strongholdrising

by Lisanne Norman

  Chairs scraped on the floor as they got to their feet. “Yes, sir,” they murmured, saluting him before filing out.

  Zhalmo joined Kezule at the table as he opened the large floor plan of the Directorate. “I found this in the library,” he said. “It has two levels below ground. The first is the labs where the doctors work, the rooms where the captives are held. The level below is the staff and troop sleeping quarters.”

  “Captives?” she asked, leaning her hands on the table as she looked at the layout.

  “There are eight young Sholans— seven,” he corrected himself. “Three adult Sholans in cryo units— we may have to leave them, but there is certainly one Sholan female in a cage in this lab,” he said, pointing to it on the plans. “There are also several of our people in this room here.” Again he indicated it on the map. “I want all of them out alive, but if any Primes give you trouble, kill them. We’re shipping the Sholans directly up to the N’zishok by rendezvousing with it once they’ve undocked from the orbiter. The Primes we help above ground and leave. I want this place destroyed,” he said, looking up at her.

  She nodded.

  “Each of you will have two of the M’zullians as your team, one guarding you at all times, the other working with you. They are expendable, you are not, remember that. The main entrance is a heavy steel door, guarded by two males. It leads to an elevator. Two more males guard it. The first level down is ours, below it are living quarters for their guards and staff.”

  “There’s another entrance here, above ground, a stairwell. It covers both levels,” she said, poring over the map. “If we send a fire team in there with a couple of grenades to drop down the stairs to the lower level, it should block off their access. They can then guard our exit point. We approach the main way, through the elevator. If we brace that open on our level, rig it with a remote charge, we can forget the guards below and detonate it as we exit. Same with the stairwell.”

  Kezule nodded, pleased she’d noticed those features. “We’ll do it that way.”

  “We’ll need thermal explosives for the steel doors, timed charges for the elevator and stairwell, stun grenades, and long and short-range weapons, General.”

  “Calculate the amount of explosives you’ll need, and get the charges made up. Run some simulations on the assault course while we’re waiting.”

  “Aye, sir. Permission to ask a question, sir?”

  Kezule nodded, folding the map.

  “Why choose my unit for this mission, sir? Females were only considered as feral breeding stock in your time, so why entrust this to a female unit leader?”

  Kezule looked thoughtfully at her for a moment, then decided she deserved no less than the truth. “The military considers all its members as tools, parts of the whole, or weapons to be used if you prefer. Part of your value is that you are female. Your brothers will fight harder to defend you. But you also got this mission on merit as a unit leader.” He handed the map to her. “You’ll need this. Dismissed, Sergeant Zhalmo.”

  the N’zishok, later the same evening

  Ghidd’ah glanced anxiously at the door as the sounds of marching drew closer.

  “Ignore it,” said Zayshul calmly, unzipping the large carry bag their escort had placed on the sofa for them. “We’re safe in here. You know Noolgoi has two guards posted outside the door. We need to get Gaylla out of this bag.”

  “Gaylla?” her friend asked, her attention diverted back to the task in hand. Then she gasped in shock as the still form of the Sholan cub was revealed.

  “Stop panicking!” said Zayshul, pushing the sides of the bag back and slipping her hands under the cub’s shoulders. “She’s perfectly all right, just drugged. Now help me lift her out so I can get the breather mask off.”

  “Drugged? But why? And where did you get her? I didn’t know there were any Sholan children on K’oish’ik!”

  “Officially, there aren’t,” she said as they lifted the cub free of the bag and placed her carefully on the sofa. “She’s one of eight that the Directorate bred from samples taken from the Sholans and Humans we had on the Kz’adul. That’s where the General and his Warriors are now, trying to free the others.”

  Ghidd’ah grabbed the bag and pushed it onto the floor to give them more room. “I thought there was a plot against the Emperor, not the Sholans. What are you going to do with them?”

