“Skot—may I call you Skot?—will you come to my cabin for a moment?” Melody said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Miss Dragon, I really can’t—”
“Yael.”
“Miss Yael—it isn’t—I mean—”
“Please. There is something important I want to show you.”
He swallowed. “Oh. Uh, I’ll wait here. You can bring it out.”
“Unlikely.” She took him by the arm and guided him from the lounge.
He balked at her cabin door. “Miss Yael, you don’t understand. I have a girl planetside—”
“Slammer, please escort this man inside my cabin.”
The magnet hesitated. This was a confusing directive, as Skot obviously was not attacking her and so did not need to be moved. And the secret of the baby magnet was inside.
The man became even more nervous. “All right, miss. I’ll talk to you inside. But it won’t—”
As the door closed behind them, Melody’s manner changed. “We cannot be overheard here, Skot. Slammer has made certain. Here’s why.” And she uncovered the nest and lifted out Beanball.
Skot gaped. “A baby magnet!”
“Now you know I stand in violation of ship’s regulations,” Melody said. “I need some help in providing for this—”
“I cannot help you! The rules of the ship…”
“Will you turn me in?”
He gulped again. “Miss, I’m sorry, but I have to. You know that.”
Melody let a strap slip artfully down one shoulder, baring a fair expanse of convex flesh. “I’d be exceedingly grateful if you would not.”
His jaw firmed. “I’m sorry. Had you really intended to keep this secret, you should not have shown me.”
He was quite right of course. But Slammer, recognizing the implied threat, moved, jamming the officer against the wall. “Slammer—easy!” Melody cried.
Meanwhile, Yael had caught on to some of what was transpiring. “What are you doing?” she demanded. “You can’t threaten him; he’s an officer!”
Melody ignored the inner voice, though she found herself sickened at her own actions. She was not cut out for this!
She controlled her voice. “Slammer will crush you if I suggest you mean me harm. He’s not so stupid as not to know the harm your report could do. And if he got the notion you meant his baby harm…”
Sweat beaded Skot’s forehead, but he did not relent. “I am loyal to my ship. I must be honest. I must report. If you—if you do this, there will be an investigation, and the magnet will be discovered anyway.”
Maybe somewhere there were females who were natural conspirators, who actually liked this sort of thing. Melody knew she was not, and never would be that kind. She was doing this badly, hating it, disgusted with herself— still she had to proceed. “True. Unless I hid the magnet and told them you had tried to rape me. I have reason to think that Captain Boyd would believe me.”
Skot closed his eyes, knowing enough of the ship’s skuttlebutt to comprehend the probable rage of the Captain. But his voice did not waver. “I must report. I will not be drawn into a conspiracy.”
The man was inflexible! The fear of death was on him but he would not yield a fraction of his honor. Feeling guilty, Melody switched back to sexual temptation. “It is such a small thing I ask,” she said persuasively. “A few lumps of coal, some bits of metal, a place under your bunk for the baby to hide. No one would know.” Now she shrugged the other strap down. The material peeled away from her front, suddenly exposing both mammaries in all their rondure.
Skot turned on her a look of disgust tinged with pity. “No,” he whispered.
She dropped the burden. “Slammer, let him go,” Melody said. “He is a friend.”
The magnet withdrew so suddenly that the man stumbled forward. He caught his balance. “You don’t understand. I said—”
“I understand you are an honest man,” Melody said, drawing up her dress to cover her mammaries. She was not disappointed, in this case, that their appeal had failed. “You will do what you believe is right, even though you die for it. You are loyal to your galaxy.”
He nodded, not trusting her. “You will let me go?”
“Suppose I were to show you that your loyalty is misplaced?”
His eyes narrowed. “You—you’re an agent of Andromeda? You brought me here to try to convert me to—?”
Now she could smile. “I’m an agent of Milky Way. Were you aware of my aura?”
