LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5)

by Marilyn Campbell

  "Would it be possible for us to observe and study some of these procedures?" she asked. "If we could take this information back to Earth, it could revolutionize health care overnight."

  Parisia and Iris exchanged another of their non-verbal communications before Parisia answered. When she did, Tarla sensed she was saying something very different from what she was thinking.

  "Of course," Parisia replied. "As long as it doesn't take away from time you should be spending on our plan."

  Tarla was more than satisfied with that. Not only would they be doing something constructive in their leisure time, it would provide her with a place to go in the evening in case Logan continued to see her only as a freaking alien.

  * * *

  Logan's muscles were beginning to feel the strain of purposely restricted movement, as he and the other men imitated Jason's slow progress through the marketplace. He vowed to begin doing calisthenics each night in the privacy of the apartment just to burn off all the energy being trapped inside his body. It might even help him deal with the pent-up tension Tarla caused, he thought, though he didn't really believe anything could accomplish that feat.

  Jason was quietly and boringly explaining how to select the best potatoes for mashing, when Logan lost control of his patience. A quick glance at the others in his group let him know he wasn't the only one being driven over the edge. As soon as they moved out of earshot of the female vegetable merchant, he said, "We've seen more than enough, Jason. Let's go back."

  It was somewhat easier to pretend to be drugged once they knew they would soon be able to act normally again. The moment they were inside the workroom, the men groaned and stretched and teased each other on their performances. Their joking was a natural outlet for the pressure of the last hour in public and continued for several minutes.

  Then, at the same instant, Logan and Geoffrey noted Jason's wide-eyed, bewildered stare, and realized the enormity of the mistake they had just made. They had completely forgotten that the act had to be kept up at all times.

  Geoffrey loudly cleared his throat and moved his eyes to remind the others that Jason was watching them. But it was already too late. "I hope you will pardon that display, Jason," he said. "I'm afraid we still have a ways to go to be perfectly behaved Heart men, like you."

  Jason's brow wrinkled slightly. "I remember... laughing... with Brianne." The thoughtful frown relaxed into a complacent smile again. "Brianne and I are twins. We were permitted to socialize with each other when we were children."

  "How lucky for you," Logan muttered sarcastically.

  "Yes, it was," Jason replied with absolute sincerity. "No other Imperial Prefect has ever had a male child. I have caused complications."

  T.J. snorted. "Somebody 'round here oughta cause—"

  "T.J.!" Geoffrey said, cutting him off. The young man rolled his eyes and slumped down onto a chair with his arms crossed. Geoffrey made himself a mental note to have Tarla or Robin speak to Lee about loosening the reins on her roommate a bit before he exploded.

  "What kind of complications?" Logan asked, not certain why he wanted to know yet sensing it could be important. When Jason blinked and angled his head at him, Logan realized his train of thought had been derailed by T.J.'s aggressive behavior. Because of his own experience with the drug, he had no problem empathizing with Jason's lack of focus. "You said that your being a male has caused complications."

  Jason nodded. "Yes, it has."

  Logan reminded himself to practice his patience and spoke to Jason as if he were a little child. "What kind of complications?"

  "Employment. As the Imperial Prefect's son, I cannot work in a lesser household. I try to assist in the palace kitchen, but I do not seem to be of much help. I could be Brianne's personal servant but she insists my waiting on her makes her uncomfortable."

  Logan recalled Tarla's similar claim, but as a Heart-born woman, Brianne shouldn't have been bothered by her brother serving her. "You said you used to socialize with your sister. When did that stop?"

  Jason frowned and squinted with the effort it took to remember. "When she became a woman. Then it was no longer proper for us to play children's games."

  Geoffrey was looking at Logan curiously and Logan gave him a brief hand signal to let him continue. "Are you given some kind of antidote once a month?"

  "Of course. All men must take their antidote on schedule. We could become very ill without it."

  "Do you remember when you got your first dose?" Logan prodded.

  Jason rubbed his temples, as if all this thinking was making his head hurt. "It was... I think it was... also after Brianne became a woman."

  Logan turned to Geoffrey. "You know, we could probably use a young man to help around here, running the household errands we won't have time for, fixing lunches, that sort of thing."

  "And you know we aren't supposed to fraternize with the natives," Geoffrey countered. "What's on your mind?"

  Logan shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. An experiment, maybe. Or a little insurance." Or a soft spot for the underdog, he added to himself. "I'll figure it out as we go along."

  "All right, but have Tarla put in the request so you don't ruffle feathers more than necessary."

  Logan turned his attention back to Jason. "What do you say, Jason? Would you be willing to help us out with our project?"

  "I would very much like to work here with you," the young man replied shyly.

  "We'll see what we can do, kid," Logan said with a wink. "Before we're finished, we might even find a way to solve your complications permanently."

  * * *

  At the end of the sanatorium tour, Parisia requested a few minutes alone with Tarla.

  "I have something to give you," Parisia said after taking Tarla into an empty office. "But I do not wish for either Iris or Brianne to hear of it."

