Akurea addressed the assistant security chief when they reached the office. “ We’re leaving. You can stay or you can come with us.”
He looked surprised. “This is my station. I won’t abandon it.”
“You’ve helped us. Your people might not be forgiving.”
“I have not helped you. I have helped the station. I did so against orders from the director and my immediate superior, but I believe that cooler heads will understand. They’ll probably give me a promotion. Not so, them,” he said, nodding to the two Llaska engineers.
“Let your people know that without their help this station might have been ruined forever. As it is, the damage is significant but repairable. This was the decision of a Knight of the Realm. We’re taking the Llaska with us, and we’re taking the Chessori.”
He shuddered. “Them you can keep.”
Stor let out an angry exclamation when she saw that Harriman was still there. He looked gray. “Have you seen a doctor?” she demanded. Why aren’t you back on the ship?”
“No, I haven’t. We’re a little short of manpower. We weren’t going to risk losing control here just to escort me back.”
She didn’t wait for Lex’s approval. She just pulled him to her chest and pushed off, floating out into the corridor and all the way back to the ship. It was a long journey. Though weightless, she could not protect his ribs from movement, and even floating weightless required a lot of movement. He was unconscious by the time they reached sick bay.
She left him there and went to the bridge to join the net, watching as the ship disengaged and the station drifted away. Akurea’s squadron moved in, and multiple weapons on the ships began firing at pre-designated pods. She stared in horror, knowing it was necessary but flinching at every single shot. When the last pod holding a completed or nearly complete power bottle was gone, Akurea’s ship entered her cruiser’s hangar deck and the squadron fast-shipped from the system. Akurea had two more stations to visit. Word of what had happened here would reach those stations quickly, and she wanted to get there first.
Stor returned to sick bay. The doctor had wrapped Harriman’s torso, then moved him into a machine. Harriman didn’t know what the machine did, but whatever it was, it felt wonderful. Heat filled his midsection, and he could almost feel the bones and cartilage healing. Hours later he came out of the machine to find her waiting.
They stared at each other. “Good job,” he finally said to her.
“For what? Damaging what I’ve spent my whole adult life protecting?”
“No. For saving lives, lots and lots of lives. We’ll never know what impact our actions will have on the future of the Empire, but we have made a difference. You have made a difference. You didn’t damage a station, you saved a station from what Lex and I would have done to it had you not been here. In the process, you supported Lady Akurea, supported her in spite of her activities against everything you’ve ever stood for. Most important, you’ve become a key player in restoring the Queen to her rightful place.” He reached out a hand. “In the process, you’ve taken care of me, the one who was supposed to be taking care of you.”
She covered her face with both hands, shielding the ugly events of the past days from herself. A little later he caught her peeking through those hands.
“Are you done mourning?” he asked.
“I am. You’re right. We don’t have to like what we’re doing, but it has to be done. I’m ready to do it again if need be. I was a slave once. I will never be one again, not to anyone.”
“Tell me about it. Where is home?”
She turned away, staring up at the ceiling. “Far away. I am not supposed to return, ever, but I believe now that I will one day.”
“What? Why not?”
“I don’t think I can properly explain. My people have strict rules against the use of modern technology. We have minimal contact with the Empire, and we never officially welcomed the Empire to our world.”
“So your people are just from one world?”
“Yes. I was taken by slavers as a young woman.”
“I find it hard to believe the Empire would ever permit slavery.”
“I was not taken because the Empire allowed it - the Empire doesn’t allow it. I was taken because the Empire never forced my people to join. They so valued their freedom that they chose to remain independent. They chose to give up the freedom of a few for the freedom of many. I choose otherwise. This Empire of which I am now a part chooses otherwise. That is what the Knight means to me. That is why I bow to her. She represents a freedom my people have never known.”
Silence was an almost palpable thing between them as he thought about what she had said. After an eternity, he said, “They became prisoners of freedom.”
She nodded, the fire in her eyes dimmed.
“What did you do for your owner?” he asked, regretting the words the moment they were out. Not only was it not his business, he had no interest in stirring up unhappy memories.
The question did not seem to bother her. “I was an animal trainer. My people are skilled with animals. It’s why they took me.” Her eyes found his. “They stole the wrong person.”
His eyebrows rose. “How so?”
“The creatures who owned me made a mistake: they put me in an environment where I was surrounded by modern technology the likes of which I had never seen until then. For me, it was an awakening. I love working with animals, but I have grown to love machines and computers as well. I now prefer mathematics and science to animals. I took good care of my animals, but in my spare time I learned. I learned well, so well that I became the chief of security of one of the most amazing corporations in the Empire.”
“They just let you go?”
She squirmed a little. “No. I can never return to that particular world, but that’s okay. I’ve found a new home.”
“I’m humbled. I’m sorry it’s a problem for you to go back to your real home.”
