She nodded and started to lower her hand, but he held it a moment longer, then gently and carefully squeezed it before releasing it. She watched as his face relaxed, his eyes softened, and some of the tension he always carried in his neck and shoulders eased. Why that made her heart feel so much lighter she didn’t know. It just did.
She blinked when both Zach and Zander suddenly appeared, then knelt down in front of her, flanking Zain. The expressions on all of their faces worried her. “What’s the matter?”
“We’re very concerned for you, Lady BreeAnna,” Zander said. “You can’t destroy any more mines without accepting some help. Please, I’m begging, we’re begging, please allow us to share our power with you.”
Bean realized that with Zain acknowledging her as their berezi, there was no reason to refuse the offer to share power. In fact, remaining stubborn on this issue would not only be foolish, but incredibly selfish. No one else could destabilize the nano-bots. If she didn’t do it, and soon, the ship and all aboard her would be destroyed either by the mines, or the Doftles who, according to the message she’d gotten earlier, were on the way. She looked into Zain’s eyes again.
“If you do this here, in front of everyone, it’ll be as good as admitting that I’m your berezi,” she said in a low voice, hoping no one else could hear.
Zain smiled. It was very faint, but it was there, and some of the tightness in her chest relaxed at the sight of it.
“You are our berezi, Lady BreeAnna,” he said firmly. “I have no doubts about that. Not a single one. I can’t explain why my mind was so clouded on this issue, but it no longer is.”
Bean nearly gasped at that, suddenly understanding what had happened. But that was a conversation for later, too. She set it aside, then flicked her eyes to Zander, then Zach. “I’ll agree to you sharing your power with me on one condition.”
“Name it,” Zander said without hesitation.
“Please call me Bean. Every time someone calls me Lady BreeAnna it makes me feel like I should curtsy or something which, if I tried, I’d just end up in a very undignified heap in the middle of the floor because I really am an enormous klutz who can barely put one foot in front of the other without falling on my face and I’m rambling.”
They were staring at her with their mouths partly open and surprise in their eyes which matched her own. “Sorry. I have no idea in the good great galaxy where that came from.”
Zain smiled, which caused his whole face to light up. “That was interesting,” he said, his yellow eyes nearly glowing with happiness which shocked her, but in a good way. To her further surprise, she found herself smiling back at him. Not as widely, perhaps, but it was a real smile that she hadn’t had to force at all.
“Thank you, Bean,” Zander said, then he smiled too.
“I’m not sure which makes me happier,” Zach said. “You agreeing to let us share power with you, or that you granted us permission to call you Bean.”
Bean’s eyes widened, her smile vanished, and her cheeks heated. “You were waiting for permission?” They nodded. “Why? Everyone calls me Bean. I thought you didn’t use my nickname because you didn’t like it, or thought it was silly and childish. Especially after I told you how the name came about.”
“No apology is necessary, and we can talk about it later if you want,” Zander said. “Right now, we want to share power with you.”
“All right. What am I supposed to do?”
“You needn’t do anything but try to relax,” Zander said. “I’ll draw power from Zach and Zain, and then send it to you.”
“Whenever you’re ready, go ahead.”
Almost immediately Bean felt their power enter her. It was odd to feel herself grow steadily stronger rather than weaker. She sat a little straighter in the chair, her shoulders lifted from their slump, and the fogginess that had begun blurring her thoughts, cleared.
“How’s that?” Zander asked, watching her carefully. He’d seen her eyes brighten, her tired posture straighten, and a bit of color return to her face, relieving the chalky whiteness that had him so worried.
“It’s amazing,” she said, smiling again. “I feel much better. Thank you.”
“Thank you for letting us do this, Bean,” Zach said. When her smile brightened to something they’d never witnessed on her face before, he decided to do all he could to earn at least one such smile from her every day.
“Do you think you can do the rest?” Zain asked, still worried though he wasn’t sure why. She looked much better with her eyes sparkling and a bit of color to her cheeks. But for some reason, his concern remained. When her smile faded a bit, he knew he was right, though not why.
“These last five will be increasingly difficult to do,” she said. “The last one took more effort than the previous five together.”
“They’re becoming more and more difficult each time?” Zander asked. She nodded. “Why? Do you know?”
“I do, or at least, I think I do.” She bit her lip, thinking. “The nano-bots learn. Please don’t ask me how I know because I can’t tell you that right now.” Zander dipped his head, understanding her meaning, as did Zach and Zain. “When I destabilize one mine, I believe its nano-bots communicate with the nano-bots in the other mines, reporting what they are experiencing. Each time that happens, the others make adjustments to prevent the same thing from happening to them.”
“I wish that we had power in Earth magic, but we don’t,” Zander said. “Our greatest strengths are Air, and Water.”
“Is there a way we could use one of those?” Zain asked, then shook his head slightly. “Water won’t help, but maybe we could fill a mine with enough air to cause to explode.”
“That might work,” Bean said. “But I think they’ll sense your magic, and attack us.”
“How?”
“I don’t know how, but I know that if you attempt to use magic on them they’ll recognize it and react just as they would if we aim a weapon at them. I also know that they can’t sense my psychic ability.”
