She coughed and gasped, trying to breathe, a roaring in her ears. It masked the sound of Silius who was suddenly above her, reaching down to haul her up.
He had trouble with it, letting go and then trying again as she hung, shivering, miserable at being so high.
He swore viciously, and seemed to finally get a good hold.
“I see your ships are losing to Bane,” she called up to him, saying the first thing that occurred to her that would make him stop, even for a moment, and look elsewhere.
Silius stopped pulling at the cable and she swung gently as he released it.
She could just make out where he crouched on one knee above her.
He said nothing, and she blinked back tears of relief because maybe her guess had been right. She was sure he'd take pleasure in correcting her if she wasn't.
“Maybe they are, maybe not,” he said at last. “Hard to see from here with those lights you set in Karn's eyes. But if I can't see properly, neither can you. You're just delaying the inevitable.”
She tried to look up, realized he was right about the visibility, and then looked down, instead. She was directly above the square, she realized. She heard a faint whine, and tilted her head up. Silius stood above her, pulling his shockgun from his holster.
He would shoot her. He didn't even have to pull her up. If he aimed directly at her head, she'd die. She didn't doubt that for a moment.
She thought she heard her name being shouted from below, and looked down again.
Dray?
She hoped so.
Silius raised his shockgun, and she ran her finger down the side of the pen.
She dropped as shockgun fire seared the air above her head.
It felt as if her stomach was left behind in Karn's hands, an offering to the gods, as she plummeted down.
She wanted to scream, but the sound caught in her throat and choked her.
Another flicker of purple shot past her, and she drew her arms and legs together, trying to make herself a smaller target, and then there was a flicker coming up from below and even with the wind roaring past her, she heard Silius scream.
She ran out of cable about twenty meters from the ground.
Her descent was slowed, so she wasn't wrenched back up when it came to a sudden end, and she ended up twisting gently and continuously, a worm on the end of a line.
“Lucy.”
She looked down, and there was Dray.
She tried to answer, but her throat was still tight and nothing would come out.
She fluttered her fingers at him, and then, like everyone else, looked up with a jerk at the massive boom that reverberated over the city, rolling like a long growl of thunder.
She stared in shock, and when her momentum twisted her away from the view, back toward the statue, she closed her eyes and tried to steel herself in case it was Bane.
She turned again, just in time to see another bright exchange of cannon fire, and clasped her hands in relief as she saw Bane moving, graceful and smooth as a ballet dancer, as he twisted and rolled and curved away from the remaining Tecran battleship.
He fired, and the shot seemed to clip the Tecran ship. It spun away, and then went still.
Bane moved to hover over it.
The crowd gasped and she heard the words 'surrender' from below.
Did they think Bane wouldn't accept the battleship's surrender?
Suddenly another ship was there, and for a moment she braced herself for another attack, but it seemed to almost nudge Bane aside, and he slowly drifted away from his downed prey.
Maybe that was the ship Dray and the rest of the UC had come to Tecra on. The Urna.
A buzzing noise swamped her senses, crowding out the noise from below, and then the drone Bane had sent to rescue her at the cliffs descended in front of her.
She started shaking with relief as it moved beneath her, and when she was able to crouch down on it safely, she carefully released the magnet.
The drone sank down slowly, and when it touched the ground she slid off the side into Dray's waiting arms.
He caught her, lowered her down, and angled his body as if to shield her.
She looked past him, to the backs of the UC soldiers standing guard in a semi-circle in front of them, and then the crowd beyond.
The Tecran were watching her, now the battle above was over, and she touched Dray's chest with a hand, stepping forward, and he let her move in front of him.
She looked at the people in the crowd, her hair blowing in the eternal, icy wind, her face visible for all to see.
She could see the shock and guilt on their faces as they looked back.
The fog, that wall of white and gray that she'd spotted from the top of the statue, chose that moment to hit.
It rolled through the square, gobbling up the crowds until all Lucy could see was the backs of the UC soldiers in front of her, and Dray beside her.
