Beyond Varallan (54 page)

“Why did you stop me?” I yelled when Dhreen let me go. I pushed him out of my way and ran to the door panel. Outside, the corridor was deserted. I whirled around. “Do you have any idea what he’s capable of doing?”

The Oenrallian’s pallid skin was nearly white. “We have to maintain, Doc. At least until the launches arrive safely.”

I flung myself down in a chair. Well, there was that, too.

“Don’t perspire over it.” Dhreen reached over and patted my arm. “You'll get another chance.”

An acid taste rose in my mouth. “No, I won’t. In a few minutes it won't matter, I guess.” I huddled in the chair, drawing up my knees, resting my brow against them.

The sense of imminent catastrophe was no surprise. I’d arranged everything. This tune, I couldn't put the responsibility on anyone else. Not even the League.

A signal came to my display.

“Healer.” It was Colonel Shropana. “Please report to launch bay. The Jorenian vessels are on final approach.”

I stood at the side of the League Commander while the large Jorenian launch eased into the bay. Shropana’s men were setting up to help the refugees report in and get their quarters assignments. The Colonel's stance was that of the omnipotent, benevolent despot—hands folded behind his back, spine straight, chin elevated.

“I might earn a seat on the Supreme Council for the success of this mission,” he said. “Delivering you, now saving the Jorenian refugees from the Hsktskt. All I need is to discover some uncharted world rich in mineral deposits on the jaunt to Fendagal XI. I can store my uniform for good.”

“I hope you get everything you deserve,” I said with complete honesty.

“You have done well, my dear. Not only for yourself, but for these people.” He nodded toward the launch as it touched down on the docking platform.

“I’m sure they think the same thing.” I wondered how long it would take. Maybe another minute. “Tell me, Colonel, do you know anything about prehistoric Terra?”

The thick lips stretched over his teeth. “Only that your people spent centuries trying to annihilate one another.”

“That we did,” I said. “Terrans have always been very good at wreaking havoc. Some of our idioms are based on events that occurred during such conflicts.”

“We should discuss it in the future,” Shropana said. “My people have similar linguistic oddities.”

“There’s one expression that comes to mind at the moment. Do you know what a
Trojan horse
is?”

“No, I don’t believe I do.” Shropana's gaze sharpened as he noticed my expression. “Perhaps you would explain it to me. At once.”

“Oh, I don’t have to.” I nodded toward the Jorenian vessel as its hull doors opened. “You've just let one land inside your ship.”

The Colonel’s powdery hair flew as he whipped his head around and saw what had stepped out onto the docking ramp. “No,” he whispered. Then, with a terrible shout, “No!”

The occupants of the launch streamed out into the bay. I dropped to the deck and covered my head with my arms as soon as weapons began firing. The Colonel seized me and yanked me back up. His claws cut into my flesh as I struggled to free myself.

“What have you done?” he shrieked as he shook me.

I gazed into his rounded, terrified eyes. “It’s called payback, Commander.”

He shoved me aside. I hit a wall panel and let myself slide to the floor. Weapons discharged heavy, ceaseless streams of deadly energy, and bodies thumped as they fell beside the launch and all around me. I peeked through my arms and saw Shropana charge directly into the fray. His Commander’s tunic probably saved his life. He was captured and disarmed in seconds.

Once the weapons stopped firing, something picked me up from the deck. I regained my balance and looked around me.

Monsters surrounded me. Ten-foot-tall, six-limbed, nasty-looking monsters. One of the giant reptilian beings stepped toward me. The grey uniform it wore over its monstrous frame bore the insignia of what appeared to be a high-ranking command officer.

A Hsktskt officer.

One sinuous limb aimed a rifle at my head. Huge, lidless yellow eyes inspected me. Just like old times, I thought, and held out my empty hands.

“I’m not armed,” I said.

The Hsktskt removed something from an inner fold of his uniform and tossed it to me. It was translation gear, to be worn on the head. I slipped it on, and positioned the tiny receiver in front of my mouth. The fate of Joren depended on what happened in the next few minutes.

“I’m not armed,” I repeated. “Stop pointing that thing at me.”

The Hsktskt warrior’s enormous jaw dropped open, and a thin, sinuous black tongue lashed out. “You haven't changed, Doctor.” He barked out a series of orders and the bulk of his troops disappeared into the bowels of the ship. He made a curt gesture with his rifle, and Colonel Shropana was dragged in front of me. “The fleet leader?”

