by Shannah Jay
Robler waited a moment longer, then ordered, 'Sim, Berin, carry Met to the medi-centre and fix him up under indefinite stasis restraint.'
There was absolute silence in the rec-room as the Exec turned and left, with Sim and Berin following him, carrying Met's stiff body, then people went back to what they’d been doing. No one said a word about what had happened, but glances were exchanged from time to time, or shakes of the head. This was something they couldn’t fight. Robler had taken great pleasure years ago in informing them that he’d reconfigured their com-units to remove the stasis function while they were on the satellite - a power he had during a State of Emergency. It made them very vulnerable to him.
Robler's behaviour would have been inconceivable fifteen years ago, and people would have laughed if it had even been suggested that anyone from Confex could behave like an old-fashioned autocrat. The trouble was, now it had happened, what were they to do about it? Confex regs were absolutely clear that during a State of Emergency the Exec had total control.
Kerem said nothing until he and Meera were safe in Soo's old quarters, then he held out his arms and she rushed into them. Their love had grown strong over these difficult years. It’d have been difficult to say who was comforting whom. Raised in the Confederation, both had grown up expecting life to be orderly and rules to be followed, taking their personal freedom for granted. Both were shocked to the core at the way Robler had treated Met.
'We shall have to be particularly careful,' Kerem said later as they prepared to leave Soo’s quarters.
'I'll go first.' He scanned the area outside. 'It's clear now.'
'Are you sure?'
'As sure as I can be. People have walked past while we've been in here, but there's been no movement in the corridor for the past few minutes. I'll go first.'
Outside he stopped dead, because Robler was standing opposite in one of the alcoves, smiling. The Exec must have been waiting there for quite a while. Obviously he’d been determined to catch Kerem out in something. Kerem made a gesture with his hand behind his back to warn Meera to stay where she was.
'What's this? Another little dissident popping up?' Robler stared at Kerem and toyed with his com-unit. 'Your explanation for being in Soo's old quarters had better be very good, Kerem, extremely good, in fact. And even then, I doubt it'll be enough to keep you out of trouble.'
Meera ignored Kerem's gesture to stay back, took a deep breath and joined them, smiling as if nothing were wrong. 'There’s an excellent explanation. Kerem's been with me.'
'Doing what?'
She raised her eyebrows at Robler, at the same time clicking the door shut behind her and programming Soo's prime emergency code in place with her fingertips. The basic barrier had already kept Robler out for years, but now she’d coded in the prime barrier, that would close the area until outside help arrived.
If she hadn't known the passcode in the first place, she doubted she could have got in, for all her recent study of communications. 'What do you think we've been doing?' she asked, challenge in her eyes, leaning her body against Kerem in a suggestive way.
'I don't believe you. You've both got perfectly good quarters of your own where you can indulge your personal needs.'
Meera linked her trembling arm in Kerem's rigid one. She’d never thought of herself as brave, rather the reverse, but here she was challenging a man whom she privately considered to be severely disturbed mentally and in urgent need of medi-treatment.
'We both have single quarters, remember, Robler? Crew quarters. Not nearly as much room to enjoy ourselves as there is in Soo's specialist quarters. And I've changed my mind about doing it in public in the rec area. You should try privacy sometimes, Robler.' As she knew very well that none of the women on the satellite had accepted sex with Robler for the past decade, this was throwing it in his
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face with a vengeance, and the moment the words were out she wished she hadn't said them. By the look of fury on his face, she realised she’d pushed Robler too far.
But his response was casual, as if what she said or did was unimportant. 'Soo’s quarters are out of bounds, as you well know, Meera. She negotiated special working conditions and total privacy for her experiments when she joined the Confederation. She was an exceptional com-engineer, for all her faults.'
Meera could see Robler's index finger rubbing the edge of his personal com-unit as if he were uncertain what course to take, and she wondered if they, too, would end up under stasis restraint like Met. She almost wished for it. What was the use of staying conscious for year after dreary year?
