Diva (Jit'Suku Chronicles) (14 page)

It was stubborn, and she muttered a few impolite words under her breath, which made him smile. He had no doubt she would ask for help if she needed it, but even he was surprised when she swung her foot up like an acrobat and put it through the metal ring, hanging there while she used both hands now to work the stubborn latch.

John knew he was looking at someone with advanced physical training and skills. He hadn’t realized it before because she did a pretty good job of hiding the full extent of her abilities, but Maggie managed to surprise him yet again. She was good for him. She would keep him on his toes for the rest of their lives. He only hoped they got the chance to spend many, many years together.

It all depended on whether or not they could get off of Solaris Prime alive, so they’d know in the next hour or two…

“Got it,” he heard her whisper in triumph.

The hatch finally slid aside, and Binki’s face showed against the faint light from up top, followed quickly by his outstretched hand. Maggie took it and was hoisted up through the hole quickly.

Once she cleared it, Binki was back, both hands outstretched as he came halfway down the opening, reaching out for John’s hands. John wasn’t sure the other man could hoist him, but he seemed to think it would work. John took Binki’s hands and was pleasantly surprised by the speed and strength with which he dragged John’s heavy ass up through that hatch.

He found Maggie waiting there, in the shadows beneath what had to be her ship. They were behind a large support strut for the landing gear, and she had a voluminous cloak spread open in her hands as she moved toward him. John got the idea. He put his arms through the sleeves and let her wrap the concealing cloak around him, pulling up the hood. Anyone who saw him now wouldn’t be able to I.D. him right away, though he did look strange in the monk-like robes. Still, it was better to hide the remains of his uniform at the moment.

Binki had resealed the hatch while Maggie got John into the cloak. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, and John was duly impressed. He knew when he was witnessing high-level operatives who had worked together for a long time. The idea that Diva and her tour manager had been spies all this time still boggled his mind a bit, but he was starting to get used to it.

How could he not, seeing the proof right before his eyes?

“One more hurdle to get into the ship,” Binki said in a low tone that only reached to John’s ears. “Emergency hatch. Two meters ahead. It’s already open. Just climb up. I’ll seal it behind.”

John nodded, not chancing speaking in the open hangar bay. Besides, his role in this rescue was to be quiet and follow orders. At least for now. If things turned sour, he’d use those two guns he had under his cloak. No problem.

Tren wouldn’t take him alive again.

John saw the open hatch that led into the bowels of Diva’s ship. He climbed up as nonchalantly as he could, doing his best to be invisible. Maggie followed right behind him, much to his surprise. As soon as Binki sealed the hatch and the airlock spit them out into a service corridor of her ship, she spoke in low, urgent tones.

“We’re free of monitoring here. My ship is clean, though they certainly tried to bug it. Jit bastards.” She reached up and kissed him just once before grabbing his hand and tugging him down the tight hallway.

All the piping and tubes were exposed down here. This was a maintenance access area, not really built for more than one person to walk through at a time. John followed where she led and didn’t ask the many questions burning in his mind. They were out of the prison and aboard her ship. So far, so good. He tried to focus on that.

“I already boarded as Diva, so I’ll have to change back into that outfit since I heard Tren wants to come down and see me off personally. We’re going to stash you until after takeoff, okay? I’ve got a shielded compartment we use for this sort of thing when we need to get someone out of a hot zone without anyone noticing. We’ve only used it a few times, but it works, though it’s probably not the most comfortable of billets.”

“Anything’s okay as long as it gets me off this rock,” John grumbled, willing to do whatever it took to get away from Solaris Prime.

“Coming right up,” she said, letting go of his hand to stop and press a complex sequence of pressure points on an otherwise unremarkable wall panel.

Intrigued, John was still surprised when the panel popped open to reveal a narrow entrance to what looked like a comfortable guest room. Bright colors dominated the space, with soft fabrics on a single bed. There was also a desk with reading materials and chair, a food service unit and a small door that led to an even smaller lav. All the comforts of home.

