by Shae Mills
“Then maybe he, she, or it is monitoring both you and all the corridors. How else would it have known where you had gone? And for that matter, what were the chances, on this vast ship, of you encountering anything out of the ordinary unless it wanted to be in your vicinity?”
Chelan lay back down. “It’s not just tracking me,” she said quietly. “It’s probably got the whole ship monitored somehow.”
Terig nodded. “I think you’re right. That’s how it’s avoided detection all this time. And if it was gone from the ship during the sweep, it’s obviously back.” He looked over her and then covered her gently with a sheet. “Should I get a doctor?”
Chelan shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. But now I have to stay busy around the clock to avoid Korba at all costs. If he finds out about my hip, it won’t take him long to bring the entire story out of me. He’ll chain me in your dungeon, or worse, send me home to Iceanea.”
Terig smiled. “He’d be a smart man to do either.”
Chelan slapped him lightly on the arm. “Stop it. You know I’m on to something!”
“Aye, I do. Suicide, they call it.”
She smiled up at him. “Will you get me into the Command Center on RIBUS 7?”
Terig looked away, his green eyes narrowing. “No.”
She took his hand in hers. “The Command Center is secure. You know that.”
“Aye, I know it is. But I no longer trust you. Besides, what would you even do there?”
Chelan looked up at the ceiling. “Sit there and wait.”
“Sit? What are you talking about?”
She looked to him. “We agree that the ship is probably monitored, stem to stern. The Command Center would undoubtedly be. I’ve felt things in the Center before, and once I was sure someone was there. For some reason, I know it’s the same entity that rescued me.”
“The being could prove to be hostile.”
“Hardly. It saved me, and it could have disposed of me or any of the crew by now if it was hostile. Maybe it’s just afraid of all the commotion. Maybe it will come to me. Maybe I can call it out.”
Terig shuddered. “I don’t know, madam, whether you’re long on guts or short on brains, but either way, you pick dangerous quests.”
“But you will help?”
“Aye, I will, because I’m as consumed by this mystery now as you are. But if I had half a mind, I’d drag you up to Korba and tell him all.”
Chelan smiled. “You know that I’m only asking this of you because we both know Korba will stall indefinitely. He’ll take me to the Command Center—he said he would—but he never said when.”
“You’re right. I have no doubt. So let’s make plans. Carefully thought out meticulous plans that you will adhere to.”
Chapter 34
CHELAN’S COUP OF THE RIBUS 7 Command Center happened one week later, and came about easily. Leaving RIBUS 1 through the personal security area to the private hangar was simple. Ordering security there to stay put, not a problem. And with RIBUS 7 besieged by transports and additional repair crews, Cleosan and Telesians alike, skittering about her decks was pretty simply done without suspicions raised. Terig was a relatively normal fixture there, and no one dared question Chelan’s presence anyway. An issue would only arise if anyone just happened to inform Korba, but that was a problem she would deal with if it occurred.
Terig escorted Chelan to the Command Center on RIBUS 7 and then left for a meeting with some Cleosans. He would return for her when he could. His only order was that she remain in the Center at all times. Failure to do so would result in him declining any further requests for assistance with her little project.
Chelan sat very still in the main chair, mulling over their morning meeting. He had been firm and insistent, and out of concern for him, as well as because of her previous brush with disaster, she knew she would do nothing further to jeopardize his trust. She would not leave the Command Center for any reason. Not unless the Lord God Emperor himself descended upon her, and she prayed with all her heart that that did not occur.
Then a thought hit her, and her eyes widened. Why shouldn’t he know? If he did by chance discover her missing from RIBUS 1, everything was lost. After all, he had agreed to this originally. He had just never provided a time frame. Chelan instantly hit the Comm.
“RIBUS 1.”
“This is the Lady Chelan. I wish to speak to his Lordship, please.”
“One moment.”
Chelan chewed at her lip, her heart doing flip flops. A second later, Korba’s deep voice surged over to her.
