Water sluiced from his chest, dripping lower as he moved provocatively
closer. Tyr watched, amused, as Beka struggled to keep her eyes front and
center, ignoring the blatant temptation with which he was taunting her.
All amusement faded as he met her gaze and saw the strain in her eyes.
"What's wrong." It wasn't even a question, he knew her so well.
Beka glanced at him as Hallow moved up beside them. Ordinarily, Tyr knew that his infuriating crewmate would be cracking jokes and innuendos with the two of them lined up there for her inspection.
"Nothing. Here are the ropes." She gestured with her head as her hands were full holding them.
Tyr's frown grew. Why had she grown so serious while he and Severn had been attaching the ropes to the submerged ship? It just wasn't like Beka to pass on such a good opening for teasing and taunts.
Ignoring the tension between the other two, Hallow made the weird barking cry that he'd used before to summon the Vulpa. Instantly, a tidal wave of gray bipeds materialized as what looked like several hundred of the beasts appeared. Beka shuddered as the pack grew closer, and her eyes widened as Hallow stepped out of the shelter of the water to greet them.
"I'll. uh. I'll just go over here then," she stammered, cheeks heating as she handed Hallow the ropes with face averted.
Tyr watched her disappear into the greenery again, then stepped out himself and began shrugging on his clothes. Leathers on damp skin weren't too pleasant, but he was resigned to the sensation. As soon as he was decent, he cast a quick glance at the other Nietzschean, who had handed the vines to a couple of Vulpa and was dressing, and went after Beka.
"Beka -."
"Tyr, just. drop it!"
Tyr was amused to note that she railed at him with her eyes closed, just in case. "I am fully clad," he offered, dryly.
"Fine, fine," she opened her eyes and glared at him. "Now go do your muscleman act and help get that ship up."
For a moment he stood looking at her, his brow creased, and then he swung around to go back to the group of Vulpa on the shore.
Tyr used the brief walk back to worry. What was happening to them? He'd grown accustomed to the easy, relaxed relationship that they had developed on the Andromeda. Though he'd been attracted to Beka, he had rarely admitted that even to himself, and he'd never given in to that attraction. Instead, they had become companions, workout mates, colleagues, fellows-at- arms.friends, just as she had claimed, he admitted to himself with a sigh.
Just as she was becoming with Hallow now.
And that really bugged him. Despite his cautions, his warning to her, Beka seemed intent on forming a real friendship with Hallow, and Tyr was faintly shocked at the depth of his resentment. She'd talked almost nonstop to the other Niet since he joined them, laughing and joking, obviously enjoying getting to know him.
But that wasn't right, Tyr's instincts insisted. Hallow was another Nietzschean male - a rival. No matter his disfigured face, his initial attempt to hurt and frighten Beka, now, Tyr could tell, Beka saw him as attractive and fun. Except the one time Beka had asked about Hallow's family, their every exchange was pleasant and amusing.
But how could he see Hallow as a rival for a mate he didn't want?
Now, every exchange, every word between him and Beka was tense and unhappy. Last night, lying sleepless on the floor of her room, he'd wanted badly to crawl up into the bed and just hold her. His mouth twisted at the thought. Just hold her? That was a disservice not only to his Nietzschean ideals, but to his drive for procreation. Yet that's what he'd been feeling. He'd known she was sleepless, too, from the tenor of her breathing and her tossing and turning.
In the morning, when he'd awakened, she'd been gone. "Out running," Hallow had answered laconically, and he'd been resentful of the pang of hurt, curt when she finally returned, hot and sweaty.
They'd headed directly down to the lake after that, to mount this unlikely attempt. Tyr shook his head a little, dismissing his thoughts, as he reached Hallow. With a minimum of words, the two men lined up the Vulpa, chose spots for themselves and began to pull.
Beka, watching from just outside the greenery, had to admit that even seeing them naked was less exciting than watching them working to pull out the ship. Muscles bulged under smooth skin, Tyr's locks fell around him, and the men's bodies made perfect arcs of effort and strain. Wish I were a sculptor, Beka thought briefly.
Grunting, shifting, stumbling in the loose sand, and pulling with all their might, the two Nietzscheans and masses of Vulpa began, finally, to make some progress. With a lurch, they stumbled forward, and Beka dodged quickly to the side to get out of the way. The men and animals pulled more, reaching the far edge of the beach, and then beginning to coil the ropes as they pulled them tauter.
Beka, eyes focused on the roiling waves, gave a crow of triumph when she saw the first metallic turret break their surface. She'd ended up next to Hallow, and she smiled without reservation at him, pleased at their success.
Tyr, seeing that unaffected smile directed at the other man, grew grimmer, and for the first time acknowledged a growing sense of loss and isolation. Time was when Beka would have aimed that smile at him, but he'd blown that by going all Nietzschean on her. Now, he didn't know how to get back to where they'd been before.
The only thing he did know was that they had to get off of this planet, soon. Maybe, back on the Andromeda, things would get back to normal.
The Eureka Maru bounced and danced through the Slipstream, her pilot flying capably even though he was wearier than he wanted to admit. So far, there was no sign of any trouble getting to the trader system that he desperately wanted to reach. The Maru progressed through the 'Stream unhindered.
As Dylan flew, he wondered, as he had several times before, about what had brought the Ogami to attack them in such numbers. He knew only a little about the Ogami sisterhood's secretive culture, but he wondered if the lethal assassins had established one of their clandestine colonies in the system. That might explain the number of Ogami ships there, he supposed.
But why had they been so hostile to the Andromeda? As he reviewed the sequence of events in his mind, Dylan realized for the first time that the Ogami had moved to concerted attack after he'd announced his name. His problems with the Ogami that had surfaced on Haukin Vora last year obviously continued. Damn.
Well, that realization meant that he would have to do everything possible to disguise that he was the Maru's pilot, in the hope that the Ogami would not recognize the Maru as having any link to Dylan Hunt. Not too likely, Dylan thought, but possible. Once out of Slipstream, then, Rommie could pilot her, Dylan decided, and he would remain off screen of any communications.
That resolve made, Dylan's thoughts turned to his ship, and to the outsiders still on board her. Galil and Ian added a lot to the crew, Dylan thought. While Trance was a more than competent medic, Galil's medical training provided the crew with an expert backup, and having Ian aboard made the whole ship seem more like -- well, absurd as this sounded, like family.
Of course, it the old days it would have been impossible to have families on a High Guard warship. But, Dylan conceded, times were so different now that perhaps a model for the Commonwealth fleet that allowed for mating and families would be better received, if for no other reason than the big starships were much safer than many of the planets these days. The relative stability of life aboard ship might attract better crews - it would certain attract them in greater numbers.
Dylan sighed as he thought further. Designing the Commonwealth's new High Guard fleet really had nothing to do with what he was really thinking. Dylan wanted Galil to stay. Her intelligence, independence and sweetness all evoked feelings that Dylan had not experienced for a long time.
