Dakiti: Ziva Payvan Book 1

by EJ Fisch

  “So what’s with this tree?” Aroska finally asked.

  “Ziva suffers from a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder,” Skeet answered, reminding himself that he should leave out the story of Kalim. “Ryon helps her with some therapy, and he thinks that spending time out there is good for her.” Except when you show up and start bothering her with questions.

  “You’ll have to forgive me for being unsympathetic,” Tarbic muttered. “You’re telling me that she actually feels bad about what she does?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Skeet retorted. “She’s been through a lot of horrible things, and she has to do a lot of horrible things. She copes by becoming a different person when she’s in the field; it’s almost like she’s flipping a switch, turning part of herself off while simultaneously activating another part. Same thing happens when she’s defending herself or one of us. She’s relentless – fast, strong, smart, accurate, inventive. You just have to give her some space, let her do her thing, and know that the old Ziva will be back when it’s over.”

  “But the way she’s been acting the past couple days—”

  “That’s nothing compared to what I’m telling you,” Skeet said. He saw Zinni take a peek at the two of them over the top of her computer.

  Aroska’s brows were knit together as he thought. “Explain to me how she can be like that and still care about anyone. I saw the way she treated Jada last night, the way she treats you and Ryon and Marshay. How can she do what she does and still have a heart?”

  “I don’t fully understand it myself,” Skeet replied, shaking his head. “Ziva is very independent, but there’s a small circle of people that she would do anything for. Just because she kills for a living doesn’t mean she’s not capable of compassion. If you think about it, a lot of the things she does are actually for the best in the long run. Kill one to save many. Affect one person’s life negatively in order to affect someone else’s positively.”

  “Yeah, well sometimes it’s not just one person she’s affecting negatively,” Aroska scoffed, rising to his feet.

  “Look, you’re not the only one who’s ever lost someone to her. It would be different if it was personal, if she killed out of hate or retaliation.” Skeet hesitated. But sometimes those are the reasons. “But that’s not the way it is. She pulls the trigger because someone tells her to. Anybody could have been assigned as the Cleaner who killed your brother – me, Zinni, maybe even Adin. The fact that Ziva’s a professional killer has nothing to do with it. She was following orders and doing her job. Any of us would have done the same. You’re taking this way too personally and she’s just feeding off of it because she knows it makes you miserable.”

  “Soren was innocent and she shot him anyway!” Aroska exclaimed. “What’s not to take personally?”

  Now it was Skeet’s turn to stand up. “You don’t know the half of it! If you believe she killed him just for the hell of it, you’re wrong. Think what you will about her, but she would never do something like that.”

  Surprisingly, Aroska made no argument. In fact, he said nothing at all. His mouth hung open slightly as if his next thought had fizzled before it made it to his tongue. He stared in silence for a moment, making Skeet wonder if he even knew what he was talking about.

  Does he not know the whole story?

  All three of them looked to the front door when it hissed open. Ziva entered, eyebrows furrowed, mouth a straight line. She strode across the room and disappeared into her bedroom, ignoring them as she went.

  Skeet sat back down on the sofa and pulled Zinni’s computer toward him so he could catch up. He’d shared enough with Aroska for now. “Just cut her some slack,” he said sternly. “And listen to her. She’s always right. Even when you think she’s completely wrong, she’s right. Got it?”

  “Yeah,” Aroska sighed.

  -27-

  East Sun

  Fringe space

  Saun had just docked with the East Sun when Aroska’s message came through. She hesitated for a moment, but, seeing no immediate sign of Bothum, went ahead and opened the transmission.

  “Aroska, I’m busy,” she said rather harshly, instantly regretting it.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in the field. I told you that.” She walked down the boarding ramp of her shuttle and headed across the docking hangar.

  Judging by his hushed tone of voice, Aroska was making this call in secret. “Listen. Have you heard of a man named Dane Bothum?”

  Saun winced. “No. Who is he?”

