Endurance (35 page)

“I’ll have to, won’t I?” I grumbled, then regarded Paul. “How many ships?”

“Not many.” His grin stretched. “Just every one available from Joren, and Aksel Major. Maybe two, three thousand.”

That would do the job. Unless they ran into the League on their way. “How are they going to know where and when to attack?”

“After Geef and I put the word out to the prisoners, we’re going to escape to the surface.” Paul tapped his forearm, where I could see a small bulge under the skin. “Signal beacon. They’ll send a shuttle down to retrieve us, then we’ll give them the layout of the compound.”

“If this is going to work without weapons, we’re going to need some way to disable the Hsktskt centurons.”

Geef glanced at me over his shoulder. “We were hoping you could help us out with that, Doc.”

“Disable several hundred, ten-foot tall, armed lizards. Sure, no problem.” I wanted to knock both their heads together. “All right, I’ll figure something out. Tell me something—before you were captured, did you hear anything about this insane decision the League’s made to declare war on the Hsktskt Faction?”

“I watched the transmission from Fendagal XI personally of the Allied League Council debate over the Hsktskt problem.” Paul made a face. “Your father makes a hell of a speech. Toward the end, the entire assembly got out of their seats and demanded a first strike invasion.”

“Yeah. Sounds like him. He’s had practice.” It was time for me to make a stop at my quarters to check on Gael and feed Jenner, so I told both men to wait for me to return before reporting to their assigned cells. “This will just take a few minutes.”

Well, it
would
have taken a few minutes, if I hadn’t be so preoccupied by what the two engineers had told me. If I hadn’t missed the shadow waiting a few yards down from my chamber as I entered it. If I’d remembered to secure the damn door panel behind me once I’d closed it.

“Gael?” I opened the largest of the storage units and peeked inside. A brown-haired head nearly bumped into mine as the Terran emerged from
behind the racks of garments. Jenner climbed down from where he’d been sleeping on the berth, took one look at Gael, and darted underneath it. “Don’t mind him, he’s shy. You’ll never guess who—”

The door panel slid open, and I tried to close the storage unit, but Gael was halfway out. We were caught, and by the last Hsktskt I wanted to catch me doing anything.

“Dr. Torin and … Kelly, is it?” SrrokVar strode in and surveyed us with visible satisfaction. “My two missing Terrans.”

Truth Hurts

SrrokVar had his guards take both of us back to the crying chambers. I went quietly, but Gael kicked up quite a fuss as soon as he saw the entrance to the special corridor.

“Plonker, get your gammy claws off!” he yelled, and fought the centurons so wildly that one of them resorted to a sharp cuff which promptly knocked the Terran out.

“Leave him alone, damn it!” I grabbed Gael as he fell and flung one of his arms over my shoulder.

SrrokVar had us both clamped into restraint chairs and spent a good deal of time questioning and scanning me. I refused to speak to him, and he warned me my lack of cooperation would lead only to more discipline.

The thought of being burned again made my stomach heave, but I kept my mouth shut and my eyes focused on the door panel past his shoulder.

“Really, Doctor, you of all people should understand the importance of my research. After all, you were the subject of an extended experiment most of your life. I can’t fathom why you would even attempt to counter my orders. Unless by doing so, you hope to conceal the more miraculous qualities of your unique physiology?”

So he’d somehow figured out the big secret. Or Reever had figured it out and told him. Or Joseph Grey Veil. Not that it mattered. I wasn’t going to budge an inch.

“Perhaps there are other means to persuade you.”

I kept my resolve until SrrokVar began walking over toward Gael Kelly. The terror in the Terran’s eyes made me shout at the Hsktskt to stop.

That didn’t get his attention, but the sight of TssVar and Reever entering the main chamber did.

“OverLord. OverMaster.” SrrokVar sounded pleased. “I was just preparing to begin a new series of interrogations.”

“Release the female,” Reever said.

