Between Darkness and Light (96 page)

“Try leaving me,” he said.

“Jurrel, I'll need you on the backup vessel. I need those who've had experience of dealing with the Valtegans, not the Primes, with me. I'll brief you when I have more details, but for now, you leave with us.”

Jurrel nodded.

“There's two other additions to the team,” said Kaid, “but I didn't invite them here for obvious reasons. We're taking Ashay and Shaayiyisis, the Sumaan Captain. The
Couana
normally has three Sumaan crewing for it, we're going to take two. They're fast and they're heavy fighters, and they've been training with us. I reckon they can give a very good account of themselves if need be.”

Garras nodded. “Some muscle on our side makes sense, especially considering the speed and strength of even the Primes.”

“If Stronghold has the 'port guarded against us, how are we going to get to the Couana?” asked Rezac.

“It'll come to us,” grinned Kaid. “We need to be packed in two days so Toueesut can take our gear on his aircar to load onto the
Couana
when he goes to pick it up. He'll arrive here at dawn on the sixteenth and we'll have to be waiting as we won't have long to get on board before Stronghold realizes what's happening. We want to avoid any confrontations with them.”

“You haven't said where we going yet,” said T'Chebbi.

“We believe Kezule is on one of the old outposts, a major one, near the Prime world,” said Kaid, getting to his feet. “I have a map but we need to run it through the
Couana
's nav comp to make sense of it, and we haven't been able to do that yet as the
Couana
has been at the 'port getting serviced. We have no idea how long we'll be away, so pack accordingly. All our preparations will need to be done covertly, and I'm sure I've no need to remind you that nothing we've said here must be repeated.”

“Why such tight security, Kaid?” asked Garras. “Surely among our own there's nothing to fear?”

Kaid looked at Carrie before speaking. “Kusac was sent on this mission specifically at the request of the Clan Lord, his father,” he said reluctantly when she gave a slight nod. “If he hears we're preparing to leave ...” He left the rest unsaid.

“My father sent him?” said Kitra, her voice full of disbelief. “He asked Kusac to go and meet Kezule, knowing what he did to Dzaka and Kashini?”

“He did it on behalf of our government,” said Dzaka as the others rose to leave.

“I don't care!” she exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes. “How could my father do that to him! Kaid, we're going with you! You'll not leave us behind, not now I know this!”

Kaid sent to his son and Carrie, asking them to calm Kitra down as he showed the others out. When he returned, the situation was no easier with both of them now sitting in angry silence.

“We're going,” said Dzaka determinedly. “We've scores to settle with Kezule for one thing. You'll not leave me behind, Father, not this time.”

“I can't take you,” said Kaid, sitting back down in his chair. “Besides, Kusac may be on good terms with Kezule, we don't need personal grudges clouding the situation.”

Dzaka snorted contemptuously. “You know me better than that. You want your best fighters, and you know how good I am. You have no excuse for leaving me.”

“What of Kitra? Have you thought of her? She's ...”

“Don't you dare call me a kitling,” snarled Kitra angrily, hair and tail bushing out as her ears began to fold sideways in anger. “I've been training with Dzaka whenever I've been able, and you know I share his knowledge and skills!”

“But not his experience,” said Kaid gently, leaning forward toward her. “It's too great a ...”

“How am I to get experience if I don't go on missions? And you can't just stop Dzaka from doing them because of me! I have to go, Kaid! My father had no right to send Kusac. I need to go to right that wrong!”

“He had every right to send him, unfortunately,” said Kaid.

“Let them come, Tallinu,” said Carrie suddenly, getting up and heading over to the hot plate for a drink. “They're both right, we can't leave them. It was bad enough for Dzaka when you were taken by Ghezu, never mind what happened to us on the
Kz'adul
. As for Kitra, she may only be fifteen, but she proved what kind of spirit she has when she joined Dzaka as Kezule's captive. If she's old enough to have a Leska, be married, and have a cub, she's old enough to go with us.”

“Carrie!” exclaimed Kaid. “Kusac will skin me alive if I take her!”

“And I will if you don't,” she said, turning round to look at him with a feral grin. “So take your choice.”

“Thank you, Carrie!” exclaimed Kitra, bouncing over to hug her, tail swaying excitedly.

“Don't thank me, kitling, you have no idea what going on a mission involves,” she said dryly, returning the hug. “And don't expect to be in the front line! You'll go where you're told, hear me?”

“Yes, Carrie!”

“And no matter how angry you are, you say nothing to your parents. I suggest you two go and pack what you need under the pretext of staying with us for a few days and move in here till we leave. Less chance of anything going wrong.”

“On our way now, Carrie,” said Dzaka, grinning, as they got up and left before Kaid could contradict her.

“This is insane, Carrie,” said Kaid, “Taking a child with us like that! Who'll look after the cubs if they go? We've no idea what we're facing, you know that, don't you? There's still the threat of war hanging over us all.”

“Kitra will be as safe with us as she would be here, in that case,” she said unrepentantly, coming back with her coffee. “As for the cubs, I'm sure Taizia and Meral would be happy to stay here with them. Forget Kitra for a moment. Dzaka needs to be with you, he needs to know you want him beside you this time, Tallinu. You can't leave him behind again, he deserves to go, and would if it wasn't for her.”

“I know,” he admitted. “But ...”

“How good is Dzaka?” she interrupted, curling up on the sofa again.

“The best. He should be, I trained him myself.”

