Stardust And Shadows

by Janelle Taylor

  The desirous way the emerald-eyed man watched her made Jana tense with panic. Drops rolled down his bronzed torso and arms, muscular arms that evinced great physical strength, arms that could entice a woman to want to slip into his protective embrace. He fingercombed his hair with hands that could be gentle or strong, allowing her a good view of his manly chest and flat abdomen. Every inch of him was appealing and evoked the temptation to touch and explore him. She felt herself being aroused against her will and battled her senses to clear and restrain their unbidden urges. She looked at her toes as she wiggled them in the aquamarine liquid.

  “I do believe you’re having good thoughts about me, Jana of Earth. Your cheeks are flushing and your gaze is glowing. Your respiration has altered.”

  “You’re teasing me and taunting me, Ryker. Please don’t.”

  “How else can I get my wife to notice me as a man, her husband?”

  “Have no doubts I know you are both.”

  “That worries and alarms you? It shouldn’t. We are married.”

  Jana’s apprehensions and suspense mounted. “Please don’t pressure me. I’m not ready for . .. that kind of relationship.”

  “With me or with any man?”

  He captured her feet and massaged them. His touch sent tingles over her body. She felt as if she wanted to explode, to rant, to rave, to cry, to beg for the truth. She knew she wouldn’t get it from him. She finally locked her troubled gaze with his merry one. “With any man. Before I agreed to become your wife, you promised it wouldn’t be an intimate arrangement until long from now when you needed an heir.”

  “That was before I realized you would be irresistible and a constant temptation. But calm your fears. Anything worth having is worth waiting for.”

  “Thank you. I’ll change now.” She had to put distance between them if only for a short time. She hurried to the dressing room and pulled on a swimsuit with French-cut legs but enough material to cover her shaky body. I’m going to kill you, Varian Saar, if you don’t stop tempting me as Ryker!

  She swam for ten minutes while her owner observed from where he lounged; the waves she created lapped at his body. He was so like Varian in his romantic pursuit of her. He smiled the same way. His eyes blazed the same way. His expression was familiar. His aura was the same. His physique was the same. How could this man not be Varian? How had she not noticed how much the half brothers were alike in appearance? Because she hadn’t wanted to see it during her terrifying days with Ryker! Too, their physical differences were sufficient and their character variations more than ample to disguise their strong resemblance enough to be missed by an unsuspecting and distracted stranger. Why should she have thought the Maffeian starship commander and an Androasian prince were related, were half brothers? If only she had known the truth long ago, perhaps she could have helped Varian deal with his tormenting past, a past that had forced a wedge between them.

  Jana finally swam toward the steps, where she saw him on the pool edge, his elbows propped on his knees to continue his visual attack on her. She had no choice except to join him.

  Jana accepted the outstretched hand that helped her up the steps, but she became panicky when it drew her down beside him, too close. “I was going to dry off and use the walkometer while my muscles were warmed up.”

  “Afraid to be this near me?” he questioned. “I won’t devour you, Jana. Relax.”

  With her head lowered, her gaze touched on his right side just above his narrow waist. It wasn’t there! In their rush, they had forgotten to add a scar to this phony Ryker’s body! The day before she married Ryker, he had visited her straight from the pool, clad only in swim trunks and with a towel draped around his neck. There had been a scar from an animal bite at the end of his rib cage. He had explained how he had gotten it from a specimen. She doubted Ryker had removed it since then, though he surely possessed the technology and equipment to do so. Obviously it was an oversight of Varian and Tristan. They assumed she hadn’t seen Ryker naked or even half clad and hadn’t thought it necessary to include that mark. Her accusing gaze lifted to meet his probing one. She studied him for a minute. Take away the green eyes and blond hair and return his cleft chin and smile creases, and she had the face of Varian Saar. It took all of her self-control not to curse and beat him. No, it was better not to let him know she guessed the truth. Obtaining Trilabs and Maffei’s security during his Earth mission must be his motives, as she could think of nothing else so vital. If she blurted out her discovery, he would have a false explanation. When and how would he finally confess his terrible deceit? And could she forgive him?