“Well, it’s much more homey than the last cell,” John observed wryly.

Maggie frowned. “I know it’s no larger than a prison cell, but I tried to make it more comfortable with an entertainment console and cheery décor. It’s only for a few days. Once we get out of jit’suku space, you can come out into the unshielded parts of the ship.”

He put his arm around her shoulders. “I was only joking, Maggie mine. This is fine. If it got me out of here and back to the Milky Way, I’d sleep in the recycling tanks.”

She snickered. “Well, you’re not far off. The reason this part of the ship is so well shielded is that you’re between the waste tanks and the power plant. We designed this little hidey hole right into the schematics, and no scanner made could identify life signs down here with so much interference. It hides the shielding too, so it doesn’t show up on scan like a big empty spot.”

“Clever,” John observed. “I’m more than willing for this to be my home for the next few days or weeks, or however long it takes us to get into safe space.”

“I’ll visit you every chance I get. I promise. And if I can’t come down myself, I’ll send Binki or the doctor. I have a military doctor on board this trip. General MacRauch sent him once he knew what I planned to do. The rest of my crew are loyal, but only the three of us know you’ll be down here. Just in case.”

“A wise precaution,” John agreed. He knew anything could happen until they cleared jit space.

“I have to go, but I’ll send the doctor down as soon as it’s safe. In the meantime, there are first aid supplies in the lav. You can also monitor ship’s comms on the entertainment system, though you can’t communicate with any other unit on board except the heavily encrypted one in my private stateroom. Sorry. That’s another of the security precautions.”

“Don’t apologize for being cautious.” John kissed her quickly, knowing she had to leave and wanting to go with her, but realizing that was impossible. “Be extra careful with Tren. He’s a lot more than he seems, and not always a pleasant fellow.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to realize that.” She hugged him close for one last moment, then drew away and looked deep into his eyes. “I’m going to lock you in, for now. It’s safer for us all if the panel can’t be opened.”

“I understand.” He did, though he didn’t have to like it.

It was agony parting from her, but he understood there was no other way. They would both be in danger until they took their leave of Solaris Prime. A superstar like Diva was probably going to get quite the sendoff. John had seen it many times when he was running security on her ship, during that long ago voyage. Everyone wanted one last word, one last image, one last smile from the famous Diva before they would let her go.

And Maggie had said the emperor himself was going to see her off. John was concerned about that, but there was nothing he could do short of ruining the entire operation. He had to bide his time for now.

It didn’t sit well. John was a man of action. Sitting around was not his favorite activity, but he understood the necessity this time. Still, he couldn’t resist giving her a little more advice.

“If you can, get Tren in and out of here as quickly as possible. Those guards you knocked out aren’t going to stay down forever. The clock is ticking.”

“Don’t I know it.” She drew away from him, heading for the access panel through which they had come. She gave him one last, long look before sliding it partially closed. “I’ll call down from my cabin as soon as I can.”

“I’ll be waiting, Maggie mine.” He winked at her and gave her a smile as she closed the door and locked him in.

When he was alone, he let off a string of curses to make any sailor blush. It was incredibly frustrating. No, it was absolutely maddening to be stuck in a hole, waiting, while the love of his life—something he never thought he would ever have—walked into danger in his place.

He loved her, but sitting idle while she did all the dangerous work, totally pissed him off. Not at her. Never at her. But at the whole damn situation.

Getting captured had been his first mistake. Dealing with Tren’s men and their less than gentle interrogation techniques hadn’t been a picnic, but at least he’d been able to fight back, even if only with his silence.

John went over to the desk and sat down. He could monitor ship’s communications at least. Maybe that would tell him something about what was going on.

*

Maggie got back into her Diva costume with only moments to spare. The emperor’s entourage created quite the display below the entrance ramp to her ship. Tren was in the center of an honor guard made up of what looked like military priests. Could they be part of the famous fighting brotherhood of the Zenai?

