Bei opened his eyes and stretched. His ribs ached and cold stone leached the heat from his skin. Outside the arched windows, birds chirped and the air hung heavy with the scent of flowers. Rising to his feet, he scanned his surroundings. Hunting frescoes adorned the white walls, and rugs woven in bright, primary colors covered the marble floors.
He knew this place. Everything about the room was familiar.
Familiar, yet alien.
The slaughtered beast on the mural was not from Earth. Nor had he ever seen dual string bows. Even the stylized representation of the people was off, thanks to a second thumb replacing the pinky finger on both hands and the backward flexing of their joints.
He had dreamt of this place often in the past three weeks.
Bei glanced to the right. In a room off the landing at the top of the staircase, Nell would be waiting on a bed of silk sheets. She'd be propped up against a mound of pillows with the skirt of her dark blue gown spread around her legs. Anticipation coursed through him as his footfalls whispered across the marble and he raced up the stairs.
He'd memorized every detail of that dress, had traced the gold and silver threads that swirled over her breasts and his fingers had teased the embroidered pink flowers on his way to the zipper running down her spine. When he reached the landing, Bei increased his pace. Could she hear him coming? Would she be scooting away from the headboard of the platform bed, eager to receive him?
The brass knob turned easily in his hand, and he tossed open the dark wood door. At the sight before him, his smile fled.
"Bei." Nell cowered near the headboard, clutching the ripped fabric of her bodice against her bare chest. A red hand print rose from her pale cheek. "Help me!"
Whoever was responsible would die. Slowly. He'd been trained to do it.
A man stepped from the shadows into the soft light cast by the sconces. Anger burnished his tan skin and thinned his lips. He grabbed Nell's arm and yanked her off the bed. She tumbled to the floor at his feet. "She is mine. My wife. My property."
"No!" Bei roared. Before he could move, pain clamped down on his skull.
"Don't!" Nell's scream reverberated inside his head as he came fully awake.
Eyes closed, Bei labored for each breath as the assault continued in his cerebral interface. That was no damn dream. Neither was it a memory. Yet it was a strange combination of both. Nell's cerebral interface must be the origin. But why the man? Although he sensed Nell knew the man, the trace of intimacy wasn't there.
Could an outside source be attempting to control Nell through her interface?
And where had the bastard come from?
Bei sensed his foul presence in the WA. In his mind, he tracked the energy signal through cyberspace and isolated it. The transmission's signature matched Nell's.
Damn. To keep the man out, he'd have to block Nell's access to the WA, but he had no choice. She'd tugged his command codes out of his skull while they were on the Starfarer. If she used the information or let it slip to the stranger, every one in the fleet was at risk.
And the man posed a threat.
Bei's avatar tagged the signal to be attacked the next time it appeared in the CIC, then he changed his command codes. Still not happy, Bei activated the guardian protocol. Two digital Dobermans sniffed the air before dashing off into cyberspace.
Now to hunt down the man responsible.
Bei opened his eyes. A white curtain billowed in a draft while a monitor above his head recorded his vital signs. Obviously, he was in sick bay. A common precaution after emergency hibernation, but which ship's infirmary and where was Nell?
He pushed aside the soft cotton sheets and sat up. The mattress dipped under his weight. Pressing his hand into the foam bedding, he watched it spring back. Such luxuries occurred only when citizens were around. He must be aboard the America .
But how did he get here and had Nell survived the vacuum of space?
Bei wiped the fatigue off his face and pushed out of the bed. His feet hit the deck with a loud thud. Artificial gravity. The Syn-En scientists had proposed a means to achieve it years ago, but the UEN Supreme Council had vetoed it as too expensive. Obviously, they'd changed their minds.
Setting aside his anger at the Council's injustice, Bei focused on the task at hand. First, he'd find Nell, then he'd see to his crew, and finally he'd hunt the man in that dream/memory. After pulling on his uniform, Bei grabbed the white curtains and yanked them open.
Expecting a large infirmary like that aboard his starship, Bei discovered the room was surprisingly small. The other bed had been shrouded by a curtain as well. Bei walked the two paces to the fabric wall and slipped inside.
