Alien Salvation (30 page)

“Yes?”

The gentle face of the Imdiko was
filled with awed curiosity. “You are the one who found the Empress’
sister?”

“Yes.” Bacoj was getting used to the
bit of celebrity he’d acquired by accidentally rescuing members of
the Imperial Family. It was beginning to be a nuisance.

“You really clanned her before you knew
who she was?”

Steeling his patience, Bacoj replied,
“I did.”

The Imdiko nodded, and sadness replaced
the avid interest. “My clan returns to Kalquor now. No Matara for
us. Most Earthers run and hide from our people.” He gave Bacoj a
weary smile. “You were lucky to have a Matara for even a short
time.”

His words made Bacoj look around
himself, at his fellow Kalquorians. He noted only three Earther
Mataras among the black formsuited men, at the envious looks given
to the clans who’d claimed them. While the search party’s mission
had been all about finding and rescuing the McInness family, no
doubt many of the men had hoped to find the missing pieces of their
clans as well. And it suddenly occurred to Bacoj that though he
ached fiercely from his loss, he would have given anything for just
five precious minutes in Lindsey’s presence.

He’d had so much more than five
minutes.

He smiled at the man in front of him.
“I was very fortunate wasn’t I? Thank you, Imdiko.”

The Kalquorian bowed and walked away,
leaving Bacoj better able to shoulder his grief.

* * * *

The pilot’s thick, guttural voice came
over the shuttle’s announce system, startling Lindsey out of her
dreary mental fog. She blinked and looked around the spacious cabin
that contained her, Tara, and Sarod.

Sitting across from the women, Sarod
translated the pilot’s brief burst. “We will dock with the
transport in ten of your Earth minutes, Imperial Mother. Would you
like to see the vid?”

Tara leaned forward, her expression
interested. “Yes, please.”

Sarod barked a command in his own
language, and one wall dissolved to show a lozenge-shaped ship in
space. It was smooth and featureless, but as Lindsey watched, a
port opened, admitting another shuttle. When the hatch closed
again, there was no seam to show where it had been. She found the
energy to be slightly impressed.

Sarod told them, “Your quarters on
board are prepared. I believe you will both be quite comfortable.”
He smiled hopefully at Lindsey.

“Thank you,” Tara supplied when Lindsey
didn’t respond. She looked at her daughter and sighed. “You should
have stayed with your clan.”

Lindsey drew her depression around her
like a heavy cloak. “Sorry I’m such a crummy traveling companion
that you’d rather be alone.”

Tara scowled, an event rarely seen. She
almost never got angry, and had Lindsey been able to shake off her
blue mood she’d be openmouthed with shock. “It’s not that, and you
know it. You’re miserable and I hate seeing it. You need them after
losing Aaron. I could just shake those men for making you
leave.”

The younger woman managed to defend
them a little. “They de-clanned me out of love.”

“Does it hurt any less?”

Tara had to be furious to press the
issue, Lindsey realized. Even the most understanding person in the
universe turns into a lioness when you mess with her cubs. She
blinked back tears at the overt display of love, at the knowledge
Tara would forsake having her daughter at her side for her
happiness. “Of course it hurts like hell, but it’s done, Mom. Can
we not discuss it anymore?”

Tara took her hand, squeezing it tight.
Lindsey laid her head on her mother’s thin shoulder. Their shared
grief became more bearable from the contact.

* * * *

Bacoj wandered out onto the beach where
Japohn and Vax stood watching the sun set in shades of orange and
red. The base was gone, and their shuttle was one of only a dozen
left. The time to leave had arrived.

He stood a little apart from his
clanmates, still unsure of his status with them. Vax was speaking
to him again, but the rift between them had been bad. He wondered
if the relationship with his Imdiko would ever fully
recover.

He looked out over the water, admiring
the lovely scene. There were differences between Earth’s seascape
and Kalquor’s, but there were more similarities. The Imperial Clan
lived on the coast, and within a few months, Lindsey would be
looking out over another ocean. Emptiness gnawed at his
guts.

