Dark Nadir

by Lisanne Norman

  So twenty days ago, they must have transferred Carrie from cryo to their stasis field. Then, a day later, when he’d felt the most pain, they’d brought her out to operate on her wound. When she began to sicken because of Link deprivation, they must have had to return her to stasis, hoping a short period there would stabilize her. It hadn’t, as he’d found out himself when they’d repeatedly tried to wake her. No wonder she’d looked so ill. It was a wonder she’d survived.

  Psi dampers could affect Leska partners—he vaguely remembered tests Esken had run on Carrie and Kusac at the Telepath Guild—but they weren’t able to prevent the demands on mind and body that the Link generated. With their minds isolated, their need to be together physically in the same place was even greater. He’d bet his life that the Primes hadn’t taken that into consideration yet. Then he realized that his life did depend on them being reunited.

  A coldness spread through him, chilling him to the bone. Whatever happened from now on, whether or not they found Kusac, he would still be Linked to her, their lives dependent on each other. It was not as comforting a thought as he’d once have thought it.

  * * *

  He rose early, glad to end the night that had brought him so little rest. Some sixth sense made him quietly check the other rooms. In the one next to his were two empty beds. Jo and Manesh were on watch. With their help, he checked the whole suite before rousing Tirak.

  “What’s up?” he asked. One look at Kaid with his fingers over his lips and he hauled on his tunic and followed him into the lounge.

  “Two more are gone,” said Kaid. “Giyesh and Jeran this time.”

  Tirak mouthed some colorful expletives. “Because they’re of different species?”

  Kaid nodded. “My guess is they want to see if your people are genetically compatible with us or the Humans.”

  “But they’re not telepathic!” exclaimed Manesh.

  “Jeran is capable of receiving mental communications,” said Kaid, glancing over to her. “I suspect he’s a sensitive who’s been enhanced by the laalquoi in the food chain on Jalna.”

  “Dammit! We’ve got to get out of here, Kaid!” said Tirak.

  “Agreed, but we wait until they and Carrie are returned.”

  * * *

  Kezule had taken four days to work his way along the several miles of the landward estate perimeter. His recent brush with the Sholans had made him even more cautious, checking out and watching their security systems thoroughly. The boundary was deep within the forested area, and though a swath several feet wide had been cut back on either side of the fencing, he’d been able to travel unseen by using either the tree canopy or the dense ground cover.

  For the upper section of the estate, by the main gatehouse, the fencing was eight feet tall in addition to the detector grid alarm system. Farther down the fifty-mile-long peninsula where he now was, the fencing had been reduced to a mere three feet to allow the free passage of wild animals. He’d tried lobbing a stone at the perimeter while some of the larger beasts leaped through, but an aircar had been there within minutes. Two armed soldiers, covered by a third in the vehicle, had gotten out and thoroughly inspected the area before leaving. Only the fact he’d used his natural coloration to conceal himself in the trees overhead had prevented his discovery.

  His clothing bundled up on the branch beside him, he stayed there even after they’d left. In his mind, he reviewed what he knew about their security. Leaving aside the perimeter fencing, there was the detection field; aircar patrols at regular times; foot patrols round the perimeter at irregular intervals day and night, and satellite surveillance relayed directly to the gatehouse if the antennae on the gatehouse were anything to judge by. At the gatehouse itself, nearly all vehicles and occupants were checked physically by the soldiers for intruders—those that weren’t flew straight over, having obviously transmitted some security code to the guards first.

  That covered the land side of the estate. Looking across the peninsula, he could see Nazule Bay shimmering in the distance. In his time, they’d used anti-personnel fields around their coastlines and major rivers. He saw no reason to assume that the Sholans were any different. Getting in would not be straightforward, but then he’d expected no less.

