HeartFast

by Linda Mooney

  Would the love they had discovered be strong enough to withstand the aftermath of the HandFast? And if it was, where would it take them? What kind of future could they have if they were to remain at Guardian Command?

  Could both of them even stay at Command? Or would one of them find that being in the everyday presence of the other too much to handle? Too much to bear? Too impossible to focus on the job?

  Her eyes shifted to the man stoically bringing the transport out of hyper light drive. What was he thinking? Was he relieved it was over, relieved to be free of the duty? What would he do next? StarLight’s life was now in the hands of the Committee and the Med Lab. For the next nine months, every minute would be monitored until the baby was born. After that, she would be allowed up to another year to nurse and care of the infant, if she so chose. Or she could release the baby to the adoptive parents at delivery. It was easier for the HandFasted woman that way, she’d heard. It was much more difficult if the woman was allowed to bond with the baby first, but it was her right if she so chose to do it that way.

  “Fire.”

  The thin whisper came from Animator seated next to her. Morning Fire turned to look at her.

  “Are you going over to talk to her?”

  “When she curls up like that, she’s not in the mood to talk,” Morning Fire told her. “I’ll wait until she gets back from the med lab, when things have quieted down a bit.”

  Animator nodded and leaned back in her seat. There was too much to think about at the moment. Between the HandFasted couple, and the threat of Ombitra, just returning to the familiarity of home was their only respite at the moment.

  Hunter brought the ship into the bay with his usual smooth delivery. As they had been yesterday, the med lab team was waiting for their arrival, except this time there was no equipment set up. They would take StarLight directly to the hospital from Guardian Command.

  Letting Time Merchant finish powering down the engines, Hunter swiveled his chair around until he faced Star, still in her little ball. Reaching out, he helped her get to her feet, unbuckling the harness that kept her secured. The others watched as he walked her over to the doors and hit the release latches.

  “Udo?” Her voice was for his ears only.

  “Yes, my heart?”

  “I’m … afraid.”

  “So am I.”

  They exited the doors together, to find a half-dozen technicians and doctors prepared with a transport bed. Star lifted her face to look at Hunter, seeking something, a word or a look. They were both numb. Words were not easy to find.

  He helped her onto the transport bed, and a tech covered her with a thin blanket. Their eyes remained on each other as Star was lifted into the back of a med lab unit, and contact was not lost until the door closed between them.

  Hunter snagged a passing doctor as the rest of the Guardians slowly disembarked behind him.

  “Star was inadvertently caught in the flow of a magnetic disrupter. It stopped her heart, and ship’s computers pronounced her legally dead for twenty-seven seconds, until we managed to get her back into rhythm.”

  The physician frowned but nodded. “Thanks. We’ll have to keep her overnight for observation then.” A smile suddenly brightened the man’s face, and he added, “Oh! And congratulations, Master Hunter!”

  “Yes. Congratulations, Master Hunter!” Serien Tark ambled up slowly toward the brown-clad Guardian standing on the concourse, in front of the returned ship. Hunter’s eyes went icy blue. He hadn’t heard or seen the Committee Chairman’s vehicle when it had arrived.

  Giving Hunter an oily smile, Tark reached into his jacket and extracted a gold-colored diskette. “I have to admit it, there aren’t many HandFast couples who manage to complete their duty in four short days like you and Star did.”

  “Tark, you’re not welcome here. Say what you have to, then leave. We have work to do,” Hunter told him coldly.

  Tark glanced from the stone-faced man to the others standing directly behind him. The Guardians fiercely protected and defended their own, even more than they did for the galaxy they watched over. Tark knew that if he angered Master Hunter, the rest would follow suit. He held out the gold diskette. “Here’s your payment voucher, in full, as specified in the edicts.”

  Hunter eyed the diskette but didn’t reach for it. “Payment for what?” His tone could slice steel.

  “Early conception. Your half of the bonus. I’ll have to wait for StarLight to return before giving her her half.”

  The silence that fell over the concourse grew thicker and colder with each passing second. Suddenly Hunter snatched the diskette from Tark’s fingers.

  “Corona!”

  “Yes, Hunter?”

  Tossing the voucher into the air, he ordered, “Burn it.”

  A flame of laser-white intensity danced from her fingers, incinerating the diskette into nothingness before it could hit the ground. Tark watched the little demonstration with amusement.

  “Will that be all, Chairman?” Hunter asked in that voice that promised serious retribution if Tark remained at Guardian Command a second longer than he needed to be.

  “For the moment, I’m done.” The man smiled gratingly. “And so are you. On behalf of the HandFast Committee, thank you again for your cooperation.”

  Having completed this part of his job, Tark turned and walked back to where his vehicle had remained idling until he was finished. The Guardians watched as the last shuttle pulled away, and the news media, which had gathered like carrion feeders overhead, sped away to break the news.

  Once calm descended, and they were left alone to resume some sense of normalcy, the work began. Commander enlisted Provoker and Challenger to help him remove the disrupter from the ship, while two others cleaned and rechecked supplies used onboard.