For a moment, his thoughts touched on Molly, whom he'd met on Haukin Vora. He'd thoroughly enjoyed Molly's bright insouciance, her courage and humor. Galil, who had been through so much, had nothing of Molly's light touch. And yet, the depth that Galil's experiences had given her was what most attracted Dylan. They'd both been through Hell in their own ways, and Dylan acknowledged the bond that came with the experiences.
As the Maru prepared to transit into real space, distracting him from his thoughts, Dylan said, "We made it! Rommie, will you please fly the Maru so I stay out of sight?" He explained his reasoning as she moved forward, and settled back out of sight as Rommie took the controls into her capable hands.
With a bound, the Maru headed for the planet that still held Tyr and Beka.
On the Andromeda, Harper was sweating as Trance urged him on. "Harper, we've got to get there. Figure this out. If we don't get to that system with the Andromeda in less than a day, some of our crew is going to die."
Harper gulped, and bent to work harder on getting the Andromeda to follow Dylan.
* * *
Tyr stared at the bulky man lounging by the light of the fire, feeling his mouth sneer without his volition. Once again, Hallow had affirmed his desire to mate with Beka, a desire Tyr saw as both abhorrent and dangerous to his crewmate. Taking a deep breath, Tyr strove to keep his voice even and dispassionate as he tried to quash the man's impulse.
"You say you want to mate with my crewmate, a kludge. Consider this. Your DNA - even with its imperfections, whatever mutations that caused -" Here Tyr broke off and gestured to the other man's face, then resumed without noticing the small sound at the doorway. "Even with those alterations, your DNA is ten thousand times more pure than that of Beka Valentine. Think, man! Think what you could be wishing on your children! Myopia, arterial sclerosis, cancer, MS, any of a thousand diseases we Nietzscheans have systematically stripped from our genetic material."
"Mating with a kludge, impregnating one for the perpetuation of your DNA, is worse than any act of treason you might commit. Treason and treachery are expected, but deliberately polluting your DNA, your reproductive assets, with those of such an unworthy partner, will put you beneath contempt. With that choice, you will turn your back on thousands of years of your ancestors working to make our lives the best they could be."
By now Hallow was starting at the doorway, but Tyr, the need to convince Hallow to lay off Beka thrumming through his system, continued urgently. "And even if you were to stoop so low as a kludge, Beka Valentine has several strikes against her. She's older than is optimal for a human breeding partner. Her father was a thief and a smuggler, and she herself has an unfortunate tendency toward dependence. I've seen her reliant on flash, wholly addicted! Do you want that in your children's genetic makeup? Who knows what alterations her already imperfect DNA may have undergone, given her mongrel upbringing and the chemicals she has put into her body."
Beka, standing in the doorway, couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd known, of course, that Nietzscheans preferred not to mate with humans, that Tyr was uninterested in her that way, but the barrage of insults and total contempt in Tyr's voice stripped away her defenses and left her devastated.
Deliberately, as Tyr paused before saying on the Divine knew what other awful things about her, she cleared her throat. Taking two steps into the room, she focused on Tyr, fighting to keep the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath to find her voice, absently noting Tyr's abruptly stricken expression and Hallow's slyly gleeful one but too focused on maintaining her control to react. Stretching out her hand, she said, simply, "Blaster."
Tyr frowned, guilt and puzzlement warring on his normally impassive features.
"Give me the blaster." He must have read the absolute determination in her face, heard it in the flatness of her tone, for without a word he handed her the blaster, grip first.
Stepping backwards, she aimed it at them. "Either one of you sets foot in my room, I'll shoot you without a second thought."
"Beka - "
"Save it." Without another word, she went back to her room. Kicking Tyr's bedding out into the hall, she shut and locked the door, then collapsed on the side of the bed, finally letting the tears out.
In the lounge, Hallow sneered. "That didn't quite go off the way you wanted, did it, Anasazi?"
Without a word, Tyr, not trusting himself to respond, swept out of the room.
"OK, I just had another idea," Galil offered, no longer diffident given their urgent need to get to the other system.
"Yeah?" Harper didn't even look up from his calculations.
"Could that ship that was following us through the Slipstream have mounted anything on Andromeda's hull that could be causing this aberration?"
Galil was gratified to see both Harper and Andromeda pause to consider it. Harper's gaze flashed to the screen, and with a brisk nod, Andromeda said, "Scanning hull quadrants two through four. We should know in about half an hour."
Harper nodded, continuing his programming efforts. "Rom-doll, can you check this over and gimme a percent likelihood that this new nav code can break us through?" On the screen, Andromeda closed her eyes for a moment, scanning, as Trance swept into Command. "Harper," Trance began.
"Hang on, my golden goddess," Harper said, intent on the view screen. He sagged a little as Andromeda opened her eyes and shook her head. "Less than ten percent, Harper."
"Damn! What am I missing?"
"Harper," Trance began again, more insistently, "Harry said -"
Before Trance could relate what her plant had told her, Andromeda's hologram flashed into existence. "Harper, unexplained device located section 44D."
Harper's eyes widened. "Gimme a visual!" Andromeda faded from the screen, replaced by an outside shot of a large black trapezoid fastened to her silvery hull. "Ah-HAH!" Harper cried, elated. Turning to the anxiously hovering Galil, he swept her into a brief hug and planted an enthusiastic kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, pretty lady! I think you've solved our problems!"
Trance, smiling, shook her head a little at his exuberance. "That's what Harry just told me about," she said, drawing an uncertain look from the exuberant engineer.
"Y- yah, Trance, whatever. Rommie?"
"Yes, Harper?" The holgram's voice held the indulgent tone only he could draw from her.
"Wanna round up a couple of Maria bots so we can waltz outside and take a closer look at that thing?"
"Closest airlock is Deck 24. We'll meet you there. And Harper?"
"Yes, my beauty?" Harper paused in his dash off the Com deck.
"Check your suit. I don't want to have to carry you in again."
Flushing a little at the reminder of that debacle, Harper raced off to Deck 24.
Dylan grimaced as Rommie searched for a clearing on the wooded planet's surface. His adrenaline was still high from the risky game of hide and seek they'd played with a group of Ogami cruisers in the system. He frowned briefly as he considered their flight out, then put the thought from his mind.
Scanning the planet's surface, he found a clearing about 2 km from where Tyr and Beka's life signs pulsed with reassuring vigor. Just for a second, he savored again the relief he'd felt when he first found those signs, then he put that from him as well.
"Rommie, ahead 22 degrees. Small clearing. Can you land the Maru there?"
Rommie answered with certainty, "Yes."
Dylan grinned at the faint indignation in her tone. "OK, then, take her in."
In her reflection off the forward viewglass, Dylan could see Rommie's lips curve in response to his amusement, but her eyes remained intent as she piloted the Maru to the clearing. The planet's suns had just crossed the horizon on this hemisphere; the early morning dew made the trees sparkle in the light.
