Desert World Savages

by Lace, Lisa

"I told you once already today where you could go. I don't feel the need to repeat myself," said Rev. He pressed a button on the console. Du's face dissolved from the screen.

  "Rev!" protested Tev. "Is that any way to treat a Du counselor?"

  "It's a perfectly acceptable way to treat that one. He tried to separate me and Tracy."

  "For good reason, apparently. She is a nonaligned world sentient, right? You used your mating bite six times? Du says she's dangerous."

  "Hey!" said Tracy. "I'm right here! You have a problem with me, not Rev. Don't you want to know the whole story before you pass judgment on him? In case you didn't know, your brother blew off his superiors to go looking for you when he was ordered not to. He thought you were in trouble. At one point he thought you were dead. Then you show up on a slaver's transport all chummy with the captain. What was that about, anyway?" Tracy stood with her hands on her hips and stared at Tev.

  "Oh, yes," said Rev, "she's dangerous. Just not in the way the counselor wants you to believe."

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Tev stared at Tracy first then slowly turned to Rev. A look of disbelief crept over his face. "They really told you not to look for me?" Tev’s voice was a mere whisper.

  "More than told. They ordered me not to, actually."

  "But I..." started Tev and then stopped. "I suppose it doesn't matter now, but I did send a message through Command asking for your help. When you didn't come, I assumed you were engaged in another investigation."

  "I got information you were last seen on Jaal's ship, but it wasn't from Command," Rev said bitterly.

  "This is fucked up," said Tev. "And where does she fit in all this?"

  "She's my mate."

  "You've said that before, but saying so doesn't make it true."

  "She bears my mark," Rev growled.

  "You don't have to tell me what she bears," snapped Tev. "I smell you all over her. "

  "Listen, big guy," said Tracy. "We're mated. That's it. Shouldn't you be happy for your brother?"

  "Listen, Tracy, don't speak about things which you know nothing about."

  "Do not speak to her like that," said Rev.

  "Are you insane? She's from a nonaligned world."

  "Yes, she is."

  "She's not Kerdim. She can't possibly understand how a mating binds a man and a woman."

  "It matters not. When I met her, I knew her to be mine. I felt it in my soul. Until you experience that for yourself, you cannot say anything about what binds us."

  Tev shook his head and turned away from Rev. "Well, you are on the run, and apparently so am I."

  "You could always turn me in," said Rev sarcastically. "You were about to, right?"

  "I like finding out all the information about a situation before I make a decision, Rev. You're my brother. Whatever affects you, affects me."

  "I'm sorry about that," said Rev.

  "I did enjoy being a tracker, but now that I'm aiding and abetting you, that's out the window." Tev flashed Tracy a dirty look.

  Tracy pursed her lips. It wasn't her fault all these things had happened. She had been peacefully on Earth, minding her own business before she was forced into a world of aliens and spaceships.

  "Maybe you can finally settle in at home and find your own mate," said Rev. "And for that you should thank Tracy. You know, she has saved my life multiple times. If it weren't for her, I'd have died on a desert planet far from home. So don't lay shit on her. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to rescue you from the wivers. I do assume you needed rescuing?"

  "I wouldn't say that," said Tev.

  "Oh really?"

  Tev's face flushed. "My cover was wearing thin," he admitted reluctantly.

  "I thought so," said Rev.

  Tev sighed. "Well, we are officially retired as trackers. There is only one place to go now, and that's home. I have no idea what we'll do when we get there, but we should call them with our happy news."

  The image of an older Kerdim man appeared on the screen above the instruments in the pilot's cabin. Tracy thought he looked distinguished, even handsome. He shared the same features as Rev and Tev, the shape of his face, eyebrows, and caramel-colored eyes. He smiled when he saw them. He seemed to be in a garden. Around him were green plants and flowers of every color. Behind the man were graceful pillars.

  "Sons!" he said, obviously happy to see his children.

  "Father," both men said.

  "I've not heard from either of you in a long time."

  "We were working, Father," said Rev.

  "But we are coming home now," said Tev.

  "Is there a problem? Or problems?" The man gave his sons penetrating stares.

