Back in the main docking section, there were definite signs that Arnott was moving the station. It was even more crowded and GEM Co. employees were sealing hatches.
Aurelia started to run as fast as her leg and the crowd would let her. Racing down the connecting corridor, she boarded the
Pasteur
and headed for engineering. Radif disappeared the moment they stepped on board.
“Chief!” Aurelia yelled.
Rekhaan looked up from the computer monitor he was bending over. His chin was rough with stubble and the skin around his eyes was darker. “What is it?” he asked.
“You’ve got less than an hour to get us up and running. Arnott is moving the station.”
Everyone within earshot grew silent. The chief looked stunned. “He cannot do that.”
“Well he is. And what do you know about Operation East India?”
Frowning, Rekhaan repeated, “Operation East India?”
“Yes. What is it?”
“I have no idea.”
Aurelia snapped her fingers at him. “Well think! East India.”
Lifting both shoulders, Rekhaan shook his head, “It is a direction. The Punjab perhaps?”
“Is something going on there?”
“Such as?”
“I don’t know. A conspiracy. A code word for something to do with GEM Co. Think.”
“Unless...”
“What?”
“But that has no significance now.”
Aurelia gritted her teeth. “Just say it.”
“There was a British East India Company hundreds of years ago. I studied it in college. But what would that...”
“A company? Like GEM Co. is a company?”
“Yes. It traded in spices, silk, other goods like that.”
“Anything else?”
“Ruled India.”
“Ruled...I don’t like the sound of that.”
Aurelia’s comm-link beeped. It was Daan, their navigator. Rekhaan had picked him to head the crew on the
Phoenix
.
“Doc, we’re just about to head back.” Daan was shouting above the background noise.
“Is everyone on board?” Aurelia asked.
“Uh, that’s negative. But, Doc, I don’t think we can wait much longer.”
“Who’s missing?”
“The four medical students.”
Bridget snapped her comm link back on her belt in frustration. Her call had been answered once, put on hold then disconnected. Standing to her feet, she stretched widely and felt her back crack in several places.
“What kind of stupid nidge builds a building with one door and no windows?” she wondered aloud.
“I wonder how much air we have left,” said Fredrichs, looking glumly up at her from his seat on the box he had brought with him.
“Oh, it’s not airtight,” Bridget retorted. She didn’t want to think about that possibility. She looked around the warehouse. Torp and Miguel were wandering around searching for a way out again. Steve was trying to call the
Pasteur
. His face looked flushed but he didn’t seem to be getting any sicker. Hopefully, it was nothing serious. She glanced back at Fredrichs. “What’s in that box anyway?” she asked.
Fredrichs stared at her for a minute then shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter now,” he said and jerked his thumb in Steve’s direction. “He already knows. It’s my new hyperspace drive.”
“It’s too small.”
“That’s the point. It’s smaller, more efficient and doesn’t create Hanson’s spatial anomaly.”
“And what does that mean?”
“You can use it within a gravity well. It means you could go from Earth to Mars in about ten minutes. You won’t have to buckle down for the jump to hyperspace, you won’t even feel it.” Fredrichs’s rolls of fat were beginning to quiver he was so animated.
Torp and Miguel had finished their circuit of the area and had wandered back. Torp stood looking down at Fredrichs’s box. “If that thing really works, “ he said. “you’ll make an unbelievable amount of money.”
Miguel broke in, “I would think there would be a lot of accidents. I mean you pop out of h space within 100 detels of Earth and you’re going to hit somebody.”
“The navi comps would take care of that,” Torp argued.
Bridget joined in though she really had no idea what they were talking about,” You could have Kartillions showing up on your doorstep.”
“I wouldn’t sell it to them,” Fredrichs protested.
Torp laughed. “The minute you sell it to anybody the whole galaxy will have it.”
Any further conversation was interrupted by the sound of Steve retching. Bridget glanced at Miguel. His face had gone pale.
Torp had already reached Steve’s side and was bending over him with his scanner. Its shrill warning signal bounced around the warehouse. Torp fumbled to turn it off.
Miguel clutched Bridget’s arm. “My scanner only showed elevated temperature, “ he whispered.
