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Tranis’ gut ached for the traumatized man. “A face-to-face meeting with Hobato and discovering a Dark riding him would probably finish the ensign psychologically.”
“I can’t authorize it. In fact, I’ll hold you off with a blaster if any of you try.” The mix of Degorsk’s humor and temper was telling. He probably would point a blaster at them if they attempted to bring his patient and Hobato together. Tranis thought he might even shoot.
“What if this ensign viewed Hobato remotely?” Hope suggested.
Tranis regarded the young woman sitting by to his own Matara, who sat next to Lidon. Hope was boyishly slight and dark in contrast to Cassidy’s full figure, pale skin, and white-blond hair. They were both lovely despite looking nothing alike. They were also phenomenally intelligent…possibly the smartest people in the room.
He smiled, registering where Hope’s thoughts had gone. “Are you thinking of sending in one of your nanospies? The trick would be putting it on Hobato. I could go in phased…but the Dark, if it’s there, would see me.”
She grinned. “Haven’t you heard? The latest prototype can fly and attach itself to its target.”
“It doesn’t require remote piloting?” Tranis was delighted.
“You just have to get it to the room after I program it. Let it hitch a ride on your shoulder into Admiral Hobato’s office, and it’ll do the rest.”
“Hobato countermanding my orders gives me the perfect reason to pay him a visit.” Tranis winced. He addressed Hope and Lokmi for the next issue. “How is the containment question proceeding?”
The pair grimaced. “We’ve studied several different options based on our phasing tech. The trouble is, we can’t figure out the composition and signature of the dimension the Darks are from without actually breaking through to it. No sample of organic matter we think we’re getting across returns alive.”
“Single-celled organisms, tardigrades, a few others…they all come back dead,” Hope sighed.
“Why are you sending those?” Cassidy’s tone was eager as scientific curiosity lit her gaze.
“Our guess is since the Darks apparently thrive in space, they have either low oxygen needs or the capacity to store a great deal of it. The organisms we’ve used in our attempts match those requirements for survival in space.”
“Also the ability to absorb and retain large amounts of water.”
“Precisely.”
“What I wouldn’t do to get my microscopic scanner on a life form capable of interdimensional space travel without technological support.”
“The possibilities for our own adaptations would be tremendous.”
The women beamed at each other.
Lokmi chuckled. “For us lower-IQ types, suffice to say Hope and I haven’t yet been able to test our theories on the Darks’ dimension and what it would require for us to extend a containment field into it. We’ve only gotten as far as the in-between section where the dimensions apparently overlap.”
“I’m feeling like an idiotic fifth wheel in this conversation,” Piras sighed.
The statement reminded Tranis of the thus-far silent member of the group. Captain Kila lurked in the background, adding nothing. He simply stood behind Piras, staring over his shoulder, his expression carefully blank.
Tranis knew what the lack of feeling in a Nobek’s face meant. He also noted who was in Kila’s sights.
I guess he wasn’t thrilled about my choice to send Lidon to watch over Piras while he was away. I hope there won’t be trouble between them.
* * * *
Lidon activated the phase device he kept on hand and stepped onto the balcony of his clan’s home. As he’d suspected, he’d found the spot Kila had disappeared to after the group’s discussion.
Ignoring the all-weather chairs lined up behind him, his fellow Nobek stood at the railing carved from the side of the cliff, in which Clan Tranis’ home had been dug. He stared out at the phosphorous streaks of waves dashing themselves onto the night-black shore below.
He no doubt knew he was no longer alone. He had probably guessed Lidon had phased to find him. He hadn’t twitched a muscle, but Lidon could damned near taste the heightened tension on the windswept air.
“If you feel a fight will restore honor, I have an excellent sparring room in my private suite that can suit the purpose,” he offered. “We could remain phased, so no one realizes what’s happening and feel they should intervene.”
“Should I consider my honor demeaned?” Kila turned toward him, a vicious grin eating up his face. Lidon admired it. It was heart-stopping in its savagery, in its promise of violence. His own chilling gaze had made many foes nervous, but Kila’s grin was on a level all its own.
“It’s up to you to decide,” Lidon answered. “I discovered during my tenure as Piras’ bodyguard that a feeling of protectiveness toward him remains. It was an uncomfortable surprise, but mere protectiveness was what I felt for him. Nothing more.”
