"I understand and agree. One deega it will change for us, so we must be patient, and careful. Now tell me, my lover, how did you get into this kind of existence?"
Dagan wasn't in the mood to lie to her tonight, not after what they had just shared. "I promise to tell you all about me another time. It's late, so I should return to the settlement. We have that early meeting with Tochar in the morning; we need to be fi-esh and alert."
"You're right. It slipped my mind; you're much too distracting, Latu," she teased as she sat up and gazed down at him.
"You're the one who's disarming and distracting, my beautiful love. You capture and enspell me as easily as you take a breath."
"I was under the impression you did the chasing and snaring."
"Once we met on that transporter and tangled, I doubt either of us stood a chance of escaping the other's interest."
"It must have been fate, Dagan, so why fight it?"
"My thoughts and feelings exactly. Let's get dressed and moving."
"Yes, sir," she said, and gave him a mock salute. "Your shuttle will be ready and waiting in fifteen preons, so you best get off this sleeper before I'm tempted to change my mind and hold you prisoner."
The Spaceki team—Starla, Dagan, Auken, and Sach— met with Tochar the following morning. As they sat before him, his piercing black eyes passed over each one in turn, then he stared downward for a time. The four sensed a problem and exchanged curious glances.
Starla masked her anxiety, but knew trouble was brewing.
"I have more bad news and it troubles me deeply."
When Tochar fell silent, Auken asked, "What is it, my friend?"
Tochar looked at his lead man and close friend. "Koteas and Terin are dead; their vessel destroyed, one deega after your departure."
All four team members stared at their leader in disbelief.
"What happened?" Sach probed. "Were they attacked?"
"I do not know, but the matter is suspicious, highly suspicious. Their vessel was still registering on our sensors when it exploded."
"Did our sensors pick up another ship or a laser blast?"
"No, Auken; that is the mystery. One preon it was there; then a fiery detonation; then it was gone, leaving only debris to drift forever." Tochar slapped his hands together, causing all except Dagan to jump in surprise. "Blam, and no more Koteas, Terin, or moonbeams."
"If our sensors didn't detect another ship or weapons' fire, it must have been an accident," Sach surmised.
"That is possible, but coming atop the other strange events, I am unconvinced. Any speculations?" Auken shook
his head and so did Sach. "What about you," Tochar asked Starla and Dagan, "any theories?"
Starla knew from Yakir's report to Cypher during her absence that the smaller I-GAF ship had been obscured from Noy's sensors by the larger Thracian vessel when it briefly decloaked to fire a destructive beam. "Perhaps the crystals truly are unstable under certain conditions, since similar incidents occurred two previous times. Or perhaps your buyers mishandled them in a hazardous manner. The cave and desert were hot and dry locations which might have affected them. We haven't experienced trouble on the ship while transporting them to you in a location where humidity and temperature are controlled. What if your buyers stored theirs in a compartment without environmental control or their system malfunctioned? In light of three losses, it must have something to do with conditions or how the crystals are handled. Have you questioned your contact? If there's something we're doing wrong, that jeopardizes us during raids, and you and the settlement after delivery."
"And it will make future buyers nervous," Dagan added. "Whatever the trouble is, it needs to be discovered and resolved fast."
"I agree. As to my contact, he vows there is no problem with the crystals destabilizing; nor do they require special handling."
"If that's true or accurate, Tochar, what's causing the explosions?"
"That is what I am determined to learn, Starla. I hope none of you take offense or become provoked to leave me, but I must check my security. To do so, everyone around me—my special unit, my Enforcers, and even my Palesa— must be questioned with truth serum. Does anyone object?"
Starla, Dagan, Auken, and Sach shook their heads almost simultaneously. Tochar smiled and said, "Excellent, because this precaution is necessary for everyone who will continue
to work for me. We will begin the tests immediately. Starla, would you go first?"
"That's fine with me, Tochar."
