by Debra Jess
Tamarja listened to the general family chatter, but she couldn't take her eyes off the pack Ianyin had dropped. Two small gadgets had escaped the half-sealed flap—night goggles and a transmission disruptor key.
Ianyin Telori worked behind the blind.
Tamarja lay awake, staring at the ceiling of Ravid's bedroom. Dinner ran later with Ornit insisting she stay the night and rest while the floater charged. Her sudden burst of fear had been groundless. She hadn't set off any alarms by touching the holographic tree, and security wasn‘t after her. The habitat had remained undisturbed throughout dinner. Though the kids had kept dinner a boisterous affair, she could tell bedtime would come early to the Telori homestead.
All the better for her. She waited only a short while before shedding her nightgown and dressing in her spare uniform, the green a perfect camouflage for her nighttime excursion. Carrying her work boots, she slipped downstairs. Guilt sank fangs deep into her like those of a spinner. These people had been nothing but kind to her, and she was endangering Ianyin’s job at best, their lives at worst, by doing this. But she had little choice. If Yohzad was as dangerous as Jita thought he was, there was no telling what he’d do if Tamarja didn’t come up with something substantial.
The kiss they’d shared made her think he wouldn’t hurt her, but the collar embedded in her neck made her unable to risk it.
Except for the night sounds that poured through an open view pane, the house was quiet. Her thick socks muted her footsteps as she sneaked back into the dining room, where Ianyin had left his pack.
According to the dossier she’d read on Dawn’s Landing, during spring, the long days were compensated by a short night. She had no more time to waste if she wanted to get to the holographic tree and back without anyone noticing her missing.
Scooping up Ianyin's goggles and key, she made her way to the front door. Frontier living aside, no one seemed to use alarms in their homes, so Tamarja was able to creep outside without alerting the rest of the house.
She couldn't risk removing the floater from the dock and waking up someone, so she waited until after she'd laced up her boots to don the goggles. The light filter should have allowed her to jog most of the way back to the swimming hole without running into obstacles. If only her muscles agreed with her assessment. Sleep sickness and lack of exercise had her panting before she reached the halfway mark. If she survived this, she vowed to exercise more. She walked the rest of the way to the barrier.
The dense woodlands required another filter adjustment to improve the goggles resolution. Tamarja scanned the immediate area, but everything looked the same—trees, moss, rocks, grass. A quiet woot echoed from the forest, followed by an answering chirp. She stopped and reversed the sweep of her gaze. The grass in one area bent in a way that appeared unnatural. Calling up the goggle’s menu again, she quickly selected another filter. Now she could see the path quite clearly. The goggles illuminated the footprints leading up the mountain, right to the holo-imaged tree.
She followed the path, stopping once or twice to adjust the goggles or select a different filter. It didn't take long to find the tree—the goggles illuminated it with a spectacular light show of pulsing energy. The energy bounced off her feet and legs as she approached the trunk, sparking and flashing like a swarm of angry apis. She fumbled in her pocket for the disruptor key, then slid the uneven black disc into the knot, and held her breath.
The goggles revealed a smooth, gray cylinder the same circumference as the tree covered by the holograph. Tamarja removed the key from the knot and a portion of the cylinder dissolved, creating a gateway large enough for a person to walk through. The goggles illuminated nothing inside. Stepping closer, she poked a hand into the inky blackness, jerking it right back out again. Nothing bit her, so she stepped in. The door reformed behind her, and immediately she felt herself descending.
Nervous sweat dripped down her face. Had she set off any alarms? Why weren't there any guards? On a barely populated planet? Who would waste resources on guarding a tree in the middle of the woods halfway up a mountain? That would attract even more attention. Even if someone did find the holographic tree, chances were they wouldn't have a disruptor key.
She was one lucky snitch.
That thought still didn't comfort her as she wondered who or what would meet her at the end of this black journey. Another thought occurred to her as the elevator continued to descend. What if my chemical trigger is activated by going down and I end up paralyzed?
She pushed that thought away also. If she did wind up paralyzed, then she'd just have to wait until someone used the portal and found her. Getting caught by whoever controlled this contraption might be a shade better than dying of dehydration in the middle of the woods.
Unless Daeven finds me first. Newscast: Security officer kisses girl one day, arrests her the next! It sounded funny, though Yohzad would probably be the one to find her before Daeven. Would he be angry? Pleased? She honestly didn't know.
The portal bumped to a halt before the doors dissolved again. At the last second, Tamarja pressed against the wall next to the opening. Not that her inept ability to appear invisible would work against a trained security guard.
Peeking around the edge, she didn't see any security. In fact, she didn't see anyone at all, so she stepped out of the portal just before the doors reformed behind her. She stood there and tried to orient herself. The low lighting focused away from her, revealing an immense cavern. She stood on a metal walkway that rimmed the uppermost level of the cavern, but she couldn't see over the edge. Looking left and right to make sure she really was alone, Tamarja reached for the guardrail.
The second she looked over the edge, a wave of dizziness swept over her. Quickly, she doubled over and lowered to the metal decking.
Now I discover I have a fear of heights?
She gulped air into her lungs for several seconds before sitting up and looking under the lower guardrail.
