Lady Lure

by Speer, Flora

  Perri had assumed that for this occasion, when he accepted delivery of her prisoner, the Hierarch would require all the ornaments of his high status and would want to be formally attired and to sit behind the desk in his public office. The lack of official accoutrements suggested that the matter of Elyr’s conviction was still being handled on a confidential basis. Perri should have been reassured by these signs, but she was not. Even the Chief Hierarch’s benevolent expression could not soothe her uneasiness. Telling herself she had allowed Halvo’s insinuations to influence her thinking, Perri smiled at the face on the viewscreen.

  “Sir, where shall I deliver the prisoner?”

  “First, bring him forward,” the Chief Hierarch said. “I wish to confirm with my own eyes that you have found the right man.”

  “I have confined him, sir. As we approached Regula he became a bit unruly.” She had decided not to tell the Chief Hierarch how Halvo had attempted to deflect her from her proper course of action. If he knew, he would surely hold it against Halvo and order a more grievous punishment. Perri did not think the Chief Hierarch was going to have an easy time with Halvo, but she would let him discover that fact for himself. Thus, Perri would not be responsible for what happened after Halvo was out of her hands. She told herself she would feel less guilty that way.

  “Have your robot release the prisoner and hold him in front of the viewscreen,” the Chief Hierarch commanded.

  “This really is Admiral Halvo Gibal,” Perri said, stung by the implication that she had not done her job correctly. “I confirmed the fact with the identification material you ordered loaded into the Space Dragon’s computer before we left Regula.”

  “Do as I tell you, Perri!” The Chief Hierarch’s benign expression changed slightly. The new, cold gleam in the pale green eyes, the stiffer posture, the strange harshness in his voice, all registered in Pern’s mind. These subtle alterations, however, did not have their previous effect on her. She no longer trembled in fear and respect. Instead, she merely noted his effort to manipulate her. Nonetheless, she obeyed him.

  “Rolli.” Perri motioned to the robot. At once Rolli moved toward Halvo, who was ending his involuntary journey strapped down on the bench upon which he had begun it.

  “Rolli,” Halvo said in a low voice, “consider once again the arguments I have made in these last few days.”

  “I know my duty,” Rolli said. “For your own good, Admiral, I urge you not to cause any further trouble. Come with me to the viewscreen.”

  With Rolli’s help Halvo got to his feet and took up a position where the Chief Hierarch could see him. Rolli then quietly moved away toward the ship’s controls, stopping just out of the Chief Hierarch’s line of sight.

  “So.” A triumphant smile curled the Chief Hierarch’s thin lips as he regarded the famous admiral. “It is you.”

  “I told you it was,” Perri said, annoyed by this sign of the Chief Hierarch’s lack of confidence in her ability to accomplish the task he had given her. “Now, sir, if you will just tell me what you want me to do with him.”

  “He is to be off-loaded onto a personnel shuttle that is on its way to intercept you even as we speak,” the Chief Hierarch said.

  “Then we will see you in person in a short time.” Perri signaled to Rolli to close the transmission.

  “Just a moment.” The Chief Hierarch forestalled the action. “You and the robot are to remain aboard the Space Dragon.”

  “I told you so,” Halvo whispered to Rolli, turning slightly so that his face was not visible on the viewscreen.

  “I don’t understand,” Perri said to the Chief Hierarch. “Sir, is there some problem? Oh, please, it’s not Elyr, is it? You haven’t – you did promise you would take no action against him until I returned.”

  “See for yourself.” The Chief Hierarch moved aside, allowing a second person to step into view. A young man with fair hair, green eyes, and a long, solemn face looked out of the view-screen.

  “Elyr!” Perri said. “You are alive and well. How happy I am to see you.”

  “In fact,” the Chief Hierarch said, “I have just appointed Elyr to be my principal assistant.”

