“Don’t know. Too much confusion.”
“Lak, we’re trying to get shuttles down to you as fast as we can. Try to stay where you’re at but if you have to move, move. Keep in contact.”
Aurelia glanced down at Fran who was handling the main board. “Did you put through my call to the governor?”
Fran blew a frazzled bit of hair out of her face. “Yes. He hasn’t answered yet.”
“Damn. I’ll have to go over there myself.”
“Doc,” Zimbin interrupted. “Is there any news on the vid screen?”
Aurelia flipped the switch to the monitor that was right in front of her. After some switching of frequencies, she found a news service that was showing footage of the fighting on the planet. The center grew silent as everyone crowded closer to watch.
Zimbin leaned over Aurelia’s shoulder to freeze the frame. “Sorry, Doc. I want to see what that sign says,” the Berellian said, focusing in on the sign above a street that was littered with bodies of all races. It read: Xanthy Court. A murmur ran through the little group. That had been the original site for the vaccinations. The water must have gone back down overnight.
“That must mean the fighting’s already gone beyond Linden Court,” said Jannie who was trying to see past Zimbin’s bulk. She looked around when no one said anything. “Right?”
Kincaid, the other comm-tech on duty, waved at Aurelia.
“Admiral Meng is on the line,” he announced.
“Clear out, people,” Aurelia ordered, reaching out to switch from the news to the Admiral. The crowd behind her dispersed as Meng’s face appeared on the screen. “Welcome to the fun, Admiral.”
“Everyone all right there?” Meng asked, a line creasing his forehead.
Aurelia took a breath, “So far.”
“I’m glad to hear that. You’re all clear of the fighting I hope. I was getting worried when I couldn’t get through.”
“Not exactly.” Aurelia heaved a sigh and continued, “We’ve been having mechanical problems. Quite a few of our people are still on the planet, but we’re doing everything we can to pull them out.”
Meng threw his pencil in the air. “You’d better do better than that! You have heard the news haven’t you?”
“No. Now what?”
“Kaprine has declared war on Sclaria.”
***
Fiddling with the switch, Jak finally found the frequency for the news service. He had made his way to the Rotunda’s communications center while Co-Lanen and the young male who had challenged Jak’s entrance checked the building for any other occupants. Jak was just in time to see the announcement in red letters run across the bottom of the screen: The Council on Kaprine has declared war on Sclaria.
Jak stared at the screen, reading the message each time it repeated itself. Dozens of questions filled his mind. How had Klon-dor heard the news so fast? Why hadn’t they let Jidal IV’s council make the decision? If they had, only those Kaprinian colonies under the authority of the Triad Council would have been affected. Now Kaprine and all her colonies and outposts were involved.
Jak shook his head. He wondered if Klon-dor had said Kin Zai or Kin Hak. The news service would not know the difference of course. War meant war to most people. Kin Hak was like that: the standing army went out and engaged the enemy. It was that simple. On the other hand, Kin Zai meant every single Kaprinian, except the very young and very old, was expected to fight the enemy wherever they happened to be throughout the galaxy under whatever circumstances or face death for treason.
Either way, I’m stuck, Jak thought and curled an antenna. He was technically still in the Kaprinian army and had one year yet to serve. What am I going to do?
Jak stood as Co-Lanen entered the room. “Where’s the kid?” he asked as she sat down at the monitor next to his.
“He went out to fight,” Co-Lanen replied.
“You didn’t let him go!”
She gave him a surprised look, “Of course. I could hardly stop him.”
“Of course you could. Stupid kid’s going to get himself killed.” Jak gave his seat a shove that sent it banging into the desk.
Co-Lanen threw her head back to look up at him. “It is his right to go if he wants to. You have been working with the humans too long. “
“I’m part human, remember?” Jak pointed at the screen. “Have you seen that?” He watched her face as she read. No surprise just a look of deep pain when she lifted her eyes to his.
Co-Lanen sighed, “They’ve been waiting for years for something like this.”
“How come we seem to be the only ones who don’t like it?”
“I am sure there are others who feel as we do. Just not enough.”
Jak began to pace, staring at the green tile patterned with black diamonds on the floor. “They don’t say if it’s Kin Zai or not.”
“If it isn’t now it soon will be.” Co-Lanen frowned. “They certainly received the news fast.”
Jak stopped pacing, “You noticed that too? It’s beginning to smell like a setup to me.”
“But who...?”
“Mitine?”
“You heard him. He wanted to declare Kin Zai himself.”
Jak waved his antennae suddenly, “Althan Tahk!”
“The Kosapi?”
Jak sat down and quickly told everything that Steve Miller had told him about Robert Miller and his involvement with the stolen loron. He also told her about their discovery of Peter Fredrichs and his hyperspace drive, and the murder of Robert Miller.
When he finished, Co-Lanen frowned. She stood up and began to pace herself. “You say Robert Miller had several buyers for this so-called secret weapon?”
“So his son told me on our way to the police station,” Jak replied.
“I suppose a hyperspace drive that works in gravity could be considered a weapon. The extra speed would be a great advantage. Where is this inventor now?”
