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:PROBLEMS?: HOLLIS’S VOICE WAS a soft brush against her mind as she rushed through the darkness, following the faintest trail of warm footprints through the orchards.
:Plenty. That man reminds me too much of Mal, there’s a security guard down, and someone here has an explosive.: She felt Hollis come on high alert. :How are you contacting me?:
:Look down.:
It took her a moment, but she finally saw the telekyen thread glowing red in her augmented vision, snaking down the side of the building and running through the grass to her. :Clever.:
:I thought so. Especially since I checked the room I left you in first. You wandered.: There was a hint of censure from the Guardian. A warning shot.
Time for a feint. :How are things going with Lethe?:
:She came at him like a warship on its final run,: Hollis said, quoting something. The image of nishu book with hearts drawn in the margins passed between them.
Rowena rolled her eyes. :There are books out there that aren’t written in crayon by concussed cadets. You should try one.: She turned down the outside of the building where the gardener’s shed blocked the way except for a narrow space.
:Ro...: Hollis was picking up enough of the situation to object.
:Where are you exactly?:
:Top floor on the half roof overlooking the city. Gorgeous view, except you’re about to walk out of my line of sight.:
Rowena looked up and saw him silhouetted against stormy clouds that reflected the city lights. :You can’t play sniper from up there anyway. Not with Lethe nearby.:
:Want to bet?:
:No. What is she doing anyway?:
There was a flash memory of Sonya talking about the importance of shoes in politics. :She’s stalling. The device is supposed to make me feel protective, admiring, and smitten, or something like that. I’m bored.:
:So sorry.: Rowena stepped around the shed, carefully keeping her skirt off the ground and away from protruding nails.
:She’s asking my opinion on Descent politics.:
:Give her a glowing review of Marshall and see if she kills you.:
The memory of Hollis stumbling back after a solid kick to his midsection came to her. :I thought you loved me.:
Rowena ignored him as she approached a group of grounders dressed in rowdy clothes. Plain cloth and the smell of the sea was a good giveaway, but Jae’s voice was all she needed to confirm it.
“We go in here, I’ll handle it,” he was saying.
“We should all be there,” someone who sounded younger argued.
Slipping off the nanite mask and tucking it out of sight, Rowena cleared her throat.
They moved as a group, turning to her and stepping into a close huddle.
“Hi, Jae.” She waved. “Remember me?”
He frowned and then stepped forward holding a small handlight. “What are you doing here?”
“Intelligence gathering. You?”
The light swept over her and there was a murmur of approval from the men behind him. Jae waved a hand for silence. “Who are you with?”
“Someone who wants to see Kydell safe.”
He looked up at the building. “Sonya Lethe is here stirring up people with her Imperial Heritage propaganda.”
“She’s on the top roof waiting for a show and looking downtown,” Rowena said. “Why is that, do you think?”
There was another murmur from the mob, this one unhappy.
One of the men leaned forward and whispered something in Jae’s ear.
Jae shook his head. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Rowena nodded.
“I’ll handle it from here, then.” Jae held out a hand and took something from a large man, then let the others fade into the night.
“You left the guard alive,” Rowena said, “so I don’t think you’re planning on getting revenge. So what is this? Petty mischief?”
Jae held up the package. “Our boy Braun, the tall one, someone bought him a few rounds of beer and started talking about how this is all the Jhandarmi’s fault. Handed him this as soon as he agreed.”
“A bomb for the Jhandarmi office?” The political fallout would be significant, especially since the Jhandarmi was allied with the fleet. :Get Sonya to talk about the Jhandarmi.:
:Why?:
She let Hollis see what she was looking at as Jae watched her. “Why didn’t you go there?”
He shrugged. “Jhandarmi have never been a problem for us. They aren’t the dockside brutes and they don’t give us trouble when we travel. Lethe’s security does.”
The package was an explosive, she was certain of it.
