Fire Margins

by Lisanne Norman

  The three of them found that they were expected to be able to act independently of each other yet mesh instantly into a tightly knit unit when the need arose. Without a conscious decision having ever been made, Jo found herself being regarded by the two males as the natural leader.

  Their training included not only the traditional Sholan swords and daggers but also modern energy weapons. Unarmed combat, too, both Sholan and Human style. The knowledge of the existence of new martial arts had caused an immediate demand—diplomatically rephrased as a request by the Alien Relations Department—from the Warrior Guild for practitioners to be sent to Shola. They had not been long in arriving.

  Though Jo and Davies had years of experience in guerrilla warfare on Keiss, Kris had more than a head start on them at the Guild, having been training there regularly since he had arrived on Shola some five months earlier. Despite his time still being divided between the Warrior and the Telepath Guilds, he never completely lost that lead. By the end of their three weeks on Shola, the bonds of trust that had been forged between them were strong and they knew they were as ready as they would ever be for their mission on Jalna.

  *

  Almost before they realized it, they were at Chagda Station, boarding the Summer Bounty, the Chemerian merchant ship of Chijuu Liokso. Like all Chemerian vessels outside their home worlds, it was run by the Sumaan, the only species the Chemerians trusted, and then only because the heavy worlders and they had no common needs.

  Jo and Davies didn’t meet the last member of their team until they were ushered into the lower level crew lounge. Because of the fever still raging through the Telepath Guild, the Clan Lord, Konis Aldatan, had delayed his choice until one of those he had short-listed for the mission had recovered.

  Vyaka was her name. Of average height for a Sholan female, she was stockily built with an air of competence about her. Her coloring was light gray with dark bands round her tail and tipping her almost-tufted ears. The hair between her ears was dark and worn short, the military style fitting in with the sleeveless Forces jacket. Unusually bright green eyes regarded them steadily while Kris and Jo felt her feather-light mental touch at the edges of their minds.

  She held her palm out toward Kris in greeting. “You must be my contact on Jalna. I’m Vyaka, from Alien Relations. The Clan Lord thought someone with my background would be best suited to your needs.” She turned to the other two. “You must be Jo, and you, Davies,” she said, offering her palm to Jo who hesitantly returned the gesture, knowing that her Talent had been acknowledged by the Sholan female. To Davies, Vyaka inclined her head.

  “I’ll show you to our quarters,” she said, walking past them to the door. “This level is the one used by Chijuu, the Chemerian. We have the two passenger cabins.”

  The three Terrans followed her back out into the corridor, past the lift shaft to the two cabin doors. Vyaka stopped, turning to Jo. “I thought you’d prefer to bunk with me. The Terran females I met at the Guild were no different from us in enjoying some time away from the company of the males.” Her mouth opened in a broad Sholan grin.

  “Sure, suits me,” said Jo, smiling back.

  “In which case,” said Vyaka turning to Kris, “that’s your room next door. You’ll find the toilet and shower through the door at the rear. We’ll meet you back in the lounge in five minutes.” She placed her palm on the door mechanism.

  “Oh, no,” groaned Jo as she looked in through the open door. “Now I’ve seen it all! First it was curved beds, now it’s bowls in the floor!”

  “You haven’t seen the crew quarters,” said Vyaka, making a noise Jo recognized as a laugh. “They sleep on heated sand. At least we have covers and a padded mattress. As for Chijuu, wait till you see his suite. He rarely leaves the Summer Bounty so his quarters approximate how he would live planetside.” She waited for Jo to enter.

  “What are they like?” Jo asked, unslinging her bag as she headed over to the ubiquitous drawer unit near the unused bed.

  “The Chemerians? Difficult is the best word to describe them. The ones we meet, like Chijuu, are the gregarious ones, misfits in their society because they are willing to actually meet aliens face-to-face and trade with them. Don’t worry, though,” she reassured Jo, “we’ll probably only see him a couple of times during the trip. He’ll keep to his quarters because of the gravity. The Sumaan worlds are heavier even than Shola, and since the Sumaan run the ship …”

  “Sounds like a fun journey,” said Jo, putting the last of her possessions in the drawers.