“Yes. Colonel Shropana. League Troop Commander.” I looked at the Colonel’s colorless, twisted features. No one had bothered to strap a translator on his head. “I'd introduce you, Colonel, but I don't know how to pronounce this Hsktskt officer's name.”

“These vessels are now property of the Hsktskt Faction,” the monster announced. He jabbed the end of his rifle into Shropana’s belly. “I am OverLord TssVar. Tell him to remember the name or die.”

I told him.

“What have you done?” Shropana said, this time choking the words out in a raw croak. He was forced on his knees before me by the soldier holding him.

Diplomacy tune. I checked with the monster in charge. “May I speak with this one, OverLord TssVar? Just to xplain things.”

The Hsktskt nodded.

I turned to Shropana. “You came here, attacked my people, held them hostage by threatening to destroy their world unless I surrendered. I’ve just returned the favor, times sixty.”

“Sixty?” The Colonel closed his eyes. “The other refugee launches.”

“Bingo.” I pointed toward the external viewer. “As we speak, your entire fleet is being boarded and taken over by OverLord TssVar’s soldiers.”

“But they are Jorenian launches!”

“OverLord TssVar and his soldiers needed a way to infiltrate the Fleet with minimum resistance. Jorenians are a very hospitable people. They invited the Hsktskt to land on the opposite side of the planet a few hours ago.“

“The Hsktskt will invade Joren anyway,” Shropana muttered.

TssVar’s gear picked that up, and he didn't like it. I could tell from the way he stuck his rifle barrel into the Colonel's face. “Does this fool think he speaks for the Hsktskt?”

“The OverLord wants to know if you’ve appointed yourself spokesman for the Faction,” I said to the Colonel. I never thought diplomacy could be this much fun.

Shropana gulped and shook his head.

“Tell the coward a Hsktskt does not violate his oath.”

“OverLord TssVar has given his oath he and his troops will
not
invade Joren,” I said. “He wants you to know the Hsktskt keep their promises.”

TssVar walked away to consult with one of his officers reporting back from the initial occupation assault.

“You see, Colonel, League cruisers are a valuable commodity,” I told Shropana. “The Hsktskt were happy to negotiate with me for them. They’ll get more for sixty of your cruisers than they would for whatever was left after the attack on Joren, slaves included. The bonus is they won't have to kill the entire crew. They'll keep them alive to pilot the vessels back to the Faction.”

“Why would the butchers negotiate with you?” the Colonel growled. “You’re nothing but a Healer! You know nothing about war!”

“Patril, Patril. Rule number one: Never mess with a Hsktskt. Rule number two: Never mess with a Hsktskt’s
obstetrician
.”

That really confused him. “What has that got to do with this?”

TssVar trudged back over to us. The deck shook with each heavy footfall. When he reached Shropana, the viewport-sized eyes revolved toward me.

“I do not need this one,” TssVar said. “I will kill him.”

“He could be useful. Keep the others in line,” I said. Not that I cared, one way or another. I simply didn’t want to get League blood all over my tunic. “As you can see, he's easily motivated.”

TssVar appeared to be thinking it over.

“Why is he listening to you?” Shropana asked.

“I told you.” I smiled. An insulting grin cuts deeper than displacer fire. “Never mess with a Hsktskt’s obstetrician.”

“You delivered one of these monsters’ whelps?”

OverLord TssVar took exception to the insult. One of his limbs lashed out and caught the Colonel across the face. Shropana yelped and cowered away.

“I wouldn’t talk about his children like that, if I were you,” I said.

“You mean—”

“Yep.” I turned to the Hsktskt Commander. “I meant to ask you, OverLord. How
are
the kids?”

The League Fleet surrender was rapid, nearly bloodless, and complete. All communications were immediately jammed, so no one got a message off for reinforcements. None of the other planets in the Varallan system was going to signal the League. They were quite happy with the arrangements we’d made. The Trojan horse had worked perfectly.

The Hsktskt stationed several officers on board each ship to supervise the jaunt back to Faction-occupied space. Crews were surprisingly cooperative. I discovered why when I overheard’one Hsktskt giving orders to some captive League troops.

“You! Move this cargo bin or I will rip out your liver!” the Hsktskt bellowed. All captives were now wearing the headgear that allowed them to understand the Hsktskt language. “You there! Your flesh looks tender! Hasten your pace or I will dine on your fat limbs!”

