“Captain Tirak would like you to join him on the bridge,” she said.
“What’s up?” asked Taynar from the leisure comp unit by the doorway.
“Nothing to worry about, taiban,” said Manesh, reaching out to pat him on the head.
Taynar bristled. “Don’t call me that! I told you, I’m not a child, even if your kind are at my age!”
Kaid suppressed a grin as he followed the U’Churian security officer out into the corridor. “Bad age for him, being still a youngling but with the responsibility of an adult because of his Human Leska.”
“On our world, he wouldn’t be allowed that responsibility,” said Manesh, stopping at the hatchway through to the bridge section.
“Leska Links aren’t subject to age,” said Kaid mildly, stepping through into the corridor beyond. “They come at the whim of the Gods, striking without warning. Taynar had no say in this Link with Kate. Were it not for that, he’d not be exposed to the responsibility either.”
“Just as you had no say with Kusac and Carrie, eh?” Manesh asked, drawing level with him again.
Kaid caught the sideways look and knew she was fishing for information. “Just so,” he murmured, waiting for the other to precede him onto the small bridge.
He stopped dead at the sight that met his eyes. Floating on the view screen against the backdrop of stars was a craft that was all too familiar in design. He could feel his pelt rising and he began to growl softly.
“We got a distress call from this ship, Kaid,” said Tirak, turning his chair round to look at him. “It’s not one we recognize. Is it one from . . . You know it?”
Kaid stepped forward, resting his hands on the back of Giyesh’s chair. He studied the image carefully, checking for the identifying marks and features that typified the Valtegan ships they’d encountered at Keiss. But there had been only one like this—the one that had escaped them. From the blunt, swept back angular nose to the stocky hull bristling with sensors, there was nothing elegant about this craft. It was built for one purpose only—conquest.
“Valtegans from Keiss,” he snarled.
“Out here, in Jalna’s system? Are you sure?”
“Positive, even though they’ve removed the markings.” He pointed to the streak of darkness on the side. “That’s where we hit it as it went into jump near Keiss’ moon. It’s the one that sold our people on Jalna. Get us out of here, Tirak, it’s a trap!” He clenched his hands on the chair back, feeling his claws puncture the covering.
Tirak swung back to his displays, grabbing for a headset. “Full speed, Nayash. Get us out of here. Annuur, jump coordinates, now! Def Level One, Manesh.”
“But the distress call,” said Giyesh, her dark face creasing in concern. “They’re still transmitting, and it’s in Jalnian Port patois!”
“Relay it to Jalna,” snapped Tirak, hands flying over his controls. An alarm began to blare out and Kaid heard the sound of several dull explosions vibrate throughout the hull.
Manesh swung her seat around, diving for the floor hatch behind Tirak’s post. Flinging it open, she dropped down out of sight. Sayuk likewise leaped to his feet, heading off the bridge past Kaid at a run.
“If the signal’s genuine, they can deal with it,” Tirak continued as they began to accelerate away from the Valtegan craft. “Kaid, get your military personnel up here and the rest stowed in their cabins under the safety restraints.”
“Anything else?” he asked.
“Turrets deployed, Captain,” reported Sheeowl as Mrowbay rushed in and flung himself into the seat vacated by Manesh. “Ventral turret on-line. Awaiting signal from Sayuk.”
“Stand ready to support the gunners, Kaid,” said Tirak, adjusting his headset.
“Dorsal turret on-line. Batteries armed and ready,” said Mrowbay from the weapons console.
Kaid turned and ran for the mess, his mind automatically reaching out ahead of him to check that his people were there.
“What’s happening?” demanded Rezac as he rounded the doorway. “What were those explosions?”
“Are we under attack?” said Taynar.
“Return to your rooms and secure yourselves for acceleration,” said Kaid calmly, looking for T’Chebbi. She’d obviously just awakened and was still finishing adjusting her clothing. “We face possible hostile action, but this is a military vessel.” He turned to Rezac. “You and Jo remain with me,” he said, then looked at the others’ anxious faces. “The explosions were Tirak blowing off the hatch covers hiding the ship’s weapons turrets. We’re not under attack yet, and might not be.”
