And miss all the excitement? She might not have a task, but she was enjoying watching the action, even if she had been abducted. “If I’m not in the way, I’d prefer to stay here.”
“Sure.”
Relief that he wouldn’t press her about the DNA problem right now eased the tension from her shoulders.
“Captain.” Shannon’s voice remained steady, but Alara could hear the thread of excitement in the Terran’s tone. “I’ve established communication. Correction, he’s established communication.”
“Put him through,” Xander ordered.
The alien’s weak voice came over the com. “Clarie requires help. Clarie’s ship broken. You fix Clarie?”
“Clarie, can you tell us about your power source?” Xander asked.
“Clarie explorer. Clarie not engineer. Clarie die if you not fix ship.”
“Clarie, we would like to help. But if we save you, we will not have enough power to jump back into normal space.”
“Rescue Clarie. Ship broken. Clarie need help.”
Xander drew his hand across his throat. Cyn silenced the intership com and signaled they had privacy.
Xander fiddled with his vidscreen. “Ranth, are the translators working?”
“Suit and ship translators are fully functional. The being known as Clarie may be injured. Out of his head. Or he may normally communicate by means other than speech.”
As the onboard computer made suggestions to explain the alien’s muddled message, Vax paced. “Cyn? How long until the clutch beam’s operational?”
“Two minutes.”
“Shannon,” Xander ordered. “Try to get more information from Clarie about his ship’s power source.”
“Aye, sir.”
Alara liked the calm manner in which Xander approached the problem. Although the tense situation on the bridge required multitasking skills, he stayed professional and projected confidence.
“Captain.” Shannon held one hand to her headset, but her gaze searched for and found Xander’s. “Clarie says if we don’t rescue him very soon, he will die.”
“Understood.”
A muscle in Xander’s jaw clenched, the only indication of his stress. He had to make a command decision, and he had to do it soon. The logical choice would be to continue their mission, a mission whose success or failure would determine if billions of Federation beings lived or died. Yet, Xander had surprised her too many times today for her to predict what he’d decide.
So, like everyone else, she waited for his order.
8
“LET’S PLAY A GAME called hide-and-find.”
Kirek believed the Terran game would suit his purpose of exploring the residence, especially if modified to jibe with Lataka’s sexual interest. “I’ll hide, and when you find me you get a reward.”
“What kind of reward?” She eyed him with budding enthusiasm.
He winked at her and employed his most charming grin, knowing exactly what she wanted—more sex. In the short time he’d been on Endeki, he’d adjusted to the concept of Boktai and planned to use her hormone-induced interest in him to gain an advantage.
Kirek’s recent behavior would have been unacceptable to his strict Rystani parents. Although he had no choice in the matter, even if he hadn’t been a hostage, he wasn’t certain he could have resisted the learning experience Lataka offered so freely.
At home, Kirek obeyed his parents and followed their customs. But now that he was on Endeki, he would follow Endeki rituals and etiquette. His tone sounded coaxing, as if he were flirting with a Rystani life mate, not one of his captors. “After you find me, you can claim whatever reward you like.”
“If we didn’t play your game, I could have my reward now.” She bit her bottom lip, displaying indecision. Meanwhile, she ran a possessive hand over his chest.
“True.” He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going lower to fondle his tavis. However much he enjoyed her caresses, he also had set himself a task that required exploration of Drik’s home. “But wherever you find me is where you’ll have me. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
“All right.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together in a childish gesture. He reminded himself there was nothing childish about her appetites. When it came to sexuality, Lataka was greedy and insatiable, but he’d found himself enjoying her eagerness. Reminding himself her patience wouldn’t last long, he’d have to remember to let her find him relatively quickly, especially if he wanted to play this game again.
“Cover your eyes with your hands and count to fifty,” he instructed.
“Now what?” She did as he asked and peered at him through parted fingers.
“Don’t peek. When you reach fifty, you look for me.”
He hoped she would wait that long. The spoiled daughter of Drik, Lataka was accustomed to her whims being fulfilled in an instant.
Her lips curved into smile. “My favorite place for fun is the courtyard garden.”
“I’m picking my hiding place—not you.” He swatted her bottom with affection. “No peeking.”
Kirek used his psi to move away from her at the speed of thought. The places he wanted to search would not be romantic. But he had only so much freedom, so he expended a considerable amount of mental energy to search quickly.
“One. Two,” she counted and giggled. “Three. Four.”
He sped down a hallway and used his psi to deceive the door’s locking mechanism and to deactivate the alarm. Once inside the chamber, he observed towering urns of Endeki flowers that ranged in color from burned maroon to garish crimson. Colorful blue and purple leaves and deep green vines crawled over a monstrous dining table that looked so old he wondered if the residence had been built around it. As if waiting for Drik’s presence, gigantic gourds, overflowing with fruits and pastries, flanked silver plates, and a bottle of rare Denubion wine rested on ice in a platinum bucket on the matching sideboard.
Doubting he’d find sensitive data in here, Kirek departed the room. Back in the hall, he heard Lataka counting. “Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two.”
