To Touch the Stars

by Tess Mallory

  The machine balked above him, and suddenly a power unlike anything he could have ever imagined flooded through his body, his mind, his soul, pumped through him, seeking out his memories, his dreams, and his spirit. Sweat poured down his back, pain laced through his brain, and yet he did not cry out. The agony of it seemed to go on forever, but at last the machine grew still and the helmet was lifted slowly from his head. A disembodied voice spoke to him, asking a familiar question.

  "What name do you choose?"

  He swallowed hard, wishing the dryness from his throat; blinked, hoping the bright light would be turned from his eyes soon.

  "Eagle," he whispered.

  Eagle awoke in darkness. Lifting one hand to his head, he groaned aloud with the pain the effort cost him. Every bone in his body ached, every muscle felt as though it had been stretched to the limit. He blinked, his eyes focusing slowly in the darkened room. Was he back in the cargo hold? No, it was a small room and he lay on a hard bedlike table. Sickbay? Probably. Even small cruisers had a designated area where they took care of their injured. He sat up. Lights danced in his head and a roaring sound like an ocean's wave rushed through his ears. He lay back, gasping a little. Then he remembered. The dream. God, the dream.

  He'd started having the dreams after Telles died—or after he thought his friend had died. He didn't have a clue what they meant but figured they must have something to do with his assignment to Station One. Except the dreams had started before he ever arrived at the world and ever witnessed his first mind-probe.

  Mind-probe. Sky. She had been in his mind. She had been in his mind. His fists clenched at his side as little by little the memory returned. He had entered Kell's quarters looking for a com unit. He had found instead the captain of the ship clad in a diaphanous gown, sleeping. Drawn to her near-naked figure, he had touched her hand—and instantly been possessed by her mind.

  Slowly, Eagle rolled to one side and propped himself up on his elbow. Sweat beaded across his forehead, although whether it was from the exertion or the memories, he wasn't sure. She had seduced him first, coercing him into some depraved fantasy of her own making, and he had fallen headlong into it. Even now he could recall the taste of her lips, the feel of her skin, as though the experience had actually happened in the flesh and not just in their minds. It had been delicious, and he grew flushed with heat as he remembered. He had begun to come into some awareness of what was happening when, without warning, everything had changed. She had banished the sensual illusion and like the marauding pirate she was, had penetrated his innermost thoughts and ruthlessly probed his mind. He shivered with the strength of the memory. No wonder she had not pursued the mind-probe—she'd had another method in mind, one that did not rely on Zarn's devices and that usually left the victim alive unless he resisted.

  Rage, swift and silent, surged up inside him, and with an oath Eagle sat up, fighting the dizziness and the nausea. Dangling his legs over the side of the bed, he took several deep, strong breaths before trying to stand. Once on his feet, the rush of lights and the roar of the ocean returned, but only for a moment or two. The symptoms ebbed away and left him feeling weak, but able to stand. Could he walk? He took two stumbling steps forward and made it to the doorway. Cautiously, he stuck his hand through the opening, somewhat surprised to find it was not guarded by shielding. She must know his plans concerning the child, Mayla. So why then did he still seem to have the freedom of the ship?

  He stuck his head out and looked down the corridor. A solitary guard sat snoring on a stool a few feet from the door, his legs sprawled out in front him, his chest rising and falling rhythmically beneath his crossed arms. Eagle leaned one hand against the doorway for support. He was cold in spite of the long-sleeved uniform he still wore, but he ignored the chill along with all the other discomforts in his body as he evaluated the situation.

  No, not quite freedom. He was being guarded. But why hadn't she simply turned on the shielding? Did Sky think him so badly injured he wouldn't be able to leave under his own steam? Possibly. Or perhaps she feared he would rouse and stumble into it blindly, adding a new shock to the one he was still recovering from. She couldn't trade him back to his father if he was dead. Eagle pulled in fresh air, feeling dizzy and spent. Once he'd realized she was inside his mind, he had fought her. Not the smartest thing to do given what he knew about mind-probing and the dangers of resistance, but the reaction had been immediate and uncontrollable.

