Rebel Princess(17)

When evening came, Anton Stagg once again accompanied Kass to the food  line in Veranelle's old ballroom. This time, she gritted her teeth and  requested that they sit at one of the communal tables that seated ten.

"Are you certain, dama?"

"I have two days to prepare myself for life aboard ship. It's time to  begin, don't you think? And, besides, it's possible I may know some of  them. Some are from Orion, are they not?"

"I was on Orion, dama. Quint and Bix as well. You just did not have  occasion to see the marines while on board. We had our own quarters on D  Deck."

Kass almost dropped her tray. "I beg your pardon, Lieutenant. If I'd ever seen you, I'm certain I would have remembered."

"We all knew you though, dama. The captain's little Psyclid. We all bet  on you and won. Had a grand celebration when we got back to Titan."

They had paused behind one of the ballroom's pillars, finding a moment  of privacy in a room teeming with people. "The captain's little  Psyclid?" Kass questioned. "Why call me that?"

The lieutenant grinned down at her. "Dama, everyone knew. Those who  weren't involved in the exercises heard it from those who were. "Of all  the cadets, you were his favorite. And rightly so, because you were the  best. He'd look at you and shake his head, like he couldn't understand  how you could possibly be as good as you were. And a lot of times he'd  just look. That's when Commander Dann first got her hate in gear. Omni,  but she was pissed-beg pardon, dama. She figured it was more than the  captain admiring your style."

Kass put her back to a pillar, gripped her tray, and stared at the wall.  Impossible. Never by the slightest sign had Tal Rigel shown anything  more than a determination to challenge her abilities and, when she  succeeded, to figure out how she'd done it.

He saved your life, stupid.

Noblesse oblige.

Yeah, right.

Kass allowed a small sigh to escape her lips. Life held a great many  pitfalls, and she suspected this was yet another. The goddess had  granted her the favor of freedom. It was unlikely love was included  among her perks.

She straightened off the pillar. "Shall we find a table?" She led the  way back to the central portion of the ballroom, where a sea of Regulons  sat at round tables that had once been used for royal banquets. No  smart gray uniforms here, just a multi-colored ragtag army of men and  women who had given up their pasts for a cause. Or simply to follow Tal  Rigel. She needed to remember that.         

     



 

Kass chose the first two seats available at one of the large tables.  Fortunately, she recognized three of the faces, though the names escaped  her. All officers or crew from Astarte, they greeted her with cautious  smiles. Kass settled to her meal, hoping for the best, though the jibes  and jests a newly made ensign could expect were notably absent. Goddess,  but she was starving. Four years marked by nothing more than a few  daily exercises, and she must have walked four or five kilometers today.  But today's jaunt had done her heart good in more ways than one.

She was savoring a fruit tart truly worthy of a royal dining hall when  shouts rose above the general hubbub of conversation. Chairs scraped  back, diners bobbed to their feet. More shouts.

Dear goddess, not another krall!

No. It was a person, long white-blond hair flying out behind  him-her?-charging the length of the ballroom, skidding around tables,  dodging reaching hands, shoving people out of the way. One goal, never a  doubt about it. Kass's table. Kass.

Ah, goddess, no! The slight figure might have eluded earlier pursuers,  but it didn't stand a chance against Anton Stagg, who took the runner to  the floor in a single easy block. "Take your hands off him!" Kass  cried, pulling ineffectually at the lieutenant's shoulder. "Now. This  minute, let him up!"

Stagg gave her a you've-got-to-be-kidding look and kept his position  pinning his captive to the floor. Well, too bad if he expected her to  tell him what a good boy he was. "Lieutenant, if he was an enemy, I'd be  grateful. But he's a friend of mine. Let him up."

Anton Stagg sprang to his feet, drawing the Psyclid up with him,  seemingly without effort. Holding the slight hermaphrodite figure by the  back neck of his shirt, he turned him toward Kass. "Here it is,  Kiolani. All yours." He dropped the Psyclid's collar, and two feet,  booted in gold leather, hit the floor.

Eyes shining with nothing but joy, the childlike figure fell to his  knees, hugging Kass's legs. Shoulders heaving, he cried, tears rolling  silently down his cheeks. Kass slid out of her chair, joining him on the  floor, her arms hugging him tight. Their cheeks touched, her tears  mingling with his.

