Cat and Company

by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  There was a sparkling, sizzling sound from near the front door, as the relays gave out. Lights flickered overhead and the heads-up displays that had been floating around the room for everyone to examine disappeared.

  Then blackness tore through his mind, stealing every thought and all his consciousness.

  * * * * *

  Hearing returned first. Then awareness, stirred by the panicky voices he could hear.

  He was bent over the table and the smell of brandy was sharp in his nose, scratching at the back of his throat. He blinked, getting his eyes to work.

  “Lilly, don’t move him. I think his leg is broken.”

  Cat’s voice.

  “Devlin’s okay.” That was Brant. “He’s underneath the other two.”

  “Some bodyguards,” Cat said from very close by.

  Hands on his shoulders. Lifting him. “Bedivere.” Cat again.

  He let her lift him up into a sitting position. His forehead ached. “What happened?”

  “You’re bleeding. You must have hit the glass when you passed out.” Cat moved into his line of vision, studying his head. “You also stink of brandy,” she added. “It’s all over you.”

  “I’d just filled the glass,” Bedivere said. “Wasted the lot of it, I think.”

  Cat muffled a laugh. “Yennifer blew a circuit that supports the datacore in this section of the city. Varkan everywhere just dropped dead for a moment. There’ll be panic out there.”

  “And in here. Who broke what?” He tried to look around. Catherine was blocking his view.

  “Connell. He was standing. He fell heavily against the chair there. Think of a stick breaking over a knee.”

  Bedivere winced. “No, I won’t, thanks.”

  She shifted. “There. It’s not a bad cut and it’s already clotting. I think the brandy may actually have helped.”

  “It’s stinging like crazy,” he said, confirming her guess. Now he could see the rest of the room. Yennifer was stirring. Someone had already put a cushion under her head. Nichol was sitting next to her.

  Connell was lying on top of the destroyed chair, groaning, his hand reaching for his leg, which was bent at an impossible angle, halfway between his hip and his knee. Lilly was in front of her desk, talking to the nearest therapy center. Calling for medical help, Bedivere assumed.

  The two Varkan pilots were moving slowly, rolling onto their knees and looking around with confused expressions. Bedivere had been through this once before and it had scared the crap out of him. If this was the first time the pilots had been disconnected from the datacore, then they would be feeling some of the same panic. It wasn’t comfortable facing the fact that they were vulnerable and could be taken out simply by disrupting the dataflow.

  Devlin pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked around, blinking. He wore the same bewildered expression as his pilots and the same fear was in his eyes.

  Bedivere recognized it with a shock that jolted him to the core.

  Devlin was Varkan.

  Chapter Eleven

  Charlton Space City, New Cathay (Ji Xiu Prime), Ji Xiu System, Perseus Arm. FY 10.187

  “Bedivere.”

  He looked up.

  Brant grinned. “That’s the third time I’ve said your name. Where were you?”

  Bedivere stirred himself. Two aides were putting Connell on an air bed, to take him to the clinic to knit his femur together. Another was checking Yennifer, who was still sitting on the floor, her back against Nichol’s shoulder. She was wan and silent.

  Devlin was sitting on the sofa, a cloth to the back of his head, waiting his turn.

  “Three aides?” Bedivere asked. “They couldn’t send us medics?”

  “The entire quadrant went out for a second or two,” Brant pointed out. “Simple math says that’s over two thousand Varkan who just got scared into next week. We’re not the only ones to suffer broken bones and split heads. When you guys go down you don’t do it halfway, do you?”

  Bedivere tried to suppress his grin. “Nothing short of spectacular, that’s our motto.” He glanced at Devlin again. Catherine was sitting next to him now, talking to someone on the Hana, organizing things, tamping down the panic that would have broken out there, too. E Dock was part of the old city as well.

  “Got a moment?” Bedivere said to Brant.

  “I’m a supernumery at the moment. Sure.” He shrugged.

  Bedivere got to his feet. Slowly. Everything stayed still and he remained upright. It was reassuring. He moved out around the table and headed for the double doors to his room, waited until Brant had followed him, then shut them behind him and sealed them against noise.