Despite the beauty, they could have wished for fewer branches, Dylan thought absently as Rommie expertly set the Maru down among them. On the other hand, perhaps the dense greener would prevent anyone else from spotting the Maru, just in case the Ogami got curious.
As Rommie unbuckled and slid the Maru's piloting chair backwards, Dylan moved to the weapons locker and grabbed force lances for them both. "What say we give them a wakeup call, Rommie?"
"A good idea." Rommie's voice was slightly muffled as she bent over the scan display. "Dylan, there are many life forms on this planet. I'm reading at least one Nietzschean besides Tyr."
"Well, let's go see what we've got here." The Maru's cargo doors swished open and Dylan and Rommie cautiously exited the craft.
Beka had not slept well. Tyr's cruel words echoed in her mind, reinforcing her sense of distance and isolation. Anguished, Beka realized in that long and lonely night that her relationship with Tyr was broken beyond repairing.
That relationship had.meant something to her. She completed the thought with difficulty, not wanting to admit it even to herself. She'd called it friendship, but, really, now that any possibility of it had been removed, she had to admit that it had been something more than friendship, at least from her perspective.
She had.she searched again for the word. She had trusted Tyr, trusted him to hold her in some affection and respect. Earlier, on this hellhole of a planet, she had briefly hoped that he felt even more than affection, but throughout she had counted on his respect.
Now, she knew she didn't even have that. Bitterness and anger pulled at her as she again thought of his disparaging, contemptuous tone. Now, she knew exactly what he thought of her and her kind. She could, she reflected sadly, have done without the lesson.
A stir outside her door made her sit up, clutching the blaster. She didn't want to see either one of them yet; she needed more time to shore up her defenses. Catching the murmur of voices in the hall, she swung her legs over and was perched on the side of the bed when the door softly opened.
"If you take one step into this room, I will shoot you," she warned flatly.
"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me." With incredulous delight, Beka recognized the tones of her captain.
Dropping the blaster with a clatter, she sprang out of the bed. "Dylan!" She heard his "oof" of surprise as she threw herself into his arms, and she had to hold desperately onto self-control to keep from breaking into tears as they closed comfortingly around her.
"Beka?" he questioned, his voice concerned.
Beka said nothing, burrowing further into his hug as Tyr, Rommie and Hallow hovered in the hall.
"Beka, what's wrong?" Dylan's voice grew more insistent, and Beka huddled against him for one more minute before drawing herself up.
"Nothing, Dylan, I'm just very glad to see you." Though her voice lacked conviction at the start of that sentence, by the end her sincerity rang through the room. Avoiding Tyr and Hallow, Beka crossed to Rommie and gave her a hug, too.
"Now, what say we make tracks here, OK? I am very ready to be gone."
After a searching look that Beka met with some difficulty, Dylan agreed. "OK, let's go."
With no further ado, the entire party, including a jubilant Hallow and a quiet Tyr, left Hallow's stone house.
"So, Tyr, how are you?" Rommie's voice held the edge of sarcasm usually present when she addressed the Nietzschean. "And who's your friend?"
Despite his careful control, Tyr's eyes flashed at the second question. Otherwise, he ignored her, striding solidly behind Dylan and Beka.
"I am Hallow Severn, out of Mirrella by Hellorian of Urisal Pride. And you are?"
Tyr listened as Rommie spoke with the other Niet. He felt miserable. He, too, had been sleepless the previous night, surprised anew by the depth of guilt and remorse he felt for causing Beka such hurt.
That she had been hurt he had no doubt. He knew her well enough to understand what his words probably meant to her. He'd cursed himself countless times during the night, wishing futilely that he'd heard her in the doorway before he'd spoken. He had been trying so hard to deflect the predatory Nietzschean that he'd been deaf to her presence.
Though he'd been focused on convincing Servern to leave Beka alone, he wasn't sure himself of the validity of his own words. Once, he had felt like that, embraced the purist's view. Today, however..
Well, it seemed a moot point. Judging by the way Beka nearly clung to Dylan, he wasn't going to get a chance to explain any time soon. With a brief sigh, he resigned himself again to being alone. He was very afraid that he'd destroyed their friendship, and Beka was the closest thing to a friend that Tyr had. Bathed in his grim thoughts, Tyr stalked on, alone.
* * *
Harper studied the components spread out before him, his brow crinkled in a ferocious frown. Just retrieving the device had been difficult; several booby traps had made Harper glad that Maria bots were replaceable. Finally, they'd managed to detach the mysterious box from Andromeda's hull and bring it into his machine shop.
Now that he was alone with it, Harper was hopelessly confused. How did this thing work? This was technology that he had never seen before, and its existence did not please him. How could he retain his Technology King title if undefined beings slipped slick new stuff past him? This simply wasn't right!
Gingerly, Harper leaned down and rearranged the device's components. This was likely a power source, he thought, and this, some kind of power regulator. The wires were familiar, as well, so Harper was pretty sure he could disable the thing. But.the central piece, the part that the power source fed into, that he hadn't seen before. As he stared at it longer, however, a certain familiarity began to dawn.
Whatever this piece was, it bore more than a passing resemblance to the tesseracting machine that he and the Perseid Hoehne had created some time ago. Hmmm. Some form of tesseracting technology.. Uncharacteristically silent, Harper stood stock still tapping his chin with one finger as his clever brain considered and discarded scores of possibilities.
Well, he couldn't be sure without further tests, but Harper thought the box had probably been somehow fired onto Rommie's hull by the ship following them through the Slipstream. When that ship had activated this box, the device had somehow generated a tesseract that had prevented them from successfully 'Streaming to the trader system.
Harper's brow wrinkled further as he considered that. What could possibly have been so important in that system? Shaking his head, Harper dismissed that as unimportant. Bending over the device, he jumped when the voice sounded just at his shoulder.
"Have you figured it out?"
"Geez, Rommie, gimme a heart attack will ya?" Harper shook his head, fixing the hologram with a wounded glare.
"My apologies, Harper. Now, have you figured out how to disable this?"
"I think so." A mischievous light lit his gaze. "Hang on honey; she might blow!" Bending over, he reached with clippers to cut a few wires, ignoring Rommie's alarmed "Harper - !" behind him.
Wires safely cut, Harper deposited the clippers on a nearby bench with a clatter and turned to Rommie with a wide-eyed, innocent gaze. "What's up, Rom-doll?"
The hologram rolled her eyes at him before disappearing without another word, leaving Harper chuckling in the empty room.
Once again, her voice made him jump. "Harper, get to Command so we can try to reach Dylan!"
Shaking his head, Harper narrowed his eyes and stalked toward the Command deck, vowing revenge. In a very few minutes, the Andromeda disappeared into the Slipstream.
In the Maru's pilot chair, Beka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The chair embraced her with its familiar contours, and she sank into it, muscles relaxing that she hadn't even realized were tense.
She had worried that she might never sit there again, and even though she was still miserable, just being on her ship, her home, made her feel better. As she prepped the Maru for launch, Dylan stepped up behind her. "There are, uh, a few Ogami out there." His voice sounded apologetic.
