Mateer Read online

  Her smile was sad, but she acknowledged his remark with a quick glance and a nod.

  “Are you hungry? Should I see what I can do about breakfast?” he asked, wanting to take care of her in any way he could. In any manner she’d allow.

  “Good idea. I’ll get dressed and come help you in a minute.”

  Not knowing what else to say, he grabbed a clean uniform as he left the bedroom and dressed as fast as he could. Having made a thorough survey of what the kitchen had to offer last night, he had breakfast well underway by the time she joined him.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee,” she said. “Hot, sweet, and full of energy. Not happening here, of course.”

  “Cold water is the best I can do, sorry. In the Preserve we can brew a kind of tea, from certain dried leaves, but not inside the lab.” He plated the hash-like dish he’d created and added bread on the side, leading her to the table, waiting for her to be seated.

  “This is good,” she said after taking a mouthful and swallowing. “You could have a career as a cook anytime you get tired of being a soldier.”

  He never got the chance to answer as a siren blared and a peremptory voice addressed them from speakers hidden in the walls. “Prisoners will present themselves on the muster line now.” The door slid open, and Mateer blinked at the bright sunlight.

  “Grab a few more bites,” he urged. “We may not get another chance to eat today, depending what Lampergg has in mind.”

  “Delay will be punished,” the voice warned as they both paused to take a little more nourishment.

  Mateer took Megan by the hand and led her outside, where he found two squads of guards waiting and Captain Jordah pacing impatiently. A black line had been painted on the grass during the night and Mateer took his position there, Megan at his side.

  “A night in the cabin appears to have relaxed you both,” Jordah said with a leer and a wink, standing in front of them. “Wounds healed, 802? Thought I might have to give you another lesson in obedience today, you took so long getting out here. You know better than to keep us waiting.”

  “Please, I’m new to all this, the rules and the regulations,” Megan said. “I delayed us, trying to eat more breakfast. It’s not his fault.”

  Mateer growled under his breath. My job to defend you.

  We have to watch out for each other. Her answer was prompt and strong.

  Captain Jordah pointed his controller at Megan. “Dr. Lampergg wants to see you in the lab. Go with Corporal Fynl and his men—you’re already keeping the director waiting.”

  “What are you going to do with my mate?” she asked, standing her ground.

  “None of your business, prisoner.” Jordah motioned to his corporal, and the man took Megan by the arm, forcing her to walk with him toward the main lab building. Jordah watched them go and then grinned at Mateer. “You’re going into a regular cell until Dr. Lampergg decides what he wants to do next with this side experiment he’s running. But first a not so subtle reminder you’re not permitted to tamper with the surveillance systems.”

  As Jordah ramped up the pain level on the neurocontroller and Mateer fell to his knees in agony, he took satisfaction from the fact Megan wasn’t there to see the retribution for blocking the vids. He’d gladly do it again for her, no matter how ferociously the Khagrish punished the offense.

  Only peripherally conscious of the cold lab corridors she was passing through, or the impatient Khagrish guards crowding her, Megan wished the world would stop spinning so she could go somewhere peaceful, and sit and think about her new state as a mother-to-be. And about the father of her barely begun child. Being pregnant was unexpected and terrifying in these circumstances but underneath it all she was buoyed by a cautious happiness almost too big for her heart to contain. She’d always hoped motherhood would be in her future at an as-yet undetermined time. Pediatrics had been her first choice as a specialty when she was in med school, but the excitement and immediate ability to save lives in the trauma and emergency specialty had sidetracked her from her original goals.

  As a doctor she was all too well aware of how fragile a pregnancy could be in the early stages—any pregnancy, much less one such as hers, with the Badari genes in the mix. As she trudged along with her captors, putting one foot in front of the other on autopilot, she found herself praying to the Lords of Space to look with favor on her and the baby.

  And Mateer.

  He’d be a wonderful partner and father, loving and protective.

  She forced herself to turn her attention to the here and now as she arrived at the familiar medical section of the complex.