  Brant turned, taking in the austere room once more, then faced Bedivere and raised a brow.

  “Devlin went down, too,” Bedivere said, speaking quietly despite the noiseproof on the door.

  “He said his pilots fell on him. Something busted the back of his head open and they were on top of him. I didn’t see them fall. I was busy watching Connell topple like a tree.”

  “No, Devlin fell, too,” Bedivere said patiently.

  Brant frowned. “Pretend I don’t think as fast as you for a moment and explain it to me.”

  “He fell, Brant. His consciousness was wiped for a split second, just like mine and Connell’s and Yennifer’s.”

  Brant’s jaw sagged. “You’re saying he’s a Varkan?”

  “I don’t know for certain,” Bedivere replied. “I was out cold at the time. The room feeds will confirm it, though. He didn’t fall because the pilots landed on him. He was wearing the same confused look they were and that Yennifer was wearing and probably me, too.”

  “The room feeds went out for the same period you did,” Brant said. He walking in a tight little circle, then leaned against the wall with one stiff arm. “He’s Varkan? Glave above….”

  “Think about it,” Bedivere pressed. “That explains so much about him, not least this evangelical drive of his to push for Varkan rights and keep working for the Varkan once he got ’em.”

  Brant let out a heavy breath. “It makes sense,” he agreed, with a tone that said he didn’t like that conclusion much.

  “Someone must have seen him fall,” Bedivere added. “Lilly or Catherine. Maybe even Nichol.”

  “I don’t think it matters,” Brant said.

  “What, you’re going to take my word for it?” Bedivere was startled.

  “No, I mean it doesn’t matter if he’s Varkan or not.”

  Bedivere stared at him. “Of course it matters! If he is, then he’s been lying to us…to everyone, all along.”

  “So?”

  “So, he’s not the pure, golden hearted leader everyone thinks he is. If he’s hiding that he’s Varkan, what else is he hiding?”

  “Nothing that matters a damn,” Brant shot back. He straightened up from his lean. “Think it through, Bedivere. Devlin started his campaign for Varkan rights when things were the hardest for you guys. You were the natural leader, but half the known worlds thought you were a murderer and the other half thought you were crazy. There was no one to speak up on behalf of the Varkan…except Devlin did. If he really is Varkan, then maybe he was smart to hide it. It looked far more convincing having a human fighting on behalf of the Varkan, than just another Varkan trying to speak up.”

  “He lied to everyone!” Bedivere said, his voice rising. “I thought he was a hero!”

  “He is a hero,” Brant said shortly. “He’s survived the scrutiny of the known worlds and the best digital tracking the Varkan could put him through and come out with his honor intact. Who are you to expose this one secret?”

  Bedivere stared at Brant, shocked. “You don’t care that he’s been lying to you all along?”

  “Frankly? No. He’s proved over and over again that all he cares about is peace between humans and Varkan, and good old-fashioned prosperity. Everyone has at least one secret, even you. Leave him alone, Bedivere. This isn’t a fight for which you want to s
tep onto the pad.”

  “The Varkan will care, when I tell them,” Bedivere muttered. He reached for the door handle, but Brant gripped his wrist.

  “Wait,” Brant said.

  Bedivere looked down at Brant’s hand. His fingers were white from the pressure he was exerting to keep Bedivere from opening the door.

  “Just wait for a second, will you?” Brant said. He pulled Bedivere away from the door. “I know why you’re doing this, why it bothers you so much. Just don’t mistake your guilt about pushing Catherine toward him for some sort of holy quest to expose the guy.”

  Bedivere sucked in a breath. “That’s what you think this is?”

  “I do,” Brant said calmly. “Before you pick up your shield and head into the fray, think it through. You want to take on the hero of the known worlds because he’s made you feel foolish. Okay, fine, great. That’s your choice. Only, when you do expose him, Catherine is going to be standing right next to him and how do you think she is going to feel about having been fooled by him in that way?”