“I thought he was going to kill you.” Dray's voice was hoarse, as if he'd been shouting for hours.
“He was going to kill me.” She leaned into him, suddenly sure he needed the comfort of it as much as she did.
He shuddered, pulling her closer. “I knew I couldn't get up the stairs in time.”
“You shot him from below.” She had only remembered the massive shockgun he'd taken from Bane's stores when she'd heard Silius scream.
“Yes. Someone will have to go up there and see if he's still alive.”
“Not you or me.” She burrowed in closer as the fog deposited cold drops of dew on her cheeks and eyelashes.
“No. We're done here.”
She felt her heart lift, and she smiled against the rough skin of his neck. “You say the nicest things.”
He went still, and then started to chuckle.
He was still laughing as he pulled her away from the drone, to which he gave a friendly pat, and then he walked with her into the deep white of the fog.
Chapter 42
“Lucy Harris.”
The woman who greeted Lucy as she stepped into the massive UC battleship smiled as she walked forward, arms open, and Lucy had to check herself so she didn't flinch at the sight of the sharp row of teeth on display.
She stood still, and was grateful for Dray's hand as it settled on the small of her back.
“Lucy, this is Ambassador Filivantri Dimitara. She's a friend of Rose McKenzie's and the leader of our mission to Tecra.”
The ambassador flung her arms around Lucy, and Lucy tentatively hugged her back.
“You only speak Tecran?” Dimitara stepped back with a frown, giving Dray a quick look.
“Yes.” Lucy had made a decision not to apologize for anything that had been done to her, and so she met the ambassador's gaze without wavering.
“Of course not. Why would they teach you anything else?” Dimitara shook her head. Her Tecran was fluent, but that was to be expected of the head of a diplomatic mission to Tecra.
“I didn't even know about the other members of the UC until a few days ago.” Lucy looked around at the room Dray had brought her to, a massive space with a long, wide window, showing a cloud-covered Tecra, lit orange, red and pink by its sun, below.
“I know you're tired, and have spent much of the night imprisoned and fighting for your life, but it would help me get the assistance I need from the United Council if you could detail what has happened to you immediately. The full council is sitting, waiting to hear from you, and the military leaders of all members except the Tecran will be in attendance, as well.”
Lucy hesitated. She had dozed on the way up from Fa'allen to the Urna but every muscle seemed to hurt. The jump from Karn's beak to his outstretched arms had been particularly unforgiving. If she could, she'd have found a hot shower and a bed to sleep in, but that wasn't an option right now.
Bane had been against her stepping onto the UC ship, even with Dray promising to never leave her side, but he had eventually conceded the value of her being physically seen by the other UC teams.
She wanted them to know she was real. That she took up space. That she was present.
“They'll ask you to sing,” Bane had warned her. “Well, the Grih will.”
“So it's not just Dray who has the fetish?” she'd asked when Bane had grumpily mentioned it on the way up to the Urna. She'd looked sideways at Dray, and had suddenly had his total attention.
“Singing,” she mouthed to him, smiling at the flare of lust in his gaze, and he'd given a crooked grin.
“No, it's all of us. But I'm happy for you to disappoint everyone else but me.”
His words had made her heart trip and she lifted a fist now to rub her sternum in memory of it.
“Are you all right?” Dimitara was looking at her with a worried frown, and Lucy realized she'd spaced out, letting her thoughts intrude when she should have all her wits about her.
She tried hard not to look at Dray. To not give herself away.
She didn't mind if he knew she was gone over him, but she didn't know these people, barely trusted them. They didn't get to see her vulnerability.
“I think I need some grinabo.” She gave an apologetic shrug. “And then I'd like to get this conference over with.”
Dimitara snapped something in a strange language Lucy guessed must be Bukarian to an aide standing behind her and then hooked an arm through Lucy's and led her to the comms room.
