Slave Race: 38
by Nan Smith and Linda Garrick
Chapter 56
Sam Ruffard strode across the compound, hastily forming and discarding ideas. He had to get Karl out of here fast. Now was the time, while all was confusion over the unexpected arrival of the Jilectan. He reached his battlecruiser, saw the aircars parked beneath it, and went over to the nearest one. It wasn't locked, but the keys weren't in it, either. Quickly, he reached inside and popped the hood open. Any Shallockian kid with a gram of self-respect knew how to hotwire a car. Sam made several adjustments, bypassing the engine lock with smooth expertise, and the vehicle roared to life.
Patrolmen were emerging from the ship, sprinting across the field toward the Jilectan yacht and black-clad figures ran in seemingly random fashion about the tarmac as scores of patrolmen gathered hastily to welcome the noble arrival. A few of them glanced incuriously in his direction, but no one interfered as he jumped behind the controls and touched a button. The craft soared upward.
Karl was waiting for him. Sam piloted the car leisurely across the compound so as not to attract attention, and settled it gently to the ground directly before Karl's hiding place. He reached across, opened the door and slid from the vehicle just as the boy crawled from the underbrush. Moving rapidly, Ruffard reached down, caught him by the back of the torn uniform and boosted him into the car.
"Keep your head down," he instructed.
Karl asked no questions. He ducked beneath the dashboard, and the car lifted and moved slowly back to its original spot beneath the battlecruiser.
"Okay," he whispered. "I'm gonna try'n get you on board. We'll steal a lifeboat if we can an' I'll getcha outta here."
Karl was silent. Ruffard thought a moment more, while patrolmen rushed down the ramp and across the compound toward the Jilectan yacht.
"Will they empty the ship--I mean, will everyone go out to greet his Lordship?" the boy asked, suddenly.
"No, they'll leave a skeleton crew, but..."
"How many's in a skeleton crew?"
"Usually about six. Why?"
"How about the guards?"
Ruffard jerked a thumb at the rows of patrolmen lined up by the yacht. "Over there. What are you thinkin'?"
"I've been thinking that we'd be a lot more likely to get away in a battlecruiser than in a scout or a lifeboat."
"Kid, are you saying...we should...hijack the battlecruiser?"
"Nobody'll be expecting it, Sam. And if they do get their wits about them soon enough to come after us, we'll have a better chance."
A slow grin spread across Sam Ruffard's face and for a crazy instant wild elation filled him. "Brother," he said slowly, "how long have you been in the Underground?"
"About three weeks."
"You learn fast."
Karl returned his grin. "I'll tell you about it when the coast is clear."
"You can scan the whole ship from here?"
"Sure. I have to be careful because of the Jil, but he isn't looking for any Terran psychics--why should he? The base has been evacuated." Ruffard saw him grin. "That's one of the advantages we Terran psychics have over the Jils. My psychic trainer says it's because Terrans have a wider range than Jils. We can sense them without half trying, but they have to work to spot one of us."
Sam glanced up at two figures that rushed down the ramp, one of them sealing his uniform tunic, the other running a comb through tousled hair with one hand, his helmet swinging from the other. "Hope they hurry. Once Snoothvor realizes his lovin' cousin is missin', he's gonna start searchin', an' if I was him, I'd scan for Terran psychics then."
Karl nodded.
Ruffard looked deliberately away from the ship. No use worrying, he told himself. They couldn't do anything until Karl gave him the all clear. He switched the subject. "Did you ever find your real dad, Karl?"
"He's with my mother," the boy said.
"No kiddin'? Halthzor was right, then."
"Looks like it."
"An' they got away with your sis and brother?"
"I think so. Their ship was hit just as it went into hyperspace. They haven't showed up yet, though, so we really don't know what happened to them."
Ruffard grunted. "They'll probably turn up eventually, but do they know where to go to find you?"
"Yes." Karl's expression had gone vacant again. "Okay, Sam, everybody's off the ship now except for the guys in the control room."
"How many of them?"
"Six. Just like you said."
Sam opened the door, glancing around. "Okay, when I get out, you climb up on my back an' hang on. Got it?"
"Yes Sam."
"I'll take the guys in the control room at blaster point an' you select the one you want to help us with the take off. Sublieutenant Miller'd be my choice, but I'll let you make that decision. Don't use your psychic talents unless you have to. Snoothvor might already be lookin' for his cuz, an' he might pick you up."
Karl nodded, then shifted uneasily. "I think we should hurry, Sam."
"Somethin' wrong?"
"I just have a feeling that we're short on time."
"You got it." Sam slid from the aircar and felt Karl scramble up on his back. Strangely, even with the boy behind him, Sam seemed to see the kid's face before his eyes and to feel his apprehension. "We'll make it," he said.
"I know, Sam."
"Hold on." Ruffard strode up the ramp and through the open hatch.
Karl shifted uneasily against him. "Something's wrong."
"Huh? You a precog?"
"Major Burke says I might be--a real weak one. I've never really..." His voice trailed off. "Sam, we need to hurry."
Cold ran through Ruffard. He strode rapidly toward the lift.