"Yes?" Brows raised, she turned to look at him for a moment, frowning at his emphatic look. "So.how few?"
"Anywhere from a dozen to a hundred cruisers and fighters. We dodged 'em coming in, but they may be on the lookout now."
"Great. Any other good news?"
"The Andromeda couldn't, when I last left her, get into this system."
"What?" Beka was really startled by that news. "Why couldn't she get here? What prevented her?"
Dylan shook his head. "Not sure. That's what delayed us, though."
"So, you're telling me that we'll be facing maybe hundreds of Ogami fighters without any backup?"
"Yeah, that's.basically what I'm telling you."
Tyr's deep voice sounded from behind Dylan. "Perhaps we should remain here until they lose interest?"
"No way," Beka said flatly. "I want to get off this hunk of rock!"
"Even," Tyr countered evenly, "if you kill us all doing it?"
Beka's mouth twisted bitterly. "Except for you, that'd be no great loss, right Tyr? If you're so worried, you're welcome to stay put while we make a run for it!"
Dylan frowned as he put a quieting hand on Beka's shoulder. "Tyr, I think the bigger planet in this system is an Ogami homeworld. I'm not sure they'll ever lose interest."
Dylan was watching Beka, but Beka, turning with a dawning realization in her eyes, nailed Tyr with a look. "Ogami," she said in a note of discovery. "That's interesting, isn't it, Tyr?" Her voice was pure poison as she spoke his name. "Dylan, why not ask Mr. Anasazi why the Ogami are so interested in us?"
With raised brow, Dylan turned to regard Tyr. "Well? Do you know anything about the Ogami, Tyr?"
A pause, then, meeting Dylan's gaze, Tyr said, "No more than you. Clearly someone has hired them to kill you, but we've known that for months."
"Since Hauken Tau," Dylan agreed. "Still, it does seem interesting that they are back on my tail now, doesn't it?"
"And on Tyr's. Tell them, Tyr, what the Ogami on our ship wanted. I don't think I ever got that clear myself." Her voice continued to be poisonously sweet, and Tyr acknowledged, privately, that the darts were hitting home.
After a moment, Tyr answered, "I never got a clear picture of what the Ogami wanted with me. I argued briefly with them, but at that time my primary concern was securing adequate care for you." He met her gaze levelly, and after a moment, Beka dropped her eyes.
The pause continued, uncomfortable, until Dylan sighed. "Well, if you don't know any more, Tyr?" He paused to confirm that with a look, then continued, "Then we might as well go for it. I don't think waiting will improve our chances any. But hang on, everybody, cause things could get a little rough out there."
As Tyr and Hallow moved to secure themselves in, Beka squared her shoulders, sighed once more, and lifted off. The Maru blazed a beautiful trail as it roared out of the planet's atmosphere.
As soon as they left the planet behind, Beka knew they were in trouble. Dylan's upper range had underestimated the total number of fighters flying through the system tenfold, and before she could even begin to maneuver, the Maru was surrounded. Beka flinched subtly as her com crackled to life.
"Eureka Maru, you are trespassing in restricted space. Please prepare to land on the planet before you."
"Dylan?" Beka questioned in lieu of an answer.
Dylan turned to Rommie, at the sensor station. Rommie spoke gravely. "We are completely outgunned and surrounded. Attempting resistance would be futile. We should comply."
Beka closed her eyes, slowly shaking her head. "Will this nightmare never end?" she asked under her breath. Nietzschean hearing, catching her despair,shared it.
After a moment, Beka thumbed open the com. "This is the Eureka Maru. I read you, but we have intended no trespass. Let us go, and we'll never come near this system again, I promise you."
Despite everything, Tyr smiled a little as he heard this. That was Beka. She just never gave up.
The crackling silence again broke with the rough voice. "Eureka Maru, we suspect you are carrying designated targets. Land immediately or you will be destroyed."
"Damn." Beka spoke through gritted teeth. "Dylan, I don't like the sound of that."
"I don't either, but all we can do is do what they ask and hope Harper gets the Andromeda here soon."
Beka sighed again as she turned to comply. "You're the boss," she said, and with a steady hand she flew among the escorting fighters to the planet's surface below.
On the Andromeda, Trance grew graver. "Hurry, Harper!"
"Geez, I'm goin' as fast as I can! Can I get a little break here?" The Andromeda danced in Slipstream, its movements reflecting their urgency.
"Just.hurry."
Hot dusty air blew in as the Maru's doors opened. Beka, flanked by Tyr and Hallow, squinted as the sunlight's glare dazzled her eyes. Beside her, Tyr slipped on sunglasses and Hallow shaded his eyes with a massive hand.
Several dozen Ogami quick-marched to the Maru. Stopping before the waiting trio, they snapped out orders in their native roar. One Ogami moved to the front to address them. "You will lay down your weapons."
"Sure, whatever you say," Beka answered flippantly, ostentatiously removing a blaster from the small of her back. Tyr and Hallow followed suit, removing weapons that they had stored about themselves for just this purpose.
Any hope that they might be allowed to keep their better-concealed arms died a quick death at her next words. "Our scans show twelve additional weapons. Remove them now!"
With a grimace, Beka and the others complied. Tyr's blades, her smaller blaster, Hallow's newly-issued forcelance all found their way to the deck in front of them. The Ogami leader silently counted the twelve, then nodded once, sharply.
"You will now come with us." Turning, she led the way at a brisk walk. Beka, the strain of the previous night and day catching up with her, slipped a little as she stepped off the Maru onto the dusty ground. Tyr's hand at her elbow, steadying her, ran a shock through her system. For a moment she paused, leaning slightly on his strength, and then she pulled away and fell into line among the Ogami.
Tyr, walking behind her, absently rubbed his fingers where they had touched her skin. Things did not, he thought, look good. Though they'd concealed Dylan in one of Beka' hidden holds, there was no certainty that he'd stay hidden, given the sophisticated scanning technology the Ogami had displayed.
And how useful would that weapons scan be out in the real world? Tyr pursed his lips and whistled soundlessly as he considered it. If he were still in the mercenary business, he might've had to leave it if a scan that accurate became widely available.
But that was beside the point. Tyr thought, dispassionately eyeing the weapons surrounding him, that his chances for survival were not very good. Dwelling on that thought, his mood darkened. He knew the Dragan had put a large ransom on his head, knew the Ogami weren't picky about how they earned their assassin fees, knew that he would likely die here. If he made it off this planet, he'd be more than surprised, even if the Andromeda arrived to try to help.
Dylan, too, was at great risk, given the contract apparently on his head. Only Beka, Hallow and Rommie had decent odds of getting through this.
As Tyr thought through this, a great wave of feeling rolled over him. He would die, and Beka and Hallow would live. All his plotting, all his striving, all his efforts coming to this? No children, no family, no legacy.and so little joy. Only cold duty, that's all he'd had. That's all he'd chosen.
