Discovery (Hybrid Book 1) (7 page)

The only men she met were either patients, scientists/tutors or classmates she’d grown up with at the centre, those on formal diplomatic missions (rather like ambassador Tamas), ship’s crewmen, and of course, Connor. This man was nothing like any of them.

There had been a little flirting with her classmates at the centre, but none of the crass, over eager boys had interested her a tenth as much as the man who was now sitting beside her.

Unfortunately, Tenset was probably used to far more experienced and sophisticated women than her. So rather than admitting that she wasn’t wearing any scent, she decided this was an excellent opportunity to extend her ‘knowledgeable tourist’ persona.

“It’s from the anhildis flower of Delphos. The Delpines are extremely sophisticated in many forms of art. So far, I definitely prefer Kalzirians. The Delphines had their noses so far in the air I don’t suppose they’d even notice if they trod in something horrible.”

Her hand went to her mouth as she realised what she’d just said. Way to go on the sophistication front Chesara she told herself.

Tenset’s lips twitched, and he reached out a hand and stroked her fingers gently. “Well hopefully I’ll be able to influence your decision a little more than some of the other party guests. Some of my fellow countrymen can be rather stuffy, but some of us can be surprisingly stimulating company.”

C
onnor noted her slightly raised heart rate and blood pressure as he sipped a glass of wine poured for him by Ambassador Tamas. Tenset was certainly a flirt, but him being alone with Chesara didn’t bother Connor as much as he thought it might. Chesara would certainly give him a run for his money, and he had confidence in Tenset’s ability to protect her. The man might act like a dandy, but there had been steel in the arm that had shoved him earlier.

They were back in Tamas’ office, sitting either side of a large, ornate wooded desk in an office on the ground floor of the embassy. Connor took another swallow of the excellent wine as he waited for the man to get to the point of the meeting.

It was probably about getting Chesara to do a little extra work while she was here. There were frequently charity requests on their assignments. He usually agreed to some additional healing as long as it didn’t exhaust her or interfere with their next ‘paying’ assignment. Although he played a security officer most of the time, Connor was responsible for every aspect of Chesara's work and care. The only people able to supersede his orders were the Captain of the vessel they were on, and then only for matters of ship security, or Connor’s direct superior ‘Operative theta 16.’

“Mr Temple, we need to work out a few tedious details about our arrangement regarding the hybrid’s services,” said Tamas, disturbing Connor from his review of Chesara’s vital signs.

The middle-aged diplomat leaned back in his chair as Connor’s attention returned to him. Referring to her as ‘the hybrid’ immediately had his hackles rising, but work was work and he couldn’t let a local cultural prejudice colour his judgment of the man in front of him.

“I know we’ve only contracted her services to sort out a little fertility problem, but I’d like to discuss the possibility of a further transaction.” The older man had lost the bumbling exterior, and a shrewd glint appeared in his grey eyes.

“Go on,” prompted Connor as he put his half-full glass on the desk.

Faced with a person in need, Chesara would heal them, if she were able. However, it was his responsibility to negotiate the details, ensuring that one planet didn’t monopolize her services and that she was not ‘over used’. Not to mention ensuring that the funds she generated kept rolling into Federation coffers. Realistically, he knew that the last criterion was the most notable one for most of his superiors.

The extortionate amounts charged for her services, not only helped to pay for research and military actions against rebel planets, it also kept many others, such as Kalzir, too poor to consider rebelling against the status quo.

“We’d like to hire her for a calendar year.”

Connor was glad he didn’t have a mouthful of wine, because it would now be decorating the desk.

“Do you have any idea how much that would cost? Besides what would you have her doing for an entire year?”

Sometimes these isolationist planets had no idea how the rest of the galaxy worked, but perhaps he shouldn’t blame them for their ignorance. He had no idea how much this man knew about the financial aspects of this arrangement. It was quite possible he thought Chesara could cure all the ills of his world in a year.