  "Have you heard from Counselor Ja-Idin Du?" asked Rev.

  "Yes, and he told the most incredible story."

  Rev sucked in a breath.

  "But we can discuss all that when you get ho—”

  There was a brilliant flash of light on the screen followed by the sound of an explosion, and Rev's father fell.

  "Father!" both men yelled.

  They watched helplessly as one explosion after another tore through the areas in the background of the image. Screams and wails filled the air. A woman ran across the screen, crying and screaming, "The Emperor is dead. The Emperor is dead." When she saw the body on the ground she wailed even louder. "Prince Sev! Prince Sev! Oh gods, oh merciful gods."

  The blood in both men's faces drained, and Rev spoke first. "Theris, what happened to Father?"

  The woman heard his voice but didn't know where it was coming from. She looked around until she spied the transmitter. "Rev, Tev, oh gods, oh gods, they killed him too. I don't know who it was," she wailed. "All I know is that they are dead. The whole royal family."

  A final explosion cut through the air, and the transmission went dark. Rev and Tev sat in shock, staring at the blank monitor.

  Tracy moved forward and put her hand on Rev's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

  The screen lit up, but this time, they saw the scarred face of Zywth. "I know you watched that. You're still on my ship; don't you think I can pick up transmissions to and from it? What you saw was payback. You think you destroyed our operations on that desert world, but you don't know how deep we are. Our people are on every major planet in the Aligned Worlds, and we will not stop until you and brother are dead. You will not escape us."

  The screen went blank.

  Rev shot up from the pilot's seat and screamed at the monitor. "Fuck!" He was trembling with sorrow and rage.

  Tev sat motionless in his seat. Tracy did not know what to do. Her heart filled with anger at the criminals who had caused so much suffering. It was bad enough that they’d kidnapped her and her friend Carol, forcing Carol to undergo horrible genetic modifications, but these men would stop at nothing, killing a whole family to get revenge against two men who were only doing their jobs.

  She wrapped her arms around Rev and held him as he shook. They both sat powerless together. In the small space, Tracy reached for Tev's shoulder and held her hand there. Finally, Tev stood and joined Rev and Tracy, wrapping his arms around both of them. Standing there, crushed between the brothers, Tracy felt tears fall to her shoulders, and she wasn't sure whose they were.

  Rev lifted his head. "We must get home quickly," he said, his voice hoarse.

  "Yes, yes, of course," said Tev. "They will need us."

  "Who?" asked Tracy.

  "The people of the Kerdos Empire. If the royal family in the palace are dead..." Rev stopped, unable to say anything else, but Tracy understood. Rev and Tev were in the line of succession. If the Emperor and his family were dead, they stood to inherit the empire.

  "Let's go, then," she said gently. "It looks like there is work for you to do at home after all."

  There was little conversation on the journey to Kerdos. The brothers made themselves busy fixing things around the ship and generally avoiding interaction. Tracy sat behind the pilot's chair and dozed off. Her dreams were filled with
bizarre images. She found this happened when she didn't get enough sleep, and traveling with a couple of alien brothers wasn't doing any favors for her subconscious.

  She couldn't describe the images when she woke, but the memories haunted her. She had definitely been through too much in recent days. The events she’d survived weren't on anybody’s top ten list of things to do on vacation. She was bound to be edgy and jumpy.

  In the pilot's cabin, the screen above the controls was blank. Rev piloted the craft when necessary, while Tev inspected the ship, looking for anything that would allow Zywth to monitor their transmissions.

  "Where are you? Where are you?" Tev muttered in his frustration.

  "Why is he doing that?" said Tracy.

  "If Zywth can read our transmissions, he can also keep track of our location. Tev is looking for anything unfamiliar that might be sending out information about us."

  The idea made Tracy shiver. She took inventory of the aliens who had a grudge against her, and it was a long list already. They seemed to have made enemies with the Aligned Worlds justice system, the powerful Du, and a criminal enterprise with its tentacles stretched into every corner of the Aligned Worlds. It seemed, quite literally, that the entire universe was against them.

