The Timeweb Chronicles: Timeweb Trilogy Omnibus (26 page)

Chapter Fifty-Three

It is said of Francella Watanabe that she should have been born a man, and that she has spent her life trying to make up for this affront.

—From
Red Rage
, the unauthorized biography

It had not been their typical bedroom encounter. Usually the passion of the two lovers was physical, but now it filled the air. They had been about to make love and had taken off their clothes in a frenzy, throwing them in all directions, hardly able to wait. Then he told her.

“You spared EcoStation?” Francella screamed, rolling away from Lorenzo and sitting up on the bed. “Even though you knew my brother was up there, a sitting duck? How could you, after what he did to my father?” Furious, she pulled a long chartreuse blouse over her nakedness and clasped one of the buttons.

“You haven’t been entirely truthful with me, have you?” he shouted back at her, only inches from her face. He grabbed the blouse and ripped it open.

She slapped him across the face. “I told you everything, the way Noah had my father killed, and all the other terrible things he did.”

With a curse, Lorenzo held her wrists, preventing her from striking him again. “I’m not talking about Noah, although perhaps I should. As for your father, there are other more likely suspects.”

“Which means?”

He smiled savagely. “For another time, my sweet. We want to save things to argue about later.” Then, holding both of her hands with one, he used his other to smooth her long red hair. “I so enjoy it when we make up.”

Glaring, Francella tried to pull away, but he held her tightly.

“You are a woman of secrets, aren’t you?”

“Every woman has her secrets, you fool.”

“But not nearly as interesting as yours. Would you like to tell me about our love child?”

He saw her face tighten, the knotting of muscles on her cheeks. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“The boy you concealed from me. My own
son
, damn you!”

She reddened. He saw the guilt all over her, didn’t need any other confirmation.

“After he was born, I sent him away,” she admitted, unable to hold gazes with him.

“And had your evil brother take care of him.”

“No, I put the boy with a foster family.”

Letting her go, Lorenzo pushed her away, against the headboard of the bed. “From what I hear, Noah has been monitoring his care for years, and recently made the boy one of his Guardians.”

“One of his Guardians?”

“Our son is on EcoStation with Noah.”

“So what? Kill them both, for all I care.”

“But I have no other sons, don’t you see? Princess Meghina has born only daughters for me. Our love child, it seems, is the rightful heir to my legacy. Assuming the Council of Forty proclaims him Doge, that is. Just think of it, Francella, history will call him The Bastard Doge.”

“That wouldn’t be any different from now,” she snapped. “We already have a bastard in that position.”

After a look of shock and anger, he let loose a deep, resounding guffaw, and said, “You’re only saying that because you mean it.” Laughing, he chased her around the bedroom, not letting her get to the door. Finally, exhausted and furious, she tumbled to the floor.

He took her in his arms, and finished ripping off her blouse.

Chapter Fifty-Four

The Human mind contains a universe of secrets.

—Noah Watanabe

An electronic field veiled the assault ship, making it invisible to the security force on the space station. This was accomplished with a stealth skin that projected images from one side of the large vessel’s skin to the other, shifting seamlessly as the craft moved. The noise and heat signatures had been masked as well, and like a ghost the craft docked, undetected, on the underside of the immense orbiter.

A hatch door slid open on the vessel, followed by a large circular hatch on the space station, activated by a signal that kept the alarm system from going off. Hundreds of men in red uniforms slipped into a shadowy corridor, each of them made invisible by computerized images projected from one side of each body to the other, as if the person was not there at all.

All were Red Berets, the Doge’s elite, fiercely loyal fighting force.

Through visors on their helmets, the men saw their companions, all dressed in red uniforms with caps. Heavily armed, they rushed through one corridor and another, using silencers on their handguns to kill any green-and-brown Guardians they encountered. With holo-schematics of the orbiter, images that danced on the visors in front of their eyes, they thought they knew the proper route. The route program had not been updated for all of the changes that had been made to the modular station, however, and the squad ran right past an entrance hatch to the classroom section. They then took a high-speed elevator to a lower level, the wrong one.

The Red Berets also had not taken precautions to bring weapons whose projectiles would not penetrate the skin of the space station. Errant shots went through exterior walls, activating the orbiter’s emergency systems, which closed bulkhead doors and sealed holes to prevent catastrophic depressurization.

Alarm systems went off, and something in the jangle of electronics shut down their computerized image projectors. Suddenly the intruders were visible to guards, who fired stunner pellets at them, hitting one of the men and dropping him to the metal deck. The others ran on, leaving him behind.

* * * * *

Earlier, Noah had seen the artillery flashes, and his security advisers had confirmed to him that the second flash had been an intercepting shot. This had given him some measure of reassurance that Doge Lorenzo was not going to do anything rash. The first shot appeared to have been an equipment malfunction, which they had corrected immediately.

Now, as the alarms went off Noah stood in the school module, having just conducted a meeting with a number of his Guardians, trying to answer their questions and allay their fears. He had spoken truthfully to his loyal followers, not wishing to conceal anything from them.

