The Refugee (The Korvali Chronicles Book 1) (41 page)

“Really. You will undergo a trial period, to ensure you’re a good match for such a position. However, you have a cluster of traits that make you a good candidate. An obvious one is your superior self-defense skills. Another is your ability to work independently. You perform well under pressure, and you show a capacity for improvising in difficult circumstances. However, until recently, I had no knowledge of how you would perform in the field. As the Captain pointed out, you are a scientist, not a soldier, and thus an unconventional choice to serve in this capacity.” He paused. “Your position as a senior scientist offers more advantages, as we can place you in a variety of settings without raising the suspicions that a soldier would.”

“How… how much time will this involve? What about my post?”

“If you choose to take this role, you must maintain your role as a scientist. However, to release you from some of those duties, I will enroll you in the ETP under the Operations Department, reporting to me. In effect, you will be cross-training.”

“And I would work alone?”

“Alone, or with one other. This person will train you.”

“Who is this person?”

“You must commit to the position to find that out.”

“Who would know?” she asked.

“Other than myself… only the Captain.”

“And the Captain is okay with this?”

“She took quite a bit of convincing.”

He’d had to pull for Catherine. He needed one more COO—someone who could work with scientists, with people his soldiers couldn’t relate to. He’d had a few other candidates in mind, but Catherine had qualities they lacked. Her sign-making ploy showed an ability to innovate even when under stress. She hadn’t leaked Eshel’s secrets to her superiors, her father, or even to her closest friends; that showed she was above the need for social approval or the pressure to accede to authority, both of which were crucial in a COO. Her ability to convince someone like Tom Kingston to modify their rescue plan showed an ability to bend the rules and persuade when necessary. And, from his standpoint, her willingness to risk her career by standing up to Commander Steele’s insult, and to risk her neck by facing a Calyyt in the ring… those actions showed sheer, uncompromising guts. He shared none of this with Catherine. She needed to prove herself first.

“Are you interested?” he said.

“I am.”

He gave a nod. “There are two caveats, Catherine. If you make this commitment, you will receive training and access to information about our organization—and others’—that you cannot share with anyone, anytime, under any circumstances. You will swear an oath to protect this information—any breach of this oath will have severe consequences associated with it. To some extent, when you take on this role, you gain certain privileges, but forsake others.” He paused. “The other caveat is Eshel. I know you and he share a number of secrets and an important history, more than you admit to. And it’s clear to me that, on some level, you and Eshel still share something that is beyond friendship. Do you see where I am going with this?”

“I think so, Sir.”

“I’m not asking you to reveal that which Eshel has already shared with you. However, if you choose this role, you can no longer keep Eshel’s secrets. You must choose your allegiance to the Space Corps over your allegiance to Eshel.” He paused. “Is this something you can do?”

Catherine hesitated for a moment. Then she leaned forward in her chair. “Yes, Sir. I can.”

And with that, Yamamoto put out his hand. “Welcome aboard.”

“Lieutenant Finnegan a COO,” Ferguson said, shaking her head. “I never would’ve predicted it.”

“I believe she will do well,” Yamamoto said. “She has different skills than the others.”

“To say the least,” Ferguson said, laughing. “She’s a whitecoat, for God’s sake! Can you think of any COO who wasn’t a soldier?”

“None comes to mind,” Yamamoto admitted.

She shook her head again. “You have real vision, Suko. Her knowledge of genetics, her intimate relations with Eshel, her recent intelligence with the mission, even her friendship with Grono Amsala… And hopefully, over time, her loyalty to us will outstrip whatever remaining loyalty she has to Eshel.”

“You still doubt him.”

“Not as much as I did. But just because he chose to give up his citizenship doesn’t mean he isn’t still Korvali. He’s just as much a liability as he is an asset.”

Yamamoto nodded, standing up. “I agree. I will continue to keep my eye on him.” He paused, looking at her. “By the way, Janice, I believe you owe me a bottle of red tefuna.”

Ferguson eyed him. “How’s that?”

