The Naked Truth (2 page)

Asler stifled his own urge to smile. She was young and took her duties far too seriously.

“Thank you, but I’m about to review the investigation. The prisoner was badly injured, and I will need all my strength to deal with her. Perhaps Salis has some need to share with you.”

She turned from him without any sign of rejection and made the suggestion to Salis. Now it was Asler who shook his head as his partner immediately took her up on her offer, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he led her away.

Asler’s smile ended abruptly. He hadn’t lied; he never would. Inarrii believed in truth, Examiners even more so. He knew the Starforce officer had been badly injured. She would need all his strength. He must discover what kind of threat the renegade forces that had attacked the first round of Treaty talks represented; he must know if the attack was based on irrational fear of the unknown, a common enough problem for first encounters, or if it was something more dangerous.

If the Treaty failed, so many of his efforts would be wasted. This one mission could make or break his future. While he had achieved much, his clan would still suffer as they had wagered a lot on his growing career. Anything that could stall or force the Treaty to fail must be stopped. If the human Officer Branscombe knew anything, he would have to discover it.

The lights were too bright. They kept her awake when all she wanted was to sleep. Worse, the Medtechs never left her alone and were always prodding her, poking her with some needle or drawing blood or insisting she talk or eat.

She hurt everywhere. She didn’t want to talk to them, hadn’t expected to live long enough to have to tell them what she had gone through. She didn’t want to think about it. What was done was done, no use crying about it.

“Captain Branscombe, open your eyes!” The sharp bark of her commander had her snapping to alertness even as part of her willed him to go away. The nasty vomit-green walls of the medroom swam into focus, along with the blinking lights of her medical monitors and her commander’s concerned frown.

“Listen up, Branscombe, and pay attention. I know damn well you’re a good soldier and loyal to the Starforce Marines. Never mind what they’re saying. You stand tall and proud.” Commander John Davies leaned over her, his gray camouflage hat seeming to blend in with his hair. Steel-blue eyes stared into her own.

“The admiral has decided the Confederacy will be handling the investigation into the attack.” He turned away from her, looking at the humming machines that surrounded her medroom bed. “It’s not my choice, but you are to report to the Confederacy shuttle at o-nine-hundred today.”

“What?” She struggled to sit up, tried to understand through the haze of drugs she’d been given what he was trying to say. “Am I under investigation?”

“I’ll be frank, Branscombe. There are some who are certain you gave away the location of the base.”

To hell with this. She lifted her chin and stared into his eyes. “I did.”

“What?” He shook his head. “You were tortured. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“I knew exactly what I was doing. I did tell them, but only because I fully expected our ships to defeat theirs. I knew if I didn’t give them a believable target, they’d attack somewhere else, maybe some place we couldn’t defend. We had three warships at the base, Commander. There was no chance we wouldn’t win. That was the part I didn’t tell them. It was the only thing I could do.” Spent and dizzy from the longest speech she’d made since her rescue, she dropped back against the bed pillow.

“Hmmph,” he huffed, his face unreadable.

A soft rustling noise at the doorway caught Sue’s attention. Her eyes flicked to a stranger at the entrance and back to her base commander as he opened his mouth to say more.

“Captain Susan Branscombe, you are requested to accompany me to the Confederacy ship Horneu.” The stranger spoke brusquely, interrupting Davies.

The base commander’s mouth snapped shut. He swallowed whatever he had been about to say, looking as if the taste of it hit a sour note.

Sue examined the figure in her doorway, her gaze caught by the startlingly intense expression in the stranger’s eyes. His mouth turned down at the corners, full lips pressed thin in a disapproving grimace. She shivered, her fingers nervously fisting in the soft folds of the medroom bedcovers. How long had he been listening?

He had to be an Inarrii. She’d seen pictures, read the descriptions of all the aliens in the Confederacy they were about to join. She’d even had personal contact with Alinna Gaerrii, the Inarrii spy who’d practically crash-landed in her backyard. She’d guessed the Inarrii were selected from among the Confederacy to discuss the Treaty because they would garner the most respect. They looked human, aside from their skin markings, which to her eye looked like henna tattoos.