It bore them smoothly upward to the first deck. They encountered no one, but Ruffard's neck was crawling as they stepped off and headed down the corridor at a brisk walk. Ahead was the control room and Sam paused at the entrance, flicking his blaster to kill.
"Okay, this is it."
"I'm ready, Sam."
He stepped through. "Hold it right there, folks."
Startled faces turned toward him. Sam circled, his blaster leveled, and reached down to switch off the communications control. "On your faces, all of you."
"Ruffard!" It was Subcommander Fitzhugh. "What the devil..."
"I said down! Move!"
Fitzhugh slowly obeyed. When the men were all stretched flat on the deck, Ruffard spoke again. "Which one you want, buddy?"
"Sublieutenant Wallace," Karl said, without hesitation.
Sam methodically stunned the others. "Okay, Wallace, on your feet."
Wallace stood up, his face white. Ruffard gestured with the weapon. "Take your blaster out of your holster and toss it away."
Wallace obeyed. "What are you..."
"No questions. Get over to the control board."
As the man started to move, Karl gave a yell of warning, pulling Ruffard down hard. Sam ducked instinctively as a blaster cracked. The beam struck the bulkhead behind him.
"You will not move, Patrolman."
Ruffard raised his head. Framed in the control room doorway was the huge, muddy, very bedraggled form of Lord Snarthvar. The Jilectan's hair was shriveled, his face reddened and blistered, his eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot, his clothing hanging in rags, but in one hand he held a blaster, the muzzle centered on Ruffard.
"Put the boy down, Patrolman."
Slowly, Sam let Karl slide to the deck. The boy's face was sharp before his eyes, and terror from the kid seemed to fill him.
"Sublieutenant Wallace, you will go over to the com and summon assistance."
"Yes, M'lord."
Ruffard felt something then, strange, yet familiar--a queer weakness within him. He saw the young officer start toward the panel, saw him reach for the control. And then...
A jolt of terror, as a creature bolted through the door of the control room--a snarling, snapping thing with a slavering mouth and fifteen-centimeter fangs, its claws spread wide as it leaped for the Jilectan. Snarthvar screamed and swung his weapon toward it, firing. The young patrolman also screamed, grabbing for his blaster on the deck.
Karl's hand reached at the same instant for the one that Ruffard had dropped.
The creature shrieked horribly as the shot struck it, but its attack never slowed. The sublieutenant had his sidearm and was firing at the thing, his shots echoing those of the Jilectan.
Then abruptly the vision was gone and Ruffard, in a daze, saw Karl slumped back against the control panel, Ruffard's confiscated blaster clutched in both hands and leveled at Snarthvar.
"Drop the blaster, M'lord." The boy's voice shook and his face was pasty white. "Wallace, if you stir one centimeter I'll kill M'lord, now."
Snarthvar's weapon clattered to the deck.
"Now you, Sublieutenant. Sam, get the blasters."
Sam went to collect them, careful not to get between Karl and the Jilectan. Grimly, he covered the big alien with the weapon.
"Sam." Karl sounded faint. "I think I'm going to pass out..."
"Lie down, buddy. I'll take it from here."
"I...I can't. I..." The boy's voice faded and he slumped limply to the deck.
"Okay. You! Wallace, get over to the control panel."
Wallace obeyed.
Karl stirred, then jerked. "Sam! Sam! Snarthvar's calling for help!"
Sam felt the weapon in his hand jerk violently, felt it writhe free, and realized the Jilectan had taken him off-guard. He saw the weapon smack into the alien's hands, saw it lift with lightening speed toward him, and knew without a doubt that he was going to die.
Beside him, fire rent the air and the Jilectan was hurled backward to land with a thump on the deck. Even half-stunned, Sam had no doubt that Snarthvar was dead.
Wallace was jumping for a blaster. Ruffard leaped at the same moment, caught the young sublieutenant in a flying tackle and rammed him forward into the bulkhead. Two punches later he was slumped face down on the deck. Ruffard sprinted to the control board, snatching up the Jilectan's jeweled blaster on the way. "Kid! Kid, wake up! I need help!" He rammed his thumb down on the repulsor control and the ship roared to life.
Karl didn't move. Ruffard pressed another button and the great ship soared upward.
He hadn't expected to have to manage the ship alone, and, of course, he had no idea what course to set. "Karl!"
The boy didn't move. Swearing helplessly, Ruffard punched in coordinates for Terra as the scream of atmosphere faded and the pull of gravity lessened. Terra was a safe bet, he told himself. The Underground must have bases there.
"Patrol Battlecruiser Minotaur!" an official voice barked. "What is the meaning of this? You are ordered to return to the planet at once!"
Ruffard let them rave. Forty seconds to hyperspace and his scanners showed two battlecruisers as well as Snoothvor's yacht in pursuit, but the takeoff had been a complete surprise and the other ships were well out of range. M'lord must have picked up the distress call from his cousin and realized something had happened before the message was terminated, along with its sender, he thought. How much, Sam wondered, had Snarthvar been able to tell before he had died? Apparently not a whole lot, since their pursuers didn't seem to know who was involved.
"Minotaur! You will respond! Where is Lord Snarthvar? Answer me! Fitzhugh! Are you able to respond? Lieutenant Milhouse? Answer!"