:Sonya says she’s indebted to the Jhandarmi,: Hollis reported. :So very fond of them. They try so hard and she wishes she could support them better. She’s about as sincere as Carver when he says he’s sorry I’m filing the reports while he goes home early.:
:Not even trying to fake it?:
:I think she trusts the device.:
:Has she scanned for it yet?:
:When we came to the roof someone gave her a nod. That was probably it.:
Jae cocked his head to the side. “You thinking about screaming?”
“No, just checking with someone.” She tapped her ear. “I have a comm set.”
“I didn’t hear you say anything.”
“Didn’t need to, they were feeding me information. I—” She stopped as thunder rolled across the sky. It didn’t feel like thunder. It felt like—
:Rowena, did you touch the shield?:
:No.: She ran a full scan. :That’s not fleet tech. That was a mass teleport. Lethe is here in force.:
Several of the more imaginative Silar curses ran through her mind. :What happens if she accidentally falls off the roof at high velocity?:
Rowena smirked.
“What?” Jase asked.
“I know what was planned. Braun, how smart is he?”
Jae’s expression grew stony. “He’s good at what he does.”
“But he wouldn’t question a friend. Wouldn’t find it odd for a stranger to hand him something, and wouldn’t blame that stranger if he got caught, would he?” That’s why Jae was here. He was protecting the other fools.
“He’s a bit trusting,” Jae said. He lifted the bag up. “This is meant for a bit of fun. A way to remind people we’re angry. They’re cutting our wages, refusing to pay for hours worked, and then rounding up people who don’t take dock jobs. Anywhere else it’d be called slavery, but here the Pure Waters allow it. They’ll let Lethe come here and party, even though her family was never on the ship to Kydell. She’s got money. That’s all they care about. Meantime we have kids going hungry and getting sick ’cause they’re living in the swamp during flood season.”
That scanned. “Lethe just brought in more troops. Think. What would happen if you went to the Jhandarmi offices tonight?”
Jae sucked in his cheeks as he glared angrily at the building. “I knew it was a trap. We didn’t go there for a reason. I’m not stupid.”
“You’re not cruel either. All these people are looking for is an excuse,” she said taking a step forward. “Any reason to attack.”
:Sonya’s mentioned clearing the streets of vermin twice,: Hollis reported. :I can see troops in staging areas. They teleported at least a hundred soldiers in.:
“If you do this, all the rowdies are in danger.”
“And if I don’t?” Jae asked. “You think it’ll get better if I stand here and let this happen?”
Rowena hesitated, her implant running calculations. There wasn’t room in Enclave for another hundred thousand people, or even another five hundred. “There’s a way around this. There always is.”
“I don’t see one.”
“I don’t either, but that’s why I’m here wearing a stupid dress and smiling at people I want to stab in the eye.” She took a deep breath. “I usually don’t have backup wherever I am, but you came and rescued me before I got a knife in my back. I’ll remember that.”
:WHAT‽: Hollis turned his full attention to her. :You didn’t mention that.:
She gave him a mental shove. “I can help you, the rowdies, everyone if you let me. I need just a little more time. I’ll find you food, clothes, medicine. I have contacts who develop medications.”
“They’ll deliver to the swamps?” Jae laughed.
“They’ll deliver anywhere in the twelve planets in this solar system.”
Jae’s smile froze and fell. Slowly the light of understanding dawned. He looked up the stars obscured by clouds. “I’ve heard rumors. Never thought to see one of your kind. Is that how you vanished earlier?”
“Teleport,” Rowena said. “It’s a tech-assisted form of transit, and we’re not the only ones who use it.”
He opened his mouth and was interrupted by a shout. The huddle of men was rushing back to them.
“Jae, there’s guards on the streets wearing Lethe colors. It’s going to be a brawl.” The speaker looked at her. “Who’s she?”
“A friend,” Jae said.
At the edge of hearing there was a shout of command and the sound of cobblestones cracking under the weight of a troop transport.
“How many rowdies are in the city proper?” Rowena asked.
“Only us,” Jae said. “After this morning I told everyone to keep to the trees, but there’s no quick way out of here now.”
