by Smith, T. L.
Scent
of
treachery
An
Interstellar Alliance
Novella
T. L. Smith
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, organizations and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances are entirely coincidental.
Scent of Treachery
Copyright© 2013 by T. L. Smith
All rights reserved.
Cover Design by T. L. Smith
Cover Art contributing photographers:
M-Gucci/Getty Images
Wonwoo Lee/Getty Images
Milos Markovic/Getty Images
Vasiliki Varvaki/Getty Images
ISBN-13: 978-1494338022
ISBN-10: 1494338025
Acknowledgements
There are so many people to acknowledge, I have to keep it simple.
A huge thanks goes to my mother, Patsy, who never discouraged me from going after whatever I wanted, even if secretly she thought I was crazy for wanting to be a writer. And yes, Chuck, I am writing at 3am.
Another thanks to the rest of my family and friends, who cheer me on as I stumble over each hurdle. The kids-Denita, Adam, Devion, Jayden and Kullen. Rick and Brenda, my movie night buddies, and my brother Bill, who introduced me to Science Fiction.
A special thanks to all my writing friends, particularly Gini Koch, the Wyked Women Who Write and Dr. Bruce Davis, for helping me learn to do my craft better and who make Cons a blast. And my dear friend Sandra Bowen. Love our editing sessions over long lunches, or is that the other way around?
And always, I have to thank thereaders who want to share in my insanity. Read on!
Want more from
T. L. Smith?
Check out her other books.
Defending Hippotigris - an Interstellar Alliance novella
You can’t tell a secret if you can’t remember it, but for Shara Batista her secret life draws her husband and best friend to a strange new world, where they are forced to protect their alien friends from the worst humans have to offer.
The Thing Down the Road
Be wary of road-side freak shows. You may not like what you find.
Or visit her at:
http://www.tlsmithbooks.com
CHAPTER ONE
Interstellar Alliance - 2544 CE
Despite the best automation, the manufacturing process still required human supervision.
The trouble was finding anyone willing to take this job. Jayda hadn’t balked at the conditions. It was the perfect job for her and she was on her eighth year.
She initiated the filtering process and waited until all the lights went green. It would take a while to complete this step. A flip of the latch freed her from the lab chair and she gently pushed away from the console.
Floating freely through the sterile lab, she caught a handgrip as she neared the bulkhead. She had propulsion down to an art and could do it in her sleep. In seconds she slipped through the decon chamber and into the station.
Jayda entered the galley and grabbed a snack before settling into her favorite lounger. This was the last batch before the next cargo ship arrived, but she had other work she could be doing while she waited.
She opened her files, hoping to get some work done before being called back to the lab. She was annoyed to not find any messages giving her the go-ahead on her latest personal project.
Preliminary tests had come back with such enthusiasm that picking a producer almost turned into a bidding war. Ultimately she stuck with the company she’d done business with before, but she’d never been left hanging so long.
Jayda shook off the disappointment and turned back to her computer screen, noticing the comm-link blinking at her. “Computer, who’s trying to call in?”
“XPRC cargo ship Dolan Four. Captain Dolan requesting contact.” The computer automatically accessed the ship registrar attached to the contact request, confirming it was the scheduled cargo ship.
“Open a line.” She leaned forward, narrowing her video image. “This is Maldonado, Sienna Outpost Lab. Are you calling to confirm arrival?”
“Maldonado?” A face appeared on her screen, not too clear, either a bad comm-link or bad equipment on his end. “Yes, we were scheduled to dock tomorrow, but will be earlier than anticipated. Will that be a problem on your end?”
“Well, I don’t know. Sometimes ships line up out here. You might have to wait your turn.” Jayda couldn’t help a flippant response to a stupid question.
One side of the man’s face crinkled up into either a half-smile or snarl. “Was just trying to be courteous and not show up in the middle of your night cycle. You lab rats out here got your own schedules.”
Great, piss off the new cargo captain, Jayda chastised herself silently, trying to put on a more pleasant face. “You’re new on this run.”
“Yes, ma’am. Have to do time in the badlands before getting the prime cuts.” He glanced away from the screen for a second, speaking to someone else, still leaning towards a possible snarl in his expression.
He focused back on Jayda. “Sorry for the lousy feed. We’re picking up some kind of interference.” His snarl showed a few more teeth, maybe a real smile now. “So, Maldonado, who’d you kill to get banished out here?”
Jayda ignored his comment. “Docking procedures are fairly standard. I’ll be ready to transfer the shipment by the time you arrive. What is your ETA?”
“Expect us around 0830GT.” He was definitely snarling now. “Standard hit-n-run.” He signed off.
Great, a hit-n-run meant no maintenance layover, but a schedule change meant staying up all night to finish the last batch. Jayda shut down her programs to go set up the rest of her supplies.
She sat through each filtering step, then watched as bottles were swept into the filling chamber. Once bottled, the chemical compounds of the perfume would remain stable. Absolutely no oxygen exposure was allowed until the end user gave the atomizer that first squeeze.