"Dagan, you go next; then, Sach and Auken. It requires thirty preons to go under and thirty for questioning; recovery can be done in an antechamber to save time. After I complete your tests, Auken and Sach can assist me with those for the Enforcers. Any tests not completed before your departure in two deegas will be carried out by me and Palesa during your absence. The rest of you can await your turns in the recreation chamber so Starla and I can get started and get this annoying but necessary matter behind us. Your cooperation and understanding are appreciated."
Starla exchanged smiles with the other three team members before they left the room. She followed Tochar to a smaller one which contained an oblong padded table, cabinets on one wall, a counter with recording equipment and a tray with an Airosyringe, and a tall sitting stool. After the door closed behind them, the man told her to take her place on the table. She obeyed his order and calmed her tension as much as possible.
"I am sorry this must be done, Starla."
As Tochar placed the Airosyringe against her right arm and pressed the button to inftise her with Thorin, she smiled and said, "I understand. If you were not a smart and cautious man, I would not be working for you."
"I am grateful for your trust in me. Put your arms at your sides. As you recall, these straps are to prevent you fi-om falling off the table while you are drugged. Relax, and I shall return soon."
She nodded as he secured strong bands across her chest, hips, and ankles. She watched him exit, then closed her eyes. She knew the drug required only twenty preons to take affect on anyone not made immune via the Rendelar chemical and process, as were her world's leaders and all members of the Elite Squad. That chemical and procedure
belonged to Mafifei and were inventions of her father's deceased half-brother, made in his laboratory on the planetoid of Darkar. Her mother had once owned the powerful and impregnable complex where unreproducible chemicals and formulas were created, but Jana Greyson Triloni Saar had turned it over to the MaflFeian government after her marriage to Varian Saar.
Starla was certain that Tochar would give a fortune to own or to be able to raid Trilabs—which also produced other drugs and weapons—but no one could penetrate Darkar's advanced defense system. Unless, she reminded herself, Tochar got his hands on a portable laser cannon powered by a large white moonbeam which could pierce its force shield and blast through the complex's doors. She could not allow that to happen, as Trilabs was too vital to her world's survival and too dangerous in a villite's control.
She had witnessed many interrogations of suspects under Thorin's influence, so she knew how to act and speak to dupe him, as she had done once before. She was not worried about revealing any secrets, but she didn't like feeling so vulnerable and helpless in this imprisoned state. She also fretted over what Dagan might expose to the fiendal
She heard the door swish open and knew Tochar had returned. She was prepared to deceive him, thanks in part to a harmless tablet she had secreted in her belt for this anticipated occasion and had slipped into her mouth without notice while following Tochar to this location. The tiny tablet created a flush on her cheeks and a glazed look in her green eyes. She commanded her body to go limp and her breathing to slow. She saw Tochar when he opened her lids to check her eyes, then allowed them to close again. She heard him approach the counter to turn on the recorder and return to take a seat on the stool beside her.
"What is your name?"
"Starla Vedris," she responded in a slow and soft tone.
"Who is your leader and where does he habitate?"
"Tochar of Tochara on the planet Noy in the Free-Zone."
"Are you completely loyal to him?"
"Yes." She was glad he hadn't told her to open her eyes and to look at him, as concentration on her responses was easier with them closed.
"Do you know anything about the recent explosions and mysterious events, those so-called accidents which have plagued Tochar?"
Starla related only what she was supposed to know about the incidents. When he asked who and what she held responsible for them, she repeated the speculations she had fabricated earlier.
"Do you know if any enemies or rivals are working against Tochar?"
"No."
"Have you ever disobeyed Tochar's orders or been lax during raids?"
"No, I obey and do my best for him."
"What do you know about moonbeams, the crystals?"
She related facts she had overheard by accident or been told by him and his friends. "I fear them because they could be unstable and dangerous; their power is enormous and destructive. I would not approach or handle them if I were not ordered to do so."
"Do you know the identities of Tochar's contacts in Seri and Kalfa?"
"I have not been told their names."
"Do you know Dagan Latu?"
"Yes."
"Can Dagan be trusted?"
"I believe so."
"Do you love Dagan?"
Starla decided she should respond honestly in order to fool Tochar completely. "Yes, but such new and powerful feelings frighten me."
"Why?"