  “Your muscles are getting cold, Jana, and so is your mood.”

  She stood, grabbed a towel, and said while drying off, “Sorry. I was thinking about my world’s fate and my friends trapped there. We often had swim parties at my pool or theirs.” She wasn’t a good liar, but, at that moment, she didn’t care if he knew she wasn’t being honest. She walked behind the decorative screen and stepped onto the treadmill. She pressed the start button to try to rid herself of the tension and anger. She resisted the temptation to expose her discovery. How could the betrayer dare to make love to her as Ryker? How could he want her to respond to him as Ryker? Just like Alex, Varian was thinking and feeling with his loins, not with his heart or brain!

  Twenty minutes later, the alien shouted, “That’s enough exertion for today, Jana. Better do cool down or lactic acid build-up will cause cramps. We’ll go to the house to shower and change. I want to run those tests on you before lunch and your rest period.”

  She fumed at his clever command. She knew if muscles were used quickly for a lengthy time and given an abrupt stop instead of being allowed to slow down gradually, it would cause cramps.

  She followed “Ryker” to the house in silence, swinging her garment in her hand. Each went to their own room to shower and change. As she completed her grooming, she couldn’t understand why Varian and Tris hadn’t drugged her into compliance and amnesia. That would have been safer, since they obviously didn’t trust her to carry out her part of the ruse.

  On the way to the complex, Jana eyed the shuttle setting and landing grids nearby. Somehow Varian had gotten it repaired and the debris removed before letting her awaken. She tried to steer the blond alien toward a willing revelation. “How did you know about the real motive for Varian’s mission to Earth?” she asked. “I thought it was a big secret. I wouldn’t know about it if Kadim Tirol hadn’t told me while I was visiting him. Why he did, I don’t know. It seems odd to give me such information right before sending me here to you with facts you could pass to Kadim Maal.”

  He kept walking with his back to her. “It was and is a big secret, Jana. I can’t imagine what Kadim Tirol hoped to accomplish by telling you. Perhaps it was a test of my loyalty to Maffei.”

  She caught up to him and observed his expression. “What do you mean?”

  “Perhaps they want to see if I’ll pass the information on to Grandfather or the Tabrizes. With so many of their starships away saving Earth, it would be the perfect time for enemies to attack Maffei.”

  “But that would be stupid and dangerous. Besides, I didn’t tell you.”

  “No, but I have my ways of learning things. Besides information Cass withdraws from her father and passes along to me, I have spies everywhere. I have to keep up with matters that concern me. I became suspicious of something going on when Star Fleet kept ordering so many decontamination chemicals from me, far too many for average use. There are other suppliers for most of them, but they give me a nice percentage of their orders to keep on my good side. I wondered who was receiving so much treatment to prevent spreading germs. I learned it was for the charl raids in your star system. You know his ship wasn’t the only one to raid Earth? By now, they should have around three thousand of your people on Anais.”

  Andrea … Was she there? Scared out of her wits? Had—

  “You know about Anais, don’t you?”

  “That’s the pl
anetoid where they’ve established the Earth colony to prevent our total extinction. Where is it?” she asked. “How will my people live and be protected?”

  “It orbits Zamarra, the outermost planet of the Maffei system. It’s an environmental protection location that no one is allowed to visit without permission. Don’t worry, they’ll be safe there.”

  “What about my planet? Will it be destroyed by that meteoroid?”