  Bedivere swallowed. Finally, finally, he was beginning to understand Brant’s concern.

  “You know Catherine better than I do,” Brant said. “Although, I know her pretty well, and I know that the last thing she’ll do is fall in your arms and thank you for saving her from him.”

  Bedivere let his arm drop and Brant let his wrist go. “Besides, you’re not entirely sure he is Varkan,” Brant added. “What if you claim he’s Varkan out there for the world and Catherine to hear, then find out you’re wrong?”

  Bedivere drew in a shaky breath. “She’ll hate me.”

  “Like I said, you know her better than me,” Brant said gently. He unsealed the door and closed it behind him, leaving Bedivere alone with his unhappy thoughts.

  * * * * *

  Lilly sat back in the chair and pushed at her hair with a tired gesture. “There have been nearly three thousand immigration applications in the six weeks since Kashya became news. Most of them are humans, too.”

  “It doesn’t matter what they are,” Devlin said shortly. “I presume most of them are from the worlds in the same sector as Kashya?”

  “To begin with, yes,” Lilly said. “The more time that elapses before the aliens emerge from the gates, the farther the distance they will have travelled. Now the more distant worlds have begun to panic, too. No one wants to live dirtside anymore.”

  “I’m guessing that these are just the official applications you’re counting,” Catherine said from her seat beside Devlin. “Has Yennifer estimated how many people are smuggling themselves onto Charlton?”

  “About twice that, at least,” Yennifer said softly. She was sitting quietly at the corner of the table, subdued as she had been since her argument with Connell had blown out. Nichol sat beside her, leaning on the table in a way that blocked Yennifer from the view of almost everyone there. Bedivere would have to stand up and lean over to spot her.

  “It’s causing all sorts of unanticipated system pressures,” Lilly continued. “Charlton can expand as the population rises. We built it that way deliberately. It can’t expand fast enough when the numbers explode overnight the way they have, though. There’s fighting in the streets over food, prices for accommodation are skyrocketing and the scams…well, don’t get me started. I nearly strangled a dodger the other day. He was selling non-existent quarters in something called the ‘Cassius village’.”

  Bedivere gave a short laugh.

  “What’s the joke?” Devlin asked him.

  “‘Cassius’ means ‘empty’. He’s at least an educated scam artist.”

  “You have to let the system sort itself out,” Catherine told Lilly. “There’s always short-term pain when a city adjusts like this. If you give it time, it will settle down.”

  “No, I don’t think it will,” Lilly told her. “I understand the economic principles you’re using, but this isn’t a natural market place. There are forces at work that a normal system can’t adjust to fast enough.”

  “I don’t know much about economics,” Devlin said, “However, I agree with Lilly that something must be done, simply to help people survive. If the conditions deteriorate too much, you open the city up to disease and violence.”

  Catherine frowned. “It’s not like we can just expand the borders of the city to make room, Devlin. There’s simply nowhere for these people to go.”

  “They came in ships, didn’t they?” he asked with a reasonable tone. “And there’s at least one big docking bay that hasn’t been used since the freighters stopped using the gates. Cannibalize the ships that aren’t going anywhere and use their parts for living quarters. Set up quarters in the docking bays.”

  Lilly gave him a stiff smile. “A solution, yes. Although, every single village reeve will scream in protest that you’re removing their means of revenue by taking over the docking bays.”

  “I’ll talk to them,” Devlin told her.

  “All fourteen of them?”

  “Absolutely. They all have to see that they’re each giving up equal amounts of space and revenue. I’m sure they’ll be amenable after that.”

  Bedivere almost laughed again. He’d sat in on meetings Lilly had held with the reeves and mayors. They were a pack of hyenas, intent on grabbing only what would further their village’s and their own profits. Even Nichol August was tarred with that brush.

  Nichol cleared his throat. “I’m not sure I like the idea of a flood of unknown humans being given resident rights in my village. We thrive because we all know each other and trust each other. We don’t know these new people at all.”

  Bedivere did smile. Nichol was almost completely predictable in his self-interest.