Twenty seconds. One of the stunned men on the deck groaned. Ruffard turned in his chair and fired five more stunbolts, then a sixth at the slumped figure of Wallace. As he fired the final one the ship converted to hyperspace. The comp registered forty-six hours to Terra.
Terra? Wait a minute! Was he crazy? When the ship popped out of hyperspace over Terra there would be a hue and cry that would bring every battlecruiser for a thousand lightyears around. Oh well, he had time. Ruffard got to his feet, moving slowly and deliberately now, and cuffed the patrolmen's hands behind them with their own restrainers. When they woke up, he would herd them all into a lifeboat, he decided, and send them on their way, along with the body of the Jil.
Karl stirred and lifted his head. Ruffard went down on one knee beside him.
"Hi there. You okay now?"
Brown eyes blinked confusedly up at him. Sam grinned at the boy. "We made it."
"The Jil?"
"Dead. Neatest shot I ever saw!"
Karl looked sick. "Sublieutenant Wallace?"
"I punched him a couple'a times. He'll be okay."
"We're in hyperspace?"
"Yeah, but we're gonna hafta change course. I set us for Terra--not thinkin' straight, I guess."
Karl smiled shakily and Ruffard helped him sit up. "You okay? You went out like a light."
"I felt awful weird. I still do."
"You was usin' a lotta energy there at the end. Maybe you shorted out your circuits or somethin'. Man! What an illusion! The Jil an' Wallace both saw it, an' so did I. I thought you couldn't do that except to one person at a time."
"I can't."
"Well, you did. It was a good thing I figured out whatcha were doin' or I might'a died o' heart failure. That was the fearsomest lookin' beastie I ever saw."
Karl grinned weakly. "Thank you."
"What was it, anyway?"
"A Warren special. I made it up."
"You got *some* imagination." Ruffard regarded him in awe. "Three weeks at Undergrounding, huh? I said you learn fast."
"You're not bad, yourself," Karl told him, dryly.
One of the stunned patrolmen groaned. Karl glanced toward the men, then to the body of the Jilectan. His already pale face went slightly green.
"Easy, kid. I'll load him in the lifeboat with the others."
"You can't carry him, Sam."
"I'll enlist the help o' my former crew mates." Sam glanced dispassionately at the moaning, retching figures on the deck. "They oughta have fun explainin' his condition to his lovin' cousin. Just wish I could be there t'see it!"
**********
The ship, Edwin saw, as they emerged from the airlock into the vessel, appeared to be an ancient colony transport. They passed through several of the many corridors to a lift. Edwin considered briefly, then indicated the top deck. They accelerated upward at fearsome velocity for several seconds, then felt themselves braking. The doors popped open with a soft hiss, revealing what could only be a control room.
Edwin whistled softly as he stared at the computer, then at the bank of controls. Jack was beside him instantly, his fingers playing over the buttons and switches. A light came on. Then another. Then a third.
"It works!" Jack screamed, like a child with a new toy. "This thing'll fly!"
"How about fuel?" Loreen asked. Jack turned and checked a readout.
"Looks good. Everybody get a seat an' fasten your safety webbin'."
"Jack!" Ellie cried, "we have to warn the Jils back! They'll be burned up if we take off now!"
"I'll do it. They might not understand you." Edwin activated an outside speaker. "People of the island, we are leaving you in the god's chariot. We return to our master to tell him of the Jilectans he has sent us to visit. I do not think he will be pleased! It may be many years before your people become worthy of another visit from us! Go back to your village now. Be assured we shall return. Leave the cavern at once, or you may be hurt by the fire from our chariot."
"They're leaving!" Loreen was watching the viewscreen.
"How do we open the hangar?" Stephen asked. "I guess it's a hangar, isn't it? It just looks like solid rock above us."
"It'll open," Jack said, with complete confidence. "Everybody go strap in. Steph, you'd better stay here with me. An' you too, Mr. White. I might need a little help. Man! This is great!"
Edwin watched with apprehension. "You sure you know what you're doing?"
"Huh? Oh, sure." Jack pressed another button and an alarm began to sound. Edwin sat down rather abruptly in the chair beside the boy's. Stephen squeezed in beside him and he fastened the webbing around them both.
"Here we *go*!" Jack threw a lever and the roof of the cavern slid back like an enormous skylight, revealing the evening sky overhead. The engines roared and the great ship surged upward.
"Edwin," Loreen said, suddenly, from her chair before one of the other instrument panels, "maybe we should stop and get our food. It might take us a long time to get back in this thing."
Edwin looked at Jack. "She's right. This thing went blooey once. It could do it again. We'll need our supplies. There might be stuff on this crate, but who can say if it'll be any good after three hundred years or so. Besides, we need Kimmee's milk. Can you land us on the beach, then take off again?"
"Sure, I guess so. Just a minute."
There was a growling sound from the repulsers, then a whine and a soft thud.
"We're there," Jack said.
Edwin looked out at the white beach and the waves breaking on the shoreline. Their little craft, dwarfed by the great Jilectan colony ship, was still where they had left it.
"Okay, let's make it fast. I want to get off this world."
"Me, too." Stephen was out of the control room door and the others ran with him.
