Stardust And Shadows

by Janelle Taylor

  Agular urged the man he thought was Ryker, “You must convince Effecta Maal to sign the treaty. We have not known war in our galaxy for a long time. Our people want to keep it that way, Prince Ryker. Many think your grandfather is still too consumed by hatred for the last remaining Saar and the Alliance to think clearly, to rule at his best, and to keep them safe from harm. He must let the past die; to continue his personal rivalry and hatred is dangerous to the Empire. If we are forced into a war with the Alliance, the bloodshed and destruction will be catastrophic. If we ally ourselves with the Pyropean Federation, we could not trust them. They would use us to defeat Maffei, then attack us. You are the only one he will listen to. He closes his ears to his advisers and even to his friends. Persuade him to stop this madness before it is too late.”

  Varian was tempted to use this political rival to provoke a rebellion in Androas to keep it busy while he and their starships were away. He knew it was wrong to endanger innocent lives for a personal motive and he realized the man before him was the perfect replacement for Maal. The question was how he could get Agular into power and Maal out without inspiring a rebellion here. With caution, he replied as Ryker would or should, “I am not ready to commit to assisting you at this time, Agular. Yet, I believe what you say and it sounds wise to me. I don’t want to begin an impulsive war with the Alliance. I will ask Grandfather to reconsider his plans and to sign the treaty. If nothing more, I might convince him to delay them.”

  Agular’s gray eyes filled with amazement. “You’ve changed since your marriage, Prince Ryker. You were always in favor of war when the right time came. I am glad you’ve changed your mind.”

  “My wife is responsible. She has me thinking of home, family, and peace these days. We have a good life on Darkar, so I’m more inclined to keep it that way than to disrupt it. Besides, your arguments are valid: war costs many lives and much damage. I don’t want that for my people.”

  “Your new wisdom and compassion please me, Prince Ryker. Your grandfather is getting old and must step aside soon. A strong and prosperous empire needs a strong and clearheaded ruler.”

  “Like you, Dakin Agular.”

  The older man looked alarmed. “I did not mean—”

  Varian interrupted. “It was not a question; it was a statement. You would be a perfect replacement. You know more of our needs and politics than I do. I have been away for à long time. Grandfather does not know I prefer being who and what I am over becoming a galactic ruler. When the time comes to confess that truth to him, I will back you as the next effecta. That is, if you are interested and willing.” From surveillance reports, Varian decided, this Androasian was the best man to take over the Empire.

  Agular was astonished and relieved. “I am honored by your words, Prince Ryker. Perhaps we can meet tomorrow and discuss this further?”

  Plans were made for a rendezvous the next afternoon.

  Jana danced with many men and chatted with many women. Finally she excused herself once more to freshen up and catch her breath. She was having a good time, but it was late and the golden gown was getting heavier by the minute. The music was nice, but she would love to hear some of her favorite songs and singers from Earth: Barbra Streisand, Lionel Richey, Neil Diamond, and Kenny Rogers. She would love to dance just once to an old Bee Gees tune. She would love to strip off her clothes and shoes, climb onto her bed with a Classic Coke and popcorn, and watch a videotaped movie from Earth. It would be nice if some had been stolen along with her to provide a comforting link to her lost world. She recalled a favorite movie from her personal collection: Starman with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. It was the story of an Earthling and alien visitor who met and fell in love and shared dangerous adventures. Their love had been bittersweet and ill-fated from the beginning and had ended with the heroine losing the hero forever, as had her own torrid love affair with an extra-terrestrial. She loved science-fiction novels and movies, but had never imagined she would step into the pages or onto the live set of one. She had never imagined meeting a single alien, much less thousands of them.

  That reminded Jana she should return to her duties in the ballroom. When she did, the blond alien swept her into his arms and around the dance floor. They moved as one, flowing like a glider in a serene sky. They talked, laughed, and smiled. He pulled her closer and she nestled against his stalwart body. She rested her head against his chest. His hands released her arms so they could band her body. She moved hers to the areas between his shoulders and neck. As one song and dance drifted into another, no one dared to interrupt the dreamy couple until three dances later when Maal approached them and said it was time to end the evening’s festivities. Usually no guest departed before an elite host left the room, which was the signal that gave permission for them to do so. Jana, Ryker, and Maal walked to the double doors. They turned for a moment to smile and wave their farewells, then entered the hallway.

