Shadow captain star mast.., p.22
Shadow Captain (Star Master Book 1), page 22
"That's not new," Menevis said. "We've had that technology in the Middle Worlds for almost ten years."
"Well, it's new to us," Khed retorted.
"For my part, I'm more interested in why the landing party needs to be ready for hard vacuum," Shenti said.
"It is necessary for a demonstration my employer is planning," Wajar said.
"A demonstration that you're not invited to," Menevis said firmly.
"I wasn't aware that you gave the orders around here," Shenti retorted.
"He's right, you know," Lanati said. "We need someone from our group to stay behind with the crew, and it seems as though that would be a better use of your skill set."
"You always find such pleasant ways of saying that you don't trust people," Shenti said, sounding amused.
Not always, Jetay thought, remembering how Lanati had ripped into him when she thought he was a White Knight.
"And besides, you wouldn't want to come along," Menevis sneered. "Annut is going to be part of the landing party."
"In that case, I volunteer to stay behind," Shenti answered.
"I'm not staying behind on the ship," Ularti snapped. She pointed at the inset view from the side cameras showing the metalbores trapped in their forcefield. "Not with those things right parked right next to us, I'm not."
"Control yourself, Madam," Wajar said. "That forcefield has operated for hundreds of thousands of hours without a glitch. I'm sure it will stay up for a few hours more."
"I'm the owner of this ship," Ularti snapped, "And you're my passenger. You don't tell me what to do."
Jetay weighed up his next move. He had told Ularti about his "temporary commission in the Partisan Alliance" the first time he got a chance to talk to her privately. She seemed to already know a little about that from whatever recordings R-10 had brought back. She had been perfectly fine with him working for the Partisans, as long as it led them to whatever Lanati was after that would make her a bigger prize to the loyalists.
Wajar would expect him to use his authority as a military officer, but Jetay needed to find a way to do that without making Ularti so angry she would give the game away, or start fiddling with the indenture chips in his and Khed's heads.
"Come on, Ularti," he said, putting some strength into his voice. "You've carried us all this time, through all kinds of dangers, hoping for a reward at the end of our mission. Why spoil it now? We've already said we're leaving one of our people behind. We wouldn't do that if we thought this ship wasn't safe."
"It seems to me like the one Lanati told to stay behind isn't very important," Ularti said suspiciously. "I don't think anyone really cares what happens to the little seamstress."
"I can assure you that I am a survivor," Shenti said, "I don't plan to let Lanati's friends betray me."
Her voice hardened and Jetay had no doubt that she meant every word. He hoped Shenti didn't find out what game Ularti was playing, because he didn't think Shenti would let him or Khed live long enough to explain.
Ularti grumbled for a bit longer but allowed herself to be persuaded. Khed led the landing party to a locker in the cargo bay and pulled out the gear they needed.
Jetay put on his suit and helmet. Then he checked the oxygen levels in the tank. It was full.
He started to help Menevis adjust one of the suits for on Annut, but Menevis warned him off with a hostile stare. Jetay remembered that he was supposed to be part of Lanati's party, and not part of the Vanner's crew.
"I will say that I am very impressed with your hands-on attitude, Captain," Wajar said. "Even though this is only a hired ship, you fly it yourself and seemed thoroughly familiar with all its equipment."
Lanati shot Jetay a quick, nervous look, while Menevis continued to frown.
Jetay tried to look thoughtful and dignified.
"I've learned not to trust certain things to chance," he said.
"I thought you White Knights didn't believe in chance," Wajar said.
A fragment of what he had been taught came to Jetay.
"Chance is only another word for things whose causality we do not understand or cannot predict," he said. "We had a saying in the old days: precognition won't tell you whether your oxygen tanks are full or your gun throws to the right, so you'd better find those things out for yourself."
Wajar chuckled.
"It's easy to see that you spent some time studying under Samar the Worldwalker," he said. "You sound just like him. Are you one of the ones he recruited from out on the frontier?"
Jetay realized that Lanati was looking at him again, with an odd, assessing look.
"No," Jetay said, deciding to tell as much of the truth as he thought safe. "I was born on one of the Middle Worlds, partway between the Inner Worlds and the frontier. I was tested there for psychic potential when I was a boy. That's how I was recruited."
"And which planet was that?" Wajar asked.
Jetay gave him the haughtiest stare he could muster.
"I'd really rather not say," he told Wajar.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lanati and Menevis relax.
Wajar raised his hands apologetically.
"Good answer," he said, "But you can't blame me for checking. I have to look after my employer's interests."
"As long as you understand that I have my own secrets to keep," Jetay answered.
By now everyone had their gear on, and they headed into the cargo bay. Jetay started up the ladder to the topside hatch.
Here goes nothing, he thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Lanati had been worried by the exchange between Jetay and Wajar, but relieved when Jetay managed to carry it off. She was still bothered by what Jetay had shown her: the vid-recording of him groveling to the mindbenders. She shoved the worry aside, and focused on the problem of getting into the habitat.
