Daughter of Destiny (22 page)

Naia nodded. "Giant with
blond hair. Got it."

Katarina managed a smile
and then nodded her head toward the door. "My escort is getting
impatient." An idea occurred to her as she and Naia went into the
living room. "Is that communications array functional?"

The commander paused in his
act of entering a command into his computer, "Yes, can we go
now?"

"Do you have a portable
transmitter powerful enough to send and receive messages from here
on Earth?"

He waved his computer. "One
of these is equipped with a standard communicator which has enough
signal amplitude to reach the relay."

"Good. Give my sister one.
IGC plans to contact Earth. Having people that can get you
information could prove invaluable. Think of them as native covert
agents. In return for this service they get the privilege of using
the communicator for personal communication with me."

His face remained impassive
when he looked up at her, but she sensed the combination of self
recrimination and resignation. "All right, but keep communications
brief. Send them at random intervals, and the computer cannot fall
into the hands of the general population." He snatched the
private’s computer off of his belt. "Anything important on
here?"

"No sir."

He handed the computer to
Katarina and explained how to use it. Since she also had Zane's
knowledge, she comprehended quickly and passed the information on
to Naia. Katarina scrolled through the display
languages.

"It has English on
here."

"Yes. Lieutenant Plaswer's
translation program was disseminated to the entire IGCF computer
network."

Katarina set it to English
and handed the computer to Naia. She winked at Naia. "Just don’t
let Robert take it apart."

Naia laughed, squeezed her
hand, and then stepped back as the commander placed a hand on the
small of Katarina’s back.

"This might be
disorienting, but it’s completely safe, even in your current, uhm,
condition."

"Disorienting isn't the
half of it," she muttered. Then she remembered something. "Wait!"
Commander Vrion’s hand froze above his computer. She set her pack
down and rushed past Naia into the kitchen. She dug out her stash
of coffee. Even pregnant, she couldn’t completely give it up.
Spaceship hijackers needed caffeine, and chocolate, lots of
chocolate. She grabbed several large chocolate bars for good
measure before racing back to the living room clutching her
emergency rations. "Okay,
now I
’m ready."

"Is he going through with
his ridiculous plan?" A static filled voice asked over the
antiquated comm. The hologram function long ceased
working.

Rotvraoq adjusted the ear
bud to hear his contact better. "Yes."

"We can't let Karglock drag
the empire into another war."

"So we're in accord?"
Rotvraoq asked.

"When the fleet reaches
this Earth place, we'll make our move. What few forces he is
leaving in our home system will be beyond his range. We'll handle
them. You lead operation there."

"And if IGCF shows
up?"

"Then make sure the
operation is carried out before they do. I don't want Goloths to
die needlessly and that fool would lead our entire race to our
deaths if we let him. Gods be with you, Rotvraoq."

"And with you."

Rotvraoq deactivated the
comm and tucked it behind a false panel in the trunk holding his
personal belongings. A loud buzz emanated from the bulkhead across
the tiny room. "Rotvraoq, get in here and bring the duty roster.
Only worthy soldiers will go into battle. The slugs can stay behind
on this rock."

Rotvraoq buried the fury
and disgust Karglock's words ignited. The patient
sziliq
c
aught its prey. An impatient one became prey. Rotvraoq stood
and schooled his face and adjusted his posture before leaving the
room.

***

After getting the ship out
of the solar system, Commander Vrion walked down the narrow
corridor to Katarina’s bunk carrying a meal pack. In his
experience, gestating females ate frequently. He also hoped it
might ease tension if he came bearing food. Command provided little
information and he need her to fill in the gaps.

The commander called out
her name, but received no response. He peeked around the unsecured
privacy curtain on the bunk. His human passenger sat on the bed,
her back against the duratanium wall, her eyes closed. Her hands
lay fisted in her lap, perspiration beaded on her forehead, and her
complexion appeared several shades paler than earlier. Before the
commander could do anything, Katarina’s eyes fluttered open, her
hands relaxed, and color bled back into face

"Are you okay, De' Gratig?
Perhaps you should go to the med bay for a diagnostic?"

She startled, but other
than that her face remained a smooth mask. "De'? Oh, yes, I recall
now, it's common address for a married female. Thank you,
Commander, but I’ll be fine. Zane, however, is much worse. Is the
fleet looking for Karglock’s headquarters? He can't hold on much
longer."

Vrion eyed the woman in
front of him. Her tense muscles and the shadows under her eyes
betrayed her calm, polite tone. No matter how hard he tried, he
couldn’t get even the faintest reading of her emotions. She blocked
too well.

"IGCF’s been looking for
years. He's always a step ahead. I take it he took Captain
Gratig?"

"Yes."

"Are you in contact with
Captain Gratig?"

"Yes. We are bonded
telepaths."

Vrion winced. "So you feel
what Karglock does to Captain Gratig."

"Yes.
Everything."

"That must be why command
wants you."

"What do you
mean?"

"They can locate Karglock
using you."

She stared down at her
hands. "IGCF has no interest in rescuing Zane, do they?"

"Command values the lives
of every soldier in its ranks. I'm certain they are doing their
best."

"But he isn't a soldier
anymore, and you haven't mentioned it, but we both know that our
relationship violates half a dozen Confederacy laws. He'll be
better off if IGCF doesn't find him."

He tried not to wince at
her harsh assessment, but she summarized the truth better than he
could. Vrion sighed and held out the meal pack to her. "If you
already realized this, why did you come with us?"

