A Promise Made Page 5

His laugh sounded hollow through the mask. “Yes, I did. I guess when it comes to you, I’m a little crazy as well. I want....” His voice trailed off, leaving a potent silence.

  “What do you want, Jeffrey?”

  It was his turn to sigh. “I want...,” he said as he stared at me, “I want what I can’t have.”

  We both knew that. What I felt for him was totally unrealistic, given our circumstances. I couldn’t leave Earthforce any more than he could take an Earthforce officer for a wife. I’d made a promise when I’d taken their money for medical training, and I couldn’t back out now, just because I’d found out my Captain may have planned my demise or because Earthforce wasn’t the force for good I’d thought it was.

  The idea of what they’d done at Carras haunted me.

  Still, I needed to go back, and that reminded me of the body they’d found. “I want out of here. I need to get the body of my dead crewman back to my ship.”

  “Oh yeah. Him.” Jeffrey looked thoughtful. “I suppose I should tell you, I took the liberty to check his body out. He was pretty badly burned, but I’m sure he was blond.”

  “Oh?” So that meant it was Brant who’d died since Ander had black hair.

  “I learned a couple of interesting things. For one, from the extent of the damages he must have been inside the shuttle when it blew up.”

  So, maybe Brant was responsible for detonating the bomb. I couldn’t help being disappointed as he’d struck me as a reasonable man.

  Jeffrey must have been reading my expression. “That is pretty suspicious, but it gets worse. The other interesting thing was that somehow he’d managed to break his neck, and I’m pretty sure that happened before the explosion. What was left of his lungs didn’t show any sign of smoke inhalation.”

  I stared at Jeffrey. “So you mean he was killed? By Ander?”

  “Let’s put it this way. I recommended that we put you in here for your own safety and keep it quiet until we catch the other Earthforce man. We even spread a rumor that you’d been killed in the rescue so your man won’t think to look for you.”

  “You told people I died?” I shuddered and sat on the bed, all of a sudden not feeling quite as trapped by those bars as I had been.

  “It was Garren’s idea. ‘Better a lie now than the truth later,’ he said.” Jeffrey gave a short laugh. “The crew is pretty upset by it. You running in and stabilizing the injured made a big impression. Made a pretty good impression on our General, as well.

  “So you don’t really believe I’ve got anything to do with the explosion?”

  “Not after finding out that man died ahead of the blast.” He patted the bars. “You are here for protection, Karen, not because you’re a criminal.”

  From nearby I heard men yelling, including the familiar sound of Ander’s voice. “You can’t hold me. I’m an Earthforce soldier. Colan Ander, Corporal, 33B-double-E-12789-triple-D-7.”

  Name, rank, and serial number, I thought. A pure military answer from what I now knew must be a pure military mind. I no longer doubted that he’d killed Brant.

  Jeffrey held up his hand and signaled me for silence. Sitting on the cell’s bunk, I hugged myself as he moved to open the door so we could hear what was going on in the cell next door. I looked to see Jeffrey watching me, looking like he wanted to be the one to have his arms around me. Instead he left, and I soon heard him greet Symon.

  What was wrong with these Gaian men, that even when they were physically unable to love a woman that they wanted to be with her anyway? None of the men in Earthforce had been much interested in me once sex was over. But Jeffrey....

  Jeffrey was different, and it confused me as much as I liked it and I liked it far too much for my own good. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever feel whole again once I was back in the world I’d come from, and soon I’d be marooned on a planet with my shipmates, including my overbearing captain. How would I get along with them then?

  Through the open door I heard General Doranth’s voice. “What happens to you next depends on your answers to our questions, so think very carefully before you answer. What were your orders coming over here?”

  Ander sounded defiant. “We were to pick up medical supplies. But then you arrested and hauled off our lieutenant.”

  “We detained Dr. Masters, not arrested her. But that doesn’t answer the question about why your shuttle blew up.”

  “How do I know? Maybe you put a bomb in it,” Ander sneered.