  On his travels, he’d passed three alternative exits from the estate. Two were disused and chained closed. The third, however, was in daily use for access to the nearby coastal town of Khifsoe. He’d stayed there a day and night, hidden in the trees as he was now, observing groups of soldiers, some on foot, some in vehicles, passing through, presumably on leave. There’d been a checkpoint, too, but nowhere near as large as the one at the main entrance. Time to head back up there and look for any weak points. Even among his own troops at Khezy’ipik there had been those who would take unlicensed leave when off duty. He was sure these Sholans would be no different. Guarding an essentially safe compound led to boredom and the need to seek excitement elsewhere. That was achieved by beating the security system to go outside without permission.

  Slinging his bundle over his shoulder, he began to move along the branch, ready to retrace his route. At least the weather was better now, more suited to his kind than the dampness he’d endured when he first escaped. Game, small and large, was plentiful, and so long as he took care to hunt wisely, he’d not draw attention to himself.

  Chapter 12

  Day 31

  Giyesh could hear voices. They sounded faint and far away. She concentrated on them, becoming gradually more aware not only of what was being said, but of her surroundings.

  Above her was a large expanse of whiteness. The ceiling, she realized. Trying to move, she found she couldn’t. Her limbs felt dead, as if paralyzed. Strangely, she felt no fear. An unfamiliar scent was in the air. There was a dry mustiness about it.

  She heard a low, vibrating hum, a buzzing almost, that was drowned out as a translator began rendering it into speech she could understand.

  “Sensitivity has some this one. Mind level for speaking low.”

  “Can they work as a pair like the others?” Again the translator’s electronic voice interpreted the words.

  She was hearing Primes talking. There must be one in the room without his armor on!

  “Female brain no speaking signals producing from.”

  “Then why do they associate intimately? What is the purpose?”

  “How know I? My time waste you. M’zullians work mine is. Stupidity yours. Not helpful this.”

  “These ones need to be questioned further before they can be returned.”

  “Yourself do. Priest Interface unstable is. This told you I. Stability wanted then Interface implant. Not safe for Enlightened One close to be him.”

  “Not acceptable. I want to observe the effects of the new drug coupled with sleep programming.”

  “Monitoring for him constant required. Implant work. Why change. M’zullians when near Sholans behave. Check weekly levels only. Problem priest is.”

  “I’ve told you, the guards either over-react or fail to respond. We need them able to decide for themselves what level of aggression is appropriate.”

  A burst of static was the answer this time, then she heard the humming again as it and the scent came closer.

  “Waking female is. Sedate further need I do.”

  Cool fingers touched her throat, parting her long pelt, and as something stung her neck, she jerked her head round. Large oval eyes, their lower lenses still whirling as they adjusted for close work, peered down at her from above a tiny mouth edged by two mandibles. She began to scream.

  * * *

  The first they knew of Giyesh’s return was her scream. Kaid and Sheeowl, closely followed by Manesh, ran as far as door to her room, waiting there while her bunk mates quieted her.

  “No Jeran,” said Sheeowl, peering in.

  “I saw one!” Giyesh shrieked, trying to push Sayuk away. “It has pincers on its face and huge, swirling black eyes! It had pincers on its face! Let me go! I’ve got to get out o
f here!” She heaved Sayuk aside and began racing for the door, eyes staring, pelt bushed out to twice its size.

  Manesh leaped in front of her, trying to grab her but was sent spinning by a backhanded blow. She did manage to grab Giyesh’s hand, but the hysterical female turned on her, claws extended. Kaid stepped in, delivering one well-aimed blow to the back of her neck. She crashed to the floor unconscious.

  “T’Chebbi, medikit!” he called, bending down to scoop the unconscious female up.

  “Thanks,” said Manesh, rubbing her bruised cheek. “Didn’t think she was capable of that.”

  “Terror can give you strength,” said Kaid, carrying Giyesh to the door. He stopped, looking at the group of concerned faces blocking his way. “Move it!” he snarled. “You should be used to this by now!” He pushed them aside and made his way through to the lounge, putting Giyesh down on the nearest couch.

  He looked up at Tirak as T’Chebbi handed him their medikit. “She’ll only be out for a few minutes,” he said. “I’d like to give her a tranquilizer, if you’ve no objections. Our drugs won’t harm her, and might just do some good.”

