Judgment at Proteus

If so, what would have been the cost to her for her Chahwyn part to die?

I didn’t know. I couldn’t begin to know.

But I would fight, and I would die, to prevent her from ever having to find out. “It won’t happen,” I said. “I won’t let it.”

“I know,” she said. She lowered her eyes. “By the way. That kiss earlier?”

I swallowed. Here it came. “Yes?” I said warily.

“I just wanted to say that I enjoyed it. Very much.” Her lips puckered mischievously. “So did she.”

I was still trying to find something to say to that when she stood up and crossed back to where Terese was curled up in her seat.

She had resumed her place beside Terese, and I could tell from their head movements that they were talking again in low tones, when Minnario activated his chair and floated back to me. “May I have a word?” he asked.

“Certainly,” I said, shifting over to the aisle seat so that I would be closer to him. “I was just thinking about Emikai.”

“I’m sure the Shonkla-raa are doing likewise,” Minnario said soberly. “I believe he’ll prove to be a formidable opponent for them, provided he survives Director Usantra Nstroo’s investigation. To have had so many santras and msikai-dorosli slaughtered in his presence may be difficult to explain.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I assured him. “He’s going to blame the whole thing on me.”

Minnario’s eyes widened. “On you?”

“Why not?” I said. “I was the one everyone saw waving my reader outside Hchchu’s office just before they were attacked by a group of watchdogs. Obviously, I must have used the same gadget against Wandek and his buddies.”

“Interesting,” Minnario murmured. “Simple, effective, and impossible to disprove.”

“Unless someone takes a close look at the watchdogs’ bodies,” I said with a grimace. “Even for Fillies, I’m guessing that kind of knife-hand engineering is pretty unorthodox.”

“Isantra Kordiss and the surviving Shonkla-raa should have sufficient rank to discourage any such investigations,” Minnario said. “You need not worry about the station’s remaining msikai-dorosli, either. Now that the Shonkla-raa are aware of my mind segment’s presence, they’ll certainly realize it’s in their best interests to keep the animals alive.”

“Ready to be pressed into service should the need arise,” I said ruefully. “One more good reason to avoid Proteus Station in the future. I hope Emikai hasn’t bitten off more than he can chew.”

“Only time will tell,” Minnario said. “But he may yet find unexpected aid in his battle.”

I eyed him. There was an odd hint of grim amusement about his face. “Is there a joke here I’m missing?” I asked.

“Yes,” Minnario said. “But the joke is not on you.”

I frowned … and then, I got it. “Which one of them is it?” I asked. “No, wait,” I interrupted myself. “It’s Kordiss, isn’t it? Our old buddy Blue One.”

“Exactly,” Minnario said. “You are amazing, Mr. Compton. Simply amazing.”

“Hardly,” I said with a snort. “I should have figured that one out hours ago. How else could you have known where the Shonkla-raa were keeping Bayta?”

“How else, indeed?” Minnario said with a nod. “Though I will admit I had a bad moment during her rescue when you threatened him with death.”

“Good thing Bayta zapped him with the kwi before it came to that,” I agreed. “Doubly good, actually, since that meant he missed the party in the docking bay. And the Shonkla-raa even provided the hypo you used to inject a piece of coral into him while he was unconscious in your room. I suppose the coral was hidden in the central cylinder of your chair’s thruster array?”

“Correct,” Minnario said. “Don’t be concerned, though. It’s not there anymore.”

“I know,” I said as another bit of the puzzle fell into place. “All those bathroom breaks you made Emikai stop for on your way to the docking bay. You dumped the rest of the coral into the station’s water system.”

“Where it will cement itself to the inside of one of the water reclamation tanks,” Minnario confirmed. “Thus avoiding the normal purification procedures.”

“Thus providing a larger base for the watchdog mind segment,” I said, nodding. “And for your new ally among the Shonkla-raa.”

Minnario’s mouth made a wincing motion. “Isantra Kordiss is not an ally, not in the way you assume,” he said. “He can’t be. If the colony settled into its normal resting place beneath his brain, he would react the instant any of his fellow Shonkla-raa used their control tone.”

“Oh,” I said, frowning. That wrinkle hadn’t even occurred to me. “That wouldn’t be so good, would it? So where is the colony?”

“Interwoven in the tissue around his left optic nerve,” Minnario said. “Regrettably, in many ways Isantra Kordiss will be of only limited use. I will see what he sees through that eye, but will not be able to access his other senses. Nor will I be able to offer suggestions for him to follow.”

I nodded. “He’s a spy, but not a saboteur. Excellent. Use him wisely.”

“I fully intend for us to do so,” Minnario assured me.

“Us?” I asked, frowning at the odd pronoun. “I thought you were an I.”

“I am.” Minnario hesitated. “By us, I was referring to myself … and you.”

“You and me,” I said, my voice sounding flat in my ears.

Minnario seemed to brace himself. “I’ve now experienced what it’s like to be a slave, Compton,” he said, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion. “You can’t possibly envision what it’s like. To have your mind and heart invaded, to hear the gloating arrogance of your master as he turns your hands to his own purposes. It’s the most horrible experience one can possibly go through.”

“I can imagine,” I sympathized, wondering if he appreciated the true irony here. I personally didn’t know what that was like, but the millions of people the Modhri had turned into walkers were living a version of that exact same slavery. The only reason they didn’t also get the gloating part was because the Modhri blacked them out when he took them over.

“No, you can’t,” he countered tautly. “I’ve had a taste of what will become of me if the Shonkla-raa ever again rise to power.” His gaze defocused, his expression that of someone seeing hell itself coming for him. “I can’t let that happen. I won’t be their slave. Not ever.”

An odd sensation formed in the pit of my stomach. Were we really heading where it looked like we were heading? “What exactly are you saying?” I asked carefully. “That you want me to help you take down the Shonkla- raa?”

Slowly, his eyes returned from the terrible future to the only slightly less ominous present. “You misunderstand,” he said quietly. “I was designed as a spy, not a warrior. I have none of a warrior’s skills or intellect. Even with your help—” He shivered and shook his head. “I could never defeat the Shonkla-raa.”

He leaned forward, a sudden new intensity in his eyes. “But you are a warrior. I’ve experienced your battles against me, and I’ve now seen your battles against the Shonkla-raa. Of all those I’ve encountered across the galaxy, you are the one who stands the best chance of pushing back this threat.”

He drew himself up. “I don’t ask for your help, Frank Compton. I instead offer you mine. Completely, totally, unconditionally.”

I looked past his shoulder to where Bayta and Terese were still talking quietly together. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s talk ground rules. I’m in charge. I give an order, you carry it out. I ask for intel, you supply it. Anything I want from you, you give me.”

“Accepted,” the Modhri said without hesitation.

“And I want to meet the governing body,” I added. “Or whatever you call the part of you that makes overall policy decisions. Not that I don’t trust your sincerity, but I’d like to see a little more weight behind this offer.”

“Also accepted,” the Modhri said. “But you need not worry about that. During the two weeks of Quadrail travel after we left the super-express I sent many messages to the segment-prime.”

“That’s the mind segment based on Yandro?”

Minnario’s mouth twisted in an ironic smile. “Yes,” he confirmed. “All the components of the Modhri—all the