Terminus Shift (Targon Tales - Sethran Book 2)

by Chris Reher

  Ciela, like the others, was eager to learn more about Delphi and to meet whatever family there may be for her, finally looking forward to discovering something other than war and rebellion. He was glad for that while at the same time wishing some passing black hole would suck Delphi out of existence.

  “I have faith in your Shantirs,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”

  She sniffed. “Holy men. Wizards.”

  He grinned. “A lot of them are women, actually.”

  “Who’ll treat us like some sort of lab specimen to see how we turned out.”

  “For a while, I suppose. You’ve been gone a long time. You’ve missed out on what it’s like to be Delphian. You’ve seen things and learned things they’ll never experience.” He concentrated on his approach to the Scole, which took him past two Air Command Eagles whose sensors tried their best to probe into the Dutchman.

  He ignored them but could not ignore Ciela’s eyes fixed on him. “What is it?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly and turned to the display screens. “I’m just scared.”

  “You’re going home,” he said. “Think of it that way. You’re not a stranger.”

  They followed the Scole’s instructions to lock onto one of several ports. The science vessel dwarfed the Air Command ships hovering protectively close, majestic not only in size but in its elegant design, graceful crossdrive supports, banks of brightly lit windows and of course intricate arrays of sensors on all levels. Had he assumed Delphians to travel in anything less than that?

  He placed his hand on Ciela’s back when they went into the main cabin, a little surprised when she flinched away from his touch. The others were waiting for them, having done their best to clean up and present themselves as best as they could in preparation of meeting their kinsmen. Like Ciela, their apprehension was clear on their faces.

  “Here we go,” Seth said when they moved through the cargo bay and into the umbilical. “Now keep in mind that they’re going to look a little stern. They do that when they’re around strangers. In fact, their politeness is probably going to seem a little creepy until you figure out what they’re really thinking. Hopefully they’ll have some dinner for us.”

  Luanie smiled at that. She straightened her white hair for the tenth time. “They won’t approve of the way we look, will they?”

  “Nope,” Seth said. “They don’t approve of most things that aren’t Delphian. But they’ll never say so. Keep your hair any way you like.” He opened the gate. “Deep breath, everyone.”

  But when they stepped out into the Scole’s landing bay, only three people waited there to meet them, all of them Delphian. They wore the sort of clothing found on any planet frequented by offworlders and two of them were women. Seth recognized one of them as a Shantir by the two rings on her fingers joined by a delicate chain. There was no surprise or judgment on their faces over the disheveled, oddly-colored visitors. Seth could feel the collective sigh of relief at this carefully thought-out meeting, a first contact of sorts for all of them.

  “Welcome,” the Shantir said. “I am Korynn. We’re so glad you’ve decided to visit with us.” She smiled at Seth, to his surprise. “We are grateful to you, Shan Sethran.”

  “Thank you for meeting us,” he said. “Our journey to Delphi would have been very rough in my small ship.”

  “Indeed. We have comfortable accommodations for all you.”

  “We want to stay together,” Miko said at once.

  “Of course,” Korynn said. “We have anticipated that. We have a meal for you, too. Everything else will wait for as long as you like.”

  “No soldiers here?” Deely said.

  “There is no Air Command aboard the Scole,” she said. “Nor will they come aboard. We are going to Delphi; they are merely here to safeguard the journey.”

  “Guess we’re taking the long way home,” Miko said under his breath.

  Seth grinned at him. “It’ll be a vacation compared to the rust buckets you’re used to.”

  “Come, we’re going to jump toward Aikhor-Magra within the hour. Then we’ll have some time before moving on.” Korynn gestured to the entrance to the ship’s interior. Her eyes moved to the makeshift sling supporting Seth’s arm. “Our med station will see to any immediate needs. I see you can use some care, Shan Sethran.”

  Ciela turned back to him as she headed for the doors with the others. He nodded reassuringly. “I’ll join you in a while.”

