Endurance

by Richard Chizmar

  “Lieutenant Wonlee!” the Trytinorn shouted.

  A slender, heavily clawed being pushed his way through the crowd. He wore a specially designed uniform which allowed hundreds of thin, sharp spines to protrude. Hugging must not be big on that guy’s homeworld. “Sir?”

  “Kill this Terran. At once.”

  I watched as the Lieutenant, whose prickly species evidently had no problem at all with situations of honor, came walking toward me, his many talons extended.

  Odd thoughts crossed my mind at that moment. My surrogate mother Maggie had died nearly three years ago. Kao had died in my arms on the Sunlace. Jenner was safe with Kao’s family, HouseClan Torin, back on Joren. Alunthri, no stranger to slavery, would find a way to survive. They’d given my life true meaning, and I’d been privileged to love them all.

  I kept my eyes open and my head up. I might be resigned to death, but I wasn’t going out a coward.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Aksel Drift Nine

  Before Wonlee got within clawing distance, some interesting things happened.

  Dchêm-os, and two of the nurses I’d rescued, had quietly circulated through the crowd of detainees. Now they and whomever they convinced to help them charged the inner circle, shouting for my release. At the same time, Alunthri sprang over a lot of heads and landed practically in my lap. It stayed there and bellowed at anyone who got within a foot of me.

  I tried to push it out of harm’s way. “Alunthri, get out of here!”

  “I think not, Cherijo.” The Chakacat grinned at me, then turned and snarled at an approaching crew member.

  Now there was a perimeter of bodies shielding me and voices shrieking defiance. I saw the claw-carrying Lieutenant sail through the air as someone flung him away from me. The Major trumpeted his fury, but was so hemmed in by smaller crew members that he couldn’t twitch, much less move in on me himself.

  People, as they always do in these situations, began to brawl.

  Dchêm-os worked her way over to me and snarled at Alunthri, who reluctantly allowed her to come closer. “To protect yourself, can’t you even try? Of all deities, for the love?”

  “It’s that silly oath I took,” I said, then winced as I saw two crew members beating each other senseless a few inches away. “Why are you worried? He’s just finishing the job you started.”

  “Enough of the drug, I must not have given you,” Zella said, her tail thrashing impatiently.

  “Shame, isn’t it?”

  Two more nurses appeared out of the battling masses, both disheveled and panting. “We’re going to get you out of here, Doctor,” Pmohhi said.

  “Unless you can override the door panel controls, that’s unlikely.”

  “No, we have an alternate route—”

  “Attention, prisoners!” a drone voice unexpectedly blared. “Cease and desist all violence at once!”

  No one paid much attention, they were all busy having fun. Which quickly turned into cries of pain as their detainment cuffs started jolting them. Oddly enough, mine didn’t.

  A squad of armed Hsktskt entered the Detainment Area, led by none other than Duncan Reever. I pushed the Chakacat off my lap, ducked around some prisoners attempting to pry their cuffs off, and tried to hide. Reever spotted me within seconds and motioned for the centurons to head my way.

  “Here come the really bad guys,” I told Dchêm-os, who was crouched over, tugging at her own cuff. “Get moving.”

  I tugged the writhing Zel toward the open entrance panel, hoping to get around Reever and his pals before they got to us. A few more feet, and we’d have access to the corridors—

  Cherijo. Reever’s voice echoed inside my head.

  I made a strangled sound as my body went into complete shutdown. My hands fell to my sides. Dchêm-os dropped to the deck and painfully pushed herself back up.

  “Stand there … Doctor … don’t just …”

  Already too late, I thought desperately. Come to beat me up personally, Reever?

  Reever arrived and motioned to the centurons to restrain the dark nurse. He himself swung me up into his arms, and made sure through the telepathic link that I couldn’t resist.

  The Chakacat sprang at Reever, but was given a severe jolt by one of the Hsktskt centurons, and fell down to sprawl senseless at his feet.

  Alunthri!

  It is not hurt, Cherijo.