  Deceiver walked up to the man standing quietly with his arms crossed and his head bowed. Placing a hand on Hunter’s shoulder, he asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Yeah, Deceiver. I need a few hours off.” Hunter took a shaky breath. “I know this is a bad time, with the Ombitra playing hide and seek with us, but I’ll take a wrist alarm with me. So if something comes up, call me, all right?”

  “You sure about this, Hunter? I don’t have any problems with you taking a day or two, even with the Ombitra hovering over us.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure.”

  Tossing a look in the direction where the med lab units had taken Star, Deceiver asked, “What about her?”

  “Don’t worry about Star,” Hunter whispered. “She knows she has my heart. We’re going to get through this.” He turned his head to give the man a grateful look. “Thanks, Deceiver. I won’t be gone long, but I think my parents need to hear about this from me before they get the media’s version.”

  Deceiver opened his mouth to reply, but the man had vanished. Scratching his head, the Guardian leader walked back to Three to check to see if the ship was ready for the next time they would need it, then locked it down for the night.

  Like the rest of the Guardians, there was no way he could foresee what was waiting for them. Or how soon it would happen.

  And when it did happen, the devastating consequences that would occur, would change the lives of every person on the planet, including taking the lives of friends, families, and loved ones.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter 24

  Honesty

  She hated hospitals. They had an overpowering odor of sickness and death that the personnel tried to mask with other smells.

  When the med lab unit arrived, she could no longer take lying still while they poked and prodded her, taking a sample of this and a sample of that. The moment the back doors opened, Star threw off the light blanket and got back on her own two feet, daring them to put her back on one of those transport beds. No one did. It seemed no one wanted to challenge a Guardian, even if she had been ordered not to use her unique abilities.

  The news media crowded the outer entrance. Word had
swiftly gotten out that StarLight was pregnant. It seemed that nearly every doctor and tech from every part of the hospital were waiting for her appearance, and she didn’t want to disappoint them. She had been put through enough humiliation with the HandFast; her temper fairly boiled beneath an ultrathin layer of patience.

  Striding inside, she stood among them like a glorious night creature from space. Her body suit roiled with anger and power. Her thick, black hair flowed behind her in waves down her back.

  “StarLight. Please follow me,” one nervous intern requested.

  She gave the woman a heated glare. “Where?” she asked curtly. Yes, she knew she shouldn’t take her frustration out on these people. They were only doing their jobs. But, then again, they were no different from the public who took the tours of Command. They were curious and hungry to see up close one of the legendary Guardians, especially one that was creating HandFast history.

  Star had seen that look on their faces so often in the past. It was the same one she and Morning Fire would see whenever they’d go shopping, or browsing, or just be out aimlessly walking around inside the city. Guardian Command was off-limits to the public, except for sections that were open at certain times for tours, like the botanical gardens. In most cases, the only time the public could come in close, direct contact with one of them was when they voluntarily ventured out among the populace.

  “I’m taking you to your room where you can change,” the intern replied with a tic in her smile.

  The comment drew everyone’s eyes to Star’s revealing uniform, and for the first time she felt extremely vulnerable in her star suit. Clenching her hands into fists, she gave the woman a curt nod, and started to follow the woman toward a turbolift. The crowd followed right behind her.

  Star knew how her body moved. She knew how men looked at her. How they talked about her behind her back. How they thought she didn’t know what they spoke about, or what they insinuated about her. It never bothered her before because she didn’t have to live among them. She didn’t work with them, or trust her life to them. The Guardians were her family, and they were all that mattered to her. And they didn’t speak about her … at least, not that she was aware of.

  This time, though…

  “—only had to spread her legs four times. Thanks to StarLight, she’s won me—”

  Star stopped abruptly; two doctors barely avoided plowing into her from behind. She turned and stared down the conjoining corridor at the two suited individuals who had made the comment. As the men noticed the small crowd halted a few feet away, they also saw the ebony-clad woman glaring at them with undisguised fury. “Thanks to me, you’ve won what?” she demanded in a voice crackling with power.

  She stared, astounded, as one man gave her a self-satisfied smile. “I won the pool, StarLight, thanks to you. I bet it wouldn’t take you long to work off the HandFast. Not with your appetites.”

  “My appetites?” She could feel the skin on her face tightening as it paled. “How dare you,” she breathed softly. “How dare you assume such horrid things about me.”

  “Hey! I only called it like everyone else sees it.” The man chuckled. “Don’t tell us you’re not the hot little number who satisfies all the men at Guardian Command.”

  The accusation stunned her. “I’m the what?” she gasped. Whirling around, she scanned the faces of those standing around her, and the proof of their beliefs was clearly etched on their faces. “All of you? You think I’m … I’m…”

  Anger choked her. White, suffocating anger welled up to where she could barely draw breath. There was nowhere to fly, nowhere to escape. Tears glittered on her lashes before she could stop them.

  “How could you be so hateful?” she demanded in a soft voice. “You know nothing about me. Why would you assume such terrible things about me?” She glanced down at her uniform, waving a hand in front of her. “Is it because of my body suit? I have to wear this in order to soak up the sun’s energy. My suit helps me to direct my powers. It keeps me intact.”

