Laura Jo Phillips (32 page)

Still frowning, he reached out and pressed the screen over the blinking light.  The screen flashed brightly, then displayed a map of the Jasani system, with the small green light’s current position.  A position that was moving rapidly away from Jasan into deep space.  He tapped the icon representing the ship, causing the ship’s identity, course and speed to appear on screen.

Za-Linq stood up so quickly his chair fell over backwards behind him, but he didn’t notice.  He saw another light flashing on the bottom of the screen, this time a blue one, indicating an incoming message.  He reached down and accepted the message, listening to it with growing fury as he continued to stare at the green light moving across the screen.

“Mr. Za Linq, Sir, this is Elliot, Sir, and I got some news for you, Sir, I just saw the
berezi
get into a VTOL and take off Sir, with Mr. Lio’s toy Sir, and you aren’t going to believe this but I also saw, I mean I think I saw, or at least it looked like it might have been Mr. Lio on the VTOL too, Sir.  I don’t know where they’re going, I’m sorry, Sir, but nobody seems to know or won’t say.  I’m sorry the news is a little late, Sir, but I had to get off the ranch first, Sir, you know that, not sure why I’m telling you, Sir, but now the
berezi
is gone, Sir, so I guess I will go back to Badia now.  Sir.  Um...Okay bye.”

Za-Linq roared with fury.  Not only was Lio Perry not dead as he was supposed to be, he was in league with the Jasani!  A traitor!  How could Za-Queg have been duped so completely by a mere human?  It wasn’t possible.  Za-Queg was too smart for that!  Obviously Lio Perry had been working for the Jasani all along.  Yes, that had to be the explanation.  Only that could explain how the human had fooled Za-Queg.  Of course.  And that meant that the human Za-Queg had trusted so much had been the cause of his downfall, and his death.  And now, somehow, the back-stabbing, squishy little human had possession of the
berezi
.  The
berezi
that he, Za-Linq, had only three days to get back or he was going to go the same way Za-Queg had! 

No no no no no!  He was NOT going the same way Za-Queg had.  He was going to get that
berezi
back, and he was going to destroy Lio Perry at the same time.  He had no idea how he was going to manage that, especially after learning that the
berezi
and Lio Perry had boarded a full size Jasani Assault Transport.  He could not do anything against a ship that size with his comparatively small vessel. 

He ordered his captain to follow the Jasani ship in full stealth mode, and not to lose it during a jump on pain of a slow and painful death.  Then he stormed back to his quarters and sat down at his vid terminal.  Somehow, he had to figure out where the Jasani ship carrying Lio Perry and his
berezi
were heading.  If he could do that, he could get there first and be waiting for them. 

And then the game would be his.

Chapter
34

Summer awoke the next morning to find herself wrapped around a lean, hard, male body which, she knew instantly, belonged to Loni.  She smiled and stretched languorously, not in the least bit startled or uncomfortable.  She had been trying to stop herself from dreaming up long hot sexy scenarios with the Katres for a week now.  She was glad she no longer had to struggle against it, or dream about it.  Especially since her dreams had come nowhere near reality.

“Good morning
kilenka
,” Maxim said softly. 

She lifted her head from Loni’s chest and looked toward the door to see Maxim standing there holding a tray. 

“Good morning,” she replied with a smile.  She turned her head to look up at Loni, then bent to press a kiss against his chest. 

“Good morning to you as well,” she said.

Loni responded by pulling her gently up his body so that he could reach her mouth with his own and return her kiss with one of his own.  “Good morning, beautiful one,” he whispered against her forehead before kissing her again.  He then helped her to sit up in the bed, pulling the sheet up for her so that she could cover herself modestly.

“Coffee?” she asked Maxim hopefully as he held a steaming cup out to her.

“Of course,” he replied.  “With cream and a touch of cinnamon, as you prefer.”

Summer smiled, pleased that he had taken the trouble to learn something so mundane as the way she preferred her coffee.  “Thank you, Maxim,” she said as she took the cup.  She took a sip and sighed.  It was perfect.

