Moonbeams and magic (3 page)

"This is the first time I've been loaned to a neighboring galaxy—a member of the United Federation—to carry out a mission, one which will also threaten our world if we fail." Starla went over the facts with Cypher. It was vital to success that only a few people knew of her assignment and location: Yakir, the Serian ruler; her superior in the Elite Squad; her family—the Saars—in Maffei; and her unique android. As far as everyone else was aware, Bree-Kayah Saar was on extended leave to rest following a series of difficult and exhausting missions.

"Do not forget: you infiltrated Tochar's band and earned their trust with skill and speed; if that is an inaccurate conclusion, Tochar would not allow you to go on raids on your ship and with only one man as a teammate."

"But he doesn't permit me to use my ship to go after moonbeams, and secrets of those treks are withheld from me until the \astpreon," Starla reminded the android. "Isn't that suspicious, proof he doesn't fiilly believe me?"

"Tochar takes those actions because he is careful. The possibility of him learning the truth about you is minuscule. If he does, we have the means to dupe him and escape. I am your guardian and I monitor you at all times; you are safe from peril. Even if I were captured, he cannot extract information from me; my program is inaccessible to everyone except you."

"You've snatched me out of danger many times, Cypher, but no plan is totally foolproof and no person is totally unreachable by evil forces. If I'm exposed and his reaction time is swifter than ours, he could signal his attack stations to blast my shuttle or our ship into oblivion before I could reach it, cloak the Liska, vanish from their sensors, and flee."

"Do not fear, Bree-Kayah, I will not fail you or the Federation."

"I know, my friend, and I'm fortunate to have you."

As she sipped a cool drink, Starla thought how lucky she was indeed to have this particular android, the most advanced model available anywhere, one with a male appearance both in facial features and body build. His flesh and features displayed realistic human colorings, including his synthetic silver hair. The only giveaways he was nonhuman were his expressionless eyes and lack of sexual organs beneath his blue jumpsuit. His seventy-six hapax frame was strong and agile, made of a metal indestructible, thus far, until a moonbeam was discovered that could cut through most known metals. She did not want to imagine any villite

slicing him apart to reach his chips and circuits, as that would initiate a self-destruct sequence and he would be lost to her forever. She did not want to think about an existence without him. She knew she would do anything to protect him from harm, would kill to save him from evil, and Cypher was cognizant of that fact.

She was glad he had the capability to analyze any situation and to make decisions on his own when necessary. His flesh-colored face and silver eyes revealed no presence of feelings, but he had been given an emotions chip to help him understand her and other humans. With it, he could be amusing and even vexing at times, as if he possessed a real personality. She loved, respected, and trusted him as if he were human. When others were present, she called him "Cypher-T" to alert the android to a caution/duplicity mode. As part of a test program, the technologically advanced unit had become her partner during her second mission for the undercover Elite Squad of the Maffei Galaxy, her world. The pairing had worked so well that they had been left as a team. If he had been with her during her first assignment, she thought, perhaps Antarus would be alive and perhaps they would be lovers; and that auslander wouldn't have been so tempting, unforgettable. Don't think about him; he's gone forever.

Starla looked at Cypher and asked, "What if something goes wrong?"

"Relax, Bree-Kayah; you will succeed in your duty and mission; I will prevent failure and your destruction. It is unlike you to experience such doubts."

"I know, but this time it's different because so much is at risk, more than my life and the lives of those of my world. If only Tochar didn't have those incredible weapons on two ridges and atop his dwelling, Serian and Kalfan forces could attack and obliterate him. He was lucky his first crystal raid included them. Powered by such large white moonbeams, they can disable a fleet of starships, even

with their deflective shields engaged. Those crystals don't require any maintenance or other driving force and will last for yings. They can fire upward and in all four directions by fast manual movement. He also has smaller laser guns on all four sides aimed landward to thwart any ground attack. When I witoessed their capabilities, I was astounded and frightened. Those structures are impregnable, Cypher, so there's no way we can reach and disable the Destructoids. Tochar doesn't allow anyone inside those sites except his Enforcer guards and his closest friends. The same is true for the smaller version atop his dwelling."