For a moment all hung in the balance, so she tried to look lustful and clung to Kerem. 'Well, we won't do it again, if you object so strongly. We haven't touched anything in there, so we haven't done any harm.' Which was an outright lie, but when you were dealing with a madman, you were entitled to protect yourself in any way you could. 'But I shall miss the privacy. Won't you, Kerem?'
He nodded, keeping his eyes to one side of Robler's face, not wanting to betray the disgust he felt nowadays for the man. The feeling was so strong he was sure it’d show in his eyes.
'You'll both receive a formal reprimand for this,' Robler snapped. 'Now, show me how you got into Soo's quarters, Meera.'
She shrugged and turned back to the door. 'Well, I'll try, but it doesn't always work. You have to sort of jiggle the co-ordinates. Sometimes you can get in and sometimes you can't.'
'Which can be frustrating,' Kerem added, 'in the fullest sense of the word.'
Robler didn't even notice the attempt to distract him, he was concentrating so intensely on what Meera was doing.
She continued to fiddle with the lock, frowning. 'I thought as much. It doesn't seem to like people going in there too often. You'll have to wait a day or two, Robler.'
'You're lying.'
She turned a wide-eyed gaze on him. 'Why should I lie?'
'I don't know.' He studied her, not saying a word, just letting the silence add to her discomfort. 'Go to the medi-centre, Meera. I intend to find out exactly why you're lying. I think I've been too soft with you, with all of you. That's going to stop from now on. This is a State of Emergency.' He made a gesture with his hand and Sim and Berin came up behind him to wait for further orders. They must have been standing there out of sight all the time. They looked uncomfortable but were clearly prepared to obey Robler's commands.
For the first time in her life, Meera began to feel afraid for her personal safety, but if she disobeyed a direct order, Robler would have more ammunition with which to confront Confex when they were rescued. She hesitated, glancing sideways at Kerem.
'I'm going with you,' Kerem declared. He looked at Robler. 'She's not going on her own.'
'You're going nowhere.' Robler aimed his com-unit and immobilised Kerem with a light stasis-beam that left him half-conscious, but unable to move, then jerked his head at Sim and Berin. 'We'll leave him there until I'm ready to release him. Take her to the medi-centre.'
Meera stared at Sim as he took hold of her arm, then remembered a history study-tape she’d once seen of ancient passive resistance movements and slid down to the floor. She let herself go limp and when they picked her up, she began sobbing loudly - which wasn’t difficult, because by now she was terrified.
'Shut up!' Robler yelled.
'I'm frightened! Help! Somebody help me!'
' Shut up! '
She sobbed even more loudly.
Sim and Berin hesitated.
'What are you two waiting for?' Robler demanded. 'Take her to the medi-centre. Use the service passageways.' He didn't intend to put Meera into stasis. He was enjoying the sight of her fear, relishing it, tasting it, offering it up to - He forced himself to stop thinking like that. Not here, but later, a voice whispered in his brain.
All the way down the brightly-lit metal corridors of the satellite, Meera sobbed and wept, occasionally throwing herself sideways, forcing her captors to stop and readjust their
hold. En route they met Jarna, who stopped dead and gaped at the sight of them.
'Another one infected with disobedience,' Robler said savagely. 'Let us pass.'
Jarna hesitated, caught Sim's eye and when Sim shook his head, she moved into a side passage and stood there motionless. She had great faith in Sim's judgement. The two of them had become good friends.
When the group had gone past, however, she rushed to tell the others what was happening. Once they’d assembled in the rec-room, there was much argument before they decided upon a deputation.
Then they began to argue about who was to speak for the group and what exactly they should say.
Jarna, remembering Meera's screams, tried to hurry them up, but didn’t have much success. None of them was used to urgency or life-and-death situations.
In the medi-centre, Sim and Berin laid Meera on a bunk and when she wriggled off it, yelling and screaming for help, Robler himself stepped forward, pushed them aside and dragged her back on to it.
As he was a large, muscular man, who’d always kept himself very fit, in spite of his age, he did this quite easily. Holding her down, he keyed in the instructions for restraints and watched as the plasbond web clicked into place.
