Lady Lure (21 page)

“Piracy is a scourge difficult to put down,”
Jyrit said. “Destroy one pirate base and before long another
appears somewhere else. We knew that even as Halvo led us to
victory against those pirates gathered near Styxia.”

“I have worried since I first heard of his
abduction that a pirate, or a group of pirates, wanted revenge
against Halvo.” Kalina looked at Jyrit. “What shall we do now?”

“We let the Regulans think we believe them.”
Jyrit rose from his chair and the two women stood, too. “We leave
orbit within the hour. We will continue the search, Lady Kalina,
and we will be even more thorough than we have been so far. If the
Space Dragon
was damaged instead of destroyed, Halvo would
want to head for a good shipyard for repairs. We know that Perri is
not an experienced pilot, so she just might decide to take Halvo’s
advice. We will start with planets or space stations known for
making the best repairs to spaceships. If nothing else, the
maneuver will confuse the Regulans and perhaps make them think we
have a problem with the
Krontar
. And we will ask a lot of
questions on worlds where the inhabitants are more honest than the
Regulans.”

“I have every confidence in you, Jyrit. And
in you, Lt Dysia.” For the first time in that long and trying day
Kalina broke into an honest smile. “I know you will find my son for
me. Find that despicable girl, Perri, too. I want to talk to her.
“

When Kalina had left them, Dysia looked at
Jyrit and said, “I could almost feel sorry for this Perri
creature.”

“Save your sympathy,” Jyrit said with more
than a touch of Jugarian harshness. “Perri is a criminal and Lady
Kalina will see to it that she feels the full weight of
Jurisdiction justice.”

* * * * *

“The
Krontar
has gone,” Elyr said,
reporting to the Chief Hierarch early the next morning.

“I knew they would,” the Chief Hierarch said,
frowning. “There was no reason for you to worry. You must learn
better self-control, my son. I tell you once again, my schemes
always work. Now, I am going to visit my dear Thori. Will you join
me, Elyr?”

“Just as soon as I finish my day’s work, sir.
My duty to Regula supersedes my personal desires, though I must
confess I miss Thori every moment that I am apart from her.”

“It’s good to have a son-in-law on whom I can
depend and who is so devoted to my little girl.” The Chief Hierarch
laid a paternal hand on Elyr’s shoulder. “I am glad our mutual love
for Thori has bound us so closely together, my boy.”

Left alone in the Chief Hierarch’s office,
Elyr scowled at the desk full of work he was expected to complete
for the older man. Still, work was more pleasant than listening to
Thori’s female chatter or the Chief Hierarch’s constant fond
remarks about his beloved daughter’s beauty and goodness. Both of
them could wait. Elyr was more concerned about the delegation that
had just left Regula.

If the Chief Hierarch had his schemes, Elyr
had his own. He had a mind attuned to notice details that others
often missed, and that time the Chief Hierarch had missed an
important detail. Elyr called in his former servant, Vedyr, who was
acting as his aide.

“Vedyr, I want a spaceship to follow the
Krontar,”
Elyr said. “It is to remain undetected by the
Krontar
and its captain is to report to me alone.”

“Do you think the
Krontar’s
crew might
discover there is already a Regulan ship searching for the
Space
Dragon?”
Vedyr asked.

“It is inevitable. Capt. Jyrit is no fool,”
Elyr said. “Do that right away.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alone again, Elyr smiled to himself at the
thought of the
Space Dragon
lost in the far reaches of the
galaxy and most likely badly disabled, tracked by a Regulan
warship, both of which would surely be discovered by the
Krontar,
which was, in turn, secretly being followed by a
second Regulan ship. Elyr almost wished that he could be there when
the four ships converged and met in battle. But he could not be
present. Elyr knew his destiny lay on Regula itself. Although the
Chief Hierarch did not suspect it yet, Elyr intended to take his
place. Thanks to his mother’s help with Lady Kalina, the plot had
already been set in motion.