  This can’t be much fun for you, OverMaster, I thought acidly. Where’s the sport in rendering your victims unconscious?

  “Shut up,” Reever said quite clearly against my hair. To the centurons, he ordered, “Return the nurses to Medical. I will deal with the Terran.”

  Oh, and what are you? I inquired as he carried me out of the riot and into the hall.

  The only hope you have, was his calm reply. Why were you in the Detainment Area?

  I was helping those three nurses I told you about. You remember, the ones you couldn’t be bothered with? I pictured OverSeer FurreVa and her cohorts, lying on the snowy deck. I could have killed them, but I didn’t. I want those nurses left alone and returned to their duty stations in Medical.

  Reever’s arm tightened briefly. What do I get if I agree to arrange it?

  I won’t start another riot.

  Reever took me to my quarters, and dropped me on the sleeping platform. At the same time, a signal came in over the console. He checked it, then glanced back at me. “I must return to Command. There will be a centuron stationed outside the door panel.”

  “What about my nurses?”

  “If you agree to keep away from the Detainment Area in the future, I will have them returned to Medical.”

  “Okay.” Finally in control of my own body again, I sank back against the pillows. “I’ll stay out of Detainment.”

  I got up to find a scanner as soon as he left, then ran a hematological series on myself. The readings confirmed my suspicions—either Zella hadn’t injected me with enough digitalizine (doubtful, she was an experienced nurse) or my genetically enhanced immunities had nullified the dose. My blood was clean.

  Since I knew I wasn’t going to have a seizure, and there was no getting out of my quarters anytime soon, I went back to the sleeping platform and curled up to take a nap.

  Next time I might no be so lucky.

  I slept for several hours, worn out by both the tension and the injuries I’d received. I woke up in darkness, because of an odd sound that shuddered through the entire deck. I’d never heard anything like it. It was a terrible, whining sound that suggested strained alloys and incredible stress.

  Had the prisoners’ plan included destroying the ship? I wondered. I crawled off the mattress and limped over to the room console. Reever had pass-protected it again.

  Behind me, the door panel slid open. “Cherijo.” It was Reever. “You should be resting.”

  “With all the noise? Yeah, right.” I played with the console pad, trying different combinations in an attempt to crack the protective codes he’d installed. “What’s the new password for this, Reever?” He stood right behind me, I could feel the warmth of his body heat reaching through my uniform tunic. “Well?”

  “‘Wife,”’ he said, and touched my hair.

  Stone-faced, I knocked his hand away and keyed the word in. The ship’s central computer came instantly on line, and provided me with full fleet status. Which was a quarter of a light year ahead of us. The Perpetua sat at a dead stop. “Why have we stalled in the middle of nowhere?”

  He was stroking the snarled hair at the back of my neck again. “The stardrive has been shut down. One of the original crew’s engineers escaped from Detainment and was successful in sabotaging the main fuel chamber. It has been completely contaminated with hydrogen ionization.”

  “Oh, good.” I accessed main Medical, and saw fifteen new cases had been brought in from the Detainment Area. That was enough to get me on my feet. “I’ve got work to do.”

  His hands fastened on my upper arms to hold me in place. I stared at t
he center of his chest. “Cherijo. You cannot persist in this. The League captives will kill you.”

  “Why do you care?” He was right, of course. I thought of Zella, poisoning me before conning me into rescuing the nurses. “Don’t want to risk losing whatever credits you think I’ll go for, is that it?”

  “Your reckless behavior has to end.” He grabbed my jaw and made me look up at him. “You think it will atone for the Jorenians who died aboard the Sun-lace? Or make amends for turning the League ships and their crews over to the Hsktskt?”

  That made me blink. I had been rather careless with my own hide lately. Was he right? Was I subconsciously hoping someone would kill me?

  They’d been prepared to massacre millions, just to get me, the logical side of my brain pointed out. The League got exactly what they deserved.

  The other side got nasty. But the League crew members didn’t make that decision, did they? Shropana did.