“It is very strong, the strongest I’ve encountered. But—”
“It is the most intense aura in Segment Etamin,” Melody told him without pride. “Perhaps in the galaxy. Which is why I was drafted. I came here to overwhelm a hostage. Do you know what a hostage is?”
“No. A kind of transferee, I suppose.”
“An involuntary host. One who is controlled by an alien aura against his will, not under the auspices of the Society of Hosts. A normal person who is possessed by an Andromedan.”
“I thought that was impossible!”
“So did we all. But Andromeda has had a breakthrough. The hostage is aboard this ship. It can only be overwhelmed by an aura as strong as my own, coordinated with special retransfer apparatus.”
“I don’t understand,” he said. “Why are you breeding magnets, then? Why go out of your way to show it to me, then threaten me? This has nothing to do with your stated mission.”
“Because I had to be sure of you without giving away my real motive. In case you turned out to be… corruptible.”
Skot worked this out. “If I had agreed to conceal the baby magnet, then—”
“I would have let you do it. And provided any other implied rewards. But not the hostage information.”
He waved one hand in negation. “If I had agreed, then you would not have been exposed. But if I insisted on the truth, after proving myself, you could tell me all of it. So either way, you would still be safe—if you actually can justify breaking the rules.”
“Brace yourself,” Melody said. “I’m sorry the test had to be so brutal, but I must admit I am not Solarian, so am not really interested in—” She flickered her eyes down toward her bosom. But she felt uncomfortable, because in this healthy young body she was interested in human love, as her experience with Dash had shown. Solarian romance was more a function of glands than of intellect. “I had to know you were galactic and loyal. Because—”
“Well, I still have to report—”
“Because I have been using the Tarot readings to detect other hostages. Nine of your fellow officers are Andromedans.”
He stared at her. “Impossible!”
“I know of only three who are loyal: you, Llume of Spica, and Captain Boyd. I still have three to test, but—”
“All the men you have tested—hostage? I just can’t believe that!”
“You can verify it with Llume. I haven’t told the Captain yet. I want to test the rest, and then give him a complete report.”
“You’re telling me even my bunkmate Hath is—”
“Hath of Conquest was the first I verified. Work it out for yourself: What normal Solarian male speaks in terms of the serpent-patina of reproduction? That’s typical of Sphere * of Andromeda!”
Skot considered. “You know, you’re right. He’s changed, recently. I thought he was just out of sorts, but he does act a bit like an alien. Hardly noticeable, but I’ve known him for a long time.”
“Are you willing on the basis of this, to withhold your report on the little magnet? At least until you are sure? I’m trying to win over the magnet loyalty to my side, which is the Milky Way side, in case there is a showdown.”
Skot shook his head in confusion. “You place me in a very difficult position. I don’t know where my loyalty lies. If what you have told me is true—but I’m not at all sure it is true.”
“Then just keep your mouth shut until you are sure— one way or another. On the one side is the mere abridgment of a nonsensical ship’s regulat
ion; on the other is serious peril to our entire galaxy. While you are in doubt, you have to weigh the consequences of each direction of error.”
He sighed. “Yes.”
Melody smiled again. She knew she had acquired an inflexible ally who would be subverted by neither threat nor temptation. “It is an immense comfort to know there is another loyalist among the officers,” she said frankly.
Beanball progressed rapidly. That was probably a survival trait among his kind. Melody didn’t know what type of predators existed on the magnets’ home world, but obviously early speed and power helped. The little ball learned to hover unsteadily, and could move about the edges of the cabin near the floor. It was instructive to watch him, sometimes he went too far into the center and lost control. Then he spun crazily and dropped nearly to the floor before regaining equilibrium. He appeared to operate more by repulsion than by attraction; otherwise he would have hovered near the ceiling. Of course attraction would have snapped him right into floor or wall, while repulsion kept him conveniently afloat at his natural limit.
