Beyond Varallan

by neetha Napew

  Adaola enveloped me in a crushing hug. “The Mother Bless You, Cherijo Torin.”

  “Kiss the baby for me,” I whispered back, patting her flat stomach. “Go on now.”

  I climbed up the docking ramp and took one more look at the beautiful colors of Joren. On the other side of Transport, silhouetted against the scarlet sun, was a tall, muscular form standing alone. I lifted my hand.

  Xonea didn’t wave back.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  One Way or Another

  Inside at the shuttle control console, Dhreen was preparing to launch. I strapped into the empty seat beside him at the helm. He looked surprised.

  “Want to fly her yourself?” he asked.

  “No. just some company,” I said. “Yours will be the last friendly face I see for a long time.”

  He initiated launch sequence and nosed the shuttle up into the sky. The sheer density of ships hanging over Joren made me shudder.

  “They don’t clutter around, do they?” Dhreen said, and whistled.

  “No, they don’t.”

  “I want you to have something before you go to them.” Dhreen withdrew a small package from his tunic pocket and handed it to me. I unwrapped it, and made a shocked sound when I saw it was Ktarka’s pendant, attached to an ornamental chain.

  “Wear it. They might think it’s only jewelry.” He spent the rest of the flight explaining the tiny mechanism inside to me. I hung the chain around my neck and slipped the pendant under my tunic.

  “Thanks, Dhreen.”

  “Find a power source, and it could help you escape.”

  We reached the designated exchange site, and Dhreen signaled for permission to dock. A cold voice granted it. Before our shuttle touched down in the enormous launch bay, I looked for Tonetka. I saw her standing just beyond, three guards surrounding her, more mercenaries behind them.

  “There she is.” Why had I been worried the League had starved or tortured her? She never looked better. “I bet she hasn’t given them a millisecond of peace since they kidnapped her.”

  The launch touched down. Every rifle in the bay was now pointing at me and Dhreen.

  “Whatever you do,” the Oenrallian muttered, “don’t insult them.”

  Dhreen escorted me off the shuttle, to be at once surrounded by League troopers. I saw their leader standing a little apart from the rest of his men. He was a spare, smooth-skinned humanoid with ancient eyes and heavy, canine features. From all the decorations on his Commander’s tunic, I gathered he was both experienced and important. Or needed to feel that way.

  “You want to call off your thugs?” I asked, which made Dhreen cringe. “We’re not armed.”

  One of the men handed me a wristcom-I’d forgotten my vocollar wouldn’t work here-so I strapped it on and repeated my request.

  “At ease, men,” the leader called out in a rumbling baritone. His fleshy lips parted over an impressive amount of sharp teeth as he approached me. Men got out of his way so quickly they nearly stumbled in the process. When we were a few feet apart, he halted and gave me a thorough visual inspection. “You’re what all the furor is about?”

  “Hard to believe, isn’t it?” I gave him the same appraisal. “And you are-who? The Head League LapDog?”

  He laughed. “They warned me about your mouth. Colonel Patril Shropana, League Troop Commander.” He made a shallow bow.

  “Healer Cherijo Torin,” I replied. I didn’t bow. “My pilot, Dhreen.”

  “I’m delighted to meet you, Doctor. After hearing all that is said about you, I must admit, I expected you to be... larger.”

  “Really?” I sniffed the air. “I expected League Troops to smell better.”

  “Perhaps we should continue this discussion-“

  “First things first, Colonel. You have a prisoner to exchange.”

  “Of course.” He made a languid motion with his hand. The guards holding Tonetka dragged her forward. Literally dragged, for she fought them with every ounce of the considerable strength she had, despite the bonds on her wrists and ankles.

  “Hey, boss,” I said. “I’m glad I didn’t go to your death ceremony now.”

  “How-are you-Cherijo?” Tonetka tried to smash her bound hands into one of the guards’ faces. They finally had to pick her up and carry her the last few yards. “Let me go, you-“ The rest of what she said scrambled my wristcom.

