Vari's Choices

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “You didn’t know,” Vari said. “There’s no need to apologize for lacking information.”

  “How is it you know so much about what they will or will not do?” Jay asked. Before Vari had a chance to respond, his hand terminal beeped at him. He pulled it from its holster and checked the screen. “It’s time for our vid conference,” he said, getting up. He’d already set everything up so all he had to do was push a few buttons on the vid terminal to put the call through.

  The vid screen flickered and a moment later Garen and Faron once again filled it. Their eyes went to Vari first.

  “Congratulations, Daughter,” Faron said. “I’m very proud of you.”

  “We’re proud of you too, sweetheart,” Ban said from the background. Vari smiled.

  “Thanks Popi, and you too Dede, and of course you, Ata,” she said, her cheeks pink.

  “I’m proud of you as well,” Garen said, smiling before he turned his attention to Declan. “Are you still on schedule to reach the Leaper tomorrow morning?”

  “We are, yes,” Declan replied. “You should know that we intend to free the Leaper from the control of the Doftles if at all possible.”

  “We had no expectations otherwise, Declan,” Garen said. “We wish we could be there with you but we’re too far away, and the people on the Leaper can’t wait for us to get there.”

  “Agreed, Highness,” Declan said. “You might be interested to know that we sent a direct request to the Teriens for specs on the Leaper. We’ve received no response from them as yet and, quite frankly, I don’t expect them to send us the data even if they do respond.”

  Prince Garen’s golden eyes lit with anger. “I know it does you no good, but be assured, if you don’t get the information you asked for, the Teriens will pay a heavy price.”

  “I’ll send you the transmission log and a time-stamped copy of our request,” Jay said. “We included an optimal time frame for receipt of the data, which has already passed.”

  “Good, we’ll need that,” Faron said. “We’ve informed ISTA that we have a team with particular, highly classified talents who’ve tracked the ship and will reach it by morning. We did not reveal the location, of course, as interference at this point would result in a disastrous outcome. We did promise to share updates with them as we receive them, though. They will, in turn, update the multitude of governments concerned about the welfare of their citizens.”

  “This situation is far more serious and volatile than the Teriens appear to realize,” Garen said. “If they don’t provide that data, they’ll face a lot more than the usual fines.”

  “What else can you do to them?” Vari asked.

  “I’m going to push to have their right to use the interstellar shipping lanes revoked. If even one passenger is killed because of their refusal to cooperate, I doubt I’ll have to push hard. In truth, I may not have to push at all.”

  All of the men nodded in solemn agreement, but Vari frowned. A significant portion of the Terien economy relied on interstellar commerce. Revoking their right to use the shipping lanes would have catastrophic results for the civilian population.

  Vari heard a familiar chuckle and looked up at her father in mild surprise. He shrugged. “There are still times, beloved Daughter, when your thoughts are clearly written on your face.” Vari’s cheeks grew warm, but that didn’t still her tongue.

  “Rescinding the Teriens’ right to use the shipping lanes will punish a great many innocent people,” she said. “People who won’t have the slightest idea of the reason behind it.”

  “We understand that, Vari,” Garen said gently. “But if the Leaper is lost, and the passengers killed or enslaved, would you want their role in the tragedy to go unpunished?”

  Vari’s heart skipped a beat. Of the seven people in the galaxy that she could call true friends, two were on the Leaper, and one of those was her sister.

  “No, Uncle Garen, I wouldn’t want that. But neither do I want to see innocent people pay for the decisions of a handful of politicians.”

  “I don’t want that either, Vari,” Garen said. He studied her for a long moment, and Vari half expected him to tell her that the idealism of youth couldn’t always be applied in real life. “I will give the matter serious thought, I promise,” he said, surprising her. “However, if the worst happens, and people are killed because the Teriens withheld information, sanctions will be a far lesser hardship on the people of Terien than war would be.”

  “Do you really think it’ll come to war?” Vari asked. Even as she asked the question, memories of the families she’d walked among while onboard the Leaper flashed through her mind. “Never mind, Uncle Garen. I already know the answer to that. But I do appreciate your willingness to consider other options.”

