GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) (8 page)

"You are in serious trouble, pal!" Cherry marched onto the bridge with her fists planted on her hips and an accusing glare in her eyes. She noted how Dot spun away, leaving Mar to witness her anger, but her attention was captured by an incredible sight beyond the bridge.

A giant tortoise suddenly appeared in space, withdrew its head and feet into its shell then vanished. "What the hell was that?"

After taking a moment to adjust his eye patch, Gallant turned toward her and cocked his head. "Is there a problem?"

"What was that?" she demanded again.

"What?"

She pointed at the spot where she had seen the tortoise. "There was a... a... tortoise and then,
poof,
there wasn't."

He raised one eyebrow at her in disbelief. "A
tortoise
? Out there?" He clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly back and forth. "Mar, did
you
see a tortoise?"

"No, Captain. Perhaps Cherry is coming down with space sickness. It is known to cause hallucinations in some species. I don't believe we have any antidote pills on board either."

Cherry didn't know anything about space sickness but she clearly had hallucinated since there was nothing out there now and no one else had seen what she had. Regardless, she couldn't think about that now. Remembering how furious she had been when she awoke, she took the few steps needed to get into his air space and stared down at him. "How
dare
you do this to me? How
dare
you pretend to be friendly yesterday when you had this planned all the while!"

"It must be the sickness," Gallant said with another concerned head shake. "I don't understand anything you're saying this morning." He moved to rise but she instantly pressed the palm of her right hand against his chest.

"Oh, no you don't. I have no intention of looking up at you while I'm trying to put you down."

He tried to resist the pressure of her hand but it was as if he were nailed to the chair. "A robotic arm?"

Cherry eased back a fraction of an inch. "Yes. I don't usually rely on it but in your case, it looks like I need every advantage I can come up with." She didn't mention the fact that, at the moment, the arm was acting most peculiarly. If it had been her left arm, which was real, she would have thought it had fallen asleep the way it was tingling.

He looked down at the soft hand rapidly spreading heat through his chest then let his gaze slide up her arm, over her breasts and finally to her eyes. "Any other artificial parts I should know about?"

Cherry might have been pleased that he finally seemed to notice she was a woman, if she hadn't recognized it as another ploy to distract her. "Don't be a smartass. And stop trying to change the subject."

Gallant attempted to look innocent but he couldn't resist testing her temper. "I didn't realize we even had a subject yet."

"Was my bunk comfortable enough?" Mar asked, abruptly splintering the tension on the bridge.

Cherry looked at the he-she without lifting her hand from Gallant. "Yes, it was quite comfortable. Thank you for letting me use it." When Mar-Dot had awakened last evening, the captain had retired to his room, leaving Cherry to seek her rest in a different place than she had before. "In fact, it was so comfortable, the clock in your room says I slept almost ten hours.

"If my calculation is correct, that means it has been over twenty-four hours since you said we were one day away from Earth. Now, I'm no expert but there is nothing out there that bears any resemblance to my home, and I don't think that's the way it should be." She watched the captain's mouth twist into a frown.

Suddenly a light blinked on in Cherry's head and she glanced at the screen in front of Mar-Dot. The blue dot was still following the red sparkles at a distance. "You son-of-a-bitch," she muttered, applying more pressure to his chest in spite of the strange sensation touching him was causing. "We're still tracking that beast aren't we? You never had any intention of turning this ship around, did you?"

His eyes widened with the awareness that she was capable of collapsing one of his lungs with almost no effort at all, while his body was responding to her touch as if it were a tender caress. Careful not to make any sudden moves, he said, "I had no choice. My mission—"

"Your mission be damned. You outright
lied
to me. And since that is a major no-no for a Noronian, that means you're
not
a Noronian, are you?"

"I have no idea."

Dot swiveled toward them. "Captain, if I may make a suggestion. Some explanations on your part might go a long way to relieve Cherry's mind... as well as your discomfort."

Gallant smirked at her then frowned at the dainty hand that hid so much strength. Nothing was going the way he had expected on this mission. Recalling his plan to use Cherry to lure Frezlo out of hiding, he realized he would have to do some fast, believable talking. He wondered if she had any sympathies he could tap into.

Not certain what tidbit Mar-Dot might feel tempted to add to his story, he said, "All right. I'll tell you everything. But let's go to my room so we don't disturb Mar-Dot."

Cherry could see by Dot's crestfallen expression that she did not want to be left out of this discussion but she simply pursed her lips and turned away.

"Fine," Cherry said and moved away from Gallant.

He took a gulp of air into his lungs as he rose and led the way.

The moment the door closed behind her, Cherry said, "Okay, shoot."

Gallant still thought that was a very odd expression but he decided he'd better get started testing her sympathetic nature. "I suppose I could begin with my background. I don't know if I'm a Noronian by birth but I was raised on Norona. I was abandoned as a baby and adopted by a good man and woman. The only thing that was left with me was a note requesting that I be named Gallant Voyager. I possess certain characteristics that are not precisely Noronian, so there is a question of my genetic origins. However, I usually abide by the Noronian codes of behavior I was taught."

"Except when it's not convenient," Cherry added in a sarcastic tone. "If you think I'm going to feel sorry for you because you don't know who your real parents are, you've made a tactical error. You see, I was raised by my biological parents, and always wished I had been orphaned at birth. I figured any foster home had to be better than the one I was in. So forget the poor Gallant angle and try for a truthful explanation of why I'm not back in Innerworld by now."