“Halvo?” Perri stroked his thick hair, her
fingertips lightly touching the silver strands at his temples. His
head was resting between her breasts. She loved the feeling of his
weight upon her and the warmth of his breath on her skin.

“I’m sleeping.” He stretched against her like
a large, well-satisfied cat, or a Demarian leopard-wolf content
after a recent meal. For all his kindness to her and the gentleness
he so often displayed, there was a strength and fierceness in Halvo
that boded ill for anyone who might attack him – or her. She knew
he would protect her with his life. There, in a chilly cave on a
barren little world, with a disabled spaceship as their only means
of escape, she still felt safe with Halvo.

“If you were asleep, you could not talk to
me,” she said.

“You would be amazed at what I can do in my
sleep.” When Perri giggled, Halvo lifted his head to look at her.
“Are you ready to leave so soon?”

“I do not want to leave your embrace. Not
ever.” Perri sighed. Suddenly, no longer kept at bay by her
romantic fantasies, all of the concerns and insecurities of the
universe outside the cave flooded in upon her. “We are both agreed
that we cannot stay here. Still, the moment we are sky-borne
everything will change.” She stopped when Halvo’s mouth covered
hers. It was some time before she could speak again.

“Will you return to active duty in the
Service?” she finally asked.

“I can’t. I am presently assigned to
administrative duties. What made you ask such a question when you
know about my injuries?”

“I was wondering what the future would
bring.” She could not steel herself to inquire whether he intended
to include her in his plans, so she tried an oblique approach to
what was troubling her. “Your physical condition is greatly
improved.”

“I feel healthier now than I have since the
day I woke up in a hospital and learned how badly I was wounded,”
Halvo said. “I attribute much of the improvement to the fact that I
have recently had something else to think about, instead of
constantly worrying over how slowly I was recovering. You have
helped by providing many interesting diversions.” He ended with one
of those teasing smiles that usually made her respond with her own
smile. But not that time.

“I see,” she said, pushing him away so she
could sit up. “I am a diversion. I am glad to hear it, since you
are nothing more than a diversion to me, too.”

When she scrambled to her feet to put
distance between them, Halvo came after her. She had reached the
edge of the icy pool before he caught her by her upper arms.
Looking away from him and into the still water of the pool, she saw
their reflections as if in a mirror. She thought their relationship
was like that reflection. With the least touch, the slightest
stirring of the water, the reflection would break into ripples and
vanish. If she pushed Halvo too hard in an attempt to stay with him
permanently the closeness between them would dissolve, and unlike
the reflection in the water, a ruined relationship would not
reassemble itself automatically.

“Never run away from me again,” Halvo said,
shaking her a little. “If you have a problem, tell me what it is
and stay with me until we resolve it.”

“By your clever interplanetary negotiating
methods?” she asked scornfully.

“By any means necessary. Perri, tell me what
is wrong. Are you apprehensive about leaving this planet, afraid
the
Space Dragon
will explode with us inside it? If it does,
at least we will be together and the end will be quick and
painless. You said so yourself. Or do you think the Chief Hierarch
and Elyr will come after us and try to force you to return to
Regula?”

“None of those possibilities frightens me,”
she said.

“Then what is wrong? Tell me and we will deal
with it together.”

She could not tell him how terrified she was
of losing him to his family and friends or to his career in the
Service. She was an ignorant, provincial girl and he was a famous
man, the son of the Leader of the entire Jurisdiction. Once he
returned to his old life, Halvo would soon forget her. In the next
few days they would face several different dangers and the distinct
possibility of death. And at the end of all their travails – if
they survived to the end – there would be no reward for her. She
would almost prefer that both of them should die than that Halvo
should leave her.

No. She could not bear the thought of his
death, not after all he had suffered and the injuries he had
overcome. Because she loved him, she would do everything she could
to assist him until they reached safety, and when the time came,
she would let him go without a quarrel. She would end their
association with dignity. When Halvo was gone, memories and her
dignity would be all she had left. Foreseeing that future, a bleak
emptiness washed over her.

