Oppose (4 page)

She rubbed her temples. “Right. I have more questions.”

“Of course. Are you ready for your next client?”

She practiced her breathing and looked up at him. “Send them in.”

He nodded and resumed his posture, watching the client closely, ready to step in at a moment’s notice if it was necessary. Jill was both relaxed and nervous about his casual acceptance that she was in danger from those who wanted to search the archive.

She looked up patent-use contracts for a starship engine design and provided copies of it to her client. The same representative signed his copy, but it had different information. He needed both contracts to pursue his case, and she gave him what he needed.

When he was gone, she was done for the day.

She nodded to Rimash. “Done.”

He inclined his head and signalled the guards.

“Do you need help?”

She got to her feet on her own, and there was only a slight rush of weakness. “I am good. I won’t win any races, but I think I can make the walk back to my quarters.”

She finished her tea and left her cup in the cupboard where she was to hide it.

She walked up to Rimash and put her hand on his wrist. A weird curl of heat ran through her.

The heat reminded her of the strange dreams she had had in the night. Despite her exhaustion, she had felt wildness swirling around her anytime her mind surfaced close to waking. The feeling of wildness had brought with it curls of heat that ran through her limbs and started to stir something inside her.

Rimash walked her back to her quarters and made sure she had her evening meal.

“Join me.”

He paused. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I have questions, and I think you might be able to answer them.”

He inclined his head. “I would be happy to.”

“Good. Please, order your food, and I will wait for you.”

He went to her well-stocked food unit and ordered his meal and then another.

She sipped at her water and waited, lifting her eating implement when he sat down. It took him a few seconds to settle his wings, but when he began to eat, she started with the questions.

“How did the previous Contract Archive die?”

He slurped in some noodles. “Old age. He was two hundred and forty-three.”

“How was he recruited?”

Rimash quirked his lips. “When the previous Contract Archive died, he was her successor. He had the implants, as you do, but yours are much faster and more elaborate.”

“So, the next one isn’t chosen until the previous one dies?”

“Correct.”

“How are the new archives chosen?”

He appeared to realize that she was serious about the questions. He changed his position slightly to one less relaxed, and he answered.

“As far as I know, you must have a mind that can handle the connection with the Great Archive. The criteria are known only to the Archive itself.”

“You speak about the Archive as if it is alive.” She snorted and kept eating.

He looked at her in surprise. “It is.”

She stopped eating. “What?”

“The Great Archive is a living world. It has no Avatar; it simply loves knowledge, so it offered itself as the repository of all information.”

“That can’t be right.”

“Of course it can. That is why it is so difficult to find the archivists to replace the ones who have fallen. It is only when there is an opening that they are told what to look for. As the archive has expanded, so has the need for a certain type of interface in the archivist.”

Jill sat back and tried to remember the first discussion that she had had with the recruiter. He had asked her if she would authorize a scan of her brain output, and she had agreed. It didn’t hurt and had taken three minutes. When it was over, the recruiter had looked at her with calm sadness in his eyes. He told her they would be in touch, and they had been.

Everything that had happened after that fateful meeting had led her to this place and this time.

“So, they scanned me for suitability, and when my brain matched the pattern they were looking for, they hooked me up to the data-retrieval system.”

“Correct.”

She nodded and looked down at her plate, picking up her eating implement and continuing her meal. “Right. So, what do you like to read?”

He grinned, and they had a normal conversation while her mind grappled with the thought that she had been selected because a planet wanted to talk to her.

She needed dessert.

A week and two rest days later, she was finally in the swing of things.

Lunch was taken in the archivist dining room and each department master had their bodyguard with them at all times. Jill would not say that she was making friends with the other archivists, but their specialities were amazing.

Agricultural history, biology, entomology, language and dozens of others. The one that surprised Jill most was penmanship. Calligraphic study was not something that Jill had truly considered, but as they spoke, she understood the idea that the visual representation of language had made understanding and communication possible. You could understand the method of thought in a species if you saw their writing systems.

On her rest days, Jill went to visit other parts of the archive, and to her shock, Rimash went with her. Wherever she went, he went. He didn’t get a day off.

When he walked her to her offices after her rest day, she finally asked, “Why didn’t you take a day off?”

“I am responsible for your health and wellbeing. I cannot monitor you if you are on one part of the world and I am in another.”

She made a face. “Fine. Next rest day, you pick where you want to go and I will go with you.”

He grinned. “Good. I have an interest in the calligraphy archive and their classes run daily.”

“You can take classes?”

He put in the codes for access to her hallway and office. “Of course. This is also a centre of learning. While the Great Archive wishes to accumulate knowledge, it also wishes to help others in the same pursuit.”

Jill shrugged. “That explains the students.”

“It truly does. Are you ready for today?”

“Is anything different happening?”

“Who knows? The folks who come through that door never fail to surprise me.” He chuckled as she ran through her own security protocols to get to the inner office.

“I have to admit that a few have stumped me.”

“Well, you have executed your duties with as much patience and care as could be wished for. The Archive is pleased with the progress.”

“You talk to it?”

He raised his brows. “Of course. All of the escorts act as intermediaries with the Archive itself. While we can watch the biological signs of our charges, it watches your minds.”

Jill blinked. “How did I miss finding out about that?”

“You never asked.” He chortled.

She had learned that he had a sense of humour that kicked in when she was surprised by the new world around her. Her shock amused the hell out of him.

She settled at her desk and prepped her tea for the morning, taking a quick sip before she settled with her hands on the table.

“Ready when you are, Captain.”

He gave the nod, and they were off once again.

A woman came in, heavily pregnant with shaking hands. She bowed in front of the desk, and Jill motioned for her to sit down.

