Out of Orbit- The Complete Series Boxset

by Chele Cooke

  Naltahn got up from his seat and walked to a panel in the wall. A small light flashed above it, and he opened the panel to reveal a shining silver tray with a jug and two glasses. He brought over the tray, laid it on the table and poured clear liquid into each glass. Naltahn slid one of the glasses across the table to Georgianna and took a sip of his own. “After a decade of suppression, you trust what the Adveni tell you?” he said, replacing his glass on the table. “Not that it is of any consequence. Cahlven actions prior to our arrival here are not up for discussion.”

  “The Cahlven and Adveni wars were enough to make contacting the Cahlven the highest form of treason to the Adveni. I trust that history.”

  He smiled. “Take a drink, Miss Lennox. Do not work yourself up.”

  “I’m not worked up.”

  Naltahn’s smile only grew, sickly wide, and Georgianna huffed and took a sip of the drink. The clear liquid was full of flavours that she had never tasted before; flavours that were sweet, light, and refreshing, followed by sharper tangs that only made her want to drink more. She stared at it for a few moments.

  “Are you telling me that you came here to discuss grievances from decades ago?” Naltahn said.

  Georgianna shook herself out of her thoughts about the drink. She took another quick sip before pushing the glass away. “No. I came because I know you intend the same thing here. Whatever testing you are performing on the Veniche under the shield is in preparation for this.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Why else would you refuse to release all Veniche?”

  “I’m not.”

  She smiled, challenging. “Then do it. Prove me wrong and release all Veniche from their isolation. Give them the medicine that will lessen the symptoms of these so-called side-effects, and let them make their own decisions. We will speak to them, and you will, and we’ll see who they believe.”

  Naltahn’s calm smile slipped; he took a mouthful of his drink to cover it. Once he lowered the glass, his placid smile was back in place.

  “And if I do not?”

  “Then we have our answer.”

  He leaned back in his seat, running his finger up and down along the glass. Georgianna watched his finger, and then looked at her own glass. The drink had been perfectly cool, but despite the warmth within the ship, there was no condensation on the glass.

  “And what do you intend to do with this answer you claim to have? You have already proved you cannot remove all people from this ship by force.”

  She mirrored him, leaning back in her own seat. She reached for her own glass and took a sip. “Why target the Veniche? I can only guess it’s because we are the easier target. You know the Adveni want this planet, in part, because of us. If we were to die, then perhaps their interest will be less?”

  “You are learning war quickly.”

  “No, I’ve been learning for ten years. I’ve been slow on the pick-up, but I’m getting there now.” He waved for her to continue. “Your real target is the Adveni. It always has been. But you don’t have access to them the way you do to us. We are the easier target. I understand that. But what if I offered you a way to ensure they leave this planet without killing every Ven you can find?”

  “As far as I am aware, you have been trying to do this since their arrival, to no effect.”

  “We didn’t have you.”

  Naltahn’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at her.

  Georgianna leaned on the table again. “Have your virus target the Adveni. You can use the Veniche as carriers for it. Isolate out Adveni genetics that leave Veniche unharmed, but would be deadly to Adveni. All the testing done would still be useful as it would allow you to protect Veniche instead of target them.” She tried to keep her voice calm, despite the excitement racing through her. “The result would be the same. The Adveni would flee to protect themselves, and you’d be able to do it all without losing your access to the knowledge we have. Unless you want to kill Veniche?”

  “It would be preferable to keep the knowledge of the local population.”

  “Then why not try? Why not try something that will benefit us all?”

  Naltahn drummed his fingers against the side of his glass, and tongued the inside of his cheek. His smile broadened. “So, you will allow for testing on the Veniche? You will not interfere in our progress?”

  Georgianna shook her head. His smile began to vanish as he watched her. “I’ll allow you to test on me. Only me. You may take blood samples in order to get a broad spectrum of genetics, but no virus will be tested on a Veniche except me.”

  “You offer yourself as a subject?”

