by Cheree Alsop
Chapter 4
When she found the Kratos bridge empty, Liora made her way to the Eos. Her footsteps echoed through the huge holding bay that had been filled with ships at the last stop and currently stood mostly empty besides the Kratos and a few ancient mining crafts. Liora put a hand to the panel and the door from the hold slid open.
She wondered who had taken the time to program her prints into the system. The security she had seen from Brandis’ staff said that he left nothing to chance. If her half-brother had ordered the programming, his foresight amazed her.
Several humans and a spindly Banthan wearing blue and silver uniforms appeared from the next hallway.
“Officer Day, if you wish to see your comrades, I have been sent to escort you to the control room,” the Banthan said with a respectful nod.
“Unless, of course, you’re hungry, then I am under orders to see that you are fed to your liking in the cafeteria,” a woman with golden hair and glasses told her.
“Or if you prefer rest, I can escort you to your rooms and see that a bath is drawn,” an older human woman with a kind smile said. “You do look tired, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
The final human, a man with a shaved head, said, “Or Commandant Day has asked that I escort you anywhere else you may wish to go.”
“Commandant Day.” The prestigious title was new to Liora. “You mean Brandis?”
The human nodded. “Yes, Officer Day. He has given you leave of the ship. You may do whatever you wish.”
Liora was a bit taken back by the four personnel with the kind smiles and accommodating orders. The fact that Brandis would go to such trouble to make sure her needs were met if she awoke touched her.
“Um, I would like to go to the control room,” she said.
The Banthan’s face lit up. Liora knew she didn’t imagine the disappointment that showed in the others’ expressions.
“I appreciate your kindness,” she told them. “This is all new to me. I usually just figure things out for myself. To have an escort is, well, new.”
The older woman patted her shoulder. “You’ll get used to it, dear. We’re happy to have another Day aboard the Eos. It’s a real honor.”
“And perhaps you’ll be hungry later,” the golden-haired woman suggested with a hint of hope.
“Definitely,” Liora reassured her.
A wave of exhaustion swept through Liora. She reached out a hand to steady herself against the wall, but caught them watching her. She took a steeling breath and pulled herself upright.
“Shall we?” the Banthan asked.
Liora nodded. She felt the eyes of the other three as she followed the Banthan up the hallway.
Walking from the holding bay to the control room, which turned out to be in the middle of the giant Golden Condor, took far longer than Liora had expected. She focused on placing one foot in front of the other and keeping a neutral expression on her face as she followed the Banthan who walked far more quickly than she thought he would; the stubbornness Tariq chided her about kept her from asking him to slow down.
By the time they reached the huge, multi-windowed room, she was beginning to regret not taking the older woman up on a chance to rest.
The Banthan put a hand to the door panel and it slid open to reveal most of the Kratos’ bridge crew along with Brandis’ staff. Monitors on the left showed the inside of the ship while monitors on the right revealed what was going on outside. A huge screen in the middle showed someone speaking who looked vaguely familiar to Liora. Brandis stood in the middle of the room with Devren and Tariq on either side as they spoke to the man on the screen.
“I’ll announce you,” the Banthan said. He lifted his hand to the intercom panel.
Liora shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll let them finish. I appreciate your assistance in leading me here.”
The Banthan lowered his hand and gave another nod. “The pleasure was mine, Officer Day. Please feel free to summon me if you are ever in need of assistance again.”
“I will,” she said.
He gave a single nod that could have been a bow and left the room.
Grateful to be away from watchful eyes, Liora let the door slide shut and leaned against the back wall. Regardless of how big the Eos was, the size of the control room seemed so much greater than necessary. The amount of personnel Brandis oversaw working at computers and desks amazed her.
“As it is,” the face on the screen was saying, “The situation is turning hostile very quickly. I’m not sure what the best course of action is at this point. We don’t want to bring Liora into danger, but I’m not sure what other choice we have.”
Liora straightened at the sound of her name.
