by Debra Jess
"We'll make it work," Joran assured him from the other side of the small wooden table.
"I don't see how. We can't just shut the whole station down because we need the power to open the slipstream. We can't isolate the operations center without triggering a security alert. We can't even replace the slipstream operator because neither one of us knows enough to work the system."
Joran leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. "Plus we'd have to shut down the navigation system in tandem so no one will actually see the ships coming through."
"They'll see the ships come through," Daeven argued. "With or without a nav system. The fighters might get through without detection, but no one will miss the carriers."
"But they won't be able to target them."
"Not from the station. But we still have that warship out there."
Joran had no response to that.
"Is there anyone from Dawn's Desert that has slipstream tech experience?"
Joran shook his head. "Even if we had someone, there's no way to get them here in time without being noticed."
Daeven shut down the schematics. "We may just have to give up on this one. Contact the cell and call off the operation."
"We can't wait much longer, Daeven. The Shadows need to get the fleet to safety before Manitac finds it, like they found our outpost in the fourth quadrant. It’s pure luck that outpost was our least populated and least productive."
"From where I sit, I don't see that we have a chance at all."
Joran closed his eyes, and they lingered shut as Daeven's ear jack chimed an incoming message.
"Probably my section leader, wondering just how sick I am." Daeven excused himself from the table as he slipped the jack over his ear. "Blayde."
"Daeven, it’s Tamarja."
"Hang on, I want to take this outside." Daeven signaled Joran he was leaving and headed down the hallway and out the back door. The bright sun blinded him after spending so many hours in the dark. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said. "I still get bursts of memories. Stupid little things, like a song that I liked or a neighbor I knew. I can't control them, but they're less disruptive than the fog that used to cloud my mind whenever I tried to remember something. No headaches with these memories."
"Good." Daeven looked down, scuffing the ground with his shoe. "I'm glad."
"I commed for a couple of reasons," Tamarja continued. "I wanted to apologize for acting so cold last night. You've done so much to help me. You didn't deserve to be treated like a criminal."
He kicked another stone out of his way. "You're forgiven. I expected too much from you, half worried you'd die in the process, half terrified Joran would kill you if it didn't work right. I knew you were in love with someone else. That's why I tried to stay away at first. It wasn't right, and I knew that the second you didn't recognize me in on Jarvis Station. I should have stayed away."
"If you had, I would still be a half-wiped puppet. I'm glad you didn't stay away."
His heart wept at her words, knowing he still might have a chance, but only if he survived the Shadows’ operation. "Thanks. Are you going to try to find him? Doctor Silvah, I mean?"
Tamarja took a deep breath. "Actually, I know where he is."
"You do?"
"Yeah, he's here on Dawn's Landing. I've seen him."
Daeven closed his eyes. He'd selfishly hoped he still had a chance if Rory couldn't be found. "That's quite a coincidence."
"I know. Daeven, I'm so sorry to do this to you, but could you help me one more time?"
"You want me to get you more Black Wave. Help you return Doctor Silvah's memories."
"I know it's a lot to ask."
"It's dangerous. If ‘pets start disappearing, people will notice. They have some autonomy, but they still have to be accounted for."
"We don't have to do anything right away."
He could hear the desperation in her voice and knew it couldn't wait, not really.
"It can wait," she said. "We can probably even wait until the Shadows take over Dawn's Landing. I just want to show you where he is, so you'll know. In case something happens to me. I need to know that someone else knows where he is."
Daeven felt his throat close. He couldn't speak a word. He'd lost her. He never even really had her, but he was losing her. Now she was asking him to rescue her old lover.
"Please, Daeven."
He forced himself to speak. "Do you remember anything else that happened on board that scout ship?"
"No." She hesitated again, and he could picture her with that quizzical look she got on her face when she was thinking deep thoughts. "I'm sorry, Daeven. I don't yet. It'll come back someday, just like Joran said."
"That's okay. I had to ask. Don't stress yourself trying to remember. And don't worry about Doctor Silvah. When the appropriate time arrives, I'll help you return his memory to him."
"Oh, thank you, Daeven. Thank you. Is there any way you could meet me today?"
He certainly wasn't getting anywhere with the Jarvis Station situation. "Sure, where?"
"The watering hole at Twenty-Two?"
"So we can reminisce about better days?" He could still tell a bad joke.
"Actually, it's close to where Rory is."
That's interesting. "Sure, no problem. Midday okay with you?"
"Yes. I'll see you then." She shut down the communication.
Something wasn't right. He, Doctor Silvah, and Tamarja Chase had all survived the incident on the Manitac scout ship six years ago, an incident that had resulted in the deaths of the rest of the crew. Of the survivors, two became ‘pets and one would became a security officer on Dawn's Landing. Manitac had dozens of colonies throughout the Unity territory, all of them in need of ‘pets. Manitac had a massive fleet of ships that needed security officers. What were the odds the three of them would wind up on Dawn's Landing?
The three of them plus one other survivor.
Daeven charged back into the broadcast tower. He found Joran in the kitchen alcove preparing more claffien.
"Joran, how much do you believe in coincidences?"
