She twitched her antennae once in response, careful not to raise her head until he gave her permission to do so.
"You may rise and ssspeak."
Ugmish unfurled her legs and lifted her body off the ground. He was still half a length higher than she stood at full elevation. His hooded black eyes dared her to give him bad news, causing both of her stomachs to churn even though her report was positive.
"Special Envoy TM7 has returned from Faxona. The mission was a success. The plans for the FTL transport have already been delivered to research for analysis."
"Excccellent. Tell them I will expect a preliminary timetable for retrofitting it to our ships by firssst sssunrise."
"Yes, sir," Ugmish replied, knowing she would bear the brunt of the analysts' tantrums when they heard that deadline. The commander might have used the word preliminary, but he would hold them to whatever estimate they gave, and unfortunately, he always demanded answers in half the time needed to supply realistic ones.
"Return to me after you've delivered that message, I may have need of you."
With an obedient bow, she slithered back out of the niche as quickly as possible.
Not for the first time, Xytoc congratulated himself on having found a yeoman who was as efficient at her duties as she was accommodating to his personal needs.
He stretched and scratched his lower belly with a pair of his hind legs. FTL travel! He had been skeptical when he first heard of its development. It was almost too fortuitous to be believed.
He should not have doubted the predictions of Master Stargazer Po, who had told him that he was the one who would lead the Velids into the final battle against their deadliest enemies.
The portion of his brain that housed the memories of his ancestors seemed to burn a bit brighter as he contemplated the glorious victory awaiting him. The fires of vengeance had been kept alive through the many generations passed by preserving those old memories.
Xytoc called them forth now to inflame his purpose and fortify his commitment.
It had begun as a mission, to seek out other life forms and study them to increase their understanding of the universe. That mission was to be ongoing, generation after generation, as the Velid ship made its way through myriad galaxies, exchanging information. Reports were transmitted back to their home planet after each encounter.
The first disaster had occurred in the Templar System, when they landed on a small, unnamed planet inhabited by a primitive life form that had yet to learn how to build shelters or farm for sustenance. They were frighteningly ugly specimens of a race who utilized only the rear two of their four legs for movement. They lacked even the barest skills needed for universal communication. The creatures were terrified by the visitors and went into hiding. Two Velids tracked them down to try to make them understand that they had come in peace. For their efforts, they were captured and stoned to death.
Many generations later, the Velid expedition found another, more advanced planet inhabited by the same four-limbed species. The beings were known as humanoids and the planet was called Heart. Recalling the Templar beings' negative reaction to the Velids' natural appearance, they morphed their outer appearance to match the natives' bodies, thinking it would put the Heartlings at ease. That time the entire landing crew was killed, without provocation, and the shuttle destroyed.
It was clear that the grotesque species had an innate, lethal hatred of the Velid race, regardless of which shape they took. The humanoids had to be stopped before their civilization progressed to space travel and threatened the Velids in their own galaxy. Prior to the remaining Velids departing from Heart's solar system, the mother ship repaid the humans with total extermination.
As an added precaution, they buried a sonic emitter beneath the planet's surface. Its job was to send out an intermittent beacon to warn others of their kind of potential danger.
From that point on, the purpose of the expedition had altered from academic studies to searching for and annihilating all humanoids. Most recently, the battalion of exterminators had returned to the Templar System and eradicated every hint of civilization on the small planet where the first vicious attack had occurred.
Because of the development of FTL transport, information was suddenly being traded on an intergalactic scale in incredibly short periods of time. The Velids now knew there had been a sufficient number of survivors on Heart to repopulate the planet and that those beings had since mastered space travel. Believing that it was only a matter of time before their enemies successfully launched an attack against the Velids, Xytoc was convinced that they had to strike first in order to survive.
The only way to do that, however, was to move the fleet across the galaxy at such speed that the attack would be a complete surprise. And for that, they needed to retrofit their ships with the latest technology. Thus he had sent Envoy TM7 to steal the plans for the FTL transport from the Faxons. Using the Velid metamorphic ability to duplicate any living organism, the envoy's mission had hardly been a challenge.
If the stars were on their side, the sonic emitter was still functioning and could be used to guarantee the accuracy of their navigation despite the hyperspeed.
Xytoc considered Po's exact prediction. He had said it would be the final battle. That had to mean it would mark the end of the entire humanoid race, because the Velids would not give up until there was not a single cell of that species left alive. Their deadliest enemies could only refer to the humanoids of Heart.
The facts gleaned about Heart also included that it was ruled by females who were completely peaceful, had no military and no protection from outside invasion. Though Xytoc trusted the information to be accurate, it did not change his mind about the necessity to eradicate the race. The females currently in power may be non-aggressive, but they were capable of bearing offspring who were genocidal.
Despite Po's prediction and the indication that Heart had no defenses, Xytoc still wanted to do everything possible to ensure an overwhelming victory. He intended to recall every battalion immediately. When he departed for Heart, it would be with a massive show of strength. Every ship would be converted to FTL and every able-bodied Velid would be drafted to increase the size of the attack force to a hundred times what it was.
