"You seem to be very good friends with Prasad," Morgan said, sinking into the engineer's chair.
Jirra didn't look at her. "That's good, isn't it?"
"Yes. So why is it a secret?"
"It's not," Jirra said, shaking her head. "But I don't want the admiral to get the wrong idea. Or Captain Davaskar."
Ah. So you are sleeping with him. "Why should they care? Especially the admiral."
Jirra glowered. "You know what our society is like. He's married and I'm of a different class. It's not done."
"Garbage. Half the men in the senior officer corps spend their off-duty nights with women other than their wives."
"That's different. They can easily find a woman not in their direct line of command. On this tiny ship—"
"It doesn't matter. Look, I know you're betrothed, but I'm guessing yours isn't the most wonderful marriage prospect."
She looked away for a moment. "No, it's not. My father decided when I was a little girl, that I would marry his friend's son. And that was that. Nobody asked me what I wanted." Frowning, Jirra pressed her lips together.
"What about your mother?"
"Huh. My mother? She couldn't wait to get me out the door."
That sounded familiar. "Yes, same with me."
Jirra stared. "You too?"
"Sure. They don't tell you you're a Supertech until you're older. You're supposed to grow up in a normal home, like a normal kid." How they thought that was possible was beyond her. But she'd asked one or two of the other Supertechs, and they said they hadn't shown any special skills until later. Maybe she'd just been odd.
"How do you get this Supertech skill?"
"An operation when you're a baby. They don't ask, they just do it. And they don't tell anyone it's been done."
Jirra gazed at her as though she was seeing Morgan for the first time. "I never thought it would be like that for you. So you were forced, as much as I was."
"You could say that. Did you want to do your time in the Fleet?"
"I was happy to go. And happier to stay. I worked hard so they'd want me to stay."
What to ask? Morgan didn't want to pry, but the girl seemed to want to talk. "What's your betrothed like?"
"Old school. Traditional. He wants children but I keep putting the marriage off." She paused, chewing at her lip. "I just hate it. Sleeping with him."
"That's not good."
"It's so different with Sudam." Her eyes lit up when she spoke Prasad's name. Then she gasped. "Please don't tell the captain or the admiral." Jirra leaned forward, imploring, her extended hand trembling.
Morgan put a hand on her shoulder. "Honey, Ravindra won't care, and if he does, I'll talk to him. Davaskar – you don't think he'll work it out?"
"We've been careful in his presence. He's old-fashioned. He won't approve." Jirra's eyes positively blazed with fear. The captain's disapproval was evidently scarier than a space walk.
"Fine. But then, Davaskar is Ravindra's cousin. If he finds out, the admiral will convince him, don't you worry."
Jirra chewed at her lip. "Morgan, you and the admiral are more than friends, aren't you?"
"Obviously. We share a bed. You know that."
"Yes, but…" The girl's voice trailed off. Jirra sucked in a breath and started again. "Why won't he marry you?"
Won't? Morgan just looked at the girl's wide eyes, her undisguised curiosity, heard the implied criticism of Ravindra. "Actually, he's asked me."
Jirra's mouth formed a perfect O. "When will it happen?"
Morgan shook her head. "I refused. He can't be married to an alien. You should be able to understand that."
The lieutenant's face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions. Morgan could almost add the words; you refused? You must be joking. Refused, really? The most eligible man in the Fleet? And then the realization; Married to an alien? No, he probably couldn't.
Jirra placed a hand on Morgan's arm. "It must be hard for you."
Was it? Not really. Morgan shrugged. "It is what it is. He deserves to make grand admiral. I'm a great asset for him, I help him as best I can to get results. But, let's face it, as a non-Darya, non-Manesai wife…" She shrugged again. Ravindra would succumb in due course, accept a younger woman, who could bear him more children if he wanted. She'd be ready when it happened.
Jirra hung her head, nodding sadly.
