“That was two days ago!” she said, carrying a mug back over to him. “No wonder you feel so ill. Here, drink this.”
She wrapped his unresisting hand around the container and forced him to lift it to his mouth.
“What is it?” he asked suspiciously, moving his head just enough to avoid it.
“Protein drink,” she replied, holding the mug to his lips again.
This time he drank, taking the mug from her with an unsteady hand.
She watched him finish. “You look a bit more alert now,” she said, noticing that some of the dullness had left his eyes.
“Sorry,” he apologized, ears flicking with embarrassment as he tried to concentrate on what he was saying. “I’m not exactly being hospitable, am I?” He looked away, turning the cup over in his hands. “I haven’t even thanked you for your help, and for looking after Carrie.”
Rhian made a dismissive gesture. “I’m only glad we were here. Your fears weren’t groundless, you know. You did the right thing.”
Kusac looked up at her, his eyes so bleak she almost shrank from them as involuntarily she picked up his thoughts and realized he wasn’t thinking about the medics on the Khalossa, but about the events on Keiss.
“Did I? I wonder.”
“You did,” she said, retreating behind a mental barrier, unwilling to be exposed to his private innermost fears. “You couldn’t let the girl die. You did what you had to. No one could fault you.”
Kusac made a small noise of denial.
Rhian leaned forward and took the mug out of his hands, putting it down firmly on the floor.
“I know what you’re going through,” she said gently, taking him by the hands and letting him feel her concern and sympathy. “Remember, Carrie isn’t a Sholan, she hasn’t even had a guild education. She has grown up in ignorance of her Talent and knows nothing of our ways and customs— how could it be otherwise?” She stopped, making sure he was taking in what she said.
“We’re telling her that not only has she to turn her back on her Clan, leave her home planet, and live alone of her kind among an alien race, but that this strange telepathic bond that she now has means she must also be paired with you for life. This is no easy thing, even for one of our own people. Think how much more daunting it is for her, despite her love for you.”
Kusac stirred, withdrawing his hands from hers to avoid the mental contact.
“She loves you,” said Rhian. “Don’t doubt that.”
Kusac broke the short silence. “It isn’t easy for me to fly in the face of convention either. I’ve had to make similar decisions.”
“It’s never easy to be the first, Kusac,” she said with compassion, getting up to pull another chair over beside him. “Give her space and time to get used to us, as you yourself suggested. I know you need to see her, to touch and love her. It’s the same with Askad and me.” She smiled briefly. “Time doesn’t dim the Leska bond, you know. I do know how hard it is for you to be physically apart. At least you two have the time to wait, unlike Sholan Leska pairs.”
Kusac said nothing for a while.
“What brought you here?” he asked at length.
Rhian looked at her wrist, making an exclamation of annoyance.
“I came to fetch you for your guild hearing! If we hurry, we’ll just make it in time.” She bent down to pick up his jacket and belt. “Here, put these on.”
Tiredly, he got to his feet and dressed.
“What about the courtmartial? When is it?”
“Surely you haven’t forgotten! It’s tomorrow. You and the rest of the crew of the Sirroki will be called to give evidence. Personnel should have sent a reminder to your comm.”
She went over to check, tearing off several printouts and scanning them for the correct one.
“It’s here,” she said, putting it on the desk. “Read it when you get back. It’s at the fifth hour tomorrow. Now let’s leave before you’re late,” she said, herding him toward the door.
*
Rhian left him at the Mentor’s office on the fifteenth level and returned to her quarters.
“How is he?” her mate asked.
Rhian shook her head. “Not too good. He’s exhibiting some of the signs of Contact Deprivation you’d expect because of their separation. We’ll need to keep an eye on him, Askad. At least he has the mental link to the girl. If it weren’t for that, then I would be worried indeed. How is Carrie?”
“Trying to look brighter than she feels, if I pick up her emotions correctly. This isn’t the first time she has been bonded, remember. She was linked to her sister and all she got from their relationship was pain. I’m not surprised she’s suddenly unsure now that she has time to think coherently. Still, that doesn’t explain her wish to remain with us.”
“That’s their affair, Askad, not ours. We will need to watch them both closely, though. She’s is spending too much time alone.”
*
Kusac was ushered through the formal office into the Mentor’s inner retreat, a warm room pleasantly furnished in dark colors with several large, high-backed and slightly concave chairs.
The Mentor, titular head of the Telepath Guild on the Khalossa, rose to greet him, her long purple robes rustling as she advanced, palm held out in greeting.
“You must be Kusac Alda,” she said.
Kusac briefly touched the Mentor’s palm with his, nodding assent.
“I’m afraid I haven’t met you before, but I believe you have kept in touch with your tutor over the six months you’ve been aboard the Khalossa.”
“I have, Mentor,” Kusac answered, glancing toward where his tutor sat in one of the other chairs.
“Good. I like to know my telepaths have the confidence in their tutors to seek them out when they need help or advice. Please, sit down.” She indicated a fourth seat. “This is not a formal hearing, despite what you may have heard to the contrary.”
Kusac moved over to the chair, sinking into its depths, a look of surprise crossing his face.