  A crewman arrived to take him to another part of the Scole. They walked past some of the services, all as neat and quiet as he would expect to find them on a ship operated by Delphians. And like all Delphian medical centers, the Scole’s did not resemble a clinic at all. No doubt, other parts of the ship were outfitted with the sort of equipment required for exo- and astro-biology, but when it came to simpler matters, Delphians required little to heal themselves.

  A Shantir awaited them in a graciously appointed cabin where he was made to recline on a lounger after removing his shirt and bandages. It took only a light touch of her hand on Seth’s neural node to remove any vestige of pain and to persuade Seth’s own brain to begin to heal his body.

  After what seemed like nothing more than an interval of shared meditation, she withdrew from his thoughts and busied herself with more conventional remedies. She applied a decon wand to the ragged wound and used a fine instrument to repair what she could. “You’ll be able to remove the scar if you have it treated soon enough.” She placed her cool hand over his forehead. “For now, just sleep.”

  “No, I want to go—”

  * * *

  It felt like hours had passed before time resumed. Seth looked around the dimly-lit room, unsure of where he was but feeling more refreshed and awake than he had in a long while. An enterprising individual, he thought, could make a fortune by convincing the Delphians to hire out their Shantirs. Of course, several of them made their healing abilities available at the exobiology center on Targon, but selling these little naps to the general population could be lucrative.

  The cabin door opened and the Shantir returned as if she had sensed him waking. She looked at his wound and seemed satisfied by what she saw. He needed no help in putting his shirt back on and returning his data sleeve to his forearm.

  “Shan Caelyn is waiting outside,” she informed him.

  He grinned. “Delphi! Come in!”

  The door opened again and the navigator entered with a pleased smile for his friend. “Good to see you still in one piece, Centauri.”

  Seth tested his shoulder. “Got bitten by a fish.”

  “You would. We’ve made the jump out of Taancerum and you’re back where your tiny brain can find its own way through the jumpsites.”

  Seth thanked the Shantir healer and followed Caelyn into the corridor. “How are things going for my passengers?”

  “Let’s go take a look. I hope I did what you expected by going to the council with your message?”

  “There is a future for you in the spy business yet,” Seth assured him. “These people belong nowhere but Delphi right now. Lord Phera will make sure of it.”

  “He already has, from what I gather. Unless your friends wish it, none but Delphians have access to them.”

  Caelyn led him into the entrance of a crescent-shaped room. A curved window took up most of the far wall, looking out into space. Low, polygonal pieces of furniture were scattered about the room where the spanners lounged with a number of Delphians. In their midst, two girls bent over stringed instruments, apparently providing some sort of entertainment.

  Seth stopped at the door to watch. There was something very peaceful about the scene and he shook his head when Caelyn looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “It’s their party now,” he said quietly, his eyes on Ciela reclining near the window in conversation with a woman. They each had a data screen in their hands and seemed to be comparing something. Ciela did not look up and he heard her gentle laugh from here.

  After a moment, he backed out
of the room and into the corridor.

  Caelyn followed and so did a blue-robed Delphian whom Seth recognized as Shan Moghen, one of the leaders of Delphi’s Shantir enclave. “A word, Shan Sethran?”

  Seth gestured a respectful greeting. “Of course.”

  “I’ll get back to the bridge,” Caelyn said. “I’ll see you before you shove off, Centauri.”

  Seth watched him go and then matched his steps to the Shantir’s to stroll down the curving corridor.

  “I understand we have much to thank you for, Shan Sethran,” Moghen said, using his native Delphian language. “Our gratitude for returning our children will not fade with time.”

  “They have healing to do,” Seth said. “Have you reached them?”

  The elder nodded. “They are unaware, but our therapies have already begun, as you saw. We are a long lived species; there is no hurry for any of us. Some fare better than others.”

  “How so?”

