The Enclave (The Verge) (8 page)

Joshua came and handed her a mug and then sat down beside her on the couch.

“Do you still want to go out and talk with them?”

Katherine shook her head.  “I’ll let it pass.  Anyway, I don’t think that group will be out ambushing anyone again in a hurry.”

Joshua took a careful sip of his coffee.  “So.  What brings you to this ass end of the universe?”

“I came looking for someone.”  Katherine tasted her own mug before placing it on the table.

“Husband? Boyfriend?”

“No. Nothing like that.  But it is still a personal matter that I don’t want to talk about.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“Don’t worry about it.  It’s a bit of a raw subject for me at the moment.”

Joshua took another sip of his coffee and put the mug down beside Katherine’s on the table.  “I can take you to wherever you’re staying.  I won’t have you going back to your hotel by yourself.”

Katherine looked across at her host.  He was attractive and if she had read his signals right, he was attracted to her.

“I don’t want to go back.  At least not yet.”  Katherine smiled and leaned forward and ran her fingers lightly along his arm.  She would never see him again.  He was perfect.

He gave her a tentative smile; Joshua knew exactly what she meant.  He leaned forward and brushed her cheek gently with the back of his fingers.  “Are you sure?” he asked softly.

Katherine said nothing, just nodded.  She moved closer and kissed him gently.  He hesitated a moment but soon was kissing her back.  Then they were fumbling with the fastenings on each other’s clothes.

Pain racked her body, making her back contort and arch, her arms and legs pulling at the restraints.  Collapsing back against the table, she drew ragged breaths from between clenched teeth.  The man in white approached her again, this time holding a scalpel and clamp, his assistant appeared at her head and checked that the brace and restrains were firm and then they locked a new res
traint over her torso.  The man in white then took the scalpel and began to cut into her chest.  She screamed.

Katherine jerked awake, breaking into a cold sweat and shaking.  She swung her legs out of the bed and felt the cold night air cause goose bumps to rise on her naked skin.  Cradling her head in her hands, Katherine waited until the memory of her nightmare left her body.

Shit.  They’re back.

As she rubbed her eyes, Katherine realized that she was in a strange room, in a strange bed.  Looking over her shoulder, she saw the naked form of a man sleeping soundly in the bed.  Joshua.

Katherine smiled, her dreams momentarily forgotten.  He was h
er first since the death of Brent.  Katherine felt a little guilty in using him this way, but she would never see him again.  He had helped her forget who she was for a time.  She leaned across the bed and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  He stirred, a small smile touching his lips but did not wake.

Slipping quietly from the bed, Katherine went into the lounge where their clothes were still scattered and quickly dressed.  She took one last look around the apartment before leaving to go back to her ship.

Chapter

eight

Joshua Val Myra sat stiffly in his chair.  As the only available representative of the Val Myran leading family he had been elected to put forward the asylum claims of his fellow refugees.

The members of the Council of New Holland sat in a semi circle around him behind a continuous desk.  Joshua ran his eyes again over the faces of the twenty nine councillors.  They were a mixture of men and women of various ages most of whom looked friendly and welcoming.  A handful of councillors varied from distained to downright hostile, and the chief among these were the man that had introduced himself as the First Councillor.

Adam Chandler was a figure not well known in Val Myra or much of the Northern Hemisphere.  He was new to the office and since the trouble began in Val Myra, their usual media reporting was censored by the Alliance.  At first glance, Chandler looked a different type of man to the last First Councillor that his father dealt with before he died a year ago.  Hopefully this First Councillor will be as understanding.

But the man who sat quietly behind him in the senate chamber Joshua knew very well.  Robert Prockter had been Val Myra’s main New Holland contact and he had conversed regularly with his mother.  Thoughts of his mother suddenly sharpened his musings.  At this moment she is in the care of the New Holland Medical Centre being treated for a plasgun wound to the head and numerous other injuries too hideous to think about.  It made him think of the woman who had saved her from death during their escape from the city.  Joshua wondered whether the woman herself got out of Val Myra alive, he could not remember seeing her among his fellow Val
Myrans and Joshua had made a point of trying to visit each family to ensure they were settled and being cared for.  Because of his mothers injures he had taken upon himself her mantle of leadership.  It was something he was not comfortable with.  And it did not help that she kept asking to see his younger brother.  Joshua could not bare to tell her that Daniel was missing, that he had let his broken brother down again.

“Elder Val Myra,” the First Councillor had risen from his seat in the centre of the semi circle.  The acoustics of the place projected his voice to every ear in the room.  Even the public galleries, if they were full, would not need the earpieces that were commonly used in most large public auditoriums.

“You have come to state your case for asylum within New Holland.  The Council has been assembled to listen to your claims and then to decide on the next course of action.”  The First Councillor looked around at the faces turned towards him.  Some of those faces showed open disapproval at his tone.  The Council knew his views and should be satisfied that he was being this polite.  “You may now present your case.”  Chandler sat back carefully in his seat making sure that his suit did not crease.

Joshua hesitated a moment before rising from his chair.  Chandler’s tone sounded more menacing than diplomatic; he was beginning to grow a genuine dislike for this man.

“First Councillor, councillors.”  Joshua nodded around the room and was heartened to see some sympathetic faces.  “Our case is a very simple one.  The City and territories of Val Myra voted to secede from the Alliance and become a neutral territory.”  Joshua stopped and drew a deep breath.  “The Alliance did not respect our decision and attacked us without warning.  They had the codes to our defense systems and so Val Myra was an easy target for them.  We wish to ask for asylum in New Holland until we can claim back our home.”

