A hero of the people.
Kam glanced at her, and his eyes narrowed. “You know a lot about me.”
She shrugged. “Know thy enemy.”
“I’m not your enemy, Halah.”
The look in his eyes actually seemed sincere. Too bad. She couldn’t take the chance of lowering her guard. “So you say.” At this point, she considered everyone either a current enemy or a probable, future enemy. Life proved safer that way.
Their turn arrived, and they stepped to the front of the line. Halah met the seated man’s stare without flinching. Here we go.
“How many?” he asked, paying her little attention.
“Three.”
He looked over her captives. “Two males and a female?”
“That’s right.”
“Mine workers, medical research, sex service, personal attendance, or return for auction?” He recited the list as if he’d said it a hundred times today already.
“Personal attendance—all three.”
“Your name?”
“Halah Shirota.”
“ID number?”
“HS-48-114.”
He checked her records. “You’re cleared for up to four slaves. These are your first, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Their names?”
She hesitated, but only a moment. She hoped he didn’t notice. “Leila, Erik, and Kam.” She pointed out each of them. In case this whole thing backfired on her, she had to tell as much of the truth as she could.
She wouldn’t be able to claim ignorance of their identities, because of her prior Earth mission to locate them.
“Last names?”
“They didn’t tell me.” She knew from their files, but this man didn’t know that. If questioned later, she could claim he didn’t ask…or something. She could fool most of her adversaries, as long as no one who personally knew her history discovered the deception.
“Origin?” When she didn’t immediately answer again, the man looked up from his computer screen. His eyes narrowed. “Xylon Warriors?”
No matter their clothing, they held themselves like Warriors. She’d bluff. “They arrived in an unmarked orbiter, not a Xylon civilian or Warrior-tagged vessel.” Again, she told the truth, though made it sound a bit misleading. Xylons were highly sought after, and Warrior slaves were considered a prize. Nobody would lie about such a capture. He’d have no reason to check further. They didn’t need that much time to finish this mission. Hopefully, she’d be off-planet by the time their deception became known.
Without full names, the three wouldn’t pop up on the computer as wanted by Dome Authorities upon data entry. That would buy them extra time. The Dome consolidated records at the end of each extended work cycle. Once that occurred, their identities would be matched up, but they’d all definitely be out of here by then. If they wanted to live, and regain their freedom, they had no other choice but to guarantee departure before the consolidation, whether they’d accomplished the mission or not.
“Step to the side for tagging and a body and retina scan.” He handed Halah a coded card.
Leila, Erik, and Kam each received a wristband coded with their information, and retina scans were taken. Then, one by one, they stepped into a box-shaped body scanner. Hopefully, Rave had taken care of things as promised or alarms would sound like crazy due to their breeder status.
“They’re clear,” she was told. “Do you want them collared?”
“No. It’s not necessary. They’re more docile than they look.” If collared, they’d be almost completely under The Dome’s control. Pain was sent through the collars to punish or contain an unruly slave, as well as monitoring whereabouts and physical health. The only way to disengage a collar was from the main control room. She didn’t have access to that, nor did she know how to operate the system.
“You understand one public infraction and the collar becomes mandatory.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Very well. You can go. Next!”
Halah breathed a sigh of relief. She led them out of the room and into a large courtyard. Egesa, Dome workers, and owners with slaves headed to various destinations.
Between the emotional and physical strain, Halah felt nauseous. They needed to get to her quarters soon, before she collapsed. Unfortunately, they’d have to walk. Slaves weren’t allowed to use transport-connectors. Not that she’d trust them with a connector, as she’d said earlier. But it certainly would make the journey easier.
Erik looked around. “I didn’t realize so much of The Dome was aboveground. Our intelligence hasn’t kept up with Daegal’s development plans.”
“They’ve expanded The Dome over the past few months. Many areas are still under construction. The main control areas and all high-level quarters are still underground. Some other facilities and quarters, as well. The transport center we came through is actually a secondary facility, which is why it wasn’t very busy. The main transports are still kept underground until needed, then they’re brought up through the transport lift, much like in The Lair. Now, follow me, and don’t cause any problems, especially in public.
If you’re fitted with a collar, you will remain here on a permanent basis, because I won’t be able to unlock you.”
“Torque knows how to unlock the collars,” Leila said. “He did it on the Egesa ship where we were held.”
“Well,” Halah sighed, her frustration level rising. “This Torque person isn’t here, is he? So, do as I say.”
Moving out of the center court to a shaded area, she took out her vid-cell and called Dak. No way could she walk the distance to her quarters. He’d have to pick them up.
* * * * *
Daegal pulled his wrap closed and sat in front of his panel of monitors. He longed for the days when he used to take a hands-on approach to running The Dome. Now, with his physical problems, he rarely left his quarters. Most days, Gabriella kept him satisfied with her exceptional lust. He felt ten years younger every time he fucked her. At least his prowess hadn’t dampened with his other weaknesses.
But something was afoot. He felt it. Her sexual talents aside, he knew she’d already betrayed him once, and he suspected her of doing so again on an even larger scale. He wasn’t as gullible as she’d like to believe.