“Okay, no magic then,” Zain said, nodding.
Zander could almost see the wheels spinning in her head as she considered the problem. When she took a deep breath, he knew that signaled her decision, and that it wasn’t one she particularly liked.
“Can you tell me what would happen if two of those mines hit the same shield at the same time?”
“If they hit at the same time, they’ll take the shield down for certain, and give the ship a good jolt. Another mine going through afterward would hit the ship and, without doubt, cause some level of damage.”
“I won’t know for certain until I try, but I believe I can take two more out. I was hoping for three, but something is telling me I’m not strong enough for that.”
“We’ve already taken three hits, so we know they’ll knock out whatever shields they hit,” Zack said. “If we can get away from the others before they reach us, we’ll be fine.”
“Please take a look at those mines out there,” she asked. They all rose, found their macronoculars, and put them on.
“All right, we see them,” Zander said.
“Then you can see how badly I messed up.” They all turned to look at her in surprised confusion. “I should have paid more attention to which mines I was destroying, and their positions. As it is, there are five out there, and they’re fairly close together.”
“I see what you mean,” Zach said. “When they come at us, they come straight on, not appearing to pay much attention to where they hit, so long as they hit.”
Bean nodded. “Which ones do I leave untouched to reduce the chances of them all hitting the same shield?”
“If we could adjust our position, that would help, but we don’t dare,” Zain said after a few moments.
“No, that would bring hundreds more down on us,” Bean said.
Zain turned to face her. “Two are going to hit the same shield. There’s no getting around that. But if you take out the second and third mine from the left
, that will ensure that two will hit one shield, but the third will hit another.”
“But?” Bean asked, seeing his hesitation.
“But only if they come straight at us like those before. If they all aim for one shield, it could be a problem.”
“I don’t think we can do anything about it if that’s the case,” Bean said. “We’ll just have to do what we can and hope for the best.”
“Agreed,” they all said at once, surprising another smile out of her.
“I suggest you start with the one in the center,” Zander said. “If that’s the only one you can get, there’s a chance that two mines will hit two different shields.”
“All right, I’ll do that.” She reached for her macronoculars and put them on, then took a breath before focusing on the center mine.
Zander, Zach, and Zain watched Bean carefully while still trying to watch the mines. After several minutes, Zander saw that the nano-bots in the center mine were moving up and down. Much slower than before, which explained why it was taking so long, but she was making them move. As he watched, the mine vanished in a pink puff.
He turned around, pulled his glasses off and knelt on the floor in front of her along with Zach and Zain. Bean was pale again, though not chalky like before. Her fingers were pressing hard against her temples and her eyes were closed.
He exchanged worried looks with his brothers, then sent a thread of Water into her. He hissed sharply when he discovered how badly her head was hurting. He did what he could to ease it, and a moment later she opened her eyes.
“Thank you, Zander.”
“How do you know that was me?”
“I felt you,” she said. “Okay, one more.”
“Are you sure?” Zach asked. “Maybe we should try sharing more power with you first.”
Iffon’s head suddenly popped up from Bean’s arm, startling them. They’d kind of forgotten about him.
“Do not share power with her again,” he said. “It would cause her much harm.”
Zander nodded, not even remotely tempted to argue. “Then we won’t. Iffon, can she do another mine safely? Or should we take our chances with the four that remain?”
“No, not four,” Bean murmured. “It has to be three.”
Iffon’s head cocked slightly, then he looked at Zander. “She’s right, I’m afraid. We can take three and escape. But the fourth one will hit this viewport right in front of us and take out the entire bridge.”
“I’m not doubting you, Iffon,” Zander said. “But how do you know that?”
“It’s what the messengers are telling Bean. I don’t get all of what they tell her, but I get enough.”
“The messengers?”
“Oh,” Iffon said sheepishly. “She didn’t mention them, did she?”
“She said she received messages,” Zain said almost absently, his eyes fixed worriedly on Bean’s pale face.
“Sorry, Bean,” Iffon said.
“Don’t worry about it, Iffon. It’s not our biggest problem right now.”
“I suggest we take a moment to prepare while Bean rests,” Zander said, rising to his feet.
“Not too long,” she said, looking up at him. The fear he saw in her eyes caused his stomach to clench.
“Doftles?” She nodded slowly. “It’ll only take a minute.” She nodded again, and he turned to face the other men on the bridge. “I want someone on that Blind Sight unit with a finger on the switch, ready to hit it the moment the order is given and not before.”
“I’ll do that,” Kyrus said. Zander looked at the Bearen, a solid, steady Klanaren male, and dipped his head in agreement.
“Sark, find us a clear path away from those mines sitting out there waiting. One that won’t put us on an intercept course with any of them. Mark it, but do it without starting anything that will give those mines cause for concern. When you hear the command, you get us the hell out of here as fast as you can. Kyrus will hit Blind Sight at the same moment, on the same command.”
Sark repeated his orders and went to work immediately. Even though he’d been watching the other mines for a couple of hours now, he still checked and double checked their positions on the screens in front of him before plotting his course and programming it in so that one touch of a button would be all it took.