"I have never loved a man in this way. These emotions are strange and confusing, and we have not known each other very long. I lost everyone I loved in the past and I fear that could happen again if I put myself in a vulnerable position. It is hard to explain how I feel."
"Does Dagan love you?"
"He told me he does, but I need more time to fully believe him."
"Do you plan to become his mate and leave Tochar?"
"One deega in the future if we remain alive and uncap-tured and if he is the man he appears to be, I would like to bond with him."
"If you decide to bond with him, when do you plan to leave Tochara?"
"After Dagan purchases another ship."
"Why do you not depart soon and use your ship?"
"Dagan is a proud man; he must stand alone before accepting me and standing with me. He lost everything before he came to Noy and must raise himself again before he feels worthy to claim me." She heard Tochar chuckle at what he must consider silly romantic notions.
"Do you intend to work against Tochar as a rival after your departure?"
"No; I will settle with Dagan where it is safe and begin a new life, if our relationship is a true and worthy one and withstands the test of time."
"Have you shared a sleeper with Dagan?"
Starla didn't want to reveal such a private matter but it was possible Tochar had discovered or suspected the truth, and would learn it when he asked Dagan that same nosy query. "Yes."
"Why do you hide your relationship from Tochar and others?"
"I do not want Tochar to worry about my loyalty and length of stay or distraction during raids, and I want to make certain the relationship is solid before it becomes
known by others. It would be humiliating to me if it becomes meaningless. If I parted with Dagan, other men could think me an easy conquest and approach me for sex."
"Would you remain loyal to Tochar even if Dagan turned against him?"
"Yes; Tochar is my leader and friend; he protects and supports me. If Dagan turned against him, Dagan would not be a good and honest man. I could not mate with one who is untrustworthy and wicked."
"Was Moig's death an accident?"
She was glad he had left his previous topic. "Yes and no."
"Explain."
"We were fired upon by a Serian patrol; he fell and struck his head. We were attacked, but he was not slain by laser fire. I rescued him and tended him, but I lacked the knowledge to treat his injury. He died."
"Do you know of any man or woman whom Tochar cannot trust?"
"No."
"If you learned Tochar's secrets, would you steal or reveal them?"
"No, I gave him my word of honor; keeping it is important to me. And he does not confide his secrets in me, only in his friends."
"Why is that?"
"I suppose because I have not yet earned his complete trust."
"Do you deserve Tochar's complete trust?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any feelings for Tochar?"
"I admire and respect him; he is a superior and intelligent leader."
"Do you have any sexual feelings for Tochar?"
That odd query made her nervous. "He is handsome and virile, but my heart belongs to Dagan." She heard Tochar
murmur his approval to her response. She waited while the fiendal apparently scanned his mind for any remaining questions and was relieved when he seemed to find none. She heard him rise, turn off the recorder, and leave the room.
It wasn't long before Dagan entered with Tochar, unfastened her straps, and carried her to a guest chamber. As her lover placed her on a sleeper, she was glad Tochar was with him so Dagan couldn't ask her any questions while she was allegedly under the influence of a truth serum. The two men departed, and she turned to her side to relax until the drug supposedly wore off and she awakened.
As she lay there, Starla fretted over Dagan's answers to some of the same questions Tochar had asked her; she prayed he wouldn't expose anything detrim.ental to himi or anything that m.ight make her appear to have lied, which would be suspicious to Tochar. She cautioned herself to remain ready to signal Cypher for a rescue if necessary.
^ojeU
(MELUS
Dagan lay on a sleeper in another chamber after his session with Tochar. He was amused and annoyed by the man's probings into his private hfe. He had admitted to a love and desire for Starla, but claimed he didn't believe he had won her completely as of this time. He also admitted to plans to make her his legal mate in the far future, but wanted time to have more adventures and to earn his own way before he settled down. What vexed him was Tochar's queries about Yana; they had been seen together and the perverted Icarian wanted to know if he had shared sex with the Asisan beauty. Needing to dupe Tochar and to prevent suspicions, he had felt compelled to confess he had done so on one occasion but would not do so again because he didn't want to risk losing Starla.