  Varian grinned and teased, “See, you returned in one piece.”

  Jana sent him a radiant smile. “It was wonderful, but I’m exhausted. This gown weighs a ton by now.”

  “Then, by all means, let’s get you to our room and out of it.”

  Jana blushed. “Ryker!” she scolded, but couldn’t halt her grin. It was pleasing and flattering that he seemed so proud of her.

  Maal chuckled and said, “Do not worry, Jana. I am only pleased that he has controlled his desire for you long enough to do his duty tonight. I will see you at lunch. I am sure you will wish to sleep late tomorrow. Good night, cherished flame of my soul. Good night, daughter.”

  In their suite, Ryker helped Jana out of the gown and jewels. He laid them over a chair for a servant to tend tomorrow. As he began to undress for bed, Jana said, “I’m going to take a quick shower and brush my hair. I’ll sleep better that way.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” he murmured and continued his task.

  Jana went into the bathroom, and the door swished shut behind her. She took a quick and thorough shower, dried off, and donned a nightgown. She removed the pins from her hair and brushed it free of curls. She washed the cosmetics from her face and rubbed lotion into her bare skin. As a last act, she sprayed on a little more of the perfume. She suspected Ryker would make love to her. When she entered the bedroom, only one lamp was on, and Ryker was asleep. Jana was surprised but not disappointed. She was fatigued, ready for slumber. She eased into the bed, switched off the light, and settled down to seek it. Her final thought before slumber was: It’s done; it’s legal; I’m Jana Triloni forever.

  On his side and facing away from her, Varian grimaced in self-denial. She was tired and it was late, too late to begin a bout of lovemaking. Besides, she had prepared herself to join bodies and share passions with Ryker, not with him, and that nipped at his male ego and tormented him. Yet, it had been a good day. They had played their roles with perfection tonight and he was tranquilized by success. He had known of Agular’s existence and position but hadn’t expected it to work in his and Maffei’s favor, not this soon. Tomorrow, “Ryker” would strengthen his bond with that valuable ally. From the way things looked, his ruse was working and his mission here was headed for a quick victory. When it and Project Starguard were finished, he could claim the woman at his side. That glorious and joyful moment could not come fast enough to suit him.

  Jana awakened, yawned, and stretched as she glanced at the empty spot beside her. She waited a few minutes before rising to see if Ryker was in the bathroom, as she didn’t want to walk in on him at a private moment. She was surprised he had fallen asleep last night after being so romantic all evening. Perhaps while awaiting her return he had been lulled into slumber by the fatiguing activities of the evening and an excess of wine.

  After she bathed and dressed, she went in search of him. A servant told her the two men had gone out earlier and would return for lunch. She ate alone, then began a tour of the palace, after querying about any spots to avoid. The palace was enormous and lovely and she took a leisurely stroll throug
h it. When she reached one particular room, she stared inside before entering, then, with reluctance, she approached the glass tomb where Princess Shara Triloni lay resting for all eternity. She leaned forward for a good view of the woman who had almost provoked an intergalactic war over an ill-fated love affair with Commander Galen Saar of the Maffei Alliance Star Fleet. Jana’s curious gaze slowly studied the alien female who looked forever young and beautiful.

  The woman’s features were exquisite and flawless. Her skin was shaded like warm honey, as was her long hair. Her perfect mouth was painted with mauve lipstick, her high cheekbones ever so lightly brushed with soft pink. Her lashes were long and thick and lay like tiny black feathers against her flesh. The shadowing above her eyes was in emerald green and had to match those closed orbs. Her hands were crossed at the wrists—small and dainty ones—over her lifeless heart. Nails were polished in mauve like her lips. She was clad in a fitted green gown that evinced a stunning figure that had probably driven many men wild with lust, but only one that Jana knew of had possessed her. Shara looked so tranquil, so ladylike, so regal. She was the embodiment of innocence and purity.

