Light of Kaska (16 page)

“Cargo stays below,” one of the men snapped. They flanked the ladder opening, each in a seat and staring ahead with grim faces.

“How are we doing?” she asked, intimidated by the hostility humming in the air but unable to resist the question.

“Fragger’s titties in a twist,” one of them snarled.

Sukeza blinked at him for a moment, not knowing whether this was a curse or an answer. When he said nothing further, she persisted, “Are they following us?”

“Not yet,” the twin on the right said in an ominous tone.

“Can’t believe Bella sent us out with a fuckin’ C-pop,” the other one grumbled.

“She don’t love us no more,” the right one sighed piteously.

Sukeza felt obligated to speak up. “I really appreciate you guys helping us out. I can pay you for your trouble—”

Both men brightened considerably. “How much?” they asked in unison.

“Well, I don’t know the going rate—” she started to say but stopped when the two men shared a grinning, greedy glance. She sighed, sensing a fleecing in her future. “How much?” she repeated with a resigned air. They named a figure that made her choke and splutter, “That’s extortion!”

One shrugged, looking cheerful and nonchalant. “Could always drop you off next rock we pass. Say hi to the C’s for us.”

Sukeza pressed her lips together and stared from one to the other. Then she rallied. “Bella wouldn’t be happy if you did that.”

Her gamble worked—both men wilted, sending her resentful glances. One named a lower price in a sulky mutter.

Sukeza caught her bottom lip in her teeth, worrying at it for a moment before she came to a decision. “I don’t have that much with me. But I can give you about half of it now and my family will be good for the other half when we reach Kaska.”

They shot her identical shocked looks. “We ain’t goin’ all the way to Kaska!”

“Yes, you are,” she said in her best stern voice. “If we try to go through an Exchange, we’ll get caught. Besides, you’ll get immunity from my people once we get there, which wouldn’t happen if you just dropped us off somewhere.”

“Immunity?” the twin on the left asked in a dubious voice, glancing down at her.

“Yes,” she said, holding onto her patience with both hands. “The Collectors are bound to find out that you helped us. I assume they won’t be happy about that. My people can make sure you won’t be prosecuted.”

“How?” the other twin asked, looking even more dubious than his brother.

“You’re returning a Kaskan citizen. The Kaskan government will make sure the Collectors understand that.”

“Yeah, well, they ain’t gonna like us transportin’ a C-pop.”

“I’ll make sure the blame for that rests solely on my shoulders.”

“How?” they asked together.

Sukeza sighed, shifting on the ladder rung. “That’s Kaskan business. Trust me, you won’t be held responsible.”

“Trust you,” one of them snorted, turning his moody attention to his screens. The other one muttered something derogatory that Sukeza pretended not to hear. She waited, feeling her heart thump with nervous tension.

“She’s lyin’,” muttered Lefty.

“I am not,” she protested, but they acted as if she’d ceased to exist.

“Pro’ly,” muttered Righty.

“Bella’d kill us, though.”

“Won’t love us no more.”

The two men shared a grim glance before Righty said in a glum voice, “Cargo stays below.”

Sukeza took that to mean they were agreeing to her plan and heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks, guys. You won’t regret this. By the way, what do I call you?”

“Maltby,” they said in irritable unison.

“Yes, but what are your first names? I can’t very well call you Maltby One and Two.”

They didn’t answer.

“How do I get his band off?”

They didn’t answer.

With a sigh, she backed down the ladder and returned to Stryker’s side, looking him over anxiously. He seemed in one piece. His wrists even looked better. But she stroked his hair carefully away from the silver band running across his forehead and fretted. She didn’t want to just pull it off. She had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy. She wracked her brain, trying to remember what his record had said about how he’d gotten it off the first time. All she could remember was something about an accident and minor head trauma.

Chewing on her lip until she tasted blood, she traced the cool metal across his forehead and down to his temple. Bending close, she inspected the spot where the band injected itself into his brain. His skin was slightly swollen around the area, but she could still see the silver gleam of filaments burrowing into his flesh. She shuddered. Her stomach turned over and she straightened away from the sight, swallowing heavily. She was going to have to leave it for now and hope that his sleep was dreamless until they reached Kaska.