Bridget shrugged helplessly. “What is it, Torp?”
If it were possible for a Raman to turn white, Torp would have been a ghost. “Phinotheria.”
“Oh, shit,” Steve moaned.
“Are you sure?” Miguel demanded.
“Why didn’t you get your booster shots?” Bridget’s voice rose almost to a wail.
“Of course I’m sure,” Torp snapped, rising to his feet.
Steve stared up at Bridget. He was breathing rapidly while tendrils of spit and vomit dripped from his mouth. “How did you know that?” he gasped out.
“Well it’s obvious,” Bridget replied, trying not to implicate Miguel.
“I’m allergic...” Steve broke off to heave again.
“This is Aurelia calling all medical students. Respond now.” The chief surgeon’s voice suddenly boomed over all four of their comm links.
Bridget never thought she would be so glad to hear that voice. She was the first one to react fast enough to answer the call. “Bridget O’Connor here, Doctor.”
“Where are you? And where are Martinez, Miller and Nevad?”
“They’re here with me. We’re trapped in some kind of warehouse with no way out.”
“Where in the city are you?”
Bridget looked at Torp and Miguel who had crowded around her. They both looked blank. “We’re not sure.”
“We can’t be that far from the vaccination site,” Torp added.
“Never mind. Just leave your link open. I’m coming after you.”
Miguel spoke up, “You better bring an eight-seater. We have an extra person.”
“Who’s that?”
“His name is Peter Fredrichs. I think he works with Steve Miller’s dad.”
“And Steve’s got phinotheria,” Bridget blurted.
Static from the link filled the room. Then, “Stay put. Aurelia out.”
Bridget looked around at the others. Relief showed on their faces.
Fredrichs moaned loud enough to create an echo. “I feel sick too.”
Bridget could have cried.
***
Aurelia felt the blood pounding through her body. Just for fun she checked her pressure with the scanner: 145 over 110.
“Where are you getting a shuttle?” Rekhaan asked.
“I have an idea.” Aurelia jabbed her finger at the crew chief. “You just better have this ship disconnected from the station and those bay doors open by the time I get back.”
***
Millie eased the top half of her bed down to sleeping position. She had just had a steady stream of visitors until Dr. L’Ruh had ordered them all out. It was gratifying to know her shipmates were so concerned about her, but Millie was exhausted. She closed her eyes.
She still couldn’t sleep.
Opening her eyes again, she started counting the little dots in the design of the ceiling plates. Her mind was still trying to grasp the concept that the Sclarians and Kaprinians were fighting each other. It seemed to have happened so fast and make no sense at all. Would Earth enter the conflict? The galaxy could get real nasty real fast if that happened. They had managed to stay out of most fights so far but Kaprine was a major ally.
The three-toned chime sounded.
“Come in,” Millie called.
Neil Sanders grinned at her over an armful of red ferns. “I stole these from the lounge,” he announced. “Couldn’t find any flowers.”
Millie laughed. “LRuh will kill you. Those are her babies.”
He eyed the plants dolefully. “Think I can replant them?”
“Looks like you just pulled the tops off,” she laughed again. “Never mind. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
He stuffed the leaves into the pitcher of water on the sink then leaned over her bed to kiss her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired and swollen.”
“But still a knockout.”
“Now I remember. You’re part Irish, aren’t you?” She studied his face as he chuckled. “You seem different than I remember, Neil. I want to say more confident but you were always confident.”
“Maybe it’s because I finally know what I want.” His fingers were gentle against her cheek.
Her head began to buzz as she stared into those wonderful blue eyes. If only she wasn’t so tired...
“Go to sleep, Mil. You’ll feel much better when you wake up.”
She felt the slight pressure of his lips on hers then nothing.
***
Radif had disappeared as soon as they had boarded the
Pasteur
. Aurelia hurried through the connecting corridor without being stopped by the Berellian. Heart pounding, she maneuvered through the crowd in the docking section and down a little-used corridor that ended in an airlock.
Getting lucky, she thought, seeing no one around. Her instincts were paying off. Since Arnott was moving the whole station, he wasn’t worried about his personal shuttle.
