More importantly, it was insurance should the nightmares grow unbearable. When Ilid had hidden it, he’d had no real intention of using it in such a manner. It calmed him to know he had an option, a way out if therapy failed to heal his broken mind. Often after a nightmare, he slid it from beneath the mat as he did now and gazed at its shining blackness, at the jagged edges of where it had shattered. He reminded himself, I can quit if it becomes too much. The reminder was usually enough to offer him the peace that allowed him to continue, to keep trying to find a path out of the terror blanketing him.

  Tonight, his parents weighed on his mind. They didn’t deserve the wreck their son had become, and they didn’t deserve to clean up the mess if he fragmented as the cup had. Ilid imagined getting to the point where the tears never stopped, where bright light failed to dispel the image of tentacled shadows creeping toward him, when there was no choice but to flee into the peace of oblivion. He thought of his mother or Imdiko father coming upon his body.

  It was better to finish it now, rather than dragging them through weeks, maybe months, of torment. He shuddered to imagine it ending in their home, where they’d be confronted by the memories every day thereafter. He’d be doing them a kindness if he got it over with before Dr. Degorsk released him.

  Tonight was as good a time as any. Why draw it out? So he could bring more grief upon them?

  He caught himself glancing around, checking the corners for Darks, his heart picking up speed. He couldn’t live like this. Neither could his parents.

  Ilid brought the sharp point of the cup shard to his wrist. As he began cutting and the blood started to flow, relief swept through him. It would soon be over. Finally, he could rest.

  Chapter Ten

  Tranis sat in his office and stared at his computer vid. It displayed the order he’d relayed to the spy division to send a surveillance team to inspect and report on the members of the Galactic Council governing body.

  Rejected, the screen blared at him. His order had been countermanded, the refusal signed by Hobato. The space for the reason for doing so contained one curt line: no acceptable basis for imperative at this time.

  Another holographic screen shimmered in the air next to the first. On it was the revocation of the order from the medical and research arm of the spy division to test fleet operatives who had brain signal patterns similar to Ensign Ilid’s. Again, signed by Hobato for the same terse reason.

  Tranis fought the urge to march to Hobato’s office, to tell him he knew exactly where the retraction of orders was coming from, to inform the invisible entity he was on to it. He had no hope of proving it. If Ilid was right, the rider had access to Hobato’s memories and knowledge. It would realize Tranis couldn’t move against his commanding officer without proof. It would rid itself of him in an instant, probably by having him unceremoniously tossed in the brig.

  Tranis might have confronted whatever controlled Hobato anyhow, had Lidon not commed him minutes prior to tell him Clan Piras had arrived. He bristled to lose whatever time it would take for Lokmi and Hope to find a means to trap the Dark, but at least they could get started. As could Piras and Lidon on setting up Hobato’s communiques to be monitored and misdirected. Hopefully, if the entities had reached the Galactic Council, they wouldn’t do much damage before the real Hobato could be restored and spies sent to verify whether the GC had been compromised.

  As for the reversal of testing those who could possibly spot the Darks as Ilid did…Tranis smirked. Cassidy had been granted clearance to work with fleet personnel, including the spy division, to test “suspected microcellular alterations to biological functions” on those who used phase technology. Her supposed research had been lumped in a massive group of larger studies, where its smaller budget would garner little attention.

  She’d investigate microcellular alterations, all right, as well as brain function and wave patterns to find those matching Ensign Ilid’s. Hobato, who didn’t supervise contracted research of biological nature, wouldn’t know it was happening.

  * * * *

  After leaving work early and flying home, Tranis discovered his secret guests waiting for him in his greeting room, accompanied by Lidon, Degorsk, and Cassidy. He wasted no time once he’d welcomed Clan Piras to tell them the latest developments.

