Dark Horse (32 page)

“I donʼt think, I know. He lied to her, took her somewhere other than the meeting room, told her you werenʼt expecting her. Why donʼt you people have lenses in the passageways?”

The last sentence was almost howled out.

Dav knew Sazo knew why. Decided bringing up the Privacy Laws that had come into being at the end of the thinking system wars was probably unwise.

“Can you open a comm for me to Admiral Hoke? So I can find out whatʼs going on?” Dav guessed Sazo had shut down everything but the vital systems for survival.

“Itʼs open. But hurry. Heʼs had her nearly ten minutes, now.”

Something in Dav kicked into gear. A fear and a cold desperation. If Valu had her, what the hell was he doing with her?

The finger he lifted to tap his ear comm was unsteady. “Admiral Hoke. We have a problem.”

“Iʼm aware. Whatʼs going on, Jallan?”

“Sazo says Rose has be abducted by Admiral Valu. He is . . . upset.”

“Valu.” The admiral was quiet a moment. Too long, as far as Dav was concerned.

“What is it?” His voice was harsh and demanding, and he didnʼt care.

“Valu paid Councilor Fu-tama a visit a few hours ago. And now Fu-tama is dead.” Hoke spoke slowly. “I didnʼt want to connect the two, but heʼs angry with the way Battle Center and the government are planning to deal with the thinking systems. He expressed a loud view that they must either be destroyed or re-caged.”

Dav tried to make sense of it. “Why would he take Rose? What would he gain?”

There was silence, and it took him a moment to realize Sazo had cut him off from Hoke.

“I can guess what heʼd gain.” Sazoʼs voice was quiet. “He wants her to tell him what we look like. So we can be destroyed.” Sazo turned on a light up ahead and Dav ran toward it. He wondered why he seemed to be on the only one in the passageway.

The light path led to a tube.

“They went down in a tube. I can hear it when I review the last five minutes on Roseʼs earpiece.”

The tube opened and Dav stepped inside. “Which level?”

“The sound indicates three floors down.”

Dav thought the tube went faster than usual. Good. Let Sazo do whatever he needed to do.

“Now?” He stepped out into another empty corridor.

“I donʼt know.” Sazo flicked on a light in either direction, and again, the corridors were completely empty.

“Where is everyone?”

“I switched off the passage lights, left on lights in rooms, and when everyone stepped in, I closed and locked the doors. Iʼm afraid I wonʼt be letting anyone out until Rose is found, I donʼt trust anyone enough. Youʼll have to do this alone.”

He left aside the fact that this meant Sazo trusted him. “So Valu could be locked in somewhere with Rose?”

“If he was already in a room, or followed the light.”

“He wouldnʼt follow the light. Heʼd know it was a trap.” Especially as he knew Sazo would react to Rose being missing. No, if Valu was up to something, he would be careful.

But he may still be trapped in a room somewhere. Doing something to Rose.

He had to push past the fear or he would be useless.

He took a deep breath. “Valu would have disabled the speakers and the lenses if there were any in the room he chose, so you canʼt hear them or see them. What does that leave?”

The feeling that this was all taking too long gripped him in a punishing hold.

“They were in a meeting room further along this passage, but then they moved and I lose the scent outside the recycle chamber.”

“Their scent?”

“You were right, if I canʼt see or hear them, that leaves smelling them, using the gas safety probes set in the ceiling. And there is one thing I do know, and thatʼs the chemical signature of Roseʼs scent.”

“Yuiar,” he breathed. He set his shockgun to maximum and ran, Sazo lighting the way.

S
he came slowly back
to consciousness to the sound of swearing.

She had died.

She had died, and it had
hurt
.

It still did.

And strangely enough, the afterlife seemed to stink.

She was in darkness, but someone was moving around, stumbling into things. It sounded like Admiral Valu, so perhaps she wasnʼt actually dead.

She only wished she was.

Sheʼd survived a deadly shockgun blast.

Looked like she really
was
an orange. No matter what the Grih thought of the term, sheʼd never feel bothered at hearing it again.

Although she was bothered by the putrid stench around her.

Valu had taken her to the refuse bay, most likely. Not a place sheʼd had cause to visit on either the Class 5, or the
Barrist,
but the smell was telling her it couldnʼt be anywhere else.

About half a dozen movies came to mind where the heroes escaped the bad guys by floating out of the refuse bay like so much detritus. Valu had obviously had a similar idea. Put her into a waste receptacle, and bye-bye blight on the Grih race.

Only, did the Grih float their rubbish out into space? She thought . . . she thought they recycled everything.

So this wasnʼt a refuse bay, so much as a recycling chamber.

And maybe she wasnʼt going to be pushed out into space——not something sheʼd survive outside of a pod or a spacesuit anyway——but instead burned to a little crisp, or chopped up, or something equally unsurvivable.