It took them less than fifteen minutes to gather their belongings together. Jack and Stephen carried the dream dog, still in perfect condition after being stored in the lifeboat's stasis chamber, and together they placed it on the deck of one of the corridors. The rest of their belongings were heaped beside it and Edwin hurried back to the control room, accompanied by Stephen and Jack. Again the repulsers roared to life and the big ship rose ponderously from the sand.
Edwin was silent as the planet fell away beneath them, listening to the scream of the air against the hull and watching the stars spring out of the rapidly darkening sky. Would they make it, he wondered. This was an old, old ship, and anything might go wrong. Still, luck had accompanied them so far that one could hope it might continue...if they could just get on course back...if Jack could program the comp for Terra's coordinates...
*Ed!* The voice burst in his mind--a voice he had thought he might never hear again.
"Cory!"
He didn't realize he had spoken his partner's name aloud until he saw Jack and Stephen looking at him. Jack's eyes were wide with startled comprehension. "A Terran psychic!" he yelled. "Who is it, Mr. White?"
*Cory, where are you?*
*Don't you see us? We see you, if that's really you flying that incredible hulk!*
"I see 'em!" Jack's hands flew over the controls and a scanner lit up, showing a tiny blip far above them.
*Archaic controls. Yes, we see you, Cor. Are you okay?*
*In the pink. Where have you been? On that planet down there?*
*You'd better believe it. Look, let us open the lifeboat bays. You can come aboard. Then, if something goes wrong, we'll still have your ship to get home in.*
*You got it. Open up. We're coming aboard.*
Jack pressed a button. "Lifeboat bays opening."
"What are you doing?" Stephen demanded. "What's going on?"
"The Underground's found us, Steph." Edwin had to pause and swallow the lump in his throat. "We're going home."
**********
Chapter 57
The battlecruiser Minotaur came out of hyperspace over Nova Luna, and Karl leaned forward to open communications. "I expect we'll have a reception committee pretty quick. Just let me do the talking. Okay?"
"You got it. Where are we, anyway?"
"That's Nova Luna--our new base. We're in the Charell system." He pointed. "Double star, see? The M there is Charell, and the A is Jallach. No habitable planets. The Jils'll never find us here."
"You said it, buddy." Ruffard shook his head in amazement. "And your base is on which planet?"
"A moon of Ilka." Karl pointed. "That gas giant. It has fifteen moons."
"Nice rings," Ruffard commented.
"Aren't they? Quite spectacular from our base, I'm told. We're inside a bunch of plastic bubbles, of course, like Luna City, hence the name Nova Luna. Okay, here comes our welcoming committee."
Ruffard glanced up at the screen, noting half a dozen small blips moving rapidly toward them. "Interceptors!"
"I know." Karl sounded perfectly calm. "It's okay. They won't fire without challenging us first."
"You sure?"
"Sure, I'm sure." Karl smiled reassuringly.
"Jilectan battlecruiser!" a voice barked from the com. "You are covered. Any attempt at transmission or any hostile moves and we will destroy you. Surrender at once."
Karl pressed a button to open visual communication between their ship and the approaching craft. "Terran interceptor, this is Cadet Warren."
There was a pause. Then, "Identify, Cadet."
"Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The Jil's in the outhouse,
The 'trols are forlorn..."
In spite of himself, Ruffard felt an impulse to laugh. The screen above the control panel lit up suddenly with the face of a young man. Karl leaned forward.
"Hello, Captain Burke. How's Marilyn? Did she come through the battle okay?"
"Just fine." The young man's gaze went to Ruffard. "Who's he?"
"This is Sam Ruffard," Karl told him. "He helped me escape."
The young man digested that, then grinned. "So, we have another 'trol? I take it you've decided to change sides, Patrolman?"
"Uh...yeah."
"He saved my life, sir," Karl told him. "He almost killed Lord Snarthvar to do it, too."
"Lord Snarthvar? We heard he was dead."
"He is," Ruffard said. "Karl did it."
The young man raised his eyebrows. "Ah, that explains it. News reached us that Alan Westover had killed Lord Snarthvar and recruited another 'trol about six hours ago."
"Alan Westover?" Karl said, blankly.
"A short, dark-haired man who appeared to be in the process of recruiting a patrolman to the Underground." Captain Burke smiled faintly. "Who else could it be?"
"Sounds like him, all right," Ruffard agreed.
"Who else? Okay, Karl, we'll escort you down, and welcome home. And you, too, Patrolman."
"Thanks," Ruffard said. He lifted an eyebrow at Karl.
"We have a surprise for you, too," Burke added.
"What?"
"Tell you on the ground." The communication ended.
The Battlecruiser Minotaur settled to the rocky ground of the so-called landing field a short distance from the bubble that encased the base. Scattered here and there across the surface of the barren moon, Ruffard could see the silhouettes of dozens of other ships; members of the motley fleet the Viceregal Patrol had faced when they invaded the Ladreen system, he supposed. There were vessels of every size, ships from every star-traveling species in the Sector. He even spotted four Patrol battlecruisers. It made sense, he thought. The Terran Underground had plenty of allies--a great many more than his former bosses had realized. Maybe Karl's prediction wasn't so unlikely, after all.
