Warrior Spirit

by Laura Kaighn

  Coty regarded his friend bent forward in the chair elbows resting on his knees. Vesarius knew his shoulders were slumped in fatigue. Some first officer he must seem. “At least you’re alive,” Coty said as if reading the Vesar’s mind. “Not exactly spotless or unharmed though. How did that happen?” The captain pointed to Vesarius’ puffy jaw.

  “An escape attempt.” The warrior rose stiffly from his chair. “I took a tumble down a mountain.”

  Coty’s frown deepened. “Lonnie’s waiting.” He clasped the Vesar’s arm in guidance. “We’ll get you patched up.”

  “I can walk,” Vesarius asserted tugging back his appendage and stepping to the hatch. He did not notice his friends exchange concerned glances. Dorinda retrieved the Vesar’s pack and followed her captain down from the transport.

  Within minutes, Yolonda Sheradon ushered them into the medical lab and Vesarius to a stasis bed. “You look better than I expected,” she admitted running a scanner over him as he passed her. No one spoke as the bruised Vesar sat down with a heavy sigh. He gripped the edge of the platform with mahogany fists. Then Sheradon scowled at her instrument readings and grumbled, “Hello. What’s this?” She halted her scanner over his lower right ribcage. “You’ve a nasty one here. How’d this happen?”

  Vesarius only shrugged. “I cannot remember. I only know I tried to escape last night. I fell down the mountain.”

  “You probably landed on a rock,” Sheradon surmised sliding her hand up under the Vesar’s leather shirt. “Someone’s bandaged this. Take off your shirt.”

  Jumping up to sit beside his Bondmate, Tundra watched as Vesarius unlaced his tunic along its left seam then gingerly tugged the garment over his head. The Alaskan malamute let loose a disapproving rumble. “I am not badly injured, boy,” Vesarius reassured as Tundra sniffed at the bandaged injury and curled his lips.

  “You reek of Orthop,” Sheradon complained. “He’s probably agreeing with me. You need a shower.”

  “I do not believe I could stand that long,” Vesarius admitted, his shoulders slumping again. “Ah!”

  Sheradon shared his grimace when she tugged the bandage from his side. “What kind of glue do these Orthops use?”

  “Organic,” Vesarius provided then twisted to inspect the wound. “It is not bad.”

  Sheradon slapped his hand away. “I’ll be the judge of that, mister. Your filthy paws have no place here.”

  Dorinda stepped closer with a pained expression. Vesarius saw her distress and smiled. “It will be gone in a day,” he reminded her. “Yet another warrior blaze.”

  She scowled at him. “You adorn yourself with scars as some men do tattoos.” Then Dorinda winced as Sheradon gingerly spread the bloody gash apart to check for debris.

  “It’s been well cleaned. Your clothes too, Sarius,” Sheradon said locking eyes with him. “You would have been bleeding badly from this, yet your clothes are spotless. You can’t remember where you got this?”

  Vesarius shrugged. “I have also hit my head. My memory is ... fuzzy.”

  Frowning Sheradon shook her crown. “Well, this won’t do. Those rebel Orthops promised your safety, and they released a battered Vesar instead.”

  “It is my fault, Doctor,” Vesarius countered as Sheradon sprayed the wound with disinfectant. “I grew restless and snuck out in the dark. Rukdektt Mountain is hazardous traveling at night.”

  “So that’s what they call your prison camp,” Lonnie retorted. “I’d say it’s hazardous during the day as well.” Then she turned her attention to their expectant captain. “He’ll live. I’ll patch him up then send him to his quarters for rest. I’ll require that he take at least twenty-four hours.”

  Nodding in grim agreement, Michael Bear Coty regarded his first officer. “Welcome back, my friend. Remind me to berate you later for your carelessness.” Then Coty marched from the room his jasper eyes as weary as the Vesar’s.

  “He’s been growling ever since the ambassador refused a rescue attempt,” Sheradon explained. “The last thing he wanted was to send Dorinda down after you. We could have lost you both.” Lonnie spread her synthoskin salve over the Vesar’s wound. “Bear wouldn’t have been able to live with himself.”

  “I am to blame,” Vesarius agreed. He grunted as Sheradon pressed the edges of the jagged wound together and sealed them with tape. “I grew complacent and disregarded caution. I should have anticipated trouble.”

