Captain Gareth's Mates (3 page)

“Another bluff,” Xaal grumbled.

“I assure you it is not. The Council had planned to use this weapon defensively, but use it we will.”

“You would destroy so many lives, even an entire civilization, to prevent a rival fleet from powering its vessels?” Brennar’s horrified gaze moved from Gareth to Xaal and then back again. “I can assure you that the Shiban people could never countenance such a rash act.”

“I doubt the Terran Council will approve, either, but fortunately I’m in a position to act on my own in this case.” Slowly, Gareth stroked his thumb along the side of the device. The translucent buttons began to glow. Both Xaal and Brennar flinched in their seats. “But very well. Your pleadings move me to make one conciliatory gesture. Xaal, I offer you enough energy to get you back to your own sector. If you ever venture into my territory again, I will see to it that your ships are destroyed on sight.”

Abruptly he stood, cradling the detonator against his chest. “My offer is good for exactly twenty minutes Earth time. Ambassador Brennar and I will withdraw to give you a chance to consider. I must inform you that you will be monitored while you are in this room. Any attempts to contact your fleet will be regarded as an overt act of hostility.”

Turning, he strode from the room. Brennar hurried after him.

“I call that a good day’s work,” said Gareth once they were past the earshot of the security guard who remained at the door. “He’ll take the deal, of course. Every one of his ships is too depleted to do more than hang in space. He would have already attacked us otherwise.”

Brennar shook his head. His face was drawn, and his eyes bulged, as though he was fighting off both emotional trauma and physical illness. “I must admit that I am aghast at your negotiating techniques, Captain, though perhaps your liberal intake of intoxicants has clouded your judgment somewhat. And I am even more astonished that the Terran Council is developing such deadly weapons in secret.”

“Oh, this?” Gareth held up the detonator, and Brennar jumped a step backward. “My so-called weapon is only dangerous if you hold the volume button down too long.” He tossed the device in the air between them and caught it on the flip. “Don’t you recognize the remote control for my quarters’ sound system? It was on the bedstand beside me all night. And as far as the drink goes, that wasn’t real wine. I knew neither you nor General Xaal would want to share. A harmless ruse. It caught him off guard, don’t you think?”

Brennar’s mouth hung open for a moment and then closed and curled upward in an admiring smile. “I see my regard for you was not misplaced after all, Captain.”

“We’ll go down to the planet together and share the good news in person, and I’ll want the colony on guard in case this sort of thing happens again. The word is out about the phytronium, apparently.”

“An excellent idea.”

Gareth glanced up and down the corridor to be sure no one was watching them. Discreetly, his hand strayed down the front of Brennar’s loose-fitting garment and squeezed the tender mound between his legs.

“I suggest we confer privately first,” he whispered. “After all, someone has to help me write up my report for the Council. I sense my explanation will require the use of some diplomatic language.”

“Agreed...on both counts.”

Gareth winked and dropped his hand back to his side.

The security guard approached them. “General Xaal is requesting that you return to the conference room, Captain. He says he is ready to accept your deal.”

Chapter 3

To celebrate his colony’s deliverance from the threat of invasion, the grand potentate declared a full day’s rest from the mines. Instead, the entire village joined in the creation of a festival honoring Captain Gareth and his crew.

The first time he had visited Anubis’ surface, Gareth had found the streets quiet and the citizens devoted to their daily tasks. Now, with the impromptu holiday in full swing, the atmosphere had changed. Jugglers and dancers frolicked across the town common while acrobats in colorful costumes turned somersaults on the grass. Spicy wine gushed from giant barrels, and servers carried huge plates of native delicacies through cheering crowds. In keeping with the spirit of the event, Gareth had issued shore leave for his entire crew, allowing them to visit the surface in shifts.

Only his second-in-command, Lieutenant Erril, declined the opportunity to leave the ship. Her excuse was that Xaal might reappear, but Gareth suspected she simply enjoyed being in charge. In some ways, she was more suited to command than he was, finding pleasure in even routine administrative tasks. Her willingness to stay behind proved fortunate, since as the guest of honor he saw no hope of getting away before nightfall. He and Brennar walked together through the throngs of revelers, accepting thanks and good wishes and sampling the refreshments. Briefly, a circle of young women surrounded them, dancing and flashing suggestive smiles. Their costumes were tighter and cut lower than the types of garments Gareth had seen other natives wearing. Glowing energy stones on rough cords adorned their bared necks.

“Each of those necklaces could power a spaceship for a month,” he murmured to Brennar. “That’s what Xaal was after.”

“Most impressive,” Brennar agreed.

The women danced closer, pretending to reach for him. Gareth couldn’t help but admire their strong muscles and lively manner. He felt certain any of them would welcome him into her bed for the night or maybe even for the remainder of the afternoon. Though the patriarchal nature of the colony didn’t appeal to him, he understood why the men here found it to their liking. Suddenly, the dancers moved away with chastened expressions as another woman in finer, more modest garments approached them. Gareth recognized her as one of those who had followed the grand potentate into the meeting two days earlier. Even then, her appearance had made an impression on him, though he’d been distracted by other things, such as her bright, intelligent eyes and the full lips she’d scarcely moved as she sat in silent attendance. In contrast to her smooth, pale skin, her dark brown hair fell in a luxurious wave over her left shoulder. This time, she traveled alone.

“I’m sorry if they embarrassed you. Anubis gets few visitors besides the brokers who arrive on mining business, and the people are seldom granted holidays. Their enthusiasm must seem a bit excessive to you.”

“Not at all,” Gareth said with a guarded smile. Was she the grand potentate’s wife or perhaps one of several? If so, he had no intention of causing an interplanetary incident by even appearing to flirt. “They were charming.”

