darknadir (20 page)

CHAPTER 6
Day 8

A yowl of terror had Kaid leaping from his bed before he even realized he was awake. In his haste, he stumbled, his blanket caught round his legs. Cursing, he bent to free himself, flinging it behind him as he raced into their common lounge. He passed Mrowbay sitting slumped asleep on the couch but more important matters claimed him. The shriek sounded again, and this time he knew which room to go to. The middle door was open as, T'Chebbi now behind him, he headed into Rezac's and Jo's room.
Zashou was crouched beside the two beds, keening.
Reaching down, he hauled her to her feet. "What is it?" he demanded, shaking her. "Stop that damned racket, Zashou! You're not helping anyone, and I can't hear myself think!"
She continued to howl, oblivious to his presence. He shook her again, and when she still didn't respond, he slapped her, a hard, stinging blow that made her gasp and put her hand to her face in shock.
"You hit me," she faltered.
"Damned right I did! Now, what's happened?"
She pointed at the empty beds. "They're gone," she whimpered. "I came in to talk to Rezac, and they were gone!"
Pushing her aside, Kaid joined T'Chebbi, who was already kneeling on the floor examining one of the empty beds.
Pulling the cover off the other, he found what he was looking for. A red stain on the sheet at chest height. "Blood. His wounds were bleeding again." He let the cover fall back and stood up.
"He's dead!" Zashou wailed. "They've taken him because he's dead!"
"Enough," snapped Kaid, pushing past her and the group that had materialized around them. "If he were dead, you'd be as well, you know that!" He headed back to the lounge, reaching out mentally for either of the two missing people, and encountered a barrier he couldn't penetrate. "What the hell?" he muttered, then Tirak claimed his attention.
"I heard Zashou. Who's missing?" the U'Churian demanded, clutching at the blanket he'd wrapped around himself for modesty.
"Rezac and Jo. They're not with any of you?" asked Kaid, trying to catch the eyes of the circle of half-dressed U'Churians and Humans. He felt a flash of annoyance, then remembered their nudity taboos. They'd soon lose them, living in such close quarters.
A chorus of negatives answered him.
"Not in the sanitary facilities either," said T'Chebbi.
"Have you seen these?" asked Taynar, holding a wrist comm out to him. "Our stuff. It's been returned."
Automatically, Kaid took it from him.
"They've been here while we slept!" said Zashou hysterically, pointing to the pile of assorted personal possessions that lay on the low table beside Taynar. "How could they come in here and take two people from their beds without us even knowing? What kind of beings
are
they?"
"I was on guard," said Mrowbay quietly. "I don't remember seeing anyone."
"Were asleep when I came through," said T'Chebbi.
All eyes turned on the helpless Mrowbay. He shrugged, ears flattening briefly. "I don't understand it," he said. "I wasn't even tired."
"He's not to blame," said Kaid. "His sleep couldn't have been natural. To take two people out of here without waking any of us is virtually impossible."
"Why? Why have they taken them?" demanded the distraught Zashou.
"Is obvious," said T'Chebbi, looking through the pile of possessions on the table. "His wounds were bleeding, and she's pregnant. Maybe something happened to her in the night, too."
"I know what they were doing, damn him!" said Zashou hysterically. "That's all Rezac's good for, fathering cubs!"
"Why not?" countered T'Chebbi, looking up at her. "You don't want him or his cubs. Why should he waste himself on you?"
"Enough, both of you!" Kaid roared, losing his temper. "Zashou, don't be so damned stupid! Neither of them was in a state to do anything last night except sleep! T'Chebbi, leave her alone. Am I the only one to see the real implications here?"
"How'd they know they needed medical attention?" asked Mrowbay.
Kaid rounded on him. "Right! They must have some kind of monitoring devices on them. Dammit, I should have thought to search them both!"
"I'd not have thought of it either," said Tirak. "They were in such a bad way, who'd have wanted to disturb them with a search?"
"Not the point," said Kaid, sitting down. "I should have."
Manesh indicated the pile on the table. "No, it's my responsibility. I'm the security officer. Everything they give us, including all of this, we should now consider suspect."
"They'll be clean," said Sheeowl quietly. "When they can knock out our watch and possibly the rest of us as well, come in and remove two injured people without waking us, they don't need to plant devices in our wrist comms."
"She's right," said Tirak, hoisting his blanket more securely around himself.
"I'll check them anyway," Manesh said firmly, holding her hand out for Kaid's wrist comm.
"What now?" asked Tallis. "What do you intend to do to protect us? We're civilians, not part of your military forces. We have a right to protection. Who're they going to take next?"
Kaid sighed. "We'll put two people on watch tonight. It's unlikely they'll take anyone else, Tallis. Rezac and Jo obviously needed medical attention, that's why they're gone."
"There's some books and vids among this lot," said Sayuk, who'd been looking through the pile. "No use without a vid unit, though."
"Like that?" asked Taynar, pointing to a squat object sitting in what had been one of the vacant niches in the far wall.
"Like that," she agreed, looking over at it. "It's ours, from the
Profit.
" Her tone was frankly incredulous.
Tirak sat down in the nearest seat. "I don't understand this. Why keep us prisoners yet provide us with all the comforts of home?"
"Boredom increases the need to try to escape," said Kaid. "This makes us hope the Primes will get around to releasing us if we cooperate with them."
"You don't know that they won't," countered Tallis. "They've not questioned any of us, not offered us any violence. They may well let us go."
"You were the one demanding to be protected a moment ago," said Manesh. "Now you think they're harmless. Make up your mind, Tallis!"
"Stop ordering me about! Who do you think you are? I don't have to do what you tell me! I'm Sholan, not U'Churian!" His tail was beginning to lash from side to side angrily.
"Stow it, Tallis," said Kaid sharply. "We're in this together. As you said, you're a civilian. You'll do what you're told and like it."

