by Mel Todd
[Breathing is suggested, otherwise you will pass out.]
Huh?
The comment from Wefor jolted her back into awareness from her spiraling mind and she took in a deep breath. The headache that had started to pound at the side of her skull faded back. She shook her head and glanced at the viewing screen and the ship hanging there. McKenna could feel they were running out of time, that the commander would be scrambling to do things as much as she was, and he had many more options than she did.
"Yes, the shuttles are starting to return, and they are being hailed by troops on the ground. Our drops have stopped and the other ships at this point are not doing any troop placements. A large number of trained troops had already been sent to the planet." Ash's voice pulled her from staring at the viewscreen and the ship there. "However, the other ships have started to issue different orders. They are waiting for their last shuttles to return and they plan to start sending the gathered space debris to impact your planet." He stood in the doorway looking at the two of them, his tail lashing back and forth as he waited. Toni appeared behind him, her ears lay back against her skull.
His words fell like bricks into wet concrete, pulling them down with it.
Panic won't help anything. Don't panic.
~How much longer? How are you guys doing?~ It took effort to keep her mental thought calm and measured.
What good does it do to rescue the kids if the planet is destroyed?
That point ate at her, but she hoped they could figure something out to save her world.
~Another twenty minutes and we'll be able to blow up the ship. Everything okay?~ Perc asked, but she could feel Rarz monitoring the connection.
~Fine, but faster is better. I'll try to buy us some time.~ She closed her eyes and then snapped them open fastening her gaze on Thelia. "So are you with us? Because otherwise I'll just kill you now and be done with it."
Thelia tilted her head looking at McKenna from an angle that reminded her of an owl. "At this point I have conspired with you. That is considered traitorous by the House of Rircn. It is unlikely they would believe I was coerced. I have no living family and most believe the rumors that are spread about me. Given all that, I do not believe I have much choice. Besides, I have no great desire to find out what lays beyond my current existence." Her violet eyes were locked on McKenna and never wavered. In a human she'd have interpreted it as honesty and sincerity. With an Elentrin, she had no idea.
"JD. Kill her if she betrays us." McKenna stated the words, her gaze still locked with Thelia's. A hint of a smile touched the woman's lips.
"Will do," JD rumbled, his voice almost a drawl. Thelia's eyes flickered to the side, but then back to McKenna.
"I assume you want me to do something?" asked Thelia. Her liquid smooth voice promising everything and nothing.
Oh, I want a miracle, but I need to see if I can get your help pulling off a decent bluff.
"Stall. Make contact with the captain of that ship and we’re going to talk a good game. Is there a way for me to stay off screen and get information to you without the other ship hearing me? Primary objective is to get them to go away and not start bombarding the planet."
"The ear links." Thelia pointed to the jewelry high on her ear. Her ears were more slender, and they moved where human ears really didn't. Where the top of her ear connected with her skull a pale lavender jewel flickered back at her.
It took McKenna a moment to realize there were lights in the depths of the stone, not that it was reflecting light.
"That’s a communications link? You don't have mental communication like the Kaylid do?"
For the first time true emotion crossed Thelia's face, revulsion and a sneer as she recoiled a bit from McKenna. "Allow words in my head? My thoughts and feelings exposed to all? Giving that many weapons to anyone about my personal feelings? My thoughts? Never!" The last word was all but spat out, as if even thinking it left a bad taste in her mouth.
McKenna could feel everyone's shock as they looked at Thelia—emotions and surprise rippling through the mindscape.
"I think I almost feel sorry for you, but that might imply I care. And I don't." Personally, as strange as that aspect had seemed at first, she couldn't imagine being without her family in her head. Though Rarz still made her uncomfortable, but more because she didn't know him yet. "Ash, can you set me up in that other room to talk to her via the ear link?"
"Yes. What are you thinking?" He seemed curious but McKenna just smiled, showing her many sharp teeth.
"Let's find out."
Because I don't have a clue, except I need time. Anything that makes the other captains delay or wonder what we’re up to would be a win.
Chapter 35 -Line in Granite
One of the huge convoy shuttles has landed in Cairo. While there have been some reports of gunfire, the city is quiet. Drones launched overhead see two people - one with pink hair and the other with sea-foam green. Yes, these colors were told to me by the make-up personnel. These two people are walking through the city, with a throng of people following them. A few are in the wolfman form, what Largo called a warrior form, but most are human. They seem to be leading them to the ships. This is just more proof as to how insidious their presence is. ~TNN Invasion Report
It took a few minutes to get everything put together, but faster than she expected, McKenna could talk in Thelia's ear. While the Elentrin couldn't reply to her, McKenna could hear everything she said from the other room.
"Okay, please make contact with the other ship, the Silik, and let him know you have been delegated to talk to him." She spoke in a low voice through the setup. It'd taken a minute for her to figure out how not to talk too loudly. These ear link things were sensitive.
"And tell him what?" Thelia's voice could be heard both through the ear link and from other room.
"Right now, get him talking and pull information from him. Find out everything you can. I'll prompt you with more as we go. Right now I'm looking for information on their plans and how to stall them. We need more time. I expect you know how to act arrogant and demand information from others?"