“Lord Tamas, as much as I’d loved to be able to spend more time here, we have other critical assignments for Chesara, people that need her help just as much as Kalzirians.” He shook his head and put on a firm but apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, but it’s out of the question, even if your planet could afford the fee.”

Tamas appeared unfazed by Connor’s reaction; indeed a faint smile hovered around his lips.

“What we want her for isn’t your concern Mr. Temple, although your willing participation in the venture may make it easier for her, as you do seem to have some influence. You would, of course, be handsomely compensated for your trouble.”

Tamas’ relaxed attitude was making Connor increasingly nervous. This wasn’t the reaction of a man who had just had his hoped dashed. The attempt at bribery just confirmed his suspicions.

Connor reached for the com link behind his ear, to call the Apollo to abandon this assignment. He’d fetch Chesara back from the party, and they’d head back to the ship to sort out this diplomatic mess before going any further. When he pressed the button just under the skin, he didn’t get the expected connection pulse.

Tamas was smiling coldly. “Just because our society prefers not to use such invasive technology, doesn’t mean that all of us are ignorant about it, or that we don’t know how to use or circumvent it. This room is shielded from such devices as your com implant.”

Connor stood and made for the door. If he could reach the Apollo by using the planetary communication system located somewhere in the Embassy, the situation would be quickly resolved without a significant diplomatic incident. Failing that, he’d use the shuttle to hunt Tenset down, whether he knew about his uncle’s scheme or not and retrieve Chesara.

“Guards,” Tamas called out in a leisurely fashion.

The two guards that appeared in the doorway were dressed in green, military style uniforms. Both were holding Federation standard issue beam weapons.

Connor tucked and rolled as two stun blasts flew over his head. He came up in front of the guards and punched one squarely on the nose. The other charged him with a roar; his momentum carried them both down to the floor. Connor made sure he rolled backwards when he hit, throwing the guard over his head to crash into the desk. Coming quickly to his feet he looked over to see Tamas holding another weapon pointed directly at his face. The weapon remained aimed at him as the two guards regained their feet. The one he’d punched wiped at his bleeding nose.

Tamas indicated the chair Connor had recently occupied with a wave of the weapon. Connor righted the chair that’d been knocked over, before sitting back down. The bleeding guard stood by the door, the other moved to stand behind Connor’s chair.

Tamas smiled. “Please don’t distress yourself my dear Mr. Temple. I’m sure we can conclude our business without any more unpleasantness. Have some more wine.”

When Connor didn’t pick up the proffered glass, Tamas sighed slightly. “I must admit that I’m a little disappointed that you are apparently unique amongst the Federation officials, in that you haven’t jumped at the offer of a bribe. Still, it makes negotiations far more interesting, don’t you think?” He smiled as if they were at a normal social gathering.

Connor merely looked at him; it was obviously up to Tamas to make the next move.

“Shall I explain your position first?” Tamas enquired most politely.

Connor remained silent.

“You are stranded on a hostile world, separated from your charge and unable to contact assistance. Any help you are expecting from the ship in orbit will not be forthcoming.” Tama checked his ornate clockwork wristwatch, before giving Connor another cold smile.

“As of half an hour ago, Kalzir has been placed under strict quarantine due to the Hespian plague, or at least that’s what has been communicated to your vessel. In case you are unfamiliar with the incubation period of that nasty little disease, quarantine will last for precisely one year after the last case is diagnosed, and we only plan on having a handful of cases. As the hybrid can’t heal herself, she’d be a quarantine risk too so she’s as planet bound as the rest of us.”

The satisfaction in his pompous voice grated on every nerve Connor had, but he successfully kept the fact that he knew the scenario wouldn’t work to himself. The plan was well thought out, and two years ago, it would probably have been successful.

Tamas was correct in his assertion that in cases such as this, the old protocol was for a year long quarantine. The nearest Federation ship would leave warning beacons, if planetary authorities didn’t send up their own.

Ramirez, the young shuttle pilot and his older co-pilot, Hasso, were probably also in custody somewhere in the embassy.