Helpless now, she stopped screaming and looked pleadingly at Sim and Berin. 'Why are you helping him do this? It'll be you next. I haven't done anything to merit this treatment. It's grossly unethical.'
'Go and wait outside the door,' Robler ordered the two men.
'Shouldn't we - er - stay here?' Sim ventured.
'Why?'
'Well, in case you need help.'
Meera chose to start sobbing again, begging the two men not to let Robler do this to her.
'What help could I possibly need? She can't move now and she'll soon stop that caterwauling.' When the two men didn't move, Robler said very savagely, 'Get out!'
Berin bowed his head and walked to the door, Sim looked at Meera, gave an almost imperceptible
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shrug of the shoulders and followed his crewmate.
Robler went across to activate the door screen, then came back and stood gazing down at Meera.
He leaned over her and ran one finger along her jaw, then let it slip lower to caress her breasts. 'Now,'
he said, in a voice husky with passion, 'you are absolutely helpless.' The hand continued its roving across her body, as he added, 'You really shouldn't defy me, you know.'
Then he twitched and took a deep breath, stepping back, letting his hand drop to his side. Later, he told himself, later he would have her. But first he must find out how to get into Soo's quarters.
'Give her an injection of serum P119!' he ordered aloud. That would ensure she answered his questions truthfully and keep her calm while she did so, also while he took her body afterwards.
The diagnosis machine whirred and the narrow couch shifted to angle Meera's arm towards the treatment panel. A hypojet nozzle ran out towards that arm, then the machine whirred again and stopped.
'Well, what's the matter?' Robler demanded. 'Give her the injection, or I'll do it myself.'
More whirring, then a low musical tone sounded. ' This woman is neither ill, nor mentally disturbed', the diagnosis-system stated. ' There is no reason for this drug, which isn’t available on the free rec list. '
Meera's breath caught in her throat. Was there some hope that Robler wouldn’t be able to make her reveal the passcode? She was trying to control the trembling in her body, but terror kept pounding through her in great shuddering waves. This had gone far beyond her worst nightmares. She felt literally sick with fear.
'Exec orders,' Robler's voice was still hoarse with excitement. 'Emergency Code Three.'
' I hear you, Exec, but a com-scan of the satellite shows no sign of internal violence, nor are there any enemies attacking from outside.'
'Override!' Robler said harshly. 'Prime override.'
A long silence, then, 'Denied. '
'Com-system, check for defects!' Robler ordered.
A few long moments ticked past, punctuated only by Robler's rasping breaths and Meera's sobs.
'No defects found.'
'Then why is the diagnosis-system refusing to obey my lawful orders?'
Meera could hardly breathe. Her heart was thudding in her chest and she was still finding it difficult to believe that the com-system could refuse to obey Robler's orders. It was torture to be pinned here like this, unable to move. Terror had made her bladder leak and she was near to vomiting. No sane person would do this to another.
'The diagnosis-system has some autonomy in such matters. Request denied.'
'What do you mean, denied?' Robler's voice rose to a high pitch that strained his vocal cords and could be heard even through the door screen. 'How can it be denied? I'm Exec of this satellite. I'm in complete charge of everything.'
'Scans by diagnosis equipment show you to be in a state of intense mental disturbance. Irrational behaviour can result from actions taken in such a state. Request still denied.'
'There's no such thing in the Confex regulations!' yelled Robler, thumping the nearest bulkhead, his face nearly purple with fury.
'This provision is not stated in the regulations. It's there for emergencies. It had not been used for five centuries when installed in this satellite. Information on usage since then is not available. This provision is automatically included in all ship and satellite programming, for the safety of Confex exploration teams.'
After another pause, the voice became soothing, changing to the softer tones of the normal medi-treatment system. 'You should book yourself into the medi-centre for a check-up, Robler. There may be some malfunction in your body. It's five years since your last checkup and you aren’t a young man. The smooth functioning of your body is threatened by this extreme anger.'
