Skyla considered that sobering reality as she stepped from Gyton's cramped green interior into the familiar domed foyer of the umbilical skyhook. Tactite windows curved on either side of the lift door opposite the lock and created a startling vista of the rocky shadowed surface of Itreata. Speckles of light marked the location of installations on the moon's black, cratered surface six kilometers below.
"Wow! " Lark gasped as she stepped out and stared at the view through the window. "How does it work?"
Skyla pressed a button to summon one of the lifts, then pointed. "Graphite cables rise from the moon's bedrock to tether the ship. Angular momentum and gravity equal each other just below this point. As a result, a ship can be placed just beyond geosynchronous orbit, always straining the tethers slightly but firmly held in place without oscillations. We're currently in what is called the umbilical dome. A lift will carry us down to a large bay about a kilometer underground. "
Chrysla appeared from Gyton's hatch, followed by an antigrav med unit maneuvered by two med techs.
"It takes a while for the lift," Skyla responded to Chrysla's questioning look. "It's a seven kilometer ride."
"All set?" Rysta Braktov asked as she leaned against the hatch.
"Thank you for a safe and pleasant ride," Skyla told her. "You've always got a port on Itreata. "
Rysta slipped a toe back and forth on the deck. "When you catch her down there, break a bone or two for me, will you? "
"I'll send you a hank of her hair," Skyla promised. At that, the doors opened.
"There's our ride, Commander. Quantum Gods, don't let her get aboard.
"I won't."
Skyla took Rysta's hand and gave it a firm grip as Chrysla orchestrated the placement of the med unit and people into the available space in the lift.
"Beats hell out of the time we met over Targa, doesn't it? "
"There's that word again! " Rysta smiled and winked. "Keep me informed. If you need anything, we're right up here. "
"We will-and don't shoot at Staffa. He'll be making orbit in a couple of hours. Chrysla is the big triangular ship, just so your targeting comp doesn't make a mistake."
"You wish," Rysta growled as Skyla stepped into the lift and pressed the button to start in on the long drop.
Lark was staring about skeptically. "Not very big, is it?" "Larger objects, like bulky parts, are lifted on an external freight lift."
The drop to Itreata came with no sensation of falling. In the silence, Skyla composed her thoughts. No trace of Ily or Arta had been discovered in nearly a week of intensive searching. Entire sections of Itreata had been literally turned upside down. Security, was functioning at an all-time frenzy-and had produced nothing.
Chrysla's hand rested on the polished surface of the white medical unit as she stared sadly down at the big case. Why did they have to make the damn things look so similar to coffins?
Lark stood with her hands behind her back, green eyes focused on a distant view only she could see.
With each second, Skyla dropped closer to Ily, Arta, and' the final confrontation.
"Worried?" Chrysla asked.
Skyla shrugged. "What's their objective? Roberta reports that the comm sabotage didn't work. Myles caught it and countered it immediately. We've got the place crawling. The atmosphere plant, the computers, the water system, power generation, everything is surrounded by Delshay's people, and they're ready to shoot on sight. What can Ily and Arta do? How can they harm us?"
"Security was essentially blindfolded by the virus. Those two could have gone anywhere."
Skyla squinted, her only visible reaction to her growing unease. "Everything is operating satisfactorily. If they meant to strike, their ability has been severely blunted. Security monitored their arrival. No weapons, no explosives, nothing was brought into Itreata."
"Except that comm virus."
"All right, one data cube. Ily inserted it into the system, and Roma, coupled with the Mag Comm, scuttled it." The lift opened to a receiving area behind a line of loading docks. White walls rose above gray concrete. Squat tractors-now unattended-waited silently in front of their strings of flatbed cars. Beyond the dock stretched a huge, well-lit manufacturing and repair facility sporting overhead cranes, machinery, and conveyors.
"When the ships are in, you can hardly hear down here. Each of the ships has a support base like this one," Skyla explained to Lark. "After a fight, assuming we can get the vessel home, we can completely rebuild a warship from null singularity dome to bounce-back collars. A crew will drop Rega One down to the surface for a complete refit. "'
"It's grown since the last time I was here," Chrysla added as STUs approached from all sides.