“I fear I cannot.” SrrokVar heaved a rather human-sounding sigh. “I discovered her concealing this escaped prisoner. In your chamber, OverMaster.” He turned around and flicked a limb toward me. “I’m sure you were unaware of her illicit activities—or did you know she consorts regularly with this Terran male?”

“That’s a lie!” I jerked against my restraints. “I was just helping him, for God’s sake!”

Reever ignored SrrokVar and spoke directly to his commander. “This female was joined to me, and our unity recognized by the Faction. I will not permit Lord SrrokVar to damage the future nurturer of my young.”

“She’s not breeding, OverMaster.” SrrokVar held out a data pad as evidence. “Perhaps due to her refusal to consort with you?”

TssVar faced me. “Is this true? You refuse him?”

A huge force slammed into my mind.
Tell them you have been willingly intimate with me
.

Go to hell
.

Which naturally led to me being turned into an instant puppet.

“I’ve never refused to consort with my husband,” I heard myself say in a monotone. “I do so, willingly and frequently.”

“Then why isn’t she pregnant?” SrrokVar pretended to look askance. “I should run reproductive viability tests on the female, to assure she is capable of providing ample young.”

TssVar gazed at me. “It would be advisable, HalaVar.”

“I assure you, OverLord, Cherijo will breed, very soon. Now release her.”

“Very well.” SrrokVar reluctantly removed my restraints, and pulled me out of the chair. Reever used his mental control to force me to walk to his side, then lift my arms and embrace him. His hand stroked over my disordered hair.

“You see? She is uncommonly affectionate.” He dropped a kiss on my brow, and I swore silently that I was going to rip his lips off the very moment he dropped the link. His voice changed as he looked at SrrokVar. “Should you attempt to experiment on my mate again, I will petition the Hanar to strip you of all rank at once.”

Reever walked me out of the crying chambers, and before the door panel closed I heard Gael Kelly start screaming again.

This has to end, Reever. You can’t keep lying to them about me. And while you’re at it, get out of my head
.

I wasn’t lying, Cherijo. You’re going to carry my child
.

Before I could react to that bald statement, Reever did something that made my mind go hazy. Before I’d gone another step, I fell forward into unconsciousness.

I woke up in the infirmary, with Paul and Geef watching over me. I groaned and clapped a palm to my aching brow.

“What did he do, hit me with something?” I eyed the nearest console and sat straight up. I’d been out for nearly twelve hours. “Who drugged me?”

“No one, far as I know.” Paul edged off the chair he’d been sitting in next to my berth and helped me up onto my feet. “You okay, Doc?”

I felt like I’d been run over by a platoon of Hsktskt. “Yeah, I’m fine. Long story.”

“If you are, then Geef and I should be released. We have to get things started.”

I signed the discharge orders and wished them both luck. “Talk to a League Lieutenant named Wonlee, he’ll help you.”

After I sent my friends on their way, Pmohhi informed me that a signal was waiting for me on the infirmary console. I accessed it, and found a prerecorded message from SrrokVar.

“My congratulations on an excellent performance, Doctor. You were most convincing.”

Too bad he couldn’t hear me. “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“I also wanted to inform you that your other Terran consort, Kelly, will be executed in two rotations. My condolences.”

“No. No!”

Throwing caution to the winds, I ran back and slipped into the access tunnel and went to find Noarr myself. More of the black crystal growths had sprung up in the passages, making navigation even more difficult. After an hour of wandering, I was tired and ready to admit defeat.

I was also completely, totally lost.

I sat down next to one of the gleaming black flows and rubbed an idle hand against it. “You’re beautiful to look at, but as a landmark you leave a lot to be desired.”

“You do not.”

I should have decked him, but I was too relieved. “Where have you been? I’ve got so much to tell you! Two of my friends are here, and—”

“There’s no time. I’ve arranged to have you transported from Catopsa. The ship must leave at once. Come.” He pulled me toward another passage.

