Between Darkness and Light (61 page)

“And flicking the tip means irritated,” said Zayshul.

“You've been reading again,” he said with a grin.

“No, just working with you,” she replied, taking a sip of her wine. “Tell us some more about the things to do on your world. We don't go outside the City of Light on ours.”

“Why not?”

“It's dangerous,” she said. “The City survived the Fall, but there were civil wars outside. Order of a kind was restored, of course, but there are large areas that are still unsafe.”

“Our world is arranged in Clans. We have the fishing Clan who catch the fish, and the town beside them is there to serve their needs, so it sells items the fishers need. Same goes for boat-building clans and farming clans. So we can go sailing, or there are riding beasts, or climbing in the mountains.” He shrugged. “There's so much to do, it's difficult to know where to begin.”

“It sounds a nice world,” sighed Khiozh. “I'd like to visit it sometime.”

“Who knows?” he said. “One day you might. Your Prime Prince may still be there.”

“Tell us one of your stories,” said Na'qui. “One that isn't on the entertainment vids we can see.”

“I'm not a Storyteller,” he said.

“But anyone can tell a story.”

“Not the way it should be told.”

“Try,” urged Ghidd'ah.

By the time he'd told them a tale of Nylam, the Hunter God, finding the love of his life, Shishu had finished with his hair.

“Do I get to see it?” he asked, putting his hand back to feel the intricate braids.

“Mirror,” said Shishu, holding her hand out to Zayshul, who produced one from her bag.

He couldn't see it that well, but it looked pleasing and, more importantly, didn't bind when he moved. She'd made several small braids then bound them round each other and tied them off with some cord. On the whole, he was pleased with it.

He handed the mirror back to Zayshul. “Thank you,” he said. He glanced at his wrist comm, seeing it was quite late. “I think I'll have a swim then turn in for the night,” he said, getting up. “Thank you for your company. I've enjoyed it.” He was surprised to find he had.

Zayshul got up. “I'll come with you,” she said.

The warm water was pleasant against his pelt and skin as he waded out into it. He didn't have far to walk until it was deep enough for swimming. Striking out for the middle of the small channel, he sensed Zayshul keeping pace beside him and began to swim to his left toward a small headland.

Once out of sight of their small cove, he stopped and treaded water, waiting for her to do the same.

“Banner's suspicious of us,” he said in a low voice.

“How can he be?” she asked.

“He says we're reacting to each other. We need to be careful.”

“Then tonight should have helped deflect his suspicion because there were many of us.”

“Maybe.”

“There's not a lot we can do,” she said.

“We'd better swim back,” he said. “The more we're in plain sight, the safer we are.”

“Agreed,” she said, letting herself rise in the water again before starting to swim back.

He followed her, aware of enjoying watching her body sheering efficiently through the water. Landing at the other side of the sandy cove to the amusement of the group, he shook himself, getting rid of the water in his pelt before going back to them to get his towel.

Giving himself a cursory rub, he slung the towel over his shoulder. “Thank you again for your company and the picnic. Good night,” he said.

He banged on Banner's door the next morning.

“Ready,” said Banner, automatically opening the door without looking as he grabbed something from one side before leaving. Then he realized it was Kusac. “Something wrong?” he asked, sealing his door.

“No. Just thought we could walk down to the mess together,” he said.

“Sure.”

“Weren't you expecting someone?” Kusac asked, hesitating.

“Not really. Sometimes one or the other of them bangs on my door first thing, that's all.”

“Did you go to the rec last night?” he asked as they began to walk.

“Yes. Didn't see you there.”

“No, I went up to the pool to join the Doctor and some of her friends,” he said. “An amazing place. Not at all what you expect of the Valtegans.”

“That's what I was saying the other day,” said Banner. “Is the pool there because of the TeLaxaudin or the Primes? That wasn't restocked in a few weeks.”

He glanced at his Second. “Zayshul told me that the TeLaxaudin have been friends of her people since their Fall. None of them are concerned about how the pool was ready for them.”

“I'd be worried if I were them.”

He shrugged. “Not our problem,” he said.

“Don't you think it strange that they have so much influence over the Primes?”

“I haven't been aware of it. Aren't you being a little paranoid, Banner? There's only one of them here and he spends most of his time up in hydroponics.”

“Maybe you're right. I just thought it odd that no one seems to be concerned about it.”

 

They'd barely started their meal when Khadui and Dzaou arrived, followed a few minutes later by Jayza.

“Morning,” said Khadui, joining them.

“What's with the hair?” asked Dzaou, sliding his tray onto the table. “You didn't do that yourself.”

“It keeps it tidy,” he said, spearing some meat on his fork. “And no, I didn't. Shaidan's nurse did it when I was up at the pool last night.”

“Good morning,” said Jayza, smothering a yawn as he grabbed the nearest chair. “Like the hair, Captain. Shishu do it? Wonder if she could do mine.”

“Ask her.”

“A second late night, Jayza?” asked Banner with a humorous glance in his direction. “Who was it last night?”

“Shezhul,” the youth answered, taking a large mouthful of kheffa. “Same as the night before.”

“One of Kezule's daughters,” grunted Dzaou. “Just be careful what you say to her.”

“Jayza's neither stupid nor inexperienced,” he said. “Anyone got anything to report about the salvage work?”

