Shara hissed. "Then why do you make Gors train in fields and jungles if this training is useless?"
"I didn't say it's useless. That was the first part of their training. Now that your people are physically conditioned and trained to work together in their respective teams, it's time for them to become familiar with the environment they'll be fighting in."
Shara hissed once more and bowed her head. "I trust your judgment, Patriarch."
"Thank you," Therius said. His gaze left Shara to rove around the table and address all of them. "This meeting is adjourned. It won't be long now before we are ready."
Therius rose to his feet and nodded to the door. Shara rose next, but she waited for the Sythians to leave the room first.
Queen Tavia cast an unreadable look over her shoulder as she left. Shara hissed and feinted a lunge at the Sythian Queen.
Tavia startled, her wings unfolding reflexively before she realized that Shara's intent wasn't serious. She hissed back and refolded her wings.
Shara gave a sissing laugh and followed the Sythians out.
Farah watched them all go with a frown. "It's going to be a miracle if we don't all turn on each other before we get to Avilon."
Therius regarded her with a smile. "Miracles are my specialty, Miss Hale."
"If you say so."
"I forgot to mention something, Captain. There's one other faction that has yet to be introduced to the Union."
"Don't tell me you've begun recruiting the local fauna."
Therius laughed. "No, quite the opposite in fact."
The sound of clanking footsteps reached Farah's ears and she turned to see 767 appear in the open doorway to the operations center. She frowned, wondering what he was doing there.
"My battalion is ready for inspection, Admiral," 767 said.
"Your..." Farah turned back to Therius, her eyes wide and blinking. "You created an entire battalion of them?"
"Who better to infiltrate Avilon than drones?"
Farah blinked. Who better indeed.
* * *
Atton handed Ceyla the data pad with the results of his medical scan. She looked it over with a frown. It took longer than he expected for her to react, and when she did, she wasn't as apologetic as he had hoped.
She looked up, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "How do I know you didn't forge this report and send it to yourself from a fake address?"
Atton shook his head, wondering what had made Ceyla so suspicious of him. Sure, she looked older than him, but he didn't exactly look like a teenager.
"I'm going to call the doctor," she said, tapping her comm band and dialing the doctor's number on a holographic keypad. She waited with her arm held at waist height. The holographic keypad was replaced by a blank screen that read, Calling...
The band trilled quietly, and a moment later, the blank screen showed the face of an aging Null doctor with bushy white eyebrows and a thoroughly lined face. Atton had chosen him carefully, knowing that a mortal would inspire immediate confidence from Ceyla.
"Doctor Cander speaking," the man said. He appeared to be staring past them. The headlights of oncoming traffic playing through his white hair told them why.
"Doctor Cander," Ceyla said. "I'm sorry to call you while you're driving."
"Not a problem," Cander replied, glancing briefly at her. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
"You performed some tests on my husband today. I just wanted to confirm the results with you and make sure there were no misunderstandings. His name is Darin Thardris."
"Mr. Thardris, yes... he told me you might call. No misunderstandings," Cander went on. "Your husband is one hundred percent mortal."
"And there's no way the test could fail?"
"Yes, if I confused his scan data with that of another patient."
"Did you?"
"Not once in all my forty years of practicing medicine, ma'am, but if you're worried, he could come in tomorrow and I'll perform another scan."
"No, that's okay," Ceyla replied. "Thank you. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
"No bother, Mrs. Thardris. Have a nice evening."
The call ended and Ceyla turned to Atton, looking sheepish. "Darin, I'm..."
"It's all right," he replied, taking a deep breath. He wasn't shameless enough to hold her suspicions against her. After all, she was right.
Ceyla took a few steps toward him and placed her hands on his chest. Kissing him, she said, "Let me make it up to you."
Ceyla led him to the living room and made him sit while she stripped naked in front of him. It felt wrong to enjoy the show. It felt even worse to enjoy what came next as she sat naked in his lap and unbuckled his belt.
