Devoted Deceptions, A 4th Millennium Adventure, Book 3

by Cherie Singer

  Chilled, she hugged the soft fabric gown woven of fibers indigenous to Nutralis around her body. Made with the heat of their dry world in mind, the pale gauzy material skimmed over her body like starglow and moonwind. When the coolness of night arrived, the native Nutralian added additional layers of cloth.

  A small flashing panel on the computer alerted her to messages from the communication center. "Yes?"

  `In accordance with your instructions, Commander, I wish to notify you that a Space Corps vessel is coming into range and asking to establish orbit.'

  Cat's heart lifted in anticipation and even a rush of relief. Had Wulfe come after her? "Which one?"

  `The Orion under the command of Captain Wheeler. He wants to come planetside.'

  Expectation plummeted into bitter disappointment. Wariness edged its way in, too. "Clear the Orion for orbit. Have her captain stay in the transport center until I arrive."

  `As you wish, Commander.'

  Cat drew the gauzy robe over her head and grabbed her Space Corps uniform from the sanitizing chamber. After putting on the clean clothes, she pulled her hair straight back, jammed the double-tined copper pin through the tight, no-nonsense knot she'd made.

  On her way through the complex, Cat came across a three-man crew of techs installing new sensors in one of the halls. The team leader was giving the other two a verbal lashing for dropping a piece of equipment.

  "It's not the end of the universe," Cat commented.

  "No, but it's the end of our installation schedule until we get a robotech here to retrieve it."

  She gauged the size of the floor's opening. "Or someone small enough to squeeze through."

  "I couldn't ask--"

  "You didn't." Cat levered herself through the hole and into the crawlspace. She groped around for a few seconds, finally admitting to herself that she couldn't put off greeting Wheeler any longer. "Shine a light down here, will you?"

  Someone obliged her, but not before she ran into some dirty, ancient connections. Cat brushed the nonfunctioning conduit aside, spied the missing pack. She handed the equipment up to a tech, let another one pull her up.

  "Thank you, Commander."

  "Any time," Cat waved aside his thanks and reluctantly pushed on to the transport chamber.

  Wheeler waited for her, his oily smile in place while he tried to radiate charm. His efforts might work on someone else, but not her. The Earther's surface emotions gyrated around Cat. Frantic adherence to regulations. Frenzied rebellion to change. A confounded perception of reality, with him at the center.

  "Greetings, Commander Culver."

  "Captain Wheeler."

  "Have you managed to find your poor children, yet?"

  The little hairs on the back of Cat's neck tried to stand on end. Wheeler's concern came across as hollow. "No."

  "Well, never fear, once we've knocked these godless Mallochons back down where they belong, we will, Commander."

  "I intend to find them long before that. Why are you here?"

  "I follow orders from Corps Command, just like every other officer. Guess they wanted some extra firepower in this sector."

  "And Command sent you?"

  "To this sector, yes. Figured as long as I was this close, I'd stop and see if you needed anything."

  Not from him, she didn't.

  One of the transport attendants signaled to her with a hand motion. "Another Space Corps vessel coming into range, Commander."

  Cat sighed. Space Corps personnel would be tripping over one another if this kept up. "Which one, now?"

  "The starcruiser Falchion. Captain Kincade is establishing a synchronous orbit over Nutralia and then will transport down."

  Cat's mouth went Sacred Sands dry. She didn't know if she'd leap into Wulfe's arms in welcome, or squeeze her hands around his neck in a stranglehold. If Wulfe had sent the message about Garrett and Morgan, would he dare show up here?

  Forget that. Wulfe's concern for the little ones manifested nothing but genuine worry. Which brought to mind the next questions: why had Wulfe made his way to Nutralis? Could he possibly have come for her, after everything they'd said to one another? Had Command ordered him to Nutralis, or had he gone renegade? Like she didn't have enough on her mind. Bloody wonderful. "Fine. The more the merrier."

  Wheeler reached out, swiped a couple of curiously tacky fingers against the side of her face. "Got it."

  Cat jerked back from him, suppressed a shudder. "What?"

  "Dirt. Can't have you looking like a tunnel rat when you greet your husband, can we?"

