Counter-Measures

  So, it's going to be one fire or the other. Ily will kill you, or Staffa will.

  He ground his molars. But for that brief month of blind love, it would be worth the price. A man was lucky to have had a love like Chrysla's once in a lifetime. Perhaps, since Staffa had loved her, too, he'd understand that.

  An image of a white-haired man in Ashtan gentleman's attire formed in the monitor.

  "Governor MacRuder," he greeted. "I'm honored by your call. I hope you are well. "

  "And you also, Governor Marrak.

  "We're having wonderful weather here. The flowers are still in full bloom. How is the City?"

  "Governor, excuse me. I understand Ashtan customs and manners, but events preclude my being polite. We've discovered the identity of the person who murdered the geneticist in the City. She got another man, a CV pilot from Sylene. The killings were committed by Arta Fera, Ily Takka's assassin. She's off planet, and we're going to be in pursuit as soon as my people are aboard and Gyton is powered up. Wing Commander Lyma is in pursuit of the CV in case Ily took that vessel. You are to render her any assistance. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, of course. Er, what does this mean?"

  "It means you are catching the next available aircraft to the City. You know where my offices are on the planet. Get there as soon as possible. Until further notice, Ashtan is in your hands: Administrator. "

  He started, brown eyes thoughtful. "Mac, I don't want to be Administrator of the planet. I don't think I'm qualified for such responsibilities. Why me?"

  Mac leaned forward. "Two reasons. First, you are the most qualified. You believe in compromise and justice. Second, you don't want the job. The result, I'm afraid, is that you'll be an efficient and wise Administrator for the planet. Since I can't think of anyone more competent than you, you're it.

  Contact Kaylla Dawn at Itreata and introduce yourself. Offer her your services.

  "Mac, surely you can-"

  "We aren't always allowed the choices we want in life, Administrator Marrak.

  Ashtan needs your skill and diplomacy. When you accept responsibility, you do your best. Congratulations on your appointment."

  "There's no way out?"

  "None. Unless you want the planet stewing in anarchy." Marrak sighed heavily.

  "Very well, First MacRuder. I'll be on that shuttle." He paused. "And you won't be in my prayers. "

  Mac chuckled. "But you, Administrator, will be in mine. Good luck, sir. "

  "And good luck to you, First MacRuder.

  Mac killed the monitor as Chrysla entered, concern etched on her beautiful face. The overhead light shot fire through her tumbled hair. She wore armor hidden under a cloak. "Ily and Arta? They're the killers."

  "So it would appear. Lock the hatch. We must talk." Chrysla closed the hatch before approaching and taking his hand. Her skin felt cool, soft.

  Mac cleared his throat. "You heard that Skyla is at the orbiting terminal?"

  "I did."

  "She knows. About us. She was there when I sounded the recall. At mention of your name, she started. She's a bright woman. She must have seen it in my face. As soon as she figured it out, I thought she would kill me on the spot.

  "

  "What did she say?"

  "That I'm a brave man." Mac sighed. "I asked her if I could tell Staffa. She agreed. But we can't wait forever." Chrysla nodded, "We knew that, Mac. How did she look?

  You know what happened to her. Did she seem herself?"

  "What do I know about her? She looked deadly. The sort of person you wouldn't want mad at you. " He threw his hands up. "I don't know. Reserved, powerful.

  That's how she looked. Like a hunting cat. But then, she'd just seen a mutilated body."

  "She's seen many of them. This one was killed by Arta, and she knew it. "

  Chrysla rubbed her eyes. "I need to contact her. "

  "Are you nuts?"

  "Trust me on this, Mac."

  He gave her a skeptical look, then nodded. "All right. But we've got less than an hour before spacing. Rysta says we're going out as hot as Gyton can stand.

  We'll need to be on the bridge, ready. "

  She smiled, and the anxiety he suffered began to fade. "Be careful."

  She stood, all warmth and concern, and not all for him, he realized. "I will."

  Arta! the realization burned within Skyla as she sat 'in the command chair on her yacht, fuming at the slow climb of the fuel meter as liquid hydrogen was pumped aboard. In the monitors, the abraded sides of the Ashtan terminal looked gray as they curved away against a star-shot background. For the moment, the planet was out of sight, obscured by the bulk of the giant orbiting station. They had an ID on the dead man: Guy Holt. As everyone suspected, he'd come in on the CV. Conflicting emotions ate at her.

