No Words Alone (5 page)

The Scorpio didn’t seem disturbed by what the
recon mission had revealed. Singularly and in pairs, they now
performed martial arts drills. Doing so, they made her years of
study look like kid stuff. She held a black belt in two different
disciplines, and she had no doubt any one of these guys could take
out her old masters without breaking a sweat. They were
unbelievably fast. She could only be grateful that their space
technology was roughly on a par with that of her own people, or
they wouldn’t still be here.

She waited until Delfane was finished with
his kata and had taken his turn in the ray shower before
approaching him. He saw her coming and waved her over to a
bench.

“That was impressive,” she said. As she
settled down, she winced. How long would it take this foot to heal?
It was killing her whenever she failed to keep it elevated. “What
do you call your martial art?”

He said something unpronounceable.

“The…killing way?” she translated
hesitantly.

“Close. Your foot is better?”

She sighed. “It hurts, but it won’t kill me.
I’m sorry for the loss of your crewman.”

He nodded but offered nothing else.

“This is a very cruel planet. Why did your
people bother building a shelter here? Our scans showed some
minerals, but nothing that couldn’t be found on an asteroid. Even
these oceans are filled with poisons.”

He shrugged. “It lies within our boundaries.
Claiming it is our right.”

The GE would argue that, but Xera wasn’t
about to. “Sure. I’m just glad I won’t have to live here....” She
trailed off, let a touch of genuine anguish color her words. “At
least, I hope I won’t.”

It was a perfect opening, but he seemed
uninterested in pursuing it. Instead he asked, “You have
family?”

She looked away. “Sisters.” She couldn’t help
a twinge of longing. One more year and her tour would have been up.
She could have gone home. . She’d never regretted her wanderlust,
her desire to see the stars. She was independent enough that long
separations hadn’t bothered her, but that was when she’d had email
and pin beam available to send messages. She might want her space,
but she liked to keep in touch with those she loved. Now that the
tether had been cut, she realized just how much she’d valued the
connection. She didn’t know if she’d have chosen to go home after
her service was up or settle elsewhere, but she’d never thought to
lose all touch with her family.

She drew strength from her family; they were
her lifeline. Her older sister, Gem, had especially had a knack for
encouraging her. Now that Gem was out of touch, Xera would have to
exercise her little-used faith to believe that things could be all
right.

Just thinking that positive thought brought a
surge of courage. “I haven’t seen them in a long time.” It was
impossible to miss the wistfulness in her voice.

“I miss my family as well.” He smiled and
showed her a holo-projection from his wrist computer. It showed a
woman and child. The girl was aged six, perhaps, had shiny black
hair and elfin eyes.

“Cute kid,” Xera said appreciatively. “I hope
you get to see her again.”

His eyes shuttered as he closed the file.
“Yes.”

Toosun approached. “Xera Harris-d, our lord
has requested that you give him and our crew language lessons, as
you do for your own men. It would be best if we all understood one
another, and it will help give structure to the day.”

She glanced at Khan. “With my captain’s
permission. He may want some of our men to listen, also, to speed
their own learning.”

“That is permissible.”

So Xera spent more time teaching, and learned
a few things as well. Their society was patriarchal and
monotheistic, for the most part. Superiors were allowed to speak
first, according to Scorpio etiquette, unless the speaker was given
prior permission. In a hostile situation, such etiquette was
particularly important.

Chagrined, she wished she’d known that before
Genson had been sent to speak with the Scorpio; it would have
prevented a needless death. As the translator, she accepted part of
the blame as her own. Her training was supposed to help prevent
such things.

The Scorpio sat in a semi-circle around her
bench, with a few of her own crew clustered toward the back of the
group. While an uneasy mix, the two races did cooperate while
practicing simple sentences. There were even a few smiles as they
managed to butcher each other’s words. Some sounds were simply
unpronounceable to both groups, and even Xera had a hard time
pronouncing the syllable “frth” (with a rolled “r”, no less),
without spitting. For their part, the Scorpio seemed unable to say
“v”. Even so, progress was made.