A woman in gleaming armor stepped from the knot of armed security personnel and slapped a fist to her breastbone. "Wing Commander, welcome back to Itreata."
"I wish it were under better circumstance, STO. Allow me to introduce Lady Chrysla Marie Attenasio, my assistant, Lark Gaust, and these medical techs are from Gyton. " Skyla indicated the STO, "This is Roberta Wheeler, head of Itreata Security. "
Wheeler asked, "And the med unit?"
"Division First Ben MacRuder. I think you have instructions regarding him?"
Wheeler made a gesture and two of her STU sprang forward, immediately beginning the process of checking the antigrav unit and its readouts.
Skyla added, "You can continue your security checks on the way to the hospital. The Division First is in critical need of medical attention.
Hospital was briefed on our way in. "
Chrysla started to follow Mac as he was maneuvered away, but was restrained by Skyla's hand. "You can't help him now. I need you with me for the moment. " To Wheeler, Skyla added, "We have a couple of hours until the Lord Commander arrives. Why don't we proceed to your office. You can update me on the situation here. In the meantime, have Logistics contact Commander Braktov, assist her in any way she desires and accommodate any refitting Gyton might need. "
"Yes, ma'am.
Skyla led the way to one of several lifts that studded the wall just around the corner from the umbilical foyer.
As they stepped inside, Skyla ordered, "Itreata Security. " To Lark, she explained, "Itreata is served by a complex lift system. You need only enter and announce your destination. The lift will automatically route itself, avoid traffic and congestion, and drop you as closely as possible to your destination. "
The faint sensation of movement could be felt. When she looked over, Lark still had that pensive frown, and Chrysla was fumbling with the margins of the cape she'd adopted. STO Wheeler had an exhausted and pinched expression on her face. But then, the worst security violation in Itreatic history had happened right under her nose.
And I could have stopped it. Skyla chewed at the inside of her cheek.
Irritation with herself churned acidly in her stomach. Staffa would be setting foot on Itreata in a matter of hours, to find what? He placed the greatest trust in me and I failed him.
Ily Takka, loose in Itreata, would be like a dagger in Staffa's heart. Itreata had been the only warren, the safe refuge, and now it had been violated.
Skyla's fists clenched until they ached.
The door made a sucking sound as it slipped sideways and Skyla led the way to the Security Center, now guarded by armored Companions.
Salutes were snapped out as they entered the receiving office. Through the tactite windows, she could see the security personnel working at their monitors. Holders by the chairs held cups of stassa and klav, each bearing rings around the inside. Apparently everyone was working overtime-and pushing the limits.
"What do we know? " Skyla asked as she whirled and faced Wheeler.
The STO drew a deep breath and then shook her head. "Nothing, I'm afraid.
They, along with Professor Sornsen, have vanished. It's as if they stepped through a doorwayand disappeared."
Sinklar would rather have stayed and watched the mooring of the huge battleship to the teth
ers, than be standing in the lift, dropping for Itreata.
The future, however, appeared to hold plenty of opportunities to watch Slap, Jinx Mistress, and some of the other ships in the Companion fleet arrive.
Sinklar caught Adze's attention on him and gave her a reassuring wink. Since her transfer to his staff, her schedule had included a crash course from Ryman Ark on special security. Now she stood there, shining in the mirror brightness from her plated armor. The mischievous sparkle in her dark eyes had vanished, as if putting on the armor had transformed her from woman to fighting machine.
Staffa stood across from him, tension visible in those steely gray eyes. This homecoming should have been different, a celebration-not just another round in the ceaseless battle. Sinklar watched the gray-gloved hands move restlessly, reflecting Staffa's preoccupation. Skyla awaited him at the bottom of the lift. That reunion, too, was shattered. Instead of a private and intimate occasion, they would face each other in the midst of a crowd, each aware of the danger that lurked within their corridors.
