Moonbeams and magic (36 page)

He rolled to his back, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I'm the luckiest and happiest man alive now that I have you."

Starla laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat faster as she said, "And I am the luckiest and happiest woman alive to have you."

Dagan stroked her tousled hair and basked in the splendor of their love for a while. Later, he said, "We have a long and serious talk ahead of us, so why don't I get us some food from Radu before we begin? I have nothing here to prepare and, yes, I know how to survive under primitive conditions. We missed our evening meal and I'm ravenous. How about you?"

"Almost famished with hunger, and this time not for you," she ceased.

"After we eat and talk, my ravishing treat, I'll see what I can do about your lagging appetite in that area."

"Sounds perfect to me. Now, perhaps we should habitate

in Yana's dwelling where Cypher-T can send us food from my servo unit. That way we won't have to starve or go out for food."

"What I want is for you to remain aboard your cloaked ship and out of harm's reach, but," he added when she started to protest, "we'll discuss that later. I'll return soon." He left her side, took a quick shower, dressed, and left his chamber.

Starla retrieved her neck ring and spoke close to the center gem with a transmitter inside. "I was right. Cypher; he is a man worthy of trust and worthy of loving. I'll contact you when I am ready to transport to the ship to make my report to Thaine. First, Dagan and I must talk about us and our mission; we have much to learn about each other and many plans to make. Prepare him a disguised device for communicating with us aboard the Liska when we are separated; he must have a way to request a rescue from us if peril strikes. I love him and need him, my fiiend, so help me protect him, which will also safeguard our mission. Starla out."

Energized by glorious love and victory and stimulated by suspenseful anticipation about teaming up with Dagan to defeat the UFG's worst enemy, Starla left the sleeper to bathe in a primitive shower which used running water and a bar of soap, unlike the automated cleansing unit aboard her ship and everywhere in her advanced world. She used an extra toothbrush and paste from a tube to refresh her mouth since she lacked a bottle of self-cleansing liquid. After she dried off, she donned her garments and neck ring and brushed her hair. She touched the pouch suspended from her belt to make certain she had another phial of transmutation chemical if needed. She decided she should contact Cypher and tell him to transport a container down with extra clothes, grooming aides, and another set of phials— the shapeshifting agent and its counteragent. But she didn't

have time to carry out that task because Dagan returned with their food, and they sat down to eat.

After they finished their meal and when Dagan asked Starla to tell him everything about her, she knew it was unnecessary to explain that the Maffei Galaxy was comprised of thirteen planets and numerous planetoids and was ruled by a Supreme Council of three men: their ruler—^the Kadim —and two other members, men who were all-powerful and who made their laws. An Alliance Assembly of sixteen men—the Supreme Council and thirteen Avatars, planetary leaders—carried out those laws. On each planet, several Zartiffs governed appointed regions. Their highest form of military was Star Fleet, based on the capital planet of Rigel, and accountable to the Assembly, as were the ground units in the Alliance Force. The Elite Squad, a unit of specialists of which she was a member, answered only to the Supreme Council and worked under the leadership of Thaine Sanger, who also was in command of Star Fleet. The majority of their most powerful weapons, drugs, and chemicals were creations of and produced by Trilabs, an inaccessible complex on the planetoid of Darkar which orbited Caguas: one of the prizes Tochar craved. Those were facts he already knew as an I-GAF agent, powerful men who roamed the five allied galaxies.

Just as she knew, the Kalfa Galaxy consisted of ten planets and many planetoids; Gavas was their capital and On-possessed moonbeam mines. Their galactic ruler was the Autorie; their space force was a unit of rangers called Sekis. As with her world, Kalfa had planetary and regional leaders.

"Tell me everything about yourself, my love," Dagan stressed with great interest as he settled himself on the seata to listen and observe.

