Rebel's Quest (10 page)

Roshan blinked. “What?”

“I couldn’t be more surprised than you. I was convinced that you’d fight the Onotharians to the death, so when you collaborated with them, and made a lot of money too, I…despised you for it. I hated that we weren’t on the same side.” Andreia’s throat hurt. Old feelings surfaced, and she recognized her immense disappointment in Roshan’s actions, her perceived treachery. “And now I find out, almost by accident, that
you
are Paladin. A folk hero. A legend.”

“If you’re who you say you are, you’re beyond a folk hero,” Roshan murmured and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “You’re a damn myth. Some people even debate if Boyoda really exists, or if our most heroic and beloved champion is made up of several individuals.” Roshan grimaced and rubbed her temples. “Somehow, it all makes sense. You have access to all that information that we need so badly to turn this ongoing war around. You’ve given us valuable intel, last-minute sometimes, but always accurate, and you’ve saved operations doomed to fail. But even if this makes sense in a weird way, can you prove that you’re Boyoda?”

Andreia thought quickly. “Yes. Do you agree that you saw Boyoda at the view-screen conference last night?”

“Yes.” Roshan looked reluctant as she nodded slowly.

“Then you know I watched Jubinor have a fit over our cardinal rule about avoiding soft targets at all costs. He wanted blood to avenge the missing rebels.”

Roshan’s face changed so gradually that the transformation was hard to trace.

“Andreia…How can this be?” she whispered huskily. “You’re Onotharian. You’re an undercover agent working for us, for their enemy.”

“I’m working for peace between our people, for sovereignty for my home planet, which happens to be Gantharat.” Andreia knew her voice showed no mercy and too much emotion, but couldn’t relent. “I don’t wish the Onotharian people any harm, but the butchers and dictators that starve Gantharat and rape its resources in the name of the Onotharian Empire...I want to see them punished. Remember, they’re also the ones that depleted the Onotharian Empire, a situation that created this whole mess to begin with. I hate them!”

“Does that include your parents?”

Andreia almost doubled over at the unexpectedly cruel question, though she caught herself in time and managed to remain unfazed. “Yes. My parents overstepped the boundaries of criminal neglect and political megalomania years ago. I always thought I could never harm them, but after this latest atrocity, when only a handful of people at the top knew about the raid, I can no longer overlook their methods. I can’t prove it yet, but I’m certain my mother used her contacts with the OECS and helped plan the surprise attacks. It has her signature, trust me.”

“So that’s why they were so successful. They kept you in the dark.” Roshan raised an eyebrow. “More raids like that, and they’ll start to put the puzzle together. They’ll realize that they were successful only when you weren’t in the loop.”

Roshan’s words echoed Andreia’s worst fears. Lately, she’d felt as if she was operating on borrowed time. “Yes.” Suddenly hot and a little nauseous, Andreia pulled off her jacket. “That’s my conclusion too,” she said quietly. “But we have this chance to do something, and even if we weren’t supposed to meet in person, now we have. We need to forget our personal differences and work together to get the information to the right people.”

“You look as pale as I feel. Why don’t we eat something while we plan?”

“Food sounds good.” Andreia watched Roshan reach over the backrest of the couch and press something. “It’ll have to be quick, though. Besides, you need someone to look at that injury.”

Roshan alerted her butler to arrange a light breakfast for them.

Andreia allowed a few moments to pass. “I have questions too.”

“I bet you do.”

It wasn’t exactly an invitation, but Andreia didn’t allow the standoffish tone to discourage her. “You’ve done a good job with your smoke screens, Roshan. And you’ve risked a lot by passing yourself off as a collaborator. How have you used all the money you’ve made from your government contracts?”

She could see that her question angered Roshan, but she wanted her former friend to drop her shields quickly. It was easier to reach an unsettled Roshan, if she hadn’t changed.

“What I couldn’t launder to use for our quest, I used to expand the business, so no one would be suspicious.” Her eyes, now piercing blue slits, flashed with rage as she hissed, “Are you suggesting I used any of it for personal gain?”

