by Autumn Dawn
It was a perfect opening, but he seemed uninterested in pursuing it. Instead he asked, “You have family?”
She looked away. “Sisters.” She couldn’t help a twinge of longing. One more year and her tour would have been up. She could have gone home. She’d never regretted her wanderlust, her desire to see the stars. She was in de pen dent enough that long separations hadn’t bothered her, but that was when she’d had e-mail and pin beam available to send messages. She might want her space, but she liked to keep in touch with those she loved. Now that the tether had been cut, she realized just how much she’d valued the connection. She didn’t know if she’d have chosen to go home after her ser vice was up, or settle elsewhere, but she’d never thought to lose all touch with her family.
She drew strength from her family; they were her lifeline. Her older sister, Gem, had especially had a knack for encouraging her. Now that Gem was out of touch, Xera would have to exercise her little-used faith to believe that things could be all right.
Just thinking that positive thought brought a surge of courage. “I haven’t seen them in a long time.” It was impossible to miss the wistfulness in her voice.
“I miss my family as well.” He smiled and showed her a holo-projection from his wrist computer. It showed a woman and child. The girl was aged six, perhaps, had shiny black hair and elfin eyes.
“Cute kid,” Xera said appreciatively. “I hope you get to see her again.”
His eyes shuttered as he closed the file. “Yes.”
Toosun approached. “Xera Harris-d, our lord has requested that you give him and our crew language lessons, as you do for your own men. It would be best if we all understood one another, and it will help give structure to the day.”
She glanced at Khan. “With my captain’s permission. He may want some of our men to listen, also, to speed their own learning.”
“That is permissible.”
So Xera spent more time teaching, and learned a few things as well. Their society was patriarchal and monotheistic, for the most part. Superiors were allowed to speak first, according to Scorpio etiquette, unless the speaker was given prior permission. In a hostile situation, such etiquette was particularly important.
Chagrined, she wished she’d known that before Genson had been sent to speak with the Scorpio; it would have prevented a needless death. As the translator, she accepted part of the blame as her own. Her training was supposed to help prevent such things.
The Scorpio sat in a semicircle around her bench, with a few of her own crew clustered toward the back of the group. While an uneasy mix, the two races did cooperate while practicing simple sentences. There were even a few smiles as they managed to butcher each other’s words. Some sounds were simply unpronounceable to both groups, and even Xera had a hard time pronouncing the syllable frth (with a rolled r, no less), without spitting. For their part, the Scorpio seemed unable to say v. Even so, progress was made.
Captain Khan made no move to learn the language, but Ryven Atarus was not so reserved. He listened closely and made rapid progress, rarely forgetting a word. After an hour, he dismissed any men who wished it, but he stayed, himself, along with three or four others, to learn more.
“The water is bad,” he said to Toosun with a creditable accent. “Do not drink it.”
“Your cooking is bad,” Toosun replied with a grin. “I do not like fugs.”
“Bugs,” Xera corrected with a laugh. “You do not like bugs.”
He smirked. “Neither do you,” he said in his own language.
She’d been surprised to discover that he and Ryven Atarus were brothers, but she could see the resemblance now. Although Ryven was his superior, they still teased each other like siblings. Toosun was the only one permitted to do it, though. No one else dared.
“How do you say blue eyes?” he asked. “Your people have the oddest eye color, like hard gems.”
She told him, and then added, “Us? You seem like the odd ones, with your eyes like fire.” Her gaze darted to Ryven as she said it.
Toosun laughed. “Yes, he does have pretty eyes. Very like a girl.”
Ryven gave him a cold look. “None have mistaken me for such.”
“Yes, you are very brave,” Toosun allowed, but a smile still lurked around his mouth.
Ensign Trevor had stayed behind while the rest of Xera’s crew had wandered off. Now he edged closer to her, disliking the camaraderie, perhaps. “You look tired, Xera. Maybe you’d like to go eat?”
She looked at him. He was being doggedly protective, as if she’d already accepted his offer of companionship. His familiar attitude chafed. She might be just a lieutenant here, but she was also a successful, respected businesswoman back home. Her family owned a thriving tavern, and she’d had her share of employees under her. She didn’t like the ensign’s attempt to take charge of her. If she admitted it to herself, it was probably the reason she was still single. “I would like a drink, if you wouldn’t mind bringing it,” she allowed. Her voice was cool. He didn’t seem happy with her answer, but he left to fetch some glowing tea anyway.
“You don’t like him,” Ryven observed.
How could she answer that? She decided not to.
“Your captain doesn’t wish to learn our language,” the Scorpio leader continued. “He seems tense.”
“Our being here is an awkward situation,” she replied, as diplomatically as she could.
“Are you expecting a ship to come rescue you?” he asked, casually, as if the question weren’t central to both their universes just now.
“Hope is important,” she said smoothly; then she changed subjects. “How will you occupy your men after dinner? You seem to keep them busy.”
He accepted the new path of the conversation. “They will play games. I encourage them to think of this time as a brief holiday. It is better for morale.”
“Is it a brief holiday?” she asked pleasantly. “How wonderful for you.”
