Alien Attachments (26 page)

They shook hands. “And this is my brother Rucon and his son, Ian.”

“It is good to finally meet you.”

“And this, as you remember, is Armond Nolde, now one of Ian’s Earth Protectors.”

Intros done, they went inside. Durgan instructed the cruiser to be parked in the garage and took them to what was once a spectacular library. The ceiling was easily thirty feet tall. Midway up was a one-sided catwalk that circled the room. Wheeled ladders provided access to any book, anywhere. Now however, the shelves stood bare.

In the center of the space, a long wood table ran three-quarters the length of the room. At one end mingled a group of men. Ian counted eight, nine including Durgan. Although none wore the Portal Master’s robes, they all carried the same air of quiet authority. As far as Ian knew, it was unprecedented to have so many Portal Masters outside of the guild’s grounds, not to mention their lack of robes. Nine Portal Masters. Ten if you counted Armond and perhaps eleven if you stretched and added Mordo. Was it enough?

* * * *

Gordat Prayda was enjoying his little coup. His first catch wasn’t disappointing. There was something about the blonde that intrigued him. He clasped his hands together. The Portal Masters had indeed managed to hijack the Cavacent’s portal. The thought made him giddy. Power was an intoxicating mistress, and he loved her. The Portal Masters he’d been assigned were having some kind of disagreement in the corner where they sat. He wished they didn’t need to be so close, but he had no choice. So stay they would. He was about to tell them to quiet down when the leader—he supposed that’s what he was as the others never spoke—got up and approached him.

“Mr. President,” the man said.

Gordat smiled. “What is it?”

“We detected an anomaly with our interception of the portal.”

He resented the way Portal Masters spoke, as though they were superior to everyone else. It angered him. “What does that mean?” Gordat scowled.

“We are not entirely sure.”

“Then why are you bothering me with it? Figure it out. You’re the Portal Masters, not me.”

A beat passed before the man spoke again. “I thought, perhaps, you would want to know. It appears likely someone knows the portal was, shall we say, tampered with. Presumably someone at the Cavacent’s compound, which makes it likely to be someone with reason to alert Rucon.”

Gordat clamored up from the couch. “How is that possible?”

“We are not clear on that,” the man replied, as though it was somehow Gordat’s fault.

“Imbecile.” Gordat’s anger flowed through him. The plan was to capture Ian or Rucon himself. He wanted to see the look on their faces when they realized his new position and control over the Portal Masters. He would arrest them and confiscate their lands and Earth as well, but he wasn’t an unreasonable person. He’d let the lovely Mara live. Perhaps he’d keep her for himself. He paced and searched for a solution. “Guards.”

“Yes sir.” The senior officer stepped forward.

“Go to the Cavacent’s compound. Arrest any Cavacent you find.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard left the room.

No matter about the portal. He’d still have his rewards.

Prayda stood, mouth ajar, before he gathered his wits. “What do you mean it’s empty?”

“The compound is deserted. Old Samuel was the only one there. Said they packed up and left days ago. We searched some of the buildings within and they were, in fact, empty.”

“Empty of people?”

“Not just people. Empty of everything. It has been abandoned.”

“No!” Gordat pounded a fist on the back of the couch. “Where are they? I want them. Put out a sweep, Captain. I want them brought here. Call the space port. Find his ships and you’ll find him.” Five minutes later the captain returned and reported that the Cavacent’s ships were listed as being on their regular trade routes, but there was a problem.

“What is it?”

“The port authority is in an uproar. The cargo that was supposed to be on those ships is taking up all his storage and transfer areas.”

Gordat let the thought sink in. “Goddess, would he dare?” He whirled on the Portal Masters in the corner. “Rucon’s portal, does it go anywhere but Earth?”

“No sir,” the short one said.

Gordat laughed out loud. “I’m stunned. The nerve. He’s taken his entire following
to Earth?
That planet is mine. How could he possibly think to get away with this? He’s killed all his lovely followers for they are now officially traitors.”

“Do you think perhaps,” the taller one asked, “you might have a problem taking possession of Earth under the new galactic ruling body?”