“No.”

“I have enough scars to prove my allegiance.” Roshan sounded both upset and exhausted. “You, with all your privileges, wouldn’t know what it’s like for the Gantharians who suffer every single day.”

“You’re talking to me, Roshan,” Andreia reminded her mildly. “And I do know, more than you realize, how our people suffer. I also know how often you’ve risked your life. But my assignments to collect documents and transfer them to the rebel leaders have been just as dangerous. If the truth about me was revealed—” Andreia interrupted herself at the blue-tinted paleness in Roshan’s cheeks. “You okay?”

“Damn it, Andreia.” Roshan’s voice sounded hollow. “That’d be high treason, punishable by death by starvation. Their favorite trick.”

“That’s why we have to stick to our images as Onotharian-friendly, cooperating women of power.” Andreia stopped talking as the butler arrived with a small trolley. She couldn’t take her eyes off the stricken expression on Roshan’s face.
Does my fate actually matter to her? I’m sure she’s only concerned about losing the advantage Boyoda gave the resistance.

“Thank you, Wellter,” Roshan said. “We’ll help ourselves.”

As Wellter nodded and left the room, Andreia surmised he was used to his employer coming and going at odd hours, even looking as disheveled as she did. It was hard to hide anything from a loyal servant. Andreia remembered Wellter from her girlhood. He was obviously beyond loyal to Roshan, just as he’d been to her parents.

“Do you think we have a chance to make this relationship, I mean working relationship, viable?” Andreia bit the inside of her lip at how she stuttered. Trying to cover up, she reached for a hand sanitizer sitting on the trolley and let the blue beam clean her hands.

Roshan used it as well before she poured Yasyam tea, not seeming to notice Andreia’s discomfort, or not caring. “We have to. We have to get our senior officers back, or we’ll lose the fight before the Supreme Constellations gets here.”

Andreia sipped her tea and followed Roshan’s strong, slender hands. A little scarred, they moved with certainty across the tray she pulled from the trolley and placed on the low table between them. Fruit, besa-bee honey bread, cheese, and hot porridge; it looked wonderful, but Andreia’s stomach was in a knot.

“Listen.” Roshan bit into a piece of honey bread and chewed with a thoughtful expression. “I’ve met several of the top people in the resistance face to face, globally speaking, and know some of their real names. They’ve kept my secret also. Without the experience of these senior rebels, the young, new recruits don’t have a chance.”

“I know you haven’t had time to examine the documents I sent you,” Andreia said, “but you may have some suggestions already.”

Dangerous blue sparks shot from Roshan’s eyes before she spoke. “As a matter of fact, I have. It’s been on my mind the last few days, ever since I got back from—” She stopped herself.

“The mission from hell.” Andreia said.

“Exactly.” Roshan nodded. “I watched the transmission from the Supreme Constellations regarding the miraculous news of our young prince. Obviously, Kellen O’Dal has powerful connections within the SC. If I can get word to her, maybe she can bring reinforcements. Or something!” Roshan flung a hand in the air, a gesture so familiar it took Andreia’s breath away.

Suddenly she saw the younger Roshan, with white-blond wavy hair down to her waist, arguing with their professors, her eyes alight with intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. She’d gesture emphatically when she was trying to get her point across, and for a moment Andreia saw the same fire again in Roshan. She kept her hair short-cropped now, which was surprisingly attractive and accentuated her high cheekbones and high forehead. She had a strong face, despite her war weariness and something Andreia interpreted as perpetual pain, or even guilt.
Am I kidding myself when I think I can read her face after so many years? But once I knew it as well as I know my own.

“Or something,” Andreia mused, nibbling a piece of fruit. “Do it. We need every possible advantage. I’ve sent you data for this lunar month’s patrol patterns. You should be able to use it when you make a plan.”