Chapter Forty-Two
Tamarja could hardly contain her fidgeting as she waited for Daeven. She scanned the lakefront at Twenty-Two once more, but nothing had changed in the few minutes she had stood next to her floater. No one used the watering hole in the middle of a work cycle. Though no formal school system existed yet, Tamarja had learned from Jita that a few parents had started teaching classes out of their homes. Ornit had already joined in the effort. No one would witness her and Daeven's activities.
She finally spied his floater gliding into the parking lot. As soon as he dissolved the floater's door, she noticed he'd changed into his uniform. Even from a distance, she could tell he wasn't happy.
"Are you ready?" she asked as he approached.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
He followed her as she led him around the edge of the lake. The sun shone from its zenith, and she thought about how nice it would be if she could take his hand and walk as lovers did. She couldn't do that and not feel even more traitorous than she already did. She couldn't hold another man's hand as she led him to her lover.
The unmarked path forced her to stop a number of times to double-check her location. Though she had marked the end point of the path that led to the holographic tree, she had only her memory to rely on getting there. Daeven kept quiet the entire time, but she could tell his suspicions grew with every wrong turn.
It took her longer than she thought, but she finally saw the director standing next to the tree, dressed more casually than Tamarja had ever seen her, in loose-fitting brown trousers, a gray shirt with long sleeves, shoes designed for mountain hiking, and a disruptor key dangling from her belt. How the director got there without Tamarja seeing her at the lake, she wasn't sure. Maybe the cavern had a compressor? If so, why didn't everyone use it, since it was supposed to be a secret?
"Director," Daeven acknowledged with a slight
tilt of his head. "I didn't expect to see you up here, alone."
"Officer Blayde." The director nodded, her own voice just as remote. "I'm here at Chase's request. Did she not tell you?"
"No, she didn't." Daeven glanced at Tamarja. "What's going on here, Tamarja?"
Tamarja pulled away from Daeven, moving so she stood between him and the director. "Daeven, this tree here isn't a tree at all." Tamarja waved her hand through the holo field, scattering the image. "It's a portal to a cavern underground. A cavern where the director has been building a warship, one that she plans to use as part of her bid to take over Manitac. She wants to buy out Manitac and dismantle it."
The director said nothing to dispute Tamarja's claims. So far, so good. She's trusting that the payoff at the other end will be worth it. It will be, Director. Just stick with me.
"Director, Daeven here is a Shadow…"
"Tamarja!" Daeven's outrage echoed through the woods. She could see him going for his weapon, but the director drew first. Tamarja covered her head with her hands but didn't move from between the two combatants, hoping they would pull their shots long enough for her to explain. She waited a beat. No explosions, just heavy breathing. Daeven had his weapon pointed right at her head, and she assumed the director had done the same.
"If you're through threatening me, will you let me explain?" she snapped, unwrapping her hands from her head and lowering them to a surrender position.
"You have no idea of what you've just done," Daeven spat.
Tamarja swallowed. "Please, Daeven, let me finish." She turned from him, trusting he wouldn't shoot her in the back. "Daeven is a Shadow. They sent him here to evaluate Dawn's Landing for an invasion. The Shadows want to set up a colony and declare independence from the Unity government."
"I'm disappointed in you, Officer Blayde," the director called over to Daeven, her right foot moving slowly to the side, trying to find a shot around Tamarja, but Tamarja stayed with her, blocking her shot. "I expect better from security."
Funny, they could just shoot me and then kill each other. They won't, though. They're too intrigued. They want to know what I'm up to before they kill me and each other.
"Wish I could say I was sorry," Daeven called back, also moving to his right, trying to find a shot. "Dawn's Landing has too much potential to be left in the hands of Manitac."
"It certainly does." The director shifted and moved left. "Only it will become a launching site for a new Manitac, not a wasteland of Shadow incompetence."
Daeven again matched her while Tamarja spun around, continuing to block their shots. "The Shadows will see that Dawn's Landing is free of Manitac altogether, not just another colony grinding away for the bottom line."
The posturing almost had Tamarja laughing, except their weapons were still pointed at her. "If you both would shut up, lower your weapons, and let me finish, I can tell you how we can all get what we want without killing each other."
Neither one of them lowered their weapons, but they did stop dancing around, trying to gain the upper hand.
"Thank you. As I was saying, the director plans to take over Manitac and shut down the entire puppet program. She can't do that until she has several products that can bring her the profits she needs for a buyout. She needs a fleet of warships to protect Dawn's Landing. Once Manitac realizes what she's up to, one warship won't be enough.
"The Shadows have a network that acquires spaceships and converts them into warships. They have enough to invade and defend Dawn's Landing. What they don't have is infrastructure. They might acquire independence, but they won't have any way to support a population. Even a population composed entirely of Shadows needs leadership."
Daeven growled, his weapon not wavering. "We're still evaluating the situation. Dawn's Landing would have eventually had the infrastructure we needed."
"But not a leader," Tamarja said. "Not someone who already has the respect of the population. The citizens of Dawn's Landing know the director, and they trust her. They came here voluntarily at her request. She's treated them well, and they know she'll protect them. If the Shadows invade, you'll only be sowing the seeds of another rebellion, one against the Shadows, and you'll find yourselves fighting on two fronts."