  She rubbed her cheek self-consciously. "Wouldn't be the first time he's seen me less than pristine." She motioned Wheeler off to the side. "You still using Endorphidrine?"

  Wheeler didn't even blink. "No. Gave up that poison."

  His answer didn't surprise her. She'd expected denial or a claim of newfound chemical purity. Cat read his surface emotions, and the honesty, overlaid with a veneer of guilt, caught her unprepared. Maybe he had changed. A lingering hint of deceit churned sluggishly beneath his bid for openness, though, enough to make her wonder and doubt.

  "Commander?"

  "Yes?" Cat, puzzled over the jumbled perceptions she'd received from Wheeler, only half-listened to the security monitor.

  The member of the Council's security team moved closer. "When did you cancel the perimeter checks for the night?"

  "I didn't." A new worry wriggled its way into her awareness. She'd assigned teams to do random security sweeps of the council's compound to look for unauthorized devices or trespassers.

  "Then we have a problem. Our control center reports that Canto and Sung would have been due to check in thirty minutes ago. No one has heard from them."

  Cat spun to face the man. "Why the bloody hell didn't they notify me twenty-nine minutes sooner?" Blast and double blast! "Alert security teams and have them begin a systematic search of the grounds immediately."

  One bloody thing after another! Cat hung her head, rested her forehead in a palm. She closed her eyes for a blessed moment of easement. Another sleepless cycle. She'd be star-hopping space happy before this nightmare ended. Maybe she'd already taken the plunge--that would explain the wildness of the thoughts and feelings currently playing Hide and Hunt in her mind and heart.

  She wanted this all to end. Now. Immediately. She longed to hold her children. She wanted her husband and her life back, with no worries about the Mallochons or war or loss. No arguments, nothing bad happening. Just twenty-five hours of peace is all she asked.

  Might as well ask the Sacred Winds not to blow.

  Chapter 18

  WULFE TOLD himself he at least had a clear conscience in regard to Space Corps Command. An hour or so after he'd issued the order for Riordan to set course for Nutralis, Flemming contacted him with orders for a new destination: the Nutralis System. For once, Sister Fate rode with him rather than against him.

  Sister Fate managed to spit in his face on other matters, particularly in regard to finding Garrett and Morgan. The message his mother received from Cass about the children had, in reality, been issued from his own ship, the Falchion. When Raptor contacted him with that information, Wulfe told only one other officer. Seleen.

  His communication officer had been furious when she discovered her domain had been compromised. The auxiliary comm panel held her claw marks to prove it, but Seleen managed to stifle any outcry, thereby keeping the fact a secret. The only other person aboard who knew the truth was the message's author. Seleen worked as a demon possessed to find the responsible party. If she managed to ferret out the author, Wulfe vowed Seleen would find herself promoted as far as Corps Command allowed.

  Wulfe moved his head from side to side, stretching his neck muscles in an effort to dispel the mounting tension in his shoulders and back. The silence in his office stressed the isolation he felt while the muted computer scrolled through the day's logs. He reviewed the entries with half-hearted interest. On top of the news that a traitor walked the deck
s of his ship, part of his mind still played Hide and Hunt with snippets of other recent thoughts and conversations.

  Albright's concern over Cat--could his mate truly slip into madness simply because the bonding link between them didn't function? Bah! An Earther's proclivity for groundless worry and the love of doom and gloom. The doctor had to be wrong. Cat was one of the most capable females--people--he had ever known.

  Images flashed through his mind--chilling pictures of Cat, her body burned, torn, battered, broken. The brutal vision stunned him. Cruel imagination or vicious memory trying to surface? Who would know? Albright, naturally. Thinking of the doctor reminded him of Albright's gibe about rhymes, which touched off other thoughts. The feline Seleen and Grimalkan nursery rhymes. Useless verses about animals.

  Wulfe went rigid in his chair, his spine laser-straight with sudden enlightenment. Or returning memory? Some Bellons taught a nursery rhyme to their children about a tiny rodent using a flamemelon thorn as a way to triumph over a monster of a hunting cat. Something about the rodent removing the thorn. He recalled how he'd detested the nargging thing. As if a timid rodent could ever conquer a warrior-like hunting cat. "How did that piece of worthlessness go again?"