  A thought occurred to her. "Tev, how do you know Zywth put a bug on this ship? Maybe his changes aren't in the hardware at all. He may have had this vessel for a long time. Is it possible he changed the software so he can track us? Is there a software bug in here?"

  The brothers looked at each other. "It's certainly possible,” Tev said. “I'll add that to my list of things to check."

  "You should get some sleep.” Tracy turned to Rev. “You too. There's no telling what’s going on at home, but one thing for sure is that you’ll need to be as close to your best as possible."

  Tev shook his head. "Go, Rev. You sleep. I need to find this bug."

  Tracy bit her tongue. Tev would probably find it faster if he weren’t so fatigued, but it wasn't her place to say.

  "Come on," said Rev. "We'll sleep for a while, and then Tev can get some rest."

  She didn't even remember her head hitting the pillow.

  Once more, Tracy woke to the sound of a warning Klaxon.

  "What the fuck?" she said, sitting up suddenly. "Don't aliens have alarms like regular people?" Rev was snoring next to her. "Rev. Rev, there’s something wrong again. Wake up, Rev!"

  Rev woke and scrambled out of the bunk. He lumbered sleepily out of the cabin, and Tracy followed him.

  "Damn it!"

  They were over a planet covered with blue water, like Earth. Tracy noted the land masses were much different from her home planet though. It was lovely.

  What was not lovely was the armada of spaceships.

  Tev stared at the ships without saying anything.

  "Who's piloting those ships?" asked Rev.

  "It seems all our troubles have followed us here. There are Aligned Worlds ships, but I also recognize some from Quargan's pirate fleet. "

  The screen came to life, and Ja-Idin Du's face filled the screen. "Ar-Teven, I address my remarks to you. I hope you will be reasonable. Your status as a tracker will not be affected if you turn Ar-Reven and Noc Walsh over to us. If you do not, your nation's status as an Aligned Worlds member may suffer. Even now, there is a petition before the Aligned Worlds congress to interdict the Kerdos Empire."

  "I see," said Tev coldly. "I should turn over my brother to you because of what?"

  "The crimes he committed," said Du.

  "If he had been given the information I asked to be sent to him, the crimes would not have occurred."

  "I cannot answer for the actions of the Enforcement Wing, and I do not respond to hypothetical scenarios."

  "Oh, you can't?" said Tracy. "Can you answer why those pirate ships are here, and why your fleet is doing nothing about them?"

  "I do not see any pirate ships," said Du innocently. "Those are merely trading vessels."

  "They have an awful lot of guns for merchant ships," muttered Tracy. "Rev, you are recording this, aren't you?"

  "I am getting every word."

  Du's dark-skinned face lost some of its color. "If you refuse to cooperate, you will all die." With that, the screen blinked off.

  "The Aligned World ships are retreating," said Tev.

  "Yeah," said Tracy. "To leave the pirates to do his dirty work."

  The view screen went on again, only this time it was filled with the ugliest, meanest face Tracy had ever seen. His skin was a deep black peppered with scars. His right ear clung to his head in tatters, and his lips curled into a scowl. "So, Tev, Zywth was right about you after all. A traitor."

  "Hello, Quargan, a pleasure, as always."

  "Until now. Pray to your gods and prepare to meet them."

  "Pray? Pray?" said Tracy anxiously.

  Quargan's gaze turned to Tracy. "So this is the piece of nonaligned trash that has the Aligned Worlds all in an uproar. You seem like such a little thing. Hardly a threat to anyone, yet I promised Du I would take care of this."

  "Why would you do anything for Ja-Idin Du?" Tracy said, surprised.

  "It's complicated, and it doesn't matter." Quargan turned away to address the ships remaining in orbit around Kerdos. "Fleet, this is Quargan. On my orders, fire on the transport ship. After you're done, I expect to see nothing left." The view screen went dark.

  Chapter Forty

  Alarms rang throughout the ship. Rev looked at a monitor. "Every ship in orbit is arming their weapons, and they're pointed right at us!"

