Warrior's Valor (16 page)

“Not something I'd recommend, but damn it if I know how these criminals think,” Ewan said. He seemed to consider something, then spoke again, his voice tense. “Any intel on my wife in particular?”

“I went through Emeron D'Artansis's latest notes and, so far, nothing. They haven't been able to enter the
Viper
. It was still too hot from the massive fire at the crash site.”

Ewan paled and Rae had to press a hand against her midsection. The thought of what might have happened to her mother sickened her, but she couldn't allow fears of a worst-case scenario to hinder her efficiency.

“How do we rendezvous with Emeron D'Artansis and her unit?” Rae asked when she knew she had her voice under control.

“As it turns out, there are twenty-one clearings in the Disi-Disi forest where it is legal to land a vessel, or drop supplies, in case of an emergency. Council Leader Thorosac did quite some arm-twisting before the Cormanians would let us employ one of our shuttles for this purpose. However, we can't use anything larger than a Beta shuttle, thoroughly inspected by the Cormanian section of this military installation.”

“That doesn't allow us to take much backup,” Owena said. “A class-Beta shuttle carries only six people, including the pilot and navigator.”

“I know, but this was the best I could do, given the time constraint.”

“It'll have to do.” Rae spoke quickly. “I'll head up the team and will take Commanders O'Dal, D'Artansis, and Grey. Two marines will accompany us, and Captain de Vies will be our liaison with the base and the Cormanian authorities.” Rae turned to her father, whose gray complexion suggested his age for the first time, but she knew she couldn't show him any pity or compassion in public. “Admiral, we need you to use your connections within the SC Council. And they have to put more pressure on the Cormanians. I don't know why they are so reluctant to cooperate, but we can't have M'Ekar slip through the cracks because of them.”

“Agreed. I will keep Marco Thorosac posted, and Captain de Vies will keep me informed of every development. When is your ETD?”

“We'll leave as soon as the shuttle is equipped according to our needs and the Cormanian law, which should be interesting.” She stood. “This is a matter of great importance for the SC, as well as a personal matter. My mother is privy to confidential information that could damage us significantly if it ended up in the wrong hands. Knowing my mother, she would rather risk her life than give them anything. But you know as well as I do that mind-altering drugs can make a person do things completely out of character.”

“Oh, stars,” Leanne whispered, and Rae saw Owena squeeze Leanne's arm.

She didn't acknowledge that she'd heard anything. “We need to save my mother before she's harmed or somehow forced to compromise the SC and its plans. We have to stop M'Ekar, apprehend him, and incarcerate the people that facilitated his escape. It's a lot, and it's up to us.”

Rae finally looked at Kellen and saw cold determination in her eyes. Something was going on. Kellen had locked the door to her office for an hour earlier that day, and she wondered why.

Emeron hesitated outside the tent. Noor had motioned toward it when Emeron appeared, and the frown on her face had not been encouraging. Did everyone think she was to blame here? What about Dwyn's stubborn self-righteousness? Surely her unit members hadn't forgotten their exasperation, only days ago, when they learned of this trivial assignment?

Pushing the tent flaps aside, Emeron ducked inside and held her breath, not sure what to expect. At first she was relieved to see Dwyn curled up inside her bedroll, apparently asleep. Determined not to disturb her, Emeron turned around to leave. She had her hand on the tent flap when she halted again. Something about the very still form wasn't right. She remembered how Dwyn had inhaled the poisonous smoke from the bots she'd destroyed. What if her lungs had deteriorated from the smoke around the Disian village?

“Dwyn?” Worried, Emeron crawled up alongside her. “Are you all right?”

“Go away,” she said quietly, but Emeron heard the forced indifference in her tone and knew what it meant.

“Dwyn, I'm sorry.” She was surprised how easily the words came out. “I can be such a bitch.”

“You meant what you said. You don't have to apologize. It is what it is.” Dwyn didn't move. Curled up, nearly in a fetal position, she still didn't look at Emeron.