The truth hammered around inside his head, demanding to be let out, but he didn't have the guts to say it. Ceyla was the only good thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
Besides, he'd already done what Admiral Vee had asked in exchange for her buying Doctor Cander's help. He'd broken into Ethan's apartment while he and Alara were away and made detailed holo recordings of the interior. Atton wasn't sure what Valari planned to do with that, and he didn't want to know, but at least she hadn't asked him to deliver Ethan to her bedroom. If she wanted Ethan, she would have to tempt him away from Alara all by herself.
"Are you okay?" Ceyla breathed close beside his ear. When he didn't reply right away, she withdrew to look him in the eye.
"Don't stop," he whispered back, his hands sliding down to her bare buttocks.
When it was over, she was left panting against his chest with a contented smile on her face. Atton took a deep breath and sighed. Ceyla leaned back to study him. "You're still upset."
"No." He shook his head. "I'm not."
She kissed him, forcing his lips apart with her tongue. "I don't believe you," she whispered, as if she could taste the lie on his lips.
The irony was, this time he wasn't lying. How could he be upset with her? He was upset with himself. "I mean it," he said.
She shook her head. "I'm going to have to apologize again."
And she did.
This time he managed to at least act like he was enjoying himself, but every kiss and every touch felt tainted.
What good was it to be with the love of his life if he had to lie to keep her? He couldn't delude himself into believing that was love. This has to end, he thought.
"I love you, Darin," she whispered in his ear.
"I love you more, Ceyla."
What was so special about a face or a name? Just because she thought he was Darin Thardris, didn't mean she didn't love him. He was still the same person under the surface.
What he really needed to do was find some way to mimic the signs of age. A bio-synthetic suit would work, but sooner or later Ceyla would notice the difference between what her hands felt and what her eyes saw. Not to mention what would happen if she ever caught him taking the suit off or putting it back on...
Atton shook his head, feeling more confused than ever. He would be able to buy time like that, but time was his enemy, and sooner or later too much of it would pass.
* * *
—One Week Later—
Ethan gave the waiter his and Alara's orders for drinks, and then went back to watching the sunset. The Canopy was a luxurious restaurant on level 45. The balcony where they sat gave them a simulated view over the top of a mottled blue and green-leafed jungle, broken here and there with crowns of ivory blossom trees. In the distance a blood-orange sun peeked over the treetops, warming the cooler tones of the flora below.
A fake breeze blew and Ethan caught an aroma of tree sap and ivory blossom nectar, along with a damp, loamy smell. They heard birds chirping and hooting, mingled with the occasional howl from a tree-climbing animal. It was all simulated, but more than enough to convince Ethan's senses and make him feel like he was on a completely different planet.
If only that were true.
The reality was they were still on Avilon, a
nd Trinity was just about to go through her Choosing Ceremony. Ethan had given Admiral Vee his message, but he wasn't sure if it would be enough.
"Don't forget who you are, Trinity. You're an Ortane, and there are three of us. That's what your name means—a group of three. We're all in this together. Don't forget that. I love you no matter what, and I know you won't make the wrong choice."
Ethan looked away from the sunset to study his wife. She was staring at the table, her eyes unfocused and dull. He reached for her hand and squeezed. "Don't think about it, all right?"
Alara looked up, her eyes shining with unshed tears, her lower lip trapped between her teeth. "How can I stop thinking about it? She's our daughter."
"And there's nothing we can do right now other than wait to see what she chooses."
Alara shook her head. "Life could be easier up there, Ethan. We might even be able to afford to have more kids."
Ethan frowned. "You know how I feel about Etheria, and besides, Trinity isn't going to choose to go there. She's smarter than that."
Alara looked away and spent a moment staring out over the simulated jungle. Ethan watched her carefully, trying to come up with a way to make her feel better.
"I want to go home," she said, not looking at him.
