Eternity Row (4 page)

“Oh.” He fluttered his wings for a moment. “The Jorenians are truly obsessed with revenge.”

“It’s just a little thing.” I waved a hand. “When they’re not disemboweling an enemy, they’re really very nice people.” I thought of the nosy resident. “With a few exceptions.”

I left Hawk at his duty station, and checked my wristcom. I had another couple of hours before my shift, but I felt too restless to go home to my empty quarters.

“Cherijo.”

I watched as Xonea approached. Apparently, it was my morning to be annoyed by everyone. “That was some meeting.”

He studied my expression. “I thought you might be angry with me.”

“Aren’t you psychic?” I took a deep, cleansing breath. “Let’s do this later, when I don’t feel like knocking you through a wall panel.”

“I will give you a brief demonstration of the combat training we intend for our younger crew members, and all will be well between us.”

“You can do the show-and-tell for Squilyp.” I shoved the discs in his hands. “I am
not
going to be involved with this inspection nonsense.”

He didn’t like that, and shoved them back. “You refuse to understand my point of view.”

“I’m a doctor, Xonea. I understand perfectly.” I planted my hand on my hip. “Most of the surgery I performed when I was Senior Healer was as a result of attacks on this ship. Actually, I don’t know why I’m complaining-if you kill everyone before they get to Medical, I can take some vacation time.”

“You are part of HouseClan Torin, Cherijo.”

So now it was down to emotional blackmail. “I took an oath to do no harm first.”

“Your oath will not protect your daughter.”

Somehow he knew my maternal instinct was just as ferocious as the Jorenian need to protect the House-Clan. But then, they hadn’t elected Xonea Captain for nothing.

“All right.” I gave up. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Thirty minutes later, Xonea finished running the last of the juvenile combat-training simulations in the environome, and shut down the program. “What say you now, ClanSister?”

“Besides uncomplimentary things about your lineage?”

He grinned. “You would not insult our ClanParents so.”

“Don’t push me, pal.” I finished skimming over the last of the training text from a data pad. “Okay, I’ll admit, they’re very clever.”

Rather than try to fight, each child would be assigned a “safe place” where they would go during an attack on the ship. If someone boarded the ship and tried to grab them, they could disable their attackers by hitting them with a pressure infuser disguised as a wrist ornament. To prevent accidental injections, the wrist units would only function after an activation signal was sent out from Command.

However, the compound used
in
the wrist units was the reason why Xonea needed Medical’s blessing.

“Tell me one thing-why use drugs instead of some kind of zap ray or toxic poison?”

“Your report detailing the methods you used to liberate the Hsktskt slave depot inspired the idea.” My ClanBrother popped out the program disc and handed it to me. “I thought you might approve, as this method does not kill the attacker.”

“No, it only paralyzes and renders them completely helpless for several hours. Convenient, if you want to rip their intestines out without a lot of fuss and mess.” I wondered if Squilyp would sign off on this, and how much trouble I’d get in for punching out my boss if he did. “What if the attacker simply tries to shoot the kids?”

“All children will be assigned a drone unit, which will be programmed to escort them to their safe place, secure, and guard them.” At my expression, he made a quick gesture. “I know it is not infallible, but it is the best we can do at present. Will you test the adult program with me now?”

I certainly felt like beating up something. Might as well be the guy responsible for that. “Sure.” When he put on cortgear, I frowned. “Do you have to record it?”

“Indulge me.”

Another hour passed-this one much more attention intensive-then I finally pushed myself up from the practice mat and called it quits. “What are you doing to me? I don’t remember it hurting this much when I sparred with you two years ago.”

Xonea dried the sweat from his face and chest with his tunic. “I am throwing you harder.”

My abused muscles made me groan. “Gee, thanks.”

“Your physical condition has improved.” He helped me to my feet. “Stretch. It will help.”

As I went through the limbering exercises that obsessed him, Xonea walked around me, sizing me up. “You have regained the weight you lost, and your muscle tone appears more defined.”

“That mean I’m in better shape?”

“Yes. Your reflexes and response time have improved.” He took off his cortgear. “Have you spoken to the Oenrallian about the crisis on his homeworld?”

“Not yet.”

Dhreen, the alien pilot who had taken me to my first offworld position at the colony on Kevarzangia Two, was not in my good books altogether yet. He’d started out pretending to be my friend while spying on me for Joseph Grey Veil. Although he had redeemed himself by helping me and Reever escape Terra, I still had my doubts.

So did Xonea. “He has been avoiding staff meetings since returning to the ship from Terra. Talk to him, if you would, and discover what you can. Report back to me.”

Xonea and Dhreen had been good friends, once upon a time, but the Oenrallian’s deception had put him on the Torins’ persona non grata list. “If it turns out to be safe for us, do you still intend to go there?”

“As long as the sojourn presents no threat to the crew, yes.”

I wiped a streak of sweat from my cheek. “And this combat training? You’re really going to make me do it?”

“You serve as a member of my crew.” He tossed me his tunic. “As such, you will fulfill all training requirements.”

