way,” Aileen gestured for them to follow, so Oluchi took the lead.

  He might as well figure out what his sartorial limits were now, and the capabilities of an alien tailor.

  One adventure complete. New one tomorrow.

  Forty-One

  Addison

  Addison had wound himself around the coil in what had turned back into Lazarus’s office, now that the man was back. Eha was coiled so close that their tails were tangled, as well as their hands. Ereshkiki Nisab was on Eha’s far side, turned to watch them all with a different eye. The office was a little crowded.

  That was good. He might have wanted to pace angrily and smash things, had there been room. He listened in a rage so deep that his tail hurt as he squeezed the chair.

  “And then we lifted off and made rendezvous here,” Lazarus finished off the tale.

  Addison turned to Eha, studied her scales closely. H
e could see where a biped would show bruises, since they didn’t have scales to cover them. Damage those Humans had done to his love.

  Lazarus of Bethany had killed them all. And scorched the earth, if that was a term you could use when blowing up their ship and sinking it in an ocean for the fish to feed on.

  And the man had been right about the office. Addison needed to be seated, holding her hand. Otherwise, he might have exploded.

  Addison took a deep breath and tried to loosen the kinks in his coils. He might have to go down to engineering and find a catwalk to hang from, if he really wanted to stretch things properly. It crossed his mind.

  “Was it enough?” he asked Eha.

  Her scales flared once as she drew a deep breath and considered his rage. Hers had been great, from the look in her eyes. Lazarus had used Human violence to extremes that Addison might have considered, had he been there.

  “It was,” Eha whispered a moment later.

  Addison let some of his rage go. The Humans responsible were in a Human hell now, so there was nothing more he could do to them. Other Humans had volunteered to help.

  Sure, they all had edges they were pursuing, but he supposed that this might be the biggest thing to happen to the Rio Alliance and all of Humanity since they first encountered the Atomarsk.

  Up until recently, Addison had been a merchant director. He already understood that some people were going to get inordinately rich as a result of trading into and out of Innruld Space.

  The Humans were just putting in the hard work now, to make sure that they got a place at the high table when that day came. If it had involved violence, Humans were exceptionally gifted at it.

  And he would need Human violence to break the Innruld.

  “So we trust the others?” Addison asked Lazarus.

  “No,” the man said, surprising him.

  “No?”

  “It could all have been an elaborate con job,” Lazarus said. “Eduardo Martìnez might have set Strav Ardna up. Oluchi Pryce might be a mole sent to get inside our organization, rather than a man with an eye to the main chance who’s looking to get rich. Xiuying might be a sleeper agent of some sort, as he was a friend of Oluchi’s who just happened to show up with a lot of firepower. Grave Savidge might be the most dangerous being I’ve ever met, and I used to do things like she and Xiuying did, when I was younger.”

  “You don’t speak highly of the people who helped you rescue Eha?” Ereshkiki Nisab asked with three voices.

  “Oh, I do,” Lazarus replied. “But I don’t know any of them that well. They might be what they seem, friends when I needed one. They might be a Trojan horse. I’m not planning on keying them into any systems, so let the crew know that these are civilians, not team mates, at least until we know better.”

  “You have a remarkable lack of faith in your own kind, Lazarus,” Addison noted.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “I am still convinced that there is a spy at headquarters somewhere, feeding Westphalia information. That person nearly killed me. Strav Ardna nearly killed Eha. I think I’ve moved too fast for any useful conspiracy to accumulate around me, and I plan to continue doing that. As you’ve said, it is entirely possible that the Rio Alliance makes common cause with the Innruld to fight Westphalia, so they end up giving the overlords the sorts of technology that you would need to free yourselves.”

  “So things are only going to grow more complicated?” Eha spoke up.

  “At least until we see which way people will jump,” he nodded back. “I have a pretty good feeling about the three Humans I brought, or I would have left any of them behind on Yisan, but that’s not the same as letting any of them have any power over me.”

  “Including Grace?” Eha asked in a tone Addison didn’t understand.

  “Especially Grace,” Lazarus said.

  Something cryptic passed between them. Addison wondered if she might tell him later. After he had finally calmed down.

  “So now?” Addison asked as the silence stretched.

  “Now, I’ve been awake too long,” Lazarus said. “You’ll put everyone to bed and lock the Humans out of any interesting places. Khyaa'sha can fix us all a meal in about ten hours, and then we’ll start the run to Brasilia.”

  “The final confrontation?” Addison asked.

  “Just the next one,” Lazarus countered. “The final one takes place in Innruld Space.”

  Addison shivered in spite of how warm his rage had made him. The look on Lazarus’s face promised a reckoning for the Innruld.

  With or without Rio Alliance help.