* * *

As Sheeowl had predicted, their belongings were clean. Lighting and heating they already had access to, but now that they could keep track of time, they felt more in control of their environment. The door to the corridor outside let in only faint sounds, but they were able to hear when people were passing by.
At first, Tirak kept his crew close and alert, but as the hours passed and they remained undisturbed, he allowed them to relax, realizing they'd be burned out long before the need for action came, if it ever did.
As their day wore on, Kaid watched with a detached interest as the two crews formed social groupings. It gave him something to do other than worry about the continued absence of Rezac and Jo and the fact that mentally, he couldn't reach beyond their suite. The return of his wrist comm had given him cause for concern because his, unlike those of the other Sholans who wore one, was fitted with a personal psychic damper which was still working. Although the feel of the mental barrier wasn't the same, he wished he could be sure that the reason he couldn't penetrate beyond the walls of their suite had nothing to do with the Primes finding the device.
As they began to settle after their last meal of the day, he noted Giyesh and Jeran finally move quietly off to a corner of the lounge on their own. He knew of their night together on Jalna and had seen them meeting for odd stolen hours together on the
Profit.
Sensing Tirak about to interfere, Kaid reached across the table to touch the other's hand, flicking his ear in a negative before he realized the captain wouldn't understand the Sholan gesture.
"Leave them," he said quietly. "They strengthen each other. He needs her even if she doesn't need him. He's been through a lot recently, and just lost two of his companions. They're not undermining any discipline, quite the reverse. They're showing the rest of us we can work together."
Before Tirak had time to reply, the door slid open and J'koshuk entered. Instantly, Kaid was up and moving toward him. As the door slid shut, his hands closed around the Valtegan's throat, slamming him against it.
"Where are they?" he demanded, ears laid sideways and lips drawn back from his teeth in a snarl of extreme rage.
"Who?" hissed J'koshuk, clawed hands scrabbling at Kaid's forearms, his voice barely audible because of the pressure on his throat. "No one is missing!"
Shifting his grip, Kaid was surprised to feel metal under his hands. Hooking the fingers of his left hand round the band, he hauled the priest into the center of the room. A quick glance told him all he needed to know about it for the moment.
"Two of us are gone! Where are they? When will they be returned?" he demanded, shaking him by the collar.
"They're back," wheezed J'koshuk, trying to keep his voice calm as he clutched at Kaid for support. "They were only gone for a few hours."
"Liar!" shrieked Zashou, bearing down on them, claws outstretched. "We've spent the day watching and waiting!"
Kaid fended her off until T'Chebbi ran over and grabbed hold of her, then he hauled J'koshuk closer. "Where are they?" he asked again, staring into the other's bulbous green eyes.
The priest flinched and looked away. "I watched them being returned myself not thirty minutes ago."
Kaid felt a cold knot of fear grip his lower belly. "Check it out, T'Chebbi," he said calmly. Suddenly, he was afraid to discover J'koshuk was telling the truth. The seconds stretched interminably as he waited for her to return.
"They're back. Are sleeping," she said.
Zashou whimpered in fear, then Kaid heard a dull thump as she hit the ground.
"Fainted," said T'Chebbi in disgust.
Knowing her as he did, Kaid could hear the note of uncertainty in her voice that the others would miss. He returned his attention to the priest, smelling the stench of his fear. "You're their creature, their servant. What manner of beings are the Primes? What did they do to my people? Why did they take them?" he demanded.
"They were taken to the medical unit for treatment. Beyond that, I know nothing, not even what the Primes look like!"
"You're running their errands! You must know more than that!"
"I'm a captive like you. I do just that, run their errands, under guard. I've been sent to check on the male."
"You caused his condition!" snarled Kaid, giving him another shake.
"They know that," said the priest quietly when he'd stopped. "Now release me and let me do my job. If I were you, I'd not earn their displeasure. It isn't me they'll punish."
Kaid snarled his anger but released him. Something was wrong about this priest. He followed him, watching J'koshuk as he checked Rezac's dressings, felt his pulse. Obviously satisfied, J'koshuk turned to leave, and found Kaid blocking his way.
"What about her?" He indicated Jo.
"I wasn't instructed to check her."
"Where did you get your medical training in Sholan physiology?"
J'koshuk looked startled. "What do you mean?"
"Where did your sudden concern for us come from, J'koshuk? You hate us as a species, want nothing more than to destroy us. What changed?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I do what the Primes order me to do," he blustered, but Kaid could see his protruberant eyes widening in fear.
"You hadn't noticed, had you? What have they done to you, J'koshuk? What price are you paying for being their messenger? Get out of here, and don't bother coming back. Tell your masters you're not welcome."
"I have no choice," J'koshuk said, his face turning a sickly yellowish hue as the color drained from it. The scent of his fear grew stronger, pervaded the room. "I must do as they order me."
Kaid stood aside. "Then don't return here without information for me," he said quietly. "I want to know what the Primes want with us, and if any of your people have gone missing."
J'koshuk edged past him into the main room. As he did, the door hissed open to reveal armed guards, rifles pointed at him.
"Do not intimidate the Interface," the translator intoned as J'koshuk fled to safety.