"Of course. I did not earn my rank due to just my intelligence. That is only a portion of what you need to survive." An odd bitterness coated the response, but McKenna ignored it.
"Good. Then ask who he is, and say you took back over the ship, but this place is not worth the effort and plans are being made to leave."
"No captain would believe that. They can't. The Elentrin don't leave civilizations that might become dangerous to them behind."
"No prime directive, huh?" McKenna didn't mean to say that out loud, and the sense of amusement filled the mindspace.
"Directive of what?" Thelia asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Never mind. Just get him talking. We need time and if you want your life on Earth, we need him to take us seriously. At this point, lie, twist, prevaricate, whatever. Time is what I need. Worst case we'll charge in, and 'take back over' if we need to."
"Very well, but you do not understand the mindset of those in the House. But I will make this attempt and get you some time."
If only you could. A few months would be nice but at this point I'll settle for an hour or two.
~Cass, you still doing okay?~
~We have them stacked in the hallways. Charley and the twins are a godsend being able to talk to a lot of them. But we need that portal back ASAP. It's starting to get very crowded.~ Cass replied but McKenna didn't sense any great level of panic from her.
~Got it.~
The screen in front of McKenna on the desktop which seemed to also double as a computer screen, showed the Elentrin of the other ship, the Captain.
"Can he see me?" Her voice came out raspy as she tensed, that would ruin everything, maybe.
"No, it’s one way. A replica of what is shown out there, so you can see and hear," Ash said just as quietly.
McKenna sagged in relief, the whole point of this was to make him think the Elentri
n might still be in charge. Toni moved at the corner of her eyes, standing at the window looking out at Earth, and McKenna didn't blame her. There was something about the view that called to all of them.
"I see the problem has been taken care of. Exactly what is going on in that ship, and where is Keric?" The voice came out in stereo and just sounded a bit odd. They spoke in Elentrin, but at this point all of them translated it effortlessly in their heads. She didn't pipe the conversation into the mindspace, but JD and Toni could understand it all.
"And to whom exactly am I speaking to?"
You could hear the sneer in Thelia's voice and McKenna waved Ash over, whispering quickly. "Can you give me her picture also, so I can watch her body language?"
They had arranged for JD to stay there, behind Thelia, but in a subservient pose, implying he'd been overcome. It was all a lie and Thelia knew he was her executioner if she did anything that betrayed them.
Ash nodded and moved over to another part of the desk. As he did that, McKenna heard the captain speak, his voice much more courteous than it had been with her.
"This is Captain Clarin of the Silik. By the House, who are you? What happened over there? Is Keric really dead?"
The picture snapped up next to the Captain showing him and Thelia side by side, a thin line between them. If anything Thelia stood straighter, shoulders back as she glared.
"Keric was a failure and was killed for his stupidity in trusting unwisely. I am here now and you will deal with me." She didn't give an inch, and McKenna had to smirk at her ability to tell the absolute truth, yet have it be so wrong.
"Explain exactly what happened," his words came out as an order and a gentle sneer graced Thelia's face.
Damn, that woman is going to make a fortune in modeling.
The ideal thought made McKenna fight a laugh even as she tried to figure out what else she needed and what they could do to make him go away.
"I do not report to you. In fact," she made a show of looking around, "at this point I'm the only one standing here. I owe you nothing. I know exactly what I am doing."
A brief flash of rage crossed his face, then his expression went back to a smooth blankness. "Very well. Then I shall assume harvesting shall continue? Though that does not explain why the shuttles are returning from that planet and no more drops are going on. Have your holds filled already? The other ships say they are only at forty-five percent full." His words came out bland but the sharpness in his eyes made McKenna worry.
"Tell him the Shifted of this planet are not as suitable as once thought, and a decision was made to stop the harvesting." McKenna said quietly, wishing they had more time to discuss various options. She didn't trust Thelia as far as she could throw her, but she had to trust her.
On the video Thelia's nose wrinkled. "It is not wise to continue harvesting from this planet. We will leave and mark this planet as "avoid at all costs." The ultimate price if we stay here may be more than even House Rircn may wish to pay."
"I doubt there is any cost the House would not pay. If unsuitable, why are the other ships still gathering?"
"They will not be for much longer." Thelia's voice was abrupt, but McKenna couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Then when they are aboard, the bombardment will start?"
"It has been decided that there will be none."
"Tell him the captured ones will be returned to the planet, they are dangerous to keep," McKenna blurted quickly then regretted it when she saw the tightness around Thelia's eyes. She didn't think he'd buy that. Dammit, they needed more time.
"And exactly why would we leave this planet alone? Already they have satellites in orbit. Another few reyan and they might leave their planet, and might actually develop the ability to attack us." His voice held both confusion and sarcasm; at least that was how McKenna read it. For all she knew it might be a reflection of hope.
Thelia shrugged languidly, her head tilting. "Some things are better not known. If I tell you, you would then be required to tell the House. Are you sure you want that knowledge? Knowing the cost of informing the Head of things he does not want to hear?"
