To Touch the Stars

by Tess Mallory

  "Still in the cargo hold. I left two guards. He's pretty out of it thanks to that shot you gave him, but I'm not sure if there's enough of the drug left in his system to continue with—"

  "Release him," she said abruptly, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk and standing. The small cubicle was used for bandaging wounds and doing simple diagnostic work. There was no doctor aboard and none was needed as long as she served as captain. Her ability to heal was nothing compared to Mayla's, but she could handle most situations. She glanced up to see a profound look of surprise on the Altairian's face.

  "What did you say?" he asked, his dark blue brows knit together over the paler blue irises below. The expression in their depths said very plainly he thought she had lost her mind. "Release him?"

  "I'll explain." Sky stood, rubbing the back of her neck as she walked around the confines of the small room, her thoughts troubled. "Mayla told me not to use the probe against what's-his-name and to release him. She says if we'll give him a chance, he'll help us find her."

  "But how did she breach your shield?" Kell insisted. "How?"

  "This band"—she gestured to her head—"keeps out any normal person's thought waves that might randomly collide with mine, and it also keeps out the power of telepaths, or at least it has so far. But Mayla is different." She stopped talking and clasped her hands behind her back, pausing to stare into a cabinet containing liquid bandage and tubes filled with painkillers. "She and I share the bond not only of being sisters, but on another, higher level, the bond of being Cezans. I don't know how to explain that except to say that it increases her strength of mind, as far as I am concerned, by one hundredfold."

  "Why hasn't she contacted you before?" Kell asked suspiciously. "How do you know this isn't a trick of some kind? Perhaps Zarn's son is a telepath and has violated your mind, convincing you his thoughts are Mayla's so you'll release him."

  Sky shook her head, running one finger across the smooth surface of the cabinet door. She spun back around in time to see an odd look cross Kell's face, a look of impatience or irritation. Extremely odd for Kell. He was the most patient of all creatures.

  "No, I know Mayla's mental signature. I was startled at first by the sudden intrusion into my mind and it caused me to withdraw into myself, but later I realized who it was. Her essence cannot be duplicated by any means that I am aware of No, right when I was about to insert the needle into his brain—" she broke off with a slight shudder then straightened her shoulders. "Eight at that moment, something happened. I heard someone shout, telling me to stop. I was so startled, so afraid, that I drew inward and prepared to fight the intruder inside my mind. It was there I found Mayla. She told me I was not to probe the colonel, that he was not our enemy, and I was to release him."

  The doubt had not left Kell's gaze. "If it was Mayla, why has she not contacted you before now?"

  "I don't know. Perhaps she couldn't."

  "Did she tell you where she is?"

  Sky shook her head, feeling the wave of despair flood over her again. She had been so close to knowing. Why hadn't Mayla told her before she disappeared?

  "Remember, Sky, she may be the heir to the throne of Andromeda, but she is still just a child." Kell frowned at her thoughtfully. "Why is she the heir? Why not you? You have the telepathic powers that are the prerequisite, and the healing power as well."

  Sky bit her lower lip and hesitated. She hated lying to Kell, after all they'd been through together, but sometimes there was just no way around it.

  "The youngest child in the family is the heir," she said, turning so that she wouldn't have to meet his eyes with the lie. "At least, that is our family's custom. At times there have been exceptions, but not now, not when so much is at stake."

  "I see. Is it possible her link with you could lead us to her?"

  Sky bit her lower lip, shaking her head. "I don't know. Perhaps I could follow the trail left by her thought waves. She was only there for a moment, then she was gone. If she could remain in my mind for a sustained length of time, then perhaps—" She frowned, breaking off the thought. "But if she could do that, she would have contacted me before. My guess would be that she has tried to reach me and has been prevented until now."

  "Because of the band?"

  "Yes. And perhaps because she is already a great distance away. Even Mayla—" She didn't complete the thought. "If I removed the protective band, perhaps she could reach me more easily."