Perfume this rare required perfect, expensive packaging. Crystal was the only thing the company allowed, so the filled bottles were scanned as they came off the line.
If they passed, the bottles were slipped into cushioned shipping boxes. Robots added the last full box to the outgoing shipment.
On the reject table was the one bottle that failed the final scan. The contents were airtight, but a flaw showed up once it was filled, a shadow in the amber crystal. She drew it through the inspection portal.
To Jayda the flaw made the bottle more beautiful, as if cut from real stone. Jayda lightly sprayed the perfume on her wrist and closed her eyes as she inhaled the exotic odor. Perfect.
Not that she expected anything less. She was more than a chemical engineer. Her senses could identify every separate element, including ones thought odorless under normal conditions. Out here the most indiscernible oils could be extracted. It was one of her specialties.
She felt no guilt pocketing the bottle. A quick glance at the time reminded her of the cargo ship’s arrival. She headed to her room to suit up.
Standing by the airlock, she flexed her knees as gravity came up a few degrees. Her eye twitched at the intrusion the cargo ship represented, but it was part of the deal.
The computer confirmed approach and guided the ship to Sienna’s cargo dock. The lights of the airlock cycled, red, yellow, a long hold and then green. She released the lock from her side and stepped back.
A tall broad-shouldered man stepped through the airlock. He held the portal with one hand, extending the other. “Maldonado! I’m Capt. Dolan.”
Jayda stared up at the man. Now she could see the face that had been half-hidden by interference. She i
gnored his hand and bowed her head instead. “Welcome aboard. If you’ll come with me to the galley, we’ll complete the paperwork.”
Dolan nonchalantly shrugged a shoulder. She turned and led the way. With her back to the man, she was able to fight down the shock. This had to be a cruel coincidence.
She avoided eye contact with the man as they worked through the transaction. It was simple. The raw materials would be dumped into her cargo holds or onto awaiting cargo platforms. Then robots would transfer thirty carefully packed containers into his cargo holds.
It only took an hour to complete all the transactions and though he tried, she refused to engage him in conversation.
As soon as the last containers were locked down, Jayda stood up. “If we’re done, I have sensitive experiments waiting.”
“Of course! Hate to be the cause of an olfactory accident.” He laughed. “Though I don’t see how you turn a hazardous cargo into perfume. Either you’re really good or this is a front for a WMD operation.”
He stepped in front of her. “I’m not secretly loading explosives, am I?”
When she didn’t laugh, he bent down to force eye contact, not letting off as Jayda backed away from him. “Have I done something to offend you?”
Jayda swung away, holding her breath as she left the galley. “No. Now please, my work...”
She continued, hearing the click of his boots on the flooring behind her. She could tell from the cadence he’d been military. At the airlock he politely bowed his head, not attempting the handshake again, and then he was gone.
CHAPTER TWO
He was gone, but he had stirred up an old memory.
Jayda made her way back to the galley and sat down in her work chair. “I’m just tired, that’s all. I’m seeing things that aren’t real.”
Sleep would clear out the all-nighter, but she hated it when these episodes struck. It would take days to chase the nightmares away, thanks to Capt. Dolan.
But sleep would have to wait. Even though they’d exchanged cargos, it would take at least an hour before they were on their way.
She also had the hazardous cargo to deal with. Her service robots had to move it out to the safety perimeter.
Jayda focused her bots on their task. It served as a distraction, only remembering Capt. Dolan when the computer warned his ship was disengaging the docking clamps.
She sighed in relief, but immediately seized the arms of her chair.
The whole station shifted and alarms blared. Screens around her chair sprang to life, transmitting images from repair-bots as they scurried like bugs to where computer sensors indicated damage.
The Dolan 4 had struck her station.
“Computer, open comm channels!” She waited only a second. “Capt. Dolan, what the hell did you just do?” She barked at him.
“Wasn’t our fault!” Dolan barked back. “We just got hit by a particle storm.”
“Are you sure? I got no warnings.” She double-checked the computer’s early warning system. The perimeter drones should have warned the computer to strengthen the station’s shields.
“I’m not showing a storm and I felt impact.” The computer identified a hull breach in one of the cargo bays. “You ran into my station!” She got no answer. “Capt. Dolan, respond!”
“Yes, I did, now leave me alone…” Dolan turned away to shout his orders. “I’ll get back to you when I have things under control.”
He disconnected the link. Jayda switched to outside surveillance. His ship was free of the docking clamps, adrift, powerless.
Powerless? That startled her. Jayda directed external repair bots to scan his ship. As they approached they lit up the hull and she could see the damage.
Small explosions flared from the starboard engine. She could see atmosphere venting along a distinct path down the hull where the ship’s skin was torn open.
“Computer, launch all bots to the Dolan 4. Stop her drift and stabilize.”
She pulled up controls for the robotic lift arm. “Computer, reconnect me with Capt. Dolan. Force the line open, emergency protocol.”