A ship, sleek and menacing, hovered there. It had no markings, but one didn't need any expertise in aeronautical design to know it was a warship. The near-flat body was peppered with pane ports, its wings swept back as if ready to strike. Various parts of its skin seemed to have been peeled away while grav-resisters floated in midair, ferrying equipment to a dozen or so people who worked on it.
So few people to work on such a large ship?
Well, it is the middle of the night. Most folks probably work the same shift as Ianyin and are safely asleep in their beds.
She watched for a while until her gaze was drawn to the very edge of the cavern. A man worked there, loading equipment onto a grav-resister pallet. There was something odd about him, though, his pace too even, his motions too graceful for someone lifting repetitively. A woman approached and offered him water. He drank the entire container before handing it back to the woman. Without missing a beat, he returned to his work while the woman retreated farther into the cavern.
Even from this extreme height she recognized the ‘pet. Her ‘pet. The one who haunted her dreams, made love to her with such frightening intensity. She pulled out the night vision goggles, selected a simple enhancement filter, and focused on the ‘pet. He looked better than he had when she'd seen him on the prison ship. A light dusting of hair now covered his once-shaved head, and there didn't appear to be any signs of abuse.
Fog started to gather at the edges of her vision, but dissipated once she removed the goggles. Standing, Tamarja examined the portal, looking for the controls. This one seemed only to descend to this level. She turned and crept as quickly as she dared to the end of the walkway closest to the ‘pet. She'd guessed correctly. Another portal waited for her there, its door already dissolved.
Her ride down only took half the time it had from the surface. She again waited at the edge of the door after it dissolved. Still no guards came to interfere, so she left the portal and walked right up to the ‘pet.
He stopped only because she stood in his path. She stared directly into hi
s eyes, but there was no recognition there. He didn't know her, and she didn't know him. Or did she? Why did he invade her dreams each night? Why did he make love to her when she wanted someone else?
The fog fell on her like a weight crushing her skull. The dizziness returned, only this time she recognized it for what it was.
"Do you know me?" she demanded as she rubbed her temples.
He tilted his head to the side. "No, I don't know you."
She reached out and took his hand, partially to keep her balance, partially to stop him from moving around her. Rough fingers hung loosely in her grip. The fog wouldn't clear, and she couldn't see anything. She squeezed his hand harder.
"Are you sure you don't know me?"
She felt his hand tense in hers. The fog continued to pound around her; her vision grew darker.
"I'm very sure I don't know you. Are you supposed to be down here?"
How did she answer that? She blinked a few times, tried to focus on the here and now.
Live in this moment, this time.
The fog thinned just enough so she could see the ‘pet, but nothing around him. She gritted her teeth to answer. "Yes. I'm new here. I need to examine this area for possible expansion." She let go of his hand, which flopped back to his side.
"Welcome, then. I'm glad you're here." The ‘pet spoke the words, but the flat tone reflected neither happiness nor distress. "I have to get back to work."
She rubbed her temples harder to ease the pain. It didn't work.
"I feel as if you're very important to me," she whispered. "I feel as if I should know you. Do you have a name?"
"Rory. My name is Rory."
"Are they―we―treating you okay, Rory?"
He frowned, thinking about her question. "Yes. I like it here. The food is better than before. I have to get back to work."
The pain became unbearable, and Tamarja had to lean away from the ‘pet―from Rory—to steady herself against the half-loaded pallet. His gaze never left her.
"I'll come back," she said. "To check on you from time to time, Rory. Is that okay with you?"
"Yes."
"But don't tell anyone, okay? It'll just be our secret."
"A secret?"
She sighed. ‘Pets didn't have memories. What did they know about keeping secrets?
"Just don't tell anyone we spoke. I'll come back soon."
"Okay."
She stumbled out of his path, and he walked past her without a backward glance. In seconds, he resumed loading the pallet.
As soon as Rory left her, the fog began to clear, along with her fear of discovery. Adrenaline cleared her vision. She raced to the portal and punched the controls to reform the door. Sliding to the floor, Tamarja cradled her head in her hands. It hurt so bad she could hardly think. Not chancing a last look at the warship, she felt her way along the walkway and into the second portal. Several heart-pounding moments later, she made it back to the entrance without being seen by anyone but ‘pets.
Once disgorged back into the forest, she jammed the night vision goggles onto her head and staggered her way down the mountain and back to the Teloris, swearing she'd never run anywhere again.
Chapter Twenty-One
The moment she sank back into Ravid's bed, a migraine hit her with all the mercy of a black hole sucking the life out of a sun. Even after injecting herself with a common painkiller that she kept in her satchel, she couldn't sleep. The pain was so intense she couldn't even crawl out of bed as the first muted ray of light slipped through the shaded view pane.
She had no hope of returning to Facility Prime in this condition. When Ravid knocked on her door, way too loud, asking Tamarja if he could have his bedroom back, she found she had just enough voice to ask him to get his mother. She curled deeper into the blankets and pulled a pillow over her head.
Ornit hurried into the room at Ravid's call, again way too loud.
