Andromeda's Rebel

by Debra Jess

  "How could this happen?" Jita reached over to grab Tamarja's hand. "She was just fine a few minutes ago."

  Ianyin grunted as he dropped a black box on the ground.

  "Serriga was only supposed to bring you along." Daeven nodded at Jita.

  "That's my fault." Ianyin reached into the floater and gently brushed Jita's hand away before he lifted Tamarja out of it, laying her on the ground. "I interrupted the conversation. There's no lepid around here that can cause those types of convulsions, so as the property occupant, I overruled her." Ianyin knelt down next to Tamarja's body and opened the box and began extracting equipment.

  Daeven eyed the contents. "How did you get a portable detox kit?"

  "I have a friend in R&D. They get ‘em issued because they don't know what they'll run into out in the field. He gave me a spare when we first moved up here in the valley, just in case. If we detox her here, we might be able to keep her out of medical."

  "I would like to keep this unofficial." Daeven knelt next to Ianyin, pulling out the pump while Ianyin mixed two vials of liquid together.

  "That will be difficult if the director calls on her to fly." Jita stood behind Daeven, staying out of their way but close enough to hear what they were saying.

  When Ianyin was ready, Daeven released the pump and carefully shifted Tamarja's upper body to rest against his shoulder. This allowed Ianyin to open Tamarja's mouth and force the liquid down her throat. She gagged, struggled to spit it out, but Ianyin pressed a single finger over her lips. A moment later, Tamarja's head rolled back, and Daeven lowered her back to the ground.

  "We'll worry about her career later," Ianyin said, pulling up Tamarja's blouse as Daeven handed him two catheters. After activating each one separately, Daeven winced as the tips burrowed through the skin of her abdomen in search of her liver and kidneys.

  "This wasn't an accident."

  Ianyin nodded. "Yeah, I have a pretty good idea of who's responsible. An unkempt-looking boy who's been trying to bully his way into my sons' circle of friends. He arrived a couple of months ago. I think he's the one who egged Ravid on to jump the barrier, but I can't prove it, and Ravid won't admit it. Your partner is questioning the brat now."

  Knowing Serriga, he thought, she'll not only get the boy to confess but also find out who his dealer is.

  They all waited in silence for a few moments until the pump started chirping.

  "She's connected," Ianyin said as he helped Daeven tuck Tamarja and the pump back into the floater. “Can you get her back to her quarters without being seen? Detoxing her out here isn’t ideal. I don’t have a way to paralyze her muscles. A bed would be softer if she starts flailing about.“

  “Yes, I can override the compression window to open directly into her quarters.“

  "I'm coming with you!" Jita didn't wait for anyone to object, giving Ianyin the activator for her floater. "Give this to Daeven's partner. She can drop it off at Facility Prime later, and he can bring her back to her habitat from there."

  Daeven didn't want to wait any longer, so as soon as Jita secured her safety belts, he released the floater and headed for Habitat Prime.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The dream lifted her spirit, freed her from her anxiety, and threw caution to the wind. She flew not in a shuttle, bound by controls and shields, but under her own power through clouds, wind whipping past her face. Faster and faster, she raced, her heart pumping with joy. Instinct told her to slow down. Reason intruded on her fun, said it was time to come down.

  Rebelling against reason, she dived for the ground, waiting until the last moment to slow her descent. Panting as her legs hit the firm ground, she looked around. She'd landed in a room. Her bedroom, her bed, her closet, her clothes, the features familiar, but unrecognizable. She felt comfortable here, safe, but she didn't know where this room was located. What planet? What habitat?

  She was tired, and her tiredness made her not care where she landed. Flopping on the bed, she lay back. Her room spun in a wonderful, hazy sort of way. The lights dimmed—maybe she'd sleep for a while and everything would make sense in the morning.

  Next to her, a body stirred. Twisting around, she realized she was naked. Two arms snaked around her waist, pulling her into a demanding kiss. Heat filled her, lifted her, sending her even higher without leaving the ground. It was too dark for her to see the face of the man making love to her. Did she want to?

