Angels and Ministers of Grace

by Michelle O'Leary

  "Unknown designation," the station responded in a flat, vaguely male voice.

  Anya opened her eyes and stared at the map again, seeing just how far she'd have to go to get to the cargo holds. There was no way she'd make it. Fine, she thought stubbornly, change in plan. "Station, are there any storage units near my location? Or any place that doesn't get a lot of traffic?"

  "Use of vehicles in the station is not authorized."

  "People, I mean people. I need a place where there's likely to be no people."

  The map lit again, and Anya stared at it for a long moment. Several highlighted areas were too far away and some were too close—she didn't want Jason and company to do a search and find her just like that. Reaching out with a trembling finger, she touched the surface of the screen. "What's this?"

  "The space you have indicated is where the secondary systems are located for the air filtration units. They are inactive and require maintenance once every forty seven days. It has been thirteen days since they have been serviced and the probability of human or alien contact is—"

  "What's the quickest route there from here?" The map flashed a route, but Anya sighed. "One that doesn't take me past medical."

  The screen blinked as it changed the route, and Anya tried her best to memorize it. She was just about to push away from the terminal and move along that route when someone rounded the corner. Holding her breath, she pretended a deep interest in what was on the screen until they disappeared up the corridor in the direction she was headed. Lucky for her they hadn't come a few minutes earlier and found her snoozing on the floor. She gave them a minute to get far in front of her before she started after them, again using the wall for support.

  She was going to run into more people as she went, but there was no help for it. She'd just have to act as natural as possible and continue putting out disinterested signals. It took her a while to reach a junction that had level jumpers, but leaning against the wall as she went was helping to keep her weakness manageable. Her head still pounded like it was trying to push her eyeballs out of her head, but at least she could still move forward.

  There was one man at the junction, but he paid her no attention, getting into a tube to the left of the one she wanted. She stumbled into the confined space and leaned gratefully next to the controls, her breathing unsteady. When the tube stopped at her debarkation point, the door opened on a busy junction. Easing out the door, Anya took a deep breath and tried to look normal as she meandered away. But she must have looked worse than she thought.

  A couple eyed her with concern as they passed, and the man detained her with a hand on her arm. "Miss? Are you all right?"

  "I'll be fine. I think it was something I ate." She grimaced before smiling wanly at them, moving away before they could say anything more. The corridor that she chose was deserted. It looked like part of the service areas of the station so she must be getting close.

  She paused at a terminal as much for the breather as to get more detailed directions, closing her eyes and laying her temple against cool metal for a moment of blessed rest. Something niggled at the edge of her clouded thoughts, a vague idea that she may have forgotten something, but she couldn't pinpoint it and was too tired to make a serious attempt. With an effort of will, she began to move again, shuffling along the wall with care.

  Down the corridor, a turn to the left, the second door on the right and she was in. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Anya sagged against the closed door and looked around. It wasn't a small space, but it was filled with an incomprehensible jumble of tubes, electronics and control panels, objects large and small strewn in what seemed an illogical clutter throughout the area. Then again, she wasn't an engineer—for all she knew this could be a well-ordered and efficient system.

  Stumbling into the room, Anya wandered through the place at random, looking for a good spot to settle. She didn't want to be seen from the door, but she did want a clear space around her. When she found what she was looking for, she plopped herself down and took several deep breaths of relief. Her muscles felt like lead, and she had the almost overwhelming desire to curl up on the dingy floor. She fought the need for sleep, though. It was time to put the second part of her plan into action before she lost what was left of her strength and nerve.

  It was simple, this plan of hers. The first part had been to get away from anyone who could get between her and the telepath—anyone who could become his victim in her name—and do it in such a way that she wouldn't be walking into a trap made by the madman. The second part was to call him to her, meeting him on a ground of her choice. Then she would deal with him herself.

  It wasn't suicidal—at least she hoped it wasn't—but it was dangerous. The outcome was unknown. He might break through the blocks she put up around her mind and take control of her. Then he could do whatever he wanted to her, including rape, murder, torture…or just taking her back to the Guild to be dissected. But he might dispense with the pleasantries and just kill her outright with more conventional means.

  On the other hand, it was possible that she could subdue him. She'd done it before at the institution, but that had been a long time ago and the person she'd subdued, though just as crazy, had not been a telepath. And she had not been so weak…

  Anya shook her head with a frown and sat up straighter. Thinking about it would only freak her out. She needed to get on with it before she changed her mind. Taking a deep breath, she held it for a moment before letting it out slowly, clearing her mind at the same time. She repeated this meditation technique a couple of times until she felt calm enough to attempt the call.

  Then she opened her mind and freed her talent, letting it expand out from her in an invisible bubble, but this time she wasn't searching. She was sending a wordless challenge, a sting only the telepath was likely to comprehend. It wasn't specific, and it wasn't directed. She also had no one and nothing around to distract her, so she was able to send it much farther than she would have imagined. There had been the possibility that she wouldn't be able to reach far enough and would have to move to a different location, taking the risk that Jason would catch up with her.