  “They are unfamiliar with the khamal but they’ve allowed us some brief contacts. Ciela and Miko are untroubled by their… unique natures. Deely’s pain will be healed by time and education. Luanie is suffering from a depression that should have been cured in infancy. The triplets will require the most care. Their isolation is not something we understand but, in time, we may. They will remain with us at the enclave, as will Luanie, for now.”

  “Do you know who they are?”

  “In part,” Moghen said. “Deely and Luanie have kin in the valley. We are still looking for a clan that can claim the sisters. No one’s been found for Ciela and Miko just yet. I’m sure that, in time, we will. As you know, our families are not extensive.”

  Seth nodded. “They know nothing of family. They’ll adjust, I’m sure, with your help.”

  “They have a secret,” Moghen said. It was neither question nor statement.

  “They do. And you need to know.” Seth glanced around the deserted hallway. “They have a gift that goes beyond that of most navigators. A way to divide subspace, perhaps. Discern exits that none of us, nor our machines, can even see, never mind contact. It will allow them to emerge from subspace at any stable keyhole or jumpsite.”

  Shan Moghen pursed his lips. “And your enemies are aware of this?”

  “Some are.”

  “And Air Command?”

  “Not so far.” Seth halted and grasped the Shantir’s arm, which he allowed. “They can’t leave Delphi. It’s only luck that those who’ve fostered them haven’t already used them against us.”

  “We cannot imprison them again,” Moghen said. “We won’t.”

  “They are a danger to us all.”

  The elder resumed his walk down the corridor. “So are you, my gun-wielding friend. But we all use our gifts for the common good, do we not? In time, your friends will come to love their lives as they should and they will learn to use their skills with care, if they wish to leave Delphi. That shall be our goal. But we won’t choose theirs.” His jaw tightened under his nearly translucent skin. “Not again.”

  Seth sighed. “Fair enough. Delphi has much to offer.”

  Shan Moghen gestured back the way they had come. “Won’t you join them?”

  Seth hesitated. “Maybe it’s best if I just got on my way. I’m sure Colonel Carras has something for me to do. I’ll head to Magra to get the Dutchman its overdue check-up.”

  “If you think that’s best.”

  “Let them forget what happened. I’m just a reminder of it. They look very happy there with your people.”

  “Their people,” Moghen reminded him. He twitched a smile, barely noticed before vanishing again. “Even if they currently look rather peculiar.”

  “Tell them I’ll visit. Delphi is not so far.” Seth waved and turned down another corridor to find his way back to the docks.

  But each step farther away from where he had left the others - where he had left her, he corrected himself - felt like there was some long string holding him back, tightening more and more until it would surely snap in some painful way.

  “Bloody nonsense,” he grumbled. The Dutchman beckoned, as did his incurable desire to escape whatever gravity held him in one place, to walk among the endlessly fascinating bits that made up the worlds of Trans-Targon. He was blessed with talents, connections and funds to go where he pleased and, usually, do as he pleased. Could anyone ask for more?

  “Yes, you’re an idiot, Kada,” he said to himself as he entered his ship. “Falling for the wrong girl once again. Go and shoot yourself some more rebels. Get laid somewhere, maybe. That’ll be fun, too.”

  Still, he found himself procrastinating as he prepared for departure, fussing needlessly with the Dutchman’s navigation system, going back to ask for a tube of coolant from the Scole’s crew, wondering if a full systems check was in order.

  A gentle alarm startled him when he had run out of things to do and actually begun to tidy the cabin. A broad grin brightened his face when the external camera showed Ciela in the umbilical. She wore new trousers, a pretty shirt, and an utterly unreadable expression.

  “Leaving without goodbye?” she said when he opened the gate.

  “What’s going on? Are you all right?” Seth stepped aside to let her enter the ship. Once he had secured the gate and pressure doors he found her waiting for him in the cabin.

  “I am not staying here,” she said, sounding a little defiant.

  “What happened? What did they do?”

  “Nothing. They’re all right. They keep giving us food and making us listen to music. No one’s asked us anything about… about before.”

