The kar returned, dropped something else by the door, picked up the blanket, and crossed back to her. She reached up for the blanket, but instead of handing it over, he hooked her outstretched arm over his neck and pulled her to her feet. A sad croaking sound burst forth where her scream of pain should have been as her legs straightened for the first time in four days. A wave of nausea quickly followed.
I’m going to vomit. She swallowed the nausea back down. That’ll be interesting, considering I haven’t eaten in forever. Nooo. Being in Holding didn’t bother the great Taymar. She tried to puke up her lungs, but it didn’t bother her. She snatched the corner of the blanket as the kar wrapped it around her and pulled it tight. Gods, I’m pathetic.
“Don’t do that,” laughed the kar. “You look bad enough already.”
Taymar glanced at him in surprise. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t throw up.”
She stared at him in confusion. Was she losing it completely? Had she spoken?
He laughed and pulled the blanket tighter around her. “Your mind is open, Taymar. Your shield is down. I can hear your every thought as if you were sending them to me. At least I understand you better now.”
“Glad one of us does,” she managed.
“You ready?”
Taking two deep breaths, Taymar braced herself for the journey and nodded.
From the cell, he took her to a washroom where steam jets finished thawing her frozen blood. She’d have stood there forever, letting the jets of delicious warmth massage her sore muscles, but the washroom timed out. When she opened the door, the kar stood waiting with a small towel and a pile of clothes. He didn’t turn away as she pulled on the loose drawstring pants and matching short-sleeve shirt.
Together, they left the Reteaching Hall and tremmed across Central Newete to the main medical compound that was to become her new home. After walking almost more then she could stand, they arrived at a sealed door within the massive medcom facility. The kar swiped the door and then moved behind her. The door opened to a cavernous barren room, except for a large transparent chamber situated against the back corner. Her heart froze as she took her first look at the personal prison the Dran had built in four days. She had a sleeping room, an exercise room, an entertainment/eating area, and a waste room. With the exception of the last, the entire thing was constructed of see-through dinisolate-coated walls.
The kar escorted her into her new cell and helped her sit on the small bed built into one of the walls. “Here,” he said, offering her a glass of brownish liquid he had taken from the converter. “You have to drink two of these before I can leave. Then you can sleep.”
As she looked around the room, she sucked down the first one without giving it much thought, her brain struggling to make sense of what she was seeing. They would be watching every single thing she did forever. She had imagined that it would be bad, but not this bad.
A hand took her empty glass and replaced it with a new one. “Drink.”
Taymar looked down at the new glass and then to the hand that had put it there. Finally, she stared over at the kar standing so calmly by the bed. “What’s your name?”
“Kar,” he returned, smiling.
She managed a weak nod and took a drink. “There are an awful lot of you people with the same name.”
He pointed to the glass. “Drink.” But he was still smiling.
As she finished the second glass, Taymar watched him watching her and decided that this was one Dran who was okay. She was already drifting off to sleep by the time he left, but before he swiped the door behind him, Taymar stopped him.
He said nothing. Only a quick wink told her he had heard. That was to be the first of many times that Jalkean was there to hear her thoughts as she fell asleep. He was as close to a friend as she had ever had in a Drani, but he was always a kar first.
Taymar had had enough of the kars and the confinement cells and the tests. Her words to Sean were no threat. Whatever it took, she was not going back to Drani. She pulled the blanket tighter. Whatever it took.
###
The door slid open before Urvo reached for the sensor. Still, he waited for the brae’s official invitation before stepping into the commander’s private chambers. Yittbrae stood at the far end of the room with his back toward the door. Three different viewer spreads had been thrown to the wall at his right, but the brae watched none of them. From where Urvo stood, the brae appeared to be staring at a blank wall. “Sir. We received a drop from the Regal.”
Yitt turned. His expression morphed into his legendary mask of calm resolve, but not before Urvo caught a glimpse of genuine worry. The brae raised a brow in response to Urvo’s silence.
“The dual-talent is aboard the Regal.”
“Hmm. Can you communicate with our source on that ship?”
“Not at this time, sir. The drop we received was scrambled almost beyond recovery. There was more to the message, but our techs haven’t pieced it together yet. The best they have right now is that someone is coming, but they can’t pull out more than that.”
“Coming where?” demanded the brae, heat in his tone.
Urvo caught himself an instant before taking a step back. That he had flashed white was undeniable. “I don’t know, sir. They are working on the message now.”
Yittbrae continued staring at Urvo until the younger man had to look away. “We were not granted replacement forces, UrvoDii,” the brae said, stepping away from the wall. “In fact, the Root seemed…distracted by my report. Almost as if they know things they shouldn’t. Any thoughts on that?”
“No, sir. You see every report that I send to the home world and everything they send back.”
The brae drew a long, slow breath before turning to the wall covered in viewer grids. “We play the spy game well, Urvo. Only a fool would think we play it alone.”
Urvo remained silent. After a painful pause, the brae looked over his shoulder at the dii. “I want you to find out what the Root knows. About our efforts to secure this side for their alleged expansion, and about the instability of the flux.”
“I don’t know how I can do that without giving ourselves away, sir.”