Gordat scowled at the insolent man. “I believe once I prove Rucon has been breaking the laws of our planet, any reasonable court would concur that I am the logical one to take control.”

The Portal Master shrugged but said nothing.

Gordat desperately wanted to hit the man. “Those two EPs. They were going to Earth. They can’t have been the last to go. Rucon would see to the safety of everyone first. No. He’s still here.” He clasped his hands together. “He’s here. Now we just have to find him.”

The captain cleared his throat.

“Did you want something?” Gordat spat.

“You captured two of his people. His sense of honor is well known. Have you tried calling him?”

* * * *

Purple-tinged dust filtered through the rays of sun that came through the windows of the empty library. Ian rubbed the back of his neck, anxious to get started and do something to find Dani and Ria. He paced behind the table where the rogue Portal Masters and the others sat. They questioned Armond at length about the mystery device, what he’d accomplished with it, and the redirection of Dani and Ria. Passing around the box, they were shocked to discover Armond was the only person in the room who could accomplish anything more than a directional power burst. No one else could establish anything remotely close to a portal using the device. However, Armond’s theory seemed to be holding up. With their help, he was able to establish a portal to Earth. It was untested, but they all agreed it appeared to be a functioning gateway.

“The implications are staggering,” Durgan said. “A technology built around an alternate form of psi—I don’t know what to think. It implies an entire race with powers similar to our own that we’ve never encountered.”

“Or never knew we encountered,” Ian said.

“Indeed,” Durgan nodded, his enthusiasm increasing. “Armond, your origins are a mystery, yes?”

“Yes.” Armond said.

“Extraordinary.” Durgan rubbed his chin. “That might explain your sporadic abilities with the guild. You’re clearly very powerful, and as I recall, could in fact manipulate the portals.”

“Yes, sir,” Armond said quietly. “With deadly results.”

“But, now, with this…” Durgan indicated the box.

“Obviously I haven’t tried any live subjects, but I have been successful in manipulating portals.”

“All by yourself?”

“My experimentation has found no limits as yet. And now, with help, it appears I can create them too.”

“Never,” Durgan said, pacing the room, “has a portal been created with less than nineteen portal masters. We barely have eleven.”

The implication of the statement wasn’t lost on Ian. The ability to create portals would be an advantage for them on Earth of unimaginable importance.

“We’ll need to determine the new rules,” Durgan said. “Will it drain us more each time since there’s fewer of us creating it? Is four trips still the max per hour? So many questions.”

“Armond”—Mordo folded his arms across his chest—“do you think it would be best to have Portal Masters on Earth to anchor this portal?”

“Since we don’t know how many of the normal rules apply, that would make sense.”

“All right, for now we will assume the same rules. That means four transports in one hour. No more than six hundred pounds each transport…”

“We’re going to need to test it with a live being.”

That brought a halt to the conversation.

“I’ll go,” Durgan said.

“No,” a number of the other Portal Masters said at once.

A short, balding man stood. “You’re the strongest among us. One day we can create our own guild, but we need you. Besides, everything about this portal looks and feels right. I’ll go.”

The rest of the Portal Masters agreed. In the end, they decided to send the first four immediately and they went through without incident.

“Well?” Mordo asked when they were done. “I didn’t detect any unusual drain. Any of you?”

“I detect nothing out of the ordinary,” Durgan said.

The others nodded agreement.

“Which is odd,” Armond said, “given there are so few of us.”

“The limits could be different.” Durgan leaned over the table toward Armond. “Mother Goddess, this could rewrite portal theory entirely.”

“Indeed,” Armond said. “If the energy dispensation is significantly different—”

“Hold on,” Ian interrupted. “Let’s stay focused for now. We have ten of us left here and Dani and Ria at some unknown location. Possibly suppressed, which means it will be hours before they can use a portal.”

Rucon’s com chimed. He retrieved it and glanced down. “It’s Prayda.” He connected. “What do you want?” Rucon listened. “I should have known. I’ll come, but you release them.” He disconnected without another word.

“Prayda has Dani and Ria at his estate on the other side of Ardos,” Rucon said. “He’s going to kill them if I don’t go to him.”

