by Gun Brooke
Onotharian guards lined the open plaza in front of the communication central, and the “assassination team” mingled with the crowd. Obviously the M’Aldovars were more interested in reaching as many people as possible than keeping onlookers at bay. They apparently wanted the public to get as good a view of Andreia as possible and thus be properly outraged. Their mistake, our gain.
The doors of the first, fourth, and fifth hovercraft opened, and guards exited them. One opened the door to the second vehicle, and Doc stepped out and extended a hand into the hovercraft. A slender, pale hand, partially bandaged, took his, and a female figure slowly emerged, clinging to Doc as if he were a lifeline. Kellen had to concede it was good acting, and the crowd murmured in sympathy.
They walked a few steps from the hovercraft, Doc with his arm around Andreia’s waist. When they reached the first of twelve steps, a disturbance to the left in the crowd stole everyone’s attention from Andreia.
A woman, of obvious Onotharian descent, pushed forward, shoving screaming people away with her raised weapon. “Get the fuck out of my way!” she roared, and Kellen had to admire the perfect Onotharian accent. Completely unrecognizable, Owena began firing at the convoy of hovercraft.
“Our cue,” Kellen muttered, and adjusted her body to move with the now-boiling mob, intent on getting Paladin into the hovercraft, no matter the cost. A man pushed Kellen to the side and found himself in an arm lock. “Move!” Kellen shoved him out of her way. She reached the hovercraft and saw Paladin pull out one guard, who was large, nearly twice her size. The crowd surrounded them now as everyone wanted to see what was going on, despite the danger. Kellen chalked it up to humanoid curiosity as she pressed forward, grabbed the other guard by the collar of his jacket, and yanked him out.
“She’s hit! Oh, Gods, she’s been hit! Get her out of here!”
“It’s bad! Look at all that blood. She won’t make it. Get her to the hospital! Get her out!”
Frantic voices came from the other side of the vehicles, and Paladin kicked the guard’s legs out of the driver’s seat. “Why don’t you get in here? You’ll get trampled with these fools stampeding this way,” Paladin yelled to Kellen over the noise of the roaring mass of people. “Come on!”
Kellen hesitated for only a fraction of a second before she jumped in. All right. Plan C. She gazed at the driver lying on the ground outside, barely visible among the forest of legs around him. A short twinge of regret, a hope that he wouldn’t be killed by the people around him, shot through her as she slammed the door. Annoyed at this sudden softness, she climbed across Paladin’s knees to sit in the other seat. Kellen hadn’t heard Doc return Andreia to the hovercraft, and she gazed out the windows in their direction.
Doc appeared immediately, carrying an unconscious Andreia, his chest as bloody as hers. She could see his lips move as he demanded that people move. He spoke Onotharian effortlessly, as many of the younger generations did since it was mandatory in school, and his demands eventually carried through to them. “Let me pass! Step away, people. She needs a hospital and I can’t wait for any other transport.”
There was no sign of Andreia’s parents, and Kellen thought it was entirely possible that they were already back in their craft, to avoid getting hit. A roar made the crowd yell, and Kellen saw a tall woman, Owena, shoot straight up into the air from where she’d stood when she shot Andreia. Her visor was down and the thrusters on her back, so small they easily hid under a jacket, took her up to a two-thousand meter altitude. There, Rae and Leanne would be waiting in a cloaked shuttle, to meet her, if all went as planned.
The door slammed shut behind Kellen, and a fist hammered on the small door between the backseat and driver’s seat. Kellen opened it and Doc leaned in. Paladin pushed the controls, and the hovercraft began to rise above the crowd. The powerful gush of air knocked over several people, and its ascent created more disturbance and confusion, Kellen surmised, because at first, none of the other vehicles seemed to move.
“How is she?” Paladin called out, her voice hollow.
“She’s unconscious. I’m afraid she hit her head.” Doc’s voice was filled with dismay. “The crowd was so intrusive, they had me off balance just as Lieutenant Grey fired. I tried to catch Andreia, but wasn’t quick enough. She fell onto the stairs.”