  She nodded and took a sip of her drink. It really was the most interesting flavour she’d ever tasted. Maybe she’d ask for more of it during their tests, if Naltahn agreed.

  “In exchange, you will cure all Veniche under the shield. Remedy them of all you have done so far. And you will give me cures for anything done to Beck Casey and my family.”

  “And once testing is complete?”

  “When I’m satisfied it won’t harm Veniche hosts, you can administer it to everyone willing, of which I will ensure there are many.”

  Without replying, Naltahn brought up the projected symbols again. He typed something in, and within moments, the symbols were replaced with a projection of another of the Cahlven. The two conversed for a few minutes before the projection disappeared.

  “Am I being collected for that prison cell, now?” Georgianna said.

  Naltahn got to his feet. He shook his head and collected up the glasses, returning them and the jug to the hole in the wall. He closed the hatch, and from behind the wall, Georgianna heard a faint whoosh.

  “No, Miss Lennox. The antidotes you requested are being delivered. After that, I will take you to our scientific wing, and you will be the first we draw blood from, for this new venture of ours.”

  “What the hell were you thinking?”

  Alec folded his arms and drummed his foot against the rough tunnel floor, looking at her as if she were a misbehaving child. He shook his head, huffed and went back to pacing, every breath emerging as a snort of annoyance. Dhiren sat in silence against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees and his head back against the tunnel wall.

  “It’s Maarqyn.” Alec spat the name like he was trying to expel poison from his mouth. “He could have killed you right then and there.”

  “But he didn’t,” Georgianna said. “He realised the value of my offer.”

  “The value?” Alec shook his head in disgust. “Yeah, I bet he saw the value of having you hand yourself over for torture and death.”

  “Lec. Please, just listen to what I’m telling you. I know it’s not ideal, but if this can work, we have a way of getting rid of both of them.”

  “And what are the chances of that, George? One in a hundred, in a million?”

  “How many people are under that shield? How many are being tested on, made sick like Beck?”

  “That doesn’t mean you should hand yourself over to Maarqyn like—”

  “We can’t fight them! If we even think we can, we’re being stupid. They have the numbers, the technology, everything. I know it’s risky, but it’s all we have. Look at what happened when we got my family out. We don’t have a choice.”

  “We could run. Dhiren wanted to do that ages ago. Maybe we should just go?”

  “And leave everyone else here? How long would we survive?”

  “We could do it.”

  “And the Veniche die with us. The Adveni wanted to expand their genetics with the Veniche. They wanted it on that last outpost the Cahlven destroyed. It’s probably what the Cahlven want, too. And they’ve got millions. There are ten of us if we get Keiran to run, and three of us are related. Are you really willing to be the last Veniche left?”

  “Three of us?” Dhiren said.

  Georgianna waved a hand. “Braedon isn’t Halden’s. He is the son of Halden’s husband. No blood relation to us.”

  Dh
iren nodded with the new information. Alec was silent, seething. Georgianna knew that running had only been a last-ditch suggestion; one he didn’t really believe in. But having it shot down probably didn’t sting any less.

  “It’s just testing,” she said. “If nothing else, it buys us time while the Cahlven and the Adveni are distracted.”

  “Distracted? By cutting you up.”

  “They’re not going to cut me up. It’s blood tests and skin samples. The whole point is that I survive with these viruses inside me. That’s the only way it works.”

  Alec scoffed. “Until Maarqyn has them injecting you with something that kills you because he’s fed up of waiting.”

  “Then I die, and you know how to move forwards.”

  He turned away from her, seemingly annoyed into silence.

  “Why didn’t you tell us your plan?” Dhiren said. He stared at a blank patch of tunnel wall. He didn’t move, or turn his gaze on either of them. “Instead of telling us this plan, you stole a tsentyl and went to see both the Volsonnar and the Colvohan without giving us a chance to protect you, or to talk you out of it. You knew we wouldn’t agree with you, that we wouldn’t like this suicide mission you’ve started, but you did it anyway.”

