The mention of the Basma triggered Tasha’s memory at last. The woman identified as Amy and the other two who looked familiar had gone missing in recent months. The Basma had claimed responsibility for the disappearances.
Tasha drew a stunned breath. “You’re all – you’re the women who were abducted these last few years?”
The blonde nodded. “That’s us.”
Tasha’s mind reeled. She and Noelle had been kidnapped. The Nobek who had appeared in Noelle’s nursery had taken them somewhere after Tasha had been incapacitated.
Was I drugged? Was that why the shel had a strange smell?
Tasha’s heart thundered as she realized that somehow enemies had gotten past the Royal Guards standing watch over the Royal House. Despite the supposed impossibility of such an occurrence, she and Noelle had been taken from the home.
The spike of adrenaline cleared the last of the fog of Tasha’s mind. It brought a surge of energy to her still-heavy body, enough to allow her to swing her legs over the side of the pallet and plant her feet on the dirt floor. The wood beneath her body creaked tiredly, as if it also had seen too much trouble. Noelle moved back, scrubbing tears off her cheeks. She looked up at Tasha, her expression imploring her cousin to get them out of this mess.
Tasha had another look around. She recognized the building as a portable shelter, the kind used by the Kalquorian military for temporary quarters out in the field.
“We’re still on Kalquor,” she reassured herself.
Amy shook her head. “No, but you can see it from here at night.”
The blonde nodded. “We’re on Lobam.”
Tasha stared at them, not believing. It wasn’t possible to take Noelle off Kalquor. There were state-of-the-art safeguards in place that prevented it.
“There is no way that could happen.” She stood, her heart pounding faster than ever. Her knees wobbled a little, but otherwise she seemed to have shaken off the effects of whatever drug had been used on her. With Noelle clinging to her skirt, Tasha went to the door. The women in her path moved aside, as silent and gray as ghosts.
Tasha stepped into the doorway, feeling the heat of the sun beating down on her. She stared at the sky, her mouth stretching open in a silent, horrified scream.
High in the sky hung a familiar greenish-blue planet. Kalquor. It was true. The Basma had taken them away from a situation deemed absolutely secure.
The realization that somehow the Basma had indeed managed to get Noelle off the home planet was like a punch to Tasha’s gut. For several seconds she couldn’t draw breath. She blinked and kept staring at the orb in the sky that should have been the moon she now stood on. She kept expecting for Kalquor to disappear, to not really be a quarter of a million miles away.
The planet remained fixed in the sky. Tasha’s mind finally accepted that the women had told her the truth. She and Noelle were on Lobam.
Shock didn’t want to wear off. Tasha forced it to. They had landed in serious trouble, and she needed her wits about her. This was no time to scream, sob, or crumple in a helpless heap; the things she wanted to do most. She had to be strong and find a way to get Noelle to safety.
Tasha took her horrified gaze from the sky and looked around her surroundings. The sunlight was bright, throwing everything in glaring relief and leaving no illusions about the situation.
The ground was hard packed dirt, with little vegetation save a few tufts of stubborn grasses here and there. It was mostly empty, the few objects that it contained crowded close to the metallic temporary shelter. A pipe stuck up at one corner of the rectangular building, surrounded by muddy water. There were footprints pressed into that area. A log lay near the door, its length scooped out so it resembled a badly-made canoe. A pile of thick branches lay between the pipe and log. That was it.
Beyond the dirt, dense woods surrounded most of the area. A slight breeze made the rich green leaves flutter, rattling them with a dry, scritchy sound. A small landing pad had been constructed in a clearing a little beyond the yard. A standard space worthy shuttle sat there. Next to it, looking like a metallic insect, a much smaller shuttle squatted. It was no more than a two-seater with the barest bit of a cargo space.
Tasha’s attention was arrested by the sight of containment poles circling the bare yard, one of which stood between her and the shuttles. The long, upright metal rods circled the dirt yard every twenty feet. They glared in the bright sun, blinding the eyes. Tasha didn’t have to be told that force fields stretched between each pole, invisible barriers that kept the women in their dismal prison environment.
