The Chalice (38 page)

“Hyper-space in three…two…one,” the navigator called out.

Brilliant light expanded and then exploded. There was one brief instant ofbreathless time suspension and then the ship jerked, blasting into hyper-space. He was slammed backwards, fingers digging into the arm rests. He prayed, willingthe old ship to withstand the crushing pressure. The craft bucked and shimmied,ham m ered by the forces of deep space. He was held fast, unable to move—thenthe propulsion eased. The bum py ride smoothed out. They’d survived!

“Lord Tegan,” Branos gasped from  the com  center. “I can’t raise the transport.

Comm unication appears to be down.”

“Keep trying,” he barked. “How long until we reach the Freedom?”

“They’ll be within our range soon.”

He activated the sy-com, clearing his throat, feeling as if he were a doomsayerof things to come. “We’ll soon be within range of the Deg’Nara battle cruiser and I’ve no doubt they’ll know we’re approaching. Keep to your posts and stay alert. Chalices, return to your quarters until further notification.” He paused, closing hiseyes against the burgeoning sorrow. Heavy of heart, he struggled to find thewords. “We’ve come a long way together my friends, farther than any of usexpected. We survived because we believed we could.” He paused for a moment,knowing they deserved the truth. “We’re outmanned and outnumbered and wehave no way of knowing the advances the Deg’Nara have made since the beforetime. Our defenses are outdated and our starships are old. But I say to you, Icould not ask for better com rades. If our fate ends here, I count myself lucky to

have known each of you. You named me leader, but it is m y great honor to stand by your side. May the Gods be with us,” he m urm ured, brushing m oisture from  his eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Siri slashed and stabbed, a whirling blur of frenetic m otion drawing blood withevery well-aim ed thrust. Um e did everything she could to distract or disable thehybrid, but the ruthless assault on Hanna bordered on the m aniacal, annihilatingevery defensive maneuver the Swede had. Hanna fought with unbridled passion,relying solely on her size and strength to prevail, but the hybrid parried everyblow with careless disdain, grinning as she scored yet another wound on the bigwoman. Hanna was sim ply no match for the cunning ferocity of the attack, lackingeven the m ost basic killer instincts.

Crying out in agony, Hanna fell to her knees, crim son spewing from  ameshwork of weeping cuts and nicks. Forearms crossed over her bosom , tearstrickled down her cheeks and dripped onto her heaving chest. Exhausted anddefeated, she was finished.

Panicked now, Ume circled the alien female. Siri was so powerful and fast! Tension snapped in the close environment. Her lips trembled, fueled by theadrenalin pum ping through her system . I can’t let her have the upper hand. W hat I lack in size, I m ust make up for in skill.

Siri’s mocking gaze followed her, assessing and categorizing. “Do you think toattack?” She laughed, a hideous m ocking chuff. “I believe not. You are too…inconsequential.” She tossed her head, the dark locks flipping. “I was amusing

myself with your friend,” she stared pointedly at Hanna, “but I won’t with you. My

time is too precious.”

She kicked, catching the big Swede in the stom ach. “One less bastard to defile

the universe.”

Hanna screamed a wailing shriek of anguish and then fell to her side,

mercifully fainting.

“W hy you…” Enraged, Ume launched herself at the hybrid, her one thought to kill the frickin’ bitch. Siri sidestepped and whirled, the blade of her weapon slicing through Ume’s deltoid m uscle grating on bone. Ume screeched and rolled, flipping to her feet. Crouched, she pressed a hand to the gaping wound, attempting to staunch the spurting flow. The injured arm  grew num b, the nerves severed.

“You worthless piece of shit,” she snarled, baring her teeth. “If Hanna loses the

baby, Mordaq will kill you.”

Siri shrugged, lips twisted in a sneer. “Mordaq’s dead, along with the rest who

traveled to the surface. My contacts will see to that.”

The razor sharp knife skipped from  palm  to palm . “Now to finish this.”

Before Um e could react, the hybrid’s hand drew back and flashed forward.

