Specimen 959, p.50
Specimen 959, page 50
“Of course, Lieutenant,” she said. “I quite agree. If you will be kind enough to let us know at the appropriate time?”
“I believe the Captain will alert you.”
With that, he walked forward to his station behind the co-pilot. Moments later, the shuttle rose quickly from the pad, nosing upward as it accelerated into the clear sky.
Inside the dull, grey interior of the shuttle, Norris and Rantara sat side by side in silence. He wanted to say something to her, but there were no words. Each of them knew profound change waited, making any speculation useless. He tried not to seem obvious, but he couldn’t turn away. As she peered from the view port, watching Sannaris fall away beneath them, he looked only at her. The final step in a strange, unpredictable process was upon them and Norris let his mind drift, taken by imagination to what might be, once they were safely beyond the dangers of Khorran space. Once more, he could not keep the images from parading through his consciousness, one after the other, like cruel children teasing a tethered dog. Memories of home were scattered by those from the chasm, bullying their way in, unwanted and disturbing. Besh, the chair, and finally Molri’s last gasp as his blood spilled out across the cistern’s floor. He fought to purge them, but they remained. Stubborn and vivid, the images from months in the chasm persisted.
In front of him, Banen and Theriani reclined, arm in arm, as though riding home after a long and exhausting trip abroad. There was a calm about them Norris envied. Hesset had endured a horrific trial, Rantara had gone from power and authority to little more than a refugee and his own torments walked with him each moment. But Theriani and Banen, now freed from years in captivity, seemed a picture of serenity. Perhaps, Norris thought, the mere fact they would never again wake in a hollowed out depression on the tiers was enough; freedom from Bera Nima was, it seemed, quite sufficient.
Outside the shuttle, the pale blue sky had turned dark as the shuttle broke through the atmosphere, closing on a big Anashi cruiser tracking downrange in its orbit. Norris leaned to his left, looking forward from the passenger compartment toward the shuttle’s forward windscreens in order to watch their approach. There was nothing until at last a tiny light appeared out of the blackness, growing in size as the shuttle closed on its destination. The cruiser’s docking bay yawned a rectangle of harsh light in the darkness, revealing only its brightly lit interior. Far below, Sannaris was moving into night; the last crescent of sunlight making for a delicate aura along the curvature of the planet. Before them, Norris could make out the black and featureless silhouette of the huge vessel, but only just. Craning for a better view, he couldn’t help but wonder as to its dimensions.
In moments, the shuttle slipped silently aboard and they felt the docking clamps close with a dull thud. Almost at once, the bay’s massive doors met each other and the brief re-pressurization process was completed. A prolonged hissing sound signaled the shuttle’s systems were venting off, equalizing its pressure to that of the docking bay. Seconds later, the hatchway opened and they were met by the telltale odor of hot metal and plasma residue. A crewman appeared to help free them from their safety harnesses and Hesset looked up to find a figure standing in the hatchway, grinning widely.
“Esten!” she said.
“Welcome aboard, Hesset! It is most gratifying to see you again.”
As the others looked on, Hesset hurriedly made the introductions.
“This is Captain Esten Orendala, in command of the heavy cruiser Premara. Esten, meet Doctor Banen Oreil; Theriani Doleval, Revallan First Guards Select; Sergeant Onallin Rantara, formerly of the 20th Khorran Strike Division; and Darrien Norris, retired from the Terran Colonial Navy.”
“Welcome to my ship,” said Orendala in a deep, rich voice.
“Esten was at university with my husband and he has been a dear friend of our family for a very long time,” Hesset said.
Norris looked immediately at Rantara but she showed no particular interest or worry. They stepped slowly from the shuttle, following Hesset and Orendala into the belly of the massive vessel like tourists in a museum. Norris watched, but none of the Premara’s crew seemed to notice a Khorran walking unfettered through an Anashi ship of war. Given the ancient hatreds between the Anash and Khorra Nu that Banen and Hesset had described, allowing Rantara to see the inside of a heavy cruiser unhindered should have been intolerable.
As they walked, Hesset looked at Orendala and said, “How is Taraxis?”
“They recalled him. The idiots in the Admiralty finally figured out what he has known all along and they brought him back to the Capitol. He is now a senior advisor – very grand!”
“He is a brilliant tactician,” Hesset said. “Why have they not relied on him until now?”
“That is a long, unfortunate story, Hesset,” he replied. “The power and authority they wield has not always been...”
“I understand.”
“Forgive me, but I must hold my tongue where the Admiralty is concerned; they have spies everywhere.”
“Even here?” she asked.
“Especially here.”
“I see.”
He nodded at Rantara.
“They will be kept busy filing secret reports all night, now that she is onboard.”
“The Sergeant must not be harassed, Esten, under any circumstance. It does not matter that she is Khorran; without her help, we would not have survived.”
“Do not be concerned, Hesset, the Ambassador made it quite clear your Sergeant was to be treated with the same care and respect as any of you, and I will not tolerate from my crew anything less. It does seem a bit disturbing, a highly decorated Khorran soldier walking my decks, but I am not prepared to contravene the orders of Qural Embree.”
“Thank you, Esten.”
