Morgan's Choice (17 page)

She leapt to her feet. “Jones.”

He beamed at her. “Hello, Selwood. Welcome to
Krystor.”

She sagged back down into the chair. Dammit,
her legs wouldn’t support her yet.

Jones took a step forward, hand out. “Are you
okay?”

“As well as could be expected. I was drugged,
you know.”

“Ah. They said you reacted rather badly. I’m
sorry. We didn’t mean you any harm. In fact, we want your
cooperation.” He sat in a chair opposite her and thrust out his
legs.

“
By ‘we’ I guess you mean
Bunyada
. If you
wanted my cooperation, why not just ask me?”

“We couldn’t, could we? The way you were
embedded with the military.”

Embedded. If he only knew. “Look, Jones,
I’ve got to get back.
Bunyada
is one thing. This
Yogina
menace is something else again.”

He waved an airy hand. “No, no. None of
that’s true. It’s a plot by the military to distract people.”

Lace danced at his cuffs. Lace. Good grief.
He’d fitted right into this costume party. “No, it’s not. You’ve
seen the ships.”

“They’re Mirka experimental craft.”

“Are they? What about the ones they blew
away? Hiding the evidence?”

His face became grim. “I’ve listened to
both sides of this. You haven’t. Believe me, the Mirka are
manipulating everybody, using scare tactics to retain power.
The
Bunyada
people
showed me data they’d collected from the warship. And from the
military headquarters. Those ships we encountered are a new form of
fighter they’re developing, and the
Yogina
business is just a scare campaign, to keep everyone
beholden to the military.”

“Oh yes. Remember the ship that put down a
cable? Took us in tow?”

“Yes, but then it let go. It malfunctioned so
it was destroyed.”

“I’ve seen the body of one of the pilots,
Jones. They’re not manesa. And they’re not human. They look like
horrible, ugly, malformed children.”

He pressed his hands into the armrests and
leaned toward her. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe that’s what
it was? An ugly, malformed child’s body? Designed to fool you?”

He couldn’t really believe this spiel, could
he? “These things flattened a planet. I saw the evidence.”

He flicked a contemptuous hand. “You of all
people know how easy it is to doctor evidence. Besides, this is
exactly what we wanted when we tried to escape the first time. Get
somewhere else, off that ship, make a different life for ourselves.
Well, that’s happened. Here you are. They’ll pay you handsomely for
anything you turn your mind to.” He laughed at his own joke.

Something about him had changed. He wasn’t
listening, wasn’t prepared to believe anything else. Had he been
drugged? Brainwashed? Somehow, she didn’t think so. He’d cast his
lot with the Vesha.

“You can really do something to help these
folk.” He stood and started to pace, the high boots gleaming. “The
people here want to throw off the Mirka yoke and rule for
themselves. The Governor is a despot, a tyrant who permits no
opposition. People are suppressed. It’s wrong. The Mirka have no
pre-ordained right to rule. All manesa come from the same
stock.”

A speech. Somebody had a hand up his back.
Still, in a way he was right. This was their original plan, all
those weeks ago on
Vidhvansaka
. Get
somewhere else, make a different life for themselves. Might as well
listen. The only other option right now was Ravindra and that was
too uncomfortable to contemplate. Besides, what if Jones was right
about the military cover-up? She’d seen more than enough of that
sort of thing back home, working for Makasa. Maybe she’d been fed
an elaborate lie.

“Whatever. What is this place? This house?
And look at you, all dressed up with nowhere to go.”

He dropped into a chair and threw one leg
over the other. “This is how they dress here. The gentry, that is.
And I’m one of them. You will be, too. This house belongs to one of
the local Lords, Akbar Devagnam. Nice, isn’t it?”

How the gentry dressed; which meant it wasn’t
how the ordinary people lived.

“A bit over-the-top for my taste. So you’ve
fitted yourself into the Vesha hierarchy, have you?” Like he had
with Sayvu. Well, good luck to him.

“Yes, I have. And you will, too.”

“You keep saying that.”