What the pictures hadn’t shown, or perhaps she hadn’t noticed, was how patrician their features were, with their long, thin noses and well-defined cheekbones and jaws, sensual lips. She certainly hadn’t noticed Alinna that way. And the news vids hadn’t done justice to the gorgeous contrast of bronzed skin against long blond hair and eyebrows, either. Or how their bright green eyes could flash with anger. Discomfort sent a chill through her as curiosity morphed into anxiety.

“Commander Davies, we do not need your presence, nor was it indicated or even implied that you would brief Captain Branscombe. Please leave.” His voice was tight with controlled emotion, but she could see it reflected in his eyes.

Sue watched as her base commander drew himself up, his spine snapping stiffly to full attention. This was the man she’d come to consider as a friend, perhaps even a father, in light of her orphaned state. She’d served under him for nearly a dozen years, on one base or another until her recent transfer to the Mars Settlement Defense unit. And when that mission had been placed on hold with the Confederacy’s arrival, she’d returned to piloting the base scout shuttle at his request. Now he defended her again, even though she’d disappointed him and her career was likely over. She tasted bitterness at the realization. She’d never fly again, and her dream of visiting an alien world would be only that, an impossible dream.

“Examiner Kiis. Dragging this woman out of her sick bed is ridiculous. I can’t imagine what you hope to accomplish, but this kind of behavior won’t go unnoticed,” Davies said coldly.

The Inarrii stepped into the room, his shadow stretching over Sue as she lay on the medroom bed. Her heart pounded. He was taller than the commander. Not by much, but he seemed huge from her vulnerably prone position. She pressed backward against the pillow, but there was nowhere to go.

Her mouth dried as the stranger broke eye contact with the base commander and looked down at her. This was an Examiner, one of the Confederacy law enforcement officials.

What the hell does he want with me? What is he going to do with me? Interrogate me? Torture me some more?

A shudder rippled down her spine, despite her attempts to stay calm. She ground her teeth together. Get it together, Branscombe, tough it out.

It was worse than he’d imagined. Fear and aggression radiated from the woman on the bed. The captain was far more injured than he had been led to believe, damaged in both mind and body. Unmistakable feelings of panic and pain projected toward him—she feared him. Damn the base commander for telling her anything. Now she presumed him to be antagonistic, and given the recent torture she had endured, he could well imagine what treatment she would expect from him. This would make her interrogation much harder. He corrected himself internally. It would make her healing harder and her questioning brutal.

“Commander Davies, you are dismissed,” Asler stated flatly, never taking his eyes off the injured woman.

“Just how do you intend to take her to your ship in this condition, Kiis?” Commander Davies scoffed. “We don’t even want to move her to the base.”

Asler noted the woman’s heartbeat increased at the mention of being taken away, and her eyes darted to the commander. Her lips pressed together tightly in her pale face. Her short cropped hair, in a shade of frosty blond that only humans could achieve naturally, matched her creamy skin—a tone that seemed to be nearing the white of her bandages. The terrorists had slashed one cheek, high on her prominent cheekbone, and sliced the edge of her pert nose. Even her eyes had not gone unscathed. One of her dark blue eyes, so huge in her face as she looked at him, sported a bruise nearly the same color as her iris.

He took stock of her other injuries. His mind lightly brushed her subconscious to gather the information without intruding: burns, broken arm, four broken fingers, more cuts, bruises, exhaustion, malnourishment and possible minor internal damage.

The physical damage would have to be taken care of before the mental could truly be assessed. Her subconscious was hiding damage from her. She did not want to face what had been done to her. That might make a true determination of her involvement with the terrorists the most difficult of all the truths he must determine.

Suddenly aware that he had been standing there for several minutes, staring at the injured officer—nearly touching her—Asler shook his head. He extended his hand and touched her forehead, quickly dropping her into a light dream-free level of rest. Dreams were another area he would deal with onboard the Horneu.

As he removed his hand, Base Commander Davies made a muted sound of protest.

“The medical team onboard will heal her before any questioning begins. We are not a culture that includes pain in our interrogations.” He glanced over at the commander and offered Davies the only comfort he could, his word that his charge would not be tortured. He must keep a completely indifferent façade in front of the Earth personnel, despite what he felt from them and for them. The Confederacy must be in control.

Tapping his wrist sensor, Asler signaled the medical team he was on his way back with a patient. A second tap activated the transfer bubble, a device not allowed to be used on Earth until this moment.

“Step back, Commander.” Asler gathered up the unconscious woman, ignoring the various cords and tubes attached to her body.

