darknadir (2 page)

CHAPTER 1
Day 1

CRYO, the long night without end, the cold from between the stars. Heartbeat and breathing decelerate as the chill gradually seeps deep into flesh and bones, robbing them of warmth, of movement. Thoughts slow, messages no longer being sent to limbs and organs as the mind pulls itself back, retreating from the bitter cold till all that remains is a tiny spark of consciousness poised between life and death. Cryo sleep, the temporary death, where nothing stirs, no breath, no thought— no dreams.
With Nayash, his pilot, recovering from a wounded flank, Captain Tirak had asked Kaid to help out on the bridge during takeoff. Now that they were under way, Kaid needed to check up on his people. The mess area where they were waiting was adjacent to the sick bay, but inexorably his feet led him back there. Saying he was checking up on Zashou would fool no one, least of all himself, but he had to see them once more— had to know that Carrie and Kusac were all right. He'd grown so used to their presences within his mind that their absence left him feeling unsettled. These feelings were so foreign to him that it was with relief he saw that Zashou was still asleep. It was hard enough for him to cope without having to explain it to someone else.
It was Carrie's unit he went to first. He looked through the cover, feeling instantly protective of her. She looked as if Khuushoi, Goddess of Winter, had embraced her, turning her flesh as pale as the snow on the Dzahai Mountains. Memories of taking Carrie there to visit his home sprang into his mind. It was there, once he'd fully accepted his place in their lives as their third, that he and Carrie had finally become lovers.
Through the pale cream fabric of her shift, the bloodstained dressing across her belly and side showed up starkly. Instinctively his mind reached out for hers, pushing aside the barriers behind which he'd been hiding. He could sense nothing. His hand shook slightly as his fingertips brushed the surface of the unit, caressing it as if it were her he touched. Mrowbay had spread her long blonde hair carefully on the pillow. He remembered how soft it felt, so unlike his own Sholan hair. Then he sensed the U'Churian captain watching him from the doorway.
"Mrowbay says she's stable," said Captain Tirak, "and safe. But you know that since you treated her. Excuse my curiosity, but you obviously care very deeply for her. Are you and her mate related? Brothers, perhaps? I know they're a mind-linked pair."
"Brothers. Yes," Kaid replied distractedly as a prescient fear he'd never known before swept through him. Turning to look at Tirak, he did a double take, thinking for a brief moment he saw Kusac standing there. The outward physical similarities between their species were uncanny. Pushing his fear aside with an effort, he retreated again behind his mental shields. "Her mother died in cryo when her family journeyed to their colony world."
Tirak made a sympathetic noise, his mouth creasing in a Humanlike grimace. "A tragedy, but it couldn't happen on the
Profit,
believe me. Any disruption of the cryo system is instantly reported by the computer. The units even have an integral backup system, capable of lifesupport in space in the event of a disaster. They can be launched automatically from the bridge, or manually from in here." He pointed to the wall behind the units.
A very Human scream, long and drawn out, sounded from outside the open door.
Gun instantly in his hand, Kaid leaped past Tirak and was in the corridor before it stopped.
"False alarm, Captain." Sheeowl's voice on the ship's comm echoed throughout the deck. "Was only Kate. She just met her first Cabbaran."
In the center of the corridor, standing almost upright on its haunches, was indeed a Cabbaran. Kaid recognized it instantly from the description Captain Kishasayzar had given them. Kate stood facing the alien, her body frozen in horror.
"We have more passengers, Annuur." Tirak spoke calmly to the Cabbaran. "Badly injured ones. That's why the change in destination."
As Annuur turned slowly to face them, Kaid understood Kate's reaction. Standing just short of four feet tall, the being before him was unlike any he'd seen before. Obviously a quadruped, and certainly vegetarian, his long, yellow incisors were just visible behind an almost prehensile upper lip. Forward facing eyes regarded him steadily from beneath a narrow stiff crest of dark hair that ran the length of his skull and down his neck. The same hair was spread out in a ruff across his shoulders and again over his flanks. The sandy body fur had been shaved from the sides of his face and shoulder so that the intricately colored tattoos could be clearly seen.
The lip quivered and Kaid heard him begin to chitter. A flat, mechanical voice started to speak in U'Churian.
"Nourishment dispensers empty," Annuur's translator intoned. "Is breach of contract, Captain."
"See to it, Sheeowl," Tirak ordered the crew female hovering beside the frightened girl. "Take Kate to the mess first. My apologies, Annuur. As I said, we had injured to see to and needed to depart from Jalna quickly. There was no need for you to leave avionics, you could have used the comm— or were you just curious about our guests?"