  “It shouldn’t be too bad. The Sumaan will probably set their gravity nearer ours for our convenience, they’re good that way.”

  “How do the Chemerians cope?”

  “They’ve developed a device that allows them to have their own gravity in their quarters. No one knows how it works, and they aren’t telling us. They won’t even discuss it, let alone allow anyone else near it. Pity, the medical benefits alone would be worth almost any price they asked. Ready?”

  Jo nodded and followed Vyaka back to the lounge area. Kris and Davies were already there. The Sholan went over to a hatchway in the far wall while Jo sat down on one of the couches.

  “This area has been set up for passengers,” she said. “This is the food and drink synthesizer. It works on a similar principle to the Sholan ones. It’s been programmed with ten dishes which have proved popular with your people as well as several drinks, including your coffee. The menu is here,” she said, pointing to a display panel above a row of recessed buttons. “Press one of these and your choice will come on the screen; press this one to confirm your selection. I take it you all want coffee?”

  “Please,” said Jo.

  As they sat down with their drinks, several loud clanks and booms reverberated throughout the craft.

  “We’re under way,” said Vyaka, taking a sip of her c’shar. “I think now is the time for your final briefing.” She put her mug down on the low table in front of her.

  “When we reach Jalna, we’ll all transfer to the cargo section control room and travel down to the planet’s surface. Jalna has no space station so trading takes place planetside in the spaceport. Once we’ve landed, the Captain will request an unloading team. They’ll be Jalnians who have passes allowing them into the port area. The whole spaceport is rigidly controlled by the Port Lord, Lord Bradogan, who restricts the flow of off-world goods onto the planet. He also restricts the movements of the natives and the spacer crews. No aliens are allowed to go outside the Port town perimeter.”

  “So how do we get out?” asked Davies.

  “We have a fake ID for each of you,” she said. “While the Jalnians are unloading, I will attempt to link in lightly to one of them, then you, Kris, will link with me and hopefully be able to pick up all you can about their language and culture.” She frowned briefly. “I know you’ve been practicing this particular skill. You Humans seem to have a talent for it. Hopefully the combination of our minds should be enough. Really we needed Carrie and Kusac for this, but it wasn’t to be,” she sighed. “We have to have this information or the mission has little chance of success.”

  Jo hesitated. “If you can give me what you do pick up, like we were given a knowledge of the Sholan language and culture on the Khalossa, then perhaps I can make some sense of it.”

  Vyaka looked at her in surprise.

  “The Clan Lord said my Talent was with languages,” Jo said quietly.

  “Of course, you’re the Keissian expert on the Valtegans! That will certainly give us the edge we need,” said Vyaka.

  “Vyaka,” said Jo worriedly, “There isn’t a problem with Carrie, is there? I thought she was doing well. She seemed all right when we spoke to her a couple of weeks ago.”

  Vyaka raised an eye ridge. “You were lucky to be allowed to speak to her. Since she lost her cub, no one has been allowed to contact them. The Clan Leader has been most protective.”

  Jo and Davies exchanged a glance.

  “You didn’
t know?” said Vyaka in surprise. “It was widely publicized on Shola. The genesis of a new species is not something that can be kept quiet, especially when the heir of the largest Telepath Clan is the father.”

  “Carrie and Kusac?” asked Davies, frankly disbelieving. “That’s impossible.”

  “Not with the mixed Leskas. Somehow a genetic drift was initiated in both of them until they were compatible. Kusac’s child would have been the first but Carrie lost it when she was injured in the Challenge. Now it’ll be Vanna’s cub.”

  “Not the Vanna we know? The medic?” asked Jo incredulously.

  Vyaka nodded.

  “But she’s not a telepath!”

  “Oh yes, a wild Talent to be sure, but a Telepath nonetheless, and one with a Terran Leska.”