Someone moaned in despair. There were whispers of fear, doubt, anger.
:I’m teleporting the rowdies out.:
:What?: Hollis’s frustration was cut with a commander’s pure battle evaluation. :Can you get them all out safely?:
:Yes, but I’ll need you to hold an opening for me if the shield starts to close.:
:Done. Be safe.:
:Promise.:
Rowena looked at Jae with her best smile, the one that made her cadets cry. “Why don’t I walk you boys home?”
“What, you think they’ll let you through because you have a pretty dress?” one of the men asked. “Lethe won’t care about that.”
“She can fight,” Jae said. “Nearly as good as me.”
Better, when augmented, but there wasn’t a need to undermine him. “I know a short cut. Is that tree where we were this morning a good location?”
Jae frowned and shook his head. “Too well known.”
“What about the islands in the inland river? You have settlements there, right?”
“How’d you know?” a voice asked.
“Yes or no?” Rowena demanded as Hollis sent her an image of Lethe troops nearing the palazzo.
Jae nodded. “Can you take all—”
The ground shifted and they started to sink in the island’s muddy shore.
“—at once.” Jae stopped and looked around. “Everyone’s here?”
An insect chirped in the sudden cessation of sound. All the chatter of the party and music was replaced by the quiet nighttime whispers of the jungle.
“Everyone that was standing nearby,” Rowena said. “You can do a headcount.”
Jae took a steadying breath and surveyed his men. “Yeah...”
“What’d she do?” The loudest speaker stepped forward, finding a rock to stand on. “How’d you do that?”
“Practice and really good technology. I’ll look for you here in a few days.”
Jae grabbed her arm. “Where you going?”
“Back to Kydell.”
“Why? There’s nothing but a fight back there.”
“And my team,” she said. “I left someone watching Lethe and gathering intel. I need to get him out safe.” And the shield was settling back over the city.
Jae let go. “You can come back if you need a safe place tonight. We’ve got some buildings up in the trees. Smells a bit at low tide, but you’ll be safe here so you can rest or whatever.”
“Thank you, that’s a very kind offer. I’ll remember it.”
Hollis tugged at her. :Sonya is going downstairs to look for you and Long.:
“I’ll see you soon,” she promised the rowdies as she teleported.
There was an opening in the corner of a hall with lax security. Rowena landed, force teleported the mud off her shoes, checked her implant’s charge, and dropped everything back to null as the security came back on.
She hurried up the curving staircase, rounded the corner of a narrow landing, and almost walked straight into Dr. Long.
“Ah, there you are.” He held up a champagne glass as he tucked a scrap of paper into his jacket pocket. His gaze traced the contours of her face as if seeing her for the first time and trying to remember the details. “Was everything settled to your satisfaction?”
“Oh, yes.” She took the proffered glass. “Someone else had already noticed the problem so there wasn’t much for me to do. I hope you’ll excuse my behavior. I get very wrapped up in work.”
He smiled as if they were sharing a joke. “I do the same.”
:Incoming,: Hollis said. :Get your game face on.:
Rowena stiffened. She’d forgotten about the face mask.
Coughing, she turned away and fixed it in place. When she turned back, Long was watching her with the same solicitous smile. Either he hadn’t noticed the changes in the dim lighting under the shadows of the stairs, or he was one of those people who had trouble recognizing faces. It was a gift, whichever it was.
“Feeling well?”
“A tickle in my throat.” She forced a smile.
Sonya Lethe’s artificial laugh drifted down from above.
Long’s face shifted through resentment, frustration, and a touch of anger. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to go home with him tonight?”
“Who? Hollis?”
Long paused for a second, as if he were surprised by the name, then nodded.
“I wouldn’t have come with him if I planned to leave him here, but...” She shrugged it off. There wasn’t a firm extraction plan. There hadn’t been time for one. Bad dates in the fleet tended to end with an abrupt goodbye and teleporting home. “Would you like to take Sonya home?” she asked.
The look Long gave her was almost pitying. “One of us should go home happy, don’t you think?”