"Kiolani, perhaps you would care to explain this tender moment?"

Dimi. She knew that voice. Kass straightened her shoulders, looked up,  far up, to Tal Rigel. Turning back to the slight figure on the floor,  she smiled. "Come. It's all right. The captain is a friend. Stand up  now, and I'll introduce you."

A wiry child, as he'd already proved by running the obstacle course of  Regulon warriors and round tables, the Psyclid stood, taking Kass with  him with surprising ease. Not so small or childlike after all, Kass  noted. Eight years was a long time. He topped her by a full head.

"Captain, may I present K'kadi Amund. K'kadi, this is Captain Rigel. He  is boss here, you understand. A friend. You must be nice."

B'ram Biryani, breathless and looking as if he were strangling, skidded  to a halt just behind the captain. Kass flicked him a glance before  continuing, her voice taking on a more wry note with each word. "K'kadi  is highly intelligent, Captain, but I fear his communication skills are  somewhat erratic. He is-let me see-nineteen now, yet he does not talk,  and he listens only when it suits him. Sometimes it is difficult to know  if one is getting through or not." She saw Biryani heave a sigh behind  the captain's back. "But perhaps he can show you what he feels.

"K'kadi, are you listening?" Solemnly, he nodded. Dear goddess, but  she'd swear he was even more beautiful than he'd been the last time she  saw him. Like a diminutive angel from ancient lore, so different from  herself it was almost impossible to believe they were related. Shoulder  length silver blond hair surrounded a heart-shaped face, marked by  brilliant blue-green eyes with an exotic tilt at the outer corners. His  nose was perfectly proportioned above generous lips that always seemed  on the verge of a smile. Except perhaps now, when apprehension warred  with the delight of his reunion     with Kass.

K'kadi Amund was, quite simply, exquisite. No wonder an entire roomful  of people crowded around, trying to get a good look at this startling  newcomer.

"K'kadi," Kass said, "I would like you to show the lieutenant you are sorry you made him think you were a bad person."

A small dark cloud suddenly formed over their heads, lightning flashed,  rain poured down. Some of those present would always claim they heard  thunder. Others would swear they were soaked to the skin.

Kass struggled to hide a smile at the sight of Tal Rigel with his jaw  hanging open. Yet for her own mental feats, he hadn't so much as  twitched a muscle. The others? Too stunned to react, they were frozen in  place.         

     



 

"K'kadi, you may show the captain how you feel about seeing me again."

Gasps of shock, fear, and awe as fireworks streaked above their heads.  Bursts of red, blue, gold and silver, playing across the coffered  ceiling, dancing around the pillars. Swirling kaleidoscopes of color  reflecting on upturned faces.

As the incredible display faded, Tal Rigel spoke at last. Kass was  pleased to see it took him two tries before he got the words out. "Does  he do anything else?"

"K'kadi, disappear B'ram Biryani."

The majordomo was gone. No longer standing behind the captain, he had  simply vanished. The crowd found its voice in one great gasp of shock.

"Captain, it's illusion, not a force field. You may touch Biryani. Try it."

The captain reached out, his fingers closing around what looked like  empty space but clearly outlining an arm. "Fyd," Tal breathed. "I feel  him, he's still there."

"Thank you, K'kadi. You may bring Biryani back." The young Psyclid  brought the majordomo back so fast the old man's smile of satisfaction  was clearly visible. Take that, Regulons, and that and that and that.

"Remarkable," Tal said, putting considerable feeling into that one word.  "I leave you to your reunion    , Kiolani, but be in my office at  oh-nine-hundred tomorrow. Goodnight."

Dear goddess, he wouldn't . . . he couldn't . . .

Oh yes, he would. Kass suspected that when Astarte left dock, she'd be carrying not one, but two new crew members.





Chapter 11


"Sit, Kiolani." Tal waved his hand toward a chair set in front of the  expansive antique desk that had once belonged to Psyclid's King Ryal.  She was wearing her rare subservient face this morning-hair pulled  severely back into a knot, slacks and pullover knit shirt of such  dubious quality and design she appeared dressed for scrubbing floors or  carting out trash. They were clean, however, and fit better than her old  Regulon uniform, revealing enticing curves he'd only imagined until-