Orendala leaned close and said, “The unfortunate pink one; he is a Khorran mutation?”
“He is not Khorran.”
“Then where does he come from?”
“We do not know,” she lied, “but he has been useful.”
Orendala turned, so that only Hesset could hear.
“Does he have anything to do with the truce?” he whispered.
Hesset squinted and said, “Truce?”
“Yes. It went into effect six days ago!”
Hesset remembered Qural’s caution about confidentiality.
“We have been on a very remote world; I had not heard of a truce.”
“Did the Ambassador not tell you?”
“No, she spoke for only a moment, and...”
“Everyone knows, Hesset!”
Hesset searched furiously for a suitable excuse.
“As I said, we only just returned from a distant system and I am sure we will receive a briefing soon.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” he said, but his tone had become cautious. “The Khorrans started pulling back from positions all along the frontier. At first, we interpreted it as a massive force relocation in advance of a single, focused attack. Then, we were ordered to hold where we were, and not to advance.”
Hesset stopped and turned to Orendala.
“When you say you were ordered to hold, do you mean this vessel, or others?”
“Everyone,” he replied. “In a day, all operations were suspended and we were told to wait for new orders.”
“The Khorrans did not advance?”
“They pulled out of twelve separate engagements simultaneously, and they were gaining ground on us in two of them. We thought they had gone mad.”
“And then you were sent here.”
“Yes. I received orders yesterday to make for Sannaris, but we were not told why until we broke from the Plexus an hour ago.”
“Where are we going, Esten? Qural did not tell us earlier, for obvious security reasons, but I presume you have a destination?”
Orendala looked at her, taken by surprise that she did not know.
“Fells Moll,” he said.
Hesset felt a sudden, pronounced sense of relief. The lush, tropical planet where Qural’s ancestral home stood had long been one of Hesset’s favorite places; a quiet, even opulent haven where she could feel at peace again. It would be a mere day’s travel for Zalis, Prehta and the children, too. Just a week earlier, she would not have been able to imagine it, but Hesset Alar’s life would soon return to normal. The others would enjoy Fells Moll as well. She imagined taking them all on a boat ride down the Darouin River, drifting leisurely through rock spires draped with blue leaf blossoms, fragrant in the evenings as the warm breezes wander up the valley.
“It seems excessive to pull a cruiser off the line for a simple, courier retrieval, does it not?”
“It did, at first. But when the Grand Admiral himself called me, accompanied by Ambassador Embree, we did not question it.”
“I am glad it was you they sent to bring us home, Esten.”
Orendala smiled and said, “That is as it should be, Hesset.”
After the short walk from the docking bay, they rode a lift several decks up, then along a dimly lit companionway to their cabins.
“I am afraid you will find the accommodations rather bland, but we have tried to make them as comfortable for you as we can,” said Orendala.
As it was at the hotel in Tevem, each was shown to their own cabin while Banen and Theriani were given one of their own. Orendala pointed farther down the passageway to where a sub-lieutenant stood at a counter that held three vid monitors and a stack of info discs.
“That is the Master at Arms of the Deck; his station is manned at all times. If you need anything, inform him and he will make the necessary arrangements.”
“We will be quite comfortable, Esten.”
Hesset had spent many days and nights aboard naval warships; she didn’t need to be reminded the Master at Arms station was manned around the clock. He hadn’t said it, but Orendala’s words were a mild warning. He spoke them to Hesset, but they were aimed at Rantara. She couldn’t blame him, but it worried her that the crew’s inherent distrust of Khorrans would spur a confrontation. Rantara could do considerable damage if she felt threatened and Hesset knew better than to leave it to chance.
“Esten, the Khorran female is a friend; she gave up everything she had to help us complete our mission.”
Orendala said nothing.
“I realize how it must seem to you, and also to the members of your crew, but she is not a security risk or a threat.”
“I have briefed my crew, Hesset; they will not cause your Khorran any difficulty.”
“Thank you, but I am not certain you fully understand. The Sergeant is unlike any other I have ever met, Khorran or Anash. Her physical strength and capacity for extreme, brutal violence is beyond description. I cannot explain to you why she is with us because our mission is not yet complete, but your crew will look and see only a hated enemy. They will be hard-pressed not to show their feelings against Khorrans because it is a natural response for our people. If they provoke her, intentionally or otherwise, she will kill them without a thought. I cannot stress this enough, Esten, the Sergeant is the most lethal, dangerous person I have ever known and...”
“Hesset, my crew is disciplined and professional; they will not disobey my orders.”
“Thank you, Esten. I only wish to avoid unnecessary troubles.”
“You do not need to explain; we have known each other far too long for that.”
Hesset smiled and Orendala showed her into her cabin.
“I think you are familiar with everything here?”
“Yes,” she replied with a grin, “It is almost like coming home.”
She paused, waiting for a crewman to finish laying out extra bed linens. When he withdrew from the cabin, she looked at Orendala.
“The frigate Arenelus; what became of them?”
Orendala spun around and said, “How do you know of the Arenelus?”
Hesset looked away.
“I cannot say, Esten; that is still classified.”