None of his people had expressed any desire to abandon EcoStation, but he thought that might change when they were alone and not under the attentive eyes of their peers, not trying to prove anything to anyone or show courage they didn’t really feel. They were all brave enough, Noah realized, but few of them were trained fighters. Only the security personnel. The rest were students, and support staff for the orbital platform.

The meeting had just ended, and he had been conferring with Tesh and Anton, considering what to do next. In a few minutes, Noah was scheduled for a one-on-one conference with Subi Danvar to consider alternatives.

Just then, the three of them heard the screaming wail of alarm klaxons. On a wall-mounted security screen, they saw Red Beret soldiers running through the corridors, firing weapons. Activating sound, Noah heard the squadron leader shouting to his companions.

“We’re on the wrong level!” he shouted. “Glavine has classes on Level Four!”

“They’re looking for me!” Anton said. “Why?”

“Your father’s special forces,” Tesh said. “And they don’t look friendly.”

“Somehow they know your schedule,” Noah said, wondering how they had gotten the information, and what they hoped to do with it.

“My father either wants to kill me or kidnap me,” Anton said.

Noah took a deep, agitated breath. He remembered what his adjutant Subi Danvar always told him, that he was the soul of the Guardians and needed to survive for the sake of the organization and all they stood for. In his desire to fight back against his sister and the Doge, Noah had not wanted to follow the advice for his own welfare, and had only gone along with it reluctantly. Now he needed to survive and fight another day, for his vital cause and for the people who believed in him.

Some time ago he had asked the Doge for an emergency meeting to explain the attack against the ecology compound, and at last he had his answer. Noah saw no advantage in being taken to any meeting by force, or in dying here.

Speaking sharply into a lapel microphone, he told Subi to broadcast a general evacuation order to everyone on the station, readying ships that would disperse his people to predetermined locations on Canopa. Then he commanded the adjutant to prepare a grid-plane for him, and provided a short list of passengers he wanted to accompany him. Over the communication link, Danvar confirmed receiving the message, and said he would take care of it all right away.

“Hurry!” Noah urged, leading the way through a door at the rear of the classroom. The trio ran through a narrow corridor to a spiral stairway and bounded up four levels, taking two steps at a time.

They reached the top and ran through a wide doorway onto a metalloy platform. Grid-planes were tethered on the other side of a bubble window, their green-and-brown hulls floating in zero gravity. Guardians ran toward the three people on the platform, their boots making echoing sounds. Subi Danvar, moving quickly despite his broad girth, led them.

“I issued your evacuation order, Master Noah,” Subi reported, “and all ships are ready.”

Seeing Eshaz reach the platform, which was on his short list of priority passengers, Noah motioned for him to join them.

The group hurried through an airlock and boarded one of the grid-planes. Subi Danvar took the controls, and powered up the engines. The sleek craft surged out of the docking bay into orbital space.

Through a porthole, Noah saw two red gunships, more of the Doge’s force. One of them opened fire with automatic weapons, ripping holes through the cabin. Noah heard the hiss of escaping air, and the whistle of repair systems going on, sealing the holes in the hull.

“Get this crate going!” he shouted to Subi. “We’re faster than they are!”

“I’m trying!” Subi shouted. “Hold on. Here we go!”

The supercharged grid-plane picked up speed, and the passengers found things to hold onto: seat backs, bulkheads, railings. Through a porthole, Noah saw other escape ships scattering away from the station, using their superior speed and on-board scanning equipment to elude the Doge’s electronic grids. Noah knew that some of his followers would still be captured or killed, but all of them had the same opportunity to get away that he did.

“We need to get to a podship,” Noah said. “There’s a planet we can go where our environmental activists have a clandestine support network. I’ve told some of you about it … Plevin Four.”

“I’ll do the best I can,” Subi said, “but the Doge may already have gunships around the pod station.”

Anton asked a question about Plevin Four, said he was unfamiliar with it. Tesh told him it was an abandoned world, that it had a history alternating between Mutati and MPA control.

Just as Noah started to tell his nephew more about Plevin Four, projectiles ripped through the passenger compartment. He felt something sting his arm, and the side of his head. Then something tore into his left foot. Terrible pain, and dizziness. He lost consciousness and fell in a bloody heap on the carpeted deck.…

Sitting by Noah, Tesh held his bleeding head on her lap, as the grid-plane accelerated and automatic repair systems repaired the hull damage. A wall and ceiling of the cabin were torn up. Anton popped open a first-aid kit, began applying gauze bandages on the wounds. Eshaz came over and stood silently, looking down at the fallen Master of the Guardians.

Tesh had never understood Tulyans, the way they kept their emotions bottled up, never revealing their inner thoughts. She knew that Noah thought highly of this one, so she tried to show him respect. But it was not easy. Her own Parvii people and the Tulyans were natural enemies, ancient competitors for dominion over the galactic herds of podships. So far Eshaz had shown no indication of recognizing her—the Parvii magnification system was a closely guarded secret—but she didn’t trust him.