“But . . .” began Taynar.
“Move,” said T’Chebbi, grabbing the youth by the arm and hustling him out the doorway. “No time to argue!”
When they’d gone, he looked over at T’Chebbi, who shrugged as she adjusted her weapons belt before tucking her plait over her shoulder.
“Tirak answered a distress call,” he said quietly, moving closer to them. “When he got within viewing distance, he called me. It’s a Valtegan cruiser.”
T’Chebbi began to curse. “Should have known! All those warnings and I never . . .”
“Enough, T’Chebbi. No time for recriminations. Maybe it’s a genuine distress call, we don’t know yet.”
Rezac began to growl. “Want me to check?” he asked. “I can reach that far mentally.”
“No,” said Kaid. “Valtegans in our time go into a killing frenzy if they feel a Sholan mind. Whatever you do, don’t use your Talent on them, ever. Now, let’s go. Tirak wants us up on the bridge. Can you operate a weapons array if you need to?” he asked Rezac.
“Try me,” he said grimly.
“If the call is genuine, then there’s nothing to fear.”
“There’s everything to fear,” said Tesha’s quiet voice as she came back into the mess. “You’ve never had dealings with these people. I have.” She was trembling, with ears flat to her head, tail drooping to the floor.
“So have I,” said Rezac. “Captivity can be survived. They aren’t mindless. They operate on rules, rigid codes of behavior. Every other species is subordinate to them, of no value except as slaves. If you can accept that and obey them, you can survive. We did.”
“The ones you knew were different, they didn’t fear us! They didn’t even give us a chance to learn their language, Rezac!” She was becoming hysterical, her voice rising in terror.
Rezac moved closer, reaching out to touch her face. “You can cope, Tesha,” he said quietly. “Someone who could survive a Jalnian whorehouse can survive this. It may not be the same ship, and even if it is, there’s more of us this time, a force to be reckoned with. It won’t be so easy for them to bully all of us.”
Kaid watched in surprise as Rezac drew her close until she was leaning against him. Then his hand slipped round to cup the back of her head. What was he doing? He’d never seen this sensitive side of him before, except with Jo in the few days when Zashou was still in the sick bay. He’d assumed that was just their Link; it appeared he was wrong.
Tesha’s trembling gradually stilled as Rezac held her. “You need to rest, Tesha,” he whispered. “Go and join the others. Let T’Chebbi take you.”
T’Chebbi moved smoothly over to the young female, looping her arm around her shoulders as Rezac let her go. “Is no danger yet,” she said soothingly. “May not be.” She began to draw her out into the corridor.
As her voice faded, Rezac asked, “What are our chances, Kaid? I assume that’s the same ship that took Tesha’s people and had our stasis unit on board.”
“Not good,” he said softly. “We’re outgunned and outnumbered. Our only chance is to outrun them. What did you do to Tesha?”
Rezac shrugged, looking away. “It’s nothing. One of the tricks we developed during the time before we were taken by the Valtegans. I had to calm her. Her panic would have infected the others.”
“Impressive.”
* * *
Back on the bridge, the ship-to-ship s
peaker was relaying the incoming message. Mangled Jalnian Port patois, its meaning almost lost in the sibilant pronunciation, filled the room.
“This is M’ijikk. Surrender, or we open fire.”
“Short and to the point,” murmured Sheeowl.
“Annuur, we need to jump now!” Tirak’s tone was urgent.
“Not enough speed. Kill us to engage jump now,” came the reply.
“Still can’t raise Jalna, Captain. They must be blocking our long-range transmissions,” said Giyesh.
“Open a channel to them,” ordered Tirak, gesturing at the screen.
“Channel open.”
“This is Rryuk’s Profit, U’Churian vessel of the Free Traders. You have violated the laws of this region by sending out a false distress signal. Your demand for our surrender is an act of piracy and aggression, and will be met with force.”
“Rezac, can you reach Jalna mentally?” asked Kaid quietly.
He shook his head. “I haven’t been able to reach far since we contacted Carrie when we woke. Maybe the drug, maybe the long sleep.”