  Jana realized they did have the same coloring and body size, but they didn’t favor each other as she’d been told several times. She was nothing like this alien, sly enchantress and would never become remotely like her. At that insulting thought, she reminded herself that her bad opinion of Shara Triloni stemmed from a delusion and from the alien’s crimes years ago. Shara had not tried to murder her and had not been her son’s mistress. The evil and cruel woman she had met during her hallucination did not exist.

  Jana wondered what Shara had been like and how Galen’s loss and perhaps treachery had affected her, besides provoking the princess to a double murder and suicide. While talking with Maal last night, his eyes had become dewy and he had told her she was speaking and thinking like his daughter. That had to have been before this ravishing creature went insane. Crimes of passion had been exposed in American papers and television with frequency, so it wasn’t only an alien flaw. Yet, Jana could not imagine slaying in cold blood someone you had loved and had bonded with in bed. Despite her many charges against Varian, she could never murder him.

  Shara looked peaceful and radiant to Jana, as if only asleep. She wondered if Varian’s father had fallen in love with the princess in his charge, or simply sought an illicit and brief affair, or had been drug enslaved by her as was his defense. Had Galen used and betrayed Shara’s love long ago as his son had done to her recently? A Saar had taken possession of the last and the current Androasian princesses …

  Jana turned to leave the haunting place. Her gaze found a portrait on the wall. Stunned by what she saw, she approached it and gaped in disbelief. Anger and suspicion soon joined her initial emotion. In the portrait, Shara was wearing the same golden gown and jewels she herself had worn last night, or replicas of them! No wonder everyone had stared when she appeared, like a ghost from their past.

  Jana vowed between clenched teeth that she would not become a replacement for Shara to Ryker, to Maal, or to the Androasians. She was upset that her husband would allow her to dress and be adorned as his mother had been long ago. She would demand an explanation later.

  Jana stalked down the hallway and was halted by the sounds of birds. She entered a large room filled with cages, some fashioned in glass and some in wire. She looked at the exotic birds, the unusual fish, and other familiar creatures, then stopped at the scarfelli’s dwelling. She bent over and stared at the hairy spiders as large as cats. She remembered the terror tactics well from the Wanderlust.

  “You shouldn’t be staring at them, Jana. You told me they frighten you. I remember how you said Varian used them on his ship.”

  Jana glanced at her husband as he came forward with a smile. “Do they ever capture and devour people?”

  “No, scarfelli are vegetarians. See,” he said, and pointed to their feeding area at one end of the cage where fruits and vegetables were piled.

  “It gives me the creeps to think of one of them crawling over me. To be attacked by a group of them, encased in a cocoon, and hauled into their den must have been sheer terror for Sylva. That was so cruel of Varian.”

  He winced inside. “You said the defiant Uranian gave him no choice, and he didn’t really have her killed.”

  “We always have choices in what we do, Ryker,” Jana refuted. “He could have confined her to the brig as he did in secret without terrifying her and the rest of us with his sadistic demonstration.”

  “It worked, didn’t it? No one else disobeyed or rebelled. Afterward, every captive did her best to become her best. Isn’t that what you said?”

  She had told him the details of that scary incident. “Yes, but…”

  He didn’t like her remembering such rash times. “But what?”

  “That doesn’t excuse his cruelty. He kidnapped us and was forcing us to train to become breeders to aliens in another world. How did he expect us to feel? I would bet my life neither he nor you would accept captivity without a fight or an attempt to escape.”

  “That’s true. But there comes a time when wisdom must overshadow pride and make us do whatever is necessary to survive.”

  She almost shrieked at him for seeming to defend his half brother’s wicked actions. “Survival at any price, is that what you’re saying?”

  “Survival to battle an enemy another day, Jana, that’s different.”

  “Some enemies can’t ever be battled again.”

  “There are ways to defeat or punish a foe besides killing him—”

  “Ah, there you two are,” Maal interrupted as he entered the room. “Ryker, go and tell the cook to serve lunch. I will escort Jana to the dining room myself.”

  The blond alien nodded and left them alone. “I see you found my collection,” Maal said. “Do you like it? The urikeah are fierce looking but very gentle.” He lifted a lid and stroked several of the hairy spiders.