  He smiled. “Too nice for you?”

  “Yeah. You were right about us. About why we were taken away. They haven’t come right out with it, but they made sure we knew our parents were not rebels. One of them, one of the Shantirs, touched me and we were able to talk in our heads. He seemed to be looking for something but he said that can all wait. He said no one would take us away again.”

  Seth nodded. “They will keep their word.”

  “Luanie is so happy, Seth! They found her family. Same with Deely. And Miko is going to stay at the Shantir enclave with the girls.” She smiled. “I think he’s cast his eye on one of the musicians.”

  Seth furrowed his brow. “But you don’t want to stay with these evil evil people?”

  “No.”

  “So,” he said, wondering if she could see the heart pounding under his shirt. “Where do you want to go, if not Delphi? Back to the Arawaj? A return to your smuggling days? I can—”

  “Here,” she said. “With you. I don’t care where the Dutchman goes.”

  He felt some sort of bubble rise from his chest until it seemed to want to explode through his throat. “With me?”

  “I can tell these are good people. And they’ll keep us safe from… from others. But…”

  “But?” he said, suddenly breathless.

  “I can help you. You can use a navigator. We can go anywhere.”

  “Oh,” he said, exhaling sharply. “You want to join our team of operatives?”

  “Well, yes.” She put her hand on his arm when he folded them. “I can’t be Arawaj. I won’t. I’m done with that.”

  “Does Shan Moghen know you’re here?”

  “He does. They’ll arrange for some credit for me on Magra. They want me to return later, to study with them, when I can. He said I should learn more about my people. Our language. I told him you can teach me.”

  Seth looked around, feeling a little helpless. “This is dangerous work. And sometimes pretty miserable. You’d be much safer on Delphi. More comfortable.”

  “Dammit, Seth! I don’t want to be comfortable. I don’t care about being safe. I just want to be with you.”

  Seth suddenly felt as he had as a boy, the time when Sikiki had offered to show him what she kept hidden under her blouse. A mounting hopefulness while at the same time wondering if maybe he was misunderstanding what she was actually saying. “Me?”

 
She tugged on his arms until he uncrossed them. “Yes. I’ve thought about nothing else since we got here. They talked to us and showed us pretty things about Delphi and gave us clothes and such good food. And all I could think about is you.” Her voice trembled when she continued. “All I want is you.”

  He stepped forward and his arms wrapped around her as if by their own accord. He buried his face in her hair, smelling her sweet scent, wanting only to hold her until maybe forever. “Are you sure?”

  She pulled back to smile at him. “Never been surer.”

  He took her face in his hands to kiss her and everything about that felt like nothing else mattered, perhaps not ever. “We’ll leave right now. Before you change your mind.”

  She nipped his lip with her teeth. “Seth, if you don’t take me over there into your bed I am going to scream.”

  He picked her up to carry her to the lounger, completely unaware of the pain in his shoulder. She pulled him down with her. “We can go anywhere together. I want you to show me everything.”

  He grinned, somewhat lewdly, as he unfastened her pretty blouse.

  “And we can both explore subspace. I can show you—”

  He looked up. “Subspace?”

  “I saw your notes. Something draws you there. I want to help you find it. And you got that subspace scanner now. We could do much with that.”

  “It’s just a… just an interest, that’s all. But you’re right. With your gifts we could find—” She placed her hand on him and whatever he meant to say no longer mattered.

  * * * * *

  *

  Dear Reader:

  I hope you enjoyed Terminus Shift, a follow-up story for Quantum Tangle. If you did, please take a moment to leave a review to help others find this book, too. I’d love to hear from you.

  Sethran Kada also appears in the Targon Tales (see below), a space opera series taking place in the same universe. He stars with Nova Whiteside in The Catalyst and takes part in Rebel Alliances. A third book is planned for him and Ciela.

  My web site at www.chrisreher.com includes some additional information as well as links discussing the technology and scientific inspiration used in this story.