Venus Rising (31 page)

“Thank you for your confidence in me,
Narisa.” Halvo’s smile was grim. “I wish

Tarik were as convinced as you are. I had
hoped he and I might work together as brothers and friends, just
this once.”

“All right,” Tarik capitulated suddenly. “I
want that, too, Halvo. I don’t want to quarrel with you anymore. I
think we need to marshal greater force against Tyre than we have in
this case, and I am not certain we can change the way the Assembly
functions just by replacing Tyre with a better Leader, but I will
help you.” He put out his hand, and Halvo took it without a second
of hesitation or reserve.

“What about your ship’s doctor?” Narisa
asked. “She was determined to turn me over to Tyre and collect the
reward he has offered. If she gets to him now and tells him whose
ship I was on, she could cause serious problems for all of us.”

“I have ordered her confined to her own
quarters aboard ship, incommunicado, for forty-eight hours while I
decide what to do with her. I should be grateful to her,” Halvo
said, “for discovering that Tyre wanted you so badly. That
knowledge will be helpful to us. But she, personally, is a sad
spectacle.

“Greed is a terrible thing,” Halvo continued,
shaking his head. “It made my ship’s doctor willing to break her
sacred oath to protect her patients and to give each one the best
possible care regardless of Race, religion or political situation.
Her intent was unethical, to say the least. She can consider
herself fortunate if I impose no more punishment than censure and
an order to retire on reduced wages.”

“She wanted to retire in splendor,” Narisa
said ruefully. “Speaking of medical care, do you suppose I could
have some water? I wasn’t allowed any in sick bay.”

“For that alone, the woman deserves severe
censure.” Halvo himself brought her a cup of the distilled water
used on the transporter for both humans and the engines. It was
tepid and tasteless, but to Narisa it was more delicious than the
finest wine. She asked for and drank a second cup. Then, feeling
almost restored to health, she leaned back in her seat, resting her
head against the padded cushion of the headrest, while Tarik
fastened the safety harness around her.

Only a short time later the transporter left
spaceport with Halvo, Tarik and Narisa as the only passengers. They
circled the Capital several times on their spiral flight down to
land in the garden of Almaric’s house. Narisa watched the viewing
screens, seeing what the Cetan force waves had done.

“I didn’t know the Cetans had come close
enough to blast the city,” she said. “What terrible damage. What
senseless loss of life.”

“I regret it deeply,” Halvo replied. “We did
not have time to assemble enough ships to protect the Capital as we
wanted. We in the Service are grateful for your warning, though.
Without it, the entire planet would be rubble.”

“As it is,” Tarik added thoughtfully, “the
Assembly can be held derelict in its duty to protect Jurisdiction
citizens. I see a bit of hope in that. It could make our plan
easier to accomplish, Halvo. The Members just might choose to make
Tyre the scapegoat rather than all of them resigning at once.
Especially since six of the most important Cetan warlords have
surrendered to you personally and are suing for a peace
treaty.”

“Surrendered?” Narisa gasped. “Cetans don’t
surrender.”

“I gather they are demoralized by the failure
of their battle strategy,” Halvo said, “and thoroughly sick of
their overlords. That is another factor on our side and against
Tyre, who won’t treat with Cetans under any circumstances. If we
can raise a new and more honorable Leader, I think there is a real
chance to make peace with the Cetans and gradually bring them into
citizenship in the Jurisdiction.”

“That sort of thing has been done before,”
Tarik told him. “The Jurisdiction did not spring into being with
all its worlds joining at once. If you had been taught honest
history in your youth, Halvo, you would know it was a gradual and
complicated process, taking many centuries after the Great
Agreement. There is ample precedent for adding new Races to our
citizens. You should remind the Assembly of that when the time
comes.”

If anyone could talk the Assembly into
accepting a treaty with the Cetans, it would be Halvo, Narisa
thought. He was clever and far-seeing, and his insistence on doing
everything according to Jurisdiction laws was a great strength. If
only he were not so coldly rational, if he had the kind of warmth
that drew people to him, he would make a great leader. But then,
perhaps a great leader had to be cold. Or perhaps, she thought,
recalling how he had taken her hand, how he wanted Tarik to join
his plan willingly, and how pleased he had looked when Tarik called
it
their
plan a few moments before, perhaps Halvo was not as
cold as he appeared to be.