A weary Starla flopped down in a seat and continued talking to the android. "I doubt I would be part of his band if his other unit hadn't been terminated during that first raid and he needed to form a new one. Auken, Sach, and Moig were the only ones to escape that fierce battle, but— fortunately for Tochar and horrible for our side—the weapons and crystals were on Auken's ship."

"You also have a powerful and secret weapon to aid you," Cypher reminded. "Yakir was intelligent to select you and to supply you with it."

Starla grasped his meaning. "It feels so strange when I become another woman in looks, but it's also exciting."

"It is good that shapeshifting does not cause pain."

"What's also good is that Yakir allowed me to have that Serian secret to use, as few know of its existence. Perhaps as Yana I can learn things Starla Vedris can't. We make a good team, Cypher; I'm glad you're with me. My world and family are so far away and no contact with them is possible. They must be terribly worried about me, but they realize I had to come. I would be more afraid if I were here alone and doing all the work myself."

Cypher could not smile, but his emotions chip sent a good sensation through his circuits, one his unique program understood and appreciated. "Yes, Bree-Kayah Saar, we are a good team."

"I learned on the last crystal raid that no matter what precautions the Serians and Kalfans take, Tochar learns their plans. I'm sure our band's raids are connected with some crucial matter for always having to use Auken's ship. Every time you cloak and follow us, nothing shows up on our sensors. We must look harder and closer, my friend, a clue is there somewhere."

"We will find it. Tochar is clever, but we are smarter."

Starla laughed and teased, "Is that conceit and boasting I hear?"

"I speak only the truth to you as my program insists."

"Did I act wisely during that raid with Moig?" she asked her trusted android. "I was ordered to do whatever was necessary to obtain victory, but don't I have limits in some areas? What if that action returns to trouble me?"

Cypher scanned that incident file in his advanced system. "You did as you must. Delete it from your memory cells."

"I'm afraid I don't have an erase switch or command. He shouldn't have been aboard. I don't know who he was or why he was there, but if you hadn't warned me and I hadn't dealt with him as I did, Moig would have slain him, and Tochar would have kicked me out of his special unit."

"You must not do anything to expose your identity or to endanger yourself; disobedience would have provoked both." Cypher probed a matter he needed to understand. "Why did your vital signs register strange signals when you met and dealt with the intruder?"

Starla gazed at him. "What do you mean?"

"Your heart and pulse rates became fast and erratic. Your body temperature fluctuated. Your chemical balance and brain wave pattern altered. Your muscles quivered. I have not picked up that mixture of signals before, and the sensors did not malfunction. Explain."

"I don't know what happened to me in that storage bay. He took me by surprise and we fought quite a battle, but he underestimated me because I'm a woman and didn't

fight at his best. He was a magnificent specimen, Cypher, and he affected me in a strange manner. There was something about him that made me warm all over."

"It is physical attraction, the desire to mate."

Even as Starla envisioned the handsome male with black hair and dark blue eyes and knew Cypher's conclusion was correct, she laughed and scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous. He was a stranger, a peril; and I handled him in the only way open to me, with one.of my little phials."

"I analyzed your reactions; my conclusion and program are accurate. You always speak the truth to me, Bree-Kayah; why is this time different?"

"Guilty of deceit, my friend, and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to confess my foolishness and don't want your deduction to be true. I admit he was handsome and virile and arousing, but . . ." Stars afire. Just thinking and talking about him is stimulating!

"Continue."

"I would never mate even with an appealing stranger, and certainly not with a villite. Since he was hiding on that vessel, he must be a criminal on the run. Be sure to notify the Kalfans of his presence aboard so he can be taken prisoner by their Sekis. Under the circumstances, there was no way I could apprehend him, but he's captive aboard that transporter. He's gone, so I'm safe from temptation. Whatever it was, let's drop the subject."