  He stumbled over the archaic phrasing of the Bellonese, the words embarrassingly clumsy. The ancient verses went back to the early days of Bellona, the First Ones. After a couple of false starts, Wulfe felt satisfied he'd managed to remember the correct phrasing. Typical of late; he could recall something so useless, but not his life for the past few months. He recited the complete rhyme, feeling foolishly triumphant.

  How do you wish to view that file?

  Wulfe squinted at the computer screen, thinking he'd lost his mind and imagined the question. What file? With a quick glance around to be certain no one else had entered his office and a fatalistic shrug, he directed his query to the computer, "How many choices do I have?"

  This isolated file may be retrieved by log entry date, log author, or by key word search.

  What had he stumbled upon? "Give me a random sampling of key word options."

  Catherine Culver. Cat Kincade. Free Agent. Covert Ops. Morgan Kincade. Garrett Kincade. Danelle Morgan. Confidential medical records. Transfer criteria.

  "Stop!" Sweet Creator! Only one person could be responsible for such an in-depth undertaking. He'd discovered Cat's treasure trove of secrets and information. Elation. Anticipation. Herein might be his best chance to relearn everything he'd forgotten. This must be to what Albright had made reference. Now to discover what the doctor felt to be so important. Premonitory hesitation. Could he face everything he'd find? "Who has access to this file?"

  The entire file is available to Captain Wulfe Kincade with verified voice print and passwords and Commander Catherine Culver with verified voice print. Medical records are available to Doctors Albright and Moira with verified voice prints.

  Somehow, he'd stumbled upon the correct passwords, so he wouldn't need Albright's help, bless the Creator. For some reason, Cat had determined he could access the files only if he knew the passwords. Intriguing. And irritating--just like her to use verses he loathed.

  A tone from Wulfe's tag claimed his attention, and he responded to the intraship hail. "Kincade. Go ahead."

  `Out of hyperspace and entering the Nutralis System,' Riordan informed him. `We will establish orbit in approximately twelve minutes.'

  "Very well. Have Seleen initiate communication with Nutralis."

  `Aye, Sir. Um, it is night in Nutralia, but should I have Seleen contact Commander Culver anyway?'

  "No need. If I know the commander, she'll be aware of our arrival before we ever make orbit." Wulfe wished he could remember how well he did know Cat. He seemed to be missing some very important pieces. "Tell Chief Ellery I'll want him in our transport room by the time the Falchion is in place over the city."

  Wulfe's mouth went dry as he terminated the link. Time to face his mate. He sure as narg would have liked the chance to delve into the isolated data he'd found, but uncovering the file's mysteries would have to wait.

  WULFE STEPPED out of the main transport chamber at the heart of the council's compound. A half dozen guards surrounded him before he took a third step. Well, he'd been right about Cat's vigilance. "What's this about? Stand aside, all of you. I am Wulfe Kincade, captain of the Space Corps Starcruiser Falchion."

  "We know who you are, Captain. My team and I are following orders. If you would be kind enough to hand over any weapons."

  Wulfe didn't know which would erupt first: a roar of outrage or a howl of laughter. The laughter triumphed, bursting out of him, mainly because of the absurdity; his anger would scare these meek people out of their skins. Cat slipped between two of the lanky escorts to face him, her left eyebrow arched. Wulfe noted the escorts' relief at her presence.

  "I'm glad you find this so bloody amusing, Wulfe." Her voice matched her unamused facial expression. She'd pulled her hair tightly back from her face. The severity of style accentuated Cat's aristocratic cheekbones, the exotic eyes, and drove home the point that she looked exhausted.

  "Has someone gotten to the chairman?"

  "No, and no one will. Nutralia's security may have been breached, though. We're missing a team of guards."

  The `escort' who'd asked for Wulfe's weapons cleared his throat and repeated the request.

  Wulfe gave the guard an unhurried look. "Now, I know you're not talking to me, because you don't look that slow-witted."