Zander gave a few more orders, glanced down at Bean, then up again. “Everyone get to your stations and brace for impact. We’re going to take three hits, two on one shield, so it’s going to be a sharp jolt.”
When he was sure he’d thought of everything, he knelt back down in front of Bean. “You ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready,” she said, nodding carefully.
“I’m going to meld fully so I can attempt to prevent any damage, if necessary.”
Zander dipped his head in a respectful nod, grateful beyond words that Iffon was capable of healing her. He was unable to keep from watching as Iffon seemed to melt into Bean’s skin. It was such a strange thing to see.
“Here,” Zain said, picking up her glasses from where she’d left them hooked over the arm of her chair. Rather than hand them to her, he put them on her himself, gently sliding the arms over her ears and resting them on the bridge of her nose. She reached up to adjust them a little, smiling at Zain so sweetly that it brought tears to Zander’s eyes. He’d never known anyone to forgive so completely on the strength of a simple apology.
“I have a thought,” Zach said. “Bean said that the nano-bots being destroyed send data to the others, which they then implement. Perhaps we can take advantage of that by making our move the moment the next mine is destroyed.”
“They’ll be distracted, that’s true Zach, but not for long,” Bean said. “A half second maybe.”
“A half second can make an enormous difference.”
“Maybe we can stretch that out a little bit,” she said hesitantly. “I can feel that a mine is about to self-destruct just before it happens. If I can signal to you when that occurs, I think that’ll help. Maybe not a full half second, but some.”
Zach looked at Zander, then Zain. “We’ll do it,” Zander said, turning back to her. “This is going to take what strength you have left, Bean. I know this, and I think you do as well.” She nodded. “It’s possible that you won’t be able to signal so we need to be prepared, just in case. Zach, you watch her hand. If she raises one finger, give the order to go. I’ll watch the mine. When I see it destruct, I’ll give the order to go. Either way, one of us will be able to give the order.”
“That sounds good,” Zach said.
“Sark, Kyrus, no matter which one of us gives the order, go when you hear it.” Zander swept the bridge with his eyes again. “If you don’t think you can remain silent from the time she begins to after we give the command, leave now. Anyone who speaks a word or makes a sound, and I don’t care why, will be court-martialed. This is for our lives, people, so put on your war faces and get ready.”
After a chorus of Aye aye Commanders and Yes Sirs, Zander turned back to Bean. He brushed a loose wisp of hair from her cheek.
“How about dinner?”
“Right now?” she asked, arching a brow at him.
“Of course now,” he replied. “When did you think?”
“I was thinking dinner time might be better.”
“Ah. I guess we should finish up here first, then.”
She smiled at him, and he wished with every ounce of his being that he could kiss her, just once. But they had not yet earned that right, so he satisfied himself with stroking her cheek lightly before standing up again and putting his glasses on.
Bean took a breath, then turned her attention to the mines beyond the viewport. She felt Zain take one of her hands in his, and she squeezed his fingers a little so he’d know she was glad of it, surprised at easy it had been to forgive him, and how good it felt. Then she once again cleared her mind as best she could, and focused on her target.
Several minutes passed, and Zander was getting worried. The nano-bots were m
oving up and down, but they were not coming apart as the others had. He kept checking on Bean, his worry increasing each time he looked. He just happened to be looking at her when her eyes suddenly narrowed and she bared her teeth before her entire body jerked slightly as though from an extreme effort.
“Now!” Zach barked before Zander even noticed Bean’s signal.
Almost before the sound of Zach’s voice faded, several things happened, seemingly all at once. First, the ship lurched sharply when all three of the remaining mines struck the shields. He shifted his balance in reaction, then almost fell when, secondly, the ship moved so abruptly that he actually felt it.
The third thing that happened was that Bean’s eyes slipped shut and her body slumped sideways. Zain was kneeling at the opposite side of her chair, in no position to catch her before she hit the floor, so Zander leapt forward and caught her just in time.
He cradled her in his arms, not liking how pasty white she was. He sent a thread of Water into her, then tensed when it was blocked. “She’ll be fine, Zander,” Iffon said. “I need a few minutes, please.”
“Absolutely,” Zander replied, relaxing a little just as Zain appeared at her other side.
“Sark?” Zach asked from behind Zander, where he stood looking down at Bean. “Tell us that was two shields.”
Sark nodded. “Yes Sir, two different shields. They’re down until they recharge, but nothing got through. Blind Sight is fully active. Scanner shows multiple mines moving to our previous location but none following us.”
“Good work everyone,” Zander said with relief before rising to his feet with Bean in his arms.
“What happened?” Kyrus asked, joining them.
“She’ll be fine,” Zander said. “Iffon is checking her.”
“This is the second time she’s saved this ship,” Kyrus said. “She’s important to all of us, Commander. Take good care of her. And congratulations to all of you.”
“We’ll take care of her, Kyrus,” Zander said. “And thank you.”
“Infirmary?” Zach asked.
“That’s not necessary,” Iffon said so all three of them could hear. “She’ll be more comfortable in her own room.”
Bean's Heart (Hearts of ICARUS Book 7) Page 29