  Arta and Ily, so close . . . MacRuder and Chrysla, lovers. Rotted Gods, how is Staffa going to take that? He'd loved Chrysla, enshrined and worshiped her for years. Now his goddess was sleeping with another man, someone Staffa had considered at least likable, if not a friend.

  On Targa, Staffa barteredfor MacRuder's life! Offered up his own in place of it! And this is how he's paid back? Skyla turned a hot glare on the monitor, watching the

  CVs course vector in the navcomm holo tank. Pray to the Gods that this was the right ship.

  Lark had worked somberly at her station, the manual open before her as she familiarized herself with more of the

  yacht's controls. Finally, she shook her head. "Skyla, that man . . . the CV

  pilot. I've never seen anything like that before. "

  ' 'Arta at work, kid. She's a sick one. She lures men to her like a magnet.

  Some kind of sexual bombshell. Then, when she has them where she wants-which is usually inside her-she kills them. Ily took to her like hydrogen to vacuum.

  They're a matched set."

  :'Why?" Lark sounded dazed. "What's the purpose?" 'Anything that fits her needs, or Ily's. Need a ship? Take one from Blacker. Need Vegan registry data, seduce Pedro Maroon. Need a cover for your escape? Kill a CV pilot or a geneticist. It's easy. The guys fall into Arta's web under the promise of sex like they could only imagine. And in the end there are no witnesses. Ily masterminds, and Arta does. "

  "I don't have to think about it anymore, Skyla. I can kill."

  I. " Lark paused. "I remember how everyone feared Minister Takka. I guess they had good reason."

  "Well, I've been around some. I'd rather spend time with a Cytean cobra."

  Silence. Then: "What was that other business? With First MacRuder? About this Chrysla and telling someone something?"

  Skyla heaved a sigh. "Do me a favor, huh? Forget you heard it."

  Lark licked her lips, nodding. "I didn't hear a thing Skyla swiveled in her chair. "That's a switch."

  Lark smiled. "Maybe you need a favor every once in a while. "

  Skyla raised a pale eyebrow. "Maybe I do." She hesitated. "You know, for all the trouble your father had with you, you've been a model student. How come?"

  Lark leaned back. "He never gave me anything to do. With you, I don't know what it is, but things just seem to happen. Wow, do they ever."

  "Sorry you came along?"

  Lark fingered the console before her. "Not in the least. Granted, I gave myself up for dead back on Terguz, but now I'm doing something. Seeing part of life I never would have. And you know what?"

  "I know lots of what but go ahead."

  "Even if we get out there and Minister Takka kills us, I'm addicted."

  Skyla chuckled as the comm flashed. She turned back around and accessed the system-only to be paralyzed by the face that formed. Images of nightmare spun from her reeling brain. Her muscles cramped, and her heart hammered in her chest.

  "Skyla? It's Chrysla.

  Skyla struggled to unknot her fists as she stared into those soul-eating amber eyes. Her gut had twisted, a lump in her throat. "Ch-Chrysla. "

  "That's right. Chrysla Marie Attenasio," the calm contralt
o assured her. "Do you understand? Are you all right? Can you cope?"

  Skyla swallowed hard. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just gave me a start, that's all. "

  Chrysla smiled warmly. "Still pretty tough to keep us apart, isn't it? "

  "Yeah. What . . . what do .

  "I just want to talk. Not everyone could take what y43u did at Arta's hands and still pull themselves together. When I heard you'd left Rega, I understood. It took a lot of guts, Skyla. Most people would have quit."

  "I guess I'm not most people."

  Chrysla nodded seriously. "I was betting on that." Skyla forced herself to stop rubbing her hands on her legs. The palms had gone sweaty. "What's this all about? Why contact me?"

  Chrysla cocked her head, a frown forming. "Perhaps to give you a shot in the arm. Let you know I have faith in you. Shake up your reality before you have to.deal with Arta again. I'm a psychologist, remember?"

