Chapter Thirteen
Vala secured a blaster gun holster around her calf and dropped her skirt back into place. She wished she could wear it at her side like a warrior, but she didn’t need unnecessary questions or she’d never find her target. And considering Azalyn had managed to remain out of sight for over two decades—if the public information she’d found were to be believed—she knew how to stay hidden.
Right before exiting the room, she lightly traced the outline of the flower pendant Thorin had given her. She’d never received a gift from a male before, and despite how much it shouldn’t matter, the slight weight around her neck made her smile. The fact he’d bestowed something so precious into her care spoke volumes. True, he wanted to be able to locate her. But Vala didn’t think Thorin would just give it to anyone so that he could trace them.
And no matter what it took, even if she encountered a thief, she’d fight to protect his mother’s legacy.
Lowering her hand, she took a deep breath and exited her room. She was careful to keep her gaze downward as she traversed one corridor and then another. However, each person she passed only increased her irritation. She might end up spending most of her time on the human Jasvarian colony sites instead of the Kelderan ones, where she wouldn’t have to worry about her station or tradition.
After taking an elevator to the deck where all members of the Sulani family were staying, she dared to raise her head again. Even though it was midday according to the ship’s artificial timekeeping schedule, no one walked about. While the entire Sulani merchant dynasty wasn’t aboard the colony ship, enough were that Vala suspected them to be working for the duration of the journey. A number of merchants had been granted permission to set up shops for the new Kelderan colony, and the Sulanis were one of them.
Since chiming one door after another to locate Azalyn was out of the question for a Barren, Vala headed toward the large common area used by the entire floor. As with most ships, quarters were small. Not even a rich merchant family would be granted special privilege, per the terms of the Keldera-Jasvar Colony Agreement. All non-Barren citizens were equal aboard the colony ship, although Vala doubted it’d stay that way once everyone was living on the new planet.
Thinking of the agreement made Vala think of her friend Taryn. The human female had been kind to her when few had, and it only renewed Vala’s determination to stop any unrest she could aboard the ship. Taryn didn’t need any additional headaches or problems to deal with on her planet.
Vala finally reached the large central area of the floor. Chaises and chairs formed semi-circles to either side, with a small, protected garden in the center. The mixture of bushes and flowers would remind anyone of Keldera and might possibly help them forget that they were in the middle of space, especially since many of the colonists had never been aboard a spaceship before.
Scanning the open area, Vala saw no one. She couldn’t hang about without a task, which meant she’d have to turn back and rethink how to locate Azalyn without being noticed.
Just as she was about to turn around, she noticed someone crouching next to the purple blooms in the garden that were similar to the one on her pendant.
While the female she’d spotted wore a head wrap, Vala recognized the multi-colored stripes of her dress. She walked toward the female, who then looked up.
It was Azalyn
The female quickly wiped her eyes and stood. Vala asked, “Are you well?”
Azalyn snorted. “‘Well’ is a vague term. Health-wise, I’m in the prime of my life.”
Vala dared to step closer. “And in other ways?”
Azalyn opened her mouth but promptly closed it. After a few seconds, she finally replied, “What’re you doing here? Maybe I should threaten to report you like you threatened to report me.”
“You could.” She took another step. “But I think your curiosity wants to know why I’m on this deck.”
She looked around before motioning with her hand. “Follow me.”
Azalyn didn’t wait for any sort of confirmation, but merely exited the shared area and headed down a corridor.
Following Azalyn could be a bad idea. But Vala’s gut still said the female wasn’t malicious in nature.
Besides, she had Thorin’s locator and the blaster gun around her leg.
She quickly went down the same corridor. Azalyn stood outside a room at the end of the hall. As soon as she spotted Vala, she entered the room.
Once Vala reached it and did the same, the door slid closed. The room was small with a bed, wardrobe, and cleaning area—the standard issue for any single colonist traveling to Jasvar.
However, the walls were covered with sketches featuring flowers, landscapes, plants, and wildlife being held in place by static holders. The array of colors made the room feel cozy. To be honest, it reminded Vala of Azalyn’s dress.
It seemed the female had her own view of the world. Vala had to admit she liked the color and brashness of the pictures.
“So, are you going to stare at my paintings or tell me why you sought me out?” Azalyn demanded.
Vala looked to Azalyn. “I never said I was seeking you.”