Connor prided himself on keeping updated on any new developments or technology that could impact his work with Chesara. Medical developments and changes in protocols certainly fell within that category. The cure for the Hespian plague had been discovered two and a half years ago.

The details would be in the Federation data banks on board the Apollo, although Captain Crowther would have to confirm the change in procedure with headquarters. She would be announcing to the Kalzirian planetary authorities that they could provide assistance and quarantine wasn’t necessary, within a few days.

“Mr Temple, you are isolated from any assistance; your ship has been informed that your communication devices have been inactivated, due to the fears of the poor ‘paranoid’ inhabitants. Unfortunately, the shuttle crew will be victims of the plague.”

Connor tried to reach across the desk to get at Tamas. Ramirez was just a kid, straight out of the academy, and Hasso had a young family. Neither of them needed to die for such a pointless reason. A heavy blow across the back of his neck sent him back into the chair as he briefly saw stars.

“Now, now don’t stress yourself. Sir, I regret the necessity, but it has already been done. Your implanted devices will be deactivated in a moment; we know you’ve already deactivated the hybrid’s. The Apollo will leave orbit in the next few hours after setting up the required warning beacons.”

Tamas was obviously enjoying himself, but Connor’s mind was running options to find Chesara and keep her safe until they could make contact with the Apollo again, or get to the shuttle. He wasn’t a fantastic pilot, but he could fly if he had to. He’d stopped paying attention to the gloating Tamas.

His options included calling Tamas’ bluff, by telling him his plan wouldn’t work, and hoping Chesara would be returned safe and sound before the Apollo started to demand their presence. Unfortunately, that scenario was unlikely to be beneficial to either Chesara or himself.

To keep his plot secret, Tamas would have to kill Connor immediately, just as he had the shuttle crew, although he might keep Chesara alive long enough to ‘perform’ whatever they wanted her for, before they removed the evidence.

Keeping quiet, hoping that he would be reunited with Chesara and that he would be able to keep her safe until a rescue mission found them, was the best option. Having made a decision, Connor tuned back in to Tamas who was still lecturing on why what he was doing was necessary.

“Being isolated means we are entirely self-sufficient here. We only have interplanetary visitors every few years, so our population will not question a lack of off-world visitors. So you see, my dear Mr. Temple, you have a choice, either co-operate and enjoy your unplanned stay with us, whilst looking forward to a sizable reward placed in a bank of your choice. Or, you can become a statistic in the luckily extremely localized outbreak of Hespian plague. That is, after you have been my guest for a few months. I do like having guests, especially ones as good looking as yourself.”

The smile he directed at Connor was pure malice. “Of course you don’t have to stress yourself about deciding straight away. I’ll give you some time, whilst you enjoy the accommodations you’ll be living in for the rest of your painful, short life if you reject my generous offer. In the meantime, your implants will be deactivated before you leave this shielded room.”

Tamas nodded to one of the guards who produced a familiar hypo spray, the settings indicated that it was far more potent than the dose he’d used on Chesara.

“I don’t need that,” he said quickly. He needed to be conscious to see where he would be held, in case he escaped.

“Sorry, but we can’t take the chance of you being difficult again. Besides, it looked rather uncomfortable when you did it to Tenset’s new property. He filed ownership papers for an animal matching Chesara’s description this morning.”

Connor only had the chance to struggle briefly, as the larger guard put him in a headlock and the other swiftly pressed the hypo to his arm. As he spiralled down into darkness, the last thing he saw was Tamas watching him with a slight smile.

C
hesara shifted towards the window of the carriage, and away from the increasingly attentive Lord Tenset. The attention and flirting was fun to a certain extent, but she was also painfully aware that she didn’t know the limits, or the rules of the game on this planet. Most of her information came from Terra Prime entertainments, and she was well aware that they might not be entirely realistic or applicable to this situation. Sex was considered both a recreational and procreational activity by both sexes on Terra Prime. However, those that over indulged were frowned upon, much like any other possibly addictive activity such as gambling or drug taking.