  “He’s a Sardon who’s running a second Solaris cell out of Dakiti on Sardonis. He’s the one responsible for this whole mess with the Tantalis.”

  “You said Dakiti?” So they were on to Dakiti. This meant that her men either hadn’t reached Jaxton soon enough or the Saiffe boy had spilled his guts – or perhaps it had been a combination of both. How long had it been since she’d spoken to Aroska at HSP… an hour?

  Aroska grunted in the affirmative. “I thought I should let you know. I think we’re planning on going out there, but we’re not on board with HSP yet. I thought you and the rest of the SCU might want to look into it, and maybe we could coordinate something.”

  “Right,” Saun said quickly, catching a glimpse of Bothum down one of the flagship’s corridors. She picked up her pace. “I’ll let everyone know. I’ll contact you if we learn anything.”

  Bothum turned at the sound of her voice and retraced his steps, waiting patiently for her to finish the conversation.

  “This is crazy stuff, Saun,” Aroska was saying, “a lot bigger than we ever thought. Be careful.”

  He had no idea. “I know,” she said tenderly. “I will. But right now I have to go. We’re about to question one of the local Solaris leaders. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Saun ended the transmission abruptly so Aroska wouldn’t hear her sudden coughing fit. She recovered quickly and put the communicator on her belt, looking up to meet Bothum’s cold gaze.

  “Tarbic?” he said quietly. The way he said it made Saun feel sorry for Aroska.

  She nodded. “They know about Dakiti.”

  “Saiffe told them?”

  “I imagine so.”

  “Good. Unlike Jaxton, he hasn’t seen the whole picture. We still have the upper hand in this game.”

  This was true, and it made Saun feel better.

  “So,” Bothum went on, turning to stroll back down the hall, “can we expect to have the Haphezian fleet on our tail before long?”

  Saun followed, still feeling congested. She coughed again. “I would be more worried about the Tantalis. There were survivors in the forest yesterday, and if the Saiffe boy told Payvan’s team, I’m sure he told his own people.”

  “Tantalis do not concern me.”

  “Well then, no, no Haphezian fleet. Not yet anyway. Aros… Tarbic said the team is planning something but the director doesn’t know yet. We still have some time.”

  They worked their way up a level to the ship’s bridge where perhaps two dozen Sardon techs were controlling the massive craft. Bothum barked something about the jump drive and they scrambled, chattering among themselves as they prepared to make the transition to faster-than-light speed.

  “Do we know where Saiffe is now?” he asked, studying the readouts on the large holographic display at the front of the bridge.

  “I’m sure wherever he is, Tarbic is with him,” Saun replied, plugging her communicator into a vacant computer. “I’ll pull up a location from his last message.”

  The machine did its work, displaying a large translucent map with a flashing green dot marking Aroska’s position. It was the same as the night before, the same location from which they had picked up Jayden’s transmission to his Tantali friends. “They’re still at the house,” Saun murmured.

  “Fools,” Bothum said. “They should have moved him. Bring him in.”

  “You’re sure that’s necessary if he’s already told them?”

  “I told yo
u, he doesn’t know the whole story. They have no idea what they’re looking for.”

  Saun took up her communicator, entered a code, and braced herself for the FTL jump. “He’s at the house,” she said into the device.

  -28-

  Payvan residence

  Noro, Haphez

  Ziva stayed in the solitude of her bedroom long enough to let her mind recover from being so rudely interrupted outside – ten minutes, to be exact. She looked at herself in the mirror beside her wardrobe. She was tired, and her appearance screamed it. There hadn’t been much time for rest in the past few days. Her team’s independent service term on Aubin had consisted of several significant missions that had taken them to all corners of the galaxy. They’d been busy right up until the last minute and had had to rush to make it back in time for Assignment Day. Besides her hour of sleep this morning and the three, maybe four the night before, she had only slept about fifteen hours total in the last five days or so.

