To Touch the Stars

by Tess Mallory

  "Hey, you can't do that!"

  Telles's blow caught him squarely in the nose, and the man stumbled backward as the other guard left Sky's side and ran forward, his weapon laying down a quick succession of searing red blasts in their general direction. The blasts missed them and sizzled against the bulkhead behind them.

  "It's not on stun!" Eagle shouted, pulling Telles back behind the table and down beside him in a crouching position.

  "You might as well come out!" The guard shouted. "There's no way out of this room and—Uhhhhh." The sound of a thud, followed by another, cut off the man's ultimatum, and Eagle and Telles looked at each other in confusion, then grinned at the same time.

  "Sky," they said in unison, and stood.

  The royal princess of the Cezan family stood with one foot on the fallen man's chest, his blaster rifle balanced against her hip. The other guard lay nearby.

  "Hello, boys," she said. "Shall we go?"

  Sky wasn't exactly sure what had happened back in the inquisition chamber, but she knew Eagle had protected her by not revealing who she really was to Zarn and that he had refused to probe Telles's mind. For those things she was temporarily giving him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, there was no time for explanations, not if they wanted to stay alive. They had paused long enough for Telles to don his clothing, and now were headed for the huge ship's shuttle bay, running at full speed, two blasters from the fallen guards in hand. They had them set on heavy stun at Eagle's insistence.

  She had insisted on keeping the weapon she had captured, and Eagle had given the other to Telles, leaving him unarmed. He followed behind them muttering un-der his breath. Thank the Seekers he knew this ship so well. She didn't trust him, not for a minute, but whatever his motives were in helping them get to the ship's shuttle, she would use his help and deal with him later. She had to live to get off of this ship and find out what Telles had meant when he said that Mayla had erased his knowledge of her whereabouts.

  Rounding a corner, they were suddenly confronted by six Dominion soldiers. Cursing herself for being lost in thought instead of ready and primed for action, Sky fired off a series of blasts from her weapon only seconds behind Telles's defense. Two soldiers went down in front of them. Telles and Sky managed to push them back with the sheer audacity of refusing to yield, and continued to move forward, firing constantly, forcing the Dominions back past their fallen comrades. As Sky and Telles covered him, Eagle quickly removed the weapons and power packs from the men and entered the fray himself. Now with four weapons between them, they stepped up the firepower and pushed the remaining four soldiers back until they had reached the corridor leading to the shuttle bay.

  Sky gauged the situation with a military mind even as she crouched around the corner. This corridor was shaped like a T, with the Dominions firmly ensconced in the long part of the corridor, in the direction of the shuttle bay. She occupied one side of the T crossing and Eagle and Telles the other. They were lucky, for now they had some slight protection. They could hide around the corners and fire out at the soldiers who had no protection at all. It was a miracle none of the three had been hit, but then blasters weren't known for their accuracy, just their deadliness. A cold bead of sweat broke out across her brow. They had to clear the corridor and reach the docking bay before more soldiers arrived, while they still had a chance.

  Sky wiped the sweat from her eyes with the back of one hand and thought of Mayla. Where was she? What was happening to her? The fear Sky felt for Mayla, somewhere alone, maybe helpless in spite of her powers, made her reckless. Suddenly she jumped to her feet, screaming at the top of her lungs as she threw herself forward, firing in a frenzy. Telles and Eagle followed her, laying down a line of cover. As she ran, screaming, she felt elated by the looks of sheer terror on the soldiers' faces as they panicked and ran. She dropped the first one. Eagle got the next and Telles the third. One was all that was left between them and the door to the bay. He was running, glancing over one shoulder as the three of them bore down on him. As Sky lifted her blaster for one last shot, the soldier turned and fired. She felt the searing pain enter her shoulder even as Eagle brought the last Dominion down. She stumbled to a halt, fire spreading through her chest and down her arm. She looked down, stunned, and saw she was covered with blood.

  "Sky, damn it to hell! What did you think you were doing!" Eagle shouted, running to her side, grabbing her and jerking her around to face him. His eyes widened as he stared at the scarlet liquid staining the blue tunic she still wore.