“All they want to do is rule themselves.
Where’s the harm in that?”

“No harm. Just—I don’t give a shit. I don’t
want to be part of anybody’s revolution.” She could bet it wasn’t
going to involve the workers who enabled the upper classes to live
like this. One rule for the rich, another for the poor. That was
what Ravindra had said when he mentioned the ‘Vesha Princes’.

It would keep her away from Ravindra,
though, and that had to be good; didn’t it? She could help him with
the
Yogina
later.
But at a distance, not trapped in a battle cruiser where she was
just a distraction to him for as long as he could be bothered with
her. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. Really, why should she
care? Perhaps she should be thinking about number one
here.

“So exactly what do these people want from
me, Jones?”

He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his
head. “It’s not for me to say. They’ll tell you tomorrow.”

****

“
Asbarthi, sit down, sit down.”
Hai Sur
Akbar Devagnam perched on the
edge of his chair while Asbarthi settled himself in another. “Well?
What do you think?”

Asbarthi glanced over
Hai Sur
Akbar’s shoulder to the tall young woman
leaning, arms folded, against the wall beside the open doors to the
patio. Lakshmi wasn’t happy. But then Lakshmi was often unhappy. He
turned his attention back to her father.

“Jones says she’s tired but receptive. We
just need to show her the evidence. You’ll meet her tomorrow. She’s
resting, still recovering from the drugs.” He scowled at the
memory. “Idiots. Over-zealous fools. They gave her too much. If
she’d died . . .” They would have been begging for mercy before he
killed them.

“
I’d heard she was ill,”
Hai Sur
Akbar said. “What actually
happened?”

“We were lucky. She went down to Electra with
one of the teams and some of our people followed her. It seems a
building collapsed at just the right time and they were able to
steal her away. But then they filled her with sedatives.
Stupid.”

Lakshmi tossed her head. Her elaborate
earrings tinkled against her neck. “I still don’t see what you want
her for. A woman who is part machine? You’re just believing what
Jones tells you.”

Such a willful girl. Never mind, he could
tame her when they were married. “Oh, a little more than that. It
would seem Ravindra himself became involved. She spent most of her
time with the technical teams but he put her into a state room on
his flagship. Close to him. He would not do that without
reason.”

“
Huh. Maybe he lusts after her? He has a
reputation with the women—and for being eccentric. They say he has
a tattoo.” Her lips curled in distaste. “Imagine. A
Darya
with a tattoo. Maybe that’s why
they’ve relegated him out to the Union’s back-blocks.”

Asbarthi chuckled. “You’ll have a chance to
check that tattoo for yourself soon enough, Lakshmi. If the woman
can do what Jones says she can, and we recruit her talents to our
cause, Krystor will be just the beginning. The fleet will be unable
to stand in our way.”

He stood, his fist clenched. Yes, just the
beginning. He could be a king, an emperor ruling over a multitude
of planets.

Had the floor moved? Asbarthi’s fingers
gripped the arms of the chair he’d been sitting in, a brief rattle
of ornaments still ringing in his ears. Lakshmi spun around and
leapt through the doorway onto the patio.

Akbar rose to his feet, initial alarm fading
to a smile. “Just a tremor.” He stepped out to join his
daughter.

Asbarthi followed him, gazing over cultivated
lands and forests to the snow-capped peaks, currently obscured in
cloud. Much as he liked Krystor, he wouldn’t want to live here,
always in the shadow of the next adjustment of the geology.
“Strange that constantly snow-covered mountains can belch
fire.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad. We haven’t had a major
quake in decades. And the buildings can easily withstand these
minor shakes.” Akbar turned and leaned against the stone
balustrade. “Just one thing, Sitivan. I trust you will not allow
your personal vendetta with Ravindra to interfere with the greater
need? We really do not want the Fleet to intervene.”

Asbarthi met the other man’s eyes for just
a moment. “Ravindra’s fleet has a brief scheduled stopover, that is
all. He cannot intervene in planetary politics unless expressly
invited by the local Government. And that, of course, will not
happen.
Hai
Sur
Sayvu is waiting on
my call to join us. Ravindra will pay for the death of Sayvu’s
daughter. And my son.”