“In the company of several of our medical students on their way back to our vaccination site.”
Co-Lanen nodded. “We won’t worry about him now. I want to find this Kosapi.” She said the word as if it were a disease that might infect her if she let it spend too long on her lips.
“You mean now?”
“Yes. Perhaps we can stop this war before there is too much bloodshed. Are you coming with me?”
Jak jumped to his feet. “Of course. But you do remember it’s not safe out there?”
She tugged her tunic off over her head. She was wearing boots, a dark blue jumpsuit and an autoload rafter in a shoulder holster. “That’s why I’m wearing this.”
***
Aurelia blinked, waiting for Meng to tell her it was some kind of joke, but his dark face remained serious. “Is that from Jidal IV or...”
“No. I only wish it was. It might have been contained to this sector. But this is direct from Klon-Dor. And I’ve got sources telling me both sides are already mobilizing.”
Aurelia pressed both hands to the side of her head.
“Are you all right?” Meng asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look it.”
She gave a short laugh.
“Get yourself some sleep. What’s that on your wrist?”
Raising her right hand, Aurelia stared at the black cuff. “This? This is the latest thing in accessories.”
“You’re no good at being flippant, kid. What in heck is...damn,” he paused as his computer beeped at him. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, got an important call. I’ll call back when I can. Hey, “ he rapped a knuckle on the screen and smiled, “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this, okay?”
Aurelia nodded. She touched her fingers to the screen after it went blank. It was the sweetheart that had her fighting tears again. Stop it, Aurelia, she told herself.
She heard the C.C. doors slide open behind her and felt a sudden dread. Turning her head, she swallowed back bile at sight of
Neil Sanders. Sanders had someone in tow behind him. When she saw the twisted antennae of Althan Tahk, she wanted to scream.
Pushing herself to her feet, she faced them. “Kincaid, how the hell did these people get on this ship when we can’t get our own people on board?”
The operator lifted his hands in a frustrated gesture and returned to his board.
Sanders spoke, “I had to see how Millie is. I found this Kaprinian wandering the hall just outside her room.”
“What are you doing here, Tahk?” Aurelia demanded.
Tahk looked perfectly calm. “I too wanted to see how Millie was doing.”
“Oh?” Aurelia looked at Sanders. “Would you take him into custody, please?”
“The charge?” Tahk asked.
“How about sabotage for starters?”
The Kaprinian curled one antenna and uncurled it again, the equivalent of a salute. He half-smiled and said, “I deny all such charges of course.”
Sanders looked confused. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about but I can escort him off the ship for you, doctor.”
“Fine. Now go. You’re both taking up my time and space and I want you out.”
Sanders gave her a nod and followed Tahk out the door.
Aurelia knew if she started screaming she would never be able to stop. Turning to Kincaid, she said as calmly as possible, “Kincaid, call Captain Zelan on the Phoenix.”
“Ma’am?”
“You heard me. Call the Phoenix.”
Chapter Thirty Four
Wincing as her finger jammed, Bridget stopped jabbing at the door release and turned to look at the four young men. “I hate to say this but we’re locked in.”
Torp jumped up and walked to the door. “We can’t be,” he said, pushing the button vigorously several times.
Miguel joined them. “Let me try.”
“It’s not working,” Torp retorted, digging through his pockets. “Let me get that panel off.” He produced a knife with a wide assortment of attachments and proceeded to pry the lock panel off the wall. He let the panel drop with a sharp clang against the floor.
On tiptoe, Bridget peered over the two boys’ shoulders as all three looked at the tangled mess of wires inside the wall. She was no engineer but half the wires looked to her as if they had been welded or melted together. A very faint odor of ozone hovered in the air.
Torp poked the knife into the serpenty mass.
“Be careful,” Bridget said.
“Looks like there was some kind of power surge,” Torp said. “Quite a while ago I’d say.
“That’s probably why the door was open,” said Miguel. “They probably propped it open with an R.O. tuner.”
“Can you get it open?”
Torp gave Bridget a sour look. “If I had an R.O. tuner,” he told her.
“There has to be another way out of here” said Miguel.
Bridget felt doubtful. “I don’t think so. I sure can’t see any.”
“Well you can’t see behind some of those boxes.” Miguel replied.
Torp snapped his knife closed and returned it to his pocket, “Come on, everybody, fan out along the walls and start searching for a way out of here. That includes you two,” he added to Steve and Fredrichs.
Fredrichs groaned loudly as he hauled himself to his feet. Steve said nothing but walked to the wall the door was set in and began knocking on it.
He would take the most lighted area, Bridget thought, flipping her hair back from her face. She didn’t have her ring light, in fact, several items from her utility belt were missing. She had forgotten to ask the supply tech about a replacement. Oh, well, she told herself and walked across the empty space to the far back wall.
Several minutes passed with no sounds but tapping as the five young people searched for another door. Bridget could feel her body getting grimier by the minute. She imagined the place hadn’t been cleaned in a millennium.
“Pssst.”
She stopped tapping to look over her shoulder at Miguel. “What?”
“Shhhh.” He stepped closer and whispered, “Don’t you think Steve is acting strange?”
