by Autumn Dawn
A good one, her conscience whispered. As for love? What else could be breaking her heart?
Chapter Fourteen
“All rise.”
Gem rose with the others as the court was called to session, but her mind wasn’t on the trial. She’d spotted Blue. She hadn’t seen him in weeks. Their only communication had been through the stilted electronic messaging she’d instituted. Now she regretted the silence.
He looked good in his police uniform, maybe a little pale. He’d lost weight.
She’d watched him walk slowly down the aisle to claim his seat next to Zsak, and it felt as though a live wire connected her gut to every move he made. She couldn’t breathe. Her stomach hurt with tension. She’d kept her gaze on him as she moved down the aisle and took her own seat, avoiding his eyes at the last possible moment. Now they were at the trial, and her fears would be proved or slain. Today she would learn what his testimony was, what the man really thought. Her stomach burned at the thought.
He turned his head and caught her staring. His expression didn’t change and his gaze never wavered; Gem closed her eyes and looked away.
Brandy had cut a deal with the cops to spill everything she knew about Jean Luc. Their lawyer hit the pain and suffering angle hard, detailing all Brandy had gone through—her beating, her many injuries. They wanted the jury to see her as a victim. Misguided, perhaps, but protective of her family. And, after all, her father had died at a young age…
The prosecution butted in then. “Irrelevant, Your Honor. Her father’s death has no bearing on the trial.”
Their lawyer gracefully conceded, but hoped the positive work was done.
It was a lovely innovation of the local galactic court system that the case against The Spark’s owners and their brewmaster could be dealt with all at once. But this also meant Jean Luc retaliated by spilling the terms of the blackmail. His recounting of details was lurid enough to cause Xera to stiffen in her seat. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw hardened as she stared the scum down. Single-handedly, he was destroying her reputation on Polaris. If she’d ever dreamed of marriage here, those dreams were dead. By evening, people she’d known all her life would shun her. There was no future left for her on Polaris.
Gem placed her hand on Xera’s and squeezed. They’d been prepared for this, but the reality hurt.
Xera turned her palm up and clasped Gem’s hand. Her face held sorrow and resolve, but no fear. “No tears, sis. My future was never here.”
“Objection, Your Honor,” their lawyer said calmly, as details became even more candid. “We will cede that the blackmail is legitimate. The details of my client’s sister’s assignation are of no consequence.”
“Agreed,” said the judge. “Have you anything further for the defendant?” he asked the prosecutor.
For Gem, the worst moment of the day had been her sister’s public humiliation. In a way Xera had sacrificed her reputation, making her sisters look good in comparison, by showing that they were willing to go to such lengths to protect her. Their strategy hadn’t planned for that, but it worked, and the facts would have come out anyway.
Gem finally had reason to be grateful for her sister’s determination to join the Galactic Explorers: Her reputation wouldn’t matter there. On a planet far from home, Xera could find happiness. She would have to.
If Xera’s reckoning had been the worst part of the day, then Blue’s testimony was the best. Along with Zsak, he told the court he believed the sisters were innocent of drug trafficking. No hint of their relationship was mentioned, since Blue had always behaved fairly reputably in public. Even if there were rumors, it would have done Jean Luc’s lawyer little good to mention them. Blue would have simply said he was undercover, using romance to get closer to Gem. Polaris law also allowed prior convictions to be brought up in court on a case-by-case basis, and that helped the Harrisdaughters’ side, as Jean Luc’s history was a witness against him.
The jury heard the case and then went into deliberation. By noon the next day, they delivered the verdict. Jean Luc was found guilty of drug trafficking. Xera and Gem were found innocent. For her involvement, Brandy received six months of house arrest. She was fitted with an electronic bracelet to track her whereabouts, but because of her injuries she would be allowed to travel to the hospital for continued therapy.
Gem wilted with relief when she heard the news. She hugged her sisters in exultation, but something was missing. She wanted to see Blue.
He’d met and held her eyes after his testimony, as if assuring her silently that, yes, he believed in her. It had been terrifying, but it also felt so good. Her doubts seemed so ludicrous when she looked at him. He really had been just doing his job.