He zipped down a different hallway and randomly unlocked another door. This room appeared to be a stage for seduction. Soft music, a string and Zenon concerto, poured from the speakers and blended with the pounding of the surf on the holographic 3-D vidscreen. A Rystani glow stone sat in the fireplace grate, causing Kirek to stop and examine it. He’d been taught that glow stones were unique to Rystan. So what was a glow stone doing in Drik’s residence on Endeki?
His curiosity rocketed. Glow stones emitted heat and light and possessed a natural nuclear energy formation. When lobbed from cannons, the glow stones exploded like man-made weapons. Ten thousand years before, his people had destroyed ninety percent of Rystan and almost all their population in a war that employed glow stones as the primary weapon.
But glow stones never worked when taken from Rystan—they always exploded with atomic force. The scientific explanation had to do with planetary magnetic kinetics keeping the atomic ionization stabilized. Crouching in front of the glow stone, Kirek placed his hand on the smooth surface that reminded him of his childhood home, a planet now under Endeki occupation.
Sure enough, the warmth flooded into Kirek’s palm, exactly as he remembered. He didn’t understand how it was possible for the glow stone to exist here and wished he had access to Ranth.
He couldn’t waste more time thinking. According to the time clock in his head, he had only a few more moments before Lataka left her position to search for him.
Kirek headed for the courtyard Lataka had mentioned and immediately understood why she’d suggested this location for seduction. When he’d stepped from the residence, elaborately shaped hedges greeted him. Paralleling the moss-covered walk, a bubbling creek filled with jillyfish misted the air on a light breeze. The mos
s soon gave way to an open expanse of marbellite tiles that surrounded a quadruple-tiered fountain. Tropical plantings and enormous cages filled with exotic singing birds made the large area private. Covered with flowering vinelike greenery, an arched bower welcomed him with scented burning tapers and deeply padded bendar loungers. He grinned and settled into a lounger, content he’d found the perfect place to wait for Lataka—and perhaps, create a new game that would help him discover why the glow stones were on Endeki, and how the aliens had found a way to keep them stable.
“PREPARE TO INITIATE clutch beam.” Xander saw the doubt in Vax’s eyes. Sometimes a captain didn’t have time to explain an action that would place the crew in danger. Sometimes his orders demanded secrecy. His crew would have obeyed without knowing his reasoning, but Xander also considered the crew his friends. If they were going to die because of his decision, they had the right to know why.
“Whatever disabled that ship could be waiting out there for us. In addition, if he has a superior form of power, we might adapt it to our systems and shorten our journey to the rim.”
“Clutch beam ready for deployment.” Cyn’s voice came over the com from engineering.
“Activate,” Xander ordered, watching the vidscreen and praying it would work. Leaving their ship bereft of power and also failing to rescue Clarie would be a disaster.
The clutch beam, made up of magnetized particles of energy, streamed through hyperspace in a spiral of swirling silver light. Snaking toward the spinning ship, the beam actually narrowed as it extended, due to the peculiarities of hyperspace. Without Ranth’s guidance and superior calculating abilities, the procedure wouldn’t have been possible. In hyperspace, the laws of normal physics simply didn’t apply—there was a whole science of higher mathematics to explain the otherworldly phenomena.
“Power status?” Xander leaned forward over his console as the beam reached the three-quarter point to the alien ship.
“Fifty percent and draining,” Ranth said.
“Will we have enough to pull the ship into our shuttle bay?”
“It’s going to be close, Captain. The two ships are moving toward each other, and that should help.”
“Power down to twenty-five percent,” Ranth informed him.
The clutch beam spiraled around the alien ship. Like an insectoid caught on glued paper, the ship was caught by the beam.
“Retract.” Xander held his breath.
“Power fifteen percent.”
“Ranth, power estimates?”
“Still uncertain.”
Xander was a hairbreadth away from cutting the alien ship loose. If they couldn’t save him, there was no point in wasting the very last of their power.
Sweat beaded on his brow, and his suit could barely keep up. He glared at the vidscreen, heart pounding. Was he making the biggest mistake of his entire career? Was he jeopardizing his mission and the faith the people at home had in him for a stranger?
Stress poured through Xander. Suddenly, his mind snapped. He floated above the bridge and looked down at his crew. They were all going about their jobs as if nothing unusual had occurred. Vax monitored engineering from his vidscreen. Shannon continued her communication with Clarie, informing him of their progress. Alara stared at him. Him, standing by the others and clutching the console. But his mind was no longer in his body.
Stars!
Following the tractor beam, he flew straight toward the alien ship. He should go back. His crew needed him. The Federation needed him.
Coward.
With a sudden snap, his mind returned to his body. Under the abrupt return of weight to muscle and mass, he staggered. Blinked. What in the seven rings of Rangor had just happened? Was he going insane from the pressure? Was he unfit to command? Once before he’d experienced the dichotomy of his body staying behind while his mind escaped. The last time he’d been a half-grown boy. The Endekians had been torturing him to make him reveal the location of his village. The pain had been incredible. So he’d fled.