As Tyr walked through the dusty field, his unquiet thoughts walked with him, tormenting him.
* * *
"What's wrong." It wasn't even a question, he knew her so well.
Beka glanced at him as Hallow moved up beside them. Ordinarily, Tyr knew that his infuriating crewmate would be cracking jokes and innuendos with the two of them lined up there for her inspection.
"Nothing. Here are the ropes." She gestured with her head as her hands were full holding them.
Tyr's frown grew. Why had she grown so serious while he and Severn had been attaching the ropes to the submerged ship? It just wasn't like Beka to pass on such a good opening for teasing and taunts.
Ignoring the tension between the other two, Hallow made the weird barking cry that he'd used before to summon the Vulpa. Instantly, a tidal wave of gray bipeds materialized as what looked like several hundred of the beasts appeared. Beka shuddered as the pack grew closer, and her eyes widened as Hallow stepped out of the shelter of the water to greet them.
"I'll. uh. I'll just go over here then," she stammered, cheeks heating as she handed Hallow the ropes with face averted.
Tyr watched her disappear into the greenery again, then stepped out himself and began shrugging on his clothes. Leathers on damp skin weren't too pleasant, but he was resigned to the sensation. As soon as he was decent, he cast a quick glance at the other Nietzschean, who had handed the vines to a couple of Vulpa and was dressing, and went after Beka.
"Beka -."
"Tyr, just. drop it!"
Tyr was amused to note that she railed at him with her eyes closed, just in case. "I am fully clad," he offered, dryly.
"Fine, fine," she opened her eyes and glared at him. "Now go do your muscleman act and help get that ship up."
For a moment he stood looking at her, his brow creased, and then he swung around to go back to the group of Vulpa on the shore.
Tyr used the brief walk back to worry. What was happening to them? He'd grown accustomed to the easy, relaxed relationship that they had developed on the Andromeda. Though he'd been attracted to Beka, he had rarely admitted that even to himself, and he'd never given in to that attraction. Instead, they had become companions, workout mates, colleagues, fellows-at- arms.friends, just as she had claimed, he admitted to himself with a sigh.
Just as she was becoming with Hallow now.
And that really bugged him. Despite his cautions, his warning to her, Beka seemed intent on forming a real friendship with Hallow, and Tyr was faintly shocked at the depth of his resentment. She'd talked almost nonstop to the other Niet since he joined them, laughing and joking, obviously enjoying getting to know him.
But that wasn't right, Tyr's instincts insisted. Hallow was another Nietzschean male - a rival. No matter his disfigured face, his initial attempt to hurt and frighten Beka, now, Tyr could tell, Beka saw him as attractive and fun. Except the one time Beka had asked about Hallow's family, their every exchange was pleasant and amusing.
But how could he see Hallow as a rival for a mate he didn't want?
Now, every exchange, every word between him and Beka was tense and unhappy. Last night, lying sleepless on the floor of her room, he'd wanted badly to crawl up into the bed and just hold her. His mouth twisted at the thought. Just hold her? That was a disservice not only to his Nietzschean ideals, but to his drive for procreation. Yet that's what he'd been feeling. He'd known she was sleepless, too, from the tenor of her breathing and her tossing and turning.
In the morning, when he'd awakened, she'd been gone. "Out running," Hallow had answered laconically, and he'd been resentful of the pang of hurt, curt when she finally returned, hot and sweaty.
They'd headed directly down to the lake after that, to mount this unlikely attempt. Tyr shook his head a little, dismissing his thoughts, as he reached Hallow. With a minimum of words, the two men lined up the Vulpa, chose spots for themselves and began to pull.
Beka, watching from just outside the greenery, had to admit that even seeing them naked was less exciting than watching them working to pull out the ship. Muscles bulged under smooth skin, Tyr's locks fell around him, and the men's bodies made perfect arcs of effort and strain. Wish I were a sculptor, Beka thought briefly.
Grunting, shifting, stumbling in the loose sand, and pulling with all their might, the two Nietzscheans and masses of Vulpa began, finally, to make some progress. With a lurch, they stumbled forward, and Beka dodged quickly to the side to get out of the way. The men and animals pulled more, reaching the far edge of the beach, and then beginning to coil the ropes as they pulled them tauter.
Beka, eyes focused on the roiling waves, gave a crow of triumph when she saw the first metallic turret break their surface. She'd ended up next to Hallow, and she smiled without reservation at him, pleased at their success.
Tyr, seeing that unaffected smile directed at the other man, grew grimmer, and for the first time acknowledged a growing sense of loss and isolation. Time was when Beka would have aimed that smile at him, but he'd blown that by going all Nietzschean on her. Now, he didn't know how to get back to where they'd been before.
The only thing he did know was that they had to get off of this planet, soon. Maybe, back on the Andromeda, things would get back to normal.
The Eureka Maru bounced and danced through the Slipstream, her pilot flying capably even though he was wearier than he wanted to admit. So far, there was no sign of any trouble getting to the trader system that he desperately wanted to reach. The Maru progressed through the 'Stream unhindered.
As Dylan flew, he wondered, as he had several times before, about what had brought the Ogami to attack them in such numbers. He knew only a little about the Ogami sisterhood's secretive culture, but he wondered if the lethal assassins had established one of their clandestine colonies in the system. That might explain the number of Ogami ships there, he supposed.
But why had they been so hostile to the Andromeda? As he reviewed the sequence of events in his mind, Dylan realized for the first time that the Ogami had moved to concerted attack after he'd announced his name. His problems with the Ogami that had surfaced on Haukin Vora last year obviously continued. Damn.
Well, that realization meant that he would have to do everything possible to disguise that he was the Maru's pilot, in the hope that the Ogami would not recognize the Maru as having any link to Dylan Hunt. Not too likely, Dylan thought, but possible. Once out of Slipstream, then, Rommie could pilot her, Dylan decided, and he would remain off screen of any communications.
That resolve made, Dylan's thoughts turned to his ship, and to the outsiders still on board her. Galil and Ian added a lot to the crew, Dylan thought. While Trance was a more than competent medic, Galil's medical training provided the crew with an expert backup, and having Ian aboard made the whole ship seem more like -- well, absurd as this sounded, like family.
Of course, it the old days it would have been impossible to have families on a High Guard warship. But, Dylan conceded, times were so different now that perhaps a model for the Commonwealth fleet that allowed for mating and families would be better received, if for no other reason than the big starships were much safer than many of the planets these days. The relative stability of life aboard ship might attract better crews - it would certain attract them in greater numbers.
Dylan sighed as he thought further. Designing the Commonwealth's new High Guard fleet really had nothing to do with what he was really thinking. Dylan wanted Galil to stay. Her intelligence, independence and sweetness all evoked feelings that Dylan had not experienced for a long time.