  “It’s alarming,” Piras agreed from his seat on a green floor mat. The two clans had settled in a cozy corner, near the bar. He drew lines on the condensation on his glass of kloq, of which he’d had a single sip. “In the past, we’ve spied on the Galactic Council for much less reason under the rear admiral’s direction. I see no valid cause to refuse to test our operatives and fleet crews for the ability to spot the Darks. Speaking of which, have you figured out a means to bring Hobato and Ensign Ilid together for the purpose of confirming he’s under alien control?”

  Degorsk sat by Tranis on another floor mat. His eyes were shadowed and features drawn after being woken in the middle of the night to rush to the fleet’s hospital. He shook his head adamantly. “Dramok Ilid attempted suicide last night. He was in no condition to potentially view evidence of Dark presence on Kalquor before. He’s absolutely in no shape for it now.”

  Piras stared in shock. “Ancestors. Did he seem suicidal?”

  “I didn’t think so, but I chose to err on the side of caution because of the extreme trauma he went through. A security guard was assigned to watch the vid monitoring his room, and only Ilid’s monitor, every night.”

  “Cautious measures, indeed.”

  “The guard said last night Ilid behaved typically…he’d had a nightmare, after which he huddled on the floor next to his sleeping mat and looked around his room to make sure no Darks were sneaking up on him. Despite the guard’s careful attention, it wasn’t until he saw blood pooling on the floor that he knew there was trouble. They barely got to Ilid in time to save him.” Degorsk picked up his bottle of bohut and drained half of it in a few gulps.

  Lidon, seated on Degorsk’s opposite side from Tranis, gazed at his Imdiko in sympathy. “I checked the records to be sure the ensign was properly monitored. He was. I watched the footage of his attempt and saw what his guards reported nearly every night, up to the moment he started bleeding out. His determination nearly outmatched the protocols in place to protect him from himself.”

  Tranis’ gut ached for the traumatized man. “A face-to-face meeting with Hobato and discovering a Dark riding him would probably finish the ensign psychologically.”

  “I can’t authorize it. In fact, I’ll hold you off with a blaster if any of you try.” The mix of Degorsk’s humor and temper was telling. He probably would point a blaster at them if they attempted to bring his patient and Hobato together. Tranis thought he might even shoot.

  “What if this ensign viewed Hobato remotely?” Hope suggested.

  Tranis regarded the young woman sitting by to his own Matara, who sat next to Lidon. Hope was boyishly slight and dark in contrast to Cassidy’s full figure, pale skin, and white-blond hair. They were both lovely despite looking nothing alike. They were also phenomenally intelligent…possibly the smartest people in the room.

  He smiled, registering where Hope’s thoughts had gone. “Are you thinking of sending in one of your nanospies? The trick would be putting it on Hobato. I could go in phased…but the Dark, if it’s there, would see me.”

  She grinned. “Haven’t you heard? The latest prototype can fly and attach itself to its target.”

  “It doesn’t require remote piloting?” Tranis was delighted.

  “You just have to get it to the room after I program it. Let it hitch a ride on your shoulder into Admiral Hobato’s office, and it’ll do the rest.”

  “Hobato countermanding my orders gives me the perfect reason to pay him a visit.” Tranis winced. He addressed Hope and Lokmi for the next issue. “How is the containment question proceeding?”

  The pair grimaced. “We’ve studied several different options based on our phasing tech. The trouble is, we can’t figure out the composition and signature of the dimension the Darks are from without actually breaking through to it. No sample of organic matter we think we’re getting across returns alive.”

  “Single-celled organisms, tardigrades, a few others…they all come back dead,” Hope sighed.

  “Why are you sending those?” Cassidy’s tone was eager as scientific curiosity lit her gaze.

  “Our guess is since the Darks apparently thrive in space, they have either low oxygen needs or the capacity to store a great deal of it. The organisms we’ve used in our attempts match those requirements for survival in space.”

  “Also the ability to absorb and retain large amounts of water.”

  “Precisely.”

  “What I wouldn’t do to get my microscopic scanner on a life form capable of interdimensional space travel without technological support.”