“Gods, is it bad?” Paladin asked, her face ashen.
“I don’t think so, but some of this blood actually is hers. Can you help me, Protector?”
Kellen moved in and helped place Andreia more comfortably on one of the seats. Slight, with rather fragile-looking wrists, she seemed so defenseless. When Doc took off the bandages, Kellen inhaled sharply, even though she knew none of the injuries to her face and neck were real. O’Daybo…Andreia, she corrected herself, looked as if she’d been through hell. Swellings, cuts, and bruises deformed her face and made it nearly unrecognizable.
“I’ll get rid of that in a minute. I just have to fix the back of her head first,” Doc muttered. “Can you hold it up?”
Cautiously, Kellen cradled Andreia’s head while Doc parted the long black curls and moved the derma fuser over the broken skin.
“Thank the Gods,” he said with relief, “she didn’t fracture her skull, and no major blood vessels are damaged either.”
“Damn it, they’re after us now! Hang on back there!” Paladin shouted, and the hovercraft plunged, only to ascend again in an almost impossible ninety-degree curve.
Kellen held on with one hand and, with the other, carefully placed Andreia’s head back onto the seat. While Paladin straightened up the hovercraft, Kellen watched Doc restore Andreia’s almost elfin looks. The delicately shaped features weren’t quite like O’Daybo’s, and Kellen realized Andreia had also been wearing a disguise while on the Vaksses mission. Finally, Andreia looked as if she was merely sleeping, and Doc unbuttoned her blood-soaked shirt. He removed the pouch and was about to button the shirt again when Kellen stopped him.
“Why not dress her in this? I have an undershirt on too, so I’ll be fine.” Kellen pulled off her thick coat and removed her own shirt, which was made of retro-spun cotton and would make Andreia feel better when she woke up.
Kellen felt unexpectedly concerned at the sight of Andreia dressed in the too-big garment, looking almost childlike. Though she told herself that her sympathy was unwelcome, she couldn’t keep from admiring and wanting to protect the brave woman. Rae’s fault. I’m getting too soft.
Kellen climbed back into the co-driver’s seat just in time to witness Paladin slide sideways between two houses. The hovercraft roared as she pushed it through air corridors. “We’re going to set down soon and change to my own vehicle,” Roshan called out. “You ready to move her, Doc?”
“Yes. You land this thing safely, and I’ll look after Andreia.”
Paladin’s lips were a fine line as she slid down four air corridors and took off to the right. There, barely visible from above, a long, lean, black hovercraft stood parked beneath two honey-trees. The government craft sank to the ground with what sounded like a sigh of relief, and Paladin threw herself out the door, as Kellen did the same.
Not being sure how long they had before the Onotharians found their own vehicle on their short-range sensors, they helped Doc place Andreia inside the much more luxurious hovercraft. Paladin leaned down quickly and kissed Andreia’s lips before she hurried up to the driver’s seat. Somehow this action didn’t surprise Kellen, but Doc looked like he’d swallowed something that choked him. He coughed, apparently to mask his surprise, then held on to the nearest handle when Paladin took her vehicle up into the air corridors above them.
If the government hovercraft had been fast, Paladin’s moved like lightning. She pulled over into the corridor to the far left and picked up even more speed, leaving the slightly ill-reputed neighborhood behind them.
“We’ll reach one of my tunnels in twenty minutes. At the estate, my butler has arranged for a transport to the Iktysos. Hopefully, Andreia should be consciou
s about then.”
“Good plan.”
As the hovercraft sped through the dark evening, cutting through the air like a sword, Kellen leaned back in her seat and thought of the potential consequences of their actions this past week. She was certain of one thing: the situation on Gantharat was going to change, one way or the other, and she would do everything she could to make it change for the better.
*
Muffled voices hovered around Andreia’s head. Her body ached, and the skin on her face felt prickly. She tried to move her hand to see what was wrong, but couldn’t lift it. She merely listened to the voices, oddly calm as she tried to figure out how to wake up and where she was.