  Zayshul sat down beside Gaylla and began to carefully remove the breathing mask fitted over the cub’s mouth and nose. “The plot is against the Emperor, and our treaty with the Sholans,” she said, being economical with the truth in the interests of brevity. “They’ll be returned to their own people when we’ve found the base my husband’s looking for. I need you to check her over, make sure she’s comfortable. Get a blanket from the bed and cover her up for now. She should sleep for another hour or two. I need to find out where the incubator has gotten to.”

  Leaving her friend seeing to the cub, she headed for the door.

  “Sergeant Noolgoi said you were to remain here, Doctor,” said the taller of the two guards as she stepped out into the now deserted corridor.

  “My incubator hasn’t arrived,” she said. “I intend to find out where it is.”

  The guard took hold of her arm, stopping her from leaving. “A moment, Doctor. Let me use the communicator, it’ll be faster. We’re not sure all the crew has been safely rounded up yet.”

  She nodded, waiting impatiently while the guard contacted his control.

  “It’s in the lab area, Doctor,” he said at last. “They thought it would be safer there.”

  “Safer than with me? Who’s guarding the labs? What reason would they have to guard them?” she exclaimed, starting off down the corridor at a run.

  “Doctor!” the guard called out as he raced after her. “It’ll be guarded! They won’t have just left it there!”

  “I’m not prepared to take the risk,” she said, avoiding his outstretched arm as she increased her speed. “My child is in that incubator!”

  She rounded a corner, skidding to a halt as she came face to face with a patrol. Guns whined, coming up to bear on her instantly, then were turned aside as she was recognized.

  “Doctor Zayshul,” said Noolgoi. “We were just coming to see you. The ship has been secured, and…”

  “My egg! Where is it?” she demanded. “Who left it in the lab area? I want it right now!”

  “We were bringing it to you,” said Noolgoi, standing aside so she could see the soldier carrying the portable incubator. “The labs were closed and locked when we arrived, so I detailed four of my team to guard the incubator there. Being close to the entrance, I decided it was safer there than carrying it through an unsecured ship. I’m sorry if my decision had you concerned for its safety.”

  Zayshul leaned against the wall, suddenly drained of energy now that she knew her child was safe. “Thank you,” she said. “You’re right, it was wiser.”

  “We didn’t have time to tell you,” apologized Noolgoi, taking her gently by the arm and leading her back the way she’d come. “Everything went as planned. We’re undocking in a few minutes. You and the incubator need to be safely stowed in your suite.”

  *

  Zayshul insisted on checking the incubator unit thoroughly, making sure the temperature hadn’t fluctuated and that the grips holding the egg in its cradle hadn’t worked loose or slackened off during the trip up to the N’zishok. All the while, Noolgoi stood waiting patiently.

  Eventually, he spoke. “Doctor, we’re ready to disengage from the platform. We must leave now. Every minute we delay increases our chances of being discovered.”

  “In a minute,” she said, touching her fingertips to the transparent domed cover. Inside, the egg sat firmly in its cradle, the light glowing off the shell, highlighting the iridescent swirls of green and blue that covered its surface. It would be a female, she knew it by the colors, and in her heart.

  Ten weeks still to go before it would hatch. It was so long! W
hat would their daughter look like? Like her, with the Prime’s lighter skin, or dark like her father? And what of the TeLaxaudin’s intervention, how would that have affected their child? How had they known to have the device there, waiting for them to arrive? Why had they let them continue using the growth tanks when there was a way for them bear their own young? Were the TeLaxaudin breeding them for their own purposes, just as they were trying to breed from the M’zullians?

  A hand touched her arm. “Doctor.”

  “All right, Noolgoi,” she murmured, reaching for the switch that would engage the safety shield.

  As the dome became opaque, she turned away from it, her mind still troubled. Kzizysus had worked on Kezule, had taken samples from him to extract his racial memories so they could be edited and then transferred to the growth tubes for his offspring. At their request, he’d done more, he’d adjusted the memories Kezule would pass on to his naturally born children— children like hers, so they’d also carry no memory of their father’s captivity by the Sholans. At the time, none of this had troubled her. Now it did, especially when Kezule spoke about the memories only he had of their people long before even his time.