From the corner of his eye, he saw
Japohn look at him. “We’re ready to leave when you say. We just
wanted to say goodbye to Aaron.”

Tara had scattered some of her
husband’s ashes in the blue waters of the Gulf, reserving some for
the funeral services to be held on Kalquor. Bacoj nodded. “Aaron
McInness was an honorable man. I have missed him.”

He did miss Lindsey’s father. The man
had possessed strength of character and unwavering love for his
family. Another person to be grateful to have known. Another loss
to grieve.

He felt Japohn and Vax draw close
behind him. Vax put a warm hand on Bacoj’s shoulder and squeezed.
The Dramok’s throat closed to feel the touch, and he put his hand
over his Imdiko’s.

Maybe everything would be all right
after all.

No sooner had the thought slipped in
his head when Japohn suddenly stiffened. Bacoj looked up at the
Nobek, instantly alert at the feral expression on his face.
Japohn’s lips wrinkled back and he displayed his fangs.

“What is it?”

The Nobek growled, “Listen. Ships are
coming, and I don’t think they’re ours.”

Bacoj strained to hear over the crash
of waves. After a couple of seconds, he heard it too. Blended notes
of engines, but engines of various different types. The whir of a
Dantovon vessel. The easily recognized hum of a Kalquorian ship.
The growling roar of Earther engines. And others, all coming
towards them, fast.

He squinted against the flaming dazzle
of the setting sun, the direction from which the sounds came.
Several dark dots were out there, growing larger as they closed
in.

As alarm and fury unhinged Bacoj’s
fangs, Japohn shouted, “It’s a Tragoom attack! Back to the
base!”

The men took off across the beach as
fast as their legs could carry them.

* * * *

Lindsey lay on the huge bed of her
mother’s suite on board the massive Kalquorian transport. They had
separate quarters, but everything was Kalquorian clan-sized, and
Lindsey had found her cavernous rooms too lonely to bear despite
the luxury they afforded. The massive bed, intended to sleep four
Kalquorians, filled half the room. A seating area and dressing
table completed the furniture. Vids lined the walls, programmed to
show art, photographs, the empty space outside, whatever one chose
from the ship’s library. In the adjacent sitting room, groups of
seating would allow Tara to entertain a small party if she so
chose. A food dispenser could afford snacks or light meals, and a
call on the com would bring a feast to her door. After almost two
years of privations, they had every want or petty desire at their
beck and call. Yet the best of the best for the Empress’ family
couldn’t assuage Lindsey’s grief at being separated from her
clan.

Bacoj, if you could feel how bad I
hurt, you’d never in a million years have sent me away.

Too bad she couldn’t give him the
experience.

The whir of the opening door brought
her head up as Tara walked in. Her mother smiled. She seemed to
have recovered her usual grace since her outburst on the shuttle.
“Sarod says the transport will be leaving as soon as the last
shuttle arrives, probably within the hour.”

“Okay.” Lindsey’s head dropped back on
the bed. She contemplated the dimly glowing ceiling that provided
the room’s lighting.

“He invited us to have dinner with his
clan.”

“Okay.”

“I think he’s hoping to impress you. He
must have proper rank for the Imperial Sister.”

Lindsey propped herself up on her
elbows. Her stomach curled in on itself. “Tell me you’re
kidding.”

Tara flopped on the bed beside her. “Be
warned, daughter of mine. They’ll be coming out of the woodwork to
impress you no matter how much you protest your love for Bacoj’s
clan. I’ve never been so grateful I can’t have more children. If I
had to deal with suitors so soon after Aaron’s death, I might be
tempted to pick up a percussion blaster.”

“That’ll be the day.” Resignation fell
over Lindsey. She faced almost two years of fending off eager clans
desperate for mates. She would be counting the minutes until her
clan’s arrival on Kalquor. Forcing her own acceptance of the
situation, she teased her mother, “You’d still better watch out.
You’re pretty hot for an old lady.”