The ruff of fur across the Cabbaran's shoulders bushed out for a moment before settling again. Annuur's teeth made a clicking noise and his top lip curled expressively. A sharp burst of sound followed. The translator remained silent.
"Captain." Nayash, the white dressing over his wounded thigh vivid against his long, black pelt, now stood where Kate and Sheeowl had been. He raised an arm and flung something through the air to Tirak who caught it deftly.
"You won't need your weapon," Tirak said quietly in an aside to Kaid as he stepped past him. "This is Annuur, leader of our Cabbaran navigation sept. All right, you opportunist," he said, his tone becoming lighter. "One pack— and only one— to make up for your discomfort." He held his hand, palm open, out toward the Cabbaran. In it lay a brightly decorated tubular container.
The mobile lip curled upward in disdain. "Your insult remains," intoned the translator.
Tirak gestured to Kaid to join him. Holstering his gun, he did so.
"This is Kaid, the leader of our guests."
The whiskers on either side of Annuur's nose twitched as he leaned forward and sniffed audibly at Kaid. "One of those you kept in cryo." He turned his attention back to Tirak, giving Kaid a clear view of the exotic tattoos.
The hand that reached out to take the captain's bribe was spatulate in shape, with four fingers tipped by broad, horny claws. Almost delicately, the fingers closed around the tube and removed it.
"Candy. A children's treat back on Home," Tirak said softly to Kaid. "They can't get enough of the stuff. Comes in useful now and then."
Kaid noticed that Annuur wore a multi-pocketed utility belt not unlike the one the Sholan Forces used, save that the Cabbaran's was held in place by shoulder straps. It was into one of these pockets that Annuur placed his tube.
"Maybe talk later," he said, lowering his upper body to the ground before sedately trotting past them and down the corridor to the main access elevator.
"Time
we
talked," said Kaid, his voice grim. He wanted to know what Tirak had been doing with a mixed Leska pair not only on board his ship, but held in cryo until a couple of hours ago.
"The rest of your people are next door in the mess waiting for you," said Tirak, gesturing in the same direction the Cabbaran had taken. "When you're satisfied they're safe, one of my crew will escort you to my office so we can talk."

* * *

Remaining near the closed doorway, Kaid looked over at T'Chebbi. "Report," he said, in the highland patois that they'd both grown up using.
"All rescued personnel save Zashou seem healthy but undernourished— want them checked up in sick bay because of laalquoi levels in food they ate on Jalna. Younglings were waiting on Keiss for transport to Shola when were kidnapped by a Valtegan officer. Killed him, but cost them their captain and damaged the scouter. Were found by Ambassador Taira's ship. Tirak rescued them from Taira at Tuushu Station— where we're going. He put them in cryo while on Jalna to stop us contacting them telepathically."
Kaid moved into the center of the room. Kate was about Carrie's height, her pleasant round face framed by a mass of short mid-brown curls. The male, Taynar, was barely older than her. He'd obviously inherited the warm gray-brown pelt coloring of his family. "What did the Chemerians want?" he asked, though he could make bets on what the answer would be.
"Why should we tell you?" demanded Kate. "You're one of them, a U'Churian."
Kaid glanced at T'Chebbi who raised a sardonic eye ridge in reply.
"I haven't told them," she said, reverting to lowland Sholan like Kaid.
We're Sholan,
he sent to the girl and her Leska.
Posing as U'Churians. We were sent to rescue you.
Taynar hissed his disbelief as Kaid joined them at the dining table. "Telepaths can't fight."
"He's your bond-brother," snapped T'Chebbi. "Show a Clan elder proper respect!"
"My bond-brother?" Taynar was startled into sitting up. "How? My sister died years ago!"
"So your father would have you believe," said Kaid. "Khemu died only a few months ago, bonded to me. Our son lives on the Valsgarth estate. Like us, he's a member of the En'Shalla Aldatan Clan now."
"Your son? But how..."
"The Chemerians wanted a mixed Leska pair for themselves," interrupted Kate. "Taira said he'd met Carrie and Kusac on the
Khalossa.
"
Kaid nodded. As he'd thought. Ambassador Taira had shown an unhealthy interest in his Triad partners while on board the
Khalossa.
Opportunity had presented itself, and Taira was not one to let it slip by. "How did Tirak get involved?" He watched the female's jaw tighten as she lifted her chin defiantly.
"I made him," she said shortly, gray eyes flashing. "We thought they were Sholans at first."
He raised his eye ridges in respect. "No wonder they were so wary of telepaths. I presume you gave them their mental blocks."
"I was as much to blame as Kate," interrupted Taynar sullenly. "He promised to return us to Shola. I thought it a fair price."
