The freighter was old. It made scary noises whenever the sublight engines came on. But the crew seemed to trust it. Deena sat at the galley table and watched them fondly. The captain was an older man, Ky Jefferes. The ship was the Black Rose. The others on the crew were a very mixed lot. They were all men, which she'd thought a bit odd. She'd been passed on to their ship after numerous jumps on other ships from other planets. She'd lost track a long time ago of where she was. They'd all taken good care of her, even if the quarters had been tight and the company a bit rough.
The crew had protested her presence at first. Once she'd started cooking for them and cleaning the ship, they'd backed off. And then they'd started to pitch in and help, all the while complaining it wasn't right she should work so hard. She'd charmed them into actually liking her. Ky kept his distance, treating her politely. But she saw the speculative look in his eyes as he ate her cooking.
The ship shuddered as it labored to reenter normal space. She waited, holding her breath, for the universe to turn right side out again. It seemed to take forever. The crew didn't appear concerned. But they were used to it.
"The core conked out," one of them announced. "The old girl has done her last jump."
"Good thing we're in the right place," Ky said. "Give me all the power you can, Peit."
Deena watched as they worked over the controls. The ship turned ponderously and crawled in a different direction. She watched the main viewscreen, wondering where they were this time. There seemed to be a lot of stars. Many of them were curiously lined up in straight rows.
She gasped when she realized what she was looking at. It was a luxury liner, a galaxy class ship. It housed a crew of over a thousand and could carry three times that many passengers.
"What is it doing out here?" she said, wondering out loud.
"Myrln's Tower they call it," Peit answered her. "It's the new capital of the Federation."
"And that's where we're headed?"
"On a priority basis, to judge by the escort they're sending out," Ky said. He glanced back at her. "Whatever you've got in that bag has to be pretty important."
"I think it is." She stroked the bag, remembering Scholar. "Someday maybe I'll know what it is."
Ky laughed. "You carry it halfway across the galaxy, risking your life and dozens of others, and you don't even know what it is?"
"I do know it's important," she said, stung by his comment.
He grinned, taking the hurt from his words. "It must be awful important. We're being given the red carpet treatment."
A swarm of fighters circled them, forming a protective ring around the battered freighter.
"Did you ever think you'd see this day, Peit?" Ky asked his second.
Peit shook his head. "Glory days for Black Rose were long over before you and I ever started flying her. Quite an exit she's making."
"Final performance," Deena said quietly. It was going to be hers as well. She was going to turn over Scholar's messages and use whatever she had left to find Tayvis. And then she was going to settle someplace so far away from Linas-Drias no one would ever recognize her again.
The fighters escorted them all the way into the huge shuttle bay. The old freighter crept to a halt near the airlock. A tube was run out to the ship. Ky turned to her after they shut the ship down.
"You go on, this whole show is about you," he said. "And that bag of yours."
She smiled. "Thank you, Ky, for your hospitality and kindness."
His face slowly turned red. "You're welcome."
Peit grinned and flipped her a salute.
She saluted him back.
The airlock ground open. Three armed guards entered the ship.
"You are Dariana Grace? You have a message for Willet Smythe?" the lead woman asked.
Deena stood a little straighter. "I was told to give it to him personally."
The woman smiled. "He's waiting for you. This way, please."
She stepped through the tube, walking carefully along the ribbed surface until they reached the liner's airlock. The woman cycled them through.
The interior of the ship was vast, an echoing space filled with delicate bridges and people and trees. There was even an artificial stream down the center of it. She stopped, looking around her in delight. She could almost believe she was on a world, not a ship. The woman politely took her arm.
"Please, he is waiting for you," she said.
Deena let the woman pull her across the echoing space and into a maze of passages on the other side. The floor under her feet changed to a soft carpet, cushioning her steps and hushing the echoes. The walls were paneled with something resembling wood. The woman stopped at one door and knocked. The door slid open immediately.
The first thing Deena noticed about the man who opened the door were his mischievous eyes.
"Come in, please," he said. "It's an honor to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."
She found herself blushing as she followed him into the office beyond. "I haven't done a vid in years. It's nice to know I still have so many fans."
"What?" he asked blankly. He waved her to a seat.
"My vids. Aren't you talking about them?"
"I was referring to the interesting reports I keep getting from various sources about the woman with vital information straight from Linas-Drias for me." He stuck out his hand. "Willet Smythe, at your service."
"Dariana Grace." She shook his hand politely.
He cocked his head to one side. "What have you got for me?"
"Is she here?" The door burst open, admitting a thin, balding man wearing a crude brown robe tied with a length of rope. He grinned at Deena. "You don't look a day older than you do in your vids. I've tried to buy them all, but most of them are really hard to find."
"I must be missing something here," Will muttered. "Dariana," he began.
"Deena," she corrected. "I haven't been Dariana in years."
"I'm so happy to meet you," the strange man in the brown robe said, pumping her hand up and down. His grin stretched ear to ear.
"May I introduce Roland, President of the Federation?" Will said.
Deena had to use all her talents as an actress to keep from laughing out loud. She stood, bowing her head to the short man. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Roland finally quit shaking her hand. "The pleasure is mine, I assure you. Maybe later you can come autograph a picture for me."
"I would be delighted."
Will cleared his throat. Roland stopped beaming at her.
"It's always business with him," he said, nodding at Will.
"Not always," Will said.
"But right now it is, probably because it's important," Roland said. "You have something for us?"
She lifted her bag and opened it. She dumped the contents across Will's desk. He turned red as the pile of lacy underthings covered his papers.
"There are the datacubes." She pulled Scholar's pad from the bottom of the bag. "And this. Scholar told me to give them only to you."
Will looked up sharply at the name. "Where is Scholar?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. He disappeared on Linas-Drias. Lowell sent him to help that woman. He was looking for treason." She stopped, looking at Roland. "Why would he send me to the Federation if he worked for Commander Lowell?"
"Because he works for us, too." Will delicately unrolled the underpants, looking for the datacubes.
"But aren't you at war?" she asked.
"On paper, possibly," Roland said. He poked curiously at the comp pad.
"What he means to say," Will said, "is that we're trying to keep things from falling apart. Just like Lowell. We work together when we need to."
"Will you promise me one thing?" Deena asked.
"What?" Will answered.
"Someday, tell me what was so important that he would risk his life for it," she said. "I hope you can help find him."
"If anyone can find Scholar, Lowell can," Will answered.
"We'll get these to a lab as soon as we can," Will said, holding up a datacube. "I'll see your things are returned to you."
She smiled, deepening his blush. "You keep them."
Roland laughed and patted her shoulder. "I really like you, Deena."
"We have rooms ready for you," Will said a little stiffly. "I'll get you an escort."
"I don't want to stay. I'd appreciate being left off somewhere not too far out of touch."
Will looked a question at her.
"My son is missing. I want to find him."
Will nodded. "Whatever we can do to help."
"Thank you," she said. And meant it.
"You can't go until you sign a picture for me," Roland protested. "And I'd love to discuss your vids over dinner."
She smiled. Roland's enthusiasm was catching. Life seemed much safer now. She felt as if a weight were left on the desk with Scholar's hidden messages. She turned her back on it, feeling regret that Scholar was missing, but relief that she was no longer in danger.