Tara glowered at her, but the corner of
her mouth quirked. “I’m middle aged.”

The women grinned at each other for a
moment before her mother’s face suddenly fled into grief. “Oh
Lindsey. I can’t imagine being with anyone but Aaron.”

As Tara’s face crumpled and the tears
flowed, Lindsey gathered her into her arms, holding her mother’s
tiny, shaking body.

Chapter Twenty One

“Tragoom attack! Get to
shelter!”

Japohn’s roar cut through the sea-salty
air, scattering the few Kalquorians left towards the deserted
Earther town. The grounded shuttles offered no real safety from the
Tragooms, and the men looked for cover among the abandoned Earther
buildings.

All except Bacoj, who ran straight for
his new ship. Japohn’s disbelieving yell rang in his ears. “Bacoj,
where are you going?”

Bacoj didn’t miss a step. “Calling for
help before they block communications.”

He jumped through the open hatch, his
clanmates two steps behind. In an instant Bacoj was in the cockpit,
shouting frantic instructions to the com. The signal indicators
wavered and blurred well below transmission strength.

“Too late.”

Japohn slid into the seat next to his,
fingers flying to activate the sensors. “Our people are gathering
in a nearby building. We’ve got a lot of company flying
in.”

“How many?”

“About 20 ships, all well-armed.” He
showed his fangs. “The opportunistic bastards must have been
monitoring this base. They waited to attack until our numbers were
low.”

Vax peered over his shoulder, his brows
drawn in worry. “How are we on personnel numbers?”

Japohn exchanged a dark look with
Bacoj. “About two dozen, including us. With at least ten Tragooms
on each of their ships, it’ll be a slaughter. Go close the hatch,
Vax.”

The Imdiko did so, returning within
seconds. Bacoj glanced at his sensors and instinctively looked up,
though there was only the ceiling to see. “Half their ships are
directly overhead the shuttle pad now.”

“The other half are converging on that
building where our people ran to hide.”

Vax bit his lip. “Where are the closest
rescue teams looking for Earthers?”

Bacoj looked at his Imdiko, wishing he
could somehow sugarcoat the truth for his clanmate. “Not close
enough. The Tragooms will finish us long before anyone comes to see
why ten shuttles never left here.”

He saw Vax swallow hard. For a wonder,
he managed a weak smile for Bacoj and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m
glad you made Lindsey leave.”

“Trust our Vax to find the good even in
certain death.” Japohn chuckled and shook his head. It was no
surprise to see him relax now that their fate was certain. For a
Nobek, there was honor in this end.

* * * *

Lindsey and Tara had reached the point
in their latest cryfest where they were reduced to sniffles when a
low beep announced they had a visitor. They untangled their arms
from around each other without a word, got up, and approached the
mirror together. Mother and daughter finger-combed their hair,
rubbed their eyes dry, and checked themselves. Suddenly they locked
eyes in the mirror and burst out laughing.

“Vanity,” Tara giggled, her smile
dazzling in her sun-bronzed face.

“We’re a pair all right,” Lindsey
hooted. “Too bad we don’t have lipstick for our
primping.”

Linking arms, they left the sleeping
quarters and crossed the sitting room to answer the door. It slid
open, revealing Sarod, who bowed deeply.

“My apologies for disturbing you,
Imperial Mother and Sister. I have received communication from the
Empress. I am preparing a shuttle to return you immediately to
Earth, Matara Lindsey.”

She gaped at the Dramok. “I don’t
understand. Why am I going back to Earth?”

He kept a careful poker face. Whatever
Sarod was feeling, he kept to himself. “You are to be returned to
your clan, the clan of Dramok Bacoj.” When Lindsey continued to
stare at him open-mouthed, he added, “You have a message from
Empress Jessica on the matter. I will return to escort you to the
shuttle as soon as it is ready.”