  Forty-Two

  Lazarus

  Lazarus watched Addison and Eha slither down the corridor to their cabin in a harmony that was amazing to see. Addison seemed more relaxed, and Eha snuggling with him was the best distraction possible.

  A sound caused him to look the other direction. Aileen was standing there, looking about as innocent as possible. Butter might not melt in her mouth right now.

  “Dare I ask?” he smiled at her.

  She shrugged, laughing only with her eyes.

  “Lacking better direction, I showed the visitors that we had clothing and gear such as they might need to cover themselves for a few weeks while we sailed somewhere. Razors like you use for the men. Grace pointed out feminine products and explained what they did.”

  “Okay,” Lazarus prompted her, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “Since Eha’s not using it, I went ahead and put everyone in the Ambassador’s Suite aft,” she smiled wickedly. “Grace, as it were, with two bodyguards, since Oluchi seems to want to keep a lower profile.”

  “Very good,” Lazarus said, still waiting.

  “Any other orders?” she asked politely.

  “None, except that you might now also be considered my Boatswain,” Lazarus said. “In addition to Quartermaster.”

  “So, what are you going to do with the Humans?” she asked, cocking her head finally and losing that grin.

  He considered drawing her back into his office. But that sounded too formal. Instead, he started to walk forward, trailing the Churquen who had already vanished into a cabin. He and Aileen could talk in his cabin for now. A hand gestured for her to join in.

  In his cabin, he settled in the chair and she climbed up onto the edge of the bed. The Ambassador space aft might be plush and roomy, but Pancho Oliveira had made his own quarters the same as all the officers got, which was the same volume as the enlisted, but he wasn’t sharing space. It also let him keep things as compact as possible.

  “What were you expecting me to do?” Lazarus asked Aileen as they stared at each other.

  She paused, thrown off stride.

  “Dunno,” she finally admitted. “Maybe a happy-ever-after like Addison finally got with Eha?”

  It was his turn to shrug.

  “I’ve known her for less than two days,” Lazarus said. “I don’t think Oluchi represents a vast, underground conspiracy, only because I doubt anybody is that good, to pull something like that off at the drop of a hat. Or, if they are, I’m just glad they appear to be on our side.”

  “And Grace?” Aileen asked, rather bluntly, but she did that.

  “Gorgeous, capable, intelligent, refined, dangerous,” he cataloged her. “Oluchi had the luck and audacity to walk up and chat at that restaurant. But Eduardo Martìnez specifically selected her to be engaged with us. She works for him. I don’t know what he’s up to. Oluchi doesn’t know, I don’t think. I’m keyed up too much and maybe a little too paranoid, but I have my reasons.”

  “And a beautiful woman ready to throw herself at you gets your ruff up?” Aileen asked. “Who broke your heart?”

  “That’s a long story, and you’ll probably have to get me drunk first, before I ever tell you the good parts.”

  “Oh, really?” she suddenly leaned forward. “You’ve never mentioned that bit, Lazarus.”

  He shrugged.

  “I’ve been more or less married to the Navy for twenty
years,” he admitted. “Shore leave might involve a little tumble, but I’ve been inside secret bases and secured facilities for the last ten, so I wasn’t in a position to talk to many women, except others in the same place.”

  “And it was one of those?” Aileen pressed.

  “There have been a few,” he replied. “Nothing serious, mind you. None worth marrying.”

  “And Grace Savidge?”

  “Frighteningly perfect, Aileen Enjehn,” Lazarus smiled. “If anything, I’m afraid of getting my head turned, to use the ancient saying.”

  “Why would that be a bad thing, Lazarus of Bethany?” she smiled back.

  He felt the seriousness drop down on him like a net.

  “Ajax was a secret project to build a weapon capable of defeating Westphalia,” he said, sobering. “Someone put me in a trap and nearly killed me. I intended to fly into a star with Ajax, so they never found out the truth. Instead, I blundered into Innruld Space and found you and the gang. I have a responsibility to you and Addison, since I didn’t take Ajax and go break the Innruld directly. We’ll need the Rio Alliance, but I don’t know who to trust, outside of Shiva Zephyr Glaive. That includes three new Humans, one of whom might have been sent by Central Casting to seduce me. Might all be a coincidence, but I’m running on really long odds, and about to sail right back to Brasilia.”

  “Out of the frying pan, and into the fire?” she asked, also sober now.

  He nodded.

  “What can I do?” she asked.

  “Keep being you,” Lazarus decided. “Competent, friendly, sharp. Maybe the newcomers work out. Maybe it’s all a trap. I just don’t know.”

  “You’ve got us,” she nodded.

  “You and Addison are the reason I’m still alive, Aileen,” Lazarus reminded her. “If I thought I could break the Innruld myself, I’d recruit us a Human crew out here, but I’m afraid they’d all be pirates of some sort, or moles sent to steal the ship.”