For a moment, his thoughts touched on Molly, whom he'd met on Haukin Vora. He'd thoroughly enjoyed Molly's bright insouciance, her courage and humor. Galil, who had been through so much, had nothing of Molly's light touch. And yet, the depth that Galil's experiences had given her was what most attracted Dylan. They'd both been through Hell in their own ways, and Dylan acknowledged the bond that came with the experiences.
As the Maru prepared to transit into real space, distracting him from his thoughts, Dylan said, "We made it! Rommie, will you please fly the Maru so I stay out of sight?" He explained his reasoning as she moved forward, and settled back out of sight as Rommie took the controls into her capable hands.
With a bound, the Maru headed for the planet that still held Tyr and Beka.
On the Andromeda, Harper was sweating as Trance urged him on. "Harper, we've got to get there. Figure this out. If we don't get to that system with the Andromeda in less than a day, some of our crew is going to die."
Harper gulped, and bent to work harder on getting the Andromeda to follow Dylan.
* * *
Tyr stared at the bulky man lounging by the light of the fire, feeling his mouth sneer without his volition. Once again, Hallow had affirmed his desire to mate with Beka, a desire Tyr saw as both abhorrent and dangerous to his crewmate. Taking a deep breath, Tyr strove to keep his voice even and dispassionate as he tried to quash the man's impulse.
"You say you want to mate with my crewmate, a kludge. Consider this. Your DNA - even with its imperfections, whatever mutations that caused -" Here Tyr broke off and gestured to the other man's face, then resumed without noticing the small sound at the doorway. "Even with those alterations, your DNA is ten thousand times more pure than that of Beka Valentine. Think, man! Think what you could be wishing on your children! Myopia, arterial sclerosis, cancer, MS, any of a thousand diseases we Nietzscheans have systematically stripped from our genetic material."
"Mating with a kludge, impregnating one for the perpetuation of your DNA, is worse than any act of treason you might commit. Treason and treachery are expected, but deliberately polluting your DNA, your reproductive assets, with those of such an unworthy partner, will put you beneath contempt. With that choice, you will turn your back on thousands of years of your ancestors working to make our lives the best they could be."
By now Hallow was starting at the doorway, but Tyr, the need to convince Hallow to lay off Beka thrumming through his system, continued urgently. "And even if you were to stoop so low as a kludge, Beka Valentine has several strikes against her. She's older than is optimal for a human breeding partner. Her father was a thief and a smuggler, and she herself has an unfortunate tendency toward dependence. I've seen her reliant on flash, wholly addicted! Do you want that in your children's genetic makeup? Who knows what alterations her already imperfect DNA may have undergone, given her mongrel upbringing and the chemicals she has put into her body."
Beka, standing in the doorway, couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd known, of course, that Nietzscheans preferred not to mate with humans, that Tyr was uninterested in her that way, but the barrage of insults and total contempt in Tyr's voice stripped away her defenses and left her devastated.
Deliberately, as Tyr paused before saying on the Divine knew what other awful things about her, she cleared her throat. Taking two steps into the room, she focused on Tyr, fighting to keep the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath to find her voice, absently noting Tyr's abruptly stricken expression and Hallow's slyly gleeful one but too focused on maintaining her control to react. Stretching out her hand, she said, simply, "Blaster."
Tyr frowned, guilt and puzzlement warring on his normally impassive features.
"Give me the blaster." He must have read the absolute determination in her face, heard it in the flatness of her tone, for without a word he handed her the blaster, grip first.
Stepping backwards, she aimed it at them. "Either one of you sets foot in my room, I'll shoot you without a second thought."
"Beka - "
"Save it." Without another word, she went back to her room. Kicking Tyr's bedding out into the hall, she shut and locked the door, then collapsed on the side of the bed, finally letting the tears out.
In the lounge, Hallow sneered. "That didn't quite go off the way you wanted, did it, Anasazi?"
Without a word, Tyr, not trusting himself to respond, swept out of the room.
"OK, I just had another idea," Galil offered, no longer diffident given their urgent need to get to the other system.
"Yeah?" Harper didn't even look up from his calculations.
"Could that ship that was following us through the Slipstream have mounted anything on Andromeda's hull that could be causing this aberration?"
Galil was gratified to see both Harper and Andromeda pause to consider it. Harper's gaze flashed to the screen, and with a brisk nod, Andromeda said, "Scanning hull quadrants two through four. We should know in about half an hour."
Harper nodded, continuing his programming efforts. "Rom-doll, can you check this over and gimme a percent likelihood that this new nav code can break us through?" On the screen, Andromeda closed her eyes for a moment, scanning, as Trance swept into Command. "Harper," Trance began.
"Hang on, my golden goddess," Harper said, intent on the view screen. He sagged a little as Andromeda opened her eyes and shook her head. "Less than ten percent, Harper."
"Damn! What am I missing?"
"Harper," Trance began again, more insistently, "Harry said -"
Before Trance could relate what her plant had told her, Andromeda's hologram flashed into existence. "Harper, unexplained device located section 44D."
Harper's eyes widened. "Gimme a visual!" Andromeda faded from the screen, replaced by an outside shot of a large black trapezoid fastened to her silvery hull. "Ah-HAH!" Harper cried, elated. Turning to the anxiously hovering Galil, he swept her into a brief hug and planted an enthusiastic kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, pretty lady! I think you've solved our problems!"
Trance, smiling, shook her head a little at his exuberance. "That's what Harry just told me about," she said, drawing an uncertain look from the exuberant engineer.
"Y- yah, Trance, whatever. Rommie?"
"Yes, Harper?" The holgram's voice held the indulgent tone only he could draw from her.
"Wanna round up a couple of Maria bots so we can waltz outside and take a closer look at that thing?"
"Closest airlock is Deck 24. We'll meet you there. And Harper?"
"Yes, my beauty?" Harper paused in his dash off the Com deck.
"Check your suit. I don't want to have to carry you in again."
Flushing a little at the reminder of that debacle, Harper raced off to Deck 24.
Dylan grimaced as Rommie searched for a clearing on the wooded planet's surface. His adrenaline was still high from the risky game of hide and seek they'd played with a group of Ogami cruisers in the system. He frowned briefly as he considered their flight out, then put the thought from his mind.
Scanning the planet's surface, he found a clearing about 2 km from where Tyr and Beka's life signs pulsed with reassuring vigor. Just for a second, he savored again the relief he'd felt when he first found those signs, then he put that from him as well.
"Rommie, ahead 22 degrees. Small clearing. Can you land the Maru there?"
Rommie answered with certainty, "Yes."
Dylan grinned at the faint indignation in her tone. "OK, then, take her in."
In her reflection off the forward viewglass, Dylan could see Rommie's lips curve in response to his amusement, but her eyes remained intent as she piloted the Maru to the clearing. The planet's suns had just crossed the horizon on this hemisphere; the early morning dew made the trees sparkle in the light.
Despite the beauty, they could have wished for fewer branches, Dylan thought absently as Rommie expertly set the Maru down among them. On the other hand, perhaps the dense greener would prevent anyone else from spotting the Maru, just in case the Ogami got curious.