Captain Khan made no move to learn the
language, but Ryven Atarus was not so reserved. He listened closely
and made rapid progress, rarely forgetting a word. After an hour,
he dismissed any men who wished it, but he stayed, himself, along
with three or four others, to learn more.

“The water is bad,” he said to Toosun with
creditable accent. “Do not drink it.”

“Your cooking is bad,” Toosun replied with a
grin. “I do not like fugs.”

“Bugs,” Xera corrected with a laugh. “You do
not like bugs.”

He smirked. “Neither do you,” he said in his
own language.

She’d been surprised to discover that he and
Ryven Atarus were brothers, but she could see the resemblance now.
Although Ryven was his superior, they still teased each other like
siblings. Toosun was the only one permitted to do it, though. No
one else dared.

“How do you say ‘blue eyes’?” he asked. “Your
people have the oddest eye color, like hard gems.”

She told him, and then added, “Us? You seem
like the odd ones, with your eyes like fire.” Her gaze darted to
Ryven as she said it.

Toosun laughed. “Yes, he does have pretty
eyes. Very like a girl.”

Ryven gave him a cold look. “None have
mistaken me for such.”

“Yes, you are very brave,” Toosun allowed,
but a smile still lurked around his mouth.

Ensign Trevor had stayed behind while the
rest of Xera’s crew had wandered off. Now he edged closer to her,
disliking the camaraderie, perhaps. “You look tired, Xera. Maybe
you’d like to go eat?”

She looked at him. He was being doggedly
protective, as if she’d already accepted his offer of
companionship. His familiar attitude chafed. She might be just a
lieutenant here, but she was also a successful, respected
businesswoman back home. Her family owned a thriving tavern, and
she’d had her share of employees under her. She didn’t like the
Ensign’s attempt to take charge of her. If she admitted it to
herself, it was probably the reason she was still single. “I would
like a drink, if you wouldn’t mind bringing it,” she allowed. Her
voice was cool. He didn’t seem happy with her answer, but he left
to fetch some glowing tea anyway.

“You don’t like him,” Ryven observed.

How could she answer that? She decided not
to.

“Your captain doesn’t wish to learn our
language,” the Scorpio leader continued. “He seems tense.”

“Our being here is an awkward situation,” she
replied, as diplomatically as she could.

“Are you expecting a ship to come rescue
you?” he asked, casual, as if the question weren’t central to both
their universes just now.

“Hope is important,” she said smoothly; then
she changed subjects. “How will you occupy your men after dinner?
You seem to keep them busy.”

He accepted the new path of the conversation.
“They will play games. I encourage them to think of this time as a
brief holiday. It is better for morale.”

“
Is
it a brief holiday?” she asked
pleasantly. “How wonderful for you.”

“You make assumptions,” he replied, a gleam
of pleasure in those brimstone eyes. “But in a way that makes me
smile, so I cannot rebuke you. And here is your friend, back with
your refreshment…. Your people may take part in our games if you
like.”

Xera soon discovered that the games included
such silliness as slug racing, yet the men also competed in
sprints, long jumps and rock tossing, the goal being to toss rocks
of varying sizes onto chalk circles on the floor. She tried her
hand at the latter game with surprising success.

Ryven Atarus watched with his arms crossed.
He’d been observing a slug race with critical appraisal and
happened to glance her way. “Acceptable; for a woman,” he offered
haughtily. Humor lurked in those remarkable eyes.

“Yeah, if I could just turn this into a
career,” she quipped. She reached for another stone. “I can see it
now; the money, my name in lights. People will flock to see the
great rock tosser!” She succeeded hitting another circle, and her
competitors made her back up a couple of paces.

Her crewmates mostly watched from the
fringes, reluctant to engage, though one or two others joined in.
Ensign Trevor was always near to hand. She was tempted to throw a
rock at his head.

Captain Khan watched her darkly from the
shadows. He’d probably accuse her of fraternizing with the enemy,
but how else was she supposed to get information? She’d have to
report to him after the games; maybe
that
would sooth his
antsy twitters.

She warily limped toward the edge of the room
after the rock toss. Khan’s eyes bored coldly into her as she
approached, and he didn’t invite her to sit. “You stink of the
enemy,” he sneered.

