by Chris Reher
The door into the decon chamber opened and Nova rushed through it. “Jovan!” she cried and skidded to the ground to take him into her arms. “We were so scared! Are you all right? Talk to me, please!”
He looked into her frightened face and smiled. “Could I have some clothes, please?”
She reached up and took a sheet from one of the technicians. “Come, to the med service.”
He allowed them to load him onto a gurney and transport him to another part of the ship where doctors and his fellow Shantirs waited to examine, prod, scan and question his state of health. Nova hovered anxiously nearby and when Tychon appeared at the door Jovan felt a disquieting sense of guilt.
“How are you doing?” Tychon said. “And you won’t hold it against me when my next question is all about my daughter.”
“She’s safe,” Jovan said at once. “For now. But we have a problem.” He looked around the assembled medical staff. “Some classified issues here,” he added.
Nova gestured for all but the other Shantirs to leave the room. “You found him?”
Jovan nodded. “What happened when I got here?” He sat up on the examination table and waved Nova away when she seemed about to insist that he stay there.
“We were probing the keyhole for your exit when you came out at just sub-light speed,” Tychon said. “Unbelievable. One of the Eagles had to chase after you. They captured the pod and brought you back here.”
“When was that?”
“Just an hour ago. We took you to the clean room at once.”
“We have to get back there. Now.” Jovan put his feet on the ground and reached for a pair of lab coveralls someone had left for him. “That asteroid is about to come through that breach. And it’s coming in with a massive energy field that’ll take this station apart in a second. We lost both Eagles and crashed the Scout. Kiran means to divert the cloud before it gets here. He needs our help to do that.”
“Surely, the Tughan Wai is capable of turning aside the asteroid,” one of the Shantirs said. “We’ve heard of him accomplishing greater things before we lost him.”
“That’s not just an asteroid and right now the Tughan Wai isn’t capable of stringing together a clear sentence.” Jovan turned to Tychon. “I’m sorry, Shan Tychon. Kiran... he’s no longer himself. He’s suffering from... I don’t know what. It’s not any mental illness I’ve ever heard of. His concentration is badly compromised. He’s got moments of lucidity and then it’s like he’s talking to someone else. His head is like standing inside a wind tunnel trying to catch a piece of paper. I didn’t even think he could get me back here.”
Nova sighed and rested her forehead against Tychon’s arm. His face, however, remained motionless.
“You joined with the Tughan?” one of the Shantir gasped.
“And so will you,” Jovan snapped. “I survived. Maybe you can, too. But without us he has no chance at all.”
“What is the plan?” Tychon asked.
“One big khamal,” Jovan said. “You, me, Shan Evo and Toch, Cyann and Kiran. He thinks it can be done if we keep him focused. He said he needs Cyann for that. I’m guessing there is something about her brain that’ll help buffer us from the Tughan. Or slow him down somehow.” He looked to Shantir Evo for confirmation.
“Possible,” the man replied. “He might be referring to her synapse abnormality. It’d be far more resilient to the sort of overload that the Tughan causes when he...” Evo glanced at Nova. “When he strikes.”
“We’ll take one of the Eagles back through the breach,” Tychon said. He turned to the third Shantir, a nervous individual who had seemed ready to bolt from the room as soon as the Tughan was mentioned. “I think it best if you remain here, Kytra, in case some of us need help when we return.”
Nova opened the door. “Lieutenant, would you ask Captain Kimura to get his ship ready for immediate departure? Major Tychon and Shan Jovan will pilot.” When she turned back to them Jovan noticed that she had gone very pale. “How will you get through that energy field?”
“We’re not,” he said. “It’s defying our sensors. We’ll approach from behind. We’ll have to veer wide to get the others off the surface. Another reason to get back there fast.”
“Then let’s take this ship and hit the cloud from the back. It may dissipate that energy field or shove the asteroid off course.”