Lowering her forehead to his chest, she whispered, “I’m sorry. If only I’d thought of this before they put that damn thing on you.” If she had, he wouldn’t have had to suffer the band and they wouldn’t be on the run. But it had all happened so shockingly fast and her brain had seized up with panic. She hadn’t even considered the option until they’d taken him. On the other hand, before the Collectors came and he was still free, he would have rejected the idea immediately.

With a heavy sigh, she turned her head until her cheek rested on his chest. His heart beat a steady, solid song in her ear. “Please don’t hate me,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

Chapter 8

Their run to Kaska had only one really terrifying moment to relieve the tedium of endless, nervous waiting. Their saving grace was the size of the Maltby vessel, too small for the Collectors to see before they noticed the big, authoritarian ship. They’d scurried like mice to a hiding place within a nearby ship graveyard, watching with pent breath as the stately vessel passed their location. The terrifying moment came when the Collectors paused, scanning the vast field of wreckage like predators who can hear their prey’s thrumming heart but can’t see them.

When they moved on, Sukeza shared the twins’ almost telepathic rapport by sighing in unison with them. Then she had to deal with their renewed resentment and hostility for a while until they calmed down again. Even after days of being in close confines with one another, the twins had yet to give her their first names, so she’d taken to calling them M-One and M-Two. They didn’t seem to mind, but it was hard to tell.

They were a strange pair. They were almost manic in their mood swings, one moment sulky and the next cheerful. They never fought with one another but often engaged in a contest of crude insults aimed at her undeserving head. They gave her plenty of privacy, staying mostly on the flight deck and seeming both belligerent and hesitant whenever they made a rare appearance below. She tried to win them over by bringing them food and drink while they tended to the ship’s navigation, but they treated her gestures with uniform distrust. On the other hand, they responded very well when she would lose patience and speak sharply to them.

The strangest thing about them was how little she feared them. They were strangers, possibly criminals, definitely shady characters, and they were all stuck together on a very tiny ship. She had caught them staring at her a time or two with masculine interest in their eyes, so she knew they were oriented toward females. Yet she never once feared for her virtue or her safety.

By the time they closed in on Kaskan space, she’d decided that their gruff exteriors hid very shy, juvenile individuals who had no idea how to express themselves beyond insults. Like a couple of boys in a schoolyard who could only show they liked the girl by throwing spitballs at her. No wonder Bella held them so riveted. Listening to them talk, she’d come to the conclusion that they were deeply in love with the stunning, golden woman, which is why they did anything she asked of them. After some fuss and bother, of course.

When Kaska came into view, glowing and beautiful as only her home could be, Sukeza risked serious verbal assault to kiss each of them on the cheek, tears rising in her eyes. “Bless your little cranky hearts, guys. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Other half of the scrib’d do it,” M-Two muttered, but his face had darkened with a blush.

“Women,” M-One snorted, which by their standards was a very weak insult indeed.

As they approached the mid-station orbiting the planet, the com jangled and a brisk voice said, “Welcome to Kaska. This is Solaire station. May I have your ident and ship class?”

M-One threw her a grim look and Sukeza leaned forward to answer. “This is Sukeza bet Marish. I’m a Kaskan citizen, returning from my Guidance cycle. I have a—” Sukeza paused, took a deep breath, then continued as steadily as she could, “I have a candidate with me who has been banded by the Collectors.”

Both Maltbys jerked as if she’d stabbed them and glared at her. They began whispering insults but she ignored them, waiting with grim resolve for the controller to answer.

There was a pregnant pause. “Was the candidate banded before or after your claim?”

“After,” she said in a tight voice, feeling a squeezing sensation in her chest.
Oh, Goddess, please let this work,
she prayed.

“How did that happen?” the controller asked, her voice chilly.

“They didn’t give me a chance to state my claim.”

There was another pause. Then the woman sighed audibly and asked in a tired voice, “Am I to assume they didn’t release him to your custody willingly?”