  "Yeah, and MacRuder's lover. Staffa ... Rotted Gods, how could you do that to him?"

  "Because my place isn't at his side. Yours is. He's dying of love for you . .

  . and I showed up. A misplaced ghost left behind in the years." Her vulnerability betrayed itself. "Can you imagine how that feels?"

  The honest appeal in the question made Skyla nod. "I suppose I can. But you

  ... Why haven't you told him. " "No one has talked to Staffa. He's at Makarta.

  Either

  under the machine's, influence or asleep from the effects.

  The only people he communicates with are Sinklar and Kaylla. " She shrugged slightly. "And, honestly, maybe I'm not as brave as you are."

  Brave? Yet you would call me? Now? She studied Chrysla, seeing her for the first time. Aware of the calm control behind those amber eyes. "You know, I suspect you're plenty brave. You don't even seem worried."

  "I'm not," Chrysla said levelly. "And now that I know you've mastered the intellectual and emotional difference between me and Arta Fera, we can discuss this rationally. You've been the only wild card. Staffa and I have no future.

  I know it, and I suspect he does, too-granted he ever gets the time to think about it. What I didn't know was if you'd heal yourself. I think you will."

  :'Where is this all leading?"

  'To you and me. I told you once that you would have to decide how it was to be between us. A great deal has happened since then. Given the political situation we're going to be dealing with each other on a regular basis. To do that, we're going to have to create a foundation upon which to work. "

  :'Are you always this calculating? ,:Only when I have to be - "

  I see. What makes you so sure we can get along?" Oh, for one thing, we're not so different, you and I. We both left Rega for the same reasons. We each needed to find ourselves. To sort out our lives and come to grips with past and future. Now we need to find a common ground to deal with each other. It won't be easy, Skyla. We'll need to test each other, lay out the parameters, determine the bounds. The process will be more difficult for you since Arta's legacy will linger in your head. You will also need to prove to yourself that I won't take advantage of the times when you were most vulnerable. That will be the hardest."

  Despite herself, Skyla's anger had begun to thaw. "I may have underrated you, Chrysla. "

  " Well, for God's sake, don't underestimate Arta or Ily. Chrysla's face had sobered. "But if you get the chance, I'd like Arta alive. I want to see her.

  Can you understand? I want to know how she and I . . . I mean, she's . . . "

  A grim amusement played through Skyla's mind. "How could someone like you have the exact same genetics and end up like her, right?"

  Unease betrayed itself in Chrysla's expression. "Exactly. It's a frightening thought that a mirror reflection could be created that's so different. Or is she just me, a different expression of Chrysla? I would take it as a great favor if you could take her alive."

  In the background, an alarm sounded. Chrysla's gaze intensified, stirring the flashbacks of Arta, sending the chill back into Skyla's nerves.

  -Gyton is about to space. Until next time, Wing Commander. Good hunting. And alive doesn't mean you can't break them up a little."

  "I understand, Lady Attenasio. Good luck to you, too." The comm went blank and, for long moments, Skyla stared at it, afterimages of Arta mixing with that of Chrysla. Finally, she shook herself before turning back to Lark.

  "Didn't hear a thing," Lark muttered, her nose buried in the technical manual.

  Skyla slumped back in the command chair, puffing out her cheeks. Rotted Gods, this is going to be difficult.

  Skyla glanced at the fuel meter again and then at the plot of the CV's vector in the holo tank. "Yeah, well, we're not likely to live through it anyway.

  Most CVs mount cannon."

  "So it is done, " Bruen whispered, his eyes focused on something beyond the curve of the dome.

  "I was there when he came to. He just lay limp. Sinklar had him transported to his dome by antigrav. Ryman Ark's technicians are already starting to connect the uplink. Within hours, the machine will be administering Free Space."

  Nyklos paced the restricted quarters, eyes on the floor. "Do you remember the first time you saw me?"

  "In the slave compound on Phillipia. How could I forget? I was a frightened child, horrified by the collar. Stunned by the murder of my parents. "

  "Would you go back to that?" "No, Magister. "

  "What do you think you owe me, Nyklos? I, who bought you, struck the collar from your neck, and set you free?"

  :'What do I owe you?"