Agony shot through her. Shocked, her vision dropped. The long-handledstiletto protruded from  her breastbone. Right where my heart is! Her head tilted. She could hear…music. Death was singing its haunting melody, an ethereallam ent gathering the lost and tortured souls. She choked. Fluid filled her lungs. So far from  home! Sadness and regret. In slow motion, her line of sight returnedto Siri’s face—the last thing she saw before she stepped into the sun.

****

Kara cuddled against Anne, trying to relax. The hard floor of the transport wasuncomfortable and sm elly, the feet of untold num bers having left their m ark onthe threadbare mat. The storm  still raged, banging and clattering as gust aftergust battered the hull. She covered her ears, praying for the damn wind to easeup. At least we’re secured—mostly!

Braving the elem ents, Mordaq and Shagal tied the craft to a docking pad, buteven so, the ship bucked and rocked, popping and groaning as powerful blasts ofair ram med the ship. It’d been like this for hours with no sign of letting up.

Her stomach growled, rem inding her that she’d eaten little of the alien food. Hungry and uncomfortable—two of my least favorite things. And why hadn’t Tegan answered their hail? Mordaq’s efforts to contact the mother ship provedfruitless. They simply weren’t responding.

“Do you think something’s happened?” Anne whispered. “We should have

heard from  them  by now.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe the storm ’s causing comm unications to fail.”

“Hard to believe. You’d think as advanced as this culture is, something like a

storm  would be a mere inconvenience.” Anne wiggled, snuggling closer. “Not like

this.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, troubled by the lack of contact with the ship. “We

should’ve returned long before this.”

“Maybe the ship blew up while we were gone.” Dread’s sleepy voice joined their

conversation.

“Oh, nice thought. Thank you for that.” Kara huffed and rolled over, bum ping

against Goth Girl. “You couldn’t come up with something a little less devastating?”

Dread sat up and leaned over Anne. “It could’ve happened, you know. Theselast few months, we’ve pretty m uch been thrown into the Twilight Zone and rightnow I’d believe just anything could happen.” She fell back, landing with a thud.

“She’s right” Anne said. “I’d never in a million years ever guessed my life would take a turn like this. Just wasn’t possible—at least that’s what I always thought. But look at us now. We have living proof life does exist on other

planets.”

“Like that’s any consolation.”

“I always wondered.” Anne covered her mouth, stifling a yawn. “I would love a

cup of tea right now. Earl Grey with lots of thick cream .”

“How can you drink tea with cream  in it?” Kara shuddered delicately. “Coffee

has cream . Tea should be ice cold with lots of sugar.”

“Sweet tea,” Dread murm ured. “I love sweet tea.”

“Maybe the artisans can come up with something. They can do just about

anything.” She giggled. “Shagal’s a prime exam ple.”

“Did you need m e?” Shagal’s voice called from  the pilot cubicle where he and

Mordaq had sequestered themselves.

“Just talking about your stunning coiffure,” Dread answered. “We were wondering if the artisans could come up with som e of that for us.” She chuckled low. “I’d look smoking hot in that color.”

Kara snorted, burying her nose against her arm . At least my sleeve smells

good.

“And how long does night last on this frickin’ planet?” Dread grum bled. “Earth’s

would’ve been over by now.”

I suspect we’d all like to know that one! Shagal had mentioned once the sunrose, the storm  would most likely abate and then they could lift off and go home. Home? Strange way to think of the Redem ption. But it was home now. The onlyone they had.

Shagal stood up, stepping gingerly between the wom en. “This planet’s

revolution is farthest from  its sun. W e calculate the dark phase will end soon.”

“Soon? Like m inutes? Hours?”

The artisan’s brow wrinkled, incongruous beneath the carroty red hair. “I do

not know those terms.”

“ Human terms for short periods of time,” Anne interjected.

“And if you say days, I’m  gonna hit you,” Dread growled. “I have to pee. Is

there a bathroom  on this thing?”