  Reever’s thumbs traced little circles on my cheeks. “I won’t allow you to commit suicide, Cherijo.”

  “Whatever.” I needed to get out from under his hands. “Can I go now?”

  He put his mouth on mine, the bastard. Kissed me as if he had every right to. I stood there and did nothing. Okay, I wanted to do a few things, but I resisted temptation. I’d throw myself back in Detainment before I ever gave him even the slightest amount of satisfaction again.

  Even my resistance had limits, though. I jerked my head back. “Can I go now?”

  “You pretend this means nothing to you.”

  I let my expression match his. “It’s not an act.”

  “Your pulse is faster.” He wiped a bead of sweat from my temple. “You perspire.”

  “Trying not to throw up does that to me.”

  Whatever he was feeling melted the ice in his gaze, and he pressed me against him. Reever had a great body, and I wasn’t immune to the way it felt touching mine. I was just going to make him think I was. For eternity.

  His hands moved restlessly over my shoulders and back. Like he was trying to thaw me, too. “I don’t repulse you, Cherijo.”

  No, he didn’t, damn him. “You know, you really are living proof that slime can grow legs and walk.”

  “You are all I have ever wanted,” he said.

  I wasn’t going to let him do this to me, with his mouth and hands and pathetic confessions of desire. “That’s a rather strange motive for handing me over to slavers.”

  He pressed my face into his shoulder. I would have bitten it, but he was wearing that damn Hsktskt uniform, and the metal weave would have chipped my teeth.

  “It doesn’t have to be this way,” he said in a very weird, gentle voice.

  “Too late. It is.”

  “OverMaster HalaVar.” A harsh voice came over the console.

  Reever stepped around me and touched the console. “Yes, OverLord?”

  “Report to the Command Center. Bring SsurreVa with you.”

  “At once, OverLord.”

  “You certainly know how to do the good soldier thing, don’t you?” I said as he guided me through the door panel and out into the corridor. “Does he snap his claws to see how high you can jump?”

  “He is the Commander of the Faction forces,” Reever said. “And my brother.”

  What? “Funny, you don’t look much alike. Does he take after Mom, or Dad?”

  We arrived at the Command center. TssVar gave me a surly look before indicating two seats in front of a large wall display. “I have the scans on what we have discussed, HalaVar.”

  We sat as the Hsktskt accessed his console, and a large star chart appeared. A slow-moving cluster of dots indicated the position of the fleet, which was moving past what appeared to be the outer curve of an enormous asteroid belt.

  “It will not be necessary for the fleet to drop out of flightshield and return to collect us. Your recollection was correct, as always.” The Hsktskt stabbed a claw toward a wide swatch of asteroids. “Aksel maintains a significant mining operation in this region. According to scout shuttle reconnaissance, they have what we require to replace the contaminated fuel. Yet the readings indicate that material is unprocessed.”

  I crossed and uncrossed my ankles, and wondered if I’d get away with walking out while they were busy plotting the next raid.

  Reever studied the display, enlarged a section of the vid, then tapped a fingertip on the screen. “Here. A squad of centurons can access their processing plant and convert the raw ore into fuel. We must avoid firing on the power core.”

  That drew my gaze to the console, and the displayed schematic of a large space station. Mining operation meant miners ran the place. “I don’t think they’re going to open the air locks and give you free access to their equipment,” I said.

  TssVar’s neck scales crinkled as he turned to give me his attention. “We will attack the operation and take what we need.”

  “That’s nice.” I got up. “Excuse me, I have to report to Medical and do something meaningful now.”

  “Remain, Doctor.” The OverLord’s claws clattered against the console as he switched off the display. I stopped, pinned on a patient smile, and waited. “She demonstrates improved obedience HalaVar. Most promising.”

  “Perhaps.” Before I could tell them both where to go, Reever turned to me and said, “You will accompany my assault team.”

  My smile turned into a gape. “Huh?”

  “You will accompany me when we raid the Aksellan ore station.”

  He had to be kidding. I blinked. No, he was serious. “I wouldn’t accompany you to raid a supply closet, you oblivious dolt.”