As Tasha weighed the obstacles to escape, the rough face of her friend Commander Bifen popped in her head. He’d had an entertaining story or two about being caged in such containments during war games in combat training. He knew the strength of such barriers better than many.
Beyond and inside the containment, Nobeks in military-issue armored formsuits patrolled. They were a hard-looking lot, although most appeared bored at the moment. Placid with assurance, even. They wore blasters on their utility belts, along with too many knives to count. Tasha looked longingly at the weaponry, but she knew her chances of getting any of it away from the guards: none. Even as casually as they seemed to be taking the duty to keep the Earthers secured, they were still too fast and battle-ready for Tasha to hope to take on. Nobeks were the badasses of the universe.
Military uniforms though. Except for the missing shield of the Kalquorian Empire, they looked exactly like the armored formsuits of the ground troops. Were these actual soldiers who’d been recruited to the Basma’s cause?
Having had a look around, Tasha stepped out of the shelter. Once in the middle of the yard, she checked her surroundings once more. There was nothing here but dirt, filthy and underfed women, and Nobeks checking her out with the wrong kind of interest.
Noelle had emerged with her, clinging to her skirt. The little girl stared at the emptiness and the shadowed expanse of woods beyond the void. She sniffled and whispered, “It’s ugly here, Tasha. Wayne’s camp is much nicer.”
Tasha looked at the child and weighed what she should say. Would the truth terrify Noelle? Was it cruel to tell her how much trouble they were in? Or would it be best to sugarcoat the matter and try to keep Noelle as happy and calm as possible?
No, Tasha decided, there was no way to pretty up this situation. Noelle deserved to know as much as her young mind could comprehend. The details weren’t important, just the general name of the game. Noelle was too smart to not know something here was wrong. She needed to be ready to move if Tasha could figure a way to get them out of this fix.
She gave Noelle a gentle look. “This isn’t a good camp, like the one Wayne went to. This is a prison camp, sweetie. Bad people have stolen us and hidden us away. But I’m going to take care of you, okay? I’m going to keep you safe until help comes.”
Noelle thought about the information, her little brows drawing together in concentration. Tasha was relieved when she didn’t wail in fright. Instead the little girl asked, “My Nobek daddy will find me? He’ll take me home?”
Tasha smiled at her with a confidence she didn’t feel. Noelle had a subdermal long-range tracker implanted on her body somewhere. Only one man, the surgeon who had implanted it, knew exactly where that tracker was. The tiny tracker was undetectable, making it impossible for anyone else to remove it.
In addition to all the security that kept the tracker from being removed, its signal could be picked up anywhere on the planet. Then instant Noelle’s disappearance had been learned, someone should have been able to detect her whereabouts as long as she within 50,000 miles of the sensors. With the Royal Guards set to check in on her every hour, they would have known in plenty of time to search for her before she got out of range.
Yet somehow that scenario hadn’t happened. The situation was so unforeseen, so unbelievable, that Tasha didn’t know how Emperor Bevau or even the entire Global Security force might find them. Would it cross their minds to
search for Noelle on Lobam?
Keeping her tone far more optimistic than she felt, Tasha told Noelle, “Everyone will be looking for you, Noelle. They will tear the galaxy apart to find you. It may take a little while, so I need you to be patient and brave.”
“Will they find me tomorrow?” Noelle’s unhappy glance around the containment area said she thought that amount of time would be an eternity.
Tasha tried to stay upbeat. “Maybe not tomorrow. But soon, I think.”
She looked at the poles powering the containment field again. Tasha couldn’t count on help, not in the face of the astounding abduction. She’d have to get Noelle out on her own somehow.
The blond woman had joined them. She watched Tasha carefully, as if weighing her mood.
“What’s your name?” Tasha asked.
“Sonia.”
“How long have you been in this place?”
“I think close to two years.” Sonia’s voice was flat, as if the length of time in captivity had stolen her soul.