  Reason intruded again. She should care about this person who caressed her so intimately. Someone had taught her that. They said it was important, but who? She hadn't realized just how lonely she had been until now, but did she care at all about this person who touched her?

  With a groan, she pushed reason away. She didn't want to care. She felt good, that was all that mattered. Hmmm, whoever made love with her was muscular, but not like Daeven. Daeven had muscles like rocks.

  If she wasn't making love to Daeven, then who could it be? Disappointment slowed her exploration of the body next to her. Yohzad? Could she have seduced Yohzad? That shot a thrill through her straight to her toes. She ran her hands up her lover's back to his head.

  No hair? Yohzad had thick, dark hair. Her lover had none.

  She tried to jerk away, her passion rapidly dissipating, but with her body still tangled with her unknown lover, she didn't get far. She freed one hand from between the press of bodies and pushed as hard as she could against her lover's chest, forcing him back until she could look at his face.

  Blank hazel eyes stared back at her. She recognized that face. It was the ‘pet, the one from the station. Horror, fear, disgust racked her. What had she done? She'd seduced a ‘pet! She must have. ‘Pets didn't have physical relationships, didn't have intense emotions. How could she?

  Despair ripped through her, and she turned to run only to fall into fog. It encompassed her, thickened to smother her, forced her to forget. She ran faster, trying to find a way out.

  And ran smack into the real world. Her eyes opened, and she realized she really was in bed, wrapped in her bedsheets. She slapped her hand against the wall to activate the lights—blinking against the sudden brightness. She tried to sit up, but the vise squeezing her head increased the pressure on her skull, so she lay back down with a groan.

  "Guess I don't need to ask how you feel."

  Jita rubbed her sleepy eyes, curled up in the chair in front of Tamarja's comm station.

  Hot, woozy, and in desperate need of a drink to cool her down, Tamarja tried to sit up again, more slowly this time.

  "Water?" she managed to croak.

  Jita stood, ordering the lights to turn down. Tamarja could barely see the outline of her apartment, but she was glad for the relief the dimness brought. After casting a reassuring smile her way, Jita disappeared into the wet room. Tamarja heard the water running as Jita filled a cup. Looking down, Tamarja realized that she was still dressed in her clothes from when? Yesterday? How long had she been out?

  Oh, Stars, what about the director? Her ear jack sat in its dock next to the bed. Relief flooded her when she saw there were no messages.

  Jita returned with the water, which Tamarja gulped down.

  "What happened?" Her voice sounded somewhat normal.

  Jita went to her chair and folded a spare blanket she had wrapped around herself. "Black Wave. That's the common name for the powder mixed in with your drink. It comes from a native seed that is fairly common in certain districts, unfortunately, and very potent. They are supposed to warn all newcomers against handling it because even the seed itself can have an effect. I’m so sorry, it seems no one warned you. The biotechs are working on an inoculation against the effects."

  Tamarja knew immediately how she had gotten this drug. "There was a kid in the kitchen. He offered me a sweetener for the juice…"

  With an angry grunt, Jita nodded. "We figured. Daeven's partner cornered the kid and interrogated him. There'll be consequences for him and his dealer."

  "Did he say why he did it?"

&
nbsp; Jita waved an aimless hand in the air as she retook her seat, plopping the blanket over her legs. "Not that I've heard, but he probably thought it would be funny watching you stumble around the party. Folks have been known to do some strange things while high, and there isn't a lot to keep kids occupied on Dawn's Landing. No formal education system or entertainment districts."

  Tamarja rubbed her eyes against the headache.

  "Ianyin keeps a detox pack at the house," Jita continued, "for emergencies. Once he and Daeven had you stabilized, Daeven and I brought you back here."

  Groaning, Tamarja leaned back on her elbows, letting her head fall backward. Daeven had been in her room? Her dream started to leak through. She'd been having sex with the same ‘pet she'd seen on Jarvis Station. In her dream, he had no emotion or concern for her, no animation in his eyes, just rote movements, as if the ‘pet had been ordered to…to service her. Why did she dream of him when Daeven had been the one taking care of her? Why wasn't it Daeven in her arms?