  Devlin gave Nichol a warm smile. “The immigrants will all be checked and passed. There are enough Varkan on Charlton that running checks will take but a moment and I’m sure your own Varkan will be happy to help with that task, yes?”

  Nichol considered that. “Yes, that would help,” he admitted reluctantly. “Every village gets the same number of immigrants?”

  “You’ll be compensated for whatever docks we use for them, which will help stem your reducing revenue. The economic brunt of these emergency measures will be evenly spread across the city and we’ll minimize the costs where we can, too.” Devlin’s expression grew grave. “We can’t refuse to take these people in while we can find room for them, Nichol. They’re scared and they’re homeless. In the long term, the extra population will help improve your economy.”

  Nichol nodded. “It will,” he agreed. He wasn’t a fool, after all.

  Bedivere watched Devlin, reluctant admiration stirring in him. Damn…the man had just sold this to the first village mayor inside two minutes. He would talk to every village the same way and the immigrants would find their homes, no matter how temporary and humble they may be.

  It was hard to dislike him, although Bedivere had been trying to do just that. Devlin had smoothed out most of the bumps and issues that had surfaced in the last few weeks when Lilly had been close to losing it. This was just one in a long line of challenges they had all faced, as Lilly had roped everyone into active duty, to help her with the increasing amount of work and decisions that needed to be made.

  Devlin had made a lot of that work easier and less of a challenge. It wasn’t the first time Bedivere had worked with him yet he had forgotten—or had chosen to forget—just how formidable Devlin could be when dealing with people in emotional crisis. It was what he was made for. Soothing upsets was how he had wrangled rights and freedoms for Varkans out of a galaxy determined to pack them all back into their electronic boxes.

  For the first time, Bedivere asked himself if exposing Devlin really was a good idea. Everyone loved him. Lilly was almost blubbering in his arms with gratitude and Varkan everywhere tended to bow and scrape whenever he came into their presence.

  Who was he to question Devlin? No one else wanted to.

  Chapter Twelve

  Charlton Space City,
New Cathay (Ji Xiu Prime), Ji Xiu System, Perseus Arm. FY 10.187

  Catherine singled out Yennifer when the meeting broke up and drew her to one side. Yennifer looked pale. She had been listless for weeks, since she had blown the datacore for a few short, vital seconds. She was taking the consequences hard despite everyone assuring her it was not an issue.

  Every Varkan had to go through this emotional maturing. It was part of the process of growing up for them. Emotional crises most often were the way they learned how to access Interspace, too.

  It didn’t help that Yennifer was a citymind. Her emotional crises tended to affect the entire city, although she had managed to keep the datacore failure contained within the old city core. But then, even shipminds in overload often put the entire ship in danger.

  It was one of the joys and adventures of living among Varkan. It made life interesting, although Yennifer didn’t need to hear right now that her angst was amusing.

  Catherine gave her as warm a smile as she could manage. “You need to stop beating up on yourself for the datacore failure,” she said gently.

  Yennifer actually flinched. “Excuse me?”

  “You’re still holding yourself accountable for the datacore failure and what happened after that. You really shouldn’t. Look, Connell is back on his feet, healthy and whole. Everyone’s cuts and bruises are healed.”

  Yennifer’s gaze flickered around the room. She didn’t quite hunch over but it felt as though she had mentally crouched into a defensive position.

  “Besides,” Catherine added and leaned forward so she could drop her voice a little. “I think most of the egos in this room benefited from being knocked down a peg or two. It does them good to be reminded that they’re not completely invulnerable. I only wish it was a lesson that humans could be reminded of on a regular basis.”

  Yennifer’s eyes widened. Her shock was almost comical. Then she remembered her professional role and her shoulders straightened. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Yes. I don’t want to bother Lilly or Bedivere with this. There are some things I left behind when I started working with Devlin. I wanted to go through them and take some of them with me.” She glanced over her shoulder. Bedivere was talking to Devlin, standing with his head down as he concentrated. The dark golden color of his hair glimmered richly under the low lights in the room. He was frowning, as if he didn’t like what he was hearing.