Chrysalis

by Joyce Lavene

  She recalled how the tapestries she'd seen had been found in caves. Probably those long dead creatures had lived and died there under the shadow of those immense mountains. There might have even been fresh water buried in those hollows. She briefly considered walking to those dark holes in the ancient mountainside, then reconsidered with a shiver.

  They were probably further off than they appeared anyway. And she had to get back. Someone would be looking for her. They might be worried about her. She had been gone a long time. Her feet were sore and she was tired. There was no point in going further. A hundred reasons pushed into her crowded thoughts telling her to return.

  Turning back, she felt the faintest impression of those delicate wings fluttering against her mind. Kat. She thought about him, wondering if he were reaching out to her. She started back towards the landing site and the entrance to the plant, glancing back only once the way she'd been. The mist shrouded everything as she moved away.

  Kat was waiting at the processor's doors. The bright blue of his uniform caught her eye at once. The gray of the Guardsman's uniforms blended in totally with the landscape.

  "Are you-uh-feeling better?" She glanced at him cautiously.

  He looked pale but in control. His golden hair was plaited tightly away from his face. The blue of his eyes was painful. "Better. Yes, but strange. I can see you. But for the first time in my life, I can't feel your presence. There's a haze in my mind like the haze on the ground."

  "Do you think you should go back to the freighter?" She was concerned despite herself.

  "I think I'll be fine now, Sadah. What did you find out there?"

  "Nothing. It's as blank and empty as it looks. I've been to moons that were considered dead but nothing like this. There's just nothing."

  "Including no signs of Bonding agents?"

  "No signs of life at all for a very long time. Have you been in the plant?"

  "Not yet." He shivered as he looked around himself. "The destruction is so total."

  "But necessary, I suppose, until they find another way to process fuel. Or find another source." She walked through the doors to the plant's dim interior.

  "Necessary?" He followed her, maintaining control only with an iron clamp on his emotions. "We should put aside everything else until we find a way not to do this to another world."

  They entered the shadowy recess together, finding the workers where Gael had left them. Lights were up in most of the plant, picking out the forms of the workers as they moved. She looked around for Senfald. "Anything new?"

  "Nothing," Senfald said with a smile. "Better news would be hard to come by."

  "Do you have an idea of approximate start up time?" Kat looked around at the operation.

  Senfald glanced at Gael who frowned.

  "I haven't had a chance to brief him yet," she answered his unspoken query.

  "There's this stuff." Senfald moved to the console and lifted it in his hand. "Lt. Klarke seems to feel it should be tested before start up."

  "Indeed." Kat stooped to pick up a handful of the shimmering substance, testing its weight and feel with his fingers.

  "Do you have any feeling from it?" She bent down beside him taking advantage of Senfald's absence as he turned away to answer a tech's question.

  "It is as void and dead as this planet is to me," he told her bluntly, standing and dusting his hands clean of the stuff. "I can feel nothing."

  "How can that be?" she whispered as Senfald moved away, discussing the frozen console with another worker. "I've never heard of a Rian who couldn't feel everything around them."

  Except for a Rian that had been dosed with Rissan. She suddenly felt very cold and withdrew in silence, not wanting to press the matter. Had Denby already started his program against Kat before he'd told her? She wished she'd said something to him sooner about the drug. It still rested in her pocket against her leg benignly but with all the portents to disaster.

  Kat looked away from her. "I don't understand, Gael. But it's like suddenly being blind."

  She was relieved that Kat couldn't sense her thoughts just then, more so than any other time. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd told Denby that she'd heard of Rians murdering people they'd found in possession of Rissan. She wasn't afraid of Kat but she would have a hard time explaining why she was carrying the drug. While Rissan wasn't illegal, ENDO wouldn't appreciate the scandal it would create between themselves and their ECHO counterparts. It could conceivably have implications that would involve Ria itself.

  If Kat had been given a dose of Rissan, it would probably wear off in a short time and he would be none the worse for the experience. The only cases she'd heard of Rians being permanently affected by the substance were cases of long- term use. Denby couldn't have had more than one or two occasions to use the drug.

  She would have to wait and let the whole thing cool down. Perhaps the best thing would be to turn it all over to Central with Denby. The Rissan could be considered evidence if she tagged it and stored it away. Denby couldn't be prosecuted for having the drug but he could be for threatening an ECHO officer with it.

  Senfald had returned and was relating his idea of residue to Kat, who looked as skeptical as she'd felt. He turned eager eyes to her. "Lt. Klarke thinks it's possible."

  "Possible." She agreed half-heartedly.

  Kat raised one brow, turning to her. "Really?"

  "Do you have a better explanation?"

  "I think you have the right idea about testing," he concluded. "How long will it take?"

  "A few quarters," Senfald told them, "or as soon as possible. The testing equipment isn't all that it should be. Guardsman is keener to extract the ore than to test it."

  Kat knew that was true. "They're very good at what they do, my friend. There's nothing to be ashamed of in supplying fuel to most of the system."

  "What can we do, Senfald?" Gael watched the activity around them.