“We’re beginning to outdistance them!” Subi shouted. “Almost out of range now.”

Looking up, Tesh saw blue tracers zip by a porthole, but nothing more hit them. She heard Subi say the vessel’s on-board repair systems were continuing to seal the holes.

“Noah needs medical attention,” Tesh said. “His head is bleeding, and his foot is torn up bad.” She checked the bandages, and it occurred to her how Human bodies, like this ship, had automatic repair systems—but how much better it would be if people were capable of healing themselves from even the most serious wounds. She worried about Noah, having grown to admire him, and hoped for more between them.

“I’ll see what I can find,” Subi said, “but we need to leave Canopa as soon as possible. It’s too hot for us here.” He steered down into the atmosphere of Canopa, causing sparks to fly off the underside of the hull during reentry. When they were a couple of thousand meters above the planet, he leveled out and slowed.

Going over to a porthole, Tesh surveyed the trees and farms of the countryside below, then pointed and said, “Head that way: northeast, I think. I know a doctor.” She glanced at her wristchron, which had adjusted itself to their locale, and saw that it was late afternoon. “He should be home now, too.”

A few minutes later, they set down on a wide parking area between the sprawling main house and the tigerhorse stables. Half a dozen men emerged from the front of the house, dressed in cloaks and brocaded surcoats. Ladies in shimmering evening gowns stood on the broad porch behind them, some holding drinks.

One of the men, square-jawed, went down the steps and strode toward the grid-plane. Tesh recognized Dr. Hurk Bichette, her former lover. The two of them exchanged glares.

She led Subi and Anton, and introduced them. “Sorry to interrupt your dinner party,” Tesh said, “but we have an emergency. Noah Watanabe is on board, and he’s seriously injured.”

“Head wound,” Subi said. “But that looks like a glancing blow. His left foot might be the worst of it. He passed out after he got hit there.”

“I’ll get my bag,” Bichette said, in his deep voice. He ran inside the house, and emerged moments later, carrying a black bag and a large packet with a clear covering, showing a variety of healing pads inside, of varying sizes.

“Let me help you with that,” Tesh said, taking the packet from him and then following him aboard the grid-plane.

While Bichette kneeled over Noah and tended to him on the deck, Tesh helped. Looking up, she saw Subi step forward with a handgun. “I’m afraid we’ll have to borrow you for a while,” he told the doctor. “We’ll send apology cards to your dinner guests.”

“What do you mean?” Bichette asked.

“It’s no longer safe for us on Canopa,” Anton said, accepting the gun as Subi handed it to him. “We have another planet in mind, and you’re going with us.”

She looked over at Eshaz. The large, bronze-scaled Tulyan stood silently, watching, taking it all in as if he was looking into another realm, as if he were not actually here.

“But I can’t!” Bichette protested. “This isn’t an ordinary dinner party. It’s an important business meeting. My guests are wealthy investors, considering a business proposition I made to them.”

“Business can wait,” Subi said, as he slipped into the command chair. Safety restraints snapped automatically into place around him, but he shoved them away. “Lives can’t.”

“Listen to me. Noah needs a hospital. We can’t have him bouncing around in a grid-plane.” The vein on Bichette’s temple throbbed.

“I’ll take off smoothly,” Subi said. “We don’t have any way of securing him, of strapping him down.”

“Stop thinking about yourself,” Tesh said to Bichette, “and tend to your patient.”

The doctor glowered at her, but did as she demanded.

Tesh felt the grid-plane’s rocket system kick on, but as promised they made a smooth ascent. In a matter of minutes, they reached the upper atmosphere, then surged into orbital space, with the vessel’s gravitational system on.

“Where are we going?” Tesh asked.

“Plevin Four,” Subi said. “That’s where Noah told me to go.”

“But he’s been injured, needs a hospital.”

“They have a medical facility on Plevin Four,” Subi said.

Through the wide front window, Tesh saw the globular pod station ahead, floating. Subi drew near, then circled the station twice, without entering any of the docking bays. “Keep your eyes open for bad guys,” he said, looking at the ships that were lined up inside. Tesh only saw two, and neither of them was emblazoned with the Doge’s or CorpOne’s colors.

Warily, Subi guided the vessel into one of the docking bays and found a berth. “We got here fast,” he said, “but our pursuers aren’t far behind us.”

Just then, Tesh felt a pressure change inside the cabin, and heard a faint, familiar pop. Looking out a side windowport, she saw green luminescence around a podship as it floated toward the main docking bay of the station. As seconds passed, the luminescence dissipated, leaving the mottled gray-and-black exterior of the vessel. All of the sentient spacecraft looked essentially the same to the untrained eye, but Tesh recognized the characteristic streaks and other markings on this one. She had been in the Parvii swarm that originally captured it in deep space, more than five centuries ago. While the Parviis had taken control of the vast majority of podships long before that, there were always wild pods wandering through the cosmos, strays to be rounded up.

Presently, a wide door opened on the side of the podship. All three of the waiting vessels floated aboard into the cavernous cargo hold, and their crews secured them to tethers.