  Tracy conjured up the ugly face of the pirate, enjoying the feeling of cold rage washing over her. How dare he? How dare he try to take her life when she'd been through so much? He had no idea who he was messing with. She looked at the array of ships, many of them almost as large as a battle cruiser. The planet was still visible through the cloud of spacecraft. Seeing the planet gave Tracy an idea.

  "Rev, we still have engine power, right?" she asked. "Can we move closer to the planet?"

  A slow smile spread across Rev's face. "Yes!" he said triumphantly. "I understand."

  "Understand?" said Tev. "Understand what?"

  "They'll have to follow us into the atmosphere to shoot us down," said Tracy. She sat quickly in a seat and buckled in as the transport banked sharply and dove into the atmosphere.

  They were headed for the capital planet of the Kerdos Empire.

  The spacecraft descended violently into the atmosphere. If Tracy had not been strapped in, the shaking and bucking would have given her a concussion. From her seat, she watched the screen, trying to keep an eye on the ships trying to shoot them down. Four of the smaller ships had followed and were firing lasers at them. Fortunately, because of the turbulence, they couldn't land a hit.

  Another warning sounded throughout the ship, and a voice spoke. It was the ship's computer. Insertion angle too steep. Level off to avoid crash landing.

  The ship bucked wildly. Tracy's heart thumped as the ship began to spin around in a circle. Her stomach lurched as Rev and Tev worked the controls furiously in a futile attempt to regain control of the ship. They fell straight through the clouds, and Tracy saw a lush carpet of green beneath them.

  The brothers were sweating now, drops falling off their green brows. The ship shuddered as Rev managed to level the ship and bring its trajectory under his command. At the same time, a team of fighter craft swept up past them, firing on their pursuers. The lead ship following them was blown apart. A second ship tried to escape but was unable to evade the heavy fire and was destroyed. The final two ships fled in a full retreat. Half the patrol followed them in pursuit, and the other half settled around their transport in an escort formation.

  "Your Highnesses, this is Commander Ta-Crevon. We have been monitoring transmissions, anticipating your arrival. With your permission we will escort you to Ombrit Air Station. The High Council awaits you there."

  "Thank you, Commander," said Tev, giving a sigh of
relief. "Permission granted."

  The transport rumbled down the military runway, and Rev guided it to a halt. When the ship came to a stop, Tev glanced at his brother. "You act like you've done this all your life," he said. "Did you do that much flying while we were apart?"

  "No," said Rev. Then he leaned over and whispered something in Tev's ear. His brother laughed.

  "Quite right, quite right." Tev turned to Tracy and winked at her.

  "What? What's that?" said Tracy. "Are you talking about me?"

  "Not at all."

  Tracy crossed her arms. "I'm an alien, that doesn't mean I'm deaf or stupid."

  Rev just shrugged his shoulders. "Let us go meet the High Council."

  When they reached the hatch, Tev pushed some buttons on the panel next to it. Soon, warm sunshine streamed down on them as they stood in the open hatchway. Tracy saw that a set of temporary stairs had been pushed against the hull. A green carpet lay on the tarmac below them, and a row of soldiers lined either side of it. Rev led the way, holding Tracy's hand as they descended the stairs. Tev followed behind closely. Feeling land under her feet again was strange, and Tracy felt oddly heavy. She stumbled.

  "Easy," said Rev. "The gravity on this planet is stronger than what you are used to, but we know from experience that you’ll adjust with time."

  It was a short walk to the end of the carpet, but even with Rev on one side and Tev on the other, both holding her up, Tracy felt exhausted at the end of it. They stopped in front of a line of finely dressed people who knelt in unison.

  "You may stand," said Tev.

  "My lords, Ar-Teven, Ar-Reven, we are pleased you have returned home so quickly after the tragedy."

  "Pa-Kregan," said Rev, "I am pleased to present to you my mate, Tracy Walsh of Earth. She is a brave woman of noble blood."

  "My lady," said Pa-Kregan. Tracy did not detect any warmth in his words. "We are pleased that one of our princes has taken a mate. This will weigh heavily in the council's decision."

  "Decision? What decision?" she said.

  "Why, who should sit on the throne of Kerdos, of course."