"We just got here!"
"I'm tired. I don't... I can't do this right now. I just want to go to bed and wake up to hear Trinity on the comm, saying that it's over."
Ethan grimaced. "Look... if she chooses Etheria, she'll still be able to visit us. We won't lose her."
Alara's brow furrowed and her eyes became hard. "That's what you want? For our daughter to have to visit us like we're in prison? She'll grow up without us!"
Ethan sighed. "Let's wait and see what she decides, okay?"
"Fine, and while we're waiting you can take me home."
Ethan's stomach grumbled, and he grimaced at his empty plate. "All right, let's go."
They passed their waiter on the way out.
"Is everything all right, Mr. Ortane?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, my wife isn't feeling well. We'll have to come back another time."
"Of course. I hope you feel better soon, Ma'am."
Alara flashed a lifeless smile, and they left.
Once they were back in the car, Ethan pulled out into the street and drove to the nearest vertical stream of traffic. He flew down to level 30 and slipped into a stream of traffic.
Alara was quiet, her silence judging him right alongside his conscience. It was hard to imagine life without Trinity. Would their marriage even survive such a blow?
Not with my wife blaming me for her absence, he decided.
No sooner had that thought passed through his head than the comm band around his wrist trilled and vibrated with an incoming call, startling him out of his thoughts. The band was connected to the car's comm suite, so he accepted the call there. An image of the caller appeared on the car's main holo display, along with a name—Peacekeeper Damaris Rills (Acolyte).
"Ethan Ortane here," he said.
Alara sat suddenly straighter and leaned toward the holo display.
"Mr. Ortane, your daughter has made her choice," the Peacekeeper said.
Chapter 22
"What did Trinity choose?" Ethan's heart froze painfully in his chest, but he forced his voice to remain calm.
"She has decided to become an Etherian," the Peacekeeper replied.
Ethan blinked. "She..."
"She is in a better place."
Acid boiled in Ethan's stomach. "A better place? She's no place at all you dumb kakard! You killed her!"
"I'm sorry you see it that way," the Peacekeeper replied. "If either of you would like to join her in Etheria, please report to the nearest Peacekeeper station."
The comm call ended, and the main holo display went back to showing the car's auxiliary instruments. Ethan pounded the flight yoke and roared. The car swerved toward the nearest building, and he barely managed to jerk the yoke back the other way before they crashed through someone's window.
"Now what?" Alara asked quietly.
"I don't know!" he replied.
"We can't leave her alone up there."
Ethan shook his head. "She isn't up there. Her clone is. Our daughter is gone!" His voice cracked with the finality of that statement, and his heart gave a labored thump in his chest.
"You don't know that."
Ethan rounded on her. "And you don't know otherwise!"
Something cold crept into Alara's eyes, and she looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. Silence stretched between them until it grew thin and brittle. Alara broke it a few moments later with an incredulous snort.
"You claim to love us, but you won't follow us. What kind of love is that?"
"And you claim to love me, but you want to leave me. I could ask the same thing."
"She's our daughter, Ethan!"
"And you're my wife!"
Silence returned. This time thick and stifling. Ethan's chest heaved for air, as if his lungs had forgotten how to draw breath. His eyes felt like they were bulging in their sockets, and his hands were locked around the flight yoke like a pair of vice grips. Admiral Vee had promised to get his message to Trinity before The Choosing Ceremony.
She lied, he decided.
"You're just afraid," Alara whispered.
"Afraid?" Ethan shook his head. "I'm not afraid. I'm furious!"
Ethan caught a blur of movement in his peripheral vision. Then came a loud slap followed by a searing pain on his right cheek. He rounded on his wife, his eyes wide and nostrils flaring.
"Wake up, Ethan!" Alara screamed. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Ethan's thoughts turned to mud, and the strength drained out of him like a valve letting off steam. Maybe that was all he had to do—wake up. This had to be a bad dream...