As Rommie unbuckled and slid the Maru's piloting chair backwards, Dylan moved to the weapons locker and grabbed force lances for them both. "What say we give them a wakeup call, Rommie?"
"A good idea." Rommie's voice was slightly muffled as she bent over the scan display. "Dylan, there are many life forms on this planet. I'm reading at least one Nietzschean besides Tyr."
"Well, let's go see what we've got here." The Maru's cargo doors swished open and Dylan and Rommie cautiously exited the craft.
Beka had not slept well. Tyr's cruel words echoed in her mind, reinforcing her sense of distance and isolation. Anguished, Beka realized in that long and lonely night that her relationship with Tyr was broken beyond repairing.
That relationship had.meant something to her. She completed the thought with difficulty, not wanting to admit it even to herself. She'd called it friendship, but, really, now that any possibility of it had been removed, she had to admit that it had been something more than friendship, at least from her perspective.
She had.she searched again for the word. She had trusted Tyr, trusted him to hold her in some affection and respect. Earlier, on this hellhole of a planet, she had briefly hoped that he felt even more than affection, but throughout she had counted on his respect.
Now, she knew she didn't even have that. Bitterness and anger pulled at her as she again thought of his disparaging, contemptuous tone. Now, she knew exactly what he thought of her and her kind. She could, she reflected sadly, have done without the lesson.
A stir outside her door made her sit up, clutching the blaster. She didn't want to see either one of them yet; she needed more time to shore up her defenses. Catching the murmur of voices in the hall, she swung her legs over and was perched on the side of the bed when the door softly opened.
"If you take one step into this room, I will shoot you," she warned flatly.
"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me." With incredulous delight, Beka recognized the tones of her captain.
Dropping the blaster with a clatter, she sprang out of the bed. "Dylan!" She heard his "oof" of surprise as she threw herself into his arms, and she had to hold desperately onto self-control to keep from breaking into tears as they closed comfortingly around her.
"Beka?" he questioned, his voice concerned.
Beka said nothing, burrowing further into his hug as Tyr, Rommie and Hallow hovered in the hall.
"Beka, what's wrong?" Dylan's voice grew more insistent, and Beka huddled against him for one more minute before drawing herself up.
"Nothing, Dylan, I'm just very glad to see you." Though her voice lacked conviction at the start of that sentence, by the end her sincerity rang through the room. Avoiding Tyr and Hallow, Beka crossed to Rommie and gave her a hug, too.
"Now, what say we make tracks here, OK? I am very ready to be gone."
After a searching look that Beka met with some difficulty, Dylan agreed. "OK, let's go."
With no further ado, the entire party, including a jubilant Hallow and a quiet Tyr, left Hallow's stone house.
"So, Tyr, how are you?" Rommie's voice held the edge of sarcasm usually present when she addressed the Nietzschean. "And who's your friend?"
Despite his careful control, Tyr's eyes flashed at the second question. Otherwise, he ignored her, striding solidly behind Dylan and Beka.
"I am Hallow Severn, out of Mirrella by Hellorian of Urisal Pride. And you are?"
Tyr listened as Rommie spoke with the other Niet. He felt miserable. He, too, had been sleepless the previous night, surprised anew by the depth of guilt and remorse he felt for causing Beka such hurt.
That she had been hurt he had no doubt. He knew her well enough to understand what his words probably meant to her. He'd cursed himself countless times during the night, wishing futilely that he'd heard her in the doorway before he'd spoken. He had been trying so hard to deflect the predatory Nietzschean that he'd been deaf to her presence.
Though he'd been focused on convincing Servern to leave Beka alone, he wasn't sure himself of the validity of his own words. Once, he had felt like that, embraced the purist's view. Today, however..
Well, it seemed a moot point. Judging by the way Beka nearly clung to Dylan, he wasn't going to get a chance to explain any time soon. With a brief sigh, he resigned himself again to being alone. He was very afraid that he'd destroyed their friendship, and Beka was the closest thing to a friend that Tyr had. Bathed in his grim thoughts, Tyr stalked on, alone.
* * *
Harper studied the components spread out before him, his brow crinkled in a ferocious frown. Just retrieving the device had been difficult; several booby traps had made Harper glad that Maria bots were replaceable. Finally, they'd managed to detach the mysterious box from Andromeda's hull and bring it into his machine shop.
Now that he was alone with it, Harper was hopelessly confused. How did this thing work? This was technology that he had never seen before, and its existence did not please him. How could he retain his Technology King title if undefined beings slipped slick new stuff past him? This simply wasn't right!
Gingerly, Harper leaned down and rearranged the device's components. This was likely a power source, he thought, and this, some kind of power regulator. The wires were familiar, as well, so Harper was pretty sure he could disable the thing. But.the central piece, the part that the power source fed into, that he hadn't seen before. As he stared at it longer, however, a certain familiarity began to dawn.
Whatever this piece was, it bore more than a passing resemblance to the tesseracting machine that he and the Perseid Hoehne had created some time ago. Hmmm. Some form of tesseracting technology.. Uncharacteristically silent, Harper stood stock still tapping his chin with one finger as his clever brain considered and discarded scores of possibilities.
Well, he couldn't be sure without further tests, but Harper thought the box had probably been somehow fired onto Rommie's hull by the ship following them through the Slipstream. When that ship had activated this box, the device had somehow generated a tesseract that had prevented them from successfully 'Streaming to the trader system.
Harper's brow wrinkled further as he considered that. What could possibly have been so important in that system? Shaking his head, Harper dismissed that as unimportant. Bending over the device, he jumped when the voice sounded just at his shoulder.
"Have you figured it out?"
"Geez, Rommie, gimme a heart attack will ya?" Harper shook his head, fixing the hologram with a wounded glare.
"My apologies, Harper. Now, have you figured out how to disable this?"
"I think so." A mischievous light lit his gaze. "Hang on honey; she might blow!" Bending over, he reached with clippers to cut a few wires, ignoring Rommie's alarmed "Harper - !" behind him.
Wires safely cut, Harper deposited the clippers on a nearby bench with a clatter and turned to Rommie with a wide-eyed, innocent gaze. "What's up, Rom-doll?"
The hologram rolled her eyes at him before disappearing without another word, leaving Harper chuckling in the empty room.
Once again, her voice made him jump. "Harper, get to Command so we can try to reach Dylan!"
Shaking his head, Harper narrowed his eyes and stalked toward the Command deck, vowing revenge. In a very few minutes, the Andromeda disappeared into the Slipstream.
In the Maru's pilot chair, Beka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The chair embraced her with its familiar contours, and she sank into it, muscles relaxing that she hadn't even realized were tense.
She had worried that she might never sit there again, and even though she was still miserable, just being on her ship, her home, made her feel better. As she prepped the Maru for launch, Dylan stepped up behind her. "There are, uh, a few Ogami out there." His voice sounded apologetic.