  Anchorage, Zhal-Nylam, 3rd day (September)

  Alex glanced at her wrist comm as she dashed along the crowded corridor heading for the interrogation area. Five minutes late. Damn! She’d attempted to block Rhyaz out, but she wasn’t too good at it yet and she was still aware of him demanding her attention at the back of her mind. And he was hopping mad.

  She slid to a stop at the security door, digging in her pocket for the ID card she never remembered to leave clipped to her jacket.

  “It’s all right, Sister,” said the Brother on duty. “You can pass. I recognize you.” He pushed his own pass through the locking mechanism.

  “Thanks,” she said. The door slid open and she slipped inside, praying Rhyaz wouldn’t yell at her in front of everyone.

  “I’m glad you could join us, Alex,” Rhyaz said, glancing in her direction. “Please continue, Captain Ghadde.”

  Alex tuned out what was being said. What Rhyaz knew, she knew, there was no need for her to pay attention to this, but she was curious about who was there. She glanced around, seeing a medic sitting at a table with a comm unit against the far wall. Mentally she ticked off the captains of the five larger ships berthed around Anchorage as well as the captain in charge of the outpost. And Vriuzu, the telepathic Brother, and Rhyaz.

  A movement on the far wall drew her attention. What she’d assumed was an opaque wall was gradually becoming transparent. In the room beyond, she could see a green-skinned alien held in a chair by restraints. She recognized it as a Valtegan. Fascinated, she threaded her way closer. Apart from the Sholans, she’d never seen another alien species. Curious, she let down her shields and stared at him, trying to read his surface thoughts without actually probing his mind.

  “The gas is being released now,” a voice was saying.

  She could just feel him, and his determination not to show fear in front of the captors who chose to hide behind armored suits. He sniffed the air, and she saw his expression change rapidly to one of terror. He began to struggle, pulling at the wrist restraints in an effort to get free.

  His terror filled her mind, dominating it until she felt the pain start. She opened her mouth to scream, but suddenly something clamped itself around her mind and she was frozen to the spot, unable to move or speak.

  Foolish child! You had no business touching the prisoner’s mind! You were warned about this!

  Vriuzu’s mental tone was angry beyond anything she’d experienced before. A hand closed on her shoulder like a vise, keeping her facing the window. Her body was released, but not her mind. As she went limp in his grasp, he jerked her upright.

  Stand up! You will not let the Commander down any further!

  The prisoner had collapsed, a trickle of blood coming from what passed for his nose. She shut her eyes, not wanting to see or hear any more.

  “He looks dead, Ghadde,” said Rhyaz, concerned.

  “Bio-monitor confirms that,” said the medic, checking the readings on the comm unit.

  “I want the autopsy report in two hours,” said Rhyaz, turning to those in the room. “Find out what killed him. The simulations showed the drug to be safe at this dosage. I want to know why it wasn’t. Dismissed,” he said.

  She found herself being propelled toward Rhyaz.

  “Commander, she was reading the Valtegan’s mind,” said Vriuzu quietly as the room emptied.

  Rhyaz didn’t even look at her. “Was it enough to affect him?”

  “I don’t know, Commander. She was doing a passive scan so it’s possible that it wasn’t a factor.”

  “Thank you, Vriuzu,” he said quietly. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Vriuzu inclined his head and let her go, turning to leave.

  “My office, now,” said Rhyaz tersely, walking past her.

  She followed him, trying to think up as many excuses as she could in an attempt to find one that would be acceptable. She wasn’t looking forward to this.

  Lyand was at his desk catching up on some of Rhyaz’ paperwork. He looked up as the door opened, and got hurriedly to his feet.

  “Wait for me outside, please, Lyand. See no one comes in until I call you.”

  “Aye, sir,” he said, leaving.

  As Rhyaz walked over to his desk and sat down, Alex tentatively lowered the barrier she’d erected between them, but she could sense nothing from him. His mind was closed to her.