She didn’t know if she dozed off again, or if the voices disappeared from one second to the next, but it was suddenly quiet. Worried, she moaned, then whimpered. Annoyed, and now almost frantic, Andreia moaned again, this time in a deeper tone, more of a growl.
“Careful, love. You must be pretty sore.”
That voice! Andreia pried her eyes open by sheer will power. Muted light spared her pupils as she squinted at the face above her own. I knew it. That voice. Her voice. Roshan’s beautiful face, now frowning worriedly, came into focus.
“Hello,” Andreia managed, her throat dry and stinging.
“Hello there.” Roshan smiled and kissed Andreia’s forehead. “You’re awake.”
“Almost. Where—?”
“On the Iktysos, hiding in the asteroid belt. We’re out of your parents’ reach, love.”
She was too tired to feel anything but relief right then, though she knew she would miss her parents just a little. “I’m glad. Was anyone hurt?”
“Possibly the driver of your hovercraft.” Roshan’s face darkened. “Nobody got killed, except you. It’s possible that your parents realize that the rebels extracted you, but everyone who was there, the illegal camera crews, the public, believe you’re dead. They saw the blood from the pouch, and how you hit your head, which wasn’t a part of our plan, and…they’re certain an Onotharian killed you.”
“Oh, Gods. How long have I been out?”
“We could’ve woken you earlier if you had been hit only by the heavy stun, but the head injury was an unforeseen factor. Doc and our SC physicians all said to let you wake up on your own. So to answer your question, eighteen lunar-hours.”
“Oh. That long, huh?” Andreia sat up, slowly and grimacing. “Ow, I’m sore. What time is it?”
“It’s late afternoon.” Roshan steadied Andreia tenderly. “Can I get you something to drink? Eat?”
“No, not yet. I need the bathroom though.” Andreia felt her cheeks warm.
“I’ll help you.” Without missing a beat, Roshan lifted Andreia effortlessly, carried her to the ensuite bathroom, and placed her on a chair next to the toilet, then stepped back. “You all right from here?” Roshan caressed Andreia’s cheek quickly.
“Yes. Thank you.” Andreia watched Roshan walk out of the bathroom, dressed entirely in black. She had the same barely visible limp that Andreia had noticed at the meeting of the Commercial Lobby, held at Roshan’s mansion about a lunar month ago. It seemed so much further in the past. So much had happened, and the fact that Roshan was still limping made her realize how quickly time had passed.
She finished her business in the bathroom and carefully stood, trying her legs. To her delight, they seemed to work, and she padded across the floor, automatically glancing at herself in the mirror. She wore a knee-length shirt of a semi-transparent fabric and already knew she wore no underwear. Did you undress me, Ro?
When Andreia opened the door, Roshan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, you, easy there! You have a minor concussion, according to Doc, so don’t do anything too adventurous.”
For some reason, Roshan’s choice of words made Andreia laugh, then almost howl. At first, Roshan merely stared at her. “Oh, please, henshes, you do have a way with words sometimes.” Andreia laughed again, realizing that, unless she kept laughing, she’d cry for all she’d lost…and that she was so grateful for all she’d gained.
Finally she quieted and walked back to the small alcove holding the bed. “I can never go back to being Andreia M’Aldovar,” she said, merely stating a fact. “But who am I, then? I’m Boyoda, but Boyoda is a mythic figure, something I could never live up to.”
“And you’re also O’Daybo, which is a nice name, by the way.”
“Very well, so that’s my new last name?”
Roshan sat down next to Andreia and pulled her onto her lap, cupping one hand around Andreia’s cheek and holding on to her waist with the other. “Sounds good to me. You’ve developed a new reputation for courage, and you’re highly admired as O’Daybo. Why not use that as your real name, rather than your call sign? From now on maybe we’ll be able to fight more directly. We can begin using our real names and standing up for who we are and what we believe in.”
“All right. And what about a first name?”
“Keep your own. It’s not that unusual, among Gantharians and Onotharians.”
“Andreia O’Daybo.” But I look so very Onotharian. People will recognize me.