  Tirak nodded. “Can’t leave her in this state. Reckon she saw one of them?”

  “She certainly saw something,” said Kaid, loading the hypo and placing it against Giyesh’s neck. “Whether or not it was a Prime is another matter.”

  Sayuk and Manesh came limping in to join them.

  “I’ll treat Giyesh with a little more respect after this,” said Sayuk sitting down. “If she’s so scared of what she saw, why’d she want to leave the rest of us?”

  “She didn’t,” said Rezac. “She was hysterical.”

  Kaid handed the hypo back to T’Chebbi then squatted on the floor beside her, waiting for Giyesh to wake.

  “My food’s still warm,” said Zashou from her seat at the table. There was an audible tremor in her voice.

  “Food?” said Kate, clutching Taynar’s arm. “You’re talking about food at a time like this?”

  “How warm?” Kaid asked sharply. “Five minutes? Less?”

  “Five,” she said, looking over at him. “We’ve been out of it for five minutes.”

  “Check comm units,” said Kaid, looking at his. “Anybody’s not working?”

  “I was using the rec unit,” said Taynar, moving back to check it.

  “What’s the matter with you all?” Kate demanded, her voice becoming shrill. “Giyesh has come back alone and she’s seen something awful and all you can talk about is food and comms and . . .”

  “We’re trying to find out what they do to us when they come in here, Kate,” said Kaid gently. “This is the first time they’ve not picked their time carefully. Zashou was eating, and Taynar was using the rec unit. Usually we’re all asleep, or at least resting.”

  “Game’s still stopped,” Taynar said, pressing the controls on the pad. “Frozen, in fact. Have to reset it.”

  “Electrical?” asked Tirak. “Right frequency could knock us out as well as the equipment.”

  A moan from Giyesh focused their attention back on her.

  “Hold her legs, just in case,” Kaid told T’Chebbi as he got a grip on her forearms, pressing them against the seat.

  Giyesh moaned again, blinking up at him. “Kaid?” She tried to lift her arm and found it held down. “What are you doing?” she demanded. “I want to sit up!”

  “How’re you feeling?” he asked.

  “My neck hurts. I want to rub it. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She struggled futilely against them, looking around wildly. She caught sight of Tirak a few feet away. “Captain! What’s going on?”

  “I think you can let her up now, Kaid,” said Tirak. “You were taken by the Primes, Giyesh. When they returned you, you had a panic attack.”

  “You said you’d seen something. A face,” reminded Kaid, still crouching near her.

  She frowned, then a look of horror crossed her face. “I did! Whirling eyes and . . . pincers! They were talking, I heard them talking!” Her hands clenched the edge of the couch, knuckles showing through her dark pelt.

  Kaid glanced up at Tirak. “How could you understand them?”

  “They were using translators. I smelled one of them. It was out of its suit. It needed the translator so the other one could hear it.” She looked round the sea of disbelieving faces. “I did hear them,” she said belligerently.

  “I’m sure you heard something,” said Tirak calmly, sitting down on the arm of the couch. “What about the scent. What did it smell like?”

  “Dry and stale. Kind of musty. Like nothing I’ve smelled before.”

  “Jeran mentioned a smell when J’koshuk took him,” said Jo.

  “Why would they use translators to talk to each other?” asked Mrowbay. “Even if one was out of its suit? They can hear us, can’t they? Surely they’d use their own language.”

  “What about a universal translator in the room?” asked Zashou. “We came across something like it back on K’oish’ik.”

  “That’s it,” agreed Giyesh, pouncing on the idea. “That’s got to be it! We’re all speaking Sholan because you gave the knowledge of it to us, but I heard the Primes speaking U’Churian today!”

  “What did they say, Giyesh?” asked Tirak.

  “They’re using implants on the Valtegans to change them,” she said. “But not on J’koshuk. On him they’re using drugs. One said he’s unstable and has to be watched.”

  Rezac snorted in disgust. “Tell me about it!”

