by Ashe Barker
“Yes. I was intending to just disappear as soon as I could after landing on the Teek home world, and then make my way back to Earth somehow.”
“I doubt you’d have found it easy to stow away on another ship. There are no diplomatic or trading relations between the Teek and Earth, no reason for a space craft to make the trip.”
She shrugged. “I would have found a way.”
On balance, and despite the resourcefulness she had shown so far, Phahlen doubted that. Still, he knew better now than to underestimate this determined little human. He had made that mistake twice before. Three times if he also counted that kick in the balls the first day he met her.
“So, what happened after I lost consciousness? How long have I been out?”
“Three cycles, Commander, though you would have come round earlier if I hadn’t kept you in an induced coma.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You had no right—”
“I did what I thought was best. For both of us. You were badly injured, in a lot of pain, and I needed to get you away from the crash site before the Galeians tracked us down. It was easier if you were unconscious. You were making a lot of noise, Commander…”
“You are not telling me you actually managed to carry me.” He’d believe a lot of her, but not that. He was three times her size and weight.
“Not carry exactly. I dragged you from the flight deck and onto the planet’s surface. And yes, you were heavy, but I managed. I had no choice. Then I released the surface buggy from the rear of the ship and managed to haul you onto it.”
The surface buggy was a small, wheeled conveyance used for short trips on missions to uninhabited worlds. It held a self-contained power source that could be replenished in solar light.
“We have transport? We need to return to the ship now, send out a distress signal.” Again he tried to sit up, and this time managed to lift his shoulders from the pillow. Her paralysis medication must be wearing off.
“No, we can’t. The Galeians tracked us and they discovered the ship. They’re stripping it of anything they can find even as we speak.”
“Fuck, they have all our survival equipment? Our supplies?” Phahlen knew that their chances of making contact with the Empyrean were close to nil without communications technology.
“No, Phahlen, not exactly.”
He twisted his neck to regard her. “Not exactly?”
“I drove you away from the crash site and found this place. It’s not much, just a cave really, but we can’t be seen from outside or above. Anyway, I don’t think the Galeians will be looking for us. They’d be scouring the area by now if they knew we were here.”
“They’ll know there was a crew, and they’ve only found one body.”
“Yes, but I moved the corporal into the chief pilot’s seat, and I put your helmet on his head. It has the commander’s insignia so they might be fooled, at least for a while.”
“A lone mission? Vahleans don’t do that.”
“There’s no reason the Galeians would be familiar with Vahlean mission protocol. They may not realise, Commander. I thought it worth a try.”
He nodded, she was right about that. But even without the Galeians hot on their trail, their predicament remained dire. They were stranded with no equipment, no food or water, and no way of seeking an extraction operation by the Empyrean.
“I need to—”
“Now that you’re conscious you can give me directions to launch a distress beacon. Then you need to rest, and recover some more.”
“A beacon? Even if we had one, that would just bring the Galeians running.”
“Not if it’s encrypted. You can do that, surely, make it so only a Vahlean receiver can intercept it?”
“Yes, obviously. But all that comms technology is back on the ship, and now the Galeians have it.”
“Not quite, Commander. You see, once I had you safe here and I’d treated your worst injuries, I went back. I made two trips back to the satellite craft, in fact, before the Galeains showed up and I had to abort the third. I salvaged some stuff I thought we might need—weapons, food, medical supplies, the solar cell so we have a power supply. I managed to disengage the comms unit and I brought that too. We have enough supplies for maybe five more cycles, and as soon as you’re well enough we can start signalling for help.”
Phahlen gaped at her. Just. Gaped.
“You did all that? Alone?”
“I did.”
“You could have just left me and made a run for it yourself. You had the buggy.”
She shook her head. “I may be a prisoner, but that doesn’t mean I want to die. I intend to survive, Phahlen, and I think you probably do as well. I can‘t escape from here alone. I need you. And you need me. Right?”
“Right,” he agreed.
“And despite—everything—I owe you. You rescued me from the Galeians, I’m returning the favour. That makes us even, assuming we do get out of here.”
Phahlen settled back onto his pillow. “Oh, I think we will, Caria. I have no doubt of it. So, how much do you already know about medium range interstellar communications systems? We might need to make some adjustments to get that encryption right.”
Chapter Twelve
Caria surveyed the familiar scene. Phahlen’s quarters were every bit as luxurious as she remembered, particularly after the discomfort of spending the best part of a deca-cycle in a cave.
Working under Phahlen’s instructions, it had still taken Caria almost a full cycle to get the signalling equipment operational and recalibrated to mask their beacon from the Galeians. The signal had taken another cycle to reach the Empyrean, then Baren had to make the detour to come back and locate them. There had been some cat-and-mouse antics with the Galeians, but the alien race had no real appetite for starting a fight with a fully armed intergalactic ship whose laser cannons would vapourise the Galeian fighter craft in an instant. They hovered and twittered on the periphery of the archipelago but took no offensive action.