  Jana was intrigued. “What did you call them?”

  “Urikeah.”

  “There were some on the Wanderlust called scarfelli.”

  “That is what the Maffeians call them. Come, lunch is ready.”

  Jana took his arm and let him guide her to the dining room. Again, she wondered why Ryker had spoken to her in Maffeian.

  In their suite later, Jana summoned the courage to ask about the gown and jewels she had worn last night and revealed her motive for the question.

  Even without having read Shara’s diary, Varian knew the correct answer. “Of course they were like Mother’s; that is the traditional wedding garment of the Trilonis and those are the royal jewels. If you had made your way to the ancestral gallery in the other wing, you would have seen that all Triloni brides were attired in replicas of the ‘Golden Dream.’ The portrait hanging near her tomb was taken before she left to marry Supreme Ruler Jurad Tabriz of Pyropea. Mother never wore it again because she never made it to her wedding there. It was not her gown you wore last night; it was yours. I’m sorry I didn’t think to explain it. The portrait of you made last night will be hung with the rest in the gallery. I’ll show them to you tomorrow.” He grasped her hands and vowed, “I did not choose you to take Shara Triloni’s place in our lives; you are nothing like her, Jana of Earth.”

  “I’m the one who should apologize, Ryker. It’s just that so many people gossiped about me replacing her that when I saw the portrait …”

  He pulled her into his embrace. “I understand. Don’t let it trouble you further. Besides, you need a clear head for a challenging task. I told Grandfather how good you are at laius and he wants to play with you this afternoon while I visit friends. Are you game, Jana?”

  “Yes, that sounds like a pleasant diversion.”

  As Jana took her place at the table, Maal smiled and said, “I am happy you accepted my invitation to play breeli while Ryker is gone.”

  “Breeli? I thought we were playing laius.”

  “We are.”


  Jana concluded she must tell her husband to start speaking to her in Androasian instead of Maffeian so she would know what everyone was talking about when they used words that did not translate into English.

  At dinner, Jana looked at Maal and grinned. “Your grandfather told me all about you while we played breeli,” she teased Ryker.

  “Everything?” he hinted with a mirthful tone. He was in a good mood because his meeting with Dakin Agular had gone well. And they only had one more day to spend with Maal. He was more than ready to leave and end this constant and draining state of alert.

  “Almost everything. He said his grandmother knew ancient secrets of plants and animals, that she passed them to his mother, who passed them to his daughter, who passed them to her son. He said he gave you the best teachers and books in all known worlds. He said you were smart and studied all the time. That must be why you’re so intelligent, my husband.”

  “When my grandson moved to Maffei, I was pained by his loss.”

  “You haven’t lost me, Grandfather. I visit you often.”

  “Now that you are married, you must visit more often and stay longer. I am getting old and weak, cherished flame of my soul. Soon you will take my place and rule Androas for us, with my new daughter at your side. With all you know and possess, we will be all-powerful, invincible.”

  “Do not speak of such things, Grandfather; you have many years ahead to serve our Empire. And I have much work to do elsewhere.”

  Jana perceived an unspoken message passing between the two men. She suspected something was afoot. Would they tell her about it? When?

  The next day, the disguised Varian related startling news to Kadim Maal Triloni. He knew from a tape of the older man’s last visit to Ryker on Darkar and from notes in Shara’s journal that Maal had been informed of the first mission to Earth and of an impending second one. He knew from those sources that an attempted conquest of Maffei was to coincide with the absence of many powerful starships during that future voyage. He told Maal about the misidentification and miscalculation in timing of the rogue worldlet on an elliptical orbit around Jana’s sun which placed the rogue on a crash course with Earth in less than six weeks. “It isn’t coming from deep space as they believed, Grandfather, and its speed has changed. They were too rushed and didn’t study the threat closely enough. The team of scientists and remote probes they sent out after Varian’s return found their errors. They plan to strike at it between the fifth and sixth planets of that solar system. We have known about this situation before the time I met Jana, not when they communicated their order to me this morning. Varian was to lead the attack on it, but I am taking charge of Project Starguard. A success will prove my friendship to Maffei and will eat at my brother’s gut.”