  Tarla agreed to keep her secret and Parisia extracted a small wooden box out of her caftan pocket. She carefully raised the hinged lid and handed it to Tarla.

  Inside the little box was a quantity of tiny, balls of yellow gel. She picked one out and rolled it between her fingers. She gave Parisia a questioning look and noted that the woman's usually ivory face and throat were flushed.

  "I hope you do not think it too indelicate of me but I don't know of a better way to handle this. Since your men are unmedicated and circumstances require that you reside in pairs as woman and servant, it has occurred to me that you may not be able to control their, uh, biological urges indefinitely. If one of the men should force his, uh, attentions on a woman, and that mating resulted in her becoming with child, it would be most difficult to explain.

  "Rather than risk such a problem, I would appreciate it if you would divide these pills up among your women. If they take one on the first day of each menstrual cycle, they will be rendered infertile for the remainder of the month."

  "Birth control pills?" Tarla asked in amazement. "Why on Earth would you—I thought your men couldn't..."

  Parisia held up a hand to stop her. "They can't. These are given to our female house pets to prevent accidental conception." She smiled at the disbelieving look Tarla gave her. "Don't worry. I assure you they are completely safe and effective for human females as well."

  After what happened between her and Logan last night, she certainly couldn't promise that none of the couples in her group would engage in sex for the next year, so she pocketed the box and assured Parisia that she would take care of it.

  * * *

  The remainder of the day was spent with Brianne demonstrating how to work with the data systems and interpret the universal and planetary maps.

  At the first opportunity, Logan had Tarla request Jason's assistance. Though Tarla agreed to make the request, she doubted that Brianne would allow it. Thus, it was quite a surprise when she went along with the idea after no more than a momentary consideration. In fact, it was Brianne who came up with an acceptable justification for his presence. As her personal servant, it would not be unusual for Jason t
o accompany her back and forth between the palace and the workroom then stay with her throughout each day in case she had need of him.

  Before Brianne and Jason departed, Logan managed to get Jason off to the side for a private conversation.

  "Your sister seems happy about you spending time with us," Logan said.

  "Yes. I am also and I promise to serve well."

  Logan saw Jason's expression change to thoughtfulness and asked, "Do you have a question?"

  Jason nodded slowly. "I do not fully understand who I am to serve."

  Logan considered his answer before he spoke it. He was treading on dangerous ground, yet he was convinced the risk could be worth it. "As of this minute, I'm your employer."

  Massaging his temples, the younger man said, "But you are a man. Men are servants, not employers."

  "That's right," Logan assured him. "But this is an unusual situation. We're helping your sister and mother with a very big complication, so the usual rules can be broken."

  Jason's frown vanished.

  "Now, the first order I'm going to give you has to be a secret between us. You can't even tell Brianne. Do you understand?" He waited for Jason to give him another slow nod. "When are you due to take your antidote again?"

  Jason closed his eyes for a second then said, "Soon, I think."

  "Okay. I don't want you to take it while you're working for me. If you show any sign of illness, I'll make sure you get what you need."

  Jason's eyes grew wide and he whispered, "But that's against the law."

  Logan patted his shoulder. "Remember what I said. In order to help Brianne and Parisia, we have to break some of the rules. The question is, can you avoid taking the antidote without anyone finding out except me? Maybe pretend to take it then throw it out?"

  "I suppose," Jason said reluctantly.

  But will you remember this conversation ten minutes from now, Logan wondered. He figured he'd have to remind the kid at the end of every day until he found out what date his antidote was regularly administered.

  Both Geoffrey and Tarla had asked what he had in mind, and he had hedged. The truth was, he wasn't all that sure of the answer to that himself. He just couldn't stop thinking about Duncan and Hans and all the rest of the men who had been fermenting on the farm for decades.

  Through Jason, he hoped to discover whether or not the effects of the antidote would wear off in time. If so, it might be possible for those men to resume normal lives and return to Earth with everyone else.

  Besides that, he couldn't help but hurt for that poor kid who had never even had the chance to feel what it was like to be a man. Maybe when the time came, he'd give Jason his seat on the plane for the return trip to Earth, and he'd stay here as Brianne's houseman. Compared to the sentence awaiting him at Leavenworth, the Imperial Palace was looking pretty good.

  Chapter 18

  "A delay?" Commander Xytoc shouted at the quivering scientist. "I will not tolerate any delays. You will complete your work according to ssschedule, or you will be sssquashed!"

  The senior scientist crept a bit closer to the exit before attempting to explain again. "It is not our fault, sir. The plans for the FTL unit call for an element that we do not have on this planet. It is impossible to complete production without it."

  "Where can thisss element be found?"

  The scientist's antennae twitched nervously. "The closest planet is in the Aries system."

  "Aries!" Xytoc roared. "It would take nearly a thousand sssunrises to get there and back. No! I will not wait that much longer when we are ssso clossse to total victory. You are a ssscientist! Jussstify your position. Find a sssubssstitute for the element. Sssynthesssize it. I do not care how you do it, but our troops will be taking off in shipsss capable of FTL no later than ninety sssunrises from today. Disssmisssed!"

