From nowhere, people appeared, descending on the fallen body of Jakule and around Carrie and Kusac, forming a living barrier between them and any further assailants.
She lay there stunned, looking up at the ceiling above, then Kusac and Vanna were by her side.
“She’s all right,” said Vanna, clamping her hand over the wound on her arm. “Just call Medical. I’ll see to her.”
Are you all right? demanded Kusac, kneeling beside her. I can’t sense any pain.
It doesn’t hurt. She was aware of being surrounded by people on every side. It was difficult to breathe, she felt claustrophobic.
Kusac got to his feet and started pushing them back. “Get back! You’re causing more harm than good,” he said. “We need room!”
He knelt down again, suddenly feeling an agonizing pain in his right arm. His head began to swim, then he felt her black out.
“I think the pain’s just hit her,” said Vanna.
“I know,” said Kusac, his voice tight.
“You, too? Shit! Hang in there and try to block it. She can’t feel anything for the present. Where the hell’s the onduty medic team? They shouldn’t take this long.”
“You hold her arm, I’ll carry her,” said Kusac, reaching down to pick her up.
“I don’t want her moved, Kusac,” said Vanna, but he ignored her.
*
Chyad stood rooted to the spot for several seconds, hardly able to take in what had happened. As Jakule fell, he saw Tayn standing beyond. The other skidded to a stop, staring at him with wide eyes, then turned tail and ran in the opposite direction.
Jakule had been coming for him, Chyad realized with a shock. He began to growl low in his throat. That damned smoke bar! What the hell had they given him? He’d blown everything now, the stupid son of a she-jegget! Then he saw the security people moving. Where the hell had they all come from? His blood ran cold as he realized the extent of the unseen protection that surrounded the Terran female and her Leska. His people had picked up none of it. They were all amateurs compared with this.
Turning, he headed back the way he’d come. Maybe it was just as well the runt had flipped like that. Now he knew the full extent of what they were taking on. At least no one could tie this to him and his friends.
The klaxon had brought everyone out into the concourse, and a hand grabbed at him as he pushed through the crowd.
“Chyad! Wait!”
It was Maikoe. He pulled free, slowing slightly to let her catch up with him.
“What happened? Why’s the alarm going off?” she demanded.
“Jakule shot the Terran female. The energy flare set off the alarm.”
“Hey, stop a minute,” she said, hauling on his arm. “Jakule shot her?” she asked incredulously. “Why would he do a stupid thing like that?”
“He wasn’t after her, he was after me,” said Chyad. “The Terran just happened to come into his line of sight and he changed his mind.”
“Gods, you were lucky! What about the Terran? Is she dead? What happened to Jakule?”
“I don’t know, I couldn’t see for the security people around her.” He stopped and grabbed her, pulling her back against a store front.
“You should have seen them, Maikoe! There must have been upward of half a dozen of them rushing forward!” He shook his head, beginning to realize just how narrow an escape he’d had, not only from Jakule but from Security. “Jakule’s dead. One of the guards took him out.”
“At least he can’t tell them anything,” said Maikoe. “What the hell did you do to him to make him come after you with a gun?”
“He was watching their corridor when they moved into their new quarters. Myak saw him. I told him to stay out of sight.”
“Are you sure Myak saw him?”
“Positive!” growled Chyad, pulling away from her. “I’m getting out of here. If you’ve any sense, you’ll do the same. I’ll contact you when things have calmed down. Tell the others to do the same.”
*
The emergency team arrived back at her lab five minutes after they did. The comments Vanna threw at them over her shoulder as she worked were brief and to the point.
“Where the hell were you? An emergency team shouldn’t take fifteen minutes to reach their patient! By then they’re likely dead! I’m ordering drills for all of you as of tomorrow morning at eighth hour. See you’re here on time. If you don’t improve, I’ll have your rank reversed to ward orderlies! Now get out of here!”