  “I knew you would understand that he could commit no crime,” Perri said. All the doubts and fears generated by Halvo’s insistence that the Chief Hierarch had not been straightforward with her fled at the good news, leaving Perri’s honest heart overflowing with happiness. “Thank you, Chief Hierarch. I know you will not regret your decision. And congratulations to you, Elyr. I look forward to greeting you in person in just a short time. Dear Elyr, I can scarcely wait.” She could not resist adding that last, warm note. Surely, after what she had done for him, Elyr would be as eager to greet her as she was to embrace him.

  “Alas, Perri, your hope cannot be fulfilled.” Elyr spoke in a doleful voice. “You must comprehend that what the Chief Hierarch and I have decided is for the best.”

  “What are you saying?” Perri asked. “Rolli and I will land on Regula soon. Chief Hierarch, if you have an assignment for Elyr, I beg you to allow him to delay its start until we can have just a few minutes together. It will mean so much to me.”

  Perri was too intent on her conversation with the Chief Hierarch and Elyr to pay any attention to what was happening off to one side of the cockpit, out of range of the viewscreen.

  “Admiral.” Rolli spoke at a lower volume than usual, keeping to a level that could not be heard over the video link with the Chief Hierarch’s chambers. Halvo caught the odd note of warning and did not so much as turn his head or shift his eyes. He responded by barely moving his lips and he used the same low tone.

  “Yes, Rolli.”

  “Three Regulan warships are approaching the Space Dragon. Their weapons are set on firing mode.”

  “You know what this means.” Still Halvo gave no indication of a conversation going on between himself and the robot. To the two men on the other end of the video link, he was merely waiting for Perri to finish speaking with Elyr. Halvo had heard enough of that particular conversation to be entirely enlightened as to the true relationship between Elyr and his betrothed.

  “Now you have proof that my predictions were correct,” Halvo whispered to Rolli. “Those vessels are being sent to blow up this ship, and you and Perri with it. Soon neither of you will be available to deny the Chief Hierarch’s version of the events that brought me to Regula.”

  “Death would be a blessing to me,” Rolli said.

  “But not to Perri.” Halvo did not pause to question such a peculiar statement from an emotionless robot. He was too busy trying to think of a way out of a seemingly impossible situation. Rolli appeared to be the only hope left, and Halvo was determined to convince the robot to act. “Perri is young and deserves to live. As far as I can tell, her biggest crime is trying to save her ungrateful fiance. What Perri did to me, she did at the Chief Hierarch’s behest.”

  “Elyr is not worthy of her,” Rolli said. “Not worthy at all.”

  “Then do something to help her,” Halvo said, “because it is clear to me that Elyr won’t.”

  Meanwhile, Perri was still dealing with Elyr and the Chief Hierarch.

  “You are to stay on the Space Dragon until you receive official permission to land,” the Chief Hierarch repeated in response to Pern’s continued insistence that she wanted to meet with Elyr in person.

  From the bewildered look in Pern’s eyes, Halvo could tell that she suspected what was going on, though he thought she was not ready yet to admit out loud that she was the victim of a treacherous plot. Halvo decided it was time for him to take control of the conversation.

  “Why don’t you tell us exactly what you have planned for me once I reach the surface of Regula?” Halvo asked, turning back to face the two men on the viewscreen. “Don’t you think Perri has the right to know the full extent of your machinations? After all, it won’t make any difference how much information she has. She can’t stop you now, can she? Speaking for myself, I would like to kn
ow which of the possible scenarios I set out for her is the correct one.”

  “Admiral, the personnel shuttle should be in position for docking with the Space Dragon within ten seconds,” the Chief Hierarch said, his disregard for Halvo’s questions providing the final proof Halvo needed about his conclusions on the Hierarch’s plans. “I advise you to disembark promptly.”

  “What if I don’t want to leave?” In the Chief Hierarch’s last remark, Halvo had discovered the opportunity he sought. It had been a long time since he had participated in such a dangerous game. A part of him that he had believed permanently laid to rest was beginning to awaken again. Danger or no, Halvo was enjoying himself. He just hoped he could avoid a sudden bout of dizziness until the confrontation with the Chief Hierarch was finished. And he sent a fervent prayer to each of the ancient gods of Demaria that Rolli’s programmed instructions to protect Perri at all costs would not fail.