The patter of Ornit’s slippered feet preceded a soft, “Oh dear, whatever is wrong?“
“Migraine,“ Tamarja managed to whisper.
A sympathetic sound came from Ornit. "I'll be right back."
Tamarja had no sense of time, so she didn't know if Ornit was gone for a few minutes or a few hours, but when she returned, she held a glass filled with a concoction that looked like Jita's green goop, only liquefied.
"It looks bad, tastes worse," she said as she helped Tamarja into a sitting position, "but it's the only thing that helped Ianyin’s headaches when he was adjusting to the air out here."
Tamarja didn't particularly care about taste at that point. She gulped down the goop. Ornit was right. After only a few minutes, the pain started to subside. The excuse of the air worked well enough, so she didn’t correct Ornit. What would she say anyway?
I’m half mind-wiped and thinking about my past brings on a headache-inducing fog? Part of her wanted to be honest with her friend, but that could never happen.
"What's in this stuff?" she asked, sitting up on her own.
"You don't want to know, trust me." Ornit smiled at her as she helped Tamarja pull off her nightclothes, packing them neatly in her satchel. "It'll also make you very sleepy. Wash, dress, and come downstairs. I'll have one of the kids bring your satchel out to the floater. Ianyin can set it for automatic, so you can sleep on your way back to Facility Prime."
"The director is going to kill me," Tamarja muttered, crawling out of bed and heading for the wet room.
“It’s hardly your fault. Adjusting to the different elevations in the colony takes time. Let’s get you showered now. You’ll feel better.“ With that, Ornit helped her into the washroom.
She did feel a bit better after washing and dressing, and made her way downstairs. As promised, the floater was ready for her. Ianyin dissolved the door for her as she slumped inside and gave him a weak smile. "One of these days, I'll visit and not get sick."
Ianyin just smiled as she reformed the door and hit the controls to remove the tethers. The floater smoothly navigated away from the homestead, and a moment later, she was fast asleep.
She somehow managed to wake up and act normal while passing through the security checkpoint before the floater parked itself in the garage. It took almost an hour after that before she could leave the floater and walk, slowly, to the compressor window. She switch compressors without attracting the attention of a hostess, thank the Guardians. A minute later, she was inside her apartment.
She collapsed onto her bed and prayed the director wouldn't need her services for the rest of the day.
Once again, Jita came to her rescue. Ornit must have contacted her sister and warned her about Tamarja's migraine, because Jita arrived just after Tamarja flopped onto her bed. "If this is how you react after a date with a hot hunk of a man, I'd hate to see you after you've kissed him."
"He did kiss me." Tamarja winced as Jita squealed while handing her another glass of Ornit's concoction.
"He kissed you, just like that?" Jita breezed past Tamarja, taking off her blazer and tossing it onto the desk chair.
"Pretty much. I don't think he planned on doing it. It just happened."
"Do you want it to happen again?"
Tamarja sniffed the concoction. She could feel the headache returning, but it wasn't so bad now that she couldn't pay attention to what she was drinking this time.
"Go ahead. It's safe," Jita said, as she settled herself at the desk chair. "Ianyin sometimes drinks three glassfuls at a time."
"But the director…" She still had a full day off, but that didn't mean the director couldn't revoke her offer at any time.
"The meetings they transferred here are running behind. I doubt she'll need you for anything until late tomorrow at the earliest."
Tamarja closed her eyes and gulped down the brew again. It tasted even worse this time. "Blech."
"But you have to admit, it works. You have just enough time to tell me if you still want Daeven to kiss you again before you fall asleep."
"There's no deter
ring you, is there?" Tamarja crawled under the covers, pulling a sheet up to her chin.
"Nope. I haven't had a date in almost three months. I need to live vicariously. So let's hear all about it."
Tamarja sighed and lay back. The headache retreated, but no amount of pain could erase the hundreds of questions she had, questions she needed answers to, questions that should be more important than whether or not she wanted Daeven to kiss her again. Yet she smiled as she answered Jita. "Yes, I want him to kiss me again."
"I knew it!"
"It probably won't happen for a while, between his security schedule and my being at the director's beck and call."
"You'll work it out."
Ever the eternal optimist. How did anyone maintain that level of enthusiasm? The migraine continued to recede.
She recalled her discoveries yesterday and tried to place them into context. The ‘pet, Rory. She knew him. She had to have known him. It felt so right, but were they really lovers in the past, or were her memories confusing love with sex? At least she knew what was happening to the missing ‘pets—they were assigned to work on that warship. By whom? The director? The drug smugglers? The Shadows? These questions only led to more questions she didn't feel ready to tackle, but she should at least try to gather some information before she fell asleep.
"Speaking of security, do you know anything about Dawn's Landing defenses? I mean, not the regular security like what Daeven does, but space security? Protecting Jarvis Station from―I don't know―pirates and the like?"
Jita left her chair to fuss with Tamarja's covers. Her nose crinkled as it did when she was thinking. "We don't have our own fleet of ships, if that's what you mean. Manitac has cruisers that show up every quarter to deliver supplies and inspect the colony's progress. I don't know much about fleets, but those cruisers are pretty big and can defend themselves and the colony if they have to. Why?"
