“The Vekzori don’t want to kidnap me, theywant to kill me. If there are enough of them, my bodyguard—” Shegrimaced. “Who exactly is that?”
“Me,” Rem told her bluntly.
Humber cleared his throat again. “That wasour original plan. But given the events of the last few hours, Ihave decided to take his place.”
A collective gasp sounded from the Malarancrew, and Zia knew they were horrified at the thought of Humber inproximity to so much bald skin.
She sensed Humber was blushing under his coatof dense fur, but he insisted stubbornly, “There is no sexualcomponent to this, Captain Quito. I would be honored to protect youon our journey.”
Touched, she decided to rescue him. Not thatshe was thrilled with the prospect of riding with Rem, but thanksto her medication—and the fact that they’d be in stasis withinminutes—she was able to remind him quietly, “Like you said, there’sno sexual component. And Captain Stone is the ranking Earthofficer. Plus, he promised my grandfather he’d protect me. So let’slet him do his job, shall we?”
* * * *
The Malarans helped the Earthlings into theirchambers and deftly hooked IVs to their arms. It was clear thatthey had done this many times, and so Zia forgave them when theyslammed the lid shut on her and Rem without any further ceremony orwords of advice. She only hoped Rem would forgo conversationtoo.
He must have read her thoughts, because hedidn’t say a word. He did however take her hand in his own, andwhile she wanted to yank it free in a gesture of contempt, shesheepishly clung to him instead, comforted by the rough, warm feelof his skin. Within seconds the container began to hum, and shefelt her body rise on a bed of air until it was floating a fewinches off the bottom—a necessary part of protecting her skinduring the long flight. The sensation was slightly disorienting,but also interesting, so she counseled herself to relax and enjoyit. On impulse, she glanced at Rem, and he gave her a reassuringwink, which made her smile in spite of her anger toward him.
Finally the chamber began filling with themoist, dense vapor that would be their atmosphere for the next twoweeks. She didn’t fight it—thanks to the calmative and the sleepaid being pumped into her arm. As her eyelids began to droop, herhand relaxed and slipped free of Rem’s, and they lost each othercompletely in the fog.
Chapter8
“I don’t understand you! Where’s Rem Stone? Iwant to see him right away. Is he dead? Let me out of thesethings! I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Zia struggledin vain against the restraints that held her arms in place. “Whoare you? Malarans? Alluvans? Oh, God, are you Vekzori? Youkilled my father!”
“Captain Quito, calm yourself.”
“Where’s Humber? Where’s Rem? Is he dead? Whywon’t you let me see him?”
“You must calm yourself, Captain Quito,” thefurry female in the white lab coat repeated firmly. “Your mind andbody have been traumatized—”
“You’re the one traumatizing me. Iwon’t talk to you until you bring me Rem. Or Humber.”
“Ambassador Humber is visiting his family,”the female admitted finally. “Captain Stone is safe and healthy,but unavailable. Please relax. Dr. Annur will be here in a momentto explain everything.”
Zia’s pulse, which was already racing, nowwent into overdrive. “Dr. Annur is on Earth! Now I knowyou’re lying. Tell me where I am—immediately—or I’ll—I’ll .. .” She sank back into her huge bed, admitting to herself thatthere was nothing she could do to these fiends. She was at theirmercy—strapped down, drugged, alone. What had possessed her to geton that transport? To allow herself to be duped into joining amilitary campaign when everyone knew she was a foghead.
“Zia Quito?” a new voice asked. It was justas maddeningly soothing, but vaguely familiar, and she turnedtoward it, anxious for news about Rem.
Then she grimaced, noting that the new facewas also fur-covered. “Another Alluvan? Or are you Vekzor? Eitherway, you’re a coward. Tying me to a bed? That’s your idea ofa warrior challenge? I spit on you!”
“So I have heard,” the new beast said with alaugh. “I understand that you have met my father. His name isAnnur, just as mine is.”
“Your father?” Zia paused to digest theinformation. This person—or mammal—looked nothing like herAnnur. Her Annur had red fur. This one was gray, which made nosense if he was younger, as he claimed.
She struggled to recall what she knew ofMalaran physiology and realized the doctor might be telling thetruth. Unlike humans, all Malarans started out with white hair,then moved to black or brown before turning a deep shade of red forthe last third of their lives. So maybe—in Malara—gray was a signof youth.
And this male’s voice really did sound likeDr. Annur’s.
Of course, that could be a trick. They werecommunicating through translators—behind-the-ear devices that couldbe manipulated. They could say anything to her and she wouldn’t besure if it was true, if she had misheard, or if the machine hadmalfunctioned.
“Clever,” she muttered.
He laughed again. “You are fighting too manybattles, Captain Quito. Calm yourself and you will see that I amtelling you the truth. You are among friends—”
“Friends that tie me to a bed?”
“You attacked my nurse. What else could wedo?” He sighed. “You slept well during the voyage, thanks to thedrugs in your IV. But you had an unusual side effect. Youhallucinated a great deal. More than others—even other humans.Captain Stone was aggressive and angry too. But for you, thereaction has been unusually extreme. We will adjust for it so thatit does not recur on your return voyage.”
Zia forced herself to listen to his words.Perhaps the calmative had caused this reaction. But they weresaying Rem experienced it too, only less. Yet where was he?
“I need Rem,” she explained carefully.
“As your escort, Captain Stone received anextremely high dose of adrenaline when the capsule door opened. Itis a security precaution that cannot be overridden. It is perfectlysafe, but apparently Malarans can absorb it more easily thanhumans. We sent him away—”
“What?”
“Away from the infirmary,” young