  "Samples are on their way back to the ship." He nodded towards the door. "We seem to have the cable and lines clear so everything here is ready. We can't start up until we're clear of the planet, of course."

  "You have everything well in hand," Kat complimented. "We'll make another scan of the perimeter then check back with you."

  Chapter Eleven

  "Let us know when you hear anything from the freighter." Gael wasn't enthusiastic about examining the perimeter again but she followed Kat out into the muted sunlight. The freighter ship was gone along with the man who'd been standing guard with it.

  "A storm seems to be building." Kat pointed towards the dark line of clouds on the tops of the distant mountains. His eyes narrowed. "I'd like to go back over the area that you followed along the plant walls."

  "Is something wrong?"

  "No." He passed a hand over his face. "I feel...something. I can sense something that's just out of reach. I felt it the moment we landed; then it became clouded by emotion. But I feel it again now and it seems to be located in that direction. Did you feel nothing? Sense nothing?"

  For an instant, Gael thought about the faint flutter she'd felt in her head just before she'd turned back.

  "Tell me, Sadah," he coaxed. "It could be the answer to the puzzle we both feel is here. I know you're uncomfortable with it but tell me."

  "It was just a feeling." She thrust her hands into the pockets of her gray overalls then as quickly took them out again after feeling the vial in the enclosure. "I don't know what it means. Dammit, Kat, I don't want it to mean anything."

  "What was it like?" He took her hand and started walking out towards the horizon. "Try to find a word for it."

  "It was what I feel when you -- " She jerked her hand from his. "I thought you were trying to reach me." She stopped when she saw the smile dawn on his face. "Don't think that means anything. I was just wondering what had happened to you and I had that feeling."

  "There's nothing wrong with this." He tried to reassure her. "There would be nothing wrong with you trying to reach me with
your mind. Perhaps it begins to be our answer."

  "How?" She fell back into step with him as he continued along the wall of the plant.

  "Because there is something here." He looked past her to the mountains. "Yet when I try to touch it, it's gone. There's a strange emptiness again."

  "But there is nothing living here. The scanners monitor everything and there is nothing here but this plant and the ore." She wanted to tell him about the Rissan then, sure that the drug was probably causing delusions of some sort. Far from saying it though, she even buried the thought beneath a layer of ENDO regimentation. No way was she taking a chance on him finding out.

  They followed the outer wall of the processor to the point where Gael had turned back. The black clouds continued to build into a huge wall that covered the top half of the mountains. With no trees, no cover of any kind, the normally heavy rainfall that accumulated during a planet's storms would come in a wash of water.

  "I think we should head back, Kat." She felt a growing panic as the sky darkened.

  "Is this where you turned back before?" He stopped beside her.

  "I think so."

  He started walking again and Gael followed reluctantly, the feeling of dread growing with every footstep. "You know if it rains here, it will flood. There's nothing to stop the runoff. We need to go back to shelter."

  "Is that all?" He continued to walk. "What reason turned you back before, Sadah?"

  "What do you mean?" She quickened her pace to keep up with him. "I turned back before because I heard a noise and no one was there. I started thinking about how far out I was and that someone would be looking for me."

  "Someone? You have been on worlds like this alone, Gael. Who would be looking for you? How far out were you?" He stopped shortly and faced her. "You were responding to someone else's directions."

  "Someone else?" By this time, she was barely able to keep herself from running back to the cruiser.

  "There are thoughts here besides our own and not random thoughts but ones that are controlled and centered on getting us away from here. What are you feeling now?"

  "I feel that we both know what can happen in situations like this. A flash flood can come up and we'll both drown. We need to go back, Kat. There's nothing here." She stopped and dared to put her hand on his sleeve, stopping him as well. "It's not what you think."

  "Are you saying you know what it is?"

  She sighed. She was going to have to tell him. "There's something I need to tell you. Something I should have said before. I just didn't know how."

  "Find a way." He stood very still, watching her intently.

  "When Denby approached me on the freighter, he wanted to help me by giving you Rissan and in turn, I'd help him give Bonding a bad name." Why did he make her feel like a cadet? She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin defiantly. It wasn't her fault.

  Kat didn't laugh for once. His eyes were almost black in the face of the oncoming storm. "Rissan."

  It was an unpleasant memory that Gael had threatened him with that same drug earlier in their meeting. She felt guilty but she didn't back down from his gaze. "I told him no. But I think he might have already dosed you."

  "What makes you think this?" His Rian accent was more thickly pronounced than usual.

  It was all the evidence of his anger that she needed but she felt compelled to go on. She took the vial out of her pocket. It was only half full. She felt the evidence spoke for itself. "I'm sorry. I would have told you sooner but -- "

  "But?"

  "I didn't know how to suggest it. Then when that happened when we landed and you said you couldn't sense anything and now, you sense life on an uninhabited world -- "

  "You made the decision that the Rissan was affecting me."

  She assented silently, grabbing him and urging him back to the cruiser, away from the mountains.