Almaric’s house had sustained only minor
damage in the Cetan attack, and the servants had already returned
to make the necessary repairs before Almaric and Kalina arrived. To
substantiate Halvo’s upcoming claim to the Assembly that Narisa had
been injured and would need bed rest, Tarik carried her from the
transporter to her bedchamber, commenting frequently on her
paleness and the concussion she had sustained. When he handed her
over to Chatta, it was with strict orders to keep Narisa quiet and
allow no visitors.

Narisa sank into her bed and let the little
maidservant put cold cloths across her forehead.

“I should call a doctor,” Chatta worried.
“You need medication.”

“The ship’s doctor -” Narisa cringed inwardly
at the thought of that unpleasant woman. “The doctor said rest and
time were the best treatments. I’ll be better tomorrow, Chatta,
just wait and see. What I would like is a pitcher of something cool
to drink. I feel as though I’ve been walking across a desert.”

Chatta brought her fruit juices, and after
Narisa had swallowed several cups, the maidservant sat down in
another part of the room to let her mistress rest while still being
immediately available should Narisa need her.

Her thirst quenched at last, Narisa tried to
make her mind a blank and not think about what would happen when
Halvo’s request was granted and the Assembly convened. She fell
asleep quickly and woke and slept again until the day was gone. She
ate the light evening meal Chatta brought to her and then instantly
fell back into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Tarik woke her a little after midnight. She
heard the bedchamber door click closed, and by the light that
Chatta had left glowing beside her bed, she saw him coming toward
her.

Forgetting she was supposed to be recovering
from an injury, she got out of bed to run to him. A brief spell of
dizziness made her stumble before her head cleared. Tarik had seen
her waver. He caught her into his arms, holding her against his
chest and kissing her hard. She sank into his kiss, reveling in the
touch and smell and taste of him. He was her safe haven from all
the dangers threatening them, as she knew she was his. She felt his
hands in her hair, felt the smooth texture of his uniform jacket
beneath her hands and bare arms. The crisp scent of him filled her
nostrils, stirring her senses with memories of his lovemaking and a
deep longing for more of it.

When he let her go at last, the first thing
she saw was Chatta’s sleep-creased face rising from the couch where
she had been resting in case Narisa should need her.

“Commander Tarik, what has happened?” she
cried. “Have Member Almaric and my Mistress Kalina returned?”

“Not yet. I’m not worried, Chatta. I trust
Gaidar and Suria to keep them safe, and I think it’s just as well
they stay away from the Capital for another day or two. I came to
speak privately with Lieutenant Narisa. I will attend to her needs
tonight. You may go now.” Tarik sealed the door the moment Chatta
had left.

“Was that wise?” Narisa asked anxiously. “She
will probably tell all the other servants you are spending the
night with me.”

“How can I be wise when I want you so badly?”
He laughed and kissed her cheek. He caught her hand, urging her
toward the bed. She wanted to go with him, but she held back,
pulling at his hand.

“Tarik, be careful. Remember the
eavesdropping system.” There was no way of knowing if it had been
turned on again after Kalina had disconnected it days before.

“Thanks to a communications officer among
Halvo’s men, all of the eavesdropping devices in this house have
been turned off. We can speak freely in any room. I can tell you
how much I love you without being overheard.”

“How wonderful.”

“Wonderful that I love you, or that I can say
it with no one else listening?” he teased, sitting down on the side
of her bed. Still holding her hand, he pulled gently until she sat
beside him.

“Both.” She leaned her head on his shoulder,
sighing happily as he put an arm around her. “Won’t Leader Tyre
grow suspicious if he can’t hear what we are saying? Won’t he take
action against us?”

“He won’t dare, not after Halvo’s request for
a full meeting of the Assembly has been approved. We go before them
at midday tomorrow.”

“So quickly?” She sat up straight, frightened
in spite of her trust in Halvo. Tarik drew her back into his
arms.

“Halvo wants to make his case to the Members
before our father returns,” he said. “That way no one can accuse
him of using Almaric’s influence to make the changes he wants.”