  “Regulan personnel shuttle to starboard, requesting permission to dock,” Rolli reported from a position near the ship’s control panel.

  “Permission granted,” Elyr said, apparently speaking at the same time to both the Space Dragon and the shuttle.

  “Belay that order!” Risking vertigo, Halvo turned to look into Rolli’s constantly blinking twin blue lights that took the place of eyes. “Rolli, you have about ten seconds to unscramble your circuitry and do the right thing. After that, it will be too late for all of us. Especially for Perri.”

  “Elyr, please,” Perri cried to the uncaring face on the viewscreen. “I have done my best to help you. Now tell me the truth. Elyr, what is happening?”

  The viewscreen went blank.

  “Rolli,” Perri cried, “get the picture back.”

  “No,” Rolli said. “I need the power for Starthruster.”

  “You mustn’t! We can’t run away. Not now, not when Elyr is free.” Perri’s green eyes were swimming with tears, and she sounded more and more desperate with every word. It was clear to Halvo that she was trying to convince herself of the truth of what she was saying. “Our mission is a success, Rolli. You and I together have saved Elyr from the death sentence. It is a time of rejoicing for us and for all the Amalini Kin.”

  “Elyr was never charged with any crime,” Halvo said. “If he were a criminal, he would not be allowed in the same room with the Chief Hierarch unless he was chained or under heavy guard. Elyr’s so-called imprisonment was a ruse, a deliberate lie invented to lure you into an act of piracy. In your heart you know it, Perri. Admit it.”

  “No! Elyr would not betray me, not when I risked my life and my honor for him.”

  “Admiral.” Rolli’s calm, metallic words broke into Perri’s frantic reply. “You have exactly thirty seconds to strap yourself and Perri into your seats before I activate Starthruster. I calculate that it will require forty-five seconds for the commanders of the Regulan ships now approaching us to order their weapons to be fired and for the ensuing blasts to reach the Space Dragon. This will leave us fifteen seconds in which to quit the immediate area.”

  “No!” Perri screamed again. “I won’t leave. I won’t!”

  Halvo could tell she was on the verge of hysteria. Under the circumstances, he couldn’t blame her. There was no time to reason with her that she was better off without the treacherous Elyr. He would do that later, if they lived long enough. Catching Perri by her upper arms, Halvo slammed her down on the bench. Though she was apparently too stunned by his unexpected action to fight him, he held her with one arm and knee while he fumbled for and found the button that controlled the straps. By the time Perri fully realized what he was doing, she could not move. The flexible metal bands that once had held Halvo kept Perri immobilized. But Halvo could not move either.

  “My back!” he yelled, stiffening with pain.

  Rolli either did not understand what was wrong with Halvo or did not choose to respond. At the appointed moment, exactly thirty seconds after promising to do so, Rolli hit the button to activate Starthruster. The Space Dragon shuddered, then rocked as if it had been struck by a giant’s fist.

  The motion threw Halvo to the deck. Fortunately, he landed on one side. He rolled over onto his back and lay there, groaning. Perri, equally unable to move, gazed down at him in a decidedly unfriendly way.

  “You deserve a backache,” she said to him. “Let me off this bench at once.”

  “I will just as soon as it’s safe,” Halvo said. Raising his voice, he called, “Rolli, when you can leave the controls, come and help me. I’m having trouble getting up.”

  There was no response from the robot.

  “Rolli?” Grunting with the effort, Halvo attempted to raise his head so he could see better. “Rolli!”

  “Something is wrong,” Perri said, straining to lift her own head. She appeared to have recovered from her bout of near hysteria, her thoughts apparently no longer on Elyr, but upon her robot. “From where I am, I can see the control panel better than you. Rolli is sitting absolutely still at the controls. Halvo, do you smell something burning?”