Kaid ignored the challenge in the youth's voice. Faced with few alternatives, they'd had little option but to agree to Tirak's demand. "No one is faulting you," he said. "You handled a difficult situation very well." He turned his attention to the other side of the room where Rezac sat. This was his first real opportunity to meet the male, who, despite being half his age, was his father.
They weren't that alike, he thought, surveying the younger male. How could Jaisa have seen a resemblance? There were superficial similarities, true, but they were just that. They both had the distinctive broader and lower set ears of the highland Clans, and the brown pelt, but....
"Are you related?" asked Jo suddenly, looking from one to the other. "You look very alike."
"Hardly," snapped Rezac. "I'm from his far past! Fifteen hundred years ago to be exact."
Kaid could feel T'Chebbi's gaze burning into him as she waited for his answer. "Highland Clans always tended to breed among their own. It's a possibility," he said, trying to avoid her scathing look. He touched the edges of Rezac's mind with his, instantly aware of the link between him and Jo. "You've formed a Triad," he said, surprised, glancing back at the dark-haired Human female.
Jo flushed and looked away.
"You know about these links?" Rezac's antagonism was quiet for now in his desire to learn more.
"We have two mixed Leska Triads back on the estate."
"That's why you can fight," said Taynar. "I knew telepaths with a Human Leska were able to fight, but I hadn't realized it affected the Triads as well."
He was getting drawn in deeper than he wanted here, but there was no point in dodging the issue. A simple answer would do for now. "That's so," he admitted.
"With Carrie and Kusac?" asked Jo, concern in her voice. "How awful for you. You must be feeling pretty bad right now with both of them in cryo."
"What are these Triads?" demanded Rezac impatiently. "What causes them?"
"The bonds began forming after the Cataclysm for a mixture of reasons. For the better protection of small breeding groups of Talented, and because of Vartra's work with genetics. You and Zashou were one of the original enhanced Leska pairs, so it's not surprising you should form a Triad once you'd been exposed to Vartra's modern virus."
"Our Link is the result of Vartra's work?" asked Jo.
"Not the original work Rezac was involved with," said Kaid. "It's due to his genetic manipulations after you were taken by the Valtegans."
"You know, your talk is full of wrong-spoors," said Rezac, an edge of ice in his voice. "You might fool your own people with all this speculation about what Vartra did, but I lived then. I
knew
him! How could he possibly have done anything that would link Human and Sholan DNA?"
A small, purring chuckle from Taynar broke the tension.
"I've just realized what it was about you that seemed familiar," the youth said to Kaid. "You're the Triad that went back to the times of Vartra, aren't you? You met with the God. That's why you're En'Shalla."
Rezac laughed out loud at this, but there was no humor in his laughter. "You expect me to believe that? Just because this isn't my time doesn't make me an idiot!"
Abruptly, Kaid got to his feet. He'd heard enough. There might be a blood tie between him and Rezac, but that was all. This male was as unlike him as anyone could be. What could he possibly have in common with this arrogant and undisciplined young male who had fathered him so very long ago?
"I was able to tell Vartra that you and Zashou were safe and alive in our time," he said. "Zylisha was worried for her sister. The news put her mind at rest. You might tell Zashou that when you see her next. And that Vartra and her sister life-bonded." He turned aside from the Sholan to look at the Human beside him. "Jo, I have to join Captain Tirak now. I'll debrief you on your mission after I've spoken to him. You're in charge till I return." He gestured to T'Chebbi to join him as he began to walk toward the door.
A chair scraped on the floor. "I want to know what's going on, too," said Rezac, the belligerence back in full measure.
"You'll remain here till I return," Kaid said unequivocally, coming to a stop and turning to look at him. "The situation with Tirak is delicate and requires a knowledge of current Alliance politics."
"I know a hell of a lot more about the Valtegans than you do!"
"That's of no consequence at the moment. Your information is fifteen hundred years out of date, Rezac, and has nothing to do with this. Stay here with the other civilians."
"Don't order me about! I've as much right to be involved as you," the young male snarled, tail lashing from side to side as he unconsciously lowered his body into a crouch.
T'Chebbi's hand closed briefly on Kaid's wrist. "I'll stay," she said quietly.
Kaid flicked an ear in reluctant agreement. "Sit down, Rezac," he ordered. "You want my credentials? I'm in charge of this mission, and cleared by Sholan High Command for First Contact negotiations. You're just another civilian as far as I'm concerned. T'Chebbi will stay with you." He stalked over to the door, slapping his hand on the air lock mechanism. When it opened, he strode out into the corridor where Manesh, Tirak's security officer, stood waiting for him.