Nell lay on the bed. Her paleness clashed with the cream-colored blanket tucked around her naked body and the mottled bruises on her skin. Above her head, the diagnostic screen relayed her vitals. All were perfectly normal. Too normal. No human alive kept to the norm unless they had a cerebral implant regulating their functions. He'd been a fool not to see it before. Yet they'd become so accustomed to the normalcy, neither he nor Doc had thought it strange.
Bei knew it was strange now, and it caused a disquiet deep inside him. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to hide Nell's implant, and Bei seriously doubted it was the Syn-En or their descendants.
And what of those dream/memories?
They'd been meant for Nell alone, supporting his belief that the strange beasts and the alien humanoids actually existed.
But the man in the dream had lacked two thumbs on each hand and the backward knee and elbow joints. Like Nell, he had to be human and modified. For what purpose?
Bei extrapolated from what he knew. The implant had given her knowledge of where to go and how to get there. On her medical records Doc had noted that Nell had been altered to remain young for a long time. And fertile. Bei swallowed the bitterness in his mouth. Her implant could have influenced her acceptance of a sexual relationship with him. Hell, for all he knew, the damn thing could have caused his own response to her. It explained so much. Except perhaps the most important thing: Why?
Given the stranger's hostility, Bei knew it had nothing to do with saving the Syn-En. So what world had Nell enlisted to save?
Terra Dos.
The certainty cut through Bei. Whatever had changed Nell, it concerned that planet. Was he leading his people to their death? Although he commanded a fleet of warships, their weapons were minimal and probably didn't compare to a race who could hide their technology.
He needed information. Could he risk sending a probe to the planet? Had they picked up on his fleet's presence already? Bei fought the urge to get to the bridge and instead entered the WA. No alien energy reading showed up to cause alarm, nor had anything been sent from the planet.
Was he worrying for nothing?
Bei clasped Nell's hand, ran his thumb along the soft skin. Her cry for help ripped through him. Damn, she wasn't going through the WA. She was trying to contact him directly- interface to interface. Bei allowed the opening, taking the risk of exposing his command codes to reassure her. "I'm coming. Just hang on."
Hurry, Nell cried.
"You're awake." Doc's voice sounded behind Bei.
Bei didn't respond as the doctor walked along Nell's side and faced him across the bed.
The green diag beam shot out of his palm as if he didn't quite trust the citizen's technology. "If it's any comfort, all her stats are normal."
"Too normal." Bei waited to see if Doc caught the underlying meaning in his words.
"Yes, I-" Doc's brown eyes widened, and he glanced over his shoulder as if to verify they were alone in the square room. "How did you know?"
Bei shrugged. Although he didn't want to admit their affair was nothing but sophisticated programming, he couldn't dismiss it either. Nor could he ignore the potential influence it held over him. He kissed her knuckles. If just his life were at risk, he'd take the chance for her. "Nell has a cerebral interface."
Doc's jaw went slack for a moment.
/>
"I wish you had told me sooner. It wasn't until I was giving the inductees a check up that I noticed the variation in their vitals." Doc ran his hand through his dark hair. "I scanned her as soon as I arrived, but couldn't find anything."
"Look again, but this time search for any abnormality. It's there." Bei didn't doubt it. Whoever put the cerebral interface there didn't want it found. Nell didn't know of it. She valued honesty. The man's presence was a shock to her.
Was he on the planet, waiting for her?
Bei had to disconnect her cerebral interface before the bastard could use it to control her. Nell belonged with him.
Bei turned on his heel, intent on leaving the infirmary to consult with his senior staff. Damn. He'd nearly forgotten. "How are the others?"
"Shang'hai suffered some damage and is having her interface rebooted. Wilson has a broken arm and his enhancement overloaded from a power surge." Doc tapped the keyboard and a low hum filled the air. Light sparked off a silver sphere hovering beside his head. Doc batted it away. "Damn citizens and their zealotry for manual input. They built the whole ship without a single fiberoptic port."
Bei grunted, keenly aware Doc had not named the XO. "Did Penig make it?"
"Aye." Doc grinned. "He's teaching the inductees Hide and Seek."
Bei smiled. The XO's love of the game and his insistence that Syn-En children learn to play had kept the children out of the dormitories the night of the attack. The new inductees' presence added more weight to Bei's burden. The Syn-En had to settle Terra Dos.
Nell's pulse increased and she winced in her sleep.
Damn it, man. Leave her alone.
You can't stop me. Came the replying taunt.
