by Lil Gibson
Zanan started uncomfortably. All COM personnel had been given explicit orders. Under no circumstances were there to be any outgoing COMs and all who tried were to be reported to Prolinc immediately. "Everything all right at home Bandoff?" he inquired casually.
"Oh, yes. Uh, everything is fine, thank you for asking. I just wanted to send a short message, nothing more."
"Well, I am glad all is well because our outside COM is out; a disturbance of some sort. Should I let you know when it passes?" Zanan offered.
"Thank you but it really was of no importance."
Zanan contacted Prolinc.
A summons arrived for Bandoff five minutes later ordering him to report to the planning room at once. His uneasiness grew. Prolinc, Zorroc, Rosik and Sycor waited in telling silence as Bandoff entered and took a seat. Prolinc seemed to study the writing utensil rotating from his fingers for a full two minutes before he asked the first question. "Who were you going to COM Bandoff?"
At that moment, he knew his growing uneasiness had been justified. "Before we departed from Gattonia I was contacted by the High Council and asked to report on the status of our journey and confirm that all progressed smoothly. It seemed a small enough request," he answered.
Zorroc swore under his breath.
"What kinds of information did the High Council request," Prolinc asked.
"At first just general inquiries. Were we on schedule, and the ship malfunction free? After we arrived they asked about Earth, my impressions of the women, and how our plans proceeded in procuring them." He paused to evaluate the change of pattern that had occurred once they departed for Ganz. Why had he not questioned it before? He thought he might be sick.
"And once we had accomplished our purpose and began the journey home?" Sycor asked, not unkindly. He felt sorry for his friend; he knew Bandoff incapable of subterfuge; and attracting attention of any kind, whether positive or negative, made him distinctly uncomfortable. This situation must be tearing him apart. Sycor had often thought Bandoff would be much more comfortable in a low profile clerks position but with his phenomenal abilities and trueness of heart he had been given no alternative but the very high profile position of Guardian to their Leader.
Bandoff sat up and leaned forward. "The requests grew detailed. They wanted to know how many women we had aboard, how they were being stored, and if all crewmembers were accounted for and had returned unharmed. Were there females of particular interest to Zorroc and if so what were their names and backgrounds? In addition, of course, they wanted to know our location, but unlike our journey to Earth, they wanted specific co-ordinates. Is that how the Dargons located us?"
"We think so, yes," Zorroc spoke for the first time.
"I do not understand; could there have been a COM leak in our transmissions? That does not seem possible," Bandoff stated clearly perplexed.
Ignoring Bandoff's queries, Zorroc once again took over. "Were you reporting to anyone in the High Council or did you have a specific contact?"
"There has been but one contact. Dyfainius. Surely you cannot suspect him, he was your father's trusted advisor, the head of the High Council, the father of your future…" Bandoff reframed from saying what all knew. His daughter had been chosen to lifemate with Zorroc until the virus struck. There would be no lifemating between he and Zana now. Was that a reason to turn traitor? If Zorroc had lifemated with Zana and something had happened to him; rule would have fallen to Zana who in turn would have ceded to her father. Zazu, that had to be it. Bandoff winced but did what he considered appropriate under the circumstances. "I resign my commission effective immediately unless you would like to find a more fitting punishment."
Chapter Fifteen
"There will be no resignation Bandoff. You have compromised no one; you are the one compromised. However, we can use this to our advantage by feeding Dyfainius false information as to our whereabouts and situation,” Zorroc stated.
“How much does he know of our flight plans and progress," Prolinc asked.
"I have not COMd him since our rescue so he knows very little. I have been busy guiding the women in protocol and Gattonian customs…and to be honest, I grew uncomfortable relaying information to Dyfainius and therefore, had put off reporting to him until today. Thank Zazu."
"I believe we have found your viper, Zorroc, but why would he side with the Dargons when there are many other species that would like what Gattonia has to offer and all much safer to deal with. Are there others on the High Council or citizens that would support him?" Rosik inquired.
Zorroc thought for a moment then advised, "The answer to that question will come in time, for now…Bandoff, you will COM Dyfainius and begin our subterfuge. Sycor will assist with false co-ordinates. Begin to hint that I am interested in another woman and have lost interest in Catarina," Zorroc paused then smiled grimly. "Tell him that a ravishing goddess by the name of…Sandra…has caught my eye and I am having second thoughts about continuing my alliance with Cat. Does he know that Cat is my mate?"
"My last COM transmitted almost four weeks ago. I did not find out that you were lifemated until we had seen a week on the Miramid. He cannot know unless others have been COMing him as well."
"There have been no COMs since the report of your rescue," Rosik explained. "It is standard procedure for COM blackout until we are well away from possible detection by the enemy and have evaluated our situation. He cannot know unless we have a traitor among our COM personnel and the chances of that are miniscule. I think the plan is a solid one," he finished still clearly calculating any holes in his logic.