She glanced up at Kusac, her tail still swaying from side to side in anger. “You’re in my way, too,” she said abruptly.
“I’m not leaving,” he said from his position by Carrie’s head.
“It’s not serious, Kusac. Just a flesh wound. There’s no need for you to stay. Go and join Garras outside.”
He ignored her, staying where he was.
“Don’t you trust me?” she asked as she finished wrapping a dressing over the wound.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said.
“She’s staying here overnight so that I can monitor her,” warned Vanna, collecting her various implements. “I want to be sure she doesn’t go into shock.”
“I’m not leaving,” he repeated.
“You can’t stay.”
“Then neither does she.”
“Aren’t you carrying this a little too far?” she asked quietly.
“Gods, Vanna, I’ve just found her! I could have lost her out there, and you ask me to leave her here on her own?” He shook his head. “No, I’m staying.”
Vanna looked at him across the limp form of Carrie. There was a determined look on his face. She had a sudden feeling she was going to get to know it well. “I give in,” she sighed. “Stay if you must, but I don’t know where I’m going to put you.”
“You’ll find somewhere,” said Kusac with a faint grin.
“Don’t bet on it,” she said, leaving the treatment room.
*
“Well,” growled Raguul to the Brother, “not to put too fine a point on it, you bungled that one.”
“On the contrary. He only got off one shot which, considering he was a wild card, is acceptable. Even your telepaths didn’t pick him up because he changed his target at the last moment.”
“I don’t consider it acceptable.”
“Commander, it is impossible to guard anyone against an unexpected attack. Given the circumstances, everyone concerned acted with speed and efficiency to protect them. I destroyed the threat. Have you had the lab report on Jakule yet?” he asked, changing the topic.
Raguul grunted assent and pushed the folder over to the Brother with a clawtip. “You were right. Drugs and alcohol pushed him over the edge.”
Tallinu picked up the file and quickly scanned the contents. “His intended victim was Chyad, the leader of the dissidents.”
“So you said. He’s still at liberty as you requested. The smoke bar has been cleared, and those responsible are in the cells.”
Tallinu nodded. “I don’t want Chyad to know we’re on to him yet. I’ve got an informant in the group now. It should be interesting to see what comes out of this.”
“Interesting isn’t the word I’d choose,” said Raguul. “I’m having them moved. I don’t care what your plans are, I cannot put either of them at risk again. They’ll spend the rest of their stay on the Khalossa in one of the ambassadorial suites, which is where they should be anyway considering Kusac Aldatan’s rank. In future, they’ll go nowhere without personal bodyguards.”
“As you wish,” said Tallinu. “I have to warn you that if you do this, though, you run the risk of not being able to eliminate this dissidence at the root.”
“We’ll all face that problem when we come to it,” growled Raguul. “One way or another I want that gang rounded up now. If you don’t, then I will. I won’t risk their lives again. Gods, their parents are the major negotiators in this treaty!”
“Very well. I’ll need thirty-six hours.”
&n
bsp; Raguul nodded with relief. “Draz tells me you’ve organized the security at Physician Vanna’s lab.”
“I’ve placed two males, Meral and Sevrin, on personal guard duty outside their room, with another at every corridor junction and elevator in that section. They’re on two-hour shifts to maximize their efficiency. Has High Command isolated all our ships and started the Attitude Indoctrination program?”
“It’s been done, both in space and on Shola and Khoma. There have been no other reports of dissent against the humans.”
*
As he left the Commander’s office, Tallinu stopped to talk to Myak.
“How is the indoctrination program proceeding? Did you get your guild’s aid?”
Myak looked up at him, his eyes unblinking. “The Telepath Guild has included some subliminal messages for us in both the standard Attitude Indoctrination program and the Basic Ethnography. We’re using it at present on those due to go down to Keiss. It appears to be working. Quite a few of our personnel seem to be enjoying the lectures, in fact.”
“No crises of conscience, then, Myak?”