For some time now, she’d been poisoning his food, and drugging the Top Commander’s. He’d noticed from the first taste, his senses still ultra-keen. Soon after, they had both started ingesting a special counteragent that prevented the poison’s absorption—provided by his personal Healer—and would continue to do so, until he figured out her plans and decided how to take care of her.
Neither of them needed to feign sickness, because their decrease in power and growing pain from their already existing medical problems fooled her into thinking her actions were the cause. The conniving bitch. He’d never confided the whole truth of his illness to her. Nor had he ever revealed the Top Commander’s illness at all, since the man still seemed fairly able-bodied and in control of himself. That decision now worked to his advantage. Their decrease in health would appear to her as caused by her poison. She’d regret her actions. A particularly nasty surprise would befall her very soon. Nobody betrayed him.
After a quick knock, and without waiting for entry permission, the Top Commander rushed into his quarters. “Good. You’re here. Sorry to interrupt. We have trouble.” He glanced down at Daegal’s lack of clothes. “Hmm. Just a guess, but have you spent the day fucking Gabriella?”
“Why?” Strange thing to ask.
“Rave jumped me and wouldn’t let me out of bed, until just a while ago. She was quite aggressive about it. More so than usual. Looks like Gabriella did the same to you.”
Ah, so the plot turned even more intriguing. “Interesting. Most likely, they didn’t want us to see something that occurred today. Reset the monitors to track their movements more closely.” Not long ago, he’d watched them fucking on video. Mildly entertaining. And they’d also met several time
s on
“business”, according to Gabriella, though she never related any details. “Given Gabriella’s deception lately, I think it’s safe to assume those two are working together and planning something.”
“Agreed. I’ll take care of the monitoring. Do you want to review the day’s vid-disks to see if we can spot anything?”
“That would take forever, since we wouldn’t know which area to view. This whole planet is monitored.
Put some trusted men on it instead.”
“Will do.”
“Wait, let me check Gabriella’s recent browsing.” He typed in some commands at his control panel. “It looks like she’s been viewing the slave processing area, the upper transport center, and Med Lab more than any others. Concentrate on those areas first.”
“All right.”
“What did you bust in for?” The man had come here for a reason, before they’d gotten distracted by Gabriella and Rave’s nefarious activities. “You said something about trouble.” Just what they didn’t need more of.
“I’m getting in reports of Egesa collapsing all over the place and dying just as suddenly.”
His heart lurched. He needed the Egesa. “Everywhere?”
“Just in The Dome right now.”
Daegal wondered if Gabriella had poisoned their food source as well. “Have all food sources checked.
How has this hurt us so far? And what’s your assessment long range?”
“I’ve received some reports of slave uprisings in the mines. Nowhere else yet. Our plans for Xylon are still set. No off-moon Egesa have been affected that I can verify. I’m dispersing Assassins where I can, to maintain control. The Lair has shut down. They probably picked up our troop movements, and they may have made a deal with Gabriella to arrange the poisoning. They’re wily bastards. If all the Egesa perish, we won’t be able to maintain defense of the moon.”
“Call those who are off-moon back, except for the ones on the Xylon mission.”
“Shouldn’t the mission be delayed? If there’s a strong retaliation, we won’t be able to defeat them.”
“For now, just have our patrols stand by. I’ll make a final decision after I know the extent of the problem.”
* * * * *
Kam helped Halah into her quarters. “Easy.” She looked pale and ready to pass out. She’d already stumbled twice since they left the rover topside. She refused to allow herself to be carried.
Erik and Leila entered behind them, followed by Dak. “You need me to stay, Halah?” Dak asked.
“No, I’ll be fine with them. Go back and watch over Bron. I don’t trust Marid’s Healers to take care of him without some supervision.”
Kam studied her face. She immediately masked the concern in her eyes, as if embarrassed to show she cared.
She carefully sat on a beige lounger and leaned back. As Dak left, she waved toward a door. “Leila and Erik, the slave area is over there. That’s where you two will stay.”
“What about Kam?” Leila asked.
“He stays with me.”
Kam stood frozen in place, shocked at her statement. He’d noticed her interest in him, but hadn’t expected her to take him into her bedchamber. He didn’t say anything to dissuade her though. This turn of events might be to their advantage.
If he shared her bed, he could watch Halah’s actions more closely and make sure she didn’t try to betray them to Daegal. He didn’t like to think about her switching loyalties, but knew they needed to practice caution where she was concerned. Beyond that, the idea of possible sex with her wasn’t an unpleasant one.
Leila’s voice came out tight. “I need to change your bandages to something more sterile. And I’d like to apply a salve to fight infection.”
“Fine. Medical supplies are in that cabinet by the laundry processor.”
Kam and Erik exchanged a quick glance. Erik hid his thoughts, but Leila obviously disapproved of the arrangements. Her whole demeanor screamed her feelings. Kam couldn’t signal anything to Erik because of Halah’s Class 1 Warrior training. She knew what the signals meant. They’d have to talk later. He looked down at Halah instead, while Leila hovered over her, checking her wounds. “We need to wrap up this mission quickly. Can I get on your computer?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is it password-protected?”