In the silence, Morgan monitored the shift drive against the nav system. "Better get ready."
Morgan had hardly finished the words when the ship's IS sounded the warning bells for return to normal space. The shift drive toned, three whistles, a pause, then three more whistles, and the deeper throb of the ship's normal drive took over, the forward thrusters slowing the ship down as soon as it emerged from shift space.
The marble that was Torreno appeared in the viewscreen, two of its three orbiting space stations barely-visible pinpricks. But the station knew the ship was coming, the identifiers relayed as soon as they passed the jump beacon, which was now a receding blip behind them. Morgan found herself kneading her bicep. Shit. Nerves. She hadn't been expecting that. Her stomach felt like a cement mixer.
Warm breath blew on her ear as a hand dropped on her shoulder. "So is this home?"
She smiled. Ravindra. "Sort of. Not where I was born, but I spent a lot of time here. That space station to port…" she angled in the sensors to expand the view. "That's the military station. Not too busy at the moment."
The long hulls of two cruisers stuck out of the bays, the running lights defining their length. Further along she picked out a row of six fighters. They were nearly invisible, their black surfaces absorbing the sunlight.
Memories flooded back, days of training up there with the military Supertechs. Commander Yeow, the prickly officer in charge of the maintenance unit, glaring at her when she asked, 'but why?' once too often. Well, fuck him. Fuck them all. That was all they were any good for, keeping the ships going.
"Not much there," Ravindra said, scrutinizing the station with professional interest.
"They're like you; put the ships where they're needed. And they're not needed here."
"So they're not expecting any trouble. Are we?"
What a good question. But she'd considered all the factors as best she could. "I hope not. They have our ID as Vulsaur. No reaction yet."
"You seem nervous." He squeezed her shoulder.
"Yes. Silly, isn't it?"
The station hailed and Jirra answered, going through the usual docking routine. A docking bay for a month? Extendable if necessary? Not a problem.
The ship eased into a bay near the centre of the station's rings, as befitted a high-class yacht. The cost was higher, but they were closer to the amenities. Even so, Morgan locked down the ship's systems as only a Supertech could. Everybody was going planetside here; they all needed the break and a chance to look at an alien world.
Immigration was fast and efficient. How long were they staying? Purpose of visit? A Galactic tour to celebrate retirement. Address on planet? The Excelsior, a top hotel, where Morgan had booked rooms as they cruised in on their final approach to the station.
Morgan dithered while the nice young man processed Ravindra. She was the one who risked being recognized. Perhaps she should have changed her appearance. Then again, she had, hadn't she? Contact lenses. Blue eyes. Anyway, how unlucky would she be to meet an ex-colleague here? No, one chance in millions.
Ravindra joined her, looking around the clean, uncluttered halls. Music filtered through hidden speakers. A group of people sat around a table near a view screen outside a café, admiring the slowly rotating starscape as the station turned on its axis. A fellow in a red suit hurried along a travelator, pushing past a number of others taking their time, a few people strolled past shop windows.
"Not busy," Ravindra said.
"The representatives aren't meeting. It's busy then." Morgan had explained the parliamentary system to him. The representatives were elected or nominated from each of the over three hundred p
lanets that made up the Coalition, but they only came to Torreno in person every second year, for six months. This was an 'off' year.
Finally, Tullamarran was passed through the barrier. They all caught the travelator to the station's center, where they transferred to an elevator car for the ride down to the planet's surface, a journey which took forty minutes. Morgan bought kaff from the car's refreshment counter, and sat at a window with the others, who were peering down through the clouds at a new, alien world.
"Very different to Iniciara," Prasad said, as the car descended through the cloud barrier into the open air.
Clear air surrounded the city towers, the tallest still much lower than the edifices on Iniciara.
"Is that all garden space between the buildings?" Jirra asked.
"The city is set up to fit in with nature," Morgan said. "There are gardens in the city centre, but further out there are vegetable patches between the houses. All the buildings are basically solar powered and they collect their own water."
