The Chalice (13 page)

emotions to spin out of control was unsettling and discouraging. He prided himself on clear thinking and structured decision-making. But they have no right, his heart argued. She belongs to m e! Burdened by unruly thoughts and unwarranted spurts of anger, he stood up, flicking off the viewing screen.

“We have things to do. Vaux tells me we’ll be within scanning distance of the Deg’Nara’s outpost soon and we need to prepare. If fortune flies with us, we’ll pass by without their sensors tracking our anti-m atter, but if not…” His fingers splayed across the entrance panel.

“You all have your duties. See to them .” He stalked into the communal room

,

half expecting to encounter the fem ales, but the room  had em ptied and only a few

small pieces of waste remained. Som eday, he prom ised himself, someday she’ll

accept me.

Chapter Seven

Lost in thought, Tegan made his way up through the various levels of the ship,stopping for short intervals to acknowledge the handiwork of the crew or to giveencouragem ent. Desiring solitude, he at last reached the observation deck,gratified to find himself alone. He opened the viewing port and gazed into theendless blackness of space, broken by flickering shards of silver light. Thevastness overwhelmed him  as it always did, evidence of his miniscule role in theworkings of the universe. He’d not joined the sky warriors in the dark times,opting instead to stay and defend the home planet. Maybe if I’d joined them,things m ight be different now. But perhaps not! W hat was gone would never bereturned and second-guessing past failures was a lesson in futility. He closed theviewing port, vowing to spend more time up here, away from  the demands ofleadership.

Vaux’s broad back was bent over the m ain console. Absorbed with hiscalculations, he failed to notice Tegan’s entry onto the bridge. Even here at thecenter of the ship, age had taken its toll. W ithout constant upkeep, the tarnishedequipm ent’d suffered from  corrosion and disintegration. The once m ighty seekership was but a ghost of its form er self. Restoration efforts were in place, but thedamage would take some time to repair. Maintenance crews scurried from  cornerto corner, focused on their various responsibilities, unaware of his presence intheir m idst. It was as it should be.

A young tech, one of the Artisan class, sprang to his feet and saluted,

concerned eyes popping.

He returned the gesture, grinning in spite of himself. “Be at ease,” he

chuckled. “I’m  here to observe, not criticize.”

Startled, Vaux jerked upright. “I was about to sum mon you,” he grumbled.

“We’ve reached the fringes of the Deg’Nara territory.” His eyebrows drew together. “I can’t find any trace of recent activity in this area and there’s no transmission from  the outpost. It’s almost as if it’s dead.”

“Could our luck be changing?” He studied the star chart, noting the outpost’s

bleeping location.

Vaux made some adjustm ents to the screen, expanding the search parameters.

Waves of energy pulsed and flowed through the void, but still nothing.

“I doubt the outpost is even manned.” Vaux’s eyes squinted as he studied the

grid. “Something would have shown up if it was still occupied.”

“Perhaps it’s a trap.” The Deg’Nara’s gift for subterfuge was unparalleled. In

the time of the purge, their hollow prom ises of friendship and protection gained

them  admittance into many system s of the galaxy. Once the security network had been breached, their strategy became full scale exterm ination of the unsuspecting populace. The satellite com m unities of the Chiagan-Se fell to such a ploy and once inside the boundaries, the Deg’Nara attacked the home planet. The rest was history.

“If it is, the trap’s been set for enough rotations that no trace rem ains.”

“I don’t trust them,” Tegan m uttered, unconvinced. “The Deg’Nara would not

relinquish a prize of war and they wouldn’t willingly leave. Something is amiss.”

His hand rested on his Tar, drawing com fort from  its solid nearness. Would thathe could have sought its strength in the dark before time. Those Chiagan-Sewho’d managed to survive the early onslaught of Deg’Nara had hid their treasuredweapons in the deep recesses of the hom e planet, away from  the [covetess/covetous] hands of the vile ravagers of his world. Some had escaped unnoticed—others had not faired so well. His teeth gnashed together, the pain of loss toofresh though many revolutions had come and gone.

“Do we attempt to jump through or take the long way around?”

There were benefits to both. But which was the better choice? “Crossing wouldsave us time, but I fear the consequences of such an action. Stay to the farthestreaches. Too many have died. I’m  not willing to risk more for speed.”

Vaux nodded. “I share your concerns. So be it. We keep our distance.”

“W hat of the other seeker ship?”

“Shadowing us. Close enough so that the two ships would appear as one if

we’re scanned from  afar.”

“And a surprise weapon if the need arrives.”

Vaux busied himself at the controls, modifying and adjusting the directionals,

muttering to himself about inconsistencies and oversights. He started, looking shocked. “The Chalices are attem pting to access the com puter system .” His fingers glided across the controls. “I’ll lock them  out.”

“W hich systems?”

“Just the basic ones right now.” He sneered. “Prim itive fools.”

Tegan raised a staying hand. “No…No. Leave them .” If the females werecoordinating efforts to interrelate with the breeders, it was a start, even if asubtle one. “Just block them  from  the weapons and the navigation systems—and

open up some of the informational ones. Maybe we can guide them  towards the

ones we can use to interact.”

Vaux shrugged though Tegan caught the flash of admiration. “As you wish, but

I’m  surprised they’ve m ade it as far as they have.”