The bubble formed around them, visible to the naked eye. It enveloped them and enlarged to surround the officer’s sick-bed and monitors, crowding the commander to the doorway. The bubble began to gain in opalescent color, and Asler watched in mild amusement as the base commander’s jaw dropped open in surprise. Visibly new technology provided a good reminder why the Earth people needed the Confederacy. But his humor died as he took in the man’s fear for the woman Asler held in his arms.

With an inaudible yet tangible snap of power, the bubble transferred its contents to the Horneu’s medical facility. As the phase completed, he found himself somewhat reluctant to release the woman from his arms and give her into the hands of the medical team.

Again he shook his head at himself. He must remain in control. His naturally protective instincts must be put on hold. He was an Examiner, and the mission depended on his ability to keep his emotions and hers separate from the search for truth.

There was no more pain. I’m dreaming. If I open my eyes, I’ll be awake again; it will hurt again. Sue sighed. Velvety softness cocooned her body, held her in a warm embrace. Even her face seemed enfolded in some supple material, muting all other sensations.

For the first time in a long time she felt safe, protected as though someone held her in his arms. As if she wasn’t alone. She reveled in the feeling in a way she would never reveal to anyone. She was a Starforce Marine pilot, after all. But for one moment she could take pleasure in the comfort.

“Damn. If only I didn’t have to pee.” Her lips brushed something as she spoke. She struggled to sit up but the covering material resisted. She opened her eyes to blackness and began to struggle in earnest to escape, kicking out against whatever held her. Her sense of comfort evaporated. Cold fear pushed a clammy sweat to her forehead.

Immediately she found herself immobilized, unable to even cry out in the outrage and fear that suddenly possessed her.

Where the hell was she?

“Captain Branscombe, please hold still,” commanded a deep voice.

As soon as she complied the pressure holding her in place eased. The coverings began to pull away, and Sue sucked in a deep shuddering breath as she took stock. The pressure restraining her lessened further. She still felt no pain—it hadn’t been a dream. Her arm could move, the fingers flex.

Despite the warning to be still, she stretched and shifted inside the wrapping. The pain really was gone, her arm no longer broken. Even her left biceps contracted without pulling, the scar from her old laser burn gone. Scarring she knew could never disappear on its own.

Her mind recoiled. She’d been completely healed. She must therefore be on the alien ship, mended by some strange technology. To what end? So they can torture me all over again? Or patch me up so I can stand trial without the badges of torture plain to any who see me?

Finally the coverings across her eyes were lifted. He was there, the alien Examiner Kiis. How odd that someone whose name sounded so intimate, like the touch of a lover’s lips, would now be her tormenter. She fought to keep her breathing steady. Beyond that, if she looked at only his face, at those finely chiseled cheekbones and bright green eyes, he looked sensual enough to match his name. Exotic tattoos ran along the edge of his jawbone and down his neck, forming an amazing swirl of bronze-colored patterns. The designs were mesmerizing.

She swallowed hard and slowly stretched again. Do not go there, ever. Handsome interrogators could be just as cruel as the uglies.

“Move slowly,” he instructed. “You’ve been healing for over forty-eight of your hours.”

She sat up. Prudence would have had her moving slowly anyway, but caution imposed by a stranger standing over her drove the point home. She could feel his eyes on her, staring with that focused glare.

She clenched her teeth together. Never in her life had she feared a stranger. Not until the pain…she thrust the thought from her mind, refusing to think about what had been done to her. As she levered herself against what seemed to be a mattress of some sort, the now loose covers revealed she was naked. She grabbed them tightly to her as they slipped and nearly exposed one breast.

“Ahh…” She cleared her throat and tried again, glancing around the strange room. She would get through this. These were not the people who had hurt her. To her left stood another Inarrii, this one calmly fiddling with what she took to be medical equipment. She nodded to the Medtech and addressed him. “Thanks for the patch job. I didn’t feel a thing.”

The Medtech smiled at her. “You’ll have to thank Examiner Kiis, as well. His skill with perception is why you experienced no pain during your healing.”

“Thanks anyway. You even ditched my laser scar.” Sue groaned inwardly. Kiis is talented in twisting perception. The aliens had already been messing with her brain. Wonderful. She swallowed as the realization hit her. She really hadn’t been alone.

She glanced back at Kiis. Why does he have to stand so damn close? “Thank you. But let’s get this over with. What do you want? Why am I here? Why did you bother to heal me?”