  “There’s still the problem of how they’re going to get around that liner without attracting attention,” Faron said.

  “As you know, Vari spent a couple of weeks on the Leaper, and she likes to explore,” Declan said. “She knows her way around that ship well enough to get us where we need to go. Otherwise we’d have to go in blind.”

  “Ata, have there been communications from anyone on the Leaper, passenger or crew?”

  “Unfortunately, no,” Faron replied. “The Inter-System Transit Authority attempted to make contact with about five hundred passengers using their personal vox and vid codes. Every attempt failed, so they stopped trying.”

  “You were right,” Kai said with a proud smile.

  “When it comes to the Doftles, or any other sentient species, you can count on Vari’s opinions,” Garen said, blithely ignoring Vari’s warning hiss. “When she was eight years old she read Dr. Michael Davis’s book on the Xanti and theorized that another race of sentient beings, not the Garakai, had been behind the Xanti from the beginning. A disturbingly sound theory that no one doubted, though we were unable to identify who it could have been until we discovered the Doftles. When she was twelve she began a four year internship with Dr. Davis.”

  Jay’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s considered the premier expert on xeno-psychology in the Thousand Worlds.”

  “He is,” Garen said. “And for good reason. Without him, it would have taken far longer for us to understand and defeat the Xanti. According to Dr. Davis himself, Vari is equal to or better than he is.” Garen smiled. “Don’t call her Doctor though or she’ll use one of those dairi on you.”

  “It’s only because I can read their minds,” Vari said, blushing hotly.

  Neither Garen nor Faron said anything, but Declan caught the sadness in their eyes. He understood how they felt because he felt the same way. Vari was so accomplished in so many areas, but she always minimized herself. He wished he knew why.

  “Have you had a chance to give the matter of infiltrating the Leaper any thought yet?” Faron asked.

  “We were just discussing that, actually,” Declan said. “Vari was explaining the terror tactics the Doftles will employ to keep the passengers in line.”

  “Not even the Xanti were as brutal as the Doftles,” Garen said. “Hard as that is to believe.”

  “Rajne du nekon,” Varia swore suddenly, startling Declan, Jay and Kai, but causing Garen and Faron to look at her intently.

  “That’s a very bad sign,” Garen said when he caught Declan’s curious expression. “When Vari swears like that, it usually means she just figured something out that the rest of us missed.”

  “What is it, Vari?” Faron asked.

  “I don’t know exactly how many captives have been freed from the storage planets so far, but I do know that the Doftles are scrambling to replace them. I also know they need at least two or three times the number of people on the Leaper.”

  “Demii,” Garen said, letting her know she didn’t have to say more than that. “You’re right, of course, Vari. I should have seen that.”

  “I should have, as well,” Vari said. Her eyes widened, then she shook her head. “I must be getting stupid.” Five sets of male eyebrows rose sharp
ly.

  “We were just talking about the size of the Leaper, and why the Doftle would electronically disable all security and comm devices. We also talked about the Teriens’ refusal to provide schematics and specs on their ships, which is typical behavior for them.” Her next words were spoken with an air of disgust. “All pieces of the same puzzle right in front of me but I nearly missed them.”

  “Declan, Jay, Kai,” Garen said in a serious tone, “in case you haven't realized it yet, Vari is extremely intelligent. She’s also a bit hard on herself at times.”

  “No, Highness, we hadn’t noticed either of those traits,” Declan said wryly. “We’ll watch for them, though. Thanks for the tip.”

  “Very funny, ha ha ha,” Vari said, struggling to maintain a scowl.

  “Oh, I get it,” Faron said. All eyes turned to him. “In short, the Doftle are, or will be, specifically targeting the Terien’s new fleet of super liners, like the Leaper. Maximum number of people, and minimum amount of data to use in a rescue. They create a destructive energy pulse that targets a common denominator in comms, my guess would be the crystals, and do the same for the Teriens’ overblown security systems, and they’re in. Once they get the layout of one ship from its computer, they can count on the rest being the same because that’s the way the Teriens always do things.”