  “The possibilities for our own adaptations would be tremendous.”

  The women beamed at each other.

  Lokmi chuckled. “For us lower-IQ types, suffice to say Hope and I haven’t yet been able to test our theories on the Darks’ dimension and what it would require for us to extend a containment field into it. We’ve only gotten as far as the in-between section where the dimensions apparently overlap.”

  “I’m feeling like an idiotic fifth wheel in this conversation,” Piras sighed.

  The statement reminded Tranis of the thus-far silent member of the group. Captain Kila lurked in the background, adding nothing. He simply stood behind Piras, staring over his shoulder, his expression carefully blank.

  Tranis knew what the lack of feeling in a Nobek’s face meant. He also noted who was in Kila’s sights.

  I guess he wasn’t thrilled about my choice to send Lidon to watch over Piras while he was away. I hope there won’t be trouble between them.

  * * * *

  Lidon activated the phase device he kept on hand and stepped onto the balcony of his clan’s home. As he’d suspected, he’d found the spot Kila had disappeared to after the group’s discussion.

  Ignoring the all-weather chairs lined up behind him, his fellow Nobek stood at the railing carved from the side of the cliff, in which Clan Tranis’ home had been dug. He stared out at the phosphorous streaks of waves dashing themselves onto the night-black shore below.

  He no doubt knew he was no longer alone. He had probably guessed Lidon had phased to find him. He hadn’t twitched a muscle, but Lidon could damned near taste the heightened tension on the windswept air.

  “If you feel a fight will restore honor, I have an excellent sparring room in my private suite that can suit the purpose,” he offered. “We could remain phased, so no one realizes what’s happening and feel they should intervene.”

  “Should I consider my honor demeaned?” Kila turned toward him, a vicious grin eating up his face. Lidon admired it. It was heart-stopping in its savagery, in its promise of violence. His own chilling gaze had made many foes nervous, but Kila’s grin was on a level all its own.

  “It’s up to you to decide,” Lidon answered. “I discovered during my tenure as Piras’ bodyguard that a feeling of protectiveness toward him remains. It was an uncomfortable surprise, but mere protectiveness was what I felt for him. Nothing more.”

  “He claims he has nothing left for you either.” Kila conceded grudgingly. “I have no reason to believe otherwise.”

  Lidon had the sudden insight Kila wished he could find a valid reason to fight. Was it because Lidon had known Piras first and they’d almost clanned?

  Whatever Kila held against him, valid or not, Lidon would have welcomed the opportunity to test himself against the man. Win or lose, fighting Kila would have been a brutally delightful contest. Lidon’s warrior nature shouted for the opportunity. Since Nobeks often fought for the sheer fun of it, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

  Except it would upset Piras. Probably everyone else as well, but Piras would certainly see their rivalry as having to do with him. On Kila’s end, it would be true, and who knew what bad feelings between him and Piras would erupt in the wake of such a contest?

  Once again, the startling need to protect his ex-would-be Dramok was fiercer than the call of the beast. Piras had found the clanmate best suited for him. Lidon had to do what was in his power to keep their relationship intact.

  “Piras is your clanmate and job now, Kila. I guarded him on orders. He was my assignment, no more.”

  Kila stepped close, his hectic smile transforming to a snarl. “I’ll let this one time go. But mark my words: I won’t accept you as his bodyguard again. If you’re ordered to do so in the future, refuse it, or I’ll make you wish you had.”

  Kila left the balcony. Lidon allowed himself the smallest of sighs. Such a shame. They could have had an incredible fight, resulting in scars worth boasting about for decades.

  * * * *

  Earth II

  Kuran monitored Michael Adams watching one of the campaign rally’s would-be attackers as the perp was escorted by a guard from the security division’s interrogation room. Adams’ expression was as stoic as any Nobek trained to hide his true feelings until the door shut and he was left alone.