She accepted his offering.
"I couldn't sit and do nothing." She glanced down at it the pack
and stared at it for a full minute.

It dawned on him that she
didn't know how to operate it. He opened his mouth to ask if she
minded him activating it for her, but she pressed the button for
the self-heating cycle, waited for the indicator to turn red,
pressed it again to release the vacuum seal, and broke off the
attached eating utensil. He shut his gaping jaw. It never occurred
to him what a bond meant, as the handful of bonded telepaths he
knew all came from same cultures. The sharing of knowledge did not
make itself so obviously known. He thought of Zane's file and the
lengthy set of deadly skills.
Holy Goddess Civa,

Katarina eyed the contents
of her pouch. "I'm not a threat to you, Commander."

Vrion's cheeks heated as he
flushed. "I apologize. With few telepaths in the fleet, I have
grown lax in my mental discipline. I did not mean to offend
you."

She took a bite of food,
scrunched her face up and swallowed before answering. "I've been
accused of worse things."

He gestured at the edge of
the bunk. "May I?" He sat down on the hard surface. He frowned and
made a mental note to find a pad of some sort for her. Just because
he was used to such stark accommodations didn't mean she felt
comfortable. His studied her for a minute. She poked at the
contents of the pack, but did not eat anymore. He could not blame
her. They tasted like he imagined dried sea kelp might taste,
something that grew on his homeworld, but which his people
certainly did not eat.

"Are you aware of how rare
your telepathic abilities are, not just among humans, but galaxy
wide?"

She set the meal packet in
her lap. "I'm aware I'm a freak."

Commander Vrion frowned at
her terminology, not quite sure the meaning translated properly. "I
sympathize with your position, De' Gratig. It occurred to me that
if you are, as you say, in contact with Captain Gratig, perhaps we
can come up with a plan to help him escape."

She offered him a weak, but
honest smile. "I was hoping you’d be amenable to something like
that. If Zane were not passed out cold I’d contact him right away.
As it is, he needs to rest. For that matter, so do I."

"I understand." Vrion stood
and headed back to the cockpit, and it wasn’t until he sat down
that it occurred to him Katarina got far more information from him
than he got from her. Commander Vrion sighed and opened a channel
to send an update to command. If she proved difficult, Vrion feared
Katarina would not live long enough to mourn her
husband.

***

Zane groaned and rolled
over on the floor of his cell. Every nerve and muscle in his body
ached. He struggled to sit up, but his muscles refused to obey
him.

"Human?"

Zane froze at the strange
voice his head addressing him in Standard.

"I know you are a telepath.
Please answer me. I don't have much time."

"Who are you?"
Zane
asked.

"I am Arawn, the Dédanann
in the next cell."

"I thought all of you were
dead, killed in the war with the Danua."

"That is what we wished
people to think, and truth be told, it is not far from the truth.
Our numbers are very few."

"How did they catch
you?"

"They didn't."

"I don't
understand,"
Zane said.

"I allowed them to take me
prisoner. I had a vision and my elders agreed it was my fate to die
at their hands."

"What!?" Zane blurted
aloud.

"Silence, Gratig of Trusca.
I must deliver my message and fulfill my destiny so that the
prophecy may come to be."

Zane closed his eyes and
muttered under his breath, "Great, they've driven him insane and I
get to listen to his demented ramblings."

"I said
silence!"

Zane managed to lift one
hand to cover his eyes, providing a small illusion of peace. Having
endured the tender touch of the Goloths, he couldn't blame the guy
for losing touch with reality.

"The daughter of destiny
must not swear fealty or they will own her and she loses all chance
of saving the Danua. War unlike any humanity has imagined is coming
and she will need all at her command to win."

Drawn to the man's urgent
tone, Zane listened in spite of the fact none of it made any sense.
The Danua were dead and who in blazes was the daughter of destiny?
Footsteps echoed down the hall, ruining his chance to ask Arawn
about the daughter of destiny.

"My time is up. Forgive me
for revealing Earth's location. I was not strong enough to endure
their ministrations. Karglock has gained the information the
Goloths have sought for generations. I pray you are stronger than
me and can hold out long enough to thwart his plans to conquer
Earth"

The usual two guards came
into the room, but they went to his neighbor's cell instead of his.
Metal whispered against metal as one of the guards drew his
xaraq.
A moment later they disappeared from view and Zane
cringed at the sound of it slicing through flesh and bone. The two
dull thuds that followed allowed him to picture the decapitation.
His stomach cramped and his breath hitched at poor Arawn's
death.

Booted feet rang on the
metal floor, stopping outside his cell. "Ready to beg for mercy?" a
guard asked in accented Standard.

Zane rolled over and
lurched to his feet.
"Kraghak te!"
He refused to die lying
on his back.

"Even if your mate finds
this base, by the time IGCF gets here, you will be dead. The
Emperor will be sure to leave a message letting her know her
actions hastened your death." The guard smirked with satisfaction
and then punched the button on the emitter control panel, sending
an immobilizing beam of energy at Zane.

***

He awoke to a stinging and
burning sensation in his forearm. He blinked blurry eyes until he
could focus. A Goloth in a white coat, an incongruous sight in his
mind, stood beside him pressing a hypospray to his skin. The doctor
said something to the guard, but Zane couldn’t make it out, and
then he left the room. He almost hoped the injection was a poison,
but he had no such luck. The stimulant took effect and adrenaline
flooded his system, multiplying the sensitivity of his
senses.

"Shit," he muttered.
Killing him wasn't good enough. No, he had to be awake and aware
for every second of torture.