by Neal Jones
"It's beautiful," she gushed, reaching out to caress the fabric. "What is this made of?"
"Simaska, m'lady."
Larewyn looked closer at the young maid, noticing the slightly darker shade of her skin and the shape of her eyes. "You're from the Rosst colonies?"
"Yes, m'lady."
Larewyn smiled. "You don't have to use my title every time. Simple answers will suffice."
"Yes, m-" K'Sana caught herself, and then gave an awkward nod. "Simaska is made from the hair of the sima. The animals are native to my region."
Larewyn picked up the hem with both hands, rubbing it between her palms. "It's so soft! Mother, feel this."
"I already have. This young lady is extremely talented. You have no idea what I had to trade with Lady Ggytha for her."
"You made this yourself?" Larewyn asked K'Sana.
"Yes, m'l-. Yes. I-I used my own tools, not the machines."
"You made this by hand??"
"Yes, m'lady."
"Incredible," Larewyn breathed, holding the fabric up to her cheek. She leaned forward to get a better look at the bodice and the neckline. "The stitching is amazing – so intricate. And these – are they real sernt?"
"They are only imitation, not real. Real sernt are too expensive."
"Not for me," the lady empress murmured happily, running a finger over the tiny, glittering gems. She glanced up at Marija. "I've changed my mind. Get rid of Bryern. I want her to do my naming ceremony gown instead."
"Yes," Lady Tannit replied, "I thought you'd like her." She turned to K'Sana. "Show her the other ones, child."
The other maidservant returned with Larewyn's tea, and the lady empress spent the next hour marveling at K'Sana's talent. When the dresses were packed away, Larewyn requested her mother to arrange a room for the maidservant. "And then have the chef begin lunch. I'm hungry for some steamed vynt with a side of yerl roots – boiled, not fried."
"Of course, dear," Marija replied as she swept out the door, following the pair of menservants who carried K'Sana's trunk between them.
Larewyn sat back, putting her empty teacup aside, and motioned for the girl to sit on the footstool close by. "I find it hard to believe you're only thirteen," she observed, looking over the child with a critical eye. "How did you come to be in the service of Lady Ggytha?"
"The Lord Ggytha owns several game preserves on my homeworld, m'lady."
"Oh yes, that's right, of course. My father went with him some years ago on one of his safaris." Larewyn reached out to cup the girl's chin, turning her head towards the light. "Are you pureblood? Your markings are quite faint."
"I'm only half Jha'Drok. My mother is Likethian. I never knew my father."
Larewyn nodded, understanding. "He was, no doubt, a soldier in the service of Lord Ggytha's house. When did his wife take you into her service?"
"When I was ten." K'Sana stared at her feet, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "They paid my mother a handsome price."
"Look at me. Don't be afraid, child. I'm not as stern as Lady Ggytha. Your dress? You made it?"
"Yes, m'lady."
"It's nice, but it's not worthy of a maidservant of the Lady Empress. Have you noticed the way my other maids dress?" K'Sana nodded. "I want you to make new dresses for them – and you as well. I will have this material – what did you call it?"
"Simaska."
"I will have it imported – as much as you need. I want a whole new wardrobe. After the baby is born and I have my old waist back, I want to look ravishing for the people." She worked herself out of the chair, and the girl quickly jumped up to help her. "You must join me for lunch. I want to know how one so young has become so talented with a needle and thread."
( 4 )
Varis sighed, pulling a hand through her hair as she stood and walked away from the desk. Her room was on the seventh floor, and she had a grand view of the city skyline, bathed in bronze and gold twilight. She ordered a drink from the food dispenser and then returned to the window to watch the city's nightlife play out in the street below. She could hear a distant thump-thump through the glass, probably the beat of the music in the dance club in the tower opposite the hotel. Hovercraft sped between the skyscrapers, shooting along invisible lanes, landing here and there on the rooftops to deposit and pick up passengers.
Prill had been right. There was nothing new to be gleaned from a visit to Moru's house, and, by the time she had finished going over the entire place with her own eyes as well as a type three scanner, the offices and labs at the Bri'Nai Institute were closed for the day. So Varis had returned to her room to review Vasik's case notes and plan for tomorrow.
She returned to the desk, pulling up the final page of Prill's report on her terminal screen. He'd been quite thorough, and Varis could find nothing in the case file that might yield a new lead, not even when adding it to the little information she and Navarr had uncovered about Moru's trip to Exxar-One a week ago. The only option now was another interview with his former assistant at Bri'Nai, assuming that she was still there, but Varis wasn't holding out much hope for that angle either. Vasik had interviewed her twice five years ago and ruled her out – along with everyone else who worked in Moru's lab – as suspects in his disappearance.
Not for the first time that day did Varis question why she was here. There really was no evidence of foul play in Moru's death. Yes, the doctor had had a mysterious visitor to his quarters the night before his body was found, and he had arrived on Exxar-One under a false ID. But that was it.
Varis squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head. No, she told herself, you know why you're here. You recognized his name.
Against her will, memories of that night surged to her conscious mind once more, and J'Soran saw her mother sitting at the comm terminal.