Karl and Ruffard, clad in pressure suits, waited while the lock depressurized, then moved out onto the barren waste of the satellite. Karl clung to Ruffard's back as they crossed the field to the dome's airlock, moving in strides that took them meters at a time. The gravity here had to be about one sixth of Corala's he thought. The airlock slid open as they approached and they entered. Ruffard hoisted him higher as it slid shut again and the pressurization process commenced. At last the inner door opened and Ruffard carried him through the opening and out into a large area. Several people were waiting for them. Karl pulled off his helmet.
One of the figures gave a scream of delight and came toward them at a run. Karl gave a start. "Ellie!"
Ruffard slid him to the ground and gripped his arm as the little girl took off in a leap from two meters away and landed on his chest. The impact would have knocked him over if not for Ruffard. He went to his knees, hugging her close.
"Hi, El," he mumbled.
She hugged him tighter. "You're hurt! What happened?"
"Little fracture. Not serious. Sam took good care of me."
The little girl beamed up at Ruffard. He grinned back at her. The others were approaching and Sam surveyed Karl's family. Funny. He hadn't thought much about the kid's family, but here they were--a mom, a brother and a sister. And that must be his father--the father he'd never met. Indeed he could be no one else. He looked just like Karl.
Karl's mother was embracing her son, her face shining. The younger brother, who was already noticeably bigger than Karl, slapped him hard on the back. "Hey, Karl old boy! Glad you decided to show up. Things were pretty dull here without you."
"Thanks a lot." Karl aimed a punch at him.
The woman reached over and caught the man's hand, bringing him forward. "Karl," she said.
The boy's eyes widened as he took in the man's face. "You're my father," he said.
The man smiled uncertainly, and the smile was Karl's own. "Edwin White, Karl," he said.
The boy looked acutely uncomfortable. "Hi."
"Hello, Karl." White cleared his throat. "I...I guess we have a lot to talk about."
"The general wants to see you, brother," Stephen said. "And you, too, Patrolman."
"Figured he would," Karl said. He looked away, not meeting his father's eyes.
"How'd you bust your leg?" Stephen asked. "Fall over your feet as usual?"
"Just a little spaceship wreck. Nothing serious."
"Looks like you bunged your face up pretty good at the same time. Well, I guess anything would be an improvement."
"So speaks Quasimodo," Karl returned promptly. "Any cute gypsies feel sorry for you yet? It's your only hope, you know."
Stephen's grin broadened. "I'll carry him to the general if you want, Mr. Ruffard."
"Yeah, you and who else? Don't turn me over to him, Sam. He'll drop me."
"I could tote you with one hand, big brother. Especially in this gravity!"
Ruffard laughed. "Hey! I'm not gettin' involved in this!"
Ellie giggled. "Come on, Karl. You don't want to keep General Kaley waiting!"
Karl and Ruffard were escorted to the General's office by the boy's entire family. Another young man joined them on the way. Edwin White introduced him as Cory Livingston. A few minutes later a little boy appeared. "Hi, Steph."
"Hiya! Hey, Karl, this is a new friend of mine: Jack. He's going to be living with us from now on. You're going to like him."
"Hi," Karl said.
"'Lo." The little boy--he couldn't be more than nine, Sam thought--looked shy as he gave Karl a sweet, charming smile "You're Steph's big brother, huh?"
"Yes."
"I hear Halthzor had a crush on you."
Native Shallockian, Ruffard thought. The kids were worldly far beyond their years.
"A one-sided crush," Karl told him.
The kid chuckled. "I gotcha. You was with the upper crust, and we got the dregs."
"What dregs?"
"He means Comishvor," White said, unexpectedly. "Until a day or so ago we had a Jil hanging around."
"Being a pain in the butt," Stephen added.
"Stephen!" Karl's mother sounded shocked.
"Sorry, Mom, but he was."
"You mean--Comishvor? The pirate?"
"You bet. That's what I meant by dregs."
"Good grief! He was with you?"
"Yep!" Stephen said. "But poor Mr. White, here, and Cory, too, have been stuck with him since they were kids. Actually I guess he wasn't so bad as Jils go."
"A lot better than most," Jack said soberly.
"Where is he now?"
"Oh, we dropped him off in a lifeboat before we came here. We took him close to his old base and let him go."
"I'll tell you all about it after you talk to the General," White told him.
General Kaley was a bald man in the second half of his first century. His eyes were bright green and faintly slanted, reminding Ruffard vaguely of some weird, mythological creature. Karl and Ruffard entered the office, unaccompanied by their escort. He stood up as they appeared.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen." He frowned at Karl's splinted leg. "I didn't realize you were injured, Cadet. You should have gone to the infirmary first."
"I'm okay, sir," Karl said.
"Sustained when your skipper crashed, I don't doubt. By the way, Cadet, Marilyn Burke told me that you fought bravely and skillfully. You will be decorated for your contribution, as well as for the wounds you received in battle."
Karl had gone pink. "Thank you, sir."
"My pleasure, Cadet. Patrolman, please help him to a seat and have one, yourself."
Ruffard seated himself nervously on the edge of the sofa beside Karl. Kaley resumed his seat behind the wide desk.