* * *

They woke Jo and Rezac, and though mindful of the fact they were injured, searched them thoroughly for any monitoring devices. They found nothing. Neither of them had any memory of even leaving the room, and only the fact that Rezac had fresh dressings and Jo's cannula had been removed, convinced them that anything at all had happened. That night, no one wanted to go to the bedrooms. They preferred to remain together in the lounge.

* * *
Day 9

The next day, J'koshuk awoke to a pulsing in his collar— his alarm call. Flinging his clothes on, he quickly headed for the food dispenser and chose some eggs and the warm herbal drink he'd had the night before. He didn't relish facing a day with stomach problems. He'd barely finished when the soldiers arrived for him.
They led him to a room up the corridor, away from his own and the Sholan quarters. As soon as he entered it, he could feel the pigment drain from his face. Walls and floor were tiled in white, a color he knew showed up the brightness of blood to devastating effect. The lighting was bright but could be intensified by moving the large circular units standing a short distance away. It reminded him too forcefully of his office in Geshader, on Keiss.
In the center stood a chair with a rack of surgical implements close beside it. The chair was different, more comfortable than his interrogation chair had been, padded in an easily cleaned seamless fabric, but it reclined from upright to a full bed size, with attached anchorage points for wrists and ankles as well as neck. And at the neck was a series of wired contacts that he knew instantly fixed onto collars like his. It might also look like a medical room, but he didn't need the old scent of Valtegan fear to tell him its last purpose had been for interrogation.
An armored glove closed with a viselike grip on his shoulder, propelling him into the room. He knew his options— he went quietly, or he suffered pain and went anyway. Pulling away, he found he was released instantly. Walking over to the chair, he sat down, noticing somewhere deep in his mind that it fit him easily. The guards stayed where they were and he realized with surprise, they had no intention of fastening him down.
The minutes passed and it grew more difficult to avoid staring at the instruments on the rack. He concentrated on looking around the room again, examining it, looking for the subtle differences. It was spacious compared to his room in Geshader, and a palace compared to the cargo hold on the
M'ijikk.
He smelled antiseptic in the air, overlying the strengthening scent of fear he knew was his own. Four sealed body-sized units backed onto the far wall. Above them were monitor screens. Maybe it doubled as an emergency medical room. It certainly wasn't the main one he'd accompanied the unconscious Rezac to.
The heavy sound of approaching feet made him turn to look over his shoulder. Two of the Seniormost Primes. He quickly turned back, hoping they hadn't noticed him, but it was impossible to tell under those helmets.
They came round in front of him, arms hanging easily at their sides.
"We will question you now. You are our Interface, one who will move freely among the captives if you prove your honesty. We do not expect lies. If you lie, we will know it and one of the guards will punish you. They have been adjusted to have no compunctions about inflicting pain. They will stop only when ordered. Is that understood?"
J'koshuk blinked rapidly, unable to stop his fear sphincters releasing their scent. They
adjusted
their own kind? What was behind those visors? What manner of beings were they?
"Why did you take the ship called
Rryuk's Profit
?" asked the flat, mechanical voice.
"For the navigators, the Cabbarans," he said quickly. Keeping information from the Primes wouldn't help him. There were several among the bridge crew who could tell them this.
"Why?"
The voice seemed to come slightly from one side this time, but he couldn't be sure. It unsettled him, not knowing which one he was talking to.
"We were disgraced at home and couldn't return without facing our execution. We hoped the navigators would buy us our lives."
"What value have these aliens to your kind?"
"They can navigate during jumps."
"The nature of your disgrace?"
He turned his head slightly, looking from one to the other. Which one had spoken? "We lost our Rest and Recuperation world to the Sholans when they answered a distress call from the Humans."
Silence, while they obviously conferred with each other. Then, "How did you learn of Jalna?"