Tullamarran surprised everybody with a smile. "Almost like a spaceship on the ground."
Jirra's eyebrows shot up. "Huh?"
His cheeks darkening, Tullamarran licked his lips.
"Come on, tell us what you mean," Ravindra said, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Well, Srimana, in space we have the hydroponic units, and we recycle all water and… and all our waste."
"Yes, I suppose so."
Morgan wasn't at all sure Tullamarran had spent much time on a planet since he joined the Fleet. This was quite an adventure for him, even though he would spend most of his days looking after Ravindra's needs.
The lift pinged. 'Five minutes to landing. All passengers please be seated.'
One of the great things about using an elevator instead of a shuttle was it landed right in the city centre. Morgan collected her few belongings, and shuffled into the queue with the other passengers. Ravindra, of course, strode to the front. He simply expected people to make way for him, and they did, albeit with a grumble or two. Morgan hid the grin, as she listened to a middle-aged woman complaining to a long-suffering companion about the rude foreigner with the outlandish hairdo.
Little did the woman know how outlandish he was.
A short ride in an autocab brought them to their hotel, an elegant building in a leafy street. Morgan and Ravindra had the penthouse, with a separate room for Tullamarran, while Jirra, Davaskar and Prasad had been installed in superior rooms two floors below.
Davaskar suppressed a yawn as they crowded into the lift. "The first thing I'm going to do is have a shower and get some sleep."
Morgan didn't miss the look Prasad and Jirra shared as they left the lift at their floor.
Two floors above, the lift door slid aside, revealing a softly-lit apartment with a wonderful, panoramic view over the city. Tullamarran asked if Ravindra needed him for anything, and when dismissed, disappeared into the servant's quarters.
The luggage hadn't yet arrived. Ravindra wandered around, touching things, opening cupboards. Compared with his living quarters on his battle cruiser, the room was over-furnished, the appointments luxurious and opulent, not his taste at all.
Eventually, he dropped onto the sofa, and crossed one leg over the other. "It will do."
Morgan laughed. "You're such an arrogant bastard, you really are."
He lifted one black eyebrow. "Thank you. What now, my love?"
"The library?"
"You know, I think I'd rather play tourist for a while. This trip is not all about ancient history. I want to learn a bit more about our cousins, the humans. Don't you think? Libraries are such stuffy places."
"Sounds fair. I'd like for you to see a better Coalition planet than Iniciara." She dropped onto the couch beside him. "Let's go out on the town, try the food, look at the shops, go for walks in the park."
Ravindra slid his arm around her. "Excellent, my love. I expect the library won't be going anywhere for a while."
Chapter 9
Morgan drained her tea. They'd been in Torreno for a week, living it up, playing at tourists. She'd enjoyed showing them the nightlife, the parks and the shops, but the need to find where the Manesai came from was always there. "I think it's time I went to the library."
Ravindra pushed himself away from the breakfast table, currently littered with empty plates. He gazed at Morgan for so long she wondered what he was thinking. "I don't dispute your judgment, but why do we need to go to the library? Surely all the data is available on the planetary network?"
"Um. Yes." How to explain? She'd looked at all the data, read the records, sifted as best she could, and found nothing but hints. She'd read the scholarly articles, too. By rights, this would be more of a wild goose chase than the visit to the cathedral on Iniciara. But truth be told, she'd like a break from their companions. Much as she liked them all, they'd been too close together for too long. "Call it a hunch. The… machine part of me has done its best. Let's see what the human part can do."
"I suppose so."
Great. Forcing herself not to beam, she said, "I'll visit the central library. You guys can do what you like. I think Jirra wanted to go to the zoo. That might be interesting."
Ravindra rose to his feet, a smooth, languid, completely athletic motion. She stared, admiring his broad shoulders, his black hair cascading down between his shoulder blades as he strolled over to the window, and stood gazing out over the sunlit city. "I'll come with you," he said.