Jovan shook his head. “Thousands of... people on that thing. Using it as a sort of generational ship to get here. Kiran meant to bring them to Trans-Targon but then he... well, just came apart.”
She pressed her lips together and Jovan wondered if some internal dialogue went on between Tychon and Nova that they preferred not to share. The look she gave Tychon before he turned away confirmed that.
They hurried toward the docks where the commandeered Eagle awaited them, two very reluctant Shantirs in tow.
“Thank you, Captain Kimura,” Nova said when they had reached the plane. She then spoke into her com band. “Back us away from the keyhole after separation and stand down all weapons. Prepare for immediate departure. I’m heading for the bridge.” With another searching look at her husband, she hugged Jovan and then hurried away.
Jovan followed Tychon into the Eagle’s cockpit and took the co-pilot’s chair. Pre-flight was done; the only thing left to do was to disengage from the Union ship and cruise toward the keyhole. “Get yourselves strapped in,” Jovan called over his shoulder into the main cabin of the cruiser where the Shantirs waited. He shrugged at Tychon. “First trip through was kind of rough.”
“Trip back didn’t look so pleasant, either.”
“You have no idea.” Jovan engaged the neural interface to the ship. “Guess Nova isn’t happy about this.”
“No.” Tychon’s link controls also flashed on the console. “It’s always a pleasure to command an Eagle. I think I miss that. The plane, I mean. Not the work.”
“You liked being Vanguard.”
“I like being alive more. Should have joined Anders’ crew long ago.” He leaned forward to adjust some manual controls to his liking.
Jovan remained silent for a while. “I’m always amazed how Nova holds it together. We’re all she has, really, for family. You, Cyann, Anders, me. She doesn’t show it but this must really upset her.”
“Yes, it does.”
“I think Cyann’s a lot like Nova. Maybe not so tough, but she’s got a lot of grit.”
“I know that.” Tychon turned for a moment to regard Jovan thoughtfully. “What’s on your mind?”
Another uncomfortable silence followed. Uncomfortable for Jovan, anyway. Tychon seemed to enjoy the dim quiet of the cockpit.
Jovan swallowed hard. “I’m in love with her.”
Tychon said nothing. The ship responded to a command from his neocortex and rolled into position facing the keyhole. He did not look at Jovan. “That’s a very Human concept,” he said finally.
“You should know.”
Tychon nodded, just once.
“I respect you as the head of my house,” Jovan said, unnerved by Tychon’s silence. The older Delphian’s sharp profile gave nothing away. “And I have likely overstepped some boundary, I guess. I feel like I took something that isn’t mine. I tried to stay away, knowing how she felt about me.”
“Is that why you left?” Tychon said.
“Yes.”
“You hurt her.”
“I thought it was for the best. I have no home. I have no roots. I spend my life floating from one planet to another. I’m your liege and I’m a Shantir.”
“What you are is an idiot,” Tychon said.
Jovan blinked.
Tychon shook his head, showing a little impatience. “Sorry. Nova told me I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re in khamal with her?”
“Of course.”
“But—”
“Look, Jovan. Shantir or not, kinsman by oath or not, you were destined to be with her since the day you met.”
�
�She was two years old,” Jovan managed.
“Yes. I was there. She took one look at you and it happened, whatever that was.” Tychon finally turned his head to look at Jovan. “Long ago, Nova and I worried about what her father might think about us. He was a bit set in his ways and, frankly, not fond of certain species. I guess we all have our prejudices, for one reason or another. It was a long time before he knew about Nova and me. In fact the only reason he found out was because I had to tell him that, despite every bit of scientific fact available to us, she was having a Delphian baby.” Tychon gazed into the distance for a moment as if recalling that meeting. “He came around eventually. Cyann has a way of sneaking into people’s hearts and she helped to mend things.”
“She does,” Jovan smiled.