“They m ay be prim itive by our standards, but they do possess rudimentary skills. In the same circumstances, we would be interested in learning everything about our captors.” He grinned, intrigued by the females’ machinations. “We would be planning our escape.”

“ We’re not their captors.”

“But they don’t know that.” He brushed back his hair. “We need to find a way

to stim ulate their interest in us.”

The young tech piped up. “I remem ber when my father wanted something from

my mother, he’d bring her gifts. Perhaps we could do the same.”

“Did we ask for your opinion?” Vaux snapped, glaring at the young male.

Tegan rolled the idea over in his m ind. The concept bore investigation. Theyknew so little about the human Chalices. The Chiagan-Se females, at least thosehe knew in the before tim e, were provided with every comfort. Gifts were rareand costly. He could think of nothing they had that m ight appeal to the humans.

“ But what would the Chalices want from  us besides their freedom ?”

“We’ve given them  food and a place to live—everything our Chalices would have had. I do not see that we need to do more.” Vaux fairly glowered as he voiced his opinion. “Pampering them  will gain us nothing but problems later on.”

“We could give them  sweets like those from  Mai’Tron,” the young tech

interrupted again. “My mother was especially fond of the blue ones.”

“Did we invite your input again?” Vaux growled, growing more annoyed by the

tech’s second intrusion. “Return to your duties.”

Deflated, the tech drew to attention, saluted then faced the console, face

flam ing.

“Maybe he’s right,” Tegan murmured, pitying the youth’s chagrin. “But I suggest we scan Kormak’s logs again— gather more information into the form er existence of the human Chalices. When we know more, we can reevaluate and

make our plans. This separation weighs on my patience.”

“I’ll have some of my assistants undertake the scanning. My tim e is better

spent keeping us ahead of the Deg’Nara.”

“I can do it,” the eager young tech exclaimed, jum ping from  his seat. “I’m

excellent at research and I would consider it an honor.”

Vaux heaved an exaggerated sigh. “So be it. Perhaps I’ll have some peace and

quiet if he’s occupied elsewhere.”

“W hat’s your nam e?” Tegan called after the departing young tech. “I need to

know who to contact.”

The tech stopped and turned. “Branos—and you won’t regret selecting me.”

****

Excited, Kara patted Moira’s shoulder. “You’re doing great.”

Irish’s fingers flew across the board. It’d taken them  hours of frustration andrerouting, but she was in and navigating the ship’s com puter systems. Access to

some programs was still blocked, but she’d hacked what appeared to be the library records. Even better, most of those appeared to be the personal logs of their nemesis, Kormak.

“This has been almost too easy.” Anne leaned over Moira’s shoulder, eyes

glued to the image screen. “Don’t you agree?”

“It wasnae easy.” Moira opened a file, chuffing as the screen flashed with unintelligible etchings. “But I agree.” She turned to face the small group clustered around her shoulders. “Seems as though files are jum ping oot at me, but I dinnae noo what it means.”

“Means somebody’s directing traffic.” Dread touched the console, opening another file. A much younger Korm ak addressed the screen in the lilting speech of the breeders. “Ain’t helping one bit,” she said.

For some strange reason, the younger images of Kormak made Kara feel sadand depressed. Her eyes filled. He’d been handsome in a breeder-sort of way,strong—exuding confidence and determination. Full of life and hope. Not so in theolder versions. There he’d seemed lonely, defeated. His life had come and gone onthis ship.

“Any indication if there’s a language program?” Anne groaned and stood up,

rubbing the small of her back. “If nothing else, we need to find that.”

“Kormak knew enough English to com m unicate what he expected of us, along with that disgusting warning about being severely punished. I got so tired of hearing that shit.” Leah folded her graceful body down next to Moira and studied the screen. “Do you think any of these files are earmarked—for want of a better description? Anything catch your attention?”

Moira pointed to a chain of data. “These just showed up. Like begging to be

read.”

“So m uch for surprises,” Dread huffed. “Open the dam n things and see what’s

in there.”

Irish touched the console. An older Kormak flashed on. He began speaking,again in the alien gibberish, his solem n expression one of explanation. Severalminutes later, he m outhed a single word and then painstakingly said “Hello.”

“Bingo!” Leah screeched, clapping her hands. “We have liftoff.”

“Okay.” Kara slapped Moira on the back. “Don’t lose the file. Anyway we can

tag it as a favorite or whatever they do? Maybe download it?”

“I dinnae noo how to do that,” Irish m umbled, intent on the console. “But we can leave it open until I do.” She peeked over her shoulder, a triumphant smirk on her merry face. “I did it.”

“I think this is cause for a celebration. Let’s eat.”

Chapter Eight

Driven back by the larger man’s skillful advances, Tegan parried Mordaq’sruthless thrusts, laughing as he ducked and jabbed, scoring yet another hit on hisopponent’s massive chest. A small red weal formed at the impact point. Other redspots dotted his torso, substantiating Tegan’s punishing blows.

Mordaq’s eyes narrowed to fathomless slits. “Killing your bodyguard is

unhealthy—for both of us.”

“Death is only possible if we’re using our Tars.” He stretched, rolling his shoulders, flexing aching m uscles. “If you’d come at m e less aggressively, we’d both be happier.”

“If I came at you less aggressively, neither of us would benefit.”

Tegan lowered his exercise staff, bending at the waist. “I concede the battle.”