“He’ll never let them go,” Balastar said. “It’s not in his nature. Torture, killing, that’s more his style.”

“Why isn’t he at the emperor’s palace?” Durgan wondered.

“Probably too visible,” Armond said. “If he’s torturing them and willing to kill, he’s going to do it quietly.”

“You can’t go, Father,” Ian said.

“I won’t leave any of our team behind, but”—he turned to Mordo—“you need to get to Earth. If we don’t make it, I want you there to take care of Mara and establish our base.”

It made sense. His father wouldn’t leave anyone behind anymore than he would. The GTO granted the Planetary Rulership to the Cavacents. Mara being married to Rucon wouldn’t be enough. It had to be a direct descent.

“All right, Mordo is in the next group. I would suggest Durgan and two additional Portal Masters.”

Mordo didn’t look happy but he agreed.

“That leaves us with eight people and two moves within the hour,” Armond said. “However, if you are correct and Dani and Ria have been given suppressant, it will be hours before they can port. Since we know suppressant affects the reliability of standard psi-based portals, we must assume it can do the same with mine as well.”

“How does that work?” Ian asked. “Back in the academy, we had to take a small amount of suppressant so we could be prepared, but they never told us how it affected portals,” Ian said.

“It’s a good question,” Armond said. “It works on portals in two ways. First, it makes it difficult for an active portal to ‘hold on’ to its travelers, and second, the destination can shift unpredictably. Between the two, it is extremely dangerous to attempt.”

“Interesting.” The intricacies of portals never ceased to amaze Ian. “Armond, you need to stay safe to control the portal. Portal Masters aren’t trained for combat. These two should go to Earth as well. They won’t do us any good here. That leaves my father, me, and Balastar to get Dani and Ria. We need to get them out and hole up someplace safe until the drug wears off.”

“What if we bring one of our transport ships back?” Rucon asked. “We just need to get them off world to be safe from Prayda.”

“We can use mine,” Balastar said. “Prayda is going to do everything he can to stop you. No one knows I’ve purchased a transport. It’s being refurbished at the Montag station. All we have to do is get a shuttle and bypass security to get there.”

“That could work,” Rucon said. “And I think I know just the man. He’s a little rough around the edges, but I served with him and would trust him with my life. And yours. I’ll see if he’s still on Sandaria.”

A few minutes later Rucon disconnected. “When you’re ready, call him. His name is Trulass. He wants to meet near the transport station. He said you might not be vertical but that he’d get you off planet without detection.”

“Do I want to know what ‘not vertical’ means?” Ian asked.

“Probably not.” Rucon grinned, sending the contact info to Ian’s com.

“All right,” Ian said. “Balastar and I will get the women off planet. Mordo will go to Earth with the rest of the Portal Masters.”

“What we need,” Rucon said, “is time. I want you all off world before I leave.”

“Balastar, you know anything about Prayda’s home?” Ian asked.

“No. Never been.”

“Here.” Durgan expanded a visual from his com. “It’s cloaked now, but this was taken before he bought the place.” The hologram showed a large property nestled halfway up one of the closer mountain ranges. It sat on the edge of a field. Downhill from the main house stood a small, squat, rectangular structure.

Ian pointed to the small structure. “I’d put them there.”

“It’s worth a look,” Balastar said.

“I’ll go to Prayda,” Rucon stood. “That will buy you time.”

“You can’t,” Ian said.

“Maybe he can.” Armond flipped the box from hand to hand.

“What do you mean?” Rucon asked.

“When I was experimenting with this device I used focal points.” Armond reached into his pocket. “They allowed me to target items for practice. In theory, we could use one to locate you and port you directly to Earth once we have Dani and Ria.”

“We’ll simply move this end to Rucon,” Durgan said. “It should work.”

“You and your theories,” Rucon said. “All right. We have a plan. Such as it is.”

“Here.” Armond handed Rucon a focal point, then gave one to Ian and another to Balastar. “Just in case. I can keep track of all of you this way. If at any time you’re in trouble just press the button. I’ll port you out.”

Rucon turned to Mordo and the two embraced. “I hope to see you soon, brother.”

“Goddess willing, you will,” Mordo said. “You will.”