  “That’s not our style. If we wanted you dead, we certainly wouldn’t have blown up a shuttle in our own hangar bay. We’d have blown you away out in space.”

  Jeffrey broke in. “And that also doesn’t answer the question of how your companion died of a broken neck ... before the explosion.”

  “I ... I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Yes, you do. None of our people would have harmed your man, and we can account for where Dr. Masters was the entire time. That only leaves you. You are guilty of the murder of a fellow soldier, and the attempted sabotage of this ship.”

  I moved to the bars and clutched the cold metal, straining my ears to hear the rest.

  “So what if I am?” I heard Ander say. “It’s not like you’ll do anything about it. Your people don’t believe in killing.”

  “But your people do. And they also believe in punishing those who kill by similar means. All we have to do is turn you over to them.”

  Ander laughed, the sound unpleasant. “You do that. I won’t be tried for anything. Not only isn’t there any proof, but I was following orders.”

  “Orders from whom? Dr. Masters?”

  “That stuck-up bitch? Hell no. She’s not even military. Got in because she’s a doctor. I take my orders from much higher up than a measly lieutenant.” Ander sounded so smug I wanted to slap him, and not just because he called me a stuck-up bitch. I suppose from his perspective I was. But killing his companion and saying it was orders made me feel ill.

  “So who put the bomb on the shuttle?” Symon asked. “You or Corporal Brant?”

  “I don’t know who it was. Not either of us. I was just told to set it up to detonate once we were on board the Promise.”

  “And Corporal Brant?”

  “He found me getting it ready and threatened to tell. A regular good scout he was. Said it wasn’t right, given that we’d surrendered.”

  “So you killed him,” General Doranth said flatly.

  “I stopped him from telling anyone.”

  “And if it had been Lieutenant Masters?”

  “Then she would have died too. I was told to do as much damage as I could, no matter what the casualties were. She’s as expendable as anyone else.”

  “Who gave the order for this?” That was Jeffrey speaking.

  “I’m not telling you,” Ander said so smugly that I knew it had to have been Captain Javinson. I knew he had no great love for me, but I didn’t like it that he considered me expendable.

  I heard movement and the clink of a barred door closing. “It will be a while before we can send you back to your ship, Corporal, so make yourself comfortable,” Symon said.

  Ander was shouting something at them, but it cut off when the door to his room closed. I heard some discussion in the hallway, then finally Bethan came into the room with my cell and unlocked the barred door. “Come with me, Dr. Masters.”

  She led me back to the first interrogation room I’d been in and directed me to sit in a chair. Also there were the General and Symon. The former was looking me over with a speculative expression I found most unsettling.

  “So, you aren’t valued by your military. Why is that? I know you are a good doctor, and you handle yourself well in a crisis.”

  “I don’t know how to answer that. Some of it is that I’m rather tall--and my captain isn’t.” I looked up to see the three of them staring at me as if I were crazy. I shrugged. “He doesn’t like looking up at a woman. Also there are the bandage rolls ... and I did call him a jack-ass on
ce.” I explained about the missing supplies, and by the time I was done, Bethan and Symon were chuckling, and even the General seemed to be hiding a smile.

  “In the past six hours you’ve turned my ship upside down and saved the lives of many of my people. You have a history of insubordination and your own military wouldn’t mind seeing you dead,” he said when I was done. “Plus there is the matter of Jeffrey for whom you are a match. What are we to do with you, Dr. Masters?”

  I had no answer--I didn’t know what to do with me either. I rested my head on my hands. Thinking about Jeffrey was too painful just then. What, if anything, was I to do about how I felt about him?

  It was, as the General had pointed out, only six hours since I’d arrived on the Promise. Such a short time for my life to have changed so much. I couldn’t think any more about it.

  Instead I started thinking about Gaian attachment and the problem of detachment. The drug they used was too strong for the purpose, but there were others.

  “Antihorm, I think, or perhaps duradrona. Those might be better,” I said finally. “Have you ever tried those?”