“I don’t know how Obruo convinced the Damaclans that we’re holding their queen hostage,” Brandis replied. “The thought is ridiculous. If they knew her at all, they’d know how impossible that is.”
“Yet, they are ready to wage war just to get her….”
The man’s eyes flicked to Liora and something softened in his expression.
“Hello, my daughter.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at her. Liora watched the man on the screen. He looked like an older version of Brandis with gray hair instead of dark brown, and eyes with the same intensity she saw in the mirror. Her father was a distinguished looking man with the lined face of one who had seen a great deal, and the firm jaw that told of many more experiences ready to be faced.
Liora brought her head up and met his gaze squarely. “Hello, Father.”
Her father smiled as if her acceptance of him exceeded his expectations.
“This is a surprise,” he said. “I was hoping that we would meet under different circumstances.”
“You mean not on the brink of war,” she replied.
He nodded. “I mean exactly that. As it is….”
Liora crossed to where Brandis and the others stood. “You need me to calm the Damaclans down so they don’t tear apart your merchant fleet looking for me.”
“If it’s not too much to ask,” her father replied.
His cordiality brought a smile to Liora’s lips. It was something she hadn’t expected. Being raised by Obruo hadn’t prepared her for a father who considered her feelings.
“I’ll help in any way that I can,” she replied.
Her father nodded. “It’s settled, then. Captain Hart, bring the Eos to Corian. I’ll put out a missive to the Damaclans and let them know they can meet with their queen when she arrives.” He smiled at Liora. “Leave it to a daughter of mine to hold the fate of an entire fleet in her hands. I look forward to meeting you in person.”
“And I, you,” Liora replied.
As soon as the screen went dark, she turned to Tariq. “What does Obruo gain in sending the Damaclans against the Days?”
“It’s a distraction tactic for sure,” Tariq replied.
“The question is, a distraction from what,” Devren asked. “Why would he want the merchant fleet gathered at Corian?”
“It could be a trap,” Brandis pointed out. He smiled at Liora. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”
She nodded. “It was nothing a little rest couldn’t help.” She could feel Tariq’s gaze on her. If he saw the weakness she felt, he didn’t show it other than to put a hand casually under her elbow. She leaned against him gratefully.
“If Obruo means it to be a trap by sending the Damaclans, we’ve foiled it by bringing Liora. The Damaclans won’t fight against her,” Tariq told them. “He’s risen an army against himself. It doesn’t make sense.”
Everyone fell silent.
“He knew we would need Liora to calm the Damaclans,” Devren said. “What would he gain by having Liora at Corian?”
“To lock down where she is?” Brandis suggested.
Tariq nodded. “Perhaps.”
A rush of cold went through Liora. “It’s not me he’s looking for. I’m just a means to an end. Having the Kratos at Corian….”
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“Means having the Omne Occasus there as well,” Tariq finished.
Brandis crossed his arms and looked at each of them in turn, “I think it’s time you tell me why you’re on the run from the Coalition.”
“Yes,” Devren agreed. “But not here. We need somewhere we know is private.”
Brandis motioned for the pink-skinned Pasian. “Kosi, you have the control room. Captain Hart, take us to Corian. Alert me when we reach the Tucana Galaxy.”
“Yes, Commandant,” Captain Hart replied.
A few minutes later found them seated around a mess hall table in the Kratos.
“From what you’re telling me, Obruo knows the power the remaining orb contains. The question is, what will he do with it?” Brandis asked.
“Cause the most destruction he can,” Liora guessed. “He wants to hurt those I care about.”
“To what end?”
Liora shook her head. “He blames me for the death of our clan. I was supposed to be a sacrifice.” Flashbacks of that night swarmed her. She pushed them away. “I wasn’t what they wanted, so the clan was slain. I don’t know how he escaped, but he’s been after me ever since.”
“Except that he knew Malivian had you under his control,” Tariq said quietly. “Something’s not right.”