  Fog enveloped her. A memory? A blocked one? Why now? Did she know the ‘pet? Did everyone on this blasted colony know her? Tears blurred what little she could see in the low light. She let the fog roll past her, trying not to fight it, focusing on Jita, who had moved to sit on the bed next to her, one hand on her shoulder.

  "It's okay. No one knows what happened. Everyone at the party thinks you had an allergic reaction. You weren't exposed long enough to require a trip to medical. This won't get on your record. The director doesn't have to know."

  What about Yohzad? Would Yohzad be able to find out? Manitac hears everything, sees everything. How many screw-ups could she make before even Yohzad got tired of covering for her?

  "What about security? Won't I have to make a report?"

  Jita shrugged. "Talk to Daeven about it. Black Wave is enough of a problem that he might be able to file a report himself and keep your name out of it."

  Tamarja realized then just how much Jita had risked bringing her back to her room instead of to medical. "Thanks, Jita. Really. I appreciate you trying to protect me."

  Jita's grin returned as she stood. "No worries. It's the least I could do after what you risked for Ravid." She tilted her head to the side. "Just an observation, but Daeven really seemed to take your…illness very personally. He stayed here until about an hour ago when you stopped thrashing about. Couldn't get him to let go of you until a security call pulled him out, but you had calmed down quite a bit by then."

  The shaking had stopped, but not the dreaming. Tamarja didn't know what to say about that, so she said nothing.

  Jita shrugged. "He's a nice guy. Comm him. I'm sure he can fix the security report." With that, she crossed the room, dissolved the door, and left Tamarja by herself.

  Tamarja sat back up and ran her fingers absently through her hair. Stretching to the corner of her desk, she activated her unit.

  Jacking into one of the public directories, she searched for Daeven's name. Finding it, she switched to her comm node. When Daeven answered, he looked as bad as she felt, his blond hair spiked in different directions, his eyes ringed with circles.

  "Tamarja."

  She wanted to ask him why he had helped her, why he stayed with her, what he had wanted to talk to her about, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she asked, "How long before I can fly?"

  He didn't need an explanation for the question. She could see his eyes flick toward a timer, calculating the hours. "Nothing's official, but Black Wave metabolizes pretty quickly. I would wait at least four more hours before you get into a cockpit. If you need to fly before then, comm me. I'll try to run some interference."

  She couldn't imagine what sort of interference he could run, but she let it go. "What about a report? Do we need to make this official so you can find the kid's dealer?"

  "Already found. The kid's a troublemaker, but not hard core. Serriga got him to talk easily enough. The dealer will be tagged and off world before sundown tomorrow."

  Serriga—she vaguely remembered the woman's name. Tamarja shook off her irritation. "What will your friend say about all this?"

  Daeven shifted, adjusting the blanket he had wrapped around himself, hiding the chest she had admired before the Black Wave had hit. Brilliant move. You woke him up too. "She's my partner, and she's agreed to my version of things. The kid offered you the powder, but you didn't know what it was, so you refused. You never drank it and reported his suspicious behavior to us."

  Half-truths were still lies, but Tamarja took a deep breath, relieved the threat to her career was over. Except now she was indebted to his partner as well.

  "Thanks, Daeven. For everything." She wanted to say more, ask him why he would take such risks for her, but decided not to question his change of heart.

  That luscious, kissable mouth of his opened and then closed. Why wasn’t she dreaming about him instead of the blank-eyed ‘pet?

  He seemed to think for a minute and then said, "Just be more careful, Tamarja. Dawn's Landing is beautiful, but it has traps. Black Wave is just one. If you run into trouble again, comm me first. I can help."

  He could help. Tamarja clicked off the comm, disconnecting from the very mysterious Daeven Blayde. Not that he would try to help, but that he could help.