I need to speak to Moru! Please! It's urgent!
Mother?
Go back to bed, little one. I'll be right there.
And then her father arrived home, and –
"No!" Varis shouted to the empty room, leaping to her feet and knocking over the tumbler of brandy. She scooped up the glass and dropped it into the reclamator, and then mopped up the puddle with a towel from the washroom. She ordered another drink from the dispenser, upping the percentage of alcohol, and then returned to the window to observe the nightlife again. The sun had set, its natural light displaced by the artificial gleam of the city.
She put her hands over her ears, singing to herself, trying to block out her father's shouting and her mother's sobbing. She was in her special hiding place, and he couldn't find her there.
Varis turned away from the window, shaking her head, and switched on the wall screen. She flipped through the channels until she found a local news feed, turned up the volume, and then went into the washroom to start the shower. She stood beneath the scalding spray for half an hour, letting her thoughts drift, eventually clearing her mind. She hadn't practiced mediation in a long time, if only because she no longer needed it as a coping mechanism when she became an adult, but now it was as if the last thirty-four years had never happened, and J'Soran was still that terrified seven-year-old girl, cowering in the dark.
When she emerged from the washroom, she was startled by the sound of the door chime. She glanced at the chrono display in the upper corner of the wall screen and then pressed the com panel beside it to release the lock.
"Come in." She knew who it was before the door opened.
"Hello." Vasik started to enter, but then paused when he saw Varis' expression. "May I come in?"
"Yes." She turned off the screen.
"Are you okay? You look angry."
"It's not anger. I'm just frustrated."
"No leads, huh?"
"No. You were quite thorough five years ago." She arranged herself in the wide armchair near the window, sipping her drink. "Did you get the subpoena?"
"It'll be ready tomorrow." He glanced around. "Is this a bad time? I don't want to disturb you."
She shook her head
, smiling ruefully. "No. Actually, I could use the company." She motioned to the other chair. "Order up a drink. It's on me."
He tossed his coat on the bed, and then walked to the dispenser. "What are we drinking to?"
She held up her glass. "The past."
"Ah. I wondered which one of us would be the first to bring it up."
She laughed. "You make it sound as if we had something special."
"Didn't we?"
Varis laughed again and shook her head. "We were squad-mates. We served in the same platoon for two years."
"So you were oblivious to the fact that I was attracted to you. Wonderful. I'm relieved to know that I hid my feelings well."
Varis watched him as he sprawled in the other chair. "Well, not that well. I did know, but it was better that we remained friends."
"And what about now?"
"What about it? It's been twenty years, Vasik. You're separated, with a son."
"So? Are you seeing anyone?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
"How do you know I'm lying."
"I'm an anteri. I've learned to read people pretty well. You haven't changed in twenty years."
Varis glanced out the window as she downed the last of her drink. She rose to get another. "And you're as charming as ever. So what happens now?"
"I'd like to continue this conversation. I'm having fun."
"No, you're feeling heat. Haven't been on a date in awhile, have you?"
Vasik smiled, looking away.
"I can read people pretty well too. You've been looking forward to this meeting ever since I screened you from Exxar-One."
"All right, I admit it. I am feeling a little heat."
She grinned as she returned to her chair. "It's all right, I'm flattered. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling some of it myself."
Vasik watched her for a few moments as she sipped her drink and looked out the window. "That's a pretty popular club in this district. Before I was an anteri I used to patrol here, and I volunteered for the night shift. I was always busting up fights."
"Is that why your wife left you? Too many night shifts…too many fights?"
"Something like that."
Varis didn't respond, and Vasik allowed her some silence. He sipped his drink, watching her as she watched the people coming and going in the street far below.
"Why did you come back, J'Soran? The real reason, I mean. You solved my missing persons case, I saw the death certificate. Moru had a heart condition. He died of natural causes. So why are you really here?"
Varis leaned back in her chair, gazing at Prill over the rim of her glass. She was feeling very buzzed, and all memory of the scared little girl was fading, buried once more. "I like your beard, by the way. Makes you look very...roguish."
Prill smiled, and then rose to order another drink. "Thanks."
"Are you mad?"
"Why would I be mad?"
"Can I tell you a secret?"
"Of course."
"This is the first time since graduation night that I've been drunk."
Vasik's smile widened and he nodded. "That doesn't surprise me." He plopped back into his chair, holding his drink up so as not to spill it.
"Yes, I didn't think it would."
"So is this what we're going to do for the rest of the night?"
"What do you want to do?"
Prill eyed her for a second or two, trying to decide if she was just playing or if she was serious. He set his drink on the nearby end table and then stood and held out his hand.
Varis hesitated, but then accepted his invitation, and he set her drink next to his own. Their kiss was somewhat awkward, as she fumbled with her mouth and then her hands, not sure what to do with the latter, and then she let her emotions take over. This was, after all, what she'd been looking for – something to distract her from the nightmares of the past.
But after he started to work his way down her neck, nuzzling her ear lobes, nipping at her bare skin, she began to have second thoughts. She gently pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry, Vasik. This isn't right. I changed my mind."
