Between Darkness and Light (69 page)

“What about the other settlements?”

“Representatives from several of them arrived this morning. Apparently on our next visit, we'll see those who were unable to attend this time.”

He nodded, continuing to eat his meal. There was something happening here that he was missing, but what, he didn't know. Glancing down the table, he briefly caught Nishon's eyes on him before the other looked hurriedly away. His feelings of unease were now centered on him: whatever it was, Nishon was involved, of that he was certain.

“M'kou, get M'zynal to do a thorough security check on all goods the Ch'almuthians have brought on board,” he said very quietly, leaning toward the other again.

Startled, M'kou looked up at him. “For what?”

“I don't know. Something about this doesn't feel quite right. They are just too friendly, too obliging.”

M'kou's pupils shrank to vertical slits. “You're an empath, aren't you?” he said softly. “Are you picking up a threat to the ship?”

“Nothing that obvious. They could have hidden some kind of long-range communications device, or bugs.”

“Bugs?”

“Yes, bugs. Small, easily hidden transmitters that relay private conversations and such.”

“They're technologically backward compared to us.”

Banner caught and held his gaze. “Are they?” he asked very softly. “How do we know that for sure?”

“You're quite right, Lieutenant,” M'kou said, raising his voice after a moment's hesitation. “We should run our decontamination procedure. We can't afford to allow any parasites or vermin onto Kij'ik's controlled ecology. M'zynal, you'll see to implementing that, won't you?”

Somewhat reassured, Banner continued eating.

“The Sholan Lieutenant is suspicious of us,” Nishon said without preamble into the communicator.

M'zayash made a sound of annoyance. “He has empathic abilities; he would be, with you broadcasting your nervousness so loudly. We're almost finished here, I'll join you shortly. Meanwhile, remain in the warehouse out of his sight.”

“They're checking everything, claiming to be decontaminating it . . .”

“Let them, they'll find nothing, because there is nothing to find,” she said, hanging up on him.

He woke much later to find his forearm secured and a drip attached to it. Ghidd'ah was at his side instantly.

“How do you feel?” she asked, checking his pulse.

“Better,” he admitted. “Hungry and thirsty,” he added, trying to lick his dry lips.

She poured him a cup of water and lifted his head to help him drink it. When he tried to raise his hand to the cup, his body still felt leaden and wouldn't respond properly, and his mind was decidedly fuzzy.

“Your fever seems to have broken. I'll get a light meal sent down to you then I want you to rest again,” she said. “We've got real eggs now, and birds to lay them.”

“I should get up,” he said as she called a medic over to help her raise the bed for him. “A day in bed is long enough.”

“A day?” she smiled. “We're on our way home, Kusac. You've been here for two days. I've had to keep you sedated to stop the symptoms from returning. And the General and Banner out of here,” she added.

He knew he should feel more shocked than he did, but right now, it didn't seem that important.

Next time he woke, Zayshul was there, lying on top of his bed, her head resting against his shoulder. Underneath her scent, he could smell the familiar surroundings of his quarters on Kij'ik.

“You're awake,” Zayshul said with a faint smile, sitting up. “We're nursing you in your own rooms.”

He caught sight of Ghidd' ah behind her at the doorway.

“She kept me unconscious,” he said accusingly, struggling to sit up. He still felt a little light-headed and not quite coordinated.

“I know. I told her to,” said Zayshul. “If she hadn't, we'd have had a lot more explaining to do to everyone. As it is, you're back with as little fuss as possible, and I have an excuse to be in your rooms.”

As he watched Ghidd'ah leave the room, shutting the door behind her, it took a moment or two for what she'd said to sink in.

“You're becoming too devious for my good,” he murmured, automatically checking that his mental shields—those he'd learned from the Cabbaran mystic—were fully up as he turned his attention to matters of a more pressing sensual nature.

The first touch of his lips to her skin brought the craving for her back with a vengeance. “Your scent's a poison,” he murmured, his tongue flicking out to gently graze her cheek. “You are a drug I can't do without. I shouldn't be doing this.” His voice, almost inaudible, tailed off as he kissed her.

 

When she'd gone, taking Ghidd'ah with her, he showered, un-plaiting his hair and thoroughly washing away the sweat and grime caused by his fever and the stay on Ch'almuth. He'd much to think about now he was alone and rational, not least of which was that his separation from Zayshul hadn't diminished the effect her scent had on him. The prospect of him being able to leave Kij'ik and Zayshul without severe physical repercussions was looking bleak to say the least. He had an uneasy feeling about some unfinished business he had on Ch'almuth, but the thought was elusive, maybe no more than a real fever dream.

It was early evening when he finished, and the food he'd shared from the processor with Zayshul and Ghidd'ah had been nothing more than a snack. Given no one but the two females had seen him for the last five days, he decided it was time he made a public appearance.