“You think you can pry Sonya away from her new toy?” Rowena motioned for him to proceed. “If you manage that, I’ll buy you dinner next time we meet.” Or toss him a ration bar when he was stuck in some Jhandarmi prison. She found herself smiling despite her reservations. Anyone who disliked Sonya Lethe couldn’t be all bad.
“It’s so sad,” Sonya’s voice cut in, a dull blade against the ears.
Rowena could hear Hollis saying something in a placating tone as he and Sonya drew nearer.
Long leaned in close as they came into view. “You’re going to owe me dinner.”
He was uncomfortably close. Acting unaccountably familiar. Maybe it was a grounder thing, or maybe Long didn’t understand personal space, but they were rapidly closing the distance between Acquaintance and Intimate.
“Maybe. We’ll see how good you are.” Rowena stepped back, aware that she was in a precarious position on the edge of the steps with no graceful retreat available.
:What’s happening?” Hollis asked as he caught her unease.
:Long wants Sonya back.: And I want him gone.
Hollis’s smile appeared like the sun after a typhoon. “My friends! How are you? Were you terribly bored, dear?” He dropped Sonya’s arm and swept past Long to come to Rowena’s side. There was no mistaking the intentional maneuver that put Hollis between Rowena and the grounder.
Sonya’s face turned several shades redder in jealousy.
For a long moment Long looked at her as if he was going to say something, then he turned, a forced smile on his face. “Sonya, did you get everything you needed?”
“Oh, it was a good conversation.” The chill in Sonya’s voice could have frozen an engine.
“I was telling her about my dear friend and commander,” Hollis said, sounding for all the world like he was delighted with everything going on. :Hand/Waist.:
:How much am I going to hate what comes next?: Rowena asked as Hollis’s arm settled around her.
:Not much.:
There was a tick in Long’s jaw, the hint of frustration. “Anyone I’ve heard of?”
“Only if you know the best fleet commander,” Hollis said. “He’s a legend in Enclave, Mal Baular.”
That was a name Long knew. His face grew still and distant as the stars. “Baular?”
“We’ve heard the name,” Sonya said a like a lost cadet trying to prove they were keeping up with the conversation. “Someone mentioned it in passing once. I’d love to meet him.”
“I’d love to introduce you.” Hollis’s smile was sharp as a knife.
:Subtle death threats now?: Rowena smiled up at him. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Unfortunately, he runs a very tight ship. If I snuck anyone onto Enclave, even someone as beautiful as any of you, I’d lose my rank.” With a little shrug Hollis dismissed the idea.
“Can’t have that.” Long pulled the paper from his jacket. “Lady Lethe, if I could tear you away from these two for a moment? I have some news you might find interesting. A friend of yours stopped me and asked me to pass this along.”
Sonya’s lips pursed into a frown, eyes flicking from the paper to Long to Hollis. “Can it wait?”
“The worlds would stand still if you wished it,” Long said, “but...” He let the possibility dangle.
:How much trouble are we in?: Hollis asked, fingers resting on Rowena’s arm.
:No idea. He was being friendly up until now.:
Rude of Lethe to use actual deadwood paper instead of a simple piece of tech that Rowena could access with a thought. The ink didn’t even leave enough of an impression that she could read it through the folds. If it was news about Rowena’s true identity, there was going to be trouble.
She started mapping the exits. There wasn’t a good escape route that would get them to safety, but there were a few bad ones she was willing to try.
Long leaned over and whispered conspiratorially in Sonya’s ear as he winked at Rowena.
Whatever he said had an effect. Sonya stepped back, eyes wide with excitement. “Really?”
Long gave her a single nod of affirmation.
Sonya looked between her two prizes, licked her lips, and smiled. “Commander Silar, it was delightful to meet you. I was hoping to spend more time with you, but Doctor Long has something I’ve been waiting to see for weeks.”
“Mine’s bigger,” Hollis said with the smile that made people swoon and Rowena beat her head on the nearest wall during training.