  He ran his hands down the sides of his thighs, the memory of her violation making his palms clammy. Rivulets of perspiration traced faint pathways down the side of his neck. He ran one hand through his hair, his mind racing as he glanced around the sickbay, looking for a weapon. His gaze lit on a hypo-spray lying nearby, and he smiled grimly as he picked it up and read in the little window on its side what medication it contained. Laudax. A heavy-duty sedative. They had probably used it on him to take him out of shock. There was more than half left inside. Nice of the captain to leave him exactly what he needed.

  He took the hypo and headed back to the doorway, sagging against it, his arms cradled across his stomach, his face twisted in a paroxysm of agony. "Guard, guard, help me—for God's sake, help me!"

  The guard, startled from sleep, jumped to his feet and ran to the side of the stricken man. Eagle staggered into him, grabbing both his arms and pulling him downward with his weight. They hit the floor, and before the guard even realized what was happening, Eagle pressed the hypo to his neck. The man was out cold within seconds. He dragged the unconscious body into the cubicle and, with effort, placed it on the table he had been lying on, covering him with the light blanket provided. With luck, at a glance someone might think it was Eagle, still asleep.

  Pocketing the hypo for possible future use, Eagle moved back to the door and glanced down the hall in either direction before heading for the nearest hatchway. Ladders ran between levels on the ship, encased in round tubes. Once inside he would be hidden from view, but he would also take the risk of meeting crew members crossing from one level to another. He hoped most of the crew used the lift instead. In any case, it was his safest bet. He was heading for the closest communications junction In most cruisers of this type, it was installed on the fourth deck near engineering. If he couldn't find an open corn unit to send his sub space message to Station One, he would have to break in via the junction and bootleg it into the system.

  Eagle winced as the soles of his boots hit each rung of the ladder, the sound echoing down the hatchway. He inched downward, sure that at any moment he would be discovered and taken back in shackles to the cargo hold. But the hatchway remained empty, and he made it to the fourth level unmolested. After making sure the corridor was empty, he slipped stealthily down the length of it. He passed four closed doors without a second glance, but paused beside the fifth, smiling at the sign posted beside it: auxiliary control. Every ship worth its engines had a separate unit for controlling the ship besides the one on the bridge, just in case the bridge was ever inaccessible.

  The hypo ready in the palm of his hand, Eagle tensed to spring as he pressed the release button and the door slid back. Empty. Unguarded. Well, that wasn't uncommon on a ship this size. The complement couldn't be more than twenty-five at the most, and he'd only actually seen a total often people since his arrival. Besides, the captain thought him well out of the action. Until the guard in sickbay woke up or someone else came to check on him, he had this window of opportunity.

  Swiftly he entered the room and closed the door behind him, glad to see it had a simple locking mechanism. He didn't want any interruptions, even if a crew member found the locked door and grew suspicious. He sat down at the curved console that ran the width of the room. The console contained a computer linkup to the rest of the ship as well as helm, navigation, phaser, and shielding controls. He could virtually take over the ship from here, if he so chose. It was a thought, but maintaining the control would be the hard part.

  On impulse, before he tried to reach S
tation One, he punched up the sub space frequency he knew Telles's ship would likely be tuned to and entered a complicated series of numbers and symbols that would turn whatever he said afterward into so much gibberish unless the person intercepting the message had the deciphering code. He and Telles had a long-standing system with which to find each other in the galaxy. He entered the last number and flipped a switch, keeping his voice low.

  "Tiger's Eye," he said, purposely using Telles's codename from his Forces days, and his own. "Tiger's Eye, this is Spacehawk. Do you read me? Repeating, Tiger's Eye, this is Spacehawk. Vital that I talk to you. Imperative to your mission. Repeat. Tiger's Eye—" The screen on the console flickered suddenly from darkness to the image of Telles. It still stunned him to know his friend was alive.

  "I'm not bringing her back, Colonel," Telles said, his blue eyes narrow beneath the dark brows. "You'll never find us, even if you follow this signal."