“The thing is, I didn't. I mean, I was furious at what's going on here—still am.” She shifted and sat down more comfortably next to Dwyn. “I guess it's no secret that I resent certain aspects of my heritage.” She touched Dwyn's hip outside the bedroll and let her hand remain there as she felt distinct tremors. “I shouldn't have involved you. When Pri called you my
hesiyeh sohl
, my woman of the sun, I was angry.”

“Don't worry. I got the message.”

“I know. But it wasn't true. I mean, I'm not as indifferent to you as I sounded. And Pri called me on it. She gave me a piece of her mind after you left.”

“What do you mean, it wasn't true?” Dwyn stirred and sat up, her blond hair mussed in a silver cloud around her. She had obviously jumped straight into her bedroll without using the portable sanitizer. The dark, vertical streaks down her cheeks showed where tears had revealed clean skin.
She's been crying. I made her cry
.

“Yes, well. I gave the impression that I'm indifferent to you. That you don't matter.” She studied the pattern of dust and stains on her uniform pants. “It wasn't…isn't, I mean…true. I do care about you. About your safety.”

“You do your job well,
Commander
.” Dwyn sighed, gesturing with her palms up. “I have no complaints. You don't have anything to worry about.”

“That's not what I meant.” Frustrated, she clenched her fists. “I do worry. I mean, I care.”

Dwyn looked into her eyes, apparently searching for something. “You care? How?”

Cornered, she wanted to retreat, but told herself she had never acted cowardly and this wasn't a good time to start. “I care. About you, I mean. I told Pri you didn't matter, but that's a lie. I said it because I resented her being presumptuous. I never stopped to think how it would seem to you.”

“And what do you think now?” Dwyn's voice didn't give anything away.

“You would feel as if you were invisible and insignificant.” Emeron found it difficult to speak, and when the words were out, she sighed and shook her head. “Please, forgive me.”

“But you don't know me. You don't even
like
me. Why would it bother you how I feel?” Dwyn still sounded detached, but her trembling hands and the thin lines around her eyes gave her away.

“I don't know everything about you, but I know a lot. You are courageous, passionate, heroic, and, more than that, you are dedicated and a believer. I envy you that.”

“A believer?”

“Yes. Someone who still believes in her cause, in her fight. You look at the universe through a completely different window than I do. You see other things, and you value them whereas I merely shrug.”

Dwyn rose onto her knees and squeezed Emeron gently. “I could almost think that you admire me, Commander.” Whereas Emeron's title had sounded insulting before, Dwyn spoke it with a gentle tease in her voice now. “That's quite a switch.”

“Still true.” Emeron licked her lips, at a loss suddenly on how to proceed. Dwyn's proximity stole her breath, and she had to remind herself of what Pri had said about Dwyn's innocence.
Just how innocent are you? Innocent, period—or innocent when it comes to women?
The thought of Dwyn in the arms of a male lover,
any
lover, disturbed her.
Damn it, I have to stop this.

Dwyn traced Emeron's jawline with light fingers. “I know what we should do,” she said huskily. “It's way overdue.”

“It is?” Emeron swallowed.

“Yes.” Dwyn blushed faintly. “We both need to use the sanitizer. Clothes, skin, teeth. The lot.”

Relieved, and disappointed, she took Dwyn's words literally and reached for her carrier that Noor had placed above her bedroll. “We can use mine.”

Dwyn's smile showed relief as well, but somehow another, more contented kind. “Would you start with my hair? I have to harness it into a braid, and it's much easier if it's clean.”

The thought of touching the silky mass dried her mouth again, and she had to attempt to speak twice before she succeeded. “All right. Turn around.”

Dwyn pivoted and sat with her back to her. Her hair lay in long tassels, more gray than blond from the smoke.

“Wait.” Dwyn rummaged through the carrier, then handed her a small ampoule. “Here. I use this sometimes.”

