Rebel Princess(18)

Pok! Straying thoughts he didn't need.

Tal caught a flare of some unidentified emotion in Kass's amber eyes as  she did a quick survey of the large, sunny room before her inner shutter  came down and she clasped her hands in her lap, staring at him with the  limpid gaze of an innocent with no secrets. The perfect portrait of an  officer on the lowest rung of the ladder waiting with some trepidation  for her captain's orders.

"You trained at Nav as well as Tac, Kiolani. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." A hint of animation crossed her piquant face. "Navigation is  my primary interest, Captain. I spent a great deal of my time in the  Archives perfecting my knowledge, not only of this sector but of our  whole quadrant. I memorized coordinates for jumpgates that aren't on  Fleet maps, the location of dangerous meteor fields, black holes-" Kass  broke off midsentence. "I beg your pardon, sir. I didn't mean to  babble."

Tal nodded, thinking fast. A mind like Kass Kiolani's with four years  intense study of navigation on top of almost four years of Academy  training could add up to an even more formidable asset than he'd  anticipated. What a treasure was the little Psyclid, even if at the  moment she looked like a scullery maid.

"Are you willing to do double-duty, Kiolani, because I have to keep you at Tac. In a fight you're our secret weapon."

Her lips moved, but no words came out. She hung her head.

"Kiolani?"

She looked left toward the impressive royal coat of arms hanging above  the green marble fireplace. "I always wanted to be a warrior," she said  softly, as if thinking out loud. "And what a fight I had to make it  happen." She turned back, speaking directly to him, her face as forlorn  as he'd ever seen it. "You must know the Psyclid culture is devoted to  peace. A Psyclid attend the Regulon Space Academy? Impossible! But in  the end I managed it. I actually reveled in the war games on Orion. I  kept up my studies in the Archives. And, naive young fool that I was, in  spite of being a prisoner, the wars, the treachery, the blood were  always far away-tales from the past, not the present. Only the loss of  Orion got through to me," she added on a whisper. "That was tragedy."

Tal could only hope this monologue wasn't going where he thought it was. "Continue," he instructed.

"I suffered from your-from the death of Orion and her crew, but I never  really understood what it means to kill someone. When those books  showered down on Olin Lusk and I knew I'd killed a man, I was truly  shocked to discover myself capable of violence. And then, at long last, I  realized that's what warriors do. They kill people."         

     



 

"Your point?" Shut up, Rigel! Let her meander on and she'll fight her  way out of this. Prod her, and she could walk. Like her duel with the  krall, pride and hot temper wouldn't let Kass Kiolani do anything else.

She shot him an annihilating glare, before she snapped back. "And then  you told me to splash the Tau-15s and I did. That's when I knew being  rescued meant I was no longer safely tucked up in the Archives. I was  out in the real world, a dangerous place where I had to kill or be  killed." Kass paused, tapping her thumb against her mouth before adding,  "When those fighters went down, it wasn't a triumphant moment for me,  so perhaps-

"Sorry, Captain," she continued suddenly switching from  conscience-stricken to professional and looking him straight in the eye.  "What I'm trying to say is, it's been a struggle. I was raised for  peace, not war. But I've made the adjustment. I look forward to serving  on Astarte. And to serving at both Nav and Tac."

Tal hid a sigh of relief, offering a curt nod of acceptance. His little  Psyclid was a big problem. He could only hope the nay-sayers were  mistaken when they told him he was thinking with the wrong head. If Kass  had any idea she'd sparked a rebellion, would she be pleased? Or  horrified?

Idly, Tal straightened some papers on his desk, before his head came up,  changing the subject smoothly, "Now tell me about your young friend."

She took her time, obviously composing her thoughts. Making up a good story?

"K'kadi has always been different," Kass said at last. "Most of us don't  come into full use of our skills until puberty. K'kadi was showing  talent when he was in the cradle. No one knows why he can only  communicate through pictures, that's just the way it is. And believe me,  he's been studied by the best doctors we have."