“My Lady. I believe I left you in the private Command Center of RIBUS 1. According to this link, you are in grave trouble.”
“Lord Terig is not to blame. He had a meeting here today and I begged him to allow me to come.”
“Where are you precisely, Chelan?”
“In the personal Command Center, where he escorted me. I am to remain here until he retrieves me, or so I was threatened.”
There was a pause and then a light chuckle. “Do you plan to obey?”
Chelan sighed with relief. “Yes, I do, my Lord. I would not betray him.” Again, Chelan added silently to herself.
There was more silence, then came a stern warning. “You will answer to me, pretty woman, if you move from that room.”
“I understand, my Lord.”
“I hope so. I am due over shortly to oversee some work. I just may check in on you.”
“You will find me here, my Lord. I assure you.”
A low growl emanated from the Emperor. “I predict I am going to have to turn you over my knee again one day.”
Chelan smiled. “There will be no need for that. I am staying put as promised.”
And that’s exactly what she did. She did not move from her spot, for she was well aware she had just dodged a bullet. She knew of two possible reasons Korba had not gone ballistic over her visit. Number one, no crew were working at the moment in the engine rooms, the most volatile of areas. And number two, he probably had company. One couldn’t tear a strip off one’s mate in the middle of a meeting and save face. She was also well aware that his calm demeanor could change the minute he boarded the ship, but she would deal with that explosion when and if it happened.
She hit a few switches on the console and then sat back, glancing from screen to screen as she scanned the areas that bordered the transport tubes. “Who are you?” she whispered. “I know you are out there somewhere. Come to me and reveal yourself. No harm will come to you, I promise. I want to help you if I can. Just come to me.”
Time dragged on as she continued to scan, but nothing out of the ordinary presented itself. Eventually, she became absorbed in what she was witnessing—the hustle and bustle of the crews, the spectacle of her ship being resurrected on all fronts. She was completely engrossed.
Then, out of the blue, an eerie chill enveloped her body. She gasped. This visit was not friendly. It was oppressive. It was a warning, and she shivered.
She slammed her hand down on a button and the entire array of screens blinked out. Chelan swung around in the command chair just as the main doors opened, causing her to jump with a start.
Terig stopped in his tracks. “My Lady?”
Chelan lurched to her feet. “We must go,” she said succinctly.
Terig’s eyes widened as he moved to her. “Excuse me?”
“We must go. Something wants us gone.”
Terig’s jaw went slack. “After all the times you have badgered me to get here, now we must go? Just like that?”
He stepped past her to the consoles, but Chelan grabbed his arm. “Please. I cannot explain. Something is not right.”
Terig looked at her briefly. “Okay. But Ambassador Embrose just transferred a report on the latest test results on the alloy found in a new area. I should look at it here before I leave, in case I have any information or questions for him.”
Chelan conceded reluctantly and sat back down, knowing she had no basis for her gu
t feeling anyway. Terig pulled up a chair and accessed the data. Chelan hugged herself, her mind deep in turmoil. Why, after all this time of feeling a pull to RIBUS 7, would whoever, or whatever, suddenly be trying to push her away? Was it because Korba was coming? Chelan squirmed and looked at the screen Terig was studying.
“Hmm,” he said.
“What is it?”
“As it turns out, all the Zenatropium alloy was cold fused to the ship’s structure.”
Chelan squinted at the report. “And? I do not understand. Cold fused?”
Terig nodded. “There is an oddity in the molecular composition between the Zenatropium and the Tythalion that we normally use—” His voice broke off. “Bloody hell!” He lurched for the panel in front of him.
“What is wrong?”
“The hangar that the modified tube enters. Crews are there. They are going to weld a shipment of Tythalion to repair the hole in that section of the corridor there. They are going to use lasers as we always have, but—” A scanner in the area brought the hangar into view. Shrouds hustled everywhere as containers were being unloaded and redistributed. He anxiously hit the communications link, but it would not function.