  “You wouldn’t have understood.”

  He finally turned his attention onto her. “Am I stupid, George? Is Alec stupid?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then we would have understood, and you knew it. We just wouldn’t have agreed with you.”

  Georgianna crouched, burying her face in her hands. They were getting nowhere. She knew Alec and Dhiren had valid points, but so did she. She had known they would be angry, or upset. She had known they would disagree or point out all the flaws: Maarqyn would kill her on the spot, the Colvohan wouldn’t believe her and would lock her in a prison cell, they would give her viruses that would kill Veniche as well as Adveni or Cahlven. She knew every downside and every risk, but Alec and Dhiren were treating her like a child who’d run in without thinking.

  Maybe she’d been wrong in telling them at all. She’d thought that once she had the agreement of both sides, they’d understand how valuable this deal could be.

  Dhiren got to his feet. “If you were so sure you were right, that this is a perfect plan and you’re going to be fine, why did you drag us out here to tell us?”

  Georgianna looked up, chewing her lip. “What?”

  Alec moved over to stand at Dhiren’s side, smirking in solidarity. “Exactly.”

  “You’re confident in this plan, right?” Dhiren said.

  “Yes. Well, mostly. I got through the most difficult part in convincing both sides to do it.”

  “And yet you only dragged the two of us out here into the tunnel to tell us. Why?”

  “We’ve always made plans together.”

  Dhiren shook his head. “No. We’ve started to include Lacie and Jacob, everyone here. You didn’t want your family to know about this. But they’re included now, so maybe we should tell them?”

  “No!” Georgianna jumped to her feet.

  Dhiren grinned and raised an eyebrow.

  “No?”

  Georgianna huffed and scuffed her foot against the ground. She dug into her pocket, pulled out four marked vials and held them up.

  “I got partial antidotes. It was part of the deal. A show of faith. This will lessen the symptoms of everything the Cahlven did to them. I only get the full antidotes when I take the Cahlven virus. If I tell them how I got them, they’ll never take them. They’ll think I’m dying for them.”

  “And they’d not really be wrong, would they?” Alec said. “You’ve not only bet your life on trusting the Cahlven, but the lives of your family and Beck. George, do you not see how messed up this is? Why did Keiran even agree to it?”

  Georgianna shrugged and pocketed the vials. “He didn’t. I didn’t go to see Keiran the other day. I went to see Nyah. I convinced Olless to let me talk to her.”

  Dhiren frowned. “Nyah? Why?”

  “Because she had the codes to Maarqyn’s tsentyl, and I knew Alec would never give them to me.”

  “You’re damn right I wouldn’t. He’s a monster. And you’re blind if you think you can trust him to stick to some deal.”

  Dhiren stepped forwards. “George, you know what happened the last time we asked one of them for mercy.”

  She looked up, anger burning up into her cheeks. This was nothing like Edtroka, and the fact he would use it as some kind of display of her apparent stupidity made her want to spit a virus at him. “This isn’t mercy. I’m protecting my family and I’m using the Cahlven and the Adveni just like they’ve used us. I’m sick of being nothing more than an afterthought for their war. The Adveni destroyed Nyvalau out of spite for the Cahlven arriving here, and the Cahlven are planning our massacre even as we speak, like we’re nothing but a resource to be used. I was trying to stop it.” She sneered as she looked between them. “So, yeah, maybe this kills me. Maybe Maarqyn snaps my neck, or the Colvohan injects me with something that kills me within seconds, but it’s worth the risk, if it means the rest of the Veniche don’t have a gun pointed at their head any more. Our freedom is worth it, and I feel sorry for you if you don’t see that.”

  Georgianna pushed past them and marched back down the tunnel towards the camp. Dhiren called after her, but she ignored him. She pulled the vials out of her pocket, clutching them tight in her hands. First, she wanted to make sure the partial antidotes worked. Then, maybe Alec and Dhiren would realise she wasn’t on some suicide mission, and that she actually had a plan that could succeed.