Tasha saw the attention she continued to receive from the patrolling Nobeks. They leered at her, their gazes running up and down her body. She swallowed and lowered her voice. “How close are we to any settlements?”
Sonia crooked a brow. “Not close enough that anyone has found us in all this time. I think one of the guards once said Nalta City is about 30 minutes’ flight away in a standard shuttle.”
“No homes nearby? Nothing?”
“The Basma’s property is in an exclusive area. No one comes around here. If he’s got neighbors, they keep out.”
“That doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” Tasha mused. “Maybe even close by. If we escaped, we might find help.”
Sonia looked at her but said nothing. There was no hope on that worn face.
Tasha saw the patrolling Nobeks come to alert attention. Their pacing as they walked up and down the perimeter became more purposeful. They glared at the few women who had come outside, growling softly, as if to warn them off.
“What’s with the display?” she muttered to Sonia.
“Someone important must be coming. Yep, the Basma’s right hand man is coming this way with Ket.”
Tasha looked in the direction Sonia stared. She saw a handsome Nobek striding down a path to the right of the shuttle landing pad. He was tall, close to seven feet. His sleek sheet of black hair hung down almost to his elbows. He wore a smirk that Tasha thought looked full of self-satisfaction.
It wasn’t the Nobek that drew a gasp from Tasha, however. It was the man with the familiar face walking at his side.
She said, “Dramok Sitrel? Councilman – I mean the former Councilman Maf’s aide?”
Hatred disturbed Sonia’s bland expression for a moment. “We’re on Maf’s property. He owns a huge amount of land here on Lobam. He’s the Basma.”
Tasha thought Sonia must be trying to joke. “You must be kidding. That poor, bent-up man—?”
Sonia’s face resumed its expressionless look. “From what I’ve been able to gather in the two years I’ve been here, that ‘poor, bent-up man’ has followers who treat him like Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed all rolled into one. He’s not just the leader of the revolt, he’s their fucking messiah.”
Tasha thought of Dramok Maf, one of the most respected men of the Empire. True, he’d walked out of the Royal Council with several other elected officials. They’d done so in protest of the rest voting to pardon former Emperor Yuder after he’d been convicted of treason. Maf had also been an advocate of keeping Kalquor pure of Earther influence. But he was seen as a basically reasonable man, one who was willing to listen to all sides before drawing any conclusions. A man passionate about defending those conclusions once he’d made them, but still rational just the same.
Maf could not be the Basma. It was as unthinkable as Noelle being abducted from Kalquor.
Tasha spluttered her disbelief. “This can’t be!”
Sonia’s hand on her arm squeezed tight. “Keep your voice down! Trust me, you do not want to attract anyone’s attention. Especially not Nobek Ket. He’s in charge of this place and crazy loyal to Maf.”
In her shock, Tasha didn’t spare the tall Nobek nearing the enclosure a thought. Her mind still whirled around the revelation that the brilliant Maf could be the leader of a deadly revolt bent on destroying the Empire. “But – but even though Maf’s on the outs with the Royal Council and Imperial Clan, he’s still esteemed by most of the Empire.”
Sonia gave her a derisive snort. “Yeah, well he’s got a gift for fooling people, don’t he? Grabbing the princess and nobody knowing it’s him is going to put him in the driver’s seat for sure.”
Tasha had not thought she could be more horrified than when she’d discovered they had been taken from Kalquor. She could not imagine the situation being any worse. However, as Sitrel walked by, sneering at her from the other side of the containment field, she had a new, unwelcome awareness.
If Sitrel was not afraid to show himself to her and Noelle, if he had no fear that they knew Maf was the Basma, then that could only mean one thing. The Basma had no intention of returning them to Kalquor.
He might even be planning to kill Tasha and Noelle.
Chapter 5
Dramok Falinset sat working at his wide, curved wood desk in his office. All was quiet save for the sounds of nature outside, fed in by the window vids set in the walls. The high-pitched call of the leathery-winged vasis were a musical counterpoint to the breeze sighing through the trees. Vents brought in the scent of the sea, only a mile away. If Falinset couldn’t be outside, he would at least give himself the illusion that he was.