But this time, he had no excuse. He was a grown man. The only pain he suffered was that of command. Still, against his will, he’d run away like a child, floated from his responsibilities as he soared right through the hull.
Now was not the time for analysis. The alien ship was almost aboard.
“Power at two percent,” Ranth said.
“You all right?” Alara asked, and Xander realized she must have seen him stagger.
He nodded but didn’t look her way. No one else appeared to have noted his lapse, and for that he was thankful.
Cyn controlled the delicate rescue operation from engineering. “Opening shuttle bay doors.”
“Purple alert. Power less than one percent.” Ranth’s tone didn’t change.
Purple warning lights flashed. Alarms blared.
Xander shut off the distracting lights and noise. They couldn’t afford the power loss. “Have we got a lock on the ship?”
“Life support on emergency generators.” Vax leaned over his vidscreen and shut down several duplicate systems to save energy.
“Got him,” Cyn told him as the shuttle bay doors closed.
Xander let out the air he’d been holding in a quiet rush. “I’m heading to the shuttle bay. Vax, the bridge is yours.”
DID YOU SEE THAT?
What?
A third-level transformation.
That lasted less than two seconds? I’m not impressed.
You should be. They are capable of evolving.
Only under stress. It means nothing.
Don’t deny you witnessed adaptation to a higher mental plane.
The fish on Fantos Prime turn color when they are frightened. It doesn’t mean they’ve evolved or are capable of doing it of their own volition.
Such impatience. I’m telling you, they have the wherewithal to save themselves. To save us.
Bah. One creature among billions goes to a higher level for two seconds and you celebrate. It’s not enough to combat the gathering forces. It would be kinder to put an end to the suffering now.
I’m not interested in kindness. I’m interested in survival. You will follow my thoughts. All they need is a giant shove in the right direction.
We’re all running out of time.
So I’ll push harder.
ALARA FOLLOWED Xander from the bridge, half expecting him to send her to her quarters. Curious to see the alien ship and the being aboard, she hoped she might be of some help on this journey beyond her ability to read DNA. Alara had always worked hard. Not having a position and a task made her feel useless. She might not have come aboard of her own accord, but now that she was here, she’d promised to join the crew in return for his essence. Keeping her word meant she could be worthwhile and have something to do.
Xander finally spoke as they walked down a brightly lit hallway. “You wanted to tell me something?”
So he hadn’t forgotten their discussion on the bridge. She sighed, knowing she couldn’t keep the bad news to herself any longer.
“Everyone aboard this ship has the virus. Shannon’s DNA has deteriorated the most and may start affecting her soon.”
“Affecting her how?” Xander stopped, turned to her, his stare hard and focused. It was unfortunate it had taken such bad news to make him look at her.
“She’ll get sick.” She held his gaze, suspecting he was asking her something she didn’t understand.
“Will she hallucinate?”
“I’m no expert on Terran physiology, but I doubt it—at least not until the end stages.” She cocked her head, puzzled. “Why?”
Xander shrugged. “I’ll need to know when she’s no longer able to perform her duties.”
Alara had the distinct impression that Xander was hiding something. She wondered if he had cause t
o believe Shannon was hallucinating, but the Terran had seemed fine to her when she’d been on the bridge. Xander started walking again as if to cut off further questions, and his long legs ate up the distance so quickly, she almost had to run to catch up. “Do you have a healer aboard?”
“Why? Are you hurt? We have an automated—”
“Perhaps I could assume that task. While I’m not a trained healer, your computer can help with the diagnosis and perhaps I could study the DNA breakdown?”
“You will help us?”
Hadn’t she given her word to do so? Or perhaps all he could remember was her begging for his touch. She could barely recall what she’d said. Perhaps she had deliberately blocked out the memory of her words, but she recalled how gentle his hands could be, how he’d created a blaze in her that had suffused her with bliss. Too bad he now judged her by that mindless reaction.
When he’d told her during their meal that the virus had spread throughout the Federation and would kill her own people, she’d become affected on a personal level. For him to think she wouldn’t help her own dying people showed how little he thought of her. Pain sliced her, and it shocked her how deep the cut went. Perhaps he wasn’t so different from other men after all.
His tone turned harsh, accusatory. “How do I know you won’t hurt Shannon? You’ve already told me that you’d celebrate if every Terran died.”
“I may have spoken . . . hastily. Shannon’s concern for a being she doesn’t know has altered my thinking.”
“Really?”
Ignoring her hurt, accustomed to fighting for what she wanted, she held out her hand and grimaced to see the deteriorating DNA. “Besides, I’ve already caught the disease. It’s spreading faster and wider than a radiation storm.” She scowled at Xander. “Maybe I should relax for as long as I have left and die along with the rest of you.”
“Was that sarcasm?”
“Does an atom have a nucleus?”
“You really want to help?”
“I really want to live.”
He eyed her with renewed interest, his expression curious. “You seem . . . different.”
The Ultimatum Page 12