Dray followed, gaze sweeping from side to side, looking for threats, and out of the corner of her eye she saw two others flank him. Cossi, the Bukarian military leader she'd met briefly in Fa'allen, and a stranger--she blinked and made her face carefully blank as she caught a glimpse of slim, insectile limbs.
She was not in Kansas anymore.
She'd known that since she'd woken in the Tecran facility, but this new world was even bigger and more interesting than she'd ever thought. She'd seen a few of the Fitali when Dray had taken her into the military headquarters, but this was the first time she'd been so close to one.
She noticed people milling in front of the comms room, and among them was another group of aliens she hadn't encountered yet. They stood about the same height as her, and had bulging foreheads and stocky frames. The Garmman, she guessed. She'd been told about them, heard them mentioned when she was waiting for Dray to wrap things up below. Dray hadn't outright said he didn't trust them, but she'd picked up that impression.
The group blocking the entrance consisted of two Grih, two Fitali, a Bukarian, three Garmman and a single Tecran.
Dimitara had obviously not expected them, because Lucy felt her hand tighten on Lucy's arm.
“Ambassador.” A Fitalian in long robes stepped forward.
“Pilto.” Dimitara gave a nod. “I wasn't expecting the leadership team to be present for this.” She spoke in Tecran, and Lucy felt a sudden, deep appreciation for the Bukarian ambassador. She was forcing everything to be said in a language Lucy could understand.
“It makes sense, though.” Pilto's gaze was on Lucy, and she forced herself not to react to the intensity of his stare. His eyes were massive in his face and a deep, bottomless black. “Our whole mission is compromised by the presence of the Earth woman.”
Perhaps she was overly sensitive, but to Lucy, it sounded as if he was making this her fault.
“I think the Tecran did that all on their own,” she said.
Pilto stilled, and then gave an elegant half-bow. “So they did. Still, we need to be here if the council decides to renegotiate the terms of the agreement in light of . . .” he glanced at Lucy, “all that has happened.”
“We'll need corroborating testimony, as well.” One of the Garmman spoke for the first time, his Tecran perfect. “Who's to say she wasn't brought here by the thinking system to cause trouble?”
There was utter silence at that comment for a single beat, and then a babble of voices rose up, almost none talking in a language Lucy could understand.
She understood what was going on, though.
She stared at the Garmman. Held his gaze, and he began to twitch a little under the pressure.
“Silence.” Dray's shout cut them off. His gaze went up to the corner of the ceiling, a move that had Lucy guessing Bane was speaking to him. She was sorry they hadn't had time to get a new earpiece for her from the Class 5 before they'd come to the Urna.
When Dray moved his gaze back to the crowd in front of them, he sounded calmer, but there was a definite edge to his voice.
“One of the scientists who experimented on Lucy in the facility is being held at a safehouse and has agreed to testify. She's given us access to the visual comms of some of the interactions in the facility with Lucy. Also, a few of the soldiers who guarded her there are willing to give evidence.” Dray cocked his head even further. “Is that enough for you, Ambassador Cynoa? We also have two guards in custody who tried to kill her on the military's orders, but they are hostile witnesses at best.”
Cynoa didn't look like it was enough for him at all, but eventually he gave a nod, his gaze flicking back to Lucy's face. He'd done that ever since she'd laid eyes on him.
“If you could give way.” Dimitara stepped forward, her gaze going to each face in turn and they shuffled to the side.
Dimitara led her in, and Lucy noticed most of the group followed them, standing back against the walls as if that would make them less visible.
The two Grih in the crowd were the exception. They were the last into the room, and they joined Dray to stand beside her.
“I'm Yolandi Firena, Grih's ambassador on this mission, and I want to extend a welcome to you on behalf of the Grih. You will find a home with us, if that is your wish.” The woman who spoke was not as tall as Dray, but taller than Lucy, and she wore robes of the most beautiful burnt umber. She had the same hair as Dray, shortish and standing straight up, but hers was a light brown, tipped with blonde, in contrast to the dark brown of her skin. She gave Lucy a formal bow.