“He should have killed me then,” Liora replied.
“He wants you alive,” Tariq said. “And he’s bided his time until now. What is it that makes now so important?”
“The orb,” Devren and Brandis said at the same time.
“If he thinks somehow you can use the power of the orb or channel it, you’d be more valuable than a hundred Omne Occasuses,” Tariq said.
The thought washed through Liora. She shook her head. “I released the Feren orb in the water on Gliese. I had no control over it.”
“It was already imploding upon contact with the water,” Tariq told her. “Maybe that was different.”
“You’re saying my sister can touch an orb capable of imploding a galaxy without getting harmed?” Brandis said with disbelief clear in his voice. He gave Liora a searching look. “That sounds like suicide. Is there something I don’t know?”
Liora glanced at Tariq and then Devren who sat on either side of her. Both humans nodded. She let out a slow breath and took Brandis’ hands from across the table. His expression was wary, but he didn’t pull back.
Liora searched for a memory that wouldn’t be too unsettling and pushed it toward him. She felt Brandis jerk back in surprise, but he didn’t take his hands from hers.
“It’s just a rabble,” the older Damaclan boy said. He glared at her. “Hand it over.”
Liora clutched the small, furry creature closer to her. It wiggled, unhappy to have been caught, but if she let it go and Vogun got it, he would take out the animal’s eyes with his knife and laugh with his friends while it ran around in pain. She had seen it happen too many times to let the one she held fall into the same cruel hands.
“I won’t let you hurt it,” her young self replied.
Vogun stood. “If you won’t let it go, I’ll cut your fingers off and take it.”
Liora stood. She was more than a head shorter than the full-blooded Damaclan and had to stand on her tiptoes in order to glare at him.
“Go ahead and try,” she replied.
Vogun’s eyebrows rose. It was the first time she had challenged him. Everyone knew he was Obruo’s choice for chief. It was no secret he was grooming the boy to kill his mongrel daughter in the fight for clanship. At age six, Liora had no illusions as to her place in the scheme of things.
Vogun lifted his knife. “Maybe I’ll start with your eyes instead of the rabble’s,” he threatened.
Liora didn’t have a knife. Obruo felt she hadn’t earned one yet. It put her at a disadvantage, but she didn’t care.
“A Damaclan shows no fear; a Damaclan shows no fear,” she chanted in a whisper. They were the words Obruo had yelled at her the night before when she had woken up crying from a nightmare.
Vogun sheathed his knife and hit her face. Liora tried to duck his second punch, but the rabble squealed in fright and clawed at her stomach. She held it closer and turned, taking the brunt of Vogun’s hits on her back.
“What are you waiting for?” Vogun growled.
At his orders, the rest of the boys attacked.
Liora fell to the ground. She curled around the rabble. One of the boys’ boots kicked her ribs, grazing the small animal in the process. It let out a squeak of pain.
Liora rolled over. She crawled forward despite Vogun hitting her head and shoulders. She reached the small hole in the ground she had waited beside for hours in order to catch the rabble. She hunched over it and shoved the creature inside. It darted off to safety.
“You lost, Vogun,” young Liora said. “It got away.”
She looked over her shoulder to see him pick up a tree branch.
“It did, but you didn’t,” he replied, his gaze lit with triumph.
Liora stopped the push. Her head spun and she put a hand to it.
“Are you alright?” Tariq asked quietly.
She nodded. “Just tired, I think.”
“You should be resting,” he reminded her.
She nodded again, but her gaze was on Brandis. His eyes were closed and his hands waited on the table as if she still held them. Pushing was hard on a person, and she hadn’t warned him about the type of memories she had; she wondered if he would revoke his claim of being her brother.
“Is that what it was like?” Brandis’ voice was level, but carried sadness. “Is that what you went through growing up as a Damaclan?”
Liora attempted to force a small smile to her lips and failed. “That was one of my better memories.”
Brandis sat back. “I can’t imagine what the bad ones were like.”