"As Cadet Warren has undoubtedly already told you, I am General Walter Kaley, commanding officer of this base."
Ruffard stood up again and came to attention. "Patrolman Samuel Ruffard, sir."
"At ease, Patrolman. Please be seated. First, let me thank you personally for returning one of our most gifted and versatile psychics to us. I was quite distressed when I thought he had been lost."
"My pleasure, sir," Ruffard said.
A fractional smile. "You will be inducted into the Terran Underground as a Private First Class..."
"Excuse me, sir," Karl said.
"Yes, Cadet?"
"Patrolman Ruffard was a Lieutenant in the Patrol earlier, sir. He was demoted after my first escape."
"Understood, Cadet." Kaley smiled. "My mistake. You will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Patrolman."
Ruffard felt his face burning. "Thank you, sir."
A smile, and the General reached forward to touch the intercom. "Ruby, please have Colonel Burke come in, now."
"Yes, sir."
An instant later the door opened and a small, plump, grey-haired man entered. He was clad in the soft grey uniform of the Terran Underground and glanced at Karl with a warm smile. "Welcome back, Karl. We missed you, and Marilyn has been sitting around like a wilting flower since your supposed death."
Karl's face broke into a smile. "Does she know I'm back?"
"Are you kidding? She wants to see you as soon as you're free."
"Colonel," Kaley said.
"Yes, General?"
"This is Patrolman Samuel Ruffard, late of the Viceregal Patrol. He... forfeited his career to save Cadet Warren."
Bright, interested blue eyes turned on Sam. "Indeed? Why did you do that, Patrolman?"
"Uh..." Sam glanced at Karl. Karl smiled.
"This is Colonel Leroy Burke, Sam--our supervisor in psychic training."
Sam started to stand up, but the Colonel waved him back down again. "Why did you choose to save this boy at the expense of your career, Mr. Ruffard?"
"Uh..." Again Sam glanced uneasily at Karl. "I dunno, sir. I guess...well, it seemed the only thing to do. I couldn't let that damned Jil kill him...Uh, I beg your pardon, sir."
Leroy looked at Karl. "What exactly happened?"
Karl told him. "The Jil was trying to climb on me," he concluded. "And Sam was trying to pull me out. Every time Sam would get a grip on me, Snarthvar would rip me loose. So Sam shot him. I thought he'd killed him, but I guess the Jil must've twisted or something, 'cause when we saw him he was wounded, but still alive."
Again Burke turned to Ruffard. "Why didn't you try to save the Jilectan, first? That was clearly your duty under the circumstances."
"It never occurred to me," Ruffard replied. "I couldn't let Karl die."
Leroy nodded slowly. "And you, Karl, did you notice anything odd when Sam was with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Were you a better psychic when he was with you than you were without him?"
"I don't..." Karl paused, his expression becoming thoughtful.
"That illusion," Ruffard said. "That last illusion you made...remember?"
Karl was nodding. "Yes...and the empathic projection I used on you. I'd heard about such things from Colonel Burke, but I'd never tried it before. For some reason, though, it just seemed the natural thing to do. And it worked beautifully."
"What kind of empathic projection?" Burke asked.
"Right after Sam caught me, sir. I started trying to make him feel guilty and sorry for me...and...oh, I threw in a few other emotions, too--anger toward the Jils, a little sexual desire..." Karl grinned at his friend. "I mentioned that we have women here at the base. I couldn't believe how well it worked."
Sam grinned and aimed a light punch at his small friend. "He had me blubberin' like a baby. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me."
"Most unusual," Leroy murmured. "And what was that you mentioned about the illusion, Mr. Ruffard?"
"Oh, he made an illusion for the Jil and a 'trol at the same time, right at the end when we were stealin' the battlecruiser." Ruffard shook his head. "Fearsomest lookin' critter I ever saw in m'life."
"You saw it, too?" Leroy asked, sharply.
"Yeah. Only I knew it was just Karl, so..."
Burke interrupted him. "Karl, did you project the image at Sam?"
Karl shook his head. "No, sir. Just the Jil and the 'trol. Like I said, I must've been a lot stronger suddenly. I've never been able to make an illusion for more than one before. Three! I couldn't believe I'd done it--and I didn't even try to project at Sam. There was no reason for that."
"You didn't project at Sam," Burke said. "I'm sure of that."
"What? Oh, but I did, sir. It was obvious they all saw it. The Jil and the 'trol started blasting away at it, but Sam knew..."
"Excuse me, Cadet. A poor choice of words on my part. I should have said you didn't do it all by yourself. You had help."
Ruffard frowned at the little man. "Do you mind explainin', sir? I know what I saw, an' I know the Jil an' Wallace saw it, too. You say someone helped Karl. Who? There wasn't no other psychic there except the Jil, an' he sure didn't..."
"Let me explain, Patrolman." Burke glanced at Kaley, who was somehow looking very smug. "You are what we call a psychic power pack. That is, you are a non-functioning psychic. You carry the psychic gene, but you lack another, equally important gene possessed by most ordinary Terrans, which we've termed the control factor. It's what allows non-psychics to produce mind shields. Without that factor you cannot control your psychic powers."