The woman was elegant, her black velvet skin a lovely contrast to her bright amber eyes. Her hair was up in a twist, and her body was swathed in a thick amethyst silk gown.

“Archive, I need you to find a copy of my mating contract.” The woman’s voice was hoarse with tears.

“I will do what I can. What is your name, miss?”

“Imbri Dakurt Limira of the Selna. Please. I don’t want my child born to the Selna. It needs a life where it won’t be sold to the highest bidder.” She dragged in a deep breath. “My mate is Drono Limira of the Nyal.”

Jill went looking, and she tried not to flinch at what she found. Drono Limira was a serial contract mater. He had eleven mates alive and on record, and each one had been signed back to their families the moment that he left their world. He was renting a wife for his business trips.

Jill looked at the upset woman. “Do you know about him?”

Imbri sniffled. “He was kind, he was attentive. He bought me things and was respectful to my mother. He was a good husband.”

While she talked, Jill was running through the Limira family contracts, looking for something she could turn to Imbri’s purposes.

“I have found three contracts that are of interest to you. The first is that I have found your mating contract.”

Imbri smiled in relief.

“Stay strong, because the next is the contract where Drono sold you back to your family.”

The gasp was the precursor to a wave of tears that took the Selna from hope to devastation.

“Calm, miss. Calm.” Jill opened one of her drawers and pulled out an elegant handkerchief with the logo of the Contract Archive on it.

She slid the handkerchief across her desk, and Imbri took it, sobbing at a gradually decreasing pace.

“The third contract is one where you can get support for you and your child.”

The gold eyes opened in surprise. “You can?”

“Not me. You. I just found the contract of one of his ancestors promising support and an equal share of the family fortunes for any of his children or members of his blood. That seems to encompass your child.”

Jill got to her feet and went to retrieve the copies. She was just turning with the heavy parchment when a wave of power flowed through the air and Imbri cried out.

The surge of liquid onto the floor proved to Jill that aliens started to give birth the same way Terrans did.

Imbri stared at her. “It isn’t my time.”

Jill looked to Rimash. “Call for a medical team!”

He nodded. “Already done. May I assist?”

Jill gestured for him to come in. “Please. I don’t suppose you have done this before?”

He grinned. “Only four times. There are few pregnant women in the Great Archive.”

She quickly went to her desk and authorized the copies in her hands before anything went odd. It was hard to concentrate, but she verified the contents of the contracts before she affixed her seals.

Once they were ready, she joined the couple on the floor. Rimash had found a wide blanket, and Imbri was lying back muttering. “Too soon, it’s too soon.”

Jill only had the basic knowledge of what she was seeing, but the blood was not a good sight.

Rimash folded his wings back and knelt in front of Imbri’s spread knees. “Archive Ahamad, go and keep her calm.”

His voice was stern. Whatever was happening, he didn’t want her to see it.

She went and knelt next to Imbri, supporting her when she wanted to sit up a little.

“Is this a normal pregnancy, Imbri?” She whispered it in the woman’s ear.

The Selna shook her head violently. “It is a tubal pregnancy. I wanted to force Drono to take responsibility for our child because I am not going to survive this.”

Rimash cursed and lifted his head. “Medical, where are you?”

He nodded shortly. “Two minutes away. The tube broke down.”

Imbri smiled weakly and looked up at Jill. “You will make him pay?”

This was a deathbed request. There was no doubt about it. Jill swallowed. “I will pursue your case and make sure that your child is taken care of.” Out of her mouth came the words, “It will be as my own, but you will be fine.”

Imbri smiled slightly and her skin greyed as she arched and her child entered the world.

The medics rushed in, and Rimash lifted the child, putting it on its mother’s abdomen.

It was a little girl, and her ruby-red eyes were visible through their slight opening and her puffy lids.

Imbri let the medical team load her up as she touched her daughter’s hand. “What is your name, Madam Archive?”

“Jillema.”

Imbri smiled. “Imjillema she will be. Your name, sir?”

“Rimash.”

“Imjillema Rimash is her name.” Imbri laid back as the medics removed her and her body went limp.

“I am following her.”

Rimash nodded. “You need to faint.”

She looked at him and then collapsed in his arms. He smeared blood on her cheek and carried her after the medical team. He whistled and jerked his head to the Archive express carriage. It was on a dedicated line and would not be bogged down. It was the fastest way to get Imbri medical care.

The medics followed, and in moments, they were on their way to the treatment centre. The baby was squirming in the arms of one of the medics. She might be early, but she had energy.

Jill held her arms out. “Give her to me.”

The medic hesitated and then handed the child over. “Yes, Archive.”

The baby peeped at her and waved her hand in the air. Jill smiled and slipped her finger into the tiny velvety grip.

Their little trio watched over the medics working frantically, and when they arrived at the medical centre, Rimash carried them after the still form of Imbri. The blood on the pathway let him follow at a stately pace even as the medics ran off.

“Well, Imjay, I am sure that she will be fine.”

The red eyes looked at her seriously through thick lashes.

Rimash asked, “Imjay?”

“Imjillema is a bit of a mouthful. Imjay is a lot easier.” She stroked the baby’s cheek.

“I will arrange for clothing and a bed for her. What else do we need?”

“Food, diapers, toys. That sort of thing.”

“Right. I will notify the Childcare Archive. They can provide me with a list.” He was staring down at the baby in her arms.

Imbri never woke up. She breathed her last at the Great Archive with her new child at her side. Jill was now a mother.

Jill hadn’t considered children as an option because she had rejected the three suitors that her family had brought to her. She had been told that they wouldn’t find anyone else and that it would be disrespectful for her to consider a man from outside their traditions.

So, she had dated, she had been careful and she had never considered making any permanent attachment.