  Despite their threats, neither Dhiren nor Alec told her family, or even Beck, Lacie or Jacob. But it was tough to keep her daily trips out into the Rion District secret, especially after she’d given Beck and her family the partial antidotes to lessen any symptoms of the Cahlven testing. It wouldn’t cure them for good, but it would give them more time.

  Beck’s recovery was the most noticeable. The vomiting stopped that night—though Lacie had insisted on having a good supply of the herb water Jacob had concocted on stand-by—and by the next morning, he had more energy than they’d seen from him since he’d left the Cahlven. He even suggested that he help Georgianna with the trip to gather supplies. Luckily, for Georgianna’s cover, and everyone else’s health under Beck’s deathly glare, it had been her father who’d called Beck an old man and told him to take it easy.

  They’d also been delighted with the stash of liquor she’d found at Crisco.

  Each day when she returned, she was met by suspicious stares from Alec, and nudges from Dhiren. Maarqyn apparently needed more time, but the Cahlven moved fast. Each day after checking on the tsentyl, Georgianna reported to the Cahlven ship to have her blood drawn and skin samples taken. Patches of her arms looked like she’d fallen to the ground on multiple occasions, the scraped skin turning red and raw in the cold weather. She could at least cover up and blame the freeze; she never would have been able to hide the testing if it were warmer.

  She was also lucky that the Cahlven had more than enough people to provide samples. The Adveni would not have the same luxury and, once testing began, she would need to either tell her family what was going on, or she’d have to find a really good lie for why she needed blood samples from all of them.

  Of course, she was sure that when the time came, Alec and Dhiren wouldn’t be as willing to hide the truth. As the plan began to move forwards, they would insist it was time to tell everyone what was going on.

  The days began to blend together, and it was already becoming harder to lie when Beck asked what they were doing, or wondered why the Cahlven and the Adveni appeared to have stopped their fighting. Both sides were keeping up appearances with patrols and scouts to the other side, but there hadn’t been any gunfire for over a week. Even Georgianna could see how suspicious it was. She doubted it would take much to convince Maarqyn into fighting just to throw the Cahlven off the trail that something was being plan
ned.

  Georgianna stood up from the uncomfortable chair the Cahlven always made her sit in for testing and rubbed the gel into her skin, soothing the sharp sting of the scrapes on her arm. She took another scoop from the pot and eased it over her shoulder, gently stroking it over the nsiloq mark. It was almost as good as the hyliha that Jacob had made, and while the aching burn never truly faded, at least the Cahlven stuff lasted a little longer.

  She wiped her fingers on a cloth and dressed with barely a look from the scientists testing her. From the moment they said they had the samples they wanted, they barely paid her any attention. She didn’t know why they needed new samples each day. Sometimes she wondered whether it was simply the Colvohan’s way to ensure she returned, with painful tests to check on her continued willingness for the venture.

  She pulled open the door and jumped back a step as two soldiers appeared on the other side. A third man stood between the two, a good head and a half taller than either, but skinnier by a long way. The young Adveni was locked in chains around his ankles, wrists and waist, his dark hair long and matted.

  They shuffled past her and hustled the Adveni into the chair she had just vacated. But where Georgianna had been free to move around, the soldiers made quick work of fastening the Adveni down in the chair. She gulped and hurried out of the door, letting it swing closed behind her as she jogged around the corner, eager to be as far from them as possible.

  But before she’d taken three steps around the corner, she ran into something, someone, bigger than a Cahlven, but not quite as big as an Adveni.

  He caught her by the shoulders, jumping and releasing her again when Georgianna winced and squeaked in pain. “Hello, George.”

  “Keiran!” She wanted to throw her arms around him and hold on forever, but he was still meant to have abandoned her. Smiling too brightly at the sight of him might be noticed on the Cahlven ship surveillance. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same question.”