They hadn’t had a chance to talk. He’d disappeared after the trial. She presumed he’d gone back to the hospital, but when she’d called his room that night, she’d been told he’d checked out. He could be anywhere.
Azor’s men still surrounded them with protection, but Gem dismissed the assassins, assuming they’d be called off at any moment. It was the media who were their enemy now. They camped outside The Spark, barely held at bay by security. And while they shoved their microphones at neighbors and customers alike, it was Xera they were most in a frenzy to question. Every time she walked out of the inn, they swarmed. She couldn’t go anywhere without being stalked by a photographer or reporter.
She bore it well, but the strain showed.
The family lawyer instructed her to greet the press with, “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” or “Good evening,” and to say “Farewell” when she left the gauntlet; that was it. The lawyer had also hooked them up with an image consultant. Things would eventually settle down, but it was important for the family to earn back the community’s respect. It would take time, but everything would settle…especially after Xera left. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t happen for some weeks. Even though Gem didn’t want to see her sister leave, she was also anxious for Xera to get her life back. No one would bother her at the academy. Gem couldn’t offer her sister a refuge here.
That was when Blue came back. He simply walked in the kitchen door the day after the trial, as comfortable as if he’d never been away. He saw Gem and smiled as if he were her lover returned from an overnight trip. “I’ve heard you ladies could use a vacation.”
Gem froze, struck by sudden shyness. She couldn’t get any words out.
“Blue!” Xera came up and gripped his forearm in pleasure. “Where’ve you been?”
His eyes moved to Gem. “I’ve found a place for you to get away for a while, if you can convince your sister. I had an idea things would get ugly here.”
Gem swallowed. “That’s why you left?”
He didn’t move, but the space shrank between them. “Yes. I can give you your privacy back…if you’ll accept.” He glanced shyly at her from beneath his lashes.
“Yes!” Xera answered firmly for both of them. “I’ll go pack. Come on, sis—or do you want to stay here and feed the media sharks?”
“No,” Gem answered softly. “I’ll go.” Suddenly she had a lot to say, but Xera’s presence forestalled it. “But what about Brandy?”
“I’ve taken care of it,” Blue assured her. “Do you need any help getting ready?”
“Uh, no. Let me just tell our manager what’s going on and then I’ll pack.” She hesitated then asked, “How long will we be gone? Do I need to bring some cash? I can stop by the bank…”
Blue shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Pack for a week. You’ll be able to wash your clothes if we stay longer. Bring something you’ll feel comfortable in. And don’t make this complicated, sweetheart. If you don’t control every detail, it will still be okay.”
His attitude won a smile from her. Suddenly, Gem’s heart felt light. “I’ll be quick.”
She was disappointed to learn that Blue wouldn’t be joining them right away on their supposed vacation, though.
“I’m sending you and Xera on ahead with Zsak. Brandy and I will foll
ow after we’ve worked everything out with her doctor. They may want to send along a nurse or therapist—or a parole officer for her. If so, I’ll take care of it.”
“But where are we going?” Xera asked. Blue had arranged to sneak them out with the morning deliverymen, to avoid being followed.
Blue winked. “Trust me. It’ll be an adventure.” Some of his amusement faded as he looked at Gem, and her sister moved to the opposite side of the kitchen to give them privacy. “We need to have a long talk,” he said.
She looked down at the tile. “I know.” There was a lot to be said, but this probably wasn’t the place.
He seemed to agree. “There’ll be time and privacy where we’re going. We’ll work this out. It’ll be all right.” He studied her for an awkward moment, then reached over and drew his fingers along the side of her face. “See you soon.”
He walked away.
Two days later, Xera stared out the beat-up window of their shuttlecraft with dismay. They were rapidly approaching a barren hunk of asteroid whose sole possibility of comfort was a biosphere spanning a third of its pocked surface.
“This is your answer to our security and stress relief?” she asked.
Zsak grinned. “It has underground living quarters and an oxygen generator. What else do you need?”