Sinklar had struggled to help. As they had approached Itreata, he and Staffa had wrung their brains dry as they tried to anticipate Ily's strategy. In the end, faced with the
countering of the comm sabotage, Sinklar had been forced to admit: "I can think of only one reason for her to sneak into - Itreata ... revenge. "
"I was afraid you'd mention that. " Staffa had sat with his hands steepled, eyes unfocused. "That day on Etarus when she brought Kaylla and me in from the desert . . . I slapped her. Split her lip. I can still hear the acid in her voice. 'Die, Staffa,' and she triggered the collar command again and again. All the time she was telling me how she'd set it up, would make it look like the Sassans had killed me. "
Sinklar had bowed his head, remembering a day on Rega when Ily had stepped close to lift his pistol from his belttriumph glittering savagely in her black eyes. Yes, she could hate. "Let's face it. Staffa, you destroyed her success.
She would have been Empress except for your arrival above Rega. You snatched it all away in her moment of victory. Years of hard work, scheming, and intrigue were suddenly meaningless, wasted years. "
"She took Skyla from me. I warned her, over and overtold her what I'd do. She drove me to strike. What did she think? That she could abduct my Wing Commander and pay no price? That's insane! "
"She's not insane. Obsessed is a better word. She's been living her plots and assassinations for so long she's forgotten any other reality. " Sinklar had stared absently at the work table before them. "I don't know Itreata. With the comm sabotage failed, what could she do? Where could she have gone?"
Ryman Ark's eyes had narrowed as they talked. The STO had shot a look at Adze that Sinklar didn't understandsome secret communication.
Staffa hadn't said anything after that. His thoughts had focused on something deep in his memory. He had looked just the way he did now as the lift dropped him into Itreata.
Sinklar didn't even feel the lift stop. The door slid to the side 'and
"admitted them to a giant underground factory and warehouse. Before he had a chance to look around, Wing Commander Lyma stepped forward from a group of people. She looked as regally beautiful in her snowy white armor as he remembered her. Like an ice tiger, she stood balanced, white-blonde hair tightly braided and coiled about
her left shoulder. Those frosty blue eyes sought Staffa's, and, for a moment, the two faced each other, trying to say so much with just a glance.
TO alleviate the awkwardness, Sinklar searched the reception committee, hesitated at the sight of those eyes, and broke rank, saying, "Chrysla, it's good to see you again. How's Mac?"
His mother gave him a smile, intuitively understanding his purpose. "I'm not really sure yet. The preliminary reports are that he's going to be all right.
They won't have him out on training exercises in the coming months, but they believe they can repair what was broken. Within a couple of months he should be as good as new."
Staffa had recovered himself, taking Skyla's arm in a proprietary way as he started forward, asking, "Any word on Ily? "
I INone," Skyla told him crisply, but to Sinklar it looke d like she'd gone so brittle she might shatter.
Staffa gave Chrysla a warm smile, dropping his voice. "I didn't catch all that you said about Mac."
"There may be some difficult days ahead, but I think we'll make it."
"Give him my blessings," Staffa responded seriously. Sinklar noted the message in the glance Chrysla returned. "He would probably appreciate it if you gave them in person.
Adze, with her usual acumen, had slipped up close behind Sinklar, staying slightly to his right as they proceeded past the clustered STU and security officers. In the crowd, Sinklar could see Ryman Ark whispering into his mouth comm, eyes shifting warily back and forth.
Sinklar only caught a glimpse of the huge room as they broke through the security cordon. Here and there, armored STU could be seen as they walked around equipment or studied the room through electronically augmented senses from the huge overhead cranes. Security was tight enough to squeak.
Around the corner from the umbilical base, the nucleus of the party stepped into yet another lift, this one more spacious. A young woman with big green eyes seemed to be sticking to the Wing Commander, awestruck as she gazed first at Staffa, and then at Sinklar. Adze responded by instinctively placing herself between Sink and the girl.