“Nearly eighteen months ago, after the Korvali visited the ship, you bet me Eshel wouldn’t last with us. Under my calculation, you lost.”

Ferguson gave a half smile, a twinkle in her blue eyes. “You got me there. One bottle of red tefuna, coming up.”

“Make it a bottle from five sun cycles ago,” he said. “It’s a better vintage.”

And he left.

Catherine headed to one of the private ready rooms on the fifth deck. Who was this other person, the one who would train her? Would it be someone she knew? Would it be a man or a woman? Yamamoto would consider this person carefully. It would be someone experienced, and someone the brass trusted. It would most certainly be a soldier, and someone Yamamoto believed would be a good influence on her.

Just before 1300, Catherine buzzed the door. When the door opened, she walked in. And there, in the middle of the room, a grin on his face, stood Tom.

Saturday, Catherine finished her morning training class. Still a bit tired, she holed up in her quarters for the day to get some rest. She read, slept, and even turned down Tom’s invitation to play poker. But at almost 2330 hours, her door sounded.

Eshel. He walked in, out of uniform, holding only his canteen. “Is it too late to speak?

She shook her head, turning off her reader and joining Eshel at her small table. “Did you come from Tom’s?”

“Yes.”

“Good game?”

Eshel cocked his head slightly. “I won a good sum; although I no longer need it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I was saving for a transport to Korvalis. To perform the sher keltar.”

“So your abduction saved you a lot of money.” She grinned.
 

Eshel smiled, sitting in his usual still way, patiently waiting for their small talk to complete so he could proceed. Once it did, he began. “Catherine,” he said. His tone sounded cold and formal, but belied some emotion underneath. “I wanted to express my gratitude for your execution of my rescue plan. I know I already did so, but I wanted to again… ” He paused, as if considering his words carefully. “I doubted that you would come for me, that the brass would allow it… that such an endeavor would be worth the risks.”
 

She looked at him with a softened expression. “You have a lot to learn about us.”
 

“Yes,” Eshel said. “Tom also said that.” Eshel composed himself and switched to a less personal tone. “I informed the Captain and XO that your handling of my retrieval was superior. I doubt they appreciate the difficulty of the task.” He paused. “It occurred to me, during the debriefings, that we have shared our experiences on my homeworld with the Captain and the XO, but not with one another.”

Catherine hesitated, wondering if such a discussion would violate her promise to Yamamoto. But it wouldn’t. The mission—and what they shared during it—had occurred before agreeing to her new role. So they swapped stories.
 

“I have questions,” she said afterward.

“Ask me anything.”

She smiled at his answer. “What’s the history behind that silver-leafed tree in the foyer at Fallal Hall?”

“The tree is an ancient koshac tree, and one of only a few left of its kind. The Osecal erected Fallal Hall around it, when they ruled. The malkaris allows no one to grow more of them. The branched marking on the hand of the Osecal… it is a symbol of this tree.”

“That’s why it looked familiar,” she said, nodding. She grew more serious. “When you took me to the fourth floor of Fallal Hall… the one throwing that rice-like stuff, that was Ivar, wasn’t it? You thought he was the murderer… but his DNA didn’t match. And that ruled out everyone… except Elan.”

Eshel nodded, almost imperceptibly, his face growing pale. “You shouldn’t know that. No one should. I did not believe Elisan would publicize the murder, as it meant revealing that Korvali borders can be breached.” He shook his head. “I would call him stupid… but to underestimate him would be even more foolish than underestimating Elan.”

Catherine nodded. To fool Eshel was no easy task, and Elan had done so for years.

Eshel went on. “I do not know if Elan deceived me because he was skilled at deception, or because I was blinded by our bond.”

“But wasn’t Ivar the bad seed among them?”

“Yes. Elan admired my father’s work, was always a trustworthy person. He had much to lose—his work, his mate, his daughter. Ivar had none of that. Ivar is like Elisan—he is merciless, and lacks good understanding of our science. Elan—and others—believed that Ivar conspired to murder him, so Ivar would be malkaris when their mother died.” He paused. “Now, I do not know what is truth, and what is deception.”