  All three of them looked at me in confusion. “What are you talking about?” Symon asked.

  “Detachment. When you have someone who can’t detach naturally. You currently use ladattach, but that’s a permanent inhibitor. It actually will damage the cells that produce hormones, and you don’t need that. What you want is a temporary inhibitor, like antihorm. Duradrona is similar but affects different systems. Maybe a combination of both....” My voice trailed off as I considered the problem.

  Symon and Bethan stared at me, and then both began to laugh softly.

  “Here she is, still trying to help us after what we’ve put her through,” Symon said.

  “How do you know so much about hormone inhibitors?” Bethan asked me, still chuckling.

  “When I was training, I became interested in the endocrine systems and learned as much about them as I could. I was going to specialize in them when I got out and started practicing. But the war sort of intervened,” I explained. Then I told them about my parents and how I had gotten through medical school with government help.

  Finally the General spoke up. “So that is why you’re in the military. You had no choice since they paid for your schooling.” As he considered me, he stopped looking quite as formidable. “Do you enjoy being in the military?” he asked.

  I snorted in return.

  “I guess not. Have we ever tried either of those drugs?” he asked the other two.

  “Not to my knowledge,” Bethan replied. “I’ll ask Jeffrey later. It would certainly be good to have a less problematic solution than ladattach.” She smiled at me warmly.

  General Garren studied me for a moment more, then seemed to make up his mind. “Let’s continue this on the bridge. Clear out any unmarried men, but I want Jeffrey there and you, Dr. Masters.”

  Ten minutes later we were all on the virtually deserted bridge. General Doranth pointed to a spot near the wall. “You stand there, Dr. Masters. Jeffrey you can stand with her if you like.”

  We took our places, Jeffrey’s respirator making a soft hiss when he breathed. I tried not to think about him so close to me. Unable to breathe the same air--and all I wanted to do was rip the mask off his face and make him love me again. After all, it wasn’t fair that I was in love when he wasn’t.

  The General ordered a connection open to the Hope. He stared at me. “If you want to speak you can, but let me do the talking first.”

  Wondering what he was up to, I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  His face cracked into a momentary smile, but when the connection opened, he was serious again. I couldn’t help a surge of anger when Javinson’s pasty face appeared on the screen. For a moment I wondered if he could see me, but then I realized that the comm was only directed at whoever was in the captain’s chair.

  The General lowered his eyebrows into a frown at Javinson after the two men had exchanged minimal greetings. “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

  “Oh?”

  “It seems there was an accident involving your shuttle on our loading dock. It exploded, damaging several of our ships.”

  “Really?” Javinson not only didn’t look surprised, but the bastard actually seemed to be smirking. That’s when I knew for certain he was the ‘higher authority’ Ander had referred to.

  “Indeed. Unfortunately one of your men died in the explosion, but the other escaped harm. We will return him to you as soon as it is feasible.”

  “Was there much damage?” Javinson looked entirely too hopeful.

  “Not very much, actually. Your shuttle was destroyed, but only a couple of small fighters got caught in the blaze. They can probably be salvaged. My ship took no serious damage. The Promise is built very solidly.”

  A look of disappointment crossed Javinson’s face before he could hide it. “That’s good at least. I hope there weren’t many casualties.”

  “A few members of the crew were hurt, but fortunately you’d sent an excellent physician and she did an admirable job in helping to save them. In fact, not one of our crewmen died, thanks to her.”

  Javinson’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Really. I’ll have to congratulate her personally when she gets back.”

  I stiffened against the wall, knowing well what that look meant. I’d be lucky to ever leave the brig again, assuming he didn’t just have me shot for ‘lending comfort to the enemy.’ I stared at General Doranth. Surely he knew just how bad it was going to be for me once I was returned to the Hope.

  The General hesitated and shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible, Captain.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well ... while your Lieutenant Masters was helping our wounded, she very heroically tried to get past a burning ship to where one of our crew was trapped. In the process she was caught in the flames, and her burns were quite severe.” He took a long breath for emphasis.