  This time Dr. Lampergg was waiting in the smaller medlab with Dregsorm the tech. He rubbed his hands as Megan was escorted into the room. “Get on the examining table,” he said to Megan. “See to it she’s properly restrained,” he added in an aside to Dregsorm as he moved to a control panel along the wall and took his seat.

  Megan gritted her teeth and allowed Dregsorm to do as ordered. The tech was quick and impersonal and didn’t touch her any more than he had to. After Captain Jordah’s invasive ‘search’ the night before, she appreciated Dregsorm’s clinical manner. Various scanning instruments descended from the ceiling and rose from the table, and she exclaimed in alarm, fighting the restraints.

  “This won’t hurt,” Dregsorm said in a low voice. “Really. Nothing internal today. Let him get it over with and you can be reunited with 802.”

  Lampergg made comments in Khagrish as the scans were conducted and results processed, and exclaimed in glee when he was done and the instruments were lifting themselves away from her body. “Very good, human, you’re breeding after just one cycle with 802. We’ve never obtained results like this before, opens up whole new avenues of research on both the humans and the Badari. Too bad 802 is the only survivor we know of. But I’ll make do. The offspring’s female,” he said in an offhand aside. “Which offers its own interesting aspects.”

  Tears came to her eyes as she lay helpless on the table, listening to the scientist make heartless clinical remarks about her child, hers and Mateer’s. Thank the Lords of Space rescue is coming soon.

  What’s wrong? Are you all right? Mateer’s urgent thought appeared in her mind.

  We’re having a daughter. Or so Lampergg says. She longed to be with Mateer, safe in his arms. She got a flash of amazement and joy from Mateer, who seemed to be wordless at the news he was going to have a daughter.

  The scientist walked over to stand beside her, patting her arm in a manner that made her flesh crawl, as if she was a pet who’d performed a particularly demanding trick. “I’m quite pleased with you today. In fact, I’m going to give you a treat and take you with me to a meeting, show you off a bit.” He addressed the lab tech and the guard. “Get her off the table, put her in restraints and have her brought to my personal flyer. I’m departing in an hour.” The two Khagrish acknowledged his orders and Lampergg strutted away. Megan heard the lab door open and close.

  “Where am I going?” she asked Dregsorm as the tech helped her sit up. She was a bit woozy, probably from the lack of a full breakfast, but maybe also from the effects of the scans. Who knew what Lampergg was using to do his assessments? She laid a protective hand over her stomach but the guard seized her wrist to manacle her hands behind her. Whatever the Khagrish had done to her she hoped it wouldn’t hurt the baby. Her head was whirling over the idea of being pregnant but, underlying the anxiety, was a deep happiness. She did want children, with the right father, and her feelings for Mateer were so strong, despite her qualms over the psychological effects of being kidnapped and brought to the Khagrish lab. I need time to sit and think.

  “Dr. Lampergg has an appointment today at the main facility in the east, to meet with Dr. Gahzhing,” Dregsorm said as he escorted her to the door, the guard following. “There shouldn’t be anything stressful done to you, maybe an exam at most. They won’t want to do procedures causing you physical or mental stress right now.”

  “Thank you,” she said as she and the guard crossed the threshold, leaving the tech behind.

  She was taken outside the lab, to a landing pad where several flyers of varying sizes sat. The guard saluted and handed her off to another Khagrish waiting beside a sleek blue and green vehicle. Her new guardian escorted her up a landing ramp and inside the craft, seating her in the rear and making sure she was unable to free herself from the restraints. Then he left her alone to wait. Megan put her head against the soft cushions and closed her eyes.

  Mateer?

  Where are you? Are you all right? What’s happening?

  I’m in Lampergg’s shuttle, waiting for him. We’re going to another facility to see a Dr. Gahzhing. Dregsorm said I should be fine—I hope he’s right.

  Your sister tried to kill Gahzhing. We all hoped he’d die of his injuries—the man is a monster. Whatever you do, don’t admit to being related to Jill. Mateer’s warning was stern.

  I’ll try to say as little as possible, I promise. I—I miss you.

  I miss you too. His answer was immediate and tinged with concern. How long is this trip?