“Keep trying. You never know when the ability will come back.” Kaid returned his attention to the conversation. Focused on it, he was not expecting the Human hand that touched him surreptitiously on the arm. As he looked round, Jo turned her back to Rezac and put her finger to her lips, jerking her head toward the corridor.
Torn between what was happening and her, he reined in his irritation. It had to be important for her to drag him away. Still listening for the reply from the M’ijikk, he took a couple of slow steps backward and waited for her to join him.
“I know that voice, Kaid,” she whispered, keeping her eyes on Rezac, who, like everyone else, was waiting for the Valtegan craft’s reply. “He was the Overlord of Keiss, one of those with a taste for Terran women. He may remember me. If he does, you’ll have to watch out for Rezac.” A shudder ran through her and her face creased in remembered pain. “What happens to the others if a Third dies?”
She had his full attention now. “Don’t even think about it, Jo. While there’s life, there’s hope.” Reaching out, he touched her cheek comfortingly with his hand. He could feel her fear, but she wasn’t telling him everything. There was something else she was holding back, something that frightened her more, but there was no time to pursue it now. Later, if there was a later for them.
She nodded, blinking quickly to prevent tears forming. “Just watch Rezac, please.” She began to move away from him, then stopped. “Elise, Carrie’s twin. She went to him too. He’ll think she’s her sister.”
“What?” Shock washed through him.
“He’ll see Elise in Carrie,” she repeated before returning to the bridge.
How long he stood there, he’d no idea. It wasn’t till T’Chebbi joined him that he seemed to get back his ability to think clearly.
“Something wrong?” she asked in Highland, grabbing hold of him as the ship lurched suddenly. “Saw you talking to Jo.”
“Dealt with,” he said briefly, steadying himself against the bulkhead. “What’s happening?”
“They repeated their demands. Sheeowl just fired the maneuver jets in an effort to get up to jump speed. Kaid, this Valtegan isn’t bluffing.”
“I know. Jo recognized him. He’s M’ezozakk, the Overlord of Keiss.”
T’Chebbi hissed her anger. “Then he does know Jeran, Tesha, and Tallis.”
“More. He knows Jo, and knew Carrie’s twin, Elise,” he said grimly, before moving past her back onto the bridge. His priorities were clear: to get out word of this marauding Valtegan craft, and to get them, if possible, back to Shola.
“Incoming fire,” Nayash was saying. “Impact in ten seconds. Brace yourselves.”
They barely had time to grasp the grab rails lining the bulkhead before the craft lurched violently to the port side in an effort to evade the missile. The increased g forces plastered them against the wall. Nayash began to count. At zero, the ship was rocked by an explosion.
“Aft section hit, starboard side. Possible minor hull breach in workshop area. Section has been sealed,” said Sheeowl calmly.
Kaid focused on Tirak. Dropping his shields completely, he began to monitor the bridge crew with all his senses. This was the skill that had kept him one step ahead throughout his life: it was easier now that he understood exactly what he was doing. He was surprised, therefore, to find Rezac already there, listening to the surface thoughts of those in the room. So far, in the present crisis, the younger male’s mental presence had gone undetected.
He relaxed into his task, letting his mind push past the barriers Kate and Taynar had erected for the U’Churians, until he’d formed a light connection to each of them, a mental web with himself at the center. Tirak and Rezac were the ones he intended to monitor most closely.
The headset Tirak kept touching was linked through the computer to all the bridge and gunnery controls, allowing him to be constantly updated on their current condition. A touch to the sensor pads located in the side piece that lay across his cheek, and he could see their displays on his secondary screen.
While Rezac was anxious to fight, to strike his first blow against their ancient enemy in this new time, Tirak knew better. Like Kaid, he saw the inevitability of their destruction or capture. Escape was impossible. They were under-powered compared to the larger Valtegan cruiser which, even now, was beginning to loom larger in the view screen. Tirak couldn’t allow the Profit to fall into enemy hands, and his honor dictated he would stay with his ship to make sure it didn’t. All that remained for him to decide was whether to give his crew and guests the choice of surrender or death, or make that decision himself.