Sukeza winced. The woman sounded as though she’d heard this story a thousand times before. It was possible that she had. “Um, no,” she admitted then said, “But you know they wouldn’t have listened to one Kaskan individual. They will listen to our Maters.”

“They would have eventually released him,” the controller said in a sharp tone.

“Even if they did, it would have been years down the road. Time is precious.”

The woman paused again. “I will let your Mater argue the merits of your actions. Secure dock at this location. Warn the pilot that the ship will be searched and decommed.”

This caused the Maltbys to begin their verbal abuse again but Sukeza ignored them, closing her eyes on a wave of relief. It wasn’t a resounding welcome, but it was a foot in the door. Once she got Stryker down on the planet and into the safety of her home, she would breathe much easier.

When the Maltby brothers didn’t let up, she snapped, “Oh, hush! This nasty, grubby little hole you call a ship could use decontamination. So could you boys, for that matter. Be quiet or I’ll suggest it to them.”

Silence fell at once and the twins riveted their attention on their displays, shooting her the occasional wary glance out of the corners of their eyes. Trying not to smirk, Sukeza went below to release the straps around Stryker.

By the time they docked with the station and the airlock hissed its seal, she’d lost her momentary elation at the small victory and was a bundle of nerves. Would they accept her word? Would they call the Collectors and let them take him, deciding to argue her claim in the courts instead?
What was her mother going to say?

Two figures in protective gear squeezed aboard, one holding a scanner. Sukeza stepped forward and offered her mat mark without a word. The decom official scanned her mark for the embedded data, read the results, and intoned in a voice muffled by head gear, “Welcome back to Kaska, Sukeza bet Marish. May your Guidance prove fruitful.”

“Thank you,” she said tensely and gestured behind her at the still sleeping Stryker. “This is my candidate, Chase Stryker. I’d like to make a full claim before my Mater as soon as possible.”

The one who’d spoken nodded but they did not hurry their inspection of the ship. Two other protected individuals entered, lifting Stryker onto a gurney with effort. When they floated him through the airlock, Sukeza followed on their heels, shooting an apologetic glance over her shoulder at the waiting Maltbys.

“Hold tight, guys. I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can.”

They scowled at her but said nothing, which she took to mean that they were counting on her. The officials took Stryker and Sukeza through decontamination then escorted them down to medical for a thorough examination.

When one of the staff tried to remove Stryker’s hiber-cuff, Sukeza stopped her. “Please, can we keep him asleep? He’s—it would be cruel to wake him when he still has the band on.”

The petite woman studied her for a moment before leaving the room without a word. At least she hadn’t taken the cuff off. A moment later, one of the doctors entered the room, a crease between her brows. “You want to keep him asleep? For what reason?”

Sukeza ran a hand through her hair, her gaze trained on Stryker’s reclined form. “The bands only suppress their will, not their awareness. It would be cruel to make him suffer before we can get that thing off him.”

The doctor raised her eyebrows. She was a striking woman, mahogany-colored hair pulled up away from her face to spill down her back in a glossy river. “I assume he has done something to warrant a band, so one could argue that he’s meant to suffer. One could also argue that no one has authorized removal of the device.”

“They will,” Sukeza said with manufactured certainty. “Please, it won’t hurt to keep him under, will it? As my candidate, he’s my responsibility, and I have to do everything I can for him.”

The woman studied her again, eyes grave but noncommittal. Then she nodded. “It won’t hurt the subject. I’ll grant your request because it won’t alter your case either way.”

Sukeza tightened her lips, annoyed by the woman’s arrogance and by her objectifying Stryker—
the subject.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly.

The woman nodded and left. A moment later, a nurse entered and hooked Stryker to a machine with daunting efficiency. When she was done, she removed the cuff and left without looking at Sukeza.

Sukeza took a shaky breath, her stomach roiling with unease and discomfort. She wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, as if she was a criminal. She knew others had abused their traditions in the past, using this route to keep criminals out of prison or mental confinement. But damn it, this wasn’t abuse—she really meant to keep him. Unless he balked. Or chose another…