“So I’m supposed to do this alone? What happened to working together?” Roshan sounded disdainful, but a tinge of disappointment in her voice gave her away.

Andreia’s heart picked up speed.
Is she genuinely concerned about me, now that she knows the truth? Or is it too late for any kind of friendship?
“I want daily updates on your progress, several if possible. I do need to be back doing my job, though. I’m on a tight schedule with very little time for frills. What I do for the resistance, I do at night.” Andreia stood abruptly. “Get some painkillers. Preferably more treatment than that. You seem to be in agony.”

“I am—”

“—fine. I know. But you have to function at peak efficiency. You have to be able to throw yourself into battle at a moment’s notice. You can’t do that the way you look now.”

“I could take you down any day, Andreia,” Roshan said sardonically, with her typical expression, eyebrow raised. “Wounded or not.”

“But I’m not the enemy. You may think you’re made of steel, but you’re not. If you need any medical supplies or equipment, I can arrange it.”

A sudden shadow of vulnerability flickered over Roshan’s sculpted features. “Thank you.”

“Anything, Roshan. All you have to do is ask.”

Roshan’s lips parted, and she seemed to hold her breath for a moment. Then her face hardened again, and she donned the blasé mask Andreia had seen so many times over the years. “Thank you, but as I said, I’m fine.”

“Okay. I’ll see myself out.” Andreia pulled her jacket on as she strode through the hallway to the front door. Wellter was standing by to escort her down the stairs.

“Thank you for bringing her home, ma’am,” he said.

“She’s a friend.”
She was, anyway.

“She needs a friend, so I’m glad to hear that.”

“Ms. O’Landha is injured,” Andreia said spontaneously. “It’s pretty bad, I think. Please, make sure she sees a doctor.”

“I will do my best.”

Wellter’s thin features didn’t give anything away, but Andreia thought she saw a hint of warmth in his eyes. She guessed that was as much as anybody could promise around the strong-willed Roshan.

After tying her scarf on and pulling up her hood, she mounted her bike. As she engaged the propulsion system and sped down the same garden path she’d arrived on, Andreia thought of her former friend. Her tenacity had probably kept her alive all these years.

Andreia decided to use the official roads back to Ganath. She was less likely to run into scattered OECS forces looking for the rebel who had taken out their assault team. Andreia sighed as she let the hoverbike charge down the thoroughfare. All she wanted was to get back home and stretch out on her bed for a few hours before her mother called and briefed her about today’s business.

Andreia hunched over the handlebars, exhausted. Last night’s events had overwhelmed her, and she had so many questions and thoughts running through her mind that she deliberately shut them all off. Only Roshan’s profound surprise when she realized the truth lingered.

“Rae, we need to talk.”

Admiral Rae Jacelon looked up from her computer. The sight of the tall, blond woman standing in the doorway, dressed in a Supreme Constellations Fleet uniform with the provisional insignia of an ensign on her collar, made her shiver.

“You sound serious. Is something wrong?” Rae gestured for her wife to sit down in the chair across from her. “Is it Armeo?” she asked, alarmed.

“No. Armeo’s fine. I talked to him an hour ago.” Kellen, ramrod straight as usual, sat down with a dangerous litheness that Rae knew could combust if unleashed.

“Then what is it?”

“I’ve received a message…through rather unconventional channels.”

“Yes?” Rae pushed the computer console out of the way and sipped her Cormanian coffee. As it spread through her system, she felt rejuvenated.

“My presence is requested…on Gantharat.” Kellen held up her hands, palms up. “Please, Rae, listen to me—”

“On Gantharat? There’s a price on your head!” Rae slammed her mug down on the desk. “Whose
request
is it?”

“When I was active in the resistance, I belonged to the same cell that my father did before me. One of my senior officers has managed to send me a subspace message, via a chain of beacons that her space team just deployed.”

“Who’s this woman?”

“Her call sign is Paladin.”

“All right.” Rae tried to calm the surge of acid in her throat. “And what exactly does she want from you?”