  It didn’t help that she’d had Jak Gamon and nostium on her mind since the previous evening. At the moment, she could still feel a bit of a tingle in the back of her head, but it had come and gone since she’d moved the vase. Even that simple task had been difficult; it had taken her full concentration and left her with a pounding headache. The nostium infusion Gamon had given her the day she killed him was the last one she’d ever received, so it had been nine years – a whole Phase and a half – since she’d been exposed to it. Her Nostia was failing, and in another year or two it would be gone completely.

  She wasn’t entirely sure why she cared, since she really had no reason to use it and legally couldn’t unless she wanted the death sentence. It was just something that had been a part of her for most of her memorable life, and she imagined she’d somehow feel empty without it. She directed her attention toward a spare rifle scope that sat on the wardrobe shelf and focused intently on it, willing it to rise from the shelf’s surface and hover in the air. When nothing happened, she swept her hand upward in a lifting motion. The scope quivered for a moment, stood up on one end, and then fell back down with a crack.

  Ziva shook her head and turned away from the mirror. There was work to be done, and going in after Jayden and Governor Saiffe – assuming he was at Dakiti – would be no easy matter. Bringing the rest of HSP on board would be the first problem. What was she supposed to tell the director?

  Excuse me, sir. I’d like to take a force out to investigate Solaris activity at Dakiti and possibly rescue the Tantali governor.

  And what will become of Jayden while you’re on this escapade?

  Well, sir, we don’t have custody of him anymore. He’s refusing our assistance and is unwilling to communicate.

  It would be easy enough to lie, but it would take a little time to come up with a plausible story that could be backed up. The real issue was whether Jayden and Bront had already gone to HSP to tattle on her for the night before.

  Which they more than likely had.

  Sheyss.

  She needed facts. Where had the Tantalis gone since leaving the house? What would her team be up against at Dakiti? Skeet and Zinni would probably have the answers. They’d been busy with the computer when she had come inside.

  Ziva opened the door of her bedroom, ready to go out and join the others, but the look she saw on Ryon’s face stopped her dead in her tracks. He was standing outside the door of his own room at the opposite end of the hallway, partially hidden in shadow. He gripped a pistol in his right hand.

  As soon as she saw him, she proceeded cautiously toward him, and he toward her. “What’s going on?” she asked in a low voice. Her hand came to rest on the butt of her own gun as if it had a mind of its own. She looked into the living room at Skeet, Zinni, and Aroska, who had caught on and were watching intently.

  “We’ve got company,” he replied at the same volume, jerking his head toward his room. “Bedroom window.”

  Ziva took a deep breath, motioned for the other three to stay down in the living room, and then caught up to Ryon. He had already entered the room and was crouching against the wall just to the left of the large window that looked out over the yard and the river.

  “Down!” he whispered, leaning away from the glass.

  Ziva dove to the floor behind the bed without question, catching a glimpse of the Haphezian man just as he passed in front of the window. She waited a moment until she was sure he’d gone by and then crawled on her stomach to where Ryon was, taking up her position on the opposite side of the window. She ventured a peek outside but pulled away just as a second man passed by and peered inside, placing a hand on the glass. He had the Solaris star on his arm.

  As soon as he moved on, Ziva looked out again. Besides the two she had already seen, there was another insurgent approaching the house, holding a rifle low to the ground. There was no sign of a vehicle, but Ziva guessed there were probably more of them.

  “Who invited these guys?” Ryon scoffed.

  Ziva shook her head. “There’s no party here,” she said, quickly moving back across the room.

  Marshay was just coming out of her room, looking quite flustered. “Ziva!” she hissed. “There’s—”

  Ziva pressed a finger to her lips, placing a hand over the woman’s mouth. “We know. Help me with the gun safe, will you?”