  Cat motioned the guard away. "Don't worry about the captain's sidearm. I'll escort him myself. You and your team should join the perimeter search in whatever capacity needed."

  Wulfe eyeballed the rest of the men surrounding him until they moved aside so he could reach Cat along an unobstructed path. She motioned again, and the guards melted away to do her bidding. He studied Cat, trying to ascertain her frame of mind. Her voice contained a tremor no one else seemed to notice when she'd issued the orders.

  "They're only trying to do their jobs, Wulfe."

  Wulfe nodded, then turned his attention to another familiar face. Wheeler. "Your first officer tells me the Orion arrived only a few minutes ahead of us."

  "Laying over just long enough to see if we can lend assistance, then we're off to patrol through the Patten system. I didn't expect to see you, though, Captain Kincade. Command mentioned only Catherine being here."

  "A last minute course change. You'll be leaving soon, then?"

  "Now, as a matter of fact," Wheeler announced with a flourish, and retreated to the transport chamber.

  Wulfe and Cat watched him disappear in the customary sparkle.

  A barely perceptible change came over Cat, as though she'd relaxed a mere iota.

  She turned toward him. "You took your sweet time getting here. Been on R and R, have you?"

  "What made you think I'd show up?"

  Cat flashed him an inscrutable look and inclined her head toward a hall beyond the doorway. Wulfe hesitated only a second. Her brow arched again, just enough to nudge his irritation up a notch. What else was new? He still couldn't decide what he wanted to do; wrap his arms around this incredibly beautiful, sensual female and make love to her until she begged him to stop or put this annoying, frustrating woman up against the bulkhead and--narg!--kiss some sense into her.

  Wulfe looked down at Cat as he walked beside her. The top of her head barely came level to his sternum. How had he lost his heart to such a tiny little thing? Until meeting Cat, he'd always envisioned his future mate as tall, muscular, dark-haired, birthing son, after robust son, for him.

  But he did have one son--and a daughter--somewhere. He intended to find them both soon, would not rest until he did. Then the offender would pay the price for such an affront to the House of Kincade. And the House of Burnelle.

  "You didn't answer me. Why did you expect me?" Wulfe couldn't help but wonder if she'd hoped for his arrival or simply anticipated and dreaded his presence.

  "Once I saw the planetary
defenses here on Nutralis--"

  "What defenses? They're nonexistent!"

  "All right, the lack of, which happens to be my point, if you'd give me the chance to bloody finish. Anyway, I told Roy Flemming we needed your help--your crew's help--to protect the chairman. The guardsmen here have been mostly for show. Honor guards, escorts and such."

  "Ah. That's all." He shouldn't have counted on anything further after his ultimatum. She'd predicted he wouldn't like the results, and narg it, she'd been right.

  "You expected more?"

  "Apparently not."

  "Wulfe, how would you like to captain the only Space Corps vessel with a Seeker? I happen to have one available."

  "For me?" He eyed her, wondering if there was a catch, because she'd certainly taken him by surprise. "I am touched."

  "You're lucky I don't touch you--hard--upside your head."

  Well, distance hadn't dimmed her spirit. "I suppose--sometimes anger prompts one to say or do things better left unsaid or undone, as our argument aboard ship proved, but--narg it, I wouldn't keep the children from you."

  "That's big of you."

  The feeling of deja vu made goose bumps crawl over his skin, creating unpleasant sensations. "Don't go all to pieces on me. I simply couldn't do that to the children."

  "Ah. That makes perfect sense."

  "Must we do this now?" She'd seen through him. Using the children as his excuse protected his pride if she refused to remain his mate.

  "No, we don't have to do it at all." Cat stopped, turned to face him. "About the Seeker. M'Lissa came all the way from Erosia to volunteer her services. If you don't want her aboard the Falchion, I'm sure I can find another captain I can trust almost as much as you with the information."

  Wulfe's heart jumped a centimeter or two in his chest, but he tried to ignore the flash of hope warming him.

  "After all, the fleet's flagship should be the one to have the best advantage. You want her or not?"

  The hope sputtered. The flagship should have the advantage. Cat began walking again and Wulfe fell into step beside her, unable to contain the question he knew he'd regret. "You trust me?"