"Why? Do you not want to understand or experience such emotions and pleasures? Are they not normal biological functions for your species?"

"Yes, but I haven't felt such emotions since that incident with Antarus before his death. Even then, my heart and will were barely involved since I was delirious," Starla answered, aware Cypher would grasp the reference to her first sexual experience, since he knew everything about her. She had no secrets from the trusted android; it was necessary for him to know how she would react under all circumstances.

She also spent most of her time with him during missions, so many long and candid talks had taken place over the yings. "He made me uneasy, Cypher, and I don't like control and focus losses. I need only to think about Tochar and my mission. The sooner we finish it, the sooner we can go home. I miss my family and friends, and I hate this awM place and these horrible people. After I bathe and eat, we'll play a game of rest before I retire. You're in charge of the ship now. See you later."

Four days had passed when Starla was summoned to To-char's dwelling. She entered his oblong work chamber in the elevated structure and approached him, noticing that someone was with him, his back to her. Black hair told her it wasn't Moig, Auken, or Sach, who were light-haired like all Icarians. For a strange reason, she tensed, but managed to keep her expression pleasant and calm.

Tochar stood, smiled, and motioned her forward. "There is someone I want you to meet, Starla. Dagan Latu, this is Starla Vedris, one of my best pilots and raiders, and also a beautiful and fearless woman."

As the male also stood, then turned, Starla's heart skipped several beats before pounding rapidly. As she faced the man Moig had ordered her to kill eleven deegas ago, she knew Cypher must be concerned over her erratic vital signs—reactions carried to him via her wrist device which always kept her in contact with him. Surely the android was deciding if her sudden distress indicated she was in terrible danger and he should teleport her to safety, though she had not signaled him to do so.

Questions filled her mind in a rush: Who was he? How had he gotten there? Had she been exposed and walked into a trap? Was he one of Tochar's men, one she hadn't met until now? Had he been aboard the ship to test her loyalty and reflexes? No, she reasoned, or he would be dead if she had

carried out Moig's order. Somehow the cunning stranger had escaped and would soon place her and her mission in jeopardy. Well. Bree-Kayah Saar, how are you going to get out of this threatening predicament?

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Staria was trained to think and react quickly to unexpected and hazardous circumstances. She cautioned herself not to panic and flee, as that would terminate her crucial mission and become her first failure during an assignment. Yet, she remained alert and prepared to signal Cypher to rescue her if the situation worsened. Though she was quite uncertain, she tried to calm herself so the android would realize she had matters under control. Since the man had not spoken, Cypher would have no clue as to why she was unsettled. No doubt the android was running his name through their computer bank at this moment, which would reveal Dagan's identity but not the reason behind her distress. The instant he spoke, however. Cypher would recognize his voice pattern and understand.

Even if he's told Tochar about the transporter incident, stay and bluff your way out. Staria moved forward and said, "It's a pleasure to meet any friend of Tochar's." She extended her hand and they clasped wrists in the usual manner of greeting. The stranger's grasp seemed too snug and lasted too long. She had seen surprise register in his blue eyes before one of amusement mingled with intrigue replaced it. She was relieved his back was to Tochar, so the leader missed Dagan's reaction. Her green gaze locked with his blue one for a few moments as if in challenge. She pulled her arm from his grip as it loosened, seemingly without his awareness or intent; his touch, face, his presence, were dis-

turbing, arousing, irritating. As if he detected her reaction to him, he looked pleased and cocky. She shifted her gaze to Tochar and smiled. The leader grinned as if he assumed they had been evaluating each other and saw the sparks of physical attraction between them. She decided that was an advantage, as it would mask any departure from her normal behavior.

The leader laughed and corrected, "Dagan is not a friend, but I am hoping he will become one and hire on to serve me as superbly as you do. I must tell you, Starla, his reputation spreads far, and is a colorful one. It will be good to have another brave and bold person working for me, if he accepts. According to his record, he will prove an excellent member of our group. I am sure you two would work remarkably and profitably together."