  “But they were adoring you,” Dorinda countered from beside the bed. “There’s no way you could have expected trouble.”

  “A Vesar does not let a pleasant situation shut down his senses,” Vesarius explained. “If I had not been conversing with you, I would have heard the Orthops approaching.”

  Dorinda flapped her arms at him. “They were all around us, Sarius. How could you’ve heard anything suspicious?”

  “My captor had a modified plasma pistol, set on stun. I would have heard him draw it from his wing sheath had I been paying attention.” His head aching, Vesarius dropped his chin to rub his neck just below his hairline. “Tolianksalya was correct in refusing to assist. It was my own smugness which got me captured.” Raising stricken eyes to Dorinda, he added with conviction, “I would not have been able to live with myself had you been killed.”

  “All right, Commander. Lie down while I finish my exam,” Sheradon interrupted gently pushing Vesarius toward the pillow. With a low growl, Tundra wriggled out from under the warrior then jumped down from the platform.

  Dorinda knelt to comfort the malamute. “It’s all right, boy. Those creatures let him go.” Vesarius heard her mumble into the dog’s fur, “He’s alive.”

  “Minor lacerations, all sterile. Various contusions. A nasty blow to the jaw and temple. No broken bones or apparent skull fracture,” Sheradon verbally checked off as her scanner finished its sweep. “Here,” she added passing the Vesar a dermic syringe. “It’s a dose of nutro-supplement with a pain suppressant. Administer this only once you’re in your own bed. It’ll help your metabolism work on these. Once you’re back among the conscious, I suggest a good bath and a hearty meal.”

  “Heavy on the vegetables and meat,” Vesarius finished for her. “Yes, Doc.” He sat up with a low groan to add, “I will need someone to tuck me in.”

  “Huh. Don’t look at me,” Sheradon blurted. “My bedside manner stops at that door.”

  “I’ll go with you, Sarius,” Dorinda offered rising beside Tundra then stepping forward to help her friend stand.

  “Twenty-four hours, Commander. Then I want you back here for medical clearance before returning to duty.”

  “Yes, Doctor.” Vesarius headed for the exit careful not to jolt his aching head. “I can walk,” he assured when Dorinda reached to brace him with her free arm. Her other was occupied, dragging his pack beside her.

  “All right.” Dorinda hastily lowered her arm. “Do you need a bedtime story too?”

  She was obviously trying to cheer them both. With a twitch of his mouth Vesarius retorted, “Do you know the one about the three little Vesar and the big bad Orthop?”

  Sighing in apparent relief, Dorinda’s shoulders visibly straightened as if a heavy pack had been lifted from them. Vesarius understood; she needed reassurance after her scare in the transport. Dorinda needed to know he was the same man he had been yesterday.

  Seemingly satisfied by his attempt at humor, Dorinda followed him into the lift to ascend to his cabin. When they had arrived, Vesarius trudged inside. Raising the dermic syringe to his neck he depressed the button. The dosage of nutrients and pain suppressants hissed coolly into his bloodstream helping him relax.

  “Whoa!” Dorinda cautioned, dropping the pack and rushing to brace him. “Lonnie said you had to be in bed first. This stuff’s quick acting.” Together they limped toward the sleeping platform.

  “Leave me now. I will be fine.” Vesarius plopped his buttocks upon the bed. He tossed his discarded tunic onto the couch then flopped his head against the pillow despite hi
s protesting skull.

  “What about the bedtime story?” Dorinda leaned to gently brush away loose strands of hair from his face.

  “Make it a wakeup call,” he murmured and allowed his heavy lids to drop shut.

  “All right, but I want to stay with you.”

  “No,” Vesarius rumbled lowly, barely able to remain conscious under the relaxing medication. “Toliank...”

  Chapter 11: Reconciliation

  Dorinda straightened over Vesarius’ bed. He was about to say ‘Tolianksalya’. The ambassador again. Why did everything have to be so secretive? Then she remembered; Tolianksalya knew. She had blurted it out in anger. “Damn it, Sarius,” Dorinda huffed under her breath. “It’s already too late.”

  How could she tell him? How could Dorinda explain that, at the time, she’d been certain Vesarius was about to be killed? That she’d been enraged at Tolianksalya’s apathy? The ambassador knew about them; he would deny them Vwafar´ee.