She shrugged. “Given the slight widening of your eyes when you spotted me, combined with your forthrightness despite being a Barren, it’s the only logical guess.”
The female was observant. Vala would need to remember that. “Then let me be forthright again. All I wanted to ask was whether you kept in contact with your birth family or not?”
Azalyn searched Vala’s gaze. “Why does a Barren need to know that? My public record says it all—I severed ties with them once I was adopted by the Sulanis.”
Vala hesitated. She wished she could tell Azalyn the full truth, but she was already walking a fine line.
Then an idea struck. As much as she hated lying, protecting the entire ship and getting it to Jasvar in one piece was her top concern.
It was time to be bold like Taryn Demara. Taking a deep breath, she blurted out, “You may or may not know that I am friends with Princess Kalahn. And when we reach Jasvar, I’ll have to tell her you’re on the colony.”
Azalyn narrowed her eyes. “I’ve left Keltor alone all these years. I haven’t broken any of the stipulations forced upon me to preserve my family’s business ties and station. There is nothing for the princess or her other brother, Kason, to worry about. I know they’re both on Jasvar and I plan to keep my distance.”
Vala raised a hand. “This has nothing to do with Keltor. But you may still be tainted by association in other ways. I’m trying to clear your name, Azalyn Rippak Sulani. And to do that, I need your cooperation.”
“Why do you care? Even if you are indeed friends with Kalahn, I don’t need your help. I’m not sure why you’d bother anyway. You’re breaking several rules by merely talking with me. If anything, you’re the one who should be worried.”
Vala had known the risk by visiting Azalyn and brushed past the remarks. “You have no reason to trust me, but we have more in common than you may think. I know firsthand what it’s like to want someone above their station. But while you had a glimmer of a chance of success, I have none. I merely want to see you have a chance at a bright future. That will give me hope of having my own on the colony as well.”
The other female remained silent, but Vala knew to wait. She’d said all she could. If Azalyn was still unconvinced, she would have to leave it to others to dig deeper, provided Azalyn didn’t report her to the warriors who patrolled her deck.
As the silence stretched, she was beginning to think the female would never speak up. However, Azalyn sighed and opened her mouth.
But before any sound emitted, a surge of energy coursed through Vala’s body and the world went dark.
~~~
Thorin had just finished going over Syzel’s most recent report when the lights flickered in his office. After a few beats, red lights and the alert chime echoed inside the room. He dashed onto the command deck and his operations officer Fyzar said without preamble, “Life support systems are failing, sir.”
“Was there an attack?” Thorin demanded.
“Only on our energy sources. A quick draw of power on our reserves has left them almost depleted.”
Since a sudden power draw had happened right before the engineering staff had disappeared, Thorin asked, “Is anyone missing?”
“Due to limited power, we’ll have to do the passenger check manually. It’ll take some time to account for everyone on board.”
While he itched to check Vala’s location, he needed to focus on the five thousand-plus people onboard the ship first. If anything happened to them while he tried to find his female, she would probably suffer some kind of punishment that not even Thorin could halt.
In that second, he decided that he would find a way to change the laws one day. Vala had worth, maybe more than any living person, except for possibly his mother.
Not wanting to think about how much the female had come to mean to him in such a short time, he said, “For the time being, I want as much power as possible diverted to the arboretum.”
“What about the weapons, sir? If we don’t save some energy for them, we might not be able to fire anything if attacked,” Fyzar stated.
“Our main concern right now is breathable air,” Thorin said. “As long as we maintain environmental controls in the arboretum, we can continue to circulate air throughout the ship, temporarily replacing the artificial air supply.”
Fyzar typed something quickly before saying, “Then I recommend moving as many colonists to decks twenty through seventy-five as possible. They are closest to the arboretum, and it’ll take the least amount of energy to move the air. Quarters will be close, but it’s our best chance at conservation and keeping everyone alive for as long as possible.”
Thorin nodded. “Do it.” He looked to the male manning the communications terminal. “Where are the army fighter escorts?”
“I’ve been trying to contact them, but there is no reply, sir.”
Maybe whatever had drained his ship’s engines had used the fighters’ ones as well. He asked Fyzar, “Do we have enough power for a quick sweep of the area?”
“Probably not, but when the warrior units investigate each deck, they can check the surrounding space by sight. At least three ships are supposed to be within visual range at all times, sir.”