“Wait. I can’t go anywhere. Gael Kelly is going to be executed tomorrow. We have to get him out of the crying chambers and off this rock. Now.”

“Kelly.” Noarr halted. “I know him. He has been here a long time.”

“Then you know what he’s been through. You have to help me.”

“Cherijo.” He slid his flippers up to cradle my face. “You are in danger here. You must leave. I will free Kelly after you go.”

“I’m not going. We’ve been through this before.” He couldn’t make me go. Not until I shut down SrrokVar’s operation, and took care of a few other things. “Is there a way to get into the crying chambers from here?”

He dropped his flippers and made a frustrated sound. “Possibly, if the tunnel has not been cut off by the black growths.”

“Show me.”

It took time, and some climbing at certain points. As we passed through the tunnels, I noticed that the Lok-Teel clung in droves to some of the growths, while others remained bare.

At last we reached the tunnel that led directly into SrrokVar’s main chamber. Through an unglazed aperture, I spotted Gael in the holding cell. Blood stained his tunic, but he was speaking to one of the other prisoners, so his injuries must not have been too bad.

“How do we free him?”

“Watch.” Noarr brushed past me and crawled down into a small side corridor too low to walk into. Minutes later, the crystal behind Gael swung inward, and he uttered a short cry as a cloaked arm pulled him back into the rock. The other prisoners showed little reaction to what had happened, and suddenly I realized why. No wonder all those severely injured prisoners had walked out of SrrokVar’s hands and over to my infirmary. Noarr must have been pulling them out of the cell all along.

But why hadn’t SrrokVar raised the alarm when he found them missing?

“
Dote
.” Gael gave me a hug, then grabbed his arm and groaned. “Uh, forgot, I’m a bit flitters. My thanks for pulling me out of that perishing hole.” He gazed around at the tunnel. “Grand, this is.”

Noarr towered over him. “We do not have time for a tour.”

“Yeah, he’s right.” I smiled at Gael. “I’ve got a one-way ticket for you to get off this place. Are you game?”

“Bejappers, you have?” Gael chuckled, then sobered abruptly. “My thanks, but I’m not bolting from here just yet.”

Noarr pointed to the corridor that led back to the main compound tunnels. “Let us discuss this when we move out of this area.”

In a hushed voice, I argued with Gael the whole way, but was unable to get him to agree to leave Catopsa.

“If it was just me, I would,
dote
. But I have skin here, and I can’t be abandoning them.”

“Skin?”

“Friends.”

The sincerity in his voice made me glance at Noarr. “See? I’m not the only one.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Gael studied the latest outcropping of black growths. “Clearing this muck out should come first.”

“Your offer is appreciated,” Noarr said. “But I prefer to work alone.”

We had arrived at the access panel to the infirmary, and I made both males slip inside with me. “I have more to tell you,” I said to Noarr as he closed the panel. “And I want to do a thorough scan of Gael for his injuries.”

The concealment of the partition vanished, and a huge Hsktskt shadow fell over us. It was FurreVa. Probably reporting for that follow-up exam, I recalled, and silently groaned.

“How did these males get in here?”

Gael didn’t move. I stepped forward, groping for some rational explanation. Noarr decided to be cute and make a grab for the Hsktskt’s rifle. FurreVa fired it, and the pulse smashed into his side. Dark blood soaked his cloak, and I gasped. The alien tossed a tray of instruments at FurreVa, who threw her limbs up to protect her new face. Before any of us could blink, Noarr dropped down onto the floor. By the time my eyes went from where he’d been standing to the floor, he had vanished.

FurreVa searched the entire infirmary, then took me and Gael into custody.

“Where are you taking us?” I asked her as she marched both of us out into the corridor.

“To OverLord TssVar.” The weapon she held on us never wavered. “He will decide what discipline is required.”

During the short walk from the infirmary to Central Command, I decided I’d take whatever discipline was involved. Gael had already displayed an distinct aversion for torture, and letting TssVar work him over might jeopardize Noarr’s safety.