“Oh,” Sonya reached out and patted his cheek. “I’m sure there’s no need to compare. What Doctor Long offers is... unique.”
Hollis clicked his tongue. “Your loss.”
“You can make it up to me later,” Sonya promised with a smile.
Long nodded to them. “Rose, Commander, a pleasure to see you both. Do enjoy your time together. Monsoon season gives you all the more reason to stay indoors.”
The grounders had barely turned away before Hollis’s face grew cold. He took Rowena’s hand and pulled her close so she was pinned between him and the wall in what would have looked like an amorous embrace to a passerby.
“Let’s find a taxi and get out of here. Whatever charm Kydell had is gone now.” He glared at the ground for a moment, hiding his emotions from their shared connection, and then looked back at her, eyes filled with worry. “What did Long say to you?”
“Not much. He doesn’t like Lethe.”
“I picked up that much.” Hollis kept his voice low as they took the stairs down the drive to where a fleet of taxis were waiting. “What I didn’t catch was his reason for going back to her.”
“He said one of us should have a good evening,” Rowena said as she signaled for a car. She was as eager to leave the party as Hollis was.
The grounder transport wasn’t fast or fashionable, but it had the right papers to get them past the extra security and to an older but still respectable part of town where the Jhandarmi had rented her an apartment. They rode in silence, Hollis’s thumb absentmindedly caressing her hand as they watched the Lethe troops form patrols.
As the driver wished them goodnight, Rowena took a moment to look down at the lights of the lower city, the sea, and the stars peeking across the horizon.
Hollis kept her hand in his. “This is your place now?” he asked, looking up at Rowena’s apartment building.
“Mmm.” It wasn’t much, just a bare square of a flat with a small kitchen nook and a standup shower.
“You’re staying here tonight?”
“There’s no sense in going back. The sun’ll be up in less than an hour and Tyrling’s going to want someone here. If I go home, Hoshi’ll have work waiting for me. I’m too exhausted to deal with him.” But she didn’t want Hollis to go either. “Do you want to come up?”
“I’d love to.” He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
“But you can’t.”
He rested his head on hers. “Perrin needs the reports. I recorded all the conversations on the roof and I need to get that filed. Make copies for Tyrling and the OIA’s intelligence people. There’s people waiting on this. I don’t get to be selfish.”
Rowena sighed. “Life of an officer.” Stepping back, she tried not to feel abandoned. “We’re luckier than others, aren’t we? It used to be you had to negotiate with the captains and get your ships within teleport distance if you wanted to spend time with someone. Less than five years and half the fleet forgets what it’s like to wait six months to see their lover.”
“Let’s never go back to the bad old days.” She could feel his reluctance to leave. “How long are you staying here?”
“Just until things settle. I promised the rowdies I’d find a solution, and I mean to, although I’m not sure how I’ll help.”
“You’ll find a way.”
She smiled at his encouragement. “Have to, or I’ll lose my reputation as the stubbornest person in the fleet.”
Hollis chuckled. “All right. I’ll back your play, whatever it is.”
“Just like that? No negotiations? What happened to your tactical acumen, Silar?”
“Make an hour for me later this week? In a day or two?”
Her calendar appeared in her mind and she flipped through her list of duties.
“We can spar.” There was enough heat in his invitation to melt a hull.
Rowena looked him in the eye. “You’re cleared to get back on the mats?”
“We’ll be gentle with each other.” His eyes were gold and warm. “A light workout and a long massage.” This was why no one turned him away. She’d seem him flirt before, but never felt the focus of his attention. It was dizzying. Intoxicating.
It left her greedy for attention. Ready to forget all the consequences.
“Maybe,” she said. “If I can break away and you’re free.”
“I’ll make the time for you. Just let me know when the Jhandarmi can share.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her palm. :Be safe. Contact me if you have any trouble.:
:I will.: She pushed him away as the ground rumbled under their feet. :Go, while Lethe is teleporting in more troops.:
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
Hollis winked out of existence, leaving her alone in a city ready to go to war.