She walked over to the control panel. Now if the little weasel hadn’t illegally changed the controls, her name, number and the code for a medical emergency would give her access.
The airlock swung open, the cabin lights came on and Aurelia scrambled inside, breathing a sigh of relief. Scratching at the skin around the cuff, Aurelia slid into the pilot’s seat. Never should have let him put it on me, she thought scratching furiously. She should have bitten him, kicked, anything. Then it struck her. The tingling sensation meant the damn thing was signaling Radif. Her guess was confirmed a few minutes later when the huge black Berellian’s face appeared in the hatchway.
His voice made her jump despite her effort at control. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, with his furry eyebrows pulled into an unbroken line.
Aurelia kept her eyes on the control panel of the shuttle. “I know I’m going down to the surface.”
“Not a safe thing to do.”
She looked him in the eye. “I have people down there. I have sick people down there. If you’re not out of that doorway by the time I start these engines, I’ll blow you into space.”
For answer Radif gripped the top edge of the hatchway, pulling himself into the shuttle.
“You can’t come,” Aurelia protested, “there’s no room.”
Radif stuffed himself into the co-pilot’s seat to her left. He had to keep his head bent to avoid the roof.
“Either I come along or you stay.”
Aurelia doubted she could budge the Berellian. He had to weigh at least 600 pounds, all of it muscle. She turned around and began preparing for take-off without another word.
A slight hiss as the hatch sealed itself shut then the green light on the dash flashed go. Aurelia put on a headset to call the
Pasteur
’s control room. “This is Shuttle Ace. Patch in the comm link signal. And keep this channel open, I may need you.”
“Doc?”
Aurelia wasn’t sure who belonged to the voice on the other end but he sounded confused.
“What shuttle are you on? And where are you?”
“I’m on the station,” Aurelia replied. “I should be showing on your screen with my usual designator of Ace. You don’t need to know anything else.”
“Yes, ma’am. Patching comm-link signal now.”
A red blip appeared on Aurelia’s screen along with a map of Zarnek. The blip indicated the spot where the students were trapped.
Aurelia glanced at her companion. “Can you navigate?”
Radif nodded.
“Good. Make yourself useful.” She pulled away from the space station and hit the thrusters.
The planet looked quiet from this perspective. Most of the ships in orbit around Jidal when the
Pasteur
had first arrived had already pulled out. The Valerians were still there along with two small Sclarian ships, a couple of freighters she couldn’t identify. She assumed there were still a few more out of sight behind the planet.
Aurelia kept her mind rigidly on flying the shuttle. Frightened, panicked thoughts scittered around the edges of her consciousness. She had no idea what to expect on the surface. The worm, twisting in her leg, reminded her of the last time she had been under fire.
Aurelia felt a tiny ball of sweat go sliding down the underside of her arm. I’m never going to get out of this alive, she thought. They’ll be shooting anything that moves. Feel the heat first then the oxygen will be sucked out of my lungs... no sounds not even my own screams and... Shutup Aurelia. She shifted in her seat just to hear the squeak. Pulling in a deep breath, she focused on the dark planet before her.
They entered Jidal’s atmosphere at a spot just above Zarnek. The time was about 2200. It was about 2205 when Radif informed Aurelia that they were being followed.
Jak paced back and forth in the tunnel. The deathsmell hung heavy in the damp air. “The
Phoenix
just took off,” he said aloud. “Now what?”
Co-Lanen waved her antennae at him from her position still on the floor. “The best thing would be to stay here for now. I could think of several things to pass the time.”
Jak stopped. He touched his sore antennae. Had he heard right?
“Your reflexes used to be faster, Ja-ka-thon.”
Her voice held a definite teasing note.
Looking around at their surroundings, the dark, dirt walls, the puddles of murky water, Keller’s body, he shook his head. “You always did have a strange sense of timing.”
His heart responded to her smile, the first real one she had offered him in years. Dropping to his knees before her, Jak slid his right antenna, the good one, down hers. Sweet warmth flooded his body. He felt her arms go around his waist.
A prickling in his back reminded him of Keller. Frap! He had been around humans too long.
“What’s wrong?” Co-Lanen asked as Jak pulled away.
“We can’t stay here, Lanen. And we have to do something with Keller.” He said it with a groan.