“Lots of bodies where we are at present,” said Khadui. “Mostly killed by their own weapons. The Primes move them, though, they don't ask us to do it.”

“Any sign of Sholan casualties?”

“Were there any on the
Zan'droshi
?” asked Banner.

“Must have been at least one, why else would they have fought each other?” said Khadui.

“Likely he—or she—would have been near the bridge,” said Jayza, “and we're nowhere near that part of the ship.”

“Kezule has us pressing toward the main fighter bay,” said Banner. “What about you? Anything interesting from all the data they found?”

“Actually, yes,” he said. “As I said, I'm working on a very old and damaged text file. A story from the days when Kezule's species were ruled by the Queen who founded their Empire.”

“A Queen? That alone is interesting. Tell us more,” said Banner.

“I've not descrambled much, but enough to know the beginnings of it.” He glanced at his wrist comm. “There isn't time for much. It's in the usual Valtegan heroic mold. The Queen, against great odds and plots against her life, triumphs and takes the throne. She sets her faithful female warriors as her royal guard, pressing more males into military service.”

“Female warriors? A complete reversal of what they had in Kezule's day,” said Banner thoughtfully.

“What could possibly have happened to reverse their society so completely?” asked Khadui.

“The text isn't clear on that because of the sections that have been destroyed. But it does say that she started breeding the males into better warriors, and from that point on, her society was divided into the castes that existed in Kezule's time, except that it was still a matriarchy.”

“Perhaps there were less female births because of some genetic damage through her breeding program,” said Banner.

“That wouldn't turn it into a male-ruled society,” said Khadui, chewing on his piece of bread. “The only thing that would account for that would be civil war.”

“A
gender
war, so bitter that the females were reduced to slavery,” he said, nodding. “That's what I'm expecting to find, and hopefully the reason for it.”

“The Queen was evil?” suggested Jayza.

“It would take more than that,” he said. “Remember, a whole world, if not four, all became dominated by their males.”

“Maybe it didn't happen all at once,” said Khadui.

“Maybe I was right when I said helping Kezule was a bad idea,” said Dzaou, wiping his bread round his plate to get the last morsels of food.

“Don't start that again,” said Banner sharply, glancing at the wall clock. “If Kezule wanted power, why leave his home world where he had the perfect opportunity to take it? What he's setting up here isn't a power base in the usual sense.”

“Isn't it?” said Dzaou, staring at him, bread poised partway to his mouth. “Tell me that again after he's got those fighters all repaired and fueled up in the fighter bays here.”

“Who's he going to attack, Dzaou?” he asked quietly. “Kij'ik isn't going anywhere, and it isn't near anyplace strategically important to us or them.”

Dzaou shrugged and looked away. “I hope you prove me wrong,” he said.

A burst of laughter from the nearby Primes' table drew their attention and as they looked up, one of the civilian males made a friendly gesture in their direction.

Jayza made a strangled noise somewhere between a whimper and a grunt and turned back to his food, ears flattening as Banner began to chuckle.

“What's so funny?” asked Dzaou, looking from one to the other of them.

“Nothing much,” said Banner. “Jayza just won a bet for me.”

“I thought that had been won yesterday,” Kusac said, grinning as Jayza kept his head down and began shoveling the food into his mouth.

“Not mine,” said Banner cryptically, taking a drink of his kheffa.

The klaxon went off to signify the start of the first shift. Picking up his tray, Kusac got to his feet. “I'll see you all later,” he said. “Jayza, a word, please?”

“Yes, Captain,” said the youth, ears still only at half height as he came round to his side of the table.

He waited till the others had left the table before speaking. “You need to get enough sleep to cope with the day's work,” he said quietly, holding him briefly by the shoulder. “You're working in suits in a vacuum, there's no margin for errors caused by tiredness. If you can't stay alert today, tell Banner and get sent back to the Outpost, you hear me?”

Jayza nodded, ears flattening. “Yes, Captain. Sorry. It won't happen again.”

“See it doesn't or you'll find yourself on a punishment detail. You're putting other lives at risk as well as your own.”

The youth nodded, and executing a crisp salute, went off to return his tray.

Banner was waiting for him and accompanied him up to the main corridor until they came to the library.

“What was your bet?” he asked, intrigued.

“That? Oh,” he grinned. “That Jayza would be the first one seduced, and that he'd be with the same female for a second night.”

He laughed, genuinely amused at his Second's perception.

“I'll keep an eye on Jayza, don't worry,” Banner said more seriously, stopping for a moment. “You're acting more like your old self, Kusac. It's good to have you back.”

He watched his Second disappear through the iris and down the remainder of the corridor to the main elevator, well aware that he was wrong. Nothing about him was as it had once been, and he didn't need the reminder of her scent as she came up behind him to tell him that.

“Good morning,” Zayshul said. “I take it from your and Banner's good moods that your hair didn't attract undue attention.”

“On the contrary,” he said, turning round. “Jayza wants his done the same way.”

Zayshul laughed. “Shishu will be pleased. She said braiding hair is a very sensual experience for her, more satisfying than braiding material for headdresses.”

He raised an eye ridge at her questioningly, glad to note that her scent, though he found it attracting him to her as usual, was still tolerable.

“Oh, there's no harm in her, she likes Kezule too much.”