It took a few seconds of the computer demanding his attention, but he responded. “I don’t have time for this, Maldonado.”
“I’m aware of your ship’s condition. You’re losing atmosphere. My repair-bots will tug you close enough I can pull you back to the station. Concentrate on evacuation.”
Dolan nodded, shouting orders over the alarms. He stopped to take a report from a young woman. Blood streamed down the side of her face.
He punched at the wall. “Maldonado, our medic is dead. I hope you’re trained in medicine.”
Jayda felt her hands shake. “I can’t… I’m not… I’ll do what I can…” She was backed into a corner, but knew her duty. “Hold tight.”
It was her turn to disconnect the comm-link and get to work drawing the ship back to the docking clamps.
As soon as the docking magnets grabbed the ship, she pulled on her environmental suit and upped the station’s gravity.
She made it to the airlock as the first batch of evacuees pushed through. Jayda shouted out directions to medical lab, then cycled through two more groups.
Dolan staggered through with the last group, coughing from smoke inhalation, covered with soot and blood.
She followed the last group to the medical lab. Those who could, helped the injured, two crew flipped through cabinets for supplies, including the young woman she’d seen earlier.
Jayda saw a medical emblem on her lapel. “You’re trained?”
“First shipboard assignment…” She turned to look at who asked, her eyes wild with shock. “I never expected this. I don’t know what to do. I gotta…”
She turned from side to side, reaching up to wipe the back of her hand over her eyebrow as blood drained into her eyes.
“Look at me!” Jayda shouted at the woman, jarring her panic. She pointed to a container. “Grab that box and come with me.”
The girl did as she was told. At the work station Jayda pointed to a chair. “Sit down and let me check that wound.”
“I can’t… They’re first…”
“Not if you pass out.” Jayda made the young woman stare into her eyes, not at the chaos around them. “I need you focused. Just look at me, nothing else.”
The medic obeyed, her eyes fixed on Jayda’s. She clenched her teeth as Jayda cleaned out the head laceration, not too deep or ugly, no concussion. Just the typical bloody head wound.
The girl clutched the side of the table as Jayda used liquid sutures to seal the wound shut. “That’ll do it.”
Those few minutes let the medic regain control of her emotions. Panic shifted to determination as Jayda released her.
“Thank you.” She jumped straight into triage, sorting out the worst patients, shouting orders to the able-bodied, including Jayda.
Of Dolan’s thirty four-person crew, two were dead, another likely to die, five had critical injuries, another ten with serious injuries and breathing issues.
Most of the uninjured were in areas of the ship that gave them time to get into their environmental suits. Cleared by the medic, they returned to the ship to gather more medical supplies.
Dolan wasn’t released. He sat on a table impatiently talking over his comm to his team aboard the ship. He grabbed Jayda’s arm as she passed, finishing his orders before speaking to her, ignoring the tug of her arm in the meanwhile.
“I’m sorry.” He released her. “Taylor is busy. Patch me up so I can get out of here.”
As much as the suit protected Jayda from the environment, it didn’t block out everything. The room was electric with the energies of the wounded, their anger, pain, shock, and grief.
Now she had to add him to the chaos brewing in her head. Her hands shook as she ripped open the medical kit. “Alright, Capt. Dolan, what can I do for you?”
“It’s just a flesh wound.” Dolan pulled his shirt off over his head, one arm not making the full motion.
Jayda could see the wound on his shoulder and arm. “I think that’s for Dr. Taylor to decide.” Jayda pulled up the quick chart created for Dolan, seeing the initial scan. “Burns and smoke inhalation.”
“So let’s get it over with! I got work to...” A coughing spell broke up his protest.
Jayda looked to the scan again. “Smoke inhalation, aggravating prior…” Jayda walked around the table to see how extensive the burns were.
Charred blistering flesh froze her in place, but it wasn’t Capt. Dolan she was looking at anymore. Images of open wounds, burnt flesh, groans of pain and the fading light from agonized eyes rushed in on her.
They were all around her, looking at her for guidance, for salvation, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t even reach out a hand to them, to him…
The clatter of the instruments on the cold metal decking snapped her out of the flashback. Eyes were on her again, too many faces, too much pain. She rushed out of the medical lab.
CHAPTER THREE
Jayda escaped into the galley.
Once through the doors she allowed herself to breathe, a ragged gasp. She was out of the med lab, but still caught in the memory of her past. She heard the screams of her friends, she could hear him.
She covered her ears, backing into a corner. “Please, go away! Go away!” She drowned them out repeating her plea over and over again. “I can’t do this.”
“You don’t have to. Everything’s under control.”
This wasn’t a voice in her head, but real. Jayda spun around to find Dolan. Cleaned up, a bandage wrapped his shoulder. How much time was she stuck in her nightmare?
“I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
“You didn’t…I’m sorry…” She jerked her eyes away, afraid his face would bring the images back. “I don’t know why that happened. I guess I panicked.”