  Sky felt a moment's peace as she saw the terrible fear in his eyes. Telles was at her side then too, and as her eyelids fluttered closed, she felt a second's irritation that it was he who had caught her as she fell, and not Eagle.

  Summoning all of her mental ability, she concentrated on the pain, easing it from her body, casting it away as her mother had taught her to do so many years ago. The pain eased. Now the bleeding. She closed her eyes and pictured the pumping blood slowing, the veins healing. She felt herself fading, even as Eagle's choked cry reached her. She barely felt the touch of his hand against her face as she slipped into the darkness.

  Chapter Nine

  Sky woke in a dimly lit room. She opened her eyes with difficulty and tried to orient herself, but could not at first, because her vision was too blurred. Finally she was able to make out a few shapes in the shadows. A cruiser cabin. How could that be? She was supposed to be on a shuttle craft. Why was she supposed to be on a shuttle craft? She blinked as her memory returned. The battle—Zarn and Eagle and Telles—she'd been wounded.

  Her hand flew up to her shoulder and encountered the soft surface of a bandage. Glancing down she saw she was naked except for the blanket covering her. Gingerly she touched the surface of the bandage and found there was still a little soreness in the shoulder. Later she would do more to heal the wound, but not now. Now she was too tired and too many questions were bouncing around inside her head. She scanned the room and realized, with surprise, that it was her own cabin. Captain's quarters on the Defiant. A sense of relief flooded over her.

  The door to the cabin opened and she raised up on her elbows, feeling suddenly vulnerable in her state of undress. When she saw it was Eagle, her wariness increased, but she lowered herself back to the narrow bunk and wrapped her arms protectively across her middle.

  "Feeling better?" he asked, his green eyes sweeping over her, pausing at the bare skin exposed above the edge of the blanket.

  "What happened?" She pulled the cover more securely around her, tucking it under her arms as best she could with one hand. "How did we get back on the Defiant!"

  "We had a little unexpected help." Eagle sat down on the edge of the bunk, his tawny brows pressed together, his mouth tight with apprehension. Once again she felt the connection between them, Something was wrong.

  "What is it?" She touched his arm before she thought and quickly snatched her hand away as he lifted his gaze to hers. Why was it that the sight of his dark green eyes always made her feel like warm Tantalisian coa-coa? Why did the mere touch of his skin against hers make her want him—even though she knew, she knew, he must be on Zarn's side. Her nakedness beneath the blanket suddenly jumped to the forefront of her mind as her skin became hypersensitive. She moved restlessly beneath the cover and forced the sensations coursing through her to abate. All of this—his help on Zarn's ship, his heroics—had to be an elaborate staging guaranteed to make her trust him and reveal—what? She didn't know where Mayla was and Eagle knew that. All right, maybe it had all been for Telles's benefit. He knew where Mayla was. He had to know.

  "Could you hand me my robe please?"

  Eagle frowned down at her. "Well, I don't know. I rather like you like this, to tell you the truth."

  Sky smiled with feigned sweetness. "I'll bet you do. Look inside my closet, Colonel, on the left. It's blue."

  "Of course it is," Eagle muttered to himself. Sky hid a smile behind one hand. It was amusing to see the big tough space soldier rummag
ing through the filmy caftans and gowns she kept for special occasions. He held one beautiful peacock-blue evening dress out and gazed at it for a full minute before putting it away.

  "Is Telles all right?" she asked as Eagle turned around, holding her robe.

  He lifted one dark brow and handed the thin blue garment to her. "Telles"—he emphasized his friend's name—"is fine. Thanks so much for asking. Everything is just fine."

  "Then what is it? What's wrong?" She shimmied into the robe, and to give the colonel credit, he turned slightly away to give her a semblance of privacy.

  "Nothing. Lucky for you that you have the power to heal yourself. Otherwise you'd be dead." His words were flat and Sky felt the lack of emotion over her possible demise like a slap in the face. "Feel like eating something?" he finished.