  No idea. Can we maintain communications from a distance? It was so comforting to think to him. The idea of being completely cut off from Mateer was terrifying, and his answer did nothing to allay her unease.

  Probably not. We Badari have limitations on our range, so I’m assuming you will too.

  What have the Khagrish done with you today? Remorse for not asking sooner cascaded over her like cold rain. She’d been so self-centered, understandably so, but Mateer’s well-being mattered to her just as much as her own.

  I’m in the pack cell. Don’t worry about me. Take care of yourself. And our daughter.

  Eventually, Lampergg boarded the flyer with his pilot. The scientist checked the security of Megan’s seating arrangement and then allowed the pilot to take off. He buried himself in his work, and she sat staring out the window. Unreal to be a prisoner, flying above this alien planet today. And pregnant. Life changed in the blink of an eye all right.

  With time on her hands and in no imminent danger, she was happy to have a chance to consider her response to Mateer and their time together. He was a bright shining light in the midst of this horror show. If I’d met him in the Sectors, as one of Jill’s Special Forces friends maybe, would I have had a single second thought? No. Emphatically not. He was caring and sweet and sexy, and a steadfast, loyal partner in stressful times. A man to count on. Maybe good things can come out of bad times.

  The flight was several hours long. At one point she risked disturbing Lampergg’s concentration to ask for escort to the restroom then something to eat and drink. He grumbled but produced ration bars and a water bottle, allowing her to have her hands free for a short time. Then he locked her into the force cuffs again and resumed his work.

  The pilot circled above their destination before landing, and she tried to absorb as much detail as she could. It was a huge complex, with at least a dozen flyers parked on a landing pad on the western side. On the eastern side was a different type of landing area, with several spaceships and shuttles parked. Guessing the assortment of ships would be of interest to Mateer and his alpha for the future, she wished she had greater knowledge about which craft belonged to what spacefaring races.

  The craft landed without a bump, and Lampergg got her out of her seat, taking her by the elbow. “You’re here to be seen, not heard,” he said as he walked down the landing ramp, pulling her along toward the building. “My superior hates humans, with good reason, but he’ll be triumphant over my results with you and the Badari. Behave yourself.” He gave her a shake to emphasize his warning then they were walking through the portal and into the complex.

  Two guards met them, one of whom frowned at Megan. “Did Dr. Gahzhing approve your bringing a human today, sir? He’s strict about them after the incident at the original lab.”

  “He won’t mind this one. She’s currently of high scientific interest.” Lampergg was in an exuberant mood. “Where are we meeting? I don’t want to be late.”

  The guard didn’t acquiesce, apparently unconvinced, stepping aside for a moment as Megan and the scientist waited. He made a com call and returned to them with the com in his hand. “Dr. Gahzhing wants to talk to you, sir.”

  As Lampergg let loose a rapid flow of Khagrish, Megan stood trying to do isometric stretches and work out the kinks from being trapped in her seat for so many hours. The guards fingered their weapons and acted nervous so she tried to keep a pleasant expression on her face.

  As yet, to her knowledge, no one had tested the neuro bracelets on any of her people but, having seen what the device could do to a powerful warrior like Mateer, she didn’t want to risk being subjected to the effects. If this entire meeting is going to be conducted in Khagrish, I’m not going to know what’s happening, nor am I going to learn anything useful to the Badari. Nothing she could do about it. Some medical personnel in the Sectors paid for hypno training in a few of the more common languages but, at her Inner Sectors hospital and again on the colony, everyone had spoken Basic so she’d never seen a need for the upgrade. Would it have helped with the Khagrish language anyway?

  The conversation concluded and Lampergg was still in a positive mood so she assumed he prevailed. The guards escorted them deeper into the crowded building and after walking for a good fifteen minutes or so their destination was revealed to be a conference room dominated by a gleaming table and chairs. She estimated the table was at least twelve feet long and wondered how big the entire Khagrish operation on this planet was. The rebels might be up against a lot more than they imagined.

  She hoped she got the chance to warn them.

  Lampergg directed her to a chair.