“You make assumptions,” he replied, a gleam of pleasure in those brimstone eyes. “But in a way that makes me smile, so I cannot rebuke you. And here is your friend, back with your refreshment.…Your people may take part in our games if you like.”
Xera soon discovered that the games included such silliness as slug racing, yet the men also competed in sprints, long jumps and rock tossing, the goal being to toss rocks of varying sizes onto chalk circles on the floor. She tried her hand at the latter game with surprising success.
Ryven Atarus watched with his arms crossed. He’d been observing a slug race with critical appraisal and happened to glance her way. “Acceptable—for a woman,” he offered haughtily. Humor lurked in those remarkable eyes.
“Yeah, if I could just turn this into a career,” she quipped. She reached for another stone. “I can see it now—the money, my name in lights. People will flock to see the great rock tosser!” She succeeded hitting another circle, and her competitors made her back up a couple of paces.
Her crewmates mostly watched from the fringes, reluctant to engage, though one or two others joined in. Ensign Trevor was always near at hand. She was tempted to throw a rock at his head.
Captain Khan watched her darkly from the shadows. He’d probably accuse her of fraternizing with the enemy, but how else was she supposed to get information? She’d have to report to him after the games—maybe that would sooth his antsy twitters.
She warily limped toward the edge of the room after the rock toss. Khan’s eyes bored coldly into her as she approached, and he didn’t invite her to sit. “You stink of the enemy,” he sneered.
“Sir, you ordered me to spy on them,” she said quietly. “I can’t do that from a distance.”
“And did you find anything useful, or were you just giggling through the games?”
“I’ve only got impressions, sir. No one would say if a ship was coming.” There was no one near them to hear their conversation, and she wished she had witnesses. It seemed the captain was trying to pick a fight, or nerving himse
lf up for something worse.
Oblivious to her concern, Khan spat, “I have an impression, Harris-d. I think you’re flirting with our enemy, just waiting for a chance to jump ship and save your own hide. I see the way you look at that murdering bastard, and I say you’re planning treason.”
Her head jerked up. “What? You’re wrong, sir.”
“Am I?” he hissed. “I’ve known what you were all along, Harris-d. You’re nothing but an opportunistic whore, aren’t you? You know what we do to whores where I come from, Harris-d?”
“Get arrested by them for harassment, sir?” she said through bloodless lips. She felt stiff with shock at the force of his attack. Much as she despised him, she hadn’t seen this coming. Officers didn’t act like this.
She barely saw his fist coming, either. Her dodge was slow but mostly effective; she was only grazed. Her weak foot screamed as she forced it to take her weight, stepped back and slammed her rifle butt into his throat. Even knowing that there would be repercussions, she drew it back and rammed it hard into his knee. There was a crunch. He screamed and went down, clutching the joint.
Hard hands suddenly grabbed her, wrenched the rifle from her grip. There was a babble of voices as her crew surrounded her.
“Arrest her!” Captain Khan screamed, writhing on the floor. He erupted in a stream of curses as his men tried to help him up. Xera hoped she’d broken his friggin’ knee.
“What happened?” Cort demanded. “Why’d you attack him?”
“You saw what happened! He attacked me!”
“You must have said something,” Cort insisted. “You always say something, Harris-d.”
She opened her mouth to defend herself, then shut it. She wasn’t going to help anything when she was angry.
Besides, there was a growing pool of silence around her. Men stilled. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Scorpio had gathered behind her.
“What happens here?” Ryven Atarus asked quietly. He looked much as he had the first day she’d seem him: cold, deadly. The starburst in his ear winked with deceptive light, and those brimstone eyes nearly glowed.
She turned to face him as her captors did, though she noticed their grips loosen.
“This is our business,” Cort answered, unable to understand what was being said. The intimidation of the Scorpio commander was plain enough, though. The engineer licked his lips. “We’ll deal with it.” The silence stretched uncomfortably. “Translate, Harris-d!”
She looked at him as if he were stupid. “How will you know what I tell them? If they do something you don’t like, then you’ll blame me.” She was shaking from the aftereffects of adrenaline and couldn’t help her cheek—it was all that was getting her through.
Cort’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t speak and they attack, I will blame you.”
Grimly, she said to the Scorpio, “This is a matter for my people.” She told Cort what she said as she said it, in case it might help save her hide.
“Your captain attacked you,” Ryven remarked. “We witnessed this.”
“Yes.” She was very slow translating, as emotion choked her.
“We will not allow you to be punished.”
She was speechless for a moment with the force of her thoughts. It took a prod in the back from Cort for her to translate. After she did, there was heavy silence.
Eyes on the floor, Xera said to the Scorpio leader, “You are making this difficult for me. My people will say I am a traitor.”
“Then we will not give you a choice.”
It happened too fast for her to track. She saw two Scorpio lunge for her. In seconds she was released from her former captors and drawn to the rear of the Scorpio ranks. Brirax and Delfane flanked her. None of her crewmates dared move.
Ryven looked at them as if they were nothing, less than nothing. “Confiscate their weapons. Leave only what they need for survival.”
“You can’t do this! You can’t meddle in our affairs!” Captain Khan protested from the rear. Someone had pumped the captain full of painkillers and plopped him on a bench.