  The guards placed her on her feet. One of them handed me the remote key, then both of them scuttled away from her. I unlocked the tight bonds and tossed them aside.

  Tonetka flexed her arms and legs before she gave me a stern look. “Did you save all the children?”

  I nodded. “Every one of them, thanks to you. Next time I offer you jewelry, refuse, okay?”

  She chuckled, then glowered at Shropana. “Would the League Commander be generous and allow me a private moment with my colleague?”

  The Colonel nodded. “A moment.”

  She rubbed at dark bruises on her wrists as she pulled me out of hearing range. I found myself in her arms, her mouth against my ear. “Chamber twelve, level sixteen. What I was to show the children before the bracelet.”

  “Uh-huh.” I hugged her tightly. “I’m glad to see you, too.” I reluctantly drew back. “I gave your job to Squilyp. Sorry.”

  “I am more than ready for retirement now.”

  Shropana’s voice rang out. “Your time is up, Healer.”

  Tonetka eyed the silver streak in my hair. “I would have enjoyed hearing how you received that.”

  “Salo will tell you the story. Go now. Tell Xonea-“ I hesitated as Dhreen joined us. “Tell him I’ll be okay.”

  My old boss took Dhreen’s proffered arm. “You are HouseClan Torin, Cherijo.” She pressed her fingers to my cheek as I nodded. “Be strong and survive. I will think of you every day of my life, ClanDaughter. Walk within beauty.”

  I watched until the shuttle cleared the launch bay. Shropana came to stand next to me. “I would like to confirm when Tonetka safely reaches the surface, Colonel.”

  “Of course.” Everything civilized now, he personally escorted me to a display. I keyed in the signal myself after the proper amount of flight time had passed. Xonal’s weary face appeared.

  “Did they make it back all right?”

  He nodded. “Both are well, Healer.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Colonel Shropana seemed a little too interested in observing my ClanFather’s pain, so I abruptly terminated the signal and looked at him. “All right. I’m here. What next?”

  “I believe you should be asking me that question.”

  The voice was unmistakable. I swung around and sure enough, Joseph Grey Veil stood behind me.

  He had aged. His once-dark hair was heavily silvered now. The lines around his eyes and noses were deeper. Erect as his posture was, he seemed smaller, too. Probably because I’d spent the last two revolutions around truly impressive people.

  I’d dreaded this meeting for a long time. Played it out in my mind, over and over. Thought of what I would say. Agonized over the betrayal that had changed my life.

  I discovered I was walking toward him. Now that the moment had arrived, it didn’t seem frightening. I kept seeing the dead bodies this man had left behind in his quest to capture me. Heard the cries of all the injured children. Smelled the decaying flesh of the dead. All in the name of his endless pursuit of perfection.

  “Dr. Joseph Grey Veil.” I halted a foot from his position. He was staring at the streak in my hair, the change in my weight. I could almost hear him making clinical notes in his head.

  He never saw my fist coming. He fell straight back, and was unconscious before he landed heavily on the deck.

  I rubbed my bruised knuckles and walked back over to Colonel Shropana. “What next?”

  The Colonel threw his head back, and roared with laughter.

  I taken to my assigned quarters and left there. The furnishings were comfortable. My favorite foods stocked the prep unit. Even a coll
ection of jazz recordings was placed for my enjoyment. I noted every single album in my collection had been duplicated, Joseph kept excellent records.

  I had to get out of here. I accessed the door panel, but it wouldn’t open. They had locked me in the cozy, attractive little cage.

  Mistake number one. I spent my first hour in captivity methodically smashing the music discs. Each and every one of them.

  “Dr. Grey Veil?” someone called over the display.

  I ignored it. I had finished with the music discs and was unloading all the stores from the prep unit. It was interesting to see how much bulk food a disposal unit could handle. I wondered if it could chew up metal and wiring.

  “Healer?”

  They finally figured out how to address me correctly. “What?”