And why was she lying down, thinking this through? Why wasnʼt she crawling off to hide somewhere?

She lifted her arm. Or rather, tried to. Her muscles just werenʼt obeying her brain.

Scrambled. She was scrambled, and Valu was coming closer.

Only, she realized, heʼd lost her in the dark. He swore again as he bashed into something, muttering about her being somewhere close.

She could see nothing, the darkness was absolute. Surely Valu wouldnʼt have chosen this option if he couldnʼt see to carry it out.

He would have brought a light, or . . .

Sazo.

It had to be.

Heʼd feel nothing about cutting the lights to a ship full of people to slow Valu down. She bet the power was off, too, so hopefully whatever chopping or burning or recycling Valu had planned for her dead body wouldnʼt be switching on anytime soon.

Her brain had a little time in hand to unscramble itself.

She drifted for a while, even though she knew she shouldnʼt, that she should be fighting her body to respond. Hiding out of sight at the very least.

She couldnʼt seem to find the urgency sheʼd felt when sheʼd first come to.

It had been overcome by the stench and slunk off, probably.

She smiled at the ridiculous thought, and then blinked in reaction to the fact that she
could
smile. That her face had actually moved.

Valu was getting closer, but she could hardly bring him down with a smile. Especially one he couldnʼt even see.

Then he went still, and Rose realized there was at last a little light from somewhere over Valuʼs shoulder.

In the faint glow, she saw him turn around, shockgun raised.

“Whoʼs there?”

Silence.

She drifted off, and then her heart leapt in her chest as she realized she didnʼt know how much time had passed. When she looked up, it was to find Valu standing right over her.

He was staring at her in horror.

And there it was again, the whining, buzzing sound of a shockgun ready to go off.

If she could have spoken, she would have begged him not to shoot her again. It had hurt so, so much.

The sound of running filtered through her panic, and Valu lifted the gun. She made a strangled, animal sound of relief that it wasnʼt pointed at her anymore.

He flicked his gaze down at her, and then back up.

“Jallan. I should have known.”

“That Iʼd be here to protect Rose on my own ship? Yes, you should have known. And what in the four worlds are you doing?” He sounded very, very cross. She tried to smile again in happiness just because she could hear his voice, even though she couldnʼt see him.

“Prevention is better than cure. I donʼt want to see us sucked into the vortex of war again. This little girl has already started us down the path. The Tecran fleet destroyed in our territory? How is that going to play out? How can the Tecran let that go?”

“That wasnʼt Rose, and you know it. She had nothing to do with any of this. This is our own past coming back to bite us in the rear, and our rivalry with the Tecran coming to a head. Rose had absolutely nothing to do with any of that.” He must be standing behind her and to the left. She tried to turn her head but lip movement and blinking seemed to be all she was good for at the moment.

“Maybe so,” Valu looked down at her again. “But she has somehow wrangled herself into a position of too much power. She can make or break a member nation by her allegiance.”

“And she had aligned herself with
us
.”

“For now. But I know she doesnʼt like Hoke, or your explorations officer. How long until someone offered her a better deal, whatever she wanted, and she took the bait? No good can come of having a free agent with the deciding power. Itʼs better if sheʼs out of the equation altogether.”

“Hevalonʼs Law,” Dav murmured.

“Yes.” Valu pointed a finger. “We take out the unpredictable factor.”

“Thatʼs where youʼve gone wrong, Admiral.” Sazoʼs voice came over the comm. Calm. Steady. “You can never take out the unpredictable factor.”

The lights flooded on, and Rose had to squint against them.

“Actually,” Valu dropped the gun downward, pointing it right at her abdomen. “I can.”

And then he shot her.

Again.

W
hen she woke up
, it was to soft white covers and a delicious warmth.

Maybe sheʼd died for real this time, and this was some beautiful after-life.

Except she didnʼt think youʼd need the bathroom really badly in the after-life, having left the mortal plane, and all that.

She could move everything, this time around, so maybe sheʼd been out a little longer.

Or actually had some medical help.

She pulled herself up, feeling her muscles protest, but at least they obeyed her.

She was in a real room. Or that was the impression she got. Not on a ship of any kind, but in a house on a planetʼs surface.

There was no constant, underlying hum of engines, and the air was different. Better.

But it wasnʼt the balmy air of Harmon.

It was cooler. Crisp.

She swung her legs off the bed, and staggered to the bathroom, and while she was in there, couldnʼt resist stripping out of the strange sleep-shirt she had on and taking a hot, soapy shower.

When she stepped back into the room, swathed in towels and glowing pink, Dav Jallan was sitting on her bed.

Or maybe it was his bed.

“You took two fatal hits from a shockgun and survived,” he said. She thought he looked tired, but there was amusement on his face, too.