“No. Not really.”
“He seems awfully quiet to me.”
“His dad was just murdered.
“I know but I don’t think he really liked him that much. I mean I’m sure he loved him and all that but I don’t think they were very close.”
Bridget looked toward the opposite wall but Steve was out of sight. “Maybe he’s feeling guilty or something?”
“Since when does Steve Miller feel guilty about anything?” Miguel moved even closer, lowering his head to the level of her ear. “I didn’t want to say anything because I wasn’t supposed to be looking at the records but before we got to Davis, I accidentally saw Steve’s med-chart. His vaccinations aren’t up-to-date.”
“What!”
“Shhh!”
“Mig, why didn’t you say something?”
“I didn’t think it would matter. It’s not like we were planning on swimming in the river.”
“They just rushed Millie back up to the ship on life-support!”
“I know. I know. Should we say something to him?”
“No!” Bridget stood still for a moment, trying to make her heart slow down. “We don’t need to panic everybody. I’m panicked enough for us all.”
“So what do we do?”
“Do you have your scanner? Mine’s missing.”
Nodding, Miguel patted his belt.
“Okay, when we go back, stay behind Steve and scan him. Make sure the sound is off so it doesn’t beep,” Bridget instructed. She tapped two fingers against her neck. Her heart was still racing.
“If he is sick and it’s contagious and we’re stuck in here for any length of time...” Miguel’s voice trailed off.
Bridget gave him a look and turned back to her wall.
Five minutes later they had covered the entire warehouse and found nothing. They all five met back where they had started.
Fredrichs flopped down on the floor. “We’re going to die in here,” he moaned.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bridget replied, as she kept an eye on Miguel standing quietly behind Steve.
Torp sat down on one end of Fredrichs’s box and patted the empty space next to him. Bridget slid down beside him. She noticed he held his comm-link. “Any luck calling anybody?” she asked.
The Raman shook his head, “I can’t get through to any of the Pasteur’s comm-techs. They must be awfully busy for some reason.”
Watching Miguel, Bridget felt her heart sink to her toes as he put his hand on his forehead then pointed to the ceiling with his thumb. Oh, no, Steve’s temperature is up, she thought desperately wishing they were back on the Pasteur. Calm down, we all have our vaccinations. I don’t know about Fredrichs though. And Steve. Why didn’t the stupid nidge get his booster shots?
“Brid, you awake?”
She jumped as Torp poked her in the ribs with an elbow. “What were you saying?” she asked.
“I said call the Pasteur. One of us has to get through.”
Nodding, Bridget pulled her comm-link off her belt and started hitting numbers. Somebody answer, she prayed.
***
Aurelia paced back and forth in the C.C., massaging the small of her back. All the stress was communicating to the platerius to dig its spikes into her.
Finally, Kincaid waved her over. On his screen appeared a red-haired, freckled-faced kid.
“Where’s Zelan? And who the hell are you?”
“I’m Pete. Ship’s medic.”
Gritting her teeth, Aurelia spat the words out, “Where’s Captain Zelan, Pete?”
“Uhmm. I don’t know. He’s on shore leave.”
“You can’t tell me a captain leaves his ship without someone knowing how to reach him.”
Pete ruffled his fingers through his hair making it stick up even mo
re than it had. “Look, lady. He took off this morning and didn’t say a word. In case, you haven’t noticed there’s a war going on downstairs. I’m getting worried about him.”
Aurelia leaned her knuckles against the board and glared at the screen. “You look, you little snot brain. I need the Phoenix right now, down on that planet, getting my people out of there.”
“You mean land this ship down there?” Pete’s words came out in a squeak.
“Yes.”
“I can’t possibly authorize that.” He was shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe he had heard right.
“You don’t have to. I’m sending some of my crew over there.” Aurelia pushed the audio presspad off so Pete couldn’t hear and glanced over at Kincaid. “We can get on the space station can’t we?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kincaid nodded.
She pushed the audio on again. “They’ll be right there.”
Cutting the connection before Pete could protest, Aurelia turned back to Kincaid. “Tell Rekhaan to get a crew over to the Phoenix. Now. And call Lak. Tell her they’re coming. And order a senior staff meeting in five minutes.”
Fran leaned over from her board. “Dr. Aurelia, Millie’s white count has dropped below two million.”
Thank God. Something was finally going right. “Fran, put in a call to Jak. Put my number on the return code.”
Aurelia headed out the door. She would stop and check on Millie, do a quick staff meeting then go see the governor. Arnott still hadn’t returned her call and she was going to find out why.
Chapter Thirty Five
Jak felt the slight vibration of his comm link against his skin. He could barely hear the beep over all the explosions and screams going on above his head. Tugging the link off his belt, he glanced at the readout. Number One. Aurelia. He was in no mood to chat with her. And in no position to either.
He and Co-Lanen stood in a small underground bunker connected to the Rotunda through a series of tunnels. The only light came from the grilled opening to the street. From the street side it would look like a sewer grid. The bunker was a cool seven degrees C and smelled of damp mold. Jak sneezed.
Shadows In Still Water Page 21