“So is the Arenelus incident,” he whispered. “They were sent to retrieve you from Sepece, you know.”
Hesset knew at once Orendala had not been fully briefed. Incredibly, he didn’t understand what had happened to her.
“I apologize. I should not have mentioned it.”
Orendala looked down and said, “Since they returned, the Admiralty has kept them in quarantine somewhere. We have heard rumors they were attacked by Khorrans who also infected them with a plague, or virus, intended to become an uncontrollable contagion – the ultimate biological weapon. No one has been granted access to them and we are under strict orders not to discuss it.”
“A virus?” Hesset said.
“We are not certain, but the rumors persist, so it is at least plausible.”
She could not speak of her part in the Arenelus attack, and the restraint she was compelled to honor brought a profound regret. Why, Hesset wondered, had Qural made no mention of an attack she must surely have known about?
“Thank you, Esten,” she said as calmly as she could. “I am sure this will sort itself out over time.”
She offered a thin smile, but it was unclear if Orendala saw past the façade. He turned to her once more.
“I am sure it will, but for the moment, we must get you to Fells Moll.”
She looked up.
“How long?” she asked.
“Fourteen hours,” he replied.
“That is impossible. We would have to transit through several threads to reach Fells from this far out,” she said.
Orendala heard the astonishment in her voice, but he hesitated to speak.
“Esten, I realize a cruiser of this class has exceptional speed, but nothing can go that fast. I would expect three days at a minimum.”
“Not anymore.” He said.
She stood and walked close to him.
“The threads are static, Esten, I know you cannot accelerate within them.”
Orendala said nothing.
“Esten?”
Still he said nothing.
“What magic can you work that defies the laws of physics?”
“That too, is classified, unfortunately.”
She smiled and said, “Of course.”
After showers and a change of clothes, they dined with Orendala in his stateroom. Hesset feared the occasion would invite awkward moments, but it went far better than she could have expected. As details and recent events could not be discussed, Hesset and Orendala recalled more enjoyable moments from the past, when they were younger and at the beginning of their careers. The talk was light, but always drawn from other times. Hesset was grateful the war, Bera Nima and the Arenelus incident had been discretely left out. The others listened politely until, at last, evening’s end sent them to their cabins.
Norris finished changing into a soft jumpsuit that reminded him of the expensive pajamas wealthy people buy for their children. Even from the wide view port, it was impossible to see along the side of the ship’s hull – to admire its contours and sheer size. Instead, he fumbled with a vid monitor installed flush into the bulkhead, searching for access to the external cameras; even a remote view of the ship’s hull was better than a dark, blank screen, he thought. It wasn’t working. Only a scrolling menu in illegible Anashi characters could be found. He decided at last to ask the Master at Arms at his station just outside.
The cabin door slid open at the very moment Rantara reached to knock. It startled Norris just a little, but he recovered quickly.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said in as playful a tone as he could manage.
“I want to talk to you,” she said.
Norris motioned her inside and she sat carefully on his bunk. He watched her for a moment, expecting her to speak. Instead, she looked only at the treaded deck plate at her feet. Norris leaned against the bulkhead at a jaunty angle.
“What have I done this time? You’re not going to tear my arm off and beat me to death with it, are you?”
She glanced at him and said, “No jokes, Darrien.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
Rantara stood again, walking slowly to the view port. Outside, the ship’s track had taken them parallel to one of the larger Sannaran moons, bathing the compartment in its cool, blue light.
“Have they told you where we’re going?” she asked.
“No,” Norris replied, “I think Hesset knows, but she’s not saying.”
“Will they try to help get you home to your world in human space?”
Her voice had changed, he noticed. She spoke softly, like she had in the attack ship as they fled Kalarive.
“I don’t know,” he answered, standing next to her at the view port. “It might be too far anyway – maybe the time and distance have made it impossible now.”
“What then?” she continued. “If you are to stay here in this place – in this time, what will you do?”
“I hadn’t thought about it, really. I had to survive before I could worry about that.”
Rantara looked away. In a second, Norris saw the injury and regretted the words.
“I didn’t mean it that way, Onallin… I meant the whole time – from the crash on that desert planet to…”
She held up a hand.
“It’s alright – I understand.”
He looked again at the Sannaran moon, almost motionless in the blackness of space as they passed by.
“I guess it’s something I had better think about now. I have to get used to it, I suppose… I’m still alone here and…”
Without a word, she turned and pulled Norris slowly to her. It startled him a little, but he did not resist.
He wasn’t sure if it was an instinctive reaction, but in the end, he didn’t care. Rantara placed both hands gently to Norris’ face and kissed him softly. The moment was inescapable and it held them in time until she pressed her forehead gently against his and whispered, “You’re not alone. Not anymore.”
She stood away, but her eyes never left his. He watched as she pulled the loose-fitting jumpsuit from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Rantara stood naked before him, unmoving and unashamed. Norris took a deep breath but said nothing. The strange, metallic qualities of her skin gleamed copper, with beautiful streaks of silver on her shoulders, breasts and thighs. Her shape was that of a human woman, but he could not remember ever seeing one so lovely. Still he could not speak, and he could not move. Rantara waited, unsure of his blank expression.