A bright light came slicing through Alara's window, blinding him. Then came the warning blast of an air horn.
Ethan jerked the flight yoke down.
Too late.
Ethan watched it all happen as if in slow motion. The inertial management system shielded them from the initial forces, but it did nothing to stop the car from crumpling in on Alara's side.
She screamed as the door became a mangled mess of jutting alloy panels and bars. Ethan heard the thrumming roar of the other car's engines and felt the growing weight of inertial forces bleeding through the IMS. Then came a second impact, and it wasn't shielded at all. Ethan's head whipped sideways. His flight restraints jerked taut across his chest like duranium bands, but Alara's restraints snapped like worn string. Her shoulder collided with his head, and stars exploded inside his skull. He was dimly aware of their car crashing through a hydroponic farm. Greenery smeared the car's windshield and foul-smelling nutrient water splashed in through the broken side windows.
Then the car fetched up against something solid and Ethan's head jerked sideways once more, slamming into the twisted remains of his side door.
Darkness found him, but seemingly only moments later it was replaced by a blinding light. Ethan wondered if it was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
"Sir, can you hear me?"
Ethan came to, feeling cold and wet. His ears rang, and a vague memory of the accident went tumbling through his brain. Then a sudden fear stabbed him.
"Where's my wife?" he asked, managing to sit up before anyone could stop him. The medic attending him tried to force him back down, but when Ethan saw Alara lying motionless beside him in a pool of brownish liquid, her side soaked red with blood, he found the strength to push the medic away. "Alara!" he said, scrambling over to her. She had two medics fussing over her, and there was a Peacekeeper standing off to one side, looking on with a frown.
What's a Peacekeeper doing here? he wondered, but he didn't have time to figure it out. Alara's eyes were wide and glassy. Her chest rose and fell in quick gasps. Ethan found her hand and squeezed it hard to get her attention.
"Hang in th
ere, sweetheart," he said. "You're going to be fine."
She turned to him and her eyes found his. "Ethan," she wheezed out. "I..."
"Ma'am, please don't try to talk," one of the medics said.
The one who'd been attending him a moment ago came and tried to drag him away. "Sir, you need to get back."
"She's my wife, dammit!"
"You're injured. You need to—"
Ethan's right arm whipped out and hammered the man in the solar plexus. The medic doubled over and stumbled away.
His attention back on his wife, Ethan spent a moment trying to assess Alara's injuries for himself. The medics had ripped open her shirt, revealing a wide gash that ran all the way down her rib cage. He watched as they sprayed it with a temporary sealer, and the wound closed in an ugly ridge. The bleeding stopped almost immediately, but Alara's short, gasping breaths continued.
Ethan felt her hand grow cold and clammy in his. He squeezed it a few more times to get her attention, to keep her with him, but this time she didn't respond. Her eyelids looked like they weighed a thousand pounds. One of the medics injected her with something and her eyes flew open once more.
"I love you," she managed to say.
"Please save your strength, ma'am."
Ethan shook his head. "What's wrong with her?"
The medics didn't respond. One of them hurried away and returned with an oxygen tank and a mask.
"Will she make it?" a dispassionate voice asked. Ethan looked up to see the Peacekeeper looming over them, his silver armor a gleaming silhouette as he blocked out light from one of the hydroponic farm's few remaining UV lamps.
"I don't know," one of the medics replied.
"Then it's time for her last rites."
Ethan's eyes hardened. "She's going to make it."
The Peacekeeper shot him a look. "The medics don't know that and neither do you. Alara?" the Peacekeeper asked.
She looked up at the man, her eyes full of tears, her chest still heaving for air. "I can't... breathe," she said.
"You may not survive this," the Peacekeeper replied. "It's not too late to go to Etheria. There's a new body waiting for you there, and so is your daughter. If you want to go, all you have to do is nod."
Dark Space- The Complete Series Page 194