Warrior's Valor (10 page)

“A lot better, kid,” a youthful voice said from the doorway. Ayahliss, pale and obviously in pain, stood proudly without holding on for support. Behind her, a medic watched her closely.

“Ayahliss,” Kellen said as she approached her.

“I beg your forgiveness. In my effort to keep Armeo safe, I failed Ms. Dahlia. I tried to…I tried.” Ayahliss's face contorted, and for a moment Kellen thought she would see her cry for the first time, but she jutted out her chin and straightened where she stood.

“You and Armeo are not at fault,” Rae said behind Kellen. “You're going to fall over any second, Ayahliss. Come here.”

Ayahliss looked truly surprised as Rae guided her to a couch. Kellen understood Ayahliss's consternation. Until now Rae had kept her distance from her. Reluctant to trust the volatile young person, she had been suspicious about her friendship with Armeo. Now she helped Ayahliss sit down and joined her. She looked at Rae as if she were an imposter, her expression almost humorous, despite the serious situation they were all facing.

“Ma'am. Uhm, Admiral…” she began.

“Call me Rae.”

Her mouth fell open before she tried again. “Rae. Once I see the physicians and they perform the last procedure, I'll be able to join the hunt for this
tremasht
.”

Rae briefly touched her arm and looked over at Armeo. “You two have an even more important mission,” she said gravely. “Until Armeo is of age he can't join an armed team, but that doesn't mean he isn't valuable. When it comes to you, Ayahliss, keeping Armeo safe is the most important thing, and I've realized you're totally dedicated to this task. When you're well again, I trust you to stay close to him, no matter what happens. You'll have your own security detail, as before, but you're more than his mere bodyguard.” She looked steadily at Ayahliss. “You're his friend. Nobody can be a better companion for him.”

Kellen blinked. She hadn't been aware that Rae had given Ayahliss so much credit for keeping Armeo safe on the Keliera space station.

“Thank you. I won't fail you, ma'am—Rae.” Ayahliss paled further and pressed a trembling hand against her midsection. “I have to confess, though, that I'm in pain.”

“We need to get you into bed. Father, we need a gurney. She can't walk all the way to the hovercraft.”

“Of course.” Ewan moved toward the door on the other side of the room. In passing, he smiled at Ayahliss. Soon, he had summoned the ensign that helped them earlier and informed him of the situation.

“Is the young lady going to the hospital?” the man asked.

“Her location will be classified information.” Ewan frowned. “I need a vehicle, but I'll pilot it myself.”

*

Weiss ran to the bridge, ducking at every bulkhead opening in the corridor with measured dips of her head.

“What the hell's going on?” she yelled, and held on to the railing that led down a short flight of stairs to her captain's chair. The
Viper
lurched under her feet and sparks erupted from two computer consoles.

“All our systems are malfunctioning and I have no clue why. Probably a series of burned relays and melted gel manifolds,” Weiss's next-in-command yelled.

“We need to land, Captain. I can't hold her.” The woman at the helm struggled with the console, furiously entering commands.

“Nearest habitable planet?” Weiss snapped her head around toward her ops officer.

“Corma.”

“Damn. Set her down, as remotely as possible, if possible.”

“Aye, ma'am.” The helmswoman frowned as she entered the new coordinates. “I need more power.”

“Redirect from any system necessary. Even life support, if that's what it takes.” Weiss kept her voice calm as she clung to the armrests of her chair.

“Captain Kyakh. What are you saying? We can't land within SC space,” M'Ekar shouted over the blaring alarm klaxons. “Can't this woman get us to the border?”

“If you mean my helmswoman, you'll have to settle for her being able to get us down in one piece at all. Don't worry. I have contingency plans for most scenarios.” Weiss was confident because she spoke the truth. She'd been untouchable in this business of mercenaries and space pirates for many years. As the
Viper
bucked and lurched its way toward Corma, she fought an annoying little voice that had become more insistent lately.
The longer it is before you get caught, the more likely it is that you will.

She shook her head and grabbed her armrests harder as they approached Corma. If they could break orbit and find a remote area, they had every chance of escaping the authorities and making the last little jump over the SC border into intergalactic space.

“How much longer?” she asked.

“We reach orbit in less than five minutes. Our success depends on whether I can maintain a correct angle. If not, we'll become space debris.”

“That's not an option. Not a very fitting end for the esteemed ambassador,” Weiss said. “Get us down in one piece. We can worry about the rest later.”

*

It took some effort to help an increasingly pasty-pale Ayahliss into the hovercraft. It was an elongated version, lean and black, and once they were all inside, Ewan pulled out into traffic.

“Father, are you comfortable driving in these conditions? Traffic is horrible.” Rae spoke quietly. She knew her father was exhausted from worry as well as all the intel he'd sorted through since the kidnapping.

“I'm fine. Make sure the kids are all right.” Her father sounded gruff, but Rae knew this was only stress talking.

“They're fine—”

“Headquarters to Admiral Rae Jacelon. Headquarters to Admiral Ewan Jacelon. Please report on secure audio channels ASAP.” The metallic voice echoed throughout the vehicle.

“We're almost there.” Ewan punched in new commands on the console before him. “Take over the controls, Commander O'Dal.”

The formality of how he spoke was alarming. Kellen nodded briskly at Rae and moved forward between the seats and took the co-driver's seat. “I have the controls.”

“Good. Are we secure?” Ewan asked Rae.

“Getting there. Kellen, please erect a privacy wall.” An opaque wall rose soundlessly between them and the back area of the hovercraft. Rae cleared her voice, suddenly nervous. “Secure channel Alpha-Alpha-Jacelon-6. Admirals Jacelon and Jacelon present. We are safe to talk.”

“Rae, Ewan, we have news regarding Dahlia,” a familiar voice said over the communicator.