Yittbrae turned to fully face Urvo. “Find a way. It’s time for me to meet our guest.”
“Yes, sir. Are you…uh, sure you want to be in the same room with him? According to our records, his telepathy is impressive.”
“So am I. Have him brought to my conference room. Notify me when he is there.”
Urvo offered a slight bow. “Yes, sir. Will there be anything else?”
After a beat, the brae shook his head. “No. Just find out if the Root knows what we are really doing over here. But mostly, if they are aware of the problems with the flux.”
“I will, sir,” Urvo said, trying not to appear too eager as he stepped from the room.
###
Sean stared at his office viewer without seeing it. A knock at the door brought him reeling back to reality. “Enter,” he called.
Kellin ducked through the doorway. “Good afternoon, sir.”
“Ah. Lieutenant. I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.” Sean was lying, of course, but how could he resist? Even so, Kellin must have been putting poor Dar through it in order to be released this early. “How are you feeling, then?” He waved his hand toward an empty chair. To even acknowledge that Kellin could be anything less than superb was breaking the unwritten rule of silence regarding Kellin’s health. But rank had its privileges. “Please. Sit.”
Lieutenant Sacondore’s hairy jaw began to twitch. He was a huge man of the Branite people, and not just a little intimidating. Fine gray hair covered his entire body, but it lay so close to his skin a person had to be standing very close to see it. People didn’t often get that close. If his massive size wasn’t deterrent enough, his long, pointed teeth were. When he clenched his jaw in response to Sean’s barb, the tips of his top teeth poked out against his bottom lip. Unnerving, to say the
least.
Kellin remained standing, as formal as ever, near the door. “I am fine, sir.” His mouth barely moved as he forced the words out through gritted teeth.
“Have you been enjoying your vacation? A bit of that rest you’ve been wanting?” Sean wondered if he had pushed Kellin too far when the man took several deep breaths before answering.
“I am ready to return to duty, sir.”
Sean grinned and stretched his feet out in front of him. “You are an amazing lad, Mr. Sacondore. Who else could survive that many hits and be returning to work in less than a day?”
“Actually, sir, I understand that the Arlele we retrieved from Daryus took her share of hits and is doing well. I would counsel you not to put too much trust in her.”
“Well now, are you telling me that people who survive percussion hits are untrustworthy?” Sean made sure his smile remained frozen in place, but he watched his officer with intense interest as he continued. “If so, that puts you in a bad spot, now doesn’t it, Lieutenant?”
The tension in the room pulsed like a living thing. Kellin’s expression remained neutral. “No, sir. I am saying that there are too many coincidences surrounding this entire encounter with Drani. I suspect there is more involved than you are being made aware.”
Part of him didn’t like where the conversation was heading, but another part wanted to know just how Kellin would play it. Sean’s gambling side won. “What exactly is it that’s bothering you? It isn’t that a tiny lass like Taymar got the best of you, is it?”
Only a tiny twitch of his lips gave away that Sean’s jab had registered. “She taught me a valuable lesson. I am in her debt. I am bothered by the fact that Drani has so easily placed her people on your ship. The Regal plays an important role in this war. We should not be so easily infiltrated.”
The temptation was too great. Sean pressed forward. “Are you t’inking Taymar is a spy? That we shouldn’t be letting a spy get on the ship so easily? Spies are everywhere, Kellin. Sometimes they’re right in front of us and we don’t even know it, now do we? I appreciate your concern, but I don’t see where Taymar, spy or not, is a threat in a confinement cell. It’s the spies who pretend to be friends who are the real threat, don’t you agree?”
If the room hadn’t been charged with tension before, it was now. “The Arlele is in a cell right now, but she will not be for long. Also, I understand from Lieutenant Lats that a Dran will be coming aboard soon. Will he have full access to the ship?”
Sean nodded. “Your point is well made. And truth be told, I’ve been suspicious of the coincidences myself. All we can do is watch. In every direction, we must watch.”
“I will notify my people of your intent,” Kellin said, still posed in formal address, hands behind his back, the door cowering behind him. “What exactly are we supposed to do with the Arlele now that we have her?”
And there it was. The lead-in Sean had known was coming. Kellin was good. He had moved into that with such ease that Sean had to work to mask his expression. How many times had it worked? That was the real question. “Your guess is as good as mine,” he lied. “I’m wishing I could find out before the Dran gets here, but you know what they say about wishes.”
Kellin shook his head, his fine fur creasing along his sloped brow.
“Never you mind. Take the rest of the day, Kellin. You may return to duty tomorrow. One ought not brush death so closely and dismiss the experience so easily.”
If possible, the man stood taller. “No offense, sir, but to me dying is the inevitable outcome of life. We must challenge death if we are to live.”
“Tomorrow,” Sean said, shaking his head. Kellin was an incredible man. Sean liked him, which was unfortunate. “Dismissed.”
“Thank you, sir,” Kellin said, before ducking back out the door.