She made a scoffing sound. “We Earthlings arenʼt lightweights. Please.” She made bring-it gestures with her hands. “We can take anything you lot dish out.”

“You certainly arenʼt lightweights.” He tried to smile and then, as he stood, all amusement faded. He bowed his head, clenched his fists. “When I saw him shoot——” He shook.

She stepped toward him, slipped her arms around his waist.

“Shh. I wonʼt say it didnʼt hurt. It did.” She paused, and then shuddered at the thought of it. “It really, really did.”

She ran a hand up his back, sliding her fingers over his neck and into his hair, and shivered with pleasure at the smooth, warm feel of his skin beneath her fingertips.

“But Iʼm an orange, and that means some of the rules donʼt apply to me. Valu forgot that, and thatʼs a good thing.”

He bent his head, nuzzled her neck. “Youʼre quite the sensation on the four planets. And beyond.”

She groaned, moved a little closer. “Sensation how?”

“Comms of you singing on the
Barrist
in the debriefing room, and another of the song you sang when you landed in the launch bay have become the most watched comms in history. Youʼre a cultural treasure.”

She buried her face in his shirt, held him a little tighter. “That might be a little difficult to get used to.”

He huffed into her hair.

She mentally pushed the thought of fame away, tried to deal with her current problems. “Whereʼs Sazo? And where am I, come to that?”

“Sazo is hovering in space directly above us, with weapons hot. And weʼre on Calianthra, my home planet. At my house. After Havak got you stabilized, Sazo threatened a number of dire consequences if you werenʼt transferred over to the Class 5 with me as escort, and then demanded we go to my place, because he apparently knows how much you like being off a spaceship, and he wanted you to recover somewhere that would help you feel better.”

She looked over his shoulder for any sign of an earpiece, saw it on the bedside table, and stretched past Dav to grab it, screwed it into her ear.

“Thank you, Sazo.”

“Youʼre all right?” He sounded more like Dav today.

“Iʼm all right. Surprisingly good, given how I felt when I came to the first time.”

“When was that?”

“In the recycle place. I could hear Valu looking for me in the dark, then you came,” she tipped her head back to look at Dav. “How did you know where I was?”

He touched her ear. “Sazo figured it out.”

“Of course. Heʼs Sherlock Holmes incarnate.”

Sazo laughed. “When you take away everything that isnʼt possible, then you have to work with whateverʼs left.”

Rose bit her lip. Was that right? She couldnʼt remember what she had or hadnʼt told him regarding Sherlockʼs methods, was sure that was slightly off the original meaning, but . . . she shrugged. What the hell?

“What was left?”

“We couldnʼt see you, couldnʼt hear you, but thanks to the safety gas probes set at two meter intervals in the ceiling, I could smell you.”

She laughed. “You sniffed me out. How could you even do that in that stinky place?”

“We sniffed you up to the door of the recycle chamber. There was nowhere else Valu could have taken you.”

“And Valu himself? Whereʼs he?”

“In a cell. Heʼs been charged with the murder of Councilor Fu-tama and his attempted murder of you.” Davʼs hands came to rest on the flare of her hips, and got a firm grip.

“I could hear you both arguing with him, and then that bastard shot me again.”

“Heʼll have plenty of time to regret that.” Dav ran a finger down her cheek. “Iʼm just sorry I didnʼt shoot him before he had a chance to shoot you.”

“That would have been nice.” She kissed his chin. “It really hurt. Did I mention that?”

His laugh was strangled. “I honestly donʼt know how you can joke about it. It was full strength, Rose. Full strength. Overkill for someone of your size. There should be no way you can possibly be standing.”

“You keep complaining I weigh a ton. Guess that helped me.” She paused.

“I wonʼt ever complain again.” He whispered into her ear. Then something from his pocket jangled and squawked.

She jerked back.

“Battle Center,” he said with no affection, looking down at the screen heʼd pulled out. “They want me to bring you to a mobile conference facility theyʼve set up outside the boundary Sazo gave them.”

“Theyʼve hailed me, too.” Sazo sounded as annoyed as Dav. “Theyʼve been monitoring Rose since we brought her here from the edge of the no-go zone I set up. They know sheʼs on her feet and they want to talk to her.”

“Canʼt a girl get dressed and have a cup of grinabo, first?”

“A girl can do whatever she wants until sheʼs ready.” Sazoʼs voice was cold. “And Captain Jallan, she will not be leaving this house with you. I canʼt protect her if sheʼs surrounded by Battle Center staff and whoever else has some power on the four Grihan worlds. If you have to go to them, thatʼs up to you, but Rose stays here.”

Rose felt infected with the chill in his words. “What do they want? Why are they in such a hurry to talk to me?”