Baren was able to locate the survivors of the crash without interference and send a rescue party to recover them. They also recovered Renkl’s remains from the downed craft. Although most of the equipment and fittings had been looted by the Galeians, the aliens had had remarkably little interest in the occupants of the satellite ship and had seemingly taken Caria’s deception at face value.
On board the Empyrean Caria requested a few moments to speak to Phahlen. They had had no time alone since the arrival of the rescue party, and there was an important matter she needed to ask him about.
“Would it have made any difference if Alahn had been aboard?” She fired her question at him as soon as Phahlen arrived in the quarters they again shared. “Is there anything he might have done that would have helped you and Corporal Renkl to escape the Galeians?”
“You mean, is Renkl’s death your fault, because you were on board the satellite and Alahn was not?”
Caria hung her head. “Yes. I do mean that. I’m so sorry. If I’d thought for a moment that—”
“It was not your fault.” He interrupted her apology.
“It wasn’t? Are you sure?”
“I am sure. Alahn is a science officer. He is not combat trained, and could not have made a significant difference to the outcome. By the time you identified the attacking craft and we could have got a lock on them to return fire, our satellite was fatally damaged. Alahn would not have done that any faster. The result would have been the same.”
“Oh. Oh, I see.”
He stepped forward to take her face between his palms. “Do not blame yourself for what happened. Instead, you should take credit for saving my life and your own. But for you, I would have regained consciousness to find myself a Galeian prisoner, if I was lucky. I dread to think what might have happened to you if Feelan had gotten hold of you again.”
“Well, he didn’t, and I’m glad of it.”
His lip curled in a sardonic grin. “I expect you are, though not glad to be back here I imag
ine. Not after all the trouble you went to.”
Caria quaked, though she had known this was coming. Her escape attempt wouldn’t go unpunished. She was surprised not to have been escorted straight back to the brig the moment they arrived on board.
She had barely managed to take the paddling she received the last time, and she dreaded whatever might be in store now. It was on the tip of her tongue to apologise, to try to plead with him; perhaps she could mitigate his discipline. She would have to tell him about her pregnancy before he took any action since that would be a material consideration for him in determining the appropriate penalty, but not yet. Not until she had to. As for being sorry she’d tried to escape, she wasn’t about to say that. The truth was, whatever punishment he meted out, she would try again. And again. She would keep on trying until she succeeded. It really was that simple.
“Sir, I—”
“Later, Caria. We have much to discuss, you and I. First though, we need to join the rest of the crew in the forward lounge.”
Caria was surprised to be permitted to attend the memorial ceremony for Corporal Renkl, though much of it was incomprehensible to her. The event took place in near total silence, though the Vahleans would occasionally stamp their feet and roll their shoulders. Their actions were perfectly synchronised, though Caria could discern no signal that they followed. Needless to say, she was out of step though no one seemed to mind.
After the ceremony Phahlen escorted Caria back to his quarters and left her there. He explained that he had matters requiring his attention on the bridge, as well as reports to send back to Vahle on the loss of a crewman and a satellite craft. There was also the failure to complete his original mission, and the ongoing implications if the Teek were not placated soon. He promised to return as soon as he was able, but in the meantime she was to remain in his bedchamber. For good measure, he had secured her right ankle to the bedpost, though he allowed her sufficient freedom to reach the bathroom. It was a situation she found all too familiar… she was not uncomfortable, but neither was she free.
Caria woke from a fitful sleep to find Phahlen seated beside her on the bed. She opened her eyes to meet his dark blue gaze. He was frowning, clearly considering his next move.
“Sir,” she began.
“I need to talk to you.”
“I know, but first, there’s something I need to say.”
He lifted his hand to silence her. In the past it would have worked, but there was more at stake now. A serious spanking would not only hurt her, but it might injure the child she carried and knew he wanted. And not only him; Caria wanted her baby too. Somehow, she had to find a way to make this work. Her priorities were shifting, but for now her captor needed to be aware of the full facts.
“You have to listen to me. You do, really. Please.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly not impressed by her defiance. Caria let out a breath of relief when he decided to allow it though, on this occasion. “Very well. Continue.”
“I’m pregnant.” She saw no point in procrastinating; there was no knowing how long Phahlen would allow her to speak before he started whatever he had in mind for her.
“Pregnant?” His jaw flexed, his expression hardening.
“Yes, sir. At least, I believe I am.”
“You believe?”
“I’ve never… I mean, this is the first time I have ever… but yes, I think so. I’m sure, sir.”
“How long have you known this?”
“Just a few days.”
“So you were aware of this pregnancy when you set off on that mad escapade of yours? All the while you were dragging my crew members around, hauling salvage off the satellite ship, not to mention rescuing me, you knew you were pregnant?”
“I… yes, I suppose so. But—”
Now he did raise his hand to signal her to stop and this time she obeyed. “Girl, you deserve a thorough thrashing and I shall consult with Morele to determine just how much punishment will be safe for you and the child. Do not think you are getting away with this.”