Wajar's codes got them through the habitat's airlock without much difficulty, but then they found themselves stuck in a holding corridor just beyond, with a locked door at the far end. Her helmet's heads-up display told her the corridor had a breathable, nontoxic atmosphere, but she didn't feel like testing it just yet.
"Don't worry," Wajar said. "Danus knows we're here. He will be along shortly to meet us."
"Nice to see his tastes in interior decorating haven't changed at all," Menevis said sourly. "It looks like my father's preferences still run to white and sterile."
Jetay shot him a sharp look, and it occurred to Lanati that this was probably the first time Jetay had heard that the man they were going to meet was Menevis's father. Inwardly, she cursed Menevis for not briefing him properly. It was the kind of slip that might have made Wajar suspicious, but fortunately Jetay had handled it well, and she felt a swell of gratitude towards him for that.
"This is a research laboratory, Lord Menevis," Wajar said. "It is not my place to say whether your father's preferences would be appropriate in a normal residence, but here it is the only appropriate protocol."
The door at the far end slid open, and Danus stepped through it, wearing a vacuum suit and carrying a helmet. He had lighter skin than most people, indicating that his ancestors probably would have not come from Egypt, but had been visitors to the Lost City of Yamu when it was abducted.
He didn't look very much like Menevis aside from the skintone. He was shorter and less athletic than his son, but he moved with an air of decisiveness that Menevis lacked. Lanati had met him several times, and never could remember much about his face in between meetings, but she remembered his striking eyes - one hazel, one brown - and the shrewd intensity that filled them. As Danus approached, he focused those eyes on Jetay.
"So, Wajar," Danus said. "What have you brought me? It looks like the Partisans have finally condescended to send us a military officer."
"Better than that, sir," Wajar told him. "Captain Jetay is a White Knight. And a disciple of the Worldwalker, at that."
Danus raised his eyebrows at that and stared at Jetay with renewed interest.
"I would be interested in a demonstration, Captain, if you're willing," Danus said.
Jetay's face was remote and unreadable for a moment, and then he said: "I am at your disposal, Danus, if you feel that we have time for such parlor tricks." He held out his hand and added: "You're not going to want to stand too close to this display, any of you."
Lanati took a step back, and most of the others did the same. But Menevis stayed where he was and scowled, with Annut by his side. Lanati glared at her bodyguard, and summoned the jhamool to her. It was Menevis's own business if he wanted to ignore Jetay's mild warning, but he had no business putting Annut at risk as well.
A shimmering energy shape appeared just above Jetay's hand. It looked like an old-fashioned sword hovering in mid-air with the tip of the blade pointed upward.
Lanati heard a sharp intake of breath, and realized that it had come from Danus.
He looked at Jetay with a light shining in his eyes, as the mindblade dropped slightly closer to Jetay's hand. Jetay frowned, and the mindblade dispersed.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a White Knight in action," Danus said. "The Worldwalker is out there, of course, but I have this place shielded against his powers of teleportation. There are secrets in here that are not to be shared even with him."
"Don't worry," Jetay said. "We're just here to decide whether to buy what you're selling. The rest of your research is none of our business."
Danus frowned a little in irritation. "It is none of the Worldwalker's business either. And besides, he finds me tiresome, though he is too polite to say so."
"Well, that's one thing he got right," Menevis said. "Besides going to the authorities when he realized the rest of his Order was corrupt."
"Not all of them were corrupt," Danus said.
"Not all of them were mindbenders, you mean," Menevis sneered. "The others were cowards who were more concerned with the prestige of their precious White Knights than the suffering the mindbenders caused."
Lanati rolled her eyes. She didn't approve of what the White Knights had become, but Menevis's rantings against them always felt...insincere to her. As if he cared more about stirring up his own anger than about the crimes he condemned.
"The Worldwalker had help," Danus insisted. "There were those who followed his lead in testifying against their leaders and tried to heal the victims. In some cases, they were victims themselves. Their memories had been tampered with, and they needed the Worldwalker's help to recover those memories."
This was a routine and tiresome quarrel that Danus and Menevis always seemed to get into whenever they met. It was not the first time Lanati had been present when they decided to go at each other like this. She shifted her attention to Jetay, hoping he wouldn't embarrass them. She spotted a flash of dismay and discomfort on his face when the two men started squabbling, but then his face had settled back into its usual unreadable mask. He seemed to be paying close attention to the part about the Worldwalker healing people's memories.
"No matter how much you fawn over those 'good' White Knights who allied themselves with the Worldwalker, you have to remember that there's nothing left of them. They all went to the Red Knights, either willingly or by force, and now there is nothing left of them except a handful of mindless husks, each hiding inside a red shell. Captain Jetay's not a full Knight; he would have been too young when the Order was dissolved."
"Enough of this," Jetay said sharply. "Menevis I really don't care what you think about the White Knights. Danus, I am flattered by your interest in my training, but it is not a fit subject for your family quarrels."
Danus looked disconcerted, but Menevis only scowled more deeply, and opened his mouth for a sharp retort.
Lanati cut him off before he could speak.
"Isn't there something more important we should be discussing?" She asked. "I seem to recall, Danus, that there was a technology you wanted to sell us."