He would make certain that the name Xytoc went down in history as the most brilliant, fierce commander of all time—the Velid who exterminated the last humanoid in the universe!
Chapter 14
Simone's brain was clicking away faster than she could assimilate all the gossip. The entire imperial city buzzed with suppositions, rumors and facts. The problem was in deciding which tidbit fell into which category.
The general consensus was that Nadia must have suffered a mental collapse. A small pocket of women believed she never had been a hundred percent normal. An even smaller number, like Simone, found it very hard to believe that Nadia, with her eyes focused on the imperial throne, would do something so blatantly risky, as well as illegal.
This group privately whispered their doubts to one another. They were of the mind that Parisia might have orchestrated the entire fiasco, including fabricating the supposed recorded evidence, in order to get Nadia out of the way.
Had Nadia been present at the special Parliament meeting, Simone was positive Parisia never would have convinced them to go along with the radical changes she proposed. Nor would Parliament have been convinced to approve a revised budget so that trillions could be diverted to something as useless as a defense system.
Heart had no enemies. More than likely the funds would be secretly redirected into some personal account of Parisia's or her daughter, Brianne's. And what better way to hide the misdirection than to use women from Earth, who wouldn't know what was being done and couldn't care?
Simone could not stand by and do nothing for five years until Nadia might be allowed to reenter society. She had to come up with a plan that would accomplish all her objectives. One, speak to Nadia to confirm that she had been unjustly incarcerated.
Two, free her and prove to Parliament that Parisia had lied. This of course, would result in Nadia's position being elevated, possibly even to Imperial Prefect. And third, make sure Nadia felt eternally indebted to Simone.
She knew the third goal might automatically be achieved by the first two, but she would probably have to share the credit with other helpful supporters. Another idea formed that would bind herself to Nadia in a more personal way.
It took a few calls and promised favors but she pulled it off with a minimum of difficulty. Nadia's relatives were tremendously relieved to so easily settle several potential legal complications. Simone's generous offer was accepted before the gossip died down and heads cleared.
By the end of the day, Simone would move out of her mother's home and into Nadia's to keep it maintained in good condition until the owner returned. She also accepted responsibility for Fulton's employment contract and temporary guardianship of the underage offspring, Chloe. It was thought to be a very kindhearted gesture from Nadia's former best friend, especially since her family was so anxious to disassociate themselves from their relative and her criminal behavior.
Simone didn't tell anyone, not even the other women who were committed to helping Nadia get reinstated, but there was another reason why she was intent on carrying out the first step of the plan. She had an important, private question for Nadia.
If Parisia did not lie, and the visual recording Simone heard about truly existed, then Nadia had knowledge of something no one else did—what it was like to be touched by an unmedicated man.
Had Simone not witnessed the episode in the transfer room between the Earth man and woman and seen the woman's blissful expression, she would not have had a single question about Nadia's innocence. She had always been told no woman in her right mind would welcome a man's touch, and Nadia was not insane, so she wouldn't have acted improperly with an Earth male.
Unless she had seen what Simone had and couldn't erase the images from her mind.
Unless she also wondered if an enormous lie had been perpetrated for centuries to maintain the power of one family.
Satisfied that she had set her plan in motion, and the details would work out along the way, she placed a call to Fulton to let him know she would be moving in and reassure him and Chloe they needn't worry about being taken care of.
"I promise you, everything will be fine," she told him sweetly. "And you mustn't concern yourself with learning new routines or duties to please me. Whatever you normally did for Nadia will be perfectly acceptable to me."
* * *
Tarla hadn't expected to see anyone when they exited the tack room. After all, a little over two days had passed since they'd gone in to request an audience with their caretakers. So it was quite a surprise when they opened the bolted door and saw Willy jumping to his feet.
He shook each woman's hand and happily welcomed them back. "Everybody's been so worried!"
"I hope you haven't been in here waiting for us all this time," Robin said.
"Actually, we've been taking shifts. Parisia tried to escape through here twice. Someone's guarding the outside door too."
"She's not Parisia," Tarla said. "But that's the least important thing we've learned."
"I hope that means you were allowed to remember where you've been and what happened to you."
"Yes," Tarla said, nodding. "And we have good news and not so good news. But we'd better give it to Major Cookson first."
They found Geoffrey in the big house helping with lunch preparations. Tarla instantly noticed how his handsome face was creased with worry and fatigue and that his usually neat blond hair looked as though he hadn't combed it all day. Geoffrey was so relieved to see the women and hear they had returned with a proposition, he kissed each one on both cheeks and returned Robin's exuberant hug.
"Thank heavens you're back!" he exclaimed with a very un-British burst of emotion. "I thought we were going to have to force Logan to start drinking the water again to calm him down."
Tarla's surprised expression made him laugh. "Don't tell him I said that. He's spent the last two days denying that he was concerned. As eager as I am to hear what happened, I'm going to ask you to hold off for a few more minutes so that Logan can hear it at the same time. Everyone should be coming in for lunch any moment."