  She looked at the timer next to her bed. Three hours ‘til dawn. Short of an evacuation, it was unlikely the director would comm her before then. Her clothes stank of sweat, clinging to her body like a second skin. Peeling off her shirt on the way to the wet room, Tamarja tried not to think of all the different ways Daeven Blayde could help her. After washing and returning to her bed, the only thing that appealed to her was more sleep. With any luck, she wouldn't dream.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She didn't dream, but that didn't mean she could shake the memory of her hallucination. Making love to a near mindless ‘pet—how depraved. For once she wished she could forget and let the fog of her long-term memory press the image of him wrapped around her body from her consciousness.

  The fog refused to cooperate with her, which exacerbated her headache. The last thing she needed on her record was a trail of visits to medical, so Tamarja grabbed a portable breakfast meal she kept stored in her satchel before making her way to the roof. Maybe if she focused on the flash of light she'd seen on the mountain, she could crowd out her disgust and any thoughts that might bring about the memory fog.

  Setting her ear jack to audio feed, she made her way up to the roof of Facility Prime while searching the ‘cast ‘net for information about Twenty-Two. By the time she reached the roof and Dace greeted her with a final repair report, she'd learned nothing about what might have caused the flash of light. Dace took time to review her charts, showing her which facilities she would more than likely fly to during the upcoming trade conference.

  "What about here?" Tamarja used her stylus to point to the coordinates she had marked on the mountains near Twenty-Two. "Is there a new facility being built, or is it an addition to Twenty-Two?"

  Dace scratched the scruff on his chin. "Not that I've heard. Why?"

  "I saw a flash, like sunlight reflecting off metal or a shield, while I was rescuing the Telori kid. It was brief, but I marked it. Thought it might be a new facility that hadn't made it onto the charts yet."

  Dace squinted, deep in thought. "I doubt it's anything like that. There might have been a science team scouting around. Might have caught a glint off some of their equipment. The director wants to expand the boundaries of the colony in all directions at once. I wouldn't worry about flying there. There's no place for a shuttle to land unless you flattened some of those trees—something the director would take issue with if you harmed her shuttle again. Or her trees, for that matter."

  Tamarja agreed, but she didn't erase the marker on the chart. If the director had decided to expand Twenty-Two, it wouldn't hurt to keep it marked. She remained on the roof until long past lunchtime. Dace had his own food brought to him. Since she hadn't thought to order anything, he ha
d to nearly push her back inside, insisting she get lunch.

  With no good excuse to avoid communal eating, she made her first foray into the dining hall. The low ceiling, circular tables, and soft lighting gave the room a slightly formal ambiance, one that almost forced individuals to join their colleagues. She didn't feel today would be the best day to enlarge her circle of acquaintances, but she couldn't ignore the polite nods and cheerful greetings of the wait staff and other diners. Her rescue of Jita's nephew had made her famous. She tried to smile as she ordered, but as more residents crowded into the dining hall, approaching her with their thank-yous and congratulations, the more Tamarja felt the need to escape. She tapped her foot in agitation until her lunch arrived. She practically grabbed the boxes before dashing for the nearest compressor window.

  Though compressor transport was nearly instantaneous, it still felt as if time dragged before she stepped into the hallway leading to her room. Using her elbow to hit the marker to dissolve her door, she almost dropped her soup when she saw Yohzad lounging in the chair Jita had occupied last night.

  "Hello, Chase! Brought me lunch, did you?"

  Tamarja's stomach threatened to rebel at the idea of giving away any of her food, but Yohzad grinned.

  "I'm kidding. Already had my lunch. Here, sit." He rose from the chair and offered it to her. The comm station was the only place she could sit and eat in the one-room apartment. She'd have to think about requisitioning a small table and another chair once she got paid.

  Gratefully sitting down, Tamarja tore open her food while Yohzad began to pace the small apartment.

  "Did you just get back?" she asked, setting some food on the small comm station table while balancing the rest on her lap. "I didn't get a comm to pick you up."

  "I took the regular shuttle. The director and I have an understanding: I don't home in on her luxury, and she doesn't tell me what to write in my reports back to the Home Office. That's one of my duties here, liaise between AuRaKaz and Manitac."