  Kell folded his arms across his chest. "It is also possible your mind would be flooded by a thousand others and send you into telepathic shock."

  She nodded, then turned away. "I'm afraid she is being stopped from using her telepathic ability. She said she would contact me again if she was 'permitted.' That sure sounds like someone is holding her against her will. I don't know. In the meantime, release him." Sky placed her hand on the back of her neck and leaned her head back against it. She yawned and Kell gave her a knowing look.

  "You need to rest."

  "I will—later. Right now, let's take care of our 'guest,' for I suppose that's what he's going to be for the rest of this trip."

  "What if he refuses to help us? What if Mayla is wrong?"

  Sky moved toward the doorway, a nagging headache beginning between her eyes, right at the pointed apex of the silver band. She touched the spot briefly, willing the pain away before she turned back to Kell.

  "Mayla is never wrong," she said. "Well, hardly ever." "Captain!"

  The outcry came over the intercom speaker next to the doorway. Sky slammed the palm of her hand down on the response switch. "Captain here."

  The voice of her security chief blasted back at her. "The prisoner has escaped. I repeat, the prisoner has escaped. He may have killed one of the guards; we aren't sure yet."

  A cold wave of anger flooded over her. "What do you mean you aren't sure yet? Is he dead or not?"

  "The prisoner has barricaded himself in the hold and is holding both guards hostage. He demands that you come down and speak with him."

  "Oh, he demands it, does he?" Sky whirled around. "Kell, get a squad together and arm them with phaser rifles, set on heavy stun."

  "What about Mayla's command?" Kell reminded her dryly. "What about your plan to release him?"

  Sky narrowed her eyes and curled both hands into tight fists. "Nobody threatens me or my crew on my own p'flaugking ship! Nobody!" She stormed out of the sickbay and headed for the cargo hold. If Zarn's son thought she would give in to his terrorist tactics, he had another think coming.

  Eagle could barely stand. The anesthetic combined with a day without food and little water was catching up with him. He had been lucky so far—lucky in that the men set to guard him weren't exactly blessed with an abundance of brains, and lucky his pretense of having some kind of seizure had worked. One of the guards had released him from his bonds as he had wrenched and slobbered, and in a matter of minutes, with the training of thirteen years in the Forces on his side, he had subdued both of them, cracking one guard's head a little harder than he'd intended. He hoped the man didn't die because he suspected that little fireball on the bridge would never let him go if he had done serious harm.

  His plan was simple. He would tell the woman that if she would release him, he would help her find the child. Then he would send out a coded message to Telles's ship, and if he was anywhere in range he felt sure his old friend would answer if only out of curiosity. He would offer to help Telles, offer to help his captor, and in the end trick them both and bring the little princess back to his father. A picture of the little girl's face hovered in his mind and he pushed it brusquely away. Zarn wouldn't hurt her. He'd make sure of that. The memory of his father's ruthlessness on other worlds sprang to mind. He frowned and checked the charge in the phaser he held. On second thought, maybe the best thing to do would be to take the child to a holding place, a safe place, until he had a chance to talk to his father in more detail about his plans for her.

  Zarn would be furious but he woul
dn't have much of an alternative. What was he going to do, torture the information out of him? He smiled at the thought. He might not be sure of much in this universe, but one thing he could count on was his father's love for him. They might not always agree, but there was a bond between them that couldn't be broken. Another idea dawned and although he tried to dismiss it, he found he could not.

  Even before the battle for Alpha Centauri 7, he had begun to see that his father's way was wrong. People had rights, whether they were Rigelian or not. Telles's feelings about the Kalimar had affected him, he realized that now, and it had been with great reluctance that he accepted the truth: He agreed with his friend. His father should be stopped—but not by more violence. Eagle knew if he could just have the chance, the right chance, to talk to his father, convince him there was a better way to run his little part of the universe, he could make him understand. If Zarn didn't change the way he was ruling his people, he was going to lose everything. Maybe the little girl was the chance he'd been waiting for, the leverage he needed. Blackmail his father into listening? One corner of his mouth lifted. Actually, Zarn would appreciate the tactic. It was worthy of his son.