  Sinking onto the couch, Dorinda watched Vesarius’ chest rise and fall. Her fear and frustration escalated with his every breath. He would be furious.

  Vesarius had warned her: Fury was something to be avoided, certainly not something of which to be the recipient. Vesarius had admitted that Vesar Fury could kill, would kill under certain circumstances. If the Fury could not be quelled, the results were deadly. Vesarius must not be told. But Dorinda couldn’t lie to him. She couldn’t disregard the truth. Coty couldn’t even help in this matter. Only the ambassador ...

  Popping to her feet, Dorinda took one last glance at her sleeping lover. The dark swelling at his jawline reminded her of her own ache. Would this universe welcome or destroy their love? Even with all his strength and resilience, in that moment – asleep on the bed – Vesarius was vulnerable. Dorinda must plead with Tolianksalya. Ask him to grant Vesarius’ request.

  Despite the ambassador’s anger, he had said he respected her attempts to understand Vesar ways. Now it was time to put those lessons to task. Marching from Vesarius’ quarters, Dorinda went in search of the elder dignitary. She did not notice Vesarius’ twitching, shaking frame as she left, could not have known about the return of his strange tunnel dream.

  As she strode through the corridor, Dorinda tried to compose her argument. Noah intercepted her at her quarters. Sighing she admitted, “You’re right. I’ll be more presentable once I get this stench off of me.” Trudging inside, Dorinda stripped, stepped into the shower, then redressed and re-braided her hair. Noah’s wisdom had gone beyond the bath. Dorinda had had time to calm her emotions.

  With a grateful smile, she bent to kiss her otter Kinpanion then advised, “You better not come along. This could get loud. Go find Tundra and cheer him up. He’s awfully angry with Vesarius.” Chirping his acknowledgement, the otter bounded out of the cabin and disappeared, a furry slinky down the corridor.

  Dorinda found the ambassador in the observation lounge on deck five. The elder warrior was brooding over a datapad. “May I talk with you, Ambassador? There’s something I need to know.”

  Raising his dark eyes to regard the smaller humanoid, the Vesar simply grunted noncommittally and returned his gaze to his notes. Dorinda approached the man, her stomach twirling into knots. She wondered what had happened to his entourage. It was the first time she had seen the ambassador alone. As she pulled out a chair to sit, Tolianksalya asked with cold disregard, “Your mate is unharmed?”

  Dorinda blinked at the question but swallowed any stronger retort. “He’s resting. During an escape attempt, the commander sustained some injuries. He’ll live.”

  The ambassador huffed. “Unfortunate.” He did not raise his eyes from the datapad.

  Another test? Dorinda fought a strong urge to reprimand the elder Vesar. But she was nobody. Tolianksalya held all the power. “I’m sorry you hate him so,” she offered forcibly leveling her voice. She could feel the trembling of adrenaline coursing into her legs and arms. She must not show weakness. “In my time, prejudice was usually segregated across races. Not often did it occur between kin.”

  Slowly Tolianksalya laid his pad on his lap to regard her. “You agree that to break the law is forgivable?” Entwining his fingers over the device, the ambassador leaned forward awaiting an answer.

  “I agree, Ambassador, that hurting another sentient being is punishable. But the degree of the punishment should match the crime.” Dorinda gulped her disdain, stiff-backed in her chair.

  “How much do you know of Tankawankanyi’s crime?”

  Dorinda blinked again. The question not only surprised her, it had been voiced as a challenge as well. “He’s ... explained it to me. He’s even told me of your involvement.”

  “Did he tell you of the crystal shipment? The one the human Tanoki stole?”

  “Yes,” Dorinda said nodding. “The crystal came from the Tankawankanyi mines in the mountains behind the family homestead.”

  “Did he tell you he was the one who had promised Tanoki the crystal?”

  “What?”

  “I thought not.” With a satisfied shove backward in his chair, Tolianksalya rose to pace past her. “During his years off world,” the ambassador explained, “the commander, then captain of the Pvokx, remained in contact with the human mercenary. His and Tanoki’s relationship was ... closer ... than that with his parents. Young Tankawankanyi pledged a shipment of zircontian crystal from his matriarch’s mine. This without her permission ... or her knowledge.”

  “But why would he do that? What did Tanoki need the crystal for?”