  “The latest reports have revealed that it’s a rogue worldlet on a collision course with Earth. It’s believed the rogue is on an.elliptical orbit around your sun, not coming from beyond your star system as first believed. Sometimes bodies take thousands or millions of years to make one orbit. If one of that size strikes your world, the results will be catastrophic. Once it enters the gravitational pull of Earth, its speed will increase. The impact will be devastating, particularly if it hits nuclear facilities or chemical plants. It could release deadly toxins into your atmosphere that air currents could sweep around your globe. Radiation, germs, and chaos. Broken dams to flood areas. Contamination of food and water supplies. The impact itself will destroy everything for thousands of miles. If it falls into the ocean, mammoth tidal waves will result. The force of the explosion will be greater than many nuclear bombs or billions of tons of your TNT. In some cases, it might mimic a nuclear blast and provoke a war among survivors. The explosion could crack Earth’s core or shove her out of orbit, making her a similar threat to other planets. Dust clouds can block the sun, killing off plant, animal, and human life. It’s a bleak picture, Jana, but an honest one. Maffei hopes, with Project Starguard, to either smash it or safely deflect it.”

  Horror filled her. “Can it be done?”

  “Theoretically it’s possible. But …”

  She tugged on his arm and implored, “But what?”

  “It’s never been attempted on a rogue worldlet of this size. There are too many variables to judge accurately. From their observation, and by your scientists, it’s believed another such object struck your planet millions of years ago and sent up dust clouds that blocked out the sun and killed off most life there. Your dinosaurs vanished because of it. Your people took the remains of that tragedy to make the very fuel which now threatens to wreak havoc on your planet. It could happen again.”

  “Why can’t Earth shatter or divert it with a missile?”

  “Your people lack the knowledge and technology to ready and launch one in time and with enough explosive payload to work. How could they locate its stress point in order to aim correctly? Besides, heading straight at them, it will appear a fixed star. They lack the detection capability to realize the threat before it’s too late. In your year of 1989, your NASA released news of an asteroid large and swift enough at fortysix thousand miles per hour to wipe out numerous cities if it had plummeted to Earth. They didn’t even know of its presence until it was speeding away from your planet. A nuclear explosion of enough firepower would be dangerous to explode near Earth; shock waves could be just as deadly to your planet. The sheer size of the rogue makes it impossible for your people to handle. Even if Star Fleet, with all its power and technology, diverted it, the rogue could bypass Earth, strike a smaller planet, and create an even worse catastrophe. If a lesser one closer to your sun was destroyed, there is no judging the effect on your solar system. Nor to ours from shock waves. A disturbance of that magnitude anywhere in the Universe could be felt by all.”

  Her heart sank in dismay. “So it’s hopeless?”

  “Not yet. I think their plan can work. I’ll do my part.”

  When he began heading toward the complex once more, she followed as she questioned, “Your part?”

  “I’m supplying the lasers and chemicals needed for their mission, when they get around to ordering them and informing me.

  She stopped in her tracks. “You?”

  He halted, too. “Yes, me, Jana. Some of them only I possess.”

  Was that, she wondered, why “Ryker” must be kept alive? “You will cooperate, won’t you?”

  He sent her a smile of encouragement and promise. “Of course, my frantic wife. I already have everything ready for pickup.”

  “When will they come for it?”

  “In three of your Earth weeks.”

  “We will be back from our trip by then?”

  “Yes, so relax. The rogue is being watched carefully this minute. Star Fleet is ready to move against it if anything changes. As soon as Varian handles his private life, he’ll be on his way.”

  You mean handles Maal and the chemicals, she concluded, but said, “After his marriage to Canissia?”

  “Yes.”

  Canissia and her father—Supreme Councilman Segall Garthon, one of the three most powerful men in the Maffei Alliance—guilty of passing Alliance secrets to Ryker Triloni … Varian would deal with that discovery when he completed his current assignment. If she had guessed his motives right, much was at stake. She mustn’t do anything to disrupt his crucial task. “How can marrying that bitch from hell be more important than saving a whole planet of people, and possibly the Milky Way Galaxy? You did say shock waves could threaten here, so why wait to attack it? Why are they wasting valuable time?”

  “From what I’ve gathered, they have the mission timed perfectly. They can’t begin their assault until it reaches a certain point for safe destruction, between your fifth and sixth planets: Jupiter and Saturn.”