"From a small trading ship we captured some time ago."
"What took you to Jalna? You have not been seen there before."
"Our ship had been damaged in escaping from Keiss and needed repairs. We knew we could sell the four Sholans there for the supplies we needed. That's where we saw and heard about the Cabbarans."
"If they defeated you on Keiss, how were you able to take these Sholans?"
J'koshuk twitched. He'd been hoping they wouldn't ask. "Our Commander of Forces called us to take part in a military mission."
"Its nature?"
"I don't know. I am only the priest, not included in bridge briefings unless summoned by the Captain." He couldn't stop his tongue from flicking out nervously.
From the neck down a tidal wave of pain washed through him, setting every nerve on fire, making his body twitch uncontrollably. It seemed to go on and on, then just as suddenly, it stopped.
He lay panting in the chair, barely able to open his eyes or think coherently.
"You lie." The mechanical tones were devoid of inflection.
"I don't," he whimpered. "We followed orders, placed ourselves in a formation around the Sholan worlds. That's all I know."
A guard stepped forward, and taking him by a handful of his robes, lifted him up and slammed him into the back of the chair.
"I don't know!" J'koshuk said frantically, clawing at the armored glove. "All I know is that we destroyed every living thing on both worlds!"
The guard released him, letting him fall back to the seat.
"Where did the weapon come from?" he was asked after a moment or two of silence.
"I don't know," he said, gripping the arms of the chair, bracing himself for more pain. "It wasn't on our craft. Only General M'ezozakk would know."
"You did more than trade at Jalna. You left something behind. What was it?"
He looked from one to the other in shock, trying desperately to remember what they'd done there. How did the Primes know so much about them? "The Holy Object!" he said in a rush. "We sent it down to protect it from the authorities on M'zull in case they wouldn't accept us back. We hoped one day to retrieve it."
"Describe it."
"A large cube. It hurt to look at it." This was something he did know about and he could hear himself beginning to babble in his urgency to tell them about it before they turned on his collar again. "Light seemed to bend round it and it felt strange to the touch. It wasn't heavy— moved easily, as if floating. It's been worshipped in the General's family for generations."
Silence fell while they considered his answer.
"What is the location of this Human world?" he was asked at length.
He could taste the sudden rank smell of his fear strongly now. He clenched his hands tightly round the arms of the chair, claws indenting the semi-rigid surface. "It's not my job. I'm only a priest who interrogates those the Church considers heretics. I'm not trained as a navigator."
Again the silence. He'd never before experienced such terror. Though his body was shaking, another part of him was sitting back, analyzing what they were doing that was so effective.
"The food. Do you cope with it? It is nutritional for your kind." The question shocked him with its incongruity.
Briefly he wondered whether to lie, then decided against it. "It hurts my stomach. I need freshly killed meat, eaten raw, not cooked."
"There are settings that control the amount of heat applied to the food. You can choose one that barely cooks it."
"But it isn't raw!"
"Accustom yourself to it. There is no reason why you cannot. Your stomach is capable of processing it." The reply was said almost before he'd finished talking.
"You have work to do shortly, using your particular skills. You will choose one of your crew to interrogate. The guards will aid you. Return to your quarters and clean yourself." Both Primes turned away from him and began to walk away.
"Me?"
"You question our decision?"
He could almost hear the implication in the flat, inflectionless voice. "No," he said hurriedly, getting out of the seat before they changed their minds. Why did they want him to question his fellow crew members? Then he supplied his own answer, because he obviously knew them better.
As the guards escorted him back to his rooms, he realized that to return him to his quarters like this, the Primes were capable of smelling his scents. So the suits were two- way, they concealed his abductors' natures, not protected them. He put this to the back of his mind to consider later, when he had more such small facts.