With a last attempt to tame his hair, which refused to lie flat and insisted on framing his face like a U'Churian's full mane, he pulled on a tunic and belted it, realizing he'd no idea where his knife was. His robe had gone to the laundry, he knew that. Somewhat concerned, he called Banner on his wrist comm.

“Kusac! How are you?” his Second demanded.

“I'm fine, but hungry,” he said. “Where are you, and is the mess still open?”

“Yes, and we're in the mess now,” was the reply. “I have your knife, by the way. Ghidd'ah gave it to me to look after for you.”

“I wondered where it was. I'll see you in five minutes,” he said and signed off.

He left his room and headed for the mess where he found Banner and Jayza sitting over mugs of hot kheffa.

As he slid into a seat opposite them, Banner passed his knife over to him. “I hadn't realized that coming here had been your first command,” he said, indicating the single inset brass slash mark on the black hilt. “I thought you were in charge of the Jalna mission.”

He took it gratefully and slipped it into the sheath which sat over his left hip, the mark now hidden against his side. “No, that was a joint command, with Kaid.”

“Are you feeling better, Captain?” asked Jayza. “Getting a fever like that was bad luck.”

“It was no fun, believe me,” he assured the youth, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork. “This is my first real food since I took ill.”

“You certainly look well,” said Banner, eyeing him carefully. “More relaxed than I've seen you in a long time.”

“Don't say a word about my hair,” he said, shooting him a look. “I seem to be carrying a static charge at the moment. I'm going to get Shishu to braid it again.”

“Mine, too,” said Jayza with a grin.

“You could cut it,” suggested Banner.

“What for?” asked Jayza at the same moment he did, making them both grin.

“Just a suggestion,” Banner said with a shrug. “I like mine shorter.”

“Mine was always long, until I joined the
Khalossa,
” Kusac replied.

“Captain,” said M'kou, coming over to them. “Good to see you up and about again. The General will be pleased to hear you're recovered.”

“Thank you,” he said, pushing some greens onto his fork. “How are the new arrivals settling in?”

“Very well. I know the General wants to talk to you in detail about arrangements for them. Perhaps tomorrow morning?”

“No problem. In the meantime, tell him to let them find their feet until early afternoon tomorrow, then give them a pep talk about the differences in living on a space station. You know, the usual things I'm sure he told all of you when you arrived here, like safety drills and so on. And he has to remember these are civilians who've never been in space before.”

“I'll pass your message on. The General asked me to let you know Shaidan is concerned about you and that since this is your first evening up, perhaps you'd like to come down and see him briefly tonight. Your usual meetings will resume tomorrow night, of course.”

“Thank you,” he said, looking up at the young male. “I appreciate that.” Then Jayza's surreptitious motions to attract his attention caught his eye and he looked questioningly at him.

“Shishu,” said Jayza succinctly.

“Ah, yes. Do you know where Shishu will be this evening? If she doesn't mind, she has two customers wanting their hair braided tonight.”

M'kou grinned, eyeing his hair. “I can see why. She'll likely be in her quarters right now. I'll call in and speak to her when I drop you off at the General's suite. I'm sure she'll be happy to do it for you.”

He shoveled the last of the food into his mouth, washing it down with a mouthful of kheffa as he got to his feet. “I'll see you in about half an hour in the rec?” he asked, looking at Banner and Jayza.

Banner nodded.

 

Kezule was waiting for him in the lounge when he left Shaidan's bedroom. “I'd like a quick word now, if you don't mind, Kusac, just to bring you up to date on what I've done with our Ch'almuthians.”

“Certainly,” he said, making for the nearest armchair.

“For the time being, I've put them into the M'zullians' dorm quarters on your level, opening up more of them as needed. The ten families have been given Officer suites. They have all the facilities they need there, including the rec room and lounge.”

“I thought you were reopening that for general use.”

“I am, but M'kou thought it made sense to settle all the newcomers together and let them get used to Kij'ik and our people on a more relaxed basis than being suddenly thrust into the middle of them. We've more than enough rooms to relocate them to as they form their own friendships and relationships.”

He nodded. “It's what we did when we had a sudden rise in gene-altered Sholans and Humans on my estate. Because integration wasn't forced, they gained the confidence to move outside their own, small community and make new friends. Also, your new colonists are from several different communities, just as ours were. They need to get to know each other, too.”

“That's what I'm hoping. It also occurred to me that our own people need to adjust to the newcomers.”

He raised an eye ridge in surprise. “You learn quickly, General,” he said. “So does your son.”

“I watched how you and your people adapted to us, Kusac.” He stood up. “I'm glad to see you fully recovered. You gave us—your Lieutenant and me—quite a scare. I won't take up any more of your time.”

“It was just a fever,” he said, getting up. “You obviously managed to finish off the interviews without me.”

“I still need your help, Kusac,” Kezule began.

He held up his hand. “I know that there's still a lot to do,” he said. “I'm not trying to deny it.”