"Several directives must be adhered to in order to make this work," Prolinc directed softly. "One: What we have learned does not leave this room, either to our women or any other essential party. We cannot take the chance of a careless word. Two: Bandoff's COMs will be limited to two minutes so our position cannot be pinpointed. Three: We meet tomorrow to begin formulating a strategic plan as to how we proceed after landing at Gattonia. So far, we have no absolute proof of Dyfainius's guilt or how many may be involved. Is this understood and agreed upon?" After affirmative nods, they adjourned.
The conclusion of the strategy meeting the following day left Zorroc feeling beaten, depressed and with an overwhelming sense of impending doom. Not because of Gattonia politically, or Dyfainius and any co-conspirators but because of his mate. Almost certainly, she would see this as an unforgivable betrayal; indeed, a large part of the plan depended on it. Above all things he had to keep her safe, temper tantrums or no. Even now, she might be carrying the future leader of Gattonia.
The plan was simple. Keep Cat safe by feigning disinterest, conceal the mate mark confirming the union, and divine the Gattonians involved in traitorous acts against the empire. The crewmembers would be sworn to secrecy. They would be arriving on Ganz in two days, having sped up to full power on the off chance they were being tracked. He would love his Catarina fiercely for the next two nights in preparation of harder times to come. Maybe that way, she would know in her heart that he bided with her, even if they could not be together for a short while. Zazu, he hoped it would be over soon and all revealed. He told himself that a small separation provided exactly the solution he needed.
He was growing addicted to her delectable body, her quirky mind, and her irradiant, precious soul. He was very much afraid that he had too much of his father in him. He must not let her conquer his heart as his mother had his father's. When his mother had died and her soul floated to nirvana, she had taken his father's, as well, leaving behind an ineffectual shell of a male. Maybe with the separation, Zorroc would learn that she was not so important to him after all.
* * *
"I'm telling you Dee, being a Chosen One is not the insult we assumed. I had a long talk with China and got the slim-skinnies on mating customs and Prolinc's intended. Are you interested or are you just going to hide behind the aunts for the next twenty years," Cat taunted, trying to elicit any kind of response. Dee had been holed up in the aun
t's quarters for the last two and a half weeks, only surfacing to teach defense classes. She’d never known Dee to run from anything and wondered if she hid from Prolinc or herself and the strong pull she felt toward him.
Dee looked close to exploding before expelling an anguished whoosh, resting her head against the back of the seat and closing her eyes. "I'll listen, just don't leave anything out, and don't expect me to change my mind."
Half an hour later Dee began pacing. "Well, why couldn't he have just explained that? I’ve been going through hell these last weeks!"
"I'd venture, because you didn't give him a chance," Cat replied before pausing to gather her thoughts. "Prolinc is a proud male with semi-battered self-esteem. I don't think he’d beg or try to explain for fear you'd use it against him and possibly still turn him down."
"Why would I want to do a hurtful thing like that? I mean aside from the fact that he hurt me first. God Cat, I think I might be in love with him. He only told me he’d been promised to another and couldn't mate with me and would I become his Chosen One. What was I to conclude?"
"This is a different world, with their own specific rules and rituals. I think it's going to take time to understand how everything works and we're going to have to learn to ask questions first and lose it later. Not a skill that either of us excel at. I sure could use an 'Angel fix' right about now, have you heard from her?"
"She left a message on my COM yesterday, while I was in class, saying she was fine, happy and close to a vaccine for the virus. I've never her heard this relaxed and content; she and Carpov fit perfectly together." Then she groaned before adding, "I'm going to have to talk to Prolinc aren't I, there's no way he'll approach me at this late date. There's an officers dinner tonight isn't there, let me accompany you and Zorroc, do you think he'll mind?"
"Nope, it's as good as done, meet me at our quarters at six and we'll order a couple of dresses to make a grand entrance. It'll work out Dee, I just know it." Cat rose and the two hugged before separating.
With Gattonia less than forty-eight hours away, morale among the crew surged to an all time high. For the first time in over two years it looked as if the female crewmembers would be allowed to step foot on their homeland. The buzz and energy in the air proved contagious, even to the Earth women. Some had acclimated very well but others started having emotional problems, now that the reality of their situation had sunk in. Initially, it had seemed like a grand adventure, however, now that they approached their final destination, probably never to see Earth again, some exhibited symptoms of shell shock.
The Med-team distributed relaxers to those with the most severe symptoms and, so far, no one had totally lost it. They were all being handled with kid gloves. Keeping them busy with comportment and defense classes had been a stroke of genius, as it turned out. It provided a non-threatening and, for the most part, non-sexual medium for the Gattonians and women to get to know one another—evolving into a productive lesson for everyone. The women posed no threat to the female crew, because they had been off planet at the time of attack. In fact, many of the females on board, including China, had halted previously encouraged birth control measures and were currently pregnant. They looked forward to having their offspring born in Gattonia. The unattached males, of course, had been overjoyed to have such free access to the women and many planned to continue their alliances once home.
Excitement overflowed as Dee, Cat and Angel arrived at the dining hall. Angel had surprised them by showing up at six-thirty looking her breath-taking self. As Dee and Cat got ready, she filled them in on her last few weeks and imparted the news of her pregnancy. The three were ecstatic. Dee had never looked more beautiful as she approached Prolinc and asked if she could sit next to him. He almost knocked over his chair in his haste to stand and offer her the seat next to his.