  “Good God,” said Jo, still stunned by the double shock of the news.

  “How many more pairs are there?” asked Davies.

  “I think another two or three. But enough of that,” Vyaka said, picking up her mug again. “Back to the mission. Once we’ve managed to pick up something of their language and culture, you’ll mingle with the Jalnians in the hold. When they leave, so will you. According to the Sumaan, the guards only glance at the Jalnians’ cards, they don’t do a head count so they shouldn’t notice there are three more of you leaving than arrived.” She took another drink.

  “Once outside, you’ll make your way to the crash site in the nearby hills. We’ll return to Jalna every week, so I’ll contact you as soon as we arrive and you can pass on any information you have. Luckily there’s some in-system work we can do over the next couple of months or so, trading directly in space with the other species. When you’re ready to leave, you make your way back to the native shantytown outside the spaceport perimeter and we’ll pick you up the same way we dropped you off. Any questions?”

  “How do we find this crashed vessel?” asked Davies.

  “As we approach Jalna, the Captain will scan the surface, taking images of it which he’ll print out for you as a map. You’ve got a direction finder, haven’t you?”

  Davies nodded.

  “Then you should be all right. Just remember that maps don’t exist on Jalna yet and don’t get caught with it. I’m glad to see you all wearing Jalnian clothes,” she said, glancing at them each in turn. “By the time we get there you’ll look like you’ve lived in them rather than just put them on.”

  Davies scratched vigorously at his upper arm. “Damned tunic is itchy,” he complained. “I never did like natural wool next to my skin.”

  “You’ll be grateful for its warmth on Jalna,” said Jo. “Modern fabrics don’t have the same insulation or natural waterproof qualities as this stuff.”

  “Smells, too,” he grumbled.

  “Natural oils,” said Kris, speaking for the first time. “We could do with rolling in some dirt. These clothes are far too clean.”

  “There’s plenty of dirt in the cargo area,” grinned Vyaka. “You can roll about there to your heart’s delight.”

  “What happens if we get caught by the Jalnian authorities?” asked Davies.

  “We’ll try to get you out the best way we can. With us we have ten Sumaan warriors specifically here as an assault unit in the event of trouble. We won’t abandon you, believe me, but it would be best if you weren’t caught in the first place,” Vyaka said.

  “We must find out why the vessel crashed, what it was doing, and if it has anything on board that will give us a clue as to where the Valtegans come from, is that right?” asked Jo.

  “That’s about the size of it,” agreed Vyaka.

  “Is there some way we can communicate with you when you aren’t on Jalna?” asked Davies. “In case of emergencies.”

  “None, I’m afraid.”

  “I’m not happy about that,” he muttered.

  “There shouldn’t be a problem,” said Vyaka. “If you stick to your cover of itinerant gypsies, then you have a reason to be out in the middle of nowhere between villages. When you find the vessel, your cover is that you’re using it for shelter.”

  “I’m still concerned with the initial information gathering from the Jalnians at the spaceport,” said Jo.

  “I’ll be working with Kris throughout the trip to improve his transfer skills,” reassured Vyaka. “Now I know you’ve a Talent for languages, I’m more confident we’ll get what we want.”

  “I do hope you’re right,” said Jo.

  *

  Meral had been concerned about Taizia, but since he’d received the cryptic message to meet her at The Warrior’s Respite in Nazule, his worry had turned to annoyance. He’d only seen her once in the last six weeks, and then she’d just faced a dressing down from her mother because of inviting the Keissian physician, Jack Reynolds, to Shola without permission. She hadn’t been in the best of moods that night. Now this.

  As he entered the garden at the rear of the inn, he saw her sitting on her own at a table near the riverside.

  He slid down on the bench seat opposite her, frowning in surprise when he saw what she was drinking. “Milk? That’s not like you.”

  “I need the calcium,” she said, wrapping her hands around the glass.

  “What d’you need calcium for? You aren’t ill, are you?” A note of concern had come into his voice.

