strongholdrising (81 page)

* * *

The Shrine was a simple place, brightly lit at this time, with the half life-sized statue of the seated Vartra placed just in front of the usual red velvet curtain. The plinth on which it rested was made of rough hewn rock from the asteroid itself. To either side stood the obligatory braziers, fed not by charcoal as they were on Shola, but by a gas mixture coming through fireproof blocks. In a small room adjacent to the main one, he felt the presence of Jiosha.
The door hissed closed behind him, alerting her to his presence. As she came in from her office, he dropped his illusion, reaching mentally for her, grasping control of her mind and body. He misjudged the strength of his sending, and with a gentle sigh, she fell to the ground like a sack of vegetables.
Swearing under his breath, he ran to her side, checking her pulse and breathing. He sighed with relief— she was only unconscious. Then he swore some more as he realized he couldn't leave her lying here like this. Putting the box down, he picked her up and carried her into her office, laying her down on the worn sofa he found there.
Returning to the Shrine, he retrieved the box and went around to the back of the statue, looking for the recess. It was open and waiting for him. Carefully he put the box into its niche, feeling around the outside for the trigger that would close the secret panel. A faint click, and a small slab of stone slid out from one side, sealing in the box containing Vartra's head.
Getting up, he spent a moment reestablishing his illusion before striding confidently out.

* * *

Looking like the outpost's commander, access to the
Venture II
was easy. What he didn't expect as he sealed the airlock door behind him was to find Banner waiting just out of sight.
A surprised look crossed the other's face. "Commander? I thought you were still on the
Couana.
"
"I sent my aide instead," he said shortly. "You're supposed to be there. What're you doing on the
Venture
?"
"Waiting for our Captain. He was delivering something to the Shrine for Father Lijou. He plans to take the
Venture II
to go home."
A warning klaxon, relayed through the ship's comm, went off outside.
"Damn! Get off now, Banner," he said, dropping all pretense of being L'Seuli as he pushed past him into the ship's interior. "I'm going back for Shaidan."
Banner coped well with his revelation. There was shock, of course, but then his Second felt a sense of satisfaction that his suspicions had been proved right.
"I know. I'm coming with you," Banner said, following him. "So are the others."
He stopped dead. "Others?"
"All but Chima. I managed to make sure she's busy elsewhere. You didn't want a female with us after what happened to Carrie, did you?" Banner raised his wrist, turning on his comm link. "Start her up, Khadui," he said. "Captain's on board."
"Aye sir."
"This mission is unauthorized, Banner. If you come with me, we'll be branded renegades for real this time."
"We know, but the M'zullians have destroyed the J'kirtikkian world with the weapon they used on Khyaal and Szurtha. If we don't go now, they'll leave the cub with Kezule."
Shocked, he stared at Banner, then beneath his feet, he felt the deck begin to vibrate. He began to run for the bridge.
"Head for the jump point, Banner," he said flinging himself into the command chair as the other leaped into his own seat. "I'll take over once we're off Haven."
"Incoming message, Captain," said Khadui.
"Ignore it." The
Venture II
began to rise and head for the force field that protected the entrance to the landing bay. "You all realize what we're doing, don't you?" he said. "This isn't a rescue mission. We need to do what Kezule wants, play for time if we're going to get that cub back."
"We understand," said Banner.
"At least this time we can't be accused of stealing a ship," said Jayza, glancing over his shoulder at him.

