Morgan's Return (16 page)

"I can fix that," Morgan said. "Is there anything else wrong with it?"

The archaeologist sighed. "It needs a thorough looking over. I… I'm not convinced my grandmother's death was an accident." He finished the words in a rush, sucked in a breath of air. "It seems the man who captained the sub had only been with Grandma for a short time. He was the one who told the story of what happened. After the accident, he moved on. And then I was stopped. By the secret police, the Trimasi." He raised his hands to shoulder height and let them drop. "I can't go to a registered maritime engineer because they'd find out."

This society was starting to sound very like a totalitarian state. Ravindra wanted to ask Morgan to find out more. But first they needed Partridge's cooperation. "Miss Sefton can see to your vessel," Ravindra said. "She's a highly qualified engineer."

"Maritime engineer?"

"No, spaceships," Morgan said. "But if you have the maintenance logs and manuals, I can use those. I expect they're on the sub's systems. It has an IS, of course?"

"Of course."

"Come on, Partridge." Morgan used her best persuasive voice. "We're on the same side. And believe us, we're not after credit. If we find anything, it's all yours."

Frowning, Partridge scratched at his chin. He hesitated a moment longer, then said, "I might regret this later but… all right. I'll show you the sub."

He led them to a transit and ushered them inside a lift. The car dropped, plunging down to the very base of the cliff.

"This was built years ago," Partridge explained as they rode down. "There's a cavern under the cliff where we keep the sub, and there's an access tunnel out to the ocean."

The lift slowed, then settled to a halt. Lights came on as soon as the door opened, filling the cave with a soft glow. The place reminded Ravindra of the pit on Krystor where Professor Unwin had conducted his excavation. The cavern's ceiling was invisible above the lights. A few buildings stood on a short wharf which lined both sides of a channel, within which floated the submarine. Black as a spaceship, it resembled a cigar.

"Here it is." Partridge's voice echoed. He took a control out of his pocket and pressed a button. With a sharp hiss and a click, a hatch appeared in the sub's smooth surface. The top rungs of a ladder were visible just below the lip.

Morgan eased over the edge of the wharf and stepped onto the black surface. The sub rocked slightly and she stood legs apart to get her balance.

"You could have waited for this." Partridge pushed out a ramp which attached to the hatch.

Morgan grinned. "No challenge." She disappeared into the vessel.

Ravindra pushed forward in front of Partridge, his boots grating on the ladder as he climbed down. There was more room than he'd expected. Aft would be the drives and engine room, forward accommodation. Here in the centre the two side walls appeared to be windows, currently blanked. They would be like on a spaceship, screens fed from external sensors. A bank of controls filled a central console. Morgan stood next to the data ports, her fingers resting on the back of a swivel chair.

"Let me show you the system," Partridge said, pushing past Ravindra.

Morgan listened to him explain. She'd no doubt already found out what she wanted to know. She beamed a brilliant smile at the man. "I think I can work with this, but it'll take a while." She turned to Ravindra. "Why don't you go back to the hotel? See what the others are up to?"

Leave
? "I'm not leaving you here on your own," he snapped in Manesai.

Her lips tightened. "There's a bug on this thing. I have to find it and disarm it without tipping them off, then I have to check the engine and IS out and learn how they work. Take the skimmer. I'll get Partridge to fly me back and we can discuss what to do next at the hotel."

Ravindra stared at her, pushing down the roiling surge of jealousy.

She tossed her head. "Don't look so grumpy. You need to keep an eye on the others. If this is a police state, the last thing we need is for them to cross some invisible line. Besides, what are you going to do here? You'll just be in the way."

Ravindra eyed Partridge. He didn't like this, not at all.

Morgan tilted her head to one side." Don't you trust me?"

She was in her obstinate, dangerous mood. Did he trust her? With this handsome human? He thrust aside the niggle of doubt. "Of course—"

"Then let me do my job, and you go and do yours." She turned to Partridge, switching to Standard. "Ashkar's going back to the hotel in our skimmer. When I've finished, you can take me back?"

"Of course," Partridge said, smiling at her.

Ravindra forced down the bubbling anger. She may be right, but he didn't have to like it. Or being dismissed like some junior subaltern.

The archaeologist turned to Ravindra. "I'll get Brent to come down and show you—"

"That won't be necessary. I'll meet him where the lift stops."

Partridge's eyebrows rose. "All right, if you wish." His face went blank while he contacted Eastly. "Brent will be waiting."

Morgan had already turned back to the console. Pushing down that sick, jealous feeling, Ravindra climbed back up the steps, up the ramp onto the wharf and strode the short distance to the lift.

Brent Eastly met him in the house. "It's pretty windy out there. There's a train service not far away that passes close to the hotel. I can take you there if you'd rather?"

As if he couldn't fly a skimmer himself?
Idiot
. "No."

Eastly escorted him politely to where the skimmer sat, a squat, insect shape on the landing platform.

The wind had picked up, now strong enough to blow his
coti
over his shoulder. Ravindra brushed the hair away and climbed into the pilot's seat. Not that he'd have to pilot. "Back to the hotel."

"
Certainly
," replied the IS.

The skimmer lifted off, not quite as smoothly as it would have had Morgan been in control. The ocean thrashed in its bed below the cliffs, battering the rocks. He stared out over the glistening waves at the hazy shapes on the horizon to his left.

"Which of those islands is the Temple?"

The IS banked the craft, lining up the islands. "
The Temple of Ushas is the tall peak to the left. I've marked it on the navigation screen.
"

The map appeared in his line of sight, a circle flashing over an island in the distance. It was a shadow, little more. He was tempted to ask to take a look but it wouldn't be wise. Partridge had all but said it was the secret police headquarters.

"
Should I set course for the hotel now
?"