"Yes?" Brows raised, she turned to look at him for a moment, frowning at his emphatic look. "So.how few?"
"Anywhere from a dozen to a hundred cruisers and fighters. We dodged 'em coming in, but they may be on the lookout now."
"Great. Any other good news?"
"The Andromeda couldn't, when I last left her, get into this system."
"What?" Beka was really startled by that news. "Why couldn't she get here? What prevented her?"
Dylan shook his head. "Not sure. That's what delayed us, though."
"So, you're telling me that we'll be facing maybe hundreds of Ogami fighters without any backup?"
"Yeah, that's.basically what I'm telling you."
Tyr's deep voice sounded from behind Dylan. "Perhaps we should remain here until they lose interest?"
"No way," Beka said flatly. "I want to get off this hunk of rock!"
"Even," Tyr countered evenly, "if you kill us all doing it?"
Beka's mouth twisted bitterly. "Except for you, that'd be no great loss, right Tyr? If you're so worried, you're welcome to stay put while we make a run for it!"
Dylan frowned as he put a quieting hand on Beka's shoulder. "Tyr, I think the bigger planet in this system is an Ogami homeworld. I'm not sure they'll ever lose interest."
Dylan was watching Beka, but Beka, turning with a dawning realization in her eyes, nailed Tyr with a look. "Ogami," she said in a note of discovery. "That's interesting, isn't it, Tyr?" Her voice was pure poison as she spoke his name. "Dylan, why not ask Mr. Anasazi why the Ogami are so interested in us?"
With raised brow, Dylan turned to regard Tyr. "Well? Do you know anything about the Ogami, Tyr?"
A pause, then, meeting Dylan's gaze, Tyr said, "No more than you. Clearly someone has hired them to kill you, but we've known that for months."
"Since Hauken Tau," Dylan agreed. "Still, it does seem interesting that they are back on my tail now, doesn't it?"
"And on Tyr's. Tell them, Tyr, what the Ogami on our ship wanted. I don't think I ever got that clear myself." Her voice continued to be poisonously sweet, and Tyr acknowledged, privately, that the darts were hitting home.
After a moment, Tyr answered, "I never got a clear picture of what the Ogami wanted with me. I argued briefly with them, but at that time my primary concern was securing adequate care for you." He met her gaze levelly, and after a moment, Beka dropped her eyes.
The pause continued, uncomfortable, until Dylan sighed. "Well, if you don't know any more, Tyr?" He paused to confirm that with a look, then continued, "Then we might as well go for it. I don't think waiting will improve our chances any. But hang on, everybody, cause things could get a little rough out there."
As Tyr and Hallow moved to secure themselves in, Beka squared her shoulders, sighed once more, and lifted off. The Maru blazed a beautiful trail as it roared out of the planet's atmosphere.
As soon as they left the planet behind, Beka knew they were in trouble. Dylan's upper range had underestimated the total number of fighters flying through the system tenfold, and before she could even begin to maneuver, the Maru was surrounded. Beka flinched subtly as her com crackled to life.
"Eureka Maru, you are trespassing in restricted space. Please prepare to land on the planet before you."
"Dylan?" Beka questioned in lieu of an answer.
Dylan turned to Rommie, at the sensor station. Rommie spoke gravely. "We are completely outgunned and surrounded. Attempting resistance would be futile. We should comply."
Beka closed her eyes, slowly shaking her head. "Will this nightmare never end?" she asked under her breath. Nietzschean hearing, catching her despair,shared it.
After a moment, Beka thumbed open the com. "This is the Eureka Maru. I read you, but we have intended no trespass. Let us go, and we'll never come near this system again, I promise you."
Despite everything, Tyr smiled a little as he heard this. That was Beka. She just never gave up.
The crackling silence again broke with the rough voice. "Eureka Maru, we suspect you are carrying designated targets. Land immediately or you will be destroyed."
"Damn." Beka spoke through gritted teeth. "Dylan, I don't like the sound of that."
"I don't either, but all we can do is do what they ask and hope Harper gets the Andromeda here soon."
Beka sighed again as she turned to comply. "You're the boss," she said, and with a steady hand she flew among the escorting fighters to the planet's surface below.
On the Andromeda, Trance grew graver. "Hurry, Harper!"
"Geez, I'm goin' as fast as I can! Can I get a little break here?" The Andromeda danced in Slipstream, its movements reflecting their urgency.
"Just.hurry."
Hot dusty air blew in as the Maru's doors opened. Beka, flanked by Tyr and Hallow, squinted as the sunlight's glare dazzled her eyes. Beside her, Tyr slipped on sunglasses and Hallow shaded his eyes with a massive hand.
Several dozen Ogami quick-marched to the Maru. Stopping before the waiting trio, they snapped out orders in their native roar. One Ogami moved to the front to address them. "You will lay down your weapons."
"Sure, whatever you say," Beka answered flippantly, ostentatiously removing a blaster from the small of her back. Tyr and Hallow followed suit, removing weapons that they had stored about themselves for just this purpose.
Any hope that they might be allowed to keep their better-concealed arms died a quick death at her next words. "Our scans show twelve additional weapons. Remove them now!"
With a grimace, Beka and the others complied. Tyr's blades, her smaller blaster, Hallow's newly-issued forcelance all found their way to the deck in front of them. The Ogami leader silently counted the twelve, then nodded once, sharply.
"You will now come with us." Turning, she led the way at a brisk walk. Beka, the strain of the previous night and day catching up with her, slipped a little as she stepped off the Maru onto the dusty ground. Tyr's hand at her elbow, steadying her, ran a shock through her system. For a moment she paused, leaning slightly on his strength, and then she pulled away and fell into line among the Ogami.
Tyr, walking behind her, absently rubbed his fingers where they had touched her skin. Things did not, he thought, look good. Though they'd concealed Dylan in one of Beka' hidden holds, there was no certainty that he'd stay hidden, given the sophisticated scanning technology the Ogami had displayed.
And how useful would that weapons scan be out in the real world? Tyr pursed his lips and whistled soundlessly as he considered it. If he were still in the mercenary business, he might've had to leave it if a scan that accurate became widely available.
But that was beside the point. Tyr thought, dispassionately eyeing the weapons surrounding him, that his chances for survival were not very good. Dwelling on that thought, his mood darkened. He knew the Dragan had put a large ransom on his head, knew the Ogami weren't picky about how they earned their assassin fees, knew that he would likely die here. If he made it off this planet, he'd be more than surprised, even if the Andromeda arrived to try to help.
Dylan, too, was at great risk, given the contract apparently on his head. Only Beka, Hallow and Rommie had decent odds of getting through this.
As Tyr thought through this, a great wave of feeling rolled over him. He would die, and Beka and Hallow would live. All his plotting, all his striving, all his efforts coming to this? No children, no family, no legacy.and so little joy. Only cold duty, that's all he'd had. That's all he'd chosen.
As Tyr walked through the dusty field, his unquiet thoughts walked with him, tormenting him.
* * *