  TssVar’s tail lashed the deck, causing a small tremor to ripple under my feet. “I see I spoke in haste. She requires more training.”

  Reever inclined his head. “I will see to it.”

  “Hey,” I said, stomping my own foot to get their attention. “I’m not a pet. And for your information, doctors make lousy soldiers.” Neither of them blinked. “You don’t need me. I’ll just get in the way.”

  “On the contrary.” My ex-husband folded his arms and regarded me with distant amusement. “You will go in and negotiate their surrender.”

  “Since when did I get elected as Faction Ambassador?”

  “Your former colleague’s people will find you more acceptable,” TssVar said.

  “Former colleague?” Bewildered now, I glanced at Reever, then the OverLord. “What are you talking about?”

  Reever keyed up another image on the display. “These are the Aksellans.”

  All the bones evaporated from my legs, and I abruptly sat back down. “Oh, no.”

  The miners appeared to be large, black and green, well-fed spiders. Exactly like one I’d befriended and served with at the FreeClinic on Kevarzangia Two.

  We were about to attack Dr. Dloh’s people.

  I’d gone from the Heroine of Joren to a Hsktskt collaborator, in the space of a few weeks. Was I happy about it? No. Was there anything I could do about it? No. But I’d be damned if I was going to take part in one of their raids, and said as much. Several times. Loudly.

  Everyone ignored me, except Reever, who made it clear that I was the only chance the Aksellan miners had of surviving the assault.

  The crippled Perpetua advanced slowly on the asteroid belt. I got to watch from command, where Reever had insisted I wait before boarding the launch.

  “I want a medical relief team with me when we enter the Central Processing Station,” I said to the Hsktskt Commander.

  That seemed to entertain him. “The Faction does not provide rescue operations.”

  “It does now.” When his huge eyelids dropped, I gave him a bright smile. “Think of it as a good will gesture. Patch up enough miners, they may surrender out of gratitude.”

  Octagonal scales gleamed as he went back to studying the monitors. “You are nothing but trouble, SsurreVa.”

  I played it cool and watched, too. “Does that mean I get my way?”

&n
bsp; For a minute, I thought he was going to refuse, but then he made a sinuous gesture. “Assemble your team.”

  I went down to Medical with Reever and issued my orders. The League staffers were aghast, until I reminded them what the penalty for noncompliance was. Zella started getting the others busy. Reever, who stood off to one side watching me, tagged along as I herded my people out into the corridor and sent them down to the shuttle bay.

  “The miners will attempt a counterattack,” he said as we followed them.

  “Good.” I quickened my step. “Maybe they’ll get lucky.”

  Reever kept pace without effort. “You don’t want to die, Cherijo. There are too many reasons to continue existence.”

  “Like being your slave-girl?” I laughed. “Cross fire gets more attractive by the moment.”

  A corner of his mouth lifted a centimeter or two. Reever’s version of a smile. Before I could slap it off his face, we arrived at the shuttle bay.

  Reever bypassed the medevac team and headed for a group of Hsktskt centurons, three of whom were standing together talking in quiet hisses and clicks. One of them was the browless Hsktskt guard who had tried to teach me manners in Medical.

  “OverCenturon GothVar.” Reever stepped between him and his pals. All three beasts fell silent. “Is the team prepared to depart?”

  FlatHead’s tongue flicked out. “Yes, OverMaster HalaVar.” I got the distinct impression this Hsktskt didn’t like Reever. At all. And from the subtle change in Reever’s voice, he was completely aware of GothVar’s dislike. It wasn’t the usual who’s-in-charge thing, either. They actually hated each other.

  I led the League medevac team into the shuttle, where we sat facing the Hsktskt centurons. No one wanted to sit next to me—naturally—so I wasn’t surprised when Reever eased into the harness on my right.

  “Worried I might need to hold your hand?” I asked, too aware of the memories of other jaunts at Reever’s side.

  “I know what you need,” Reever said and secured the last strap over his chest.