  Wiping his brow with the back of one hand, Eagle felt the too-small uniform he had taken from the still-unconscious guard rip under the arm. He tried once again to pull the two edges of the cloth together in the front and fasten them, but it was no use. His body was exposed to the waist and there was nothing he could do about it. It was immaterial. He abandoned the effort and turned his thoughts to his escape.

  He had to get away from these people as quickly as possible, find the child, and take her to a safe place unknown to any of the players in this little drama, then contact his father. Much as he would like to revenge himself upon the silver-haired wench who had tortured him, as much as he would like to hold her at phaser point and do a little torturing himself, the best thing to do was to make his escape, cleanly, coolly, and leave her wondering where in the galaxy he had gone.

  "Open this hatch, you son of a Denebian slumbock."

  As if in response to his thoughts, her voice crackled across the corn situated at the side of the cargo hatch, a voice taut with suppressed anger. A half-smile touched his lips as he walked wearily over and leaned against the dense metal. Cargo holds on small cruisers like this weren't graced with invisible energy shields. This one had a good old-fashioned two-foot-thick birellium hatch that could withstand almost any kind of attack against it. The only disadvantage was you couldn't see who was on the other side, but in this case that was a distinct advantage because he was sure the fury blazing in the captain's beautiful eyes might melt him on the spot. He spoke into the unit.

  "How lovely to hear your dulcet tones again," he said. "And how courteous of you to arrive so promptly."

  "I'm warning you—if that guard dies I will take your head back to your father on a platter!"

  Eagle sobered. The guard was stirring now, moaning softly and thrashing from side to side. The other sat beside him, glowering at Eagle, cradling his own injured arm to his side. The wounded men gave him the advantage, and he intended to use it for all it was worth.

  "I, too, am concerned about your men, Captain. It seems I hit one of them a little too hard and bounced his head off the inside of this impressive door. He's unconscious." A sudden expletive hurled through that same metal made a smile dart across his face of its own volition. "Temper, temper. And may I say, now that there is a thick hatch between us, Captain, that you have the mouth of a Tantalisian pimp-boy? I must tell you I find it extremely unbecoming in a woman."

  "Shut up!" The furious command almost seemed to physically shake the doorway and Eagle chuckled. Perhaps a little revenge would be exacted today after all.

  "What's it going to be, Captain? I hate to see men suffer like this. And I'd hate it if one of them died when it could have been avoided with a little help from your sickbay."

  Another oath, then muttering between two people, then more outraged cursing. Eagle glanced over at the conscious guard and thought he saw the man's mouth drop open as the cursing intensified, growing more eloquent by the minute. Finally the captain's voice returned to normal and two terse words echoed across the speaker.

  "Your terms?"

  Eagle smiled. It had been easier than he'd hoped, although he realized he had no way of knowing if she. would honor her word once she got the guards back.

  "How do I know you'll keep your word?" he said, voicing his doubts. "How do I know the men are still alive—or are even hurt for that matter?"

  Eagle turned and walked over to the man who still clutched his arm. He wasn't seriously injured, just bruised, perhaps a dislocated shoulder and a couple of broken ribs. Eagle's hand closed around the neck of his uniform and jerked him to his feet. The movement itself brought a cry of pain from the man, who then sank back down to the floor, his face as white as a sheet. Eagle pushed aside his niggling conscience and strode back to the com.

  "Sorry, I thought I'd bring one of them over to convince you, but I think he passed out again."

  "You splay-handed, dard-mittled, pox-ridden son of a bitch!"

  "Tut, tut, Captain, I don't respond well to that sort of language."

  "When I get hold of you—" She broke off "Your terms—space-boy?"

  He leaned against the bulkhead, arms folded across his chest, enjoying her frustration immensely. "And while we're at it, why don't we establish that my rank is colonel. You may call me Colonel Zarn." Eagle grinned as he pictured the irate expression on the woman's face.

