“My office. Five minutes.”
He made his way through the ship, automatically acknowledging salutes while his mind raced. Every instinct he possessed screamed at him to protect Corinne and the children. To keep them close and safe. To never let them out of his sight.
Which was completely irrational and entirely inappropriate. He had a ship to command. He could not afford emotional entanglements.
His ready room was a stark space, functional and impersonal, exactly like his life had become. Tarak was already waiting forhim. The older Cire’s expression was carefully neutral, which meant he had opinions he was working hard not to voice.
“Report.”
“The Vedeckian vessel has been thoroughly searched. There are no other captives and the crew members are all deceased. It looks like a reactor malfunction caused the battle damage we observed. They were dead before we boarded.” Tarak paused. “We did recover their data banks. Their records show the presence of a Cire female and a Cire infant, even though we know that is impossible.”
He hesitated, but he’d known Tarak most of his life and he trusted him implicitly.
“The female is dead, but the infant is on board this ship.”
Tarak stiffened. “How did this happen?”
“I do not know. The Cire female apparently died. The female who returned to the ship with me has adopted the infant.”
“But she is not Cire.”
“No.”
Tarak sighed and, without waiting to be invited, sat down. The breach of protocol from the normally punctilious officer revealed how much he’d been affected by the news.
“The Communications logs show they were enroute to Sector Nine to meet a buyer specifically for the Cire infant. The females were apparently an afterthought for extra profit. They are called humans and they are from a pre-spaceflight world.” Tarak’s tail lashed again, disgust radiating from every line of his body. “The infant was the primary merchandise. According to their recordshe has a pure bloodline, which made him worth a fortune to his buyer.”
“But there was no record of the buyer’s identity?”
“No.” Tarak gave him a troubled glance. “The Council will want to know.”
“I am aware.”
“But you have not reported it yet.” It wasn’t quite an accusation, but close. “The Council will want the infant brought to Ciresia.”
“Where he will be raised by strangers while the female who saved his life is sent away.” He heard the edge in his own voice and fought for control. “That is not acceptable.”
“You are questioning Council decisions?”
“I have been questioning them for years,” he said honestly. “That was one of the reasons I left Ciresia. And there is something else. Who do you think would be most willing to pay for a pure blooded Cire infant?”
Tarak’s eyes widened. “Are you suggesting…”
“That the Cire Council would stop at nothing to keep the bloodline pure? Perhaps,” he said grimly. “And perhaps someone within the Council was involved in this entire enterprise.”
Tarak’s jaw tightened. “That’s a very serious accusation, Commander.”
“It is. And I have no proof other than my own instincts, which is why I have not reported the child’s existence to anyone beyond this ship. And the only ones onboard who are aware of it are you and Bombaya.”
Tarak’s gaze narrowed. “What about the female who has been protecting the child?”
“I have no intention of letting him be torn from her care.”
“She is not Cire. She cannot understand what it is to be one of us. The Council will argue that the infant’s heritage is more important than the emotional needs of an alien female.”
“I disagree.”
Tarak studied him with unsettling perception. “Commander, may I speak freely?”