  The housekeeper nodded and followed her to a closet in the center of the hallway. Ziva ran her fingers along the inside of the doorframe until she found the hidden switch. The closet’s back wall slid away when she pulled it, revealing a narrow passage lined with a variety of weaponry. She stepped inside and examined the stash; it was a collection that she had accumulated and restored throughout the past several years, some items taken from fallen enemies and some purchased new. There were other things besides guns – explosives, a grenade launcher, and a variety of survival equipment. Skeet and Zinni called it “HSP in a Closet.” She selected several assault rifles, ensuring that they were all adequately charged, and handed them to Marshay who in turn passed them out to everyone else.

  “Three unknowns on our west side,” Ziva announced, slinging the rifle strap over her shoulder as she gave Marshay a gun of her own. “I’m sure there are more.”

  The three of them nodded and readied their own weapons before moving back out into the main room.

  “Zinni, we need a head count.”

  The intelligence officer was already working with the living room’s center table before the words were out of Ziva’s mouth. She eyed the window suspiciously as she activated the three-dimensional infrared image similar to the one in the HSP situation room. “I see eight of them total,” she answered, “all within a fifty-meter radius.”

  Ziva switched off the lights and studied the hologram for a moment, noting that there were groups of insurgents covering both the front and back of the house.

  “We’ve got to be quick and smart,” she said, glancing warily toward the front door. At the moment, it wasn’t an exit option. “They want us to come to them, and they’ll be able to see us a long time before we see them.”

  “I’ll provide a walkthrough,” Zinni offered, switching on her ever-present earpiece.

  Ziva shook her head, motioning for her to fall into position as she led the rest of the group toward the basement stairs. “No. Zinni, Skeet, Ryon, Tarbic, you’re with me. Marshay, do not let them get inside this house.”

  The group made their way down to the house’s lower level where a narrow hallway led out to the below-ground parking bay that housed Ziva’s car and personal ship, the Intrepid. Ziva opened the door and listened; the bay appeared to be clear and both craft remained untouched. The Solaris insurgents were covering the home’s main exits, expecting them to come out, not up.

  “Skeet and Aroska, you go left and take the back of the house. Zinni, cover the middle and then follow Ryon and I to the right. Sweep the perimeter first and then pinch in.” She took one last look over her shoulder at each of them. “Keep your eyes open. Shoot to kill if you
have to, but I want to know what these guys are doing here.” This was directed at Aroska.

  With that, Ziva took off up the landing bay stairs with everyone else hot on her heels. It was one thing to infiltrate a building from the outside, but going outside from the building was a different matter entirely. She swept the area as far as she could see and veered to the right ahead of Ryon and Zinni, staying as close to the exterior wall of the house as she could. To her surprise, there was no sign of Solaris anywhere. Perhaps they had all gone around back, exploiting the weakness that remained in the broken guest room window. She wondered for a moment if someone else should have stayed inside with Marshay.

  Ziva paused at the corner of the house, listening and taking a moment to scan the area again. Still nothing. She could, however, hear scuffling a short distance away followed by footsteps somewhere above them. Someone was on the roof, probably waiting to pick them off if they tried to run to the cars.

  Ryon and Zinni heard it too. All three flattened themselves against the house, rifles up. Ziva looked back the other direction. Skeet and Aroska had already disappeared around the other end. Slowly, cautiously, she turned back and stole a peek around the corner. She caught a whiff of cha’sen; the musty scent got stronger as they crept forward, but she still didn’t see anyone. Where are these guys?

  A low hum reached her ears a split second before an explosion rocked the ground and one of the cars in front of the house went up in flames. Ziva ducked as something black flew by overhead: a drone. A thin trail of smoke remained in the air from the missile it had just fired, and it had a mini gun mounted on its opposite wing.

  “Go!” Ziva shouted. She sprinted forward, no longer concerned about making noise. She rounded the corner, rifle up, and took out the first insurgent she saw. Two others were on their way to the ground with new holes in their heads, compliments of Skeet and Aroska.

  “They’re on the roof!” Ziva yelled, diving out of the way just as the drone passed by again and left a trail of bullet holes up the wall of her house. It was using solid ammunition instead of plasma – Solaris wanted to cause some damage.