  He grasped her tightly by the arms, as though he would shake her. A fleeting shaft of sunlight glinted down on his hair and the twin bracelets on his arms. His eyes were piercing, anger sharpening their gaze as he stared at her. Then he turned away.

  Gael watched his retreating figure and sighed. At least he hadn't tried to kill her. He was heading back to shelter. Away from the mountains. She felt a rush of approval. His name caught in her throat, not quite reaching her lips. A tiny rush of emotion ran through her, almost fear, and she ran after him as the storm broke on the barren land.

  It was like being trapped, caged by the awful fury of the storm. The rain lashed at the cruiser with such ferocity that Gael wondered if the weight of the ship would hold them there. The wind howled like demons. She huddled under a lightweight blanket on the ship's floor, feeling like so much driftwood in a dead sea. The COM was shut down for the night that came down black and terrible. Senfald and his workers were closeted in the ore processor, working through the storm to finish up by the time it cleared.

  The ship hadn't tried to return from the freighter after the storm broke but Amato had reported down that the tests were slow but continuing. In the morning, they would know what the substance was in the processor and if the storm abated, they would all be well away from the planet.

  The tests were obligatory, Gael told herself, staring wide-eyed into the dark cruiser. She was doing her job. She felt certain they would turn up nothing. What else could there be after so long? In the meantime, she waited for Kat to do or say something. She was starting to get worried. While she'd heard about Rians killing people who possessed Rissan, she'd also heard stories about agents who were forced to kill Rians who were crazed by the drug.

  Since they'd reached the ship and Senfald had reported that they were all right but staying in the plant for the night, Kat hadn't spoken. He hadn't moved from the small cargo area that was closed off from the bridge. A faint, pale light glowed just at the sides of the door but there was no sound. No movement.

  Gael had expected him to rant, possibly to throw things, including her, across the cruiser. He had to be angry. Rians weren't that different than anyone else. Yet Kat had gone into the small room and closed the door softly behind him. She'd tried to talk to him through the door. No response. She went back through the files, updating the reports she'd send to Menor when COM was up after the storm. She paced and swore.

  It was better than him losing complete control. Rissan crazed telepaths were incredibly strong and impossible to treat. If Kat lost control --

  Finally, she ate some rations put aside for an emergency, put on her one remaining good uniform and curled up with the blanket in her pack. The djine stains had been cleaned out of her uniform on the freighter. She wished all the unpleasant moments between herself and Kat could be swept away as easily.

  He could set her off better than anyone she'd ever met. What a time to discover that she had a soft spot for Rian telepaths! He looked at her and held her hand and she was lost in those blue eyes. She didn't kid herself that it was all smoke and illusion. She was attracted to him.

  She glared at the closed door. She had always kept away from things she couldn't understand, things that she couldn't control. She didn't understand Kat and sure as hell couldn't control him. And she couldn't get away from him until the mission was over! She wished she could work out or spend time and energy on the practice field. She wished she was anywhere but that accursed planet with a temperamental Rian!

  There were only two Try-sting left and she was out of djine in the ship's stores. It was possible twelve hours would get her through but she decided to wait it out. She was tired but too angry to sleep, artificial stimulants or not. Her back felt like a joining piece of metal against the cruiser's hull. Her eyes burned staring at the cargo door. Maybe confronting him crazed would be better than this! When the hell was he going to surface?

  Something hard bounced against the side of the ship, bringing her to full alertness. She glanced at the panel. It was still night and the storm still raged. She wasn't sure if she'd slept after all or simply sat there too angry to notice the passi
ng of time. She took a drink of some of the nasty stuff the ship had to offer. Kat. She forced herself to think clearly. What are you doing?

  Is there a problem?

  Gael groaned. Not again. There it was, the faint flutter in her brain, that breathless feeling in her chest.

  You called, Sadah. I simply answered.

  "You could have answered out loud." She threw the empty cup at the cargo door.

  Only silence greeted her outburst.

  The light still glowed around the doorway and the quiet began to grow as ominous as the raucous storm without. She got to her feet in one quick movement, throwing the blanket aside. The cargo door couldn't be locked. They were going to have it out before the storm was over. There was no reason to prolong --

  Gael stood in the doorway. The small door slid open at her touch. The light that had lined the opening became brighter, taking on a bluish tinge. Kat sat in the middle of the room, wearing nothing, or as close as she could tell to nothing. The light glowed from behind him or within him. His eyes were closed and his hair gleamed across his pale shoulders. Her breath caught at the aura of power that surrounded him making his body appear to shimmer in the darkness. Whether it was psi power or some personal power, she wasn't sure. He could be a god.

  No god, Sadah. Just a man.

  "I'm sorry. I'll go -- " Go where? She desperately wanted to stay there with him.

  Sit down, Gael. Please. Don't run away.

  "I can't." She turned away. I can't do this.

  She felt his hand on her shoulder and turned back to face him. His eyes were a color, indefinable by any words that she knew. She felt as though they looked somewhere inside of her that she had never been.

  Don't "do" anything. Allow me.

  She felt his hands on her hair and she closed her eyes.