Robler stood with the veins in his neck beating visibly, blood still empurpling his face and his huge hands knotted. He stood there for so long in silence that Meera grew afraid of what he might try next.
Even his face looked – different.
Outside the door Berin and Sim exchanged uneasy glances. What was happening inside the medi-centre? Why the long silence?
'I think,' Sim said at last, 'we'd better check that everything is all right in there. I'm worried about,' he hesitated, 'the situation.'
Berin nodded and coded in the emergency override signal.
At the sight of them in the now open doorway, Meera whispered. 'Oh, thank goodness! Get me out of this before he kills me. The machine won't give me the drugs he wants.'
Shock registered on both men's faces.
Robler ignored them, standing rigid, fighting for control of himself, fighting to hold back the darkness that seemed to well up within him at times.
When at last he moved, he was icily calm. 'What are you two doing in here? I told you to stay outside. Obey orders. You're not needed here. I can handle her on my own.'
'What do you mean, handle her?' Sim asked.
'I intend to interrogate the prisoner. She and Kerem were probably planning a mutiny. At times like this, I have to think of the welfare of the whole crew and the preservation of the satellite itself. And if drugs are not available, then I'll have to use force.' He forced a sigh. 'With extreme reluctance, of course, but the safety of the satellite must come first.'
'Don't leave me alone with him!' Meera begged again. 'He's deranged. He'll kill me.'
Berin nodded. 'I definitely think you should have witnesses.' He turned to Robler. 'You should both have witnesses to your actions in such a distressing situation, sir.' He turned back to Meera and there was no warmth or sympathy in his expression. 'It's your own fault, though. You should have obeyed his lawful order. He is still Exec. Tell him what he wants to know.'
She shook her head and began weeping again.
He glanced sideways at Robler. 'She's in a state of acute distress, sir. It wouldn't be right to leave her alone with you.'
At that mom
ent the deputation arrived.
'Sir,' said Lizan, who’d been elected spokesperson because she still got on better with Robler than most people did nowadays, 'we wish to protest against this unlawful detention of Meera.'
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Robler scowled at the deputation. 'Shut up and get out! All of you. You're overstepping your area of responsibility by coming here.'
'Sir, I don't wish to add to your troubles, but your recent behaviour is causing a lot of concern among the crew.' Lizan took a deep breath. She didn't really want to do this, but the others had said it would be the best way of defusing the situation. 'Let's discuss this in your quarters, sir.' She lowered her voice. 'Just you and me.'
Robler stared around at them all, still angry that he had been prevented from interrogating that lying bitch. He breathed in and out very slowly, then eyed Lizan and smiled slightly, not a nice smile. It had suddenly occurred to him what she really meant.
Lizan had regretted her hidden offer the minute it was made. 'Oh, sorry, sir. I've just realised that what I said sounded as if - I didn't mean it to sound like that. Sir.'
Robler's smile faded and a vicious expression took its place, but he didn’t fall into another rage.
Another long moment passed before he spoke again, his words very precisely articulated. 'The woman Meera is to be confined to her quarters until further notice. And when I’ve released Kerem from stasis hold, Lizan and Donnan, you are to escort him to his quarters as well. The two of them are not to communicate with one another or with the rest of the crew. Disconnect the com-systems to their rooms once they're inside.'
'But they won't be able to order food and drink if we do that, sir,' protested Sim.
'Too bad. A little discomfort may emphasise the lesson that mutiny is not going to be tolerated on any Confex vehicle or installation.' Robler turned and walked away, tossing a warning over his shoulder, 'If you don’t follow my orders to the letter, then you, too, will be guilty of mutiny.'
Sim took a deep breath, pushed Lizan aside and released Meera, who clung to him and started sobbing again. He found this embarrassing and looked towards Lizan for help, but Lizan had already turned away to follow Robler and carry out his orders, and the others had also left, so there was nothing Sim could do but help Meera back to her quarters and try to calm her down. On the way they passed Kerem, still standing motionless from the stun-shot.