"My name is Bree-Kayah Saar and I'm often called Bree by my family and close friends. As IVe told you before,

I'm twenty-two yings old. I'm sixty-nine hapaxs tall and I weigh one-thirty pedis. You can see that my hair is brown and my eyes are green. I'm the youngest child of Varian and Jana Saar; both are retired and live on our family's private planetoid Altair which orbits Rigel. I have a twin brother and sister, forty-eight yings old." She laughed and said, "I was a late and most unexpected baby, so it was a good thing Maffei no longer practiced birth and population control, as it once did."

She returned to where she left off before her humorous inclusions, "Galen is on the Supreme Council and is mated to Rayna who helps my sister run the research labs on Altair; they have three children, a boy and twin girls. My sister is bonded to Jason; he's in charge of Star Base Security on Rigel; he's a full-blooded Earthling like my mother. Amaya is a retired Elite Squad member; they have two children—^twins. My mother is a renowned scientist; she's retired but still dabbles in research. She's a wonderful, strong, generous, beautiful woman who's done many important things for our world, including saving our people when a lethal alien virus attacked there before my birth. So has my father," Starla admitted without boasting.

Dagan saw her eyes glow with love, pride, and respect and her stirring words caused him to miss and grieve over his lost parents and siblings.

"Father was a Star Fleet commander with his own star-ship for many yings. Later, he served as the Supreme Commander of Star Fleet, the Alliance Force, and Elite Squad—and was an ex-member of that unit. He saved our world several times from intergalactic threats before the Tri-Galaxy or United Federation of Galaxies were created. He is a unique and special man. I am proud to be his daughter and to follow in his footsteps."

As she sipped a drink, Dagan remarked, "Your greatgrandfather was a past Kadim, a legendary ruler. I have read and heard much about him. I am curious: How did

your parents meet, since she is from the distant Milky Way Galaxy and we have no contact with them?"

Starla knew well the story of how her mother had been captured from her planet and brought to Maffei long ago to become a charl, a captive mate for reproductive purposes when most Maffeian females were sterile, a practice her parents helped eliminate. Her parents had fallen in love at first sight, but her father had been unable to bond with Jana Greyson for many reasons. That part of their story could remain withheld until after Dagan got to know them, so it would not affect his opinion of her father, a man entrapped by a cruel destiny which was altered later. "After my mother came to Maffei, she was tricked into uniting with Ryker Triloni, my father's half-brother, grandson of the past ruler of the Androas Galaxy, and a matchless genius in science. After his accidental death, she inherited Trilabs; she felt it was too powerful and important for one person to own and control so she turned it over to our government and bonded with my father. My father was and is her only love; they taught me what true love is and that is why I waited for the right man to enter my life."

After she smiled and kissed his cheek, she continued. "My superior is Supreme Commander Thaine Sanger; he's also my brother's best friend since childhood, as were our fathers since their childhood and while serving in Star Fleet together. I went through training fast because my family had taught me so much before I entered the academy. After I scored high in all areas, I was assigned to the Elite Squad. I've been a member for two yings and carried out several missions. Since the Squad works in secret and my face wasn't known outside our galaxy, Raz Yakir and Thaine selected me for this mission; they assumed a female agent would be less suspicious than a male. Raz Yakir is the one who supplied the transmutation phials, my Starla Vedris record, and my means of making contact with Tochar. The crew of that pursuit craft were advanced androids that were pro-

grammed to look, act, and talk as if they were humans so Tochar would believe I possessed a dark heart and violent nature like him and his men."

She explained how she contacted her superior and the Serian ruler via an untraceable frequency, how she obtained needed data from network computers from them, how Yakir surreptitiously entered the clues and facts she gathered, and how she had received Cypher. She revealed Yakir's motives for sending her and for not telling Phaedrig about her presence. She told him that Acharius was the son of the Avatar of Caguas and how they knew each other. "I hope my parents, friends, and his family understand and forgive me for what I was forced to do to protect our galaxy and others."

He grasped her hand and gave it a comforting and gentle squeeze. "I'm certain they will, Starla; or I should say, Bree-Kayah."

"We should not use each other's real names in private or we could make a slip when Dagan and Yana are in public. Now, tell me everything about you, my beloved. What is your real name?"