“Alex. When did you get here?” Rae exclaimed, relieved and surprised.

Alex de Vies, captain of the flagship while Rae was in command of the Gamma VI space station, was also one of her best friends. Alex's wife Gayle had been wonderful to Kellen from the start, and Dorinda, their daughter, was Armeo's best friend.

“I got in an hour ago. When I heard the news I asked the command group for an express transfer. I'm so sorry about Dahlia.” Alex paused. “As I said, we have news.”

“Ewan here, Alex. Report.”

“Sir, Cormanian sensors show that a small vessel, identical to the one escaping from the Keliera station, has crashed into the Disi-Disi forest.”

“Crashed.” Rae mouthed the word but couldn't make a sound.

“Its status?” Ewan asked, his voice steady in contrast to his white lips.

“Disabled is our best estimate, sir,” Alex said. “Corma doesn't allow for extensive scans of the area, so we have no way of knowing precisely. You know this forest is protected by an ancient pact—”

“My mother might be injured, or worse. I don't give a damn about any ancient pacts.” Rae found her voice and thundered on. “We're going to make sure the children are safe, and then I want to talk to the Foreign Minister. Make that happen, Alex.”

“I'm on it. But be careful, Rae. The Thousand Year Pact isn't just any document. It stretches back into Cormanian history and right up to modern day. Just so you know what you're up against with the minister.”

“Thanks. See you soon. Jacelon out.” Rae closed her eyes briefly, then looked at her father.

“At least there aren't any hard surfaces in the jungle, or are there? No tall buildings or…” Rae had to swallow twice to be able to continue. “Kellen. ETA at the hotel?”

“Two minutes.” Kellen spoke calmly, but Rae, who was familiar with every nuance of Kellen's voice, knew she was ready to explode into action.

Rae sat straight, breathing in the relaxation pattern that usually worked.
Mother. Be all right. You have to. You simply have to
.

They had hiked for hours, going much farther into the Disi-Disi forest than their application to enter had stated. Emeron remained in the rear, convinced if the bots attacked again, they would come from the rear. Dwyn had started out behind Mogghy, but had gradually fallen back and was now walking in front of her.

“Are you getting tired? Do we need to rest?” She tapped Dwyn's shoulder. Dwyn jumped, obviously having been lost in thought. “Sorry.”

“No. I'm fine.” Dwyn looked stubborn rather than defeated, and Emeron knew she wasn't used to the pace they'd kept to get as far away as they could from potential bots.

“All right, but we could all use a break and, what's more important, something to drink.” It was humid this deep into the vegetation beneath the tall trees, despite their temperature-sustaining underwear.

“If you insist.” Dwyn looked like she was doing Emeron a favor as they all formed a circle and sat down on their carriers.

Emeron pulled out a box from her med kit and passed it around. “Grab a capsule each, people. We need to make sure we're in good shape if we run into those bots again.”

“What are they?” Dwyn asked, wrinkling her nose. She held the yellow capsule as if it were poison.

“It's a multivitamin and also contains the equivalent of a day's worth of minerals, glucose, and salts. Don't worry. It's designed to suit multiple species.” She placed her capsule in her mouth, pulled the hose from her carrier that held her water, and took a sip. “There.”

“All right.” Dwyn did the same, then bent forward, her elbows on her knees. “How far before we can get back on track? I need to reach my coordinates as soon as possible to get my last readings of the soil and observe the forest's perimeter for signs of—”

A loud, repetitive beep interrupted her. “Incoming emergency message.” Oches pulled out the communication antenna. He punched in a few commands and nodded to Emeron. “You're ready to proceed, ma'am.”

“Thanks.” Emeron rose and walked far enough into the vegetation to be out of sight and earshot. The signal had been unmistakable. The message was urgent and confidential. She plugged an earpiece into her communicator and pressed the sensor that linked it via a satellite scrambler to the antenna in Oches's back-strap carrier. “D'Artansis here. Go ahead.” A slight crackle of static, then Captain Zeger's voice came through.

“Commander D'Artansis, we've had some disturbing developments. A space vessel harboring enemies of the Supreme Constellations and a kidnapping victim has crashed not far from your position. Since you're the closest unit, you are to scan for the crash site and potential survivors. It's a matter of galactic security that we rescue the victim. Her name is Dahlia Jacelon, and she's an important senior diplomat, with a level-one security clearance. We believe that the kidnappers intend to interrogate her and sell any information they might extract to the Onotharian Empire.”

Emeron's head spun with several potential scenarios. “And she'll go through a living hell before they kill her,” she said in a flat voice.

“Exactly.”

“Are reinforcements on their way?”

Captain Zeger sighed. “You know our government and its maddening bureaucracy. We have some influential military people here, but the location of the crash site makes it difficult for them to get permission to enter the forest. Dahlia Jacelon is the wife of an admiral and the mother of yet another one, but that doesn't seem to pull any weight with our ministers.”

“You've got to be kidding me, sir.”

“Well, both Admirals Jacelon seem ready to hijack a shuttle and leave on the spot, but their hands are tied.”

“So, sir, if we come across the kidnappers and Diplomat Jacelon, we're on our own?”

“Yes. For now.”

Emeron rubbed the back of her head. She was already reviewing various tactical scenarios, but no matter how clever they were, the odds weren't stacked in her favor. “All right, sir, is it possible to download the latest intel into my receiver? Or are we going in blind?”

“My aide de camp is already transmitting what we have to Ensign Oches.”

“Good. I'll keep you posted, sir.”

She broke the transmission and walked back to her team, all of them sitting in a circle propped up against their carriers. Glancing at Dwyn, she wondered if things could possibly get any more complicated. She couldn't possibly take a civilian on such a dangerous mission.