“No, but the information you’re seeking will be.”
“I’ll handle it.” Torque was better at cracking code, but he’d manage. He knew what information they already had and what they still needed on Daegal and The Dome. If he found the data, Marid wouldn’t stand a chance against the more technologically advanced Xylon. Even with former Warriors in their camp, they’d been unable to progress at the same rate as The Lair.
* * * * *
Braden hung his head as tears burned his eyes. He took a deep breath, refusing to show his emotions while in the Control Center with other Warriors milling around.
Torque continued to flip switches and type in command codes. “Are you sure that is Alexa’s correct tracking code?”
“Yes. You can double-check the code in the database.” He couldn’t handle this. He felt like shouting, tearing up the room, running until he collapsed from exhaustion.
His mate. Alexa. His love. His children. Gone.
“Damn it!” Torque hit the control board. “Nothing. I can’t even track her transport-connector. It’s like that particular handheld never existed. This doesn’t make any sense. I’ve run a diagnostic twice, and I can’t find any errors in the system.”
So, that was that. The main tracker hadn’t been operational for long, and apparently bugs still existed.
No other explanation seemed feasible. With a heavy heart, Braden turned from the data screens and headed out of the room.
“Braden? Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t, even if he had known where he was going, which he didn’t. He just hoped Torque let him go. He couldn’t face anyone right now. He needed time alone to think.
“I’ll keep looking, Braden.”
Home. That’s where he’d go, where he could feel Alexa’s presence and see her soft touches. He stepped out into the corridor. Empty. Good. Torque didn’t follow, and no one else stopped him.
Again, he tried to locate Alexa through the connection between their implanted brain chips. He concentrated as hard as he could.
Empty. Black. Dead. A scream welled up inside him, but he contained his pain. If he broke down now, he’d certainly lose his sanity for all time.
A body. He needed to see her body. Without that, he would never believe she was truly gone and always wonder if she was waiting for him to come for her.
He needed to make plans for an extensive search. He’d do it alone if need be, if the Council refused to release a search party.
Stopping in mid-stride, he turned and smashed his fist into the wall. He didn’t care about the pain.
Without Alexa, he didn’t care about anything.
* * * * *
Leila joined Erik in the slave area and sat down with him among a pile of dingy pillows. Strangely, she didn’t feel the exhaustion she’d expected. “You look relaxed, given the situation.” “Looks are deceiving. How’s Halah?”
“She’ll be all right. Kam is still on her computer, searching for the information we need. Are these quarters safe?” She glanced around, wondering if they were being monitored.
“I couldn’t find any monitors or listening devices, but then I don’t have any special equipment to locate anything that might be well-hidden.”
“Do you think we can trust her?” She’d already decided Halah unworthy of trust, but she wanted Erik’s opinion.
“No. She’s a traitor. I’ll never trust her, and you shouldn’t either.”
“Agreed. What’s next?”
“We’ll need to contact Braden, when we can. Let him know our status. And check up on Halah’s sister to make sure she’s in place.”
“Halah
is not going to let us do that. If the transmission is picked up by Marid Control—”
“She has to know a secure way to do it. She contacted Braden with no problems.”
“Well, true.” She glanced toward the door. “Have you noticed the interest she’s taken in Kam?”
“Difficult not to.” He turned her chin back toward him and smiled. “Jealous?”
Though Erik smiled, she saw the serious question in his eyes. “Concerned. I don’t want him hurt. She wants to use him.”
“I think he’s smart enough to figure her out. Maybe he can keep her in line. And I don’t think he’ll mind a little suck and fuck if she jumps him.” Erik chuckled, dropping his hand from her chin to a pillow.
“I’m not amused. She almost electrocuted him on Earth.” She worried about Kam and wondered if he needed another shot for his headaches. He hadn’t said anything, but then she doubted he would until the mission ended, no matter his pain.
“Me, too. She delivers a powerful zap.”
Her hands fluttered over his arms and chest. Fear over what could have happened to him gripped her.
“She’s dangerous, Erik.”
“Don’t worry.” He grasped her hand and kissed the palm. “She won’t hurt him. We need the sterilization formula and a safe way out of here. She needs the information on her sister. It’s a perfect arrangement.
So, for now, you might as well relax.”
“I just want this over with.”
“I know, but we won’t be able to get into the Med Lab undetected until the early hours of the morning at best. And Kam may need a few days to retrieve the information from the computer, depending on the security.”
Leila sighed. “I know you’re right. But how am I supposed to relax?”
“Oh, I can think of a few ways.”
* * * * *
Kam turned off Halah’s computer. He’d copied the information he’d retrieved onto a disk. Where he was going to hide it, he wasn’t sure. A slave couldn’t walk around toting a data disk. For now, he just set it next to the computer screen. The data was almost too easy to find and unlock. Suspicion nagged at him. He shook his head, dismissing the feeling, and attributing his uneasiness to a mission he wanted ended before all hell broke loose. If the information he’d found proved accurate, they’d be able to destroy The Dome and everyone in it.
His Carnal Need (Xylon Warriors 2) Page 20