"Yes." The horizon tilted as the skimmer banked around again, travelling over fields and forests. To his right, a streamlined silver shape sped along a cleared track, moving almost as fast as the skimmer. The train service Eastly had mentioned.

He rested his elbows on the armrests and cradled his chin on his hands. He hoped he'd done the right thing, leaving her with those two. Damn it, maybe he shouldn't have come here, back to her worlds. Maybe she would decide to stay. What would he do then?

No. That wasn't going to happen. He shoved the fear aside as best he could.

Chapter 14  

R
avindra left the skimmer in the landing area and strode through the manicured gardens to the apartments where Davaskar, Prasad and Jirra were quartered. Down here under the trees the wind hardly stirred the ferny undergrowth. Somebody was having an argument. The muffled shouts grew louder as he approached. Surely not his people? Then again, they'd been close together in a small ship for months, now. Tensions rose, as they had between him and Morgan. Still, they didn't need to attract attention.

The voices stopped immediately when he rang the doorbell. The door slid aside, revealing Prasad, whose room it was. He looked angry, his brows drawn together, but his expression changed to wary surprise. "Admiral. Is there a problem?"

Prasad's body blocked the doorway, but Davaskar was there behind him. Pushing Prasad aside, Ravindra said, "It looks to me there's a problem. The whole hotel can hear you. What's this about?"

If Prasad had looked angry, Davaskar appeared to be furious, his body tense, fists clenched. Jirra stood near the wall, her chin lifted, back straight, even if her eyes glistened.

"It's a personal matter,
Srimana
." Prasad's gaze was fixed on Jirra.

"It's disgraceful," Davaskar spat out. He pointed a finger at Jirra. "She spent the entire night with him. He's married and she's betrothed, and they're carrying on like a couple of love-struck teenagers."

"With respect, Captain, I'm sure Admiral Ravindra isn't interested." Prasad stood with his legs apart, fingers hooked into his belt, glaring at Davaskar.

Ravindra's muscles clenched. The whole room stank of tension, and all over nothing. His cousin could be such a pompous fool. Let the truth be known, the captain was probably jealous. Ravindra had noticed Davaskar admiring Jirra's rather attractive ass. At the moment the lieutenant was chewing her lips with every sign of nervousness, her glance flicking between Davaskar and himself.

"Captain… come with me. Let's have a talk about this."

Davaskar glowered, his nostrils flared.

Ravindra lifted his eyebrows, just a little. He didn't want to have to make this an order.

Davaskar jerked into movement. "As you order." He was out the door before he'd finished the words.

Ravindra afforded Jirra and Prasad a brief smile. The relief was evident. Before the door closed behind him, Prasad had his arms around her. Good luck to them. At least here, it didn't matter. Back home was another thing. He hoped they'd considered the consequences.

Davaskar waited for him on the path, his lips set in a line.

"Calm down, Hari." Ravindra led his cousin along the path under the overarching trees. "It's none of your business, they're not offending anybody here."

"I'm surprised at you, Ashkar. This is not our way."

The path opened out into the hotel's pool area where a few people lay on lounges or splashed in the water. Ravindra shoved Davaskar at a vacant table in the shade and sat down himself. "Are you honestly going to tell me you've never messed about with a woman from another class?"

Lowering himself into a chair, Davaskar snorted. "Of course I have; so has every officer in the Fleet." He leaned forward, hands hooked on the table top. "But that's another thing altogether. It's not a… a relationship. And she's betrothed." His frown was so deep his eyebrows almost formed a straight line. But he seemed more in control.

"It's their problem, not ours."

"They have responsibilities to their families. She is to be married into a man's family and she's not yet had children." He clenched his fist. "It's all right for you and Prasad; you've both done your duty—" He stopped, rather abruptly.

So. Now it comes out
. But then, Ravindra had always known his cousin didn't really approve of his relationship with Morgan. He smiled. "Me? What has this to do with me?"

Davaskar licked his lips, then plunged on. "She's alien."

"That's what this trip is all about. She's not really alien. Are you telling me these women here are so alien you wouldn't be interested?" Ravindra jerked his head at a girl in a skimpy bathing costume, wading up the steps out of the swimming pool. The material clung to her body, her nipples prominent, water trickling down long legs. He shifted in his seat. The view was enough to give him a hard-on. Tossing her long hair back, she smiled at both of them.

Davaskar turned his head to look, and smiled. "No. No, I wouldn't say that. Not at all."

Ravindra grinned. "Mind you, under different circumstances, if I wasn't her commander, I could quite imagine an encounter with Jirra."

The look in Davaskar's eyes was enough. Yes, a twinge of jealousy. After all, he was the only one without a woman to warm his bed.

Davaskar shrugged. "Yes, all right. If she wasn't in my direct line of command. But
not
a relationship." He shook his head. "Speaking of which, you should be considering one of those offers I know you've had from suitable
Darya
families." He paused, then plunged on. "Look, she's incredibly useful, I know. As well as… good looking. But the High Command won't have it. You'll never make grand admiral with her in tow."

"I love Morgan."

Davaskar lifted a shoulder. "That's your choice. But you could marry somebody suitable and have her on the side…"

Ravindra met the captain's gaze, signaling that this was not a subject for discussion. When Davaskar blinked and looked away, he continued, "And as for Prasad and Jirra, if—and it is if—they decide this encounter between them is more than a passing affair, they'll have to sort it out when we get home. For now, it is not our concern."

Davaskar hesitated, frowned, then offered a nod.

"Now let me buy you a drink." Ravindra lifted a hand to summon an attendant. The waiter returned quickly with glasses of the local beer, which they drank while he told his cousin about what had happened at Partridge's home. "If it's the kind of police state Partridge suggested, we'll need to keep a low profile. So best leave Jirra and Prasad to themselves, eh?"