“Jesus!” he yelled, and he was on his feet instantly. He began running for the doors.
Chelan was temporarily dumbstruck. “What is it?” she shouted.
“Stay here! Whatever happens, stay here.”
But Chelan was spurred on by fear. She leapt up after him and tore from the Command Center. As she sprinted down the corridor, she crashed head on into several men. Chelan looked up into their surprised faces. “Follow me. Something is wrong in Hangar 37!” And she began to run again. The men instantly came after her. As she reached the final bulkhead, she slammed into it. She hit it with her palms. “Why is it locked?!” she shouted.
One of the Iceanean warriors pushed her aside as he moved to an override panel. “It should not be. We just came from here. Someone must have—”
The explosion seemed to rock the entire ship, the violence of it knocking Chelan’s feet out from under her. All of them sprawled to the floor. “Get it opened!” she ordered. She looked up just in time to see more shrouds dashing toward them.
Korba drew back his hood, his azure eyes wild. He scooped her from the ground. “What the hell is happening?!”
Chelan grabbed him. “Terig was in the Command Center with me,” she panted. “He was looking over data on the Zenatropium alloy used in this section of the transport tubes. Something was different. Then all of a sudden, he was on his feet and running here. Something was wrong. He was worried about the fusing or something. God! Korba, he is still in there!”
Korba threw her back into the arms of his men. He went through the override codes like wildfire. Then the massive bulkhead began to move ever so sluggishly. Thick, tarry smoke billowed out, and all of them recoiled.
Chelan wrestled against her captors. “Terig is in there! My god, someone get him out!”
Korba turned to her in flurry of ebony. He looked at the men. “Hold her! At all costs, do not let her go.”
Korba lurched toward the door, drawing his shroud across his face. “No!” she shouted hysterically. “Not you!”
Korba vanished momentarily and then emerged coughing and dragging a body.
Chelan went still and blanched. It was Terig.
Korba wiped his face with his shroud and then hit a button. The doors closed. Then the Warlord began shouting orders as he knelt by Terig’s side. He pressed his fingers into Terig’s neck. “Flush out that area! Get some crew in there to survey the damage. Everyone else will be dead.” He hesitated. Then he looked up at the stark-white woman, and his heart bled. Glancing at his men, he yelled. “And get him to the sickbay here! Notify Stose on RIBUS 1. Tell him to come immediately.”
Men surrounded Terig and picked him up as carefully as possible. Chelan felt her knees weaken; the Scot’s body and face were badly burned. Then she felt Korba’s arms grip her. “He is still with us, my Lady.”
Chelan teetered. “I do not know what happened,” she stuttered. “He should not have gone. He knew something was wrong. The Comm ... the Comm didn’t function.”
“Chelan,” he called, forcing her to look at him. “Stose will take care of him.”
She stared into the darkness of his shroud and furrowed her brows. “The metals,” she muttered. “The new Tythalion shipment, they are not compatible... I think he uttered something about cold versus hot fusing.”
Korba hit a switch on the wall with his fist. “Rayik! Shut down everything on the ship. No one lights a laser anywhere until I say so.”
“Yes, my Lord. A cease order has been given ship-wide.”
Korba clutched at Chelan and she looked up, her eyes glazed. “Listen, my Lady. We must go to him.”
Chelan ran her hands down her shroud, her voice a shallow whisper. “Yes, we must. He would want that.”
Korba winced. He could tell she was in shock, but she needed to shake out of it. He turned her about and stepped through the crowd that had gathered. Zane came running up. “I just heard, my Lord.”
Korba nodded to him. “Take whatever help you need from any of the ships to figure this out. And get the Telesians involved. The two alloys can be cut by lasers, but not heat fused for whatever reason. All the work has been shut down in the meantime.”
Chelan was still trying to process all that had just happened. “Uh, there is a disk in the Command Center...,” she said, “...that he was studying. All the information is there.”