  "Shut up and listen," Eagle commanded, wincing inwardly as his friend's jaw tightened with anger. "Okay, okay—please listen to me for a minute, Telles. I don't want you to bring her back. I want you to meet me somewhere and the two of us will take her to a safe place."

  "What about Zarn? What about your orders?" The suspicion in his voice cut through Eagle's defenses more than he liked to admit. He looked away, trying to summon words that would convince the angry man. "Where are you, anyway," Telles went on, "sitting in your office with the Kalimar a few feet away, listening to my every word?"

  Eagle cursed eloquently under his breath before turning his gaze once again to the image on the screen. "Listen to me. I've been taken captive by a band of renegades who are after the child. They're the ones who attacked the station when you escaped."

  "I thought they were Zarn's men, after me," Telles said thoughtfully.

  "They won't stop until they find her. I don't know what their agenda is, but they're being led by a woman who would make Lucreda of Cybord 7 look like a loving mother by comparison. I want to make a deal with you. I'll help you get the child somewhere safe, but you've got to help me get off this barge." He stopped talking, his throat dry after the rush of words had ended. If Telles wouldn't agree to help him, he would have to try to take over the ship himself, or he'd have to get help from his father and abandon his plans to use the little princess as leverage.

  Telles leaned a little closer to the screen, his gaze searching Eagle's. "You know I want to believe you," he said softly. "But I can't take a chance on something happening to her. You don't understand. She isn't like you or me. She's special, she's—anointed by some higher power. She is the heir to the Andromedan throne."

  "Why is it so important to you? Why the hell do you care so much about Andromeda all of a sudden?"

  His blue-gray eyes darkened with an expression Eagle couldn't read. Telles didn't answer his question. "I'm willing to meet with you, only because there are things you need to know, but you must give me your word of honor that you won't bring the Dominion into this."

  "I won't. You have my word." And he wouldn't bring his father into it. This was his mission and he would do it his own way. Telles narrowed his gaze. "Why? Why are you willing to help me hide her?"

  "I have my own reasons and I'll discuss them with you when we meet. Do you remember where we spent our last R and R together?" Eagle glanced back over his shoulder toward the door. Things had gone smoothly so far, perhaps too smoothly. It was making him edgy.

  Telles frowned. "Yes, I remember. How could I forget you in that—"

  "That's where I want you to meet me," he said, cutting him off quickly before he could give any details that might tip off anyone who might, however unlikely, have unscrambled their code and be listening. Surely if his communique had been picked up on the bridge, the captain would have already twitched her curvy little behind down there to send another jolt of phaser fire into his system. Telles shook his head. "I don't know. How do I know you won't double-cross me?" Eagle spewed out his breath in exasperation. "Have I ever double-crossed you, Telles? Where in the hell is all of this suspicion coming from?"

  "You've never had to choose between me and your father before. Besides, I know the rules. Things like treachery and deceit don't apply if they're done in the name of the Dominion."

  Eagle rubbed his brow with the tips of his fingers, fighting the aching in the depth of his skull and the lethargy beginning to attack his entire body. He decided to up the ante. "If you don't help me out of this, old buddy, you may not ever have to worry about my loyalties again. They already tried to put me under a mind-probe—one of my father's new handy-dandy improved versions."

  Telles lifted one brow and something flashed in the depths of his eyes. "What happened?"

  "They didn't go through with it. I guess it was a bluff, and at the last minute, apparently the captain didn't have the guts. I think she has other, more primitive kinds of torture planned to make me talk."

  "About what?"

  "Where the kid is." Eagle said. "We've made a truce for now. I've agreed to help them find her. Once we reach the rendevous point, I'll lose them and meet you."

  "I don't know."

  He slammed one hand down flat on the console, exasperated. Once they had vowed to lay down their lives for one another. Now his best friend didn't even trust him. "Damn it, Telles, make up your mind."

  Telles stared at him for a long moment. When he finally spoke, Eagle realized he had been holding his breath. "All right," he said, "all right. But if you hurt that little girl"—he lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug—"I'll have to kill you."