After my startling revelation, Colonel Shropana had dissolved into hysterics. TssVar had him dragged off to detainment.

Soon after, I was summoned from the launch deck to the new command center.

TssVar sat behind a display, studying the schematics for each of his newly acquired vessels. The soldiers with him trudged out of the room, leaving us alone together.

He nodded toward the seat before his desk. “Sit, Doctor.”

By now I felt a little nervous myself. To TssVar, I might be just another commodity. The question was, did he know
how
valuable a commodity I was?

“My troops prefer battle, yet I favor an acquisition effected with little conflict.” TssVar blanked out the display he was studying and turned his huge head. Monster and Terran stared at each other. I tried not to fidget. “It has been some time since we last met.”

“Not so long. It seems like only yesterday you were jabbing a rifle at me and making a bunch of nasty threats.”

“The sharp tongue,” TssVar said. “That I remember of you, SsureeVa.”

“What does ‘SsureeVa’ mean?”

“Thin-skinned.” His jaw couldn’t bend into a smile, but I heard the ghost of humor in his hiss.

“What does ‘TssVar’ mean?”

“Fearless.”

Yep, that pretty much summed it up for me. “So—Over-Lord TssVar—where do we go from here?”

“League vessels will be taken to our space. Some crew will be sold with the ships. The others will go to the slavers.” He saw my tiny reaction and rubbed his claws against the side of his thick neck. “You knew their fate.”

“I knew. If you’re waiting for me to cheer with joy, don't hold your breath, OverLord.”

My sarcasm seemed to amuse him more than anything. “You are a mystery to me, Doctor. Small, fragile, and bolder than any warm-blood I have known. You are… unique among your kind.”

“Thanks. I think.”

Two of his limbs lashed lazily around his massive head. “A Terran male has been demanding dialogue with me. He resembles you, uses some of your name.”

“My parent. Doctor Joseph Grey Veil.”

TssVar pressed a keypad on the console before him. “Bring in the Terran.”

I enjoyed watching the guard toss Joseph Grey Veil into TssVar’s office. His limbs flailed wildly until he landed on the deck and collapsed.

The OverLord sighed. “Your kind are too flimsy, SsureeVa. You there. Terran. Get up!”

Joseph awkwardly scrambled to his feet. His wrists and ankles were bound with short lengths of alloy chains. On his head he wore the same headgear I had. He didn’t so much as glance at me.

“OverLord TssVar.” He bowed as elegantly as his bonds allowed him to. “Dr. Joseph Grey Veil, Terran research scientist. Thank you for seeing me.”

“This one uses mannerly speech,” TssVar said to me.

“He’s good at talking,” I replied.

“What do you want, Terran?”

“I beg a private audience with you, OverLord.”

“He begs, too.”

“Not for long,” I said.

Joseph stiffened and peered down his nose at me. “This Terran female is a habitual liar. She attempts to create a conflict between us before I can state my case to you.”

“SsureeVa, you are a liar?” TssVar asked me. “I thought you but short-tempered, arrogant.”

“Dr. Grey Veil would have you believe otherwise.” I wasn’t going to confirm or deny. Let my creator dig his own hole.

The Hsktskt Commander seemed bored. “Terran, beg or get out.”

“Very well.” He assumed a posture I was very familiar with. It was the same way he stood behind a podium when he was about to deliver a lecture or commencement speech. I yawned. “Two years ago…”

He gave TssVar a severely edited version of the facts. The OverLord listened with genuine interest. When he finished his summary of the events leading to my rescue by HouseClan Torin, Joseph gestured toward me.

“I have no knowledge of her activities during the past year, but with your permission, I will continue my analysis and turn all findings over to the Faction for their scientific advancement.”

Sure he would. When there were alien matchmaking agencies on Terra.

TssVar rose from his chair. “Terran, you may go.”

That surprised my creator. “Will you not grant my request, OverLord?”

The Hsktskt looked from Joseph Grey Veil to me. “No.”

“Why not?” Joseph demanded.

“You question me?” TssVar came around the desk so fast my creator fell backward on his posterior trying to scuttle away. With one limb the Hsktskt raised him from the floor, then
off
the floor. “You claim this female your test specimen. Your property. You wish freedom to experiment on her again. Have I understood your begging?”