  “May I ask a favor of you?” She glued her gaze to his. “Can you use your contacts to get your hands on a list of the people on the Anais Colony?”

  “I think so. Why do you want to know?”

  “Varian promised to rescue my best friend, Andrea McKay. Can you find out if she’s there? And if so, is there any way to…”

  “To what, Jana? Bring her here to live with us?”

  “Is that asking too much? We’ve been best friends since age twelve. I was going to her home when I was captured. She must be worried sick about what happened to me and, if she’s there, she must be terrified. Perhaps it’s selfish to think of only one person’s survival when my entire world is in jeopardy, but I love her. She’s like my sister. It would be wonderful to have her close to me. At least, can you arrange for me to visit with her?”

  “I can only promise to try, Jana. Anais is off limits to everyone. It was established to safeguard endangered species: plants, animals, and such. No one is supposed to know the Earthlings are there. If your world is saved, they might be returned home. If not, over a period of time and after training, they’ll be settled in Maffei. I’m not sure how I can do what you ask without giving away my knowledge and sources, and I can’t risk that. But if there’s a safe way I can learn anything about her, I will. Perhaps I can get your message to her and her reply back to you. But getting her off Anais won’t be easy, if even possible. Then again, I love challenges.”

  On impulse, she hugged him tightly and thanked him through misty eyes and emotion-strained voice.

  He returned the embrace and murmured in a husky tone, “If this is the kind of appreciation I’ll receive, I’ll do more than my best.”

  “I know I can depend on you to keep your word.”

  “I promise to try hard.”

  Just as you promised the same thing once before, Varian. Perhaps she’s already there and you just refuse to expose yourself by telling me.

  Inside the research laboratory, Jana watched him feed the leeches once more. “Why don’t you let one of your trained androids do that?”

  “Would you want others doing your experiments and research? I think not, Dr. Jana Triloni.”

  “You’re right.” When he squirted six cc’s of a clear liquid into the dish of blood, she remarked, “Six—my lucky number. Do you have one?”

  “I believe a man makes his own good or bad luck.”

  No slip-up in admitting eight is your lucky number: which is why you paid 8,888,888 katoogas for me through Draco’s bid. Try something else, J. G., to trip him up. “What’s that dru
g you’re using?”

  “Malophine.”

  “But that’s what Tris gave me on the ship to treat my injury.”

  “Couldn’t be. Malophine is an anticoagulate for the blood they’re drinking. Dr. Zarcoff probably used Clinitroid on you. It would be his best choice in that instance. Clinitroid extirpates excess fluid and blood from an injury site to reduce swelling and bruising.”

  “You’re right; now I remember. I did several projects with him during my stay on the ship and heard the names of so many unfamiliar chemicals that I forgot its name. I won’t make that mistake again. Tris even let me insert a veinal cannula on a sick monkey he was treating.”

  “Since some of your inoculations didn’t take, that was dangerous. You’re lucky you stayed well.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

  “But you do. Would you put this crucible in the sink over there?”

  Jana took the container and obeyed. “Do you use a gammacounter?”

  “I don’t have much need for radioactive tracers and a counting unit.”

  “What’s the half-life of the explosion you mentioned if Darkar is attacked?” she inquired, referring to the time required for half of the atoms in a certain amount of radioactive substance to disintegrate.

  “Two thousand years by Earth’s reckoning time. But we’re safe no matter what happens. We would simply move to Androas.”

  His intelligence amazed her. Could Varian have learned such things in a short time span? “Do you have to milk the keelar again?” The snake’s alien name, as well as other words, had no translation in English or Androasian and came out in Maffeian.

  “Not today. It takes him three days to rebuild his supply. Keelars are one of the few species I hate to handle. One shot out of my hand not long ago and latched onto my side until my android Gar pried it loose. Emptied his whole load of venom into me and scarred me for a while.”

  She observed as he rubbed an area above his waist on his side. Had he noticed her reaction at the pool? “When did you get rid of it? I recall seeing it the day before we married.”