Damn. "I think I should go alone."
"Why?"
"I need a bit of space, Ashkar. We've all been together too much."
"Absolutely. I agree. So we go to the library, just you and I."
"You'll be bored."
"Not really. I've never been there before."
"You haven't been to the zoo, either."
Ravindra looked at her over his shoulder. "Oh, I think Prasad would like to spend some time on his own with Jirra. He'd probably enjoy a visit to the zoo."
Morgan noted the slight quirk of his lips as he spoke. She grinned up at him. "You're not supposed to know."
He snorted. "How could I miss it? Did you watch them dance together?"
She chuckled. "I guess so. Does Davaskar realize?"
Ravindra pursed his lips, considering. "Probably not. He was too busy admiring the local ladies to notice what Jirra and Davaskar were doing. Besides, Davaskar is very much old school, from my mother's side of the family. Jirra is Hasta. I doubt he'd imagine a Mirka officer like Prasad would besmirch himself with a betrothed woman from a different class." He raised a shoulder. "But that's their problem."
Good. At least he wasn't going to make it difficult for Jirra. "Davaskar would be in the way, then?"
"At the zoo? I'm sure he wouldn't want to go. Perhaps I'll suggest he return to the ship to make sure everything is in order."
"You don't want to go with him?"
He shook his head. "I want to go with you." Before she could say anything else, he'd called Davaskar, who was happy to return to the space port.
Smiling, he took her arm and guided her toward the door. "I expect you know where this library is?"
***
Like much of Torreno, the library was built in the classical style: simple lines designed to merge with the background. Morgan and Ravindra walked along a meandering path through a garden where grass lapped the bases of groups of deciduous trees. A scattering of golden leaves littered the lawns, the first of the season. Bushes, some still sporting fading flowers, hugged the walls of the building.
"I'm assuming there's more here than what you can find on the information systems?" Ravindra said, his boots crunching on fine gravel.
"I'm hoping they'll let us look at originals—books, yes but mainly pictures."
A flash of russet scrambled up a nearby tree. Morgan played the image back. One of those cute little skerrels, rodents that lived in the trees.
"Still looking for Rosmenyo? There's no point, is there?"
An arch of shallow steps led to transparent doors which parted at their approach.
"This place is almost like a cathedral," Ravindra said, turning his head to take in the decorated ceilings ten floors above, and the holographic figures set along the walls of the entrance hall.
"To my knowledge, there are no religious buildings in Torreno city. That way, none of the delegates can get upset that somebody's beliefs are more important than anybody else's."
"Makes sense."
Morgan stopped at the information booth to scan the collection. The Conflagration section was housed in a gallery toward the back of the building, on the top floor.
"Looks like the Conflagration isn't flavor of the month," she said, as they walked across a smooth stone floor to escalators that spiraled up into the shadows high above.
"Because of the location?" Ravindra asked.
"Yes. As far away as it's possible to be in this building."
The Conflagration Hall was appropriately decorated with murals illustrating the devastation resulting from the conflict.
Ravindra gravitated over to the depictions of the war machines, flying disks bristling with weapons. "This is much more practical," he remarked.
"Uh-huh. Artists used the descriptions in the books to try to come up with an idea of what the things would really have looked like, from the ridiculous descriptions in the scriptures." Morgan lifted her hands, wiggling her fingers. "The wheels of death."
Ravindra chuckled, and she left him to peruse the illustrations, turning her attention to the row of covered cases holding examples of books, notes, artifacts from the period, much as they had seen in the museum on Iniciara. A few cases held books, opened at a page, but these weren't the originals, anyway. Fuck it, she needed to talk to a person. Morgan gazed around her. Somebody? Anybody? Was there no-one in this mausoleum?
"You look lost. Can I help you?"
Morgan started. A woman wearing dark blue pants and a pale grey shirt stood beside her.
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