"I agree we should stick to Dagan and Yana at all times, but it's Curran Thaiter. I was bom, reared and trained on the capital planet of Gavas in Kalfa. I'm twenty-eight >^z7ig5 old. I'm seventy-five hapaxs tall and weigh two-twenty pedis. My hair is the shade of the sun and my eyes are aqua." He watched her try to imagine how he looked in his natural colorings.

He found her study and expression so arousing, he hurried on with his revelations before he was compelled to halt and make love to her. "My family was slain during a crime yings ago, but I'll relate that bitter story after I complete my history. I was a Seki for many yings before I was asked to join I-GAF. I use many disguises and identities during my assignments, but when I'm not on a particular mission, I live, work, and appear as Dagan Latu to keep that identity

well established for other missions. Dauld Phaedrig is my superior and I answer only to him."

He wasn't sure of how much she knew about I-GAF, so he skimmed over that subject to enlighten or refresh her. "Agents work alone, in small teams, or in large units according to the crime we're solving. We can go anywhere in the UFG and no one can interfere with our methods; we cannot be questioned, reprimanded, or punished for them. Our assignments are requested by rulers or planetary leaders, but how we resolve the trouble is up to us. It's rare for an agent to have contact with rulers or leaders during an assignment. Phaedrig selects the agent or team to carry out a mission, and no agent has been disloyal, disobedient, or been terminated for a crime or incompetence. If one goes bad, he will be hunted and eradicated by I-GAF alone. When an agent retires, crucial facts about I-GAF are erased from his memory. Although Rendelar prevents susceptibility to truth serum, elderly men with weakened bodies might not be able to resist revealing secrets during a torture session. As you know, Rendelar and Thorin are creations of Ryker Triloni and their formulas are known only by Trilabs. As with all Trilabs formulas, any attempt to analyze them results in initiating a self-destruct sequence; he was indeed a rare genius. The chemicals and dyes used for our tattoos have similar self-destruct tags in them."

He turned his body sideways to face her as he continued, and she did the same to listen. "Phaedrig has access to all known computer networks and he inserts the data needed for mission identities. There is one system which cannot be breached by anyone except Phaedrig and I-GAF agents; that is the one which contains our personnel and assignment records, so they will be safeguarded against traitor encroachment. All other networks have a cue inserted which alerts Phaedrig when one of his agents is investigated, but Yakir was too clever and fast to be traced when he checked on me. As to how Syrkin and Yakir's traitors retrieved data

on us, both are in positions of power, knowledge, and trust. We carr)/ no credentials to be found, and our hand insignias are made visible only by us when needed." He related the description of I-GAF headquarters and told her it was on a barren planetoid in Kalfa, but did not disclose its location.

"Back to my family," he said with a grimace. "I was on a mission three yings ago when villites faked a chemical hazard in the area where my family lived on Gavas. Inhabitants were to gather their most valuable possessions and flee in supplied crafts, since they couldn't return home until the contamination was cleared away. During the evacuation procedure, spacekis attacked two of the rescue vessels carrying the wealthiest and most prominent citizens; everyone aboard was murdered, including my family and many of my friends. That vicious nefariant took away my parents, my sister and her family, and my two brothers and one's family; they killed young and old, male and female, by blowing up the vessels after they robbed them. When the villites proved to be elusive, I resigned as a Seki to work full-time to use my wits, skills, and energy to track down those responsible: Tochar and his band. The fiendal thought he had eliminated all witnesses, but he failed to notice a surveillance monitor at the boarding point; that's why he's so adamant about their destruction during our raids."

"Tochar and his band murdered your family and others . . ." she repeated in horror. "He's worse than I imagined. You must hate him terribly."

He nodded. "I was able to capture or terminate all of them except for Tochar, Auken, Sach, and Moig; but their faces and names were seared into my memory. For a strange reason, they always managed to evade me. I suspected my closest superior was involved in the fiendal 's good luck; that explained why the case was impeded, why clues I gathered were lost or ignored or dismissed, and why I was ordered to abandon my 'futile obsession' and was shifted to another investigation, which compelled me to resign to work