“Thank you, Ambassador.” Lucy lifted her hands, unsure whether to offer to shake and then started as the second Grihan woman took a cup of grinabo brought by Ambassador Dimitara's aide and held it out to her.
“I'm Zutobi, the head of operations for the Grihan team. I second the welcome from Yolandi, but I can see Dray has already made our welcome clear.” The words were said seriously, but Lucy detected a hint of amusement in the woman's eyes.
Lucy looked between Zutobi and Dray, not sure if the woman was being sarcastic or teasing.
“That's right, I have.” Dray seemed completely unaffected, and Zutobi grinned.
“. . . what is going on!” The thunder in the voice of the Bukarian who was suddenly on the screen in the middle of the room focused every eye.
Lucy turned with everyone else and saw what looked like a circular chamber with an elevated chair in the center and two chairs slightly below it on either side.
The Bukarian was sitting in the central seat and a Grih, a Fitalian, a Garmman and a Tecran each sat on the chairs on either side of him.
“Councilor.” Dimitara stepped closer. “The situation in Tecra has taken a surprising turn.”
Beside her, Lucy heard Dray give a snort and saw Zutobi grin.
“Such as?”
“Such as the discovery of another Earth woman on the planet.” Dimitara reached back, got a grip on Lucy's arm, and pulled her forward, so she was standing alone with Dimitara out in what felt like the open, encircled by the small crowd that had accompanied them into the comms room.
She shifted uncomfortably.
The councilor visibly gaped.
“What do you say to this, Ulain?” His gaze went directly to the Tecran seated beside him.
The Tecran stood, eyes wide, opened her mouth, but nothing emerged.
“That is not all,” Dimitara said. “The Tecran military hatched a plot to disrupt our takeover of their systems when we arrived, engineered a riot, and then two of their Levron attacked Bane, the Class 5 who accompanied us.”
The shout that went up in
the chamber as soon as she stopped speaking was not unlike the shout when Cynoa had accused Lucy of lying, and Dimitara simply turned down the sound to wait it out.
“What about the other three Levron?” The Tecran councilor looked sick.
“Two were sent to patrol your space boundaries. I don't know the whereabouts of the third one.” Dray stepped forward to answer.
“We're unsure if it was put in reserve to prevent damage, so they had a least one fully operational battleship nearby, or whether the captain of that Levron refused to go along with the plan to attack the United Council, and so has put the ship out of range.” Cossi stepped up beside Dray.
“What do you say, Chep?” The Fitalian councilor rose as well, and the Fitalian who flanked Dray stepped forward with a low, elegant bow.
“Everything spoken is correct. Some I've witnessed with my own eyes. We may still have a problem with the third ship, but there is nowhere for it to go, no ally for it to turn to.” He glanced at the Garmman ambassador, Cynoa. “That we know of.”
The glance did not go unnoticed.
“Do you wish to accuse me of something?” Cynoa's voice was cold.
Lucy had noticed Dimitara stiffen and go very still while Chep had been talking, her head down, looking at the floor, as if she was being briefed and needed to cut out all other distractions, but when Cynoa issued his challenge, she raised her head, and Lucy could see fire in her eyes.
“You have kept very much to yourselves since our arrival, Ambassador Cynoa. Not a single member of your team assisted in trying to get the protests in Fa'allen under control. We've invited you to help with the decision-making process over and over again, and you have never once attended. It's almost as if you're trying to play it both ways. Fence straddling will only get you a sore ass.” Dimitara's every word was spoken clearly and in a carrying tone.
There were snorts of laughter, of disbelief, at that, and even Lucy found herself fighting a smile.
“I object--” Cynoa's eyes narrowed.
“Go ahead. It will be the most strenuous thing you've done since you joined this mission,” Dimitara said.
Dark Matters (Class 5 Series Book 4) Page 25