Maggie nodded to Binki. Full record was on all the ship’s cams. MacRauch would want to see this when they got back. The thing that bothered her was the emperor had to know that she was recording everything, so why show his hand? Why bring these warrior-priests into a place where they could be observed and recorded? Why give the humans any more information than he had to?

Or was this some sort of show of force? Like the old May Day parades of ancient Earth, where totalitarian governments would show off all their military hardware and parade their best troops up and down the streets for all to see. Was this merely saber rattling? Or was there some deeper meaning?

Regardless what it was, Diva knew her role. She walked down the ramp by herself, her performing persona wrapped around her like a cloak. She bowed low before the emperor, waiting until he indicated she could rise. The public protocol for dealing with the jit’suku emperor was complicated and very ornate, but she knew what she had to do. Another performance in a life filled with them—only this time, John’s life and her future happiness were riding on how well she carried out her part.

No stress at all, right?

Thankfully, Tren allowed her to rise and indicated she should walk with him a short distance away from his entourage. She waited for him to speak, to learn her fate. Was he a really going to let them go? Did he realize what she had done? Were they going to get away with it?

“This hangar bay, with all its ambient noise, is actually a good place to talk,” Tren surprised her by saying. “Nobody will overhear what I have to say to you, and my men will make sure we are not disturbed or spied upon.” He indicated the ranks of soldier-priests lined up around them in formation. “The question is, will you listen to what I have to say?”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” she replied at once. She wanted to keep him friendly. She would listen no matter what it was he wanted to say.

She just hoped he would do it quickly and let them go before the alarm was raised. They were in a race against time at this point. Sooner or later, someone would realize there had been a prison break, and she wanted to be well clear of Solaris Prime when it happened.

Tren stopped walking and faced her, his expression grave.

“I would like you to consider a new role as ambassador between our two peoples.”

“Your Majesty, I’m deeply honored.” Also, completely dumbfounded by his suggestion, but she tried not to let that show.

“I’m interested in talking peace,” he went on, shocking her further. “On my word of honor, this is not a ploy. You should know enough about jit’suku honor now to understand my words are genuine.” Tren sighed heavily. “I inherited this war, Magdalena. It has gone on far longer than any war in jit’suku history, and it begins to feel pointless. It will not be popular with my people, but there are ways—ancient ways—we can end these hostilities honorably. I want you to inform your General MacRauch of my desires.”

Maggie tried hard to control her reaction. General MacRauch was the spymaster of all human forces. Few even knew his name, for he was not listed among the other generals for security reasons. His identity was completely secret—or so they’d thought.

And peace talks? That hadn’t been attempted in a hundred years or more. But Tren’s startling words seemed genuine.

“Yes, I know about MacRauch, and you, my dear Dalen.” Maggie knew, this time, her face went white as her cheeks drained of color. “I’ve known about your work for some time, and silently cheered you on, if truth be known. You took the adversity in your life and turned it to good for your people. I’ve always felt somewhat responsible for your hard times, and you’ve inspired pride in me, for your accomplishments. But you see now that you cannot continue as Dalen. After this, your cover has been blown, well and truly. Even I could not keep my spy chiefs from identifying you after what you’ve done here, but I can keep the assassin squads from your door, and I will do so.”

“Tren, I…I don’t know what to say.” She truly didn’t know how to react. Everything he’d just said shook her to her core.

“Say nothing yet, Magdalena, but speak to MacRauch. Have him send word back through your sister.”

Maggie was confused. “I don’t have a sister.”

The emperor smiled mysteriously. “Oh, I think you have many sisters who share your heritage, Magdalena.”

Could he mean?
Yes, he’d just proved that he knew a lot more than anyone realized. He was interested in Enhancement for some reason. He had to know, or suspect, that her father had been one of the first Enhanced soldiers. He also probably knew she shared a bit of that heritage.

“My father died before he could give me a sister, but I think I know what you mean, Your Majesty.”