“It’s a mining claim!” she snapped.
“Sure, and a lousy one. We got it cheap and had it zoned for farming. You ever done farming, Xera? I can just see you running a tractor!”
Gem sighed. She tried not to be disappointed, but with all of Blue’s talk she’d held out hope for something a little more luxurious. Even another jaunt on a starship would have held more comforts than this.
It didn’t help that she was suffering some major mood swings. Stress had been doing crazy things to her. As much as she appreciated what was being done for her and her sisters, it was hard to keep her emotions under control.
It was no wonder she was upset, either. Blue hadn’t called. Was the man allergic to the communicator? Did he want her to stew? Did he want her to worry? What exactly did he want?
After a moment, her frustration found release. She turned and hissed at Zsak. “This is the big plan, eh? You’re serious. What do we know about farming? You’ve seen our garden. Why do you think we hire gardeners? Blue probably knows more about farming than I do.” She thought about him working in the family gardens and felt a stab of nostalgia. Things had been so much easier when he was just the hired hand. She missed their time in the gardens, watching him work in those ragged, provocative shorts, teasing her…
Zsak smirked. “Good thing. He’ll be joining us in a couple of days when the doctors release him. He’ll have to advise you how to use the hoe, though, ‘cause the doctors said it would be a bit before he’ll be allowed to do hard labor. That bullet came close to his heart, you know.” He’d been dropping little burrs like that. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish, unless it was to point out how hard-hearted she’d been.
“When they release him? I thought they already had.”
“No,” Zsak replied. “He sort of checked himself out over their protests. I imagine they’re giving him grief over that now.”
She could see him doing that: checking himself out against professional advice. She just hoped he hadn’t hurt himself with his stubbornness.
Ever practical, Xera drew the conversation back to the barren rock that would be their temporary home. “How do you figure this is a good place to hide out?” she asked. “There’s nobody out here to blend in with! Of course, there’s also no one to rat us out…”
Zsak didn’t respond at first, just silently watched the pilot guide the ship down.
There were seven other “farmers” in the security team, all of them male. Zsak was in charge. He finally nodded and said, “There should be very few people here to report back to your enemies. Besides, it’s not unusual to get an influx of new blood out here, not with new mines opening up all the time. Add a couple of green-haired Kiuyian lasses to that, and we make the perfect picture.”
Gem and Xera glared at him. They knew what miners in the area would assume they were there for. He’d made them dye their hair and chrome their lips dark green before they’d left home. Only hookers made it a point to dye their lips with the slick, shiny dye; it was a calling card of the profession, especially among Kiuyian girls. Also, Xera and Gem’s otherwise utilitarian jumpsuits were nipped in.
Gem hadn’t even been aware she had all the curves the suit now revealed. She’d never felt so exposed in her life. And when Blue came and saw her in it…She shivered. Isolated, dressed provocatively, with seven other men as competition—this was the kind of situation that gave a man ideas. In her present frame of mind, she wasn’t sure she could fight him off. More to the point, maybe she didn’t want to. She wondered if Zsak had done it on purpose.
The moment her feet hit the gritty surface of the asteroid, she felt a wave of distaste. It surprised her. She hadn’t realized she felt so disdainful of miners and land developers. After all, her father himself had been like them, settling his land and starting The Spark, right when that relocated asteroid was practically trailing vapor. Had other people looked down on him as an immigrant? She’d been born there, grown up the daughter of a successful businessman; she’d never known what it was like to come to a new place, to make a living as a stranger. It was humbling.
Yes, people came here to scratch a living from the bare rock. She’d always felt distrustful of such desperate people—and still did. She’d seen too many of the dregs of the galaxy come through her tavern. Of course, she had to admit a few of the Kiuyians had done well, even though they’d recently appeared. Still, she didn’t feel comfortable assuming the role of an immigrant. Even less so, posing as a prostitute.