  That was no longer a concern. Her own range amazed her, something she had never tested before. When she was sure that the telepath was aware of her escape, she settled down to wait and conserve her strength. He'd proven himself a resourceful beast—he'd find her soon enough, hopefully before Jason got wind of her absence. Again, the vague thought that she'd forgotten something danced at the edge of her consciousness, but she shoved it away in irritation. It was too late for those kinds of concerns.

  Leaning back against a large tube, Anya closed her eyes. The problem was, she was almost past caring whether anyone found her or not. Her entire body cried out for sleep, and as much as she tried to warn herself that it would be suicidal to let him find her unprepared, she couldn't work up the proper fear or anger to stay awake. With a sigh of surrender, Anya fell asleep.

  Chapter 13

  Jason was trying to explain to her friends why it was impossible for them to see Anya when Dr. Bradshaw contacted him. "Yeah, Doc."

  "You need to come down to Medical immediately."

  With a sting of alarm, Jason asked, "What's the problem?"

  "I think you need to see this for yourself."

  Jason spun on his heel and started out the door as he answered, "On my way," ignoring the protests from her friends. The other man's voice hadn't been panicky, but then again when was he ever? Jason started worrying about those complications that Bradshaw had mentioned and increased his speed to a sprint. Just in case it wasn't a medical problem, he contacted Coop.

  "Now what?" was the man's immediate, irritated response, and Jason knew exactly how he felt.

  "We may have a situation at Medical."

  "I'm on my way." Frank must have dashed there at top speed, because he was right on Jason's heels when they got to the medical unit, breathing heavily. "What's going on?"

  "Don't know yet," Jason answ
ered him in a terse tone as they passed the guards on the way in. Neither they nor the guards in front of Anya's door looked perturbed, so either it wasn't that bad or Bradshaw hadn't told them yet.

  When they walked into the room and Jason saw who was sitting on the bed with Bradshaw standing next to her, he knew it was the second option. Swearing a blue streak, he bore down on the woman who had Anya's white hair, wore Anya's gown, but sure as hell wasn't Anya. "Where is she?"

  "I-I don't know," the woman stuttered, hunching her shoulders in defense. "She didn't know where she was going herself. She said she'd use the station's systems to figure that out after she got out of here."

  Jason didn't waste any more time on her. Turning away and marching towards the door, he activated his communicator. "Station, DNA pinpoint."

  "Voice print, Lieutenant Commander Jason Salvatore. Confirm?"

  "Access code Salvatore one six nine beta."

  Frank followed him out the door and gathered the guards together.

  "Access granted. Subject?"

  "Anya Vaedrin."

  It took the station a mere second to find her, but to Jason it felt like an eon. What if she'd already left the station? He and Coop were out in the corridor with the guards when the station gave her location.

  "Is she alone?"

  "There is one human life sign in the same location."

  "Is that person registered?"

  "No, the human's DNA is not on record."

  They started running.

  "Well, this is different."

  Anya woke with a start, sudden cold terror stiffening her form at the amused voice. Blinking frantically, she sat up straight and pulled her legs in to her chest, trying to locate him. She knew it was the telepath. She could feel him. With adrenaline enhanced speed, she threw up her defenses before he could invade her mind. It didn't seem like he was in too big of a hurry to do that though. He sauntered out into the open, watching her with hungry amusement.

  He didn't look like much, she noted absently. He could have passed for anyone with his short, receding, sandy blond hair and bland features. He was slim, but not strikingly so, and the only thing that gave him away was the avaricious gleam in his eyes. That and the weapon he held in his right hand. It wasn't pointed at her though, dangling from his hand like a forgotten toy. He didn't seem the least bit threatened by her.

  "You're an unexpected little rabbit, bolting from your hole and then announcing yourself. I wonder, do you want to die?"

  "I don't plan on it," she muttered hoarsely through bone-dry lips. The playful attentiveness on his face scared the hell out of her.

  Her answer made him throw back his head and laugh. "You're such a delightful little rabbit! The Guild doesn't often allow me so much freedom in a hunt. A pity you felt the need to end it so soon."

  He obviously thought that he was in complete control of this situation, which wasn't much of a surprise. She was huddled on the floor, looking like death warmed over and hardly a challenge to a child, let alone a full-grown man. Anya was more than willing to let him think it. "You know, I'd love to trade witty banter with you, but I'm really tired. Can we just get on with this?"

  If he raised his weapon, she was in serious trouble. But when he stepped forward with a greedy smile on his face, he kept it at his side. "Whatever you say."

  Without warning, her head suddenly felt like it was caught in a vice. His telepathic attack was voracious and horribly strong, slamming into her barriers like a comet bent on destruction. It was shocking and painful, but Anya had had time to prepare while he'd been busy gloating. The stunned surprise on his face as she kept him at bay was worth the discomfort of feeling like her head was being squeezed by very large pincers.

  "Well, well. A challenge! Thank you, little rabbit. I thought this was going to be too easy."

  "You call me that one more time and I'll have to get up and slap you."

  He snickered, eyes glittering and face flushing with what she could feel was pleasure. Her resistance was arousing the sick bastard. Well, if he thought that was exciting, she had another big surprise for him. She unraveled her talent with care, making sure her blocks held as she did so. When she was sure she could defend and attack at the same time, she struck.