“Sir, you ordered me to spy on them,” she
said quietly. “I can’t do that from a distance.”

“And did you find anything useful, or were
you just giggling through the games?”

“I’ve only got impressions, sir. No one would
say if a ship was coming.” There was no one near them to hear their
conversation, and she wished she had witnesses. It seemed the
captain was trying to pick a fight, or nerving himself up for
something worse.

Oblivious to her concern, Khan spat, “I have
an impression, Harris-d. I think you’re flirting with our enemy,
just waiting for a chance to jump ship and save your own hide. I
see the way you look at that murdering bastard, and I say you’re
planning treason.”

Her head jerked up. “What? You’re wrong,
sir.”

“Am I?” he hissed. “I’ve known what you were
all along, Harris-d. You’re nothing but an opportunistic whore,
aren’t you? You know what we do to whores where I come from,
Harris-d?”

“Get arrested by them for harassment, sir?”
she said through bloodless lips. She felt stiff with shock at the
force of his attack. Much as she despised him, she hadn’t seen this
coming. Officers didn’t act like this.

She barely saw his fist coming, either. Her
dodge was slow but mostly effective; she was only grazed. Her weak
foot screamed as she forced it to take her weight, stepped back and
slammed her rifle butt into his throat. Even knowing that there
would be repercussions, she drew it back and rammed it hard into
his knee. There was a crunch. He screamed and went down, clutching
the joint.

Hard hands suddenly grabbed her, wrenched the
rifle from her grip. There was a babble of voices as her crew
surrounded her.

“Arrest her!” Captain Khan screamed, writhing
on the floor. He erupted in a stream of curses as his men tried to
help him up. Xera hoped she’d broken his friggin’ knee.

“What happened?” Cort demanded. “Why’d you
attack him?”

“You saw what happened! He attacked me!”

“You must have said something,” Cort
insisted. “You always say something, Harris-d.”

She opened her mouth to defend herself, then
shut it. She wasn’t going to help anything when she was angry.

Besides, there was a growing pool of silence
around her. Men stilled. She looked over her shoulder and saw the
Scorpio had gathered behind her.

“What happens here?” Ryven Atarus asked
quietly. He looked much as he had the first day she’d seem him:
cold, deadly. The starburst in his ear winked with deceptive light,
and those brimstone eyes nearly glowed.

She turned to face him as her captors did,
though she noticed their grips loosen.

“This is our business,” Cort answered, unable
to understand what was being said. The intimidation of the Scorpio
commander was plain enough, though. The engineer licked his lips.
“We’ll deal with it.” The silence stretched uncomfortably.
“Translate, Harris-d!”

She looked at him as if he were stupid. “How
will you know what I tell them? If they do something you don’t
like, then you’ll blame me.” She was shaking from the aftereffects
of adrenaline and couldn’t help her cheek; it was all that was
getting her through.

Cort’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t speak and
they attack, I
will
blame you.”

Grimly, she said to the Scorpio, “This is a
matter for my people.” She told Cort what she said as she said it,
in case it might help save her hide.

“Your captain attacked you,” Ryven remarked. “We
witnessed this.”

“Yes.” She was very slow translating, as
emotion choked her.

“We will not allow you to be punished.”

She was speechless for a moment with the
force of her thoughts. It took a prod in the back from Cort for her
to translate. After she did, there was heavy silence.

Eyes on the floor, Xera said to the Scorpio
leader, “You are making this difficult for me. My people will say I
am a traitor.”

“Then we will not give you a choice.”

It happened too fast for her to track. She
saw two Scorpio lunge for her. In seconds she was released from her
former captors and drawn to the rear of the Scorpio ranks. Brirax
and Delfane flanked her. None of her crewmates dared move.

Ryven looked at them as if they were nothing,
less than nothing. “Confiscate their weapons. Leave only what they
need for survival.”

“You can’t do this! You can’t meddle in our
affairs!” Captain Khan protested from the rear. Someone had pumped
the captain full of painkillers and plopped him on a bench.