Myak blinked once. “No, Brother Tallinu. Not in this case. Too much hangs in the balance. You are more in touch with the Gods than us, you should know this.”
“Oh, I do, my friend. I do. Vartra has a lot to answer for.”
*
“I thought you wanted to run some tests on them today,” said Garras as they left the medical section.
“That can wait,” said Vanna tiredly. “I need to eat.”
“Then let’s have… third meal,” said Garras, checking his wrist unit. “Why don’t we go to my quarters and call the restaurants? We can get them to send something over.”
“Sounds good. I need to relax, not sit in the mess or a restaurant.”
Though hungry, Vanna picked her way through her meal. Finally, when they sat with cups of c’shar, Garras asked her what was wrong.
Vanna sighed. “I’ve been offered a new job.”
“Let me guess. When Kusac and Carrie leave for Shola, they want you to accompany them.”
Vanna looked up at him, startled. “How did you guess?”
“Not difficult. It’s the logical thing to do. You’ve told me their lives depend on each other, so he’d be foolish to leave behind the only Sholan medic with any idea of how to treat his Leska. And Kusac’s no fool.”
“I’d like to go,” she said.
“It’s your decision, Vanna. Personal physician to the heir of the Aldatan Clan, and a contender for the leadership of the Sixteen Telepath Clans isn’t a job to be turned down lightly.”
“He’s concerned he may not remain the heir for long when his parents find out about his Leska.”
“I doubt that,” said Garras. “It would look very bad for the Head of Alien Relations to disinherit his son because he has an alien Leska.”
Vanna shrugged. “It doesn’t affect my decision anyway. The problem is, I also want to stay.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” she said.
“May I ask why?”
“I’ve got friends I don’t want to leave behind. Good friends,” she said, looking up at him.
He reached down to touch her cheek. “Now you’re getting sentimental,” he said gently. “You mustn’t let sentiment stand in the way of the life you want. Just be sure that it’s what you really want.”
“Shola’s a long way from here.”
“My duties are likely to keep me on the surface of Keiss for some time. With you here doing research, we wouldn’t see much of each other. If you go, I can visit when I’m on leave. I’m due one soon. I have Clan matters to attend to regarding my trade agreement with Skinner over coffee.”
Vanna grinned. “You crafty so and so! You’ve been planning it!”
Garras’ ears dipped slightly. “Let’s say I anticipated your leaving and was hoping rather than planning that I would have a reason to visit you. Now come up off the floor. It’s too far down for me at my age.”
“Your age!” she scoffed, uncurling herself and joining him on the settee. “You’re hardly an ancient!”
Garras made a grab for her, catching her by the scruff. “You go with Kusac and Carrie to Shola if that’s what you want,” he said as he licked the insides of her ears, making her squirm, “just so long as I can visit you and have you to myself for a while.”
“I promise, I promise!” she said, laughing.
*
The maintenance communicator chimed. “Ngalu, report to sector three landing bay. They have a breached oxygen pipe.”
“On my way,” responded Ngalu picking up her tool kit and emergency air supply. Slinging the portable breather unit over her shoulders, she loped off to the nearest servicing elevator.
The landing bay was aft of the ship and housed a quarter of the available eight-person scout ships that were flying patrols over Keiss and throughout that sector of space. The bay doors were currently open, the faint blue glow of the force field that kept the atmosphere in lending an eerie cyanic glow to the parked vehicles.
All nonessential personnel had vacated the area before she arrived; only the chief engineer on duty remained.
“Where’s the problem?” she asked as she joined him at his station.
His ears flicked to the bay doors. “Over there. Looks like one of the scouters may have caught it as they entered. I’m in the process of topping up the liquid oxygen levels so the blow-out detectors are disabled. I’ve stopped the refueling sequence, but there’s still liquid in the system.”
She looked over to the open doors, eyes narrowing to focus on the array of pipes to the left.
“I see it,” she said, catching sight of the thin stream of gas as it emerged from the break into the warmer atmosphere of the landing bay.