“And how do you propose to do that?”

Joshua turned to look at the scoffing councillor, schooling his face to not show his annoyance.

“We are going to ask for assistance from the Earth Federation.”  Val Myra also had a destroyer and a fighter carrier serving in the Alliance Navy under the command of his cousin.  They had been recalled the day before the Alliance attack on Val Myra.  They should be due to arrive back in system in another four days; Joshua did not think this a good time to point this out to the Hew Holland Council.

“Lobby help from
us
you mean.”

Joshua declined to answer the man and looked back at the First Councillor.  Adam Chandler’s expression had not changed.  “The Council has agreed to grant Temporary Asylum to the citizens of Val Myra. 
But
remember our largesse does have a time limit,” he forced through gritted teeth.

Joshua bristled at the First’s words but quickly tamped down his anger.  If Val Myra was still intact Chandler would never have spoken to him in this way.

“Then it’s best I get things moving right away.  We request a meeting with the newly arrived Federation Ambassador as well as with your Governor General.”

Adam Chandler’s face suddenly set like stone.  Joshua tried not to smile
.  What did he think?  That the official request for aid would be placed to the Federation through him?
  Val Myra had been in secret communication with the Federation over the last few months and in the last communication, Val Myra was told that a Federation delegation would meet with them at New Holland.

An administrator turned from speaking with a silver haired woman who sat apart from the others.  “A meeting with the Governor General has been arranged for this afternoon Elder Val Myra.  The Governor General has offered to pass your request for a meeting to the Federation Ambassador.”

Joshua bowed his head low in appreciation to the silver haired woman.  This was obviously Andrea Pritchard, the Governor General of New Holland.

Abruptly Robert stood up, tapping furiously on his datapad.  He turned to the Council members seated around him.  “Please excuse me,” Prockter stepped out from his chair and made his way towards the door.

“What is happening?” the First asked.

Joshua turned to hear the SIO Directors answer.

“An incident with one of the Federation Personnel that arrived with the Ambassador,” Prockter answered, his eyes staring hard into Joshua’s. 

Joshua tried not to squirm under the Director’s intense gaze; he had nothing to hide from him but he had the distinct impression that Prockter had ‘caught him out’ somehow.

“What type of incident?” Chandler snapped at him.

The SIO Director ran his eyes around the chamber only stopping when they crossed those of the First Councillor.  “Please excuse me.”  Prockter disappeared out the door before any more questions could be asked.

Joshua moved uncomfortably in his chair. 
I hope whatever this incident is doesn’t affect our negotiations.  We need Federation help.

But the abrupt departure of the SIO Director put Chandler in a flap.  At least Prockter’s interruption will stop Joshua contemplating punching the lights out of the First Chancellor.

Tersely, Chandler called the meeting to a close and the councillors did their best to hurry out with the utmost dignity.  Joshua found himself sitting in a near empty chamber.

“Elder Val Myra?”

Joshua looked up as the man approached him.  “Yes?”

“Ms Pritchard would like to invite you to have lunch with her.”

Joshua rose from his seat and inclined his head gratefully to the silver haired woman now standing by the doors to the Senate Hall.  “I’d be honored to.”

“Leave it Tom, I just had a bit of a run in on my way back to port last night.”

“A bit of a run in!  You’ve got a gash that runs clean up your forearm!”

“It looks worse than it is Tom.”

“It should be reported.”

“Those five got what they deserved-”

Tom cut her off.  “Five!  You were attacked by
five
men?”

“None of them were standing by the end of it.  Anyway, I had a bit of help from a civic minded citizen,
who
called the police.”  Katherine tossed in the last as she saw Tom puff up for another outburst.

“I don’t want to create an incident.  Anyway, we’ve got bigger things to worry about at the moment.”

“You mean Hyde.”

“Yes him and a rescue mission.”

Tom raised an eyebrow.  “Is that what last night’s meeting was about?”

“Yes.”  Katherine did not elaborate more.  She had trusted Tom with many things, but not with this.  Yunga was something she was not yet ready to tell; may never be ready to fully tell.  But Tom will eventually need to know the basics because he will be the only one Katherine could trust to take with her to rescue Daniel.

Tom knew Katherine well enough not to push her for more information.

A car collected them from the Port and chauffeured them to Federation House, the main center of F
ederation Government on Junter Three.  They were going to meet with the Ambassador and to sit in on the meeting that would occur with the Val Myran representative and the New Holland Governor General.

But when the car pulled up to Federation House, they were met by a group of New Holland SIO officers who very politely ushered them both inside the complex to a small security office that ran off of the main foyer.  The office barely contained the presence of Robert Prockter.

“What is all this about Director Prockter?”   Katherine asked, not bothering to keep the annoyance from her voice.  “We are due to meet Ambassador Kirk in fifteen minutes.”  Katherine felt Tom’s solid presence beside her.

“I want to show some footage to you Commander, and then I want you to explain it to me.”  Prockter ran a finger over a datapad and an optic screen flashed out from a wall projector.

“Director, we do not have time to watch vids-.”  Katherine’s words suddenly stuck in her throat as the footage rolled over the screen.  She saw herself standing alone on a street; she saw the five men pull out of the shadows; she turned away from the rest.

“There is not much to explain.  The whole thing looks very evident to me.”  Katherine felt Tom’s presence flare up beside her as he watched the footage.  His emotional discharge washed over her and Katherine had to fight hard not to let them over run her.  Having known Tom a long time had made Katherine more attuned to his ‘Talent’ and when strong emotion gripped him she felt it as well.