  “Change them how?” asked Kaid.

  “The way they behave to you,” she said. “I remembered it because it was so strange. Why should it matter to them how the Valtegans treat you Sholans?”

  “Valtegans hate us so much, might be just using us as test case,” said T’Chebbi.

  “I saw Valtegans when they took me,” said Kaid thoughtfully.

  “Eh? It was the Prime guards that came for you,” said Tirak, surprised.

  “They towed my floater and waited in the stasis room. Their behavior was totally different from when we were on the M’ijikk. More docile. I didn’t notice any implants.”

  “Weren’t in much of a state to notice anything,” said T’Chebbi. “You said J’koshuk was different too. Noticed it myself. Far less aggressive.”

  “Not when with us,” said Annuur’s translator, as the Cabbaran nosed his way through the others to Kaid’s side. “Told you. Pretended to kill us one at a time.”

  “The J’koshuk I met would’ve killed you,” said Rezac, leaning over the back of the couch to look down at the Cabbaran.

  “We come back to my theory that maybe these are the ones the Valtegans are fighting,” said Tirak.

  “Why readjust the Valtegans, though?” asked Jo. “Doesn’t make sense to waste all that effort on captives.”

  Annuur wrinkled his mobile lip expressively. “Aliens. Who guesses their motives?”

  Kaid had to smile.

  “Maybe they’ll release them with a purpose. Like killing superiors when get back home,” suggested T’Chebbi. “Fits in with possibility they at war with Primes.”

  “I’d have expected a more violent reaction from the Valtegans to the mere sight of them when we were taken off the M’ijikk,” said Kaid, “considering how they behave toward us after fifteen hundred years!”

  “Got a point there,” T’Chebbi admitted, scratching her ear.

  “One of the Primes said the implants had been designed for the M’zullians,” said Giyesh. “That J’koshuk isn’t implanted. The other said he wanted to use new drugs on J’koshuk so that, unlike the guards, he could judge what level of aggression was needed in any situation. I think he meant the guards only follow orders, they can’t decide what to do by themselves. He said the Enlightened One shouldn’t be left with J’koshuk.”

  “That could describe what we’ve seen of the guards,” agreed Tirak. “Enlightened One, eh? Sounds like they have someone important on board.”

 
“They would have. What I’ve seen of their stasis and medical sections suggest they’re equipped for a conflict,” said Kaid, getting up. “This has given us even more questions and not one answer, I’m afraid. Did you overhear anything about why they’ve kept Jeran?”

  “One said he was sensitive, the other wanted to know if we could work as a pair. We don’t have the right brain patterns for telepathy, apparently. They wanted to ask us more questions before returning us, but I don’t remember being asked anything.”

  “So why return you?” asked Zashou.

  “They knew I was awake and could hear them. It was that face!” Giyesh shivered, clutching her arms about her chest. “Those huge eyes with the dark centers, and the pincers!”

  “More likely it was your scream,” snorted Mrowbay. “Enough to wake the dead it was!”

  Kaid reached out to grip Giyesh’s shoulder comfortingly. “There’s no point in getting upset about it, Giyesh. Whoever they are, they’ve been here all along. So far, they haven’t actually harmed us.”

  “They kept Carrie from you,” she said quietly.

  Kaid’s ears dipped. “They may yet return her.”

  “At least we’ve an idea of how they get in and out of here without us knowing,” said Jo. “Makes it less frightening.”

  “Not to me,” said Zashou.

  “Nor me,” agreed Giyesh.

  * * *

  Brynne had asked Jurrel and Banner to let him have the afternoon alone in the house with Keeza.

  “You want me to do what?” demanded a shocked Keeza. She got up and began to pace round the den, tail flicking in agitation. Stopping suddenly, she said, “Tell me again why this matters.”

  Brynne sighed and began again. This would make the third time. “I want you to bond with me,” he said.

  “That bit I do understand,” she interrupted. “It’s the next I don’t.”

  “We’re genetically compatible, which means we could have cubs with each other. Because of this . . .”