Haven
L'SEULI was in a calmer mood when he debarked from his shuttle. It was with relief he saw Jiosha waiting for them with Physician Vryalma. Once more, Chima was given the job of looking after their guests, this time taking them to the sick bay for obligatory health checks.
Taking his co-ruler by the arm, he drew her toward the elevator, waiting for it to return. "Thank Vartra you're all right. Did you have Vryalma examine you?" he asked.
"No need," she replied with an amused glance at him. "I only passed out, that's all."
"It's how you passed out that worries me. The thought of anyone controlling your mind..."
"L'Seuli, I'm fine. Kusac didn't try to control my mind. He was as surprised as I was when I passed out. What worries me is that he did it. I thought he'd lost his Talent."
"He had, but Kzizysus, the TeLaxaudin, developed a cure for him. Father Lijou told me it would take several weeks before he was able to use his abilities again, though. Are you sure there's been no damage done?" he asked as the elevator doors slid open and they got in.
"Why don't you ask me what's really in your mind, L'Seuli?" she said, leaning against him as the doors closed. "I've been aware of your interest for several months now, and I'd be happy to spend time with you. This evening will be fine. Now tell me what you're doing about Kusac."
L'Seuli stared down at her, speechless and embarrassed.
She laughed gently, resting her hand on his shoulder as she watched his ears flatten down out of sight. "Come on, L'Seuli, I'm a telepath. You've been very good trying to hide it, but I noticed, and I'm flattered. One of us had to bring up the subject and I've waited long enough for you to do it!"
"I sent half a dozen fighters after them to force them back, but they jumped before we could reach them," he said in a slightly strangled voice, trying to back away from her, but he found her grip surprisingly strong. "I've reported the matter to Commander Rhyaz."
"Are you sending ships to the rendezvous coordinates?"
"No. The Commander agrees with me that we might as well let them go. Given the current crisis, we can't afford to get involved any further. Our treaty with the Primes is even more vital now. Besides, it's likely Kezule will have changed the rendezvous."
"Makes sense," she nodded, stroking his neck briefly and intimately before moving her hand to link it through his arm as the elevator doors opened. "It's no different from before. We can't risk showing up in case it frightens Kezule away."
"Fright isn't a word I'd associate with the General," said L'Seuli, his mind on her as she escorted him out into the corridor. His surprise at her acknowledgment of his interest had worn off enough for him to consider the situation between them now.
"So it's a matter of waiting until tomorrow to debrief the female Rraelga, then send them all home. Where are the cubs going? To Kusac's estate as he asked, or to Stronghold?"
"Probably the Telepath Guild," said L'Seuli as she drew him inexorably through the busy corridor toward his office. "Master Sorli is well equipped to debrief them there, and if it's appropriate they be sent to Ruth and Carrie, they're close enough to do so. We can send them back to Shola on the
Couana.
" He imagined everyone they passed was staring at them and speculating on what would happen between them.
They're far more interested in news of the M'zullians and the arrival of the cubs and Rraelga,
she sent, opening his office door and propelling him inside.
"I suppose so," he murmured, enjoying the warmth of her hand resting on his arm and her scent mingled with the faint smell of nung incense. He'd dreamed of this opportunity for so long that he didn't quite know what to do now it was here.