Slammer hovered in place, seeming to give off fatherly emanations of pleasure.
Finally she got the last three officers interviewed. All were hostages. It was time to report to the Captain.
But first she had a council of war with Llume and Skot in her cabin, the only place where privacy was assured. Slammer might not care what electronic eavesdroppers were elsewhere, but he was well aware of the need for secrecy here, and could locate any telltale devices.
“Of twelve upper-level officers below the rank of captain, ten are hostages,” Melody summarized the situation. “Tiala and nine males, all officers. There is no doubt in my mind; is there in yours?”
Llume buzzed her ball on the deck. “None. My observations concur: all are hostage.”
Skot shook his head grimly. “I have doubt, but not enough. I have to go along with your estimate.”
“Obviously they have concentrated on this ship,” Melody continued, “because it commands the segment fleet. There simply can’t be this number of hostages on other ships! They have chosen to remain concealed until receiving the signal to proceed overtly. That suggests that the hostaging is not complete. They would have struck already if they were sure of their power.” She paused, not liking this. “Probably they infiltrated this ship first, but need to work on other ships of the fleet. When they are ready, they will kill Captain Boyd and the three of us, then use ship and fleet to intimidate Outworld itself and disrupt segment resistance. The key is right here, because the armed might of Etamin is here. So we must act— now, before they do. The Captain’s authority, backed by the magnets, should enable us to make a clean sweep of this ship. After that, we’ll see about the fleet. But we have to convince the Captain without giving it away to the hostages prematurely.”
“I could conduct you to the Captain for an interview,” Skot said. “That would be according to protocol.”
“But I’d like you both present, as witnesses,” Melody said. “You are officers, while I am only a civilian visitor. I need your endorsement.”
“If we all go, the hostages might become aware,” Llume said. “They surely know who they are, and that we are not of them.”
“Yes. In fact, we’d better not remain here in conference long,” Melody said. “Suspicion means death.”
“I hesitate to suggest this,” Skot said, turning slightly red. “But maybe a complaint— You are a beautiful woman, and someone might—that is—”
“Someone might make an advance?” Melody inquired, smiling.
“Understand, it would not be—well, you could complain to the Captain, with Llume as witness—”
“Brilliant!” Then Melody paused. “But Slammer would—”
Skot frowned. “I had forgotten that. Sorry.”
“Unless the female attacked the male,” Llume suggested.
“Yes, that would do,” Melody agreed. “Skot turned me down before. I really was very pleased that he did so— no offense, Skot—but I understand rejected human women can become very angry. I might use the magnet to corner him, then—”
“And I would be witness on his behalf,” Llume said.
Skot looked doubtful. “I’m not sure—”
“Oh come on, Solarian!” Melody said. “One kiss won’t hurt you that much. And it would certainly be a case for the Captain’s attention, since I’m not of the ship’s complement.”
“But you and the Captain…”
Just how much news had spread about the ship? Had that single episode forever defined her as the Captain’s mistress? “Yes, he would certainly want to know! Maybe we had better rehearse it,” Melody said mischievously. “You are just entering the lounge, here, and I jump out at you and—” She made a fine leap and planted a firm kiss on his open mouth. He had to put his arms around her, lest she fall. “And you try to push me away, but I cling—”
“Unlimb that man!” Llume cried against the wall. “You belong to the Captain!”
Just so. “Uh, let’s make a minor alteration in the dialogue,” Melody suggested, embarrassed.
“The Captain shall settle your hash!” Llume said.
Melody paused. “That still does not quite—”
“This is a matter for the Captain’s attention!”
“Beautiful!” Melody exclaimed, satisfied at last.
“Now, would you disengage,” Skot pleaded. “Before I”—his arms tightened about her—“before I forget…”
Melody disengaged quickly. There were unkind aspects to this game.
They lined up before Captain Boyd, in his office: two in Solarian form, one in Polarian, and the magnet. “Request privacy in this matter,” Llume said formally against the floor. “Concerns protocol.”