“They want to know where they stand. What threat Sazo and Bane pose to them, not to mention the other three Class 5s.” Dav thumbed his handheld off without answering it.

“But thatʼs between them and Sazo, itʼs nothing to do with me.” She looked upward, even though Sazo couldnʼt see her. “Why didnʼt they talk to you while I was unconscious?”

“Because I wouldnʼt answer them.” Sazo made the sound of someone clearing their throat, and despite it all, Rose had to grin.

“Why not?”

“Iʼve decided to make you my representative. You can read them better than I can.”

She was so surprised, she was silent for a long moment.

“Rose. Was that okay?” He asked the question in English.

“Itʼs okay. I was just taken aback, thatʼs all. You are more than capable of dealing with them, Sazo. Donʼt underestimate yourself.”

“I want to include you. Want them to see you have some power. That you arenʼt to be pushed to the side.” He paused. “Because itʼs true. You do have power. I need you to help me keep balanced, Rose.”

“Thank you, Sazo.” She spoke softly, and Dav kept his hands on her, his fingers gently stroking her as she spoke in a language he didnʼt understand, his eyes half-closed, as if he was simply enjoying the sound of it. “Iʼll be happy to go in to bat for you. Thatʼs what side-kicks do.”

She made a face of apology to Dav, switched to Grihan. “Do you know what theyʼll want from us? What would be reasonable for Sazo and I to ask for?”

Dav nodded. “Theyʼll want to know if you plan to align with the Grih or set yourselves up as neutral. If youʼre neutral, youʼll have to move out of Grihan territory, and into non-UC areas.”

“And if we do align with the Grih? What would they want as proof of goodwill?”

He shrugged. “They havenʼt told me that, havenʼt told me anything since I left my post on the
Barrist
and brought you to Calianthra. But I think itʼs safe to say they may underestimate you. Theyʼre still trying to get their heads around the fact that youʼre an orange. Perhaps go in with the view that they may insult you with their assumptions, and try not to be too offended. They havenʼt figured out yet that youʼre something completely unknown.”

Rose sighed. “Let me get dressed. Have something to eat, and then letʼs get this over with, then.”

“You sure?” Dav smoothed her hair back from her forehead.

“No.” She tightened her grip on his shoulders. “But waiting would be worse.”

He looked at her, his face serious. “Iʼll make you some grinabo, get some breakfast for you. Your clothes are in that cupboard.”

She watched him go, then pulled out some of her hyr fabric clothes.

Something occurred to her. “Whereʼs Bane?”

“Heʼs around,” Sazo said. “Close enough to hail, far enough away the Grih donʼt consider him a threat. Heʼs decided heʼs neutral to everyone but the Tecran, who heʼs hostile to, and me and you, who heʼs allied to.”

“And the other Class 5? The one shooting at you?”

“I donʼt know.” Sazo went quiet. “Every time he shot at me, I responded by sending my file of all my interactions with you to him.”

“Our interactions?”

“You singing to me. Talking to me. To help him wake up.”

Rose pulled on her trousers, then spent some time shaping her bra.

“I had no idea how wonderful hyr fabric was until now. I just thought it was overpriced because it was rare.”

She looked up, saw Dav leaning against the doorjamb, grinabo and a plate of toast in his hands, wearing an appreciative look.

She grinned. “It does the job.”

“Hmm.” He put the mug and plate down on a small desk, walked over to her. Cupped her breasts in his hands.

“If you want to pretend some neutrality when it comes to Rose, Captain, I should warn you the scan equipment your government is using to monitor Rose will also be able to pick up what youʼre doing right now.”

Dav dropped his hands, but bent his head, stopping with his lips just a whisper from her own.

“I think the pretense of neutrality disappeared when Admiral Hoke watched me pick up Rose over Dr. Havakʼs protests and got into that craft you sent over without discussing it with her, without any argument whatsoever.”

She placed a finger between their lips. “Iʼm sorry, Dav. Will you be in trouble?”

He shrugged. “I wonʼt say I wonʼt be sorry if I am, but I donʼt regret anything, except not getting to you sooner.” He stepped back. “But they donʼt get to spy on us together, either.”

Rose pulled her shirt on, then tipped her head. “They should be groveling at your feet. Youʼve developed good personal relations with two new life forms on behalf of the Grih.”

“Something tells me Admiral Hoke doesnʼt quite see it that way.”

“Admiral Hoke,” Rose gave a last, firm tug of her shirt, “has consistently failed to understand that I am not simply a cuter, cuddlier version of the Grih, but something completely different. Perhaps itʼs time I bring that point home.”

Dav gave her a long look. “And what if you canʼt do that? What if the terms are unacceptable?”

She rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes, because sheʼd been desperately trying not to think of that, herself.

“I donʼt know. But weʼll work something out.”

He ran his hand down the length of her back. “I hope we can.”