"So we've got perhaps half an hour to begin to get to know each other better before your briefing at the fourteenth hour." She stopped and turned round to face him expectantly.
"I should..."
"What?" she interrupted him. "You never struck me as the shy type, L'Seuli."
His ears flattened again. "I'm not! I just want a relationship that will last with you, not something..." Seeing her surprise, he ground to a halt.
"You're serious about me, aren't you?" she said quietly. "I hadn't realized. Look, I can't cook, so I can't offer to make a meal for you..."
"I can," he interrupted, ears rising. "So will you come to my quarters tonight for third meal?"
She began to laugh softly, reaching out to touch his face.
"What's so funny?" he asked, slightly hurt.
"Nothing," she chuckled, stepping closer, and closer still when his arms opened automatically for her. "Just that I hadn't realized I was so lucky. Not only do I have one of the nicest and most old-fashioned males I know, but you can cook too!"
"I don't know if that's a compliment or not," he said as she tilted her face up to his. He felt a rush of light-headedness and his heart began to beat even faster as their lips touched.
My fault, I'm sending to you. I'll stop if you want.
"Don't even think about it," he murmured, hands closing round her shoulders. "One of the nice things about having a telepath for a lover, so I hear, is the sharing."
Jiosha began to purr with amusement— just as the comm began to buzz.
L'Seuli let her go and answered it with a sigh. "L'Seuli here."
"Commander, it's Vryalma from the sick bay. Are you alone?"
"Apart from Mentor Jiosha, yes."
"Those cubs— they're hybrids, not pure Sholans."
"What? Are you sure?" he asked, glancing across at Jiosha.
"Positive. On a hunch, I got the main comp to cross-check their DNA against that of our people who were on the Prime ship
Kz'adul
, and I got matches. These are the cubs of those Brothers and Sisters, Commander. And they're ten years old."
"On my way up," he said.
Stronghold, the same day
"Take them to Tanjo," said Rhyaz. "And get Jiosha to speak to those who've been in contact with them. I don't want word of this getting out to anyone until we've decided what to do with them. Use Attitude Indoctrination if you have to, but ensure this story dies now. How do we explain the presence of ten-year-old hybrids without shaking our treaty with the Primes to its very foundations? With the M'zullians on the move, we need that treaty, L'Seuli. Kusac needs it."
"What about the needs of the cubs, Master Rhyaz?" asked Jiosha. "They've known nothing but an experimental facility and the renegade Primes. They've had no childhood— from what Rraelga says we think they're actually only twelve weeks old— they don't deserve to be put in cryo for the next nine years."
"No decision has been made, yet, Jiosha, but if they were, they'd know nothing about it. For them it would be like a night's sleep, nothing more," said Rhyaz.
"You wouldn't be sending them to the Instructor if you intended to return them to their parents."
"Did Kusac's report— or Banner's— say why Kezule left the Prime world?" asked Rhyaz, changing the topic.
"Nothing in Kusac's beyond what we already know," said L'Seuli. "His was very brief. It was Banner's that said that Kezule wanted Kusac to train his people and had kept a cub back to ensure he returned."
Rhyaz sighed. Once again he had more puzzles, not less. "Have Tanjo question the cubs closely, but carefully, L'Seuli. I'll inform you both of our decision regarding them when Father Lijou and I have discussed the matter. Keep me posted on any developments."
"Yes, Commander."

