Was he taking too long? He didn't know. Didn't want to glance down to see how much more of the supplies were left to unload. His breath came in huge gasps. He'd stopped sweating. A bad sign. Perspiration was the body's way of cooling heat.

Shaking from his efforts, he feared if he stopped climbing to rest, he d never start again. He could hear his father talking to him. He suspected he was hallucinating but still welcomed Etru's comforting presence.

You can do it son.

It's too hard.

Doing hard things will make, as proud of you.

Okay, Dad. I'll keep going. But if I fall- You won't.

Tell Mom that I miss her. A lot. I into you too.

125.

Kirek's eyes should have been full of tears. But he had no moisture to spare. His throat felt so dry, as if it were going to crack and tear, His legs burned. His arms trembled.

But the robot limb was so close.

Just a little farther son. You're almost there.

Finally, Kirek pulled himself up far enough to straddle the arm. He had to scoot out a little and just in time he reached a crossbar to hold himself steady. The robot had finished, swiveled in one smooth motion that nevertheless almost toppled him from his perch. But finally, he was headed toward the skimmer, riding the robot's arm.

Kirek's head spun from dizziness. If he fell from this height, he wouldn't have to worry about broken bones, he'd be dead. He warned to close his eyes, but he didn't dare. If the Kwadii had manned the skimmer, be could be spotted.

His skill to hide was only from machinery, not alien eyes. But he saw no one. Just a skimmer that was a good way toward being empty. The arm extended inside the skimmer, another windowless, hot hulk.

Kirek needed to make a good landing. Obviously, the nearest cargo would be easiest but the robot would likely take the cargo nearest the entrance back out to the warehouse before Kirek could climb down. He needed the cargo that would be unloaded at the very last moment. But that wasn't possible. The arm wasn't going to reach far enough inside the craft.

Stars.

Kirek jumped onto the cargo that the robot was about to extract. Landing, slipping, he belly flopped and spread his arms and legs wide to stabilize his position on top of seeds covered in thick material. Wrenching his arms, he maintained his position, then peered over the pallet. He muttered a curse very inappropriate for a four-year-old.

He had to climb down faster than the arm could retrieve the pallet or all his effort would be for nothing. If he had his suit, be could have used his null grav. Or if Etru had been there be could have jumped into his arms. But Kirek was alone.

Using the thick material, he lowered himself, slid and fell, his loin cloth tearing and leaving him naked. He landed hard, rolled, b.u.mped his head.

Pain exploded.

Don't go to sleep.

Kirek tried to obey Etru's order. He fought the blackness. He fought dizziness. He fought the pain.

But his efforts were futile.

He never noticed when the skimmer was empty and it went on its way.

Chapter Twelve.

If one could discount the locked and guarded doors, the quarters where Avanti brought Zical and his crew were more like a hotel than a prison. Each person had a small but comfortable sleeping room and a bathing room that included facilities to remove wastes in an odorless, efficient manner. They shared a communal cooking area, generously supplied with food and drink. While not as bracing as the air on the Verazen, the temperature was cool compared to the heat outside.

Zical had gathered his people, given them strict or orders that their every might be monitored by unseen listening devices and to be very careful what they revealed. Dora thought his precautions sound, but probably useless. These Kwadii had impressed her as ruthlessly efficient, but lacking in curiosity about their real intentions. From Avanti's clipped sentences, Dora gathered that the Kwadii dealt with all hypers.p.a.ce intruders in the same manner-by execution.

Every time she thought about dying, her limbs turned icy, despite the heat. For all the Federation's technology, no one really knew what awaited the soul after death.

Religious beings believed in many versions of an afterlife-a comforting thought, especially with little time left of what she'd hope would be a long and fulfilling life.

However, when she died, there might not be anything else. She tried and failed to imagine the nothingness, like before she'd been born.

Dora didn't fear death as much as she resented the Kwadii taking away her life.

She'd barely learned how to live. Even worse, if they died, the mission to send the Sentinel back to guard against the Zin would fail. Would their deaths bring about the death of Tessa and Kahn and their entire new world? What would happen to the Federation?

As if she didn't have enough on her mind, she also worried about Kirek. Was he hungry, thirsty, alone? Had he survived and found help and friends on Kwadii? She'd like to think if anyone survived the Kwadii law, Kirek would be the one with the opportunity to live a full life. Yet, the worst part was not knowing. The lack of information haunted her as her mind conjured possibilities, all of them sad enough to bring tears to her eyes.

No one in the Federation would ever know what had happened to them-especially since Ranth couldn't send back a log. Dora wondered if the Kwadii would attempt to access the Verazen's computer and whether or not the Kwadii could find Ranth-or if he lived. Before Ranth's disappearance, he'd installed security firewalls and protocols that would make forced entry difficult. Dora was probably the only Federation person who could crack his safety systems, but she had no intention of revealing her ability. The last 127.

thing she wanted was to send these Kwadii into Federation s.p.a.ce where they could use their superior technology to prevent all hypers.p.a.ce travel and bring trade among the Federation's billions to a standstill.