  “Where were you this time?” he asked. “The mess? Or the viewing room?”

  “The landing bay,” she said.

  “This trip hasn’t exactly been a success, has it? There was the music you uploaded to the ship’s comm that blared out in the middle of the night. The several tons of unprocessed fuel you somehow managed to vent while we were in jump. You’ve been late three times to meetings, and now this. You realize you could have caused the prisoner’s death, don’t you?”

  “What?” She looked at him, shocked by what he’d said.

  “Valtegans have a racial memory of us that makes them go catatonic or into seizures at the touch of a Sholan telepath’s mind You were fully briefed, along with everyone else as we left Chagda Station, yet you still touched his mind. Why?”

  “I didn’t mean to harm him,” she stammered. “I was only curious.”

  “You’re bright, and undoubtedly talented, Alex, but there’s an arrogance about you that’s not justified, and very unattractive. I know you don’t bother listening properly to briefings because you know you can get the knowledge from me. I can feel your attention wandering. Just because I’ve said nothing about it to date doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what’s going on, or that I condone it.”

  She looked at the floor, thinking about the Valtegan. “You were going to kill him anyway! And I’m not a Sholan so it couldn’t have been me.”

  “I wanted him alive, Alex! Yes, we were testing a chemical weapon on him, but a disabling one. It would be easy to use a gas that kills, we have several already. They also kill Sholans and Humans. What we want is a chemical that will disable them, attack that which makes them so determined to destroy us. As for not being a Sholan, have you read any of the Mixed Leska data you’ve been given? Actually listened to Father Lijou or Tutor Kha’Qwa when they talked to you about it?”

  “Of course I have,” she said.

  “Then you should know that you’re no longer what’s considered Human, you’re also part Sholan. Everything about you has been altered— your mind, your body, and your genes. You’re no longer compatible with your own species, only with other gene-altered Sholans and Humans.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “That if you can’t settle down within the Brotherhood as an operative, then perhaps you should think of having cubs. We gene-altered people need to breed the next generation, Alex.”

  “Cubs?” she said, horrified. “You mean like Kha’Qw
a’s?”

  He nodded. “Maybe it’s time I had a family. You’d still have to come with me on trips like this, of course, but you’d bring our cubs with you.”

  “You’re joking!” she said, horrified. “Even if what you say is possible, I’m only a kid!”

  “Are you? You’re involved in a military Order that is responsible for the lives of thousands of people, Alex. Your decisions affect us all, your incompetence too. The music can be laughed over as a prank, not so the venting of fuel. We were lucky there was someone on the bridge capable of handling it rather than other trainees. As for this latest incident, need I say more? I’m sending you to our room to reevaluate your career options, Alex. You’ll stay there until I send for you. I’m also cutting all access from the comm unit. You’ve got your comp pad, I suggest you spend the time reading up on several topics, including the Mixed Leska data.”

  The door opened and Lyand entered. “Yes, sir?”

  “Escort Djana Alex to our room, please, and arrange for a guard outside the door. She’s to remain inside till I send for her. Tell the bridge to isolate the comm unit until I give orders for it to be restored.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “And Alex, give your wrist comm to Lyand.”

  Lyand turned to Alex and gestured to the door. “If you please, Djana.”

  *

  “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me,” she fumed as Lyand and a Sister escorted her to their room.

  “You’re lucky,” said Lyand. “If it were anyone but you, you’d be in the brig in solitary until you could be posted back to Stronghold for a disciplinary hearing.”

  “What would they do to me?” she asked in a small voice.

  Lyand looked at her. “Habitual lateness, failure to attend to briefings, disobeying an order relating to a prisoner, endangering the life of said prisoner? Assuming you didn’t cause his death, a prison term, or a posting to a very lonely place. Given that the prisoner is one of only four, and they were obtained at great risk to the whole Alliance, you could face a death penalty if proved responsible for his death as a direct consequence of not obeying orders.”