Shagal frowned, glaring at the black woman. “A convenience station is in the

back of the cargo hold. There is little heat in that area so make your trip short.”

“Just great,” Dread snipped, scrambling to her feet. “My ass’s going to freeze to the toilet seat.” She stom ped towards the rear of the cham ber. “If you hear me yelling, bring hot water.”

The breeder watched her go, chewing his lip, a look of consternation stam ped

on his open features. “Must that Chalice always be so…ill-tempered?”

Kara grinned, enjoying his discomfiture. “What? Worried you two aren’t going

to get along?”

His head swiveled, the red locks swinging. He focused on her. “W hy do you

ask?”

“We know she was chosen for you,” she said, feigning nonchalance. She studied her fingernails, digging at a hangnail. “We were all chosen for a specific breeder. We know that.”

He stiffened, eyes flaring in alarm . “If you know this, then you also know Kormak m ade the selections. We were not given a choice in the matter either.” His eyes drifted to the rear of the com partment where Dread had disappeared. “Itwas Lord Tegan who decided we m ust allow the Chalices the freedom  to selecttheir own m ates. W e would not force ourselves on any female.”

He sounded so indignant, Kara secretly laughed.

“But you sort of forced yourself on us,” Goth Girl m uttered. “I was perfectly

happy in my life back home. I wasn’t given a choice to be here.”

“Neither was I,” Biker ground out. “If you’re looking for m ates, I’m  a real bad

choice. I’m  a lesbo.”

“A….a what?” Shagal stuttered.

“She’s a lesbian,” Anne said. “Means she likes wom en instead of men.”

“And that’s a conversation better left for another time.” Disgusted, Kara sat up, rubbing her hip. The floor was just too uncomfortable and she was too wired up to sleep. She crawled to a seat and dragged herself up, feeling every second of her twenty-five years. Make that around two hundred! I wonder what Tegan’s doing right now? W hatever it is, it has to be better than this. Slouching in the seat, she glared out the portal. The blizzard raged, flecks of ice and snow spinning in the fierce tempest, a virtual whiteout beyond the limited range of the craft’s floodlights. Surreal and uninviting. How could anyone live here all the time? Not her. That’s for damn sure.

Dread hurried back in, rubbing her hands together. “Oh my gawd,” shesquawked. “Don’t go back there unless you absolutely have to. I had to squat overthe toilet to keep my butt from  freezing to the seat.” She leaned over, peeringout the window. “Any chance it’s close to morning?”

Kara took another hard look. It did seem  to be getting a tad lighter out there.

Still couldn’t see a damn thing but it did seem  to be less blinding.

“We should be lifting off soon,” Mordaq said. “By m y calculations, daylight will

commence almost im mediately.”

She breathed a silent thank you, grateful for that one sm all concession. Thisinterminable waiting caused tons of frustration but if the weather cleared, theyshould be able to contact the ship. And Tegan! She brushed back a strand of hair,irritated and anxious. She needed to know he was safe— they were all safe! Dread’s stupid com ment ate at her like a frickin’ cancer. She had this nigglingfeeling som ething was very wrong up there and not knowing m ade it all the moregalling.

Weak rays of sun broke through the fury of the storm . Magically, as thedarkness waned, so did the wind, following in the footsteps of the night. Thetransport settled down basking in the now gentle breeze. Beyond the protection ofthe spacecraft, the foggy, white-shrouded landscape stretched into infinity. Sheshivered, chilled by the arctic scene.

Anne rose to her feet, brushing at her pant leg. “Can you raise the ship?”

Seem ing unaware, Mordaq bent over the console, adjusting the variousmechanisms. Intent and focused, he either didn’t hear or chose to ignore herquestion.

Anne cleared her throat. “I asked,” she said a little louder. “Can you raise the

ship?”

He turned, a frown wreathing his lips. “No,” he growled, baring his teeth. “I

can’t reach them .”

“W hat’s that supposed to mean,” Dread demanded. “They ain’t frickin’ there or