“My point is, don’t worry about the old folks. Do what you have to. You have no need to please anybody but yourselves. Cyann has no roots, either. Or so she thinks. Take her away from this backwater we call Delphi. She’s every bit the explorer you are. You’re a good man, Jovan. Even if you are an idiot.”
Jovan fell back into his pilot couch and exhaled a long sigh of relief. “Yes, I’m an idiot.”
“Now power this thing up while I say my farewells to Nova. She happens to think we’re not going to return.”
Chapter Eleven
“Cyann? Are you all right in there? Ready for decon?”
“No!” Cyann said at once. “Wait.” She sat quietly, cradling Kiran in her lap while he stared at nothing and occasionally mumbled things that still didn’t seem connected to whatever thought preceded or followed.
“Let the Tughan work,” he said. “Let the Tughan work.”
She looked over to Tik. “Are you all right? Don’t worry, they can’t get in here.”
“They will kill me. For helping you.”
“The guides?”
“Yes.”
Cyann tapped her com band. “Uncle.”
“Yes.”
“There is a Jur in here with us. Kiran isn’t able to help her right now. What can we do for her?”
“What do you mean?”
“We can’t send her back out there. They will murder her.”
“We can’t take her off this asteroid. You know the rules.”
“I’m not asking to take some alien home for a pet, Uncle! It’s our fault that she’s in trouble. And she’s attached to Kiran.”
There was a long silence. Cyann smiled encouragingly at Tik without any idea if the Jur understood the meaning of that.
“All right,” Anders said finally. “We’ve got the composition of the air they breathe inside the dome. I’m going to take some air from outside into the compressor and add a bit more oxygen and a little nitro and water. That should be fairly close. You can fill a few bottles from there. Take the stuff out of the large isolation box in the bay. She should fit in there. It’s the best we can do until we figure out how to keep her alive.”
“See? This is why you’re my favorite uncle!” Cyann winked at Tik. “Did you get what he said?”
“Yes,” she said. “You are going to put me in a box.”
“She knows our language?”
“Didn’t I mention that?”
He mumbled something unintelligible. “Let’s get to work. How is Kiran?”
“Coming around,” Cyann shook him gently. “We have to get out of here, even if we can just cruise far enough away to get out of range of those guns.”
“What guns?” Anders said. “You said you destroyed it.”
“I am not convinced that there aren’t more.”
“Does Jovan know this?”
Cyann sighed. “No. He doesn’t. He’ll anticipate the energy field but not any directed fire.”
“You’re right; we have to get out of here.”
She gave Kiran another shake. “Kiran? Are you in there?”
He frowned and looked around the airlock. “Where else would I be? Union-built ship. Not Air Command, I think.”
“It belongs to Delphi.” She helped him sit up. Tik came over to huddle beside him. “Can you fly this ship?”
“I can fly any ship. I used to, anyway. I don’t think I can now.”
She cursed inwardly. “Why not? Won’t you even try?”
He shook his head. “Processors will get all mixed up. Too much. Too too much!” He flinched when a hissing sound began in a corner of the chamber as Anders transferred the gas. “I break things,” he added.
“I think you should try, anyway.” She got up to empty the glass-fronted bin set into the wall. “I was looking for this,” she said to herself when she pulled out some insect netting. She opened another door and exchanged the net for a tall-size pair of coveralls which she handed to him. “Here, put this on.”
“You’re scared.”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead. Ask me.”
She bit her lip. “Did he make it?”
“Tughan knows what it’s doing. Went through that keyhole and popped out the other side. Not broken even a little. Is there any food?”
Cyann sighed deeply and rested her forehead on the cool surface of the storage units.
“Ugh, gray,” Kiran said, inspecting the coveralls. “You know what this place needs? Color. Yellow. Orange! Do you have any purple?” He crouched down beside Tik. “I once had a whole room with blue walls.”