  Vari’s mind was racing as the others absorbed Faron’s words. After a few moments she looked up, surprised to find every eye on her.

  “What?”

  “We’re just curious to hear what you've come up with,” Garen said.

  “I wish I didn’t have to tell you,” she said unhappily. “The Teriens’ refusal to release data on the Leaper isn’t going to stop us from trying to retake it. But we can’t expect other teams to have our knowledge and experience with the Doftles, or the layout of these new super liners.” Vari paused, reexamined her conclusions one last time, then released a long, resigned sigh.

  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to push the Teriens even harder than you thought, Uncle Garen. And you’re going to have to start soon, too. I don’t like it one little bit, but it has to be done. Otherwise, hundreds of thousands of people are going to suffer, and a significant portion of them are going to die.”

  “I’m not following you, Vari,” Garen said. “Please explain.”

  Vari leaned forward in her chair, placed her palms down on the table and spread her fingers wide, focusing on the momentary coolness of the wood against her skin. When she was sure she could speak without breaking down, she raised her eyes to the vid screen. “According to the promotional materials I saw when booking tickets on the Leaper for myself and Shanti, there are twenty super liners currently active. Each one has a maximum capacity of twelve thousand five hundred passengers and twenty five hundred crew and service personnel.

  “That’s three hundred thousand potential slaves for the Doftles to pluck whenever they want unless the Teriens start cooperating very soon. If the Doftles take every super liner they can, they’ll end up with many times more people than they need. There’s no telling what the final numbers will be, but one thing is certain. The Doftles will not house and feed anyone they can’t make use of.”

  For the first time in her life, Vari saw Prince Garen grow pale. “May the Creators have mercy.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Kai said. “Please share.”

  “They need slaves who are strong, healthy, and able to work long, hard hours,” Garen said. “With so many people available to pick from, they can afford to be choosy.”

  “Zerua gainetik,” Declan murmured as he thought about the groups of people Vari said would be eliminated first. The youngest and oldest, the weakest and the most helpless.

  He was startled when Vari began to stroke his hand in a slow, soothing motion. It was only then that he realized how close he was to a blood rage. He scrambled to think of something else, and settled on what he wanted to do with Vari once this meeting was over.

  “Thank you, Miraku,” he said softly a few moments later.

  “No problem,” she said with a faint smile. When she looked up at the vid screen again she immediately recognized the surprise on Uncle Garen’s and her Ata’s faces. She was a little embarrassed, but since Garen’s face regained some color, she couldn’t make herself mind too much.

  “You can touch them,” Faron said, unable to hide his grin even though he felt tears stinging his eyes.

  “Yes, I can,” she admitted. “I have to keep my shield up, and I can’t touch anyone else, but I’m happy with what I’ve got.”

  “Have you something else to tell us, Daughter?”

  Vari’s eyes narrowed slightly at the odd tone in her Ata’s voice. “Nothing you didn’t already suspect, unless I miss my guess.”

  Faron gave Declan a rueful glance. “Trying to hide things from her never works. You best accept that right away.”

  Vari arched a brow at Garen, her father, then Declan, Jay, and Kai. “It seems all five of you know something I don’t.”

  “You haven’t told her?” Garen asked in surprise.

  Declan saw what looked like anger on Vari’s face, but he felt her too clearly now to be fooled. She was hurt, not angry, and that wasn’t acceptable. “It wasn’t a deliberate omission,” he said, catching her gaze and holding it even as he clasped her hand in his. “We had so many things to tell you that we just forgot that one thing.”

  Vari’s hurt melted away. “What thing?”

  “No male-set can share power with anyone other than their berezi.”

  Vari’s eyes widened in shock. She started to ask the first of many questions that instantly flooded her mind, then decided to wait until the four of them were alone. She turned her attention to her Ata instead. “How come you, Mom, Dede and Popi never told me that?”