“Halvo thinks of everything, doesn’t he?”

“Not quite everything.” He grinned down at
her, looking like a small boy keeping a secret from the grown-ups.
“I have a plan of my own, to take effect after we have finished
with Tyre. It’s an idea I think Halvo will agree to, and that will
please the Assembly, also.”

“What plan?” She tried to pull away so she
could look directly into his face, but he held her fast by his
side. When she tried again, he fell back across the bed, laughing
and taking her with him. “Tell me what you are going to do,
Tarik.’’

“I thought that was obvious.” He laughed
again, one hand planted firmly on her breast. Then he turned
serious. “I need to talk to Halvo first, and then to our father
when he returns. Will you be patient, my love, wait a few days, and
trust me?”

“I trust you with my life,” she whispered,
“and my future.” She turned her face to his, reaching for his
mouth.

It was a tender kiss, deep and loving. When
it ended, Tarik rolled over, pinning her beneath him, and began to
make love to her, his mouth and hands pushing away her thin gown to
set her body aflame with desire.

If their confrontation with the Assembly did
not go well, by this time tomorrow they and Halvo and his men could
all be incarcerated in the tightest security prison the
Jurisdiction maintained, convicted of high treason for trying to
depose Leader Tyre. She and Tarik might be separated forever.

But until morning they had each other. With
her last rational thought before she gave herself up to the storm
of their mutual passion, Narisa resolved to rejoice in Tarik’s love
and return it in good measure with no regrets. Whatever her fate,
she would always love Tarik, to death and beyond. The words he was
murmuring told her he felt the same way, and more. He told her how
proud he was of her, of her courage in rescuing Gaidar, her
resolute bravery during the recent battle, her navigational skills,
all the things that made her the strong, self-reliant woman she
was.

“You are my true mate,” he said as they came
together. `’I want to live with you for all of my life. I want you
to bear my child. I love you, Narisa …love you … love you.

She held him in the pearly rose light of
dawn, while he slept deeply and she sent silent prayers to every
ancient god whose name she could remember, pleading that they might
be allowed to remain together, and knowing deep in her heart the
danger of their mission and how unlikely it was that her prayers
would be answered.

They were ushered into the Red Room through
the door at the lowest level, the same way Tarik and Narisa had
entered once before with Gaidar. They reached the square meeting
room at precisely the hour of mid morning, with two of Halvo’s
personal guards, all he was permitted to take with him of the dozen
who had accompanied them to the Assembly chambers. Halvo had
accepted with quiet dignity the insulting manner of the ushers when
they stopped the other ten.

“An admiral deserves a better escort,”
insisted one of his people.

“Let it be,” Halvo responded. “Remain here in
the anteroom in case I need you. Now, let us get on with this.” He
stood before the door to the Red Room, waiting until it was opened
for him, then strode boldly forward, the others following.

All of them wore full dress uniform. Halvo’s
dark blue jacket glistened with gold and silver braid on collar and
cuffs, and his wide belt was heavily trimmed with silver. Both
sides of his chest were covered with medals, with Service ribbons
in every possible color, and with an almost unbelievable number of
honorary decorations from the planets of the Jurisdiction and
beyond. His dark blue cape had been tossed back over each shoulder
to show its shimmering red lining, and to make the sixteen-pointed
admiral’s star on his left arm easily visible to the Members. His
ornate silver helmet rested in the crook of his left arm. He was
calm, composed, and regal in his bearing. Narisa had no doubt he
would impress the Members favorably, recalling to them his almost
legendary exploits in the Service of the Jurisdiction, thus
inclining them to listen willingly to what he had to say to
them.

She and Tarik walked close to Halvo, where he
had ordered them to be regardless of Service protocol. Tarik was
one pace behind and slightly to his brother’s right, Narisa a
similar distance to his left. Their uniforms were less resplendent
than his, trimmed with red and silver braid. Their belts were
simply ornamented, their plain silver helmets, carried in the left
arm like Halvo’s, were decorated only with their stars of rank.
Both wore the formal cape thrown back only over the left shoulder
so that the insignia on the left uniform sleeve could be seen.