Tarla agreed, though she was anxious to get started. "If I might make a suggestion, we should go somewhere private for this debriefing. A lot of people aren't going to like it."
Geoffrey's smile faded. "That sounds rather ominous."
Before Tarla could give him any reassurance, the first group of laborers came in from the field. Everyone was excited about the women's safe return, but no matter how much pleading or cajoling they did, Tarla wouldn't reveal any details yet.
As soon as Logan arrived, a lunch tray was shoved into his hand and Geoffrey and the women whisked him off to a shaded spot some distance from the big house.
Tarla considered what Geoffrey had said about Logan's being worried. Either he had been grossly exaggerating or Logan was extremely good at hiding his feelings. He barely reacted to their return.
Though Tarla delivered most of their report, Robin, Lee and Alicia supplied some details and independent opinions throughout.
"I wish it were a better deal for more of the men," Tarla said in an apologetic tone when she'd covered everything.
Geoffrey shook his head. "You did better than we expected." He glanced at Logan for affirmation. "When you were gone so long, we weren't at all certain you'd be able to return. Or if you were, that you wouldn't have any memory of what had happened."
"We were waiting one more day," Logan said. "Then we were going to march through the barrier."
"Does that mean you figured out how to use that little box?" Robin asked Geoffrey.
"Yes. It was really quite simple. But we didn't want to cause a disturbance if you were making positive progress, which, apparently, you were."
Tarla felt obliged to be modest about their accomplishment, but he stopped her.
"None of that now. You've negotiated an agreement that will result in everyone's being returned home eventually. What we need to concentrate on next is selecting the ten men. Any suggestions?"
Tarla was ready for that question. "We discussed this and decided there's no way to be fair about it, like with a random drawing. The most logical plan would be to make a list of every man's expertise and former career and choose by skills and qualifications that would correlate with the end goal."
Robin continued, "Once the ten men are chosen they should be paired up with women who have experience in the same field if possible. Men don't have the freedom of movement women do over there, so it would be unseemly for a man to be servant to one woman but spend time with another."
"However," Alicia said, "we request one consideration that has nothing to do with skills. We may have to live with these men for as long as a year. We'd appreciate the opportunity to reject someone as a roommate if we are completely incompatible."
Geoffrey thought their selection plan was reasonable. He said, "If you get the other women to help, you should be able to interview every man before they return to their chores."
"What about the others?" Logan asked. "Some of the men who were here before us might be of use. Hans told me he was a scientist. That could help."
"Possibly," Tarla said. "But only if the effects of taking the drug over a long period of time can be reversed. We don't know that, so I'd hate to risk it when we can only bring ten men with us."
"Agreed," Geoffrey stated. "Let's get to it."
The other six women were quickly gathered and given a brief overview of the situation. There would be plenty of time for in-depth explanations later. The individual interviews took less time than the selection process. A few men were immediately chosen for the A list, those who would obviously be beneficial to the project. A lot more were placed in the B group, those who had usable skills or knowledge but were not unique in their ability.
Once the men left, the women felt free to eliminate a few qualified men, such as Wilkes, because of personality or personal habits.
To no one's great surprise, Ray Higgs turned out to be a computer hacker besides being an expert on science fiction and alien worlds, both of which put him on the A list. There was a brief dispute as to whether Alicia or Lee would claim him, but finally he was paired with Kara, who had majored in computer science before changing to nursing.
The other man on the A list from the start was their pilot, Nathan Boswell. Alicia was his obvious best partner.
Robin's argument that a mechanic and an engineer were perfectly matched earned her the right to choose Geoffrey.
Though all the nurses had been required to take extensive math and science courses, Sunny and Trish had excelled in those subjects. They were paired with Edward smith, the flight navigator and Jeremy Fleischer, the copilot, who had been working on his doctorate in nuclear physics prior to being drafted.
Darcy, who had been the office manager for a successful group of doctors, prided herself on her efficiency and organizational ability. It seemed appropriate for her to team up with Hal Becket, whose background was business and accounting, since a budget had to be strictly adhered to.
From the balance of the list, they selected three other men—Thomas Jefferson/T.J. Jones, Greg Oliver and Kevin Atchinson. Like Logan they were career soldiers, trained in weapons, experienced at fighting enemies, both seen and unseen, accustomed to following orders and familiar with bloodshed. They shared those qualifications with a lot of other men, but the remaining women chose them for a variety of personal reasons.
Tarla didn't need to use her intuition to see what was coming. One by one the women rejected Logan as a roommate and chose one of the others. Though he had done nothing negative the last few days, his criminal record and dangerous aura were simply too problematic to overcome. T.J. was another hard case, a young black man with a cocky attitude, but Lee felt she could handle and, possibly, offer him some much needed direction. Then Mandy and Charlene opted for Greg and Kevin, strictly based on attraction.
LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) Page 18