  “It doesn’t explain away the escapades,” a voice from the back uttered anonymously.

  “What escapades?” Star turned back on the two men still standing nonchalantly in the adjoining corridor. “What was it you called me? A hot little number?”

  The man who had won the pool began to chuckle, and Star’s eyes widened in astonishment, two spots of bright color reddening her cheeks. “It’s a good thing you can’t use your star powers for the next nine months. Looks like you won’t be needing that skintight body glove, either. Damn, but Master Hunter must have had a blast with you.”

  She didn’t know what crushed her worse. The man’s blatant and unabashed denigration of her morals and feelings, or the fact that the people behind her said nothing to defend her because their thoughts also ran in the same direction.

  Turning on her heels, Star hurried to the turbolift, and tried to forget the sound of cackling that followed her. Eyes continued to follow her, but Star couldn’t help the humiliation that radiated from her like a gray aura. She was a miniature sun unto herself, with a core of anger that seethed hotter with every passing minute.

  Suddenly, all of Provoker’s past jibes seemed weak in comparison. She raised a hand to her mouth to try and hold back the sobs that wanted to spill out of her constricting chest.

  Once they reached the private suite, Star was finally given some privacy to strip out of her uniform, and don the hospital-issued loose top and drawstring pants. Carefully, she folded the uniform she could never, would never give up, and placed it at the foot of the bed. Sitting barefoot on the edge of the mattress pad, she bent her head and waited for whatever tests they had to do next. She wanted Hunter with her. She needed him, more than she had ever needed anyone or anything before in her life. With him there, their taunts and accusations would mean nothing. They wouldn’t be able to touch her. Not with their words. Not with their stares. Not with anything.

  “Udo.”

  She tried to breathe, but it was difficult. That thick block of anger remained in the center of her chest, clogging her throat.

  “Udo. My love. Where are you?”

  Behind her, the suite’s door opened. Star turned around to see a team of doctors converging on her.

  The tests were beginning.

  A little more than three hours later, they were done. Star was carried on a hoverbed back to her room, where a tray with her dinner was waiting for her. Once the rest of the staff had left, she grabbed the bottle of water and retreated to the narrow window to watch the stars emerge in the night sky. The cool glass felt good on her skin where her forehead pressed against it. The water helped her parched throat.

  Her body felt dirty, especially now that so many hands had scraped and examined and sampled her, as if she had been nothing more than a living buffet. But during it all she had managed to keep her sanity by closing her eyes and projecting her heart into that netherworld Hunter had shown her. There, the world took on shades of white and black and gray, and nothing seemed real. Nothing could touch inside her, although they would try.

  They were primarily concerned about her reaction to the magnetic disrupter. If Star saw the business end of another medical probe, she swore she would come back to the hospital the second she was able to use her powers again, and personally melt every damn one of them she could find.

  “Miss DiLyric?”

  Wearily, Star turned away from the window. The woman intern from earlier was back.

  “Is there anything you need? You really should rest now.”

  “When can I get out of this place?” Star asked coldly.

  “First thing in the morning, as soon as the doctors determine neither you nor the fetus suffered any ill effects from your experience today.”

  The fetus. It wasn’t even big enough to be called a baby yet. No bigger than a drop of rain, but its genetic profile was already being mapped. Given another couple of days, she would be handed a full report, letting her know every detail about the child
she would be bringing into the world.

  Her child. Her and Udo’s child. A humorless chuckle escaped her. What was it he had told her this morning? That he didn’t want all his hard work to go down the drain? It had been a joke. A comment to lovingly tease her. Neither of them had known that at that moment they both had become parents.

  The intern left her alone. Finally, thank the heavens. It was going to be sheer torture, trying to make it through the night alone.

  Four nights. It had all started four nights ago, Star recalled with surprise. Less than a week ago, none of this had existed. Four days, and her life was forever changed. Forever wonderfully changed.

  For two of those nights she had made herself suffer by not letting him stay the night. Then there had been that moment on that little arid planet way out in the middle of heaven-knew-where. They finally had loved in the daylight. Loved and rejoiced, and discovered aloud what they had needed to tell each other.

  He loved her enough to give up everything. She loved him enough to give him everything. Together, they were ready to face their future.

  “Where are you, my heart?” she muttered softly into the window.

  It was late. The others would be retiring to their beds by now. That, or staying up a while longer to check out what was on the vidscreen. Vaguely, Star wondered how much of a to-do the news was making of her pregnancy.

  She glanced over at the tiny communications panel beside the bed. It wouldn’t be hard to put a call in to Guardian Command. She knew Hunter’s private code. But would he want to hear from her?

  Why hadn’t he come to her? What was keeping him away?

  Biting her lower lip, Star prayed it was some point of Guardian business that was preventing him from coming to see her, and nothing to do with their feelings for each other.

  She lifted the bottle to her lips, to find the container empty. She had no recollection of drinking it all. Dropping her feet to the cold floor, she started toward the bed when a familiar tingling descended over her like an envelope of love. Before she could utter his name, warm arms gathered her against him, and she was swept into his netherworld.