“My people will probably never understand me, but I want to show them it is possible to live without fear.”
“My people do understand me,” he said. “Few choose my path, but they honor me for the choices I have made.” He grinned. “So far as I know, they have no idea that I’m actually in space. I still have trouble believing it myself. The other two Llaska - what is their story?”
She beamed. “How amazing they are! We are a rarity out here among the Empire. The odds of us meeting are almost beyond comprehension. Their stories are similar to mine. Both went to the same owner, and they have not known life without each other since.”
“Do all your people have an affinity for the sciences?”
“I don’t know, but I’m beginning to wonder. It’s almost like our leaders are shielding us from advancement. The legends tell us we were once a great civilization but that we fled something terrible. I think we’re still fleeing.”
“Is that possible?”
She nodded, looking inward. “It is.” She pulled her outfit down from her shoulder, exposing the same pattern of scars she had shown him in the corridor on the station. “I think it has something to do with this,” she said, her lips contorting into anger and sadness. “My two friends have the same markings.”
That stopped all conversation. “Is it a slave marking?” he finally asked.
“No. Our people did this to us. We were branded before we left, and we were told we could never return.”
She knelt down beside his head and reached out a long, black arm to touch an equally black face. “Did you know you are beautiful?” she asked.
He could only move his head. He turned into that hand and kissed it, looking into her eyes as he did so. “I have been called many things, but never that.”
She studied his eyes, then lifted her gaze to the ceiling in thought. “We are very different from each other. Yet . . . we are both immune to the scree. How many species can lay claim to that?” Her gaze rested on him again. “Our bodies have been mutilated in the same way, yet we con
tinue to decorate that mutilation. All four of us. Why?”
He stared into those golden eyes, but he had no answers.
Her gaze hardened. “How different are we, you and I?” she asked.
“I’m a warrior. You’re a scientist, though I guess I’d have to say now that you’re a warrior, too.”
“No. I only want peace. I will never be the warrior that you are. But . . . when this is all over, I ask that you return with me to my home. There might be answers there, answers that are hidden from most of my people.”
“What kinds of answers?”
“What is Atlantis?” she countered.
“Was, not is. It’s a mythical civilization, a civilization that purportedly reached high levels, then disappeared into the sea in a great cataclysm.”
She reached out and caressed his face again. “I wonder if that civilization completely disappeared.”
“It’s a myth, Stor.”
“Is it? How many species in the galaxy are immune to the scree? How many have identical body mutilations? How many have identical words naming their ancestral homes?”
“Where are you going with this?”
She stood up, then leaned down and kissed his forehead, the first and only kiss she had ever given to an adult. To Stor, a woman who knew she would be alone for all of her life, this was serious business. From inches away, she said to him, “Is it possible that we share ancestors?”
“You’re stretching it, Stor.”
“Am I? In your myths, Atlantis disappeared into the sea. What if, before disappearing, some of them left the planet and others chose to remain? My people believe we fled from somewhere to settle what we now call our home planet. Your people trace their ancestors to the most ancient on your planet.”
He stared into her eyes for a long time. “I don’t have three advanced degrees in nuclear physics, and I never will, but I’d like to think we are of the same species.”
A broad grin split her face, and those golden eyes glowed again. “So would I, James Harriman.”
Chapter 18
Akurea felt a clock ticking in her head. The Rebels would soon hear about the destroyed station, and when they did it might be impossible for her to get inside. She had to move quickly if she hoped to stay ahead of them. News traveled slowly within the Empire, and she could fast ship at least part of the way to her last two stations. She might get there before the Rebels, but then again, she might not. She had no way of knowing how soon word would reach a Rebel facility that had a hypercom. As soon as it did, their forces would move quickly.
Fortunately, the visit to her next station went smoothly, but before leaving she warned them to expect Rebel forces soon. She had no doubt that the Rebels would strengthen defenses at all the stations. When they did, the work would have to be accomplished right under their noses.
* * * * *
The last station on Akurea’s list was a sure thing. A close acquaintance of Stor’s was in charge of security, and Stor was certain the station’s top management would support the Queen. When Akurea’s ship dropped from hyperspace, her captain called her to the bridge.
“Pretty heavy activity around the planet, My Lady. Six squadrons and a number of Chessori military ships. Something is wrong here.”
She thought, and it didn’t take her long to put two and two together. “Struthers knows. He knows about the station we damaged, and he’s protecting the rest of them. I’ll bet all the stations we visited have fleets around them now.”
“They’ll have your descriptions.”
“Maybe, and maybe not. I erased all recordings of our presence on the station we damaged before I left. It’s possible that they’ve identified us from recordings at other stations, but with a couple of months travel time between each station, I don’t think they’ve had time to put it all together.”
She briefed her team. When she was done, Lex was the first to speak.