Ryven’s smile was cold. “Confiscate their painkillers. From now on, they must come to us for this medicine. You may leave the antibiotics and such.”
Xera felt dizzy. The Scorpio commander was going to let Khan suffer as punishment, and Khan would never forget it. Nor would he forgive his men being disarmed. He’d want revenge.
Ryven turned his back on his enemies as his men followed orders. Xera had to wonder if this was just the opportunity he’d been waiting for all along.
He stopped in front of her but addressed his men. “There is heat in her ankle again. Take her to the balcony and ice it. Check her feet as well.”
Delfane swung Xera into his arms and headed for the stairs. She didn’t bother to protest, knowing she’d waste her breath. Most of her crew’s attention was on the Scorpio going through their packs, but one or two glanced her way with accusing eyes. Khan was one of them.
Once up the stairs, Delfane sat her down on a woven fiber mat on a bench set along one wall. It seemed luxurious compared to the stone bench that had been ruining her back. There was even a boxy pillow to accompany it, and a brown blanket that looked like rubber folded at the foot.
Brirax appeared with a cold pack for her foot. “Do you need help to take off your footwear?”
Xera stared at him a moment, then slowly reached down and unfastened her boot. Shock had rendered her momentarily docile. She didn’t know what would happen to her now, but she would choose her battles.
It seemed clear as time passed that nothing bad would happen. The men treated her with courtesy, tended the healing blisters on her feet and then left her alone. As the evening wore on, the lights were dimmed and she could see out through the thick glass that separated this bunker from the outside. The black shapes of flyers traced across the unfamiliar stars, searching for food.
The stars. Somewhere out there, up in that sky, was her family. It took a long time for her to turn her back on those winking lights and fall asleep.
Chapter Five
She was not permitted to speak to her companions. It might have been for her safety. It might not.
Xera stood on the balcony level and watched as the other humans went about their business under guard. The bottom level had been turned into a prison, and the top tier was the command center and Scorpio living quarters. She saw several Scorpio males with laptops conversing over headsets. It wasn’t hard to tell they weren’t talking with one another.
A ship was coming. A Scorpio ship. Xera closed her eyes and tried to ignore the rush of fear. She hadn’t been harmed since coming up here, but she still didn’t know what the future held.
“You did a good job of defending yourself last night.” Ryven Atarus paused nearby at the railing of the balcony and looked down.
“I wish I hadn’t had to. This will make my life difficult if I ever get back home.” She slid a look sideways. “I don’t suppose you have plans to return me there.”
He looked at her almost curiously. “I have no such plans.”
The full force of those eyes left her breathless. She looked back at the lower level. “What are your plans, then? What will happen to them?”
“Do you care?”
Startled, she said, “Why wouldn’t I? I spent a long time on board with them. They are my crew.”
“Who left you to your captain’s mercy?”
“We don’t know how that might have played out.”
“You are overly optimistic.”
“It beats being negative.”
The Scorpio commander’s answer was silence. He gave her a slight nod of his head in farewell and went about his business.
It was a long day. Xera hobbled to the ray shower, listened to her music and occasionally walked around the balcony, holding the rail. The Scorpio seemed to hum with anticipation.
Finally she went to bed. The flyers were out, but they seemed a lot less threatening with a thick sheet of glass b
etween her and them. She had no desire to venture outside to play, though. Once had been enough.
She slept.
Someone shook her arm almost as soon as she fell asleep, it seemed. “What?” she asked groggily.
“The ship is here.”
That got her up. Still fuzzy, she let Delfane hand her boots. Scorpio were already moving past her bed, armed and carrying packs. Brirax and Delfane hustled her along with them down the stairs. She could see her crewmates being escorted down the long tunnel. There were a few protests at going outside unarmed.
“What about the flyers?” she asked, feeling anxious herself.
“We won’t let you get eaten,” Delfane assured her. “The ship is here, and there are more men outside providing cover. The flyers don’t have a chance to night.”
They stepped outside into a chill night wind. As promised, there were no flyers in the sky. Maybe they’d been frightened away by the flood of light bathing the nearby rocks and surrounding plain.
The stairs would have been difficult if Delfane and Brirax hadn’t helped. Xera let them steady her and hopped as best she could, determined to walk on her own.
They reached the flat top of the rock outcropping and moved to one edge. Her first view of the ship stole her breath. Sinister black and monstrously big, it glowed with blue lights through the many portholes and the bridge. The ramp was down and also lit. Many Scorpio were on the plain, and the air hummed with the sound of the ship’s massive engines.
Xera shivered in the cold wind as fear of the unknown hit her. What would happen now?
Ryven Atarus showed up at her side. “Follow me.”
The four of them walked up the ramp and into the ship, down a busy hall and took a lift to the bridge.
“Atarus!” a male Scorpio greeted them as they stepped out of the lift. “Trust you to survive a crash on the most hostile planet in the galaxy!” He clapped his friend on the shoulder and then looked at Xera. “What’s this? You managed to come out of it with a beautiful woman as well? Am I the only one who crashes with flatulent, snoring men?”