“Where is Ran?” she asked, unable to prevent the quiver of worry she felt at not being able to see him.  Just then the bathroom door opened and there he was, smiling at her.

“I’m right here,
saritu
,” he said as he reached for a cup from Maxim’s tray and settled himself on the bed.   

“Good morning,” she said primly as Maxim joined them on the bed, snuggling up close against her other side and coaxing her to lean back against him a little.  “What does that word mean that you keep calling me?  Sartu?”

“
Saritu
,” Ran corrected.  “And I am not telling you that unless you tell us what that funny expression you use all the time means.”

“What expression?” Summer asked, then smiled. “Do you mean
gardez donc
?”

“Yes,” all three of them said together.  Summer laughed. 

“You first,” she said playfully.

“
Saritu
means graceful one,” Ran told her.  Summer bent her head and sipped her coffee, trying to hide her blush.  Ran gave her a moment, and then said, “Your turn.”

“
Regarde donc
just means wow, or look at that,” she said.  “It’s an expression of amazement.”

“What language is it?” Maxim asked.

“Cajun French,” Summer replied with a smile.  “My maternal Great-Grandmother was one of the few remaining old Cajuns on Earth.  Like most distinct Earth cultures, the language, customs and food of the Cajuns have faded into the past.  But Great-Grandmother taught me a few words here and there.  I use them as she did, without really thinking about it.”

“Is Cajun French anything like Japanese?” Maxim asked.

Summer looked at him in surprise.  “Not at all,” she replied.  “Why do you ask that?”

Maxim shrugged.  “You have some features similar to Sensei,” he explained.  “Your golden tan coloring, the shape of your eyes a little, your black hair.”

Summer nodded.  “That’s because I have some Japanese blood as well,” she said.  “My paternal grandmother was half Japanese, but I never knew her.  She lived on Nippon-2, and died when I was still a baby.  I have quite the mix of old Earth nationalities, but then, so do most humans who still live on Earth.  Many cultures have gone out into the stars and settled on their own worlds, carving out a way of life that is a mix of the old and the new.  But those of us on Earth are pretty much melted together now.  Just generic humans.”

While she was talking Maxim had handed her a plate with some sliced fruit and bread on it before handing one to Loni, then Ran, and taking one for himself.  He took her coffee cup from her so that she could eat.

“This is just a snack to tide you over for a little while,” he said.  “Then we have a little surprise for you.  After that, we’ll go get a real breakfast.”

Summer looked at him curiously, but didn’t ask questions.  Instead she nibbled on the unfamiliar fruit, tasting it carefully before taking a bite from it.  “This is wonderful,” she said as she reached for another piece. 

“I would ask you a question, if you do not mind,” Loni said, much to Summer’s surprise.  He almost never asked questions.

“Certainly,” she said.  “What would you like to know?”

“Why did you decide to come to Jasan as a Candy Bride?” he asked.

Summer popped another piece of fruit into her mouth and chewed slowly as she thought about her answer.  After a few moments she shrugged.  “I’m not really sure,” she admitted.  “I was lonely, and had been for a long time.  I wanted to get married, and have a family of my own.  But nobody knew the real me, and I wasn’t going to pretend my way into a marriage. 

“One day I was reading the news, and I saw this ad for contract brides on Jasan.  I just had this instant feeling that going to Jasan and marrying a male-set was the right thing for me to do.  The perfect thing for me to do.  Partly because I thought I could be my real self, and they wouldn’t care since Jasan was desperate for women.  But mostly, it just
felt
right.

“At the same time, I knew that signing a bride contract sight unseen was not the right thing to do.  So I did a little searching and discovered Bride House.” 

Summer smiled up at Loni.  “I guess the answer to your question is that I was just really tired of being alone and I wanted a family.”

“Do you still want a family?” Loni asked.