He nodded, hesitating, and then stood back. "Okay. I understand."
"I'm sorry," she repeated, reaching for her drink.
"Don't be. It's all right." He reached for his coat. "I should probably get home anyway."
"Kasen?"
"No, he's with his mother this month. Goodnight, J'Soran."
"Vasik, wait!"
He turned, one arm in the sleeve of his coat.
"Stay. Let's talk some more."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'd really like the company."
He tossed off his coat and reached for his drink.
"Tell me why you left the military."
Vasik laughed as he settled back into his armchair. "That could take all night."
Varis shrugged. "It's still early. We have plenty of time."
( 5 )
The Ralorian man stood at the window of the darkened, empty room, three levels above the dance club. The beat of the music thudded distantly through the walls and floor, but the man had tuned out the noise long ago. Using the optical magnification of his bio-net, he had a perfect view of the window of the seventh floor in the tower across the street.
His commlink chirped, and pressed the spot behind his right earlobe to activate the bio-net's audio implant. "This is Avyrem."
"Report."
"She has been joined by Anteri Prill. They're talking."
"How long has he been with her?"
"Only a few minutes. He will probably spend the night."
"Follow her tomorrow. A subpoena has been issued for the Lykenshy records. That will be her first destination."
"And then?"
"Continue to observe and report. Do not interfere."
"Understood." Avyrem tapped the flesh again to terminate the link, and then resumed his surveillance of Varis and Prill. In the walls and floor a new song had begun, but the thud-thud rhythm remained as frantic as ever.
Chapter 10
____________________
( 1 )
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER NAVARR SLUMPED IN HER SEAT, staring morosely at her compad as the other senior officers filed into the wardroom in preparation for the morning staff meeting. The security chief had spent most of the night sifting through surveillance footage, tech manuals on the operations of the cardon field, and passenger manifests of all ships that had docked at Exxar-One in the last two months. She stifled a yawn as she reached for her coffee cup and was disappointed to find less than a swallow left in it.
"My gods, Chris, did you get any sleep last night?" Sikandra pulled out the chair next to Navarr.
The security chief shook her head. "It was worth it, though. We have a possible lead on his kidnappers."
Gabriel entered just in time to hear her reply. "Glad to hear it, commander. Let's start with you." He glanced around the table as he arrived at his seat. "Everybody present? Good." He sat and motioned for Navarr to take the floor.
The security chief stood and activated the wall screen. "This is surveillance footage from one of our nodes on the promenade. Since these two faces appeared in almost all the footage that also showed Garrett over the last few days, we strongly suspect that he was being followed."
"I don't recognize that species," Saveck commented.
"I didn't either at first. According to the library database they're called Xaric. Their homeworld is outside Federation space."
"Are they allies?" Rosenberg asked.
Navarr nodded. "Apparently they didn't want Federation membership when first contact was made seventy years ago. We do, however, trade with them regularly, and one of their colonies is on this world." The view on the wall screen shifted and a star chart appeared. "It's just over the border, in the Shheck system, about thirty-six hundred light years from here."
"Commander," Gabriel interrupted, "How far away is the Mykahrian Union from the Xaric home system?"
"Um...I'm not sure." She typed a few commands into her compad, and the image on the wall screen changed once more. "Looks like a couple dozen light years."
Decev glanced at Gabriel. "Is that where you think Kiran's headed?"
"I'm not sure. But I remember Captain Bryson mentioning an intelligence report once that said the Xaric were rumored to be secretly trading with the Mykahrians. That was several years ago, but if those rumors are true, then someone in the People's Union may have paid the Xaric to capture Commander Garrett."
"For what?" Sikandra exclaimed. "And why go to all the trouble of kidnapping? I know that the Mykahrians are very xenophobic, but they've broken that silence once before. If someone in their space needed Kiran, why not just open up a dialogue with the proper authorities and then ask for him?"
"I don't know," Gabriel shrugged. "I'm just tossing out a theory. I could be way off base, but Kiran is the only Mykahrian serving in the entire armed forces of the Federation. If his kidnappers are Xaric, and since they're next door neighbors of the People's Union, it stands to reason that the Mykahrians may have decided to use the Xaric as a means to an end."
Lieutenant Cadman leaned forward. "So we've established that this is a kidnapping?"
"Yes," Navarr replied, "and I think we can safely assume that his captors were successful in getting him off the station without triggering our security failsafes."
"How?" Gabriel demanded.
"I don't know, sir. We're still trying to find an answer to that. We've run a dozen different scenarios through our simulators, and each time the proper alarms were set off."
"That's not good enough, commander. Try harder. Pull whomever you need from engineering. Tear apart the entire Cardon system if you have to. I want an answer by this time tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
"Do you have anything else to report?"
"Only that we've interviewed the owner of the herbal shop and all his employees. None of them recalls anything unusual that night, and they all agreed that Garrett was there for about half an hour between nineteen hundred and twenty hundred hours. There's nothing so far that makes me think any of them were involved in his disappearance."