On a personal level, she desperately wanted to deepen her relationship with Zical- now especially in the face of their impending death. Yes, she still wanted to make love him, but she wanted to increase the emotional attachment that Tessa had told her could make the loving even better. She enjoyed their shared glances that required no speech to convey a thought. The more humans she worked with, the more special she realised Zical was. He wielded authority with compa.s.sion, tempered, his orders with kindness, and led by courageous example. She didn't regret her decision to accompany him, but only wished they'd had more personal time together.

Despite her gloomy thoughts, her body still had needs. Dora helped herself to a long, cool drink of water to quench her parched throat, then availed herself of the bathing facilities. Perhaps contemplating their execution was too much for her mind to bear, so she tried to ease the pain by distracting herself. She lingered over her bathing, focused on the sensation of water cleansing her skin and noted the puckering of her fingertips and toes. For a few moments, she tried to forget their dire situation and simply yielded to the cascade's sweet caress over her skin.

She was almost finished when someone knocked a door. "Come in."

Dressed in a loin cloth, his chest bare, Zical entered the room, took one look at her nudity and carefully glance other way, but not before she noted the gleam of appreciation in his gaze and how his tone turned husky. "Get dressed. Avanti wants my help to prepare for the trial."

"Mom likely she's trying to find out how many more of us are coming through hypers.p.a.ce so she can kill us all." Dora turned off the water, grabbed a soft cotton cloth and dried herself. Slowly. "So why do I need to dress?"

Tessa had told her Terrans preferred to bathe with water even after they had suits to keep them clean. And now Dora understood why. The sensual experience couldn't be duplicated by the suit. The drying was rather interesting too. The soft material soaking up water created a pleasant zing to her skin and she couldn't help thinking how much more pleasant the bathing and drying would be if she and Zical shared the cleansing ritual. But what was even more interesting was that although Zical clearly tried to turn his gaze from her, he kept glancing her way.

She liked his lack of control. She licked that he couldn't stop looking. She'd created this body specifically to entice him, gone to a lot of trouble to take his preferences into account. But now that she was provoking his interest, she wanted more. She still wanted his pa.s.sion of course, but she also wanted him to think of her as all woman.

"You have a good mind. I thought you might help me a.n.a.lyze their laws."

"Okay." While Zical seemed determined to maintain a professional physical distance from her, she was very glad he'd sought her out because he wanted her opinion. And she was determined to do her best. She supposed he would consider her 128.

teasing him with her body the act of a wayward woman-still, she took her time, enjoying his covert glances and keeping back a grin of satisfaction. Their captors had supplied clothing and she wrapped a sarong around her hips, then tied on a pair of sandals. "You can look now," she teased, pretending that she hadn't noticed his accelerated pulse, or the slight flaring of his nostrils.

He turned around and, at the sight of her bared b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his eyes widened then narrowed and a flush rose up his neck. Now that they were about to die Dora supposed she'd never understand the Terran and Rystani inclination to hide their flesh On the ship she'd worn clothes because it was expected, because she wanted to fit in, but her own preference was nudity. And in her view, the Kwadii had adjusted well to their warm world by wearing a minimum of clothing. She dried her hair with the cloth, combed her fingers through it, and water droplets trickled over her chest Zical seemed extraordinarily interested in a globule that dripped over her breast and clung to her nipple.

Just to distract him from their imminent deaths, she let the water droplet hang from her nipple and then teased him.

"You're staring. But I don't mind, I like it when you look at me like that."

"Like what?" He glared at her as if he had more responsibility on his shoulders than he could bear.

So she teased him, hoping to lighten his burden. "When you look as if you can't decide whether to kiss me or lick me."

"What I ought to do is-"

"Yes?"

"Leave you here."

"But then you'd miss me and my a.n.a.lytical mind."

"Behave," he warned, but she refused to take his implied threat to leave her behind the least bit seriously. His wonderful eyes heated with a violet-red flame and for a moment the darkness in them was dispelled by light. Zical leaned forward. For a moment she thought he would kiss her, instead he whispered in her ear. "Can they get to Ranth?"

So he'd seen the soldiers entering the Verazen too. She kept her voice low. "I don't think so. However, I wish we could communicate with him. We need help. And I'm worried about Kirek," she admitted.

"He's better off alone than with us," he whispered back.

Maybe. But a least they would die together. Kirek was alone and she hated thinking how frightened and forlorn he must be on an alien world where if the Kwadii discovered him, he'd likely face execution too.

She and Zical exited her room, strode down the corridor, and a guard led them through double doors and gestured for them to enter a conference room with a round 129.

stone table and many chairs with artfully curved lines. Fruits, nuts and cheese, plus a variety of drinks were laid out for refreshments.