This little guy must be bats, Ruffard decided. "Listen, Colonel, I know I ain't a psychic, controlled or not. The Jils would'a sensed it if I was."
Leroy Burke actually laughed. "I'm not crazy, Patrolman. I know it sounds a little fantastic, but you see, we've encountered pairs like you and Karl before. They're rare, but we know they exist because we have several here at the base. Alan Westover and Mark Linley are one. Karl's mother and father are another. So are his grandparents. And, for that matter, his brother, Stephen, and the little Shallockian boy, Jack. It seems to be a quality that runs heavily in the Westover clan...of which Karl is a distant cousin."
"Pairs?" Karl said.
"A psychic and a power pack whose minds complement each other, forming a psychic link. Patrolman Ruffard, how did you find Karl, out there in that great big forest, with nothing to guide you?"
"Uh..." Ruffard cleared his throat. "I...uh...had a dream. I heard him callin' for help."
"And after you woke up?"
"I still heard it." Ruffard met the little man's eyes, beginning to understand at last. "I heard him 'cause he was linked with me?"
"That's right. You probably kept seeing his face, too, and feeling his fear and pain."
"Yeah."
"So, when Karl made that illusion for the patrolman and the Jilectan, he was linked with you. You saw the illusion, not because Karl projected it toward you consciously, but because Karl was seeing it in his own mind, and, therefore, you saw it too. The link will only become evident to you in times of great stress on Karl's part. It's there all the time, but you won't notice it unless Karl's in trouble."
"It also explains," Karl put in quietly, "why you shot the Jil to save me. All psychic partners will protect each other--pure instinct. At least, that's what I've been told."
"An' it explains why you went to such extremes to talk those Jil kids outta killin' me, pal." Ruffard laughed suddenly. "I was in favor of it, but I couldn't see why you were. I thought'cha were bein' awful stupid."
Burke looked interested. "I haven't heard about that one, yet."
"But I still don't understand why the Jils didn't sense psychic energy in me." Ruffard turned back to the psychic trainer. "An' what about this business o' me helpin' Karl with that illusion? If I got no control factor an' can't use my psychic power, then how could I help him?"
"One thing at a time, Patrolman. About the Jilectans not sensing you, we don't know. We've tried to figure out for some time why power packs don't produce any psychic aura. They should. Many of them carry around with them an incredible amount of psychic energy, but it's completely undetectable. It's very convenient for us, of course, but as to why it's so..." He shrugged. "And about you helping Karl, you didn't need your control factor. Karl, his mind linked tightly with yours, drew power directly from you and controlled it without your assistance, or even your awareness of it. Most likely you noticed nothing, except, perhaps, a mild sensation of weakness as he did it."
Ruffard nodded slowly. "Yeah, I did notice that."
"And all Karl noticed was that his psychic abilities were suddenly much stronger."
Karl looked quickly at Ruffard. "Did it hurt much, Sam?"
Sam shook his head. "I remember I felt a little funny, but who wouldn't, under those circumstances? Then I saw that thing jumpin' at the Jil and forgot all about it."
Karl shook his head wonderingly. "I didn't know psychic partners could pull power from each other."
"Ordinary ones can't," Burke said. "The only ones who can are the psychics who have power packs."
"And Mom's one?"
"Yes. She's linked with your father--your natural father, Edwin White. Hence the tie between them which endured sixteen years of separation."
"But she married Cecil."
"Only because she knew you were on the way. The marriage gave you, she thought, the best chance at life. She never spoke of her first husband to anyone. She thought he was dead, but she couldn't forget him. And when he reappeared..."
Karl stood up, clinging to the sofa arm for support. "I need to talk to her, sir. I need to talk to both of them."
"I'll help you," Ruffard said. "Are we excused, General?"
Kaley smiled, the action softening the severe planes of his face. "You are, Patrolman. You will be notified of the time and place of your commission ceremony, later."
Ruffard hoisted Karl to his back and they headed for the door.
**********
"Simple fracture." Matt Philips, the base doctor, applied the new splint and secured it carefully. "Should heal in no time at your age."
Karl grimaced slightly as the doctor finished. "I guess I won't be flying for awhile, huh?"
"Why not? You don't control the skipper with your feet, do you?"
"I guess not." Karl grinned.
"That'll do it. I'll have Lew bring you a pair of crutches. You can use the leg, but go easy on it. It'll be sore for awhile." The doctor smiled. "We won't have full gravity here for another week or so, they tell me, so that should make it easier." He glanced around as a young man entered. "Ah, there you are, Lew."
The young medic crossed the room to hand Karl a pair of crutches. "See if these'll do."
Karl stood up and got them under his arms. "Just fine. Thanks."
"I'll re-check the healing in a week. See you then." The doctor grinned. "Glad you're okay. We all felt awful about your untimely death."
"Thanks, sir." Karl went out into the waiting room. Edwin White was there, but Ruffard and the rest of his family had magically vanished--probably by design, he thought.
White stood up and Karl got a good look at him for the first time. He was, perhaps, half a head taller than his son, and his hair was slightly darker, but otherwise their resemblance was unmistakable. White's face was youthful, but at the moment creased with unhappiness. His dark eyes were sad.