Thorin cursed. “Then include those instructions with the warriors’ other orders. I also want every available engineer working on the power problem. There has to be a way to recharge or draw more than we currently are able.” He pointed toward one of the lower-ranked officers. “Go convey the order to Syzel.” Once the male rushed out of the command deck, Thorin sat in his command chair. “Is the computer AI system working?”
His operations officer shook his head. “It takes too much power. Only essential functions and programs are running.”
“Then tell me step-by-step what happened, and don’t leave out any detail, no matter how small.”
As the officer recounted the course of events, Thorin frowned. Once the male finished, he said, “It sounds exactly like the previous instance, which means at least one other person is probably now missing.”
And the question was why a person or two would be worth the trouble. Surely whoever was draining the power and teleporting individuals had some form of intelligence. The second attack meant risking more data being collected on them, which could lead to their eventual discovery.
Some would instantly blame the Brevkan for their troubles since they had not only been the fiercest adversaries over the last century, but they also had teleportation abilities that were mostly not understood.
Even during the wars, their technology had constantly changed. Or, at least that was what Thorin had read in the records during his officer training.
But Thorin didn’t think it was them, and not just because of his own heritage. The Brevkan would rather shoot a ship down and take prisoners to torture than use covert actions.
No, the unknown enemy had a motive. Thorin was certain of it. He just needed to find out what it was.
Of course, he had another major problem on his mind. Due to low energy, he couldn’t track Vala’s location just yet.
Tapping his fingers against his thigh, he willed for her to be safe. He took his vow to protect her seriously.
~~~
Vala awoke inside a small, enclosed space that glowed a faint orange.
She tried to sit up, but her head pounded as pain coursed through her limbs. Laying back down, she took deep breaths to help regain her equilibrium. She catalogued her body but didn’t sense anything missing or injured. The slight weight of her blaster gun around her ankle eased her mind a fraction, too.
While she tried to recover her senses, Azalyn’s groggy voice filled the space. “Hello?”
“I’m here,” she answered. Realizing she’d never said her name, she added, “Call me Vala. Are you hurt?”
“Just a little pain, but I think I’m okay.”
Taking a final deep breath, Vala slowly sat up. Her head still pounded, but at least there weren’t any sharp pains in her arms or legs like before.
Her eyes had adjusted to the strange light and she could better see her location. After glancing at Azalyn to ensure she was whole and moving, Vala surveyed the area. It was about three of her height lengths long and about her height tall, maybe less. The curving walls created an oblong shape. They were also pocked with small light sources, which went from the floor up to the ceiling.
At first glance, she didn’t see a door. Of course, it could be a hidden one. She had no idea whose technology had brought them to this place.
Azalyn spoke again. “Did you do this?”
She looked back at the other female. “No.” She paused, debating whether to share Thorin’s confidence with her before finally adding, “The ship was attacked earlier and a few people were teleported away. I have a feeling they did the same thing to us.”
Slowly sitting up, Azalyn groaned. “Teleportation isn’t supposed to hurt. But the bigger question is why would anyone want either of us? Unless you have more secrets that you aren’t telling me.”
Since they were trapped together for who knew how long, Vala decided to push aside any hesitation. “There’s no reason someone would want me. However, maybe it was you they were after.”
Azalyn frowned. “What are you talking about? I can tell you in all honesty that the Sulani family are peaceful merchants with no agenda beyond generating enough profit to live well. They have no political affiliation since that would hurt their businesses. It’s one of the reasons I was assigned to them.”
“Assigned to them?” Vala echoed.
“I have secrets as well, Vala. But I assure you, none of them would land us here.”
“Are you sure? Your birth family is suspected of funding the antimonarchist group.”
The older female raised an eyebrow. “Are they? I had no idea. I’ve been living in the far reaches of Keldera habitable space for over two decades. What my former family does is none of my concern.”
Vala wasn’t an interrogator and had zero experience with extracting information. However, she wasn’t going to alienate her only potential ally in her current situation with threats or firm demands. “Even so, maybe they wish to use you for something. Our main concern is to find out where we are and then find a way out of here.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Azalyn waved around. “I don’t see any doors.”
“No, but sometimes touch can tell us what we need to know when sight fails us.” Vala moved to one of the walls and gingerly touched the surface. A tingle raced down her arm and back up again, but then nothing. “It seems safe. I’m going to look for any sort of compartment or latch.”