Her beautiful face had a bewildered look. “Why? Just leave it here. Or there’s an incinerator not far away.”
For Kaprinians, death left a useless shell to be discarded without another thought. Jak shook his head. “Humans get a little funny about their dead bodies. They like to take them home to their families.”
Cursing himself for an idiot, Jak watched Co-Lanen become “official” again. She gave him a light push away from her then stood to her feet. Her antennae crossed at the ends in proper position.
“Why don’t you call Dr. Aurelia,” Co-Lanen said. It was almost a command.
Nodding, Jak stood as well and pulled out his comm-link. He kept his eyes on Co-Lanen’s stiff back and hated that old sick feeling that shivered through his soul. It took him two tries to form a reply to Kincaid’s greeting from the
Pasteur
.
“This is Rialus. Where is Aurelia?”
“Sorry, sir, she’s left the ship. Would you like...”
“Never mind,” Jak interrupted as the incoming call light on his link flashed in his face. “I have a call from her now. Rialus out.” He switched to Aurelia’s call. “Rialus here.”
“How far are you from Kraylar Court?” Aurelia asked without preamble.
Jak glanced over at Co-Lanen who turned around and mouthed the words, “Ten minutes.”
“We’re about ten minutes away. Why?”
“Okay. Long story short version. Medical students are trapped in a warehouse somewhere around Kraylar Court. Can’t pinpoint it exactly at the moment. I’m on my way but some jackass is right on my tail. Get over to Kraylar and find those kids. Miller has phinotheria. Got it?”
“Got it. What...” Jak paused at a hollow thumping sound from Aurelia’s end follwed by a stream of colorful language then the link clicked off. “That didn’t sound good.” He glanced at Co-Lanen. “Can you take me to Kraylar?”
Co-Lanen nodded. “We will have to be careful though. We may run into someone around that area.”
Jak carefully pulled Keller’s body to one side knowing they couldn’t take it with them. “We’ll have to come back later,” he said, “Let’s go.”
***
Bridget held her hand over both mouth and nose. The atmosphere in the closed-in warehouse was getting quite putrid. Steve had begun moaning interspersed with swear words. Fredrichs was silent except for the grating of each breath. Torp and Miguel were back at the search for a non-existent door.
Bridget waited.
***
Aurelia glanced over at Radif. His dark, furry, inscrutable face suddenly became an oasis, steadying her own nerves.
Whoever was behind them was insane but a hell of a pilot. He had bumped them twice already and Aurelia knew she wouldn’t keep ahead for long.
She had to relax her clenched teeth to let her words out.”Can you tell who it is yet?”
Radif twisted himself around, crawled over the seats to peer out the hatch porthole.
Aurelia ground her teeth again.
“Two men,” the Berellian spoke at last.
Aurelia blew at the piece of hair hanging in her face.
“You are bouncing the shuttle too much.”
“I can’t help it. This thing wasn’t built for sustained speed. Can you see who they are?”
“If you slowed down...”
She laughed.
Radif climbed back into his seat. Slipping on his harness. “Our pursuers would appear to be Captain Zelan and Arbiter Conlin.”
Aurelia slammed her fist against the brake control. With a pop that sounded like fire snapping, their shuttle bucked twice, dropped about two feet and stopped. Aurelia’s head smacked against the console. Radif grunted.
The other shuttle skimmed over their heads in a serpentine fashion as if the pilot, Zelan most likely, was fighting his stick.
She wrestled with her headset to find their commlink frequency. “What do you think you’re doing?”she screamed into the link.
Whether they were running without the CL or were refusing to respond, she couldn’t be sure. Whatever the two men had wanted, they apparently gave up as they continued ahead.
Steadying her shaking hands by wrapping them both around the control stick, Aurelia put the shuttle back into flight mode. “Damn, I thought they were Sclarians for a minute. But what the hell were they doing?”
“I believe they were trying to kill us,” Radif said in a gentle voice as if explaining to a child.
“But why? I know Conlin hates my guts but he couldn’t be fool enough to think he could get away with it.”
“On a war torn planet?”
Aurelia felt every sore muscle from yesterday tighten again.