* * *

"Have you any idea what Kaid will say and do when he finds out you've put his and Carrie's sons, and Rezac's daughter all into cryo?" Kha'Qwa asked Rhyaz, obviously aghast at the thought.
"I haven't put them in cryo yet," Rhyaz said, irritated. He should have remembered Kha'Qwa was too newly a mother to be able to view the problem of the cubs dispassionately.
"But you will," said Lijou, placing more logs on the fire. "Because right now, regrettably, we haven't any other option."
"Until Kusac returns to us," said Kha'Qwa.
"If he does," said Rhyaz. "Now Kezule's got his claws into him, I doubt we'll see him again. He probably holds Kusac responsible for his treatment on Shola. But why didn't Kezule keep him when he had him? Why lure him back with a cub— unless the cub's his."
"Not possible," said Lijou. "The implant made Kusac sterile, just like the M'zullians."
"Then how come Carrie had twins, one of them Kusac's son?" asked Rhyaz reasonably.
"The implant had been removed by then," said Lijou. "I'm beginning to wonder if Rezac was right all along and that despite his hatred of the Valtegans, Kusac is suffering from the same dependency as the Sholan captives in his time."
"What about the female and her infant?" asked Kha'Qwa. "You can't put them in cryo too."
"I'm having her brought here so you can adjust her memories, Lijou, then we'll take her to Noni. She can find her a place in one of the villages looking after a Brotherhood family."
Lijou flicked an ear in agreement. "A nice solution. I wish it were as easy for the cubs," he sighed.
"Kusac left something on the
Couana
for Carrie," said Rhyaz. "A pair of birthing bracelets and a data crystal with a message. Could he have known about the twins? When I went to tell him Carrie and Kaid's daughter had been born, he already knew. Has his Talent started returning?"
"Not to that degree," said Lijou. "He might have picked up the birth of their daughter, but that's all, and he had to have bought the bracelets some time before he left Shola, when he was on his estate. You can't get them out here unless you go to Ranz. I know, I tried." He glanced over at his life-mate with a gentle smile. "Likely the second one was for Kashini."
"I'm not so sure," said Rhyaz uncomfortably, remembering his last conversation with Kusac. "He was anxious to leave immediately, said there was a very strong risk of his mind Linking to Carrie's now she'd had the cub, and if that happened, he couldn't go on the mission."
"He was right," said Lijou quietly. "I'll take the bracelets and data crystal to Carrie. We owe them that at least. From what I hear, with the worry over Dhaykin and Kusac, her health is fragile at the moment."
"Not the crystal," said Rhyaz. "I want to check for any coded messages. We can't risk him telling her about the mission and the cubs. It isn't as if she'll know there was a crystal in the first place." His eyes glazed over briefly and he got to his feet hurriedly. "Alex is on her way up. Will you explain about the cubs to her, Kha'Qwa? She gets on well with you."
Kha'Qwa sighed. "I'll try, but I don't like your decision in the first place."
"Just do your best," he said, heading for the concealed exit from their lounge. He stopped and looked at Lijou. "May I?" he asked.
Lijou waved his hand. "Go," he said. "We'll speak to Alex."
Valsgarth Estate, Zhal-S'Asha, 29th day (October)
Carrie sat looking at Lijou, unable to take in what he was saying. First Kusac's apparent defection from Shola, now this.
"This is what Kusac left for you," said Lijou gently, putting a tissue wrapped package onto the lap of her long woollen robe. She could feel his hope that this would bring her out of her state of shock.
It was something concrete in a world suddenly gone even more insane than it had been for the last eleven days.
"What is it?" Kaid asked the priest sharply.
She caught Lijou's negative gesture and automatically closed her hands round the package. It was hers, from Kusac, perhaps the last communication she'd ever have from him if this latest move by the M'zullians led to war. It— no, they, she could feel two curved items— felt hard, the coldness from them drawing the heat from her hands.
An image began to form in her mind and frantically, she tore the wrapping from them until they tumbled, shining brightly, into her lap.
Kaid was squatting on his haunches at her side in an instant. "Birthing bracelets!" he said, looking up at Lijou, as surprised as she was. "But they're only given by the parents."
"He wanted her to know he welcomed your cub," said Lijou quietly.
"But two of them? How could he know about his son?"
"Where's his message, Lijou?" said Carrie, her voice tight and brittle. She looked across at him. "He left me a data crystal and I want it."
"There was no crystal," he began.
"Don't lie to me!" She was on her feet now, towering over him, the bracelets clutched tightly in one hand, the tissue wrapping cascading to the floor around her. "Why have you kept it from me? What's in it that you need to hide?" Her eyes glittered with unshed tears.
"Nothing's being hidden from you, Carrie," said Lijou. "I kept the crystal back only so as not to distress you. I can tell you what it..."
"I want the message my life-mate left for me." She needed it, needed to see him and hear his voice again! "How did he know to buy two birthing bracelets? He could have bought Kashini one at any time, but he didn't!"
"When he left, his Talent was still suppressed," began Lijou.
"Take these!" she said, thrusting the bracelets at him. "Feel them, Lijou, then tell me his Talent was suppressed! I can
feel
him in the bracelets!"
"I believe you, my dear," said Lijou, sitting hurriedly back in his seat. "You don't need to convince me."
"Then why keep it from me? Can't you realize that with him gone, anything he's left for me is precious? Or are you punishing me for what Kusac's supposed to have done?"
"No one's being punished, Carrie. I felt the message might distress you, that's all."
She laughed, aware she sounded more than a little hysterical. "Don't patronize me, Lijou. What I can't handle is knowing nothing about where he is or why he left."
"Carrie, I promise that first thing tomorrow, a Brother will be sent from Stronghold with it," said Lijou, standing up.
"You can trust Lijou, Carrie," said Kaid gently, taking her by the elbow and urging her to sit down. "If he says the crystal will be sent to you tomorrow, then he'll see it's done. Can we offer you something, Lijou— a drink, or a meal? It's a long way to come just to deliver the bracelets."
"No, thank you. I must get back. I felt you deserved to have the bracelets delivered in person," said Lijou. "And it doesn't take too long in the speeder."
"I'll walk you to your vehicle," said Kaid.