Dora had expected to meet Avanti alone to go over their defense, but someone else, a man, sat at the table. She estimated from his long white hair that he'd lived many years. His skin was white, his features unlined, as if he'd never spent a day in the sun.

And unlike the men who wore loincloths he'd donned trousers and a short-sleeved dress shirt of fine cloth embroidered with a fanciful gold and silver braid. One might have thought he was a man who spent his life doing no more than fussing over frippery, until she spied, the strong muscles in his arms and the cords of power in has neck that could come only from vigorous athletic activity.

With a warm smile, and clever brown eyes, he rose gracefully to his feet at their entrance. "I am Rogar Delari Hikai, the prosecutor of the Fifth House of Seemar."

"The prosecutor?" Startled, Dora turned to Avanti for explanation. "I thought we were here to prepare our defense."

"We are. And Rogar will listen. It saves time when you tell your story once."

"Is there a hurry?" Zical asked, clearly not liking Rogar's presence any better than Dora did.

"Rogar and his Risorians wish the execution to take place before their religious holy day of prayer," Avanti explained, but Dora required more information about the Kwadii to make complete sense of that statement. Apparently, Kwadii was home to at least two religious factions, and from the contempt in Avanti's tone,, she didn't honor the Risorian beliefs.

"We would be more than happy to put off the trial until after your holy day," Zical offered.

"That will not be acceptable," Rogar informed them, gesturing for everyone to take seats. "Kwadii law requires a speedy trial to take place within two days of the treasonous act."

Avanti's tone turned to a sneer. "He intends to make an example of you, for political purposes. Our elections take place in less than a moon rotation and he would have the ma.s.ses frothing to spend more of our resources on weapons, instead of social entertainments."

"Blah. Social entertainment is sinful. Selgrens have no morals, no ethics, no sense of right or wrong."

"You would have us work in your fields and factories all day and give us no pleasure to enjoy our nights?" Avanti's voice was cool.

Dora glanced from Avanti to Rogar, wondering how could play one side against the other to their benefit. Never had she wished so badly for computer access to Ranth.

They didn't have enough data to ascertain their situation, but this exchange was fascinating. And alarming. One moon rotation meant they had very little time left to life, to plan a defense-or an escape.

130.

"We digress." Rogar frowned at Avanti and turned to Zical. "I a.s.sume you're pleading guilty?"

"You a.s.sume wrong." Zical spoke quietly.

"It doesn't matter. Our sensors recorded your transgression. The evidence against you is verifiable and conclusive."

"It's your laws that we question-not your findings."

Rogar spoke as if to a child. "You aren't Kwadii. You may not question our law. It's not permitted."

Dora was proud that Zical kept his tone reasonable His effort to stay calm must have cost him, especially with the lives of every scientist and the crew at stake. Worse, she knew how much responsibility he felt not only to save his people on this mission, but those back home who depended on them to find the Sentinel. But although under enormous pressure, he didn't shout or rant, instead wearing his dignity wrapped around him as tightly as his loin cloth.

"We don't recognize your laws. We have no pact with you. And unless we form a treaty of peace, many more people will follow."

"It does not matter. We will execute them too." Rogar frowned at Avanti. "Haven't you explained the basics to them?"

"There is no point of law that I have not considered in their defense." Avanti's eyes shot poison darts at the prosecutor. "I'm sure they'd prefer to spend their last days without dwelling on their fate when it cannot be changed."

"Then why go through the farce of a trial?" Zical demanded, his tone determined.

Dora ached to give her support and, beneath the table, out of sight of The Kwadii, she placed her hand on his thigh.

"The Selgrens think a trial is civilised. A Risorian would not have put you through the agony of a trial." Rogar spoke simply.

"He means he would murdered you in hypers.p.a.ce," Avanti clarified.

"Better that a few strangers die than our homeworld be destroyed again."

"Why do you people live in such fear?" Dora asked. Who is this enemy that you seek to hide from?"

"We don't speak of them." Rogar closed a notebook and shoved back his chair, indicating the meeting was over before it had begun.

Avanti spoke with harsh emotion. "He thinks if we don't speak of them, we can pretend we didn't almost suffer extermination from the-"

A squad of men burst into the room and aimed their guns at Dora and Zical. The leader of the group stepped forward and handed Rogar a disk. "These people are in league with or enemy. Here is proof."

Alarm spread through Dora. Although Avanti's words made it clear the trial would likely do them no good, Dora had always held out hope that Zical could convince the 131.

Kwadii that they meant their world no harm. But the accusations had just become severe, the mood in the room hostile.

Rogar popped the disk into a slot and a hologram formed over the table. Dora recognized the symbol immediately. It was the one over the door to the cavern where Zical had entered Mount Shachauri. She had also seen the symbol carved into the mountain in several other places, but they'd never deciphered the mark. However, in her mind the emblem would forever symbolize the Perceptive Ones.