“A derma fuser can make the transformation you and I managed with makeup and colored lenses permanent. Doc told me we’d have to let your skin rest a few days before he performs such a procedure again, but then it’s up to you.”
“That would solve a lot of problems,” Andreia murmured, her eyes fastened on Roshan’s face. “I really don’t care how I appear, as long as you look at me that way.”
“Yeah?” Roshan smiled and seemed a little embarrassed.
“Yes. Like that. Like you want me.” Andreia raised her hands and tucked a few errant strands of short hair behind Roshan’s ear.
“Oh, I’ll always want you, love,” Roshan said. “After all, I ached for you for more than twenty-five lunar years. Now that I have you close, and know that you care about me, how could I not want you?”
“And I want you too. I want you in my life, no matter what it entails.” Andreia’s throat seemed to swell and she had to cough. “I care…and I love you.”
Roshan’s eyes lit up, then filled with tears. They didn’t spill, but emphasized her luminescent blue eyes until they looked like glittering stars across the vastness of space. “I love you too, Andreia. I can’t remember when I didn’t love you. For the longest time, I hung onto life, stayed alive, trying to hate you, wanting to show you that I could fight you and everyone else, no matter what. But it was love, pain too, but love that remained with me throughout the years.” She kissed Andreia, and her tears spilled and fell onto Andreia’s cheeks.
Her own eyes dry and feeling great joy, Andreia wrapped her arms around Roshan’s neck and held her close. “I missed you so much, and I tried everything to forget you, since I hurt every time you entered my mind. When you came back into my life and turned out to be just the person I initially thought you were, everything came rushing back. And it didn’t take me long to realize how I felt, but I’d denied it, because I thought you hated me.”
“I did. Or I thought I did. But only because I loved you so much, I was drowning.”
“And you’re not drowning anymore?” Andreia asked.
“No.” Roshan kissed her with so much tenderness that Andreia began to tremble against her. “On the contrary. You elate me.”
Parting her lips under Roshan’s, Andreia infused all her love into the kiss they shared. It was as if they’d signed an agreement to never mistrust or lose each other again. The kiss tasted of Roshan’s tears, which made it all the more intimate.
“I love you,” Roshan whispered against Andreia’s lips.
“I love you,” Andreia responded, and pressed her lips against the quickening pulse point on Roshan’s neck. “And I want to show you just how much.”
Roshan laughed, a thoroughly sexy sound in the depth of her throat. “You’re convalescing, remember?”
“Oh, but I believe in proactive measures to sustain qual
ity of life throughout the process of recuperation.” Andreia wrinkled her nose and winked.
“Gods, if you look at me like that, I’ll show you proactive…Do you have any idea how utterly beautiful you are?”
Andreia curled up on Roshan’s lap, fatigue overwhelming her, but she was reluctant to let go. “I think you’re the stunning one, but I won’t argue with you. It makes you cranky.”
“Cranky?” Roshan pressed her lips against Andreia’s hair. “I’m never cranky.”
Laughing at that exaggeration, Andreia closed her eyes. She felt Roshan settle in against the pillows, cradling her. For the first time in a long while, Andreia felt completely safe and that she could briefly let go of duties and obligations. So sure that Roshan would watch the universe for her, she allowed herself to drift off. Roshan’s scent of soap and leather filled her senses, and the happy thought that they’d still be together when she woke up made it easy for Andreia to fall asleep.
Epilogue
The convoy of three ships steered through the vastness of space. It had been several days since they’d left Gantharat, and Rae stood in her office, as usual, contemplating the stars while she sorted her thoughts. She twisted and turned a keep-hot mug of Cormanian coffee between her fingers, occasionally sipping it absentmindedly.
“Are they for sale?”
Rae jumped at Kellen’s sudden voice behind her. “What?” She turned around and placed the mug on her desk.
“Your thoughts.”
Still not understanding, Rae placed a hand at the back of her head. “Say that again?”
“Are your thoughts for sale?” Kellen enunciated.
Rae felt a broad smile break out on her face. “You mean, as in ‘a penny for them’?”