Gallant realized his plan had backfired. Rather than instill sympathy in her, she stirred it in him. Once again damning the volatile emotions he was forced to live with, he quashed the urge to ask her more about her childhood and sat down on his bunk. Immediately he realized there was nowhere for her to sit but right next to him, which was altogether too close for his comfort. Berating himself for not taking her into the larger,
less intimate
facility chamber instead, he did what any civilized adult would do. He shifted to the foot of the bunk and waved her toward the other end. "Sit. Please. This will take some time and I don't like looking up while I'm talking any more than you do."

Cherry lowered herself but her crossed arms and stern expression warned him to make his explanation a very convincing one. It was time for the truth... at least enough of it to assure her cooperation. Now he would see if she bore any loyalty to Norona.

"Please understand, the mission I am on is so sensitive, I didn't even reveal details of it to Governor Romulus. He was not personally involved, however, and you are. I see now that you should have been informed of the situation right from the beginning. You must swear that what I am about to tell you will remain confidential. Millions of lives could be at stake."

Cherry clucked her tongue. "You know, you almost had me before that last line. Don't you think
millions of lives
is a bit much?"

Gallant sighed. "I realize you have reason not to trust me but I swear by the Noronian code of honesty I was raised with, everything I'm about to tell you is the truth."

"Okay, I promise whatever secrets you reveal will stay inside my head." She proceeded to get into a more comfortable listening position by folding her legs Indian-style on the bunk. "Aster and Rom saved millions of lives ten years ago when an asteroid was heading toward Earth. Is this something like that?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. For you to understand, I'll have to go back in history about four hundred years. Within the same solar system as Norona is the planet Illusia. At that time, the Illusians were a barbaric warrior race, kept isolated from the other planets by their own lack of development. It isn't known positively but it is assumed that a spaceship from a more sophisticated civilization landed or crashed there and, suddenly, the Illusians gained the ability to leave their home planet and make war on one of their neighbors.

"When the first planet was devastated, they moved on. Wherever they went destruction and violence followed. Ultimate power was their only goal. They cared nothing for the people they conquered other than how they could most effectively be used to entertain the Illusian warriors. There are wild animals more civilized than they were."

Cherry wondered at the vehemence of Gallant's speech. He had started out in a matter-of-fact tone but it quickly altered as he began listing the atrocities accredited to the Illusians. There was no question he was being truthful and that the truth infuriated him.

The horrendous cruelties he went on to describe made Cherry's stomach queasy but she didn't interrupt him until he paused on his own. "But how was it that such primitive people could so easily overcome more sophisticated nations?"

He took a slow breath as he brought his obvious disgust back under control. "The Illusians have the uncanny ability to create perfectly realistic illusions, complete with three-dimensional visuals and accompanying sound. It was the only mental ability they were known to have but no other talents were needed. Basically, their victims were either fooled or terrified into submission because of images they saw and believed to be real. The Illusians were able to make a conquering army of one hundred appear to be one million strong. They didn't have to actually possess weapons of massive destruction, they only had to make the people think they saw such weapons being aimed at them then demand their surrender."

Cherry didn't bother to conceal her fascination with his story. "Then how were they stopped?"

"When they attempted to attack Norona, they hadn't taken into account that, unlike the people previously conquered, the Noronians possessed superior mental abilities of their own. A highly perceptive person discovered the deception and put a stop to the Illusians' goal. To determine Illusia's fate and maintain interplanetary peace going forward, the Consociation of Planets was formed with the Ruling Tribunal of Norona as its leader.

"Due to the treachery of the Illusians, it was decided by the Consociation that they were too dangerous to be given freedom to attack other less evolved planets in the system. However, the Ruling Tribunal was strongly opposed to committing more violence than had already been perpetrated. Instead of destroying Illusia and its people, the warriors were all gathered and returned to their home. Then a barrier shield was created around their planet, which prevented anyone from leaving or going to Illusia. The last message received from them before they were blocked out was a blood oath to one day destroy Norona and all its allies."

Cherry's eyes opened wide. "Innerworld is a Noronian colony. Does that mean the Illusians intended to destroy Earth as well?"

"Exactly," Gallant confirmed with a nod. "But until recently, the threat had been forgotten. Illusia has been visually monitored at a distance by the Consociation ever since. Over the years, they watched the barbarians set aside their warlike ways and develop into a peaceful farming and industrial society."

"I get the feeling you're leading up to the big finish here but I don't have a clue what it might be."

Gallant gave her points for astuteness. Fortunately, he was a master at keeping some things hidden. "The monitors show that a prolonged drought has stricken Illusia and its inhabitants have been relaying visual distress signals from all over the planet."

"Let me guess. The Consociation is trying to decide whether to respond or let the cretins die off."

For that, he gave her a thumbs-up sign. "The representatives are divided about the wisdom of raising the shield to give assistance, regardless of whether it means the survival of the race. At least half of the reps still recall the stories their ancestors told them about the Illusians. The other half feels the time has come to reanalyze the harsh judgment bestowed on them."

"But you said that was four hundred years ago. It's totally unfair to assume the Illusians are still the barbaric animals they were then."

Gallant's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Do you really believe that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. You're the liar, not me. Anyway, I got a taste of that kind of unwarranted prejudice when I first arrived in Innerworld."

"How can you compare the two? Terrans in Innerworld had been given their freedom long before that."

"Freedom, yes, with limitations. Equality, no. There were plenty of Innerworlders who believed Terrans were an inferior species capable of terrible violence. Aster and Rom's joining helped change some attitudes, but not all. I still run into a diehard bigot once in a while.