  "I'll call you a fark-biddled—" She broke off again as Kell's deeper voice murmured in the background. Silence. Then an exasperated sigh. "For the last time, what are your terms—Colons!!"

  Eagle smiled. "Well, now, I don't want much. Just to keep my brain intact, and to be released and given the freedom of the ship. In return, I'll give you your guards back and I'll try to help you find the kid. If we can't find her within, oh, say seven Andromedan days, you release me, no hard feelings."

  "Why would you help us find her?"

  He shrugged to himself. "Why not? She means nothing to me. I just didn't like being forced to do something that will screw me up with High Command."

  "You mean with your father." Her voice was scathing, filled with disgust. "Then you agree to lead us to her?"

  "I really don't know where she is, Captain. Your probing of my mind would have been a lesson in futility—and barbarism."

  "Yeah, well you should know." Another silence. Whispered mutterings. Her voice once again. "All right, Colonel. You have your terms."

  Easier than he'd supposed. Too easy.

  "I've got a phaser," he told her. "When I open this hatch I'm going to shoot the first person I see with a weapon drawn. And I don't have it set on stun."

  "We understand. I give you my word as the captain of the Defiant that no harm will come to you."

  "You agree to release me after seven days if we haven't found the child?"

  "Yes."

  Eagle considered her promise, a phaser in each hand. His captors still had the advantage. If he opened the door they could always overpower him. He had two phasers not fully charged against the complement of the ship. Why should they honor their part of the bargain? He didn't trust her, and yet, for some reason, he believed her to be a person of honor. Besides, what other choice did he have?

  "All right. Step back from the door and I'll release it." He reached for the huge manual switch jutting out next to the hatch. He'd disabled the computer-link tying the mechanism into the bridge and auxiliary control. Tucking one phaser into his belt, he pushed upward on the little-used bar and felt it give beneath his hand. Immediately he jumped back from the opening, pulled the weapon from his belt and trained both guns on the empty space being left by the hatch door gliding upward.

  She stood on the other side, hands on her hips, blue eyes narrow. Flanked by Kell on one side and a thick-set, burly looking man on the other, he was surprised to see there were no o
ther security personnel in sight.

  "We are unarmed," she said, moving her hands apart in a gesture of openness. "Please lower your weapons."

  "Not a chance. First let me out of here and show me to a nice cozy room complete with shower, clean clothes, and a hot meal. Then I'll give you the phasers."

  Her gaze flickered over his bare chest and Eagle fancied he saw the anger in her eyes falter half a second before it flared back to life. Interesting.

  "Lieutenant P'ton will show you to your quarters," she said. The burly man stepped forward, his face dark with anger.

  Eagle barely glanced in his direction. "I don't think so. I want the VIP treatment, Captain. You can show me to my quarters."

  The tension in her stance was palpable. Her fingers resting on her slim waist tightened and Eagle let a smile flash across his face, enjoying her frustration.

  "Sky, I protest, I—" the blue-skinned man began, only to be cut off by the woman with one long stroke of her hand. Sky. Eagle almost rolled his eyes. Captain Sky. How eloquent, how droll. He voiced his opinion aloud.

  "Captain Sky—how lovely. Brings to mind lazy days in Pernoz back on Andromeda. Couldn't you come up with anything less—fluffy?" He raked his gaze over her. "It doesn't exactly suit you. I would have dubbed you a 'Bodra' or perhaps a 'Henriette,' but 'Sky'?" He shook his head. "Definitely a misnomer."

  Her eyes narrowed even more until they were thin slits of rage. Her full lips were pressed tightly together as if to stop the torrent of profanity she wanted to pour upon him. Eagle grinned at her, hoping it would drive her over the edge and he could watch her debase herself with more cursing, but instead her features calmed. The tension faded from her face, the anger from her eyes, and he marveled at her sudden control.

  "I will show you to your quarters, Colonel, and I would be honored if you would join me in my cabin for dinner."