Doc frowned at her diag reading. "Her brain activity is off the charts. It could be what's stopping her from waking up."
Awake or asleep, the signal could still reach her, manipulate her. Bei's hands curled into fists. "Put her in a chemical coma."
Doc's forehead wrinkled. He opened his mouth then shut it. "For how long?"
"Until we reach the planet." Bei didn't like giving himself a deadline, but he didn't want Nell harmed either.
"Two hours then." Doc glanced up. "Hmm. I think I've found it."
"Where?" Anticipation coursed through Bei.
"Her skull is abnormally thick." Doc tapped a few more keys and the picture of Nell's head appeared on the diag screen. The image moved in and out of focus as it cut through hair and tissue to expose the underlying bone. "See this area at the base. It's too thick and corresponds to regions with high activity levels."
Before Bei could respond, a ding from the com warned of an incoming message.
"Security Chief Rome to Admiral York. Bei, come in."
Bei nodded to Doc. "I'll want options for removal before we reach the planet. Send them to me encoded and, Doc, tell as few others as possible."
Doc nodded but didn't look away from the readings. "Aye, Admiral."
Bei glanced at the com hub by the door before dismissing it. The citizens were technophobes, but he wasn't. Using the WA, Bei sent a secured message to his security chief. What's the problem, Chief?
You need to report to docking station two. Chief Rome's blond avatar wrung his hands.
Bei sent his own digital representation to fetch the America's schematics. The infirmary was in the same wing as the docking station. After charting the shortest course, he grafted the file onto his memory and strode from the room. I'm on my way. Brief me as I walk .
Hushed voices drifted down the carpeted hallway. Gilded frames displayed holographic pictures on the beige walls. The photos shuffled between portraits of the UEN Supreme Council and bucolic scenes of Earth. Using his command codes, Bei deleted the officials' portraits and replaced them with the induction photos of the children.
Starflight 1. Lightning bolts radiated from the Chief's avatar. Apparently, Civilian Timothy Smith rescued you and the others then brought you aboard.
Surprise and anger rattled Bei's control. He turned right at the next corner and headed for the elevator at the end of the hallway. An image of the civilian popped up in cyberspace. Not that Bei needed a reminder. He knew the face, rank and identity of all those who'd run off with the traitor Burkina Faso. And does Smith think he can earn his passage to Terra Dos by turning in his comrades?
The elevator doors swished open. Bei entered the mahogany paneled box and stabbed the crystal button for level one.
Their corpses, you mean. Rome's avatar turned green. He's mounted Faso's head on a pulse rifle and piled her limbs underneath .
Shock tempered Bei's anger. Smith hadn't been reduced to a civilian because of a violent crime. The doors closed and the elevator glided down. Where is Smith now?
Dead, Admiral. His neck was broken. Swear words bubbled around the Chief. He's been dead for days and his identity chip was cut out.
And where is Smith's ident chip? Bei was out the elevator as soon as the door opened. The stench of decay infused the long corridor. Ignoring it, Bei added this latest twist to what he already knew as his long strides ate the fifty yards between him and the docking bay.
In the waste stream. He flushed it after disappearing among the rest of the civilian refugees.
Bei would bet every implant in his body that the mystery man in Nell's dream had brought them aboard the America. No one would give him a second glance when there were casualties needing attendance and the stranger was one of many civilians coming aboard. So why had the man risked exposure to rescue him and his men?
For a moment, panic stopped Bei in his tracks then he raced down the hall to the com hub. Nell! She had been trapped in his arms when his armored skin had locked up. The only way to free her from Bei's NDA was to save him. By bringing the rest of his crew aboard the ship, the stranger provided enough of a distraction to slip away unnoticed until he could get to Nell again. Shoving Chief Rome out of the way, Bei pushed the button to activate the com unit. "Doc report."
Nothing. Bei's heart raced. Could the man have taken out a Syn-En?
"Doc!" Bei released the com button and sprinted back the way he'd come. "Rome, I want security to Nell's room now. We have an intruder."
Bei leaned on the elevator button, willing the lift to arrive faster. The bastard had used the bodies in Starflight 1 to distract Bei and his men while he went after his real target: Nell.
Despite having the best sensors, fastest relays and immense strength,
Syn-Ens must accept that sometimes, the best course of action is to
do nothing.
Syn-En Vade Mecum
Chapter Seventeen