Summer dropped her eyes to her plate and shrugged again.  “I suppose, eventually,” she said.  “Right now the thing I need to do most is free as many enslaved women as I can.”

“And we are pleased to be able to assist you,” Maxim said.

Summer smiled up at him in thanks, and finished her fruit.

“Okay, what’s the surprise?” she asked with a studied indifference that fooled none of them.  Maxim chuckled as he returned the remaining dishes to the tray and stood up. 

“I can see that patience is not really your strongest quality,” he said as he bent down and slipped his arms beneath Summer, picked her up with no effort at all and cradled her against his chest.  He stood for a moment, gazing down at her.

“You are so beautiful,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.  Summer raised her head up and kissed him on the lips, lingering for a long moment before relaxing back into his arms.  He pulled her a little closer and followed Loni into the bathroom and through a door that Summer hadn’t noticed before.  Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden cloud of steam that roiled through the doorway as they entered the sauna, her skin pebbling at the sudden change in temperature from cool to hot.

“Wow, you guys really live it up on these ships, don’t you?” she asked, delighted with the private suana. 

“Yes,” Ran said as he spread a clean towel on a wooden bench for her.  “Once we tell everyone else what to do, we just sit around in the sauna and relax.”

Summer laughed as Maxim set her carefully on the towel covered bench.  “I won’t tell anyone since I get to use it too.”

“That’s a relief,” Maxim said as he sat down next to her.  “Otherwise, we’d have a mutiny on our hands.”

Summer shivered.  “What’s wrong?” Maxim asked.  “you can’t be cold, can you?”

“No, I just remembered reading about a mutiny in one of my father’s books,” she explained.  “It was definitely not something a seven year old should have read.  It gave me nightmares for a long time.”

“I’m sorry,” Maxim said, wishing he could kick himself.  He seemed to have a talent for always saying the wrong things to Summer.

Summer reached over and lightly brushed his cheek with her fingertips.  “Don’t be,” she said.  “You said nothing wrong.”

“How are you feeling?” Maxim asked.  “If you prefer, we could run a hot bath for you instead.”

“No, I’m fine and this is wonderful,” Summer said as she leaned back against the wall and relaxed, closing her eyes as she let the heat seep into her.  After a while, she opened her eyes and looked through the steam at Maxim, Ran and Loni.  They were all just sitting there watching her, and none of them looked the least bit relaxed.  

Summer sat up and looked at each of them again.  She didn’t want to ruin things by bringing up an unpleasant subject, but this was important.  She didn’t know why, but something inside of her told her it was.

“What is it?” Maxim asked.

“I think we need to discuss what happened last night,” she said.

Ran grinned.  “We all made love and had many orgasms.  If you do not remember it, I think we can be talked into a repeat performance.”

Summer rolled her eyes.  “Yes, I’m sure that’s true,” she said.  “Maybe later we will give that a try.  But that isn’t what I meant.”

“You are correct
kilenka
,” Maxim said.  “We should discuss what happened.”  His face lost its smile and his eyes grew distant.  “It is not a pleasant story.”

“I figured that much,” Summer said.  A thought occurred to her and her face flushed pink.  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just assumed...I mean, if you don’t want to tell me, I really have no right to...:”

“No, you need to know this,” Maxim said.  “I only hesitate to tell you more unpleasantness about our family.  I have no wish to run you off for good.”

“I hope I’m not that shallow,” Summer replied.  “Please, don’t worry about what I might think.  This is not about me.”

Maxim leaned in to kiss her lightly, wondering how he could have ever thought for even a moment that she was anything like Mara.  He had been such a fool.  He promised himself that he would spend centuries, if necessary, trying to make it up to her.  He leaned back against the wall, and wondered where to begin.

 “About a year ago a tragedy occurred in our family,” he said, his voice low and sad.  “Our younger brothers, who were pilots, were flying our fathers from their home in Berria, which is on the far side of Jasan, to the Dracon’s ranch.  The air transport exploded in mid-air.  All aboard were killed.”