“Are you saying he's not good enough to protect Kitra?”

“No, you know I'm not.”

“Leaving him says to the others that's what you think.”

He looked at her then got up and joined her on the sofa. “I'm not going to win, am I?” he asked, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

She shook her head. “Because you know I'm right.”

Banner was sitting at the desk in his room, fitting an energy cell into the small handheld device he'd constructed. That done, he pressed the power button. The screen lit up on cue. He had power, now to find out if he could patch it into the main engineering comp.

Methodically, using the keypad, he worked his way through the frequencies that were the most likely ones. At last, the screen suddenly filled with a rolling stream of data, signifying that he'd made the connection through the back door he'd programmed into the machine several weeks ago.

His device wasn't sophisticated, it was very much a string and sticky tape job, but with any luck, he'd be able to access many of the support systems that kept the outpost running. Before he was willing to test it, he needed to know if there was anyone logged in or if the system was jogging along in standby mode.

A few more keystrokes and he could see there was no activity at the controls. Checking his wrist comm, he saw it was now seventeenth hour—21:00 in station time—too early to do much more than a quick and dirty test. Pressing the keys again, he programmed in a short blackout to start in two minutes and last for three, then sat and waited to see what would happen.

On the dot, the lights flickered, faded, then died. Switching off his device, he stuck it in his pocket and turned on the backlight of his wrist comm, watching the time. Outside in the corridor, he could hear doors opening and voices exclaiming loudly. Again, right on time, the lights came back on.

Pleased, he pulled the desk drawer out and tipping the contents on the desk, taped the device to the underside before replacing it in its runners. This was much easier, and far less traceable than the few times he'd hacked his room's vid com unit. With his hand, he swept the assorted bits and pieces back into the drawer, stopping when he saw the piece of frayed rope he'd used to bind Kusac with several days before.

Picking it up, he examined the raw edges again, still puzzled as to how Kusac had managed to get free. He'd felt no rough edges on the bed frame when he'd tied the knots, but it didn't mean there had been none. Looking more closely this time, he noticed that amid the frayed ends were a couple of strands that looked fused, as if heat or friction had been applied to them. How the hell had Kusac rubbed the rope fast enough to cause friction burns on it without him noticing his movements?

Baffled, he put it back in the drawer—even more baffling than that was Kusac's reaction to last night. He'd have expected him to have been angry, but he'd shown no reaction except distress at the time. Mind, considering the drugs had made him amenable in the extreme, he wouldn't have been able to feel anger till the effects had worn off. Still, all things considered, Kusac had taken it too well in his opinion. And as for refusing the tests ... He supposed he could understand that, but it was still strange that he'd turn down the opportunity to find out who it had been— unless he really was too embarrassed, or he was protecting someone.

Thoughtfully, he leaned back in his seat. The female who came to mind first was Doctor Zayshul, but she'd arrived with Kezule so that was unlikely. He hadn't seen Kusac actually take an interest in any of the other females, unless Dzaou was to be believed about the incident in the corridors with Zhalmo, one of Kezule's daughters. Unfortunately, everything Dzaou said was suspect because of his determination to show Kusac up as unfit to command the group.

His wrist comm buzzed, interrupting his thoughts.

“Yes, Jayza,” he asked, answering the call.

“You were going to join us in the rec,” said the youth. “The Captain's already here. It's quiet tonight, we were going to start up a card game.”

“On my way,” he said, getting up.

As he approached the iris just before the rec room, he heard low, angry voices, female ones, and instinctively ducked back into the residential side corridor that mirrored their own. Out of their sight, he strained his ears forward trying to make out what they were saying. At the same time he dug in his pouch for a coin he could drop as an alibi if he needed it.

The voices were too low for him to hear them clearly, and even when he edged closer, he could only catch the odd word. He did, however hear the last hiss of displeasure and the footsteps as one of them headed off down the corridor. He hovered there, unsure whether or not to wait for the other one to leave when he heard the second female start walking and the door of the rec open then close.

Sprinting through the opening, he glanced down the corridor but it was already empty. There had barely been time for her to make it to the next corridor junction, therefore it was likely her quarters were up there. He hurried into the rec, hoping at least to catch sight of the other female. Only one, Zhalmo, was on her feet and threading her way through the tables to the bar. Was Kezule somehow involved in this?

He acknowledged Jayza's gesture of greeting with an ear flick and made for the bar himself, running through his mind what he'd heard. Something about scents that they, the Sholans, couldn't smell—which was not news—and M'kou, Zhalmo's brother.

He nodded politely to Zhalmo as she looked round when he joined her at the bar.

“Lieutenant,” she said, with a smile.

“I was wondering where M'kou was,” he said as the male behind the bar began to pour an ale for her.

“He's off duty tonight,” she said. “Spending some time with Lazaik for a change. Is something wrong? Can I help you?”

He shook his head. “No, nothing that can't wait till tomorrow. I didn't know M'kou had a partner.”

“Oh, yes, for some time now,” she confirmed. “One of the civilians we brought with us.” Smiling politely, she turned back to take her drink then headed over to a table where her sister sat with some friends.

Carrying his drink, he made his way over to join the others, wondering if perhaps he was sniffing at the wrong scent. Maybe Zhalmo was just being protective of her brother. Kusac was the only one who could tell any of the Primes apart by scent alone, and if he'd been too drugged to be able to recognize her scent again, then unless she gave herself away to them, identifying the female responsible was virtually impossible.