Those words made no sense to McKenna, but the captain froze, his face tight. "Point. I must discuss this." There was no goodbye, the connection was just cut and his face disappeared.
McKenna glanced at Ash and nodded. "Yes, the connection was severed."
Dread filled her stomach as she got up and walked out, nothing good was going to come of this, but maybe she bought some time. "What was that?" McKenna asked, as she got closer to Thelia.
"You are lacking much of our history and I doubt you could ever understand our culture, but we never return a harvesting. Just my saying that made him doubt my sanity." Her voice again had that hint of a sneer in it, but buried under it was something else.
"What about that last part, about the Head and knowledge?"
This time the bitterness in Thelia's smile and words came through clearly. "The House of Rircn is very specific about how the world works, and those that bring proof of it being other than how they say it is have a short life span. Their patience is non-existent and at this point I think my cache is higher than Clarin's. However, once he provides any proof of what I've done, they will have me declared a traitor to the house." Her stress on the word traitor implied a wealth of information, none of it which would be healthy for her.
"So he's going to think long and hard about what he thinks is going on?" McKenna ventured.
"He's going to decide what to pass along and what can be gleaned from the ships’ recordings. It may make the difference between living and dying."
"What do you think he’ll do?"
And how much time is this going to buy us?
"I am assuming from your discussions you have no people on any of the other ships?" Thelia asked, but it was the sly tone in her voice that made McKenna hesitate.
~You do realize her betraying us at this point would get her as many points as helping us will cost her.~ Toni's thought rang in the space.
~Yeah, I was thinking that. Dammit, I miss idiots trying to convince me they don't have an ounce of weed in their car or only had one drink a few hours ago. Life made a hell of a lot more sense then.~
JD's amusement rippled through. Sighing, she tried to figure out how to answer when Perc broke in. ~Done, we're coming back now.~ Even as the thought registered, she felt the portal energy and the four men came back in, all of them looking exhausted.
"We got it done. All down safely on Earth. Safe spot for a while, until we either have time to deal with them or are all dead." Perc sounded like he'd been wrung out and McKenna wanted to hug him, but the others, even Rarz, looked just as tired.
A tension fled from Thelia and she seemed softer for just a moment, then it disappeared and went back to her brittle rigidness.
"Rarz, can you set the portal back up for Cass?"
"Yes. Doing it now."
~Cass, incoming,~ she sent, looking at Rarz. He had an odd green tint under his scales she didn't remember seeing before.
~I see it. We're sending them through. Just in time, it was getting a bit crowded. We'll keep going.~ Cass had a positive tone in her thought and McKenna decided to believe it was the truth.
"So next move?" Toni asked, glancing at McKenna.
"Well, it just got made," JD said, his voice sour. "We're being hailed again. And if I understand it correctly this time from one of the other ships. The Listai?"
"There are three, the Listai, Grinka, and we are the Forlin," Ash provided in a low tone, still avoiding looking at Thelia if possible. At some point she'd have to figure out why the Elentrin made him so nervous, but now wasn't the time.
"Thelia, answer and stall, but I'll be there next to you. Talk until I stop you, because you're right, I don't know the culture and I might make things worse. If I have to, I'll pull a gun and point it at your head."
"That would make an impression, though it might be best to stay out of the immediate line
of sight. Though the pet being in the view would surprise no one. Assuming of course you want to make sure I don't do anything—regrettable."
"None of us want you to do anything regrettable. I prefer my food to be cooked." McKenna locked her eyes with the vivid purple of Thelia's and the woman looked away first.
"Understood."
JD and Toni faded back into the room with Ash. At this point, the tied-up Elentrin had quit making any protests, but the beat of her heart and breathing were steady so McKenna ignored her for now.
Positioned out of the way of the video pick up, she nodded at Thelia. "Answer them, and we'll play it by ear."
Thelia frowned at her touching her ear link, but the chime sounded again, and she glanced down and hit the button. "Yes?"
"Ambassador Thelia? What are you doing there? I thought you were on your ship? Where is Keric?" A woman with mint green hair and eyes looked out of the video. As with all the Elentrin her beauty was such that you wanted to stare, though she was the first female with short hair she'd seen. While McKenna was out of the camera range, she could still see the screen easily enough.
What? Do they breed these people for beauty?
"Keric is no longer in charge. Plans have changed. All shuttles are to be recalled and the harvested Kaylid returned. This planet will be marked off limits and we will leave after returning those we collected."
The woman looked out of the video screen, then her eyes scanned the room. Eyes snagged on the far corner and McKenna followed the gaze and sighed at the blood still on the floor.
I really need to remember to scour a place before trying to convince people nothing happened.
"I see that Clarin did not miss-guess the current situation on the Forlin."
"The situation?" Thelia smirked. "He has no idea what the situation is, other than the respect he thinks he is due was missing. This isn't an idle wish, Lanik. The harvested will be returned." She stressed the word "will" as she looked at the woman. "Otherwise the consequences will be unpleasant."
The other woman, Lanik from Thelia's comment, gave her an odd, sad smile. "You had such promise. You may have been one of the greats. Too bad you have been suborned."