"Indeed," Danus said, and put on his helmet. "I must apologize for the digression. The White Knights intrigue me, and I don't get a chance to talk about them very often. If you will all follow me, I will show you my latest and greatest creation."
Deshraat floated gracefully on to the Sickle's bridge, his feet only touching the deck plates once he had moved directly in front of Essem. It angered Essem when the Red Knight did that. If he happened to be looking at Deshraat when he was floating, it seemed like a way of showing off. And if he didn't happen to be looking at Deshraat, it meant the Red Knight could sneak up on him. Deshraat had done it only once or twice when he first came on board the ship, but while they were waiting for the freighter to surface, he had taken to doing it all the time. Perhaps the Red Knight was simply bored, but that didn't make it any easier to tolerate.
"Do you have something to report, Captain?" Deshraat demanded.
"We’ve gotten images from the probes which show the freighter flying out of Annesher's atmosphere and into the asteroid cloud," Essem told him. "They are currently inside one of the asteroids. I have set a course to follow them."
"But there is more that you want to tell me," Deshraat said.
Why is he asking me this? With his powers, he can see what I'm about to say before I say it, Essem thought resentfully.
"To see if you'll lie of course," Deshraat answered. There was a note of mockery in his distorted voice.
Essem checked his feelings of anger and resentment as best he could.
"The Sickle will not fit inside the cave that the freighter entered," he said. "I believe our best bet would be to settle into a tight orbit around the asteroid, and send the troop transport into the cave. Do you have any suggestions?"
"It is a sound plan, Captain. I will lead the boarding party aboard the transport, while you remain in command of the ship."
Please don't take Prasati with you, Essem thought. It will only end badly.
"Rest easy, Captain," Deshraat said, once again reading his thoughts. "Your useless lover would only be a burden on this mission. I will leave her behind to amuse you."
Essem found himself torn. On the one hand, Prasati was supremely annoying, especially when she felt as though she'd missed out on a chance to show off. On the other hand, if she went on the transport, Deshraat would almost certainly torture her again, and Essem wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.
"Yes, you would," Deshraat said. "You may think it is your sense of honor that makes you try to protect her, but actually it is your lust for her."
You don't get to tell me who I am, Essem thought.
"Of course I do, Deshraat said. "I am a Red Knight, a master of the psychic arts, and you are merely one of the ungifted, a man without a soul."
Essem froze in shock.
"You will inform me when your landing team is ready to launch," the Red Knight said. Deshraat pushed off with his feet and floated gracefully off the bridge.
"Did he really just say that people like us don't have souls?" Meshet asked.
"He did," Essem answered grimly. "I heard him too. Sounds like they're not too big on theology where he's from."
In ancient times, a handful of psychics had been in constant contact with the Akh, and had written down what the Akh had told them about the nature of humanity and the universe. The result was the scriptures used by all the mainstream religious groups in Settled Space.
These scriptures forbade psychics to claim that their abilities gave them a divine right to control or rule regular humans and to claim that non-psychics were "unsouled." The priests of the different sects disagreed on how to interpret the scriptures, but this was one of the few things they were all in agreement on.
"Captain," Meshet said. "I think I'm going to take a different job when all this is over. It looks like the system-level privateering jobs are drying up, with the central government throwing their weight around, and the Star Navy adding new ships every month. And honestly, if this is what the Loyalists are like, I don't want to have anything more to do with them than I have to."
"We'll miss you if you go," was all Essem said, but what he was thinking was: I need to get out of here too. But how?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Most of you probably know that the modern jump drive comes with certain built-in limitations," Danus was saying as he led them down the hallway. "The burst of energy needed to activate the jump to hyperspace is so intense that most engines need an hour of cooldown time after jumping into or out of hyperspace."
Jetay nodded politely at the strange man's ramblings. He had to take things like this into account every time he piloted the Vanner, so none of this was news to him.
"I didn't know that, because it's not my business to know that," Menevis said. "Engineering is a grubby, tiresome job, only fit for low class people. You should never have gotten involved with it, Father."
Danus rolled his eyes and addressed himself to Jetay. "Please ignore my son. He is an idiot."
Jetay privately agreed, but didn't want another round of bickering. He said sternly: "Your son's education is your business, not mine."
Danus bowed his head at the rebuke, and went on with his lecture. "What you may not know is that the math for navigating through hyperspace is extraordinarily complex, and becomes exponentially more difficult in inverse proportion to the amount of distance you cover in hyperspace. Modern computers literally could not calculate a vector through hyperspace that translates to less than two light-years in normal-space. Until now."
Danus stopped in front of a door, and typed a passcode on the pad next to it. When the door opened, it led them into another airlock.
"What exactly is this creation of yours, Father, that you need to test it in hard vacuum?" Menevis asked.
"You are about to witness something mankind has pursued on and off since the Great Abduction," Danus said. "The blinkdrive!"
When the airlock depressurized, Danus let them into a vast cavern, which looked like it took up at least a sixth of the asteroid's interior volume. There was a control panel set into one of the side walls, and a tangle of cables stretched from the panel to a large machine at the far end.