  “Are the music discs and food stores not to your liking?”

  I should have known they’d stick recording drones in here somewhere. Mistake number two. I was mad now. I began looking for them. The nasty little things are almost impossible to spot.

  “Healer? Answer the inquiry, please?”

  “Where are they?” I started ripping the fabric and underlying foam from one of the free-formed sofas. I didn’t like the warm brown and orange tones of the decor much, I decided. I’d grown partial to blue. “Tell me now and you’ll save yourself a bunch of unnecessary recycling.”

  The disembodied voice sounded dismayed. “What are you looking for?”

  I sighed. “Your surveillance devices, stupid.”

  “I cannot give you that information.”

  “Then I can’t answer your questions.” My fingers hurt, so I stopped to rest. I turned full-circle and smiled at the whole room. “I have plenty of time. I’ll find every single one of them.”

  “You would do better to cooperate, Cherijo.” That was Colonel Shropana’s gravelly voice.

  “Really, Colonel?” I started ripping again. “I didn’t agree to cooperate with you. I just traded myself for Tonetka.”

  “We can assure you will cooperate.”

  “Not without messing up Dr. Grey Veil’s tests. He dislikes me performing under the influence of drugs. Ask him about the time I accidentally took too many decongestants when I was fourteen. I thought he’d suspend my entertainment privileges ad infinitum.”

  No other comment was made. Guess Shropana had to think things over, I thought, and continued ripping.

  I found the first miniature recording drone embedded in a chair cushion. It smashed to irreparable pieces under my footgear. It took an hour to determine there were no more devices in the living area. I left the demolished room and moved on to the next.

  Once I got the sleeping platform apart, I found an even tinier device implanted at the foot of the bed. Probably wanted to watch me snore. I immersed the unit in water, and chuckled as it short-circuited. Somewhere in the big League ship, I knew someone had just yanked off their headgear. The feedback would not have been music to their ears.

  A voice came over the display again. It sounded pained. “Healer?”

  “I’m busy,” I yelled. I began dismantling the cleanser. I wondered how much I’d get to destroy before they got exasperated and came for me. Wanton destruction was kind of fun.

  “You will not be reassigned new quarters,” the voice said.

  “Good. Save me the trouble of having to do this all over again.” I wrenched the cleanser port from the wall and sure enough, found a third drone busily monitoring. “Well, well.”

  “Healer, please cease this activity at once.”

  “No. Why put one in here? I’m not much to look at.” I wrenched the drone out of the recess. “Naked, I mean.”

  I took this one to the overworked disposal unit. It sputtered and made some ominous grumbling noises, but eventually reduced the drone to small bits of metal and wiring.

  “Vandalism is punishable under League statutes.”

  “I’m so scared. See, I’m shaking,” I said, holding up my steady hands. “Or can’t you see anymore?”

  “Are you hungry. Healer?”

  I sat down on some mounds of cushioning I had ripped from the furnishings, curled over, and closed my eyes.

  “Are you hungry?” the voice repeated.

  “There’s no more food in here.”

  “We can bring you more supplies.”

  “No. Thanks.”

  Shropana’s voice took over again. “Dr. Grey Veil wishes an interview with you.”

  “If Dr. Grey Veil so much as comes within spitting distance of me, I’ll make what I did on the launch bay look like a love-tap.”

  “That would not be wise.”

  “Maybe I’m not as smart as he tells you I am.”

  “Your hostility will not make your stay with us a pleasant one, Cherijo.”

  I loved the way he said that. Like this was some kind of resort and I was on vacation. “If I wanted pleasant, I would have stayed on Terra.”

  He produced a frustrated growl. “You are your father’s daughter. Of that I am convinced.”

  “Thanks. I know Xonal would appreciate you saying that.”

  I slept. How long, I had no idea. Sleeping and destroying things composed the majority of my immediate plans. That was how I spent the first three days of my captivity, until I became so dehydrated I couldn’t do much more than sleep fitfully or toss bits of shredded fabric around while I was awake.