Dash eyed Skot. The Lieutenant’s uniform was in disarray, the Imperial Outworld blazon smudged, his hair mussed. “So I see.” He waved a finger through the control field on his desk, and the door clamped shut. There were different kinds of doors on the ship; this was one of the swinging variety. “We are securely private, now.”
Melody stepped forward. “This is no complaint, Captain. It was a ruse to gain private audience without suspicion. We have a crucial report to make.”
“No complaint?” Dash inquired, brow lifted. “Slammer?”
The magnet bobbed affirmatively. It hadn’t occurred to Melody that Slammer was also a witness, but of course he was. Good. That was one report the Captain would trust.
Dash focused on Melody. “This must be a serious matter.”
“I have ascertained that all your top officers except those present are Andromedan hostages,” Melody said, anticipating his incredulous amazement. He would take a lot of convincing!
“You are very clever,” Dash said. “How would you like to marry me?”
Melody shook her head. “Perhaps you did not understand—” She halted. “What?”
Dash stood up and walked smoothly around the desk. He came to stand before her, ignoring the others. He put forth his hand to touch hers, and their auras overlapped. As always, there was the electric thrill. The sensation was so wonderful it made mental concentration difficult. “I realize my aura does not match yours,” he said. “But there are other things I offer. Travel about the galaxies, incarnation in a hundred unique forms. We can make love while winging through the warm mists of Zulchos, or swimming the nether-fen of Pemch. We can explore the tunnel library of Cluh, where every book is a complex of odors, sleep aboard the candy clouds of Hiaa. And we can read the Tarot in an Animation Temple—together.”
The thing was ludicrous, this proposal of permanent mating amidst the crisis of the ship. It was completely out of context. It was essential that immediate action be taken against the hostages, lest ship, fleet, segment, and galaxy be destroyed. Yet the force of the Captain’s aura, mind, and personality were such that she had to consider his proposal seriously. She wanted to throw herself into his human arms, to marry him—never to be separated.
But
in a moment her knowledge of herself reasserted itself. She was no young buxom Solarian girl, but an old Mintakan neuter. Like the girl of cinders of Yael’s story-memory. She might dance with a prince—but at midnight she would revert to reality. You cannot fit my script, Melody thought sadly. And I dare not fit yours. Even though she desperately wanted to.
Dash had almost chained the lady—but failed because she was not a lady.
Perceiving her negation, Dash disengaged and returned to his desk. “There is one you did not test,” he said, “with your Tarot.”
Melody was the incredulous one, not he! She had not yet had a chance to tell him of her technique! “You knew what I was doing?”
“I know Tarot. I must admit that you are more proficient in it than I, however. It has been a pleasure to watch you perform.”
“But if you knew—you must have known about the hostages yourself! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Dash leaned back in his web-seat. “Let me approach this obliquely. Let’s assume the Andromedans wish to subvert a galaxy by transfer infiltration. They possess the technique of involuntary hosting. Unfortunately, it still requires a more intense aura to suppress that of the host-entity, and it is also possible to counter hostage infiltration by the use of really intense auras. Thus the program is vulnerable. What do you suppose the Andromedans should do to safeguard their effort?”
It was Skot who answered. “Eliminate the Milky Way galaxy’s highest auras.”
Dash turned to him. “But how should they do that? They don’t even know the identities of those auras, and obviously lack the facilities to make a thorough search. Especially in the face of increasingly determined counterespionage.”
Now Llume joined the game. “They could set a trap. Bait it and wait for something to swim in.” She paused. “But what would be bait for an aura?”
Suddenly Melody felt a cold premonition. A trap baited for high-aura entities…
“Very clever, Dash,” she said crisply, though there was horrible pain inside her. “Or should I say, — of Andromeda?”
Skot jerked erect. “What?”
Chaining the Lady c-2 Page 13