  “Insulation.” Halvo sniffed the air again, just to be sure. “Can you see any smoke?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Perri squirmed around on the bench as much as she could, trying to get a better view of the controls and the robot. “Rolli’s eyelights are out. Halvo, I think the Space Dragon’s controls are on overload. I’m sure Rolli told me that is what the big red light means.”

  “The blast from one of those Regulan ships must have hit us just as Rolli activated Starthruster,” Halvo said. “If the robot’s metal fingers were on the control panel at exactly the right moment, they would be perfect conductors for the charge from the Regulan ships.”

  “Is that why our ship is vibrating so much?” Perri asked.

  “This ship is vibrating because Starthruster is still working. We are hurtling through space at uncontrolled speed,” Halvo said. “If Rolli is out of commission, then I have to get to the controls fast.”

  “Well, I am certainly not in a position to stop you,” Perri said in a resentful tone. She watched him struggle to move off the deck.

  “Damnation,” Halvo growled. “I can’t get to my feet on my own.”

  “Do something!” Perri shouted at him. “I don’t think the Space Dragon can take much more vibration without tearing apart at every seam. Rolli warned me against using Starthruster for too long a time.”

  Perri could not move very much, but she managed to wriggle downward along the bench until the restraining band across her chest and arms was rubbed up just above her left elbow. This was on the side toward Halvo. Perri lifted her lower arm, rotating it outward as far as she could. “Here. If you can raise your arm and take my hand, perhaps you can use me to pull yourself up.”

  “It will hurt you,” Halvo said.

  “Do we have any other choice?” she snapped. “If you injure my wrist or my elbow, we will fix it later. Just get up from that deck, Halvo, and find a way to slow the Space Dragon before it tears apart from the stress!”

  Reaching up, Halvo caught Perri’s hand. Then, grunting with pain, he bent one knee and pushed as hard as he could, levering himself off the deck as Perri had ordered. He heard her catch her breath as he pulled on her arm, and he saw her set her teeth.

  Of course, inevitably, as soon as he began to move the cursed dizziness returned. Closing his eyes to shut out the spinning cockpit, Halvo clung to Perri’s forearm and to the additional body parts he discovered with his other hand as he blindly raised himself a little higher.

  “I wish I could be of more help to you. Her voice was tight with the discomfort he was inflicting on her.

  “I can do it,” Halvo said. “Just a moment or two more.”

  The Space Dragon shivered as if it would come apart at any second and Halvo, already unbalanced by the effects of the old injury to his inner ear, went sprawling. He landed on something soft and heard the air go out of it in a quick little cry. He opened his eyes to find himself lying facedown
atop Perri.

  She was soft and sweet beneath him. Her lips were parted as she gasped for air. With that first deep breath her breasts moved against Halvo’s chest. Her green eyes met his with concern and fear.

  Halvo felt his body stir into hard, masculine life. It had been so long since that had happened, the entire year of his hospitalization and for some months before that. He had worried, in the black loneliness of many a night since his injuries, that he would never feel like a virile man again. That it should happen here, in a spaceship about to disintegrate into tiny pieces, while he lay immobilized on the body of a girl half his age who was responsible for his present situation, seemed to Halvo just one more piece of a bad joke the cosmos was playing on him. And yet gazing into Perri’s eyes, he was aware of a jolt of irrational happiness.

  He wanted to kiss Perri and feel those soft red lips opening beneath his own hard mouth. He wanted to take her in his arms and hear her moan while he -

  “Halvo, are you in terrible pain? Speak to me. Are you paralyzed?”

  “Just give me a minute.” He could not take his eyes off her lovely face.

  “Get off me, Halvo, and go fix the controls.” Perri pushed at him with her left hand. The urgency in her voice increased. “Please hurry.”

  He wanted to hurry. He wanted to thrust rapidly into her soft, feminine body and rush to a joyous, all-consuming climax…

  “Halvo!”

  “I know. I know, Perri. I have to get to my feet.” Halvo had spent more than twenty years in the Jurisdiction Service. He was trained to duty, and duty called to him. In a monumental act of willpower he consigned the storm of desire afflicting him to a far corner of his mind and kept it there.