  “Please, may I have my hands free?” She paused beside the designated seat, at the foot of the table. “My arms are cramped, and I’m losing sensation in my fingers.” She tried a smile. “As a doctor, I need to maintain my flexibility.”

  The guard shook his head. “Absolutely not. Dr. Gahzhing would have my head on a platter if I let a human go free in this room.”

  Lampergg drew himself up. “She’s my prisoner, not yours. Cuff her ankle to the chair if you’re worried about her trying to escape.” He moved closer to Megan and removed the force binders on her wrists.

  “Thank you.” She rubbed her wrists and flexed her fingers as she sat down and the guard did indeed tether both her ankles to bottom of the chair. Megan supposed her sister Jill, who’d been in the military, might have been able to wreak havoc on the Khagrish if she had her hands free, but Megan had no such skills. Her hands were trained to do delicate surgery, not inflict damage. The enemy had nothing to fear from her today

  As Lampergg moved to a chair next to the head of the table, she leaned back, closed her eyes as if resting and tried to contact Mateer. Nothing. The sensation wasn’t like hitting a wall, as it had been when he deliberately blocked her. More like trying to find her way in the fog, with the power of her mental transmission dissipating into wisps. Too far away.

  The door slid open, and she blinked. Lampergg rose to greet the newcomer, who was an older Khagrish. His left side was robust, muscular, fit, but his right side was inexplicably withered and weak, and he leaned on an elaborately carved cane. If Jill was the cause of this man’s physical problems, Megan could see why he hated humans. She folded her hands in her lap and tried to project an air of meekness and compliance.

  The two men chatted amiably, exchanging warm greetings. Dr. Gahzhing did indeed glare at Megan at one point, but she gazed at the table, polished to such a high gloss she could see her face in the surface, and sought to project an aura of being submissive. As much ‘Not-Jill’ as she could be. They seemed to be waiting for more attendees so Megan wasn’t surprised at first when the door opened, but the hair on the back of her neck stood up when a Chimmer walked in.

  He was taller than the Khagrish, but thin and sitting this close to one of humanity’s deadliest enemies, she observed with clinical interest how his body had a slug like appearance, as if the thick gray skin was all that held the being in its vaguely humanoid form. The eyes were huge, dead black, and when the alien’s attention fixed on her, she had to fight not to shrink away. If the Chimmer were this frightening in person, what would one of their overlords, the Mawreg, be like? She thought maybe she was beginning to understand why Sectors lore said simply looking at a Mawreg could drive a human insane. Too much time with the Chimmer and I’d be losing my sanity. Please, don’t let him want to touch me.

  A tiny chiming sounded from the edge of the table, drawing her attention as the three alien males sat. A discrete display blinked at her in thin air, hovering below the tabletop, offering six choices, one of which was Basic. Hastily, she clicked that one—the only recognizable thing on the display—with her index finger and was rewarded with voices in her ear, apparently translating what the others were saying. The selection menu disappeared. She glanced at the men, but they were ignoring her, so either no one cared if she now understood them or the scientists were unaware the conference room had offered her the amenity. Schooling her face to be blank and bored, she sat and waited.

  “—mated with the Eight Strain,” Lampergg was saying.

  “You do remember the Eights weren’t the selected strain to continue in our program, at our expense?” The Chimmer’s voice was thick and phlegmy.

  “Absolutely.” Lampergg’s response was cheerful. “I’m exploring alternative avenues of mining scientific value from the remaining specimens. Of course, right now I only have the one, but Jordah, my head of security, is fairly sure there must be at least a few others surviving. We may be able to track them down and recapture them. “

  “And your people would, of course, have first claim on any applicable discoveries,” Gahzhing said. “The Badari strains were developed for your flagship program so you have priority.”

  “Interesting to learn they’re fertile with the humans. My colleague had a number of questions in that regard. I’ll see if I can find her notes and send them to you.” The Chimmer eyed Megan. “The humans are a major irritant and obstacle to our masters, the Mawreg, so all avenues must be explored. You did receive the instructions for the larger, official experiment? And the human subjects will be ready?”

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