“They might not know our identities, but we will operate under the assumption that they do.” He padded up to Stor who was sitting next to Harriman. “We cannot go to the station. Your friend must come to us.”
“Her name is Regma Dasht. She is my counterpart on the station. We have attended two seminars together, one of them right here. I met her director, and I believe both of them are of the right persuasion.”
“Will she come to you?”
“If I can get a message to her, yes.” She lifted her gaze to the ceiling in thought. “Under ordinary circumstances, private communications are not monitored, but with that fleet out there things might have changed. It’s even possible they’ve replaced her with a military person.” She considered for a moment, then shook her head. “No, the job is too technical. That doesn’t rule out the possibility that someone is looking closely over her shoulder. I can send a message to her pad, that will be the least likely to be monitored. I’ll have to be on the planet to do it.”
Akurea’s ship continued inbound and landed three weeks later at the main spaceport. Stor connected to the planetary net and sent her message. The reply was quick. Regma would meet her on the ship the next day.
Lex vetoed that idea. “We will not risk the ship. It will have to be somewhere public, a bar or a restaurant.”
“I need to be the one to meet her,” Stor said. “There’s no way she will trust anyone else.”
“Not possible. Out of all of us, you are the most easily recognized,” Harriman said. “I’ll meet her. If I get a good feel for her, we’ll take it to the next stage.”
“Why beat around the bush?” Akurea argued. “I lived under cover for almost two years, and I’m good at it.”
“No,” Lex said, brooking no argument. “If it’s a trap, Harriman is easy to replace. Knights are not.”
“Gee, thanks boss,” Harriman grumbled. Lex replied in the simplest way possible. His lips lifted in a smile.
Stor sent her reply: “Meet me at the hotel where we held our last seminar. I’ll be at the bar.”
* * * * *
Six Terran Protectors spread out around the hotel looking for anyone or anything out of the ordinary. It turned out to be a challenge. What is ordinary when it comes to aliens? Each species had its own peculiarities, and they hadn’t been out in the Empire long enough to detect subtle nuances.
Harriman had no difficulty picking Regma Dasht out of the crowd. She was human, or at least humanoid, if one stretched the boundaries of the definition. Dense, long, white hair covered everything but her face, individual hairs floating as she worked her way through the crowded room, making her look like a shimmering apparition. She would have been a beautiful creature had the skin on her face not resembled ancient leather. The rest of her body was shaped like a barrel. Some five and a half feet tall, this woman had grown up on a cold, harsh world with gravity considerably stronger than the average for worlds that supported life.
Then he reconsidered. To her, such a world would not seem harsh, it would seem like home. It was more likely that she considered her present surroundings harsh.
Harriman observed her as she worked her way toward the only empty seat at the bar. He received the all-clear from his men and sidled up beside her. The man sitting next to her, one of his own men, stood up and left.
Harriman took the empty seat and sat silently for several minutes. When he got a second all-clear, he turned to the woman. “May I introduce myself?” he asked.
The amazing face turned to him, it’s lined leathery texture hard to dismiss. He found himself staring at her skin, not her eyes, but when he looked into her eyes, their sparkle almost made him forget her skin. “I’m waiting for someone. Might I have your seat when she arrives?”
“Actually, you won’t need it. I’ll take you to her. Llaska’s find these seats confining.”
“So do I. Who are you?”
“A messenger. An Imperial messenger.” There, the cat was out of the bag. Harriman waited, wondering if storm troops would rush in.
She studied him. “An interesting c
hoice of words. What do they have to do with my friend?”
“Do you believe in coincidence, Ms. Dasht?”
“To a limited degree. Very limited.”
He nodded. “Consider: military forces swoop in and overwhelm the normally placid life of your station. In another star system, a station is seriously damaged. Rumors abound that we have a Queen, and suddenly an Imperial messenger materializes. Quite a series of coincidences, wouldn’t you say?”
She glared at him. “That station was essentially destroyed.”
“Whoever told you that lied to you. Because of expert guidance during the shut-down, the station will be back to full production in two or three years.”
Her mouth clamped into a thin line as she considered his words. When she looked back into his eyes, the spark had disappeared.
“I don’t believe you. She would never, ever do such a thing.”
“Nor would you, right?”
“Galactic High Standard is not your first language, whomever you are.”
“You’re right. I only learned it recently. And remember, I’m only a messenger. Part of my message is that under certain circumstances even you might harm a station.”
The massive head shook in clear disagreement.
“No? Given a choice between damage or complete loss, what would you choose?”
A clear lens lowered over her eyes for a moment, then retracted. In a whisper, she asked, “Is that your purpose here? Do I have to make that choice?”
“I hope not. Stor would never willingly place you in such a position.”
“So she is not free.”
“She is absolutely free, and she is here to help you save your station. Will you listen to her?”
“I could have you arrested.”
“You could. Is that the choice you make for your station?”
Voice of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Three) Page 33