Korba looked at Zane. “You heard her. Send Cleosan and Telesian representatives along with Lethiason to the private Command Center here to look at that disk, now!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Korba pushed Chelan forward and then led her toward the sickbay.
Her legs were like putty but they obeyed, barely.
When they finally arrived, a guard stepped forward. “My Lord, my Lady. Stose is with Lord Terig now. He asked that you wait here until he is free.”
Korba nodded and took a seat. He pulled Chelan into his lap and held her very tight. She sagged into him and stared at nothing in particular as his hands stroked her hair and back. “He will be okay, my Lady. Stose will do everything in his power to ensure that.”
She blinked. “I made him take me here. I am responsible.”
“No, no you are not. He was going to be here whether he brought you or not.”
Stose appeared and they both jumped to their feet. Instantly, Chelan ran to the doctor and clutched at his white uniform. “Stose, tell me the truth.”
The doctor hesitated as Korba approached. Then he looked down into Chelan’s pained eyes. “He is full of shrapnel from the explosion, my Lady. And over three quarters of his body is charred. How he has held on this long is a mystery.”
Korba watched his mate carefully.
She looked down and released the doctor. “May I see him?” she asked unsteadily.
“Yes, my Lady. Both of you should attend him.”
Chelan took a deep breath and clutched Korba’s hand tightly. They walked through the doors and into the main examining room, the same room that had first housed her approximately two decades earlier. She approached the central table and glanced down. A single thermal sheet draped the man. His face was burned, the melted flesh masking his once handsome features. Most of his hair was gone, along with one ear and his nose. And the smell of his roasted flesh accosted her senses. But Chelan did not flinch. “My Lord,” she whispered stoically.
He looked to her, his mouth managing a small smile. “My Lady.”
Korba offered her a chair and she sat down. The Emperor moved to the other side of the examining table and stood over his longtime friend. But Terig’s gaze never left Chelan.
She stared into the green eyes she knew so well. “Are you in pain?”
He switched to English, his soft Scottish accent yanking mercilessly at her tattered heart. “Nay, lass. Stose made sure there
was none.”
Chelan hesitated. “We can’t lose you.”
Terig’s eyes closed momentarily. “You finally ask too much of me, my Lady. I’m afraid I cannot grant you that wish.”
Chelan smiled weakly. “You’re being a halfwit again.”
His blackened lips grinned ever so faintly revealing his perfect white teeth. “Aye, maybe. But I know when I’m done for. I’ve had many the experience with wounds and the dying. I am well aware of my limitations and my fate, my Lady.”
Chelan swallowed hard. She wanted to touch him but knew it was not possible. “You were a fool to go in there when you knew what was happening.”
“It appears so, but I had to try. Too many lives were at stake.”
Chelan felt her eyes sting, but she willed the tears away. Terig’s voice drew her closer.
“Listen to me, lass. I want you to tell Korba all that we know.”
Chelan nodded. “I will.”
“He will aid you in your quest now, my Lady. You will solve the mystery.”
Chelan glanced up at Korba, but his features were unreadable.
Then Terig looked to the Warlord. “My Lord, grant me the wish that you will not deny her this venture.”
Korba nodded. “Granted.”
Terig smiled once again. “You are a great man, my Lord. I wish I could have served you longer.”
Korba hesitated, a lump forming in his throat. “You too are a great man, my good friend. It has been an honor to know you and to train with you all these years. Without you, I would have never regained the Empire.”
Terig’s eyes closed momentarily and then he turned back to Chelan. “My Lady. The object of your quest, I believe, is a lone man.”
Chelan’s eyes opened wide with surprise. Terig continued. “I was with the crew when the explosion hit. We were all flattened. A fireball ensued. It cremated all.”
Chelan was trying to sort through too many things at once. She felt overwhelmed. “But not you?”
“Well, not entirely, but close enough.”