Sean continued staring at the door long after it slid closed. Kellin had asked the right question. What were they going to do with her now that they had her? Yet another question with no answer. He swiped on the viewer. A tiny image of Taymar sitting balled up under a pile of blankets popped onto the panel. Sean pinched the image between his thumb and first finger, pulled it off the panel, and let it hover over his desk. After a cursory glance, he twisted it around, looking at Taymar from every angle, before dropping it back onto the viewer. What was all the trouble about? It just didn’t make any sense. He tapped in an order for water to her cell a little earlier than Dr. Lats would have liked, pushed himself away from his desk, and left.
Chapter 9 - Sean
The blankets did little to stop the shivering. Taymar pulled one tighter just the same and stared at the flat gray wall across from her. She sat motionless until the distinct lines of the panels blurred into a fuzzy sheet of gray. As her eyelids grew heavier, the wall faded from sight.
Taymar snapped herself awake. She couldn’t afford to fall asleep. Too much was at stake. Instead, she pried loose the tie that held back her hair and began picking out the twigs and leaves. If nothing else, the pain of ripping tiny hairs from her scalp would keep her awake for a while.
She worked at her hair for what felt like hours. A pile of debris in the corner testified to her efforts. She was in the process of rebraiding it when a noise from the converter shattered the silence.
The converter had delivered a glass of liquid. Reaching out with her mind, Taymar wasted no time snatching it from the bin. The container held only water, no surprise there, but it still felt good on her dry throat and helped wash the dirt out of her mouth. She drained the glass and sent it back to the little shelf for a refill. Nothing happened.
“Hello!” she yelled. “I need more water.” The sound echoed inside the suffocating chamber.
The converter remained silent.
“Excuse me. NAC,” she said, trying the name from Daryus.
Silence.
Annoyed, Taymar clamped a hand on the blanket to hold it in place and pushed herself to her feet, her sore muscles protesting the effort. Grumbling all five steps of the way, she stopped in front of the cursed machine and slapped the dark panel above the bin. “I’m thirsty and want more water.”
More silence.
The empty glass mocked her. Leaning in close to the smooth panel, Taymar lowered her voice and attempted to duplicate Sean’s lilted accent as she spoke. “’Tis the Captain Sean. I’ll be needing another glass o’ water.”
To her surprise, the converter hummed. The empty glass vanished and a full glass took its place. At the same time, the wall of mental silence that isolated the room vanished and another mind now shared her space. Taymar drank in the neighboring thought patterns with as much enthusiasm as she had the water. Focusing on that mind, she looked over her shoulder and stared right into the laughing green eyes of Captain Sean McCauffer.
He stood near the outer computer panel, one hand leaning against the cell wall, the other tucked into his uniform pocket. His grin reached all the way to his eyes.
Taymar’s first thought was anger. She hated being watched. Especially in secret. It made no sense since she knew full well that someone was almost always watching. But irrational or not, that didn’t matter. It was infuriating. As she thought about it, though, embarrassment slowly replaced the anger. Finally, she had to laugh, even if it was brief.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to wonder who NAC might be and to tell you that you make quite the shoddy Irishman.”
The grin won. “NAC is the name of the computer on Daryus, and I don’t know what an Irishman is, but I’m obviously good enough.” She took the glass from the bin and held it up to him. “I got my water, didn’t I?” With that, she limped over to her spot on the floor and eased down against the wall.
“OBIS,” Sean said. “We call our computer OBIS, On Board Integration System. But it won’t be responding to you from in there anyway. Also, you’ll only have twenty minutes to be done using the dishware. After that, it’ll dissolve them back to particles.”
That was a new one. Taymar held up the glass and examined it more carefully. It looked normal. “So, Captain. What brings you down here? Come to view the wild Arlele you have captured?”
“The truth of it is you’re up there. On this ship, the navigation is on the underside. But to answer your question, I came to talk to you. I was t’inking maybe we could try again. Seems we got off on the wrong foot the first time, didn’t we?”
He ran his words together in a lilting song that was fun to listen to, but better than that was his open-door mind. Most non-telepath’s thoughts were easy to pick through. That he could have left the dinisolate field active and kept her out of his thoughts wasn’t lost on her, either. Neither was the fact that he had no idea how much she could glean from his thoughts. And she wasn’t going to tell him. “Maybe I could see the navigation deck?”
A virtual instruction manual of the damage she could do rolled through his mind. She kept her expression neutral, watching with practiced indifference as his face spelled out his worry. “So then, you’ve been on Drani your entire life, have you?” he asked, refocusing on the reason he came. That part wasn’t as clear. He wanted information, but what, she couldn’t lock down.
“You’re avoiding my question? Are you a larna?”
Sean sucked in a long, slow breath. “Taymar, I’m t’inking you know about going to the nav-deck already. I’m sorry. If I could have it my way, I’d be giving you run of the ship. Hell. I’d take you back to Daryus right now and swear I’d never laid eyes on you in the first place.” He glanced at the floor. “I can’t do that, though, can I? This t’ing is bigger than you and me both. That, and I’ll not be letting any more of my crew get hurt.”
For a long moment, Taymar stared at the glass while her mind flipped through what felt like a lifetime of memories spent in isolation rooms so others didn’t get hurt. She downed half of the water and set the glass on the floor. “What do you want?”
Shield of Drani (World of Drani Book 1) Page 13