Not that his office was uncomfortable. It was in his home and as private as a man could wish. His clanmates were somewhere else in the house, granting him the solitude to do his work. Falinset would not have minded their company. While he strove to keep most others at bay, Nobek Wekniz and Imdiko Nur were always welcome.
However, he tended to be boring when he researched a fresh prospect. Wekniz and Nur did not share Falinset’s love for discovering a new business venture, investigating its potential for success, and anonymously investing if it looked promising. Possessing an uncanny instinct for such things, Falinset liked to tell his clanmates he could smell success in the making. With accounts that allowed his clan to live sequestered for the most part, there were few who would challenge his assessment of his abilities – had they known what he was worth. Falinset let his few mistakes slip out to those who were interested in such things, but he kept quiet the multitudes of winning gambles he took.
Clan Falinset was only poor in the way it mattered most. Material possessions were not among the things they lacked. The home was modest but well-built on Lobam where free-standing structures were allowed. Their parcel of land was large and ended half a mile from the beach. Wekniz often found game to hunt in the thick woods that took up most of the acreage. When he wasn’t on duty at the fire prevention headquarters in Nalta City, he enjoyed roaming among the trees, tracking and catching much of the meat they ate.
Nur enjoyed luxury more than the other two men, but even he took more delight in finding a bargain than paying for things at full price. His ‘treasure hunts’ at consignment and second-sale stores were the source of great delight for the Imdiko. Such places in Nalta City knew him by name and often put things aside for him to buy and carry home. Finding a rare piece of art or classic piece of designer clothing in his or Falinset’s sizes never failed to give Nur a sense of triumph.
Though it was clear the clan lacked for nothing, few people acquainted with them had any idea how well off they were. They preferred it that way. Keeping secrets was a way of life for the three men.
Falinset narrowed his eyes at the description of a company that had caught his eye. They promised that within two years they could completely terraform a planet lacking atmosphere within a star’s lifebelt range. How could that be possible? Terraforming was a chancy and expensive matter. If a planet or moon
had no atmosphere to start with, the odds were not good within even a decade.
If this company had found a way, it would be worth an insane amount of money to investors. Not that Falinset cared about money. He just enjoyed being one of the first to see the promise of a new endeavor and being a part of making it happen.
He read over the proposal. His eyes widened as he saw the first project the company proposed.
“Earth Two? A new home planet for those people?” he whispered wonderingly.
Falinset quickly paged through the documentation on his computer, wondering who else was in on such an insane-sounding scheme. His heart went into overdrive to see familiar names among the sponsors.
“Dramok Ospar and Dramok Rajhir. So that’s what you two schemers have been up to since you were barred from public service. Dramok Diltan too? Ancestors, this is huge.”
If men like Ospar, Rajhir, and Diltan were on board for this Earth Two project, then it was almost certainly a done deal. The Imperial Clan might also be in the thick of such a plan, though they would pursue such an interest quietly. Huge didn’t begin to cover it.
Falinset paged back to the scientific specifications of the company’s first project, but he already knew he’d take a stake in it. He knew the other investors by reputation only – particularly the wily Ospar who always seemed to be barely one step ahead of trouble. He and Rajhir had been fingered in the charges of abducting Earther women, the same charges that had put the Empire in so much conflict as of late. Despite it being clear to anyone with half a brain how guilty they’d been, the pair had walked with no more than losing some money and prestigious government positions. Maybe they had done what they had with the best of intentions, as they’d sworn. That didn’t change the fact they had helped bring on a war with Earth. The planet was now a dead rock in the universe, incapable of sustaining most forms of life.
Falinset grinned. Even a guilty conscience wouldn’t convince a rogue like Dramok Ospar to sink a small fortune into a project like a new home planet for the displaced Earthers who’d survived. The science and company had to be rock solid. Falinset would do his research, but there was no doubt he was in. His heart galloped with excitement to think he’d be part of bringing an entire planet to life.
Alien Hostage Page 5