“Nice digs,” Xera said ironically next to her. Gem’s sister’s expression, her posture, her voice were about as un-hookerlike as it was possible to get. She looked like a young Galactic Marines sergeant surveying an unruly group of cadets as she glanced around the pockmarked surface. “Can’t wait to see what the living quarters look like.”
They walked a short distance to a stone knoll that had been hollowed out with lasers. The rooms were nothing but small, spare chambers with tarps covering the doors. Depressing. There was an area large enough to be used as a gathering chamber and not much else.
Both sisters leveled unimpressed stares on Zsak as he walked in, carrying equipment. He grinned at them. “Not what you’re used to, ladies? Can’t be much worse than a Galactic Explorers barracks. Right, Xera? You even have a room to yourself.”
“We could always sleep in the ship,” Gem suggested.
“Wouldn’t send the right image for true farmers, now would it?” Zsak replied. She could tell he enjoyed teasing them. “Don’t worry, we’ll at least make sure you have comfortable beds. Gotta keep up appearances.”
Xera grunted and brushed by him to go get her stuff. She was unquestionably put out by their disguise—which likely had something to do with the embarrassment she’d suffered at the trial. Who would enjoy having her reputation smeared further?
With a sigh, Gem joined her. Even if it was only a week they stayed here, it was going to feel like a year.
Then again, there was no media here. That alone helped.
Gem said as much to Xera, and added, “Just think of it as camping. You know, like those squalid little cabins dad used to rent so we could go fishing. Well, he fished, anyway. I used to bring a stack of books.” She smiled fondly at the memory.
Xera grinned faintly. “And I stomped around the woods, pretending to stalk our dinner through the stinkweed.” She wrinkled her nose in memory. “Don’t mind my moods, sis. I’m just…decompressing. I really am glad to be away from those blasted cameras.”
Gem nodded. “I know. Things were rough for me, too—still are. It’s like all the stress is suddenly bleeding out. I wouldn’t be surprised if we both go a little crazy for a while.”
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br /> “That could be fun,” Xera said, laughing. “Maybe we should concentrate on acting as crazy as we can for a while. If we go nuts on purpose, maybe we won’t do it for real.”
“That’s a pretty wacky philosophy.” Gem chuckled.
“Do you have a better one?”
“Nope. Let’s run with it.”
So they did. Xera took up wearing her hair in pigtails and Gem painted her nails green to match her lips. They wasted hours doodling, chatting and playing cards with the guys. They also took up practical jokes, playing pranks on each other with a vengeance. It was wonderful taking on a second adolescence after being so mature about running the inn all those years.
Zsak didn’t mind being included in the jokes, it turned out. A wicked prankster himself, he took pleasure in gluing their boots to the floor, the ceiling, and once to the door of the fridge. The man was a monster with a tube of Lock-Tight. The sisters finally took revenge by gluing his pants closed. They turned the fabric inside out and smeared glue around the knees. It was only when Zsak pulled them out the next morning and tried to slide his feet in that he discovered what they’d done.
His revenge had been to spike their breakfasts with extra-hot pepper powder the following morning. It was fire going down and, later, coming out. They behaved for a while after that.
Though he hadn’t arrived yet, Gem suddenly realized she had a lot to thank Blue for. In the years to come, these would be the days she’d smile about. She looked forward to telling him so.
It was easier to think of him now, in this atmosphere. Odd, how she hadn’t realized how stressed she’d become. Looking back, she could see how that tension had colored so many of her perceptions, clouding her decisions. Coming to this place really had been a godsend. She hoped she could move forward with her old optimism.
If she could just settle things with Blue, the future could bring some of the best years of her life.
Chapter Fifteen
It took a couple of days for them to finish setting up camp. On the third day the lunar ice for the mist irrigation system was delivered. Gem and Xera set aside their cooking preparations to walk outside and watch. Gem shaded her eyes to better see the ice barge lumber through the biosphere like a beetle through a luminous bubble. It was lowered slowly to the far side of the asteroid, kicking up an enormous amount of dust. She actually felt the ground shift as the colossal block of ice settled in the crater bed. Situated on a raised bit of land, it would form a natural lake as it melted.