  'For the chance to live as a free man? For the education and the training? For your very life? What do you consider that worth in the end?"

  Nyklos pulled at his mustache. "Everything, I suppose. I wouldn't be here but for you. "

  I IBased on that, knowing what you know now about life, you really believe you owe me everything?"

  :'I suppose I do. "

  'For your life, I want you to do something for me. Stop them, Nyklos. Destroy the machine. Do something. If not, your collar was only postponed. If you don't act, you will wear that collar again, and you will have let me down.

  Worse, you will have let yourself and your comrades down. You'll have turned it all over to Staffa and his bedsnatch. Do you wish to remember for the rest of your life that you turned down the chance?"

  "Magister, I . . . "

  " Will you live with the knowledge that Staffa the First is but the minion of that accursed machine? Oh, good, Nyklos. Who will really be giving the orders?

  Kaylla Dawn? Or the man who pumps his semen into her whenever he feels the need? Knowing that, are you looking forward to watching him shift from Skyla to Kaylla and back? That man is now your master. I wouldn't mention what the memory of your parents must think!"

  Nyklos closed his eyes, seeing only the face of Staffa kar Therma. "I should have pulled the trigger that day in Etarus. "

  "You can act. Expose him and his lover. Destroy the machine. Act now. Go. Go now, Nyklos. Before it is too late. Too late for us all.

  Grass bobbed on the small rocky knoll as the night wind teased it. The two large pines made a soft sighing sound. Overhead, the stars winked and glistened on the velvet black of the night sky.

  Sinklar stood for a moment, looking out at the lights of Vespa. They'd been the happiest there. Together, they'd plotted a future laced with dreams now vanished into spectral memory. Vespa had been his greatest triumph and most horrible loss.

  They'd brought her here, to lay her in this hilltop. Under' this pile of rock.

  "Hello, Greta. I'm back. I still miss you more than I can tell you. We've cured some of the evils. Others remain. But we'll deal with them, too." He dropped to his knees, running his fingers over the pebble-covered soil.

  "Blessed Gods, how I still love you."

  An image of blue eyes, shining brown hair, and an impish smile lingered. He could hear her irreverent voice. "How ya doing, Sink?"

  "Better, I guess
. It's been a long, lonely watch without you. I got in trouble with Ily. Then, I started to love again. I told you about Anatolia once. She was taken from mejust like you were. One day, I'll return to Rega but it won't be the same. Ily blew her apart. Into pieces too small to find. Sometime, I'll go and tell her the origins of our species. "

  The wind rustled the trees with a stiffer vigor and then faded.

  "Do that, Sink. " The breeze seemed to whisper. "Funny how things turned out, Gretta. The Lord Commander, of all people, is my father. Can you imagine?

  We're going to try and break the Forbidden Borders. If they go down, we'll have played a part in it. Our people. Our Targan Divisions bought us time, Gretta. They kept the Empire together when everything appeared lost."

  A night bird trilled in the darkness.

  "I just thought you should know. And you should know that I never stopped loving you. "

  He grabbed up a handful of dirt, squeezing it until his fist ached. "I would have come sooner, but there was so much to do."

  "Sinklar! " Adze's voice carried clearly from below. "We've got trouble!"

  He closed his eyes, then exhaled. "Nothing ever changes, does it, Gretta? "

  He stood, letting the dirt trickle through his fingers to be spread by the wind. Then he turned and picked his way down the dark slope to where Adze and the LC waited. "What is it?"

  "Trouble at the compound," she said tersely. "The STO just called. They need you back there ASAP. "

  In resignation, Sinklar climbed the ramp, belting himself into one of the assault benches instead of the command center. "Let's go. "

  Adze had seated herself across from him. "She must have been very special. "

  :'What makes you think it's a she?" 'Your expression. "

  He leaned back, closing his eyes as the LC lifted. The trip, and his time to remember, to relive those days, proved all too short as the LC whined in descent, touched down, and howled as the ramp dropped to admit the stench of exhaust.

  Sinklar slapped the release and stepped out into the bright lights of the compound. Something had indeed changed. The center was bare in the glaring lights. STU stood at stations, no nonsense about them as they covered the LC.

  Sinklar started for the operations hut, only to see Ark striding out the door.