“You looked so pale afterward. Did your father warn you that it would be so difficult?”

“Performing the sher keltar is necessary. What is difficult, as you say, is severing the bond we shared.”

“How?”
 

“It is as I explained on Korvalis, under the tree. The Korvali form bonds with… with what you would call loved ones. To sever that bond results in significant… difficulty.”

“What kind of difficulty?”

“Nausea. Difficulty eating. And strong visions of that person that recur, often for many months.”

“How strong?”

“It is as if the person is really there.”

“What happens if you’re at work and you get one of these… visions?”
 

“I ignore them. But they generally occur during sleep.”

A look of recognition crossed Catherine’s face. “Is that why you’d wake up at night, breathing funny?”
 

“Yes.”

“How long do the visions last?”

“It depends on the strength of the bond. Because my bond with Elan had diminished after my leaving Korvalis, those visions have already begun subsiding. But I still see my father.” He paused, gazing at her. “And until you found me, I still had visions of you.”

Catherine’s face fell. She blinked a few times before shifting in her seat. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice a whisper. “I should never have hit you.”

“Do not concern yourself, Catherine. The visions were due to our broken bond, not your striking me.”

“But still. If I’d known—”

“You could not know. I am at fault, for involving myself with an outsider without fully considering the consequences.”

Catherine nodded faintly. “Eshel, I hope we can put all of that behind us, and be friends again. Like we used to be.”

Eshel’s eyes studied her. “That is your preference… friendship.”

She nodded. “I think you’d agree it’s the best way, for us.”
 

Eshel was silent for a minute. Finally, he said, “I would agree.”

He stood up to leave, pushing in his chair. Catherine stood up as well. As Eshel headed toward the door, she realized one could easily see her photos, mounted on the bulkhead. And that meant one could easily see the open spot, once filled with the art Eshel had given her. She cringed, holding her breath, resolving then and there to find out who had it and get it back. Fortunately, Eshel didn’t appear to notice the missing painting.

Just as he was to leave, he turned to her. “There is something you should know. It is important, but you cannot repeat it.”

“Don’t tell me,” she said suddenly. Eshel raised his eyebrows. “I was warned about sharing more information with you.”
 

Eshel’s eyes narrowed. “Warned by whom?”
 

“By those in charge.”

“This is not a new secret. It is something you already know, and the piece I will share is one you must know, for your benefit.”
 

Catherine relented, offering her consent.

“I sent you the encrypted files regarding Steele’s activities with Dr. Vanyukov,” Eshel said.

Catherine gasped in surprise. “So that
was
you!”

“I advised you not to trust him. Now you know why.”

She shook her head, unsure what shocked her more: that Eshel pulled off such a stunt without anyone knowing, or the reminder that Steele had clamped down on her and thwarted her progress so he could exploit the information for his own gain.
 

“He greatly disliked our being involved,” Eshel went on. “And he seems to dislike you for other reasons, similar to the way that Middleton dislikes me.”

Catherine had another thought. “Wait. There was a second image file among the stuff you sent me. Did you give him an updated copy of your genetic material?”

Eshel raised his eyebrows again. “Do you believe I would do that?”

She shook her head. “That worthless asshole. Taking a sample from you without your permission… that in itself is a huge violation! We need to report him!”
 

“No,” Eshel said.
 

“No? Why not?”

“His deceptions offer us useful leverage, allowing you to continue making progress in secret without complaint from him.” He gave her his hardest look. “I cannot have my work exploited by inferior scientists, Catherine. You must prevail. And you must do so without my assistance.”

“I’m on it, Esh. I’ve already made quite a bit of progress. But you should know that I brought Holloway on to help.” She felt a pang of guilt as Eshel’s expression turned colder. “Are you angry?”

“Of course I am angry.”

“He’s very smart. And trustworthy. With him, we can work twice as fast.”

“I know. It is only that you should be working with me, not him.”

“That’s my preference, too, Esh.” She cocked her head in curiosity. “How the hell did you do that, anyway? Where did you learn such skills?”