  It made Taizia feel worse than ever about what she’d done to them both. In the past few weeks she’d come to realize the enormity of her actions.

  “I’m pregnant, Meral,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes focused on her hands. “Remember that night I came to you in your room? I decided then.”

  His stunned silence lengthened until she had to look up. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” she said lamely. “I wanted to be with you. I didn’t want Father finding a mate for me. It would have meant ending our relationship.” She looked back down at her drink, unable to stand the stillness of his face and mind.

  “I wanted us to be together—for a year or two at least. I did it, it’s my responsibility. I don’t expect anything from you. There’s no need for us to take out a bond-contract.”

  Her heart sank as he got to his feet. “You needn’t worry,” she said, her voice almost a whisper, “I won’t tell them who the father is. I won’t involve you in my dishonor.” A knot of unhappiness was tying itself around her heart now, making her feel ill.

  He reached out, grasping her by the arm. “I want to talk to you—in private,” he said, his voice low with anger.

  She got up, walking beside him along the riverside toward the small bridge. His mind was still closed, no thoughts or emotions beyond his anger that would give her a clue as to what he was thinking.

  He stopped when they reached it, turning round to face her.

  “Kusac was right about you,” he said angrily. “You’re as impulsive as a cub half your age! Did you stop to think of the consequences of your actions before you decided to conceive? You don’t bring a cub into the world just so you don’t have to marry, or because you don’t want to lose a lover! There’s a little person growing inside you now! A life you’ve made me equally responsible for, without even asking me!”

  She couldn’t look at him. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve said I’ll take full responsibility for it—I’ll say it isn’t yours.”

  He gave a hiss of exasperation and she could see his tail flicking from side to side. “Be realistic, Taizia! Who’s going to believe that?”

  “There’s nothing more I can do now,” she said, blinking rapidly before dashing her forearm across her eyes in an effort to stem her tears. She knew her ears were flat with distress but she couldn’t raise them.

  She felt him grasp her by the arm again, then pull her close before folding his arms around her.

  “You damned, stupid, idiotic child,” he said, lowering his face to hers before capturing her cheek with his teeth and beginning to gently nip it. “I’ll not have you telling anyone it isn’t mine,” he growled as he moved his mouth downward to her throat. “We’l
l sign a bonding contract before we tell your parents. No one else is claiming our cub, Taizia.”

  She tipped her head back as his tongue rasped across her throat, then his teeth closed over her larynx and tightened till they marked her flesh.

  “If I go home now, my mother’ll know I’m pregnant,” she said. “I’m not ready to face them yet.”

  “Where have you been staying?”

  “With a friend, but I had to leave for the same reason. And the Guild’s so oppressive since Father and the Guild Master fell out.”

  “You’re not going back there,” he said firmly. “We’ll go to the judiciary and take out a contract today, then I’m taking you home.”

  “Home?” she said, startled.

  He held her close again. “Yes, to my parents’ estate,” he said, rubbing his face against hers. “You’ll be safe there until I’ve seen your brother and your parents.”

  “You can’t tell them on your own,” she said, pulling back from him.

  “I can, and I will,” he said. “If you hadn’t been an Aldatan, I’d have asked you to be my mate. The God knows I wanted to, but telepaths don’t life-bond to outsiders. And I’m insisting on a five-year contract. I wish it could be longer—because I love you, Taizia.”

  Her laugh was slightly hysterical. In her mind, she’d faced every possible reaction from him but this.

  “You must be mad,” she said, hugging him tightly. “I love you, too, and I wish we could be life-mates, Meral, but at least we’ll have some happiness.”

  “Don’t think about the future,” he said, letting her go before they turned round to walk back to the inn. “We’ll find a way to stay together. You may have to marry but you can still choose whom you love.”

  Her mouth opened in a smile as she looked up at him. “Yes, I can, can’t I?”

  *

  Kaid was sitting in the staff lounge when Garras came in.

  “I’ve been hoping to find you on your own all day,” he said, going over to the drinks dispenser. “Can I get you anything?”