“I won’t show you,” Liora replied.
Brandis cracked a smile. “Please don’t.” He paused, then said, “How will that come into play with the orb?”
“I can push emotions, too,” Liora replied. “It’s energy, like the orbs. Here.”
She closed her eyes and pushed. At first, she sent calming emotions as she had with the felis on Verdan, then she changed the emotion to sadness. She channeled the way her heart had broken when she knew her mother was dead, the echoing sorrow when she learned of the Gaulded Obruo had destroyed, and of seeing the citizens of Echo slain just because they had fought beside her.
She heard Brandis take a shuddering breath. Regret filled her. After his kindness, she had only given him sad memories and depressing emotions.
Liora searched for something else, for anything that would change the way he felt. She opened her eyes and her gaze fell on Tariq. He had his eyes closed as well as if he was taking in the same emotions as Brandis. His eyebrows were pulled together as though feeling her sadness gave him physical pain.
Looking at Tariq changed everything. Liora focused on the way she had felt after Tariq left the medical wing. His confession of love had helped her recognize the love she felt for him in return. Damaclans smothered feelings as weakness; it was difficult to bring up the positive emotion, but when she did, it filled her with such happiness and purpose that she pushed it to the others with full force.
Tariq’s eyes opened. He stared at her with a look of amazement.
“What is that?” he asked quietly.
Liora stopped pushing and leaned against him. “How I feel about you,” she replied, her voice just above a whisper.
Tariq bent his head down as though he was going to kiss her, then he paused and looked at Devren and Brandis as if he had just remembered they were there.
Brandis cleared his throat. “I see what you mean. It’s powerful. I’ve never felt anything like that.”
Devren nodded. “Our Liora is much more than she seems.”
Brandis rose from the table. “I’ve got some research to do on Bilar energy. I’m hoping the ship’s resources can help shed some light on w
hat Obruo might want to do with the orb.” He met Liora’s gaze. “If you can absorb and push energy like you just did with emotions and the electricity, we need to know what it’ll mean to the Damaclan chief.”
“I’ll join you,” Devren said, standing as well.
“Do you need help?” Liora asked them.
Devren gave her a fond smile. “No. We’ll let you know what we find out. Get some rest.” He met Tariq’s gaze. “You both look exhausted.”
When the door shut behind the two men, Tariq stood.
“What now?” Liora asked.
Tariq stooped and picked Liora up in his arms. “To the medical wing.”
“I’m really fine,” she protested.
He looked down at her. “I have a few tests I need to run just to make sure. You might have them fooled, but I see it in your eyes; you’re going to drop if I don’t get you to rest.”
He paused by the panel and she pushed it. The door slid open.
“And you need to carry me?” Liora asked.
Tariq nodded. “Just like you carried me,” he replied. He walked through the door to the medical wing and gave her a searching look. “Colonel Lefkin would have killed me if it wasn’t for you. I don’t know how either of us is still alive, but I am grateful, even if I don’t quite know how to say it.”
Liora put a hand on his cheek. The dark stubble of his day-old beard darkened his chin. She looked into his searching gaze and pushed her love toward him.
Tariq’s eyes closed. He let out a slow breath. When he finally opened his eyes again, his gaze was distant.
“If you keep doing that, I’m going to forget why we’re here,” he said quietly.
“Would that be so bad?” she asked, giving him a slightly teasing smile.
His eyebrows rose. “Liora Day, you continue to surprise me.” He set her gently on the bed. “And yes, if your heart stopped or your body gave out and you collapsed again, it would be that bad.” He shook his head. “I would never forgive myself if I missed something. You need to take it easy before you push yourself too far, if you haven’t done so already.”
Liora watched him pull the analysis equipment over. He put a strap around her arm and pulled the neck of her shirt down enough to place a reader over her heart. He studied the monitors in silence for a few minutes. The small beeps and the hum of the machine lulled Liora into a half-sleep.