  They came for me, of course. Weak as I was, they still drugged me with a mild tranquilizer. When I woke up, I was in a medical berth, my limbs pinned down by tight restraints. Intravenous tubes were pumping colorless liquid into my arms.

  Mistake number three. Now I was really getting mad.

  Colonel Shropana appeared as soon as I opened my eyes. So did a humanoid nurse, who began wordlessly spooning glucose into my mouth.

  “Feeling better?” he asked.

  I spat the glucose in his face. “Yeah. I am.”

  Strong, claw-tipped fingers encircled my throat. “I’ve killed men for less,” he told me.

  It was good to see the League’s Chief Jerk lose control. I grinned as his grip tightened. “By all means.” My laughter croaked. “Do me a favor.”

  The claws eased from my neck as he released me. “I see.” He grew quiet as he wiped the glucose from his face with a cloth the appalled nurse handed him. “You’re intent on suicide.”

  “If that’s what you want to believe, sure.”

  “Will you talk to me, Cherijo?” He tried to appear earnest and caring. It might have worked if he’d had some prior experience, I thought. Or a lot more practice in front of a mirror. “How can I help you adjust to this change in your life?”

  “Gee, I don’t know.” I pretended to think it over. “Put me off on the first non-League world the ship passes?”

  “You know I can’t release you.” The old eyes glittered in contrast to the entreating words. “I am quite serious. Let me help you.”

  He needed my cooperation and would now do a lot to get it. Which is exactly where I wanted him. “Here’s a helpful hint, Colonel. If you don’t want someone to act like a hostile prisoner”-I lowered my voice so he bent close to catch my words-“you stop treating them like one.”

  “You feel you have been mistreated?”

  I made my eyes wide. “Wouldn’t you? Locked up in a cage with drone monitors all over the place? Never being consulted as to what you want to eat, drink, or listen to? No freedom offered whatsoever? Can you blame me for being angry?” I even managed to work a pathetic little throb in my voice. “How could you do that to me?”

  Shrewd, experienced Colonel Shropana fell for it. “I had no idea you felt like this.”

  “Try detainment sometime. Come back and tell me how you like it.” I heaved out a sad sound. “You know, you people have spent an enormous amount of credits tracking me down and getting me to surrender. What do you do the minute you have me in custody? You treat me like a large, dumb, lab specimen. The League doesn’t send sixty ships out after
just anybody, do they?”

  “No.” Now he showed some of his inner perplexity. “To my knowledge, no mission short of full-fledged war has required so many resources.”

  “There you go. They think I’m important. So what will you do for me, Colonel? What do you have to offer to entice me to even think about cooperating?”

  Talk was easy for him. Concessions weren’t. “I can allow you to have access to most areas of the ship,” he said, without much enthusiasm.

  “Good start.”

  “You may select your quarters, furnish them as you like from ship’s stores.”

  “Even better.”

  “We will endeavor to give you a measure of privacy.”

  He was lying, but I nodded. Two out of three wasn’t bad. “That’s more like it.”

  “If I do this, what will I get in return, Cherijo?”

  He might be fooled, but he wasn’t stupid. I mimed his thoughtful expression. “In return, I’ll eat and drink.”

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s better than keeping me restrained, on tubes, and getting glucose spit in your face.”

  The fleshy lips parted in a canine grimace. “You are a very shrewd young woman. Very well. I will put these new measures into effect immediately.”

  “Fine. When I see that you’ve done it, I’ll have lunch with you.”

  “What about your father?”

  “He’s back on Joren.”

  He corrected himself quickly. “What about Dr. Joseph Grey Veil?”

  “If you want him to make it to the end of this jaunt in one piece, keep him away from me.”

  “He wishes to conduct tests on you.”

  “Tell him his tests should be used as an enema.”

  “He will not accept that.”

  “Big deal. Why are you all so terrified of him? He screwed up nine times before he got his little experiment right.”