Chapter
Nineteen

It was, indeed, a magnificent hotel.
Someone had managed to restrain the Vesha owners so that instead of
the usual mismatched riot of color, the foyer almost merged into
the forest. Beautiful murals in greens and browns adorned the walls
and a fountain tinkled in the
center of a tiled floor under a high, domed ceiling. Potted
plants added to the illusion of a forest.

“Beautiful, Governor. I’m sure my officers
will be more than comfortable,” Ravindra said.

“Yes. It’s a lovely spot. I’ve been here in
happier times, walking the trails, admiring the waterfalls.” Fohrai
sighed. “Maybe another time.” He summoned a waiter moving through
the small crowd of officers and officials. “A drink?”

Ravindra took a silver-stemmed glass from a
golden tray that glowed in the soft lighting. Selwood. His head
filled with the scent of her, the feel of her skin, her body
against his. Perhaps he could have brought her with him. No. He’d
be back at the ship in a couple of hours at most.

His adjutant appeared suddenly at his elbow.
“My apologies, Admiral. Senior Commander Prasad wishes to speak
with you urgently.”

Ravindra handed his glass to Lindar and
afforded the Governor a bow. “Forgive me, Governor.”

“Of course.”

He strode to the main entrance where Prasad
waited just outside, his face expressionless. Hanestran was with
him; he looked nervous, swaying slightly from foot to foot. Odd.
Then again, maybe they’d found something important to nail down
whoever had done this. He exchanged bows with the officers.

Prasad cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to
disturb you,
Srimana
.” A
moment’s hesitation. “Admiral,
Suri
Selwood is missing.”

Ice trickled down Ravindra’s spine. “What do
you mean, she’s missing?”

Prasad stiffened even more. “We don’t know
where she is,
Srimana
.” His
Adam’s apple bobbed. “She went down to Electra with Hanestran’s
survey team.”

Ravindra swung around to Hanestran, anger
simmering. “You took her down to the planet? On whose
authority?”

Heads turned and just as quickly turned away.
The fountain murmured in the background.

Hanestran worked moisture into his lips
with his tongue. “She asked to come,
Srimana
. She said she’d asked you, that you’d
approved.”

Asked. Asked to come. The anger blazed in
Ravindra’s gut. He leaned toward the officer. “And you didn’t
check?”

Hanestran’s mouth tightened, acknowledging
Ravindra’s rebuke. “You had already left,
Srimana
. And I trusted her.”

Trusted her. Would he have let her come down
here if she’d asked? She hadn’t. She’d lied to Hanestran. A tendril
of doubt uncurled. He thought they were friends; he thought he knew
her. “How did you lose her?”

“
With respect,
Srimana
, she disappeared when the building we were
working in collapsed.”

A cold finger of dread clutched at Ravindra’s
heart.

“
No, she’s not dead,” Hanestran added
quickly. “Or at least, she escaped from the collapse. I lost three
people, buried in the rubble. Last I saw her she was heading for
the shuttle, which was parked in a nearby square. She was panicked,
running. I expected she’d reach the ship and wait for us. I’m
sorry,
Srimana
. I went
back to the building to check on my people.” His jaw was set, ready
for any rebuke.

Rebukes wouldn’t get her back. “So she never
reached the shuttle?”

“She wasn’t there when I arrived just a few
minutes later. I contacted Senior Commander Prasad
immediately.”

“Prasad?”

“
We found evidence of a struggle in a
nearby laneway. Three people ran from the plaza. A scuffle broke
out. Someone fell and the other two carried the third to a vehicle.
There were other soldiers around, searching for bodies, clearing
debris. So far that’s all we can tell you,
Srimana
,” Prasad said.

“
In the matter of
Suri
Selwood, you will refer to me. Always.” Ravindra
bit off the words. “It’s too late now. I understand your concern
for your own people. I will consider what to do. You have not heard
the end of this. Dismissed.”