“This is your friend?” the woman turned and eyed Brennar, clearly intrigued. The inhabitants of Anubis, whose ancestors had emigrated from Earth centuries before, retained a humanoid appearance. Gareth speculated that their contact with outworlders was perhaps limited to associates of the Terran Council, most of them human as well. No doubt Brennar appeared as strikingly exotic to her as he did to the captain himself. Her gaze lingered on him a beat longer than was strictly polite.

“Yes, and I might mention that he deserves as much credit as I do for repelling the attack on your colony.”

She extended a hand. “Then I do thank you on behalf of my people and my father, the grand potentate.”

“Thanks are unnecessary.” Brennar pressed her fingers briefly in his.

“Ambassador Brennar has devoted his life to doing what is right simply for the sake of promoting good,” Gareth explained with admiration. “He expects nothing in return. Anyone would be privileged to call him a friend.”

“Then I hope I may count myself among that number,” she said, her lips curving as a blue tint rose to Brennar’s narrow cheeks.

“Surely friends share names, even on this world?” Gareth prodded.

“My name is Izbal. And of course your name is already well known here, Captain Gareth.” She tilted her head toward the village green, where a large number of men and women were assembling in two long lines. “I would be pleased if you would dance with me, my lord.” Gareth bit back an uncomfortable scowl, but Brennar tapped him on the arm to reassure him. “By all means, go. It would gratify me to see you enjoy yourself for a change. The captain is an exceedingly serious man, Lady Izbal. I look forward to seeing whether you can lighten his mood.”

“I shall put forth my best effort.” Izbal’s smile widened. She held out her hand a second time. Gareth took it reluctantly, sparing a backward glance at Brennar as Izbal dragged him onto the green. They took a spot among the line of other couples. Izbal tucked her forearm under his.

“I don’t know this dance,” Gareth protested.

“Imitate what the others do,” she whispered as a rustic flute began a cheerful tune. “The steps aren’t difficult.”

Easy for her to say, Gareth thought as he struggled to keep up with the half steps, exaggerated strides, and full turns that made up the procession. Long ago, as a cadet, he remembered attending an ancient play called a Shakespearian comedy. He felt that he had blundered, unrehearsed, into the climactic scene of a similar production.

Izbal, however, seemed comfortable enough to dance and converse simultaneously. “So I admit to being curious, my lord...exactly how did you and Ambassador Brennar convince General Xaal to turn his ships away from our planet? Even my father knows nothing of the particulars, though of course he is bursting with gratitude toward you.”

“Call me Gareth. We don’t use titles like that on Earth any more. ‘Captain’ will be fine.”

“Do you wish to avoid my question?”

Gareth cursed her persistence. He’d thought it best not to describe his performance as a megalomaniac eager to destroy their entire planet. He feared the mention of a superweapon, even a fictional one, would spark distrust between Anubis and the Terran Council. He pretended to struggle with a few more dance steps while he considered his response.

“There was no secret to my strategy. I presented myself as someone Xaal had no choice but to respect. Then I gave him the chance to retreat and save face. He accepted.”

“No doubt you command respect wherever you go.”

“Not always.” Gareth frowned. “Look, I don’t require all this adulation you’re showering on me. My sworn duty is to protect you and your resources, and that’s exactly what I did. The fact that Anubis is safe is reward enough for me.”

“Apparently your friend Brennar is not the only modest one aboard your ship,” Izbal reflected.

Thankfully, the dance came to an end, and Gareth led her back to their former spot before the next set began. Brennar had waited for them, a gleam of amusement in his sapphire eyes.

“I must leave you now,” Izbal said, executing a quick curtsey and slipping into the crowd.

“Do you find her charming?” Brennar asked as Gareth’s gaze followed her until she vanished.

“I admit I do. Something tells me she would make a fine addition to my crew. It saddens me to see a sharp intellect languish in a place offering so few opportunities for females.”

“Every culture makes its own opportunities. We simply may not recognize them as such. Besides, they probably say the same about ours.”

“Women should be equal. History teaches us that.”

Brennar shrugged. “Agrarian societies present a unique case. Brawn alone confers power when intellect is not needed for basic survival.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Gareth nodded. “I could never be an ambassador. My opinions are too strong. If I disapprove of what I see, I say so.”

“Personally, I find your outspokenness one of your most appealing attributes. However, I must agree that it would be a definite hindrance in certain situations.”

Gareth laughed. His gaze strayed past the crowd on the green, now performing a far more complicated set of steps. He’d gotten away just in time. Beyond them lay a wooded area, thick with colorful tree trunks swathed in unusual flowers and vines. He’d fought the urge to be alone with Brennar for hours, and he was eager to end the charade.

“Would anyone notice or mind if we slipped away for a bit?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brennar caught his meaning. “I am sure we could manage a few moments to ourselves.”

They walked toward the forest together, taking a circuitous route so no one would take note of them. Up close, the shady forest’s peculiar beauty startled Gareth for a moment. Floral life had evolved far differently here than it had on Earth, as evidenced by both its shapes and colors. Gigantic blood red leaves, startling yellow vines, and scaly purple tree trunks swelled up around them in a bizarre kaleidoscope.

“I’m glad I didn’t destroy this place,” Gareth joked.

“It is lovely,” Brennar agreed.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t dance together before. Believe me, I wanted to.” Gareth settled his back against a thick tree, reached out, and pulled Brennar close.

“It is all right,” Brennar said. “We must follow the customs of the land, and gender roles seem rigidly defined here.”

“Well, now that we’re alone, perhaps we can start a new custom.”

They kissed, hungrily and feverishly. In a bold move that took Gareth by surprise, Brennar reached between his legs and rubbed the straining material in the crotch of his pants. “I hope you are not in pain,” he said. “I have studied human male physiology, and I understand that long periods of sensual deprivation can lead to distress.”