Page 35 of Black Star

Chapter Five

Nani had rested for a while, alternately dozing and thinking. Her first order of business was to see Dr. Zabin. He was the only one who could help Darian, but she’d damned well keep an eye on him during the procedure.

She found him exactly where she’d found him the first time; hunched over a computer screen. If possible, he looked even more tired than he had before. She’d bet he hadn’t slept at all.

“Dr. Zabin.” She called his name from the door to his office when he didn’t acknowledge her presence. He whipped his head around, fear on his face, before he schooled his features and straightened.

“My lady. I didn’t know you were here. Please come in. Sit.”

She watched him carefully. He was definitely uncomfortable. “What’s happened?” She didn’t need her meager telepathic skills to know something wasn’t going as planned.

He fell into his chair and scrubbed a hand over his weary-looking face. “I’m having problems with the clone I grew for Darian. The cell structure was very unstable. I took only a very small amount of cellular material because I didn’t want to damage either of you, but I miscalculated with Darian. I didn’t get enough complete cells to grow a viable clone.”

Nani narrowed her eyes. “So there’s no place to put him. What are we going to do now?”

“Well,” he began, punching a few buttons on his computer, bringing up a DNA strand, “I think I’ve found what I need in one of the chips I removed from Diamond and Phoebe. Apparently, one contained your DNA, the other held Darian’s. There is enough physical material to make approximately ten clones of each of you. I could use this to grow another body for him, but I’ve got to be careful when extracting the material or I could destroy it.”

“So why haven’t you slept?”

His expression crumpled. Nani had never seen anyone look more dejected. “I’ve only got one shot to make it work, and I’m not sure I can. If I fail, I can’t grow a clone of Darian, and he’ll have to be put in another body.”

Nani thought for a moment, looking intently at Mahat Zabin. He knew something he wasn’t telling her.

“And?”

“Look, Darian always believed Nadira’s genetic make up would be enough to prove he had an heir, but I’m not convinced. I’m not sure he’d be accepted unless he actually presents himself.”

Nani narrowed her eyes. “How much do you know?”

“Everything. What Samair didn’t tell me, I made it my life’s work to discover. It’s taken the better part of twenty years, but I know why Samair had the two of you exiled in such a manner.”

“And, knowing this, you’re convinced the only way to unite our two peoples is with Darian actually being there?”

“I’m certain of it. It can’t be his daughter, or his mind inside a surrogate clone other than his own, and he can’t be in a cyborg body. It has to be him. The climate after he went missing changed dramatically against everyone in the Vok’nair Empire hierarchy. Especially you. I think most people truly believe you killed him.”

None of this mattered much to Nani, since she was determined to have Darian back in his own body, anyway. She’d love him no matter what form he took, but it was the principle of the matter.

“What do you need to make this easier for you?”

“You don’t understand.” He stood and paced to the other side of the room. “This is technology I’ve never encountered before. I need whoever designed this to explain to me how to extract the cellular material. Since I don’t have any idea who that is, I’m going to have to study it until I figure it out. I need time. And unless I miss my guess, time isn’t something we have a lot of.”

As if on cue, an explosion rocked the ship. Sirens blared once before the deadly silence she associated with battle aboard the Black Star engulfed them. The entire place glowed eerily red, but no one made much noise at all. Sometimes, battle could get loud, but most everyone used their internal comm. Which reminded her. She needed that from the good doctor.

“I need an internal comm. You owe me at least that much.” She looked at him sternly.

He didn’t even bat an eyelash, just took a medigun from the shelf, loaded it with something and held it to her temple. “Hold still.” It was the only warning she got. He pulled the trigger, and her head exploded in agony for several seconds before the pain fell off. She saw stars for the second time that day, only this time it was from pain, not pleasure.

“Son of a bitch,” she breathed before sitting down hard in a nearby chair.

“Relax a moment. Once the transponder clears your skull, it will attach to your synaptic system and gradually feed you data. You should be fully receiving in five minutes, able to transmit in eight.”

She shook her head to clear it before standing up slowly and taking a few tentative steps away from the chair. When she was convinced she wouldn’t fall, she pulled herself together as much as she could, nodded once to Darian, and headed out the door.

She was still several minutes away from knowing everything going on, but she was being fed information from Darian as fast as he could glean it from Viktor. Her link with Viktor had been tenuous at best, but with so many things for her to deal with since her rebirth, she had only connected with him occasionally, and only then when he was reaching for her.

Reaching command, she quietly went to the same station she’d occupied before, again hacking into the comm channels to try to figure out what was going on until her internal unit kicked in. Viktor made brief eye contact with her before returning to his job, and she saw a note of approval on his face.

Vok’nair vessels starboard flank, Captain. Weapons hot and targeting. Viktor’s usually calm voice filtered through her comm, but since no one else’s did, she assumed he directed his statement toward her intentionally.

Is the Sword Breaker in position?

Captain Anjoom is standing by, sir.

And the Vok’nair fleet?

On the outer border of the sector. There are at least thirty war ships, sir. All state-of-the-art. Most look as if they’ve barely made it out of dry dock .

