The Broken Sphere

Teldin took a step forward, intent. 'What did he want you to do?'

'Take you prisoner,' Berglund said flatly.

'And the others?'

'Put them to the sword, then scuttle your ship.'

Business, Teldin thought. He struggled to keep disgust out of his voice. 'And what was to happen to me?'

'I was to take you to a planet where I'd hand you over to some people who apparently want you quite badly.'

'What planet?'

'Falx,' Berglund answered.

Chapter Six

'Falx,' Djan said.

He, Teldin, and Julia sat in the Cloakmaster's cabin. The half-elfs wounded arm was swathed in bandages, supported by a sling. The ship's healers had done a little for it, but the first mate had insisted that they concentrate their attentions on the several crew members who were more sorely wounded.

'So where-or what-is Falx?'

Teldin glanced over at Julia. From the drawn, pinched look to her face, she knew all too well. 'It's a planet of illithids,' he told Djan simply. 'They've tried once before- maybe more than once-to get the cloak.'

Djan's eyes widened slightly. 'Mind flayers, too?' he asked. Then he smiled faintly. 'You certainly cast your net wide when it comes to finding enemies.'

'Apparently,' Teldin said dryly.

'So, what now?' the first mate queried.

'On to Nex,' the Cloakmaster replied. 'There's not much else to do, is there?'

Djan accepted that without comment.

Julia still looked troubled. 'How did they know?' she asked. 'How did they know we'd be coming? And how did Berglund know as much as he did about us?'

Good question, Teldin thought. It was one he'd been chewing on a lot during the day since they'd left the surviving pirates packed aboard their damaged gig. He shrugged. 'Spies on the docks, I'd guess.' His lips tightened. 'Maybe even spies on board.' He paused. 'You know, now that I think of it, weren't the 'accidents' with the boom and the catapult a little coincidental? Djan,' he said, turning to his first mate, 'maybe you should look into that.'

The half-elf looked back with a mirthless smile. 'The crew's repaired the gaff boom,' Djan said, 'and they're working on the catapult. I had a chance to examine the damage before they began.'

Teldin felt his skin grow cold, as if a chill wind had blown through the cabin. Even though he'd expected it, he didn't have to like having his suspicions confirmed. 'Sabotage?' he asked quietly.

Djan didn't even bother replying, and he didn't have to. His expression was answer enough.

Wonderful, the Cloakmaster thought. 'You know what that means, then?'

'Of course I do, Teldin,' Djan said, his voice as quiet as the Cloakmaster's. 'We have a saboteur on board, maybe more than one. I personally checked the rigging and the weapons before we set sail. Everything was fine then.'

'One of the hadozee?' Julia asked plaintively.

Djan shook his head. 'I meant, 'before we set sail from Starfall,' after the hadozee had gone ashore. The saboteur's still aboard.'

Teldin was silent for a moment, digesting this news. Then, 'Have you told anyone else about this?' he asked.

The half-elf shook his head again.

'Don't,' Teldin said firmly. 'We don't want to tip off the saboteurs that we're on to them.' He gave a grim smile. 'And I don't even want to think about the effect this would have on morale.'

'So what do we do?' Julia asked, her voice quiet.

'What can we do?' the Cloakmaster asked bleakly. 'We'll watch the crew as closely as we can…' He paused, the enormity of the situation only now dawning on him. 'We'll watch them. But there are only three of us-four if we include Beth-Abz-and there are twenty of them. The saboteur could wreck just about anything on board, and we'd only spot him if we were extremely lucky. Still,' he sighed, 'it's the only thing we can do at the moment.' He ground his teeth with-frustration. There had to be something else they could do-something active instead of reactive-but he could think of nothing.

Julia turned to Djan. 'Any ideas who it might be?' she asked.

The first mate shook his head firmly. 'None,' he said flatly. 'I don't know any of them well enough to even guess.' He shrugged. 'They all have good experience, they all came well recommended, they all seem trustworthy. But, offered enough money-and I assume a planet full of illithids can offer a lot of money-even the most trustworthy person might succumb to temptation.'

The Cloakmaster looked at his two officers, his two closest friends. He could see anxiety written plainly in the lines of their faces, but there was something else there as well as they looked back at him. He thought it was trust, mixed with hope. They trust me to do something about this, he realized grimly. I'm the captain; I'm the gods- damned Cloak-master. It's my responsibility. I've got to do something… but what'

He stretched a painful kink out of his neck. I'll think of something, he told himself. 'Well,' he said aloud, 'we'll do what we can on this issue.' He turned to Djan with a wry smile. 'Have you got any good news for me?'

'As a matter of fact, yes.' Djan's face brightened a little. 'Blossom tells me we've entered a phlogiston river. A fast river, one that doesn't appear on our charts… but does appear on yours.' He smiled. 'Maybe Nex isn't a myth after all.'

The voyage continued with no further incidents-a pleasant surprise, Teldin told himself; we've had all too many incidents recently. As captain, it had been his unpleasant duty to officiate at the funeral services for the four slain members of the Boundless's crew. He'd known he'd have to say a few words before their canvas-wrapped bodies were put overboard-'consigned to space'-but at the time the words just hadn't come. Staring at the bodies-Allyn, Vernel, Manicombe and little Merrienne-his eyes had filled with tears, and his throat had tightened so much that he'd felt as if he was choking. All he'd been able to manage was a croaked, 'Good-bye. And thank you.' To the crew, that had seemed to be enough-a fitting tribute from a captain who so obviously cared for those who served with him. The burial crew had taken over, and the bodies had slid over the rail. For a few minutes he'd watched the pathetic bundles drift out along the squid ship's gravity plane. More deaths added to the tally, he'd told himself. But then Julia had appeared at his side to lead him away, down below to his cabin.

Julia had been there for him during the hours and days after the funeral. Never had she pressed her presence on him, but when he'd wanted someone to talk to-or someone just to silently be with him-she'd been there. The intense, confusing emotions he'd felt for her when they'd both been aboard the Probe hadn't returned. In their place he felt a growing kinship, a calm acceptance of each other's strengths and weaknesses, of needs and desires. It was friendship, but a different kind of friendship than he'd experienced before, more intense, yet also somehow more subtle. The two had been lovers aboard the Probe, and both seemed to accept that they'd be lovers again. But neither felt there was any need for haste in consummating matters.

While the captain had been coming to terms with the changes in his emotional landscape, the crew had been busy. Under the close scrutiny of Djan Alantri, they'd gone over the whole ship-supposedly checking for hidden damage the Boundless might have taken from the recent engagement, but actually looking for more signs of sabotage.

They'd found nothing, the half-elf had reported. While they'd been at it, they'd reinforced the mountings for