“Can you isolate the pipe manually?”
He shook his head. “Not from here. I’ll have to go up to the gallery to access those controls.”
“Do it, then. I don’t want to run the risk of a fire down here. Let’s have the bay doors shut.”
“Not possible. There’s a patrol due to land in fifteen minutes.”
“Advise the bridge of the problem in case we need to reroute them. We’ll do it by the book. I want this area depressurized. I don’t anticipate any problems, but there’s no point in chancing fate with those fuel lines in operation. I’ll give you the signal when I’m ready.”
While the engineer proceeded to route his controls up to the gallery, Ngalu went over to the lockers. Putting her repair kit down, she pulled out an emergency pressure suit. Releasing her breather unit, she placed it in the locker out of the way. By the time she’d climbed into the suit and sealed her helmet, the engineer’s voice was audible over her comm unit.
“Oxygen feed line has been isolated, Maintenance. I’m ready to depressurize on your command.”
“Depressurize now,” said Ngalu, picking up her kit and making her way over to the bay doors.
As she approached the breached pipe, she could see the slight rime of frost surrounding the crack. The stream of gas was lessening now that it had been isolated.
She reached out to touch it. There was a bright flash followed by a searing pain in her chest, then darkness.
*
When Vanna returned to the medical section the next morning, she found Kusac curled up beside Carrie. She reached out and shook him awake.
His eyes flicked open, and Carrie began to stir.
“How is she?” Vanna asked. “Did she have a peaceful night?”
“She woke in pain, so the nurse gave us the pills you’d left,” said Kusac, blinking in an effort to wake.
“I notice your leg hasn’t been bothering you.”
“It stopped hurting so I took the dressing off a couple of days ago,” he said.
“There’s no point in having a personal physician if you don’t do what she says,” said Vanna, checking the logbook on the nightstand.
“You’ll come?” asked Kusac,
lifting his head up to look at her.
“I’ll come,” she agreed.
“I’m glad. And Garras?”
Her ears flicked in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. “Doesn’t anyone around you get a private life?” she asked.
“I haven’t used my…”
“Hey, I’m only teasing,” she said quickly. “He’ll visit me.”
“I don’t need to look,” he said. “You both have a contentment you lacked before.”
Carrie woke, eyes flying open in panic till she got her bearings and realized Kusac was with her.
“Maybe you were right after all, Kusac,” said Vanna quietly. “How do you feel this morning, Carrie?” she asked.
“Bruised and sore,” she said, sitting up. “And hungry.”
“Your arm will hurt for all that it’s a shallow wound.” Vanna put a small container on the stand beside her. “Take one of these when you need it, but no more than six in a day,” she warned. “They’re the same tablets you had before. They should help. Now if you two will get up, Myak is waiting to talk to you.”
“Myak?” said Kusac in surprise as he slid out from under the cover. “What’s it about?”
Vanna shook her head. “You’ll have to ask him.”
“Can someone pass me my clothes, please?” asked Carrie.
Kusac went over to the chair for them. Clothing taboos, he sent on a tight thought in Vanna’s direction.
A startled look came over her face.
Kusac went back to Carrie with them. “I’ll be outside with Myak,” he said, touching her cheek lightly.
*
“Moving again?” said Kusac incredulously. “Why?”
“For your safety, Liegen,” said Myak.
“Where?”
“One of the ambassadorial suites.”
“No. I refuse. We’ll stay where we are.”
“Orders, Liegen. Commander Raguul sends his regrets at the circumstances that make it necessary, but it is the only place we can guarantee your safety until the matter is dealt with.”
“Who was the male that shot at us?” he demanded. “Did you get him?”
“He was a member of the ground forces, a petty criminal. He was given a recreational drug cut with a dangerous narcotic and wasn’t in his right mind when he encountered you and your Leska, Liegen. He’s dead. One of our men killed him as he shot at you.”
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