"Do you know the full range of his skills?"

Kass frowned. "He was only eleven when I saw him last, so it's entirely possible he can do things I know nothing about."

"His intelligence?"

"High." Kass shrugged. "He's simply . . . different."

"Can he write?"

"No. At least not when I knew him. No one could tell if he was physically unable to comprehend or if he simply refuses to try."

Tal allowed a spark of speculation to light his face. "Do you think he could make a shuttle disappear?"

Kass responded as he'd hoped, with a smile and eyes filled with pride.  "I would guess that K'kadi could make Gemma disappear, perhaps even  Astarte."

Tal blew out a breath. "You know I have to take him with us? You understand that?"

Kass's smile disappeared. She tucked her chin into her fisted hands,  looking down, shoulders slumped. "Yes, I realized that last night. But  you must remember that K'kadi is volatile. He doesn't always listen to  instructions."

"Which would account for the fact that he is the only Psyclid on Blue Moon who recognized you."

A long silence so profound Tal heard the click of gardening shears  outside the open window. "I guess this is my morning for being  philosophical," Kass said at last, returning her hands to her lap. "Let  me put it this way. Even though you are a rebel, you are Regulon, born a  son of the Empire. Born to put your feet on the neck of lesser worlds,  like Psyclid. Even now, when you are S'sorrokan, feared rebel leader-"

"Kass!" Tal jerked a hand in protest.

"Hear me out!" Her glare pinned him to his chair. "All we Psyclids have  left is our dignity . . . and perhaps a secret or two. If I tell you  these secrets do not affect your revolution in any way, can you please  allow us to keep them? Yes, of course, there are others on Blue Moon who  knew me when I was younger, but they also knew I had put this world  behind me, reaching out, perhaps unwisely, for yours instead. Every day  they look at Psyclid looming large in the sky and know that it is  occupied by Regulons. Is it any wonder they decided to play it safe and  follow my lead? I beg you not to ask me why. I am Kass Kiolani, a  Psyclid who is joining Astarte's crew, continuing my training at Nav and  Tac. I vow to give my all to the rebel cause. That must be enough."

Kass's humble act hadn't lasted long, but Tal hadn't expected it to. She  was Kass Kiolani, who could look S'sorrokan in the eye and tell him  what to do. Which was all part of what made his little Psyclid so  formidable.

He could accept that. But . . .

"Who is captain of Astarte, Kiolani?"

Limpid pools of amber, treacherously deep and oh-so-innocent stared up at him. "You, sir."         

     



 

"Do you think you can remember that? At least when we're not in  private?" That registered, if not quite the way he'd planned. He could  almost see "in private" hanging in the air between them. The captain of  Astarte had just implied there would be private moments between him and  his most junior officer. Fyd! Where Kiolani was concerned, he was even  more of an idiot than he'd thought.

Not that he hadn't planned on private moments, but if they were still in  Fleet, his thoughts alone would be enough to get him posted to a desk  job on the outer rim.

No, that wasn't the way his world worked. It was Kass, the junior Fleet  officer, who would have been banished to some planet like Hell Nine.

"Of course, Captain." She added a tiny impish smile, amber eyes glowing  with some of those secrets she was so determined to keep. The whole,  more than enough to make him groan.

"You may go, Kiolani. I suggest you make an effort to find some clothes  that are neither wealthy young dama nor lowly kitchen maid. Casual, but  fit for Astarte's bridge. There are also times . . ." Tal's customary  confidence wavered for a moment. He began again. "There are times when  we must pass as free traders. I will order clothes for you for those  expeditions."

Kass blinked. "Smugglers, Captain?"

"Pirates, if you will," Tal responded blandly. "S'sorrokan has many incarnations."

He caught the flash of delighted intrigue that flooded her face before  she banished it, rising from her chair, once again the dutiful  Fleet-trained officer at stiff attention beneath her servant's clothing.

"I will do my best, Captain. I'm not fond of these clothes either."