“I will ask the questions, Captain Branscombe.” His deep voice rumbled, sending a quick shiver down her spine. “You will come with me.”

“I need clothes.” In truth, she hadn’t felt a need for modesty for the last several years in the force; there wasn’t room for it in the tight quarters of the Starforce spaceships. But to be naked now—in front of an alien that had already touched her mind—made her mouth suddenly dry. Trying to remind herself again that these were not the people who’d held her so cruelly wasn’t working. Even her knowledge that her last commander, Major David Brown, had fallen in love with one of them wasn’t enough to calm her racing heart.

He looked at her for a moment and then opened a small cupboard she hadn’t noticed, located to one side of the medbed. He pulled out some sort of material and handed it to her.

“May I have some privacy?” she asked tightly.

He crossed his arms and remained staring at her.

A flush of embarrassment traveled from her cheeks to her throat and downward. Lovely. Lips pressed tightly together, she unfolded the garment—the slippery material difficult to manipulate with one hand as her other gripped the bedcovers. “What the hell is this? It’s only frikkin half here. Where’s the top?”

“It is a pettan. You will see most of our crew wearing these while you are here. If it isn’t good enough for you, we will request a shipsuit.”

“What I’d like is my own uniform.” She eyed him. He certainly isn’t wearing one of these little things.

“You will get dressed now, or come along unclothed.”

He isn’t kidding. Her initial incredulousness wavered now between embarrassment, anger and, she admitted to herself, fear. So the torture begins with humiliation. That thought had her dropping her grip on the bedcovers and moving to yank on the offensive garment. Damned if she’d let anyone get the better of her over such a stupid little thing.

Unfortunately, her sudden movements brought on a wave of dizziness. She lost her balance, tilting into Kiis.

He caught her, his long-fingered hands grasping her naked shoulders. Skin to skin, they froze. She glanced up, into those incredibly bright green eyes. The medical facility faded. They were in darkness, a darkness she remembered, feared. The scent of rusted metal, dried blood. The deafening silence punctured only by the creaking groans of the outer wall of the decrepit old ship.

“No!” She pulled away from him, terror wrenching her away from the past and catapulting her right back into the present, where the lights of the medical facility appeared thankfully bright. “What the hell was that?” Her voice quavered, and she hated herself for the weakness it revealed.

“Please.” The deep timbre of his voice registered softly, his voice suddenly gentle. “Come with me.”

She sucked in a breath and turned her back on him, finished pulling on the pettan. The material reminded her of her favorite silk nightie, one she’d had for years. She thought about that as she dressed, thought about anything other than the darkness she’d just faced. She concentrated on her breathing, the lights, the sounds, even Kiis’s suddenly comforting presence.

The thought pulled her up short. Be a Marine, woman!

She straightened; her breasts seemed to sit on display. She gritted her teeth. “I think I’d like that shipsuit,” she told him, keeping her back to him. Her nipples had peaked. The weight of her breasts, not something she would normally notice given that she was at most an average size, seemed exaggerated without something to cup them to her body.

She turned to face him. She stifled a groan as she realized that once again her embarrassment had made its presence known in a very physical way. The flush on her cheeks probably reached the tips of her bare nipples, although she refused to check the fact. She had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye. She was a tall woman, but the Inarrii male had a good six inches on her. Despite that, she couldn’t miss the way his eyes roamed over her body. She shivered in response. Things were changing and moving too fast.

She fisted her hands in frustration. She was a Marine, but she’d gone from expecting to die, to being accused of God knew what, to being miraculously healed. Then in a blink of an eye she faced semi-naked captivity, flashbacks and a captor who made no sense at all.

Kiis turned from her, began to move toward the exit. She had no choice but to follow him. A small part of her mind occupied itself with examining the strange ship for any way of escape. But the larger part of her mind shut that down—she didn’t know what half the equipment around her might be for, let alone how it worked. Even the walls appeared odd, shapes and colors showing faintly on the surface and changing as she stepped nearer. She didn’t know where she was or even if the ship was anywhere near Earth.

Besides, she was innocent. The Inarrii were supposed to be the good guys. She hadn’t really done anything wrong. Sure she had given out information, but not enough to ensure that the terrorists would win—just enough that they would lose. And she had been under duress…incredible duress and pain.