“Nothing is unbearable if you face it
willingly,” Halvo said. He was still holding her arms, still
expecting a response from her.

“Some things are.” Perri blinked back tears,
refusing to shed them. She met his questioning eyes squarely. “I am
being foolish. This cave has given me a false sense of security and
now I regret the necessity of leaving it. But we have made our
decision and for my part I will do my best to carry it out.”

His approving smile was worth much to her.
She made herself smile back at him.

“I knew I could depend on you,” Halvo
said.

* * * * *

“It is time.” Halvo strapped himself into the
copilot’s seat. On his other side Rolli stood secured in the
pilot’s position, working the control panel.

Perri wanted to tell Halvo she loved him,
just in case their lift-off ended in disaster, but she could see
that his thoughts were on the ship and the tasks immediately ahead
of him.

“Good luck to us,” she said, instead of what
she wished she could say.

The
Space Dragon’s
engines roared to
life and the thrusters came on line. The damaged ship shuddered and
creaked. Slowly it began to move away from the cliffs and toward
the center of the crater. Halvo and Rolli worked together without
need for words, while Perri reported what navigational information
she could drag out of instruments not yet fully operational. With a
lethargic effort that made Perri want to scream to release the
building tension in the cockpit, the
Space Dragon
lifted off
the surface of the planet and headed for the sky.

A few minutes later they were in orbit,
holding there while Rolli and Halvo retested all the systems.
Whether the systems worked or not, the
Space Dragon
could
not return to the surface. It would be too dangerous to try. From
that moment on, they must move cautiously through weightless space
and hope they could find a space station with adequate repair
facilities. If they did not, then a landing on some planet would be
necessary and that would present their greatest danger since the
little ship might not hold together during the descent through an
atmosphere. The disintegrating pieces of the ship – and its crew –
would burn up like meteors.

Two hours after leaving orbit Perri
discovered they were facing a worse danger than incineration.

A Regulan warship is following us.” Perri
looked up from her navigational instruments to see Halvo’s face go
hard and cold.

“Damnation,” he muttered. “I hoped they would
lose us after Rolli destroyed the homing signal we found.”

“We can’t fight them,” Perri said, stating
the obvious. “The few weapons we carry are not operational.”

“We’ll have to run from them,” Halvo said.
“At least now we know where we are.”

“Near the Empty Sector,” Perri said, checking
the instruments again. “I read a book once about space exploration.
There was a chapter in it about the Empty Sector. It is a fearsome
place, where the common laws of physics do not always apply, where
humans experience vivid dreams that drive them mad. We cannot go
there, first because ships are not allowed to cross the border, and
second, because no one ever returns from the Empty Sector.”

“If no one returns to make a report on
conditions there, how do authors obtain enough information to write
whole chapters about it?” Halvo asked. “In fact, I know three
people who did return safely.”

“Admiral, are you suggesting that we should
seek refuge from the Regulans in the Empty Sector?” Rolli
asked.

“I think it is our only practical choice,”
Halvo said. “The warship following us is undoubtedly faster than
the
Space Dragon
and far better armed. We can try to fight
them, in which case they will destroy us. We can surrender at once
and then they will destroy us because they dare not let us live. We
can dodge and hide and try to throw them off our trail, but that
tactic won’t work for long because this ship is in no condition to
carry on a sustained chase. Or, we can head straight into the Empty
Sector and hope they choose to obey Jurisdiction law and not follow
us.”

“Then it looks as if it is the Empty Sector
for us.” Perri considered the idea with trepidation, yet she was
curious about the fabled area, where Jurisdiction ships were
forbidden to go.

“I cannot permit any action that might
endanger Perri’s life,” Rolli said.

“Rolli,” Perri said with barely restrained
impatience, “I know this constant insistence on my immediate safety
is your programming talking, but I do wish you would begin to make
a few logical connections and think long-term. The odds are better
for us in the Empty Sector. I believe we should go there at
once.”