Another explosion rocked the Profit, this time on the starboard side. The lights flickered then died. Tirak’s mind was made up, his decision taken for him by this latest hit. He had to do it now while he still could, when the emergency power came on.
As the lights came up again, Tirak’s hand began to move toward the destruct control. Kaid felt Rezac’s realization of what was about to happen surge through him.
He clamped his hand round Rezac’s arm, using his extended claws to create enough pain to break the younger male’s concentration. It was Tirak, however, who cried out in agony, ripping his headset off before collapsing in his seat.
“Captain down,” Kaid said calmly, releasing Rezac. “Jo, you and Rezac take him to sick bay.”
“Where did that hit come from?” he heard Giyesh say as Rezac rounded on him.
What the hell did you do that for? Have you any idea what. . . .
You were too obvious. When he came round, Tirak would have known it was you.
He was about to blow us up! If it hadn’t been for that lucky. . . .
Luck? Kaid’s mental tone was pure ice. “See to the captain, Rezac,” he repeated, deliberately turning his back on him. Rezac was delaying him. He had urgent matters of his own to see to.
“Assuming control of the bridge,” said Sheeowl, the trace of a tremor in her voice. “Routing the captain’s console through mine.”
M’ezozakk’s voice filled the bridge again. “You try my patience with your futile attempts to outrun me. Surrender now, or my next shots will destroy you.”
“Unless you want to die, I would surrender,” said Kaid quietly. “Alive, there’s much we can do to frustrate whatever plans they have. If we’re destroyed, he might go after another craft, this time a genuine trader.”
His exchange with Rezac had shattered the mental web, but he no longer needed it. He knew Sheeowl’s mental pattern, could easily give her a gentle nudge in the right direction if it was needed.
She hesitated, turning to look at Nayash and Giyesh on her left, then back to Mrowbay, Kaid, and T’Chebbi.
“It would be selfish to wish a grand death at the expense of others,” said Nayash. “Kaid’s right. If they don’t have us, they will go after easier prey. Surrender, Sheeowl.”
“Death is so final,” was Mrowbay’s
quiet contribution.
“Do it now!” said Giyesh frantically. “Before he changes his mind!”
Sheeowl turned back to her console. “Open a channel, Giyesh,” she said heavily.
Kaid looked at T’Chebbi. “Stay here,” he said in an undertone. “You know the drill if they don’t. See that nothing of any use to the Valtegans remains on the computer. Conceal only what we need.”
He turned and ran down the corridor to the sick bay, hoping he hadn’t left it too late. If debris from the hit to the aft section had been propelled too far from their craft, then his plan would fail and he’d be sentencing them to death. He passed Rezac and Jo, ignoring their startled exclamations.
He went straight to the cryo units, scanning the controls, trying to remember what Mrowbay had told him. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach at what he was about to do, but it was their only chance of survival. Behind him he heard Rezac and Jo enter.
Chapter 4
“WHAT did you do to Tirak?” asked Jo, helping Rezac manhandle the unconscious captain onto a bed. “What are we supposed to treat him for? Surely he’s not bad enough to need a cryo unit?”
“He’s fine,” said Kaid shortly. “I just knocked him out mentally. If he starts coming round, give him a light sedative. We need him out cold till after the Valtegans board. Rezac’ll tell you why.”
His fingers fumbled the sequence the first time, and cursing, he leaned against Carrie’s unit, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself.
“What’re you doing over there?” demanded Rezac. “You shouldn’t be interfering with those!”
Calmer now, he began again more slowly, getting the sequencing right. This time, the prelaunch light came on. With a small explosive bang, the umbilicals disengaged and fell to the floor as heavy protective shields slid over the transparent cover. Slowly the unit began to move away from him toward the bulkhead. He started on Kusac’s unit.
He sensed Rezac about to rush him and stopped, pulling out his gun and rounding on him. “Don’t interfere, Rezac,” he warned. “This is not your concern. They’re my Triad. I’m running out of time. Stay back, or I’ll use this.”
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