  “She was burned?”

  “Severely, and I’m afraid she didn’t survive.”

  My jaw dropped, and I stared at him. I was dead? What game was the General playing now?

  General Doranth stared at me and I met his gaze. He seemed to be challenging me to speak up and tell my worthless captain I was still alive.

  I considered it. But if I wasn’t alive, then I couldn’t go back to the Hope. If I couldn’t go there....

  I felt Jeffrey’s hand on my shoulder. Just a quick touch. I turned to look at him and saw the question in his eyes. As far as my military knew I was dead. Did I want to stay dead?

  I opened my mouth ... and then closed it again. Jeffrey’s face broke into a smile, one I slowly returned.

  General Doranth was speaking again. “I really am sorry to tell you this, Captain. From what I saw of her, Lieutenant Masters was an exceptional doctor and a fine woman as well. If she were mine I’d be very sorry to lose her. She’d do credit to anyone’s medical team.”

  With the General singing my praises, there wasn’t much Javinson could do but nod a reluctant agreement. “Yes. She’ll be missed. Thank you for telling me. When will you be returning the bodies?”

  General Doranth exchanged quick glances with Symon and Bethan. “Corporal Brant’s body will be returned with Corporal Ander but Dr. Masters....” he shook his head. “My people have asked to bury her as the heroine she is.”

  “But she’s ours.”

  “Not anymore, Captain.” The General’s mouth drew up into his familiar sneer. “When my people decide to adopt someone--even in death--they stay adopted. We will see to the disposition of Dr. Masters.”

  He cut the transmission and turned to me. “I hope you didn’t leave any belongings that are too personal over on the Hope.”

  I couldn’t help laughing my relief. I was free, free of Earthforce, free of Javinson, free to be anything I wanted. Free to be ... someone’s wife, if that’s what they wanted as well. I stared at Jeffrey who still watched me wearing
his mask. “Nothing I can’t live without, General.”

  He nodded. “Please call me Garren, Doctor Karen. You might have noticed that we rarely use last names on the Promise.”

  “I have noticed ... Garren,” I said after a little hesitation.

  He turned to Bethan. “I assume that we have the appropriate robes and banding equipment on board, don’t we?”

  “Of course,” she said smiling broadly.

  General Garren gestured Jeffrey and me over, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle and it had a quiet sadness to it. “Jeffrey, you said earlier that I can’t understand what it is to care about someone anymore.” He pulled his sleeve back, and I saw that there was a lighter colored space in the skin on his arm where a wristband used to be.

  “We wear bands to indicate that we are married to someone. I have lost that person in my life--she was at Carras when it was destroyed. So you see, I do know what you both are feeling. And yes, Doctor Karen, I mean you as well. I’ve seen the way you look at my Chief Medical Officer.

  “As hard as it might be for the both of you to believe this, I care about that very much. Karen, would you be willing to let Jeffrey attach to you again?”

  I looked up at Jeffrey and smiled. “Yes, I think I might like that very much.”

  Jeffrey smiled at me in return. “Karen is sweet and kind, and even if I do want to stop her from risking her life while doing her job, I can’t imagine any other woman beside me. If she’ll have me, I most certainly want her.”

  Chapter Seven

  Jeffrey reached for his mask, but Garren raised his hand. “Not so fast. If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right. You both need bands and robes.”

  My would-be husband paused, and consternation took over his face. After all the time we’d spent agonizing over our relationship, I more than sympathized with his impatience. “Garren, do we have to? That seems like such a fuss.”

  The big man jumped to his feet. “Yes, we do,” he said emphatically. “Dark room, bands, and robes. This will be the first marriage on the Promise, and I insist it be done right.”

  He turned to Bethan and Symon. “I need to get that Earthforce corporal off my ship before he learns our Karen isn’t dead. You two take care of preparing these two for an attachment ceremony. Since it is just the two of them, we can use Jeffrey’s quarters. She’s not going to say no,” he looked at me, “right?”