  The scientist slithered away as quickly as possible, content that he had gained an additional thirty sunrises to complete his task. He was already working on a synthetic for the missing element. It had a slightly unstable quality to it, but it should work well enough to satisfy the commander and keep himself and his team from being squashed.

  He was just glad he didn't have to be on any of those ships when they departed for Heart!

  Chapter 19

  Gianni noted that the line in front of Nadia's tent that night was a lot shorter than it had been the first week she went into business. When he first realized what was going on, he'd felt obligated to have a talk with both Wilkes and Nadia, mainly to verify that the woman was a willing participant. Based on her responses and previous behavior with Higgs, he was convinced that the arrangement was acceptable to her.

  Gianni wondered what he would have done to keep the peace if Wilkes hadn't become her pimp. It kept two potential troublemakers busy, while pacifying an entire troop of restless men. Capitalizing on Nadia's sexual appetite was working so well, Gianni had taken advantage of her services himself last week, but this week, he just didn't feel the need.

  The first few days after the advance team went beyond the wall, griping and speculating could be heard from sunup to sundown. Hardly anyone mentioned it any more. For the most part, the men had all settled into a routine of working all day, playing cards with a deck they'd made up or visiting Nadia in the evening, then sleeping until it was time to go back to work.

  Most of the men, Gianni included, found that having one glass of the sparkling water with dinner was the equivalent of a cold beer. It was relaxing without scrambling their brains and it helped to make the long, boring days a little easier to get through, knowing there was something pleasant waiting for them back in the big house.

  * * *

  "That's it then," Geoffrey declared. "Everyone agrees this is the plan we're going to suggest." He received a chorus of endorsements then addressed Tarla. "Are you prepared to present it as is?"

  "Absolutely," she said without hesitation. "It's fairly straightforward. I shouldn't have any problem answering any questions about it."

  "Shall I call my mother and Iris?" Brianne asked her.

  Tarla glanced at Geoffrey and Logan and noted their nods. "Yes. We're ready."

  As Brianne made the call, Tarla pondered over the progress made during their first two weeks on the job. Though the team was made up of a wide range of talented men and women, they had all had plenty of doubts as to whether any of those talents would be of use in performing the monumental task they'd been given. Partly because they'd worked around the clock every day, only taking breaks to eat and get some sleep, their doubts had been groundless.

  Kara's and Ray's computer expertise smoothed the way through the research stage, and Ray had a bottomless reserve of science fiction stories from which to draw ideas.

  Jeremy's, Trish's and Sunny's backgrounds in math, general science and physics came in handy for translating Heart's technology into language the others could understand, while Geoffrey and Robin used their engineering and mechanical skills to come up with ways to apply it.

  Alicia, Nathan and Edward applied their navigational knowledge to interpreting the maps and star charts.

  As expected, Logan, T.J., Greg, Kevin and Lee concentrated on defense strategies and ideas for weapons using Heart's existing technology.

  Hal's and Darcy's business acumen was temporarily on hold, but they knew they would be needed for more than brainstorming as soon as the plan was approved and set into motion.

  Mandy and Charlene had little to contribute to the war effort, other than acting as sounding boards for everyone else. Therefore, they used the bulk of their time studying the medical data banks in hopes of returning to Earth with a wealth of valuable information.

  Tarla managed to subtly offer suggestions, using her greater knowledge of advanced technology and defense, without anyone but Logan guessing how she might know those things. He didn't give her secret away, but she felt his derision every time she spoke.

  Generally, progress had also been made in personal areas, each couple gradually drifting
into compatible relationships of one kind or another.

  After a rough start, T.J. eventually accepted Lee Tang in a maternal role. Alicia, Darcy, and Sunny had settled into comfortable friendships with their roommates, while Trish's, Mandy's, and Charlene's partnerships showed hints of progressing beyond that. Shy little Kara had Ray acting like an adolescent with his first attack of puppy love, much to everyone's amusement.

  Robin and Geoffrey were spending so much time brainstorming together, they often finished each other's sentences. Geoffrey had not yet given in to Robin's urging that he share her bed, but Tarla could tell he didn't have much resistance left in him.

  Robin had told her what his main excuse was and, though it was quite admirable, Tarla's intuition insisted there was more to it than he was admitting. If Robin could find out what his real excuse was, Tarla was certain there could be a happily ever after in their future.

  Only she and Logan had failed to find a workable solution to the dilemma of living together. She let her gaze land on him for a moment, but as soon as he noticed, she looked away, just as he did when she caught him watching her. Their tasks didn't require that they work side by side like Geoffrey and Robin, so it was not difficult to avoid each other.

  At the end of each day, it was usually late enough to simply retire to their separate corners. And if it wasn't, Tarla visited one of the others until they ordered her to go home.

  Robin, of course, honed right in on the problem and told her to lock herself and Logan in the bedroom and stay there until they either had sex or killed each other.

  They had gotten so good at avoiding contact with one another, they were able to get ready for work each morning and go to bed each evening without spending more than a few seconds in the same room together. Tarla had been convinced that, in time, she wouldn't have to think about avoiding him, that it was bound to become routine sooner or later.