Cat hadn't seen Zorroc since early morning and wondered at his absence. He’d sent word late that afternoon that he would meet her at the dinner, as he remained tied up in meetings for the rest of the afternoon. Normally, she saw him at least three to four times a day and missed his presence. Angel was pregnant and Cat wondered if she would be right behind her, she’d missed her period the week before and usually she could set her clock by it. Nausea crept up on her at the strangest times, as well. She’d broach the subject with Angel, later in private, to see if she had an extra pregnancy test.
Her eyes lit on Zorroc as he made his way across the room and her heart leapt at the sight of him. Before making his way to her, he stopped at another table to converse. Sandra was seated in the group and he actually initiated a conversation with her. What was happening? As if he could hear her question, he looked up and met her eyes briefly before returning his attention to Sandra. He smiled charmingly and touched her on the shoulder before turning to join Cat. Her heart sank into her shoe and she had difficulty catching her breath. Zorroc engaged Dee and Prolinc in conversation as if nothing was amiss and seemed pleased to see the two together once again. The mood grew light and carefree. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time except Cat. Zorroc politely ignored her and as the dinner wore on a black mood settled on her like a two-ton weight.
By the end of the evening Cat was numb. What had gone wrong, what could she have done to cause his alienation?
She had become impossible to read but her agitation surrounded her like a shroud. He hated himself for what he had to do but if he told her everything, her reactions would not be genuine and that could put her in further danger.
He loved Cat’s body desperately, long into the early hours, but the darkness refused to lift, and by the time she awakened, he’d gone. Instead of going to her defense class, she spent the day playing and cuddling with Spock and Scotty. She’d grown exceedingly weary of this love thing. She stayed constantly off balance and her mood seemed to mirror Zorroc's attention toward her. It was simply pathetic now that she acknowledged it. She needed some distance to get things in perspective. She always thought that women who based their world around a man represented weak, spineless parasites waiting to be squished. What of her mate-mark, she pondered; well she'd just cover it up and go her own way. These were Gattonian rules, not hers and she’d never given her word not to dissolve their union that she could recall. Especially when he’d engaged himself elsewhere. He could get bent for all she cared—the phrase punctuating her last thought before dissolving in a puddle of tears.
She visited Angel later that afternoon and got the news she now dreaded…she was pregnant. Angel was thrilled. Cat was determined. She’d make love to him and show him how deeply her love for him ran…and if she couldn't make him love her back, she’d simply walk away.
Maybe she’d been just a temporary diversion to ease the boredom of a long voyage. She had to admit she’d been entertaining, at least. She learned her lessons well and he’d succeeded in getting her pregnant. All of his plans for her, obviously stamped accomplished. She wondered if he knew about the baby, and had simply moved on to unplowed territory. Perhaps he'd already confirmed it by reaching out to his little mind. That had to be it; he had teased, charmed, indulged, and loved her until certain of her condition and then turned it off like a spigot. Well he may have achieved his goals but she wasn't giving up on her own just yet.
She washed their room in candlelight, took a long leisurely bath laced with Wisteria oil and finally slipped into the naughty negligee she’d ordered. And then waited for her cat man/pooka to arrive…and waited…and waited…and waited.
He entered their room and froze. Candles illuminated every surface bathing the room in muted golden warmth. He watched the slow rise and fall of his mate's breasts, her hair framing her head in an auburn wreath. She wore a see through concoction of black, filmy, intricate webbing that looked as if it would tear at the first gentle tug. She had wanted to seduce him. Did she not know he had no need of candlelight or sinfully tempting gowns to attract his attention? His miniature goddess had issued an invitation he had no intention of ignoring.
S
he dreamt of him once again, touching her everywhere, loving her intently while she melted right into the mat. She wanted it to go on and on. He purred as he suckled and nuzzled first one breast and then the other while his hands roved every inch of her. With the absence of his touch, she awoke. He stood in front of her, stripping with desperate speed.
"I love you," slipped from her mouth before she could stop it. He stilled and stared then eased down next to her.
"Remember that Catarina, promise that you will not forget in the days to come. I will be busy with the High Council and state responsibilities and you will not see me. In light of that, the last thing I want to do tonight is talk."
Their lovemaking that night throbbed like a wild, live entity. He smashed the barriers that she’d tried to erect for self-preservation until she was left with nothing but his murmurs, his touch, his scent, his sex. There existed no Zorroc and no Cat but one powerful force that neither could deny. He invaded her with his mind and his body, and she invaded his. He took her fast and hard then slow and thoroughly. He spoke directly to her soul, saying things that could not be expressed in words. There dwelled an edge, nevertheless, that had not been there before—almost a panicked attempt to memorize her, as if never to have the chance again. So in turn, she gave him everything inside her to reassure him that she would always be there with him. They made deep, abiding love and Cat thought she had never experienced anything as shattering or as healing. He loved her, it was clear to her now and she would not doubt him again. He may not say the words but it was there, entwining them both.