  Eagle felt awareness dance down his spine. If he needed any more proof that Telles had changed, those words proved it.

  "I give you my word I will not hurt her, nor will I allow her to be harmed in any way." He leaned back in the chair, away from the screen. "Is that good enough?"

  "No," Telles said, the shadow of a smile touching his lips. "But I guess it will have to do."

  Again Eagle felt the pain of his distrust. He shook it away. The Telles he had known was apparently gone. He would just have to adjust to the new situation. "All right. Meet me there in two days' time—got that? No sooner, no later. Two days' time."

  "Affirmative. Out."

  Eagle watched the screen darken and closed his eyes, slumping down in his chair. He had to get up now, find his way back to sickbay, or perhaps the bridge to confront the captain, and figure out how he was going to get this tub to the rendevous point. Somehow he couldn't make his body follow the commands his mind was issuing.

  "Your old friend doubts you."

  Eagle felt his body stiffen, tighten in every tiny muscle, every part of his skin constricted as the sound of the ail-too-familiar voice echoed in front of him.

  Damn. He'd hoped for more time. Schooling his features, pulling himself inward quickly, he opened his eyes and faced his father's image on the screen. The handsome, rather rugged face smiled at him, but the gesture never reached his green eyes. Not a good sign.

  "Hello, Father," he acknowledged with a nod of his head. "It's about time you showed up. I've been stalling Telles for days."

  Zarn smiled, the lines carved around his full lips growing deeper, his still-dark brows lifting in amusement. "Yes, sol overheard. Apparently your friend has risen from the dead. Interesting."

  So Zarn had broken his code. Had he heard his offer to meet with Telles? No doubt. Well, the game wasn't over yet. Ignoring his last words, Eagle leaned forward slightly.

  "If you were listening, you're aware of my situation. I'm glad you're here, because I'm going to need some outside help." The Kalimar's face grew larger in the screen and Eagle could see the disappointment in his father's eyes.

  "And what exactly is the situation? Your old friend apparently has the child you were ordered to bring to me on Rigel. You appeared to be pleading with this same friend to meet with you so that you could spirit the child away to a safe place, away from these renegades—and myself."

  Eagle let a small strea
m of air escape slowly through his parted lips. He hated lying to his father but it was for his own good—and the good of the Dominion.

  "Pretty good, eh? I learned from the best. But you're wrong about Telles. He isn't the bad guy in this scenario, it's those renegades."

  Something flickered in the depths of the eyes staring back at him, a slight hope, and his stem lips twitched. "That remains to be seen. What happened on Station One?"

  "Here's the way it went down. The kid arrived, and as soon as I received your orders, I was suddenly attacked by this band of renegades—hell, the whole station was attacked. They took me captive, demanded to know where the girl was, and when I wouldn't tell them, they beat the hell out of me and took me to their ship. But before the renegades came, Telles had shown up out of the blue—alive—and I told him about the child. When the attack started, he took the initiative to get her to a cruiser and get her off the planet, keeping the pirates from getting her." Eagle leaned back in his chair, still feeling slightly weak and hoping it didn't show. "Now, what I suggest we do is—"

  "A moment." Zarn himself leaned away from the screen, steeping his fingers together on his chest as he gazed at his son, his eyes gleaming like two black stars. "If your friend Telles is simply keeping the child safe for me, why did he require a promise that you would not take her, nor harm her?"

  Eagle hesitated, then decided on the truth. "He's gotten kind of attached to her, I admit. She healed him and—"

  "She did what?" Eagle kicked himself mentally as he saw the bloodlust he knew so well fill Zarn's eyes. He hadn't known. Damn it, he really hadn't known.

  The green eyes narrowed to slits and the wide mouth curved up, filling his face with a malevolent smile. "So, she does have the powers. I knew it; I could feel it." The big man clenched one fist and brought it down in front of him. "You will bring her to me. The Cabinet is not happy with this turn of events, my son. They blame you." His brows collided above the large, straight nose. "If the child is not returned to me within a few days—a week at the most—they will demand that I send Intelligence after her, and after you. You know what that will mean."