Caria had no idea where that surge of gritty determination came from but she stiffened her spine and met his angry gaze. “No matter what you and your bloody doctor decide to do to me, know this, Phahlen. I shall never stop trying to escape. I want to go home, I will always want to go home, and one day I’ll get there. I swear to you, I will escape.”
He held her gaze, his expression harsh. When he spoke his tone was chilled. “Let me make two things clear to you. One, you are to be punished for endangering yourself and our baby, not for attempting to escape. And two, you will not escape from me because you will have no need to. I am prepared to take you back to Earth.”
“What?” Caria stared at him, dumbstruck. Why, how had this happened? Why had he changed his mind? “But, what about the baby? I thought you wanted it.”
“Her. I wanted her. I still do, but the situation has become more complex.”
Caria’s head whirled. She blurted out the first question that occurred to her. “You are quite certain our baby is a girl?”
He gave her a sardonic grin. “I have already explained that the gender of our offspring is not left to chance. This baby will be a girl, have no doubt of that, little human.”
“Oh. Oh…” Caria considered that for a few moments. A girl, a baby daughter. In that moment it became real for her. She was to have a little girl of her own, at last.
The second thing Phahlen had said to her registered. “You’ll take me back home? To Earth? Why? Why would you do that?” Unless…” A horrible thought occurred to her, a vile possibility. “You mean to leave me there, don’t you? In an Earth prison while you steal my baby and take her back to Vahle with you. I won’t. I won’t let you do that. She needs me. And—I need her.” Caria scrambled from the bed and retreated as far as her tethered ankle would allow. “You’re a bastard, a mean, manipulative bastard. I loathe you.”
If he resented her outburst, he hid it well. Phahlen regarded her from his seat on the edge of the bed, and smiled. The lowlife jerk actually fucking smiled at her. Incensed, Caria clenched her fists and started for him.
He put up his own hands in a gesture of surrender. “Whoa, no more of that, little human. I said we needed to talk and I am not finished yet.”
“I’m finished listening to you,” Caria spat.
“Tough, because there is more. We shall start with the real reason I am prepared to take you to Earth, shall we?”
“Real reason?” Caria glared at him, perplexed. She knew his reason and was having none of it.
“Yes, the real reason. And note, I said I was prepared to return you to Earth, not that I intended to. It is your choice, Caria. I will take you there if you want to go, but not otherwise.”
“To spend the rest of my life in jail for a crime I didn’t commit?” Despite her protestations, Caria knew what her future on Earth was likely to consist of if she fell into the hands of the authorities. If she’d succeeded in escaping and managed to return to her home planet her way, she would have every intention of eluding the forces of justice.
“Exactly, and therein lies the dilemma. You see, we have been doing some investigating of our own and the advice of my on-board attorney-mediator—that’s a Vahlean legal practitioner with expertise in trans-galactic legislation and litigation—is that it would be possible to present a reasonable defence to the allegations that have been made against you.”
She frowned at him, her suspicions raised at once. What was he up to? “A reasonable defence? What sort of defence? And that would involve a trial, surely?”
“It would, certainly. And that trial could take place on Earth if you so choose.”
“Could? Why would I not choose to go back to Earth? I might get off.”
“Get off? If by that you mean that the charges would be dropped, I am afraid that is unlikely. You were on board the Luminaire, and you are without doubt guilty by association. No amount of legal argument would be able to make that go away. I
t is the level of guilt and degree of culpability that is in doubt. Our attorney-mediator has advised that you could ask the authorities to consider a lesser charge more commensurate with your actual involvement, and that this proposal might be accepted. In a Vahlean jurisdiction he would be confident of success, and I have to say I share his view. The uncertainty arises in seeking to predict the likely outcome of such a plea bargain attempt on Earth. The human judiciary is known to be much more difficult to negotiate with, and politically the authorities on Earth have long held a presumption of guilt around interstellar piracy. It is regarded seriously in the Terran quadrant because of the history of cross-galactic raids that plagued your world for centuries, and the penalties are severe. If our legal arguments fail, and there is that chance, you would face a lengthy prison term, in all probability the life sentence you mentioned.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you telling me all this if no one’s going to listen anyway?”
“Vahle would listen. As an ally of Earth, and because you were arrested in Vahlean space, we could hold the trial on my home world. The likely outcome would be better, though I should warn you, you should still expect a custodial sentence. But it would be much shorter, and could be served in my custody. Your situation would remain much as it is now, but with the vital difference that there would be an end date. And once your sentence is served you would be free to go wherever you choose to. You could even return to Earth.”
Caria gaped at him, processing this new and bewildering set of options. Freedom. It beckoned… a glittering prize and suddenly it was within reach. She could return home eventually a free woman; she could start over and put these last dreadful years behind her. She and her baby—
No, not her baby. Phahlen might allow her to leave his world but he would never let her take his baby with her. And she knew with absolute certainty that she could never leave her child behind. She would be trapped on Vahle as surely as she was trapped here on the Empyrean. More so even, as she would never again try to escape. Not on her own.