As she slowly moved her fingertips up and then down the wall, the smooth, cool surface only changed when she moved over one of the orange lights. Even then, the surface was only slightly warmer than the surrounding areas.
She moved to another section and saw Azalyn follow her lead. Vala said, “Thank you. With two of us, it should go a lot faster.”
Azalyn paused a second before saying, “I should apologize for my behavior. Today is a difficult day for me and I’ve been taking it out on you.”
Vala shouldn’t pry, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Does it have to do with you crying near the garden?”
“You saw that?”
“Yes. But if it’s too painful, you don’t have to talk about it.”
They both continued searching the walls. Eventually Azalyn spoke again. “If we get out of this situation, I’ll tell you. For all we know, someone could be listening and I don’t want to reveal any possible weaknesses.”
The female’s answer only piqued her curiosity more. “Then consider it a deal.”
Working in silence, Vala concentrated on the wall. She had nearly met up with Azalyn toward one end when she found a small bump. Pressing it, a tiny window opened.
Outside was the darkness of space, only broken up by the faint blips of faraway stars.
She leaned closer and finally made out a lot of oblong objects scattered nearby. Judging by the shape, they had to be the asteroid-looking objects Thorin had mentioned.
Which meant they possibly weren’t that far from Keldera.
Sitting back on her bottom, Vala took out her necklace and stared at it. If only she knew more about electronics. Maybe then she could use it to emit a beacon to anyone nearby instead of just Thorin. If she and Azalyn were in the same asteroid-type field the colony ship had encountered earlier, then the Kelderan Army would be patrolling this area until they figured out what the oblong objects were and who sent them.
Azalyn moved to her side and looked out the window. “So, we’re in the middle of space?”
“More than that. It’s possible that we’re not that far from Keldera. If so, there should be patrol and research ships close to this area.”
“I’m not sure I like the ‘if’ part of your statement.”
“Give me a little time to study the star patterns. Then I might be able to give you better answers.”
Azalyn turned and sat across from Vala. “A Barren who knows about star patterns? Not to mention also knowing secret details about the location of the Kelderan Army? Just who are you?”
She decided to stick as closely to the truth as she could without lying. “I’m the general’s mistress.”
“As in General Thorin Jarrell?” She nodded and Azalyn added, “I think you need to share everything you know, because if we’re to find a way out of here, information could be key.”
She debated how much to share. As Azalyn had mentioned, someone could be listening in.
And yet, if Azalyn didn’t have at least a basic understanding of the situation, Vala would have to find a way to escape on her own.
Deciding some risk was worth it, she recounted the events and facts Thorin had shared concerning the asteroid-like objects. Azalyn hung on every word.
Why that surprised her, Vala didn’t know. Prince Keltor had a reputation of being an intellectual. Any female who caught his eye had to be intelligent as well.
Vala finished by asking, “I don’t suppose you have any skills with electronics, do you?”
The other female shook her head. “You saw my room. I’m an artist in my free time and a merchant by trade.” She motioned toward Vala’s flower pendant. “Why do you keep rubbing your finger over your necklace? Is it because you’re nervous or something else? After everything you’ve shared, I’m long past dismissing you because you’re a Barren.”
She smiled. “I’m not a spy or warrior. I just happen to know the right people.”
“Like General Thorin. Given the confidences he’s shared with you, you’re more than a temporary mistress. And sorry to say, I don’t think it’s going to end well. Take it from someone else who fell for the wrong person.”
Vala sat up taller. “He and I will part ways at the end of the journey, I know that. But that’s enough about him and me for now. If we get out of here, we can talk about it some more.”
“I always liked learning a person’s secrets. It looks like we both have motivation to leave here, beyond merely regaining our freedom.” Azalyn went to one of the walls and peered at one of the orange lights. “I don’t know why, but these look familiar. Maybe my family has traded with this race before. If I can remember who, then it might at least tell us who we’re dealing with.”
“Let me know if there’s any way to assist your memory.”
“No, no, it’s up to my brain. Let me just study them a second.”
Vala glanced at the flower pendant once more. While it probably wouldn’t work, she pressed it against the skin of her arm and counted. She had no idea if Thorin was okay or not, but she wanted to believe he was alive and would try to help her. As much as Vala hated waiting for someone else to come to her aid, she had little choice in the matter for the present.
Maybe Thorin would finally prove she could rely on someone other than herself.