  Sky glared at him. Typical male. Offset deep emotions with questions about dinner. "Yes, but first I would like to know who attacked the ship. How were we able to escape so easily?"

  He laughed without humor. "Your idea of easy and mine must be vastly different. But maybe you'd better ask our saviour yourself."

  "Our what?"

  Eagle moved to the door and pressed the release switch beside it. He stepped out into the corridor. A few seconds later a familiar blue face appeared in the doorway. The tall Altairian entered the cabin as Eagle stood in the doorway, arms folded over his chest, his face unreadable.

  "Kell" she said softly. "You saved me."

  "Kell, you saved me."

  Eagle mimicked the words, throwing himself down on the narrow bunk in the cabin he was sharing with Telles and crossing his arms behind his head. He ordered himself to stop thinking about her. Skyra Cezan was the last thing he should be worrying about. Finding her sister was uppermost in his mind—or should be. Surely Telles knew where he had taken the child. He had just been bluffing before.

  Eagle stared up at the ceiling, fighting his anger and frustration, and—if he was honest with himself—his fear. Everything was falling apart. His father thought he was one of the rebels, and his attack against Forces' soldiers—not to mention helping the rebels escape—would be all the proof he needed. He flung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up, too restless simply to lie there. He stood and began to pace.

  Surely his father would trust him. Surely he would figure he had a reason, a plan behind his actions. A shadow crossed his thoughts. But what was his plan? To use the heir to the throne as blackmail to make his father listen to him. Not exactly one of the most honorable plots he'd ever conceived, but someone had to take a stand. Someone who had a little power and knew how to use it. He wasn't a rebel, and wouldn't turn against his father. He just knew if he could make Zarn stop and listen, he could convince him that unless he changed the way he ruled, his rule was doomed. In his entire life he'd never opposed his father, until now. And now his father thought he was one of the enemy. He had to find a way to make him understand.

  "I will," he said aloud, pushing the disturbing thoughts away. "I will convince him. He'll understand eventually."

  He turned his thoughts to the next problem: Sky. Why had it made him so furious when she'd murmured those words to Kell?

  Because 1 saved her, that's why. He felt the anger all over again. If I hadn't gotten us to the shuttle after disabling the tractor beams and the shields long enough to allow us to take off, we would've ended up in a nice little explosion just off the port bow.

  He rubbed an aching spot in the middle of his forehead with two fingers. Yet, he had to admit she had done her fair share. He was even willing to concede he hadn't saved her at all. They had all saved each other. What a team they had made—Eagle and Sky and Telles. Like a smooth piece of machinery. As if they had fought at each other's sides forever.

  Sitting down on the bunk, he realized all at once how exhausted he really was. He lay back, stretching out on the hard surface, glad for just a moment of peace before he had to start fighting again—for he knew once Sky started remembering what had taken place before their escape, she'd be ready to go at it tooth and nail. If only he could convince her that his plans would mean a better life for the Andromedans, for everyone.

  He drifted, his mind growing fuzzy with sleep, when a sudden noise made him bolt upright. The door to the room slid open and a young man, about fifteen years old, entered. He carried a helmet in his hands, and as Eagle focused on the object, he recognized it as the device from his father's mind-probe on Station One. The young man had dark hair and looked somehow familiar. His green eyes seemed glazed over, hollow, and as he walked toward Eagle, he began to speak in a monotone.

  "What name do you choose? What name do you choose? What name do you choose—"

  Eagle sat up in bed, sweat pouring down his back and beneath his arms. He was breathing heavily as if he'd been running and he threw himself out of the bunk, circling the room to find the intruder before he realized it had only been a dream. Another dream. He sank down on the bed and let his head rest against his hands. What did it mean? More guilt from his brief tenure on Station One? He shuddered as he thought back over it. The boy was him of course, with dark hair and green eyes. But why did he keep dreaming of himself as a boy? He lay back on the bunk again, hands behind his head, this time keeping his eyes open.

  Before he could puzzle it over any further, the door slid open. Eagle jerked to an upright position, half expecting to see his own image walk in, then relaxed as he saw it was Telles. His friend stopped in the center of the room and stared at Eagle, arms folded across his chest, his blue-gray eyes calm, resigned.