I blotted my face. “I liked pilot training better, and I was awful at that. I mean, look at me.” I waved a hand around. “I’d make a lousy warrior. You
know
that.”

“Your size remains your greatest disadvantage. If you would agree to train with bladed weapons-”

“She already knows how to use them.”

I swiveled around to see Reever standing just inside the door panel. “Only when I can’t get my hands on a lascalpel. Hi, Duncan. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” my husband said as he leaned back against the panel and regarded my ClanBrother. “Why is my wife wiping her face with your garment, Xonea?”

“We’re just sparring,” I told him.

Now he looked at me. “For what purpose?”

“I’m going to be inspecting the new combat-training programs Xonea has lined up for the crew.” I nodded toward the console. “This was just a trial run.”

“I will need the inspection completed within the next week,” my ClanBrother said.

Reever folded his arms. “Indeed. Have you relieved Cherijo of her Medical duties, to provide time to complete the assignment?”

Xonea glanced at me. “I was not aware that I needed to.”

“I’ll talk to Squilyp about switching some shifts with me.” I walked over to the door panel, and took my husband’s arm. “Let’s go. See you later, Xonea.”

For a moment, I didn’t think Reever was going to budge. Then, with a small nod toward my ClanBrother, he left the environome and entered the gyrlift with me.

As soon as the doors closed, I started on him. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the impression you don’t think I can handle this.”

Reever stopped the lift. “Xonea knows you are already overloaded with your responsibilities in Medical, and yet he gives you more work.”

“Xonea isn’t the issue here. I am. I’ll take care of my job.” I started the lift again. “I’m not your slave anymore, Reever. Try to remember that.”

“You were never any good at it when you were.” He touched my cheek with one finger, tracing something. “I do not like seeing his bruises on your skin.”

“Good thing I heal fast, then.” The lift stopped, and I got off with him. “Look, these programs are going to be used for training the children. I need to make sure they’re safe. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt for me to learn a little self-defense.”

“I will protect you and Marel.”

“Uh-huh.” My mouth curled. “And what about when you’re tied up saving someone’s planet or something?”

He dropped his hand. “I will show you what to do.”

I didn’t want that. Reever and I had spent too many years at odds with each other already. Sparring together would only create a whole new set of problems. “Xonea plans to make everyone undergo this training. Like the pilot program. You had no problem with me learning how not to crash a launch.”

He stopped in front of the computer archives section, where he was currently working on updating the ship’s linguistic database. “I was scheduled to report for duty five minutes ago.”

“So you’re late. Let them give you a tardy slip.”

“I have much to think about,
Waenara
. May we discuss this later?”

I’d lived with him long enough to know the polite formality was a smoke screen. I’d loved him long enough for it to hurt when he shut me out like this. “Duncan-”

He rested a finger against my lips. “I am not angry with you, nor do I think of you as my property. I am only concerned with Xonea’s intentions.”

That thawed the rest of my internal frost layer. “He only wants what’s best.”

“As do I.” He kissed me, the way he would Marel, on the forehead. “Until tonight, wife.”

As I watched him go, I heard someone else moving away from me in the opposite direction. I turned my head in time to see someone in a resident’s green tunic disappear into the unoccupied gyrlift.

I confronted Qonja Torin in his quarters a few minutes later. Having to wait for another gyrlift hadn’t improved my mood.

The resident, on the other hand, acted very surprised to see me. “Healer Cherijo.” He stepped aside and indicated I should enter.

I did, and waited for the door panel to close before I attacked. “Why are you following me?”

He went over to the food prep unit. “Would you care for tea? I have programmed some Terran blends.”

“I’d like an answer. Now.”

“Of course. Just a moment.” Qonja prepped a single server, then came over to sit in front of me. Very natural, as if he stalked people every day. “I am interested in crew behavior.”

Ice chips wouldn’t have melted in his mouth. “But you’re not following
them
around.”

“You are a prepossessing subject.” He took a data pad from the table between us. “I have been observing and recording your interactions for some time. It is most engrossing.”

I wondered how engrossing he’d find having a server dumped over his head. “Really.”

“Your parenting methods, for example.” He switched the pad to “display,” and turned it to show me. Jorenian pictographs crowded the small screen. “Your approach is quite unique.”

“You’re
documenting
all this?” I swiped the pad and checked the file. He had pages of notes. “Why?”

“As I have said”-he spread his hands out-“I find you absolutely riveting.”

Either he was joking, which wasn’t funny, or he was serious, which was worse. I pressed a key, erased the entire pad, then tossed it back to him. “Don’t ever do this again.”

“I mean no harm to you, ClanCousin.”

I went to the door panel. “You’re here to study medicine, resident, not me. Is that clear?”

“As you wish.” He came after me. “May I make one request?”

“No.” Out I went.

As Marel was still in school, I opted to change out of my sweat-stained tunic before I talked to the other problem child on the ship.

I found Dhreen in central launch bay, working beneath one of the shuttles. Kneeling by his feet was Ilona Red Faun, the Navajo girl who had once been my clone-brother’s lover.