Cyann found another suit and used it to pad the isolation container. “Here you go, Tik. Don’t worry, it’s all very clean. These things get scrubbed more often than we do.” She turned to Kiran and nearly cried out in dismay when she saw him without his ragged wraps. He had grown beyond the normal tall and slender build of his people. But there was little muscle left and the poor food available here had left nothing but skin stretched over his brittle bones.
He turned to her, fastening the front of the suit. “I like blue ones,” he said. “Oh, and yellow! Do you have a yellow one?” He watched her shift her attention to the tank to fill a few bottles of air for Tik. “The only color here is on their skin. Very pretty, but it comes, it goes.”
Cyann picked Tik up and carefully placed her into the glass box. The little creature curled up and did not seem to mind the small space. “Will you be able to help her?” she said to Kiran. “I don’t even know if we can take her away from here.”
He came to stand beside her and patted Tik’s head very gently. “Tughan knows what it’s doing.” His brow furrowed and the turned to scowl at Cyann. “Take her away?”
“We can’t leave her here. They will kill her.”
He shook his head. “No. I won’t let you take her away. That’s just wrong. She won’t leave me.”
“Leave you? No, Kiran. You’re coming with us. If we can get off this rock, you’re both coming home.”
“Home?” He stared at her, pausing for some train of thought to assemble before shaking his head. “No, can’t do that!”
“What? You can’t stay here. You have no ship. This place is making you crazy.”
“Already crazy.” He turned away. “Can’t go home. Nova will kill me.”
“No, she won’t,” Cyann said, worried by this new agitation. “She wants you to come home. So does Tychon. You’ll be safe.”
“You won’t be. The Tughan kills. The Tughan breaks things. They know that and they will kill me. Don’t believe them.” He paced to the exit door and knocked on it as if expecting it to open. “Best if I stay here. Better for everyone.”
“You will die here.”
“Yes. It’s time to go. Time to stop this. Don’t want to kill you.”
Cyann stepped closer to him and, although he shrank away from her touch, gently stroked his arm. “You won’t kill us,” she said. “You don’t want to kill anybody. You could have killed those Jur out there, but you didn’t. You won’t.”
He nodded and then looked up at the ceiling. His lips moved and he winced as if trying to say something simply too complex to shape into words. At last he just closed his eyes in resignatio
n. “Pain,” he said.
She dared to reach up to pull him into her arms. “Can I give you a hug?” she said. “It won’t hurt. I won’t hurt you.”
He said nothing but did not resist when she held him in a loose embrace. “We want you home,” she said, aching for him to hug her back. For someone, anyone, to hug her and maybe tell her that Nigel wasn’t really dead, and Jovan wasn’t really flying a rock into nothing, and the most powerful Shantir to ever exist wasn’t really relying on her to dry his tears. “Father wants you home. He said so.”
Both of them stumbled when something massive struck the side of the ship. Tik peeped fearfully and hid her head in her bin. The lights dimmed.
“Anders,” Cyann said. “What’s going on?”
“Got hit by something,” Anders replied. His voice sounded strained. “Projectile.”
“Your machine?” she asked Kiran.
He raised an eyebrow. “Of course not. My machine works better than that.”
Cyann closed the lid on Tik’s tank and ran a decontamination cycle while she stripped out of her coveralls down to her tights and undershirt. “Can you breathe our air?” she said. “If not, grab a tank over there.”
He shook his head. “I can breathe. No shields?”
“Anders,” she called. “Did Nigel get those shields reset?”
There was no reply.
She exchanged the gas in the chamber and removed her breathing tubes before opening the door into the Scout. “Anders!”
“Uncle’s over there.” Kiran loped ahead of her toward the cockpit.
She followed him down the narrow passage when another hit rocked the ship, slamming both of them into the bulkhead. “Anders!” she cried when she saw him lying on the floor near the forward console.
Kiran looked over the controls. “Uncle isn’t feeling well. Maybe we shouldn’t disturb him.”
“Don’t touch anything!” she snapped and knelt beside the Human. “Anders, come on, let’s get you up.”