  “Your mate was helping the trader procure a settlement on Drianara Four. Tanoki needed a large sum of capital to purchase the land, an expanse of virgin plateau country. Tankawankanyi neglected to discuss this with Dromalae, his mother.”

  “Then Tanoki came to collect his crystal, thinking it was his right,” Dorinda surmised.

  “Dromalae could not have known, and Karn had never trusted Tanoki. Of course they refused to relinquish the stores. And they died of their ignorance. The commander is without shame.”

  “But, Ambassador, that was almost a decade ago. If his parents have forgiven him, why can’t you?”

  “Simple,” Tolianksalya rumbled leaning over her. “Dromalae was my sister. I loved her, and your mate betrayed her. Willingly, he murdered,” the ambassador snarled into Dorinda’s ear. Then he straightened to march away. “Now the Grilcmzáe desires to become Vesar again? Mate with a human female in traditional Vesar bonding?” Tolianksalya threw up his mahogany arms. “It is outrageous to even contemplate.” He paused to consider the wall with its starscaped portal. “Tankawankanyi should have died … years ago.” Then the ambassador’s glower spun her way. “You, as a human, could not possibly understand his insolence.”

  “I do understand one thing, Ambassador,” Dorinda countered squaring her chin and rising also. “The commander’s stubbornness has beaten the odds many times. He’s paid for his mistake in years of solitude and guilt. And he’s survived to ask for your forgiveness. To deny him Vwafar´ee would be as if you’d murdered his spirit.”

  “I did not ask for this responsibility, Khumahn!” Tolianksalya bellowed. He stomped toward her with clenched fists. “I was content to leave him dead. He haunts me ... as if I am the guilty one. I am not! Brune must remain Grilcmzáe for the good of all Vesar. Forgiveness cannot be allowed.”

  The ambassador was towering over her now, steel hands clamping like vises about her shoulders. Dorinda had to cool his ire before she was tossed like a doll across the room. “Then I ask you to forgive him. Please. I love him … as much as you did your sister. Hearts can’t heal, Ambassador, if hate is all that pumps within.”

  Instead of crushing her, Tolianksalya dropped his arms. He pivoted to face the open portal of stars. Dorinda gathered a ragged breath and stepped beside him, waiting for an answer. She watched his jaw clench in restrained Fury. Saw his fists knuckle then relax. He wasn’t going to agree.

  Suddenly deeply saddened by this powerf
ul man who could cherish only animosity, Dorinda blinked back a lone tear. She turned from Tolianksalya to trudge for the door.

  “Stay, Jade,” the ambassador commanded though his voice was hesitant in lost authority. “I have not yet given you my answer.”

  “I know what it’ll be,” Dorinda murmured. “Vesar obstinacy is legendary. Even if I’ve only known it for a short time.”

  Twisting toward her stiffly, the ambassador cocked his head. “Why is it my perception that you have not been here long? There is something uncommon about you, Jade.”

  Shrugging Dorinda admitted, “That’s because I’m an accident from the twentieth century. I’m only here because of the Mytoki.”

  Now the ambassador’s dark eyes expanded. “You are the one.” Striding to intercept her, Tolianksalya explained, “There have been rumors about a victim of the Arch, a person trapped here when the machine was destroyed. Only Alliance personnel with HQT clearance even know of the Arch.” His eyes traveled along her slender-muscled frame. Dorinda’s skin prickled at the scrutiny. “You are a remarkable human ... to have adjusted so quickly. It is hard to imagine you not belonging here ... in this time.”

  Dorinda released a sigh to admit, “It took a lot of work, Ambassador, and a lot of love from this crew. I’ve been soaking up every scrap of information. Playing catch-up.”

  “I ... I am honored to know you, Dorinda Jade,” Tolianksalya said with a stiff salute. “You indeed own a warrior’s spirit.”

  “Then are Vesarius and I that different?” Dorinda countered. “So different that our bonding would be … vile to the Vesar people? Can’t we prove to you ... Can’t I prove to you, that I’m worthy? If Vwafar´ee is the ultimate test, then let us experience it. If we survive, we’ll have proven our tenacity and our devotion to each other.”

  “Your devotion is not in question, Jade,” the ambassador retorted. “Now that I know who you are, I respect even more your bravery in returning to Orthop to rescue Brune. You … You are the bravest human I have ever met. It is truth you love the commander, as I did Dromalae.”