"Karl," he said quietly, "would it be all right if we talked?"
Karl had to swallow the lump in his throat. "Yeah, I guess." Now, facing his father as a father at last, he felt utterly at a loss for words.
"Come with me. I'll show you to your new quarters. They've bunked you with your friend, Sam."
"That's good."
"Karl, do you hate me very much?"
Karl paused on his crutches, staring at the carpet. People passed, unnoticed. "I don't hate you."
"Do you believe me when I tell you that I didn't know?"
"But you knew there could have been a child! You knew that much!"
"I thought she was dead. I was in the hands of a Jil pirate. His servants told me she had been killed, and they believed it was true."
"But you didn't make sure."
"No, I didn't. I'll never forgive myself for that."
Without thinking, Karl heard himself excusing the man. "How could you? You were the prisoner of a Jil."
"Yes, but I did finally escape."
"And you came to Corala."
"Yes. Cory had already escaped. He'd seen you and recognized you."
"How?"
"You look like me, Karl, and your mind is similar. Cory's a psychic."
"Oh."
"Cory contacted me telepathically and told me Loreen was still alive."
"Oh. And you went to her?"
"Of course. She told me about you--just hours too late. The Jils had just spotted you. Ellie told us--warned us. I got your mom and Ellie out of there and we picked up Stephen at his school."
Karl swallowed. "Halthzor guessed, you know. He knew Cecil wasn't my real father."
"Did he?"
"Yes. He said my mother's lover must have taken her away. He thought I must know about you, but of course I didn't." Karl swallowed again. "I was angry with you."
They had entered the BOQ and Edwin opened the door to his room for him. Karl went in, looking around at his new quarters. Ruffard wasn't here.
"Sam said I lucked out that Cecil wasn't my father," he said. "I didn't feel very lucky at the time."
"How do you feel now?"
Karl turned to look at his father. "A lot better."
Edwin White smiled. "How does the name Karl David White sound to you? Or am I rushing things?"
Karl found himself smiling in return. "It sounds great to me," he said.
**********
Epilogue
Nova Luna Base was in its night phase. Facing the giant, ringed disk of Ilka, the city and its companion-domes were in semi-darkness.
It wouldn't stay that way, of course. Within a few hours, the satellite's position in its orbit would change and the dominant star would be visible. Jallach was brilliant, even at this distance; Charell, the red dwarf, would rise in about six hours, a pale, dim spot of red in the heavens, but for now, the huge, banded gas giant loomed overhead. Glowing redly, fringed with the glittering frost of its rings, it dominated half the sky, outlined by a halo of light from its star.
Nova Luna had been patterned after Luna City in that greenery was everywhere, Loreen thought. Trees and shrubbery covered most of the open spaces. Riskellian joqueleaf bushes, well-known for their high oxygen yield, were especially prominent, and climbing vines, still small, but already established, clung to the stone structures that dotted the surface of the domed city, although most of the base was underground. In the center of the dome was Central Park, a testament to the skill of the Terran Underground's planetary engineers. Faintly, an almost subsonic throb was barely audible: the sound of the massive pumps that circulated air to all parts of the settlement.
Loreen and Edwin White strolled hand in hand along one of the small, pebbled paths, enjoying the peace of the moment. Stephen, Jack and Ellie were asleep in their new quarters, and the new community of psychics and non-psychics was settling in.
They weren't the only ones abroad on this night. Others moved about the park, soaking in the strange, new world that had so suddenly become their home.
But it was going to be a real home, Loreen thought. It had taken sixteen years for her to find it, for her family to be complete, but it had finally happened, and she and Edwin had the rest of their lives to make up for the time they had been apart.
The night breeze was faintly warm, and filled with the scents from the young, flowering plants. Edwin sniffed, breathing in the air with relish.
"I've never smelled air like this," he said. "Sixteen years in a pirate's ship or on his base--Comishvor didn't know what he was missing."
"He didn't strike me as the nature-loving sort," Loreen said, "and I've been a city girl all my life. But, I like it here."
"So do I," Edwin said. "It has everything I always wanted--but then, so did Corala, after I met you." He led her to a bench, dimly illuminated by the brightly ringed planet over their heads. "In my wildest dreams, I never pictured myself living any place like this, but it already feels like I belong."
"I know," Loreen said. "The apartment on Corala never felt that way. Even though this is strange, it feels right."
"I don't think it's the place," Edwin said. "I missed you every day of the time I spent with Comishvor. I never stopped missing you."
"Well, I'm here now," Loreen said, "and so are you, against all the odds."
"You're as beautiful as the first day I met you," he said. "The most beautiful woman I ever saw."
She smiled, her face shadowed in the dim, unearthly light. "I didn't understand then why you thought I was beautiful," she said. "Cecil never did."
"Cecil was an idiot," Edwin said. "He didn't appreciate what he had -- but I do."
"So do I," Loreen said. "I love you, Edwin."
They sat together in silence. Somewhere, a Terran cricket began to chirp rhythmically. At last Edwin stood up, pulling her with him.
"Let's go back," he said, and she nodded.
Walking quietly, hand in hand, they left the park and headed home.
The End