  Only then did Kuran’s replacement scowl. “Asshole,” he muttered as he stood, low enough so Kuran understood he hadn’t wanted to be heard speaking in an unprofessional manner. The audio from the room’s monitor, piped in to the observation space where the Nobek watched on close-circuit vid, brought Adams’ voice in loud and clear.

  Seconds later, Adams entered the observation room. “Same tap dance from the whole gang. The governor and her followers are leading Earth in the wrong direction, the explosives were meant to just scare her from running for another term because God will take care of her whoring ways, they cooked this plot up themselves, etcetera, etcetera.”

  “You caught them before they could do any harm,” Kuran said.

  “Yeah, and we’ll take them out of circulation for a while, at least on a weapons charge, which they’ve said they’ll plead guilty for. They’ll fight the conspiracy charge, so it’ll go to trial. Either way, we have our planet’s first prison inmates. What a stellar accomplishment for Earth and humankind.” Adams stood, hands on his hips, his gaze trained on the gray-carpeted floor. He looked utterly disgusted.

  “You did well, Chief Adams. Everything was by the book, no mistakes. More importantly, no injuries or deaths.”

  “By the book.” Adams rolled his eyes up to regard Kuran. “Have you ever just wanted to give bastards like those a good slap-around?”

  If you only knew what I’ve done to such people. “Something’s bothering you beyond the attack.”

  “I don’t think they acted on their own. If you ask me, someone brought them together and gave them their marching orders. The story of them initially meeting at a Galactic Council conference, staying in touch when they went home to Mercy, New Bethlehem, and Haven…it’s bullshit, Chief Kuran.”

  “I agree. Unfortunately, the group is sticking to their story, and the relevant details support their claim. Since you can’t prove they’re lying, it’ll be up to the prosecutor to investigate and hopefully dig up the evidence she needs to put them away for a long time. You’ll find that’s the biggest headache about this job…letting it go when you know there’s more to the story.”

  “Do you have suggestions on how I can do better? Rally security, interrogation, the rest?”

  Kuran shook his head. “I couldn’t have run this show better. You’ve got this job down to a tee, including the urge to slap assholes.”

  They shared a chuckle and shook hands on it. Kuran wasn’t surprised to realize he no longer held any reservations about his replacement. Michael Adams would do well as Earth’s chief of on-planet security.

  * * * *

  “Adams believes as we do…those who smuggled explosives to the rally were brought in by a separate party,” Kuran told Selt later when they met in the outgoing chief’s office. He’d sent two phased spies to accompany Stacy as she greeted her arriving mother and sister at the spaceport.

  “Bryant brought in a better grade of insurgents this round. They don’t seem half as inept as the first pair,” Selt fumed.

  “We need to keep our list of suspects open. The lieutenant governor is at the top of the list, but your report tells me we should consider Speaker Mitchell as well.”

  “They may be working together.” Selt folded his arms over his chest. “Mitchell needs to be taken down sooner than later, simply due to his threats to Matara Nelson. Have you considered my request for us to continue shadowing her around the clock?”

  “I have, and I’m clearing it.” Kuran studied Selt. His second was of the same mindset Kuran had found himself a few days after meeting Stacy. “Only because she’s been an excellent source for information on those we want to keep a close eye on. Don’t allow your growing fascination for the reporter blind you to duty.”

  Selt stilled, no doubt brought up short for his underlying motives having been discovered. He jerked a nod following a second’s pause. “The urge to protect an intelligent and beautiful woman won’t overcome my good sense. Thank you for not pulling me off the assignment, sir.”

  “It’s a tough line to walk. I won’t warn you if you screw up. You know better than to let personal interest endanger our work to protect Earth’s rightful leaders and Kalquor’s interest in this planet. Nelson’s a reporter, Selt, and she’s hungry to prove herself with a big story. Any breach will lead to you being sent elsewhere and a huge drop in rank.”

  “Understood.” Selt hesitated. “I have an idea where Matara Blythe is concerned, sir. It poses some risk, but there’s potential for greater reward, if you’ll hear it.”