  "So how is she?" he asked.

  The last thing Eagle wanted right now was to talk to Telles, even though he knew he didn't have much of a choice, given their close quarters. It was inevitable, and he might as well get it over with. Besides, it would take his mind from the dream.

  "She's okay. She's going to be fine."

  "Good." The silence stretched between them, but Telles made no move to leave the room. He cleared his throat noisily. "Thanks—for what you did on Zarn's ship. About the mind-probe."

  Eagle waved his words away. "I couldn't let him do that to you." He glanced over at the man, still standing near the door. "After all, you were once my best friend, before the rebels got hold of you."

  Telles's eyes had grown cloudy, troubled. He lowered his arms to a less hostile position and took a step forward, then stopped again. "Eagle, there's something I've got to tell you."

  Eagle stretched both arms above his head and yawned, hoping he'd take the hint. "You know, I'm really beat. Could this wait for a while?"

  "No, it can't." Eagle nodded. "All right. Come in, sit down, let's talk."

  Telles walked across the room and stopped at the end of the bunk, his long hair falling over one shoulder, his hands clenched nervously at his side, and all at once Eagle wondered what he was so anxious about. When he spoke, his voice was soft and filled with pain.

  "If you hadn't stopped Zarn today, it wouldn't have been the first time I'd been probed."

  Eagle pushed the chair sitting beside the bed out with one foot. "Sit down and tell me what the hell you're blathering about. You've never been probed any more than I have. We're Rigelians."

  Telles laughed shortly, without humor, tossing his long hair back from his shoulders as he turned the chair around and straddled it. "Funny you should put it in quite those terms." He leaned forward, his gaze intent, and Eagle's guard went up. He knew that look. What the hell was going on?

  "This isn't going to be easy for you to hear. Believe me, it wasn't easy for me."

  Alarms rang loudly in the depths of Eagle's mind. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, hands on his hips, staring down at the other man. "Back off, Telles. I don't want to hear this. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it."

  "You have to hear it."

  "No, I don't." Telles was suddenly beside him, his hands locked around his forearms as he forced Eagle to face him.

  "Let go of me," he ordered, f
eeling the beginnings of a dark, terrible panic form deep inside of him. "Damn it, Telles, let me go or—"

  "Listen to me!"

  Eagle jerked out of his grasp and turned toward the door. Telles moved to block his way, his hands knotted into fists. "Am I going to have to fight you?" he demanded. "I'll do it if I have to."

  "Get out of the way, Telles."

  Telles dropped his fists to his side, his voice low, building with fervent emotion as he began to speak. "You don't want to hear it because already inside of you, your mind is rebelling, your old thoughts are rising up telling you the truth—forcing you to remember that you are not a Rigelian. You are an Andromedan!"

  He hissed the last words, and for an instant in time Eagle died. He stopped breathing. He stopped thinking. His brain ceased to function. Everything around him ground to a standstill. Telles was speaking but he couldn't hear his voice. Everything blurred and went to black. Then life blared out suddenly again and he could hear, could see, could understand every ridiculous word his friend had just uttered. He began to laugh, but somehow the laughter died in his throat.

  "I am an Andromedan," he said, the statement sounding even more incredulous coming from his own lips. "I am not a Rigelian but an Andromedan. Tell me, Telles, does my father know about this? And my poor mother—did she realize she was giving birth to an Andromedan?" A smile twitched around his lips. He didn't know what Telles's game was, but it had to be something clever.

  "I'm not Rigelian either," he said. "We're both Andromedans, Eagle. Your mother was called Pelana and your father was a Seeker, Toma N'chal."

  "Oh, of course. And what was my name?"

  "I—" He looked away. "I don't know. I couldn't remember your name. Somehow it had been totally taken from my mind."

  Eagle started to laugh again but the sound died in his throat. He opened and closed his mouth several times but couldn't manage to say anything. He didn't remember what he wanted to say anyway. His throat felt dry. Very dry. "Get out," he managed at last.