Communication was spotty now, but coming through her comm unit easily enough.

Damon Singh chuckled. Thirty war ships to capture one Asalian Slaver and the Black Star?

She was the flagship, sir . Viktor’s dry tone came through loud and clear. He was neither surprised by the show of strength, nor impressed by it, judging by his tone. They’re obviously afraid she packs more of a punch than a mere man in command of a ship .

No. They expect the Black Star herself, no doubt . He glanced toward Nani with a smile. Maybe we’ll have to give her to them. Just not the way they expect . Damon was clearly in control, but he stepped down from the command center and gestured for Nani to take his seat.

At first, she wasn’t sure she should. Her internal comm hadn’t started working properly yet, and the last thing she wanted to do was usurp Damon’s position, but she doubted he would have handed control of his ship over to her without good reason.

Do you know who leads this fleet? she asked.

Tyrelle Amos. And he’s demanding our surrender .

Nani’s heart sped up. Tyrelle had been her father’s best friend and advisor. It wasn’t surprising he headed the fleet. Samair would have been able to keep him away from the Vok’nair home world and out of the way without killing the admiral outright. With strategic moves like that to keep key sympathizers in the administration without them actually being able to do anything, he’d have been able to effectively take control without much change. If the people didn’t notice what was going on in their everyday lives, they’d be less likely to care who was in power as long as they weren’t inconvenienced. It was a brilliant move on his part, but one that would ultimately be his downfall.

Also, he had been there when they’d taken her from the hospital to meet her fate. He’d protested vehemently until his own family had been threatened. Even then, he’d argued with Samair, just in a more subdued manner. He was a good man in a bad situation.

Let me hear their message. My internal comm is not yet at one hundred percent .

Viktor flipped a switch, and Tyrelle Amos’s voice projected commandingly over the external intercom. “ Black Star , surrender and prepare to be boarded. This is Admiral Tyrelle Amos, supreme commander of the Vok’nair Empire. Please respond.”

Nani took a deep breath. Her words in the next few minutes could change the future of her people forever.

“Be sure to respond with visual, Viktor. He has to see who I am.” Nani straightened in her chair. She crossed her legs casually, waiting for Viktor to nod at her and for Tyrelle Amos to appear on her monitor. “Commander Amos,” she said in a friendly manner. “It’s good to see you again.”

Surprise flickered on the admiral’s face, but like the professional he was, he schooled his features almost immediately. “That ship belongs to the Vok’nair Empire.”

“This ship belongs to me.” Nani willed herself to relax. She couldn’t show weakness or uncertainty. Not with a man like Admiral Amos. “I earned her many times over.”

It was a while before the admiral said anything, but when he did he stood firm, looking at her hard. “It’s still my obligation to bring this ship -- and you -- back to the Empire.”

“You can try, Tyrelle, and you will probably succeed, but is that what you really want to do?”

“You know it’s not. But I have my own family to think about now. Children and grandchildren who are innocent of any wrongdoing. You made your choice when you rejected Samair. Besides, once we bring back Samair’s daughter, any claim you have will be disputed anyway. Nadira’s his heir. As the male parent, he will be placed in control of her estate and the kingdom.”

Nani had been ready for this. “And if Nadira is not his child?”

Tyrelle turned his head slightly, but sharply. This wasn’t a question he’d expected. “Not possible.”

“You know it is. You’ve probably even asked yourself that over the years. Why is it so impossible to contemplate it now?”

“Nani --” he began and looked around him at his command crew. His shoulders fell slightly, and he suddenly looked much older than he had a few moments ago. “It’s not that simple. The general population believes you died in childbirth. Samair has a stranglehold on anyone involved with your disappearance. Dr. Zabin was the only one of us brave enough to defy him, and his entire family was slaughtered. I understand now why he never had children.”

Nani felt an overwhelming relief wash over her. Knowing she could trust Mahat Zabin was the best news she’d had in forever. She was still uneasy, but she suspected she would be until Darian was at her side again.

I’m always with you, my love .

His love was like a warm column of air wrapping around her soul. Any uncertainty or doubt she had fled in his presence.

“Dr. Zabin has been a great help to us.”

“So I imagine, seeing you back in your body. You had a funeral and everything, you know. It was very public and Samair was visibly distraught as he held his baby daughter. It won’t be easy getting the people to accept you. Especially after being under Asalian influence. They’re not going to believe you’ve simply been raised from the dead.”

Something struck her then. Something that had been nagging her since she found out about the implanted chips within Phoebe and Diamond.

“There were two microchips that contained the DNA structure of both Darian and myself. Both have been recovered with no harm to those who held them.” She watched Tyrelle carefully, but if he knew about these chips, he gave away nothing. “Who designed them?”

There was a brief silence before the admiral spoke. “A man named Grimm. Pardell Grimm. He was a friend of both your father and the leader of the Asalian Coalition.”

“Is he still alive?” Nani’s heart pounded. This was it. This was the key.

Admiral Amos raised an eyebrow. “Yes. As a matter of fact, he is.”