The Mentor laughed. “Those chairs take everyone by surprise,” she said. “I like my comfort, and as senior telepath on this vessel, I make shameful use of my privileged position to obtain it.” She returned to her seat, picking up a sheaf of papers from a low table beside her.
“The administrative and pastoral side of my work on a vessel this size would surprise you. We all need an escape, a bolt-hole where we can shut the world out and be ourselves. This is mine.”
“I’m honored that you should invite me in here, rather than in your office,” murmured Kusac, beginning to relax.
The Mentor shot him a penetrating look. “The positions are slightly reversed, but we won’t go into that at this moment,” she said urbanely.
“It seems events are catching up with me,” said Kusac dryly.
“We can’t escape our destiny for long. It has a habit of taking us unawares. Which brings me nicely to the matter in hand” she said. “Give him a cup of c’shar, Rhuso,” she said, scanning the notes in her hand. “The other tutor is Terno, from the twenty-fifth level.”
Terno nodded as Kusac’s tutor rose and went over to the brewing unit on a side table.
“Will you have a cup?” he asked. “It’s fresh, not the dried muck the rest of us have to drink.” He grinned briefly.
“Please.”
“As far as I can ascertain from talking to your Captain, the gist of Guynor’s Blood Rite Challenge hinged on the fact that he accused you of forcing a Leska bond on an alien female and mentally manipulating her for sexual purposes. These acts he claimed were against the good of Shola. Is this essentially correct?”
“More or less,” agreed Kusac, ears dipping in acute embarrassment as he accepted the delicate mug from Rhuso.
“Leaving aside the fact that a Leska bond cannot be forced on anyone, did you take advantage of her mentally?”
“No, Mentor,” he replied, keeping a tight rein on his shields even though he knew that here among his own kind,
there would be no check on his honesty. It was his physical condition he was trying to conceal at the moment. The lightheadedness was returning and he was deadly tired.
“Then tell us what happened from the moment of your crash on Keiss.”
Kusac took a gulp of his drink, hoping that it would help him to stay alert.
“I was wounded during the attack. The others pulled me clear of the wreck. Leaving our dead on board, they deto nated the craft to conceal the nature of our appearance from anyone on the planet.” He stopped for a moment.
“We were attacked before we could leave the area, and lost another crew member in the fight. His body, along with those of the Valtegans who had attacked us, was placed in the burning craft and I was left under cover while Captain Garras and the others made their escape.”
“I managed to crawl far enough away from the vehicle to remain hidden when the Valtegans arrived in force and started combing the area for survivors.”
“Why were you left?” interrupted Rhuso.
“I was the only wounded survivor. If they’d tried to take me with them, I would have slowed the whole party down. There was too much chance of us all being caught if I hadn’t remained.”
“Please continue,” said the Mentor.
“The pain heightened my senses, and the following day I was aware of another telepath not too far distant.”
“The Terran.”
“Yes, Carrie. When I first picked up her thoughts, I assumed she was dying.” He stopped, reliving again the agony and fear he had felt in her during those first moments of contact. “I quickly realized that it was her sister, not her, who was dying and that in some way they were linked mentally— not as telepaths, but I didn’t find that out till later.”
“How had they been linked?” asked the Mentor.
Kusac seemed to have left the reality of the Khalossa and was once more back on Keiss, his leg afire with the pain of a deep gash caused by a flying piece of metal debris.
“Her sister felt no pain, it was Carrie who suffered for her. Elise was working undercover for their Resistance in the main Valtegan pleasure city. She had been caught and was being tortured. She was too afraid to let Carrie go at the last and nearly dragged her down into death.”
“This was when you sensed her,” the Mentor said quietly.
“Yes. I reached out and held her, pulling her back from the brink, telling her she was not alone, that I would always be with her,” he whispered, beginning to shiver uncontrollably as her memories flooded through him. The acrid smell of blood filled his nostrils.
“That moment has gone, Kusac. You didn’t lose her. She is here now, safe on this vessel,” said the quiet, almost hypnotic voice.
Kusac blinked, returning slowly to the present, but not quite to reality.
“You saved her life. What then?”
“When she had recovered, I used the link we still had to find her. My wound was infected and I needed medical help. I could only get it from her, so I made my way to the settlement where she lived.”
He took a deep breath. “When she found me, I’ll admit I probed the surface of her mind, picking up my resemblance to the forest cats on Keiss, and her memory of a pet animal she had owned on Earth. It, too, was a cat, and in color resembled me. I exploited these facts, making her and her family assume I was merely one of the wild cats.”
“What did you do while you were recuperating at their estate?”
“The link was still there, much stronger now we were physically close. She had no idea that it was me she was linked to. In fact she seemed strangely incurious. She’s very Talented, and had begun trying to probe the Valtegans’ minds. I had to teach her or she would have given herself away through her ineptness.”
The Mentor nodded, her face unreadable. “Then she left her Clan.”
“Her father was trying to pressurize her into a marriage she didn’t want. We left her home with the intention of trying to find the guerrillas so she could join them. The first night she used what I realized was her full potential for the first time to force me to go hunting for her. She put a very effective compulsion onto me,” he said wryly.