  He stiffened with a gasp as she slid past his own defenses, blocks built to fend off invasions into his conscious mind, but not his primitive mind, his unconscious. That part of his brain didn't recognize words or images, the basis for telepathic communication. It only understood hunger, passion, fear. Pain.

  She was gratified to see that he wasn't pleased anymore. Face now flushed with effort and discomfort, he fought back with surprising strength. They were at a standoff for now, but she didn't know how long that was going to last—more specifically, she didn't know how long she was going to last. It was clear that he was feeling her attack, but he was learning fast and was very strong.

  She was just gathering herself for a last strike, a huge risk since she meant to drop her barriers to do it with all her strength, when she heard the door open somewhere behind him. She knew who it was—but how the hell had Jason known how to find her? Anya had a sudden horrible image of Jason in this man's control, and in an act of desperation she let her barriers weaken, letting up on her own attack to distract the telepath from her would-be rescuers. It seemed to work, his face lighting with ferocious glee as he doubled his efforts.

  It was a mistake. The telepath was suddenly so close to taking control of her that Anya panicked and flung her blocks back up, terror at the thought of being at his mercy lending her strength. The effort was incredible, but she managed it somehow, flinging her hands up in a mirror of what she did with her mind. But her ability to push him out when he was so close to controlling her enraged the telepath and with a snarl he raised his weapon.

  "Stop!" Jason suddenly appeared, his own weapon raised, but Anya knew it wasn't going to be enough. She felt the vice disappear as the force of the man's telepathic strength rushed away towards the Lieutenant Commander. Quick as a thought, Jason was frozen in place, and the telepath started to turn, weapon turning with him. He meant to kill Jason, and Anya found herself on her feet, horrified to her soul.

  "No!" she heard someone scream in her voice, as time slowed to a crawl and she gathered her talent for a blow that had her entire will behind it. The strike, enormous and fatal, felt as though it scraped her hollow, ripping out her insides in a second of blinding pain. Empty and burning, she saw the telepath die, his whole body going rigid and his eyes bulging in overwhelming pain as his heart stopped. A second later, Jason shot him through the chest.

  Anya watched the telepath fall as the room tilted in a slow tumble to one side. She had a second to realize that she was also falling before the floor jarred her into oblivion.

  Chapter 14

  Jason stumbled over the body of the telepath as he scrambled towards Anya. Terrified that she'd been shot, he ran shaking hands over her before checking her pulse. It was rapid but steady, and he remembered how to breathe again. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened. He'd seen the man raise his weapon at Anya, and he remembered jumping out to kill him. Then he blanked out for a moment, as if he'd been suddenly thrust into a pitch-black room. When he could see again, the telepath had half turned around and had an expression of utter agony on his face. Jason had triggered his weapon without conscious thought and saw the blast take the telepath in the chest.

  It was seeing Anya fall along with the telepath that had galvanized him into motion. Lifting her in his arms, he turned to see Coop and the guards watching anxiously. Was everyone under her spell? "She's fine—I think. Her pulse is good. I'm taking her back to Medical. Bring the body."

  Feeling like he was repeating a whole set of events, Jason rushed her back to the medical unit. She looked just as fragile as she had the last time, but he kept checking her pulse, and it was strong each time. Frank and the guards brought the dead telepath with them as they trailed him to Medical.

  Doc B
radshaw's only response was to shake his head before executing a repeat of the morning's performance. The team that took the body was much less energetic, scanning it with clinical thoroughness before sticking it in a stasis unit. One of them approached their group as they stood by the door.

  "Well, Lieutenant Commander, your guy was experiencing v-fib and a massive myocardial infarction—" At their blanks looks, his expression became pained. "Sorry. He was in the middle of a fatal heart attack when you killed him. He would have died anyway."

  "That's—strange."

  "I'll say, considering he was a healthy middle-aged man with no sign of degeneration or pre-existing conditions. Well, his cerebrospinal fluid was a little off and he had the beginnings of a gastric ulcer, but those aren't related."

  "Would being a telepath have anything to do with the fluid results?"

  "Sure, if he was exercising his talent vigorously. Yeah, that matches his results pretty well, but it still doesn't account for his heart stopping."

  Jason shook his head to show that he was clueless, and with a careless shrug, the tech moved away.

  Dr. Bradshaw approached moments later, his expression grave enough to make Jason's stomach clench. "You haven't told me everything about this young woman. I believe I need to hear what else you know. Now."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I'm not sure, and that's the problem. Some of her condition is due to her poisoning and how she has abused her body since. She was not ready for such physical activity, and it has taxed her greatly. But that's not all that's wrong, and if I am to treat her, I need all the information."

  "Where can we talk in private? I don't think she'd want me telling the whole station."

  "My med unit is hardly the whole station, but I respect your discretion. Come with me, please."

  They entered a large booth enclosed in a clear, see-through material. Dr. Bradshaw relieved the nurse who was monitoring patients on several screens, and the man left with a brisk nod. When they were alone, Jason explained Anya's situation, including why the Guild was after her and the nature of her talent.