Emeron regarded the tiny object under raised eyebrows. “Apple blossom?”

“Yes.” Dwyn shrugged, looking embarrassed. “It's a childhood thing. The scent is comforting. Perhaps because Mom used to make me apple-cinnamon tea. I don't know.” She shrugged again and sat still, a little hunched over.

A few days ago she would have scorned Dwyn. She would have mocked the use of perfume on an assignment without any regard for Dwyn's reasons. Now, she slipped the ampoule into the little compartment in the handle of the sanitizer and ran it along Dwyn's hair. “Mmm. Smells nice.”

“Really?” Dwyn's hopeful tone tore at her.

“Really. Can I borrow some? If you'd do my hair?”
Did I just ask to use perfume in the field? Mogghy's never going to let me live that one down.

“Sure.”

She kept working on Dwyn's hair and had to lift the silvery masses to reach all sides of it. It was like a live entity. Flowing and falling between her fingers, it twirled around them and pulled her in. Finally, it was clean and she had the daunting task of sorting out all the knots.

“What do you use, a comb?” She looked in her own carrier.

“No, that'd get stuck. I use this.” Dwyn pulled out a hairbrush unlike any she had ever seen. Its strands were white and soft, and the back and handle were made of silver. An intricate pattern of swirling flowers was engraved on the back, an alien monogram in the center of the pattern.

“This must be very old. It's beautiful.”

“It's a family heirloom. I'm probably more superstitious than I care to admit, but I never go on an assignment without it. My mother is a very prosaic woman, but the fact that she and all the women before her kept this, and used it, every day, means a lot to me. I believe it's from the nineteenth century.”

“Really? Amazing.” She began to run the brush through Dwyn's hair and found it easier to get rid of the knots if she started at the ends and worked her way up. She made sure she held on tight above the knots, so she wouldn't yank Dwyn's scalp. “Let me know if I hurt you.” She spoke before thinking and groaned inwardly at her words. She'd already done her best to hurt this woman today.

“You're doing fine.” Dwyn leaned closer and the apple-blossom scent filled Emeron's senses. “I remember crying sometimes while my mother brushed my hair when I was growing up. She wanted to cut it short, shorter than yours, for practical reasons, but I refused.”

“Have you ever? Cut it, I mean?” It was soothing to talk about everyday things in the middle of this disastrous situation. She couldn't remember ever brushing anyone's hair, not even when she'd tried to woo a woman when she was younger.

“Only the ends. Other than that, no. I know I'm not very feminine, but my hair is sort of a signature.”

“Hey, what do you mean? Not feminine? What are you talking about?” She pushed Dwyn sideways so she could meet her eyes.

“Well, I'm not girly. I never was. My profession has hardened me, I suppose.”

“But you're the most beautiful and feminine woman I've ever seen,” Emeron blurted, momentarily shocked by her own words. It was too late to take them back.

Dwyn stared at her, her lips parted. “What? Are you blind? I'm sitting here in dirty coveralls, and you think I'm feminine?”

“Very.” She smoothed the last tress. “And I think it's time to clean up our act, coveralls and all. Want to go first? I can wait outside.”

“All right.” Dwyn regarded her shyly. “But you don't have to leave.”

She had no reply, merely sat and watched Dwyn disrobe. She had slender, yet wiry, arms, narrow shoulders, and a boyish, thin torso. Tiny, bluish freckles covered the back of her neck and ran downward in an arrow shape. Inherited from her Iminestrian father, no doubt. Emeron couldn't look away from Dwyn's small breasts, so perfectly proportioned to her slight body. Her mouth wasn't dry anymore. In fact, it watered instantly at the sight of Dwyn's small, dark red nipples.

“Let me help you.” Emeron changed the setting on the sanitizer to skin and removed the ampoule. She ran it over Dwyn at a two-centimeter distance and watched the flesh come to life beneath it. The cleansing process made it almost impossible not to bury her face against Dwyn's neck.