“It seems she is indeed a Talented lady,” said the Mentor.
“As I was in mid-leap for my prey, her mind sent out a call for help so powerful that it felled me on the spot. Without thinking, I demanded the nature of the danger— she was being attacked by a scouting party of four Valtegans— and headed back to our camp. That was the point at which I first suspected that we had become Leska bonded.” He fell silent.
“What did you do to the Valtegans?” asked the Mentor.
Kusac looked up. “I killed them,” he said, surprised at his need to answer the question.
“Didn’t that strike you as strange?”
“Not particularly. I thought of them as animals, the way they were behaving. And they threatened the life of my Leska.”
He fell silent again, waiting for the next question.
“What prompted you to help the girl in the first place?” asked Terno.
Kusac glanced at him, reality beginning to fade a little again. The whole situation had an air of the surreal about it. For him there had been no thought of doing anything but help her.
“Her pain was greater than mine,” he said.
“I think the reason why he did it is obvious,” said the Mentor quietly. “I feel that given the uniqueness of the situation, I would have to say that you acted in a manner that brings you only credit. However, the nature of your bond will need further study. I suggest we send the two of you to the guild on Shola where they have the people and equipment to do it. Are you in agreement?”
There were nods of assent from the two tutors.
“As to Guynor’s charges, your story is virtually identical to Carrie’s. In our opinion, there is no charge to answer. Someone of your background and training,” she gave Kusac a hard look, “would be incapable of making a decision that went against the interests of either your Clan or the Telepath Guild, which is why this has been an informal chat rather than a hearing. On a vessel of this size, justice has to be seen to be done, even if there is no need for action.” The Mentor shuffled through her papers again. “As to your Leska bonding with the girl, I see you have not yet consummated it.” She looked up at Kusac. “There is no reason why you can’t. We are physically compatible according to the medical report. Just remember that since she is of a different species, you have a duty as an only son to provide the Clan with heirs.”
“I am rarely allowed to forget my duties,” Kusac murmured, ears flicking.
“I’m afraid this time you can’t avoid it. As for the incident with Guynor, we are interested in the fact that as a telepath, you not only fought a Challenge against someone physically stronger than you, but actually managed to beat him. This is something no telepath has done for many generations, and why our guild was declared inviolable and exempt from Challenge rites. I also have the details of your brawl in the bar on the concourse,” she said wryly. “Since you seem to have broken free of the normal telepath’s inhibitions regarding violence, you’ll have to be constantly on your guard not to react accordingly.”
“I can’t understand Guynor’s attitude in issuing a Blood Rite Challenge against a telepath in the first place.” said Terno. “To think that your Link with the Terran girl was a crime against Shola was madness in itself.” He shook his head in puzzlement.
“I had no option but to fight,” Kusac muttered, trying to concentrate on what he was saying. The room was so pleasantly warm that he was finding himself drifting off while trying to control the vague sense of disorientation he felt.
“Guynor leaped on me and I found myself fighting for my life. What would you have had me do? Lie there and get chewed to death?”
“Hardly,” said the Mentor. “I would have expected the rest of the crew to go to your aid. Apparently they didn’t because they saw you were able to handle him, and they don’t fully appreciate what we go through
when we even have to witness a Challenge. Except for you, that is, judging by the calm way you said you dispatched four Valtegans.”
“Didn’t you feel any pain when you were fighting?” asked Rhuso.
“Only my own,” said Kusac. “Were you told Carrie is also a healer? That’s the reason why I bear no wounds from the Challenge.”
“It seems we have much to learn about your bond. Carrie obviously has no trauma concerned with fighting from what she told us of the battle at the Valtegan base, and you now seem to have only a residual one. It appears that there’s an element of crossover between your Talents. You seem to be learning some of her attitudes and abilities. This also needs studying, another reason why we are advising that you both be returned to the guild on Shola.”
The Mentor stood up. “I don’t think there is any need to detain you further, Kusac. As we have said, there is no charge for you to answer. You are free to come and go as you will within the ship. The Commander has lifted your confinement. You and Carrie will receive your orders within the next few days. There is a lot of administrative work to be done at present, and your case isn’t pressing.”
She smiled briefly at him. “Should you need any advice, then feel free to call on your tutor. He will make himself available to you immediately. If necessary, he can contact me, but I don’t foresee any problems.” She held out her palm again as Kusac rose to his feet.
Kusac returned the gesture and, thanking the Mentor and tutors, left.
“I think we have to agree that there was something more than coincidence at work here,” said Rhuso, once the door was closed.
“I agree,” said the Mentor. “Suddenly we have a female, a member of a species that doesn’t recognize telepathy, Linked to one of our people. Why? Could it be because both of them were rendered temporarily vulnerable to each other’s minds by the extreme pain they were both suffering?”
“It’s a reasonable hypothesis and fits what we know so far about them,” said Terno.
“Till now we have believed the Leska Link exists as a form of natural selection, bonding strong Talents together with biological imperatives to breed. So why would one form between these two when they aren’t genetically compatible?” asked Rhuso.
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