"They'll be given the option to leave," Daeven insisted. "We can handle it."
"But you shouldn't have to." Tamarja waited a beat, but neither spoke. "Both AuRaKaz and the Shadows have the same goal: stop Manitac's uncontrolled domination of the government and the economy, and stop the disappearances and the mind-wipes. Can we all agree to this?"
"What did you have in mind, Chase?"
Tamarja took a deep breath and slowly lowered her hands. "A treaty between AuRaKaz and the Shadows. A mutually beneficial one: AuRaKaz continues to control Dawn's Landing, and the Shadows provide protection."
Silence stretched out. Unnerved, Tamarja opened her mouth to continue her argument but saw the director slowly lower her weapon.
"It could work, with certain conditions."
Daeven didn't budge for an extra moment, still undecided. He'd pledged his loyalty to the Shadows, but she knew he had misgivings about accomplishing their mission.
"Daeven," Tamarja whispered. "Please."
He lowered the weapon. "I'll listen, but that's all. I can't make any decisions on behalf of the Shadows. I'm just a scout, and I have my orders."
The director nodded. "Very well."
Tamarja's relief almost left her nerveless, her legs ready to give out, but she held herself steady. She still had one more card to play in this gamble. "Let's descend."
It sounded like a squeak, but the director must have understood, because she put her weapon away, just as Daeven did, and slid the disruptor key into place. The "tree" disappeared, revealing the portal. Daeven entered last, the better to keep the director and Tamarja in his view. The director walked on with her ever-confident stride. Daeven only looked at her with the same coldness he had treated her to when she had first arrived at the colony. Lifting her chin, she shot the same look right back at him.
Part of her felt bad, worse than bad, but she couldn’t let it gain any traction. Sure, he had helped her when she’d been incarcerated. But he had known she loved another when he had dated her, had sex with her. She didn’t deserve his coldness, not when he had gone into this with his eyes wide open.
The portal descended, and shortly they all exited onto the scaffolding that marked the midpoint in their journey. Nothing had changed. The warship still floated on grav-resisters, nearly complete in the hangar. Off to the side, Tamarja spotted her target.
Just as before, Rory slaved away, loading pallets with supplies.
The director had moved on to the second portal, but Daeven trailed behind, waiting for Tamarja to move ahead of him. Rushing to catch up with the director, she made the second portal just as the doors dissolved. No one spoke as they descended yet again.
Tamarja pushed ahead when the portal finally opened. Not caring who saw her, she rushed to the area where Rory worked and waited. After he dropped his load onto the grav-resister, she placed herself in his path. Rory stopped and stared.
"Hi, Rory. Do you remember me?"
He looked her over. "Yes, I remember you."
"I brought some people I would like to introduce to you." Carefully, she took his hand and turned him around.
"Director, Daeven, this is Doctor Rory Silvah. He's the key to your success."
She could see through Daeven's scowl that he recognized Rory from their encounter on the scout ship. "This has something to do with his contacting the Shadows?"
"Yes." Tamarja could hardly contain her excitement. Finally, it would all come together. "Rory…I mean, Doctor Silvah, discovered a new type of shielding system for spacecraft, one that is unique. Manitac can't patent it, can't own it, can't profit from it. It will make the slipstream system obsolete. If you use his design on your warships, you'll be able to protect Dawn's Landing from whatever Manitac throws at you."
The director approached slowly and took Rory's other hand, looking deeply into his eyes. Rory seemed unoffended by the scrutiny. He must be used to it after working for Manitac for so long. "He's completely mind-wiped. I've had to employ the ones Manitac foists on me, but they arrive with stripped IDs and no medical information. Tracking down their pasts would only draw unwanted attention."
She gently rubbed her thumb across Rory's hand. "I had no idea I had such a treasure right under my nose." She released his hand. "I don't understand how he can help us. Unless you understand his design, it's more than likely lost to us."
"No, it's not."
Tamarja released Rory's other hand and moved away toward the cavern wall, a more discreet area for them to talk. The director did the same, and immediately Rory returned to his work, uncaring that they discussed his future.
"I was a partial wipe when I arrived, but after my first encounter with Black Wave, I started having flashbacks. Once I made the connection between Black Wave and the flashbacks, I arranged to try a stronger dose. Black Wave gave me my memory back—completely intact." Well, almost intact.
The director looked skeptical. "There must be a difference between the blocks used for a partial wipe and those used for a complete wipe." The director half smiled, her mind clearly working quickly, adjusting her plans to use this new information. "I thank you for this, Captain. Even if it's too late to help Doctor Silvah, you've given me a new weapon to research that can undo some of the damage Manitac has done." She bowed slightly toward Tamarja, who felt herself blush at the praise.
"That still doesn't help us with the warship shielding system," Daeven said.
"No, it doesn't," the director agreed. "If by some miracle of the Guardians, Doctor Silvah can remember his design, we'll still need extensive testing of our own. Manitac is suspicious enough of Dawn's Landing due to the death of that drug dealer and the diplomat. We never discovered who killed them. It's going to be months before they turn their eye away from our sector."