  “We never thought about it,” Faron said. “We spent so many centuries without female Klanaren that it was one of many such facts that was all but lost. More people know about it now because we have Arimas and berezi now, but it’s still not something everyone knows.”

  Vari opened her mouth, then closed it when Garen held up one hand, forestalling her. “When we learned that the Dracon-Bats had shared their power with you, we kept silent because it’s against our laws to interfere between a male-set and their berezi. A fact of which I know you’re fully aware.”

  “That’s true,” Faron said. “However, Popi, Dede and I decided yesterday that if they didn’t reveal the truth to you very soon, we would tell you ourselves.” Vari looked at him in surprise, as did the Dracon-Bats, though Garen nodded in seeming agreement.

  “No law can transcend our love for you, Vari,” Faron said.

  Vari was afraid that if she tried to speak she’d cry, so she just nodded her head. When Declan, Jay and Kai all raised their fists to their hearts and bowed to her father to honor him for his choice, she nearly lost the fight to hold the tears at bay.

  Then Garen cleared his throat and got back to business, much to everyone’s relief. “We’ll contact the ISTA immediately, give them your analysis—without naming names of course --and strongly suggest that they start putting heavy pressure on Terien. Our hands will be tied in most respects until you can provide us with hard data, but we’ll do our best with what we’ve got. The sooner you forward the info to us on your data request, Jay, the sooner we can send it to ISTA.”

  “I’m doing it right now, Highness,” Jay said as he tapped at his hand terminal.

  “I assume you’ll be recording the mission,” Faron said to Declan, who looked to Jay.

  “If Vari is correct, and we have no reason to doubt her, the Doftles will have disabled all comms on the ship,” Jay said. “That means we can safely wear mission transmitter cams, and maintain constant communication between ourselves and the Bihotza.”

  “Excellent,” Garen said, looking at others in the room that they couldn’t see. “I think that’s all we needed to discuss.”

  “Oh, there is one thing,” V
ari said. “Do either of you know if a bio-sig was obtained during the attempts to transport a Doftle?”

  Garen looked at Faron who was frowning in thought. “I really don’t think so, but I’ll confirm that. If we have one, we’ll send it to the Bihotza as soon as possible.”

  “If one hasn’t been obtained as yet, be assured that we’ll do all we can to get one ourselves,” Declan said.

  “Now, one last thing,” Garen said, his expression becoming stern. “I want the four of you to forget about the Teriens, the ISTA, the task force, and everything else. From this point on, the people onboard the Leaper are officially your first, last, and only priorities.”

  “Understood, Highness,” Declan said, returning Garen’s solemn gaze.

  A minute later, after final wishes for good luck, the vid screen went dark. The first thing Vari did was reach for one of the pastries on the dessert tray the men had brought with lunch. Kai refilled her coffee cup from one of the carafes.

  “Thanks,” she said before taking a big bite of the pastry.

  “So you’re a xeno-psychologist,” Jay said. “That answers the question I asked before the meeting began. You’re very accomplished for your age.”

  “I had a lot of time on my hands,” she said, not looking up and therefore missing the knowing looks on their faces. They already knew that was her standard response whenever anyone praised her.

  “What else can you do?” Declan asked, keeping his tone curious.

  Vari kept her eyes down while she considered her answer. “Almost everything about my life is very highly classified.”

  “We would never betray your trust, Vari,” Declan said.

  She looked up at him in surprise. “I know that, Declan. But you can’t know not to reveal something unless I tell you it can’t be revealed.”

  Declan smiled. “That’s true.”

  Vari set her pastry down and reached for the coffee, wrapping her hands around it as though she needed the warmth. Just before Declan could ask her again, she spoke. “I’m fluent in 120 languages and I’m really not sure how many corresponding dialects,” she said in a low voice, almost as though she was making a confession. “I’m a certified interstellar pilot and navigator, and I’m an expert on the history, customs, and beliefs of the one hundred most prevalent cultures of the Thousand Worlds.” She sighed reluctantly before adding, “And their sub-cultures.”