"It's my fault that all of this happened," Staffa told Skyla when the doors had closed. "I should have forwarded the tapes to Rob for analysis after we raided Ily's Ministry. "
Skyla shook her head. "It's my fault, Staffa. I knew deep down inside how she'd react. it was even plaguing my dreams. "
"You are all welcome to blame each other," Chrysla noted dryly, "but do we have a destination?"
Staffa glanced at Skyla, who seemed tense enough to explode. "My quarters. We all need to clear the air on some personal matters before we discuss the situation concerning Ily. After everyone understands the same reality, we can compare notes and formulate a strategy."
Skyla seemed to shake the emotional paralysis that had gripped her. "The problem is that she could have gone to ground anywhere. Her behavior on Terguz, for example, included seducing a man and accessing whatever she wanted. So far, only Andray Sorinsen is missing, and we haven't found his body yet."
"Body?" Staffa asked.
"Arta Fera mutilates her victims," the green-eyed girl supplied.
"I'm Staffa kar Therma," he extended his hand.
"Lark Gaust, sir. " She seemed on the verge of trembling as she shook his hand. "I'm the Wing Commander's assistant. "
Staffa glanced curiously at Skyla.
She seemed completely unaware that she'd missed the introduction. Instead, she'd gone still, locked in thought, those hard blue eyes staring at something an infinity away.
To avoid an awkward silence, Sinklar said, "We have to keep something in mind.
Ily always plans for any contingency. While she takes an opportunity when it arises, her actions are always deliberate, plotted several moves in advance.
She didn't just decide to come to Itreata and play it by ear."
"But what would the objective be?" Chrysla asked. "If we knew that, we might be able to anticipate her movements. "
"Revenge." Sinklar met those amber eyes that shivered his soul. "Believe me. I've-- the words stuck in his throat--been her intimate. I know how she works. One moment she had an entire empire for her own. In the next, her empire was destroyed, and she was running for her lifea homeless fugitive. All that she had built was a smoking ruin. How much motivation is that?"
Chrysla nodded thoughtfully. "Enough for most people. Probably more than enough for Ily. She has an addictive, obsessive personality, doesn't she? "
Sinklar nodded, struggling to see past those amber eyes to, a different identity from the one lurking in his memory. "I think, without stretching it, you could add, sybaritic, nymphomaniac, sadistic, cru
el, egomaniacal, abusive, and manipulative-but I'm a better optimist than I am a psychologist so I might have missed one or two of her less charming traits."
The lift had slowed imperceptibly and both Ark and Adze had shifted to the front. As the door opened, they stepped out into the hallway, each taking a direction, scanning with all of their augmented senses, before Ark made a gesture that all was clear.
Sinklar had expected something a bit more elaborate than a featureless white corridor. Square light panels overhead sent soft light over polished tile work. The only interruption was an occasional wall comm terminal. Ark had taken a position in front, advancing warily, his shoulder blaster at half-rise combat-carry. Adze had fallen in behind, walking backward as she covered the rear with her weapon.
Two STU stood before a single door unobtrusively set in the wall. They snapped to attention as the party approached. Ark glanced at each, asking, "What have you got for me?"
"Nothing, STO. A couple of our team's'have passed but that's the extent of it.
The room is secure. "
Staffa stepped forward, palming the lock plate. As the door opened, he laid a hand on Ark's shoulder. "Ryman, I need to speak with Skyla, Sinklar, and Chrysla for a moment. I'll call you as soon as we "ve finished."
:'Staffa, at least let me-"
'It's personal, Ryman. " Staffa smiled, lifting an eyebrow. "Family business, understand?"
Ark relented, chopping out a salute. "We'll await your call, Lord Commander."
Sinklar gave a nod to Adze. She flashed him a look of protest but gestured her acceptance.
"Lark, wait out here for me," Skyla added and stepped past Staffa into the room.
Sinklar followed his father into a rather orthodox looking room. After the ostentatious display of the quarters aboard Chrysla, and the palaces he'd seen on Rega, this was plain. One wall was entirely devoted to comm monitors, each glowing with a different view of Itreata, showing the efforts underway to locate Ily and Arta. The rest of the room was tastefully done in white, holo niches displaying different scenes of planets and stars.